. 
 
 
 
 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 arijfcne oPfTis Ma. n I
 
 THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 FRANCIS BACON, 
 
 BARON OF VERULAM, VISCOUNT ST. ALBAN, 
 
 AND 
 
 LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND. 
 
 COLLECTED AND EDITED BY 
 
 JAMES SPEEDING, M.A. 
 
 OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; 
 
 ROBERT LESLIE ELLIS, M.A. 
 
 I.ATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; 
 AXD 
 
 DOUGLAS DENON HEATH, 
 
 UARRISTER-AT-LAW : LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGMAN AND CO. ; SIMPKIN AND CO. ; HAMILTON AND CO. ; WIIITTAKER 
 AND CO. ; J. BAIN ; E. HODGSON ; WASHBOTJRNE AND CO. ; H. G. BOHN ; 
 RICHARDSON BROTHERS : HOTJLSTON AND CO. ; BICKERS AND BUSH ; 
 
 m 
 
 WILLIS AND SOTHERAN ; J. CORNISH ; L. BOOTH ; AND J. SNOW. 
 
 1857. 
 
 The right of translation is reseri-ed.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed by SPOTTISWOODE & Co. 
 New-street-Square.
 
 
 HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 THIS EDITION. 
 
 BACON'S works were all published separately, and never 
 collected into a body by himself ; and though he had deter- 
 mined, not long before his death, to distribute them into 
 consecutive volumes, the order in which they were to suc- 
 ceed each other was confessedly irregular; a volume of 
 moral and political writings being introduced between the 
 first and second parts of the Instauratio Magna, quite out 
 of place, merely because he had it ready at the time. 1 In 
 arranging the collected works therefore, every editor must 
 use his own judgment. 
 
 Blackbourne, the first editor of an Opera Omnia 2 , took 
 the Distributio Operis as his groundwork, and endea- 
 voured first to place the various unfinished portions of the 
 Instauratio Magna in the order in which they would have 
 stood had they been completed according to the original 
 design ; and then to marshal the rest in such a sequence 
 that they might seem to hang together, each leading by a 
 natural transition to the next, and so connecting themselves 
 into a kind of whole. But the several pieces were not 
 written with a view to any such connexion, which is alto- 
 gether forced and fanciful ; and the arrangement has this 
 
 1 Debuerat sequi Novum Organum : interposui tamen Scripta mea Moralia et 
 
 Politica, quia magis erant in promptu Atque hie tomus (ut diximus) interjectus 
 
 est et non ex ordine Instaurationis." Ep. ad Fulgenthnn, Opuscula, p. 172. 
 
 2 Francisci Raconi, -c., Opera Omnia, rjuatuor voluminibus compreliensa. Londmi, 
 
 MDCC'XXX. 
 
 A 2 
 
 3069469
 
 IV HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 great inconvenience it mixes up earlier writings with 
 later, discarded fragments with completed works, and pieces 
 printed from loose manuscripts found after the author's 
 death with those which were published or prepared for 
 publication by himself. Birch, the original editor of the 
 quarto edition in four volumes 1 \vhich (reprinted in ten 
 volumes octavo) has since kept the market and is now 
 known as the " trade edition," followed Blackbourne's 
 arrangement in the main, though with several variations 
 which are for the most part not improvements. The 
 arrangement adopted by Mr. Montagu 2 is-in these respects 
 no better, in all others much w r orse. M. Bouillet, in his 
 (Euvres Philosophiques de Francois Bacon 3 , does not pro- 
 fess to include all even of the Philosophical works ; and he 
 too, though the best editor by far who has yet handled 
 Bacon, has aimed at a classification of the works more 
 systematic, as it seems to me, than the case admits, and has 
 thus given to some of the smaller pieces a prominence 
 which does not belong to tbem. 
 
 In the edition of which the first volume is here offered to 
 the public 4 , a new arrangement has been attempted ; the 
 nature and grounds of which I must now explain. 
 
 When a man publishes a book, or writes a letter, or 
 delivers a speech, it is always with a view to some parti- 
 cular audience by whom he means to be understood without 
 the help of a commentator. Giving them credit for such 
 knowledge and capacity as they are presumably furnished 
 with, he himself supplies what else is necessary to make his 
 meaning clear ; so that any additional illustrations would be 
 
 1 The Works of Francis Bacon, &c., in five volumes. London, 1 763. 
 
 2 The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England. A new edition by 
 Basil Montagu, Esq. London, 1825-34. 
 
 * Paris, 1834. 
 
 4 The announcement in Messrs. Longman's monthly list for December was made 
 without my knowledge, or I should have objected to it as apparently implying that a 
 volume would be published every month until the whole work were completed. The 
 fact is that the first three volumes, which include the whole of the Philosophical works, 
 are ready now and will appear at monthly intervals ; the 4th and 5th containing the 
 translations, and the 6th and 7th containing the Literary and Professional works 
 will I hope be ready to follow in order. But I cannot make any promise at present 
 as to the time when the remaining portion will be ready.
 
 OF THIS EDITION. 
 
 to that audience more of a hindrance than a help. If how- 
 ever his works live into another generation or travel out 
 of the circle to which they were originally addressed, the 
 conditions are changed. He now addresses a new set of 
 readers, differently prepared, knowing much which the others 
 were ignorant of, ignorant of much which the others knew, 
 and on both accounts requiring explanations and elucidations 
 of many things which to the original audience were suffi- 
 ciently intelligible. These it is the proper business of an 
 editor to supply. 
 
 This consideration suggested to me, when consulted about 
 a new edition of Bacon, the expediency of arranging his 
 works with reference not to subject, size, language, or 
 form but to the different classes of readers whose require- 
 ments he had in view when he composed them. So classi- 
 fied, they will be found to fall naturally into three principal 
 divisions. First, we have his works in philosophy and 
 general literature ; addressed to mankind at large, and 
 meant to be intelligible to educated men of all generations. 
 Secondly, we have his works on legal subjects ; addressed to 
 lawyers, and presuming in the reader such knowledge as 
 belongs to the profession. Thirdly, we have letters, speeches, 
 charges, tracts, state-papers, and other writings of business; 
 relating to subjects so various as to defy classification, but 
 agreeing in this they were all addressed to particular per- 
 sons or bodies, had reference to particular occasions, assumed 
 in the persons addressed a knowledge of the circumstances 
 of the time, and cannot be rightly understood except in 
 relation to those circumstances. In this division every 
 thing will find a place which does not naturally fall into one 
 of the two former ; and thus we have the whole body of 
 Bacon's works arranged in three sufficiently distinguishable 
 classes, which may be called for shortness, 1st, The PHILO- 
 SOPHICAL and LITERARY ; 2nd, The PROFESSIONAL ; and 
 3rd, The OCCASIONAL. 
 
 In each of these there is work for an editor to do, but 
 the help he can render differs in the several cases both in 
 
 A 3
 
 vi HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 nature and amount, and requires qualifications differing 1 ac- 
 cordingly. To understand and illustrate the Philosophical 
 works in their relation to this age, a man must be not only 
 well read in the history of science both ancient and modern, 
 but himself a man of science, capable of handling scientific 
 questions. To produce a correct text of the Professional 
 works and supply what other help may be necessary for a 
 modern student, a man must be a lawyer. To explain and 
 interpret the Occasional works, and set them forth in a 
 shape convenient for readers of the present generation, a 
 man must have leisure to make himself acquainted by te- 
 dious and minute researches among the forgotten records 
 of the time with the circumstances in which they were 
 written. Now as it would not be easy to find any one man 
 in whom these several qualifications meet, it was thought 
 expedient to keep the three divisions separate, assigning each 
 to a separate editor. It was agreed accordingly that the 
 Philosophical works should be undertaken by Mr. Robert 
 Leslie Ellis ; the Professional works by Mr. Douglas Denon 
 Heath ; the Occasional and the Literary works by me ; each 
 division to be made complete in itself, and each editor to be 
 solely responsible for his own part of the work. 
 
 Such was our original arrangement. It was concluded in 
 the autumn of 1847 and Mr. Ellis, whose part was to 
 come first, had already advanced so far that he expected to 
 have it ready for the press within another half year, when 
 unhappily about the end of 1849 he was seized with a rheu- 
 matic fever, which left him in a condition of body quite 
 incompatible with a labour of that kind. At which time, 
 though the greater portion was in fact done, he did not con- 
 sider any of it fit to be published as it was ; many blanks 
 having been left to be filled up, and some doubtful notes to 
 be corrected, in that general revision which the whole was to 
 have undergone before any part were printed. It was long 
 before he could finally resolve to abandon his task. As soon 
 as he had done so, he handed all his papers over to me, with 
 permission to do with them whatever I thought best. And
 
 OF THIS EDITION. Vll 
 
 hence it is that my name appears in connexion with the 
 Philosophical works ; with which otherwise I should not have 
 presumed to meddle. 
 
 As soon however as I had arranged and examined his 
 papers, I felt that, however imperfect they might be com- 
 pared with his own ideal and with what he would himself 
 have made them, they must on no account be touched by 
 anybody else ; for that if any other man were allowed to 
 make alterations in them, without notice, according to his 
 own judgment, the reader could have no means of knowing 
 when he was reading the words of Mr. Ellis and when those 
 of his editor, and so their peculiar value would be lost. 
 Perfect or imperfect, it was clear to me that they must be 
 kept as he left them, clear of all alien infusion ; and not 
 knowing of any one who was likely to take so much inte- 
 rest or able to spend so much time in the matter as myself, 
 I proposed to take his part into my own hands and edit it ; 
 provided only that I might print his notes and prefaces 
 exactly as I found them ; explaining the circumstances which 
 had prevented him from completing or revising them, but 
 making no alteration whatever (unless of errors obviously 
 accidental which I might perhaps meet with in verifying any 
 of the numerous references and quotations) without his ex- 
 press sanction. That the text should be carefully printed 
 from the proper authorities, and all the bibliographical in- 
 formation supplied which was necessary to make the edition 
 in that respect complete, this I thought I might venture 
 to promise. And although I could not undertake to med- 
 dle with purely scientific questions, for which I have neither 
 the acquirements nor the faculties requisite, or to bring any 
 stores of learning, ancient or modern, to bear upon the va- 
 rious subjects of inquiry, although I had no means, I say, 
 of supplying what he had left to be done in those depart- 
 ments, and must therefore be content to leave the work so 
 far imperfect, yet in all matters which lay within my com- 
 pass I promised to do my best to complete the illustration 
 and explanation of the text ; adding where I had anything
 
 Vlll HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 to add, objecting where I had anything to object, but always 
 distinguishing as my own whatever was not his. 
 
 To this proposal he agreed, as the best course that could 
 be taken in the circumstances. Early in 1853 I took the 
 work in hand ; and in the three volumes which follow, the 
 reader will find the result. 
 
 The things then for which in this division I am to be held 
 responsible are 
 
 1st. All notes and prefaces marked with my initials, and 
 all words inserted between brackets, or otherwise distinguished 
 as mine. 
 
 2dly. The general distribution of the Philosophical works 
 into three parts, whereby all those writings which were 
 either published or intended for publication by Bacon himself 
 as parts of the Great Instauration are (for the first time, I 
 believe) exhibited separately, and distinguished as well from 
 the independent and collateral pieces which did not form part 
 of the main scheme, as from those which, though originally 
 designed for it, were afterwards superseded or abandoned. 
 
 3dly. The particular arrangement of the several pieces 
 within each part ; which is intended to be according to the 
 order in which they were composed ; a point however 
 which is in most cases very difficult to ascertain. 
 
 For the grounds on which I have proceeded in each case, 
 and for whatever else in my part of the work requires ex- 
 planation, I refer to the places. But there are two or three 
 particulars in which this edition differs from former ones, 
 and which may be more conveniently explained here. 
 
 In the third and last division of the entire works, accord- 
 ing to the scheme already explained, every authentic writing 
 and every intelligibly reported speech of Bacon's (not be- 
 longing to either of the other divisions) which can be found 
 in print or in manuscript will be set forth at full length, 
 each in its due chronological place ; with an explanatory nar- 
 rative running between, in which the reader will be supplied 
 to the best of my skill and knowledge with all the information
 
 OF THIS EDITION. ix 
 
 necessary to the right understanding of therm In doing 
 this, since the pieces in question are very numerous, and 
 scattered with few and short intervals over the whole of 
 Bacon's life, I shall have to enter very closely into all the 
 particulars of it ; so that this part when finished will in fact 
 contain a complete biography of the man, a biography the 
 most copious, the most minute, and by the very necessity of 
 the case the fairest, that I can produce ; for any material mis- 
 interpretation in the commentary will be at once confronted 
 and corrected by the text. The new matter which I shall be 
 able to produce is neither little nor unimportant ; but more 
 important than the new matter is the new aspect which (if 
 I may judge of other minds by my own) will be imparted 
 to the old matter by this manner of setting it forth. I have 
 generally found that the history of an obscure transaction be- 
 comes clear as soon as the simple facts are set down in the 
 order of their true dates ; and most of the difficulties pre- 
 sented by Bacon's life will be found to disappear when these 
 simple records of it are read in their natural sequence and 
 in their true relation to the business of the time. By this 
 means a great deal of controversy which would disturb and 
 encumber the narrative, and help to keep alive the memory 
 of much ignorant and superficial criticism which had better 
 be forgotten, will I hope be avoided. And until this is done 
 I do not think it desirable to attempt a summary biography 
 in the ordinary form. Such a biography may be easily 
 added, if necessary, in a supplemental volume ; but I am 
 persuaded that the best which could be written now would be 
 condemned afterwards as altogether unsatisfactory. 
 
 It is true however, that a reader, before entering on 
 the study of an author's works, wants to know something 
 about himself and his life. Now there exists a short me- 
 moir of Bacon, which was drawn up by Dr. Rawley in 
 1657 to satisfy this natural desire, and prefixed to the Re- 
 suscitatio, and is still (next to Bacon's own writings) the 
 most important and authentic evidence concerning him that 
 we possess. The origin cf Dr. Rawley's connexion with
 
 X HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 Bacon is not known, but it must have begun early. It 
 was in special compliment to Bacon that he was presented 
 on the 18th of January, 1616 17> (being then 28 years 
 old,) to the rectory of Landbeach ; a living in the gift of 
 Benet's College, Cambridge. 1 Shortly after, Bacon becom- 
 ing Lord-Keeper selected him for his chaplain ; and during 
 the last five years of his life, which were entirely occupied 
 with literary business, employed him constantly as a kind of 
 literary secretary. Nor did the connexion cease with life ; 
 for after Bacon's death Rawley was intrusted by the ex- 
 ecutors with the care and publication of his papers. Raw- 
 ley's testimony must therefore be regarded as that of a 
 witness who, however favourable and affectionate, has the 
 best right to be heard, as speaking not from hearsay but 
 from intimate and familiar knowledge during many years 
 and many changes of fortune ; and as being moreover the 
 only man among Bacon's personal acquaintances by whom 
 any of the particulars of his life have been recorded. This 
 memoir, which was printed by Blackbourne, with inter- 
 polations from Dugdale and Tenison, and placed in front 
 of his edition of 1730, but is not to be found I think 
 in any more modern edition, I have printed entire in its 
 original shape ; adding some notes of my own, by help of 
 which it may serve a modern reader for a sufficient biogra- 
 phical introduction. 
 
 The Latin translation of it, published by Rawley in 1658 
 as an introduction to a little volume entitled Opuscula Phi- 
 losophica, and now commonly prefixed to the De Auymentis 
 Scientiarum, I have thought it superfluous to reproduce 
 here ; this edition being of little use to those who cannot read 
 English, and the translation being of no use to those who 
 can. And this brings me to the second innovation which 
 I have ventured to introduce. 
 
 1 " Ad quam prsesentatus fuit per honorand. virum Franciscum Bacon mil. Regiac 
 maj. advocatum generalem, ejusdem vicaviae [rectorise] pro hac unica vice, ratione 
 concessions magistri ct sociorum Coll. C. C. (uti asserebatur) patronus." Collections 
 prefixed to Blackbourne's edition 1730, i. 218. Bacon's father was a member and 
 benefactor of Benet's ; which accounts for this compliment.
 
 OF THIS EDITION. xi 
 
 Bacon had no confidence in the permanent vitality of Eng- 
 lish as a classical language. " These modern languages," 
 he said, " will at one time or other play the bankrupts with 
 books." Those of his works therefore which he wished to 
 live and which were not originally written in Latin, he trans- 
 lated or caused to be translated into that language "the 
 universal language," as he called it. This, for his own time, 
 was no doubt a judicious precaution. Appearances however 
 have greatly changed since ; arid though it is not to be feared 
 that Latin will ever become obsolete, it is certain that Eng- 
 lish has been rapidly gaining ground upon it, and that of the 
 audience whom Bacon would in these days have especially 
 desired to gather about him, a far greater number would be 
 excluded by the Latin dress than admitted. Considering also 
 the universal disuse of Latin as a medium of oral communi- 
 cation, and the almost universal disuse of it as a medium of 
 communication in writing, even among learned men, and the 
 rapid spreading of English over both hemispheres, it is easy 
 to predict which of the two languages is likely to play the 
 bankrupt first. At any rate the present edition is for the 
 English market. To those who are not masters of English 
 it offers few attractions ; while of those who are, not one 
 I suppose in a hundred would care to read a translation 
 even in Baconian Latin, when he had the choice of reading 
 the original in Baconian English. And since the translations 
 in question would increase the bulk of this work by four or 
 five hundred pages and the cost in proportion, it has been 
 thought better to leave them out. 
 
 In one respect, it is true, they have a value independent 
 of the English originals. Having been made later and 
 made under Bacon's own eye, the differences, where they 
 are greater than can be naturally accounted for by the dif- 
 ferent idiom and construction of the languages, must be con- 
 sidered as corrections ; besides which, when the meaning of 
 the original is obscure or the reading doubtful, they serve 
 sometimes as a glossary to decide it. This being an ad- 
 vantage which we cannot afford to sacrifice, I have thought
 
 xii HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 it my duty in all instances to compare the translation care- 
 fully with the original, and to quote in foot-notes those pas- 
 sages in which the variation appeared to be material ; and 
 as this is a labour which few readers would take upon them- 
 selves, I conceive that by the course which I have adopted 
 the English student will be a gainer rather than a loser. 
 
 I have also departed from the practice of former editors 
 in not keeping the Latin and English works separate. 
 Such separation is incompatible with the chronological ar- 
 rangement which I hold to be far preferable. I see no 
 inconvenience in the change which is at all material ; and 
 I only mention it here lest any future publisher, out of re- 
 gard to a superficial symmetry, should go back to the former 
 practice and so destroy the internal coherency of the present 
 plan. 
 
 It may be thought perhaps that in arranging the works 
 which were to form parts of the Great Instauration, I ought 
 to have followed the order laid down in the Distributio Ope- 
 ris, marshaling them according to their place in the scheme 
 rather than the date of composition j and therefore that the 
 De Augmentis Scientiarum which was meant to stand for 
 the first part, should have been placed before the two books 
 of the Novum Organum, which were meant for the com- 
 mencement of the second. But the truth is that not one of 
 the parts of the Great Instauration was completed according 
 to the original design. All were more or less abortive. In 
 every one of them, the De Augmentis and the Novum Or- 
 ganum itself not excepted, accidental difficulties, and con- 
 siderations arising out of the circumstances of the time, 
 interfered more or less with the first intention and induced 
 alterations either in form or substance or both. They can- 
 not be made to fit their places in the ideal scheme. ,It was 
 the actual conditions of Bacon's life that really moulded them 
 into what they are ; and therefore the most natural order in 
 which they can be presented is that in which they stand here; 
 first, the Distributio Qperis, setting forth the perfect work 
 as he had conceived it in his mind, and then the series of
 
 OF THIS EDITION. xiii 
 
 imperfect and irregular efforts which he made to execute it, 
 in the order in which they were made. 
 
 The text has heen corrected throughout from the original 
 copies, and no verbal alteration (except in case of obvious 
 errors of the press) has been introduced into it without 
 notice. The spelling in the English works has been altered 
 according to modern usage. I have endeavoured however 
 to distinguish those variations which belong merely to the 
 fashion of orthography from those which appear to involve 
 changes in the forms of words. Thus in such words as 
 president (the invariable spelling in Bacon's time of the 
 substantive which is now invariably written precedent, and 
 valuable as showing that the pronunciation of the word has 
 not changed), prejudice, fained, mathematiques, chymist, 
 &c., I adopt the modern form ; but I do not substitute lose 
 for leese, politicians for politiques, external for externe, 
 Solomon for Salomon, accommodated for the past participle 
 accommodate ; and so on ; these being changes in the words 
 themselves and not merely in the manner of writing them. 
 In the spelling of Latin words there are but few differences 
 between ancient and modern usage ; but I have thought it 
 better to preserve the original form of all words which in 
 the original are always or almost always spelt in the same 
 way ; nsfcetix, author, chymista, chymicus, Sfc. 
 
 In the matter of punctuation and typography, though I 
 have followed the example of all modern editors in altering 
 at discretion, I have not attempted to reduce them entirely 
 to the modern form ; which I could not have done without 
 sometimes introducing ambiguities of construction, and some- 
 times deciding questions of construction which admit of 
 doubt. But I have endeavoured to represent the effect of 
 the original arrangement to a modern eye, with as little 
 departure as possible from modern fashions. I say endea- 
 voured ; for I cannot say that I have succeeded in satisfying 
 even myself. But to all matters of this kind I have at- 
 tended personally ; and though I must not suppose that my 
 mind has observed everything that my eyes have looked at,
 
 XIV HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 I am not without hope that the text of this edition will be 
 found better and more faithful than any that has hitherto 
 been produced. 
 
 It was part of our original design to append to the Philo- 
 sophical works an accurate and readable translation of those 
 originally written in Latin ; at least of so much of them as 
 would suffice to give an English reader a complete view of 
 the Baconian philosophy. Mr. Ellis made a selection for 
 this purpose. Arrangements were made accordingly ; and 
 a translation of the Novum Organum was immediately be- 
 gun. As successive portions were completed, they were for- 
 warded in the first instance to myself ; were by me carefully 
 examined ; and then passed on to Mr. Ellis, accompanied 
 with copious remarks and suggestions of my own in the 
 way of correction or improvement. Of these corrections 
 Mr. Ellis marked the greater part for adoption, improved 
 upon others, added many of his own, and then returned the 
 manuscript to be put into shape for the printer. But as he 
 was not able to look over it again after it had received the 
 last corrections, and as the translator did not wish to put 
 his own name to it, and as this edition was to contain 
 nothing for which somebody is not personally responsible, I 
 have been obliged to take charge of it myself. In my final 
 revision I have been careful to preserve all Mr. Ellis's cor- 
 rections which affect the substance and sense of the trans- 
 lation. In matters which concern only the style and manner of 
 expression, I have thought it better to follow my own taste ; 
 a mixture of different styles being commonly less agreeable 
 to the reader, and mine (as the case now stands) being 
 necessarily the predominating one. For the same reason I 
 have altered at discretion the translation of the prefaces, &c. 
 which precede the Novum Organum ; which were done by 
 another hand, and have not had the advantage of Mr. Ellis's 
 revision. For those which follow, the translator (Mr. Francis 
 Headlam, Fellow of University College, Oxford) will himself 
 be responsible.
 
 OF THIS EDITION. XV 
 
 Though this volume is already twice as thick as I would 
 have had it, I must add a few words concerning 1 the portraits 
 of Bacon ; a subject which has not received the attention which 
 it deserves, and upon which, if picture-dealers arid collectors 
 and inheritors of family portraits would take an interest in it, 
 some valuable light might probably be thrown. 
 
 The portrait in the front of the volume is taken from an 
 old engraving by Simon Pass ; which came, (as Mr. Smith 
 of Lisle Street informed me, from whom I bought it some 
 years ago,) out of a broken-up copy of Holland's Baziliologia. 1 
 The original has a border, bearing the words HONORATISS : 
 
 D s . FRANCISCUS BACON '. EQUES AU : MAG : SIGILL ! ANGL '. 
 
 cusTos. Above are his arms, with the motto MONITI ME- 
 LIORA. Below the chancellor's bag, on which the left hand 
 rests. These accessories, as being presumably the device of 
 the engraver and not suitable to the modern style which has 
 been preferred for the copy, have been dispensed with ; but 
 the inscription underneath lias been copied verbatim 2 , and 
 enables us to fix the date of the work. Bacon was created 
 Lord Chancellor on the 4th of January, 1617-18, and Baron 
 Verulam on the 1 2th of the following July ; and as it is not 
 to be supposed that his newest title would have been omitted 
 on such an occasion, we may infer with tolerable certainty 
 that the engraving was published during the first half of the 
 year 1618. Below this inscription are engraved in small 
 letters the words " Simon Passceus sculpsit L. Are to be 
 sould by John Sudbury and George Humble at the signe 
 of the white horse in Pope's head Ally" The plate ap- 
 pears to have been used afterwards for a frontispiece to the 
 Sylva Sylvarum, which was published in 1627, the year 
 after Bacon's death. At least I have a copy of the second 
 
 1 This work was published in 1618; and though one would not expect from the 
 title to find Bacon there, Brunet mentions a copy in the Biblioth. du Roi at Paris 
 " qui, outre les portraits qui composent ordinairement. le recueil, renferme encore 
 d'autres portraits du meme genre, representants des reines, des princes du sang, et des 
 seigneurs de la cour des Rois Jacques I er et Charles I or ," &c. The copy in the British 
 Museum has no portrait of Bacon ; but as the plates are not numbered, and there is 
 no table of contents, one cannot be sure that any copy is perfect. 
 
 2 The righte Honourable S r Frauncis Bacon knight, Lorde highe Chance-Hour of 
 Englande and one of his Ma* 1 " most hon bl privie Counsel!.
 
 xvi HISTORY AND FLAN 
 
 edition of that work (1628) in which the same print is in- 
 serted, only with the border and inscription altered ; the 
 title which originally surrounded it, together with the Chan- 
 cellor's bag and the names of the engraver and publishers, 
 being erased ; the coat of arms altered ; and the words 
 underneath being changed to The riyht Hon ble Francis Lo. 
 Verulam> Viscount S* Alban. Mortuus 9 Aprilis, Anno 
 Dm 1626, Annoy. Aetat. 66. It is probable that the rapid 
 demand for the Sylva Sylmrum wore out the plate ; for 
 none of the later editions which I have seen contain any 
 portrait at all ; and that which was prefixed to the Resus- 
 citatio in 1657, though undoubtedly meant to be a fac-simile 
 of Simon Pass's engraving, has been so much altered in 
 the process of restoration, that I took it for a fresh copy 
 until Mr. Holl showed me that it was only the old plate 
 retouched. The lower part of the face has entirely lost its 
 individuality and physiognomical character ; the outline of 
 the right cheek has not been truly followed ; that of the nose 
 has lost its shapeliness and delicacy ; and the first line an d- 
 half of the inscription underneath has apparently been erased 
 in order to give the name and titles in Latin. Nevertheless 
 the adoption by Dr. Rawley of this print sufficiently authen- 
 ticates it as a likeness at that time approved ; only the like- 
 ness must of course be looked for in the plate as Sirnon 
 Pass left it, not in restorations or copies. This Mr. Holl 
 has endeavoured faithfully, and in my opinion very success- 
 fully, to reproduce ; it being understood however that his 
 aim has been to give as exact a resemblance as he could, 
 not of the old engraving (the style of which has little to 
 recommend it), but of the man whom the engraving repre- 
 sents. 
 
 I selected this likeness by preference, partly because ori- 
 ginal impressions are scarce, and none of the others which 
 I have seen give a tolerable idea of it; whereas the rival 
 portrait by Van Somer is very fairly represented by the en- 
 graving in Lodge's collection ; but chiefly because I have some 
 reason to suspect that it was made from a painting by Cornelius
 
 OF THIS EDITION. xvii 
 
 Janssen, and some hope that the original is still in existence 
 and that this notice may lead to the discovery of it. Janssen 
 is said to have come over to England in 1618, the year in 
 which, as I have said, the engraving must have been published, 
 Bacon did sit for his portrait to somebody (but it may no 
 doubt have been to Van Somer) about that time ; at least 331, 
 was " paid to the picture drawer for his Lp's picture," on the 
 12th of September, 161S. 1 Now I have in my possession 
 an engraving in mezzotinto, purporting to be a portrait of 
 Bacon, representing him in the same position and attitude, 
 and the same dress (only that the figure on the vest is dif- 
 ferent), and having a similar oval frame with the same kind 
 of border. In the left-hand corner, where the painter's 
 name is usually given, are the words Cornelius Johnson 
 pinxit. The engraver's name is not stated ; but there is 
 evidence on the face of the work that he was a poor per- 
 former. In all points which require accuracy of eye and 
 hand, and a feeling of the form to be described, it differs 
 much from Pass's work, and is very inferior ; but in those 
 which the most unskilful artist need never miss, such 
 as the quantity of face shown, the disposition of the hair, 
 and generally what may be called the composition of the pic- 
 ture, there is no more difference between the two than 
 may be well accounted for by the difficulty which is often 
 found in ascertaining the true outlines of the obscure parts 
 of a dark or damaged picture, or by the alterations which 
 an engraver will often introduce when the size of his plate 
 obliges him to cut off the lower part of the figure. The hat, 
 for instance, which is dark against a dark background, sits 
 differently on the head ; sits in fact (in the mezzotint) as 
 it could not possibly have done in nature ; and the flap of 
 the brim follows a somewhat different line, though the ir- 
 regularity is of the same kind ; also the light and shadow 
 are differently distributed over the folds of the frill ; the fur 
 hangs differently ; the figure is cut off too short to admit the 
 
 1 See a book of accounts preserved in the State Paper Office. 
 
 VOL. i. a
 
 xviii HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 hand ; and the ribbon round the neck, the lower part of 
 which is concealed in Pass's print, is changed into a George 
 and Garter. 1 But such varieties as these are of ordinary 
 occurrence in copies of the same picture by different hands ; 
 especially where one copier is attending chiefly to the out- 
 lines of the forms without caring to represent the effect of 
 the picture (the practice I think of engravers in Simon 
 Pass's time), and the other is attending to the effect of the 
 picture without caring, or without being able, to preserve 
 the individual details, according to the practice of the popu- 
 lar engravers of the eighteenth century ; whereas in two 
 independent and original portraits of the same face the cor- 
 respondencies which I have mentioned can hardly occur. 
 But however that may be, this mezzotinto appears at least 
 to prove that when it was made there was in existence a 
 portrait which somebody believed to be a portrait of Bacon 
 by Cornelius Johnson, that is (no doubt) Cornelius Janssen. 
 When it was made becomes therefore an interesting ques- 
 tion ; and I regret to say that it is a question which I have no 
 data for determining, beyond the fact that it is in mezzotinto 
 (an art of comparatively modern invention) ; that it was 
 "sold by J. Cooper in James Street Covent Garden ;" and 
 that there was an English engraver called Richard Cooper, 
 who flourished about the year iy63, and among whose en- 
 gravings a portrait of Francis Bacon Lord Keeper and 
 Chancellor is mentioned as one. 2 
 
 With reference to this subject of portraits, I may add that 
 the various engravings of Bacon are all (with one exception 
 which I will mention presently) derived directly or through 
 successive copies from one or other of two originals. One 
 is Simon Pass's print; the features of which may be traced 
 through many generations of copies, each less like than its 
 predecessor; though always to be identified by the hat with 
 irregular brim curving upwards towards the sides, and 
 
 1 If the original picture really has this badge, we may conclude, I suppose, that it 
 was not a portrait of Bacon at all. And I should not be very much surprised if it 
 turned out to be a Charles I. 
 
 ' See Bryan's Painters and Engraters.
 
 OF THIS EDITION. XIX 
 
 bound with a scarf. The other is a portrait by Van So- 
 mer; the same I suppose that Aubrey saw at Gorharnbury 
 in 1656; which has become the parent of two separate 
 families ; one wearing 1 a hat with a brim describing a regu- 
 lar curve doivnwards towards the sides, which sufficiently 
 distinguishes it from Pass's portrait ; the other without 
 any hat ; the composition being in other respects the same. 
 Of both these the originals are at Gorhambury ; and they 
 are both ascribed to Van Somer. But the latter is so very 
 inferior to the former in every quality of art, that unless 
 there be some evidence of the fact more to be relied on 
 than an ordinary family tradition, I shall never be able to 
 believe that it is by the same hand. It seems to me far 
 more probable that at some later period when the fashion of 
 painting people with the head covered had gone out, some 
 one, wishing to have a portrait of Bacon without his hat, 
 employed the nearest artist to make a copy of Van Somer's 
 picture (Van Somer himself died in 1621, two or three 
 years after it was painted, about the time when Bacon was in 
 the Tower) with that alteration j and that this is the work 
 he produced. That he was not a skilful artist is sufficiently 
 apparent from the execution of those parts which were in- 
 tended to be copies ; the peculiar character and expression 
 of eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth, being entirely missed ; 
 and the whole handling being weak and poor, and without 
 any sense of form. Moreover the hair is of a different 
 texture ; and although we have neither any description nor 
 any drawing of the upper part of Bacon's full-grown head, 
 we know what it was like in his boyhood from two very ad- 
 mirable representations, quite independent of each other and 
 yet exactly agreeing ; and it is plain that such a head could 
 never have grown into a shape at all like that which the 
 painter has invented. 
 
 However, they were both called portraits by Van Somer ; 
 and the first (which is a very good work, as far as the 
 painting goes) was engraved by Houbraken ; the last by 
 Vertue. Unfortunately, these two artists, whose style of
 
 XX HISTORY AND PLAN 
 
 execution made them very popular and gave them almost a 
 monopoly of English historical portraiture in the 18th cen- 
 tury, were both utterly without conscience in the matter of 
 likeness. And though many of their works are brilliant 
 specimens of effect in line-engraving, yet regarded as like- 
 nesses of the men, they are all alike worse than worthless. 
 The original from which Vertue's engraving of Bacon was 
 taken, being itself destitute of all true physiognomical cha- 
 racter, is indeed represented well enough. But if any one 
 wishes to form a notion of Bacon's face as interpreted by 
 Van Somer, he must consult the more modern engraving 
 in Lodge's collection, which is at least a conscientious at- 
 tempt to translate it faithfully; Houbraken's can only mis- 
 lead him. 
 
 The other engraving to which I have alluded as not derived 
 from either of the originals above mentioned, is the small 
 head engraved for Mr. Montagu's edition of Bacon's works. 
 This was taken from a miniature by Hilliard then in the 
 possession of John Adair Hawkins, Esq., representing Ba- 
 con in his eighteenth year ; a work of exquisite beauty and 
 delicacy. But here also, I regret to say, the laudable attempt 
 to bring an image of it within reach of the general public 
 has been attended with the same infelicity. The engraver 
 has so completely failed to catch either expression, feature, 
 character, or drawing, that I think no one can have once seen 
 the original without wishing, in justice both to subject and 
 artist, that no one who has not seen it may ever see the 
 copy. 
 
 Judging from the issue of Mr. Montagu's attempt to 
 obtain an engraving of this miniature, it is perhaps fortunate 
 that he did not fulfil the intention which he announced of 
 giving an engraving of a bust in terra cotta representing 
 Bacon in his twelfth year, which is at Gorhambury, in the 
 possession of the Earl of Verulam. But this also is a work 
 of great merit, and extremely interesting. It is coloured, 
 and (like Hilliard's miniature) shows the head. I have been 
 told by artists that it is probably of Italian workmanship j
 
 OF THIS EDITION. XXl 
 
 and certainly the work of an accomplished sculptor, who had 
 a delicate perception of form and character. A faithful re- 
 presentation of it would be one of the most valuable con- 
 tributions which could be made to our collections of the faces 
 of memorable men. 
 
 There are other portraits of Bacon in existence, but I have 
 not myself seen any which can be relied upon as authentic 
 or which appear to have any independent value. If the 
 foregoing' remarks should be the means of bringing any such 
 out of their hiding-places, I shall think them well bestowed ; 
 and I need scarcely add that I should be most happy to 
 receive any communication on the subject, and to afford what 
 help I can towards putting them in their true light. 
 
 JAMES SPEDDING. 
 
 60. Lincoln's Inn Fields, January, 1 85". 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 
 for 
 
 
 read 
 
 V.l. I. p. 46. note 4 
 
 Erdman 
 
 
 Erdmann. 
 
 72. note 1. 
 
 naturale 
 
 . 
 
 natural!. 
 
 75. note 1. 
 
 74. - : 
 
 . 
 
 73. 
 
 76. note 1. 
 
 law of gravitation 
 
 - 
 
 those laws. 
 
 210. note 2. 
 
 Aughiera 
 
 - 
 
 Anghiera. 
 
 218. note 1. line 11. 
 
 vel 
 
 . 
 
 id. 
 
 242. note 2. 
 
 a molluscous animal 
 
 serpent medusae . . . 
 
 ... is ... it de- 
 
 are . . . they derive 
 
 
 rives ... it 
 
 . 
 
 . . . them. 
 
 327. note 3. 
 
 Pancosmias 
 
 . 
 
 Pancosmia. 
 
 338. line 1. 
 
 Sic 
 
 - 
 
 Sit. 
 
 577. line 19. 
 
 dele 3. 
 
 
 
 758. line 5. 
 
 homino 
 
 - 
 
 homini. 
 
 771. note 5. 
 
 XpOTV 
 
 - 
 
 (tporov.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 Page 
 
 LIFE OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE FRANCIS BACON, BARON 
 
 OF VERULAM, BY WILLIAM RAWLEY, D.D. - 1 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 
 
 GENERAL PREFACE to the PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS, by ROBERT 
 
 LESLIE ELLIS - - - - - -21 
 
 PART I. 
 
 WORKS PUBLISHED, OR DESIGNED FOR PUBLICATION, AS 
 PARTS OF THE INSTAURATIO MAGNA. 
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE NOVUM ORGANUM, by ROBERT LESLIE ELLLIS 71 
 INSTAURATIO MAGNA - 119 
 Prsefatio 125 
 Distributio Operis - 134 
 PARS SECUNDA OPERIS, QU^E DICITUR NOVUM ORGANUM - 149 
 Prsefatio - 151 
 Aphorism! de Interpretations Naturae et Rcgno Hominis 157 
 Liber Secundus Aphorismorum de Interpretatione Na- 
 turae sive de Regno Hominis ... 227
 
 xxiv CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 taf 
 
 PARASCEVE AD IIISTORIAM NATURALEM 
 ET EXPERIMENTALEM. 
 
 PREFACE - - 369 
 
 DESCRIPTIO HISTORIC NATDRALIS ET EXPERIMENTALIS QUALIS 
 SUFFICIAT ET SIT IN ORDINE AD BASIN ET FUNDAMENTA 
 
 PHILOSOPHISE VER^ - - - 393 
 
 APHORISMI DE CONFICIENDA HISTORIA PRTMA - - 395 
 
 CATALOGITS HISTORIARUM PARTICULARIUM, SECUNDUM CAPITA 405 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM. 
 
 PREFACE - - - 415 
 
 PARTITIONES SCIENTIARUM, ET ARGUMENTA SINGULORUJI CA- 
 
 PITUM - - 425 
 
 DE DlGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Liber primus - - 431 
 
 secundus - 485 
 
 tortius - 539 
 
 quartus - - 579 
 
 quintus - 614 
 
 sextus - - 651 
 
 septimus - 713 
 
 octavus - - 745 
 
 nonus - - 829 
 
 Novus ORBIS SCIENTIARUM, SIVE DESIDERATA - 8.38 
 
 APPENDIX ON THE ART OF WRITING IN CIPHER - - 841
 
 THE 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 FRANCIS BACON, 
 
 BARON OF VERULAM, VISCONNT ST. ALBAN. 
 
 WILLIAM RAVLEY, D.D. 
 
 HIS LORDSHIP'S FIRST AND LAST CHAPLAIN AND OF LATE HIS 
 MAJESTIES CHAPLAIN IN ORDINARY. 
 
 [This is the title of an edition printed in 1670, after Dr. Rawley's death, and pre- 
 fixed to the ninth edition of the Sylva Sylvarum. The text of the Life itself is taken 
 from the second edition of the Resuscitatio, the latest with which Rawley had anything 
 to do. I have, however, modernised the spelling ; altered at discretion the typographical 
 arrangement as to capitals, italics, and punctuation, which is very perplexing to a 
 modern eye and has nothing to recommend it ; and added the notes. J. S 1 .] 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 THE HONOURABLE AUTHOR, 1 
 
 FRANCIS BACON, the glory of his age and nation, the adorner 
 and ornament of learning, was born in York House, or York 
 Place, in the Strand, on the two and twentieth day of January, 
 in the year of our Lord 1560. His father was that famous 
 counsellor to Queen Elizabeth, the second prop of the kingdom 
 in his time, Sir Nicholas Bacon, knight, lord-keeper of the 
 great seal of England ; a lord of known prudence, sufficiency, 
 moderation, and integrity. His mother was Anne, one of the 
 (laughters of Sir Anthony Cook ; unto whom the erudition of 
 King Edward the Sixth had been committed ; a choice lady, 
 and eminent for piety, virtue, and learning^; being exquisitely 
 skilled, for a woman, in the Greek and Latin tongues. These 
 being the parents, you may easily imagine what the issue was 
 like to be ; having had whatsoever nature or breeding could put 
 into him. 
 
 His first and childish years were not without some mark of 
 eminency ; at which time he was endued with that pregnancy 
 and towardness of wit, as they were presages of that deep and 
 universal apprehension which was manifest in him afterward ; 
 and caused him to be taken notice of by several persons of 
 worth and place, and especially by the queen ; who (as I have 
 been informed) delighted much then to confer with him, and to 
 
 1 This Life was first, published in 1657, as an introduction to the volume enti- 
 tled " Resuscitatio ; or bringing into public Ijpht several pieces of the works, civil, 
 historical, philosophical, and theological, hitherto sleeping, of the Right Honour- 
 able Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Alban ; according to the best 
 corrected copies." Of this volume a second edition, or rather a re-issue with 
 fresh titlepage and dedication, and several sheets of new matter inserted, appeared 
 in 1661 ; the "Life of the Honourable Author" being prefixed as before, and not 
 altered otherwise than by the introduction of three new sentences ; to make room for 
 which two leaves were cancelled. A third edition was brought out in 1671 by the 
 original publisher, containing a good deal of new matter ; for which however Dr. 
 Rawley, who died in 1667, is not answerable. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 prove him with questions; unto whom he delivered himself 
 with that gravity and maturity above his years, that Her Majesty 
 would often term him, The young Lord-keeper. Being asked 
 by the queen how old he teas, he answered with much discre- 
 tion, being then but a boy, That he was two years younger than 
 Her Majesty's happy reign ; with which answer the queen was 
 much taken. 1 
 
 At the ordinary years of ripeness for the university, or rather 
 something earlier, he was sent by his father to Trinity College, 
 in Cambridge 2 , to be educated and bred under the tuition of 
 Doctor John White-gift, then master of the college ; afterwards 
 the renowned archbishop of Canterbury ; a prelate of the first 
 magnitude for sanctity, learning, patience, and humility ; under 
 whom he was observed to have been more than an ordinary 
 proficient in the several arts and sciences. Whilst he was 
 commorant in the university, about sixteen years of age, (as 
 his lordship hath been pleased to impart unto myself), he first 
 fell into the dislike of the philosophy of Aristotle; not for the 
 worthlessness of the author, to whom he would ever ascribe all 
 high attributes, but for the unfruitfulness of the way ; being a 
 philosophy (as his lordship used to say) only strong for disputa- 
 tions and contentions, but barren of the production of works 
 for the benefit of the life of man ; in which mind he continued 
 to his dying day. 
 
 After he had passed the circle of the liberal arts, his father 
 thought fit to frame and mould him for the arts of state ; and 
 for that end sent him over into France with Sir Amyas Paulet 
 then employed ambassador lieger into France 3 ; by whom he 
 was after awhile held fit to be entrusted with some message or 
 advertisement to the queen ; which having performed with 
 great approbation, he returned back into France again, with 
 intention to continue for some years there. In his absence in 
 France his father the lord-keeper died 4 , having collected (as I 
 
 1 This last sentence was added hr^ne edition of 1661. The substance of it had 
 appeared before in the Latin Life prefixed to the Opuscula Philosophica in 1658, which 
 is only a free translation of this, with a few corrections. 
 
 2 He began to reside in April 1573 ; was absent from the latter end of August 
 1574 till the beginning of March, while the plague raged; and left the university 
 finally at Christmas 1575, being then on the point of sixteen. See Whitgift's ac- 
 counts, printed in the British Magazine, vol. xxxii. p. 365., an.d xxxiii. p. 444. 
 
 3 Sir Amyas landed at Calais on the 25th of September 1576, and succeeded Dr. 
 Dale as ambassador in France in the following February. See Burghley's Diary, 
 Murdin, pp. 778, 779. 
 
 4 In February
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 5 
 
 have heard of knowing^ persons) a considerable sum of money, 
 which he had separated, with intention to have made a compe- 
 tent purchase of land for the livelihood of this his youngest son 
 (who was only unprovided for ; and though he was the youngest 
 in years, yet he was not the lowest in his father's affection) ; but 
 the said purchase being unaccomplished at his father's death, 
 there came no greater share to him than his single part and 
 portion of the money dividable amongst five brethren; by 
 which means he lived in some straits and necessities in his 
 younger years. For as for that pleasant site and manor of Gor- 
 humbury, he came not to it till many years after, by the death of 
 his dearest brother, Mr. Anthony Bacon l , a gentleman equal to 
 him in height of wit, though inferior to him in the endowments 
 of learning and knowledge; unto whom he was most nearly 
 conjoined in affection, they two being the sole male issue of a 
 second venter. 
 
 Being returned from travel, he applied himself to the study 
 of the common law, which he took upon him to be his pro- 
 fession 2 ; in which he obtained to great excellency, though he 
 made that (as himself said) but as an accessary, and not his 
 principal study. He wrote several tractates upon that sub- 
 ject: wherein, though some great masters of the law did out-go 
 him in bulk, and particularities of cases, yet in the science of 
 the grounds and mysteries of the law he was exceeded by none. 
 In this way he was after awhile sworn of the queen's council 
 learned, extraordinary ; a grace (if I err not) scarce known be- 
 fore. 3 He seated himself, for the commodity of his studies and 
 
 1 Anthony Bacon died in the spring of 1601. See a letter from Mr. John Cham- 
 berlain to Sir Dudley Carlton, in the State Paper Office, dated 27th May 1601. 
 
 2 He had been admitted to Gray's Inn as "ancient" on the 21st of November 
 1576 ; commenced his regular career as a student in 1579 ; became " utter barrister " 
 on the 27th of June 1582; bencher in 1586; reader in 1588; and double reader 
 in 1600. See Harl. MSS. 1912. 
 
 9 In the Latin version of this memoir, for " after a while " Rawley substitutes 
 nondum tyrocinium in lege egressus, by which he seems to assign a very early period 
 as the date of this appointment. But I suspect he was mistaken, both as to the date 
 and the nature of it. The title he got no doubt from a letter addressed by Bacon to 
 King James, about the end of January 16201. "You found me of the Learned 
 Council, Extraordinary, without patent or fee, a kind of individuum vagum. You 
 established me and brought me into Ordinary." Coupling this probably with an 
 early but undated letter to Burghley, in which Bacon thanks the queen for " ap- 
 propriating him to her service," he imagined that the thanks were for the appoint- 
 ment in question. This however is incredible. A copy of this letter in the Lands- 
 downe Collection gives the date, 18 October 1580; at which time Bacon had not 
 been even a student of law for more than a year and a half, and could not therefore 
 have been qualified for such a place ; still less could such a distinction have been 
 conferred upon him without being much talked of at the time and continually re- 
 ferred to afterwards. Moreover, we have another letter of Bacon's to King James, 
 
 B 3
 
 6 DR. RAWLEYS LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 practice, amongst the Honourable Society of Gray's-Inn, of 
 which house he was a member ; where he erected that elegant 
 pile or structure commonly known by the name of The Lord 
 Bacon's Lodgings, which he inhabited by turns the most part of 
 his life (some few years only excepted) unto his dying day. In 
 which house he carried himself with such sweetness, comity, and 
 generosity, that he was much revered and beloved by the 
 readers and gentlemen of the house. 
 
 Notwithstanding that he professed the law for his livelihood 
 and subsistence, yet his heart and affection was more carried 
 after the affairs and places of estate ; for which, if the majesty 
 royal then had been pleased, he was most fit. In his younger 
 years he studied the service and fortunes (as they call them) of 
 that noble but unfortunate earl, the Earl of Essex ; unto whom 
 he was, in a sort, a private and free counsellor, and gave him safe 
 and honourable advice, till in the end the earl inclined too much 
 to the violent and precipitate counsel of others his adherents 
 and followers ; which was his fate and ruin. 1 
 
 His birth and other capacities qualified him above others of 
 his profession to have ordinary accesses at court, and to come 
 frequently into the queen's eye, who would often grace him 
 with private and free communication, not only about matters of 
 his profession or business in law, but also about the arduous 
 affairs of estate ; from whom she received from time to time 
 
 written in 1606, in which he speaks of his "nine years' service of the crown." This 
 would give 1597 as the year in which he began to serve as one of the learned 
 council ; at which time it was no extraordinary favour, seeing that he had been 
 recommended for solicitor-general three or four years before, both by Burghley an<l 
 Egerton. It appears however to have been no regular or formal appointment He 
 was not sworn. He had no patent ; not even a written warrant. His tenure was only 
 rations verbi regii Elizabethan (see Rymer, A. D. 1604, p. 121.), Elizabeth, who 
 " looked that her word should be a warrant," chose to employ him in the business 
 which belonged properly to her learned council, and he was employed accordingly. 
 His first service of that nature, the first at least of which I find any record, was in 
 1694. In 1597 he had come to be employed regularly, and so continued till the end 
 of the reign, and was familiarly spoken of as " Mr. Bacon of the learned council." 
 
 1 The connexion between Bacon and Essex appears to have commenced about the 
 year 1590 or 1591, and furnishes matter for a long story too long to be discussed 
 in a note. His conduct was much misunderstood at the time by persons who had no 
 means of knowing the truth, and has been much misrepresented since by writers who 
 eannot plead that excuse. The case is not however one on which a unanimous 
 verdict can be expected. Always, where choice has to be made between fidelity to the state 
 and fidelity to a party or person, popular sympathy will run in favour of the man who 
 chooses the narrower duty ; for the narrower duty is not only easier to comprehend, 
 but, being seen closer, appears the larger of the two. But though sentiments will 
 continue to be divided, facts may be agieed upon ; and for the correction of all errors 
 in matter of fact, I must refer to the Occasional Works, where the whole story will ne- 
 cessarily come out in full detail. In the mean time I may say for myself that I have 
 no fault to find with Bacon for any part of his conduct towards Essex, and I think many 
 people will agree with me when they see the case fairly stated.
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 7 
 
 great satisfaction. Nevertheless, though she cheered him much 
 with the bounty of her countenance, yet she never cheered 
 him with the bounty of her hand ; having never conferred upon 
 him any ordinary place or means of honour or profit, save 
 only one dry reversion of the Register's Office in the Star 
 Chamber, worth about 1600/. per annum, for which he waited 
 in expectation either fully or near twenty years l ; of which 
 his lordship would say in Queen Elizabeth's time, That it was 
 like another man's ground buttalling upon his house, which might 
 mend his prospect, but it did not Jill his barn ; (nevertheless, in 
 the time of King James it fell unto him) ; which might be im- 
 puted, not so much to Her Majesty's averseness and disaffection 
 towards him, as to the arts and policy of a great statesman 
 then, who laboured by all industrious and secret means to 
 suppress and keep him down; lest, if he had ris,en, he might 
 have obscured his glory. 2 
 
 But though he stood long at a stay in the days of his mistress 
 Queen Elizabeth, yet after the change, and coming in of his new 
 master King James, he made a great progress ; by whom he 
 was much comforted in places of trust, honour, and revenue. 
 I have seen a letter of his lordship's to King James, wherein 
 he makes acknowledgment, That he was that master to him, that 
 had raised and advanced him nine times ; thrice in dignity, and 
 six times in office. His offices (as I conceive) were Counsel 
 Learned Extraordinary 3 to His Majesty, as be had been to 
 Queen Elizabeth ; King's Solicitor-General ; His Majesty's At- 
 torney-General ; Counsellor of Estate, being yet but Attorney; 
 Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal of England ; lastly, Lord Chan- 
 cellor ; which two last places, though they be the same in au- 
 thority and power, yet they differ in patent, height, and favour 
 of the prince ; since whose time none of his successors, until 
 
 1 The reversion, for which he considered himself indebted to Burghley, was 
 granted to him in October 1589. He succeeded to the office in July 1608. In the 
 Latin version Rawley adds that he administered it by deputy. 
 
 2 The person here alluded to is probably his cousin Robert Cecil, who, though he 
 always professed an anxiety to serve him, was supposed (apparently not without 
 reason) to have thrown obstacles secretly in the way of his advancement 
 
 3 See note 3. p. 5. Rawley should rather have said " counsel learned, no longer 
 extraordinary." It is true indeed that King James did at his first entrance confirm 
 Bacon by warrant under the sign manual in the same office which he had held under 
 Elizabeth by special commandment. But it was the " establishing him and bringing 
 him into ordinary" with a salary of 401., which he reckons as first in the series of 
 advancements. This was in 1604. He was made solicitor in 1 607, attorney in 1613, 
 counsellor of state in 1616, lord-keeper in 1617, lord chancellor in 1618. His 
 successive dignities were conferred respectively in 1603, 1618, and 1620-1. 
 
 B 4
 
 8 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 this present honourable lord l , did ever bear the title of Lord 
 Chancellor. His dignities were first Knight, then Baron of 
 Verulam ; lastly, Viscount St. Alban ; besides other good 
 gifts and bounties of the hand which His Majesty gave him, 
 both out of the Broad Seal and out of the Alienation Office 2 , to 
 the value in both of eighteen hundred pounds per annum ; 
 which, with his manor of Gorhambury, and other lands and 
 possessions near thereunto adjoining, amounting to a third part 
 more, he retained to his dying day. 
 
 Towards his rising years, not before, he entered into a mar- 
 ried estate, and took to wife Alice, one of the daughters and 
 coheirs of Benedict Barnham, Esquire and Alderman of Lon- 
 don; with whom he received a sufficiently ample and liberal 
 portion in marriage. 3 Children he had none ; which, though 
 they be the means to perpetuate our names after our deaths, yet 
 he had other issues to perpetuate his name, the issues of his 
 brain ; in which he was ever happy and admired, as Jupiter was 
 in the production of Pallas. Neither did the want of children 
 detract from his good usage of his consort during the inter- 
 marriage, whom he prosecuted with much conjugal love and 
 respect, with many rich gifts and endowments, besides a robe of 
 honour which he invested her withal ; which she wore unto her 
 dying day, being twenty years and more after his death. 4 
 
 The last five years of his life, being withdrawn from civil 
 affairs 5 and from an active life, he employed wholly in conteni- 
 
 1 Sir Edward Hyde, made Lord Chancellor June 1. 1660. This clause was added 
 in 1661 ; the leaf having been cancelled for the purpose. 
 
 2 Here the paragraph ended in the first edition. The rest was added in 1661. 
 
 8 It appears, from a manuscript preserved in Tenison's Library, that he had about 
 220Z, a-year with his wife, and upon her mother's death was to have about 140/. a-year 
 more. 
 
 4 By the " robe of honour " is meant, I presume, the title of viscountess. It appears 
 however that a few months before Bacon's death his wife had given him some cause 
 of grave offence. Special provision is made for her in the body of his will, but revoked 
 in a codicil, " for just and great causes," the nature of which is not specified. Soon 
 after his death she married Sir John Underwood, her gentleman -usher. She was buried 
 at Ey worth in Bedfordshire on the 29th of June 1650. 
 
 5 On the 3rd of May 1621, Bacon was condemned, upon a charge of corruption to 
 which he pleaded guilty, to pay a fine of 40.000/. ; to be imprisoned in the Tower 
 during the king's pleasure ; to be for ever incapable of sitting in parliament or holding 
 office in the state; and to be banished for life from the verge of the court. From that 
 time his only business was to find means of subsistence and of satisfying his creditors, 
 and to pursue his studies. 
 
 His offence was the taking of presents from persons who had suits in his court, in some 
 cases while the suit was still pending ; an act which undoubtedly amounted to corruption 
 as corruption was defined by the law. The degree of moral criminality involved in it is 
 not so easily ascertained. To judge of this, we should know, First, what was the under- 
 standing, open or secret, upon which the presents were given and taken, for a gift, 
 though it be given to a judge, is not necessarily in the nature of a bargain to pervert
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 9 
 
 plation and studies a thing whereof his lordship would often 
 speak during his active life, as if he affected to die in the shadow 
 and not in the light; which also may be found in several passages 
 of his works. In which time he composed the greatest part of 
 his books and writings, both in English and Latin, which I will 
 enumerate (as near as I can) in the just order wherein they 
 were written 1 : The History of the Reign .of King Henry the 
 Seventh; Abcedarium Naturae, or a Metaphysical piece which 
 is lost 2 ; Historia Ventorum ; Historia Vitas et Mortis ; His- 
 toria Demi et Rari, not yet printed 3 ; Historia Gravis et 
 Levis, which is also lost 4 ; a Discourse of a War with Spain; a 
 
 justice : Secondly, to what extent the practice was prevalent at the time, for it is a 
 rare virtue in a man to resist temptations to which all his neighbours yield : Thirdly, 
 how far it was tolerated, for a practice may be universally condemned and yet uni- 
 versally tolerated ; people may be known to be guilty of it and yet received in society 
 all the same : Fourthly, how it stood with regard to other abuses prevailing at the same 
 time, for it is hard to reform all at once, and it is one thing for a man to leave a 
 single abuse .unreformed while he is labouring to remove or resist greater ones, and 
 another thing to introduce it anew, or to leave all as it was, making no effort to remove 
 any. Now all this is from the nature of the case very difficult to ascertain. But the 
 whole question, as it regards Bacon's character, must be considered in connexion with 
 the rest of his political life, and will be fully discussed in its place in the Occasional 
 works; where all the evidence I can find shall be faithfully exhibited. In this place 
 it may be enough to say that he himself always admitted the taking of presents as he 
 had taken them to be indefensible, the sentence to be just, and the example salutary ; 
 and yet always denied that he had been an unjust judge, or " had ever had bribe or 
 reward in his eye or thought when he pronounced any sentence or order ; " and that I 
 cannot find any reason for doubting that this was true. It is stated, indeed, in a manu- 
 script of Sir Matthew Hale's, published by Hargrave, that the censure of Bacon " for 
 many decrees made upon most gross bribery and corruption .... gave such a dis- 
 credit and brand to the decrees thus obtained that they were easily set aside ; " and it 
 is true that some bills were brought into the House of Commons for the purpose of 
 setting aside such decrees ; but I cannot find that any one of them reached a third 
 reading ; and it is clear from Sir Matthew's own argument that he could not produce 
 an instance of one reversed by the House of Lords ; and if any had been reversed by a 
 royal commission appointed for the purpose (which according to his statement was the 
 only remaining way), it must surely have been heard of; yet where is the record of any 
 such commission ? Now if of all the decrees so discredited none were reversed, it is 
 difficult to resist the conclusion that they had all been made bond fide with regard only 
 to the merits of the cases, and were in fact unimpeachably just ; and we may believe 
 that Bacon pronounced a true judgment on his own case when he said to his friends 
 (as I find it recorded in a commonplace of Dr. Rawley's in the Lambeth Library), " I 
 was the justest judge that was in England these fifty years ; but it was the justest 
 censure in parliament that was these two hundred years." 
 
 1 In the Latin version Rawley adds, quam pnzsens observavi ; which gives this list 
 a peculiar value. 
 
 * A fragment of this piece was recovered and printed by Tenison in the Baconiana ; 
 and will appear in this edition after the Historia Ventorum, which it was intended to 
 accompany. 
 
 3 This was true in 1657 ; but it was printed the next year in the Opuscula 
 Philosophica and, therefore, for " not yet printed," the Latin version substitutes 
 
 jam primum typis mandata. In the edition of 1661 a corresponding alteration ought 
 to have been made in the English, but was not ; and as the words occur in one of 
 the cancelled leaves they must have been left by oversight. 
 
 4 This was probably the tract which Grater says he once had in his hands, and 
 which he describes as merely a skeleton, exhibiting heads of chapters not filled up. 
 " De Gravi et Let'*' in manibus hubui integrum et grande voluinen, sed quod, prater
 
 10 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 Dialogue touching an Holy War; the Fable of the New Atlantis; 
 a Preface to a Digest of the Laws of England ; the beginning 
 of the History of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth; De Aug- 
 mentis Scientiarum, or the Advancement of Learning, put into 
 Latin l , with several enrichments and enlargements ; Counsels 
 Civil and Moral, or his book of Essays, likewise enriched and 
 enlarged ; the Conversion of certain Psalms into English Verse ; 
 the Translation into Latin of the History of King Henry the 
 Seventh, of the Counsels Civil and Moral 2 , of the Dialogue of the 
 Holy War, of the Fable of the New Atlantis, for the benefit of 
 other nations 3 ; his revising of his book De Sapientid Vetc- 
 rum ; Inquisitio de Magnete ; Topica Inquisitionis de Luce et 
 Lumine ; both these not yet printed 4 ; lastly, Sylva Sylva- 
 rum, or the Natural History. These were the fruits and pro- 
 ductions of his last five years. His lordship also designed, upon 
 the motion and invitation of his late majesty, to have written 
 the reign of King Henry the Eighth ; but that work perished 
 in the designation merely, God not lending him life to proceed 
 farther upon it than only in one morning's work ; whereof there 
 is extant an ex ungue leonem, already printed in his lordship's 
 Miscellany Works. 
 
 There is a commemoration due as well to his abilities and 
 virtues as to the course of his life. Those abilities which com- 
 monly go single in other men, though of prime and observable 
 parts, were all conjoined and met in him. Those are, sharpness 
 of icit, memory, judgment, and elocution. For the former three 
 his books do abundantly speak them ; which 5 with what 
 
 nvdum delineate falrica compagem ex titulis materiam prout earn conceperat Baconus 
 absolventibus, nihil descriptions continebat." See his letter to Rawley, May 29. 1 652, in 
 the Baconiana, p. 223. 
 
 1 In this edition I have placed the De Augmentis before the Historic* Ventorum ; 
 because, though published after, it was prepared and arranged, and in that sense com- 
 posed, before. And in this view I am supported by a slight variation which is 
 introduced here in the Latin version, viz. " Intervenerat opus de Augment Scien- 
 tiarum," &c. 
 
 We learn also from the Latin version that Bacon worked at the translation of the 
 Advancement of Learning himself: tn quo e lingua vernaculd, proprio Marte, in JLa- 
 tiniim transferendo honoratissimus auctor plurimum desudavit. 
 
 2 These were the Essays as they appeared in the third and last edition ; but he 
 gave them a weightier title when he had them translated into " the general language:" 
 exinde dicli, sermones fidtles, sive interiora rerum. 
 
 * The Latin version adds, apud quos expeti audiverat. 
 
 * These words are omitted in the Latin version, and must have been left by over- 
 sight in the edition of 1661 ; for they occur in one of the cancelled leaves; and the 
 works in question had been printed in 1 658. The error is the more worth noticing 
 because it shows that wherever the English and the Latin differ, the Latin must be 
 regarded as the later and better authority. 
 
 5 The Latin version adds, vt de Julio Casare Hirlius,
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 11 
 
 sufficiency he wrote, let the world judge ; but with what 
 celerity he wrote them, I can best testify. But for the fourth, 
 his elocution, I will only set down what I heard Sir Walter 
 Raleigh once speak of him by way of comparison (whose 
 judgment may well be trusted), That the Earl of Salisbury 
 was an excellent speaker, but no good penman ; that the Earl of^ 
 Northampton (the Lord Henry Howard} was an excellent- penman, 
 but no good speaker ; but that Sir Francis Bacon was eminent 
 in both. 
 
 I have been induced to think, that if there were a beam of 
 knowledge derived from God upon any man in these modern 
 times, it was upon him. For though he was a great reader of 
 books, yet he had not his knowledge from books 1 , but from 
 some grounds and notions from within himself ; which, notwith- 
 standing, he vented with great caution and circumspection. His 
 book of Instauratio Magna 2 (which in his own account was the 
 chiefest of his works) was no slight imagination or fancy of his 
 brain, but a settled and concocted notion, the production of 
 many years' labour and travel. I myself have seen at the least 
 twelve copies of the Instauration, revised year by year one after 
 another, and every year altered and amended in the frame 
 thereof, till at last it came to that model in which it was com- 
 mitted to the press ; as many living creatures do lick their 
 young ones, till they bring them to their strength of limbs. 
 
 In the composing of his books he did rather drive at a mas- 
 culine and clear expression than at any fineness or affectation of 
 phrases, and would often ask if the meaning were expressed 
 plainly enough, as being one that accounted words to be but 
 subservient or ministerial to matter, and not the principal. 
 And if his style were polite 3 , it was because he would do no 
 otherwise. Neither was he given to any light conceits, or 
 descanting upon words, but did ever purposely and industriously 
 avoid them ; for he held such things to be but digressions or 
 diversions from the scope intended, and to derogate from the 
 weight and dignity of the style. 
 
 1 f. e. not from books only : Ex libris tamen soils scientiam suarn deprompsuse 
 haudquaquam concedere licet. 
 
 2 For Instauratio Magna in this place, and also for Instauration a few lines further 
 on, the Latin version substitutes Novum Organum. Rawley, when he spoke of the 
 Instauration, was thinking, no doubt, of the volume in which the Novum Organum 
 first appeared, and which contains all the pieces that stand in this edition before the 
 De Augmentis. 
 
 3 The Latin version adds : Siquidem apud nost rates eloquii Anglicani artifex habitus 
 est.
 
 12 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 He was no plodder upon books ; though he read much, and 
 that with great judgment, and rejection of impertinences inci- 
 dent to many authors ; for he would ever interlace a moderate 
 relaxation of his mind with his studies, as walking, or taking 
 the air abroad in his coach *, or some other befitting recreation ; 
 and yet he would lose no time, inasmuch as upon his first and 
 immediate return he would fall to reading again, and so suffer 
 no moment of time to slip from him without some present 
 improvement. 
 
 His meals were refections of the ear as well as of the stomach, 
 like the Nodes Atticce, or Convivia Deipno-sophistarum, wherein 
 a man might be refreshed in his mind and understanding no less 
 than in his body. And I have known some, of no mean parts, 
 that have professed to make use of their note-books when they 
 have risen from his table. In which conversations, and other- 
 wise, he was no dashing man 2 , as some men are, but ever a 
 countenancer and fosterer of another man's parts. Neither was 
 he one that would appropriate the speech wholly to himself, or 
 delight to outvie others, but leave a liberty to the co-assessors 
 to take their turns. Wherein he would draw a man on and 
 allure him to speak upon such a subject, as wherein he was 
 peculiarly skilful, and would delight to speak. And for himself, 
 he contemned no man's observations, but would light his torch 
 at every man's candle. 
 
 His opinions and assertions were for the most part binding, 
 and not contradicted by any ; rather like oracles than discourses ; 
 which may be imputed either to the well weighing of his sen- 
 tence by the scales of truth and reason, or else to the reverence 
 and estimation wherein he was commonly had, that no man 
 would contest with him ; so that there was no argumentation, 
 or pro and con (as they term it), at his table: or if there 
 chanced to be any, it was carried with much submission and 
 moderation. 
 
 I have often observed, and so have other men of great account, 
 that if he had occasion to repeat another man's words after him, 
 he had an use and faculty to dress them in better vestments and 
 
 1 In the Latin version Rawley adds gentle exercise on horseback and playing at 
 bowls : Equitationem, non citam sed lentam, globorum lusum, et id genus exercitia. 
 
 2 The word dash is used here in the same sense in which Costard uses it in Love's 
 Labour's Lost : " There, an't please you ; a foolish, mild man ; an honest man, 
 look you, and soon dashed : " Rawley means that Bacon was not a man who used his 
 wit, as some do, to put his neighbours out of countenance : Convivantium neminem out 
 altos colloqucnlium pudore suffundere glorias sibi duxit, siciit nonnulli gestiunt.
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 13 
 
 apparel than tljy had before; so that the author should find his 
 own speech much amended, and yet the substance of it still 
 retained l ; as if it had been natural to him to use good forms, 
 as Ovid spake of his faculty of versifying, 
 
 " Et quod tentabam scribere, versus erat." 
 
 When his office called him, as he was of the king's council 
 learned, to charge any offenders, either in criminals or capitals, 
 he was never of an insulting and domineering nature over them, 
 but always tender-hearted, and carrying himself decently towards 
 the parties (though it was his duty to charge them home), but 
 yet as one that looked upon the example with the eye of severity, 
 but upon the person with the eye of pity and compassion. And 
 in civil business, as he was counsellor of estate, he had the best 
 way of advising, not engaging his master in any precipitate or 
 grievous courses, but in moderate and fair proceedings : the 
 king whom he served giving him this testimony, That he ever 
 dealt in business suavibus modis ; which ivas the way that was 
 most according to his own heart. 
 
 Neither was he in his time less gracious with the subject than 
 with his sovereign. He was ever acceptable to the House 
 of Commons 2 when he was a member thereof. Being the king's 
 attorney, and chosen to a place in parliament, he was allowed 
 and dispensed with to sit in the House; which was not permitted 
 to other attorneys. 
 
 1 This is probably the true explanation of a habit of Bacon's which seems at first 
 sight a fault, and perhaps sometimes is; and of which a great many instances -have 
 been pointed out by Mr. Ellis ; a habit of inaccurate quotation. In quoting an 
 author's words, especially where he quotes them merely by way of voucher for his 
 own remark, or in acknowledgment of the source whence he derived it, or to suggest 
 an allusion which may give a better effect to it, he very often quotes inaccurately. 
 Sometimes, no doubt, this was unintentional, the fault of his memory ; but more 
 frequently, I suspect, it was done deliberately, for the sake of presenting the substance 
 in a better form, or a form better suited to the particular occasion. In citing the 
 evidence of witnesses, on the contrary, in support of a narrative statement or an argu- 
 ment upon matter of fact, he is always very careful. 
 
 8 The Latin version adds, in quo seepe peroravit, non sine magno applausu ; a state- 
 ment of the truth of which abundant evidence may be found in all the records which 
 remain of the proceedings of the House of Commons. The first parliament in which 
 he sate was that of 1584 : after which he sate in every parliament that was summoned 
 up to the time of his fall. 
 
 As an edition of Bacon would hardly be complete unless it contained Ben Jonson's 
 famous description of his manner of speaking, I shall insert it here: " Yet there 
 hflppened in my time one noble speaker, who was full of gravity in his speaking. His 
 language (where he could spare or pass by a jest) was nobly censorious. No man ever 
 spake more neatly, more pressly, more weightily, or suffered less emptiness, less idle- 
 ness, in what he uttered. No member of his speech but consisted of his own graces. 
 His hearers could not cough, or look aside from him, without loss. He commanded 
 where he spoke ; and had his judges angry and pleased at his devotion. No man had
 
 14 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 And as he was a good servant to his master-being never in 
 nineteen years' service (as himself averred) rebuked by the 
 king for anything relating to His Majesty, so he was a good 
 master to his servants, and rewarded their long attendance with 
 good places freely l when they fell into his power ; which was 
 the cause that so many young gentlemen of blood and quality 
 sought to list themselves in his retinue. And if he were abused 
 by any of them in their places, it was only the error of the 
 goodness of his nature, but the badges of their indiscretions and 
 intemperances. 
 
 This lord was religious : for though the world be apt to sus- 
 pect and prejudge great wits and politics to have somewhat of 
 the atheist, yet he was conversant with God, as appeareth by 
 several passages throughout the whole current of his writings. 
 Otherwise he should have crossed his own principles, which 
 were, That a little philosophy maketh men apt to forget God, as 
 attributing too much to second causes ; but depth of philosophy 
 bringeth a man back to God again. Now I am sure there is no 
 man that will deny him, or account otherwise of him, but to 
 have him been a deep philosopher. And not only so ; but he 
 was able to render a reason of the hope which was in hi.n, which 
 that writing of his of the Confession of the Faith doth abundantly 
 testify. He repaired frequently, when his health would permit 
 him, to the service of the church, to hear sermons, to the admi- 
 nistration of the sacrament of the blessed body and blood of 
 Christ; and died in the true faith, established in the church of 
 England. 
 
 This is most true he was free from malice, which (as he 
 said himself) he never bred nor fed.* He was no revenger of 
 
 their affections more in his power. The fear of every man that heard him was lest he 
 should make an end." Discoveries : under title Dominus Verulamius. 
 
 1 Gratis, in the Latin version ; i.e. without taking any money for them ; an unusit;il 
 thing in Bacon's time, when the sale of offices was a principal source of all great men's 
 incomes. 
 
 2 " He said he had breeding swans and feeding swans ; but for malice, he neither 
 bred it nor fed it." From a commonplace book of Dr. Rawley's in the Lambeth 
 Library. " Et posso dir," says Sir Tobie Matthew, in his dedication to Cosmo de' Medici 
 of an Italian translation of the Essays and Sapientia Veterum, 1618, " et posso dir 
 con verita (per haver io havuto 1* honore di pratticarlo molti anni, et quando era in 
 minoribus, et bora quando sta in colmo et fiore (tella sua grandezza) di non haver mai 
 scoperto in lui ammo di vendetta, per qualsivoglia sggravio che se gli fosse fatto ; ne 
 manco sentito uscirgli di bocca parola d' ingiuria contra veruno, che mi paresse veni-e 
 da passione contra la tal persona; ma solo (et questo ancora molto scarsamente) per 
 giudicio fattone in sangue freddo. Non e gia la sua grandezza quel che io ammiro, ma 
 la sua virtu; non sono li favori fattimi da lui (per inflniti che siano) che mi hanno 
 posto il cuore in questi ceppi et catene in che mi ritrovo ; ma si bene il suo procedere 
 in commune ; che se egli fosse di conditione inferiore, non potrei manco honorarlo, e 
 se mi fosse nemico io dovrei con tutto cio amar et procurar di servirlo."
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 15 
 
 injuries ; which if he had minded, he had both opportunity and 
 place high enough to have done it. He was no heaver of men 
 out of their places, as delighting in their ruin and undoing. He 
 was no defamer of any man to his prince. One day, when a 
 great statesman was newly dead, that had not been his friend, 
 the king asked him, What he thought of that lord which was gone? 
 he answered, That he would never have made His Majesty 's estate 
 better, but he was sure he would have kept it from being worse ; 
 which was the worst he would say of him: which I reckon not 
 among his moral, but his Christian virtues. 
 
 His fame is greater and sounds louder in foreign parts 
 abroad, than at home in his own nation; thereby verifying that 
 divine sentence, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own 
 country, and in his own house. Concerning which I will give 
 you a taste only, out of a letter written from Italy (the store- 
 house of refined wits) to the late Earl of Devonshire, then the 
 Lord Candish : / will expect the new essays of my Lord Chan- 
 cellor Bacon, as also his History, with a great deal of desire, and 
 whatsoever else he shall compose : but in particular of his History 
 I promise myself a thing perfect and singular, especially in Henry 
 the Seventh, where he may exercise the talent of his divine under- 
 standing. This lord is more and more known, and his books here 
 more and more delighted in ; and those men that have more than 
 ordinary knowledge in human affairs, esteem him one of the most 
 capable spirits of this age ; and he is truly such. Now his fame 
 doth not decrease with days since, but rather increase. Divers 
 of his works have been anciently and yet lately translated into 
 other tongues, both learned and modern, by foreign peris. 
 Several persons of quality, during his lordship's life, crossed the 
 seas on purpose to gain an opportunity of seeing him and dis- 
 coursing with him ; whereof one carried his lordship's picture 
 from head to foot 1 over with him into France, as a thing which 
 he foresaw would be much desired there, that so they might 
 enjoy the image of his person as well as the images of his brain, 
 his books. Amongst the rest, Marquis Fiat, a French noble- 
 man, who came ambassador into England, in the beginning 
 of Queen Mary, wife to King Charles, was taken with an 
 extraordinary desire of seeing him ; for which he made way by a 
 friend ; and when he came to him, being then through weakness 
 confined to his bed, the marquis saluted him with this high 
 
 1 This picture was presented to him by Bacon himself, according to the Latin 
 
 version.
 
 16 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 expression, That his lordship had been ever to him like the angels ; 
 of whom he had often heard, and read much of them in looks, 
 but he never saw them. After which they contracted an inti- 
 mate acquaintance, and the marquis did so much revere him, 
 that besides his frequent visits, they wrote letters one to the 
 other, under the titles and appellations of father and son. As 
 for his many salutations by letters from foreign worthies devoted 
 to learning, I forbear to mention them, because that is a thing 
 common to other men of learning or note, together with him. 
 
 But yet, in this matter of his fame, I speak in the compara- 
 tive only, and not in the exclusive. For his reputation is great in 
 his own nation also, especially amongst those that are of a more 
 acute and sharper judgment ; which I will exemplify but with 
 two testimonies and no more. The former, when his History of 
 King Henry the Seventh was to come forth, it was delivered to 
 the old Lord Brook, to be perused by him; who, when he had 
 dispatched it, returned it to the author with this eulogy, Com- 
 mend me to my lord, and bid him take care to get good paper 
 and ink, for the worR is incomparable. The other shall be that 
 of Doctor Samuel Collins, late provost of King's College in 
 Cambridge, a man of no vulgar wit, who affirmed unto me ! , 
 That ivhen he had read the book of the Advancement of Learning, 
 he found himself in a case to begin his studies anew, and that he 
 had lost all the time of his studying before, 
 
 It hath been desired, that something should be signified touch- 
 ing his diet, and the regimen of his health, of which*- in regard 
 of his universal insight into nature, he may perhaps be to some 
 an example. For his diet, it was rather a plentiful and liberal 
 diet, as his stomach would bear it, than a restrained ; which he 
 also commended in his book of the History of Life and Death. 
 In his younger years he was much given to the finer and lighter 
 sort of meats, as of fowls, and such like ; but afterward, when 
 he grew more judicious 2 , he preferred the stronger meats, such 
 as the shambles afforded, as those meats which bred the more 
 firm and substantial juices of the body, and less dissipable; upon 
 which he would often make his meal, though he had other 
 meats upon the table. You may be sure he would not neglect 
 that himself, which he so much extolled in his writings, and 
 
 1 In the Latin version Rawley has thought it worth while to add that this may 
 have been said playfully : Sive festive sive serio. 
 
 2 More judicious (that is) by experience and observation : experientia edoctus is the 
 expression in the Latin version.
 
 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 17 
 
 that was the use of nitre ; whereof he took in the quantity of 
 about three grains in thin warm broth every morning, for 
 thirty years together next before his death. And for physic, 
 he did indeed live physically, but not miserably ; for he took 
 only a maceration of rhubarb l , infused into a draught of white 
 wine and beer mingled together for the space of half an hour, 
 once in six or seven days, immediately before his meal (whether 
 dinner or supper), that it might dry the body less ; which (as 
 he said) did carry away frequently the grosser humours of the 
 body, and not diminish or carry away any of the spirits, as 
 sweating doth. And this was 110 grievous thing to take. As 
 for other physic, in an ordinary way (whatsoever hath been 
 vulgarly spoken) he took not. His receipt for the gout, which 
 did constantly ease him of his pain within two hours, is already 
 set down in the end of the Natural History. 
 
 It may seem the moon had some principal place in the figure 
 of his nativity : for the moon was never in her passion, or 
 eclipsed 2 , but he Avas surprised with a sudden fit of fainting ; 
 and that, though he observed not nor took any previous know- 
 ledge of the eclipse thereof; and as soon as the eclipse ceased, 
 he was restored to his former strength again. 
 
 He died on the ninth day of April in the year 1626, in the 
 early morning of the day then celebrated for our Saviour's 
 resurrection, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, at the Earl of 
 Arundel's house in Highgate, near London, to which place he 
 casually repaired about a week before ; God so ordaining that 
 
 1 In the Latin version Rawley gives the quantity : Rhalarbari sesquidrachmam. 
 
 2 Lord Campbell (who appears to have read Rawley's memoir only in the Latin, 
 where the words are quoties luna defecit sive eclipsin passa est), supposing defecit to 
 mean waned, discredits this statement, on the ground that "no instance is recorded 
 of Bacon's having fainted in public, or put off the hearing of any cause on account of 
 the change of the moon, or of any approaching eclipse, visible or invisible." And it is 
 true that if defectus lunce meant a change of the moon, or even a dark moon (which 
 it might have meant well enough if the Romans had not chosen to appropriate the 
 word to quite another meaning), the accident must have happened in public too often 
 to pass unnoticed. But Rawley was too good a scholar to misapply so common 
 a word in that way. He evidently speaks of eclipses only, and of eclipses visible at 
 the place. Now it is not at all likely that lunar eclipses visible at Westminster would 
 have coincided with important business in which Bacon was conspicuously engaged, 
 often enough (even if he did faint every time) to establish a connexion between the 
 two phenomena. Of course Rawley's statement is not sufficient to prove the reality of 
 any such connexion; but there is no reason to suppose it an invention, and it may 
 be fairly taken, I think, as evidence of the extreme delicacy of Bacon's temperament, 
 and its sensibility to the skiey influences. That Bacon himself never alluded to this 
 relation between himself and the moon is easily accounted for by supposing that he 
 was not satisfied of the fact. He may have observed the coincidence, and mentioned 
 it to Rawley ; and Rawley (whose commonplace book proves that he had a taste for 
 astrology) may have believed in the physical connexion, though Bacon himself did not. 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 18 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 
 
 he should die there of a gentle fever, accidentally accompanied 
 with a great cold, whereby the defluxion of rheum fell so plen- 
 tifully upon his breast, that he died by suffocation ; and was 
 buried in St. Michael's church at St. Albans ; being the place 
 designed for his burial by his last will and testament, both be- 
 cause the body of his mother was interred there, and because 
 it was the only church then remaining within the precincts of 
 old Verulam : where he hath a monument erected for him in 
 white marble (by the care and gratitude of Sir Thomas Meautys, 
 knight, formerly his lordship's secretary, afterwards clerk of the 
 King's Honourable Privy Council under two kings) ; represent- 
 ing his full portraiture in the posture of studying, with an in- 
 scription composed by that accomplished gentleman and rare 
 wit, Sir Henry Wotton. 1 
 
 But howsoever his body was mortal, yet no doubt his memory 
 and works will live, and will in all probability last as long as 
 the world lasteth. In order to which I have endeavoured (after 
 my poor ability) to do this honour to his lordship, by way of 
 conducing to the same. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 FRANCISCUS BACON, BARO DE VERULAM, S l . ALBANI VIC mes , 
 
 SEU NOTIORIBCS TITULIS 
 
 SCIENTIARCM LUMEN FACCNDLE LEX 
 
 SIC SEDEBAT. 
 
 QUI POSTQUAM OMNIA NATURALIS SAPIENTLffi 
 
 ET CIVILI8 ARCANA EVOLVISSET 
 
 NATURE DECRETUM EXPLEVIT 
 
 COMPOSITA SOLVANTUR 
 
 AN. DNI M.DC.XXVI. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 TANTI VIRI 
 MEM. 
 
 THOMAS MEAUTUS 
 
 SUPER8T1TI8 CDLTOR 
 
 DEFCNCTI ADMIRATOR 
 
 H. P.
 
 THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 FRANCIS BACON. 
 
 02
 
 GENERAL PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 BACON'S PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 
 
 BY KOBEKT LESLIE ELLIS. 
 
 (1.) OUR knowledge of Bacon's method is much less com- 
 plete than it is commonly supposed to be. Of the Novum 
 Organum, which was to contain a complete statement of its 
 nature and principles, we have only the first two books ; and 
 although in other parts of Bacon's writings, as for instance in 
 the Cogitata et Visa de Interpretatione Naturae, many of the 
 ideas contained in these books recur in a less systematic form, 
 we yet meet with but few indications of the nature of the sub- 
 jects which were to have been discussed in the others. It 
 seems not improbable that some parts of Bacon's system were 
 never perfectly developed even in his own mind. However 
 this may be, it is certain that an attempt to determine what his 
 method, taken as a whole, was or would have been, must neces- 
 sarily involve a conjectural or hypothetical element ; and it is, I 
 think, chiefly because this circumstance has not been suffi- 
 ciently recognised, that the idea of Bacon's philosophy has 
 generally speaking been but imperfectly apprehended. 
 
 (2.) Of the subjects which were to have occupied the re- 
 mainder of the Novum Organum we learn something from a 
 passage at the end of the second book. 
 
 " Nunc vero," it is said at the conclusion of the doctrine of 
 prerogative instances, " ad adniinicula et rectificationes induc- 
 tionis, et deinceps ad concreta, et latentes processus, et latentes 
 schematismos, et reliqua quse aphorismo xxi ordine proposui- 
 mus, pergendum." On referring to the twenty-first aphorism 
 we find a sort of table of contents of the whole work. " Dice- 
 
 c 3
 
 22 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 mus itaque primo loco, de praerogativis instantiarum ; secundo, 
 de adminiculis inductionis ; tertio, de rectificatione inductionis ; 
 quarto, de variatione inquisitionis pro natura subject! ; quinto, 
 de prserogativis naturarum quatenus ad inquisitionem, sive de 
 eo quod inquirendum est prius et posterius; sexto, de ter- 
 minis inquisitionis, sive de synopsi omnium naturarum in uni- 
 verso ; septimo, de deductione ad praxin, sive de eo quod est 
 in ordine ad hominem ; octavo, de parascevis ad inquisitionem ; 
 postremo autem, de scala ascensoria et descensoria axiomatum." 
 Of these nine subjects the first is the only one with which we 
 are at all accurately acquainted. 
 
 (3.) Bacon's method was essentially inductive. He rejected 
 the use of syllogistic or deductive reasoning, except when prac- 
 tical applications were to be made of the conclusions, axiomata, 
 to which the inquirer had been led by a systematic process 
 of induction. " Logica quae nunc habetur inutilis est ad inven- 
 
 tionem scientiaruin Spes est una in inductione vera." 1 
 
 It is to be observed that wherever Bacon speaks of an " ascend- 
 ing" process, he is to be understood to mean induction, of which 
 it is the character to proceed from that which is nobis notius to 
 that which is notius simpliciter. Contrariwise when he speaks 
 of a descent, he always refers to the correlative process of de- 
 duction. Thus when in the Partis secundce Delineatio he says, 
 . . . "meminerint homines in inquisitione activa" necesse esse 
 rem per scalam descensoriain (cujus usum in contemplativa sus- 
 tulimus) confici: omnis enim operatic in individuis versatur quae 
 infimo loco sunt," we are to understand that in Bacon's system 
 deduction is only admissible in the inquisitio activa ; that is, in 
 practical applications of the results of induction. Similarly in the 
 Distributio Operis he says, " Rejicimus syllogismum ; neque 
 id solum quoad principia (ad quae nee illi earn adhibent) sed 
 etiam quoad propositiones medias." Everything was to be esta- 
 blished by induction. " In constituendo autem axiomate forma 
 inductionis alia quam adhuc in usu fuit excogitanda est, eaque 
 non ad principia tantum (quse vocant) probanda et invenienda, 
 scd etiam ad axiomata minora, et media, denique omnia." 2 
 
 (4.) It is necessary to determine the relation in which Bacon 
 conceived his method to stand to ordinary induction. Both 
 methods set out " a sensu et particularibus," and acquiesce " in 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 11. and M. - Nov. Org. i. 105.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 23 
 
 maxime 1 generalibus ;" 1 but while ordinary induction proceeds 
 " per enumerationem simplicem," by a mere enumeration of par- 
 ticular cases, " et precario concludit et periculo exponitur ab in- 
 stantia contradictoria," the new method " naturam separare debet, 
 per rejectiones et exclusiones debitas ; et deinde post negativas 
 tot quot sufficiunt super affirmativas concludere." 2 A form of 
 induction was to be introduced, " quae ex aliquibus genera- 
 liter concludat ita ut instantiam contradictoriam inveniri non 
 posse demonstretur." 3 In strong contrast with this method 
 stands " the induction which the logicians speak of," which " is 
 utterly vicious and incompetent." ..." For to conclude 
 upon an enumeration of particulars, without instance contra- 
 dictory, is no conclusion, but a conjecture." . . . " And this 
 form, to say truth, is so gross, as it had not been possible for 
 wits so subtile as have managed these things to have offered 
 it to the world, but that they trusted to their theories and 
 dogmaticals, and were imperious and scornful towards particu- 
 lars." 4 We thus see what is meant by the phrase " quot suffi- 
 ciunt" in the passage which has been cited from the Novum 
 Organum ; it means " as many as may suffice in order to the at- 
 tainment of certainty," it being necessary to have a method of 
 induction, "qua? experientiam solvat et separet, et per exclu- 
 siones et rejectiones debitas necessario concludat." 5 Absolute 
 certainty is therefore one of the distinguishing characters of 
 the Baconian induction. Another is that it renders all men 
 equally capable, or nearly so, of attaining to the truth. "Jtfostra 
 vero inveniendi scientias ea est ratio ut non multum ingenio- 
 rum acumini et robori relinquatur; sed quae ingenia et intel- 
 lectus fere; exaequet ;" 6 and this is illustrated by the difficulty of 
 describing a circle libera manu, whereas every one can do it 
 with a pair of compasses. " Omnino similis est nostra ratio." 
 The cause to which this peculiarity is owing, is sufficiently indi- 
 cated by the illustration : the method " exaequat ingenia," " cum 
 omnia per certissimas regulas et demonstrationes transigat." 
 (5.) Absolute certainty, and a mechanical mode of procedure 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 22. 2 Nov. Org. i 105. 
 
 * Cogitataet Visa, 18. 
 
 4 Advancement of Learning. The corresponding passage in the De Augm. is in the 
 2nd chap, of the 5th book. 
 
 5 Distrib. Operis, 10. 
 
 B Nov. Org. i. 61., and comp. i. 122. Also the Inquisitio legitima de Motu, and 
 Valerius Terminus, c. 19. 
 
 C 4
 
 24 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 such that all men should be capable of employing it, are thus 
 two great features of the Baconian method. His system can 
 never be rightly understood if they are neglected, and any 
 explanation of it which passes them over in silence leaves un- 
 explained the principal difficulty which that system presents 
 to us. But another difficulty takes the place of the one which 
 is thus set aside. It becomes impossible to justify or to under- 
 stand Bacon's assertion that his method was essentially new. 
 " Nam nos," he says in the preface to the Novum Organum, " si 
 profiteamur nos meliora afferre quam antiqui, eandem quam illi 
 viam ingressi, nulla verborum arte efficere possimus, quin induca- 
 tur quffidam ingenii, vel excellentiae, vel facultatis comparatio, sive 
 contentio. . . . Verum cum per nos illud agatur, ut alia omnino 
 via intellectui aperiatur illis intentata et incognita, commutata 
 tota jam ratio est," &c. He elsewhere speaks of himself as 
 being " in hac re plane protopirus, et vestigia nullius sequutus." * 
 Surely this language would be out of place, if the difference 
 between him and those who had gone before him related merely 
 to matters of detail ; as, for instance, that his way of arranging 
 the facts of observation was more convenient than theirs, and 
 his way of applying an inductive process to them more syste- 
 matic. And it need not be remarked that induction in itself 
 was no novelty at all. The nature of the act of induction is 
 as clearly stated by Aristotle as by any later writer. Bacon's 
 design was surely much larger than it would thus appear to 
 have been. Whoever considers his writings without reference 
 to their place in the history of philosophy will I think be 
 convinced that he aimed at giving a wholly new method, a 
 method universally applicable, and in all cases infallible. By 
 this method, all the knowledge which the human mind is capa- 
 ble of receiving might be attained, and attained without unne- 
 cessary labour. Men were no longer to wander from the truth 
 in helpless uncertainty. The publication of this new doctrine 
 Avas the Temporis Partus Masculus ; it was as the rising of a 
 new sun, before which " the borrowed beams of moon and stars" 
 were to fade away and disappear. 2 
 
 (6.) That the wide distinction which Bacon conceived to 
 exist between his own method and any which had previously 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 113. 
 
 2 See, for instance, the Prtefatio Generalis, where Bacon compares his method to the 
 mariner's compass, until the discovery of which no wide sea could be crossed ; an 
 image probably connected with his favourite device of a ship passing through the pillars 
 of Hercules, with the motto " Plus ultra."
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 25 
 
 been known has often been but slightly noticed by those who 
 have spoken of his philosophy, arises probably from a wish to 
 recognise in the history of the scientific discoveries of the last 
 two centuries the fulfilment of his hopes and prophecies. One 
 of his early disciples however, who wrote before the scientific 
 movement which commenced about Bacon's time had assumed 
 a definite form and character I mean Dr. Hooke has ex- 
 plicitly adopted those portions of Bacon's doctrine which have 
 seemingly been as a stumbling-block to his later followers. In 
 Hooke's General Scheme or Idea of the Present State of Natu~ 
 ral Philosophy l , which is in many respects the best commentary 
 on Bacon, we find it asserted that in the pursuit of knowledge, 
 the intellect " is continually to be assisted by some method or 
 engine which shall be as a guide to regulate its actions, so as that 
 it shall not be able to act amiss. Of this engine no man ex- 
 cept the incomparable Verulam hath had any thoughts, and he 
 indeed hath promoted it to a very good pitch." Something 
 however still remained to be added to this engine or art of 
 invention, to which Hooke gives the name of philosophical 
 algebra. He goes on to say, " I cannot doubt but that if this 
 art be well prosecuted and made use of, an ordinary capacity 
 with industry will be able to do very much more than has yet 
 been done, and to show that even physical and natural inquiries 
 as well as mathematical and geometrical will be capable also of 
 demonstration ; so that henceforward the business of invention 
 will not be so much the effect of acute wit, as of a serious and 
 industrious prosecution." 2 Here the absolute novelty. of Bacon's 
 method, its demonstrative character, and its power of reducing 
 all minds to nearly the same level, are distinctly recognised. 
 
 (7.) Before we examine the method of which Bacon proposed 
 to make use, it is necessary to determine the nature of the pro- 
 blems to which it was, for the most part at least, to be applied. 
 In other words, we must endeavour to determine the idea which 
 he had formed of the nature of science. 
 
 Throughout his writings, science and power are spoken of as 
 correlative " in idem coincidunt ; " and the reason of this is 
 that Bacon always assumed that the knowledge of the cause 
 would in almost all cases enable us to produce the observed 
 effect. We shall see hereafter how this assumption connected 
 
 1 Published posthumously in 1705. 2 Present State of Nat. Phil. pp. 6, 7.
 
 26 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 itself with the whole spirit of his philosophy. I mention it now 
 because it presents itself in the passage in which Bacon's idea 
 of the nature of science is most distinctly stated. " Super 
 datum corpus novam naturam, sive novas naturas, generare et 
 superinducere, opus et intentio est humanas potentia?. Datae 
 autem naturse formam, sive differentiam veram, sive naturam 
 naturantem, sive fontem emanationis, (ista enim vocabula 
 habemus qua? ad indicationem rei proxime accedunt) invenire, 
 opus et intentio est humanse scientiae." This passage, with which 
 the second book of the Novum Organum commences, requires 
 to be considered in detail. 
 
 In the first place it is to be remarked, that natura signifies 
 " abstract quality," it is used by Bacon in antithesis with 
 corpus or " concrete body." Thus the passage we have quoted 
 amounts to this, that the scope and end of human power is to 
 give new qualities to bodies, while the scope and end of human 
 knowledge is to ascertain the formal cause of all the qualities of 
 which bodies are possessed. 
 
 Throughout Bacon's philosophy, the necessity of making 
 abstract qualities (natura?) the principal object of our inquiries 
 is frequently insisted on. He who studies the concrete and 
 neglects the abstract cannot be called an interpreter of nature. 
 Such was Bacon's judgment when, apparently at an early period 
 of his life, he wrote the Temporis Partus Masculus * ; and in the 
 Novum Organum he has expressed an equivalent opinion : " quod 
 iste modus operandi, (qui naturas intuetur simplices licet in 
 corpore concreto) procedat ex iis qua? in natura sunt constantia 
 et asterna et catholica, et latas prsebeat potentia? humana? 
 vias." 2 Quite in accordance with this passage is a longer one 
 in the Advancement of Learning, which I shall quote in extenso, 
 as it is exceedingly important. " The forms of substances, I 
 say, as they are now by compounding and transplanting mul- 
 tiplied, are so perplexed as they are not to be inquired ; no more 
 than it were either possible or to purpose to seek in gross the 
 forms of those sounds which make words, which by compo- 
 sition and transposition of letters are infinite. But on the other 
 side to inquire the form of those sounds or voices which make 
 
 Mr. Ellis alludes, I think, to the De Interpretation Natura Sentential XII., which 
 M. Bouillet prints as part of the Temporis Partus Masculus. My reasons for differing 
 with M. Bouillet on this point, and placing it by itself, and assigning it a later date, 
 will be found in a note to Mr. Ellis's Preface to the Novum Organum. J. S. 
 2 Nov. Org. ii. 5.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 27 
 
 simple letters is easily comprehensible, and being known in- 
 duceth and manifesteth the forms of all words which consist and 
 are compounded of them. In the same manner, to inquire the 
 form of a lion, of an oak, of gold nay of water, of air is a vain 
 pursuit ; but to inquire the forms of sense, of voluntary motion, 
 of vegetation, of colours, of gravity and levity, of density, of 
 tenuity, of heat, of cold, and all other natures and qualities 
 which like an alphabet are not many, and of which the essences 
 upheld by matter of all creatures do consist, to inquire, I say, 
 the true forms of these, is that part of metaphysique which we 
 now define of." And a little farther on we are told that it is 
 the prerogative of metaphysique to consider "the simple forms 
 or difference of things" (that is to say, the forms of simple 
 natures), " which are few in number, and the degrees and co- 
 ordinations whereof make all this variety." 
 
 We see from these passages why the study of simple natures 
 is so important namely because they are comparatively 
 speaking few in number, and because, notwithstanding this, a 
 knowledge of their essence would enable us, at least in theory, 
 to solve every problem which the universe can present to us. 
 
 As an illustration of the doctrine of simple natures, we may 
 take a passage which occurs in the Silva Silvarum. " Gold," 
 it is there said, " has these natures : greatness of weight, close- 
 ness of parts, fixation, pliantness or softness, immunity from 
 rust, colour or tincture of yellow. Therefore the sure way, 
 though most about, to make gold, is to know the causes of the 
 several natures before rehearsed, and the axioms concerning the 
 same. For if a man can make a metal that hath all these pro- 
 perties, let men dispute whether it be gold or no." 1 
 
 Of these simple natures Bacon has given a list in the third 
 book of the De Augrnentis. They are divided into two classes : 
 schematisms of matter, and simple motions. To the former 
 belong the abstract qualities, dense, rare, heavy, light, &c., of 
 which thirty-nine are enumerated, the list being concluded with 
 a remark that it need not be carried farther, " neque ultra rem 
 extendimus." The simple motions and it will be observed that 
 the word "motion" is used in a wide and vague sense are the 
 motus antitypiae, which secures the impenetrability of matter ; 
 the motus nexus, commonly called the motus ex fuga vacui, &c. ; 
 
 1 Compare Nov. Org. ii. 5.
 
 28 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 and of these motions fourteen are mentioned. This list however 
 does not profess to be complete, and accordingly in the Novum 
 Organum (ii. 48.) another list of simple motions is given, in 
 which nineteen species are recognised. 
 
 The view of which we have now been speaking namely, that 
 it is possible to reduce all the phenomena of the universe to 
 combinations of a limited number of simple elements is the 
 central point of Bacon's whole system. It serves, as we shall 
 see, to explain the peculiarities of the method which he proposed. 
 
 (8.) In what sense did Bacon use the word "Form"? This is the 
 next question which, in considering the account which he has 
 given of the nature of science, it is necessary to examine. I am, 
 for reasons which will be hereafter mentioned, much disposed 
 to believe that the doctrine of Forms is in some sort an extra- 
 neous part of Bacon's system. His peculiar method may be 
 stated independently of this doctrine, and he has himself so stated 
 it in one of his earlier tracts, namely the Valerius Terminus. 
 It is at any rate certain, that in using the word " Form" he did 
 not intend to adopt the scholastic mode of employing it. He 
 was much in the habit of giving to words already in use a new 
 signification. " To me," he remarks in the Advancement of 
 Learning, "it seemeth best to keep way with antiquity usque ad 
 aras, and therefore to retain the ancient terms, though I some- 
 times alter the uses and definitions." And thus though he has 
 spoken of the scholastic forms as figments of the human mind ', 
 he was nevertheless willing to employ the word "Form" in a mo- 
 dified sense, {t praesertim quum hoc vocabulum invaluerit, et fa- 
 miliariter occurrat." 2 He has however distinctly stated that in 
 speaking of Forms, he is not to be understood to speak of the 
 Forms " quibus hominum contemplationes et cogitationes 
 hactenus assueverunt." 3 
 
 As Bacon uses the word in his own sense, we must en- 
 deavour to interpret the passages in which it occurs by means 
 of what he has himself said of it; and this may I think be satis- 
 factorily accomplished. 
 
 We may begin by remarking that in Bacon's system, as in 
 those of many others, the relation of substance and attribute is 
 virtually the same as the relation of cause and effect. The 
 substance is conceived of as the causa immanens of its attri- 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 51. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 2. 3 Nov. Org. ii. 17.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 29 
 
 butes 1 , or in other words it is the formal cause of the qualities 
 which are referred to it. As there is a difference between the 
 properties of different substances, there must be a corresponding 
 difference between the substances themselves. But in the first 
 state of the views of which we are speaking this latter differ- 
 ence is altogether unimaginable: "distincte quidem intelligi 
 potest, sed non explicari imaginabiliter." 2 It belongs not to 
 natural philosophy, but to metaphysics. 
 
 These views however admit of an essential modification. If 
 we divide the qualities of bodies into two classes, and ascribe 
 those of the former class to substance as its essential attributes, 
 while we look on those of the latter as connected with substance 
 by the relation of cause and effect that is, if we recognise the 
 distinction of primary and secondary qualities the state of the 
 question is changed. It now becomes possible to give a definite 
 answer to the question, "Wherein does the difference between 
 different substances, corresponding to the difference between 
 their sensible qualities, consist ? 
 
 The answer to this question of course involves a reference 
 to the qualities which have been recognised as primary; and we 
 are thus led to the principle that in the sciences which relate to 
 the secondary qualities of bodies the primary ones are to be 
 regarded as the causes of the secondary. 3 
 
 This division of the qualities of bodies into two classes is the 
 point of transition from the metaphysical view from which we 
 set out to that of ordinary physical science. And this tran- 
 sition Bacon had made, though not perhaps with a perfect con- 
 sciousness of having done so. Thus he has repeatedly denied the 
 truth of the scholastic doctrine that Forms are incognoscible 
 because supra-sensible 4 ; and the reason of this is clearly that his 
 conception of the nature of Forms relates merely to the primary 
 qualities of bodies. For instance, the Form of heat is a kind of 
 local motion of the particles of which bodies are composed 5 , and 
 that of whiteness a mode of arrangement among those particles. 6 
 This peculiar motion or arrangement corresponds to and en- 
 genders heat or whiteness, and this in every case in which those 
 qualities exist. The statement of the distinguishing character 
 
 1 See Zimmerman's Essay on the Monadology of Leibnitz, p. 86. (Vienna, 1807). 
 8 Leibnitz, De ipsa Natura. 3 Whewel), Phil. Ind. Science, [book iv ch i 1 
 
 4 See Scaliger, Exercit. fn Cardan. 
 
 5 [Nov. Org. ii. 20.] a [Valerius Terminus, ii. 1.]
 
 30 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 of the motion or arrangement, or of whatever else may be the 
 Form of a given phenomenon, takes the shape of a law ; it is the 
 law in fulfilling which any substance determines the existence 
 of the quality in question. It is for this reason that Bacon 
 sometimes calls the Form a law ; he has done this particularly 
 in a passage which will be mentioned a little farther on. 
 
 With the view which has now been* stated, we shall I think 
 be able to understand every passage in which Bacon speaks of 
 Forms ; remembering however that as he has not traced a 
 boundary line between primary and secondary qualities, we can 
 only say in general terms that his doctrine of Forms is founded 
 upon the theory that certain qualities of bodies are merely sub- 
 jective and phenomenal, and are to be regarded as necessarily 
 resulting from others which belong to substance as its essential 
 attributes. In the passage from which we set out 1 , the Form is 
 spoken of as vera differentia, the true or essential difference, as 
 natura naturans and as the fons emanationis. The first of 
 these expressions refers to the theory of definition by genus and 
 difference. The difference is that which gives the thing defined 
 its specific character. If it be founded on an accidental circum- 
 stance, the definition, though not incorrect if the accident be an 
 inseparable one, will nevertheless not express the true and 
 essential character of its subject; contrariwise, if it involve a 
 statement of the formal cause of the thing defined. 
 
 The second of these phrases is now scarcely used, except in 
 connexion with the philosophy of Spinoza. It had however 
 been employed by some of the scholastic writers. 2 It is always 
 antithetical to natura naturata, and in the passage before us 
 serves not inaptly to express the relation in which the Form 
 stands to the phenomenal nature which results from it. 
 
 The phrase fons emanationis does not seem to require any 
 explanation. It belongs to the kind of philosophical language 
 which attempts, more or less successfully, to give clearness of 
 conception by means of metaphor. It is unnecessary to remark 
 how much this is the case in the later development of scho- 
 lasticism. 
 
 A little farther on in the second book of the Novum Or- 
 ganum than the passage we have been considering, namely 
 
 1 [Nov. Org. ii. 1.] 
 
 * See Vossius De Vitiis Serm. in voce Naturare ; and Castanaeus, Distinctiones in 
 voc. Natura.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 31 
 
 in the thirteenth aphorism, Bacon asserts that the "forma 
 rei " is " ipsissima res," and that the thing and its Form differ 
 only as "apparens et existens, aut exterius et interius, aut in 
 ordine ad hominem et in ordine ad universum." Here the 
 subjective and phenomenal character of the qualities whose form 
 is to be determined is distinctly and strongly indicated. 
 
 The principal passage in which the Form is spoken of as a law 
 occurs in the second aphorism of the same book. It is there 
 said that, although in nature nothing really exists (vere existat) 
 except " corpora individua edentia actus puros individuos ex 
 lege," yet that in doctrine this law is of fundamental import- 
 ance, and that it and its clauses (paragraphi) are what he means 
 when he speaks of Forms. 
 
 In denying the real existence of anything beside individual 
 substances, Bacon opposes himself to the scholastic realism ; in 
 speaking of these substances as " edentia actus," he asserts the 
 doctrine of the essential activity of substance ; by adding the 
 epithet " puros " he separates what Aristotle termed svTsKs^aL 
 from mere motions or Kivijo-ets, thereby by implication denying 
 the objective reality of the latter ; and, lastly, by using the 
 word " individuos," he implies that though in contemplation and 
 doctrine the form law of the substance (that is, the substantial 
 form) is resoluble into the forms of the simple natures which 
 belong to it, as into clauses, yet that this analysis is conceptual 
 only, and not real. 
 
 It will be observed that the two modes in which Bacon 
 speaks of the Form, namely as ipsissima res and as a law, differ 
 only, though they cannot be reconciled, as two aspects of the 
 same object. 
 
 Thus much of the character of the Baconian Form. That it 
 is after all only a physical conception appears sufficiently from 
 the examples already mentioned, and from the fact of its being 
 made the most important part of the subject-matter of the na- 
 tural sciences. 
 
 The investigation of the Forms of natures or abstract qualities 
 is the principal object of the Baconian method of induction. 
 It is true that Bacon, although he gives the first place to inves- 
 tigations of this nature, does not altogether omit to mention as 
 a subordinate part of science, the study of concrete substances. 
 The first aphorism of the second book of the Novum Organum 
 sufficiently explains the relation in which, as he conceived, the
 
 32 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 abstract and the concrete, considered as objects of science, 
 ought to stand to one another. This relation corresponds to 
 that which in the De Augmentis [iii. 4.], he had sought to 
 establish between Physique and Metaphysique, and which he 
 has there expressed by saying that the latter was to be con- 
 versant with the formal and final causes, while the former was 
 to be confined to the efficient cause and to the material. It 
 may be asked, and the question is not easily answered, Of what 
 use the study of concrete bodies was in Bacon's system to be, 
 seeing that the knowledge of the Forms of simple natures would, 
 in effect, include all that can be known of the outward world ? 
 
 1 believe that, if Bacon's recognition of physique as a distinct 
 branch of science which was to be studied apart from meta- 
 physique or the doctrine of Forms, can be explained except on 
 historical grounds, that is, except by saying that it was derived 
 from the quadripartite division of causes given by Aristotle 1 , 
 the explanation is merely this, that he believed that the study of 
 concrete bodies would at least at first be "pursued more hopefully 
 and more successfully than the abstract investigations to which 
 he gave the first rank. 2 
 
 However this may be, it seems certain that Bacon's method, 
 as it is stated in the Novum Organum, is primarily applicable 
 to the investigation of Forms, and that when other applications 
 were made of it, it was to be' modified in a manner which is 
 nowhere distinctly explained. All in fact that we know of 
 these modifications results from comparing two passages which 
 have been already quoted 3 ; namely the two lists in which Bacon 
 enumerates the subjects to be treated of in the latter books of 
 the Novum Organum. 
 
 It will be observed that in one of these lists the subject of 
 concrete bodies corresponds to the " variation of the investiga- 
 tion according to the nature of the subject " in the other, and 
 from this it seems to follow that Bacon looked on his method of 
 investigating Forms as the fundamental type of the inductive 
 process, from which in its other applications it deviated more or 
 less according to the necessity of the case. This being under- 
 stood, we may proceed to speak of the inductive method itself. 
 
 (9. ) The practical criterium of a Form by means of which it is to 
 
 : For an explanation of which, see note on De Augmentis, iii. 4. J. S. 
 
 2 See, in illustration of this, Nov. Org. ii. 5. Vide supra, 2.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 3 
 
 be investigated and recognised, reduces itself to this, that the 
 form nature and the phenomenal nature (so to modify, for the 
 sake of distinctness, Bacon's phraseology) must constantly be 
 either both present or both absent ; and moreover that when 
 either increases or decreases, the other must do so too. 1 Setting 
 aside the vagueness of the second condition, it is to be observed 
 that there is nothing in this criterium to decide which of two 
 concomitant natures is the Form of the other. It is true that in 
 one place Bacon requires the form nature, beside being con- 
 vertible with the given one, to be also a limitation of a more 
 general nature. His words are "natura alia quae sit cum 
 naturd data convertibilis et tamen sit limitatio natura? notioria 
 instar generis veri." 2 Of this the meaning will easily be ap- 
 prehended if we refer to the case of heat, of which the form is 
 said to be a kind of motion motion being here the natura 
 notior, the more general natura, of which heat is a specific limi- 
 tation ; for wherever heat is present there also is motion, but 
 not vice versa. Still the difficulty recurs, that there is nothing 
 in the practical operation of Bacon's method which can serve 
 to determine whether this subsidiary condition is fulfilled ; nor 
 is the condition itself altogether free from vagueness. 
 
 To each of the three points of that which I have called the 
 practical criterium of the Form corresponds one of the three 
 tables with which the investigation commences. The first is 
 the table " essentiae et praesentia?," and contains all known in- 
 stances in which the given nature is present. The second is 
 the table of declination or absence in like case (declinationis 
 sive absentiae in proximo), and contains instances which respect- 
 ively correspond to those of the first table, but in which, not- 
 withstanding this correspondence, the given nature is absent. 
 The third is the table of degrees or comparison (tabula gra- 
 duum sive tabula comparativae), in which the instances of the 
 given nature are arranged according to the degree in which it 
 is manifested in each. 
 
 It is easy to see the connexion between these tables, which 
 are collectively called tables of appearance, " comparentise," and 
 the criterium. For, let any instance in which the given nature 
 is present (as the sun in the case of heat, or froth in the case of 
 whiteness) be resolved into the natures by the aggregation of 
 which our idea of it is constituted; one of these natures ia 
 
 1 Nov. Org, ii. 4, 13, 16. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 4. 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 necessarily the form nature, since this is always to be present 
 when the given nature is. Similarly, the second table corre- 
 sponds to the condition that the Form and the given nature are 
 to be absent together, and the third to that of their increasing 
 or decreasing together. 
 
 After the formation of these tables, how is the process of in- 
 duction to be carried into effect ? By a method of exclusion. 
 This method is the essential point of the whole matter, and it 
 will be well to show how much importance Bacon attached 
 to it. 
 
 In the first place, wherever he speaks of ordinary induc- 
 tion and of his own method he always remarks that the former 
 proceeds " per enumerationem simplicem," that is, by a mere 
 enumeration of particular cases, while the latter makes use of 
 exclusions and rejections. This is the fundamental character of 
 his method, and it is from this that the circumstances which 
 distinguish it from ordinary induction necessarily follow. More- 
 over we are told that whatever may be the privileges of higher 
 intelligences, man can only in one way advance to a knowledge 
 of Forms : he is absolutely obliged to proceed at first by ne- 
 gatives, and then only can arrive at an affirmative when the 
 process of exclusion has been completed (post omnimodam 
 exclusionem). 1 The same doctrine is taught in the exposition 
 of the fable of Cupid. For according to some of the mytho- 
 graphi Cupid comes forth from an egg whereon Night had 
 brooded. Now Cupid is the type of the primal nature of 
 things ; and what is said of the egg hatched by Night refers, 
 Bacon affirms, most aptly to the demonstrations whereby our 
 knowledge of him is obtained ; for knowledge obtained by 
 exclusions and negatives results, so to speak, from darkness and 
 from night. We see, I think, from this allegorical fancy, as 
 clearly as from any single passage in his writings, how firmly 
 fixed in his mind was the idea of the importance, or rather of 
 the necessity, of using a method of exclusion. 
 
 It is not difficult, on Bacon's fundamental hypothesis, to per- 
 ceive why this method is of paramount importance. For assuming 
 that each instance in which the given nature is presented to 
 us can be resolved into (and mentally replaced by) a congeries 
 of elementary natures, and that this analysis is not merely sub- 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 15.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 35 
 
 jective or logical, but deals, so to speak, with the very essence 
 of its subject-matter, it follows that to determine the form 
 nature among the aggregate of simple natures which we thus 
 obtain, nothing more is requisite than the rejection of all 
 foreign and unessential elements. We reject every nature 
 which is not present in every affirmative instance, or which is 
 present in any negative one, or which manifests itself in a 
 greater degree when the given nature manifests itself in a less, 
 or vice versa. And this process when carried far enough will 
 of necessity lead us to the truth ; and meanwhile every step 
 we take is known to be an approximation towards it. Ordinary 
 induction is a tentative process, because we chase our quarry 
 over an open country ; here it is confined within definite limits, 
 and these limits become as we advance continually narrower 
 and narrower. 
 
 From the point of view at which we have now arrived, we 
 perceive why Bacon ascribed to his method the characters by 
 which, as we have seen, he conceived that it was distinguished 
 from any which had previously been proposed. When the 
 process of exclusion has been completely performed, only the 
 form nature will remain ; it will be, so to speak, the sole sur- 
 vivor of all the natures combined with which the given nature 
 was at first presented to us. There can therefore be no doubt 
 as to our result, nor any possibility of confounding the Form 
 with any other of these natures. This is what Bacon ex- 
 presses, when he says that the first part of the true inductive 
 process is the exclusion of every nature which is not found in 
 each instance where the given one is present, or is found where 
 it is not present, or is found to increase where the given nature 
 decreases, or vice versa. And then, he goes on to say, when 
 this exclusion has been duly performed, there will in the second 
 part of the process remain, as at the bottom, all mere opinions 
 having been dissipated (abeuntibus in fumum opinionibus vola- 
 tilibus), the affirmative Form, which will be solid and true and 
 well defined. 1 The exclusion of error will necessarily lead to 
 truth. 
 
 Again, this method of exclusion requires only an attentive 
 consideration of each "instantia," in order first to analyse it 
 into its simple natures, and secondly to see which of the latter 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 16. 
 D 2
 
 36 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 are to be excluded processes which require no higher faculties 
 than ordinary acuteness and patient diligence. There is clearly 
 no room in this mechanical procedure for the display of subtlety 
 or of inventive genius. 
 
 Bacon's method therefore leads to certainty, and may be 
 employed with nearly equal success by all men who are equally 
 diligent. 
 
 In considering the only example which we have of its prac- 
 tical operation, namely the investigation of the form of heat 1 , 
 it is well to remark a circumstance which tends to conceal its 
 real nature. After the three tables of Comparentia, Bacon 
 proceeds to the Exclusiva, and concludes by saying that the 
 process of exclusion cannot at the outset (sub initiis) be per- 
 fectly performed. He therefore proposes to go on to provide 
 additional assistance for the mind of man. These are manifestly 
 -to be subsidiary to the method of exclusions ; they are to re- 
 move the obstacles which make the Exclusiva defective and 
 inconclusive. But in the meanwhile, and as it were provi- 
 sionally, the intellect may be permitted to attempt an affirmative 
 determination on the subject before it: " Quod genus tentamenti 
 Permissionem Intellectus, sive Interpretationem inchoatam, sive 
 Vindemiationem primam, appellare consuevimus." The phrase 
 Permissio Intellectus sufficiently indicates that in this process 
 the mind is suffered to follow the course most natural to it ; it 
 is relieved from the restraints hitherto imposed on it, and re- 
 verts to its usual state. In this Vindemiatio we accordingly 
 find no reference to the method of exclusion : it rests imme- 
 diately on the three tables of Comparentia; and though of 
 course it does not contradict the results of the Exclusiva, yet 
 on the other hand it is not derived from them. If we lose 
 sight of the real nature of this part of the investigation, which 
 is merely introduced by the way "because truth is more easily 
 extricated from error than from confusion," we also lose sight 
 of the scope and purport of the whole method. All that 
 Bacon proposes henceforth to do is to perfect the Exclusiva ; 
 the Vindemiatio prima, though it is the closing member of the 
 example which Bacon makes use of, is not to be taken as the 
 type of the final conclusion of any investigation which he would 
 recognise as just and legitimate. It is only a parenthesis in 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 1120.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 37 
 
 the general method, whereas the Exclusiva, given in the 
 eighteenth aphorism of the second book, is a type or paradigm 
 of the process on which every true induction (inductio vera) 
 must in all cases depend. 
 
 It may be well to remark that in this example of the process 
 of exclusion, the table of degrees is not made use of. 
 
 Bacon, as we have seen, admits that the Exclusiva must 
 at first be in some measure imperfect; for the Exclusiva, 
 being the rejection of simple natures, cannot be satisfactory 
 unless our notions of these natures are just and accurate, 
 whereas some of those which occur in his example of the 
 process of rejection are ill-defined and vague. 1 In order to 
 the completion of his method, it is necessary to remove this de- 
 fect. A subsidiary method is required, of which the object is 
 the formation of scientific conceptions. To this method also 
 Bacon gives the name of induction ; and it is remarkable that in- 
 duction is mentioned for the first time in the Novum Organum 
 in a passage which relates not to axioms but to conceptions. 2 
 Bacon's induction therefore is not a mere sTraywyrj, it is also a 
 method of definition ; but of the manner in which systematic 
 induction is to be employed in the formation of conceptions we 
 learn nothing from any part of his writings. And by this cir- 
 cumstance our knowledge of his method is rendered imperfect 
 and unsatisfactory. We may perhaps be permitted to believe 
 that so far as relates to the subject of which we are now speaking, 
 Bacon never, even in idea, completed the method which he pro- 
 posed. For of all parts of the process of scientific discovery, the 
 formation of conceptions is the one with respect to which it 
 is the most difficult to lay down general rules. The process 
 of establishing axioms Bacon had succeeded, at least appa- 
 rently, in reducing to the semblance of a mechanical operation ; 
 that of the formation of conceptions does not admit of any 
 similar reduction. Yet these two processes are in Bacon's 
 system of co-ordinate importance. All commonly received ge- 
 neral scientific conceptions Bacon condemns as utterly worth- 
 less. 3 A complete change is, therefore, required ; yet of the 
 way in which induction is to be employed in order to preduce 
 this change he has said nothing. 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 19. ; and compare i. 15., which shows the necessity of a complete 
 reform. 
 
 2 Nov. Org. i. 14., and comp. i. 18. * Nov. Org. i. 15, 16. 
 
 t> 3
 
 38 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 This omission is doubtless connected with the kind of 
 realism which runs through Bacon's system, and which renders 
 it practically useless. For that his method is impracticable 
 cannot I think be denied, if we reflect not only that it never 
 has produced any result, but also that the process by which 
 scientific truths have been established cannot be so presented as 
 even to appear to be in accordance with it. In all cases this 
 process involves an element to which nothing corresponds in 
 the tables of comparence and exclusion ; namely the application 
 to the facts of observation of a principle of arrangement, an idea, 
 existing in the mind of the discoverer antecedently to the act of 
 induction. It may be said that this idea is precisely one of the 
 naturae into which the facts of observation ought in Bacon's 
 system to be analysed. And this is in one sense true ; but it 
 must be added that this analysis, if it be thought right so to call 
 it, is of the essence of the discovery which results from it. To 
 take for granted that it has already been effected is simply a 
 petitio principii. In most cases the mere act of induction 
 follows as a matter of course as soon as the appropriate idea has 
 been introduced. If, for instance, we resolve Kepler's disco- 
 very that Mars moves in an ellipse into its constituent elements, 
 we perceive that the whole difficulty is antecedent to the act 
 of induction. It consists in bringing the idea of motion in an 
 ellipse into connexion with the facts of observation ; that is, in 
 showing that an ellipse may be drawn through all the observed 
 places of the planet. The mere act of induction, the sTrayarytj, 
 is perfectly obvious. If all the observed places lie on an ellipse 
 of which the sun is the focus, then every position which the 
 planet successively occupies does so too. This inference, which 
 is so obvious that it must have passed through the mind of the 
 discoverer almost unconsciously, is an instance of induction 
 " per enumerationem simplicem;" of which kind of induction 
 Bacon, as we have seen, has said that it is utterly vicious and 
 incompetent. 
 
 The word realism may perhaps require some explanation. 
 I mean by it the opinion, which Bacon undoubtedly entertained, 
 that for the purposes of investigation, the objects of our thoughts 
 may be regarded as an assemblage of abstract conceptions, so 
 that these conceptions not only correspond to realities, which is 
 of course necessary in order to their having any value, but may 
 also be said adequately to represent them. In his view of the
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 39 
 
 subject, ideas or conceptions (notiones) reside in some sort in 
 the objects from which we derive them; and it is necessary, in 
 order that the work of induction may be successfully accom- 
 plished, that the process by which they are derived should be 
 carefully and systematically performed. But he had not per- 
 ceived that which now at least can scarcely be doubted of, that 
 the progress of science continually requires the formation of 
 new conceptions whereby new principles of arrangement are 
 introduced among the results which had previously been ob- 
 tained, and that from the necessary imperfection of human 
 knowledge our conceptions never, so to speak, exhaust the 
 essence of the realities by which they are suggested. The 
 notion of an alphabet of the universe, of which Bacon has 
 spoken more than once, must therefore be given up ; it could 
 at best be only an alphabet of the present state of knowledge. 
 And similarly of the analysis into abstract natures on which 
 the process of exclusion, as we have seen, depends. No such 
 analysis can be used in the manner which Bacon prescribes to 
 us ; for every advance in knowledge presupposes the introduc- 
 tion of a new conception, by which the previously existing 
 analysis is rendered incomplete, and therefore erroneous. 
 
 We have now, I think, succeeded in tracing the cause both 
 of the peculiarities of Bacon's method, and of its practical 
 inutility. Some additional information may be derived from an 
 examination of the variations with which it is presented in 
 different parts of his writings; less however than if we could 
 arrange his smaller works in chronological order. Nevertheless 
 two results, not without their value, may be thus obtained; the 
 one, that it appears probable that Bacon came gradually to see 
 more of the difficulties which beset the practical application of 
 his method; and the other, that the doctrine of Forms is in 
 reality an extraneous part of his philosophy. 
 
 (10.) In the earliest work in which the new method of induc- 
 tion is proposed, namely, the English tract entitled Valerius 
 Terminus, no mention is made of the necessity of correcting 
 commonly received notions of simple natures. The inductive 
 method is therefore presented in its simplest form, unembar- 
 rassed with that which constitutes its principal difficulty. But 
 when we advance from Valerius Terminus to the Partis 
 secundce Delineatio et Argumentum, which is clearly of a 
 later date, we find that Bacon has become aware of the neces- 
 
 D 4
 
 40 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 sity of having some scientific method for the due construction 
 of abstract conceptions. It is there said that the " pars infor- 
 mans," that is, the description of the new method, will be 
 divided into three parts the ministration to the senses, the 
 ministration to the memory, and the ministration to the reason. 
 In the first of these, three things are to be taught ; and of these 
 three the first is how to construct and elicit from facts a duly 
 formed abstract conception (bona notio); the second is how 
 the senses may be assisted ; and the third, how to form a satis- 
 factory collection of facts. He then proposes to go on to the 
 other two ministrations. 
 
 Thus the construction of conceptions would have formed the 
 first part of the then designed Novum Organum ; and it would 
 seem that this arrangement was not followed when the Novum 
 Organum was actually written, because in the meantime Bacon 
 had seen that this part of the work involved greater difficulties 
 than he had at first supposed. For the general division into 
 " ministrationes " is preserved in the Novum Organum 1 , though 
 it has there become less prominent than in the tract of which 
 we have been speaking. In the ministration to the senses, as 
 it is mentioned in the later work, nothing is expressly included 
 but a good and sufficient natural and experimental historia; the 
 theory of the formation of conceptions has altogether disappeared, 
 and both this ministration and that to the memory are post- 
 poned to the last of the three, which contains the theory of the 
 inductive process itself. We must set out, Bacon says, from 
 the conclusion, and proceed in a retrograde order to the other 
 parts of the subject. He now seems to have perceived that 
 the theory of the formation of conceptions and that of the 
 establishment of axioms are so intertwined together, that the 
 one cannot be presented independently of the other, although in 
 practice his method absolutely requires these two processes to 
 be carried on separately. His view now is, that at first axioms 
 must be established by means of the commonly received con- 
 ceptions, and that subsequently these conceptions must them- 
 selves be rectified by means of the ulterior aids to the mind, 
 the fortiora auxilia in usum intellectus, of which he has spoken 
 in the nineteenth aphorism of the second book. But these 
 fortiora auxilia were never given, so that the difficulty which 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 10.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 41 
 
 Bacon had once proposed to overcome at the outset of his 
 undertaking remained to the last unconquered. The doctrine 
 of the Novum Organum (that we must first employ commonly 
 received notions, and afterwards correct them) is expressly laid 
 down in the De Interpretation Naturae Sententice Duodecim. l 
 Of this however the date is uncertain. 
 
 It is clear that while any uncertainty remains as to the value 
 of the conceptions (notiones) employed in the process of exclu- 
 sion, the claim to absolute immunity from error which Bacon 
 has made on behalf of his general method, must be more or less 
 modified ; and of this he seems to have been aware when he 
 wrote the second book of the Novum Organum.* 
 
 (11.) Thus much of the theory of the formation of conceptions. 
 With regard to the doctrine of Forms, it is in the first place to be 
 observed that it is not mentioned as a part of Bacon's system, 
 either in Valerius Terminus or in the Partis secundce Delineatio, 
 or in the De Interpretatione Naturce Sententice Duodecim, although 
 in the two last-named tracts the definition of science which is 
 found at the outset of the second book of the Novum Organum 
 is in substance repeated. This definition, as we have seen, 
 makes the discovery of Forms the aim and end of science ; but in 
 both cases the word form is replaced by causes. It is however 
 to be admitted that in the Advancement of Learning, published 
 in 1605, Forms are spoken of as one of the subjects of Meta- 
 physique. Their not being mentioned except ex obliquo in 
 Valerius Terminus is more remarkable, because Bacon has there 
 given^a distinct name to the process which he afterwards called 
 the discovery of the Form. He calls it the freeing of a direction, 
 and remarks that it is not much other matter than that which 
 in the received philosophies is termed the Form or formal cause. 
 Forms are thus mentioned historically, but in the dogmatic 
 statement of his own view they are not introduced at all. 3 
 
 The essential character of Bacon's philosophy, namely the 
 analysis of the concrete into the abstract, is nowhere more pro- 
 minent than in Valerius Terminus. It is there said "that 
 every particular that worketh any effect is a thing compounded 
 more or less of diverse single natures, more manifest and more 
 obscure, and that it appeareth not to whether (which) of the 
 
 1 Vide viii. of this tract. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 19. 
 
 3 I refer to my preface to Valerius Terminui for an illustration of some of the diffi- 
 culties of this very obscure tract.
 
 42 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 natures the effect is to be ascribed." 1 Of course the great 
 problem is to decide this question, and the method of solving it 
 is called " the freeing of a direction." In explanation of this 
 name, it is to be observed that in Valerius Terminus the prac- 
 tical point of view predominates. Every instance in which a 
 given nature is produced is regarded as a direction for its 
 artificial production. If air and water are mingled together, as 
 in snow, foam, &c., whiteness is the result. This then is a 
 direction for the production of whiteness, since we have only to 
 mingle air and water together in order to produce it. But 
 whiteness may be produced in other ways, and the direction is 
 therefore not free. We proceed gradually to free it by re- 
 jecting, by means of other instances, the circumstances of this 
 which are unessential : a process which is the exact counterpart 
 of the Exclusiva of the Novum Organum. The instance I have 
 given is Bacon's, who developes it at some length. 
 
 Here then we have Bacon's method treated entirely from a 
 practical point of view. This circumstance is worthy of notice 
 because it serves to explain why Bacon always assumes that the 
 knowledge of Forms would greatly increase our command over 
 nature, that it " would enfranchise the power of man unto the 
 greatest possibility of works and effects." It has been asked 
 what reason Bacon had for this assumption. " Whosoever 
 knoweth any Form," he has said in the Advancement, " knoweth 
 the utmost possibility of superinducing that nature upon any 
 variety of nature." Beyond question, the problem of super- 
 inducing the nature is reduced to the problem of superinducing 
 the Form ; but what reason have we for supposing that the one 
 is more easy of solution than the other ? If we knew the Form 
 of malleability, that is, the conditions which the intimate con- 
 stitution of a body must fulfil in order that it may be malleable, 
 does it follow that we could make glass so ? So far as these 
 questions admit of an answer, Valerius Terminus appears to 
 suggest it. Bacon connected the doctrine of Forms with 
 practical operations, because this doctrine, so to speak, repre- 
 sented to him his original notion of the freeing of a direction, 
 which, as the phrase itself implies, had altogether a practical 
 significance. 
 
 Even in the Novum Organum the definition of the Form is 
 
 1 Val. Ter. c. 17.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 43 
 
 made to correspond with the praeceptum operand!, or practical 
 direction. 1 The latter is to be "certum, liberum, et disponens 
 sive in ordine ad actionem." Now a direction to produce the 
 Form as a means of producing the given nature is certain, 
 because the presence of the Form necessarily determines that of 
 the nature. It is free, because it requires only that to be done 
 which is necessary, since the nature can never be present unless 
 its Form is so too. Thus far the agreement between the prac- 
 tical and the scientific view is satisfactory. But to the third 
 property which the practical direction is to possess, namely 
 its being in ordine ad actionem, or such as to facilitate the 
 production of the proposed result, corresponds the condition 
 that the Form is to be " the limitation of a more general 
 nature ; " that is to say, the Form presents itself as a limita- 
 tion of something more general than the given nature, and 
 as determining, not merely logically but also causatively, the 
 existence of the latter. At this point the divergence between 
 the practical and the scientific view becomes manifest ; practical 
 operations do not, generally speaking, present to us anything 
 analogous to the limitation here spoken of, and there is no 
 reason to suppose that it is easier to see how this limitation is 
 to be introduced than to see how the original problem, the e% 
 ap-xfi? Trpoxetfjisvov, may be solved. But this divergence seems 
 to show that the two views are in their origin heterogeneous ; 
 that the one contains the fundamental idea of Bacon's method, 
 while the other represents the historical element of his philo- 
 sophy. We shall however hereafter have occasion to suggest 
 considerations which may seem to modify this conclusion. 
 
 (12.) In a survey of Bacon's method it is not necessary to 
 say much of the doctrine of prerogative instances, though it 
 occupies the greater part of the second book of the Novum 
 Organum. It belongs to the unfinished part of that work ; at 
 least it is probable that its practical utility would have been 
 explained when Bacon came to speak of the Adminicula 
 Inductionis. 
 
 Twenty-seven kinds of instances are enumerated, which are 
 said to excel ordinary instances either in their practical or their 
 theoretical usefulness. To the word instance Bacon gives a 
 wide range of signification. It corresponds more nearly to 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 4., which is the best comment on the dictum, Knowledge is power.
 
 44 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 observation than to any other which is used in modern scientific 
 language. 
 
 Of some classes of these instances collections are to be made 
 for their own sake, and independently of any investigation into 
 particular natures. Such, for instance, are the instantiae con- 
 formes ; Bacon's examples of which are mostly taken from com- 
 parative anatomy. One of them is the analogy between the 
 fins of fishes, the feet of quadrupeds, and the feet and wings of 
 birds ; another, the analogy of the beak of birds and the teeth 
 of other animals, &C. 1 
 
 The other classes of prerogative instances have especial re- 
 ference to particular investigation, and are to be collected when 
 individual tables of comparence are formed. 
 
 It would seem from this that the theory of prerogative in- 
 stances is intended to guide us in the formation of these tables. 
 But it is difficult to see how the circumstances which give any 
 instance its prerogative could have been appreciated a priori. 
 An instantia crucis 2 , to take the most celebrated of all, has its 
 distinguishing character only in so far as it is viewed with re- 
 ference to two contending hypotheses. In forming at the 
 outset of an inquiry the appropriate tables, nothing would 
 have led the interpreter to perceive its peculiar value. 
 
 This theory, whatever may be its practical utility, may sup- 
 ply us with new illustrations of the importance in Bacon's 
 method of the process of exclusions. 
 
 At the head of the list and placed there, we may presume, 
 from the importance of the end which they promote stand the 
 instantiae solitariaa, whose prerogative it is to accelerate the 
 Exclusiva. 3 These are instances which exhibit the given nature 
 in subjects which have nothing in common, except that nature 
 itself, with the other subjects which present it to us. Thus the 
 colours shown by the prism or by crystals are a solitary instance 
 of colour, because they have nothing in common with the fixed 
 colours of flowers, gems, &c. Whatever therefore is not in- 
 dependent of the particular constitution of these bodies must be 
 excluded from the form of colour. 
 
 .Next to the instantiae solitariae are placed the instantiae 
 migrantes, which show the given nature in the act of appearing 
 
 1 Nov. Org. ii. 27. It does not seem that Bacon added much to what he found in 
 Aristotle on the subject of these analogies. 
 
 * Nov. Org. ii. 36. * Nov. Org. ii. 22.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 45 
 
 or of disappearing ; as when glass, being pounded, becomes white. 
 Of these it is said that they not only accelerate and strengthen 
 the Exclusiva, but also confine within narrow limits the Affirm- 
 ative, or Form itself, by showing that it is something which is 
 given or taken away by the observed change. A little far- 
 ther on Bacon notices the danger in these cases of confounding 
 the efficient cause with the Form, and concludes by saying 
 " But this is easily remedied by a legitimately performed Ex- 
 clusiva." 
 
 Other remarks to the same effect might be made with re- 
 ference to other classes of instances; but these are probably 
 sufficient. 
 
 I shall now endeavour to give an account of Bacon's views 
 on some questions of philosophy, which are not immediately 
 connected with the reforms he proposed to introduce. 
 
 (13.) It has sometimes, I believe, been supposed that Bacon 
 had adopted the atomic theory of Democritus. This however 
 is by no means true ; but certainly he often speaks much more 
 favourably of the systems of the earlier physicists, and espe- 
 cially of that of Democritus, than of the philosophy of Plato and 
 Aristotle. In doing this he may, perhaps, have been more or 
 less influenced by a wish to find in antiquity something with 
 which the doctrines he condemned might be contrasted. But 
 setting this aside, it is certain that these systems were more 
 akin to his own views than the doctrine of the schools of which 
 Socrates may be called the founder. The problems which they 
 proposed were essentially physical, given certain material 
 first principles, to determine the origin and causes of all pheno- 
 mena. They were concerned, for the most part, with that 
 which is accessible to the senses, or Avhich would be so if the 
 senses were sufficiently acute. In this they altogether agree 
 with Bacon, who, though he often speaks of the errors and 
 shortcomings of the senses, yet had never been led to consider 
 the question which stands at the entrance of metaphysical phi- 
 losophy, namely whether the subjective character of sensation 
 does not necessarily lead to scepticism, if no higher grounds of 
 truth can be discovered. The scepticism of Protagoras, and 
 Plato's refutation of it, seemed to him to be both but idle sub- 
 tleties. Plato, Aristotle, and their followers, were in his 
 ophiion but a better kind of sophists. What Dionysius said to
 
 46 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 Plato, that his discourse was but dotage, might fitly be applied 
 to them all. 1 
 
 It cannot be denied, that to Bacon all sound philosophy 
 seemed to be included in what we now call the natural sciences ; 
 and with this view he was naturally led to prefer the atomic 
 doctrine of Democritus to any metaphysical speculation. Every 
 atomic theory is an attempt to explain some of the phenomena 
 of matter by means of others ; to explain secondary qualities by 
 means of the primary. And this was what Bacon himself pro- 
 posed to do in investigating the Forms of simple natures. 
 Nevertheless he did not adopt the peculiar opinions of De- 
 mocritus and his followers. In the Novum Organum he rejects 
 altogether the notion of a vacuum and that of the unchange- 
 ableness of matter. 2 His theory of the intimate constitution 
 of bodies does not, he remarks, relate to atoms properly so 
 called, but only to the actually existing ultimate particles. 
 Bacon cannot therefore be said to be a follower of Demo- 
 critus, though he has spoken of him as being, of all the Greek 
 philosophers, the one who had the deepest insight into nature. 3 
 
 But though Bacon was not an atomist, he was what has been 
 called a mechanical physiologist. Leibnitz's remark that the 
 restorers of philosophy 4 all held the principle that the properties 
 of bodies are to be explained by means of magnitude, figure, and 
 motion (a statement which envelopes every such theory of 
 matter as that of Descartes, together with the old atomic doc- 
 trine), is certainly true of Bacon. 
 
 (14.) The opinion which Bacon had formed as to the class of 
 subjects which ought to be included in Summary Philosophy (the 
 English phrase by which he renders the expression he some- 
 times uses, namely prima philosophia), is worthy of attention. 
 
 In the writings of Aristotle, the first philosophy denotes the 
 science which since his time has been called metaphysics. It is 
 the science of first principles, or as he has himself defined it, 
 the science of that which is, as such. In the first book of the 
 Metaphysics we find a proof of the necessity of having such a 
 science, distinct from and in a manner superior to all others. 
 
 Bacon, adopting Aristotle's name, applied it differently. With 
 
 1 Redargut. Phil, et Nov. Org. i. 71. 
 
 2 Nov. Org. ii. 8. Compare Cogit. De Nat. Rerum. 
 * Nov. Org. i. 51.; also Parm. Teles, and Dem. PhiL 
 
 4 Namely, the Cartesians, Verulam, Hobbes, &c. See his letter to Thomasiu=, 
 p. 48. of the edition of his philosophical works by Erdman.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 47 
 
 him, the first philosophy is divided into two parts. Of these 
 the first is to be a receptacle of the axioms which do not belong 
 exclusively to particular sciences, but are common to more than 
 one ; while the second is to inquire into the external or adventi- 
 tious conditions of existences such as the much and the little, 
 the like and the unlike, the possible and impossible, &c. 
 
 In illustration of the contents of the first part, Bacon quotes 
 several axioms which are applicable in more than one science. 
 Of these the first is, " If to unequals are added equals, the sums 
 are unequal," which is a mathematical principle, but which, 
 Bacon says, referring to the distinction laid down by Aristotle 
 between commutative and distributive justice, obtains also in 
 moral science ; inasmuch as it is the rule by which distributive 
 justice must be guided. The next is, " Things which agree 
 with a third, agree with one another," which is also a mathe- 
 matical principle, but yet, differently stated, forms the founda- 
 tion of the theory of syllogism. Thus far Bacon's doctrine does 
 not materially dissent from Aristotle's, who has taught the 
 necessity of recognising in all sciences two kinds of principles, 
 those which are proper to the subject of each science, and those 
 which, connecting themselves with the doctrine of the catego- 
 ries, are common to all. The last are in his nomenclature 
 axioms, though Bacon, following probably Kamus, who in his 
 turn followed Cicero and the Stoics, gives a much more general 
 sense to this word ; and it is to be remarked that Aristotle has 
 given as an instance of an axiom the first of the two which I 
 have quoted from Bacon, or at any rate another which is in 
 effect equivalent to it. But most of the instances which Bacon 
 goes on to give are of a different nature. They are not derived 
 from the laws of thought, but on the contrary involve an em- 
 pirical element, and therefore are neither self evident, nor 
 capable of an a priori proof. Thus the axiom that " a discord 
 resolved into a concord improves the harmony," is, Bacon says, 
 not only true in music, but also in ethics and the doctrine of 
 the affections. But this axiom is in its literal sense merely a 
 result of observation, and its application to moral subjects is 
 clearly only analogical or tropical. Again, that " the organs of 
 the senses are analogous to instruments which produce reflec- 
 tion," is, Bacon says, true in perspective, and also in acoustics ; 
 being true both of the eye and ear. Here we have a result of 
 observation which is made to enter into two different sciences
 
 48 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 simply in virtue of the classification employed. For this axiom, 
 if true, properly belongs to physiology, and neither to perspec- 
 tive nor to acoustics ; though in a secondary and derivative 
 manner a portion of the truth it includes may be introduced 
 into these sciences. And so on. There is however one of these 
 axioms which is of higher authority : " Quantum naturae nee 
 minuitur nee augetur :" which, Bacon says, is true not only 
 in physics, but also in natural theology, if it be stated in a 
 modified form; viz. if it be said that it belongs to Omnipo- 
 tence to make something out of nothing, or vice versa. Of 
 this axiom it may be remarked, that it is common to physics 
 and natural theology simply because the subjects of these 
 sciences are, in some measure, common to both; wherein it 
 differs from the Aristotelian conception of an axiom. But it is 
 of more interest to observe, that this axiom of which the truth 
 is derived from our notion of substance, and which can never be 
 established by an empirical demonstration, is constantly quoted 
 by Bacon as a principle of incontestable truth ; of which his 
 theory of specific gravities is in some sort only an application. 
 The question arises both with regard to this axiom and to 
 the others, In what manner Bacon supposed that they ought to 
 be demonstrated ; or, if he thought they required no demonstra- 
 tion, in what manner he conceived that the mind apprehended 
 their truth ? He has certainly affirmed in express terms that 
 there can be only two ways of arriving at truth, namely syllo- 
 gism and induction ; both of which are manifestly inapplicable 
 to some at least of the principles which he includes in the 
 philosophia prima. But whether he would have admitted that 
 this dictum admits of exception in relation to these cases, or on 
 the other hand had not been led to consider the nature of the 
 difficulty which they present, we have, I think, no means of 
 deciding. It is to be observed that the philosophia prima is 
 spoken of as a collection (receptaculum) of axioms a phrase 
 which implies that it is not a science in itself, having its own 
 principles and an independent development, but that, contrari- 
 wise, it derives from the contributions of other sciences the 
 elements of which it is composed. Of the second part we are 
 unable to speak more definitely than of the first. It is obviously 
 a reflexion of the Aristotelian doctrine of the categories ! , from 
 
 1 Trendelenberg has accordingly quoted the passages in the De Augmentis which 
 relate to it, in the historical part of his work on the categories.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 49 
 
 which, however, Bacon intended to contrast it by requiring that 
 the " conditiones entium," which he has doubtless called tran- 
 scendent from their applicability to all classes of objects, should 
 be treated not logically but physically. 1 
 
 But then what are the questions to be resolved in this mode 
 of treating them ? Bacon gives some examples of the discus- 
 sions which ought to occupy this part of philosophy. The first 
 is, why there is so much of one kind of substance, and so little 
 of another why, for instance, so much more iron in the world 
 than gold, &c. This belongs to the inquiry " de multo et 
 parvo." Again, in treating " de siniili et diverse," it ought to 
 be explained why between dissimilar species are almost always 
 interposed others which partake of the nature of both, and form, 
 as it were, ambiguous species for instance, bats between birds 
 and quadrupeds, or moss between corruption and plants, &c. 
 The difficulty however which I have already mentioned in 
 speaking of the other part of the philosophia prima recurs with 
 reference to this, namely by what method were the questions 
 here proposed to be answered ? If by induction, by induction on 
 what data ? and if not, by what other way of arriving at truth ? 
 
 The illustrations which Bacon has given, and perhaps his 
 way of looking at the whole subject, connect themselves with 
 what has recently been called palaezetiology. The questions 
 which Bacon proposes are questions as to how that which 
 actually exists, and which in the present order of things will 
 continue to exist, came into being whether abruptly or by 
 slow transitions, and under what agency. He seems to point, 
 though from a distance, to discussions as to the formation of 
 strata and the succession of species. Yet on the other hand 
 the discussion on Like and Unlike was to include at least one 
 portion of a different character, namely why, in despite of the 
 maxim " similia similibus gaudent," iron does not attract iron 
 but the magnet, nor gold gold, but quicksilver. 
 
 (15.) Another subject, sufficiently interesting to be here 
 mentioned, though less connected with Bacon's general views, 
 is the doctrine which he entertained touching the nature of the 
 soul. He distinguishes in several parts of his writings between 
 the animal soul, common, at least in kind, to man and to the 
 brutes, and the immortal principle infused by the divine favour 
 
 1 De Augmentis iii. 4. 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 into man only. 1 To the latter he gave the name of spiraculum, 
 which was of course suggested by the text, " Spiravit in faciem 
 ejus spiraculum vite." M. Bouillet,, in his edition of Bacon's 
 philosophical works 2 , condemns this doctrine of man's having 
 two souls, and goes on to remark that Bacon was led to adopt 
 it in deference to the opinions of the schoolmen, and that it 
 is also sanctioned by S. Augustine. In these remarks he is 
 much less accurate than usual ; the truth being that the doc- 
 trine of the duality of the soul is condemned very strongly by 
 S. Augustine and by the schoolmen, and that there is no doubt 
 as to the source from which Bacon derived it, namely from the 
 writings of Telesius. The notion of a lower soul, distinct in 
 essence from the higher principle of man's nature, is in reality 
 much older than Telesius. We find it for instance among the 
 Manichees a circumstance which makes it singular that S. 
 Augustine should have been supposed to countenance it. Both 
 in his work DP. Ecclesics Dogmatibus, and nearly in the same 
 words in that De Anima, he rejects in the most precise and 
 accurate manner the doctrine of two distinct souls, affirming 
 that there is but one, which is at once the principle of nutri- 
 tion, of sensation, and of reason. In opposing the tenets of the 
 Manichseans, he has more than once condemned the same doc- 
 trine, though less at length than in the works just mentioned. 
 The schoolmen also peremptorily rejected the doctrine which 
 M. Bouillet has affirmed that Bacon derived from them. Thus 
 S. Thomas Aquinas says, " Impossible est in uno homine esse 
 plures animas per essentiam differentes, sed una tantum est 
 anima intellectiva quae vegetative et sensitive et intellective 
 officiis fungitur." 3 And this follows at once from the received 
 opinion, that the soul is joined to the body as its form (ut 
 forma unitur corpori). It would be easy to multiply citations 
 to the same effect ; but as no schoolman could venture to con- 
 tradict an emphatically expressed opinion of S. Augustine, it 
 appears unnecessary to do so. 4 
 
 1 De Augmentis iv. 3. 
 
 * CEuvres Philosophiques de Bacon. Paris, 1834. J. S. 
 
 3 S. Thorn. Prim. Q. 76. a. 3. Concl. 
 
 4 With what bold ignorance the schoolmen are sometimes spoken of is well seen in 
 Dr. Gutwauer's preface to his edition of Leibnitz De Principio Individui. The 
 sixth proposition in the Corolfarium attached to this disputation is as follows : 
 " Hominis solum una est anima quae vegetativam et sensitivam virtualiter includat." 
 The learned Doctor declares that in this statement Leibnitz set himself in direct op- 
 position to the schoolmen, and that it contains the germ of Leibnitz's own psychology ; 
 the statement being almost a literal transcript of that of St. Thomas Aquinas. Sum. i.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 51 
 
 Telesius of Cozensa, whom Bacon has commended as " the 
 best of the novellists," was one of the Italian reformers of phi- 
 losophy. Tennemann's remark that the reform which he at- 
 tempted to introduce was but partial, as having reference only 
 to the natural sciences, is not altogether accurate, but it describes 
 with sufficient correctness the general character of his writings. 
 They contain an attempt to explain all phenomena, including 
 those of animal life, on the hypothesis of the continuous 
 conflict and reciprocal action of two formal principles, heat 
 and cold. His other doctrines are either subordinated to this 
 kind of dualism, or are merely the necessary complements 
 of a system of philosophy. In proposing to inquire into the 
 nature and origin of the soul, he had no other end in view 
 than to arrive at an explanation of the phenomena of sensation, 
 voluntary motion, &c., which should be in accordance with his 
 fundamental hypothesis. He therefore sets out from the phy- 
 siological point of view ; and in order to explain the phenomena 
 of animal and vegetable life, refers them to an indwelling spi- 
 ritus, or animal soul, which in planta resides in the bark and 
 fibres, and in animals in the white and exsanguine parts of the 
 body, the bones being however excepted. l The animal and 
 vegetable souls are in essence alike, but the latter is "paulo 
 quam qui in animalibus inest crassior." In both cases the origin 
 of this anima is the same ; it is educed from the seed (educta 
 ex semine), and is to all intents as truly material as any other 
 part of the body. 
 
 In the application of these views to the soul of man, Telesius 
 was met by considerations of another order. The soul educed 
 ex semine, was (like the body which it animated, and of which 
 it was only the subtlest portion) propagated by generation; 
 whereas it was decided by orthodox theology that souls are not 
 ex traduce, do not pass from parent to child in the way Telesius 
 must have supposed. The soul is a gift, which after death is 
 to return to Him who gave it. I do not conceive that Telesius's 
 attempt to co-ordinate this doctrine with his own views arose 
 merely from a wish to avoid the imputation of heresy. His 
 writings are, I think, free from that tone of mocking deference 
 to authority by which those of many of his contemporaries are 
 
 Q. 76. a. 3., to which I have already referred. Leibnitz scarcely thought that in 
 following the Angelic Doctor, he was protesting against scholasticism. 
 1 De Rerum Nat. v. 1. et vi. 26. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 disfigured. They have, on the contrary, much of the melan- 
 choly earnestness which characterises those of his disciple 
 Campanella. The difference between the faculties of men and 
 brutes appeared to him to be such that merely a subtler organi- 
 sation of the spiritus would be insufficient to account for it. 
 Man's higher faculties are to be ascribed to a higher principle, 
 and this can only be conceived of as a divinely formed soul. 
 The question as to the relation between the two souls may be 
 presented under two aspects, namely what are the faculties in 
 man which ought to be ascribed to each of them ? and again 
 are these two souls wholly independent, and if not, how are 
 they connected? The criterion by which Telesius would de- 
 cide what ought to be reserved as the peculiar appanage of 
 the divinely created soul, appears to be this that which in 
 man is analogous to the faculties we recognise in brutes ought 
 to be ascribed to the principle by which they are animated and 
 which we possess in common with them. Whatever, on the 
 contrary, seems peculiar to man, more especially the sense of 
 right and wrong, which is the foundation of all morality, ought 
 to be ascribed to the principle which it is our prerogative to 
 possess. l 
 
 As to the connexion between the two, Telesius decides 
 " both on grounds of human reason and from the authority of 
 Scripture" that they cannot be wholly independent of each 
 other, and he accordingly affirms that the divinely created soul 
 is the Form of the whole body, and especially of the spiritus 
 itself. That the soul is the Form of the body he could not 
 without heresy deny 2 , although he condemns Aristotle for say- 
 ing so ; asserting that Aristotle refers to the spiritus, and not to 
 the true soul, with which probably he was unacquainted. 3 The 
 tendency of these views is towards materialism ; the immaterial 
 principle being annexed to the system, as it were, ab extra. 
 Accordingly Telesius's disciple Donius, whom Bacon has more 
 than once referred to, omits it altogether. 4 
 
 Comparing the views of Telesius with those of Bacon, we 
 
 1 De Rerum Natura, v. 2. 
 
 * The collection known as the Clementines contains an authoritative decision on this 
 point. "Ut quisque deinceps asserere defendere aut tenere pertinaciter praesump- 
 serit, quod anima rationalis non sit forma corporis humani per se et essentialiter 
 tanquam hsereticus sit censendus." I quote from Vulpes on Duns Scotus, Disp. 46. a. 
 5. To this decision Telesius seems to allude, De Ker. Nat. v. 40. Campanella has 
 expressly mentioned it 
 
 8 De Rer. Nat. v. 3. * See his De Nat. Hominis.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 53 
 
 see that in both the duality of the soul is distinctly asserted, and 
 that in both the animal soul is merely material. 1 Our know- 
 ledge of the divinely derived principle must rest principally on 
 revelation. Let this knowledge be drawn, he counsels us, from 
 the same fountain of inspiration from whence the substance of 
 the soul itself proceeded. 
 
 Bacon rejects or at least omits Telesius's formula, that this 
 higher soul is the Form of the body a formula to which either 
 in his system or that of Telesius no definite sense could be 
 attached. He differs from his predecessor in this also, that with 
 him the spiritus is more a physiological and less a psychological 
 hypothesis than with Telesius it is at least less enwrapped in 
 a psychological system than we find it in the De Rerum Na- 
 
 On the other hand, he has not, I think, recognised so dis- 
 tinctly as Telesius or Campanella the principle that to the rational 
 soul alone is to be referred the idea of moral responsibility ; and 
 the fine passage on the contrast of public and private good in the 
 seventh book of the De Augmentis seems to show (if Bacon 
 meant that the analogy on which it is based should be accepted 
 as anything more than an illustration) that he conceived that 
 something akin to the distinction of right and wrong is to be 
 traced in the workings, conscious or unconscious, of all nature. 
 
 (16.) We are here led to mention another subject, on which 
 again the views of Telesius appear to have influenced those of 
 Bacon. That all bodies are animated, that a principle of life 
 pervades the whole universe, and that each portion, beside its 
 participation in the life of the world, has also its proper vital 
 principle, are doctrines to which in the time of Bacon the ma- 
 jority of philosophical reformers were at least strongly inclined. 
 The most celebrated work in which they are set forth is perhaps 
 the De Sensu Rerum of Campanella. The share which it had 
 in producing the misfortunes of his life is well known, and need 
 not here be noticed. 
 
 In one of his letters to Thomasius 2 , Leibnitz points out how 
 easy the transition is from the language which the schoolmen 
 held touching substantial forms and the workings of nature to 
 that of Campanella : " Ita reditur ad tot deunculos quot for- 
 mas substantiales et Gentilem prope polytheismum. Et certe 
 
 1 Proceeding e matricibus elementorum, De Augm. iv. 3. 
 
 8 P. 48. of Erdmann's edition of his philosophical works. 
 
 E 3
 
 54 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 omnes qui de substantiis illis incorporalibus corporum loquun- 
 tur non possunt mentem suam explicare nisi translatione a Men- 
 tibus sumpta. Hinc enim attributus illis appetitus vel instinctus 
 ille naturalis ex quo et sequitur cognitio naturalis, hinc illud 
 axioma : Natura nihil facit frustra, omnis res fugit sui destruc- 
 tionem, similia similibus gaudent, materia appetit formam nobi- 
 liorem, et alia id genus. Quum tamen revera in natura nulla 
 sit sapientia, nullus appetitus, ordo vero pulcher ex eo oriatur, 
 quia est horologium Dei." To the censure implied in these 
 remarks Aristotle is himself in some measure liable, seeing that 
 he ascribed the various changes which go on around us to the 
 half-conscious or unconscious workings of an indwelling power 
 which pervades all tilings, and to which he gives the name of 
 Nature. Nature does nothing in vain and of things possible 
 realises the best, but she does not act with conscious prevision. 
 She is, so to speak, the instinct of the universe. 
 
 It is on account of these views that Bacon charges Aristotle 
 with having set aside the doctrine of a providence, by putting 
 Nature in the place of God. 1 Nevertheless Bacon himself 
 thought it possible to explain large classes of phenomena by 
 referring them, not certainly to the workings of Nature, but to 
 the instincts and appetites of individual bodies. His whole 
 doctrine of simple motions is full of expressions which it is 
 very difficult to understand without supposing that Bacon had 
 for the time adopted the notion of universally diffused sensation. 
 Thus the " motus nexus " is that in virtue of which bodies, as 
 delighting in mutual contact, will not suffer themselves to be 
 separated. All bodies, we are told, abhor a solution of con- 
 tinuity, and the rising of cream is to be explained by the desire 
 of homogeneous elements for one another. 
 
 The distinction which Bacon has elsewhere taken between 
 sensation and perception, which corresponds to Leibnitz's dis- 
 tinction between apperception and perception, does not appear 
 to accord with these expressions. He there asserts that inani- 
 mate bodies have perception without sensation. But such 
 words as desire and horror imply not only a change worked in 
 the body to which they are applied in virtue of the presence of 
 another, but also a sense of that presence, that is, in Bacon's 
 language, not only perception but sensation. 
 
 * 
 
 1 De Aug. iii. 4.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 55 
 
 The contrast between the expressions I have quoted and 
 those of which he made use in other parts of his writings, is 
 remarkable. In stating the doctrine of simple motions, he 
 speaks as if all phenomena were to be explained by means of 
 the desires and instincts of matter, every portion of which is 
 more or less consciously sentient. But in other passages we 
 find what at first appears to be a wholly different view, namely 
 that phenomena are to be explained by the site, form, and con- 
 figuration of atoms or ultimate particles, capable neither of 
 desire nor fear, and in all their motions simply fulfilling the 
 primary law impressed on them by Providence. 
 
 Nevertheless there is here no real inconsistency. For Bacon, 
 following Telesius, ascribed all the phenomena of animal life to 
 the spiritus, which, though it is the subtlest portion of the body 
 .vhich it animates, is notwithstanding as truly material as any 
 other part. In every body, whether animated or not, dwells a 
 portion of spirit, and it was natural therefore to ascribe to it 
 some share of the powers which the more finely constituted 
 spirits of animals were supposed to possess. How far however 
 this analogy between animate and inanimate bodies ought to be 
 carried, was a doubtful question ; and we need not be surprised 
 to find that Bacon sometimes denies and sometimes appears to 
 admit that the latter as well as the former are, to a certain 
 extent at least, consciously sentient. But in all cases he pro- 
 posed to explain the phenomena of animal life by means of the 
 ultimate constitution of matter. Thus such phenomena as the 
 rising of cream, the subsidence of the lees of wine, the clinging 
 of gold leaf round the finger, &c., were to be explained in the 
 first instance by the instincts and appetites of portions of matter, 
 and afterwards to receive a deeper and more fundamental expla- 
 nation when these instincts and appetites were themselves shown 
 to result from the site, form, and configuration of the ultimate 
 particles of which all bodies are composed. 
 
 To the doctrine of universally diffused sensation, so far as 
 he adopted it, Bacon was led by the writings of many of his 
 contemporaries, and in particular by those of Telesius. Brucker 
 has remarked, and with perfect truth, that this doctrine is 
 stated as distinctly, though not so conspicuously, by Telesius 
 as by Campanella. Added to which this doctrine serves to 
 explain phenomena of which, without it, no explanation could 
 readily be given. Thus Bacon is much disposed to ridicule 
 
 B 1
 
 56 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 Gilbert for the pains he had bestowed on the subject of electrical 
 attraction, affirming that it is merely the result of the power which 
 friction possesses to excite the appetite of bodies for contact. 
 This appetite " aerem non bene tolerat, sed aliud tangibile 
 mavult." 
 
 (17.) Bacon's opinion as to Final Causes has often been dis- 
 cussed. It seems however scarcely necessary to refute the 
 interpretation which on no just grounds has been given to the 
 phrase, " causarum finalium inquisitio tanquam virgo Deo con- 
 secrata nihil parit." l Nihil parit, as the context plainly shows, 
 [means simply non parit opera]. 2 Bacon is speaking of the 
 classification of physics and metaphysics the one being the 
 science of the material and efficient cause, and the other con- 
 taining two parts, namely the doctrine of forms and the doctrine 
 of final causes. To physics corresponds in practical application 
 mechanica or mechanics to metaphysics, magia or natural 
 magic. But magia corresponds to metaphysique because the 
 latter contains the doctrine of Forms ; that of final causes admit- 
 ting from its nature of no practical application. It is this idea 
 which Bacon has expressed by saying that the doctrine in ques- 
 tion is, as it were, a consecrated virgin. 
 
 It is not sufficiently remarked that final causes have often 
 been spoken of without any reference to a benevolent intention. 
 When it is said that the final cause of a stone's falling is "locus 
 deorsum," the remark is at least but remotely connected with 
 the doctrine of an intelligent providence. We are to remember 
 that Bacon has expressly censured Aristotle for having made 
 use of final causes without referring to the fountain from which 
 they flow, namely the providence of the Creator. And in this 
 censure he has found many to concur. 
 
 Again, in any case in which the benevolent intention can be 
 perceived, we are at liberty to ask by what means and according 
 to what laws this benevolent intention is manifested and made 
 efficient. If this question is not to be asked, there is in the first 
 place an end of physical science, so far as relates to every case 
 in which a benevolent intention has been or can be recognised ; 
 and in the second, the argument a posteriori founded on the 
 
 1 De Augm. iii. 5. See note on the place J. S 1 
 
 2 I have supplied these words to complete the sentence, which ends abruptly at the 
 bottom of a page, a fresh page having apparently been substituted for that which 
 originally followed. J. S.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 57 
 
 contrivance displayed in the works of creation is entirely taken 
 away. 
 
 This is, in effect, what Bacon says in the passage of the De 
 Augmentis in which he complains of the abuse of final causes. 
 If, he affirms, the physical cause of any phenomenon can be 
 assigned as well as the final, so far is this from derogating from 
 our idea of the divine wisdom, that on the contrary it does but 
 confirm and exalt it. "Dei sapientia effulget mirabilius cum 
 natura aliud agit, providentia aliud elicit, quam si singulis sche- 
 matibus et motibus naturalibus providentise characteres essent 
 impressi." 1 And a little farther on he expresses an opinion 
 which we shall do well always to remember, namely that so far 
 is the study of physical causes from withdrawing men from God 
 and providence, that on the contrary those who have occupied 
 themselves in searching them out have never been able to find 
 the end of the matter without having recourse at length to the 
 doctrine of divine providence. 
 
 In one respect Bacon seems to have overlooked the advan- 
 tage which is to be derived from the study of final causes. In 
 the sciences which relate to animal and vegetable life, the con- 
 viction that every part of the organisation has its appropriate 
 function which conduces to the well-being of the whole, serves 
 not only to direct our thoughts to the wisdom of the Creator, 
 but also to guide our investigation into the nature of the orga- 
 nisation itself. 
 
 (18.) It will now, I think, be well to attempt to arrange the 
 fundamental ideas of Bacon's system in the order in which, as 
 we may conceive, they presented themselves to his mind. To 
 do this will necessarily involve some degree of repetition ; but 
 it will enable us to form a better idea of the scope and spirit 
 of his philosophy. 
 
 When, at the outset of his philosophical life, he looked round 
 on the visible, universe, it would seem that to him the starry 
 heavens, notwithstanding the grandeur of the spectacle they 
 present to us, were of less interest than things on earth. The 
 stars in their courses declare the glory of God ; but, excepting 
 the great lights which rule the day and night, they exert no 
 conspicuous influence on the welfare of mankind. And on the 
 
 1 De Aug. iii. 4.
 
 58 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 other hand it is certain that we can in nowise affect the causes 
 by which these phenomena are produced. But on the earth 
 beneath, and in the waters under the earth, Nature is perpe- 
 tually working in ways which it is conceivable that we may be 
 able to imitate, and in which the beneficence of the Creator, 
 wherein His glory is to us chiefly visible, is everywhere to be 
 traced. Wherever we turn, we see the same spectacle of un- 
 ceasing and benevolent activity. From the seed of corn Nature 
 developes the stalk, the blade, and the ear, and superinduces on 
 the yet immature produce the qualities which make it fit for 
 the sustenance of man. And so, too, animal life is developed 
 from its first rudiments to all the perfection which it is capable 
 of attaining. And though this perfection is necessarily tran- 
 sitory, yet Nature, though she cannot perpetuate the individual, 
 yet continues the species by unceasing reproduction. 
 
 But the contemplation of God's works, glorious as they are, is 
 not the whole of man's business here on earth. For in losing 
 his first estate he lost the dominion over the creatures which 
 was its highest privilege, and ever since has worn out few and 
 evil days, exposed to want, sickness, and death. His works 
 have all been vanity and vexation of spirit, his labour nearly 
 profitless, his knowledge for the most part useless. Is his 
 condition altogether hopeless, or may it not be possible to soften, 
 though not to set aside, the effects of the primal curse? To 
 this question Bacon unhesitatingly made answer, that of His 
 great mercy God would bless our humble endeavours to restore 
 to suffering humanity some part at least of what it had lost ; 
 and thus he has more than once described the instauration of the 
 sciences as an attempt to regain, so far as may be, that of which 
 the Fall deprived us. 
 
 A deep sense of the misery of mankind is visible throughout 
 his writings. The principal speaker in the Redargutio Philo- 
 sophiarum, and the son [father] of Solomon's House in the New 
 Atlantis, both express Bacon's idea of what the philosopher 
 ought to be ; and of both it is said that their countenance was 
 as the countenance of one who pities men. Herein we see the 
 reason why Bacon has often been called an utilitarian; not 
 because he loved truth less than others, but because he loved 
 men more. 
 
 The philosopher is therefore not merely to contemplate the 
 works of the Creator, but also to employ the knowledge thus
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 59 
 
 obtained for the relief of man's estate. If we ask how this is to 
 be done, we find, Bacon tells us (and here he still seems to recur 
 to the idea that the new philosophy is to be in some sort a re- 
 storation to man of his original condition), that as no one can 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven " nisi sub persona infantis," 
 so, too, in order to obtain a real and fruitful insight into Nature, 
 it is necessary to become as a little child, to abnegate received 
 dogmas and the idols by which the mind is most easily beset* 
 and then to follow with childlike singleness of purpose the 
 indications which Nature gives us as to how her operations are 
 performed. For we can command Nature only by obeying 
 her ; nor can Art avail anything except as Nature's handmaiden. 
 We can affect the conditions under which Nature works ; but 
 things artificial as well as things natural are in reality pro- 
 duced not by Art but Nature. Our power is merely based 
 upon our knowledge of the procedure which Nature follows. 
 She is never really thwarted or controlled by our operations, 
 though she may be induced to depart from her usual course, and 
 under new and artificial conditions to produce new phenomena 
 and new substances. 
 
 Natural philosophy, considered from this point of view, is 
 therefore only an answer to the question, How does Nature 
 work in the production of phenomena ? When, to take a trivial 
 instance, she superinduces yellowness on the green leaf, or 
 silently and gradually transforms ice into crystal, we ask how 
 are these changes brought about? what conditions are neces- 
 sary and sufficient in order that the phenomena we observe may 
 be engendered? If we knew what these conditions are, we 
 might ourselves be able to determine their existence, and then 
 the corresponding phenomena would necessarily follow, since the 
 course of Nature is absolutely uniform. 
 
 At this point of the development of Bacon's system, the 
 question of method would naturally present itself to him. 
 Having determined what the object of our inquiries is to be, we 
 must endeavour to find a way of attaining it. 
 
 For this end Bacon, as we have seen, proposes to examine 
 all the cases in which the phenomenon to be reproduced has 
 been observed, and to note all the conditions which in each case 
 accompany its production. Of all these those only can be ne- 
 cessary which are universally concomitant. Again he proposes 
 to observe all the cognate cases in which, though certain of the
 
 60 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 conditions before mentioned are present, they are not accom- 
 panied by the required phenomenon. By these two classes of 
 observations all the superfluous conditions may be rejected, 
 and those which remain are what we seek. Wherever we can 
 determine their existence we can produce the phenomenon in 
 question. 
 
 This process is what Bacon calls, in Valerius Terminus, the 
 freeing of a direction, and in his later writings the investigation 
 of the Form. 
 
 His thinking that this process would in all cases, oreven 
 generally, be successful, arose from his not having sufficiently 
 appreciated the infinite variety and complexity of Nature. Thus 
 he strongly condemns as most false and pernicious the common 
 opinion that the number of individual phenomena to be observed 
 is sensibly infinite, and commends Democritus (a commendation 
 which seems rather to belong to Lucretius) for having perceived 
 that the appearance of limitless variety which the first aspect of 
 Nature presents to us disappears on a closer inspection. 
 
 The transition from this view of Nature to the idea that it 
 was possible to form an alphabet of the universe, and to analyse 
 all phenomena into their real elements, is manifestly easy. 
 
 By the new method of induction it would be possible to 
 ascertain the conditions requisite and sufficient for the produc- 
 tion of any phenomenon ; and as this determination was meant 
 chiefly to enable us to imitate Nature, or rather to direct her 
 operations, Bacon was naturally led to assume that the con- 
 ditions in question would be such that it would in all cases be 
 possible to produce them artificially. Now the power of man 
 is limited to the relations of space. He brings bodies together, 
 he separates them ; but Nature must do the rest. On the other 
 hand the conditions of the existence of any phenomenon must 
 be something which inheres more closely in the essence of the 
 substance by which that phenomenon is exhibited than the 
 phenomenon itself. And this something is clearly the inward 
 configuration of the substance ; that is, the form and arrangement 
 &c. of its ultimate particles. Whiteness, for instance, depends 
 on an even arrangement of these particles in space ; and herein 
 we perceive a perfect analogy between what man can do and 
 what Nature requires to be done. The familiar processes of the 
 arts consist simply in giving particular forms to portions of 
 matter, in arranging them and setting them in motion according
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 61 
 
 to certain rules. Between arranging stones so as to form a 
 house, and arranging particles so as to produce whiteness, there 
 is no difference but that of scale. So in other cases. The 
 difference of scale once set aside, it seemed to follow that the 
 knowledge of the Form would in all cases lead to great practical 
 results. 
 
 Thus far of the end which the new philosophy proposes to 
 itself, and of the method which it must employ. The next 
 question relates to the mode of procuring and arranging the 
 materials on which this method is to work. In this part of the 
 subject we again perceive the influence of Bacon's opinion 
 touching the limitedness of Nature. No one acquainted with 
 the history of natural philosophy would think it possible to 
 form a collection of all the facts which are to be the materials 
 on which any science is to operate, antecedently to the formation 
 of the science itself. 
 
 In the first place, the observations necessary in order to the 
 recognition of these facts would never have been made except 
 under the guidance of some preconceived idea as to the subject 
 of observation ; and in the second, the statement which embodies 
 the result of observation always involves some portion of theory. 
 According to the common use of language, it is a fact and not a 
 theory that in ordinary refraction the sine of the angle of in- 
 cidence is to the sine of the angle of refraction in a given ratio. 
 But the observations on which this statement is based, and the 
 statement itself, presuppose the recognition of a portion of the 
 theory of light, namely that light is propagated in straight lines 
 in other words, they presuppose the conception of a ray. Nor 
 would these observations have been made but for the idea in the 
 mind of the observers that the magnitude of the angle of refrac- 
 tion depends on that of the angle of incidence. 
 
 As we advance farther in any science, what we call facts in- 
 volve more and more of theory. Thus it is a fact that the 
 tangent of the angle of polarisation is equal to the index of re- 
 fraction. But no one could have made the observations which 
 prove it, or have stated their result in words, without a distinct 
 conception, first of the law of refraction, and secondly of the 
 distinguishing character of polarised light. 
 
 The history of science and the nature of the case concur in 
 showing that observation and theory must go on together ; it 
 is impossible that the one can be completed before the other
 
 62 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 begins. Now although Bacon did not think that observation 
 and experiments might altogether be laid aside when once the 
 process of interpretation had begun (we see on the contrary 
 that one of the works of Solomon's House was the trying of 
 experiments suggested by previously obtained conclusions), he 
 certainly thought it possible so to sever observation from theory 
 that the process of collecting facts and that of deriving conse- 
 quences from them might be carried on independently and by 
 different persons. This opinion was based on an imperfect ap- 
 prehension of the connexion between facts and theories; the 
 connexion appearing to him to be merely an external one, 
 namely that the former are the materials of the latter. With 
 these views that which has been already noticed touching the 
 finiteness of Nature, namely that there are but a finite and 
 not very large number of things which for scientific purposes 
 require to be observed *, is altogether in accordance. 
 
 The facts on which the new philosophy was to be based, 
 being conceivable apart from any portion of theory, and more- 
 over not excessively numerous, they might be observed and 
 recorded within a moderate length of time by persons of ordinary 
 diligence. 
 
 If this registering of facts were made a royal work, it might, 
 Bacon seems to have thought, be completed in a few years : he 
 has at least remarked that unless this were done, the foundation 
 of the new philosophy could not be laid in the lifetime of a 
 single generation. The instauration, he has said in the general 
 preface, is not to be thought of as something infinite and beyond 
 the power of man to accomplish ; nor does he believe that its 
 mission can be fully completed (rem omnino perfici posse) within 
 the limits of a single life. Something was therefore left for 
 posterity to do ; and probably the more Bacon meditated on the 
 work he had in hand, the more was he convinced of its extent 
 and difficulty. But the Distributio Operis sufficiently shows 
 that he believed, when he wrote it, that the instauration of the 
 sciences might speedily become an opus operatum. Of the 
 Historic, Naturalis on which it was to be based he there speaks, 
 not less than of the Novum Organum, as of a work which he 
 had himself accomplished, " Tertia pars operis complectitur 
 Phaenomena Universi," not " complecti debet." Doubtless 
 
 1 See the Phaenomena Universi, and toe Partis secundje Del., &c.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 63 
 
 the preface was written before the work itself was commenced ; 
 still if he had not thought it possible to make good what he 
 here proposes to do, he would have expressly said so. l 
 
 In a letter to Fulgenzio, written probably when Bacon was 
 "dagli anni e da fortuna oppresso," he remarks that "these 
 things " (the instauration of the sciences) require some ages for 
 the ripening of them. But though he despaired of completing 
 his design himself, and even thought that some generations 
 must pass before it received its consummation, yet he always 
 regarded it as a thing which sooner or later would be effectually 
 accomplished, and which would thenceforth remain as a /m/^a 
 ss dsl. His instauration of the sciences had a definite end, in 
 which when it was once attained it would finally acquiesce; 
 nor is there anything in his writings to countenance the assump- 
 tion which has been often made, that in his opinion the onward 
 progress of knowledge was to continue throughout all time. 
 On the contrary, the knowledge which man is capable of might, 
 he thought, be attained, not certainly at once, but within the 
 compass of no very long period. In this doubtless he erred ; 
 for knowledge must always continue to be imperfect, and 
 therefore in its best estate progressive. 
 
 Bacon has been likened to the prophet who from Mount 
 Pisgah surveyed the Promised Land, but left it for others to 
 take possession of. Of this happy image perhaps part of the 
 felicity was not perceived by its author. For though Pisgah 
 was a place of large prospect, yet still the Promised Land was a 
 land of definite extent and known boundaries, and moreover 
 it was certain that after no long time the chosen people would 
 be in possession of it all. And this agrees with what Bacon 
 promised to himself and to mankind from the instauration of 
 the sciences. 
 
 A truer image of the progress of knowledge may be derived 
 from the symbol which, though on other grounds, Bacon him- 
 self adopted. Those who strive to increase our knowledge of 
 the outward universe may be said to put out upon an apparently 
 boundless sea : they dedicate themselves 
 
 " To unpathed waters undreamed shores ; " 
 and though they have a good hope of success, yet they know 
 
 1 The sixth part, containing the new philosophy itself, is spoken of at the end of 
 the Distributio as at least an inchoate work, which others must finish, but to which 
 he hopes to give " initia non contemnenda."
 
 64 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 they can subdue but a small part of the new world which 
 lies before them. 
 
 (19.) In this respect then, as in others, the hopes of Francis 
 Bacon were not destined to be fulfilled. It is neither to the 
 technical part of his method nor to the details of his view of 
 the nature and progress of science that his great fame is justly 
 owing. His merits are of another kind. They belong to" the 
 spirit rather than to the positive precepts of his philosophy. 
 
 He did good service when he declared with all the weight of 
 his authority and of his eloquence that the true end of know- 
 ledge is the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate. 
 The spirit of this declaration runs throughout his writings, and 
 we trust has worked for good upon the generations by which 
 they have been studied. And as he showed his wisdom in 
 coupling together things divine and human, so has he shown it 
 also in tracing the demarcation between them, and in rebuking 
 those who by confounding religion and philosophy were in 
 danger of making the one heretical and the other superstitious. 
 
 When, not long before Bacon's time, philosophy freed itself 
 from the tutelage of dogmatic theology, it became a grave ques- 
 tion how their respective claims to authority might be most 
 fitly co-ordinated. It was to meet, perhaps rather to evade, this 
 question, that the distinction between that which is true in 
 philosophy and that which is true in religion was proposed and 
 adopted. But it is difficult to believe that the mind of any 
 sincere and truth-loving man was satisfied by this distinction. 
 Bacon has emphatically condemned it, " There is," he affirms, 
 " no such opposition between God's word and his works." 
 Both come from Hun who is the father of lights, the fountain 
 of all truth, the author of all good ; and both are therefore to 
 be studied with diligence and humility. To those who wish to 
 discourage philosophy in order that ignorance of second causes 
 may lead men to refer all things to the immediate agency of 
 the first, Bacon puts Job's question, " An oportet mentiri pro 
 Deo," will you offer to the God of truth the unclean sacrifice 
 of a lie ? 
 
 The religious earnestness of Bacon's writings becomes more 
 remarkable when we contrast it with the tone of the most il- 
 lustrious of his contemporaries. Galileo's works are full of in- 
 sincere deference to authority and of an affected disbelief in his 
 own discoveries. Surely he who loves truth earnestly will be
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 65 
 
 slow to believe that the cause of truth i8 to be served by irony. 
 But we must not forget the difference between the circum- 
 stances in which the two men were placed. 
 
 Next to his determination of the true end of natural philo- 
 sophy and of the relation in which it stands to natural and 
 to revealed theology, we may place among Bacon's merits his 
 clear view of the essential unity of science. He often insists 
 on the importance of this idea, and has especially commended 
 Plato and Parmenides for affirming " that all things do by scale 
 ascend to unity." The Creator is holy in the multitude of his 
 works, holy in their disposition, holy in their unity : it is the 
 prerogative of the doctrine of Forms to approach as nearly as 
 possible towards the unity of Nature, and the subordinate 
 science of Physics ought to contain two divisions relating to the 
 same subject. One of these ought to treat of the first principles 
 which govern all phenomena, and the other of the fabric of the 
 universe. 1 All classifications of the sciences ought to be as 
 veins or markings, and not as sections or divisions ; nor can any 
 object of scientific inquiry be satisfactorily studied apart from 
 the analogies which connect it with other similar objects. 
 
 But the greatest of all the services which Bacon rendered to 
 natural philosophy was, that he perpetually enforced the ne- 
 cessity of laying aside all preconceived opinions and learning to 
 be a follower of Nature. These counsels could not to their full 
 extent be followed, nor has he himself attempted to do so. But 
 they contain a great share of truth, and of truth never more 
 needful than in Bacon's age. Before his time doubtless the 
 authority of Aristotle, or rather that of the scholastic interpreta- 
 tion of his philosophy, was shaken, if not overthrown. Never- 
 theless the'systematising spirit of the schoolmen still survived, 
 and of the reformers of philosophy not a few attempted to sub- 
 stitute a dogmatic system of their own for that from which they 
 dissented. 
 
 Nor were these attempts unsuccessful. For men still leaned 
 upon authority, and accepted as a test of truth the appearance 
 of completeness and scientific consistency. This state of things 
 was one of transition ; and probably no one did more towards 
 putting an end to it than Bacon. To the dealers in systems 
 and to their adherents he opposed the solemn declaration, that 
 
 1 The latter is in effect what is now called Kosmos. 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 GENERAL PREFACE TO 
 
 they only who come in their own name will be received of men. 
 He constantly exhorted the seeker after truth to seek it in 
 intercourse with Nature, and has repeatedly professed that he 
 was no founder of a sect or school. He condemned the arro- 
 gance of those who thought it beneath the dignity of the philo- 
 sopher to dwell on matters of observation and experiment, and 
 reminded them that the sun " seque palatia et cloacas ingreditur ; 
 nee tamen polluitur." We do not, he continues, erect or de- 
 dicate to human pride a capitol or a pyramid ; we lay the 
 foundations in the mind of man of a holy temple, whereof the 
 exemplar is the universe. Throughout his writings the re- 
 jection of systems and authority is coupled with the assertion, 
 that it is beyond all things necessary that the philosopher should 
 be an humble follower of Nature. One of the most remarkable 
 parts of the Novum Organum is the doctrine of Idola. It is an 
 attempt to classify according to their origin the false and ill- 
 defined notions by which the mind is commonly beset. They 
 come, he tells us, from the nature of the human mind in general, 
 from the peculiarities of each man's individual mind, from his 
 intercourse with other men, from the formal teaching of the re- 
 ceived philosophies. All these must be renounced and put away, 
 else no man can enter into the kingdom which is to be founded 
 on the knowledge of Nature. 1 Of the four kinds of idols 
 Mersenne has spoken in his V'erite des Sciences, published in 
 1625, as of the four buttresses of the Organum of Verulam. 
 This expression, though certainly inaccurate, serves to show the 
 attention which in Bacon's time was paid to his doctrine of 
 idola, 2 
 
 His rejection of syllogistic reasoning in the proposed process 
 for the establishment of axioms, was not without utility. In 
 the middle ages and at the reform of philosophy the value of 
 the syllogistic method was unduly exalted. Bacon was right in 
 denying that it was possible to establish by a summary process 
 and a priori the first principles of any science, and thence to 
 deduce by syllogism all the propositions which that science 
 could contain; and though he erred in rejecting deductive 
 reasoning altogether, this error could never have exerted any 
 practical influence on the progress of science, while the truth 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 68. The word idolon is used by Bacon in antithesis to idea. He 
 does not mean by it an idol or false object of worship. 
 
 2 Compare Gassendi, Inst. Log.
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 67 
 
 with which it was associated was a truth of which his contem- 
 poraries required at least to be reminded. The reason of his 
 error seems to have been that he formed an incorrect idea of 
 the nature of syllogism, regarding it rather as an entirely arti- 
 ficial process than as merely a formal statement of the steps 
 necessarily involved in every act of reasoning. However this 
 may be, it is certain that whenever men attempted to set aside 
 every process for the discovery of truth except induction, they 
 must always have been led to recognise the impossibility of 
 doing so. 
 
 Lastly, the tone in which Bacon spoke of the future destiny 
 of mankind fitted him to be a leader of the age in which he 
 lived. It was an age of change and of hope. Men went 
 forth to seek in new-found worlds for the land of gold and 
 for the fountain of youth; they were told that yet greater 
 wonders lay within their reach. They had burst the bands 
 of old authority ; they were told to go forth from the cave 
 where they had dwelt so long, and look on the light of 
 heaven. It was also for the most part an age of faith ; and the 
 new philosophy upset no creed, and pulled down no altar. It. 
 did not put the notion of human perfectibility in the place of 
 religion, nor deprive mankind of hopes beyond the grave. On 
 the contrary, it told its followers that the instauration of the 
 sciences was the free gift of the God in whom their fathers 
 had trusted that it was only another proof of the mercy of 
 Him whose mercy is over all his works. 
 
 F 2
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 WORKS PUBLISHED, O& DESIGNED FOR PUBLICATION, AS PARTS 
 OF THE INSTAURATIO MAGNA ; 
 
 ARRANGED 
 ACCORDING TO THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN. 
 
 Consilium est universum opus Instaurationis potius promovore in multis quam 
 perficere in panels ; hoc perpetuo maximo cum ardore (qualemDeus mentibus ut 
 plane confidimus addere sold) appetentes ; ut quod adhuc nunquara tentatum sit 
 Id ne jam frustra tentetur. Auctoris Monitum, 1622. 
 
 T 3
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Mr. Ellis's preface to the Novum Organum was written 
 when he was travelling abroad and had not his books of refer- 
 ence about him. He was at work upon it the night he was 
 taken ill at Mentone, a d was not afterwards able either to 
 finish or to revise it. I have added a page or two at the end, 
 by which the analysis of the first book is completed. Of the se- 
 cond book it was not necessary to say anything ; the subject of it 
 being Bacon's method, which has been fully discussed in the Ge- 
 neral Preface. A few bibliographical inaccuracies of little con- 
 sequence in themselves I have corrected, either in notes or by 
 the insertion of words within brackets. These were merely over- 
 sights, hardly avoidable in the first draft of a work written in 
 such circumstances. But there are also a few opinions expressed 
 incidentally in which I cannot altogether concur, though they 
 have evidently been adopted deliberately. With regard to these 
 (Mr. Ellis not being in a condition to enter into a discussion of 
 them) I had no course but to explain the grounds of my dissent, 
 and leave every man to decide for himself upon the questions at 
 issue. To avoid inconvenient interruptions however, I have 
 thrown my arguments into an appendix, and contented myself 
 in the foot notes with marking the particular expressions which 
 I hold to be questionable. J. S.
 
 71 
 
 BY EGBERT LESLIE ELLIS. 
 
 THE Novum Organum was published in 1620. Certain pro- 
 legomena to the whole of the Instauratio were prefixed to it, 
 namely a Procemium beginning " Franciscus de Verulamio sic 
 cogitavit," a dedication to King James, a general preface, and 
 an account, entitled Distributio Operis, of the parts of which 
 the Instauratio was to consist. Of these the Novum Organum 
 is the second ; the De Augmentis, which was not then published, 
 occupying the place of the first. Accordingly in most editions 
 of Bacon's works the prolegomena are prefixed, not to the 
 Novum Organum, but to the De Augmentis ; and this is doubt- 
 less their natural place. Nevertheless as Bacon's general design 
 was not completed, it seems better to allow them to remain in 
 their original position, especially as in the Prooemium Bacon 
 explains why he publishes one portion of the Instauratio apart 
 from the rest. " Decrevit," he there says, speaking of himself, 
 " prima quaeque quae perficere licuit in publicum edere. Neque 
 haec festinatio ambitiosa fuit, sed sollicita, ut si quid illi huma- 
 nitus accideret, exstaret tamen designatio quaedam ac destinatio 
 rei quam animo complexus est," &c. 
 
 After the Proosmium and the dedication we come to the Pras- 
 fatio Generalis, in which Bacon speaks of the unprosperous 
 state of knowledge and of the necessity of a new method ; and 
 then follows the Distributio Operis. The Instauratio is to be 
 divided into six portions, of which the first is to contain a general 
 survey of the present state of knowledge. In the second men 
 are to be taught how to use their understanding aright in the 
 investigation of Nature. In the third all the phenomena of the 
 universe are to be stored up as in a treasure-house, as the mate- 
 rials on which the new method is to be employed. In the fourth 
 examples are to be given of its operation and of the results to
 
 72 PREFACE TO 
 
 which it leads. The fifth is to contain what Bacon had accom- 
 plished in natural philosophy without the aid of his own method, 
 but merely " ex eodem intellectus usu quern alii in inquirendo et 
 inveniendo adhibere consueverunt." It is therefore less important 
 than the rest, and Bacon declares that he will not bind himself 
 to the conclusions it contains. Moreover its value will alto- 
 o-ether cease when the sixth part can be completed, wherein will 
 be set forth the new philosophy the result of the application 
 of the new method to all the phenomena of the universe. But 
 to complete this, the last part of the Instauratio, Bacon does not 
 hope : he speaks of it as a thing " et supra vires et ultra spes 
 nostras collocata." 
 
 The greater part of the plan traced in the Distributio remained 
 unfulfilled. Not to speak of the last division of the Instauratio, 
 no part of Bacon's writings can properly be referred either to 
 the fourth or fifth, except two prefaces which are found among 
 the fragments published by Gruter. l To the fifth division 
 however M. Bouillet 2 is disposed to refer several of Bacon's 
 philosophical writings ; as, for instance, the tracts entitled De 
 Fluxu et Refluxu Marts, and Thema Cceli. But though they 
 correspond with the description which Bacon gives of the con- 
 tents of the fifth part of the Instauratio, there is no reason to 
 suppose that they would have been comprised in it. They were 
 written a considerable time before the publication of the Novum 
 Organum ; the Thema Cceli being clearly of the same date as 
 the Descriptio Globi intellectualis, written in 1612 3 , and the 
 De Fluxu et Refluxu Maris being probably written before Bacon 
 had become acquainted with Galileo's theory of the tides. This 
 theory was published in 1616; and it is reasonable to suppose 
 that Bacon, who speaks of it in the Novum Organum, would 
 have mentioned it in the De Fluxu, if the latter had not been 
 written either before it was published, or but a short time after- 
 wards. 4 These tracts, and the others which M. Bouillet men- 
 
 1 Francisci Baconi de Verulamio Scripta in naturale et universal! Philosophia. Amst. 
 1G53. For a particular account of this volume, see my preface to Part III. J. S. 
 
 2 (Euvres Philosophiques de Bacon, publiees d'apres les textes originaux, avec notice, 
 sommaires et eclaireissemens, par M. N. Bouillet. Paris, 1834. J. S. 
 
 3 See the Preface to the Descriptio Globi intellectual! a. J. S. 
 
 4 That the De Fluxu was written before the Thema Cceli is almost proved by the 
 allusion to it in the following passage : " Verum hujusce rei demonstrations et 
 evidentias in anticipatione nostra de fluxu et refluxu maris plene tractavimus." I say 
 almost proved, because Bacon in writing a piece which was designed to come after 
 another which was not yet written, would sometimes refer to that other as if it were 
 already done. But it is not likely that he thould have done so here; for in any
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 73 
 
 tions, are clearly occasional writings not belonging to the circuit 
 of the Instauratio. 
 
 To the fourth part have been referred the Historia Ventorum, 
 the Historia Vita et Mortis, &c. This however is contrary to 
 Bacon's description of them in the dedication to Prince Charles 
 prefixed to the Historia Ventorum. They are there spoken of 
 as the " primitive Historic nostrce naturalis." Even the general 
 title with which the Historia Ventorum and the titles of five 
 other Historite were published, shows that they belong not to 
 the fourth but to the third part of the Instauratio. It is as 
 follows : Historia Naturalis ad condendam Philosophiam, sive 
 Ph&nomena Universi, qua est Instaurationis Magnoe pars tertia. 
 It is moreover manifest that as the fourth part was to contain 
 applications to certain subjects of Bacon's method of induction, 
 these treatises, in which the method is nowhere employed, can- 
 not belong to it. M. Bouillet, though he justly dissents from 
 Shaw's ' arrangement, by whom they are referred to the fourth 
 part, nevertheless commits an error of the same kind by intro- 
 ducing into this division of the Instauratio a fragment on Motion, 
 published by Gruter with the title Filum Labyrinthi, sive 
 Inquisitio legitima de Motu. This fragment, which is doubt- 
 less anterior to the Novum Organum, contains many thoughts 
 and expressions which are found more perfectly developed either 
 in the Novum Organum itself, or in the Distributio Operis. It is 
 not to be supposed that Bacon, after thus expressing himself in 
 the Distributio "Neque enim hoc siverit Deus ut phantasiae nos- 
 trse somnium pro exemplari mundi edamus ; sed potius benigne 
 faveat ut apocalypsim ac veram visionem vestigiorum et sigillo- 
 rum Creatoris super creaturas scribamus " would have repeated 
 this remarkable sentence with scarcely any alteration in another 
 part of the Instauratio 2 ; nor that he would have repeated in 
 
 general scheme .the Thema Cceli would have come before the De Fluxu. In a letter to 
 Bacon, dated 14th April 1619, Tobie Matthew speaks of Galileo's having answered 
 Bacon's discourse touching the flux and reflux of the sea : but he alludes apparently 
 to a discourse of Galileo's on that subject which had never been printed. J. S. 
 
 1 The Philosophical Works of Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, &c. ; methodised 
 and made English from the Originals, by Peter Shaw, M.D. London, 1733. J. S. 
 
 * I doubt whether this argument can be safely relied upon. Among the works 
 which were certainly meant to stand as part of the Instauratio several remarkable 
 passages occur twice and more than twice. But there are other grounds for con- 
 cluding that the Inquisitio de Motu was written soon after the Cogitata et Visa (1607). 
 In the Commentarivs solutus, a kind of diary which will be printed among the Occa- 
 sional Works, I find the following entry under the date July 26. 1608: " The finish- 
 ing the 3 tables De Motu, De Galore et Frigore, De Sono." After which follow
 
 74 PREFACE TO 
 
 a somewhat less finished form the whole substance of the hun- 
 dred and twenty-fifth aphorism of the first book of the Novum 
 Organum. Yet we must admit this improbable supposition, if 
 we decide on giving to the Inquisitio legitima the place which 
 M. Bouillet has assigned to it. The truth is, that many of 
 Bacon's shorter tracts preserved by Gruter and others are 
 merely, so to speak, experimental fragments, of which the sub- 
 stance is embodied in his more finished writings. 
 
 Of the fourth and fifth parts of the Instauratio nothing, as I 
 have already remarked, has been preserved except the prefaces, 
 if indeed any other portion of them ever existed. But of the 
 third, though it is altogether incomplete, we have nevertheless 
 large fragments. Two years after the publication of the Novum 
 Organum Bacon published the Historia Naturalis ad con- 
 dendam Philosophiam, which has been already mentioned. In 
 this however only the Historia Ventorum is contained in ex- 
 tenso ; and of the five other Historiae of which Bacon speaks in 
 the dedication, and of which he proposed to publish one every 
 month, only two are now in existence, namely the Historia Vit<B 
 et Mortis, published in 1623, and the Historia Densi et Rari 
 which is contained in Rawley's Opuscula varia posthuma, 
 published in 1658. Of the other three, namely the Historiae 
 Grams et Levis, Sympathies et Antipathies Rerum, and Sulphuris 
 Mercurii et Salis, we have only the prefaces, which were published 
 in the same volume as the Historia Ventorum. 
 
 These Historiae, and the Sylva Sylvarum, published soon after 
 Bacon's death by Rawley, are the only works which we are 
 entitled to refer to the third part of the Instauratio. With 
 respect to the former we have the authority of Bacon's own 
 title page and dedication ; and Rawley's dedication of the latter 
 to King Charles shows that it is included under the general 
 designation of Historia Naturalis ad condendam Philosophiam. 1 
 
 Other tracts however, of more or less importance, have been 
 
 (July 27.) several pages of notes for an Inquisitio legitima de Motu. It would seem 
 that this Inquisitio was designed originally to be the example in \?hich the new method 
 was to be set forth (see last section of Cogitata et Visa), but that the Inquisitio de 
 Calore et Frigore was afterwards preferred ; probably as more manageable. J. S. 
 
 1 " The whole body of the Natural History, either designed or written by the late 
 Lord Viscount St. Albans, was dedicated to Tour Majesty in the book De Mentis, about 
 four years past, when Your Majesty was prince, so as there needed no new dedication of 
 this work, but only in all humbleness to let Your Majesty know that it is jours." 
 Dedication to the King of the Sylva Sylvarum.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 75 
 
 placed in the third part of the Instauratio, as for instance a 
 fragment, published by Kawley in 1658, entitled Historia et 
 Inquisitio prima de Sono et Auditu et de Forma Soni et latente 
 processu Soni, sive Sylva Soni Auditus. But the substance of 
 this fragment occurs also in the Sylva Sylvarum, and therefore 
 it cannot have been Bacon's intention to publish both as portions 
 of his Historia Naturalis. It is probable that the Historia de 
 Sono et Auditu was originally written as a portion of the general 
 scheme of natural history l which was to form the third part of 
 the Instauratio ; but it is certainly superseded by the Sylva 
 Sylvarum, and is therefore not entitled to the position which 
 has generally been assigned to it. So, too, the Historice Natu- 
 ralis ad condendam Philosophiam Prcefatio destinata 2 , pub- 
 lished by Gruter, is clearly irreconcilable with the plan laid 
 down in the dedication to Prince Charles of the Historia Natu- 
 ralis. For Bacon's intention when he wrote the preface which 
 Gruter has published was plainly to commence his Natural 
 History by treating of density and rarity, and not of the natu- 
 ral history of the winds. Subsequently he changed his plan ; 
 and the first published portion of the third part of the Instau- 
 ratio is, as we have seen, the Historia Ventorum. But this 
 change of plan plainly shows that he had determined to cancel 
 the fragment preserved by Gruter. Whenever what an author 
 publishes or prepares for publication supersedes or contradicts 
 unpublished and unfinished papers, these ought beyond all ques- 
 tion to be set aside, and if published at all to be published 
 apart from his other writings. Against some of the other frag- 
 ments included in the third part of the Instauratio there is no 
 such direct evidence as there is against those of which we have 
 been speaking ; but it only gives rise to needless confusion to 
 mix up with what we know it was Bacon's intention to publish 
 as portions of his Historia Naturalis, loose, fragments touching 
 wliich we have no information whatever. 
 
 From what has been said it is manifest that what we possess 
 
 1 It was probably the table De Sono referred to in the Commentaries solutus, 
 July 26. 1608 (see note 2. p. 74.), and designed, like the tables De Motu and De Ca- 
 lore et Frigore, for an example of the new method. /. S. 
 
 * See Bouillet, vol. ii. p. 264. The preface in question is the introduction to the 
 Tabula F.xporrectionis et Expansionis Material, a rudiment of the Historia Densi et 
 Rari. It was published by Gruter, before the Historia Densi et Rari appeared, 
 among the Impetus Plnlosophici : with the title, Phenomena Uitiversi ; sive Historia 
 Naturalis ad condendam Philosophiam. Prcefatio. M. Bouillet gives the preface only. 
 The whole tract as given by Gruter will be found in Part III. of this edition. J. S.
 
 76 PREFACE TO 
 
 of the third part of the Instauratio is merely a fragment for 
 the Sylva Sylvarum, a miscellaneous collection of observations 
 gathered for the most part out of books, nowise completes 
 Bacon's general design. In truth it is a design which cannot 
 be completed, there being no limit to the number of the " Phe- 
 nomena universi " which are potentially if not actually cognis- 
 able ; and it is to be observed that even if all the facts actually 
 known at any instant could be collected and systematised (and 
 even this is plainly impossible), yet still Bacon's aim would not 
 be attained. For these facts alone would be insufficient as 
 materials for the sixth part of the Instauratio, in which was to 
 be contained all the knowledge of Nature man is capable of. 
 Every day brings new facts to light not less entitled than 
 those previously known to find a place in a complete description 
 of the phenomena of the universe. 1 From many places in 
 Bacon's writings it appears, as I have elsewhere remarked, that 
 he had formed no adequate conception of the extent and variety 
 of Nature. In a letter to R. P. Baranzan, who had apparently 
 remarked by way of objection to Bacon's scheme of philosophy 
 that a complete natural history would be a work of great extent 
 and labour, Bacon observes that it would perhaps be sixfold 
 as voluminous as that of Pliny. We have here therefore a sort 
 of estimate of the limits which, in his judgment, the third part 
 of the Instauratio would not exceed. What now exists of it is 
 perhaps one twentieth in magnitude of this estimate. 
 
 Even the second part of the Instauratio, the Novum Orga- 
 num itself, is incomplete. The second book concludes with the 
 doctrine of prerogative instances. But in its twenty-first aphor- 
 ism a number of subjects are mentioned of which this doctrine 
 is the first, the last being the " Scala ascensoria et descensoria 
 axiomatum." Neither this, nor any of these subjects after the 
 first, except the last but one, is anywhere discussed in Bacon's 
 
 1 This would be true, I think, of all new facts which were not obviously reconcilable 
 with laws previously known. But is it not conceivable that so complete a knowledge 
 might be attained of the laws of Nature, that it could not be increased or affected by 
 the discovery of any new fact in Nature ? If we had as complete a knowledge of other 
 laws of Nature as we have of gravitation, for instance, new facts would still come to 
 light, but with respect to the law of gravitation they would all say the same thing, and 
 therefore bring no new knowledge. Every new application of mechanical power con- 
 tains some new fact more or less connected with gravitation ; yet unless a machine can 
 be made which shall produce results not only new (i. e. such as had never been pro- 
 duced before) but inexplicable by the received theory of gravitation, are we not entitled 
 to say that we know all that can be known about gravitation? /. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 77 
 
 writings ; and our knowledge of his method is therefore incom- 
 plete. Even the penultimate division of the Novum Organum 
 which was published along with the first two books, and which 
 treats " de parascevis ad inquisitionem," has all the appearance 
 of being a fragment, or at least of being less developed than 
 Bacon had intended it to be. 
 
 The first part of the Instauratio is represented, not inade- 
 quately, by the De Augmentis, published about three years 
 after the Distributio Opens and the Novum Organum. It is a 
 translation with large additions of the Advancement of Learning t 
 published in 1605 ; and if we regard the latter as a development 
 of the ninth chapter of Valerius Terminus, which is an early 
 fragment containing the germ of the whole of the Instauratio ! , 
 the De Augmentis will appear to belong naturally to the great 
 work of which it now forms the first and only complete portion. 
 In the preface prefixed to it by Rawley it is said that Bacon, 
 finding "the part relating to the Partitions, of the Sciences already 
 executed, though less solidly than the dignity of the argument de- 
 manded, . . . thought the best thing he could do would be to go 
 over again what he had written, and to bring it to the state of a 
 satisfactory and completed work. And in this way he considers 
 that he fulfils the promise which he has given respecting the 
 first part of the Instauration." 2 
 
 From this general view of the different parts of the Instau- 
 ratio, as described in the Distributio Operis, we proceed to con- 
 sider more particularly the Novum Organum. Although it was 
 left incomplete, it is nevertheless of all Bacon's works that 
 upon which he bestowed the most pains. In the first book 
 especially every word seems to have been carefully weighed ; 
 and it would be hard to omit or to change anything without 
 injuring the meaning which Bacon intended to convey. His 
 meaning is not always obvious, but it is always expressed with 
 singular precision and felicity. His chaplain, Eawley, says 
 that he had seen among his papers at least twelve yearly re- 
 
 1 I should rather say, the germ of all that part of the Instauratio which treated of 
 the Interpretation of Nature. For I cannot find in the Valerius Terminus any traces 
 of the first part, of which the Advancement of Learning was the germ. See Note A. 
 at the end. J. S, 
 
 2 My own reasons for thinking that the De Augmentis did not form part of the 
 original design, together with the circumstances which, as I suppose, determined 
 Bacon to enlarge that design so as to take it in, will be exp'ained in the preface to the 
 De Augmentis. J. S.
 
 78 PREFACE TO 
 
 visions of the Novum Orrjanum. 1 Assuming, which there is no 
 reason to doubt, that this statement may be relied upon, it would 
 seem to follow that the composition of the Novum Organum 
 commenced in 1608. And this agrees tolerably well with the 
 circumstance that the Cogitata et Visa was sent to Bodley 
 in 1607, as we learn from the date of Bodley's reply to it. If 
 we suppose that the tract published with this title by Gruter is 
 the same as that which was sent to Bodley, a passage near the 
 end acquires a significance which has not I think been re- 
 marked. In the Cogitata et Visa Bacon speaks of the considera- 
 tions whereby he had been led to perceive the necessity of a 
 reform in philosophy, and goes on to say that the question as to 
 how his new method might be most fitly given to the world had 
 been much in his thoughts. ' " Atque diu," he proceeds, " et 
 acriter rem cogitanti et perpendenti ante omnia visum est ei 
 tabulas inveniendi, sive legitimae inquisitionis formulas ... in 
 aliquibus subjectis proponi tanquam ad exemplum et operis de- 
 scriptionem fere visibilem. 2 . . . Visum est autem, nimis ab- 
 ruptum esse ut a tabulis ipsis docendi initium sumatur. Itaque 
 idonea qusedam praefari oportuisse, quod et jam se fecisse arbi- 
 tratur." It was Bacon's intention therefore when he wrote 
 the Cogitata et Visa, and when apparently some years later 3 he 
 communicated it to Bodley, to publish an example of the appli- 
 cation of his method to some particular subject an intention 
 which remained unfulfilled until the publication of the Novum 
 
 1 " Ipse reperi in archivis Dominationis suae autographa plus minus duodecim 
 Organi novi, de anno in annum elaborati et ad incudem revocati ; et singulis annis 
 ulteriore lima subinde politi et castigati." In the preceding sentence, he calls it 
 " multorum annorum et laboris improbi proles." Auctoris Vita, prefixed to the 
 Opnscvla varia posthuma, 1658. In the English Life prefixed to the Resuscitatio, 
 which was published the year before, he says, " I myself have seen at the least twelve 
 copies of the Instauration ; revised year by year, one after another ; and every year 
 altered and amended in the frame thereof." I doubt whether we can fairly infer from 
 these expressions that these twelve several copies were made in twelve several years ; 
 but substantially they bear out the inference drawn from them. /. S. 
 
 2 In the Commentarius soluttis, under date July 26. 1608, I find the following 
 memorandum : " Seeing and trying whether the B. of Canterb. may not be affected 
 in it, being single and glorious, and believing the sense. 
 
 " Not desisting to draw in the Bp. Awnd. [Bishop Andrews, probably] being single, 
 rich, sickly, and professor to some experiments : this after the table of motion or some 
 other in part set in forwardness." 
 
 Some other memoranda in the same place relate to the gaining of physicians, and 
 learning from them experiments of surgery and physic; which explains the epithet 
 " sickly" in the above extract. J. S. 
 
 3 Bodley's answer is dated Feb. 19. 1607; i. e. 1607-8; in which he says, " I 
 must tell you, to be plain, that you have very much wronged yourself and the world, to 
 smother such a treasure so long in your coffer." But I do not think we can infer from 
 this that the Cogitata et Visa had been written " some years" before. Bodley may only 
 allude to his having kept such thoughts so long to himself. /. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 79 
 
 Organum. We may therefore conjecture that it was about this 
 time that Bacon addressed himself to the great work of com- 
 posing the Novum Organum l ; and this agrees with what 
 Rawley says of its having been twelve years in hand. This 
 view also explains why the whole substance of the Cogitata el 
 Visa is reproduced in the first book of the Novum Organum ; 
 for this tract was designed to be an introduction to a particular 
 example of the new method of induction, such as that which we 
 find near the beginning of the second book. Bacon's purpose 
 in writing it was therefore the same as that which he had in 
 view in the first book of the Novum Organum, namely to 
 procure a favourable reception for an example and illustration 
 of his method. What has been said may be in some measure 
 confirmed by comparing the Cogitata et Visa with an earlier 
 tract, namely the Partis secundce Delineatio et Argumentum. 
 When he wrote this tract Bacon did not propose to set forth 
 his method merely by means of an example ; on the contrary, 
 the three ministrations to the sense, to the memory, and to the 
 reason, of which the last is the new method of induction, were 
 to be set forth in order and didactically. Whereas in the 
 Novum Organum Bacon remarks, " incipiendum est a fine " 
 (that is, the method of induction must be set forth before the 
 method of collecting facts and that of arranging them so as 
 best to assist the memory) ; and having said this, he goes on at 
 once to his example, namely, the investigation of the Form of 
 heat. Thus it appears that after Bacon had not only decided 
 on writing a great work on the reform of philosophy, but had 
 also determined on dividing it into parts of which the second 
 was to contain the exposition of his new method, he in some 
 measure changed his plan, and resolved to set forth the essential 
 and operative part of his system chiefly by means of an example. 
 This change of plan appears to be marked by the Cogitata et 
 Visa, a circumstance which makes this tract one of the most 
 interesting of the precursors of the Novum Organum. 
 
 That the Partis secundce Delineatio is earlier than the Cogi- 
 
 1 In the Commentarius solutus, under date July 26. 1608, I find the following 
 memorandum : " The finishing the Aphorisms, Claris interpretationis, and then setting 
 forth the book," and in the same page, a little after, " Imparting my Cogitata et Visa, 
 with choice, ut videbitur." The aphorisms here spoken of may have been the 
 "Aphorism! etConsilia de auxiliis mentis et accensione luminis naturalis; " a fragment 
 containing the substance of the first, second, and third aphorisms of the first book of 
 the Novum Organum, and the first, third, and sixteenth of the second. C/avis inter- 
 pretationis was probably the name which was afterwards exchanged for Novum Organum. 
 -J. S.
 
 80 PREFACE TO 
 
 tata et Visa appears plainly from several considerations which 
 M. Bouillet, who expresses a contrary opinion, seems to have 
 overlooked. In the first place, whole sentences and even para- 
 graphs of the Cogitata et Visa are reproduced with scarcely 
 any alteration in the Novum Organum ; whereas this is by no 
 means the case with any passage of the Partis secundce Deline- 
 atio. But as it may be said that this difference arises from the 
 different character of the two tracts, of which the one is simply 
 a summary of a larger work, whereas the more developed 
 style of the other resembles that of the Novum Organum, it 
 may be well to compare them somewhat in detail. 
 
 In speaking of the prospects which the reform of philosophy 
 was to open to mankind, Bacon thus expresses himself in the 
 Novum Organum: " Quinetiam prudentia civilis ad consilium 
 vocanda est et adhibenda, qua? ex prsescripto diffidit, et de rebus 
 humanis in deterius conjicit." The corresponding sentence in 
 the Cogitata et Visa is, " Consentaneum enim esse, prudentiam 
 civilem in hac parte adhibere, quae ex prasscripto diffidit et de 
 humanis in deterius conjicit." Again, in the Partis secunda 
 Delineatio the same idea is thus expressed, " Si quis sobrius 
 (ut sibi videri possit,) et civilis prudentiae diffidentiam ad haec 
 transferens, existimet haec quaa dicimus votis similia videri," &c. 
 Here the somewhat obscure phrase " civilis prudentiae diffiden- 
 tiam" is clearly the germ of that by which it is replaced in the 
 other two passages, namely, " prudentia civilis quae ex praescripto 
 diffidit." Again, in the Partis secunda Delineatio Bacon 
 affirms that ordinary induction " puerile quiddam est et precario 
 concludit, periculo ab instantia contradictoria exposita : " in the 
 Cogitata et Visa, that the logicians have devised a form of 
 induction "admodum simplicem et plane puerilem, quae per 
 enumerationem tantum procedat, atque propterea precario non 
 necessario concludat." The clause " quae per enumerationem 
 tantum procedat," which adds greatly to the distinctness of the 
 whole sentence, is retained in the Distributio Operis, in which 
 it is said that the induction of the logicians, " qua; procedit per 
 enumerationem simplicem, puerile quiddam est, precario con- 
 cludit, et periculo ab instantia" contradictoria exponitur." To 
 take another case: in the Partis secunda Delineatio, Bacon, 
 speaking of those who might object to his frequent mention of 
 practical results as a thing unworthy of the dignity of philo- 
 sophy, affirms that they hinder the accomplishment of their
 
 . THE KOVUM OUGANUM. 81 
 
 own wishes. " Quin etiam illis, quibus in contemplations 
 amorem effusis frequens apud nos operum mentio asperum 
 quiddam atque ingratum et mechanicum sonat, monstrabimus 
 quantum illi desideriis suis propriis adversentur, quum puritas 
 contemplationum atque substructio et inventio operum prorsus 
 eisdem rebus nitantur, ac simul perficiantur." In the Cogitata 
 et Visa, this sentence recurs in a modified and much neater 
 form : "Si quis autem sit cui in contemplationis amorem et 
 venerationem effuso ista operum frequens et cum tanto honore 
 mentio quiddam asperum et ingratum sonet, is pro certo sciat 
 se propriis desideriis adversari ; etenim in natura, opera non 
 tantum vitas beneficia, sed et veritatis pignora esse." On com- 
 paring these two sentences, it is difficult to believe that Bacon 
 would have omitted the antithesis with which the latter ends 
 in order to introduce the somewhat cumbrous expressions which 
 correspond to it in the former, especially as we find this anti- 
 thesis reproduced, though with another context, in the Novum 
 Organum. " Opera ipsa," it is there said, " pluris facienda 
 . sunt quatenus sunt veritatis pignora quam propter vit com- 
 rnoda." 1 
 
 These instances will probably be thought sufficient to justify- 
 us in concluding that the Partis secundce, Delineatio, in which 
 no mention is made of the plan of setting forth the new method 
 of induction by means of an example, is of earlier date than 
 the Cogitata et Visa, in which this plan, actually employed in the 
 Novum Organum, is spoken of as that which Bacon had decided 
 on adopting. This question of priority is not without interest; 
 for if the Partis secundce Delineatio is anterior to the Cogitata 
 et Visa, the general plan of the Instauratio must have been 
 formed a considerable time before 1607, about which time 
 Bacon probably commenced the composition of the Novum 
 Organum. If we could determine the date of Valerius Termi- 
 nus, we should be able to assign limits within which the forma- 
 tion of this plan, so far as relates to the division of the work 
 into six portions, may be supposed to lie. For the first book of 
 Valerius Terminus was to include all that was to precede the 
 exposition of the new method of induction, which was to be 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 124. It is well to mention that some of the expressions in this 
 aphorism which do not occur in the Cogitata et Visa will be found in the Partis se- 
 cnndfB Delineatio. But it will be observed that I am only comparing passages which 
 occur in all three works. Of the greater general resemblance of the Cogitata et Visa 
 to the Novum Organum there can be no question. 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 PREFACE TO 
 
 the subject of the second ; that is, it was to comprehend, along 
 with the first part of the Instauratio *, the general reflexions 
 and precepts which form the subject of the first book of the 
 Novum Organum. Nor does it appear that Valerius Terminus 
 was to contain anything corresponding to the last four parts of 
 the Instauratio 2 ; it was a work, as its title 3 shows, on the Inter- 
 pretation of Nature ; that is, it was to be a statement of Bacon's 
 method, without professing either to give the collection of facts 
 to which the method was to be applied, or the results thereby 
 obtained. Unfortunately, there appears to be no evidence 
 tending to enable us to assign the time at which (or not long 
 after it) Valerius Terminus was written. That it is earlier 
 than the Advancement of Learning seems to follow from the 
 circumstance that Bacon, when he wrote it, designed to include 
 in a single chapter the general survey of human knowledge 
 which in the Advancement is developed into two books. 4 
 Bacon has on all occasions condemned epitomes, and it is there- 
 fore altogether improbable that after writing the Advancement 
 of Learning he would have endeavoured to compress its con- 
 tents, or even those of the second book, within the limits pro- 
 posed in Valerius Terminus. On the other hand, we may 
 suppose that before writing the Advancement he had not seen 
 how much he had to say on the subject to which it relates. 
 We may conclude therefore, on these and other grounds, that 
 
 Valerius Terminus was written some time before 1605: how 
 much before cannot be known; but as by comparing the 
 Partis secunda Delineatio and the Cogitata et Visa with the 
 Novum Organum we have seen reason to conclude that the 
 general plan of the Instauratio was formed before Bacon had 
 decided on propounding his method by means of an example, so 
 by 'comparing the first-named of these three works with Valerius 
 
 Terminus, we perceive that the idea of the work on the Inter- 
 pretation of Nature, that is, on the new method of induction, 
 was anterior in Bacon's mind to that of the Instauratio. 
 
 And this conclusion is confirmed by all we know of Bacon's 
 early writings. In the earliest of all, (if we assume that the 
 
 1 Query. See Note A. at the end, 1. /. S. 
 
 2 Query. See Note A. at the end, 2. J. S. 
 
 3 " Valerius Terminus of the Interpretation of Nature ; with the Annotations of 
 Hermes Stella. A few fragments of the first book, viz.," &c. 
 
 4 Query. See Note A. at the end, 1. /. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 83 
 
 Temporis Partus Masculus, published by Gruter l , is the same 
 as the Temporis Partus Maximus mentioned by Bacon in his 
 letter to Fulgenzio,) the most prominent notion is that true 
 science consists in the interpretation of Nature a phrase by 
 which Bacon always designates a just method of induction. But 
 nothing is said either there or in any early fragment whereby 
 we are led to suppose that Bacon then thought of producing a 
 great work like the Instauratio. On the contrary, in the De 
 Interpretatione Natures Procemium he proposes to communicate 
 his peculiar method and the results to which it was to lead, only 
 to chosen followers; giving to the world merely an exoteric 
 doctrine, namely the general views of science which afterwards 
 formed the substance of the Cogitata et Visa and ultimately of 
 the first book of the Novum Organum. 2 
 
 From what has been said it follows that we should form an 
 inadequate conception of the Novum Organum if we were to 
 regard it merely as a portion of the Instauratio. For it contains 
 the central ideas of Bacon's system, of which the whole of the 
 Instauratio is only the developement. In his early youth Bacon 
 formed the notion of a new method of induction, and from that 
 time forth this notion determined the character of all his specu- 
 lations. Later in life he laid the plan of a great work, within 
 the limits of which the materials to which his method was to be 
 applied and the results thereby to be obtained might be stored 
 up, together with a statement of the method itself. But of this 
 great plan the interpretation of Nature was, so to speak, the soul, 
 the formative and vivifying principle ; not only because Bacon 
 conceived that the new method only could lead to the attainment 
 of the great ends which he had in view, but also because it was 
 the possession of this method which had suggested to him the 
 hopes which he entertained. 3 There seems some reason to believe 
 that his confidence in his peculiar method of induction did not 
 increase as he grew older; that is to say, he admits in the Novum 
 Organum that the interpretation of Nature is not so much an 
 
 1 Say rather, " the several tracts collected by M. Bouillet under the title Temporis 
 Partus Masculus." See Note A. at the end, 3. /. S. 
 
 2 See Note A. at the end, 4. /. S. 
 
 3 I quite agree in this, bu not quite on the same grounds. In Note A. at the end 
 of this preface, the reader will find a statement, too long for a foot-note, of such points 
 in the foregoing argument as I consider disputable. It was the more necessary to point 
 them out, because the arrangement of the pieces in this edition, for which I am re- 
 sponsible, will otherwise create a difficulty ; being in some respects inconsistent with 
 the opinions here expressed. J. S. 
 
 o 2
 
 84 PREFACE TO 
 
 artificial process as the way in which the mind would naturally 
 work if the obstacles whereby it is hindered in the pursuit of 
 truth were once set aside. 1 So that his precepts are, he says, 
 not of absolute necessity: "necessitatem ei (arti interpretationis 
 scilicet) ac si absque eft, nil agi possit, aut etiam perfectionem 
 non attribuimus," an admission not altogether in the spirit of 
 the earlier writings in which the art of interpretation is spoken 
 of as a secret of too much value to be lightly revealed. 2 
 
 If it be asked why Bacon determined on propounding his 
 method by means of an example, the answer is to be sought for 
 in the last paragraphs of the Cogitata et Visa. He seems to 
 have thought that it would thus obtain a favourable reception, 
 because its value would be to a certain extent made manifest 
 by the example itself. Likewise he hoped in this way to avoid 
 all occasion of dispute and controversy, and thought that an 
 example would be enough to make his meaning understood by 
 all who were capable of understanding it. " Fere enim se in ea 
 esse opinione, nempe (quod quispiam dixit) prudentibus haec 
 satis fore, imprudentibus autem ne plura quidem." 
 
 His expectations have not been fulfilled, for very few of those 
 who have spoken of Bacon have understood his method, or have 
 even attempted to explain its distinguishing characteristics, 
 namely the certainty of its results, and its power of reducing 
 all men. to one common level. 
 
 Another reason for the course which he followed may not 
 improbably have been that he was more or less conscious that 
 he could not demonstrate the validity, or at least the practica- 
 bility, of that which he proposed. The fundamental principle 
 in virtue of which alone a method of exclusions can necessarily 
 lead to a positive result, namely that the subject matter to 
 which it is applied consists of a finite number of elements, each 
 of which the mind can recognise and distinguish from the rest, 
 
 1 Nov. Org. i. 130. " Est enim Interpretatio verum et naturale opus mentis, demptts 
 iis quae obstant" But compare the following passage in Valerius Terminus, c. 22. 
 " that it is true that interpretation is the very natural and direct intention, action, 
 and progression of the understanding, delivered from impediments. And that all 
 anticipation is but a reflexion or declination by accident." So that if we may infer 
 from the passage in the Novum Organvm that his confidence had abated, we must 
 suppose that when he wrote the Valerius Terminus it had not risen to its height But 
 for my own part I doubt whether his opinion on this point ever changed. J. S. 
 
 * Not, I think, as a secret of too much value to be revealed, but as an argument too 
 abstruse to be made popular. See Note B. at the end, where I have endeavoured to 
 bring together all the evidence upon which the presumption in the text is founded, 
 and to show that it proves either too much or too little. J. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 85 
 
 cannot, it is manifest, be for any particular case demonstrated 
 a priori. Bacon's method in effect assumes that substances 
 can always be resolved into an aggregation of a certain number 
 of abstract qualities, and that their essence is adequately re- 
 presented by the result of this analysis. Now this assumption 
 or postulate cannot be made the subject of a direct demonstra- 
 tion, and probably Bacon came gradually to perceive more or 
 less the difficulties which it involves. But these difficulties are 
 less obvious in special cases than when the question is con- 
 sidered generally, and on this account Bacon may have decided 
 to give instead of a demonstration of his method an example of 
 its use. He admits at the close of the example that the opera- 
 tion of the method is imperfect, saying that at first it could not 
 but be so, and implying that its defects would be removed when 
 the process of induction had been applied to rectify our notions 
 of simple natures. He thus seems to be aware of the inherent 
 defect of his method, namely that it gives no assistance in the 
 formation of conceptions, and at the same time to hope that this 
 would be corrected by some modification of the inductive pro- 
 cess. But of what nature this modification is to be he has 
 nowhere stated ; and it is to be remarked that in his earliest 
 writings the difficulty here recognised is not even mentioned. 
 In Valerius Terminus nothing is said of the necessity of forming 
 correct notions of simple natures, the method of exclusions 
 then doubtless appearing to contain all that is necessary for 
 the investigation of Nature. 
 
 Bacon may also have been influenced by other considerations. 
 We have seen that he was at first unwilling that his peculiar 
 method should become generally known. In the De Interpre- 
 tatione Natures Procemium he speaks of its being a thing not 
 to be published, but to be communicated orally to certain per- 
 sons. 1 In Valerius Terminus his doctrine was to be veiled in 
 an abrupt and obscure style 2 , such as, to use his own expression, 
 would choose its reader, that is, would remain unread except 
 by worthy recipients of its hidden meaning. This affected ob- 
 scurity appears also in the Temporis Partus Masculus. In this 
 
 * See Note B. at the end, extract 4th, and the concluding remarks in which I have 
 explained my own view of the kind of reserve which Bacon at this time meditated. 
 J. S. 
 
 2 See the same note, extract 1st I cannot think it was by " abruptness and 
 obscurity " that he proposed to effect the desired separation of readers either in 
 Valerius Terminus or in the Temporis Partus Masculus. /. 
 
 C 3
 
 86 PREFACE TO 
 
 unwillingness openly to reveal his method Bacon coincided with 
 the common feeling of his own and earlier times. In the middle 
 
 O 
 
 ages no new discovery was freely published. All the secrets, 
 real or pretended, of the alchemists were concealed in obscure 
 and enigmatic language ; and to mention a well-known instance, 
 the anagram in which Roger Bacon is supposed to have re- 
 corded his knowledge of the art of making gunpowder is so 
 obscure, that its meaning is even now more or less doubtful. 
 In Bacon's own time one of the most remarkable discoveries of 
 Galileo that of the phases of Venus was similarly hidden in 
 an anagram, though the veil in this case was more easily seen 
 through. This disposition to conceal scientific discoveries and 
 methods is connected with the views which in the middle ages 
 were formed of the nature of science. To know that which 
 had previously been unknown was then regarded as the result 
 not so much of greater industry or acuteness as of some fortu- 
 nate accident, or of access to some hidden source of infor- 
 mation : it was like finding a concealed treasure, of which the 
 value would be decreased if others were allowed to share in 
 it. Moreover the love of the marvellous inclined men to be- 
 lieve in the existence of wonderful secrets handed down by tra- 
 dition from former ages, and any new discovery acquired some- 
 thing of the same mysterious interest by being kept back from 
 the knowledge of the vulgar. Other causes, which need not 
 here be detailed, increased this kind of reserve ; such as the 
 dread of the imputation of unlawful knowledge, the facility 
 which it gave to deception and imposture, and the like. 
 
 The manner in which Bacon proposed at one time to per- 
 petuate the knowledge of his method is also in accordance with 
 the spirit of the middle ages. In the writings of the alchemists 
 we meet continually with stories of secrets transmitted by their 
 possessor to one or more disciples. Thus Artefius records the 
 conversation wherein his master, Boemund, transmitted to him 
 the first principles of all knowledge ; and it is remarkable that 
 in this and similar cases the disciple is called " mi fili " by his 
 instructor a circumstance which shows from what source Bacon 
 derived the phrase " ad filios," which appears in the titles of several 
 of his early pieces. Even in the De Augmentis the highest and 
 most effectual form of scientific teaching is called the " methodus 
 ad filios." l 
 
 1 Lib. vi. c. 2. I cannot think however that the merit of this method ha;l any-
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 87 
 
 When he wrote the Cogitata et Visa, Bacon seems to have 
 perceived l how much of vanity and imposture had always been 
 mixed up with this affectation of concealment and reserve. " Re- 
 perit autem," he there says, " homines in rerum scientia quam 
 sibi videntur adepti, interdum proferenda interdum occultanda, 
 famae et ostentationi servire ; quin et eos potissimum qui minus 
 solida proponunt, solere ea quae afferunt obscura et ambigua 
 luce venditare, ut facilius vanitati suae velificare possint." The 
 matter which he has in hand, he goes on to say, is one which it 
 were nowise fitting to defile by affectation or vain glory ; but yet 
 it cannot be forgotten that inveterate errors, like the delusions 
 of madmen, are to be overcome by art and subtlety, and are 
 always exasperated by violence and opposition. The result of 
 this kind of dilemma is that the method is to be propounded in 
 an example, a decision in which it is probable that he was still 
 more or less influenced by the example of those whom he here 
 condemns. 
 
 Thus much of the connexion between the plan of the 
 Novum Organum and that which Bacon laid down in the 
 Cogitata et Visa. That there is no didactic exposition of his 
 method in the whole of his writings has not been sufficiently 
 
 thing to do with secresy. For the distinctive object of it is stated to be the " con- 
 tinuatio et ulterior progressus " of knowledge ; and its distinctive characteristic, the 
 being " solito apertior." Its aim was to transfer knowledge into the mind of the dis- 
 ciple in the same form in which it grew in the teacher's mind, like a plant with its 
 roots on, that it might continue to grow. Its other name is " traditio lampadis," 
 alluding to the Greek torch-race ; which was run, as I understand it, not between in- 
 dividuals, but between what we call sides. Each side had a lighted torch ; they were 
 so arranged that each bearer, as he began to slacken, handed it to another who was 
 fresh ; and the side whose torch first reached the goal, still a-light, was the winner. 
 The term " fllii," therefore, alludes, I think, to the successive generations, not who 
 should inherit the secret, but who should carry on the work. Compare the remarks 
 in the Sapientia Veterum (Fab. xxvi. near the end,) upon the torch-races in honour oS 
 Prometheus. " Atque continet in se monitum, idque prudentissimum, ut perfectio 
 scientiarum a successione, non ab unius alicujus pernicitate aut facultate, expectetur. 
 .... Atque optandum esset ut isti ludi in honorem Promethei, sive humanae natura;, 
 instaurarentur, atque res certamen, et cemulationem, et bonam fortunam reciperet ; neque 
 ex unius cujuspiam face tremula atque agitata penderet." To me, I must confess, the 
 explanation above given of Bacon's motives for desiring a select audience seems 
 irreconcilable both with the objects which he certainly had in view and with the spirit 
 in which he appears to have pursued them. " Fit audience, though few," he no doubt 
 desired ; and I can easily believe that he wished not only to find the fit, but also to 
 exclude the unfit. But the question is, whether his motive in so selecting and so 
 limiting his audience was unwillingness to part with his treasure, or solicitude for the 
 furtherance of his work. To decide this question I have brought together all the 
 passages in which he speaks of the " singling and adopting " of the " fit and legitimate 
 reader." But the collection, with the remarks which it suggests, being too long for a 
 foot-note, I have placed them at the end of this preface. See Note B. J. S. 
 
 1 See Note B., extract 7th. But observe that in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th, he shows 
 himself quite as sensible of the vanity and imposture which such secresy had been made 
 
 to subserve J. S. 
 
 4
 
 88 PREFACE TO 
 
 remarked by those who have spoken of his philosophy ; probably 
 because what he himself regarded as a sort of exoteric doctrine, 
 namely the views of science contained in the first book of the 
 Novum Organum, have received much more attention than the 
 method itself, which is nevertheless the cardinal point of his 
 whole system. Bacon is to be regarded, not as the founder of 
 a new philosophy, but as the discoverer of a new method ; at 
 least we must remember that this was his own view of himself 
 and of his writings. 
 
 I proceed to give some account of the structure of the Novum 
 Organum and of the parts into which it may be most con- 
 veniently divided. 
 
 After the preface, in which Bacon professes that it is not his 
 intention to destroy the received philosophy, but rather that 
 from henceforth there should be two coexisting and allied 
 systems, the one sufficient for the ordinary purposes of life, 
 and such as would satisfy those who are content with probable 
 opinions and commonly received notions; the other for the 
 sons of science, who desire to attain to certainty and to an 
 insight into the hidden things of Nature, we come to the 
 Novum Organum itself; which commences with some weighty 
 sentences concerning the relation of Man to Nature. The first 
 aphorism, perhaps the most often quoted sentence in the Novum 
 Organum, occurs twice in the fragments published by Gruter ; 
 namely in the Aphorismi et Consilia de Auxiliis Mentis, and 
 again in a less perfect form in the De Interpretatione Natures 
 Sententia XII., both which fragments are included [by M. 
 Bouillet] l under the title Temporis Partus Masculus, though 
 they are clearly of different dates. The wording of the aphorism 
 in the former is almost precisely the same as in the Novum Or- 
 ganum. In all three places man is styled " nature minister 
 et interpres." He is naturas interpres, because in every object 
 which is presented to him there are two things to be considered, 
 or rather two aspects of the same thing, one the phenomenon 
 which Nature presents to the senses the other the inward 
 mechanism and action, of which the phenomenon in question is 
 not only the result but also the outward sign. To pass there- 
 fore from the phenomenon to its hidden cause is to interpret the 
 signs which enable us to become acquainted with the operations 
 
 1 Not so included by Gruter. See note A. at the end, -3. /. S,
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 89 
 
 of Nature. Again, he is the minister naturae, because in all his 
 works he can only arrange the things with which he deals in 
 the order and form which Nature requires. All the rest comes 
 from her only ; the conditions she requires having been fulfilled, 
 she produces new phenomena according to the laws of her own 
 action. Thus the two words minister and interpres refer re- 
 spectively to works and contemplation to power and know- 
 ledge the substance of Bacon's theory of both being compressed 
 into a single phrase. The third and fourth aphorisms are de- 
 velopments of the first ; the second relating not to the theory of 
 knowledge, but to the necessity of providing helps for the 
 understanding. 
 
 Then follow (5 10.) reflections on the sterility of the ex- 
 isting sciences, and (11 17.) remarks on the inutility of logic. 
 In (14.) Bacon asserts that everything must depend on a just 
 method of induction. From (18.) to (37.) he contrasts the only 
 two ways in which knowledge can be sought for ; namely anti- 
 cipations of Nature and the interpretation of Nature. In the 
 former method men pass at once from particulars to the highest 
 generalities, and thence deduce all intermediate propositions ; 
 in the latter they rise by gradual induction and successively, 
 from particulars to axioms of the lowest generality, then to in- 
 termediate axioms, and so ultimately to the highest. And this 
 is the true way, but as yet untried. 
 
 Then from (38.) to (68.) Bacon developes the doctrine of idols. 
 It is to be remarked that he uses the word idolon in antithesis 
 to idea, the first place where it occurs being the twenty-third 
 aphorism. " Non leve quiddam interest," it is there said, " inter 
 humana3 mentis idola et divinae mentis ideas." He nowhere 
 refers to the common meaning of the word, namely the image 
 of a false god. Idols are with him " placita quaedam inania," 
 or more generally, the false notions which have taken possession 
 of men's minds. The doctrine of idols stands [he says] in the 
 same relation to the interpretation of Nature, as the doctrine of 
 fallacies to ordinary logic. 
 
 Of idols Bacon enumerates four kinds, the idols of the tribe, 
 of the cave, of the market-place, and of the theatre ; and it has 
 been supposed that this classification is borrowed from Roger 
 Bacon, who in the beginning of the Opus Majus speaks of 
 four hindrances whereby men are kept back from the attain- 
 ment of true knowledge. But this supposition is for several
 
 90 PREFACE TO 
 
 reasons improbable. The Opus Majus was not printed until 
 the eighteenth century, and it is unlikely that Francis Bacon 
 would have taken the trouble of reading it, or any part of it, 
 in manuscript. 1 In the first place there is no evidence in any 
 part of his works of this kind of research, and in the second 
 he had no high opinion of his namesake, of whom he has spoken 
 with far less respect than he deserves. The only work of 
 Roger Bacon's which there is any good reason for believing 
 that he was acquainted with is a tract on the art of prolonging 
 life, which was published at Paris in 1542, and of which an 
 English translation appeared in 1617. The general resemblance 
 between the spirit in which the two Bacons speak of science 
 and of its improvement is, notwithstanding what has sometimes 
 been said, but slight. Both no doubt complain that sufficient 
 attention has not been paid to observation and experiment, but 
 that is all ; and these complaints may be found in the writings 
 of many other men, especially in the time of Francis Bacon. 
 Nothing is more clear than that the essential doctrines of his 
 philosophy among which that of idols is to be reckoned 
 are, so far as he was aware, altogether his own. There is more- 
 over but little analogy between his idols and his namesake's 
 hindrances to knowledge. The principle of classification is alto- 
 gether different, and the notion of a real connexion between 
 the two was probably suggested simply by there being the 
 same number of idols as of hindrances. 2 It is therefore well 
 to remark that in the early form of the doctrine of idols there 
 were only three. In the Partis secundce Delineatio the idols 
 wherewith the mind is beset are said to be of three kinds : they 
 either are inherent and innate or adscititious ; and if the latter, 
 arise either from received opinions in philosophy or from 
 
 1 I can hardly think that he would have omitted to look into a work like the 
 Opus Majus, if he had had the opportunity. But it is very probable that no copy of 
 
 it was procurable ; possible that he did not even know of its existence. The manner in 
 which he speaks of Roger Bacon in the Ttmporis Partus, Masculus, as belonging to the 
 " utile genus " of experimentalists, " qui de theoriis non admodum soliciti mechanicd 
 quadam subtilitate rerum inventarum extensiones prehendunt," seems rather to imply 
 that he knew of him at that tune chiefly by his reputation for mechanical inventions. 
 J. S. 
 
 2 That the two may be the more conveniently compared, I have quoted Ro- 
 ger Bacon's exposition of his " offendicula," in a note upon the 39th aphorism, in 
 which the names of the four " Idols " first occur. How slight the resemblance is 
 between the two may be ascertained by a very simple test If you are already 
 acquainted with Francis Bacon's classification, try to assign each of the "offendi- 
 cula " to its proper class. If not, try by the help of Roger's classification to find out 
 Francis's. J. S,
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 91 
 
 wrong principles of demonstration. This classification occurs 
 also in Valerius Terminus. 1 
 
 The first of these three classes corresponds to the first and 
 second of those spoken of in the Novum Organum. The idols 
 of the tribe are those which belong, as Aristotle might have 
 said, to the human mind as it is human, the erroneous tenden- 
 cies common more or less to all mankind. The idols of the 
 cave arise from each man's mental constitution : the metaphor 
 being suggested by a passage in the [opening of the seventh 
 book of Plato's Republic."] 2 Both classes of extraneous idols 
 mentioned in the Partis secundce Delineatio are included in the 
 idola theatri, and the idola fori correspond to nothing in the 
 earlier classification. 3 They also are extraneous idols, but result 
 neither from received opinions nor erroneous forms of demon- 
 stration, but from the influence which words of necessity exert. 
 They are called idols of the market-place because they are 
 caused by the daily intercourse of common life. " Verba," re- 
 marks Bacon, " ex captu vulgi imponuntur." 
 
 It is only when we compare the later with the earlier form of 
 the doctrine of idols that we perceive the principle of classifi- 
 cation which Bacon was guided by, namely the division of 
 idols according as they come from the mind itself or from with- 
 out. 4 In the Novum Organum two belong to the former class 
 and two to the latter, so that the members of the classification 
 are better balanced 5 than in the previous arrangement: in both 
 perhaps we perceive a trace of the dichotomizing principle of 
 Ramus, one of the seeming novelties which he succeeded in 
 making popular. 6 
 
 1 Not in Valerius Terminus. It occurs in the Distributio Opens, and may be 
 traced though less distinctly in the Advancement and the De Augmentis. See Note 
 C. at the end. /. S. 
 
 2 Mr. Ellis had written " in the of Aristotle." But the words of the 
 De Augmentis (v. 4.) (" de specu Platonis ") prove that it was the passage in Plato 
 which suggested the metaphor. J. S. 
 
 3 i. e. in the classification adopted in the Partis secunda Delineatio ; for they 
 correspond exactly with the third kind of fallacies or false appearances mentioned in 
 the Advancement, and with the idols of the palace in Valerius Terminus. And I 
 think they were meant to be included among the " Inhaerentia et Innata " of the 
 Delineatio. See Note C. J. S. 
 
 4 Rather, I think, as they are separable or inseparable from our nature and con- 
 dition in life. See Note C. J. S. 
 
 5 Compare the Distributio Operis, where the classification is retained, with the Novum 
 Organum, where it is not alluded to, and I think it will be seen that Bacon did not 
 intend to balance the members in this way. See Note C. at the end. /. S. 
 
 6 Bacon alludes to Ramus in the De Augmentis vi. 2., " De unica methodo et 
 clichotomiis perpetuis nil attinet dicere. Fuit enim nubecula quaedam doctrinac quas 
 cito transiit : res certe simul et scientiis damnosissima," &c.
 
 92 PREFACE TO 
 
 After enumerating the four kinds of idols, Bacon gives in- 
 stances of each (4567.) ; and speaking in (62.) of idols of the 
 theatre, introduces a triple classification of false philosophies, to 
 which he seems to have attached much importance, as we find it 
 referred to in many parts of his writings. False philosophy is 
 sophistical, empirical, or superstitious ; sophistical, when it con- 
 sists of dialectic subtleties built upon no better foundation than 
 common notions and every-day observation ; empirical, when it 
 is educed out of a few experiments, however accurately ex- 
 amined ; and superstitious, when theological traditions are made 
 its basis. In the Cogitata et Visa he compares the rational 
 philosophers (that is, those whose system is sophistical, the name 
 implying that they trust too much to reason and despise ob- 
 servation) to spiders whose webs are spun out of their own 
 bodies, and the empirics to the ant which simply lays up its 
 store and uses it. Whereas the true way is that of the bee, 
 which gathers its materials from the flowers of the field and of 
 the garden, and then, ex propria facultate, elaborates and trans- 
 forms them. 1 The third kind of false philosophy is not here 
 mentioned. In the Novum Organum Bacon perhaps intended 
 particularly to refer to the Mosaical philosophy of Fludd, who 
 is one of the most learned of the Cabalistic writers.' 2 
 
 In (69.) Bacon speaks of faulty demonstrations as the 
 defences and bulwarks of idols, and divides the common pro- 
 cess for the establishment of axioms and conclusions into four 
 parts, each of which is defective. He here describes in gene- 
 ral terms the new method of induction. In the next aphorism, 
 which concludes this part of his subject, he condemns the 
 way in which experimental researches have commonly been 
 carried on. 
 
 The doctrine of idols seems, when the Novum Organum was 
 published, to have been esteemed one of its most important 
 portions. Mersenne at least, the earliest critic on Bacon's 
 writings, his Certitude des Sciences having been published in 
 
 1 In the Advancement of Learning and the De Aug mentis, the schoolmen in par- 
 ticular are compared to the spider ; a passage which has been misunderstood by a 
 distinguished writer, whose judgments seem not unfrequently to be as hastily formed 
 as they are fluently expressed, and who conceives that Bacon intended to condemn 
 the study of psychology. 
 
 In speaking of the field and the garden, Bacon refers respectively to observations of 
 Nature and artificial experiment ; an instance of the " curiosa felicitas " of his 
 metaphors. 
 
 2 Fludd's work, entitled Philosophia Moysaica, was published in 1638.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 93 
 
 1625 ', speaks of the four idols, or rather of Bacon's remarks 
 upon them, as the four buttresses of his philosophy. In Bacon's 
 own opinion this doctrine was of much importance. Thus in 
 the De Interpretatione Natures Sententice Duodecim he says, in 
 the abrupt style of his earlier philosophical writings, " Qui 
 primum et ante alia omnia animi motus humani penitus non 
 explorarit, ibique scientiae meatus et errorum sedes accuratissime 
 descriptas non habuerit, is omnia larvata et veluti incantata 
 reperiet ; fascinum ni solverit interpretari non poterit. 2 
 
 From (71.) to (78.) he speaks of the signs and tokens whereby 
 the defects and worthlessness of the received sciences are made 
 manifest. The origin of these sciences, the scanty fruits they 
 have borne, the little progress they have made, all testify against 
 them ; as likewise the confessions of the authors who have treated 
 of them, and even the general consent with which they have 
 been received. " Pessimum," says Bacon, " omnium est au- 
 gurium, quod ex consensu capitur in rebus intellectualibus." 3 
 
 From (78.) to (92.) Bacon speaks of the causes of the errors 
 which have hindered the progress of science ; intending thereby 
 to show that there is no reason to doubt the value of the reform 
 which he is about to propose, because though in itself seem- 
 ingly plain and obvious it has nevertheless remained so long 
 unthought of. On the contrary, there is, he affirms, good 
 reason for being surprised that even now any one should have 
 thought of it. 
 
 The first of these causes is the comparative shortness of the 
 periods which, out of the twenty-five centuries which intervene 
 between Thales and Bacon's own time, have been really fa- 
 vourable to the progress of science. The second, that even 
 during the more favourable times natural philosophy, the great 
 mother of the sciences, has been for the most part neglected ; 
 men having of late chiefly busied themselves with theology, and 
 among the Greeks and Romans with moral philosophy, " quze 
 
 1 In the Biographic Universette (Mersenne) it is incorrectly said that this work 
 was published in 1636, and an idle story is mentioned that it was in reality written, 
 not by Mersenne, but by Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a story sufficiently refuted by its 
 scrupulous and submissive orthodoxy. 
 
 2 So also in the Valerius Terminus, c. 17. : " That if any have had or shall have the 
 power and resolution to fortify and inclose his mind against all anticipations, yet if he 
 have not been or shall not be cautioned by the full understanding of the nature of the 
 mind and spirit of man, and therein of the seats, pores, and passages both of know- 
 ledge and error, he hath not been, nor shall not be, possibly able to guide or keep on 
 his course aright." /. S. 
 
 3 He however excepts matters political and religious.
 
 94 PREFACE TO 
 
 ethnicis vice theologize erat." Moreover, even when men oc- 
 cupied themselves the most with natural philosophy (Bacon 
 refers to the age of the early Greek physicists), much time was 
 wasted through controversies and vain glory. Again, even 
 those who have bestowed pains upon natural philosophy have 
 seldom, especially in these latter times, given themselves wholly 
 up to it. Thus, natural philosophy having been neglected and 
 the sciences thereby severed from their root, it is no wonder 
 that their growth has been stopped. 
 
 Another cause of their scanty progress is, that their true end, 
 the benefit and relief of man's estate, has not been had in re- 
 membrance. This error Bacon speaks of in the Advancement 
 as the greatest of all, coupling however there with the relief 
 of man's estate the glory of the Creator. Again, the right 
 path for the advancement of knowledge has not only been neg- 
 lected but blocked up, men having come not only to neglect 
 experience but also to despise it. Also the reverence for an- 
 tiquity has hindered progress ; and here Bacon repeats the re- 
 mark he had made in the Advancement, that antiquity was the 
 world's youth, and the latter times its age. 1 
 
 Again, the progress of science has been hindered by too 
 much respect for what has been already accomplished. And 
 this has been increased by the appearance of completeness which 
 systematic writers on science have given to their works, and 
 also by the vain and boastful promises of some who have pre- 
 tended to reform philosophy. Another reason why more has 
 not been accomplished, is that so little has been attempted. 
 
 To these hindrances Bacon adds three others, superstitious 
 bigotry, the constitution of schools, universities, and colleges, 
 and the lack of encouragement ; and then concludes this part of 
 the subject with that which he affirms to have been the greatest 
 
 1 This remark is in itself not new; we read, for instance, in the book of Esdras, that 
 the world has lost its youth, and that the times begin to wax old. Nor is it new in the 
 application here made of it Probably several writers in the age which preceded 
 Bacon's had already made it, for in that age men were no longer willing to submit to 
 the authority of antiquity, and still felt bound to justify their dissent. Two writers 
 may at any rate be mentioned by whom the thought is as distinctly expressed as by 
 Bacon, namely Giordano Bruno and Otto Casmann ; the former in the Cena di Cenere, 
 the latter in the preface to his Problemata Afarina, which was published in 1596, and 
 therefore a few years later than the Cena, with which however it is not likely that 
 Casmann was acquainted. Few writers of celebrity comparable to Bruno's appear to 
 have been so little read. 
 
 I have quoted both passages in a note on the corresponding passage in [the first 
 book of] the De Augmentis : that in the Cena di Cenere was first noticed by Dr. 
 Whewell. See his Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, ii. 198.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 95 
 
 obstacle of all, namely despair of the possibility of progress. 
 To remove this, he goes on to state the grounds of hope for the 
 future, a discussion which extends from (93.) to (115.). 
 
 " Principium autem," he begins, " sumendum a Deo ; " that is 
 to say, the excellence of the end proposed is in itself an indi- 
 cation that the matter in hand is from God, nor is the prophecy 
 of Daniel concerning the latter times to be omitted, namely that 
 many shall go to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. 
 Again, the errors committed in tune past are a reason for hoping 
 better things in the time to come. He therefore sets forth these 
 errors at some length (95 107.). This enumeration begins 
 with the passage already mentioned [as occurring in the Cogitata 
 et Visa], in which the true method is spoken of as intermediate 
 to those of the dogmatici or rationales, and of the empirici. 
 There will be, he concludes, good ground for hope when the 
 experimental and reasoning faculties are more intimately united 
 than they have ever yet been. So likewise when natural phi- 
 losophy ceases to be alloyed with matter extraneous to it, and 
 when any one can be found content to begin at the beginning 
 and, putting aside all popularly received notions and opinions, to 
 apply himself afresh to experience and particulars. And here 
 Bacon introduces an illustration which he has also employed 
 elsewhere, comparing the regeneration of the sciences to the 
 exploits of Alexander, which were at first esteemed portentous 
 and more than human, and yet afterwards it was Livy's judg- 
 ment that he had done no more than despise a vain show of 
 difficulty. Bacon then resumes his enumeration of the improve- 
 ments which are to be made, each of which will be a ground of 
 hope. The first is a better natural history than has yet been 
 composed ; and it is to be observed that a natural history which 
 is designed to contain the materials for the instauration of phi- 
 losophy differs essentially from a natural history which has no 
 such ulterior end : the chief difference is, that an ordinary 
 natural history does not contain the experimental results fur- 
 nished by the arts. In the second place, among these results 
 themselves there is a great lack of experimenta lucifera, that is 
 of experiments which, though not practically useful, yet serve to 
 give light for the discovery of causes and axioms : hitherto 
 men have busied themselves for the most part with experimenta 
 fructifera, that is experiments of use and profit. Thirdly, ex- 
 perimental researches must be conducted orderly and according
 
 96 PREFACE TO 
 
 to rule and law, and not as hitherto in a desultory and irregular 
 manner. Again, when the materials required have been col- 
 lected, the mind will not be able to deal with them without 
 assistance and memoriter : all discoveries ought to be based upon 
 written records " nulla nisi de scripto inventio probanda est." 
 This is what Bacon calls experientia litterata 1 , his meaning 
 apparently being that out of the storehouse of natural history 
 all the facts connected with any proposed subject of investiga- 
 tion should be extracted and reduced to writing before anything 
 else is done. Furthermore, all these facts must not only be 
 reduced to writing, but arranged tabularly. In dealing with 
 facts thus collected and arranged, we are to regard them chiefly 
 as the materials for the construction of axioms, our path leading 
 us upwards from particulars to axioms, and then downwards 
 from axioms to works ; and the ascent from particulars to 
 axioms must be gradual, that is axioms of a less degree of gene- 
 rality must always be established before axioms of a higher. 
 Again a new form of induction is to be introduced ; for induc- 
 tion by simple enumeration is childish and precarious. But 
 true induction analyses nature by rejections and exclusions, and 
 concludes affirmatively after a sufficient number of negatives. 
 And our greatest hope rests upon this way of induction. 
 Also the axioms thus established are to be examined whether 
 they are of wider generality than the particulars employed in 
 their construction, and if so, to be verified by comparing them 
 with other facts, e ' per novorum particularium designationem 2 , 
 quasi fidejussione quadam." Lastly, the sciences must be kept 
 in connexion with natural philosophy. 
 
 Bacon then goes on (108 114.) to state divers grounds of 
 hope derived from other sources than those of which he has 
 been speaking, namely, the errors hitherto committed. The 
 first is that without any method of invention men have made 
 certain notable discoveries ; how many more, then, and greater, 
 
 1 " Hla vero in usum veniente, ab experieutia factd demum literata, melius speran- 
 dum." In Montagu's edition literata is printed incorrectly with a capital letter ; 
 which makes it seem as if the experientia facta literata here spoken of were the same 
 as the experientia qunm vocamus literatam in Aph. 103. But they are, in fact, 
 two different things ; the one being opposed to experience which proceeds without any 
 written record of its results ; the other to vaga experientia. et se tantum sequens ex- 
 perience which proceeds without any method in its inquiries. See my note on Aph. 
 101. J. S. 
 
 2 I understand designatio here to mean discovery. The test of the truth of the 
 axiom was to be the discovery by its light of new particulars. See Valerius Terminus, 
 ch. xii., quoted in note on Aph. 106. /. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 97 
 
 by the method now to be proposed. Again, of discoveries 
 already made, there are many which before they were made 
 would never have been conceived of as possible, which is a 
 reason for thinking that many other things still remain to be 
 found out of a nature wholly unlike any hitherto known. In 
 the course of ages these too would doubtless some time or 
 other come to light ; but by a regular method of discovery 
 they will be made known far more certainly and in far less time, 
 propere et subito et simul. Bacon mentions particularly, as 
 discoveries not likely to have been thought of beforehand, gun- 
 powder, silk, and the mariner's compass ; remarking that if the 
 conditions to be fulfilled had been stated, men would have sought 
 for something far more akin than the reality to things previously 
 known : in the case of gunpowder, if its effects only had been 
 described, they would have thought of some modification of the 
 battering-ram or the catapult, and not of an expansive vapour ; 
 and so in the other cases. He also mentions the art of print- 
 ing as an invention perfectly simple when once made, and which 
 nevertheless was only made after a long course of ages. Again, 
 we may gain hope from seeing what an infinity of pains and 
 labour men have bestowed on far less matters than that now 
 in hand, of which if only a portion were given to the ad- 
 vancement of sound and real knowledge, all difficulties might 
 be overcome. This remark Bacon makes with reference to his 
 natural and experimental history, which he admits will be a 
 great and royal work, and of much labour and cost. But the 
 number of particulars to be observed ought not to deter us ; 
 on the contrary, if we consider how much smaller it is than 
 that of the figments of the understanding, we shall find even in 
 this grounds for hope. To these figments, commenta ingenii, 
 the phenomena of Nature and the arts are but a mere handful. 
 Some hope too, Bacon thinks, may be derived from his own 
 example ; for if, though of weak health, and greatly hindered 
 by other occupations, and moreover in this matter altogether 
 " protopirus " and following no man's track nor even com- 
 municating these things with any, he has been able somewhat 
 to advance therein, how much may not be hoped for from the 
 conjoined and successive labours of men at leisure from all other 
 business ? Lastly, though the breeze of hope from that new 
 world were fainter than it is, still it were worth while to follow 
 the adventure, seeing how great a reward success would bring. 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 PREFACE TO 
 
 And here (115), Bacon says, concludes the pulling-down 
 part, pars destruens, of the Instauration. It consists of three 
 confutations ; namely, of the natural working of the mind, of 
 received methods of demonstration, and of received theories or 
 philosophies. In this division we perceive the influence of the 
 first form of the doctrine of Idols. As the Novum Organum 
 now stands, the pars destruens cannot be divided into three por- 
 tions, each containing one of the confutations just mentioned. 
 Thus, for instance, the doctrine of Idols, which undoubtedly 
 forms a distinct section of the whole work, relates to all three. 
 Errors natural to the mind, errors of demonstration, errors 
 of theory, are all therein treated of; and Bacon then goes on 
 to another part of the subject, in which, though from a different 
 point of view, they are all again considered. The sort of cross 
 division here introduced is explained by a passage in the Partis 
 secunda Detineatio, in which the doctrine of Idols is introduced 
 by the remark, " Pars destruens triplex est secundum triplicem 
 naturam idolorum quae mentem obsident." And then, after 
 dividing idols into the three classes already mentioned, he pro- 
 ceeds thus : " Itaque pars ista quam destruentem appellamus 
 tribus redargutionibus absolvitur, redargutione philosophiarum, 
 redargutione dernonstrationum, et redargutione rationis humane 
 nativse." When the doctrine of Idols was thrown into its 
 present form it ceased to afford a convenient basis for the pars 
 destruens ; and accordingly the substance of the three redar- 
 gutiones is in the Novum Organum less systematically set 
 forth than Bacon purposed that it should be when he wrote 
 the Partis secundce Delineatio.* It is to be remarked that 
 Redargutio Philosophiarum is the title of one of the chapters in 
 the third and last of the tracts published by Gruter with the 
 
 1 I think this apparent discrepancy may be better explained. It appears to me 
 that the number of idols was originally three, the Tribe, the Cave, and the Market- 
 place ; all belonging to the ratio humana nativa ; fallacies innate or inherent in the 
 human understanding, to be guarded against, but not to be got rid of ; and that a 
 fourth was added afterwards, but of quite a different kind ; consisting of fallacies which 
 have no natural affinity to the understanding, but come from without and may be 
 turned out again ; impressions derived from the systems which men have been taught to 
 accept as true, or from the methods of demonstration which they have been taught to 
 rely upon as conclusive. These are the Idols of the Theatre, and the sole objects of 
 the two Redargutiones which stand first in the Delineatio, and last in the Novum Or- 
 ganum. If this be true, the Redargutio ralionis humanee nativa: (or I should rather 
 say, the part of the Nomtm Organum which belongs to it) extends from the 40th to 
 the 60th aphorism ; and the Redargutio Plulofophiarum and Demonstrationum from the 
 61st to the 115th. For a fuller explanation and justification of this view, see 
 Note C. J. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 99 
 
 title Temporis Partus Masculus 1 , and that it is also the title of 
 a tract published [by Stephens in 1734, and reprinted] by 
 Mallet [in 1760 2 ], and evidently of a later date than the other 
 of the same name. 
 
 From (116) to (128) Bacon endeavours to obviate objections 
 and unfavourable opinions of his design. In the first place he 
 plainly declares that he is no founder of a sect or school, therein 
 differing from the ancient Greeks, and from certain new men, 
 namely Telesius, Patricius, and Severinus. Abstract opinions 
 on nature and first principles are in his judgment of no great 
 moment. Nor again does he promise to mankind the power 
 of accomplishing any particular or special works for . with 
 him works are not derived from works nor experiments from 
 experiments, but causes and axioms are derived from both, and 
 from these new works and experiments are ultimately deduced; 
 and at present the natural history of which he is in possession 
 is not sufficient for the purposes of legitimate interpretation, 
 that is, for the establishment of axioms. Again, that his Natu- 
 ral History and Tables of Invention are not free from errors, 
 which at first they cannot be, is not a matter of much import- 
 ance. These errors, if not too numerous, will readily be cor- 
 rected when causes and axioms have been discovered, just as 
 errors in a manuscript or printed book are easily corrected by 
 the meaning of the passage in which they occur. Again, it may 
 be said that the Natural History contains many commonplace 
 things ; also many things mean and sordid ; and lastly many 
 things too subtle to be of any use. To this a threefold answer 
 is to be given. In the first place, rare and notable things can- 
 not be understood, much less new things brought to light, 
 unless the causes of common things and their causes' causes be 
 duly examined and searched out. Secondly, whatever is 
 worthy of existence is also worthy to be known ; for knowledge 
 represents and is the image of existence. Lastly, things ap- 
 parently useless are in truth of the greatest use. No one will 
 deny that light is useful, though it is not tangible or material. 
 And the accurate knowledge of simple natures is as light, and 
 
 1 Say rather, " is the title prefixed by M. Bouillet to the second chapter of the 
 fragment printed by Gruter with the heading Tradendi modus legitimus," I cannot 
 find that M. Bouillet had any authority for giving it this title, more than the tenor of 
 the chapter itself, which shows that it fits. J. S. 
 
 2 A small portion of it was printed by Gruter at the end of the Parti's secunda 
 Delineatio [and it seems to have been the beginning of the Pars secunda itself], 
 
 H 2
 
 10^ PREFACE TO 
 
 gives access to all the secrets on which works depend, though 
 in itself it is of no great use. 
 
 Again it may be thought a hard saying that all sciences and 
 authors are at once to be set aside together. But in reality 
 this is both a more modest censure and one that carries with it 
 a greater show of reason than any partial condemnation. It 
 implies only that the errors hitherto committed are fundamental, 
 and that they have not been corrected because as yet they 
 have not been sufficiently examined. It is no presumption 
 if any man asserts that he can draw a circle more truly with 
 a pair of compasses than another can without ; and the new 
 method puts men's understandings nearly on the same level, 
 because everything is to be done by definite rules and demon- 
 strations. Bacon anticipates also another objection, that he 
 has not assigned to the sciences their true and highest aim; 
 which is the contemplation of truth, not works, however 
 great or useful. He affirms that he values works more inas- 
 much as they are signs and evidences of truth than for their 
 practical utility. It may also, he continues, be alleged that 
 the method of the ancients was in reality the same as ours, 
 only that after they had constructed the edifice of the sciences 
 they took away the scaffolding. But this is refuted both by 
 what they themselves say of their method 1 , and by what 
 is seen of it in their writings. Again he affirms that he does 
 not inculcate, as some might suppose, a 2 [final suspension of 
 judgment, as if the mind were incapable of knowing anything ; 
 that if he enjoins caution and suspense it is not as doubting the 
 competency of the senses and understanding, but for their better 
 information and guidance ; that the method of induction which 
 he proposes is applicable not only to what is called natural 
 philosophy, as distinguished from logic, ethics, and politics, but 
 to every department of knowledge ; the aim being to obtain 
 an insight into the nature of things by processes varied accord- 
 ing to the conditions of the subject ; and that in declaring that 
 no great progress can be expected either in knowledge of truth 
 or in power of operation by the methods of inquiry hitherto 
 employed, he means no disrespect to the received arts and 
 
 I have adopted here the correction introduced into the text of the present 
 edition. 
 
 Mr. Ellis had written thus far when the fever seized him. The remaining pages 
 which complete the analysis of the first book, are mine./. S.
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 101 
 
 s, but fully recognises them as excellent in their proper 
 place and use, and would have them honoured and cultivated 
 accordingly. 
 
 These explanations, together with some remarks (129), by 
 way of encouragement to followers and fellow-labourers, on 
 the dignity, importance, and grandeur of the end in view, 
 bring the preliminary considerations to a close, and clear the 
 way for the exposition of the art of interpretation itself; which 
 is commenced, but not completed, in the second book. What 
 this art was, has been fully discussed in the general preface, 
 and it is not necessary therefore to follow the subject further 
 here. Only it is important to remark that whatever value 
 Bacon may have attached to it, he certainly did not at this time 
 profess to consider it either as a thing absolutely necessary, or 
 even as the thing most necessary, for any real progress in science. 
 In the concluding aphorism of the first book he distinctly warns 
 the reader that the precepts which he is about to give, though 
 he believes them to be very useful and sound, and likely to 
 prove a great help, are not offered either as perfect in them- 
 selves or as so indispensable that nothing can be done without 
 them. Three things only he represents as indispensable : 1st, 
 ut " justam natmre et experientise historiam prgesto haberent 
 homines atque in ea sedulo versarentur ; " 2nd, " ut receptas 
 opiniones et notiones deponerent ; " 3rd, " ut mentem a gene- 
 ralissimis et proximis ab illis ad tempus cohiberent." These 
 three conditions being secured, the art of interpretation (being 
 indeed the true and natural operation of the mind when freed 
 from impediments) might, he thinks, suggest itself without a 
 teacher: "foreut etiam vi propria et genuina mentis, absque 
 alia arte, in formam nostram interpretandi incidere possent ; est 
 enim interpretatio verum et naturale opus mentis, demptis iis 
 quae obstant : " an admission which helps to account for the fact 
 that during the five years which he afterwards devoted to the 
 developement of his philosophy, he applied himself almost ex- 
 clusively to the natural history ; leaving the exposition of his 
 method of interpretation still incomplete. For it cannot be 
 denied that, among the many things which remained to be done, 
 the setting forward of the Natural History was, according to 
 this view, the one which stood next in order of importance. 
 In furtherance of the two other principal requisites, he had al- 
 
 H 3
 
 102 PREFACE TO 
 
 ready done what he could. Every motive by which men could 
 be encouraged to lay prejudices aside, and refrain from prema- 
 ture generalisations, and apply themselves to the sincere study 
 of Nature, had already been laid before them. It remained 
 to be seen whether his exhortations would bring other labourers 
 into the field ; but in the mean time the question lay between 
 the completion of the Novum Organum, which was not indis- 
 pensable, and the commencement of the collection of a Natural 
 History, which was ; and when he found that other labourers 
 did not come forward to help, he naturally applied himself to the 
 latter.]
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 103 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 I THOUGHT it better not to interrupt the reader with notes during 
 the progress of the foregoing argument, but as some points are as- 
 sumed in it upon which I shall have to express a different opinion 
 hereafter, it may be well to notice them here ; the rather because I 
 fully concur in the conclusion notwithstanding. 
 
 1. It is assumed that the first book of Valerius Terminus was de- 
 signed to comprehend a general survey of knowledge, such as forms the 
 subject of the second book of the Advancement of Learning and of 
 the last eight books of the De Augmentis Scientiarum, as well as the 
 general reflexions and precepts, which form the subject of the first 
 book of the Novum Organum; to comprehend in short the whole 
 first part of the Instauratio, together with the introductory portion 
 of the second. 
 
 This is inferred from the description of the " Inventary " which 
 was to be contained in the tenth chapter of Valerius Terminus, as 
 compared with the contents of the second book of the Advancement 
 of Learning. 
 
 Now my impression is that this Inventary would have cor- 
 responded, not to the second book of the Advancement, but only to a 
 certain Inventarium opum humanarum which is there, and also in 
 the De Augmentis (iii. 5), set down as a desideratum ; and which 
 was to be, not a general survey of all the departments of knowledge, 
 but merely an appendix to one particular department ; that, namely, 
 which is called in the Advancement Naturalis Magia, sive Physica 
 operativa major l ; and in the Catalogus Desideratorum at the end 
 of the De Angmentis, Magia Naturalis, sive Deductio formarum ad 
 opera. 
 
 The grounds of this conclusion will be explained fully in their pro- 
 per place. 2 It is enough at present to mark the point as disputable ; 
 and to observe that if this argument fails, there seems to be no reason 
 
 1 See margin. It is to be observed that in Montagu's edition of the Advancement 
 the titles in the margin are by some strange negligence omitted ; so that the corre- 
 spondence between the two Inventories was the more easily overlooked. 
 
 2 See my note at the end of Mr. Ellis's preface to Valerius Terminus. 
 
 11 4
 
 104 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 for thinking that anything corresponding to iheftrst part of the In- 
 stauratio entered into the design of Valerius Terminus ; also that the 
 principal ground here alleged for concluding that Valerius Terminus 
 was written some time before the Advancement a conclusion which 
 involves one considerable difficulty is taken away. 
 
 2. It is assumed also that Valerius Terminus was not to contain 
 anything corresponding to the last four parts of the Instauratio, but 
 was to be merely " a statement of Bacon's method, without professing 
 to give either the collection of facts to which the method was to be 
 applied, or the results thereby obtained." 
 
 This appears to be inferred chiefly from the title viz. "Of the In- 
 terpretation of Nature." 
 
 Now it seems to me that this argument proves too much. For I 
 find the same title given to another unfinished work the Temporis 
 Partus Masculus of which we happen to know that it was meant 
 to be in three books ; the first to be entitled Perpolitio et applicatio 
 mentis; the second, Lumen Naturce, seu formula Interpretationis ; 
 the third, Natura illuminata, sive Veritas Rerum. The first would 
 have corresponded therefore to the first book of the Novum Orga- 
 num; the second, being a statement of the new method, to the 
 second and remaining books ; the third, being a statement of the ap- 
 plication of the new method, to the sixth and last part of the Instau- 
 ratio. It would seem from this that when Bacon designed the 
 Temporis Partus Masculus, he had conceived the idea of a work 
 embracing the entire field of the Instauratio, (the first part only ex- 
 cepted), though less fully developed and differently distributed. And 
 I see no sufficient reason for supposing that the design of the Vale' 
 rius Terminus was less extensive. 
 
 3. " The Temporis Partus Masculus published by Gruter" is 
 spoken of as probably or possibly " the same as the Temporis Partus 
 Maximus mentioned by Bacon in his letter to Fulgenzio," and if so, 
 the earliest of all his writings. 
 
 Now the writing or rather collection of writings here alluded to 
 is that published not by Gruter but by M. Bouillet ; in whose edition 
 of the " CEuvres Philosophiques " the title Temporis Partus Mascu- 
 lus is prefixed to four distinct pieces. 1. A short prayer. 2. A 
 fragment headed Aphorismi et Consilia de auxiliis mentis et accensione 
 luminis naturalis. 3. A short piece entitled De Inter pretatione 
 Naturce sententice duodecim. 4. A fragment in two chapters headed 
 Tradendi modus legitimus. It is true that from the manner in which 
 M. Bouillet has printed them, any one would suppose that he had 
 Gruter's authority for collecting them all under the same general 
 title. But it is not so. In Gruter's Scripta philosophica the title 
 Temporis Partus Masculus appears in connexion with the first, and 
 the first only. The last has indeed an undoubted claim to it upon
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 105 
 
 other and better authority. But I can find no authority whatever 
 for giving it to the other two. If therefore the resemblance of the 
 names be thought a sufficient reason for identifying the Partus Mas- 
 culus with the Partus Maximus, that identity must be understood as 
 belonging to the first and fourth only. The grounds of that opinion 
 and of my own dissent from it will be discussed in the proper place. 
 With regard to the argument now in hand, (viz. whether Bacon, 
 when he wrote the Temporis Partus Masculus, had yet thought of 
 producing a great work like the Instanratio) it is enough perhaps 
 to observe that at whatever period or periods of his life these four 
 pieces were composed, they all belong to the second part of the In- 
 stauratio ; not as prefaces or prospectuses, but as portions of the 
 work itself; and that if none of them contain any allusion to the 
 other parts, the same may be said of the first book of the Novum 
 Organum itself; and therefore that we cannot be warranted in con- 
 cluding from that fact that the plan of the Instauratio had not yet 
 been conceived. 
 
 4. It is assumed that the work which Bacon contemplated when 
 he wrote the De Interpretatione Naturae Procemium would not have 
 contained the new method and its results (these being, according to 
 his then intention, to be communicated only to chosen followers), 
 but merely the general views of science which form the subject of 
 the first book of the Novum Organum. 
 
 This seems to be gathered from what he says in the Proremium 
 concerning the manner in which the several parts of the work were 
 to be published : " Publicandi autem ista ratio ea est, ut quae ad inge- 
 niorum correspondentias captandas et mentium areas purgandas per- 
 tinent, edantur in vulgus et per ora volitent : reliqua per manus 
 tradantur cum electione etjudicio:" the "reliqua" being, as appears 
 a little further on, " ipsa Interpretations formula et inventa per 
 eandem :" from which it seems to be inferred that the exposition of 
 the new method was not only not to be published along with the rest 
 of the work, but to be excluded from it altogether ; to be kept as a 
 secret, and transmitted orally. The grounds of this opinion I shall 
 examine more particularly in a subsequent note with reference to 
 another question. The question with which we are now dealing is 
 only whether at that time Bacon can be supposed to have " thought 
 of producing a great work like the Instauratio :" upon which I will 
 only say that as an intention not to publish does not imply an inten- 
 tion not to write, so neither does an intention to write imply an in- 
 tention to publish. And since there is nothing in the Partis se- 
 cundae Delineatio from which we can infer that even then he intended 
 to publish the whole, I do not see how we can infer that the design 
 of composing a great work like the Instauratio had been conceived in 
 the interval between the writing of these two pieces. For as in the
 
 106 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 one case he may not have intended to publish what we know he did 
 intend to write, so in the other he may have intended to write 
 what we know he did not intend to publish. And indeed though 
 the Prooemium stands in Gruter's volume by itself and we cannot 
 know to which of Bacon's projected works on the Interpretation of 
 Nature it was meant to be prefixed, there is none which it seems to 
 fit so well as the Temporis Partus Masculus. Now the Temporis 
 Partus Masculus, as we know from the titles of the three books 
 above quoted, was to contain both the formula Interpretationis and 
 the inventa per eandem. 
 
 All these points will be considered more at large when I come to 
 state the grounds upon which I have assigned to each tract its place 
 in this edition. In the meantime I am unwilling to let any con- 
 clusion of importance appear to rest upon them ; and in the present 
 case all inferences which are in any way dependent upon the assump- 
 tions which I have noticed as questionable may I think be freely 
 dispensed with. That to bring in a new method of Induction was 
 Bacon's central idea and original design, and that the idea of an In- 
 stauratio Magna came after, may in the absence of all evidence to 
 the contrary be safely enough inferred from his own words in the 
 Advancement of Learning ; where after reporting a deficiency of the 
 first magnitude in that department of knowledge which concerns the 
 invention of sciences, a deficiency proved by the barrenness and 
 accounted for by the viciousness and incompetency of the method of 
 induction then in use, he adds, "This part of Invention, concern- 
 ing the Invention of Sciences, I purpose, if God give me leave, here- 
 after to propound ; having digested into two parts ; whereof the one 
 I term Experientia Literata, and the other Interpretatio Naturce l ; the 
 former being but a degree and rudiment of the latter. But I will not 
 dwell too long nor speak too great upon a promise." This " Interpre- 
 tatio Naturae " can have been nothing else therefore than a new method 
 of induction to supply the place of the vicious and incompetent me- 
 thod then in use ; and since among all the reported " deficiencies " 
 this is the only one which he himself proposes to supply, for of the 
 others he merelj gives specimens to make his meaning clear, we 
 may, I think, safely conclude that this and no other was the great 
 work which he was meditating when he wrote the Advancement of 
 Learning. His expressions moreover seem to imply that this work 
 was already begun and in progress ; and seeing that the Valerius 
 Terminus answers the description both in title and (so far as the first 
 book goes, which is all we know of it) in contents also, why may we 
 not suppose that it was a commencement or a sketch of the very work 
 
 1 The corresponding passage in the De Augment ..-alls it " Interpretatio Nature 
 mve Novum Organum."
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 107 
 
 he speaks of, and that of the fragment which has been preserved part 
 was written before and part after ? a supposition probable enough in 
 itself, and by which at least one difficulty, which I shall mention 
 hereafter J , is effectually removed. 
 
 As an additional reason for thinking that the idea of the Instau- 
 ratio Magna was of later date than that of a work on the Inter- 
 pretation of Nature, 1 may observe that the name Instauratio does 
 not occur in any of Bacon's letters earlier than 1609. The earliest 
 of his compositions in which it appears was probably the Partis In- 
 staurationis secundce Delineatio et Argumentum; but of this the date 
 cannot be fixed with any certainty ; and as Gruter is our only 
 authority for it, and the word Instauratio appears in the title only, 
 not in the body of the work, we cannot even be sure that it was ori- 
 ginally there. If Gruter found a manuscript headed " Partis secundae 
 Delineatio, &c.," and evidently referring to the parts of the Instaura- 
 tio Magna, he was likely enough to insert the word silently by way 
 of explanation. 
 
 NOTE B. 
 
 THE question is, how far, by what means, and with what motive, 
 Bacon at one time wished to keep his system secret. 
 
 Let us first compare all the passages in which such an intention 
 appears to be intimated, or such a practice alluded to ; taking them in 
 chronological order, as far as our knowledge of the dates of his various 
 writings enables us to do so. These which follow are all that I have 
 been able to find. 
 
 1. Valerius Terminus. Ch. 18. 
 
 "That the discretion anciently observed, though by the precedent 
 of many vain persons and deceivers abused, of publishing part and 
 reserving part to a private succession, and of publishing in such a 
 manner whereby it may not be to the taste or capacity of all, but 
 shall as it were single and adopt his reader, is not to be laid aside ; 
 both for the avoiding of abuse in the excluded, and the strengthening 
 of affection in the admitted." 
 
 And again (Ch. 11.), "To ascend further by scale I do forbear, 
 partly because it would draw on the example to an over-great length, 
 but chiefly because it would open that which in this work I determine 
 to reserve" 
 
 2. Advancement of Learning. 
 
 " And as Alexander Borgia was wont to say of the expedition of 
 the French for Naples, that they came with chalk in their hands to 
 
 1 See my note at the end of Mr. Ellis's Preface to the Vderius Terminus.
 
 108 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 mark up their lodgings, and not with weapons to fight ; so I like 
 better that entry of truth which cometh peaceably with chalk to mark 
 up those minds which are capable to lodge and harbour it, than that 
 which cometh with pugnacity and contention." 
 
 3. Advancement of Learning. 
 
 "Another diversity of method there is," [he is speaking of the 
 different methods of " tradition," i. e. of communicating and trans- 
 mitting knowledge] which hath some affinity with the former, used 
 in some cases by the discretion of the ancients, but disgraced since 
 by the impostures of many vain persons, who have made it as a false 
 light for their counterfeit merchandises ; and that is, enigmatical and 
 disclosed. The pretence whereof [that is, of the enigmatical method] 
 is to remove the vulgar capacities from being admitted to the secrets 
 of knowledges, and to reserve them to selected auditors, or wits of such 
 sharpness as can pierce the veil." 
 
 4. Prooemium de Interpretatione Naturae. 
 
 " Publicandi autem ista ratio ea est, ut quae ad ingeniorum cor- 
 respondentias captandas et mentium areas purgandas pertinent, 
 edantur in vulgus et per ora volitent ; reliqua per manus tradantur 
 cum electione etjudicio. Nee me latet usitatum et tritum esse impos- 
 torum artificium, ut qusedam a vulgo secernant nihilo iis ineptiis 
 quas vulgo propinant meliora. Sed ego sine omni impostura, ex 
 providentia sana prospicio, ipsam interpretationis formulam et inventa 
 per eandem, intra legitima et optata ingenia clausa, vegetiora et 
 munitiora futura." 
 
 5. De Interpretatione Natures Sententite XII. 
 De moribus Interpretis. 
 
 " Sit etiam in scientia quam adeptus est nee occultanda nee profe- 
 renda vanus, sed ingenuus et prudens : tradatque inventa non 
 ambitiose aut maligne, sed modo primurn maxime vivaci et vegeto, id 
 est ad injurias temporis munitissimo, et ad scientiam propagandam 
 fortissimo, deinde ad errores pariendos innocentissimo, et ante omnia 
 qui sibi legitimum lectorem seponat." 
 
 6. Temporis Partus Masculus. C. 1. 
 
 " An tu censes cum omnes omnium mentium aditus ac meatus 
 obscurissimis idolis, iisdemque alte haerentibus et inustis, obsessi et 
 obstruct! sint, veris Rerum et nativis radiis sinceras et politas areas 
 adesse? Nova invenienda est ratio qua mentibus obductissimis illabi 
 possimus. Ut enim phreneticorum deliramenta arte et ingenio sub- 
 vertuntur, vi et contentione efferantur, omnino ita in hac universal! 
 insania mos gerendus est. Quid ? leviores illae conditiones, quse ad
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 109 
 
 legitimum scientias tradendae modum pertinent, an tibi tarn expedite 
 et faciles videntur? ut modus innocens sit; id estnulli prorsus error! 
 ansam et occasionem praebeat ? ut vim quandam insitam et innatam 
 habeat turn ad fidem conciliandam, turn ad pellendas injurias temporis, 
 adeo ut scientia ita tradita, veluti planta vivax et vegeta, quotidie 
 serpat et adolescat ? ut idoneum et legitimum sibi lectorem seponat et 
 quasi adoptetf 
 
 7. Cogitata et visa. 
 
 " Itaque de re non modo perficienda sed et communicanda et 
 tradenda (qua par est cura) cogitationem suscipiendam esse. Reperit 
 autem homines in rerum scientia quam sibi videntur adepti, interdum 
 proferenda interdum occultanda, famae et ostentationi servire : quin 
 et eos potissimum qui minus solida proponunt solere ea quae adferunt 
 obscura et ambigua luce venditare, ut facilius vanitati suae velificare 
 possint. Putare autem se id tractare quod ambitione aliqua aut 
 affectatione polluere minime dignum sit ; sed tamen necessario eo 
 decurrendum esse (nisi forte rerum et animorum valde imperitus esset, 
 et prorsus inexplorato viam inire vellet) ut satis meminerit, inve- 
 teratos semper errores, tanquam phreneticorum deliramenta, arte et 
 ingenio subverti, vi et contentione efferari. Itaque prudentia et 
 morigeratione quadam utendum (quanta cum simplicitate et candore 
 conjungipotest)utcontradictiones ante extinguenturquam excitentur. 
 . . . . Venit ei itaque in mentem posse aliquid simplicius pro- 
 poni, quod in vulgus non editum, saltern tamen ad rei tarn salutaris 
 abortum arcendum satis fortasse esse possit. Ad hunc finem parare 
 se de natura opus quod errores minima asperitate destruere, et ad 
 hominum mentes non turbide accedere possit ; quod et facilius fore, 
 quod non se pro duce gesturus, sed ex natura lucem praebiturus et 
 sparsurus sit, ut duce postea non sit opus." 
 
 8. Redargutio Philosophiarum (the beginning of the Pars secunda, 
 following the Delineatio.) 
 
 " Omnem violentiam (ut jam ab initio profess! sumus) abesse 
 voltfmus : atque quod Borgia facete de Caroli octavi expeditione in 
 Italiam dixit ; Gallos venisse in manibus cretam tenentes qua diver- 
 soria notarent, non arma quibus perrumperent ; similem quoque in- 
 ventorum nostrorum et rationena et successum animo prsecipimus ; 
 nimirum ut potius animos hominum capaces et idoneos seponere et 
 subire possint, quam contra sentientibus molesta sint." 
 
 9. Novum Organum. I. 35. 
 
 " Dixit Borgia de expeditione Gallorum in Italiam, eos venisse 
 cum creta in manibus, ut diversoria notarent, non cum armis, ut 
 perrumperent : Itidem et nostra ratio est ; ut doctrina nostra animos
 
 110 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 idoneos et capaces subintret; confutationum enim nullus est usus, ubi 
 de principiis et ipsis notionibus atque etiam de formis demonstra- 
 tionum dissentimus." 
 
 10. De Augmentis Scientiarum. VI. 2. 
 
 " Sequitur aliud method! discrimen, priori [methodo ad filios, etc.], 
 intentione affine, reipsa fere contrarium. Hoc enim habet utraque 
 methodus commune, ut vulgus auditorum a selectis separet ; illud 
 oppositum, quod prior introducit modum tradendi solito apertiorem ; 
 altera, de qua jam dicemus, occultiorem. Sit igitur discrimen tale, 
 ut altera methodus sit exoterica, altera acroamatica. Etenim quam 
 antiqui adhibuerunt praecipue in edendis libris differentiam, earn nos 
 transferimus ad ipsum modum tradendi. Quin etiam acroamatica ipsa 
 apud veteres in usu fuit, atque prudenter et cum judicio adhibita. 
 At acroamaticum sive aenigmaticum istud dicendi genus posterioribus 
 temporibus dehonestatum est a plurimis, qui eo tanquam lumine 
 ambiguo et fallaci abusi sunt ad merces suas adulterinas extrudendas. 
 Intentio autem ejus ea esse videtur, ut traditionis involucris vulgus 
 (profanum scilicet) a secretis scientiarum summoveatur ; atque illi 
 tantum admittantur qui aut per manus magistrorum parabolarum 
 interpretationem nacti sunt, aut proprio ingenii acumine et subtilitate 
 intra velum penetrare possint" 
 
 These are all the passages I have been able to find, in which the 
 advantage of keeping certain parts of knowledge reserved to a select 
 audience is alluded to. And the question is whether the reserve which 
 Bacon contemplated can be justly compared with that practised by 
 the alchemists and others, who concealed their discoveries as " trea- 
 sures of which the value would be decreased if others were allowed to 
 share in it" 
 
 Now I would observe in the first place that though the expression 
 " single and adopt his reader," or its equivalent, occurs in all these 
 passages, and that too in immediate reference to the method of 
 delivery or transmission, yet in many of them the object of so 
 singling and adopting the reader was certainly not to keep the know- 
 ledge secret ; for many, indeed most, of them relate to that part of the 
 subject which Bacon never proposed to reserve, but which was 
 designed " edi in vulgus et per ora volitare." The part which he 
 proposed to reserve is distinctly defined in the fourth extract as 
 " ipsa interpretationis formula et inventa per eandem ; " the part to 
 be published is " ea quse ad ingeniorum correspondentias captandas 
 et mentium areas purgandas pertinent." Now it is unquestionably 
 to this latter part that the second, the eighth, and the ninth extracts 
 refer. " Primo enim," he says, in the Partis secundce Delineatio, 
 "mentis area aequanda et liberanda ab eis quae hactenus recepta sunt."
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. Ill 
 
 This he calls Pars destruens ; and proposes to begin with the Redar- 
 gutio Philosophiarum, from the introduction to which the eighth 
 extract is taken. And the other two must of course be classed with 
 it. Thus the " animi capaces et idonei" which he wishes " seponere 
 et subire," are clearly identified with the minds marked up with 
 chalk as capable of lodging and harbouring the truth, which are 
 spoken of in the Advancement. 
 
 Next to the Pars destruens came the Pars prceparans, the object 
 of which was to prepare men's expectations for what was coming, and 
 by dislodging erroneous preconceptions to make their minds ready 
 for the reception of the truth. To this part belongs the seventh 
 extract; and if the seventh, then the sixth, which evidently corre- 
 sponds to it ; and if the sixth, then the fifth, which is but the sixth 
 condensed. Or if there be any doubt about the correspondence 
 between the seventh and sixth, it will I think be removed by com- 
 paring them both with the following passage which winds up the 
 description of the Pars prceparans in the Partis secundee Delineatio. 
 
 "Quod si cui supervacua videatur accurata ista nostra quam 
 adhibemus ad mentes praeparandas diligentia, atque cogitet hoc 
 quiddam esse ex pompa et in ostentationem compositum ; itaque 
 cupiat rem ipsam missis ambagibus et praestructionibus simpliciter 
 exhiberi ; certe optabilis nobis foret (si vera esset) hujusmodi insi- 
 mulatio. Utinam enim tarn proclive nobis esset difficultates et impe- 
 dimenta vincere quam fastum inanem et falsum apparatum deponere. 
 Verum hoc velimus homines existiment, nos haud inexplorato viam in 
 tanta solitudine inire, praesertim cum argumentum hujusmodi prae 
 manibus habeamus quod tractandi imperitia perdere et veluti exponere 
 nefas sit. Itaque ex perpenso et perspecto tarn rerum quam animorum 
 statu, duriores fere aditus ad hominum mentes quam ad res ipsas inve- 
 nimus, ac tradendi labores inveniendi laboribus haud multo leviores 
 experimur, atque, quod in intellectualibus res nova fere est, morem 
 gerimus, et tarn nostras cogitationes quam aliorum simul bajulamus. 
 Omne enim idolum vanum arte atque obsequio ac debito accessu 
 subvertitur, vi et contentione atque incursione subita et abrupta" 
 
 efferatur Qua in re accedit et alia quaedam difficultas 
 
 ex moribus nostris non parva, quod constantissimo decreto nobis ipsi 
 sancivimus, ut candorem nostrum et simplicitatem perpetuoretineamus, 
 nee per vana ad vera aditum quasramus ; sed ita obsequio nostro 
 moderemur uttamen non per artificium aliquodvafrumaut imposturam 
 aut aliquid simile imposturse, sed tantummodo per ordinis lumen et 
 novorum super saniorem partem veterum sollertem insitionem, nos 
 nostrorum votorum compotes fore speremus." 
 
 Now all this was to precede and prepare for the exposition of the 
 method of induction itself the " formula ipsa interpretationis " 
 which alone it was proposed to reserve; and therefore we must
 
 112 , NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 understand the legitimus lector of the fifth and sixth extract, as cor- 
 responding with the " animus capax et idoneus" of the eighth and 
 ninth; and with the mind "chalked and marked up" by truth as 
 " capable to lodge and harbour it," of the second ; and we must not 
 suppose that the process of singling and adopting the fit reader was 
 to be effected by any restraint in communication, or any obscurity in 
 style, which should exclude others ; but by presenting the truth in 
 such a shape as should be least likely to shock prejudice or awaken 
 contradiction, and most likely to win its way into those minds which 
 were best disposed to receive it. The object was to propagate 
 knowledge so that it should grow and spread : the difficulty antici- 
 pated was not in excluding auditors, but in finding them. 1 
 
 Thus I conceive that six out of the ten passages under consider- 
 ation must be set aside as not bearing at all upon the question at 
 issue. Of the four that remain, two must be set aside in like manner, 
 because though they directly allude to the practice of transmitting 
 knowledge as a secret from hand to hand, they contain no evidence 
 that Bacon approved of it. These are the third and the last, and 
 come respectively from the Advancement of Learning, one of his 
 earliest works, and from the De Augmentis Scientiarum, one of his 
 latest. In both these works the object being to show in what depart- 
 ments the stock of knowledge then existing was defective, the 
 various methods which have been or may be adopted for the trans- 
 mission of knowledge are pointed out as a fit subject of inquiry, and 
 the secret or enigmatical or acroamatic method is described among 
 the rest ; but it is described only, not recommended. 
 
 There remain therefore only the first and the fourth extracts to be 
 considered: and it is true that in both of these Bacon intimates an 
 intention to reserve the communication of one part of his philosophy 
 the "formula ipsa interpretationis et inventa per eandem" to 
 certain fit and chosen persons. May we infer from the expressions 
 which he there uses, that his object was to prevent it from becoming 
 generally known, as being a treasure which would lose its value by 
 being divulged ? Such a supposition seems to me inconsistent not 
 only with all we know of his proceedings, purposes, and aspirations, 
 but with the very explanation with which he himself accompanies 
 the suggestion. The fruits which he anticipated from his philosophy 
 were not only intended for the benefit of all mankind, but were to be 
 
 1 It may be worth while perhaps to compare with these passages an expression 
 which Bacon uses in his letter to Dr. Playfere, proposing to him to translate the 
 Advancement of Learning into Latin ; where a similar meaning is conveyed under 
 another image. " Wherefore since I have only taken upon me to ring a bell to call 
 other wits together, which is the meanest office, it cannot but be consonant to my 
 desire to have that bell heard as far as can be. Arid since they are but sparks which 
 can work but upon matter prepared, I have the more reason to wish that "those sparks 
 may fly abroad, that they may the better find and light upon those minds and spirits that 
 are apt to be kindled."
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 113 
 
 gathered in another generation. Is it conceivable that at any time 
 of his life he would have willingly foregone the aid of any single 
 fellow labourer, or that anything could have been more welcome 
 than the prospect of a rapid and indefinite increase of those "legitima 
 et optata ingenia" in whose hands it might be expected to thrive and 
 spread ? But setting general probabilities aside, let us look at the 
 reasons which he himself assigns for the precaution which he medi- 
 tates. Ask why in Valerius Terminus he proposes to reserve part 
 of his discovery to "a private succession?" His answer is, first "for 
 the prevention of abuse in the excluded ;" that is, because if it should 
 fall into incapable and unfit hands it will be misused and mis- 
 managed : secondly, " for the strengthening of affection in the ad- 
 mitted ;" that is, because the fit and capable will take more interest in 
 the work when they feel that it is committed to their charge. Ask 
 again why in the Procemium he proposes to keep the Formula of in- 
 terpretation private, " intra legitima et optata ingenia clausa ? " The 
 answer is to the same effect it will be "vegetior et munitior ;" it will 
 flourish better and be kept safer. And certainly if we refer to any 
 of the many passages in which he has either enumerated the obstruc- 
 tions which had hitherto hindered the progress of knowledge, or 
 described the qualifications, moral and intellectual, and the order of 
 proceeding, which he considered necessary for the successful prose^ 
 eution of the new philosophy, we may easily understand why he 
 anticipated more hindrance than help from a popular audience. 
 
 Upon a review of the evidence therefore I see no reason to suspect 
 that he had any other motive for his proposed reserve than that 
 which he himself assigns ; and I think we may conclude that he 
 meant to withhold the publication of his Formula, not " as a secret of 
 too much value to be lightly revealed," but as a subject too abstruse 
 to be handled successfully except by the fit and few. 
 
 NOTE C. 
 On some changes in Bacon's treatment of his doctrine of Idols. 
 
 " WHEN the doctrine of Idols " (says Mr. Ellis) " was thrown into 
 its present form " [i. e. the form in which it appears in the Novum 
 Organum, as contrasted with that in which it appears in the Partis 
 secundce Delineatio~\, " it ceased to afford a convenient basis for the 
 pars destruens, and accordingly the substance of the three Redar- 
 gutiones is in the Novum Organum less systematically set forth than 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 Bacon purposed that it should be when he wrote the Partis secundce 
 Delineatio" 
 
 That the argument is set forth in the Novum Organum less sys- 
 tematically than Bacon originally intended, is no doubt true; for 
 when he wrote the " Partis secundas Delineatio et Argumentum," he 
 meant to handle the subject regularly and completely, or (as he would 
 himself have expressed it) "in Corpore tractatus justi;" and this in 
 the entrance of the Novum Organum, which is the " Pars secunda" 
 itself, we are expressly warned not to expect. " Sequitur secunda 
 pars Instaurationis, quas artem ipsam interpretandi Naturam et ve- 
 rioris adoperationis Intellectus exhibet : neque earn ipsam tamen in 
 Corpore tractatus justi ; sed tantum digestam per summas, in Apho- 
 rismos" A succession of aphorisms, not formally connected with 
 each other, was probably the most convenient form for setting forth 
 all that was most important in those parts of his work which he had 
 ready ; for without binding him to exhibit them in regular and appa- 
 rent connexion, it left him at liberty to make the connexion as per- 
 fect and apparent as he pleased. But it has one disadvantage : the 
 divisions between aphorism and aphorism tend to conceal from the 
 eye the larger divisions between subject and subject. And hence 
 arises the appearance (for I think it is only an appearance) of a de- 
 viation from the plan originally marked out for the treatment of the 
 pars destruens. Between the publication of the Advancement of 
 Learning and the composition of the Novum Organum, the doctrine 
 of Idols underwent one considerable modification ; but not, I think, 
 the one here supposed. That modification was introduced before the 
 Partis secundte Delineatio was drawn up ; and after that I cannot 
 find evidence of any substantial change. 
 
 I will first exhibit the successive aspects which the doctrine as- 
 sumes, and then give what I suppose to be the true history of them. 
 
 In the Advancement of Learning, the Idols, native and adventi- 
 tious, of the human mind are distributed into three kinds ; not distin- 
 guished as yet by names, but corresponding respectively to those of 
 the Tribe, the Cave, and the Market-place. In Valerius Terminus, 
 they are distributed into four kinds ; the Tribe, the Palace (cor- 
 responding with the Market-place), the Cave, and the Theatre. In 
 the Partis secundce Delineatio they are distributed again into three, 
 but classified quite differently. The two great divisions of Adven- 
 titious and Native are retained : " aut adscititia sunt . . . nimirum quae 
 immigrarunt in mentem, &c., aut ea quae menti ipsi et substantiae 
 ejus inhaerentia sunt et innata;" but the subdivisions are entirely 
 changed ; the Adventitious being here divided into two kinds, 
 neither of which is recognised at all in the Advancement ; the Na- 
 tive, which are divided into two kinds in the Advancement, not being
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 115 
 
 divided at all here, but classed together as one. In the Advance- 
 ment we find nothing corresponding to the Idols of the Theatre, to 
 which belong both the kinds of adventitious Idols mentioned in the 
 Delineatio those derived ex philosophorum placitis, and those derived 
 ex perversis legibus demonstrationum ; in the Delineatio we find 
 nothing corresponding to the Idols of the Market-place, which among 
 those mentioned in the Advancement are alone entitled to be classed 
 as adventitious. Thus the difference between the two appears at 
 first to be total and radical, amounting to an entire rearrangement of 
 all the classes. Instead of Idols of the Tribe, the Cave, and the 
 Market-place, we find Idols of the Philosophies, the Demonstrations, 
 and the Human Mind. 
 
 But the truth is that Bacon, being now engaged in laying out the 
 large outlines of his subject, omits the minor distinctions which belong 
 to the development of it in detail, and leaves the particular distribu- 
 tion and description of those " fallacies and false appearances " which 
 are " inseparable from our nature and condition in life" those namely 
 which he had spoken of in the Advancement to be handled in 
 the work itself. Having however, as he came into closer contact 
 with his subject, foreseen the opposition which he must expect from 
 prejudices and false appearances of another kind prejudices which 
 had no root in the mind itself, which were not "inseparable from 
 our nature and condition in life," mere immigrants and strangers 
 that had come in and might be turned out, namely, the belief in 
 received systems and attachment to received methods of demonstra- 
 tion, he had resolved to deal with these first ; and therefore intro- 
 duces them as a separate class, dividing them into two parts and 
 assigning to each what we may call a separate chapter. These he 
 afterwards called Idols of the Theatre, and treated them in the 
 manner proposed ; with this difference only that he placed them 
 last instead of first, and ran the two chapters into one. 
 
 This being allowed, it will be found that the one substantial change 
 which the doctrine of Idols underwent was the admission of these 
 Idola Theatri into the company, and that there is no real difference 
 between the form of that doctrine as indicated in the Delineatio and 
 as developed in the Novum Organum. 
 
 The only difficulty which this view of the subject presents is one 
 which may be probably enough accounted for as an oversight of 
 Bacon's own. I mean the classification of the Idola Fori, the source 
 of which is no doubt extraneous, among the natives. Bacon was 
 never very careful about subtle logical distinctions, and in this case 
 his attention had not as yet been specially called to the point. For 
 in the Advancement of Learning, though the great division between 
 Native and Adventitious appears to be recognised in the margin, 
 there is no hint of it in the text, the particular Idols not being 
 
 i 2
 
 116 NOTES TO PREFACE TO 
 
 arranged with any reference to those two general heads ; while in 
 Valerius Terminus the larger division is not alluded to at all, and the 
 order in which the four Idols are there enumerated, the first and 
 third being of one class, the second and fourth of the other, seems 
 to prove that no such classification was then in his mind. Besides, it is 
 to be remembered that the Idola Fori, however distinct in their origin, 
 are in their nature and qualities much nearer akin to the other two 
 than to the Idola Theatri. For though they come from without, yet 
 when they are once in they naturalise themselves and take up their 
 abode along with the natives, produce as much confusion, and can as 
 hardly be expelled. Philosophical systems may be exploded, false 
 methods of demonstration may be discarded, but intercourse of words 
 is " inseparable from our condition in life." 
 
 At any rate, let the logical error implied be as large as it may, it 
 is certain that Bacon did in fact always class these three together. 
 Wherever he mentions the Idols of the Market-place with any 
 reference to classification, they are grouped with those of the Tribe 
 and the Cave, and distinguished from those of the Theatre. In the 
 Temporis Partus Masculus, c. 2. (which is I think the earliest form 
 of the Redargutio Philosophiarum though probably of later date than 
 the Delineatio) we find " Nam Idola quisque sua (non jam scents dico, 
 sed praecipueyim'e^ specus"), &c. In the De Augmentis Scientiarum 
 where the four kinds of Idols are enumerated by name and in order, 
 the line of separation is drawn not between the two first and the two 
 last (as it would have been if Bacon had meant to balance the mem- 
 bers of his classification on the "dichotomising principle," as suggested 
 by Mr. Ellis, p. 91.), but between the three first and the fourth ; the 
 Idola Fori being classed along with the Idola Tribus and Specus, as 
 " quae plane obsident mentem, neque evelli possunt," the Idola Theatri 
 being broadly distinguished from them, as " quae abnegari possunt et 
 deponi," and which may therefore for the present be set aside. In 
 the Novum Organum itself, though the divisions between aphorism 
 and aphorism tend, as I have said, to obscure the divisions of subject, 
 yet if we look carefully we shall see that the line of demarcation 
 is drawn exactly in the same place, and almost as distinctly. For 
 after speaking of the three first kinds of Idol, Bacon proceeds 
 (Aph. 61.), "At Idola Theatri innata non sunt [like those of the 
 Tribe and Cave] nee occulto insinuata in Intellectum [like those of 
 the Market-place], sed ex fabulis theoriarum et perversis legibus 
 demon strationum plane indita et recepta." Lastly, in the Distributio 
 Operis, where the particular Idols are not mentioned by name, but 
 the more general classification of the Delineatio is retained, it is plain 
 that under the class Adscititia he meant to include the Idols of the 
 Theatre only ( " adscititia vero immigrarunt in mentes hominum, 
 vel ex philosophorum placitis et sectis, vel ex perversis legibus
 
 THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 117 
 
 demonstrationum") and therefore he must still have meant to 
 include the Idols of the Market-place, along with the two first, under 
 the class Innata. 
 
 It is worthy of remark however that, in the Novum Organum 
 itself, the distinction between Adscititia and Innata disappears. And 
 the fact probably is that when he came to describe the several Idols 
 one by one, he became aware both of the logical inconsistency of 
 classing the Idola Fori among the Innata, and of the practical incon- 
 venience of classing them among the Adscititia, and therefore resolved 
 to drop the dichotomy altogether and range them in four co-ordinate 
 classes. And it is the removal of this boundary line which makes it 
 seem at first sight as if the arrangement were quite changed, whereas 
 it is in fact only inverted. According to the plan of the Partis 
 secundce. Delineatio and also of the Distributio Operis, the confuta- 
 tion of the Immigrants, that is, the Redargutio Philosophiarum and 
 Redargutio Demonstrationum, was to have the precedence, and the 
 confutation of the Natives, that is, the Redargutio Ratiojiis humantz 
 natives, was to follow. As it is, he begins with the last and ends 
 with the first. And the reason of this change of plan is not difficult 
 to divine. The Redargutio Philosophiarum, as he handles it, tra- 
 verses a wider and more various field, and rises gradually into a 
 strain of prophetic anticipation, after which the Redargutio Rationis 
 would have sounded flat. 
 
 I 3
 
 FKANCISCUS DE VEKULAMIO 
 
 sic COGITAVIT; 
 
 TALEMQUE APUD SE RATIONEM INSTITUIT, 
 
 QUAM VIVENTIBUS ET POSTEKIS NOTAM FIERI 
 IPSORUM 1NTERE8SE PUTAVIT. 
 
 CUM illi pro comperto esset intellectum humanum sibi ipsi nego- 
 tium facessere, neque auxiliis veris (IJUCB in hominis potestate sunt) 
 uti sobrie et commode ; unde multiplex rerum ignoratio et ex igno- 
 ratione rerum detrimenta innumera : omni ope connitendum existi- 
 mavit, si quo modo commercium istud Mentis et Rerum (cui vix 
 aliquid in terris, aut saltern in terrenis, se ostendit simile) restitui 
 posset in integrum, aut saltern in melius deduct. Ut vero errores 
 qui invaluerunt, quique in (sternum invalituri sunt, alii post alias 
 (sz mens sibi permittatur) ipsi se corrigerent, vel ex vi intellectus 
 propria vel ex auxiliis atque adminiculis dialectics, nulla prorsus 
 suberat spes ; propterea quod notiones rerum primes, ejuas mens 
 haustu facili et supino excipit recondit atque accumulat (unde 
 reliqua omnia fluunf), vitiosce sint et confuses et temere a rebus 
 abstracts ; neque minor sit in secundis et reliquis libido et incon- 
 stantia ; ex quo Jit, ut universa ista ratio kumana, qua utimur 
 quoad inquisitionem natures, non bene congesta et esdificata sit, sed 
 tanquam moles aliqua magnified sine fundamento. Dum enim 
 falsas mentis vires mirantur homines et celebrant, veras ejusdem 
 quce. essc possmt (si ddnta ci adhibeanttir auxilia, atque ipsa rebus 
 morigera sit, nee impotenter rebus insultef) prcstereunt et perdunt. 
 Restabat illud unum ut res de integro tentetur melioribus pressi- 
 diis, utque fiat scientiarum et artium atque omnis humanee do- 
 ctrines in universum Instauratio, a debitis excitata fundamentis. 
 Hoc vero licet aggressu infinitum quiddam videri possit ac su- 
 pra vires mortales, tamen idem tractatu sanum invenietur ac 
 sobrium, magis quam ea ques adhuc facta sunt. Exitus enim 
 hujus rei est nonnullus. In Us vero quce jam fiunt circa scientias, 
 est vertigo quesdam et agitatio perpetua et circulus. Neque eum
 
 122 
 
 fugit quanta in solitudine versetur hoc experimentum, et quam 
 
 durum et incredibile sit ad faciendam fidem. Nihilominus, nee 
 
 rem nee seipsum deserendum putavit, quin mam qua una hu- 
 
 mance menti pervia est tentaret atque iniret. Prcsstat enim prin- 
 
 cipium dare rei quce exitum habere possit, quam in Us quce exitum 
 
 nullum habent perpetua contentione et studio implicari. Vice au- 
 
 tem contemplative viis illis activis decantatis fere respondent ; ut 
 
 altera, ab initio ardua et difficilis, desinat in apertum ; altera, 
 
 primo intuitu expedita et proclivis, ducat in avia et prcecipitia. 
 
 Quum autem incertus esset quando hcec alicui posthac in mentem 
 
 ventura sint ; eo potissimum usus argumento, quod neminem 
 
 hactenus invenit qui ad similes cogitationes animum applicuerit ; 
 
 decrevit prima qucsque qua perficere licuit in publicum edere. 
 
 Neque hcec festinatio ambitiosa fuit, sed sollicita ; ut si quid illi 
 
 humanitus accideret, extaret tamen designatio qucsdam ac desti- 
 
 natio rei quam animo complexus est ; utque extaret simul 
 
 signum aliquod honestce suce et propensa in generis 
 
 humani commoda voluntatis. Certe aliam quam- 
 
 cunque ambitionem inferiorem duxit re quam 
 
 prce manibus habuit. Aut enim hoc quod 
 
 agitur nihil est, aut tantum, ut 
 
 merito ipso contentum esse 
 
 debeat nee fructum 
 
 extra qucerere.
 
 J A C B 0, 
 
 DEI GRATIA 
 
 MAGNJE BRITANNIA, FRANCIS, ET HIBERNIJE REGI, 
 
 FIDEI DEFENSORI, ETC. 
 
 Serenissime Potentissimeque Rex, 
 
 POTERIT fortasse Majestas tua me furti incusare, quod 
 tantura temporis quantum ad haec sufficiat negotiis tuis suffu- 
 ratus sim. Non habeo quod dicam. Temporis enim non fit re- 
 stitutio ; nisi forte quod detractum fuerit temporis rebus tuis, id 
 memoriae nominis tui et honori saeculi tui reponi possit ; si modo 
 hsec alicujus sint pretii. Sunt certe prorsus nova ; etiam toto 
 genere: sed descripta ex veteri admodum exemplari, mundo 
 scilicet ipso, et natura rerum et mentis. Ipse certe (ut ingenue 
 fatear) soleo aestimare hoc opus magis pro partu temporis quam 
 ingenii. Illud enim in eo solummodo mirabile est, initia rei 
 et tantas de iis quae invaluerunt suspiciones alicui in mentem 
 venire potuisse. Cetera non illibenter sequuntur. At versatur 
 proculdubio casus (ut loquimur) et quiddam quasi fortuitum 
 non minus in iis quae cogitant homines quam in iis qua? agunt 
 aut loquuntur. Verum hunc casum (de quo loquor) ita intel- 
 ligi volo, ut si quid in his quae affero sit boni, id immensae 
 misericordiae et bonitati divinae et fcelicitati temporum tuorum 
 tribuatur : cui et vivus integerrimo affectu servivi, et mortuus 
 fortasse id effecero, ut ilia posteritati, nova hac accensa face in
 
 124 EPISTOLA DEDICATORIA. 
 
 philosophise tenebris, praslucere possint. Merito autem tem- 
 
 poribus regis omnium sapientissimi et doctissimi Regeneratio 
 
 ista et Instauratio scientiarum debetur. Superest petitio, 
 
 Majestate tua non indigna, et maxime omnium faciens ad id 
 
 quod agitur. Ea est, ut quando Salomonem in plurimis referas, 
 
 judiciorum gravitate, regno pacifico, cordis latitudine, librorum 
 
 denique quos composuisti nobili varietate, etiam hoc ad ejusdem 
 
 regis exemplum addas, ut cures Historiam Naturalem et Experi- 
 
 mentalem, veram et severam (missis philologicis), et qua? sit in 
 
 ordine ad condendam philosophiam, denique qualem suo loco 
 
 describemus, congeri et perfici : ut tandem post tot mundi 
 
 aetates philosophia et scientiae non sint amplius pensiles et 
 
 ae'rea?, sed solidis experientiaa omnigense, ejusdemque bene 
 
 pensitataa, nitantur fundamentis. Equidem Organum 
 
 praebui ; verum materies a rebus ipsis petenda est. 
 
 Deus Opt. Max. Majestatem tuam 
 
 diu servet incolumem. 
 
 SerenissimcB Majestati tuce 
 
 Servus devmctissimus, 
 
 et devotissimus, 
 
 FRANCISCUS VERULAM, 
 
 CANCELLAEIUS.
 
 FRANCISCI DE VERULAMIO 
 INSTAURATIO MAGNA. 
 
 PR^EFATIO. 
 
 De statu scientiarum, quod non sitfodix ant majorem in modum 
 
 auctus ; quodque alia omnino quam prioribus cognita 
 
 fuerit via aperienda sit intellectui humano, et 
 
 alia comparanda auxilia, ut mens suo jure 
 
 in rerum naturam uti possit. 
 
 VIDENTUR nobis homines nee opes nee vires suas bene nosse ; 
 verum de illis majora quam par est, de his minora credere. 
 Ita fit, ut aut artes receptas insanis pretiis aestimantes nil am- 
 plius quaerant, aut seipsos plus scquo contemnentes vires suas 
 in levioribus consumant, in iis quas ad summam rei faciant 
 non experiantur. Quare sunt et suas scientiis columnar tan- 
 quam fatales; cum ad ulterius penetrandum homines nee de- 
 siderio nee spe excitentur. Atquo cum opinio copiae inter 
 maximas causas inopiae sit; qu unique ex fiducia praesentium vera 
 auxilia negligantur in posterum ; ex usu est, et plane ex neces- 
 sitate, ut ab illis quae adhuc inventa sunt in ipso operis nostri 
 limine (idque relictis ambagibus et non dissimulanter) honoris 
 et admirationis excessus tollatur ; utili monito, ne homines 
 eorum aut copiam aut utilitatem in majus accipiant 1 aut cele- 
 brent. Nam si quis in omnem illam librorum varietatem qua 
 artes et sciential exultant diligentius introspiciat, ubique inveniet 
 ejusdem rei repetitiones infinitas, tractandi modis diversas, in- 
 ventione praaoccupatas 2 ; ut omnia primo intuitu numerosa, 
 facto examine pauca reperiantur. Et de utilitate aperte dicen- 
 dum est, sapientiam istam quam a Grascis potissimum hausi- 
 inus pueritiam quandam scientiae videri, atque habere quod 
 proprium est puerorum, ut ad garriendum prompta, ad gene- 
 
 1 Exaggerate. 
 
 2 Anticipated, so far as relates to originality of invention. (One of Bacon's antitheses 
 between " inventione" and "modis tractandi.")
 
 126 PR^FATIO. 
 
 randum invalida et immatura sit. Controversiarum enlm ferax, 
 operutn effoeta est. Adeo ut fabula ilia de Scylla in literarum 
 statum, qualis habetur, ad vivum quadrare videatur ; quae vir- 
 ginis os et vultum extulit, ad uterum vero monstra latrantia 
 succingebantur et adhaerebant. Ita habent et scientiae quibus 
 insuevimus generalia quaedam blandientia et speciosa, sed cum 
 ad particularia ventum sit, veluti ad partes generationis, ut 
 fructum et opera ex se edant, turn contentiones et oblatrantes 
 disputationes exoriuntur, in quas desinunt, et qua? partus locum 
 obtinent. Praeterea, si hujusmodi sciential plane res mortua 
 non essent, id minime videtur eventurum fuisse quod per 
 multa jam saecula usu venit, ut illae suis immotae fere haereant 
 vestigiis, nee incrementa genere humano digna sumant: eo 
 usque, ut saepenumero non solum assertio maneat assertio sed 
 etiam quaestio maneat quaestio, et per disputationes non solvatur 
 sed figatur et alatur, omnisque traditio et successio discipli- 
 narum repraesentet et exhibeat personas magistri et auditoris, 
 non inventoris et ejus qui inventis aliquid eximium adjiciat. In 
 artibus autem mechanicis contrarium evenire videmus ; quae, ac 
 si aurae cujusdam vitalis forent participes, quotidie crescunt et 
 perficiuntur, et in primis authoribus rudes plerunque et fere 
 onerosae et informes apparent, postea vero novas virtutes et 
 commoditatem quandam adipiscuntur, eo usque, ut citius studia 
 hominum et cupiditates deficiant et mutentur, quam illaa ad 
 culmen et perfectionem suam pervenerint. Philosophia contra 
 et scientiae intellectuals, statuarum more, adorantur et cele- 
 brantur, sed non promoventur. Quin etiam in primo nonnunquam 
 authore maxime vigent, et deinceps degenerant. Nam postquam 
 homines dedititii facti sint et in unius sententiam (tanquam 
 pedarii senatores) coierint, scientiis ipsis amplitudinem non ad- 
 dunt, sed in certis authoribus ornandis et stipandis servili officio 
 funguntur. Neque illud afferat quispiam, scientias paullatim 
 succrescentes tandem ad statum quendain pervenisse, et turn 
 demum (quasi confectis spatiis legitimis) in operibus paucorum 
 sedes fixas posuisse; atque postquam nil melius inveniri potuerit, 
 restare scilicet ut quae inventa sint exornentur et colantur. 
 Atque optandum quidem esset haec ita se habuisse. Rectius 
 illud et verius, istas scientiarum mancipationes nil aliud esse 
 quam rem ex paucorum hominum confidentia et reliquorum 
 socordia et inertia natam. Postquam enim sciential per partes 
 diligenter fortasse excultae et tractates fuerint, turn forte exortus 
 est aliquis, ingenio audax et propter methodi compendia acce-
 
 PR^EFATIO. 127 
 
 ptus et celebratus, qui specie tenus artem constituent, revera 
 veterum labores corruperit. Id tamen posteris gratum esse 
 solet, propter usum operis expeditum et inquisitionis novae tae- 
 diurn et impatientiam. Quod si quis consensu jam inveterate 
 tanquam temporis judicio moveatur, sciat se ratione admodum 
 fallaci et infirma niti. Neque enim nobis magna ex parte 
 notura est, quid in scientiis et artibus, variis sseculis et locis, in- 
 notuerit et in publicum emanarit ; multo minus, quid a singulis 
 tentatum sit et secreto agitatum. Itaque nee temporis partus 
 nee abortus extant in fastis. Neque ipse consensus ejusque 
 diuturnitas magni prorsus sestimandus est. Utcunque enim 
 varia sint genera politiarum, unions est status scientiarum, 
 isque semper fuit et mansurus est popularis. Atque apud 
 populum plurimum vigent doctrinae aut contentiosae et pu- 
 gnaces aut speciosae et inanes, quales videlicet assensum aut 
 illaqueant aut demulcent. Itaque maxima ingenia proculdubio 
 per singulas aetates vim passa sunt ; dum viri captu et intel- 
 lectu non vulgares, nihilo secius existimationi suae consulentes, 
 temporis et multitudinis judicio se submiserint. Quamobreni 
 altiores contemplationes si forte usquam emicuerint, opinionum 
 vulgarium ventis subinde agitatae sunt et extinctae. Adeo ut 
 Tempus, tanquam fluvius, levia et inflata ad nos devexerit, 
 gravia et solida demerserit. Quin et illi ipsi authores qui dicta- 
 turam quandam in scientiis invaserunt et tanta confidentia de 
 rebus pronuntiant, cum tamen per intervalla ad se redeunt, ad 
 querimonias de subtilitate nature, veritatis recessibus, rerum 
 obscuritate, causarum implicatione, ingenii humani infirmitate, 
 se convertunt ; in hoc nihilo tamen modestiores, cum malint 
 communem hominum et rerum conditionem causari quam de 
 seipsis confiteri. Quin illis hoc fere solenne est, ut quicquid 
 ars aliqua non attingat id ipsum ex eadem arte impossibile esse 
 statuant. Neque vero damnari potest ars, quum ipsa disceptet 
 et judicet. Itaque id agitur, ut ignorantia etiam ab ignominia 
 liberetur. Atque quae tradita et recepta sunt ad hunc fere 
 modum se habent: quoad opera sterilia, quaestkmum plena; 
 incrementis suis tarda et languida; perfectionem in toto simu- 
 lantia, sed per partes male impleta ; delectu autem popularia et 
 authoribus ipsis suspecta, ideoque artificiis quibusdam munita et 
 ostentata. 1 Qui autem et ipsi experiri et se scientiis addere 
 
 1 So selected as to favour popular notions, while at the same time their truth is 
 doubted even by those who propound them, on which account they are fenced round 
 and set forth with sundry artifices.
 
 128 PRyEFATIO. 
 
 earumque fines proferre statuerunt, nee illi a receptis prorsua 
 desciscere ausi sunt, nee fontes rerum peteje. Verum se ma- 
 gnum quiddam consequutos putant si aliquid ex proprio inserant 
 et adjiciant; prudenter secum reputantes, se in assentiendo 
 modestiam, in adjiciendo libertatem tueri posse. Verum dum 
 opinionibus et moribus consulitur, mediocritates istae laudatas in 
 magnum scientiarum detrimentum cedunt. Yix enim datur 
 authores simul et admirari et superare. Sed fit aquarum more, 
 quae non altius ascendunt quam ex quo descenderunt. Itaque 
 hujusmodi homines emendant nonnulla sed parum promovent, 
 et proficiunt in melius non in majus. Neque tamen defuerunt, 
 qui ausu majore omnia Integra sibi duxerunt, et ingenii impetu 
 usi, priora prosternendo et destruendo aditum sibi et placitis 
 suis fecerunt ; quorum tumultu non magnopere profectum est ; 
 quum philosophiam et artes non re ac opere amplificare, sed 
 placita tantum permutare atque regnum opinionum in se trans- 
 ferre contenderint ; exiguo sane fructu, quum inter errores op- 
 positos errandi causae sint fere communes. Si qui autem nee 
 alienis nee propriis placitis obnoxii, sed libertati faventes, ita 
 animati fuere ut alios secum simul quasrere cuperent ; illi sane 
 affectu honesti, sed conatu invalidi fuerunt. Probabiles enim 
 tantum rationes secuti videntur, et argumentorum vertigine 
 circumaguntur, et promiscua quaerendi licentia severitatem in- 
 quisitionis enervarunt. Nemo autem reperitur, qui in rebus 
 ipsis et experientia moram fecerit legitimam. Atque nonnulli 
 rursus qui experientias undis se commisere et fere mechanic! 
 facti sunt, tamen in ipsa experientia erraticam quandarn inquisi- 
 tionem exercent, nee ei 1 certa lege militant. Quin et plerique 
 pusilla quaedam pensa sibi proposuere, pro magno ducentes si 
 unum aliquod inventum eruere possint; institute non minus 
 tenui, quam imperito. Nemo enim rei alicujus naturam in ipsa 
 re recte aut foeliciter perscrutatur ; verum post laboriosam ex- 
 perimentorum variationem non acquiescit, sed invenit quod 
 ulterius quaerat. Neque illud imprimis omittendum est, quod 
 omnis in experiendo industria statim ab initio opera quasdam 
 destinata praspropero et intempestivo studio captavit ; fructifera 
 (inquam) experimenta, non lucifera, quaesivit ; nee ordinem di- 
 vinum imitata est, qui primo die lucem 2 tantum creavit, eique 
 
 1 In its service. 
 
 2 The light created on the first day is l>y many divines supposed to be not a cor- 
 poreal but a spiritual light. This is the doctrine of S. Augustine ; who however does 
 not say that those who adopt a contrary opinion are necessarily wrong. This idea of
 
 PR/EFATIO. 129 
 
 unum diem integrum attribuit ; neque illo die quicquam ma- 
 teriati operis produxit, verum sequentibus diebus ad ea descendit. 
 At qui summas dialectics paries tribuerunt atque inde fidissima 
 scientiis prassidia comparari putarunt, verissime et optime vide- 
 runt intellectum humanum sibi permissum merito suspectum 
 esse debere. Verum infirmior omnino est malo medicina ; nee 
 ipsa mail expers Siquidem dialectica quae recepta est, licet ad 
 civilia et artes quse in sermone et opinione positae sunt rectis- 
 sime adhibeatur, naturae tamen subtilitatem longo intervallo 
 non attingit ; et prensando quod non capit, ad errores potius 
 stabiliendos et quasi figendos quam ad viam veritati aperiendam 
 valuit. 
 
 Quare, ut quae dicta sunt complectamur, non videtur ho- 
 minibus aut aliena fides aut industria propria circa scientias 
 hactenus fceliciter illuxisse ; praesertim quum et in demonstra- 
 tionibus et in experimentis adhuc cognitis parum sit praDsidii. 
 -ZEdificium autem hujus universi structura sua, intellectui 
 humano contemplanti, instar labyrinth! est; ubi tot ambigua 
 viarum, tarn fallaces rerum et signorum similitudines, tarn 
 obliquaa et implexae naturarum spirae et nodi, undequaque se 
 ostendunt. Iter autem sub incerto sensus lumine, interdum 
 affulgente interdum se condente, per experientiae et rerum 
 particularium sylvas perpetuo faciendum est. Quin etiam duces 
 itineris (ut dictum est) qui se offerunt, et ipsi implicantur, 
 atque errorum et errantium numerum augent. In rebus tarn 
 duris, de judicio hominum ex vi propria, aut etiam de felicitate 
 fortuita, desperandum est. Neque enim ingeniorum quanta- 
 cunque excellentia, neque experiendi alea saephis repetita, ista 
 vincere queat. Vestigia filo regenda sunt: omnisque via, usque 
 a primis ipsis sensuum perceptionibus, certa ratione munienda. 
 Neque haec" ita accipienda sunt, ac si nihil omnino tot sasculis, 
 tantis laboribus, actum sit. Neque enim eorum quae inventa 
 sunt nos poenitet. Atque antiqui certe, in iis quae in ingenio 
 et meditatione abstracta posita sunt, mirabiles se viros praesti- 
 tere. Verum quemadmodum saeculis prioribus, cum homines in 
 navigando per stellarum tantum observationes cursum dirige- 
 bant, veteris sane continentis oras legere potuerunt, aut maria 
 aliqua minora et mediterranea trajicere ; priusquam autem 
 oceanus trajiceretur et novi orbis regiones detegerentur, ne- 
 
 a spiritual light was developed at great length in connexion with the theory of the 
 nature and cognition of angels. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 PR.EFATIO. 
 
 cesse fuit usum acus nauti^e*. ut ducem viae magis fidum et 
 certum, innotuisse : simili prorsus ratione, quae hucusque in 
 artibus et scientiis inventa sunt, ea hujusmodi sunt ut usu, 
 meditatione, observando, argumentando, reperiri potuerint; 
 utpote quae sensibus propiora sint et communibus notionibus 
 fere subjaceant; antequam vero ad remotiora et occultiora 
 naturae liceat appellere, necessario requiritur ut melior et per- 
 fectior mentis et intellectus humani usus et adoperatio intro- 
 ducatur. 
 
 Nos certe, aeterno veritatis amore devicti, viarum incertis et 
 arduis et solitudinibus nos commisimus ; et divino auxilio freti 
 et innixi, mentem nostram et contra opinionum violentias et 
 quasi instructas acies, et contra proprias et internas hassitationes 
 et scrupulos, et contra rerum caligines et nubes et undequaque 
 volantes phantasias, sustinuimus ; ut tandem magis fida et se- 
 cura indicia viventibus et posteris comparare possemus. Qua 
 in re si quid profecerimus, non alia sane ratio nobis viam 
 aperuit quam vera et legitima spiritus humani humiliatio. 
 Omnes enim ante nos, qui ad artes inveniendas se applicuerunt, 
 conjectis paulisper in res et exempla et experientiam oculis, 
 statim, quasi inventio nil aliud esset quam quaedam excogita- 
 tio, spiritus proprios ut sibi oracula exhiberent quodammodo 
 invocarunt. Nos vero inter res caste et perpetuo versantes, 
 intellectum longius a rebus non abstrabimus quam ut rerum 
 imagines et radii (ut in sensu fit) coire possint l ; unde fit, ut 
 ingenii viribus et excellentiae non multum relinquatur. Atque 
 quam in inveniendo adhibemus humilitatem, eandem et in docendo 
 sequuti sumus. Neque enim aut confutationum triumphis, aut 
 
 V. 
 
 1 To explain the illustration of which Bacon here makes use, it is in the first place 
 to be remarked that radius is not to be rendered by ray, but by visual cone. " Radium 
 visualem speciem rei visibilis dicimus : non ut lineam aut superficiem mathematicam 
 profundo carentem, sed corporalem et pyramidalem, cujus basis in re visa et conus in 
 oculo videntis est" Marg. Phil. x. 2. c. 11. Again Telesius, whose theory of vision 
 \\;is adopted by Baccn, says, "quae a re qua; spectatur relucet lux universa quidem 
 iii-;uni in pupilla coit in jmiu-tum," thus forming the "radius" ju>t mentioned. 
 Lastly Telesius goes on to say, "ab illarum [rerum sc.] puncto quovis ilia [lux sc.] 
 relucet, et vel ubi in unum coit punctum universa ibi fit, itaque et rerum a quibus 
 relucet imagines et ipsae [sic enim legendum] in eodem fiunt puncto." These " ima- 
 gines " then are therefore in some unexplained manner borne along by the light 
 which constitutes the visual cone, and exist virtually if not formally at the apex from 
 which the light dispersing in an inverse cone falls ultimately (still bearing them with 
 it) on the vitreous humour, which is in this system the sphere of vision. Bacon's 
 expressions therefore amount simply to this, that the eye must be at a certain distance 
 from the object in order that an effectual visual cone may be formed. He does not 
 speak either of optical images or of rays, in the senses which we attach to those words. 
 See Telcxius, De Rerum Naturd, vi. c. 23 and 24.
 
 PIUEFATIO. 131 
 
 antiquitatis advocationibus, aut authoritatis usurpatione qua- 
 darn, aut etiam obscuritatis velo, aliquam his nostris inventis 
 majestatem iinponere aut conciliare conamur; qualia reperire 
 non difficile esset ei, qui nomini suo non aniinis aliorum lumen 
 affundere conaretur. Non (inquam) ullam aut vim aut insidias 
 hominum judiciis fecimus aut paramus : verum eoa ad res ipsas 
 et rerum foedera adducimus ; ut ipsi videant quid habeant, 
 quid arguant, quid addant atque in commune conferant. Nos 
 autem si qua in re vel male credidimus, vel obdormivimus et 
 minus attendimus, vel defecimus in via et inquisitionem abru- 
 pimus, nihilominus iis modis res nudas et apertas exhibemus, ut 
 errores nostri, antequam scientiae massam altius inficiant, notari 
 et separari possint ; atque etiam ut facilis et expedita sit laborum 
 nostrorum continuatio. Atque hoc niodo inter empiricam et 
 rationalem facultatem (quarum morosa et inauspicata divortia 
 et repudia omnia in humana familia turbavere) conjugium verum 
 et Icgitimum in perpetuum nos firmasse existimamus. 1 
 
 Quamobrem, quum haec arbitrii nostri non sint, in principio 
 operis, ad Deum Patrem, Deum Verbum, Deum Spiritum, 
 preces fundimus humillimas et ardentissimas, ut humani generis 
 aerumnarum memores et peregrinationis istius vitas in qua dies 
 paucos et malos terimus, novis suis eleemosynis, per manus 
 nostras, familiam humanam dotare dignentur. Atque illud 
 insuper supplices rogamus, ne humana divinis officiant, neve ex 
 reseratione viarum sensus et accensione majore luminis naturalis 
 aliquid incredulitatis et noctis animis nostris erga divina my- 
 steria oboriatur : sed potius, ut ab intellectu puro, a phantasiis 
 et vanitate repurgato et divinis oraculis nihilominus subdito et 
 prorsus dedititio, fidei dentur qua? fidei sunt. Postremo, ut 
 scientiae veneno a serpente infuso, quo animus humanus tumet 
 et inflatur, deposito, nee altum sapiamus nee ultra sobrium, sed 
 veritatem in charitate colamus. 
 
 Peractis autem votis, ad homines conversi, quasdam et salu- 
 taria monemus et aequa postulamus. Monemus primum (quod 
 etiam precati sumus) ut homines sensum in officio, quoad divina, 
 contineant. Sensus enim (instar solis) globi terrestris faciem 
 aperit, ccelestis claudit et obsignat. 2 Kursus, ne hujusce mali 
 
 1 This is one of the passages which show that Bacon did not imagine that the 
 empirical faculty was the only thing to be considered in the philosophy of science, but 
 that he recognised another coordinate element. 
 
 2 This image, which in the Advancement of Learning and in the De Augmenth 
 Bacon quotes from " one of Plato's school," is taken from Philo Judams, perhaps the 
 
 K 2
 
 132 PRJEFATIO. 
 
 fuga in contrarium peccent ; quod certe fiet, si natune in- 
 quisitionem ulla ex parte veluti interdicto separatam putant. 
 Neque enim pura ilia et immaculata scientia naturalis, per 
 quam Adam nomina ex proprietate rebus imposuit, principium 
 aut occasionem lapsui dedit. Sed ambitiosa ilia et imperativa 
 scientias moralis, de bono et malo dijudicantis, cupiditas, ad hoc 
 ut Homo a Deo deficeret et sibi ipsi leges daret, ea demum 
 ratio atque modus tentationis fuit. De scientiis autem quae 
 naturam contemplantur sanctus ille philosophus pronuntiat, 
 Gloriam Dei esse celare rent ; gloriam regis autem rem invcnire : 
 non aliter ac si divina natura innocenti et benevolo puerorum 
 ludo delectaretur, qui ideo se abscondunt ut inveniantur ; atque 
 animam humaiiam sibi collusorem in hoc ludo pro sua in homines 
 indulgentia et bonitate cooptaverit. Postremo omnes in uni- 
 versum monitos volumus, ut scientiae veros fines cogitent ; nee 
 earn aut animi causa petant, aut ad contentionem, aut ut alios 
 despiciant, aut ad commodum, aut ad famam, aut ad potentiam, 
 aut hujusmodi inferiora; sed ad meritum et usus vitas; eamque 
 in charitate perficiant et regant. Ex appetitu enim potentise 
 angeli lapsi sunt ; ex appetitu scientiae, homines ; sed charitatis 
 non est excessus ; neque angelus aut homo per earn unquam in 
 periculum venit. 
 
 Postulata autem nostra quae afferimus talia sunt. De nobis 
 ipsis silemus : de re autem quae agitur petimus, ut homines earn 
 non opinionem sed opus esse cogitent ; ac pro certo habeant, 
 non sectae nos alicujus aut placiti, sed utilitatis et amplitudinis 
 humanas fundamenta moliri. Deinde ut suis commodis aequi, 
 exutis opinionum zelis et praejudiciis, in commune consulant ; ac 
 ab erroribus viarum atque impediments, nostris praesidiis et 
 auxiliis, liberati et muniti, laborum qui restant et ipsi in partem 
 
 most poetical of the Neo-Platonists. " Post exortum ejus [solis scilicet] illustrantur in 
 
 terris omnia, in co3lo vero celantur ; e diverso, post ejus occasum sidera quidem pro- 
 
 micant, terrestria veto cuncta obteguntur umbris supervenientibus : ad eundem modum 
 
 res nostrae se habent ; quoties sensuum splendor tanquam sol oritur, tune scientise 
 
 revera coelestes occultantur : quoties autem ad occasum accedit, tune fulgentissimse 
 
 virtutum stellae se proferunt, quandoetiam mens ipsa re nulla velante fit sensibilis." 
 
 Philo Jud., Quod somnia mittantur a Deo. (I quote from the version of Gelenius.) 
 
 Nearly the same idea appears to be expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, ii. 69.: 
 
 Welche jedem Geschb'pf Nacht ist, in der wacht der Gesammelte ; 
 
 In der jeglich Geschb'pf wachet, ist des schauenden Weisen Nacht 
 
 S. W. v. HumboUlt's Works, i. 34. 
 
 MTiich might be thus rendered in the Latin of the middle ages : 
 In nocte creaturae vigilat internus homo ; 
 Cum autem vigilat creatura, contemplative nox est.
 
 PRJEFAT1O. 133 
 
 veniant. Przeterea, ut bene sperent; neque Instaurationem 
 nostram, ut quiddam infinitum et ultra mortale, fingant et 
 animo concipiant ; quum revera sit infiniti erroris finis et ter- 
 minus legitimus; mortalitatis autem et humanitatis non sit 
 imraemor ; quum rem non intra unius zetatis curriculum omnino 
 perfici posse confidat, sed succession! destinet; denique scientias, 
 non per arrogantiam in humani ingenii cellulis, sed submisse in 
 mundo majore quaerat. Vasta vero ut plurimum solent esse, quac 
 inania: solida contrahuntur maxime, et in parvo sita sunt. Po- 
 stremo etiam petendum videtur (ne forte quis rei ipsius periculo 
 nobis iniquus esse velit) ut videant homines, quatenus ex eo 
 quod nobis asserere necesse sit (si modo nobis ipsi constare 
 velimus) de his nostris opinandi aut sententiam ferendi sibi jus 
 permissum putent : quum nos omnem istam rationem humanam 
 pragmaturam, anticipantem, et a rebus temere et citius quam 
 oportuit abstractam, (quatenus ad inquisitionem naturae) 
 ut rem variam et perturbatam et male extructam 
 rejiciamus. Neque postulandum est 
 ut ejus judicio stetur, quae 
 ipsa in judicium 
 vocatur.
 
 134 
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS, 
 
 Ejus constituuntur Paries sex. 
 
 Prima ; Partitiones Scientiarum. 
 
 Secunda ; Novum Organum, sive Indicia de Interpretation 
 
 Natures. 
 Tertia ; Phcenomena Universi, sive Historia Naturalis et Ex- 
 
 perimentalis ad condendam Philosophiam. 
 Quarta ; Scala Intellectus. 
 
 Quinta ; Prodromi, sive Anticipationes Philosophies Secundce. 
 Sexta ; Philosophia Secunda, sive Scientia Activa. 
 
 Singularum Argumenta. 
 
 PARS autem instituti nostri est, ut omnia, quantum fieri potest, 
 aperte et perspicue proponantur. Nuditas enim animi, ut olim 
 corporis, innocentiae et simplicitatis comes est. Pateat itaque 
 prime, ordo operis atque ratio ejus. Partes operis a nobis con- 
 stituuntur sex. 
 
 Prima pars exhibet scientige ejus sive doctrinse in cujus 
 possessione humanum genus hactenus versatur, Summam, sive 
 descriptionem universalem. Visum enim est nobis etiam in iis 
 que recepta sunt nonnullam facere moram : eo nimirum consilio, 
 ut facilius et veteribus perfectio et novis aditus detur. Pari 
 enim fere studio ferimur et ad vetera excolenda et ad ulteriora 
 assequenda. Pertinet etiam hoc ad faciendam fidem : juxta 
 illud, Non accipit indoctus verba scientice, nisi prius ea dixeris 
 qua versantur in corde ejus. Itaque scientiarum atque artium 
 receptarum oras legere, necnon utilia qusedam in illas importare, 
 tanquam in transitu, non negligemus. 
 
 Partitiones tamen Scientiarum adhibemus eas, quae non tan- 
 turn jam inventa et nota, sed hactenus omissa et debita, com- 
 plectantur. Etenim inveniuntur in globo intellectual!, quem- 
 admodum in terrestri, et culta pariter et deserta. Itaque nil 
 mirum videri debet, si a divisionibus usitatis quandoque receda-
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 135 
 
 mus. Adjectio enim, dura totum variat, etiam partes earumque 
 sectiones necessario variat : receptae autem divisiones receptae 
 sumrnae scientiarum, qualis nunc est, tantum competunt. 
 
 Circa ea vero quae ceu omissa notabimus, ita nos geremus, ut 
 non leves tantum titulos et argumenta concisa eorum quae desi- 
 derantur proponamus. Nam siquid inter omissa retulerimus 
 (modo sit dignioris subjecti) cujus ratio paulo videatur obscurior, 
 adeo ut merito suspicari possimus homines non facile intellectu- 
 ros quid nobis velimus aut quale sit illud opus quod animo et 
 cogitatione complectimur, perpetuo nobis curae erit aut prascepta 
 hujusmodi operis conficiendi aut etiam partem operis ipsius jam 
 a nobis confectam ad exeinplum totius subjungere ; ut in sin- 
 gulis aut opera aut consilio juvemus. Etenim etiam ad nostram 
 existimationem, non solum aliorum utilitatem, pertinere puta- 
 vimus, ne quis arbitretur levem aliquam de istiusmodi rebus 
 notionem mentem nostram perstrinxisse, atque esse ilia quae 
 desideramus ac prensamus tanquam votis similia. Ea vero talia 
 sunt, quorum et penes homines (nisi sibi ipsi desint) potestas 
 plane sit, et nos apud nosmet rationem quandam certam et ex- 
 plicatam habeamus. Neque enim regiones metiri animo, ut 
 augures, auspiciorum causa: sed intrare, ut duces, promerendi 
 studio l , suscepimus. Atque hcec prima operis pars est. 
 
 Porro praetervecti artes veteres, intellectum humanum ad 
 trajiciendum instruemus. Destinatur itaque parti secunda?, 
 doctrina de meliore et perfectiore usu rationis in rerum inqui- 
 sitione, et de auxiliis veris intellectus : ut per hoc (quantum 
 conditio humanitatis ac mortalitatis patitur) exaltetur intellectus, 
 et facultate amplificetur ad naturse ardua et obscura superanda. 
 Atque est ea quam adducimus ars (quam Interpretationem Na- 
 turce appellare consuevimus) ex genere logicae ; licet plurimum, 
 atque adeo immensum quiddam, intersit. Nam et ipsa ilia logica 
 vulgaris auxilia et praesidia intellectui moliri ac parare pro te- 
 tur : et in hoc uno consentiunt. Differt autem plane a vulgari 
 rebus prascipue tribus : viz. ipso fine, ordine demonstrandi, et 
 inquirendi initiis. 
 
 Nam huic nostrae scientiae finis proponitur, ut inveniantur 
 non argumenta sed artes, nee principiis consentanea sed ipsa 
 principia, nee rationes probabiles .sed designatiuues et indica- 
 
 1 Purposing to deserve well of their country. 
 K 4
 
 136 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 
 
 tiones Operum. Itaque ex intentione diversa diversus sequitur 
 effectus. Illic enim adversarius disputatione yincitur et con- 
 stringitur, hie natura opere. 
 
 Atque cum hujusmodi fine conveniunt demonstrationum ipsa- 
 rum natura et ordo. In logica enim vulgari opera fere uni versa 
 circa Syllogismum consumitur. De Inductione vero Dialectic! 
 vix serio cogitasse videntur ; levi mentione earn transmittentes, 
 et ad disputandi formulas properantes. At nos demonstra- 
 tionem per syllogismum rejicimus, quod confusius agat, et 
 naturam emittat e manibus. Tametsi enim nemini dubium 
 esse possit quin, quae in medio termino conveniunt, ea et inter 
 se conveniant (quod est mathematicae cujusdam certitudinis) : 
 nihilominus hoc subest fraudis, quod syllogismus ex propositio- 
 nibus constet, propositiones ex verbis, verba autem notionum 
 tessera? et signa sint. Itaque si notiones ipsae mentis (qua? 
 verborum quasi anima sunt, et totius hujusmodi structurse ac 
 fabrics basis) male ac teincre a rebus abstractae, et vagae, nee 
 satis definitae et circumscriptre, denique multis modis vitiosae 
 fuerint, omnia ruunt. Rejicimus igitur syllogismum ; neque id 
 solum quoad principia (ad quae nee illi earn adhibent) sed etiam 
 quoad propositiones medias, quas educit sane atque parturit 
 utcunque syllogismus, sed operum steriles et a practica re- 
 motas et plane quoad partem activam scientiarum incompe- 
 tentes. Quamvis igitur relinquarnus syllogismo et hujusmodi 
 demonstrationibus famosis ac jactatis jurisdictionem in artes 
 populares et opinabiles (nil enim in hac parte movemus), tamen 
 ad naturam rerum Inductione per omnia, et tarn ad minores 
 propositiones quam ad majores, utimur. Inductionem enim 
 ceusemus earn esse demonstrandi formani, quae sensum tuetur 
 et naturam premit et operibus imminet ac fere immiscetur. 
 
 Itaque ordo quoque demonstrandi plane invertitur. Adhuc 
 enim res ita geri consuevit ; ut a sensu et particularibus primo 
 loco ad maxime generalia advoletur, tanquam ad polos fixos 
 circa quos disputationes vertantur ; ab illis caetera per media 
 deriventur: via certe compendiaria, sed praecipiti, et ad natu- 
 ram impervia, ad disputatioues vero proclivi et accommodata. 
 At secundum nos, axiomata ' continenter et gradatim excitan- 
 
 1 Bacon's way of using the word " axioma" as if it were equivalent to " enuntiatum " 
 or " propositio " he derived from Peter Ramus. Hasse, an early commentator on 
 Ramus, remarks that the word is used in he~same way by Cicero, who probably took 
 it from the Stoics.
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 137 
 
 tur, ut nonnisi postremo loco ad generalissima veniatur: ea 
 vero generalissima evadunt non notionalia, sed bene terminata, 
 et talia quae natura ut revera sibi notiora agnoscat 1 , quaeque 
 rebus hsereant in niedullis. 
 
 At in forma ipsa quoque inductionis, et judicio quod per earn 
 fit, opus longe maximum movemus. Ea enim de qua dialectic! 
 loquuntur, quae procedit per enumerationem simplicem, puerile 
 quiddam est, et precario concludit, et periculo ab instantia con- 
 tradictoria exponitur, et consueta tantum intuetur, nee exitum 
 reperit. 
 
 Atqui opus est ad scientias inductionis forma tali, quse ex- 
 perientiam solvat et separet, et per exclusiones ac rejectiones 
 debitas necessario concludat. Quod si judicium illud vulgatum 
 dialecticorum tarn operosum fuerit, et tanta ingenia exercuerit ; 
 quanto magis laborandum est in hoc altero, quod non tantum 
 ex mentis penetralibus, sed etiam ex naturas visceribus extra- 
 fa itur ? 
 
 Neque ' tamen hie finis. Nam fundamenta quoque scientia- 
 rum fortius deprimimus et solidamus, atque initia inquirendi 
 altius sumimus, quam adhuc homines fecerunt: ea subjiciendo 
 examini, quas logica vulgaris tanquam fide aliena recipit. Etenim 
 dialectici principia scintiarum a scientiis singulis tanquam mut uo 
 sumunt : rursus, notiones mentis primas venerantur : postremo, 
 informationibus immediatis sensus bene dispositi acquiescunt. 
 At nos logicam veram singulas scientiarum provincias majore 
 cum imperio quam penes ipsarum principia sit debere ingredi 
 decrevimus, atque ilia ipsa principia putativa ad rationes red- 
 dendas compellere quousque plane constent. 2 Quod vero 
 
 1 Aristotle everywhere distinguishes between that which is prior and more known 
 in the order of nature, and that which is prior and more known with respect to 
 ourselves. Thus in the Posterior Analytics, i. 2., he says: " Priora autem et notiora 
 dupliciter dicuntur: neque enim idem est prius natura et prius quantum ad 
 nos pertinet ; neque idem quod notius natura et quod nobis notius. Dico enim, 
 quantum ad nos, et priora et notiora esse quae a sensu propius ; per se vero ac simpliciter, 
 et priora et notiora quae longius absunt ; quo quid autem magis universale eo est re- 
 motius, ac singula quaeque sunt proxima." The schoolmen, misled by the ambiguity 
 of the Greek dative, substitute for " notius natura," rrj Qvfffi yvupt^carepov, "notius na- 
 turae," as if Aristotle had spoken of Nature's knowledge in opposition to ours. The 
 phrase in the text involves the same metaphor. It may be translated " Such as 
 Nature would recognise as being really her first principles." " Notius natura " is equi- 
 valent to St. Thomas's expression " prius per viam perfectionis." See with respect 
 to the subject of this note, and especially to the origin and meaning of the phrases a 
 priori and a posteriori, Trendehnburg Elementa Log. Aristot. 81. 
 
 Bartholdy's rendering is merely founded in error : " dass es die Natur fur einen 
 wirklichen Beweis einer innigern Bekanntschaft mit ihr anerkennen muss." 
 
 2 On the relation of philosophy to the sciences, I may refer to an interesting essay 
 by Hitter in the Berlin Transactions.
 
 138 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 
 
 attinet ad notiones primas intellectus; nihil est eorum quae 
 intellectus sibi permissus congessit, quin nobis pro suspecto sit, 
 nee ullo modo ratum, nisi novo judicio se stiterit et secundum 
 illud pronuntiatum fuerit. Quinetiam sensus ipsius informa- 
 tiones multis modis excutimus. Sensus enim fallunt utique, 
 sed et errores suos indicant: verum errores praesto, indicia 
 eorum longe petita sunt. 
 
 Duplex autem est sensus culpa : aut enim destituit nos aut 
 decipit. Nam primo, plurimae sunt res quae sensum etiam recte 
 dispositum nee ullo modo impeditum effugiunt ; aut subtilitate 
 totius corporis, aut partium minutiis, aut loci distantia, aut tar- 
 ditate atque etiam velocitate motus, aut familiaritate objecti, aut 
 alias ob causas. Neque rursus, ubi sensus rem tenet, prehen- 
 siones ejus admodum firmae sunt. Nam testimonium et infor- 
 matio sensus semper est ex analogia hominis, non ex analogia 
 universi 1 : atque magno prorsus errore asseritur, sensum esse 
 mensuram reruni. 
 
 Itaque ut his occurratur, nos multo et fido ministerio auxilia 
 sensui undique conquisivimus et contraximus, ut destitutionibus 
 substitutiones, variationibus rectificationes suppeditentur. Ne- 
 que id molimur tam instrumentis quam experimentis. Etenim 
 experimentorum longe major est subtilitas quam sensus ipsius, 
 licet instrumentis exquisitis adjuti ; (de iis loquimur experimen- 
 tis, quae ad intentionem ejus quod quaeritur perite et secundum 
 artem excogitata et apposita sunt.) 2 Itaque perceptioni sen- 
 sus immediatae ac propriae non multum tribuimus : sed eo rem 
 deducimus, ut sensus tantum de experimento, experimentum de 
 re judicet. Quare existimamus nos sensus (a quo omnia in 
 
 1 The phrase "est ex analogia" is to be rendered (giving to "analogia" a wider 
 signification than that, which it ordinarily has) by " has reference to : " just as in the 
 dictum, " materia non est cognoscibilis nisi ex analogia (or per analogiam) formae ; " 
 " except by reference to form." It seems not improbable that this way of using the 
 word was suggested by the passage in the Physics which gave rise to the dictum I have 
 quoted. Aristotle says, Phys.i. 7., "'H Se inroKftfj.evTj <pv<ris, eirtarijr^i Kara ava\oyiav 
 in which however the word is really used in its usual sense, since Aristotle goes on to say 
 that this vvoKfiftfvrt tyvtns stands in the same relation to ouffia that bronze does to a statue, 
 or wood to a couch ; thus illustrating the nature of matter by referring to the subject- 
 matter of an artificial form. Bacon elsewhere uses the phrase " in ordine ad " just as 
 he here uses " ex analogia ; " and on the other hand S. Thomas says, referring to the 
 passage just cited, " Materia non est scibilis nisi in ordine ad formam, ut dicit Philo- 
 sophus primo Physicorum ; " so that the two phrases seem equivalent See S. Thomas, 
 JDe Naturd Materiae, c. 2., compared with the tract De principio individuationis. 
 
 That the meaning of the word Analogy was misconceived by S. Thomas, by Duns 
 Scotus, and by the schoolmen in general, is pointed out by Zabarella, De prim, rerum 
 materia, i. 4. 
 
 z [Compare Nov. Org. ii.36. /. ]
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 139 
 
 naturalibus petenda sunt, nisi forte libeat insanire) antistites 
 religiosos, et oraculorum ejus non imperitos interpretes, nos 
 praestitisse : ut alii professione quadam, nos re ipsa, sensum 
 tueri ac colere videamur. Atque hujusmodi sunt ea quae ad 
 lumen ipsum naturae ejusque accensionem et immissionem 
 paramus : quae per se sufficere possent, si intellectus humanus 
 aequus et instar tabulae abrasae esset. Sed cum mentes homi- 
 num miris modis adeo obsessae sint ut ad veros rerum radios 
 excipiendos sincera et polita area prorsus desit, necessitas quae- 
 dam incumbit ut etiam huic rei remedium quaerendum esse 
 putemus. 
 
 Idola autem a quibus occupatur mens, vel Adscititia sunt 
 vel Innata. Adscititia vero immigrarunt in mentes hominum, 
 vel ex philosophorum placitis et sectis vel ex perversis legibus 
 demonstrationum. At Innata inhaerent naturae ipsius intellectus, 
 qui ad errorem longe proclivior esse deprehenditur quam sensus. 
 Utcunque enim homines sibi placeant et in admirationem men- 
 tis humanae ac fere adorationem ruant, illud certissimum est : 
 sicut speculum inaequale rerum radios ex figura et sectione 
 propria immutat, ita et mentem, cum a rebus per sensum pa- 
 titur, in notionibus suis expediendis et comminiscendis haud 
 optima fide rerum naturae suam naturam inserere et immiscere. 
 
 Atque priora ilia duo Idolorum genera aegre, postrema vero 
 haec nullo modo, evelli possunt. 1 Id tantum relinquitur, ut 
 indicentur, atque ut vis ista mentis insidiatrix notetur et con- 
 vincatur ; ne forte a destructione veterum novi subinde errorum 
 surculi ex ipsa mala complexione mentis pullulent, eoque res 
 recidat, ut errores non extinguantur sed permutentur; ve- 
 rum e contra ut illud tandem in aeternum ratum et fixum sit, 
 intellectum nisi per inductionem ejusque formam legitimam 
 judicare non posse. Itaque doctrina ista de expurgatione intel- 
 lectus ut ipse ad veritatem habilis sit, tribus redargutionibus 
 absolvitur : redargutione philosophiarum, redargutione demon- 
 strationum, et redargutione rationis humanae nativae. 2 His vero 
 explicatis, ac postquam demum patuerit quid rerum natura, 
 
 1 The priora duo are the Idols of the Theatre, which include both kinds. The 
 postrema fuse are the Idols of the Tribe, the Cave, and the Market-place. Compare 
 De Aug. Sci. v. 4.; and see Note C. at the end of the Preface. J. S. 
 
 2 Compare Aph. 115, where these three Redargutiones are enumerated in the inverse 
 order ; in which order they are treated. This shows that the Distributio Operis was 
 written before Bacon had decided upon the arrangement of the Novum Organum. 
 See Note C. at the end of the Preface. J. S.
 
 140 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 
 
 quid mentis natura ferat, existimamus nos thalamum Mentis 
 et Universi, pronuba divina bonitate, stravisse et ornasse. Epi- 
 thalamii autem votum sit, ut ex eo connubio auxilia humana et 
 stirps inventorum quae necessitates ac miserias hominum aliqua 
 ex parte doment et subigant, suscipiatur. 1 Hcec vero est operis 
 pars secunda. 
 
 At vias non solum monstrare et munire, sed inire quoque 
 consilium est. Itaque tertia pars operis complectitur Phenomena 
 Universi; hoc est, omnigenam experientiam, atque historiam 
 naturalem ejus generis quae possit esse ad condendam philoso- 
 phiam fundamentalis. Neque enim excellens aliqua demon- 
 strandi via sive naturam interpretandi forma, ut mentem ab 
 errore et lapsu defendere ac sustinere, ita ei materiam ad scien- 
 dum praebere et subministrare possit. Verum iis quibus non 
 conjicere et hariolari, sed invenire et scire proposition est, qui- 
 que non simiolas et fabulas mundorum comminisci, sed hujus 
 ipsius veri mundi naturam introspicere et velut dissecare in 
 animo habent, omnia a rebus ipsis petenda sunt. Neque huic 
 labori et inquisitioni ac mundanae perambulationi, ulla ingenii 
 aut meditationis aut argumentationis substitutio aut compen- 
 satio sufficere potest; non si omnia omnium ingenia coierint. 
 Itaque aut hoc prorsus habendum, aut negotium in perpetuum 
 deserendum. Ad hunc vero usque diem ita cum hominibus 
 actum est, ut minime mirum sit si natura sui copiam non faciat. 
 
 Nam primo, sensus ipsius informatio, et deserens et fallens ; 
 observatio, indiligens et inaequalis et tanquam fortuita ; tradi- 
 tio, vana et ex rumore ; practica, operi in tent a et servilis ; vis 
 experimentalis, caeca, stupida, vaga, et praerupta ; denique histo- 
 ria naturalis, levis et inops, vitiosissimam materiam intellectui 
 ad philosophiam et scientias congesserunt. 
 
 1 The received reading is suscipiatur, which seems erroneous, but may perhaps be 
 defended. [I have myself very little doubt that Bacon wrote suscipiatur, not *iwci- 
 piantur. If it be ever allowable to make a verb which depends upon two nominatives 
 agree with the last only (which I think it sometimes is), there was a reason for doing 
 so in this case ; an ambiguity as well as a jingle being thereby avoided. In an earlier 
 form of this passage (which will be found in the Partis Instaurationis secunda De- 
 lineatio), the verb is in the singular, as here ; though in that place it depends directly 
 upon the plural nominative " auxilia humana," and therefore cannot be defended. 
 In the Redargutio Philosophiarum it appears again in still another shape. There 
 we have two nominatives, one singular and one plural, as here ; but the plural coming 
 last, the verb is in the plural, " ut ex illo connubio, non phantasiae monstra, sed stirps 
 heroum, quas monstra domet et extinguat, hoc est inventa salutaria et utilia ad 
 necessitates humanas (quantum fieri datur) debellandos et relevandos, suscipiantur. 
 Hoc epithalamii votum sit" J. S.~\
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 141 
 
 Deinde, praepostera argumentandi subtilitas et ventilatio 
 serum rebus plane desperatis tentatur remedium, nee negotium 
 ullo modo restituit aut errores separat. Itaque nulla spes 
 majoris augment! ac progressus sita est, nisi in restauratione 
 quadam scientiarum. 
 
 Hujus autem exordia omnino a naturali historia sumenda 
 sunt, eaque ipsa novi cujusdam generis et apparatus. Frustra 
 enim fuerit speculum expolire, si desint imagines; et plane 
 materia idonea praeparanda est intellectui, non solum praesidia 
 fida comparanda. Differt vero rursus historia nostra (quern- 
 admodum logica nostra) ab ea quae habetur, multis rebus : fine 
 sive officio, ipsa mole et congerie, dein subtilitate, etiam 
 delectu et constitutione in ordine ad ea quae sequuntur. 
 
 Primo enim earn proponimus historiam naturalem, quae non 
 tarn aut rerum varietate delectet aut praesenti experimentorum 
 fructu juvet, quam lucem inventioni causarum affundat, et 
 philosophic enutricandae primam mammam praebeat. Licet enim 
 opera atque activam scientiarum partem prascipue sequamur, 
 tamen messis tempus expectamus, nee museum et segetem her- 
 bidam demetere conamur. Satis enim scimus, axiomata recte 
 inventa tota agmina operum secum trahere, atque opera non 
 sparsim sed confertim exhibere. Intempestivum autem ilium 
 et puerilem affectum, ut pignora aliqua novorum operum pro- 
 pere captentur, prorsus damnamus et amovemus, ceu pomum 
 Atalantaa quod cursum retardat. Atque Historiae nostrae 
 Naturalis officium tale est. 
 
 Quoad congeriem vero, conficimus historiam non solum 
 naturae liberas ac solutae (cum scilicet ilia sponte fluit et opus 
 suum peragit), qualis est historia crelestium, meteororum, terras 
 et maris, mineralium, plantarum, animalium ; sed multo magis 
 naturae constrictae et vexatae ; nempe, cum per artem et ministe- 
 rium humanum de statu suo detruditur, atque premitur et 
 fingitur. Itaque omnia artium mechanicarum, omnia operativae 
 partis liberalium, omnia practicarum complurium quae in artem 
 propriam non coaluerunt, experimenta (quantum inquirere 
 licuit et quantum ad finem nostrum faciunt) perscribimus. 
 Quin etiam (ut quod res est eloquamur) fastum hominum et 
 speciosa nil morati, multo plus et operas et praesidii in hac 
 parte quam in ilia altera ponimus; quandoquidem natura 
 rerum magis se prodit per vexationes artis quam in libertate 
 propria.
 
 142 D1STRIBUTIO OPERIS. 
 
 Neque Corporum tantum historiam exhibemus; sed diligentia? 
 insuper nostraa esse putavimus, etiam Virtutum ipsarum (illarum 
 dicimus quae tanquam cardinales in natura censeri possint, et 
 in quibus naturae primordia plane constituuntur, utpote materiae 
 primis passionibus ac desideriis, viz. Denso, Raro, Calido,Frigido, 
 Consistenti, Fluido, Gravi, Levi, aliisque haud paucis) historiam 
 seorsum comparare. 1 
 
 Enimvero ut de subtilitate dicamus, plane conquirimus genus 
 experimentorum longe subtilius et simplicius quam sunt ea qua? 
 occurrunt. Complura enim a tenebris educimus et eruimus, 
 quaa nulli in mentem venisset investigare, nisi qui certo et con- 
 stanti tramite ad inventionem causarum pergeret; curn in se 
 nullius magnopere sint usus; ut liquido appareat, ea non propter 
 se quassita esse ; sed ita prorsus se habeant ilia ad res et opera 
 quemadmodum literae alphabet! se habeant ad orationem et 
 verba ; qua? licet per se inutiles eaedem tamen omnis sermonis 
 elementa sunt. 
 
 In delectu autem narrationum et experimentorum melius 
 hominibus cavisse nos arbitramur quam qui adhuc in historia 
 naturali versati sunt. Nam omnia fide oculata aut saltern 
 perspecta, et summa quadam cum severitate, recipimus ; ita ut 
 nil referatur auctum miraculi causa, sed quae narramus a fabulis 
 et Vanitate casta et intemerata sint. Quinetiam et recepta 
 quasque ac jactata mendacia (quae mirabili quodam neglectu 
 per saecula multa obtinuerunt et inveterata sunt) nominatim 
 proscribimus et notamus ; ne scientiis amplius molesta sint. 
 Quod enim prudenter animadvertit quidam, fabulas et supersti- 
 tiones et nugas quas nutriculaa pueris instillant, mentes eorum 
 etiam serio depravare : ita eadem nos movit ratio ut solliciti 
 atque etiam anxii simus ne ab initio, cum veluti infantiam 
 philosophiae sub historia naturali tractemus et curemus, ilia 
 alicui vanitati assuescat. At in onmi experimento novo et 
 paulo subtiliore, licet (ut nobis videtur) certo ac probato, 
 modum tamen experimenti quo usi sumus aperte subjungimus ; 
 ut, postquam patefactum sit quomodo singula nobis constite- 
 rint, videant homines quid erroris subesse et adhaerere possit, 
 atque. -*id probationes magis fidas et magis exquisitas (si quae 
 sint) expergiscantur : denique ubique monita et scrupulos et 
 
 1 The whole tendency of Bacon's method led him to give the first place to inquiries 
 relating to abstract qualities of the nature of those which he here mentions. We shall 
 have occasion to remark on this point in connexion with several passages in the second 
 book of the Novum Organum,
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 143 
 
 cautiones aspergimus, religione quadam et tanquam exorcismo 
 omnia phantasmata ejicientes ac cohibentes. 
 
 Postremo, cum nobis exploratum sit quantopere experientia 
 et historia aciem mentis humanse disgreget, et quam difficile 
 sit (pra3sertim animis vel teneris vel praeoccupatis) a princi- 
 pio cum natura consuescere, adjungimus saepius observationes 
 nostras, tanquam priinas quasdam conversiones et inclinationes 
 ac veluti aspectus histories ad philosophiam ; ut et pignoris loco 
 hominibus sint eos in historiae fluctibus perpetuo non detentos 
 iri, utque cum ad opus intellectus deveniatur omnia sint 
 inagis in procinctu. Atque per hujusmodi (qualem descri- 
 bimus) Historiam Naturalem, aditum quendam fieri posse ad 
 naturam tutum et commodum, atque materiam intellectui prae- 
 beri probam et praeparatam, censemus. 
 
 Postquam vero et intellectum fidissimis auxiliis ac praesidiis 
 stipavimus, et justum divinorum operum exercitum severissimo 
 delectu comparavimus ; nil amplius superesse videtur, nisi ut 
 philosophiam ipsam aggrediamur. Attamen in re tarn ardua et 
 suspensa, sunt quaedam qua? necessario videntur interponenda ; 
 partim docendi gratia, partim in usum praasentem. 
 
 Horum primum est, ut exempla proponantur inquirendi et 
 inveniendi secundum nostram rationem ac viam, in aliquibus 
 subjectis repraesentata : sumendo ea potissimum subjecta quae 
 et inter ea quas quaeruntur sunt nobilissima et inter se maxirne 
 diversa ; ut in unoquoque genere exemplum non desit. Neque 
 de iis exemplis loquimur quae singulis praeceptis ac regulis 
 illustrandi gratia adjiciuntur (hoc enim in secunda parte operis 
 abunde prasstitimus) ; sed plane typos intelligimus et plasmata, 
 quse universum mentis processum atque inveniendi continuatam 
 fabricam et ordinem, in certis subjectis, iisque variis et insignibus, 
 tanquam sub oculos ponant. Etenim nobis in mentem venit, in, 
 mathematicis, astante machina, sequi demonstrationem facilem 
 et perspicuam; contra absque hac commoditate, omnia videri 
 involuta et quam revera sunt subtiliora. Itaque hujusmodi 
 exemplis quartam partem nostri operis attribuimus : quae revera 
 nil aliud est, quam secunda? partis applicatio particularis et ex- 
 plicata. 
 
 At quinta pars ad tempus tantum, donee reliqua perficiantur, 
 adhibetur ; et tanquam fcenus redditur, usque dum sors haberi
 
 144 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 
 
 possit. Neque enim finem nostrum ita petimus occaecati, ut 
 quae occurrunt in via utilia negligamus. Quamobrem quintam 
 partem operis ex iis conficimus qua? a nobis aut inventa aut 
 probata aut addita sunt; neque id tamen ex rationibus atque 
 praescriptis interpretandi, sed ex eodem intellectus usu quern 
 alii in inquirendo et inveniendo adhibere consueverunt. Etenim 
 cum, ex perpetua nostra cum natura consuetudine, inajora de 
 meditationibus nostris quam pro ingenii viribus speramus ; turn 
 poterunt ista veluti tabernaculorum in via positorum vice fungi, 
 ut mens ad certiora contendens in iis paulisper acquiescat. 
 Attamen testamur interim, nos illis ipsis, quod ex vera interpre- 
 tandi forma non sint inventa aut probata, teneri minime velle. 
 Istam vero judicii suspensionem non est quod exhorreat quispiam, 
 in doctrina quae non simpliciter nil sciri posse, sed nil nisi certo 
 ordine et certa via sciri posse, asserit; atque interea tamen certos 
 certitudinis gradus ad usum et levamen constituit, donee mens 
 in causarum explicatione consistat. Neque enim illae ipsae 
 gcholae philosophorum qui Acalalepsiam simpliciter tenuerunt 
 inferiores fuere istis quae pronuntiandi licentiam usurparunt. 
 Illaa tamen sensui et intellectui auxilia non paraverunt, quod 
 nos fecimus, sed fidem et authoritatem plane sustulerunt ; quod 
 longe alia res est, et fere opposita, 
 
 Sexta tandem pars operis nostri (cui reliqua? inserviunt ac 
 ministrant) earn demum recludit et proponit philosophiam, quae 
 ex hujusmodi (qualem ante docuimus et paravimus) inquisitione 
 legitima et casta et severa educitur et constituitur. Hanc 
 vero postremam partem perficere et ad exitum perducere, res 
 est et supra vires et ultra spes nostras collocata. Nos ei initia 
 (ut speramus) non contemnenda, exitum generis humani fortuna 
 dabit, qualem forte homines in hoc rerum et animorum statu 
 baud facile animo capere aut metiri queant. Neque enim 
 agitur solum fcelicitas contemplativa, sed vere res humana? et 
 fortunae, atque omnis operum potentia. Homo enim naturae 
 minister et interpres tantum facit et intelligit, quantum de 
 naturae ordine, opere vel mente, observaverit : nee amplius scit, 
 aut potest. Neque enim ullae vires causarum catenam solvere 
 aut perfringere possint, neque natura aliter quam parendo vin- 
 citur. Itaque intentiones geminae illae, humanae scilicet Scientia 
 et PotentifB, vere in idem coincidunt; et frustratio operum 
 maxime fit ex i<moratione causarum.
 
 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 145 
 
 Atque in eo sunt omnia, siquis oculos mentis a rebus ipsis 
 nunquam dejiciens, earum imagines plane ut sunt excipiat. 
 Neque enim hoc siverit Deus, ut phantasiaj nostne somnium 
 pro exemplari mundi edamus: sed potius benigne faveat, ut 
 apocalypsim ac veram visionem vestigiorum 1 et sigillorum crea- 
 toris super creaturas scribamus. 
 
 Itaque Tu Pater, qui lucem visibilem primitias creaturae de- 
 
 disti, et lucem intellectualem ad fastigium operum tuorum in 
 
 faciem hominis inspirasti ; opus hoc, quod a tua bonitate pro- 
 
 fectum tuam gloriam repetit, tuere et rege. Tu postquam con- 
 
 versus es ad spectandum opera quae fecerunt manus tuae, vidisti 
 
 quod omnia essent bona valde ; et requievisti. At homo con- 
 
 versus ad opera quae fecerunt manus suse, vidit quod omnia 
 
 essent vanitas et vexatio spiritus; nee ullo modo requlevit. 
 
 Quare si in operibus tuis sudabimus, facies nos visionis tuas et 
 
 sabbati tui participes. 2 Supplices petimus, ut haec 
 
 mens nobis constet ; utque novis eleemosynis, 
 
 per manus nostras et aliorum quibus 
 
 eandem mentem largieris, 
 
 familiam humanam 
 
 dotatam velis. 
 
 1 This application of the word " vestigia " is constantly made by the schoolmen. 
 Thus St. Thomas Aquinas : " In rationalibus creaturis est imago Trinitatis, in cateris 
 vero creaturis est vestigium Trinitatis, in quantum in eis inveniuntur aliqua qua? re- 
 ducuntur in divinas personas." Summa Theolog. l ma pars, q. 45. art. 7. 
 
 2 Compare this with St. Augustine's prayer at the close of the Confessions. " Domine 
 Deus pacem <la nobis (omnia enim praestitisti nobis), pacem quietis, pacem Sabbati, 
 Sabbati sine vespera. Omuis quippe iste ordo pulcherrimus rerum valde bonarum. 
 modis suis peractis transiturus est, et mane quippe in eis factum est et vespera. 
 Dies autem Septimus sine vespera est, nee habet occasum, quia sanctificasti eum ad 
 permansionem sempiternam, ut id quod tu post opera tua bona valde, quamvis ea 
 quietus feceris, requievisti septimo die, hoc praeloquatur nobis vox libri tui, quod et noj 
 post opera nostra, ideo bona valde quia tu nobis ea donasti, sabbato vitae seternee re- 
 quiescamus in te." Conf, xiii. 35 6. 
 
 Compare also the line with which the Faerie Queene breaks off: 
 
 " O that [q. thou ?] great Sabbaoth God graunt me that Sabbaoth sight." 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 DEEST 
 
 PAHS PBIMA INSTAUBATIOfflS, 
 
 QUA coMixcnrr* 
 PABTITIONES SCIESTIABUM. 
 
 like tame* ex Secvmdo Libra de Progressibas faciendis in Doctrina 
 
 Divina et Humana, nonmttOa exparte 
 
 pctiposnmL 1 
 
 SEQUTTDB 
 
 SECUHTDA PABS IffSTAUBATIONIS, 
 
 QIL5; ARTEM IPSAM 
 Interpretamdi Naturam, et verioris adoptrationis Imtetteehtt exkibtt . 
 
 ntque earn ipsam tame* i* Carport tractaha justi, 
 
 ted tuBltim Agestam per rttmmat t i* 
 
 Apkoritmos* 
 
 TW> it onittod in the eamoon editioBS of Bkcoo s coQccted works (in aH, 1 be- 
 cept MantagiA) ; tfce De Jmymrwtis Siiutmimm, with the tide "/*teH7*- 
 y^yr^iia prefixed on a sepmte ieat M<g fctfato* iar it. And 
 
 ; . : . k. .1b* ^fe^MMM* JU ^Jb^M^BBJ - _ .^^ Jk^ -m- *- ^ - 
 
 K B me CBK moon out anxrwaras aeaoe apaa sapptjiag um aevemcy BJT a mBi- 
 tatiMi rf the ^rf>arnar^ f Ltmrmimg enJnged; tint be produced tbe Zfe ^AyiM^u 
 Sufafiai * wi& dMt intention awl understanding; and ttat tBoagb the ongittal 
 edition does not bear ** fm&mmrmttsmts MStymc JMTC prim* * on the otifpajEe, yrt in 
 Dr. Baviey^ reprint of it in 1C38 thatt worts were inserted. Btmthtlm this notice 
 is of unpoctance, as showing that 
 
 of the 
 
 >f fhenonnaM; for if he had, he wmld hare leJened to the 
 not to the SCTMM! book only. Be meant, no doobt, to leprodnce the substance of it 
 hi a. different fcnn. AM! my own unpreanon is that the Detertptto GUkt 
 db was ot%huBywa%ne< te thb pbce, and that he had nst yet 
 
 be had not time to tnish it on so large a scale, and therefore resolved to entaise the 
 
 fhlfl IhfallC** inci^^H Cnf lawaTwaWiinwr m. TnPwT ftaThsl _T" ^ 
 
 * Tbis explaim a ceitain daaepancr between tiK design of the second part, as set 
 theexecntionafitintheArB Orync^ The 
 
 oat in a regular and consecutive treatise, aval tepwents the aaVn of the work 
 pertectij than the work ifcetf. See note on Dbtr. Op. p. 139,-^f. S.
 
 PARS SECTJNDA OPERIS, 
 
 (JUS DICITUB 
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM, 
 
 1. 3
 
 "
 
 PRJ1FATIO, 
 
 Qui de natura tanquam de re explorata pronuntiare ausi aunt, 
 sive hoc ex animi fiducia fecerint sive ambitiose et more profes- 
 sorio, maximis illi philosophiam et scientias detrimentis affe- 
 cere. Ut enim ad fidem faciendam validi, ita etiam ad inquisi- 
 tionem extinguendam et abrumpendam efficaces fuerunt. Neque 
 virtute propria tantum profuerunt, quantum in hoc nocuerunt, 
 quod aliorum virtutem corruperint et perdiderint. Qui autem 
 contrariam huic viam ingressi sunt atque nihil prorsus sciri 
 posse asseruerunt, sive ex sophistarum veterum odio sive ex 
 animi fluctuatione aut etiam ex quadam doctrinae copia in hanc 
 opinionem delapsi sint, certe non contemnendas ejus rationes 
 adduxerunt; veruntamen nee a veris initiis sententiam suam 
 derivarunt, et studio quodam atque affectatione provecti, pror- 
 sus modum excesserunt. At antiquiores ex Grascis (quorum 
 scripta perierunt) inter pronuntiandi jactantiam et Acatalepsies 
 desperationem prudentius se sustinuerunt : atque de inqui- 
 sitionis difficultate et rerum obscuritate saepius querimonias et 
 indignationes miscentes, et veluti fraenum mordentes, tamen 
 propositum urgere atque naturae se immiscere non destiterunt ; 
 consentaneum (ut videtur) existimantes, hoc ipsum (videlicet 
 utrum aliquid sciri possit) non disputare, sed experiri. Et 
 tamen illi ipsi, impetu tantum intellectus usi, regulam non adhi- 
 buerunt, sed omnia in acri meditatione et mentis volutatione et 
 agitatione perpetua posuerunt. 
 
 Nostra autem ratio, ut opere ardua, ita dictu facilis est. Ea 
 enim est, ut certitudinis gradus constituamus, sensum per re- 
 ductionem quandam tueamur 1 , sed mentis opus quod sensum 
 subsequitur plerunque rejiciamus; novam autem et certam 
 viam, ab ipsis sensuum perceptionibus, menti aperiamus et mu- 
 niamus. Atque hoc proculdubio viderunt et illi qui tantas 
 
 1 The word " rertuctio " appears to be used much as in modern scientific language ; 
 that is, as nearly equivalent to correction ; as when we speak of reducing observa- 
 tions, &c., by which is meant the applying to them of certain principles of correc- 
 tion : I should translate the clause in which it occurs by " we guard the sense from 
 error by a certain method of correction ; " a translation which accords with what is 
 said infra, I. 69., with respect to the short-comings and errors of the senses. 
 
 L 4
 
 1.52 PfLEFATIO. 
 
 dialecticse paries tribuerunt. Ex quo liquet, illos intellectui 
 adminicula quassivisse, mentis autem processum nativum et 
 sponte moventem, suspectum habuisse. Sed serum plane rebus 
 perditis hoc adhibetur remedium ; postquam mens ex quotidiana 
 vitae consuetudine, et auditionibus et doctrinis inquinatis 
 occupata, et vanissimis idolis obsessa fuerit. Itaque ars ilia 
 dialecticse, sero (ut diximus) cavens neque rem ullo modo resti- 
 tuens, ad errores potius figendos quam ad veritatem aperiendam 
 valuit. Restat unica salus ac sanitas, ut opus mentis universum 
 de integro resmnatur; ac mens, jam ab ipso principio, nullo 
 modo sibi permittatur, sed perpetuo regatur ; ac res veluti per 
 machinas conficiatur. Sane si homines opera mechanica nudis 
 manibus, absque instrumentorum vi et ope, aggressi essent, 
 quemadmodum opera intellectualia nudis fere mentis viribus 
 tractare non dubitarunt, parvae admodum fuissent res quas 
 movere et vincere potuissent, licet operas enixas atque etiam 
 conjunctas praestitissent. Atque si paulisper morari, atque in 
 hoc ipsum exemplum, veluti in speculum, intueri velimus ; ex- 
 quiramus (si placet) si forte obeliscus aliquis magnitudine 
 insignis ad triumphi vel hujusmodi magnificentiae decus trans- 
 ferendus esset, atque id homines nudis manibus aggrederentur, 
 annon hoc magnae cujusdam esse dementia? spectator quispiam 
 rei sobrius fateretur ? Quod si numerum augerent operariorum, 
 atque hoc modo se valere posse confiderent, annon tanto magis ? 
 Sin autem delectum quendam adhibere vellent, atque imbecil- 
 liores separare, et robustis tantum et vigentibus uti, atque hinc 
 saltern se voti compotes fore sperarent, annon adhuc eos impensius 
 delirare diceret ? Quin etiam si hoc ipso non contenti, artem 
 tandem athleticam consulere statuerent, ac omnes deinceps ma- 
 nibus et lacertis et nervis ex arte bene unctis et medicatis 
 adesse juberent, annon prorsus eos dare operam ut cum ratione 
 quadam et prudentia insanirent, clamaret? Atque homines 
 tamen simili malesano impetu et conspiratione inutili feruntur 
 in intellectualibus ; dum ab ingeniorum vel multitudine et con- 
 sensu vel excellentia et acumine magna sperant, aut etiam 
 dialectica (quae quaedam athletica censeri possit) mentis nervos 
 roborant ; sed interim, licet tanto studio et conatu, (si quis vere 
 judicaverit) intellectum nudum applicare non desinunt. Mani- 
 festissimum autem est, in omni opere magno, quod manus 
 hominis praestat, sine instrumentis et machinis, vires nee singu- 
 lorum intendi nee omnium coire posse.
 
 PR^EFATIO. 153 
 
 Itaque ex his quaa diximus praemissis, statuimus duas esse 
 res de quibus homines plane monitos volumus, ne forte illge eos 
 fugiant aut praetereant. Quarum prima hujusmodi est; fieri 
 fato quodarn (ut existimamus) bono, ad extinguendas et depel- 
 lendas contradictiones et tumores animorum, ut et veteribus 
 honor et reverentia intacta et imminuta maneant, et nos desti- 
 nata perficere et tamen modestiae nostrae fructum percipere 
 possimus. Nam nos, si profiteamur nos meliora afFerre quam 
 antiqui, eandem quam illi viam ingressi, nulla verborum arte 
 efficere possimus, quin inducatur quaedam ingenii vel excellentiaa 
 vel facultatis comparatio sive contentio ; non ea quidem illicita 
 aut nova ; quidni enim possimus pro jure nostro (neque eo 
 ipso alio, quam omnium) si quid apud eos non recte inventum 
 aut positum sit, reprehendere aut notare ? sed tamen utcunque 
 justa aut permissa, nihilominus impar fortasse fuisset ea ipsa 
 contentio, ob virium nostrarum modum. Verum quum per nos 
 illud agatur, ut alia omnino via intellectui aperiatur illis inten- 
 tata et incognita, commutata jam ratio est ; cessant studium et 
 partes ; nosque indicia tantummodo personam sustinemus, quod 
 mediocris certe est authoritatis, et fortunes cujusdam potius 
 quam facultatis et excellentise. Atque haec moniti species ad 
 personas pertinet ; altera ad res ipsas. 
 
 Nos siquidem de deturbanda ea quae nunc floret philosophia, 
 aut si quae alia sit aut erit hac emendatior aut auctior, minime 
 laboramus. Neque enim officimus, quin philosophia ista re- 
 cepta, et alias id genus, disputationes alant, sermones ornent, 
 ad professoria munera et vitae civilis compendia adhibeantur 
 et valeant. Quin etiam aperte significamus et declaramus, 
 earn quam nos adducimus philosophiam ad istas res admodum 
 utilem non futuram. Non praesto est, neque in transitu ca- 
 pitur, neque ex prasnotionibus intellectui blanditur, neque ad 
 vulgi captum nisi per utilitatem et effecta descendet. 
 
 Sint itaque (quod frelix faustumque sit utrique parti) duae 
 doctrinarum emanationes, ac duae dispensationes ; duae similiter 
 contemplantium sive philosophantium tribus ac veluti cogna- 
 tiones ; atque illae neutiquam inter se inimicae aut alienee, sed 
 foederatae et mutuis auxiliis devinctae : sit denique alia scientias 
 colendi, alia inveniendi ratio. Atque quibus prima potior et 
 acceptior est, ob festinationem, vel vitae civilis rationes, vel 
 quod illam alteram ob mentis infirmitatem capere et complecti 
 non possint (id quod longe plurimis accidere necesse est), opta-
 
 154 PRjEFATIO. 
 
 urns ut iis foeliciter et ex voto succedat quod agunt, atque ut 
 quod sequuntur teneant. Quod si cui mortalium cordi et curse 
 sit, non tantum inventis haerere atque iis uti, sed ad ulteriora 
 penetrare ; atque non disputando adversarium, sed opere na- 
 turam vincere ; denique, non belle et probabiliter opinari, sed 
 certo et ostensive scire; tales, tanquam veri scientiarum filii, 
 nobis (si videbitur) se adjungant ; ut omissis naturae atriis, qua? 
 infiniti contriverunt, aditus aliquando ad interiora patefiat. 
 Atque ut melius intelligamur, utque illud ipsum quod volumus 
 ex nominibus impositis magis familiariter occurrat, altera ratio 
 sive via Anticipatio Mentis, altera Interprelatio Natur<B y a nobis 
 appellari consuevit. 
 
 Est etiam quod petendum videtur. Nos certe cogitationem 
 
 suscepimus et curam adhibuimus, ut qua? a nobis proponentur 
 
 non tantum vera essent, sed etiam ad animos hominum (licet 
 
 miris modis occupatos et interclusos) non incommode aut aspere 
 
 accederent. Veruntamen sequum est, ut ab hominibus impe- 
 
 tremus (in tanta praesertim doctrinarum et scientiarum restau- 
 
 ratione) ut qui de hisce nostris aliquid, sive ex sensu proprio, 
 
 sive ex authoritatum turba, sive ex demonstrationum formis 
 
 (qua? nunc tanquam leges quaedam judiciales invaluerunt), sta- 
 
 tuere aut existimare velit, ne id in transitu et velut aliud agendo 
 
 facere se posse speret ; sed ut rem pernoscat ; nostram, quam 
 
 describimus et munimus, viam ipse paullatim tentet ; subtilitati 
 
 rerum qua? in experientia signata est assuescat ; pravos denique 
 
 atque alte haerentes mentis habitus tempestiva et quasi 
 
 legitima mora corrigat ; atque turn demum (si 
 
 placuerit) postquam in potestate 
 
 sua esse coeperit, judicio 
 
 suo utatur. 
 
 SEQUITUR 
 PARTIS SECUNDJE SUMMA, 
 
 CIGESTA 
 
 IN APHOKISMOS.
 
 PARTIS SECTOD.E SUMMA, 
 
 DIGESTA IN 
 
 APHORISMOS.
 
 APHORISMI 
 
 DE INTERPKETATIONE NATUKJE 
 ET KEGNO HOMINIS. 
 
 APHOBISMUS 
 
 I. 
 
 HOMO, Naturae minister l et interpres, tantum facit et intelligit 
 quantum de Naturae ordine re vel mente observaverit, nee am- 
 plius scit aut potest. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Nee manus nuda nee intellectus sibi permissus multum valet ; 
 instrumentis et auxiliis res perficitur; quibus opus est non 
 minus ad intellectum quam ad manum. Atque ut instrumenta 
 manus motum aut cient aut regunt, ita et instrumenta mentis 
 intellectui aut suggerunt aut cavent. 
 
 in. 
 
 Scientia et potentia humana in idem coincidunt, quia igno- 
 ratio causae destituit effectum. Natura enim non nisi parendo 
 vincitur-; et quod in contemplatione instar causae est, id in 
 operatione instar regulae est. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Ad opera nil aliud potest homo, quam ut corpora naturalia 
 admoveat et amoveat ; reliqua Natura intus transigit. 3 
 
 v. 
 
 Solent se immiscere naturae (quoad opera) mechanicus, ma- 
 thematicus, medicus, alchymista, et magus ; sed omnes (ut nunc 
 sunt res) conatu levi, successu tenui. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Insanum quiddam esset, et in se contrarium, existimare ea 
 quae adhuc nunquam facta sunt fieri posse, nisi per modos 
 adhuc nunquam tentatos. 
 
 1 That the physician is " naturse minister," Qvcreus uirijperijs, is quoted more than once 
 from Hippocrates by Galen, xv. 369. xvi. 35. (Kuhn) : the first passage in his com- 
 mentary on Hippoc. De Aliment, iii., the second hi his do. De Humor. L 
 
 2 This antithesis was probably suggested by Publius Syrus's gnome : " Casta ad 
 virum matrona parendo imperat." 
 
 8 For some remarks upon the first four Aphorisms, see the Preface, p. 88. J. S.
 
 158 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Generationes mentis et manus numerosae admodum vi- 
 dentur in libris et opificiis. Sed omnis ista varietas sita est 
 in subtilitate eximia, et derivationibus paucamm rerum quae 
 innotuerunt ; non in numero Axiomatum. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Etiam opera, quae jam inventa sunt, casui debentur et expe- 
 rientiae magis quam scientiis : scientiae enim, quas nunc habe- 
 mus, nihil aliud sunt quam quaedam concinnationes rerum antea 
 inventarum ; non modi inveniendi, aut designationes novorum 
 operum. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Causa vero et radix fere omnium malorum in scientiis ea 
 una est ; quod dum mentis humanae vires falso miramur et ex- 
 tollimus, vera ejus auxilia non quasramus. 
 
 x. 
 
 Subtilitas naturae subtilitatem sensus et intellectus multis 
 partibus superat ; ut pulchrae illae meditationes et speculationes 
 humanaa et causationes res male-sana smt, nisi quod non adsit 
 qui advertat. 1 
 
 XI. 
 
 Sicut scientiae quae nunc habentur inutiles sunt ad inven- 
 tionem operum ; ita et logica quae nunc habetur inutilis est ad 
 inventionem scientiarum. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Logica quae in usu est ad errores (qui in notionibus vulgari- 
 bus fundantur) stabiliendos et figendos valet, potius quam ad 
 inquisitionem veritatis ; ut magis damnosa sit quam utilis. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Syllogismus ad principia scientiarum non adhibetur, ad media 
 axiomata frustra adhibetur, cum sit subtilitati naturae longe 
 impar. Assensum itaque constringit, non res. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Syllogismus ex propositionibus constat, propositiones ex 
 verbis, verba notionum tesserae sunt. Itaque si uotiones ipsae 
 (id quod basis rei est) confusae sint et temere a rebus abstracts, 
 nihil in iis quae superstruuntur est firmitudinis. Itaque spes 
 est una in inductions vera. 
 
 1 That is, they must from the nature of the case be so far from the truth, that, if 
 we could but compare them with the reality, they would seem like the work of men 
 not in their senses. J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 159 
 
 XV. 
 
 In notionibus nil sani est, nee in logicis nee in physicis ; 
 non Substantia^ non Qualitas, Agere, Pati, ipsum Esse, bonae 
 notiones sunt ; multo minus Grave, Leve, Densum, Tenue, Hu- 
 midum, Siccum, Generatio, Corruptio, AttraJtere, Fugare, JEle- 
 mentum, Materia, Forma, et id genus ; sed omnes phantasticae 
 et male terminatae. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Notiones infimarum specierum, Hominis, Cants, Columbce, 
 et prehensionum immediatarum sensus, Calidi, Frigidi, Albi, 
 Nigri, non fallunt magnopere ; quae tamen ipsae a fluxu materise 
 et commistione l rerum quandoqueconfunduntur; reliqu83 omnes 
 (quibus homines hactenus usi sunt) aberrationes sunt, nee 
 debitis modis a rebus abstractae et excitatae. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Nee minor est libido et aberratio in constituendis axiomati- 
 bus, quam in notionibus abstrahendis ; idque in ipsis principiis, 
 quae ab inductione vulgari pendent. At multo major est in 
 axiomatibus et propositionibus inferioribus, quae educit syllo- 
 gismus. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Quae adhuc inventa sunt in scientiis, ea hujusmodi sunt ut 
 notionibus vulgaribus fere subjaceant; ut vero ad interiora et 
 remotiora naturae penetretur, necesse est ut tarn notiones quam 
 axiomata magis certa et munita via a rebus abstrahantur; 
 atque omnino melior et certior intellectus adoperatio in usum 
 veniat. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Duae viae sunt, atque esse possunt, ad inquirendam et inveni- 
 endam veritatem. Altera a sensu et particularibus advolat ad 
 axiomata maxime generalia, atque ex iis principiis eorumque 
 immota veritate judicat et invenit axiomata media ; atque haec 
 via in usu est : altera a sensu et particularibus excitat axiomata, 
 ascendendo continenter et gradatim, ut ultimo loco perveniatur 
 ad maxiine generalia ; quae via vera est, sed intentata. 
 
 1 [ Commissione in the original edition. J. S.] From the context it is clear that 
 Bacon means that the union of bodies of different kinds, by giving rise to new quali- 
 ties and species intermediate to those for which we have recognised names, tends to 
 confuse our ideas of the latter. I think therefore we ought to read " commistione " 
 for " commissione." [The word commistio is used elsewhere by Bacon ; see for instance 
 II. 13. 34. 7. S.]
 
 160 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Eandem ingreditur viam (priorem scilicet) intellectus sibi 
 permissus, quam facit ex ordine dialectic. Gestit enim mens 
 exilire ad magis generalia, ut acquiescat ; et post parvam moram 
 fastidit experientiam. Sed haec mala demum aucta sunt a dia- 
 lectica, ob pompas disputationum. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Intellectus sibi permissus, in ingenio sobrio et patiente et 
 gravi (praesertim si a doctrinis receptis non impediatur), tentat 
 nonnihil illam alteram viam, quae recta est, sed exiguo profectu ; 
 cum intellectus, nisi regatur et juvetur, res inaequalis sit, et 
 omnino inhabilis ad superandam rerum obscuritatem. l 
 
 xxir. 
 
 Utraque via orditur a sensu et particularibus, et acquiescit in 
 maxime generalibus ; sed immensum quiddam discrepant ; cum 
 altera perstringat tantum experientiam et particularia cursim, 
 altera in iis rite et ordine versetur ; altera rursus jam a principio 
 constituat generalia quaedam abstracta et inutilia, altera grada- 
 tim exurgat ad ea quae revera naturae sunt notiora. 2 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Non leve quiddam interest inter humanae mentis idola et 
 divinae mentis ideas; hoc est, inter placita quaedam inania et 
 veras signaturas 3 atque impressiones factas in creaturis, prout 
 inveniuntur. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Nullo modo fieri potest, ut axiomata per argumentationem 
 constituta ad inventionem novorum operum valeant ; quia sub- 
 
 1 I should be inclined to translate this clause, " since the intellect, if it be not guided 
 and assisted, acts irregularly (res inaequalis sit), and is altogether unequal to overcom- 
 ing the obscurity of nature." Thus in 60. we meet with a similar use of the adverb 
 " ineequaliter :" " temere et inaequaliter a rebus abstracta " " rashly and irregularly 
 abstracted from their objects." Or perhaps, though this translation would not be free 
 from objection, inaequalis might be rendered " inadequate " or unequal to the matter 
 in hand. 
 
 2 This phrase is a scholastic mistranslation of the Aristotelian phrase -rp (pvcrfi yi>u- 
 pifjuarepov i. e. naturally better known, or naturally better fitted to be the object of 
 knowledge. It is difficult to render the phrase accurately either into Latin or into 
 English, because in neither language is there an adjective corresponding to the Greek 
 yvcapifws; "notus" and "known" being of course participles, and immediately suggesting 
 the question, "known to whom ? " [See note on Distrib. Operis, p. 137. In his English 
 writings, Bacon seems to use the word " original " as equivalent to " naturae notius." 
 Compare the instruction for " freeing a direction," in the Valerius Terminus, with 
 the " praecc-ptum verum et perfectum operand!, " in the Nov. Org. ii. 4. ; where the 
 rule that " the nature discovered be more original than the nature supposed and not 
 more secondary or of the like degree," in the one, corresponds with the precept 
 " Forma vera talis sit ut naturam datam ex fonte aliquo essentiae deducat, quae inest 
 pluribus et notior est natures (ut loquuntur) quam ipsa forma," in the other. /. S, ] 
 
 3 See note on Distr. Op. p. 145. /. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 161 
 
 tllitas naturae subtilitatem argumentandi multis partibus superat. 
 Sed axiomata a particularibus rite et ordine abstracta nova par- 
 ticularia rursus facile indicant et designant; itaque scientias 
 reddunt activas. 
 
 XXY. . 
 
 Axiomata quae in usu sunt ex tenui et manipulari expe- 
 rientia et paucis particularibus, quas ut plurimum occurrunt, 
 fluxere ; et sunt fere ad raensuram eorum facta et extensa : ut 
 nil mirum sit, si ad nova particularia non ducant. Quod si 
 forte instantia aliqua non prius animadversa aut cognita se 
 offerat, axioma distinctione aliqua frivola salvatur, ubi emen- 
 dari ipsum verius foret. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Rationem humanam qua utimur ad naturam, Anticipationes 
 Natures (quia res temeraria est et prasmatura), at illam rationem 
 quae debitis modis elicitur a rebus, Interpretationem Natures, 
 docendi gratia vocare consuevimus. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Anticipationes satis firmae sunt ad consensum; quandoqui- 
 dem si homines etiam insanirent ad unum modum et conformi- 
 ter, illi satis bene inter se congruere possent. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Quin longe validiores sunt ad subeundum assensum Anticipa- 
 tiones quam Interpretationes ; quia ex paucis collectae, iisque 
 maxime quae familiariter occurrunt, intellectum statim perstrin- 
 gunt et phantasiam implent : ubi contra Interpretationes, ex 
 rebus admodum variis et multum distantibus sparsim collects, 
 intellectum subito percutere non possunt; ut necesse sit eas, 
 quoad opiniones, duras et absonas, fere instar mysteriorum fidei, 
 videri. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 In scientiis quae in opinionibus et placitis fundatae sunt, 
 bonus est usus Anticipationum et Dialecticae ; quando opus est 
 assensum subjugare, non res. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Non, si omnia omnium aetatum ingenia coierint et labores 
 contulerint et transmiserint, progressus magnus fieri poterit in 
 scientiis per Anticipationes ; quia errores radicales, et in prima 
 digestione mentis, ab excellentia functionum et remediorum 
 sequentium non curantur. 
 
 VOL. i. M
 
 162 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Frustra magnum expectatur augmentum in scientiis ex 
 superinductione et insitione novorum super vetera ; sed instau- 
 ratio facienda est ab imis fundamentis, nisi libeat perpetuo cir- 
 cumvolvi in orbem, cum exili et quasi contemnendo progressu. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Antiquis authoribus suus constat honos, atque adeo omnibus ; 
 quia non ingeniorum aut facultatum inducitur comparatio, sed 
 vise ; nosque non judicis sed indicis personam sustinemus. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Nullum (dicendum enim est aperte) recte fieri potest judicium 
 nee de via nostra, nee de iis qua? secundum earn inventa sunt, 
 .per Anticipationes (rationem scilicet quae in usu est) ; quia non 
 postulandum est ut ejus rei judicio stetur, quae ipsa in judicium 
 Tocatur. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Neque etiam tradendi aut explicandi ea quae adducimus 
 facilis est ratio ; quia qua? in se nova sunt intelligentur tamen 
 ex analogia veterum. 1 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Dixit Borgia de expeditione Gallorum in Italiam, eos venisse 
 cum creta in manibus ut diversoria notarent, non cum armis ut 
 perrumperent 2 : itidem et nostra ratio est, ut doctrina nostra 
 animos idoneos et capaces subintret ; confutationum enim nullus 
 est usus, ubi de principiis et ipsis notionibus, atque etiam de 
 formis demonstrationum, dissentimus. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Restat vero nobis modus tradendi unus et simplex, ut homines 
 ad ipsa particularia et eorum series et ordines adducamus ; et ut 
 illi rursus imperent sibi ad tempus abnegationem Notionum, et 
 cum rebus ipsis consuescere incipiant. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Ratio eorum qui acatalepsiam tenuerunt, et via nostra, initiis 
 
 1 For the meaning of " analogia " see note on the Distr. Op. p. 138. J. S. 
 
 2 " Diceva in quei tempi Papa Alessandro sesto che i Francesi havevano corso 
 1' Italia con gli speroni di legno et presola col gesso : dicendo cosi perche pigliando essi 
 gli alloggiamenti nelle citta loro furieri segnavano le porte delle case col gesso ; et caval- 
 cando per loro diporto i gentil' huomini per le terre a sollazzo usavano di portare nelle 
 scarpette a calcagni certi stecchi di legno appuntati, delli quali in vece di speroni si 
 servivano per andare le cavalcature." Nardi, Vita di Mahspini, [1597,] p. 18. 
 
 In an epitome of the history of Charles the Eighth, which will be found in the 
 " Archives curieuses " of Cember, vol. i. p. 197., and which was apparently written about 
 the beginning of the seventeenth century, the remark ascribed to Alexander the 
 Sixth by Nardi and Bacon is mentioned as a popular saying.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 163 
 
 suis quodammodo consentiunt; exitu immensum disjunguntur 
 et opponuntur. Illi enim nihil sciri posse simpliciter asserunt ; 
 nos non multum sciri posse in natura, ea quse nunc in usu est 
 via : verum illi exinde authoritatem sensus et intellectus de- 
 struunt ; nos auxilia iisdem excogitamus et subministramus. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Idola et notiones falsse quae intellectum humanum jam occu- 
 parunt atque in"eo alte haerent, non solum mentes hominum ita 
 obsident ut veritati aditus difficilis pateat ; sed etiam dato et 
 concesso aditu, ilia rursus in ipsa instauratione scientiarum 
 occurrent et molesta erunt, nisi homines praemoniti adversus 
 ea se quantum fieri potest muniant. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Quatuor sunt genera Idolorum quae mentes humanas obsi- 
 dent. lis (docendi gratia) nomina imposuimus; ut primum 
 genus, Idola Tribus ; secundum, Idola Specus ; tertium, Idola 
 Fori; quartum, Idola Theatri vocentur. 1 
 
 XL. 
 
 Excitatio Notionum et Axiomatum per Inductionem veram, 
 est certe proprium remedium ad Idola arcenda et summovenda; 
 sed tamen indicatio Idolorum magni est usus. Doctrina enim 
 de Idolis similiter se habet ad Interpretationem Naturae, sicut 
 doctrina de Sophisticis Elenchis ad Dialecticam vulgarem. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 Idola Tribus sunt fundata in ipsa natura humana, atque in 
 ipsa tribu seu gente hominum. Falso enim asseritur, sensum* 
 humanum esse mensuram rerum 2 ; quin contra, omnes perce- 
 ptiones tarn sensus quam mentis sunt ex analogia hominis, non 
 
 1 These four idols have been compared to the four hindrances to truth enumerated 
 by Roger Bacon. These are, the use of insufficient authority, custom, popular opi- 
 nions, and the concealment of ignorance and display of apparent knowledge. The 
 last two may be likened to the idols of the market-place and the theatre. But the 
 principle of the classification is different. [See on this subject the Preface, p. 90. 
 Roger Bacon's words are as follows : 
 
 "Quatuor vero maxima sunt comprehendendse veritatis offendicula, quae omnem 
 quemcunque sapientem impediunt, et vix aliquem permittunt ad verum titulum 
 sapientiae pervenire : viz. fragilis et indignae auctoritatis exemplum, consuetudinis 
 diuturnitas, vulgi sensus imperiti, et propriae ignorantiae occultatio cum ostentatione 
 sapientiae apparentis. His omnis homo involvitur, omnis status occupatur. Nam 
 quilibet singulis artibus vitae et studii et omnis negotii tribus pessimis ad eandem con- 
 clusionem utitur argumentis : scil. hoc exempliflcatum est per majores, hoc consue- 
 
 tum est, hoc vulgatum est, ergo tenendum Si vero haec tria refellantur 
 
 aliquando magnifica rationis potentia, quartum semper in promptu est et in ore 
 cujuslibet, ut quilibet ignorantiam suam excuset, et licet nihil dignum sciat illud tamen 
 magnificet imprudenter [impudenter ?] et sic saltern suee stultitiae infelici solatio ve- 
 ritatem opprimat et elidat." Opus Majus, 1. i. J. S.] 
 
 2 Protagoras. See Hippias Major. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ex analogia universi. Estque intellectus humanus instar speculi 
 inasqualis ad radios rerum, qui suam naturam naturae rerum 
 hnmiscet, eamque distorquet et inficit. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 Idola Specus sunt idola hominis individui. Habet enim 
 unusquisque (praeter aberrationes naturae humanae in genere) 
 specum sive cavernam quandam individuam, quae lumen naturce 
 frangit et corrumpit ; vel propter naturam cujusque propriam 
 et singularem ; vel propter educationem et conversationem cum 
 aliis; vel propter lectionem librorum, et authoritates eorum 
 quos quisque colit et miratur ; vel propter differential impres- 
 sionum, prout occurrunt in animo praeoccupato et praedisposito 
 aut in animo sequo et sedato, vel ejusmodi ; ut plane spiritus 
 humanus (prout disponitur in hominibus singulis) sit res varia, 
 et omnino perturbata, et quasi fortuita : unde bene Heraclitus, 
 homines scientias quaerere in minoribus mundis, et non in ma- 
 jore sive communi. 1 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 Sunt etiam Idola tanquam ex contractu et societate humani 
 generis ad invicem, quae Idola Fori, propter hominum commer- 
 cium et consortium, appellamus. Homines enim per sermones 
 sociantur ; at verba ex captu vulgi imponuntur. Itaque mala 
 et inepta verborum impositio miris modis intellectum obsidet. 
 Neque definitiones aut explicationes, quibus homines docti se 
 munire et vindicare in nonnullis consueverunt, rem ullo modo 
 restituunt. Sed verba plane vim faciunt intellectui, et omnia 
 turbant ; et homines ad inanes et innumeras controversias et 
 commenta deducunt. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Sunt denique Idola quae immigrarunt in animos hominum ex 
 diversis dogmatibus philosophiarum, ac etiam ex perversis legi- 
 bus demonstrationum ; quae Idola Theatri nominamus ; quia 
 quot philosophies receptae aut inventae sunt, tot fabulas productas 
 et actas censemus, quae mundos effecerunt fictitios et scenicos. 
 Neque de his quae jam habentur, aut etiam de veteribus philo- 
 sophiis et sectis, tantum loquimur ; cum complures aliae ejusmodi 
 fabulae componi et concinnari possint ; quandoquidem errorum 
 prorsus diversorum causae sint nihilominus fere communes. 
 
 1 See Sextus Empiricus, Adversus Logicos, i. 133.; and compare ii. 8 186. of the 
 same treatise.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 165 
 
 Neque rursus de philosophiis universalibus tantum hoc intelli- 
 gimus, sed etiam de principiis et axiomatibus compluribus 
 scientiarum, quae ex traditione et fide et neglectu invaluerunt. 
 Verum de singulis istis generibus idolorum fusius et distinctius 
 dicendum est, ut intellectui humano cautum sit. 
 
 XLV. 1 
 
 Intellectus humanus ex proprietate sua 2 facile supponit ma- 
 jorem ordinem et aequalitatem in rebus quam invenit; et cum 
 multa sint in natura monodica 3 et plena imparitatis, tamen 
 affingit parallela et correspondentia et relativa quae non sunt. 
 Hinc commenta ilia, in ccelestibus omnia moveri per circulos 
 perfectos, lineis spiralibus et draconibus 4 (nisi nomine tenus) 
 prorsus rejcctis. Hinc elementum ignis cum orbe suo intro- 
 ductum est, ad constituendam quaternionem cum reliquis tribus, 
 quae subjiciuntur sensui. 5 Etiam elementis (quae vocant) im- 
 ponitur ad placitum decupla proportio excessus in raritate ad 
 invicem 6 : et hujusmodi somnia. Neque vanitas ista tantum 
 valet in dogmatibus, verum etiam in notionibus simplicibus. 
 
 1 Here, according to the tripartite distribution of the " Pars Destruens " mentioned 
 in the 115th aphorism, begins the first Redargutio Redargutio Rationis Humans 
 Nativse. J. S, 
 
 2 That is " in accordance with the homogeneity of its own substance," or as Bacon 
 expresses it in 52., " ex sequalitate substantial spiritus humani." 
 
 s The word which Bacon intends to use is, of course, " monadica ; " but throughout 
 his writings he has fallen into the error of which the text affords an instance. 
 
 4 It does not appear in what sense Bacon uses the word " draco. " In its ordinary 
 acceptation in old astronomy, it denoted the great circle which is approximately the 
 projection on the sphere of the moon's orbit. The ascending node was called the 
 caput draconis, and the descending the cauda draconis. The same terms were occa- 
 sionally applied to the nodes of the planetary orbits. It is not improbable that Bacon 
 intended to complain of the rejection of spirals of double curvature, or helices, which 
 traced on the surface of the sphere might represent inequalities in latitude. Compare 
 (Nov. Org. II. 48.) what is said of the variations of which the " motus rotationis 
 spontaneus" admits. 
 
 * The orb of the element of fire was supposed to lie 
 above that of the element of air, and therefore might ^- --^ 
 
 be said " non subjici sensui." The quaternion of Bicci 
 elements follows directly from the quaternion of ele- 
 mentary qualities ; namely, hot, cold, moist, dry. For Terra 
 these may be combined two and two in six different 
 ways ; two of these combinations are rejected as simply ^ 
 
 contradictory (viz. hot and cold, moist and dry) ; and Fri iaum 
 to each of the other combinations corresponds one of A ^ ua 
 
 the four elements. The diagram will illustrate. 
 
 6 This doctrine of the decupla ratio of density of the elements was suggested by a 
 passage in Aristotle [De Gen. et Cor. ii. 6.]. It is found in all books of mediaeval 
 physics. Cf. the Margarita Philosophies, ix. c. 4., or Alsted's Encyclopedia, where tt 
 is thus expressed : " Proportio elementorum ad se invicem ratione transmutationis est 
 decupla, ratione magnitudinis non satis explorata." The transmutability of one 
 element into another is an essential part of the Peripatetic doctrine of elements. It is 
 found also in the Timieus. 
 
 M 3
 
 166 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 XL VI. 
 
 Intellectus humanus, in iis quas semel placuerunt (aut quia 
 recepta sunt et credita, aut quia delectant), alia etiam omnia 
 trahit ad suftragationem et consensum cum illis ; et licet major 
 sit instantiarum vis et copia quae occurrunt in contrarium, 
 tamen eas aut non observat aut contemnit aut distinguendo 
 summovet et rejicit, non sine magno et pernicioso praejudicio, 
 quo prioribus illis syllepsibus authoritas maneat inviolata. 
 Itaque recte respondit ille, qui, cum suspensa tabula in templo 
 ei monstraretur eorum qui vota solverant quod naufragii peri- 
 culo elapsi sint, atque interrogando premeretur anne turn quidem 
 deorum numen agnosceret, quaasivit denuo, At uli sint illi 
 depicti qui post vota nuncupata perierint ? l Eadem ratio est 
 fere omnis superstitionis, ut in astrologicis, in somniis, ominibus, 
 nemesibus, et hujusmodi ; in quibus homines delectati hujus- 
 modi vanitatibus advertunt eventus ubi implentur, ast ubi 
 fallunt (licet multo frequentius) tamen negligunt et prsetereunt. 
 At longe subtilius serpit hoc malum in philosophiis et scientiis ; 
 in quibus quod semel placuit reliqua (licet multo firmiora et 
 potiora) inficit et in ordinem redigit. Quinetiam licet abfuerit 
 ea quam diximus delectatio et vanitas, is tamen humano in- 
 tellectui error est proprius et perpetuus, ut magis moveatur et 
 excitetur affinnativis quam negativis; cum rite et ordine 
 sequum se utrique prajbere debeat ; quin contra, in omni axiomate 
 vero constituendo, major est vis instantias negative. 
 
 XL VII. 
 
 Intellectus humanus illis qua3 simul et subito mentem ferire 
 et subire possunt maxime movetur ; a quibus phantasia impleri 
 et inflari consuevit ; reliqua vero modo quodam, licet imperce- 
 ptibili, ita se habere fingit et supponit, quomodo se habent pauca 
 ilia quibus mens obsidetur ; ad ilium vero transcursum ad in- 
 stantias remotas et heterogeneas, per quas axiomata tanquam 
 igne probantur, tardus omnino intellectus est et inhabilis, nisi 
 hoc illi per duras leges et violentum imperium miponatur. 
 
 XL VIII. 
 
 Gliscit intellectus humanus, neque consistere aut acquiescere 
 potis est, sed ulterius petit; at frustra. Itaque incogitabile 
 
 1 This story is told of Diagoras by Cicero, De Nat. Deor. in., and of Diogenes the 
 Cynic by Diogenes Laertius.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 167 
 
 est ut sit aliquid extremum aut extimum mundi, sed semper 
 quasi necessario occurrit ut sit aliquid ulterius l : neque rursus 
 cogitari potest quomodo aeternitas defluxerit ad hunc diem; 
 cum distinctio ilia quae recipi consuevit, quod sit infinitum a 
 parte ante et a parte post, nullo modo constare possit; quia 
 inde sequeretur, quod sit unum infinitum alio infinito majus, 
 atque ut consumatur infinitum, et vergat ad finitum. Similis 
 est subtilitas de lineis semper divisibilibus 2 , ex impotentia cogi- 
 tationis. At majore cum pernicie intervenit haec impotentia 
 mentis in inventione causarum : nam cum maxime universalia in 
 natura positiva esse debeant, quemadmodum inveniuntur, neque 
 sunt revera causabilia ; tamen intellectus humanus, nescius ac- 
 quiescere, adhuc appetit notiora. Turn vero ad ulteriora tendens 
 ad proximiora recidit, videlicet ad causas finales, qua3 sunt 
 plane ex natura hominis potius quam universi 3 ; atque ex hoc 
 fonte philosophiam miris modis corruperunt. Est autem seque 
 imperiti et leviter philosophantis, in maxime universalibus cau- 
 sam requirere, ac in subordinatis et subalternis causam non 
 desiderare. 4 
 
 XLIX. 
 Intellectus humanus luminis sicci non est 5 ; sed recipit infu- 
 
 1 Thus Leibnitz derived from the principle of sufficient reason a proof of the infinite 
 extent of the universe, alleging that if it were of finite dimensions no reason could 
 be given for its occupying any one region of space rather than any other. 
 
 * In the phrase " subtilitas de lineis semper divisibilibus," reference is made to Ari- 
 stotle, who in several places in his writings (particularly in the tract Trepl ctT^/tow ypap.- 
 (MiTuv) maintains that in theory every magnitude is divisible sine limite. 
 
 8 This censure appears to be expressed without sufficient limitation ; for it is difficult 
 to assent to the assertion that the notion of the final cause, considered generally, is 
 more ex natura hominis than that of the efficient. The subject is one of which it is 
 difficult to speak accurately ; but it may be said that wherever we think that we re- 
 cognise a tendency towards a fulfilment or realisation of an idea, there the notion of 
 the final cause comes in. It can only be from inadvertence that Professor Owen has 
 set the doctrine of the final cause as it were in antithesis to that of the unity of type : 
 by the former he means the doctrine that the suitability of an animal to its mode of 
 life is the one thing aimed at or intended in its structure. It cannot be doubted that 
 Aristotle would have recognised the preservation of the type as not less truly a final 
 cause than the preservation of the species or than the well-being of the individual. 
 The final cause connects itself with what in the language of modern German philo- 
 sophy is expressed by the phrase " the Idea in Nature." 
 
 4 effTt 7cip aTratStvffia -rb ft)j yiyvcvffKiv rivcav Se? JrjTeli' air68eitv Kal ffvtev ov 8e?, 
 8\ws fJ.fv yap airdfToiv aSwarov a.ir6Sfitv flvaf eh faretpov y&p &j/ /3a5i'ot SXTTC /u^}5' 
 OVTCOS elvai air<(5eiji/. Metaph.,iii. 4. 
 
 5 Heraclitus apud Plut, De Esu Carnium. This doctrine of Idols is spoken of 
 with great disrespect by Spinoza. He asserts that neither Des Cartes nor Bacon ever 
 perceived the true source of error, and adds : " De Bacone parum dicam, qui de 
 bac re admodum confuse loquitur, et fere nihil probat, sed tantum narrat : " and 
 concludes by saying, " quas adhuc alias causas adsignat (he has just enumerated 
 
 M 4
 
 168 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 sionem a voluntate et affectibus, id quod generat Ad quod vult 
 scientias. Quod enim mavult homo verum esse, id potius cre- 
 dit. Rejicit itaque difficilia, ob inquirendi impatientiam ; sobria, 
 quia coarctant spem; altiora naturae, propter superstitionem ; 
 lumen experientiae, propter arrogantiam et fastum, ne videatur 
 mens versari in vilibus et fluxis ; paradoxa, propter opinionem 
 vulgi ; denique innumeris modis, iisque interclum imperceptibi- 
 libus, affectus intellectum imbuit et inficit. 
 
 L. 
 
 At longe maximum impedimentum et aberratio intellectus 
 humani provenit a stupore et incompetentia et fallaciis sen- 
 suum ; ut ea quae sensum feriant, illis quae sensum immediate 
 non feriunt, licet potioribus, praeponderent. Itaque contem- 
 platio fere desinit cum aspectu ; adeo ut rerum invisibilium 
 exigua aut nulla sit observatio. Itaque omnis operatic spiri- 
 tuum in corporibus tangibilibus inclusorum latet, et homines 
 fugit. Omnis etiam subtilior meta-schematismus in partibus 
 rerum crassiorum (quern vulgo alterationem vocant, cum sit 
 revera latio per minima) latet similiter : et tamen nisi duo ista 
 quae diximus explorata fuerint et in lucem producta, nihil 
 magni fieri potest in natura quoad opera. Rursus ipsa natura 
 aeris communis et corporum omnium quae aerem tenuitate 
 superant (quae plurima sunt) fere incognita est. Sensus enim 
 per se res infinna est et aberrans ; neque organa ad amplifican- 
 dos sensus aut acuendos multum valent ; sed omnis verier inter- 
 pretatio naturae conficitur per instantias, et experimenta idonea 
 et apposita ; ubi sensus de experimento tantum, experimentum 
 de natura et re ipsa judicat. 
 
 Li. 
 
 Intellectus humanus fertur ad abstracta propter naturam 
 propriam, atque ea quae fluxa sunt fingit esse constantia. 
 Melius autem est naturam secare, quam abstrahere l ; id quod 
 Democriti schola fecit, quae magis penetravit in naturam quam 
 reliquae. Materia potius considerari debet, et ejus schematism! 
 et meta-schematismi, atque actus purus, et lex actus sive 
 
 three of the Idols of the Tribe) facile omnes ad unicam Cartesii reduci possunt ; scilicet 
 quia voluntas humana est libera et latior intellectu ; sive, ut ipse Verulamius raagis 
 confuse loquitur, quia intellectus luminis sicci non est, sed recipit infusionem a volun- 
 tate." See Spinoza to Oldenbnry, ep. 2. vol. ii. p. 146. of Bruder's edition. 
 
 1 " Naturam secare," to dissect nature into her constituent parts ; " Naturam abs- 
 trahere," to resolve nature into abstractions.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 169 
 
 motus ; Fonnse enim commenta animi human! sunt, nisi libeat 
 leges illas actus Formas appellare. 
 
 LII. 
 
 Hujusmodi itaque sunt Idola, quae vocamus Idola Tribus ; 
 quje ortum habent aut ex sequalitate substantial spiritus hu- 
 mani l ; aut ex praeoccupatione ejus ; aut ab angustiis ejus ; aut 
 ab inquieto motu ejus ; aut ab infusione affectuum ; aut ab in- 
 competentia sensuum ; aut ab impressionis modo. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 Idola Specus ortum habent ex propria cujusque natura et 
 animi et corporis ; atque etiam ex educatione, et consuetudine, 
 et fortuitis. Quod genus licet sit varium et multiplex, tamen 
 ea proponemus in quibus maxima cautio est, quaeque plurimum 
 valent ad polluendum intellectum ne sit purus. 
 
 LIV. 
 
 Adamant homines scientias et contemplationes particulares ; 
 aut quia authores et inventores se earum credunt; aut quia 
 plurimum in illis operce posuerunt, iisque maxime assueverunt. 
 Hujusmodi vero homines, si ad philosophiam et contemplationes 
 universales se contulerint, illas ex prioribus phantasiis detor- 
 quent et corrumpunt ; id quod maxime conspicuum cernitur in 
 Aristotele, qui naturalem suam philosophiam logicse suae prorsus 
 mancipavit, ut earn fere inutilem et contentiosam reddiderit. 
 Chymicorum autem genus, ex paucis experimentis fornacis, phi- 
 losophiam constituerunt phantasticam et ad pauca spectantem. 
 Quinetiam Gilbertus, postquam in contemplationibus magnetis 
 se laboriosissime exercuisset, confinxit statim philosophiam con- 
 sentaneam rei apud ipsum prsepollenti. 
 
 LV. 
 
 Maximum et velut radicale discrimen ingeniorum, quoad phi- 
 losophiam et scientias, illud est ; quod alia ingenia sint fortiora 
 et aptiora ad notandas rerum differentias, alia ad notandas 
 rerum similitudines. Ingenia enim constantia et acuta figere 
 contemplationes et morari et hasrere in omni subtilitate differen- 
 tiarum possunt: ingenia autem sublimia et discursiva etiam 
 tenuissimas et catholicas rerum similitudines et agnoscunt et 
 componunt. Utrumque autem ingenium facile labitur in exces- 
 sum, prensando aut gradus rerum aut umbras. 
 
 1 Compare Advanc. of Learning : " That the spirit of man being of an equal and 
 uniform substance doth usually suppose and feign in nature a greater equality and 
 uniformity than is in truth." J. S.
 
 170 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 Reperiuntur ingenia alia in admirationem antiquitatis, alia in 
 amorem et amplexum novitatis effusa ; pauca vero ejus tempera- 
 menti sunt ut modum tenere possint, quin aut quae recte posita 
 sunt ab antiquis convellant, aut ea contemnant quae recte 
 afferuntur a no vis. Hoc vero magno scientiarum et philosophize 
 detrimento fit ; quum studia potius sint antiquitatis et novitatis, 
 quam judicia ; veritas autem non a felicitate temporis alicujus, 
 quae res varia est, sed a lumine naturae et experientiae, quod 
 aeternum est, petenda est. Itaque abneganda sunt ista studia, 
 et videndum ne intellectus ab illis ad consensum abripiatur. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 Contemplationes naturae et corporum in simplicitate sua, 
 intellectuni frangunt et comminuunt l : contemplationes vero 
 naturae et corporum in compositione et configuratione sua, 
 intellectum stupefaciunt et solvunt. 2 Id optime cernitur in 
 schola Leucippi et Democriti 3 , collata cum reliquis philosophiis. 
 Ilia enim ita versatur in particulis rerum, ut fabricas fere 
 negligat : reliquae autem ita fabricas intuentur attonitae, ut ad 
 simplicitatem naturae non penetrent. Itaque alternandae sunt 
 contemplationes istae et vicissim sumendae; ut intellectus 
 reddatur simul penetrans et capax, et evitentur ea quae dixinius 
 incommoda atque Idola ex iis provenientia. 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 Talis itaque esto prudentia contemplativa in arcendis et 
 summovendis Idolis Specus; quae aut ex praedominantia, aut 
 ex excessu compositionis et divisionis, aut ex studiis erga tem- 
 pora, aut ex objectis largis et minutis, maxime ortum habent. 
 Generaliter autem pro suspecto habendum unicuique rerum 
 riaturam contemplanti, quicquid intellectum suum potissimum 
 capit et detinet ; tantoque major adhibenda in hujusmodi placitis 
 est cautio, ut intellectus servetur aequus et purus. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 At Idola Fori omnium molestissima sunt ; qua? ex foedere ver- 
 borum et nominum se insinuarunt in intellectum. Credunt 
 enim homines rationem suam verbis imperare ; sed fit etiam ut 
 verba vim suam super intellectum retorqueant et reflectant; 
 
 1 i. e. Break up the understanding and distract it in minute observation of the 
 parts. J. S. 
 
 2 t. e. Astonish and dissolve it in a vain endeavour to take in the whole. /. S. 
 
 3 That is, in the Atomists.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 171 
 
 quod philosophiam et scientias reddidit sophisticas et inactivas. 
 Verba autem plerunque ex captu vulgi induntur, atque per 
 lineas vulgar! intellectui maxime conspicuas res secant. Quum 
 autem intellectus acutior aut observatio diligentior eas lineas 
 transferre velit, ut illse sint magis secundum naturam, verba 
 obstrepunt. Unde fit ut niagnse et solennes disputationes ho- 
 minum doctorum saspe in controversias circa verba et nomina 
 desinant ; a quibus (ex more et prudentia mathematicorum) in- 
 cipere consultius foret, casque per definitiones in ordinem redi- 
 gere. Quae tamen definitiones, in naturalibus et materiatis, 
 huic malo mederi non possunt; quoniam et ipsae definitiones 
 ex verbis constant, et verba gignunt verba : adeo ut necesse sit 
 ad instantias particulares earumque series et ordines recurrere ; 
 ut mox dicemus, quum ad modum et rationem constituendi 
 notiones et axiomata deventum fuerit. 
 
 LX. 
 
 Idola quae per verba intellectui imponuntur duorum generum 
 sunt. Aut enim sunt rerum nomina quae non sunt (quemadmo- 
 dum enim sunt res quae nomine carent per inobservationem, 
 ita sunt et nomina quae carent rebus per suppositionem phan- 
 tasticam) ; aut sunt nomina rerum quae sunt, sed confusa et male 
 terminata, et temere et inaequaliter a rebus abstracts. Prioris 
 generis sunt Fortuna, Primum Mobile, Planetarum Orbes, Ele- 
 mentum Ignis, et hujusmodi commenta, quae a vanis et falsis 
 theoriis ortum habent. Atque hoc genus Idolorum facilius 
 ejicitur, quia per constantem abnegationem et antiquationem 
 theoriarum exterminari possunt. 
 
 At alterum genus perplexum est et alte haerens; quod ex 
 mala et imperita abstractione excitatur. Exempli gratia, 
 accipiatur aliquod verbum (Humidum, si placet), et videamus 
 quomodo sibi constent quae per hoc verbum significantur ; 
 et invenietur verbum istud Humidum nihil aliud quam nota 
 confusa diversarum actionum, quae nullam constantiam aut 
 reductionem patiuntur. Significat enim et quod circa aliud 
 corpus facile se circumfundit ; et quod in se est indeterminabile, 
 nee consistere potest ; et quod facile cedit undique ; et quod 
 facile se dividit et dispergit ; et quod facile se unit et colligit ; 
 et quod facile fluit et in motu ponitur ; et quod alteri corpori 
 facile adhaeret, idque madefacit; et quod facile reducitur in 
 liquidum, sive colliquatur, cum antea consisteret. Itaque cum 
 ad hujus nominis prsedicationem et impositionem ventum sit, si
 
 172 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 alia accipias, flamma humida est ; si alia accipias, aer humidus 
 non est ; si alia, pulvis minutus humidus est ; si alia, vitrum 
 humidum est ; ut facile appareat istam notionem ex aqua tan- 
 turn et communibus et vulgaribus liquoribus, absque ulla debita 
 verificatione, temere abstractam esse. 
 
 In verbis autem gradus sunt quidam pravitatis et erroris. 
 Minus vitiosum genus est nominum substantive alicujus, pras- 
 sertim specierum infimarum et bene deductarum (nara notio 
 Gretas, Luti, bona ; Terras mala) ; vitiosius genus est actionum, 
 ut Generare, Corrumpere, Alterare : vitiosissimum qualitatuni 
 (exceptis objectis sensus immediatis), ut Gravis, Levis, Tenuis, 
 Densi, etc. ; et tamen in omnibus istis fieri non potest, quin sint 
 aliae notiones aliis paulo meliores, prout in sensum humanum 
 incidit rerum copia. 1 
 
 LXI. 
 
 At Idola Theatri innata non sunt, nee occulto insinuata in 
 intellectum ; sed ex fabulis theoriarum et perversis legibus de- 
 monstrationum plane indita et recepta. In his autem confutatio- 
 nes tentare et suscipere consentaneum prorsus non est illis quae 
 a nobis dicta sunt. Quum enim nee de principiis consentiamus 
 nee de demonstrationibus, tollitur omnis argumentatio. Id vero 
 bono fit fato, ut antiquis suus constet honos. Nihil enim illis 
 detrahitur, quum de via omnino quaestio sit. Claudus enim (ut 
 dicitur) in via antevertit cursorem extra viam. Etiam illud 
 manifesto liquet, currenti extra viam, quo habilior sit et velo- 
 cior, eo majorem contingere aberrationem. 
 
 Nostra vero inveniendi scientias ea est ratio, ut non multum 
 ingeniorum acumini et robori relinquatur ; sed quae ingenia et 
 intellectus fere exaaquet. Quemadmodum enim ad hoc, ut linea 
 recta fiat aut circulus perfectus describatur, multum est in con- 
 stantia et exercitatione manus, si fiat ex vi manus propria ; sin 
 autem adhibeatur regula aut circinus, parum aut nihil ; omnino 
 similis est nostra ratio. Licet autem confutationum particula- 
 rium nullus sit usus, de sectis tamen et generibus hujusmodi 
 theoriarum nonnihil dicendum est ; atque etiam paulo post de 
 signis exterioribus, quod se male habeant ; et postremo de causis 
 
 1 Here, according to the tripartite distribution of the subject mentioned in aphorism 
 115, the first of the three Redargutiones ends. The following aphorisms from 61 
 to 115 contain the two others, Redargutio Philosophiarum and Redargutio Demon- 
 strationum, which are not kept quite separate. The 69th and 70th aphorisms bi-long 
 especially to the last J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 173 
 
 tantas infelicitatis et tarn diuturni et generalis in errore consen- 
 sus ; ut ad vera minus difficilis sit aditus, et intellectus humanus 
 volentius expurgetur et Idola dimittat. 
 
 LXII. 
 
 Idola Theatri, sive theoriarum, multa sunt, et multo plura 
 esse possunt, et aliquando fortasse erunt. Nisi enim per multa 
 jam saecula hominum ingenia circa religionem et theologiam 
 occupata fuissent, atque etiam politiae civiles (praesertim mo- 
 narchiae) ab istiusmodi novitatibus, etiam in contemplationibus, 
 essent aversae ; ut cum periculo et detrimento fortunarum sua- 
 rum in illas homines incumbant, non solum praemio destituti, 
 sed etiam contemptui et invidise expositi ; complures alia? pro- 
 culdubio philosophiarum et theoriarum sectae, similes illis quae 
 magna varietate olim apud Graecos floruerunt, introductae fuis- 
 sent. Quemadmodum enim super phaenomena ajtheris plura 
 themata cceli confingi possunt ; similiter, et multo magis, super 
 phaenomena philosophise fundari possunt et constitui varia do- 
 gmata. Atque hujusmodi theatri fabulas habent etiam illud 
 quod in theatro poetarum usu venit, ut narrationes fictae ad 
 scenam narrationibus ex historia veris concinniores sint et ele- 
 gantiores, et quales quis magis vellet. 
 
 In genere autem, in materiam philosophiae sumitur aut multum 
 ex paucis aut parum ex multis ; ut utrinque philosophia super 
 experientiae et naturalis historiae nimis angustam basin fundata 
 sit, atque ex paucioribus quam par est pronunciet. Rationale 
 enim genus philosophantium ex experientia arripiunt varia et 
 vulgaria, eaque neque certo comperta nee diligenter examinata 
 et pensitata; reliqua in meditatione atque ingenii agitatione 
 ponunt. 
 
 Est et aliud genus philosophantium, qui in paucis experi- 
 mentis sedulo et accurate elaborarunt, atque inde philosophias 
 cducere et confingere ausi sunt ; reliqua miris modis ad ea 
 detorquentes. 
 
 Est et tertium genus eorum, qui theologiam et traditiones ex 
 fide et veneratione immiscent ; inter quos vanitas nonnullorum 
 ad petendas et derivandas scientias a Spiritibus scilicet et Geniis 
 deflexit ; ita ut stirps errorum, et philosophia falsa, genere tri- 
 plex sit : Sophistica, Empirica, et Superstitiosa. 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 Primi generis exemplum in Aristotele maxime conspicuum 
 est, qui philosophiam naturalem dialectica sua corrupit ; quum
 
 174 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 mundum ex categoriis efFecerit; animae humane, nobilissimae 
 substantial genus ex vocibus secundae intentionis tribuerit l ; 
 negotium Densi et Ran, per quod corpora subeunt majores et 
 minores dimensiones sive spatia, per frigidam distinctionem 
 Actus et Potentiae 2 transegerit ; motum singulis corporibus 
 unicum et proprium 3 , et si participent ex alio motu id aliunde 
 moveri, asseruerit; et innumera alia, pro arbitrio suo, naturae 
 rerum imposuerit: magis ubique sollicitus quomodo quis re- 
 spondendo se explicet, et aliquid reddatur in verbis positivum, 
 quam de interna rerum veritate ; quod etiam optime se ostendit 
 in comparatione philosophies ejus ad alias philosophias quae 
 apud Grsecos celebrabantur. Habent enim Homoiomera Anaxa- 
 gorae, Atomi Leucippi et Democriti, Coelum et Terra Parmeni- 
 dis, Lis et Amicitia Empedoclis, Resolutio corporum in adiapho- 
 ram naturam ignis et Replicatio eorundem ad densum Heracliti, 
 aliquid ex philosopho naturali, et rerum naturam et experientiam 
 et corpora sapiunt; ubi Aristotelis Physica nihil aliud quam 
 dialecticae voces plerunque sonet ; quam etiam in Metaphysicis 
 sub solenniore nomine, et ut magis scilicet realis, non nominalis, 
 retractavit. .Neque illud quenquam moveat, quod in libris ejus 
 de animalibus, et in problematibus, et in aliis suis tractatibus, 
 versatio frequens sit in experimentis. Ille enim prius decre- 
 verat, neque experientiam ad constituenda decreta et axiomata 
 rite consuluit; sed postquam pro arbitrio suo decrevisset, ex- 
 perientiam ad sua placita tortam circumducit et captivam; ut 
 hoc etiam nomine magis accusandus sit, quam sectatores ejus 
 moderni (scholasticorum philosophorum genus) qui experientiam 
 omnino deseruerunt. 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 At philosophiae genus Empiricum placita magis deformia et 
 monstrosa educit, quam Sophisticum aut rationale genus ; quia 
 non in luce notionum vulgarium (quae licet tenuis sit et super- 
 ficialis, tamen est quodammodo universalis et ad multa pertinens) 
 
 1 This censure refers to Aristotle's definition of the soul, DeAnima,'\\. 1., rjirptarr] 
 tvTe\fxtia, 0-ta/j.aros Qvffiicov opyavitcov, in which the word Entelecheia is, as the 
 scholastic commentators remark, assigned as the genus to which the soul is referred. 
 
 2 The " frigida distinctio actus et potentiae " refers apparently to the Phys. Ansc. 
 iv. c. 5. ; where it is said that water is air in potentia, and vice versa. The possi- 
 bility of their reciprocal transmutation Bacon does not appear to have doubted of. 
 [With reference to this censure of Aristotle, see the preface to the Historia Densi et 
 Rari /. S.~\ 
 
 " Simplicis corporis simplicem esse motum " is an important principle in Aristo- 
 telian physics, as one of the bases on which the system of the universe was made to 
 depend. See, for instance, Melanchthon's Initia Doctr. Physica, p. 41.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 175 
 
 sed in paucorum experimentorum angustiis et obscuritate 
 fundatum est. Itaque tails philosophia illis qui in hujusmodi 
 experimentis quotidie versantur atque ex ipsis phantasiam 
 contaminarunt probabilis videtur, et quasi certa; caateris, in- 
 credibilis et vana. Cujus exemplum notabile est in chymicis, 
 eorumque dogmatibus ; alibi autem vix hoc tempore invenitur, 
 nisi forte in philosophia Gilberti. Sed tamen circa hujusmodi 
 philosophias cautio nullo modo praetermittenda erat ; quia mente 
 jam praevidemus et auguramur, si quando homines, nostris 
 monitis excitati, ad experientiani se serio contulerint (valere 
 jussis doctrinis sophisticis), turn demum propter praematuram et 
 praeproperam intellectus festinationem, et saltum sive volatum 
 ad generalia et rerum principia, fore ut magnum ab hujusmodi 
 philosophiis periculum immineat ; cui malo etiam nunc obviam 
 ire debemus. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 At corruptio philosophies ex Superstitione et theologia ad- 
 mista, latius omnino patet, et plurimum mali infert, aut in 
 philosophias integras aut in earum partes. Humanus enim 
 intellectus non minus impressionibus phantasiae est obnoxius, 
 quam impressionibus vulgarium notionum. Pugnax enim genus 
 philosophiae et Sophisticum illaqueat intellectum: at illud 
 alterum phantasticum et tumidum, et quasi Poeticum, magis 
 blanditur intellectui. Inest enim homini quaedam intellectua 
 ambitio, non minor quam voluntatis ; praesertim in ingeniis altis 
 et elevatis. 
 
 Hujus autem generis exemplum inter Graecos illucescit, 
 praecipue in Pythagora, sed cum superstitione magis crassa et 
 onerosa conjunctum; at periculosius et subtilius in Platone, 
 atque ejus schola. Invenitur etiam hoc genus mali in partibus 
 philosophiarum reliquarum, introducendo formas abstractas, et 
 causas finales, et causas primas; omittendo saepissime medias, 
 et hujusmodi. Huic autem rei summa adhibenda est cautio. 
 Pessima enim res est errorum Apotheosis, et pro peste intellectus 
 habenda est, si vanis accedat veneratio. Huic autem vanitati 
 nonnulli ex modernis summa levitate ita indulserunt, ut in 
 primo capitulo Geneseos et in libro Job et aliis scripturis 
 sacris, philosophiam naturalem fundare conati sint; inter viva 
 gu&rentes mortua. Tantoque magis hsec vanitas inhibenda 
 venit et coercenda, quia ex divinorum et humanorum malesana 
 admistione non solum educitur philosophia phantastica, sed
 
 176 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 etiam religio haeretica. Itaque salutare admodum est, si mente 
 sobria fidei tantum dentur quae fidei sunt. 1 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 Et de mails authoritatibus philosophiarum, quae aut in vul- 
 garibus notionibus, aut in paucis experimentis, aut in super- 
 stitione fundatae sunt, jam dictum est. Dicendum porro est et 
 de vitiosa materia contemplationum, praesertim in philosophia 
 naturali. Inficitur autem intellectus humanus ex intuitu eorum 
 quse in artibus mechanicis fiunt, in quibus corpora per corn- 
 positiones aut separationes ut plurimum alterantur ; ut cogitet 
 simile quiddam etiam in natura rerum universali fieri. Unde 
 fluxit commentum illud Elementorum, atque illorum concursu, 
 ad constituenda corpora naturalia. Rursus, quum homo naturae 
 libertatem 2 contempletur, incidit in species rerum, animalmm, 
 plantarum, mineralium ; unde facile in earn labitur cogitationem, 
 ut existimet esse in natura quasdam formas rerum primarias, 
 quas natura educere molitur, atque reliquam varietatem ex im- 
 pedimentis et aberrationibus naturae in opere suo conficiendo, aut 
 ex diversarum specierum conflictu et transplantatione alterius 
 in alteram, provenire. Atque prima cogitatio qualitates primas 
 elementares, secunda proprietates occultas et virtutes specificas, 
 nobis peperit 3 ; quarum utraque pertinet ad inania contempla- 
 tionum compendia, in quibus acquiescit animus et a solidioribus 
 avertitur. At medici, in secundis rerum qualitatibus et opera- 
 tionibus, attrahendi, repellendi, attenuandi, inspissandi, dila- 
 tandi, astringendi, discutiendi, maturandi, et hujusmodi, operam 
 praestant meliorem ; atque nisi ex illis duobus (qua? dixi) 
 compendiis (qualitatibus scilicet elementaribus, et virtutibus 
 specificis) ilia altera (quae recte notata sunt) corrumperent, 
 reducendo ilia ad primas qualitates earumque mixturas subtiles 
 et incommensurabiles, aut ea non producendo cum majore et 
 diligentiore observatione ad qualitates tertias et quartas, sed 
 contemplationem intempestive abrumpendo, illi multo melius 
 profecissent. Neque hujusmodi virtutes (non dico eaedem, sed 
 
 1 Compare Kepler's phrase : " Missum faciat Spiritum Sanctum, neque ilium in 
 scholas physicas cum ludibrio pertrabat." De Stella Mortis Prafat. 
 
 2 That is, nature acting freely, in opposition to nature constrained by the con- 
 ditions of our experiments. 
 
 8 The elementary qualities are four in number, hot, cold, dry, moist ; and it is 
 by combining them two and two that the Peripatetic conception of the nature of 
 each element is formed. Thus fire is hot and dry, water cold and moist, &c. All the 
 other qualities of bodies, which result from the combination and mutual modification 
 of the elementary and primary qualities, were called secondary qualities.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 177 
 
 similes) in humani corporis meclicinis tantum exquirendae sunt; 
 seel etiam in caeterorum corporum naturalium mutationibus. 
 
 Sed multo adhuc majore cum malo fit, quod quiescentia 
 rerum principia, ex quibus, et non moventia, per qua, res fiunt, 
 contemplentur et inquirant. Ilia enim ad sermones, ista ad 
 opera spectant. Neque enim vulgares illae differentiae Motus, 
 quae innaturali philosophiareceptanotantur, Generationis, Cor- 
 ruptionis, Augmentationis, Diminutionis, Alterationis, et La- 
 tionis, ullius sunt pretii. 1 Quippe hoc sibi volunt; si corpus, alias 
 non mutatum, locotamen moveatur, hoc Lationem esse; si ma- 
 nente et loco et specie, qualitate mutetur, hoc Alterationem esse ; 
 si vero ex ilia mutatione moles ipsa et quantitas corporis non 
 eadem maneat, hoc Augmentationis et Diminutionis motum 
 esse; si eatenus mutentur ut speciem ipsam et substantiam 
 mutent et in alia migrent, hoc Generationem et Corruptionem 
 esse. At ista mere popularia sunt, et nullo modo in naturam 
 penetrant ; suntque mensuras et periodi tantum, non species 
 motus. Innuunt enim illud hucusque, et non quomodo vel ex 
 quo fonte. Neque enim de corporum appetitu, aut de partium 
 eorum processu, aliquid significant; sed tantum quum motus 
 ille rena aliter ac prius, crasso modo, sensui exhibeat, inde divi- 
 sionem suam auspicantur. Etiam quum de causis motuum 
 aliquid significare volunt, atque divisionem ex illis instituere, 
 difFerentiam motus naturalis et violenti, maxima cum socordia, 
 introducunt ; quae et ipsa omnino ex notione vulgar! est ; cum 
 onmis motus violentus etiam naturalis revera sit, scilicet cum 
 externum efficiens naturam alio modo in opere ponet quam quo 
 prius. 
 
 At hisce omissis ; si quis (exempli gratia) observaverit, 
 inesse corporibus appetitum contactus ad invicem, ut non 
 patiantur unitatem naturae prorsus dirimi aut abscindi, ut 
 vacuum detur ; aut si quis dicat, inesse corporibus appetitum 
 se recipiendi in naturalem suam dimensionem vel tensuram, ut 
 si ultra earn aut citra earn comprimantur aut distrahantur, 
 statim in veterem sphaeram et exporrectionem suam se recupe- 
 rare et remittere moliantur ; aut si quis dicat, inesse corporibus 
 appetitum congregationis ad massas connaturalium suorum, 
 densorum videlicet versus orbem terrae, tenuiorum et rariorum 
 versus ambitum coeli; haec et hujusmodi vere physica sunt 
 
 1 In the Physics, Aristotle does not reckon Generation and Corruption as kinds of 
 motion. Bacon's enumeration is that given in the Categories. 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 genera motuum ; at ilia altera plane logica sunt et scholastics, 
 ut ex hac collatione eorum manifesto liquet. 
 
 Neque minus etiam malum est, quod in philosophiis et con- 
 templationibus suis, in principiis rerum atque ultimitatibus 
 nature investigandis et tractandis opera insumatur ; cum omnis 
 utilitas et facultas operand! in mediis consistat. Hinc fit, ut 
 abstrahere naturam homines non desinant, donee ad materiam 
 potentialem et informem ventum fuerit ; nee rursus secare 
 naturam desinant, donee perventum fuerit ad atomum ; quas, 
 etiamsi vera essent, tamen ad juvandas hominum fortunas 
 parum possunt. 1 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 Danda est etiam cautio intellectui de intemperantiis philoso- 
 phiarum, quoad assensum praebendum aut cohibendum ; quia 
 hujusmodi intemperantiae videntur Idola figere, et quodammodo 
 perpetuare, ne detur aditus ad ea summovenda. 
 
 Duplex autem est excessus : alter eorum qui facile pronun- 
 ciant, et scientias reddunt positivas et magistrales; alter eorum 
 qui Acatelepsiam introduxerunt, et inquisitionem vagam sine 
 termino ; quorum primus intellectum deprimit, alter enervat. 
 Nam Aristotelis philosophia, postquam ceteras philosophias 
 (more Ottomanorum erga fratres suos) pugnacibus confutationi- 
 bus contrucidasset, de singulis pronunciavit ; et ipse rursus 
 qusestiones ex arbitrio suo subornat, deinde conficit ; ut omnia 
 certa sint et decreta ; quod etiam apud successiones suas valet, 
 et in usu est. 
 
 At Platonis schola Acatalepsiam introduxit, primo tanquam 
 per jocum et ironiam, in odium veterum sophistarum, Prota- 
 gorae, Hippiae, et reliquorum, qui nihil tarn verebantur quam 
 ne dubitare de re aliqua viderentur. 2 At Nova Academia 
 Acatalepsiam dogmatizavit, et ex professo tenuit. Quae licet 
 honestior ratio sit quam pronunciandi licentia, quum ipsi pro se 
 dicant se minime confundere inquisitionem, ut Pyrrho fecit et 
 Ephectici, sed habere quod sequantur ut probabile, licet non 
 habeant quod teneant ut verum ; tamen postquam animus huma- 
 
 1 The construction of this sentence is somewhat abrupt. The relative qua must 
 be referred to some such antecedent as " doctrines of this character ; " and for possunt 
 we ought to read possent. For the antithesis between abstrahere and secare, see 51. 
 The first part of Bacon's censure refers to Aristotle. 
 
 2 " Turn Velleius, fidenter sane, ut solent isti, nihil tarn verens quam ne dubitare 
 aliqua de re videretur ; tanquam modo ex Dcorum concilio et exEpicuri intermundiis 
 descendisset ; Audite, inquit," &c. Cic. De Nat. Dear. i. c. 8.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 179 
 
 nus de veritate invenienda semel desperaverit, omnino omnia 
 fiunt languidiora : ex quo fit, ut deflectant homines potius ad 
 amoenas disputationes et discursus, et rerum quasdam peragra- 
 tiones, quam in severitate inquisitionis se sustineant. Verum 
 quod a principio diximus, et perpetuo agimus, sensui et intel- 
 lectui humano eorumque infirmitali authoritas non est dero- 
 ganda, sed auxilia praebenda. 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 Atque de Idolorum singulis generibus, eorumque apparatu 
 jam diximus ; quae omnia constant! et solenni decreto sunt ab- 
 neganda et renuncianda, et intellectus ab iis omnino liberandus 
 est et expurgandus ; ut non alius fere sit aditus ad regnum homi- 
 nis, quod fundatur in scientiis, quam ad regnum crelorum, in 
 quod, nisi sub persona infantis, intrare non datur. 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 At pravae demonstrations, Idolorum veluti munitiones quas- 
 dam sunt et praesidia ; eaeque quas in dialecticis habemus id fere 
 agunt, ut mundum plane cogitationibus humanis, cogitationes 
 autem verbis, addicant et mancipent. Demonstrationes vero 
 potentia quadam philosophiae ipsae sunt et scientiaa. Quales 
 enim eae sunt, ac prout rite aut male institutes, tales sequuntur 
 philosophiae et contemplationes. Fallunt autem et incompe- 
 tentes sunt eae quibus utimur in universe illo processu qui a 
 sensu et rebus ducit ad axiomata et conclusiones. Qui quidem 
 processus quadruplex est, et vitia ejus totidem. Primo, im- 
 pressiones sensus ipsius vitiosse sunt ; sensus enim et destituit 
 et fallit. At destitutionibus substitutiones, fallaciis rectificatio- 
 nes debentur. Secundo, notiones ab impressionibus sensuum 
 male abstrahuntur, et interminatae et confusae sunt, quas termi- 
 natas et bene finitas esse oportuit. Tertio, inductio mala est, 
 quae per enumerationem simplicem principia concludit scien- 
 tiarum, non adhibitis exclusionibus et solutionibus, sive sepa- 
 rationibus naturae debitis. Postremo, modus ille inveniendi et 
 probandi, ut primo principia maxime generalia constituantur, 
 deinde media axiomata ad ea applicentur et probentur, errorum 
 mater est et scientiarum omnium calamitas. Verum de istis, 
 quae jam obiter perstringimus, fusius dicemus, cum veram inter- 
 pretandae naturae viam, absolutis istis expiationibus et expurga- 
 tionibus mentis, proponemus. 
 
 LXX. 
 
 Sed demonstratio longe optima est experientia ; modo haereat 
 
 N 2
 
 180 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 in ipso experimento. Nam si traducatur ad alia qua? similiit 
 existimantur, nisi rite et ordine fiat ilia traductio, res fallax est. 
 At modus experiendi quo homines nunc utuntur csecus est et 
 stupidus. Itaque cum errant et vagantur nulla via certa, sed 
 ex occursu rerum tantum consilium capiunt, circumferuntur ad 
 multa sed parum promovent ; et quandoque gestiunt quando- 
 que distrahuntur ; et semper inveniunt quod ulterius quaerant. 
 Fere autem ita fit, ut homines leviter et tanquam per ludum 
 experiantur, variando paululum experimenta jam cognita; et 
 si res non succedat, fastidiendo et conatum deserendo. Quod 
 si magis serio et constanter ac laboriose ad experimenta se ac- 
 cingant, tamen in uno aliquo experimento eruendo operam collo- 
 cant; quemadmodum Gilbertus in magnete, chymici in auro. 
 Hoc autem faciunt homines institute non minus imperito quam 
 tenui. Nemo enim alicujus rei naturam in ipsa re foeliciter 
 perscrutatur, sed amplianda est inquisitio ad magis communia. 
 
 Quod si etiam scientiam quandam et dogmata ex experimen- 
 tis moliantur, tamen semper fere studio praepropero et intem- 
 pestivo deflectunt ad praxin ; non tantum propter usum et 
 fructum ejusmodi praxeos, sed ut in opere aliquo novo veluti 
 pignus sibi arripiant, se non inutiliter in reliquis versaturos; 
 atque etiam aliis se venditent, ad existimationem meliorem 
 comparandam de iis in quibus occupati sunt. Ita fit ut, more 
 Atalantse, de via decedant ad tollendum aureum pomum ; interim 
 vero cursum interrumpant, et victoriam emittant e manibus. 
 Verum in experientias vero curriculo, eoque ad nova opera pro- 
 ducendo,Divina Sapientia omnino et ordo pro exemplari sumenda 
 sunt. Deus autem primo die creationis lucem tantum creavit, 
 eique operi diem integrum attribuit; nee aliquid material i 
 opens eo die creavit. Similiter et ex omnimoda experientia, 
 primum inventio causarum et axiomatum verorum elicienda 
 est; et lucifera experimenta, non fructifera quaerenda. Axiomata 
 autem recte inventa et constituta praxin non strictim sed con- 
 fertim instruunt, et operum agmina ac turmas post se trahunt. 
 Verum de experiendi viis, quae non minus quam vise judicandi 
 obsessae sunt et interclusae, postea dicemus ; imprsesentiarum de 
 experientia vulgari, tanquam de mala demonstratione, tantum 
 loquuti. Jam vero postulat ordo rerum, ut de iis quorum paulo 
 ante mentionem fecimus signis, quod philosophiae et cSntempla- 
 tiones in usu male se habeant, et de causis rei primo intuitu 
 tarn mirabilis et incredibilis, quaedam subjungamus. Signorum
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 181 
 
 emm notio praeparat assensum : causarum vero explicatio tollit 
 miraculum. Quae duo ad extirpationem Idolorum ex intellectu 
 faciliorem et clementiorem multum juvant. 
 
 LXXI. 
 
 Scientiae quas habemus fere a Graecis fluxerunt. Quae 
 enim scriptores Roman! aut Arabes aut recentiores addiderunt, 
 non multa aut magni moment! sunt; et qualiacunque sint, 
 fundata sunt super basin eorum quse inventa sunt a Graecis. l 
 Erat autem sapientia Grascorum professoria, et in disputationes 
 effusa: quod genus inquisitioni veritatis adversissimum est. 
 Itaque nomen illud Sophistarum, quod per contemptum ab iis 
 qui se philosophos haberi voluerunt in antiques rhetores reje- 
 ctum et traductum est, Gorgiam, Protagoram, Hippiam, Polum, 
 etiam universo generi competit Platoni, Aristoteli, Zenoni, 
 Epicuro, Theophrasto, et eorum successoribus, Chrysippo, Car- 
 neadi, reliquis. Hoc tantum intererat ; quod prius genus 
 vagum fuerit et mercenarium, civitates circumcursando, et 
 eapientiam suam ostentando, et mercedem exigendo; alterum 
 vero solennius et generosius, quippe eorum qui sedes fixas ha- 
 buerunt, et scholas aperuerunt, et gratis philosophati sunt. 
 Sed tamen utrumque genus (licet caetera dispar) professorium 
 erat, et ad disputationes rem deducebat, et sectas quasdam atque 
 haereses philosophiae instituebat et propugnabat : ut essent fere 
 doctrinae eorum (quod non male cavillatus est Dionysius in 
 Platonem) Verba otiosorum senum ad imperitos juvenes. 2 At 
 antiquiores illi ex Graecis, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucip- 
 pus, Democritus, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Xenophanes, Philo- 
 laus, reliqui, (nam Pythagoram, ut superstitiosum, omittimus,) 
 scholas (quod novimus) non aperuerunt ; sed majore silentio, et 
 severius, et simplicius, id est, minore cum affectatione et osten- 
 tatione, ad inquisitionem veritatis se contulerunt. Itaque et 
 melius, ut arbitramur, se gesserunt ; nisi quod opera eorum a 
 levioribus istis, qui vulgari captui et affectui magis respondent 
 ac placent, tractu temporis extincta sint: tempore (ut fluvio) 
 leviora et magis inflata ad nos devehente, graviora et solida 
 mergente. Neque tamen isti a nationis vitio prorsus immunes 
 erant : sed in ambitionem et vanitatem sectas condendas et aurae 
 
 1 M. Chasles appears to have shown this with respect to the principle of position in 
 arithmetic. We derive it, according to him, not from the Hindoos or Arabs, but from 
 the Greeks. It is remarkcible that the Chinese have from the earliest times known 
 how to express any number by means of a few characters. 
 
 2 ol \6yot aov ytpov-riiafft. Diog. Laert. in Platon. c. 1 8. 
 
 K 3
 
 182 NOVUM ORGANTJM. 
 
 ">opularis captandae mmium propendebant. Pro desperata au- 
 em habenda est veritatis inquisitio, cum ad hujusmodi inania 
 leflectat. Etiam non omittenduin videtur judicium illud, sive 
 vaticinium potius, sacerdotis .^Egyptii de Grascis : quod semper 
 pueri essent, neque haberent antiquitatem scienticB, aut scientiam 
 antiquitatis. l Et certe habent id quod puerorum est ; ut ad 
 garriendum prompt! sint, generare autem non possint: nam 
 verbosa videtur sapientia eorum, et operum sterilis. Itaque ex 
 ortu et gente philosophise quae in usu est, qua? capiuntur signa 
 bona non sunt. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 Neque multo meliora sunt signa quae ex natura temporis et 
 aetatis capi possunt, quam quje ex natura loci et nationis. An- 
 gusta enim erat et tenuis notitia per illam aetatem, vel temporis 
 vel orbis : quod longe pessimum est, praesertim iis qui omnia in 
 experientia ponunt. Neque enim mille annorum historiam, 
 qua? digna erat nomine historiae, habebant ; sed fabulas et 
 rumores antiquitatis. Regionum vero tractuumque mundi exi- 
 guam partem noverant; cum omnes hyperboreos, Scythas, 
 omnes occidentals, Celtas, indistincte appellarent : nil in Africa 
 ultra citimam .^Ethiopia? partem, nil in Asia ultra Gangem, 
 multo minus Novi Orbis provincias, ne per auditum sane aut 
 famam aliquam certain et constantem, nossent ; imo et plurima 
 climata et zona3, in quibus populi infiniti spirant et degunt, 
 tanquam inhabitabiles ab illis pronuntiata sint : quinetiam pere- 
 grinationes Democriti, Platonis, Pythagoras, non longinquae pro- 
 fecto sed potius suburbans?, ut magnum aliquid celebrarentur. 
 Nostris autem temporibus et Novi Orbis partes complures et 
 veteris orbis extrema undique innotescunt ; et in infinitum ex- 
 perimentorum cumulus excrevit. Quare si ex nativitatis aut 
 genitura? tempore (astrologorum more) signa capienda sint, nil 
 magni de istis philosophiis significari videtur. 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 Inter signa nullum magis certum aut nobile est, quam quod 
 ex fructibus. Fructus enim, et opera inventa, pro veritate phi- 
 losophiarum velut sponsores et fidejussores sunt. Atque ex 
 philosophiis istis Graecorum, et derivatipnibus earum per parti- 
 culares scientias, jam per tot annorum spatia vix unum experi- 
 mentum adduci potest, quod ad hominum statum levandum et 
 juvandum spectet, et philosophiae speculationibus ac dogmatibus 
 
 p. 22. b. "E\\i)v(s ail waiSts lore, y(p<i> 8e "EAArjf owe tcrrj.
 
 NOVUM ORGANIM. 183 
 
 vere acceptum referri possit. Idque Celsus ingenue ac pruden- 
 ter fatetur ; nimirum experimenta medicinas primo inventa 
 fuisse, ac postea homines circa ea philosophatos esse et causas 
 indagasse et assignasse ; non ordine inverse evenisse, ut ex phi- 
 losophia et causarum cognitione ipsa experimenta inventa aut 
 deprompta essent. 1 Itaque mirum non erat, apud JEgyptios 
 (qui rerum inventoribus divinitatem et consecrationem attribuc- 
 runt) plures fuisse brutorum animalium imagines qunm homi- 
 num: quia bruta animalia, per instinctus naturales, multa 
 inventa pepererunt ; ubi homines ex sermonibus et conclusioni- 
 bus rationalibus pauca aut nulla exhibuerint. 
 
 At chymicorum industria nonnulla peperit ; sed tanquam for- 
 tuito et obiter, aut per experimentorum quandam variationem 
 (ut mechanici solent), non ex arte aut theoria aliqua; nam ea 
 quam confinxerunt, experimenta magis perturbat quam juvat. 
 Eorum etiam qui in magia (quam vocant) naturali versati sunt, 
 pauca reperiuntur inventa ; eaque levia et imposture propiora. 
 Quocirca quemadmodum in religione cavetur, ut fides ex ope- 
 ribus monstretur: idem etiam ad philosophiam optime tra- 
 ducitur, ut ex fructibus judicetur et vana habeatur qua? sterilis 
 sit; atque eo magis si, loco fructuum uvae et olivae, producat 
 disputationum et contentionum carduos et spinas. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 Capienda etiam sunt signa ex incrementis et progressibus 
 philosophiarum et scientiarum. Quae enim in natura fundata 
 sunt crescunt et augentur : quae autem in opinione, variantur 
 non augentur. Itaque si istae doctrinae plane instar plantae a 
 stirpibus suis revulsae non essent, sed utero naturae adhaererent 
 atque ab eadem alerentur, id minime eventurum fuisset, quod 
 per annos bis mille jam fieri videmus, nempe ut scientiae suis 
 haereant vestigiis et in eodem fere statu maneant, neque aug- 
 mentum aliquod memorabile sumpserint; quin potius in primo 
 authore maxime floruerint, et deinceps declinaverint. In artibus 
 autem mechanicis, qua? in natura et experientise luce fundatae 
 sunt, contra evenire videmus: qua? (quamdiu placent) veluti 
 
 1 " Repertis deinde medicinas remediis homines de rationibus eorum disserere 
 cuepisse : nee post rationem medicinam esse inventam, sed post inventam raedicinain 
 rationem esse quasitem." Ctlsus, Prcefatio. 
 
 But this remark is not made by Celsus as the expression of his own opinion ; on 
 the contrary it occurs in his statement of the views entertained by the empirical 
 school of medicine, to which he is decidedly opposed. The error of citing Celsus as 
 an authority for it is repeated in several parts of Bacon's works. [See among others 
 De Any mentis, v. 2. J. S. ] 
 
 N 4
 
 184 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 spiritu quodam repletae continue vegetant et crescunt; primo 
 rudes, deinde commodae, postea excultae, et perpetuo auctae. 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 Etiam aliud signum capiendum est (si modo signi appellatio 
 huic competat ; cum potius testimonium sit atque adeo testimo 
 niorum omnium validissimum) ; hoc est propria confessio au- 
 thorum, quos homines nunc sequuntur. Nam et illi qui tanta 
 fiducia de rebus pronuntiant, tamen per intervalla cum ad se 
 redeant, ad querimonias de naturae subtilitate, rerum obscuritate, 
 humani ingenii infirmitate, se convertunt. Hoc vero si simpli- 
 citer fieret, alios fortasse qui sunt timidiores ab ulteriori inqui- 
 sitione deterrere, alios vero qui sunt ingenio alacriori et mugis 
 fidenti ad ulteriorem progressum acuere et incitare possit. 
 Verum non satis illis est de se confiteri, sed quicquid sibi ipsis 
 aut magistris suis incognitum aut intactum fuerit id extra ter- 
 minos Possibilis ponunt, et, tanquam ex arte, cognitu aut factu 
 impossibile pronuntiant: summa superbia et invidia, suorum 
 inventorum infirmitatem in naturae ipsius calumniam et aliorum 
 omnium desperationem vertentes. Hinc schola Academiae Novae, 
 quoe Acatalepsiam ex professo tenuit, et homines ad sempiternas 
 tenebras damnavit. Hinc opinio, quod Forma3 sive veras rerum 
 differentiae (quae revera sunt leges actus puri) 1 inventu impos- 
 sibiles sint, et ultra hominem. 2 Hinc opiniones illas in activa et 
 operativa parte ; calorem solis et ignis toto genere differre ; ne 
 scilicet homines putent, se per opera ignis aliquid simile iis quae 
 in natura fiunt educere et formare posse. Hinc illud : com- 
 positionem tantum opus hominis, mistionem vero opus solius 
 naturae esse 3 : ne scilicet homines sperent aliquam ex arte cor- 
 porum naturalium generationem aut transformationem. Itaque 
 ex hoc signo homines sibi persuaderi facile patientur, ne cum 
 dogmatibus non solum desperatis sed etiam desperation! devotis 
 fortunas suas et labores misceant. 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 Neque illud signum prastermittendum est ; quod tanta fuerit 
 
 1 Compare IL 2. " Licet enim in natura nihil vere existat prater corpora in- 
 dividua edentia actus piiros ex lege, 8cc. Earn autem legem ejusque paragraphos Forma- 
 rum nomine intelligimus." And for an explanation of the meaning of " actus purus " 
 see the General Preface, p. 31. /. S. 
 
 2 The doctrine of the incognoscibility of forms is quoted by Boyle and Sennert. 
 See the " Quid sint qualitates occultae " of the latter, from Scaliger's Exercitationes in 
 Cardanum, a work which seems to have been very generally read. 
 
 8 The reference is to Galen, who in his treatise De Natural. Facultatibus contrasts 
 the inwardly formative power of nature with the external operations of art. See note 
 on Ttmporis Paitus Musculus. /. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 185 
 
 inter philosophos olim dissensio et scholarum ipsarum varietas : 
 quod satis ostendit viam a sensu ad intellectum non bene 
 munitam fuisse, cum eadem materia philosophise (natura scilicet 
 rerum) in tarn vagos et multiplices errores abrepta fuerit et 
 distracta. Atque licet hisce temporibus dissensiones et dogma- 
 turn diversitates circa principia ipsa et philosophias integras 
 ut plurimum extinctas sint ; tamen circa partes philosophise in- 
 iiumeraj manent quaestiones et controversial ; ut plane appareat, 
 neque in philosophiis ipsis neque in modis demonstrationum 
 aliquid certi aut sani esse. 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 Quod vero putant homines in philosophia Aristotelis magnum 
 utique consensum esse ; cum post illam editam antiquorum 
 philosophias cessaverint et exoleverint, ast apud tempora quae 
 sequuta sunt nil melius inventum fuerit ; adeo ut ilia tarn bene 
 posita et fundata videatur, ut utrumque tempus ad se traxerit : 
 primo, quod de cessatione antiquarum philosophiarum post Ari- 
 stotelis opera edita homines cogitant, id falsum est ; diu enim 
 postea, usque ad tempora Ciceronis et ssecula sequentia, man- 
 serunt opera veterum philosophorum. Sed temporibus inse- 
 quentibus, ex inundatione barbarorum in imperium Romanum 
 postquam doctrina humana velut naufragium perpessa esset, 
 turn demum philosophias Aristotelis et Platonis, tanquam tabulae 
 ex materia leviore et minus solida, per fluctus temporum servatae 
 sunt. Illud etiam de consensu fallit homines, si acutius rem 
 introspiciant. Verus enim consensus is est, qui ex libertate 
 judicii (re prius explorata) in idem conveniente consistit. At 
 numerus longe maximus eorum qui in Aristotelis philosophiam 
 consenserunt, ex praejudicio et authoritate aliorum se illi manci- 
 pavit ; ut sequacitas sit potius et coitio, quam consensus. Quod 
 si fuisset ille verus consensus et late patens, tantum abest ut 
 consensus pro vera et solida authoritate haberi debeat, ut etiam 
 violentam pra3sumptionem inducat in contrarium. Pessimum 
 enim omnium est augurium quod ex consensu capitur in rebus 
 intellectualibus ; exceptis divinis et politicis, in quibus suffragi- 
 orum jus est. 1 Nihil enim multis placet, nisi imaginationem 
 feriat, aut intellectum vulgarium notionum nodis astringat, ut 
 supra dictum est. Itaque optime traducitur illud Phocionis a 
 
 1 Bacon does not mean that the votes of a majority are necessarily valid in matters 
 of divinity or politics, but merely that, from the nature of the case, the argument ex 
 consensu has more weight in these than in purely scientific questions.
 
 186 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 moribus ad intellectualia ; ut statim se examinare debcant homi- 
 nes, quid erraverint aut peccaverint, si multitude consentiat tt 
 complaudat. 1 Hoc signum igitur ex aversissimis est. Itaque 
 quod signa veritatis et sanitatis philosophiarum et scientiarum 
 quac in usu sunt, male se habeant ; sive capiantur ex origi- 
 nibus ipsarum, sive ex fructibus, sive ex progressibus, sive ex 
 confessionibus authorum, sive ex consensu ; jam dictum est. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 Jam vero veniendum ad causas errorum, et tarn diuturnaj in 
 illis per tot saecula morae ; qua} plurimoe sunt et potentissimje : 
 ut tollatur omnis admiratio, hcec qua? adducimus homines 
 hucusque latuisse et fugisse ; et maneat tantum admiratio, ilia 
 nunc tandem alicui mortalium in mentem venire potuisse, aut 
 cogitationem cujuspiam subiisse: quod etiam (ut nos existi- 
 mamus) felicitatis magis est cujusdam, quam excellentis ali- 
 cujus facultatis ; ut potius pro temporis partu haberi debeat, 
 quam pro partu ingenii. 
 
 Primo autem tot saeculorum numerus, vere rem reputanti, ad 
 magnas angustias recidit. Nam ex viginti quinque annormn 
 centuriis, in quibus memoria et doctrina hominum fere versatur, 
 vix sex centuriae seponi et excerpi possunt, quae scientiarum 
 feraces earumve proventui utiles fuerunt. Sunt enim non 
 minus temporum quam regionum eremi et vastitates. Tres 
 enim tantum doctrinarum revolutiones et periodi recte numerari 
 possunt: una, apud Graecos; altera, apud Romanos; ultima, 
 apud nos, occidentales scilicet Europae nationes : quibus singulis 
 vix duae centuriaa annorum merito attribui possunt. Media 
 mundi tempora, quoad scientiarum segetem uberem aut Isetam, 
 infoelicia fuerunt. Neque enim causa est, ut vel Arabum vel 
 Scholasticorum mentio fiat : qui per intermedia tempora scientias 
 potius contriverunt numerosis tractatibus, quam pondus earum 
 auxerunt. Itaque prima causa tarn pusilli in scientiis profectus 
 ad angustias temporis erga illas propitii rite et ordine refertur. 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 At secundo loco se offert cauga ilia magni certe per omnia 
 momenti : ea videlicet, quod per illas ipsas aetates quibus 
 hominum ingenia et liters maxime vel etiam mediocritcr 
 floruerint, Naturalis Philosophia minimam partem humanaj 
 opera) sortita sit. Atque ha?c ipsa nihilominus pro magna scien- 
 tiarum matre haberi debet. Omnes enim artes et sciential ab 
 
 1 Plutarch in Phocion, c. 8.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 187 
 
 hac stirpe revulsae, poliuntur fortasse et in usum effinguntur, 
 sed nil admodum crescunt. At manifestum est, postquam 
 Christiana fides recepta fuisset et adolevisset, longe maximam 
 ingeniorum praestantissimorum partem ad Theologiam se con- 
 tulisse; atque huic rei et amplissima praemia proposita, et 
 omnis generis adjumenta copiosissime subministrata fuisse : 
 atque hoc Theologiae studium praecipue occupasse tertiam illam 
 partem sive periodum temporis apud nos Europaeos occidentales ; 
 eo magis, quod sub idem fere tempus et literae florere et con- 
 troversiae circa religionem pullulare coeperint At 33 vo supc- 
 riori, durante periodo ilia secunda apud Romanos, potissimje 
 philosophorum meditationes et industrial in Morali Philosophia 
 (quaa Ethnicis vice Theologiae erat) occupatas et consumptae 
 fuerunt: etiain summa ingenia illis temporibus ut plurimum 
 ad res civiles se applicuerunt, propter magnitudinem imperil 
 Romani, quod plurimorum hominum opera indigebat. At ilia 
 astas, qua Naturalis Philosophia apud Grsecos maxime florere 
 visa est, particula fuit temporis minime diuturna ; cum et anti- 
 quioribus temporibus septem illi qui sapientes nominabantur, 
 omnes (praster Thaletem) ad Moralem Philosophiam et civilia se 
 applicuerinc ; et posterioribus temporibus postquam Socrates 
 philosophiam de coelo in terras deduxisset, adhuc magis invaluerit 
 Moralis Philosophia, et ingenia hominum a Natural! averterit. 
 
 At ipsissima ilia periodus temporis in qua inquisitiones de 
 natura viguerunt, contradictionibus et riovorum placitorum am- 
 bitione corrupta est, et inutilis reddita. Itaque quandoqiiidem 
 per tres istas periodos Naturalis Philosophia majorem in modum 
 neglecta aut impedita fuerit, nil mirum si homines parum in ea 
 re profecerint, cum omnino aliud egerint. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 Accedit et illud, quod Naturalis Philosophia, in iis ipsis viris 
 qui ei incubuerint, vacantem et integrum hominem, praasertim 
 his recentioribus temporibus, vix nacta sit; nisi forte quis 
 monachi alicujus in cellula, aut nobilis in villula lucubrantis, 
 exemplum adduxerit : sed facta est demum Naturalis Philoso- 
 phia instar transitus cujusdam et ponti-sternii ad alia. 
 
 Atque magna ista scientiarum mater mira indignitate ad 
 officia ancillae detrusa est; quae medicine aut mathematicis 
 operibus ministret, et rursus quae adolescentium immatura in- 
 genia lavet et imbuat velut tinctura quadam prima, ut aliam 
 postea foclicius et commodius excipiant. Interim nemo expectet
 
 188 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 magnum progressum in scientiis (prgesertim in parte earum 
 operativa), nisi Philosophia Naturalis ad scientias particulares 
 producta fuerit, et scientias particulares rursus ad Naturalem 
 Philosophiani reductae. Hinc enim fit, ut astronomia, optica, 
 musica, plurima? artes mechanic, atque ipsa medicina, atque 
 (quod quis magis miretur) philosophia moralis et civilis, et 
 sciential logicas, nil fere habeant altitudinis in profundo ; sed per 
 superficiem et varietatem rerum tantum labantur : quia post- 
 quam particulares istas scientias dispertitae et constitute fuerint, 
 a Philosophia Naturali non amplius alantur ; qua? ex fontibus 
 et veris contemplationibus motuum, radiorum, sonorum, tex- 
 turae et schematismi corporum, affectuum, et prehensionum in- 
 tellectualium, novas vires et augmenta illis impertiri potuerit. 
 Itaque minime mirum est si scientiae non crescant, cum a 
 radicibus suis sint separata?. 
 
 LXXXI. 
 
 Rursus se ostendit alia causa potens et magna, cur scientias 
 parum promoverint. Ea vero haec est ; quod fieri non possit, 
 ut recte procedatur in curriculo, ubi ipsa meta non recte posit a 
 sit et defixa, Meta autem scientiarum vera et legitima non 
 alia est, quam ut dotetur vita humana novis inventis et copiis. 
 At turba longe maxima nihil ex hoc sapit, sed meritoria plane 
 est et professoria; nisi forte quandoque eveniat, ut artifex 
 aliquis acrioris ingenii et gloriae cupidus novo alicui invento 
 det operam ; quod fere fit cum facultatum dispendio. At apud 
 plerosque tantum abest ut homines id sibi proponant, ut scien- 
 tiarum et artium massa augmentum obtineat, ut ex ea quoe 
 praesto est massa nil amplius sumant aut quaerant, quam quan- 
 tum ad usum professorium aut lucrum aut existimationem aut 
 hujusmodi compendia convertere possint. Quod si quis ex tanta 
 multitudine scientiam affectu ingenuo et propter se expetat ; in- 
 venietur tamen ille ipse, potius contemplationum et doctrinnrum 
 varietatem, quam veritatis severam et rigidam inquisitionem 
 sequi. Rursus, si alius quispiam fortasse veritatis inquisitor 
 sit severior ; tamen et ille ipse talem sibi proponet veritatis 
 conditionem, quae menti et intellectui satisfaciat in redditione 
 causarum rerum quaa jampridem sunt cognita? ; non earn qua? 
 nova operum pignora et novam axiomatum lucem assequatur. 
 Itaque, si finis scientiarum a nemine adhuc bene positus sit, 
 non mirum est si in iis quse sunt subordinata ad finem, sequatur 
 aberratio.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 189 
 
 LXXXII. 
 
 Quemadmodum autem finis et meta scientiartun male posita 
 sunt apud homines ; ita rursus etiamsi ilia recte posita fuissent, 
 viam tamen sibi delegerunt omnino erroneam et imperviam. 
 Quod stupore quodam animum rite rem reputanti perculserit ; 
 non ulli mortalium curae aut cordi fuisse, ut intellectui humano, 
 ab ipso sensu et experientia ordinata et bene condita, via aperi- 
 retur et muniretur; sed omnia vel traditionum caligini, vel 
 argumentorum vertigini et turbini, vel casus et experientiae 
 vagse et inconditae undis et ambagibus permissa esse. Atque 
 cogitet quis sobrie et diligenter, qualis sit ea via quam in inqui- 
 sitione et inventione alicujus rei homines adhibere consueverunt ; 
 et primo notabit proculdubio inveniendi modum simplicem et in- 
 artificiosum, qui hominibus maxime est familiaris. Hie autem 
 non alius est, quam ut is qui se ad inveniendum aliquid comparat 
 et accingit, primo quae ab aliis circa ilia dicta sint inquirat et 
 evolvat; deinde propriam meditationem addat, atque per mentis 
 multam agitationem spiritum suum proprium sollicitet, et quasi 
 invocet, ut sibi oracula pandat; quae res omnino sine fundamento 
 est, et in opinionibus tantum volvitur. 
 
 At alius quispiam dialecticam ad inveniendum advocet, quse 
 nomine tenus tantum ad id quod agitur pertinet. Inventio enim 
 dialectics non est principiorum et axiomatum praecipuorum, ex 
 quibus artes constant, sed eorum tantum quae illis consentanea 
 videntur. Dialectica enim magis curiosos et importunes, et sibi 
 negotium facessentes, eamque interpellates de probationibus et 
 inventionibus principiorum sive axiomatum primorum, ad fidem, 
 et veluti sacramentum cuilibet arti praestandum, notissimo re- 
 sponso rejicit. 
 
 Restat experientia mera, quae, si occurrat, casus ; si quaesita 
 sit, experimentum nominatur. Hoc autem experientiae genus 
 nihil aliud est, quam (quod aiunt) scopae dissolutae 1 , et mera 
 palpatio, quali homines noctu utuntur, omnia pertentando, si 
 forte in rectam viam incidere detur; quibus multo satius et 
 consultius foret diem praestolari, aut lumen accendere, et 
 
 1 i. e. a besom without a band. " Scopas dissolvere proverbio dicitur, rem aliquam 
 prorsus inutilem reddere ; nam scopse solutse nulls sunt." Facciolati. I do not re- 
 member any proverbial expression which answers to this in English ; but the allusion 
 is to the want of combination and coherency in these experiments. They are the 
 " Experimenta omnigena absque ulla serie aut methodo tentata" (Z)e Augm. y. 2.), 
 and are opposed to the " Experientia Literata," or " Experientia certa lege procedens 
 seriatim et continenter," spoken of in aphorisms 100. aud 103. J. S.
 
 190 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 deinceps viam inire. At contra, verus experientiae ordo primo 
 lumen accendit, deinde per lumen iter demonstrat, incipiendo 
 ab experientia ordinata et digesta, et minime praepostera aut 
 erratica, atque ex ea educendo axiomata, atque ex axiomatibus 
 constitutis rursus experimenta nova; quurn nee verbum divinum 
 in rerum massam absque ordine operatum sit. 
 
 Itaque desinant homines mirari si spatium scientiarum non 
 confectum sit, cum a via omnino aberraverint; relicta prorsus et 
 deserta experientia, aut in ipsa (tanquam in labyrintho) se intri- 
 cando et circumcursando ; cum rite institutus ordo per expe- 
 rientiae sylvas ad aperta axiomatum tramite constant! ducat 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 Excrevit autem mirum in modum istud malum, ex opinione 
 quadam sive aestimatione inveterata, verum tumida et damnosa; 
 minui nempe mentis humanae majestatem, si experimentis, et 
 rebus particularibus sensui subjectis et in materia determinatis, 
 diu ac multum versetur : praesertim quum hujusmodi res ad 
 inquirendum laboriosae, ad meditandum ignobiles, ad dicendum 
 asperae, ad practicam illiberales, numero infinitae, et subtilitate 
 tenues esse soleant. Itaque jam tandem hue res rediit, ut via 
 vera non tantum deserta, sed etiam interclusa et obstructa sit ; 
 fastidita* experientia, nedum relicta, aut male administrata. 
 
 LXXXIV. 
 
 Rursus vero homines a progressu in scientiis detinuit et fere 
 incantavit reverentia antiquitatis, et virorum qui in philosophia 
 magni habiti sunt authoritas, atque deinde consensus. Atque 
 de consensu superius dictum est. 
 
 De antiquitate autem, opinio quam homines de ipsa fovent 
 negligens omnino est, et vix verbo ipsi congrua. Mundi enim 
 senium et grandaevitas pro antiquitate vere habenda sunt ; quas 
 temporibus nostris tribui debent, non juniori aetati mundi, qualis 
 apud antiques fuit. Ilia enim aetas, respectu nostri antiqua et 
 major 1 , respectu mundi ipsius nova et minor fuit. Atque revera 
 quemadmodum majorem rerum humanarum notitiam et maturius 
 judicium ab homine sene exspectamus quam a juvene, propter 
 experientiam et rerum quas vidit et audivit et cogitavit varie- 
 tatem et copiam ; eodem modo et a nostra setate (si vires suas 
 nosset, et experiri et intendere vellet)majora multo quam a priscis 
 temporibus expectari par est ; utpote aetate mundi grandiore, et 
 infinitis experimentis et observationibus aucta et cumulata. 
 
 1 See note on De Augm. lib. i. near the middle.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 191 
 
 Neque pro nihilo aestimandum, quod per longlnquas naviga- 
 gationes et peregrinationes (quae saeculis nostris increbuerunt) 
 plurima in natura patuerint et reperta sint, quse novam philo- 
 sophiae lucem immittere possint. Quin et turpe hominibus foret, 
 si globi materialis tractus, terrarum videlicet, marium, astrorum, 
 nostris temporibus immensum aperti et illustrati sint ; globi 
 autem intellectualis fines inter veterum inventa et angustias 
 cohibeantur. 1 
 
 Authores vero quod attinet, summae pusillanimitatis est 
 authoribus infinita tribuere, authori autem authorum atque 
 adeo omnis authoritatis, Tempori, jus suum denegare. Recte 
 euim Veritas Temporis filia dicitur, non Authoritatis. Itaque 
 mirum non est si fascina ista antiquitatis et authorum et con- 
 sensus, hominum virtutem ita ligaverint, ut cum rebus ipsis 
 consuescere (tanquam maleficiati) non potuerint. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 Neque solum admiratio antiquitatis, authoritatis, et consensus, 
 hominum industriam in iis quae jam inventa sunt acquigscere 
 cornpulit ; verum etiam operum ipsorum admiratio, quorum 
 copia jampridem facta est humano generi. Etenim quurn quis 
 rerum varietatem, et pulcherrimum apparatum qui per artes 
 mechanicas ad cultum humanum congestus et introductus est, 
 oculis subjecerit, eo certe inclinabit, ut potius ad opulentiae 
 humanaa admirationem quam ad inopiae sensum accedat; minime 
 advertens primitivas hominis observationes 2 atque naturae ope- 
 rationes (quae ad omnem illam varietatem instar animse sunt, 
 et primi motus) nee multas nee alte petitas esse ; cetera 
 ad patientiam hominum tantum, et subtilem et ordinatum 
 manus vel instrumentorum motum, pertinere. Res enim (ex- 
 empli gratia) subtilis est certe et accurata confectio horolo- 
 giorum, talis scilicet, quae coelestia in rotis, pulsum animalium 
 in motu successive et ordinato, videatur imitari; quae tamen res 
 ex uno aut altero naturae axiomate pendet. 
 
 1 Compare Campanula : " Quapropter invidi sunt aut ingenio et fide in Deuin 
 exigui qui putant in Aristotele et aliis philosophis antiquis quiescendum, nee ultra 
 quacrendum : praesertim post evangelii lucem, et novi orbis ac stellarum inventionem, 
 qua prisci caruerunt, sicut et luce fldei quae perficit in nobis naturam supra ethnicos 
 non deprimit sub eorum jugo ; cum eorum philosophia sit catechismus et nostra sit 
 perfecta doctrina, teste Cyrillo : unde in mundo qui est liber Dei et sapientia [q. 
 sapientiae ?] melius legere poterimus, si gratiam quiE est in nobis non negligamus." 
 Apolog. pro Galileo. 
 
 2 " Primitivas hominis observationes " may be rendered " primary results of obser- 
 vation." The word hommis is merely used in antithesis to natura in the next clause.
 
 192 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Quod si quis rursus subtllitatem illam intueatur quae ad artes 
 liberales pertinet ; aut etiam earn qua? ad corporum naturalium 
 praeparationem per artes mechanicas spectat, et hujusmodi res 
 suspiciat ; veluti inventionem motuum coelestium in astronomia, 
 concentuum in musica, literarum alphabet! (quas etiam adhuc 
 in regno Synarum in usu non sunt) in grammatica ; aut rursus 
 in mechanicis, factorum Bacchi et Cereris,hoc est, prseparationum 
 vini et cervisiae, panificiorum, aut etiam mensas delitiarum, et di- 
 stillationum et similium; ille quoque si secum cogitet, et animum 
 advertat, per quantos temporum circuitus (cum base omnia, 
 praeter distillationes l , antiqua fuerint) haec ad earn quam nunc 
 habemus culturam perducta sint, et (ut jam de horologiis dictum 
 est) quam parum babeant ex observationibus et axiomatibus 
 naturae, atque quam facile, et tanquam per occasiones obvias et 
 contemplationes incurrentes, ista inveniri potuerint ; ille (in- 
 quam) ab omni admiratione se facile liberabit, et potius humanae 
 conditionis miserebitur, quod per tot saecula tanta fuerit rerum 
 et inyentorum penuria et sterilitas. Atque haec ipsa tamen 
 quorum nunc mentionem fecimus inventa, philosopbia et artibus 
 intellectus antiquiora fuerunt. Adeo ut (si verum dicendum 
 sit) cum bujusmodi scientiae rationales et dogmatic inceperint, 
 inventio operum utilium desierit. 2 
 
 Quod si quis ab officinis ad bibliothecas se converterit, et 
 immensam quam videmus librorum varietatem in admiratione 
 habuerit, is examinatis et diligentius introspectis ipsorum libro- 
 rum materiis et contentis, obstupescet certe in contrarium ; et 
 postquam nullum dari finem repetitionibus observaverit, quam- 
 que homines eadem agant et loquantur, ab admiratione varieta- 
 tis transibit ad miraculum indigentiae et paucitatis earum rerum 
 quaa bominum mentes adhuc tenuerunt et occuparunt. 
 
 Quod si quis ad intuendum ea quae magis curiosa habentur 
 quam sana animum submiserit, et Alchymistarum aut Mago- 
 rum opera penitius introspexerit, is dubitabit forsitan utruoa 
 risu an lachrymis potius ilia digna sint. Alchymista enim 
 
 1 It has been said that Person affirmed that distillation was known to the ancients. 
 Dutens of course maintains that it was ; but the passage he quotes from Dioscorides 
 merely refers to sublimation. The word alembic is, as he remarks, a compound of 
 the Arabic article with the Greek word efyi/3i, operculum ; thus resembling in forma- 
 tion the word " almagest " and some others. But no valid conclusion can be drawn from 
 hence. See Dutens, Origine des Decouvertes, &c., p. 187. of the London edition. 
 See a very interesting account of the history of distillation in Humboldt's Examen 
 critique de I'Histoire de la Geographic, &c., vol. ii. p. 306. 
 
 2 Thus we find Aristotle speaks of philosophy as having sprung up after all the 
 wants of life were satisfied. See the beginniug of the Metaphysics.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 193 
 
 spem alit aeternam, atque ubi res non succedit errores proprios 
 reos substituit; secum accusatorie reputando, se aut artis aut 
 authorum vocabula non satis intellexisse, unde ad traditiones et 
 auriculares susurros animum applicat; aut in practicae suse 
 scrupulis et momentis aliquid titubatum esse 1 , unde experi- 
 menta in infinitum repetit ; ac interim quum inter experimento- 
 rum sortes in quaedam incidat aut ipsa facie nova aut utilitate 
 non contemnenda, hujusmodi pignoribus animum pascit, eaque 
 in majus ostentat et celebrat; reliqua spe sustentat. Neque 
 tamen negaudum est, Alchymistas non pauca invenisse et in- 
 ventis utilibus homines donasse. Verum fabula ilia non male 
 in illos quadrat, de sene qui filiis aurum in vinea defossum (sed 
 locum se nescire simulans) legaverit ; unde illi vinea? fodiendas 
 diligenter incubuerunt, et aurum quidem nullum repertuin, sed 
 vindemia ex ea cultura facta est uberior. 
 
 At naturalis Magiae cultores, qui per rerum Sympathias et 
 Antipathias omnia expediunt. ex conjecturis otiosis et supinis- 
 simis, rebus virtutes et operationes admirabiles affinxerunt; 
 atque si quando opera exhibuerint, ea illius sunt generis, ut ad 
 admirationem et novitatem, non ad fructum et utilitatem, ac- 
 commodata sint. 
 
 In superstitiosa autem Magia (si et de hac dicendum sit) illud . 
 imprimis animadvertendum est, esse tantummodo certi cujusdam 
 et definiti generis subjecta, in quibus artes curiosae et supersti- 
 tiosaa, per omnes nationes atque aetates atque etiam religiones, 
 aliquid potuerint aut luserint. Itaque ista missa faciamus: 
 interim nil mirum est si opinio copiae causam inopiae dederit. 
 
 LXXXVI. 
 
 Atque hominum adniirationi quoad doctrinas et artes, per se 
 satis simplici et prope puerili, incrementum accessit ab eorum 
 astu et artificio qui scientias tractaverunt et tradiderunt. Illi 
 enim ea ambitione et affectatione eas proponunt, atque in eum 
 modum efforinatas ac veluti personatas in hominum conspectum 
 producunt, ac si illae omni ex parte perfectae essent et ad exitum 
 perductae. Si enim methodum aspicias et partitiones, illae pror- 
 sus omnia complecti et concludere videntur quae in illud subje- 
 ctum cadere possunt. Atque licet membra ilia male impleta et 
 veluti capsulas inanes sint, tamen apud intellectum vulgarem 
 scientiae formam et rationem integrae prae se ferunt. 
 
 1 That is, that something has gone wrong in his manipulations, either in weighing 
 his materials, or because the moment of projection has been missed. 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 194 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 At primi et antiquissimi veritatis in qui si tores, meliore fide et 
 fato, cognitionem illani, quam ex rerum contemplatione decer- 
 pere et in usum recondere statuebant, in aphorismos, sive 
 breves easdemque sparsas nee raethodo revinctas sententias, 
 conjicere solebant ; neque se artem universam complecti simu- 
 labant aut profitebantur. At eo quo nunc res agitur modo, 
 minirae mirum est si homines in iis ulteriora non quaerant, qua? 
 pro perfectis et numeris suis jampridem absolutis traduntur. 
 
 LXXXVII. 
 
 Etiam antiqua magnum existimationis et fidei incrementum 
 acceperunt, ex eorum vanitate et levitate qui nova proposue- 
 runt ; praesertim in Philosophise Naturalis parte activa et opera- 
 tiva. Neque enim defuerunt homines vaniloqui et phantastici, 
 qui partim ex credulitate, partim ex impostura, genus humanum 
 promissis onerarunt: vitse prolongationem, senectutis retarda- 
 tionem, dolorum levationem, naturalium defectuum reparatio- 
 nem, sensuum deceptiones, afFectuum ligationes et incitationes, 
 intellectualium facultatum illuminationes et exaltationes, sub- 
 stantiarum transmutationes, et motuum ad libitum roborationes 
 et multiplicationes, aeris impressiones et alterationes, co2lestium 
 influentiarum deductiones et procurationes, rerum futurarum 
 divinationes, remotarum repraisentationes, occultarum revelatio- 
 nes, et alia complura pollicitando et ostentando. Verum de 
 istis largitoribus non multum aberraverit qui istiusmodi judi- 
 cium fecerit, tantum nimirum in doctrinis philosophiaa inter 
 horum vanitates et veras artes interesse, quantum inter res 
 gestas Julii Caesaris aut Alexandri Magni et res gestas Ama- 
 dicii ex Gallia aut Arthur! ex Britannia in historic narrationi- 
 bus intersit. Inveniuntur enim clarissimi illi imperatores revera 
 majora gessisse quam umbratiles isti heroes etiam fecisse fin- 
 gantur ; sed modis et viis scilicet actionum minime fabulosis et 
 prodigiosis. Neque propterea sequum est versa memoriae fidem 
 derogari, quod a fabulis ilia quandoque laasa sit et violata. Sed 
 interim minime mirum est si propositionibus novis (prjesertim 
 cum mentione operum) magnum sit factum praejudicium per 
 istos impostores qui similia tentaverunt ; cum vanitatis exces- 
 sus et fastidium etiam nunc omnem in ejusmodi conatibus 
 magnanimitatem destruxerit. 
 
 LXXXVIII. 
 
 At longe majora a pusillanimitate, et pensorum quae humana 
 industria sibi proposuit parvitate et tenuitate, detrimenta in
 
 NOVltM ORGANUM. 195 
 
 scientias invecta sunt. Et tamen (quod pessimum est) pusilla- 
 nimitas ista non sine arrogantia et fastidio se offert. 
 
 Primum enim, omnium artium ilia reperitur cautela jam facta 
 familiaris, ut in qualibet arte authores artis suae infirmitatem in 
 naturae calumniam vertant ; et quod ars ipsorum non assequitur 
 id ex eadem arte impossibile in natura pronunciant. Neque certe 
 damnari potest ars, si ipsa judicet. Etiam philosophia quae nunc 
 in manibus est, in sinu suo posita quaedam fovet, aut placita, 
 quibus (si diligentius inquiratur) hoc hominibus omnino per- 
 suaderi volunt ; nil ab arte vel hominis opere arduum, aut in 
 naturam imperiosum et validum, expectari debere ; ut de hete- 
 rogenia caloris astri et ignis, et mistione, superius dictum est. 
 Quae si notentur accuratius, omnino pertinent ad humanae pote- 
 statis circumscriptionem malitiosam, et ad quaesitam et artificio- 
 sam desperationem, quse non solum spei auguria turbet, sed etiam 
 omnes industries stimulos et nervos incidat atque ipsius expe- 
 rientiae aleas abjiciat ; dum de hoc tantum solliciti sint, ut ars 
 eorum perfecta censeatur; gloriae vanissimae et perditissimae 
 dantes operam, scilicet ut quicquid adhuc inventum et compre- 
 hensum non sit, id omnino nee inveniri nee comprehendi posse 
 in futurum credatur. At si quis rebus addere se 1 et novum 
 aliquod reperire conetur, ille tamen omnino sibi proponet et de- 
 stinabit unum aliquod inventum (nee ultra) perscrutari et eruere ; 
 ut magnetis naturam, maris fluxum et refluxum, thema coeli, et 
 hujusmodi, quae secret! aliquid habere videntur et hactenus 
 parum foeliciter tractata sint : quum summae sit imperitiae, rei 
 alicujus naturam in se ipsa perscrutari ; quandoquidem eadem 
 natura, quag in aliis videtur latens et occulta, in aliis manifesta 
 sit et quasi palpabilis, atque in illis admirationem, in his ne 
 attentionem quidem moveat ; ut fit in natura consistentiae, quae 
 in ligno vel lapide non notatur, sed solidi appellatione transmit- 
 titur, neque amplius de fuga separationis aut solutionis continui- 
 tatis inquiritur : at in aquarum bullis eadem res videtur subtil is 
 et ingeniosa ; quae bullas se conjiciunt in pelliculas quasdam in 
 hemisphaerii formam curiose effictas, ut ad momentum temporis 
 evitetur solutio continuitatis. 
 
 1 Compare Kedargutio Philosophiarum, " Quare missis istis philosophiis abs- 
 tractis, vos et ego, filii, rebus ipsis nos adjungamus : " and Praefatio, p. 127. of this 
 volume, " Qui autem et ipsi experiri et se scientiis addere, earumque fines proferre, 
 statuerunt, nee illi a receptis prorsus desciscere ausi sunt," &c. " Addere se " (says 
 Heyne, Virg. Georg. i. 513.) " vulgari usu est adjungere se, accedere. . . . Inde si 
 idem fit cum impetu, irruere, instare, eire'xew." J. S. 
 
 o 2
 
 196 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Atque prorsus ilia ipsa quae habentur pro secretis, in aliis 
 habent naturam manifestam et communem ; quae nunquam se 
 dabit conspiciendam, si hominum experirnenta aut contempla- 
 tiones in illis ipsis tantum versentur. Generaliter autem et 
 vulgo, in operibus mechanicis habentur pro novis inventis, si 
 quis jampridem inventa subtilius poliat, vel ornet elegantius, vel 
 simul uniat et componat, vel cum usu commodius eopulet, aut 
 opus majore aut etiam minore quam fieri consuevit mole vel 
 volumine exhibeat, et similia. 
 
 Itaque minime mirum est si nobilia et genere humano digna 
 inventa in lucem extracta non sint, quum homines hujusmodi 
 exiguis pensis et puerllibus contenti et delectati fuerint ; quin- 
 etiam in iisdem se magnum aliquod sequutos aut assequutos 
 putaverint. 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 Neque illud praetermittendum est, quod nacta sit Philosophia 
 Naturalis per omnes aetates adversarium molestum et difficilem ; 
 superstitionem nimirum, et zelum religionis caecum et immode- 
 jatum. Etenim videre est apud Graecos, eos qui primum 
 causas naturales fulminis et tempestatum insuetis adhuc homi- 
 num auribus proposuerunt, impietatis in deos eo nomine dauma- 
 tos : nee multo melius a nonnullis antiquorum patrum religionis 
 christianae exceptos fuisse eos, qui ex certissimis demonstratio- 
 nibus (quibus nemo hodie sanus contradixerit) terram rotundana 
 esse posuerunt, atque ex consequenti antipodas esse asseruerunt. 
 
 Quinetiam ut nunc sunt res, conditio sermonum de natura 
 facta est durior et magis cum periculo, propter theologorum 
 scholasticorum summas et methodos ; qui cum theologiam (satis 
 pro potestate) in ordinem redegerint et in artis formam effinxe- 
 rint, hoc insuper effecerunt, ut pugnax et spinosa Aristotelis 
 philosophia corpori religionis plus quam par erat immisceretur. 1 
 
 Eodem etiam spectant (licet diverse modo) eorum commen- 
 tationes, qui veritatem christianae religionis ex principiis et 
 authoritatibus philosophorum deducere et confirmare haud ve- 
 riti sunt ; fidei et sensus conjugium tanquam legitimum multa 
 
 1 Compare Kepler in the introduction to his great work De SteM Mortis : " In 
 theologia quidera authoritatum, in Philosophia vero ration um esse momenta pon- 
 deranda. Sanctus igitur Lactantius qui terram negavit esse rotundam : Sanctus 
 Augustinus qui rotunditate concessa negavit tamen Antipodas : Sanctum Offlcium 
 liodiernorum qui exilitate terra concessa negant tamen ejus motum : at magis mihi 
 sancta Veritas qui terram et rotundam et Antipodibus circumhabitam et contemptis- 
 siraa? parvitatis esse et denique per sidera ferri, salvo Doctorum ecclesise respectu, 
 ex philosophia demonstro." See for a defence of St. Boniface, touching the story 
 of the Antipodes and Virgilius Bishop of Saltzburg, Fromondus De Orbe Ttrra 
 Immobili, c. 4."
 
 frOVUM ORGANUM. 197 
 
 pompa et solennitate celebrantes, et grata rerum varietate 
 animos hominum permulcentes ; sed interim divina humanis 
 impari conditione permiscentes. At in hujusmodi misturis 
 theologies cum philosophia, ea tantum quae nunc in philosophia 
 recepta sunt comprehenduntur ; sed nova, licet in melius mu- 
 tata, tantum non summoventur et exterminantur. 
 
 Denique invenias ex quorundam theologorum imperitia 
 aditum alicui philosophise, quamvis emendatae, pene interclusum 
 esse. Alii siquidem simplicius subverentur ne forte altior in 
 naturam inquisitio ultra concessum sobrietatis terminum pene- 
 tret; traducentes et perperam torquentes ea quae de divinis 
 mysteriis in scripturis sacris adversus rimantes secreta divina 
 dicuntur, ad occulta naturae quae nullo interdicto prohibentur. 
 Alii callidius conjiciunt et animo versant, si media ignorentur, 
 singula ad manum et virgulam divinam (quod religionis ut 
 putant maxime intersit) facilius posse referri : quod nihil aliud 
 est quam Deo per mendacium gratificari velle. Alii ab ex- 
 emplo metuunt, ne motus et mutationes circa philosophiam in 
 religionem incurrant ac desinant. Alii denique solliciti videntur, 
 ne in naturae inquisitione aliquid inveniri possit quod religionem 
 (prassertim apud indoctos) subvertat, aut saltern labefactet. At 
 isti duo posteriores metus nobis videntur omnino sapientiam 
 animalem sapere ; ae si homines, in mentis suae recessibus et 
 secretis cogitationibus, de firmitudine religionis et fidei in sensum 
 imperio diffiderent ac dubitarent ; et propterea ab inquisitione 
 veritatis in naturalibus periculum illis impendere metuerent. 
 At vere rem reputanti Philosophia Naturalis, post verbum Dei, 
 certissima superstitionis medicina est ; eademque probatissimum 
 fidei alimentum. Itaque merito religioni donatur tanquam 
 fidissima ancilla : cum altera voluntatem Dei, altera potestatem 
 manifested Neque enim erravit ille qui dixit, Erratis, nesci- 
 entes scripturas et potestatem Dei * : informationem de volun- 
 tate et meditationem de potestate nexu individuo commiscens et 
 copulans. Interim minus mirum est si Naturalis Philosophiae 
 incrementa cohibita sint, cum religio, quae plurimum apud 
 animos hominum pollet, per quorundam imperitiam et zelum 
 incautum in partem contrariam transient et abrepta fuerit. 
 
 xc. 
 
 Rursus in moribus et institutis scholarum, academiarum, 
 collegiorum, et similium conventuum, quae doctorum hominum 
 
 1 Matt. xxii. 29. 
 o 3
 
 198 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 sedibus et eruditionis cultures destinata sunt, omnia progressui 
 scientiarum adversa inveniuntur. Lectiones enim et exercitia 
 ita sunt disposita, ut aliud a consuetis baud facile cuiquam in 
 mentem veniat cogitare aut contemplari. Si vero unus aut 
 alter fortasse judicii libertate uti sustinuerit, is sibi soli hanc 
 operam imponere possit; ab aliorum autem consortio nibil capiet 
 utilitatis. Sin et hoc toleraverit, tamen in capessenda fortuna 
 industriam hanc et magnanimitatem sibi non levi impedimento 
 fore experietur. Studia enim hominum in ejusmodi locis in 
 quorundam authorum scripta, veluti in carceres, conclusa sunt ; 
 a quibus si quis dissentiat, continue ut homo turbidus et rerum 
 novarum cupidus corripitur. At magnum certe discrimen inter 
 res civiles et artes : non enim idem periculum a novo motu et a 
 nova luce. Verum in rebus civilibus mutatio etiam in melius 
 suspecta estobperturbationem; cum civilia auctoritate, consensu, 
 fama, et opinione, non demons tratione, nitantur. In artibus 
 autem et scientiis, tanquam in metalli-fodinis, omnia novis 
 operibus et ulterioribus progressibus circumstrepere debent. At- 
 que secundum rectam rationem res ita se habet, sed interim non 
 ita vivitur ; sed ista, quam diximus, doctrinarum administratio 
 et politia scientiarum augmenta durius premere consuevit. 
 
 xci. 
 
 Atque insuper licet ista invidia cessaverit ; tamen satis est 
 ad cohibendum augmentum Scientiarum, quod hujusmodi cona- 
 tus et industriae praemiis careant. Non enim penes eosdem est 
 cultura scientiarum et praemium. Scientiarum enim augmenta 
 a magnis utique ingeniis proveniunt ; at pretia et praemia scien- 
 tiarum sunt penes vulgus aut principes viros, qui (nisi raro 
 admodum) vix mediocriter docti sunt. Quinetiam hujusmodi 
 progressus non solum praemiis et beneficentia hominum, verum 
 etiam ipsa populari laude, destituti sunt. Sunt enim illi supra 
 captum maximae partis hominum, et ab opinionum vulgarium 
 ventis facile obruuntur et extinguuntur. Itaque nil mirum si 
 res ilia non foeliciter successerit, quaa in honore non fuit. 
 
 xcn. 
 
 Sed longe maximum progressibus scientiarum et novis pensia 
 ac provinciis in iisdem suscipiendis obstaculum deprehenditur 
 in desperatione hominum, et suppositione Impossibilis. Solent 
 enim viri prudentes et severiin hujusmodi rebus plane diffidere: 
 naturae obscuritatem, vitee brevitatem, sensuum fallacias, judicii 
 infirmitatem, experimentorum difficultates, et similia secuin
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 199 
 
 reputantes. Itaque existimant esse quosdam scientiarum, per 
 temporura et aetatum mundi revolutiones, fluxus et refluxus ; 
 cum aliis temporibus crescant et floreant, aliis declinent et 
 jaceant: ita tamen, ut cum ad certum quendam gradum et 
 statum pervenerint, nil ulterius possint. 
 
 Itaque si quis majora credat aut sppndeat, id putant esse 
 cujusdam impotentis et immaturi animi ; atque hujusmodi co- 
 natus, initia scilicet laeta, media ardua, extrema confusa habere. 
 Atque cum hujusmodi cogitationes eae sint quge in viros graves 
 et judicio praestantes facile cadant, curandum revera est ne rei 
 optimae et pulcherrimae amore capti severitatem judicii relaxemus 
 aut minuamus ; et sedulo videndum quid spei affulgeat, et ex 
 qua parte se ostendat ; atque auris levioribus spei rejectis, eae 
 quae plus firmitudinis habere videntur omnino discutiendae sunt 
 et pensitandae. Quinetiam prudentia civilis ad consilium vo- 
 canda est et adhibenda, quae ex praescripto diffidit, et de rebus 
 humanis in deterius conjicit. Itaque jam et de spe dicendum 
 est; praesertim cum nos promissores non simus, nee vim aut 
 insidias hominum judiciis faciamus aut struamus, sed homines 
 manu et sponte ducamus. Atque licet longe potentissimum 
 futurum sit remedium ad spem imprimendam, quando homines 
 ad particularia, prassertim in Tabulis nostris Inveniendi digesta 
 et disposita (quae partim ad secundam, sed multo magis ad 
 quartam Instaurationis nostrae partem pertinent), adducemus ; 
 cum hoc ipsum sit non spes tantum, sed tanquam res ipsa: 
 tamen ut omnia clementius fiant, pergendum est in instituto 
 nostro de praaparandis hominum mentibus ; cujus praeparationis 
 ista ostensio spei pars est non exigua. Nam absque ea, reliqua 
 faciunt magis ad contristationem hominum (scilicet ut dete- 
 riorem et viliorem habeant de iis quas jam in usu sunt opinio- 
 nem quam nunc habent, et suae conditionis infortunium plus 
 sentiantet pernoscant), quam ad alacritatem aliquam inducendam, 
 aut industriam experiendi acuendam. Itaque conjecture nostra3, 
 quae spem in hac re faciunt probabilem, aperiendae sunt et prae- 
 ponend83 : sicut Columbus fecit, ante navigationem illam suam 
 mirabilem maris Atlantici, cum rationes adduxerit cur ipsc 
 novas terras et continentes, praeter eas quae ante cogmta3 fuerunt, 
 inveniri posse confideret: quae rationes, licet primo rejecta;, 
 postea tamen experimento probatae sunt et rerum maximarum 
 
 causae et initia fuerunt. 
 
 o 4
 
 200 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 XCIII. 
 
 Principium autem sumendum a Deo 1 : hoc nimimm quod 
 agitur, propter excellentem in ipso boni naturam, manifeste a 
 Deo esse, qui author boni et pater luminum est. In operatio- 
 nibus autem divinis, initia quaeque tenuissima exitum certo 
 trahunt. Atque quod de spiritualibus dictum est, regnum Dei 
 non venit cum observation, id etiam in omni majore opere pro- 
 videntiae divinae evenire reperitur; ut omnia sine strepitu et 
 sonitu placide labantur, atque res plane agatur priusquam 
 homines earn agi putent aut ad vert ant. Neque omittenda est 
 prophetia Danielis de ultimis mundi temporibus: Multi per- 
 transibunt et multiplex erit scientia : manifeste innuens et 
 significans esse in fatis, id est in providentia, ut pertransitus 
 mundi (qui per tot longinquas navigationes impletus plane aut 
 jam in opere esse videtur) et augmenta scientiarum in eandem 
 aetatem incidant. 
 
 xciv. 
 
 Sequitur ratio omnium maxima ad faciendam spem ; nempe 
 ex erroribus temporis praeteriti et viarum adhuc tentatarum. 
 Optima enim est ea reprehensio, quam de statu civili haud pru- 
 denter administrate quispiam his verbis complexus est : Quod 
 ad prceterita pessimum est, id ad futura optimum videri debet. 
 Si enim vos omnia quce ad officium vestrum spectant prcestitis- 
 setis, neque tamen res vestrce in meliore loco essent, ne spes quidem 
 ulla reliqua foret eas in melius provehi posse. Sed cum rerum 
 vestrarum status non a vi ipsa rerum sed ab erroribus vestris 
 male se liabeat, sperandum est, illis erroribus missis aut correctis, 
 magnam rerum in melius mutationem fieri posse* Simili modo, 
 si homines per tanta annorum spatia viam inveniendi et colendi 
 scientias tenuissent, nee tamen ulterius progredi potuissent,audax 
 proculdubio et temeraria foret opinio, posse rem in ulterius pro- 
 vehi. Quod si in via ipsa erratum sit, atque hominum opera in iis 
 consumpta in quibus minime oportebat, sequitur ex eo, non in 
 rebus ipsis difficultatem oriri, quae potestatis nostrae non sunt, sed 
 in intellectu humano ejusque usu et applicatione, quae res reme- 
 dium et medicinam suscipit. Itaque optimum fuerit illos ipsos 
 errores proponere: quot enim fuerint errorum impedimenta in 
 praeterito, tot sunt spei argumenta in futurum. Ea vero licet in 
 
 1 'Ex Albs apxu>fj.t<r8a. Aratus, Phsenom. 1. 1. 
 
 z Demosthenes : see the first Philippic, p. 40. ; and the third, p. 112. Ed. Reisk.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 201 
 
 his qua? superius dicta sunt non intacta omnino fuerint, tamen ea 
 etiam mine breviter verbis nudis ac simplicibus repraesentare 
 visum est. 
 
 xcv. 
 
 Qui tractaverunt scientias aut Empiric! aut Dogmatici fue- 
 runt. Empirici, formicae more, congerunt tantum et utuntur ; 
 Rationales, aranearum more, telas ex se conficiunt l : apis vero 
 ratio media est, quae materiam ex floribus horti et agri elicit, sed 
 tamen earn propria facilitate vertit et digerit. Neque absimile 
 philosophise verum opificium est; quod nee mentis viribus 
 tantum aut prascipue nititur, neque ex historia naturali et me- 
 chanicis experimentis prasbitam materiam, in memoria integram, 
 eed in intellectu mutatam et subactam, reponit. Itaque ex 
 harum facultatum (experimentalis scilicet et rationalis) arctiore 
 et sanctiore foedere (quod adhuc factum non est) bene speran- 
 dum est. 
 
 xcvi. 
 
 Naturalis Philosophia adhuc sincera non invenitur, sed in- 
 fecta et corrupta : in Aristotelis schola per logicam, in Platonis 
 schola per theologian! naturalem ; in secunda schola Platonis, 
 Procli et aliorum, per mathematicam ; qua? philosophiam natu- 
 ralem terminare, non generare aut procreare debet. At ex 
 philosophia naturali pura et impermista meliora speranda sunt. 
 
 XCVII. 
 
 Nemo adhuc tanta mentis constantia et rigore inventus est, 
 ut decreverit et sibi imposuerit, theorias et notiones communes 
 penitus abolere, et intellectum abrasum et aequum ad particu- 
 laria de integro applicare. Itaque ratio ilia humana quam 
 habemus, ex multa fide et multo etiam casu, nee non ex puerili- 
 bus quas primo hausimus notionibus, farrago qua3dam est et 
 congeries. 
 
 Quod si quis aetate matura et sensibus integris et mente 
 repurgata se ad experientiam et ad particularia de integro 
 applicet, de eo melius sperandum est. Atque hac in parte nobis 
 spondemus fortunam Alexandri Magni : neque quis nos vani- 
 tatis arguat, antequam exitum rei audiat, quae ad exuendain 
 omnem vanitatem spectat. 
 
 Etenim de Alexandro et ejus rebus gestis JEschines ita 
 loquutus est: Nbs certe vitam mortalem non vivimus ; sed in 
 
 raJi/ TOWS \6yovs T>V SioAeKriKcSj/ rots TUV apaxvicav v<pd(T/j.affLv fha^fv, oiiSfv 
 H^v xpyvinovs, \iav 8^ rexviKofa (perhaps xP 1 t (r ' t l jlms an d Tex"'" '*). Stobaeus, Floril. 
 S2. Compare De Augmentis, v. 2.
 
 202 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 hoc nati surmis, ut posteritas de nobis portenta narret et proe- 
 dicet : perinde ac si Alexandri res gestas pro miraculo habu- 
 isset. 1 
 
 At sevis sequentibus Titus Livius melius rem advertit et 
 introspexit, atque de Alexandro hujusmodi quippiam dixit : 
 Eum non aliud quam lene ausum vana contemnere* Atque 
 simile etiam de nobis judicium futuris temporibus factum iri 
 existimamus : nos nil magni fecisse, scd tantum ea qua pro 
 magnis hdbentur minoris fecisse. Sed interim (quod jam dixi- 
 mus) non est spes nisi in regeneratione scientiarum ; ut eas 
 scilicet ab Experientia certo ordine excitentur et rursus con- 
 dantur : quod adhuc factum esse aut cogitatum nemo (ut arbi- 
 trainur) affirmaverit. 
 
 XCVIII. 
 
 Atque Experientias fundamenta (quando ad hanc omnino dc- 
 veniendum est) aut nulla aut admodum infirma adhuc fuerunt ; 
 nee particularium sylva et materies, vel numero vel genere vel 
 certitudine, informando intellectui competens aut ullo modo 
 sufficiens, adhuc quaesita est et congesta. Sed contra homines 
 docti (supini sane et faciles) rumores quosdam Experientiae, et 
 quasi famas et auras ejus, ad philosophiam suam vel constituen- 
 dam vel confirmandam exceperunt, atque illis nihilominus pon- 
 dus legitimi testimonii attribuerunt. Ac veluti si regnum ali- 
 quod aut status non ex literis et relationibus a legatis et nuntiis 
 fide-dignis missis, sed ex urbanorum sermunculis et ex triviis, 
 consilia sua et negotia gubernaret ; omnino talis in philosophiam 
 administratio, quatenus ad Experientiam, introducta est. Nil 
 debitis modis exquisitum, nil verificatum, nil numeratum, nil 
 appensum, nil dimensum in Natural! Historia reperitur. At 
 quod in observatione indefinitum et vagum, id in informatione 
 fallax et infidum est. Quod si cui haec mira dictu videantur 
 et querelae minus justae propiora, cum Aristoteles, tantus ipse 
 vir et tanti regis opibus subnixus, tarn accuratam de Animalibus 
 historiam confecerit, atque alii nonnulli majore diligentia (licet 
 strepitu minore) multa adjecerint, et rursus alii de plantis, de 
 metallis, et fossilibus, historias et narrationes copiosas conscri- 
 pserint ; is sane non satis attendere et perspicere videtur quid 
 agatur in prassentia. Alia enim est ratio Naturalis Historiae 
 quae propter se confecta est ; alia ejus quae collecta est ad in- 
 
 1 ^schines, De Corona, p. 72. Ed. II. Stcphan. 
 
 2 Lib. ix. c. 17.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 203 
 
 formandum intellectum in ordine ad condendam philosophiam. 
 Atque hae duae historiae turn aliis rebus, turn prsecipue in hoc 
 differunt ; quod prima ex illis specierura naturalium varietatem, 
 non artium mechanicarum experimenta, contineat. Quemad- 
 modum enira in civilibus ingenium cujusque et occultus animi 
 affectuumque sensus melius elicitur cum quis in perturbatione 
 ponitur, quam alias : simili modo, et occulta naturae magis se 
 produnt per vexationes artium, quam cum cursu suo meant. 
 Itaque turn demum bene sperandum est de Natural! Philoso- 
 phia, postquam Historia Naturalis (quae ejus basis est et funda- 
 mentum) melius instructa fuerit ; antea vero minime. 
 
 xcix. 
 
 Atque rursus in ipsa experimentorum mechanicorum copia, 
 summa eorum qua? ad intellectus informationem maxime faciunt 
 et juvant detegitur inopia. Mechanicus enim, de veritatis in- 
 quisitione nullo modo sollicitus, non ad alia quam quae operi suo 
 subserviunt aut animum erigit aut manuin porrigit. Turn vero 
 de scientiarum ulteriore progressu spes bene fundabitur, quum 
 in Historiam Naturalem recipientur et aggregabuntur com- 
 plura experimenta, quae in se nullius sunt usus, sed ad inventio- 
 nem causarum et axiomatum tantum faciunt ; quae nos lucifera 
 experimenta, ad differentiam fructiferorum, appellare consuevi- 
 mus. Ilia autem miram habent in se virtutem et conditionem ; 
 hanc videlicet, quod nunquam fallant aut frustrentur. Cum 
 enim ad hoc adhibeantur, non ut opus aliquod efficiant sed ut 
 causam naturalem in aliquo revelent, quaquaversum cadunt, 
 intention! aeque satisfaciunt ; cum quaestionem terminent. 
 
 c. 
 
 At non solum copia major experimentorum quaerenda est et 
 procuranda, atque etiam alterius generis, quam adhuc factum 
 est; sed etiam methodus plane alia et ordo et processus conti- 
 nuandas et provehenda3 Experientia} introducenda. Vaga enim 
 Experientia et se tantum sequens (ut superius dictum est) mera 
 palpatio est, et homines potius stupefacit quam informat. At 
 cum Experientia lege certa procedet, seriatim et continenter, de 
 scientiis aliquid melius sperari poterit. 
 
 ci. 
 
 Postquam vero copia et materies Historiae Naturalis et Expe- 
 rientiaa, talis qualis ad opus intellectus sive ad opus philosophi- 
 cum requiritur, praesto jam sit et parata ; tamen nullo modo 
 sufficit iutellectus, ut in illam matcricm agat spontc et memoriter ;
 
 204 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 non magis, quam si quis computationem alicujus ephemeridis 
 memoriter se tenere et superare posse speret. Atque hactenus 
 tamen potiores meditationis partes quam scriptionis in inve- 
 niendo fuerunt ; neque adhuc Experientia literata * facta est : 
 atqui nulla nisi de scripto inventio probanda est. Ilia vero in 
 usum inveniente, ab Experientia facta demum literata melius 
 sperandum. 
 
 Cil. 
 
 Atque insuper cum tantus sit particularium numerus et quasi 
 exercitus, isque ita sparsus et diffusus, ut intellectum disgreget 
 et confundat, de velitationibus et levibus motibus et transcur- 
 sibus intellectus non bene sperandum est; nisi fiat instructio 
 et coordinatio, per tabulas inveniendi idoneas et bene dispositas 
 et tanquam vivas, eorum qua; pertinent ad subjectum in quo 
 versatur inquisitio, atque ad harum tabularum auxilia prasparata 
 et digesta mens applicetur. 
 
 cm. 
 
 Verum post copiam particularium rite et ordlne veluti sub 
 oculos positorum, non statim transeundum est ad inquisitionem 
 et inventionem novorum particularium aut operum ; aut saltern, 
 si hoc fiat, in eo non acquiescendum. Neque enim negamus, 
 postquam omnia omnium artium experimenta collecta et di- 
 gesta fuerint atque ad unius hominis notitiam et judicium per- 
 venerint, quin ex ipsa traductione experimentorum unius artis 
 in alias multa nova inveniri possint ad humanam vitam et 
 statum utilia, per istam Experientiam quam vocamus Litera- 
 tam 2 ; sed tamen minora de ea speranda sunt; majora vero a 
 nova luce Axiomatum ex particularibus illis certa via et regula 
 eductorum, quae rursus nova particularia indicent et designent. 
 Neque enim in piano via sita est, sed ascendendo et descen- 
 dendo ; ascendendo primo ad Axiomata, descendendo ad Opera. 
 
 Civ. 
 Neque tamen permittendum est, ut intellectus a particulari- 
 
 1 "Experientia literata" does not appear to be used here in the same sense as in 
 Aph. 103., or in the De Augmentis, v. 2. : " Cum quis experimenta omnigena absque 
 ulla serie aut methodo tentet, ea demum mera est palpatio : cum vero nonnulla utatur 
 in experimentando directione et ordine, perinde est ac si manu ducatur. Atque hoc 
 ipsum est quod per Experientiam Literatam intelligimus." Here it is used merely for 
 a mode of experimenting in which the results are recorded in writing. The " experi- 
 entia literata" of the De Augmentis answers to the "experientia certa lege proce- 
 dens " of the last aphorism. J. S. 
 
 2 Here " experientia literata " is the same as in the De Augmentis. See the last 
 note. J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 205 
 
 bus ad axiomata remota et quasi generalissima (qualia sunt 
 principia, quae vocant, artium et rerum) saliat et volet ; et ad 
 eorum immotam veritatem axiomata media probet et expediat : 
 quod adhuc factum est, prono ad hoc impetu naturali intelle- 
 ctus, atque etiam ad hoc ipsum, per demonstrationes quae fi- 
 unt per syllogismum, jampridem edocto et assuefacto. Sed de 
 scientiis turn demum bene sperandum est, quando per scalam 
 veram, et per gradus continuoa et non intermissos aut hiulcos, 
 a particularibus ascendetur ad axiomata minora, et deinde ad 
 media, alia aliis superiora, et postremo demum ad generalissima. 
 Etenim axiomata infima non multum ab experientia nuda dis- 
 crepant. Suprema vero ilia et generalissima (quae habentur) 
 notionalia sunt et abstracta, et nil habent solidi. At media 
 sunt axiomata ilia vera et solida et viva, in quibus humanae res 
 et fortune sita? sunt ; et supra haec quoque, tandem ipsa ilia ge- 
 neralissima ; talia scilicet quae non abstracta sint, sed per hsec 
 media vere limitantur. 1 
 
 Itaque hominum intellectui non plumae addendae, sed plum- 
 bum potius et pondera ; ut cohibeant omnem saltum et volatum. 
 Atque hoc adhuc factum non est ; quum vero factum fuerit, 
 melius de scientiis sperare licebit. 
 
 cv. 
 
 In constituendo autem axiomate, forma Inductionis alia quam 
 adhuc in usu fuit excogitanda est ; eaque non ad principia tantum 
 (quae vocant) probanda et invenienda, sed etiam ad axiomata 
 minora et media, denique omnia. Inductio enim quae procedit 
 per enumerationem simplicem res puerilis est, et precario con- 
 cludit, et periculo exponitur ab instantia contradictoria, et 
 plerumque secundum pauciora quam par est, et ex his tantum- 
 modo quae praesto sunt, pronunciat. At Inductio quae ad in- 
 ventionem et demonstrationem scientiarum et artium erit utilis 
 naturam separare debet, per rejectiones et exclusiones debitas ; 
 ac deinde, post negativas tot quot sufficiunt, super affirmativas 
 concludere ; quod adhuc factum non est, nee tentatum certe, 
 nisi tantummodo a Platone, qui ad excutiendas definitiones et 
 ideas, hac certe forma inductionis aliquatenus utitur. 3 Verum 
 
 1 That is, of which these intermediate axioms are really limitations, i. e. particular 
 cases. 
 
 2 This is one of many passages which show that Bacon was very far from asserting 
 that he was the first to propose an inductive method. It is remarkable that M. de 
 St. Hilaire in his translation of the treatise De Animu of Aristotle has repeated the 
 popular assertion that Bacon claimed to be the first discoverer of induction.
 
 206 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ad hujus inductionis, sive demonstrationis, instructionem bonara 
 et legitimam, quamplurima adhibenda sunt quaj adhuc nullius 
 mortalium cogitationem subiere ; adeo ut in ea major sit consu- 
 menda opera, quam adhuc consumpta est in syllogismo. Atque 
 hujus inductionis auxilio, non solum ad axiomata invenienda, 
 verum etiam ad notiones terminandas, utendum est. 1 Atque in 
 hac certe Inductione spes maxima sita est. 
 
 cvi. 
 
 At in axiomatibus constituendis per hanc inductionem, exa- 
 minatio et probatio etiam facienda est, utrum quod constituitur 
 axioma aptatum sit tantum et ad mensuram factum eorum 
 particularium ex quibus extrahitur; an vero sit amplius et 
 latius. Quod si sit amplius aut latius, videndum an earn suam 
 amplitudinem et latitudinem per novorum particularium de- 
 signationem, quasi fide-jussione quadam, firmet 2 ; ne vel in jam 
 notis tantum hsereamus, vel laxiore fortasse complexu umbras 
 et formas abstractas, non solida et determinata in materia, 
 prensemus. Haec vero cum in usum venerint, solida turn de- 
 mum spes merito affulserit. 
 
 evil. 
 
 Atque hie etiam resumendum est, quod superius dictum est 
 de Natural! Philosophia producta, et scientiis particularibus ad 
 earn reductis, ut non fiat scissio et truncatio scientiarum ; nam 
 etiam absque hoc minus de progressu sperandum est. 
 
 CVIII. 
 
 Atque de desperatione tollenda et spe facienda, ex prseteriti 
 temporis erroribus valere jussis aut rectificatis, jam dictum est. 
 Videndum autem et si quae alia sint quse spem faciant. Illud 
 vero occurrit ; si hominibus non quserentibus, et aliud agentibus, 
 
 1 " Ad notiones terminandas " may be rendered " in order to the formation of con- 
 ceptions." This passage, especially when compared with the 14th Aphorism, shows 
 that Bacon contemplated a twofold application of induction, though he has left nothing 
 on the subject of the formation of conceptions. 
 
 2 The meaning of this will be made clearer by comparing it with the following pas- 
 sage in Valerius Terminus : 
 
 " That the discovery of new works or active directions not known before is the only 
 trial to be accepted of ; and yet not that neither in case where one particular giveth 
 light to another, but where particulars induce an axiom or observation, which axiom 
 found out discovereth and designeth new particulars. That the nature of this trial 
 is not only on the point whether the knowledge be profitable or no, but even upon the 
 point whether the knowledge be true or no. Not because you may always conclude 
 that the axiom which discovereth new instances is true ; but contrariwise you may 
 safely conclude that, if you discover not any new instance, it is vain and untrue. 
 That by new instances are not always to be understood new recipes, but new assigna- 
 tions ; and of the diversity between these two." Vol. Ter., abridgment of the 12th 
 chapter of the first book. J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 207 
 
 multa utilia, tanquam casu quodam aut per occasionem, in- 
 venta sint ; nemini chibium esse posse, quin iisdem quasrentibus 
 ot hoc agentibus, idque via et ordine, non impetu et desultorie, 
 longe plura detegi necesse sit. Licet enim semel aut iterum 
 accidere possit, ut quispiam in id forte fortuna incidat, quod 
 magno conatu et de industria scrutantem antea fugit ; tamen in 
 summa rerum proculdubio contrarium invenitur. Itaque longe 
 plura et meliora, atque per minora intervalla, a ratione et in- 
 dustria et directione et intentione hominum speranda sunt, 
 quam a casu et instinctu animalium et hujusmodi, quae hactenus 
 principium inventis dederunt. 
 
 cix. 
 
 Etiam illud ad spem trahi possit, quod nonnulla ex his quae 
 jam inventa sunt ejus sint generis ut antequam invenirentur 
 haud facile cuiquam in mentem venisset de iis aliquid suspicari ; 
 sed plane quis ilia ut impossibilia contempsisset. Solent enim 
 homines de rebus novis ad exemplum veterum, et secundum 
 phantasiam ex iis praeceptam et inquinatam, hariolari; quod 
 genus opinandi fallacissimum est, quandoquidem multa ex his 
 quae ex fontibus rerum petuntur per rivulos consuetos non 
 fluant. 
 
 Veluti si quis, ante tonnentorum igneorum inventionem, 
 rem per effectus descripsisset, atque in hunc modum dixisset : 
 inventum quoddam detectum esse, per quod muri et munitiones 
 quasque maxima? ex longo intervallo concuti et dejici possint ; 
 homines sane de viribus tormentorum et machinarum per 
 pondera et rotas et hujusmodi arietationes et impulsus multi- 
 plicandis, multa et varia secum cogitaturi fuissent; de vento 
 autem igneo, tarn subito et violenter se expandente et ex- 
 sufflante, vix unquam aliquid alicujus imaginationi aut phan- 
 tasiae occursurum fuisset ; utpote cujus exemplum in proximo 
 non vidisset 1 , nisi forte in terrae motu aut fulmine, quae, ut 
 magnalia naturae et non imitabilia ab homine, homines statim 
 rejecturi fuissent. 
 
 Eodem modo si, ante fili bombycini inventionem, quispiam 
 hujusmodi sermonem injecisset : esse quoddam fili genus inven- 
 tum ad vestium et supellectilia usum, quod filum linteum aut 
 laneum tenuitate et nihilominus tenacitate, ac etiam splendore 
 et mollitie, longe superaret ; homines statim aut de serico aliquo 
 vegetabili, aut de animalis alicujus pilis delicatioribus, aut de 
 
 1 As a thing to which he had seen nothing immediately analogous.
 
 208 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 avium plumis et lanugine, aliquid opinaturi fuissent ; verum de 
 vermis pusilli textura, eaque tarn copiosa et se renovante et anni- 
 versaria, nil fuissent certe commenturi. Quod si quis etiam 
 de vermi verbum aliquod injecisset, ludibrio certe futurus 
 fuisset, ut qui novas aranearum operas sdmniaret. 
 
 Similiter, si ante inventionem acus nauticae quispiam hujus- 
 modi sermonem intulisset : inventum esse quoddam instrumen- 
 tum, per quod cardines et puncta coeli exacte capi et dignosci 
 possint; homines statim de magis exquisita fabricatione instru- 
 mentorum astronomicorum, ad multa et varia, per agitationem 
 phantasiae, discursuri fuissent; quod vero aliquid inveniri pos- 
 sit, cujus motus cum coelestibus tarn bene conveniret, atque 
 ipsum tamen ex coelestibus non esset, sed tantum substantia 
 lapidea aut metallica, omnino incredibile visuin fuisset. Atque 
 haec tamen et similia per tot mundi aetates homines latuerunt, 
 nee per philosophiam aut artes rationales inventa sunt, sed 
 casu et per occasionein ; suntque illius (ut diximus) generis, ut 
 ab iis quae antea cognita fuerunt plane heterogenea et remotis- 
 sima sint, ut praenotio aliqua nihil prorsus ad ilia conducere 
 potuisset. 
 
 Itaque sperandum omnino est, esse adhuc in naturae sinu 
 multa excellentis usus recondita, quae nullam cum jam inventis 
 cognationem habent aut parallelismum, sed omnino sita sunt 
 extra vias phantasiae ; quae tamen adhuc inventa non sunt ; quae 
 proculdubio per multos saeculorum circuitus et ambages et ipsa 
 quandoque prodibunt, sicut ilia superiora prodierunt ; sed per 
 viam quam nunc tractamus, propere et subito et simul reprae- 
 sentari l et anticipari possunt. 
 
 ex. 
 
 Attamen conspiciuntur et alia inventa ejus generis qua? 
 fidem faciant, posse genus humanum nobilia inventa, etiam ante 
 pedes posita, praeterire et trausilire. Utcunque enim pulveris 
 tormentarii vel fill bombycini vel acus nauticae vel sacchari 
 vel papyri vel similium inventa quibusdam rerum et naturae 
 proprietatibus niti videantur, at certe Imprimendi artificium nil 
 
 1 I. e. to be presented at once, before the regular time. Thus Pliny, 31.2., " Thes- 
 piarum fons conceptus mulieribus reprcesentat ; " i. e, makes them conceive at once. 
 And Cicero, Ep. ad Fam. v. 16., " neque debemus expectare temporis medicinam, 
 quam reprasentare ratione possimus." And again Phil. 2., " Corpus libenter obtu- 
 lerim, si reprasentari morte mea libertas civitatis potest ; " t. e. to be recovered at 
 once ; or at least the recovery hastened. Many other examples are given by Faccic- 
 lati, showing that this was a very common use of the word. /. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 209 
 
 habet quod non sit apertum et fere obvium. Et nihilominus 
 homines, non advertentes literarum modules difBcilius scilicet 
 collocari quam literse per motum manus scribantur, sed hoc 
 interesse, quod literarum moduli semel collocati infinitis im- 
 pressionibus, literae autem per manum exaratae unicae tantum 
 scriptioni, sufficiant ; aut fortasse iterum non advertentes atra- 
 mentum ita inspissari posse, ut tingat, non fluat; praesertim 
 literis resupinatis et impressione facta desuper ; hoc pulcherrimo 
 invento (quod ad doctrinarum propagationem tantum facit) per 
 tot saecula caruerunt. 
 
 Solet autem mens humana, in hoc inventionis curriculo, tarn 
 laeva saapenumero et male composita esse, ut primo diffidat, et 
 paulo post se contemnat ; atque primo incredibile ei videatur 
 aliquid tale inveniri posse, postquam autem inventum sit, in- 
 credibile rursus videatur id homines tamdiu fugere potuisse. 
 Atque hoc ipsum ad spem rite trahitur; superesse nimirum 
 adhuc magnum inventorum cumulum, qui non solum ex opera- 
 tionibus incognitis eruendis, sed et ex jam cognitis transferendis 
 et componendis et applicandis, per earn quam diximus Expe- 
 rientiam literatam deduci possit. 
 
 CXI. 
 
 Neque illud omittendum ad faciendam spem: reputent (si 
 placet) homines infinitas ingenii, temporis, facultatum expensas, 
 quas homines in rebus et studiis longe minoris usus et pretii 
 collocant ; quorum pars quota si ad sana et solida verteretur, 
 nulla non difficultas superari possit. Quod idcirco adjungere 
 visum est, quia plane fatemui' Historic Naturalis et Experi- 
 mentalis collectionem, qualem animo metimur et qualis esse 
 debet, opus esse magnum, et quasi regium, et multse operae 
 atque impensse. 
 
 cxn. 
 
 Interim particularium multitudinem nemo reformidet, quin 
 potius hoc ipsum ad spem revocet. Sunt enim artium et 
 naturae particularia Phenomena manipuli instar ad ingenii com- 
 menta, postquam ab evidentia rerum disjuncta et abstracta 
 fuerint. Atque hujus vias exitus in aperto est, et fere in pro- 
 pinquo ; alterius exitus nullus, sed implicatio infinita. Homines 
 enim adhuc parvam in Experientia moram fecerunt, et earn 
 leviter perstrinxerunt, sed in meditationibus et commentationibus 
 ingenii infinitum tempus contriverunt. Apud nos vero si esset 
 
 VOL. i. p
 
 210 NOYUM ORGA.XUM. 
 
 praesto quispiam qui de facto naturae ad inter rogata responderet l , 
 paucorum annorum esset inventio causarum et scientiarum 
 omnium. 
 
 CXIII. 
 
 Etiam nonnihil hominibus spei fieri posse putamus ab ex- 
 emplo nostro proprio; neque jactantiae causa hoc dicimus sed 
 quod utile dictu sit. Si qui diffidant, me videant, hominem 
 inter homines astatis meae civilibus negotiis occupatissimum, 
 nee firma admodum valetudine (quod magnum habet temporis 
 dispendium), atque in hac re plane protopirum, et vestigia 
 nullius sequutum, neque haec ipsa cum ullo mortalium com- 
 municantem, et tamen veram viam constanter ingressum et 
 ingenium rebus submittentem, haac ipsa aliquatenus (ut ex- 
 istimamus) provexisse ; et deinceps videant, quid ab hominibus 
 otio abundantibus, atque a laboribus consociatis, atque a tem- 
 porum successione, post haec indicia nostra expectandum sit; 
 praesertim in via quaa non singulis solummodo pervia est (ut 
 fit in via ilia rationali), sed ubi hominum labores et operas 
 (praesertim quantum ad experientia? collectam) optime dis- 
 tribui et deinde componi possint. Turn enim homines vires 
 suas nosse incipient, cum non eadem infiniti, sed alia alii prae- 
 stabunt. 
 
 CXIV. 
 
 Postremo, etiamsi multo infirmior et obscurior aura spei ab 
 ista Nova Continente spiraverit 2 , tamen omnino experiendum 
 esse (nisi velimus animi esse plane abjecti) statuimus. Non 
 enim res pari periculo non tentatur, et non succedit; cum in 
 illo ingentis boni, in hoc exiguae humanae operae, jactura 
 vertatur. Verum ex dictis, atque etiam ex non dictis, visum 
 est nobis spei abunde subesse, non tantum homini strenuo ad 
 experiendum, sed etiam prudenti et sobrio ad credendum. 
 
 cxv. 
 
 Atque de desperatione tollenda, quae inter causas potentissimas 
 ad progressum scientiarum remorandum et inhibendum fuit, 
 jam dictum est, Atque simul sermo de signis et causis errorum, 
 et inertiae et ignorantiae quae invaluit, absolutus est ; praesertim 
 
 1 The aMusion is to judicial examinationon interrogatories. Naturae is to be con- 
 strued with de facto, and not with interrogata. " Interrogata naturae " cannot be 
 rendered our " interrogations of nature," which is Mr. Wood's translation. 
 
 2 Bacon refers to what Peter Martyr Aughiera has related, that Columbus observing 
 the west-winds which blow at certain times of the year on the coast of Portugal, came 
 to the conclusion that there must be laud to generate them.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 211 
 
 cum subtiliores causse, et quae in judicium populare aut ob- 
 servationem non incurrunt, ad ^a quas de Idolis animi human! 
 dicta sunt referri debeant. 
 
 Atque hie simul pars destruens Instaurationis nostraa claudi 
 debet, qua? perficitur tribus redargutionibus ; redargutione 
 nimirum Humana Rationis Natives et sibi permissae l ; redar- 
 gutione Demonstrationum ; et redargutione Theoriarum, sive 
 philosophiarum et doctrinarum quse receptae sunt. Redargutio 
 vero earum talis fuit quails esse potuit ; videlicet per signa, et 
 evidentiam causarum; cum confutatio alia nulla a nobis (qui 
 et de principiis et de demonstrationibus ab aliis dissentimus) 
 adhiberi potuerit. 
 
 Quocirca tempus est, ut ad ipsam artem et normam Inter- 
 pretandi Naturam veniamus ; et tamen nonnihil restat quod 
 prasvertendum est. Quum enim in hoc primo Aphorismorum 
 libro illud nobis propositum sit, ut tarn ad intelligendum quam 
 ad recipiendum ea quae sequuntur mentes hominum prae- 
 parentur; expurgata jam et abrasa et aequata mentis area, 
 sequitur ut mens sistatur in positione bona, et tanquam aspectu 
 benevolo, ad ea quae proponemus. Valet enim in re nova ad 
 prasjudicium, non solum praeoccupatio fortis opiuionis veteris, 
 sod et praeceptio sive prasfiguratio falsa rei quae affertur. Itaque 
 conabimur efficere ut habeantur bonae et verae de iis quae 
 adducimus opiniones, licet ad tempus tantummodo, et tanquam 
 usurariae 2 , donee res ipsa pernoscatur. 
 
 cxvi. 
 
 Primo itaque postulandum videtur, ne existiment homines 
 nos, more antiquorum Graecorum, aut quorundam novorum 
 hominum, Telesii, Patricii, Severini 3 , sectam aliquam in philo- 
 sophia condere velle. Neque enim hoc agimus; neque etiam 
 multum interesse putamus ad hominum fortunas quales quis 
 
 1 For an explanation of this passage, as connected with the first form of the doc- 
 trine of Idols when they were divided into three kinds to each of which one of these 
 confutations corresponded, see the preface. In comparing it with the corresponding 
 passages in the Partis secundce delineatio, and the Distributio operis, it will be observed 
 that the order of the confutations is inverted. The first of these redargutions extends 
 from the 40th to the 60th aphorism ; the other two, which are not kept distinct, end 
 here. /. S. 
 
 2 Compare Distr. Op., p. 143. : "Ac quinta pars ad tempus tantum, donee reliqua 
 perficiantur, adhibetur ; et tanquam foenus redditur usque dum sors haberi possit." 
 See also the next aphorism, in which the same expression occurs. 
 
 8 See De Aug. iv. 3. for a rather fuller mention of these philosophers, and the 
 note upon the passage. See also, for Telesius, the preface to Fabula Cadi et Cupidi- 
 nis ; for Patricius, the Descriptio Globi intellectualit ; for Severinus, the Temporis 
 Purtus Masculus. J. S. 
 
 F 2
 
 212 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 opiniones abstractas de natura et rerum principiis habeat; 
 neque dubium est, quin multa hujusmodi et vetera revocari et 
 nova introduci possint ; quemadmodum et complura themata 
 coeli supponi possunt, quae cum phaenomenis sat bene con- 
 veniunt, inter se tamen dissentiunt. 
 
 At nos de hujusmodi rebus opinabilibus, et simul inutilibus, 
 non laboramus. At contra nobis constitutum est experiri, an 
 revera potentiae et amplitudinis humanae firmiora fundamenta 
 jacere ac fines in latius proferre possimus. Atque licet sparsim 
 et in aliquibus subjectis specialibus, longe veriora habeamus et 
 certiora (ut arbitramur) atque etiam magis fructuosa quam 
 quibus homines adhuc utuntur, (quae in quintam Instaurationis 
 nostrae partem congessimus,) tamen theoriam nullam univer- 
 salem aut integram proponimus. Neque enim huic rei tempus 
 adhuc adesse videtur. Quin nee spem habemus vitas pro- 
 ducendae ad sextain Instaurationis partem (quae philosophise 
 per legitimam Naturae Interpretationem inventae destinata est) 
 absolvendam ; sed satis habemus si in mediis sobrie et utiliter 
 nos geramus, atque interim semina veritatis sincerioris in poste- 
 ros spargamus, atque initiis rerum magnarum non desimus. 
 
 CXVII. 
 
 Atque quemadmodum sectse conditores non sumus, ita nee 
 operum particularium largitores aut promissores. Attamen 
 possit aliquis hoc modo occurrere; quod nos, qui tarn saspe 
 operum mentionem faciamus et omnia eo trahamus, etiam ope- 
 rum aliquorum pignora exhibeamus. Verum via nostra et 
 ratio (ut saepe perspicue diximus et adhuc dicere juvat) ea est ; 
 ut non opera ex operibus sive experimenta ex experimentis 
 (ut empirici), sed ex operibus et experimentis causas et axio- 
 mata, atque ex causis et axiomatibus rursus nova opera et 
 experimenta (ut legitimi Naturae Interpretes), extrahamus. 
 
 Atque licet in tabulis nostris inveniendi (ex quibus quarta 
 pars Instaurationis consistit), atque etiam exemplis particula- 
 rium (quae in secunda parte adduximus), atque insuper in 
 observationibus nostris super historiam (quae in tertia parte 
 operis descripta est), quivis vel mediocris perspicaciae et solertiae 
 complurium operum nobilium indicationes et designationes 
 ubique notabit ; ingenue tamen fatemur, historiam naturalem 
 quam adhuc habemus, aut ex libris aut ex inquisitione propria, 
 non tarn copiosam esse et verificatam, ut legitimas Interpreta- 
 tioni satisfacere aut ministrare possit.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 213 
 
 Itaque si quis ad mechanica sit magis aptus et paratus, atque 
 sagax ad venanda opera 1 ex conversatione sola cum experi- 
 ments, ei permittimus et relinquimus illam industriam, ut ex 
 historia nostra et tabulis multa tanquam in via decerpat et 
 applicet ad opera, ac veluti foenus recipiat ad tempus, donee 
 sors haberi possit. Nos vero, cum ad majora contendamus, 
 moram omnem praeproperam et praematuram in istiusmodi rebus 
 tanquam Atalantse pilas (ut saepius solemus dicere) damnamus. 
 Neque enim aurea poma pueriliter affectamus, sed omnia in 
 victoria cursus artis super naturam ponimus ; neque museum 
 aut segetem herbidam demetere festinamus, sed messem tempe- 
 stivam expectamus. 
 
 CXVIII. 
 
 Occurret etiam alicui proculdubio, postquam igsam historiam 
 nostram et inventionis tabulas perlegerit, aliquid in ipsis ex- 
 perimentis minus certum, vel omnino falsum ; atque propterea 
 secum fortasse reputabit, fundamentis et principiis falsis et 
 dubiis inventa nostra niti. Verum hoc nihil est ; necesse enim 
 est talia sub initiis evenire. Simile enim est ac si in scri- 
 ptione aut impressione una forte litera aut altera perperam 
 posita aut collocata sit ; id enim legentem non multum impedire 
 solet, quandoquidem errata ab ipso sensu facile corriguntur. 
 Ita etiam cogitent homines multa in historia naturali experi* 
 menta falso credi et recipi posse, quae paulo post a causis et 
 axiomatibus inventis facile expunguntur et rejiciuntur. Sed 
 tamen verum est, si in historia naturali et experimentis magna 
 et crebra et continua fuerint errata, ilia nulla ingenii aut artis 
 foelicitate corrigi aut emendari posse. Itaque si in historia 
 nostra naturali, quae tanta diligentia et severitate et fere reli- 
 gione probata et collecta est, aliquid in particularibus quando- 
 que subsit falsitatis aut erroris, quid tandem de naturali 
 historia vulgari, quae prae nostra tarn negligens est et facilis, 
 dicendum erit ? aut de philosophia et scientiis super hujusmodi 
 arenas (vel syrtes potius) asdificatis ? Itaque hoc quod diximus 
 neminem moveat. 
 
 CXIX. 
 
 Occurrent etiam in historia nostra et experimentis plurimae 
 res, primo leves et vulgata?, deinde viles et illiberales, postremo 
 
 1 Compare Temporis Partus Masculus : " Siquidem utile genus eorum est qui de 
 theoriis non admodum solicit!, mechanica quadam subtilitate rerum inventarum ex- 
 tensiones prehendunt ; qualis est Bacon." J. S. 
 
 p 3
 
 214 NO YUM ORGANUM. 
 
 nimis subtiles ac mere speculative, et quasi nullius usus : quod 
 genus rerum, hominum studia avertere et alienare possit. 
 
 Atque de istis rebus quae videntur vulgatae, illud homines 
 cogitent; solere sane eos adhuc nihil aliud agere, quam ut 
 eorum quae rara sunt causas ad ea quae frequenter fiunt 
 referant et accommodent, at ipsorum quae frequenter eveniunt 
 nullas causas inquirant, sed ea ipsa recipiant tanquam concessa 
 et admissa. 
 
 Itaque non ponderis, non rotationis coelestium, non caloris, 
 non frigoris, non luminis, non duri, non mollis, non tenuis, non 
 densi, non liquidi, non consistentis, non animati, non inanimati, 
 non similaris, non dissimilaris, nee demum organici, causas 
 quosrunt ; sed illis, tanquam pro evidentibus et manifestis, re- 
 ceptis, de ceteris rebus quae non tain frequenter et familiariter 
 occurrunt disputant et judicant. 
 
 Nos vero, qui satis scimus nullum de rebus raris aut notabi- 
 libus judicium fieri posse, multo minus res novas in lucem 
 protrahi, absque vulgarium rerum causis et causarum causis 
 rite examinatis et repertis, necessario ad res vulgarissimas in 
 historiam nostram recipiendas compellimur. Quinetiam nil 
 magis philosophiae offecisse deprehendimus quam quod res quae 
 familiares sunt et frequenter occurrunt contemplationem homi- 
 num non morentur et detineant, sed recipiantur obiter, neque 
 earum causse quaeri soleant : ut non saepius requiratur infor- 
 matio de rebus ignotis, quam attentio in notis. 
 
 cxx. 
 
 Quod vero ad rerum vilitatem attinet, vel etiam turpitudi- 
 nem, quibus (ut ait Plinius) honos praefandus est 1 ; eae res, non 
 minus quam lautissimae et pretiosissimae, in historiam natu- 
 ralem recipiendae sunt. Neque propterea polluitur naturalis 
 historia: sol enim aeque palatia et cloacas ingreditur, neque 
 tamen polluitur. Nos autem non Capitolium aliquod aut Pyra- 
 midem hominum superbise dedicamus aut condimus, sed tern- 
 plum sanctum ad exemplar mundi in intellectu humano fundamus. 
 Itaque exemplar sequimur. Nam quicquid essentia dignum 
 est, id etiam scientia dignuni, quas est essentiae imago. At vilia 
 reque subsistunt ac lauta. Quinetiam, ut e quibusdam putri- 
 dis materiis, veluti musco et zibetho, aliquando optimi odores 
 
 1 " Rerum natura, hoc est, vita narratur, et haec sordidissima sui parte, ut plurima- 
 rum rerum aut rusticis vocabulis aut externis, imo b;irb:iris, etiam cum honoris pr*- 
 fatione ponendis." Plin. Hist. Nut. i. ad init. Compare also Aristot. De Part. Animal. 
 i. 5.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 215 
 
 generantur; ita et ab instantiis vilibus et sordidis quandoque 
 eximia lux et informatio emanat. . Verum de hoc nimis multa ; 
 cum hoc genus fastidii sit plane puerile et effceminatum. 
 
 cxxi. 
 
 At de illo omnino magis accurate dispiciendum ; quod plu- 
 rima in historia nostra captui vulgari, aut etiam cuivis intellectui 
 (rebus praesentibus assuefacto), videbuntur curiosae cujusdam 
 et inutilis subtilitatis. Itaque de hoc ante omnia et dictum et 
 dicendum est; hoc scilicet; nos jam sub initiis et ad tempus, 
 tantum lucifera experimenta, non fructifera quaerere; ad exem- 
 plum creationis divinae, quod saepius diximus, quae primo die 
 lucem tantum produxit, eique soli unum integrum diem attribuit, 
 neque illo die quicquam materiati operis immiscuit. 
 
 Itaque si quis istiusmodi res nullius esse usus putet, idem 
 cogitat ac si nullum etiam lucis esse usum censeat, quia res 
 scilicet solida aut materiata non sit. Atque revera dicendum 
 est, simplicium naturarum cognitionem bene examinatam et 
 definitam instar lucis esse ; quae ad universa operum penetralia 
 aditum praebet, atque tota agmina operum et turmas, et axioma- 
 tum nobilissimorum fontes, potestate quadam complectitur et post 
 se trahit ; in se tarn en non ita magni usus est. Quin et litera- 
 rum elementa per se et separatim nihil significant nee alicujus 
 usus sunt, sed tamen ad omnis sermonis compositionem et 
 apparatum instar materias primae sunt. Etiam semina rerum 
 potestate valida, usu (nisi in processu suo) nihili sunt. Atque 
 lucis ipsius radii dispersi, nisi coeant, beneficium suum non im- 
 pertiuntur. 
 
 Quod si quis subtilitatibus speculativis offendatur, quid de 
 scholasticis viris dicendum erit, qui subtilitatibus immensum 
 indulserunt ? qua; tamen subtilitates in Yerbis, aut saltern vul- 
 garibus notionibus (quod tantundem valet), non in rebus aut 
 nutura consumptas fuerunt, atque utilitatis expertes erant, non 
 tantum in origine, sed etiam in consequentiis ; tales autem non 
 fuerunt, ut haberent in prassens utilitatem nullam, sed per con- 
 sequens infinitam ; quales sunt eae de quibus loquimur. Hoc 
 vero sciant homines pro certo, omnem subtilitatem disputationum 
 et discursuum mentis, si adhibeatur tantum post axiomata in- 
 venta, seram esse et praeposteram ; et subtilitatis tempus verum 
 ac proprium, aut saltern praecipuum, versari in pensitanda 
 experientia et inde constituendis axiomatibus ; nam ilia altera 
 subtilitas naturam prensat et captat, sed nunquam apprehendit 
 
 P 4
 
 216 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 aut capit. Et verissimum certe est quod de occasione sive 
 fortuna dici solet, si transferatur ad naturam : videlicet, earn a 
 fronte comatam, ab occipitio calvam esse. 
 
 Denique de contemptu in naturali historia rerum aut vul- 
 garium, aut vilium, aut nimis subtilium et in originibus suis 
 inutilium, ilia vox mulierculas ad tumidum principem, qui peti- 
 tionem ejus ut rem indignam et maj estate sua inferiorem abje- 
 cisset, pro oraculo sit ; Desine ergo rex esse : quia certissimum 
 est, imperium in naturam, si quis hujusmodi rebus ut nimis 
 exilibus et minutis vacare nolit, nee obtineri nee geri posse. 
 
 CXXII. 
 
 Occurrit 1 etiam et illud; mirabile quiddam esse et durum, 
 quod nos omnes scientias atque omnes authores simul ac veluti 
 uno ictu et impetu summoveamus : idque non assumpto aliquo 
 ex antiquis in auxilium et presidium nostrum, sed quasi viribus 
 propriis. 
 
 Nos autem scimus, si minus sincera fide agere voluissemus, 
 non difficile fuisse nobis, ista quae afferuntur vel ad antiqua 
 saecula ante Graecorum tempora (cum scientiae de natura magis 
 fortasse sed tamen majore cum silentio floruerint, neque in 
 Groecorum tubas et fistulas adhuc incidissent), vel etiam (per 
 partes certe) ad aliquos ex Grsecis ipsis referre, atque astipula- 
 tionem et honorem inde petere : more novorum hominum, qui 
 nobilitatem sibi ex antiqua aliqua prosapia, per genealogiarum 
 favores, astruunt et affingunt. Nos vero rerum evidentia freti, 
 omnem commenti et imposturae conditionem rejicimus; neque 
 ad id quod agitur plus interesse putamus, utruni quas jam in- 
 venientur antiquis olim cognita, et per rerum vicissitudines et 
 saecula occidentia et orientia sint, quam hominibus curae esse 
 debere, utrum Novus Orbis fuerit insula ilia Atlantis et ve- 
 teri mundo cognita, an nunc primum reperta. Rerum enim 
 inventio a natura? luce petenda, non ab antiquitatis tenebris 
 repetenda est. 
 
 Quod vero ad universalem istam reprehensionem attinet, 
 certissimum est vere rem reputanti, earn et magis probabilem 
 esse et magis modestam, quam si facta fuisset ex parte. Si 
 enim in primis notionibus errores radicati non fuissent, fieri non 
 potuisset quin nonnulla recte inventa alia perperam inventa 
 correxissent. Sed cum errores fundamentales fuerint, atque 
 ejusmodi ut homines potius res neglexerint ac praeterierint, 
 
 1 So in the original edition. I think it should be occurret. J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 217 
 
 quam de illis pravum ant falsum judicium fecerint ; minime 
 mirum est, si homines id non obtinuerint quod non egerint, 
 nee ad metam pervenerint quam non posuerint aut collocarint, 
 neque viam emensi sint quam non ingressi sint aut tenuerint. 
 
 Atque insolentiam rei quod attinet ; certe si quis manus con- 
 stantia atque oculi vigore lineam magis rectam aut circulum 
 magis perfectum se describere posse quam alium quempiam sibi 
 assumat, inducitur scilicet facultatis comparatio : quod si quis 
 asserat se adhibita regula aut circumducto circino lineam magis 
 rectam aut circulum magis perfectum posse describere, quam 
 aliquem alium vi sola oculi et manus, is certe non admodum 
 jactator fuerit. Quin hoc quod dicimus non solum in hoc nostro 
 conatu primo et incoaptivo locum habet ; sed etiam pertinet ad 
 eos qui huic rei posthac incumbent. Nostra enim via inveniendi 
 scientias exaequat fere ingenia, et non multum excellentiae eorum 
 relinquit: cum omnia per certissimas regulas et demonstrationes 
 transigat. Itaque haec nostra (ut saepe diximus) frelicitatis cujus- 
 dam sunt potius quam facultatis, et potius temporis partus quam 
 ingenii. Est enim certe casus aliquis non minus in cogitatio- 
 nibus humanis, quam in operibus et factis. 
 
 CXXIII. 
 
 Itaque dicendum de nobis ipsis quod ille per jocum dixit, 
 prassertim cum tarn bene rem secet: fieri non potest ut idem 
 sentiant, qui aquam et qui vinum bibant. At caeteri homines, 
 tarn veteres quam novi, liquorem biberunt crudum in scientiis, 
 tanquam aquam vel sponte ex intellectu manantem, vel per 
 dialecticam, tanquam per rotas ex puteo, haustam. At nos 
 liquorem bibimus et propinamus ex infinitis confectam uvis, 
 iisque maturis et tcmpestivis, et per racemos quosdam collectis 
 ac decerptis, et subinde in torculari pressis, ac postremo in vase 
 repurgatis et clarificatis. Itaque nil mirum si nobis cum aliis 
 non conveniat. 
 
 CXXIV. 
 
 Occurret proculdubio et illud : nee metam aut scopum scien- 
 tiarum a nobis ipsis (id quod in aliis reprehendimus) verum et 
 optimum praefixum esse. Esse enim contemplationem veritatis 
 omni operum utilitate et magnitudine digniorem et celsiorem : 
 longam vero istam et sollicitam moram in experientia et materia 
 et rerum particularium fluctibus, mentem veluti humo affigere, 
 vel potius in Tartarum quoddam confusionis et perturbationis 
 dejicere ; atque ab abstracts sapientias serenitate et tranquillitate
 
 218 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 (tanquam a statu multo diviniore) arcere et summovere. Nos 
 vero huic ration! libenter assentimur ; et hoc ipsum, quod 
 innuunt ac praeoptant, praecipue atque ante omnia agimus. 
 Etenim verum exemplar mundi in intellect!! humano funda- 
 mus ; quale invenitur, non quale cuipiam sua propria ratio dicta- 
 verit. Hoc autem perfici non potest, nisi facta mundi dissectione 
 atque anatomia diligentissima. Modules vero ineptos mundorum 
 et tanquam simiolas, quas in philosopliiis phantasiae hominum 
 extruxerunt, omnino dissipandas edicimus. Sciant itaque ho- 
 mines (id quod superius diximus) quantum intersit inter humanae 
 mentis Idola, et divinae mentis Ideas. Ilia enim nihil aliud sunt 
 quam abstractiones ad placitum : hae autem sunt vera signacula 
 Creatoris super creaturas, prout in materia per lineas veras et 
 exquisitas imprimuntur et terminantur. Itaque ipsissimas res 
 sunt (in hoc genere) veritas et utilitas * : atque opera ipsa pluris 
 facienda sunt, quatenus sunt veritatis pignora, quam propter 
 vitae commoda. 
 
 cxxv. 
 
 Occurret fortasse et illud : nos tanquam actum agere, at- 
 que antiques ipsos eandem quam nos viam tenuisse. Itaque 
 verisimile putabit quispiam etiam nos, post tantum motum et 
 molitionem, deventuros tandem ad aliquam ex illis philosophiis 
 quae apud antiquos valueruut. Nam et illos in meditationum 
 suarum principiis vim et copiam magnam exemplorum et par- 
 ticularium paravisse, atque in commentarios per locos et titu- 
 los digessisse, atque inde philosophias suas et artes confecisse, 
 et postea, re conaperta, pronuntiasse, et exempla ad fidem et 
 
 1 Compare Partis Instaurationis Secundot Delineatio : " Quinetiam illis quibus 
 in conteniplationis amorem efFusis frequens apud nos operum mentio asperum quiddara 
 et ingratura et mechanicum sonat, monstrabimus quantum illi desideriis suis propriis ad- 
 versentur, cum puritas contemplationum atque substructio et inventio operum prorsus eisdem 
 rebus nitantur et simul perfruantur." In a corresponding passage in the Cogitata et Visa 
 we find, instead of the last clause, " etenim in natura Opera non tantum vitae beneficia 
 sed et veritatis pignora esse. . . Veritatem enim per Operum indicationem magis 
 quam ex argumentatione aut etiam ex sensu et patefieri et probari. Quare unam 
 eandemque rationem et conditlonis humantB et mentis dotandee esse." 
 
 Compare also Nov. Org. ii. 4. : " Ista autem duo pronuntiata, Activum et Con- 
 templativum, res eadem sunt ; et quod in operando utilissimum vel in sciendo veris- 
 simura." 
 
 I do not think that the use of ipsissimce here can be justified : if the meaning be 
 (as I think it must) that truth and utility are (in this kind) " the very same things." 
 If ipsissimie be used correctly, the meaning must be that things themselves, the 
 very facts of nature, are truth and utility both. But in that case we should expect 
 " et veritas et utilitas." Mr. Ellis proposes to render the phrase thus : " Truth and 
 utility are in this kind the very things we seek for." But to me it seems less pro- 
 bable that Bacon would have expressed such a meaning by such a phrase than that he 
 used the word ipsissima incorrectly in the sense I have attributed to it. /. S.
 
 NOVCJM OilGANUM. 219 
 
 docendi lumen sparsim addidisse; sed particularium notas et 
 codicillos ac commentarios suos in lucem edere supervacuum 
 et molestum putasse ; ideoque fecisse quod in aedificando fieri 
 solet, nempe post aedificii structuram macliinas et scalas a con- 
 spectu amovisse. Neque aliter factum esse credere certe opor- 
 tet. Verum nisi quis omnino oblitus fuerit eorum quae superius 
 dicta sunt, huic objectioni (aut scrupulo potius) facile responde- 
 bit. Formara enim inquirendi et inveniendi apud antiquos et 
 ipsi profitentur 1 , et scripta eorum prae se ferunt. Ea autem 
 non alia fuit, quam ut ab exemplis quibusdam et particularibus 
 (additis notionibus communibus, et fortasse portione nonnulla 
 ex opinionibus receptis quae maxime placuerunt) ad conclusiones 
 maxime generales sive principia scientiarum advolarent, ad 
 quorum veritatem immotam et fixam conclusiones inferiores per 
 media educerent ac probarent ; ex quibus artem constituebant. 
 Turn demum si nova particularia et exempla mota essent et ad- 
 ducta quae placitis suis refragarentur, ilia aut per distinctiones 
 aut per regularum suarum explanationes in ordinem subtiliter 
 redigebant, aut demum per exceptiones grosso modo summove- 
 bant : at rerum particularium non refragantium causas ad ilia 
 principia sua laboriose et pertinaciter accommodabant. Verum 
 nee historia naturalis et experientia ilia erat, quam fuisse 
 oportebat, (longe certe abest,) et ista advolatio ad generalis- 
 sima omnia perdidit. 
 
 CXXVI. 
 
 Occurret et illud : nos, propter inhibitionem quandam pro- 
 nuntiandi et principia certa ponendi donee per medios gradus 
 ad generalissima rite perventum sit, suspensionem quandam 
 judicii tueri, atque ad Acatalepsiam rem deducere. Nos vero 
 non Acatalepsiam, sed Eucatalepsiam meditamur et proponi- 
 mus : sensui enim non derogamus, sed ministramus ; et intel- 
 lectum non contemnimus, sed regimus. Atque melius est scire 
 quantum opus sit, et tamen nos non penitus scire putare, quam 
 penitus scire nos putare, et tamen nil eorum quae opus est 
 scire. 
 
 CXXVII. 
 
 Etiam dubitabit quispiam, potius quam objiciet, utrum nos 
 de Naturali tantum Philosophia, an etiani de scientiis reliquis, 
 Logicis, Ethicis, Politicis, secundum viam nostram perficiendis 
 
 1 " Profitemur " in the original edition ; obviously a misprint. Compare the cor- 
 responding passage in Inquisitio legitima de Motu.
 
 220 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 loquamur. At nos certe de universis haec quae dicta sunt in- 
 telligimus : atque quemadmodum vulgaris logica, quas regit res 
 per Syllogisinum, non tantum ad naturales, sed ad omnes scien- 
 tias pertinet; ita et nostra, quae procedit per Inductionem, 
 omnia complectitur. Tarn enim historian* et tabulas inveni- 
 endi conficimus de Ira, Metu, et Verecundia, et similibus ; ac 
 etiam de exemplis rerum Civilium: nee minus de motibus 
 mentalibus Memoriae, Compositionis et Divisionis 1 , Judicii, et 
 reliquorum : quam de Calido et Frigido, aut Luce, aut Vege- 
 tatioiie, aut similibus. 2 Sed tamen cum nostra ratio Interpre- 
 tandi, post historiam praeparatam et ordinatam, non mentis 
 tantum motus et discursus (ut logica vulgaris), sed et rerum 
 naturam iutueatur ; ita mentem regimus, ut ad rerum naturam 
 se, aptis per omnia modis, applicare possit. Atque propterea 
 multa et diversa in doctrina Interpretationis praecipimus, quse ad 
 subjecti de quo inquirimus qualitatem et conditioned, modum 
 inveniendi nonnulla ex parte applicent. 
 
 CXXVIII. 
 
 At illud de nobis ne dubitare quidem fas sit; utrum nos 
 philosophiam et artes et scientias quibus utimur destruere et 
 demoliri cupiamus : contra enim, earum et usum et cultum et 
 honores libenter amplectimur. Neque enim ullo modo offici- 
 mus, quin istae quae invaluerunt et disputationes alant, et 
 sermones ornent, et ad professoria munera ac vitae civilis com- 
 pendia adhibeantur et valeant; denique, tanquam numismata 
 quasdam, consensu inter homines recipiantur. Quinetiam signi- 
 ficamus aperte, ea quae nos adducimus ad istas res non multum 
 idonea futura ; cum ad vulgi captum deduci omnino non possint, 
 nisi per effecta et opera tantum. At hoc ipsum quod de affectu 
 nostro et bona voluntate erga scientias receptas dicimus quam 
 vere profiteamur, scripta nostra in publicum edita (prassertim 
 libri de Progressu Scientiarum) fidem faciant. Itaque id verbis 
 amplius vincere non conabimur. Illud interim constanter et 
 diserte monemus; his modis qui in usu sunt nee magnos in 
 scientiarum doctrinis et contemplatione progressus fieri, nee 
 illas ad amplitudinem operum deduci posse. 
 
 1 Synthesis and analysis ? 
 
 2 This passage is important because it shows that Bacon proposed to apply his 
 method to mental phenomena ; which is in itself a sufficient refutation of M. Cousin's 
 interpretation of the passage in which, when censuring the writings of the schoolmen, 
 he compares them to the self-evolved web of the spider. I have elsewhere spoken 
 more at length of this passage. [See p. 92.]
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 221 
 
 CXXIX. 
 
 Superest ut de Finis excellentia pauca dicamus. Ea si prius 
 dicta fuissent, votis similia videri potuissent: sed spe jam 
 facta, et iniquis praejudiciis sublatis, plus fortasse ponderis habe- 
 bunt. Quod si nos omnia perfecissemus et plane absolvissemus, 
 nee alios in partem et consortium laborum subinde vocaremus, 
 etiam ab hujusmodi verbis abstinuissemus, ne acciperentur in 
 praedicationem meriti nostri. Cum vero aliorum industria 
 acuenda sit et animi excitandi atque accendendi, consentaneum 
 est ut quaedam hominibus in mentem redigamus. 
 
 Primo itaque videtur inventorum nobilium introductio inter 
 actiones humanas longe primas partes tenere : id quod antiqua 
 saeculajudicaverunt, Ea enim rerum inventoribus divinoshonores 
 tribuerunt ; iis autem qui in rebus civilibus merebantur (quales 
 erant urbium et imperiorum conditores, legislatores, patriarum 
 a diuturnis malis liberatores, tyrannidum debellatores, et his 
 similes), heroum tantum honores decreverunt. Atque certe si 
 quis ea recte conferat, justum hoc prisci saeculi judicium repe- 
 riet. Etenim inventorum beneficia ad universum genus huma- 
 num pertinere possunt, civilia ad certas tantummodo hominunr 
 sedes : hsec etiam non ultra paucas aetates durant, ilia quasi 
 perpetuis temporibus. Atque status emendatio in civilibus 
 non sine vi et perturbatione plerumque procedit: at inventa 
 beant, et beneficium deferunt absque alicujus injuria aut tri- 
 stitia. 
 
 Etiam inventa quasi novas creationes sunt, et divinorum 
 operum imitamenta ; ut bene cecinit ille : 
 
 " Primum frugiferos foetus mortalibus aegris 
 Dididerant quondam praestanti nomine Athenae ; 
 Et RECREAVERUNT vitam, legesque rogarunt." 1 
 
 Atque videtur notatu dignum in Solomone ; quod cum im- 
 perio, auro, magnificentia operum, satellitio, famulitio, classe 
 insuper, et nominis claritate, ac summa hominum admiratione 
 floreret, tamen nihil horum delegerit sibi ad gloriam, sed ita 
 pronuntiaverit : Gloriam Dei esse, celare rem; gloriam regis, 
 investigare rem. 2 
 
 Rursus (si placet) reputet quispiam, quantum intersit inter 
 hominum vitam in excultissima quapiam Europse provincia, et 
 in regione aliqua Novae Indiae maxime fera et barbara: ea 3 
 
 1 Lucretius, vi. 13. 2 Frov. xxv. 2. So in the original edition.
 
 222 XOVFM ORGANOl 
 
 tantum differre existimabit, ut merito hominem homini Deum 
 esse, non solum propter auxilium et beneficium, sed etiam per 
 status comparationem, recte dici possit. Atque hoc non solum, 
 non coslum, non corpora, sed artes praestant. 
 
 Rursus, vim et virtutem et consequents rerum inventarum 
 notare juvat : quae non in aliis manifestius occumint, quam in 
 illis tribus quae antiquis incognita?, et quarum primordia, licet 
 recentia, obscura et ingloria sunt : Artis nimirum Imprimendi, 
 Pulveris Tormentarii, et Acus ]Sauticae. Haec enim tria rerum 
 faciem et statum in orbe terrarum mutarerunt : primum, in re 
 literaria ; secundum, in re bellica ; tertium, in nayigationibus : 
 unde innumerae rerum mutationes sequutae sunt ; ut non impe- 
 rium aliquod, non secta, non stella, majorem efficaciam et quasi 
 influxum super res humanas exercuisse yideatur, quam ista 
 mechaniea exercuerunt. 
 
 Praeterea non abs re fuerit, tria hominum ambitionis genera 
 et quasi gradus distinguere. Primum eorum, qui propriam po- 
 tentiam in patria sua amplificare cupiunt ; quod genus vulgare 
 est et'degener. Secundum eorum, qui patriae potentiam et im- 
 perium inter humanum genus amplificare nituntur ; illud plus 
 certe habet dignitatis, cupiditatis baud minus. Quod si quis 
 humani generis ipsius potentiam et imperium in rerum univer- 
 sitatem instaurare et amplificare conetur, ea proculdubio ambi- 
 tio (si modo ita vocanda sit) reliquis et sanior est et augustior. 
 Hominis autem imperium in res, in solis artibus et scientiis 
 ponitur. Naturae enim non imperatur, nisi parendo. 
 
 Praeterea, si unius alicujus particularis inventi utilitas ita 
 homines affecerit, ut eum qui genus humanum universum bene- 
 ficio aliquo devincire potuerit homine majorem putaverint; 
 quanto Celsius videbitur tale aliquid invenire, per quod alia 
 omnia expedite inveniri possint? Et tamen (ut rerum omnino 
 dicamus) quemadmodum luci magnam habemus gratiam, quod 
 per earn vias uiire, artes exercere, legere, nos invicem digno- 
 scere possimus; et nihilominus ipsa visio lucis res praestantior 
 est et pulchrior, quam multiplex ejus usus : ita certe ipsa con- 
 templatio rerum prout sunt, sine superstitione aut unpostura, 
 errore aut confusione, in seipsa magis digna est, quam universus 
 inventorum fructua. 1 
 
 Postremo siquis depravationem scientiarum et artium ad ma- 
 
 1 This u one of the passages which show how far Bacon was from what b now 
 caned a utilitarian.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 223 
 
 litiam et luxuriam et similia objecerit; id neminem moveat. 
 Illud enim de omnibus mundanis bonis dici potest, ingenio, 
 fortitudine, viribus, forma, divitiis, luce ipsa, et reliquis. Re- 
 cuperet modo genus humanum jus suum in naturam quod ei 
 ex dotatione divina competit, et detur ei copia: usum vero 
 recta ratio et sana religio gubernabit. 
 
 cxxx. 
 
 Jam vero tempus est ut artem ipsam Interpretandi Naturam 
 proponamus : in qua licet nos utilissima et verissima praecepisse 
 arbitremur, tamen necessitatem ei absolutam (ac si absque ea 
 nil agi possit) aut etiam perfectionem non attribuimus. Ete- 
 nim in ea opinione sumus ; si justam Naturae et Experientiae 
 Historiam prsesto haberent homines, atque in ea sedulo versa- 
 rentur, sibique duas res imperare possent ; unam, ut receptas 
 opinione s et notiones deponerent ; alteram, ut mentem a genera- 
 lissimis et proximis ab illis ad tempus cohiberent ; fore ut etiam 
 vi propria et genuina mentis, absque alia arte, in formam 
 nostram Interpretandi incidere possent. Est enim Interpreta- 
 tio verum et naturale opus mentis, demptis iis quae obstant * : 
 sed tamen omnia certe per nostra praecepta erunt magis in pro- 
 cinctu, et multo firmiora. 
 
 Neque tamen illis nihil addi posse affirmamus : sed contra, 
 
 nos, qui mentem respicimus non tantum in facultate 
 
 propria, sed quatenus copulatur cum 
 
 rebus, Artem inveniendi cum 
 
 Inventis adolescere posse, 
 
 statuere debemus. 
 
 1 Compare Valerius Terminus, ch. 22. : " That it is true that interpretation is the 
 very natural and direct intention, action, and progression of the understanding, delivered 
 from impediments ; and that all anticipation is but a deflexion or declination by ac- 
 cident." Also Adv. of Learn. (2d book) : "For he that shall attentively observe how 
 the mind doth gather this excellent dew of knowledge, like unto that which the poet 
 speaketh of, Aerii mellis ccelestia dona, distilling and contriving it out of particulars 
 natural and artificial, as the flowers of the field and garden, shall find that the mind 
 of herself by nature doth manage and act an induction much better than they de- 
 scribe it." /. S.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS 
 APH OR IS MO RUM. 
 
 VOL. I.

 
 INTERPRETATION NATURE 
 
 SIVE DE 
 
 REGNO HOMINIS. 
 
 APHORISMUS 
 
 I. 
 
 SUPER datum corpus novam naturam sive novas naturas 
 generare et superinducere, opus et intentio est humanse Po- 
 tentiae. Datae autem naturas Formam, sive differentiam veram, 
 sive naturam naturantem l , sive fontem emanationis (ista enim 
 vocabula habemus quas ad indicationem rei proxime accedunt) 
 invenire, opus et intentio est humanse Scientiae. 2 Atque his 
 operibus primariis subordinantur alia opera duo secundaria et 
 inferioris notes ; priori, transformatio corporum concretorum 
 de alio in aliud, intra terminos Possibilis 3 ; posteriori, inventio 
 in omni generatione et motu latentis processus, continuati ab 
 
 1 This is the only passage in which I have met with the phrase natura naturans 
 used as it is here. With the later schoolmen, as with Spinoza, it denotes God con- 
 sidered as the causa immanens of the universe, and therefore, according to the latter 
 at least, not hypostatically distinct from it. (On the Pantheistic tendency occasionally 
 perceptible among the schoolmen, see Neander's Essay on Scotus Erigena in the Berlin 
 Memoirs.) Bacon applies it to the Form, considered as the causa immanens of the 
 properties of the body. I regret not having been able to trace the history of this 
 remarkable phrase. It does not occur, I think, in St. Thomas Aquinas, though I have 
 met with it in an index to his Summa; the passage referred to containing a quotation 
 from St. Augustine, in which the latter speaks of " ea natura quae creavit omnes casteras 
 instituitque naturas." ( V. St. Aug., De Trin. xiv. 9. ) Neither does it occur, so far 
 as 1 am aware, where we might have expected it, in the De Divisions Naturae of Scotus 
 Erigena. Vossius, De Vitiis Latini Sermonis, notices its use among the schoolmen, 
 but gives no particular reference. 
 
 2 See General Preface, 7. p. 25. 
 
 3 The possibility of transmutation, long and strenuously denied, though certainly 
 on no sufficient grounds, is now generally admitted. " There was a time when this 
 fundamental doctrine of the alchemists was opposed to known analogies. It is now 
 no longer so opposed to them, only some stages beyond their present development." 
 Fnradny, Lectures on Non-Metallic Elements, p. 106. 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Efficiente manifesto et materia manifesta usque ad Formam 
 inditam ; et inventio similiter latentis schematismi corporum 
 quiescentium et non in motu. 1 
 
 II. 
 
 Quam infoeliciter se habeat scientia humana quae in usu est, 
 etiam ex illis liquet quae vulgo asseruntur. Recte ponitur; 
 Vere scire, esse per Causas scire. Etiam non male constituuntur 
 causaa quatuor ; Materia, Forma, Efficiens, et Finis. At ex his, 
 Causa Finalis tantum abest ut prosit, ut etiam scientias cor- 
 rumpat, nisi in hominis actionibus ; Formae inventio habetur 
 pro desperata; Efficiens vero et Materia (quales quaeruntur et 
 recipiuntur, remotae scilicet, absque latenti processu ad Formam) 
 res perfunctoriae sunt et superficiales, et nihili fere ad scientiam 
 veram et activam. Neque tamen obliti sumus nos superius 
 notasse et correxisse errorem mentis humanae, in deferendo 
 Formis primas essentia?. 2 Licet enim in natura nihil vere 
 existat praeter corpora individua edentia actus puros individuos 
 ex lege; in doctrinis tamen, ilia ipsa lex, ej usque inquisitio 
 et inventio atque explicatio, pro fundamento est tarn ad 
 sciendum quam ad operandum. Earn autem legem, ej usque 
 paragraphos, Formarum nomine intelligimus 3 ; praesertim cum 
 hoc vocabulum invaluerit et familiariter occurrat 
 
 in. 
 
 Qui causam alicujus naturae (veluti albedinis aut Caloris) in 
 certis tantum subjectis novit, ejus Scientia imperfecta est; et 
 qui effectum super certas tantum materias (inter eas quae sunt 
 susceptibiles) inducere potest, ejus Potentia pariter imperfecta 
 est. At qui Efficientem et Materialem causam tantummodo 
 novit (quae causae fluxae sunt, et nihil aliud quam vehicula et 
 causae Formam deferentes in aliquibus) 4 , is ad nova inventa, 
 
 1 In this aphorism Bacon combines the antithesis of corpus and natura, the con- 
 crete and the abstract, with the antithesis of power and science, and thus arrives at a 
 quadripartite classification. To translate, as Mr. Craik has done, "natura" by "na- 
 tural substance " involves the whole subject in confusion. 
 
 In the last sentence continuati may be translated "continuously carried on." The 
 word is often thus used ; as in the dictum " mutatio nil aliud est quam successiva et 
 continuata formae adquisitio." 
 
 2 [I. 51. "Formae enim commenta animi human! sunt, nisi libeat leges illas 
 actus Formas appellare."] Translate, " We have noted and corrected as an error of 
 the human mind the opinion that forms give existence." Bacon alludes to the maxim 
 " forma dat esse." 
 
 * See General Preface, p. 31. The paragraphs of a law are its sections or clauses. 
 It is difficult to attach any definite meaning to Mr. Wood's translation of paragraphos, 
 " its parallels in each science." 
 
 4 t. e. u which are unstable causes, and merely vehicles and causes which convey the 
 form in certain cases."
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 229 
 
 in materia aliquatenus simili et praeparata, pervenire potest, 
 sed rerum tenninos altius fixos non movet. At qui Formas 
 novit, is naturas unitatem in materiis dissimillimis complectitur. 
 Itaque quae adhuc facta non sunt, qualia nee naturae vicissi- 
 tudines neque experimentales industriae neque casus ipse in 
 actum unquam perduxissent, neque cogitationem humanam 
 subitura fuissent, detegere et producere potest. Quare ex 
 Formarum inventione sequitur Contemplatio vera et Operatic 
 libera. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Licet vias ad potentiam atque ad scientiam humanam con- 
 junctissimae sint et fere eaedem, tamen propter perniciosam et 
 inveteratam consuetudinem versandi in abstractis, tutius omnino 
 est ordiri et excitare scientias ab iis fundamentis quae in ordine 
 sunt ad partem activam, atque ut ilia ipsa partem contem- 
 plativam signet et determinet. Videndum itaque est, ad 
 aliquam naturam super corpus datum generandam et super- 
 inducendam, quale quis prgeceptum aut qualem quis directionem 
 aut deductionem maxime optaret; idque sermone simplici et 
 minime abstruso. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; si quis argento cupiat superinducere flavum 
 colorem auri aut augmentum ponderis (servatis legibus ma- 
 teriae '), aut lapidi alicui non diaphano diaphaneitatem, aut vitro 
 tenacitatem, aut corpori alicui non vegetabili vegetationem ; 
 videndum (inquam) est, quale quis praeceptum aut deductionem 
 potissimum sibi dari exoptet. Atque primo, exoptabit aliquis 
 proculdubio sibi monstrari aliquid hujusmodi, quod opere non 
 frustret neque experimento fallat. Secundo, exoptabit quis 
 aliquid sibi praescribi, quod ipsum non astringat et coerceat ad 
 media quaedam et modos quosdam operand! particulares. For- 
 tasse enim destituetur, nee habebit facultatem et commoditatem 
 talia media comparand! et procurandi. Quod si sint et alia 
 media et alii modi (praeter illud praaceptum) progignendas talis 
 naturae, ea fortasse ex iis erunt quse sunt in operands potestate ; 
 a quibus nihilominus per angustias praecepti excludetur, nee 
 fructum capiet. Tertio, optabit aliquid sibi monstrari, quod 
 non sit aeque difficile ac ilia ipsa operatic de qua inquiritur, 
 sed propius accedat ad praxin. 
 
 Itaque de praecepto vero et perfecto operand!, pronuntiatum 
 erit tale ; ut sit certum, liberum, et disponens sive in ordine 
 
 1 That is, with a corresponding decrease of volume. 
 Q 3
 
 230 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ad actionem. Atque hoc ipsum idem est cum inventione 
 Forrnas veras. Etenim Forma naturae alicujus tails est ut, ea 
 posita, natura data infallibiliter sequatur. Itaque adest per- 
 petuo quando natura ilia adest, atque earn universaliter affirmat, 
 atque inest omni. Eadem Forma talis est ut, ea amota, natura 
 data infallibiliter fugiat Itaque abest perpetuo quando natura 
 ilia abest, eamque perpetuo abnegat, atque inest soli. Postremo, 
 Forma vera talis est, ut naturam datam ex fonte aliquo essentiae 
 deducat quae inest pluribus, et notior est naturae l (ut loquuntur) 
 quam ipsa Forma. Itaque de axiomate vero et perfecto 
 sciendi, pronuntiatum et praeceptum tale est; ut inveniatur 
 natura alia, qua sit cum natura data convertibilis, et tamen sit 
 limitatio natures notions, instar generis veri.* Ista autem duo 
 pronuntiata, activum et contemplativum, res eadem sunt ; et 
 quod in Operando utilissimum, id in Sciendo verissimum. 
 
 v. 
 
 At praeceptum sive axioma de transformatione corporum, 
 duplicis est generis. Primum intuetur corpus, ut turmam sive 
 conjugationem naturarum simplicium : ut in auro base conve- 
 niunt ; quod sit flavum ; quod sit ponderosum, ad pondus tale ; 
 quod sit malleabile aut ductile, ad extensionem talem; quod 
 non fiat volatile, nee deperdat de quanto suo per ignem ; quod 
 fluat fluore tali; quod separetur et solvatur modis talibus ; et 
 similiter de caeteris naturis, quas in auro concurrunt. Itaque 
 liujusmodi axioma rem deducit ex Formis naturarum simpli- 
 
 1 See note on Distrlb. Opens, p. 1 37. 
 
 * Let us adopt, for distinctness of expression, the theory commonly known as Bos- 
 covich's, a theory which forms the basis of the ordinary mathematical theories of 
 light, of heat, and of electricity. This theory supposes all bodies to be constituted of 
 inextended atoms or centres of force, each of which attracts or repels and is attracted 
 or repelled by all the rest. All the phenomena of nature are thus ascribed to me- 
 chanical forces, and all the differences which can be conceived to exist between two 
 bodies, gold, say, and silver, can only arise either from the different configura- 
 tion of the centres of force, or from the different law by which they act on one 
 another. 
 
 Assuming the truth of this theory, the question, why are some bodies transparent 
 and others not so in other words, what is the essential cause of transparency which 
 is precisely what Bacon would call the form of transparency, is to be answered by 
 saying that a certain configuration of the centres of force, combined with the existence 
 of a certain law of force, constitutes such a system that the vibrations of the lumini- 
 ferous ether pass through it. What this configuration or this law may be, is a ques- 
 tion which the present state of mathematical physics does not enable us to answer ; 
 but there is no reason a priori why in time to come it may not receive a complete 
 solution. If it does, we shall then have arrived at a knowledge, on Boscovich's theory, 
 of the form of transparency. Those who are acquainted with the recent progress of 
 physical science know that questions of this kind, so far from being rejected as the 
 questions of a mere dreamer, are thought to be of the highest interest and import- 
 ance, and that no inconsiderable advance has already been made towards the solution 
 of some at least among them.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 231 
 
 cium. Nam qui Formas et modos novit superinducendi flavi, 
 ponderis, ductilis, fixi, fluoris, solutionum, et sic de reliquis, et 
 eorum graduationes et modos, videbit et curabit ut ista con- 
 jungi possint in aliquo corpore, unde sequatur transformatio in 
 nurum. 1 Atque hoc genus operandi pertinet ad actionem 
 primariam. Eadem enim est ratio generandi naturam unam 
 aliquam simplicem, et plures ; nisi quod arctetur magis et re- 
 stringatur homo in operando, si plures requirantur, propter 
 difficultatem tot naturas coadunandi ; quae non facile conveniunt, 
 nisi per vias naturas tritas et ordinarias. Utcunque tamen 
 dicendum est, quod iste modus operandi (qui naturas intuetur 
 simplices, licet in corpore concrete) procedat ex iis quae in 
 natura sunt constantia et aeterna et catholica, et latas praebeat 
 potentiae humanae vias, quales (ut nunc sunt res) cogitatio hu- 
 mana vix capere aut reprsesentare possit. 
 
 At secundum genus axiomatis (quod a latentis processus 
 inventione pendet) non per naturas simplices procedit, sed per 
 concreta corpora, quemadmodum in natura inveniuntur, cursu 
 ordinario. Exempli gratia ; in casu ubi fit inquisitio, ex quibus 
 initiis, et quo modo, et quo processu, aurum aut aliud quodvis 
 metallum aut lapis generetur, a primis menstruis aut rudi- 
 mentis suis usque ad mineram perfectam ; aut similiter, quo 
 processu herbae generentur, a primis concretionibus succorum in 
 terra, aut a seminibus, usque ad plantam formatam, cum uni- 
 versa ilia successione motus, et diversis et continuatis naturae 
 nixibus ; similiter, de generatione ordinatim explicata animalium, 
 ab initu ad partum ; et similiter de corporibus aliis. 
 
 Enimvero neque ad generationes corporum tantum spectat 
 haec inquisitio, sed etiam ad alios motus et opificia naturae. 
 Exempli gratia ; in casu ubi fit inquisitio, de universa serie 
 et continuatis actionibus alimentandi, a prima receptione ali- 
 menti ad assimilationem perfectam ; aut similiter de motu 
 voluntario in animalibus, a prima impressione imaginationis et 
 continuatis nixibus spiritus usque ad flexiones et motus artuum ; 
 aut de explicato motu linguae et labiorum et instrumentorum 
 reliquorum usque ad editionem vocum articulatarum. Nam 
 haec quoque spectant ad naturas concretas, sive collegiatas et 
 
 1 " On pourroit trouver le moyen de contrefaire 1'or en sorte qu'il satisferoit a toutes 
 les ^'preuves qu'on en a jusqu'ici; mais on pourroit aussi decouvrir alors une nouvelle 
 maniere d'essai, qui donneroit le moyen de distinguer 1'or naturel de cet or fait par 
 artifice .... nous pourrions avoir uue definition plus parfaite de 1'or que nous n'en 
 uvous presentement." Leibnitz, Nonv. Ess. sur V Entendement, c. 2. 
 
 Q 4
 
 232 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 in fabrica ; et intuentur veluti consuetudines naturae partlcu- 
 lares et speciales, non leges fundamentales et communes, quse 
 constituunt Formas. Veruntamen omnino fatendum est, rati- 
 onem istam videri expeditiorem et magis sitam in propinquo, et 
 spem injicere magis, quam illam primariam. 
 
 At pars Operativa similiter, quae huic parti Contemplativae 
 respondet, operationem extendit et promovet ab iis quas ordi- 
 nario in natura inveniuntur ad quaedam proxima, aut a proximis 
 non admodum remota; sed altiores et radicales operationes 
 super naturam pendent utique ab axiomatibus primariis. 
 Quinetiam ubi non datur homini facultas operandi, sed tantum 
 sciendi, ut in coelestibus (neque enim ceditur homini operari in 
 ccelestia, aut ea immutare aut transformare), tamen inquisitio 
 facti ipsius sive veritatis rei, non minus quam cognitio causarum 
 et consensuum, ad primaria ilia et catholica axiomata de na- 
 turis simplicibus (veluti de natura rotationis spontaneae, attra- 
 ctionis sive virtutis magneticae, et aliorum complurium qua? 
 magis communia sunt quam ipsa coelestia) refertur. Neque 
 enim speret aliquis terminare quaestionem utrum in motu 
 diurno revera terra aut coelum rotet, nisi naturam rotationis 
 spontaneae prius comprehenderit. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Latens autem Processus, de quo loquimur, longe alia res est 
 quam animis hominum (qualiter nunc obsidentur) facile possit 
 occurrere. Neque enim intelligimus mensuras quasdam aut 
 signa aut scalas processus in corporibus spectabiles ; sed plane 
 processum continuation, qui maxima ex parte sensum fugit. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; in omni generatione et transformatione cor- 
 porum, inquirendum quid deperdatur et evolet, quid maneat, 
 quid accedat ; quid dilatetur, quid contrahatur ; quid uniatur, 
 quid separetur ; quid continuetur, quid abscindatur ; quid im- 
 pellat, quid impediat ; quid dominetur, quid succumbat ; et alia 
 complura. 
 
 Neque hie rursus, haec tantum in generatione aut transfor- 
 matione corporum quaerenda sunt ; sed et in omnibus aliis alte- 
 rationibus et motibus similiter inquirendum quid antecedat, 
 quid succedat ; quid sit incitatius, quid remissius ; quid motum 
 praebeat, quid regat ; et hujusmodi. Ista vero omnia scientiis 
 (quae nunc pinguissima Minerva et prorsus inbabili contexuntur) 
 incognita sunt et intacta. Cum enim omnis actio naturalis per 
 minima transigatur, aut saltern per ilia quae sunt minora quam
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 233 
 
 ut sensum feriant 1 , nemo se naturam regere aut vertere posse 
 speret, nisi ilia debito modo comprehenderit et notaverit. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Similiter, inquisitio et inventio latentis schematismi in cor- 
 poribus res nova est, non minus quam inventio latentis 
 processus et Formae. 2 Versamur enim plane adhuc in atriis 
 naturae, neque ad interiora paramus aditum. At nemo corpus 
 datum nova natura dotare vel in novum corpus foeliciter et ap- 
 posite transmutare potest, nisi corporis alterandi aut transfor- 
 mandi bonam habuerit notitiam. In modos enim vanos incurret, 
 aut saltern difficiles et perversos, nee pro corporis natura in 
 quod operatur. Itaque ad hoc etiam via plane est aperienda et 
 munienda. 
 
 Atque in anatomia corporum organicorum (qualia sunt 
 hominis et animalium) opera sane recte et utiliter insumitur, et 
 videtur res subtilis et scrutinium naturae bonum. At hoc genus 
 anatomiae spectabile est, et sensui subjectum, et in corporibus 
 tantum organicis locum habet. Verum hoc ipsum obvium 
 quiddam est et in promptu situm, pras anatomia vera schema- 
 tismi latentis in corporibus quaa habentur pro similaribus 3 : 
 praesertim in rebus specificatis 4 et earum partibus, ut ferri, 
 lapidis ; et partibus similaribus plantae, animalis ; veluti radicis, 
 folii, floris, carnis, sanguinis, ossis, etc. At etiam in hoc genere 
 non prorsus cessavit industria humana ; hoc ipsum enim innuit 
 separatio corporum similarium per distillationes et alios solu- 
 tionum modos, ut dissimilaritas compositi per congregation em 
 
 1 *. e. Every natural action depends on the ultimate particles of bodies, or at least 
 on parts too small to strike the sense. 
 
 2 The distinction between the Latent Process and Latent Schematism in the abso- 
 lute way in which it is here stated, involves an assumption which the progress of 
 science will probably show to be unfounded ; namely, that bodies apparently at rest 
 are so molecularly. Whereas all analogy and the fact that they act on the senses by 
 acting mechanically on certain deferent media combine to show that we ought to 
 consider bodies even at rest as dynamical and not as statical entities. On this view 
 there is no difficulty in understanding the nature of what appear to be spontaneous 
 changes, because every dynamical system carries within itself the seeds of its own 
 decay, except in particular cases; that is, the type of motion so alters, with greater or 
 less rapidiry, that the sensible qualities associated with it pass away. The introduc- 
 tion of the idea of unstable equilibrium in connexion with organic chemistry, was a 
 step in the direction which molecular Physics will probably soon take. 
 
 8 i. e. that are thought to be of uniform structure made up of parts similar to 
 one another. 
 
 4 i e. in things that have a specific character. In Bacon's time only certain things 
 were supposed to belong to natural species, all others being merely elementary. A 
 ruby has a specific character, is specificatum ; common stone or rock non ita ; they 
 are mere modifications of the element earth, &c. A " specific virtue " is a virtue 
 given by a thing's specific character, transcending the qualities of the elements it 
 consists of. [See note on De Augm. ii. 3.]
 
 234 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 partium homogenearum appareat. 1 Quod etiam ex usu est, et 
 facit ad id quod quaerimus; licet saepius res fallax sit; quia com- 
 plures naturae separationi imputantur et attribuuntur, ac si prius 
 substitissent in composito, quas revera ignis et calor et alii modi 
 apertionum de novo indunt et superinducunt. Sed et haec 
 quoque parva pars est operis ad inveniendum Schematismum 
 verum in composito ; qui Schematismus res est longe subtilior 
 et accuratior, et ab operibus ignis potius confunditur quam 
 eruitur et elucescit. 
 
 Itaque facienda est corporum separatio et solutio, non per 
 ignem certe, sed per rationem et Inductionem veram, cum 
 experimentis auxiliaribus ; et per comparationem ad alia cor- 
 pora, et reductionem ad naturas simplices et earum Formas 
 quae in composito conveniunt et complicantur ; et transeundum 
 plane a Vulcano ad Minervam, si in animo sit veras corporum 
 texturas et Schematismos (unde omnis occulta atque, ut vocant, 
 specifica proprietas et virtus in rebus pendet; unde etiam omnis 
 potentis alterationis et transfonnationis norma educitur) in 
 lucem protrahere. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; inquirendum, quid sit in omni corpore spi- 
 ritus, quid essentiae tangibilis ; atque ille ipse spiritus, utrum 
 sit copiosus et turgeat, an jejunus et paucus; tenuis, aut crassior; 
 magis aereus, aut igneus; acris, aut deses; exilis, aut robustus; 
 in progressu, aut in regressu ; abscissus, aut continuatus ; con- 
 sentiens cum externis et ambientibus, aut dissentiens ; etc. Et 
 similiter essentia tangibilis (quas non pauciores recipit diffe- 
 rentias quam spiritus) atque ejus villi et fibrae et omnimoda 
 textura, rursus autem collocatio spiritus per corpoream molem, 
 ejusque pori, meatus, venae et cellulae, et rudimenta sive tenta- 
 menta corporis organic!, sub eandem inquisition em cadunt. Sed 
 et in his quoque, atque adeo in omni latentis schematismi 
 inventione, lux vera et clara ab Axiomatibus primariis immit- 
 titur, quae certe caliginem omnem et subtilitatem discutit. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Neque propterea res deducetur ad Atomum, qui praesupponit 
 Vacuum et materiam non fluxam (quorum utrumque falsum est), 
 sed ad particulas veras, quales inveniuntur. Neque rursus est 
 quod exhorreat quispiam istam subtilitatem, ut inexplicabilem ; 
 sed contra, quo magis vergit inquisitio ad naturas simplices, eo 
 
 1 That the complex structure of the compound may be made apparent by bringing 
 together its several homogeneous parts.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 235 
 
 magis omnia erunt sita in piano et perspicuo ; translate negotio 
 a multiplies! in simplex, et ab incommensurabili ad commen- 
 surabile, et a surdo ad computabile, et ab infinite et vago ad 
 definitum et certum ; ut fit in elementis literarum et tonis 
 concentuum. Optime autem cedit inquisitio naturalis, quando 
 physicum terminatur in mathematico. At rursus multitudi- 
 nem aut fractiones nemo reformidet. In rebus eiiim quae per 
 numeros transiguntur, tarn facile quis posuerit aut cogitaverit 
 millenarium quam unum, aut millesimam partem unius quam 
 unum integrum. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Ex duobus generibus axiomatum quae superius posita sunt, 
 oritur vera divisio philosophise et scientiarum ; translatis voca- 
 bulis receptis (quae ad indicationem rei proximo accedunt) ad 
 sensum nostrum. Videlicet, ut inquisitio Formarum, quae sunt 
 (ratione certe, et sua lege 1 ) aeternae et immobiles, constituat 
 Metapliysicam ; inquisitio vero Ejficiejitis, et Materice, et La- 
 tentis Processus, et Latentis Schematismi (quae omnia cursum 
 naturae communem et ordlnarium, non leges fundamentales et 
 setcrnas respiciunt) constituat Physicam : atque his subordi- 
 nentur similiter practice duae ; Physicae Mechanica ; Metaphy- 
 sics} (perpurgato nomine) Magia, propter latas ejus vias et 
 mn jus imperium in naturam. 
 
 x. 
 
 Posito itaque doctrinse scopo, pergendum ad praecepta ; idque 
 ordine minime perverso aut perturbato. Atque indicia de In- 
 terpretatione Naturae complectuntur partes in genere duas; 
 primam de educendis aut excitandis axiomatibus ab experien- 
 tia ; secundam de deducendis aut derivandis experimentis novis 
 ab axiomatibus. Prior autem trifariam dividitur ; in tres nempe 
 ministrationes ; ministrationem ad Sensum, ministrationem ad 
 Memoriam, et ministrationem ad Mentem sive Rationem. 2 
 
 1 " In principle at least and in their essential law : " meaning that God could 
 change them, but that this change would be above reason and a change of the law of 
 the form, otherwise unchangeable. The phrase is a saving clause. Perhaps we should 
 read "ratione sua et lege" in their principle and law. 
 
 - 2 Compare Partis secundce Delineatio ; and for an explanation of the discrepancy 
 see General Preface, 10. According to the order proposed in the Delineatio, the 
 ministratio ad sensum was to contain three parts, of which the first two are not men- 
 tioned here : namely, 1st, " Quomodo bona notio constituatur et eliciatur, ac quo- 
 modo testatio sensus, quae semper est ex analogia hominis, ad analogiam mundi 
 reducatur et rectificetur; " 2dly, "Quomodo ea qua? sensum effugiunt aut subtilitate 
 totius corporis, aut partium minutiis, aut loci distantia, aut tarditate vel etiam velo- 
 citate motus, aut familaritate objecti, aut aliis, in ordinem sensus redigantur ; ac in- 
 super in casu quo adduci non possuut, quid faciendum, atque quomodo huic destitution!
 
 236 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Primo enim paranda est Historia Naturalis et Experimenta- 
 lis, sufficiens et bona ; quod fundamentum rei est ; neque enim 
 fingendum aut excogitandum, sed inveniendum, quid natura 
 faciat aut ferat. 
 
 Historia vero Naturalis et Experimentalis tarn varia est et 
 sparsa, ut intellectual confundat et disgreget, nisi sistatur et 
 compareat ordine idoneo. Itaque formandoe sunt Tabulae et 
 Coordinationes Instantiarum, tali modo et instructione ut in 
 eas agere possit intellectus. 
 
 Id quoque licet fiat, tamen intellectus sibi permissus et 
 sponte inovens incompetens est et inhabilis ad opificium axio- 
 inatum, nisi regatur et muniatur. Itaque tertio, adhibenda est 
 Inductio legitima et vera, quas ipsa Clavis est Interpretationis. 
 Incipiendum autem est a fine, et retro pergendum ad reliqua. 1 
 
 XI. 
 
 Inquisitio Formarum sic procedit ; super naturam datam 
 primo facienda est comparentia 2 ad Intellectum omnium In- 
 stantiarum notarum, quse in eadem natura conveniunt, per 
 materias licet dissimillimas. Atque hujusmodi collectio facienda 
 est historice, absque contemplatione prasfestina, aut subtilitate 
 aliqua majore. Exempli gratia ; in inquisitione de Forma Calidi. 
 
 Instantiaz convenientes in natura Calidi. 
 
 1. Radii solis, prsesertim restate et meridie. 
 
 2. Radii solis reflexi et constipati, ut inter montes, aut per 
 parietes, et maxime omnium in speculis comburentibus. 
 
 3. Meteora ignita. 
 
 4. Fulmina comburentia. 
 
 5. Eructationes flammarum ex cavis montium, etc. 
 
 6. Flamma omnis. 
 
 7. Ignita solida. 
 
 8. Balnea calida naturalia. 
 
 vel per instrumenta, vel per graduum observationem peritam, vel per corporum pro- 
 portionatorum ex sensibilibus ad insensibilia indicationes, vel per alias vias ac substi- 
 tutiones, sit subveniendum." I suppose Bacon had now detei mined to transfer these to 
 the third ministration the ministratio ad Rationem; and to treat of them under the 
 heads adminicula et rectiftcationes inductionis. See infra, 21. ; and observe that the 
 fu'l exposition of the Instantice supplement^ and Instantiee persecantes (both of which 
 belong to the second of the two parts above mentioned) was reserved for the section 
 relating to the adminicula Inductionis. See 42, 43. </. S. 
 
 1 i. e. Of this, which is the last (namely the method of interpretation by induction 
 based on exclusions), we must speak first, and then go back to the other ministrations. 
 
 2 This is properly a law term, and is equivalent to " appearance" in such phrases as 
 " to enter an appearance," &c. It is also said to be used for the vadimonium given to 
 secure an appearance on an appointed day. See Ducaugc in voc.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 237 
 
 9. Liquida ferventia, aut calefacta. 
 
 10. Vapores et fumi ferventes, atque aer ipse, qui fortissi- 
 mum et furentem suscipit calorem, si concludatur ; ut in rever- 
 beratoriis. 1 
 
 11. Tempestates aliquae sudae peripsam constitutionem aeris, 
 non habita ratione temporis anni. 
 
 12. Aer conclusus et subterraneus in cavernis nonnullis, 
 praesertim hyeme. 
 
 13. Omnia villosa, ut Lma, pelles animalium, et plumagines, 
 habent nonnihil teporis. 
 
 14. Corpora omnia, tarn solida quam liquida et tarn densa 
 quam tenuia (qualis est ipse aer), igni ad tempus approximata. 
 
 15. Scintillas ex silice et chalybe per fortem percussionem. 
 
 16. Omne corpus fortiter attritum, ut lapis, lignum, pannus, 
 etc.; adeo ut temones et axes rotarum aliquando flammam 
 concipiant; et mos excitandi ignis apud Indos Occidentales 
 fuerit per attritionem. 
 
 1 7. Herbas virides et humidae simul conclusae et contrusae, ut 
 rosae, pinsae 2 in corbibus; adeo ut foenum, si repositum fuerit 
 madidum, saepe concipiat flammam. 3 
 
 18. Calx viva, aqua aspersa. 
 
 19. Ferrum, cum primo dissolvitur per aquas fortes in vitro, 
 idque absque ulla admotione ad ignem : et stannum similiter, 
 etc., sed non adeo intense. 
 
 1 That is, furnaces in which the flame is made to return on itself by impeding its 
 direct course. 
 
 z Pisae in the original edition. 
 
 8 " That seeds when germinating, as they lie heaped in large masses, evolve a 
 considerable degree of heat, is a fact long known from the malting of grain ; but 
 the cause of it was incorrectly sought for in a process of fermentation. To Gb'ppert 
 ( Ueber Warmeenlwickelung in der lebenden Pflanze) is due the merit of having 
 demonstrated that such is not the case, but that the evolution of heat is connected 
 with the process of germination. Seeds of very different chemical composition (of 
 different grains, of Hemp, Clover, Spergula, Brassica, &c.), made to germinate in 
 quantities of about a pound, became heated, at a temperature of the air of 46 66, 
 to 59 120 Fahr. 
 
 " It was likewise shown by Goppert that full-grown plants also, such as Oats, Maize, 
 Cyperus esculentus, Hyoscyamus, Sedum acre, &c., laid together in heaps and covered 
 with bad conductors of heat, cause a thermometer placed among them to rise about 
 2 7 ( Spergula as much as 22) above the temperature of the air. . . . 
 
 " A very great evolution of heat occurs in the blossom of the Aroidece. This is 
 considerable even in our Arum macu/atum, and according to Dutrochet's researches 
 ( Comptes rendus, 1839, 695.) rises to 25 27 above the temperature of the air. 
 But this phenomenon is seen in a far higher degree in Cotocasia odora, in which plant 
 it has been investigated by Brongniart (Nouv. Ann. d. Museum, iii. ). Vrolik and Vriese 
 {Ann. des Sc. Nat., sec. ser. v. 134.), and Van Beek and Bersgma ( Obs. thermo-elect. 
 s. I'elev. de temperat. des F/eurs d. Colocas. odor. 1838). These last observers found 
 the maximum of heat 129, when the temperature of the air was 79." Mohl On 
 the Vegetable Cell, translated by Arthur Henfrey, Lond. 1852, pp. 101. and 102.
 
 238 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 20. Animalia, prsesertim et perpetuo per interiora ; licet in 
 insectis calor ob parvitatem corporis non 'deprehendatur ad 
 tactum. 
 
 21. Fimus equinus, et hujusmodi excrementa animalium re- 
 centia. 
 
 22. Oleum forte sulphuris et vitrioli exequitur opera caloris, 
 in linteo adurendo. 
 
 23. Oleum origani, et hujusmodi, exequitur opera caloris, in 
 adurendis ossibus dentium. 
 
 24. Spiritus vim fortis et bene rectificatus exequitur opera 
 caloris ; adeo ut, si albumen ovi in eum injiciatur, concrescat et 
 albescat, fere in modum albuminis cocti ; et panis injectus tor- 
 refiat et incrustetur, ad modum panis tosti. 1 
 
 25. Aromata et herbae calidae, ut dracunculus, nasturtium 
 vetus, etc. licet ad manum non sint calida (nee integra, nee 
 pulveres eorum), tamen ad linguam et palatum parum masticata 
 percipiuntur calida, et quasi adurentia. 
 
 26. Acetum forte, et omnia acida, in membro ubi non sit 
 epidermis, ut in oculo, lingua, aut aliqua alia parte vulnerata, et 
 cute detecta, dolorem cient, non multum discrepantem ab eo 
 qui inducitur a calido. 
 
 27. Etiam frigora acria et intensa inducunt sensum quendam 
 ustionis ; 
 
 " Nee Boreae penetrabile frigus adurit." 2 
 
 28. Alia, 
 
 Hanc Tabulam Essentia et Prcesentice appellare consuevimus. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Secundo, facienda est comparentia ad Intellectum Instantia- 
 rum quae natura data privantur : quia Forma (ut dictum est) 
 
 1 The analogy which Bacon here remarks, arises probably, in the second instance, 
 from the desiccative power due to the strong affinity of alcohol for water. The French 
 chemist Lassaigne found, I believe, that alcohol extracted a red colouring matter from 
 unboiled lobster shells ; but I am not aware that the modus operandi has in this case 
 been explained. But by far the most remarkable case of what may be called simulated 
 heat, is furnished by the action of carbonic acid gas on the skin. Of late years baths 
 of this gas have been used medicinally ; but M. Boussingault long since remarked the 
 sensation of heat which it produces. He states that at Quindiu in New Granada there 
 are sulphur works, and that at various points nearly pure carbonic acid gas escapes 
 from shallow excavations in the surface, containing, however, a trace of hydro-sulphuric 
 acid ; that the temperature of this issuing stream of gas is lower than the external air, 
 but that the sensation is the same as that produced by a hot-air bath of perhaps from 
 40 to 4 5 or 48 centigrade (104 to ll&Fahr.). As this effect has not been noticed 
 in carbonic acid gas prepared artificially, it is probable that it requires for its produc- 
 tion the gas to be in motion ; so that the necessary conditions are not present when the 
 hand is inserted into a jar of the gas. 
 
 1 Virg. Georg. I. 93.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 239 
 
 non minus abesse debet ubi natura abest, quam adesse ubi 
 adest. Hoc vero infinitum esset in omnibus. 
 
 Itaque subjungenda sunt negativa affirmativis, et priva- 
 tiones inspiciendae tantum in illis subjectis quae sunt maxime 
 cognata illis alteris in quibus natura data inest et comparet. 
 Hanc Tdbulam Declinationis, sive Absentia in proximo, appel- 
 lare consuevimus. 
 
 Instantice in proximo, guce privantur natura Calidi. 
 Ad instantiam 1. Lunse et stellarum et cometarum radii non 
 
 primam affirma- . . -. ,. , . , 
 
 uvam, instantia mvemuntur calioi ad tactum ' : quinetiam observari 
 
 prima negativa . .,.,.. 
 
 vei subjunctiva. golent acernma fngora in plemlunus. At stellze 
 
 majores, quando sol eas subit aut iis approximatur, ex- 
 istimantur fervores solis augere et intendere; ut fit cum sol 
 sistitur in Leone, et diebus canicularibus. 
 
 Ad 2m 2. 2. Radii solis in media (quam vocant) regione aeris 
 non calefaciunt; cujus ratio vulgo non male redditur; quia 
 regio ilia nee satis appropinquat ad corpus solis, unde radii 
 emanant, nee etiam ad terrain, unde reflectuntur. Atque hoc 
 liquet ex fastigiis montium (nisi sint praealti), ubi nives perpe- 
 tuo durant. Sed contra notatum est a nonnullis, quod in cacu- 
 mine Picus de Tenariph, atque etiam in Andis PeruviaB, ipsa 
 fastigia montium nive destituta sint ; nivibus jacentibus tantum 
 inferius in ascensu. Atque insuper aer illis ipsis verticibus 
 montium deprehenditur minime frigidus, sed tenuis tantum et 
 acer ; adeo ut in Andis pungat et vulneret oculos per nimiam 
 acrimoniam, atque etiam pungat os ventriculi, et inducat vomi- 
 tum. Atque ab antiquis notatum est, in vertice Olympi tan- 
 tarn fuisse aeris tenuitatem, ut necesse fuerit illis qui eo 
 ascenderant secum deferre spongias aceto et aqua madefactas, 
 easque ad os et nares subinde apponere, quia aer ob tenuitatem 
 non sufficiebat respiration! 2 : in quo vertice etiam relatum est, 
 tantam fuisse serenitatem et tranquillitatem a pluviis et nivi- 
 bus et ventis, ut sacrificantibus literae descriptae digito in 
 cineribus sacrificiorum super aram Jovis, manerent in annum 
 proximum absque ulla perturbatione. 3 Atque etiam hodie 
 
 1 M. Melloni has recently succeeded in making sensible the moon's calorific rays. 
 
 2 i. e. It was insufficient for the cooling of the blood, which according to Aristotle 
 was the end of respiration. 
 
 8 Aristotle seems to be the first person who mentions this notion. See the Problems 
 xxvi. 36. ; where however he, speaks of Athos and ol TOIOVTOI, and not of Olympus. 
 The passages on the subject are to be found in Ideler's Meteorologia veterum Grce- 
 corum et Romanorum (Berlin, 1832), at p. 81. Compare his edition of the Meteoro-
 
 240 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ascendentes ad verticem Picus de Tenariph eo vadunt noctu et 
 non interdiu ; et paulo post ortum soils monentur et excitantur 
 a ducibus suis ut festinent descendere, propter periculum (ut 
 videtur) a tenuitate aeris, ne sol vat spiritus et suffocet. 1 
 
 Ad 2n> 3*. Reflexio radiorum soils, in regionibus prope circulos 
 polares, admodum debilis et inefficax invenitur in calore : adeo 
 utBelgae, qui hybernarunt in Nova Zembla 2 , cum expectarent 
 navis suae liberationem et deobstructionem a glaciali mole (quse 
 earn obsederat) per initia mensis Julii spe sua frustrati sint, et 
 coacti scaphae se committere. Itaque radii solis directi videntur 
 parum posse, etiam super terrain planam ; nee reflexi etiam, 
 nisi multiplicentur et uniantur ; quod fit cum sol magis vergit 
 ad perpendiculum ; quia turn incidentia radiorum facit angulos 
 acutiores, ut lineae radiorum sint magis in propinquo : ubi con- 
 tra in magnis obliquitatibus solis anguli sint valde obtusi, et 
 proinde lineae radiorum magis distantes. Sed interim notandum 
 est, multas esse posse operationes radiorum solis, atque etiam 
 ex natura Calidi, quae non sunt proportionatae ad tactum nostrum : 
 adeo ut respectu nostri non operentur usque ad calefactionem, 
 sed respectu aliorum nonnullorum corporum exequantur opera 
 Calidi. 
 
 logics of Aristotle, where he has given in extenso the passage in which Geminus 
 speaks in the same manner of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, and also a similar statement 
 made by Philoponus with respect to Olympus. The whole class of stories seem (as 
 Ideler following Lobeck remarks) to have somewhat of a mythical character. G. Bruno 
 apparently confounded Philoponus with Alexander Aphrodisiensis, when in the Cena di 
 Cenere he asserted that the latter mentions the sacrifices on the top of Olympus. In 
 the passage on the subject in which we might expect to find him doing so, namely in 
 his Commentary on the Meteorologies, i. c. 3., he does not specify any particular 
 mountain. 
 
 That there is no wind nor rain on Olympus is mentioned as a common opinion 
 by St Augustin, De Civ. Dei, xvi. 27. Compare Dante, Purg. xxviii. 112. 
 
 1 Lest the animal spirits should swoon and be suffocated by the tenuity of the air. 
 
 2 This of course refers to Barentz's expedition in search of a North-East passage. He 
 passed the winter 1596-7 at Nova Zembla. [In Barentz's first voyage, 1594, he 
 was stopped by the ice on the 13th of July, and obliged to return. In his third voy- 
 age, 1596, his first considerable check was on the 19th of July ; after which he only 
 succeeded in coasting round the northern point of Nova Zembla till the 26th of 
 August, where the ship stuck fast and they were forced to leave her and winter on the 
 island, and return in their boats in the beginning of June 1597. See the letter signed 
 by the company : " Three Voyages by the North-East, &c.," Hackluyt Society, 1853, 
 p. 191. This letter was begun on the 1st of June : " Having till this day stayed for 
 the time and opportunity in hope to get our ship Ifvse, and now are clean out of hope 
 thereof, for that it lieth shut up and enclosed in the ice," &c. : and ended on the 13th, 
 " notwithstanding that while we were making ready to be gone, we had great wind 
 out of the west and north-west, and yet find no alteration nor bettering in the weather, 
 and therefore in the last extremity we left it." This narrative, written by Gerrit de 
 Veer, one of the party, was first published in Dutch in n>98 ; translated into Latin and 
 French the same year; into Italian in 1599; into English in 1609. See Introduction, 
 p. cxviii. " Per initia mensis Junii," would have been more accurate. J. S.j
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 241 
 
 Ad2am 4 a. Fiat hujusmocli experimentum. Accipiatur spe- 
 culum 1 fabricatum contra ac fit in speculis comburentibus, et 
 interponatur inter manum et radios solis; et fiat observatio, 
 utrum minuat calorem solis, quemadmodum speculum combu- 
 rens eundem auget et intendit. Manifestum est enim, quoad 
 radios opticos, prout fabricatur speculum in densitate injequali 
 respectu medii et laterum, ita apparere simulaclira magis diffusa 
 aut magis contracta. Itaque idem videndum in calore. 
 
 Ad 2am 5 a. Fiat experimentum diligenter, utrum per specula 
 comburentia fortissima et optime fabricate radii lunaj possint 
 excipi et colligi in aliqucm vel minimum gradum teporis. Is 
 vero gradus teporis si fortasse nimis subtilis et debilis fuerit, ut 
 ad tactum percipi et deprehendi non possit, confugiendum erit 
 ad vitra ilia quae indicant constitutionem ae'ris calidam aut fri- 
 gidam ; ita ut radii lunae per speculum comburens incidant et 
 jnciantur in summitatem vitri hujusmodi ; atque turn notetur si 
 fiat depressio aquae per teporem. 
 
 Ad 2m ea. Practicetur etiam vitrum comburens super calidum 2 
 quod non sit radiosum aut luminosum 3 ; ut ferri et lapidis 
 calefacti sed non igniti, aut aquae ferventis, aut similium ; et 
 notetur utrum fiat augmentum et intentio calidi, ut in radiis 
 solis. 
 
 Ad 2n 7. Practicetur etiam speculum comburens in flamma 
 communi. 
 
 Ad 2am 8a . Cometarum (si et illos numerare inter meteora 
 libuerit) 4 non deprehenditur constans aut manifestus efFectus in 
 augendis ardoribus anni, licet siccitates saepius inde sequi no- 
 tatae sint. Quiuetiam trabes et columnae lucidae et chasmata 
 et similia apparent saepius temporibus hybernis quam aestivis ; 
 et maxime per intensissima frigora, sed conjuncta cum siccitati- 
 bus. Fulmina tamen et coruscationes et tonitrua raro eveniunt 
 hyeme, sed sub tempus magnorum fervorum. At stellar (quas 
 
 1 " Speculum," used for lens. Read " specillum," the common word, il passes 
 very easily into u ; and probably the transition was more facile in the cursive hand. 
 * So in the original; qy. corpus calidum. J. S. 
 
 3 Mersenne says the greater number of the experiments mentioned in the second 
 book of the Novvm Organum had already been made, and mentions particularly, as if 
 he had himself tried it, the reflexion of all kinds of heat by a burning mirror. He also 
 asserts that light is always accompanied by heat De la Verite des Sciences (1625), 
 p. 210. 
 
 4 That there was no reason for supposing comets to be more than merely meteoric 
 exhalations is the thesis maintained, and doubtless with great ability, by Galileo in 
 his Saggiatore, the true view, or at least a nearer approach to it, having been pro- 
 pounded by the Jesuit Grossi. Bacon perhaps alludes to this controversy. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 242 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 vocnnt) cadentes existimantur vulgo inagis constare ex viscosa 
 aliqua materia splendida et accensa, quam esse naturae ignea? 
 fortioris. Sed de hoc inquiratur ulterius. 
 
 Ad4amga. Sunt qu8edam coruscationes quae praebent lumen 
 sed non urunt; eae vero semper fiunt sine tonitru. 
 
 Ad 5m io. Eructationes et eruptiones flammarum inveni- 
 untur non minus in regionibus frigidis quam calidis; ut in 
 Islandia et Groenlandia ; quemadmodum et arbores per regiones 
 frigidas magis sunt quandoque inflammabiles et magis piceae ac 
 resinosae quam per regiones calidas ; ut fit in abiete, pinu, et 
 reliquis ; verum in quali situ et natura soli hujusmodi eruptio- 
 nes fieri soleant, ut possimus Affirmative subjungere Negati- 
 vam, non satis qu^esitum est. 
 
 AdGamiia. Omnis flamma perpetuo est calida magis aut 
 minus, neque omnino subjungitur Negativa ; et tamen referunt 
 iguem fatuum (quern vocant), qui etiam aliquando impingitur 
 in parietem *, non multum habere caloris ; fortasse instar 
 flammae spiritus vim, quae clemens et lenis est. Sed adhuc 
 lenior videtur ea flamma quae in nonnullis historiis fidis et 
 gravibus invenitur apparuisse circa capita et comas puerorum 
 et virginum; qua? nullo modo comas adurebat, sed molliter 
 circum eas trepidabat. Atque certissimum est, circa equum 
 in itinere sudantem noctu et suda tempestate apparuisse quan- 
 doque coruscationem quandam absque manifesto calore. Atque 
 paucis abhinc annis, notissimum est et pro miraculo quasi 
 habitum gremiale cujusdam puellae paulo motum aut fricatum 
 coruscasse ; quod fortasse factura est ob alumen aut sales 
 quibus gremiale tinctum erat paulo crassius hasrentia et in- 
 crustata, et ex fricatione fracta. Atque certissimum est sac- 
 charum omne, sive conditum (ut vocant) sive simplex, modo 
 sit durius, in tenebris fractum aut cultello scalptum coruscare. 
 Similiter aqua marina et salsa noctu interdum invenitur remis 
 fortiter percussa coruscare. Atque etiam in tempestatibus 
 spuma maris fortiter agitata noctu coruscat ; quam coruscatio- 
 nem Hispani pulmonem marinum vocant. 2 De ilia flamma 
 autem quam antiqui nauta? vocabant Castorem et Pollucem, et 
 
 1 i. e. Which sometimes even settles on a wall. 
 
 * The phrase "pulmo marino" is as much Italian as Spanish, except of course, that 
 in Italian " pulmo" is replaced by " polmo." and is merely a translation of irvfvfj.ci!v 
 duAacrerios, which is used by Dioscorides, De Materia Medicd, ii. 39. The. luminous 
 appearance arises apparently from a molluscous animal, which in texture is like the 
 substance of the lungs, from which circumstance it derives the name which Dioscorides 
 gives it, Cf. De Aug. iv. 3.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 243 
 
 modern! Focum Sancti Ermi l , qualem calorem habeat non satis 
 quassitum est. 
 
 Ad7i2. Omne ignitum ita ut vertatur in ruborem 
 
 igneura etiam sine flamma perpetuo calidum est, neque huic 
 Affirmativae subjungitur Negativa ; sed quod in proximo est 
 videtur esse lignum putre, quod splendet noctu neque tamen 
 deprehenditur calidum ; et squamae piscium putrescentes, quse 
 etiam splendent noctu, nee inveniuntur ad tactum calidae; 
 neque etiam corpus cicindelae aut muscas (quam vocant Luci- 
 olam) calidum ad tactum deprehenditur. 
 
 Ad gam isa. De balneis calidis, in quo situ et natura soli 
 emanare soleant non satis quaesitum est; itaque non subjun- 
 gitur Negativa. 
 
 Ad 9<n 14*. Liquidis ferventibus subjungitur Negativa ipsius 
 liquidi in natura sua. Nullum enim invenitur liquidum tan- 
 gibile quod sit in natura sua et maneat constanter calidum, sed 
 superinducitur ad tempus tantum calor, ut natura ascititia 2 : 
 adeo ut quae potestate et operatione sunt maxime calida, ut 
 spiritus vini, olea aromatum chymica, etiam olea vitrioli et 
 sulphuris, et similia, quae paulo post adurunt, ad primum 
 tactum sint frigida. Aqua autem balneorum naturalium ex- 
 cepta in vas aliquod et separata a fontibus suis defervescit 
 perinde ac aqua igne calefacta. At verum est corpora oleosa 
 ad tactum paulo minus esse frigida quam aquea; ut oleum 
 minus quam aqua, sericum minus quam linteum. Verum hoc 
 pertinet ad Tabulam Graduum de Frigido. 
 
 Ad loam isa. Similiter vapori fervido subjungitur Negativa 
 naturae ipsius vaporis, qualis apud nos inveuitur. Etenim 
 exhalationes ex oleosis, licet facile inflammabiles, tamen non 
 inveniuntur calidae, nisi a corpore calido recenter exhalaverint. 
 
 Ad ioam ie. Similiter aeri ipsi ferventi subjungitur Negativa 
 naturae aeris ipsius. Neque enim invenitur apud nos aer 
 calidus; nisi fuerit aut conclusus, aut attritus, aut manifeste 
 calefactus a sole, igne, aut aliquo alio corpore calido. 
 
 Ad uam 17 a. Subjungitur Negativa tempestatum frigidarum 
 
 1 " O lume vivo, que a maritima gente 
 Tern por santo em tempo de tormenta." 
 
 Os Lusiadas de Camoes, canto v. est 18. 
 I take this quotation from Humboldt's Kosmos, ii. p. 122. 
 
 2 E converse, calor is not a natura adscititia to solids. In modern physics this dis- 
 tinction would be altogether without a meaning. That a hot liquid returns after a 
 while to a cold state, was adduced as an argument for the existence of substantial forms. 
 
 K 2
 
 244 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 magis quam pro ratione temporis anni, quae eveniunt apud nos 
 flante Euro et Borea ; quemadmodum et contrariae tempestates 
 eveniunt flante Austro et Zephyro. Etiam inclinatio ad pluviam 
 (praesertim temporibus hyemalibus) comitatur tempestatem te- 
 pidam ; at gelu contra frigidam. 
 
 Ad I* is*. Subjungitur Negativa aeris conclusi in cavernis 
 tempore aestivo. At de aere concluso omnino diligentius in- 
 quirendum. Primo enim non absque causa in dubitationem 
 venit qualis sit natura aeris quatenus ad calidum et frigidum 
 in natura sua propria. Recipit enim aer calidum manifesto ex 
 impressione coelestium ; frigidum autem fortasse ab expiratione 
 terrae; et rursus in media (quam vocant) regione aeris a 
 vaporibus frigidis et nivibus; ut nullum judicium fieri possit 
 de aeris natura per aerem qui foras est et sub dio, sed verius 
 foret judicium per aerem conclusum. Atqui opus est etiani ut 
 aer concludatur in tali vasi et materia quae nee ipsa imbuat 
 aerem calido vel frigido ex vi propria nee facile admittat vim 
 aeris extranei. Fiat itaque experimentum per ollam figularem 
 multiplici corio obductam ad muniendam ipsam ab aere ex- 
 traneo, facta mora per tres aut quatuor dies in vase bene 
 occluso; deprehensio autem fit post apertionem vasis vel per 
 manum vel per vitrurn graduum ordine applicatum. 
 
 Ad i3m i9. Subest similiter dubitatio, utrum tepor in lana 
 et pellibus et plumis et hujusmodi fiat ex quodam exili calore 
 inhaerente, quatenus excernuntur ab animalibus ; aut etiam ob 
 pinguedinem quandam et oleositatem, quae sit naturae congruae 
 cum tepore ; vel plane ob conclusionem et fractionem aeris, ut 
 in articulo praecedente dictum est. Videtur enim omnis aer 
 abscissus a continuitate aeris forinseci habere nonnihil teporis. 
 Itaque fiat experimentum in fibrosis quae fiunt ex lino ; non 
 ex lana aut plumis aut serico, quae excernuntur ab animatis. 
 Notandum est etiam, omnes pulveres (ubi manifesto includitur 
 aer) minus esse frigidos quam corpora Integra ipsorum ; quem- 
 admodum etiam existimamus omnem spumam (utpote quae 
 aerem contineat) minus esse frigidam quam liquorem ipsum. 
 
 Adum20. Huic non subjungitur Negativa. Nihil enim 
 reperitur apud nos sive tangibile sive spiritale quod admotum 
 igni non excipiat calorem. In eo tamen differunt, quod alia 
 excipiant calorem citius, ut aer, oleum, et aqua ; alia tardius, 
 ut lapis et metalla. Verum hoc pertinet ad Tabulam Graduum. 
 Adi5m2ie. Huic Instantiae lion subjungitur Negativa alia,
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 245 
 
 quam ut bene notetur non excitari scintillas ex silice et chalybe 
 aut alia aliqua substantia dura nisi ubi excutiuntur minutiae 
 aliquas ex ipsa substantia lapidis vel metalli, neque aerem 
 attritum unquam per se generare scintillas, ut vulgo putant ; 
 quin et ipsae illae scintilla? ex pondere corporis igniti magis 
 vergunt deorsum quam sursum, et in extinctione redeunt in 
 quandam fuliginem corpoream. 
 
 Adi6am 2 2a. Existimamus huic instantiae non subjungi Ne- 
 gativam. Nullum enim invenitur apud nos corpus tangibile 
 quod non ex attritione manifesto calescat; adeo ut veteres 
 somniarent non inesse coelestibus aliam viam aut virtutem 
 calefaciendi nisi ex attritione aeris per rotationem rapidam et 
 incitatam. 1 Verum in hoc genere ulterius inquirendum est 
 utrum corpora quae emittuntur ex machinis (qualia sunt pila? 
 ex tormentis) non ex ipsa percussione contrahant aliquem 
 gradum caloris ; adeo ut postquam deciderint inveniantur non- 
 nihil calida. At ae'r motus magis infrigidat quam calefacit ; ut 
 in ventis et follibus et flatu oris contracti. Verum hujusmodi 
 motus non est tarn rapidus ut excitet calorem, et fit secundum 
 totum, non per particulas; ut mirum non sit, si non generet 
 calorem. 
 
 Adi7am23a. Circa hanc instantiam facienda est inquisitio 
 diligentior. Videntur enim herbae et vegetabilia viridia et 
 humida aliquid habere in se occulti caloris. Ille vero calor tain 
 tenuis est ut in singulis non percipiatur ad tactum, verum 
 postquam ilia adunata sint et conclusa, ut spiritus ipsorum 
 non expiret in aerem sed se invicem foveat, turn vero oritur 
 calor manifestos, et nonnunquam flamma in materia congrua. 
 
 Ad isam 24a. Etiam circa hanc instantiam diligentior facienda 
 est inquisitio. Yidetur enim calx viva aqua aspersa concipere 
 calorem vel propter unionem caloris qui antea distrahebatur 
 (ut ante dictum est de herbis conclusis), vel ob irritationem et 
 exasperationem spiritus ignei ab aqua, ut fiat quidam conflictus 
 et antiperistasis. Utra vero res sit in causa facilius apparebit 
 si loco aquae immittatur oleum; oleum enim aeque ac aqua 
 
 1 See Arist. Meteorol. r. c. 2. sub finem ; or De Coelo, n. c. 7. It seems probable 
 that Aristotle was influenced by a wish to secure the doctrine of the eternity of the 
 universe, which he saw would be put in peril if celestial heat were ascribed to anything 
 akin to combustion. We now know that the generation of heat, whether by friction, com- 
 bustion, or otherwise, involves a loss of vis viva, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion 
 that the material universe sprang, at a finite distance of time ago, out of something 
 wholly and inconceivably different from itself. Nothing is more remarkable than the 
 way in which ontology here forces itself into physics. 
 
 n 3
 
 246 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 valebit ad unionem spiritus inclusi, sed noil ad irritationem. 
 Etiam faciendum est experimentum latius tarn in cineribus et 
 calcibus diversorum corporum, quam per immissionem diver- 
 sorum liquorum. 
 
 Ad isam 25a. Huic iustantiae subjungitur Negativa aliorum 
 metallorum quae sunt magis mollia et fluxa. Etenim bracteolae 
 auri solutae in liquorem per aquam regis nullum dant calorem 
 ad tactum in dissolutione ; neque similiter plumbum in aqua 
 forti; neque etiam argentum vivum (utmemini); sed argentum 
 ipsum parum excitat caloris, atque etiam cuprum (ut memini), 
 sed magis manifesto stannum, atque omnium maxime ferrum et 
 chalybs, quae non solum fortem excitant calorem in dissolutione, 
 sed etiam violentam ebullitionem. 1 Itaque videtur calor fieri 
 per conflictum, cum aquas fortes penetrant et fodiunt et divellunt 
 partes corporis, et corpora ipsa resistunt. Ubi vero corpora 
 facilius cedunt vix excitatur calor. 
 
 Ad2oam26a. Calori animalium nulla subjungitur Negativa, nisi 
 insectorum (ut dictum est) ob parvitatem corporis. Etenim in 
 piscibus collatis ad animalia terrestria magis notatur gradus 
 caloris quam privatio. In vegetabilibus autem et plantis nul- 
 lus percipitur gradus caloris ad tactum, neque in lachrymis 
 ipsorum, neque in medullis recenter apertis. At in animalibus 
 magna reperitur diversitas caloris, turn in partibus ipsorum 
 (alius est enim calor circa cor, alius in cerebro, alius circa 
 externa), turn in accidentibus eorum, ut in exercitatione ve- 
 hement! et febribus. 
 
 Ad2iam27a. Huic instantiaB vix subjungitur Negativa. Quin- 
 etiam excrementa animalium non recentia manifesto habent 
 calorem potentialem, ut cernitur in impinguatione soli. 
 
 Ad 22am et 23am 28a. Liquores (sive aquas vocentur sive olea) qui 
 habent magnam et intensam acrimoniam exequuntur opera 
 caloris in divulsione corporum, atque adustione post aliquam 
 moram ; sed tamen ad ipsum tactum manus noii sunt calidi ab 
 initio. Operantur autem secundum analogiam 2 et poros corpo- 
 ris cui adjunguntur. Aqua enim regis aurum solvit, argentum 
 
 1 This ebullition is of course not the result of the heat, but arises from the disengage- 
 ment of gas during the action of the acid on the metal. 
 
 2 This is another instance of the large sense given to the word analogia. Aqua 
 regia is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Its power of dissolving gold is 
 ascribed by Davy to the liberation of chlorine by the mutual action of the two acids. 
 The different result in the case of silver arises from the insolubility of chloride of 
 silver.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 247 
 
 minime ; at contra aqua fortis argentum solvit, aurum minime ; 
 neutrum autem solvit vitruni ; et sic de caeteris. 
 
 Ad 2-tam 29a. Fiat experimentum spiritus vini in lignis, ac etiam 
 in butyro aut cera aut pice ; si forte per calorem suum ea 
 aliquatenus liquefaciat. Etenim instantia 24 a ostendit pote- 
 statem ejus imitativam caloris in incrustationibus. Itaque fiat 
 similiter experimentum in liquefactionibus. Fiat etiam expe- 
 rimentum per vitrum graduum sive calendare quod conca- 
 vum sit in summitate sua per exterius ; et immittatur in illud 
 concavum exterius spiritus vini bene rectificatus, cum operculo 
 ut melius contineat calorem suum ; et notetur utrum per calo- 
 rem suum faciat aquam descendere. 
 
 Ad 25am 3Da. Aromata, et herbae acres ad palatum, multo magis 
 sumptae interius, percipiuntur calida. Videndum itaque in 
 quibus aliis materiis exequantur opera caloris. Atque refe- 
 runt nautae, cum cumuli et massa? aromatum diu conclusae 
 subito aperiuntur, periculum instare illis qui eas primo agitant 
 et extrahunt a febribus et inflammationibus spiritus. 1 Simi- 
 liter fieri poterit experimentum, utrum pulveres hujusmodi 
 aromatum aut herbarum non arefaciant laridum et carnem 
 suspensam super ipsos, veluti fumus ignis. 
 
 Ad 2Gam aia. Acrimonia sive penetratio inest tarn frigidis, qualia 
 sunt acetum et oleum vitrioli, quam calidis, qualia sunt oleum 
 origani et similia. Itaque similiter et in animatis cient dolorem, 
 et in non animatis divellunt partes et consumunt. Neque huic 
 instantise subjungitur Negativa. Atque in animatis nullus 
 reperitur dolor nisi cum quodam sensu caloris. 
 
 Ad27m32a. Communes sunt complures actiones et calidi et 
 frigidi, licet diversa admodum ratione. Nam et nives puerorum 
 manus videntur paulo post urere ; et frigora tuentur carnes a 
 putrefactione, non minus quam ignis ; et calores contrahunt 
 corpora in minus, quod faciunt et frigida. Verum haec et 
 similia opportunius est referre ad Inquisitionem de Frigido. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Tertio facienda est Comparentia ad Intellectum instantiarum 
 in quibus natura de qua fit inquisitio inest secundum magis et 
 minus; sive facta comparatione incrementi et decrementi in 
 
 1 In the Annals of Philosophy a case is mentioned in which the effluvia arising on 
 the opening of a large bark-store at Guayra were sufficiently powerful to cure a bad 
 fever. 
 
 K4
 
 248 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 eodem subjecto, sive facta comparatione ad invicem in subjectis 
 diversis. Cum enim Forma rei sit ipsissima res ; neque differat 
 res a Forma, aliter quam difFerunt apparens et existens, aut 
 exterius et interius, aut in ordine ad hominem et in ordine ad 
 universum l ; omnino sequitur ut non recipiatur aliqua natura 
 pro vera Forma, nisi perpetuo decrescat quando natura ipsa 
 decrescit, et similiter perpetuo augeatur quando natura ipsa 
 augetur. Hanc itaque tabulam Tabulam Graduum sive Ta- 
 bulam Comparatives appellare consuevimus. 
 
 Tabula Graduum sive Comparative in Calido. 
 Primo itaque dicemus de iis qua3 nullum prorsus gradum 
 caloris habent ad tactum, sed videntur habere potentialem 
 tantum quendam calorem, sive dispositionem et prseparationem 
 ad calidum. Postea demum descendemus ad ea quse sunt actu 
 sive ad tactum calida, eorumque fortitudines et gradus. 
 
 1. In corporibus solidis et tangibilibus non invenitur aliquid 
 quod in natura sua calidum sit originaliter. Non enim lapis 
 aliquis, non metallum, non sulphur, non fossile aliquod, non 
 lignum, non aqua, non cadaver animalis, inveniuntur calida. 
 Aquae autem calidse in balneis videntur calefieri per accidens, 
 sive per flammam aut ignem subterraneum, qualis ex -ZEtna 
 et montibus aliis compluribus evomitur, sive ex conflictu 
 corporum, quemadmodum calor fit in ferri et stanni dissolu- 
 tionibus. Itaque gradus caloris in inanimatis, quatenus ad 
 tactum humanum, nullus est; veruntamen ilia gradu frigoris 
 difFerunt; non enim seque frigidum est lignum ac metallum. 
 Sed hoc pertinet ad Tabulam Graduum in Frigido. 
 
 2. Attamen quoad potentiales calores et prseparationes ad 
 flammam, complura inveniuntur inanimata admodum disposita, 
 ut sulphur, naphtha, petrelaeum. 2 
 
 3. Qua3 antea incaluerunt, ut fimus equinus ex animali, aut 
 calx aut fortasse cinis aut fuligo ex igne, reliquias latentes 
 quasdam caloris prioris retinent. Itaque fiunt qusedam di- 
 stillationes et separationes corporum per sepulturam in fimo 
 equino, atque excitatur calor in calce per aspersionem aquee ; 
 ut jam dictum est. 
 
 1 " Res " is to be taken in a general sense, so as to include not only substances, but 
 also what Bacon calls naturae. It is therefore not to be translated as if it wore 
 synonymous with corpus; and in fact in a subsequent passage (II. 50.) "res" and 
 " corpus " are, so to speak, placed in opposition to each other. " Kerum forma? et Cor- 
 porum schematism!. " 
 
 2 The La! in form of the word is petroleum.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 249 
 
 4. Inter vegetabilia non invenitur aliqua planta sive pars 
 plantae (veluti lachryma aut medulla) quae sit ad tactum 
 humanum calida. Sed tamen (ut superius dictum est) herbae 
 virides conclusae calescunt ; atque ad interiorem tactum, veluti 
 ad palatum aut ad stomachum aut etiam ad exteriores partes, 
 post aliquam moram (ut in emplastris et unguentis) alia vege- 
 tabilia inveniuntur calida, alia frigida. 
 
 5. Non invenitur in partibus animalium, postquam fuerint 
 mortuae aut separatee, aliquid calidum ad tactum humanum. 
 Nam neque fimus equinus ipse, nisi fuerit conclusus et sepultus, 
 calorem retinet. Sed tamen omnis fimus habere videtur calorem 
 potentialem, ut in agrorum impinguatione. Et similiter, cada- 
 vera animalium hujusmodi habent latentem et potentialem 
 calorem ; adeo ut in coemeteriis ubi quotidie fiunt sepulturoe 
 terra calorem quendam occultum colligat, qui cadaver aliquod 
 recenter impositam consumit longe- citius quam terra pura. 
 Atque apud orientales traditur inveniri textile quoddam tenue 
 et molle, factum ex avium plumagine, quod vi innata butyrum 
 solvat et liquefaciat in ipso leviter involutum. 
 
 6. Quae impinguant agros, ut fimi omnis generis, creta, arena 
 maris, sal, et similia, dispositionem nonnullam habent ad cali- 
 dum. 
 
 7. Omnis putrefactio in se rudimenta quaedarn exilis caloris 
 habet 1 , licet non hucusque ut ad tactum percipiatur. Nam 
 nee ea ipsa quae putrefacta solvuntur in animalcula, ut caro, 
 caseus, ad tactum percipiuntur calida; neque lignum putre, 
 quod noctu splendet, deprehenditur ad tactum calidum. Calor 
 autem in putridis quandoque se prodit per odores tetros et 
 fortes. 
 
 8. Primus itaque caloris gradus, ex iis quse ad tactum huma- 
 num percipiuntur calida, videtur esse calor animalium, qui bene 
 magnam habet graduum latitudinem. Nam infimus gradus (ut 
 in insectis) vix ad tactum deprenditur ; summus autem gradus 
 vix attingit ad gradum caloris radioruin solis in regionibus et 
 temporibus maxime ferventibus, neque ita acris est quin tole- 
 rari possit a manu. Et tamen referunt de Constantio 2 , aliisque 
 nonnullis qui constitutionis et habitus corporis admodum sicci 
 
 1 This is true of eremacausis rather than of real putrefaction. But the distinction 
 belongs to the recent history of chemistry. 
 
 2 The person here referred to is Constantius II., the son of Constantine the Great. 
 The burning heat of the fever of which he died is mentioned by Ammianus Marcel- 
 linns, 1. xxi. c. 15.
 
 250 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 fuerunt, quod acutissimis febribus correpti ita incaluerint ut 
 manum admotam aliquantulum urere visi sint. 
 
 9. Animalia, ex motu et exercitatione, ex vino et epulis, ex 
 venere, ex febribus ardentibus, et ex dolore, augentur calore. 
 
 10. Animalia in accessibus febrium intermittentium a prin- 
 cipio frigore et horrore corripiuntur, sed paulo post majorem 
 in modum incalescunt ; quod etiam faciunt a principio in cau- 
 sonibus et febribus pestilentialibus. 
 
 11. Inquiratur ulterius de calore comparato in diversis ani- 
 malibus, veluti piscibus, quadrupedibus, serpentibus, avibus ; 
 atque etiam secundum species ipsorum, ut in leone, milvio, 
 homine ; nam ex vulgar! opinione, pisces per interiora minus 
 calidi sunt, aves autem maxime calidse; praesertim columbae, 
 accipitres, struthiones. 1 
 
 12. Inquiratur ulterius de calore comparato in eodem animali, 
 secundum partes et membra ejus diversa. Nam lac, sanguis, 
 sperma, ova, inveniuntur gradu modico tepida, et minus calida 
 quam ipsa caro exterior in animali quando movetur aut agitatur. 
 Qualis vero gradus sit caloris in cerebro, stomacho, corde, et 
 reliquis, similiter adhuc non est quaesitum. 
 
 13. Animalia omnia, per hyemem et tempestates frigidas, se- 
 cundum exterius frigent; sed per interiora etiam magis esse 
 calida existimantur. 
 
 14. Calor coelestium, etiam in regione calidissima atque tem- 
 poribus anni et diei calidissimis, non eum gradum caloris obtinet 
 qui vel lignum aridissimum vel stramen vel etiam linteum 
 ustum incendat aut adurat, nisi per specula comburentia robo- 
 retur ; sed tamen e rebus humidis vaporem excitare potest. 
 
 15. Ex traditione astronomorum ponuntur stellae alias magis, 
 alias minus calidae. Inter planetas eniin post solem ponitur 
 Mars calidissimus, deinde Jupiter, deinde Venus 2 ; ponuntur 
 autem tanquam frigidi Luna et deinde omnium maxime Satur- 
 nus. Inter fixas autem ponitur calidissimus Sirius, deinde Cor 
 Leonis, sive Regulus, deinde Canicula, etc. 
 
 16. Sol magis calefacit, quo magis vergit ad perpendiculum 
 sive Zenith, quod etiam credendum est de aliis planetis, pro 
 modulo suo caloris ; exempli gratia, Jovem magis apud nos 
 
 1 Struthio commonly means an ostrich, but it seems here to be used for a sparrow. 
 J. S. 
 
 By some Venus was accounted cold and moist. Vide Margarita Phil. p. 627. 
 Ptolemy, however, confirms what Bacon says of her.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 251 
 
 calefacere cum positus sit sub Cancro aut Leone quam sub 
 Capricorno aut Aquario. 
 
 17. Credendum est solem ipsum et planetas reliquos magis 
 calefacere in perigaeis suis, propter propinquitatem ad terrain, 
 quam in apogaeis. Quod si eveniat ut in aliqua regione sol sit 
 simul in perigaeo et propius ad perpendiculum, necesse est ut 
 magis calefaciat quam in regione ubi sol sit similiter in perigaeo 
 sed magis ad obliquum. Adeo ut comparatio exaltationis pla- 
 netarum notari debeat, prout ex perpendiculo aut obliquitate 
 participet, secundum regionum varietatem. 
 
 18. Sol etiam, et similiter reliqui planetae, calefacere magis 
 existimantur cum sint in proximo ad stellas fixas majores ; ve- 
 luti cum sol ponitur in Leone, magis vicinus fit Cordi Leonis, 
 Caudoe Leonis, et Spicae Virginis, et Sirio, et Caniculae, quam 
 cum ponitur in Cancro, ubi tamen magis sistitur ad perpendicu- 
 lum. 1 Atque credendum est partes coeli majorem infundere 
 calorem (licet ad tactum minime perceptibilem) quo magis 
 ornatae sint stellis, prassertim majoribus. 
 
 19. Omnino calor coelestium augetur tribus modis; videlicet 
 ex perpendiculo, ex propinquitate sive perigseo, et ex conjun- 
 ctione sive consortio stellarum. 
 
 20. Magnum omnino invenitur intervallum inter calorem 
 animalium ac etiam radiorum coelestium (prout ad nos deferun- 
 tur), atque flammam, licet lenissimam, atque etiam ignita omnia, 
 atque insuper liquores, aut ae'rem ipsum majorem in modum 
 ab igne calefactum. Etenim flamma spiritus vini, prassertim 
 rara nee constipata, tamen potis est stramen aut linteum aut 
 papyrum incendere; quod nunquam faciet calor animalis vel 
 solis, absque speculis comburentibus. 
 
 21. Flammas autem et ignitorum plurimi sunt gradus in 
 fortitudine et debilitate caloris. Verum de his nulla est facta 
 diligens inquisitio ; ut necesse sit ista leviter transmittere. 
 Videtur autem ex flammis ilia ex spiritu vini esse mollissima ; 
 nisi forte ignis fatuus, aut flammae seu coruscationes ex sudoribus 
 animalium, sint molliores. Hanc sequi opinamur flammam ex 
 vegetabilibus levibus et porosis, ut stramine, scirpis, et foliis 
 arefactis, a quibus non multum differre flammam ex pilis aut 
 
 1 This astrological fancy was probably suggested by a wish to explain why July is 
 hotter than June. In the division of the Zodiac into trigons each of which corre- 
 sponds to one of the elements, Leo forms one of the corners of the fiery trigon ; and it 
 is moreover the sun's proper sign.
 
 252 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 plumis. Hanc sequitur fortasse flamma ex lignis, praesertim iis 
 quae non multum habent ex resina aut pice ; ita tamen ut 
 flamma ex lignis quae parva sunt mole (quae vulgo colligantur in 
 fascicules) lenior sit quam quae fit ex truncis arborum et radi- 
 cibus. Id quod vulgo experiri licet in fornacibus quae ferrum 
 excoquunt, in quibus ignis ex fasciculis et ramis arborum non 
 est admodum utilis. Hanc sequitur (ut arbitramur) flamma ex 
 oleo et sevo et cera, et hujusmodi oleosis et pinguibus, quaa 
 sunt sine magna acrimonia. Fortissimus autem calor reperitur 
 in pice et resina; atque adhuc magis in sulphure et caplmra 1 , 
 et naphtha et petrelaeo et salibus (postquam materia cruda eru- 
 perit), et in horum compositionibus, veluti pulvere tormentario, 
 igne Graeco (quern vulgo ignem ferum vocant), et diversis ejus 
 generibus, quae tarn obstinatum habent calorem ut ab aquis non 
 facile exstinguantur. 
 
 22. Existimamus etiam flammam quae resultat ex nonnullis 
 metallis imperfectis esse valde robustam et acrem. Verum de 
 istis omnibus inquiratur ulterius. 
 
 23. Videtur autem flamma fulminum potentiorum has omnes 
 flammas superare ; adeo ut ferrum ipsum perfectum aliquando 
 colliquaverit in guttas, quod flammae illae alterae facere non 
 possunt. 
 
 24. In ignitis autem diversi sunt etiam gradus caloris, de 
 quibus etiam non facta est diligens inquisitio. Calorem maxime 
 debilem existimamus esse ex linteo usto, quali ad flammae exci- 
 tationem uti solemus ; et similiter ex ligno illo spongioso aut 
 funiculis arefactis qui ad tormentorum accensionem adhibentur. 
 Post hunc sequitur carbo ignitus ex lignis et anthracibus atque 
 etiam ex lateribus ignitis, et similibus. Ignitorum autem vehe- 
 mentissime calida existimamus esse metalla ignita, ut ferrum et 
 cuprum et caetera. Verum de his etiam facienda est ulterior 
 inquisitio. 
 
 25. Inveniuntur ex ignitis nonnulla longe calidiora quam 
 nonnullae ex flammis. Multo enim calidius est et magis adurens 
 ferrum ignitum quam flamma spiritus vini. 
 
 26. Inveniuntur etiam ex illis quae ignita non sunt sed tan- 
 turn ab igne calefacta, sicut aquae ferventes et aer conclusus in 
 reverberatoriis, nonnulla quae superant calore multa ex flammis 
 ipsis et ignitis. 
 
 1 Camphor.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 253 
 
 27. Motus auget calorem ; ut videre est in follibus et flatu ; 
 adeo ut duriora ex metallis non solvantur aut liquefiant per 
 ignem mortuum aut quietum, nisi flatu excitetur. 
 
 28. Fiat experimentum per specula comburentia, in quibus 
 (ut memini) 1 hoc fit, ut si speculum ponatur (exempli gratia) 
 ad distantiam spithamse ab objecto combustibili, non tantopere 
 incendat aut adurat quam si positum fuerit speculum (exempli 
 gratia) ad distantiam semi-spithamas, et gradatim et lente tra- 
 hatur ad distantiam spithama?. Conus tamen et unio radiorum 
 eadem sunt, sed ipse motus auget operationem caloris. 2 
 
 29. Existimantur incendia ilia qua} fiunt flante vento forti 
 majores progressus facere adversus ventum quam secundum 
 ventum; quia scilicet flamma resilit motu perniciore, vento 
 remittente, quam procedit vento impellente. 
 
 30. Flamma non emicat aut generatur, nisi detur aliquid 
 concavi in quo flamma movere possit et ludere; praeterquam 
 in flammis flatuosis pulveris tormentarii, et similibus, ubi com- 
 pressio et incarceratio flammse auget ejus furorem. 
 
 31. Incus per malleum calefit admodum ; adeo ut si incus 
 fuerit laminae tenuioris, existimemus illam per fortes et continuos 
 ictus mallei posse rubescere, ut ferrum ignitum ; sed de hoc fiat 
 experimentum. 
 
 32. At in ignitis quae sunt porosa, ita ut detur spatium ad 
 exercendum motum ignis, si cohibeatur hujusmodi motus per 
 compressionem fortem, statim extinguitur ignis ; veluti cum 
 linteum ustum aut filum ardens candelae aut lampadis aut 
 etiam carbo aut pruna ardens comprimitur per pressorium aut 
 pedis conculcationem aut hujusmodi, statim cessant operationes 
 ignis. 
 
 33. Approximatio ad corpus calidum auget calorem, pro 
 gradu approximationis ; quod etiam fit in lumine ; nam quo 
 propius collocatur objectum ad lumen eo magis est visibile. 
 
 34. Unio calorum diversorum auget calorem, nisi facta sit 
 commistio corporum. Nam focus magnus et focus parvus in 
 eodem loco nonnihil invicem augent calorem ; at aqua tepida 
 immissa in aquam ferventem refrigerat. 
 
 1 Compare De Galore et Frigore : " And the operation of them [burning-glasses] is, 
 as / remember, first to place them," &c., which seems to prove, not only that Bacon 
 had no burning-glass at hand, but also that he was not familiar with the use of them. 
 /. S, 
 
 2 The only explanation of this is, that the focal length of the lens lay between a 
 span and half a span.
 
 254 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 35. Mora corporis calidi auget calorem. Etenim calor per- 
 petuo transiens et emanans commiscetur cum calore praein- 
 existente, adeo ut multiplicet calorem. Nam focus non aeque 
 calefacit cubiculum per moram semihorae ac si idem focus 
 duret per horam integram. At hoc non facit lumen ; etenim 
 lampas aut candela in aliquo loco posita non magis illumiuat 
 per moram diuturnam quam statim ab initio. 
 
 36. Irritatio per frigidum ambiens auget calorem; ut in 
 focis videre est per gelu acre. Quod existimamus fieri non 
 tantum per conclusionem et contractionem caloris, quae est 
 species unionis, sed per exasperationem ; veluti cum aer aut 
 baculum violenter comprimitur aut flectitur, non ad punctum 
 loci prioris resilit, sed ulterius in contrarium. Itaque fiat 
 diligens experimentum per baculum vel simile aliquid immis- 
 sum in flammam, utrum ad latera flammae non uratur citius 
 quam in medio flammae. 
 
 37. Gradus autem in susceptione caloris sunt complures. 
 Atque primo omnium notandum est, quam parvus et exilis 
 calor etiam ea corpora quse caloris minime omnium sunt sus- 
 ceptiva immutet tamen et nonnihil calefaciat. Nam ipse calor 
 manus globulum plumbi aut alicujus metalli paulisper deten- 
 tum nonnihil calefacit. Adeo facile et in omnibus transmittitur 
 et excitatur calor, corpore nullo modo ad apparentiam immutato. 
 
 38. Facillime omnium corporum apud nos et excipit et remittit 
 calorem aer; quod optime cernitur in vitris calendaribus. Eorum 
 confectio est talis l : accipiatur vitrum ventre concavo, collo 
 tenui et oblongo ; resupinetur et demittatur hujusmodi vitrum 
 ore deorsum verso, ventre sursum, in aliud vasculum vitreum 
 ubi sit aqua, tangendo fundum vasculi illius recipientis extremo 
 ore vitri immissi, et incumbat paullulum vitri immissi collum 
 ad os vitri recipientis, ita ut stare possit ; quod ut commodius 
 fiat, apponatur paruni cerae ad os vitri recipientis ; ita tamen ut 
 non penitus obturetur os ejus, ne ob defectum aeris succedentis 
 impediatur motus de quo jam dicetur, qui est admodum facilis 
 et delicatus. 
 
 Oportet autem ut vitrum demissum, antequam inseratur in 
 alterum, calefiat ad ignem a parte superiori, ventre scilicet. 
 
 1 I am very much inclined to think that Bacon heard of the vitrum calendare from 
 Fludde.or a Fluctibus, as he is called in Latin, who returned from Italy in [1605], and 
 in whose philosophy, built upon certain abstract notions of rarefaction and condens- 
 ation, perpetual reference is made to the air-thermometer, to which he gives the 
 same name.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 255 
 
 Postquam autem fuerit vitrum illud collocatum ut diximus, 
 recipiet et contrahet se aer (qui dilatatus erat per calefactionem), 
 post moram sufficientem pro extinctione illius ascititii caloris, 
 ad talem extensionem sive dimensionein qualis erit aeris am- 
 bientis aut communis tune temporis quando immittitur vitrum, 
 atque attrahet aquam in sursum ad hujusmodi mensuram. 
 Debet autem appendi charta angusta et oblonga, et gradibus 
 (quot libuerit) interstincta. Videbis autem, prout tempestas 
 diei incalescit aut frigescit, aerem se contrahere in angustius 
 per frigidum et extendere se in latius per calidum ; id quod 
 conspicietur per aquam ascendentem quando contrahitur aer, 
 et descendentem sive depressum quando dilatatur aer. Sen- 
 sus autem aeris, quatenus ad calidum et frigidum, tarn sub- 
 tilis est et exquisitus ut facultatem tactus humani multum 
 superet ; adeo ut solis radius aliquis, aut calor anhelitus, multo 
 magis calor manus, super vitri summitatem positus, statim 
 deprimat aquam manifesto. 1 Attamen existimamus spiritual 
 animalium magis adhuc exquisitum sensum habere calidi et 
 frigidi, nisi quod a mole corporea impediatur et hebetetur. 
 
 39. Post aerem, existimamus corpora esse maxime sensitiva 
 caloris ea quae a frigore recenter immutata sint et compressa, 
 qualia sunt nix et glacies ; ea enim leni aliquo tepore solvi 
 incipiunt et colliquari. Post ilia sequitur fortasse argentum 
 vivum. Post illud sequuntur corpora pinguia, ut oleum, buty- 
 rum, et similia ; deinde lignum ; deinde aqua ; postremo lapides 
 
 1 In consequence of this description of the Vitrum Calendare, the invention of the 
 Thermometer has been ascribed to Bacon ; but without good reason. Fludd was 
 the first to publish an account of the Thermometer ; but Nelli says, and (admitting 
 his authorities) truly, that Galileo's invention was anterior to any publication of 
 Fludd's. Nelli speaks of a letter preserved in the library of his family " in copia," 
 which Castelli addressed to Cesarina in 1638. Castelli says that, more than thirty- 
 five years before, Galileo had shown him an experiment which he describes ; namely, 
 the rise of the water into an inverted tube with a bulb at one extremity, when the 
 open end of the tube is put into a vessel of water, and goes on, "del quale effetto il 
 medesimo Signor Galileo si era servito per fabbricare un Istromento da esatninare i 
 gradi del caldo e del freddo." Thus far Castelli ; but how long after the original ex- 
 periment the instrument was made, does not appear from his statement. Nelli also 
 refers to Viviani's Life of Galileo, wherein it is said that Galileo invented the Ther- 
 mometer between 1593 and 1597. It has not, I think, been remarked that the rise 
 of water under the circumstances of Galileo's original experiment had already been 
 described in Porta's Natural Magic ; though, as is usually the case with Porta, one 
 cannot be sure whether he had ever actually seen it. " Possumus etiam solo calore 
 aquam ascendere facere. Sit dolium supra turrim, vel ligneum, vel argillaceum aut 
 sereum, quod melius erit, et canalem habeat in medio, qui descendat inferius usque ad 
 aquam, et in ea submersus sit, sed adglutinatus, ne respiret. Calefiat vas superius 
 vel sole vel igne, nam aer, qui in alvo continetur, rarefit et foras prolabitur, unde 
 aquam in bullas tumere videbimus, mox absentia solis ubi vas refrigescit, aer conden- 
 satur, et quum non sufflciat inclusus aer vacuum replere, accersitur aqua et ascendit 
 supra." Porta's Magic, book xix. chap. 4.
 
 256 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 et metalla, quae non facile calefiunt, praesertim interius. Ilia 
 tamen calorem semel susceptum diutissime retinent; ita ut 
 later aut lapis aut ferrum ignituna in pelvim aquas frigidae irn- 
 missum et demersum, per quartam partem horae (plus minus) 
 retineat calorem, ita ut tangi non possit. 
 
 40. Quo minor est corporis moles, eo citius per corpus cali- 
 dum approximatum incalescit ; id quod demonstrat omuem 
 calorem apud nos esse corpori tangibili quodammodo adversum. 
 
 41. Calidum, quatenus ad sensum et tactum humanum, res 
 varia est et respectiva ; adeo ut aqua tepida, si manus frigore 
 occupetur, sentiatur esse calida ; sin manus incaluerit, frigida. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Quam inopes simus historic quivis facile advertet, cum in 
 tabulis superioribus, praeterquam quod loco historiae probatae et 
 instantiarum certarum nonnunquam traditiones et relationes 
 inseramus (semper tamen adjecta dubias fidei et auctoritatis 
 nota), saepenumero etiam hisce verbis, fiat experimentum, vel 
 inquiratur ulterius, uti cogamur. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Atque opus et officium harum trium tabularum, Com- 
 parentiam Instantiarum ad Intellectum vocare consuevimus. 
 Facta autem Comparentia, in opere ponenda est ipsa Inductio. 
 Invenienda est enim super Comparentiam omnium et singu- 
 larum Instantiarum natura talis, quas cum natura data perpetuo 
 adsit, absit, atque crescat et decrescat; sitque (ut superius 
 dictum est) limitatio naturae magis communis. 1 Hoc si mens 
 jam ab initio facere tentet affirmative (quod sibi permissa 
 semper facere solet), occurrent phantasmata et opinabilia et 
 notionalia male terminata et axiomata quotidie emendanda ; 
 nisi libeat (scholarum more) pugnare pro falsis. Ea tamen 
 proculdubio erunt meliora aut praviora pro facultate et robore 
 intellectus qui operatur. At omnino Deo (Formarum inditori 
 et opifici) aut fortasse angelis et intelligentiis competit Formas 
 per affirmationem immediate nosse, atque ab initio contempla- 
 tionis. 2 Sed certe supra hominem est ; cui tantum conceditur, 
 
 1 That is, a particular case of a more general nature. The force of the last clause 
 may be thus illustrated : If all bodies were more or less luminous accordingly as they 
 were more or less hot, the luminous and the hot would be concomitantia, but neither 
 would be the form of the other. [See General Preface, 8. J. S.] 
 
 2 It was, I apprehend, the received doctrine, that whatever knowledge the angelic 
 nature is capable of it attains at once. Thus it is said, " Inferiores substantial intellecti- 
 vae, scilicet animae humanae, habent potentiam intellect! vam non completam natural iter,
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 257 
 
 procedere primo per Negativas, et postremo loco desinere in 
 Affirmativas, post omnimodam exclusionem. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Itaque naturae facienda est prorsus solutio et separatio, non 
 per ignem certe, sed per raentem, tanquam ignem divinum. 
 Est itaque Inductionis vera? opus primum (quatenus ad inveni- 
 endas Formas) Rejectio sive Exclusiva naturarum singularura 
 qua non inveniuntur in aliqua instantia ubi natura data adest, 
 aut inveniuntur in aliqua instantia ubi natura data abest, aut 
 inveniuntur in aliqua instantia crescere cum natura data de- 
 crescat, aut decrescere cum natura data crescat. Turn vero 
 post Rejectionem et Exclusivam debitis modis factam, secundo 
 loco (tanquam in fundo) manebit (abeuntibus in fumum opini- 
 onibus volatilibus) Forma affirmativa, solida et vera et bene 
 terminata. Atque hoc breve dictu est, sed per multas ambages 
 ad hoc pervenitur. Nos autem nihil fortasse ex iis quae ad 
 hoc faciunt praetermittemus. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Cavendum autem est et monendum quasi perpetuo, ne, cum 
 tantae partes Formis videantur a nobis tribui, trahantur ea quae 
 dicimus ad Formas eas quibus hominum contemplationes et 
 cogitationes hactenus assueverunt. 
 
 Primo enim, de Formis copulatis, quae sunt (ut diximus) 
 naturarum simplicium conjugia ex cursu communi universi, ut 
 leonis, aquilae, rosae, auri, et hujusmodi, impraesentiarum non 
 loquimur. 1 Tempus enim erit de iis tractandi, cum ventum 
 fuerit ad Latentes Processus et Latentes Schematismos, eo- 
 rumque inventionem, prout reperiuntur in substantiis (quas 
 vocant) seu naturis concretis. 
 
 Rursus vero, non intelligantur ea quae dicimus (etiam qua- 
 tenus ad naturas simplices) de Formis et ideis abstractis, aut in 
 materia non determinatis aut male determinatis. Nos enim 
 quum de Formis loquimur, nil aliud intelligimus quam leges 
 
 sed completur in iis successive per hoc quod accipiunt species a rebus. Potentia Vero 
 intellectiva in substantiis spiritualibus superioribus, id est in angelis, completa est per 
 species intelligibiles connaturales : in quantum habent species intelligibilcs connatu- 
 rales ad omnia intelligenda quae naturaliter cognoscere possunt." S. Thomas, Summa 
 Theol. Ima, q. 45. a 2. 
 
 1 Bacon's principle that the form of any substance may be conceived as a combina- 
 tion of the forms which correspond to each of its qualities is well illustrated by the 
 phrase " formae copulatse." The " forma copulata " is the " lex ex qua corpus indi- 
 vicluum edit actus puros." Of this law each section or paragraphus is the " forma 
 alicujus ex naturis simplicibus quae in eo corpore conjunguntur." I have already 
 remarked on Mr. Wood's rendering of the word " paragraphus " in 2. 
 
 VOL. I. S
 
 258 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 illas et determination es actus puri, quae naturam aliquam sim- 
 plicem ordinant et constituunt ; ut calorem, lumen, pondus ; in 
 omnimoda materia et subjecto susceptibili. Itaque eadem res 
 est Forma Calidi aut Forma Luminis, et Lex Calidi sive Lex 
 Luminis ; neque vero a rebus ipsis et parte operativa unquam 
 nos abstrahimus aut recedimus. Quare cum dicimus (exempli 
 gratia) in inquisitione Formae Caloris, rejice tenuitatem, aut 
 tenuitas non est ex Forma Caloris, idem est ac si dicamus potest 
 homo superinducere calorem in corpus densum ; aut contra, potest 
 homo auferre aut arcere calorem a corpore tenui. 
 
 Quod si cuiquam videantur etiam Formae nostrse habere 
 nonnihil abstracti, quod misceant et conjungant heterogenea 
 (videntur enim valde esse heterogenea calor coelestium et ignis ; 
 rubor fixus in rosa aut similibus, et apparens in iride aut 
 radiis- opalii aut adamantis ; mors ex summersione, ex crema- 
 tione, ex punctura gladii, ex apoplexia, ex atrophia ; et tamen 
 conveniunt ista in natura calidi, ruboris, mortis), is se habere 
 intellectum norit consuetudine et integralitate rerum et opi- 
 nionibus captum et detentum. 1 Certissimum enim est ista, 
 utcunque heterogenea et aliena, coire in Formam sive Legem 
 earn quae ordinat calorem aut ruborem aut mortem; nee 
 emancipari posse potentiam humanam et liberari a naturae 
 cursu communi, et expandi et exaltari ad efficientia nova et 
 modos operandi novos, nisi per revelationem et inventionem 
 hujusmodi Formarum ; et tamen post istam unionem natura?, 
 quae est res maxime principalis, de naturae divisionibus et 
 venis, tarn ordinariis quam interioribus et verioribus, suo loco 
 postea dicetur. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Jam vero proponendum est exemplum Exclusionis sive Re- 
 jectionis naturarum, quae per Tabulas Comparentiae reperiuntur 
 non esse ex Forma Calidi ; illud interim monendo, non solum 
 sufficere singulas tabulas ad Rejectionem alicujus naturae, sed 
 
 1 The ejection here anticipated has actually been made. It has been said that 
 we cannot be sure that any quality always proceeds from the same cause. And in 
 truth, though the axiom " like causes produce like effects," and vice versa, seems to be 
 inseparable from the idea of causation, yet the force of the objection remains. For 
 the reference of sensible qualities to outward objects involves a subjective element. 
 The same colour, as referred to a substance as the object in which it resides, is a dif- 
 ferent thing as it is a fixed colour, or prismatic, or epipolar, &c. They agree, it may 
 be said, in the type of undulation ; but viewed as properties of bodies, or with re- 
 ference to operations on them, they are distinct. And if we could go further into the 
 mechanism of sensation, we should probably recede further both from concrete bodies 
 and from practice.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 259 
 
 etiam unamquamque ex instantiis singularibus in illis con- 
 tentis. Manifestum enim est ex iis quae dicta sunt, omnem 
 instantiara contradictoriam destruere opinabile de Forma. Sed 
 nihilominus quandoque, perspicuitatis causa et ut usus tabu- 
 larum clarius demonstretur, Exclusivam duplicamus aut repe- 
 timus. 
 
 Exemplum Exclusive, sive Rejectionis Naturarum a Forma 
 
 Calidi. 
 
 1. Per radios solis, rejice naturam elementarem. 1 
 
 2. Per ignem cornmunem, et maxime per ignes subterraneos 
 (qui remotissimi sunt et plurimum intercluduntur a radiis cce- 
 lestibus), rejice naturam coelestem. 
 
 3. Per calefactionem omnigenum corporum (hoc est, mine- 
 ralium, vegetabilium, partium exteriorum animalium, aquae, 
 olei, aeris, et reliquorum) ex approximatione sola ad ignem aut 
 aliud corpus calidum, rejice omnem varietatem sive subtiliorem 
 texturam corporum. 
 
 4. Per ferrum et metalla ignita, quaa calefaciunt alia cor- 
 pora nee tamen omnino pondere aut substantia minuuntur, 
 rejice inditionem sive mixturam substantial alterius calidi. 
 
 5. Per aquam ferventem atque aerem, atque etiam per 
 metalla et alia solida calefacta, sed non usque ad ignitionem 
 sive ruborem, rejice lucem aut lumen. 
 
 6. Per radios lunse et aliarum stellarum (excepto sole), 
 rejice etiam lucem et lumen. 
 
 7. Per Comparativam ferri igniti et flammas spiritus vini (ex 
 quibus ferrum ignitum plus habet calidi et minus lucid i, flamma 
 autem spiritus vini plus lucidi et minus calidi), rejice etiam 
 lucem et lumen. 
 
 8. Per aurum et alia metalla ignita, qua? densissimi sunt 
 corporis secundum totum, rejice tenuitatem. 
 
 9. Per aerem, qui invenitur ut plurimum frigidus et tamen 
 manet tenuis, rejice etiam tenuitatem. 
 
 10. Per ferrum ignitum, quod non intumescit mole sed 
 manet intra eandem dimensionem visibilem, rejice motum loca- 
 lem aut expansivum secundum totum. 
 
 11. Per dilatationem aeris in vitris calendariis et similibus, 
 
 1 This refers to the antithesis, almost fundamental in Peripatetic physics, of the 
 celestial and the elementary. Heat, since the sun's rays are hot, cannot depend on the 
 elemental as contradistinguished from the celestial nature. 
 
 6 2
 
 2 GO TCOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 qui movetur localiter et expansive manifesto neque tamen col- 
 ligit manifestum augmentum caloris, rejice etiam motum loca- 
 lem aut expansivum secundum totum. 
 
 12. Per facilem tepefactionem omnium corporum, absque 
 aliqua destructione aut alteratione notabili, rejice naturam de- 
 structivam aut inditionem violentam alicujus naturae novas. 
 
 13. Per consensum et conformitatem operuni similium qua? 
 eduntur a calore et a frigore, rejice motum tarn expansivum 
 quam contractivum secundum totum. 
 
 14. Per accensionem caloris ex attritione corporum, rejice 
 naturam principialem. Naturam principialem vocamus earn 
 quae positiva reperitur in natura, nee causatur a natura praece- 
 dente. 1 
 
 Sunt et aliae naturae: neque enim Tabulas conficimus per- 
 fectas, sed exempla tantum. 
 
 Omnes et singulae naturae praedictae non sunt ex Forma 
 Calidi. Atque ab omnibus naturis praedictis liberatur homo in 
 operatione super Calidum. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Atque in Exclusiva jacta sunt fundamenta Inductionis verae ; 
 quae tamen non perficitur donee sistatur in Affirmativa. Neque 
 vero ipsa Exclusiva ullo modo perfecta est, neque adeo esse 
 potest sub initiis. Est enim Exclusiva (ut plane liquet) rejectio 
 naturarum simplicium ; quod si non habeamus adhuc bonas et 
 veras notiones naturarum simplicium, quomodo rectificari potest 
 Exclusiva? At nonnullae ex supradictis (veluti notio naturae 
 elementaris, notio naturae crelestis, notio tenuitatis) sunt no- 
 tiones vagae, nee bene terminatae. Itaque nos, qui nee ignari 
 sumus nee obliti quantum opus aggrediamur (viz. ut faciamus 
 
 1 Bacon here anticipates not merely the essential character of the most recent 
 theory of heat, but also the kind of evidence by which it has been established. The 
 proof that caloric does not exist, in other words that heat is not the manifestation 
 of a peculiar substance diffused through nature, rests mainly on experiments of 
 friction, 
 
 Mr. Joule and Professor Thomson ascribe the discovery of this proof chiefly to 
 Sir Humphrey Davy (see Beddoes's Contributions to Physical and Medical Knowledge, 
 p. 14.) ; but though Davy's experiments guard against sources of error of which Bacon 
 takes no notice, the merit of having perceived the true significance of the production 
 of heat by friction belongs of right to Bacon. 
 
 It is curious that in the essay in which he opposes the doctrine of caloric, Davy 
 endeavours to introduce a new error of the same kind, and to show that light really 
 is a natura principialis, a peculiar substance which in combination with oxygen pro- 
 perly so called constitutes oxygen gas, which he accordingly calls phosoxygen.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 261 
 
 intellectum liumanum rebus et naturae parem), nullo modo 
 acquiescimus in his quae adhuc praecepimus ; sed et rem in ulte- 
 rius provehimus, et fortiora auxilia in usum iutellectus machi- 
 namur et ministramus, quae nunc subjungemus. Et certe in 
 Interpretatione Naturae animus omnino taliter est praeparandus 
 et formandus, ut et sustineat se in gradibus debitis certitudinis, 
 et tamen cogitet (praesertim sub initiis) ea quae adsunt multum 
 pendere ex iis quae supersunt. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Attamen quia citius emergit veritas ex errore quam ex con- 
 fusione, utile putamus ut fiat permissio intellectui, post tres 
 tabulas Comparentiae Primae (quales posuimus) factas et pen- 
 sitatas, accingendi se et tentandi opus Interpretationis Naturae 
 in affirmativa ; tarn ex instantiis tabularum, quam ex iis quae 
 alias occurrent. Quod genus tentamenti, Permissionem Intel- 
 lectus sive Inter pretationem Inchoatcim, sive Vindemiationem 
 Primam appellare consuevimus. 
 
 Vindemiatio Prima de Forma Calidi. 
 
 Animadvertendum autem est, Formam rei inesse (ut ex iis 
 quae dicta sunt plane liquet) instantiis universis et singulis 
 in quibus res ipsa inest; aliter enim Forma non esset; ita- 
 que nulla plane dari potest instantia contradictoria. Attamen 
 longe magis conspicua invenitur Forma et evidens in aliquibus 
 instantiis quam in aliis ; in iis videlicet, ubi minus cohibita est 
 natura Formae et impedita et redacta in ordinem per naturas 
 alias. Hujusmodi autem instantias, Elucescentias vel Instan- 
 tias Ostensivas appellare consuevimus. Pergendum itaque est 
 ad Vindemiationem ipsam Primam de Forma Calidi. 
 
 Per universas et singulas instantias, natura cujus limi- 
 tatio est Calor 1 videtur esse Motus. Hoc autem maxime 
 ostenditur in flamma, quae perpetuo movetur ; et in liquor- 
 ibus ferventibus aut bullientibus, qui etiam perpetuo 
 moventur. Atque ostenditur etiam in incitatione sive 
 incremento caloris facto per motum ; ut in follibus, et 
 ventis ; de quo vide Instant. 29. Tab. 3. Atque similiter 
 in aliis modis motus, de quibus vide Instant. 28. et 31. 
 Tab. 3. Rursus ostenditur in extinctione ignis et caloris 
 
 1 Of which heat is a particular case. 
 8 3
 
 262 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 per omnem fortem compressionem, quae fraenat et cessare 
 facit motum; de qua vide Instant 30. et 32. Tab. 3. 
 Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod omne corpus destruitur 
 aut saltern insigniter alteratur ab omni igne et calore 
 forti ac vehemeliti ; uncle liquido constat, fieri a calore 
 tumultum et perturbation em et motum acrem in partibus 
 internis corporis, qui sensim vergit ad dissolutionem. 
 
 Intelligatur hoc quod diximus de Motu (nempe, ut sit instar 
 generis ad Calorem 1 ), non quod calor generet motum, aut quod 
 motus generet calorem (licet et haec in aliquibus vera sint) ; sed 
 quod ipsissimus Calor, sive quid ipsum Caloris, sit Motus et 
 nihil aliud ; limitatus tamen per differentias quas mox subjun- 
 gemus, postquam nonnullas cautiones adjecerimus ad evitandum 
 aequivocum. 
 
 Calidum ad sensum res respectiva est, et in ordine ad homi- 
 nem non ad universum ; et ponitur recte ut effectus Caloris 
 tantum in spiritum animalem. Quin etiam in seipso res varia 
 est, cum idem corpus (prout sensus praedisponitur) inducat per- 
 ceptionem tarn calidi quam frigidi ; ut patet per Instant. 41. 
 Tab. 3. 
 
 Neque vero communicatio Caloris, sive natura ejus transitiva 
 per quam corpus admotum corpori calido incalescit, confundi 
 debet cum Forma Calidi. Aliud enim est Calidum, aliud Cale- 
 factivum. Nam per motum attritionis inducitur calor absque 
 aliquo calido praecedente, unde excluditur Calefactivum a Forma 
 Calidi. Atque etiam ubi calidum efficitur per approximationem 
 calidi, hoc ipsum non fit ex Forma Calidi ; sed omnino pendet a 
 natura altiore et magis communi ; viz. ex natura assimilationis sive 
 multiplicationis sui ; de qua facienda est separatim inquisitio. 
 
 At notio ignis plebeia est, et nihil valet ; composita enim est 
 ex concursu qui fit calidi et lucidi in aliquo corpore ; ut in 
 flamma communi, et corporibus accensis usque ad ruborem. 
 
 Remoto itaque omni sequivoco, veniendum jam tandem est ad 
 Differentias veras quae limitant Motum, et constituunt eum in 
 Formam Calidi. 
 
 PRIMA igitur Differentia ea est ; quod Calor sit motus 
 Expansivus, per quern corpus nititur ad dilatationem sui, et 
 recipiendi se in majorem sphaeram sive dimensionem quam 
 prius occupaverat. Haec autem Differentia maxime osten- 
 
 1 i. e. that it is as the genus of which heat is a species.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 263 
 
 ditur in flamma ; ubi fumus sive halitus pinguis mani- 
 festo dilatatur et aperit se in flammam. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in omni liquore fervente, qui mani- 
 festo intumescit, insurgit, et emittit bullas ; atque urget 
 processum expandendi se, donee vertatur in corpus longe 
 magis extensum et dilatatum quam sit ipse liquor; viz. 
 in vaporem aut fumum aut aerem. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in omni ligno et combustibili ; ubi fit 
 aliquando exudatio, at semper evaporatio. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in colliquatione metallorum, quae (cum 
 sint corporis compactissimi) non facile intumescunt et se 
 dilatant ; sed tamen spiritus eorum, postquam fuerit in se 
 dilatatus, et majorem adeo dilatationem concupierit, trudit 
 plane et agit partes crassiores in liquidum. Quod si etiam 
 calor fortius intendatur, solvit et vertit multum ex iis in 
 volatile. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in ferro aut lapidibus ; quae licet non 
 liquefiant aut fundantur, tamen emolliuntur. Quod etiam 
 fit in baculis ligni ; quae calefacta paullulum in cineribus 
 calidis fiunt flexibilia. 
 
 Optime autem cernitur iste motus in acre, qui per 
 exiguum calorem se diktat continuo et manifesto ; ut per 
 Instant. 38. Tab. 3 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in natura contraria Frigidi. Frigus 
 enim omne corpus contrahit et cogit in angustius ; adeo 
 ut per intensa frigora clavi excidant ex parietibus, aera dis- 
 siliant, vitrum etiam calefactum et subito positum in fri- 
 gido dissiliat et frangatur. Similiter ae'r per levem infri- 
 gidationem recipit se in angustius; ut per Instant. 38. Tab. 
 3. Verum de his fusius dicetur in inquisitione de Frigido. 
 
 Neque mirum est si Calidum et Frigidum edant com- 
 plures actiones communes (de quo vide Instant. 32. Tab. 
 2.), cum inveniantur duae ex sequentibus Differentiis (de 
 quibus mox dicemus) quas competunt utrique naturae ; 
 licet in hac Differentia (de qua nunc loquimur) actiones 
 sint ex diametro opposite. Calidum enim dat motum 
 expansivum et dilatantem, Frigidum autem dat motum 
 contractivum et coeuntem. 
 
 SECUNDA Differentia est modificatio prioris ; haec vide- 
 licet, quod Calor sit motus expansivus sive versus circum- 
 
 s 4
 
 264 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ferentiam ; hac lege tamen, ut una feratur corpus sursum. 
 Dubium enim non est quin sint inotus complures mixti. 
 Exempli gratia; sagitta aut spiculum simul et progre- 
 diendo rotat, et rotando progreditur. Similiter et motus 
 Caloris simul est et expansivus et latio in sursum. 
 
 Haec vero Differentia ostenditur in forcipe, aut bacillo 
 ferreo immisso in ignem ; quia si immittatur perpendicula- 
 riter tenendo manum superius, cito manum adurit ; sin ex 
 latere aut inferius, omnino tardius. 
 
 Conspicua etiam est in distillationibus per descenso- 
 rium ; quibus utuntur homines ad flores delicatiores, quo- 
 rum odores facile evanescunt. Nam hoc reperit industria, 
 ut collocent ignem non subter sed supra, ut adurat minus. 
 Neque enim flamma tantum vergit sursum, sed etiam omne 
 calidum. 1 
 
 Fiat autem experimentum hujus rei in contraria natura 
 Frigidi: viz. utrum frigus non contrahat corpus descen- 
 dendo deorsum, quemadmodum calidum dilatat corpus 
 ascendendo sursum. Itaque adhibeantur duo bacilla fer- 
 rea, *vel duo tubi vitrei, quoad caetera pares, et calefiant 
 nonnihil ; et ponatur spongia cum aqua frigida, vel nix, 
 subter unam, et similiter super alteram. Existimamus 
 enim celeriorem fore refrigerationem ad extremitates in 
 eo bacillo ubi nix ponitur supra quam in eo ubi nix po- 
 nitur subter ; contra ac fit in calido. 
 
 TERTIA Differentia ea est; ut Calor sit motus, non 
 expansivus uniformiter secundum totum, sed expansivus 
 per particulas minores corporis ; et simul cohibitus et re- 
 pulsus et reverberatus, adeo ut induat motum alternati- 
 vum et perpetuo trepidantem et tentantem et nitentem 
 et ex repercussione irritatum ; unde furor ille ignis et calo- 
 ris ortum habet. 
 
 Ista vero Differentia ostenditur maxime in flamma et 
 liquoribus bullientibus ; quae perpetuo trepidant, et in 
 parvis portionibus tument, et rursus subsidunt. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in iis corporibus quae sunt tarn duraa 
 compagis ut calefacta aut ignita non intumescant aut dila- 
 tentur mole ; ut ferrum ignitum, in quo calor est acerrimus. 
 
 1 This is an instance to show that heat does not descend so rapidly as it ascends 
 through liquids, which is true.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 265 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod per frigidissimas tem- 
 pestates focus ardeat acerrime. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod cum extenditur aer in 
 vitro calendar! absque impedimento aut repulsione, uni- 
 formiter scilicet et aequaliter, non percipiatur calor. Etiam 
 in ventis conclusis, licet erumpant vi maxima, tamen non 
 percipitur calor insignis ; quia scilicet motus fit secundum 
 totum, absque motu alternante in particulis. Atque ad 
 hoc fiat experimentum, utrum flamma non urat acrius 
 versus latera quam in medio flammae. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod omnis ustio transigatur 
 per minutos poros corporis quod uritur ; adeo ut ustio 
 eubruat et penetret et fodicet et stimulet, perinde ac si 
 essent infinitae cuspides acus. Itaque ex hoc illud etiam 
 fit, quod omnes aquae fortes (si proportionatae sint ad cor- 
 pus in quod agunt) edant opera ignis, ex natura sua cor- 
 rodente et pungente. 
 
 Atque ista Differentia (de qua nunc dicimus) communis 
 est cum natura frigidi ; in quo cohibetur motus contracti- 
 vus per renitentiam expandendi ; quemadmodum in calido 
 cohibetur motus expansivus per renitentiam contrahendi. 
 
 Itaque sive partes corporis penetrent versus interius 
 sive penetrent versus exterius, similis est ratio ; licet impar 
 admodum sit fortitude; quia non habemus hie apud nos 
 in superficie terrae aliquid quod sit impense frigidum. 
 Vide Instant 27. Tab. 9. 
 
 QUARTA Diiferentia est modificatio prioris : haec scilicet, 
 quod motus ille stimulationis aut penetrationis debeat esse 
 nonnihil rapidus et minime lentus; atque fiat etiam per 
 particulas, licet minutas ; tamen nou ad extremam subtili- 
 tatem, sed quasi majusculas. 
 
 Ostenditur haec Differentia in comparatione operum quae 
 edit ignis cum iis quae edit tempus sive aetas. -^Etas enim 
 sive tempus arefacit, consumit, subruit, et incinerat, non 
 minus quam ignis ; vel potius longe subtilius ; sed quia 
 motus ejusmodi est lentus admodum et per particulas valde 
 exiles, non percipitur calor. 
 
 Ostenditur etiam in comparatione dissolutionum ferri 
 et auri. Aurum enim dissolvitur absque calore excitato ; 
 ferrum autem cum vehement! excitatione caloris, licet
 
 266 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 simili fere intervallo quoad tempus. Quia scilicet in auro, 
 ingressus aquae separationis est clemens et subtiliter insi- 
 nuans, et cessio partium auri facilis ; at in ferro, ingressus 
 est asper et cum conflictu, et partes ferri habent obstina- 
 tionem majorem. 
 
 Osteuditur etiam aliquatenus in gangrsenis nonnullis et 
 mortificationibus carnium; quae non excitant magnum 
 calorem aut dolorem, ob subtilitatem putrefactionis. 
 
 Atque haec sit Prima Vindemiatio, sive Interpretatio inchoata 
 de Forma Calidi, facta per Permissionem Intellectus. 
 
 Ex Vindemiatione aut em ista Prima, Forma sive definitio 
 vera Caloris (ejus qui est in ordine ad universum, non relativus 
 tantummodo ad sensum) talis est, brevi verborum complexu: 
 Color est motus expansivus, cohibitus, et nitens per partes 
 minores. Modificatur autem expansio; ut expandendo in am- 
 bitum, nonnihil tamen inclinet versus superiora. Modificatur 
 autem et nixus ille per partes; ut non sit omnino segnis, sed 
 incitatus et cum impetu nonnulfo. 1 
 
 1 The Inquisitio de forma calidi suggests these remarks : 
 
 1st A great part of it conduces in no way to the result. This may be said to be 
 the natural consequence of the method of inquiry. 
 
 2nd. Heat (caloric) is confounded with the effects of chemical agencies, which are 
 said " exequi opera caloris." 
 
 3rd. A greater source of confusion is the complete absence of any recognition of the 
 principle that all bodies tend to acquire the temperature of those about them, and that 
 the difference ad tactum which makes one body feel hotter or colder than another 
 depends not on its being hotter or colder, but on the different degree of facility which 
 they have in communicating their own respective temperature. In consequence of 
 this, it had always been taught that one class of bodies were in their own nature cold, 
 another hot, and so on. All liquids were cold. Experiments with a thermometer 
 would have shown that they were not; but these Bacon did not try, an instance 
 among others how far he was from rejecting all he had been taught. 
 
 Of which remarks we may observe that, of the "Instantise convenientes," 13. is 
 an instance of the third, while from 22. to the end exemplify the second ; of the 
 " Instantiaein proximo," 14 19. are to be referred to the third ; from 27. to the end, 
 to the second. 
 
 4th. Calidum and Frigidum seem to be considered distinct and not correlative qua- 
 lities. 
 
 5th. The adoption of astrological fables about the hot and cold influence of the stars 
 and planets [is to be remaiked in the Tabula Graduum, 15. et seqq.] 
 
 Then comes the result, that the natura calidi is a motus expansivus. This is seen 
 [in air], " Optime cernitur in acre qui per exiguum calorem se dilatat continue et mani- 
 festo, ut per Inst 38. Tab. 3. : " that is, by the instance of a vitrum calendare, or 
 air-thermometer. And this is beyond question a good instance. But then in the 
 " exemplum exclusivae," 11., we read " Per dilatationem aeris in vitris calendariis 
 et similibus, qui movetur localiter et expansive manifesto, neque tamen colligit mani- 
 festum augmentum caloris, rejice etiam motum localem aut expansivum secundum 
 totum." How is this passage to be reconciled with the preceding ? For if the example 
 of the vitrum calendare proves anything, it proves a motus expansivus secundum 
 totum ; and if, on account of our having no manifest evidence that the air waxes 
 hot when it expands, the example does not prove this, why is it adduced ? The
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 267 
 
 Quod vero ad Operativam attinct, eadem res est. Nam 
 designatio est tails ; Si in aliquo corpore naturali poteris ex- 
 citare motum ad se dilatandum aut expandendum ; eumque 
 motum ita reprimere et in se vertere, ut dilatatio ilia non procedat 
 (Bqualiter, sed partim obtineat, partim retrudatur ; proculdubio 
 generabis Calidum : non habita ratione, sive corpus illud sit 
 elementare (ut loquuntur) sive imbutum a coelestibus J ; sive 
 luminosum sive opacum ; sive tenue sive densum ; sive loca- 
 liter expansum sive intra claustra dimensionis primse conten- 
 tum ; sive vergens ad dissolutionem sive manens in statu ; 
 sive animal, sive vegetabile, sive minerale, sive aqua, sive oleum, 
 sive aer, aut aliqua alia substantia quaecunque susceptiva motus 
 
 source of this confusion I believe to be that, though Bacon saw reason to affirm 
 expansion to be the essence of the hot, yet he was perplexed by examples of two 
 kinds : (a) bodies which do not visibly expand when they are heated, e. g. red-hot 
 iron ; (/J) bodies which expand without becoming heated, e. g. compressed air when 
 relieved from pressure. For the first difficulty, it might have occurred to him that 
 the hot iron does expand, though not enough to be perceived (except by accurate 
 measurement) to do so ; and if he had followed the indication thus given, he might 
 have been the discoverer of a general and most important law. The difficulty which 
 the Stcond class of phenomena creates ought to have prevented Bacon from assigning 
 expansion as the forma calidi, as being that which must always make a body hot, 
 and without which it could not become so. For it would be too liberal an interpre- 
 tation to say that the expressions " motus cohibitus et refraenatus," whereby the idea 
 of expansion is qualified, refer to a condition essential in the case of elastic fluids, 
 namely that the expansion in becoming heated is due to an increased elasticity, and not 
 to any decrease of external pressure. Even had the modification required by this class of 
 cases been introduced, there still remains that of liquids whose temperature is below that 
 of maximum density, which is altogether intractable. Of this phenomenon, however, 
 it would be unreasonable to expect Bacon to have known anything. But setting it 
 aside, if it were affirmed that Bacon, after having had a glimpse of the truth suggested 
 by some obvious phenomena, had then recourse, as he himself expresses it, to certain 
 " differentiae inanes " in order to save the phenomena, I think it would be hard to 
 dispute the truth of this censure. 
 
 Neveitheless, of the matters contained in the investigation, there are several of con- 
 siderable interest, though, as has been said, they are not connected with the final result. 
 
 The relation between heat and mechanical action has recently become the subject 
 of some very remarkable speculations, derived from the views suggested by S. Carnot 
 in his Reflections sur la Puissance Motrice du Feu, Two views have been pro- 
 pounded. In one (that of S. Carnot himself), mechanical action is regarded as con- 
 vertible with the transference from body to body of caloric. The other rejects the 
 notion of caloric (the substance of heat) altogether. On this view mechanical action 
 is convertible with the generation of heat ; i. e. the raising of a given quantity of a 
 given body from one given temperature to another. Both make use of the axiom " ex 
 nihilo nihil ; " and the conclusions thus obtained, especially in the second way of con- 
 sidering the subject, which I cannot doubt is the true one, are most remarkable, and 
 the more interesting because they are, so to speak, the interpretation of a maxim whose 
 truth is admitted a priori. 
 
 1 That is, whether the body derive its properties from the primary qualities of the 
 elements, or be imbued with specific or virtual qualities through the influence of the 
 heavenly bodies. Thus St. Thomas says : " Sicut enim virtus calefaciendi et infrigidandi 
 est in igne et aqua consequens proprias eorum formas, et virtus, &c., actio intellectua- 
 lis in homine consequens animam rationalem, ita omnes virtutes et actiones mediorum 
 corporum transcendentes virtutes elementorum consequuntur eorum proprias formas, 
 et reducuntur sicut in altiora principia in virtutes corporum ccelestium, et adhuc altius 
 in substantias separatas." De occultis Opcribus Natural.
 
 268 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 proedicti. Calidum autem ad sensum res eadem est ; sed cum 
 analogia, quails competit sensui. 1 Nunc vero ad ulteriora 
 auxilia procedendum est. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Post Tabulas Comparentiae Primae et Rejectionem sive Ex- 
 clusivam, nee non Vindemiationem Primam factam secundum 
 eas, pergendum est ad reliqua auxilia intellectus circa Inter- 
 pretationem Naturae et Inductionem veram ac perfectam. In 
 quibus proponendis, ubi opus erit tabulis, procedemus super 
 Calidum et Frigidum; ubi autem opus erit tantum exemplis 
 paucioribus, procedemus per alia omnia; ut nee confundatur 
 inquisitio, et tamen doctrina versetur minus in angusto. 
 
 Dicemus itaque primo loco, de Prcerogativis Instantiarum 2 : 
 secundo, de Adminiculis Inductionis : tertio, de Rectificatione 
 Inductionis : quarto, de Variations Inquisitionis pro Natura 
 Subjecti 3 : quinto, de Pr&rogativis Naturarum quatenus ad 
 inquisitionem, sive de eo quod inquirendum est prius et poste- 
 rius : sexto, de Terminis Inquisitionis, sive de synopsi omnium 
 naturarum in universe: septimo, de Deductions ad Praxin, 
 sive de eo quod est in ordine ad Hominem : octavo, de Para- 
 scevis ad Inquisitionem : postremo autem, de Scala Ascensoria 
 et Descensoria Axiomatum. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, primo proponemus Instan- 
 tias Solitarias. Eae autem sunt Solitarias, quaa exhibent natu- 
 ram de qua fit inquisitio in talibus subjectis quas nil habent 
 commune cum aliis subjectis, praeter illam ipsam naturam ; aut 
 rursus quae non exhibent naturam de qua fit inquisitio in 
 talibus subjectis quae sunt similia per omnia cum aliis subjectis, 
 praeterquam in ilia ipsa natura. Manifestum enim est quod 
 hujusmodi instantiae tollant ambages, atque accelerent et robo- 
 rent Exclusivam ; adeo ut paucae ex illis sint instar multarum. 
 
 1 The " analogia qualis corapetit sensui " is the " analogia hominis. " This ap- 
 pears from the passages where the word occurs in the Distributio Open's, p. 138., and 
 in 40. of this book, near the end. Thus the meaning of the passage is that " calidum 
 ad sensum " is the same as " calidum per se," only considered subjectively. The clause 
 " sed cum analogia," &c., may be rendered "but with that kind of reference to man 
 as the percipient which belongs to the nature of a perception." 
 
 2 Concerning the doctrine of Prerogative Instances, see General Preface, 
 p. 43. /. S. 
 
 3 Compare the passage near the end of the last aphorism of this book " Nunc vero 
 ad adminicula et rectificationes inductionis, et deinceps ad concreta et latentes proces- 
 sus, et latentes schematismos, et csetera quae aphorismo xxi. ordine proposuimus, per- 
 gendum ; " and see General Preface, p. 32. J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 269 
 
 Exempli gratia : si fiat inquisitio de natura Coloris, Instan- 
 tise Solitariae sunt prismata, gemmae chrystallinae, quae reddunt 
 colores non solum in se sed exterius supra parietem, item 
 rores, etc. Istae enim nil habent commune cum coloribus fixis 
 in floribus, gemmis coloratis, metallis, lignis, etc., praeter ipsum 
 colorem. Unde facile colligitur, quod Color nil aliud sit quam 
 modificatio imaginis lucis l immissae et receptae ; in priore ge- 
 nere, per gradus diversos incidentiae ; in posteriore, per texturas 
 et schematismos varios corporis. Istae autem Instantiae sunt 
 Solitariae quatenus ad similitudinem. 
 
 Rursus in eadem inquisitione, venae distinctae albi et nigri in 
 mnrmoribus, et variegationes colorum in floribus ejusdem speciei, 
 sunt Instantiae Solitariae. Album enim et nigrum marmoris, et 
 maculae albi et purpurei in floribus gary ophylli 2 , conveniunt 
 fere in omnibus praeter ipsum colorem. Unde facile colligitur, 
 Colorem non multum rei habere cum naturis alicujus corporis 
 intrinsecis, sed tantum situm esse in positura partium crassiori 
 et quasi mechanica. Istae autem Instantiae sunt Solitariae qua- 
 tenus ad discrepantiam. Utrunque autem genus Instantias 
 Solitarias appellare consuevimus; aut Ferinas 3 , sumpto voca- 
 bulo ab astronomis. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus secundo loco In- 
 stantias Migrantes. Eae sunt, in quibus natura inquisita migrat 
 ad generationem, cum prius non existeret; aut contra migrat 
 ad corruptionem, cum prius existeret. Itaque in utraque anti- 
 strophe, instantiae tales sunt semper geminae; vel potius una 
 instantia in motu sive transitu, producta ad periodum adver- 
 sam. At hujusmodi instantiae non solum accelerant et roborant 
 Exclusivam, sed etiam compellunt Affirmativam sive Fonnam 
 
 1 Reference is made to Telesius's system of vision. " Lux donata est facultate sese 
 effundendi multiplicandique et aerem propria specie afficiendi, itaque et oculos sube- 
 undi." . . . Again, " lux qua? res quibus insunt [colores] permeat. . . ab ipsarum 
 intingitur coloribus, et eas transvecta oculos subit." De Rerum Nat.vii.Sl. See 
 also other passages of the same book. Bacon uses " imago " as equivalent to " species," 
 the word used in the preceding quotation. 
 
 2 Caryophyllea was a flower much cultivated in Holland in the sixteenth century ; 
 see Lemmius, De Miraculis (1581), p. 107. (The description seems more applicable 
 to the tulip.) The flowers meant are pinks and carnations. 
 
 3 I believe the word which Bacon here employs is at least very much less used than 
 another of perhaps the same origin for which he has perhaps accidentally substituted 
 if,. " Feralis," we read in the Lexicon Mathematicum of Vitalis (1668), which appears 
 to give a tolerably complete vocabulary of astrological words, "apud astronomos dicitur 
 planeta, quando fuerit in loco ubi nullam cum reliquis familiaritatem habet; quod 
 quidem maximum est detrimentum," &c.
 
 270 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 ipsam in angustum. Necesse est enim ut Forma rei sit quip- 
 piam quod per hujusmodi Migrationem indatur, aut contra per 
 hujusmodi Migrationem tollatur et destruatur. Atque licet 
 omnis exclusio promoveat Affirmativam, tamen hoc magis 
 directe fit in subjecto eodem quam in diversis. Forma autem 
 (ut ex omnibus qua3 dicta sunt manifesto liquet) prodens se in 
 uno ducit ad omnia. Quo autem simplicior fuerit Migratio, 
 eo magis habenda est instantia in pretio. Praeterea Instan- 
 tiae Migrantes magni sunt usus ad partem operativam; quia 
 cum proponant Formam copulatam cum Efficiente aut Privante, 
 perspicue designant praxin in aliquibus; unde facilis etiam 
 est transitus ad proxima. Subest tamen in illis nonnihil pe- 
 riculi, quod indiget cautione ; hoc videlicet, ne Formam nimis 
 retrahant ad Efficientem, et intellectum perfundant vel saltern 
 perstringant falsa opinione de Forma ex intuitu Efficientis. 
 Efficiens vero semper ponitur nil aliud esse quam vehiculum 
 give deferens Formae. 1 Verum huic rei, per Exclusivam legi- 
 time factam, facile adhibetur remedium. 
 
 Proponendum itaque est jam exemplum Instantiae Migrantis. 
 Sit natura inquisita Candor sive Albedo: Instantia Migrans 
 ad generationem est vitrum integrum et vitrum pulverizatum. 
 Similiter, aqua simplex et aqua agitata in spumam. Vitrum 
 enim integrum et aqua simplex diaphana sunt, non alba; at 
 vitrum pulverizatum et aqua in spuma, alba, non diaphana. 
 Itaque quaerendum quid acciderit ex ista Migratione vitro aut 
 aquae. Manifestum enim est Formam Albedinis deferri et in- 
 vehi per istam contusionem vitri et agitationem aqua?. Nihil 
 autem reperitur accessisse, prater comminutionem partium 
 vitri et aqua?, et aeris insertionem. Neque vero parum pro- 
 fectum est ad inveniendam Formam Albedinis, quod corpora 
 duo per se diaphana, sed secundum magis et minus, (aer scilicet 
 et aqua, aut aer et vitrum,) simul posita per minutas portion es 
 exhibeant Albedinem, per refractionem inaequalem radiorum 
 lucis. 2 
 
 1 The causa efficiens is the vehiculum forms, inasmuch as it carries the form into 
 the subject matter on which it acts ; in other words it actuates the potential existence 
 of the form in the subject matter. (Cf. De Aug. iii. 4 ) 
 
 2 Bacon would perhaps have given as another illustration of what he has here said 
 the beautiful whiteness of frosted silver, if he had been aware that it is in reality silver 
 foam. It appears that when silver is in a state of fusion a very large quantity of 
 oxygen is condensed on and within its surface, the whole of which escapes at the 
 moment of solidification. This explanation of the appearance of granulated silver is 
 due, I believe, to Gay Lussac.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 271 
 
 Verum hac in re proponendum est etiam exemplum periculi 
 et cautionis, de quibus diximus. Nimirum facile hie occurret 
 intellectui ab hujusmodi Efficientibus depravato quod ad For- 
 mam Albedinis aer semper requiratur, aut quod Albedo gene- 
 retur tantum per corpora diaphana ; quae omnino falsa sunt, et 
 per multas Exclusiones convicta. Quin potius apparebit (misso 
 aere et hujusmodi) corpora omnino aequalia (secundum por- 
 tiones opticas) dare diaphanum; corpora vero inaequalia per 
 texturam simplicem, dare album ; corpora inaequalia secundum 
 texturam compositam, sed ordinatam, dare reliquos colores, 
 praeter nigrum ; corpora vero inaequalia per texturam composi- 
 tam, sed omnino inordinatam et confusam, dare nigrum. 1 Ita- 
 que de Instantia Migrante ad generationem in natura inquisita 
 Albedinis, propositum est jam exemplum. Instantia autem 
 Migrans ad corruptionem in eadem natura Albedinis, est spuma 
 dissoluta, aut nix dissoluta. Exuit enim albedinem et induit 
 diaphanum aqua, postquam fit integrale sine aere. 
 
 Neque vero illud ullo modo praetermittendum est, quod sub 
 Instantiis Migrantibus comprehendi debeant non tantum illaB 
 quae migrant ad generationem et privationem, sed etiam illae 
 quae migrant ad majorationem et minorationem ; cum ilia? etiam 
 tendant ad inveniendam Formam, ut per definitionem FormaB 
 superius factam et Tabulam Graduum manifesto liquet. Itaque 
 papyrus, quae sicca cum fuerit alba est, at madefacta (excluso 
 aere et recepta aqua) minus alba est et magis vergit ad dia- 
 phanum, similem habet rationem cum instantiis supradictis. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, tertio loco ponemus In- 
 stantias Ostensivas, de quibus in Vindemiatione Prima de 
 Calido mentionem fecimus ; quas etiam Elucescentias, sive 
 Instantias Liberatas et Pradominantes, appellare consuevimus. 
 Eae sunt, quae ostendunt naturam inquisitam nudam et sub- 
 stantivam, atque etiam in exaltatione sua aut summo gradu 
 potentiae suae; emancipatam scilicet, et liberatam ab impedi- 
 mentis, vel saltern per fortitudinem suae virtutis dominantem 
 super ipsa, eaque supprimentem et coercentem. Cum enim 
 omne corpus suscipiat multas naturarum Formas copulatas et 
 
 1 Compare Valerius Terminus, ch. xi. : " It is then to be understood that absolute 
 equality produceth transparence, inequality in simple order or proportion produceth 
 whiteness, inequality in compound or respective order or proportion produceth other 
 colours, and absolute or orderless inequality produceth blackness." /. 5.
 
 272 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 in concrete, fit ut alia aliam retundat, deprimnt, frangat, et 
 liget ; unde obscurantur Formae singulae. Inveniuntur autem 
 subjecta nonnulla in quibus natura inquisita prae aliis est in 
 suo vigore, vel per absentiam impediment! vel per pradomi- 
 nantiam virtutis. Hujusmodi autem instantiae sunt maxime 
 ostensivse Format. Verum et in his ipsis instantiis adhibenda 
 est cautio, et cohibendus impetus intellectus. Quicquid enim 
 ostentat Formam, eamque trudit, ut videatur occurrere in- 
 tellectui, pro suspecto habendum est, et recurrendum ad Ex- 
 clusivam severam et diligentem. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Calidum. Instantia 
 Ostensiva motus expansionis, quae (ut superius dictum est) 
 portio est praecipua Formae Calidi, est vitruni calendare aeris. 
 Etenim flamma, licet manifesto exhibeat expansionem, tamen 
 propter momentaneam extinctionem non ostendit progressum 
 expansionis. Aqua autem fervens, propter facilem transitionem 
 aquas in vaporem et aerem, non tarn bene ostendit expansionem 
 aquaa in corpore suo. Rursus ferrum ignitum, et similia, tan- 
 turn abest ut progressum ostendant, ut contra per retusionem 
 et fractionem spiritus per partes compactas et crassas (qua3 
 domant et fraenant expansionem) ipsa expansio non sit omnino 
 conspicua ad sensum. At vitrum calendare clare ostendit ex- 
 pansionem in acre, et conspicuam et progredientem et durantem, 
 neque transeuntem. 
 
 Rursus, exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Pondus. In- 
 stantia Ostensiva ponderis, est argentum vivum. Omnia enim 
 superat pondere magno intervallo, prater aurum; quod non 
 multo gravius est 1 At praestantior instantia est ad indicandam 
 Formam Ponderis argentum vivum quam aurum; quia aurum 
 solidum est et consistens, quod genus referri videtur ad den- 
 sum; at argentum vivum liquidum est et turgens spiritu, 
 et tamen multis partibus exuperat gravitate diamantem, et ea 
 quae putantur solidissima. Ex quo ostenditur Formam Gravis 
 sive Ponderosi dominari simpliciter in copia materias, et non 
 in arcta compage. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus quarto loco In- 
 stantias Clandestinas, quas etiam Instantias Crepusculi appellare 
 
 1 This mistake occurs also in the Historia Densi et Rari. According to Bacon, the 
 density of mercury is to that of gold as thirty-nine is to forty, nearly ; the real ratio 
 being as little more than as seven to ten. The way in which his experiments were made 
 accounts for a large part of this error. See the preface to the Historia Densi el Rari.
 
 5TOVUM ORGANUM. 273 
 
 consuevimus. Ea? sunt veluti opposite Instantiis Ostensivis. 
 Exhibent enim naturam inquisitam in infima virtute, et tanquam 
 in incunabulis et rudimentis suis; tentantem et tanquam 
 primo experientem, sed sub contraria natura latentem et sub- 
 actam. Sunt autem hujusmodi instantia? magni omnino mo- 
 menti ad inveniendas Formas ; quia sicut Ostensiva? ducunt 
 facile ad differentias, ita Clandestina? ducunt optime ad genera ; 
 id est, ad naturas illas communes quarum naturae inquisita? 
 nihil aliud sunt quam limitation es. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Consistens, sive se 
 determinans ; cujus contrarium est Liquidum, sive fluens. In- 
 stantia? Clandestina? sunt ilia? quae exhibent gradum nonnullum 
 debilem et infimum Consistentis in fluido ; veluti bulla aqua?, 
 qua? est tanquam pellicula qua?dam consistens et determinata, 
 facta ex corpore aqua?. Similiter stillicidia, qua?, si adfuerit 
 aqua qua? succedat, producunt se in filurn admodum tenue, ne 
 discontinuetur aqua ; at si non detur talis copia aqua? qua? 
 succedere possit, cadit aqua in guttis rotundis, qua? est figura 
 qua? optime aquam sustinet contra discontinuationem. At in 
 ipso temporis articulo cum desinit filum aqua? et incipit de- 
 scensus in guttis, resilit ipsa aqua sursum ad evitandam dis- 
 continuationem. Quin in metallis, qua? cum funduntur sunt 
 liquida sed magis tenacia, recipiunt se seepe gutta? liquefacta? 
 Bursum, atque ita haerent. Simile quoddam est instantia specu- 
 lorum puerilium, qua? solent facere pueruli in scirpis ex saliva, 
 ubi cernitur etiam pellicula consistens aquae. At multo melius 
 se ostendit hoc ipsum in altero illo ludicro puerili, quando 
 capiunt aquam, per saponem factam paulo tenaciorem, atque 
 inflant earn per calamum cavum, atque inde formant aquam 
 tanquam in castellum bullarum ; quae per interpositionem aeris 
 inducit consistentiam eo usque ut se projici nonnihil patiatur 
 absque discontinuatione. 1 Optime autem cernitur hoc in spuma 
 et nive, qua? talem induunt consistentiam ut fere secari possint ; 
 cum tamen sint corpora formata ex aere et aqua, quae utraque 
 sunt liquida. Quae omnia non obscure innuunt Liquidum et 
 Consistens esse notiones tantum plebeias, et ad sensum ; inesse 
 autem revera omnibus corporibus fugam et evitationem se dis- 
 continuandi ; earn vero in corporibus homogeneis (qualia sunt 
 
 1 Far tougher bubbles than the ordinary kind may be blown in water in which silk 
 cocoons have been steeped. Some curious experiments on this subject are mentioned 
 in Porter on SilA Manufactures (Lardner's Cyclop.). 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 liquida) esse debilem et infirmam, in corporibus vero qice 
 sunt composita ex heterogeneis, magis esse vividam et fortem ; 
 propterea quod admotio heterogenei constringit corpora, at sub- 
 intratio homogenei solvit et relaxat. 
 
 Similiter, exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Attractio, 
 give Coitio Corporum. Instantia circa Formam ejns Ostensiva 
 maxime insignis est magnes. Contraria autem natura Attra- 
 henti est non Attrahens, licet in substantia simili. Veluti 
 ferrum, quod non attrahit ferrum, quemadmodum nee plumbum 
 plumbum, nee lignum lignum, nee aquam aqua. Instantia 
 autem Clandestina est magnes ferro armatua, vel potius ferrum 
 in magnete armato. Nam ita fert natura, ut magnes armatus in 
 distantia aliqua non trahat ferrum fortius quam magnes non 
 armatus. Verum si admoveatur ferrum, ita ut tangat ferrum 
 in magnete armato, tune magnes armatus longe majus pondus 
 ferri sustinet quam magnes simplex et inermis, propter simili- 
 tudinem substantiae ferri versus ferrum ; quas operatic erat 
 omnino Clandestina et latens in ferro, antequam magnes ac- 
 cessisset. 1 Itaque manifestum est Formam Coitionis esse quip- 
 piam quod in magnete sit vividum et robustum, in ferro debile 
 et latens. Itidem notatum est sagittas parvas ligneas absque 
 cuspide ferrea, emissas ex sclopetis grandibus, altius penetrare in 
 materiam ligneam (puta latera navium, aut similia), quam easdem 
 sagittas ferro acuminatas, propter similitudinem substantiae ligni 
 ad lignum, licet hoc ante in ligno latuerit. Itidem, licet aer 
 aerem aut aqua aquam manifesto non trahat in corporibus in- 
 tegris, tamen bulla approximata bullae facilius dissolvit bullam 
 quam si bulla ilia altera abesset, ob appetitum Coitionis aquas 
 cum aqua et aeris cum acre. Atque hujusmodi Instantia? Clan- 
 destine (qua? sunt usus nobilissimi, ut dictum est) in portionibus 
 corporum parvis et subtilibus maxime se dant conspiciendas. 
 Quia massae rerum majores sequuntur Formas magis catholicas 
 et generales ; ut suo loco dicetur. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus quinto loco /- 
 stantias Constitutivas, quas etiam Manipulares appellare con- 
 ?uevimus. Eae sunt quas constituunt unam speciem naturae 
 inquisitas tanquam Formam Minorem. Cum enim Formaa 
 
 1 This explanation of the effect of arming a magnet is wholly unsatisfactory. Before 
 the Novum Organum was published, Galileo had shown that the armature acts by 
 producing a more perfect contact. See the Dialogi del Sistemi massimi, Giorn. 3. 
 p. 440. I quote from the new edition. Firenze 1842.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 275 
 
 legitimae (quae sunt semper convertibiles cum naturis inquisitis) 
 lateant in profundo nee facile inveniantur, postulat res et in- 
 firmitas humani intellectus ut Formae particulares, quae sunt 
 congregativas Manipulorum quorundam instantiarum (neutiquam 
 vero omnium) in notionem aliquam communem, non negligantur, 
 verum diligentius notentur. Quicquid enim unit naturam, 
 licet modis imperfectis, ad inventionem Formarum viam sternit. 
 Itaque instantiae quae ad hoc utiles sunt non sunt contemnendae 
 potestatis, sed habent nonnullam Praerogativam. 
 
 Verum in his diligens est adhibenda cautio, ne intellectus 
 humanus, postquam complures ex istis Formis particulari- 
 bus adinvenerit atque inde partitiones sive divisiones naturae 
 inquisitae confecerit, in illis omnino acquiescat, atque ad in- 
 ventionem legitimam Formae Magnae se non accingat, sed 
 praesupponat naturam velut a radicibus esse multiplicem et 
 divisam, atque ulteriorem naturae unionem, tanquam rem super- 
 vacuae subtilitatis et vergentem ad merum abstractum, fastidiat 
 et rejiciat. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Memoria, sive Excitans 
 et Adjuvans memoriam. Instantiae Constitutive sunt, ordo 
 sive distributio, quae manifesto juvat memoriam; item Loci in 
 memoria artificiali, qui aut possunt esse loci secundum pro- 
 prium sensum, veluti janua, angulus, fenestra, et similia, aut 
 possunt esse personae familiares et notae, aut possunt esse 
 quidvis ad placitum (modo in ordine certo ponantur), veluti 
 animalia, herbae; etiam verba, literae, characteres, personae histo- 
 ricae, e t caetera ; licet nonnulla ex his magis apta sint et com- 
 moda, alia minus. Hujusmodi autem Loci memoriam insigniter 
 juvant, eamque longe supra vires naturales exaltant. Item 
 carmina facilius haerent et discuntur memoriter quam prosa. 
 Atque ex isto Manipulo trium instantiarum, videlicet ordinis, 
 locorum artificialis memoria?, et versuum, constuitur species una 
 auxilii ad Memoriam. Species autem ilia Abscissio Infiniti recte 
 vocari possit. Cum enim quis aliquid reminisci aut revocare 
 in memoriam nititur, si nullam praenotionem habeat aut perce- 
 ptionem ejus quod quaerit, quaerit certe et molitur et hac iliac 
 discurrit, tanquam in infinite. Quod si certain aliquam prae- 
 notionem habeat, statim abscinditur infinitum, et fit discursus 
 memoriae magis in vicino. In tribus autem illis instantiis 
 quae superius dictae sunt, praenotio perspicua est et certa. In 
 prima videlicet, debet esse aliquid quod congruat cum ordine ; 
 
 T 2
 
 276 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 in secunda debet esse imago quae relationem aliquam habeat 
 ive convenientiam ad ilia loca certa ; in tertia, debent esse 
 verba quae cadant in versum; atque ita abscinditur infini- 
 tum. Alias autem instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; 
 ut quicquid deducat Intellectuale ad feriendum Senstim (qua? 
 Tatio etiam praecipue viget in artificial! memoria) juvet Me- 
 moriam. Alias instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; ut 
 quae faciunt impressionem in affectu forti, incutientia scilicet 
 metum, admirationem, pudorem, delectationem, juvent Memo- 
 riam. Aliae instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; nt qure 
 maxime imprimuntur a mente pura et minus prasoccupata ante 
 vel post, veluti quae discuntur in pueritia aut quae commentamur 
 ante somnum, etiam primae quaeque rerum vices, magis haereant 
 in Memoria. Aliae instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; ut 
 multitude circumstantiarum sive ansarum juvet Memoriam ; 
 veluti scriptio per partes non continuatas, lectio, sive recitatio 
 voce alta. Aliae denique instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem; 
 ut quae expectantur et attentionem excitant melius haereant 
 quam quae praetervolant. Itaque si scriptum aliquod vicies 
 perlegeris, non tarn facile illud memoriter disces quam si illud 
 legas decies, tentando interim illud recitare, et ubi deficit 
 memoria inspiciendo librum. Ita ut sint veluti sex Format 
 Minores eorum quae juvant Memoriam ; videlicet abscissio 
 infiniti; deductio intellectualis ad sensibile; impressio in affectu 
 forti ; impressio in mente pura ; multitudo ansarum ; praeex- 
 pectatio. 
 
 Similiter, exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Gustus, sive 
 Gustatio. Instantiae quae sequuntur sunt Constitutivae : vide- 
 licet, quod qui non olfaciunt sed sensu eo a natura destituti 
 sunt, non percipiant aut gustu distinguant cibum rancidum 
 aut putridum, neque similiter alliatum aut rosatum, aut hu- 
 jusmodi. Rursus, illi qui per accidens nares habent per de- 
 scensum rheumatis obstructas, non discernunt aut percipiunt 
 aliquid putridum aut rancidum aut aqua rosacea inspersum. 
 Rursus, qui afficiuntur hujusmodi rheumate, si in ipso momento 
 cum aliquid foetidum aut odoratum habent in ore sive palato 
 emungant fortiter, in ipso instanti manifestam perceptionem 
 habent rancidi vel odorati. Quae instantiae dabunt et consti- 
 tuent hanc speciem, vel partem potius, gustus j ut sensus gusta- 
 tionis ex parte nihil aliud sit quam olfactus interior, transiens 
 et descendens a narium meatibus superioribus in os et palatum.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM: 277 
 
 At contra, salsura et dulce et acre et acidum et austerum ct 
 amarum, et similia, hasc (inquam) omnia zeque sentiunt illi in 
 quibus olfactus deest aut obturatur, ac quisquam alius ; ut 
 manifestum sit sensum gustus esse composition quiddam ex 
 olfactu interior! et tactu quodani exquisite ; de quo nunc non 
 est dicendi locus. 
 
 Similiter, exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Communicatio 
 Qualitatis absque Commistione Substantive. Instantia Lucis 
 dabit vel constituet unam speciem Communicationis; Calor vero 
 et Magnes alteram. Communicatio enim lucis est tanquarn 
 momentanea, et statim perit, amota luce originali. At calidum 
 et virtus magnetica, postquam tramissa fuerint vel potius ex- 
 citata in alio corpore, hajrent et manent ad tempus non parvum, 
 amoto primo movente. 
 
 Denique magna est omnino Praerogativa Instantiarum Con- 
 stitutivarum, ut quae plurimum faciant et ad definitiones (prae- 
 sertim particulares), et ad divisiones sive partitiones naturarum; 
 de quo non male dixit Plato, Quod habendus sit tanquam pro 
 Deo, qui definire et divider e bene sciat. 1 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum ponemus sexto loco Instan- 
 tias Conformes, sive Proportionatas ; quas etiam Parallelas, sive 
 Similitudines Physicas, appellare consuevimus. Eae vero sunt, 
 quae ostendunt similitudines et conjugationes rerum, non in 
 Formis Minoribus (quod faciunt Instantias Constitutivag) sed 
 plane in concreto. Itaque sunt tanquam primi et infirm gradus 
 ad unionem Naturae. Neque constituunt aliquod axioma statim 
 ab initio, sed indicant et observant tanturn quendam consensum 
 corporum. Attamen licet non multum promoveant ad inve- 
 niendas Formas, nihilominus magna cum utilitate revelant par- 
 tium universi fabricam, et in membris ejus exercent veluti ana- 
 tomiam quandam ; atque proinde veluti manu-ducunt interdum 
 ad axiomata sublimia et nobilia, prassertim ilia quae ad mundi 
 configurationem pertinent, potius quam ad naturas et Formas 
 simplices. 
 
 1 Bacon perhaps refers to the passage in the Philebus, in which the resolution ot 
 articulate sounds into their elements is referred to tJVe TIS 6ebs flff KOI 6f?os &v6piairos. 
 Compare Jamblichus (apud Stobjeum, S 81.) : tbs ^v TU us a\r]6cas & KaraSe'i^as T^V 
 SiaAeK-riKV Kal Karairfntyas rois at>9pwirois. [Mr. Kitchen, in his edition of the No- 
 vum Organum (Oxford, 1855), which I did not see till this was in type, refers to the 
 Phcedrus, 266. a., TOIJTUV 8-/J tyaye avr6s Tf fpaffTTjs TOIV Siaipeirfcav Kal ffuvaycaymv 
 .... idv re TWO. &\\ov K. T. \. ToiJTov Siwwco KarSi ' 
 
 which is undoubtedly the passage alluded to. J. S.] 
 
 T 3
 
 278 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; Instantiae Conformes sunt quae sequuntur : 
 speculum, et oculus ; et similiter fabrica auris, et loca reddentia 
 echo. Ex qua conformitate, praeter ipsam observationem simi- 
 litudinis, quas ad multa utilis est, proclive est insuper colligere 
 et formare illud axioma ; videlicet, organa sensuum et corpora 
 quse pariunt reflexiones ad sensus esse similis naturas. Rursus 
 ex hoc ipso admonitus intellectus non aegre insurgit ad axioma 
 quoddam altius et nobilius. Hoc nimirum ; nihil interesse inter 
 consensus sive sympathias corporum sensu praeditorum, et in- 
 animatorum sine sensu, nisi quod in illis accedat spiritus ani- 
 malis ad corpus ita dispositum, iu his autem absit Adeo ut 
 quot sint consensus in corporibus inanimatis, tot possint esse 
 sensus in animalibus, si essent perforationes in corpore animato 
 ad discursum spiritus animalis in membrum rite dispositum, 
 tanquam in organum idoneum. Et rursus, quot sint sensus in 
 animalibus, tot sint proculdubio motus in corpore inanimato 
 ubi spiritus animalis abfuerit ; licet necesse sit multo plures esse 
 motus in corporibus inanimatis quam sensus in animatis, pro- 
 pter paucitatem organorum sensus. Atque hujus rei ostendit 
 se exemplum valde manifestum in doloribus. Etenim quum sint 
 plura genera doloris in animalibus et tanquam varii illius cha- 
 racteres (veluti alius est dolor ustionis, alius frigoris intensi, 
 alius puncturae, alius cornpressionis, alius extensionis, et simi- 
 lium), certissimum est omnia ilia, quoad motum, inesse corpori- 
 bus inanimatis ; veluti ligno aut lapidi, cum uritur, aut per gelu 
 constringitur, aut pungitur, aut scinditur, aut flectitur, aut tun- 
 ditur, et sic de aliis ; licet non subintrent,sensus, propter absen- 
 tiam spiritus animalis. 
 
 Item Instantiae Conformes (quod mirum fortasse dictu) sunt 
 radices et rami plantarum. Omne enim vegetabile intumescit, 
 et extrudit partes in circumferentiam, tarn sursum quam deor- 
 sum. Neque alia est differentia radicum et ramorum, quam 
 quod radix includatur in terra, et rami exponantur aeri et soli. 1 
 Si quis enim accipiat ramum tenerum et vegetum arboris, atque 
 ilium reflectat in aliquam terrae particulam, licet non cohaereat 
 ipsi solo, gignit statim non ramum, sed radicem. Atque vice 
 versa, si terra ponatur superius, atque ita obstruatur lapide aut 
 
 1 In many plants part of the stem grows underground, while in others part at least 
 of the root is above the surface. The true distinction has relation to the functions of 
 the two organs. There is nothing in the root analogous (except under special circum- 
 stances) to buds or nodes, and consequently no true ramification.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 279 
 
 aliqua dura substantia ut planta cohibeatur nee possit fronde- 
 scere sursum, edet ramos in aerem deorsum. 
 
 Item Instantiae Conformes sunt gummi arborum, et pleraeque 
 gemmae rupium. Utraque enim nil aliud sunt quam exuda- 
 tiones et percolationes succorum ; in primo genere scilicet, suc- 
 corum ex arboribus ; in secundo, ex saxis ; unde gignitur clari- 
 tudo et splendor in utrisque, per percolationem nimirum tenuem 
 et accuratam, Nam inde fit etiam, quod pili animalium non 
 sint tarn pulchri et tarn vividi coloris quam avium plumas com- 
 plures; quia succi non tarn delicate percolantur per cutem 
 quam per calamum. 
 
 Item Instantise Conformes sunt scrotum in animalibus mas- 
 culis, et matrix in femellis. Adeo ut nobilis ilia fabrica per 
 quam sexus differunt, (quatenus ad animalia terrestria) nil aliud 
 videatur esse, quam secundum exterius et interius 1 ; vi scilicet 
 majore caloris genitalia in sexu masculo protrudente in exte- 
 rius, ubi in femellis nimis debilis est calor quam ut hoc facere 
 possit ; unde accidit quod contineantur interius. 
 
 Item Instantise Conformes sunt pinnae piscium, et pedes 
 quadrupedum, aut pedes et alas volucrum ; quibus addidit 
 Aristoteles quatuor volumina in motu serpentum. 2 Adeo ut 
 in fabrica universi motus viventium plerumque videatur ex- 
 pediri per quaterniones artuum sive flexionum. 
 
 Item dentes in animalibus terrestribus, et rostra in avibus, 
 sunt Instantiae Conformes; unde manifestum est, in omnibus 
 animalibus perfectis, fluere duram quandam substantiam ver- 
 sus OS. 
 
 Item non absurda est Similitude et Conformitas ilia, ut homo 
 sit tanquam planta inversa. Nam radix nervorum et facul- 
 tatum animalium est caput ; partes autem seminales sunt in- 
 finue, non computatis extremitatibus tibiarum et brachiorum. 
 At in planta, radix (quae instar capitis est) regulariter infimo 
 loco collocatur ; semina autem supremo. 3 
 
 1 This remark seems to have been suggested by a similar passage in Telesius, De 
 Eerum Natttrd, vi. 18.: " Masculo .... magnus datus est calor, qui et membrum 
 genitale foras propellat et sanguinemmultum beneque omnem compactum conficiat, &c. 
 Foeminae autem . . . languens inditus est calor, qui neque genitale vas foras propellere 
 nee e semine spiritum educere queat." The doctrine however of this passage was first 
 taught by Galen, from whom Telesius derived it. See Galen, De Usu Partium, xiv. 6. 
 
 2 De Anim. Incessu, i. 7. 
 
 8 On the other hand, one is tempted to trace an analogy between the flower in plants 
 and the skull in man and vertebrate animals in general : each occurring at the end 
 of the axis of development, and each consisting of four segments whorls or vertebrae. 
 But by far the most remarkable analogy between plants and animals relates to the 
 
 T 4
 
 280 NOVUM ORGANOI. 
 
 Denique illud omnino praecipiendum est et saepius monen- 
 dum ; ut diligentia hominum in inquisitione et congerie Natu- 
 ralis Historian deinceps mutetur plane, et vertatur in contrarium 
 ejus quod nunc in usu est. Magna enim hucusque atque adeo 
 curiosa fuit hominum industria in notanda rerum varietate 
 atque explicandis accuratis animalium, herbarum, et fossilium 
 differentiis; quarum pleraeque magis sunt lusus naturae quam 
 seriae alicujus utilitatis versus scientias. Faciunt certe hujus- 
 modi res ad delectationem, atque etiam quandoque ad praxin ; 
 verum ad introspiciendam naturam parum aut nihil. Itaque 
 convertenda plane est opera ad inquirendas et notandas rerum 
 similitudines et analoga, tarn in integralibus quam partibus. 
 Illae enim sunt quae naturam uniunt, et constituere scientias 
 incipiunt. 1 
 
 Verum in his omnino est adhibenda cautio gravis et severa ; 
 ut accipiantur pro Instantiis Conformibus et Proportionatis, 
 illae quae denotant Similitudines (ut abinitio diximus) Physicas; 
 id est, reales et substantiates et immersas in natura, non for- 
 tuitas et ad speciem ; multo minus superstitiosas aut curiosas, 
 quales naturalis magiae scriptores (homines levissimi, et in rebus 
 tarn seriis quales nunc agimus vix nominandi) ubique osten- 
 tant; magna cum vanitate et desipientia, inanes similitudi- 
 nes e,t sympathias rerum describentes atque etiam quandoque 
 affingentes. 
 
 Verum his missis, etiam in ipsa configuratione mundi in ma- 
 joribus non sunt negligenda? Instantiae - Conformes ; veluti 
 Africa, et regio Peruviana cum continente se porrigente usque 
 ad Fretum Magellanicum. Utraque enim regio habet similes 
 isthmos et similia promontoria, quod non temere accidit. 2 
 
 Item Novus et Vetus Orbis ; in eo quodutrique orbes versus 
 
 mode of development of their tissues, which, there is reason to believe, were all prima- 
 rily formed from cells. The evidence in favour of this proposition is perhaps not yet 
 quite complete. 
 
 It is curious that, after it had been established in the case of plants, Schleiden con- 
 ceived that in this unity of original structure he had found a character peculiar to 
 vegetable life, so that the analogy between plants and animals seemed to be impaired 
 by the discovery. 
 
 1 " Natura infinita est, sed qui symbola animadverterit omnia intelliget, licet non 
 omnino," are the words of a great poet, who perhaps also is entitled to be called a great 
 philosopher. They form the motto of one of the happiest illustrations of what Bacon 
 meant by instantia conformis, the Parthenogenesis of Professor Owen. 
 
 2 A. von Humboldt has pointed out the conformity of the opposite shores of the 
 Atlantic the approximate correspondence between the projections on each side and 
 the recesses on the other. But Bacon apparently compares not the opposite but the 
 corresponding coasts of Africa and America. C. Concepcion would correspond to 
 C, Negro ; but the parallelism is not very close.
 
 NOVUM ORCANUM. , 281 
 
 septentriones lati sunt et exporrecti, versus austrum autem 
 angusti et acuminati. 
 
 Item Instantiae Conformes nobilissimae sunt frigora intensa 
 in media (quam vocant) aeris regione, et ignes acerrimi qui 
 saspe reperiuntur erumpentes ex locis subterraneis ; quae duae 
 res sunt ultimitates et extrema ; naturae scilicet Frigidi versus 
 ambitum coeli, et naturae Calidi versus viscera terrae ; per anti- 
 peristasin, sive rejectionem naturae contrariae. 
 
 Postremo autem in axiomatibus scientiarum notatu digna 
 est Conformitas Instantiarum. Veluti tropus rhetoricae, qui 
 dicitur Prater Expectatum, conformis est tropo musicae, qui 
 vocatur Declinatio Cadentiae. Similiter, postulatum mathema- 
 ticum, ut quce eidem tertio cequalia sunt etiam inter se sint 
 (Equalia, conforme est cum fabrica syllogism! in logica, qui unit 
 ea quae conveniunt in medio. 1 Denique multum utilis est in 
 quamplurimis sagacitas quaedam in conquirendis et indagandis 
 Conformitatibus et Similitudinibus Physicis. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus septimo loco In- 
 stantias Monodicas 2 ; quas etiam Irreyulares sive Heteroclitas 
 (sumpto vocabulo a grammaticis) appellare consuevimus. Eae 
 sunt, quas ostendunt corpora in concrete, quae videntur esse 
 extravagantia et quasi abrupta in natura, et minime convenire 
 cum aliis rebus ejusdem generis. Etenim Instantiae Conformes 
 sunt similes alterius, at Instantiae Monodicae sunt sui simi- 
 les. Usus vero Instantiarum Monodicarum est talis qualis est 
 Instantiarum Clandestinarum : viz. ad evehendam et unien- 
 dam naturam ad invenienda genera sive communes naturas, 
 limitandas postea per differentias veras. Neque enim desi- 
 stendum ab inquisitione donee proprietates et qualitates, qua? 
 inveniuntur in hujusmodi rebus quae possunt censeri pro mira- 
 culis naturae, reducantur et comprehendantur sub aliqua Forma 
 
 1 The importance of the parallel here suggested was never understood until the 
 present time, because the language of mathematics and of logic has hitherto not been 
 such as to permit the relation between them to be recognised. Mr. Boole's Laws of 
 Thought contain the first development of ideas of which the germ is to be found in 
 Bacon and Leibnitz ; to the latter of whom the fundamental principle that in logic 
 a 2 =a was known (v. Leibnitz, Philos. Works, by Erdmann, 1840, p. 130). It is 
 not too much to say that Mr. Boole's treatment of the subject is worthy of these great 
 names. 
 
 Other caculuses of inference (using the word in its widest sense), besides the mathe- 
 matical and the logical, yet perhaps remain to be developed ; but this is a subject on 
 which it is impossible here to enter. 
 
 Monadicas. See note 3. p. 165. J. S.
 
 282 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 sive Lege certa ; ut irregularltas sive singularitas omnis re- 
 periatur pendere ab aliqua Forma Communi ; miraculum vero 
 illud sit tandem solummodo in differentiis accuratis et gradu et 
 concursu raro, et non in ipsa specie ; ubi nunc contemplationes 
 hominum non procedant ultra quam ut ponant hujusmodi res 
 pro secretis et magnalibus naturae, et tanquam incausabilibus, 
 et pro exceptionibus regularum generalium. 
 
 Exernpla Instantiarum Monodicarum sunt, sol et luna, inter 
 astra ; magnes, inter lapides ; argentum vivum, inter metalla ; 
 elephas, inter quadrupedes ; sensus veneris, inter genera tactus ; 
 odor venaticus in canibus, inter genera olfactus. Etiam S 
 litera apud grammaticos, habetur pro Monodica; ob facilem 
 compositionem quam sustinet cum consonantibus, aliquando 
 duplicibus, aliquando triplicibus; quod nulla alia litera facit. 
 Plurimi autem faciendae sunt hujusmodi iustantia? ; quia acuunt 
 et vivificant inquisitionem, et medentur intellectui depravato a 
 consuetudine et ab iis quae fiunt plerunque. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco octavo In- 
 stantias Deviantes ; errores scilicet naturaa, et vaga, ac monstra: 
 ubi natura declinat et deflectit a cursu ordinario. DifFerunt 
 enim Errores naturae ab Instantiis Monodicis in hoc; quod 
 Monodicae sint miracula specierum, at Errores sint miracula 
 individuorum. Similis autem fere sunt usus ; quia rectificaut 
 intellectum adversus cousueta, et revclant Fonnas Communes. 
 Neque enim in his etiam desistendum ab inquisitione donee 
 inveniatur causa hujusmodi declinationis. Veruntamen causa 
 ilia non exurgit ad Formam aliquam proprie, sed tantum ad 
 latentem processum ad Formam. Qui enim vias natura? no- 
 verit, is deviationes etiam facilius observabit. At rursus, qui 
 deviationes noverit, is accuratius vias describet. * 
 
 Atque in illo differuut etiam ab Instantiis Monodicis, quod 
 multo magis instruant praxin et operativam. Nam novas 
 species generare arduum admodum foret ; at species notas 
 variare, et inde rara multa ac inusitata producere, minus ar- 
 duum. Facilis autem transitus est a miraculis naturae ad 
 miracula artis. Si enim deprehendatur semel natura in varia- 
 tione sua, ej usque ratio manifesta fuerit, expeditum erit eo 
 deducere naturam per artem quo per casum aberraverit. 
 
 1 See Owen, On the Nature of Limbs, p. 54.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 283 
 
 Neque solum eo, sed et aliorsum ; cum errores ex una parte 
 monstrent et aperiant viam ad errores et deflexiones unde- 
 quaque. Hie vero exemplis non est opus, propter eorundem 
 copiam. Facienda enim est congeries sive historia naturalis 
 particularis omnium monstrorum et partuum naturae pro- 
 digiosorum ; omnis denique novitatis et raritatis et inconsueti 
 in natura. Hoc vero faciendum est cum severissimo delectu, 
 ut constet fides. Maxime autem habenda sunt pro suspectis 
 quae pendent quomodocunque a religione, ut prodigia Livii : 
 nee minus, quae inveniuntur in scriptoribus magiaa naturalis, 
 aut etiam alchymiae, et hujusmodi hominibus ; qui tanquam proci 
 sunt et amatores fabularum. Sed depromenda sunt ilia ex 
 gravi et fida historia, et auditionibus certis. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Inter PrsDrogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco nono Instan- 
 tias Limitaneas ; quas etiam Participia vocare consuevimus. 
 Eae vero sunt, quae exhibent species corporum tales, quas vi- 
 dentur esse compositae ex speciebus duabus, vel Rudimenta 
 inter speciem unam et alteram. Hae vero Instantiae inter 
 Instantias Monodicas sive Heteroclitas recte numerari possunt : 
 sunt enim in universitate rerum raraa et extraordinariae. Sed 
 tamen ob dignitatem seorsim tractandae et ponendae sunt; 
 optime enim indicant compositionem et fabricam rerum, et in- 
 nuunt causas numeri et qualitatis specierum ordinariarum in 
 universe, et deducunt intellectum ab eo quod est, ad id quod 
 esse potest. 
 
 Harum exempla sunt, muscus, inter putredinem et plantam ; 
 cometae nonnulli, inter stellas et meteora ignita ; pisces volantes, 
 inter aves et pisces ; vespertiliones, inter aves et quadrupedes ; 
 etiam 
 
 " Simla quam similis turpissirna bestia nobis ; " 1 
 
 et partus animalium biformes et commisti ex speciebus diversis, 
 et similia. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus decimo loco In- 
 stantias Potestatis, sive Fascium (sumpto vocabulo ab insignibus 
 imperii), quas etiam Ingenia, sive Maims Hominis appellare 
 consuevimus. Eae sunt opera maxime nobilia et perfecta, et 
 tanquam ultima in unaquaque arte. Cum enim hoc agatur 
 
 1 Ennius, quoted by Cicero.
 
 284 NOVUM ORGANUM." 
 
 praecipue ut natura pareat rebus et commodis humanis; con- 
 sentaneum est prorsus, ut opera quae jampridera in potestate 
 hominis fuerunt (quasi provincial antea occupatae et subactae) 
 notentur et numerentur ; praesertim ea quae sunt maxime enu- 
 cleata et perfecta ; propterea quod ab istis proclivior et magis 
 in propinquo sit transitus ad nova et hactenus non inventa. Si 
 quis enim ab horum contemplatione attenta propositum acriter 
 et strenue urgere velit, fiet certe ut aut producat ilia paulo 
 longius, aut deflectat ilia ad aliquid quod finitimum est, aut 
 etiam applicet et transferat ilia ad usum aliquem nobiliorem. 
 
 Neque hie finis. Verum quemadmodum ab operibus naturae 
 raris et inconsuetis erigitur intellectus et elevatur ad inquirendas 
 et inveniendas Formas quae etiam illorum sunt capaces, ita 
 etiam in operibus artis egregiis et admirandis hoc usu-venit ; 
 idque multo magis ; quia modus efficiendi et operandi hujusmodi 
 miracula artis manifestus ut plurimum est, cum plerunque in 
 miraculis naturae sit magis obscurus. Attamen in his ipsis 
 cautio est adhibenda vel maxime, ne deprimant scilicet intel- 
 lectum et eum quasi humo affigant. 
 
 Periculum enim est, ne per hujusmodi opera artis, quae vi- 
 dentur velut summitates quaedam et fastigia industrial humanae, 
 reddatur intellectus attonitus et ligatus et quasi maleficiatus 
 quoad ilia, ita ut cum aliis consuescere non possit, sed cogitet 
 nihil ejus generis fieri posse nisi eadem via qua ilia effecta sunt, 
 accedente tantummodo diligentia majore et prasparatione magis 
 accurata. 
 
 Contra illud ponendum est pro certo: vias et modos effi- 
 ciendi res et opera quae adhuc reperta sunt et notata, res esse 
 plerunque pauperculas ; atque omnem potentiam majorem pen- 
 dere et ordine derivari a fontibus Formarum, quarum nulla 
 adhuc inventa est. 
 
 Itaque (ut alibi diximus) 1 qui de machinis et arietibus, quales 
 erant apud veteres, cogitasset, licet hoc fecisset obnixe atque 
 a?tatem in eo consumpsisset, nunquam tamen incidisset in in- 
 ventum tormentorum igneorum operantium per pulverem py- 
 rium. Neque rursus, qui in lanificiis et serico vegetabili 
 observationem suam et meditationem collocasset, unquam per 
 ea reperisset naturam vermis aut serici bombycini. 
 
 Quocirca omnia inventa' quae censeri possunt magis nobilia 
 
 1 i. 109.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 285 
 
 (si auimum advertas) in lucem prodiere nullo modo per pusillas 
 enucleationes et extensiones artium, sed omnino per casum. 
 Nihil autem repraesentat 1 aut anticipat casum (cujus mos est ut 
 tantum per longa saecula operetur) praeter inventionem For- 
 marum. 
 
 Exempla autem hujusmodi instantiarum particularia nihil 
 opus est adducere, propter copiam eorundem. Nam hoc omnino 
 agendum ; ut visitentur et penitus introspiciantur omnes artes 
 mechanicae, atque liberales etiam (quatenus ad opera), atque 
 hide facienda est congeries sive historia particularis, tanquam 
 magnalium et operum magistralium et maxime perfect orum 
 in unaquaque ipsarum, una cum modis effectionis sive opera- 
 tionis. 
 
 Neque tamen astringimus diligentiam, quas adhibenda est in 
 hujusmodi collecta, ad ea qua? censentur pro magisteriis et 
 arcanis alien) us artis tantum, atque movent admiration eml Ad- 
 miratio enim proles est raritatis ; siquidem rara, licet in genere 
 sint ex vulgatis naturis, tamen admirationem pariunt. 
 
 At contra, quae revera admirationi esse debent propter dis- 
 <;repantiam quse inest illis in specie collatis ad alias species, 
 tamen si in usu familiari prassto sint leviter notantur. Debent 
 autem notari Monodica artis, non minus quam Monodica na- 
 turag; de quibus antea diximus. 2 Atque quemadmodum in 
 Monodicis naturas posuimus solem, lunam, magnetem, et similia, 
 quas re vulgatissima sunt sed natura tamen fere singular! : 
 idem et de Monodicis artis faciendum est. 
 
 Exempli gratia ; Instantia Monodica artis est papyrus ; res 
 admodum vulgata. At si diligenter animum advertas, material 
 artificiales aut plane textiles sunt per fila directa et transversa ; 
 qualia sunt pannus sericus, aut laneus, et linteus, et hujus- 
 modi ; aut coagmentantur ex succis concretis ; qualia sunt 
 later, aut argilla figularis, aut vitrum, aut esmalta, aut porcel- 
 lana, et similia ; quae si bene uniantur splendent, sin minus, in- 
 durantur certe, sed non splendent. Attamen omnia talia, quas 
 fiunt ex succis concretis, sunt fragilia, nee ullo modo haerentia 
 et tenacia. At contra, papyrus est corpus tenax, quod scindi et 
 lacerari possit; ita ut imitetur et fere aemuletur pellem sive 
 membranam alicujus animalis, aut folium alicujus vegetabilis, et 
 hujusmodi opificia naturae. Nam neque fragilis est, ut vitrum : 
 
 1 See note, p. 208. ' II. 28.
 
 286 NOVUM ORGANUM". 
 
 neque textilis, ut pannus; sed habet fibras certe, non fila 
 distincta, omnino ad modum materiarum naturalium ; ut inter 
 artificiales materias vix inveniatur simile aliquod, sed sit plane 
 Monodicum. 1 Afque praeferenda sane sunt in artificialibus ea 
 quae maxime accedunt ad imitationem naturae, aut e contrario 
 earn potenter regunt et invertunt. 
 
 Rursus, inter Ingenia et Manus Hominis, non prorsus con- 
 temnenda sunt praestigiae et jocularia. Nonnulla enim ex istis, 
 licet sint usu levia et ludicra, tamen informatione valida esse 
 possunt. 
 
 Postremo, neque omnino omittenda sunt superstitiosa, et 
 (prout vocabulum sensu vulgari accipitur) magica. Licet enim 
 hujusmodi res sint in immensum obrutae grandi mole menda- 
 ciorum et fabularum, tamen inspiciendum paulisper si forte 
 subsit et lateat in aliquibus earum aliqua operatio naturalis ; ut 
 in fascino, et fortificatione imaginations, et consensu rerum 
 ad distans, et transmissione impressionum a spiritu ad spiritum 
 non minus quam a corpore ad corpus, et similibus. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Ex iis qu33 ante dicta stint, patet quod quinque ilia instan- 
 tiarum genera de quibus diximus (viz. Instantiarum Confor- 
 mium, Instantiarum Monodicarum, Instantiarum Deviantium, 
 Instantiarum Limitanearum, Instantiarum Potestatis) non de- 
 beant reservari donee inquiratur natura aliqua certa (quemad- 
 modum instantias reliquae, quas primo loco proposuimus, nee 
 non plurimae ex iis quas sequentur, reserrari debent); sed 
 statim jam ab initio facienda est earum collectio, tanquam 
 historia quaedam particularis ; eo quod digerant ea quae ingre- 
 diuntur intellectum, et corrigant pravam complexionem intel- 
 lectus ipsius, quern omnino necesse est imbui et infici et 
 demum perverti ac distorqueri ab incursibus quotidianis et con- 
 suetis. 
 
 Itaque adhibendae sunt eae instantiae tanquam prasparativum 
 aliquod, ad rectificandum et expurgandum intellectum. Quic- 
 quid enim abducit intellectum a consuetis aequat et complanat 
 aream ejus ad recipiendum lumen siccum et purum notionum 
 verarum. 
 
 Quin etiam hujusmodi instantiae sternunt et praestruunt viam 
 
 1 It is curious that Bacon should not have remarked that all the qualities here 
 mentioned belong to felt as well as to paper.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 287 
 
 ad operativam ; ut suo loco dicemus, quando de Deductionibus 
 ad Praxin sermo erit. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponenms loco undecimo In- 
 stantias Comitatus, atque Ho stile s ; quas etiam Instantias Pro- 
 positionum Fixarum appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt instantiae, 
 quae exhibent aliquod corpus sive concretum tale, in quo natura 
 inquisita perpetuo sequatur tanquam comes quidam individuus ; 
 aut contra, in quo natura inquisita perpetuo fugiat atque ex 
 comitatu excludatur, ut hostis et inimicus. Nam ex hujusmodi 
 instantiis formantur propositiones certae et universales, aut 
 affirmative aut negativae ; in quibus subjectum erit tale corpus 
 in concreto, prsedicatum vero natura ipsa inquisita. Etenim 
 propositiones particulares omnino jixce non sunt, ubi scilicet 
 natura inquisita reperitur in aliquo concreto fluxa et mobilis, 
 viz. accedens sive acquisita, aut rursus recedens sive deposita. ' 
 Quocirca particulares propositiones non habent Praerogativam 
 aliquam majorem, nisi tantum in casu Migrationis, de quo antea 
 dictum est. Et nihilominus, etiam particulares illse propo- 
 sitiones comparatae et collatse cum universalibus multum 
 juvant ; ut suo loco dicetur. Neque tamen, etiam in universa- 
 libus istis propositionibus exactam aut absolutam affirmationem 
 vel abnegationem requirimus. Sufficit enim ad id quod agitur 
 etiamsi exceptionem nonnullam singularem aut raram pa- 
 tiantur. 
 
 Usus autem Instantiarum Comitatus est ad angustiandam 
 Affirmativam Formae. Quemadmodum enim in Instantiis Mi- 
 grantibus angustiatur Affirmativa Formae ; viz. ut necessario 
 poni debeat Forma rei esse aliquid quod per actum ilium Mi- 
 grationis inditur aut destruitur ; ita etiam in Instantiis Comi- 
 tatus angustiatur Affirmativa Formae ; ut necessario poni debeat 
 Forma rei esse aliquid quod talem concretionem corporis sub- 
 ingrediatur, aut contra ab eadem abhorreat ; ut qui bene norit 
 constitutionem aut schematismum hujusmodi corporis non longe 
 abfuerit ab extrahenda in lucem Forma naturae inquisita?. 
 
 Exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Calidum. Instantia 
 Comitatus est flamma. Etenim in aqua, acre, lapide, metallo, 
 et aliis quamplurimis, calor est mobilis, et accedere potest et 
 recedere ; at omnis flamma est calida, ita ut calor in concretione 
 flammae perpetuo sequatur. At Instantia Hostilis Calidi nulla 
 reperitur apud nos. Nam de visceribus terra? nihil constat ad
 
 288 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 sensum ; sed eorum corporum quae nobis nota sunt nulla prors'us 
 est concretio quae non est susceptibilis caloris. 
 
 At rursus, sit natura inquisita Consistens. Instantia Hosti- 
 lis est aer. Eteniin metallum potest fluere, potest consistere; 
 similiter vitrum ; etiam aqua potest consistere, cum conglaciatur: 
 at irnpossibile est ut aer unquam consistat, aut exuat fluorem. 
 
 Verum de instantiis hujusmodi Propositionum Fixarum super- 
 sunt duo monita, quae utilia sunt ad id quod agitur. Primum, 
 ut si defuerit plane universalis Affirmativa aut Negativa, illud 
 ipsum diligenter notetur tanquam non-ens; sicut fecimus de 
 Calido, ubi universalis Negativa (quatenus ad entia quae ad 
 nostram notitiam pervenerint) in rerum natura deest. Similiter, 
 si natura inquisita sit JEternum aut Incorruptible, deest 
 Affirmativa universalis hie apud nos. Neque enim prasdicari 
 potest Sternum aut Incorruptible de aliquo corpore eorum 
 quae infra crelestia sunt, aut supra interiora terrae. Alterum 
 monitum est, ut propositionibus universalibus, tarn affirmativis 
 quam negativis, de aliquo concrete, subjungantur simul ea con- 
 creta quae proxime videntur accedere ad id quod est ex non- 
 entibus ; ut in calore, flammae mollissimae et minimum adurentes ; 
 in incorruptibili, aurum, quod proxime accedit. Omnia enim 
 ista indicant terminos naturae inter ens et non-ens ; et faciunt 
 ad circumscriptiones Formarum, ne gliscant et vagentur extra 
 conditiones materiae. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco duodecimo 
 ipsas illas Instantias Subjunctivas, de quibus in superior! 
 aphorismo diximus ; quas etiam Instantias Ultimitatis sive 
 Termini appellare consuevimus. Neque enim hujusmodi in- 
 stantiae utiles sunt tantum, quatenus subjunguntur propositio- 
 nibus fixis; verum etiam per se, et in proprietate sua. In- 
 dicant enim non obscure veras sectiones naturae, et mensuras 
 rerum, et illud Quousgue natura quid faciat et ferat, et deinde 
 transitus naturae ad aliud. Talia sunt, aurum, in pondere; 
 ferrum, in duritie ; cete, in quantitate animalium ; canis, in 
 odore ; inflammatio pulveris pyrii, in expansione celeri ; et alia 
 id genus. Nee minus exhibenda sunt ea quae sunt ultima 
 gradu infimo, quam quae supremo ; ut spiritus vini, in pondere ! ; 
 
 1 Although precise directions for making ether were given by Valerius Cordus in 
 1544, yet it is said to have remained unnoticed until it was rediscovered in the
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 289 
 
 sericum, in mollitie ; vermiculi cutis, in quantitate animalium ; 
 et caetera. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo tertio 
 Instantias Fcederis sive Unionis. Eze sunt, quae confundunt et 
 adunant naturas quae existimantur esse heterogeneae, et pro 
 talibus notantur et signantur per divisiones receptas. 
 
 At Instantiae Foederis ostendunt operationes et effectus quae 
 deputantur alicui ex illis heterogeneis ut propria, competere 
 etiam aliis ex heterogeneis ; ut convincatur ista heterogenia 
 (quae in opinione est) vera non esse aut essentialis, sed nil aliud 
 esse qnam modificatio naturae communis. Optimi itaque sunt 
 usus ad elevandum et evehendum intellectum a difFerentiis ad 
 genera ; et ad tollendum larvas et simulachra rerum, prout 
 occurrunt et prodeunt personates in substantiis concretis. 
 
 Exempli gratia : sit natura inquisita Calidum. Omnino 
 videtur esse divisio solennis et authentica quod sint tria genera 
 caloris; viz. calor coslestium, calor animalium, et calor ignis; 
 quodque isti calores (praesertim unus ex illis comparatus ad 
 reliquos duos) sint ipsa essentia et specie, sive natura specifica, 
 differentes et plane heterogenei ; quandoquidem calor cffilestium 
 et animalium generet et foveat, at calor ignis contra corrumpat 
 et destruat. Est itaque Tnstantia Frederis experimentum illud 
 satis vulgatum, cum recipitur ramus aliquis vitis intra domum 
 ubi sit focus assiduus, ex quo maturescunt uvae etiam mense 
 integro citius quam foras ; ita ut maturatio fructus etiam pen- 
 dentis super arborem fieri possit scilicet ab igne, cum hoc 
 ipsum videatur esse opus proprium solis. 1 Itaque ab hoc initio 
 
 eighteenth century. Bacon's want of acquaintance with it, implied in this and other 
 passages, is therefore not surprising. 
 
 1 The regular use of artificial heat in green-houses and conservatories was not 
 known in Bacon's time. In the Maison Champetre, an encyclopaedia of gardening 
 and agriculture published in 1 607, nothing is said of it ; nor is there anything on the 
 subject in the writings of Porta, though in his Nat. Mag. he has spoken of various 
 modes of accelerating the growth of fruits and flowers. In the Sylva Sylvarum (412.), 
 however, Bacon speaks of housing hot-country plants to save them, and, in the Essay 
 on Gardens, of stoving myrtles. The idea of what are now called green-houses was 
 introduced into England from Holland about the time of the Revolution. The 
 orangery at Heidelberg, formed, I believe, about the middle of the seventeenth century, 
 is said to be the earliest conservatory on record. 
 
 It is related that Albertus Magnus, entertaining the emperor at Cologne during the 
 winter, selected for the place of entertainment the garden of his monastery. Every- 
 thing was covered with snow, and the guests were much inclined to be discontented ; 
 but when the feast began, the snow cleared away ; the trees put forth, first leaves, 
 then blossoms, then fruit; and the climate became that of summer. This glorious 
 summer, which had thus abruptly succeeded to the winter of their discontent, lasted 
 
 VOL. i. u %
 
 290 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 facile insurgit intellectus, repudiate heterogenia essential!, ad 
 inquirendum quae sint differentiae illae quae revera reperiuntur 
 inter calorem solis et ignis, ex quibus fit ut eorum operationes 
 sint tarn dissimiles, utcunque illi ipsi participant ex natura 
 communi. 
 
 Quae differentiae reperientur quatuor ; viz. primo quod calor 
 solis respectu caloris ignis sit gradu longe clementior et lenior ; 
 secundo, quod sit (praesertim ut defertur ad nos per aerem) 
 qualitate multo huniidior ; tertio (quod caput rei est) quod sit 
 summe inaequalis, atque accedens et auctus, et deinceps recedens 
 et diminutus; id quod maxime confert ad generationem cor- 
 porum. Recte enim asseruit Aristoteles l causam principalem 
 generationum et corruptionum quae fiunt hie apud nos in 
 superficie terrae, esse viam obliquam solis per zodiacum ; unde 
 calor solis, partim per vicissitudines diei et noctis, partim per 
 successiones sestatis et hyemis, evadit miris modis inaequalis. 
 Neque tamen desinit ille vir id quod ab eo recte inventum 
 fuit statim corrumpere et depravare. Nam ut arbiter scilicet 
 naturae (quod illi in more est) valde magistraliter assignat 
 causam generationis accessui solis, causam autem corruptionis 
 recessui ; cum utraque res (accessus videlicet solis et recessus) 
 non respective, sed quasi indifferenter, praebeat causam tarn 
 generationi quam corruption! ; quandoquidem inasqualitas caloris 
 generationi et corruption! rerum, requalitas conservation! tantum, 
 ministret. Est et quarta differentia inter calorem solis et ignis, 
 magni prorsus momenti ; viz. quod sol operationes suas insinuet 
 per longa temporis spatia,ubi operationes ignis (urgente hominum 
 impatientia) per breviora intervalla ad exitum perducantur. 
 Quod si quis id sedulo agat, ut calorem ignis attemperet et 
 reducat ad gradum moderatiorem et leniorem (quod multis 
 modis facile fit), deinde etiani inspergat et admisceat nonnul- 
 lam humiditatem, maxime autem si imitetur calorem solis in 
 inaequalitate, postremo si moram patienter toleret (non certe 
 earn quae sit proportionata operibus solis, sed largiorem quam 
 homines adhibere solent in operibus ignis), is facile missam 
 faciet heterogeniam illam caloris, et vel tentabit vel exaequabit 
 vel in aliquibus vincet opera solis, per calorem ignis. Similis 
 
 only till the conclusion of the feast, when everything resumed its former aspect. 
 It would be a fanciful explanation, and I know not whether it has ever been suggested, 
 to say that Albertus Magnus really entertained the emperor in a conservatory, and 
 only led his guests through the garden. See, for the story, Grimm's Deutsche Sagen 
 1 Meteorologia, i. ] 4.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 291 
 
 Instantia Foederis est resuscitatio papilionum ex frigore stupen- 
 tium et tanquam emortuarum, per exiguum teporem ignis ; ut 
 facile cernas non magis negatum esse igni vivificare aniraantia 
 quam maturare vegetabilia. Etiam inventum illud celebre 
 Fracastorii de sartagine acriter calefacta, qua circundant medici 
 capita apoplecticorura desperatorum 1 , expandit manifesto spiri- 
 tus animales ab humoribus et obstructionibus cerebri compres- 
 sos et quasi extinctos, illosque ad motum excitat, non aliter 
 quam ignis operatur in aquam aut aerem, et tamen per conse- 
 quens vivificat. Etiam ova aliquando excluduntur per calorem 
 ignis, id quod prorsus imitatur calorem animalem ; et complura 
 ejusmodi ; ut nemo dubitare possit quin calor ignis in multis 
 subjectis modificari possit ad imaginem caloris ccelestium et 
 animalium. 2 
 
 Similiter sint naturae inquisita? Motus et Quies. Videtur 
 esse divisio solennis atque ex intima philosophia, quod corpora 
 naturalia vel rotent, vel ferantur recta, vel stent sive quiescant. 
 Aut enim est motus sine termino, aut statio in termino, aut 
 latio ad terminum. At motus ille perennis rotationis videtur 
 esse ccelestium proprius; statio sive quies videtur competere 
 globo ipsi terra? ; at corpora cetera (gravia qua? vocant et 
 levia, extra loca scilicet connaturalitatis suss sita) feruntur 
 recta ad massas sive congregationes similium ; levia sursum, 
 versus ambitum coeli ; gravia deorsum, versus terrain. Atque 
 ista pulchra dictu sunt. 
 
 At Instantia Foederis est cometa aliquis humilior ; qui cum 
 sit longe infra coelum, tamen rotat. Atque commentum Ari- 
 stotelis 3 de alligatione sive sequacitate cometse ad astrum ali- 
 quod jampridem explosum est ; non tantum quia ratio ejus non 
 est probabilis, sed propter experientiam manifestam discursus 
 et irregularis motus cometarum per varia loca coeli. 
 
 At rursus alia Instantia Foederis circa hoc subjectum est 
 
 1 It is mentioned in the life of Fracastorius, that when dying of apoplexy, and 
 speechless, he made signs for the application of a cucurbita (or cupping-vessel) to his 
 head, remembering the remarkable cure which he had effected in the case of a nun at 
 Verona. It is scarcely necessary to remark that " dry cupping," as it is called, acts 
 simply by partially remving the pressure of the atmosphere : the heat applied to the 
 vessel has no other effect than that of rarefying the air it contains. 
 
 2 Bacon's rejection of the essential heterogeneity of the three species of heat is appa- 
 rently taken from Telesius, De Rerum Nat. vi. 20. Telesius remarks, as Bacon 
 does, that eggs may be hatched, and insects apparently dead restored to life, by means 
 of artificial heat. 
 
 3 Meteorol. i. 4. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 raotus aeris ; qui intra tropicos (ubi circuli rotationis sunt ma- 
 jores) videtur et ipse rotare ab oriente in occidentem. 
 
 Et alia rursus instantia foret fluxus et refluxus maris, si 
 modo aquas ipsae deprehendantur ferri motu rotationis (licet 
 tardo et evanido) ab oriente in occidentem; ita tamen ut bis 
 in die repercutiantur. Itaque, si haec ita se habeant, mani- 
 festum est motum istum rotationis non terminari in ccelesti- 
 bus, sed communicari aeri et aquae. 
 
 Etiam ista proprietas levium, nimirum ut ferantur sursum, 
 vacillat nonnihil. Atque in hoc sumi potest pro Instantia 
 Foaderis bulla aquae. Si enim aer fuerit subter aquam, ascendit 
 rapide versus superficiem aquae, per motum ilium plagoe (quam 
 vocat Democritus) per quam aqua descendens percutit et attollit 
 ae'rem sursum ; non autem per contentionem aut nixum aeris 
 ipsius. Atqui ubi ad superficiem ipsam aquae ventum fuerit, 
 turn cohibetur aer ab ulteriore ascensu, per levem resistentiam 
 quam reperit in aqua, non statim tolerante se discontinuari : 
 ita ut exilis admodum sit appetitus aeris ad superiora. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita Pondus. Est plane divisio 
 recepta, ut densa et solida ferantur versus centrum terrae, rara 
 autem et tenuia versus ambitum cceli ; tanquam ad loca sua 
 propria. Atque loca quod attinet, (licet in scholis hujusmodi 
 res valeant) plane inepta et puerilis cogitatio est, locum aliquid 
 posse. Itaque nugantur philosophi cum dicant quod, si per- 
 forata esset terra, corpora gravia se sisterent quando ventum 
 esset ad centrum. Esset enim certe virtuosum plane et efficax 
 genus nihili, aut puncti matheniatici, quod aut alia afficeret, 
 aut rursus quod alia appeterent : corpus enim non nisi a cor- 
 pore patitur. Verum iste appetitus ascendendi et descendendi 
 aut est in schematismo corporis quod movetur, aut in sym- 
 pathia sive consensu cum alio corpore. Quod si inveniatur 
 aliquod corpus densum et solidum, quod nihilominus non fe- 
 ratur ad terrain, confunditur hujusmodi divisio. At si recipiatur 
 opinio Gilberti, quod magnetica vis terrae ad alliciendum gravia 
 non extendatur ultra orbem virtutis suss (quaa operatur sem- 
 per ad distantiam certain, et non ultra) ! , hocque per aliquam 
 
 1 In Gilbert's philosophy, the earth's magnetic action is not distinguished from 
 gravity. Thus he says : " Partes vero primariorum globorura integris alligatse sunt, in 
 
 illos natural! desiderio incumbunt Non autem est appetitus aut inclinatio ad 
 
 locum, aut spatium, aut terminum ; sed ad corpus, ad fontem, ad matrem, ad princi- 
 pium ubi uniuntur, conservantur, et a periculis vagaj partes revocatee quiescunt omnes.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 293 
 
 Instantiam verificetur, ea demum erit Instantia Foederis circa 
 hoc subjectum. Neque tamen occurrit impraesentiarum aliqua 
 instantia super hoc certa et manifesta. Proxime videntur 
 accedere cataractse coeli, quae in navigationibus per Oceanum 
 Atlanticum versus Indias utrasque saspe conspiciuntur. Tanta 
 enim videtur esse vis et moles aquarum qua? per hujusmodi 
 cataractas subito effunditur, ut videatur collectio aquarum 
 fuisse ante facta, atque in his locis hsesisse et mansisse; et 
 postea potius per causam violentam dejecta et detrusa esse, 
 quam natural! motu gravitatis cecidisse ; adeo ut conjici possit, 
 corpoream molem densam atque compactam in magna distantia 
 a terra fore pensilem tanquam terram ipsam, nee casuram 
 nisi dejiciatur. Verum de hoc nil certi affirmamus. Interim 
 in hoc et in multis aliis facile apparebit, quam inopes siinus 
 histories naturalis ; cum loco instantiarum certarum nonnun- 
 quam suppositiones afferre pro exemplis cogamur. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita Discursus Ingenii. Videtur 
 omnino divisio vera, rationis humanas et solertiae brutorum. 
 Attamen sunt nonnullas instantiae actionum quse eduntur a 
 brutis, per quas videntur etiam bruta quasi syllogizare; ut 
 memoriae proditum est de corvo, qui per magnas siccitates 
 fere enectus siti conspexit aquam in trunco cavo arboris; at- 
 que cum non daretur ei intrare propter angustias, non cessavit 
 jacere multos lapillos, per quos surgeret et ascenderet aqua ut 
 bibere posset ; quod postea cessit in proverbium. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita Visibile. Videtur omnino 
 esse divisio vera et certa, lucis, quae est visibile originale et 
 primam copiam facit visui, et coloris, qui est visibile secun- 
 darium et sine luce non cernitur, ita ut videatur nil aliud esse 
 quam imago aut modificatio lucis. 1 Attamen ex utraque parte 
 circa hoc videntur esse Instantiae Foederis ; scilicet, nix in 
 
 Ita tellus allicit magnetica omnia, turn alia omnia in quibus vis magnetica primaria 
 desiit materis ratione ; quae inclinatio in terrenis gravitas dicitur." De Mundo, 
 ii. c. 3. Again, that the magnetic action of the earth or of a magnet is confined to a 
 definite orb appears from a variety of passages. See De Magnete, ii. c. 7., and the 
 definitions prefixed to this work. Gilbert distinguished between the " orb of virtue," 
 which includes the whole space through which any magnetic action extends, and the 
 " orb of coition," which is " totum illud spatium per quod minimum magneticum per 
 magnetem movetur." He asserts that the orb of the magnetic virtue extends to the 
 moon, and ascribes the moon's inequalities to the effects it produces (De Mundo, 
 ii. c. 19.). In the preceding chapter he remarks, "Luna magnetice alligatur terrae, quia 
 facies ejus semper versus terram." 
 
 1 The doctrine of this passage seems to be taken from Telesius, De Rerun Natura, 
 vii. c. 31.: " Sensus ipse primo illam [lucem] et per se visilem colores siquidem 
 visiles, at secundo a luce loco et lucis omnino opera visiles declarat." 
 
 u 3
 
 294 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 magna quantitate, et flamma sulphuris ; in quarum altera 
 videtur esse color primulum lucens, in altera lux vergens ad 
 colorem. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo 
 quarto Instantias Crucis ; translate vocabulo a Crucibus, quae 
 erectae in biviis indicant et signant viarum separationes. Has 
 
 etiam Instantias Decisorias et Judiciales, et in casibus nonnullis 
 
 
 
 Instantias Oraculi et Mandati, appellare consuevimus. Earum 
 ratio talis eat. Cum in inquisitione naturae alicujus intellectus 
 ponitur tanquam in aequilibrio, ut incertus sit utri naturarum e 
 duabus, vel quandoque pluribus, causa naturae inquisitae at- 
 tribui aut assignari debeat, propter complurium naturarum con- 
 cursum frequentem et ordinarium, Instantiae Crucis ostendunt 
 consortium unius ex naturis (quoad naturam inquisitam) fidum 
 et indissoluble, alterius autem varium et separabile; unde 
 tenninatur quaestio, et recipitur natura ilia prior pro causa, 
 missa altera et repudiata, Itaque hujusmodi instantiae sunt 
 maxima? lucis, et quasi magnae auctoritatis ; ita ut curriculum 
 interpretationis quandoque in illas desinat, et per illas per- 
 ficiatur. Interdum autem Instantiae Crucis illae occurrunt et 
 inveniuntur inter jampridem notatas; at ut plurimum novae 
 aunt, et de industria atque ex composite quaesitae et applicataj, 
 et diligentia sedula et acri tandem erutae. 1 
 
 Exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Fluxus et Refluxus 
 Maris, ille bis repetitus in die atque sexhorarius in accessibus 
 et recessibus singulis, cum differentia nonnulla quae coincidit in 
 motum lunae. Bivium circa hanc naturam tale est. 
 
 Necesse prorsus est ut iste motusefficiatur, velab aquarum pr<;- 
 gressu et regressu, in modum aquae in pelvi agitatae, quae quando 
 latus unum pelvis alluit deserit alterum; vel a sublatione et 
 subsidentia aquarum e profundo, in modum aqua? ebullientis et 
 rursus subsidentis. Utri vero causae fluxus et refluxus ille as- 
 signari debeat, oritur dubitatio. Quod si recipiatur prior assertio, 
 necesse est ut cum sit fluxus in mari ex una parte fiat sub idem 
 tempus alicubi in mari refluxus ex alia. Itaque ad hoc reducitur 
 inquisitio. Atqui observavit Acosta, cum aliis nonnullis (dili- 
 
 1 These are instances of the experiments spoken of in the Dtitrilulio Operis, 
 " quae ad intentionem ejus qurxl qua-ritur perite et secundum artem excogitata et 
 apposita sunt." (p. 138.) /. S.
 
 NOVDM ORGANUM. 295 
 
 genti tacta inquisitione), quod ad litora Florida et ad litora 
 ad versa Hispaniae et Africte, fiant fluxus marls ad eadem tem- 
 pora, et refluxus itidem ad eadem tempora ; non contra, quod 
 cum fluxus fit ad littora Floridae, fiat refluxus ad littora Hispaniae 
 et Africa?. 1 Attamen adhuc diligentius attendenti, non per hoc 
 evincitur motus attollens, et abnegatur motus in progressu. 
 Fieri enim potest, quod sit motus aquarum in progressu, et 
 nihilominus inundet adversa littora ejusdem alvei simul ; si aqua? 
 scilicet illae contnidantur et compellantur aliunde, quemadmodum 
 lit in fluviis, qui fluunt et refluunt ad utrumque littus horis 
 iisdem, cum tamen iste motus liquido sit motus in progressu, 
 nempe aquarum ingredientium ostia fluminum ex mari. Itaque 
 simili modo fieri potest, ut aquas venientes magna mole ab 
 Oceano Orientali Indico compellantur et trudantur in alveuni 
 Maris Atlantici, et propterea inundent utrumque latus simul. 
 Quaerendum itaque est, an sit alius alveus per quern aquae 
 possiut iisdem temporibus minui et refluere, Atque presto est 
 Mare Australe, Mari Atlantico neutiquam minus, sed potius 
 magis latum et extensum, quod ad hoc sufficere possit, 
 
 Itaque jam tandem perventum est ad Instantiam Crucis circa 
 hoc subjectum. Ea talis est: si pro certo inveniatur, quod 
 cum fit fluxus ad littora adversa tarn Floridae quarn Hispaniae 
 in Mari Atlantico, fiat siniul fluxus ad littora Peruviae et juxta 
 dorsuni China? in Mari Australi; turn certe per hanc Instantiam 
 Peeisoriam abjudicanda est assertio quod fluxus et refluxus 
 maris, de quo inquiritur, fiat per motum progressivum : neque 
 enim relinquitur aliud mare aut locus, ubi possit ad eadem 
 tempora fieri regressus aut refluxus. Commodissime autem 
 hoc sciri possit, si inquiratur. ab incolis Panamas et Limae (ubi 
 uterque Oceanus, Atlanticus et Australis, per parvum Istlimum 
 separantur), utrum ad contrarias Isthmi partes fiat simul fluxus 
 et refluxus maris. an e contra, Verum ha?c decisio sive abju- 
 dicatio certa videtur, posito quod terra stet immobilis. Quod 
 si terra rotet, fieri fortasse potest ut ex ina^quali rotatione 
 (quatenus ad celeritatom sive incitationem) terrae et aquarum 
 maris. sequatur compulsio violenta aquarum in cumulum 
 sursum, quie sit fluxus; et relaxatio earundem (postquam 
 amplius cumulari non sustinuerint) in deorsum, quae sit re- 
 
 1 Compare the De Fl*x* et B^KTW Mart*. I have not been able to find thi* 
 statement in Acosta, who speaks of the synchronism of the tides on the opposite sides 
 of South America, as shown by the meeting of the tidal waves in the Straits of 
 .Han. (iii. 14.> 
 
 C 4
 
 296 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 fluxus. Verum de hoc facienda est inquisitio separatim. At- 
 tamen etiam hoc supposito illud aeque manet fixum, quod 
 necesse sit fieri alicubi refluxum maris ad eadem tempora 
 quibus fiunt fluxus in aliis partibus. 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita posterior ille motus ex duobus 
 quos supposuimus, videlicet motus maris se attollens et rursus 
 subsidens; si forte ita acciderit ut (diligenti facto examine) 
 rejiciatur motus alter, de quo diximus, progress! vus. Turn vero 
 erit trivium circa hanc naturam tale. Necesse est ut motus iste, 
 per quern aqua? in fluxibus et refluxibus se attollunt et rursus 
 relabuntur, absque aliqua accessione aquarum aliarum quae ad- 
 volvuntur, fiat per unum ex his tribus modis ; vel quod ista 
 aquarum copia emanet ex interioribus terras et rursus in ilia se 
 recipiat ; vel quod non sit aliqua amplior moles aquarum, sed 
 quod eaedem aquae (non aucto quanto suo) extendantur sive 
 rarefiant, ita ut majorem locum et dimensionem occupent, et 
 rursus se contrahant ; vel quod nee copia accedat major nee 
 extensio amplior, sed eaedem aquas (prout sunt tarn copia quam 
 densitate aut raritate) per vim aliquam magneticam desuper eas 
 attrahentem et evocantem, et per consensum, se attollant et 
 deinde se remittant. Itaque reducatur (si placet) jam inqui- 
 sitio (missis duobus illis motibus prioribus) ad hunc ultimum ; 
 et inquiratur si fiat aliqua talis sublatio per consensum sive vim 
 magneticam. Atqui primo manifestum est universas aquas, 
 prout ponuntur in fossa sive cavo maris, non posse simul attolli, 
 quia defuerit quod succedat in fundo ; adeo ut si foret in aquis 
 aliquis hujusmodi appetitus se attollendi, ille ipse tamen a nexu 
 rerum, sive (ut vulgo loquuntur) ne detur vacuum, fractus foret 
 et cohibitus. Relinquitur, ut attollantur aquae ex aliqua parte, 
 et per hoc minuantur et cedant ex alia. Enimvero rursus 
 necessario sequetur ut vis ilia magnetica, cum super totum 
 operari non possit, circa medium operetur intensissime ; ita ut 
 aquas in medio attollat, illae vero sublatae latera per succes- 
 sionem deserant et destituant. 
 
 Itaque jam tandem perventum est ad Instantiam Crucis circa 
 hoc subjectum. Ea talis est : si inveniatur quod in refluxibus 
 maris aquarum superficies in mari sit arcuata magis et rotunda, 
 attollentibus se scilicet aquis in medio maris et deficientibus 
 circa latera, quas sunt litora ; et in fluxibus eadem superficies 
 sit magis plana et aaqua, redeuntibus scilicet aquis ad priorem 
 suam positionem ; turn certe per hanc Instantiam Decisoriam
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 297 
 
 potest recipi sublatio per vim magneticam, aliter prorsus abjudi- 
 canda est. Hoc vero in fretis per lineas nauticas non difficile 
 est experiri 1 ; videlicet utrum in refluxibus versus medium 
 maris, mare non sit magis altum sive profundum quam in 
 fluxibus. Notandum autem est, si hoc ita sit, fieri (contra ac 
 credit ur) ut attollant se aquae in refluxibus, demittant se tantum 
 in fluxibus, ita ut littora vestiant et inundent. 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motus Rotationis spontaneus; 
 et speciatim, utrum Motus Diurnus, per quern sol et stellae ad 
 conspectum nostrum oriuntur et occidunt, sit motus rotationis 
 verus in coelestibus, aut motus apparens in coelestibus, verus in 
 terra. Poterit esse Instantia Crucis super hoc subjectum tails. 
 Si inveniatur motus aliquis in oceano ab oriente in occidentem, 
 licet admodum languidus et enervatus ; si idem motus reperiatur 
 paulo incitatior in acre, prsesertim intra tropicos, ubi propter 
 majores circulos est magis perceptibilis ; si idem motus reperiatur 
 in humilioribus cometis, jam factus vivus et validus ; si idem 
 motus reperiatur in planetis, ita tamen dispensatus et graduatus 
 ut quo propius absit a terra sit tardier, quo longius celerior, 
 atque in coelo demum stellato sit velocissimus ; turn certe recipi 
 debet motus diurnus pro vero in ccelis, et abnegandus est motus 
 terra3 ; quia manifestum erit, motum ab oriente in occidentem 
 esse plane cosmicum et ex consensu universi, qui in summitati- 
 bus coeli maxime rapidus gradatim labascat, et tandem desinat 
 et exstinguatur in immobili, videlicet terra. 2 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motus Rotationis ille alter 
 apud, astronomos decantatus, renitens et contrarius Motui 
 Diurno, videlicet ab occidente in orientem ; quern veteres astro- 
 nomi attribuunt planetis, etiam coelo stellato ; at Copernicus et 
 ejus sectatores terras quoque ; et quaeratur utrum inveniatur in 
 rerum natura aliquis talis motus, an potius res conficta sit et 
 supposita, ad compendia et commoditates calculationum, et ad 
 pulchrum illud, scilicet de expediendis motibus coelestibus per 
 circulos perfectos. Neutiquam enim evincitur iste motus esse 
 
 1 It is scarcely necessary to remark that wherever soundings are possible, tidal 
 phenomena are derivative, and give no direct information as to the form the ocean 
 would assume if the hypothesis of the equilibrium theory represented the reality. 
 
 2 Nothing shows better than an instance of this kind, the impossibility of reducing 
 philosophical reasoning to a uniform method of exclusion. How could the analogical 
 argument in the text be stated in accordance with what Bacon seems to recognise as 
 the only true form of induction, that, namely, which proceeds by exclusion ? The 
 argument depends on a wholly non-logical element, the conviction of the unity and 
 h;irmony of nature.
 
 298 NOYUM ORGANUM. 
 
 in supernis verus et realis, nee per defectum restitutionis pla- 
 neta? in motu diurno ad idem punctum coeli stellati, nee per 
 diversam politatem zodiaci, habito respectu ad polos mundi ; 
 qua? duo nobis hunc motum pepererunt. Primum enim phaeno- 
 menon per anteversionem et derelictionem optime salvatur ; se- 
 cundum per lineas spirales ; adeo ut inaequalitas restitutionis et 
 declinatio ad tropicos possint esse potius modificationes motus 
 unici illius diurni, quam motus renitentes aut circa diversos 
 polos. Et certissimum est, si paulisper pro plebeiis nos gera- 
 mus (missis astronomorum et scholse commentis, quibus illud in 
 more est ut sensui in multis immerito vim faciant, et obscuriora 
 malint), talem esse motum istum ad sensum, qualem diximus ; 
 cujus imaginem per fila ferrea (veluti in machina) aliquando 
 reprsesentari fecimus. 1 
 
 Verum Instantia Crucis super hoc subjectum poterit esse talis. 
 Si inveniatur in aliqua historia fide digna, fuisse cometam ali- 
 quem vel sublimiorem vel humiliorem qui non rotaverit cum 
 consensu manifesto (licet admodum irregulariter) Motus Diurni, 
 sed potius rotaverit in contrarium coeli, turn certe hucusque 
 judicandum est posse esse in natura aliquem talem motum. 
 Sin nihil hujusmodi inveniatur, habendus est pro suspecto, et ad 
 alias Instantia s Crucis circa hoc confugiendum. 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita, Pondus sive Grave. Bivium 
 circa hanc naturam tale est. Necesse est ut gravia et ponderosa 
 vel tendant ex natura sua ad centrum terra?, per proprium 
 schematismum ; vel ut a massa corporea ipsius terra?, tanquam a 
 congregatione corporum connaturalium, attrahantur et rapiantur, 
 et ad earn per consensum ferantur. At posterius hoc si in causa 
 sit, sequitur ut quo propius gravia appropinquant ad terram, 
 eo fortius et majore cum impetu ferantur ad earn ; quo longius 
 ab ea absint, debilius et tardius (ut fit in attractionibus magne- 
 ticis) ; idque fieri intra spatium certum ; adeo ut si elongata 
 fuerint a terra tali distantia ut virtus terrae in ea agere non pos- 
 sit, pensilia mansura sint, ut et ipsa terra, nee omnino decasura. 
 
 1 This passage does the author little credit. He does not seem to have perceived 
 that the resolution of the apparent motion into other simpler motions was an essentially 
 necessary step before the phenomena could be grouped together in any general law. 
 The transition from the apparent motion to the real motions could never have been 
 made unless the former had been resolved in the manner which Bacon here condemns. 
 From the concluding remark no astronomer would have dissented, " talem esse motum 
 ad sensum, qualem diximus." About this there can be no question ; but the whole 
 passage shows how little Bacon understood the scope and the value of the astronomy 
 of bis own time.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 299 
 
 Itaque talis circa hanc rem poterit esse Instantia Crucis. 
 Sumatur horologium ex iis quae moventur per pondera plum- 
 bea, et aliud ex iis quae moventur per compressionem laminse 
 ferreae; atque vere probentur, ne alterum altero velocius sit 
 aut tardius ; deinde ponatur horologium illud movens per pon- 
 dera super fastigium alicujus templi altissimi, altero illo infra 
 detento ; et notetur diligenter si horologium in alto situm 
 tardius moveatur quam solebat, propter diminutam virtutem 
 ponderum. Idem fiat experimentum in profundis minerarum 
 alte sub terra depressarum, utrum horologium hujusmodi non 
 moveatur velocius quam solebat, propter auctam virtutem pon- 
 derum. Quod si inveniatur virtus ponderum minui in sublimi, 
 aggravari in subterraneis, recipiatur pro causa ponderis at- 
 tractio a massa corporea terras. 1 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita Verticitas Acus Ferreae, tactae 
 magnete. Circa hanc naturam tale erit bivium. Necesse est 
 ut tactus magnetis vel ex se indat ferro verticitatem ad septen- 
 triones et austrum ; vel ut excitet ferrum tantummodo et habi- 
 litet, motus autem ipse indatur ex praesentia terrse ; ut Gil- 
 bertus opinatur, et tanto conatu probare nititur. Itaque hue 
 spectant ea quae ille perspicaci industria conquisivit. Nimirum 
 quod clavus ferreus, qui diu duravit in situ versus septentriones 
 et austrum, colligat mora diutina verticitatem, absque tactu 
 magnetis ; ac si terra ipsa, quas ob distantiam debiliter opera- 
 tur (namque superficies aut extima incrustatio terrae virtutis 
 magneticae, ut ille vult, expers est), per moram tamen longam 
 magnetis tactum suppleret, et ferrum exciret, deinde excitum 
 conformaret et verteret. Rursus, quod ferrum ignitum et 
 candens, si in exstinctione sua exporrigatur inter septentriones 
 
 1 Nothing can be more ingenious than the instantia crucis here proposed. A series 
 of observations were made by Dr. Whewell and Mr. Airy to determine the effect on 
 the time of vibration of a pendulum, produced by carrying it to the bottom of a mine ; 
 but, probably from the effect of local attractions, the results were scarcely as satisfactory 
 as might have been expected. In the autumn of 1854, Mr. Airy instituted similar 
 experiments in the Harton Colliery. They appear likely to afford more satisfactory 
 results than the older series made at Dolcoath. 
 
 Voltaire cites the passage in the text in support of his remark that " le plus grand 
 service, peut-etre, que F. Bacon ait rendu a la philosophie a etc de deviner 1'attraction." 
 But in reality the notion of attraction in one form or other (e. g. the attraction of the 
 sea by the moon) sprang up in the infancy of physical speculation ; and it cannot be 
 affirmed that Bacon's ideas on the subject were as clear as those of his predecessor 
 William Gilbert. (See note on De Aug. ii. 13.) By an error similar to Voltaire's, 
 some of Dante's commentators have claimed for him the credit of being the first to 
 indicate the true cause of the tides. The passage on which this claim is founded is in 
 the Paradise, xvi. 82.
 
 300 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 et austrum, colligat quoque verticitatem absque tactu magnetls ; 
 ac si partes ferri in motu positae per ignitionem, et postea se 
 recipientes, in ipso articulo extinctionis suae magis essent sus- 
 ceptivae et quasi sensitiva? virtutis manantis a terra quam alias, 
 et inde fierent tanquam excitae. Verum base, licet bene obser- 
 vata, tamen non evincunt prorsus quod ille asserit. 1 
 
 Instantia Crucis autem circa hoc subjectum poterit esse talis. 
 Capiatur terrella 2 ex magnete, et notentur poli ejus ; et po- 
 nantur poli terrellae versus orientem et occasum, non versus 
 septentriones et austrum, atque ita jaceant; deinde superponatur 
 acus ferrea intacta, et permittatur ita manere ad dies sex aut 
 septem. Acus vero (nam de hoc non dubitatur) dum manet 
 super mngnetem, relictis polis mundi, se vertet ad polos magne- 
 tis; itaque quamdiu ita manet, vertitur scilicet ad orientem 
 et occidentem mundi. Quod si inveniatur acus ilia, remota a 
 magnete et posita super versorium, statim se applicare ad 
 septentriones et austrum, vel etiam paulatim se eo recipere, 
 turn recipienda est pro causa, prassentia terras ; sin aut vertatur 
 (ut prius) in orientem et occidentem, aut perdat verticitatem, 
 habenda est ilia causa pro suspecta, et ulterius inquirendum 
 est. 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita Corporea Substantia Lunae ; 
 an sit tenuis, flammea, sive ae'rea, ut plurimi ex priscis philo- 
 sophis opinati sunt ; an solida et densa, ut Gilbertus et multi 
 moderni, cum nonnullis ex antiquis, tenent. 3 Rationes po- 
 sterioris istius opinionis fundantur in hoc maxime, quod luna 
 radios solis reflectat; neque videtur fieri reflexio lucis nisi a 
 solidis. 
 
 Itaque Instantiae Crucis circa hoc subjectum eae esse poterint (si 
 modo aliqua? sint) quae demonstrent reflexionem a corpore tenui, 
 qualis est flamma, modo sit crassitiei sufficientis. Certe causa 
 crepusculi, inter alias, est reflexio radiorum solis a superiore 
 parte aeris. Etiam quandoque reflecti videmus radios solis tem- 
 poribus vespertinis serenis a fimbriis nubium roscidarum, non 
 
 1 See, for these two remarks, the twelfth chapter of the third book of Gilbert's trea- 
 tise De Magnete. It is illustrated by a curious woodcut, representing the smith 
 forging a bar of iron, and holding it, as he does so, in the plane of the meridian. 
 
 2 Terrella is a word used by Gilbert to denote a spherical magnet. One of the fun- 
 damental ideas of his philosophy was that the earth was a great magnet; and a magnet 
 of the same form was therefore called a little earth, or terrella. See, for instance, his 
 treatise De Magnete, ii. cc. 7 & 8. 
 
 3 See Gilbert's De Mundo, &c., ii. c. 13 et sqq.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 301 
 
 minori splendore, sed potius illustriori et magis glorioso, quam 
 qui redditur a corpore lunse l ; neque tamen constat eas nubes 
 coaluisse in corpus densum aquae. Etiani videmus aerem tene- 
 brosum pone fenestras noctu reflectere lucem candelae, non 
 minus quam corpus densum. Tentandum etiam foret experi- 
 mentum immissionis radiorum solis per foramen super flammam 
 aliquam subfuscam et caeruleam. Sane radii aperti solis, inci- 
 dentes in flammas obscuriores, videntur eas quasi mortificare, 
 ut conspiciantur magis instar fumi albi quam flammae. Atque 
 haec imprsesentiarum occurrunt, qua? sint ex natura Instantia- 
 rum Crucis circa hanc rem ; et meliora fortasse reperiri possunt. 
 Sed notandum semper est, reflexionem a flamma non esse ex- 
 pectandam, nisi a flamma alicujus profunditatis ; nam aliter 
 vergit ad diaphanum. Hoc autem pro certo ponendum, lucem 
 semper in corpore aequali aut excipi et transmitti aut resilire. 
 
 Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motus Missilium, veluti spi- 
 culorum, sagittarum, globulorum, per aerem. Hunc motum 
 Schola (more suo) valde negligenter expedit ; satis habens, si 
 eum nomine motus violenti a naturali (quern vocant) distin- 
 guat ; et quod ad primam percussionem sive impulsionem at- 
 tinet, per illud, (quod duo corpora non possint esse in uno loco, 
 ne fiat penetratio dimensionum^) sibi satisfaciat ; et de processu 
 continuato istius motus nihil curet. At circa hanc naturam 
 bivium est tale : aut iste motus fit ab aere vehente et pone 
 corpus emissum se colligente, instar fluvii erga scapham aut 
 venti erga paleas ; aut a partibus ipsius corporis non sustinen- 
 tibus impressionem, sed ad eandern laxandam per successionem 
 se promoventibus. Atque priorem ilium recipit Fracastorius, 
 et fere omnes qui de hoc motu paulo subtilius inquisiverunt 2 ; 
 
 1 The comparison of the brightness of the moon in the daytime with that of a 
 cloud was ingeniously applied by Bouguer to determine the ratio of the moon's light 
 to the sun's. 
 
 2 See Fracastorius, De Sympaihia et Antipathid, c. 4. 
 
 The notion that the air concurred in producing the continued motion of projectiles 
 is found in the Timceus, p. 80. Plato has been speaking of respiration, of which his 
 theory is, that the expiration of air through the nostrils and mouth pushes the con- 
 tiguous external air from its place, which disturbs that near it, and so on until a circle 
 is formed, whereby, by antiperistasis, air is forced in through the flesh to fill up the 
 cavity of the chest a circulation of air through the body, in short. On the same 
 principle he would have explained a variety of other phenomena the action of cup- 
 ping instruments, swallowing, the motion of projectiles, &c. &c. All these, however, 
 after suggesting the explanation, he leaves unexplained. But Plutarch, Quwst. Platan. 
 x. (p. 177. of Reiske's Plutarch) developes a similar explanation in each case. I 
 transcribe what he says of projectiles : T& 5^ finrTovpeva fidpri r'bv aepa. u 
 v. 6 8 ittpifytuv oiriffta, rf <pvaiv extiv dl T
 
 302 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 neque dubium est, quin sint aeris partes in hac re nonnullae ; 
 sed alter motus proculdubio verus est, ut ex infinitis constat 
 experimentis. Sed inter cseteras, poterit esse circa hoc sub- 
 jectum Instantia Crucis talis ; quod lamina, aut filum ferri 
 paulo contumacius, vel etiam calamus sive penna in medio 
 divisa, adducta et curvata inter pollicem et digitum, exiliant. 
 Manifestum enim est, hoc non posse imputari aeri se pone 
 corpus colligenti, quia fons motus est in medio laminae vel 
 calami, non in extremis. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita motus ille rapidus et potens 
 Expansionis Pulveris Pyrii in flammam ; unde tantae moles 
 subvertuntur, tanta pondera emittuntur, quanta in cuniculis 
 majoribus et bombardis videmus. Bivium circa hanc naturam 
 tale est. Aut excitatur iste motus a mero corporis appetitu se 
 dilatandi, postquam fuerit inflammatum ; aut ab appetitu mixto 
 spiritus crudi, qui rapide fugit ignem, et ex eo circumfuso, 
 tanquam ex carcere, violenter erumpit. Schola autem et vul- 
 garis opinio tantum versatur circa priorem ilium appetitum. 
 Putant enim homines se pulchre philosophari, si asserant flam- 
 mam ex forma elementi necessitate quadam donari locum am- 
 pliorem occupancU quam idem corpus expleverat cum subiret 
 formam pulveris, atque inde sequi motum istum. Interim 
 minime advertunt, licet hoc verum sit, posito quod flamma 
 generetur, tamen posse impediri flammas generationem a tanta 
 mole quae illam comprimere et suffocare queat; ut non de- 
 ducatur res ad istam necessitatem de qua loquuntur. Nam 
 quod necesse sit fieri expansionem, atque inde sequi emissionem 
 aut remotionem corporis quod obstat, si generetur flamma, 
 recte putant. Sed ista necessitas plane evitatur, si moles ilia 
 solida flammam supprimat antequam generetur. Atque vi- 
 demus flammam, praesertim in prima generatione, mollem esse 
 et lenem, et requirere cavum in quo experiri et ludere possit. 
 Itaque tanta violentia huic rei per se assignari non potest. Sed 
 illud verum; generationem hujusmodi flammarum flatulenta- 
 rum, et veluti ventorum igneorum, fieri ex conflictu duorum 
 corporum, eorumque naturae inter se plane contrariae ; alterius 
 admodum inflammabilis, qua? natura viget in sulphure ; alterius 
 flammam exhorrentis, qualis est spiritus crudus qui est in nitro ; 
 
 pfvr)v xcapav SuaKeiv Kal cu>air\t\povv, avvfirrrai r$ cupttfjitvtp, r^v K(VT\<HV 
 
 But this explanation is not Plato's, but Plutarch's ; though it is probably what Plato 
 
 would himself have said.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 303 
 
 adeo ut fiat conflictus mirabilis, inflammante se sulphure quan- 
 tum potest (nam tertiuin corpus, nimirum carbo salicis, nil 
 aliud fere prasstat quam ut ilia duo corpora incorporet et com- 
 mode uniat), et erumpente spiritu nitri quantum potest, et una 
 se dilatante (nam hoc faciunt et aer, et omnia cruda, et aqua, 
 ut a calore dilatentur), et per istam fugam et eruptionem in- 
 terim flammam sulphuris, tanquam follibus occultis, undequaque 
 exufflante. 
 
 Poterant autem esse Instantiae Crucis circa hoc subjectum 
 duorum generum. Alterum eorum corporum qua? maxime 
 sunt inflammabilia, qualia sunt sulphur, caphura, naphtha, et 
 hujusmodi, cum eorum misturis ; qua? citius et facilius conci- 
 piunt flammam quam pulvis pyrius, si non impediantur; ex 
 quo liquet appetitum inflammandi per se effectum ilium stu- 
 pendum non operari. Alterum eorum qua? flammam fugiunt 
 et exhorrent, qualia sunt sales omnes. Videmus enim, si ja- 
 ciantur in ignem, spiritum aqueum erumpere cum fragore 
 antequam flamma concipiatur ; quod etiam leniter fit in foliis 
 paulo contumacioribus, parte aquea erumpente antequam ole- 
 osa concipiat flammam. Sed maxime cernitur hoc in argento 
 vivo, quod non male dicitur aquamineralis. 1 Hoc enim, absque 
 inflammatione, per eruptionem et expansionem simplicem vires 
 pulveris pyrii fere adaequat; quod etiam admixtum pulveri 
 pyrio ejus vires multiplicare dicitur. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita, Transitoria Natura Flammas, et 
 extinctio ejus momentanea. Non enim videtur natura flammea 
 hie apud nos figi et consistere, sed singulis quasi momentis ge- 
 nerari, et statim extingui. Manifestum enim est, in flammis 
 quae hie continuantur et durant, istam durationem non esse 
 ejusdem flammae in individuo, sed fieri per successionem no- 
 vae flammae seriatim generate, minime autem manere eandem 
 flammam numero; id quod facile perspicitur ex hoc, quod, 
 substracto alimento sive fomite flamma?, flamma statim pereat. 
 Bivium autem circa hanc naturam tale est. Momentanea ista 
 natura aut fit remittente se causa qua? earn primo genuit, ut in 
 lumine, sonis, et motibus (quos vocant) violentis; aut quod 
 flamma in natura sua possit hie apud nos manere, sed a con- 
 trariis naturis circumfusis vim patiatur et destruatur. 
 
 1 It is well known that the expansive force of the vapour of mercury at high tem- 
 peratures is enormous.
 
 304 NOVUM ORGANl M. 
 
 Itaque poterit esse circa hoc subjectum Instantia Crucis tails. 
 Videmus flammas in incendiis majoribus, quam alte in sursum 
 ascendant. Quanto enim basis flammae est latior, tanto vertex 
 sublimior. Itaque videtur principium extinctionis fieri circa 
 latera, ubi ab acre flamma comprimitur et male habetur. At 
 meditullia flammse, quae aer non contingit sed alia flamma un- 
 dique circumdat, eadem numero manent, neque extinguuntur 
 donee paulatim angustientur ab acre per latera circumfuso. 
 Itaque omnis flamma pyramidalis est basi circa fomitem largior, 
 vertice autem (inimicante aere, nee suppeditante fomite) acutior. 
 At fumus, angustior circa basin, ascendendo dilatatur, et fit 
 tanquam pyramis inversa ; quia scilicet aer fumum recipit, 
 flammam (neque enim quispiam somniet aerem esse flammam 
 accensam, cum sint corpora plane lieterogenea) comprimit. 
 
 Accuratior autem poterit esse Instantia Crucis ad hanc rem 
 accommodata, si res forte manifestari possit per flammas bicolores. 
 Capiatur igitur situla parva ex metallo, et in ea figatur parva 
 candela cerea accensa ; ponatur situla in patera, et circumfun- 
 datur spiritus vini in modica quantitate, quae ad labra situlse 
 non attingat ; turn accende spiritum vini. At spiritus ille vini 
 exhibebit flammam magis scilicet cseruleam, lychnus candelae 
 autem magis flavarn. Notetur itaque utrum flamma lychni 
 (quam facile est per colorem a flamma spiritus vini distinguere, 
 neque enim flammae, ut liquores, statim commiscentur) maneat 
 pyramidalis, an potius magis tendat ad formam globosam, cum 
 nihil inveniatur quod earn destruat aut cornprirnat. 1 At hoc 
 posterius si fiat, manere flammam eandem numero, quamdiu 
 intra aliam flammam concludatur nee vim inimicam aeris expe- 
 riatur, pro certo ponendum est. 
 
 Atque de Instantiis Crucis haec dicta sint. Longiores autem 
 in iia tractandis ad hunc finem fuimus, ut homines paulatim 
 discant et assuefiant de natura judicare per Instantias Crucis 
 et experimenta lucifera, et non per rationes probabiles. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo 
 quinto Instantias Divortii ; quae indicant separationes naturarum 
 earum quae ut plurimum occurrunt. Differunt autem ab In- 
 stantiis quae subjunguntur Instantiis Comitatus ; quia illaa indi- 
 
 1 This experiment is mentioned as actually tried in Syl, Sylvarum, 31. [See note 
 on the passage. J. ,9.]
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 305 
 
 cant separationes naturae alicujus ab aliquo concrete cum quo 
 Ilia familiariter consuescit, hae vero separationes naturae alicujus 
 ab altera natura. Differunt etiam ab Instantiis Crucis ; quia 
 nihil determinant, sed monent tantum de separabilitate unius 
 naturae ab altera. Usus autem earum est ad prodendas falsa s 
 Formas, et dissipandas leves contemplationes ex rebus obviis 
 orientes; adeo ut veluti plumbum et pondera intellectui addant. 
 
 Exempli gratia : sint naturae inquisitae quatuor naturae illae, 
 quas Contubernales vult esse Telesius 1 , et tanquam ex eadem 
 camera ; viz. Calidum, Lucidum, Tenue, Mobile sive promptum 
 ad motum. At plurimae inveniuntur Instantiae Divortii inter 
 ipsas. Aer enim tenuis est et habilis ad motum, non calidus 
 aut lucidus ; luna lucida, absque calore ; aqua fervens calida, 
 absque lumine ; motus acus ferreae super versorium pernix et 
 agilis, et tamen in corpore frigido, denso, opaco ; et complura id 
 genus. 
 
 Similiter sint naturae inquisitae Natura Corporea et Actio 
 Naturalis. Videtur enim non inveniri actio naturalis, nisi sub- 
 sistens in aliquo corpore. Attamen possit fortasse esse circa 
 hanc rem Instantia nonnulla Divortii. Ea est actio magnetica, 
 per quam ferrum fertur ad magnetem, gravia ad globum terrae. 
 Addi etiam possint aliae nonnullae operationes ad distans. Actio 
 siquidem hujusmodi et in tempore fit, per momenta non in 
 puncto temporis, et in loco, per gradus et spatia. Est itaque 
 aliquod momentum temporis, et aliquod intervallum loci, in 
 quibus ista virtus sive actio haeret in medio inter duo ilia cor- 
 pora quae motum cient. Reducitur itaque contemplatio ad hoc; 
 utrum ilia corpora quae sunt termini motus disponant vel 
 alterent corpora media, ut per successionem et tactum verum 
 labatur virtus a termino ad terminum, et interim subsistat in 
 corpore medio ; an horum nihil sit, praeter corpora et virtutem 
 et spatia? Atque in radiis opticis et sonis et calore et aliis 
 nonnullis operantibus ad distans, probabile est media corpora 
 
 1 The fundamental idea of Telesius's philosophy is, that heat and cold are the 
 great constituent principles of the universe, and that the antithesis between them 
 corresponds to that which he recognises between the sun and the earth : " Omnino 
 calidus, tenuis, candidus, mobilisque est Sol ; Terra contra frigida, crassa, immobilis, 
 tenebricosaque .... unum Sol in terram emittens calorem ejus naturam facultatesque 
 et conditiones ex ea deturbat omnes, suasque ei indit ; et eodem ferme modo quo 
 Sol terram, etiam calor quivis, vel qui e commotis contritisque enascitur rebus, quas 
 corripit exuperatque immutare videtur ; frigus scilicet ex iis, ejusque facultates con- 
 rtitionesque omnes, crassitiem, obscuritatem, immobilitatem, deturbare, et se ipsum 
 iis, propriasque facultates conditionesque omnes, tenuitatem, albedinem et mobilitatem, 
 inflere videtur." De Rerum Natura, i. c. 1. 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 disponi et alterarl ; eo magis, quod requiratur medium qualifi- 
 catum ad deferendam operationem talem. At magnetica ilia 
 sive coitiva virtus admittit media tanquam adiaphora, nee im- 
 peditur virtus in omnigeno medio. Quod si nil rei habeat 
 virtus ilia aut actio cum corpore medio, sequitur quod sit virtus 
 aut actio naturalis ad tempus nonnullum et in loco nonnullo 
 subsistens sine corpore ; cum neque subsistat in corporibus ter- 
 minantibus, nee in mediis. Quare actio magnetica poterit esse 
 Instantia Divortii circa naturam corpoream et actionem natu- 
 ralem. Cui hoc adjici potest tanquam corollarium aut lucrum 
 non praetermittendum : viz. quod etiam secundum sensum philo- 
 sophanti sumi possit probatio * quod sint entia et substantive 
 separatee et incorporeae. Si enim virtus et actio naturalis, 
 emanans a corpore, subsistere possit aliquo tempore et aliquo 
 loco omnino sine corpore; prope est ut possit etiam emanare 
 in origin e sua a substantia incorporea. Videtur enim non 
 minus requiri natura corporea ad actionem naturalem susten- 
 tandam et devehendam, quam ad excitandam aut generandam. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Sequuntur quinque ordines instantiarum, quas uno vocabulo 
 general! Instantias Lampadis sive Informationis Primce appel- 
 lare consuevimus. Eae sunt quae auxiliantur sensui. Cum 
 enim omnis Interpretatio Naturae incipiat a sensu, atque a sen- 
 suum perceptionibus recta, constanti, et munita via ducat ad 
 perceptiones intellectus, quae sunt notiones verae et axiomata, 
 necesse est ut quanto magis copiosae et exactae fuerint reprae- 
 sentationes give praebitiones ipsius sensus, tanto omnia cedant 
 facilius et foelicius. 
 
 Harum autem quinque Instantiarum Lampadis, primae robo- 
 rant, ampliant, et rectificant actiones sensus immediatas: se- 
 cundae deducunt non-sensibile ad sensibile 2 ; tertiae indicant 
 processus continuatos sive series earum rerum et motuum quae 
 (ut plurimum) non notantur nisi in exitu aut periodis ; quartae 
 aliquid substituunt sensui in meris destitutionibus ; quintae ex- 
 citant attentionem sensus et advertentiam, atque una limitant 
 subtilitatem rerum. De his autem singulis jam dicendum est. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo sexto 
 
 1 i. e. a proof furnished by merely human philosophy. 
 
 2 i. e. make manifest things which are not directly perceptible, by means of others 
 which are.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 307 
 
 Instantias Januce sive Porta : eo enim nomine eas appellamus 
 quae juvant actiones sensus immediatas. Inter sensus autem 
 manifestum est partes primas tenere Visum, quoad informa- 
 tionem; quare huic sensui praecipue auxilia conquirenda. 
 Auxilia autem triplicia esse posse videntur ; vel ut percipiat 
 non visa; vel ut majore intervallo; vel ut exactius et distin- 
 ctius. 
 
 Primi generis sunt (missis bis-oculis et hujusmodi, quae 
 valent tantum ad corrigendam et levandam infirmitatem visus 
 non bene dispositi, atque ideo nihil amplius informant) ea quae 
 nuper inventa sunt perspicilla ; quae latentes et invisibles corpo- 
 rum minutias, et occultos schematismos et motus (aucta insigni- 
 ter specierum magnitudine) demonstrant; quorum vi, in pulice, 
 musca, vermiculis, accurata corporis figura et lineamenta, nec- 
 non colores et motus prius non conspicui, non sine admiratione 
 cernuntur. Quinetiam aiunt l lineam rectam calamo vel pene- 
 cillo descriptam, per hujusmodi perspicilla inaequalem admodum 
 et tortuosam cerni ; quia scilicet nee motus manus, licet per re- 
 gulam adjutae, nee impressio atramenti aut coloris revera asqua- 
 lia existant ; licet illae inaequalitates tarn minutae sint ut sine 
 adjumento hujusmodi perspicillorum conspici nequeant. Etiam 
 superstitiosam quandam observationem in hac re (ut fit in rebus 
 novis et miris) addiderunt homines : viz. quod hujusmodi per- 
 spicilla opera naturae illustrent, artis dehonestent. Illud vero 
 nihil aliud est quam quod texturae naturales multo subtiliores 
 sint quam artificiosae. 2 Perspicillum enim illud ad minuta tan- 
 tum valet: quale perspicillum si vidisset Democritus, exiluisset 
 forte, et modum videndi atomum (quern ille invisibilem omnino 
 affirmavit) inventum fuisse putasset. 3 Verum incompetentia 
 hujusmodi perspicillorum, praeterquam ad minutias tantum 
 (neque ad ipsas quoque, si fuerint in corpore majusculo), usum 
 rei destruit. Si enim inventum extendi posset ad corpora 
 majora, aut corporum majorum minutias, adeo ut textura panni 
 
 1 Compare Aph. xiii. 28. "Specula comburentia, in quibus (ut memini) hoc 
 fit," &c. It would appear from the passage in the text that Bacon had not even seen 
 one of the newly invented microscopes. J. S. 
 
 2 Leibnitz goes as for as to say, " La matiere arrangce par une sagesse divine doit 
 etre essentiellement organisee partout ; . . . il y a machine dans les parties de la 
 machine naturelle a 1'infini." Sur le Principe de Fie, p. 431. of Erdmann's edition. 
 
 3 Democritus maintained that the atom was wholly incognisable by the senses. 
 Thus Sextus Empiricus mentions him along with Plato as having held the doctrine 
 fj.6va r& i/o7)Tet o\?j0fj eli/ai ; the reason in the case of Democritus being that his atoms, 
 which alone he recognised as realities, possessed ITOOTJS alffQrjTfjs irojT7)Tos eprinov 
 fyvaw. Sext. Em. Advert. Logicos, ii. G. 
 
 x 2
 
 308 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 lintei conspici posset tanquam rete, atque hoc modo minutiae 
 latentes et inaequalitates gemmarum, liquorum, urinarum, san- 
 guinis, vulnerum, et multarum aliarum rerum, cerni possent, 
 magnae proculdubio ex eo invento commoditates capi possent. 
 
 Secundi generis sunt iila altera perspicilla quae memorabili 
 conatu adinvenit Galilaeus ; quorum ope, tanquara per scaphas 
 aut naviculas, aperiri et exerceri possint propiora cum coelestibus 
 comniercia. Hinc enim constat, galaxiam esse nodum sive coa- 
 cervationem stellarum parvarum, plane numeratarum et distin- 
 ctarum ; de qua re apud antiques tantum suspicio fuit. Hinc 
 demonstrari videtur, quod spatia orbium (quos vocant) plane- 
 tarum non sint plane vacua aliis stellis, sed quod coelum incipiat 
 stellescere antequam ad coelum ipsum stellatum ventum sit; licet 
 stellis minoribus quam ut sine perspicillis istis conspici possint. 
 Hinc choreas illas stellarum parvarum circa planetam Jovis (unde 
 conjici possit esse in motibus stellarum plura centra) intueri licet. 
 Hinc inaequalitates luminosi et opaci in luna distinctius cer- 
 nuntur et locantur ; adeo ut fieri possit quaedam seleno-graphia. 
 Hinc maculae in sole, et id genus : omnia certe inventa nobilia, 
 quatenus fides hujusmodi demonstrationibus tuto adliiberi possit. 1 
 Qua? nobis ob hoc maxime suspectae sunt, quod in istis paucis 
 sistatur experimentum, neque alia complura investigate aeque 
 digna eadem ratione inventa sint. 2 
 
 1 Galileo often mentions the attempt which many of the Peripaticians made to set 
 aside all arguments founded on his discoveries with the telescope, by saying that they 
 were mere optical delusions. J. C. La Galla, in his dissertation De Phcenominis in 
 Orbe Lunet, has a section entitled " De Telescopii Veritate," in which, though an 
 Aristotelian, he has nevertheless admitted that this objection is untenable. 
 
 2 Compare this with the passage in the Descriptio Globi Intellectualis (c. v.) where 
 Bacon speaks of Galileo's invention and discoveries (the firstfruits of which had just 
 been announced) in a strain of more sanguine expectation : " Atque hoc inceptum 
 et fine et aggressu nobile quoddam et humano genere dignum esse existimamus : eo 
 magis quod hujusmodi homines et ausu laudandi sint et fide ; quod ingenue et per- 
 spicue proposuerunt, quomodo singula illis constiterint. Superest tantum constantia, 
 cum magna judicii severitate, ut et instrumenta mutent, et testium numerum auge- 
 ant, et singula et saspe experiantur, et varie ; denique ut et sibi ipsi objiciant et aliis 
 patefaciant quid in contrarium objici possit, et tenuissimum quemque scrupulum non 
 spernant ; ne forte illis eveniat, quod Democriti et aniculae sua; evenit circa ficns mel- 
 litas, ut vetula esset philosopho prudentior, et magna? et admirabilis speculations 
 causae subesset error quispiam tenuis et ridiculus." From this passage, written eight 
 years before, we may learn (I think) why it was that Bacon had now begun to doubt 
 how far these observations could be trusted. Believing, as he did, that all the re- 
 ceived theories of the heavens were full of error, as soon as he heard that by means 
 of the telescope men could really see so much further into the heavens than before, 
 hp was prepared to hear of a great number of new and unexpected phenomena ; and 
 his only fear was that the observers, instead of following out their observations patiently 
 and carefully, would begin to form new theories. But now that nine years had passed 
 since the discovery of Jupiter's satellites, the spots in the sun, &c., and no new dis- 
 covery of importance had been announced, he wondered how it could be that men
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 309 
 
 Tertii generis sunt bacilla ilia ad terras mensurandas, astro- 
 labia, et similia ; quae sensum videndi non ampliant, sed recti- 
 ficant et dirigunt. Quod si sint aliae instantiae quae reliquos 
 sensus juvent in ipsorum actionibus immediatis et individuis, 
 tamen si ejusmodi sint quse information! ipsi nihil addant plus 
 quam jam habetur, ad id quod nunc agitur non faciunt. Itaque 
 earum mentionem non fecimus. 
 
 XL. 
 
 Inter Prasrogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo 
 septimo Instantias Citantes, sumpto vocabulo a foris civilibus, 
 quia citant ea ut compareant quae prius non comparuerunt ; 
 quas etiam Instantias Evocantes appellare consuevimus. Eae 
 deducunt non-sensibile ad sensibile. 
 
 Sensum autem fugiunt res, vel propter distantiam objecti 
 locati ; vel propter interceptionem sensus per corpora media ; 
 vel quia objectum non est habile ad impressionem in sensu 
 faciendam; vel quia deficit quantum in objecto pro feriendo 
 sensu ; vel quia tempus non est proportionatum ad actuandum 
 sensum; vel quia objecti percussio non toleratur a sensu; vel 
 quia objectum ante implevit et possedit sensum, ut novo motui 
 non sit locus. Atque haec praecipue ad visum pertinent, et 
 deinde ad tactum. Nam hi duo sensus sunt informativi ad 
 largum, atque de communibus objectis; ubi reliqui tres non 
 informent fere nisi immediate et de propriis objectis. 
 
 In primo genere non fit deductio ad sensibile, nisi rei quae 
 cerni non possit propter distantiam adjiciatur aut substituatur 
 alia res quae sensum magis e longinquo provocare et ferire 
 possit : veluti in significatione rerum per ignes, campanas, et 
 similia. 
 
 In secundo genere fit deductio, cum ea quae interius propter 
 interpositionem corporum latent, nee commode aperiri possunt, 
 per ea quae sunt in superficie, aut ab interioribus effluunt, per- 
 ducuntur ad sensum : ut status humanorum corporum per 
 pulsus, et urinas, et similia. 
 
 At tertii et quarti generis deductiones ad plurima spectant, 
 atque undique in rerum inquisitione sunt conquirendae. Hujus 
 rei exempla sunt. Patet quod aer, et spiritus, et, hujusmodi res 
 quae sunt toto corpore tenues et subtiles, nee cerni nee tangi 
 
 seeing so much further should be able to see so little more than they did, and began to 
 suspect that it was owing to some defect either in the instrument or in the methods of 
 observation. /. S. 
 
 x 3
 
 310 NOYUM ORGANUM. 
 
 possint Quare in inquisitione circa hujusmodi corpora de- 
 ductionibus omnino est opus. 
 
 Sit itaque natura inquisita Actio et Motus Spiritus qui 
 includitur in corporibus tangibilibus. Omne enim tangibile 
 apud nos continet spiritum invisibilem et intactilem, eique ob- 
 ducitur atque eum quasi vestit. Hinc fons triplex potens ille et 
 mirabilis processus spiritus in corpore tangibili. Spiritus enim 
 in re tangibili, emissus, corpora contrahit et desiccat ; detentus, 
 corpora intenerat et colliquat ; nee prorsus emissus nee prorsus 
 detentus, informat, membrificat, assimilat, egerit, organizat, et 
 similia. Atque hsec omnia deducuntur ad sensibile per effectus 
 conspicuos. 
 
 Etenim in omni corpore tangibili inanimate, spiritus inclusus 
 primo multiplicat se, et tanquam depascit partes tangibles eas 
 quae sunt maxime ad hoc faciles et praeparatae, easque digerit 
 et conficit et vertit in spiritum, et deinde una evolant. Atque 
 h33C confectio et multiplicatio spiritus deducitur ad sensum per 
 diminutionem ponderis. In omni enim dessicatione, aliquid 
 defluit de quanto ; neque id ipsum ex spiritu tantum prae- 
 inexistente, sed ex corpore quod prius fuit tangibile et noviter 
 versum est : spiritus enim non ponderat. Egressus autem sive 
 emissio spiritus deducitur ad sensibile in rubigine metallorum, 
 et aliis putrefactionibus ejus generis qua2 sistunt se antequam 
 pervenerint ad rudimenta vitae ; nam ilia ' ad tertium genus 
 processus pertinent. Etenim in corporibus magis compactis 
 spiritus non invenit poroa et meatus per quoa evolet; itaque 
 cogitur partes ipsas tangibiles protrudere et ante se agere, ita 
 ut illae simul exeant ; atque inde fit rubigo, et similia. At con- 
 tractio partium tangibilium, postquam aliquid de spiritu fuerit 
 emissum (unde sequitur ilia desiccatio), deducitur ad sensibile 
 turn per ipsam duritiem rei auctam, turn inulto magis per 
 scissuras, angustiationes, corrugationes, et complicationes cor- 
 porum, quae inde sequuntur. Etenim partes ligni desiliunt et 
 angustiantur ; pelles corrugantur; neque id solum, sed (si 
 subita fuerit emissio spiritus per calorem ignis) tantum properant 
 ad contractiouem ut se complicent et convolvant. 
 
 At contra, ubi spiritus detinetur, et tamen dilatatur et ex- 
 citatur per calorem aut ejus analoga (id quod fit in corporibus 
 magis solidis aut tenacibus), turn vero corpora emolliuntur, ut 
 ferrum candens ; fluunt, ut metalla ; liquefiunt, ut gummi, cera, 
 
 1 " Ills " iu the original edition, which must be wrong.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 311 
 
 et similia. Itaque contrariae illae operationes caloris (ut ex eo 
 alia durescant, alia liquescant) facile conciliantur ; quia in illis 
 spiritus emittitur, in his agitatur et detinetur : quorum poste- 
 rius est actio propria caloris et spiritus; prius, actio partium 
 tangibilium tantum per occasionem spiritus emissi. 
 
 Ast ubi spiritus nee detinetur prorsus nee prorsus emittitur, 
 sed tantum inter claustra sua tentat et experitur, atque nacta 
 est partes tangibiles obedientes et sequaces in promptu, ita ut 
 quo spiritus agit eae simul sequantur ; turn vero sequitur effor- 
 matio in corpus organicum, et membrificatio, et reliquae actiones 
 vitales, tarn in vegetabilibus quam in animalibus. Atque haec 
 maxime deducuntur ad sensum per notationes diligentes pri- 
 morum incoeptuum et rudimentorum sive tentamentorum vitae 
 in aniinalculis ex putrefactione natis: ut in ovis formicarum, 
 vermibus, muscis, ranis post imbrem, etc. Requiritur autem 
 ad vivificationem et lenitas caloris et lentor corporis; ut 
 spiritus nee per festinationem erumpat, nee per contumaciam 
 partium coerceatur ; quin potius ad cerae modum illas plicare et 
 effingere possit. 
 
 Rursus, differentia ilia spiritus, maxiine nobilis et ad plurima 
 pertinens, (viz. spiritus abscissi, ramosi simpliciter, ramosi simul 
 et cellulati ; ex quibus prior est spiritus omnium corporum 
 inanimatorum, secundus vegetabilium, tertius animalium), per 
 plurimas instantias deductorias tanquam sub oculos ponitur. 
 
 Similiter patet, quod subtiliores texturse et schematismi 
 rerum (licet toto corpore visibilium aut tangibilium) nee cer- 
 nantur nee tangantur. Quare in his quoque per deductionem 
 procedit informatio. At differentia schematismorum maxime 
 radicalis et primaria sumitur ex copia vel paucitate materise 
 quae subit idem spatium sive dimensum. Reliqui enim schema- 
 tismi (qui referuntur ad dissimilaritates partium quae in eodem 
 corpore continentur, et collocationes ac posituras earundem) 
 prse illo altero sunt secundarii. 
 
 Sit itaque natura inquisita Expansio sive Coitio Materiae in 
 corporibus respective : viz. quantum materiae impleat quantum 
 dimensum in singulia. Etenim nil verius in natura quam 
 propositio ilia gemella, ex nihilo nihil fieri, neque quicquam in 
 nihilum redigi ; verum quantum ipsum materiae sive summam 
 totalem constare, nee augeri aut minui. 1 Nee illud minus 
 
 1 It is worth remarking that Bacon here asserts as absolutely certain a maxim which 
 
 X 4
 
 312 NOVUM OBGAKUM. 
 
 verum, ex quanta illo materics sub iisdem spatiis sive dimen- 
 sionibus, pro diversitate corporum., plus et minus contineri ; ut 
 in aqua plus, in aere minus ; adeo ut si quis asserat aliquod 
 contentum aquae in par contentum aeris verti posse, idem sit 
 ac si dicat aliquid posse redigi in nihilum : contra, si quis 
 asserat aliquod contentum aeris in par contentum aquae verti 
 posse, idem sit ac si dicat aliquid posse fieri ex nihilo. At- 
 que ex copia ista et paucitate materite notiones illae Densi et 
 Rari, quae varie et promiscue accipiuntur, proprie abstrahuntur. 
 Assumenda est et assertio ilia tertia, etiam satis certa : quod 
 hoc de quo loquimur plus et minus materiae in corpore hoc vel 
 illo ad calculos (facta collatione) et proportiones exactas aut 
 exactis propinquas reduci possit. Veluti si quis dicat inesse 
 in dato contento auri talem coacervationem inateriae, ut opus 
 habeat spiritus vini, ad tale quantum materiae aequandum, spa- 
 tio vicies et semel majore quam implet aurum, non erraverit. 
 
 Coacervatio autem materiae et rationes ejus deducuntur ad 
 sensibile per pondus. Pondus enim respondet copiae materias, 
 quoad partes rei tangibilis; spiritus autem, et ejus quantum 
 ex materia, non venit in computationern per pondus ; levat enim 
 pondus potius quam gravat. At nos hujus rei tabularn fecimus 
 satis accuratam ; in qua pondera et spatia singulorum metallo- 
 rum, lapidum praecipuoruui, lignorum, liquorum, oleorum, et 
 plurimorum aliorum corporum tarn naturalium quam artifici- 
 alium, excepimus 1 ; rem polychrestam, tarn ad lucem informa- 
 tionis quam ad normam operationis ; et quae multas res revelet 
 omnino prater expectatuin. Neque illud pro minimo habendum 
 est, quod demonstret omnem varietatem quae in corporibus tan- 
 gibilibus nobis notis versatur (intelligimus autem corpora bene 
 unita, nee plane spongiosa et cava et rnagna ex parte aere 
 impleta) non ultra rationes partium 21 excedere : tarn finita 
 scilicet est natura, aut saltern ilia pars ejus cujus usus ad nos 
 maxime pertinet. 
 
 Etiam diligentiae nostrae esse putayimus, experiri si forte capi 
 possint rationes corporum non-tangibilium sive pneumaticorum, 
 respectu corporum tangibilium. Id quod tali molitione aggressi 
 sumus. Phialam vitream accepimus, quae unciam fortasse 
 unam capere possit ; parvitate vasis usi, ut minori cum calore 
 
 is assuredly no result of experience. The same doctrine is as distinctly, ,though not 
 so emphatically, asserted by Telesius, i. c. 5. 
 
 1 For a full account of the methods of determining specific gravities employed re- 
 spectively by Porta, Ghetaldo, ;md Bacon, see preface to Historia Densi et Rari J. S.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 313 
 
 posset fieri evaporatio sequens. Hanc phialam spiritu vini 
 implevimus fere ad collum ; eligentes spiritum vini, quod per 
 tabulam priorem eum esse ex corporibus tangibilibus (quae 
 bene unita, nee cava sunt) rarissimum, et minimum continens 
 materiae sub suo dimenso, observarimus. Deinde pondus aquas 
 cum phiala ipsa exacte notavimus. Postea vesicam accepimus, 
 quae circa duas pintas contineret. Ex ea aerem omnem, quoad 
 fieri potuit, expressimus eo usque ut vesicae ambo latera essent 
 contigua: etiam prius vesicam oleo oblevimus cum fricatione 
 leni, quo vesica esset clausior : ejus, si qua erat, porositate oleo 
 obturata. Hanc vesicam circa os phialze, ore phialae intra os 
 vesicae recepto, fortiter ligavimus ; filo parum cerato, ut melius 
 adhaeresceret et arctius ligaret. Turn demum phialam supra 
 carbones ardentes in foculo collocavimus. At paulo post vapor 
 give aura spiritus vini, per calorem dilatati et in pneumaticum 
 versi, vesicam paulatim sufflavit, eamque universam veli in- 
 star undequaque extendit. Id postquam factum fuit, conti- 
 nue vitrum ab igne removimus, et super tapetem posuimus 
 ne frigore disrumperetur ; statim quoque in summitate vesicae 
 foramen fecimus, ne vapor cessante calore in liquorem resti- 
 tutus resideret, et rationes confunderet. Turn vero vesicam 
 ipsam sustulimus, et rursus pondus excepimus spiritus vini qui 
 remanebat. Inde quantum consumptum fuisset in vaporem seu 
 pneumaticum computavimus ; et facta collatione quantum lo- 
 cum sive spatium illud corpus implesset quando esset spiritus 
 vini in phiala, et rursus quantum spatium impleverit post- 
 quam factum fuisset pneumaticum in vesica, rationes subduxi- 
 mus ; ex quibus manifeste liquebat, corpus istud ita versum et 
 mutatum expansionem centuplo majorem quam antea habuisset 
 acquisivisse. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita Calor aut Frigus ; ejus nempe 
 gradus, ut a sensu non percipiantur ob debilitatem. Haec de- 
 ducuntur ad sensum per vitrum calendare, quale superius de- 
 scripsimus. Calor enim et frigus, ipsa non percipiuntur ad 
 tactum ; at calor aerem expandit, frigus contrahit. Neque 
 rursus ilia expansio et contractio aeris percipitur ad visum ; at 
 aer ille expansus aquam deprimit, contractus attollit ; ac turn 
 demum fit deductio ad visum, non ante, aut alias. 
 
 Similiter sit natura inquisita Mistura Corporum ; viz. quid 
 habeant ex aqueo, quid ex oleoso, quid ex spiritu, quid ex cinere 
 et salibus, et hujusmodi ; vel etiam (in particular!) quid habeat
 
 314 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 lac butyri, quid coaguli, quid seri, et hujusmodi. Haec dedu- 
 cuntur ad sensum per artificiosas et peritas separationes, qua- 
 tenus ad tangibilia. At natura spiritus in ipsis, licet immediate 
 non percipiatur, tamen deprehenditur per varies motus et nixus 
 corporum tangibilium in ipso actu et processu separationis 
 suae; atque etiam per acrimonias, corrosiones, et diversos colo- 
 res, odores, et sapores eorundem corporum post separationem. 
 Atque in hac parte, per distillationes atque artificiosas separa- 
 tiones, strenue sane ab hominibus elaboratum est; sed non 
 multo fioelicius quam in caeteris experimentis, quae adhuc in usu 
 sunt : modis nimirum prorsus palpatoriis, et viis caecis, et magis 
 operose quam intelligenter ; et (quod pessimum est) nulla cum 
 imitatione aut aemulatione naturae, sed cum destructione (per 
 calores vehementes aut virtutes nimis validas) omnis subtili- 
 oris schematismi, in quo occultas rerum virtutes et consensus 
 praecipue sitas sunt. Neque illud etiam, quod alias monuimus, 
 hominibus in mentem aut observationem venire solet in hujus- 
 modi separationibus : hoc est, plurimas qualitates, in corporum 
 vexationibus tarn per ignem quam alios modos, indi ab ipso 
 igne iisque corporibus quae ad separationem adhibentur, qua? 
 in composito prius non fuerunt ; unde mirae fallacies. Neque 
 enim scilicet vapor universus, qui ex aqua emittitur per ignem, 
 vapor aut ae'r antea fuit in corpore aquae ; sed factus est ma- 
 xima ex parte per dilatationem aquae ex calore ignis. 
 
 Similiter in genere omnes exquisitae probationes corporum 
 give naturalium sive artificialiuin, per quas vera dignoscuntur 
 ab adulterinis, meliora a vilioribus, hue referri debent: de- 
 ducunt enim non-sensibile ad sensibile. Sunt itaque diligenti 
 cura undique conquirendae. 
 
 Quintum vero genus latitantiae quod attinet, manifestum est 
 actionem sensus transigi in motu, motum in tenipore. Si 
 igitur motus alicujus corporis sit vel tarn tardus vel tarn velox 
 ut non sit proportionatus ad momenta in quibus transigitur 
 actio sensus, objectum omnino non percipitur ; ut in motu in- 
 dicis horologii, et rursus in motu pilae sclopeti. Atque motus 
 qui ob tarditatem non percipitur, facile et ordinario deducitur 
 ad sensum per summas motus ; qui vero ob velocitatem, adhuc 
 non bene mensurari consuevit ; sed tamen postulat inquisitio 
 naturae ut hoc fiat in aliquibus. 
 
 Sextum autem genus, ubi impeditur sensus propter nobilita- 
 tem objecti, recipit deductionem, vel per elongationem rnajorein
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 315 
 
 object! a sensu ; vel per hebetationem object! per interpositio- 
 nem medii talis, quod objectum debilitet, non annihllet ; vel per 
 admissionem et exceptionem object! reflex!, ubi percussio di- 
 recta sit nirnis furtis ; ut solis in pelvi aquae. 
 
 Septimum autera genus latitantiae, ubi sensus ita oneratur 
 objecto ut novae admissioni non sit locus, non habet fere locum 
 nisi in olfactu et odoribus ; nee ad id quod agitur multum per- 
 tinet. Quare de deductionibus non-sensibilis ad sensibile, hsec 
 dicta sint. 1 
 
 Quandoque tamen deductio fit non ad sensum hominis, sed 
 ad sensum alicujus alterius animalis cujus sensus in aliquibus 
 liumanum excellet : ut nonnullorum odorum, ad sensum cam* ; 
 lucis, quae in acre non extrinsecus illuminato latenter existit, 
 ad seusum felis, noctuas, et hujusmodi animalium quae cernunt 
 noctu. Recte enim notavit Telesius, etiam in acre ipso inesse 
 lucem quandam originalem, licet exilem et tenuem, et maxima 
 ex parte oculis hominum aut plurimorum animalium non inser- 
 vientem ; quia ilia animalia, ad quorum sensum hujusmodi lux 
 est proportionata, cernant noctu ; id quod vel sine luce fieri, 
 vel per lucem internam, minus credibile est. 
 
 Atque illud utique notandum est, de destitutionibus sen- 
 suum eorumque remediis hie nos tractare. Nam fallaciae sen- 
 suum ad proprias inquisitiones de sensu et sensibili remittendaa 
 sunt ; excepta ilia magna fallacia sensuum, nimirum quod con- 
 stituant lineas rerum 2 ex analogia hominis, et non ex analogia 
 universi ; quas non corrigitur nisi per rationem et philosophiam 
 universalem. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo 
 octavo Instantias Vice, quas etiam Instantias Itinerantes et 
 Instantias Articulatas appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt quae 
 indicant naturae motus gradatim continuatos. Hoc autem genus 
 
 1 An excellent instance of the " deductio nonsensibilis ad sensibile " [in the second 
 kind] occurs in the experiments recently made by Messrs. Hopkins and Joule for de- 
 termining the melting-point of substances subjected to great pressure. The substance 
 acted on is enclosed in a tube out of reach and sight. But a bit of magnetized steel 
 has previously been introduced into it, and is supported by it as long as it remains 
 solid. A magnetic needle is placed beside the apparatus, a certain amount of deviation 
 being, of course, produced by the steel within the tube. The moment the temperature 
 reaches the melting-point, the steel sinks ; and its doing so is indicated by the motion 
 of the needle. 
 
 2 This phrase may, I think, be rendered " trace the outlines of outward objects." 
 I have already remarked on the meaning of " ex analogia." [See note on Disiributio 
 Opera, p. 138. J. ]
 
 316 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 iustantiarum potius fugit observationem quam sensum. Mira 
 enim est hominum circa hanc rem indiligentia. Contemplantur 
 siquidem naturam tantummodo desultorie et per periodos, et 
 postquam corpora fuerint absoluta ac completa, et non in ope- 
 ra tione sua. Quod si artificis alicujus ingenia et industriam 
 ^explorare et contemplari quis cuperet, is non tantum materias 
 rudes artis atque deinde opera perfecta conspicere desideraret, 
 sed potius praesens esse cum artifex operatur et opus suum 
 promovet. Atque simile quiddam circa naturam faciendum 
 est. Exempli gratia ; si quis de vegetatione plantarum inqui- 
 rat, ei inspiciendum est ab ipsa satione seminis alicujus (id quod 
 per extractionem, quasi singulis diebus, seminum quae per bi- 
 duum, triduum, quatriduum, et sic deinceps, in terra manserunt, 
 eorumque diligentem intuitum, facile fieri potest), quomodo et 
 quando semen intumescere et turgere incipiat et veluti spiritu 
 impleri ; deinde quomodo corticulam rumpere et emittere fibras, 
 cum latione nonnulla sui interim sursum, nisi terra fuerit ad- 
 modum contumax ; quomodo etiam emittat fibras, partim radi- 
 cales deorsum, partim cauliculares sursum, aliquando serpendo 
 per latera, si ex ea parte inveniat terram apertam et magis fa- 
 cilem; et complura id genus. Similiter facere oportet circa 
 exclusionem ovorum ; ubi facile conspici dabitur processus vivi- 
 ficandi et organizandi, et quid et quae partes fiant ex vitello, 
 quid ex albumine ovi, et alia. Similis est ratio circa animalia 
 ex putrefactione. 1 Nam circa animalia perfecta et terrestria, 
 per exectiones foetuum ex utero, minus humanum esset ista 
 inquirere ; nisi forte per occasiones abortuum, et venationum, 
 et similium. Omnino igitur vigilia quaedam servanda est circa 
 naturam, ut qua? melius se conspiciendam praebeat noctu quam 
 interdiu. Istae enim contemplationes tanquam nocturnae cen- 
 seri possint, ob lucernae parvitatem et perpetuationem. 
 
 Quin et in inanimatis idem tentandum est; id quod nos 
 
 1 The epithet perfecta is generally given to those animals which cannot result from 
 putrefaction. Caesalpinus, in the Qucestiones Peripat. v. 1., maintains that all animals 
 may result from putrefaction, and that this was the doctrine of Aristotle. The same 
 opinion had, I believe, been advanced by Averrois. That mice may be produced by 
 equivocal generation is asserted, as a matter not admitting of dispute, by Cardan, De 
 Rerun Varietate. Caesalpinus refers to the same instance, but less confidently than 
 Cardan. It is worth remarking that Aristotle, though he speaks of the great fecundity 
 of mice, and even of their being impregnated by licking salt, does not mention the pos- 
 sibility of their being produced by putrefaction. ( De Hist. Animal, vi. 37. Problem. 
 x. 64.) Paracelsus, De Rerum Generatione, affirms that all animals produced from 
 putrefaction are more or less venomous. Telesius's opinion is that the more perfi-ct 
 animals cannot result from putrefaction, because the conditions of temperature ne- 
 cessary to their produUion cannot be fultilk-d except by means of animal heat.
 
 NOYUM ORGANUM. 317 
 
 fecimus in inquirendls aperturis liquorum per ignem. 1 AHus 
 enim est modus aperturae in aqua, alius in vino, alius in aceto, 
 alius in omphacio 2 ; longe alius in lacte, et oleo, et caeteris. Id 
 quod facile cernere erat per ebullitionem super ignem lenem, et 
 in vase vitreo, ubi omnia cerni perspicue possint. Verum haec 
 brevius perstringimtis, fusius et exactius de iis sermones ha- 
 bituri cum ad inventionem Latentis rerum Processus ventum 
 erit. Semper enim memoria tenendum est, nos hoc loco non 
 res ipsas tractare, sed exempla tantum adducere. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 Inter Prasrogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo 
 nono Instantias Supplement, sive Substitutionis ; quas etiam 
 Instantias Perfugii appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt, quaa 
 supplent informationem ubi sensus plane destituitur; atque 
 idcirco ad eas confugimus cum instantiae proprise haberi non 
 possint. Dupliciter autem fit substitutio; aut per Gradua- 
 tionem, aut per Analoga. Exempli gratia; non invenitur 
 medium quod inhibeat prorsus operationem magnetis in mo- 
 vendo ferrum; non aurum interpositum, non argentum, non 
 lapis, non vitrum, lignum, aqua, oleum, pannus aut corpora 
 fibrosa, aer, flamma, et caetera. Attamen per probationem 
 exactam fortasse inveniri possit aliquod medium quod hebetet 
 virtutem ipsius plus quam aliquod aliud, comparative et in 
 aliquo gradu ; veluti quod non trahat magnes ferrum per tan- 
 tarn crassitiem auri quam per par spatium aeris ; aut per tan- 
 tum argentum ignitum quam per frigidum ; et sic de similibus. 
 Nam de his nos experimentum non fecimus ; sed sufficit tamen 
 ut proponantur loco exempli. Similiter non invenitur hie apud 
 nos corpus quod non suscipiat calidum igni approximatum. 
 Attamen longe citius suscipit calorem aer quam lapis. Atque 
 talis est substitutio quae fit per Gradus. 
 
 Substitutio autem per Analoga, utilis sane, sed minus certa 
 est; atque idcirco cum judicio quodam adhibenda. Ea fit 
 cum deducitur non-sensibile ad sensum, non per operationea 
 sensibiles ipsius corporis insensibilis, sed per contemplationem 
 corporis alicujus cognati sensibilis. 3 Exempli gratia; si in- 
 
 1 " Apertura " means the same thing as " expansio." 
 
 2 Wine made of sour grapes. (Pliny, xiv. 18. and elsewhere.) It is probably to be 
 rendered verjuice, as it is by Lemmius. 
 
 8 Du Bois Raymond's Researches in Animal Electricity give a good example of this. 
 He constructed what may called an electrical model of a muscle, and succeeded in ob- 
 taining an illustration not only of his fundamental result, namely that any transverse
 
 318 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 quiratur de Mistura Spirituum, qui sunt corpora non-visibilia, 
 videtur ease cognatio quaedam inter corpora et fomites give 
 alimenta sua. Fomes autem flammae videtur esse oleum et 
 pinguia ; aeris, aqua et aquea : flammae enim multiplicant se 
 super halitus olei, aer super vapores aquae. Videndum itaque 
 de mistnra aquae et olei, qua? se manifestat ad sensum ; quando- 
 quidem mistura aeris et flammei generis fugiat sensum. At 
 oleum et aqua inter se per compositionem aut agitationem im- 
 perfecte admodum miscentur ; eadem in herbis, et sanguine, et 
 partibus animalium, accurate et delicate miscentur. Itaque 
 simile quiddam fieri possit circa misturam flammei et aerei 
 generis in spiritalibus ; quae per confusionem simplicem non 
 bene sustinent misturam, eadem tamen in spiritibus plantarum 
 et animalium misceri videntur ; praesertim cum omnis spiritus 
 animatus depascat humida utraque, aquea et pinguia, tanquam 
 fomites suos. 
 
 Similiter si non de perfectioribus misturis spiritalium, sed de 
 compositione tantum inquiratur ; nempe, utrum facile inter se 
 incorporentur, an potius (exempli gratia) sint aliqui venti et 
 exhalationes, aut alia corpora spiritalia, qua? non miscentur cum 
 aere communi, sed tantum haerent et natant in eo, in globulis 
 et guttis, et potius franguntur ac comminuuntur ab aere 
 quam in ipsum recipiuntur et incorporantur ; hoc in aere com- 
 muni et aliis spiritalibus, ob subtilitatem corporum, percipi ad 
 sensum non potest ; attamen imago quaedam hujus rei, quatenus 
 fiat, concipi possit in liquoribus argenti vivi, olei, aquae ; atque 
 etiam in aere, et fractione ejus, quando dissipatur et ascendit in 
 parvis portiunculis per aquam; atque etiam in fumis crassi- 
 oribus ; denique in pulvere excitato et hserente in aere ; in qui- 
 bus omnibus non fit incorporatio. Atque repraesentatio prasdicta 
 in hoc subjecto non mala est, si illud primo diligenter inquisi- 
 tum fuerit, utrum possit esse talis heterogenia inter spiritalia 
 qualis invenitur inter liquida ; nam turn demum haec simulacra 
 per Analogiam non incommode substituentur. 
 
 Atque de Instantiis istis Supplementi, quod diximus infor- 
 mationem ab iis hauriendam esse, quando desint instantiae 
 propriae, loco Perfugii; nihilominus intelligi volumus, quod 
 illae etiam magni sint usus etiam cum propriae instantiae ad- 
 sint ; ad roborandam scilicet informationem una cum propriis. 
 
 section is negative with respect to any longitudinal one, but also of the more compli- 
 cated relations between two different portions of the same section.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 319 
 
 Verum de his exactius dicemus quando ad Adminicula Indu- 
 ctionis tractanda sermo ordine dilabetur. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo 
 Instantias Persecantes ; quas etiam Instantias Vellicantes ap- 
 pellare consuevimus, sed diversa ratione. Vellicantes enim eas 
 appellamus, quia vellicant intellectum ; Persecantes, quia perse- 
 cant naturam ; unde etiam illas quandoque Instantias Democriti 
 nominamus. Eae sunt, quae de admirabili et exquisita subtili- 
 tate natures intellectum submonent, ut excitetur et expergisca- 
 tur ad attentionem et observationem et inquisitionem debitam. 
 Exempli gratia ; quod parum guttulae atramenti ad tot literas 
 vel lineas extendatur ; quod argentum, exterius tantum in- 
 auratum, ad tantam longitudinem fili inaurati continuetur l ; 
 quod pusillus vermiculUs, qualis in cute invenitur, habeat in se 
 spiritum simul et figuram dissimilarem partium ; quod parum 
 croci etiam dolium aquae colore inficiat ; quod parum zibethi 2 
 aut aromatis longe majus contentum aeris odore ; quod exiguo 
 suffitu tanta excitetur nubes fumi ; quod sonorum tarn accuratae 
 differentiae, quales sint voces articulatae, per aerem undequaque 
 vehantur, atque per foramina et poros etiam ligni et aquae 
 (licet admodum extenuate) penetrent, quin etiam repercutiantur, 
 idque tarn distincte et velociter ; quod lux et color, etiam tanto 
 ambitu et tarn perniciter, per corpora solida vitri, aquae, et 
 cum tanta et tani exquisita varietate imaginum permeent, etiam 
 refringantur et reflectantur ; quod magnes per corpora omnigena, 
 etiam maxime compacta, operetur. Sed (quod magis mirum est) 
 quod in his omnibus, in medio adiaphoro (quale est aer) unius 
 actio aliam non magnopere impediat ; nempe quod eodem tern- 
 pore per spatia aeris devehantur et visibilium tot imagines, et 
 vocis articulatae tot percussiones, et tot odores specificati, ut 
 violae, rosae ; etiam calor et frigus et virtutes magneticae ; omnia 
 (inquam) simul, uno alterum non impediente, ac si singula ha- 
 berent vias et meatus suos proprios separates, neque unum in 
 alterum impingeret aut incurreret. 
 
 Solemus tamen utiliter hujusmodi Instantiis Persecantibus 
 subjungere instantias, quas Metas Persecationis appellare con- 
 
 1 Dr. Woolaston's method for obtaining wires of extreme fineness was perhaps -sug- 
 gested by the circumstance mentioned in the text. He enclosed a gold wire in a 
 cylinder of silver, drew them out together, and then dissolved away the silver by 
 means of warm nitrous acid. 
 
 2 Civet
 
 320 NOVUM ORGANU3VT. 
 
 suevimus ; veluti quod in iis quae diximus, una actio in diverse 
 genere aliam non perturbet aut impediat, cum tamen in eodem 
 genere una aliam domet et extinguat : veluti, lux solis, lucem 
 cicindelae; sonitus bombardae, vocem; fortior odor, delicatiorem ; 
 intensior calor, remissiorem; lamina ferri interposita inter ma- 
 gnetem et aliud ferrum, operationem magnetis. Verum de 
 his quoque inter Adminicula Inductionis erit proprius dicendi 
 locus. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Atque de instantiis quae juvant sensum, jam dictum est ; quze 
 praecipui usus sunt ad partem Informativam. Informatio enim 
 incipit a sensu. At universum negotium desinit in Opera; 
 atque quemadmodum illud principium, ita hoc finis rei est. Se- 
 quentur itaque instantiae praacipui usus ad partem Operativam. 
 Eas genere duae sunt, numero septem ; q'uas universas, general! 
 nomine, Instantias Practicas appellare consuevfmus. Operatives 
 autem partis, vitia duo ; totidemque dignitates instantiarum in 
 genere. Aut enim fallit operatic, aut onerat nimis. Fallit 
 operatic maxime (praesertim post diligentem naturarum inqui- 
 sitionem) propter male determinatas et mensuratas corporum 
 vireg et actiones. Vires autem et actiones corporum circum- 
 scribuntur et mensurantur, aut per spatia loci, aut per momenta 
 temporis, aut per unionem quanti, aut per praedominantiam vir- 
 tutis; quae quatuor nisi fuerint probe et diligenter pensitata, 
 erunt fortasse scientiae speculatione quidem pulchrae, sed opere 
 inactivae. Instantias vero quatuor itidem quae hue referuntur, 
 uno nomine Instantias Mathematicas vocamus, et Instantias 
 Mensura. 
 
 Onerosa autem fit praxis, vel propter misturam rerum in- 
 utilium, vel propter multiplicationem instrumentorum, vel 
 propter molem materiae et corporum quae ad aliquod opus 
 requiri contigerint. Itaque eae instantiae in pretio esse debent, 
 quae aut dirigunt operativam ad ea quae maxime hominum inter- 
 sunt ; aut quse parcunt instruments ; aut quae parcunt materiae 
 sive supellectili. Eas autem tres instantias quae hue pertinent, 
 uno nomine Instantias Propitias sive Benevolas vocamus. Ita- 
 que de his septem instantiis jam sigillatim dicemus ; atque cum 
 iis partem illam de Praerogativis sive Dignitatibus Instantiarum 
 claudemus. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 321 
 
 primo Instantias Virga, sive Radii; quas etiam Instantias 
 Perlationis, vel de Non Ultra appellate consuevimus. Virtutes 
 enim rerum et motus operantur et expediuntur per spatia non 
 indefinita aut fortuita, sed finita et certa ; quae ut in singulis 
 naturis inquisitis teneantur et notentur plurimum interest Pra- 
 cticae, non solum ad hoc, ut non fallat, sed etiam ut magis sit 
 aucta et potens. Etenim interdum datur virtutes producere, 
 et distantias tanquara retrahere in propius ; ut in perspecillis. 
 
 Atque plurimae virtutes operantur et afficiunt tantum per 
 tactum manifestum ; ut fit in percussione corporum, ubi alterum 
 non summovet alterum, nisi impellens impulsum tangat. Etiam 
 medicinse quae exterius applicantur, ut unguenta, emplastra, 
 non exercent vires suas nisi per tactum corporis. Denique 
 objecta sensuum tactus et gustus non feriunt nisi contigua 
 organis. 
 
 Sunt et aliae virtutes quae operantur ad distantiam, verum 
 valde exiguam, quarum pauca3 adhuc notatae sunt, cum tamen 
 plures sint quam homines suspicentur; ut (capiendo exempla 
 ex vulgatis) cum succinum 1 aut gagates 2 trahunt paleas; bull as 
 approximatae solvunt bullas ; medicinaD nonnullse purgativa? 
 eliciunt humores ex alto 3 , et hujusmodi. At virtus ilia ma- 
 gnetica per quam ferrum et magnes, vel magnetes invicem, 
 coeunt, operatur intra orbem virtutis certum, sed parvum ; ubi 
 contra, si sit aliqua virtus magnetica emanans ab ipsa terra 
 (paulo nimirum interiore) super acum ferream, quatenus ad 
 verticitatem, operatic fiat ad distantiam magnam. 
 
 Rursus, si sit aliqua vis magnetica quae operetur per con- 
 sensum inter globum terrae et ponderosa, aut inter globum 
 lunae et aquas maris (quae maxime credibilis videtur in fluxibus 
 et refluxibus semi-menstruis 4 ), aut inter ccelum stellatum et 
 
 1 Amber. 2 Jet. 
 
 3 Bacon here speaks in accordance with the medical theory in which the brain is 
 the origin and seat of the rheum, which descends from thence and produces disease in 
 other organs a theory preserved in the word catarrh. Certain purgatives were sup- 
 posed to draw the rheum down. 
 
 4 It is worth remarking that Galileo speaks contemptuously of the notion that the 
 moon exerts any influence on the tides. His strong wish to explain everything me- 
 chanically led him in this instance wrong, as a similar wish has led many others. It 
 arose, not unnaturally, from a reaction against the unsatisfactory explanations which 
 the schoolmen were in the habit of deducing from the specific or occult properties of 
 bodies. Even Leibnitz, in his controversy with Clarke, shows a tendency towards an 
 exclusive preference of a mechanical system of physics, though in other parts of his 
 writings he had spoken favourably of the doctrine of attraction, and though his 
 whole philosophy ought, one would think, to have made him indifferent to the point 
 in dispute. In a system of pre-established harmony, action by contact is as merely 
 apparent as action at a distance. 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 322 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 planetas, per quam evocentur et attollantur ad sua apogasa; 
 haec omnia operantur ad distantias admodum longinquas. In- 
 veniuntur et quaedam inflammationes sive conceptiones flammaa, 
 quae fiunt ad distantias bene magnas, in aliquibus materiis ; ut 
 referunt de naphtha Babylonica. 1 Galores etiam insinuant se 
 per distantias amplas, quod etiam faciunt frigora; adeo ut 
 habitantibus circa Canadam moles sive massae glaciales, quae 
 abrumpuntur et natant per oceanum septentrionalem et cle- 
 feruntur per Atlanticum versus illas oras, percipiantur et in- 
 cutiant frigora e longinquo. Odores quoque (licet in his videatur 
 semper esse quaedam emissio corporea) operantur ad distantias 
 notabiles ; ut evenire solet navigantibus juxta litora Floridae, 
 aut etiam nonnulla Hispanias, ubi sunt sylvae totae ex arboribus 
 limonum, arantiorum 2 , et hujusmodi plantarum odoratarum, aut 
 frutices rorismarini,majoranae, et similium. 3 Postremo radiationes 
 lucis et impressiones sonorum operantur scilicet ad distantias 
 spatiosas. 
 
 Verum haec omnia, utcunque operentur ad distantias parvas 
 sive magnas, operantur certe ad finitas et naturae notas 4 , ut sit 
 quiddam Non Ultra; idque pro rationibus, aut molis seu quanti 
 corporum ; aut vigoris et debilitatis virtutum ; aut favoribus et 
 impediments mediorum ; quae omnia in computationem venire et 
 notari debent. Quinetiam mensurae motuum violentorum (quos 
 vocant), ut missilium, tormentorum, rotarum, et similium, cum 
 hae quoque manifesto suos habeant limites certos, notaudae sunt. 
 
 Inveniuntur etiam quidam motus et virtutes contrariae illis 
 quae operantur per tactum et non ad distans ; quae operantur 
 scilicet ad distans et non ad tactum ; et rursus, quae operantur 
 remissius ad distantiam minorem et fortius ad distantiam majo- 
 rem. Etenim visio non bene transigitur ad tactum, sed indiget 
 medio et distantia. Licet meminerim me audisse ex relatione 
 cujusdam fide digni, quod ipse in curandis oculorum suorum 
 cataractis (erat autem cura talis, ut immitteretur festuca quas- 
 dam parva argentea intra primam oculi tunicam, quae pelliculam 
 illam cataractse removeret et truderet in angulum oculi) claris- 
 sime vidisset festucam illam supra ipsam pupillam moventem. 
 
 1 Strabo, xvi. p. 742. Pliny, ii. 109. 
 
 2 [So in the original edition.] Qy. aurantiorum ? 
 
 ' To the same purpose Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 99. : 
 
 As when to them who sail 
 Beyond thf Cape of Hope, &c. 
 4 i. e. fixed in the nature of things.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 323 
 
 Quod utcunque verum esse possit, manifestum est majora cor- 
 pora non bene aut distincte cerni nisi in cuspide coni l , coeun- 
 tibus radiis objecti ad nonnullam distantiara. Quin etiam in 
 senibus oculus melius cernit remote objecto paulo longius, quam 
 propius. In missilibus autem certum est percussionem non 
 fieri tarn fortem ad distantiam nimis parvam, quam paulo post. 
 Hsec itaque et similia in mensuris motuum quoad distantias 
 notanda sunt. 
 
 Est et aliud genus mensune localis motuum, quod non prae- 
 termittendum est. Illud vero pertinet ad motus non progres- 
 sives, sed sphaericos ; hoc est, ad expansionem corporum in 
 majorem sphaeram, aut contractionem in minorem. Inquirendum 
 enim est inter mensuras istas motuum, quantam compressionem 
 aut extensionem corpora (pro natura ipsorum) facile et libenter 
 patiantur, et ad quern terminum reluctari incipiant, adeo ut ad 
 extremum Non Ultra ferant ; ut cum vesica inflata comprimitur, 
 sustinet ilia compressionem nonnullam aeris, sed si major fue- 
 rit, non patitur aer, sed rumpitur vesica. 
 
 At nos hoc ipsum subtiliore experimento magis exacte pro- 
 bavimus. Accepimus enim campanulam ex metallo, leviorem 
 scilicet et tenuiorem, quali ad excipiendum salem utimur ; eam- 
 que in pelvim aquae immisimus, ita ut deportaret secum aerem 
 qui continebatur in concavo usque ad fundum pelvis. Lo- 
 caveramus autem prius globulum in fundo pelvis, super quern 
 campanula imponenda esset. Quare illud eveniebat, ut si glo- 
 bulus ille esset minusculus (pro rations concavi), reciperet se 
 aer in locum minorem, et contruderetur solum, non extrude- 
 retur. Quod si grandioris esset magnitudinis quam ut aer 
 libenter cederet, turn aer majoris pressurae impatiens campa- 
 nulam ex aliqua parte elevabat, et in bullis ascendebat. 
 
 Etiam ad probandum qualem extensionem (non minus quam 
 compressionem) pateretur aer, tale quippiam practicavimus. 
 Ovum vitreum accepimus, cum parvo foramine in uno extremo 
 ovL Aerem per foramen exuctione forti attraximus, et statim 
 digito foramen illud obturavimus, et ovum in aquam immersi- 
 mus, et dein digitum removimus. Aer vero tensura ilia per 
 exuctionem facta tortus et magis quam pro natura sua dilata- 
 tus, ideoque se recipere et contrahere nitens (ita ut si ovum 
 illud in aquam non fuisset immersum, aerem ipsum traxisset 
 
 1 That is, the eye being at the apex of the visual cone. 
 Y 2
 
 324 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 cum sibilo), aquam traxit ad tale quantum quale sufficere 
 posset ad hoc, ut aer antiquam recuperaret sphaeram sive di- 
 mensionem. 1 
 
 Atque certum est corpora tenuiora (quale est aer) pati con- 
 tractionem nonnullam notabilem, ut dictum est; at corpora 
 tangibilia (quale est aqua) multo aagrius et ad minus spatium 
 patiuntur compressionem. Qualem autem patiatur, tali experi- 
 mento inquisivimus. 
 
 Fieri fecimus globum ex plumbo cavum, qui duas circiter 
 pintas vinarias contineret ; eumque satis per latera crassum, ut 
 majorem vim sustineret. In ilium aquam immisimus, per fora- 
 men alicubi factum ; atque foramen illud, postquam globus 
 aqua impletus fuisset, plumbo liquefacto obturavimus, ut globus 
 deveniret plane consolidatus. Dein globum forti malleo ad duo 
 latera adversa complanavimus ; ex quo necesse fuit aquam in 
 minus contrahi, cum sphgera figurarum sit capacissima. Deinde, 
 cum malleatio non amplius sufficeret, aegrius se recipiente aqua, 
 molendino 2 seu torculari usi sumus; ut tandem aqua, impatiens 
 pressures ulterioris, per solida plumbi (instar roris delicati) ex- 
 stillaret. Postea, quantum spatii per earn compressionem im- 
 minutum foret computavimus ; atque tantam compressionem 
 passam esse aquam (sed violentia magna subactam) intellexi- 
 mus. 3 
 
 1 This explanation is wholly unsatisfactory. The principle upon which the true 
 explanation depends, namely the pressure of the atmosphere, was, it seems tolerably 
 certain, first suggested by Torricelli. If the experiment were performed in vacuo, no 
 water would enter the egg, unless the egg were plunged to a considerable depth into 
 the water, or unless the vacuum within it were more perfect than could be produced 
 in the manner described. 
 
 * Molendinum is properly a Low Latin word for a mill-house ; here used for a 
 press. 
 
 This is perhaps the most remarkable of Bacon's experiments ; and it is singular 
 that it was so little spoken of by subsequent writers. Nearly fifty years after the 
 publication of the Novum Organum, an account of a similar experiment was published 
 by Megalotti, who was secretary of the Accademia del Cimento at Florence ; and it has 
 since been familiarly known as the Florentine experiment I quote his account of it 
 " Facemmo lavorar di getto una grande ma sottil palla d' argento, e quella ripiena 
 d" acqua raffreddata col ghiaccio serramo con saldissime vite. Di poi cominciammo 
 a martellarla leggiermente per ogni verso, onde ammaccato 1' argento (il quale per la sua 
 crudezza non comporta d' assottigliarsi e distendersi come farebbe 1' oro raflSnato, o il 
 piombo, o altro metallo piu dolce) veniva a ristrignersi, e scemare la sua interna capa- 
 cita, senza che 1' acqua patisse una minima compressione, poiche ad ogni colpo si videa 
 trasudare per tutti i pori del metallo a guisa d' argento vivo il quale da alcuna pelle 
 premuto minutamente sprizzasse. " Saggi di naturnli Esperienze fattt neW Accademia 
 del Cimtnto, p. 204. Firenze, 1667. The writer goes on to remark that the absolute 
 incompressibility of water is not proved by this experiment, but merely that it is not 
 to be compressed in the manner described. But the experiment is on other grounds 
 inconclusive. 
 
 It is to be remarked that Leibnitz, Nouveaux Essais, in mentioning the Florentine
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 325 
 
 At solidiora, sicca, aut magis compacta, qualia sunt lapides 
 et ligna, nee non metalla, multo adhuc minorem compressionem 
 aut extensionem, et fere imperceptibilem ferunt ; sed vel fra- 
 ctione, vel progressione, vel aliis pertentationibus se liberant ; 
 ut in curvationibus ligni aut metalli, horologiis moventibus per 
 complicationem laminae, missilibus, malleationibus, et innumeris 
 aliis motibus apparet. Atque haec omnia cum mensuris suis in 
 indagatione naturae notanda et exploranda sunt, aut in certi- 
 tudine sua, aut per aestimativas, aut per comparativas, prout 
 dabitur copia. 
 
 XL VI. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo 
 secundo Instantias Curriculi, quas etiam Instantias ad Aquam 
 appellare consuevimus; sumpto vocabulo a clepsydris apud 
 antiques, in quas infundebatur aqua, loco arenas. Ese men- 
 surant naturam per momenta temporis, quemadmodum Instan- 
 tice VirgcB per gradus spatii. Omnis enim motus sive actio 
 naturalis transigitur in tempore ; alius velocius, alius tardius, 
 sed utcunque momentis certis et naturae notis. Etiam illae- 
 actiones quae subito videntur operari, et in ictu oculi (ut loqui- 
 mur), deprehenduntur recipere majus et minus quoad tempus. 
 
 Primo itaque videmus restitutiones corporum crelestium fieri 
 per tempora numerata ; etiam fluxus et refluxus maris. Latio 
 autem gravium versus terram et levium versus ambitum coeli, 
 fit per certa momenta, pro ratione corporis quod fertur, et 
 medii. 1 At velificationes navium, motus animalium, perlatio- 
 nes missilium, omnes fiunt itidem per tempora (quantum ad 
 suminas) numerabilia. Calorem vero quod attinet, videmus 
 pueros per hyemein manus in flamma lavare, nee tamen uri ; 
 et joculatores vasa plena vino vel aqua, per motus agiles et 
 aequales, vertere deorsum et sursum recuperare, non effuso 
 liquore; et multa hujusmodi. Nee minus ipsae compressioues 
 et dilatationes et eruptiones corporum fiunt, aliae velocius, alias 
 tardius, pro natura corporis et motus, sed per momenta eerta. 
 Quinetiam in explosione plurium bombardarum simul, quae ex- 
 audiuntur quandoque ad distantiam triginta milliarium, per- 
 
 experiment, says that the globe was of gold (p. 229. Erdmann), whereas the Florentine 
 academicians expressly say why they preferred silver to either gold or lead. 
 
 1 Galileo had shown, before the year 1592, that the resistance of the air being set 
 aside, all bodies fall with equal velocity. He left Tisa in that year in consequence of 
 the disputes wbich were occasioned by this refutation of the Aristotelian doctrine, that 
 the velocity is as the weight. 
 
 T 3
 
 326 NOVUM OBGANUM. 
 
 cipitur sonus prius ab iis qui prope absunt a loco ubi fit sonitus, 
 quam ab iis qui longe. At in visu (cujus actio est pernicissima) 
 liquet etiam requiri ad eum actuandura momenta certa tem- 
 poris ; idque probatur ex iis qua propter motus velocitatem 
 non cernuntur ; ut ex latione pilae ex sclopeto. Velocior enim 
 est praetervolatio pilae quam impressio speciei ejus quse deferri 
 poterat ad visum. 1 
 
 Atque hoc, cum similibus, nobis quandoque dubitationem 
 peperit plane monstrosam ; videlicet, utrum coeli sereni et stel- 
 lati facies ad idem tempus cernatur quando vere existit, an 
 potius aliquanto post; et utrum non sit (quatenus ad visum 
 coelestium) non minus tempus verum et tempus visum, quam 
 locus verus et locus visus, qui notatur ab astronomis in paral- 
 laxibus. 2 Adeo incredibile nobis videbatur, species sive radios 
 corporum ccelestium per tarn immensa spatia milliarium subito 
 deferri posse ad visum ; sed potius debere eas in tempore ali< A uo 
 notabili delabi. Verum ilia dubitatio (quoad majus aliquod 
 intervallum temporis inter tempus verum et visum) postea plane 
 evanuit ; reputantibus nobis jacturam illam infinitam et dimi- 
 nutionem quanti, quatenus ad apparentiam, inter corpus stellae 
 verum et speciem visam, quae causatur a distantia ; atque 
 simul notantibus ad quantam distantiam (sexaginta scilicet ad 
 minimum milliariorum) corpora, eaque tan turn albicantia, subito 
 hie apud nos cernantur ; cum dubium non sit lucem coelestium, 
 non tantum albedinis vividum colorem, verum etiam omnis 
 flammae (quae apud nos nota est) lucem, quoad vigorem radia- 
 tionis, multis partibus excedere. Etiam immensa ilia velocitas 
 in ipso corpore, quae cernitur in motu diurno (quae etiam viros 
 graves ita obstupefecit ut mallent credere motum terrae), facit 
 motuna ilium ejaculationis radiorum ab ipsis (licet celeritate, ut 
 diximus, mirabilem) magis credibilem. Maxime vero omnium 
 nos movit, quod si interponeretur intervallum temporis aliquod 
 notabile inter veritatem et visum, foret ut species per nubes 
 interim orientes et similes medii perturbationes interciperentur 
 saepenumero, et confunderentur. 3 Atque de mensuris tempo- 
 rum simplicibus haec dicta sink 
 
 1 t. e. the ball flies past in less time than the image conveyed to the sight requires 
 to make an impression. 
 
 f. e. which is taken account of in the correction for parallaxes. 
 I do not know how to understand this passage without attributing to Bacon a con- 
 fusion of ideas which seems hardly credible. For surely the very thing which he sup- 
 poses would happen if there were a perceptible interval between the veritas and the visus, 
 Ibat is to say, between the time when a star (for instance) is at a given point and the
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 327 
 
 Verum non solum quaerenda est mensura motuum et actio- 
 num simpliciter, sed multo magis comparative : id enim eximii 
 est usus, et ad plurima spectat. Atque videmus flammam ali- 
 cujus torraenti ignei citius cerni, quam sonitus audiatur ; licet 
 necesse sit pilam prius aerem percutere, quam flamma quae pone 
 erat exire potuerit ; fieri hoc autem propter velociorem trans- 
 actionem motus lucis, quam soni. Videmus etiam species visi- 
 biles a visu citius excipi quam dimitti ; unde fit quod nervi 
 fidium, digito impulsi, duplicentur aut triplicentur quoad spe- 
 ciem, quia species nova recipitur, antequam prior demittatur ; 
 ex quo etiam fit, ut annuli rotati videantur globosi, et fax 
 ardens, noctu velociter portata, conspiciatur caudata. 1 Etiam 
 ex hoc fundamento inaequalitatis motuum quoad velocitatem, 
 excogitavit Galilaeus causam fluxus et refluxus maris ; rotante 
 terra velocius, aquis tardius ; ideoque accumulantibus se aquis 
 ia sursum, et deinde per vices se remittentibus in deorsum, ut 
 demonstratur in vase aquse incitatius movente. 2 Sed hoc 
 commentus est concesso non concessibili (quod terra nempe 
 moveatur), ac etiam non bene informatus de oceani motu sex- 
 horario. 
 
 At exemplum hujus rei de qua agitur, videlicet de compa- 
 
 time when we see it there, in other words, if the image took any time in coming to 
 the eye, this very thing does actually happen as often as the star is hidden by a cloud 
 or dimmed by a vapour : the species, to use his own word, are intercepted or con- 
 fused. If, indeed, the force of the rays were diminished, and this I suppose would be 
 one consequence of diminished velocity, the thing would happen more frequently, be- 
 cause there would be more obstructions which they could not overcome : they would 
 be intercepted or confused by media which they now pass through. But the force 
 being the same, and the stream continuous, the time of passage could make no differ- 
 ence in this respect. lu another respect, namely the facility of observation, it would 
 make a very great difference ; and it is remarked by Brinkley that, if the velocity of 
 light had been much less than it is, astronomy would have been all but an impossible 
 science. But that is another matter. J. S. 
 
 ' Of the phenomena which he here enumerates Bacon undoubtedly gives the right 
 explanation, though in the case of vibrating strings his explanation is not altogether 
 complete. The distinct or quasi-distinct images to which he refers correspond to 
 limiting positions of the vibrating string. 
 
 2 This account of Galileo's theory of the tides is inaccurate. In this theory the 
 tides are caused by the varying velocity of different points of the earth's surface, 
 arising from the composition of the earth's two motions, namely that about its axis, 
 and that in its orbit. Bacon does not seem to have perceived that both these mo- 
 tions are essential to the explanation. That the earth's being in motion might be 
 the cause of the tides, had been suggested before the time of Galileo by Cassalpinus in 
 the Quastlnies Peripateticce, iii. 5. It is odd that Patritius, in giving an account of all 
 the theories which had in his time been devised to explain the cause of the tides (see 
 his Pancosmias, 1. 28.), does not mention Caesalpinus's, though it was published some 
 years before his own work. Galileo perhaps alludes to Cassalpinus in his letter to 
 Cardinal Orsino, dated 8th January, 1616. See, for remarks on Csesalpinus's doctrine, 
 the Problemata Marina of Casmann, published in 1596. Casmann's own theory is 
 that of expansion. 
 
 T 4
 
 328 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 rativis mensuris motuum, neque solum rei ipsius, sed et usus 
 insignis ejus (de quo paulo ante loquuti sumus), eminet in cu- 
 nieulis subterraneis, in quibus collocatur pulvis pyrius ; ubi 
 immensae moles terrae, aedificiorum, et similium, subvertuntur, 
 et in altum jaciuntur, a pusilla quantitate pulveris pyrii. Cujus 
 causa pro certo ilia est, quod motus dilatationis pulveris, qui 
 impellit, multis partibus sit pernicior, quam motus gravitatis 
 per quern fieri possit aliqua resistentia ; adeo ut primus motus 
 perfunctus sit, antequam motus adversus ineeperit; utinprinei- 
 piis nullitas quaedam sit resistentias. Hinc etiam fit, quod in 
 omni missili, ictus, non tarn robustus quam acutus et celer, ad 
 perlationem potissimum valeat. Neque etiam fieri potuisset, 
 ut parva quantitas spiritus animalis in animalibus, praesertim in 
 tarn vastis corporibus qualia sunt balasnae aut elephanti, tantam 
 molem corpoream flecteret et regeret, nisi propter veloeitatem 
 motus spiritus, et hebetudinem corporeae molis, quatenus ad 
 expediendam suam resistentiam. 
 
 Denique, hoc unum ex prsecipuis fundamentis est experimen- 
 torum magicorum, de quibus mox dicemus ; ubi scilicet parva 
 moles materiae longe majorem superat et in ordinem redigit : 
 hoc, inquam, si fieri possit anteversio motuum per veloeitatem 
 unius, antequam alter se expediat. 
 
 Postremo, hoc ipsum Prius et Posterius in omni actione 
 naturali notari debet ; veluti quod in infusione rhabarbari eli- 
 ciatur purgativa vis prius, astrictiva post ; simile quiddam etiam 
 in infusione violarum in acetum experti sumus ; ubi primo ex- 
 cipitur suavis et delicatus floris odor ; post, pars floris magis 
 terrea, quse odorem confundit. Itaque si infundantur violas 
 per diem integrum, odor multo languidius excipitur ; quod si 
 infundantur per partem quartam horae tantum, et extrahantur ; 
 et (quia paucus est spiritus odoratus qui subsistit in viola) in- 
 fundantur post singulas quartas horae violaa novae et recentes ad 
 sexies ; turn demum nobilitatur infusio, ita ut licet non manse- 
 rint violae, utcunque renovatae, plus quam ad sesquihoram, 
 tamen permanserit odor gratissimus, et viola ipsa non inferior, 
 ad annum integrum. Notandum tamen est, quod non se colli- 
 gat odor ad vires suas plenas, nisi post mensem ab infusione. 
 In distillationibus vero aromatum maceratorum in spiritu vini 
 patet quod surgat primo phlegma aqueum et inutile, deinde 
 ::qua plus habens ex spiritu vini, deinde post aqua plus habens 
 ex aromate. Atque hujus generis quamplurima inveniuntur
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 329 
 
 in distillationibus notatu digna. Vcrura haec sufficiant ad ex- 
 empla. 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo 
 tertio Instantias Quanti, quas etiam Doses Natures (sumpto 
 vocabulo a Medicinis) vocare consuevimus. Eae sunt qua? 
 mensurant virtutes per Quanta corporum, et indicant quid 
 Quantum Corporis faciat ad Modum Virtutis. Ac primo 
 sunt quaedam virtutes quae non subsistunt nisi in Quanto 
 Cosmico, hoc est, tali Quanto quod habeat consensum cum con- 
 figuratione et fabrica universi. Terra enim stat; partes ejus 
 cadunt. Aquae in maribus fluunt et refluunt ; in fluviis minime, 
 nisi per ingressum maris. Deinde etiam omnes fere virtutes 
 particulares secundum multum aut parvum corporis operantur. 
 Aquae largae non facile corrumpuntur ; exiguae cito. Mustum 
 et cervisia maturescunt longe citius, et fiunt potabilia, in utribus 
 parvis, quam in doliis magnis. Si herba ponatur in majore 
 portione liquoris, fit infusio, magis quam imbibitio l ; si in mi- 
 nore, fit imbibitio, magis quam infusio. Aliud igitur erga 
 corpus humanum est balneum, aliud levis irroratio. Etiam 
 parvi rores in acre nunquam cadunt, sed dissipantur et cum 
 aere incorporantur. Et videre est in anhelitu super gemmas, 
 parum illud humoris, quasi nubeculam vento dissipatam, con- 
 tinue solvi. Etiam frustum ejusdem magnetis non trahit 
 tautum ferri, quantum magnes integer. Sunt etiam virtutes 
 in quibus parvitas Quanti magis potest ; ut in penetrationibus, 
 stylus acutus citius penetrat, quam obtusus ; adamas punctu- 
 atus sculpit in vitro ; et similia. 
 
 Verum non hie morandum est in indefinitis, sed etiam de 
 rationibus Quanti corporis erga modum virtutis inquirendum. 
 Proclive enim foret credere, quod rationes Quanti rationes 
 virtutis adaequarent ; ut si pila plumbea unius unciae caderet in 
 tali tempore, pila unciarum duarum deberet cadere duplo cele- 
 rius, quod falsissimum est. Nee eaedem rationes in omni genere 
 virtutum valent, sed longe diversae. Itaque has mensurae ex 
 rebus ipsis petendae sunt, et non ex verisimilitudine aut con- 
 jecturis. 
 
 Denique in omni inquisitione naturae Quantum corporis re- 
 quiratur ad aliquod effectum, tanquam dosis, notandum ; et 
 cautiones de Nimis et Parum aspergendae. 
 
 1 Absorption.
 
 330 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 XL VIII. 
 
 Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo 
 quarto Instantias Luctce ; quas etiam Instantias Pradominantice 
 appellare consuevimus. Eae indicant praedominantiam et cessi- 
 onem virtutum ad invicem ; et quas ex illis sit fortior et vincat, 
 quae infirmior et succumbat. Sunt enim motus et nixus cor- 
 porum compositi, decompositi, et complicati, non minus quam 
 corpora ipsa. Proponemus igitur primum species praecipuas 
 motuum sive virtutum activarum ; ut magis perspicua sit 
 ipsarum comparatio in robore, et exinde demonstratio atque 
 designatio Instantiarum Luctee et Praedominantiae. 
 
 Motus Primus sit Motus Antitypice l materiae, quae inest in 
 singulis portionibus ejus ; per quern plane annihilari non vult : 
 ita ut nullum incendium, nullum pondus aut depressio, nulla 
 violentia, nulla denique aetas aut diuturnitas temporis possit 
 redigere aliquam vel minimam portionem materiae in nihilum ; 
 quin ilia et sit aliquid, et loci aliquid occupet, et se (in quali- 
 cunque necessitate ponatur) vel formam mutando vel locum 
 liberet, vel (si non detur copia) ut est subsistat ; neque unquam 
 res eo deveniat, ut aut nihil sit, aut nullibi. Quern Motum 
 Schola (quae semper fere et denominat et definit res potius per 
 effectus et incommoda quam per causas interiores) vel denotat 
 per illud axioma, quod Duo corpora non possint esse in uno 
 loco ; vel vocat motum Nejiat penetratio dimensionum. Neque 
 hujus motus exempla proponi consentaneum est: inest enim 
 omni corpori. 
 
 Sit Motus Secundus, Motus (quern appellamus) Nexus ; per 
 quern corpora non patiuntur se ulla ex parte sui dirimi a con- 
 tactu alterius corporis, ut quae mutuo nexu et contactu gaudeant. 
 Quern motum Schola vocat Motum Ne detur vacuum : veluti 
 cum aqua attrahitur sursum exuctione, aut per fistulas ; caro 
 per ventosas ; aut cum aqua sistitur nee effluit in hydriis per- 
 foratis, nisi os hydriae ad immittendum aerem aperiatur; et 
 innumera id genus. 
 
 Sit Motus Tertius, Motus (quern appellamus) Libertatis ; per 
 quern corpora se liberare nituntur a pressura aut tensura 
 praeter-naturali, et restituere se in dimensum corpori suo con- 
 veniens. Cujus motus etiam innumera sunt exempla: veluti 
 (quatenus ad liberationem a pressura) aquas in natando, aeris in 
 volando; aquae in remigando, aeris in undulationibus ventorum; 
 
 1 This term was first used by Aristotle.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 331 
 
 laminae in horologiis. Nee ineleganter se ostendit motus aeris 
 compressi in sclopettis ludicris puerorum, cum alnum aut si- 
 mile quiddam excavant, et infarciunt frusto alicujus radicis suc- 
 culentae, vel similium, ad utrosque fines ; deinde per embolum l 
 trudunt radicem vel hujusmodi farcimentum in foramen alte- 
 rum ; unde emittitur et ejicitur radix cum sonitu ad foramen 
 alterum, idque antequam tangatur a radice aut farcimento 
 citimo, aut embolo. Quatenus vero ad liberationem a tensura, 
 ostendit se hie motus in acre post exuctionem in ovis vitreis 
 remanente ; in chordis, in corio, et panno ; resilientibus post 
 tensuras suas, nisi tensurae illae per moram invaluerint, etc. 
 Atque hunc motum Schola sub nomine Motus ex Forma Elc- 
 menti innuit : satis quidem inscite, cum hie motus non tantum 
 ad aerem, aquani, aut flammam pertineat, sed ad omnem diver- 
 sitatem consistentiae ; ut ligni, ferri, plumbi, panni, membranae, 
 etc., in quibus singula corpora suae habent dimensionis modu- 
 lum, et ab eo aegre ad spatium aliquod notabile abripiuntur. 
 Verum quia Motus iste Libertatis omnium est maxime obvius, 
 et ad infinita spectans, consultum fuerit eum bene et perspicue 
 distinguere. Quidam enim valde negligenter confundunt hune 
 motum cum gemino illo motu Antitypics et Nexus; libera- 
 tionem scilicet a pressura, cum motu Antitypiae ; a tensura, 
 cum motu Nexus ; ac si ideo cederent aut se dilatarent corpora 
 compressa, ne sequeretur penetratio dimensionum; ideo resili- 
 rent et contraherent se corpora tensa, ne sequeretur vacuum. 
 Atqui si aer compressus se vellet recipere in densitatem aquae, 
 aut lignum in densitatem lapidis, nil opus foret penetratione di- 
 mensionum ; et nihilominus longe major posset esse compressio 
 illorum, quam ilia ullo modo patiuntur. Eodem modo si aqua 
 se dilatare vellet in raritatem aeris, aut lapis in raritatem ligni, 
 non opus foret vacuo ; et tamen longe major posset fieri ex- 
 tensio eorum, quam ilia ullo modo patiuntur. Itaque nou 
 reducitur res ad penetrationem dimensionum et vacuum, nisi in 
 ultimitatibus condensationis et rarefactionia ; cum tamen isti 
 motus longe citra eas sistant et versentur, neque aliud sint 
 quam desideria corporum conservandi se in consistentiis suis 
 (sive, si malint, in formis suis), nee ab iis recedendi subito, nisi 
 per modos suaves ac per eonsensum alterentur. At longe 
 magis necessarium est (quia multa secum trahit), ut intimetur 
 hominibus, motum violentum (quern nos Mechanicum, Demo- 
 
 1 "E;uoAos, anything introduced [a ramrod ?].
 
 332 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 critus, qui in motibus suis primis expediendis etiam infra mc- 
 diocres philosophos ponendus est, motum Plaga vocavit) nil 
 aliud esse quam Motum Libertatis, scilicet a compressione ad 
 relaxationem. Etenim in omni sive simplici protrusione sive 
 volatu per aerem, non fit summotio aut latio localis, antequam 
 partes corporis praeter-naturaliter patiantur et comprimantur 
 ab impellents. Turn vero partibus aliis alias per successionem 
 trudentibus, fertur totum ; nee solum progrediendo, sed etiam 
 rotando simul ; ut etiam hoc modo partes se liberare, aut magis 
 ex aequo tolerare possint. Atque de hoc Motu hactenus. 
 
 Sit Motus Quartus, motus cui nomen dedimus Motus Hyles : 
 qui motus antistrophus est quodammodo Motui, de quo dixi- 
 mus, Libertatis. Etenim in Motu Libertatis, corpora novum 
 dimensum sive novam sphaeram sive novam dilatationem aut 
 contractionem (haec enim verborum varietas idem innuit) exhor- 
 rent, respuunt, fugiunt, et resilire ac veterem consistentiam 
 recuperare totis viribus contendunt. At contra in hoc Motu 
 Hyles, corpora novam sphaeram sive dimensum appetunt ; atque 
 ad illud libenter et propere, et quandoque valentissimo nixu (ut 
 in pulvere pyrio) aspirant. Instruments autem hujus motus, 
 non sola certe, sed potentissima, aut saltern frequentissima, sunt 
 calor et frigus. Exempli gratia: aer, si per tensuram (velut 
 per exuctionem in ovis vitreis) dilatetur, magno laboret desi- 
 derio seipsum restituendi. At admoto calore, e contra appetit 
 dilatari, -et concupiscit J novam sphaeram, et transit et migrat in 
 illam libenter tanquam in novam formam (ut loquuntur) ; nee 
 post dilatationem nonnullam de reditu curat, nisi per admotio- 
 nem frigidi ad earn invitetur ; quse non reditus est, sed trans- 
 mutatio repetita. Eodem modo et aqua, si per compressionem 
 arctetur, recalcitrat; et vult fieri qualis fuit, scilicet latior. At 
 si interveniat frigus intensum et continuatum, mutat se sponte 
 sua et libenter in condensationem glaciei ; atque si plane conti- 
 nuetur frigus, nee a teporibus interrumpatur (ut fit in speluncis 
 et cavernis paulo profundioribus), vertitur in crystallum 2 aut 
 materiam similem, nee unquam restituitur. 
 
 Sit Motus Quintus, Motus Continuationis. Intelligimus au- 
 
 1 Concupiscet, in the original. J. S. 
 
 3 Pliny, xxxvii. 9. Also Seneca, Natural Questions. Though this account o.' the 
 origin of crystals is of course erroneous, yet there is a class of crystals which have been 
 shown to occupy the volume which their water of crystallisation would in the state 01' 
 ice ; so that their other constituents may in some sort be said to take up no space. 
 This curious analogy with ice was proved by Playfair and Joule in a very considerable 
 number of cases. See Phil. Mag. Dec. 1 845.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 333 
 
 tern non continuationis slmplicis et primaries, cum corpore 
 aliquo altero (nam ille est Motus Nexus) ; sed continuationis 
 sui, in corpore certo. Certissimum enim est, quod corpora 
 omnia solutionem continuitatis exhorreant; alia magis, alia 
 minus, sed omnia aliquatenus. Nam ut in corporibus duris 
 (veluti chalybis, vitri) reluctatio contra discontinuationem est 
 maxime robusta et valida, ita etiam in liquoribus, ubi cessare 
 aut languere saltern videtur motus ejusmodi, tamen non prorsus 
 reperitur privatio ejus ; sed plane inest ipsis in gradu tanquam 
 infimo, et prodit se in experimentis plurimis ; sicut in bullis, in 
 rotunditate guttarum, in filis tenuioribus stillicidiorum, et in 
 sequacitate corporum glutinosorum, et ejusmodi. Sed maxime 
 omnium se ostendit appetitus iste, si discontinuatio tentetur 
 usque ad fractiones minores. Nam in mortariis, post contusio- 
 nem ad certum gradum, non amplius operatur pistillum ; aqua 
 non subintrat rimas minores ; quin et ipse aer, non obstante 
 subtilitate corporis ipsius, poros vasorum paulo solidiorum non 
 pertransit subito, nee nisi per diuturnam insinuationem. 
 
 Sit Motus Sextus, motus quern nominamus Motum ad 
 Lucrum, sive Motum Indigentice. Is est, per quern corpora, 
 quando versantur inter plane heterogenea et quasi inimica, si 
 forte nanciscantur copiam aut commoditatem evitandi ilia he- 
 terogenea et se applicandi ad magis cognata, (licet ilia ipsa 
 cognata talia fuerint quae non habeant arctum consensum cum 
 ipsis) tamen statim ea amplectuntur, et tanquam potiora ma- 
 lunt ; et lucri loco (unde vocabulum sumpsimus) hoc ponere 
 videntur, tanquam talium corporum indiga. Exempli gratia: 
 aurum, aut aliud metallum foliatum non delectatur acre circum- 
 fuso. Itaque si corpus aliquod tangibile et crassum nanciscatur 
 (ut digitum, papyrum, quidvis aliud), adhseret statim, nee facile 
 divellitur. Etiam papyrus, aut pannus, et hujusmodi, non 
 bene se habent cum aere qui inseritur et commistus est in 
 ipsorum poris. Itaque aquam aut liquorem libenter imbibunt, 
 et aerem exterminant. Etiam saccharum, aut spongia infusa 
 in aquam aut vinum, licet pars ipsorum emineat et longe attol- 
 latur supra vinum aut aquam, tamen aquam aut vinum pau- 
 latim et per gradus attrahunt in sursum. 
 
 Unde optimus canon sumitur aperturae et solutionum corpo- 
 rum. Missis enim corrosivis et aquis fortibus, quas viam sibi 
 aperiunt, si possit inveniri corpus proportionatum et magis con- 
 sentiens et amicum corpori alicui solido quam illud cum quo
 
 334 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 tanquam per neccssitatem commiscetur, statim se aperit et 
 relaxat corpus, et illud alterum intro recipit, priore excluso aut 
 summoto. Neque operatur aut potest iste Motus ad Lucrum 
 solummodo ad tactum. Nam electrica operatio (de qua Gilber- 
 tus et alii post eum tantas excitarunt fabulas) non alia est 
 quam corporis per fricationem levem excitati appetitus; qui 
 aerem non bene tolerat, sed aliud tangibile mavult, si reperiatur 
 in propinquo. 
 
 Sit Motus Septimus, Motus (quern appellamus) Congrega- 
 tionis Majoris ; per quern corpora feruntur ad massas connatu- 
 ralium suorum : gravia, ad globum terras ; levia, ad ambitum 
 coeli. Hunc Schola nomine Motus Naturalis insignivit : levi 
 contemplatione, quia scilicet nil spectabile erat ab extra quod 
 eum motum cieret ; (itaque rebus ipsis innatum atque insitum 
 putavit) ; aut forte quia non cessat. Nee mirum : semper enim 
 praesto sunt crelum et terra ; cum e contra causae et origines 
 plurimorum ex reliquis motibus interdum absint, interdum 
 adsint. Itaque hunc, quia non intcrmittit sed casteris inter- 
 mittentibus statim occurrit, perpetuum et proprium ; reliquos 
 ascititios posuit. Est autem iste motus revera satis infirmus 
 et hebes, tanquam is qui (nisi sit moles corporis major) caeteris 
 motibus, quamdiu operantur, cedat et succumbat. Atque cum 
 hie motus hominum cogitationes ita impleverit ut fere reliquos 
 motus occultaverit, tamen parum est quod homines de eo sciunt, 
 sed in multis circa ilium erroribus versantur. 
 
 Sit Motus Octavus, Motus Congregationis Minoris ; per 
 quern partes homogeneae in corpore aliquo separant se ab hete- 
 rogeneis, et coeunt inter sese ; per quern etiam corpora integra 
 ex similitudine substantiae se amplectuntur et fovent, et quan- 
 doque ad distantiam aliquam congregantur, attrahuntur, et 
 conveniunt : veluti cum in lacte flos lactis post moram aliquam 
 supernatat; in vino faeces et tartarum subsidunt. Neque enim 
 haec fiunt per motum gravitatis et levitatis tantum, ut aliae 
 partes summitatem petant, alias ad imum vergant; sed multo 
 magis per desiderium homogeneorum inter se coeundi et se 
 uniendi. Differt autem iste motus a Motu Indigentiae, in 
 duobus. Uno, quod in Motu Indigentiae sit stimulus major 
 naturae malignae et contrariae ; at in hoc motu (si modo impedi- 
 menta et vincula absint) uniuntur partes per amicitiam, licet 
 absit natura aliena quae litem moveat : alter o, quod arctior sit 
 unio, et tanquam majore cum delectu. In illo enim, modo
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 335 
 
 evitetur corpus inimicum, corpora etiam nou adinodum cognata 
 concurrunt ; at in hoc coeunt substantial, germana plane simili- 
 tudine devinctae, et conflantur tanquam in unum. Atque hie 
 motus omnibus corporibus compositis inest ; et se facile con- 
 spiciendum in singulis daret, nisi ligaretur et fraenaretur per 
 alios corporum appetitus et necessitates, qua? istam coitionem 
 disturbant. 
 
 Ligatur autem motus iste plerumque tribus modis : torpore 
 corporum; fraeno corporis dominantis; et motu externo. Ad 
 torporem corporum quod attinet ; certum est inesse corporibus 
 tangibilibus pigritiam quandam secundum magis et minus, et 
 exhorrentiam motus localis ; ut, nisi excitentur, malint statu 
 suo (prout sunt) esse contenta quam in melius se expedire. 
 Discutitur autem iste torpor triplici auxilio : aut per calorem, 
 aut per virtutem alicujus cognati corporis eminentem, aut per 
 motum vividum et potentem. Atque primo quoad auxilium 
 caloris; hinc fit, quod calor pronuntietur esse illud quod 
 separct IJeterogenea, congreget Homogenea. Quam definitionem 
 Peripateticorum merito derisit Gilbertus ; dicens earn esse 
 pcrinde ac si quis diceret ac definiret hominem illud esse 
 quod serat triticum et plantet vineas : esse enim definitionem 
 tan turn per effectus, eosque particulares. 1 Sed adhuc magis 
 culpanda est ilia definitio ; quia etiam effectus illi (quales 
 quales sunt) non sunt ex proprietate caloris, sed tantum per 
 accidens 2 (idem enim facit frigus, ut postea dicemus), nempe 
 ex desiderio partium homogenearum coeundi ; adjuvante tantum 
 calore ad discutiendum torporem, qui torpor desiderium illud 
 antea ligaverat. Quoad vero auxilium virtutis inditae a corpore 
 cognato; illud mirabiliter elucescit in magnete armato, qui 
 excitat in ferro virtutem detinendi ferrum per similitudinem 
 
 1 For the definition we may refer to the Margarita Philosophies, xi. 3 It is founded 
 on a passage in the De Gen. et Corr. ii. 2. Gilbert's censure on it is to be found in 
 his posthumous work De Mundo nostro sublunari Philosophia nova, which was published 
 by Gruter in 1651, long after the death of Bacon. It seems however, as Gruter 
 remarks, that the work, which he suggests may have been written before the treatise 
 De Magnete, published in 1600, had been read in manuscript by " viri magni etfama 
 celeberrimae." "Illi perspicace in Physicis praesertim ingenio baud poenitendae in 
 evolvendo operae testimonium dederunt, quod integrum excussisse censeantur, et aliqua 
 a vulgaribus opinionibus abhorrentia calculo suo comprobata hinc sparsim citent ;" in 
 which I do not doubt that Gruter refers to Bacon. Bacon's quotation seems to have 
 been made from imperfect memory, as the words of the original are: "quid illud 
 cstendit aut quae ilia differentia ab effectu tantum in quibusdam corporibus, congregants 
 homogenea et disgregans heterogenea 9 ac si diceres hominem animal esse carduos ef. 
 sentes evellens, et fruges serens, cum istud sit agricolae studium." De Mundo, &c., i. 
 c. 26. 
 
 8 i. e. they arise indirectly.
 
 336 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 substantiae, discusso torpore ferri per virtutem magnetis. Quoad 
 vero auxiliummotus; conspicitur illud in sagittis ligneis, cuspide 
 etiam lignea; quae altius penetrant in alia ligna quam si fuissent 
 armataa ferro, per similitudinem substantiae, discusso torpore 
 ligni per motum celerem : de quibus duobus experimentis et- 
 iam in aphorismo de Instantiis Clandestinis diximus. 
 
 Ligatio vero Motus Congregationis Minoris, qua3 fit per frae- 
 num corporis dominantis, conspicitur in solutione sanguinis et 
 urinarum per frigus. Quamdiu enim replcta fuerint corpora 
 ilia spiritu agili, qui singulas eorum partes cujuscunque generis 
 ipse ut dominus totius ordinat et cohibet, tamdiu non coeunt 
 homogenea 1 propter frgenum ; sed postquam ille spiritus evapo- 
 raverit, aut suffocatus fuerit per frigus, turn solutae partes a 
 fraeno coeunt secundum desiderium suum naturale. Atque 
 ideo fit, ut omnia corpora quae continent spiritum acrem (ut 
 sales, et hujusmodi) durent et non solvantur, ob fraenum per- 
 raanens et durabile spiritus dominantis et imperiosi. 
 
 Ligatio vero Motus Congregationis Minoris, qua? fit per mo- 
 tum externum, maxime conspicitur in agitationibus corporum 
 per quas arcetur putrefactio. Omnis enim putrefactio fundatur 
 in congregatione homogeneorum ; unde paulatim fit corruptio 
 prioris (quam vocant) formae, et generatio novae. Nam putre- 
 factionem, quas sternit viam ad generationem novae forma?, prae- 
 cedit solutio veteris ; quae est ipsa coitio ad homogeniam. Ea 
 vero si non impedita fuerit, fit solutio simplex ; sin occurrant 
 varia quae obstant, sequuntur putrefactiones qua? sunt rudimenta 
 generationis novae. Quod si (id quod nunc agitur) fiat agitatio 
 frequens per motum externum, turn vero motus iste coitionis 
 (qui est delicatus et mollis et indiget quiete ab externis) dis- 
 turbatur et cessat ; ut fieri videmus in innumeris ; veluti cum 
 quotidiana agitatio aut profluentia aquae arceat putrefactionem ; 
 venti arceant pestilentiam ae'ris ; grana in granariis versa et 
 agitata maneant pura; omnia denique agitata exterius non 
 facile putrefiant interius. 
 
 Superest ut non omittatur coitio ilia partium corporum, unde 
 fit praecipue induratio et desiccatio. Postquam enim spiritus, 
 aut humidum in spiritum versum, evolaverit in aliquo corpore 
 porosiore (ut in ligno, osse, membrana, et hujusmodi), turn 
 partes crassiores majore nixu contrahuntur et coeunt, unde 
 
 1 [" Heterogenea" in the original edition] ; clearly a wrong reading : the sense 
 requires " homogenea."
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 337 
 
 sequltur induratlo aut desiccatio : quod existimamus fieri, non 
 tarn ob Motum Nexus, ne detur vacuum, quam per motum 
 istum amicitia? et unionis. 
 
 Ad coitionem vero ad distans quod attinet, ea infrequens est 
 et rara; et tamen in pluribus inest quam quibus observatur. 
 Hujus simulacra sunt, cum bulla solvat bullam ; medicamenta 
 ex similitudine substantiae trahant humores ; chorda in diversis 
 fidibus ad unisonum moveat chordam; et hujusmodi. Etiam 
 in spiritibus animalium hunc motum vigere existimamus, sed 
 plane incognitum. At eminet certe in magnete, et ferro excito. 
 Cum autem de motibus magnetis loquimur, distinguendi plane 
 sunt. Quatuor enim virtutes sive operationes sunt in ma- 
 gnete, quae non confundi, sed separari debent ; licet admiratio 
 hominum et stupor eas commiscuerit. Una, coitionis magnetis 
 ad magnetem, vel ferri ad magnetem, vel ferri exciti ad ferrum. 
 Secunda, verticitatis ejus ad septentriones et austrum, atque 
 simul declinationis ejus. Tertia, penetrationis ejus per aurum, 
 vitrum, lapidem, omnia. Quarta, communicationis virtutis ejus 
 de lapide in ferrum, et de ferro in ferrum, absque commu- 
 nicatione substantise. Verum hoc loco de prirna virtute ejus 
 tantum loquimur, videlicet coitionis. Insignis etiam est motus 
 coitionis argenti vivi et auri ; adeo ut aurum alliciat argentum 
 vivum, licet confectum in unguenta ; atque operarii inter vapores 
 argenti vivi soleant tenere in ore frustum auri, ad colligendas 
 emissiones argenti vivi, alizis crania et ossa eorum invasuras; 
 unde etiam frustum illud paulo post albescit. Atque de Motu 
 Congregationis Minoris haec dicta sint. 
 
 Sit Motus Nonus, Motus Magneticus ; qui licet sit ex genere 
 Motus Congregationis Minoris, tamen si operetur ad distantias 
 magnas et super massas rerum magnas, inquisitionem meretur 
 separatam ; praesertim si nee incipiat a tactu, quemadmodum plu- 
 rimi, nee perducat actionem ad tactum, quemadmodum omnes 
 motus congregativi ; sed corpora tantum elevet, aut ea intume- 
 scere faciat, nee quicquam ultra. Nam si luna attollat aquas, 
 aut turgescere aut intumescere faciat humida ; aut coelum stel- 
 latum attrahat planetas versus sua apogaaa ; aut sol alliget astra 
 Veneris et Mercurii, ne longius absint a corpore ejus quam ad 
 distantiam certam ; videntur hi motus nee sub Congregatione 
 Majore nee sub Congregatione Minore bene collocari ; sed esse 
 tanquam congregativa media et imperfecta, ideoque speciem 
 debere constituere propriarn. 
 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 338 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Sic Motus Decimus, Motus Fugce ; motus scilicet Motui 
 Congregationis Minoris contrarius ; per quern corpora ex an- 
 tipathia fugiunt et fugant inimica, seque ab illis separant, aut 
 cum illis miscere se recusant. Quamvis enim videri possit 
 in aliquibus hie motus esse motus tantum per accidens aut 
 per consequens, respectu Motus Congregationis Minoris, quia 
 nequeunt coire homogenea nisi heterogeneis exclusis et re- 
 motis; tamen ponendus est motus iste per se, et in speciem 
 constituendus, quia in multis appetitus Fugae cernitur magis 
 principalis quam appetitus Coitionis. 
 
 Eminet autem hie motus insigniter in excretionibus ani- 
 malium ; nee minus etiam in sensuum nonnullorum odiosis 
 objectis, praecipue in olfactu et gustu. Odor enim foetidus 
 ita rejicitur ab olfactu, ut etiam inducat in os stomachi motum 
 expulsionis per consensum ; sapor amarus et horridus ita rejici- 
 tur a palato aut gutture, ut inducat per consensum capitis con- 
 quassationem et horrorem. Veruntamen etiam in aliis locum 
 habet iste motus. Conspicitur enim in antiperistaaibus non- 
 nullis ; ut in aeris media regione, cujus frigora videntur esse 
 rejectiones naturae frigidae ex confiniis coelestium ; quemad- 
 modum etiam videntur magni illi fervores et inflammationes, 
 quaa inveniuntur in locis subterraneis, esse rejectiones naturas 
 calidae ab interioribus terrse. Calor enim et frigus, si fuerint in 
 quanto minore, se invicem perimunt ; sin fuerint in massis ma- 
 joribus et tanquam justis exercitibus, turn vero per conflictum 
 se locis invicem summovent et ejiciunt. Etiam tradunt cina- 
 momum et odorifera, sita juxta latrinas et loca foetida, diutius 
 odorem retinere ; quia recusant exire et commisceri cum foetidis. 
 Certe argentum vivum, quod alias se reuniret in corpus inte- 
 grum, prohibetur per salivam hominis, aut axungiam porci, aut 
 terebinthinam, et hujusmodi, ne partes ejus coeant; propter 
 malum consensum quern habent cum hujusmodi corporibus; a 
 quibus undique circumfusis se retrahunt; adeo ut fortior sit 
 earum Fuga ab istis interjacentibus quam desiderium uniendi 
 se cum partibus sui similibus; id quod vocant mortificationem 
 argenti vivi. Etiam quod oleum cum aqua non misceatur, non 
 tantum in causa est differentia levitatis, sed malus ipsorum 
 consensus : ut videre est in spiritu vini, qui cum levior sit oleo, 
 tamen se bene miscet cum aqua. At maxime omnium insignia 
 est Motus Fugae in nitro, et hujusmodi corporibus crudis, quae 
 nammam exhorrent ; ut in pulvere pyrio, argento vivo, necnon
 
 NOVUM ORGANDM. 339 
 
 in auro. Fuga vero ferri ab altero polo magnetis a Gilberto 
 bene notatur non esse Fuga propria, sed conformitas, et coitio 
 ad situm magis accommodatum. 1 
 
 Sit Motus Undecimus, Motus Assimilationis, sive Multipli- 
 cationis sui, sive etiam Generationis Simplicis. Generationem 
 autem Simplicem dicimus non corporum integralium, ut in 
 plantis, aut animalibus; sed corporum similarium. 2 Nempe 
 per hunc motum corpora similaria vertunt corpora alia affinia, 
 aut saltern bene disposita et praeparata, in substantiam et na- 
 turam suam; ut flamma, quaa super halitus et oleosa multi- 
 plicat se, et generat novam flammam ; aer, qui super aquam et 
 aquea multiplicat se, et generat novum aerem ; spiritus vege- 
 tabilis et animalis, qui super tenuiores partes tarn aquei quam 
 oleosi in alimentis suis multiplicat se, et generat novum spiri- 
 tum ; partes solidae plantarum et animalium, veluti folium, flos, 
 caro, os, et sic de caeteris, qua} singulae ex succis alimentorum 
 assimilant et generant substantiam successivam et epiusiam. 
 Neque enim quenquam cum Paracelso delirare juvet, qui (di- 
 stillationibus suis scilicet occaecatus) nutritionem per separa- 
 tion em tantum fieri voluit; quodque in pane vel cibo lateat 
 oculus, nasus, cerebrum, jecur 3 ; in succo terras radix, folium, 
 flos. Etenim sicut faber ex rudi massa lapidis vel ligni, per 
 
 1 "Ita coitio magnetica actus est magnetis et ferri, non actio unius, utriusque 
 evrf\4xfta lion epyov, tri/j/ei'TtA.e'xe'a et conactus potius quam sympathia ; antipathia 
 nulla est proprie magnetica Nam fuga et declinatio terminorum, sive conversio totius, 
 utriusque actus est ad unitatem, a conactu et <rwfVTf\fx fM amborum." Gilbert, De 
 Magnete, ii. c. 4. 
 
 2 i. e. bodies of uniform texture. 
 
 8 I have not been able to find any passage in Paracelsus which altogether corre- 
 sponds to this remark ; and in his Modus Pharmacandi the process of digestion is 
 described without reference to the Archeus ; nor is it said that each member " latet 
 in pane vel cibo." "Hoc scimus, quod cujusque membri nutrimentum latitet in pane, 
 carne, et in aliis similiter." " Quot vero modis et quibus, necnon qua ratione membris 
 corporis nutrimentum dividatur, nos ignoramus ; hoc tantum scimus, rem ita se 
 habere ut diximus." De Mod. Pharm, \. p. 2,33. (I use the edition of 1603). 
 
 Bacon has, however, correctly stated the general doctrine that alimentation is by 
 separation ; and again Paracelsus affirms that " officium vero Archei est in micro- 
 cosmo purum ab impuro separare." De Morbis Tartareis, iii. 195. The truth is that 
 Paracelsus's views are so often repeated and varied in the course of his writings, thut 
 it is difficult to know how far his opinions are represented by any particular passage. 
 
 It is well to remark that, to a certain extent, the theory here so decidedly con- 
 demned has, by the recent progress of organic chemistry, been shown to be true. 
 Nothing seems better established than that the nitrogenised components of animal 
 bodies are derived from the corresponding elements of their food. With respect to fat, 
 it is, I believe, a prevailing opinion at present, that animals have the power of con- 
 verting into it the starch or sugar of their food ; and the production of butyric acid 
 by fermentation, has been regarded as at least an illustration of the transformation. 
 One of the highest authorities on such a subject, however, I mean M. Boussangault. 
 was, at least a few years ago, of a different opinion. He regarded animal fat as the 
 representative of the fatty matters contained in the food. 
 
 z 2
 
 340 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 separationem et rejectionem superflui educit folium, florera, 
 oculum, nasum, manum, pedem, et similia ; ita archceum ilium 
 fabrum internum ex alimento per separationem et rejectionem 
 educere singula membra et partes asserit ille. Verum missis 
 nugis, certissimum est partes singulas, tarn similares quam 
 organicas, in vegetabilibus et animalibus, succos alimentorum 
 suorum fere communes, aut non multum diversos, primo at- 
 trahere cum nonnullo delectu, deinde assimilare, et vertere in 
 naturam suam. Neque Assimilatio ista, aut Generatio Simplex, 
 fit solum in corporibus animatis, verum et inanimata ex hac re 
 participant ; veluti de flamma et acre dictum est. Quinetiam 
 epiritus emortuus l , qui in omni tangibili animate continetur, id 
 perpetuo agit, ut partes crassiores digerat et vertat in spiritum, 
 qui deinde exeat ; unde fit diminutio ponderis et exsiccatio, ut 
 alibi diximus. Neque etiam respuenda est in Assimilatione 
 accretio ilia, quam vulgo ab alimentatione distinguunt ; veluti 
 cum lutum inter lapillos concrescit, et vertitur in materiam lapi- 
 deam ; squammae circa dentes vertuntur in substantiam non 
 minus duram quam sunt dentes ipsi, etc. Sumus enim in ea 
 opinione, inesse corporibus omnibus desiderium assimilandi, non 
 minus quam coeundi ad homogenea ; verum ligatur ista virtus, 
 sicut et ilia, licet non iisdem modis. Sed modos illos, necnon 
 solutionem ab iisdem, omni diligentia inquirere oportet, quia 
 pertinent ad senectutis refocillationem. Postremo videtur no- 
 tatu dignum, quod in novem illis motibus, de quibus diximus, 
 corpora tantum naturae suse conservationem appetere videntur; 
 in hoc decimo autem propagationem. 2 
 
 Sit Motus Duodecimus, Motus Excitationis ; qui motus 
 videtur esse ex genere Assimilationis, atque eo nomine quan- 
 doque a nobis promiscue vocatur. Est enim motus diffusivus, 
 et communicativus, et transitivus, et multiplicativus, sicut et 
 ille; atque effectu (ut plurimum) consentiunt, licet efficiendi 
 
 1 By " spiritus emortaus " Bacon understands that which in the Historia Vita et 
 Mortis he has called " spiritus mortualis." The fourth of his Canoues Mobiles, in the 
 Historia, &c. is this : "In omnibus animatis duo sunt genera spirituum, spiritus 
 mortuales quales insunt inanimatis, et superadditus spiritus vitalis." The former are 
 such as "insunt in carne, osse, membrana, et caeteris separatis et mortuis." I do not 
 think there is any distinct trace of this doctrine of a spiritus mortualis in Paracelsus. 
 In his tract De Viribus Membrorum, i. c. 1., he describes the functions of the spiritus 
 vitae in relation to the different organs, without referring to any indwelling non-vital 
 spirit (vol. iii. p. 1. of his Philosophy). 
 
 * The first, "motus" which Bacon mentions does not relate to concrete bodies 
 ("corpora"), but to matter in general. The "Motus Assimiiationis " is therefore the 
 tenth of those which relate to " corpora," though it is the eleventh in the general 
 arrangement.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 341 
 
 modo et subjecto differant. Motus enim Assimilatronis procedit 
 tanquam cum imperio et potestate ; jubet enira et cogit assimi- 
 latum in assimilantem verti et mutari. At Motus Excitationis 
 procedit tanquam arte et insinuatioue et furtim ; et invitat 
 tantum, et disponit excitatum ad naturam excitantis. Etiam 
 Motus Assimilationis multiplicat et transformat corpora et sub- 
 stantias ; veluti, plus fit flammae, plus aeris, plus spiritus, plus 
 carnis. At in Motu Excitationis, multiplicantur et transeunt 
 virtutes tantum ; et plus fit calidi, plus magnetici, plus putridi. 
 Eminet autem iste motus praecipue in calido et frigido. Neque 
 enim calor diffundit se in calefaciendo per communicationem 
 primi caloris ; sed tantum per Excitationem partium corporis 
 ad motum ilium qui est Forma Calidi ; de quo in Vindemi- 
 atiorie Prima de Natura Calidi diximus. Itaque longe tardius 
 et difficilius excitatur calor in lapide aut metallo quam in acre, 
 ob inhabilitatem et impromptitudinem corporum illorum ad 
 motum ilium ; ita ut verisimile sit posse esse interius versus 
 viscera terras materias quaa calefieri prorsus respuant ; quia ob 
 condensationem majorem spiritu illo destituuntur a quo Motus 
 iste Excitationis plerunque incipit. Similiter magnes induit 
 ferrum nova partium dispositione et motu conformi ; ipse autem 
 nihil ex virtute perdit. Similiter fermentum panis, et flos 
 cervisiae, et coagulum lactis, et nonnulla ex venenis, excitant 
 et invitant motum in massa farinaria, aut cervisia, aut caseo, 
 aut corpore humano, successivum et continuatum ; non tarn ex 
 vi excitantis quam ex praedispositione et facili cessione exci- 
 tati. 1 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Tertius, Motus Impressionis ; qui Motus 
 est etiam ex genere Motus Assimilationis, estque ex diffusivis 
 
 1 The theory here proposed is nearly equivalent to the most recent views on the 
 same subject, as the following passage will sufficiently show. It is obvious that both 
 statements, however much of truth they may involve, are indefinite and unsatisfactory. 
 It is not said whether the new properties engendered depend upon new types of 
 motion or new arrangements, though the latter is probably Liebig's opinion. 
 
 " All the phenomena of fermentation, when taken together, establish the correctness 
 of the principle long since recognised by Laplace and Berthollet, namely, that an 
 atom or molecule, put in motion by any power whatever, may communicate its own mo- 
 tion to another atom in contact with it. 
 
 " This is a dynamical law of the most general application, manifested everywhere 
 when the resistance or force opposing the motion, such as the vital principle, the force 
 of affinity, electricity, cohesion, &c., is not sufficiently powerful to arrest the motion 
 imparted. 
 
 " This law has only recently been recognised as a'cause of the alterations in forms 
 and properties which occur in our chemical combinations ; and its establishment is 
 the greatest and most enduring acquisition which chemical science has derived from 
 the study of fermentation." Liebig's Letters on Chemistry, p. 209. 
 
 z 3
 
 342 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 motibus subtilissimus. Nobis autein visum est eum in speciem 
 propriam constituere, propter differentiam insignem quam ha- 
 bet erga priores duos. Motus enim Assimilationis simplex 
 corpora ipsa transformat ; ita ut si tollas primum movens nihil 
 intersit ad ea quae sequuntur. Neque enim prima accensio in 
 flammam, aut prima versio in ae'rem, aliquid facit ad flamrnam 
 aut ae'rem in generatione succedentem. Similiter, Motus Ex- 
 citationis omnino manet, remoto primo movente, ad tempora 
 bene diuturna ; ut in corpore calefacto, remoto primo calore ; 
 in ferro excito, remoto magnete ; in massa farinaria, remoto 
 fermento. At Mjtus Impressionis, licet sit diffusivus, et trans- 
 itivus, tanien perpetuo pendere videtur ex primo movente; 
 adeo ut sublato aut cessante illo statim deficiat et pereat ; 
 itaque etiam momento, aut saltern exiguo tempore, transigitur. 
 Quare Motus illos Assimilationis et Excitationis, Motus Ge- 
 nerationis Jovis, quia generatio manet, hunc autem motum 
 Motum Generationis Saturni, quia natus statim devoratur et 
 absorbetur, appellare consuevimus. Manifestat se vero hie 
 motus in tribus ; in lucis radiis ; sonorum percussionibus ; et 
 magneticis, quatenus ad communicationem. 1 Etenim amota 
 luce, statim pereunt colores et reliquae imagines ejus ; amota 
 percussione prima et quassatione corporis inde facta, paulo 
 post perit sonus. Licet enim soni etiam in medio per ventos 
 tanquam per undas agitentur; tamen diligentius notandum est 
 quod souus non tarn diu durat quum fit resonatio. 2 Etenim 
 impulsa campana, sonus ad bene magnum tempus continuari 
 videtur ; unde quis facile in errorem labatur, si existimet toto 
 illo tempore sonum tanquam natare et hoerere in aere ; quod 
 falsissimum est. Etenim ilia resonatio non est idem sonus 
 numero, sed renovatur. Hoc autem manifestatur ex sedatione 
 sive cohibitione corporis percussi. Si enim sistatur et deti- 
 neatur campana fortiter et fiat immobilis, statim perit sonus 
 nee resonat amplius ; ut in chordis, si post primam percussionem 
 tangatur chorda, vel digito ut in lyra, vel calamo ut in espinetis, 
 statim desinit resonatio. Magnete autem remoto statim ferrum 
 decidit. Luna autem a mari non potest removeri ; nee terra 
 a ponderoso dum cadit. Itaque de illis nullum fieri potest 
 experimentum ; sed ratio eadem est. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Quartus, Motus Configurationis, aut Si- 
 
 1 t. . as regards the communication of influence. 
 t. e. the original sound does not last all the time the resonance goes on.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 343 
 
 tus ; per quern corpora appetere videntur, non coitionem aut 
 separationem aliquam, sed situm, et collocationem, et configura- 
 tionem cum aliis. Est autem iste motus valde abstrusus, nee 
 bene inquisitus. Atque in quibusdam videtur quasi incausa- 
 bilis; licet revera (ut existimamus) non ita sit. Etenim si 
 quaeratur cur potius ccelum volvatur ab oriente in occiden- 
 tem quam ab occidente in orientem ; aut cur vertatur circa 
 polos positos juxta Ursas potius quam circa Orionem, aut ex 
 alia aliqua parte coeli ; videtur ista quaestio tanquam quaedam 
 extasis, cum ista potius ab experientia, et ut positiva 1 recipi 
 debeant. At in natura profecto sunt quaedam ultima et in- 
 causabilia; verum hoc ex illis non esse videtur. Etenim hoc 
 fieri existimamus ex quadam harmonia et consensu mundi, qui 
 adhuc non venit in observationem. 2 Quod si recipiatur motus 
 terra ab occidente in orientem, eaedem manent quaestiones. 
 Nam et ipsa super aliquos polos movetur. Atque cur tandem 
 debeant isti poli collocari magis ubi sunt quam alibi ? 3 Item 
 verticitas, et directio, et declinatio magnetis ad hunc motum re- 
 feruntur. Etiam inveniuntur in corporibus tarn naturalibus 
 quam artificialibus, prsesertim consistentibus et non fluidis, col- 
 latio quaedam et positura partium, et tanquam villi et fibrae, quae 
 diligenter investigandae sunt; utpote sine quarum inventione 
 corpora ilia commode tractari aut regi non possunt. At circu- 
 lationes illas in liquidis, per quas ilia dum pressa sint, antequam 
 se liberare possunt, se invicem relevant, ut compressionem illam 
 ex sequo tolerent, Motui Libertatis verius assignamus. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Quintus, Motus Pertransitionis, sive Mo- 
 tus secundum Meatus ; per quern virtutes corporum magis aut 
 minus impediuntur aut provehuntur a mediis ipsorum, pro 
 natura corporum et virtutum operantium, atque etiam medii. 
 Aliud enim medium luci convenit, aliud sono, aliud calori et 
 frigori, aliud virtutibus magneticis, necnon aliis nonnullis re- 
 spective. 
 
 1 t. e. as merely positive facts. 
 
 2 The most striking instance of this kind of harmony is the circumstance that all 
 the movements of the solar system are in the same general direction, viz., from west 
 to east. Laplace has attempted to calculate the probability that this uniformity is 
 the result of a common cause determining the direction of their movements ; but 
 these numerical estimations of the probability of the truth of any induction are, on 
 several accounts, altogether unsatisfactory. 
 
 8 This passage shows that Bacon was not aware that the poles are not fixed (collo- 
 cati) anywhere ; in other words, that he was not acquainted with the precession of the 
 equinoxes ; an additional proof how little of his attention had been given to mathe- 
 matical physics. 
 
 z 4
 
 344 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Sextus, Motus Regius (ita enim eum 
 appellamus) sive Politicus ; per quern partes in corpore aliquo 
 pradominantes et imperantes reliquas partes fraenant, domant, 
 subigunt, ordinant, et cogunt eas adunari, separari, consistere, 
 moveri, collocari, non ex desideriis suis, sed prout in ordine sit 
 et conducat ad bene esse partis illius imperantis ; adeo ut sit 
 quasi Regimen et Politia quaedam, quam exercet pars regens 
 in partes subditas. Eminet autem hie motus praecipue in spiri- 
 tibus animalium, qui motus omnes partium reliquarum, quamdiu 
 ipse in vigore est, contemperat. Invenitur autem in aliis cor- 
 poribus in gradu quodam inferiore ; quemadmodum dictum est 
 de sanguine et urinis, quae non solvuntur donee spiritus, qui 
 partes earum commiscebat et cohibebat, emissus fuerit aut suffo- 
 catus. Neque iste motus omnino spiritibus proprius est, licet 
 in plerisque corporibus spiritus dominentur ob motum celerem 
 et penetrationem. Veruntamen in corporibus magis condensa- 
 tis, nee spiritu vivido et vigente (qualis inest argento vivo et 
 vitriolo) repletis, dominantur potius partes crassiores ; adeo ut 
 nisi frasnum et jugum hoc arte aliqua excutiatur, de nova ali- 
 qua hujusmodi corporum transformatione minime sperandum 
 sit. Neque vero quispiam nos oblitos esse existimet ejus quod 
 nunc agitur ; quia cum ista series et distributio motuum ad nil 
 aliud spectet, quam ut illorum Praedominantia per Instantias 
 Luctae melius inquiratur, jam inter motus ipsos Praedominantiae 
 mentionem faciamus. Non enim in descriptione Motus istius 
 Regii, de Praedominantia motuum aut virtutum tractamus, sed 
 de Praedominantia partium in corporibus. Haec enim ea est 
 Praadominantia, quaa speciem istam motus peculiarem constituit. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Septimus, Motus Rotationis Spontaneus ; 
 per quern corpora motu gaudentia, et bene collocata, natura sua 
 fruuntur, atque seipsa sequuntur, non aliud, et tanquam pro- 
 prios petunt amplexus. Etenim videntur corpora aut movere 
 sine termino ; aut plane quiescere ; aut ferri ad terminum, ubi 
 pro natura sua aut rotent aut quiescant. Atque quae bene 
 collocata sunt, si motu gaudeant, movent per circulum : motu 
 scilicet asterno, et infinite. Quae bene collocata sunt, et motum 
 exhorrent, prorsus quiescunt. Quae non bene collocata sunt, 
 movent in linea recta (tanquam tramite brevissimo) ad consortia 
 suorum connaturalium. 1 Recipit autem Motus iste Rotationis 
 
 This passage is wholly in accordance with the Peripatetic system of physics. 
 But the modifications which Bacon goes on to enumerate, to which, as he conceives,
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 345 
 
 differentias novem. Primam, centri sui, circa quod corpora 
 movent ; secundam, polorum suorum, supra quos movent ; ter- 
 tiam, circumferentiae sive ambitus sui, prout distant a centre ; 
 quartam, incitationis suse, prout celerius aut tardius rotant; 
 quintain, consequutionis motus sui, veluti ab oriente in occiden- 
 tem, aut ab occidente in orientem ; sextam, declinationis a cir- 
 culo perfecto per spiras longius aut propius distantes a centro 
 suo; septimam, declinationis a circulo perfecto per spiras longius 
 aut propius distantes a polis suis ; octavam, distantise propioris 
 aut longioris spirarum suarum ad invicem ; nonam et ultimam, 
 variationis ipsorum polorum, si sint mobiles ; quae ipsa ad rota- 
 tionem non pertinet, nisi fiat circulariter. 1 Atque iste motus 
 communi et inveterata opinione habetur pro proprio crelestium. 
 Attamen gravis de illo motu lis est inter nonnullos tarn ex an- 
 tiquis quam modernis, qui Rotationem terras attribuerunt. At 
 multo fortasse justior movetur controversia (si modo res non sit 
 omnino extra controversiam), an motus videlicet iste (concesso 
 quod terra stet) coeli finibus contineatur, an potius descendat, 
 et communicetur aeri et aquis. Motum autem Rotationis in 
 missilibus, ut in spiculis, sagittis, pilis sclopetorum, et simili- 
 bus, omnino ad Motum Libertatis rejicimus. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Octavus, Motus Trepidationis, cui (ut ab 
 astronomis intelligitur) non multum fidei adhibemus. 2 Nobis 
 
 the eternal circular motions of the heavenly bodies may be subject, are sufficient to 
 destroy the whole a priori argument in favour of such a system of astronomy as that 
 which we find in the twelfth book of the Metaphysics. It has not been sufficiently 
 observed that the Ptolemaic system is no less at variance with the Peripatetic philo- 
 sophy than the heliocentrical. The attempts of Turrianus and Fracastorius to 
 construct what may be called an orthodox system of astronomy that is one in which 
 all the motions should take place in circles of which the earth is the centre was sug- 
 gested chiefly, as we learn from the Homocentrica of the latter, by the wish to reconcile 
 astronomy and philosophy. It had no scientific value, since it left all the phenomena 
 of variations of parallax and apparent diameter unexplained, or, at any rate, gave 
 an explanation of them which no astronomer would accept. It was nevertheless 
 favourably received by the systematic Peripaticians. See, for instance, Flaminius, 
 De prima Philosoph. Paraph, p. 119. (I quote the Basle edition of 1557.) 
 
 1 I believe the sense is that unless we restrict ourselves to circular motion, that is, 
 unless we reject the sixth and seventh species of variation, it will not be necessary for 
 us to suppose the poles themselves to be movable : in other words, that the phenomena 
 of which we could by this hypothesis give an account may be adequately represented 
 without it by means of spirals. 
 
 * The name of trepidation was given by the Alphonsine astronomers to a motion 
 by which they imagined the starry heaven to be affected, and in virtue of which its 
 equinoxes described small circles of nine degrees radius about those of the ninth or 
 next superior orb. To account for this motion they introduced a tenth orb. The 
 phenomenon, however, thus accounted for was altogether imaginary, although it is 
 true that the length of the tropical year, by supposed variations of which the idea of 
 trepidation was suggested, is not rigorously constant. It may be questioned whether 
 .Bacon's hesitation to accept the astronomical motion of trepidation had any better 
 foundation than his doubts whether the proper motions of the planetary orbs were
 
 346 NOVUM ORGANITM. 
 
 autem corporum naturalium appetitus ubique serio perscrutan- 
 tibus occurrit iste motus; et constitui debere videtur in speciem. 
 Est autem hie motus veluti aeternse cujusdam captivitatis. 
 Videlicet ubi corpora non omnino pro natura sua bene locata, 
 et tamen non prorsus male se habentia, perpetuo trepidant, et 
 irrequiete se agant, nee statu suo contenta, nee ulterius ausa 
 progredi. Talis invenitur motus in corde et pulsibus anima- 
 lium ; et necesse est ut sit in omnibus corporibus, quae statu 
 ancipiti ita degunt inter commoda et incommoda, ut distracta 
 liberare se tentent, et denuo repulsam patiantur, et tamen per- 
 petuo experiantur. 
 
 Sit Motus Decimus Nonus et postremus, motus ille cui vix 
 nomen motus competit, et tamen est plane motus. Quern 
 motum, Motum Decubitus, sive Motum Exhorrentice Motus, 
 vocare licet. Per hunc motum terra stat mole sua, moventibus 
 se extremis suis in medium ; non ad centrum imaginativum, sed 
 ad unionem. Per hunc etiam appetitum omnia majorem in 
 modum condensata motum exhorrent, atque illis pro omni 
 appetitu est non moveri ; et licet infinitis modis vellicentur et 
 provocentur ad motum, tamen naturam suam (quoad possunt) 
 tuentur. Quod si ad motum compellantur, tamen hoc agere 
 semper videntur ut quietem et statum suum recuperent, neque 
 amplius moveant. Atque circa hoc certe se agilia praebent, et 
 satis perniciter et rapide (ut pertaesa et impatientia omnis 
 morae) contendunt. Hujus autem appetitus imago ex parte 
 tantum cerni potest; quia hie apud nos, ex subactione et 
 concoctione coelestium ! , omne tangibile non tantum non con- 
 densatum est ad ultimitatem, sed etiam cum spiritu nonnullo 
 miscetur. 
 
 Proposuimus itaque jam species sive elementa simplicia 
 motuum, appetituum, et virtutum activarum, qua? sunt in na- 
 tura maxime catholica. Neque pnrum scientiae naturalis sub 
 illis adumbratum est Non negamus tamen et alias species 
 fortasse addi posse, atque istas ipsas divisiones secundum ve- 
 riores rerum venas transferri, denique in minorem numerum 
 posse redigi. Neque tamen hoc de divisionibus aliquibus abs- 
 tractis intelligimus : veluti si quis dicat corpora appetere vel 
 
 anything more than " res confictac et suppositee." The question of the existence or 
 non-existence of trepidation could only be decided by a person conversant with the 
 details of the received system of astronomy. 
 
 1 In illustration of this phrase, see note 1 p. 267.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 347 
 
 conservationem, vel exaltationem, vel propagationem, vel fru- 
 itionera naturae suae; aut si quis dicat motus rerum tendere 
 ad conservationem et bonum, vel universi, ut Antitypiam et 
 Nexum ; vel universitatum magnarum, ut Motus Congrega- 
 tionis Majoris, Eotationis, et Exhorrentiae Motus ; vel formarum 
 specialium, ut reliquos. Licet enim hsec vera sint, tamen nisi 
 terminentur in materia et fabrica secundum veras lineas, spe- 
 culativa sunt, et minus utilia. Interim sufficient et boni erunt 
 usus ad pensitandas Praedominantias virtutum et exquirendas 
 Instantias Luctae ; id quod nunc agitur. 
 
 Etenim ex his quos proposuimus motibus alii prorsus sunt 
 invincibiles ; alii aliis sunt fortiores, et illos ligant, fraenant, 
 disponunt ; alii aliis longius jaculantur ; alii alios tempore et 
 celeritate prasvertunt; alii alios fovent, roborant, ampliant, 
 accelerant. 
 
 Motus Antitypias omnino est adamantiuus et invincibilis. 
 Utrum vero Motus Nexus sit invincibilis adhuc haeremus. 
 Neque enim pro certo affirmaverimus utrum detur Vacuum, 
 sive coacervatum sive permistum. 1 At de illo nobis constat, 
 rationem illam, propter quam introductum est Vacuum a Leu- 
 cippo et Democrito (videlicet quod absque eo non possent 
 eadem corpora complecti et implere majora et minora spatia), 
 falsam esse. Est enim plane plica matericB complicantis et re- 
 plicantis se per spatia, inter certos fines, absque interpositione 
 Vacui ; neque est in aere ex vacuo bis millies (tantum enim 
 esse oportet) plus quam in auro. 2 Id quod ex potentissimis 
 
 1 " Vacuum permistum," Kecbv a.x<apifftov, is vacuum diffused through the inter- 
 stices of any portion of matter. By " vacuum coacervatum," /cevW Kfx fa ? lff ^ vov t is 
 meant clear empty space. See, for this distinction, Aristotle, Phys. iv. 7. Hero of 
 Alexandria, whom Bacon mentions more than once, approves of those who admit the 
 former kind of vacuum and reject the latter. See the Introduction to his Spiritalia. 
 
 [It is perhaps worth observing that in the fable entitled " Cupido sive Atomus {De 
 Sap. Vet. xvii.), where the theory of a vacuum is mentioned, this distinction was not 
 introduced till Bacon revised the work in his later years. The passage which stands 
 thus in the original edition ( 1 609) " Quisquis autcm atomum ponit et vacuum, neces- 
 sario virtutem atomi ad distans introducit" is altered, in the edition published by 
 Rawley after Bacon's death, to " Quisquis autem atomum asserit atque vacuum (licet 
 istud vacuum intermistum ponat, non segregatum) necessario," &c. J. S.~\ 
 
 2 " Ex vacuo bis millies " is to be rendered " two thousand times as much of 
 vacuity." Bacon (vid. supra, H. 50.) thought spirit of wine a hundred times denser 
 than its own vapour, and gold twenty-one times denser than spirit of wine. In the 
 Historic. Densi et Rari, he remarks that air is at least a hundred-fold rarer than 
 water ; and from the table there given it appears that the specific density of gold is to 
 that of water as 1000 to 56, nearly. Hence he must have estimated the density of 
 gold at 1900-fold that of air. Now, if we take the same weight of air and of gold, it is 
 clear that, neglecting the space occupied by the solid matter, supposed equally dense, of 
 each, the ratio of their densities is the same as that of the " vacua permista " which 
 they respectively contain, and that if we take the solid matter into account the " ex
 
 348 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 corporum pneumaticornm virtutibus (quae aliter tanquam pul- 
 veres minuti natarent in vacuo), et multis aliis demonstra- 
 tionibus, nobis satis liquet. Reliqui vero Motus regunt et 
 reguntur invicem, pro rationibus vigoris, quanti, incitationis, 
 ejaculationis, necnon tum auxiliorum turn impedimentorum 
 quae occurrunt. 
 
 Exempli gratia : magnes armatus nonnullus detinet et sus- 
 pendit ferrum, ad sexagecuplum pondus ipsius ; eo usque domi- 
 natur Motus Congregationis Minoris super Motum Congrega- 
 tionis Majoris ; quod si majus fuerit pondus, succumbit. Vectis 
 tanti roboris sublevabit tantum pondus ; eo usque dominatur 
 Motus Libertatis super Motum Congregationis Majoris ; sin 
 majus fuerit pondus, succumbit. Corium tensum ad tensuram 
 talem non rumpitur; eo usque dominatur Motus Continu- 
 ationis super Motum Tensura3 ; quod si ulterior fuerit tensura, 
 rumpitur corium, et succumbit Motus Continuationis. Aqua 
 per rimam perforationis talis effluit ; eo usque dominatur Motus 
 Congregationis Majoris super Motum Continuationis ; quod si 
 minor fuerit rima, succumbit, et vincit Motua Continuationis. 
 In pulvere sulphuris solius immissi 1 in sclopetum cum pila, et 
 admoto igne, non emittitur pila ; in eo Motus Congregationis 
 Majoris vincit Motum Hyles. At in pulvere pyrio immisso 
 vincit Motus Hyles in sulphure, adjutus Motibus Hyles et 
 Fuga3 in nitro. Et sic de casteris. Etenim Instantiae Lucta? 
 (quae indicant Praedominantiam Virtutum, et secundum quas 
 rationes et calculos praedominentur et succumbant) acri et se- 
 dula diligentia undique sunt conquirendae. 
 
 Etiam modi et rationes ipsius succumbentiae motuum dili- 
 genter sunt introspiciendaa. Nempe, an omnino cessent, vel 
 potius usque nitantur, sed ligentur. Etenim in corporibus hie 
 apud nos, nulla vera est quies, nee in integris nee in partibus ; 
 sed tantum secundum apparentiam. Quies autem ista apparens 
 causatur aut per ^Equilibrium, aut per absolutam Praedomi- 
 nantiam Motuum. Per Equilibrium, ut in bilancibus, quae 
 stant si aaqua sint pondera. Per Prsedominantiam, ut in hy- 
 driis perforatis, ubi quiescit aqua, et detinetur a decasu, per 
 
 vacuo " in the case of air must bear a larger ratio than that of the densities to the 
 " ex vacuo " of gold ; so that we may take it in round numbers to be as two thousand 
 to one, as in the text. 
 
 The passage is important as showing that Bacon, notwithstanding his frequent men- 
 tion of Democritus, did not adopt the atomic philosophy, though he did not absolutely 
 reject the physical part of it. 
 
 [So in the original edition.] The true reading seems to be "immisso."
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 349 
 
 Praedominantiam Motus Nexus. Notandum tamen est (ut 
 diximus) quatenus nitantur motus illi succumbentes. Etenim 
 si quis per luctam detineatur extensus in terra, bracliiis et 
 tibiis vinctis, aut aliter detentis ; atque ille tamen totis viribus 
 resurgere nitatur ; non est minor nixus, licet non proficiat. 
 Hujus autem rei conditio (scilicet utrum per Prasdominantiam 
 motus succumbens quasi annihiletur, an potius continuetur 
 nixus, licet non conspiciatur), quse latet in conflictibus, ap- 
 parebit fortasse in concurrentiis. Exempli gratia; fiat expe- 
 rimentum in sclopetis, utrum sclopetus, pro tanto spatio quo 
 emittat pilam in linea directa, sive (ut vulgo loquuntur) in 
 puncto bianco, debiliorem edat percussionem ejaculando in 
 supra, ubi Motus Ictus est simplex, quam desuper, ubi Motus 
 Gravitatis concurrit cum Ictu. 
 
 Etiam canones Praedominantiarum qui occurrunt colligendi 
 sunt. Veluti, quod quo communius est bonum quod appetitur, 
 eo Motus est fortior : ut Motus Nexus, qui respicit commu- 
 nionem universi, fortior est Motu Gravitatis, qui respicit com- 
 munionem densorum. Etiam quod appetitus qui sunt boni 
 privati, non prevalent plerunque contra appetitus boni magis 
 public!, nisi in parvis quantis. Quse utinam obtinerent in 
 civilibus. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum ponemus loco vicesimo 
 quinto Instantias Innuentes ; eas scilicet, quse commoda ho- 
 minum innuunt aut designant. Etenim ipsum Posse et ipsum 
 Scire naturam humanam amplificant, non beant. Itaque de- 
 cerpenda sunt ex universitate rerum ea quse ad usus vitas 
 maxime faciunt. Verum de iis erit magis proprius dicendi 
 locus, cum Deductiones ad Praxim tractabimus. Quinetiam in 
 ipso opere Interpretationis circa singula subjecta, locum semper 
 ChartcB Humana, sive Charter Optatives, assignamus. Etenim 
 et quasrere et optare non inepte, pars scientiae est. 
 
 L. 
 
 Inter Praarogativas Instantiarum ponemus loco vicesimo 
 sexto Instantias Polychrestas, Eae sunt, quaa pertinent ad varia 
 et sa3pius occurrunt ; ideoque opera et novis probationibus baud 
 parum parcunt. Atque de instruments ipsis atque ingeniatio- 
 nibus proprius erit dicendi locus, cum Deductiones ad Praxim 
 et Experimentandi Modos tractabimus. Quinetiam quaa adhuc 
 cognita sunt et in usum venerunt, in Historiis Particularibus
 
 350 NOVTJM ORGANUM. 
 
 singularum artiura describentur. In praesenti autem subjun- 
 gemus quaedam catholica circa ea pro exemplis tantum Poly- 
 chresti. 
 
 Operatur igitur homo super corpora naturalia (praster ipsam 
 admotionem et amotionem corporum simplicem) septem praa- 
 cipue modis : nempe, vel per exclusionem eorum qua? impediunt 
 et disturbant ; vel per compressiones, extensiones, agitationes, 
 et hujusmodi ; vel per calorem et frigus ; vel per moram in loco 
 convenient!; vel per frsenum et regimen motus; vel per con- 
 sensus speciales ; vel per alternationem tempestivam et debitam, 
 atque seriem et successionem horum omnium ; aut saltern non- 
 nullorum ex illis. 
 
 Ad primum igitur quod attinet ; aer communis qui undique 
 prasto est et se ingerit, atque radii coelestium, multum turbant. 
 Qua3 itaque ad illorum exclusionem faciunt, merit o haberi 
 possint pro Polychrestis. Hue igitur pertinent materies et 
 crassities vasorum, in quibus corpora ad operation em praaparata 
 reponuntur. Similiter, modi accurati obturationis vasorum, 
 per consolidationem et lutum sapientia, ut loquuntur chymici. 
 Etiam clausura per liquores in extimis, utilissima res est; ut 
 cum infundunt oleum super vinum aut succos herbarum, quod 
 expandendo se in summitate instar operculi, optime ea conservat 
 illaesa ab acre. Neque pulveres res mala? sunt ; qui, licet con- 
 tineant aerem permistum, tamen vim ae'ris coacervati et circum- 
 fusi arcent ; ut fit in conservatione uvarum et fructuum intra 
 arenam, et farinam. Etiam cera, mel, pix, et hujusmodi tenacia, 
 recte obducuntur ad clausuram perfectiorem, et ad summoven- 
 dum aerem et coelestia. Etiam nos experimentum quandoque 
 fecimus, ponendo vas, necnon aliqua alia corpora, intra argentum 
 vivum, quod omnium longe densissimum est ex iis qua? circum- 
 fundi possunt. Quinetiam specus et cavernaa subterranea3 
 magni usus sunt ad prohibendum insolationem et aerem istum 
 npertum praadatorium ; qualibus utuntur Germani Septentrio- 
 nales pro granariis. Necnon repositio corporum in fundo aqua- 
 rum ad hoc spectat, ut memini me quippiam audisse de utribus 
 vini demissis in profundum puteum, ad infrigidationem scilicet ; 
 sed casu et per neglectum ac oblivionem ibidem remanentibus 
 per multos annos, et deinde extractis ; unde vinum factum est 
 non solum non vapidum aut emortuum, sed multo magis nobile 
 ad gustum, per commixtionern partium suarum (ut videtur) 
 magis exquipitam. Quod si postulet res ut corpora demittantur
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 351 
 
 adfundum aquarum, veluti intra fluvios aut mare, neque tamen 
 aquas tangant, nee in vasibus obturatis concludantur, sed acre 
 tan turn circumdentur; bonus est usus vasis illius quod adhibitum 
 est nonnunquam ad operandum subter aquis super navigia de- 
 mersa, ut urinatores diutius manere possint sub aquis, et per 
 vices ad tempus respirare. Illud hujusmodi erat. Conficie- 
 batur doliuin ex metallo concavum, quod demittebatur aequa- 
 biliter ad superficiem aquas, atque sic deportabat totum aerem 
 qui continebatur in dolio secum in fundum maris. Stabat auteni 
 super pedes tres (instar tripodis), qui longitudinis erant ali- 
 quanto minoris statura hominis ; ita ut urinator posset cum 
 anhelitus deficeret, immittere caput in cavum dolii, et respirare, 
 et deinde opus continuare. Atque audivimus inventam esse 
 jam machinam aliquam naviculae aut scaphae, quse homines 
 subter aquis vehere possit ad spatia nonnulla. 1 Verum sub 
 tali vase, quale modo diximus, corpora quasvis facile suspeudi 
 possint; cujus causa hoc experimentum adduximus. 
 
 Est et alius usus diligentis et perfectae clausurae corporum : 
 nempe, non solum ut prohibeatur aditus aeris per exterius (de 
 quo jam dictum est), verum etiam ut cohibeatur exitus spiri- 
 tus corporis, super quod fit operatic per interius. Necesse est 
 enim ut operanti circa corpora naturalia constet de summis 
 suis : viz. quod nihil expirarit aut effluxerit. Fiunt enim pro- 
 fundae alterationes in corporibus, quando, natura prohibente 
 annihilationem, ars prohibeat etiam deperditionem aut evola- 
 tionem alicujus partis. Atque hac de re invaluit opinio falsa 
 (quaa si vera esset, de ista conservatione summae certae absque 
 diminutione esset fere desperandum) : viz. spiritus corporum, et 
 aerem majori gradu caloris attenuatum, nullis vasorum claustris 
 posse contineri, quin per poros vasorum subtiliores evolent. 
 Atque in hanc opinionem adducti sunt homines per vulgata ilia 
 experimenta, poculi inversi super aquam cum candela aut charta 
 innammata, ex quo fit ut aqua sursum attrahatur ; atque si- 
 militer ventosarum, quae super flammam calefactae trahunt 
 carnes. Existimant enim in utroque experimento aerem at- 
 tenuatum emitti, et inde quantum ipsius minui, ideoque aquam 
 aut carnes per Nexum succedere. Quod falsissimum est. Aer 
 
 1 According to Beckmann, the first distinct mention of the diving-bell, at least in 
 modern times, is to be found in Fainsius, as quoted by Schott. Fainsius gives an ac- 
 count of some Greeks who exhibited a diving-bell at Toledo, before Charles the Fifth 
 and his court, in 1538.
 
 352 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 enim non quanta diminuitur, sed spatio contrahitur; neque 
 incipit motus iste successionis aquae, antequam fiat extinctio 
 flammse aut refrigeratio aeris ; adeo ut medici, quo fortius at- 
 trahant ventosae, ponant spongias frigidas * aqua madefactas 
 super ventosas. Itaque non est cur homines multum sibi 
 metuant de faclli exitu aeris aut spirituum. Licet enim verum 
 sit etiam solidissima corpora habere suos poros, tamen segre 
 patitur aer aut spiritus comminutionem sui ad tantam subtili- 
 tatem; quemadmodum et aqua exire recusat per rimam minus- 
 culam. 
 
 De secundo vero modo ex septem praedictis illud imprimis 
 notandum est, valere certe compressiones et hujusmodi violentias 
 ad motum localem, atque alia id genus, potentissime ; ut in ma- 
 chinis et missilibus ; etiam ad destructionem corporis organici, 
 atque earum virtutum quae consistunt plane in motu. Omnis 
 enim vita, immo etjam omnis flamma et ignitio destruitur per 
 compressiones; ut et omnis machina corrumpitur et confunditur 
 per easdem. Etiam ad destructionem virtutum qxiae consistunt 
 in posituris, et dissimilaritate partium paulo crassiore ; ut in 
 coloribus (neque enim idem color floris integri et contusi, neque 
 succini integri et pulverizati) ; etiam in saporibus (neque enim 
 idem sapor pyri immaturi, et ejusdem compressi ac subacti ; nam 
 manifesto dulcedinem majorem concipit). Verum ad transfbr- 
 mationes et alterationes nobiliores corporum similarram non 
 multum valent istae violentise ; quia corpora per eas non acqui- 
 runt consistentiam aliquam novam constantem et quiescentem, 
 sed transitoriam, et nitentem semper ad restitutionem et libe- 
 rationem sui. Attamen non abs re foret hujus rei facere expe- 
 rimenta aliqua diligentiora ; ad hoc scilicet, utrum condensatio 
 corporis bene similaris (qualia sunt aer, aqua, oleum, et hujus- 
 modi), aut rarefactio similiter per violentiam indita, possint fieri 
 constantes et fixae et quasi mutatae in naturam. Id quod primo 
 experiendum per moram simplicem ; deinde per auxilia et 
 consensus. Atque illud nobis in promptu fuisset (si modo in 
 mentem venisset), cum aquam (de qua alibi) per malleationes et 
 pressoria condensavimus, antequam erumperet. Debueramus 
 enim sphaeram complanatam per aliquot dies sibi permisisse, et 
 turn demum aquam extraxisse ; ut fieret experimentum, utrum 
 statim impletura fuisset talem dimensionem, qualem habebat 
 ante condensationem. Quod si non fecisset aut statim, aut certe 
 
 1 The right reading is doubtless " frigitia ; " but the sen?e is obvious.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 353 
 
 paulo post, constans videlicet facta videri potuisset ista conden- 
 satio; sin minus, apparuisset factam fuisse restitutionem, et 
 compressionem fuisse transitoriam. Etiam simile quiddam fa- 
 ciendum erat circa extensionem aeris in ovis vitreis. Etenim 
 debuerat fieri, post exuctionem fortem, subita et firma obtu- 
 ratio ; deinde debuerant ova ilia manere ita obturata per non- 
 nullos dies ; et turn demum experiendum fuisset, utrum aperto 
 foramine attractus fuisset aer cum sibilo, aut etiam attracta 
 fuisset tanta quantitas aquae post immersionem, quanta fuisset ab 
 initio, si nulla adhibita fuisset mora. Probabile enim, aut saltern 
 dignum probatione est, haec fieri potuisse et posse ; propterea 
 quod in corporibus paulo magis dissimilaribus similia efficiat 
 mora temporis. Etenim baculum per compressionem curvatum 
 post aliquod tempus non resilit ; neque id imputandum est alicui 
 deperditioni ex quanto ligni per moram ; nam idem fiet in lamina 
 ferri (si augeatur mora), quae non est expirabilis. Quod si non 
 euccedat experimentum per moram simplicem, tamen non dese- 
 rendum est negotium, sed auxilia alia adhibenda. Non enim 
 parum lucri fit, si per violentias indi possint corporibus naturoj 
 fixae et constantes. Hac enim ratione aer possit verti in aquam 
 per condensationes, et complura alia id genus. Dominus enim 
 est homo motuum violentorum, magis quam caeterorum. 
 
 At tertius ex septem modis, refertur ad magnum illud 
 organum, tarn naturae quam artis, quoad operandum ; videlicet 
 calidum et frigidum. Atque in hac parte claudicat plane 
 potentia humana, tanquam ex uno pede. Habemus enim ca- 
 lorem ignis, qui caloribus solis (prout ad nos deferuntur) et 
 caloribus animalium quasi infinitis partibus potentior est et 
 intensior. At deest frigus, nisi quale per tempestates hyemales, 
 aut per cavernas, aut per circundationes nivis et glaciei, haberi 
 potest : quod in comparatione aequari potest cum calore fortasse 
 solis meridiano in regione aliqua ex torridis, aucto insuper per 
 reverberationes montium et parietum ; nam hujusmodi utique 
 tarn calores quam frigora ab animalibus ad tempus exiguum 
 tolerari possunt. Nihili autem sunt fere prse calore fornacis 
 ardentis, aut alicujus frigoris quod huic gradui respondeat. Ita- 
 que omnia hie apud nos vergunt ad rarefactionem, et desicca- 
 tionem, et consumptionem : nihil fere ad condensationem et in- 
 tenerationem, nisi per misturas et modos quasi spurios. Quare 
 Instantiae Frigoris omni diligentia sunt conquirendae ; quales 
 videntur inveniri in expositione corporum super turres quando 
 
 VOL. I. ' A A
 
 354 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 gelat acriter ; in cavernis subterraneis ; circundationibus nivig 
 et glaciei in locis profundioribus, et ad hoc excavatis ; de- 
 missione corporum in puteos ; sepulturis corporum in argento 
 vivo et metallis; immersione corporum in aquis, quae vertunt 
 llgna in lapides; defossione corporum in terra (qualis fertur 
 apud Chinenses esse confectio porcellanae, ubi massae ad hoc 
 factaa dicuntur manere intra terrain per quadraginta aut quin- 
 quaginta annos, et transmitti ad hasredes, tanquam miner 
 quasdam artificiales) ; et hujusmodi. Quinetiam quae inter- 
 veniunt in natura condensations, factae per frigora, similiter 
 sunt investigandae ; ut, causis eorum cognitis, transferri pos- 
 sint in artes. Quales cernuntur in exudatione marmoris et 
 lapidum ; in rorationibus super vitra per interius fenestrarum, 
 sub auroram, post gelu noctis ; in originibus et collectionibus 
 vaporum in aquas sub terra, unde saepe scaturiunt fontes ; et 
 quascunque sunt hujus generis. 
 
 Inveniuntur autem, praster ilia quae sunt frigida ad tactum, 
 quasdam alia potestate frigida, qua? etiam condensant ; verun- 
 tamen operari videntur super corpora animalium tantum, et vix 
 ultra. Hujus generis se ostendunt multa in medicinis et em- 
 plastris. Alia autem condensant carnes et partes tangibiles ; 
 qualia sunt medicamenta astringentia, atque etiam inspissantia ; 
 alia condensant spiritus ; id quod maxime cernitur in soporiferis. 
 Duplex autem est modus condensationis spirituum, per medi- 
 carnenta soporifera, sive provocantia somnum : alter per seda- 
 tionem motus ; alter per fugam spirituum. Etenim viola, rosa 
 sicca, lactuca, et hujusmodi benedicta sive benigna, per vapores 
 suos amicos et moderate refrigerantes, invitant spiritus ut se 
 uniant, et ipsorum acrem et inquietum motum compescunt. 
 Etiam aqua rosacea, apposita ad nares in deliquiis animaj, 
 spiritus resolutos et nimhim relaxatos se recipere facit, et 
 tanquam alit. At opiata et eorum affinia spiritus plane fugant, 
 ex qualitate sua maligna et inimica. Itaque si applicentur 
 parti exteriori, statim aufugiunt spiritus ab ilia parte, nee am- 
 plius libenter influunt: sin sumantur interius, vapores eorum, 
 ascendentes ad caput, spiritus in ventriculis cerebri contentos 
 undequaque fugant; cumque se retrahant spiritus neque in 
 aliam partem effugere possint, per consequens coeunt et con- 
 densantur; et quandoque plane extinguuntur et sufFocantur; 
 licet rursus eadem opiata moderate sumpta, per accidens secun- 
 darium (videlicet condensationem illam quae a coitione succedit),
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 355 
 
 confortent spiritus, eosque reddant magis robustos, et retundant 
 eorum inutiles et incensivos l motus, ex quo ad curas morborum, 
 et vitae prolongationem hand parum conferant. 
 
 Etiam preparations corporum ad excipiendum Frigus non 
 sunt omittendae ; veluti quod aqua parum tepida facilius con- 
 glacietur quam omnino frigida, et hujusmodi. 
 
 Praeterea, quia natura Frigus tain parce suppeditat, facien- 
 dum est quemadmodum pharmacopeias solent; qui quando 
 simplex aliquod haberi non possit, capiunt succedaneum ejus, et 
 quid pro quo, ut vocant ; veluti lignum aloes pro xylobalsamo 2 , 
 cassiam pro cinamomo. Simili modo diligenter circumspicien- 
 dum est, si qua? sint succedanea frigoris; videlicet quibusmodis 
 fieri possint condensationes in corporibus, aliter quam per frigus, 
 quod illas efficit ut opus suum proprium. Illae autem conden- 
 sationes videntur intra quaternum numerum (quantum adhuc 
 liquet) contineri. Quarum prima videtur fieri per contrusionem 
 simplicem ; quae parum potest ad densitatem constantem (resi- 
 liunt enim corpora) sed nihilominus forte res auxiliaris esse 
 queat. Secunda fit per contractionem partium crassiorum in 
 corpore aliquo, post evolationem aut exitum partium tenuiorum, 
 ut fit in indurationibus per ignem, et repetitis extinctionibus 
 metallorum, et similibus. Tertia fit per coitionem partium ho- 
 mogenearum, quas sunt maxime solidae in corpore aliquo, atque 
 antea fuerant distractae, et cum minus solidis commistae : veluti 
 in restitutione mercurii sublimati, qui in pulvere longe majus 
 occupat spatium quam mercurius simplex, et similiter in omni 
 repurgatione metallorum a scoriis suis. Quarta fit per consensus, 
 admovendo quae ex vi corporum occulta condensant ; qui con- 
 sensus adhuc raro se ostendunt; quod mirum minime est, 
 quoniam antequam inventio succedat Formarum et Schema- 
 tismorum, de inquisitione consensuum 3 non multum sperandum 
 est. Certe quoad corpora animalium, dubium non est quin sint 
 complures medicinae, tarn interius quam exterius sumptas, quae 
 condensant tanquam per consensum, ut paulo ante diximus. 
 Sed in inanimatis rara est hujusmodi operatio. Percrebuit sane, 
 tarn scriptis quam fama, narratio de arbore in una ex insulis 
 sive Terceris sive Canariis (neque enim bene memini), quse 
 perpetuo stillat; adeo ut inhabitantibus nonnullam commodi- 
 
 1 Exciting. 
 
 2 Xylobalsamum is the technical name of the twigs of the tree which yields the 
 balm of Gilead. 
 
 8 Consensus is equivalent to ffvpTrdQeta. 
 
 AA 2
 
 356 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 tatem aquas praebeat. 1 Paracelsus autem ait, herbam vocatam 
 Rorem Soils meridie et fervente sole rore impleri, cum alias 
 herbae undique sint siccae. 2 At nos utramque narrationem 
 fabulosam esse existimamus. Omnino autem illae instantiae 
 nobilissimi forent usus, et introspectione dignissimas, si essent 
 veras. Etiam rores illos mellitos, et instar mannas, qui super 
 .foliis quercus inveniuntur mense Maio, non existimamus fieri 
 et densari a consensu aliquo, sive a proprietate folii quercus ; 
 sed cum super aliis foliis pariter cadant, contineri scilicet et 
 durare in foliis quercus quia sunt bene unita, nee spongiosa, ut 
 plurima ex aliis. 
 
 Calorem vero quod attinet, copia et potestas nimirum ho- 
 mini abunde adest; observatio autem et inquisitio deficit in 
 nonnullis, iisque maxime necessariis, utcunque spagyriei se 
 venditent. Etenim caloris intensioris opificia exquiruntur et 
 conspiciuntur ; remissions vero, quae maxime in vias naturae 
 incidunt, non tentantur, ideoque latent. Itaque videmus per 
 vulcanos istos qui in pretio sunt, spiritus corporum magnopere 
 exaltari, ut in aquis fortibus, et nonnullis aliis oleis chymicis ; 
 partes tangibiles indurari, et emisso volatili, aliquando figi ; 
 partes homogeneas separari ; etiam corpora heterogenea grosso 
 modo incorporari et commisceri ; maxime autem compages cor- 
 porum compositorum et subtiliores schematismos destrui et 
 confundi. Debuerant autem opificia caloris lenioris tentari et 
 exquiri ; unde subtiliores misturae et schematismi ordinati gigni 
 possint et educi, ad exemplum naturae et imitationem operum 
 soils ; quemadmodum in aphorismo de Instantiis Frederis quas- 
 dam adumbravimus. Opificia enim naturae transiguntur per 
 longe rninores portiones, et posituras magis exquisitas et varias, 
 quam opificia ignis, prout nunc adhibetur. Turn vero videatur 
 homo revera auctus potestate, si per calores et potentias arti- 
 ficiales opera naturae possint specie repraesentari, virtute perfici, 
 copia variari; quibus addere oportet accelerationem temporis. 
 Nam rubigo ferri longo tempore procedit, at versio in crocum 
 
 1 This wonderful tree is described in Jonston's Dendrographia, published at Frank- 
 fort in 1669. See book the tenth, c. 4. One of the authorities he refers to is Cardan 
 (De variet. rerum), from whom not improbably Bacon derived the story. The tree 
 is said to be found in the island of Ferro. Cardan, with more than usual caution, 
 remarks, at the close of the account he gives of it : " Sed postquam hoc tot scriptores 
 affirmant, fieri potest ut tale aliquid contingat, sed modus nondum perspectus est." 
 De rerum variet. vi. c. 22. Compare Oviedo in Ramusio, iii. 71. a. 
 
 2 I have not been able to find this in Paracelsus. It seems, however, to accord 
 with his theory of dew, namely, that it is an exudation from the sun and stars ; the 
 suppression of which would lead to the formation of additional suns.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 357 
 
 Martis subito ; et similiter de aerugine et cerussa ; christallum 
 longo tempore conficitur, vitrum subito conflatur ; lapides longo 
 tempore concrescunt, lateres subito coquuntur, etc. Interim 
 (quod nunc agitur) omnes diversitates caloris cum effectibus 
 suis respective diligenter et Industrie undique sunt colligendaj 
 et exquirendre : ccelestium, per radios suos directos, reflexes, 
 refractos, et unitos in speculis comburentibus ; fulguris, flammaa, 
 ignis carbonum ; ignis ex diversis materiis ; ignis aperti, con- 
 clusi, angustiati et inundantis, denique per diversas fabricas 
 fornacium qualificati ; ignis flatu exciti, quieti et non exciti ; 
 ignis ad majorem aut minorem distantiam remoti; ignis per 
 varia media permeantis : calorum humidorum, ut balnei Ma- 
 riae 1 , fimi, caloris animalium per exterius, caloris animalium per 
 interius, foeni conclusi : calorum aridorum, cineris, calcis, arena? 
 tepidae ; denique calorum cujusvis generis cum gradibus eorum. 
 Pra^cipue vero tentanda est inquisitio et inventio effectuum 
 et opificiorum caloris accedentis et recedentis graduatim, et or- 
 dinatim, et periodice, et per debita spatia et moras. Ista enim 
 inaequalitas ordinata revera filia coeli 2 est, et generationis mater; 
 neque a calore aut vehementi, aut praecipiti, aut subsultorio, 
 aliquid magni expectandum est. Etenim et in vegetabilibus 
 hoc manifestissimum est ; atque etiam in uteris animalium ma- 
 gna est caloris inaequalitas, ex motu, somno, alimentationibus 
 et passionibus foemellarum qua3 uterum gestant; denique in 
 ipsis matricibus terrse, iis nimirum in quibus metalla et fossilia 
 efformantur, locum habet et viget ista inasqualitas. Quo magis 
 notanda est inscitia aliquorum alchymistarum ex reformatis 3 , 
 qui per calores aequabiles lampadum et hujusmodi, perpetuo 
 uno tenore ardentium, se voti compotes fore existimarunt. 
 Atque de opificiis et effectibus caloris hasc dicta sint. Neque 
 vero tempestivum est ilia penitus scrutari antequam Rerum 
 Formae et Corporum Schematismi ulterius investigati fuerint, 
 et in lucem prodierint. Turn enim quaerenda et adoperanda et 
 aptanda sunt instrumenta, quando de exemplaribus constiterit. 
 
 1 This is properly " balneum maris ; " that is, a mode of communicating heat, to 
 any substance by putting it into a vessel which is placed in another containing water. 
 The latter being put on the fire, the former and its contents become gradually and 
 moderately heated. The reason of the name is obvious. From " balneum maris " 
 the French made by a kind of translation (the final s not being sounded) " bain, 
 marie ; " and the form in the text is, I think, merely a retranslation of the French 
 phrase, the meaning of the second word being mistaken. Balneum Maria is how- 
 ever, I believe, a common phrase with old writers on chemistry. 
 
 2 i. e. of the heavens, physically ; because of the varying warmth of the seasons.. 
 8 i. e. of the reformed school. 
 
 A A 3
 
 358 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 Quartus modus operand! est per moram, quae certe et promus 
 et condus naturae est, et quaedam dispensatrix. Moram appel- 
 lamus, cum corpus aliquod sibi permittitur ad tempus notabile, 
 munitum interim et defensum ab aliqua vi externa. Turn 
 enim motus intestini se produnt et perficiunt, cum motus ex- 
 tranei et adventitii cessant. Opera autem setatis sunt longe 
 subtiliora quam ignis. Neque enim possit fieri taUs clarificatio 
 vini per ignem, qualis fit per moram ; neque etiam incinerationes 
 per ignem tarn sunt exquisitae, quam resolutiones et consum- 
 ptiones per saecula. Incorporationes etiam, et mistiones subitae 
 et praecipitatae per ignem, longe inferiores sunt illis, quae fiunt 
 per moram. At dissimilares et varii schematismi, quos corpora 
 per moras tentant (quales sunt putredines), per ignem aut ca- 
 lorem vehementiorem destruuntur. Illud interim non abs re 
 fuerit notare; motus corporum penitus conclusorum habere 
 nonnihil ex violento. Incarceratio enim ilia impedit motus 
 spontaneos corporis. Itaque mora in vase aperto plus facit ad 
 separationes ; in vase penitus clauso ad commistiones ; in vase 
 nonnihil clauso, sed subintrante acre, ad putrefactiones ; ut- 
 cunque de opificiis et effectibus morae undique sunt diligenter 
 conquirendas instantiae. 
 
 At regimen motus (quod est quintus ex modis operand!) non 
 parum valet. Regimen autem motus vocamus, cum corpus 
 aliud occurrens corporis alterius motum spontaneum impedit, 
 repellit, admittit, dirigit. Hoc vero plerunque in figuris et 
 situ vasorum consistit. Etenim conus erectus juvat ad con- 
 densationem vaporum in alembicis ; at conus inversus juvat ad 
 defaecationem sacchari in vasis resupinatis. Aliquando autem 
 sinuatio requiritur l , et angustiatio, et dilatatio per vices, et hu- 
 jusmodi. Etiam omnis percolatio hue spectat; scilicet cum 
 corpus occurrens, uni parti corporis alterius viam aperit, alter! 
 obstruit. Neque semper percolatio aut aliud regimen motus fit 
 per extra ; sed etiam per corpus in corpore : ut cum lapilli im- 
 mittuntur in aquas ad colligendam limositatem ipsarum ; syrup! 
 clarificantur cum albuminibus ovorum, ut crassiores partes 
 adhaerescant, et postea separari possint. Etiam huic regimini 
 motus satis leviter et inscite attribuit Telesius figuras ani- 
 malium, ob rivulos scilicet et loculos matricis. 2 Debuerat 
 
 1 As in a still. 
 
 Telesius's doctrine of the formation of the embryo is essentially the same as 
 Galen's, namely that a system of arteries &c. must be first of all formed in the germ,
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 359 
 
 nutem notare similem efformationem in testis ovorum, ubi non 
 sunt rugae aut inaequalitas. At verum est regimen motus ef- 
 formationes perficere in modulis et proplasticis. l 
 
 Operationes vero per consensus aut fugas (qui sextus modus 
 est) latent saspenumero in profundo. Istae enim (quas vocant) 
 proprietates occultae, et specificae, et sympathise, et antipa- 
 thiae, sunt magna ex parte corruptelae philosophise. Neque de 
 consensibus rerum inveniendis multum sperandum est, ante 
 inventionem Formarum et schematismorum simplicium. Con- 
 sensus enim nil aliud est quam symmetria Formarum et Sche- 
 matismorum ad invicem. 
 
 Atqui majores et magis catholici rerum consensus non 
 prorsus obscuri sunt. Itaque ab iis ordiendum. Eorum prima 
 et summa diversitas ea est ; ut quaedam corpora copia et rari- 
 tate materiae admodum discrepent, scliematismis consentiant: 
 alia contra copia et raritate materiae consentiant, schematismis 
 discrepent. Nam non male notatum est a chymicis, in princi- 
 piorum suorum triade, sulphur et mercurium 2 quasi per uni- 
 versitatem rerum permeare. (Nam de sale inepta ratio est, sed 
 introducta ut possit comprehendere corpora terrea, sicca, et 
 fixn.) At certe in illis duobus videtur consensus quidam na- 
 turae ex maxime catholicis conspici. Etenim consentiunt sul- 
 phur ; oleum, et exhalatio pinguis ; flamma ; et fortasse corpus 
 stellaa. Ex altera parte consentiunt mercurius ; aqua et vapores 
 aquei ; aer ; et fortasse aether purus et interstellaris. Attamen 
 istae quaterniones geminae, sive magnae rerum tribus (utraque 
 intra ordines suos) copia materiae atque densitate immensum 
 differunt, sed schematismo valde conveniunt ; ut in plurimis se 
 produnt. At contra metalla diversa copia et densitate mul- 
 tum conveniunt (praesertim respectu vegetabilium, etc.), sed 
 schematismo multifariam differunt ; et similiter vegetabilia et 
 animalia diversa schematismis quasi infinitis variantur, sed 
 
 and that these, by applying themselves to corresponding parts on the surface of the 
 matrix, determine the channels through which nourishment is supplied, and therefore 
 (mediately) the development of the different members of the foetus. But it does not 
 seem that he would have admitted that the smoothness of the shells of eggs was an 
 objection to his theory. At any rate, he illustrates it by reference to the appearances 
 presented by an egg opened during incubation. De rerum naturd, vi. c. 4. and 40. 
 
 1 The proper word for what we call a model is " proplasma," which is used in a 
 Latin form by Pliny. I have not seen any authority for such an adjective as " propla- 
 sticus." What Bacon means is not exactly a model, but a mould for casting. 
 
 2 This triad is the fundamental point of Paracelsus's chemical and medical philo- 
 sophy. See his works throughout, and particularly the tract De tribus primis essentiis, 
 contained in the third book of his philosophical works. 
 
 A A 4
 
 360 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 intra copiam materiae sive densitatem paucorum graduum con- 
 tinentur. 
 
 Sequitur consensus maxirae post priorem catholicus, videlicet 
 corporum principalium et fomitum suorum ; videlicet menstru- 
 orum 1 , et alimentorum. Itaque exquirendum, sub quibus 
 climatibus, et in qua tellure, et ad quam profunditatem metalla 
 singula generentur ; et similiter de gemmis, sive ex rupibus, 
 sive inter mineras natis ; in qua gleba terras, arbores singulae, 
 et frutices, et herbae potissimum proveniant, et tanquam gau- 
 deant ; et insimul quae impinguationes, sive per stercorationes 
 cujuscunque generis, sive per cretam, arenam maris, cineres, 
 etc., maxime juvent ; et quse sint ex his pro varietate glebarum 
 magis apt83 et auxiliares. Etiam insitio et inoculatio arborum 
 et plantarum, earumque ratio, quae scilicet plantae super quas 
 foelicius inserantur, etc., multum pendet de consensu. In qua 
 parte non injucundum foret experimentum quod noviter audi- 
 vimus esse tentatum, de insitione arborum sylvestrium (quae 
 hucusque in arboribus hortensibus fieri consuevit), unde folia 
 et glandes majorem in modum amplificantur, et arbores fiunt 
 magis umbrosaa. Similiter, alimenta animalium respective no- 
 tanda sunt in genere, et cum negativis. Neque enim carnivora 
 eustinent herbis nutriri ; unde eliam Ordo Folitanorum (licet 
 voluntas humana plus possit quam animantium caaterorum super 
 corpus suum), post experientiam factam (ut aiunt), tanquam ab 
 humana natura non tolerabilis, fere evanuit. 2 Etiam materias 
 
 1 By " menstrua " are meant the substances out of which any species of mineral is 
 generated, or, in other words, the causa materialis of its existence. See, on the genera- 
 tion of metals and other minerals, the fourth and fifth books of Agricola's work De 
 ortu et caitsis fossilium. He gives an account of the opinions of Aristotle, Theophra- 
 stus, &c. In modern chemistry the word menstruum is nearly equivalent to solvent. 
 By the school of Paracelsus the word is used so vaguely that it is difficult to determine 
 what idea they attached to it, or how they derived their sense of the word from its 
 original signification. When the word is used as in the text, the metaphor seems to 
 be taken from the Aristotelian theory of generation, in which Kara T^V Trpurtiv LXriv 
 iffTtv T\ ran/ Karafrfivitav fyvois. 
 
 - Bacon doubtless refers to the austerities of the order of Fetiillans. Jean de la 
 Barriere, after holding the Cistercian abbey of Feiiillans in commendam for eleven 
 years, renounced the world in 1573, and in the course of a few years introduced a 
 most austere rule of life into the abbey of which he was the head. His monks knelt 
 on the floor during their refections, and some of them were in the habit of drinking 
 out of skulls. They abstained from eggs, fish, butter, oil, and even salt, and con- 
 fined themselves to pottage made of herbs boiled in water, and bread so coarse and 
 black that beasts refused to eat of it. After a while they gave up wine also. Clement 
 VIII. permitted the society to draw up constitutions for the establishment of their 
 rule. By these the excessive rigour of their way of life was checked, which was done 
 in obedience to the Pope, and in consequence of the deaths of fourteen monks in 
 a single week at Feiiillans. These constitutions were ratified in 1595. Assuming, 
 of which there seems no doubt, that the Folitani of Bacon are the Feiiillans, I may
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 361 
 
 cliversae putrefactionum, unde animalcula generantur, notandae 
 sunt. 
 
 Atque consensus corporum principalium erga subordinata 
 sua (tales enim ii possint censeri quos notavimus) satis in aperto 
 sunt. Quibus add! possunt sensuum consensus erga objecta 
 sua. Qui consensus cum manifestissimi sint ; bene notati et 
 acriter excussi, etiam aliis consensibus qui latent magnam prae- 
 bere possint lucem. 
 
 At interiores corporum consensus et fugae, sive amicitias et 
 lites (taedet enim nos fere vocabulorum sympathia? et antipathiae, 
 propter superstitiones et inania), aut falso ascriptas, aut fabulis 
 conspersa?, aut per neglectum raras admodum sunt. Etenim si 
 quis asserat inter vineam et brassicam esse dissidium, quia juxta 
 sata minus laste proveniunt, praesto ratio est l : quod utraque 
 planta succulenta sit et depraedatrix, unde altera alteram de- 
 fraudat. Si quis asserat esse consensum et amicitiam inter 
 segetes et cyaneum, aut papaver sylvestre, quia herbae illas 
 fere non proveniunt nisi in arvis cultis : debuit is potius asse- 
 rere dissidium esse inter ea, quia papaver et cyaneus emittuntur 
 et creantur ex tali succo terras qualem segetes reliquerint et 
 repudiaverint; adeo ut satio segetum terrain praeparet ad eorum 
 proventum. Atque hujusmodi falsaruin ascriptionum magnus 
 est numerus. Quoad fabulas vero, illae omnino sunt extermi- 
 nandaj. Restat tenuis certe copia eorum consensuum, qui 
 certo probati sunt experimento ; quales sunt magnetis et ferri, 
 atque auri et argenti vivi, et similium. At in experimentis 
 chymicis circa metalla inveniuntur et alii nonnulli observatione 
 digni. Maxima vero frequentia eorum (ut in tanta paucitate) 
 invenitur in medicinis nonnullis, quae ex proprietatibus suis 
 occultis (quas vocant) et specificis, respiciunt aut membra, aut 
 
 remark that the latinised form of Feiiillans used is Fuliensis, as an adjective ; the 
 proper style of the society being " Congregatio Cistertiomonastica B. Mariae Fuliensis." 
 I have not seen the work of Morotius to which Helyot, from whom the preceding 
 account is taken, refers ; but in that of C. Henrique, also mentioned by Helyot, I do 
 not find any authority for Folitani. It is probable that Bacon's chief information on 
 the subject was gathered orally during his residence in France, before the Feiiillans 
 had ceased from their first love. The expression " ordo . . . fere evanuit " must be 
 taken to mean that the severe rule that they had at first was given up. See Helyot, 
 Hist, des Ordres Monastiques, iv me partie, c. 38. Spondanus, An. 1586, iv. For 
 some particulars of the early history of the Abbey of Feiiillans, and especially for 
 the will of Jean de la Barriere, see Voyage Litteraire de deux Ben edict ins," ii. p. 16. 
 1 On account apparently of this enmity between the vine and the cabbage, the 
 latter was thought to prevent intoxication. See Lemmius, De occnltis naturce miraculis, 
 ii. 17. On the subject of similar enmities, see the same work, iv. 10. ; or Cardan's 
 treatise, De rerun varietate, and particularly the T/teatmm sympatheticum.
 
 362 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 humores, aut morbos, aut quandoque naturas individuas. Ne- 
 que omittendi sunt consensus inter motus et affectus lunae et 
 passiones corporum inferiorum, prout ex experimentis agricul- 
 turae, nauticae, et medicines, aut alias cum delectu severe et 
 sincere colligi et recipi possint. Verum instantiae universae 
 consensuum secretiorum quo magis sunt infrequentes, eo majori 
 cum diligentia sunt inquirendas, per traditiones, et narrationes 
 fidas et probas ; modo hoc fiat absque ulla levitate, aut credu- 
 litate, sed fide anxia et quasi dubitabunda. Restat consensus 
 corporum modo operandi tanquam inartificialis, sed usu poly- 
 chrestus, qui nullo modo omittendus est, sed sedula observatione 
 investigandus. Is est coitio sive unio corporum, proclivis aut 
 difficilis, per compositionem, sive appositionem simplicem. Ete- 
 nim corpora nonnulla facile et libenter commiscentur et incor- 
 porantur, alia autem aegre et perverse : veluti pulveres melius 
 incorporantur cum aquis ; calces et cineres, cum oleis ; et sic 
 de similibus. Neque tantum sunt colligendaa instantias pro- 
 pensionis aut aversionis corporum erga misturam, sed etiam 
 collocationis partium, et distributionis, et digestionis, post- 
 quam commista sint ; denique et praedominantias post misturam 
 transactam. 
 
 Superest ultimo loco ex modis septem operandi, septimus et 
 postremus ; operatic scilicet per alternationem et vicissitudines 
 priorum sex; de quo antequam in singulos illos paulo altius 
 fuerit inquisitum, tempestivum non foret exempla proponere. 
 Series autem sive catena hujusmodi alternationis, prout ad 
 singula effecta accommodari possit, res est et cognitu maxime 
 difficilis, et ad opera maxime valida. Summa autem detinet et 
 occupat homines impatientia hujusmodi tarn inquisitionis, quam 
 praxeos ; cum tamen sit instar fili labyrinthi, quoad opera ma- 
 jora. Atque haec sufficiant ad exemplum Polychresti. 
 
 LI. 
 
 Inter Prasrogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vicesimo 
 septimo atque ultimo Instantias Magicas. Hoc nomine illas 
 appellamus, in quibus materia aut efficiens tenuis aut parva 
 est, pro magnitudine operis et effectus qui sequitur ; adeo ut 
 etiamsi fuerint vulgares, tamen sint instar miraculi; alias primo 
 intuitu, alias etiam attentius contemplanti. Has vero natura ex 
 sese subministrat parce ; quid vero factura sit sinu excusso, et 
 post inventionem Formarum, et Processuum, et Schematis- 
 morum, futuris temporibus apparebit. At ista effecta Magica
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 363 
 
 (quantum adhuc conjicimus) fiunt tribus modis : aut per multi- 
 plicationem sui, ut in igne, et venenis, quae vocant specifica ; 
 necnon in motibus, qui transeunt et fortificantur de rota in 
 rotam ; aut per excitationem sive invitationem in altero, ut in 
 magnete, qui excit acus innuraeras, virtute nullatenus deperdita 
 aut diminuta; aut in fermento, et hujusmodi; aut per ante- 
 versionem motus, ut dictum est de pulvere pyrio, et bombardis, 
 et cuniculis : quorum priores duo modi indagationem consen- 
 suum requirunt ; tertius, mensurae motuum. Utrum vero sit 
 aliquis modus mutandi corpora per minima (ut vocant), et trans- 
 ponendi subtiliores materias schematismos (id quod ad omni- 
 modas corporum transformationes pertinet, ut ars brevi tempore 
 illud facere possit, quod natura per multas ambages molitur), 
 de eo nulla hactenus nobis constant indicia. Quemadmodum 
 autem in solidis et veris aspiramus ad ultima et summa ; ita 
 vana et tumida perpetuo odimus, et quantum in nobis est pro- 
 fligamus. 
 
 LI I. 
 
 Atque de Dignitatibus sive Praerogativis Instantiarum haec 
 dicta sint. Illud vero monendum, nos in hoc nostro Organo 
 tractare logicam, non philosophiam. Sed cum logica nostra 
 doceat intellectum et erudiat ad hoc, ut non tenuibus mentis 
 quasi claviculis rerum abstracta captet et prenset (ut logica 
 vulgaris), sed naturam revera persecet, et corporum virtutes et 
 actus, eorumque leges in materia determinatas inveniat ; ita ut 
 non solum ex natura mentis, sed ex natura rerum quoque haec 
 scientia emanet ; mirum non est, si ubique naturalibus contem- 
 plationibus et experimentis, ad exempla artis nostrae, conspersa 
 fuerit et illustrata. Sunt autem (ut ex iis quae dicta sunt patet) 
 Prserogativae Instantiarum numero 27 ; nominibus, Instantise 
 Solitaria? : Instantiae Migrantes : Instantiae Ostensivas : In- 
 stantiae Clandestinae : Instantiae Constitutivae : Instantiae Con- 
 formes : Instantiae Monodicaa : Instantiae Deviantes : Instantiae 
 Limitaneae : Instantiae Potestatis : Instantiae Comitatus et Ho- 
 stiles : Instantiae Subjunctivae : Instantiae Foederis : Instantiae 
 Crucis : Instantiae Divortii : Instantiae Januae : Instantiae Ci- 
 tantes : Instantiae Viae : Instantiae Supplement! : Instantiae 
 Persecantes : Instantiae Virgae : Instantiae Curriculi : Doses 
 Naturae : Instant iae Luctae : Instantiae Innuentes : Instantiae 
 Polychrestaa : Instantiae Magicae. Usus autem harum instan- 
 tiarum, in quo instantias vulgares excellunt, versatur in genere
 
 364 NOVUM ORGANUM. 
 
 aut circa partem informativam ; aut circa operativam ; aut 
 circa utramque. Atque quoad informativam, juvant illae aut 
 sensum, aut intellectum. Sensum, ut quinque Instantine 
 Lampadis: Intellectum, aut accelerando Exclusivam Formae, 
 ut Solitarise ; aut angustiando et propius indicando Affirmativam 
 Formae, ut Migrantes, Ostensivae, Comitatus, cum Subjuncti- 
 vis ; aut erigendo intellectum, et ducendo ad genera et naturas 
 communes; idque aut immediate, ut Clandestinae, Monodicae, 
 Foederis ; aut gradu proximo, ut Constitutivae ; aut gradu infimo, 
 ut Conformes ; aut rectificando Intellectum a consuetis, ut De- 
 viantes ; aut ducendo ad Formam Magnam, sive Fabricam Uni- 
 versi 1 , ut Limitaneae; aut cavendo de Formis et causis falsis, ut 
 Crucis et Divortii. Quod vero ad Operativam attinet; illae 
 practicam aut designant ; aut mensurant ; aut sublevant. De- 
 signant aut ostendendo a quibus incipiendum, ne actum agamus, 
 ut Instantiae Potestatis; aut ad quid aspirandum, si detur 
 facultas, ut Innuentes : mensurant quatuor illae Mathematicce : 
 sublevant Polychrestse et Magicae. 
 
 Rursus ex istis instantiis 27, nonnullarum (ut superius 
 diximus de aliquibus) facienda est collectio jam ab initio, nee 
 expectanda particularis inquisitio naturarum. Cujus generis 
 sunt Instantiae Conformes, Monodicae, Deviantes, Limitaneae, 
 Potestatis, Januae, Innuentes, Polychrestae, Magicae. Has enim 
 aut auxiliantur et medentur intellectui et sensui, aut instruunt 
 praxin in genere. Reliquae turn demum conquirendas sunt, 
 cum conficiemus Tabulas Comparentiae ad opus Interprets circa 
 aliquam naturam particularem. Sunt enim instantiae Prasro- 
 gativis istis insignitae et donates animae instar, inter vulgares 
 instantias comparentias ; et ut ab initio diximus, paucae illarum 
 sunt vice multarum ; quocirca cum Tabulas conficimus, illas 
 omni studio sunt investigandas, et in Tabulas referendae. Erit 
 etiam earum mentio necessaria in iis quae sequuntur. Pras- 
 ponendus itaque erat earum tractatus. Nunc vero ad adminicula 
 et rectificationes Inductionis, et deinceps ad concreta, et La- 
 tentes Processus, et Latentes Schematismos, et reliqua qua? 
 Aphorismo 21. ordine proposuimus, pergendum; ut tandem 
 (tanquam curatores probi et fideles) tradamus hominibus fortu- 
 nas suas emancipato intellectu, et facto tanquam majore ; unde 
 neeesse est sequi emendationem status hominis, et ampliationem 
 
 1 That is, the constitution (or cosmos) of the universe.
 
 NOVUM ORGANUM. 365 
 
 potestatis ejus super naturam. Homo enim per lapsum et de 
 
 statu innocentiae decidit, et de regno in creaturas. TJtraque 
 
 autem res etiam in hac vita nonnulla ex parte reparari potest ; 
 
 prior per religionem et fidem, posterior per artes et scientias. 
 
 Neque enim per maledictionem facta est creatura prorsus et ad 
 
 extremum rebellis. Sed in virtute illius diplomatis 1 , In sudore 
 
 vultus comedes panem tuum, per labores varies (non per dis- 
 
 putationes certe, aut per otiosas ceremonias magieas) 
 
 tandem et aliqua ex parte ad panem homini 
 
 praebendum, id est, ad usus vitas 
 
 humanae subigitur. 
 
 1 "Diploma" may be rendered "charter." 
 
 Finis Libri Secundi Novi Organ!
 
 PARASCEVE 
 
 AD 
 
 HISTORIAM 
 NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENTALEM. 
 
 [Published in 1620 in the same volume with the Novum Organum.}
 
 369 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 AMONG the eight subjects which were to have been handled 
 in the remaining books of the Novum Organum (see ii. 21.), the 
 last but one is entitled De parascevis ad inquisitionem 3 under 
 which head Bacon intended (as appears by the introduction to 
 the following treatise) to set forth the character of the Natural 
 and Experimental History, which was to form the third part of 
 the Instauratio. 
 
 What may have been the logical connexion between these 
 eight subjects which determined him to reserve this for the 
 penultimate place, it seems impossible, by the help of the titles 
 alone, to divine. But whatever the order in which he thought 
 advisable to approach it, there can be no doubt that this 
 Natural and Experimental History was always regarded by 
 him as a part of his system both fundamental and indispens- 
 able. So earnestly indeed and so frequently does he insist 
 on the importance of it, that I once believed it to be the one 
 real novelty which distinguished his philosophy from those 
 of his contemporaries and immediate predecessors. And even 
 now, though Mr. Ellis's analysis of the Baconian Induction 
 has given me much new light and considerably modified my 
 opinion in that matter, I am still inclined to think that Bacon 
 himself regarded it not only as a novelty, but as the novelty 
 from which the most important results were to be expected ; 
 and however experience may have proved that his expectations 
 were in great part vain and his scheme impracticable, I can- 
 not help suspecting that more of it is practicable than has yet 
 been attempted, and that the greatest results of science are still 
 to be looked for from a further proceeding in this direction. 
 
 The grounds of this opinion will be explained most con- 
 veniently in connexion with the following treatise ; a treatise 
 published by Bacon (on account of the exceeding importance of 
 the subject) out of its proper place and incomplete ; and to 
 
 VOL. I. B B
 
 370 PREFACE TO 
 
 which I find nothing among Mr. Ellis's papers that can 
 serve as preface. 
 
 In what the distinctive peculiarity of the Baconian philo- 
 sophy really consisted, is a question to which every fresh in- 
 quirer gives a fresh answer. Before I was acquainted with 
 Mr. Ellis's, which is the latest, and formed upon the largest 
 survey and subtlest scrutiny of the evidence, I had endeavoured 
 to find one for myself, and had come to a conclusion which, 
 though 'quite different from his, is not I think irreconcilable 
 with it, but contains (as I still venture to believe) a part, 
 though a part only, of the truth. And the question which I 
 wish now to raise is whether, as my solution was imperfect 
 from not taking any account of the novelty contained in the 
 method of Induction as Bacon understood it, Mr. Ellis's be not 
 likewise imperfect from not taking sufficient account of the 
 novelty contained in the Natural History as Bacon intended it 
 to be employed ; and whether there be not room for a third 
 solution more complete than either, as including both. 
 
 That the philosophy which Bacon meant to announce was in 
 some way essentially different not only from any that had been 
 before but from any that has been since, is a position from 
 which in both cases the inquiry sets out ; and since it is one 
 which will not perhaps be readily granted by everybody, it 
 may be worth while to explain the considerations which led me 
 to it ; the rather because Mr. Ellis and myself, though pro- 
 ceeding not only independently but by entirely different roads 
 and in pursuit of different objects he endeavouring to pene- 
 trate the secret of Bacon's philosophy, I endeavouring to 
 understand the objects and purposes of his life meet never- 
 theless at this point in the same conclusion. 
 
 The process by which I arrived at it myself, I cannot 
 explain better than by transcribing a paper which I wrote on 
 the subject in 1 847 ; at which time I had not seen any part of 
 Mr. Ellis's argument, or heard his opinion upon the question at 
 issue. What my own opinion is now, I will state afterwards ; 
 but first I give the paper exactly as I then wrote it ; the length 
 of the extract being justified at least if there be any truth in 
 the conclusion by the importance of the question at issue ; 
 for it bears upon the business of the present and future quite 
 as much as on the knowledge of the past. The form in which
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 371 
 
 it is written, that of a familiar conversation between two 
 friends, happened to be the most convenient for the business 
 I was then about ; and as I could not present the argument 
 more clearly in any other, I leave it as it is. 
 
 A. 
 
 Before you go on I wish you would satisfy me on one point, upon 
 which I have hitherto sought satisfaction in vain. What after all 
 was it that Bacon did for philosophy ? In what did the wonder and 
 in what did the benefit consist ? I know that people have all agreed 
 to call him the Father of the Inductive Philosophy ; and I know that 
 the sciences made a great start about his time and have in some 
 departments made great progress since. But I could never yet hear 
 what one thing he discovered that would not have been discovered 
 just as soon without his help. It is admitted that he was not for- 
 tunate in any of his attempts to apply his principles to practice. It 
 is admitted that no actual scientific discovery of importance was 
 made by him. Well, he might be the father of discovery for all that. 
 But among all the important scientific discoveries which have been 
 made by others since his time, is there any one that can be traced to 
 his teaching? traced to any principles of scientific investigation 
 originally laid down by him, and by no other man before him or 
 contemporary with him ? I know very well that he did lay down a 
 great many just principles; principles which must have been acted 
 upon by every man that ever pursued the study of Nature with 
 success. But what of that ? It does not follow that we owe these 
 principles to him. For I have no doubt that I myself, I that 
 cannot tell how we know that the earth goes round, or why an apple 
 falls or why the antipodes do not fall, I have no doubt (I say) that 
 if I sat down to devise a course of investigation for the determination 
 of these questions, I should discover a great many just principles 
 which Herschel and Faraday must hereafter act upon, as they have 
 done heretofore. Nay if I should succeed in setting them forth more 
 exactly, concisely, impressively, and memorably, than any one has 
 yet done, they might soon come to be called my principles. But if 
 that were all, I should have done little or nothing for the advance- 
 ment of science. I should only have been finding for some of its 
 processes a better name. I want to know whether Bacon did any- 
 thing more than this ; and if so, what. In what did the principles 
 laid down by him essentially differ from those on which (while he was 
 thus labouring to expound them) Galileo was already acting ? From 
 all that I can hear, it seems evident that the Inductive Philosophy 
 received its great impulse, not from the great prophet of new prin- 
 ciples, but from the great discoverers of new facts ; not from Bacon, 
 
 BB 2
 
 372 PREFACE TO 
 
 but from Galileo and Kepler. And I suppose that, with regard to 
 those very principles even, if you wanted illustrations of what is 
 commonly called the Baconian method, you would find some of the 
 very best among the works of Gilbert and Galileo. What was it 
 then that Bacon did which entitles him to be called the Regenerator 
 of Philosophy ? or what was it that he dreamt he was doing which 
 made him think the work so entirely his own, so immeasurably im- 
 portant, and likely to be received with such incredulity by at least 
 one generation of mankind ? 
 
 B. 
 
 A pertinent question ; for there is no doubt that he was under 
 that impression. " Cum argumentum hujusmodi prce manibus habeam 
 (says he) quod tractandi imperitia perdere et veluti exponere NEPAS 
 sit." He was persuaded that the argument he had in charge was of 
 such value, that to risk the loss of it by unskilful handling would be 
 not only a pity but an impiety. You wish to know, and the wish is 
 reasonable, what it was. For answer I would refer you to the philo- 
 sophers ; only I cannot say that their answers are satisfactory to 
 myself. The old answer was that Bacon was the first to break down 
 the dominion of Aristotle. This is now, I think, generally given up. 
 His opposition to Aristotle was indeed conceived in early youth, and 
 (though he was not the first to give utterance to it) I dare say it was 
 not the less his own, and in the proper sense of the word, original. 
 But the real overthrower of Aristotle was the great stir through- 
 out the intellectual world which followed the Reformation and the 
 revival of learning. It is certain that his authority had been openly 
 defied some years before the publication of Bacon's principal wri- 
 tings ; and it could not in the nature of things have survived much 
 longer. Sir John Herschel however, while he freely admits that 
 the Aristotelian philosophy had been effectually overturned without 
 Bacon's aid, still maintains Bacon's title to be looked upon in all 
 future ages as the great Reformer of Philosophy ; not indeed that he 
 introduced inductive reasoning as a new and untried process, but on 
 account of his "keen perception and his broad and spirit-stirring, 
 almost enthusiastic, announcement of its paramount importance, as 
 the alpha and omega of science, as the grand and only chain for 
 linking together of physical truths, and the eventual key to every 
 discovery and every application." 
 
 A. 
 
 That is all very fine ; but it seems to me rather to account for his 
 having the title than to justify his claim to it ; rather to explain 
 how he comes by his reputation than to prove that he deserves it. 
 Try the question upon a modern case. We are now standing upon
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 373 
 
 the threshold of a new era in the science of History. It is easy to 
 see that the universal study of History must be begun afresh upon 
 a new method. Tales, traditions, and all that has hitherto been 
 accounted most authentic in our knowledge of past times, must be 
 set aside as doubtful ; and the whole story must be spelt out anew 
 from charters, names, inscriptions, monuments, and such like contem- 
 porary records. Now an eloquent man might easily make a broad 
 and spirit-stirring announcement of the paramount importance of this 
 process, as the only key by which the past can be laid open to us as 
 it really was, the grand and only chain for linking historical truths 
 and so forth. But would he thereby entitle himself to be called 
 the great reformer of History ? Surely not. Such a man might 
 perhaps get the credit, but it is Niebuhr that has done the thing : 
 for Niebuhr was the first both to see the truth and to set the 
 example. 
 
 B. 
 
 So, I confess, it seems to me. And if I thought that Bacon had 
 aimed at no more than that, I should not think that his time had 
 been altogether well employed, or his sense of the importance of his 
 own mission to mankind altogether justified. For surely a single 
 great discovery made by means of the inductive process would have 
 done more to persuade mankind of the paramount importance of it, 
 than the most eloquent and philosophical exposition. Therefore in 
 forsaking his experiments about gravitation, light, heat, &c., in order 
 to set forth his classification of the " Prerogatives of Instances," and 
 to lay down general principles of philosophy, he would have been 
 leaving the effectual promotion of his work to secure the exaltation 
 of his name, than which nothing could be more opposite both to his 
 principles and his practice. If his ambition had been only to have 
 his picture stand as the frontispiece of the new philosophy, he could 
 not have done better indeed than come forward as the most eloquent 
 expounder of its principles. But if he wanted (as undoubtedly he 
 did above all other things) to set it on work and bring it into 
 fashion, his business was to produce the most striking illustra- 
 tion of its powers, the most striking practical proof of what it 
 could do. 
 
 Therefore if I thought, as Herschel seems to think, that there 
 was no essential or considerable difference between the doctrines 
 which Bacon preached and those which Galileo practised ; that 
 Galileo was as the Niebuhr of the new philosophy (according to your 
 own illustration), and Bacon only as your supposed eloquent man ; 
 I should agree with you that Bacon's right to be called the Re- 
 former of Philosophy is not made out. But when I come to look at 
 Bacon's own exposition of his views and compare them with the 
 latest and most approved account I have met with of Galileo's 
 
 BBS
 
 374 PREFACE TO 
 
 works, I cannot but think that the difference between what Galileo 
 was doing and what Bacon wanted to be done is not only essential 
 but immense. 
 
 A. 
 
 Nay, if the difference be immense, how comes it to be overlooked? 
 It is from no want of the wish to claim for Bacon all the credit he 
 deserves in that line. 
 
 B. 
 
 No. Rather perhaps from the wish to claim too much. We are 
 so anxious to give him his due that we must needs ascribe to him 
 all that has been done since his time ; from which it seems to follow 
 that we are practising his precepts, and that the Baconian philosophy 
 has in fact been flourishing among us for the last 200 years. You 
 believe this, don't you ? 
 
 A. 
 
 People tell me so ; and I suppose the only doubt is whether it 
 be exclusively and originally his ; there is no doubt, I fancy, that 
 it is his. 
 
 B. 
 
 Certainly that appears to be the general opinion ; and it may 
 seem an audacious thing in me to say that it is a mistake. But I 
 cannot help it. It is true that a new philosophy is flourishing 
 among us which was born about Bacon's time ; and Bacon's name 
 (as the brightest which presided at the time of its birth) has been 
 inscribed upon it. 
 
 " Hesperus, that led 
 The starry host, rode brightest : " 
 
 not that Hesperus did actually lead the other stars ; he and they 
 were moving under a common force, and they would have moved 
 just as fast if he had been away ; but because he shone brightest, 
 he looked as if he led them. But if I may trust Herschel, I must 
 think that it is the Galilean philosophy that has been flourishing all 
 these years ; and if I may trust my own eyes and power of con- 
 struing Latin, I must think that the Baconian philosophy has yet to 
 come. 
 
 If Bacon were to reappear among us at the next meeting of the 
 Great British Association, or say rather if he had appeared there 
 two or three years ago (for there seems to be something great and 
 new going on now), I think he would have shaken his head. I 
 think he would have said, " Here has been a great deal of very good 
 diligence used by several persons ; but it has not been used upon a 
 well-laid plan. These solar systems, and steam-engines, and Daguer- 
 reotypes, and electric telegraphs, are so many more pledges of what 
 might be expected from an iustauration of philosophy such as I re-
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 375 
 
 commended more than 200 years ago ; why have you not tried that ? 
 You have been acting all the time like a king who should attempt 
 to conquer a country by encouraging private adventurers to make 
 incursions each on his own account, without any system of combined 
 movements to subdue and take possession. I see that wherever you 
 have the proper materials and plenty of them your work is excellent ; 
 so was Gilbert's in my time ; so was Galileo's ; nay even Kepler 
 though his method was as unskilful as that of the boy who in 
 doing a long-division sum would first guess at the quotient and then 
 multiply it into the divisor to see whether it were true, and if it 
 came out wrong would make another guess and multiply again, 
 and so on till he guessed right at last, yet because he had a 
 copious collection of materials ready to his hand, and enormous per- 
 severance however perversely applied, and a religious veracity, did 
 at last hit upon one of the greatest discoveries ever made by one man. 
 But what could Kepler have done without Tycho Brahe's tables of 
 observation ? And what might Galileo not have done if he had had 
 a large enough collection of facts ? This therefore it is that dis- 
 appoints me. I do not see any sufficient collection made of materials, 
 that is, of facts in nature or any effectual plan on foot for 
 making one. You are scarcely better off in that respect than 
 I was; you have each to gather the materials upon which you are 
 to work. You cannot build houses, or weave shirts, or learn 
 languages so. If the builder had to make his own bricks, the 
 weaver to grow his own flax, the student of a dead language to make 
 his own concordance, where would be your houses, your shirts, or 
 your scholars ? And by the same rule if the interpreter of Nature 
 is to forage for his facts, what progress can you expect in the art 
 of interpretation ? Your scholar has his dictionary provided to 
 his hand ; but your natural philosopher has still to make his dic- 
 tionary for himself. 
 
 " And I wonder the more at this, because this is the very thing 
 of all others which I myself pointed out as absolutely necessary to 
 be supplied, as the thing which was to be set about in the first 
 place, the thing without which no great things could possibly be done 
 in philosophy. And since you have done me the honour to think so 
 very highly of my precepts, I am a little surprised that you have not 
 thought it worth while in so very essential a point to follow them. 
 And to say the truth, I could wish for my own reputation (if that 
 were of any consequence) that you had either honoured me a little 
 more in that way, or not honoured me quite so much in other 
 ways. You call me the Father of your Philosophy, meaning it for 
 the greatest compliment you can pay. I thank you for the compli- 
 ment, but I must decline the implied responsibility. I assure you 
 this is none of mine. May I ask whether any attempt has been 
 
 B B 4
 
 376 PREFACE TO 
 
 made to collect that ' Historiam naturalem et experimentalem qua 
 sit in ordine ad condendam philosophiam,' concerning which I did 
 certainly give some very particular directions ; which I placed as 
 conspicuously as I could in the very front and entrance of my 
 design ; of which I said that all the genius and meditation and 
 argumentation in the world could not do instead of it ; no, not if all 
 men's wits could meet in one man's head ; therefore that this we 
 must have, or else the business must be given up ? ! If this has 
 been fairly tried and found impracticable or ineffectual, blot me out 
 of your books as a dreamer that thought he had found out a great 
 thing but it turned out nothing. If not, I still think it would be 
 worth your while to try it." 
 
 A. 
 
 I partly comprehend your meaning ; but I should prefer it in a 
 less dramatic form. You think that the difference between what 
 Galileo did and what Bacon wanted to be done, lay in this that 
 Bacon's plan presupposed a history (or dictionary as you call it) of 
 Universal Nature, as a storehouse of facts to work upon ; whereas 
 Galileo was content to work upon such facts and observations as he 
 collected for himself. But surely this is only a difference in degree. 
 Both used the facts in the same way ; only Bacon wanted a larger 
 collection of them. 
 
 B. 
 
 Say rather, Bacon wanted a collection large enough to give him 
 the command of all the avenues to the secrets of Nature. You might 
 as well say that there is only a difference of degree between the 
 method of the man who runs his single head against a fortress, and the 
 man who raises a force strong enough to storm it, because each uses 
 the force b^e has in the same way, only one wants more of it than the 
 other : or between stopping all the leaks in a vessel and stopping 
 as many as you conveniently can. The truth is, that though the 
 difference between a few and a few more is only a difference of 
 degree, the difference between enough and not enough is a difference 
 in kind. According to Galileo's method, the work at best could be 
 done but partially. According to Bacon's (so at least he believed) it 
 would be done effectually and altogether. 
 
 I will put you a case by way of illustration. Two men (call them 
 James and John) find a manuscript in a character unknown to either 
 of them. James, being skilled in languages and expert at making* 
 out riddles, observes some characters similar to those of one of the 
 
 1 Neque huic labori et inquisitioni et mundanae perambulation!, ulla ingenii aut 
 nu-ditationis aut argumentations substitutio aut compensatio sufficere potest, non si 
 omnia omnium ingenia coierint. Itaque aut hoc prorsus habendum aut negotium in 
 perpetuum deserendum.
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 377 
 
 languages which he understands ; immediately sets himself to guess 
 what they are ; and succeeds in puzzling out here a name and there 
 a date, with plausibility. Each succeeding guess, if it be right, 
 makes the next easier ; and there is no knowing precisely how much 
 may be made out in this manner, or with what degree of certainty. 
 The process is inductive, and the results, so far as they go, are dis- 
 coveries. John seeing him thus employed comes up and says : " This 
 is all very ingenious and clever, and far more than I could do by the 
 same process. But you are not going the right way to work. You 
 will never be able to decipher the manuscript in this way. I will 
 tell you what we must do. Here (you see) are certain forms of 
 character which continually recur. Here is one that comes more 
 than once in every line ; here another that comes once in every two 
 or three lines ; a third that comes only twice or thrice in a page ; 
 and so on. Let us have a list made of these several forms, with 
 an index showing where and how often they occur. In the 
 meantime I will undertake, upon a consideration of the general 
 laws of language, to tell you, by the comparative frequency of their 
 recurrence, what parts of speech most of these are. So we shall 
 know which of them are articles, which conjunctions, which rela- 
 tives, which auxiliaries, and so on. Setting these apart we shall be 
 better able to deal with the nouns and verbs ; and then by com- 
 paring the passages in which each occurs, we shall be able, with the 
 help of your language learning, to make out the meaning first of 
 one, then of another. As each is determined, the rest will be easier 
 to determine ; and by degrees we shall come to know them all. It 
 is a slow process compared with yours, and will take time and labour 
 and many hands. But when it is done we shall be able to read the 
 whole book." 
 
 Here I think you have a picture in little of the difference between 
 Bacon's project for the advancement of philosophy and that which 
 was carried into effect (certainly with remarkable success) by the 
 new school of inductive science which flourished in his time. If we 
 want to pursue the parallel further, we have only to suppose that 
 John, after completing in a masterly manner a great portion of his 
 work on the universal laws of language ; after giving particular 
 directions for the collection, arrangement, and classification of the 
 index, and even doing several pages of it himself by way of ex- 
 ample ; is called away, and obliged to leave the completion of the 
 work to his successors ; and that his successors (wanting diligence 
 to finish, patience to wait, or ability to execute) immediately fall 
 back to the former method ; in which they make such progress 
 and take such pride, that they never think of following out John's 
 plan, but leave it exactly where he left it. And here I think you 
 have a true picture of the state in which the matter now rests.
 
 378 PREFACE TO 
 
 A. 
 
 I see. The manuscript is the volume of Nature. The learned 
 linguist and expert maker-out of puzzles is Galileo or one of his 
 school. The work on the laws of language is the Novum Organum. 
 The index is the Natural and experimental History quce sit in ordine 
 ad condendam Philosophiam. The making-out of the words one by 
 one is the Interpretation of Nature 
 
 B. 
 
 And the ultimate reading of the whole book is the " Historia 
 Illuminata sive Veritas Rerum ;" the " Philosophic, Secunda ;" the 
 sixth and last part of the Instauration ; the consummation which 
 Bacon knew he was not to be permitted himself to see, but trusted 
 that (if men were true to themselves) the Fortune of the Human 
 Race would one day achieve. 
 
 A. 
 
 And you think that they have not been true to themselves ? 
 
 B. 
 
 Why what have they done with this work since he left it ? There 
 it lies to speak for itself, sticking in the middle of the Novum 
 Organum. No attempt has been made, that I can hear of, to carry 
 it out further. People seem hardly to know that it is not complete. 
 John Mill observes that Bacon's method of inductive logic is defec- 
 tive, but does not advert to the fact that of ten separate processes 
 which it was designed to include, the first only has been explained. 
 The other nine he had in his head, but did not live to set down 
 more of them than the names. And the particular example which 
 he has left of an inductive inquiry does not profess to be carried 
 beyond the first stage of generalization, the vindemiatio prima as 
 he calls it. 
 
 A. 
 
 It may be so ; but why have they not attempted to carry his pro- 
 cess out further ? Is it not because they have found that they can 
 get on faster with their old tools ? 
 
 B. 
 
 Because they think they can get on faster ; you cannot say they 
 have/0Mwd it until they have tried. 
 
 A. 
 
 Have they not tried Bacon's way partially, and found it not so 
 handy ? Has not Sir John Herschel, for instance, tried the use of 
 his famous classification of Instances, and pronounced it "more 
 apparent than real ? " And is it not a fact that no single discovery 
 of importance has been actually made by proceeding according to the 
 method recommended by Bacon ? I am sure I have heard as much
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 379 
 
 reported upon the authority of a very eminent modern writer upon 
 these subjects. 
 
 B. 
 
 So have I. And I can well believe that the use of Bacon's 
 " Prerogatives of Instances," in the way they have been used, is not 
 much ; and for the reason given by Herschel, viz., because the same 
 judgment which enables you to assign the Instance its proper class, 
 enables you, without that assignation, to recognize its proper value. 
 Therefore so long as the task of gathering his Instances as they 
 grow wild in the woods is left to the Interpreter of Nature himself, 
 there is little use in a formal classification ; he knows exactly what 
 he wants ; what is not to his purpose he need not trouble himself 
 with ; what is to his purpose he can apply to that purpose at once. 
 And each several man of genius will no doubt acquire a knack of 
 his own by which he will arrive at his results faster than by any 
 formal method. But suppose the Interpreter wants to use the help 
 of other people, to whom he cannot impart his own genius or his pe- 
 culiar gift of knowing at first sight what is to the purpose and what 
 not. He wants them to assist him in gathering materials. How 
 shall he direct them in their task so that their labours may be 
 available for himself ? I take it, he must distribute the work among 
 several and make it pass through several processes. One man may 
 be used to make a rough and general collection, what we call an 
 omnium gatherum. Another must be employed to reduce the con- 
 fused mass into some order fit for reference. A third to clear it 
 of superfluities and rubbish. A fourth must be taught to classify 
 and arrange what remains. And here I cannot but think that Ba- 
 con's arrangement of Instances according to what he calls their 
 Prerogatives, or some better arrangement of the same kind which 
 experience ought to suggest, would be found to be of great value ; 
 especially when it is proposed to make through all the regions of 
 Nature separate collections of this kind such as may combine into 
 one general collection. For though it be true that as long as each 
 man works only for himself, he may trust to the usus uni rei deditus 
 for finding out the method of proceeding which best suits the trick of 
 his own mind, and each will probably pursue a different method, 
 yet when many men's labours are to be gathered into one table, 
 any collector of statistics will tell you that they must all work ac- 
 cording to a common pattern. And in the subject we are speaking 
 of which is coextensive with the mind of man on one side and the 
 nature of things on the other, that will undoubtedly be the best 
 pattern which is framed upon the justest theory of the human under- 
 standing; for which distinction Bacon's would seem to be no 
 unlikely candidate.
 
 380 PREFACE TO 
 
 However I am here again getting out of my province. It may be 
 that Bacon's project was visionary ; or it may be that it is only 
 thought visionary, because since his death no heart has been created 
 large enough to believe it practicable. The philosophers must settle 
 that among themselves. But be the cause what it will, it is clear to 
 me on the one hand that the thing has not been seriously attempted ; 
 and on the other, that Bacon was fully satisfied that nothing of worth 
 could be hoped for without it ; therefore that we have no right to 
 impute to him either the credit of all that has been done by the new 
 philosophy, or the discredit of all that has been left undone. 
 
 A. 
 
 Certainly not ; if you are right as to the fact. But I still think 
 there must be some mistake. How is it possible that among so many 
 distinguished men as have studied Bacon's philosophy with so much 
 reverence, such a large feature can have been overlooked ? 
 
 B. 
 
 I cannot pretend to explain that. But an appeal to one's own 
 eyes is always lawful. Here is one passage which is enough by 
 itself to settle the question. If you are not satisfied with it, I can 
 quote half a dozen more to the same effect : " Illud interim quod 
 scepe diximus etiam hoc loco preecipue repetendum est " 
 
 A. 
 
 Translate ; if you would have me follow. 
 
 B. 
 
 " I must repeat here again what I have so often said ; that though all 
 the wits of all the ages should meet in one, though the whole human race 
 should make Philosophy their sole business, though the whole earth were 
 nothing but colleges and academies and schools of learned men, yet with- 
 out such a natural and experimental history as I am going to describe, no 
 progress worthy of the human race in Philosophy and the Sciences could 
 possibly be made : whereas if such a history were once provided and well 
 ordered, with the addition of such auxiliary and light-giving experiments as 
 the course of Interpretation would itself suggest, the investigation of Nature 
 and of all sciences would be the work only of a few years. Either this must 
 be done, therefore, or the business must be abandoned. For in this way and 
 in this way only can the foundation be laid of a true and active Philosophy." 
 
 A. 
 
 Where does he say that ? 
 
 B. 
 
 In the Preface to what he calls the " Parasceve ad H>,storiam 
 naturalem et experimentalem? which is in fact nothing more than a 
 description of the sort of history which he wanted, such a history 
 as a true Philosophy might be built upon, with directions to be
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 381 
 
 observed in collecting it. He published it (somewhat out of its 
 proper place) in the same volume with the Novum Organum, in 
 order that, if possible, men might be set about the work at once ; of 
 such primary importance did he hold it to be. If you distrust my 
 translation, take it in his own English. In presenting the Novum 
 Organum to the King, after explaining the nature and objects of the 
 work and his reason for publishing it in an imperfect shape, he adds, 
 " There is another reason for my so doing ; which is to try whether 
 I can get help in one intended part of this work, namely the com- 
 piling of a natural and experimental history, which must be the main 
 foundation of a true and active philosophy" And again about a 
 week after, in reply to the King's gracious acknowledgement of the 
 book, " This comfortable beginning makes me hope further that 
 your Majesty will be aiding to me in setting men on work for the 
 collecting of a natural and experimental history, which is basis 
 totius negotii" And this was no after-thought, but an essential 
 feature of his design as he had conceived it at least sixteen years 
 before. There is extant a description of this proposed history, 
 which appears to have been written as early as 1604 ; and though 
 the only copy that I know of is in an imperfect and mutilated 
 manuscript, enough remains to show that in all its material features 
 it agreed exactly with the description set forth in the Parasceve. 
 
 Now you know I am not going to discuss the merit of his plan. 
 It may (as I said) have been all a delusion. But grant it a delusion 
 
 still it was a delusion under which he was actually labouring. If 
 every man of science that ever lived had considered it and pro- 
 nounced it puerile and ridiculous, still their unanimous verdict 
 could not, in the face of his own repeated and earnest declarations, 
 persuade me that it was not an essential part of Bacon's scheme ; 
 that it was not (in his perfect and rooted judgment) the one key to 
 the cipher in which the fortunes of the human race are locked up, 
 
 the one thing with which all might be done; without which 
 nothing. And this is all that is necessary for our present busi- 
 ness. For we are not discussing his philosophical capacity, but 
 his personal character and purposes as illustrated by the tenour of 
 his life. 
 
 Such in 1847 were my reasons for rejecting as unsatisfactory 
 all the explanations I had then met with of the distinctive 
 peculiarity of the Baconian philosophy, and such the result of 
 my attempt to find a more satisfactory one for myself. 
 
 In rejecting former explanations as unsatisfactory, Mr. Ellis, 
 it will be seen, concurs with me, and for much the same reason. 
 According to them "it becomes," he says, "impossible to
 
 382 PREFACE TO 
 
 justify or to understand Bacon's assertion that his system was 
 essentially new." He then proceeds to point out one great 
 peculiarity by which it aspired to differ from all former systems 
 a peculiarity residing in the supposed perfection of the 
 logical machinery ; which, since it would of itself account for 
 Bacon's belief of its importance no less than for his assertion 
 of its novelty, does certainly supply a new explanation unen- 
 cumbered with the difficulties pointed out in the foregoing ex- 
 tract. But there is another difficulty which it leaves behind. 
 It is impossible, I think, to reconcile with this supposition 
 the course which Bacon afterwards took in expounding and 
 developing his system. For if the great secret which he had, 
 or thought he had, in his keeping, lay only, or even chiefly, in 
 the perfection of the logical machinery in the method of in- 
 duction ; if this method was a kind of mechanical process an 
 organum or engine at once " wholly new," " universally 
 applicable," "in all cases infallible," and such as anybody 
 might manage ; if his explanation of this method in the second 
 book of the Novum Organum is so incomplete that it leaves all 
 the principal practical difficulties unexplained ; and if it was a 
 thing which nobody but himself had any notion of, or any be- 
 lief in ; how is it that, during the remaining five years of his 
 life years of eager and unremitting labour, devoted almost 
 exclusively to the exposition of his philosophy he made no 
 attempt to complete the explanation of it? Why did he leave 
 the Novum Organum as it was, being a work which he could 
 have completed alone, and which indeed he only could have 
 completed, and apply himself with advised and deliberate in- 
 dustry to the collection of Natural History ; a work which he 
 knew he could not carry to perfection himself, even in any of 
 its parts ; which he had once thought it a waste of time to 
 employ himself upon, as being within every man's capacity ; 
 concerning the execution of which he had already given suffi- 
 cient general directions; and of which, even when accom- 
 plished, the right use could not be made except in virtue of 
 that very method or logical machinery, the constitution and 
 management of which still remained to be explained? It was 
 not that he had changed his opinion as to the value of it: 
 His sense of the difficulties may have increased, his views as to 
 details may have altered ; but there is no reason to think 
 that he ever lost any part of his faith either in the importance
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 383 
 
 or in the practicability of it. It was not that when he came to 
 closer quarters with the subject, he felt that he was himself 
 unable to deal with it : Two years after the publication of the 
 first part of the Novum Organum, and three years before his 
 death, he speaks of the second part as a thing yet to be done, 
 but adds, " quam tamen animo jam complexus et metitus sum." 1 
 It was not that he thought the description he had already given 
 sufficient: In the winter of 1622, he tells us that there are 
 " haud pauca, eaque ex prtecipuis" still wanting. It was not that 
 he had found any disciple or fellow -labourer to whom he might 
 intrust the completion of his unfinished task : To the very last 
 he felt himself alone in his work. It was not from inadvertence: 
 He left the Novum Organum for the Natural History deli- 
 berately, because it seemed upon consideration the better and 
 more advisable course ; " quare omnino et ante omnia in hoc 
 incumbere satius et consultius visum est." It was not that he 
 wanted either time or industry ; for during the five succeeding 
 years he completed the De Augmentis, and composed his his- 
 tories of the Winds, of Life and Death, of Dense and Rare ; 
 his lost treatise on Heavy and Light, his lost Abecedarium 
 Natures, his New Atlantis, his Sylva Sylvarum. Why did he 
 employ no part of that time in completing the description of 
 the new machine ? in explaining how he proposed to supply the 
 defects 2 and rectify the errors 3 of the imperfect logical pro- 
 cess which he had already exhibited ; how to adapt the mode of 
 inquiry to the nature of the subject A ; how to determine what 
 questions ought to be dealt with first, what " natures " to 
 have precedence in the order of inquiry 5 ; above all, how to ascer- 
 tain where the inquiry might safely terminate as having left no 
 " nature " in the universe unchallenged 6 , a security without 
 which the whole process must always have been in danger of 
 vitiation from an "instance contradictory" remaining behind? 
 To me the question appears to admit of but one answer. He 
 considered the collection of natural history upon the plan 
 he meditated, to be, in practice at least, a more important part 
 of his philosophy than the Organum itself, a work of which 
 
 1 Letter to Fulgenzio. 2 De Adminiculis Induction!?. 
 
 3 De Rectifieatione Inductionis. 
 
 4 De Variatione Inquisitionis pro natura sulg'ecti. 
 
 * De Praerogativis Naturarum quatenus ad inquisitionem, sive de eo quod inquiren- 
 dum est prius et posterius. 
 6 De Terminis Inquisitionis, sive de Synopsi omnium naturarum in universe.
 
 384 PREFACE TO 
 
 the nature and importance more needed to be pressed upon the 
 attention of mankind, of which the neglect would be more 
 fatal to the progress of science. That this was in fact his 
 opinion at the very tune he was composing the Novum Organum 
 may be inferred from the last aphorism of the first book, as I 
 have pointed out at the end of the preface. That he was still 
 of the same opinion two years after, we have his own express 
 declaration in the Auctoris monitum prefixed to the History of 
 the Winds, where he explains his motives for going on with 
 the third part of the Instauratio, instead of finishing the second. 
 It had occurred to him, he there tells us, that if the Organum 
 should fall into the hands of some man of genius capable of 
 understanding and willing to use it, still without a natural 
 history of the proper kind provided to his hand, he would not 
 know how to proceed ; whereas if a full and faithful history of 
 nature and the arts were set before him, he might succeed even 
 by the old method ( ' licet via veteri pergere malint, nee via 
 nostri organi (qua3 ut nobis videtur aut unica est aut optima) uti" 
 in building upon it something of solid worth. " Itaque hue 
 res redit," he concludes ; " ut organum nostrum, etiamsi fuerit 
 absolutum, absque historid naturali non multum, historia natu- 
 ralis absque organo non parum, instaurationem scientiarum sit 
 provectura." I know not how therefore to escape the con- 
 clusion that, in Bacon's own estimate of his own system, the 
 Natural History held the place of first importance. He 
 regarded it as not less new 1 than the new method, and as more 
 indispensable. Though the " via nostri organi " still appeared 
 to him to be " aut unica aut optima," something of substantial 
 worth might, he thought, be accomplished without it. With- 
 out a natural history " tali qualem nunc prsecipiemus," he 
 thought no advance of any value could possibly be made. 
 
 What may be the real value of this part of Bacon's system 
 is, of course, quite another question. The evidence just ad- 
 duced goes only to show what was the value which he himself 
 set upon it, and affects the question no otherwise than by giving 
 it a new interest, and suggesting the expediency of considering 
 
 1 His assertion of the novelty is as strong in the one case as in the other. Atque hoc 
 postering [viz. the use of natural history, " tanquam materia prima philosophise atque 
 vera inductionis supellex sive sylva"] nunc agitur ; nunc inquam, NEQUE UNQUAM 
 
 ANTEHAC."
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 385 
 
 more carefully than has yet, I think, been done, whether his 
 advice on this head might not be followed I do not say as 
 far as he intended but much further than has yet been tried ; 
 with effects I do not say such as he anticipated but larger 
 than we are likely to get any other way. 
 
 That he himself indeed, even if all mankind had united to 
 carry his plan into effect, would have been disappointed with 
 the result, I have little doubt. For I suppose the collected 
 observations of all the world, reduced to writing, digested, 
 and brought into his study, would not have sufficed to give 
 him that knowledge of the forms of nature which was to carry 
 with it the command over her powers. He would have found 
 no doubt, upon trial, that his scheme involved difficulties of 
 which he had formed no conception. He would have found 
 that the facts which must be known in order to complete the 
 three tables of comparence, and to " perfect the exclusiva," were 
 so infinite in number that to gather them by simple observa- 
 tion without some theoretic principle of selection would be an 
 endless task, and to deal with them when gathered a hopeless 
 one. He might still indeed have hoped to arrive ultimately 
 at an alphabet of nature (her principles being probably few and 
 simple, though her phenomena so enormously complex) ; but 
 he would have found that a dictionary or index of nature (and 
 such was to be the office of the Natural History}, to be complete 
 enough for the purposes of the Novum Organum, must be 
 nearly as voluminous as Nature herself. He would have found 
 it necessary, therefore (as I suppose all inventors have done both 
 before and since his time), to make material changes in his ori- 
 ginal plan of operation, and to reduce his hopes far below their 
 original dimensions. But a man may be in the right way to 
 his end, though the end itself be further off than he imagines ; 
 and before we cast Bacon's plan finally aside, we may be fairly 
 called upon to show either that the way he wanted us to go is 
 in its nature impracticable, or that there is better hope of 
 arriving at the desired end by some other. 
 
 Mr. Ellis's judgment upon the first point may be partly 
 gathered from his general remarks upon the third part of the 
 Instauratio ; but I am fortunately in possession of his opinion 
 (called forth by the exposition of my own views in the dialogue 
 above quoted) upon the specific practical question now under 
 discussion. It was communicated to me in a letter dated 13th 
 
 VOL. i. c c
 
 386 PREFACE TO 
 
 September, 1847, and appears to contain his deliberate judg- 
 ment as to the practicability of making a collection of natural 
 history, such as would be available for scientific purposes, in the 
 manner in which Bacon proposed to have it made. 
 
 " That it is impossible (he says) to sever the business of experi- 
 ment and observation from that of theorising, it would perhaps be 
 rash to affirm. But it seems to me that such a severance could 
 hardly be effected. A transcript of nature, if I may so express 
 myself, that is, such a collection of observed phenomena as 
 would serve as the basis and materials of a system of natural 
 philosophy, would be like nature itself infinite in extent and 
 variety. No such collection could be formed; and, were it 
 formed, general laws and principles would be as much hidden in 
 a mass of details as they are in the world of phenomena. 
 
 " The marshalling idea, teaching the philosopher what ob- 
 servations he is to make, what experiments to try, seems ne- 
 cessary in order to deliver him from this difficulty. Can we 
 conceive that such experiments as those of Faraday could have 
 preceded the formation of any hypothesis ? You allude, I 
 think, to what has been done in the way of systematic observa- 
 tion with reference to terrestrial magnetism. And beyond all 
 doubt the division of labour is possible and necessary in many 
 scientific inquiries. But then this separating of the observer 
 from the theoriser is only possible (at least, in such a case as 
 that of magnetism) when the latter can tell his " bajulus " what 
 experiments he is to make, and how they are to be made. As 
 a matter of fact, the memoirs of Gauss, which have done so 
 much to encourage systematic observation of terrestrial mag- 
 netism, contain many results of theory directly bearing on ob- 
 servation ; e. g. y the method of determining the absolute measure 
 of magnetism. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " Of course I remember that Bacon speaks of experiments to 
 be suggested by theory : as for instance in Solomon's house ; 
 all I mean is, that it seems doubtful whether a large collection 
 of facts can in most sciences be made useful, unless some theory 
 has guided its formation." 
 
 Now I am quite willing to accept this judgment as perfectly 
 sound and just ; as pointing truly at the practical difficulties 
 involved in Bacon's scheme, and proving that it could not be 
 carried out completely on the plan he proposed, or attain com-
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 387 
 
 pletety the end at which he aimed ; and certainly, if I thought 
 that such completeness was a condition absolutely essential, 
 that, unless observation could be carried on without any help 
 whatever from theory, the work could not proceed at all ; or 
 that the results of observation so conducted could be of no 
 scientific value unless they amounted to a perfect " transcript 
 of nature;"- if I thought, in short, it was a scheme which, 
 unless it led to everything, would lead to nothing, I should 
 accept these remarks as disposing finally of the whole question. 
 But why should I think so? That the severance of theory 
 and observation should be absolute does not appear to me to be 
 at all necessary for the practical prosecution of the enterprise ; 
 I can hardly think that it even formed part of the original de- 
 sign ; and though it is true that the collection of natural history 
 could not have been used in the way Bacon proposed, unless it 
 were more complete than it ever could have been made, yet 
 for use in the ordinary way (and this was certainly one of the 
 uses he contemplated for it) its value would be increased by 
 every new observation ; and who can say at what point ob- 
 servations so conducted must necessarily stop ? 
 
 That Bacon intended one set of men to be employed in col- 
 lecting facts, and another in deriving consequences from them, 
 is no doubt true. Unless theory and observation could be so 
 far separated as to admit practically of such a distribution of 
 parts, his plan must no doubt have been given up ; and it is 
 objected that this distribution is practically impossible, because 
 the observers, unless they had some precedent theory to guide 
 them, could never know what observations to make in order to 
 bring out the facts which the theorist requires to know. I 
 cannot but think, however, that this objection supposes a sepa- 
 ration of the two functions far more complete than Bacon ever 
 contemplated. He may have used words which in strict logical 
 construction imply such a kind of separation; but if so, his 
 words meant more than he himself meant. His intellect was 
 remarkable for breadth rather than subtlety, quicker, to use 
 his own division, in perceiving resemblances than distinctions, 
 and in writing he always aimed at conciseness, force, point, 
 picturesqueness, and at making himself plain to common 
 understandings, far more than at metaphysical exactness of 
 expression. Now, however true it may be, as a metaphysical 
 proposition, that some amount of theory is involved in every 
 
 c c 2
 
 388 PREFACE TO 
 
 observation, and still more in every series of observations, it is 
 no less true, as a familiar fact, that observations made by one 
 man, without conscious reference to any theory whatever, may 
 be perfectly available to another with reference to theories of 
 which the first never heard or dreamed. Colonel Reid's theory 
 of storms, for instance, was worked out, I am told, not in the 
 West Indies among the hurricanes, but at the Admiralty among 
 the ships' logs. And though Bacon would never have denied 
 that many results of theory go to the correct keeping of a 
 ship's log, who can doubt that a collection of logs kept during 
 hurricanes would have been accepted by him as a most valuable 
 contribution to a history of the winds, and a good specimen of 
 the very thing he wanted ? It would be easy to add more 
 instances ; but I suppose nobody will deny that, in this sense, 
 observation and theory can be carried on apart and by diiFerent 
 persons. And if it be objected that the observers will never hit 
 upon all the facts which are necessary to suggest or establish 
 the theory, unless their observations be renewed again and 
 again under directions devised by the theorist with special re- 
 ference to what he wants to know, I reply by asking what is 
 to prevent the renewal of them, under directions so devised, as 
 often as necessary ? a thing (I may observe) which Bacon him- 
 self distinctly intended. " Illud interim," he says, after giving 
 an example of a " topica particularis " in the De Augmentis, 
 " quod monere occoepimus iterum monemus, nempe ut homines 
 debeant topicas particulares suas alternare, ita ut post majores 
 progressus aliquos in inquisitione factos, aliam et subinde aliam 
 instituant topicam, si modo scientiarum fastigia conscendere 
 cupiant." Now if the directions, judicious to begin with, be 
 judiciously varied and repeated as the inquiry proceeds, an 
 immense mass of observations of the greatest importance to 
 science might surely be collected in this very way. Nay, in 
 subjects which have their phenomena spread far and wide over 
 the world (like winds, seasons, and oceanic or atmospheric cur- 
 rents), it is in the gradual accumulation of observations so made 
 that our only hope lies of ever coming to understand their laws 
 at all ; and if we cannot cause them to be collected under direc- 
 tion and design, we must wait till they accumulate by acci- 
 dent. For it is manifestly impossible that in such subjects as 
 these, philosophers should provide themselves with all the facts 
 which they want unless they can use the help of those who
 
 THE PARASCEVE. 389 
 
 are not philosophers. What science deals with phenomena 
 more subtle and delicate than meteorology ? Yet hear Sir John 
 Herschel. " It happens fortunately that almost every datum 
 which the scientific meteorologist can require is furnished in 
 its best and most available state by that definite systematic 
 process known as the " keeping a meteorological register? 
 which consists in noting at stated hours of every day the read- 
 ings of all the meteorological instruments at command, as well 
 as all such facts or indications of wind and weather as are sus- 
 ceptible of being definitely described and estimated without 
 instrumental aid. Occasional observations apply to occasional 
 and remarkable phenomena, and are by no means to be neg- 
 lected ; but it is to the regular meteorological register, steadily 
 and perseveringly kept throughout the whole of every voyage, that 
 we must look for the development of the great laws of this 
 science. 1 
 
 Between the officers of Her Majesty's navy registering the 
 readings of their instruments in all latitudes and longitudes, 
 and the man of science in his study deducing the laws of 
 meteorology from a comparison of the results, the division of 
 labour is surely as complete as Bacon would have desired. Nor 
 would the scientific directions previously furnished to the 
 officers for their guidance, directions when, where, what, and 
 how to observe and record, though containing " many results 
 of theory bearing upon observation," have seemed to him 
 either objectionable or superfluous : on the contrary, such 
 directions form part of his own design as explained by himself, 
 In the concluding paragraph of the tract which has suggested 
 these remarks he distinctly announces his intention to draw up 
 certain heads of inquiry showing what points with reference to 
 each subject were more particularly to be observed. And 
 though he did not live to execute this part of his design, a few 
 fragments remaining among his papers show in what manner 
 he proposed to proceed. And (if an idle looker-on who can 
 offer no help in the work may presume to offer an opinion) I 
 could wish that men of science would apply themselves ear- 
 nestly to the solution of this practical problem : What measures 
 are to be taken in order that the greatest variety of judicious 
 observations of nature all over the world may be carried on 
 
 1 Manual of Scientific Inquiry, prepared for the use of officers in Her Majesty's navy 
 and travellers in general. Edited by Sir John F. W. Herschel, Bt., p. 281. 
 
 c C 3
 
 390 PREFACE TO THE PARASCEVE. 
 
 in concert upon a scientific plan, and brought to a common 
 centre ? With reference to some particular subjects, such 
 measures have been of late years taken on a scale of Baconian 
 magnitude. The system of observations instituted by the Great 
 British Association with respect to Terrestrial Magnetism, if I 
 am rightly informed as to the nature and scale of it, is one 
 which Bacon would have welcomed as he welcomed the first 
 tidings from Galileo's telescope ; he would have accepted it 
 as an enterprise "dignum humano genere." A similar 
 system of concerted observations is now in contemplation 
 with regard to oceanic currents. As a specimen of the same 
 thing in a more general character, take the "Admiralty 
 Manual of Scientific Inquiry," to which I have already re- 
 ferred ; a book of practical directions drawn up by some 
 of the most eminent scientific men of our day with special 
 reference to the progress of science in several of its most im- 
 portant departments ; directions addressed not to men who are 
 themselves engaged in the theoretical investigation of the 
 subjects, or guided by any " marshalling idea," but to " officers 
 of the navy and travellers in general," telling them what 
 things to observe, in order that their observations may be 
 available for the purposes of scientific inquiry. These are 
 exactly what Bacon would have called " Topicae Inquisitionis," 
 instructions for the examination of Nature " super articulos ; " 
 and the whole scheme is in perfect accordance, so far as it goes, 
 with Bacon's notion of the way in which men might be set on 
 work for the completing of a natural and experimental history. 
 "Why should it not go further? Who can believe that the 
 subjects contained in this little volume are the only subjects to 
 which this method of collecting observations can be applied ? 
 who venture to fix the limit beyond which, under such a 
 system sagaciously devised, wisely administered, energetically 
 carried out, and extended to all the departments of nature 
 which admit of it, human discovery may not go? J. S.
 
 PARASCEVE 
 
 AD 
 
 HISTORIAM NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENTALEM, 
 
 c o 4
 
 QUALIS SUFFICIAT ET SIT IN ORDINE 
 
 AD BASIN ET FUNDAMENTA 
 
 PHILOSOPHIC VER^E. 
 
 QUOD Instaurationem nostram per paries edamus, id eo spectat 
 ut aliquid extra periculum ponatur. Non absimilis nos movet 
 ratio ut aliam quandam operis particulam jam in praesenti sub- 
 jungamus, et cum iis quge supra absolvimus una edamus. Ea est 
 descriptio et delineatio Historiae Naturalis et Experimental! s, ejus 
 generis quae sit in ordine ad condendam philosophiam, et com- 
 plectatur materiem probam, copiosam, et apte digestam ad opus 
 interpretis quod suceedit. Huic autem rei locus proprius foret 
 quum ad Parascevas Inquisitionis ordine deventum fuerit. Hoc 
 vero prsevertere, nee locum proprium expectare, consultius 
 nobis videtur ; quod hujusmodi historia, qualem animo metimur 
 et mox describemus, res perquam magna3 sit molis, nee sine 
 magnis laboribus et sumptibus confici possit ; ut quae multorum 
 opera indigeat, et (ut alibi diximus) opus sit quasi regium. 
 Itaque occurrit illud, non abs re fore experiri si forte haec 
 aliquibus aliis curae esse possint, ita ut dura nos destinata ordine 
 perficiamus haec pars quae tarn multiplex est et onerosa etiam 
 vivis nobis (si ita divinae placuerit majestati) instrui et parari 
 possit, aliis una nobiscum in id sedulo incumbentibus ; praesertim 
 quum vires nostrae (si in hoc soli fuerimus) vix tantae provinciae 
 sufficere videantur. Etenim quas ad opus ipsum intellectus 
 pertinent nos marte nostro fortasse vincemus. At intellectus 
 materialia tarn late patent ut ea (tanquam per procuratores et 
 mercatores) undique conqulri et importari debeant. Accedit 
 etiam illud, quod captis nostris vix dignum esse aestimemus ut 
 in re tali quae fere omnium industrial pateat nos ipsi tempus
 
 394 PARASCEVE AD HISTORIAM NAT. ET EXP. 
 
 teramus. Quod autera caput rei est ipsi nunc prasstabimus ; ut 
 ejusmodi historias modum et descriptionem, qualis intentioni 
 nostrae satisfaciat, diligenter et exacte proponamus ; ne homines 
 non admoniti aliud agant, et ad exemplum naturalium historia- 
 rum quae jam in usu sunt se regant, atque ab institute nostro 
 multum aberrent. Illud interim quod ssepe diximus etiam hoc 
 loco praecipue repetendum est ; non si omnia omnium aetatum 
 ingenia coivissent aut posthac coierint ; non si universum genus 
 humanum philosophise dedisset operam aut dederit, et totus ter- 
 rarum orbis nihil aliud fuisset aut fuerit quam academiae et 
 collegia et scholas virorum doctorum ; tamen absque tali qualem 
 nunc praecipiemus Historia Natural! et Experimental!, ullos qui 
 genere humano digni sint progressus in philosophia et scientiis 
 fieri potuisse aut posse. Contra vero, comparata et bene in- 
 structa hujusmodi historia, additis experimentis auxiliaribus et 
 luciferis quae in ipso interpretations curriculo occurrent aut 
 eruenda erunt, paucorum annorum opus futuram esse inquisitio- 
 nem naturae et scientiarum omnium. Itaque aut hoc agendum 
 est aut negotium deserendum. Hoc enim solo et unico modo 
 fundamenta philosophiae verae et activae stabiliri possunt; et 
 simul perspicient homines, tanquam ex profundo somno excitati, 
 quid inter ingenii plaeita et commenta ac veram et activam 
 philosophiam intersit, et quid demum sit de natura naturam 
 ipsam consulere. 
 
 Primo igitur de hujusmodi historia conficienda praecepta 
 dabimus in genere ; deinde particularem ejus figuram hominibus 
 sub oculos ponemus, inserentes interdum non minus ad quid in- 
 quisitio aptanda et referenda sit quam quid quaeri debeat ; scili- 
 cet, ut scopus rei bene intellectus et praevisus etiam alia 
 hominibus in mentem redigat quae a nobis fortasse praetermissa 
 erunt. Historiam autem istam Historian. Primam sive 
 toria m Matrem appellare consuevimus.
 
 395 
 
 APHORISMI 
 
 DE CONFICIENDA HISTOKIA PKIMA. 
 
 APHORISMUS 
 
 i. 
 
 NATUEA in triplici statu ponitur et tanquam regimen subit 
 trinum. Aut enim libera est et cursu suo ordinario se explicat, 
 aut a pravitatibus et insolentiis materiae atque ab impedimento- 
 rum violentia de statu suo detruditur, aut ab arte et ministerio 
 humano constringitur et fingitur. Atque primus ille status ad 
 species rerum refertur, secundus ad monstra, tertius ad artifici- 
 alia. Etenim in artificialibus natura jugum recipit ab imperio 
 hominis ; nunquam enim ilia facta fuissent absque homine. At 
 per operain et ministerium hominis conspicitur prorsus nova 
 corporum facies et veluti rerum universitas altera sive theatrum 
 alterum. Triplex itaque est historia naturalis. Tractat enim 
 aut naturae Libertatem aut Errores aut Vincula ; ut non male 
 earn partiri possimus in historiam Generationum, Prcetergenera- 
 tionum, et Artium ; quarum postremam etiam Mechanicam et 
 Experimentalem appellare consuevimus. Neque tamen id prasci- 
 pimus ut ha?c tria separatim tractentur. Quidni enim possint 
 historian monstrorum in singulis speciebus cum historia ipsarum 
 specierum conjungi ? Etiam artificialia quandoque cum specie- 
 bus recte conjunguntur, quandoque melius separantur. Quam- 
 obrem e re nata de his consilium capere optimum est. Methouus 
 enim iterationes et prolixitatem gignit, aeque ubi nimia est ac 
 ubi nulla. 
 
 II. 
 
 Historia naturalis, ut subjecto (quemadmodum diximus) 
 triplex, ita usu duplex est. Adhibetur enim aut propter rerum 
 ipsarum cognitionem quas historian mandantur, aut tanquam 
 materia prima philosophic atque veraa inductionis supellex sive 
 sylva. Atque posterius hoc nunc agitur ; nunc, inquam, neque 
 unquam antehac. Neque enim Aristoteles aut Theophrastus
 
 396 PARASCEVE AD HISTORIAM 
 
 aut Dioscorides aut Calus Plinius, multo minus moderni, hunc 
 finem (de quo loquimur) historiae naturalis unquam sibi pro- 
 posuerunt. Atque in hoc plurimum est, ut qui partes scribendi 
 historian! naturalem sibi posthac sumpserint hoc perpetuo co- 
 gitent atque animo agitent, se non lectoris delectationi, non 
 utilitati ipsi quae ex narrationibus in praesens capi possit, debere 
 inservire ; sed conquirere et comparare rerutn copiam et varie- 
 tatem qua? veris axiomatibus conficiendis sufficiat. Hoc enim 
 si cogitent, modum hujusmodi historiae ipsi sibi praescribent. 
 Finis enim regit modum. 
 
 ill. 
 
 Quo autem majoris est haec res operas et laboris, eo illam 
 minus onerari superfluis consentaneum est. Tria itaque sunt 
 de quibus homines sunt plane admonendi ut in illis parce ad- 
 modum operam suam collocent, tanquam iis quae massam operis 
 in immensum augeant, virtutem parum aut nihil promoveant. 
 
 Primo igitur facessant antiquitates et citationes aut suffragia 
 authorum ; etiam lites et controversial et opiniones discrepantes ; 
 omnia denique philologica. Neque enim citetur author nisi in 
 re dubiae fidei, neque interponatur controversia nisi in re 
 magni momenti. Quae vero ad ornamenta orationis et simili- 
 tudines et eloquentiae thesaurum et hujusmodi inania spectant, 
 omnino abjiciantur. Etiam quae recipiuntur omnia et ipsa pro- 
 ponantur breviter et strictim, ut nihil minus sint quam verba. 
 Nemo enim qui materialia ad aedificia vel naves vel hujusmodi 
 aliquas structural colligit et reponit, ea (officinarum more) belle 
 collocat et ostentat ut placeant, sed in hoc tantum sedulus est 
 ut proba et bona sint, et ut in repositorio spatium minimum 
 occupent. Atque ita prorsus faciendum est. 
 
 Secundo, non multum ad rem facit luxuria ilia historiarum 
 naturalium in descriptionibus et picturis specierum numerosis, 
 atque earundem varietate curiosa. Hujusmodi enim pusillae 
 varietates nihil aliud sunt quam lusus quidam naturae et lascivia, 
 et prope ad individuorum naturam accedunt ; atque habent 
 peragrationem quandam in rebus ipsis amoenam et jucundam, 
 informationem vero ad scientias tenuem et fere supervacuam. . 
 
 Tertio, missae plane facienda? sunt omnes narrationes super- 
 stitiosae (non dico prodigiosae, ubi memoria earum reperietur 
 fida et probabilis, sed superstitiosas), et experimenta magia3 
 ceremonialis. Nolumus enim philosophic infantiam, cui historia 
 naturalis primam praebet mammam, fabulis anilibus assuescere.
 
 NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENTALEM. 397 
 
 Erit fortasse tempus (postquam in inquisitionem naturae paulo 
 altius penetratum sit) hujusmodi res leviter percurrendi, ut si 
 quid in illis faecibus haereat virtutis naturalis ea extrahi et in 
 usum condi possit. Interim seponendge sunt. Etiam magia? 
 naturalis experimenta diligenter et cum severitate ventilanda 
 sunt antequam recipiantur, praesertim ilia qua? ex vulgaribus 
 sympathiis et antipathiis, magna cum socordia et facilitate cre- 
 clendi simul et fingendi, derivari solent. 
 
 Neque nil aut parum actum est in exoneranda historia 
 naturali tribus his (qua? diximus) rebus superfluis, quae alias 
 volumina impleturae fuissent. Neque tamen hie finis. ./Eque 
 enim requiritur in opere magno ut tarn ea qua? recipiuntur 
 succincte scribantur, quam ut superflua abscindantur ; licet 
 nemini dubium esse possit quin hujusmodi castitas et bre vitas 
 delectationem multo minorem turn legenti turn scribenti prae- 
 bitura sit. Verum illud semper inculcandum est, hoc quod 
 paratur horreum esse tantummodo et promptuarium rerum; 
 in quo non manendum aut habitandum sit cum voluptate, sed 
 eo descendendum, prout res postulat, cum aliquid ad usum 
 sumendum sit circa opus Interpretis quod succedit. 
 
 IV. 
 
 In historia quam requirimus et animo destinamus, ante 
 omnia videndum est ut late pateat et facta sit ad mensuram 
 universi. Neque enim arctandus est mundus ad angustias in- 
 tellectus (quod adhuc factum est), sed expandendus intellectus 
 et laxandus ad mundi imaginem recipiendam, qualis invenitur. 
 Istud enim, respicere pauca et pronunciare secundum pauca, om- 
 nia perdidit. Resumentes igitur partititionem quam paulo ante 
 fecimus historiae naturalis (quod sit Generationum, Praeter- 
 generationum, et Artium), Historiae Generationum constituimus 
 partes quinque. Sit prima, aetheris et ccelestium. Secunda, 
 meteororum et regionum (quas vocant) aeris ; tractuum vide- 
 licet a luna usque ad superficiem terrae ; cui etiam parti cometas 
 cujuscunque generis, turn sublimiores turn humiliores, utcunque 
 se habeat rei veritas, ordinis causa assignamus. Tertia, terrae 
 et maris. Quarta, elementorum (quae vocant) flammae sive 
 ignis, aeris, aqua?, et terrae. Elementa autem eo sensu accipi 
 volumus, ut intelligantur non pro primordiis rerum sed pro cor- 
 porum naturalium massis majoribus. Ita enim natura rerum 
 distribuitur, ut sit quorundam corporum quantitas sive massa in 
 universo perquam magna, quia scilicet ad schematismum eorum
 
 398 PARASCEVE AD HISTOR1AM 
 
 requiritur textura materiae facilis et obvia ; qualla sunt ea qua- 
 tuor (quae diximus) corpora ; at quorundara aliorum corporum 
 sit quantitas in universo parva et parce suppeditata, propter 
 texturam materias valde dissimilarem et subtilem et in plurimis 
 determinatam et organicam ; qualia sunt species rerum natu- 
 ralium, metalla, plantas, animalia. Quare prius genus corporum 
 Collegia Majora, posterius Collegia Minora appellare consue- 
 vimus. At Collegiorum istorum Majorum est pars historiae 
 quarta, sub nomine elementorum, ut diximus. Neque vero 
 confunditur pars quarta cum secunda aut tertia in hoc, quod in 
 singulis mentionem aeris, aquae, terrae fecimus. In secunda 
 enim et tertia recipitur historia eorum, tanquam mundi partium 
 integralium, et quatenus pertinent ad fabricam et configura- 
 tionem universi ; at in quarta continetur historia substantiae et 
 naturae ipsorum, quae in singulis eorum partibus similaribus 
 viget, nee ad totum refertur. Quinta denique pars historiae 
 Collegia Minora sive Species continet ; circa quas historia na- 
 turalis hactenus prascipue occupata est 
 
 Historiam vero Praetergenerationum quod attinet, jamdudum 
 a nobis dictum est quod ilia cum historia generationum commo- 
 dissime conjungi possit ; ea scilicet quas sit prodigiosa tantum 
 et naturalis. Nam superstitiosam miraculorum historiam (cu- 
 juscunque sit generis) omnino relegamus in tractatum pro- 
 prium ; neque ipsum jam inde a principio suscipiendum, sed 
 paulo post, quando altius in naturae inquisitionem penetratum 
 fuerit. 
 
 At Historiam Artium et naturae ab homine versa? et immu- 
 tata3, sive Historiam Experimentalem, triplicem constituimus. 
 Aut enim deprompta est ex artibus mechanicis ; aut ex opera- 
 tiva parte scientiarum liberalium ; aut ex practicis compluribus 
 et experimentis quae in artem propriam non coaluerunt, immo 
 quae quandoque ex vulgatissima experientia occurrunt nee artem 
 omnino desiderant. Quamobrem si ex his omnibus quae dixi- 
 mus, Generationibus, Praetergenerationibus, Artibus et Experi- 
 mentis, confecta fuerit historia, nihil praetermissum videtur per 
 quod sensus ad informandum intellectum instrui possit. Neque 
 igitur amplius intra circulos parvos (veluti incantati) subsul- 
 tabimus, sed mundi pomo2ria circuitione aequabimus. 
 
 v. 
 
 Inter partes eas quas diximus historiae, maximi usus est hi- 
 storia artium ; propterea quod ostendat res in motu, et magis
 
 NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENTALEM. 399 
 
 recta ducat ad praxin. Quinetiam tollit larvam et velum a 
 rebus naturalibus, quae plerunque sub varietate figurarum et 
 apparentiae externae occultantur aut obscurantur. Denique 
 vexationes artis sunt certe tanquam vincula et manicse Protei, 
 quae ultimos materiae nixus et conatus produnt. Corpora enim 
 perdi aut annihilari nolunt ; sed potius in varias formas se mu- 
 tant. Itaque circa hanc historiam, licet mechanicam (ut videri 
 possit) et minus liberalem, (missa arrogantia et fastu) summa 
 est adhibenda diligentia. 
 
 Rursus, inter artes prasferuntur 683 quae corpora naturalia et 
 rerum materialia exhibent, alterant, et praeparant ; ut agricul- 
 tura; coquinaria; chymica; tinctoria; opificia vitri, esmaltae, 
 sacchari, pulveris pyrii, ignium artificialium, papyri, et hujus- 
 modi. Jejunioris autem sunt usus quae praecipue consistunt in 
 motu subtili manuum et instrumentorum ; quales sunt textoria ; 
 fabrilis; architectura ; opificia molendinorum, horologiorum, 
 cum similibus ; licet et istae nullo modo negligendae sint ; turn 
 quia in illis occurrunt multa quaa ad corporum naturalium al- 
 terationes spectant, turn quia accurate informant de motu lati- 
 onis, quae res est magni prorsus ad plurima momenti. 
 
 Verum in congerie universa istius Artium Historiae, illud 
 omnino monendum est et penitus memoriae mandandum ; recipi- 
 enda esse experimenta artium non solum ea quae ducunt ad 
 finem artis, sed etiam quas ullo modo interveniunt. Exempli 
 gratia, quod locustae aut cancri cocti, cum prius colorem luti 
 referrent, rubescant, nihil ad mensam ; sed haec ipsa instantia 
 tamen non mala est ad inquirendam naturam rubedinis, cum 
 idem eveniat etiam in lateribus coctis. Similiter, quod carnes 
 minori mora saliantur hyeme quam aestate, non eo tantum spe- 
 ctat ut coquus cibos bene et quantum sufficit condiat ; sed etiam 
 instantia bona est ad indicandam naturam et Jmpressionem fri- 
 goris. Quamobrem toto (quod aiunt) coelo erraverit, qui in- 
 tentioni nostrae satisfieri existimaverit si artium experimenta 
 colligantur, hujus rei solum gratia ut hoc modo artes singulae 
 melius perficiantur. Licet enim et hoc non prorsus contemna- 
 mus in multis, tamen ea plane est mens nostra ut omnium 
 experimentorum mechanicorum rivuli in philosophiae pelagus 
 undequaque fluant. Delectus autem instantiarum in uno- 
 quoque genere eminentiorum (quas maxime et diligentissime 
 conquirere oportet et quasi venavi) ex praerogativis instantia- 
 rum petendus est
 
 400 PARASCEVE AD HISTORIAM 
 
 VI. 
 
 Resumendum etiam est hoc loco quod in aphorismis 99, 119, 
 120, libri primi fusius tractavimus, hie vero praecepti more 
 breviter imperare sufficiat ; hoc est, ut recipiantur in hanc hi- 
 storiam, primo res vulgatissimae, quales quis supervacuum pu- 
 taret scripto inserere, quia tarn familiariter notae sunt ; dein res 
 viles, illiberales, turpes (omnia enim munda mundis, et si lucrum 
 ex lotio boni odoris sit multo magis lumen et informatio ex re 
 qualibet); etiam res leves et pueriles (nee mirum, repuera- 
 scendum enim plane est) ; postremo, res quae nimiae cujusdam 
 subtilitatis esse videntur, quod in 86 nullius sint usus. Neque 
 enim (ut jam dictum est) quae in hac historia proponentur pro- 
 pter so congesta sunt; itaque neque dignitatem eorum ex se 
 metiri par est, sed quatenus ad alia transferri possint, et influant 
 in philosophiam. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Illud insuper praecipimus, ut omnia in naturalibus tarn 
 corporibus quam virtutibus (quantum fieri potest) numerata, 
 appensa, dimensa, determinata proponantur. Opera enim me- 
 ditamur, non speculationes. Physica autem et mathematics 
 bene commistae generant practicam. Quamobrem exactae re- 
 stitutiones et distantise planetarum, in historia caelestium ; terrae 
 ambitus et quantum occupet in superficie respectu aquarum, in 
 historia terrae et maris ; quantam compressionem aer patiatur 
 absque forti antitypia, in historia aeris ; quantum in metallis 
 alterum alteri prseponderet, in historia metallorum; et innu- 
 mera id genus perquirenda et perscribenda sunt. Cum vero 
 exactae proportiones haberi non possint, turn certe ad aestima- 
 tivas aut coraparativas indefinitas confugiendum est. Veluti 
 (si forte calculis astronomorum de distantiis diffidimus) quod 
 luna sit infra umbram terrae ; quod Mercurius sit supra lunam ; 
 et hujusmodi. Etiam cum mediae proportiones haberi non pos- 
 sint, proponantur extremae: veluti, quod languidior magnes 
 attollat ferrum ad tale pondus, respectu ponderis ipsius lapidis ; 
 et quod maxime virtuosus etiam ad rationem sexagecuplam ; 
 quod nos in armato magnete admodum parvo fieri vidimus. 
 Atque satis scimus istas instantias determinatas non facile aut 
 saepe occurrere, sed in ipso interpretationis curriculo, tanquam 
 auxiliares, (quando res maxime postulat) debere exquiri. Ve- 
 runtamen si forte occurrant, modo non progressum conficiendae
 
 NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENT ALEM. 401 
 
 naturalis historise nimis remorentur, etiam in ipsam eas inserere 
 oportet. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Fidem vero eorum quse in historia sunt recipienda quod 
 attinet ; necesse est ut ilia sint aut fidei certae, aut fidei dubias, 
 aut fidei damnatae. Atque prius genus simpliciter est propo- 
 nendum. Secundum cum nota; viz. per verbum traditur, aut 
 referunt, aut audivi ex Jide-digno, et hujusmodi. Nam argu- 
 menta fidei in alterutrara pattern nimis operosum foret adscri- 
 bere, et proculdubio scribentem nimis remorabitur. Neque 
 multum etiam refert ad id quod agitur ; quoniam (ut in aphorismo 
 118. lib. 1. diximus) falsitatem experimentorum, nisi ea ubique 
 scateant, veritas axiomatum paulo post convincet. Attamen si 
 instantia fuerit nobilior, aut usu ipso aut quia alia multa ex 
 ilia pendere possint, turn certe nominandus est author ; neque 
 id nude tantum, sed cum mentione aliqua, utrum ille ex re- 
 latione aut exscriptione (qualia sunt fere quae scribit C. Plinius) 
 aut potius ex scientia propria ilia affirmaverit; atque etiam 
 utrum fuerit res sui temporis an vetustior; insuper, utrum sit 
 tale quippiam cujus necesse foret ut multi essent testes si verum 
 foret ; denique, utrum author ille fuerit vaniloquus et levis an 
 sobrius et severus; et similia, quae faciunt ad pondus fidei. 
 Postremo res damnatae fidei et tamen jactatas et celebratas, 
 quales, partim neglectu partim propter usum similitudinum, 
 per multa jam saecula invaluerunt, (veluti quod adamas liget 
 magnetem, allium enervet, electrum omnia trahat prseter ocy- 
 mum, et alia multa hujusmodi,) oportebit non silentio rejicere, 
 sed verbis expressis proscribere, ne ilia amplius scientiis molesta 
 sint. 
 
 Praeterea non abs re fuerit, si forte origo vanitatis aut cre- 
 dulitatis alicujus occurrat, illam notare ; veluti quod herbas 
 satyrio attributa sit vis ad excitandam venerem, quia radix 
 scilicet in figuram testiculorum efformata sit ; cum revera hoc 
 fiat quia adnascitur annis singulis nova radix bulbosa, adhaerente 
 radice anni prioris ; unde didymi illi. Manifestum autem hoc 
 est, quod nova radix semper inveniatur solida et succulenta, 
 vetus emarcida et spongiosa. Quare nil mirum si altera mer- 
 gatur in aqua, altera natet ; quod tamen pro re mira habetur, 
 et reliquis ejus herbae virtutibus authoritatem addidit. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Supersunt additamenta quaedam historiae naturalis utilia, 
 
 VOL. I. D D
 
 402 PARASCEVE AD HISTORIAM 
 
 quasque earn magis commode inflectere et aptare possint ad 
 opus Interprets quod succedit. Ilia quinque sunt. 
 
 Primum, quaestiones (non causarum dico sed facti) adjiciendfe 
 sunt, ut inquisitionem ulteriorem provocent et sollicitent ; ut 
 in historia terra; et maris, utrum Mare Caspium fluat et refluat, 
 et quali horarum spatio ; utrum sit aliqua continens Australis, 
 an potius insular ; et similia. 
 
 Secundo, in experimento aliquo novo et subtiliore addendus 
 est modus ipse experiment! qui adhibitus est ; ut liberum sit 
 hominum judicium, utrum informatio per experimentum illud 
 sit fidum aut fallax, atque etiam excitetur hominum industria 
 ad exquirendos modos (si fieri possit) mngis accuratos. 
 
 Tertio, si quid subsit in aliqua narratione dubii vel scrupuli, 
 id supprimi aut reticeri omnino nolumus; sed plane et per- 
 spicue ascribi, notae aut moniti loco. Cupimus enim historiam 
 primam, veluti facto sacramento de veritate ejus in singulis, re- 
 ligiosissime conscribi ; cum' sit volumen operum Dei, et (quan- 
 tum inter majestatem divinorum et humilitatem terrenorum 
 collationem facere liceat) tanquam scriptura altera. 
 
 Quarto, non abs re fuerit observationes quandoque aspergere 
 (id quod C. Plinius fecit); veluti in historia terroe et maris, 
 quod terrarum figura (quatenus adhuc cognita est) respectu 
 marium sit ad austrum angusta et veluti acuminata, ad septen- 
 triones lata et ampla ; marium contra ; et quod oceani magni 
 intersecent terras alveis exporrectis inter austrum et septentri- 
 ones, non inter orientem et occidentem ; nisi forte in extremis 
 regionibus polaribus. Etiam canones (qui nil aliud sunt quam 
 observationes generales et catholica?) optime ascribuntur ; vel- 
 uti in historia ccelestium, quod Venus nunquam distet a sole 
 plus partibus 46, Mercurius 23 ; et quod planetae qui supra 
 solem locantur tardissime moveant, cum longissime a terra ab- 
 sint; planetae infra eolem celerrime. Aliud insuper observa- 
 tionis genus adhibendum, quod nondum in usum venit, licet sit 
 haud exigui momenti. Illud tale est : nempe, ut subjungantur 
 iis quae sunt, ea quae non sunt. Veluti in historia coelestium, 
 quod non inveniatur stella oblonga vel triangularis ; sed quod 
 omnis stella sit globosa ; vel globosa simpliciter, ut luna, vel 
 ad aspectum angulata sed in medio globosa, ut reliquae Stellas, 
 vel ad aspectum comata et in medio globosa, ut sol ; aut quod 
 stellae nullo prorsus spargantur ordine ; ut non inveniatur vel 
 quincunx vel quadrangulum, nee alia figura perfecta (utcunqne
 
 NATURALEM ET EXPERIMENTALEM. 403 
 
 imponantur nomina deltas, coronae, crucis, quadrigarum, etc.) ; 
 vix etiam linea recta, nisi forte in cingulo et pugione Orionis. 
 
 Quinto, juvabit fortasse nonnihil quaerentem, quod credentera 
 prorsus pervertat et perdat : viz. ut opiniones quas nunc re- 
 ceptae sunt, cum earum varietate et sectis, brevi verborum 
 complexu et tanquam in transitu recenseantur ; ut intellectum 
 vellicent, et nihil amplius. 
 
 x. 
 
 Atque haec sufficient, quatenus ad praecepta generalia ; quse 
 si diligenter observentur, et finem recta petet hoc opus historiae, 
 nee excrescet supra modum. Quod si etiam prout circumscri- 
 bitur et limitatur vastum opus alicui pusillammo videri possit, 
 is in bibliothecas oculos convertat ; et inter alia, corpora juris 
 civilis aut juris canonici ex una parte spectet, et commentaries 
 doctorum et jurisconsultorum ex altera ; et videat quid intersit 
 quoad molem et volumina. Nobis enim (qui, tanquam scribal 
 fideles, leges ipsas nature et nil aliud excipimus et conscribimus) 
 brevitas competit, et fere ab ipsis rebus imponitur. Opinionum 
 autem et placitorum et speculationum non est numerus neque 
 finis. 
 
 Quod vero in Distributione Operis nostri mentionem fecimus 
 Cardinalium Virtutum in natura, et quod etiam harum historia, 
 antequam ad opus Interpretationis ventum fuerit, perscribenda 
 esset ; hujus rei minime obliti sumus, sed earn nobis ipsis re- 
 servavimus ; cum de aliorum industria in hac re, priusquam 
 homines cum natura paulo arctius consuescere incoeperint, pro- 
 lixe spondere non audeamus. Nunc itaque ad delineationem 
 Historiarum Particularium veniendum. 
 
 Verum, prout nunc negotiis distringimur, non ulterius sup- 
 petit otium quam ut Catalogum tantum Historiarum Particu- 
 larium secundum capita subjungamus. Enimvero cum primum 
 huic rei vacare possimus, consilium est in singulis veluti inter- 
 rogando docere, qualia sint circa unamquamque historiarum 
 illarum potissimum inquirenda et conscribenda, tanquam ea 
 quaa ad finem nostrum faciunt, instar Topicorum quorundam 
 particularium ; vel potius ut (sumpto exemplo a causis civilibus) 
 in hac Vindications Magna sive Processu, a favore et provi- 
 dentia divina concesso et institute (per quern genus humanum 
 jus suum in naturam recuperare contendit), naturam ipsam et 
 artes super articulos examinemus. 
 
 D D 2
 
 CATALOGUS 
 IIISTORIAIIUM PARTICULARIUM, 
 
 SECUNDUM CAPITA. 
 
 1. HiSTOBlA Coelestium ; sive Astronomica. 
 
 2. Historia Configurationis Coeli et partium ejus versus Terrain 
 
 et partes ejus : sive Cosmographica. 
 
 3. Historia Cometarum.' 
 
 4. Historia Meteororum Ignitorum. 
 
 5. Historia Fulgurum, Fulminum, Tonitruum, et Corusca- 
 
 tionum. 
 
 6. Historia Ventorum, et Flatuum Repentinorum, et Undu- 
 
 lationum Aeris. 
 
 7. Historia Iridum. 
 
 8. Historia Nubium, prout superne conspieiuntur. 
 
 9. Historia Expansionis Cceruleae, Crepusculi, plurium Solium, 
 
 plurium Lunarum, Halonum, Colorum variorum Solis 
 et Lunge ; atque omnis varietatis Coelestium ad aspectum, 
 qua? fit ratione medii. 
 
 10. Historia Pluviarum Ordinariarum, Procellosarum, et Pro- 
 
 digiosarum ; etiam Cataractarum (quas vocant) Coeli ; 
 et similium. 
 
 11. Historia Grandinis, Nivis, Gelu, Pruinse, Nebulae, Roris, 
 
 et similium. 
 
 12. Historia omnium aliorum Cadentium sive Descendentium 
 
 ex alto, et superne generatorum. 
 
 13. Historia Sonituum in alto (si modo sint aliqui) praeter 
 
 Tonitrua. 
 
 14. Historia Aeris in Toto, sive in Configuratione Mundi. 
 
 D D 3
 
 406 CATALOGUS HISTORIARUM PARTICULARIUM, 
 
 15. Historia Tempestatum sive Temperamentormn Anni, tarn 
 
 secundum variationes Regionum, quam secundum acci- 
 dentia Temporum et periodos Annorum; Diluviorum, 
 Fervorum, Siccitatum, et similium. 
 
 16. Historia Terras et Maris; Figurae et Ambitus ipsorum et 
 
 Configurationis ipsorum inter se, atque Exporrectionis 
 ipsorum in latuna aut angustum; Insularum Terras in 
 Mari, Sinuum Maris, et Lacuum salsorum in Terra, 
 Isthmorum, Promontoriorum. 
 
 17. Historia Motuum (si qui sint) globi Terras et Maris; et 
 
 ex quibus Experimentis illi colligi possint. 
 
 18. Historia Motuum majorum et Perturbationum in Terra et 
 
 Mari ; nempe Terras Motuum et Tremorum et Hiatuum, 
 Insularum de novo enascentium, Insularum fluctuan- 
 tium, Abruptionum Terrarum per ingressum Maris, Inva- 
 sionum et Illuvionum, et contra Desertionum Maris ; 
 Eruptionum Ignium e Terra, Eruptionum subitanea- 
 rum Aquarum e Terra, et similium. 
 
 19. Historia Geographica Naturalis, Montium, Vallium, Syl- 
 
 varum, Planitierum, Arenarum, Paludum, Lacuum, 
 Fluviorum, Torrentium, Fontium, et omnis diversitatis 
 scaturiginis ipsorum, et similium ; missis Gentibus, Pro- 
 vinciis, Urbibus, et hujusmodi Civilibus. 
 
 20. Historia Fluxuum et Refluxuum Maris, Euriporum, 
 
 Undulationum et Motuum Maris aliorum. 
 
 21. Historia casterorum Accidentium Maris; Salsuginis ejus, 
 
 Colorum diversorum, Profunditatis : et Rupium, Mon- 
 tium, et Vallium submarinorum, et similium. 
 
 Sequuntur Historic Massarum Majorum. 
 
 22. Historia Flammaa, et Ignitorum. 
 
 23. Historia Aeris, in Substantia, non in Configuratione. 
 
 24. Historia Aquas, in Substantia, non in Configuratione. 
 
 25. Historia Terras et diversitatis ejus, in Substantia, non in 
 
 Configuratione. 
 
 Sequuntur Historice Specierum. 
 
 26. Historia Metallorum perfectorum, Auri, Argenti ; et Mi- 
 
 nerarum, Venarum, Marcasitarum eorundem: Operaria 
 quoque in Mineris ipsorum. 
 
 27. Historia Argenti Vivi. 
 
 28. Historia Fossilium ; vcluti Vitrioli, ct Sulplmris, etc.
 
 SECUNDUM CAPITA. 407 
 
 29. Historia Gemmarum; veluti Adamantis, Rubini, etc. 
 
 30. Historia Lapidum ; ut Marmoris, Lapidis Lydii, Silicis, 
 
 etc. 
 
 31. Historia Magnetis. 
 
 32. Historia Corporum Miscellaneorum, quae nee sunt Fossilia 
 
 prorsus, nee Vegetabilia; ut Salium, Succini, Ambrae- 
 griseae, etc. 
 
 33. Historia Chymica circa Metalla et Mineralia. 
 
 34. Historia Plantarum, Arborum, Fruticum, Herbarum: et 
 
 Partium eorum, Eadicum, Caulium, Ligni, Foliorum, 
 Florum, Fructuum, Seminum, Lachrymarum, etc. 
 
 35. Historia Chymica circa Vegetabilia. 
 
 36. Historia Piscium, et Partium ac Generationis ipsorum. 
 
 37. Historia Volatilium, et Partium ac Generationis ipsorum. 
 
 38. Historia Quadrupedum, et Partium ac Generationis ipso- 
 
 rum. 
 
 39. Historia Serpentum, Vermium, Muscarum, et cseterorum 
 
 Insectorum ; et Partium ac Generationis ipsorum. 
 
 40. Historia Chymica circa ea quae sumuntur ab Animalibus. 
 
 Sequuntur Historice Hominis. 
 
 41. Historia Figurae et Membrorum externorum Hominis, 
 
 Staturae, Compagis, Vultus, et Lineamentorum ; eorum- 
 que varietatis secundum Gentes et Climata, aut alias 
 minores differentias. 
 
 42. Historia Physiognomica super ipsa. 
 
 43. Historia Anatomica, sive Membrorum internorum hominis ; 
 
 et varietatis ipsorum, quatenus invenitur in ipsa natural! 
 compage et structura, et non tantum quoad morbos et 
 accidentia praeternaturalia. 
 
 44. Historia partium similarium Hominis ; ut Carnis, Ossium, 
 
 Membranarum, etc. 
 
 45. Historia Humorum in Homine ; Sanguinis, Bilis, Sper- 
 
 matis, etc. 
 
 46. Historia Excrementorum ; Sputi, Urinarum, Sudorum, 
 
 Sedimentorum, Capillorum, Pilorum, Rediviarum, Un- 
 guium, et similium. 
 
 47. Historia Facultatum; Attractionis, Digestionis, Retentio- 
 
 nis, Expulsionis, Sanguificationis, Assimilation! s alimen- 
 torum in membra, Versionis Sanguinis et Floris ejus 
 in Spiritum, etc. 
 
 D D 4
 
 408 CATALOGUS H1STOR1ARUM PARTICULARIUM, 
 
 48. Historia Motuum Naturalium et Involuntariorum ; ut 
 
 Motus Cordis, Motus Pulsuum, Sternutationis, Motus 
 Pulmonum, Motus Erectionis Virgae, etc. 
 
 49. Historia Motuum mixtorum ex naturalibus et voluntariis ; 
 
 veluti Respirationis, Tussis, Urinationis, Sedis, etc. 
 
 50. Historia Motuum Voluntariorum ; ut Instrumentorum ad 
 
 voces articulatas ; ut Motuum Oculorum, Linguae, Fau- 
 cium, Manuum, Digitorum ; Deglutitionis, etc. 
 
 51. Historia Somni et Insomniorum. 
 
 52. Historia diversorum Habituum Corporis ; Pinguis, Maci- 
 
 lenti ; Complexionum (quas vocant), etc. 
 
 53. Historia Generatiouis Hominum. 
 
 54. Historia Conceptionis, Vivificationis, Gestationis in Ute- 
 
 ro, Partus, etc. 
 
 55. Historia Alimentationis Hominis, atque omnis Edulii et 
 
 Potabilis, atque omnis Diaetae ; et Varietatis ipsorum se- 
 cundum gentes aut minores differentias. 
 
 56. Historia Augmentationis et Increment! Corporis in toto 
 
 et partibus ipsius. 
 
 57. Historia Decursus -ZEtatis ; Infantiae, Pueritiae, Juventutis, 
 
 Senectutis, Longaevitatis, Brevitatis Vitae, et similium, 
 secundum gentes et minores differentias. 
 
 58. Historia Vitae et Mortis. 
 
 59. Historia Medicinalis Morborum, et Symptomatum et 
 
 Signorum eorundem. 
 
 60. Historia Medicinalis Curae et Remediorum et Libera- 
 
 tionum a Morbis. 
 
 61. Historia Medicinalis eorum quas conservant Corpus et 
 
 Sanitatem. 
 
 62. Historia Medicinalis eorum quae pertinent ad Formam et 
 
 Decus Corporis, etc. 
 
 63. Historia Medicinalis eorum quae corpus alterant, et per- 
 
 tinent ad Regimen Alterativum. 
 
 64. Historia Pharmaco-polaris. 
 
 65. Historia Chirurgica. 
 
 66. Historia Chymica circa Medicinas. 
 
 67. Historia Visus et Visibilium, sive Optica. 
 
 68. Historia Picturas, Sculptoria, Plastica, etc. 
 
 69. Historia Auditus et Sonorum. 
 
 70. Historia Musica.
 
 SECUNPUM CAPITA. 409 
 
 71. Historia Olfactus, et Odorum. 
 
 72. Historia Gustus, et Saporum. : 
 
 73. Historia Tactus, et ejus Objectorum. ' ..: 
 
 74. Historia Veneris, ut speciei Tactus. 
 
 75. Historia Dolorum corporeorum, ut speciei Tactus. 
 
 76. Historia Voluptatis et Doloris in genere. 
 
 77. Historia Affectuum ; ut Irae, Amoris, Verecundiae, etc. 
 
 78. Historia Facultatum Intellectualium ; Cogitativae, Plum- 
 
 tasiae, Discursus, Memoriae, etc. 
 
 79. Historia Divinationum Naturalium. 
 
 80. Historia Dignotionum, sive Diacrisiura occultarum Natu- 
 
 ralium. 
 
 81. Historia Coquinaria, et artium subservient! u in, veluti 
 
 Macellaria, Aviaria, etc. 
 
 82. Historia Pistoria et Panificiorum, et artium subservien- 
 
 tium, ut Molendinaria, etc. 
 
 83. Historia Vinaria. 
 
 84. Historia Cellaria, et diversorum generum Potus. 
 
 85. Historia Bellariorum et Confecturarum. 
 
 86. Historia Mellis. 
 
 87. Historia Sacchari. 
 
 88. Historia Lacticiniorum. 
 
 89. Historia Balneatoria, et Unguentaria. 
 
 90. Historia Miscellanea circa curam corporis; Tonsorum, 
 
 Odorariorum, etc. 
 
 91. Historia Auri-fabrilis, et artium subservientium. 
 
 92. Historia Lanificiorum, et artium subservientium. 
 
 93. Historia Opificiorum e Serico et Bombyce, et artium sub- 
 
 servientium. 
 
 94. Historia Opificiorum ex Lino, Cannabio, Gossipio, Setis, 
 
 et aliis Filaceis ; et artium subservientium. 
 
 95. Historia Plumificiorum. 
 
 96. Historia Textoria, et artium subservientium. 
 
 97. Historia Tinctoria. 
 
 98. Historia Coriaria, Alutaria, et artium subservientium. 
 
 99. Historia Culcitraria et Plumaria. 
 
 100. Historia Ferri-Fabrilis. 
 
 101. Historia Latomise sive Lapicidarum. 
 
 102. Historia Lateraria, et Tegularia. 
 
 103. Historia Figularis.
 
 410 CATALOGUS HISTORIARUM PARTICULARIUM. 
 
 104. Historia Casmentaria, et Crustaria. 
 
 105. Historia Ligni-Fabrilis. 
 
 106. Historia Plumbaria. 
 
 107. Historia Vitri et omnium Vitreorum et Vitriaria. 
 
 108. Historia Architectures in genere. 
 
 109. Historia Plaustraria, Rhedaria, Lecticaria, etc. 
 
 110. Historia Typographica, Libraria, Scriptoria, Sigillatoria ; 
 
 Atramenti, Calami, Papyri, Membrane, etc. 
 
 111. Historia Cerae. 
 
 112. Historia Viminaria. 
 
 113. Historia Storearia, et Opificiorum ex Stramine, Scirpis, 
 
 et similibus. 
 
 114. Historia Lotricaria, Scoparia, etc. 
 
 115. Historia Agriculture, Pascuarias, Cultus Sylvarum, etc. 
 
 116. Historia Hortulana. 
 
 117. Historia Piscatoria. 
 
 118. Historia Venationis et Aucupii. 
 
 119. Historia Rei Bellicse, et artium subservientium ; ut Ar- 
 
 mamentaria, Arcuaria, Sagittaria, Sclopetaria, Tormen- 
 taria, Balistaria, Machinaria, etc. 
 
 120. Historia Rei Nautica3, et Practicarum et artium subser- 
 
 vientium. 
 
 121. Historia Athletica, et omnis generis Exercitationum 
 
 Hominis. 
 
 122. Historia Rei Equestris. 
 
 123. Historia Ludorum omnis generis. 
 
 124. Historia Praestigiatorum et Circulatorum. 
 
 125. Historia Miscellanea diversarum Materiarum Artifi- 
 
 cialium ; ut Esmaltse, Porcellana3, complurium Ca3men- 
 torum, etc. 
 
 126. Historia Salium. 
 
 127. Historia Miscellanea diversarum Machinarum, et Mo- 
 
 tuum. 
 
 128. Historia Miscellanea Experimentorum Vulgarium, qua3 
 
 non coaluerunt in Artem. 
 
 
 
 Etiam Mathematicarum purarum Histories conscribendce sunt, 
 licet sint potius observationes quam experimenta. 
 
 129. Historia naturarum et potestatum Numerorum. 
 
 130. Historia naturarum et potestatum Figurarum.
 
 411 
 
 Non abs re fuerit admonere quod, cum necesse sit multa ex 
 
 experimentis sub duobus titulis vel pluribus cadere (veluti 
 
 Historia Plantarum, et Historia Artis Hortulanae multa habe- 
 
 bunt fere communia), commodior sit Inquisitio per Artes, Dis- 
 
 positio vero per Corpora. Parum enim nobis curse est de 
 
 artibus ipsis mechanicis, sed tantum de iis quse 
 
 afferunt ad instruendam Phllosophiam. 
 
 Verum haec e re nata 
 
 melius regentur. 
 
 FINIS. 

 
 DE 
 
 AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM.
 
 415 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 IN a letter dated June 30, 1622, Bacon speaks of the De 
 Augmentis Scientiarum as a work already in the hands of trans- 
 lators, and likely to be finished by the end of the summer. 
 " Librum meum de progressu Scientiarum traducendum com- 
 misi. Ilia translatio, volente Deo, sub finem sestatis perfi- 
 cietur." 1 Therefore, though it was not published till the 
 autumn of 1623, it may be considered as coming, in order of 
 composition, next among the Philosophical works to the Novum 
 Organum and Parasceve. 
 
 It was intended to serve for the first part of the Instauratio 
 Magna, according to the plan laid out in the Distributio Operis, 
 the part which is there entitled Partitiones Scientiarum, 
 and described as exhibiting a complete survey of the world of 
 human knowledge as it then was, " Scientiae ejus sive do- 
 ctrinze in cujus possessione humanum genus hactenus versatur 
 summam sive descriptionem universalem." The relation which 
 it bears to the rest of the work is best explained in the dedica- 
 tory letter prefixed to the Dialogue of a Holy War. ft And 
 again, for that my book of Advancement of Learning may be 
 some preparative or key for the better opening of the Instaura- 
 tion, because it exhibits a mixture of new conceits and old, 
 whereas the Instauration gives the new unmixed, otherwise 
 than with some aspersion of the old for taste's sake, I have 
 thought good to procure a translation of that book into the 
 general language, not without great and ample additions and 
 enrichment thereof, especially in the second book, which han- 
 dleth the partition of sciences; in such sort as I hold it 2 may 
 
 1 Letter to Father Redempt. Baranzan. 
 
 2 That is, the second book ; as appears more clearly from the Latin version of this 
 letter, which was written later. " Idque ita cumulate praestiti ut judicem libium ilium 
 jam in plures divisum, pro prima Instaurationis parte haberi posse, quam Partitionwn 
 
 Scientiarum nomine antea insignivi."
 
 416 PREFACE TO 
 
 serve in lieu of the first part of the Instauration, and acquit my 
 promise in that part." 
 
 But why, when Bacon determined to fit this work for that 
 part, did he not give it the proper title ? Curious as he always 
 was in the choice of names, why not call it " Partitiones Scien- 
 tiarum," which describes the proper business of the first part of 
 the Instauratio, instead of " De dignitate et augmentis Scien- 
 tiarum," which passes it by ? 
 
 The answer, I think, is that he felt it would be inappropriate. 
 The form in which the De Augmentis was cast retained so 
 strong an impress of the original design out of which it grew, 
 a design truly and exactly described in the title, and having 
 no immediate reference to the ultimate plan of the Instauratio, 
 that another title referring to another design would have 
 been manifestly unfit. When he wrote the Advancement of 
 Learning, he was already engaged upon a work concerning the 
 Interpretation of Nature, which (to judge from the fragments 
 and sketches that remain) was meant to begin at once where the 
 Novum Organum begins, without any preliminary review of the 
 existing condition of knowledge ; a work corresponding to that 
 which in the foregoing extract he calls " the Instauration," as 
 distinguished from the Advancement of Learning, which was to 
 serve as " a preparative or key " to it ; and the writing of a 
 book which should exhibit a complete and particular survey of 
 the state of knowledge then extant in the world was, I suspect, 
 a by-thought suggested by a particular accident. 
 
 However Bacon may have underrated the difficulties of the 
 reform which he proposed, he was well aware that it could 
 not be carried into effect by a private man. A private man 
 might suggest the course, and produce a specimen ; but the 
 execution of the work on a scale of adequate magnitude re- 
 quired the means and influence of a King or a Pope. Now it 
 happened, by a very singular accident, that while he was engaged 
 in considering and maturing his plan there succeeded to the 
 throne of England a man whose tastes and previous training 
 qualified him more than most other men to take an earnest, 
 active, and intelligent interest in it. James the First was a 
 man of peace by principle and inclination, of solid, various, and 
 extensive learning, and of great intellectual activity. It is 
 difficult even now to say why he might not have proved, in the 
 province of letters, a great governor. At that time, when his
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM. 417 
 
 faults were not yet known, he must have appeared like the very 
 man for such an office. To Bacon it would naturally seem an 
 object of the first importance to engage him, if possible, as a 
 patron of the new philosophy ; and, as men's minds are most 
 impressible in times of transition, he would wish to lose no 
 time in attempting to give his ambition a turn in that di- 
 rection, while his fortune was fresh, his course unsettled, his 
 imagination excited and open to great ideas. For this pur- 
 pose, however, the work on the Interpretation of Nature was 
 not forward enough to be available, nor very fit perhaps in 
 itself, had it been more forward than it was. The idea was 
 too new, the scheme too vast, the end too remote, to engage 
 the serious attention of a king nearly forty years old, who had 
 been bred in the ancient learning and attained a proficiency in it 
 of which he was proud. " Restat unica salus ac sanitas ut opus 
 mentis universum de integro resumatur" was an avowal which 
 might well startle him. Not so a work representing the state of 
 human science as it was, and the means of perfecting and ex- 
 tending it in many new directions. This lay in James's own pro- 
 vince ; of the review of what had been already done few men of 
 his time were better qualified to judge ; few perhaps were more 
 likely to be attracted and excited by the prospect of doing 
 more. Now Bacon's own travels in search of the light he had 
 been looking for had carried him over the whole surface of 
 the intellectual globe ; and he was therefore well qualified to 
 report upon the condition of it, to declare how far and in 
 what directions the dominion of knowledge had been already 
 advanced, what regions were still unexplored and unsubdued, 
 and what measures might best be taken to bring them into 
 subjection. Such a representation was likely enough to make 
 an impression on a mind constituted and trained like that of 
 James the First. Possibly it might even rouse him to take up 
 the extension of knowledge as a royal business ; in which case 
 the new philosophy would have started with advantages not 
 otherwise to be hoped for. 
 
 This work therefore Bacon seems to have set about at 
 once. There is reason to believe that the first book of the 
 Advancement of Learning, which treats of the excellence and 
 dignity of knowledge as a pursuit for kings and statesmen, was 
 written in 1603, immediately after James's accession ; and the 
 second, which treats of the deficiencies remaining and the sup- 
 
 VOL. i. E E
 
 418 PREFACE TO 
 
 plies required, in 1605 ; the intervening year of 1604 having 
 been too much occupied with civil business to allow much 
 leisure for the prosecution of a work of that kind. It was im- 
 portant to push it forward as fast as possible, even at the expense 
 of completeness : for the very object for which I suppose it to 
 have been undertaken, that of making an impression on the 
 king's mind while it was in the best state to receive impressions, 
 would have been lost by delay; and accordingly in the 
 autumn of 1605 appeared "the Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon, 
 of the proficience and advancement of Learning, divine and 
 humane ; " with many marks of haste in form and composition, 
 and even in substance not altogether adequate to the argument 
 in hand, but nevertheless well enough adapted for its imme- 
 diate purpose, if I have rightly conjectured what that purpose 
 was. 
 
 If this be the true history of the Advancement of Learning, 
 the rest follows naturally. The stroke, though well aimed, 
 was not successful. The book may have raised James's opinion 
 of Bacon, but it did not inspire him with any zeal for the 
 Great Instauration. There it was, however ; and it contained 
 such a quantity of the best fruits of Bacon's mind and so many 
 new views bearing on the great reform which he meditated, 
 that it seemed a pity not to find a place for it in the great 
 work. This was easily done by enlarging the original design 
 so as to include a preliminary survey of the existing state of 
 knowledge ; in which case the substance of the second book of 
 the Advancement might do duty as the first part of the Instau- 
 ratio Magna. If we knew when the fragment entitled Partis 
 Instaurationis Secunda Delineatio was written, we might almost 
 fix the time at which this enlargement of the original design 
 was resolved upon. For in that fragment Bacon proposes to 
 distribute the whole subject of the Interpretation of Nature 
 through the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth parts of the 
 work, exactly as in the Distributio Operis ; a place being re- 
 served for a first part, though the nature of its contents is not 
 specified. And from the Descriptio Globi Intellectualis, which 
 was written in 1612 and appears, as I have elsewhere remarked, 
 to be a commencement of the Partitiones Scientiarum itself, we 
 may partly infer the form in which he then intended to cast 
 that part. 
 
 Why he afterwards altered his intention and resolved to con-
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM. 419 
 
 ent himself with a mere translation of the two books of the 
 Advancement with additions, it is not difficult to conjecture, if 
 we take into account the circumstances of his life. When the 
 Novum Organum was published in October 1620, the king had 
 just resolved to call a new Parliament after six years' inter- 
 mission, and questions of vital interest both at home and abroad 
 hung upon the issue of it. The necessary preparations for the 
 session, Bacon's own impeachment which almost immediately 
 followed, a severe illness consequent upon that, his condemna- 
 tion and imprisonment, negotiations with importunate creditors, 
 and the composition of the History of Henry the Seventh, which 
 was finished in October 1621, must have given him occupation 
 enough during the next twelve months. Then came the ques- 
 tion, how he was to proceed with the Instauratio, so as to make 
 the most of such time and means as remained. Sixty-two years 
 old, with health greatly impaired, an income scarcely sufficient 
 to live upon, and an establishment of servants much reduced, he 
 could not afford to waste labour upon things not essential. The 
 Novum Organum was not half finished. The Natural History 
 was not even begun, and no fellow-labourer had yet come forward 
 to help in it. 1 It was only in the completion of the first of the 
 six parts that he could hope for material assistance from others. 
 Even this, if he had attempted to recast it in the form which I 
 suppose him to have designed, the form indicated in the De- 
 scriptio Gldbi Intellectualis, he could hardly have executed by 
 deputy ; whereas a translation of the Advancement of Learning 
 might be so executed, and would need only corrections and 
 additions to make it a complete survey of the intellectual globe, 
 adequate in substance to its place, though not symmetrical in 
 form. Accordingly, " by help of some good pens which did not 
 forsake him," he proceeded at once to put this in train, and then 
 turned his own attention to the Natural History, which he con- 
 sidered as " basis totius negotii" 
 
 Concerning the causes which delayed the publication of the 
 De Augmentis a twelvemonth beyond the expected time, I 
 have no information. But it is probable that the additions 
 which suggested themselves as he proceded were far larger than 
 he had anticipated ; being indeed in the second book as much 
 again as the original, and more. The measures which he took 
 
 1 " Neque huic rei deero quantum in me est. Utinam habeam et adjutores 
 idoneos." Letter to Father Redempt. Baranzan, 30 June, 1 622. 
 
 E E 2
 
 420 PREFACE TO DE AUG. SCIENTIARUM. 
 
 however were in this instance quite successful ; and by sacri- 
 ficing a little symmetry of form, he succeeded in effectually 
 preserving the substance of this first part of his great work. 1 
 
 Tenison mentions " Mr. Herbert" that is, George Herbert, 
 the poet as one of the translators employed. But we have it 
 upon Rawley's authority that Bacon took a great deal of pains 
 with it himself (proprio marte plurimum desudavit) so that 
 we must consider the whole translation as stamped with his 
 authority. Many years before he had asked Dr. Playfer to 
 do it ; who (according to Tenison) sent him a specimen, but 
 " of such superfine Latinity, that the Lord Bacon did not en- 
 courage him to labour further in that work, in the penning 
 of which he desired not so much neat and polite, as clear mascu- 
 line and apt expression." 2 And it is not improbable that some 
 such difficulty may have occurred. But Playfer's failure may 
 be sufficiently accounted for by the state of his health. A 
 memorandum in the Commentarius Solutus dated 26 July, 1608 
 " Proceeding with the translation of my book of Advance- 
 ment of Learning hearkening to some other if Playfer should 
 fail," shows that at that time it was still in his hands ; and he 
 died at the beginning of the next year. 
 
 I have only to add that all the notes to this work which bear 
 no signature are Mr. Ellis's, except such parts of them as are 
 inserted within brackets. These, as well as all notes signed 
 J. S., are mine. 
 
 J. S. 
 
 1 The volume in which it originally appeared bore the following general titlepage : 
 Opera. Francisci Baronis de Verulamio, vice-comitis Sancti Albani, Tomus primus. 
 Qui continet De Augmentis Scientiarum libros IX. Ad regem suum. Londini, in 
 officina Joannis Haviland, MDCXXIII. But this had reference to a collection 
 (which he then meditated) of all his works, in Latin ; not to the order of the 
 Instauratio, which was not in a condition to be published consecutively. See Epistola 
 ad Fvlgentinm : Opuscula, p. 172. 
 
 1 Baccniana, p. 26.
 
 421 
 
 GULIELMUS RAWLEY 
 
 SA.CRJE THEOLOGY PROFESSOR, 
 
 ILLUSTRISSIMI DOMINI D. FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, SACELLANUS, 
 
 LECTORI S. 
 
 CUM Domino meo placuerit eo me dignari honore, ut in 
 edendis operibus suis opera mea usus sit; non abs re fore ex- 
 istimavi, si lectorem de aliquibus quae ad hunc primum tomum 
 pertinent breviter moneam. Tractatum istum de Dignitate et 
 Augmentis Scientiarum ante annos octodecim edidit Dominatio 
 sua lingua patria, in duos tantummodo libros distributum ; et 
 Regias suae Majestati dicavit quod et nunc facit. Non ita 
 pridem animum adjecit ut in Latinam linguam verteretur. In- 
 audierat siquidem illud apud exteros expeti. Quinetiam solebat 
 subinde dicere libros modernis linguis conscriptos non ita multo 
 post decocturos. Ejus igitur translationem, ab insignioribus 
 quibusdam eloquentia viris elaboratam, propria quoque recen- 
 sione castigatam, jam emittit. Ac liber primus certe quasi 
 mera translatio est, in paucis admodum mutatus: At reliqui 
 octo, qui Partitiones Scientiarum tradunt, atque unico ante libro 
 continebantur, ut novum opus, et nunc primum editum, prodit. 
 Caussa autem prrecipua qua3 Dominationem suam movit ut opus 
 hoc retractaret et in plurimis amplificaret, ea fuit; quod in 
 Instauratione Magna (quam diu postea edidit) Partitiones Scien- 
 tiarum pro prima Instaurationis parte constituit ; quam sequere- 
 tur Novum Organum ; clein Historia Naturalis ; et sic deinceps. 
 Cum igitur reperiret Partem earn de Partitionists Scientiarum 
 jam pridem elaboratam (licet minus solide quam argument! 
 dignitas postularet), optimum fore putavit si retractaretur, et 
 redigeretur in opus justum et completum. Atque hoc pacto 
 fidem suam liberari intelligit de prima parte Instaurationis 
 praestitam. Quantum ad opus ipsum, non est tenuitatis meas 
 
 E K 3
 
 422 
 
 de eo aliquid prsefari. Praeconium ei quod optime conveniat 
 existimo futurum illud, quod Demosthenes interdum dicere 
 solebat de rebus gestis Atheniensium veterum ; Laudatorem Us 
 dignum esse solummodo Tempus. Deum Opt: Max: obnixe 
 precor, ut pro dignitate operis fructus uberes diuturnique et 
 auctori et lectori contingant.
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE 
 
 DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBRI IX. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 E E 4
 
 425 
 
 PARTITIONS SCIENTIARUM, 
 
 BT 
 
 ARGUMENTA SINGULORUM CAPITUM. 
 
 LIBER II. 1 
 
 CAPUT i. 
 
 PARTITIO Universalis Doctrinae Humanae, in Historiam, 
 Poesim, Philosophiam ; secundum tres Facilitates Intellectus, 
 Memoriam, Phantasiam, Rationem ; quodque eadem partitio 
 competat etiam Theologicis. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Partitio Historiae in Naturalem et Civilem; Ecclesiastica et 
 Literaria sub Civili comprehensis. Partitio Historiae Na- 
 turalis, ex Subjecto suo, in Historiam Generationum, Prater- 
 Generationum, et Artium. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitio Historiae Naturalis secunda, ex Usu et Fine suo, in 
 Narrativam, et Inductivam : quodque Finis nobilissimus Hi- 
 storiae Naturalis sit, ut ministret et in ordine sit ad condendam 
 Philosophiam ; quern Fin em intuetur Inductiva. Partitio Hi- 
 storiae Generationum in Historiam Ccelestium, Historian! Meteo- 
 rorum, Historiam Globi Terrce et Marts, Historiam Massarum 
 sive Collegiorum Majorum, et Historiam Specierum, sive Col" 
 legiorum Minorum. 
 
 CAP. iv. 
 
 Partitio Historiae Civilis in Ecclesiasticam, Literariam, et 
 (quae generis nomen retinet) Civilem : quodque Historia Lite- 
 raria desideretur. Ejus conficiendae praecepta. 
 
 1 The argument of the first book is not alluded to here, but may be sufficiently 
 described as De Dignitate Scientiarum. That book is to be considered as a kind of 
 inaugural address. The business begins with the second. J. S.
 
 426 PARTITIONES SCIENTIARUM. 
 
 CAP. v. 
 De dignitate et difficultate Historiae Civilis. 
 
 CAP. vi. 
 
 Paititio prima Historiae Civilis (Specialis) in Memorias, Anti- 
 quitates, et Historiam Justam. 
 
 CAP. vn. 
 
 Partitio Historiae Justae, in Chronica Temporum, Vitas Per- 
 sonarum, et Relationes Actionum. Earum partium explicatio. 
 
 CAP. vin. 
 
 Partitio Historiae Temporum, in Historiam Universalem et 
 Particularem. Utriusque commoda, et incominoda. 
 
 CAP. ix. 
 
 Partitio secunda Historiae Temporum, in Annales et Acta 
 Diurna. 
 
 CAP. x. 
 
 Partitio secunda Historic Civilis (Specialis), in Meram et 
 Mixtam. 
 
 CAP. xi. 
 
 Partitio Historiae Ecclesiasticae, in Ecclesiasticam Specialem, 
 Historiam ad Prophetias, et Historiam Nemeseos. 
 
 CAP. xn. 
 
 De Appendicibus Historiae, quae circa Verba hominum (quem- 
 admodum Historia ipsa circa Facta) versantur: Partitio earum 
 in Orationes, Epistolas, et Apophthegmata. 
 
 CAP. xin. 
 
 De secundo membro principali Doctrinae Humanae, nempe 
 Poesi. Partitio Poeseos in JVarrativam, Dramaticam, et Para- 
 bolicam. Exempla Parabolicas tria proponuntur. 
 
 LIBER in. 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Scientiae, in Theologiam et Pfulosophiam. Partitio 
 Philosophiae in Doctrinas tres : De Numine, De Natura, De 
 Homine. Constitutio Philosophies Primce, ut Matris communis 
 omnium.
 
 PARTITIONES SCIENTIARUM. 427 
 
 CAP. II. 
 
 De Theologia Naturali ; et Doctrina de Angelis et Spiritibus, 
 que ejusdem est Appendix. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitio Naturalis Philosophie, in Speculativam et Opera- 
 tivam ; quodque ille due et in intentione tractantis et in 
 corpore tractatus segregari debeant. 
 
 CAP. iv. 
 
 Partitio Doctrine Speculative de Natura, in Physicam (Spe- 
 cialem), et Metaphysicam : quarum Physica Caussam Ejfici- 
 entem, et Materiam, Metaphysica Caussam Finalem, et Formam, 
 inquirit. Partitio Physics (Specialis) in Doctrinas de Prin- 
 cipiis Rerum, de Fabrica Rerum sive de Mundo, et de Varietate 
 Rerum. Partitio Doctrinae de Varietate Rerum, in Doctrinam 
 de Concretis et Doctrinam de Abstractis. Partitio Doctri- 
 ne de Concretis rejicitur ad easdem partitiones quas susci- 
 pit Historia Naturalis. Partitio Doctrinas de Abstractis, in 
 Doctrinam de Schematismis Materics et Doctrinam de Motibus. 
 Appendices due Physice Speculative : Problemata Naturalia, 
 Placita Antiquorum Philosophorum. Partitio Metaphysicse, in 
 Doctrinam de Formis et Doctrinam de Caussis Finalibus. 
 
 CAP. v. 
 
 Partitio Operative Doctrine de Natura, in Mechanicam, et 
 Magiam : que respondent partibus Speculative, Physice 
 Mechanica ; Metaphysice Magia. Expurgatio vocabuli Magie. 
 Appendices due Operative : Inventarium Opum Humanaiiim, 
 et Catalogus Polychrestorum. 
 
 CAP. vi. 
 
 De magna Philosophie Naturalis, tarn Speculative quam 
 Operative, appendice Mathematica ; quodque inter appendices 
 potius poni debet, quam inter scientias substantivas. Partitio 
 Mathematics, in Puram et Mixtam. 
 
 LIBEB IV. 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinas de Homine, in Philosophiam Humanitatis, 
 et Civilem. Partitio Philosophie Humanitatis, in Doctrinam 
 circa Corpus Hominis, et Doctrinam circa Animam Hominis.
 
 428 PARTITIONES SCIENT1ARUM. 
 
 Constitutio unius Doctrina? generalis de Natura, sive de Statu 
 Hominis. Partitio Doctrinaa de Statu Hominis, in Doctrinam 
 de Persona Hominis, et de Foedere Animi et Corporis. Partitio 
 Doctrinse de Persona Hominis, in Doctrinam de Miseriis Ho- 
 minis, et de Prcerogativis. Partitio Doctrinae de Foedere, in 
 Doctrinam de Indicationibus, et de Impressionibus. Assigna- 
 tio Physiognomies, et Interpretationis Somniorum Naturalium, 
 Doctrinae de Indicationibus. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinae circa Corpus Hominis, in Medicinam, 
 Cosmeticam, Athleticam, et Voluptariam. Partitio Medicinas in 
 officia tria: viz. in Conservationem Sanitatis, Curationem Mor- 
 borum, et Prolongationem Vitce : quodque pars postrema de 
 Prolongatione Vitae disjungi debeat a duabus reliquis. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitio Philosophic Humanae circa Animam, in Doctrinam 
 de Spiraculo, et Doctrinam de Anima Sensibili, sive Producta. 
 Partitio secunda ejusdem Philosophic, in Doctrinam de Sub- 
 stantia et Facultatibus AnimcB, et Doctrinam de Usu et Objectis 
 Facultatum. Appendices duae Doctrinae de Facultatibus Animae ; 
 Doctrina de Divinatione Naturali, et Doctrina de Fascinatione. 
 Distributio Facultatum Animae Sensibilis, in Motum, et Sensum. 
 
 LIBER V. 
 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines circa Usum et Objecta Facultatum Animaa 
 Humanas, in Logicam, et Ethicam. Partitio Logicas, in Artes 
 Inveniendi, Judicandi, Retinendi, et Tradendi. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Partitio Inventivae, in Inventivam Artium, et Argumentorum : 
 quodque prior harum (quaa eminet) desideretur. Partitio In- 
 ventivas Artium, in Experientiam Literatam, et Organum No- 
 vum. Delineatio Experientiae Literata?. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitio Inventivae Argumentorum, in Promptuariam, ct 
 Topicam. Partitio Topicae, in Generalem, et Particularem. 
 Exemplum Topica Particularis, in Inquisitione de Gravi et 
 Levi.
 
 PARTITIONES SCIENTIARUM. 429 
 
 CAP. iv. 
 
 Partitio Artis Judicandi, in Judicium per Inductionem, et 
 per Syllogismum : quorum prius aggregatur Organo Novo. 
 Partitio prima Judicii per Syllogismum, in Reductionem Re- 
 ctam, et Inversam. Partitio secunda ejus, in Analyticam, et 
 Doctrinam de Elenchis. Partitio Doctrinae de Elenchis, in Elen- 
 chos Sophismatum, Elenchos Hermenice, et Elenchos Imaginum, 
 sive Idolorum. Partitio Idolorum, in Idola Tribus, Idola 
 Specus, et Idola Fori. Appendix Artis Judicandi, viz. De 
 Analogia Demonstrationum pro Natura Subjecti. 
 
 CAP. v. 
 
 Partitio Artis Retinendi sive Retentive, in Doctrinam de 
 Adminiculis Memories, et Doctrinam de Memoria ipsa. Partitio 
 Doctrinae de Memoria ipsa, in Prcenotionem, et Emblema. 
 
 LIBER VI. 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Traditivae, in Doctrinam de Organo Sermonis, Do- 
 ctrinam de Metliodo Sermonis, et Doctrinam de Illustrations 
 Sermonis. Partitio Doctrinae de Organo Sermonis, in Doctri- 
 nam de Notis Rerum, de Locutione, et de Scriptione : quarum 
 duae Posteriores Grammaticam constituunt, ejusque Partitiones 
 sunt. Partitio Doctrinae de Notis Rerum, in Hierogtyphica, et 
 Characteres Reales. Partitio secunda Grammaticae, in Lite- 
 rariam, et Philosophantem. Aggregatio Poeseos quoad Metrum 
 ad Doctrinam de Locutione. Aggregatio Doctrines de Ci~ 
 phris ad Doctrinam de Scriptione. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Doctrina de Methodo Sermonis constituitur ut Pars Tradi- 
 tivae Substantiva et Principalis. Nomen ei inditur Prudentia 
 Traditivcs. Enumerantur Methodi genera di versa; et sub- 
 junguntur eorum commoda, et incommoda. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 De Fundamentis et Officio Doctrinae de Illustratione Ser- 
 monis, sive Rhetoricae. Appendices tres Rhetoricae, quae ad 
 Promptuariam tantummodo pertinent; Colores Boni et Mali, 
 tam Simplicis quam Comparati; Antitheta Rerum; Formulas 
 Minores Orationum. 
 
 CAP. iv. 
 
 Appendices generates duse Traditivae : Critica, et Pcsdagogica.
 
 430 PARTITIONES SCIENTIARTJM. 
 
 LIBER VH. 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Ethicae, in Doctrinam de Exemplari, et Georgica 
 Animi. Partitio Exemplaris (scilicet Boni), in Bonum Simplex., 
 et Bonum Comparatum. Partitio Boni Simplicis in Bonum 
 Individuate, et Bonum Communionis. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Partitio Boni Individualis, vel Suitatis, in Bonum Activum, 
 et Bonum Passivum. Partitio Boni Passivi in Bonum Con- 
 servativum, et Bonum Perfectivum. Partitio Boni Communionis, 
 in Officia Generalia, et Respectiva. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinas de Cultura Animi, in Doctrinam de Cha- 
 racteribus Animorum, de Affectibus, et de Remediis sive Cura- 
 tionibus. Appendix Doctrine ejusdem, de Congruitate inter 
 Bonum Animi et Bonum Corporis. 
 
 LIBER VIII. 
 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinae Civilis, in Doctrinam de Conversatione, 
 Doctrinam de Negotiis, et Doctrinam de Imperio sive Republica. 
 
 CAP. ii. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinse de Negotiis, in Doctrinam de Occasionibus 
 Sparsis, et Doctrinam de Ambitu Vita. Exemplum Doctrine 
 de Occasionibus Sparsis, ex Parabolis aliquibus Salomonis. 
 Praacepta de Ambitu Vitae. 
 
 CAP. in. 
 
 Partitiones Doctrinas de Imperio, sive Kepublica omittuntur : 
 tantum Aditus fit ad Desiderata duo ; Doctrinam de Proferendis 
 Finibus Imperil, et Doctrinam de Justitia Universali, sive de 
 Fontibus Juris. Exempla utriusque. 
 
 LIBER IX. 
 
 CAP. i. 
 
 Partitiones Theologiae Inspiratae omittuntur : tantum Aditus 
 fit ad Desiderata tria ; Doctrinam de Legitimo Usu Rationis 
 Humance in Divinis, Doctrinam de Gradibus Unitatis in Civitate 
 Dei, et Emanationes Scripturarum.
 
 431 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 
 
 SUB veteri Lege, Rex Optime, erant et spontaneae oblationes 
 et quotidiana sacrificia ; hsec ex rituali cultu, illae ex pia alacri- 
 tate profectse. Arbitror equidem deberi tale quidpiam regibus 
 a servis suis ; ut scilicet quisque non solum muneris sui tributa, 
 sed et amoris pignora deferat. Atque in prioribus illis spero 
 me minime defuturum ; in posteriori autem genere, dubitavi 
 quid potissinmm sumerem : satius autem visum est hujusmodi 
 aliquid deligere, quod potius ad personae tuas excellentiam quam 
 ad negotia coronas spectaret. 
 
 Ego saspissime de Maj estate tua, ut debeo, cogitans, (missis 
 aliis sive virtutis sive fortunaa tuas dotibus) magna prorsus 
 afficior admiratione, cum intueor excellentiam earum in to 
 virtutum facultat unique, quas philosophi intellectuales vo- 
 cant : capacitatem ingenii tot et tanta complexam, firmitudi- 
 nem memories, prehensionis velocitatem, judicii penetrationem, 
 elocutionisque ordinem simul et facilitatem. Subit profecto 
 animum quandoque dogma illud Platonicum, quo asseritur, 
 Scientiam nihil aliud esse quam Reminiscentiam ; animumque 
 naturaliter omnia cognoscere, native luci, quam specus corporis 
 obumbraverat, subinde redditum. 1 Certe hujusrei (si in quo alio) 
 relucet in Maj estate tua exemplum insigne ; cui adeo prompta 
 est mens ad concipiendam flammam, ubi vel levissima earn excita- 
 verit objecta occasio, vel minima aliens cognitionis scintilla 
 affulserit. Quemadmodum igitur de regum sapientissimo Sacra 
 perhibet Scriptura, Cor illi fuisse tanquam arenam maris 2 , 
 
 1 See the Phdo, p. 75., and other places in Plato's works; particularly the 
 beginning of the Meno. And compare Arist. Anal. Pri. ii. 21., where the passage 
 in the Meno is referred to. 
 
 * 1 Kings, 4. 29.
 
 432 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 cujus quanquam massa praegrandis, partes tamen minutissimae ; 
 sic mentis indidit Deus Majestati tuae crasim plane mirabilem, 
 quas cum maxima quaeque complectatur, minima tamen pre- 
 hendat nee patiatur efflu.ere : cum perdifficile videatur vel 
 potius impossibile in natura, ut idem instrumentum et grandia 
 opera et pusilla apte disponat. Quantum ad elocutionem 
 tuam, occurrit illud Cornelii Taciti de Augusto Caesar e ; 
 Augusta, \n(\mt, profluens, et qua principem virum deceret, elo- 
 quentia fu.it. 1 Sane si recte rem perpendamus, omnis oratio 
 aut laboriosa aut affectata aut imitatrix, quamvis alioquin ex- 
 cellens, nescio quid servile olet, nee sui juris est. Tuum autem 
 dicendi genus vere regium est, profluens tanquam a fonte, et 
 nihilominus, sicut naturae ordo postulat, rivis diductum suis, 
 plenum facilitatis foelicitatisque, imitans neminem nemini imi- 
 tabile. Atque sicut in rebus tuis quae tarn ad regnum quam 
 ad domum tuam spectant, virtus videtur cum fortuna certare ; 
 mores scilicet optimi cum fcelici regimine ; spes tuae olim pati- 
 enter et pie cohibitae, cum fausta et opportuna speratorum 
 adeptione ; tori conjugalis sancta fides, cum fructu conjugii be- 
 ato in sobole pulcherrima ; pia et principe Christiano dignis- 
 sima ad pacem propensio, cum simili vicinorum principum 
 inclinatione in idem votum foeliciter conspirantium ; sic et in 
 intellectus tui dotibus non levior exoritur lis et aemulatio, si eas 
 quae a natura ipsa praebitas sunt et infusae cum instructissima 
 gaza multiplicis eruditionis et plurimarum artium scientia 
 committamus. Neque vero facile fuerit regem aliquem post 
 Christum natum reperire, qui fuerit Majestati tuae literarum 
 divinarum et humanarum varietate et cultura comparandus. 
 Percurrat qui voluerit imperatorum et regum seriem, et juxta 
 mecum sentiet. Magnum certe quiddam prasstare reges viden- 
 tur, si delibantes aliorum ingenia ex compendio sapiant, aut in 
 cortice doctrinae aliquatenus haereant, aut denique literates 
 ament evehantque. At regem, et regem natum, veros eruditio- 
 nis fontes hausisse, imo ipsummet fontem eruditionis esse, 
 prope abest a miraculo. Tuae vero Majestati etiam illud ac- 
 cedit, quod in eodem pectoris tui scrinio Sacrae Literae cum 
 profanis recondantur; adeo ut cum Hermete illo Trismegisto 
 triplici gloria insigniaris, potestate Regis, illuminatione Sacer- 
 
 1 " Augusto prompta ac profluens, qua deceret principem, eloquentia fuit." Ann. 
 xiii. c. 3.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 433 
 
 dotis, eruditione Philosoptii. 1 Cum igitur alios reges longe hac 
 laude (proprie quae tua est) superes, aequum est ut non solum 
 prassentis sseculi fama et admiratione celebretur, aut etiam 
 historiarum lumine posteritati transmittatur, verum ut solido 
 aliquo in opere incidatur, quod et regis magni potentiam denotet, 
 et regis tarn insigniter docti imaginem referat. 
 
 Quare (ut ad incceptum revertar) nulla potior mihi visa est 
 oblatio, quam tractatus aliquis eo spectans. Hujus argumen- 
 tum duabus constabit partibus. In priori (qua? levior est, 
 neque tamen ullo modo praetermittenda) de Scientiae et Lite- 
 
 lum per omnia excellentia agendum est; et simul de merito 
 eorum, qui in iisdem provehendis operam strenue et cum judicio 
 impendunt. Posterior vero pars (quod caput rei est) proponet, 
 quid in hoc genere hue usque actum sit et perfectum ; insuper 
 et ea perstringet quae videntur clesiderari ; ut quamvis non 
 ausim seponere aut deligere tuas quod praacipue Majestati com- 
 mendem, tamen multa et varia repraesentando regias tuas co- 
 gitationes excitare possim, ut proprios pectoris tui thesauros 
 excutias, atque inde, pro magnanimitate tua atque sapientia, 
 optima quaeque, ad Artium et Scientiarum terminos proferendos, 
 depromas. 
 
 In ipso vestibulo prioris partis, ad purgandam viam et quasi 
 indicendum silentium, quo melius audiantur testimonia de di- 
 gnitate literarum absque oblatratione tacitarum objectionum, 
 statui primo loco liberare literas opprobriis et vilipendiis quibus 
 impetit eas ignorantia, sed ignorantia sub non uno schemate ; 
 modo in theologorum zelotypia, modo in politicorum supercilio, 
 modo in ipsorum literatorum erroribus sese ostentans et pro- 
 dens. Audio primes dicentes, Scientiam inter ea esse quss 
 parce cauteque admittenda sunt; Scientiae nimium appetitum 
 fuisse primum peccatum, unde hominis lapsus ; hodieque haerere 
 serpentinum quid in ea, siquidem ingrediens tumorem inducit ; 
 Scientia inftat 2 : Salomonem censere, Faciendi libros nullum 
 essejinem, multamque lectionem carnis esse qfflictionem 3 ; et alibi, 
 In multa sapientia multam esse indignationem ; et Qui auget 
 
 1 " A noble philosopher, priest, and king of Egypt, whom our writer," says Philemon 
 Holland, commenting on Ammianus Marcellinus, " calleth termaximus, others tris- 
 megistus in the same sense, for that he was Philosophus Maximus, Sacerdos Maximu?, 
 and Rex Maximus." There is however no doubt that the real Hermes, or the writer 
 of the works ascribed to him, was a neophyte platonist of the second or third century. 
 V. Heeren, Comment, de Fontibus Eclog. J. Stobtei," 41. 
 
 2 1 Corinth. 8. 1. * Ecclesiast. 12. 12. 
 
 VOL. I. F F
 
 434 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 scientiam, augere et dolorem l : D. Pauli monitum esse, Ne de- 
 cipiamur per inanem philosophiam 2 : quin et experientia notum 
 esse, doctissimos viros haereticorum Coryphseos, doctissima sae- 
 cula in atheismum proclivia fuisse; contemplationem denique 
 secundarum causarum authoritati primas causae derogare. 
 
 Ut igitur falsitatera hujus dogniatis fundamentaque ejus 
 male Jacta aperiamus, cuivis obviam est istos non percipere, 
 scientiam qua? lapsum peperit non fuisse puram illam primi- 
 geniamque scientiam naturalem, cujus lumine Homo animalibus 
 in Paradise adductis nomina ex natura imposuit 3 , sed superbam 
 illam Boni et Mali, per quam excutere Deum sibique ipse legem 
 figere ambivit. Neque certe vis ulla scientias, quanta quanta 
 sit, inflat mentem ; cum nihil implere animum, nedum distendere 
 possit, praeter Deum Deique contemplationem ; quare Salomon, 
 de duobus palmariis inventionis sensibus (visu atque auditu) 
 loquens, ait Oculum videndo, aurem audiendo non satiari* ; 
 quod si non sit impletio, sequitur continens majus esse con- 
 tento. Haud aliter de scientia ipsa animoque humano (cui 
 sensus sunt tanquam emissarii) definit his verbis, quae Calen- 
 dario suo Ephemeridique omnium rerum tempora describenti 
 subnectit, ita concludens ; Omnia Deus condidit, ut unumquodque 
 pulcrum sit in tempore suo : mundam quoque ipsum indidit cordi 
 corum : invenire tamen homo non potest opus quod operatus est 
 Deus ab initio usque ad Jinem. b Quibus verbis baud obscure 
 innuit Deum fabricatum esse animum humanum instar speculi 
 totius mundi capacem, ejusque non minus sitientem quam oculum 
 luminis; neque gestientem solum conspicere varietates vicissi- 
 tudinesque temporum, verum etiam perscrutandi explorandique 
 immotas atque inviolabiles naturae leges et decreta ambitiosum. 
 Et quamvis innuere videatur summam illam naturae ceconomiam 
 (quam appellat Opus quod operatur Deus ab initio usque ad 
 finem*} non posse inveniri ab homine, hoc non detrahit captui 
 humano, sed in impedimenta doctrinae rejiciendum ; qualia sunt 
 vitse brevitas, studiorum divortia, scientiarum traditio prava et 
 
 1 Ecclesiast. 1. 18. * Coloss. 2. 8. 
 
 * This reference to the imposition of names in Paradise in illustration of natural 
 knowledge, is common in the writings of the schoolmen. Thus S. Thomas Aquinas 
 in discussing the question " utrum primus homo habuerit scientiam omnem," after 
 stating objections alleged against the affirmative opinion, thus commences his refutation 
 of them. " Sed contra est quod ipse imposuit nomina animalibus, ut dicitur Gen. 2. 
 Nomina autem debent naturis rerum congruere ; Ergo Adam scivit naturas omnium 
 animalium, et pari ratione habuit omnium aliorum scientiam. " 
 
 4 Ecclesiast 1. 8. Ecclesiast. 3. 11. 6 Proverbs, xx. 27
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 435 
 
 infida, plurimaque alia incommoda quibus humana condltio irre- 
 titur. Siquidem nullam universi partem ab humana disqui- 
 sitione alienam esse satis clare alibi docet, inquiens, Spiritus 
 hominis est tanquam lucerna Dei, qua intima arcana explorat. 
 Quare si tanta sit amplitude captus humani, manifestum est 
 nullum esse periculum a quantitate scientise, utut diffusa, ne 
 aut tumorem inducat aut excessum; sed a qualitate tantum, 
 quae quantulacunque sit, si absque antidote sua sumatur, tna- 
 lignum quid habet atque venenosum, flatuosis symptomatis 
 plenissimum. Hasc antidotus sive aroma (cujus mixtio temperat 
 scientiam eamque saluberrimam efficit) est charitas, quod etiam 
 priori clausulre subjungit Apostolus, diceiis, Scientia inflat, cha- 
 ritas autem cedificat. Cui consonum est, quod alibi docet ; Si, 
 inquit, linguis loquar Angelorum vel hominum, charitatem autem 
 non habeam, factus sum velut as resonans aut cymbalum tinniens. l 
 Non quin eximium quid sit loqui linguis Angelorum et homi- 
 num, sed quia si segregetur a charitate neque ad commune hu- 
 mani generis bonum dirigatur, potius inanem gloriam exhibebit 
 quam solidum fructum. Censuram quod attinet Salomonis de 
 excessu legendi scribendique libros, et cruciatu spiritus e scientia 
 oriundo, monitumque etiam Paulinum Ne decipiamur per inanem 
 philosophiam 2 ; si recte explicentur ea loca, optime ostendent 
 veros cancellos et limites quibus humana scientia circumsepitur, 
 ita tamen ut liberum sit ei absque omni coarctatione universam 
 rerum naturam amplecti. Sunt enim limites tres. Primus, ne 
 ita foelicitatem collocemus in scientia, ut interim mortalitatis 
 nostrae oblivio subrepat. Secundus, ne sic utamur scientia ut 
 anxietatem pariat, non animi tranquillitatem. Tertius, ne pu- 
 temus posse nos per naturae contemplationem mysteria divina 
 assequi. Nam quantum ad primum, optime in eodem libro 
 alibi se Salomon explicat, Satis, inquit, perspexi sapientiam tan-* 
 turn recedere a stultitia, quantum lucem a tenebris. Sapientis oculi 
 in capite ejus, stultus in tenebris oberrat ; sed simul didici moriendi 
 necessitatem utrique esse communem. 3 De secundo certum est, 
 nullam animi anxietatem aut perturbationem oriri e scientia, nisi 
 tantum per accidens. Omnis enim scientia, et admiratio (quae 
 est semen scientiae), per se jucunda est ; cum autem conclusiones 
 inde deducuntur, quae oblique rebus nostris applicatge vel in- 
 firmos metus gignunt vel immodicas cupiditates, turn demum 
 
 1 1 Corinth, xiii. 1. 2 Coloss. ii. 8. * Ecclesiast. ii. 13, 14. 
 
 F F 2
 
 436 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 nascitur cruciatus ille et perturbatio mentis qua de loquimur ; 
 tune enim scientia non est amplius lumen siccum (ut voluit He- 
 raclitus ille obscurus, Lumen siccum optima anima ! ) sed fit lumen 
 madidum, atque humoribus affectuum maceratum. Tertia re- 
 gula accuratiorem paulo disquisitionem postulat, neque sicco 
 pede praatereunda est. Si quis enim ex rerum sensibilium et 
 materiatarum intuitu tantum luminis assequi speret quantum 
 ad patefaciendam divinam naturam aut voluntatem sufficiet, 
 nee iste decipitur per inaniam philosophiam. Etenim contem- 
 platio creaturarum, quantum ad creaturas ipsas, producit sci- 
 entiam; quantum ad Deum, admirationem tantum, quae est 
 quasi abrupta scientia. Ideoque scitissime dixit quidam Pla- 
 tonicus 2 ; Sensus kumanos solem referre, qui quidem revelat 
 terrestrem globum, ccelestem vero et stellas obsignat : sic sensus 
 reserant naturalia, divina occludunt. Atque hinc evenit, non- 
 nullos e doctiorum manipulo in haeresim lapses esse, quum ceratis 
 sensuum alis innixi ad divina evolare contenderent. Namque 
 eos qui autumant nimiam scientiam inclinare mentem in atheis- 
 mum, ignorantiamque secundarum causarum pietati erga primam 
 obstetricari, libenter compellarem Jobi quaestione, An oporteat 
 mentiri pro Deo, et ejus gratia dolum loqui conveniat, ut ipsigra- 
 tificemur 9 3 Liquet enim Deum nihil operari ordinario in natura 
 nisi per secundas causas, cujus diversum credi si vellent, im- 
 postura mera esset, quasi in gratiam Dei, et nihil aliud quam 
 authori veritatis immundam mendaci hostiam immolare. Quin 
 potius certissimum est, atque experientia comprobatum, leves 
 gustus in philosophia movere fortasse ad atheismum, sed ple- 
 niores haustus ad religionem reducere. 4 Namque in limine 
 philosophise, cum secundas causae tanquam sensibus proximae 
 ingerant se menti humanae, mensque ipsa in illis haereat atque 
 commoretur, oblivio primae causae obrepere possit; sin quis 
 ulterius pergat, causarumque dependentiam, seriem, et concate- 
 nationem, atque opera Providentiae intueatur, tune secundum 
 
 1 aityjj |ijpp tyvxb ffo<(xardrri Kara rbv 'HpdK\enov iioiKev. Plutarch " De Esi 
 Carnium," 1 . Plutarch alludes to the gnome in his tract De Audiendis Poetis, in a 
 passage not unlike the text 
 
 2 Philo Judaus : " Quod somnia mittantur a Deo." 
 1 Job, xiii. 7. 
 
 4 This thought occurs several times in Bacon's writings. Leibnitz, with the large 
 
 spirit of whose philosophy it is altogether in accordance, has quoted it at least thrice ; 
 
 thus for instance in his Confessio Natures contra Aiheislas, he remarks: " Divini 
 
 igenii vir Franciscus Baconus de Verulamio recte dixit philosophiam obiter libatam a 
 
 Deo abducere, penitus haustam reducere ad eundem."
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 437 
 
 poetarum mythologiam facile credet summum naturalis catenae 
 annulum pedi solii Jovis affigi. 1 Ut semel dicam, nemo male 
 applicatas sobrietatis moderationisque famam captans posse nos 
 nirnium progredi in libris sive scripturarum sive creaturarum, 
 theologia aut philosophia, existimet: quinimo excitent se ho- 
 mines, et infinites profectus audacter urgeant utrobique et 
 persequantur ; caventes tantum ne scientia utantur ad tumo- 
 rem, non ad charitatem ; ad ostentationem, non ad usum ; et 
 rursus, ne distinctas illas theologia? philosophiaeque doctrinas, 
 earumque latices, imperite misceant ac confundant. 
 
 Accedamus nunc ad opprobria quibus literas aspergunt po- 
 litici. Ilia ejusmodi sunt: Artes emollire animos, militarique 
 gloria} ineptos reddere ; turn in politicis quoque corrumpere in- 
 genia, quae vel nimis curiosa efficiunt ex varietate lectionis, vel 
 nimis pertinacia ex rigore regularum, vel nimis tumida ex mag- 
 nitudine exemplorum, vel nimis extravagantia ex dissimilitudine 
 exemplorum ; quin saltern utcunque avertere et alienare animos 
 a negotiis et actione, otii ac secessus amorem instillantes ; dein 
 rebuspublicis inducere discipline relaxationem, dum unusquisque 
 promptior est ad disputandum quam ad obtemperandum. Unde 
 Cato Censorius, cum primis mortalium sapiens, ubi juventus 
 llomana ad Carneadem philosophum, qui venerat Romam le- 
 gatus, dulcedine atque majestate eloquentise ejus capta undique 
 conflueret, frequenti senatu author fuit ut expeditis negotiis 
 primo quoque tempore dimitterent hominem ; ne civium animos 
 inficeret et fascinaret, et necopinantibus morum consuetudi- 
 numque patriarum mutationem induceret. 2 Hoc etiam permovit 
 Virgilium (dum studia sua patrise existimationi posthaberet) ut 
 artes politicas a literariis segregaret, illas Romanis vendicans, 
 has Gra?cis relinquens, in versibus illis decantatis, 
 
 Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento : 
 Hae tibi erunt artes. 3 
 
 Videmus etiam Anytum Socratis accusatorem pro crimine ei 
 objecisse, quod vi et varietate sermonum ac disputationum 
 suarum authoritatem et reverentiam legum consuetudinumque 
 patriarum apud adolescentes imminueret; quodque artem pro- 
 fiteretur perniciosam et periculo plenam, qua quis instructus 
 
 1 Bacon alludes to the philosophical applications which have been made of the 
 passage in the Iliad (0. 19.), in which Zeus boasts of his superiority to the other 
 gods. Of these the earliest instance is to be found in the Theaetetvs, 
 
 2 See Plutarch in Cato, c. 22. 
 
 3 ^Eneid, vi. S52. 
 
 F F 3
 
 438 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 deteriorem causam meliorem faceret, veritatemque ipsam elo- 
 quentiae apparatu obrueret. 1 
 
 Verum hae criminationes, ceteraeque ejusdem farinae, potius 
 personatam gravitatem pra? se ferunt quam veritatis candorem. 
 Testatur enim experientia, sicut unos atque eosdem homines, 
 sic una eademque tempora, et rerum bellicarum et optimarum 
 artium gloria floruisse. Viros quod attinet, exemplo sit nobile 
 par imperatorum, Alexander Magnus et Julius Caesar Dictator, 
 alter Aristotelis in philosophia discipulus, alter Ciceronis in 
 dicendo rivalis. Aut si quis requirat potius literatos qui in 
 claros imperatores evaserunt quam imperatores qui insigniter 
 docti fuerunt, prsesto est Epaminondas Thebanus, aut Xenophon 
 Atheniensis; quorum ille primus fuit qui fregit potentiam 
 Spartanorum, hie autem primus qui stravit viam ad eversionem 
 monarchic Persarum. Istud vero armorum literarumque quasi 
 conjugium clarius adhuc in temporibus quam in personis elu- 
 cescit, quanto nimirum saBculum homine objectum grandius est. 
 Ipsa quippe eademque tempora apud JEgyptios, Assyrios, 
 Persas, Graecos, Romanesque, qua? propter bellicam virtutem 
 maxime celebrantur, etiam et literis plurimum fuerunt nobili- 
 tata; adeo ut gravissimi authores philosophique, et clarissimi 
 duces atque imperatores, eodem saeculo vixerint. Nee sane 
 aliter fieri potest, quandoquidem ut in homine vigor corporis 
 animique simul fere maturescunt, nisi quod ille hunc paulo 
 antevertat; sic in rebuspublicis, militaris gloria literataque 
 (quarum ilia corpori respondet, haec animo) aut coeva sunt, aut 
 se proxime consequuntur. 
 
 Jam vero, eruditionem politicis impedimento esse potius quam 
 adjumento, nil minus probabile. Fatemur omnes temerarium 
 quiddam esse empiricis medicis corpus et valetudinis curam 
 tradere, qui solent pauca quaedam medicamenta qua? illis viden- 
 tur panchresta venditare, quorum fiducia nihil non audent 
 tentare ; cum tamen neque causas morborum, neque aegrotorum 
 habitus, neque symptomatum pericula, neque veram sanandi 
 methodum calleant. Videmus pariter errare eos, qui ad causas 
 et lites suas expediendas adhibent leguleios in practica potius 
 quam in libris juris versatos, quibus os facile oblinitur, si quid 
 novum aut extra experientia3 suae calles tritos occurrat : con- 
 similiter non potest non esse periculosissimum, quoties summa 
 rerum empiricis consiliariis praecipue mandatur. E contra, vix 
 
 Apologia Socratis, p. 23. et seq.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 439 
 
 exemplum adduci possit reipublicse infceliciter administrates, ad 
 clavum sedentibus viris eruditis. Quamvis enim in more sit 
 politicis literates Pedantiorum nomine elevare, Historia tamen 
 veritatis magistra in plurimis fidem facit, pupillares principes 
 adultis longe praestitisse (non obstante aetatis incommodo) ea 
 ipsa de causa quam politici sugillant, quod scilicet tune temporis 
 a paedagogis administratum sit imperium. Quis ignorat per 
 decantatum illud quinquennium Neronis onus rerum incubuisse 
 Senecse paedagogo ? Quin et Gordianus Junior decennium 
 laudis Misitheo paedagogo debuit. Neque infoelicius imperium 
 gessit Alexander Severus durn minor fuit, quo tempore omnia 
 procurabant mulieres, sed ex consilio praeceptorum. Imo, 
 convertamus oculos ad regimen Pontificium, ac nominatim Pii 
 Quinti vel Sixti Quinti nostro saeculo, qui sub initiis suis habiti 
 sunt pro fraterculis rerum imperitis l ; reperiemusque acta 
 paparum ejus generis magis esse solere memorabilia quam 
 orum qui in negotiis civilibus et principum aulis enutriti ad 
 papatum ascenderint. Quamvis enim qui in literis vitam maxi- 
 me traduxerunt minus sollertes sint atque versatiles in occa- 
 sionibus prensandis atque accommodandis rebus, quo spectant 
 ea quae ab Italis Ragioni di Stato dicuntur (quorum nomen 
 ipsum aversatus est Pius Quintus, solitus dicere Esse mera 
 malorum hominum commenta, qua opponerentur religioni et vir- 
 tutibus moralibus 2 : in eo tamen abunde fit compensatio, quod 
 per tutum planumque iter religionis, justitiae, honestatis, vir- 
 tutumque moralium, pronipte atque expedite incedant ; quam 
 viam qui constanter tenuerint, illis alteris remediis non magis 
 indigebunt quam corpus sanum medicina. Porro autem curri- 
 culum vitae in uno homine suppeditare non potest exemplorum 
 copiam ad regendos eventus vitae, etiam in uno homine. Sicut 
 enim interdum fit, ut nepos vel pronepos avum vel proavum 
 magis referat quam patrem ; eodem modo haud raro evenit, ut 
 negotia praesentia magis quadrent cum exemplis vetustioribus 
 quam cum recentioribus. Postremo, unius ingenium tantum 
 cedit amplitudini literarum, quantum privati reditus aerario. 
 
 1 The former of these Popes was a Dominican, the latter a Franciscan friar. The 
 most remarkable event of the Pontificate of Pius V. was the battle of Lepanto in 1571, 
 in which his fleet was engaged in conjunction with those of Venice and of Spain. 
 Sixtus V. was the founder of the Vatican library. Compare Gibbon's phrase : " The 
 genius of Sixtus the Fifth burst from the gloom of a Franciscan cloister." Decline 
 and Fall, c. 76. 
 
 8 See his life by Catena. 
 
 F F 4
 
 4-1.) DE AUGMENTI3 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Quod si detur, depravationes illas et impedimenta quae a 
 politicis imputantur literis aliquid virium habere et veritatis, 
 attamen simul monendum, eruditionem in singulis plus remedii 
 quani mali afferre. Esto enim, liters tacita quadam vi animum 
 reddunt incertum atque perplexum ; at certe liquido praeci- 
 piunt quomodo cogitationes sint expedienda?, et quousque sit 
 deliberandum, quando demum statuendum ; imo ostendunt 
 quomodo res interim absque periculo trahi possint et suspendi. 
 Esto etiam, animos efficiunt magis pertinaces et difficiles; at 
 simul docent quae res demonstrationibus, quae conjecturis in- 
 nituntur; neque minus distinctionum et exceptionum usum 
 quam canonum et principiorum constantiam proponunt. Esto 
 rursus, seducunt et detorquent animos exemplorum vel im- 
 paritate vel dissimilitudine ; nescio ; sed satis novi eas tarn 
 circumstantiarum efficacias quam comparationum errores et ap- 
 plicationum cautiones explicare ; adeo ut in universum magia 
 corrigant animos quam corrumpant. Haec autem remedia in- 
 sinuant undequaque literse, magna vi et varietate exemplorum. 
 Perpendat quis errores dementis Septimi, a Guicciardino, qui 
 ei fuit quasi domesticus, tarn luculenter depictos l ; aut vacil- 
 lationes Ciceronis, in Epistolis ad Atticum manu propria ad 
 vivum resectas 2 ; omnino inconstantiam et crebras conciliorum 
 mutationes vitabit. Inspiciat errores Phocionis, pervicaciam 
 exhorrebit. Fabulam Ixionis legat, et nimias spes et hujus- 
 modi fumos ac nebulas dispellet. Intueatur Catonem Se- 
 cundum, neque unquam migrabit ad Antipodas et contraria 
 praesenti saeculo vestigia figet. 
 
 Jam qui putant literas desidiae arnicas esse otiique et seces- 
 sus dulcedine perfundere animum, mirum praestabunt, si qua? 
 assuefaciunt mentem perpetuae agitationi, socordiae patronas 
 ostendant ; cum contra vere affirmari possit, inter omnia ho- 
 iniiium genera nullum negotia amare propter ipsa negotia, 
 praeter literatum. Alii enim res et negotia diligunt quaestus 
 gratia, ut conductitii opus propter mercedem. Alii honoris 
 ergo ; etenim dum res gerunt, vivunt in oculis hominum, 
 
 1 Guicciardini's character of Clement VII. will be found in the sixteenth book of his 
 history, ch. 5. I transcribe the part which relates to the " inconstantia" of which 
 Bacon speaks. " E nel deliberarsi e nell'eseguire quel che pure avesse deliberato, ogni 
 piccolo rispetto che di nuovo se gli scoprisse, ogni leggiere impedimento che se gli 
 attraversasse, pareva bastante a farlo ritornare in quella confusione nella quale ero 
 statoinnanzi deliberasse," &c. 
 
 * The seventh letter of the sixteenth book may be particularly referred to in illus- 
 tration of the remark in the text.
 
 LIBEtl PRIMUS. 441 
 
 existimationique suas inserviunt alioqui evaniturae. Alii 
 propter potentiam e.t fortunae praerogativam, ut amicos remu- 
 nerare, inimicos ulcisci possint. Alii ut facultatem aliquam 
 suam quam adamant exerceant, ac sibi ipsis hoc nomine sae- 
 pius gratulentur et arrideant. Alii denique, ut alios suos fines 
 consequantur. Adeo ut quod de gloriosis dici solet, eorum 
 fortitudinem sitam esse in spectantium oculis, sic hujusmodi 
 hominum diligentia et strenuitas hoc videtur agere, aut ut 
 alii plaudant aut ut ipsi intra se gcstiant. Soli literati nego- 
 tiis et occupationibus delectantur, tanquam actionibus naturae 
 consentaneis, et non minus salubribus animo quam exercitatio 
 est corpori, ipsam rem non emolumentum intuentes ; ita ut 
 omnium minime sint defatigabiles, si modo res sit hujusmodi 
 ut animum pro dignitate ejus impleat et detineat. Quod si 
 reperiantur interdum nonnulli in legendo strenui, in agendo 
 cessatores ; non hoc a literis ortum habet, sed ab imbecillitate 
 et mollicie quadam corporis animive; quales notat Seneca, 
 Quidam, inquit, tarn sunt umbratiles, ut putent in turbido esse 
 quicquid in luce est. * Usuvenire poterit fortasse, ut hujusmodi 
 ingenii sibi conscii se dent literis ; eruditio autem ipsa hujus- 
 modi ingenia minime indit aut progignit. Quod si quis illud 
 nihilominus mordicus teneat, literas nimium absumere temporis, 
 quod alias rectius impendi possit ; aio, neminem adeo distringi 
 negotiis, quin habeat sua otii intervalla, donee agendi vices 
 atque aestus refluant, nisi aut adrnodum hebes sit in expe- 
 diendis negotiis, aut parum cum dignitate ambitiosus in negotiis 
 cujuscunque generis captandis. Restat igitur quaerendum, qua 
 in re et quomodo has subsecivas horas collocare oporteat; 
 studiis an voluptatibus, genio an ingenio, indulgendum ? Sicut 
 recte respondit Demosthenes ^Eschini, homini voluptatibus de- 
 dito, qui cum per contumeliam objecisset Orationes ejus lucer- 
 nam olere ; Pol, inquit, multum interest inter ea qua ego ac tu 
 ad lucernam facimus. 2 Quare neutiquam metuendum ne 
 literae eliminent negotia ; quin potius vindicant animum ab otio 
 et voluptate, quae alias sensim ad utriusque damnum, et nego- 
 tiorum et literarum, subintrare solent. 
 
 Dein, quod oggerunt, literas reverentiam legum atque im- 
 
 1 " Quidam adeo in latebras refugerunt ut putent in turbido esse quicquid in luce est. " 
 Seneca, Ep. 3. It is perhaps worthy of remark that Bacon's inaccurate quotation 
 is adopted at second hand in the Taller. 
 
 2 Plutarch in Demosth. [According to Plutarch it was Pytheas who made the 
 taunt. /. S.]
 
 442 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 peril convellere ; calumnia mera est, nee probabiliter ad crimi- 
 nandum inducta. Xam qui ccecam obedientiam fortius obligare 
 contenderit quam officium oculatum una opera asserat ccECum 
 manu ductum certius incedere quam qui luce et oculis uti- 
 tur. Imo citra omnem controversiam artes emolliunt mo- 
 res, teneros reddunt, sequaces, cereos, et ad rnandata imperii 
 ductiles ; ignorantia contra, contumaces, refractarios, seditio- 
 sos : quod ex historia clarissime patet, quandoquidem tempora 
 maxime indocta, inculta, barbara, tumultibus, seditionibus, 
 mutationibusque maxime obnoxia fuerint. 
 
 De Catonis Censoris judicio hoc dictum esto, meritissimas 
 eum blasphemiae in literas luisse pcenas, cum septuagenario 
 major quasi repuerascens Graecam linguam cupidissime addisce- 
 ret 1 ; ex quo liquet, priorem illam censurani Graecas literature 
 ex affectata potius gravitate quam quod ita penitus sentiret 
 fluxisse. Ad Virgilii vero carmina quod attinet, utcunque illi 
 libitum fuerit universe mundo insultare, Komanis asserendo 
 artes imperandi, caeteras tanquam populares aliis relinquendo; 
 in hoc tamen manifesto tenetur, Romanos nunquam imperii 
 fastigium conscendisse, donee ad artium culmen simul per- 
 venissent. Namque duobus primis Caesaribus, viris impe- 
 randi peritissimis, contemporanei erant optimus poeta ille ipse 
 Virgilius Maro, optimus historicus Titus Livius, optimus anti- 
 quarius Marcus Varro, optimus aut optimo proximus orator 
 Marcus Cicero ; principes certe, ex omni memoria, in sua 
 quique facultate. Postremo, quantum ad Socratis accusatio- 
 nem, id dico tantum ; recordemur temporum, quibus inten- 
 tata est; nimirum sub Triginta Tyrannis, mortalium omnium 
 crudelissimis, sceleratissimis, imperioque indignissimis ; qui 
 rerum et temporum orbis postquam circumactus esset, Socrates 
 ille (flagitiosus scilicet) heroibus annumeratus est, et memoria 
 ejus omnibus tarn disdnis quam humanis honoribus cumulata ; 
 quin disputationes ejus, tanquam corruptrices morum prius 
 habitae, pro prassentissimis mentis morumque antidotis ab omni 
 ))osteritate celebrantur. Atque haec sufficiant ad respondendum 
 politicis, qui superciliosa severitate aut fucata gravitate ausi 
 sunt literas incessere contumeliis ; quae tamen corifutatio im- 
 praasentiarum, nisi quod nesciamus an ad posteros permanaturi 
 sint labores nostri, minus necessaria videatur ; cum aspectus et 
 favor duorum literatissimorum principum, Elizabethan reginae et 
 
 1 V. Cicero Ac. Quaest. ii. c. 2.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 443 
 
 Majestatis tuae, tanquara Castoris et Pollucis, lucidorum sy- 
 derum 1 , tantum apud nos in Britannia literis amorem reve- 
 rentiamque conciliaverint. 
 
 Nunc ad tertium vituperationum genus pervenimus, quod a 
 literatis ipsis in literas redundat, altiusque caeteris solet hasrere. 
 Eas vel a fortuna, vel a moribus, vel a studiis ipsorum originem 
 ducunt. Quarum prima extra potestatem ipsorum est, secunda 
 extra rem, ut tertia sola proprie in disquisitionem venire vide- 
 atur. Quia tamen non tarn de vero rerum pondere quam de 
 vulgi aestimatione sermo instituendus est, haud abs re fuerit 
 etiam de alteris duabus pauca quaedam innuere. 
 
 Quapropter dignitatis imminutiones et quasi dehonestamenta, 
 quaa a literatorum fortuna literis imponuntur, sumuntur aut a 
 paupertate et inopia ipsorum, aut a vita3 genere obscuro et 
 umbratili, aut ab occupationum in quibus versantur subjecto 
 non admodum nobili. 
 
 Quantum ad paupertatem pertinet, quodque frequenter usu- 
 veniat ut literati inopes sint, et tenui plerumque origine, neque 
 tam propere ditescant ac alii qui qua&stui solum inhiant ; con- 
 sultuni foret hunc locum, de laude paupertatis, Fratribus Men- 
 dicantibus (pace eorum dixerim) exornandum tradere ; quibus 
 Machiavellus non parum tribuebat, cum diceret, jamdudum 
 actum esset de regno sacerdotum, nisi reverentia erga fratres ac 
 monachos episcoporum luxum et excessum compensasset* Pariter 
 dicat quis, foelicitatem et magnificentiam principum et nobilium 
 jam olim recidere potuisse in barbariem et sordes, nisi deberent 
 literatis istis pauperibus civilis vita? culturam et decus. Sed 
 missis his laudum aucupiis, notatu dignum est quam sacra atque 
 veneranda res, per aliquot apud Romanos secula, paupertas 
 ipsa habita fuerit; quae tamen respublica nihil trahebat ex 
 paradoxis. Sic enim prasfatur T. Livius : Aut me amor negotii 
 susceptifallit, aut nulla unquam respublica nee major nee sanctior 
 nee bonis exemplis ditior fuit, nee in quam tam sera avaritia 
 luxuriaque immigraverint, nee ubi tantus ac tam diu paupertati 
 ac parcimonice honos fuerit. 3 Quinetiam postquam Roma jam 
 degenerasset, legimus, cum Caesar Dictator collapsam rempu- 
 blicam instauraturum se profiteretur, quendam ex amicis ejus 
 
 1 Hor. Car. i. 3. 2. 
 
 2 See his Discorsi, iii. c. 1. The passage in the text is one of those to which Mer- 
 senne takes exception. It savours in his opinion of a wish to depreciate the hierarchy. 
 See his La Verite des Sciences. 
 
 3 In prsefetione.
 
 414 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 prompsisse sententiam, nihil tarn expeditum esse ad id quod 
 ageret, quam si divitiarum honos quoquo modo tolleretur. 
 Verum (inquit) h&c et omnia mala pariter cum honore pec.unm 
 desinent, si neque magistrates neque alia vulgo cupienda venalia 
 erunt. 1 Denique, quemadmodum vere dictum est ruborem esse 
 colorem virtutis 2 , licet quandoque oriatur ex culpa ; ita recte 
 statuas paupertatem esse virtutis fortunam, quamvis interdum 
 a luxu et incuria accersatur. Salomonis certe base est sen- 
 tentia, Qui festinat ad divitias, non erit insons 3 ; et praeceptum, 
 Veritatem erne et noli vender -e, similiter scientiam et prudentiam 4 : 
 quasi aaquum judicet, opes impendendas ut doctrina paretur, 
 non doctrinam eo vertendam ut opes congerantur. 
 
 Quid attinet dicere de vita ilia privata et obscura, quam 
 literatis objiciunt? Adeo tritum thema est atque ab omnibus 
 jactatum, otium et secessum (modo absint desidia et luxus) 
 prseponere vitae forensi et occupatae, propter securitatem, liber- 
 tatem, dulcedinem, dignitatem, aut saltern ab indignitatibus 
 immunitatem, ut nemo tractet hunc locum quin bene tractet : 
 ita humanis conceptibus in exprimendo et consensibus in ap- 
 probando consonat. Hoc tantum adjiciam, eruditos latentes in 
 rebuspublicis, et sub oculis hominum minime degentes, similes 
 esse imaginibus Cassii et Bruti, de quibus in elatione Junia? 
 non gestatis, cum alia? plurimae ducerentur, Tacitus, Eo ipso 
 (inquit) prcefulgebant, quod non visebantur. 5 
 
 De occupationum qua3 literatis committuntur vilitate illud 
 occurrit, quod demandetur iisdem puerorum ac junior um 
 institutio, cujus aetatis contemptus in magistros ipsos redun- 
 dat. Caster um quam injusta sit haec obtrectatio, si non ex 
 vulgi opinione sed ex sano judicio res perpendatur, inde licet 
 aastimare, quod diligentiores sint omnes in imbuenda testa 
 recenti quam veteri; magisque solliciti sint qualem acl- 
 moveant terrain tenera? plantae quam adultae; unde liquet, 
 praecipuam curam circa rerum et corporum initia versari. 
 Rabbinis, si placet, porrige aurem ; Juvenes vestri visiones 
 videbunt, et senes somniabunt somnia 6 ; ex hoc textu colligunt, 
 
 1 Oratio prima ad C. Caesarem de republica ordinanda. This discourse and that 
 which follows it have been ascribed to Sallust, but apparently without sufficient 
 reason. 
 
 2 See Diogen. Laert. in Diog. c. 54. 
 
 3 Proverbs, xxviii. 20. 4 Proverbs, xxiii. 23. 
 
 " Sed praefulgebant Cassius atque Brutus, eo ipso quod effigies eorum non vise- 
 bantur." Ann. iii. sub calcem. 
 
 Joel, ii. 28. " Notanda autem hie orationis concinnitas, et poete in jungendis
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 445 
 
 juventutem esse aetatem digniorem ; quanto nimirum revelatio 
 accedat clarior per visiones quam per somnia. Illud vero 
 notatu omnino dignum, quod licet paedagogi, velut simiae 
 tyrannidis, scenae sint ludibria, et temporum incuria in delectu 
 ipsorum veluti obdormierit ; -vetus tamen querela sit, inde usque 
 ab optimis et prudentissimis saeculis deducta, respublicas circa 
 leges quidem nimium satagere, circa educationem indiligentes 
 esse. Qua? nobilissima pars prisca? discipline revocata est 
 aliquatenus quasi postliminio in Jesuitarum collegiis ; quorum 
 cum intueor industriam solertiamque tarn in doctrina excolenda 
 quam in moribus informandis, illud occurrit Agesilai de Phar- 
 nabazo, Tails cum szs, utinam noster esses. 1 Atque hactenus de 
 opprobriis e literatorum fortuna et conditione desumptis. 
 
 Quod ad literatorum mores ; res est ista potius ad perso- 
 nas quam ad studia spectans. Reperiuntur proculdubio inter 
 eos, quemadmodum in omnibus vitas ordinibus et generibus, 
 tarn mali quam boni ; neque propterea non verum est (quod 
 asseritur) ablre studia in mores 2 ; atque literas, nisi incidaiit 
 in ingenia admodum depravata, corrigere prorsus naturam et 
 mutare in melius. 
 
 Veruntamen diligenter mini atque ingenue rem aestimanti 
 nullum occurrit dedecus literis ex literatorum moribus, quatenus 
 sunt literati, adhaerens ; nisi forte hoc vitio vertatur (cujus 
 Demosthenes, Cicero, Cato Secundus, Seneca, pluresque alii 
 insimulantur) quod cum plerumque tempora de quibus legunt 
 illis in quibus vivunt, et quae praecipiuntur illis quae aguntur, 
 meliora sint, ultra quam par est contendant morum corruptelas 
 ad prseceptorum et dogmatum honestatem retrahere, et priscae 
 severitatis mores temporibus dissolutis imponere; de quo tamen 
 abunde e propriis fontibus admoneri possunt. Solon enim 
 interrogatus, an optimas civibus suis dedisset leges ? Optimas, 
 inquit, ex illis quas Ipsl volulssent accipere. 3 Ita Plato, videns 
 corruptiores suorum civium mores quam ut ipse ferre posset, ab 
 omni publico munere abstinuit, dicens ; Sic cum patrla agendum 
 
 verbis delectus, quod senibus somnia tribuat, quae debiliori setati magis conveniunt, 
 juvenibus visiones utpote vividioribus ingeniis ad concipienda phantasmata promptio- 
 ribus." Tychsen, quoted in Rosenmiiller's Schol. in Vet. Test, ad loc. 
 
 1 Plutarch in Agesil, c. 12. This commendation did not escape the diligence of 
 Gomez, who, in his Elogia Societatis Jesu (Antwerp, 1667), has quoted it in the 
 section of his work in which he brings forward the testimonies which have been borne 
 by heretics to the merits of the society. V. p. 448. 
 
 2 " Sive abeunt studia in mores." Ov. Epist. xv. 83. 
 
 3 Plutarch in Solone, c, 15.
 
 446 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 esse, lit cum parentibus ; hoc est, suasu, non violentia ; obtestando, 
 non contestando. 1 Atque hoc ipsum cavet ille, qui a consiliis 
 Cfesari ; Non, inquit, ad vetera instituta revocans, qua jampridem 
 corruptis morilus ludibrio sunt. 2 Cicero etiam hujus erroris 
 arguit Catonem secundum, Attico suo scribens; Cato optime 
 sentit, sed nocet interdum reipublicce : loquitur enim tanquam in 
 republica Platonis, non tanquam in fcece Romuli. 3 Idem Cicero 
 molli interpretatione excusat philosophorum dicta et decreta 
 duriora : Isti, inquit, ipsi praeceptores et magistri videntur fines 
 officiorum paulo longius quam natura vellet protulisse, ut cum ad 
 ultimum animo contendissemus, ibi tamen ubi oportet consisteremus* 
 Ipsemet tamen potuit dicere, Monitis sum minor ipse meis 5 : 
 quippe qui in eundem lapidem ipse, licet non tarn graviter, 
 impegerit. 
 
 Aliud quod eruditis non immerito fortasse objicitur vitium 
 hujusmodi est, quod honori aut emolumento patriarum suarum 
 aut dominorum proprias fortunas aut praesidia postposuerint. 
 Sic enim Demosthenes Atheniensibus snia, Mea, inquit, consilia, 
 si recte attendatis, non sunt ejus generis per qua ego inter vos 
 magnus, vos inter Grcecos despectui sitis ; sed talia, ut mihi stspe- 
 numero ea haud tutum sit dare, vobis autem semper utile am- 
 plecti. G Haud aliter Seneca, postquam quinquennium illud 
 Neronis aeternae eruditorum magistrorum consecrasset glorias, 
 dominum suum omnibus jam flagitiis inquinatissimum libere 
 atque fidenter monere non destitit, magno suo periculo, ac 
 postremo prascipitio. Neque aliter potest se habere res ; siqui- 
 dem humanam mentem doctrina imbuit vero sensu fragilitatis 
 su33, instabilitatis fortuna3, dignitatis animaa et muneris sui ; qua- 
 rum rerum memores nullo modo sibi persuadere possunt for- 
 tunaa propriae amplitudinem, tanquam praecipuum sibi bonorum 
 finem, statui posse. Quare sic vivunt tanquam rationem red- 
 dituri Deo, et dominis post Deum, sive regibus sive rebus- 
 publicis, hac formula, Ecce tibi lucrefeci 7 , non autem ilia, Ecce 
 mihi lucrefeci. At politicorum turba, quorum mentes in 
 
 1 Platonis Epistoll. 6. But Bacon probably took the story from Cicero, Ad Famili- 
 ares, i. 9. 
 
 2 Oratio prima de republ. ordinand. 
 
 8 " Cato optimo animo utens et summa fide, nocet interdum reipublicae. Dicit enim 
 tanquam in Platonis iro\iTtiq, non tanquam in faece Romuli, sententiam." Ad Attic. 
 ii. 1. 8. 
 
 * Pro Muraena, c. 31. But Bacon's quotation is not quite accurate. [" Etenim 
 isti ipsi mihi videntur vestri praEceptores et virtutis magistri fines ofHciorum," &c. 
 The rest as in the text. J. S.] 
 
 5 Ovid, Art Arnat. ii. 548. De Chersonese. ' S. Matthew, xxv. 20.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 447 
 
 doctrina officiorum et in contemplatione boni universalis non 
 sunt institutae et confirmatas, omnia ad se referunt ; gerentes se 
 pro centre mundi, ac si omnes lineae in se suisque fortunis 
 debeant concurrere ; de reipublicse navi, licet tempestatibus 
 jactata, neutiquam solliciti, modo ipsis in scapha rerum suarum 
 receptus detur et effugium. At contra, qui officiorum pondera 
 et philautiae limites didicerunt, munia sua stationesque, licet 
 cum periculo, tuentur. Quod si forte incolumes permaneant in 
 seditionibus et rerum mutationibus, non id artibus aut versatili 
 ingenio, sed reverentiae quam probitas etiam ab hostibus extor- 
 quet, tribuendum. Casterum quod attinet ad fidei constantiam 
 et officiorum religionem, quas certe animis hominum inserit eru- 
 ditio, utcunque eas quandoque a fortuna mulctentur, aut ex 
 male-sanis politicorum principiis condemnentur, tamen palam 
 scilicet apud omnes laudem referent, ut in hac re longa de- 
 fensione non sit opus. 
 
 Aliud vitiuin literatis familiare (quod facilius excusari potest 
 quam negari) illud 1 : nimirum, quod non facile se applicent et 
 accommodent erga personas quibuscum negotiantur aut vivunt : 
 qui defectus e duabus oritur causis. Prima est, animi ipsius 
 magnitude, propter quam aagre se demittere possunt ad obser- 
 vantiam unius alicujus hominis. Amantis verba sunt, non 
 sapientis, satis magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus. 2 Neque 
 tamen inficias ibo, ilium qui aciem animi, instar oculi, non 
 possit aeque contrahere ac dilatare insigni facultate ad res 
 gerendas esse orbatum. Secunda vero causa est probitas morum 
 et simplicitas ; quae tamen delectum judicii, non defectum, in 
 illis arguit. Veri enim et legitimi observantias erga aliquam 
 personam limites non ultra porrigunt se quam ita nosse illius 
 mores ut absque offensione cum eo versari, eumque consilio si 
 opus sit juvare, nobisque interim ipsis in omnibus cavere pos- 
 simus; verum alienos affectus rimari, eo fine ut ilium inflectas, 
 verses, .et ad libitum circumagas, hominis est parum candidi, 
 sed potius astuti et bifidi ; id quod in amicitia vitiosum fuerit, 
 erga principes etiam inofficiosum. Mos enim Orientis, quo 
 nefas habetur oculos in reges defigere, ritu quidem barbarus 
 est, sed significatione bonus 3 ; neque enim subditos decet corda 
 
 1 I have inserted the colon after illud, there being no stop in the original. Possibly 
 an est has dropped out. The corresponding passage in the Advancement of Learning 
 stands thus, " Another fault is, that they fail," &c. /. S. 
 
 2 This sentiment is ascribed to Epicurus by Seneca, Ep. vii. 
 
 * Bacon probably refers to the relation of some modern traveller. Even in Hero-
 
 448 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 regum suorum, quae Sacrae Scripturae inscrutabilia decent, 
 curiosius rimari. 
 
 Superest etiamnum aliud vitium (quocum hanc partem con- 
 cludam) literatis saepius imputatum ; videlicet quod in rebus 
 exiguis et externis (vultu, gestu, incessu, sermonibus quotidianis, 
 et hujusmodi) deficiant in observando decoro : unde homines 
 imperiti ex istis minutis leviculisque erroribus quanti sint in 
 rebus majoribus tractandis conjecturam capiunt. Verum fallit 
 eos plerumque hujusmodi judicium ; imo sciant responsum sibi 
 esse a Themistocle, qui cum rogatus esset ut fidibus caneret, 
 arroganter satis ipse de se sed ad praesens institutum perquam 
 apposite respondit ; Se quidem fidium rudem esse, sed quo pacto 
 oppidum parvum in civitatem magnam evader e posset satis nosse." 2 
 Et sunt proculdubio multi politicarum artium apprime gnari, 
 quibus tamen in communi vita et quotidianis reculis nihil im- 
 peritius. Quinetiam hujusmodi sugillatores amandandi sunt ad 
 Platonis elogium de praeceptore suo Socrate, queni haud absimi- 
 lem dixit pharmacopolarum pyxidibus, quae exterius induce- 
 bantur simiis, ululis, satyrisque ; intus vero pretiosos liquores et 
 nobilia medicamenta recondita habebant : fatendo scilicet, quod 
 ad vulgi captum et famam popularem pras se ferret nonnulla 
 levia atque etiam deformia, cum tamen animi interiora summis 
 tarn facultatibus quam virtutibus essent repleta. 2 Atque de 
 moribus literatorum haec hactenus. 
 
 Interim monere placet, nos nihil minus agere quam ut patro- 
 cinemur quibusdam professorum institutis abjectis et sordidis, 
 quibus et seipsos et literas dehonestarunt ; quales erant apud 
 Romanos, sseculis posterioribus, philosophi quidam in familiis 
 divitum, mensarumque eorum asseclae, quos haud absurde dicas 
 barbatos parasites. Cujus generis quendam lepide describit 
 Lucianus, quern matrona nobilis catulum suum Melitaeum in 
 rheda gestare voluit ; quod cum ille officiose sed indecenter 
 faceret, pusio subsannans, Vereor, inquit, ne philosophies noster 
 
 dotus however we find a similar custom mentioned. He ascribes its introduction to 
 Deioces. V. Herod, i. 99. 
 
 1 Plut in Them. 2. 
 
 2 Bacon doubtless refers to the Symposium, p. 215. Yet of the passage in question 
 he has scarcely given the import. Alcibiades likens Socrates not to the " pyxides 
 pharmacopolarum," but to images of Sileni. Wats, it may be remarked, has in his 
 version introduced the name of Alcibiades into the text without any authority for 
 doing so. [Bacon was thinking no doubt of the free version of the passage, half comment 
 half paraphrase, with which Rabelais opens his address to his readers. " Silenes estoyent 
 jadiz petitcs boytes, telles que voyons de present es boutiques des apothecaires, painctes 
 au dessus de figures jo>euses et frivoles," &c. /. 6'.]
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 449 
 
 e Stotco fiat Cynicus. 1 Ante omnia vero, nihil tarn oiFecit 
 literarum dignitati quam crassa et turpis adulatio, ad quam 
 multi, neque hi indocti, et calamos et ingenia submisere, 
 Hecubam in Helenam, Faustinam in Lucretiam (ut ait Du- 
 Bartas) transformantes. 2 Neque vero nimis laudo morem ilium 
 receptum libros patronis nuncupandi ; cum libri, praesertim qui 
 hoc nomine dignandi, in veritatis tantum et rationis clientelam 
 se dare debeant. Melius veteres, qui non aliis quam amicis 
 atque asqualibus scripta sua dicare solebant, aut etiam nomina 
 ejusmodi amicorum tractibus suis imponere ; quod si forte regi- 
 bus aut magnatibus opus nuncuparent, turn demum hoc factum 
 est cum argumentum libri personae tali conveniret. Haec autem, 
 et similia, reprehensionem potius merentur quam defensionem. 
 
 Neque hoc dico, quasi literatos culpem, si ad beatos et po- 
 tentes viros quandoque se applicent ; recte enim Diogenes 3 
 cuidam cum irrisione roganti, Qmfieret quod philosophi divites 
 sectarentur, non divites philosopJws ? respondit, non sine morsu, 
 Hoc ideo fieri, quod philosophi quibus rebus indigeant probe intel- 
 ligant, divites non item. Huic affine est illud Aristippi, cui nescio 
 quid petenti cum non attenderet Dionysius, ille adorantis more 
 abjecit se ad pedes ejus, qui turn demum auscultans petition! 
 annuit ; sed paulo post quidam dignitatis philosophise assertor 
 increpuit Aristippum, quod demittendo se ad pedes tyranni pro 
 tantilla re philosophiam ipsam contumelia affecisset; cui ille 
 suam id culpam non fuisse respondit, sed Dionysii, qui aures ge- 
 staret in pedibus.* Quin prudens ille, non pusillanimis, habitus 
 est, qui in disputatione quadam cum Hadriano Caesare vinci se 
 
 1 Lucian's De mercede conductis. It would more accord with the original to read 
 cateUam suam MeKtceum. 
 
 2 Tous ces doctes esprits dont la voix flatteresse, 
 Change Hecube en Helene, et Faustine en Lucresse, 
 Qui d'un nain, d'un batard, d'un archerot sans yeux, 
 Font, non un dieutelet, ains le maistre des dieux, &c. 
 
 DU-BARTAS, Second jour de la Semaine. 
 
 Du-Bartas, Montaigne, and Rabelais are I think the only French writers whom 
 Bacon quotes, though he perhaps alludes in one passage to the celebrated jurist 
 D'Argentre and seems to have read Charron. Du-Bartas's writings were held in great 
 esteem by King James. He is quoted in " The trew Law of free Monarchies" and in 
 " A declaration against Vorstius," and is in both places termed the divine poet; a desig- 
 nation which perhaps refers merely to the nature of his subject. In the third book of 
 the Basilicon Doron he is particularly recommended to Prince Henry's studies. Car- 
 dinal du Perron's criticism on Du-Bartas is amusing ; that instead of calling the sun the 
 King of Lights, he would prefer to call him the Duke of Candles. 
 
 3 Not Diogenes, but Aristippus. See Diog. Laert. in Aristip. c. 69. Wats has 
 without authority corrected this error in his translation. 
 
 4 Diog. Laert. in Arist. c. 79. 
 
 VOL. I. G G
 
 450 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 passus est, excusans factum, Quod cequum esset ei cedere qui 
 triginta imperaret legionibus. l Atque propterea non sunt 
 damnandi viri docti, ubi cum res postulat aliquid de gravitate 
 sua remittant, sive imperante necessitate sive impetrante occa- 
 sione; quod quamvis humile videatur atque servile primo 
 intuitu, tamen veriua rem asstimanti, censebuntur non per- 
 sonae sed tempori ipsi servire. 
 
 Pergamus nunc ad errores atque mania, quae in studiis ipsis 
 virorum doctorum intervening iisque se immiscent ; id quod 
 praecipue et proprie spectat ad praesens argumentum. Qua in 
 re, non est instituti nostri erroribus ipsis patrocinari, sed per 
 eorum censuram et secretionem excutere quod sanum et solidum 
 est, atque a calumnia vindicare. Videmus enim in more prae- 
 sertim apud invidos esse, propter ea quae depravata sunt, etiam ea 
 quae impolluta et in statu suo manserunt sugillare ; quemadmo- 
 dum ethnici in primitiva Ecclesia Christianos haereticorum vitiis 
 aspergere solebant. Neque tamen consilium est mihi examen 
 aliquod accuratius instituere de erroribus et impediments lite- 
 rarum, quae interiora et a captu vulgi remotiora ; sed de illis 
 tantum verba facere, qua? cadunt sub communi et populari ob- 
 servatione et nota, aut saltern ab ea non longe recedunt. 
 
 Quare tria praecipue deprehendo vana et inania in literis, 
 quae ansas praecipue praebuerunt ad obtrectandum. Eas enim 
 res pro vanis ducimus, quae aut falsae sunt aut frivolae ; in qui- 
 bus scilicet aut veritas deficit aut usus : illos etiam homines 
 vanos et leves existimamus, qui aut ad falsa creduli aut in 
 rebus exigui usus curiosi. Curiositas autem aut in rebus ipsis 
 versatur aut in verbis ; quando nimirum aut in rebus inanibus 
 opera insumitur, aut circa verborum delicias nimium insudatur. 
 Quocirca non certae magis experiential quam rectae etiam 
 rationi consonum videtur, ut tres ponantur doctrinarum in- 
 temperies. Prima est doctrina fantastica, secunda doctrina 
 litigiosa, tertia doctrina fucata et mollis ; vel sic, vanaa imagi- 
 nationes, vanae altercationes, vanae affectationes. Ac quidem 
 ordiar ab ultima. 
 
 Intemperies ista, in luxurie quadam orationis sita, (licet olim 
 per vices in pretio habita fuerit) circa Lutheri tempora miris 
 modis invaluit. In causa praecipue fuit, quod fervor et efficacia 
 concionum tune temporis ad populum demulcendum et allici- 
 endum maxime vigebat ; ilia autem populare genus orationis 
 
 This story is told of Favorinus by Spartianus, in Hadriani vita.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 451 
 
 poscebant. Accedebat odium et contemptus illis temporibus 
 ortus erga scholasticos, qui stilo et scribendi genere utebantur 
 valde diverse, verba licenter admodum cudentes nova et horrida, 
 de orationis ornatu et elegantia parum solliciti, dummodo cir- 
 cuitionem evitarent et sensus ac conceptus suos acute expri- 
 merent; atque hinc factum est, ut paulo postea major apud 
 plurimos coeperit haberi verborum cura quam rerum ; pleris- 
 que magis comptam phrasim, teretem periodum, clausulamm 
 rhythmos, troporum stellulas, quam pondus rerum, rationum 
 nervos, inventionis acumen, aut judicii limam affectantibus. 
 Turn demum floruit Osorii Lusitani l episcopi luxurians et diluta 
 oratio. Tune Sturmius 2 in Cicerone Oratore et Hermogene 
 Rhetore infinitam et anxiam operam consumpsit. Tune Carrus 
 et Aschamus apud nos praslectionibus et scriptis suis Ciceronem 
 et Demosthenem usque ad ccelum evehentes, juvenes ad politum 
 hoc et florens doctrinse genus invitarunt. Tune Erasmus ar- 
 ripuit ansam introducendi ridiculam illam Echo, Decent annos 
 consumpsi in legendo Cicerone ; cui Echo respondit, one, asine. 3 
 Scholasticorum vero doctrina despectui prorsus haberi coepit, 
 tanquam aspera et barbara. Denique, ut semel dicam, praecipua 
 illorum temporum inclinatio et studium potius ad copiam quam 
 ad pondus deflexit. 
 
 Hie itaque cernere est primam literarum intemperiem, cum 
 (ut diximus) verbis studetur non rebus; cujus etsi e citimis 
 tantum temporibus protulerim exempla, tamen secundum majus 
 et minus et olim placuerunt ejus generis ineptiae, et deinceps 
 placebunt. Jam vero fieri non potest, quin hoc ipsum multum 
 faciat ad doctrinae existimationem minuendam et elevandam, 
 etiam apud vulgus imperitum ; cum videant doctorum scripta 
 tanquam primam literam diplomatis, quse quamvis variis calami 
 ductibus et flosculis variegata sit, litera tamen est unica. Ac 
 mihi sane videtur perapposita hujusce vanitatis adumbratio et 
 quasi emblema, Pygmalionis ilia insania ; quid enim aliud sunt 
 
 1 OsorSus, bishop of Sylves in Algarve, died in 1580. One of his principal works is 
 his De rebus gestis Emanuelis, 1574, in twelve hooks. It contains an account of the 
 Portuguese discoveries and conquests which took place in the reign of Emanuel the 
 Great (1495 1521). 
 
 8 John Sturmius, who has been styled the German Cicero, was born in 1507, and 
 died in 1589. He was a professor at Paris and at Strasbourg, and has left, among 
 other works, some notes on Hermogenes. 
 
 8 " ' Decem jam annos aetatem trivi in Cicerone.' Echo '(W.' " Erasm. Colloq. A 
 little farther on Erasmus makes Ciceronianus suggest the echo Avovs. 
 
 002
 
 452 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 verba quam imagines rerum, ut nisi rationum vigore animata 
 sint, adamare ilia idem sit ac statuam deperire ? 
 
 Neque tamen temere damnandum est, si quis philosophise 
 obscura et aspera, verborum splendore illustret et expoliat. 
 Hujus enim rei magna adsunt exempla in Xenophonte, Cicerone, 
 Seneca, Plutarcho, ipsoque etiam Platone. Nee minor est 
 utilitas. Quamvis enim diligentem veri cognitionem atque acre 
 studium philosophiae res haec nonnihil impediat, quoniam prae- 
 propere mentem consopit, atque ulterioris disquisitionis sitim et 
 ardorem restinguit; si quis tamen doctrinam ad usus civiles 
 adhibeat (sermocinandi videlicet, consulendi, suadendi, argu- 
 mentandi, et similium), omnia quae cupiat prasparata et adornata 
 in hujusmodi authoribus reperiet. Veruntamen hujusce rei ex- 
 cessus adeo juste contemnitur, ut quemadmodum Hercules, cum 
 videret in templo statuam Adonidis (Veneris deliciarum) in- 
 dignabundus dixit, Nil sacri es l ; ita omnes Herculei literarum 
 pugiles, id est, laboriosi atque constantes indagatores veritatis, 
 hujusmodi delicias et lauticias, tanquam nil divini spirantes, 
 facile spreverint. 
 
 Paulo sanius est aliud styli genus (neque tamen ipsum 
 omnino vanitatis expers), quod copiae illi et luxuria? orationis 
 tempore fere succedit. Illud totum in eo est, ut verba sint 
 aculeata, sententise concisae, oratio deuique potius versa quam 
 fusa; quo fit, ut omnia per hujusmodi artificium magis inge- 
 niosa videantur quam revera sint. Tale invenitur in Seneca 
 effusius, in Tacito et Plinio Secundo moderatius ; atque nostri 
 temporis auribus crepit esse non ita pridem accommodatum. 
 Verum hoc ipsum mediocribus ingeniis gratum esse solet (adeo 
 ut dignitatem quandam literis conciliet) ; attamen a judiciis 
 magis limatis merito fastiditur, et poni possit pro intemperie 
 quadam doctrinae, cum sit verborum etiam et eorum concinni- 
 tatis aucupium quoddam. Atque haec de prima literarum 
 intemperie dicta sunt. 
 
 Sequitur ea intemperies in rebus ipsis, quam posuimus me- 
 diam, et liiigiosas, subtilitatis nomine designavimus. Estque 
 ilia, de qua modo diximus, aliquanto deterior. Ut enim rerum 
 dignitas verborum cultui praecellit ; sic e contrario, odiosior est 
 vanitas in rebus quam in verbis. Qua in re increpatio ilia 
 Paulina non magis ad suam aetatem referri, quam ad sequentia 
 
 See the scholiast on Theocritus, v. 2. But Bacon probably took the story from 
 the Adagio, of Erasmus.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 453 
 
 tempora deduci potest; neque theologiam tantum, sed etiatn 
 omnes scientias respicere videtur : Devita prof anas vocum novi- 
 tates, et oppositiones falsi nominis sciential His enim verbis, duo 
 signa indiciaque scientiae suspectae atque ementitae proponit. 
 Primum est, vocum no vitas et insolentia; alterum, rigor dogma- 
 turn ; qui necessario oppositionem, et dein altercationes quas- 
 stionesque inducit. Certe quemadmodum complura corpora 
 naturalia, dum valent Integra, corrumpuntur saepius et abeunt 
 in vermes ; eodem modo sana et solida rerum cognitio saepe- 
 numero putrescit, et solvitur in subtiles, vanas, insalubres, et 
 (si ita loqui licet) vermiculatas quaastiones ; quae motu quodam 
 et vivacitate nonnulla praeditae videntur, sed putidae sunt et 
 nullius usus. Hoc genus doctrinse minus sanae, et seipsam cor- 
 rumpentis, invaluit praecipue apud multos ex scholasticis, qui 
 summo otio abundantes, atque ingenio acres, lectione autem 
 impares (quippe quorum mentes conclusae essent in paucorum 
 authorum, praeeipue Aristotelis dictatoris sui, scriptis, non 
 minus quam corpora ipsorum in ccenobiorum cellis), historian! 
 vero et naturae et temporis maxima ex parte ignorantes, ex 
 non magno material stamine, sed maxima spiritus, quasi radii, 
 agitatione, operosissimas illas telas quae in libris eorum exstant 
 confecerunt. Etenim mens humana, si agat in materiam (na- 
 turam rerum et opera Dei contemplando), pro modo materias 
 operatur atque ab eadem determinatur ; sin ipsa in se vertatur 
 (tanquam aranea texens telam) 2 , turn demum interminata est, 
 et parit certe telas quasdam doctrinas tenuitate fili operisque 
 admirabiles, sed quoad usum frivolas et inanes. 
 
 Haec inutilis subtilitas, sive curiositas, duplex est ; et specta- 
 tur aut in materia ipsa, qualis est inanis speculatio sive con- 
 
 1 1 Tim. vi. 2t). 
 
 2 In Bacon's Promtis, a manuscript collection of sentences, formulae, &c. [for a par- 
 ticular account of which see the Literary Works], we find the following: " Kx se fingit 
 velut araneus." Bacon had doubtless taken this from Erasmus, by whom it is given 
 as a proverb. V. Erasm. Adag. iv. 4. 43. Erasmus again derived it from Plutarch, 
 De Oniride. Plutarch applies the comparison to poets and orators. Neither in his 
 use of it, nor in Erasmus's remarks, nor yet in our text, is there anything to counte- 
 nance the interpretation which M. Cousin has given of Bacon's meaning, namely that 
 he intended to throw discredit on the study of psychology. He seems to have been 
 led to this interpretation by the word materiam, taking it as if in antithesis to soul or 
 spirit ; whereas it means nothing more than the object, ri> vpoKei^evov, on which the 
 mind works. Surely Bacon might have defended himself by saying that he had ex- 
 plained " materia" in the figurative sense in which he used it, as equivalent to 
 " natura rerum et opera Dei," and by inquiring whether the object of psychological 
 researches were not included among the works of God. In the Novum Orgnnum 
 we find more than one example of what M. Cousin would doubtless recognise as an 
 attempt at experimental psychology. 
 
 o c 3
 
 454 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 troversia; cujus generis reperiuntur et in theologia, et in 
 philosophia, baud paucae; aut in modo et inethodo tractandi. 
 Haec apud scholasticos fere talis erat: super unaquaque re 
 proposita formabant objectiones, deinde objectionum illarum 
 solutiones ; quse solutiones ut plurimum distinctiones tantum 
 erant; cum tamen scientiarum omnium robur, instar fascis 
 illius senis, non in singulis bacillis sed in omnibus vinculo con- 
 junctis consistat. Etenim symmetria scientiae, singulis scilicet 
 partibus se invicem sustinentibus, est et esse debet vera atque 
 expedita ratio refellendi objectiones minorum gentium. Contra, 
 si singula axiomata tanquam baculos fascis seorsim extrahas, 
 facile erit ea infirmare, et pro libito aut flectere aut frangere. 
 Ut quod de Seneca dictum erat, Verborum minutiis rerum 
 frangit ponder a ! , vere de scholasticis usurpari possit, Qucesti- 
 onum minutiis scientiarum frangunt robur. Kumnon in aula 
 spatiosa consultius foret unum accendere cereum, aut lychnu- 
 chum suspendere variis luminibus instructum, quo omnia simul 
 perlustrentur, quam in singulos angulos quaquaversus exiguam 
 circumferre lucernam? Atqui non absimilis est eorum ratio, 
 qui non tana veritatem perspicuis argumentis, autlioritatibus, 
 comparationibus, exemplis illustrare nituntur; quam in hoc 
 solum incumbunt ut minutos quosque scrupulos eximant, et 
 captiunculas expediant, et dubitationes solvant; hoc pacto 
 qu33stionem ex quaestione gignentes, quemadmodum fit in su- 
 periori similitudine, ut lucerna in unum aliquem locum delata 
 alios circumquaque destituat et obscuret. Adeo ut Scyllae fa- 
 bula ad vivum exprimat hoc genus philosophic ; cujus os et 
 pectus virginem formosam praeferebant, infra vero fuisse aiunt 
 
 Candida succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris. 2 
 Sic generalia quaedam apud scholasticos invenias, quae pulchra 
 sunt dictu, et non perperam inventa ; ubi autem ventum fuerit 
 ad distinctiones decisionesque, pro foecundo utero ad vitas hu- 
 
 1 " Si rerum pondera minutissimis sententiis non fregisset, consensu potius erudi- 
 torum quam puerorum amore comprobaretur." Quintil. x. c. 1. 
 
 The method of the schoolmen is correctly described in the text. Generally each 
 qujcstio or inquiry begins with a statement of the different points which are to be 
 elucidated. To each of these is allotted a separate articulus. One or more reasons 
 are alleged in favour of the opinion which the author means to reject. Some objec- 
 tion, generally founded on a quotation from some conclusive authority, is then stated 
 against it, and then the author gives his own opinion in what is ca'.led the Con- 
 clusio, and proceeds to refute one by one the arguments he has adduced on the other 
 side. It is impossible not to recognise in this method of procedure the influence of a 
 system of oral disputation, 
 -id, \-i, 75.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 455 
 
 mafias commoda, in portentosas et latrantes quaestiones desinunt. 
 Itaque minime mirum, si hoc genus doctrine etiam apud vul- 
 gus hominum contemptui obnoxium fuerit, qui fere solent 
 veritatem propter controversias circa earn motas aspernari, 
 atque existimare eos errare omnes qui nunquam inter se con- 
 veniant ; cumque videant doctos homines inter se digladiari de 
 rebus nullius momenti, facile illud Dionysii Syracusani arri- 
 piunt, Verba ista sunt senum otiosorum. 1 Nihilominus certissi- 
 mum est, si modo scholastic! ad inexplebilem sitim veritatis et 
 continuam agitationem ingenii varietatem et multiplicitatem 
 lectionis et contemplationum adjunxissent, insignia profecto 
 illi exstitissent lumina, omnesque artes et scieutias mirifice 
 provexissent. Hactenus de secunda literarum intemperie. 
 
 Ad tertiam quod attinet, quae ad falsitatem et mendaciuin 
 spectat; una haec omnium turpissima est, quippe quae ipsam 
 naturam animamque destruit scientiae, qua? nihil aliud est quam 
 veritatis imago. Nam veritas essendi et veritas cognoscendi 
 idem sunt; nee plus a se invicem differunt, quam radius 
 directus et reflexus. 2 Hoc vitium itaque duplex vel potius 
 duplicatum est, impostura et credulitas; haec decipitur, ilia 
 decipit; quae licet videantur discrepantis naturae, alteraque a 
 calliditate quadam, altera a simplicitate profecta, plerumque 
 tamen coeunt. Ut enim in carmine habetur, 
 
 Percontatorem fugito, nam garrulus idem est ; * 
 
 innuendo, qui curiosus est eundem esse et futilem ; pariter fit, 
 ut qui facile credat idem libenter decipiat. Quemadmodum 
 quoque fieri videmus in fama et rumoribus, ut qui cito iisdem 
 fidem habeat, pari facilitate eos auxerit. Quod Tacitus pru- 
 
 1 See Nov. Org. i. 71. 
 
 2 We may illustrate this passage from the writings of S. Thomas Aquinas. " Res 
 intcllecta ad intellectum aliquem potest habere ordinem vel per se vel per accidens. 
 Per se quidem habet ordinem ad intellectum a quo dependet secundum suum esse, per 
 
 accidens autem ad intellectum a quo cognoscibilis est Unde unaquaeque 
 
 res dicitur vera absolute secundum ordinem ad intellectum a quo dependet. . . . Res 
 naturales dicuntur esse verae secundum quod assequuntur similitudinem specierum quas 
 sunt in mente divina. . . . Sic ergo veritas principaliter est in intellectu, secundario vero 
 in rebus secundum quod comparantur ad intellectum ut ad principlum." Thus the 
 veritas essendi is as it were the direct beam derived from the divine mind on outward 
 things. S. Thomas goes on to recognise the truth of the opinion that "veritas 
 intellectus nostri a re causatur ;" and we thus see how the veritas cognoscendi may be 
 spoken of as radius reflexus, returned to the mind from the outward object, which had 
 derived its own essential truth from the source of all truth. The passages I have 
 quoted occur in the Summa Theologies of S. Thomas, 1. q. 16. a. 1. 
 
 3 Hor. Ep. i. 18. 69. 
 
 G a 4
 
 456 DE ATJGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 denter innuit his verbis, Fingunt simul creduntque^ ; adeofini- 
 timae sunt voluntas fallendi et facilitas credendi. 
 
 Ha?c credendi recipiendique omnia (licet levi authoritate 
 munita) facilitas, duorum generum est, pro ratione subjecta? 
 material ; aut enim creditur narration! sive facto (ut loquuntur 
 Jurisconsulti), aut dogmati. In priori genere videmus quanto 
 dignitatis detrimento hie error affecerit ex Ecclesiasticis Histo- 
 riis nonnullas ; qua? nimis faciles se praebuerunt in prodendis 
 transcribendisque miraculis, a Martyribus, Eremitis, Anacho- 
 retis, et aliis sanctis viris, atque ab eorum reliquiis, sepulchris, 
 sacellis, imaginibus, editis. Eodem modo in naturali historia 
 videmus multa temere ac parum cum delectu aut judicio recepta, 
 et descripta; ut liquet ex scriptis Plinii, Cardani, Alberti, et 
 plurimorum ex Arabibus, qua? commentitiis et fabulosis narra- 
 tionibus passim scatent ; iisque non solum incertis et neutiquam 
 probatis, sed perspicue falsis et manifesto convictis; ingenti 
 philosophise naturalis dedecore, apud homines graves et sobrios. 
 In quo sane elucescit Aristotelis sapientia et integritas, qui cum 
 diligentem ecripserit atque accuratam historiam Animalium, 
 tarn parce ficta aut fabulosa admiscuerit ; quin potius auditiones 
 admirandas, quas memoratu dignas judicavit, in unum com- 
 mentariolum 2 conjecit; prudenter perpendens, perspicue vera 
 (qua?, tanquam basis experiential solida, philosophia? et scientiis 
 substerni possint) haud temere esse cum rebus suspect fidei 
 miscenda; et rursus etiam rara atque insolita, qua? plerisque 
 incredibilia videntur, non omnino esse supprimenda, neque me- 
 moriae posterorum deneganda. 
 
 At ilia altera credulitas, qua? non historia? aut narrationibus 
 sed artibus et opinionibus tribuitur, duplex est ; aut cum artibus 
 ipsis, aut cum authoribus in arte, nimium credimus. Artes 
 ipsa?, qua? plus habent ex phantasia et fide quam ex ratione et 
 demonstrationibus, sunt pra?cipue tres ; Astrologia, Naturalis 
 Magia, et Alchymia ; quarum tamen fines non sunt ignobiles. 
 Profitetur enim Astrologia superiorum in inferiora influxum et 
 dominatum recludere. Magia sibi proponit naturalem philo- 
 sophiam a varietate speculationum ad magnitudinem operum 
 
 1 Annah, v. 10. : where be says that upon the report of the approach of Drusus 
 Germanicus, " alliciebantur ignari fama nominis et promptis Graecorum animis ad nova 
 et mira ; quippe lapsum custodia pergere ad paternos exercitus, ^Egyptum aut Syriam 
 invasurum, fingebant simul credebantque." Compare also Hist. i. 51. : " Sed plurima 
 ad fingendum credendumque materies in ipsis castris." J. S. 
 
 2 The De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus ; which is however not Aristotle's.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 457 
 
 revocare. Chymica in se suscipit partes rerum heterogeneas, 
 quae in corporibus naturalibus latent et implicantur, separate 
 et extrahere; corporaque ipsa inquinata depurare, impedita 
 liberare, immatura perficere. Sed viae atque rationes quae 
 ducere putantur ad hos fines, tarn in theoria illarum artium 
 quam in praxi, erroris et nugarum plense sunt. Neque adeo 
 traditio ipsarum ut plurimum Candida est, sed artificiis et late- 
 bris nmnita. Chymicae tamen hoc certe debetur, quod vere 
 comparari possit agricolae apud ^Esopum, qui e vita exiturus 
 dixit fillis, Se illis vim magnam auri in vinea, nee satis meminisse 
 quo loco, defossam reliquisse ; qui cum vineam diligenter ligo- 
 nibus ubique invertissent, aurum quidem repererunt nullum ; 
 sed tamen vindemiam insequentis anni, propter fossionem circa 
 radices vitium, tulerunt longe uberrimam. Sic strenui illi 
 Chymistarurn labores et molimina circa aurum conficiendum 
 baud paucis nobilibus inventis et experiments, turn ad re- 
 serandam naturam turn ad usus vitae apprime idoneis, quasi 
 facem accenderunt. 
 
 Ilia autem credulitas, quae certos scientiarum authores dicta- 
 toria quadam potestate munivit ut edicant J , non senatoria ut 
 consulant, ingens damnum scientiis intulit ; tanquam praecipua 
 causa, quae tantopere illas afflixit et depressit, ut absque insigni 
 aliquo augmento exangues jacerent. Hiuc nempe factum est, 
 ut in artibus mecbanicis primi inventores pauca excogitaverint, 
 tempus reliqua suppleverit et perfecerit; at in scientiis primi 
 authores longissime penetraverint, tempus plurima detriverit et 
 corruperit. Sic videmus Tormentariam, Nauticam, Typo- 
 grapbicam, sub initiis imperfectas et propemodum informes 
 fuisse et exercentibus onerosas, temporis vero progressu expo- 
 litas et accommodas. At contra philosophic et scientiae Aristo- 
 telis, Platonis, Democriti, Hippocratis, Euclidis, Archimedis, 
 in ipsis illis authoribus viguerunt, tractu temporis degenerarunt 
 potius et non ' minimum splendoris amiserunt ; cujus rei non 
 est alia ratio, quam quod in artibus mechanicis ingenia mul- 
 torum in unum coierunt, in artibus et scientiis liberalibus in- 
 genia multorum sub uno succubuerunt ; quern tamen ipsum 
 saepenumero sequaces sui potius depravarunt quam illustrarunt. 
 Ut enim aqua non ascendet altius quam caput fontis a quo 
 
 1 Bacon is not to be understood as using the word edicere in its technical significa- 
 tion. The "jus edicendi" was by no means the privilege of a dictator. It belonged 
 to consuls, praetors, iediles, and other magistrates.
 
 458 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 promanat, ita doctrina ab Aristotele deducta supra doctrinam 
 Aristotelis nunquam assurget. 1 Ideoque etsi non displiceat 
 regula, Oportet discentem credere 2 ; huic tamen conjungendum 
 est, Oportet jam edoctum judicio suo uti. Discipuli enim debent 
 magistris temporariam solum fidem, judiciique suspensionem, 
 donee penitus imbiberint artes ; non autem plenam libertatis 
 ejurationem, perpetuamque ingenii servitutem. Quare, ut 
 absolvam hanc partem, hoc tantum adjiciam ; magnis authoribus 
 suus sic constet honos, ut author! authorum et veritatis parenti, 
 Tempori, non derogetur. 
 
 Explicavimus tandem tres doctrinse intemperies, sive morbos ; 
 praeter quos nonnulli sunt, non tarn morbi confirmati quam 
 vitiosi humores ; qui tamen non adeo occulti sunt aut latentes, 
 quin in multorum sensum et reprehensionem incurrant, ideoque 
 neutiquam praHermittendi. 
 
 Horum primus est immodicum studium duorum extremorum, 
 Antiquitatis et Novitatis ; qua in re Temporis filise male patris- 
 sant. Ut enim Tempus prolem devorat, sic hasc se invicem ; 
 dum Antiquitas novis invideat augmentis, et Novitas non sit 
 contenta recentia adjicere, nisi vetera prorsus eliminet et re- 
 jiciat. Certe consilium Prophetae vera in hac re norma est: 
 State super vias antiquas, et videte gucenam sit via recta et bona, 
 et ambulate in ea.* Antiquitas earn meretur reverentiam, ut 
 homines aliquamdiu gradum sistere et supra earn stare debeant, 
 atque undequaque circumspicere qua? sit via optima ; quum 
 autem de via bene constiterit, tune demum non restitandum, sed 
 alacriter progrediendum. Sane, ut verum dicamus, Antiquitas 
 sceculi juventus mundi.* Nostra profecto sunt antiqua tempora, 
 
 1 Happy as this image is, it is perhaps less so than that of Descartes with reference 
 to the same subject He compares the servile followers of Aristotle to " le 1'ierre qui 
 ne tend point a monter plus haut que les arbres qui le soutiennent, et meme souvent 
 qui redescend apres qu'il est parvenu jusques a leur faite." De la Methode, i. 202. of 
 Cousin's edition. 
 
 2 Arist. De Sophist. Reprehens. ii. 
 * Jerem. vL 16. 
 
 4 This remark is not, I think, given by Bacon as a quotation, and it is probable 
 that he did not derive it from any earlier writer. But in the works of several of the 
 scientific reformers we find similar reflexions. Of writers earlier than Bacon or con- 
 temporary with him, we may refer to Gilbert, to Galileo, to the Apologia pro Galileo 
 of Campanella, and particularly to the Cena di Cenere of Giordano Bruno. The 
 following passage from the last-named writer, in which he appears to have anticipated 
 Bacon, has been referred to by Dr. Whewell in the Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences. 
 ' Sia come la si vuole," says one of the interlocutors in Bruno's dialogue, " io non 
 voglio ^ discostar mi dal parer degli antichi, perche dice il saggio, Ne Tantiquita e 
 la sapienza." To which another replies: "Esoggiunge 'In molti anni la prudenza.' 
 Se voi intendeste bene qualche dite, vedreste che dal vostro fondamento s'inferisce
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 459 
 
 cum mundus jam senuerit ; non ea, quae computantur ordine 
 retrograde initium sumendo a saeculo nostro. 
 
 Alius error e priori oriundus, est suspicio quaedam et diffi- 
 dentia, quas nihil nunc posse inveniri autumat, quo mundus tain 
 diu carere potuit; ac si ilia objectio conveniret erga tempus, 
 qua Lucianus impetit Jovem caeterosque ethnicorum deos. 
 Miratur enim, cur tot olim genuerint liberos, nullos autem suo 
 s&culo ? interrogatquejocans, ecquid sept uagenarii jam essent, aut 
 lege Papia contra senum nuptias lata constricti ? l Sic videntur 
 homines subvereri, ne Tempus effoetum jam factum sit et ad 
 generationem ineptum. Quin potius levitas hominum atque 
 inconstantia hinc optime perspici potest, qui donee res aliqua 
 perfecta sit, earn mirantur fieri posse ; postquam facta semel 
 est, iterum mirantur earn jampridem factam non fuisse. Ita 
 Alexandri expeditio in Asiam habita est initio pro vasto et 
 arduo admodum negotio ; quam tamen postea placuit Livio in 
 tantum elevare ut diceret de Alexandro, Nil aliud quam bene 
 ausus est vana contemnere. 2 Idem Columbo evenit, circa occi- 
 dentalem navigationem. 3 Sed in rebus intellectualibus hoc fit 
 multo frequentius, uti videre est in plerisque propositionibus 
 apud Euclidem, qua? antequam demonstrentur miras videntur, 
 et quibus quis non facile assenserit; post demonstrationem 
 
 il contrario di quel che pensate. Voglio dire che noi siamo piu vecchi ed abbiamo piu 
 lunga eta> che i nostri predecessor!." Cena di Cenere, i. p. 132. of Wagner's edition 
 of G. Bruno. 
 
 The idea that the early ages were the world's youth is to be found in the second 
 book of Esdras, or is at any rate directly suggested by an expression which occurs 
 there : "Seculum perdidit juventutem suam, et tempora appropinquant senescere." 
 2 Esdras, xiv. 10. The same idea occurs in Casmann's Problemata Marina, which 
 
 was published in 1546. "Si antiquiorum dignitas ex tempore major 
 
 videtur, id nostros qui hodie decent posteriores unice commendabit, nam tempus 
 
 doctius et prudentius evadit ex continue progressu, ut senescens judicio 
 
 sit acriore, solidiore, et maturiore." 
 
 1 This remark, however much in the manner of Lucian, is not his, but Seneca's. 
 It has been preserved to us by Lactantius, who quotes it in his work De falsa 
 Religione, i. c. 1 6. Every one remembers the " adeo senuerunt Jupiter et Mars ? " of 
 Juvenal. Seneca however refers to Jupiter only. 
 
 2 Liv. ix. 17. 
 
 3 The story of Columbus's egg is one of those popular anecdotes which no refutation 
 can get rid of. It was first told by Benzoni, and then greatly embellished by Theodore de 
 Bry, and is in reality only a reproduction of a story perhaps not more authentic told 
 of Brunellesco, the architect, who erected the dome of the cathedral at Florence. 
 See Humboldt in his Examen Critique de I' Histoire de Geographie, &c., vol. iv. p. 152. 
 Bacon is however quite right in saying that after his success Columbus's discovery 
 was depreciated. " I was seven years at your court, and for seven years I was told 
 that my plan was an absurdity," writes Columbus in 1503 to Ferdinand and Isabella ; 
 " and now the very tailors ask leave to go to discover new countries." " A quantos se 
 fablo de mi empresa todos a una dijeron que era burla, agora fasta los sastres suplican 
 por descubrir." Humboldt, 1. c. vol. iii. p. 236.
 
 460 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 autem factam, arripit eas mens per retractionem 1 quandam (ut 
 loquuntur Jureconsulti), tanquam ante perspectas et cognitas. 
 
 Alius error superior! affinis, est eorum qui omnium sectarum 
 atque haeresium veterum, postquam excussae fuissent et venti- 
 l&tsB, optimam semper obtinuisse posthabitis aliis existimant. 
 Itaque putant, si quis de integro institueret inquisitionem et 
 examen, non posset non incidere in aliquas ex rejectis opinioni- 
 bus, et post rejectionem amissis et obliteratis ; quasi vero mul- 
 titudo, aut etiam sapientes multitudinis deliniendae gratia, non 
 illud saepe probarint quod populare magis atque leve sit, quam 
 quod solidum atque alte radices agens. Tempus siquidem 
 simile est fluvio, qui levia atque inflata ad nos devehit, solida 
 autem et pondus habentia submergit. 
 
 Alius error a reliquis diversus, est praematura atque proterva 
 reductio doctrinarum in artes et methodos ; quod cum fit, 
 plerunque scientia aut parum aut nihil proficit. Nimirum ut 
 ephebi, postquam membra et lineamenta corporis ipsorum per- 
 fecte efformata sunt, vix amplius crescunt ; sic scientia, quamdiu 
 in aphorismos et observationes spargitur, crescere potest et 
 exurgere ; sed methodis semel circumscripta et conclusa, ex- 
 poliri forsan et illustrari aut ad usus humanos edolari potest, 
 non autem porro mole augeri. 
 
 Alius error succedens ipsi quern postremo notavimus, est quod 
 post singulas scientias et artes suas in classes distributas, mox 
 a plerisque universal! rerum cognition! et Philosophise Prima3 
 renunciatur ; quod quidem profectui doctrinarum inimicissimum 
 est. Prospectationes fiunt e turribus aut locis praealtis, et im- 
 possibile est ut quis exploret remotiores interioresque scientias 
 alicujus partes, si stet super piano ejusdem scientiae, neque 
 altioris scientiae veluti speculam conscendat. 
 
 Alius error fluit ex nimia reverentia et quasi adoratione in- 
 tellectus humani ; unde homines abduxere se a contemplatione 
 naturae atque ab experientia, in propriis meditationibus et ingenii 
 commentis susque deque volutantes. Caeterum praeclaros hos 
 opinatores et (si ita loqui licet) Intellectualistas, qui tamen pro 
 maxime sublimibus et divinis philosophis haberi solent, recte 
 Heraclitus perstrinxit ; Homines, inquit, gucerunt veritatem in 
 microcosmis suis, non in mundo majori."* Respuunt enim quasi 
 
 1 We ought doubtless to read relroactionem, but as the meaning is obvious I have 
 not thought it necessary to introduce the change into the text 
 
 2 See Nov. Org. i. 42.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 461 
 
 abecedarium naturae, primumque in operibus divinis tirocinium ; 
 quod si non facerent, potuissent fortasse gradatim et sensim, 
 post literas simplices et deinceps syllabas, ad textum et vo- 
 lumen ipsum creaturarum expedite legendum ascendere. At 
 illi contra jugi mentis agitatione urgent et tanquam invocant 
 suos Genios, ut vaticinentur eis edantque oracula, quibus merito 
 et suaviter decipiuntur. 
 
 Alius error huic posteriori finitimus est, quod homines saepius 
 imbuant et inficiant meditationes et doctrinas suas opinionibus 
 quibusdam et conceptibus propriis, quos potissimum in admira- 
 tione habent, aut artibus quibus maxime addicti et consecrati 
 sunt ; caetera omnia illis deliciis inficientes et quasi intingentes, 
 licet fuco admodum fallaci. Sic suaa philosophise immiscuit 
 Plato theologiam, Aristoteles logicam, secunda schola Platonis 
 (Proclus scilicet et reliqui) mathematicas. Istas enim artes 
 solebant illi tanquam filiolos suos primogenitos suaviari. At 
 Chymici e paucis experimentis ad foculum et fornacem novam 
 philosophiam excuderunt. Et Gilbertus, popularis noster, phi- 
 losophiam aliam ex magnete elicuit. 1 Sic Cicero, cum varias 
 opiniones de natura animae recensens, tandem in musicum inci- 
 disset, qui animam esse harmoniam statuebat, facete dixit ; Hie 
 ab arte sua non recessit. 2 Sed de hoc genus erroribus apposite 
 et prudenter ait Aristoteles, Qui respiciunt ad pauca, de facili 
 pronunciant. 3 
 
 Alius error est impatientia dubitandi, et coeca festinatio de- 
 cernendi absque debita et adulta suspensione judicii. Nam 
 bivium contemplations non est dissimile bivio actionis a veteri- 
 bus saepius memorato ; cujus altera via initio plana et facilis erat 
 fine autem impervia; altera ingredient! aspera erat et confra- 
 
 1 Of the writings of William Gilbert of Colchester, thus slightingly spoken of, Galileo 
 has left this judgment : " lo sommamente laudo ammiro & invidio questo autore per 
 essergli caduto in mente concetto tanto stupendo circa cosa maneggiata di inflniti 
 ingegni sublimi, ne da alcuno avvertita ; parmi anco digno di grandissima laude per le 
 molte nuove & vere osservazioni fatte da lui in vergogna di tanti autori mendaci & 
 vani, che scrivono non sol quel che sanno ma tutto quello che senton dire dal volgo 
 sciocco senza cercare di assicurarsene con esperienza, forse per non diminuire i lor 
 libri. Quello che avrei desiderate nel Gilberti e, che fusse stato un poco maggior 
 matematico, & in particolare ben fondato nella geometria, la pratica della quale 
 1' avrebbe reso men risoluto nelP accettare per concludenti dimostrazioni quelle ragioni 
 ch' ei produce per vere cause delle vere conclusion! da se osservate. " Dialogi del 
 massimi Sistemi. 
 
 Compare for the opinion of modern scientific writers, Dr. Whewell's History of the 
 Inductive Sciences. 
 
 The " concetto tanto stupendo" here mentioned refers to Gilbert's notion of the 
 magnetic polarity of the globe. 
 
 2 " Hie ab artificio suo non recessit." Tusc. Quasi, i. c, 10. 
 8 De Generatione et Corrupt, i. 2.
 
 462 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 gosa, ubi paulo processeris expedita et aequabilis. Haud seers 
 in contemplationibus, si quis a certis ordiatur, in dubia desinet; 
 sin a dubiis incipiat eaque aliquandiu patienter toleret, in certis 
 exitum reperiet. 
 
 Similis error se ostendit in modo tradendi doctrinam, qui ut 
 plurimum est imperiosus et magistralis, non ingenuus et li- 
 beralis ; ita demum compositus, ut potius fidem imperet quam 
 examini subjiciatur. Non negaverim in summariis libellis ad 
 praxim destinatis hanc formulam scribendi retineri posse, verum 
 in justis tractatibus de scientiis utrumque extremum vitandum 
 censeo, tarn Velleii Epicurei, nil tarn metuentis quam ne dubi- 
 tare de re aliqua videretur *, quam Socratis et Academiae omnia 
 in dubio relinquentium. Candori potius studendum, resque 
 majore aut minore contentione tradendae, prout rationum mo- 
 mentis parcius aut plenius sint probatae. 
 
 Alii errores sunt in scopis quos homines praefigunt sibi, et in 
 quos conatus suos et labores dirigunt. Cum enim diligentiores 
 literarum Coryphaei ad id collimare debeant praecipue, ut arti 
 quam profitentur aliquid praeclarum adjiciant ; hi contra in se- 
 cundis tantummodo consistere sat habent ; vel subtilis inter- 
 pretis, vel antagonistaB vehementis et nervosi, vel methodici 
 abbreviatoris, nomen ambientes ; unde reditus et vectigalia 
 scientiarum augeri possunt, patrimonium et fundus minime. 
 
 Omnium autem gravissimus error in deviatione ab ultimo 
 doctrinarum fine consistit. Appetunt enim homines scientiam, 
 alii ex insita curiositate et irrequieta ; alii animi causa et de- 
 lectationis ; alii existimationis gratia ; alii contentionis ergo, 
 atque ut in disserendo superiores sint; plerique propter 
 lucrum et victum; paucissimi ut donum rationis divinitus 
 datum in usus humani generis impendant. Plane, quasi in 
 doctrina quaareretur lectulus, in quo tumultuans ingenium et 
 aestuans requiesceret ; aut xystus sive porticus, in quo animus 
 deambularet liber aut vagus ; aut turris alta et edita, de qua 
 mens ambitiosa et superba despectaret ; aut arx et propugna- 
 culum ad contentiones et praelia ; aut officina ad quaestum et 
 mercatum ; et non potius locuples armarium et gazophylacium, 
 ad opificis rerum omnium gloriam et vita? humanaa subsidium. 
 Hoc enim illud est, quod revera doctrinam atque artes con- 
 decoraret et attolleret, si contemplatio et actio arctiore quam 
 
 1 Cicero, De Nat. Deor. L c. 8. [Compare Nov. Org. i. 67.]
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 463 
 
 adhuc vinculo copularentur. Quae certe conjunctio tails foret, 
 qualis est supremorum duorum planetarum syzygia, cum Sa- 
 turnus, quietis et contemplationis dux, cum Jove, duce societatis 
 agendique, conspiret. 1 Quanquam cum de praxi atque actione 
 loquor, nullo modo ad doctrinam professoriam et lucrosam innuo. 
 Neque enim me fugit, quantopere hoc ipsum progressionem 
 doctrinas et amplificationem moretur; perinde quidem ut aureum 
 malum ante oculos Atalantae projectum, quod ut tollat dum 
 flectit se, cursus interea impeditur ; 
 
 Declinat cursus, aurumque volubile tollit. 2 
 
 Neque rursus mihi in animo est, quod de Socrate dictum erat, 
 Philosophiam devocare de ccelo, ut tantummodo versaretur in 
 terris 3 ; hoc est, Physicam seponi, ut Moralis Philosophia et 
 Politica celebraretur sola ; sed quemadmoduin coelum et terra 
 simul conspirant et consentiunt ad hominum tuendam vitam 
 atque juvandam, ita sane hie finis esse debet utriusque Philo- 
 sophise, ut rejectis vanis speculationibus et quidquid inane ac 
 sterile est, conservetur quidquid solidum est ac fructuosum ; ut 
 hoc pacto Scientia non sit tanquam scortum, ad voluptatem, aut 
 tanquam ancilla, ad quaestum ; sed tanquam sponsa, ad genera- 
 tionem, fructum, atque solatium honestum. 
 
 Jam explicasse videor et quasi dissectione quadam aperuisse 
 vitiosos illos humores, aut saltern eorum prascipuos, qui non 
 solum obstitere profectui literarum, verum etiam culpandis 
 iisdem ansam dedere. Quod quidem si nimis ad vivum fece- 
 rim, meminisse oportet, Fidelia vulnera amantis, sed dolosa oscula 
 malignantis.* Utcuuque, hoc certe mihi videor assecutus, ut 
 merear fidem in sequenti praeconio, cum superior! censura tarn 
 libere egerim. Neque tamen in animo est mihi panegyricum 
 literarum scribere, aut hymnum Musis praecinere, licet forsitan 
 diu jam sit ex quo sacra earum rite celebrata sint ; sed consi- 
 lium est absque pigmentis et hyperbolis verum doctrinae contra 
 alias res pondus excipere et perpendere, verumque ejus valorem 
 et pretium ex testimoniis divinis atque humanis exquirere. 
 
 Primo igitur quaeramus dignitatem scientiae in archetypo, 
 sive exemplari 5 : id est, in attributis atque actis Dei, quatenus 
 
 1 This conjunction cannot however take place without in some measure affecting 
 the good influences of Jupiter. So at least we are told by astrological writers. " Sa- 
 turnus conjunctus Jovi bona decernit in Saturn! significatis, verum minuuntur signi- 
 ficata beneficia Jovis." Argolo, Pare. Ptolem. p. 47. 
 
 2 Ovid, Metam. x. 667. 3 Cicero, Tusc. v. c. 4. 4 Proverbs, xxvii. 6. 
 5 In illustration of this word we may refer to Philo-Judaeus, who in the commence-
 
 464 DE AUGMEJTTIS SCTESTIARCM 
 
 revehntnr bomini, et sobrie indagari poasunt. Qua in re ncn 
 competit appeHatio Doctrinae, cum omnis doctrina oft scientia 
 acqnisita; nuHa autem cognitio in Deo acqmsha est, aed origi- 
 nalis. Itaqne aliod quserendum est nomen, Sapiemtia scilicet, 
 nt Sacne Scriptural earn indigitant. 
 
 Sic antem se res babet: In operibns creationis dnplicem 
 yirin|iy di vinac fmttna^m^m videmus, quarmn fifra ad potentiam 
 refertur, akera ad eapientiam. 1 ffla pnecipue cemitnr in 
 creanda mole materae, haec in polcnritiidine formae disponenda. 9 
 Hoc poato notandnm est, nihil in onpatiomn hktoria obetare, 
 qoin fberit confdaa ilia coefi terrxqoe maaaa et materia unico 
 temporis momento oreata ; coi tamen disponendae digerendaeque 
 ex es fbenmt attnbuti: adeo agnanter Dens opera potential 
 ac aapientiae dJacnnunarit. Cm accedit, qnod de materiae crea- 
 tione memoriae pfoditmn non sit dixisse Deum, Fiat caehtm et 
 Irrria, acnt de sequentibus operibos dkrtam est ; sed node atque 
 actnaliter, Dem* creaeit eaehtm et terram*: ita nt materia 
 ndeatnr tanqnam mazm facta, formae TOO introductio stihim 
 babeat kgis ant decxeti. 4 
 
 Pergamns a Deo ad Angelas, quorum natara dignatione est 
 Deo praxima. Tidemns in ordinibus Angelormn (qnatenns 
 fides adhibenda Ccelesti 3K Hkzarcbiae, quae Dion jm Areopa- 
 gitae nomine emlgatur 1 ) prinuan locum obtznexe Seraphim, 
 AngeJos scificet amoris; ffpfiiiMlM 1 " Cherubim^ Angelos illnmi- 
 natioais; teithnn antem locum et seqnentes Thrtnos, Pruuri- 
 ptitibm*, caetesisoine Angelis potentiae et mmkterii concedi; nt 
 
 atf MB tort Jte <g<fci> Mmm^ upmmfa ihe fcat wn rf Oaetfa. the 
 
 ' The fa* rf ttr 
 
 tolek^ei Out M. lewMre, wte f* kfe wk cotiOHl >MM * fa 

 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 465 
 
 ex hoc ipso ordine ac distributione clarran sit, Angelos scientise 
 et illuminationis Angelis imperil et potentise praeponi. 
 
 A Spiritibus et Intelligentiis ad formas sensibiles et ma- 
 teriatas descendentes, legimus primani fonnarum creatarum 
 iuis^c Lucem; quse in naturalibus et corporeis, Scientiae in 
 spiritualibus atque incorporeis responded 1 
 
 Sic in distributione dierum, videmus diem qua requievit 
 Deus et contemplates est opera sua benedictam fuisse supra 
 onines dies quibus creata est et disposita fabrica universi. 
 
 Po?t creationem absolutam legimus Hominem collocari in 
 Paradiso, ut illic operaretur ; quod quidem opus aliud esse non 
 poterat quam quale pertinet ad contemplandum ; hoc est, cujus 
 finis non ad necessitatem aliquam, sed ad delectationem et acti- 
 Titatem sine molestia, referri possit, Cum enim tune temporis 
 nulla potuerit esse creature reluctatio, nullus sudor vnltus, 
 necessario sequitur actiones humanas ad voluptatem et con- 
 templationem, non ad laborem aut opus, comparatas fuisse. 
 Rumi:?, prinise hominis actiones, quas in Paradiso exercuit, 
 duas summarias scientise partes complexae sunt. Hie erant, in- 
 spectio creaturarum, et impositio nominum. Nam scientia ilia 
 qu lapsum introduxit (quod et ante monuimus) non erat na- 
 turalis scientia circa creaturas, sed moralis scientia de Bono et 
 Halo ; ex hac suppositione, quod Dei mandata aut yetita non 
 essent principia Boni et Mali, sed quod alias haberent ilia 
 origines; quorum oognitionem aftectavit homo, scilicet ut to- 
 taliter a Deo deficeret, et sibi ipsi suoque arbitrio prorsus 
 inniteretur. 8 
 
 Veniamus ad ea quse statim post lapsum contigere. Vide- 
 mus (ut innumera sunt Sacrarum Soripturamm mysteria, salva 
 semper veritate historica et literali) imaginem duarum vitarum, 
 contemplative nimirum et actirse, in personis Abelis et Caini. 
 inque eorum institutis et primitivis rivendi rationibus deli- 
 neatam ; quorum alter pastor erat (qui propter ot aim et quietum 
 liberumque coeli aspectum typus est vit theoricse), alter agri- 
 
 th first c*t*d ligtet w material or spiritual was a reach discussed 
 question. S. Augustine is dcckkdly indind to the opinkn of its beins spiritual, 
 which was apparently suggested by the circumstance that oo roenttoa is made in tbe 
 fim chapter of Oeneato of On creation of angels. For on thte Tiew the primitive light 
 was in reality the angelic nature. 
 
 * "Prtmos homo peccavit principaUter appetendo simffitndincm Dei quantum ad 
 sdentiam honi et mali, skut serpeus ei su^jessit, ut scilicet per virtutem propri* 
 natur* detvrminarvt sibi quid esset booum et quid malura ad apcndum." & 
 Swm. ZlUat Sbo. SbcmtlL q. 16S. a. 2. 
 
 VOL. I. H H
 
 466 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 cola (laboribus scilicet fatigatus, et aspectu in terrain defixus). 
 Ubi cernere est, favorem electionemque divinam ad pastorem 
 accessisse, non ad agricolam. 1 
 
 Sic ante Diluvium, Sacri Fasti, inter paucissima quae de eo 
 saeculo memorantur, dignati sunt memoriae prodere inventores 
 musicse atque operum metallicorum. Sequenti saeculo post 
 Diluvium, gravissima poena qua Deus humanam superbiam 
 ultus est fuit confusio linguarum, qua doctringe liberum com- 
 mercium et literarum ad invicem communicatio maxime in- 
 terclusa est. 
 
 Descendamus ad Mosem legislatorem et primum Dei no- 
 tarium, quem Scripture ornant hoc elogio, quod gnarus et 
 peritus esset omnis doctrince ^Egyptiorum* QUJB quidem gens 
 inter vetustissimas mundi scholas numeratur. Sic enim Plato 
 inducit JEgyptium sacerdotem dicentem Soloni: Vos Greed 
 semper pueri estis, nullam vel scientiam antiquitatis vel antiqui- 
 tatem scientice habentes. 3 Perlustremus Caeremonialem Legem 
 Mosis, reperiemusque (praeter Christi praefigurationem, distin- 
 ctionem populi Dei a gentibus, exercitium obedientise, aliosque 
 ejusdem legis usus sacros) nonnullos doctissimorum Rabbinorum 
 baud inutilem circa earn navasse operam, ut sedulo eruerent, 
 quandoque naturalem, quandoque moralem sensum caeremo- 
 niarum et rituum. Exempli gratia : ubi de lepra dicitur, Si 
 effloruerit discurrens lepra, homo mundus erit et non recludetur: 
 sin caro viva in eo erit, immunditice condemnabitur, et ad sacerdotis 
 arbitrium separabitur. 4 Ex hac lege colligit unus eorum axioma 
 in natura: Putredinem pestilentiorem esse ante quam post ma- 
 turitatem. Alius morale documentum elicit : Homines jlagitiis 
 undique coopertos minus corrumpere publicos mores, quam me- 
 diocriter ex parte tantum malos : adeo ut ex hoc et similibus 
 locis ejus legis, praeter sensum theologicum, haud pauca ad 
 philosophiam spectantia spargi videantur. 
 
 Si quis etiam eximium ilium Jobi librum diligenter evol- 
 
 1 By Philo-Judaeus, whom Bacon has more than once quoted, Cain is taken as the 
 type of the frame of mind which leads us to refer to ourselves the origin of our 
 thoughts and energies, Abel of that which refers all things to God. See also Augus- 
 tin, Cir. Dei, xv. 1. From this view the transition to that of the text is easy. 
 The generally recognised types of the active and contemplative ways of life are, I 
 think, Rachel and Leah in the Old Testament, Mary and Martha in the new. See 
 S. Augustine, De Consent. Evangelist, i., for what is said of Leah and Rachel, and 
 S. Thomas Aquinas, Sum. Theol. 2 a 2 dlM> q. 179. a. 2. 
 
 ' Acts, vii. 22. 
 
 Tiraaus, p. 22. b. [See Nov. Org. i. 71.] * Levit xiii. 12.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 467 
 
 verit, plenum eum et tanquam gravidum naturalis philosophise 
 mysteriis deprehendet. 1 Exempli gratia ; circa cosmographiam 
 et rotunditatem terras illo loco, Qui extendit aquilonem super 
 vacuum, et appendit terram super nihilum 2 ; ubi pensilis terra, 
 polus arcticus, et coeli convexitas in extimis, haud obscure 
 insinuantur. Rursus circa astronomiam et asterismos, illis 
 verbis : Spiritus ejus ornavit ccelos, et obstetricante manu ejus 
 eductus est coluber tortuosus. 3 Et alio loco : Nunquid conjungere 
 valebis micantes stellas Pleiadas, aut gyrum Arcturi poteris dis- 
 sipare?* ubi immota configuratio stellarum fixarum, paribus 
 intervallis semper inter se distantium, elegantissime describitur. 
 Item alio loco : Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et 
 interiora Austri 5 ; ubi iterum innuit depressionem antarctici 
 poli, eamque designat nomine interiorum Austri,, quia australes 
 stellas nostro hemisphaerio non cernuntur. Circa generationem 
 animalium : Annon sicut lac mulsisti me, et sicut caseum co- 
 agulasti me 6 ? &c. Circa rem metallicam : Habet argentum 
 venarum suarum principia, et auro locus est in quo conflatur, 
 ferrum de terra tollitur, et lapis solutus color e in as vertitur 7 : 
 et sequentia in eodem capite. 
 
 Pariter et in persona regis Salomonis videmus donum sapi- 
 entiae, turn in petitione ipsius turn in concessione divina, omnibus 
 terrenae et temporalis foelicitatis bonis praelatum ; virtute cujus 
 doni et concessionis Salomon egregie instructus, non solum 
 scripsit insignes illas parabolas sive aphorismos de divina 
 atque morali philosophia, verum etiam composuit naturalem hi- 
 storiam omnium vegetabilium, a cedro super montem usque ad 
 museum super murum 8 (qui nihil est aliud quam rudimentum 
 plantae, putredinis et herbse medium), omniumque etiam quas 
 respirant et moventur. Imo idem rex Salomon, quamvis ex- 
 celluerit opibus, magnificentia aedificiorum, classe, famulitio, 
 nominis celebritate, et reliquis quae ad gloriam pertinent, nihil 
 tamen ex ista glorias segete sibi ipsi decerpit aut assumit, prse- 
 ter decus inquirendi et inveniendi veritatem. Sic enim diserte 
 ait : Gloria Dei est celare verbum, et gloria regis investigare 
 sermonem. 9 Ac si Divina Majestas innoxio illo et benevolo 
 
 1 A similar view of the book of Job will be found in Giordano Bruno. See his 
 works, i. 1 74. of Wagner's edition. 
 
 2 Job, xxvi. 7. * Job, xxvi 13. 
 * Job, xxxviii. 31 ; where however the English version is different 
 
 5 Job, ix. 9. In our version the Hyades are replaced by the Pleiades. 
 
 6 Job, x. 10. 
 
 7 Job, xxviii. 1,2. 8 1 Kings, iv. 33. 9 Proverbs, xxv. 2. 
 
 H H 2
 
 468 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 puerorum ludo delectaretur, qui ideo se abscondunt ut in- 
 veniantur ; quasique etiam nihil esset honorificentius regibus, 
 quam Dei collusores esse in eodem ludo ; praesertim cum tot 
 ingeniis imperent, tantasque opes praesto habeant, quibus 
 omnis secreti investigatio absolvi possit. 
 
 Nee vero aliter haec dispensavit Deus, postquam Salvator nos- 
 ter in mundum venisset. Ille ^nini prius potentiam ostendit suam 
 in profliganda ignorantia, ubi cum doctoribus et sacerdotibus 
 dissereret in Templo, quam in subj Uganda natura tot et tantis 
 editis miraculis. Adventus quoque Spiritus Sancti praacipue 
 adumbratus atque expressus fuit in similitudine ac dono lin- 
 guarum, quse sunt duntaxat vehicula scientice. 
 
 Ita in seligendis illis instrumentis quos adhibuit Deus ad 
 fidem disseminandam, initio homines evocavit plane indoctos et 
 illiterates, praeterquam quod Spiritus Sancti afflatu instructi 
 fuissent ; quo evidentius virtutem suam immediatam et divinam 
 declararet, omnemque humanam sapientiam deprimeret. Quam- 
 primum autem consilium suum in hac parte perimpletum esset, 
 mox in proxima successione temporum, divinam veritatem suam 
 aliis doctrinis veluti pedissequis comitatam in mundum immisit. 
 Itaque D. Pauli calamus (qui inter Apostolos solus literatus 
 fuit ' ), in Scripturis Novi Testament! praecipue a Deo adhibitus 
 est. 
 
 Sic et novimus complures ex antiquis episcopis et patribus 
 egregie fuisse in omni ethnicorum eruditione versatos. Adeo 
 ut Edictum Juliani, quo cautum est ne Christiani ad scholas et 
 gymnasia mitterentur 2 , perniciosior machina ad expugnandam 
 fidem Christianam, quam cruentae superiorum imperatorum per- 
 secutiones habitum fuerit. Neque Gregorii Primi, episcopi 
 Romani, (caetera viri egregii) asmulatio et invidentia, qui ethni- 
 corum authorum et antiquitatum memoriam obliterare stude- 
 bat 3 , in bonam partem etiam apud viros pios accepta est. 
 
 1 It has been thought however that St. James must have been acquainted with as- 
 tronomy. This opinion is founded on the phrase rendered in the English version 
 " variableness or shadow of turning ;" his meaning being, it is said, that neither paral- 
 lax nor the alternate approach to and receding from the solstice affects the Sun of 
 Suns, whose aspect is the same at all places and throughout all time. Certainly if no 
 astronomical allusion be intended, it is curious to see how easily the expressions used 
 admit of this interpretation. 
 
 2 See Ammianus Marcellinus, xxii. c. 10. and xxv. c. G., and compare Gibbon, who 
 points out that the edict only forbids Christian professors to teach. S. Augustine re- 
 lating what he had been told by Simplicianus makes the latter say, " Imperatoris 
 Juliani temporibus lege data prohibit! sunt Christiani docere literaturam et oratoriam." 
 Confess, viii. 5. 
 
 2 See with respect to this charge the references collected in Dunlop's History of
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 469 
 
 Quinimo sola Christiana Ecclesia, inter inundationes Scytharum 
 a plagis septentrionalibus et Saracenorum ab orientalibus, pre- 
 tiosas gentilis eruditionis reliquias, jarajam funditus perituras, 
 sinu et gremio suo conservavit. Nuper etiam intueri licet 
 Jesuitas, qui (partim studio proprio, partim ex aamulatione 
 adversariorum, literis strenue incubuerunt) quantum subsidii 
 viriumque Romanae Sedi reparandae et stabiliendae attulerint. 
 
 Quare, ut absolvam hanc partem, duo sunt praecipua officia 
 et ministeria, praeter ornatum et illustrationem, quae Fidei Re- 
 ligionique humaniores literae persolvunt. Unum, quod efficacia 
 sint incitamenta ad divinara gloriam exaltandam et celebrandam ; 
 sicut enim Psalmi et alias Scripturae crebro nos invitant ad 
 contemplationem praedicationemque magnificorum et admira- 
 bilium operum Dei, ita si tantum in eorum specie externa sicut 
 sensibus nostris se exhibent haereremus, eandem faceremus in- 
 juriam Majestati Divinae, ac si de opulentia et copia nobilissimi 
 gemmarii ex iis quaa palam exponuntur in pergula judicaremus. 
 Alterum, quod singulare remedium antidotumque exhibeat 
 Philosophia contra infidelitatem et errores. Nam Salvator 
 noster inquit: Erratis nescientes Scripturas et potentiam Dei. 1 
 Ubi duos libros, ne in errores incidamus, proponit nobis evol- 
 vendos ; primo volumen Scripturarum, quae voluntatem Dei, 
 dein volumen Creaturarum, quaa potentiam revelant : quorum 
 posterior veluti clavis est prioris, non solum intellectum nos- 
 trum aperiens ad genuinam Scripturarum mentem ex genera- 
 libus regulis rationis et legibus sermonis expromendam ; sed 
 porro etiam praecipue fidem nostram reserans, ut in seriam 
 ingrediamur Omnipotentiaa Divinae meditationem, cujus cha- 
 racteres maxime insculpti ejus operibus et incisi sunt. Tantum 
 de Divinis testimoniis ac judiciis, pro vera dignitate et pretio 
 doctrinae, dictum sit. 
 
 Quantum ad Humana testimonia et argumenta, tarn latus 
 aperitur campus, ut in tractatu hoc brevi et presso delectum 
 potius adhibere deceat quam copiam. Primo itaque summus 
 apud ethnicos honoris gradus fuit, divinam venerationem cul- 
 tumque consequi; (quod quidem Christianis est tanquam fructus 
 
 Roman Literature (1823), ii. 510. It is strangely transferred by Mr. Disraeli in the 
 Curiosities of Literature to Gregory VII. Mersenne, ubi supra, objects to Bacon's not 
 giving the title of Saint, to Gregory. This would not be worth mentioning if it did 
 not show how little he could find to criticise. 
 1 Matt. xxii. 29. 
 
 H H 3
 
 470 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 vetitus ; nunc vero loquimur separatim de judiciis humanis). 
 Itaque (ut coepimus dicere) apud ethnicos ille quern Graeci 
 Apotkeosin, Latini Relationem inter Divos vocarunt, supremus 
 honor fuit, qui homini ab homine tribui posset ; praesertim ubi 
 non ex decreto aut edicto aliquo imperil (ut Cresaribus apud 
 Romanos), sed ex opinione hominum et fide interna ultro defer- 
 retur. Cujus honoris tarn excelsi gradus quidam erat, et terminus 
 medius. Quippe supra humanos honores, hero'ici numerabantur 
 et divini; in quorum distributione hunc ordinem tenuere veteres. 
 Rerumpublicarum conditores, legislatores, tyrannicidae, patres 
 patriaa, quique in rebus civilibus optime meruerunt, insigniti 
 sunt titulo Heroum tantuna, aut Semideorum ; quales fuere 
 Theseus, Minos, Romulus, ceterique. Ex altera parte inven- 
 tores et authores novarum artium, quique vitam humanam 
 novis commodis et accessionibus dotarunt, semper consecrati 
 sunt inter Deos ipsos Majores ; quod Cereri, Baccho, Mercurio, 
 Apollini, et aliis contigit. Quod certe jure et sano cum ju- 
 dicio factum est. Nam priorum benemerita intra unius aetatis 
 aut nationis limites fere coercentur ; nee absimilia sunt imbribus 
 tempestivis et benignis, qui quamvis frugiferi sint atque opta- 
 biles, tamen pro ilia tempestate tantum qua decidunt, atque pro 
 amplitudine tractus terras quam irrigant, utiles sunt; poste- 
 riorum vero beneficia, ut ipsius solis et coelestium munera, 
 temporibus perpetua, locis infinita sunt. Ilia rursus cum con- 
 tentione et perturbatione ut plurimum conjuncta sunt; hsec 
 habent verum characterem Divinae Praesentiae, veniuntque in 
 aura leni *, absque tumultu aut strepitu. 
 
 Neque sane doctrinae meritum in civilibus et in reprimendis 
 incommodis quae homo homini infert, multum cedit illi alteri in 
 sublevandis humanis necessitatibus quae ab ipsa natura im- 
 ponuntur. Atque hoc genus meriti optime adumbratum fuit 
 sub ilia ficta narratione de theatre Orphei ; ubi singulae bestiae 
 avesque congregates sunt, quas appetituum suorum innatorum 
 immemores, praedaa, ludi, pugnse, amice placideque una stetere, 
 citharae concentu et suavitate captae ; cujus sonus ubi aut ces- 
 saret aut majori sonitu obrueretur, omnes illico anunantes ad 
 ingenium redibant. Qua in fabula eleganter describuntur in- 
 genia et mores hominum, qui variis et indomitis cupiditatibus 
 agitantur, lucri, libidinis, vindictae ; qui tamen quamdiu aures 
 
 1 "Post ignem sibilus aurac lenis." 1 Kings, xix. 12. I quote from the Vulgate, 
 as the English version, a still small voice," presents a different image.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 471 
 
 praebent praeceptis et suasionibus religionis, legum, magistrorum, 
 in libris, sermonibus, et concionibus eloquenter et suaviter 
 modulantibus, tamdiu pacem colunt et societatem; sin ista 
 sileant aut seditiones et tumultus obstrepant, omnia dissiliuiit 
 et in anarchiara atque confusionem relabuntur. 
 
 Sed enim hoc clarius cernitur, cum reges ipsi aut magnates 
 aut prasfecti eruditione praediti sint. Utut enim suis addictus 
 nimium partibus videatur, qui dixit l , Turn demum respublicas 
 forefelices, cum aut philosophi regnant, aut reges philosophantur ; 
 hoc tamen experientia notum est, sub eruditis principibus et 
 custodibus reipublicae ssecula maxime foelicia fuisse. Quamvis 
 enim reges ipsi suos habeant errores et vitia, affectibus scilicet 
 et pravis consuetudinibus pro more caeterorum hominum ob- 
 noxii ; tamen doctrinarum si accedat lumen, anticipatae quaedam 
 notiones religionis, prudentias, honestatis, retinent eos, et ab 
 omni praecipiti et immedicabili excessu et errore refraenant; 
 aurem semper vellentes, etiam cam consiliarii et domestic! 
 silent. Quin senatores ipsi et consiliarii qui literis exculti 
 sunt, solidioribus innituntur principiis quam qui ab experientia 
 tantum edocti sunt ; illis ex longinquo prospicientibus pericula 
 et mature propulsantibus, cum isti tantum ex propinquo et 
 cominus sapiant, nihil videntes nisi quod imminet, et tune 
 demum agilitate ingenii sui se in ipso periculorum articulo 
 expedire et eripere posse confidentes. 
 
 Quae fbelicitas temporum sub eruditis principibus (ut semper 
 brevitati studeam, adhibens non nisi lectissima quaeque exempla 
 et maxime illustria) praecipue cernitur eo in saeculo, quod a 
 morte Domitiani imperatoris usque ad imperium Commodi 
 defluxit; successionem sex principum eruditorum, aut certe 
 eruditioni impense faventium, complectente ; omniumque (si 
 temporalia bona spectemus) quae unquam vidit Roma, totius 
 orbis tune epitome, longe florentissimo. Id quod Domitiano, 
 pridie ejus diei quo interfectus est, in somnis praemonstratum 
 erat ; quippe qui videre visus est caput aureum sibi pone cer- 
 vicem enatum esse 2 ; quod sane vaticinium aureis illis subse- 
 quentibus saeculis adimpletum est; de quibus sigillatim sed 
 brevissime verba faciam. 
 
 Nerva vir doctus fuit, Apollonii illius Pythagorei familiaris 
 
 1 Plato in the fifth book of the Republic. 
 
 2 Suetonius in Domitiano, sub finera ; who however speaks only of a golden ex- 
 crescence. 
 
 H H 4
 
 472 DE AUG51ENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 et quasi discipulus, qui etiam fere expiravit in versu illo 
 Homeri, 
 
 Telis, Phoebe, tuis lacrymas ulciscere nostras. 1 
 
 Trajanus non ipse quidem doctus, sed doctrinae admirator et 
 erga literates munificus, bibliothecarum institutor, et in cujus 
 aula (licet imperatoris bellicosi) professores et paedagogos gra- 
 tiosissimos fuisse memoria? proditum est. Adrianus curiosissiuaus 
 mortalium, et inexplebilis omnis varietatis et secreti investiga- 
 tor. 2 Antoninus subtilis et quasi scholasticus, unde etiam Cy- 
 mini Sector 3 vocatus est Ex Divis Fratribus autem, Lucius 
 Commodus molliori literarum genere eruditus ; Marcus etiam 
 cognomine ipso philosophus. Hi principes, ut doctissimi, ita et 
 optimi fuerunt. Nerva clementissimus imperator, quique, si 
 nihil aliud, orbi Trajanum dedit. Trajanus, omnium qui im- 
 perarunt, et belli et pacis artibus maxime florens ; idem imperii 
 fines longissime protulit ; idem vim dominationis modestissime 
 cohibuit; maximorum etiam exstructor operum, unde a Con- 
 stantino Parietaria 4 per invidiam vocatus est, propter nomen 
 ejus tot parietibus incisum. Adrianus temporis ipsius a3mulus ; 
 mjurias enim et ruinas temporis, in quoquo genere, cura et mu- 
 nificentia sua reparavit. Antoninus (ut etiam appellatus est) 
 vir maxime Pius, nativa quadam et insita bonitate omnibus 
 ordinibus gratus, cujusque regnum (licet baud breve) omnis 
 calamitatis expers. Lucius Commodus fratri quidem bonitate 
 cedens, reliquos imperatores plurimos superans. Marcus, vir 
 ad exemplar virtutis compositus, cuique scurra 5 ille in Con- 
 vivio Deorum nihil habuit quod objiceret, prseter patientiam 
 erga mores uxoris. In hac itaque continua sex principum serie 
 videre cuivis liceat foelicissimos fructus doctrinae in imperio 
 collocatae, in maxima orbis terrarum tabula depictos. 
 
 Jam vero doctrina non in civilia tantum atque artes pacis 
 influxum habet, sed et in militari virtute exercet vim suam ac 
 potentiam ; ut clare perspicitur in exemplis Alexandri Magni 
 et Caesaris dictatoris ; quorum antea obiter meminimus, nunc 
 vero ea paulo fusius retractabimus. Horum virtutes militares 
 
 1 Iliad, i. 42. See Dio Cassius, or rather Xiphilinus in Nerva. 
 
 2 Besides which he has left some well known Latin verses, and in the Greek 
 Antholoyy one or two pieces are ascribed to him, so that he must at least have had 
 the reputation of being a Cxreek poet. 
 
 3 Ku^ij/oirpi'o-i-Tjs. Xiph. in Anton. Pio, 
 
 ' Aurelius Victor, Epist. c. 41. * Silenus ; v. the Casart of Julian.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 473 
 
 et res in bello gestas supervacaneum esset notare aut recensere, 
 cum in eo genere mundi miracula exstiterint; sed de amore 
 ipsorum et studio erga literas, necnon in iisdem excellentia 
 propria, non alienum erit si pauca subjungamus. 
 
 Educatus-fuit Alexander edoctusque ab Aristotele (philo- 
 sopho certe magno), qui nonnullos e libris suis philosophicis ei 
 nuncupavit. A latere illius nunquam discedebat Callisthenes 
 aliique pereruditi viri, qui castra sequebantur, et perpetui erant 
 omnium ejus itinerum et expeditionum comites. Quo autem 
 pretio literas habuerit, baud pauca liquido demonstrant ; veluti 
 invidia qua dignam censuit Achillis fortunam, quod gestarum 
 rerum laudumque suarum Homerum prgeconem invenerat ; ju- 
 dicium de pretiosa Darii arcula inter reliqua spolia reperta, de 
 qua cum quaestio moveretur quidnam potissimum dignum esset 
 quod in ea asservaretur, ipse, cum alii alia dicerent, pro Homeri 
 operibus sententiam tulit l ; epistola objurgatoria ad Aristotelem 
 missa, postquam libros Physicorum edidisset, in qua expostulat 
 quod philosophiaj mysteria evulgasset ; simulque rescribit malle 
 se omnibus doctrina et cognitione quam potentia ac imperio 
 praecellere. 2 Sunt et alia quas hue spectant. Ipse vero quam 
 egregie animum excoluisset doctrina, in omnibus ejus dictis et 
 responsis apparet, vel potius refulget, eruditione plenissimis ; in 
 quibus, licet numero pauca sint quae adhuc supersint, singularum 
 scientiarum vestigia alte impressa reperias. 
 
 In Moralibus, observetur primo Alexandri apophthegma circa 
 Diogenem, et adverte (si placet) si forte non unam ex gravis-? 
 simis quasstionibus Moralis Philosophies constituat : Utrum qui 
 fruitur externis bonis felicior sit, an qui contemnit ? Cum enim 
 Diogenem cerneret tarn parvo contentum, conversus ad circum- 
 stantes, qui ejus conditionem subsannabant, Nisi essem, inquit, 
 Alexander, optarem esse Diogenes. At Seneca in hac compara- 
 tione Diogenem praetulit, cum diceret, Plus erat quod Diogenes 
 nollet accipere, quam quod Alexander posset dare. 3 
 
 In Naturalibus, observetur illud quod crebro usurpabat, In 
 duabus se rebus mortalitatem suam maxime percipere, somno et 
 libidine 4 : quod sane dictum ex intima Natural! Philosophia 
 depromptum est, non tarn Alexandrum quam Aristotelem aut 
 Democritum sapiens ; cum tarn indigentia quam redundantia 
 naturae, per ilia duo designata, mortis sint tanquam arrhabones. 
 
 1 Pliny, vii. 19. * Plutarch in Alex. c. 7. " Seneca, De Benef. v. c. 4. 
 
 4 Plutarch, " Quomodo amicus discerncndus," &c.
 
 474 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 In Poeticis, observetur dictum illud, quum sanguine e vul- 
 neribus ejus effluente, accerseret unum ex adulatoribus qui ei 
 divinitatem tribuere solebat, Specta, inquit, hominis iste sanguis 
 est, non talis liquor qualem dixit Homerus Veneris e manu ma- 
 nasse, vulnerata a Diomede ; hoc dicto et poetas et assentatores 
 BUGS et seipsum ridens. 1 
 
 In Dialecticis, accipe reprehensionem illam argutiarum dia- 
 lecticarum circa rejicienda et retorquenda argumenta, in dicto 
 suo quo perstrinxit Cassandrum delatores patris sui Antipatri 
 repellentem. Cum enim Alexander forte dixisset, Nunquid 
 putas hos homines tarn longum Her suscepturosfuisse, nisijustam 
 doloris causam habuissent ? respondit Cassander, Imo hoc ipsum 
 animos eis dedit, quod sperdbant longinquitatem vice obstituram 
 quo minus calumnia proderetur. Euge, inquit rex, strophas 
 Aristotelis, rem pro et contra detorquentes.' 1 Attamen hac ipsa 
 quam in alio carpebat arte, cum res postularet, in commodum 
 suum uti probe noverat. Ita enim accidit, ut Callisthenes 
 (quern odio clam habebat, quod novse ejus inter Divos relation! 
 refragaretur) in quodam convivio rogatus esset ab una discum- 
 bentibus, ut oblectationis gratia (cum esset vir eloquentissimus) 
 thema aliquod pro arbitrio sibi sumeret, de quo subito diceret ; 
 ille autem annuens, et laudes gentis Macedonicae eligens, miri- 
 fico cum omnium applausu disseruit. At neutiquam hoc 
 delectatus Alexander subjecit, In bona causa facile est cuilibet 
 esse eloquenti ; quin verte, inquit, stilum, et quid contra nos possis 
 audiamus. Callisthenes negotium in se recepit, idque tarn 
 acerbe tamque aculeate prsestitit, ut Alexander interpellans 
 diceret, Etiam malus animus, ceque ac bona causa., indit elo- 
 quentiam.* 
 
 In Rhetoricis, ad quse tropi et ornamenta pertinent, ecce tibi 
 elegantissimum metaphorae usum, qua Antipatrum imperiosum 
 et tyrannicum praesidem perstrinxit. Cum enim amicus quidam 
 Antipatri laudaret eum coram Alexandro, quod tarn moderatus 
 esset, neque in Persicum (prout alii praefecti) luxum, usumque 
 purpurae, veteri Macedonia? amictu exuto, degeneraret, At intus, 
 inquit Alexander, Antipater est totus purpureus. 4 Etiam et ilia 
 
 1 Plutarch in Alex and., or in his tract on Alexander's fortunes. Rousseau tells a 
 story of a Piedmontese nobleman, who happening while at table to cut his hand, 
 remarked jestingly to those about him, "Messieurs, voila du sang Pelasge." 
 
 2 Plut. in Alexand. c. 74. * Plut. in Alexand. c. 53. 
 
 4 Plut. Apopthegms. Antipater was not praised for keeping to the Macedonian dress, 
 but generally for the severity of his way of life. Bacon was probably misled by Eras-
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 475 
 
 metaphora insignia : cum Parmenio ad eum accederet in campis 
 Arbellae, eique ingentem hostium exercitum monstraret, qui 
 oculis subjacens noctu propter infinitum numerum ignium 
 veluti alterum firmamentum stellatum repraesentabat, ideoque 
 consuleret ut nocturne praelio illos invaderet, Nolo, inquit 
 Alexander, suffurari victoriam. 1 
 
 In Politicis, attende gravissimam illam et prudentissimam 
 distinctionem, (quam omnis posteritas amplexa eat,) qua duos 
 ex prsecipuis ejus amicis, Hephaestioneni et Craterum, discrevit, 
 quum diceret alterum Alexandrum amare, alterum amare regem"* ; 
 dissimilitudinem maximi ponderis etiam inter fidelissimos regum 
 servos constituens, quod alii magis dominorum suorum personas 
 vero affectu prosequantur, alii potius moveantur officio erga 
 principatum ipsum. Spectetur etiam quam eximie redargueret 
 errorem, principum consiliariis familiarem, qui plerumque 
 consilia pro modulo sui animi et fortunse, non dominorum, 
 suggerunt. Cum enim Darius magnas Alexandro offerret 
 conditiones, Parmenio, Ego, inquit, si essem Alexander, acci- 
 perem. Subjecit Alexander, Et ego equidem, si essem Parme- 
 nio.* Postremo, excutiatur acre illud atque acutum responsum 
 ad amicos interrogantes, quid sibi reservaret cum tot et tanta 
 donaret? Spem*, inquit: quippe qui probe sciret, subductis 
 rationibus, spem veram esse sortem et tanquam haereditatem ad 
 magna aspirantium. Haec Julii Caasaris sors, cum proficiscens 
 in Galliam universas opes profusis largitionibus exhausisset. 
 Haac etiam sors Henrici Ducis Guisii, nobilissimi principis licet 
 nimium ambitiosi, de quo illud increbuit, Foeneratorem eum 
 fuisse unum omnium Gallorum maximum, eo quod omnes opes in 
 nominibus haberet, atque patrimonium universum in obligationes 
 convertisset. 6 Casterum admiratio hujus principis, dum eum 
 
 mus, who took the story from Plutarch without rightly understanding it. Alexander 
 compared Antipater to a \evKowapv<f>os (or -white-striped) garment, which on the 
 inside, the irapvtyt) or clavus being an external appendage, showed no trace of white, 
 but was purple throughout. Erasmus confounded \fvK(nrapv<t>os with \tvKos and ap- 
 parently supposed the remark to refer to Antipater's dress. In the Advancement of 
 Learning and in the Apophthegms Bacon speaks of the '' Macedonian habit of black." 
 See Erasm. Apophth. book iv. 17. 
 
 1 Plut. in Alex. c. 31. 2 Ut supra, c. 47. 8 Ut supra, c. 29. 
 
 4 Plut. in Alexand. c. 15., or De Alexandri Fortuna, p. 342. According to Plu- 
 tarch, Alexander had only one friend, namely Perdiccas, disinterested enough to 
 ask the question. In the Apophthegms the inaccuracy of the text is avoided, but 
 Parmenio is substituted for Perdiccas. Tos \iriSas in Alexander's reply is rather 
 "that which I hope for " than " hope," "mes esperances," not "l'espoir"in the 
 abstract. 
 
 5 It was said of him and Henry III. that the one was " Re nell' affetto," and the
 
 476 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 mihi non ut Alexandrum Magnum sed ut Aristotelis discipulum 
 propono, longius fortasse me provexit. 
 
 Quantum ad Julium Cassarem, non est opus ut de praestantia 
 eruditionis ejus, aut ex educatione aut ex familiaribus aut ex 
 responsis ejus conjecturam faciamus. Haec siquidem eminet in 
 ejus scriptis et libris, quorum alii exstant, alii infoeliciter desi- 
 derantur. Primo enim, hodie in manibus habetur insignis ilia 
 bellorum suorum historia, cui nomen et titulum Commenta- 
 riorum duntaxat praefixit ; in quo omnes posteri solidum rerum 
 pondus, et viva tarn actionum quam personarum simulachra, cum 
 castissima puritate sermonis narrationisque perspicuitate eximia 
 conjuncta, admirantur ; quas quidem dotes non a natura infusas 
 fuisse sed a praeceptis institutisque doctrinae acquisitas, testatur 
 liber ejus de Analogia *, qui nihil aliud erat quam grammaticalis 
 quaedam philosophia ; in quo sedulo dedit operam ut vox ad 
 Placitum redderetur vox ad Licitum ; et consuetude quoquo 
 modo loquendi ad congruitatem revocaretur emendate loquendi ; 
 et verba, quae sunt rerum imagines, rebus ipsis convenient, non 
 vulgi prorsus arbitrium sequerentur. 
 
 Ita etiam, veluti monumentum doctrinae non minus quam 
 potentiae, emendatam ejus edicto habemus computationem anni ; 
 quae diserte testatur aeque eum gloriae sibi duxisse siderum in 
 coelis leges pernosse, ac hominibus in terris leges dedisse. 
 
 Ex libro quoque, cui titulum praeposuit Anti-Cato 2 , facile 
 constat eum tanto studio acceneum ad victoriam ingenii, quanto 
 belli et armorum, obtinendam ; certamen calami turn susci- 
 pientem contra maximum eo tempore pugilem, Ciceronem 
 oratorem. 
 
 Rursus, in libro Apophthegmatum quae collegit, videmus 
 honorificentius sibi putasse si seipsum tanquam in tabellas aut 
 codicillos mutaret, in quos prudentia aliorum dicta graviaque 
 referrentur, quam si dicta sua propria velut oracula sacrarentur, 
 sicut inepti principes nonnulli, adulation e corrupti, sibi fieri 
 gestiunt. Attamen si recensere vellem pleraque ejus dicta (ut 
 feci in Alexandro), sunt ea certe hujusmodi, qualia notat Sa- 
 
 other "nell' effetto." If his brother had inherited his popularity be might probably 
 have been both. 
 
 1 The intention of this work of Caesar was probably to determine uncertain points 
 of language by the analogy of cases which were free from doubt. In the Origines of 
 Isidorus, i. c. 27., we find an account of what grammarians mean by analogy. The 
 truth is, that though Bacon speaks of the work in question as if he were familiar with 
 its contents, very little is known about them. [Compare vi. 1. in the 6th paragraph.] 
 
 - Plut in Jul. Cses. c. 54. ; and Aulus Gellius, xiii. c. 9.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 477 
 
 lomon, Verba sapientum sunt tanquam aculei, et tanquam claw 
 in altum defixi. 1 Itaque tria hie tantum proponam, non tarn 
 elegantia quam vi et efficacia mirabilia. 
 
 Primo igitur, magister sit oportet loquendi, qui unico verbo 
 seditionem in exercitu comprimere potuit. Sic autem se res 
 habuit. Romanis mos fuit, dum exercitum duces alloquerentur, 
 Milites uti eos appellarent ; cum magistratus populum, Qui- 
 rites. Tumultuabantur milites Caesaris, ac missionem seditiose 
 flagitabant ; non quod hoc ipsi cuperent, sed ut hoc postulate 
 Csesarem ad alias conditiones adigerent. Ille immotus atque 
 inconcussus, silentio facto, sic exorsus est; Ego, Quirites ; quo 
 verbo eos jam dimissos significabat. Eo perculsi milites, et 
 plane obstupefacti, concionantem deinceps perpetuo obturba- 
 bant, et postulate illo missionis posthabito, contra obnixe pete- 
 bant ut Militum appellatio eis restitueretur. 2 
 
 Secundum fuit hujusmodi. Regis nomen Caesar summe 
 affectabat. Itaque subornati sunt nonnulli, qui praetereuntem 
 popular! acclamatione Regem salutarent. Ille sentiens accla- 
 mationem tenuem fuisse ac raram, negotium joco transmisit, ac 
 si erratum esset in cognomine, Non Rex sum, inquit, sed Casar. 3 
 Dictum sane hujusmodi, ut si diligenter excutiatur, vigor ejus 
 et pondus vix exprimi possit. Primum enim recusationem 
 nominis prse se ferebat, sed neutiquam seriam. Deinde ingentem 
 quandam confidentiam et magnanimitatem monstrabat ; ac si 
 Cassaris appellatio illustrior titulus esset quam Regis; quod 
 haud secus evenit, et usque in hodiernum diem obtinuit. Sed 
 quod illius maxime intererat, hoc dictum summo artificio finem 
 suum nrgebat. Hoc enim innuebat S. P. Q. R. de re levi, hoc 
 est nomine tantum (nam potestatem regiam jampridem habebat), 
 secum contendere ; ac tali nomine, quale complures etiam ex 
 familiis obscuris gerebant ; nam cognomen Regis multis Ro- 
 manorum gentilitium erat, quemadmodum et nos simile quiddam 
 nostro idiomate habemus. 
 
 Ultimum quod hoc loco repetere placet, tale fuit. Cum 
 Caesar post bellum initum Romam occupasset, atque sanctius 
 aerarium reclusisset, ut pecunias ibi ,congestas in usus belli tol- 
 leret, restitit Metellus, utpote tune temporis Tribunus; cui 
 Caesar, Si perstes, inquit, mortuus es. Dein reprimens se pau- 
 
 ' Eccles. xii. 11. 
 
 2 Suetonius in Julio, c. 70., and conf. Appian De Bellis Civilibus, ii. c. 93. 
 
 3 Suetonius, ub. sup. c. 79. App. ii.c. 108. The anecdote reminds one of the title 
 Rey Gomez, which was given to Philip the Second's favourite Buy Gomez de Silva.
 
 478 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 lum, subjecit; Adolescens, durius est mihi hoc dicere quam 
 facere 1 : dictum tarn mirifice ex terrore et dementia conflatum, 
 ut nihil supra. 
 
 Verum ut C^esarem mittamus, perspicuum est eum probe 
 sibi conscium suse eximiae eruditionis fuisse ; ut liquet ex eo, 
 quod demirantibus nonnullis Lucii Syllae consilium in depo- 
 nenda dictatura, cavillans dixit; Sylla nescivit literas, dictare 
 non potuit* 
 
 Nunc autem tempus videtur imponendi finem huic disserta- 
 tioni de arcta conjunctione militaris virtutis et literarias (quid 
 enim in hoc genere post Alexandrum et Caesarem afferri potest ?) 
 nisi quod moveor unius alterius exempli dignitate et insolentia, 
 eo quod tarn subito transient a ludibrio ad miraculum. Est 
 autem Xenophontis philosophi, qui e Socratis ludo profectus 
 est in Asiam cum Cyro Juniore, in expeditione contra regem 
 Artaxerxem. Hie Xenophon eo tempore peradolescens fuit, 
 et nunquam aciem aut castra viderat, neque tune praefecturam 
 aliquam in exercitu gerebat, sed tantum sponte ob amicitiam 
 Proxeni proficiscebatur. Aderat forte fortuna, cum Falinus a 
 Magno Rege legatus ad Grsecos veniret, postquam Cyrus in 
 acie occubuisset, Grseci autem (manipulus tantummodo homi- 
 num) duce orbati, in medio provinciarum Persia^ a patria sua 
 plurimorum milliarium intervallis et fluminibus maximis atque 
 altissimis interclusi essent. Legatio hue spectabat, ut positis 
 armis atque deditis se regia? dementia? submitterent. Cui lega- 
 tion! antequam publice responsum esset, complures ex exercitu 
 familiariter cum Falino colloquebantur, inter quos Xenophon 
 ita forte locutus est : Imo, inquit, Faline, hcec duo tantum nobis 
 jam supersunt, arma et virtus ; si igitur arma dedamus, cui usui 
 (obsecro) nobis erit virtus ? At Falinus subridens, Ni fallor 
 (inquit) Atheniensis es (adolescens) et. philosophies incumbis, at- 
 que bellula sunt quce dicis ; sed valde erras, si virtutem vestram 
 regiis copiis parem esse arbitreris. 3 Ecce ludibrium ; sequitur 
 miraculum. Novitius iste ex schola, et philosophus, postquam 
 omnes duces et pnefecti proditione interempti essent, decem 
 millia peditum Babylone in Graeciam reduxit per medias Regis 
 
 1 Plut. in JuL c. 35. 2 Sueton. in Jul. c. 77. 
 
 8 The story here referred to is told in the Anabasis, ii. 1. 12. But it seems clear 
 that the remark to which Phalynus replies is incorrectly ascribed to Xenophon. 
 Schneider replaces his name by that of Theopompus. Xenophon who then held no 
 command in the Greek army could scarcely have been present at the conference 
 between Phalynus and the generals, and the next sentence of his narrative implies 
 that he only knew by report what had passed there.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 479 
 
 provincias, omnibus ejus copiis frustra obnitentibus ; quo facto 
 stuporem injecit omnibus, Graecis autem ab eo tempore ingentea 
 addidit animos et spiritus ad Persarum regnum invadendum et 
 subvertendum. Quod et mox cogitavit sane et designavit 
 Jason Thessalus; tentavit et inchoavit Agesilaus Spartanus; 
 perfecit demum Alexander Macedo, omnes literati istius praevii 
 egregio facinore incitati. 
 
 Pergamus ab imperatoria militarique virtute ad moralem, et 
 earn quae est hominum privatorum. Primo, certissimum est 
 illud poetae, 
 
 Scilicet ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes 
 Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros. 1 
 
 Eruditio siquidem humanas mentes feritate atque barbaric 
 exuit. Veruntamen opus est, ut accentus sit in voce ilia Fide- 
 liter. Nam tumultuaria cognitio flectit potius in contrarium. 
 Eruditio, inquam, levitatem, temeritatem, atque insolentiam 
 tollit ; dum omnia pericula et ambigua simul cum re ipsa sug- 
 gerit, rationum et argumentorum pondera in utramque partem 
 librat, prima quaeque quae se offerunt animo eique arrident pro 
 suspectis habet, iterque omne tanquam explorato inire docet. 
 Eadem admirationem rerum vanam et nimiam evellit, radicem 
 ipsam omnis infirmi consilii : quippe admiramur res, vel quia novas 
 sunt, vel quia magnae. Quantum ad novitatem, nemo est qui 
 literas et rerum contemplationem penitus imbiberit, quin illud 
 cordi impressum habeat, Nil novi super terrain. 2 Neque enim pu- 
 parum ludum quisquam magnopere mirabitur, qui pone aulaea 
 caput inserens organa quibus moventur et filamenta cernit. 
 Quantum ad magnitudinem, quemadmodum Alexander Magnus 
 ingentibus praeliis et victoriis in Asia assuetus, cum interdum ac- 
 ciperet e Grascia literas de expeditionibus et dimicationibus qui- 
 busdam illic factis, quas plerunque propter pontem aliquem aut 
 castellum, aut ad summum pro expugnatione oppidi alicujus, 
 suscipiebantur, dicere solebat, Videri sibi nuncium allatum de 
 ranarum et murium pugna, de qua Homerus 3 : sic certe, qui uni- 
 versitatem rerum ej usque fabricam intueatur, illi terrse globus, 
 
 1 Ovid, Ex. Pont. ii. 9. 47 ; but not quite accurately quoted. It has not perhaps 
 been remarked that Ovid seems to have taken this gnome from Theophrastus : 5o? 
 yap r] iraiSela, /col TOVTO Travrts ofnohoyovat, ij/j.tpovv TOS tyvxfo, cupatpovoct rb SyptSiSes 
 /cal &yvw[u>v. Theophrastus, in the additions to Stobseus, first published by Gaisford 
 (p. 419. of his edition of the Florilegium.) 
 
 2 " There is no new thing under the sun." Eccles. i. 9. 
 
 It was of an engagement between Antipater and Agis that Alexander spoke as a 
 It took place just after the battle of Arbela. Plut. in Agesil. c. 15.
 
 480 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 cum hominibus superstantibus, (si divinitatera animarum sepo- 
 nas) baud majus quidpiam videbitur quam colliculus formi- 
 carum ; quarum alias cum granis, aliae cum ovis suis, alias vacure, 
 omnes hinc inde circa exiguum pulvisculi acervum reptant et 
 cursitant. 1 Porro eruditio aufert, aut saltern minuit, timorem 
 mortis atque adverse fortunae, quo nihil magis virtutibus mori- 
 busque officere solet. Si enim animus cujuspiam contemplatione 
 mortalitatis et rerum naturae corruptibilis imbutus fuerit et 
 intinctus, juxta cum Epicteto sentiet ; qui, cum pridie exiens 
 mulierculam ob fractam ollam plorantem cerneret, postridie 
 etiam exiens aliam mortuum filium deflentem conspiceret, dixit : 
 Heri vidi fragilem frangi, hodie vidi mortalem mori? Quare 
 optime et valde sapienter Virgilius cognitionem causarum cum 
 metus omnis profligatione copulavit, tan quam concomitantia ; 
 
 Foelix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas, 
 Quique metus omnes et inexorabile fatum 
 Subjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari. 3 
 
 Nimis longum esset singula percurrere remedia, qua? singulis 
 animi morbis doctrina suppeditat ; aliquando vitiosos humores 
 expurgans, nonnunquam obstructiones aperiens, alias concocti- 
 onem juvans, alias appetitum excitans, non raro vulnera ejus 
 et ulcera sanans, et similia. Quare concludam cum hoc, quod 
 videtur rationem habere totius ; ita nimirum animum doctrinam 
 disponere et flectere, ut nunquam protinus acquiescat et tan- 
 quam congeletur in defectibus suis, quin incitet se semper pro- 
 gressumque spiret. Nescit illiteratus quid sit in se descendere 
 aut secum inire rationes, aut quam suavis vita sit quae indies 
 sentit se fieri meliorem 4 ; si qua forte virtute praeditus sit, earn 
 
 1 "Formicarum iste discursus est in angusto laborantium." Seneca, Qutest. Nat.i. 
 in praef. 
 
 2 See Epictetus's Enchiridion, chapters 8. and 33. for the idea which is here pre- 
 sented, I know not on what authority, in a dramatic form. It was probably familiar 
 to the minds of the later Stoics. Compare Plutarch, Consol. ad Apoll. 
 
 s Georgics, ii. 490. 
 
 4 [In the Advancement of Learning this sentence is given in Latin, as if it were a 
 quotation: " Suavissima vita indies sentire se fieri meliorem." In the Promus it is 
 given in a form slightly different : " Suavissima vita Indies meliorem fieri."] Dante 
 alludes to this gnome, 
 
 " E come, per sentir piu dilettanza, 
 Bene operando 1' uom, di giorno in giorno 
 S' accorge che la sua virtute avanza, &c. Farad, xviii. 58. 
 
 It comes originally from the Memorabilia : [though not in so sententious a shape. 
 KO! MV rovr6 76 olffQa en ol fj.lv ol6/j.fvoi /tfjSev (v Trpdrretv OVK ev<t>paii>ovrai, ol 5t 
 ifT/ovfjifvoi KoAws irpox^pfiv kavrols ^ yetapyiav ^ va.\)K\T\piav i) a\\' o, n &v Tvyx^vtairiv 
 fpya.6/j.evot us fv irpdrrofrfs ttt<ppaivovrcu ; ole oZv otirb irain<av TOVTGW .Toao.\ni\v 
 rjSov^v flvcu o<n)v airb rov tavT&v rt riysiaQai /SeXrt'w yevetrdat, Kal <pi\ovs afidvovs 
 KTturOat ; '701 roiVw Siarf Aw ravra vopifav. Xen. Mem. i. 6. ]
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 481 
 
 venditabit scilicet, et ubique spectandam exponet, eaque utetur 
 forsitan commode, quam tamen excolere et augere negligit. 
 Kursus, si quo vitio laborat, artem atque industriam illud ce-> 
 landi atque occultandi, minime autem corrigendi, adhibebit; 
 tanquam malus messor, qui perpetuo demetit, falcem autem 
 nunquam exacuit. Literatus contra non tantum utitur ammo 
 virtutesque exercet, sed continuo emendat se et in virtutem 
 proficit. Imo, ut in summa dicam, pro certo est veritatem et 
 bonitatem distingui tantum sicut sigillum et impressionem ; 
 nam veritas bonitatem signat; et contra, vitiorum ac pertur- 
 bationum procellas ex erroris et falsitatis nubibus erumpunt. 1 
 
 A virtute transeamus ad potentiam et imperium ; et dispicia- 
 mus, si uspiam inveniatur tanta potentia et regnum, quanto 
 eruditio hominis naturam investit et coronat. Videmus digni- 
 tatem imperandi sequi dignitatem ejus cui imperatur. Imperium 
 in belluas et pecora, quale bubulcorum aut opilionum, res vilis ; 
 imperium in pueros, quale ludimagistrorum, minus honorificum ; 
 imperium in mancipia potius dedecori est quam honori ; neque 
 multo praestantius est imperium tyrannorum in populum ser- 
 vilem atque animis et generosa indole exutum. Unde hoc 
 semper manavit judicium, honores in liberis monarchiis aut 
 rebuspublicis suaviores esse quam sub tyrannis, quia imperiuni 
 honorificum magis supra volentes est, quam supra invitos et 
 coactos. Ideoque Virgilius, cum ex intimo artificio inter hu- 
 manos honores longe vellet optimos expromere, quos Augusto 
 Caesari assignaret, in haec ipsa verba loquitur ; 
 
 Victor que volentes : j 
 Per populos dat jura, viamque aflfectat Olympo. 2 
 
 Ast imperium scientiae longe Celsius est quam imperium in 
 voluntatem, licet liberam et non astrictam. Ilia enim rationi, 
 fidei, et intellectui ipsi dominatur, qui est altissima pars animi 
 et voluntatem ipsam regit. Etenim nulla proculdubio terrena 
 est potestas qua? in spiritibus hominum et animalibus, eorumque 
 cogitationibus et phantasiis, assensu quoque et fide, thronum 
 et quasi cathedram suam erigit et collocat, praeter doctrinam 
 et scientiam. Ac idcirco videmus detestabilem illam et im- 
 mensam delectation em, qua haeresiarchae, falsi prophetae, et 
 impostores magni perfunduntur et rapiuntur, postquam sense- 
 
 1 [The original edition has ertimperunt : a misprint which is corrected in Rawley's 
 edition, 1638.] See on the relation between veritas and bonitas, S. Thomas, Sum. 
 Theolog. i. q. 16. 
 
 2 Georg. iv. 561 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 482 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 rint in fide et conscientiis hominum coepisse se regnare ; tantam 
 eerte, ut qui earn semel degustaverit nullis fere persecutionibus 
 aut tormentis adigi possit ut hoc regno se abdicet. Sicut autem 
 hoc illud est, quod in. Apocalypsi dicitur dbyssus sive profunda 
 Sathance 1 ; ita e contrario Justus et legitiimis in animos ho- 
 minum dominatus, veritatis ipsa evidentia ac commendatione 
 dulcissima stabilitus, sane quam proxime ad potestatis divinae 
 similitudinem accedit. 
 
 Quod ad fortunas et honores spectat, munificentia doctrinaB 
 non sic regna integra et respublicas locupletat et ditat, ut non 
 hominum etiani privatorum fortunas et opes amplificet et 
 evehat. Vetus enim observatio est, Homerum pluribus sup- 
 peditasse victum quam Syllam, Caesarem, aut Augustum ; licet 
 tot congiaria, tot donativa, tot agrorum assignationes largiti 
 sint. Certe difficile dictu est, anna an literae plurium fortunas 
 constituerint. Quin si de summa potestate loquamur, videmus, 
 si anna aut jus haereditatis Regnum contulerunt, at literarum 
 sorti saepius cessit Sacerdotium, quod regni semper fuit rivale. 2 
 
 Rursus, si delectationem jucunditatemque scientiae intuea- 
 ris, multum sane ilia voluptates alias omnes exuperat. Quid 
 enim? Num forte affectuum voluptates tanto intervallo ob- 
 lectamenta sensuum excedent, quanto voti assecutio foelix can- 
 tiunculam aut coenam; et non pari gradatione intellectus 
 voluptates eas qua? sunt affectuum transcendent ? In caeteris 
 oblectationibus satietas est finitima, et postquam paulo in- 
 veteraverint, flos ipsarum et venustas marcescit ; quo docemur, 
 non illas liquidas revera voluptates ac sinceras fuisse, sed umbras 
 tantum et fallacias voluptatum, non tarn qualitate sua quam 
 novitate jucundas. Unde et voluptarii saepius fiunt monachi, 
 et ambitiosorum principum senectus tristior fere est et me- 
 lancholia obsessa. Scientiae autem non est satietas, verum et 
 fruendi et appetendi perpetua et subinde recurrens vicissitude ; 
 ut necesse sit hujus delectationis bonum simplex esse, non ex 
 accidente, aut cum fraude. Neque ilia voluptas, quam depingit 
 Lucretius, ultimum in animo locum sortitur, 
 
 Suave mari magno, turbantibus sequora ventis, &c. s 
 
 1 Rev. ii. 24. 
 
 2 Campanella says somewhere : "To Japhet belong law and empire ; Shem has the 
 priesthood ; Ham is the tyrant and the slave." I regret that I cannot give a precise 
 reference to this striking remark. 
 
 1 De Nat. Rer. ii. 1.
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 483 
 
 Suave est spectaculum (inquit) stantem aut ambulantem in 
 littore, navem intueri tempestate in mart jactatam : suave itidem 
 ex edita turri duas cernere acies concursantes in planitie ; at nil 
 dulcius est homini, quam mens per doctrinam in arce veritatis col- 
 locata, unde aliorum errores et labores dispicere possit. 
 
 Denique, ut mittamus vulgaria ilia argumenta, quod per 
 doctrinam scilicet homo homini in eo prcestet, in quo ipse brutis ; 
 quod ope doctrinse ascendat homo intellectu usque ad coelos., 
 quo corpore non potest ; et alia similia ; cum eo concludamus 
 bono hanc dissertationem de literarum excellentia, ad quod 
 humana natura ante omnia aspirat, hoc est, immortalitate et 
 aeternitate. Hue enim spectant procreatio sobolis, nobilitatio 
 familize, aedificia, fundationes, monumenta, fama, ac denique 
 humanorum votorum summa. Atqui videmus monumenta in- 
 genii et eruditionis quanto diutius durent quam ea quae opere 
 et manu facta sunt. Annon Homeri carmina viginti quinque 
 annorum centurias, et supra, absque unius syllabae aut litera 
 jactura duraverunt? Quo spatio innumera palatia, templa, 
 castella, urbes, collapsa sunt aut diruta. Picturse ac statuae Cyri, 
 Alexandri, Cassaris, imo regum et principum multo recentiorum, 
 nullo jam sunt modo parabiles ; archetypa enim ipsa jamdudum 
 confecta vetustate perierunt, exempla autem indies primigenia 
 similitudine mulctantur. At ingeniorum imagines perpetuo in- 
 tegrae manent in libris, nullis temporum injuriis obnoxiaa, utpote 
 quae jugem renovationem recipere possunt; quanquam nee 
 imagines dici proprie possint, quia perpetuo generant quodam- 
 modo, seminaque sua in animos hominum spargunt, atque 
 aetatibus subsequentibus infinitas actiones opinionesque susci- 
 tant et progignunt. Quod si navis inventum res existimata 
 tarn nobilis et admirabilis fuerit, quas opes mercesque hinc 
 inde transportat, regiones locis disjunctissimas participatione 
 fructuum et commodorum consociat ; quanto rectius literag 
 celebrari debent, quse, tanquam naves sulcantes oceanum tem- 
 poris, remotissima saecula ingeniorum et inventorum commercio 
 et societate copulant ? Porro videmus nonnullos philosophorum 
 qui maxime immersi erant sensibus minimeque divini, atque 
 immortalitatem animae prasfracte negabant; hoc tamen vi veri- 
 tatis adactos concessisse, quoscunque motus et actus anima 
 humana absque corporis organo praestare possit, eos etiam post 
 mortem permanere probabile esse ; quales nimirum erant intel- 
 lectus, minime autem affectuum motus. Adeo scilicet scientia 
 
 n 2
 
 484 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM LIB. PRIM. 
 
 immortalis visa est res illis, atque incorruptibilis. 1 Nos autera 
 quibus divina revelatio illuxit, conculcantes hasc rudimenta 
 atque ofFucias sensuum, novimus non solum mentem, sed et 
 affectus perpurgatos, neque animam tantum, sed etiam corpus 
 ad immortalitatem assumptum iri suo tempore. Sedenim me- 
 minerint homines, et nunc et alias ubi opus fuit, me in proba- 
 tionibus de dignitate scientiae inde ab initio sejunxisse testimonia 
 divina ab humanis ; quam methodum constanter retinui, sepa- 
 ratim utrunque explicans. 
 
 Quamvis vero haec ita sint, nequaquam tamen hoc mihi su- 
 mo, neque me consequi posse confido, ut ulla causaa hujus pro 
 doctrina peroratione aut actione judicia rescindam, vel ^Esopici 
 gam, qui granum hordei gemmae praetulit ; vel Mida, qui cum 
 arbiter factus esset inter Apollinem Musarum, et Panem ovium 
 praesidem, opulentise palmam detulit; vel Paridis, qui spreta 
 sapientia ac potentia primas voluptati et amori dedit; vel 
 AgrippincB, eligentis, Occidat matrem modo imperet -, imperium 
 licet cum conditione detestanda praeoptantis ; vel Ulyssis, qui 
 vetulam pratulit immortalitati, typi certe eorum qui consueta 
 optimis prseponunt ; plurimaque ejusmodi judicia popularia. 
 Haec enim antiquum obtinebunt : verum et illud 
 etiam manebit, cui innixa est semper doctrina 
 tanquam firmissimo fundamento, quodque 
 nunquam labefactari poterit, 
 Justificata est Sapientia 
 a Jiliis suis. 9 
 
 1 The doctrine of the soul's immortality here referred to is that which was attributed 
 to Aristotle and his followers, who are here contrasted with the Platonists, as being 
 more " immersed in the senses." What Aristotle's opinion as to the immortality of the 
 soul really was, is a question which when his philosophy began to be studied indepen- 
 dently of the scholastic theology attracted great attention. I may refer particularly 
 to the celebrated work of Pomponatius. In common with others who in his day pro- 
 fessed themselves followers of the genuine Aristotelian philosophy, he obtained, perhaps 
 not undeservedly, the reputation of holding irreligious opinions on this and on other 
 questions. It is well known that about the same time a school of Platonists was 
 ormed, whose opinions, so far at least as related to natural religion, were favourably 
 contrasted with those of the Aristotelians. Beside Pomponatius, the Qucest. Peripat. 
 of Caesalpinus, ii. c. 8., may be referred to. 
 
 * "Occidat dum imperet." Tac. Ann. xiv. 9. * S. Matt xi. 10.
 
 485 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 1 
 
 CONSENTANEUM videri possit, tametsi non raro secus eveniat, 
 (Rex optime) ut qui sobole numerosa aucti sunt, quique im- 
 mortalitatem suam in posteris ipsorum quasi prospectant, pras 
 cjeterig mortalibus sint solliciti de statu futurorum temporum; 
 utpote quibus satis intelligunt charissima ilia sua tandem debere 
 pignora transmitti. Elizabetha regina, propter vitam coelibem, 
 hospes potius in mundo quam incola fuit ; sua quidem tempora 
 ornavit, et in multis beavit. Enimvero tuae Majestati (cui 
 Deus pro benignitate sua dedit tot suscipere liberos, dignoa 
 certe qui te perpetuent, cuj usque setas vigens et thorus foecundus 
 adhuc plures pollicetur) 2 usquequaque convenit non modo tuum 
 (quod facis) saeculum irradiare, verum etiam ad ilia curas tuas 
 extendere quae memoria omnis alat quaeque ipsa intueatur aeter- 
 nitas. Inter ea autem (nisi studium meum erga literas me fallit) 
 nil dignius est aut nobilius quam si dotetur orbis terrarum 
 Augmentis Scientiarum solidis et fructuosis. Quousque enim 
 tandem pauculos aliquos scriptores statuemus nobis tanquam 
 Columnas Herculis, ne plus ultra in doctrinis progrediamur ; 
 cum habeamus Majestatem tuam instar lucidi et benigni syderis, 
 quod nos inter navigandum conducat et fortunet? 
 
 Ut igitur ad rem redeamus: Recolamus jam et nobiscum 
 perpendamus quid principes viri aliique hue usque ad literarum 
 amplificationem attulerint, quid praetermiserint ? Hoc autem 
 
 1 Here the first part of the Instauratio Magna, the Partitiones Scientiarvm, properly 
 begins; the nine following pages being the preface. J. S. 
 
 2 This passage, being translated from the Advancement of Learning, must be 
 considered of course as written in 1605. /. S. 
 
 II 3
 
 486 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 presse et distincte excutiamus sermone quodam active et mas- 
 culo, nusquam digrediendo, nil amplificando. Ponatur igitur 
 illud (quod quivis concedat) opera quaeque maxima et difficil- 
 lima vel prasmiorum amplitudine, vel consiliorum prudentia et 
 sanitate, vel laborum conjunctione superari ; quorum primum 
 conatum extimulat, secundum ambages et errores tollit, ter- 
 tium mortalium fragilitati succurrit. At inter haec tria merito 
 primas tenet consilii prudentia et sanitas ; hoc est, monstratio et 
 delineatio vice rectae et proclivis ad rem quae proponit peragen- 
 dam : Claudus enim (quod dici solet) in via antevertit cursorem 
 extra viam. Et Salomon, perapposite ad hanc rem ; Ferrum 
 si retusum fuerit, viribus utendum majoribus ; quod vero super 
 omnia prcevalet est sapiential Quibus verbis innuit, medii 
 prudentem electionem efficacius conducere ad rem, quam virium 
 aut intentionem aut accumulationem. Haec ut dicam illud im- 
 pellit, quod (salvo semper eorum honore qui de literis quomo- 
 docunque meraerunt) perspicio atque animadverto opera eorum 
 atque acta pleraque ad magnificentiam potius et nominis sui 
 memoriam quam ad scientiarum ipsarum profectum et augmenta 
 spectasse, et literatorum potius numerum auxisse quam artibus 
 ipsis multum incrementi attulisse. 
 
 Actiones autem et opera quae ad literas amplificandas per- 
 tinent circa tria versantur objecta : circa literarum Sedes ; 
 circa Libros ; et circa Personas eruditorum. Quemadmodum 
 enim aqua, sive ex coelesti rore descendens sive ex fontibus 
 scaturiens, facile dispergitur et disperditur, nisi colligatur in 
 aliqua receptacula, ubi per unionem et congregationem se sus- 
 tentare et fovere possit, (quern in finem excogitavit solertia 
 humana aquaeductus, cisternas, stagna ; eaque etiam variis orna- 
 mentis condecoravit, quae magnificentiae et dignitati uon minus 
 quam usui et necessitati deserviant,) similiter liquor iste scien- 
 tiae pretiosissimus, sive a divina inspiratione destillet sive e 
 sensibus exiliat, mox periret omnis atque evanesceret, nisi con- 
 servaretur in libris, traditionibus, colloquiis ; ac praacipue in 
 locis certis his rebus destinatis, quales sunt Academiae, Col- 
 legia, Scholae ; ubi et permanentes habeat sedes, et crescendi 
 insuper et se congregandi copiam et facultatem. 
 
 Ac primo, opera quae ad Musarum Sedes spectant quatuor 
 numerantur ; Edificiorum structura, Proventuum dotatio, Pri- 
 
 1 Eccles. x. 10.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 487 
 
 vilegiorutn concessio, Disciplines lex et institutio ; quae omnia 
 ad secessum et otium (ut plurimum) conferunt, et ad vaca- 
 tionem a curis et molestiis : qualia sunt quae ad alvearia consti- 
 tuenda in usum mellis requirit Virgilius ; 
 
 Principle sedes apibus statioque petenda, 
 Quo neque sit ventis aditus, &c. x 
 
 At opera circa libros duo sunt praecipua : primum bibliothecae, 
 in quibus, tanquam mausolaeis, priscorum sanctorum reliquiae, 
 virtutis plenae, conditse sunt ; secundo, novje editiones autho- 
 rum, emendatioribus impressionibus, fidelioribus versionibus, 
 utilioribus commentariis, annotationibus magis diligentibus, et 
 hujusmodi famulitio, instructae et ornatae. 
 
 Porro opera qua? literatorum hominum personas respiciunt 
 (praeterquam quod ipsi ornandi sint et promovendi) sunt etiam 
 duo : remuneratio et designatio Lectorum in artibus jamdudum 
 inventis et cognitis ; et remuneratio ac designatio Scriptorum 
 circa eas doctrinae partes quae non satis hactenus excultae aut 
 elaborates sunt. 
 
 Haec summatim opera sunt et acta, in quibus inclytorum 
 principum aliorumque illustrium virorum promerita erga rem 
 literariam claruerunt. De particular! alicujus commemoratione 
 qui de literis bene meruit cogitanti, occurrit illud Ciceronis, 
 quod eum post reditum suum ad gratias promiscue agendas 
 impulit ; Difficile non aliquem, ingratum quenquam pr&terire. z 
 Potius (ex Scripturarum consilio) spatium intueamur quod 
 adhuc restat in stadio decurrendum, quam oculos reflectamus ad 
 ea quae a tergo jampridem reliquimus. 
 
 Primum igitur, inter tot totius Europae collegia prseclarissime 
 fundata, omnia ilia certis professionibus destinata esse dermror 3 
 nulla liberis atque universalibus artium et scientiarum studiis 
 dedicata. Nam si quis judicet doctrinam omnem referendam 
 esse ad usum et actionem, recte sapit ; veruntamen facile est 
 isto modo prolabi in errorem ilium quern fabula perantiqua 
 perstringit; in qua caetera corporis membra litem ventriculo 
 intenderunt, quod neque motum praeberet ut artus, neque 
 sensum ut caput; quamvis interea alimentum coctum atque 
 confectum ventriculus ille in reliquum corpus divideret. Plane 
 eodem modo, qui in philosophia ac contemplationibus univer- 
 
 1 Georg. iv. 8. 
 
 2 " Difficile est non aliquem, nefas quenquam prseterire." Cicero, Post Red. c. 12. 
 
 I I 4
 
 488 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 ealibus positum orane studium inane atque ignavum arbitratur, 
 non animadvertit singulis professionibus et artibus exinde 
 succum et robur suppeditari. Atque certe persuasum habeo, 
 hanc ipsam hand minimam causam fuisse cur foelicior doctrinae 
 progressus hue usque retardatus sit ; quod opera hisce fun- 
 damentalibus scientiis navata sit _tantum in transitu, neque 
 haustus pleniores inde epoti. Nam si arborem solito fructuo- 
 siorem fieri cupias, de ramis medicandis frustra cogitaveris; 
 terra ipsa circa radicem subigenda et gleba Icetior admovenda, 
 nut nihil egeris. Neque rursus silentio praetermittendum est, 
 hanc collegiorura et societatum in usura tantummodo doctrinae 
 professoriae dedicationem non solum scientiarum incrementis 
 inimicara fuisse, sed etiam in regnorum et rerumpublicarum 
 detrimentum cessisse. Hinc enim fieri solet ut principes, 
 delectum habituri ministrorum qui rebus civilibus tractandis 
 sint idonei, ejusmodi hominum miram solitudinem circa se 
 reperiant ; propterea quod non habeatur educatio aliqua col- 
 legiata in hos usus destinata, ubi scilicet homines a natura ad 
 hoc facti et comparati, (praeter artes alias) historias, linguis 
 modernis, libris et tractatibus politicis, praecipue incumbant ; ut 
 inde ad civilia munera magis habiles et instructi accedant. 
 
 Quoniam vero fundatores collegiorum plantant, praslectionum 
 vero rigant ; sequitur jam ordine, ut dicam quid in publicis 
 lectionibus desideretur. Nimirum improbo vel maxime tenui- 
 tatem stipend iorum, praslectoribus sive artium sive professionum 
 (praesertim apud nos) assignatam. Interest enim inprimis pro- 
 gressua in scientiis, ut lectores in unoquoque genere ex optimis 
 instructissimisque eligantur ; utpote quorum opera non in usum 
 transitorium, sed ad sufficiendam sobolem scientias in sascula 
 adhibeatur. Id fieri nequit, nisi praemia et conditiones tales 
 constituantur quibus eminentissimus quisque in ea arte plane 
 contentus esse possit ; ut illi demum grave non sit in eodem 
 munere iminori, neque practicam cogitet Quocirca scientia? 
 ut floreant, militaris lex servanda Davidis ; ut cegua esset pars 
 descendentis ad prcelium et manentis ad sarcinas ' ; sarcinis male 
 aliter prospectum erit. Sic lectores in scientiis sunt tanquam 
 conservatores et custodes totius literarii apparatus unde praxis 
 et militia deinceps scientiarum instruatur ; proinde aequum est 
 
 1 1 Sam. xxx. 24. Similarly it was provided by the laws of Alfonso the Wise, in 
 accordance with earlier usage, that' no divison of spoil should be made until those in 
 pursuit of the enemy had returned to the camp. See the Side Partidas, ii. 26. 1.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 489 
 
 ut nierces ipsorum lucra practicomm exjequare posslt. Aliter 
 si patribus scientiarura praemia non constituantur satis ampla et 
 luculenta, eveniet illud, 
 
 Et patrum invalid! referent jejunia nati. 1 
 
 Defectum mine notabo alium, in quo alchymista quispiam in 
 auxilium advocandus foret ; cum id genus hominum studiosis 
 authores sint, ut libros vendant, fornaces exstruant, Minervam 
 ac Musas (tanquam virgines steriles) deserant, ac Vulcano se 
 applicent. Fatendum est enimvero tarn ad penetralia contem- 
 plationis quam ad operative fructum in nonnullis scientiis 
 (praesertim Natural! Philosophia et Medicina) baud unica sub- 
 sidia e libris petenda esse. Qua in re neutiquam omnino cessavit 
 munificentia hominum ; quippe videmus non libros magis quam 
 sphaeras, globos, astrolabia, mappas, et alia similia, ut admini- 
 cula quaedam astronomize et cosmographiae comparari et studio 
 praeberi. Videmus etiam loca nonnulla, Medicinae studio dicata, 
 hortos habere pro simplicium cujusque generis inspectione et 
 notitia; nee usu mortuorum corporum ad observationes ana- 
 tomicas destitui. Caeterum haec ad pauca spectant. In genere, 
 pro certo habeatur, magnos in rebus naturae abditis eruendis et 
 reserandis progressus vix fieri posse, nisi ad experimenta, sive 
 Vulcani sive Daedali (fornacis scilicet aut machinae) vel cujus- 
 cunque alterius generis, sumptus abunde suppeditentur. Ideo- 
 que sicut principum secretariis et emissariis conceditur exhibere 
 rationes expensarum pro diligentiis suis in explorando et eru- 
 endo res novas et arcana civilia ; similiter et exploratoribus ac 
 speculatoribus Naturae satisfaciendum de expensis suis ; alias 
 de quamplurimis scitu dignissimis nunquam fiemus certiores. 
 Si enim Alexander magnam vim pecuniae suppeditavit Ari- 
 stoteli, qua conduceret venatores, aucupes, piscatores, et alios, 
 quo instructior accederet ad conscribendam historiam Ani- 
 inalium ; certe majus quiddam debetur iis, qui non in saltibus 
 naturae pererrant, sed in labyrinthis artium viam sibi aperiunt. 
 
 Defectus etiamnum alius nobis observandus (magni certe 
 momenti), neglectus quidam est, in academiarum rectoribus, 
 consultationis ; in regibus sive superioribus, visitationis ; in 
 hunc finem, ut diligenter consideretur et perpendatur, utrum 
 praelectiones, disputationes, aliaque exercitia scnolastica anti- 
 quitus instituta et ad nostra usque tempora usitata, continuare 
 
 1 Gcorg. iii. 128.
 
 490 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 fuerlt ex usu, vel potius antiquare, aliaque meliora substituere. 
 Etenim inter Majestatis tuse canones prudentissimos ilium re- 
 perio ; In omni vel consuetudine vel exemplo, tempora spectanda 
 sunt quando primum res coepta ; in quibus si vel confusio regna- 
 verit vel inscitia, derogat illud in primis authoritati rerum, atque 
 omnia reddit suspecta. Quamobrem, quandoquidem academia- 
 rum instituta plerunque originem traxerint a temporibus hisce 
 nostris baud paulo obscurioribus et indoctioribus, eo magis 
 convenit ut examini denuo subjiciantur. Exemplum in hoc 
 genere unum aut alterum proponam in rebus quae maxime 
 obviae videntur et familiares. Pro more receptum est (licet, uti 
 mihi videtur, perperam) ut literarum studiosi Logicam et Rhe- 
 toricam praepropere nimis addiscant, artes sane provectioribus 
 magis convenientes quam pueris et tyronibus. Etenim baa dua?, 
 si vere res perpendatur, sunt ex artibus gravissimis ; cum sint 
 Artes Artium, altera ad judicium, altera ad ornatum. Quine- 
 tiam regulam et normam continent, res et materiam subjectam 
 vel disponendi vel illustrandi. Ideoque id agere, ut mentes 
 rerum ignarae et rudes, (quaeque nondum id collegerunt quod a 
 Cicerone Sylvd 1 vel Supellex*' appellatur, id est materiem et co- 
 piam rerum,) initium ab istis scientiis sumant, (ac si quis discere 
 vellet ponderare vel metiri vel ornare ventum,) baud aliud pro- 
 fecto parit, quam ut harum artium virtus et facultas (quae per- 
 magnae sunt et latissime diffusae) fere contemptae jaceant ; atque 
 vel in puerilia sopbismata affectationesque ridiculas degenerave- 
 rint, vel saltern existimatione sua baud parum mulctatae sint. 
 Quinetiam praematura et intempestiva ad has artes accessio 
 dilutam earum atque jejunam tradition em ac tractationem ne- 
 cessario secum traxit, qualis nimirum captui puerorum adaptetur. 
 Alterum exemplum (quod adducam) erroris, qui in academiis 
 jamdiu inveteravit, ejusmocli est ; quod scilicet inventionis atque 
 memoriae in exercitiis scholastic! s fieri solet nimio plus noxium 
 divortium. Illic siquidem orationes pleraeque aut omnino prae- 
 meditatae sunt, adeo ut conceptis verbis proferantur et inven- 
 tioni nihil relinquatur ; aut plane extemporaria?, ut perparuni 
 relinquatur memoriae ; (cum in vita communi et praxi rams sit 
 alterutrius istorum usus seorsim, sed potius mixtures ipsorum ; 
 id est notarum sive commentariorum, atque dictionis subitae;) 
 ita ut hoc pacto exercitia ad praxim haud sint accommodata, nee 
 imago respondeat vitae. Illud autem in exercitiis perpetuo 
 
 1 De Orator, iii. 26. 2 Orator, c. 24.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 491 
 
 tenendum est ; ut omnia (quam fieri potest) maxime reprasen- 
 tent ea, quse in vita agi solent; alioqui motus et facultates 
 mentis pervertent, non praeparabunt. Hujus autem rei veritas 
 non obscure cernitur, cum academici ad praxim suarum pro- 
 fessionum vel alia ciyilis vitae munia se accingant ; quod cum 
 faciunt, hunc de quo loquimur defectum ipsi in se cito depre- 
 hendunt; sed citius etiamnum alii. Caeterum hanc par tern,, 
 de institutorum academicorum emendatione, clausula ilia (ex 
 Cassaris quadam ad Oppium et Balbum epistola desumpta) con- 
 cludam : Hoc quemadmodum fieri possit^ nonnulla mild in mentem 
 veniunt, et multa reperiri possunt ; de us rebus rogo vos, ut cogi- 
 tationem suscipiatis. 1 
 
 Alter defectus quern observo, altius paulo quam praecedens 
 ascendit. Quemadmodum enim doctrinarum progressio haud 
 parum in prudenti regimine et institutione academiarum sin- 
 gularum consistit ; ita magnus ad hoc cumulus accedere possit, 
 si academies universae per totam Europam sparsae arctiorem 
 conjunctionem et necessitudinem contraherent. Sunt enim, uti 
 videmus, multi ordines et sodalitia, quae licet regnis et spatiis 
 longinquis disjuncta smt, tamen societatem et tan quam frater- 
 nitatem inter se ineunt et colunt ; adeo ut habeant praefectos 
 (alios Provinciales, alios Generales) quibus omnes parent. Et 
 certe, quemadmodum natura creat fraternitatem in familiis; 
 artes mechanicae contrahunt fraternitatem in sodalitiis ; unctio 
 divina superinducit fraternitatem in regibus et episcopis ; vota 
 et regulas conciliant fraternitatem in ordinibus ; eodem modo 
 fieri non potest, quin intercedat fraternitas illustris et generosa 
 inter homines per doctrinas et illuminationes, quandoquidem 
 Deus ipse Pater Luminum 2 nuncupetur. 
 
 Postremo illud queror (de quo superius nonnihil praamisi) 
 quod vel nunquam, vel raro admodum, publica aliqua extiterit 
 designatio virorum idoneorum, qui vel scriberent vel inqui- 
 sitionem instituerent de illis scientiarum partibus in quibus 
 satis adhuc non fuerit elaboratum. Cui rei illud inserviet 
 quam maxime, si tanquam lustrum condatur doctrinarum ; et 
 census excipiatur, quas ex illis locupletes sint et majorem in 
 
 1 Cic. Ep. ad Att. ix. 8. One of the earliest tracts on the subject of university 
 reform is doubtless that which Peter Ramus (see his Scholce. Basil. 1569, p. 1063.) 
 addressed to Charles the Ninth. It relates chiefly to the expenses arising from fees, &c., 
 to the neglect of the civil law which had always been coldly regarded at Paris, and to 
 the trifling manner in which the scholastic disputations were conducted. 
 
 2 S. James, i. 17.
 
 492 DE ADGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 modum auctse, quse autem inopes et destitute. Opinio enim 
 copia3 inter causas inopiae est; atque multitudo librorum luxu- 
 riae potius quam penuriae indicium quoddam prae se fert. Quas 
 tanien redundantia (si quis recte judicet) neutiquam delendis 
 antehac scriptis libris, sed no vis melioribus edendis, tolli debet ; 
 qui ejus generis sint ut, tanquam serpens Mosis, serpentes Mago- 
 rum devorent. 1 
 
 Horum quos enumeravimus omnium defectuum remedia, 
 praeter illius postremi; quinetiam ejusdem postremi, quoad 
 partem ejus activam, quae spectat ad designationem scribentium ; 
 opera sunt vere basilica ; erga quse privati alicujus conatus et 
 industria fere sic se habeat ut Mercurius in bivio ; qui digitum 
 potest in viam intendere, pedem inferre non potest. At specu- 
 lativa ilia pars, quae ad examen doctrinarum (quid nimirum in 
 singulis desideretur) pertinet, etiam industriae hominis privati 
 patet. Mihi igitur in animo est perambulationem doctrinarum 
 et lustrationem generalem et fidelem aggredi, praecipue cum in- 
 quisitione sedula et accurata quasnam earum partes neglectae 
 incultasque jaceant, hominum industria nondum subactae et ad 
 usum conversae ; ut hujusmodi delineatio et registratio et publi- 
 cis designationibus et privatorum spontaneis laboribus facem 
 accendat. In quo nmilominus consilium est hoc tempore, 
 omissiones duntaxat et Desiderata notare ; non autem errores et 
 infbelicitates redarguere. Aliud enim est inculta loca indicare, 
 aliud culturae modum corrigere. 
 
 Quam quidem ad rem cum me comparo et accingor, non sum 
 nescius quantum opus moveam, quamque difficilem provinciam 
 sustineam ; etiam quam sint vires minime voluntati pares. At- 
 tamen magnam in spem venio, si ardentior meus erga literas 
 amor me longius provexerit, usurum me excusatione affectus ; 
 quia non simul cuiquam conceditur amare et sapere.* Nescius 
 equidem non sum eandem judicii libertatem aliis relinquendam, 
 quam ipse usurpaverim. Equidem libenter aeque acceperim 
 ab aliis ac impertiverim humanitatis illud officium, nam qui 
 erranti comiter monstrat viam*, &c. Prospicio etiam animo 
 complura ex illis qua? tanquam ornissa et desiderata in registrum 
 hoc nostrum referre visum fuerit, in diversas censuras incur- 
 sura; alia scilicet quod sint dudum peracta, et jam extent; 
 
 1 Not the serpent of Moses, but Aaron's. Ex. vii. 1 2. 
 
 2 " Amarc et sapere vix Deo conceditur." Seneca; Proverlia. 
 
 3 Ennius ap. Aul. Cell. xii. 4.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 493 
 
 alia quod curiositatem sapiant, et fructum promittant perexilem ; 
 alia quod nimis ardua existant, et fere impossibilia quag ab ho- 
 minibus absolvantur. Ad priora duo quod attinet, res ipsae 
 pro se causam agent. Circa postremum de impossibilitate ita 
 statuo: ea omnia possibilia et praestabilia ceusenda, quae ab 
 aliquibus perfici possint, licet non a quibusvis ; et quae a multis 
 conjunctim, licet non ab uno ; et quae in successione saeculorum, 
 licet non eoclem aevo ; et denique quse publica cura et sumptu, 
 licet non opibus et industria singulorum. Si quis tamen sit, 
 qui malit Salomonis illud usurpare, Dicit piger, Leo est in via l ; 
 quam illud Virgilii, Possunt, quia posse videntur"* ; satis mihi erit 
 si labores mei inter vota tantum sive optata melioris notae ha- 
 beantur. Sicut enim haud omnino rei imperitum esse oportet, 
 qui quaestionem apposite instituat ; ita nee sensus inops videa- 
 tur, qui haudquaquam absurda optaverit. 8 
 
 1 Prov. xxvi. 13. 2 Mn. v. 231. 
 
 * It may be convenient in this place to warn the reader that although in editing 
 this treatise I have followed the text of the original edition as exactly as I could, and 
 altered no word without notice except in case of errors obviously accidental, I have 
 nevertheless not attempted to preserve the original typographical arrangement ; which 
 is not to be regarded as Bacon's own. The task of carrying the book through the 
 press appears to have been left to Dr. Rawley, whose taste (or that of the printer 
 whom he employed) has betrayed him into so prodigal a use of the limited resources 
 at his disposal for marking emphasis and regulating punctuation, that the marks have 
 lost all their significance. Such is the profusion of commas, colons, and semicolons, 
 that the larger divisions are confounded with the smaller ; so many words are empha- 
 sized by italics that all distinctions of emphasis disappear. It is true, no doubt, that 
 the habit of writing with a view to circulation in manuscript (which admits of a much 
 greater variety of modifications and can be made much more expressive to the eye 
 than printing) encouraged in those days a style of composition which depended in 
 some degree for perspicuity on helps of this kind. And if, according to the practice 
 of the best modern writers, who generally contrive that the structure of each sentence 
 shall make the emphasis fall inevitably upon the emphatic word, I had dispensed with 
 italics altogether, the meaning would probably, in some places, have been rendered 
 obscure or even ambiguous. 1 have therefore endeavoured to make a compromise 
 between the former and the present practice, distinguishing many of the words which 
 are italicised in the original only by capital initials, removing the distinction altogether 
 from many others, and reserving the italics for those which seem meant to be con- 
 spicuous ; and for quotations, which are so distinguished in all the writings of that 
 period, whether printed or manuscript. J. S.
 
 494 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio universalis Doctrines Humana in Historiam, Poesim, 
 Philosophiam ; secundum tres Intellectus fa.culta.tes, Memo- 
 riam, Phantasiam, Rationem: quodque eadem partitio com- 
 petat etiam Theologicis. 
 
 PAETITIO Doctrinae Humanae ea est verissima, quae sumitur ex 
 triplici facultate Animas Rationalis, qua3 doctrinas sedes est. 
 Historia ad Memoriam refertur ; Poesis ad Phantasiam ; Philo- 
 sophia ad Rationem. Per Poesim autem hoc loco intelligimus 
 non aliud quam historiam confictam, sive fabulas. Carmen 
 enim stili quidam character est, atque ad artificia orationis per- 
 tinet; de quo suo loco. 
 
 Historia proprie individuorum est, quae circumscribuntur 
 loco et tempore. Etsi enim Historia Naturalis circa species 
 versari videatur, tamen hoc fit ob promiscuam rerum natura- 
 lium (in plurimis) sub una specie similitudinem ; ut si unam 
 noris omnes noris. Sicubi autem individua reperiantur, quae 
 aut unica sunt in sua specie, veluti sol et luna ; aut a specie in- 
 signiter deflectunt, ut monstra; non minus recte constituitur 
 narratio de illis in Historia Naturali, quam de hominibus singu- 
 laribus in Historia Civili. Hasc autem omnia ad Memonam 
 spectant. 
 
 Poesis, eo sensu quo dictum est, etiam individuorum est, con- 
 fictorum ad similitudinem illorum quaa in historia vera memo- 
 rantur ; ita tamen ut modum ssepius excedat, et quas in rerum 
 natura nunquam conventura aut eventura fuissent ad libi- 
 tum componat et introducat ; quemadmodum facit et Pictoria. 
 Quod quidem Phantasies opus est. 
 
 Philosophia individua dimittit, neque impressiones primas iu- 
 dividuorum sed notiones ab illis abstractas complectitur ; atque 
 in iis componendis et dividendis ex lege naturae et rerum ipsa- 
 rum evidentia versatur. Atque hoc prorsus officium est atque 
 opificium Rationis. 
 
 Haec autem ita se habere, si quis intellectualium origines 
 petat, facile cernet. Individua sola sensum percellunt, qui in- 
 tellectus janua est. Individuorum eorum imagines, sive im- 
 pressiones a sensu exceptae, figuntur in memoria, atque abeunt
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 495 
 
 in earn a principle tanquam integrae, eodem quo occurrunt modo. 
 Eas postea recolit et ruminat anima humana ; quas deinceps 
 aut simpliciter recenset ; aut lusu quodam imitatur ; aut com- 
 ponendo et dividendo digerit. Itaque liquido constat ex tribus 
 his fontibus, Memoriae, Phantasice, et Rationis, esse tres illas 
 emanationes Historic, Poeseos, et Philosophies ; nee alias aut 
 plures esse posse. Etenim historiam et experientiam pro eadem 
 re habemus, quemadmodum etiam philosophiam et scientias. 
 
 Neque alia censemus ad Theologica partitione opus esse. 
 Differunt certe informationes oraculi et sensus, et re et modo 
 insinuandi; sed spiritus humanus unus est, ejusque arculse et 
 cellae eaedem. Fit itaque ac si diversi liquores, atque per di- 
 versa infundibula, in unum atque idem vas recipiantur. Quare 
 et Theologia aut ex Historia Sacra constat; aut ex Parabolis, 
 qua? instar divinae Poeseos sunt ; aut ex Praeceptis et Dogma- 
 tibus, tanquam perenni quadam Philosophia. Quod enim ad 
 earn partem pertinet quae redundare videtur, Prophetiam vide- 
 licet ; ea Historic genus est : quandoquidem Historia Divina ea 
 polleat supra Humanam praerogativa, ut narratio factum prae- 
 cedere non minus quam sequi possit. 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Partitio Historia in Naturalem et Civilem, Ecclesiastica et 
 Literaria sub Civili comprehensa. Partitio Historice Natura- 
 lis in Historiam Generationum, Praeter-Generationum, et 
 Artium. 
 
 HISTOBIA aut Naturalis est, aut Civilis. 1 In Naturali, naturae 
 res gestae et facinora memorantur ; in Civili, hominum. Elu- 
 cent proculdubio Divina in utrisque, sed magis in Civilibus ; ut 
 etiam propriam historiae speciem constituant, quam Sacram aut 
 Ecclesiasticam appellare consuevimus. Nobis vero etiam ea 
 videtur Literarum et Artium dignitas, ut iis historia propria 
 seorsim attribui debeat; quam sub Historia Civili (quemad- 
 modum et Ecclesiasticam) comprehendi intelligimus. 
 
 1 In the Advancement of Learning, Bacon had given a quadripartite division of 
 history, natural, civil, ecclesiastical, and literary. The third and fourth he now 
 includes in the second.
 
 496 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Partitionem Histories Naturalis moliemur ex statu et con- 
 ditione ipsius Naturae, quas in triplici statu posita invenitur, et 
 tanquam regimen trinum subit. Aut enim libera est natura et 
 cursu consueto se explicans, ut in coelis, animalibus, plantis, et 
 universe naturae apparatu ; aut a pravitatibus et insolentiis 
 materise contumacis et ab impedimentorum violentia de statu 
 suo detruditur, ut in monstris ; aut denique ab arte et opera hu- 
 mana constringitur et fingitur, et tanquam novatur, ut in artifi- 
 cialibus. Sit itaque partitio Historias Naturalis in Historiam 
 Generationum, Prater- Generationum, et Artium; quain postre- 
 mam etiam Mechanicam et Experimentalem appellare consu- 
 evimus. Harum prima Libertatem Natures tractat ; secunda 
 Errores ; tertia Vincula. Libenter autem Historiam Artium, 
 ut Historiae Naturalis speciem constituimus ; quia inveteravit 
 prorsus opinio, ac si aliud quippiam esset ars a natura, artifi- 
 cialia a naturalibus ; unde illud malum, quod plerique Historic 
 Naturalis scriptores perfunctos se puteut, si historian! anima- 
 lium aut plantarum aut mineralium confecerint, omissis artium 
 mechanicarum experimentis. 1 Sed et illabitur etiam animis 
 hominum aliud subtilius malum; nempe, ut ars censeatur 
 Bolummodo tanquam additamentum quoddam natura?, cujus 
 scilicet ea sit vis ut naturam (sane) vel inchoatam perficere, vel 
 in deterius vergentem emendare, vel impeditam liberare; 
 minime vero penitus vertere, transmutare, aut in imis concu- 
 tere possit. Quod ipsum rebus humanis praeproperam despe- 
 rationem intulit. At contra, illud animis hominum penitus 
 insidere debuerat; artificialia a naturalibus non Forma aut 
 Essentia, sed Efficiente solummodo, differre : homini quippe in 
 naturam nullius rei potestatem esse praeterquam motus, ut 
 scilicet corpora naturalia aut admoveat aut amoveat ; ubi igitur 
 datur admotio corporum naturalium aut remotio, conjungendo 
 (ut vocant) activa passivis, omnia potest homo ; ubi non datur, 
 nihil. Neque interest, si res poriantur in ordine ad aliquem 
 effectum, utrum hoc fiat per hominem vel absque homine. 
 Aurum aliquando excoquitur igne, aliquando in arenulis purum 
 
 1 The antithesis of nature and art is a celebrated doctrine in the peripatetic philo- 
 sophy. Natural things are distinguished from artificial, inasmuch as they have, what 
 the latter are without, an intrinsic principle of formation. Thus Aristotle says : rj yap 
 '"X" 1 ? fyxb /ca ' T ^> f?8os TOV ytv6fj.fvov, a\\' eV erf pea, rj Se T^S tyvfftias Kivricris tv uint?, 
 o<f>' tre'poj ova a. <f>vfff<as T^S fx<>v<rris rb flSos tvepyeia. De Gen. Anim. ii. c. 1. 
 
 The views which Bacon here expresses as to nature and art recur repeatedly in his 
 writings.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 497 
 
 invenitur, ministrante sibi ipsi Natura. Iris similiter fit ex 
 nube roscida in sublimi ; fit etiam per aspersionem aquae, hie 
 apud nos. Itaque Natura omnia regit ; subordinantur autem 
 ilia tria, cursus Natures; exspatiatio Natures; et ars, sive additus 
 rebus homo ; ideoque in Historia Natural! tria ilia compre- 
 hend! par est, quod etiam C. Plinius magna ex parte fecit; 
 qui Historiam Naturalem solus pro dignitate complexus est l , 
 sed complexam minime ut decuit, imo potius indignis modis, 
 tractavit. 
 
 Harum prima habetur mediocriter exculta ; sequentes duae 
 ita tenuiter et inutiliter tractantur, ut in Desideratorum classe 
 reponendae sint. Neque enim reperias satis instructam et 
 locupletem collectionem operum naturae eorum, quae a cursu 
 ordinario generationum, productionum, et motuum aberrarunt 
 et deflexerunt ; sive sint ilia foetus certarum regionum aut loco- 
 rum singulares ; sive temporum eventus insoliti ; sive casuum 
 (ut ait ille) ingenia ; sive proprietatum abditarum effectus ; 
 sive monodica 2 naturae in sua specie. Non negaverim inveniri 
 libros nimio plures, fabulosis experimentis, commentitiis secre- 
 tis, et frivolis imposturis, ad voluptatem et novitatem refertos ; 
 caiterum narrationem gravem et severam de heteroclitis et mira - 
 bilibus naturae, diligenter examinatam ac fideliter descriptam, 
 non, inquam, invenio; praesertim cum debita rejectione et 
 publica tanquam proscriptione mendaciorum et fabularum quae 
 invaluerunt. Nam ut res se nunc habet, si forte mendacia 
 aliqua circa res naturales obtinuerint et celebrata sint (sive 
 quod tantum possit reverentia antiquitatis, sive quod ilia denuo 
 examini subjicere sit molestum, sive quod mirifica scilicet orna-' 
 menta putantur orationis, propter similitudines et comparatio- 
 nes 3 ) nunquam postea exterminantur aut retractantur. 
 
 1 Of Pliny's Natural History Humboldt has remarked that it is a book " dem an 
 Reichthum des Inhalts kein anderes Werk des Alterth urn's gleich kommt." Kosmos, 
 ii. 23. Sir T. Brown observes that there is scarcely any vulgar error which is not 
 to be found in it. 
 
 2 Monadica. See Nov. Org. i. 45. 
 
 3 In Gilbert's work De Magnete we find an amusing complaint of the same kind. 
 " Celebris semper fama magnetis et succini, doctorum commemorationibus ; Magne- 
 tem atque etiam succinum invocant philosophi nonnulli, cum in arcanis plurimis il- 
 lustrandis caligant sensus nee progredi ratio potest. Theologi etiam curiosi mysteria 
 divina ultra humanum sensum posita per magnetem et succinum illustrant, at vani 
 metaphysici cum inutilia phantasmata fundunt, docentque, magnetem habent tanquam 
 Delphicum gladium, exernplum semper ad omnia accommodandum." De Magnete, 
 ii. 2. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that in the account Gilbert has given of the magnetical 
 
 VOL. I. K K
 
 498 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Finis hujusmodi operis, quod exemplo suo decoravit Aristo- 
 teles 1 , nil minus est quam ut curiosis et inanibus ingeniis gra- 
 tificetur, sicut faciunt mirabilarii et prodigiastri ; verum duas 
 ob causas, utramque seriam et gravem : unam, ut axiomatum 
 corrigatur iniquitas, qu plerumque in exemplis tritis et vul- 
 gatis fundamentum habent ; alteram, quod a miraculis naturae 
 ad miracula artis expeditus sit transitus et pervius. Neque 
 enim huic rei plus inest negotii, praeterquam ut naturae vestigia 
 persequaris sagaciter, cum ipsa sponte aberret; ut hoc pacto 
 postea, cum tibi libuerit, earn eodem loci deducere et compellere 
 possis. Neque vero praeceperim ut ex historia ista mirabilium 
 superstitiosae narrationes de maleficiis, fascinationibus, incan- 
 tationibus, somniis, divinationibus, et similibus, prorsus exclu- 
 dantur, ubi de facto et re gesta liquido constet. Nondum enim 
 innotuit quibus in rebus, et quousque, effectus superstitioni attri- 
 buti ex causis naturalibus participent. Ideoque licet hujus- 
 modi artium usum et praxim merito damnandum 2 censeamus, 
 tamen a speculatione et consideratione ipsarum (si strenue ex- 
 cutiantur) notitiam haud inutilem consequemur, non solum ad 
 delicta in hoc genere reorum rite dijudicanda, sed etiam ad 
 naturae secreta ulterius rimanda. Neque certe haesitandum de 
 ingressu et penetratione intra hujusmodi antra et recessus, si 
 quis sibi unicam veritatis inquisitionem proponat ; quod et 
 Majestas tua exemplo proprio confirmavit. Tu enim duobus 
 illis clarissimis et acutissimis religionis ac natiiralis philoso- 
 phic oculis, tales umbras prudenter ac perspicaciter perlustrasti ; 
 ut te Soli simillimum probaveris, qui polluta loca ingreditur, 
 nee tamen inquinatur. 3 Caeterum illud monuerim, narrationes 
 istas cum rebus superstitiosis conjunctas seorsum componi, 
 neque cum puris et sinceris naturalibus commisceri oportere. 
 Quod vero ad narrationes attinet circa prodigia et miracula 
 religionum, ilia certe aut non utique vera sunt, aut nulla ex 
 parte naturalia ; ideoque ad Historian! Naturalem non per- 
 tinent. 
 
 Quantum ad Naturae Historiam Subactae et Factitiae, quam 
 Mechanicam appellare solemus ; invenio sane collectiones quas- 
 
 speculations of earlier writers, almost the only person of whose opinion he speaks with 
 respect is S. Thomas Aquinas, among whose opuscula will be found one on the magnet 
 
 1 It is generally admitted that the De Miris Auscultationibus is not Aristotle's. 
 
 - So in the original. J. S. 
 
 3 The allusion is to King James's Dcenionologie, a work in three books, consisting 
 of dialogues between Philomathes and Epistemon ; the latter of whom represents the 
 king's opinions on witchcraft.
 
 LIBEft SECUNDUS. 499 
 
 dam de agricultura, etiam de artibus compluribus mechanicis ; 
 sed quod pessimum est in hoc genere, semper negliguntur et 
 rejiciuntur experimenta in artibus singulis familiaria et vulgata ; 
 quas tamen ad interpretationem naturae aeque aut plus faciunt 
 quam minus trita. Nam labes quaedam literis aspergi videatur, 
 si forte viri docti se submit tant inquisitioni aut observation! 
 rerum mechanicarum ; nisi fuerit earum, quae pro arcanis artis 
 aut pro rebus admodum raris aut subtilibus reputentur. Quod 
 tarn inanis ac superciliosae arrogantise vitium merito irrisit Plato, 
 quando Hippiam sophistam jactabundum inducit cum Socrate 
 disputantem, sincere et solido veritatis investigatore ; qui, cum 
 de pulchritudine sermo institutus esset, pro vago suo et soluto 
 disputandi more, primum intulit exemplum virginis pulchrae, 
 dein equae pulchra3, postremo ollae fictilis pulchrae et affabre 
 factae. Hoc ultimo exemplo Hippias commotus dixit, Stoma- 
 charer certe (nisi humanitatis ratio me eo adigeref) cum quoquam 
 disputare, qui exempla tarn vilia et sordida allegaret. Cui So- 
 crates, Te quidem ita decet, cum tarn nitidis sis amictus vestibus 
 et pulchris calceis ; et alia, per ironiam. 1 Enimvero illud pro 
 certo asseri possit, grandia exempla haud optimam aut tutissi- 
 mam afferre informationem. Id quod exprimitur non insulse in 
 pervulgata ilia fabula de philosopho 2 , qui cum Stellas sublatis 
 oculis intueretur, incidit in aquam ; nam si oculos demisisset, 
 stellas illico in aqua videre potuisset; verum suspiciens in 
 crelum, aquam in stellis videre non potuit. Eodem modo saepe 
 accidit ut res minutae et humiles plus couferant ad notitiam 
 grandium, quam grandes ad notitiam minutarum. Bene si- 
 quidem notavit Aristoteles, Cujusque rei naturam in portioni- 
 bus ejus minimis optime cerni. Quam ob causam reipublicae 
 naturam perscrutatur primo in familia, et in simplicissimis 
 combinationibus sosietatis, (mariti scilicet et uxoris, parentum 
 et liberorum, domini et servi,) quae in quolibet tuguriolio oc- 
 currunt. 3 Simili plane ratione natura hujusce magnae civitatis 
 (universitatis nimirum rerum) ejusque dispensatio, in prima 
 quaque symbolizatione et minimis rerum portionibus investi- 
 ganda est ; uti fieri videmus, quod secretum illud naturae (ha- 
 bitum pro maximo) de verticitate ferri, tactu magnetis exciti, 
 
 1 See the Hippias major. The remark however which Hippias makes does not refer 
 to what Socrates has said in his own character, but to what he supposes an imaginary 
 interlocutor to say. 
 
 2 Thales. s Politica. I. 1. sub finem. 
 
 K K 2
 
 500 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 ad polos, se conspiciendum praebuit non in vectibus ferreis, 
 sed in acubus. 
 
 Ego vero, si quod sit mei pondus judicii, sic plane statuo ; 
 Historiae Mechanicae usum erga philosophiam naturalem esse 
 maxime radicalem et fundamentalem. 1 Talem intelligo philo- 
 sophiam naturalera, qua? non abeat in fumos speculationum 
 subtilium aut sublimium, sed qua; efficaciter operetur ad suble- 
 vanda vitas humanse incommoda. Neque enim ad praesens tan- 
 turn juvabit, nectendo et transferendo observationes unius artis 
 in usum aliarum, et inde novas commoditates eliciendo, quod 
 necesse est fieri cum experimenta diversarum artium in unius 
 hominis observationem et considerationem venient ; sed porro 
 ad causas rerum indagandas et artium axiomata deducenda 
 lucidiorem facem accendet, quam hactenus unquam afFulsit. 
 Quemadmodum enim ingenium alicujus haud bene noris aut 
 probaris, nisi eum irritaveris ; neque Proteus se in varias rerum 
 facies vertere solitus est, nisi manicis arete comprehensus ; 
 similiter etiam natura arte irritata et vexata se clarius prodit, 
 quam cum sibi libera permittitur. 
 
 Antequam vero hoc membrum Historiae Naturalis (quod 
 Mechanicum atque Experimentale. vocamus) dimittamus, illud 
 adjiciendum ; corpus talis historise non solum ex artibus ipsis 
 mechanicis, verum et ex operativa parte scientiarum liberalium, 
 ac simul ex practicis compluribus (quae in artem non coalu- 
 erunt), confici debere ; ut nihil utile praetermittatur quod ad 
 informandum intellectum juvat. Atque hsec est Historiae Na- 
 turalis partitio prima. 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitio Histories Naturalis secunda, ex Usu et Fine suo, in Nar- 
 rativam et Inductivam ; quodque Finis nobilissimus Histories 
 Naturalis sit, ut ministret et in or dine sit ad condendam philo- 
 sophiam; quern Finem intuetur Inductiva. Partitio Histories 
 
 1 Accordingly this was one of the first things which the Philosophical College which 
 afterwards became the Royal Society attempted to accomplish. Oldenburg writes to 
 Spinoza in September 1661 :'" In collegio nostro philosophico experimentis et observa- 
 tionibus faciendis gnaviter, quantum per facultates licet, moramur, ratum habentes ex 
 principiis mechanicis formas et qualitates rerum optime posse explicari, et per motum, 
 figuram, atque texturam et varias eorum complicationes omnia naturae effecta produci, 
 nee opus esse ut ad formas inexplicabiles et qualitates occultas, ceu ignorantiae asylum, 
 recurramus."
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 501 
 
 Generationum in Historiam Coelestium; Historiam Meteo- 
 rorum; Historiam Globi Terrae et Maris; Historiam Mas- 
 sarum sive Collegiorum Majorum; et Historiam Specierum 
 sive Collegiorum Minor um. 1 
 
 HISTORIA Naturalis, ut subjecto triplex (quemadmodum dixi- 
 mus) ita usu duplex est. Adhibetur enim aut propter Cogni- 
 tionem Rerum ipsarum quae historiae mandantur ; aut tanquam 
 Materia Prima philosophise. Atque prior ilia, quae aut Narra- 
 tionum jucunditate delectat, aut Experimentorum usu juvat, 
 atque hujusmodi voluptatis aut fructus gratia quaesita est, 
 longe inferioris nota3 censenda, prae ea quae Inductionis verae et 
 legitimae silva sit atque supellex, et primam philosophiae mam- 
 mam praebeat. Rursus itaque partiemur Historiam Naturalem 
 in Narrativam et Inductivam. Hanc autem posteriorem inter 
 Desiderata ponimus. Neque vero aciem mentis alicujus per- 
 stringant aut magna antiquorum nomina, aut magna recentium 
 volumina. Satis enim seimus haberi Historiam Naturalem 
 mole amplam, varietate gratam, diligentia saapius curiosam. 
 Attamen si quis ex ea fabulas et antiquitatem et authorum 
 citationes et inanes controversias, philologiam denique et or- 
 namenta, eximat (quae ad convivales sermones, hominumque 
 doctorum Noctes, potius quam ad instituendam philosophiam 
 sint accommodata), ad nil magni res recidet. Longe autem pro- 
 fecto abest ab ea historia quam animo metimur. Primo enim 
 desiderantur duae illae Historian Naturalis partes (de quibus 
 modo diximus), Praeter-Generationum et Artium, in quibus 
 nos plurimum ponimus ; deinde, in tertia ilia (quae reliqua est) 
 parte general!, nimirum de Generationibus, uni tantum ex 
 quinque partibus ejus satisfacit. Siquidem historian Genera- 
 tionum constituuntur partes subordinatae quinque. Prima Cce- 
 lestium, quae phaenomena ipsa sincera complectitur, atque sepa- 
 rata a dogmatibus. Secunda, Meteororum (annumerando etiam 
 cometas) et Regionum, quas vocant, Aeris ; neque enim de 
 cometis, meteoris ignitis, ventis, pluviis, tempestatibus, et reli- 
 quis invenitur aliqua historia, quae ullius sit pretii. Tertia, 
 Terra et Maris (quatenus sunt Universi partes integrales), 
 montium, fluminum, aestuum, arenarum, silvarum, insularum, 
 denique figuraa ipsius continentium prout exporriguntur ; in 
 his omnibus potius naturalia inquirendo et observando, quam 
 
 1 This chapter is an addition to the Advancement of Learning. 
 
 KK 3
 
 .502 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 quam cosmographica. Quarta, de Massis Material communibus, 
 quas Collegia Major a vocamus (vulgo Elementa dicuntur); 
 neque enim de igne, aere, aqua, terra, eorumque naturis, mo- 
 tibus, operibus, impressionibus, narrationes reperiuntur quas 
 corpus aliquod historic justum constituant. Quinta et ultima, 
 de Cottectionibus Materia exquisitis, quae a nobis Collegia Minora, 
 vulgo Species, appellantur. 1 In hac autem postrema sola in- 
 dustria scriptorum enituit; ita tamen, ut potius luxuriata sit 
 in superfluis (iconibus animalium aut plantarum, et similibus 
 intumescens), quam solidis et diligentibus observationibus di- 
 tata, qu33 ubique in Historia Naturali subnecti debeant. At- 
 que, ut verbo dicam, omnis quam habemus Naturalis Historia, 
 tarn inquisitione sua quam congerie, nullo modo in ordine ad 
 eum quern diximus finem (condendae scilicet Philosophiae) 
 aptata est. Quare Historiam Inductivam desiderari pronunci- 
 amus. Atque de Naturali Historia hactenus. 
 
 CAPUT IV. 
 
 Partitio Histories Civilis in Ecclesiasticam, Literariam, et (qua 
 generis nomen retinet) Civilem: quodque Historia Literaria 
 desideretur. Ejus conficiendcB pr&cepta. 
 
 HISTORIAM Civilem in tres species recte dividi putamus : 
 primo, Sacram, sive Ecclesiasticam ; deinde earn quae generis 
 nomen retinet, Civilem ; postremo, Literarum et Artium. Or- 
 diemur autem ab ea specie, quam postremo posuimus ; quia 
 reliquae duae habentur, illam autem inter Desiderata referre 
 visum est. Ea est Historia Literarum. Atque certe historia 
 mundi, si hac parte fuerit destituta, non absimilis censeri possit 
 
 1 It is to be observed that the " collegia majora," e. g. earth, are distinguished 
 from " species," such as a rose or a horse, although logically speaking each element 
 may be defined by genus and differentia, as really as any " species inflma." In the 
 present day we speak habitually of " different species of earth," of " different kinds 
 of air," and so on, and it is therefore not easy for us to apprehend the notions implied 
 in the text, and in other passages of Bacon's writings, namely that the great elemen- 
 tary masses, air, water, &c., have no true specific character, and that they may in con- 
 sequence be placed in antithesis to the smaller and more subtly arranged portions of 
 matter, crystals, flowers, animals, &c., which possess a specific form and character. In 
 the first chapter of the third book we find the question suggested, why in rerum natura 
 there is not " tanta copia specificati quanta non specificati," that is, why bodies pos- 
 sessing a specific form are not found in so great abundance as those which have merely 
 a general elementary form. To the specific form were ascribed those properties of any 
 body which did not result, or could not be supposed to result, from the combination of 
 the primary qualities of the elements of which that body was composed ; and these 
 were commonly termed occult qualities. In these notions we see the origin of such 
 phrases as " specific virtues," " specific action," and so on.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 503 
 
 statuae Polyphemi, eruto oculo; cum ea pars imaginis desit, 
 quae ingenium et indolem personae maxime referat. Hanc 
 licet desiderari statuamus, nos nihilominus minime fugit in 
 scientiis particularibus jureconsultorum, mathematicorum, rhe- 
 torum, philosophorum, haberi levem aliquam mentionem aut 
 narrationes quasdam jejunas de sectis, scholis, libris, authori- 
 bus l , et successionibus hujusmodi scientiarum ; inveniri etiam 
 de rerum et artium inventoribus tractatus aliquos exiles et 
 infructuosos : attamen justam atque universalem Literaruin 
 Historiam nullam adhuc editam asserimus. Ejus itaque et 
 argumentum, et conficiendi modum, et usum proponemus. 
 
 Argumentum non aliud est, quam ut ex omni memoria re- 
 petatur, quae doctrinae et artes quibus mundi aetatibus et 
 regionibus floruerint. Earum antiquitates, progressus, etiam 
 peragrationes per diversas orbis partes (migrant enim scientiae, 
 non secus ac populi), rursus declinationes, obliviones, instaura- 
 tiones commemorentur. Observetur simul per singulas artes 
 inventionis occasio et origo ; tradendi mos et disciplina ; colendi 
 et exercendi ratio et instituta. Adjiciantur etiam sectae, et con- 
 troversiae maxime celebres quae homines doctos tenuerunt ; ca- 
 lumnize quibus patuerunt; laudes et honores quibus decoratae 
 sunt. Notentur authores praecipui, libri praestantiores, scholae, 
 successiones, academiae, societates, collegia, ordines, denique 
 omnia quae ad statum literarum spectant. Ante omnia etiam id 
 agi volumus (quod Civilis Historiae decus est, et quasi anima), 
 ut cum eventis causae copulentur ; videlicet ut memorentur na- 
 turae regionum ac populorum ; indolesque apta et habilis, aut 
 inepta et inhabilis ad disciplinas diversas ; accidentia temporum, 
 quae scientiis adversa fuerint aut propitia ; zeli et mixturae re- 
 ligionum ; malitiae et favores legum ; virtutes denique insignes, 
 et efficacia quorundam virorum erga literas promovendas, et 
 similia. At haec omnia ita tractari praecipimus, ut non criti- 
 corum more in laude et censura tempus teratur; sed plane 
 historice res ipsae narrentur, judicium parcius interponatur. 
 
 De modo autem hujusmodi historiae conficiendas, illud in- 
 primis monemus ; ut materia et copia ejus non tantum ab 
 historiis et criticis petatur, verum etiam ut per singulas anno- 
 rum centurias, aut etiam minora intervalla, seriatim (ab ultima 
 antiquitate facto principio) libri praecipui qui per ea temporis 
 
 1 Auctoribus in the original ; and frequently where the word occurs afterwards. But 
 I have adhered to the form used in the Novum Organum. /. S. 
 
 K K 4
 
 504 DE AUGMENTIS SCIE^ 7 TIARUM 
 
 spatia conscript! sunt in consilium adhibeantur ; ut ex eorum 
 non perlectione (id enim infinitum quiddam esset) sed degusta- 
 tione, et observatione argumenti, stili, methodi, Genius illius 
 temporis Literarius veluti incantatione quadam a mortuis evo- 
 cetur. 
 
 Quod ad usum attinet, haec eo spectant ; non ut honor lite- 
 rarum et pompa per tot circumfusas imagines celebretur ; nee 
 quia, pro flagrantissimo quo literas prosequimur amore, omnia 
 quae ad earum statum quoquo modo pertinent usque ad curio- 
 sitatem inquirere et scire et conservare avemus ; sed praecipue 
 ob causam magis seriam et gravem. Ea est (ut verbo dicamus) 
 quoniam per talem qualem descripsimus narrationem, ad viro- 
 rum doctorum in doctrinae usu et administratione prudentiam 
 et solertiam maximam accessionem fieri posse existimamus ; et 
 rerum intellectualium non minus quam civilium motus et per- 
 turbationes, vitiaque et virtutes, notari posse ; et regimen inde 
 optimum educi et institui. Neque enim B. Augustini, aut B. 
 Ambrosii opera ad prudentiam episcopi aut theologi tantum 
 facere posse putamus, quantum si Ecclesiastica Historia dili- 
 genter inspiciatur et revolvatur. Quod et viris doctis ex 
 Historia Literarum obventurum non dubitamus. Casum enim 
 omnino recipit, et temeritati exponitur, quod exemplis et me- 
 moria rerum non fulcitur. Atque de Historia Literaria haec 
 dicta sint. 
 
 CAPUT V. 
 
 De Dignitate et Difficultate Historiae Civilis. l 
 
 SEQUITUR Historia Civilis specialis, cujus dignitas atque au- 
 thoritas inter scripta humana eminet. Hujus enim fidei, exempla 
 majorum, vicissitudines rerum, fundamenta prudentias civilis, 
 hominum denique nomen et fama commissa sunt. Ad digni- 
 tatem rei accedit difficultas non minor. Etenim animum in 
 scribendo ad prseterita retrahere et veluti antiquum facere, 
 temporum motus, personarum characteres, consiliorum trepi- 
 dationes, actionum (tanquam aquarum) ductus, prsetextuum 
 interiora, imperil arcana, cum diligentia scrutari, cum fide et 
 
 1 There is nothing corresponding to this chapter in the Advancement of Learning. 
 *J. S.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 505 
 
 libertate referre, denique verborum lumine sub oculos ponere, 
 magni utique laboris est et judicii; praesertim cum antiqui- 
 ora quasque incerta, recentiora periculo obnoxia reperiantur. 
 Quamobrem et plurima Historiam istam Civilem circumstant 
 vitia ; dum plerique narrationes quasdam inopes et plebeias, et 
 plane dedecora historiarum, conscribant ; alii particulares rela- 
 tiones et commentariolos opera festinata et textu insequali con- 
 sarciant; alii capita tantum rerum gestarum percurrant; alii 
 contra, minima quaeque et ad summas actionum nihil facientia 
 persequantur ; nonnulli, nimia erga ingenia propria indulgen- 
 tia, plurima audacter confingant ; ast alii non tarn ingeniorum 
 suorum quam affectuum imaginem rebus imprimant et addant, 
 partium suarum memores, rerum parum fideles testes ; quidam 
 politica, in quibus sibi complacent, ubique inculcent, et diver- 
 ticula ad ostentationem quasrendo narrationem rerum nimis 
 leviter interrumpant ; alii in orationum et concionum, aut etiam 
 actorum ipsorum, prolixitate parum cum judicio nimii sint; 
 adeo ut satis constet, non inveniri inter scripta hominum rarius 
 quicquam, quam historian! legitimam et omnibus numeris suis 
 absolutam. Verum nos in prassenti partitionem doctrinarum 
 instituimus, ut omissa; non censuram, ut vitiosa, notentur. 
 Nunc partitiones Historiae Civilis persequemur, casque diver- 
 sorum generum. Minus enim implicabuntur species si par- 
 titiones diversaa proponantur, quam si una partitio curiose per 
 membra deducatur. 
 
 CAPUT VI. 
 
 Partitio prima Histories Civilis in Memorias, Antiquitates, et 
 Historiam Justam. 
 
 HISTORIA Civilis tripartita est, tribus picturarum aut ima- 
 ginum generibus non absimilis. Videmus enim ex picturis 
 et imaginibus alias imperfectas, ut quibus ultima manus non 
 accesserit; alias perfectas; alias vero vetustate mutilatas et 
 deformatas. Historiam similiter Civilem (quas imago rerum et 
 temporum quaedam est) in tres species, illis picturarum con- 
 gruas, partiemur ; Memorias scilicet ; Historiam Justam ; et 
 Antiquitates. Memorias sunt Historia inchoata, aut prima 'et 
 rudia historias lineamenta ; Antiquitates vero Historia deformata
 
 506 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sunt, sive reliquiae historian, qua* casu e naufragio temporum 
 ereptae sunt. 
 
 Memoriae, sive preparation es ad historiam, duplicis generis 
 sunt ; quorum alterum Commentarios, alterum Registra vocare 
 placet. Commentarii nudam actionum et eventuum seriem ac 
 connexionem propommt, praetermissis causis rerum et praetex- 
 tibus, initiis quoque earundem et occasionibus, consiliis itidem 
 et orationibus, et reliquo actionum apparatu. Talis enim est 
 propria Commentariorum natura, licet Caesari, per modestiam 
 quandam cum magnanimitate conjunctam, praestantissimae inter 
 eas quae exstant historiae Commentariorura nomen indere pla- 
 cuerit. At Registra duplicis naturae sunt. Complectuntur 
 enim aut titulos rerum et personarum in serie temporum, quales 
 dicuntur Fasti et Chronologies ; aut actorum solennitates, cujus 
 generis sunt principum edicta, senatuum decreta, judiciorum 
 processus, orationes publice habita?, epistolae publice missae, et 
 similia, absque narrationis contextu sive filo continuo. 
 
 Antiquitates, seu historiarum reliquiae, sunt (uti jam diximus) 
 tanquam tabulae naufragii ; cum deficiente et fere submersa 
 rerum memoria, nihilominus homines industrii et sagaces, per- 
 tinaci quadam et scrupulosa diligentia, ex genealogiis, fastis, 
 titulis, inonumentis, numismatibus, nominibus propriis et stilis, 
 verborum etymologiis, proverbiis, traditionibus, archivis et in- 
 strumentis tarn publicis quam privatis, historiarum fragmentis 
 librorum neutiquam historicorum locis dispersis ; ex his inquam 
 omnibus, vel aliquibus, nonnulla a temporis diluvio eripiunt et 
 conservant. Res sane operosa, sed mortalibus grata, et cum 
 reverentia quadam conjuncta ; ac digna certe qua?, deletis 
 fabulosis nationum originibus, in locum hujusmodi commen- 
 titiorum substituatur : sed tamen eo minus habens authoritatis, 
 quia paucorum licentiae subjicitur quod paucis curae est. 
 
 In his Imperfectae Historiae generibus defectum aliquem non 
 puto designandum, cum sint tanquam imperfecte mista ; ut de- 
 fectus hujusmodi sit ex ipsa earum natura. Ad Epitomas quod 
 attinet (historiarum certe teredines et tineas), eas exulare vo- 
 lumus ; quod etiam cum plurimis qui maxime sani fuerunt 
 judicii facimus ; utpote quae complura nobilissimarum histo- 
 riarum corpora exederint et corroderint, atque in faeces inutiles 
 demum redegerint. 1 
 
 1 Bacon often condemns, and not altogether unjustly, the use of epitomes. The 
 development of a liking for abridgments is certainly a remarkable feature in the de- 
 line of Roman literature.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 507 
 
 CAPUT VII. 
 
 Partitio Histories Justce in Chronica, Vitas, et Relationes ; 
 eammque partium explicatio. 
 
 AT Historia Justa trium est generum, pro ratione object! quod 
 sibi proponit repraesentandum. Aut enim portionem aliquam 
 temporis repraesentat ; aut personam singularem memoria di- 
 gnam ; aut actionem aliquam sive rem gestam ex illustrioribus. 
 Primum Chronica, sive Annales, appellamus; secundum Vitas; 
 tertium Relationes. Inter quae, Chronica celebritate et nomine 
 excellere videntur ; Vitae autem fructu et exemplis ; Relationes 
 rursus sinceritate et veritate. Chronica namque amplitudinem 
 actionum publicarum, et personarum facies externas et in publi- 
 cum versas, proponunt ; minora autem quae turn ad res turn ad 
 personas pertinent, omittunt et silentio involvunt. Cum vero 
 id artificii divini sit proprium ut maxima e minimis suspendat, 
 fit saepenumero ut hujusmodi historia, majora tantum persecuta, 
 negotiorum pompam potius et solennia quam eorum veros 
 fomites et texturas subtiliores ostendat ; quinetiam, etsi consilia 
 ipsa addat atque immisceat, tamen granditate gaudens, plus 
 gravitatis atque prudentiae quam revera habent humanis actio- 
 nibus aspergat; ut satira aliqua possit esse verier humanae 
 vitas tabula, quam nonnulla ex ejusmodi historiis. Contra 
 Vitae, si diligenter et cum judicio perscribantur (neque enim 
 de elogiis et hujusmodi commemorationibus jejunis loquimur), 
 quandoquidem personam singularem pro subjecto sibi propo- 
 nant, in qua necesse est actiones non minus leves quam graves, 
 parvas quam grandes, privatas quam publicas, componi et com- 
 misceri, sane magis vivas et fidas rerum narrationes, et quas ad 
 exemplum tutius et felicius transferre possis, exhibent At 
 Relationes actionum speciales (qualia sunt Bellum Peloponnesi, 
 Expeditio Cyri, Conjuratio Catilinae, et similia) omnino puriore 
 et magis sincere veritatis candore vestiri par est, quam Histo- 
 rias Justas temporum ; quia argumentum in iis deligi et sumi 
 potest habile et definitum, atque ejusmodi ut de eo notitia et 
 certitudo bona et plena informatio haberi possit: cum contra 
 Historia Tetnporis (praesertim quae aetate scriptoris multo anti- 
 quior sit) necessario in rnemoria rerum ssepius fatiscat, et veluti 
 spatia vacua contineat, quae ingenio et conjectura occupari et 
 suppleri satis licenter consueverunt. Hoc tamen ipsum, quod
 
 508 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 de Relationum sinceritate dicimus, cum exceptione intelli- 
 gendum est ; nam fatendum certe est (cum humana omnia ex 
 parte laborent, et commoda cum incommodis fere perpetuo con- 
 juncta sint) hujusmodi Relationes, praesertim si sub ipsa rerum 
 gestarum tempora edantur, (cum saepius vel ad gratiam vel ad 
 invidiam scribantur,) omnium narrationum merito maxime su- 
 spectas esse. Sed rursus huic incommodo etiam illud con- 
 nascitur remedium ; quod illae ipsae Relationes, cum non ex 
 una parte solummodo, sed pro factionibus et partium studiis ex 
 utraque parte, semper fere edantur, viam hoc pacto quandam 
 veritati, tanquam inter extrema, aperiunt et muniunt ; atque, 
 postquam contentiones animorum deferbuerint, historico bono 
 et prudenti non pessima historiae perfections materia et se- 
 mentis sunt. 
 
 Quod vero ad ea, quas in his tribus Historiae generibus de- 
 siderari videantur ; dubium certe non est, quin plurimae histo- 
 riaa particulares (de talibus loquimur quae esse possint 1 alicujus 
 dignitatis, aut etiam mediocritatis), cum maximo regnorum et 
 rerum publicarum quibus debentur honoris et nominis detri- 
 mento, hucusque praetermissae sint ; quas notare perlongum 
 esset, Caeterum exterarum nationum historias exterorum 
 curae relinquens (ne forte sim in aliena republica curiosus) 
 non possum non apud Majestatem tuam conqueri de Historiae 
 Angliae, quae nunc habetur, vilitate et indignitate, quatenus 
 ad corpus ejus integrum ; necnon Historias Scotiae iniquitate 
 et obliquitate, quatenus ad authorem ejus recentissimum et 
 uberrimum 2 ; reputans mecum honorificum admodum Majestati 
 tuae futurum, atque opus posteritati gratissimum, si quemad- 
 modum insula ha?c Magnae Britanniae se nunc in unam mo- 
 narchiam coalitam ad sequentes states transmittit, ita in una, 
 historia descripta a praeteritis saeculis repeteretur ; eodem modo 
 quo historiam decem tribuum regni Israelis et duarum tribuum 
 regni Judae, tanquam gemellam, Sacra Pagina deducit. Quod 
 si moles hujusmodi historian (magna certe et ardua) quominus 
 exacte et pro dignitate perscribatur, videatur obfutura, ecce tibi 
 
 1 In the original, and also in the work as reprinted by Rawley in 1638, the paren- 
 thesis ends at possint. But the construction seems to require that it be extended to 
 mediocritatis. J. S. 
 
 8 Bacon alludes to Buchanan, of whom James speaks with much bitterness in the 
 Basilicon Doron. It has been said that Buchanan's mind was failing when he wrote 
 the concluding books of his history, in which Mary Queen of Scots is so much 
 vilified.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 509 
 
 memorabilem multo angustioris temporis periodum, quatenus ad 
 Historiam Angliae ; nimirum ab Unione Rosarum ad Union em 
 Regnorum ; spatium temporis quod meo quidem judicio ma- 
 jorem recipit eventuum (quas * raro se ostendunt) varietatem, 
 quam in pari successionum numero uspiam in regno hasreditario 
 deprehendere licet. Incipit enim ab adeptione coronas mixta, 
 partim armis, partim jure ; ingressum siquidem ferrum aperuit, 
 stabilimentum attulerunt nuptiae ; secuta igitur sunt tempora 
 illis initiis consentanea ; simillima fluctibus post magnam tem- 
 pestatem tumores et agitationes suas sed absque aliqua immani 
 procella, retinentibus ; atque gubernatoris prudentia, qui unus 
 inter antecessores reges consilio enituit, superatis. Ordine 
 proximus succedit rex, cujus actiones, licet magis impetu 
 quam consilio administrates, non leve tamen in rebus Europae 
 momentum attulerunt, eas subinde librando et inclinando 
 prout ipsaa propendebant. 2 Quo etiam regnante, coepit fieri 
 ingens ilia status ecclesiastic! mutatio, qualis raro admodum 
 prodit in theatrum. Secutus est rex minor. Dein tenta- 
 mentum tyrannidis, licet illud brevissimum fuerit, instar fe- 
 bris ephemera?. Dein regnum feminae, extero regi nuptae. 
 Rursus regnum feminas solitariae et ccelibis. Hasc omnia de- 
 mum excepit eventus iste faustus et gloriosus ; nimirum 
 hujusce insulae Britanniae, a toto orbe divisae, in se unio ; per 
 quam vetus illud oraculum JEnese redditum, quod requiem ei 
 praemonstrabat, 
 
 (Antiquam exquirite matrem) 3 
 
 supra nobilissimas gentes Angliae et Scotiae, in nomine illo 
 Britannia, antiques sua matris, jam convenientes, adimpletum 
 sit ; in pignus et tesseram metae et exitus errorum et pere- 
 grinationis jam reperti. Ita ut quemadmodum corpora pon- 
 derosa jactata, antequam ponant et consistant, trepidationes 
 quasdam experiantur; eodem modo probabile videtur Divina 
 Providentia factum esse, ut monarchia ista, priusquam in tua 
 Maj estate regiaque tua sobole (in qua spero earn in perpetuum 
 fore stabilitam) consisteret et confirmata esset, has tarn varias 
 mutationes et vicissitudines, tanquam praeludia stabilitatis sua?, 
 subiret. 
 
 1 So in the original. We ought probably to read eventorum. J. S. 
 
 2 "In vero che il serenissimo d'Angliaha mostratograndissimo ammo e ardire in far 
 la guerra, e raolta prudenza e magnanimita in trattar la pace.' Relazione di Marino 
 Cavalli (1546), in Alberi's collection [ser. 1. vol. i. p. 284.]. ,:', .;. 
 
 3 Virg. ^En. iii. 96. . . -v..-
 
 510 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 De Vitis cogitantem, subit quasdam admiratio, tempora ista 
 nostra baud nosse bona sua ; cum tarn rara sit commemoratio et 
 conscriptio vitarum, eorum qui nostro saeculo claruerunt. Etsi 
 enim reges, et qui absolutum principatum obtineant, pauci esse 
 possint; principes etiam in republica libera (tot rebuspublicis 
 in monarchiam conversis) baud multi ; utcunque tamen non de- 
 fuerunt viri egregii (licet sub regibus) qui meliora merentur 
 quam incertam et vagam memoriae suae famam, aut elogia arida 
 et jejuna. Etenim hac ex parte inventum cujusdam ex poetis 
 recentioribus, quo antiquam fabulam locupletavit, non inelegans 
 est. Fingit ille in extremitate fili Parcarum numisma quod- 
 dam seu monile pendere, in quo defuncti nomen impressum sit ; 
 Tempus autem cultrum Atropi praestolari, et statim abscisso filo 
 numismata eripere, eaque asportata paulo post in fluvium Le- 
 thes ex gremio suo projicere; circa fluvium autem magnam 
 avium vim volitare, quae numismata arripiunt, ac postquam in 
 rostris ipsarum paulisper eadem circumtulerint, paulo post per 
 incuriam in fluvium decidere permittunt ; inter eas vero cygnos 
 reperiri nonnullos, qui si numisma aliquod cum nomine prehen- 
 derint, illico ad templum quoddam illud deferre solebant, Im- 
 mortalitati consecratum. 1 Hujusmodi itaque cygni nostris 
 temporibus fere defecerunt. Quamvis autem plurimi hominum, 
 curis et studiis suis nimio plus quam corporibus mortales, 
 nominis sui memoriam veluti fumum aut auram despiciant, 
 
 Animi nil magnae laudis egentes ; 2 
 
 quorum scilicet philosophia et severitas ab ea radice pullulat, 
 Nonprius laudes contempsimus, quam laudandafacere desivimus 3 ; 
 id tamen apud nos Salomonis judicio non praejudicabit ; Me- 
 moriajusti cum laudibus, at impiorum nomen putrescet 4 : Altera 
 perpetuo floret, alterum aut in oblivionem protinus abit, aut in 
 odorem tetrum computrescit. Ac propterea in eo ipso stilo vel 
 loquendi formula, quae recte admodum recepta est ut defunctis 
 tribuatur (foelicis memories, pice memories, bonce memorice) agno- 
 
 1 The poet referred to is Ariosto ; Orlando Furioso [at the close of the 34th and 
 beginning of the 35th books]. For this reference I am indebted to Mr. Singer, Notes 
 and Queries, vol. v. p. 232. He remarks that the Orlando Furioso was then popular 
 in the recent translation of Sir John Harrington. It would seem as if Bacon refers 
 to the translation, which ascribes the power of giving immortality to " Historians 
 learned and Poets rare," whereas the original speaks only of poets. 
 
 2 Virg. ^En. v. 751. 
 
 ' " Nam postquam desiimus facere laudanda, laudari quoque ineptum putamus." 
 Plin. Ep. iii. 91. 
 4 Prov. x. 7.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 511 
 
 scere videmur illud quod Cicero (mutuatus id ipsum a De- 
 mosthene) protulit, Bonam famam propriam esse possessionem 
 defunctorum. l Quam quidem possessionem non possum non 
 notare nostro aevo incultam ut plurimum et neglectam jacere. 
 
 Quantum ad jRelationes, optandum esset prorsus ut multo 
 major circa eas adhiberetur diligentia. Quippe vix incidit 
 aliqua actio paulo iUustrior, cui non intersit calamus aliquis 
 ex melioribus, qui earn excipere et describere possit. Quoniam 
 autem is perpaucorum hominum esse debet, qui historiam 
 justam pro dignitate conscribat (ut ex paucitate historicorum 
 vel mediocrium satis liquet), idcirco si actiones particulares sub 
 tempus ipsum quo geruntur tolerabili aliquo scripto memo- 
 ria? mandarentur, sperandum esset exorituros quandoque, qui 
 historiam justam ope et auxilio illarum Relationum conscri- 
 bere posset. Illse enim instar seminarii esse possint, unde, cum 
 usus forct, hortus amplus et magnificus consereretur. 
 
 CAPUT VIII. 2 
 
 Partitio Histories Temporum in Historiam Universalem, et Par- 
 ticularem ; et utriusque commoda, et incommoda. 
 
 HISTOEIA Temporum aut Universalis est, aut Particularis. 
 Hsec alicujus Regni, vel Reipublicce, vel Nationis res gestas 
 complectitur ; ilia Universi Orbis. Neque enim defuerunt, qui 
 Historiam Mundi etiam ab origine scripsisse videri volunt; 
 farraginem rerum et compendia narrationum pro historia exhi- 
 bentes ; alii sui temporis res per orbem terrarum memorabiles 
 
 1 The passage of Cicero to which Bacon alludes is, I apprehend, to be found in the 
 ninth Philippic : " Vita enim mortuorum in memoria vivorum est posita." I have 
 not met with the corresponding passage, if there is one, in Demosthenes, and am 
 inclined to believe that Bacon was thinking of the following sentence in Wolf's trans- 
 lation of the Ad Demonicum of Isocrates : " Mortem .... honeste oppetitam natura 
 peculiare preestantium virorum munus esse voluit." [I should rather suppose that he 
 alluded to the opening of the Aetyos 'EirtrdQios (1389. 10) : flSvia 7&p [r; 7rd\is] irapa. 
 TO?S xP T J <rTO '* avSpafft TO.S (J.v rSiv xpU u Ta "' KT^fftis Ka.1 TWV KWOL rbv $iov -ffiovSiv 
 a.iroKa.'bfftis uTrepecopot/xeVas, Tys 8" operas /cal -riav tira.il/uiv itaaav rr]v firtOvfJ.iai' oSffav, Q 
 Siv -TO.VT ca> O.VTOIS /j.d\tara ytvoiro \Aytav, roinois $}Qt\aa.v tieiv airroits TI^MV, lv' ffv 
 <H>VTes tKT-fjffavTo ev$oiav OI)TT> Kal r eT(\evri]K6 ffiv nvrols airoSo- 
 0ei'7j. There are other points of resemblance between the ninth Philippic and the 
 A6yos "ETTtT^ws which make it probable that Cicero had it in his eye, and the third 
 form which these two corresponding passages assume in Bacon seems to be the result 
 of an imperfect recollection of both. It represents the exact sentiment of the Greek 
 orator in the shape adopted by the Roman. J. S.] 
 
 2 There is nothing corresponding to this chapter in the Advancement of Learning. 
 J. S.
 
 512 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tanquam justa historia complecti posse confisi sunt ; conatu 
 profecto magnanimo, atque fructu baud exiguo. Neque enim 
 res humanse ita imperils aut regionibus divisae sunt, ut non 
 habeant multa connexa ; quare juvat certe fata, alicui saeculo 
 aut setati destinata, veluti una tabula contenta et descripta 
 intueri. Fit etiam, ut plurirna scripta non contemnenda 
 (qualia sunt eae de quibus antea locuti sumus Relationes), alias 
 forte peritura neque prelum ssepius passura, aut saltern capita 
 ipsorum, in hujusmodi Historiam Generalem recipiantur, atque 
 hoc pacto figantur et conserventur. Veruntamen, si quis rem 
 rectius perpendat, animadvertet tarn severas esse Historiae Justae 
 leges, ut eas in tanta argument! vastitate exercere vix liceat ; 
 adeo ut minuatur potius historiae majestas molis granditate, 
 quam amplificetur. Fiet enim, ut qui tarn varia undequaque 
 persequitur, is informationis religione paulatim remissa, et dili- 
 gentia sua, quae ad tot res extenditur, in singulis elanguescente, 
 auras populares et rumores captet ; et ex relationibus non ad- 
 modum authenticis, aut hujusmodi aliqua levidensi materia, 
 historiam conficiet. Quinetiam necesse ei erit (ne opus in im- 
 mensum excrescat) plurima relatu digna consulto praetermittere, 
 atque ad epitomarum rationes saspius delabi. Incumbit etiam 
 aliud periculum non parvum, atque utilitati illi Historiaa Uni- 
 versalis ex diametro oppositum; quemadmodum enim Uni- 
 versalis Historia narrationes aliquas, quae alias forte fuissent 
 peritura?, conservat; ita contra saepenumero narrationes alias 
 satis fructuosas, quce aliter victurae fuissent, propter grata mor- 
 talibus rerum compendia perimit. 
 
 CAPUT IX. 
 
 Partitio alia Histories Temporum, in Annales et Acta Diurna. 
 
 ETIAM Historia Temporum recte dividitur in Annales, et 
 Diaria ; quae divisio, licet ex periodis temporum nomina sumat, 
 tamen ad delectum rerum etiam pertinet. Recte enim Corne- 
 lius Tacitus, cum in mentionem magnificentiae quarundam 
 structurarum incidit, statim subdit, ex dignitate populi Romani 
 repertum esse res illustres Annalibus, talia Diurnis urbis Actis 
 mandare l ; applicando Annalibus res quae ad statum reipublicae 
 
 1 Tac. Ann. xiii. 31.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 513 
 
 pertinent, acta vero et accidentia leviora Diarlis. Meo utique 
 judicio, valere conveniret disciplinam quandam Haraldicam in 
 disponendis non minus librorum quam personarum dignitati- 
 bus. Sicut enim nihil rebus civilibus magis detrahit, quam 
 ordinum et graduum confusio; ita etiam authoritati historiae 
 gravis haud parum derogat, si admisceantur politicis res levioris 
 momenti ; quales sunt pompae et solennitates et spectacula, et 
 hujusmodi. Atque sane optandum esset ut ilia ipsa distinctio 
 in consuetudinem venire t. Nostris vero temporibus, Diaria in 
 navigationibus tantum et expeditionibus bellicis in usu sunt. 
 Apud antiques certe regum honori dabatur, ut acta palatii sui 
 in Diaria referrentur ; quod videmus factum fuisse sub Aha- 
 suero Persarum rege ; qui cum noctem ageret insomnem Diaria 
 poposcit, ubi conjurationem Eunuchorum recognovit. 1 At in 
 Alexandri Magni Diariis tarn pusilla continebantur, ut etiam si 
 forte ad mensam dormiret in acta reponeretur. 2 Neque enim 
 sicut Annales tantum gravia, ita Diaria tantum levia complexa 
 sunt ; sed omnia promiscue et cursim Diariis excipiebantur, seu 
 majoris seu minoria momenti. 
 
 CAPUT X. 
 
 Partitio secunda Histories Civilis, in Meram et Mixtam. 
 
 POSTREMA vero partitio Historiae Civilis ea sit ; ut dividatur 
 in Meram, et Mixtam. Mixturae celebres duae ; altera ex Sci- 
 entia Civili, altera praecipue ex Naturali. Introductum est 
 enim ab aliquibus genus scribendi, ut quis narrationes aliquas, 
 non in serie historiae continuatas, sed ex delectu authoris ex- 
 cerptas conscribat; deinde easdem recolat et tanquam rumi- 
 net ; et sumpta ab ipsis occasione, de rebus politicis disserat. 3 
 Quod genus Histories Ruminates nos sane magnopere probamus, 
 modo hujusmodi scriptor hoc agat, et hoc se agere confiteatur. 
 Historiam autem Justam ex professo scribenti politica ubique 
 ingerere, atque per ilia filum historias interrumpere, intempesti- 
 vum quiddam et molestum est. Licet enim Historia quaeque 
 
 1 Esther, vi. 1. 2 Plut. Symp. 1. 6. 
 
 8 The most celebrated work of this kind is one with which Bacon was familiar, 
 the Discorsi of Macchiavelli, of which the narrative part is derived from Livy. Am- 
 mirati, who died in 1600, took Tacitus as his author. His Discorsi never attained the 
 celebrity of those of Macchiavelli. 
 
 VOL. I. L L
 
 514 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIAROI 
 
 prudentior politicis praeceptis et monitis veluti impregnate 
 sit, tamen scriptor ipse sibi obstetricari non debet. 
 
 Mixta etiam est Historia Cosmographica, idque multipliciter. 
 Habet enim ex Historia Naturali, regiones ipsas, atque earum 
 situs et fructus ; ex Historia Civili, urbes, imperia, mores ; ex 
 Mathematicis, climata et configurationes cosli, quibus tractus 
 mundi subjacent. In quo genere Historiae sive scientiae, est 
 quod saeculo nostro gratulemur. Orbis enim terrarum factus 
 est hac nostra aetate mirum in modum fenestratus atque patens. 
 Antiqui certe Zonas et Antipodas noverant, 
 
 (Nosque ubi primus equis Oriens afflavit anhelis, 
 niic sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper), l 
 
 idque ipsum magis per demon strationes quam per peregrina- 
 tiones. Verum ut carina aliqua parva coelum ipsum aemulare- 
 tur ; atque universum globum terrestrem, magis etiam obliquo 
 et flexuoso quam coelestia solent itinere, circumiverit ; ea est 
 nostri saeculi praerogativa ; ita ut prassens astas jure in synibolo 
 suo usurpare possit non tantum illud Plus ultra 2 , ubi antiqui 
 usurpabant Non ultra ; atque insuper illud Imitabile fulmen ubi 
 antiqui Non imitabile fulmen, 
 
 Demons qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen ; s 
 
 verum et illud, quod omnem admirationem superat, Imitabile 
 coelum; propter navigationes nostras, quibus circa universum 
 terrae ambitum, coelestium corporum more, volvi et circumagi 
 saepius concessum fuit. 
 
 Atque haec praeclara in re nautica atque orbe perlustrando 
 foelicitas, de ulterioribus etiam progressibus et augmentis sci- 
 entiarum spem magnam facere possit ; praesertim cum divino 
 videatur consilio esse decretum, ut haec duo coaeva sint. Sic 
 enim Daniel Propheta, de novissimis temporibus verba faciene, 
 praedicit, Plurimi pertransibunt et augebitur scientia 4 ; quasi 
 pertransitus sive perlustratio mundi, atque multiplex augmen- 
 tum scientiarum, eidem saaculo destinarentur ; sicut magna ex 
 parte jam completum videmus ; quandoquidem tempora nostra, 
 duabus illis prioribus doctrinarum periodis aut revolutionibus 
 (alteri apud Graecos, alteri apud Romanes) eruditione non mul- 
 tum cedant, eas vero in aliquibus longe superent. 
 
 1 Virg. Georg. i. 250. 
 
 2 " Plus ultra," which Bacon often quotes, was the motto adopted by the emperor 
 Charles V. 
 
 ' Virg. JEn. vi. 590. 4 Daniel, xii. 4.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 515 
 
 CAPUT XL 
 
 Partitio Histories Ecclesiastics , in Ecclesiasticam specialem, 
 Historiam ad Prophetias, et Historiam Nemeseos. 
 
 HISTOEIA Ecclesiastica in genere easdem fere cum Historia 
 Civili partitiones subit. Sunt enim Chronica Ecclesiastica, sunt 
 Vitae Patrum, sunt Relationes de Synodis et reliquis ad Eccle- 
 siam spectantibus. Proprio vero nomine, recte dividitur in 
 Historiam Ecclesiasticam (generis nomine servato) et Historiam 
 ad Prophetias, et Historiam Nemeseos sive Providentice. Prima 
 Ecclesiae Militantis tempora et statum diversum memorat ; sive 
 ilia fluctuet, ut Area in Diluvio ; sive itineretur, ut Area in 
 Eremo ; sive consistat, ut Area in Templo ; hoc est, Statum 
 Ecclesiae in Persecutione, in Motu, et in Pace. In hac parte 
 defectum aliquem non invenio ; quin supersunt in ilia complura 
 potius quam desunt. Illud sane optarem, ut massae tam prae- 
 grandi virtus quoque et sinceritas narrationum responderent. 
 
 Secunda pars, quae est Historia ad Prophetias, ex duobus 
 relativis constat, Prophetia ipsa et ejus Adimpletione. Qua- 
 propter tale esse debet hujus operis institutum, ut cum singulis 
 ex Scripturis prophetiis, eventuum veritas conjungatur ; idque 
 per omnes mundi aetates ; turn ad confirmationem fidei, turn ad 
 instituendam disciplinam quandam et peritiam in interpreta- 
 tione prophetiarum quae adhuc restant complendae. Attamen 
 in hac re admittenda est ilia latitude, quae divinis vaticiniis 
 propria est et familiaris ; ut adimpletiones eorum fiant et con- 
 tinenter et punctualiter. Referunt enim Authoris sui naturam, 
 Cui unus dies tanquam mille anni, et mille anni tanquam unus 
 dies * ; atque licet plenitude et fastigium complement! eorum 
 plerumque alicui certae aetati vel etiam certo momento destine- 
 tur, attamen habent interim gradus nonnullos et scalas comple- 
 ment! per diversas mundi aetates. Hoc opus desiderari statuo ; 
 verum tale est ut magna cum sapientia, sobrietate, et reverentia 
 tractandum sit, aut omnino dimittendum. 
 
 Tertia pars, quae Historia Nemeseos est, sane in calamos non- 
 nullorum piorum virorum incidit, sed non sine partium studio ; 
 occupata est autem in observanda divina ilia convenientia, quae 
 nonnunquam intercedit inter Dei voluntatem revelatam et 
 secretam. Quamvis enim tam obscura sint consilia et judicia 
 
 1 Psalm xc. 4. [and 2 Pet. iii. 8.] 
 L L 2
 
 516 DE AUG MENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Dei, ut . homini animali sint penitus inscrutabilia ; quinetiam 
 saepius eorum oculis qui prospiciunt e tabernaculo se subdu- 
 cant; divinae tamen sapientiaa visum aliquando per vices, ad 
 suorum confirmationem et confusionem eorum qui tanquam 
 sine Deo sunt in mundo, ea, quasi majoribus characteribus 
 descripta, sic proponere conspicienda, ut (sicuti loquitur Pro- 
 pheta) quivis etiam in cursu ea perlegere possit l ; hoc est, ut 
 homines mere sensuales et voluptarii, qui judicia ilia divina 
 praetervehi festinant neque cogitationes suas in ea unquam 
 defigunt, tamen quamvis propere currant et aliud agant, ipsa 
 agnoscere cogantur. Talia sunt vindictas serae et inopinae; 
 salutes subito affulgentes et insperatas ; consilia divina per 
 ambages rerum tortuosas et stupendas spiras tandem se mani- 
 festo expedientia ; et similia ; quae valent non solum ad con- 
 solandos animos fidelium, sed ad percellendas et convincendas 
 conscientias improborum. 
 
 CAPUT XII. 
 
 De Appendicibus Histories ; qu& circa Verba Hominum (quern- 
 admodum Historia ipsa circa Facto) versantur : Partitio 
 earum in Orationes, Epistolas, et Apophthegmata. 
 
 AT non Factorum solummodo humani generis, verum etiam 
 Dictorum, memoria servari debet. Neque tamen dubium quin 
 Dicta ilia quandoque historian ipsi inserantur, quatenus ad res 
 gestas perspicue et graviter narrandas faciant et deserviant. 
 Sed Dicta sive Verba Humana proprie custodiunt libri Oratio- 
 num, Epistolarum, et Apophthegmatum. Atque Orationes sane 
 virorum prudentium, de negotiis et causis gravibus et arduis 
 habitae, turn ad rerum ipsarum notitiam turn ad eloquentiam 
 
 1 Habbakuk, ii. 2. Bacon seems to have misunderstood the meaning of the passage, 
 the English translation of which is quite in accordance both with the Vulgate and 
 with the Septuagint version. The meaning may be thus paraphrased : " Write so as 
 that the message may be quickly read, in order that the reader may run at once and 
 without loss of time." The idea of quick reading seems to have suggested that of a 
 hasty and careless reader. 
 
 In my copy of Acosta's sermons for Advent, which has Bacon's autograph on the fly- 
 leaf, and for which I am indebted to the kindness of the Rev. P. La Trobe, the follow- 
 ing words are underlined : " Sed explanari in tabulis visio prophetica jubetur, ut 
 possit celeriter a legente percipi." Acostce Condones de Adventu, (Col. Agrip. 1609) 
 p. 178. Bacon perhaps connected celeriter with legente instead of with percipi, and 
 was thus led to suppose that the passage was to be understood in the way in which 
 he has taken it.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 517 
 
 multum valent. Sed majora adhuc praestantur auxilia ad in- 
 struendam prudentiam civilem ab Epistolis, quae a viris magnis 
 de negotiis seriis missae sunt. Etenim ex Verbis Hominum nil 
 sanius aut praestantius, quam hujusmodi Epistolae. Habent 
 enim plus nativi sensus quam orationes, plus etiam maturitatis 
 quam colloquia subita. Esedem quando continuantur secundum 
 seriem temporum (ut fit in illis quae a legatis, praefectis provin- 
 ciarum, et aliis imperii ministris, ad reges vel senatus vel alios 
 superiores suos mittuntur, aut vicissim ab imperantibus ad mi- 
 nistros), sunt certe ad Historiam pra? omnibus pretiosissima 
 supellex. Neque Apophthegmata ipsa ad delectationem et or- 
 natum tantum prosunt, sed ad res gerendas etiam et us us 
 civiles. Sunt enim (ut aiebat ille) veluti secures aut mucrones 
 verborum, qui rerum et negotiorum nodos acumine quodam 
 secant et penetrant. Occasiones autem redeunt in orbem, et 
 quod olim erat commodum rursus adhiberi et prodesse potest ; 
 sive quis ea tanquam sua proferat, sive tanquam vetera. Neque 
 certe de utilitate ejus rei ad civilia dubitari potest, quam Caesar 
 dictator opera sua honestavit ; cujus liber utinam extaret, cum 
 ea quae usquam habentur in hoc genere nobis parum cum de- 
 lectu congesta videantur. 
 
 Atque base dicta sint de Historia ; ea scilicet parte doctriuae 
 quae respondet uni ex Cellis sive Domiciliis Intellectus, quae 
 est Memoria. 
 
 CAPUT XIII. 
 
 De secundo Membro principali Doctrince, nempe Poe'si. Par- 
 titio Po'eseos in Narrativam, Dramaticam, et Parabolicam. 
 Exempla Parabolicce tria proponuntur. 
 
 JAM ad Poesim veniamus. Poesis est genus doctrinae, verbis 
 plerunque astrictum, rebus solutum et licentiosum ; itaque, ut 
 initio diximus, ad Phantasiam refertur, qua3 iniqua et illicita 
 prorsus rerum conjugia et divortia comminisci et machinari 
 solet. Poesis autem (ut supra innuimus) duplici accipitur 
 sensu, quatenus ad Verba, vel quatenus ad Kes respiciat. 
 Priore sensu, Sermonis quidam Character est : Carmen enim 
 stili genus, et elocutionis formula quaedam, nee ad res pertinet ; 
 nam et vera narratio carmine, et ficta oratione soluta conscribi 
 potest. Posteriore vero sensu, constituimus earn ab initio 
 
 L L 3
 
 518 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Doctrinae Membrum Principale, eamque juxta Historiam collo- 
 cavimus, cum nihil aliud sit quam Historic Imitatio ad Placi- 
 tum. Nos igitur in partitionibus nostris veras doctrinarum 
 venas indagantes et persequentes, neque consuetudini et divi- 
 sionibus receptis (in multis) cedentes, Satiras et Elegias et 
 Epigrammata et Odas et hujusmodi ab institute sermone remo- 
 vemus, atque ad philosophiam et artes orationis rejicimus. Sub 
 nomine autem Poeseos de Historia ad Placitum conficta tantum- 
 modo tractamus. 
 
 Partitio Poeseos verissima atque maxime ex proprietate, 
 praeter illas divisiones quse sunt ei cum Historia communes 
 (sunt enim ficta Chronica, Vitae fictae, fictae etiam Relationes), 
 ea est, ut sit aut Narrativa, aut Dramatica, aut Paralolica. 
 Narrativa prorsus historiam imitatur, ut fere fallat, nisi quod 
 res extollat saepius supra fidem. Dramatica est veluti historia 
 spectabilis; nam constituit imaginem rerum tanquam praesen- 
 tium, historia autem tanquam praeteritarum. Parabolica vero 
 est historia cum typo, quas intellectualia deducit ad sensum. 
 
 Atque de Poesi Narrativa, sive earn Hero'icam appellare 
 placet, (modo hoc intelligas de Materia, non de Versu,) ea a 
 fundamento prorsus nobili excitata videtur, quod ad dignitatem 
 humanae naturae inprimis spectat. Cum enim mundus sensi- 
 bilis eit anima rationali dignitate inferior, videtur Poesis haec 
 humanae naturae largiri, quae historia denegat; atque animo 
 umbris rerum utcunque satisfacere, cum solida haberi non pos- 
 sint. 1 Si quis enim rem acutius introspiciat, firmum ex Poesi 
 sumitur argumentum, magnitudinem rerum magis illustrem, 
 ordinem magis perfectum, et varietatem magis pulchram, animge 
 humanae complacere, quam in natura ipsa, post lapsum, reperire 
 ullo modo possit. Quapropter, cum res gestae et eventus qui 
 verae historiae subjiciuntur non sint ejus amplitudinis in qua 
 anima humana sibi satisfaciat, praesto est Poesis, quae facta 
 magis heroica confingat ; cum historia vera successus rerum 
 minime pro meritis virtutum et scelerum narret, corrigit earn 
 Poesis, et exitus et fortunas secundum merita et ex lege Ne- 
 meseos exhibet; cum historia vera, obvia rerum satietate et 
 similitudine, animas humanae fastidio sit, reficit earn Poesis, 
 iuexpectata et varia et vicissitudinum plena canens. Adeo 
 ut Poesis ista non solum ad delectationem, sed etiam ad anitui 
 
 " I am sick of all 
 That dust has shown me ; let me dwell in shadows." BYRON.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 519 
 
 magnitudinem et ad mores conferat. Quare et merito etiam 
 divinitatis cujuspiam particeps videri possit; quia animum 
 erigit et in sublime rapit, rerum simulacra ad animi desideria 
 accommodando, non animum rebus (quod ratio facit et histo- 
 ria) submittendo. Atque his quidem illecebris et congruitate 
 qua animum humanum demulcet, addito etiam consortio mu- 
 sices unde suavius insinuari possit, aditum sibi patefecit, ut 
 lionori fuerit etiam saeculis plane rudibus et apud nationes 
 barbaras, cum aliae doctrinae prorsus exclusa? essent. 
 
 Dramatica autem Poesis, quae theatrum habet pro mundo, 
 usu eximia est, si sana foret. Non parva enim esse posset 
 theatri et disciplina et corruptela. Atque corruptelarum in 
 hoc genere abunde est ; disciplina plane nostris temporibus est 
 neglecta. Attamen licet in rebuspublicis modernis habeatur 
 pro re ludicra actio theatralis, nisi forte nimium trahat e satira 
 et mordeat; tamen apud antiques curas fuit, ut aninios homi- 
 num ad virtutem institueret. Quinetiam viris prudentibus, et 
 magnis philosophis, veluti animorum plectrum quoddam cen- 
 sebatur. Atque sane verissimum est, et tanquam secretum 
 quoddam naturae, hominum animos cum congregati sint, magia 
 quam cum soli sint, affectibus et iinpressionibus patere. 1 
 
 1 There is nothing in the Advancement of Learning corresponding to this para- 
 graph. 
 
 It is a curious fact that these remarks on the character of the modern drama were 
 probably written, and were certainly first published, in the same year which saw the 
 first collection of Shakespeare's plays ; of which, though they had been filling the 
 theatre for the last thirty years, I very much doubt whether Bacon had ever heard. 
 How little notice they attracted in those days as works of literary pretension, may be 
 inferred from the extreme difficulty which modern editors have found in ascertaining 
 the dates, or even the order, of their production. Though numbers of contemporary 
 news-letters, filled with literary and fashionable intelligence, have been preserved, it 
 is only in the Stationer's register and the accounts kept by the Master of the Revels 
 that we find any notices of the publication or acting of Shakespeare's plays. In the 
 long series of letters from John Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton, scattered over 
 the whole period from 1698 to 1623, letters full of the news of the month ; news 
 of the court, the city, the pulpit, and the bookseller's shop; in which court-masques 
 are described in minute detail, author, actors, plot, performance, reception and all ; 
 we look in vain for the name of Shakespeare or of any one of his plays. And yet during 
 that period Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Othello, Measure for Measure, the Merchant of 
 Venice, Macbeth, Lear, the Tempest, the Winter's Tale, Coriolanus, and several more, must 
 have appeared as novelties. And indeed that very letter without which we should hardly 
 know that Shakespeare was personally known to any one in the great world as a dis- 
 tinguished dramatic writer, I mean Lord Southampton's letter in furtherance of a 
 petition from him and Burbage to the Lord Chancellor Ellesmt-re proves at the same 
 time how little was known about him by people of that quality. " This other " (he 
 writes, after describing him as his especial friend and the writer of some of our best 
 
 English plays,) hath to name William Shakespeare Both are right 
 
 famous in their qualities, though it longeth not of your lordship's gravity and wisdom 
 to resort unto the places where they were wont to delight the public ear." This was 
 
 L & 4
 
 520 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 At Poesis Parabolica inter reliquas eminet, et tanquam res 
 sacra videtur et augusta ; cum praesertim religio ipsa ejus 
 opera plerumque utatur, et per earn commercia divinorum cum 
 humanis exerceat. Attamen et haec quoque ingeniorum circa 
 allegorias levitate et indulgentia contaminata invenitur. Est 
 autem usus ambigui, atque ad contraria adhibetur. Facit enim 
 ad involucrum; facit etiam ad illustrationem. In hoc docendi 
 quaedam ratio ; in illo occultandi artificium quaeri videtur. Haec 
 autem docendi ratio, quae facit ad illustrationem, antiquis saeculis 
 plurimum adhibebatur. Cum enim rationis humanae inventa et 
 conclusiones (etiam eae quae nunc tritae et vulgatae sunt) tune 
 temporis novas et insuetse essent, vix illam subtilitatem capie- 
 bant ingenia humana, nisi propius eae ad sensum per hujus- 
 modi simulachra et exempla deducerentur. Quare omnia apud 
 illos fabularum omnigenarum et parabolarum et aenigmatum 
 et similitudinum plena fuerunt. Hinc tesserae Pythagoras, 
 senigmata Sphingis, ^Esopi fabulae, et similia. Quinetiam 
 apophthegmata veterum Sapientum fere per similitudines 
 rem demonstrabant. Hinc Menenius Agrippa apud Romanes 
 (gentem eo saeculo rninime literatam) seditionem fabula repres- 
 sit. Denique ut hieroglyphica literis, ita parabolae argumentis 
 erant antiquiores. Atque hodie etiam, et semper, eximius est 
 et fuit parabolarum vigor ; cum nee argumenta tarn perspicua 
 nee vera exempla tarn apta esse possint. 
 
 Alter est usus Poeseos Parabolicae, priori quasi contrarius, 
 qui facit (ut diximus) ad involucrum; earum nempe rerum, 
 quarum dignitas tanquam velo quodam discreta esse mereatur ; 
 hoc est, cum occulta et mysteria Religionis, Politicae, et Phi- 
 losophiae, fabulis et parabolis vestiuntur. Utrum vero fabulis 
 veteribus poetarum subsit aliquis sensus mysticus, dubitationem 
 nonnullam habet. Atque ipsi certe fatemur nos in earn senten- 
 tiam propendere, ut non paucis antiquorum poetarum fabulis 
 mysterium infusum fuisse putemus. 1 Neque nos movet, quod 
 
 in 1608; and yet only six years before, when Ellesmere received Elizabeth at Harewood, 
 Othello had been acted there for her entertainment. Even now a writer otherwise 
 unknown hardly becomes known as the author of a successful play. " At present," 
 said Mr. Rogers, " new plays seem hardly to be regarded as literature; people may go 
 to see them acted, but no one thinks of reading them. During the run of Paul Pry, 
 I happened to be at a dinner-party, where everybody was talking about it, that is, 
 about Listen's performance of the hero. I asked first one person, then another, and 
 then another, who was the author of it ? Not a man or woman in the company 
 knew that it was written by Poole !" Recollections of the Table-talk of Samuel 
 Rogers, p. 253. J. S. 
 
 1 The hesitating manner in which Bacon here expresses himself shows that he felt,
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 521 
 
 ista pueris fere et grammaticis relinquantur, et vilescant, ut de 
 illis contemptim sententiam feramus ; quin contra cum plane 
 constet scripta ilia, quae fabulas istas recitant, ex scriptis homi- 
 num post Literas Sacras esse antiquissima, et longe his anti- 
 quiores fabulas ipsas, (etenim tanquam prius creditae et receptse, 
 non tanquam excogitatae ab illis scriptoribus, referuntur) ; vi- 
 dentur esse instar tenuis cujusdam aurae, quae ex traditionibus 
 nationum magis antiquarum in Grascorum fistulas inciderunt. 
 Cum vero quae circa harum parabolarum interpretationem 
 adhuc tentata sint, per homines scilicet imperitos nee ultra 
 locos communes doctos, nobis nullo modo satisfaciant ; Philoso- 
 phiam secundum Parabolas Antiquas inter Desiderata referre 
 \ 7 isum est. Ejus autem operis exemplum unum aut alterum 
 subjungemus. Non quod res sit fortasse tanti, sed ut institu- 
 tum nostrum servemus. Id hujusmodi est, ut de operibus illis 
 quae inter Desiderata ponimus (si quid sit paulo obscurius) per- 
 petuo aut praecepta ad opus illud instruendum, aut exempla 
 proponamus ; ne quis forte existimet levem aliquam tantum no- 
 tionem de illis mentem nostram perstrinxisse, nosque regiones 
 sicut augures animo tantum metiri, neque eas ingrediendi vias 
 nosse. Aliam aliquam partem in Poesi desiderari non inveni- 
 mus ; quin potius cum planta sit Poesis, quae veluti a terra 
 luxuriante absque certo semine germinaverit, supra czeteras 
 doctrinas excrevit et diffusa est. Verum jam Exempla propo- 
 nemus, tria tantum numero ; unum e Naturalibus, e Politicis 
 unum, atque unum denique e Moralibus. 
 
 Exemplum primum Philosophic secundum Parabolas antiquas, in 
 Naturalibus. De Universo, secundum fabulam Panis. 
 
 ANTIQUI generationem Panis in dubio relinquunt. Alii enim 
 eum a Mercurio genitum, alii longe alium generationis modum 
 ei tribuunt. Aiunt enim procos universes cum Penelope rem 
 habuisse, ex quo promiscuo concubitu Pana communem filium 
 ortum esse. Neque praetermittenda est tertia ilia generationis 
 explicatio. Quidam enim prodiderunt eum Jovis et Hybreos 
 (id est, Contumeliae) filium fuisse. Utcunque orto, Parcae illi 
 sorores fuisse perhibentur, quae in specu subterraneo habita- 
 
 what every one in modern times who has considered the subject must I think feel, how 
 difficult it is to enter into the spirit of the ancient mythus. Its essence seems to 
 consist in a half-conscious blending of an idea with something that was accepted as a 
 fact. See particularly on this point Miiller's Introduction to Mythology. The mythus 
 degenerates into allegory when the idea and the fact are conceived of as antithetical.
 
 522 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIA.RUM 
 
 bant; Pan autem morabatur sub dio. Effigies Panis tails ab 
 antiquitate describitur ; cornutus, cornibus in acutum surgenti- 
 bus, et usque ad coelum fastigiatis; corpore toto hispidus et 
 villosus ; barba in primis promissa ; figura biformis, humana 
 quoad superiora, sed semifera et in caprae pedes desinente. 
 Gestabat autem insignia potestatis, sinistra fistulam ex septem 
 calamis compactam, dextra pedum sive baculum superius curvum 
 et inflexum. Induebatur chlamyde ex pelle pardalis. Pote- 
 etates ei et munera hujusmodi attribuuntur, ut sit Deus vena- 
 torum, etiam pastorum, et in universum ruricolarum ; praeses 
 item montium. Erat etiam, proximus a Mercuric,, nuncius 
 Deorum. Habebatur etiam dux et imperator Nympharum, 
 quae circa eum perpetuo choreas ducere et tripudiare solebant : 
 comitabantur et Satyri, et his seniores Sileni. Habebat insuper 
 potestatem terrores immittendi, praesertim inanes et superstitio- 
 sos, qui et Panici vocati sunt. Res gestse autem ejus non 
 multae memorantur. Illud praecipuum, quod Cupidinem provo- 
 cavit ad luctam, a quo etiam in certamine victus est. Etiam 
 Typhonem gigantem retibus implicavit et cohibuit. Atque 
 narrant insuper, cum Ceres moesta et ob raptam Proserpinam 
 indignata se abscondisset, atque Dii omnes ad earn investigan- 
 dam magnopere incubuissent et se per varias vias dispertiti 
 essent, Pani solummodo ex foelicitate quadam contigisse ut in- 
 ter venandum earn inveniret et indicaret. Ausus est quoque 
 cum Apolline de victoria musices decertare, atque etiam Mida 
 judice praelatus est; ob quod judicium Midas asininas aures 
 tulit, sed clam et secreto. Amores Panis nulli referuntur, aut 
 saltern admodum rari ; quod mirum, inter turbam Deorum pror- 
 sus tarn profuse amatoriam, videri possit. Illud solummodo ei 
 datur, quod Echo adamaret, qua? etiam uxor ejus est habita ; 
 atque unam praeterea nympham, Syringam nomine ; in quam, 
 propter irum et vindictam Cupidinis (quem ad luctam provocare 
 non reveritus esset) incensus est. Etiam Lunam quondam in 
 altas silvas sevocasse dicitur. Neque etiam prolem ullani 
 suscepit (quod similiter mirum est, cum Dii, prsesertim masculi, 
 prolific! admodum essent), nisi quod ei attribuatur tanquam 
 filia, muliercula quaedam ancilla, lambe nomine ; quae ridiculis 
 narratiunculis oblectare hospites solebat, ejusque proles ex 
 conjuge Echo esse a nonnullis existimabatur. Parabola talis 
 esse videtur. 
 
 Pan (ut et nomen ipsurn etiam sonat) Universum, sive Uni-
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 523 
 
 versitatem Rerum, repraesentat et proponit. De hujus origine 
 duplex omnino sententia est, atque adeo esse potest. Aut enim 
 a Mercurio est, verbo scilicet divino (quod et Sacrse Literae 
 extra controversiam ponunt, et philosophi ipsi qui magis divini 
 habiti sunt viderunt), aut ex confusis rerum seminibus. Etenim 
 quidam e philosophis semina rerum etiam substantia infinita 
 statuerunt ; unde opinio de homoiomeris fluxit, quam Anaxago- 
 ras aut invenit aut celebravit. Nonnulli vero magis acute et 
 sobrie censebant ad varietatem rerum expediendam sufficere, si 
 semina substantia eadem, figuris varia sed certis et definitis, 
 essent ; et reliqua in positura et complexu seminum ad invicem 
 ponebant l ; ex quo fonte opinio de Atomis emanavit, ad quam 
 Democritus se applicavit, cum Leucippus ejus author fuisset. 
 At alii, licet unum rerum principium assererent (aquam Thales, 
 aerem Anaximenes, ignem Heraclitus), tamen illud ipsum prin- 
 cipium actu unicum, potentia 2 varium et dispensabile posuerunt, 
 ut in quo rerum omnium semina laterent. Qui vero Materiam 
 omnino spoliatam, et informem, et ad Formas indifferentem in- 
 troduxerunt, (ut Plato et Aristoteles) multo etiam propius et 
 propensius ad parabola? figuram accesserunt. Posuerunt enim 
 Materiam tanquam publicam meretricem, Formas vero tanquam 
 procos 3 ; adeo ut omnes de rerum principiis opiniones hue red- 
 eant et ad illam distributionem reducantur, ut mundus sit vel 
 a Mercurio, vel a Penelope et procis omnibus. Tertia autem 
 Generatio Panis ejusmodi est, ut videantur Grseci aliquid de 
 Hebrseis mysteriis vel per JEgyptios internuncios, vel utcunque, 
 inaudivisse. Pertinet enim ad statum mundi non in meris nata- 
 libus suis, sed post lapsum Adami, morti et corruptioni exposi- 
 tum et obnoxium factum. Ille enim status Dei et Peccati 
 (sive Contumeliae) proles fuit, ac manet. Fuit enim peccatum 
 Adami ex genere Contumeliae, cum Deo similis fieri vellet. 
 Itaque triplex ista narratio de Generatione Panis etiam vera 
 videri possit, si rite et rebus et temporibus distinguatur. Nam 
 iste Pan (qualem eum nunc intuemur et complectimur) ex Verbo 
 Divino, mediante confusa Materia (quae tamen ipsa Dei opus 
 
 1 To this opinion Bacon himself doubtless inclined, but he was not I think a believer 
 in any atomic theory ; that is to say, he seems to have rejected the idea of a vacuum. 
 Of Democritus however, so far as relates to his physical theories, he always speaks 
 with respect. Leibnitz has remarked that the view which Bacon here mentions, is 
 common to all the scientific reformers of the early part of the seventeenth century. 
 
 2 The antithesis of the actual and the potential is a fundamental doctrine in the 
 peripatetic philosophy. 
 
 3 See Arist. Physics, i c. 9.
 
 524 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 erat), et subintrante Prcevaricatione et per earn corruptions, 
 ortum habet. 
 
 Naturae rerum Fata rerum sorores vere perhibentur et ponun- 
 tur. Fata enim vocantur, ortus rerum, et durationes, et interitus ; 
 atque depressiones etiam, et eminentiae, et labores. et felicitates, 
 denique conditiones quaecunque individui ; quaa tamen nisi in 
 individuo nobili (utpote homine, aut urbe, aut gente) fere non 
 agnoscuntur. Atqui ad istas conditiones tarn varias deducit 
 individua ilia singula Pan, rerum scilicet natura ; ut tanquam 
 eadem sit res (quatenus ad individua) catena Naturae, et filum 
 Parcarum. Ad haec insuper finxerunt antiqui Panem semper 
 sub dio morari, sed Parcas sub specu ingenti subterraneo habi- 
 tare, atque inde maxima pernicitate ad homines subito advo- 
 lare; quia Natura atque Universi facies spectabilis est et 
 aperta, at Fata individuorum occulta et rapida. Quod si Fatum 
 accipiatur largius, ut omnem prorsus eventum, non illustriores 
 tantum denotet, tamen utique et eo sensu optime convenit cum 
 universitate rerum ; cum ex ordine naturae nil tarn exiguum sit 
 quod sine causa fiat, et rursus nil tarn magnum ut non aliunde 
 pendeat ; adeo ut fabrica ipsa naturae suo sinu et gremio omnem 
 eventum et minimum et maximum complectatur, et suo tempore 
 certa lege prodat. Itaque nil mirum, si Parcae ut Panis sorores 
 introductae sint, et certe legitimae. Nam Fortuna vulgi filia 
 est, et levioribus tantum philosophis placuit. Sane Epicurus 
 non solum profanum instituere sermonem, sed etiam desipere 
 videtur, cum dixit pr&stare credere fdbulam Deorum quam Fatum 
 asserere 1 ; ac si quicquam in Universe esse possit in star insulae, 
 quod a rerum nexu separetur. Verum Epicurus, philosophiam 
 suam naturalem (ut ex ipsius verbis patet) morali suae accommo- 
 dans et subjiciens, nullam opinionem admittere voluit quas ani- 
 mum premeret et morderet, atque Euthymiam illam (quam a 
 Democrito acceperat) lacesseret aut turbaret. Itaque suavitati 
 cogitationum indulgens potius quam veritatis patiens, plane 
 jugum jactavit, et tarn Fati necessitatem quam Deorum metum 
 repudiavit. Verum de Parcarum germanitate cum Pane satis 
 dictum est. 
 
 1 See Diog. Laert. x. 134. The expressions of which Epicurus made use are 
 sufficiently striking, tirtl Kpfirrov r}v rf irtpl Stiav ftt'fy. KaraKo\ov8tw j) TTJ -rSiv 
 fyvamSiv tlf^apfjifvri $ov\ev(iv ; the reference being, as Menage, following Gassendi, 
 remarks, to the doctrines of the earlier physicists, Democritus, &c. 
 
 For some remarks on the " fatis avolsa voluntas " of Epicurus, see Stewart's 
 Dissertation on the Progress of Philosophy, note MM.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 525 
 
 Cornua autem mundo attribuuntur, ab imo latiora, ad verti- 
 cem acuta. Omnis enim rerum natura instar pyramidis acuta 
 est. Quippe individua, in quibus basis naturae exporrigitur, 
 infinita sunt; ea colliguntur in species, et ipsas multiplices; 
 species rursus insurgunt in genera, atque haec quoque ascen- 
 dendo in magis generalia contrahuntur ; ut tandem natura tan- 
 quam in unum coi're videatur ; quod figura ilia pyramidali 
 Cornuum Panis significatur. Mirum vero minime est, Panis 
 cornua etiam coelum ferire ; cum excelsa naturae, sive ideae 
 nniversales, ad divina quodam modo pertingant. Itaque et 
 catena ilia Homeri decantata, (causarum scilicet naturalium,) ad 
 pedem solii Jovis fixa memorabatur ; neque quisquam (ut vi- 
 dere est) metaphysicam et quae in natura aeterna et immobilia 
 sunt tractavit, atque animum a fluxu rerum paulisper abduxit, 
 qui non simul in Theologiam Naturalem inciderit ; adeo paratus 
 et propinquus est transitus a vertice ilia pyramidis ad divina. 
 
 Corpus autem Natures elegantissime et verissime depingitur 
 hirsutum, propter rerum radios. Radii enim sunt tanquam Na- 
 turae crines, sive villi ; atque omnia fere vel magis vel minus 
 radiosa sunt. Quod in facultate visus manifestissimum est ; nee 
 minus in omni virtute magnetica et operatione ad distans. 
 Quidquid enim operatur ad distans, id etiam radios emittere 
 recte dici potest. Sed maxime omnium prominet Barba Panis, 
 quia radii corporum coelestium, et praecipue Solis, maxime ex 
 longinquo operantur et penetrant; adeo ut superiora terras, 
 atque etiam interiora ad distantiam nonnullam, plane verterint 
 et subegerint, et spiritu impleverint. Elegantior autem est 
 figura de Barba Panis, quod et Sol ipse, quando parte supe- 
 riore ejus nube obvoluta radii inferius erumpunt, ad aspectum 
 barbatus cernitur. 
 
 Etiam corpus Naturae rectissime describitur biforme, ob diffe- 
 rentiam corporum superiorum et inferiorum. Ilia enim ob 
 pulchritudinem et motus aequalitatem et constantiam, necnon 
 imperium in terram et terrestria, merito sub humana figura 
 repraesentantur ; cum natura humana ordinis et dominationis 
 particeps sit. Haec autem ob perturbationem, et motus incompo- 
 sitos, et quod a coelestibus in plurimis regantur, bruti animalis 
 figura contenta esse possunt. Porro eadem corporis biformis 
 descriptio pertinet ad participationem specierum. Nulla enim 
 Naturae species simplex videri potest, sed tanquam ex duo- 
 bus participans et concreta. Habet enim homo nonnihil ex
 
 526 DE AUGMENTIS SCTENTIARUM 
 
 bruto, brutum nonnihil ex planta, planta nonnihil ex corpore 
 inanimate, omniaque revera biformia sunt, et ex specie superiore 
 et inferiore compacta. Acutissima autem est allegoria de Pedi- 
 bus Caprce, propter ascensionem corporum terrestrium versus 
 regiones aeris et coeli, ubi etiam pensilia fiunt, et inde deji- 
 ciuntur magis quam descendant. Capra enim animal scrinso- 
 rium est, eaque e rupibus pendere atque in prsecipitiis hjerere 
 amat ; similiter etiam res, licet inferiori globo destinatae, faciunt ; 
 idque miris modis, ut in nubibus et meteoris manifestissimum 
 est. Imo non sine causa Gilbertus, qui de magnete laboriosis- 
 sime et secundum viam experiment alem conscripsit, dubita- 
 tionem injecit: numnon forte corpora gravia, post longam a 
 terra distantiam, motum versus inferiora paulatim exuant ? ' 
 
 Insignia autem in manibus Panis ponuntur duplicia ; alterum 
 harmonics, alterum imperil. Fistula enim ex septem calamis 
 concentum rerum et barmoniam, sive concordiam cum discordia 
 mixtam (quae ex septem stellarum errantium motu conficitur), 
 evidenter ostendit. Neque enim alii, proeterquam septem 
 planetarum, inveniuntur in coelo errores sive expatiationes 
 manifestae, quas cum aequalitate stellarum fixarum earumque 
 perpetua et invariabili ad se invicem distantia composites et 
 temperatas, turn constantiam specierum turn fluxum individuo- 
 rum tueri et ciere possint. Si qui vero sint planetse minores, 
 qui non conspiciuntur ; si qua etiam mutatio in coelo major 
 (ut in cometis nonnullis superlunaribus) ; videntur ilia profecto 
 tanquam fistulas aut omnino mutae aut ad tempus tantum stre- 
 perae ; utpote quarum operationes vel ad nos non perlabantur, 
 vel harmoniam illam septem fistularum Panis non diu inter- 
 turbent. 2 Pedum autem illud Imperil nobilis translatio est, 
 propter vias naturae partim rectas, partim obliquas. Atque 
 
 1 Gilbert was of opinion that the earth is a great magnet which attracts all bodies 
 near its surface, although phenomena of polarity are only developed in a few cases. 
 To every magnet he ascribed an "orb of virtue " beyond which it exerts no influence 
 whatever, and also a smaller " orb of coition " such that the magnet cannot produce 
 motion in any portion of matter which lies beyond It. As a heavy body therefore 
 approaches the limit of the earth's orb of coition its downward tendency gradually 
 diminishes. Imperfect as these views are they show how clearly Gilbert had appre- 
 hended the general idea of attraction, and how little reason Voltaire had for his 
 assertion that Bacon "a devine 1'attraction. " [See note on Nov. Org. p. 299.] 
 
 2 For dreams about the music of the spheres, see Robert Fludd's work Utriu*que 
 Cosmi, majoris scilicet et minoris, metaphysica, physica, et technica Historia, 1617. 
 The third book of the first tractate is wholly De Musicd mundand, and is illustrated 
 by an engraving of a bass viol, of which the dimensions extend through the solar 
 system. Bacon was, not improbably, acquainted with Fludd, who was one of the most 
 learned of the cabalistic philosophers.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 527 
 
 Baculum illud, sive Virga, versus superiorem partem praecipue 
 curva est, quia omnia Providential Divinse opera in mundo fere 
 per ambages et circuitus fiunt ; ut aliud agi videri possit, aliud 
 revera agatur : sicut Josephi venditio in Egyptum, et similia. 
 Quinetiam in regimine humano omni prudentiore, qui ad guber- 
 nacula sedent, populo convenientia, per praetextus et vias obli- 
 quas foelicius quae volunt quam ex directo, superinducunt et 
 insinuant. Etiam (quod mirum fortasse videri possit) in rebus 
 mere naturalibus, citius naturam fallas quam premas ; adeo 
 quae ex directo fiunt inepta sunt et seipsa impediunt ; cum con- 
 tra via obliqua et insinuans molliter fluat, et effectum sortiatur. 
 Vestis Panis et amiculum ingeniose admodum ex pelle pardalis 
 fuisse fingitur, propter maculas ubique sparsas. Coelum enim 
 stellis, maria insulis, tellus floribus, consperguntur ; atque etiam 
 res particulares fere variegataa esse solent circa superficiem, qua3 
 veluti rei chlamys est. 
 
 Officium autem Panis nulla alia re tarn ad vivum proponi 
 atque explicari potuerit, quam quod Deus Venatorum sit. Omnis 
 enim naturalis actio, atque adeo motus et progressio, nihil aliud 
 quam Venatio est. Nam et scientiae et artes opera sua venan- 
 tur ; et consilia humana fines suos ; atque res naturales omnes 
 vel alimenta sua ut conserventur, vel voluptates et delicias suas 
 ut perficiantur, venantur; (omnis siquidem venatio est aut 
 praedae aut animi causa;) idque modis peritis et sagacibus; 
 
 Torva leaena lupum sequitur, lupus ipse capellam, 
 Florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva capella. 1 
 
 Etiam Ruricolarum in genere Pan Deus est, quia hujusmodi 
 homines magis secundum naturam vivant, cum in urbibus et 
 aulis natura a cultu nimio corrumpatur ; ut illud poe'tae amato- 
 rium, verum propter hujusmodi delicias etiam de natura sit, 
 
 Pars minima est ipsa puella sui. a 
 
 Montium autem inprimis Presses dicitur Pan, quia in montibus 
 et locis editis Natura Rerum panditur, atque oculis et contem- 
 plation! magis subjicitur. Quod alter a Mercurio Deorum Nun- 
 cius sit Pan, ea allegoria plane divina est ; cum, proxime post 
 verbum Dei, ipsa mundi imago divinae potentiaa et sapientite 
 praaconium sit. Quod et poeta divinus cecinit, Cceli enarrant 
 gloriam Dei, atque opera manuum ejus indicat firmamentum* 
 
 1 Virg. Eel. ii. 63. * Ovid. Remed. Amor. 344. s Psalm xix. 1.
 
 528 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 At Pana oblectant Nymphce, Animae scilicet ; deliciae enim 
 mundi Animse viventium sunt. Hie autem merito illarum 
 imperator, cum illas naturam quaeque suam tanquam ducem 
 sequantur, et circa eum infinita cum varietate, veluti singular 
 more patrio, saltent et choreas ducant, motu neutiquam cessante. 
 Itaque acute quidam ex recentioribus facultates animse omnes 
 ad Motum reduxit, et nonnullorum ex antiquis fastidium et 
 pracipitationem notavit, qui memoriam et phantasiam et ra- 
 tionem defixis praepropere oculis intuentes et contemplantes, 
 Vim Cogitativam, quae primas tenet, praetermiserunt. 1 Nam 
 et qui meminit, aut etiam reminiscitur, cogitat ; et qui ima- 
 ginatur similiter cogitat ; et qui ratiocinatur utique cogitat : 
 denique Anima, sive a sensu monita, sive sibi permissa, sive 
 in functionibus intellectus, sive affectuum et voluntatis, ad 
 modulationem cogitationum saltat ; quae est ilia Nympha- 
 rum tripudiatio. Una vero perpetuo comitantur Satyri et 
 Silent, Senectus scilicet et Juventus. Omnium enim rerum 
 est aetas qusedam hilaris et motu gaudens, atque rursus aetas 
 tarda et bibula ; utriusque autem aetatis studia vere contem- 
 planti fortasse ridicula et deformia videantur, instar Satyri 
 alicujus aut Silent. De Panicis autem Terroribus prudentis- 
 sima doctrina proponitur. Natura enim rerum omnibus viven- 
 tibus indidit metum et formidinem, vitae atque essentiae suae 
 conservatricem, ac mala ingruentia vitantem et depellentem. 
 Veruntamen eadem Natura modum tenere nescia est, sed timo- 
 ribus salutaribus semper vanos et inanes admiscet; adeo ut 
 omnia, (si intus conspici darentur,) Panicis terroribus plenissima 
 sint ; praesertim humana ; et maxime omnium apud vulgum, qui 
 superstitione (quae vere nihil aliud quam Panicus Terror est) in 
 immensum laborat et agitatur, praecipue temporibus duris et 
 trepidis et adversis. Neque superstitio ista tantummodo in 
 vulgo regnat, sed ab opinionibus vulgi etiam in sapientiores ali- 
 quando insilit, ut divine Epicurus (si caetera quae de Diis dis- 
 seruit ad hanc normam fuissent) locutus sit ; Non Deos vulgi 
 negare profanum, sed vulgi opiniones Diis applicare profanum? 
 
 Quod vero attinet ad audaciam Panis, et pugnam per provo- 
 cationem cum Cupidine ; id eo spectat, quia materia non caret 
 
 1 The writer referred to is A. Donius. See his De Natura Hominis, 1581, the 
 titl of the twenty-first chapter of the second book of which is Omnes Operationes 
 Spiritus esse Motum ft Sensum. For an account of this " motus " see the sixteenth 
 chapter of the second book. As might be supposed, Donius is altogether a materialist. 
 
 2 Diogenes Laert. x. 123.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 529 
 
 inclinatione et appetitu ad dissolutionem mundi et recidiva- 
 tionem in illud Chaos antiquum, nisi praevalida rerum concordia 
 (per Amorem sive Cupidinem significata) malitia et impetus 
 ejus cohiberetur, et in ordinem compelletur. 1 Itaque bono 
 admodum hominum et rerum fato fit (vel potius immensa boni- 
 tate divina) ut Pan illud certamen adversum experiatur, et 
 victus abscedat. Eodem prorsus pertinet et illud de Typhone 
 in retibus implicate, quia utcunque aliquando vasti et insoliti 
 rerum tumores sint (id quod Typhon sonat), sive intumescant 
 maria, sive intumescant nubes, sive intumescat terra, sive alia, 
 tamen rerum natura hujusmodi corporum exuberantias atque 
 insolentias reti inextricabili implicat et coercet, et veluti catena 
 adamantina devincit. 
 
 Quod autem Inventio Cereris huic Deo attribuatur, idque 
 inter venationem ; reliquis autem Diis negetur, licet sedulo 
 quaerentibus et illud ipsum agentibus ; monitum habet rarum 
 admodum et prudens : hoc scilicet, ne rerum utilium ad vitam 
 et cultum inventio a philosophiis abstractis, tanquam Diis 
 Majoribus, expectetur, licet totis viribus in illud ipsum in- 
 cumbant ; sed tantummodo a Pane, id est experientia sagaci, et 
 rerum mundi notitia universal! ; qua? etiam casu quodam, ac 
 veluti inter venandum, in hujusmodi inventa incidere solet. 
 Utilissima enim quaeque inventa experiential debentur, et 
 veluti donaria quasdam fuere casu in homines sparsa. 
 
 Illud autem Musices certamen ejusque eventus salutarem 
 exhibet doctrinam, atque earn quae ration i et judicio humano 
 gestienti et se efferenti sobrietatis vincula injicere possit. 
 Duplex enim videtur esse harmonia, et quasi Musica; al- 
 tera sapientiae divina?, altera rationis hurnanaa. Judicio enim 
 humano, ac veluti auribus mortalium, administratio mundi 
 et rerum et judicia divina secretiora sonant aliquid durum 
 et quasi absonum; quae inscitia licet asininis auribus me- 
 rito insigniatur, tamen et illae ipsae aures secreto non palam 
 gestantur. Neque enim hujusce rei deformitas a vulgo con- 
 spicitur aut notatur. 
 
 Postremo minime mirum est si nulli Amores Pani attribu- 
 antur, praeter Conjugium Echus. Mundus enim se ipso, atque 
 in se rebus omnibus, fruitur ; qui amat autem frui vult ; neque 
 in copia desiderio locus est. Itaque mundi amores esse nulli 
 possunt, nee potiundi cupido (cum se ipse contentus sit), nisi 
 
 1 So in the original. 
 VOL. I. M M
 
 530 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 fortasse amores Sermonis. li sunt Nympha Echo, res non solida 
 sed vocalis ; aut si accuratiores sint, Syringa, quando scilicet 
 verba et voces numeris quibusdam, sive poeticis sive oratoriis, 
 et tanquam modulamine reguntur. Inter sermones autem sive 
 voces, excellenter ad conjugium mundi sumitur sola Echo. Ea 
 enim denmm vera est philosophia, quae mundi ipsius voces fide- 
 lissime reddit, et veluti dictante mundo conscripta est ; et nihil 
 aliud est quam ejusdem simulachrum et reflexio ; neque addit 
 quicquam de proprio, sed tantum iterat et resonat. Nam quod 
 Lunam Pan in altas silvas aliquando sevocasset, videtur perti- 
 nere ad congressum sensus cum rebus ccelestibus sive divinis. 
 Nam alia est Endymionis ratio, alia Panis. Ad Endymionem 
 dormientem sponte se demittit Luna ; siquidem ad intellectum 
 sopitum, et a sensibus abductum, quando que sponte influunt 
 divina ; quod si accersantur et vocentur a sensu, tanquam a 
 Pane, turn vero non aliud lumen prasbent quam illud, 
 
 Quale sub incertam lunam, sub luce maligna, 
 Est iter in silvis. 1 
 
 Ad mundi etiam sufficientiam et perfectionem pertinet, quod 
 prolem non edat. Ille enim per partes generat ; per totum quo- 
 modo generare possit, cum corpus extra ipsum non sit ? Nam 
 de muliercula ilia lambe, filia Panis putativa, est sane ea 
 adjectio quaedam ad fabulam sapientissima. Per illam enim 
 repraesentantur eae, quae perpetuis temporibus passim vagantur 
 atque omnia implent, vaniloquae de rerum natura doctrinae, 
 reipsa infructuosae, genere quasi subdititiae, garrulitate vero 
 interdum jucundas, interdum molestse et importuuae. 
 
 Exemplum alterum Philosophic, secundum Parabolas antiquas, in 
 Politicis. De Bello, secundum fabulam Persei. 
 
 PERSEUS, Orientalis cum fuisset, missus traditur a Pallade ad 
 obtruncandam Medusam ; quae populis plurimis ad Occidentem 
 in extremis Iberiae partibus maximae calamitati fuit. Monstrum 
 enim hoc, alias crudele et immane, etiam aspectu tarn dirum 
 atque horrendum fuit, ut eo solo homines in saxa verteret. 
 Erat autem e Gorgonibus una Medusa, ac sola inter eas mor- 
 talis, cum reliquae passivae non essent. Perseus igitur, ad tarn 
 nobile facinus se comparans, anna ad dona a tribus Diis mutuo 
 
 1 Virg. JEn. vi. 270. The first tub ought of course to be per.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 531 
 
 accepit ; alas a Mercurio, talares scilicet non axillares : a Plu- 
 tone autem galeam ; scutum denique a Pallade et speculum. 
 Neque tamen (licet tanto apparatu instructus) ad Medusam 
 recta perrexit, sed primum ad Graeas divertit. Eae sorores ex 
 altera parente Gorgonibus erant. Atque Grasas ista? canae et- 
 iam a nativitate erant, et tanquam vetulas. Oculus autem iis 
 tantummodo et dens erat omnibus unicus ; quos, prout exire 
 foras quamque contigerat, vicissim gestabant, reversae autem 
 deponere solebant. Hunc itaque oculum atque hunc dentem 
 ilia? Perseo commodarunt. Turn demum cum se abunda ad 
 destinata perficienda instructum judicaret, ad Medusam pro- 
 peravit impiger et volans. Illam autem offendit dormientem, 
 neque tamen aspectui ejus (si forsan evigilaret) se committere 
 audebat, sed cervice reflexa et in speculum illud Pallaclis in- 
 spiciens, atque hoc modo ictus dirigens, caput Medusae abscidit. 
 Ex sanguine vero ejusdem in terram fuso statim Pegasus alatus 
 emicuit. Caput autem abscissum Perseus in scutum Palladia 
 transtulit et inseruit, cui etiamnum sua mansit vis, ut ad ejus 
 intuitum omnes ceu attoniti aut syderati obrigerent. 
 
 Fabula conficta videtur de belligerandi ratione et prudentia. 
 Atque primo omnis belli susceptio debet esse tanquam missio a 
 Pallade; non a Venere certe (ut bellum Trojanum fuit), aut 
 alia levi ex causa ; quippe cum in consiliis solidis decreta de 
 bellis fundari oporteat. Deinde de genere belli eligendo tria 
 proponit fabula praecepta, sana admodum et gravia. Primum 
 est, ut de subjugatione nationum jinitimarum quis non magno- 
 pere laboret. Neque enim eadem est patrimonii et imperil 
 amplificandi ratio. Nam in possessionibus privatis vicinitas prae- 
 diorum spectatur, sed in propagando imperio occasio et belli 
 conficiendi facilitas et fructus loco vicinitatis esse debent. 
 Itaque Perseus, licet Orientalis, tamen tarn longinquam expe- 
 ditionem usque ad extremum Occidentem minime detrectavit. 
 Hujus rei exemplum insigne est in belligerandi diversa ratione 
 patris et filii regum, Philippi et Alexandri. Ille enim in fini- 
 timis bellis occupatus urbes paucas imperio adjecit, idque non 
 sine maxima contentione et periculo; quippe qui et alias, et 
 praacipue in praelio Chasroneo, in ultimum discrimen adductus 
 fuit; at Alexander, longinquam expeditionem bene ausus in 
 Persas, nationes infinitas subjugavit, magis itineribus quam 
 praeliis fatigatus. Hoc ipsum adhuc clarius cernitur in propa- 
 gatione imperil Romanorum, qui quo tempore ex parte Occi- 
 
 M M 2
 
 532 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 dentis vix ultra Liguriam armis penetraverant, eoaem tempore 
 Orientis provincias usque ad montem Taurum armis et imperio 
 complex! sunt. Etiam Carolus Octavus rex Galliae bellum 
 Britannicum (quod matrimonio l tandem compositum est) non 
 admodum facile expertus, expeditionem illam Neapolitannm 
 longinquam admiranda quadam facilitate et felicitate transegit. 
 Habent certe hoc bella longinqua, ut cum iis manus conseratur 
 qui militiae et armis invasoris minime sint assueti, quod in fini- 
 timis secus se habet. Etiam et apparatus in hujusmodi expe- 
 ditionibus solet esse diligentior et instructior, et terror apud 
 hostes ex ipso ausu et fiducia major. Neque etiam fere possit 
 fieri in illis expeditionibus remotis, per hostes ad quos tarn longo 
 itinere pervenitur, diversio aliqua aut invasio reciproca, quae in 
 belligerandi ratione cum finitimis saspius adhibetur. Caput 
 autem rei est, quod in subjugandis finitimis occasionum delectus 
 in augusto versatur; at si quis longinquiora non detrectet, 
 poterit pro arbitrio suo eo transferre bellum ubi aut disciplina 
 militaris maxime est enervata, aut vires nationis plurimum at- 
 tritas et consumptae, aut dissidia civilia opportune oborta, aut 
 aliaa hujusmodi commoditates se ostendant. Secundum est, ut 
 semper subsit causa belli justa et pia et honorifica et favorabilis. 
 Id enim alacritatem turn militibus turn populis impensas con- 
 ferentibus addit, et societates aperit et conciliat, et plurimas 
 denique commoditates habet. Inter causas autem belli, admo- 
 dum favorabilis est ea quae ducit ad debellandas tyrannides, sub 
 quibus populus succumbit et prosternitur sine animis et vigore, 
 tanquam sub Aspectum Medusae; quod etiam Herculi divinita- 
 tem conciliavit. Romania certe magna religio fuit, strenue* et 
 impigre accurrere ad socios tuendos, si quoquo modo oppress! 
 fuissent Etiam bella ob vindictam justam fere semper foelicia 
 fuerunt, sicut bellum adversus Brutum et Cassium ad vindican- 
 dam mortem Caesaris; Severi ad vindicandam mortem Perti- 
 nacis ; Junii Bruti ad vindicandam mortem Lucretias. Denique 
 quicunque bello calamitates hominum et injurias aut levant 
 aut vindicant, sub Perseo militant. Tertium, ut in omni 
 bello suscipiendo vera sit (estimatio virium; atque recte perpen- 
 datur utrum bellum sit tale quod confici et ad exitum perduci 
 possit, ne quis vastas et infinitas spes persequatur. Prudenter 
 enim Perseus inter Gorgonas (per quas bella representantur) 
 
 1 In 1491 Charles the Eighth married Anne of Brittany, and thus put an end to 
 the war which Bacon here speaks of.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 533 
 
 earn delegit quae in sua natura mortalis erat, neque ad impossi- 
 bilia animum adjecit. Atque de iis quas in suscipiendo bello 
 deliberationem subeunt, haec praecipit fabula ; reliqua ad belli- 
 gerationem ipsam pertinent. 
 
 In bello maxime omnium prosunt ilia tria Dona Deorum, 
 adeo ut fortunam ipsam fere regant et trahant. Accepit enim 
 Perseus celeritatem a Mercurio, occultationem consiliorum ab 
 Oreo, et providentiam a Pallade. Neque caret allegoria, eaque 
 prudentissima, quod alae illae celeritatis in rebus conficiendis 
 (cum celeritas in bello plurimum possit) talares non axillares 
 fuerint, atque pedibus non humeris additae ; quia non tarn in 
 primis belli aggressibus, quarn in iis quae sequuntur et primis 
 subsidio sunt, celeritas requiritur. Nullus enim error in bello x 
 magis frequens fuit, quam quod prosecutiones et subsidiarii im- 
 petus initiorum alacritati non respondeant. At galea Plutonis 
 (quas homines invisibiles reddere solebat) manifesta parabola 
 est. Nam consiliorum occultatio, post celeritatem, maximi ad 
 belluna est momenti. Cujus etiam celeritas ipsa pars magna 
 est. Celeritas enim consiliorum evulgationem praavertit. Ad 
 galeam Plutonis spectant, -ut unus bello praesit cum mandatis 
 liberis ; consultationes enim cum multis habent aliquid potius 
 ex cristis Martis, quam ex galea Plutonis. Eodem spectant 
 praetextus varii, et designationes ancipites, et famae emissarise, 
 quas oculos hominum aut perstringunt aut avertunt, atque vera 
 consiliorum in obscuro ponunt. Edam cautiones diligentes et 
 suspicaces de literis, de legatis, de perfugis, et complura alia, 
 galeam Plutonis ornant et revinciunt. At non minus interest 
 consilia hostium explorare, quam sua occultare. Itaque galeae 
 Plutonis adjungendum est speculum Palladia, per quod hostium 
 vires, inopia, occulti fautores, dissidia et factiones, progressus, 
 consilia cernantur. Quoniam vero tantum fortuitorum sus- 
 cipit bellum, ut nee in consiliis propriis occultandis nee in 
 hostium explorandis nee in celeritate ipsa multum fiduciae po- 
 nendum sit, ideo ante omnia sumendum Palladia scutum, Prom- 
 dentia scilicet, ut quam minimum Fortunas relinquatur. Hue 
 pertinent, explorato vias inire, castra diligenter inunire (quod 
 in militia moderna in desuetudinem fere abiit, castra vero instar 
 urbis munitas Romanis ad adversos praelii eventus erant), acies 
 stubilis et ordinata, non nimium fidendo cohortibus levis arma- 
 turaa, aut etiam equitum turmis; denique, omnia quae ad solidam 
 et sollicitam defensivam spectant ; cum plus valeat utique in
 
 534 DE AUGMENTS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 bellis scutum Palladis, quam gladius ipse Martis. Verum 
 Perseo utcunque copiis aut animis instructo restat aliud quid- 
 piam, maximi per omnia moment!, antequam bellum incipiatur: 
 nimirum, ut divertat ad Graas. Graeae autem proditiones sunt, 
 bellorum scilicet sorores, non germanse illae quidem, sed generis 
 nobilitate quasi impares. Bella enim generosa, proditiones de- 
 generes et turpes. Earum descriptio elegans est, ut caruz a 
 nativitate sint et tanquam vetulce, propter perpetuas proditorum 
 curas et trepidation es. Earum autem vis, (antequam in mani- 
 festam defectionem erumpant,) aut in oculo, aut in dente est. 
 Omnis enim factio, a statu quopiam alienata et in proditionem 
 propensa, et speculatur et mordet. Atque hujusmodi oculus et 
 dens tanquam communis est; nam quicquid dklicerunt et no- 
 verunt, fere per manus ab una ad alteram transit et percurrit. 
 Et quod ad dentem attinet, uno quasi ore mordent, et eadem 
 scandala jactant ; ut si unam audias, omnes audias. Itaque 
 Perseo sunt istas Graeae conciliandae atque in auxilium addu- 
 cendaa, praesertim ut oculum et dentem suum ei commodent; 
 oculum ad indicia, dentem ad rumores serendos et invidiam 
 conflandam et animos hominum sollicitandos. Postquam vero 
 omnia bene sint ad bellum prasparate disposita, illud in primis 
 curandum, quod Perseus fecit, ut Medusa dormiens inveniatur. 
 Prudens enim belli susceptor semper fere hostem assequitur 
 imparatum, et securitati propiorem. Denique in ipsis belli 
 actionibus atque insultibus, ille intuitus in speculum Palladis 
 adoperandus est. Plurimi enim ante ipsa pericula res hostium 
 acute et attente introspicere possunt; at in ipso periculi arti- 
 culo aut terrore offunduntur, aut pericula nimium praecipites 
 et a fronte spectant ; unde in ilia temere ruunt, vincendi me- 
 mores, vitandi obliti. At neutrum horum fieri debet ; sed in 
 speculum Palladis cervice reflexa inspiciendum, ut impetus recte 
 dirigatur absque vel terrore vel furore. 
 
 A bello perfecto et victoria sequuntur effecta duo ; Pegasi 
 ilia generatio et exsuscitatio, quaa satis evidenter Famam denotat, 
 quse per omnia volat, et victoriam celebrat, et reliquias belli 
 faciles et in votum cedentes efficit. Secundum, gestatio capitis 
 Medusa in scuto ; siquidem nullum praesidii genus huic ob prae- 
 stantiam comparari possit. Unicum enim facinus insigne et 
 memorabile, foeliciter gestum et perpetratum, omnes hostium 
 motus obrigescere facit, atque malevolentiam ipsam stupi- 
 dam reddit.
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 535 
 
 Exemplum tertium Philosophies secundum Parabolas antiquas, in 
 Moralibus. De Cupiditate, secundum fabulam Dionysi. 
 
 NARRANT Semelem Jovis pellicem, postquam juramento eum 
 inviolabili ad votum indefinitura obstrinxisset, petiisse ut ad 
 amplexus suos accederet ialis qualis cum Junone consuesset. 
 Itaque ilia ex conflagratione periit. Infans autem quern in 
 utero gestabat, a patre exceptus, in femur ejus insutus est, donee 
 menses foetui destinatos compleret. Ex quo tamen onere Ju- 
 piter interim nonnihil claudicabat. Itaque puer, quod Jovem, 
 dum in femore ejus portaretur, gravaret et pungeret, Dionysi 
 nomen accepit. Postquam autem editus esset, apud Proserpi- 
 nam per aliquot annos nutritus est ; cum vero adultus esset, ore 
 fere muliebri conspiciebatur, ut sexus videretur tanquam am- 
 bigui. Etiam extinctus et sepultus quondam erat ad tempus, 
 et non ita multo post revixit. Atque prima juventa vitis cul- 
 turam, atque adeo vini confectionem et usum, primus invenit et 
 edocuit; ex quo Celebris factus et inclytus orbem terrarum 
 subjugavit, et ad ultimos Indorum terminos perrexit. Curru 
 autem vehebatur a tigribus tracto ; circa eum subsultabant dae- 
 mones deformes, Cobali vocati, Acratus et alii. Quin et Musas 
 comitatui ejus se adjungebant. TJxorem autem sibi sumpsit 
 Ariadnem, a Theseo desertam et relictam. Arbor ei sacra 
 erat hedera. Etiam sacrorum et caeremoniarum inventor et in- 
 stitutor habebatur ; ejus tamen generis, quae et fanaticae erant et 
 plenae corruptelarum, atque insuper crudeles. Furores quoque 
 immittendi potestatem habebat, Certe in orgyis ejus, a mulie- 
 ribus furore percitis duo viri insignes discerpti narrantur, Pen- 
 theus et Orpheus ; ille dum arbore conscensa spectator eorum 
 quae agerentur curiosus esse voluisset ; hie cum lyram suaviter 
 et perite pulsaret. Atque hujus dei res gestaa cum Jovis rebus 
 fere confunduntur. 
 
 Fabula videtur ad Mores pertinere, ut vix quicquam in phi- 
 losophia morali melius inveniatur. Describitur autem sub 
 persona Bacchi natura Cupiditatis, sive affectuum et perturba- 
 tionum animi. Primum igitur, quod ad natalia Cupiditatis 
 attinet. Origo cupiditatis omnis, licet nocentissimae, non alia est 
 quam Bonum Apparens. Sicut enim virtutis mater est Bonum 
 Existens, similiter cupiditatis mater est Bonum Apparens. 
 Altera Jovis (sub cujus persona anima humana repraesentatur) 
 uxor legitima, altera pellex ; quae tamen Junonis honores aemu- 
 
 M M 4
 
 536 DE AUGMEM'IS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 letur, tanquam Semele. Concipitur vero Cupiditas in voto 
 illiclto, prius temere concesso quam rite intellecto et judicato. 
 Atque post quam efFervescere coeperit, Mater ejus (natura scili- 
 cet et species boni), ex nimio incendio destruitur et perit. Pro- 
 cessus autem Cupiditatis a conceptu suo talis est. Ilia ab animo 
 humane (qui ejus est genitor) et nutricatur et occultatur, pra> 
 cipue in inferiori parte ejus, tanquam femore ; atque animum 
 pungit et convellit et deprimit, adeo ut actiones et decreta ab 
 ea impediantur et claudicent, Quinetiam postquam consensu 
 et tempore confirmata est et in actus erumpit, ut jam quasi 
 menses compleverit et edita plane sit atque nata, primo tamen ad 
 tempus nonnullum apud Proserpinam educatur, id est latebras 
 qu&rit, atque clandestina est, et quasi subterranea ; donee re- 
 motis Pudoris et Metus frsenis, et coiilita audacia, aut virtu tis 
 alicujus praetextum sumit aut infamiam ipsam contemnit. Atque 
 illud verissimum est, omnem affectum vehementiorem tanquam 
 ambigui sexus esse. Habet enim impetum virilem, impotentiam 
 autem muliebrem. Etiam illud prseclare, Bacchum mortuum 
 reviviscere. Videntur enim affectus quandoque sopiti atque 
 extincti ; sed nulla fides habenda est iis, ne sepultis quidem ; 
 siquidem praebita materia et occasione, resurgunt. 1 
 
 De Inventions Vitis parabola pmdens est. Omnis enhn 
 affectus ingeniosus est admodum et sagax, ad iuvestigandum ea 
 quae ipsum alant et foveant. Atqui ante omnia quae hominibus 
 innotuere, vinum ad perturbationes cujuscunque generis exci- 
 tandas et inflammandas potentissimum est et maxime efficax ; 
 atque est Cupiditatibus in genere instar fomitis communis. Ele- 
 gantissime autem ponitur Affectus, sive Cupiditas, provinciarum 
 subjugator et expeditionis infinitae susceptor. Nunquam enim 
 partis acquiescit, sed appetitu infinite neque satiabili ad ulteriora 
 tendit, et novis semper inhiat. Etiam tigres apud Affectus sta- 
 bulant^et ad currum eorum subinde jugantur. Postquam enim 
 Affectus curulis esse creperit, non pedcstris, sed victor rationis 
 et quasi triumphtitor factus sit, in omnes qui adversantur aut se 
 opponunt crudelis est et indomitus ac immitis. Facetum autem 
 est, quod circa currum Bacchi subsultant illi d&mones defonnes 
 
 1 Yet Rochefoucauld has said " II est impossible d'aimer une seconde fois ce qu'on 
 a veritablement cesse d'aimer." Reflexions Morales, 294. [The two observations arc 
 not, 1 think, incompatible with one another. Bacon speaks of the appetite rather than 
 the sentiment ; and Rochefoucauld does not say that a man cannot love again that 
 which he thinks he has ceased to love. J. S.]
 
 L113E11 SECUNDUS. 537 
 
 et ridiculi. Omnis enim affectus vehementior progignit motus 
 in oculis et ore ipso et gestu indecoros et inconditos, subsulto- 
 rios et deformes ; adeo ut qui sibi ipsi fortasse in aliquo afFectu 
 (veluti ira, arrogantia, amore) videatur magnificus et tumidus, 
 aliis tamen appareat turpis et ridiculus. Conspiciuntur autem 
 in Cupiditatis comitatu Muses. Neque enim reperitur ullus fere 
 affectus tarn pravus et vilis, cui non blandiatur aliqua doctrina. 
 Hac enim in re ingeniorum indulgentia et procacitas Musa- 
 rum majestatem in immensum minuit ; ut cum duces vitas et 
 signiferi esse debeant, sint non raro cupiditatum pedissequae 
 et oblectatrices. 
 
 Inprimis vero nobilis est ilia allegoria, Bacchum amoves suos 
 in earn effudisse, qua? ab alio relicta erat et fastidita. Certissi- 
 mum enim est, affectus id petere atque ambire, quod experientia 
 jampridem repudiavit. Atque norint omnes, qui affectibus suis 
 servientes et indulgentes pretium potiundi in immensum augent 
 (sive honores appetant, sive amores, sive gloriam, sive scientiam, 
 sive alia quaecunque) se res relictas petere, et a compluribus per 
 omnia fere sascula post experimentum dimissas et repudiatas. 
 Neque mysterio caret, quod hedera Baccho sacra fuerit. Hoc 
 enim duplici modo convenit ; primum quod hedera liyeme vire- 
 scat; deinde quod circa tot res (arbores, parietes, aedificia) ser- 
 pat ac circumfundatur et se attollat. Quod ad primum enim 
 attinet, omnis cupiditas per renitentiam et vetitum et tanquam 
 antiperistasin J (veluti per frigora brumae hedera) virescit, ac 
 vigorem acquirit. Secundo, affectus aliquis in humana anima 
 prsedominans omnes ejus actiones et decreta tanquam hedera 
 circumsepit; neque fere quicquam purum invenias, cui ilia cla- 
 viculas suas non imprimat. Neque mirum est, si superstitiosi 
 ritus Baccho attribuantur ; cum omnis fere malesanus affectus 
 in prams religionibus luxurietur, adeo ut haereticorum colluvies 
 bacchanalia ethnicorum superarit ; quorum etiam superstitiones 
 non minus cruentaa quam turpes extiterunt. Neque itidem 
 mirum est, si furores a Baccho immitti putentur ; cum et omuis 
 affectus in excessu suo veluti furor brevis sit, et si vehemen- 
 tius obsideat et incumbat, in insania saspius terminetur. Illud 
 autem de Pentheo et Orpheo inter Orgya Bacchi laceratis, evi- 
 dentem parabolam habet ; cum affectus quisque praevalidus erga 
 duas res sit asperrimus atque infensissimus ; quarum altera est 
 
 1 See infra, p. 542.
 
 538 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM LIB. SEC. 
 
 inquisitio in eum curiosa, altera admonitio salutaris et libera. 
 Neque auxilio fuerit, si ilia inquisitio fiat tantum contempla- 
 tionis aut spectandi gratia, tanquam arbore conscensa, absque 
 omni animi malignitate ; neque rursus, si admonitio ilia multa 
 cum suavitate et dexteritate adhibeatur ; verum utcunque non 
 tolerant Orgya aut Pentheum aut Orpheum. Postremo, ilia 
 confusio personarum Jovis et Baccjii ad parabolam recte traduci 
 potest ; quandoquidem res gestse nobiles et clarae, atque merita 
 insignia et gloriosa, interdum a Virtute et recta ratione et 
 magnanimitate, interdum autem a latente affectu et occulta 
 cupiditate (utcunque famae et laudis celebritate utraque res 
 pariter gaudeat) proveniant ; ut non facile sit distinguere facta 
 Dionysi a factis Jovis. 1 
 
 Verum in theatro nimis diu moramur; transeamus ad pa- 
 latium animi; cujus limina majori cum veneratione et cura 
 ingredi couvenit. 
 
 1 It seems not improbable that Bacon was led to consider the ancient mythology 
 from the point of view which he has illustrated both here and in the Wisdom of the 
 Ancients, by an author with many of whose writings he was familiar. Plutarch's 
 treatise De hide et Osiride is very much in the same manner.
 
 539 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM, 
 
 LIBER TEETIUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Scientm in Theologiam, et Philosophiam. Partitio 
 Philosophiae in Doctrinas tres ; de Numine, de Natura, de 
 Homine. Constitutio Philosophiae Primae, ut Matris Corn- 
 munis omnium. 
 
 HISTORIC omnis (Rex optime) humi incedit, et ducis potius 
 officio quam lucis perfungitur; Poesis autem doctrinaa tan- 
 quam somnium : res dulcis, et varia, et volens videri aliquid in 
 se habere divini ; quod etiam somnia vendicant Verum jam 
 tempus est mihi ut evigilem, et me humo attollam, Philosophic 
 et Scientiarum liquidum aethera secans. 
 
 Scientia aquarum similis est. Aquarum aliae descendunt cce- 
 litus, aliae emanant e terra. Etiam Scientiarum primaria par- 
 titio sumenda est ex fontibus suis. Horum alii in alto siti sunt, 
 alii hie infra. Omnis enim scientia duplicem sortitur informa- 
 tionem. Una inspiratur divinitus, altera oritur a sensu. Nam 
 quantum ad illam quae docendo infunditur scientiam, cumulativa 
 ea est, non originalis ; sicut etiam fit in aquis, quae praeter 
 fontes primaries ex aliis rivulis in se receptis augescunt. 
 Partiemur igitur scientiam in Theologiam, et Philosophiam. 
 Theologiam hie intelligimus Inspiratam sive Sacram ; non Na- 
 turalem, de qua paulo post dicturi sumus. At illam (Inspira- 
 tam mmirum) ad ultimum locum reservabimus, ut cum ea
 
 540 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sermones nostros claudamus ; cum sit portus et sabbatum 
 humanarum contemplationutn omnium. 
 
 Philosophize autem objectum triplex, Deus, Natura, Homo ; 
 et triplex itidem Radius rerum ; Natura enim percutit intel- 
 lectum radio directo ; Deus autem, propter medium inasquale 
 (creaturas scilicet), radio refracto ; Homo vero, sibi ipsi mon- 
 stratus et exhibitus, radio reflexo. 1 Convenit igitur partiri 
 Philosophiam in doctrinas tres : Doctrir.am de Numine, Doctri- 
 narn de Natura, Doctrinam de Homine. Quoniam autem par- 
 titiones scientiarum non sunt lineis diversis similes, quae coeunt 
 ad unum angulum ; sed potius ramis arborum, qui conjungun- 
 tur in uno trunco (qui etiam truncus ad spatium nonnullum 
 integer est et continuus, antequam se partiatur in ramos); 
 idcirco postulat res, ut priusquam prioris partitionis mem- 
 bra persequamur, constituatur una Scientia Universalis, quae 
 sit mater reliquarum, et habeatur in progressu doctrinarum 
 tanquam portio via3 communis antequam viae se separent et 
 disjungant. Hanc Scientiam Philosophic Primes, sive etiam 
 SajAenticB (qua? olim rerum divinarum atque humanarum sci- 
 entia definiebatur), nomine insignimus. Huic autem scientias 
 nulla alia opponitur; cum ab aliis scientiis potius limitibus 
 intra quos continetur quam rebus et subjecto differat; fastigia 
 scilicet rerum tantummodo tractans. Hanc ipsam utrum inter 
 Desiderata reponere oporteat, haesito ; sed arbitror tamen poni 
 debere. Equidem invenio farraginem quandam et massam in- 
 conditam doctrinae ex Theologia Naturali, ex Logica, ex parti- 
 bus quibusdam Physicas (veluti de Principiis et de Anima) 
 compositam et congestam; et sublimitate quadam sermonis, 
 hominum qui seipsos admirari amant, tanquam in vertice scien- 
 tiarum collocatam. Nos vero misso fastu id tantum volumus, 
 ut designetur aliqua scientia, quae sit receptaculum Axiomatum 
 
 1 The parallel which naturally suggests itself between light and knowledge has by 
 several writers been traced in the modifications of which light is susceptible. Thus 
 Roger Bacon, at the close of his Perspectii-a, likens vision by direct light to divine 
 knowledge, by refracted light to angelic knowledge, and by reflected light to human ; 
 and again to man's knowledge in the state of glory ' facie ad faciem," to his knowledge 
 in the intermediate state, and to that which he has in this present life ; " et haec est 
 recte per reflexionem, secundum quod dicit apostolus, Videmus nunc per speculum in 
 aenigmate." And in this life also vision is triple . " scilicet recta in perfectis. fracta in 
 imperfectis; et in mails et in negligentibus mandata Dei, est etiam per reflexionem" 
 an assertion in support of which he quotes S. James, i. 23. and 24. But all these 
 illustrations differ from that in the text, inasmuch as they relate to the different kinds 
 of knowledge which appertain to different orders and states of being, and not to the 
 differences which arise from the nature of the object. For a nearer parallel, at least 
 with respect to the radius reflcxus, see Plutarch De Curiositate, c. 3.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 541 
 
 qua? particularium scientlarum non sint propria, sed pluribus 
 earum in commune competant. 1 
 
 Plurima autem id genus Axiomata esse nemo ambigat. Ex- 
 empli gratia, Si incequalibus eequalia addas, omnia erunt incequa- 
 lia, regula est ex Mathematicis. Eadem et in Ethicis obtinet, 
 quatenus ad justitiam distributivam ; siquidem in justitia Com- 
 mutativa, ut paria imparibus tribuantur ratio aequitatis po- 
 stulat; at in distributiva, nisi imparia imparibus prasstentur, 
 iniquitas fuerit maxima. 2 Qua in eodem tertio conveniunt, et 
 inter se conveniunt, regula est itidem ex Mathematicis ; verum 
 simul tarn potens in Logica, ut syllogism! sit fundamentum. 
 Natura se potissimurn prodit in minimis 3 , regula est in Physicis 
 tarn valida, ut etiam Democriti atomos produxerit ; veruntamen 
 earn recte adhibuit Aristoteles in Politicis, qui contemplationem 
 reipublica3 orditur a familia. Omnia mutantur, nil interit 4 , re- 
 gula itidem in Physicis, hoc modo prolata ; Quantum Natures 
 nee minuitur nee auaetur. Eadem competit Theologian Naturali, 
 sic variata ; Omnipotently sunt opera, Aliquid ex nihilo facere, 
 et Aliquid in nihilum rcdigere ; quod etiam Scriptura testatur, 
 Didici quod omnia opera qua fecit Deus perseverent in perpe- 
 tuum ; non possumus eis quicquam addere, nee auferre. 5 Interi- 
 tus rei arcetur per reductionem ejus ad principia, regula est in 
 Physicis; eadem valet in Politicis (ut recte notavit Machia- 
 vellus), cum ilia quae interitum rerumpublicarum maxime pro- 
 hibent nihil aliud fere sint quam reformatio earum et reductio 
 ad antiques mores. 6 Putredo serpens magis contagiosa est quam 
 matura 7 , regula est in Physicis ; eadem insignis etiam in Mora- 
 libus ; cum homines profligatissimi et maxime facinorosi minus 
 corruptelae inferant publicis moribus quam qui aliquid vidcntur 
 habere sanitatis et virtutis, et ex parte tantum mali sunt. 
 Quod conservativum est Formae majoris, id activitate potentius 9 , 
 regula est in Physicis ; etenim, ut non abscindatur ipse rerum 
 nexus, nee detur (ut loquuntur) vacuum, facit ad conservandam 
 fabricam universi; ut vero gravia congregentur ad massam 
 
 1 It is to principles of this kind that the title of Axioms is given by Aristotle. 
 Bacon's first instance resembles that which Aristotle gives in the Anal, Post. i. 8. 
 But most of his other instances are of a different character. 
 
 2 See for the difference between distributive and commutative justice, the Nlco- 
 machean Ethics, v. cc. 3, 4, 5. 
 
 3 This passage has been already quoted, Book IL C. 2. 
 
 4 Ovid. Metam. xv. 165. 5 Ecclesiast, iii. 14. 
 
 6 Macchiav. Discorsi, iii. 1. ' Vide supra, p. 466. 
 
 8 This dictum is, I think, Bacon's own ; at least I have not met with it.
 
 542 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 terrae, facit ad conservandam tantum regionem denaorum. 
 Itaque prior motus posteriorem doraat. Eadem tenet in Poli- 
 ticis ; nara quae faciunt ad conservandam ipsam politiam in sua 
 natura validiora sunt quam quae ad bene esse particularium 
 in republica membrorum conducunt. Similiter eadem locum 
 habet in Theologia ; etenim in theologicis virtutibus, Charitas, 
 quas est virtus maxime communicativa, pra3 reliquis omnibus 
 eminet. Augetur vis agentis per antiperistasin contrarii 1 , re- 
 gula est in Physicis. Eadem mira praestat in Politicis ; cum 
 omnis factio ex contraria ingruente vehementer irritetur. To- 
 nus discors in concordem actutum desinens concentum commendat, 
 regula est Musicae. Eadem in Ethicis et Affectibus obtinet, 
 Tropus ille Musicus, a clausula aut cadentia (quam vocant), cum 
 jamjam adesse videatur, placide elabendi, convenit cum tropo 
 Rhetorieo expectationem eludendi. Fidium sonus tremulus ean- 
 dem afFert auribus voluptatem, quam lumen, aquas aut gemmae 
 insiliens, oculis ; 
 
 splendet tremulo sub lumine pontns. 3 
 
 Organa sensuum cum organis reflexionum conveniunt ; hoc in 
 Perspectiva locum habet ; oculus enim similis speculo 3 , sive 
 aquis ; et in Acoustica ; instrumentum enim auditus obici intra 
 cavernam simile. Haec pauca enumerasse sufficiet ad exempla. 
 Quinimo Magia Persarum (quae in tantum est celebrata) in eo 
 potissimum versabatur, ut architecturas et fabricas rerum natu- 
 ralium et civilium symbolizantes notaret. 4 Neque hasc omnia 
 
 1 The doctrine of Antiperistasis, that is of the increase of intensity of one of two 
 contraries by the juxtaposition of the other, is applied by Aristotle, Meteor, i. c. 13., 
 in the case of heat and cold, to explain the formation of hail. It is formally and 
 generally stated in Averroes's commentary on this passage. See also Arist. Probl. ii. 
 16., and Plutarch's Queest. Naturales. 
 
 2 Virg. &a. vii. 9. 
 
 8 That the word speculum is here used for " a glass " appears from the corresponding 
 passage in the Advancement of Learning. This use of the word, though certainly un- 
 common, is sanctioned by the authority of C. Agrippa, who, distinguishing lenses from 
 mirrors, calls the former " specula perspicua." See his celebrated work, De incertifu- 
 dine et vanitate scientiarum," with which Bacon seems, though he has spoken with 
 undeserved contempt of its author, to have been familiar. The phrase used by S. Paul, 
 " we see through a glass," is in the Vulgate " videmus per speculum," but it is at least 
 doubtful whether in both versions it was not intended to suggest the idea of vision by 
 reflected light ; so that the authority of the English translators cannot be cited in 
 support of Bacon's use of the word " speculum ;" though on the other hand there are 
 commentators who affirm that the word used in the original (4c6tfrpov') means what 
 in Latin is denoted by " speculare," in which case the vision 81' ^ff6irrpov is of 
 course by transmitted light 
 
 4 The system of Zoroaster, with which we are but imperfectly acquainted, was at 
 one time the subject of almost as many idle fancies as the philosophy of Hermes 
 Trismegistus. The first idea of the connexion between the Persian magic and the art 
 of government was suggested by the circumstance mentioned in the Alcibiades of
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 543 
 
 qure diximus, et alia hujus generis, similitudines merge sunt 
 (quales hominibus fortasse parum perspicacibus videri possint), 
 sed plane una eademque naturae vestigia aut signacula, diversis 
 materiis et subjectis impressa. Atque haec res adhuc sedulo 
 tractata non est. Invenias fortasse in scriptis quse ab ingeniis 
 celsioribus promanarunt hujusmodi Axiomata raro et sparsim 
 inserta ex usu argument! quod tractant; corpus vero aliquod 
 tfilium Axiomatum qua? vim habeant quandam primitivam et 
 summariam ad scientias, nemo composuit; cum tamen sit res 
 ejusmodi, quaB insigniter naturam unam faciat ; quod Philoso- 
 phies PrimcR munus esse autumant. 
 
 Est et alia hujus Philosophise Primae pars, quae si ad vocabula 
 respicias, vetus est ; si ad rem quam design amus, nova. Est 
 autem inquisitio de conditionibus adventitiis Entium (quas Tran- 
 scendentes dicere possumus), Pauco, Multo ; Simili, Diverse; 
 Possibili, Impossibili ; etiam Ente, et Non Ente ; atque ejus- 
 modi. Quandoquidem enim ista sub Physica proprie non 
 cadant, dissertatio autem Dialectica circa ea magis ad argumen- 
 tandi rationes quam ad rerum existentiam sit accommodata, 
 consentaneum omnino est ut hasc contemplatio (in qua non 
 parum est dignitatis et utilitatis) haud deseratur prorsus, sed in 
 scientiarum partitionibus nonnullum saltern inveniat locum. 
 Veruntamen hoc intelligimus fieri debere longe alio, quam quo 
 tractari solet, modo. Exempli gratia ; nemo, qui de Multo et 
 Pauco verba fecit, hoc egit ut causa reddatur cur alia in natura 
 tarn numerosa et ampla sint et esse possint, alia tarn rara et mo- 
 dica ; nam certe fieri non potest, ut in rerum natura tanta sit 
 copia auri quanta ferri ; tanta rosas quanta graminis ; tanta spe- 
 cificati quanta non-specificati. 1 Similiter nemo qui de Simili et 
 Diverse disseruit, satis explicavit cur quasi perpetuo inter spe- 
 cies diversas interponantur participia quaedam, quae sunt specie! 
 ambiguaa ; veluti muscus, inter putredinem et plantam ; pisces 
 qui hasrent et loco non moventur, inter plantam et animal; 
 sorices et mures, et alia nonnulla, inter animalia ex putredine et 
 
 Plato that the princes of Persia were by the same persons instructed in politics and 
 
 in magic. Thus the elder Mirandula observes, " Utriusque (Zoroastris et Zamolxidis) 
 magia quid sit, Platonem si percontemur, respondent in Alcibiade, Zoroastris magiarn 
 non esse aliud quam divinam scientiam, qua. filios Persarum regum erudiebant, ut ad 
 exemplar mundanae reipublicae suam ipsi regere rempublicam edocerentur." Johannis 
 Pici Mirandulce Apologia. (But compare J. F. Mirandula for an account of his 
 uncle's change of opinion on this subject. Vide his De Rerum Pranotione, vii. c. 2.) 
 
 The reference to Plato in the passage I have quoted is rather an unscrupulous one, 
 as Plato gives no information as to the nature of the Persian magic. 
 
 1 Vide supra, note, p. 502.
 
 544 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 ex semine prognata 1 ; vespertiliones, inter aves et quadrnpedes ; 
 pisces volantes (qui jam notissimi sunt), inter aves et pisces ; 
 phocae, inter pisces et quadrupedes ; et alia hujusmodi. Neque 
 rursus causam indagavit quispiam, cur cum similia similibus 
 gaudeant, ferrum ferrum non trahat, quod magnes facit ; neque 
 aurum ipsum aurum, licet argentum vivum alliciat. Circa 
 haec, et similia, in disceptatione de Transcendentibus illis altum 
 est silentium ; orationis enim apices, non rerum subtilitates, 
 secuti sunt homines. Quamobrem horum Transcendentium, 
 sive conditionum Entium adventitiarum, inquisitionem veram et 
 solidam, secundum naturae non sermonis leges, Philosophiam 
 Primam recipere volumus. Atque de Philosophia prima (sive 
 de Sophia) quam inter Desiderata haud immerito retulimus, 
 haac dicta sint. 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 De Theologia Natural! ; et Doctrina de Angelis et Spiritibus, 
 qu(R ejusdem est Appendix. 
 
 COLLOCATA igitur sua in sede Communi Scientiamm Parente, 
 instar Berecynthiaa tanta gaudentis ccelesti sobole, 
 
 Omnes coelicolas, omnes supera alta tenentes ; 2 
 
 revertamur ad partitionem illam trium Philosophiarum, Divinaa, 
 Naturalis, et Humanae. Nam Theologia Naturalis, Philoso- 
 phia etiam Divina recte appellatur. Diffinitur autem haec, ut 
 sit talis scientia, seu potius scientias scintilla, qualis de Deo 
 haberi potest per lumen naturae et contemplationem rerum 
 creatarum ; et ratione objecti, sane divina, ratione informatio- 
 nis, naturalis censeri potest. Hujus scientiae limites ita vere 
 signantur, ut ad atheismum confutandum et convincendum, 
 et ad legem naturae informandam, se extendant; ad religio- 
 nem autem astruendam non proferantur. Quamobrem nee 
 
 1 It is exceedingly difficult to ascertain what animals were generally supposed to be 
 produced by equivocal generation. In a note on a passage in the Novum Organum 
 (ii. 41.) 1 have collected some contradictory opinions on this question. That mice 
 are mentioned as intermediate between the classes of animals which can and cannot be 
 equivocally generated, is perhaps connected with Aristotle's having affirmed that by 
 licking salt they breed without impregnation. This however does not affect the truth 
 of the remark in the text ; but it is worth while to notice that the aberrant types, 
 as they are called, of any class often appear to connect that class with more than 
 one other. E. g. the Monotremata and especially the Ornithorhynchus connect the 
 Mammalia with Reptiles as well as with Birds. 
 
 2 Virg. JEn. vi. 788.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 545 
 
 Deus unquam edidit rairaculura quo converteretur atheus ; 
 quia poterat ipso naturae lumine ad notitiam Dei perduci ; verum 
 miracula ad convertendos idololatras l et superstitiosos designata 
 sunt, qui numen agnoverunt sed in cultu ejus aberrarunt ; quo- 
 niam non sufficit lumen naturae Dei voluntati declarandae, aut 
 cultui ejus legitimo prodendo. Sicut enim opificis potentiam et 
 peritiam ostendunt opera ejus, imaginem autem minime; sic 
 opera Dei conditoris omnipotentiara et sapientiam ostendunt, 
 imaginem ejus haudquaquam depingunt. Atque hac in re 
 ethnicorum opinio a sacra veritate recedit. Illi siquidem mun- 
 dum imaginem Dei statuebant, hominem mundi. At Sacrae 
 Literae baud tali honore mundum dignantur, ut Dei uspiam 
 imago dicatur, sed solummodo opus manuum ejus; hominem 
 vero imaginem Dei immediate substituunt. Quocirca, quod 
 sit Deus, quod rerum habenas tractet, quod summe potens, 
 quod sapiens et praescius, quod bonus, quod remunerator, quod 
 vindex, quod adorandus, etiam ex operibus ejus demonstrari 
 et evinci potest; et admirabilia complura secreta circa attri- 
 buta ejus, et multo magis circa regimen et dispensationem 
 super universum, etiam sobrie ex iisdem elici et manifestari 
 queunt; estque istud argumentum a nonnullis utiliter per- 
 tractatum. 2 Verum ex intuitu reruin naturalium atque 
 liumanre rationis principiis, de fidei mysteriis vel ratiocinari 
 vel etiam suadere vehementius, aut rursus ea curiosius in- 
 trospicere et ventilare et de modo mysterii inquirere, baud 
 tutum meo judicio fuerit. Da Fidei qua Fidei sunt. Nam vel 
 ethnici, in illustri ilia et divina de aurea catena fabula hoc 
 ipsum concedunt, quod Jovem de ccelo ad terras deducere nee 
 homines potuerunt nee Dii ; e contrario, quod Jupiter pertrahere 
 eos potuerit e terra ad ccelum. 3 Quare frustra sudaverit, qui 
 coelestia religionis arcana nostrse rationi adaptare conabitur. 
 Decebit potius mentes nostras ad crelestis veritatis thronum 
 adorandum attollere. In hac igitur parte Theologiae Naturalis, 
 tantum abest ut defectum aliquem observem, ut excessum po- 
 tius reperiam; ad quern subnotandum paulum sum digressus, 
 propter maxima incommoda et pericula quae ex eo turn re- 
 ligioni turn philosophiae impendent; utpote qui et religionem 
 
 1 Idolatras in the original. /. S. 
 
 2 This passage, and others to the same effect, show how far Bacon was from wishing 
 to do away with natural theology, however much he was disposed to complain of the 
 abusive employment of final causes. 
 
 3 Vide supra, p. 487. 
 
 VOL. I. N N
 
 546 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 haereticam procudet, et philosophiam phantasticam et super- 
 stitiosam. 
 
 Secus est quod ad Angelorum et Spirituum naturam atti- 
 nct, quae nee inscrutabilis est nee interdicta; ad quam etiam, 
 ex affinitate quam habet cum anima humana, aditus magna 
 ex parte est patefactus. Praecipit certe Sacra Scriptura, 
 Nemo vos decipiat in sublimitate sermonum, ct religions Ange- 
 lorum, ingerens se in ea quce non novit. 1 Attamen si hoc 
 monitum diligenter perpendas, duo duntaxat in eo vetita repe- 
 ries ; adorationem scilicet, qualis Deo debetur, angelorum ; et 
 fanaticas de iis opiniones, vel ultra creaturse sortem eos effe- 
 rentes, vel ampliorem de Us cognitionem quam quis revera 
 adeptus sit venditantes. Ca3terum sobria circa illos inquisitio, 
 quae vel per rerum corporearum scalam ad eorum naturam per- 
 noscendam ascendat, vel in anirna humana veluti in speculo cam 
 intueatur, neutiquam prohibetur. Idem de Spiritibus statuen- 
 dum Immundis, qui a statu suo deciderunt. 2 Consortium cum 
 iis atque usus operas eorum illicitus est ; multo magis qualiscun- 
 que cultus vel veneratio. At contemplatio et cognitio illorum 
 naturaa, potestatis, illusionum, non solum ex locis Scriptura? 
 Sacra?, sed ex ratione aut experientia, haud postrema pars est 
 sapientia? spiritualis. Sic certe Apostolus, Stratagematum ejus 
 non ignari sumus. 3 Ac non minus Daemonum naturam investi- 
 gare in Theologia Natural! conceditur, quam venenorum in 
 
 1 Coloss. ii. 4. and 18. 
 
 * The theory of angels and that of fallen spirits form a large and not very profitable 
 chapter in every scholastic Sunima Theologia?. The dogmatic basis of these specula- 
 tions consists chiefly of spiritualising interpretations (sanctioned by the Fathers and 
 especially by S. Augustin) of certain texts of Scripture and of the supposed visions of 
 Dionysius the Areopagite. The theory of the angelic nature (both in its first and in 
 its fallen state) which the ingenuity of the schoolmen elaborated from these data, is a 
 most remarkable instance of metaphysical creation ; being no less than a determination 
 of the conditions of thought and volition which exist among intelligences of a higher 
 order than our own. That all such determinations are utterly unsatisfactory, both 
 from the want of data and from the inherent and insurmountable difficulty of the 
 problem to be solved, is not however to be denied. 
 
 I am not concerned to defend what the schoolmen have said upon the subject ; but 
 I may be allowed to mention in connexion with it an instance of the flippant ignorance 
 with which they are often spoken of. It is said in the history of Martinus Scriblerus 
 that they discussed the question whether angels know things best in the morning. 
 The assertion is of course founded on an absurd mistake of the meaning of the 
 inquiry, " utrum matutina cognitio potior sit quam vespertina." The doctrine of 
 matutinal and vespertinal cognition the schoolmen derive from S. Augustin, and 
 though neither its subtilty nor the eloquence with which it is expressed can prevent 
 its being censured as an unauthorised speculation, yet no wise man will think it a 
 matter to be jested with. I may refer with respect to it to Buonaventura's commen- 
 tary on the second book of the Sentences of Peter Lombard : Distinctio 4 : Quastio 2. 
 ' " conclusio" is, " Angelus bonus habet cum matutina vespertinam quoque cogni- 
 tionem, qua non temporis sed dignitatis inter se habent ordinem." 
 
 3 2 Corinth, ii. II.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 547 
 
 Physica, aut vitiorum in Ethica. Hanc autem scientiae par- 
 tern de Angelis et Dasmonibus inter Desiderata nuraerare non 
 licet, quippe quae ab haud paucis sit tentata. ^Equius esset, 
 ut scriptorum in hoc genere pars haud parva aut vanitatis 
 aut superstitionis aut subtilitatis inutilis arguantur. 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitio Naturalis Philosophies, in Speculativam et Operati- 
 vam : quodque illce dues et in intentione tractantis, et in cor- 
 pore tractatus, segregari debeant. 
 
 MISSA igitur Theologia Natural! (cui inquisitionem de Spiri- 
 tibus, ut Appendicem attribuimus) accedamus ad secundam 
 partem ; videlicet illam de Natura, sive Philosophiam Natu- 
 ralem. Optime Democritus, Scientiam de Natura in profundis 
 mineris sive puteis latere demersam. 1 Non male Chymici, Vul- 
 canum alteram naturam esse ; quinetiam id celeriter perficere, 
 quod natura per ambages et temporis moras solet. 2 Quidni 
 igitur Philosophiam in duas partes secemus, Fodinam et Forna- 
 cem ; et duo constituamus Philosophorum munera, Operarios in 
 Mineris et Fabros ? Sane utcunque videamur haec per lusum 
 loqui, tamen hujus generis partitionem utilissimam esse cense- 
 mus, cum proponetur vocabulis familiaribus et scholasticis ; hoc 
 est, ut dividatur doctrina de Natura in Inquisitionem Causarum 
 et Productionem Effectuum ; Speculativam et Operativam. Al- 
 tera naturae viscera perscrutatur ; altera naturam veluti super 
 incudem efformat. Neque me fugit quam arcto copulentur 
 vinculo Causae et EfFectus, ut explicationem eorum aliquatenus 
 conjungi sit necesse. Attamen quandoquidem omnis solida et 
 fructuosa Naturalis Philosophia duplicem adhibeat scalam, earn* 
 que diversam ; Ascensoriam et Descensoriam ; ab Experientia 
 ad Axiomata, et ab Axiomatibus ad nova Inventa ; consultissi- 
 mum judico, ut has duae partes, Speculativa et Operativa, et in 
 intentione tractantis et in corpore tractatus separentur. 
 
 1 See Diogen. Laert. in Pyrrho, c. 72. 
 
 - For a parallel between the Vulcanus Elementatus, who is nearly equivalent to the 
 vis formatrix of nature, and the Vulcanus ignis, see Paracelsus's tract entitled 
 Meteorornm, c. 4. 
 
 N N 2
 
 548 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT IV. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinae Speculative de Natura, in Physicara Specia- 
 lem, et Metaphyslcam -, quorum Physica Causam Efficientem 
 et Materiam, Metaphysica Causam Finalem et Formam inqui- 
 rit. Partitio Physicce in Doctrinas de Principiis Rerum, De 
 Fabrica Rerum sive de Mundo, et de Varietate Rerum. Par- 
 titio Physicce de Varietate Rerum in Doctrinam de Concretis 
 et Doctrinam de Abstractis. Partitio Doctrinae de Concretis 
 rejicitur ad easdem Partitiones, quas suscipit Historia Naturalis. 
 Partitio Doctrinae de Abstractis in Doctrinam de Schematis- 
 mis Materiae, et Doctrinam de Motibus. Appendices duce 
 Physicce Speculative, Problemata Naturalia, Placita Anti- 
 quorum Philosophorum. Partitio Metaphysics in Doctrinam 
 de Fonnis, et Doctrinam de Causis Finalibus. 
 
 NATURALIS Philosophise partem, quae Speculativa est et theo- 
 retica, in Physicam Specialem et Metaphysicam dividere placet. 
 Atque in hac partitione attendant homines nos vocabulum Me- 
 taphysics usurpare sensu a recepto et vulgato discrepanti. Hie 
 autem locus admonendi videtur de nostro, in genere, circa usum 
 vocabulorum instituto. Id hujusmodi est, ut tarn in prsemisso 
 vocabulo Metaphysics quam in aliis ubi conceptus et notiones 
 nostrae novae sunt et a receptis recedunt, maxima certe cum 
 religione antiqua vocabula retineamus. Cum enim futurum 
 speremus ut ordo ipse et dilucida rerum explicatio, quam sub- 
 jungere conamur, nos a prava vocabulorum quibus utimur in- 
 telligentia liberent, in caeteris omnino avemus (quatenus sine 
 veritatis ac scientiarum dispendio fieri possit) vel minimum ab 
 antiquorum aut opinionibus aut loquendi more deflectere. Qua 
 in re Aristotelis confidentiam promde subit mirari, qui impetu 
 quodam percitus contradictionis et bellum universae antiquitati 
 indicens, non solum nova artium vocabula pro libitu cudendi 
 licentiam usurpavit, sed etiam priscam omnem sapientiam ex- 
 tinguere et delere annisus est. Adeo ut neque nominet uspiam 
 authores antiquos, neque dogmatum eorum mentionem ullam 
 faciat, nisi quo aut homines perstringeret aut placita redar- 
 gueret. Sane si famam nomini suo ac sequacium turbam 
 affectaverit, hoc rationibus suis in primis accommodatum. Si- 
 quidem in veritate philosophica asserenda et recipienda, idem 
 contingit quod in veritate divina ; Veni in nomine Patris, nee re-
 
 LIBER TERT1US. 549 
 
 cipitis me ; si quis venerit in nomine suo, eum recipietis.^ Sed ex 
 hoc ccelesti aphorismo, si quern praecipue designaverit specte- 
 mus, (nempe Antichristum, omnium saeculorum impostorem 
 maximum,) colligere licet istud ipsum, Venire in nomine suo, 
 nulla antiquitatis aut (si ita loqui licet) paternitatis habita 
 ratione, rem mali ominis esse ad veritatem; utcunque earn 
 saspenumero comitetur ilia fortuna, Eum recipietis. Caeterum 
 de viro tarn eximio certe et ob acumen ingenii mirabili, Aristo- 
 tele, crediderim facile hanc ambitionem eum a discipulo suo 
 accepisse, quern fortasse semulatus est; ut si ille omnes na- 
 tiones, hie omnes opiniones subigeret, et monarchiam quandam 
 in contemplationibus sibi conderet. Quanquam fieri possit, ut 
 apud aliquos tetricos et linguae acerbae simili eum discipulo suo 
 titulo insigniretur, 
 
 Felix terrarum praedo, non utile mundo 
 Editus exemplum : 2 
 
 eodem modo, 
 
 Felix doctrinse prsedo, &c. 
 
 Nobis vero ex altera parte (quibus, quantum calamo valemus, 
 inter vetera et nova in literis foedus et commercium contrahere 
 cordi est) decretum manet, antiquitatem comitari usque ad aras, 
 atque vocabula antiqua retinere, quanquam sensum eorum et 
 definitiones saspius immutemus ; secundum moderatum ilium et 
 laudatum in civilibus novandi modum, quo, rerum statu novato, 
 verborum tamen solennia durent ; quod notat Tacitus ; Eadem 
 magistratuum vocabula. 3 
 
 Redeamus igitur ad acceptionem vocabuli Metaphysicce, 
 nostro sensu. Patet ex iis quae supra disseruimus, disjungere 
 nos Philosophiam Primam a Metaphysica, quae hactenus pro re 
 eadem habitae sunt. Illam Communem Scientiarum Parentem, 
 
 1 S. John, v. 43. 
 
 2 This is a curious misquotation from Lucan. The original is 
 
 " Illic Pellsei proles vesana tyranni, 
 Felix praedo, jacet, terrarum vindice fato 
 Raptus ; sacratis totum spargenda per orbem 
 Membra viri posuere adytis. Fortuna pepercit 
 Manibus, et regni duravit ad ultima fatum. 
 Nam sibi libertas unquam si redderet orbem 
 Ludibrio servatus erat non utile mundo 
 Editus exemplum, terras tot posse sub uno 
 Esse viro." LUCAN. x. 21. 
 
 It is obvious that terrarum in the first line does not depend on prcedo, but on fato ; so 
 that Bacon has changed not only the order of the words, but also the construction. 
 
 3 Tac. Ann. i. 3. We see from this passage, how little Bacon had of the spirit of an 
 iconoclast. 
 
 N N 3
 
 550 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 hanc Naturalis Philosophise Portionem posuimus. Atqui Philo- 
 sophise Primae, communia et promiscua Scientiarum Axiomata 
 assio-navimus. Etiam Kelativas et Adventitias Entium Condi- 
 
 O 
 
 tiones (quas Transcendentes nominavimus), Multum, Paucum ; 
 Idem, Diversum ; Possibile, Impossible ; et hoc genus reliqua, 
 eidem attribuimus: id solummodo cavendo, ut physice, non 
 logice tractentur. At inquisitionem de Deo, Uno, Bono, 
 Angelis, Spiritibus, ad Theologiam Naturalem retulimus. 
 Merito igitur quaeri possit quid tandem sit quod Metaphysics 
 relinquatur? Certe ultra Naturam nihil; sed ipsius Naturoe 
 pars multo praestantissima. Atque profecto, citra veritatis 
 dispendium, hue usque de veterum sententia respondere liceat, 
 Physicam ea tractare qua? penitus in materia mersa sunt et 
 mobilia, Metaphysicam abstracta magis et constantia. Eursus, 
 Physicam in natura supponere existentiam tantum et motum 
 et naturalem necessitatem ; at Metaphysicam etiarn mentem 
 et ideam. Nam hue forte redit ea quam dicemus res. Verum 
 iios earn, missa sermonis sublimitate, perspicue et familiariter 
 proponemus. Partiti sumus Naturalem Philosophiam in Cau- 
 sarum Inquisitionem et Productionem Effectuum. Inquisitio- 
 nem Causarum in Theoricam conjecimus. Earn in Physicam et 
 Metaphysicam partiti sumus. Ergo necesse est, ut vera diffe- 
 rentia harum sumatur ex natura causarum quas inquirunt. 
 Itaque absque aliqua obscuritate aut circuitione, Physica est 
 qua? inquirit de Efficiente et Materia ; Metaphysica quas de 
 Forma et Fine. 1 
 
 2 Physica igitur Causarum vaga et incerta et pro modo 
 subject! mobilia complectitur ; Causarum constantiam non as- 
 sequitur. 
 
 1 The classification of causes here referred to is Aristotle's. In the first book of the 
 Metaphysica he has applied it, with singular felicity, to the history of philosophical 
 speculation. In order to apprehend its nature, it is necessary to take the word cause 
 in a wider signification than is ordinarily done. 
 
 The efficient cause is that which acts the material cause that which is acted on ; 
 as when the fire melts wax, the former is the efficient, the latter the material cause 
 of the effect produced. The formal cause is that which in the case of any object de- 
 termines it to be that which it is, and is thus the cause of its various properties ; it 
 is thus the "ratio essentiae," the "\6yos TTJS oi)<rios." The final cause is that for the 
 sake of which any effect takes place, whether the agent is or is not intelligent ; semper 
 enim intenditur finis, non autem semper cognoscitur. These four kinds of causes may 
 be divided into two classes, extrinsic and intrinsic ; the efficient and final belonging to 
 the first class, the material and formal to the second. It is obvious that these dis- 
 tinctions involve the postulate of what has been called the theory of physical influence, 
 that is, that one substance really acts on another, and must at least be modified if we 
 adopt any such theory on this subject as that of Leibnitz or of Herbart. 
 
 2 All that follows, as far as the end of the paragraph in p. 561., is an addition to the 
 Advancement of Learning. J. S.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 551 
 
 Limus ut hie durescit, et baac ut cera liquescit, 
 Uno eodemque igne. 1 
 
 Ignis duritiei causa, sed in limo ; ignis colliquationis causa, 
 sed in cera. Partiemur autem Physicam in doctrinas tres. 
 Natura enim aut collecta in unum, aut fusa et sparsa est. Col- 
 ligitur vero in unum Natura, aut propter communia rerum 
 omnium principia, aut propter unicam integralem universi 
 fabricam. Itaque haec Unio Naturae duas peperit Physicae 
 partes: unam de Principiis Rerum, alteram de Fabrica Uni- 
 versi sive de Mundo, quas etiam Doctrinas de Summis ap- 
 pellare consuevimus. Tertia doctrina (quae de natura sparsa 
 sive fusa tractat) omnimodam rerum varietatem et summas mi- 
 nores exhibet. Ex his igitur patet tres omnino reperiri doctri- 
 nas physicas, de Principiis Rerum, de Mundo sive de Fabrica 
 Rerum, et de Natura multiplici sive sparsa; quae postrema 
 (ut diximus) omnimodam rerum varietatem continet, estque 
 veluti glossa prima aut paraplirasis circa naturae interpreta- 
 tionem. Harum trium partium desideratar totaliter nulla ; 
 cseterum quam vere tractentur, non est hie diffiniendi locus. 
 
 At Physicam Sparsam, sive de Varietate Rerum, rursus in 
 duas partes dividemus; Physicam de Concretis, et Physicam 
 de Abstractis ; sive Physicam de Creaturis et Physicam de 
 Naturis. Altera (ut logicis vocabulis utamur) inquirit de 
 substantiis, cum omni varietate suorum accidentium ; altera 
 de accidentibus, per oinnem varietatem substantiarum. Veluti, 
 si inquiratur de leone aut quercu, ilia complura diversa acci- 
 dentia suffulciunt : contra, si inquiratur de calore aut gravitate, 
 ilia plurimis distinctis substantiis insunt. Cum vero omnis 
 Physica sita sit in medio inter Historiam Naturalem et Meta- 
 physicam, prior pars (si recte advertas) Historiae Natural! 
 propior est ; posterior Metaphysicae. Physica autem Concreta 
 eandem subit divisionem, quam Historia Naturalis ; ut sit vel 
 circa Ccelestia, vel circa Meteora, vel circa Globum Terra et 
 Maris, vel circa Collegia Majora quas Elementa vocant, vel circa 
 Collegia Minora sive Species ; etiam circa Prater-generationes, 
 et circa Mechanica. Etenim in hisce omnibus Historia Na- 
 turalis factum ipsum perscrutatur et refert, at Physica itidem 
 causas : sed intellige hoc de causis fluxis, Materia scilicet et 
 Efficiente. Inter hasce Physicae portiones manca prorsus et 
 imperfecta est ea, quae inquirit de Coelestibus, cum tamen 
 
 1 Virg. Eel. viii. 80. 
 
 N N 4
 
 552 DE AUGMENT1S SCtENTIARUM 
 
 propter nobilitatem subject! praecipuae hominibus curas esse 
 deberet. Etenira Astronomia fundata est in phasnomenis non 
 male ; sed humilis est, et minime etiam solida : at Astrologia 
 in plurimis etiam fundamento caret. Certe Astronomia talem 
 offert humano intellectui victimam qualem Prometheus olini, 
 cum fraudem Jovi fecit. Adduxit ille, loco bovis veri, pellem 
 bovis, grandis et pulchri, stramine et foliis et viminibus suffar- 
 cinatam. Exhibet similiter et Astronomia exteriora coelestium 
 (astrorum dicimus numerum, situm, motus, periodos) tanquam 
 pellem cceli, pulchram, et in systemata fabre concinnatam ; at 
 viscera desunt, (Rationes nempe Physicae,) ex quibus (Hypo- 
 thesibus Astronomicis adjunctis) eruatur theoria, non qua? 
 phasnomenis tantum satisfaciat (cujus generis complures in- 
 geniose confingi possent), sed qua? substantiam et motum et 
 influxum coelestium, prout revera sunt, proponat. Explosa 
 enim fere jampridem sunt ilia, Raptus Primi Mobilis, et Soli- 
 ditas Call, (stellis in orbibus suis tanquam clavis in laquearibus 
 infixis). Nee multo melius asseritur, quod sint diversi Poli 
 Zodiaci et Mundi; quod sit Secundum Mobile renitentiae in 
 adversum Primi Mobilis raptus ; quod omnia in coelo ferantur 
 per circulos perfectos ; quod sint eccentrici et epicycli, quibus 
 motuum in circulis perfectis constantia servetur ; quod a Luna 
 in superius nulla sit mutatio aut violentia ; et hujusmodi. 
 Atque harum suppositionum absurditas in Motum Terras 
 Diurnum (quod nobis constat falsissimum esse) homines im- 
 pegit. At vix quisquam est, qui inquisivit causas physicas 
 turn de substantia coelestium tarn stellari quam interstellari ; 
 turn de celeritate et tarditate corporum coslestium ad invicem; 
 turn de incitatione motus diversa in eodem planeta ; turn de 
 motuum consecutione ab Oriente in Occidentem, aut e contra ; 
 deque progressionibus, stationibus, et retrogradationibus ; turn de 
 motuum sublatione et casu per apogaea et perigaea; turn de 
 motuum obliquatione, vel pr spiras se versus tropicos texendo 
 et retexendo, vel per sinuationes quas Dracones ' vocant ; turn 
 de polis rotationum, cur magis in tali parte cosli siti sint quam 
 in alia ; turn de alligatione quorundam planetarum ad distantiam 
 certam a sole : hujus (inquam) generis inquisitio vix tentata est, 
 
 1 The word Draco is mostly used with reference to the Moon's orbit, and denotes 
 the two zones included between it and the ecliptic ; the nodes being respectively the 
 Caput and Cauda Draconis. The symbols which are still used both for the nodes of 
 the moon's orbit and for those of other orbits seem derived from this use of the word 
 Draco.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 553 
 
 sed in mathematicis tantum observationibus et demonstrationibus 
 insudatur. Eas autem ostendunt quomodo haec omnia ingeniose 
 concinnari et extricari possint, non quomodo vere in natura 
 subsistere ; et motus tantum apparentes, et machinam ipsorum 
 fictitiam et ad placitum dispositam, non causas ipsas et veri- 
 tatem rerum indicant. 1 Quocirca non male Astronomia (qualis 
 nunc habetur) inter Artes Mathematicas, non sine dignitatis 
 suae dispendio, numeratur ; cum debeat potius (si proprias partes 
 tueri velit) constitui Physicse pars quasi nobilissima. Qui- 
 cunque enim Superlunarium et Sublunarium conficta divortia 
 contempserit, et Materice Appetitus et Passiones maxime Catlw- 
 licas (quae in utroque globo validae sunt, et universitatem rerum 
 transverberant) bene perspexerit, is ex illis quae apud nos cer- 
 nuntur luculentam capiet de Rebus Coelestibus informationem, 
 et ab iis e contra quae in coelo fiunt haud pauca de Motibus 
 Inferioribus (qui nunc latent) perdiscet; non tantum quate- 
 nus hi ab illis regantur, sed quatenus habeant passiones com- 
 mune::. 2 Quamobrem hanc partem Astronomiae, quas Physica 
 
 1 It is difficult to know what mode of investigation Bacon here intends to recom- 
 mend. The problem of astronomy necessarily is, before any investigation as to the 
 causes of the motions of the heavenly bodies can be undertaken, to determine what 
 those motions really are. The distinction between real motions and apparent motions 
 must be recognised before any progress can be made. And this distinction is not 
 between a fact and a theory in the common acceptation of the words, but between a 
 right theory and a wrong one. Bacon complains that the physical causes of the 
 occasional immobility and regression of the planets have not been inquired into : but 
 in this complaint is involved the theoretic assumption that the planets really are 
 stationary and really do regress. This assumption is made in order to account for 
 their appearing to us to change the direction of their motion. It is the obvious 
 explanation, but nevertheless a wrong one ; and if the phenomena in question are not 
 physical phenomena but optical, to what purpose is it to attempt to assign physical 
 causes for them ? And so in the other cases which he mentions. The value of any 
 hypothesis for the explanation of the phenomena of course depends on its simplicity 
 and its completeness, and the attempt to reduce all the celestial motions to perfect 
 circles was at the time at which it was made a great step in advance ; though the idea of 
 circular motion was unduly retained when it was found to be producing not simplicity 
 but complication. But consciously or unconsciously the mind is always introducing 
 principles of arrangement (ideas or hypotheses) among the objects of its attention, and 
 the error of the passage in the text is in effect the common one of assuming that the 
 form of hypothesis with which the mind happens to be familiar is on that account an 
 absolute fact. It is well to remark, as the Newtonian philosophy is often spoken of 
 as the great result of Bacon's methods, that none of Newton's astronomical discoveries 
 could have been made, if astronomers had not continued to render themselves liable 
 to Bacon's censure. 
 
 2 This prediction has been fulfilled by the history of physical astronomy, and the 
 information gained respecting the "motus inferiores" may be divided into two parts, 
 " quatenus hi ab illis regantur" and " quatenus habeant passiones communes." To 
 the first belong the theory of the tides and those of precession and nutation, to the 
 second that of the earth's figure, which depends on the law of universal gravitation, 
 and which therefore may be said to be a result of our knowledge of celestial phe- 
 nomena. The way in which what takes place in one part of the solar system is, 
 so to speak, reflected in others, is one of the most interesting subjects in physical 
 astronomy.
 
 554 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 est, desiderari statuimus. Earn Astronomiam Vivam nomlna- 
 biraus, ad diiferentiam bovis illius Promethei suffarcinati, et 
 solummodo figura tenus bovis. 
 
 At Astrologia multa superstitione referta est, ut vlx aliquid 
 sanum in ea reperiatur. Attamen earn potius expurgandam, 
 quam prorsus abjiciendarn esse censemus. Quod si quis hanc 
 scientiam non in ratione aut contemplationibus physicis, sed in 
 caeca experientia et complurium saeculorum observatione fun- 
 datam esse contendat, ideoque rationum physicarum examen 
 rejiciat (quod jactabant Chaldaei), is eadem opera et auguria 
 revocet, et aruspicinam et exta et omnigenas fabulas deglutiat ; 
 nam et base omnia ut diutinae experientiae et per manus traditas 
 disciplines dictamina fuisse asserebantur. Nos vero et ut Phy- 
 sicae portionem Astrologiam recipimus, et non plus ei quam 
 ratio et rerum evidentia concedit tribuimus ; demptis supersti- 
 tionibus et commentis. Ut vero rem paulo attentius introspi- 
 ciamus : Primo quam inane illud commentum, quod singuli 
 planetae vicissim per horas regnent, ut spatio viginti quatuor 
 horarum regna sua ter repetant, praster horas tres supernurne- 
 rarias ! Attamen hoc commentum nobis divisionem hebdomadae 
 (rem tarn antiquam et tarn late receptam) peperit ; ut ex alter- 
 natione dierum manifestissime patet ; cum in principio diei se- 
 quentis regnet semper planeta, a planeta prioris diei quartus ; 
 propter tres illas horas quas diximus supernumerarias. 1 Se- 
 cundo, pro commento vano rejicere non dubitamus doctrinam de 
 Thematibus Cceli ad puncta temporis certa, cum distributions 
 domorum; ipsas scilicet Astrologiae delicias, quae bacchanalia 
 quaedam in coelestibus exercuerunt. Nee satis mirari possumus 
 viros quosdam egregios, et in Astrologia principes, tarn levi ad 
 ista astruenda argumento innixos esse ; aiunt enim, quando illud 
 prodat experientia ipsa, solstitia, aequinoctia, novilunia, pleni- 
 lunia, et hujusmodi stellarum revolutiones majores manifesto et 
 insigniter operari super corpora naturalia ; necesse esse ut posi- 
 turoi stellarum magis exacta? et subtiliores effectus quoque magis 
 exquisites et occultiores producant. Illi vero seponere primo de- 
 
 1 This explanation of the origin of the names of the days of the week is given 
 by Dio Cassius, xxxvii. c. 21. He also gives another which is free from an objection 
 which has been alleged against the first ; namely that the names are older than the 
 division of the day into twenty-four hours. It is that the successive days were assigned 
 to the respective planets which are fourth in order from each other, from some notion 
 of analogy in the divine harmony to a musical progression by fourths. Joseph Scaliger, 
 as quoted by Selden, deduces the order of progression from the properties of a heptagon 
 inscribed in a circle. See on this subject a very learned essay by Archdeacon Hare in 
 the first volume of the Philological Museum.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 555 
 
 buerant operationes Solis per calorem manifestum ; et similiter 
 Lunae vim quandam magneticam super incrementa aestuum semi- 
 menstrua ; (nam fluxus et refluxus maris quotidianus alia res 
 est ;) his vero sepositis, reliquas planetarum vires super naturalia 
 (quatenus experientia comprobantur) tenues admodum et infir- 
 mas et quasi latitantes reperient, etiam in revolutionibus majori- 
 bus. Quare contrario prorsus modo concludere debuerant ; 
 nimirum cum revolutiones illas majores tarn parum possint, 
 exactas illas et minutas positurarum differentias nihil omnino 
 virium obtinere. Tertio, Fatalia ilia, quod hora nativitatis 
 aut conceptionis fortunam foetus regat, hora incosptionis for- 
 tunam incoepti, hora qusestionis fortunam rei inquisitor, atque 
 (ut verbo dicamus) doctrinas de nativitatibus, electionibus, et 
 qu&stionibus, et istiusmodi levitates, maxima ex parte nihil 
 certi aut solidi habere, et rationibus physicis plane redargui 
 et evinci judicamus. lllud igitur magis attinet dicere, quid 
 tandem in Astrologicis retineamus aut probemus? atque in 
 iis quae probamus, quid desideremus? Nam hujus postremje 
 rei gratia (nempe ejus quod desideratur) sermonem hunc 
 instituimus, cum alias censuris (ut ssepe diximus) non vacemus. 
 Atque inter recepta certe doctrinam de Revolutionibus plus 
 sanitatis quam reliqua habere censemus. Verum id optimum 
 factu foret, si regulas quasdam praescribamus, ad quarum 
 trutinam et normam Astrologica examinentur ; ut utilia retine- 
 antur, rejiciantur inania. Prima ea sit, de qua jam ante monui- 
 mus Revolutiones majores retineantur, valeant minores horosco- 
 porum et domorum. 1 Illae instar tormentorum grandium ictus 
 suos a longinquo jacere queant, has tanquam arcus minores 
 spatia evadere et vires deferre non possunt. Secunda est; 
 Operatio coelestium in corpora omnigena non valet, sed tantum in 
 teneriora, qualia sunt humores, aer, et spiritus ; atque hie tamen 
 excipimus operationes caloris solis et coelestium, qui et ad metalla 
 et ad plurima subterranea proculdubio penetrat. Tertia est ; 
 Omnis operatio coelestium potius ad massas rerum extenditur, 
 
 1 The heavens are in astrology divided into twelve compartments or houses, by 
 means of six great circles which pass through the north and south points of the 
 horizon, and divide the ecliptic into twelve equal portions. One of these circles coin- 
 cides with the horizon, and the point of the ecliptic through which it passes at the 
 moment of the nativity of the person whose destiny is to be ascertained, or of the com- 
 mencement' of the event whose fortunes are to be predicted, is called the horoscope. 
 These divisions are spoken of by Sextus Empiricus, who with Julius Firmicus is our 
 earliest authority on the subject of astrology. He seems rather to give the name of 
 houses to definite signs of the Zodiac than to the divisions of which we have been 
 speaking ; a sense in which the term is also used by later writers.
 
 556 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 quam ad individua ; oblique tamen pervenit etiam ad individua 
 nonnulla : ilia scilicet, quas ex individuis ejusdem specie! sunt 
 maxime passibilia, et tanquam cera mollior ; veluti cum consti- 
 tutio aeris pestilens corpora minus resistentia occupat, magis 
 resistentia praeterit. Quarta est praecedenti non dissimilis ; 
 Omnis operatic ccelestium non in puncta temporum out angustias 
 minutas, sed in spatia major a, defluit et dominatur. Itaque prae- 
 dictiones de temperaturis anni verse esse possint ; de diebus 
 singulis, pro vanis merito habentur. Postrema est (quae etiam 
 prudentioribus astrologis semper placuit) quod nulla insit astris 
 fatalis necessitas ; sed quod inclinent ea potius quam cogant. 1 
 Addimus et illud (in quo in partes Astrologiae, si fuerit emen- 
 data, non obscure venire videbimur) nimirum quod nobis pro 
 certo constet, Coelestia in se habere alios quosdam influxus 
 praeter Calorem et Lumen ; qui tamen ipsi secundum regulas 
 illas quas jam posuimus, et non aliter, valent. Verum illi in 
 intima Physica latent, et longiorem dissertationem postulant. 
 Visum est igitur nobis (his quae diximus rite perpensis) inter 
 Desiderata reponere Astrologiam his principiis nostris consen- 
 taneam ; atque sicut Astronomiam quaa physicis rationibus 
 nitatur, Astronomiam Vivam nominavimus ; ita et Astrologiam 
 quas per easdem regitur, Astrologiam Sanam appellare placet. 
 Circa quam recte conficiendam licet ea quae diximus non parum 
 profutura sint, pauca tamen addemus more nostro, quae liquido 
 proponent et ex quibus sit coagmentanda, et ad quas adhibenda. 
 Primo in Astrologiam Sanam recipiatur doctrina de commix- 
 tionibus radiorum, conjunctionibus scilicet et oppositionibus, et 
 reliquis syzygiis sive aspectibus planetarum inter se. Planeta- 
 rum autem per signa zodiaci pertransitum et locationem sub iisdem 
 signis etiam huic parti, de commixtionibus radiorum, assignamus. 
 Locatio enim planetae sub signo est conjunctio quaedam ejusdem 
 cum stellis signi. Quinetiam sicut conjunctiones, ita et op- 
 positiones et reliquae syzygice planetarum erga stellas signorum 
 notandae sunt, quod adhuc plene factum non est. At commix- 
 tiones radiorum stellarum fixarum ad invicem utiles quidem 
 sunt ad contemplationem de fabrica mundi, et regionum subja- 
 centium natura ; ad praedictiones minime, quia semper eodem 
 modo se habent. Secundo, recipiantur accessiones singulorum 
 planetarum propius ad perpendiculum, aut recessiones ab ipso, 
 
 \ This gnome is commonly quoted from Ptolemy.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 557 
 
 secundum regionum climata. Habent enim planetae singuli 
 non minus quam Sol, suas aestates, suas hyemes; in quibus 
 fortius aut infirmius radios jaciant, propter rationem perpendi- 
 culi. Etenim nobis dubium non est, quin Luna posita in Leone 
 fortius operetur super corpora naturalia apud nos, quam posita 
 in Piscibus. Non quod Luna sub Leone ad cor respiciat, sub 
 Piscibus ad pedes (sicut fabulantur) ; sed propter elevationem 
 versus perpendiculum et approximationem ad stellas majores, 
 eadem prorsus ratione qua et Sol. 1 Tertio, recipiantur apogcea 
 et perigaa planetarum, cum debita disquisitione, ad quaa perti- 
 neat planetce vigor in seipso, ad quae vicinitas ad nos. Planeta 
 enim in apogaeo, sive exaltatione sua, magis alacer est ; in peri- 
 ga3o autem, sive casu suo, magis communicat. Quarto, recipi- 
 antur (ut summatim dicamus) oinnia reliqua accidentia motus 
 planetarum ; quales singulorum in itinere suo accelerationes, re- 
 tar dationes, progressus, stationes, retrogradationes ; quales distan- 
 tice a Sole, combustiones, augmenta et diminutiones luminis, eclipses, 
 et si quae sint alia. Etenim faciunt haac omnia, ut planetarum 
 radii vel fortius vel debilius, diversis denique modis et virtuti- 
 bus, operentur. Atque quatuor ista ad radiationes stellarum 
 spectant. Quinto, recipiantur quae naturas stellarum, sive erra- 
 ticarum sive fixarum, in propria sua essentia et activitate rese- 
 rare et detegere ullo modo queant ; qualis magnitude ; qualis 
 color et aspectus ; qualis scintillatio et vibratio luminis ; qualis 
 situs versus polos aut cequinoctium ; quales asterismi ; qua3 aliis 
 stellis magis immixtce, quae magis solitaries ; quas superiores, qua3 
 inferiores ; quae ex fixis intra vias Soils et planetarum (Zodiacum 
 scilicet), quas extra ; quis ex planetis velocior, quis tardior ; 
 quis moveatur in ecliptica, quis pervagetur in latitudine; quis 
 possit esse retrogradus, quis minime ; quis patiatur omnimodam 
 distantiam a Sole, quis alligetur ; quis moveatur celerius in 
 apogcBO, quis in perig&o ; denique anomalia Mortis, expatiatio 
 Veneris, et labores sive passiones admirandae, quae non semel et 
 in Sole et in Venere deprehensae sunt 2 , et si quae sint alia. 
 Postremo, recipiantur etiam ex traditione, natures et inclinationes 
 planetarum particulares, atque etiam stellarum fixarum ; quae, 
 quandoquidem magno consensu tradantur, non leviter (prae- 
 terquam ubi cum physicis rationibus plane discordant) rejiciendae 
 
 1 The reason which Bacon rejects seems to be nearly as conclusive as that which he 
 admits. 
 
 2 See the Descrtptio Globi Intellectualis, for some account of these passiones.
 
 558 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sunt. Atque ex talibus observationibus coagmentatur Astroloyia 
 Sana; et secundum eas tantum Schemata Coeli et componere et 
 interpretari oportet. 
 
 Adhibetur autem Astrologia Sana ad pradictiones fidentius, 
 ad electiones cautius, ad utraque autem intra terminos debitos. 
 Praedictiones fieri possint de Cometis futuris, qui (ut nostra 
 fert conjectura) prsenunciari possunt, et de omni genere meteo- 
 rorum, de diluviis, siccitatibus, ardoribus, conglaciationibus, terras 
 motibus, irruptionibus aquarum, eruptionibus ionium, ventis et 
 pluviis majoribus, anni variis tempestatibus, pestilentiis, morbis 
 grassantibus, ubertate et caritate frugum, bellis, seditionibus, 
 sectiS) transmigrationibus populorum, denique de omnibus re- 
 rum vel naturalium vel civilium motibus aut innovatidnibus 
 majoribus. Ad magis autem specialia, et forte singularia, 
 praedictiones ist83 (licet minore certitudine) deduci possint, si 
 repertis primo hujusmodi temporum inclinationibus generalibus, 
 acri judicio vel physico vel politico applicentur illis speciebus 
 aut individuis qua3 hujusmodi accidentibus maxime sint ob- 
 noxia ; veluti si quis ex praecognitione tempestatum anni, eas 
 reperiet (exempli gratia) magis oleis quam vitibus, magis 
 phthisicis quam hepaticis, magis incolis collium quam vallium, 
 magis monachis quam aulicis (propter victus rationem diversam) 
 propitias aut perniciosas ; aut si quis ex cognitione influxus 
 quern cojlestia habent super spiritus humanos, reperiat eum 
 talem esse ut magis populis quam regibus, magis viris doctis et 
 curiosis quam animosis et militaribus, magis voluptariis quam 
 negotiosis aut politicis, faveat aut adversetur. Hujusmodi 
 autem innumera sunt ; sed (quemadmodum diximus) non tan- 
 tum cognitionem illam generalem quce sumitur ex astris (quae 
 sunt agentia) verum etiam particularem subjectorum (quae sunt 
 passiva) requirunt. Neque Electiones prorsus rejiciendae sunt ; 
 sed parcius illis quam Praedictionibus fidendum. Videmus enim 
 in plantationibus et seminationibus et insitionibus, aetatuin lunae 
 observatione,s non esse res omniuo frivolas. Sunt et multa ejus 
 generis. Verum et Electiones istae, etiam magis quam Praedi- 
 ctiones, per nostras regulas cohibenda? sunt. Atque illud sem- 
 per attendendum ; valere Electiones in illis tantum casibus, ubi 
 et virtus coelestium talis sit quae non subito transeat, et actio 
 inferiorum similiter talis quae non statim absolvatur ; quemad- 
 modum fit in illis exemplis quae memoravimus. Nam nee incre- 
 menta lunae subito transiguntur, nee incrementa plantarum,
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 559 
 
 Punctualitas vero temporis omnino repudianda. Inveniuntur 
 autem et talia complura (quod quis minus putet) in Electionibus 
 circa civilia. Quod si quis nos compellat eo nomine, quod ex 
 quibus ista Astrologia emendata elici possit, et rursus ad quas 
 utiliter adhiberi, aliquid monstravimus ; quis vero sit eliciendi 
 modus neutiquam docuimus; ille minus aequus fuerit, cum 
 artem ipsam (cujus debitores non sumus) a nobis exigat. Hoc 
 tamen circa illud ipsum quod petit monebimus ; quatuor tantum 
 esse modos, quibus ad hanc scientiam via sternatur. Primo, 
 per experimenta futura ; dein, per experimenta prceterita ; rursus, 
 per traditiones ; ultimo, per rationes physicas. Atque quod ad 
 experimenta futura, quid attinet dicere ? cum ilia sasculis com- 
 pluribus ad eorum copiam comparandam indigeant, ut de iisdem 
 cogitationem suscipere frustra fuerit. Quod vero ad expe- 
 rimenta proeterita ; ea certe in manu hominum sunt ; licet res sit 
 laboriosa, et multi otii. Possint enim astrologi, (si sibi non 
 desint,) omnes casus majores (veluti inundationes, pestilentias, 
 pralia, seditiones, mortes regum, si placet, et similia,) ex histo- 
 riaj fide depromere ; et situm co3lestium, non secundum thema- 
 tum subtilitatem sed juxta regulas eas revolutionum quse a nobis 
 adumbrate sunt, qualis fuerit sub iisdem temporibus, intueri ; 
 ut ubi manifestos fuerit eventuum consensus et conspiratio, ibi 
 pradictionis norma probabilis constituatur. Quatenus ad tradi- 
 tiones ; eas ita ventilare oportet, ut qua? cum rationibus physicis 
 manifesto pugnent e medio tollantur ; quae vero cum iis bene 
 consentiant etiam authoritate sua valeant. Quantum denique 
 ad physicas rationes ; illaa maxime huic inquisition! accommo- 
 date sunt, quae de catholicis material appetitibus et passioni- 
 bus, et de motibus corporum simplicibus et genuinis inquirunt. 
 His enim alis ad coelestia ista materiata ascenditur tutissime. 
 Atque de Astrologia Sana hactenus. 
 
 Insania3 autem Astrologies (prater ea qua3 a principio nota- 
 vimus commenta) alia quasdam portio superest non praster- 
 mittenda ; quiB tamen ab Astrologia secludi solet, et in Magiam 
 quam vocant Caelestem transferri. Ea nacta est mirum com- 
 mentum ingenii liumani, nimirum ut benevolus aliquis situs 
 astrorum in sigillis aut signaculis (puta metalli, aut gemmas 
 alicujus ad intentionem proprias) excipiatur, qua3 horas ejus 
 foelicitatem alias prastervolaturain detineant, et quasi vola- 
 tilem figant. Quemadmodum graviter ille conqueritur, de tarn 
 nobili apud antiques arte jampridem amissa ;
 
 560 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Annulus infuso non vivit minis Olympo, 
 Non magis ingentes humili sub lumine Phoebos 
 Fert Gemma, aut celso divulsas cardine Lunas. 1 
 
 Certe reliquias Sanctorum, earumque virtutes, recepit Ecclesia 
 Romana ; (neque enim in divinis et immateriatis fluxus tem- 
 poris obest ;) verum ut condantur reliquiae coeli, quo hora quae 
 recessit et tanquam mortua est reviviscat et continuetur, mera 
 est superstitio. Missa igitur haec faciamus, nisi forte Musae 
 aniculae jam factae sint. 
 
 Physicam Abstractam in duas partes rectissime dividi posse 
 statuimus; doctrinam de Schematismis Materice, et doctrinam 
 de Appetitibus et Motibus. Utrosque cursim enumerabimus, 
 unde verae Physical de Abstractis adunibratio quaedam deduci 
 possit. Schematism! Materiae sunt, Densum, Rarum ; Grave, 
 Leve ; Calidum, Frigidum ; Tangibile, Pneumaticum ; Volatile, 
 Fixum ; Determinatum, Fluidum ; Humidum, Siccum ; Pingue, 
 Crudum ; Durum, Molle ; Fragile, Tensile ; Porosum, Unitum ; 
 Spirituosum, Jejunum ; Simplex, Compositum ; Absolutum, im- 
 perfecte Mistum; Fibrosum atque venosum, Simplicis positurcs 
 sive jfiquum ; Similare, Dissimilare ; Specificatum, non Speci- 
 jicatum ; Organicum, Inorganicum ; Animatum, Inanimatum ; 
 neque ultra rem extendimus. Sensibile enim et Insensibile, 
 Rationale et Irrationale, ad doctrinam de Homine rejicimus. 
 Appetituum vero et Motuum duo genera sunt. Sunt enim vel 
 Motus Simplices, in quibus radix omnium naturalium actionum 
 continetur, pro ratione tamen Schema tismorum Materiae ; vel 
 Motus Compositi sive producti, a quibus ultimis recepta philo- 
 sophia (quae parum de corpore naturae stringit) auspicatur. 
 Debent autem haberi hujusmodi Motus Compositi (quales sunt 
 generatio, corruptio, et reliqui) pro pensis quibusdam aut Sum- 
 mis Motuum Simplicium, potius quam pro motibus primitivis. 
 Motus Simplices sunt Motus Antitypice, quern vulgo motum ne 
 fiat penetratio dimensionum vocant ; Motus Nexus, quern motum 
 ex fuga vacui appellant ; Motus Libertatis, ne detur compressio 
 
 1 I have not been able to discover whence these lines are taken. The notion they 
 refer to gave rise to the word " Talisman," which seems to be a modification of the 
 Greek word TtAeoyta, used like <rToixwjua in the sense of a configuration of the 
 heavenly bodies. See Salmasius De Annis Climactericis, and compare Von Hammer 
 on Talismans, in the Mines de I' Orient. For this last reference I am indebted to the 
 kindness of Mr. Scott, of Trinity College, Cambridge. See also Heyne, Opuscula, vol. 6., 
 and the work to which he refers, namely the Speculum Lapidum of Camillus Leonardus, 
 book 3rd. Some other references will be found in Le Roux de Lincy Lime des 
 Legendes.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 561 
 
 aut extensio praeternaturalis ; Motus in Sphceram novam, sive ad 
 rarefactionem et condensationem ; Motus Nexus secundi, sive ne 
 detur solutio continuitatis ; Motus Congregationis Majoris, sive 
 ad massas connaturalium suorum, qui vulgo dicitur Motus Na- 
 turalis ; Motus Congregationis Minoris, qui vulgo dicitur Sym- 
 pathise et Antipnthise ; Motus Disponens, sive nt partes bene 
 collocentur in toto ; Motus Assimilationis, sive multiplicationis 
 naturaa suse super aliud ; Motus Excitationis, ubi agens nobi- 
 lius motum in alio lateutem et sopitum excitat ; Motus Sigilh 
 sive Impressionis 3 operatio scilicet absque communication e sub- 
 stantise ; Motus Regius, sive cohibitio reliquorum motuum a motu 
 praedominante ; Motus absque termino, sive rotatio spontanea; 
 Motus Trepidationis, sive Systoles et Diastoles, corporum scili- 
 cet quse locantur inter commoda et incommoda ; postremo De- 
 cubitus, sive Exhorrentia Motus, quss etiam plurimarum rerum 
 est causativa. Hujusmodi sunt Motus Simplices, qui ex pene- 
 tralibus naturas vere prodeunt; quique complicati, continuati, 
 alternati, fraenati, repetiti, et multis modis aggregati, Motus 
 illos composites, sive Summas Motuum qua? receptas sunt, aut 
 illis similes constituunt. Summcs Motuum sunt decantati illi 
 motus, Generalio, Corruptio ; Augmentatio, Diminutio ; Altera- 
 tio, et Latio ; etiam Mixtio, Separatio ; Versio. Supersunt tan- 
 turn tanquam Appendices Physics, Mensurce Motuum; quid 
 possit Quantum, sive Dosis Natures ? Quid possit Distantia, id 
 quod Orbis Virtutis sive Activitatis * non male vocatur ? Quid 
 possint Incita'tio et Tarditas ? Quid brevis aut longa Mora ? 
 Quid Vis aut Hebetudo rei ? Quid Stimulus Peristaseos ? Atque 
 hse sunt Physicce verce de Abstractis partes genuinas. Etenim in 
 Schematismis Materiaa, in Motibus Simplicibus / in Summis sive 
 Aggregationibus Motuum, et in Mensuris Motuum, Physica de 
 Abstractis absolvitur. Nam Motum voluntarium in animalibus ; 
 Motum qui fit in actionibus sensuum ; Motum phantasies, appe- 
 titus, et voluntatis ; Motum mentis, decreti, et intellectualium ; ad 
 proprias doctrinas amandamus. Illud tamen iterate monemus, 
 universa base quaa diximus in Physica non ulterius tractari, 
 quam ut inquirantur Materia et Efficiens ipsorum : retractan- 
 tur enim in Metaphysica, quoad Formas et Fines. 
 
 Physicse subjungemus Appendices insignes duas, quae non 
 tarn ad materiam quam ad modum inquisitionis spectant ; 
 
 1 The allusion is to Gilbert. See note at p. 526. 
 VOL. I. O O
 
 562 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 blcmata Naturalia, et Placita Antiquorum Philosophorum. Prior 
 Natures multiplicis, sive Sparsce, appendix est ; secunda Na- 
 tures unitce, sive Summarum. Utraque ad solertem Dubita- 
 tionem pertinet, quae scientia? pars est non contcmnenda. Nam 
 Problemata particulares dubitationes complectuntur ; Placita 
 generates i circa Principia et Fabricam. Problematum exem- 
 plum nobile est in libris Aristotelis : quod genus operis meruit 
 certe, non solum ut posterorum laudibus celebraretur, verum 
 etiam ut eorum laboribus continuaretur ; cum Dubitationes 
 indies oriantur novae. Attamen in hac re adhibenda est cautio, 
 magni utique momenti. Dubiorum commemoratio et propo- 
 sitio duplicem in se habet fructum : unum, quod Philosophiam 
 muniat contra errores ; quando id quod non plane liquet non 
 judicatur aut asseritur (ne error errorem gigneret), sed sus- 
 penditur de eo judicium, et non fit positivum ; alterum, quod 
 Dubitationes, in codicillos relatae, totidem spongias sunt,. quae 
 incrementa scientiae perpetuo ad se sugant et alliciant ; unde fit 
 ut ilia quaa, nisi praecessissent Dubitationes, leviter et sicco pede 
 transmissa fuissent, Dubitationum admonitu attente et studiose 
 observentur. Verum ha3 duas utilitates vix unum compensant 
 incommodum quod, nisi sedulo prohibeatur, se ingeret ; nimi- 
 rum quod Dubitatio, si semel admittatur tanquam justa et fiat 
 quasi authentica, statim defensores in utramque partem suscita- 
 bit, qui etiam posteris eandem licentiam dubitandi transrnit- 
 tant ; adeo ut homines ingenia sua intendant et applicent ad 
 hoc, ut alatur potius Dubitatio quam terminetur 'aut solvatur. 
 Cujus quidem rei exempla et in jurisperitis et in academicis 
 ubique occurrunt, quibus moris est ut Dubitationem semel ad- 
 missam perpetuam esse velint, nee minus dubitandi quam asse- 
 rendi auctoramenta amplectantur : cum tamen ille demum sit 
 ingenii usus legitimus, qui ex dubiis certa faciat, non qui certa 
 in dubium vocet. Quare Kalendarium Dubitationum, sive Pro- 
 blematum in natura, et desiderari assero et suscipi probo ; modo 
 curae sit, ut aucta scientia indies (quod fiet proculdubio, si nos 
 audiant homines) qua? clare discussa? sint Dubitationes ex Albo 
 deleantur. Huic Kalendario aliud addi cuperem, non minus 
 utile : cum enim in omni inquisitione inveniantur hasc tria ; per- 
 spicue Vera } Dubia, perspicue Falsa ; utilissimum foret Kalen- 
 dario Dubiorum Kalendarium Falsitatum et errorum popularium, 
 vel in historia naturali vel in dogmatibus grassantium, adjun- 
 gere ; ne illae amplius scientiis molest sint.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 563 
 
 Quod ad Placita Antiquorum Philosophorum, qualia fuerunt 
 Pythagoras, Philolai, Xenophanis, Anaxagora?, Parmenidis, 
 Leucippi, Democriti, aliorum, (quae homines contemptim per- 
 currere solent,) BOH abs re fuerit paulo modestius in ea oculos 
 conjicere. Etsi enim Aristoteles, more Ottomanorum, regnare 
 se haud tuto posse putaret, nisi fratres suos omnes contruci- 
 dasset * ; tamen iis, qui non regnum aut magisterium sed veri- 
 tatis inquisitionem atque illustrationem sibi proponunt, non 
 potest non videri res utilis diversas diversorum circa rerum 
 naturas opiniones sub uno aspectu intueri. Neque tamen 
 subest spes, quod veritas aliqua purior ex illis aut similibus 
 theoriis speranda ullo modo sit. Quemadmodum enim eadem 
 phenomena, iidem calculi, et Ptolemaei principiis astronomi- 
 cis et Copernici competunt; ita experientia ista vulgaris qua 
 utimur, atque obvia rerum facies, pluribus diversis theoriis se 
 applicare potest ; ubi ad rectam veritatis indagationem longe 
 alia severitate opus fuerit. Eleganter enim Aristoteles; /- 
 f antes primo balbutientes quasvis mulieres appellare matres ; post 
 autem propriam matrem discernere 2 ; sic certe puerilis expe- 
 rientia omnem Philosophiam appellabit matrem ; adulta vero 
 matrem veram internoscet. Interea juvabit Philosophias dis- 
 crepantes, veluti diversas Naturae glossas (quarum una fortasse 
 uno loco, alia alio est emendatior), perlegere. Optarim igitur 
 ex Vitis Antiquorum Philosophorum, ex fascicule Plutarchi de 
 Placitis eorum, ex citationibus Platonis, ex confutationibus 
 Aristotelis, ex sparsa mentione qua? habetur in aliis libris, tarn 
 ecclesiasticis quam ethnicis, (Lactantio, Philone, Philostrato, 
 et reliquis,) opus confici cum diligentia et judicio de Antiquis 
 Philosophiis. Tale enim opus nondum extare video. Atta- 
 
 1 Bacon, it is probable, alludes particularly to a memorable and then recent instance 
 of this practice. Mahomet III., ou becoming Sultan in 1595, put to death nineteen of 
 his brothers and ten or twelve women supposed to be with child by his father. Pope, 
 perhaps unconsciously, has imitated Bacon. In the character of Addison, he speaks of 
 him as one who could 
 
 " Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne." 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the practice in question was established as a fundamental 
 law of the state by Mahomet the Second. I quote his words from the French edition 
 of Von Hammer's History of the Ottoman Empire. "La plupart des legistes ont 
 declare que ces de mes illustres fils ou petits-fils qui monteront au trone pourront faire 
 executer leurs freres afin d'assurer le repos du monde ils devront agir en conse- 
 quence." L'Histoire de I' Empire Ottoman, iii. p. 302. 
 
 A little further on Von Hammer remarks that " la legalite" du meurtre est consacre"e 
 non seulement pour les freres du Sultan mes encore pour ses neveux et ses petits- 
 fils." 
 
 2 Physic, i.e. 1. 
 
 oo 2
 
 564 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 men hie moneo, ut hoc fiat distincte, ita ut singulae Philosophise 
 seorsum componantur et continuentur ; non per titulos et 
 fascicules (quod Plutarchus fecit) excipiantur. Quaevis enim 
 Philosophia integra seipsam sustentat, atque dogmata ejus sibi 
 mutuo et lumen et robur adjiciunt; quod si distrahantur, pere- 
 grinum quiddam et durum sonant. Certe quando apud Taci- 
 turn lego facta Neronis aut Claudii, circumstantiis temporum, 
 personarum, et occasionum vestita, nil video quod a proba- 
 bilitate prorsus abhorreat; cum vero eadem lego in Suetonio 
 Tranquillo, per capita et communes locos, minimeque in serie 
 temporis repraesentata, portenta quaedam videntur et plane 
 incredibilia, Neque absimilis est ratio Philosophise, quando 
 proponitur integra, et quando in frusta concisa et dissecta. 
 Neque vero ex hoc Placitorum Philosophies Kalendario nuperas 
 theorias et dogmata exclude ; sicut illam Theophrasti Paracelsi, 
 eloquenter in corpus quoddam et harmoniam philosophise re- 
 dactam a Severino Dano l ; aut Telesii Consentini, qui Parme- 
 nidis philosophiam instaurans arma Peripateticorum in illos 
 ipsos vertit ; aut Patricii Veneti, qui Platonicorum fumos sub- 
 limavit; aut Gilbert! popularis nostri, qui Philolai dogmata 
 reposuit ; aut alterius cujuscunque, si modo dignus sit. Horum 
 vero (quoniam volumina integra extant) summae tantum inde 
 conficiendae, et cum caeteris conjungendae. Atque de Physica 
 cum Appendicibus ha?c dicta sint. 
 
 Quantum ad Metaphysicam, assignavimus jam ei inquisi- 
 tionem Causarum Formalium et Finalium; quae assignatio, 
 quatenus ad Formas, incassum facta videatur. Invaluit siqui- 
 dem opinio atque inveteravit Rerum Formas essentiales, seu 
 veras differ entias, nulla humana inveniri diligentia posse. Quae 
 opinio interim nobis elargitur atque concedit, inventionem For- 
 
 1 Severinus was a Danish physician. He died in the year 1602, leaving several 
 works on medical and philosophical subjects, in which he followed the opinions of 
 Paracelsus. I am only acquainted with his Idea Mediciiice Philosophies, which there 
 is reason to think Bacon had read. His writings are in point of style much superior 
 to those of Paracelsus, who was however unquestionably a man of far more original 
 genius. 
 
 Telesius's principal work is his De Rerum Naturd [the first two books of which 
 were published in 1565, and the whole in 1586]. Bacon derived more ideas from him 
 than from any other of the " novelists," as he has somewhere called the philosophical 
 innovators, and has written a separate treatise on three systems of philosophy, of which 
 his is one. See the third volume of this edition. 
 
 Patricius attempted to amalgamate the Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies. His 
 principal work entitled \r,va de Universis Philosophia was published in 1591. It 
 is not of much interest, but I shall have occasion to refer to it in connexion with 
 Bacon's De fluxit et refiuxn man's.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 565 
 
 marum ex omnibus scientiae partibus dignissimam esse quee 
 investigetur, si modo fieri possit ut reperiantur. Ad inven- 
 tionis possibilitatem vero quod attinet, sunt certe ignavi re- 
 gionum exploratores, qui ubi nil nisi coelum et pontum vident, 
 terras ultra esse prorsus negant. At manifestum est, Platonem, 
 viruin sublimis ingenii (quique veluti ex rupe excelsa omnia 
 circumspiciebat 1 ), in sua de Ideis doctrina Formas esse verum 
 scientia objectum vidisse ; utcunque sententiae hujus verissimae 
 fructum amiserit, Formas penitus a Materia abstractas, non in 
 Materia determinatas, coiitemplando et prensando; unde factum 
 est, ut ad speculationes theologicas diverteret, quod omnem 
 naturalem suam philosophiam infecit et polluit. Quod si 
 diligenter, serio, et sincere ad actionem et usum oculos con- 
 vertamus, non difficile erit disquirere et notitiain assequi quae 
 sint illae Formae, quarum cognitio res humanas miris modis 
 locupletare et beare possit. Substantiarum enim Formae (uno 
 Homine excepto 2 , de quo Scriptura, Formavit hominem de limo 
 terra, et spiravit in faciem ejus spiraculum vitas 3 , non ut de 
 caeteris speciebus, Producant aqua, producat terra*"), species 
 inquam creaturarum, (prout nunc per compositionem et trans- 
 plantationem inveniuntur multiplicatas,) ita perplexae sunt et 
 complicate ut aut omnino de iis inquirere frustra sit, aut inqui- 
 sitio earum, qualis esse potest, seponi ad tempus, et postquam 
 Formae simplicioris naturae rite exploratae sint et inventae, turn 
 demum institui debeat. Quemadmodum enim nee facile esset, 
 nee ullo modo utile, Formam soni investigare ejus qui verbum 
 aliquod constituat; cum verba compositione et transpositione 
 literarum sint infinita ; at soni qui literam aliquam simplicem 
 exprimat Formam inquirere (quali scilicet collisione, quali 
 instrumentorum vocis applicatione, constituatur) comprehen- 
 sibile est, imo facile ; (quae tamen Formae literarum cognitae ad 
 Formas verborum illico nos deducent 5 :) eadem prorsus ratione 
 
 1 Compare the phrase used by S. Augustine in speaking of the Platonists : "de sil- 
 vestri cacumine videre patriam pacis, et iter ad earn non invenire." Confess, vii. 21. 
 
 2 Those who deny the cognoscibility of Forms admit of one exception, it being a 
 received article of faith, to deny which is by the Clementine constitutions declared a 
 heresy, that the rational soul is the substantial form of man ; and it is to be observed 
 that Bacon guards himself against being supposed to overlook this exception, in 
 admitting that substantial forms are so " perplexed and complicated " as to be, for the 
 present at least, hopeless subjects of inquiry. 
 
 a Gen . ii. 7. * Gen. i. 20. 24. 
 
 5 There can be, I think, no doubt that the passage in the Philebus (p. 17. et infra of 
 Stephens) in which Plato speaks of the analysis of sounds into their constituent 
 
 oo a
 
 566 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Formam inquirendo leonis, quercus, auri, imo etiam aqua aut 
 aeris, operara quis luserit: Formam vero inquirere Densi, Rari; 
 Calidi, Frigidi ; Grams, Levis ; Tangibilis, Pneumatici ; Vola- 
 tilis, Fixi; et similium tarn Schematismorum quam Motuum, 
 quos in Physica tractanda magna ex parte enumeravimus (et 
 Formas Prima Classis appellare consuevimus J ), quique (veluti 
 literse alphabet!) numero baud ita multi sunt, et tamen 
 Essentias et Formas omnium substantiarum conficiunt et 
 sustinent 2 ; hoc est, inquam, illud ipsum quod conamur; 
 quodque earn partem Metaphysicae de qua nunc inquirimus 
 constituit et diffinit. Neque hsec officiunt, quominus Physica 
 easdem naturas consideret quoque (ut dictum est), sed tantum 
 quoad causas Jluxas. Exempli gratia, si de causa inquiratur 
 Albedinis in nive vel spuma; recte redditur, quod sit subtilis 
 intermixtio aeris cum aqua. Haec autem, longe abest, ut 
 sit Forma Albedinis, cum aer etiam pulveri vitri aut crystalli 
 intermixtus albedinem similiter procreet, non minus quam si 
 admisceatur aquae; verum Causa Efficiens ilia tantum est, 
 quas nihil aliud quam vehiculum est Forma?. 3 At in Meta- 
 physica si fiat inquisitio, hujusmodi quidpiam reperies ; corpora 
 duo diaphana iutermixta, portionibus eorum opticis simplici 
 ordine eive aequaliter collocatis, constituere Albedinem. Hanc 
 Metaphysicae partem desiderari reperio. Nee mirum ; quia illo 
 inquirendi modo qui hue usque in usum venit, nunquam in 
 saeculum comparebunt Rerum Formes. Radix autem mali 
 hujus, ut et omnium, ea est ; quod homines et propere nimis, et 
 nimis longe, ab experientia et rebus particularibus cogitationes 
 suas diveliere et abstrahere consueverunt, et suis meditatio- 
 nibus et argumentationibus se totos dedere. 
 
 elements, and which is a " locus classicus" with reference to his method of induction, 
 is here alluded to. See the General Preface, p. 26. 
 
 1 So in the original. The sense seems to require (e< quorum formas Formas Primae 
 Classis appellare consuevimus). See infra p. 568. J. S. 
 
 2 It clearly appears from this passage that Bacon's doctrine was that the forms of 
 all substances might be determined by combining the results of a limited number ot 
 investigations of the forms of schematisms and motions, or as he elsewhere calls them 
 of simple natures. (See Novum Orgamim, ii. 5.) For the phrase " Formae primae 
 classis," see infra p. 668. The difficulty of effecting this combination might be in- 
 superable ; he did not profess to be able to decide a priori that it was not so ; but at 
 any rate it would be only a synthetical difficulty and would not present itself until his 
 analysis of nature was completed and the forms of her constituent elements determined. 
 Of the possibility of attaining these two ends namely (1.) an analysis of nature 
 resulting in the formation of a complete list of " naturae simplices," and (2.) the 
 determination of their forms he seems never to have doubted. 
 
 3 See Nov. Org. p. 270.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 50 7 
 
 Usus autem hujus partis Metaphysics, quam Desideratis 
 annumero, duas ob causas vel maxime excellit. Prima est, 
 quod scientiarum omnium officium sit et propria virtus, ut 
 experientiae ambages et itinera longa (quantum veritatis ratio 
 permittit) abbrevient ; ac proinde remedium veteri querimonias 
 afferant, de Vita brevi et Arte longa. 1 Illud vero optime 
 prasstatur, Axiomata scientiarum in magis generalia, et quse 
 omni materiae rerum individuarum competant, colligendo et 
 uniendo. Sunt enim Scientise instar pyramidum, quibus Hi- 
 storia et Experientia tanquam basis unica substernuntur ; ac 
 proinde basis Naturalis Philosophiae est Historia Naturalis. 
 Tabulatum primum a basi est Physica; vertici proximuni 
 Metaphysica ; ad conum quod attinet et punctum verticale 
 (opus quod operatur Deus a principio usque ad finem 2 ; sum- 
 mariam nempe naturae legem), haesitamus merito, an humana 
 possit ad illud inquisitio pertingere. Caeterum haec tria verae 
 sunt Scientiarum contabulationes, suntque apud homines 
 propria scientia inflates et theomachos tanquam tres moles 
 giganteae : 
 
 Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam, 
 
 Scilicet atque Ossae frondosura involvere Olympum : 3 
 
 apud eos vero qui seipsos exinanientes omnia ad Dei gloriam 
 referunt, tanquam trina ilia acclamatio, Sancte, Sancte, Sancte. 
 Sanctus enim Deus in multitudine operum suorum, sanctus in 
 ordine eorum, sanctus in unione. Quare speculatio ilia Par- 
 nienidis et Platonis, (quamvis in illis nuda fuerit speculatio,) 
 excelluit tamen; Omnia per scalam quandam ad unitatem 
 ascendere. 4 Atque ilia demum scientia caeteris est praestantior, 
 
 1 " Vita brevis, ars vero longa, occasio autem prseceps, experimentum periculosum, 
 judicium difficile." Hippocrates, Aph. i. 1. I quote from Leonicenus's version. 
 
 2 Eccles. iii. 11. * Virg. Georg. i. 281. 
 
 4 No such doctrine as this is to be found in the remains which have come down to 
 us of the writings of Parmenides, and it is in effect inconsistent with what we know of 
 his opinions. His fundamental dictum appears to have been that that which is, is 
 one ; incapable of change or motion. That visible things are in any sense parts or 
 elements or attributes of the one immutable substance is, as far as we can judge, a 
 later doctrine. To the question, what then are the phenomena of the visible universe, 
 Parmenides gives no answer ; unless we account as an answer what he says of their 
 delusive and non-existent character. Even Plato was far from teaching the doctrine of 
 an ascent to unity in the sense in which Bacon probably employed the terms. He 
 no doubt adopted in his own sense the dictum of the Eleatae, tv rk vdma; but with 
 him as with them mere phenomena have no true existence. In later writers however 
 Bacon may easily have found expressions derived from the authority of Plato and Par- 
 menides, and more consonant with his own views of the nature of the universe. But 
 so far as they themselves were concerned, it may I think be safely stated that 
 though the latter affirmed the et>6ri,s of that which exists, no doctrine of eVaxris entered 
 into his teaching ; and that that which presents itself in the system of the former was 
 
 o o 4
 
 568 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 qujB humanum intellectum minimum multiplicitate onerat ; 
 quam liquet esse Metaphysicam *, quippe quae contemplatur 
 pracipue simplices illas rerum Formas (quas superius Formas 
 Primes Classis nominavimus 2 ) ; quandoquidem, licet immero 
 paucre, tamen coinmensurationibus et coordinationibus suis 
 omnem varietatem constituunt. Secunda res, quae hanc Meta- 
 physics partem de Formis nobilitat, haec nimirum est ; quod 
 potestatem humanam emancipet maxime et liberet, eamque in 
 amplissimum et apertissimum operand! campum educat. Nam 
 Physica per angustos et impeditos calles humanam operam 
 dirigit, naturae ordinariae flexuosos tramites imitata; sed latct 
 undique sunt sapientibus vies; Sapientise nimirum (quae a 
 veteribus rerum divinarum et humanarum scientia 3 diffinie- 
 batur) mediorum copia et varietas semper suppetit. Causae 
 enim Physicae novis inventis, in simili materia, lucem et ansam 
 praebent. At qui Fonnam aliquam novit, novit etiam ultimam 
 possibilitatem superinducendi naturam illam in omnigenam mate- 
 riam, eoque minus inter operandum restringitur et alligatur 
 vel ad Materice Basim, vel ad Conditionem Efficientis. Quod 
 genus sciential eleganter describit etiam Salomon, etsi sensu 
 magis divino; Non arctabuntur gressus tui, et currens non 
 habebis offendiculum. 4 Intelligit scilicet Sapientiae vias nee 
 angustiis nee obicibus obnoxias esse. 
 
 Metaphysicae pars secunda est Finalium Causarum inqui- 
 
 essentially different from Bacon's ascent to unity. The opinions of Parmenides would 
 be more accurately indicated by the formula If fb ov than by %v TO, vavrtt, or if the 
 latter be employed, it should be understood to suggest the ellipsis of Ka\av/j.eva, a 
 remark apparently confirmed by Plato's expressions in the Sophist, p. 242, "Denique 
 ut uno verbo complectar, Parmenides statuit simplex ens, sive TO oirAws 6v, Platonici 
 ens perfectum, sive rb irai/Te\(as iv, h. e. tale in quo sit una r&v ov-rtav irdi/ruv com- 
 plexio," is Karsten's statement of the contrast between the doctrine of Parmenides 
 himself, and that to support which he was cited as an authority. Karsten's Parmenides, 
 p. 210. 
 
 1 This passage resembles one in the Metaphysics, i. 2. ; but I am not sure that the 
 resemblance is more than accidental. Bacon, so far as I have observed, though he 
 quotes Aristotle frequently, never refers to any passage in the Metaphysics. 
 
 2 It is evident from this that the simple natures (the schematisms and motions) are 
 not the " Formae primse classis ;" although the literal interpretation of the passage 
 referred to in the text would make it appear that they are so. For the simple natures 
 are the proper objects of Physica Abstracta, and consequently are not identical with 
 the Forma; primae Classis, which are the subject of Metaphj sica. 
 
 The " Formae primae Classis" are the forms of simple natures, and in the former passage 
 (v. supra p. 566.) the clause between parentheses involves an anacoluthon, and refers 
 not to that which immediately precedes it, but to the word " formam " at the beginning 
 of the sentence. The construction would be regular if in this clause we were to re- 
 place the word "et"by"has autem" [or by " et quorum formas. " The "simple 
 natures" are the same in both passages ; but Physica deals only with the material and 
 efficient causes of them; Metaphysica with the formal and final causes. J S.] 
 
 ' See Cicero, Tusc. Quaest. iv. 26. * Proverbs, iv. 12.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 569 
 
 sitio, quam non ut prcetermissam sed ut male collocatam 
 notamus. Solent enim inquiri inter Physica, non inter 
 Metaphysica. Quanquam si ordinis hoc solum vitium esset, 
 non mihi fuerit tanti. Ordo enim ad illustrationem pertinet, 
 neque est ex substantia scientiarum. "At haec ordinis inversio 
 defectum insignem peperit, et maximam philosophise induxit 
 calamitatem. Tractatio enim Causarum Finalium in Phy- 
 sicis inquisitionem Causarum Physicarum expulit et dejecit; 
 effecitque ut homines in istiusmodi speciosis et umbratilibus 
 causis acquiescerent, nee inquisitionem causarum realium et 
 vere Physicarum strenue urgerent ; ingenti scientiarum detri- 
 mento. Etenim reperio hoc factum esse, non solum a Platone, 
 qui in hoc littore semper anchoram figit; verum etiam ab 
 Aristotele, Galeno *, et aliis, qui saepissime etiam ad ilia vada 
 impingunt. Etenim qui causas adduxerit hujusmodi, palpebras 
 cum pilis pro sepi et vallo esse ad munimentum oculorum ; aut 
 corii in animalibus firmitudinem esse ad propellendos calores et 
 frigora ; aut ossa pro columnis et tralibus a natura induci quibus 
 fabrica corporis innitatur ; aut folia arborum emitti quo fructus 
 minus patiantur a sole et vento : aut nubes in sublimi fieri ut 
 terram imbribus irrigent ; aut terram densari et solidari ut statio 
 et mansio sit animalium ; et alia similia ; is in Metaphysicis 
 non male ista allegarit, in Physicis autem nequaquam. Imo, 
 quod cospimus dicere, hujusmodi sermonum discursus (instar 
 Remorarum, uti fingunt, navibus adhserentium) Scientiarum 
 quasi velificationem et progressum retardarunt, ne cursum 
 suum tenerent et ulterius progrederentur ; et jampridem 
 effecerunt ut Physicarum Causarum inquisitio neglecta defi- 
 ceret ac silentio praeteriretur. Quapropter Philosophia Natu- 
 ralis Democriti et aliorum, qui Deum et Mentem a fabrica 
 rerum amoverunt, et structuram universi infinitis natura? pra> 
 lusionibus et tentamentis 2 (quas uno nomine Fatum aut For- 
 tunam vocabant) attribuerunt, et rerum particularium causas 
 Material necessitati sine intermixtione Causarum Finalium 
 assignarunt, nobis videtur (quantum ex fragmentis et reliquiis 
 
 1 See especially Galen's De usu Partium, which is in effect a treatise on the doctrine 
 of final causes as exemplified in animal physiology. He calls the last book, which in- 
 troduces the general considerations to which the subject leads, the Epode of the whole 
 work ; explaining that he does so, because the Epode is sung while the chorus stands 
 at the altar of the deity. 
 
 8 See in illustration of this phrase, Lucretius, v. 835. et seq., and infra note 2. 
 at p. 682.
 
 570 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 philosophise eorum conjicere licet) quatenus ad Causas Phy- 
 sicas, multo solidior fuisse et altius in naturara penetrasse quam 
 ilia Aristotelis et Platonis ; hanc unicam ob causam, quod illi 
 in Causis Finalibus nunquam operam triverunt ; hi autem eas 
 perpetuo inculcarunt. Atque magis in hac parte accusandus 
 Aristoteles quam Plato, quandoquidem fontem Causarum 
 Finalium, Deum scilicet, omiserit, et Naturam pro Deo substi- 
 tuerit ; causasque ipsas Finales potius ut logicse amator, quam 
 theologian, amplexus sit. Neque hsec eo dicimus quod Causa? 
 ilia? Finales vera? non sint, et inquisitione admodum digna?, in 
 speculationibus Metaphysica? ; sed quia, dum in Physicarum 
 Causarum possessiones excurrunt et irruunt, misere earn pro- 
 vinciam depopulantur et vastant. Alioquin, si modo intra 
 terminos suos coerceantur, magnopere hallucinantur quicunque 
 eas Physicis Causis adversari aut repugnare putent. Nam 
 causa reddita, quod palpebrarum pili oculos muniant, nequicquam 
 sane repugnat alteri illi, quod pilositas soleat contingere humidi- 
 tatum orificiis : 
 
 Muscosi fontes, &C. 1 
 
 Neque causa reddita, quod coriorum in animalibus firmitudo 
 pertinet ad cceli injurias propulsandas, adversatur illi alteri, 
 quod ilia firmitudo Jit ob contractionem pororum in extimis corpo- 
 rum per frigus et deprcedationem aeris ; et sic de reliquis : con- 
 spirantibus optime utrisque causis, nisi quod altera intentionem, 
 altera simplicem consecutionem denotet. Neque vero ista res 
 in dubium vocat Providentiam Divinam, aut ei quicquam dero- 
 gat, sed potius eandem miris modis confirmat et evehit. Nam 
 sicut in rebus civilibus prudentia politica fuerit multo altior et 
 mirabilior, si quis opera aliorum ad suos fines et desideria abuti 
 possit, quibus tamen nihil consilii sui impertit, (ut interim ea 
 agant qua? ipse velit, neutiquam vero se hoc facere intelligant,) 
 quam si consilia sua cum adniinistris voluntatis sua? communi- 
 caret ; sic Dei sapientia effulget mirabilius cum Natura aliud 
 agit, Providentia aliud elicit, quam si singulis schematibus et 
 motibus naturalibus Providentia? characteres essent impressi. 
 Scilicet Aristoteli, postquam naturam Finalibus Causis im- 
 pregnasset, Naturamque nihil frustra facere, suique voti semper 
 esse compotem* (sz impedimenta abessent), et hujusmodi multa eo 
 
 1 Virff. Eel. vii. 45. 
 
 '* See Arist. De Part. Anim. L 13 ; Polit i. 5 ; and many other passnges.
 
 LIBER TERT1US. 571 
 
 spectantia posuisset, amplius Deo non fuit opus. At Demo- 
 critus et Epicurus, cum atomos suos praedicabant, eousque a 
 subtilioribus nonnullis tolerabantur ; verum cum ex eorum 
 fortuito concursu fabricam ipsam rerum absque Mente coiiluisse 
 assererent, ab omnibus risu excepti sunt. Adeo ut tantum absit 
 ut Causse Physicae homines a Deo et Providentia abducant, ut 
 contra potius philosophi illi qui in iisdem eruendis occupati 
 fuerunt, nullum exitum rei reperiant nisi postremo ad Deum et 
 Providentiam confugiant. 1 Atque hsec de Metaphysica dicta 
 sint, cujus partem de Causis Finalibus in libris et Physicis et 
 Metaphysicis tractatam noil negaverim ; in his recte, in illis 
 perperam propter incommodum inde secutum. 
 
 CAPUT V. 
 
 Partitio Operatives Doctrines de Natura, in Mechanicam et Ma- 
 giam ; qua respondent partibus Speculative^ : Phy sices Mecha- 
 nica, Metaphysics Magia ; et Expurgatio vocabuli Magics. 
 Appendices dues Operatives; Inventarium Opum Humana- 
 rum et Catalogus Polychrestorum. 
 
 OPERATIVAM de Natura similiter in duas partes dividemus, 
 idque ex necessitate quadam. Subjicitur enim haec divisio 
 division! priori doctrinae Speculative : Physica siquidem et 
 inquisitio Causarum Efficientium et Materialium producit Me- 
 chanicam ; at Metaphysica et Inquisitio Formarum producit 
 Magiam. Nam Causarum Finalium inquisitio sterilis est, et 
 tanquam virgo Deo consecrata nihil parit. 2 Neque nos fugit 
 
 1 "C'est Dieu," affirms Leibnitz in a spirit not unlike that, of the text, " qui est la 
 derniere raison des choses et la connoissance de Dieu n'est pas raoins le principe des 
 sciences que son essence et sa volonte sont les principes des etres." And a little further 
 on he remarks that " les principes generaux de la Physique et de la Mecanique meme 
 dependent de la conduite d'une intelligence souveraine, et ne sauraient etre expliques 
 sans le faire entrer en consideration. C'est ainsi qu'il faut reconcilier la piete avec la 
 raison, et qu'on pourra satisfaire aux gens de bien qui apprehendent les suites de la 
 philosophic mecanique ou corpusculaire, comme si elle pouvait eloigner de Dieu, et des 
 substances immaterielles, au lieu qu'avec les corrections requises, et tout bien entendu, 
 elle doit nous y mener." Lettre a Bayle, p. 106. of Erdmann's edition. 
 
 2 No saying of Bacon's has been more often quoted and misunderstood than this. 
 Carrying out his division of the Doctrina de Natura, which as we have seen depends 
 upon Aristotle's quadripartite classification of causes, he remarks that to Physica cor- 
 responds Mcchanica, and to Metaphysica, Magia. But Metaphysica contains two parts, 
 the doctrine of forms and the doctrine of final causes. Bacon remarks that Magia cor- 
 responds to Metaphysica, inasmuch as the latter contains the doctrine of forms, 
 that of final causes admitting from its nature of no practical applications. "Nihil 
 parit," means simply " non parit opera," which though it would have been a more
 
 572 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 esse et Mechanicam saepius mere empiricam et operariam, qua? a 
 Physica non pendeat; verum hanc in Historian! Naturalem 
 conjecimus, a Philosophia Natural! segregamus. Loquimur 
 tantum de ea Mechanica, quae cum Causis Physicis conjuncta 
 est. Veruntamen intervenit quaedam Mechanica, qua? nee 
 prorsus operaria est, neque tamen philosophiain proprie at- 
 tingit. Operum enim inventa omnia, quae in hominum noti- 
 tiam venerunt, aut casu occurrerunt et deinceps per manus 
 tradita sunt, aut de industria quaesita. Qua? autem intentio- 
 naliter inventa sunt, ilia aut per causarum et axiomatum 
 lucem eruta sunt, aut per extensionem quandam vel trans- 
 lationem vel compositionem inventorum priorum deprehensa; 
 quae magis ingeniosa quaedam res est et sagax, quam philosophica. 
 Hanc vero partem, quam neutiquam contemnimus, non multo 
 post, cum de Experientia Literata inter Logica tractabimus, 
 cursim perstringemus. Enimvero Mechanicam, de qua nunc 
 agimus, tractavit Aristoteles promiscue ; Hero in Spiritalibus ; 
 etiam Georgius Agricola, scriptor recens, diligenter admodum 
 in Mineralibus ; aliique quamplurimi in subjectis particula- 
 ribus 1 ; adeo ut non habeam quod dicam de omissis in hac 
 parte; nisi quod Mechanica promiscua, secundum exemplum 
 Aristotelis, diligentius debuissent continuari per labores recen- 
 tiorum, pra3sertim cum delectu eorum Mechanicorum, quorum 
 aut causae magis obscurae aut effectus magis nobiles. Verum 
 qui in hisce insistunt, quasi oras tantum maritimas perreptant, 
 - premendo litus iniquum. 2 
 
 precise mode of expression would have destroyed the appositeness of the illustration. 
 No one who fairly considers the context can, I think, have any doubts as to the limi- 
 tation with which the sentence in question is to be taken. But it is often the misfor- 
 tune of a pointed saying to be quoted apart from any context, and consequently to 
 be misunderstood. 
 
 1 The Mechanical Problems of Aristotle are here referred to. Of Hero, an Alex- 
 andrian physicist, who flourished about B. c. [100], Fludd makes frequent mention, 
 and it is perhaps on this account that he is here introduced. It is remarkable that no 
 notice is taken of Archimedes who, beyond all comparison, was the greatest mecha- 
 nical philosopher of antiquity. With his writings however there is reason to think 
 that Bacon had no acquaintance, and in the Historia Densi et Rari his most popularly 
 known invention, that of the method of detecting the adulteration of Hiero's crown, is 
 mentioned in a manner which seems to show that Bacon did not distinctly apprehend 
 the principle on which it depends. With contemporary scientific writers, Bacon 
 seldom appears to be acquainted, and it is therefore less remarkable that no mention 
 is made of Stevinus, Galileo, Guldinus, or Ghetaldus. Galileo's astronomical dis- 
 coveries were of course more generally known than his mechanical researches. 
 
 The writings of Agricola, who has been called the German Pliny, are even now, it 
 is said, of considerable value, and certainly entitle him to a high place among the 
 scientific men of the 16th century. His greatest work is the De re metallica, in 
 twelve books [published at Basle in 1555]. 
 
 2 Hor. Od. ii. 10.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 573 
 
 Meo siquidem judicio vix possit aliquid in Natura radicitus 
 verti aut innovari, vel per casus aliquos fortuitos, vel per tenta- 
 menta experimentorum, vel ex luce causarum physicarum, sed 
 solummodo per Inventionem Formarum. Si igitur desiderari 
 earn partem Metaphysicae quae de Formis agit posuimus, se- 
 quitur ut Naturalis etiam Magia, quae ad earn est relativa, 
 similiter desideretur. Verum hoc loco postulandum videtur, 
 ut vocabulum istud Magics, in deteriorem partem jampridem 
 acceptum, antique et honorifico sensui restituatur. Etenim 
 Magia apud Persas pro sapientia sublimi, et scientia consen- 
 suum rerum universalium, accipiebatur * ; atque etiam tres illi 
 reges, qui ab Oriente ad Christum adorandum venerunt, Mago- 
 rum nomine vocabantur. Nos vero earn illo in sensu intelli- 
 gimus, ut sit scientia quae cognitionem Formarum Abditarum 
 ad opera admiranda deducat ; atque, quod dici solet, activa cum 
 passivis conjungendo magnalia naturae 2 manifested Nam quan- 
 tum ad Naturalem Magiam (quae in libris plurimorum volitat 3 ) 
 credulas quasdam et superstitiosas traditiones et observationes 
 de Sympathiis et Antipathiis rerum, atque de occultis et specificis 
 proprietatibus complectentem, cum frivolis ut pluriinum experi- 
 mentis, potius occultandi artificio et larva quam reipsa admi- 
 randis ; non erraverit .sane, qui earn dixerit a scientia quam 
 quagrimus tantum distare, quoad veritatem naturae, quantum 
 libri rerum gestarum Arthuri ex Britannia, aut Hugonis Bur- 
 degalensis, et hujusmodi heroum umbratilium, drfferunt a Cae- 
 saris Commentariis, quoad veritatem historicam. Manifestum 
 enim est Caesarem majora revera perpetrasse, quam illi de 
 heroibus suis confingere ausi sunt, sed modis faciendi minime 
 fabulosis. Hujusmodi doctrinas bene adumbravit Fabulae de 
 Ixione ; qui cum Junonis, Potentiae Deaa, concubitum animo 
 sibi designaret, cum evanida nube rem habuit, ex quae Cen- 
 tauros et Chimaeras progenuit. Sic qui insana et impotenti 
 cupiditate feruntur ad ea quas per imaginationis tantum fumos 
 et nebulas cernere se putant, loco operum, nil aliud quam 
 spes inanes, et deformia quaedam ac monstrosa spectra, susci- 
 pient. Hujus autem Magiae Naturalis, levis et degeneris, 
 
 1 See supra, p. 542. 
 
 " Magnalia naturae " is, it may be remarked, a favourite phrase with Paracelsus. 
 The word magnalia occurs in the Vulgate; see Ps. cvi. 22., where our version is " won- 
 drous works." 
 
 3 See for instance the Natural Magic of G. B. Pbrta, published in [1589] ; which 
 quite deserves the character here given of the class to which it belongs.
 
 574 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 operatic super homines similis est soporiferis quibusdam 
 medicamentis, quae somnum conciliant, atque insuper inter 
 dormiendum la?ta et placentia somnia immittunt. Primo enim 
 intellectum humanum in soporem conjicit, canendo proprieta- 
 tes specificas, et virtutes occultas et tanquara coelitus demissas, 
 et per traditionum susurros solummodo perdiscendas ; unde 
 homines ad veras causas eruendas et indagandas non amplius 
 excitantur et evigilant, sed in hujusmodi otiosis et credulis 
 opinionibus acquiescunt; deinde vero innumera commenta 
 grata, et qualia quis optaret maxime, instar somniorum, insi- 
 nuat. Atque operas pretium est notare in illis scientiis, quae 
 nimium trahunt ex phantasia et fide (quales sunt Magia ista 
 levis, de qua nunc loquimur, Alchymia, Astrologia, et alia? 
 consimiles), media sua et theoriam solere esse magis monstrosa, 
 quam finis ipse est, et actio quo tendunt. Versio argenti, aut 
 argenti vivi, aut alicujus alterius metalli, in aurum, res creditu 
 dura ; attamen longe verisimilius est, ab homine qui Ponderis, 
 Coloris jlavi, Malleabilis et Extensibilis, Fixi etiam et Volatilis 
 naturas cognitas et perspectas habuerit, quique similiter prima 
 mineralium semina et menstrua diligenter introspexerit, posse 
 aurum multa et sagaci molitione tandem produci ; quam quod 
 pauca Elixiris grana, paucis momentis, alia metalla in aurum 
 vertere valeant per activitatem ejusdem Elixiris, qua? naturam 
 scilicet perficere et omni impedimento liberare possit. Similiter 
 senectutis retardatio, aut gradus alicujus juventutis instauratio, 
 non facile fidem reperiat; attamen longe verisimilius est, ab 
 homine qui naturam Arefactionis et spirituum super solida cor- 
 poris deprcedationes bene norit ; quique naturam Assimilationis 
 atque Alimentationis, vel perfections vel pravioris, perspexerit; 
 naturam etiam spirituum et quasi flamma corporis, alias ad 
 consumendum appositae alias ad reparandum, notarit; posse 
 per diaetas, balnea, unctiones, medicinas proprias, accommo- 
 data etiam exercitia, et similia, vitam prolongari aut vigorem 
 juventutis aliqua ex parte renovari; quam quod hoc fieri 
 possit per guttas pauculas, aut scrupulos alicujus pretiosi 
 liquoris aut quintessentice. Rursus, ex astris fata elici posse 
 non statim aut facile homines consenserint ; ilia vero, quod 
 Hora Nativitatis (quae saepissime ex pluribus accidentibus 
 naturalibus vel acceleratur vel differtur) vitae totius fortunam 
 regat ; aut quod Hora Quaestionis sit cum re ipsa quae quaeritur 
 confatalis; meras nugas dixeris. Attamen tanta exercet hu-
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 575 
 
 manum genus impotentia et intemperies, ut non solum quae 
 fieri non possunt sibi spondeant, sed etiam maxime ardua sine 
 molestia aut sudore, tanquam feriantes, se adipisci posse con- 
 fidant. Verura de Magia hactenus ; cujus et vocabulum ipsum 
 ab infamia vindicavimus, et speciem veram a falsa et ignobili 
 segregavimus. 
 
 Hujus vero partis, Operatives scilicet de Natura, duce sunt 
 Appendices, magni utraque pretii. Prima est, ut fiat Inventa- 
 rium Opum Humanarum, quo excipiantur et breviter enume- 
 rentur omnia hominum bona et fortunae (sive sint ex fructibus 
 et proventibus naturae, sive artis) quas jam habentur, et quibus 
 homines fruuntur; adjectis iis quas olim innotuisse constat, 
 nunc autem perierunt ; ad hunc finem, ut qui ad nova inventa 
 accingitur, de jam inventis et extantibus negotium sibi non 
 facessat. Hoc vero Inventarium magis erit artificiosum magis- 
 que etiam utile, si quae communi hominum opinione Impossibilia 
 reputantur in unoquoque genere adjunxeris ; atque una Proximo. 
 Impossibilibus, quae tamen habentur, copules ; ut alterum hu- 
 man am inventionem acuat, alterum quadantenus dirigat ; utque 
 ex his Optativis et Potentialibus, Activa promptius deducantur. 
 Secunda est, ut fiat Kalendarium eorum Experimentorum, quae 
 maxime Polychresta sunt, et ad aliorum inventionem faciunt 
 et ducunt. Exempli gratia; experimentum artificialis congla- 
 ciationis aqua per glaciem cum sale nigro, ad infinite pertinet J ; 
 hoc enim modum condensationis secretum revelat, quo homini 
 nihil est fructuosius. Praesto enim est ignis ad rarefactiones ; 
 verum in condensationibus laboratur. Plurimum autem facit 
 ad inveniendi compendium, si hujusmodi Polychresta proprio 
 Catalogo excipiantur. 
 
 1 The artificial congelation of water by snow and salt Bacon has elsewhere spoken 
 of as a recent discovery. I have not been able to ascertain by whom it was made. 
 In Boyle's New Experiments of Cold, it is said to be familiarly made use of in Italy, 
 though scarcely known in England ; and in the collection of experiments published by 
 the Florentine Academicians in 1667 (in which collection the celebrated "Florentine 
 experiment," which is in reality due to Bacon, is contained), artificial congelations are 
 spoken of, but (probably because the subject was commonly known) without any 
 reference to the history of the invention. " Sal nigrum," it may be well to mention, 
 is saltpetre.
 
 576 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT VI. 
 
 De magna Philosophies Naturalis, tarn Speculative quam Ope- 
 ratives, Appendice Mathematica ; quodque inter Appendices 
 potius poni debet, quam inter Scientias Substantivas. Parti- 
 tio Mathematics, in Puram et Mixtam. 
 
 OPTIME Aristoteles, Physicam et Mathematicam generare Pra- 
 cticam sive Mechanicam. 1 Quare, cum jam tarn Speculativam 
 quam Operativam partem doctrinae de Natura tractaverimus, 
 locus est ut de Mathematica dicamus, quae ad utramque est 
 scientia auxiliaris. Haec siquidem, in Philosophia recepta, 
 Physicac et Metaphysical pars tertia adjungitur ; at nobis ista 
 retractantibus et recolentibus, si earn ut scientiam substantivam 
 et principalem designate in animo esset, magis consentaneum 
 videretur et rei ipsius naturae et ordinis perspicuitati, ut con- 
 stitueretur tanquam portio Metaphysicae. Quantitas enim (quae 
 subjectum est Mathematicaa) Materiae applicata veluti Dosis 
 Naturae est, et plurimorum effectuum in rebus naturalibus 
 causativa; ideoque inter Formas Essentiales numeranda est. 
 Figures autem et Numerorum potentia in tantum apud antiques 
 valere visa est, ut Democritus principia varietatis rerum in 
 Jiguris atomorum praecipue collocaverit ; ac Pythagoras naturam 
 rerum ex numeris constitui asseruerit. lllud interim verum 
 est, Quantitatem inter Formas Naturales (quales nos eas intel- 
 ligimus) omnium maxime esse abstractam, et a materia separa- 
 bilem ; quod ipsum in causa fuit, cur et diligentius exculta et 
 acrius inquisita ab hominibus fuerit quam aliae quaecunque 
 Formae, quae omnes in materia magis sunt immersae. Cum 
 enim id hominum animis plane insitum sit (plurimo certe cum 
 scientiarum detrimento) ut Generalium quasi campis liberis 
 magis quam Particularium silvis et septis delectentur, nil re- 
 pertum est Mathematicis gratius et jucundius, quo appetitus 
 iste expatiandi et meditandi expleretur. Etsi autem haec vera 
 sint, nobis tamen qui non tantum veritati et ordini, verum 
 etiam usui et commodis hominum consulimus, satiua demum 
 visum est Mathematicas, cum et in Physicis et in Metaphysicis 
 et in Mechanicis et in Magicis plurimum polleant, ut omnium 
 Appendices et copias auxiliares designare. Quod etiam quo- 
 dammodo facere compellimur, propter delicias et fastum Mathe- 
 
 1 Arist. Praef. ad Quaest. Mechan.
 
 LIBER TERTIUS. 577 
 
 maticorum, qui hanc scientiam Physicae fere imperare dis- 
 cupiant. Nescio enim quo fato fiat ut Mathematica et Lo- 
 gica, quae ancillarum loco erga Physicam se gerere debeant, 
 nihilominus certitudinem suam prae ea jactantes, dominatum 
 contra exercere praesumant. Verum de loco et dignitate hujus 
 scientiae minus curandum, de re ipsa videamus. 
 
 Mathematica aut Pura est, aut Mixta. Ad Puram referun- 
 tur Scientiae, quae circa Quantitatem occupatae sunt, a Materia 
 et Axiomatibus physicis penitus abstractam. Ese duae sunt, 
 Geometria et Arithmetica; Quantitatem altera Continuam, altera 
 Discretam tractans. Quae duae artes magno certe cum acumine 
 et industria inquisitae et tractate sunt ; veruntamen et Euclidis 
 laboribus in Geometricis nihil additum est a sequentibus, quod 
 intervallo tot saeculorum dignum sit; et doctrina de Solidis 
 nee a veteribus nee a modernis pro rei usu et excellentia**in- 
 structa et aucta est. 1 In Arithmeticis autem, nee satis varia 
 et commoda inventa sunt Supputationum compendia, praasertim 
 circa Progressiones, quarum in Physicis usus est non me- 
 diocris 2 , nee Algebra bene consummata est 3 ; atque Arithme- 
 tica ilia Pythagorica et Mystica, quae ex Proclo et reliquiis 
 quibusdam Euclidis crepit instaurari, expatiatio qusedam spe- 
 culationis est. Hoc enim habet ingenium humanum, ut cum 
 
 1 We might here expect to find some mention of Archimedes and of Apollonius, 
 whose labours contributed more to the progress of geometry than those of Euclid, who 
 was rather a systematiser than an original discoverer, and whose Elements do not em- 
 brace the whole extent of the geometry of the Greeks. The doctrine of conic sections, 
 which was commenced by Plato, and the method of limits of Archimedes, both most 
 important portions of the Greek geometry, are of course not to be found in Euclid's 
 Elements, not to mention a variety of isolated investigations. It is undoubtedly true 
 that even long after Bacon's time geometry advanced more slowly beyond the limits it 
 had attained in antiquity than other parts of mathematics, though in the present day 
 it may be said to have become a new science. See on this head, the Apergu Historique 
 des Methodes de la Geometric of M. Chasles, himself one of those who have contributed 
 the most to its recent progress. 
 
 2 One would certainly not infer from this remark, to which there is nothing corre- 
 sponding in the Advancement of Learning, that Bacon was aware that in the interval 
 which had elapsed since its publication, the greatest of all inventions for facilitating 
 arithmetical computations had been made known. Napier's Logarithms were pub- 
 lished in 1614, and reprinted on the continent in 1620; in which year Gunter's Canon 
 of Triangles was also published. In 1618 Robert Napier's account of his father's 
 method and Briggs's first table of Logarithms were both published. In the year suc- 
 ceeding that of the publication of the De Augmentis his larger tables, and probably 
 those of Wingate, made their appearance. 
 
 These dates are sufficient to show how much the attention of mathematicians was 
 given to the subject. It would almost seem as if some one, possibly Savile, had told 
 Bacon what was no doubt true that the application of the doctrine of series to 
 arithmetical computation was not as yet brought to perfection, and that he had adopted 
 the remark without understanding the importance of the discovery to which it referred, 
 and perhaps without being aware that any such discovery had been made. 
 
 VOL. I. P P
 
 578 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM LIB. TERT. 
 
 ad solida non sufficiat, in supervacaneis se atterat. Mixta ha- 
 bet pro subjecto Axiomata et portiones physicas ; Quantitatem 
 autem considerat, quatenus est ad ea elucidanda et demon- 
 stranda et actuanda auxiliaris. Multae siquidem naturae partes 
 nee satis subtiliter comprehendi, nee satis perspicue demon- 
 strari, nee satis dextre et certo ad usum accommodari pos- 
 sint, sine ope et interventu Mathematics. Cujus generis sunt 
 Perspectiva, Musica, Astronomia, Cosmographia, Architecture, 
 Machinaria 1 , et nonmillae alias. Caeterum in Mathematicis 
 Mixtis integras aliquas portiones desideratas jam non reperio, 
 sed multas in posterum praedico, si homines non ferientur. 
 Prout enim Physica majora indies increnienta capiet, et nova 
 Axiomata educet; eo Mathematicas opera nova in multis indi- 
 gebit, et plures demum fient Mathematicas Mixtae. 
 
 Jam autem doctrinam de Katura pertransivimus, et Desi- 
 derata in ipsa notavimus. Qua in re, si a priscis et receptis 
 opinionibus discesserimus, eoque nomine contradicendi ansam 
 cuiquam praebuerimus ; quod ad nos attinet, ut dissentiendi 
 studium longe a nobis abest, ita etiam et contendendi con- 
 silium. Si haec vera sunt, 
 
 Non canimus surdis, respondent omnia silvse; 2 
 
 vox naturae ingeminabit, etsi vox hominum reclamet. Quem- 
 
 admodum autem Alexander Borgia dicere solebat de expedi- 
 
 tione Gallorum Neapolitana, eos venisse cum creta in manibus 
 
 quo diversoria sua notarent,non cum armis ut perrumperent* ; sic 
 
 nobis magis cordi est pacificus veritatis ingressus, ubi quasi 
 
 creta consignentur animi qui tantam hospitem excipere possint, 
 
 quam qui pugnax est, viamque sibi per contentiones et 
 
 lites sternat. Absolutis igitur duabus partibus 
 
 Philosophiae, de Numine et de 
 
 Natura, restat tertia de 
 
 Homine. 
 
 1 Machinaria means the art of making machines, not mechanics in the common 
 sense of the word. It therefore appears from this enumeration that Bacon was 
 not acquainted with any application of mathematics to statics or dynamics, as he 
 would certainly not have included these fundamental portions of mixed mathematics 
 in the nonnulloc aliae with which the list concludes. The omission of any reference 
 to the mathematical doctrine of motion is not surprising, though Galileo's researches 
 were known for many years before the publication of the De Augmentis; the theory 
 of equilibrium, however, is as old as the time of Archimedes ; and we might there- 
 fore have expected that it would have been here mentioned. 
 
 2 Virg. Eel. x. 8. See Nov. Org. i. 35.
 
 579 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBEB QUARTUS. 
 
 AD BEGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines de Homine in Philosophiam Humanitatis et 
 Civilem. Partitio Philosophies Humanitatis in Doctrinam 
 circa Corpus HomiDis et Doctrinam circa Animam Hominis. 
 Constitutio unius Doctrines generalis de Natura sive de Statu 
 Hominis. Partitio Doctrines de Statu Hominis in Doctrinam 
 de Persona Hominis et de Fcedere Animi et Corporis. Par- 
 titio Doctrines de Persona Hominis in Doctrinam de Miseriis 
 Hominis et de Praerogativis. Partitio Doctrines de Fcedere 
 in Doctrinam de Indicationibus et de Impressionibus. As- 
 signatio Physiognomiae et Interpretationis Somniorum Na- 
 turalium Doctrines de Indicationibus. 
 
 Si quis me (Bex optime) ob aliquid eorum quae proposui aut 
 deinceps proponam impetat aut vulneret, (praeterquam quod 
 intra praesidia Majestatis tuae tutus esse debeam,) sciat is se 
 contra morem et disciplinam militias facere. Ego enim bucci- 
 nator tantum, pugnam non ineo ; unus fortasse ex iis de quibus 
 Homerus, 
 
 Xatpin KJjpfKJC, Aiog dyyt\oi r'/dk Kal dvSp&v : 1 
 
 hi enim inter hostes, etiam infensissimos et acerbissimos, ultro 
 citroque inviolati ubique commeabant. Neque vero nostra 
 buccina homines advocat et excitat ut se mutuo contradictio- 
 
 1 Horn. II. i. 334. 
 ft 2
 
 580 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 nibus proscindant, aut secum ipsi praelientur et digladientur ; 
 sed potius ut pace inter ipsos facta conjunctis viribus se adver- 
 sus Naturam Rerum comparent, ejusque edita et munita ca- 
 piant et expugnent, atque fines imperil humani (quantum Deus 
 Opt Max. pro bonitate sua indulserit) proferant. 
 
 Veniamus nunc ad earn scientiam ad quam nos ducit oracu- 
 lum antiquum ; nempe ad scientiam nostri. Cui, quo magi,s 
 nostra intersit, eo incumbendum est diligentius. Haec scientia 
 Homini pro fine est scientiarum ; at Naturae ipsius portio tan- 
 turn. Atque hoc pro regula ponatur generali ; quod omnes 
 scientiarum partitiones ita intelligantur et adhibeantur, ut 
 ecientias potius signent aut distinguant quam secent et divel- 
 lant; ut perpetuo evitetur Solutio Continuitatis in Scientiis. 
 Hujus etenim contrarium particulares scientias steriles reddidit, 
 inanes, et erroneas ; dum a fonte et fomite communi non alun- 
 tur, sustentantur, et rectificantur. Sic videmus Ciceronem 
 oratorem de Socrate et ejus schola conquerentem, quod hie 
 primus Philosophiam a Rhetorica disjunxerit; unde facta sit 
 Rhetorica ars loquax et inanis. 1 Constal similiter sententiam 
 Copernici de Rotatione Terras (quae nunc quoque invaluit), 
 quia phaenomenis non repugnat, ab Astronomicis Principiis non 
 posse revinci ; a Naturalis tamen Philosophise Principiis, recte 
 positis, posse. Artem denique Medicam videmus, si a Naturali 
 Philosophia destituatur, empiricorum praxi haud multum prae- 
 stare. Hoc igitur posito, accedamus ad Doctrinam de Homine. 
 Ea duplex est. Aut enim contemplatur Hominem segrega- 
 tum, aut congregatum atque in societate. Alteram harum 
 Philosophiam Humanitatis, alteram Civilem vocamus. Philo- 
 sophia Humanitatis, sive Humana, ex partibus similibus illis, 
 ex quibus Homo ipse, consistit ; nempe ex scientiis quae circa 
 Corpus, et ex scientiis quae circa Animam versantur. Verum 
 priusquam distribution es particulares persequamur, constitua- 
 mus scientiam unam generalem de Natura et Statu Hominis ; 
 digna enim certe res est ut emancipetur hasc scientia et in 
 scientiam seorsum redigatur. Conficitur autem ilia ex iis rebus 
 quae sunt tarn corpori quam animae communes. Rursus, hsec 
 scientia de Natura et Statu Hominis distribui potest in duas 
 partes; attribuendo alteri naturam hominis indivisam, alteri 
 vinculum ipsum animae et corporis ; quarum prunam doctrinam 
 
 1 Cicero De Orat. iii. c. 19.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 581 
 
 de Persona Hominis, secundam doctrinam de Foedere voca- 
 bimus. Liquet autem hasc omnia, cum sint communia et mixta, 
 primae illi division! scientiarum circa Corpus et scientiarum 
 circa Animam versantium assignari non potuisse. 
 
 Doctrina de Persona Hominis duas res praecipue complecti- 
 tur ; contemplationes scilicet de Miseriis Humani Generis, et de 
 ejusdem Praerogativis sive Excellentiis. 1 Atque deploratio 
 humanarum aerumnarum eleganter et copiose a compluribus 
 adornata est, tarn in scriptis philosophicis quam theologicis. 
 Estque res et dulcis simul et salubris. 
 
 At ilia altera de Praerogativis digna visa res nobis, quae inter 
 Desiderata proponatur. Elegantissime certe Pindarus (ut ple- 
 rumque solet) inter laudandum Hieronem ait, eum decerpere 
 summitates ex omnibus virtutibus* Equidem plurimum ad 
 magnanimitatem et humanum decus conferre posse putarem, si 
 ultimitates (ut loquuntur Scholastic!) sive summitates (ut Pin- 
 darus) humanae nature colligerentur ; praecipue ex historic 
 fide ; illud est, quid ultimum et supremum fuerit quo unquam 
 humana natura per se ascenderit, in singulis et corporis et 
 animi dotibus. Quanta res, quae de Caesare narratur, quod 
 amanuensibus quinque simul dictare suffecerit ? Quin et ex- 
 ercitationes illas antiquorum rhetorum, Protagorae, Gorgia3; 
 etiam philosophorum, Callisthenis, Posidonii, Carneadis, ut de 
 quovis themate in utramque partem ex-tempore disserere ele- 
 ganter et copiose potuerint, Ingenii Humani Vires baud parum 
 nobilitant. Res autem usu minor, at ostentatione et facultate 
 fortasse major, quam de Archia magistro suo memorat Cicero ; 
 eum magnum numerum optimorum versuum, de us rebus quce turn 
 agerentur, potuisse dicere ex-tempore. 3 Tot millibus hominum 
 nomina reddere potuisse Cyrum aut Scipionem, magnum memo- 
 ries decus. 4 At virtutum moralium palmae non minus celebres, 
 quam intellectualium. Quantam rem in exercitio patientice ex- 
 hibet historia ilia vulgata de Anaxarcho, qui quaestioni et tor- 
 
 1 Pascal has finely expressed the essential connexion which subsists between them. 
 " Toutes ces miseres," he remarks, speaking of man's life, " prouvent sa ^grandeur, 
 ce sont miseres de grand seigneur, miseres d'un roi depossede." Pensees, prem. 
 partie. 
 
 2 Find. Olymp. i. 20. 3 Cicero, pro Archia, c. 8. 
 
 4 Xenophon says that Cyrus knew the names of all the officers (4?p6m) in his 
 army ; later writers go much farther, and affirm that he knew the names of all his 
 soldiers. Compare Valerius Max. viii. 7. with Xenophon's statement, Cyrop. v. 3. 
 The same exaggeration occurs in Solinus, c. 5. : " Cyrus memoriae bono claruit, qui in 
 exercitu cui numerosissimo preefuit nominatim singulos alloqueretur." The Scipio 
 litre mentioned is Lucius Scipio Asiaticus. Vide Solin. ubi sup. or Pliny, vii. 34. 
 
 If 3
 
 582 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 mentis subjectus linguam (indicii spem) dentibus praescidit, et 
 in os tyranni exspuit. 1 Neque tolerantia cedit (licet dignitate 
 plurimum), quod saeculo nostro accidit in Burgundo quodam, 
 Principis Aurasionensis interfectore. 2 Is virgis ferreis flagel- 
 latus et forcipibus ignitis laceratus, nullum prorsus gemitum 
 edidit ; quinetiam cum forte fractum aliquid desuper in caput 
 adstantis cujuspiam incideret, ustulatus jam nebulo et in mediis 
 tormentis risit; qui tamen paulo ante, cum cincinni capillitii 
 quos gestabat tonderentur, fleverat. Animi quoque mira sere- 
 nitas et securitas, sub ipsum tempus mortis, in pluribus enituit ; 
 qualis fuit ilia centurionis apud Taciturn. Is cum a milite, qui 
 eum ex imperato occisurus esset, juberetur ut cervices porri- 
 geret fortiter, Utinam (inquit ille) tu tarn fortiter ferias. 3 At 
 Joannes Dux Saxonioe, cum inter ludum scacchorum diploma, 
 quo nex ejus in posterum diem mandabatur, allatum esset, 
 adstantem quendam ad se vocavit, et subridens, Specta, inquit, 
 num. non potiores paries ludi hujus teneam. Iste enim (ad collu- 
 sorem innuens), me mortuo,jactabit suas potiores paries fuisse.* 
 Noster vero Morus, Anglise Cancellarius, cum pridie quo mori- 
 turus esset tonsor ad eum veniret (missus scilicet ad hoc, ne 
 forte capillitio promisso esset apud populum in spectaculo mi- 
 serabilior) eumque interrogaret num tonderi placeret, renuit ; 
 atque ad tonsorem versus, Mihi, inquit, cum rege de capite meo 
 controversia est ; antequam vero ilia terminata fuerit, sumptus in 
 ittud non faciam. Quin et idem, sub ipsum mortis articulum, 
 postquam jam caput in truncum fatalem reclinasset, rursus se 
 paululum erexit, et barba quae ei erat promissior leniter amota, 
 At certe hcec, inquit, non offendit regem. Verum, ne hoc loco 
 longiores simus, satis patet quid velimus ; nempe ut Miracula 
 Natures Humana, viresque ejus et virtutes ultimae, tarn animi 
 quam corporis, in volumen aliquod colligantur; quod fuerit 
 
 1 The story is somewhat differently told by Diogen. Laert. ix. 69 ; but in Pliny 
 and Valerius Maximus we find it related as in the text A similar story is told of 
 Leaena in Elian's Hist. Var. 
 
 2 The person referred to is Balthazar Gerard of Franche Comte, who shot William 
 IX. Prince of Orange at Delft in 1584. Vide Histoire Generale des Pay* Bat, 
 v. 384. 
 
 3 Tac. Ann. xv. 67. In the same spirit Giordano Bruno told his judges that it 
 might well be that they had felt more fear in condemning him than he in hearing 
 himself condemned. 
 
 * The Elector of Saxony, of whom this story is told, was, in 1547, irregularly con- 
 demned to death by Charles V. The sentence was not executed ; and it seems doubt- 
 ful whether the Emperor ever intended that it should be. 
 
 According to De Thou, the Elector, after making some remark on the Emperor's 
 injustice, resumed and won the game.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 583 
 
 nstar Fastorum de Humanis Triumphis. Qua in re institutum 
 V^alerii Maximi et C. Plinii probamus, diligentiam et judicium 
 ^oruna requirimus. 
 
 Quantum ad doctrinam de Foedere, sive de Communi Vin- 
 3ulo Animje et Corporis, ea in duas partes tribui possit. Quem- 
 admodum enim inter foederatos intercedunt et mutua rerum 
 suarum communicatio et mutua officia, sic foedus istud animse et 
 corporis duabus sirniliter rebus continetur ; nimirum ut descri- 
 batur quomodo hcec duo (Anima scilicet et Corpus) se invicem 
 detegant ; et quomodo invicem in se agant ; Notitia sive Indica- 
 tione, et Impressione. Harum prior (descriptio scilicet, qualis 
 possit haberi notitia de anima ex habitu corporis, aut de corpore 
 ex accidentibus animi) duas nobis peperit artes ; utramque 
 Praedictionis ; inquisitionibus, alteram Aristotelis alteram Hip- 
 pocratis, decoratam. Quanquam autem tempora recentiora has 
 artes superstitiosis et phantasticis mixturis polluerint; repur- 
 gatae tamen ac in integrum restitutae, et fundanientum habent 
 in natura solidum, et fructum edunt ad vitam communem 
 utilem. Prima est Physiognomia, quas per corporis lineamenta 
 animi indicat propensiones ; altera Somniorum Naturalium In- 
 terpretatio, quae corporis statum et dispositionem ex animi 
 agitationibus detegit. In harum priore, partem nonnullam 
 desiderari perspicio. Siquidem Aristoteles ingeniose et solerter 
 corporis fabricam, dum quiescit, tractavit; eandem in motu 
 (nimirum gestus corporis) omisit ; qui tamen non minus artis 
 observationibus subjiciuntur, et majoris sunt usus. 1 Etenim 
 lineamenta corporis animi inclinationes et propensiones gene- 
 rales ostendunt ; oris autem et partium motus et gestus, in- 
 super aditus et tempora et praesentis dispositionis et voluntatis 
 signa declarant. Ut enim aptissimis atque elegantissimis Ma- 
 jestatis tuae verbis utar, Lingua aures ferit, gestus vero oculos 
 attoquitur. 2 Hoc vero bene norunt veteratores complures et 
 astuti homines, quorum oculi in aliorum vultu et gestibus ha- 
 bitant, idque in commodum suum trahunt ; utpote in quo fa- 
 cultatis et prudentias suae pars maxima vertatur. Nee sane 
 
 1 The physiognomical method of Aristotle consists chiefly in tracing the resemblances 
 which exist between different kinds of animals and different individuals of the human 
 species ; a method followed by later writers, particularly G. B. Porta, and Lebrun, whose 
 illustrations of his theory are well known, though the essay which they accompanied 
 seems to have been lost. 
 
 * " For as the tongue speaketh to the eares, so doeth the gesture speake to the eyes 
 of the auditour." Basilicon Doron, book iii. /. S. 
 
 p r 4
 
 584 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 negari potest hoc ipsum simulationis in altero indicem esse 
 mirificum, et monere homines optime de electionibus temporum 
 et opportunitatum adeundi personas ; quae civilis prudentiae 
 pars est non parva. Nemo autem putet hujusmodi solertiam 
 aliquid quidem valere circa homines individuos, sub regula 
 autem non cadere ; nam ad unum fere modum omnes ridemus, 
 et ploramus, et erubescimus, et frontem contrahimus ; et sic (ut 
 plurimum) de motibus subtilioribus. Si quis autem hie Chiro- 
 mantiae meminit, sciat rem esse prorsus vanam, et in hujusmodi 
 sermonibus quos tractamus nee dignam quidem quae nominetur. 
 Quod vero ad Somniorum Naturalium Interpretationem attinet, 
 res est quorundam laboribus pertractata, sed plurimis ineptiis 
 scatens. Illud tantum in praesentia innuo, basim illam huic rei 
 quae maxime est solida non substerni. Ea hujusmodi est : ubi 
 idem fit ab interna causa quod fieri quoque solet ab externa, 
 actus ille externus transit in somnium. Similis est stomachi 
 oppressio ex crasso vapore, atque incubitu ponderis externi ; 
 itaque qui incubo laborant pondus sibi superimponi, magno 
 cum apparatu circumstantiarum, somniant. Similis viscerum 
 pensilitas 1 ex fluctuum agitatione in mari, et ex flatu circa 
 praecordia collecto ; itaque hypochondriac! saepius navigationes 
 et agitationes super aquas somniant. Sunt et innumera id 
 genus. 
 
 Posterior pars doctrinae Focderis (quam Impressionem nomi- 
 navimus) in artem nondum redacta est ; sed obiter tantum et 
 carptim inter alios tractatus aliquando intervenit. Ilia eandem 
 antistrophen cum priori habet. Quippe duo considerat: aut 
 guomodo, et guousque, humores et temperamentum corporis immu- 
 tent animam, in eamque agant ; aut rursus, quomodo et quousque 
 animce passiones vel apprehensiones immutent corpus, et in illud 
 agant ? Horum prius in re medica interdum tractari videmus ; 
 at id ipsum se miris modis religionibus inseruit. Pharmaca 
 enim praescribunt medici, quae morbis animae persanandis inser- 
 viant, ut in curationibus maniae et melancholiae ; quinetiam 
 medicinas porrigunt ad animum exhilarandum, ad cor munien- 
 dum, atque inde fortitudinem augendam, ad ingenium acuen- 
 dum, ad memoriam roborandam, et similia. At diaetae, et 
 delectus ciborum et potuum, et ablutiones, et aliae circa corpus 
 
 1 By " viscerum pensilitas " Bacon means their not being supported from below, but 
 merely hanging from their attachments. See, in illustration of this phrase, the Sylva 
 Sylvarum (733).
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 585 
 
 observantiae, in secta Pythagorseorum, et in haeresi Manichaeo- 
 rum, et in lege Mahometi, omnem modum superant. 1 Ordina- 
 tiones quoque legis cseremonialis sanguinis et adipis esum 
 prohibentes, ac animalia munda ab immundis distinguentes 
 (quatenus ad cibi usum), et plurimae sunt et prsecisae. Imo 
 Christiana fides ipsa (quamvis a caeremoniarum nube libera 
 et serena) usum tamen retinet jejuniorum, abstinentiarum, et 
 aliarum rerum quae ad corporis macerationem et humiliation em 
 spectant, tanquam rerum non mere ritualium sed etiam fructuo- 
 sarum. Atqui radix omnium hujusmodi praaceptionum (praeter 
 ipsam caeremoniam, et exercitium obedientiae) in hac re con- 
 sistit, de qua loquimur ; nimirum, quod anima compatiatur 
 corpori. 2 Si quis autem judicio infirmior existimet istas cor- 
 poris in animam impressiones aut immortalitatem animae in 
 dubium revocare aut imperio animae in corpus derogare, levi 
 dubitationi leve responsum suffecerit. Exempla petat vel ab 
 infante in utero matris, qui simul cum matris affectibus compa- 
 titur 3 , et tamen e corpore matris suo tempore excluditur ; vel a 
 monarchis, qui, licet potentes, a servorum impetu quandoque 
 flectuntur, salva interim maj estate sua regia. 
 
 Jam quod ad partem reciprocam (de Anima et affectibus 
 ejus in Corpus agentibus), ilia quoque in medicina locum inve- 
 nit. Nemo enim medicus est paulo prudentior, quin Accidentia 
 Animi, ut rem maximi ad sanationes suas momenti, quaeque 
 omnia alia remedia plurimum vel adjuvet vel impediat, con- 
 sideret et tractet. At aliud quidpiam, quod hue pertinet, parce 
 admodum, nee pro rei vel subtilitate vel utilitate, inquisitum 
 est ; quatenus scilicet (missis affectibus) ipsa imaginatio animce, 
 vel cogitatio perquam Jixa, et veluti in Jidem quandam exaltata, 
 valeat ad immutandum corpus imaginantis ? Quamvis enim vim 
 habeat ad nocendum manifestam, haud tamen inde sequitur 
 pari potentia praeditum esse ad subveniendum ; non magis 
 hercle quam si quis concluserit, quoniam reperitur aliquis aer 
 ita pestilens ut subito interimat, debere quoque esse aliquem 
 aerem ita salubrem ut decumbentem subito restituat. Atque 
 
 1 All these are probably surpassed by the Institutes of Menu, so far as they relate to 
 the way of life of the Brahmins. 
 
 2 The difficulty of conceiving the nature of the reciprocal influence of the mind 
 and body led to its being altogether rejected by Malebranche and by Leibnitz. See 
 the Tkeodiccea of the latter for a statement of the three theories, namely that of phy- 
 sical influence, that of occasional causes, and that of pre-established harmony. 
 
 3 Having probably, as S. Thomas Aquinas tells us, the same guardian angel. See 
 his S. T. i. 113. 5.
 
 586 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 base inquisitio nobilis profecto esset usus ; verum (ut ait Socrates) 
 natatore Delia indiget, quia mergitur in profundo. 1 Rursus 
 inter has doctrinas de Foedere, sive consensibus animae et cor- 
 poris, non alia fuerit magis necessaria quam ilia disquisitio de 
 Sedibus propriis et Domiciliis quae singulae Animae Facilitates 
 babent in Corpore ejusque Organis. Quod genus scientiae qui 
 sectati fuerint, non desunt ; sed quae habentur in plerisque aut 
 contro versa sunt aut leviter inquisita ; ut majori diligentia et 
 acumine opus sit. Nam sententia introducta a Platone, qua 
 Intellectus in Cerebro, tanquam in arce, collocatus est ; Ani- 
 mositas (quam ille satis imperite Iracundiam vocavit, cum 
 Tumori et Superbiae sit propior) in Corde ; Concupiscentia 
 autem et Sensualitas in Jecinore ; neque prorsus contemnenda 
 est neque cupide recipienda. 2 Rursus, nee collocatio facul- 
 tatum illarum intellectualium (Phantasias, Rationis, Memoriae) 
 secundum Ventriculos Cerebri, erroris expers est. Atque 
 doctrinam de Natura Hominis indivisa, ac etiam de Fcedere 
 Animi et Corporis, explicavimus. 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Partitio Doctrince circa Corpus Hominis in Medicinam, Cosme- 
 ticam, Aihleticam, et Voluptariam. Partitio Medicines in 
 Officia tria : viz. in Conservationem Sanitatis, Curationem 
 Morborum, et Prolongationem Vitae : quodque pars postrema 
 de Prolongatione Vitas disjungi debeat a duabus reliquis. 
 
 DOCTEINA circa Corpus Hominis eandem recipit divisionem, 
 quam bona corporis ipsius quibus inservit. Bona corporis 
 humani quatuor sunt; Sanitas, Forma sive Pulchritudo, Vires, 
 Voluptas. Totidem igitur scientiae; Medicina, Cosmetica, 
 Athletica, et Voluptaria, quam Tacitus appellat eruditum 
 luxum? 
 
 Medicina ars inprimis nobilis, et ex generosissima prosapia 
 secundum poetas. Illi enim introduxerunt Apollinem prima- 
 rium medicinae deum ; cui filium dederunt ^Esculapium, deum 
 
 1 Socrates is said to have remarked on a treatise by Heraclitus, that it required a 
 Delian diver. The remark has, however, also been ascribed to Crates. See Diog. 
 Laert. ii. 22. and ix. 12. 
 
 * See the Timaeus, p. 71. 8 Tac. Ann. xvi. 18.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 587 
 
 itidem et medicinae professorem ; qulppe cum Sol in natura- 
 libus sit vitae author et fons, Medicus ejusdem conservator et 
 tanquam scaturigo altera. At decus longe illustrius accedit 
 medicinae ex operibus Servatoris, qui et animae et corporis 
 medicus fuit ; et sicut animam doctrinaa suae ccelestis, ita corpus 
 iniraculorum suorum, objectum veluti proprium constituit. 
 Nusquam enim legimus miraculum aliquod ab eo patratum 
 circa honores aut pecunias (praster unicum quo tributum redde- 
 retur Caesari), sed tantum circa corpus humanum aut conser- 
 vandum aut sustentandum aut persanandum. 
 
 Subjectum istud Medicinae (Corpus nimirum Humanum) ex 
 omnibus quae natura procreavit maxime est capax remedii; 
 sed vicissim illud remedium maxime est obnoxium errori. 
 Eadem namque subjecti subtilitas et varietas, ut magnam 
 medendi facultatem praebet, sic magnam etiam aberrandi faci- 
 litatem. Quocirca, quemadmodum ars ista (prassertim quo 
 nunc habetur modo) inter praecipue conjecturales, ita inqui- 
 sitio ejus reponenda est inter summe arduas et accuratas. 
 Neque propterea cum Paracelso 1 et Alchymistis ita desipi- 
 mus, ut putemus inveniri in corpore humano quae singulis 
 universitatis rerum speciebus (stellis, mineralibus, et aliis) 
 respondeant, sicut illi fabulantur; leviter et crassa Minerva 
 traducentes emblema illud veterum (quod homo esset Micro- 
 cosmus sive epitome totius mundi) ad hoc commentum suum. 
 Verum nihilominus hue res redit, ut (quod occcepimus dicere) 
 non inveniatur inter corpora naturalia aliquod tarn multipliciter 
 compositum quam Corpus Humanum. Videmus enim herbas 
 et plantas ex terra et aqua nutriri ; animalia ex herbis et fructi- 
 bus ; Hominem vero ex carnibus ipsorum animalium (quadru- 
 pedum, avium, piscium); etiam ex herbis, granis, fructibus, 
 succis et liquoribus variis; non sine multiplici commixtione, 
 conditura, et praeparatione horum corporum, priusquam homini 
 sint in cibum. Adde quod animalibus vivendi modus sit sim- 
 plicior, affectusque qui in corpus agant pauciores et ad unum 
 fere modum operantes ; ubi Homo locis habitationum, exercita- 
 tionibus, afFectibus, somno et vigiliis, vices prope infinitas varia- 
 rum mutationum subit. Usque adeo verum est, unam inter 
 res caeteras Corporis Humani massam maxime fermentatam et 
 ex plurimis coagmentatam esse. At Anima contra substantia- 
 rum est simplicissima, ut non male cecinerit ille ; 
 
 1 See note 3. p. 339. /. S.
 
 588 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 purumque reliquit 
 
 ./Ethereum sensum, atque aura'i simplicis ignem. 1 
 
 Unde minime est mirandum, Animam sic collocatam requiem 
 non invenire ; juxta axioma illud, Motum rerum extra locum esse 
 rapidum, placidum in loco. Verum ut ad rem redeamus. Varia 
 ista et subtilis Corporis Humani compositio et fabrica effecit, ut 
 sit instar organi musici operosi et exquisiti, quod harmonia sua 
 facile excidit. Quare apud poetas, summa ratione, Musica 
 cum Medicina in Apolline conjungitur; quia similis fere sit 
 utriusque artis Genius ; atque in eo consistat plane medici 
 officium, ut sciat humani corporis lyram ita tendere et pulsare 
 ut reddatur concentus minime discors et insuavis. Ergo de- 
 mum ista subject! inconstantia et varietas artem reddidit magis 
 conjecturalem ; ars autem tarn conjecturalis cum sit, locum 
 ampliorem dedit non solum errori, verum etiam imposture. 
 Siquidem omnes alias propemodum artes et scientist virtute sua 
 et functione, non successu aut opere, judicantur. Advocatum 
 ipsa agendi et dicendi facultas, non exitus causae, commendat ; 
 gubernator navis clavi tenendi peritia, non expeditionis for- 
 tuna, se probat. At Medicus, et fortasse politicus, vix habent 
 actiones aliquas proprias quibus specimen artis et virtutis sua? 
 liquido exhibeant ; sed ab eventu praecipue honorem aut dedecus 
 reportant, iniquissimo prorsus judicio. Quotus enim quisque 
 novit, segroto mortuo aut restitute, item republica stante vel 
 labante, utrum sit res casus an consilii ? Fit itaque saspissime 
 ut impostor palmam, virtus censuram, referat. Quin ea est 
 hominum infirmitas et credulitas, ut saepenumero agyrtam aut 
 sagam docto medico praeponant. Quare poetae oculati plane et 
 perspicaces fuisse videntur, cum .^Esculapio Circem sororem 
 dederunt, utrumque e Sole prognatum ; sicut habetur in ver- 
 sibus ; de JEsculapio Phoebigena, 
 
 Hie repertorem medicinae talis et artis 
 
 Fulmine Phoebigenam Stygfas detrusit ad undas ; 3 
 
 et similiter de Circe Solis filia, 
 
 Dives inaccessis ubi Solis filia lucis 
 
 Urit odoratam nocturna in lumina cedrum. 3 
 
 Omnibus enim temporibus, fama et opinione vulgi, sagas et 
 aniculae et impostores medicorum quodammodo rivales fuere, et 
 
 1 Virg. &n. vi. 747. * Yirg. Mn. vii 772. ' Virg. JEn. vii. il.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 589 
 
 de curationum celebritate cum iisdem fere certarunt. Ex hoc 
 die sodes quid sequitur? Nempe ut medici ita secum, quem- 
 admodum Salomon in re graviori, Si unus et stulti et meus 
 eventus erit, quid mihi prodest quod mqjorem sapientice dedi 
 operam ? 1 Equidem medicis minus succenseo, si saepenumero 
 vacent alicui alteri studio quod adamant, magis quam arti suas 
 propriae. Invenies etenim inter eos poetas, antiquarios, criticos, 
 rhetores, politicos, theologos, atque in iis artibus magis quam 
 in professione propria eruditos. Neque hoc fit, ut arbitror, 
 quia (ut quidam declamator contra scientias medicis objicit) 
 habeant quae sibi obversentur objecta tarn fceda et tristia, ut 
 animum ad alia abducere iis omnino sit opus; (nam qui ho- 
 mines sint niliil humani a se alienum putent^:} sed obhoc ipsum 
 de quo nunc agimus ; nempe quod arbitrentur parum ipsis in- 
 teresse vel ad existimationem vel ad lucrum, utrum artis suas 
 mediocritatem an perfectionem in ea majorem assequantur. 
 Morbi enim tsedia, vitas dulcedo, spei fallacia, et amicorum 
 commendatio, efficiunt ut homines facile in medicis qualibus- 
 cunque fiduciam collocent. 3 Verum si quis hasc attentius 
 perpendat, ea potius ad culpam medicorum quam ad culpae 
 excusationem spectant. Neque enim spem abjicere, sed vires 
 potius intendere debuerant. Nam si cui placet observationem 
 expergefacere suam et paulatim circumspicere, etiam ex exem- 
 plis obviis et familiaribus facile deprehendet quantum obtineat 
 imperii Intellectus Subtilitas et Acumen in varietatem sive 
 Materiae sive Formae Rerum. Nil magis varium quam homi- 
 num facies et vultus ; eorum tamen discrimina infinita retinet 
 memoria ; imo pictor ex pauculis colorum testis, acie oculi usus 
 et vi phantasiae et manus constantia, omnium facies qui sunt, 
 fuerunt, atque etiam (si coram repraesentarentur) qui futuri 
 sunt, penicillo imitari ac describere posset. Humana voce nil 
 magis varium ; hujus tamen discrimina in singulis personis 
 facile internoscimus ; quinetiam non desunt moriones et panto- 
 mimi quidam, qui quotquot libuerit reddere sciunt et ad vivum 
 exprimere. Nil magis varium quam soni articulati, verba 
 scilicet; via tamen inita est, ea reducendi ad paucas literas 
 alpliabeti. Atque illud verissimum est, non ex eo quod mens 
 
 1 Eccles. ii. 15. 
 
 2 Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto." Ter. ffeauton, i. 1. 25. 
 
 8 " Tant que les liommes mourront et aimeront a vivre," is the remark of a French 
 writer, " le medecin sera rail!6 et bien paye."
 
 590 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 humana sit minus subtilis aut capax, perplexitates et acatalepsias 
 in scientiis plerumque pro venire ; sed ex eo potius, quod ob- 
 jectum nimis in remoto collocatum sit. Sicut enim sensus 
 procul ab objecto dissitus plurimum fallitur, debite appropin- 
 quatus non multum errat ; ita fit in intellectu. Solent autem 
 homines naturam tanquam ex praealta turri et a longe despicere, 
 et circa generalia nimium occupari ; quando si descendere pla- 
 cuerit, et ad particularia accedere, resque ipsas attentius et 
 diligentius inspicere, magis vera et utilia fieret comprehensio. 
 Itaque hujus incommodi remedium non in eo solum est, ut 
 organum ipsum vel acuant vel roborent, sed simul ut ad ob- 
 jectum propius accedant. Ideoque dubitandum non est quin si 
 medici, missis paulisper istis generalibus, naturae obviam ire 
 vellent, compotes ejus fierent, de quo ait poeta, 
 
 Et quoniam variant morbi, variabimus artes ; 
 Mille mali species, mille salutis erunt. 1 
 
 Quod eo magis facere debent, quia philosophise ipsse quibus 
 innituntur medici, sive methodici sive chymici, (medicina autem 
 in philosophia non fundata res infirma est,) parvi revera sunt. 
 Quare si nimis generalia, licet vera forent, hoc vitium habeant, 
 quod non bene homines ad actionem deducant ; certe majus est 
 periculum ab illis generalibus quse in se falsa sunt, atque loco 
 deducendi seducunt. 
 
 Medicina igitur (uti perspeximus) adhuc taliter comparata 
 est, ut fuerit magis ostentata quam elaborata, etiam magis ela- 
 borata quam amplificata ; cum labores in earn insumpti potius in 
 circulo quam in progressu se exercuerint. Plurima enim in ea 
 yideo a scriptoribus iterata, addita pauca. Earn in tres partes 
 dividemus, quae tria ejus officia nominabimus. Primum est 
 Conservatio Sanitatis; secundum Curatio Morborum; tertium 
 Prolongatio Vitae. At istud postremum non videntur medici 
 tanquam partem principalem artis suae agnovisse, verum idem 
 reliquis duobus satis imperite immiscuisse. Putant enim, si 
 propulsentur morbi antequam ingruant, et curentur postquam 
 invaserint, prolongationem vitae ultro sequi. Quod licet minime 
 dubium sit, tamen parum acute prospiciunt horum utrumque ad 
 morbos tantum pertinere, et ad earn solummodo vitae prolonga- 
 tionem quae a morbis abbreviatur et intercipitur. Atqui filum 
 
 1 Bacon here probably intentionally deviates from the original, in which the first 
 line is, Et quoniam variant animi, variamus et artes. Vide Ovid. Remed. Amor. 525
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 591 
 
 ipsum vitae producere, ac mortem per resolutionem simplicem et 
 atrophiam senilem sensim obrepentem ad tempus summovere, 
 argumentum est quod nemo ex medicis pro dignitate tractavit. 
 Neque vero subeat animos hominum ille scrupulus, ac si hsec 
 res fato et Divinas Providentiae commissa in artis * officium et 
 munus jam primum a nobis revocaretur. Providentia enim 
 proculdubio mortes quascunque, sive ex violentia sive ex morbis 
 sive ex decursu aetatis, pariter regit ; neque tamen ideo prae- 
 ventiones et remedia excludit. Ars autem et industria humana 
 naturae et fato non imperant, sed subministrant. Verum de 
 hac parte paulo post dicemus ; haac tantum interea praefati, ne 
 quis tertium istud officium medicinae cum duobus prioribus 
 (quod fere adhuc factus est) imperite confundat. 
 
 Quod ad officium tuenda sanitatis attinet (ex officiis praedictis 
 Medicinae primum), multi de eo scripserunt, cum in aliis rebus 
 satis imperite, turn nimium (ut arbitramur) delectui ciborum, 
 minus quam par est quantitati eorum, tribuentes. Quin et in 
 quantitate ipsa, tanquam philosophi morales, mediocritatem 
 nimis laudarunt; cum et jejunia in consuetudinem versa et 
 victus liberalis cui quis assueverit melius sanitatem tueantur 
 quam istse mediocritates quae Naturam ignavam fere reddunt, 
 neque excessus neque indigentiae cum opus fuerit patientem. 
 Exercitationum autem species quae in sanitate tuenda plurimum 
 pollent, nemo ex medicis bene distinxit aut annotavit ; cum vix 
 inveniatur aliqua inclinatio in morbum quae non exercitatione 
 quadam propria corrigi possit. Morbis renum globorum lusus 
 convenit, pulmonum sagittatio, stomachi deambulatio et gestatio, 
 atque aliis alias. Verum cum haec pars, de Valetudinis Conser- 
 vatione, secundum totum tractata sit, defectus minores persequi 
 non est nostri instituti. 
 
 Quod vero ad Curationem Morborum attinet, ilia demum 
 pars est Medicines in qua plurimum laboris insumptum est, 
 licet fructu satis tenui. Continet autem doctrinam de morbis 
 quibus corpus humanum subjicitur ; una cum eorundem causis, 
 symptomatibus, et medelis. In hoc secundo officio medicinae, 
 multa sunt quas desiderantur. Ex his pauca sed maxime 
 insignia proponemus, quas enumerasse satis duxerimus absque 
 aliqua ordinis aut methodi lege. 
 
 Primum est, intermissio diligentiae illius Hippocratis, utilis 
 admodum et accuratae, cui moris erat narrativam componere 
 oasuum circa asgrotos specialium; referendo qualis fuisset morbi
 
 592 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 natura, qualis medicatio, qualis eventus. 1 Atque hujus rei 
 nactis nobis jam exemplum tarn proprium atque insigne, in 
 eo scilicet viro qui tanquam parens artis habitus est, minime 
 opus erit exemplum aliquod forinsecum ab alienis artibus 
 petere ; vehiti a prudentia jurisconsultorum, quibus nihil 
 antiquius quam illustriores casus et novas decisiones scriptis 
 mandare, quo melius se ad futures casus muniant et instruant. 
 Istam proinde Continuationem Medicinalium Narrationum de- 
 siderari video ; pra3sertim in unum corpus cum diligentia et 
 judicio digestam; quam tamen non intelligo ita fieri debere 
 amplam, ut plane vulgata et quae quotidie obveniant excipiat 
 (id enim infinitum quiddam esset, neque ad rem) ; nee rursus 
 tarn angustam, ut solummodo mirabilia et stupenda (id quod a 
 nonuullis factum est) complectatur. Multa enim in modo rei 
 et circumstantiis ejus nova sunt, quae in genere ipso nova 
 non sunt. Qui autem ad observandum adjiciet animum, ei 
 etiam in rebus quae vulgares videntur multa observatu digna 
 occurrent. 
 
 Item in Disquisitionibus Anatomicis fieri solet, ut quas 
 corpori humano in universum competant, ea diligentissime 
 usque ad curiositatem et in minimis quibusque notentur ; at 
 circa varietatem quae in diversis corporibus reperitur, medi- 
 corum diligentia fatiscit. Ideoque Anatomiam Simpliceni 
 luculentissime tractari assero, Anatomiam Comparatam desi- 
 derari statuo. Partes enim singulas recte perscrutantur 
 homines, earumque consistentias, figuras, situs; sed illarum 
 partium diversam in diversis hominibus figuram et conditionem 
 minus observant. Atque hujus omissionis causam non aliam 
 esse arbitramur, quam quod ad primam inquisitionem inspectio 
 unius aut alterius anatomise sufficere possit; ad posteriorem 
 vero (quae comparativa est, et casum recipit) necesse est ut 
 plurimarum dissectionum attenta et perspicax observatio ad- 
 hibeatur. Prior etiam res est, in qua homines docti in praa- 
 lectionibus suis et in coetu astantium se jactare possunt; at 
 secunda ea est, quae tacita et diutina experientia tantum acquiri 
 potest. Illud interea minime dubium est, quod internarum 
 partium figura et structura parum admodum externorum 
 membrorum varietati et lineamentis cedat ; quodque corda aut 
 jecinora aut ventriculi tarn dissimilia sint in hominibus, quam 
 
 1 See Hippocrates De Epidemiis, of which however, only the first and third books 
 appear to be his. The other five also contain a variety of cases.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 593 
 
 aut frontes aut nasi aut aurcs. Atque in his ipsis differentiis 
 partium internarum reperiuntur saepius causes continentes l 
 multorum morborum ; quod non attendentes medici humores 
 interdum minime delinquentes criminantur ; cum ipsa mechanica 
 partis alicujus fabrica in culpa sit. In quorum morborum 
 cura opera luditur, si adhibeantur medicinaa alterantes (quia 
 res alteration em non recipit) ; sed emendanda res est, et ac- 
 commodanda seu pallianda per victus regimen et medicinas 
 familiares. Similiter, ad Anatomiam Comparatam pertinent 
 accurataj observationes tarn humorum omnigenum, quam 
 vestigiorum et impressionum morborum in corporibus variis 
 dissectis. Etenim Humores in anatomiis tanquam purgamenta 
 et fastidia fere praetermitti solent ; cum tamen inprimis neces- 
 sarium sit notare quales et quam multiplices sint humorum 
 differentium species (non nimium in hac re tribuendo divi- 
 sionibus eorum receptis) qui in corpore humano aliquando 
 inveniantur ; et in quibus cavitatibus et receptaculis quilibet 
 ipsorum sedes et nidulos suos figere potissimum soleat ; quoque 
 juvamento, aut damno; atque his similia. Itidem vestigia et 
 impressiones morborum, et interiorum partium ab iis Isesiones 
 et devastationes, in diversis anatomiis cum diligentia notanda ; 
 nempe apostemata, ulcera, solutiones continuitatis, putrefacti- 
 ones, exesiones, consumptiones ; rursus, contractions, exten- 
 siones, convulsiones, luxationes, dislocation es, obstructiones, 
 repletiones, tumores; una cum omnibus materiis praeterna- 
 turalibus quae in corpore humano inveniuntur (veluti calculis, 
 carnositatibus, tuberibus, vermibus, ethujusmodi); hsec(inquam) 
 omnia, et his similia, per earn quam diximus Anatomiam 
 Comparatam et multorum medicorum experimenta in unum 
 collata, magna cum cura perquiri et componi debent. At 
 Varietas ista Accidentium in Anatomicis aut perfunctorie 
 tractatur, aut silentio prseteritur. 
 
 De illo vero altero det'ectu circa Anatomiam (nempe quod 
 non fieri consueverit in corporibus vivis) quid attinet dicere? 
 Res enim haec odiosa et barbara, et a Celso recte damnata. 2 
 Neque tamen illud minus verum est (quod annotatum fuit 
 
 1 This phrase is taken from Celsus: " Igitur hi qui rationalem medicinam profi- 
 tentur hac necessaria esse proponunt : Abditarum et morbos continentium causarum 
 notitiam, deinde evidentium," &c. Celsus, Pracfutio. 
 
 " Incidere autem vivorura corpora et crudele et supervacuum est" Celsius, 
 Prafatio. 
 
 VOL. I. Q Q
 
 594 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIA.RUM 
 
 a priscis) poros complures et meatus et pertusiones, quae sunt 
 ex subtilioribus, in anatomicis dissectionibus non comparere; 
 quippe quae in cadaveribus occluduntur et latent; cum in 
 viventibus dilatentur, et possent esse conspicui. 1 Itaque ut 
 et usui consulatur simul et humanitati, non est omnino rejici- 
 enda Anatomia Vivorum, neque ad fortuitas chirurgicorum 
 inspectiones (quod Celsus fecit) remittenda ; cum hoc ipsum 
 bene expediri possit per dissectionem brutorum vivorum quae, 
 non obstante suarum partium dissimilitudine ab humanis, huic 
 inquisitioni adhibito judicio satisfacere possint. 2 
 
 Item in inquisitione illorum de Morbis, inveniunt morbos 
 complures quos insanabiles decernunt, alios jam inde a prin- 
 cipio morborum, alios post talem quampiam periodum. Ita 
 ut L. Syllae et Triumvirorum proscriptioues res nihili fuerint 
 prae medicorum proscriptionibus, per quas tot homines iniquis- 
 simis edictis morti dedunt; quorum tamen plurimi minore 
 cum difficultate evadunt, quam illi olim inter proscriptiones 
 Romanas. Neque igitur dubitabo inter Desiderata reponere 
 opus aliquod de Curationibus Morborum qui habentur pro 
 Insanabilibus ; ut evocentur et excitentur medici aliqui egregii 
 et magnanimi, qui huic operi (quantum largitur natura rerum) 
 incumbant ; quando hoc ipsum, istos morbos pronunciare insa- 
 nabiles, neglectum et incuriam veluti lege sanciat, et igno- 
 rantiam ab infamia eximat. 
 
 Item, ut paulo ulterius insistam ; etiam plane censeo ad 
 officium medici pertinere, non tantum ut sanitatem restituat, 
 verum etiam ut dolores et cruciatus morborum mitiget; 
 neque id ipsum solummodo cum ilia mitigatio doloris, 
 veluti symptomatis periculosi, ad convalescentiam faciat et 
 conducat ; imo vero cum, abjecta prorsus omni sanitatis spe, 
 excessum tantum praebeat e vita magis lenem et placidum. 
 Siquidem non parva est foelicitatis pars (quam sibi tantopere 
 
 1 This difficulty is almost entirely removed by the perfection to which the art of 
 making anatomical preparations has been brought. Berengario of Carpi, who died at 
 Ferrara in 1550, is said to have been the first person who made use of injections in 
 order to render the vessels visible. He employed water (probably coloured ) for this 
 purpose. Swammerdam was the first to inject with wax. In one branch of anatomy, 
 namely the doctrine of the development of the osseous parts, the use of madder in the 
 food of the living animal has led to very curious results. It stains the portions of bone 
 developed during its use of a bright red. Duhamel was the first to use this means of 
 studying the growth of bone. Flourens has also employed it. 
 
 Even this in the extent to which it has been carried appears to stand much in 
 need of an apology ; and it is satisfactory to find that one of our best anatomists seems 
 o think so. I refer to Brodie's Physiological Enquiries.
 
 LIBER, QUARTUS. 595 
 
 precari solebat Augustus Csesar) ilia Euthanasia ' ; quae etiam 
 observata est in excessu Antonini Pii, quando non tarn mori 
 videretur quam dulci et alto sopore excipi. Scribitur etiam 
 de Epicure, quod hoc ipsum sibi procuraverit ; cum enim 
 morbus ejus haberetur pro desperate, ventriculum et sensus 
 meri largiore haustu et ingurgitatione obruit; unde illud in 
 epigrammate, 
 
 hinc Stygias ebrius hausit aquas. 8 
 
 Vino scilicet Stygii laticis amaritudinem sustulit. At nostris 
 temporibus medicis quasi religio est, cegrotis postquam deplorati 
 sint assidere ; ubi meo judicio, si officio suo atque adeo huma- 
 nitati ipsi deesse nolint, et artem ediscere et diligentiam prae- 
 stare deberent, qua animam agentes facilius et mitius e vita 
 demigrent. Hanc autem partem, inquisitionem de Euthanasia 
 Exteriori (ad differentiam ejus Euthanasias qua? animae praspa- 
 rationem respicit) appellamus, eamque inter Desiderata repo- 
 nimus. 
 
 Item in Curationibus Morborum illud generaliter desiderari 
 reperio ; quod medici hujusce aetatis, licet Generales Intentiones 
 Curationum non male persequantur, Particulares tamen Medi- 
 cinas quas ad curationes morborum singulorum proprietate 
 quadam spectant, aut non bene norunt aut non religiose 
 observant. Nam medici traditionum et experientiae probatas 
 fructum magistralitatibus suis destruxerunt et sustulerunt ; 
 addendo et demendo et mutando circa medicinas, prout iis 
 libitum fuerit; et fere pharmacopoeorum more quid pro quo 
 substituendo ; ita superbe imperantes medicines, ut medicina 
 non amplius imperet morbo. Demptis enim Theriaca et Mi- 
 thridatio et fortasse Diascordio et Confectione Alkermes 3 et 
 paucis aliis medicinis, ad nulla fere certa pharmaca se religiose 
 
 1 " Fere quoties audisset cito ac nullo cruciatu defunctum quempiam sibi et suis 
 fi/Bavaaiav similem (hoc enim et verbo uti solebat) precabatur." Suet, in Aug. 
 c. 99. 
 
 And so when life's sweet fable ends 
 His soul and body part like friends, 
 No quarrels, murmurs - no delay 
 A kiss, a sigh, and then away. 
 
 CRASHAW : Lines prefixed to the English 
 translation of Cornaro. 
 
 2 See for this story Diog. Laert. x. 16.; the words quoted are the end of the mo- 
 dern Latin version of an epigram there given. The original contains nothing which 
 corresponds to the word ebrius, which in the more recent editions of Diog. Laert. is 
 replaced by Jcetius. Gassendi in his essay on Epicurus substitutes protinus. 
 
 3 Theriaca, from which treacle is a corruption, is the name of a nostrum invented by 
 Andromachus, who was physician to Nero. For an account of the history and composition 
 
 QQ 2
 
 596 DE AUGMENT-IS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 et severe astringunt. Nam medicamenta ilia quas in offici- 
 nis prostant venalia, potius in promptu sunt ad intentiones 
 generates, quam accommodata et propria ad curationes par- 
 ticulares; siquidem speciatim nullum morbum magnopere 
 respiciunt; verura generatim ad obstructiones aperiendas, 
 concoctiones confortandas, intemperies alterandas pertinent. 
 Atque hinc praecipue fit, ut empirici et vetulas saepenumero 
 in curandis morbis foelicius operentur quam medici eruditi ; 
 quia medicinarum probatarum confectionem et compositionem 
 fideliter et scrupulose retinent. Equidem memini medicum 
 quendam apud nos in Anglia, practica celebrem, religione 
 prope Judaeum, librorum lectione tanquam Arabem, solitum 
 dicere, Medici vestri Europcei sunt quidem viri docti : sed non 
 norunt particulares curationes morborum. Quinetiam idem 
 ludere solebat, parum decore, dicendo, Medicos nostros simi- 
 les esse Episcopis : liyandi et solvendi claves habere, et nihil 
 amplius. Sed ut serio quod res est dicamus; plurimum 
 referre censemus, si rnedici aliqui, et eruditione et practica 
 insigniores, opus aliquod conficiant de medicinis probatis 
 et experimentalibus ad morbos particulares. Nam quod spe- 
 ciosa quis ratione nixus existimet decere medicum doctum 
 (habita ratione complexionis aegrorum, aetatis, tempestatis 
 anni, consuetudinum, et hujusmodi) potius medicinas ex tern- 
 pore aptare, quam certis aliquibus praescriptis insistere; id 
 fallax res est, et experientiae non satis attribuit, judicio plus 
 nimis. Sane quemadmodum in republica Romana cives erant 
 utilissimi et optime compositi qui aut consules populo favebant, 
 aut tribuni in partes senatus inclinabant ; ita in hac materia de 
 qua agimus medicos eos probamus qui aut in magna eruditione 
 traditiones experientiae plurimum faciunt, aut in practica insigni 
 saethodos et generalia artis non aspernantur. Modificationes 
 vero medicinarum (si quando sit opus eas adhibere) potius in 
 vehiculis earum exercendae sunt, quam in ipso corpore medi- 
 cinarum ; in quo nil novandum, absque evidenti necessitate. 
 Hanc igitur partem, quoe de Medicinis Authenticis et Positivis 
 tractet, desiderari statuimus. Res autem est, quae tentari non 
 
 of mithridaticura, see Celsus, v. 23. The invention of what was called diascordium is 
 ascribed to Fracastorius, who speaks of it as " Diascordium nostrum " in his De Cont. 
 Morb. Cur. iii. 7. The confection of Alkermes in its original form seems to have 
 been invented by Mesne, an Arabian physician. About Bacon's time what was called 
 mineral kermes, which was a preparation of antimony, was a popular medicine, but it 
 s probable that he here refers either to the confection of Mesne or to some modifica- 
 tion of it
 
 LIBER QTJARTUS. 597 
 
 debet absque acri et sevcro judicio, et tanquam in synodo 
 raedicorum selectorum. 
 
 Item inter praeparationes medicinarum, mirari subit (prae- 
 sertim cum Medicinae ex Mineralibus a Chymicis in tantum 
 evectae et celebratae sint 1 , ciunque tales medicinae tutius 
 adhibeantur ad exteriora quam intro sumantur) neminem 
 adhuc inventum, qui per artem Thermas Naturales et Fontes 
 Medicinales imitari annixus fuerit ; cum tamen in confesso sit 
 thermas illas et fontes virtutes suas ex venis mineralhim, per 
 quas permeant, nancisci ; quinetiam, in manifestum hujus rei 
 documentum, bene norit humana industria discernere et distin- 
 guere per separationes quasdam ex quo genere mineralium 
 hujusmodi aquae inficiantur; veluti an ex sulphure, vitriolo, 
 chalybe, aut aliquo simili? Qute naturalis aquarum tinctura, 
 si ad artificiosas compositiones reduci posset, fuerit in potestate 
 hominis et plura genera earum prout usus postulat efficere, et 
 temperamentum ipsarum pro arbitrio regere. Hanc igitur 
 partem, de Imitatione Naturae in Balneis Artificialibus (re 
 proculdubio et utili et in promptu) desiderari censemus. 
 
 Ne vero singula scrupulosius exequamur quam vel institute 
 nostro vel hujusce tractatus naturae convenit, claudemus hanc 
 partem defectus alterius cujusdam enumeratione, qui maximi 
 nobis videtur momenti ; nimirum quod medendi ratio, quae ob- 
 tinuit, sit nimio plus compendiosa quam ut insigne aliquid aut 
 arduum prasstare possit. Etenim judicio nostro opinio fuerit 
 magis blanda quam vera, si quis existimet medicamentum 
 aliquod tarn potens aut fcelix fieri posse, ut usus ejus simplex 
 curationi alicui grandiori sufficiat. Mirabilis profecto foret 
 oratio quae pronunciata, aut etiam srepius repetita, vitiurn 
 aliquod animo penitus insitum aut inveteratum corrigere aut 
 tollere possit. Longe certe abest. Verum quae in natura 
 eximie possunt et pollent, sunt ordo, prosecutio, series, vicissi- 
 tude artificiosa. Quaa, licet majus quoddam in prascipiendo 
 judicium majoremque in parendo constantiam requirant, tamen 
 efFectuum magnitudine abunde rem compensant. Etsi autem 
 ex opera medicorum quotidiana, quam invisendo, assidendo, 
 praoscribendo, aegrotis praestant, putaret quispiam haud segniter 
 ipsos curationem persequi atque in eadem certa quadam via 
 
 1 The school of medicine of which Paracelsus was the head distinguished itself from 
 the Galenists, who had chiefly recourse to vegetable decoctions and infusions, by the 
 use of mineral medicines. This school has been called that of the latro-chemists. 
 
 QQ 3
 
 598 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 insistere ; tamen si quis ea quae praescribere et ministrare 
 soleant medici acutius introspiciat, inveniet pleraque vacilla- 
 tionis et inconstantiae plena, et quae ex tempore excogltentiir 
 et in mentem illis veniant absque certo aliquo aut prasviso 
 curationis tramite. Debuerant autem etiam ab initio, post 
 morbum bene perspectum et cognitum, seriem curandi ordinatam 
 meditari; neque ab ea absque gravi causa discedere. Atque 
 sciant pro certo medici, posse (exempli gratia) tria fortasse aut 
 quatuor medicamenta ad morbum aliquem gravem curandum 
 recte prasscribi, qua? debito ordine et debito intervallo sumpta 
 curationem prasstent ; quorum singula s"i per se tantum sume- 
 rentur, aut si ordo inverteretur, aut inter vallum non servaretur, 
 fuerint prorsus nocitura. Neque tamen id volumus, ut omnis 
 scrupulosa et superstitiosa curandi ratio in pretio sit tanquam 
 optima (non magis quam omnis via arcta via sit ad ccelum): 
 verum ut aeque recta sit via, ac arcta et difficilis. Hanc autem 
 partem, quam Filum Medicinale vocabimus, desiderari ponimus. 
 Atque ha3C ilia sunt, quae in doctrina medicinae de Curatione 
 Morboram desideramus ; nisi quod restet unicum, quod plu- 
 ris est quam ilia omnia. Desideratur nimirum Philosophia 
 Naturalis Vera et Activa, cui Medicinae scientia inasdificetur. 
 Cseterum ilia non est hujusce tractatus. 
 
 Tertiam partem Medicinae posuimus illam de Prolongations 
 VitcB, quae nova est, et desideratur ; estque omnium nobilissima. 
 Si enim tale aliquid inveniri possit, non versabitur tantum me- 
 dicina in curationum sordibus, nee medici ipsi propter neces- 
 ^itatem solummodo honorabuntur ; sed utique propter donum 
 mortalibus ex terrenis quasi maximum, cujus poterint esse 
 secundurn Deum dispensatores et administri. Licet enim Mun- 
 dus homini Christiano ad Terram Promissionis contendenti 
 tanquam Eremus sit, tamen in Eremo ipso profiscentibus cal- 
 ceos et vestes (corpus scilicet nostrum, quod animae loco 
 tegminis est) minus atteri, Gratiae Divinae munus quoddam 
 aestimandum. Hac de re, quia est .ex optimis, eamque inter 
 Desiderata posuimus, ex more nostro et Monita dabimus et 
 Indicia et Prascepta. 
 
 Primo monemus, ex scriptoribus circa hoc argumentum nemi- 
 nem esse, qui aliquid magni, ne dicamus aliquid sani, repererit. 
 Aristoteles certe commentarium de hoc edidit perpusillum, in 
 quo nonnihil inest acuti; quod ipse omnia esse vult, ut solet. 1 
 
 1 Aristotle's tract De Long. Brev. Vita, which, as Bacon remarks, is very brief
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 599 
 
 At recentiores tarn oscitanter et superstitiose de hoc scripse- 
 runt, ut argumentum ipsum ob eorum vanitatem tanquam 
 vanum et vecors haberi cceperit. 
 
 Secundo monemus, ipsas intentiones quae hue spectant me- 
 dicorum res nihili esse, et cogitationes hominum a re potius 
 abducere quam versus earn dirigere. Sermocinantur enim, 
 mortem in destitutione calidi et humidi consistere ; debere 
 itaque calorem naturalem confortari, humorem autem radicalem 
 foveri. Perinde ac si haec res jusculis, aut lactucis et malvis, 
 nut amydo 1 , aut jujubis, aut rursus aromatibus, aut vino gene- 
 roso, aut etiam spiritu vini et oleis chymici c onfici possit ; 
 quoe omnia obsunt potius quam prosunt. 
 
 Tertio monemus, ut homines nugari desinant, nee tarn faciles 
 sint ut credant grande illud opus, quale est naturae cursum 
 remorari et retrovertere, posse haustu aliquo matutino aut usu 
 alicujus pretiosae medicinae ad exitum perduci ; non auro pota- 
 bili, non margaritarum essentiis, et similibus nugis ; sed ut pro 
 certo habeant Prolongationem Vitae esse rem operosam, et quas 
 ex compluribus remediis atque eorum inter se connexione idonea 
 constet. 2 Neque enim quisquam ita stupidus esse debet, ut 
 credat quod nunquam factum est adhuc, id fieri jam posse, nisi 
 per modos etiam nunquam tentatos. 
 
 Quarto monemus, ut homines rite animadvertant et distin- 
 guant circa ea quae ad vitam sanam, et ea quaa ad vitam longam, 
 conferre possunt. Sunt enim nonnulla quae ad spirituum alacri- 
 tatem, et functionum robur, et morbos arcendos prosunt ; quse 
 tamen de summa vitas detrahunt, et atrophiam senilem absque 
 morbis accelerant. Sunt et alia quoe ad prolongationem vitae et 
 atrophiam senilem longius summovendam juvant; sed tamen 
 non usurpantur absque periculo valetudinis, adeo ut qui iis 
 utentur ad prolongationem vitae debeant simul incommodis 
 occurrere, quae alioquin ex eorum usu supervenire possint. 
 Atque Monita hactenus dedimus. 
 
 relates to the length of life of all kinds of animals, and even of plants. Sanchez, a 
 Spanish physician, who wrote a treatise on the same subject, thus remarks on Aristo- 
 tle's : " Adeo longe breviterque disseruit Aristoteles, ut mirum sit tantum philosophum 
 tarn indigne rem hanc tractasse." Not long before the publication of the De Auy- 
 mentis, the Methusala Vivax of Dornavus was printed at Hanover ; it contains an in- 
 quiry as to the causes of antediluvian longevity ; Dornavus refutes the notion that 
 the years in which the ages of the Patriarchs are stated are in reality only lunations, 
 by referring to their, ages when their first-born sons were begotten. 
 
 1 This is manifestly a mistake for amyJo. Amylum, or starch, is mentioned by 
 Celsus as one of the " cibi lenes." 
 
 2 The matter is much simplified by the Schola Salernitana: 
 
 " Cur moriatur homo cui salvia crescit in horto ? " Reyimen Sanitatis 
 QQ 4
 
 600 DE AUGMENT1S SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Quod ad Indicia attinet; tale hujus rei (quam ammo meti- 
 mur) plasma est. Conservantur res et durant duobus modis ; 
 aut in Identitate sua, aut per Reparationem. In Identitate sua, 
 ut musca aut formica in succino ; flos aut pomuni aut lignum in 
 conservatoriis nivalibus ; cadaver inter balsama. Per Repara- 
 tionem, ut in flamma, et in mechanicis. Operanti ad Prolon- 
 gationem Vitae utroque genere utendum est (disjuncta minus 
 possunt), corpusque humanum conservandum, quemadmodum 
 Inanimata conservantur, ac rursus quemadmodum Flamma con- 
 servatur, ac denique quadantenus ut Mechanica conservantur. 
 Tres igitur sunt ad prolongandam vitam intentiones ; Retarda- 
 tio Consumptions, Probitas Reparationis, et Renovatio ejus 
 quod coepit veterascere. Consumptio fit a duabus Deprasdatio- 
 nibus ; depraedatione spiritus innati, et deprasdatione aeris am- 
 bientis. Prohibitio utriusque duplex ; aut si agentia ilia fiant 
 minus prsedatoria, aut si patientia (succi scilicet corporis) red- 
 dantur minus depraedabilia. Spiritus fit minus prasdatorius, si 
 aut substantia densetur, ut in usu opiatorum et nitratorum, et in 
 contristationibus ; aut quantitate minuatur, ut in diaetis Py thago- 
 ricis et Monasticis ; aut motu leniatur, ut in otio et tranquilli- 
 tate. Aer ambiens fit minus praedatorius, si aut minus incalescat 
 a radiis solis, ut in regionibus frigidioribus, in speluncis, in 
 montibus, et columnis anachoretarum ; aut summoveatur a cor- 
 pore, ut in cute densa, et in plumis avium, et in usu olei et 
 unguentorum absque aromatibus. Succi corporis redduntur 
 minus deprsedabiles, si aut duri facti sint, aut roscidi sive ole- 
 osi. Duri, ut in victu aspero, vita in frigido, exercitationibus 
 robustis, balneis quibusdam mineralibus. Roscidi, ut in usu 
 dulcium, et abstinentia a salsis et acidis, et maxime omnium in 
 tali mistione potus, quas sit partium valde tenuium et sub- 
 tilium, absque tamen omni acrimonia aut acedine. Reparatio 
 fit per Alimenta. Alimentatio autem promovetur quatuor mo- 
 dis : per concoctionem viscerum ad extrusionem alimenti, ut in 
 confortantibus viscera principalia; per excitationem partium 
 exteriorum ad attractionem alimenti, ut exercitationibus et 
 fricationibus debitis, atque unctionibus quibusdam et balneis 
 appropriatis ; per praeparationem alimenti ipsius, ut facilius se 
 insinuet et digestiones ipsas quadantenus anticipet, ut in va- 
 riis et artificiosis modis cibi condiendi, potus miscendi, panis 
 f crmentandi, et horum trium virtutes in unum redigendi ; per 
 confortationeni ipsius ultimi actus assimilationis, ut in soimio
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 601 
 
 tempestivo, et applicationibus quibusdam exterioribus. Reno- 
 vatio ejus quod ccepit veterascere fit duobus modis: vel per 
 intenerationem habitus corporis ipsius, ut in usu malacissa- 
 tionum ex balneis, emplastris, et unctionibus, quae talia sint'ut 
 imprimant, non extraliant ; vel per expurgationem succi ve- 
 teris, et substitutionem succi novi, ut in tempestivis et repetitis 
 purgationibus, sanguinis missionibus, et diaetis attenuantibus, 
 quae florem corporis restituunt. Atque de Indiciis hactenus. 
 
 Praecepta, quanquam ex ipsis Indiciis plurima possint deduci, 
 tria tamen veluti praecipua subjungere visum est. Prcecipimus 
 primo, ut prolongatio vitae expectetur potius a diaetis statis 
 quam a regimine aliquo victus familiari, aut etiam a medica- 
 mentorum particularium excellentia. Etenim quae tantavirtute 
 pollent ut naturam retrovertere valeant, fortiora plerumque 
 sunt et potentiora ad alterandum quam ut simul in aliqua medi- 
 cina componi, multo minus in victu familiari interspergi possint. 
 Superest itaque ut seriatim, et regulariter, et ad tempora certa 
 et vicibus certis recurrentia, adhibeantur. 
 
 Secundo prcecipimus, ut prolongatio vitae expectetur potius 
 ab operatione in spiritus, et a malacissatione partium, quam a 
 modis alimentandi. Etenim cum corpus humanum ejusque 
 fabrica (missis externis) a tribus patiatur, spfritibus scilicet, 
 partibus, et alimentis ; via prolongationis vitae per alimentandi 
 modos longa est, atque per multas ambages et circuitus ; at vias 
 per operationes super spiritus et super partes multo breviores 
 sunt, et quibus citius ad finem desideratum pervenitur; eo 
 quod spiritus subito patiantur et a vaporibus et ab affectibus, 
 quae miris modis in eos possunt; partes item per balnea aut 
 unguenta aut emplastra, qua? subitas etiam impressiones faciunt. 
 
 Tertio pracipimus, quod malacissatio partium per exterius 
 fieri debet per Consubstantialia, Imprimentia, et Occludentia. 
 Consubstantialia enim benevolo partium amplexu libenter exci- 
 piuntur, et proprie malacissant. Imprimentia autem et vir- 
 tutem malacissantium, tanquam vehicula, facilius et altius 
 deducunt, atque ipsa partes nonnihil expandunt. Occludentia 
 autem virtutem utrorumque retinent et paulisper figunt, et 
 perspirationem, quae est res malacissationi opposita (quia humi- 
 dum emittit), cohibent. Itaque per haec tria, (sed potius ordine 
 disposita et succedentia, quam commixta,) res absolvitur. In- 
 terim in hac parte monemus, non earn esse intentionem malacis- 
 sationis ut nutriat partes per exterius, sed tantum ut eas reddat
 
 602 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 magis idoneas ad nutriendum. Quidquid enim magis aridura 
 est, minus est activum ad assimilandum. Atque de Prolonga- 
 tione Vitse, quae est pars tertia Medicinae noviter ascripta, haec 
 dicta sint. 1 
 
 Veniamus ad Cosmeticam, qua? certe partes habet civiles, 
 partes rursus efFoeminatas. Corporis enim munditia et decor 
 honestus recte existimatur promanare a modestia quadam mo- 
 rum, et a reverentia; inprimis erga Deum, cujus creaturae 
 sumus ; turn erga societatem, in qua degimus ; turn etiam erga 
 nosmetipsos, quos non minus, imo magis, quam alios revereri 
 debemus. Verum adulterina ilia decoratio, quae fucos et pi- 
 gmenta adhibet, digna certe est illis defectibus qui earn semper 
 comitantur ; cum non sit aut ad fallendum satis ingeniosa, aut 
 ad utendum satis cornmoda, aut ad salubritatem satis tuta et 
 innocua. Miramur autem pravam hanc consuetudinem fucandi 
 leges censorias, tarn ecclesiasticas quam civiles, (quae alias in 
 luxuriam circa vestes aut cultus capillorum effceminatos admo- 
 dum fuerint severae) ita diu fugisse. Legimus certe de Jeza- 
 bele, quod pigmentis faciem obliverit; verum de Esthera et 
 Juditha nil tale perhibetur. 
 
 Pergamus ad Athleticam. Earn sensu intelligimus paulo 
 largiori, quam accipi consuevit. Hue enim referimus, quid- 
 quid versatur circa conciliandam qualerncunque (quam corpus 
 humanum suscipit) Habilitatem ; sive sit Agilitatis, sive Tole- 
 rantiaa. Quarum Agilitas duas habet partes, Robur et Veloci- 
 taterirj4ta Tolerantia itidem duas, vel Indigentiarum Naturalium 
 Patientiam, vel in Cruciatibus Fortitudinem. Quorum omnium 
 videnius saepenumero exempla insignia, in practica funanibulo- 
 rum ; in duro victu hominum quorundarn barbarorum ; in 
 stupendis viribus maniacorum; et in constantia nonnullorum 
 inter exquisita tormenta, Imo si aliqua alia reperiatur facul- 
 tas quae in priorem partitionem non cadit (qualis in Urinatori- 
 bus saepe conspicitur, qui mirifice anhelitum cohibere possunt), 
 ad hanc ipsam artem aggregari volumus. Atque quod talia 
 fieri quandoque possint, manifestissimum est ; at philosophia et 
 inquisitio causarum circa eadem fere neglecta jacet ; hanc arbi- 
 tramur ob causam, quod hominibus persuasum sit hujusmodi 
 magisteria naturae solumuiodo vel ex peculiari certorum homi- 
 num indole (quae sub disciplinam non cadit), vel a diutina ab 
 
 1 Compare Bacon's Hittoria Vita et Mortis, particularly for the view he takes of 
 the depredations of the animal spirits.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 603 
 
 annis usque puerilibus consuetudine (quae potius imperari quam 
 doceri solet), obtinere. Quod etsi verum prorsus non sit, 
 tamen defectus hujusmodi rerum quid attinet notare ? Certa- 
 mina enira Olympica jam diu cessarunt ; turn etiam in ejusmodi 
 rebus mediocritas sufficit ad usum, excellentia autem mercena- 
 riae cuidam ostentationi fere inservit. 
 
 Postremo accedimus ad Artes Voluptarias. Eae secundum 
 sensus ipsos dispertitaa sunt. Oculos oblectat praecipue Picto- 
 ria, cum aliis artibus innumeris (quae ad magnificentiam spectant) 
 circa aedificia, horfcos, vestes vasa, calices, gemmas, et similia. 
 Aures demulcet Musica, quse tanta vocum, spiritus, chordarum, 
 varietate et apparatu instructa est. Olim etiam Hydraulica 
 pro Coryphaeis quibusdam artis ejus habita sunt, quae nunc 
 prope obsoleverunt. Atque artes, quaa ad visum aut auditum 
 spectant, prae aliis prascipue liberales habitae sunt. Sensus hi duo 
 magis casti ; scientiae magis eruditae ; quippe qui etiam Mathe- 
 maticam veluti ancillam in familiis suis habeant. Etiam altera 
 ad memoriam et demonstrationes, altera ad mores et affectus 
 animi nonnihil respicit. Reliquorum sensuum oblectationes, 
 atque artes circa ipsos, minus in honore sunt ; veluti luxuriae 
 quam magnificentias propiores. Unguenta, odoramenta, deliciae 
 et cupediae mensarum, maxime autem incitamenta libidinis, re- 
 ctius censore quam doctore indigent. Optime sane a quibusdam 
 annotatum est, nascentibus et crescentibus rebuspublicis artes 
 militares florere, in statu et culmine positis liberales, at ad de- 
 clinationem et decasum vergentibus voluptarias. HaWPvero 
 aetas nostra, vereor ne tanquam in decasu fcelicitatis in artes 
 voluptarias inclinet. Quare ista missa faciamus. Cum Artibus 
 Voluptariis Joculares copulo. Deceptiones siquidem sensuum 
 inter delectationes sensuum reponendae sunt. 
 
 Jam vero, transcursis doctrinis illis circa Corpus Humanum 
 (Medicina, Cosmetica, Athletica, Voluptaria), illud obiter mo- 
 nemus: cum in corpore humano tot res in considerationem 
 veniant, Partes, Humores, Functiones, Facultates, Accidentia ; 
 cumque (si nobis integrum esset) constitui oportuisset corpus 
 unicum doctrinae de Corpore Humano, quae ista omnia com- 
 plecteretur (simile illi doctrinae de Anima de qua mox dicemus), 
 tamen ne artes nimis multiplicentur, neve veteres artium limites 
 (plus quam necesse fuerit) transponantur ; doctrinam de Parti- 
 bus Corporis Humani, de Functionibus, de Humoribus, de 
 Respiratione, de Sonino, de Generatione, de Fo3tu et Gesta-
 
 604 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tione in Utero, de Augmentis, de Pubertate, de Canitie, de 
 Impinguatione, et similibus, in Corpus Medicinae recipimus ; 
 licet ad officia ilia tria non proprie pertineant ; sed quia Corpus 
 ipsum Hominis sit per omnia Medicinae subjectum. Motum 
 autem Voluntarium, et Sensum, ad doctrinam de Anima rejici- 
 mus; siquidem Animae partes in his duobus sunt potiores. 
 Atque sic doctrinam, quae circa Corpus Hominis versatur, (quod 
 Animae pro tabernaculo duntaxat est,) claudimus. 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitio Philosophies Humana circa Animam, in Doctrinam de 
 Spiraculo et Doctrinam de Anima Sensibili sive Producta. 
 Partitio secunda ejusdem Philosophies in Doctrinam de Sub- 
 stantia et Facultatibus Animae et Doctrinam de Usu et Ob- 
 jectis Facultatum. Appendices dues, Doctrine de Facultatibus 
 AnimcB ; Doctrina de Divinatione Naturali, et Doctrina de 
 Fascinatione. Distributio Facultatum Animee Sensibilis, in 
 Motum et Sensum. 
 
 VENIAMUS ad doctrinam de Anima Humana ; e cujus thesauris 
 omnes caeterae doctrinae depromptae sunt. Ejus duae sunt partes ; 
 altera tractat de Anima Rationali, quae divina est; altera de 
 Irrationali, quae communis est cum brutis. Notavimus autem 
 paulo superius (ubi de Formis loquebamur) differentes illas 
 duas Animarum emanationes, quae in prima utriusque crea- 
 tione se dant conspiciendas ; nimirum, quod altera ortum ha- 
 buerit a Spiraculo Dei, altera e Matricibus Elementorum. 
 Nam de Animae Rationalis generatione primitiva ita ait Scri- 
 ptura, Formavit hominem de li.mo terra t et spiravit infaciem ejus 
 spiraculum vitce. At generatio Animse Irrationalis, sive Bruto- 
 rum, facta est per verba ilia, Producat aqua; Producat terra 1 ; 
 haec autem Anima (qualis est in homine) Animae Rational! 
 
 1 To the same effect S. Thomas Aquinas says: "Anima brutorum producitur ex 
 virtute aliqua corporea, anima vero humana a Deo. Et ad hoc signiflcandum dicitur 
 Gen. i. quantum ad alia animalia Producat terra animam viventem ; Quantum vero 
 ad hominem dicitur quod inspiravit in faciem ejus spiraculum vitfe." Sum. Theol. 
 i. 75. 6. 
 
 But the doctrine that in man there is an irrational soul, as in brutes, to which the 
 rational soul is a distinct addition, is not only not countenanced as M. Bouillet sup- 
 poses by S. Augustine and the schoolmen (see his edition of Bacon's philosophical 
 works, ii. p. 531.), but is distinctly condemned by them. Bacon derived it from 
 Telesius. See General Preface, p. 50.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 605 
 
 organum tantum est, atque originem habet et ipsa quoque, 
 quemadmodum in brutis, e limo terra?. Neque enim dictum 
 est, Formavit corpus hominis de limo terrce, sed Formavit liomi- 
 nem ; integrum scilicet hominem, excepto illo spiraculo. Quam- 
 obrern partem primam doctrinaa generalis circa Animam 
 Humanam, doctrinam de Spiraculo appellabimus ; Secundam 
 vero, doctrinam de Anima Sensibili sive Producta. Neque 
 tamen, cum hactenus Philosophiam solam tractemus (quippe 
 Sacram Theologiam in fine operis collocavimus) partitionem 
 istam a Theologia mutuarenms, nisi etiam cum principiis Phi- 
 losophic conveniret. Plurimoe enim et maxima? sunt Animas 
 Humanae prsecellentiae supra animas brutorum, etiam philo- 
 sophantibus secundum sensum manifestae. Ubicunque autem 
 tot et tantarum invenitur excellentiarum symbolum, ibi merito 
 semper constitui debet differentia specifica. Itaque nobis non 
 nimium placet confusa ilia et promiscua philosophorum de 
 Animas Functionibus tractatio ; ac si Anima Humana gradu 
 potius quam specie discriminata esset ab anima brutorum ; 
 non aliter quam sol inter astra, aut aurum inter metalla. 
 
 Subjungenda est etiam partitio alia Doctrinae Generalis circa 
 Animam Humanam, antequam de speciebus fusius loquamur. 
 Etenim quae de speciebus postea dicemus utramque partitionem, 
 turn illam quam jam modo posuimus, turn istam quam nunc 
 proponemus, simul tractabunt. Secunda igitur partitio sit, in 
 doctrinam de Substantia et Facultatibus Animae, et doctrinam 
 de Usu et Objectis Facultatum. 
 
 Praemissis itaque his partitionibus geminis, ad species acce- 
 damus. Doctrina de Spiraculo, eademque de Substantia Ani- 
 mae Rationalis, complectitur inquisitiones illas de natura ejus ; 
 utrum nativa sit ilia, an adventitia; separabilis, an insepara- 
 bilis ; mortalis, an immortalis ; quatenus legibus materice alligata, 
 quatenus minime ; et similia. Quae vero hujus sunt generis, 
 licet etiam in philosophia et diligentiorem et altiorem inquisi 
 tionem subire possint quam adhuc habetur, utcunque tamen in 
 fine religion! determinanda et diffinienda rectius transmitti 
 censemus. Aliter enim erroribus haud paucis et sensus illusi- 
 onibus onmino exponentur. Etenim cum Substantia Animae 
 in creation e sua non fuerit extracta aut deducta ex massa coeli 
 et terras, sed immediate inspirata a Deo ; cumque leges creli et 
 terrae sint propria subjecta philosophise ; quomodo possit cogni- 
 tio de Substantia Animae Rationalis ex philosophia peti et
 
 606 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 haberi? Quinimo ab eadem inspiratione divina hauriatur, a 
 qua Substantia Animae primo emanavit. 1 
 
 Doctrina vero de Anima Sensibili sive Producta, etiam qua- 
 tenus ad Substantiam ejus, vere inquiritur; at ea inquisitio 
 nobis quasi desiderari videtur. Quid enim ad doctrinam 
 de Substantia Animae faciunt Actus Ultimus et Forma Cor- 
 poris, et hujusmodi nugae logicae 2 ? Anima siquidem Sen- 
 sibilis sive Brutorum plane substantia corporea censenda 
 est, a calore attenuata et facta invisibilis; aura (inquam) 
 ex natura flammea et aerea conflata^ aeris mollitie ad impres- 
 sionem recipiendam, ignis vigore ad actionem vibrandam, do- 
 tata; partim ex oleosis, partim ex aqueis nutrita; corpore 
 obducta, atque in animalibus perfectis in capite praecipue locata, 
 in nervis percurrens, et sanguine spirituoso arteriarum refecta 
 et reparata ; quemadmodum Bernardinus Telesius, et disci- 
 pulus ejus Augustinus Donius, aliqua ex parte non omnino 
 inutiliter asseruerunt. 3 Itaque de hac doctrina diligentior fiat 
 inquisitio ; eo magis, quod haec res non bene intellecta opi- 
 niones superstitiosas et plane contaminatas, et dignitatem 
 Animae Humanse pessime conculcantes, de Metempsychosi et 
 Lustrationibus Animarum per periodos annorum, denique de 
 nimis propinqua Animae Humanae erga animas brutorum per 
 onmia cognatione, peperit. Est autem haec Anima in brutis 
 
 1 The anima rationalis is immaterial, the anima sensibilis is as much material as 
 any other part of man's frame. To it however Telesius, whom Bacon here follows, 
 ascribes sensation, imagination, &c., leaving the higher faculties, and especially the 
 moral sense as the portion of the anima rationalis. Donius, to whom Bacon refers a 
 little further on, in effect rejects the anima rationalis altogether ; admitting, in appa- 
 rently insincere deference to received opinions, that it may exist ; but holding that, if 
 it does so, it is incognisable by human reason. 
 
 2 Bacon refers to the Aristotelian definition of the soul, " Actus primus corporis 
 physici organic! vitam potentia habentis," and to the doctrine immediately connected 
 with this definition that the soul is the form of man. It is obvious that the actus 
 primus may also be spoken of as actus ultimus, according to the direction in which the 
 arrangement proceeds, but I do not know whether Bacon had any reason for deviating 
 from the usual phraseology. 
 
 With respect to the phrase " forma corporis," it is to be remarked that the Scotists 
 maintained the existence of a " forma corporis," that namely which gives the body 
 corporeity distinct from the informing principle or soul of man ; a subtlety intro- 
 duced to evade the difficulties which the gradual development of the body from its 
 first rudiments to perfection, that is, its gradual progress to corporeity, appears to 
 present when contrasted with the way in which the rational soul is infused. For it was 
 a received opinion that the soul is not " ex traduce," that is, not derived from that of 
 the progenitor, but on the contrary is infused as it were ab extra into the body it 
 informs. 
 
 * See the fifth book of Telesius De Rerum Natura, and the second book, parti- 
 cularly the fourth and fifth chapters, of Donius De Natura Hominis ; and compare 
 Campanella De Sensu Rerum, ii. 4. Campanella follows Telesius more closely than 
 Donius does.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 607 
 
 anima principalis, cujus corpus brutorum organum ; in homine 
 autem, organum tantum et ipsa Animae Rationalis ; et Spiritus 
 potius appellatione quam Animas indigitari possit. Atque de 
 Substantia Animae hactenus. 
 
 Facultates autem Animae notissimaa sunt ; Intellectus, Ratio, 
 Phantasia, Memoria, Appetitus, Voluntas, denique universae 
 illas, circa quas versantur scientise Logicae et Ethicae. Sed in 
 doctrina de Anima, Origines ipsarum tractari debent, idque 
 physice, prout animas innatae sint et adhasreant ; Usus tantum 
 ipsarum, et Objecta, illis alteris artibus deputantur. Atque in 
 hac parte nihil egregii (ut nobis videtur) adhuc repertum est ; 
 quanquam desiderari earn haud sane dixerimus. Habet etiam 
 pars ista De Facultatibus Animaa, appendices duas; quae et 
 ipsae, quemadrnodum tractantur, potius fumos nobis exhibuerunt 
 quam flammam aliquam lucidam veritatis. Altera harum est 
 doctrina de Divinatione Naturali ; altera de Fascinatione. 
 
 Divinationem ab antiquis, nee male, in duas partes divisam 
 liabemus ; Artificialem, et Naturalem. Artificialis, ratiocinando, 
 ex indicatione signorum, prasdictionem colligit : Naturalis, ex 
 ipsa animi praesensione interna, absque signorum adminiculis, 
 praesagit. Artificialis duplex; altera argumentatur ex Causis, 
 ajtera ex Experimentis tantum, coeca quadam authoritate. 
 Qua? posterior, ut plurimum, superstitiosa est; quales erant 
 ethnicorum disciplines circa Inspectionem Extorum, Volatum 
 Avium, et similia. Etiam Chaldasorum Astrologia solennior, 
 non multo melior. At Artificialis Divinatio utraque inter 
 diversas scientias spargitur. Habet Astrologus praedictiones 
 suas, ex situ astrorum. Habet etiam Medicus suas, de morte 
 ingruente ; de convalescentia ; de symptom atibus morborum su- 
 perventuris, ex urinis, pulsibus, aspectu asgrorum, et similibus. 
 Habet et Politicus suas ; O urbem venalem, et cito perituram si 
 emptorem invenerit l ; cujus vaticinii fides non diu morata est ; 
 impleta primum in Sylla, postea in Caesare. Hujusmodi igitur 
 praedictiones praesentis non sunt instituti, verum ad artes 
 proprias remitti debent. Naturalis autem Divinatio, ex vi 
 scilicet interna animi ortum habens, ea demum est de qua 
 nunc agitur. Haec duplex est; altera Nativa, altera per In- 
 fluxum. Nativa hoc nititur suppositionis fundamento; quod 
 anima in se reducta atque collecta, nee in corporis organa 
 diffusa, habeat ex vi propria essentiae suae aliquam prasnotionem 
 
 1 Sallust, in Bell. Jugurth. 38.
 
 608 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 rerum futurarum. Ilia vero optime cernitur in somnis, 
 ecstasibus, confiniis mortis ; rarius inter vigilandum, aut cum 
 corpus sanum sit ac validum. 1 Hujusmodi vero status animi 
 procuratur fere aut adjuvatur ex abstinentiis, atque illis rebus 
 quae animam a muneribus corporis exercendis maxime sevocant, 
 ut sua natura absque impeditionibus exteriorum gaudere possit. 
 Divinatio vero per Influxum hoc altero suppositionis funda- 
 mento nititur; quod anima, veluti speculum, illuminationem 
 quandam secundariam a prsescientia Dei et spirituum excipiat ; 
 cui etiam idem, qui priori, status et regimen corporis confert. 
 Eadem enim animas sevocatio efficit, ut et sua natura impensius 
 utatur, et divinorum influxuum sit magis susceptiva ; nisi quod 
 in Divinationibus per Influxum anima fervore quodam atque 
 tanquam numinis prassentis impatientia (qua? apud priscos Sacri 
 Furoris nomine vocabatur) corripiatur ; in Divinatione autem 
 Nativa, quieti potius et vacation! propior sit. 
 
 Fascinatio autem est vis et actus imaginationis intensivus in 
 corpus alterius: (vim enim imaginationis super corpus proprium 
 ipsius imaginantis superius perstrinximus.) In hoc genere 
 schola Paracelsi, et ementitas Naturalis Magia3 cultores, tarn 
 fuerunt immodici ut imaginationis impetum et apprehensionem 
 Miracula-patranti Fidei tan turn non exagquarint. 2 Alii ad 
 similitudinem veri propius accedentes, cum occultas rerum 
 energias et impressiones, sensuum irradiationes, contagionum 
 de corpore in corpus transmissiones, virtutum magneticarum 
 delationes, acutius intuerentur, in earn opinionem devenerunt, 
 ut multo magis a spiritu in spiritum (cum spiritus praa rebus 
 omnibus sit et ad agendum strenuus, et ad patiendum tener 
 et mollis) impressiones et delationes et communicationes fieri 
 poterint. Unde increbuerunt opiniones factaa quasi populares 
 de Genio superiori, de hominibus quibusdam infaustis et 
 ominosis, de ictibus amoris et invidias, et alia? his similes. 
 
 1 A curious illustration of this remark is mentioned in the geography ascribed to 
 Ibn Haukal. When a prince among the Khazars was made Khakan, he was strangled 
 with a piece of taffeta, and asked, when he could scarcely breathe, how long he had 
 to reign. He answered so many years ; and if he reached the term, was then put to 
 death. This was also a Turkish usage, except that it does not seem that they put the 
 prince to death if he lived as long as he had foretold. See Klaproth, Tableaux Hist, 
 de VAsie, p. 273. 
 
 On the subject of natural divination see Campanella, De Sensu Rerum, iii. 7 11.' 
 lie says of himself : " Ast ego, cum mali quippiam mini imminet, inter somnium et 
 vigiiiam audire soleo vocem clare loquentem mihi ' Campanella, Ccimpanella," et inter- 
 dum alia addentem, et ego attendo nee intelligo quis sit." 
 
 a See Paracelsus's tract De Vi imaginative and many other parts of bis writings.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 609 
 
 Atque huio conjuncta est disquisitio, quomodo imaginatio 
 intendi et fortificari possit ? Quippe si imaginatio fortis tan- 
 tarum sit virium, operae-pretium fuerit nosse quibus modis 
 earn exaltari et seipsa majorem fieri detur ? Atque hie oblique, 
 nee minus periculose, se insinuat palliatio quasdam et defensio 
 maxima? partis Magias Caeremonialis. Speciosus enim fuerit 
 prastextus, caeremonias, characteres, incantationes, gesticula- 
 tiones, amuleta, et similia, non ex aliquo tacito aut sacramentali 
 cum malis spiritibus contractu vires nancisci l ; sed eo pertinere 
 tantum, ut imaginatio illius qui his utitur roboretur et exaltetur ; 
 quemadmodum etiam in religione usus imaginum, ad mentes 
 hominum in rerum contemplatione defigendas et devotionem 
 precantium excitandam, invaluit. Attamen mea talis est sen- 
 tentia; etiamsi detur vim Jmaginationis esse utique potentem; 
 atque insuper caeremonias vim illam intendere et roborare ; 
 posito denique quod adhibeantur caeremoniae ad hanc inten- 
 tionem sincere, atque tanquam remedium physicum, absque 
 aliqua vel minima cogitatione de invitandis per ipsas auxiliis 
 spirituum ; haberi nihilominus debent pro illicitis, propterea 
 quod sententiae illi divinae adversus hominem propter peccatum 
 lata? repugnent et recalcitrent, In sudore vultus comedes panem 
 tuum. 2 Siquidem Magia ejus generis egregios illos fructus 
 quibus Deus pretium laborem constituit, adipiscendos proponit 
 per paucas easque faciles et minime operosas observantias. 
 
 Supersunt doctrinae duae, quae ad Facultates Animas Inferioris 
 sive Sensibilis praecipue spectant; utpote quas cum organis 
 corporeis maxime communicant; altera de Motu Voluntario, 
 altera de Sensu et Sensibili. In priori haruin, etiam alias 
 satis jejune inquisita, unica pars fere integra deest. Etenim de 
 officio et fabrica commoda nervorum et musculorum, et aliorum 
 qua? ad hunc motum requiruntur ; quasque pars corporis qui- 
 escat dum alia moveatur ; turn quod hujusce motus rector et 
 quasi auriga sit imaginatio, adeo ut dimissa imagine ad quam 
 motus fertur statim intercipiatur et sistatur motus ipse (ut cum 
 deambulamus, si alia subeat cogitatio acris et defixa, continue 
 consistimus) ; et aliae nonnullae subtilitates non malas, in obser- 
 vationem et inquisitionem jampridem venerunt. Quomodo 
 
 1 Paracelsus says that the devil's claiming credit for the efficacy of these devices is as 
 absurd as if, while the sheep were inquiring to whom a lock of wool belonged, the 
 wolf should come up and affirm that it was his. 
 
 2 Gen. iii. 19. 
 
 VOL. I. BE
 
 610 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 vero compressiones et dilatationes et agitationes spiritus (qui 
 proculdubio motus fons est) corpoream et crassam partium 
 molem flectat, excitet, aut pellat, adhuc diligenter inquisitura 
 et tractatum non est. Neque mirum, cum Anima ipsa Sensibilis 
 hactenus potius pro entelechia et functione quadam habita sit, 
 quam pro substantial At quando jam innotuerit ipsam esse 
 substantiam corpoream et materiatam, necesse est etiam ut 
 quibus nixibus aura tarn pusilla et tenera corpora tarn crassa et 
 dura in motu ponere possit inquiratur. De hac parte igitur, 
 cum desideretur, fiat inquisitio. 
 
 At de Sensu et Sensibili longe uberior et diligentior adbibita 
 est inquisitio, tarn in tractatibus circa ea generalibus quam 
 in artibus specialibus, utpote Perspectiva, Musica; quam vere, 
 nihil ad institutum; quandoquidem ilia tanquam Desiderata 
 ponere non liceat. Sunt tamen dute partes nobiles et insignes, 
 quas in hac doctrina desiderari statuimus ; altera de Differentia 
 Perceptionis et Sensus, altera de Forma Lucis. 
 
 Atque differentiam inter Perceptionem et Sensum bene 
 enucleatam debuerant philosophi tractatibus suis de Sensu 
 et Sensibili praemittere, ut rem maxime fundamentalem. 
 Videmus enim quasi omnibus corporibus naturalibus inesse 
 vim manifestam percipiendi ; etiam electionem quandam arnica 
 amplectendi, inimica et aliena fugiendi. Neque nos de 
 subtilioribus perceptionibus tantum loquimur; veluti cum 
 magnes ferrum allicit; flamma ad naphtham assilit; bulla 
 bullae approximata coi't; radiatio ab objecto albo dissilit ; 
 corpus animalis utilia assimilat, inutilia excernit ; spongiae pars 
 (etiam super aquam elevata) aquam attrahit, aerem expellit ; 
 et hujusmodi. Etenim quid attinet talia enumerare ? Nullum 
 si quid em corpus ad aliud admotum illud immutat aut ab illo 
 immutatur, nisi operationem prsecedat Perceptio reciproca. 
 
 1 In the school philosophy, at least among the Realists, every substantial form (and 
 the soul among the rest) was regarded as a substance. This of course implies the 
 possibility of its independent existence, though, as form and matter are correlatives, 
 it is difficult to understand how cither can exijt apart from the other. This difficulty 
 however seems to have been completely surmounted or set aside ; and thus, for instance, 
 St Thomas Aquinas affirms that angels are immaterial forms (Sum. Theol. i. 61). 
 Bacon's remark that the soul had hitherto been looked on rather as a function than a 
 substance refers, I think, to Melancthon's exposition of the Aristotelian doctrine. 
 For Melancthon, whose views of the Peripatetic philosophy had long great influence in the 
 Protestant universities, affirms that, according to the true view of Aristotle's opinion, 
 the soul is not a substance but an eVTA.ex eta or functio. The word <FWA<fxa he 
 conceives to be only a modification of eVSeAe'xeict, which he proposes to render " habi- 
 tualis agitatio seu Swo^tis guacdam ciens actiones." See his De Anima, c. 15.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 611 
 
 Percipit corpus meatus quibus se insinuat ; percipit impetum 
 alterius corporis cui cedit ; percipit amotionem alterius corporis 
 a quo detinebatur, cum se recipit; percipit divulsionem sui 
 oontinui, cui ad tempus resistit ; ubique denique est Perceptio. 
 Aer vero Calidum et Frigiduin tarn acute percipit, ut ejus 
 Perceptio sit longe subtilior quam tactus humani; qui tamen 
 pro calidi et frigidi norma habetur. Duplex igitur depre- 
 henditur circa hanc doctrinam hominum culpa; alia, quod 
 earn intactam et intractatara (cum tarnen sit res nobilissima) 
 plerumque reliquerunt; alia, quod qui huic contemplation! 
 forte animum adjecerunt longius quam par est provecti sunt, et 
 Sensum corporibus omnibus tribuerunt ; ut piaculum fere sit 
 ramum arboris avellere, ne forte instar Pblydori ingemiscat. 
 At debuerant illi Differentiam Perceptionis et Sensus, non 
 tantum in comparatione sensibilium ad insensibilia, secundum 
 corpus integrum, explorare, (veluti plantarum et animalium) ; 
 verum etiam in corpore ipso sensibili animadvertere, quid in 
 causa sit cur tot actiones expediantur absque omni tamen 
 Sensu ; cur alimenta digerantur, egerantur ; humores et succi 
 sursum deorsum ferantur ; cor et pulsus vibrent ; viscera sua 
 quaeque opificia, sicut officinae, producant ; et tamen haec omnia, 
 et complura alia, absque Sensu fiant ? Verum homines non 
 satis acute, qualis sit actio Sensus, viderunt ; atque quod genus 
 corporis, quae mora, qua> conduplicatio impressionis ad hoc 
 requirantur, ut dolor vel voluptas sequatur ? Denique diffe- 
 rentiam inter Perceptionem simplicem et Sensum nullo modo 
 nosse videntur ; nee quatenus fieri possit Perceptio absque 
 Sensu. Neque enim hasc verborum tantum controversia est, 
 sed de re magni prorsus momenti. De hac igitur doctrina 
 (ut inprimis utili, et ad plurima spectante) melius inquiratur. 
 Quandoquidem etiam circa hanc rem inscitia tantum apud 
 nonnullos ex antiquis philosophis potuerit, ut omnibus sine 
 discrimine corporibus animam infundi putaverint ; neque enim 
 videbant quomodo Motus cum discretione fieri potuerit absque 
 Sensu, aut Sensus adesse absque Anima. 1 
 
 1 There is a remarkable similarity between the view which Bacon here maintains and 
 that which we find in several passages in the writings of Leibnitz. See his Mona- 
 dologie, 14. and 19., or his Principe* de la Nature et de la Grace, 4. The distinc- 
 tion between perceptio and sensus corresponds in Leibnitz's language to that between 
 perception and apperception, a distinction on which the classification of the diiferent 
 orders of monads essentially depends. It is not probable that Bacon was acquainted with 
 the most celebrated treatise on the doctrine of universally diffused sensation, namely 
 
 B B 2
 
 612 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 De Forma Lucis quod debita non facta fuerit inquisitio 
 (praesertim cum in Perspectiva strenue elaborarint homines), 
 stupenda quaedam negligentia censeri possit. Etenim nee in 
 Perspectiva nee alias aliquid de Luce quod valeat inquisitum 
 est. Radiationes ejus tractantur, origines minime. Sed collo- 
 catio demum Perspective inter Mathematica hunc ipsum de- 
 fectum, et alios similes, peperit; quia a Physicis praemature 
 discessum est. Tractatio autem de Luce et causis ejus in Phy- 
 sicis rursus superstitiosa fere est, tanquam de re inter divina et 
 naturalia media; adeo ut quidam ex Platonicis earn Materia 
 ipsa antiquiorem introduxerint : cum enim spatium esset diffla- 
 tum, id primum lumine, postea vero corpore impletum fuisse, 
 vanissimo commento asseruerunt; quando tamen Scriptura3 
 Sacraa massam coeli et terrse tenebrosam, ante lucem creatam, 
 diserte posuerint. 1 Quae vero physice et secundum sensum de 
 ea tractantur, ea statim ad radiationes descendunt, ut parum 
 physicae inquisitionis circa hanc rem extet. Debuerant autem 
 homines contemplationes suas submittere paulisper, et quid sit 
 Corporibus omnibus Lucidis commune inquirere, tanquam de 
 Forma Lucis. Etenim quam immensa est corporis differentia 
 (si ex dignitate considerentur) inter solem et lignum putridum, 
 aut squamas etiam piscium putridas ? Inquirere etiam debue- 
 rant, quid tandem in causa sit cur aliqua ignescant, et Lucem 
 ex se jaciant calefacta, alia minime ? Ferrum, metalla, lapides, 
 vitrum, ligna, oleum, sevum, ab igne, vel flammam vibrant vel 
 saltern rubescunt; at aqua, aer, acerrimo et tanquam furenti 
 calore fervefacta, nihil tamen Lucis adipiscuntur, nee splen- 
 dent. Quod si quis hoc eo fieri putet quod proprium sit ignis 
 lucere, aqua autem et aer igni omnino inimica sint ; is sane 
 nunquam per obscura noctis in aqua salsa, tempestate calida, 
 remigavit; cum guttulas aquae, ex remorum concussione subsi- 
 lientes, micare et lucescere videre potuisset. Quod etiam fit in 
 
 the De Sensu Rerum of Campanella, as it was not published much before the appearance 
 of the De Avgmentis ; but the same doctrine had, as Brucker remarks, been taught, 
 though not in so formal a manner, by Telesius, with whose works Bacon was as we 
 know familiar ; and it may in truth be traced in the writings of Giordano Bruno, of 
 Csesalpinus, and of Gilbert, and probably in those of many of their contemporaries. 
 See for Leibnitz's remarks as to the origin of this doctrine, his letter to Thomasius, 
 referred to in the note at p. 46. 
 
 1 Bacon appears to refer to the visionary opinions of Fludd. See the first part of 
 Fludd's great work referred to in the note at p. 526. The process of creation is illustrated 
 by some curious engravings. There is an account of Fludd's views on this and other 
 subjects in Tennemann's History of Philosophy, ix. p. 218.
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 613 
 
 spuma maris ferventiore, quam Pulmoncm Marinum 1 vocant. 
 Quid denique habent commune cum flamma et ignitis cicen- 
 dulae et luciolse ; et inusca Indica, quoe cameram totam illustrat ; 
 et oculi quorundam animalium in tenebris ; et saccharum inter 
 radendum aut frangendum ; et sudor equi nocte aestuosa festi- 
 nantis ; et alia nonnulla ? Quin et homines tarn parum in hac 
 re viderunt, ut plerique scintillas e silice, aerein attritum putent. 
 Attamen quando aer calore non ignescat, et Lucem manifesto 
 concipiat, quomodo tandem fit ut noctuae et feles et alia non- 
 nulla animalia noctu cernant ? Adeo ut ipsi aeri (quando visio 
 absque Luce non transigatur) necesse est inesse Lucem aliquam 
 nativam et genuinam, quamvis tenuem admodum et infirmam, 
 quag tamen sit radiis visivis hujusmodi animalium proportionata, 
 iisque ad videndum sufficiat. 2 Verum hujusce mali (ut plurimo- 
 rum) causa est, quod homines ex instantiis particularibus For- 
 mas naturarum Communes non elicuerunt ; id quod nos tanquam 
 subjectum proprium Metaphysics posuimus, quae et ipsa Phy- 
 sicae sive doctrinae de Natura pars est. Itaque de Forma et 
 Originibus Lucis fiat inquisitio, eaque interim inter Desiderata 
 ponatur. Atque de doctrina circa Substantiam Animas tarn 
 Rationalis quam Sensibilis, cum Facultatibus 
 suis ; atque de ejusdem doctrinae 
 Appendicibus, haec 
 dicta sint. 
 
 1 See Novum Organum, iL 12. p. 242., where Bacon speaks of the same pheno- 
 menon. 
 
 * That there is always some light in the air is a doctrine of Telesius's. See note 1. 
 
 w it 3
 
 614 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE LT AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines circa Usum et Objecta Facultatum Animce 
 Humana in Logicam, et Ethicam. Partitio Loyicce in Artes 
 Inveniendi, Judicandi, Retinendi, et Tradendi. 
 
 DOCTRINA circa Intellectum (Rex optime) atque ilia altera circa 
 Voluntatem Hominis, in natalibus suis tanquam gemellae sunt. 
 Etenim Illuminationis Puritas et Arbitrii Libertas simul incoe- 
 perunt, simul corruerunt. 1 Neque datur in universitate rerum 
 tarn intima sympathia, quam ilia Veri et Boni. Quo magis 
 rubori fuerit viris doctis, si scientia sint tanquam angeli ala- 
 ti, cupiditatibus vero tanquam serpentes, qui humi reptant; 
 circumgerentes animas instar speculi sane, sed menstruati. 2 
 
 Venimus jam ad doctrinam circa Usum et Objecta Faculta- 
 tum Anima? Humanse. Ilia duas habet partes, casque notis- 
 simas et consensu receptas ; Logicam et Ethicam : nisi quod 
 Doctrinam Civilem, quae vulgo ut pars Ethica? collocatur, jam 
 ante emancipaverimus, et in integram doctrinam dc Homine 
 Congregate sive in Societate constituerimus ; hie tantum de 
 
 1 Namely at the fall ; as St. Thomas Aquinas observes : "Homo peccando llbcrum 
 arbitrium dicitur perdidisse, non quantum ad libertatem naturalem quae est a coactione, 
 sed quantum ad libertatem quae est a culpa et miseria." Sum. Theol. i. 83. 2. 
 
 2 For an account of the notion on which this use of the word menstruatus is 
 founded, see Aristotle De Insomniis, 2. 8., or Pliny [vii. 13.]
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 615 
 
 Homine Segregate tractantes. Logica de Intellectu et Ra- 
 tione ; Ethica dc Voluntate, Appetitu, et AiFectibus disserit : 
 altera Decreta, altera Actiones progignit. Verura quidem est, 
 quod Pliantasia in utraque provincia, tarn judicial! quam mini- 
 sterial!, legati cujusdam aut internuncii aut procuratoris reci- 
 proci vices gerit. Nam Sensus idola omnigena Phantasiae tradit, 
 de quibus postea Ratio judicat : at Ratio vicissim idola electa et 
 probata Phantasia3 transmittit, priusquam fiat executio decreti. 
 Siquidem motum voluntarium perpetuo prajcedit eumque in- 
 citat phantasia; adeo ut phantasia sit utrique, tam rutioni 
 quam voluntati, instrumentum commune ; nisi quod Janus iste 
 bifrons sit et duas obvertat facies. Facies enim rationem aspi- 
 ciens, veritatis habet effigiem ; facies autem actionem aspiciens, 
 effigiem bonitatis ; qua? tamen sint facies, 
 
 quales decet esse sororum. 1 
 
 Neque vero merus et nudus internuncius est phantasia ; sed 
 authoritatem non exiguam vel accipit vel usurpat, praster dela- 
 tionem simplicem mandati. Recte enim Aristoteles ; Id impe- 
 ril habet anima in corpus, quod dominus in mancipium : ratio 
 vero in phantasiam, quod in libera civitate magistratus in civem 2 , 
 ad quern possit sua vice redire dominatio. Videmus enim 
 quod in iis qua? sunt fidei et religionis, phantasia supra ipsam 
 rationem scandat et evehatur ; non quod illuininatio divina 
 locum habeat in phantasia, (quin potius in ipsa arce mentis et 
 intellectus) ; verum quemadmodum gratia divina in virtutibus 
 utitur motibus voluntatis, ita similiter gratia divina in illumina- 
 tionibus utitur motibus phantasias ; unde fit ut religio semper 
 adituin sibi ac viam ad animum quaesierit per Similitudines, 
 Typos, Parabolas, Visiones, Insomnia. Rursus haud humile est 
 regnum phantasiae in persuasionibus, a vi eloquenticc insinuatis. 
 Nam ubi per orationis artificia hominum animi demulcentur, 
 inflammantur, et in quamcunque partem pertrahuntur, totuni 
 illud fit per exuscitationem phantasias, quas impotens jam facta 
 non solum rationi insultat, verum eidem vim quodammodo facit, 
 partim occoecando partim extiniulando. Neque tamen causa 
 videtur, cur a partitione priore discedamus. Nam phantasia 
 
 1 Metamorph. ii. 14. 
 
 * j) /j.ff yap $VXT) TOW adiiMTos &p\et Secnrori/cV dp^v, 6 8 vovs TTJJ pe'{e us 
 iro\iTiKtiv Kal Pcurt\ticfiv. Arist. Pol. i. 3. 
 
 opeis ought rather to have been rendered by appetitus than by phantasia ; but the 
 \\hole quotation was probably made from memory. 
 
 R R 4
 
 616 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENT1ARUM 
 
 scientias fere non parit ; siquidem poesis (quae principio phan- 
 tasiae attributa est) pro lusu potius ingenii quam pro scientia 
 habenda. Potestatem autem phantasise in naturalibus, doctrinae 
 de Anima paulo ante assignavimus. Earn vero quam habet 
 cum rhetorica cognationem illi ipsi arti (de qua infra tractabi- 
 mus) remitti par est. 
 
 Pars ista Humana? Philosophic qua? ad Logicam spectat, 
 ingeniorum pluriniorum gustui ac palato minus grata est; et 
 nihil aliud videtur quam spinosae subtilitatis laqueus ac tendi- 
 cula. Nam sicut vere dicitur, Scientiam esse animi pabulum* ; 
 ita in hoc pabulo appetendo et deligendo plerique palatum nacti 
 sunt Israelitarum simile in deserto; quos cupido incessit re- 
 deundi ad ollas carnium, mannce autem fastidium cepit ; quae 
 licet cibus fuerit ccelestis, minus tamen sentiebatur almus et 
 sapidus. Eodem modo (ut plurimum) illae Scientias placent, 
 qua? habent infusionem nonnullam carnium magis esculentam 2 ; 
 quales sunt Historia Civilis, Mores, Prudentia Politica, circa 
 quas hominum cupiditates, laudes, fortunae, vertuntur et occu- 
 pataa sunt. At istud lumen siccum plurimorum mollia et madida 
 ingenia ofFendit et torret. Caeterum unamquamque rem pro- 
 pria si placet dignitate metiri, Rationales Scientias reliquarum 
 omnino claves sunt. Atque quemadmodum manus instrumen- 
 tnm instrumentorum, anima forma formarum 3 , ita et illae artes 
 artium ponendae sunt. Neque solum dirigunt, sed et robo- 
 rant; sicut sagittandi usus et habitus non tantum facit ut 
 melius quis collimet, sed ut arcum tendat fortiorem. 
 
 Artes Logicaa quatuor numero sunt; divisae ex finibus suis 
 in quos tendunt. Id enim agit homo in Rationalibus, aut ut 
 inveniat quod qucesiverit ; aut judicet quod invenerit ; aut re- 
 tineat quod judicaverit; aut tradat quod retinuerit. Necesse 
 igitur est, ut totidem sint Artes Rationales ; Ars Inquisitionis 
 seu Inventionis; Ars Examinis seu Judicii; Ars Custodiae 
 seu Memoriae; et Ars Elocutionis seu Traditionis. 4 De 
 quibus jam sigillatim dicemus. 
 
 1 Mr. Markby, in his edition of the Advancement of Learning, refeK to Cicero, 
 Acad. Qu. ii. 41. : " Est enim animorum ingeniorumque naturale quoddam quasi pabu- 
 lum consideratio contemplatioque naturse." /. S. 
 
 2 [So in the original,] Esculentarum ? 
 
 " That the hand is the instrument of instruments, and the soul the form of forms, is 
 said by Aristotle. See the De Anima, iii. 8. 
 
 4 These divisions are adopted from Peter Ramus ; the artes logics including what 
 Hamus calls Dialectic and Rhetoric, of which the former is divided into Inventio and 
 Judicium, and the latter into Elocutio and Pronunciatio.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 617 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Partitio Inventivce in Inventivam Artium, et Argumentorum : 
 quodque prior hurum (qua eminef) desideretur. Partitio In- 
 ventivce Artium in Experlentiam Literatam, et Organum 
 Novum. Delineatio Experientiae Literata3. 
 
 INVENTIONIS duae sunt species, valde profecto inter se discre- 
 pantes; una Artium et Scientiarum, altera Argumentorum et 
 Sermonum. Priorem haruni desiderari prorsus pronuncio. Qui 
 quidem talis mihi videtur esse defectus, ac si quis in inventario 
 conficiendo bonorum alicujus defuncti ita referat, Numerate 
 pecunice nihil. Tit enim caetera omnia pecunia parantur, ita et 
 per hanc artem reliquee acquiruntur. Atque sicut India Occi- 
 dentalis nunquam nobis inventa fuisset nisi praecessisset acus 
 nauticas inventio, licet regiones illaa immensae, versoriae motus 
 pusillus sit ; ita non est cur miretur quispiam in Artibus per- 
 lustrandis et promovendis ampliores progressus factos non esse, 
 quandoquidem Ars ipsa Inveniendi et Perlustrandi Scientias 
 hactenus ignoretur. 
 
 Hanc Scientiae desiderari partem plane in confesso est. Primo 
 enim Dialectica nihil profitetur, imo ne cogitat quidem, de In- 
 veniendis Artibus, sive Mechanicis sive (quas vocant) Liberali- 
 bus ; aut etiam de illarum Operibus, harum vero Axiomatibus 
 eliciendis ; sed quasi prseteriens homines alloquitur et diuiittit, 
 edicens ut cuique in sua arte credant. 1 Celsus, vir prudens, 
 non solum medicus, (licet moris sit omnibus in laudes artis pro- 
 priae effundi) graviter et ingenue de empiricis et dogmaticis 
 medicorum sectis loquens, fatetur, Medicamenta et remedia priits 
 fuisse inventa, de causis vero et rationibus posterius disceptatum : 
 non or dine converso, causas ex natura rerum primo erutas fuisse, 
 easque inventioni remediorum prceluxisse. 2 At Plato non semel 
 innuit, Particularia infinita esse ; maxime rursus generalia minus 
 certa documenta exhibere ; medullam igitur scientiarum, qua arti- 
 fex ab imperito distinguitur, in mediis propositionibus consistere, 
 quas per singulas scientias tradidit et docuit experiential Quin 
 
 1 See Arist. Prior. Analyt. i. 30. 
 
 2 See Nov. Org. i. 73. This is not what Celsus himself confesses, in the passage to 
 which Bacon apparently refers ; but what he represents the Empirics as urging against 
 the Rationalists. J. S. 
 
 8 Bacon appears to refer principally to the passage in the Philebus, p. 17., which has 
 already been mentioned. See note at p. 565. In the corresponding passage in the
 
 618 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 et ill! qui de primis rerum inventoribus aut scientiarum origi- 
 nibus verba fecerunt, casum potius quam artem celebrarunt ; 
 atque animalia bruta, quadrupedes, aves, pisces, serpentes, 
 magis quam homines, tanquam Scientiarum doctores intro- 
 duxerunt : 
 
 Dictamnum Genitrix Diet sea carpit ab Ida 
 Puberibus caulem foliis, et flore comantem 
 Purpureo : non ilia feris incognita capris 
 Gramina, cum tergo volucres hsesere sagittae. 1 
 
 Adeo ut minime mirum sit (cum in more apud antiques fuerit 
 rerum utilium inventores consecrare) apud .^Egyptios, gentem 
 priscam (cui plurimae Artes initia sua debent), templa plena 
 fuisse simulachris brutorum, hominum vero simulachris prope 
 vacua ; 
 
 Oranigenumque Deum monstra, et latrator Anubis, 
 Contra Neptunum, et Venerem, contraque Minervam, &c. 2 
 
 Quod si malis, ex traditione Graecorum, Artes potius homi- 
 nibus ut inventoribus tribuere; haudquaquam tamen dixeris 
 Prometheum ad ignis inventionem contemplationes adhibuisse ; 
 aut cum silicem primo percuteret scintillas expectasse; sed 
 casu in illud incidisse, atque (ut amni)furtum Jovifecisse. Ita 
 ut ad artium inventionem quod attinet, caprae silvestri pro 
 emplastris, Philomelae pro modulationibus musicis, Ibidi pro 
 lavationibus intestinorum 3 , operculo ollae quod dissiliit pro 
 re tormentaria, denique (ut verbo dicamus) casui aut cuivis 
 alteri rei plus debeamus, quam dialectics. Nee vero multo 
 aliter se habet modus ille inveniendi, quern recte describit Vir- 
 gilius, 
 
 Ut varias usus meditando extunderet artes 
 Paulatim. 4 
 
 Non enim alia hie proponitur inveniendi methodus quam cujus 
 bruta ipsa sunt capacia, et quam crebro usurpant; nimirum 
 
 Advancement of Learning, he refers to the Thecetetus, which is certainly a mistake, as 
 no such remark is to be found there. The nearest approach to it is, I think, T& n\v 
 oroixeTa &\oyct *cal 6,-yvaxrra. tlvai, alff6r)Ta. 5e, &c. , the relation of letters to sj llables 
 and words being here as elsewhere typical of the nature of knowledge. 
 
 1 Virg. .En. xii. 412. 2 Virg. ^n. viii. 698. 
 
 3 See Plutarch, De Solertid Animalium, or De Inide. Compare Pliny. The story 
 of the accidental invention of gunpowder by Schwartz is well known. So too is it said 
 that the Jesuit's bark was discovered by the lions who cured their fevers by drinking 
 the water into which it had fallen. It is obvious that all stories of this kind are more 
 or less mythical. The subject has been systematically discussed by Virey. (Journal 
 de Pharmacie, 1818.) 
 
 4 Virg. Georg. i. 133.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 619 
 
 fittentissima circa unam rem sollicitudo, ejusque perpetua exer- 
 citatio, quas sui conservandi necessitas hujusmodi animantibus 
 imponit. Cicero enim vere admodum ; Usus uni ret deditus, et 
 naturam et artem scepe vincit. 1 Quare si prgedicetur de homi- 
 nibus, 
 
 Labor omnia vincit 
 Improbus, et duris urgens in rebus egestas ; 2 
 
 etiam de brutis similiter quaeritur, 
 
 Quis expedivit psittaco suum Xaipi ? s 
 
 Corvo quis auctor fuit, ut magna siccitate lapillos immitteret 
 arbori cavae, ubi aquam forte conspexerit, ut surgentem laticein 
 rostro posset attingere ? Quis viam monstravit apibus, qui 4 
 per aerem, tanquam vastum mare, agros floridos, licet multum 
 ab alvearibus dissitos, solent petere, et favos suos denuo repe- 
 tere ? 5 Quis fonnicam docuit, ut grana in colliculo suo repo- 
 nenda circumroderet prius, ne reposita germinarent et spem 
 suam illuderent ? 6 Quod si in versu illo Virgiliano quis notet 
 verbum illud Extundere, quod difficultatem rei, et verbum illud 
 Paulatim, quod tarditatem innuit, redibimus unde profecti 
 sumus, ad JEgyptiorum illos Deos; cum hactenus homines 
 modice rationis facultate, neutiquam vero officio artis, usi sint 
 ad inventa detegenda. 
 
 Secundo, hoc ipsum quod asserimus (si advertatur paulo 
 
 1 " Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem ssepe vincit." Cicero, Pro 
 Balbo, c. 20. 
 
 2 Virg. Georg. i. 145. 3 Persius, Prolog. 
 
 4 Qui, as M. Bouillet remarks, is clearly a mistake for qua. 
 
 5 Much more remarkable than the return of the bees to their hive is the appearance 
 of mathematical knowledge shown in the construction of their cells. In every case of 
 instinct, the impulse in obedience to which the Instinctive act is performed is a matter 
 at the nature of which we can only guess ; but the case just mentioned has a dim - 
 culty of its own. The bees may be supposed to know when they have reached their 
 hive ; but how do they perceive that the cell has acquired its just proportions ? Several 
 attempts have been made to explain away this especial difficulty ; but those which I 
 am acquainted with appear to be quite unsatisfactory. It is worthy of remark that 
 the degree of accuracy with which the cells are constructed has been exaggerated ; 
 one writer after another having repeated, on the supposed authority of Maraldi, what 
 Maraldi never said. According to his observations the angles of the terminal rhomb 
 are about 108 and 72. He does not attempt to determine them more precisely, 
 although he has generally been supposed to do so. It has been recently stated that 
 the mathematical problem which the cells of bees suggest was first correctly solved by 
 Lord Brougham in the notes to his edition of Paley's Natural Theology ; but this 
 statement is, it need scarcely be said, erroneous. 
 
 6 This statement is probably taken from Plutarch, De Solertid Animalium. The sup- 
 posed grains of corn are no doubt the nymphse. Huber repeatedly observed ants in the 
 act of tearing the integument in which the young ant was enclosed, in order to facili- 
 tate its exit. This practice is, it may be presumed, the origin of the notion mentioned 
 in the text.
 
 620 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 diligentius) demonstrat Inductionis forma, quam proponit Dia- 
 lectica; qua scilicet scientiarum principia inveniantur et pro- 
 bentur; quae vitiosa plane est et incompetens, et naturam 
 tantum abest ut perficiat, ut etiam earn pervertat et detorqueat. 
 Qui enim modum acute introspexerit quo ros iste aethereus 
 scientiarum, similis illi de quo loquitur poeta, 
 
 aerei mellis coelestia dona, l 
 
 colligatur, (cum et scientiae ipsae ex exemplis singulis, partim 
 naturalibus partim artificialibus, tanquam prati floribus et horti, 
 extrahantur,) reperiet profecto animum suapte sponte et nativa 
 indole Inductionem solertius conficere, quam quae describitur a 
 dialecticis ; siquidem ex nuda enumeratione particularium (ut 
 dialectic! solent) ubi non invenitur instantia contradictoria, 
 vitiose concluditur; neque aliquid aliud hujusmodi Inductio 
 producit quam conjecturam probabilem. Quis enim in se reci- 
 piet, cum particularia quae quis novit aut quorum meminit ex 
 una tantum parte compareant, non delitescere aliquod quod 
 omnino repugnet ? Perinde ac si Samuel acquievisset in illis 
 Isa'i filiis quos coram adductos videbat in domo, et minime 
 qujesivisset Davidem, qui in agro aberat. 2 Atque hasc Indu- 
 ctionis forma (si verum omnino dicendum sit) tarn pinguis est 
 et crassa, ut incredibile videatur tarn acuta et subtilia ingenia 
 (qualia in his rebus meditationes suas exercuerunt) potuisse 
 earn mundo obtrudere, nisi illud in causa fuisset, quod opera 
 festinata ad theorias et dogmata contendissent, particularia 
 autem (praesertim moram in iis longiorem) ex fastu quodam et 
 elatione animi despexissent. Illi enim exempla, sive instantias 
 particulars, vice lictorum aut viatorum adhibuerunt ad sum- 
 movendam turbam, ut dogmatibus suis viam aperirent ; neuti- 
 quam autem ea inde ab initio in consilium advocarunt, ut 
 legitima fieret et matura de rerum veritate deliberatio. Certe 
 perculserit animos pia et religiosa quaedam admiratio, cum 
 videamus eadem calcata vestigia, ad errorem ducentia, in divinis 
 et humanis. Quemadmodum enim in Divina Veritate perci- 
 pienda aegre quis in animum inducat ut fiat tanquam parvulus ; 
 
 1 Virg. Georg. iv. 1. 
 
 2 1 Sam. xvi We see from this very strong condemnation of the ordinary mode of 
 induction, how much Bacon must have conceived his own method to differ from it. 
 It is in fact, impossible to apprehend Bacon's idea of his own process of induction, if we 
 assume that it was to differ from that in common use only by being more systematic 
 and more accurate. See the General Preface, p. 22.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 621 
 
 ita in humana perdisceiida, provectos utique, puerorum more, 
 prima Inductionum elementa adhuc legere et retractare, res 
 humilis existimatur et quasi contemnenda. 
 
 Tertio, si concedatur principia scientiarum ex Inductione qua 
 utuntur, vel sensu et experientia, recte posse constitui, certissi- 
 mum est tamen axiomata inferiora ab iis per syllogismum non 
 posse (in rebus naturalibus, quse participant ex materia) recte 
 et tuto deduci. In Syllogismo enim fit reductio propositionum 
 ad principia per propositiones medias. Haec autem sive Inve- 
 niendi sive Probandi forma, in Scientiis Popularibus (veluti 
 Ethicis, Politicis, Legibus, et hujusmodi) locum habet ; imo et 
 in Theologicis ; quandoquidem Deo pro bonitate sua placuerit 
 captui humano se accommodare; at in Physicis, ubi Natura 
 opere, non adversarius argumento constringendus est, elabitur 
 plane veritas ex manibus, propter longe majorem naturalium 
 operationum quam verborum subtilitatem ; adeo ut succumbente 
 Syllogismo, Inductionis (verse scilicet et emendatae) officio 
 ubique opus sit, tarn ad principia magis generalia quam ad pro- 
 positiones inferiores. Nam syllogismi ex propositionibus con- 
 sistunt ; propositiones ex verbis ; verba notionum tesserae sunt ; 
 quare si notiones ipsae (quae verborum animae sunt) male et 
 varie a rebus abstrahantur, tota fabrica corruit. 1 Neque labo- 
 riosa vel consequentiarum argumentorum vel veritatis proposi- 
 tionum examinatio rem in integrum unquam restituet ; cum error 
 sit (ut loquuntur medici) in digestione prima ; quae a functioni- 
 bus sequentibus non rectificatur. Non igitur absque magna et 
 evident! causa evenit, ut complures ex philosophis (aliqui autem 
 eorum maxime insignes) Academici fuerint et Sceptici, qui 
 scientiae humanas et syllepsium certitudinem sustulerunt; ultra 
 verisimilitudinem aut probabilitatem negantes earn pertingere. 
 Tnficias non iverim, visum esse nonnullis Socratem, cum scien- 
 tiae certitudinem a se amoveret, per ironiam tantum hoc fecisse 2 , 
 et scientiam dissimulando simulasse ; renunciando scilicet iis 
 quae manifesto sciebat, ut eo modo etiam quae nesciebat scire 
 
 1 Compare Novum Organum, i. 13. and 14. The formation of abstract conceptions 
 is one of the objects of Bacon's inductive method, as well as the establishment of 
 axioms. See Gen. Pref. p. 37. It is difficult to understand how the subtlety of 
 language and the subtlety of natural operations can be compared. Bacon must be 
 understood to mean that scientific terms and the conceptions which they express are 
 not an adequate representation of the natural phenomena which have led to their 
 formation. 
 
 2 "Socrates autem, de se ipso detrahens in disputatione, plus tribuebat iis quos 
 volebat refellere. Ita cum aliud diceret atque sentiret, libenter uti solitus est ea dis- 
 simulatione quam Grseci fipcavtiav vocant." Cic. Ac. Qu. ii. 5. 15. J. S.
 
 622 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 putaretur. Neque etiam in recentiore Academia (quam amplexus 
 est Cicero) ilia opinio Acatalepsiae admodum sincere culta fuit. 
 Etenim qui eloquentia floruerunt hanc fere sectam sibi de- 
 suinpserunt, ut in utramque partem copiose disserendi gloriam 
 assequerentur ; unde a via ilia recta, per quani ad veritatem per- 
 gere debuissent, tanquam ad deambulationes quasdam amoenas, 
 animi causa institutas, deflexum est. Constat tamen nonnullos 
 sparsim in utraque Academia (veteri et nova), multo magis 
 inter Scepticos, Acatalepsiam istam simpliciter et integre tenu- 
 isse. 1 Verum in hoc maxime ab illis peccatum est, quod 
 sensuurn perceptiones calumniabantur ; unde Scientias radicitus 
 evellebant. Sensus vero, licet saspenumero homines aut fallant 
 aut destituant, possint tamen multa adjuti industria ad scientias 
 sufficere; idque non tarn ope instrumentorum (licet et haec 
 quoque aliqua ex parte prosint) quam experimentorum ejus 
 generis, quae objecta subtiliora quam pro sensus facultate ad 
 objecta sensu comprehensibilia producere queant. Debuerant 
 autem potius defectum hac in parte imputasse mentis turn 
 erroribus turn contumaciae (quae rebus ipsis morigera esse re- 
 cusat), et pravis demonstrationibus, et modis ratiocinandi et 
 concludendi ex perceptione sensuum perperam institutis. Haec 
 autem loquimur, non quo intellectui detrahatur, aut negotium 
 totum deseratur ; sed quo intellectui auxilia commoda compa- 
 rentur et subministrentur, quibus rerum ardua et naturae ob- 
 scuritatem vincere possunt. Nemo enim tanta pollet manus 
 constantia, aut etiam habitu, ut rectam lineam ducere aut per- 
 fectum circulum circumscribere manu libera possit ; quod tamen 
 ope regulae, aut circini, facere in promptu est. Haec igitur res 
 ipsa est quam paramus, et ingenti conatu molimur ; ut scilicet 
 mens per artem fiat rebus par, utque inveniatur Ars quaedam 
 Indicii et Directionis, quae caeteras artes earumque axiomata 
 atque opera detegat et in conspectum det. Hanc enim merito 
 desiderari posuimus. 
 
 Ars ista Indicii (ita enim earn appellabimus) duas habet 
 partes. Aut enim defertur Indicium ab experimentis ad experi- 
 menta ; aut ab experimentis ad axiomata, quae et ipsa nova expe- 
 
 1 There is something very striking iu one of the earliest expressions of this way of 
 thinking : 
 
 Kal rJ> fj.fv ovv craves otirts av^ip ISev, ouSe TIS $arai 
 flows a/j.<pl Gfiuv -re Kal Siffffa Ae^co irepl iravruv, 
 tl -yap Kal ra /jM\iffTa TVX.OI TfTfteffpevov flir^iv 
 avrbs ofjuas OVK olSe, SOKOS 5" eVI train TtrvKTat. 
 
 XEKOFHANES, apud Sextum Empiricum.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. C23 
 
 rimenta designent. Priorem harum Experientiam Literatam 1 
 nominabimus, posteriorem vero Interpretationem Naturae, sive 
 Novum Organum. Prior quidem (ut alibi attigimus 2 ) vix pro 
 Arte habenda est aut parte Philosophise, sed pro Sagacitate 
 quadam ; unde etiam earn Venationem Panis (hoc nomen ex 
 fabula mutuati) quandoque appellamus. Attamen quemadmo- 
 dum possit quis in via sua triplici modo progredi; aut cum 
 palpat ipse in tenebris ; aut cum alterius manu ducatur, ipse pa- 
 rum videns ; aut denique cum vestigia lumine adhibito regat: 
 similiter cum quis experimenta omnigena absque ulla serie aut 
 methodo tentet, ea demum mera est palpatio ; cum vero nonnulla 
 utatur in experimentando directione et ordine, perinde est ac si 
 maim ducatur : atque hoc illud est quod per Experientiam 
 Literatam intelligimus. Nam Lumen ipsum, quod tertium fuit, 
 ab Interpretatione Naturae, sive Novo Organo, petendum est. 
 
 Literata Experientia, sive Venatio Panis, modos experi- 
 mentandi tractat. Earn (cum desiderari posuerimus, neque res 
 
 1 With reference to the question how far Bacon thought it possible for observa- 
 tion to be carried on apart from theory, (see General Preface, p. 61. )> it i s I 
 think, important to remark that this notion of an Experientia Literata, as an in- 
 termediate step between simple experimentation absque vlld serie aut methodo and 
 the Interpretation of Nature, was not an after-thought, but formed part of his origi- 
 nal design in the earliest shape in which it is known to us. " This part of Invention 
 (he says in the Advancement of Learning) concerning the Invention of Sciences, I 
 purpose (if God give me leave) hereafter to propound : having digested it into two 
 parts : whereof the one I term Experientia literata, and the other Interpretatio natures ; 
 the former being but a degree or rudiment of the latter." Now if he meant by " Experi- 
 entia literata " the same thing which he describes here, or anything like it, which I 
 see no reason to doubt he must have seen even then the impossibility of making a 
 collection of facts sufficient for the purposes of Interpretation without the help of some 
 principle of arrangement, some " series et methodus," some " sagacitas " in seeking 
 and selecting ; which necessarily implied some amount of theory. Such theory was 
 indeed to be provisional only, and subject at all times to revision. It was not to be 
 allowed as an axiom. But it does not appear that he would have put any other re- 
 striction upon the exercise of human sagacity in this way. The process might have 
 been carried therefore to an indefinite length, and the further the better. And though 
 it may be true that no amount of diligence and sagacity could ever have made a 
 collection of facts complete enough to lead to the discovery of Forms by the method 
 of the Novum Organum, it seems impossible to fix a point beyond which, through 
 successive reductions of particular phenomena and groups of phenomena under laws more 
 and more general, further progress could not have been made towards the highest 
 law which includes them all. And such progress men have in fact been making ever 
 since Bacon's time ; the whole of our experimental philosophy being what he, I think, 
 would have described as Experientia literata, and allowed as legitimate and successful 
 so far as it goes. Whether, if he could see the results which it has produced 
 during the last two hundred years, he would still believe in the possibility of arriving 
 ultimately at what he would have called "the Interpretation of Nature" may be doubted ; 
 but that if this " hunt of Pan " were conducted as skilfully and assiduously by the 
 whole body of inquirers through the entire field of nature as it has been by particular 
 inquirers in particular fields, we should be able to approach much nearer to such a 
 consummation than anybody now imagines this I cannot doubt that he would still 
 believe. J. S. 
 
 2 See Nov. Org. i. 100.
 
 624 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sit plane perspicua) pro more et institute nostro aliquatenus 
 adumbrabimus. Modus Experimentandi praecipue procedit, aut 
 per Variationem Experiment! ; aut per Productionem Experi- 
 ment!; aut per Translationern Experimenti; aut per Inver- 
 sionem Experimenti ; aut per Compulsionem Experimenti ; aut 
 per Applicationem Experimenti ; aut per Copulationem Expe- 
 rimenti; aut denique per Sortes Experimenti. Universa vero 
 ista cohibita sunt citra Terminos Axiomatis alicujus inveniendi. 
 Ilia enim altera pars de Novo Organo omnem Transitionein 
 Experimentorum in Axiomata, aut Axiomatum in Experi- 
 ment^ sibi vindicat. 
 
 Variatio Experimenti fit primo in Materia ; scilicet quando 
 Experimentum in jam cognitis, certae materias fere adhaesit; 
 nunc vero in illis quae similis sunt speciei tentetur; veluti 
 Confectio Papyri in pannis linteis tantum probata est, in sericis 
 minime, (nisi forte apud Chinenses) ; neque rursus in filaceis, 
 compositis ex setis et pilis, ex quibus conficitur (quod vocamus) 
 Camelotum ; neque denique in laneis, gossipio l , et pellibus ; 
 quanquam hasc tria postrema magis esse videntur heterogenea ; 
 itaque admisceri possint potius quam per se utilia esse. Item 
 insitio in arboribus fructiferis in usu est; in arboribus silve- 
 stribus raro tentata ; licet perhibetur ulmum in ulmum insitam 
 miras producere foliorum umbras. Insitio etiam in floribus 
 rara admodum est ; licet hoc jam coeperit fieri in rosis musca- 
 tellis, quae rosis communibus foeliciter inoculantur. Etiam 
 variationem in parte rei inter variationes in materia ponimus. 
 Videmus enim surculum in trunco arboribus insitum foelicius 
 pullulare, quam si terrae indatur. Cur non et semen cepae capiti 
 alterius cepae viridis inditum foelicius germinet, quam si nudae 
 terras commissum fuerit? Atque hie radix pro trunco variatur; 
 ut haec res insitio quaedam in radice videri possit. Variatio 
 Experimenti fit secundo in Efficiente. Radii Solis per specula 
 comburentia calore ita intenduntur, ut materiam quae ignem 
 facile concipiat accendere possint: num et radii Luna? per 
 eadem ad lenissimum aliquem gradum teporis actuari possunt ; 
 ut videamus, utrum corpora omnia coelestia sint potestate 2 
 
 1 Cotton paper was known long before that made from rags. It seems probable 
 that the art of making paper came to the west of Europe from Constantinople, and 
 that our word quire, of which the equivalent in Low Latin is manus, is a token of its 
 Greek origin, and means properly a handful of paper. 
 
 2 The elements and their primary qualities (hot, cold, moist, dry), being confined 
 to the sublunary part of the universe, nothing which lies beyond the region of fire, 
 which is next to the orb of the moon, can, according to the school philosophy, be
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 625 
 
 calida? Item color es radiosi, per specula scilicet, intenduntur: 
 num etiam calores opaci (quales sunt lapidum ct metallorum 
 antequam candeant) idem patiuntur, an potius sunt luminis in 
 hac re partes nonnullae ? ' Item succinum et gagates fricata 
 paleas trahunt : num etiam et ad ignem tepefacta ? Variatio 
 Experimenti fit tertio in Quanto; circa quod diligens admo- 
 dum est adhibenda cura, cum hoc multi circumstent errores. 
 Credunt enim homines, aucta aut multiplicata quantitate, pro 
 rata augeri aut multiplicari virtutem. Et hoc fere postulant 
 et supponunt, tanquam res sit mathematicae cujusdam certi- 
 tudinis ; quod omnino falsissimum est. Globus plumbeus uniiis 
 librce a turri demissus (puta) decem pulsuum spatio ad terram 
 descendit : num globus duarum librarum, (in quo impetus iste 
 motus, quern vocant, naturalis duplicari debet,) spatio quinque 
 pulsuum terram feriet ? At ille sequali fere tempore descendet, 
 neque accelerabitur juxta rationem Quanti. 2 Item sulphuris 
 (puta) drachma una, semilibrae chalybis admixta, earn fluere 
 faciet et colliquari: num igitur uncia sulphuris quatuor libris 
 chalybis ad colliquationem sufficiet? At illud non sequitur. 
 Certum enim est, olstinationem materice in patiente per Quan- 
 titatem augeri amplius, quam activitatem virtutis in agente. 
 Porro Nimium aeque fallit ac Parum. Etenim in excoctionibus 
 et depurationibus metallorum error est familiaris ; ut ad excocti- 
 onem promovendam, aut calorem fornacis aut additamenti 
 quod injiciunt molem augeant. At ilia supra moduni aucta 
 operationem impediunt; propterea quod vi et acrimonia sua 
 
 actually or formally hot. But the heavenly bodies, as the sun manifestly is, may be 
 hot potestate that is, may have the power of heating whatever is susceptible of their 
 operation. It is known that the moon's rays have never as yet been sufficiently con- 
 centrated to produce any perceptible degree of heat. 
 
 1 The researches which Bacon here suggests, in which obscure radiant heat is dealt 
 with in the same manner as luminous heat, have been recently carried on with great 
 success, and have led to many interesting results. The question as to the nature of 
 the essential or formal connexion between heat and light remains however as yet un- 
 answered, though it may be hoped that it will shortly be satisfactorily solved. 
 
 Telesius, of whom more than of any one else Bacon was a follower, maintained that 
 heat and light were " contubernales natura?," and that where one was present the 
 other must be present too. Bacon, with a more subtle insight into nature, proposed to 
 trace the analogy which might exist between them in cases where, sensibly at least, the 
 dogma of Telesius seemed unfounded. 
 
 2 Long before the publication of the De Augmentis, the theory of the acceleration 
 of falling bodies, which of course includes the fact that all bodies fall from rest with equal 
 velocities (the resistance of the air being set aside), had been made known by Galileo 
 The experiments which he made about the year 1590 to show the absurdity of the 
 received opinion that the velocity of falling increases as the mass of the falling body led 
 to his leaving Pisa, where he had made them, and where he had in consequence been 
 involved in disputes with the adherents of the Peripatetic philosophy. 
 
 VOL. I. 88
 
 626 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 multum ex metallo puro in fumos vertant et asportent ; ut et 
 jactura fiat, et massa qua? remanet magis sit obstinata et dura. 
 Debent igitur homines ludibrium illud mulieris ^Esopi cogitare ; 
 quae sperarat ex duplicata mensura hordei gallinam suam duo 
 ova quotidie parituram. At ilia impinguata nullum peperit. 
 Prorsus non tutum fuerit alicui Experimento Naturali con- 
 fidere, nisi facta fuerit probatio et in minore et in majore 
 Quanto. Atque de Variatione Experimenti hactenus. 
 
 Productio Experimenti duplex ; Repetitio, et Extensio ; 
 nimirum, cum aut experimentum iteratur, aut ad subtilius quid- 
 dam urgetur. Repetitionis exemplum tale sit. Spiritus Vini 
 fit ex vino per distillationem unicam ; estque vino ipso multo 
 acrior et fortior : num etiam spiritus vini ipse destillatus, sive 
 sublimatus, seipsum fortitudine aeque superabit ? At Repetitio 
 quoque non absque fallacia est. Etenim turn secunda exaltatio 
 prioris excessum non a?quat, turn etiam sapenumero per Itera- 
 tionem Experimenti, post statum sive acmen quandam opera- 
 tionis, tantum abest ut progrediatur natura, ut potius relabatur. 
 Judicium igitur in hac re adhibendum. Item Argentum Vivum, 
 in linteo aut alias in medio plumbi liquefacti, cum refrigescere 
 ccfiperit, insertum, stupefit, nee amplius fluit: num et idem 
 argentum vivum, si saepius immissum fuerit, ita figetur ut fiat 
 malleabile ? Extensionis exemplum tale sit : Aqua in summo 
 posita, et pensilis facta, et per rostrum vitri oblongum in vinum 
 dilutum immersa, separabit aquam a vino ; vino in summum se 
 paulatim recipiente, aqua in imo subsidente l : num etiam, quem- 
 admodum vinum et aqua (corpora scilicet diversa) hoc ingenio 
 separantur, possint quoque partes vini (corporis nimirum in- 
 tegri) subtiliores a crassioribus separari ; ut fiat tanquam destil- 
 latio per pondus, et in summo reperiatur aliquid spiritui vini 
 proximum, sed forte delicatius ? Item Magnes ferrum integrum 
 trahit: num etiam frustum magnetis, in dissolutione ferri im- 
 
 1 This experiment is more minutely described in the Sylva Sylvarum, i. 1 4. The 
 water in the inverted glass or phial is maintained by the pressure of the atmosphere at 
 a higher level than that of the wine and water into which the neck of the vessel con- 
 taining it is inserted, but as the density of the water is greater than that of the diluted 
 wine, it is in a position of unstable equilibrium. But for friction &c. the equilibrium 
 could not practically exist at all ; and after a little while it ceases to do so, the water 
 gradually subsiding to the bottom and forcing the wine and water or some part of it 
 into the vessel, which originally contained only water. The water for a considerable 
 time passes without mixing through the wine and water ; but of course there is no 
 separation between the wine and the portion of water with which it was originally 
 mixed, and the experiment succeeds just as well with pure as with diluted wine.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 627 
 
 mersurn, ferrum ad se alliciet et se ferro obducet ? Item, Ver- 
 sorium Acus Nauticce se ad polos mundi applicat : num etiam 
 eadem via et consecutione qua coelestia ? Videlicet, ut si quis 
 acum in contrario situ, hoc est in puncto Australi, ponat, et 
 paulisper teneat, ac deinde viui omittat; num forte acus ad 
 Septentriones se conferet, eligendo potius rotare per occidentem 
 in situm desideratum quam per orientem ? Item, Aurum 
 argentum vivum,juxta positum, imbibit: num vero aurum recipit 
 illud argentum vivum intra se, sine extensione molis suae, ut 
 fiat massa quasdam ipso auro ponderosior? Item, Homines me- 
 mories serviunt collocando imagines personarum in locis : num 
 etiam idem assequentur (missis locis) et affingendo actiones 
 aut habitus personis ? Atque de Productione Experimenti 
 hactenus. 
 
 Translatio Experimenti triplex; aut a natura vel casu in 
 artem ; aut ab arte vel practica alia in aliam ; aut a parte 
 alicujus artis in partem diversam ejusdem. Translationis a 
 natura aut casu in artem innumera sunt exempla; adeo ut 
 omnes fere artes mechanica; a tenuibus initiis, natura aut casu 
 praebitis, ortum habuerint. Adagio receptum erat, Botrum 
 contra botrum citius maturescere 1 ; id quod de mutuis amicitiae 
 operis et officiis increbuit. At nostri Cydrae (vini scilicet ex 
 pomis) confectores hoc optime imitantur. Cavent enim ne 
 poma tundantur aut exprimantur, antequam nonnullo tempore 
 in acervos conjecta mutuo contactu maturuerint; unde nimia 
 potus aciditas emendetur. Item, Iridum artificiosarum imitatio 
 ex aspersione spissa guttularum, ab Iridibus naturalibus ex 
 nube roscida facili ductu translata est. Item modus destillandi 
 vel ex alto peti, ex imbribus scilicet aut rore ; vel ex humili illo 
 experimento guttarum in patinis, ollis aqua? bullientis superim- 
 positis, adhaerentium, desumi potuit. Tonitrua autem et Ful- 
 gura imitari veritus quis esset, nisi operculum monachi illius 
 chymici, magno impetu et fragore subito in sublime jactum, 
 submonuisset. Verum quo haec res magis exemplis abundet, eo 
 pauciora adducere opus fuerit. Debuerant autem homines, si 
 illis utilia inquirere vacaret, naturalia opificia et operationes 
 
 1 This proverb Bacon doubtless took from Erasmus's collection. The Promus, 
 which I have already mentioned, contains nearly 200 Latin proverbs (and this among 
 the number) all of which are given by Erasmus. In more than one instance errors of 
 Erasmus's are copied in Bacon's extract, so that there can be no doubt as to the source 
 from which he derived them. See for the proverb in the text, Erasm. iii. 2. 49. 
 
 88 2
 
 628 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 singulas attente et minutim et ex composito intueri ; et secum 
 perpetuo et acriter cogitare, qusenam ex ipsis ad artes trans- 
 ferri possint. Speculum enim artis natura. Nee pauciora sunt 
 Experimenta, quae ab Arte in Artem, seu a Practica in Praeti- 
 cam, transferri possunt ; licet hoc rarius in usu sit. Natura 
 enim ubique omnibus occurrit ; at artes singulas artificibus 
 tantum propriis cognitas sunt. Specilla ocularia ad visum de- 
 bilem juvandum inventa sunt : num et comminisci quis queat 
 aliquod instrumentum, quod auribus appensum surdastris ad 
 audiendum juvet ? Item, imbalsamation.es et mel cadavera con- 
 servant : annon possit aliquid ex his in medicinam transferri, 
 quod etiam vivis corporibus prosit ? Item, sigillorum practica 
 in cera, caementis, et plumbo antiqua fuit : at hasc etiam im- 
 pressioni in chartis, sive arti typographicae, viam monstravit. 
 Item, sal in coquinaria carnes condit, idque melius hyeme quam 
 aestate : annon hoc ad balnea utiliter transferri possit, eorumque 
 temperamentum, quando opus fuerit, vel imprimendum vel ex- 
 trahendum ? Item sal, in nupero experiments de congladatio- 
 nibus artificialibus, magnas vires ad condensandum obtinere 
 reperitur l : annon possit hoc transferri ad condensationes metal- 
 lorum; cum jampridem notum sit aquas fortes, ex nonnullis 
 salibus compositas, dejicere et praecipitare arenulas auri ex 
 metallis aliquibus auro ipso minus densis 2 ? Item, Pictoria 
 imagine memoriam rei renovat: annon hoc traductum est in 
 Artem earn, quam vocant, Memoriae ? De his in genere moni- 
 tum sit ; quod nihil ad imbrem quendam inventorum utilium, 
 eorundemque novorum, veluti coelitus deducendum tantum 
 valere possit, quantum si experimenta complurium artium 
 mechanicarum uni homini, aut paucis qui se invicem colloquiis 
 acuere possint, in notitiam venerint ; ut per hanc, quam dici- 
 mus, Experimentorum Translationem, artes se mutuo fovere 
 et veluti commixtione radiorum accendere possint. Quamvis 
 enim Via Rationalis per Organum longe majora spondeat, 
 
 1 Bacon refers to the experiments exhibited by Drebbel in 1620. One of them was 
 of a boat that would go under water. See Nelli's Life of Galileo. I have not been 
 able to see the Chronicle of Alkmaar to which Nelli refers. It is said that in presence 
 of James I. Drebbel produced an intolerable degree of cold in Westminster Hall. 
 
 2 The experiment here referred to, which, as Professor Gumming has suggested to 
 me, may not improbably have been an alchemist's trick, is not sufficiently described to 
 make it possible to ascertain its nature. It appears probable, however, that it was 
 based on a reduction of a solution of perchloride of gold in an excess of acid by some 
 other metaL Of all metallic salts the perchloride of gold appears to be one of the 
 most easy to decompose. Its reduction by a metal is employed as a gilding process.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 629 
 
 attamen ha3c Sagacitas per Experientiam Literatam plurima 
 interim ex iis quae in proximo sunt in genus humanum (tan- 
 quam missilia apud antiques donativa 1 ) projiciet et sparget. 
 Superest ilia Translatio de Parte Artis in Partem diversam ; 
 qus& parum differt a translatione de arte in artem. Verum 
 quia artes nonnullas spatia magna occupant, ut etiam Transla- 
 tionem Experimentorum ferre intra seipsas possint, hanc etiam 
 speciem Translationis subjungere visum est. Praecipue, quia 
 magni prorsus est in nonnulla arte momenti. Plurimum enim 
 ad artem Medicinse amplificandam profuerit, si experimenta 
 partis illius medicinae de Curationibus Morborum ad partes 
 illas de Tuenda Sanitate et Prolongatione Vitae transferantur. 
 Si enim opiatum aliquod insigne ad spirituum in morbo pestilent! 
 furibundam incensionem reprimendam suffecerit, non dubitet 
 quispiam, quin simile aliquod, debita dosi familiare redditum, 
 etiam incensionem earn gliscentem et obrepentem qua? per 
 astatem fit aliqua ex parte frcenare et retardare possit. Atque 
 de Translatione Experiment! hactenus. 
 
 Inversio Experimenti fit, cum contrarium ejus quod Experi- 
 mento constat probatur. Exempli gratia ; Calidum per Specula 
 intenditur : num etiam Frigidum ? 2 Item, Calidum se diffun- 
 dendo fertur tamen potius in sursum : num etiam Frigidum se 
 diffundendo fertur magis in deorsum ? Exempli gratia ; acci- 
 pias bacillum ferreum, illudque in uno fine calefacias ; et deinde 
 erigas ferrum, parte calefacta subtus locata, in superiore parte 
 manu apposita ; actutum manum aduret ; parte autem calefacta 
 supra locata, et manu subtus, multo tardius aduret 3 : num etiam, 
 si totum bacillum calefiat, et finis alter nive vel spongia in aqua 
 frigida tincta madefiat ; si nix aut spongia superius locetur, num 
 (inquam) frigus deorsum mittet citius, quam inferius locata 
 sursum ? Item, Radii Solis supra album dissiliunt, supra nigrum 
 
 1 See for an illustration of this phrase Sueton. in Calig. c. 1 8. 
 
 2 With Bacon, as with the Peripaticians, cold is not the negation of heat ; it is 
 something positive the opposite of heat, and not merely its absence. Prevost's ex- 
 periment, in which two concave mirrors are placed opposite to one another with a 
 piece of ice in the focus of the one and a thermometer in that of the other, shows that 
 the effect apparently due to the radiation of cold may be made more intense in the 
 manner which Bacon suggests : the real explanation of the phenomenon of course de- 
 pends upon the " theory of exchanges." 
 
 8 It is obvious that the difference arises simply from the circumstance that the 
 air close to the hot end of the rod rises in the one case to that at which the hand is 
 applied, and in the other case does net do so. In other words, in the first form of the 
 experiment the effect of conduction is increased by that of convection, and in the 
 second is not, 
 
 s s 3
 
 630 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 congregantur : num etiam umbras super nigrum disperduntur, 
 super album congregantur? Id quod in loco tenebroso, luce 
 per foramen exiguum tantum immissa, fieri videmus ; ubi ima- 
 gines rerum qua? foras sunt super papyrum quae alba est exci- 
 piuntur, super nigram minime. Item, Vena frontis ad dolorem 
 hemicranicum inciditur ; num etiam hemicranium scarificatur ad 
 sodam ? ' Atque de Inversione Experimenti hactenus. 
 
 Compulsio Experimenti fit, ubi urgetur et producitur Ex- 
 perimentum ad annihilationem vel privationem virtutis; in 
 reliquis enim venationibus fera capitur tantum, at in ista 
 occiditur. Exemplum Compulsionis tale est. Magnes ferrum 
 trahit: urge ergo ferrum, aut urge magnetem, ut amplius non 
 fiat attractio ; veluti, num forte si magnes ustus fuerit, aut in 
 aquis fortibus maceratus, virtutem suam deponet, aut saltern 
 remittet? Contra, si chalybs aut ferrum in Crocum Martis 
 redigatur, vel in chalybem quern vocant pra?paratum 2 , vel etiam 
 in aqua forti solvatur, num adhuc ea alliciat magnes ? Rursus : 
 magnes ferrum trahit per universa, qua? novimus, media ; nempe 
 si interponatur aurum, argentum, vitrum : urge igitur aliquod 
 medium, si fieri possit, quod virtutem intercipiat; probetur 
 argentura vivum ; probentur oleum, gummi, carbo ignitus, et 
 alia qua? adhuc probata non sunt. Item, introducta sunt nuper 
 Perspicilla qua visibilia minuta miris modis multiplicent: urge 
 usum eorum, vel ad species tarn pusillas ut amplius non va- 
 leant, vel ita grandiusculas ut confundantur. Scilicet, num 
 poterint ilia in urina clare detegere ea qua? alias non perspice- 
 rentur? Num poterint in gemmis, ex omni parte puris et 
 nitidis, grana aut nubeculas conspicienda dare ? Num et pul- 
 viscula in sole (qua? Democrito pro atomis suis et principiis 
 rerum falsissime objiciebantur 3 ) tanquam corpora grandiuscula 
 monstrare? Num pulverem crassiusculum ex cinnabari et 
 cerussa ita ostendere distributum, ut appareant hie granula 
 rubra, illic alba ? Num rursus imagines majores (puta faciem, 
 
 1 Soda is a low Latin word for a headache. The context appears to require that it 
 should be a pain in the forehead, in order to establish an dva\oyta between the two 
 complaints and their remedies. 
 
 2 The chalybs prseparatus here mentioned is apparently that which is obtained by 
 the following process : " Limatura chalybis sic praeparatur subtilissime ; teritur in 
 mortario aeneo, et sctaceo cribratur, et decem dies in aceto infunditur, et remoto aceto 
 aduritur; et conservetur." See Amerinus (1535), p. 142. In another work of about 
 the same date (that of Franciscus ab Alexandria), scoriae are recommended instead of 
 filings. 
 
 9 Democritus maintained the absolute invisibility of his atoms. See Sextus Empi- 
 cus, Adv. Logic, i, 135., ii. 6. and elsewhere.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 631 
 
 oculum, &c.) in tantum multiplicatas ostendere, in quantum 
 pulicem aut vermiculum ? Num byssum, aut hujusmodi tex- 
 tile linteura delicatius et paulo apertius, ita foraminatum 
 ostendere, ac si esset rete ? Verum in Compulsionibus Expe- 
 rimentorum minus moramur, quia fere extra limites Experien- 
 tiae Literatae cadunt, et ad Causas et Axiomata et Novum 
 Organum potius spectant. Ubicunque enim fit negativa, aut 
 privativa, aut exclusiva, coepit jam prasberi lux nonnulla ad 
 Inventionem Formarum. Atque de Compulsione Experiment! 
 hactenus. 
 
 Applicatio Experiment! nihil aliud est, quam ingeniosa tra- 
 ductio ejus ad experimentum aliud aliquod utile. Exemplum 
 tale sit. Corpora quceque suas habent dimensiones, sua pondera : 
 aurum plus ponderis, minus dimensionis, quam argentum; 
 aqua, quam vinum. Ab hoc traducitur experimentum utile; 
 ut ex mensura impleta, et pondere excepto, possis dignoscere 
 quantum argenti fuerit admixtum auro, vel aquas vino ; quod 
 fuit svprjica illud Archimedis. 1 Item, Carries in nonnullis cellis 
 citius putrefiunt quam in aliis : utile fuerit experimentum hoc 
 traducere ad dignoscendos acres magis aut minus salubres ad 
 habitationem ; ubi scilicet carnes diutius vindicentur a putre- 
 dine. Possit idem applicari ad revelandas salubriores aut 
 pestilentiores tempestates anni. Verum innumera sunt ejus- 
 niodi. Evigilent modo homines, et oculos perpetuo alias ad 
 naturam reruni alias ad usus humanos vertant. Atque de 
 Applicatione Experimenti hactenus. 
 
 Copulatio Experimenti est applicationum nexus et catena ; 
 cum quaa singula profutura non fuissent ad usum aliquem, con- 
 nexa valeant. Exempli gratia ; Rosas aut fructus serotinos 
 habere cupis: hoc fiet, si gemmas praacociores avellas; idem 
 fiet, si radices usque ad ver adultum denudes, et aeri exponas ; 
 
 1 The fi'priKa of Archimedes related to the discovery of a method of determining 
 the specific gravity of a body which could not be made " implere mensuram." If he 
 had had a crown of pure gold of the same size and foim as the suspected one, he need 
 only have weighed the one against 1 he other ; and if the latter were lighter, the ques- 
 tion as to its being alloyed would have been settled. Or if he had been at liberty to melt 
 down a portion of the crown and to run it into a mould in which a piece of pure gold 
 had previously been moulded, he might then have weighed them and determined which 
 was the heaviest. But the problem he had to solve was quite different from this, and 
 required the application of the principles of hydrostatics. Yet both here and in the 
 Historia Densi et Rari Bacon refers to the discovery of Archimedes without distin- 
 guishing between his own inartificial method of determining specific gravities (which 
 consisted in filling a measure with different substances and then weighing it) and that 
 of Archimedes. Bacon's results are wonderfully accurate (with one remarkable excep- 
 tion), considering the manner in which they were obtained. 
 
 s s 4
 
 632 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 at inulto magis, si copuletur utrunque. Item, ad refriyeran- 
 dum maxime faciunt glades et nitrum ; utrunque commixtum 
 multo magis. Verum et htec res per se perspicua est. Atta- 
 men fallacia ei saepe subesse possit, (ut et omnibus, ubi desunt 
 Axiomata,) si copula fiat ex rebus quae diversis et quasi pugnan- 
 tibus modis operantur. Atque de Copulatione Experimenti 
 hactenus. 
 
 Restant Sortes Experimenti. Hie vero experimentandi 
 modus plane irrationalis est, et quasi furiosus ; cum aliquid 
 experiri velle animum subeat, non quia aut ratio aut aliquod 
 aliud experimentum te ad illud deducat, sed prorsus quia similis 
 res adhuc nunquam tentata fuit. Haud tamen scio, an in hac 
 ipsa re (de qua nunc agimus) non aliquid magni lateat; si, 
 inquam, omnem lapidem in natura moveas. Magnalia enim 
 naturae fere extra vias tritas et orbitas notas jacent, ut etiam 
 absurditas rei aliquando juvet. At si ratio simul comitetur ; 
 id est, ut et manifestum sit simile experimentum nunquam 
 tentatum fuisse, et tamen causa subsit magna cur tentetur ; 
 turn vero haec res ex optimis est, et plane sinus natura? excutit. 
 Exempli gratia ; in operatione ignis super aliquod corpus na- 
 turale alterum horum hactenus semper evenit, ut aut aliquid 
 evolet, (veluti flamma et fumus in combustione vulgari,) aut 
 saltern fiat separatio partium localis et adnonnullam distantiam; 
 ut in destillatione, ubi faeces subsident, vapores in receptacula, 
 postquam luserint, congregantur. At destillationem clausam 
 (ita enim earn vocare possumus) nemo mortalium adhuc tentavit. 
 Verisimile autem videtur vim caloris, si intra claustra corporis 
 sua in alterando edat facinora, cum nee jactura fiat corporis nee 
 etiam liberatio, turn demum hunc Materiae Proteum, veluti 
 manicis detentum, ad complures transformationes adacturam; 
 si modo calor ita temperetur et alternetur ut non fiat vasorum 
 confractio. Est enim haec res matrici similis naturali, ubi calor 
 operatur, nihil corporis aut emittitur aut separatur ! ; nisi quod 
 in matrice conjungatur alimentatio ; verum, quatenus ad versio- 
 nem, eadem res videtur. Tales igitur sunt Sortes Experimenti. 
 
 Illud interim circa hujusmodi Experimenta monemus ; ut 
 nemo animo concidat, aut quasi confundatur, si experimenta 
 quibus incumbit expectationi suae non respondeant. Etenim 
 
 ' This notion of the matrix being a closed receptacle in which great results arise 
 from the continuous application of heat under certain conditions is taken from Tele- 
 sius. See the De Rerum Natura, vi. 23.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 633 
 
 quod succedit magis complacet; at quod non succedit saepe- 
 numero "non minus informal. Atque illud semper in animo 
 tenendum, (quod perpetuo inculcamus,) Experimenta Lucifera 
 etiam adhuc magis quam Fructifera ambienda esse. Atque de 
 Literata Experientia haec dicta sint, quae (ut jam ante diximus) 
 Sagacitas potius est et odoratio quaedam venatica, quam Scientia. 
 De Novo Organo autem silemus, neque de eo quicquam prae- 
 libamus ; quoniam de eo (cum sit res omnium maxima) opus 
 integrum (annuente favore divino) conficere nobis in animo est. 1 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitio InventivcB Argumentorum in Promptuariam et Topicam. 
 Partitio Topicce in Generalem et Particularem. Exemplum 
 Topicce Particularism in Inquisitione De Gram et Levi. 
 
 INVENTIO Argumentorum inventio proprie non est. Invenire 
 enim est ignota detegere, non ante cognita recipere aut revocare. 
 Hujusce autem Inventionis usus atque officium non aliud vide- 
 tur, quam ex massa scientiae, quaB in animo congesta et recon- 
 dita est, ea quae ad rem aut quaestionem institutam faciunt 
 dextre depromere. Nam cui parum aut nihil de subjecto quod 
 proponitur innotuit, ei Loci Inventionis non prosunt ; contra, 
 cui domi paratum est quod ad rem adduci possit, is etiam 
 absque arte et Locis Inventionis, argumenta tandem (licet non 
 ita expedite et commode) reperiet et producet. Adeo ut hoc 
 genus Inventionis (sicut diximus) Inventio proprie non sit ; sed 
 reductio tantum in memoriam, sive suggestio cum applicatione. 
 Attamen, quoniam vocabulum invaluit et receptum est, vocetur 
 sane Inventio ; siquidem etiam ferae alicujus venatio, et inventio, 
 non minus cum ilia intra vivariorum septa indagetur quam cum 
 
 1 It has been inferred from this passage that this part of the De Augmentis was 
 written before the publication of the Novum Organum. But it must be remembered 
 that the Novum Organum, which was published in 1620, was not an opus integrum. 
 Writing to Fulgenzio after the publication of the De Augmentis, Bacon says, " Debuerat 
 sequi Novum Organum ; interposui tamen scripta mea moralia et politica, quia magis 
 
 erunt in promptu. Haec sunt, &c Turn demum sequetur Organum Novum, 
 
 cui sccunda pars adhuc adjicienda est, quam animo jam complexus et metitus sum." 
 Afterwards he seems to have come to the conclusion that a sample of Natural History 
 was more urgently wanted, and therefore postponed the completion of the Novum Or- 
 ganum until he had finished the Sylva Sylvarum, which, according to Dr. Rawley, was 
 his last work ; and it does not appear that any portion of the second part was ever 
 wiitten. J. S.
 
 634 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 in saltibus apertis, dici possit. Missis vero verborum scrupulis, 
 illud constet ; scopum et finem hujusce rei esse promptitudinem 
 quandani, et expeditum usum cognitionis nostrae, potius quam 
 cjusdem amplificationem aut incrementum. 
 
 Atque ut parata sit ad disserendum copia, duplex ratio iniri 
 potest ; aut ut designetur, et quasi indice monstretur, ad quas 
 partes rem indagare oporteat ; atque haec est ea, quam vocamus 
 Topicam ; aut ut jam antea composita sint et in usum reposita 
 argumenta circa eas res quas frequentius incidunt et in dis- 
 ceptationem veniunt ; atque hanc Promptuariam nominabimus. 
 Haec autem posterior tan quam Scientise pars vix dici meretur; 
 cum in diligentia potius consistat, quam in eruditione aliqua 
 artificiosa. Veruntamen hac in parte Aristoteles, ingeniose 
 quidem sed tamen damnose, sophistas sui temporis deridet, 
 inquiens ; Perinde illos facere ac si quis calcearium professus 
 rationem calcei coirficiendi non doceret, sed exhiberet tantum 
 calceos complurimos diverse^ tarn formes quam magnitudinis. l 
 Attamen hie regerere liceat ; calcearium, si in officina nil 
 calceorum haberet, neque eos consueret nisi rogatus, egenum 
 prorsus mansurum et perpaucos inventurum emptores. Sed 
 longe aliter Salvator noster, de Divina Scientia verba faciens, 
 inquit ; Omnis scriba doctus in regno ccelorum similis est homini 
 patrifamilias qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. 2 Vide- 
 mus etiam priscos rhetores oratoribus praecepisse, ut praesto 
 liaberent Locos Communes varies, jampridem adornatos, et 
 in utramque partem tractates et illustrates. Exempli gratia : 
 Pro Sententia legis, adversus Verba legis ; et e contra : Pro 
 fide Argumentorum, adversus Testimonia ; et e contra. Cicero 
 autem ipse, longa doctus experientia, plane asserit posse ora- 
 torem diligentem et sedulum jam prasmeditata et elaborata 
 habere quaecunque in disceptationem venient ; adeo ut in 
 causae ipsius actione nihil novum aut subitum inseri necesse 
 fuerit, praeter nomina nova et circumstantias aliquas speciales. 3 
 At Demosthenis diligentia et sollicitudo eo usque processit, 
 ut quoniam primus ad cau3am aditus et ingressus ad ani- 
 mos auditorum praeparandos plurimum virium haberet, operae 
 pretium putaret complura concionum et orationum exordia 
 componere, et in promptu habere. Atque haec exempla et 
 authoritates merito Aristotelis opinioni prasponderare possint, 
 
 1 Arist. De Repreh. Sophist, ii. 9. 2 St. Matt. xiii. 52. 
 
 1 De Oratore, ii. 3234.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 635 
 
 qui nobis author foret ut vestiarium cum forfice commutare- 
 mus. Itaque non fuit omittenda haec pars doctrinse circa 
 Promptuariam, de qua hoc loco satis. Cum enim sit utrique, 
 tarn Logic qnam Rhetoricae, communis ; visum est earn hie 
 inter Logica cursim tantum perstringere, pleniorem ejus tracta- 
 tionem ad Rhetoricam rejicientes. 
 
 Partem alteram Inventivas (nimirum Topicam) partiemur 
 in Generalem et Particularem. Generalis ilia est, quae in 
 Dialectica diligenter et abunde tractata est; ut in ejus ex- 
 plicatione morari non sit opus. Illud tamen obiter monendum 
 videtur, Topicam istam non tantum in argumentationibus, ubi 
 cum aliis manum conserimus, verum et in meditationibus, cum 
 quid nobiscum ipsi commentamur aut revolvimus, valere ; imo 
 neque solummodo in hoc sitam esse, ut inde fiat suggestio aut 
 admonitio quid affirmare aut asserere ; verum etiam quid in- 
 quirere aut interrogare debeamus. At prudens Interrogatio 
 quasi dimidium scientiae. Recte siquidem Plato; Qui aliquid 
 qucerit, id ipsum quod qucerit generali quadam notione comprehen- 
 dit; aliter qui jieri potest, ut illud cum fuerit inventum.agnoscat ? l 
 Idcirco, quo amplior et certior fuerit Anticipatio nostra, eo 
 magis directa et compendiosa erit Investigatio. lidem igitur 
 illi Loci qui ad intellectus nostri sinus intra nos excutiendos 
 et congestam illic scientiam depromendam conducent, etiam 
 ad scientiam extrinsecus hauriendam juvabunt ; ita ut si prae- 
 sto fuerit quis rei gnarus et peritus, commode et prudenter de 
 ea interrogari a nobis possit; et similiter authores, et libri, 
 et partes librorum, qui nos de iis quae quaerimus edoceant et 
 informent, utiliter deligi et evolvi. 
 
 At Topica Particularis ad ea quae dicimus longe confert 
 magis, et pro re fructuosissima habenda est. Illius certe 
 mentio levis a nonnullis scriptoribus facta est ; sed integre, et 
 pro rei dignitate, minime tractata. Verum missum facientes 
 vitium illud et fastum, quae nimium diu regnarunt in scholis ; 
 videlicet, ut quae praesto sint infinita subtilitate persequantur, 
 qua? paulo remotiora ne attiugant quidem ; nos sane Topicam 
 Particularem tanquam rem apprime utilem amplectimur ; hoc 
 est, Locos Inquisitionis et Inventionis, particularibus subjectis 
 et scientiis appropriates. Illi autem mixturae quaedam sunt, 
 ex Logica et Materia ipsa propria singularum scientiarum. 
 
 1 Bacon doubtless refers to the Memo, ii. p. 80., of Stephens.
 
 636 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Futilem enim esse constat et angusti cujusdam animi, qui 
 existimet artem de scientiis inveniendis perfectam jam a 
 principio excogitari et proponi posse ; eandemque postea in 
 opere poni et exerceri debere. At certo sciant homines, Artes 
 inveniendi solidas et veras adolescere et incrementa sumere cum 
 ipsis inventis; adeo ut cum quis primum ad perscrutationem 
 scientiae alicujus accesserit, possit habere Prsecepta Inventivae 
 nonnulla utilia ; postquam autem ampliores in ipsa scientia 
 progressus fecerit, possit etiam et debeat nova Inventionis 
 Praecepta excogitare, quae ad ulteriora eum fo3licius deducant. 
 Similis est sane haec res viae initae in planitie ; postquam enim 
 viae partem aliquam fuerimus emensi, non tantum hoc lucrati 
 sumus ut ad exitum itineris propius accesserimus, verum 
 etiam ut quod restat viae clarius prospiciamus. Eodem modo. 
 in Scientiis, gradus itineris quisque, ea quae a tergo reliquit 
 praetervectus, etiam ilia quae super sunt propius dat in con- 
 spectum. Hujus autem Topicae Exemplum, quoniam earn 
 inter Desiderata reponimus, subjungere visum est. 
 
 Topica Particularis, sive Articuli Inquisitionis 
 de Gram et Levi. 
 
 1. Inquiratur, qualia sint corpora quae Motus Gravitatis 
 sunt susceptibilia ; qualia, quae Levitatis ; et si qua? sint medise, 
 sive Adiaphorae Naturae ? 
 
 2. Post Inquisitionem de Gravitate et Levitate Simplicem, 
 procedatur ad Inquisitionem Comparatam; quae nimirum ex 
 Gravibus plus, quae minus ponderent, in eodem dimenso? 
 Etiam, quae ex Levibus celerius ferantur in altum, quae tar- 
 dius? 
 
 3. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Quantum 
 Corporis ad Motum Gravitatis. 1 Atqui videatur hoc primo 
 aspectu quasi supervacuum ; quia rationes Motus debeant sequi 
 rationes Quanti : sed res aliter se habet. Nam licet in lanci- 
 bus Quantitas Gravitatem corporis ipsius compenset (viribus 
 corporis undique coeuntibus per repercussionem sive resisten- 
 tiarn lancium vel trabis), tamen ubi parva datur resistentia, 
 (veluti in decasu corporum per aerem) Quantum Corporis 
 parum valet ad Incitationem Descensus; cum viginti pondo 
 plumbi, et libra una, eodem fere spatio cadant. 
 
 1 See note 2. p. 625.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 637 
 
 4. Inquiratur, utrum Quantum Corporis ita augeri possit, ut 
 Motus Gravitatis prorsus deponatur ; ut fit in globo terrse, qui 
 pensilis est, non cadit ? Utrum igitur possint esse alias massse 
 tarn grandes, ut se ipsae sustentent ? Nam latio ad centrum 
 terras res fictitia est ; atque omnis massa grandis motum lationis 
 quemcunque exhorret, nisi ab alio appetitu fortiori vincatur. 
 
 5. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Resistentia 
 Corporis Medii, vel occurrentis, ad Regimen Motus Gravitatis. 
 Corpus vero descendens aut penetrat et secat corpus occurrens, 
 aut ab eo sistitur. Si penetret, fit penetratio aut cum levi 
 resistentia, ut in acre ; aut cum fortiori, ut in aqua. Si sista- 
 tur, sistitur aut resistenti'a dispari, ubi fit praegravatio, ut si 
 lignum superponatur cerae ; aut aequa, veluti si aqua superpona- 
 tur aquae, aut lignum ejusdem generis ligno ; id quod appellat 
 schola (apprehensione quadam inani) Non ponderare corpus nisi 
 extra locum suum. 1 Atque heec omnia motum Gravitatis va- 
 riant. Aliter enim moventur Gravia in lancibus, aliter in 
 decasu ; etiam aliter (quod mirum videri possit) in lancibus 
 pendentibus in aere, aliter in lancibus immersis in aqua ; aliter 
 in decasu per aquam, aliter in natantibus sive vectis super 
 aquam. 
 
 6. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Figura Corporis 
 Descendentis ad regendum motum Gravitatis; veluti figura 
 lata cum tenuitate, cubica, oblonga, rotunda, pyramidalis ; et 
 quando se vertant corpora, quando eadem qua dimittuntur posi- 
 tura permaneant. 
 
 7. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Continuatio et 
 Progressio ipsius casus sive descensus, ad hoc, ut majori incita- 
 tione et impetu feratur ; et qua proportione, et quo usque inva- 
 lescat ilia incitatio ? Siquidem veteres levi contemplatione 
 opinati sunt (cum motus naturalis sit iste) eum perpetuo augeri 
 et intendi. 
 
 8. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Distantia aut 
 
 1 This dictum was undoubtedly commonly received, yet it is opposed to the express 
 statement of Aristotle, ep ffj avrov 7&p X'fy? TcwTa /3cpos tfx ir\^v irvpbs Kal 6 a-fip. 
 De Ccel. iv. 4. But we find in the commentary of Simplieius, that Ptolemy main- 
 tained on experimental grounds that eV TTJ eavrov x*'P<? ^ T T ^ 88wp otfff 6 o}jp x 
 /3<{poSi See the Scholia in Arist. of Brandis, p. 517. Themistius held the same 
 opinion as Ptolemy. Aristotle's meaning is thus explained away by Averroes : " Per 
 gravitatem innuit ipsam proclivitatem et passionem, quae in eo est ad moveri deorsum, 
 modico quocunque patrocinio eveniente, iccirco et in proprio sibi loco quoquomodo 
 gravitatem habet magis quam levitatem, eo quod magis inclinatur recipere motum 
 deorsum quam motum sursum." Paraph, in quarto De Coelo.
 
 638 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Proximitas corporis descendcntis a Terra, ad hoc, ut celerius 
 cadat, aut tardius, aut etiam non omnino (si modo fuerit extra 
 orbem activitatis globi terrae, quae Gilbert! opinio fuit 1 ); atque 
 simul de eo quod operetur Immersio Corporis Descendentis 
 magis in Profundo Terrae, aut Collocatio ejusdem propius ad 
 Superficiem Terra. Etenim haec res etiam motum variat, ut 
 operantibus in mineris perspectum est. 
 
 9. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur Differentia Cor- 
 porum, per qua? motus Gravitatis diffunditur et communicatur : 
 atque utrum aeque communicetur per corpora mollia et porosa, 
 ac per dura et solida ; veluti si trabs lancis sit ex altera parte 
 lingulae lignea, ex altera argentea (licet fuerint reductae ad 
 idem pondus), utrum non progignat variationem in lancibus ? 
 Similiter, utrum Metallum, Lanae aut Vesica3 inflatae superim- 
 positum, idem ponderet quod in fundo lancis ? 
 
 10. Inquiratur de eo quod possit et operetur in communica- 
 tione motus Gravitatis Distantia Corporis a Libramine ; hoc 
 cst, cita et sera perceptio incubitus, sive depressionis ; veluti 
 in lancibus, ubi altera pars trabis est longior (licet reducta ad 
 idem pondus), an inclinet hoc ipsum lancem? aut in tubis 
 arcuatis, ubi longior pars certe trahet aquam, licet brevior pars 
 (facta scilicet capacior) majus contineat pondus aquae. 2 
 
 11. Inquiratur de eo quod possit Intermixtio sive Copu- 
 latio Corporis Levis cum Corpore Gravi ad elevandam corporis 
 Gravitatem ; ut in pondere animalium vivorum, et mortuorum ? 
 
 12. Inquiratur de secretis Ascensibus et Descensibus Par- 
 tium Leviorum et Graviorum in uno corpore integro; unde 
 fiant saepe accuratae separationes ; ut in separatione vini et 
 aquae, in ascensione floris lactis, et similibus ? 
 
 13. Inquiratur, quae sit Linea et Directio Motus Gravitatis ; 
 et quatenus sequatur vel centrum terrae, id est massam terrae, 
 vel centrum corporis ipsius 3 , id est, nixum partium ejus. Cen- 
 tra cnim ilia ad demonstrationes apta sunt ; in natura nihil 
 valent. 
 
 14. Inquiratur de Comparatione motus Gravitatis cum mo- 
 
 1 See notel. at p. 526. 
 
 2 The theory of the lever, to which the first part of this inquiry relates, was as 
 well understood in Bacon's time as it is now ; that of the siphon, inasmuch as it de- 
 pends on the idea of atmospherical pressure, was then unknown, and could not be 
 established until this idea was introduced by Torricelli. The experiment which bears 
 his name, and which was in effect the construction of a mercurial barometer, corre- 
 sponds in the history of physics to the invention of the telescope in that of astronomy. 
 
 8 That is, the centre of gravity.
 
 LIBER QU1NTUS. 639 
 
 tibus aliis ; quos scilicet vincat, quibus cedat ? Veluti in Motu 
 (quern appellant) Violento motus Gravitatis compescitur ad 
 tempus. 1 Etiam, cum pondus longe majus ferri ab exiguo 
 magnete attollitur, cedit motus Gravitatis motui Sympathies. 
 
 15. Inquiratur de Motu Aeris; utrum feratur sursum, an sit 
 tanquam adiaphorus ? Quod difficile est inventu, nisi per ex- 
 perimenta aliqua exquisita. Nam emicatio aeris in fundo aquas 
 fit potius per plagam aquae, quam per motum aeris ; cum idem 
 etiam fiat in ligno. Aer autem ae'ri commixtus nihil prodit, 
 cum non minus levitatem exhibeat aer in acre, quam gravitatem 
 aqua in aqua ; in bulla autem, exili obducta pellicula, ad tem- 
 pus stat. 
 
 16. Inquiratur, quis sit Terminus Levitatis ? Neque enim 
 quemadmodum centrum terras posuerunt centrum gravitatis, 
 volunt (credo) ut ultima convexitas coeli sit terminus levi- 
 tatis : an potius, veluti gravia videntur eo usque ferri ut 
 decumbant, et tanquam ad Immobile ; ita levia eo usque feran- 
 tur ut rotari incipiant, et tanquam ad Motum sine Termino ? 
 
 17. Inquiratur, quid in causa sit cur Vapores et Halitus eo 
 usque in altum ac sita est regio (quam vocant) media aeris 
 ferantur ; cum et crassiusculse sint materias, et radii solis per 
 vices (noctu scilicet) cessent ? 
 
 18. Inquiratur de Regimine Motus Flammas in Sursum ; 
 quod eo abstrusius est, quia singulis momentis flamma perit, 
 nisi forte in medio flammarum majorum: etenim flammae, 
 abruptae a continuitate sua, parum durant. 
 
 19. Inquiratur de Motu in Sursum ipsius Activitatis Calidi ; 
 veluti cum calor in ferro candente citius gliscit in sursum, 
 quam in deorsum ? 
 
 Exemplum igitur Topicas Particularis tale sit. Illud in- 
 terim, quod monere occcepimus, iterum monemus ; nempe ut 
 homines debeant Topicas Particulares suas alternare, ita ut 
 post majores progressvis aliquos in inquisitione factos aliam et 
 subinde aliam instituant Topicam, si modo scientiarum fastigia 
 conscendere cupiant. Nos autem Topicis Particularibus tan- 
 turn tribuimus, ut proprium opus de ipsis, in subjectis natura- 
 libus dignioribus et obscurioribus, conficere in animo habeamus. 
 Domini enim quasstionum sumus*, rerum non item. Atque de 
 Inventiva hactenus. 
 
 1 In the Peripatetic philosophy it was believed that a projectile moves at first in a 
 straight line, as if not acted on by gravity, and then falls perpendicularly.
 
 640 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT IV. 
 
 Partitio Artis Judicandi in Judicium per Inductionem et per 
 Syllogismum ; quorum prius aggregatur Organo Novo. Par- 
 titio prima Judicii per Syllogismum in Reductionem Rectam, 
 et Inversam. Partitio secunda ejus in Analyticam, et Doctri- 
 nam de Elenchis. Partitio Doctrines de Elenchis, in ElencJios 
 Sophismatum, Elenchos Hermenias, et Elenchos Imaginum 
 sive Idolorum. Partitio Idolorum in Idola Tribus, Idola 
 Specus, et Idola Fori. Appendix Artis Judicandi, videlicet de 
 Analogia Demonstrationum pro Natura Subjecti. 
 
 TRANSEAMUS nunc ad Judicium, sive Artein Judicandi; in 
 qua agitur de natura Probationum sive Demonstrationum. In 
 Arte autem ista Judicandi (ut etiam vulgo receptum est) aut 
 per Inductionem aut per Syllogismum concluditur. Nam En- 
 thymemata et Exempla illorum duorum compendia tantum 
 sunt. At quatenus ad Judicium quod fit per Inductionem, 
 nihil est quod nos detinere debeat ; uno siquidem eodemque 
 mentis opere illud quod quasritur, et invenitur et judicatur. 
 Neque enim per medium aliquod res transigitur, sed imme- 
 diate, eodem fere modo quo fit in sensu. Quippe sensus, in 
 objectis suis primariis, simul et object! speciem arripit et ejus 
 veritati consentit. Aliter autem fit in Syllogismo ; cujus pro- 
 batio immediata non est, sed per medium perficitur. Itaque 
 alia res est Inventio Medii, alia Judicium de Consequentia 
 Argumenti. Nam primo discurrit mens, postea acquiescit. At 
 Inductionis formam vitiosam prorsus valere jubemus; legiti- 
 mam ad Novum Organum remittimus. Itaque de Judicio per 
 Inductionem hoc loco satis. 
 
 De illo altero per Syllogismum quid attinet dicere; cum 
 subtilissimis ingeniorum limis haec res fere attrita sit, et in 
 multas minutias redacta? Nee mirum, cum sit res qua? cum 
 intellectu humano magnam habeat sympathiam. Nam animus 
 humanus miris modis ad hoc contendit et anhelat, ut non pen- 
 silis sit, sed nanciscatur aliquid fixum et immobile cui tanquam 
 firmamento in transcursibus et disquisitionibus suis innitatur. 
 Sane, quemadmodum Aristoteles probare conatur inveniri in 
 omni motu corporum aliquid quod quiescit ; et fabulam anti- 
 quam de Atlante, qui ipse erectus coelum humeris sustinuit, 
 pereleganter ad polos mundi traducit, circa quos couversiones
 
 I.IBER QUINTUS. 641 
 
 expediuntur ' ; similiter magno studio appetunt homines ali- 
 quem habere intra se cogitationum xYtlantem, aut polos qui 
 intellectus fluctuationes et vertigines aliquatenus regant ; 
 timentes scilicet, ne coelum ipsorum ruat. Itaque ad principia 
 scientiarum constituenda praepropere festinarunt, circa quae 
 omnis disputationura varietas verteretur, sine periculo ruinte 
 et casus ; nescientes profecto, eum qui certa nimis propere 
 captaverit in dubiis finiturum ; qui autem judicium tempestive 
 cohibuerit ad certa perventurura. 
 
 Manifestum est igitur, Artem hanc Judicandi per Syllo- 
 gismum nihil aliud esse quam reductionem propositionum ad 
 principia, per medios terminos. Principia autem consensu 
 recepta intelliguntur, atque a quasstione eximuntur. At ter- 
 minorum mediorum inventio libero ingeniorum acumini et 
 investigationi permittitur. Est autem Reductio ilia duplex ; 
 Directa scilicet, et In versa. Directa est, cum .ipsa propositio 
 ad ipsum principium reducitur ; id quod Probatio Ostensiva 
 vocatur. Inversa est, cum contradictoria propositionis redu- 
 citur ad contradictor him principii; quod vocant Probationem 
 per Incommodum. Numerus vero terminorum mediorum, sive 
 scala eorum, minuitur aut augetur pro remotione propositionis 
 a principio. 
 
 His positis partiemur Artem Judicii (sicut vulgo fere solet) 
 in Analyticam, et Doctrinam de Elenchis. Altera indicat, 
 altera cavet. Analytica enim veras formas instituit de conse- 
 quentiis argumentorum ; a quibus si varietur sive deflectatur, 
 vitiosa deprehenditur esse conclusio; atque hoc ipsum in se 
 elenchum quendam, sive redargutionem, continet. Rectum 
 enim (ut dicitur) et sui index est et obliqui. Tutissimum nihi- 
 lominus est Elenchos veluti monitores adhibere, quo facilius 
 detegantur fallacies, judicium alioquin illaqueaturaa. In Ana- 
 lytica vero nihil desiderari reperimus; quin potius oneratur 
 superfluis quam indiget accessionibus. 
 
 Doctrinam de Elenchis in tres partes dividere placet: 
 Elenchos Sophismatum ; Elenchos ffermenice ; et Elenchos 
 Imaginum sive Idolorum. Doctrina de Elenchis Sophismatum 
 apprime utilis est. Quamvis enim pinguius fallaciarum genus 
 a Seneca non inscite comparetur cum prastigiatorum technis, 
 in quibus quo pacto res geratur nescimus, aliter autem se 
 
 1 Arist. De Mot. Anim. 2 and 3. 
 VOL. I. T T
 
 642 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 habere rem quam videtur satis noviinus * ; subtiliora tamen 
 Sophismata non solum id praestant ut non habeat quis quod 
 respondeat, sed et judicium ipsum serio confundunt. 
 
 Ha3C pars de Elenchis Sophismatum praeclare tractata est ab 
 Aristotele, quoad praecepta; etiam a Platone adhuc melius, 
 quoad exempla; neque illud tantum in persona sophistarum 
 antiquoruni (Gorgise, Hippiae, Protagoras, Euthydemi, et reli- 
 quorum), verum etiam in persona ipsius Socratis, qui cum 
 illud semper agat, ut nihil affirmet sed a caeteris in medium 
 adducta infirmet, ingeniosissime objectionum, fallaciarum, et 
 redargutionum modos expressit. Itaque in hac parte nihil 
 habemus quod desideremus. Illud interim notandum; quamvis 
 usum hujus doctrinaa probum et praecipuum in hoc posuerimus, 
 ut redarguantur sophismata ; liquido nihilominus patere, usum 
 ejus degenerem et corr upturn ad captiones et contradictiones 
 per ilia ipsa sophismata struendas et concinnandas spectare. 
 Quod genus facultatis etiam pro eximio habetur, et haud parvas 
 affert utilitates; licet eleganter introducta sit a quopiam ilia 
 differentia inter oratorem et sophistam, quod alter tanquam 
 leporarius cursu prasstet, alter tanquam lepus ipse flexu. 
 
 Sequuntur Elenchi Hermenics ; ita enim (vocabulum potius 
 quam sensum ab Aristotele mutuantes) eos appellabimus. 
 Redigamus igitur hominibus in memoriam ea quae a nobis 
 de Transcendentibus et de Adventitiis Entium Conditionibus 
 sive Adjunctis (cum de Philosophia Prima ageremus) superius 
 dicta sunt. Ea sunt Majus, Minus ; Multum, Paucum ; Prius, 
 Posterius ; Idem, Diversum ; Potentia, Actus ; Habitus, Pri- 
 vatio ; Totum, Partes ; Agens, Patiens ; Motus, Quies ; Ens, 
 Non Ens; et similia. Inprimis autem meminerint et notent 
 differentes eas, quas diximus, harum rerum contemplationes ; 
 videlicet quod possint inquiri vel Physice, vel Logice. Phy- 
 sicam autem circa eas tractationem, Philosophies Primae 
 assignavimus. Superest Logica. Ea vero ipsa est res, quam 
 in prassenti Doctrinam de Elenchis Hermeniae nominamus. 
 Portio certe est haec doctrinae sana et bona. Hoc enim habent 
 notiones illae generales et communes, ut in omnibus disputa- 
 tionibus ubique intercurrant ; adeo ut nisi accurate et anxio 
 cum judicio bene jam ab initio distinguantur, universe disputa- 
 tionum lumini caliginem miris modis offusurae sint, et eo rem 
 
 1 Senec. Epist. 45
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 643 
 
 fere deducturas ut desinant disputationes in pugnas verborum. 
 Etenim aequivocationes et malae acceptiones verborum (prse- 
 sertim hujus generis) sunt Sophismata Sophismatum. Quare 
 etiam melius visum est istarum tractationem seorsura con- 
 stituere, quam earn vel in Philosophiam Primam sive Meta- 
 physicam recipere, vel ex parte Analytic subjicere, ut 
 Aristoteles satis confuse fecit. Dedimus autem ei nomen ex 
 usu, quia verus ejus usus est plane redargutio et cautio circa 
 usum verborum. Quinimo partem illam de Prasdicamentis, si 
 rccte instituatur, circa cautiones de non confundendis aut 
 transponendis definitionum et divisionum terminis, praecipuum 
 usum sortiri existimamus, et hue etiam referri malumus. 
 Atque de Elenchis Hermeniae hactenus. 
 
 Ad Elenchos vero Imaginum, sive Idolorum, quod attinet; 
 sunt quidem Idola profundissimas mentis humanas fallacire. 
 Neque enim fallunt in particularibus, ut caeteras, judicio cali- 
 ginem offundendo et tendiculas struendo ; sed plane ex praedis- 
 positione mentis prava et perperam constituta, quas tanquam 
 omnes intellectus anticipationes detorquet et inficit. Nam 
 Mens Humana (corpore obducta et obfuscata) tantum abest ut 
 speculo piano, aequali, et claro similis sit (quod rerum radios 
 sincere excipiat et reflectat), ut potius sit instar speculi alicujus 
 incantati, pleni superstitionibus et spectris. Imponuntur autem 
 intellectui Idola, aut per naturam ipsam generis humani gene- 
 ralem ; aut per naturam cujusque individualem ; aut per verba 
 sive naturam communicativam. Primum genus Idola Tribus, 
 secundum Idola Specus, tertium Idola Fori vocare consuevimus. 
 Est et quartum genus, quod Idola Theatri appellamus, atque 
 super-indue turn est a prams Iheoriis sive philosophiis, etperversis 
 legibus demonstrationum. Verum hoc genus abnegari potest 
 et deponi ; itaque illud in praesentia omittemus. At reliqua 
 plane obsident mentem, neque prorsus evelli possunt. Igitur 
 non est, quod quis in istis Analyticam aliquam expectet ; sed 
 doctrina de Elenchis est circa ipsa Idola doctrina primaria. 
 Neque (si verum omnino dicendum sit) doctrina de Idolis in 
 artem redigi possit ; sed tantum adhibenda est, ad ea cavenda, 
 prudentia quaedam contemplativa. Horum autem tractationem 
 plenam et subtilem ad Novum Organum amandamus ; pauca 
 generaliter tantum de iis hoc loco dicturi. 
 
 Idolorum Tribus exemplum tale sit. Natura intellectus 
 humani magis afficitur Affirmativis et Activis quam Neyativis et 
 
 T T 2
 
 644 DE AUG MENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Privativis ; cum rite et ordine rcquurn se utrique praebere 
 debeat. At ille, si res quaepiam aliquando existat et teneat, 
 fortiorem recipit de ea impressionem quam si eadem longe 
 pluries fallat aut in contrarium eveniat. Id quod omnis super- 
 stitionis et vanae credulitatis quasi radix est. Itaque recte 
 respondit ille qui, cum suspensa tabula in templo monstraretur 
 corum qui vota solverant quod naufragii periculum effugissent, 
 atque interrogando prenieretur, annon turn demum Neptuni 
 numen agnosceret ? Quassivit vicissim, At ubi sunt illi depicti, 
 qui post vota nuncupata perierunt? 1 Atque eadein est ratio 
 supers titionum similium, sicut in Astrologicis, Insomniis, 
 Ominibus, et reliquis. Alterum exemplum est hujusmodi : 
 Animus humanus (cum sit ipse substantia scqualis et uniformis) 
 majorem prasupponit et affingit in natura rerum (Bqualitatem 
 et uniformitatem, quam revera est. Hinc commentum mathe- 
 maticorum, In ccelestibus omnia moveri per circulos perfectos, 
 rejiciendo lineas spirales. Hinc etiam fit, quod, cum multa 
 sint in natura monodica et plena imparitatis, affingat tamen 
 semper cogitatio kumana Relativa, Parallela, et Conjugata. 
 Ab hoc enim fonte elementum ignis cum orbe suo introductum 
 est, ad constituendam quaternionem cum reliquis tribus, terra, 
 aqua, aere. Chymici autem fanaticam iustruxerunt rerum 
 universarum plialangem, inanissimo commento inveniri fin- 
 gentes in quatuor illis suis elementis (coelo, aere, aqua, et 
 terra) species singulas parallelas invicem et conformes. 2 Ter- 
 tium exemplum est superior! finitimum ; quod Homo fiat quasi 
 Norma et Speculum Natures. Neque enim credibile est (si 
 eingula percurrantur et notentur) quantum agmen Idolorum 
 philosophiaj immiserit naturalium operationum ad similitu- 
 dinem actionum humanarum reductio: hoc ipsum, inquam, 
 quod putetur talia naturam facere qualia homo facit. Neque 
 multo meliora sunt ista quam hasresis Anthropomorphitarum, 
 in cellis ac solitudine stupidorum monachorum orta ; aut sen- 
 tentia Epicuri huic ipsi in Paganismo respondens, qui Diis 
 humanam figuram tribuebat. At non opus fuit Velleio Epi- 
 cureo interrogare, Cur Deus ccelum stellis et luminibus, tanquam 
 cedilis, ornasset ? 3 Nam si summus ille opifex ad modum sedilis 
 
 1 See Nov. Org. i. 46. 
 
 2 See note on Nov. Org. i. 45. /. S. 
 
 3 Cicero De Nat Deor. i. c. 9. Compare the following extract from Galileo's letter 
 to Gallanzone Gallanzoni : " Uno clei nostri piu celebri architetti se avesse avuto a
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 645 
 
 se gessisset, in pulchrum aliqucra ct elegantem ordinem Stellas 
 digerere debuisset, operosis palatiorum laquearibus consimilem ; 
 cum e contra aegre quis ostendat in tarn infinite stellarum 
 numero figuram aliquam vel quadratam, vel triangularem, vel 
 rectilinearem. Tanta est harmonise discrepantia inter spiritum 
 hominis et spiritum mundi. 
 
 Quod ad Idola Specus attinet, ilia ortum habent ex propria 
 cujusque natura et animi et corporis ; atque etiam ex educatione 
 et consuetudine, et fortuitis rebus, quae singulis hominibus 
 accidunt. Pulcherrimum enim emblema est illud de Specu 
 Platonis. Siquidem si quis (missa ilia exquisita parabolas 
 subtilitate) a prima infantia in antro aut caverna obscura et 
 subterranea ad maturam usque aetatem degeret, et tune dere- 
 pente in aperta prodiret, et hunc coeli et rerum apparatum 
 contueretur; dubium non est, quin animum ejus subirent et 
 perstringerent quampluriniae mira? et absurdissimae phantasias. 
 Nos vero scilicet sub aspectu coeli degimus ; interea tamen 
 animi in cavernis corporum nostrorum conduntur ; ut infinitas 
 errorum et falsitatum imagines haurire necesse si;., si e specu 
 sua raro tantum et ad breve aliquod tempus prodeant, et non 
 in contemplatione naturae perpetuo tanquam sub dio morentur. 
 Emblemati siquidem illi de Specu Platonis 1 optime convenit 
 parabola ilia Heracliti, quod homines scientias in mundis propriis 
 et non in mundo majore qu&rant. 
 
 At Idola Fori molestissima sunt, qua? ex fcedere tacito inter 
 homines de Verbis et Nominibus impositis se in intellectum 
 insinuarunt. Verba autem plerunque ex captu vulgi induntur, 
 atque per differentias quarum vulgus cnpax est res secant ; cum 
 autem intellectus acutior aut observatio diligentior res melius 
 distinguere velit, verba obstrepunt. Quod vero hujus remedium 
 est (definitiones scilicet) in plurimis huic malo mederi nequit ; 
 quoniam et ipsae definitiones ex verbis constent, et verba 
 gignant verba. Etsi autem putemus verbis nostris nos impe- 
 rare ; et illud facile dictu sit, Loquendum esse ut vulgus, sen- 
 
 compartire nella gran volta del cielo la moltitudine di tante stelle fisse, credo io che 
 distribuite le avrebbe con bei partimenti di quadrati, esagoni, ed ottangoli ; interzando 
 le maggiori tra le mezzane e le piccole, con sue intere correspondenze, parendogli in 
 questo modo di valersi di belle proporzione : ma all' incontro Iddio, quasi che colla 
 mano del caso le abbia disseminate, pare a noi che senza regola simmetria o eleganza 
 alcuno le abbia colassu sparpagliate." 
 
 1 Plato, Republ. vi. For the reference to Heraclitus, seethe note 1. p. 164. 
 
 T T 3
 
 646 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tiendum ut sapientes l ; quinetiam vocabula artium (quae apud 
 peritos solum valent) huic rei satisfacere videri possint; et 
 definitiones 2 (de quibus diximus) artibus prasmissse (secundum 
 prudentiam Mathematicorum) vocabulorum pravas acceptiones 
 corrigere valeant; attamen haec omnia non sufficiunt, quo minus 
 verborum praestigiae et incantationes plurimis modis seducant, 
 et vim quandam intellectui faciant, et impetum suum (more 
 Tartarorum sagittationis) retro in intellectum (unde profecta 
 sint) retorqueant. Quare altiore et novo quodam remedio ad 
 hoc malum opus est. Verum hasc jam cursim perstringimus, 
 interim desiderari pronunciantes hanc doctrinam, quam Elenchos 
 Magnos, sive de Idolis animi humani nativis et adventitiis, appel- 
 labimus. Ejus autem tractationem legitimam ad Organum 
 Novum referimus. 
 
 Superest Artis Judicandi Appendix quaedam insignia ; quam 
 etiam desiderari statuimus. Siquidem Aristoteles rem notavit, 
 modum rei nullibi persecutus est. Ea tractat, quales demon- 
 strationes ad quales materias sive subjecta applicari debeant ; 
 ut haec doctrina tanquam Judicationes Judicationum contineat. 
 Optime enim Aristoteles neque demonstrationes ab oratoribus, 
 neque suasiones a mathematicis requiri debere monet. 3 Ut si 
 in probationis genere aberretur, judicatio ipsa non absolvatur. 
 Quando vero sint quatuor demonstrationum genera, vel per 
 consensum immediatum et notiones communes ; vel per Inducti- 
 onem ; vel per Syllogismum ; vel per earn (quam recte vocat 
 Aristoteles) Demonstrationem in Orbem 4 (non a notioribus 
 scilicet, sed tanquam de piano) ; habent hae demonstrationes 
 singulse certa subjecta et materias scientiarum in quibus 
 pollent, alia a quibus excluduntur. Etenim rigor et curiositas 
 in poscendo probationes nimium severas in aliquibus, multo 
 magis facilitas et remissio in acquiescendo probationibus 
 levioribus in aliis, inter ea sunt numeranda quaB detrimenti 
 plurimum et impedimenti scientiis attulerunt. Atque de Arte 
 Judicandi haec dicta sint. 
 
 1 "Loquendum enim est ut plures, sentiendum ut pauci." Niphus's Commentary on 
 Aristot. de Gen. et Corr. lib. i. fo. 29. G. 
 * Diffinitiones in the original. /. S. 
 3 Arist Metaph. ii. 3. * Arist. Post. Analyt. ii. 13.
 
 LIBER QUINTUS. 647 
 
 CAPUT V. 
 
 Partitio Artis Retinendi sive Retentive in Doctrinam de Admi- 
 niculis Memoriae, et Doctrinam de Meraoria ipsa. Partitio 
 Doctrines, de Memoria ipsa in Praenotionem, et Emblema. 
 
 ARTEM Retinendi, sive Custodiendi, in duas doctrinas partie- 
 mur; Doctrinam scilicet de Adminiculis Memorise, et Doctri- 
 nam de Memoria ipsa. Adminiculum Memoriae plane scriptio 
 est. Atque omnino monendum, quod Memoria sine hoc admi- 
 niculo rebus prolixioribus et accuratioribus impar sit; neque 
 ullo modo nisi de scripto recipi debeat. Quod etiam in Philo- 
 sophia Inductiva et Interpretatione Naturae praecipue obtinet. 
 Tarn enim possit quis calculationes Ephemeridis memoria nuda 
 absque scripto absolvere, quam interpretation! naturae per me- 
 ditationes et vires memoriae nativas et nudas sufficere ; nisi eidem 
 memoriae per tabulas ordinatas ministretur. Verum missa In- 
 terpretatione Naturae, quae doctrina nova est, etiam ad veteres 
 et populares scientias haud quicquam fere utilius esse possit quam 
 Memoriae Adminiculum solidum et bonum ; hoc est, Digestum 
 probum et eruditum Locorum Communium. Neque tamen me 
 fugit, quod relatio eorum quaa legimus aut discimus in Locos 
 Communes damno eruditionis ab aliquibus imputetur, ut quoe 
 lectionis cursum remoretur, et Memoriam ad feriandum invitet. 
 Attamen quoniam adulterina res est in Scientiis praecocem esse 
 et promptum, nisi etiam solidus sis et multipliciter instructus, 
 diligentiam et laborem in Locis Comniunibus congerendis magni 
 prorsus rem esse usus et firmitudinis in studiis judicamus ; 
 veluti quae Invention! copiam subministret, et aciem Judicii in 
 unum contrahat. Verum est tamen inter methodos et syntaxes 
 Locorum Communium quas nobis adhuc videre contigit, nul- 
 lam reperiri quae alicujus sit pretii ; quandoquidem in titulis 
 suis faciem prorsus exhibeant magis scholas quam mundi ; vul- 
 gares et paedagogicas adhibentes divisiones, non autem eas quae 
 ad rerum medullas et interiora quovis modo penetrent. 
 
 Circa Memoriam autem ipsam, satis segniter et languide 
 videtur adhuc inquisitum. Extat certe de ea ars quaepiam; 
 verum nobis constat turn meliora proscepta de Memoria confir- 
 manda et amplianda haberi posse quam ilia ars complectitur, 
 turn practicam illius ipsius artis meliorem institui posse quam 
 
 T T 4
 
 648 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 quae recepta est. Neque tamen anibigimus (si cui placet hac 
 arte ad ostentationem abuti) quin possint praestari per earn non- 
 nulla mirabilia et portentosa ; sed nihilominus res quasi sterilis 
 est (eo quo adhibetur modo) ad usus humanos. At illud inte- 
 rim ei non imputamus, quod naturalem memoriam destruat et 
 super-oneret (ut vulgo objicitur) ; sed quod non dextre instituta 
 sit ad auxilia memoriae commodanda in negotiis et rebus seriis. 
 Nos vero hoc habemus (fortasse ex genere vitas nostro politicae) 
 ut quas artem jactant, usum non praebent, parvi faciamus. Nam 
 ingentem numerum nominum aut verborum semel recitatorum 
 eodem ordine statim repetere ; aut versus complures de quovis 
 argumento extempore conficere ; aut quidquid occurrit satirica 
 aliqua similitudine perstringere ; aut seria quaeque in jocum 
 vertere ; aut contradiction e et cavillatione quidvis eludere ; et 
 similia ; (quorum in facultatibus animi baud exigua est copia, 
 quasque ingenio et exercitatione ad miraculum usque extolli 
 possunt ;) base certe omnia et his similia nos non majoris faci- 
 rnus quam funambulorum et mimorum agilitates et ludicra. 
 Etenim eadem ferme res sunt ; cum haec corporis, ilia animi 
 viribus abutantur ; et admirationis forsitan aliquid habeant, 
 dignitatis parum. 1 
 
 Ars autem Memoriae duplici nititur intentione ; Praenotione, 
 et Emblemate. Praenotionem vocamus abscissionem quandam 
 investigationis infinitae. Cum enim quis aliquid revocare in 
 memoriam conatur; si nullam Praenotionem habeat aut per- 
 ceptionem ejus quod quaerit, quaerit certe et molitur, et hac iliac 
 discurrit tanquam in infinite. Quod si certam aliquam Prasno- 
 tionem habeat, statim abscinditur infinitum, et fit discursus 
 Memoriae magis in vicino, ut venatio damae intra septa. 2 Ita- 
 que et ordo manifesto juvat Memoriam. Subest enim Prasnotio, 
 id quod quaeritur tale esse debere ut conveniat cum ordine. 
 Similiter carmina facilius discuntur memoriter quam prosa. Si 
 enim haeretur in aliquo verbo, subest Praenotio, tale debere esse 
 
 1 Of the art of memory Agrippa remarks : " Solent enim in gymnasiis plerunque 
 hujus artis professione nebulones quidam scholaribus imponere ac rei novitate pecu- 
 niolam ab incautis emungere : turpe et impudentis est multarum rerum lectionem in- 
 star mercimoniorum ante fores explicare, cum interim vacua domus sit." De Incert. 
 et Vanit. Scient. c. 10. 
 
 The illustration at the end of this passage may have suggested that which Bacon 
 employs in speaking of the method of Raymond Lully, vide infra, p. 669. 
 
 In Selden's Table-talk he is made to affirm that, whatever may be said of great 
 memories, no man will trust his memory when writing what is to be given to the 
 world. [See Table-talk, under title " Minister Divine."] 
 
 * Compare Nov. Org. ii. 26.
 
 LIBER QU1NTUS. 649 
 
 verbum quod conveniat cum versu. Atque ista Praenotio est 
 
 Artificialis Memoriae pars prima. Nam in Artificial! Memoria 
 
 locos habemus jam ante digestos et paratos ; imagines extempore, 
 
 prout res postulat, conficimus ; at subest Praenotio, talem esse 
 
 debere imaginem, qualis aliquatenus conveniat cum loco ; id 
 
 quod vellicat memoriam, et aliquo modo munit ad rem quam 
 
 quaerimus. Emblema vero deducit intellectuale ad sensibile: 
 
 sensibile autem semper fortius percutit memoriam, atque in ea 
 
 facilius imprimitur quam intellectuale ; adeo ut etiam brutorum 
 
 memoria per sensibile excitetur; per intellectuale minime. 
 
 Itaque facilius retineas imaginem venatoris leporem perse- 
 
 quentis, aut pharmacopoei pyxides ordinantis, aut pedantii ora- 
 
 tionem habentis, aut pueri versus memoriter recitantis, aut mimi 
 
 in scena agentis, quam ipsas notiones inventionis, dispositionis, 
 
 elocutionis, memoriae, actionis. Sunt et alia quae pertinent ad 
 
 Memoriam juvandam (ut modo diximus); sed Ars quae jam 
 
 habetur ex his duobus jam praemissis consistit. Particulares 
 
 autem artium defectus persequi, fuerit ab instituto nostro rece- 
 
 dere. Igitur de Arte Retinendi sive Custodiae, haec 
 
 dicta sint. Jam vero ad quartum membrum 
 
 Logicae, quod Traditionem et Elocu- 
 
 tionem tractat, ordine 
 
 pervenimus.
 
 650 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Traditiva in Doctrinam de Organo Sermonis, Do- 
 ctrinam de Methodo Sermonis, et Doctrinam de Illustra- 
 tione Sermonis. Partitio Doctrines de Organo Sermonis in 
 Doctrinam de Notis Rerum, de Locutione, et de Scriptione ; 
 quarum duce posteriores Grammaticam constituunt, ejusque 
 partitioned sunt. Partitio Doctrines de Notis Rerum in 
 Hieroglyphica, et Characteres Keales. Partitio Secunda 
 Grammatical in Literariam, et Philosophantem. Aggregatio 
 Poeseos quoad Metrum ad Doctrinam de Locutione. Aggre- 
 gatio Doctrinae de Ciphris ad Doctrinam de Scriptione. 
 
 CONCEDITUB certe cuivis (Rex Optime) seipsum et sua ridere 
 et ludere. Quis igitur novit, mini forte opus istud nostrum 
 non descriptum fuerit ex libro quodam veteri, reperto inter 
 libros famosissimae illius bibliothecse Sancti Victoris; quorum 
 catalogum excepit magister Franciscus Rabelesius ? * Illic 
 enim invenitur liber, cui titulus est Formicarium Artium. 
 Nos sane pusillum acervum pulvisculi congessimus, et sub eo 
 complura scientiarum et artium grana condidimus ; quo formicaj 
 reptare possint, et paulatim conquiescere, et subinde ad novos 
 se labores accingere. At regum sapientissimus pigros quos- 
 cunque remittit ad formicas; nos autem pigros eos homines 
 
 1 Pantag. ii. 7. The humour of making catalogues of imaginary bookj probably 
 began with Rabelais.
 
 LIBER SEXTOS. 651 
 
 pronunciamus, quibus acquisitis uti tantum cordi sit, neque 
 subinde novas scientiarum sementes et messes facere. 
 
 Accedamus nunc ad Artem Tradendi, sive Proferendi et 
 Enunciandi ea quae inventa, judicata, ac in memoria repo- 
 sita sunt ; quam nomine generali Traditivam appellabimus. 
 Ea omnes artes circa Verba et Sermones complectitur. Quam- 
 vis enim Ratio Sermonis veluti anima sit, tamen in tractando 
 disjungi debent Ratio et Sermo ; non minus quam Anima et 
 Corpus. Traditivam in tres partes dividemus ; Doctrinam circa 
 Organum Sermonis ; Doctrinam circa Methodum Sermonis ; et 
 Doctrinam circa Sermonis Illustrationem sive Ornatum. 
 
 Doctrina de Organo Sermonis vulgo recepta, qua? et Gram- 
 matica dicitur, duplex est ; altera de Locutione, altera de Scri- 
 ptione ; recte enim Aristoteles ; Cogitationum tesserce verba, 
 verborum literce. 1 Utrunque Grammatics assignabimus. Verum 
 ut rem altius repetamus, antequam ad Grammaticam et partes 
 ejus jam dictas veniamus, in genere de Organo Traditivae 
 dicendum est. Videntur enim esse proles quaedam Traditiva3 
 alia?, praeter Verba et Literas. Hoc igitur plane statuendum 
 est; quidquid scindi possit in differentias satis numerosas ad 
 notionum varietatem explicandam (modo differentias illse sensui 
 perceptibiles sint) fieri posse vehiculum cogitationum de nomine 
 in hominem. Nam videmus nationes linguis discrepantes com- 
 mercia non male per gestus exercere. At in practica nonnul- 
 lorum, qui surdi et muti usque a nativitate fuerant et alias 
 erant ingeniosi, miros vidimus haberi inter eos et amicos suos, 
 qui eorum gestus perdidicerant, dialogos. Quinetiam notis- 
 simum fieri jam cospit, quod in China et provinciis ultimi 
 Orientis in usu hodie sint characteres quidam reales, non 
 nominates ; qui scilicet nee literas nee verba, sed res et notiones 
 exprimunt. 2 Adeo ut gentes complures linguis prorsus discre- 
 pantes, sed hujusmodi characteribus (qui apud illos latius 
 recepti sunt) consentientes, scriptis communicent ; eousque ut 
 librum aliquem, hujusmodi characteribus conscriptum, quaeque 
 gens patria lingua legere et reddere possit. 3 
 
 1 Arist. De Interpret i. 1. 
 
 2 In Acosta's History of the New World [book 6. c. 5.], which is a very interesting 
 book, the writer, in giving an account of the way in which the Mexicans used hiero- 
 glyphical characters, makes a digression on the writing of the Chinese, in a manner 
 which indicates that at that time their mode of writing was not generally known. 
 
 3 This assertion was made by the early missionaries, and has been constantly re- 
 peated since. Within certain limits it is true ; ju|t as an Italian and an Englishman 
 may read or write Latin equally well, though they pronounce it differently. But the
 
 652 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Nota3 igitur Rerum, quae absque ope aut medio Verborum 
 res significant, duplicis generis sunt; quarum prius genus 
 ex Congruo, alterum ad Placitum significat. Prioris generis 
 sunt Hieroglyphica, et Gestus ; posterioris vero ii, quos dixi- 
 mus, Characteres Reales. Hieroglyphicorum usus vetustus 
 admodum et in veneratione quadam habitus, prsecipue apud 
 ^Egyptios, gentem valde antiquam ; adeo ut videantur Hi- 
 eroglyphica fuisse Scriptio quasdam ante-nata et senior ipsis 
 Elementis Literarum, nisi forte apud Hebraeos. Gestus autem 
 tanquam Hieroglyphica transitoria sunt. Quemadmodum enim 
 verba prolata volant, scripta maneut; ita et Hieroglyphica 
 gestibus expressa transeunt, depicta durant. Cum enim Pe- 
 riander, consultus de conservanda tyrannide, legatum astare 
 juberet ; atque ipse in horto deambulans summitates florum 
 eminentiorum carperet, ad caedem * procerum innuens 2 ; non 
 
 structure of the spoken languages, or rather dialects, to which written Chinese can 
 correspond must be identical. It is difficult to attach a precise meaning to such state- 
 ments as Remusat's " Les signes de leur ecriture, pris en general, n'expriment pas des 
 pronunciations, mais des idees." Every character has in truth, he immediately after- 
 wards remarks, its sound ; and a Chinese book can of course be read aloud in Chinese. 
 Moreover the great majority of Chinese characters carry with them an indication of 
 their pronunciation. They consist of two elements, one being a simpler character of 
 the same sound, although generally speaking of totally different meaning, the other 
 referring more or less precisely to the meaning. Thus the character for a particular 
 kind of tree will contain, besides the phonetic element, the character for tree or wood 
 in general ; so too will very frequently that for a thing made of wood. These elements 
 have been termed Phoneticae and Classificae. But most of the latter admit of being 
 used in different combinations as Phoneticae. They correspond precisely with the 
 kind of hieroglyphics which Bunsen calls determinants, and are for the most part the 
 same as the radicals (as they are called) used in arranging words in the Chinese dic- 
 tionaries. The class of characters of which I have been speaking, is the fourth of the 
 six classes into which Chinese characters are commonly divided. They are called Hiai- 
 Ching, id est joined to sound, or Hing-Ching, id est representing the sound ; and it 
 is said that out of twenty-four thousand characters it was found that twenty-two 
 thousand are of this kind. See Callery, Systema phoneticum Scriptura Sinicce, i. 9. 
 He refers for his authority to a Chinese encyclopaedia. 
 
 The view taken of the nature of these characters in Marshman's Clavis Sittica, is, 
 as Remusat has pointed out, wholly wrong. It is much to be wished that a person 
 sufficiently acquainted with the subject would investigate the analogy which exists be- 
 tween the Chinese and Egyptian modes of writing ; not, of course, with any notion 
 of establishing a historical connexion (as was once attempted) between the two 
 nations. It is exceedingly remarkable, that as early as the fourth dynasty the 
 Egyptians seem to have bad a complete and even copious system of purely alpha- 
 betic characters, though, as Lepsius has shown, the majority of their alphabetic 
 characters are of later date. I must apologise for the length of this note on a subject 
 not very closely connected with the text. 
 
 1 Sedem in the original. J. S. 
 
 2 Compare this with Solyman's lesson to his vizir on the art of sieges. " Come 
 close to me," said the Sultan, " but on your head be it if you tread on the carpet on 
 which I sit." The vizir reflected for a while, then gradually rolling up the carpet, 
 advanced close to his instructor. " All is said," resumed Solyman ; " you know now 
 how strong places are to be taken." The lesson was given, it is said, in relation to the 
 siege of Rhodes in 1521.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 653 
 
 minus usus est Hieroglyphic, quam si id in charta depinxisset. 
 Illud interim patet, Hieroglyphica et Gestus semper cum re 
 significata aliquid similitudinis habere, et emblemata quaedam 
 esse ; unde eas notas rerum ex congruo nominavimus. At Cha- 
 racteres Reales nihil habent ex emblemate, sed plane surdi 
 sunt ; non minus quam ipsa elementa literarum ; et ad placitum 
 tantum efficti, consuetudine autem tanquam pacto tacito recepti. 
 Illud interim liquet, vasta ipsorum multitudine ad scribendum 
 opus esse ; tot enim esse debent, quot sunt vocabula radicalia. 
 Haec igitur portio Doctrinae de Organo Sermonis quae est de 
 Notis Rerum, nobis ponitur pro Desiderato. Etsi autein tenuis 
 possit videri esse ejus usus, cum verba et scriptio per literas 
 sint organa Traditiva3 longe commodissima ; visum est tamen 
 nobis, veluti rei non ignobilis, aliquam hoc loco mention em ejus 
 facere. Tractamus enim hie veluti numismata rerum intel- 
 lectualium ; nee abs re fuerit nosse, quod sicut nummi possint 
 confici ex alia materia praeter auruni et argentum, ita et Notse 
 Rerum alias possint cudi, praeter Verba et Literas. 
 
 Pergamus igitur ad Grammaticam. Ea vero veluti viatoris 
 locum erga casteras scientias obtinet; non nobilem ilium qui- 
 dem, sed inprimis tamen necessarium ; prassertim cum scientias 
 nostris sasculis ex linguis eruditis, non vernaculis, potissimum 
 hauriantur. Neque tamen dignitas ejus parva censenda est; 
 quandoquidem antidoti cujusdam vicibus fungatur contra male- 
 dictionem illam confusionis linguarum. Sane hoc agit industria 
 humana, ut se restituat et redintegret in benedictionibus illis 
 quibus culpa sua excidit. Atque contra maledictionem primam 
 generalem de sterilitate terras et comedendo panem suum in 
 sudore vultus sui, reliquis artibus omnibus se munit et instruit. 
 At contra secundam illam de confusione linguarum, advocat 
 in auxilium Grammaticam. Ejus in linguis quibusque verna- 
 culis exiguus certe usus est ; in externis perdiscendis latior ; 
 amplissimus vero in illis linguis quae vulgares esse desierunt, et 
 in libris tantum perpetuantur. 
 
 Grammaticam etiam bipartitam ponemus ; ut alia sit Lite- 
 raria, alia Philosophica. Altera adhibetur simpliciter ad lin- 
 guas, nempe ut eas quis aut celerius perdiscat, aut emendatius 
 et purius loquatur. Altera vero aliquatenus Philosophies 
 ministrat. Qua in parte occurrit nobis Caesarem libros De 
 Analogia conscripsisse ; atque dubitatio subiit utrum illi hanc, 
 quam dicimus, Grammaticam Philosoplucam tractarint. Suspi-
 
 654 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 camur tamen nil admodum in illis fuisse subtilius aut sublimius ; 
 sed tantum prseceptiones tradidisse de oratione casta et integra, 
 neque a consuetudine loquendi prava neque ab affectatione 
 aliquorum vitiata et polluta; in quo genere ipse excelluit. 1 
 Veruntamen hac ipsa re moniti, cogitatione complexi sumus 
 Grammaticam quandam quae non analogiam verborum ad in- 
 vicem, sed analogiam inter verba et res, sive rationem, sedulo 
 inquirat ; citra tamen earn, quoe Logicae subservit, hermeniam. 
 Vestigia certe rationis verba sunt ; itaque vestigia etiam aliquid 
 de corpore indicant. Hujus igitur rei adumbrationem quandam 
 tenuem dabimus. Primo autem minime probamus curiosam 
 illam inquisitionem, quam tamen Plato vir eximius non con- 
 tempsit 2 ; nimirum de impositione et original! etymologia 
 nominum ; supponendo ac si ilia jam a principio ad placitum 
 indita minime fuissent, sed ratione quadam et significanter 
 derivata et deducta ; materiam certe elegantem, et quasi 
 ceream, qua? apte fingi et flecti possit ; quoniam vero antiqui- 
 tatum penetralia perscrutari videtur, etiam quodammodo vene- 
 rabilem ; sed nihilominus parce veram, et fructu cassam. Ilia 
 demum, ut arbitramur, foret nobilissima Grammutica3 species, 
 si quis in linguis plurimis tarn eruditis quam vulgaribus eximie 
 doctus, de variis linguarum proprietatibus tractaret ; in quibus 
 quaeque excellat, in quibus deficiat, ostendens. Ita enim et 
 lingufe mutuo commercio locupletari possint, et fiet ex iis qua3 
 in singulis linguis pulchra sunt (tanquam Venus Apellis 3 ) 
 orationis ipsius quaedam formosissima imago et exemplar quod- 
 dam insigne, ad sensus anirni rite exprimendos. Atque una 
 etiam hoc pacto capientur signa baud levia, sed observatu digna 
 (quod fortasse quispiam non putaret) de ingeniis et moribus 
 populorum et nationum, ex linguis ipsorum. Equidem libenter 
 audio Ciceronem notantem, quod apud Graces desit verbum, 
 quod Latinum illud ineptum reddat; Propterea, inquit, quod 
 Greeds hoc vitium tarn familiare fuit, ut illud in se ne agno- 
 scerent quidem : digna certe gravitate Komana censura. 4 Quid 
 
 1 Aulus Gellius quotes from the Analogia of Csesar, a precept to avoid an unusual 
 word " veluti scopulum," Noctes Alt. 1. 10. Bacon refers to the Analogia in several 
 other places. Vide supra, p. [476. Observe that he there speaks of it as a grammatical 
 philosophy in which Caesar was endeavouring to bring words, which are the images of 
 things, into congruity with the things themselves. Whence it would seem that he 
 had changed his opinion as to the character of the book ; for this would be the very 
 analogia inter verba et res from which here he distinguishes it.] 
 
 2 See particularly the Cratylus. 
 
 3 Not the Venus of Apelles, but the Helen of Zeuxis. 
 
 4 " Nam qui aut tempus quid postulet non videt, aut plura loquitur, aut se ostentat,
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 655 
 
 illud quod Graeci in compositionibus verborum tanta licentia 
 usi sunt, Romani contra magnam in hac re severitatem adhi- 
 buerunt? Plane colligat quis Graecos fuisse artibus, Romanes 
 rebus gerendis, magis idoneos. Artium enim distinctiones 
 verborum compositionem fere exigunt; at res et negotia sim- 
 pliciora verba postulant. Quin Hebraei tantum compositiones 
 illas refugiunt, ut malint metaphora abuti quam compositionem 
 introducere. Quinetiam verbis tarn paucis et minime com- 
 mixtis utuntur, ut plane ex lingua ipsa quis perspiciat gentem 
 fuisse illam Nazaraeam, et a reliquis gentibus separatam. 
 Annon et illud observatione dignum (licet nobis modernis 
 spiritus nonnihil retundat) antiquas linguas plenas declina- 
 tionum, casuum, conjugationum, temporum, et similium fuisse ; 
 modernas, his fere destitutas, plurima per praepositiones et 
 verba auxiliaria segniter expedire ? Sane facile quis conjiciat, 
 utcunque nobis ipsi placemus, ingenia priorum saeculorum 
 nostris fuisse multo acutiora et subtiliora. 1 Innumera sunt 
 ejusmodi, quae justum volumen complere possint. Non abs re 
 igitur fuerit Grammaticam Philosophantem a Simplici et Lite- 
 raria distinguere, et Desideratam ponere. 
 
 Ad Grammaticam etiam pertinere judicamus omnia ilia qua? 
 verbis quoquo modo accidunt, qualia sunt Sonus, Mensura, 
 Accentus. At prima ilia literarum simplicium cunabula (nempe 
 qua percussione linguae, qua apertura oris, qua adductione 
 labiorum, quo nisu gutturis, singularum literarum sonus gene- 
 retur) ad Grammaticam non pertinent, sed portio sunt Doctrinae 
 de Sonis, sub Sensu et Sensibili tractanda. Sonus, de quo 
 loquimur, Grammaticus ad Euphonias tantum pertinet et Dys- 
 phonias. Illarum quaedam communes sunt. Nulla enim est 
 lingua, quin vocalium concurrentium hiatus aut consonantium 
 concurrentium asperitates aliquatenus refugiat. Sunt et alias 
 
 aut eorum quibuscum est vel dignitatis vel commodi rationem non habet, aut denique 
 in aliquo genere aut inconcinnus aut mult.us est, is ineptus dicitur. Hoc vitio cumu- 
 lata est eruditissima ilia Grascorum natio ; itaque quod vim hujus mali Graeci non 
 vident, ne nomen quidem ei vitio imposuerunt, ut enim quaeras omnia quomodo Graci 
 ineptum appellent non reperies." Cic. De Orat. ii. 4. 
 
 1 On this very interesting question, which Bacon was probably the first to propose, 
 Grimm has some good remarks in his essay on the origin of language, in the Berlin 
 Transactions for 1852. He shows that of the two classes of languages here con- 
 trasted each has its own merits, observing that mere fulness of grammatical forms is 
 not to be recognised as necessarily an advantage ; else we should be obliged to rate 
 Finnish, in which the noun has thirteen cases, above Sanscrit, in which it has eight, 
 and Greek, in which it has only five. It may be remarked in illustration of this, 
 that although there are in Sanscrit past tenses corresponding to the Greek aorists 
 and perfects, yet the accuracy of logical discrimination which appropriates the latter to 
 the completed action belongs to Greek only ; so too of the appropriation of the imper- 
 fect to express an uncompleted action. SeeBopp, Comparative Grammar, 513.
 
 656 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 respectivae, quse scilicet diversorum populorum auribus gratae 
 aut ingratae accedunt. Groaca lingua diphthongis scatet ; Latina 
 longe parcius. Lingua Hispanica literas tenues edit, easque 
 statim vertit in medias. 1 Linguae quaa ex Gothis fluxere 
 aspiratis gaudent. 2 Multa sunt ejusmodi: verum haec ipsa 
 fortasse plus satis. 
 
 At Mensura Verborum ingens nobis corpus artis peperit, 
 Poesim scilicet, non quatenus ad materiam (de qua supra) sed 
 quatenus ad stilum et figuram verborum ; versus nimirum sive 
 cannina. Circa quas ars kabetur quasi pusilla, exempla acce- 
 dunt grandia et infinita. Neque tamen ars ilia (quam Proso- 
 diam Grammatici appellant) ad carminum genera et mensuras 
 edocendas tantum restringi debeat. Adjicienda enim sunt prae- 
 cepta, quod carminum genus cuique materiae sive subjecto 
 optime conveniat. Antiqui hero'ica carmina historiis et en- 
 comiis applicaverunt ; elegos querimoniis ; iambos invectivis ; 
 lyricos odis et hymnis. Neque haec prudentia recentioribus 
 poetis in linguis propriis defuit. Illud reprehendendum, quod 
 quidam antiquitatis nimium studiosi linguas modernas ad men- 
 suras antiquas (heroicas, elegiacas, sapphicas, &c.) traducere 
 conati sunt 3 ; quas ipsarum linguarum fabrica respuit, nee 
 minus aures exhorrent. In hujusmodi rebus sensus judicium 
 artis prseceptis praeponendum ; ut ait ille, 
 Coena3 fercula nostrae 
 Mallem convivis quam placuisse cocis. 4 
 
 1 This is somewhat overstated. The Spanish generally retains the Latin tenuis at 
 the beginning of words and often in the middle. The tendency to the flattening 
 Bacon mentions is most marked in the case of p and 6. See Diez, Grammatik der 
 Romanischen Sprachen, i. 252., for a general table of consonantal changes in the Roman 
 tongues. A remarkable peculiarity in Spanish is the substitution of h (now dropped in 
 pronunciation) for the Latin/ at the beginning of words. It is not however universal, 
 and belongs to a comparatively late period of the language, no trace of it being found, 
 according to Diez, in the poem of the Cid. 
 
 * Bacon no doubt refers to High and Low German. The Gothic itself commonly 
 called Moeso- Gothic, but which might perhaps be as fitly called Italian-Gothic, as the 
 existing remains of it belong probably to Italy in the time of Theodoric and his succes- 
 sors is much less charged with aspirates than the tongues which claim descent from it. 
 The last editor of Dlphilas, after pointing out the prevalence of liquids and tenues, ob- 
 serves rather fancifully : " Our ancestors were not a mountain people ; they must have 
 dwelt on plains under a moist, mild climate." The analogy of Gothic with Sanscrit is 
 very striking. Bopp remarks : " When I read the venerable Dlphilas, I feel as if I were 
 reading Sanscrit." 
 
 3 This affectation prevailed about the same time in France and Italy, and a little 
 later in England. Jodelle was the first person, according to Pasquier, who produced a 
 French hexameter and pentameter. 
 
 Augustus von Schlegel, in his Indische Bibliothek, has an interesting essay on this 
 subject, especially with respect to the Greek hexameter. He endeavours to determine 
 the modifications necessary in order that it may be really naturalised in modern 
 languages. 
 
 4 Mart ix. 83.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 657 
 
 Neque vero ars est, sed artis abusus, cum ilia naturam non 
 perficiat sed pervertat. Verum quod ad Poesim attinet, (sive 
 de fabulis sive de metro loquamur) est ilia (ut superius dixi- 
 mus) tanquam herba luxurians, sine semine nata, ex vigore 
 ipsius terras germinans. Quare ubique serpit, et latissime 
 diffusa est; ut supervacuum foret de defectibus ejus sollici- 
 tum esse. De ilia igitur cura est abjicienda. Quod vero ad 
 Accentus Verborum, nil opus est de re tarn pusilla dicere; 
 nisi forte illud quis notatu dignum putet, quod accentus Ver- 
 borum exquisite, accentus autem Sententiarum neutiquam in 
 observationem venit. Attamen illud fere universe generi hu- 
 mano commune est, ut vocem in fine periodi submittant, in 
 interrogatione elevent, et alia hujusmodi non pauca. Atque 
 de Grammatical parte, qua3 ad Locutionem spectat, hactenus, 
 
 Quod ad Scriptionem attinet, ea aut Alphabeto Vulgari 
 perficitur (quod ubique recipitur), aut Occulto et Private, de 
 quo inter singulos convenit ; quod Ciphras vocant. At Or- 
 thographia Vulgaris etiam controversiam et quaestionem nobis 
 peperit ; utrum scilicet eodem verba scribere oporteat quo pro- 
 nunciantur modo, an potius ex more consueto ? At ilia scriptio 
 quae reformata videri possit, (ut scilicet scriptio pronunciation! 
 consona sit,) est ex genere inutilium subtilitatum. Nam et 
 ipsa pronunciatio quotidie gliscit, nee /xmstans est; et deri- 
 vationes verborum, prsesertim ex linguis extraneis, prorsus 
 obscurantur. Denique cum ex more recepto scripta morem 
 pronunciandi nullo modo impediant, sed liberam relinquant, 
 quorsum attinet ista novatio ' ? 
 
 1 Every living language is continually changing; and the orthography gradually 
 follows changes of pronunciation. But to make the pronunciation of the present mo- 
 ment the standard of orthography is to set aside as far as possible the historical element 
 in the development of the language, and thus greatly to diminish its value as a record 
 of the progress of human thought, not to mention the effect which such a system would 
 have in making works composed before the era of the last reformation unintelligible. 
 
 [I cannot help thinking that Bacon would have pronounced a less confident judg- 
 ment on this question, if it had occurred to him that a system of notation might be 
 contrived which should not only represent the pronunciation of the particular time, 
 but accompany all changes of pronunciation which time might introduce ; so that the 
 written word should be at all times a true description of the spoken word. For this 
 purpose, nothing more is required than an alphabet containing as many distinct cha- 
 racters as there are distinguishable elementary sounds in the language, so that the same 
 sound may always be represented by the same character or combination of characters, 
 and no combination of characters may be used to represent more than one combina- 
 tion of sounds. Against a reform of orthography founded upon such a reconstruction 
 of the alphabet, it appears to me that none of the objections either in the text or in 
 the note can be justly urged. With regard to the history of the past, everything would 
 remain as it is. A dictionary containing the old and new spelling of every word in 
 the language would effectually preserve its etymological history (so far as our present 
 
 VOL. I. U U
 
 658 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Ad Ciphras igitur veniendum. 1 Earum genera baud pauca 
 sunt : Ciphrae simplices ; Ciphrae non-significantibus characteri- 
 bus intermixtse ; Cipbrae duplices literas uno charactere com- 
 plexae; Ciphrae Rotae; Ciphrae Clavis; Ciphrae Verborum; 
 alise. Virtutes autem in Cipbris requirendae tres sunt ; ut sint 
 expedite, non nimis operosae ad scribendum ; ut sint fidae, et 
 r.ullo modo pateant ad decipbrandum ; addo denique, ut, si fieri 
 possit, suspicione vacent. Si enim epistolae in manus eorum 
 devenient qui in eos qui scribunt, aut ad quos scribuntur, po- 
 testatem habeant, tametsi Ciphra ipsa fida sit et decipbratu 
 
 orthography does preserve it) up to the present time. For the future, pronunciation 
 would still be free to change, and orthography would still follow ; but the changes of 
 pronunciation would be less rapid and capricious, and the corresponding changes of 
 orthography would be not gradual but immediate. Pronunciation would change, not 
 according to fashion or accident, but according to the laws of nature; and each change 
 would be registered as it came in the printed records of the language. All this would 
 surely be a great advantage, whether we regard language as a medium of communica- 
 tion, for which it serves best when it is most uniform and constant, or as a record of 
 the progress of human thought, for which it serves the better in proportion as capri- 
 cious and accidental changes are excluded and natural changes marked and regis- 
 tered. 
 
 Bacon was probably thinking of some particular scheme proposed in his own day, 
 in which the existing alphabet was to be used. Many such partial schemes of ortho- 
 graphical reform have been attempted from time to time, all of which may be justly 
 condemned as " useless subtilties," not because the thing aimed at ut scilicet scriptio 
 pronunciation! consona sit would be useless if accomplished, but because, without 
 such a reconstruction of the alphabet as should enable us to assign to each distinct 
 sound a distinct character, the thing cannot be accomplished. With an alphabet of 
 only twenty-six letters, it is impossible to make the spelling of English represent the 
 pronunciation, because there are more than twenty-six distinct sounds used in Eng- 
 lish speech. It has recently been shown, however, that with an alphabet of only forty 
 letters, every sound used in speaking good English may be represented accurately 
 enough for all practical purposes ; and a few more would probably include all the 
 sounds of all the classical languages In Europe. 
 
 Two or three alphabets of this kind have been suggested within the last hundred 
 years. There was one proposed by Benjamin Franklin, another by Dr. William 
 Young, another by Sir John Herschell. But the first serious attempt to bring such an 
 alphabet into general use, and fairly to meet and overcome all the practical as well as 
 all the theoretical difficulties, was made by Mr. Alexander Ellis and Mr. Isaac Pitman 
 in 1 848. And there can be no doubt that by means of their alphabet every English 
 word now in use may be so written that the spelling shall contain a sufficient direction 
 for the pronunciation. Nor is there any reason to apprehend that it would ever be 
 necessary to remodel it, since, however the fashion of pronunciation may change, it is 
 not likely that any new elementary sounds will be developed ; and therefore, though 
 we might have to spell some of our words differently, we should still be able to spell 
 them out of the same alphabet. 
 
 As for the fear that, if such a reformation were adopted, works composed previously 
 would become unintelligible, it has been ascertained by many experiments that chil- 
 dren who have learned to read books printed phonetically in the new alphabet easily 
 teach themselves to read books printed in the ordinary way ; and therefore, even if the 
 new system should become universal for all new books, no one would have any diffi- 
 culty in mastering the old ones. /. S.] 
 
 1 See, for an account of these ciphers, the appendix at the end of the volume. 
 Bacon's biliteral cipher (see infra, p. 659.) seems, as I have there pointed out, to be 
 connected with one which had been given by Porta, which also depends on the prin- 
 ciple of which the Electric Telegraph is now a familiar illustration, that any number 
 of things may be denoted by combinations of two signs, as in the binary scale of 
 numeration.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 659 
 
 impossibilis, tamen subjicitur haac res examini et quaestioni ; 
 nisi Ciphra sit ejusmodi, qu33 aut suspicione vacet aut examina- 
 tionem eludat. Quod vero ad elusionem examinis attinet, 
 suppetit inventum ad hoc novum atque utile, quod cum in 
 promptu habeamus, quorsum attinet illud inter Desideratr 
 referre, sed potius id ipsum proponere ? Hoc hujusmodi est ; ut 
 habeat quis duo alphabeta, unum literarum verarum, alterum 
 non-significantium ; et simul duas epistolas involvat, unam quse 
 secretum deferat, alteram qualem verisimile fuerit scribentem 
 missurum fuisse, absque periculo tamen. Quod si quis de 
 Ciphra severe interrogetur, porrigat ille alphabetum non-signi- 
 ficantium pro veris literis, alphabetum autem verarum literarum 
 pro non-significantibus. Hoc modo incidet examinator in epi- 
 stolam ilium exteriorem ; quam cum probabilem inveniet, de 
 interiori epistola nihil suspicabitur. Ut vero suspicio omnis 
 absit, aliud inventum subjiciemus, quod certe cum adolescentuli 
 essemus Parisiis excogitavimus ; nee etiam adhuc visa nobis res 
 digna est quae pereat. Habet enim gradum Ciphras altissimum ; 
 nimirum ut omnia per omnia significari possint ; ita tamen, ut 
 scriptio quae involvitur quintuple minor sit quam ea cui invol- 
 vatur : alia nulla omnino requiritur conditio, aut restrictio. Id 
 hoc modo fiet. Primo, universes literae alphabet! in duas tan- 
 tummodo literas solvantur per transpositionem earum. Nam 
 transpositio duarum literarum per locos quinque, differentiis 
 triginta duabus, multo magis viginti quatuor (qui est numerus 
 alphabet! apud nos) sufficiet. 1 Hujus alphabet! exemplum 
 tale est. 
 
 Exemplum Alphabet! Biliterarii. 2 
 
 D E F G 
 
 aaabb. aabaa, aabab. aabba. 
 
 L M N O 
 
 ababa. ababb. abbaa. abbab. 
 
 S T V W 
 
 baaab. baaba. baabb. babaa. 
 
 1 There is a simpler way of attaining the same end, viz. by using two sets of cha- 
 racters, the differences being, as in Bacon's method, intended to be imperceptible, and 
 making the length of the intervals at which those of one set recur significant of the 
 letters of the " interius scriptum." This is a system mentioned by writers on the 
 subject ; whether ever actually used, I do not know. 
 
 8 For this and the following examples, a special character is used in the original cell 
 
 u u 2 
 
 A 
 Aaaaa. 
 
 B 
 
 aaaab. 
 
 C 
 
 aaaba. 
 
 H 
 
 aabbb. 
 
 I 
 
 abaaa. 
 
 K 
 
 abaab. 
 
 P 
 
 abbba. 
 
 Q 
 
 abbbb. 
 
 R 
 
 baaaa. 
 
 babab. 
 
 
 
 babba. 
 
 Z. 
 
 babbb.
 
 660 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Neque leve quiddam obiter hoc modo perfectum est. Etenim 
 ex hoc ipso patet modus, quo ad omnem loci distantiam, per 
 objecta quae vel visui vel auditui subjici possint, sensa animi 
 proferre et significare liceat ; si modo objecta ilia, duplicis 
 tantum differentiae capacia sunt; veluti per campanas, per 
 buccinas, per flammeos, per sonitus tormentorum, et alia quae- 
 cunque. Verum ut incceptum persequamur, cum ad scribendum 
 accingeris, epistolam interiorem in Alphabetum hoc Bilitera- 
 rium solves. Sit epistola interior ; 
 
 Fuge. 
 Exemplum Solutionis. 
 
 F 
 
 Aabab. 
 
 V 
 
 baabb. 
 
 G 
 
 aabba. 
 
 E. 
 
 actbaa. 
 
 Praasto simul sit aliud Alphabetum Biforme ; nimirum quod 
 singulas Alphabet! Communis literas, tarn capitales quam 
 minores, duplici forma, prout cuique commodum sit, exhibeat. 
 
 Exemplum Alphabet! Biformis. J 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 
 B 
 
 b 
 
 b 
 
 C 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 d 
 
 d 
 
 E 
 
 E 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 F 
 
 F 
 
 f 
 
 f 
 
 G 
 
 G 
 
 9 
 
 g 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 
 b 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 K 
 
 K 
 
 k 
 
 k 
 
 L 
 
 L 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 ~N 
 
 N 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 CL 
 
 q 
 
 1 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 r 
 
 r 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 T 
 
 T 
 
 t 
 
 J 
 
 U 
 
 U 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 W 
 
 W 
 
 W 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 Y 
 
 y 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 Z 
 
 z 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 
 
 Turn demum epistolse interiori, jam factae biliteratse, epi- 
 stolam exteriorem biformem literatim accommodabis, et postea 
 describes. Sit epistola exterior ; 
 
 Manere te volo donee venero. 
 
 tion, resembling handwriting, and apparently cut in wood for the occasion. But as 
 it is only in the Alphabetum Biforme and the Exempla Accomodationis that anything 
 depends upon the shape of the letters, I have printed all the rest in the common italic 
 type. J. S. 
 
 1 This biform alphabet is set out somewhat differently in the original edition. The 
 characters are cut to represent handwriting, the distinctions being made by loops or 
 flourishes ; and the (a) or (6) is repeated in every case. By keeping the columns dis- 
 tinct, I have avoided the necessity of this repetition ; and I have obtained the requisite 
 distinction between the two sets of characters by using types belonging to two dif- 
 ferent founts. The particular forms of the letters are of course immaterial, so long as 
 those which stand for a can be clearly distinguished from those which stand for b ; 
 and the table, as I have arranged it, will be found easier of reference. J. S.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 661 
 
 Exemplum Accommodationis. 
 
 F V G E. 
 
 aabab.b aa bb.aa bba.aa baa. 
 
 Manere te volo donee venero. 
 
 Apposuimus etiam exemplum aliud largius ejusdem ciphrae, 
 scribendi omnia per omnia. 
 
 Epistola interior ; ad quam delegimus epistolam spartanam, 
 
 missam olim in scytale. 
 
 Perditae res. Mindarus cecidit. Milites esuriunt. Neque hinc 
 nos extricare, neque hie diutius manere possumus. 
 
 Epistola exterior, sumpta ex epistola prima Ciceronis ; in qua 
 epistola spartana involvitur. 
 
 Ego omni officio ac potius pietate erga te caeteris satisfatio omnibus : 
 Mihi ipse nunquam satisfacio. Tanta est enim magnitude tuorum erga 
 me meritorum, ut quoniam tu, nisi perfecta re, de me non conquiesti ; 
 ego, quia non idem in tua causa efficio, vitam mibi esse acerbam putem. 
 In causa heec sunt : Ammonius regis legatus aperte pecunia nos op- 
 pugnat : res agitur per eosdem creditores per quos cum tu aderas ageba- 
 tur : regis causa si qui sunt qui velint, qui pauci sunt, omnes ad Pom- 
 peium rem deferri volunt : senatus religionis calumniam, non religione 
 sed malevolentia,. et illius regiae largitionis invidia comprobat, Sfc. 
 
 Doctrina autem de Ciphris aliam secum traxit doctrinam 
 erga ipsam relativam. Ilia est de Deciphratione, sive resera- 
 tione ciphrarum, licet quis alphabetum ciphrae aut pactum de 
 latebra penitus ignoret. Res sane est ilia laboriosa simul et 
 ingeniosa, et arcanis principum, veluti et ilia prior, dicata. At- 
 tamen praecautione solerti fieri possit inutilis ; etsi quomodo res 
 mine se habent magni prorsus sit usus. Etenim si ciphrae intro- 
 ductae essent bonae et fideles, plurimae fuerint quae operam deci- 
 phratoris prorsus eluderent et excluderent ; quae tamen sint 
 satis commodas et expeditae ad legendum aut scribendum. Ve- 
 rum imperitia et inscitia secretariorum et amanuensium in aulis 
 principum tanta est, ut maxima plerunque negotia ciphris in- 
 firmis et futilibus committantur. 
 
 Interea fieri potest, ut suspicetur quispiam nos in enume- 
 ratione et quasi censu artium id agere, ut scientiarum copies (quas 
 veluti in aciem adducimus) auctse et multiplicatae magis sint 
 admirationi ; cum tamen numerus earum forte ostentari, vires 
 
 u u 3
 
 662 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tarn brevi tractatu vix explicari possint. Verum nos insti- 
 tutum nostrum fideliter urgemus, atque in hoc globo scien- 
 tiarum conficiendo etiam insulas minores aut remotiores omitti 
 nolumus. Neque vero (ut arbitramur) perfimctorie, licet cur- 
 sim, eas artes attingimus ; sed potius nucleos et medullas ipsa- 
 rum ex multa materiae massa stilo acuto excerpimus. Cujus 
 rei judicium ipsis illis qui in hujusmodi artibus peritissimi sunt 
 permittimus. Cum enim plerique qui multiscii videri volunt 
 hoc fere habeant, ut vocabula et exteriora artium passim ja- 
 ctantes, illarum ignaris admirationi, magistris ludibrio sint ; spe- 
 ramus nostra contrarium prorsus eventum habitura, ut peritis- 
 simi cujusque in artibus singulis judicium maxime detineant, 
 ae teris minoris sint. Quod vero ad artes illas qua3 minorum 
 quasi gentium videri possunt, si quis existimet nos nimium 
 quid ipsis tribuere, circumspiciat ille, et videbit homines in pro- 
 vinciis suis magnos sane et celebres, cum ad metropolim aut 
 sedem imperii forte migraverint, turbae fere immisceri, et in- 
 fcrioris notae esse ! : similiter minim non est, artes istas leviores 
 juxta artes principales et supremas collocatas dignitate minui ; 
 cum tainen iis qui operam illis pracipue impenderint, res vide- 
 antur utique magnae et praeclarae. Atque de Organo Sermonis 
 haec dicta sint. 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Doctrina de Methodo Sermonis constituitur ut pars Traditivas 
 Substantiva et Principalis. Nomen ei inditur Prudentia Tra- 
 ditivae. Enumerantur Methodi genera diversa; et subjun- 
 guntur eorum commoda et incommoda. 
 
 VENIAMUS ad Doctrinam de Methodo Sermonis. Ea ut pars 
 dialecticae tractari consuevit. Etiam locum in Rhetorica per 
 nomen Dispositionis reperit. Verum collocatio ejus in famu- 
 litio aliarum artium in causa fuit, ut plurima qua? ad ipsam 
 spectant cognitu utilia prastermissa sint. Visum igitur est nobis 
 Doctrinam Substantivam et Principalem de Methodo consti- 
 tuere, quam nomine generali Prudentiam Traditivce appellamus. 
 
 1 Being then, as King James used to say, like ships at sea, and when at home like 
 ships in a creek ; a comparison which may possibly have been suggested by this pas- 
 sage, which occurs in the Advancement as well as here.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 663 
 
 Itaque Method! genera (cum varia sint) enumerabiinus potius 
 quam partiemur. Atque de unica Methodo, et dichotomiis 
 perpetuis, nil attinet dicere. 1 Fuit enim nubecula quaedam 
 doctrinse, qua? cito transiit ; res certe simul et levis et scientiis 
 damnosissima. Etenim hujusmodi homines, cum Method! sua? 
 legibus res torqueant et quaecunque in dichotomias illas non 
 apte cadunt aut omittant aut praeter naturam inflectant, hoc 
 efficiunt ut quasi nuclei et grana scientiarum exiliant, ipsi 
 aridas tantum et desertas siliquas stringant. 2 Itaque inania 
 compendia parit hoc genus Method!, solida Scientiarum de- 
 struit. 
 
 Constituatur igitur prima differentia Methodi, ut sit aut 
 Magistralis, aut Initiativa. Neque vero verbum Initiative ita 
 intelligimus, quasi haec initia scientiarum tantum traderet, ilia 
 doctrinam integram ; verum contra (vocabulum a Sacris mu- 
 tuantes) earn dicimus Methodum Initiativam, qua? ipsa scientia- 
 rum mysteria recludat et denude t. Magistralis siquidem docet ; 
 Initiativa intimat. Magistralis poscit ut fides habeatur iis qua? 
 dicuntur; Initiativa vero potius ut examen subeant. Altera 
 scientias discentium vulgo; altera tanquam filiis scientiarum 
 tradit. Denique altera pro fine habet scientiarum (quales jam 
 sunt) usum ; altera earundem continuationem et ulteriorem 
 progressum. Harum posterior, via videtur deserta et interclusa. 
 Ita enim adhuc scientia? tradi consueverunt, quasi ex pacto tarn 
 docens quam discens errores asciscere cupiant. Etenim qui 
 docet, eo docet modo quo maxime dictis suis fides astruatur, 
 non quo ilia commodissime examini subjiciantur ; et qui discit, 
 sibi extemplo satisfieri, non legitimam disquisitionem praestolari 
 expetit; ut magis sit ei cordi non dubitare quam non errare. 
 Ita ut et magister, amore gloria?, infirmitatem scientia? suae pro- 
 dere caveat ; et discipulus, laboris odio, vires proprias experiri 
 nolit. Scientia vero, qua? aliis tanquam tela pertexenda tradi- 
 
 1 The allusion is to the method of Peter Ramus, which he made to apply to every 
 kind of science, and which depends, as Bacon says, on a dichotomising arrangement. 
 See, for Ramus's tabular statements of the contents of the seven liberal arts, the Pro- 
 
 fessio Regia P. Kami. (Basil, 1576 ; but there is probably an earlier edition. ) 
 
 2 Ampere's Essay on the Philosophy of Science, though the work of a very able 
 man, is certainly open to this reproach. His classification attempts to introduce uni- 
 formity where uniformity is impossible. The objections to a dichotomising method are 
 pointed out by Aristotle, who shows that the last of the classes which we obtain by it 
 can have only a negative character. Professor Owen, in his Lectures on the Tnvcrte- 
 brata, I'emarks that no class thus constituted has been found satisfactory. Such a one 
 for instance is that denoted by Dr. Prichard's word Allophyl for tribes not of Indo 
 Germanic origin. See Trendeleuburg, Elementa Loyices, p. 1 29. 
 
 u u 4
 
 664 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tur, eadem Methodo (si fieri possit) animo alterius est insinu- 
 anda, qua primitus inventa est. Atque hoc ipsum fieri sane 
 potest in scientia per Inductionem acquisita ; sed in anticipata 
 ista et praematura scientia (qua utimur), non facile dicat quis 
 quo itinere ad earn quam nactus est scientiam pervenerit. At- 
 tamen sane secundum majus et minus possit quis scientiam pro- 
 priam revisere, et vestigia suas cognitionis simul et consensus 
 remetiri ; atque hoc pacto scientiam sic transplantare in animum 
 alienum sicut crevit in suo. Artibus enim idem usuvenit quod 
 plantis. Si planta aliqua uti in animo habeas, de radice quid 
 fiat nil refert ; si vero transferre cupias in aliud solum, tutius 
 est radicibus uti quam surculis. Sic traditio (quae nunc in usu 
 est) exhibet plane tanquam truncos (pulchros illos quidem) 
 scientiarum, sed tamen absque radicibus; fabro lignario certe 
 commodos at plantatori inutiles. Quod si disciplinae ut crescant 
 tibi cordi sit, de truncis minus sis sollicitus ; ad id curam adhibe, 
 ut radices illassce, etiam cum aliquantulo terras adhserentis, ex- 
 trahantur. Cujus quidem generis traditionis Methodus ma- 
 thematicprum, in eo subjecto, similitudinem quandam habet ; 
 generatim autem non video quod aut in usu sit, aut quod quis 
 inquisition! ejus dederit operam. Proinde earn inter Desiderata 
 numerabimus, eamque Traditionem Lampadis, sive Methodum 
 ad Filios, appellabimus. 1 
 
 Sequitur aliud Methodi discrimen, priori intentione affine, 
 reipsa fere contrarium. Hoc enim habet utraque Methodus 
 commune, ut vulgus auditorum a selectis separet; illud opposi- 
 tum, quod prior introducit modum tradendi solito apertiorem ; 
 altera, de qua jam dicemus, occultiorem. Sit igitur discrimen 
 tale, ut altera Methodus sit Exoterica, altera Acroamatica. 
 Etenim quam antiqui adhibuerunt praecipue in edendis libris 
 differentiam, earn nos transferemus ad ipsum modum tradendi. 
 Quinetiam Acroamatica ipsa apud veteres in usu fuit, atque 
 prudenter et cum judicio adhibita. At Acroamaticum sive 
 
 1 This illustrates the circumstance that several of Bacon's minor works are ad- 
 dressed as to a son or sons ; by whom we are to understand those who are qualified 
 to be disciples. In the Redargutio Philosophiarum, the speaker addresses his audience 
 as " filii ; " and we find a corresponding phrase in the New Atlantis. 
 
 [I understand by jftlios in this passage not so much those who are qualified to be 
 disciples, as those who will carry on the work. The traditio lampadis refers to the 
 Greek torch-races, in which there were relays of runners, and each as he was spent 
 handed the torch to a fresh man. The methodus adfilios is the method which, having 
 in view the continual progression of knowledge, hands over its unfinished work to 
 another generation, to be taken up and carried forward. See preface to the Novum 
 Oryanum, note B at the end. J.S.]
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 665 
 
 ^Enigmaticum istud dicendi genus posterioribus iemporibus 
 dehonestatum est a plurimis, qui eo tanquam lumiue ambiguo 
 et fallaci abusi sunt ad merces suas adulterinas extrudendas. 
 Intentio autem ejus ea esse videtur, ut traditionis involucris 
 vulgus (profanum scilicet) a secretis scientiarum summoveatur ; 
 atque illi tantum admittantur, qui ant per manus magistrorum 
 parabolarum interpretationem nacti sunt, aut proprio ingenii 
 acumine et subtilitate intra velum penetrare possint. 
 
 Sequitur aliud Methodi discrimen, magni prorsus ad scientias 
 momenti ; cum scilicet scientise traduntur aut per Aphorismos, 
 aut Methodice. Notatu enim inprimis dignum est, in consue- 
 tudinem plerunque venisse ut homines ex pauculis axiomatibus 
 et observationibus, in quovismodo subjecto, artem constituant 
 quasi completam et solennem; earn ingenii quibusdam com- 
 mentationibus suffarcinando, exemplis illustrando, et Methodo 
 revinciendo. At ilia altera Traditio per Aphorismos plurima 
 secum fert commoda, ad quse Traditio Methodica non attingit. 
 Primum enim de scriptore specimen dat, utrum ille leviter et 
 perfunctorie scientiam hauserit, an penitus imbiberit. Apho- 
 rismi enim, nisi prorsus forent ridiculi, necesse est ut ex medul- 
 lis et interioribus scientiarum conficiantur. Abscinditur enim 
 illustratio et excursio ; abscinditur varietas exemplorum ; ab- 
 scinditur deductio et connexio ; abscinditur descriptio practice ; 
 ut ad materiem Aphorismorum nihil relinquatur, praeter copiam 
 observationum bene amplam. Igitur ad Aphorismos non suffi- 
 ciet quispiam, imo de eis nee cogitabit sane, qui se neutiquam 
 copiose et solide instructum ad scribendum perspexerit. At in 
 Methodis, 
 
 Tantum series juncturaque pollet, 
 
 Tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris ;* 
 
 ut speciem artis nescio cujus praeclarae ssepenumero reportent, 
 ea quse, si solvantur, segregentur, et denudentur, ad nihilum 
 fere recasura forent. Secundo, Traditio Methodica ad fidem 
 et consensum valet; ad indicationes de praxi minus innuit; 
 siquidem demonstrationem quandam in orbe prae se fert, parti- 
 bus se invicem illuminantibus, ideoque intellectui satisfacit 
 magis; quia vero actiones in vita communi sparguntur, non 
 ordine componuntur, ideo magis iisdem conducunt etiam sparsa 
 documenta. Postremo Aphorism!, cum scientiarum portiones 
 quasdam et quasi frusta tantum exhibeant, invitant ut alii 
 
 1 Hor. Ep. ad Tisones, 242.
 
 666 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 etiam aliquid adjiciant et erogent ; Traditio vero Methodica, 
 dum scientiam integram ostentat, secures illico homines reddit, 
 quasi jam summa adeptos. 
 
 Sequitur aliud Methodi discrimen, magni et illud quoquc 
 momenti ; cum scilicet scientise traduntur aut per Assertion cs 
 adjectis Probationibus, aut per Quaestiones una cum Determi- 
 nationibus. 1 Hanc autem posteriorem Methodum si immode- 
 ratius quis persequatur, scientiarum profectui non minus ilia 
 officit, quam fortunis et progressibus exercitus cujuspiam impe- 
 dimento et damno foret, si in minutis quibusque castellis aut 
 oppidis expugnandis subinde hasreat. Etenim si quis in acie 
 sit superior, et sumrnae belli sedulo incumbat, minora ilia loca 
 ultro se submittent. Illud tamen inficias non ierim, urbem 
 aliquam magnam et munitam a tergo relinquere haudquaquam 
 semper tutum esse. Eodem modo, confutationibus in scientia- 
 rum Traditione temperandum, iisque parce utendum; et ad 
 hoc tantum, ut majores praeoccupationes animorum et praeju- 
 dicia frangantur ; minime autem ut leviores dubitationes exci- 
 tentur et provocentur. 
 
 Sequitur aliud Methodi discrimen, ut scilicet Methodus sit 
 subjected matericB qua tractatur accommoda. Alio enim modo 
 traduntur Mathematica (quae sunt inter scientias maxime abs- 
 tracta et simplicia) ; alio Politica (quae maxime sunt immersa 
 et composita). Neque (ut jam diximus) Methodus uniformis 
 in materia multiformi commode se habere potest. Equidem 
 quemadmodum Topicas Particulares ad inveniendum probavi- 
 mus, ita et Methodos Particulares ad tradendum similiter 
 aliquatenus adhiberi volumus. 
 
 Sequitur aliud Methodi discrimen, in tradendis scientiis cum 
 judicio adhibendum. Illud autem regitur per informationes et 
 anticipationes de scientia (quae tradenda est) in animis discen- 
 tium prius infusas et impressas. Aliter enim tradi debet 
 scientia quae ad animos hominum nova et peregrina prorsus 
 accedit; aliter ea quae opinionibus jampridem imbibitis et 
 receptis est affinis et familiaris. Ideoque Aristoteles, Demo- 
 critum sugillare cupiens, revera eum laudat ; Si (inquit) serio 
 disputare velimus, non sectari similitudines, etc. 2 ; id vitio ver- 
 
 1 The last is the Scholastic method. Vide supra, note 1. p. 454. 
 
 rcut &tioi6TH(riv. Nicom. Ethic, vi. 3. It is difficult to know why Bacon supposed 
 Aristotle to allude to Dcmocritus, as there is no reason to doubt the correctness of the
 
 LIBER SEXTOS. 667 
 
 tens Democrito, quod in comparationibus esset nimius. At illi 
 quorum documenta in opinionibus popularibus jam sedes suas 
 collocarunt, non aliud habent quod agant, nisi ut disputent et 
 probent. Illis contra quorum dogmata opiniones populares 
 transcendunt, gemino labore opus est ; primo ut intelligantur 
 quae afferunt, deinde ut probentur : ita ut necessum habeant con- 
 fugere ad auxilia similitudinum et translationum, quo se captui 
 hominum insinuent. Videmus igitur sub infantia doctrinarum 
 saaculis rudioribus, cum syllepses illae, quae jam factae sunt 
 vulgares et tritae, novae fuerant et inauditae, omnia parabolis et 
 similitudinibus plena fuisse. 1 Alias evenisset, ut quae propone- 
 bantur, aut absque nota seu attentione debita transmissa aut 
 pro paradoxis rejecta fuissent. Etenim regula quaedam est 
 Traditivae, quod scientia omnis quce anticipationibus sive prcesup- 
 positionibus non est consona, a similitudinibus et comparationibus 
 suppetias petere debeat. z 
 
 Atque de Methodorum diversis generibus haec dicta sint ; iis 
 videlicet quae antehac ab aliis notata non fuerunt. Nam quan- 
 tum ad caeteras illas Methodos, Analyticam, Systaticam, Diasre- 
 ticam, etiam Crypticam, Homericam 3 , et similes, recte sunt eae 
 inventse et distributee; neque causa videtur, cur illis immo- 
 remur. 
 
 At Methodi Genera hujusmodi sunt, Partes autem duae; 
 altera de Dispositione totius Operis vel Argument! libri alicujus ; 
 altera de Limitatione Propositionum. Etenim ad Architectu- 
 
 received opinion that the allusion is to Plato's illustration of the nature of knowledge 
 which will be found at p. 197 of the Theatetus. On different occasions Aristotle 
 blames those who in philosophical questions employ similitudes or comparisons ; but 
 it does not appear that in any such passage he refers to Democritus. 
 
 Mr. Munro, to whom I am indebted for the substance of this note, has pointed out 
 to me the passage in Sextus Empiricus, Adversus Logicos, in which the opinion held 
 by Democritus and others of the Physicists that " like is known of like " is men- 
 tioned. If any commentator has asserted that such a view of the nature of know- 
 ledge is condemned by Aristotle as would make it dependent upon this notion of 
 5fjLoi6ri)s, and that this notion was held by Democritus, we should get a probable ex- 
 planation of the error into which Bacon seems to have fallen ; but the simplest expla- 
 nation is that he put the name of Democritus for that of Plato by mere inadvertence. 
 It may be remarked that Democritus might be charged not only with propounding 
 a materialistic view of the nature of knowledge, but also with employing illustrations 
 in support of it derived from material objects. 
 
 1 " Mens hebes ad verum per materialia surgit, 
 Et demersa prius, hac visa luce resurgit." 
 
 SUGER, Abbot of St. Denis, in Didron, 
 Histoire de DiSU, p. 9. 
 
 2 Compare Plato, Politic. 277. : xoXrt>, ^ vapaSelyncun xP^ e "ov, IKWUS 
 KvwBdl ri -riuv (n.ti^6va>v. 
 
 3 See, for most of these terms, the Rhetoric of Ramus.
 
 668 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 ram spectat non solum fabrica totius sedificii, sed etiam effor- 
 matio et figura columnarum, trabium, et slmilium. Methodus 
 vero veluti scientiarum Architectura est. Atque hac in parte 
 melius meruit Ramus, in optimis illis regulis (KadoXov irpfarov, 
 Kara iravros, tcad' avro, &c.) renovandis 1 , quam in unica sua Me- 
 thodo et Dichotomiis obtrudendis. Veruntamen nescio quo fato 
 fit, ut in humanis (sicut saepius fingunt poetae) rebus pretiosissimis 
 semper adhibeantur perniciosissimi quique custodes. Certe cona- 
 tus Kami circa illam propositionum limam, conjecit eum in 
 epitomas illas et scientiarum vada. Auspicate enim et foelicis 
 cujusdam genii ductu processerit oportet, qui axiomata scientia- 
 rum convertibilia facere attentaverit, et non simul ea reddiderit 
 circularia, aut in semet recurrentia. Conatum nihilo secius 
 Kami in hac parte utilem fuisse non inficiamur. 
 
 Supersunt duae adhuc Propositionum Limitationes, praeter 
 earn ut fiant Convertibiles ; altera de Extensione, altera de 
 Productione ipsarum. Sane habent Scientias, si quis recte 
 advertat, praeter profunditatem, alias duas dimensiones ; latitu- 
 dinem scilicet, ac longitudinein suam. Ac profunditas quidem 
 ad ipsarum veritatem et realitatem refertur ; ha3 enim sunt quas 
 soliditatem conferunt. Quantum ad reliquas duas, latitude 
 accipi et computari potest de scientia in scientiam ; longitude 
 vero sumitur a summa propositione ad imam in eadem scientia. 
 Altera fines et veros scientiarum terminos complectitur, ut 
 propositions proprie non promiscue tractentur, et evitetur 
 repetitio, excursio, denique confusio omnis; altera normam 
 praescribit, quousque et ad quern particularitatis gradum propo- 
 sitiones scientiarum sint deducendae. Sane dubium non est, 
 quin aliquid exercitationi et practices sit relinquendum ; oportet 
 siquidem Antonini Pii vitium evitari, ne simus Cymini Sectores 
 in scientiis, neve divisiones ad infima quaeque muliplicemus. 2 
 Itaque qualiter in hac parte nobis ipsi temperemus, inquisitione 
 plane dignum est. Videmus enim nimium generalia (nisi de- 
 ducantur) parum infonnare, quin potius hominum practicorum 
 ludibrio scientias exponere; cum nihilo magis ad practicam 
 faciant quam chorographia Ortelii universalis ad viam mon- 
 strandam quae Londino ducit Eboracum. Certe regulaa optmias 
 
 1 These rules are in reality Ramus's own, though he professed to find them in 
 Aristotle. They were however suggested to him by the fourth chapter of the first 
 book of the Posterior Analytics. See the preface to Vakrius Terminus. 
 
 2 Vide supra, note 3. p. 472.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 669 
 
 speculis ex metallo non inscite assimilantur l , in quibus cernun- 
 tur utique imagines, sed non antequam expolita fuerint; sic 
 juvant demum regulge et prascepta, postquam exercitationis 
 limam subierint. Quod si tamen usque a principio regulas illae 
 fieri possint nitidae et quasi crystallinse, id optimum factu foret, 
 quandoquidem exercitatione assidua minus indigebunt. Atque 
 de Scientia Methodi (quam Prudentiam Traditivce nominavi- 
 mus) haec dicta sint. 
 
 Neque tamen illud praetermittendum, quod nonnulli viri 
 magis tumidi quam docti insudarunt circa Methodum quandam, 
 legitimae Methodi nomine baud dignam ; cum potius sit Me- 
 thodus imposturse ; quae tamen quibusdam ardelionibus acceptis- 
 sima proculdubio fuerit. Haec Metbodus ita scientiaa alicujus 
 guttulas aspergit, ut quis sciolus specie nonnulla eruditionis 
 ad ostentationem possit abuti. Talis fuit Ars Lullii ; talis 
 Typocosmia a nonnullis exarata ; quas nihil aliud fuerunt quam 
 vocabulorum artis cujusque massa et acervus ; ad hoc, ut qui 
 voces artis habeant in promptu, etiam artes ipsas perdidicisse 
 existimentur. Hujus generis collectanea officinam referunt 
 veteramentariam, ubi praesegmina multa reperiuntur, sed nihil 
 quod alicujus sit pretii. 2 
 
 1 Assimulantur in the original. J. S. 
 
 2 The fundamental idea of Lully's art, and of all similar methods, may be thus 
 stated : The propositions which in the aggregate make up the sum of human know- 
 ledge consist of combinations of a certain number of conceptions. If then we had a 
 complete list of these conceptions so arranged as that all their admissible combinations 
 could be obtained by a mechanical process, such a list would be virtually equivalent 
 to a complete encyclopaedia. Even an incomplete list would give a certain portion, 
 greater or less according to circumstances, of all the knowledge which relates to the 
 conceptions which enter into it. It is obvious that such a method can give no criterion 
 of the truth of the propositions which it evolves ; but it may be so managed as that 
 every proposition shall be intelligible, To take a very simple instance : I confine my- 
 self to a table consisting of three columns, the first column to consist of names of 
 quadrupeds, as horse, stag, mouse, &c. ; the second of adjectives, such as large, small, 
 rare, &c. ; the third of names of classes of animals, as ruminant, rodent, and the like. 
 With a few more such columns Lully would have said that the natural history of 
 quadrupeds could be completely made out. Take any word from the first column, 
 any word from the second, any word from the third, and connect them by the logical 
 copula ; and if you are fortunate, you obtain a result as reasonable as this "a mouse 
 is a small rodent." But of course it might have appeared that a horse was a ru- 
 minant 
 
 Notwithstanding this obvious and incurable defect, different arrangements and modi- 
 fications of the art were proposed by many writers, some of whom probably believed 
 that it contained a key to all knowledge, while others believed that it would be at 
 least useful as a means of arranging and suggesting to the mind all that could be said 
 truly or falsely on a given subject. It appears to have suggested to Leibnitz one of 
 his early tracts, that on the art of combination, and thus to have led him to his notion 
 of reducing reasoning to a calculus. Analogous to Lully's art is a puerility which has 
 recently been revived, namely, mechanical verse-making. It seems also to have sug- 
 gested to Trithemius his method of secret writing, the fundamental idea of which may 
 be explained by saying that if there were six and twenty animals in the first column 
 of my table, the same number of adjectives in the second, and of classes in the third,
 
 670 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 De Fundamentis, et Officio Rhetoric. Appendices tres Rhe- 
 toricce, qua ad Promptuariam tantummodo pertinent ; Colores 
 Boni et Mali, tarn Simplicis quam Comparati; Antitheta 
 Rerum ; Formulae minores Orationis. 
 
 VENIMUS jam ad Doctrinam de Illustratione Sermonis. Ea 
 est, quae Rhetorica dicitur, sive Oratoria : scientia certe et in 
 se egregia, et egregie a scriptoribus exculta. Eloquentia au- 
 tem, si quis vere rem asstimet, sapientia proculdubio est inferior. 
 Videmus enim quanto intervallo haec illam post se relinquat, 
 in verbis quibus allocutus est Mosem Deus, cum ille munus 
 sibi delatum propter defectum elocutionis recusasset; Habes 
 Aaronem, ille erit tibi vice oratoris, tu vero ei vice Dei. 1 At 
 fructu et popular! existimatione, sapientia eloquentias cedit. 
 Ita enim Salomon, Sapiens corde appellabitur prudens, sed dulcis 
 
 each column might represent a complete alphabet, and the proposition " a mouse is 
 a small rodent " would stand for a word of three letters. With more columns 
 longer words .might be spelt, &c., &c. It is obvious that in this case the truth or 
 falsehood of the propositions used would be of little or no moment 
 
 Lully's art was, it is said, revealed to him by an angel, after he had taken the reso- 
 lution of giving up the world and of devoting himself to studies for which his previous 
 way of life had unfitted him. Cornelius Agrippa, who had himself written an exposition 
 of it, thus condemns it in the De Vanit. et Incert. Sclent, c. 9. : " Hoc autem admonere 
 vos oportet, bane artem ad pompam ingenii et doctrinae ostentationem potius quam 
 ad comparandam eruditionem valere, ac longe plus habere audacia quam efficaciae." 
 Though much cannot be said in favour of his method, yet Lully himself is one of the 
 most remarkable persons of the middle ages. The story of his renouncing the world 
 in consequence of the intense revulsion of feeling produced by the sudden extinction 
 of a passionate love is well known ; whether authentic or not, it is a striking illustration 
 of the solemn words of Peter Damiani : " Quid ergo sit caro doceat ipsa caro." 
 Lully says of himself: " I was married, I had begotten children, I was tolerably rich, I 
 was wanton and worldly. All this with a willing mind did I forsake, that I might 
 further God's glory and the public good, and exalt the holy faith ; I learnt Arabic ; 
 many times went I forth to preach to the Saracens ; for the faith's sake I was made 
 prisoner and kept in bonds and beaten ; forty and five years have I laboured to stir 
 up the rulers of the Church and Christian princes to take heed to the public good ; 
 now am I old, now am I poor, yet in the same mind still, by God's help, will so con- 
 tinue to my life's end." Accordingly he went again to Africa, and, preaching the 
 Gospel, was on the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul stoned and left half-dead. Some 
 Genoese merchants put him on board their ship and there he died, and was buried in 
 his native island of Majorca in 1315. See Antonio, Bibl. Hisp. Vet. vol. ii. p. 123. 
 See, with respect to Lully in general, and particularly as to the charge of heterodoxy 
 made against him, Perroquet, Apologie de la Vie et des Ecritz du Hen heureux Raymond 
 LuUy. 
 
 The foolish story, still occasionally repeated, of Raymond Lully having made gold for 
 Edward the Third, is sufficiently refuted by the date of his death, which occurred, ac- 
 cording to authority which there is no reason to doubt, while Edward the Third was a 
 child, and nearly thirty years before the coinage of the nobles said to have been 
 made of Lully's gold. Camden is, I am afraid, responsible for the currency of the 
 story, which in Selden's Table Talk seems to be transferred from Lully to Ripley. 
 
 1 Exod. iv. 16.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 671 
 
 eloquio majora reperiet 1 ; baud obscure innuens sapientiam fa- 
 mam quandam et admirationem cuipiam conciliare, at in rebus 
 gerendis et vita communi eloquentiam praecipue esse efficacem. 
 Ad artis vero hujus culturam quod attinet; Aristotelis erga 
 rhetores sui temporis aemulatio, atque Ciceronis studium acre 
 et vehemens illi nobilitandae totis viribus incumbens. cum longo 
 
 * D 
 
 usu conjuncture, in causa fuerunt ut in libris suis de hac arte 
 conscriptis seipsos vicerint. Dein Exempla ilia luculentissima 
 hujusce artis, quae in Orationibus Demostbenis et Ciceronis 
 habentur, praeceptorum acumini et diligentiae addita, profectus 
 ipsius geminarunt. Quare, qua3 in hac arte desiderari inve- 
 nimus versabuntur potius in Collectionibus quibusdam, qua? 
 tanquam pedissequas huic arti praesto sint, quam in disciplina 
 et usu artis ipsius. Nam etiam turn cum Promptuariae cu- 
 jusdam inter Logica mentionem faceremus, uberiora ejus rei 
 exempla in Rhetoricis polliciti sumus. 
 
 Veruntamen ut, more nostro, circa radices hujus artis glebam 
 paululum aperiamus et subigamus ; Rhetorica certe Phantasiae, 
 quemadmodum Dialectica Intellectui, subservit. Estque, si 
 quis altius rem penetret, officium et munus Rhetorieae non aliud 
 quam ut Rationis dictamina. Phantasies applicet et commendet, 
 ad excitandum appetitum et voluntatem. Regimen enim ra- 
 tionis impeti et perturbari videmus tribus modis : vel per Illa- 
 queationem Sophismatum, quod ad Dialecticam pertinet; vel 
 per Praestigias Verborum, quod ad Rhetoricam; vel per Af- 
 fectuum Violentiam, quod ad Ethicam. Quemadmodum enim 
 in negotiis quae cum aliis contrahimus vinci quis et perduci 
 solet vel Astu, vel Importunitate, vel Vehementia; ita etiam 
 in ilia negotiatione interna quam nobiscum exercemus, aut Ar- 
 gumentorum Fallaciis subruimur, aut Impressionum et Obser- 
 vationum Assiduitate sollicitamur et inquietamur, aut AiFectuum 
 Impetu concutimur et rapimur. Neque vero tarn infceliciter 
 agitur cum natura humana, ut illae artes et facultates ad ra- 
 tionem deturbandam valeant, neutiquam vero ad eandem robo- 
 randam et stabiliendam ; verum ad hanc rem longe magis. 
 Finis enim Dialectics est docere formam argumentorum, ad 
 praesidia intellectus, non ad insidias. Finis itidem Ethicas 
 affectus ita componere, ut rationi militent, non autem earn in- 
 vadant. Finis denique Rhetoricae phantasiam implere obver- 
 sationibus et simulachris, quae rationi suppetias ferant, non 
 
 1 Trov. xvi. 21.
 
 672 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 autem earn opprimant. Abusus enim artis ex obliquo tantum 
 interveniunt, ad cavendum, non ad utendum. 
 
 Quapropter in Platone summa fuit iniquitas (licet ex non 
 immerito erga Rhetores sui temporis odio orta), cum Rheto- 
 ricam inter artes voluptarias collocavit ; earn similem esse 
 dicens Coquinariae, quae non minus cibos salubres corrumperet, 
 quam insalubres gratiores redderet, condimentorum varietate 
 et deliciis abutens. 1 Absit autem, ut oratio noil frequentius 
 versetur in rebus honestis ornandis, quam in turpibus obli- 
 nendis. Hoc enim ubique praesto est : siquidem nemo est quin 
 honestius loquatur, quam aut sentiat aut faciat. Sane a Thu- 
 cydide optime notatum est, tale quidpiam solitum fuisse objici 
 Cleoni ; quod cum semper deteriorem partem tueretur, in hoc 
 multus esset, ut eloquentiam et sermonis gratiam carperet: 
 probe quippe cum sciret, de rebus sordidis et indignis non posse 
 quempiam pulchre loqui ; at de rebus honestis facillime. 2 Ele- 
 ganter enim Plato (licet jam in trivio decantetur) Virtus si 
 conspici daretur, ingentes sui amores -concitaret 3 ; at Rhetorica 
 virtutem et bonum depingit plane, et reddit quasi conspicuum. 
 Cum enim in corporea effigie ilia Sensui monstrari nequeant, 
 superest ut per ornatum verborum Phantasies, repraesentatione 
 quantum fieri potest viva, coram sistantur. Siquidem mos 
 Stoicorum merito derisus est a Cicerone, qui concisis et argutis 
 sententiis et conclusionibus virtutem animis hominum imponere 
 satagebant, quae res parvum habet cum phantasia et voluntate 
 consensum. 4 
 
 Porro, si affectus ipsi in ordinem compulsi et rationi prorsus 
 morigeri essent, verum est nullum magnopere futurum per- 
 suasionum et insinuationum, quse aditum ad mentem praabere 
 possint, usum; sed satis fore si res ipsae nude et simpliciter 
 proponantur et probentur. Verum affectus, contra, tantas se- 
 cessiones faciunt, quinetiam tantas turbas et seditiones movent, 
 (secundum illud, 
 
 Video meliora proboque, 
 
 Deteriora sequor). * 
 
 1 See the Gorgias, p. 462. et seq. 
 
 2 See Diodotus's answer to Cleon, iii. 42. : e5 fjiv flirfiv olit tu> rjyttTai irepl TOV ^ 
 KoAoG Svvaa-Qai, K.T.\. J. S. 
 
 3 See the Phaedrus, p. 250. ; and compare what Socrates relates in the Symposium 
 of what he had heard from Diotime. 
 
 4 Cicero De Fin. iv. cc. 18 and 19. The same remark occurs also in other parts of 
 Cicero's works. 
 
 5 Ovid, Metamorph. vii. 20. Bacon often quotes Ovid, but never I think by name.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 673 
 
 ut ratio prorsus in servitutem et captivitatem abrepta foret, 
 nisi eloquentiae suada efficeret quo minus phantasia a parti- 
 bus affectuum staret, sed potius opera ejus fcedus ineatur inter 
 rationem et phantasiam contra affectus. Notandum est enim, 
 affectus ipsos ad bonum apparens semper ferri, atque hac ex 
 parte aliquid habere cum ratione commune; verum illud in- 
 terest, quod Affectus intuentur prcecipue bonum in prcesentia ; 
 Ratio prospiciens in longum, etiam futurum et in summa. Ideoque 
 cum qua in praesentia obversentur impleant phantasiam for- 
 tius, succumbit plerunque ratio et subjugatur. Sed postquam 
 eloquentia et suasionum vi effectum sit ut futura et remota con- 
 stituantur et conspiciantur tanquam prassentia, turn demum, 
 abeunte in partes rationis phantasia, ratio fit superior. 
 
 Concludamus igitur non deberi magis vitio verti Rhetorics, 
 quod deteriorem partem cohonestare sciat, quanr Dialecticae, 
 quod sophismata concinnare doceat. Quis enim nescit contra- 
 riorum eandem rationem esse, licet usu opponantur? Porro 
 non eo tantum differt Dialectica a Rhetorica, quod (ut vulgo 
 dicitur) altera instar pugni, altera instar palmae sit, (altera 
 scilicet presse, altera fuse tractet 1 ); verum multo magis, quod 
 Dialectica rationem in suis naturalibus, Rhetorica qualis in 
 opinionibus vulgi sita est, consideret. Prudenter igitur Ari- 
 stoteles Rhetoricam inter Dialecticam et Ethicam cum Politica 
 collocat, cum ex utrisque participet. 2 Siquidem probationes 
 et demonstrationes Dialectics universis hominibus sunt com- 
 munes ; at probationes et suasiones Rhetoricae pro ratione au- 
 ditorum variari debent; ut quis tanquam musicus, auribus 
 diversis se accommodans, sit demum 
 
 Orpheus in silvis, inter delphinas Arion. 3 
 
 Quae quidem applicatio et variatio orationis (si quis ejus per- 
 fectionem et culmen desideret) eo usque extendi debet, ut si 
 eadem ipsa apud diversos homines sint dicenda, apud singulos 
 tamen aliis atque aliis yerbis sit utendum. Quanquam hac 
 parte Eloquentiae (politica scilicet et negotiosa, in privatis ser- 
 monibus) maximos oratores plerunque destitui certum sit; 
 dum ornatum et formulas elegantes orationis captantes, volubili 
 ilia applicatione et characteribus sermonum, quibus versus 
 singulos uti consultius foret, excidunt. Certe non abs re fuerit 
 
 1 See Cicero De Fin. ii. 17. by whom the remark is ascribed to Zeno. 
 
 2 Arist. Rhet. i. 2. 8 Virg. Eel, viii. 56. 
 
 VOL. I. XX
 
 674 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 circa hoc ipsum, de quo mine dicimus, novam instituere in- 
 quisitionem, eamque nomine Prudentiae Sermonis Privati in- 
 digitare, atque inter Desiderata reponere ; rem certe quam quo 
 attentius quis recogitet, eo pluris faciet. Utruni vero haec 
 inter Rhetorica an Politica collocetur, baud magni refert. 
 
 Descendamus modo ad Desiderata in hac arte, quse (ut ante 
 diximus) ejus sunt generis, ut pro Appendicibus potius censeri 
 debeant quam pro portionibus artis ipsius ; et pertinent omnia 
 ad Promptuariam. Primo igitur non invenimus, qui pruden- 
 tiam illam simul et diligentiam Aristotelis bene persecutus sit 
 aut suppleverit. Hie nimirum co2pit colligere Signa Popularia 
 sive Colores Boni ac Mali Apparentis, tam simplicis quam com- 
 parati, qui sunt vere Sophismata Rhetorica. Sunt autem exiinii 
 usus, praesertim ad negotia et prudentiam Sermonis Privati. 
 Labores vero Aristotelis l circa colores istos in tribus claudicant : 
 primo, quod, cum multi sint, paucos admodum recenseat ; se- 
 cundo, quod Elenchos sues non habeant adjunctos ; tertio, quod 
 videtur ille usum eorum ex parte ignorasse. Usus enim eorum 
 non magis ad probandum quam ad afficiendum et commoven- 
 dum subservit. Complures siquidem loquendi formulas, qua? 
 idem significant, varie tamen afficiunt. Nam longe fortius 
 penetrat quod acuminatum est, quam quod obtusum ; licet in 
 ipsa percussione vires aequaliter intendantur. Nemo est certe, 
 qui non magis afficiatur, audiens inimici tui de hoc miros tri- 
 umphos agent, 
 
 Hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridae;* 
 
 quam si simpliciter dicatur, Hoc rebus tuis incommodabit. 
 Itaque mucrones isti et aculei sermonum minime sunt negli- 
 gendi. Cum vero hanc rem ut Desideratam proponamus, ex 
 consuetudine nostra illam Exemplis fulciemus. Pra3cepta enim 
 minus rem illustraverint. 
 
 Exempla Colorum Boni et Mali, tam Simplicis 
 quam Comparati. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 1. Quod laudant homines et celebrant, bonum ; quod vituperant 
 et reprehendunt, malum. 
 
 1 See the first book of the Rhetoric, chapters 6 and 7. The first, second, third, and 
 sixth of the Sophismata which Bacon goes on to give are found there. 
 
 * Virg. J2n. ii. 104. See for the remark here made, Aristotle ubi supra. He 
 uotes the expression in the Iliad which corresponds to Bacon's quotation, II. i. 255.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 675 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma quatuor modis ; scilicet, aut propter Igno- 
 rantiam ; aut propter Malam Fidem ; aut propter Studia et 
 Factiones ; aut propter Ingenia Laudatorum et Vituperatorum. 
 Propter Ignorantiam ; quid vulgi judicium ad examen boni et 
 mali ? Melius Phocion, qui cum populus ei praeter solitum 
 applauderet, quaesivit; Num forte deliquisset? 1 Propter Malam 
 Fidem ; laudantes enim et vituperantes suam rem saepius agunt, 
 neque loquuntur ut sentiunt : 
 
 Laudat venales qui vult extrudere merces. 2 
 
 Item, Malum est, malum est (inquit emptor), sed cum recesserit, 
 turn gloridbitur? Propter Factiones ; cuivis enim patet, con- 
 suescere homines, eos qui suarum partium sunt immodicis 
 efferre laudibus ; qui autem contrariarum sunt, infra meritum 
 deprimere. Propter Ingenia; alii enim natura facti sunt et 
 compositi ad adulationem servilem, alii contra Momi et tetrici ; 
 ut laudando et vituperando suis Ingeniis tantum obsecundent, 
 parum de veritate solliciti. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 2. Quod etiam db inimicis laudatur, magnum bonum ; quod 
 vero etiam ab amicis reprehenditur, magnum malum. 
 
 Sophisma fundamento hoc niti videtur; quod quae ingratiis 
 et contra animi nostri affectum et propensionem loquimur, ea 
 ipsa vim veritatis a nobis extorquere facile creditur. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma propter Astutiam, tarn Inimicorum quam 
 Amicorum. Inimici enim laudes quandoque tribuunt, non 
 invite, nee a vi veritatis coacti ; sed eas tamen deligentes, quae 
 inimicis suis invidiam et pericula conflare possint. Itaque 
 apud Graecos superstitio quaedam invaluit, ut crederent, si quis 
 ab altero laudaretur animo malevolo et proposito nocendi, 
 naribus ejus pustulam annasci solere. Fallit iterum, quia 
 laudes interdum impertiunt inimici, tanquam praefatiunculas 
 quasdam, ut postea liberius et maliciosius calumniarentur. Ex 
 altera parte, fallit etiam hoc sophisma propter astutiam Ami- 
 corum. Solent enim et illi vitia amicorum interdum agnoscere 
 et praedicare, non quod aliqua vis veritatis eos cogat, sed ea 
 eligentes quae minimum amicos suos laedere possint ; ac si caetera 
 
 1 Plutarch, in Phocion, c. 8. 2 Horace, Ep. ii. 2. 11. 8 Trov. xx. 14. 
 
 x X 2
 
 676 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 quidem viri optimi essent. Fallit iterum, quia Amici quoque 
 reprehensionibus suis (sicut de Inimici laudibus diximus) tan- 
 qnam praefatiunculis quibusdam utuntur, quo paulo post in 
 laudes effusius excurrant. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 3. Cujus privatio bona, id ipsum malum ; cujus privatio mala, 
 id ipsum bonum. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma duobus modis ; aut propter Comparationem 
 Boni et Mali ; aut propter Successionem Boni ad Bonum, aut 
 Mali ad Malum. Propter Comparationem ; si bonum fuerit 
 generi humano privari esu glandium, non sequitur quod malus 
 ille erat; sed Dodona bona, Ceres melior. 1 Neque, si malum 
 fuit populo Syracusano Dionysio seniore privari, sequitur quod 
 Dionysius ille bonus fuerit, sed minus malus quam junior. 
 Per Successionem ; etenim privatio boni alicujus non semper 
 dat locum malo, sed quandoque majori bono ; ut cum flos 
 decidit, fructus succedit ; nee privatio alicujus mali dat semper 
 locum bono, sed interdum majori malo. Nam sublato inimico 
 Clodio, Milo simul et segetem glorias perdidit. 2 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 4. Quod bono aut malo vicinum est, id ipsum itidem bonum 
 aut malum : quod vero remotum est a bono, malum ; quod a malo, 
 bonum. 
 
 Habet hoc fere rerum natura, ut quae natura sua conveniant, 
 etiam locis conveniant ; quae vero contraria? naturae sunt, etiam 
 intervallis distent ; cum singula arnica sibi associare, iuimica 
 summovere gaudeant. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Sed fallit Sophisma tribus modis; primo propter Destitu- 
 tionem ; secundo propter Obscurationem ; tertio propter Pro- 
 tectionem. Propter Destitutionem ; fit ut quae in suo genere 
 amplissima sunt et maxime excellunt, omnia quantum fieri 
 potest ad se trahant, et in vicino quaeque posita destituant ac 
 quasi media confidant. Itaque in propinquo arborum grandium 
 
 1 The allusion is to the following lines : 
 
 " Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere terram 
 Instituit, cum jam glaudes atque arbuta sacrae 
 Deficerent silvse, et victum Dodona negaret." VIRG. Georg. i. 147. 
 
 2 " Quid enim odisset Clodium Milo, segetem ac materiam suse gloriae ? " Cic. Pro 
 Mi. 36.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 677 
 
 virgulta nunquam laeta reperies. Recte etiam ille, Divitis servi 
 maxime servi. Nee male cavillatus est qui inferius famulitium 
 in aulis principum festorum vigiliis comparavit ; quae festa sua 
 in proximo attingunt, ipsas autem jejuniis addicuntur. 1 Propter 
 Obscurationem ; etenim et hoc habent quasque in suo genere 
 prasstantissima, ut licet proxima non extenuent aut destituant, 
 tamen obscurent et obumbrent ; quod etiam de Sole notant 
 astronomi; quod sit scilicet aspectu bonus, conjunctione et 
 approximatu malus. Propter Protectionem ; nam non solum 
 res coeunt et congregantur propter consortium et natures simi- 
 litudinem, sed etiam malum (prsesertim in civilibus) confugit 
 ad bonum, ut lateat et protegatur. Itaque scelerati homines 
 petunt asyla Divorum, et vitium ipsum se in virtutis umbram 
 recipit : 
 
 Ssepe latet vitium proxiinitate boni. 2 
 
 Contra, et bonum se aggregat ad malum, non propter con- 
 sortium, sed ut illud convertat et reformet in bonum. Itaque 
 et medici magis accedunt ad asgrotos quam ad sanos, et Ser- 
 vatori nostro objectum est, quod conversaretur cum publica- 
 nis et peccatoribus. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 5. Cut cceterce partes vel secta secundas unanimiter deferunt 
 (cum singuloe principatum sili vendicenf) melior reliquis videtur : 
 nam primas quaque ex zelo videtur sumere, secundas autem ex 
 vero et merito tribuere. 
 
 Ita Cicero argumentatur sectam Academicorum, qua? acata- 
 lepsiam tenuit, philosophiarum fuisse praestantissimam. Inter- 
 roga enim (inquit) Sto'icum, qucs secta sitpotior; ille suam cceteris 
 anteponet : deinde qua secundas teneat ; Academicam fatebitur. 
 Age similiter cum Epicureo (qui Stoici vix aspectum toleraverii), 
 postquam suam sectam collocarit in summo, cottocabit Academicam 
 in proximo.* Similiter, vacante dignitate aliqua, princeps si 
 competitores singulos interrogaret quern post se potissimum 
 commendare vellent, verisimile est secunda illorum vota in 
 eum qui prsecipue dignus et optime meritus fuerit concursura. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma propter Invidiam. Solent enim homines, 
 
 1 Namely Henry Noel. See the Apophthegms. 
 
 * " Et lateat vitium proximitate boni." OVID. Ars Amand. ii. 662. 
 
 8 The passage of Cicero here referred to is a fragment of the Academ. ad Varr. pre- 
 served by St. Augustine. 
 
 X x 3
 
 678 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 proxime post se et factionem suam, in eos inclinare et propen- 
 dere qui reliquorum maxime sint enerves et imbelles, quique 
 eis minimum molestia? exhibuerunt ; in odium illorum qui illis 
 plurimum insultarunt aut incommodarunt. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 6. Cujus excellentia vel exuperantia melior, id toto genere 
 melius. 
 
 Hue pertinent Formula? illae usitatae : Ne pervagemur in 
 generalibus. Conferamus particularem aliquem cum particularly 
 
 &c. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Videtur hoc Sophisma satis nervosum, et magis Dialecticum 
 quiddam quam Rhetoricum. Attamen interdum fallit. Primo 
 quia sunt res baud paucae, periculo plurimum obnoxiae, qua? 
 tamen si evadant ca3teris antecellant ; ita ut genere sint deteri- 
 ores, quia saepius periclitantur et excidunt; individuo autem 
 nobiliores. In hoc numero est Gemma Martia, de qua Galli- 
 cum adagium ; Filius Parisiorum et Gemma mensis Martii, si ex 
 illis evadat unus, erit instar decem aliorum. 2 Adeo ut in genere 
 gemma Maii gemmae Martii praestet ; sed tamen in individuo 
 optima gemma Martii optimae gemmae Maii prasferatur. Fallit 
 secundo, propter naturam rerum in aliquibus generibus aut spe- 
 ciebus magis (equalem, in aliquibus magis incequalem ; quemad- 
 modum in observationem venit climata calidiora generaliter 
 ingenia producere acutiora ; at in frigidioribus ingenia ilia qua? 
 eminent etiam acutissimis calidarum regionum prsestare. Si- 
 militer, in exercitibus compluribus, si res duello inter singulos 
 transigeretur, fortasse ad unam partem accederet victoria ; si 
 copiis universis, in alteram. Etenim excellentiae et exuperantiae 
 casum recipiunt ; at genera natura aut disciplina reguntur. 
 Quinetiam, in genere, metallum lapide pretiosius; attamen 
 adamas praecellit auro. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 7. Quod rem integram servat, bonum ; quod sine receptu est, 
 malum. Nam se recipere non posse, impotentia genus est ; po- 
 
 entia autem bonum. 
 
 Hinc confinxit ^Esopus fabulam de duabus ranis, qua? in 
 magna siccitate, cum aquae ubique deficerent, delibeiarunt quid 
 
 1 In the Colours of Good and Evil, this adage is given in French: 
 " Bourgeon de Mars, enfens de Paris, 
 Si un eschape, il en vaut dix."
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 679 
 
 sibi demum agendum esset. Prior autem ; Descendamus (inquit) 
 in puteum profundum, neque enim verisimile est ibi aquam defutu- 
 ram. Cui altera ita regerit ; Quin si forte ibi quoque aqua deficiet, 
 quomodo exinde rursus ascendere poterimus ? Firmamentum 
 autem liujus Sophismatis est, quod actiones human adeo sint 
 incertae et periculis expositse, ut illud optimum videatur quod 
 plurima habeat effugia. Hue spectant formulae illas, quas in 
 usu sunt ; Obligatum plane et obstrictum te reddes : Non tantum 
 quantum voles sumes exfortuna, &c. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma primo, quia in actionibus humanis fortuna 
 urget ut aliquid demum decernatur. Etenim, ut eleganter a 
 quopiam dictum est, etiam non statuere est aliquid statuere ; 
 adeo ut saepenumero consilii suspensio pluribus nos implicet 
 necessitatibus quam si aliquid statuissemus. Videtur autem 
 iste morbus quidam animi similis ei qui reperitur in avaris ; sed 
 translatus a cupiditate retinendi opes ad cupiditatem retinendi 
 arbitrium et potestatem. Siquidem avarus frui non vult, ne 
 quid detrahat de summa ; ita et hujusmodi scepticus nil exequi 
 vult, ut omnia ei sint integra. Fallit secundo, quia necessitas, 
 et illud (quod aiunt) Jacta est alea, stimulos addit animis ; sicut 
 inquit ille, Cceteris pares, necessitate certe superiores estis. 1 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 8. Quod quis culpa sua contraxit, majus malum; quod ab 
 externis imponitur, minus malum. 
 
 Hujus rei causa est, quod morsus conscientiaB ad versa con- 
 duplicet; contra, conscium sibi esse quod culpa quis vacet, 
 magnum praebet in calamitate solatium. Itaque poetae ea 
 pathemata maxime exaggerant, tanquam desperationi propiora, 
 ubi quis seipsum accuset et discruciet ; 
 
 Seque unum clamat causamque caputque malorum. 2 
 
 Contra, calamitates virorum insignium elevat et diluit inno- 
 centiae et meriti conscientia. Porro cum malum ab aliis inten- 
 tetur, habet quivis quod libere conqueri possit ; unde dolores 
 sui exhalent neque oor suffbcent. Etenim iis quae ab in- 
 juria hominum profecta sunt, indignari solemus, aut ultionem 
 meditari, aut denique Nemesim divinam vel implorare vel ex- 
 
 1 " Virtute pares, necessitate superiores estis. " Livy, iv. 28. 
 * " Se causam clamat crimenque caputque malorum." VIRG. Mn. xii. 600. 
 
 x x
 
 680 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 pectare ; quinetiam, si a Fortuna ipsa inflictum quid sit, tamen 
 datur quaedam cum Fatis ipsis expostulatio ; 
 
 Atque Deos atque astra vocat crudelia mater. 1 
 
 Contra, ubi quis malum aliquod sua culpa contraxerit, sti- 
 muli doloris intro vertuntur, animumque magis vulnerant et 
 
 confodiunt. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit istud Sophisma, primo propter Spem ; quae malorum 
 magnum est antidotum. Etenim culpae emendatio saape in 
 nostra potestate sita est; fortunae vero minime. Itaque De- 
 mosthenes non semel cives suos hujusmodi verbis affatus est ; 
 Quod ad proBterita pessimum, id ad futura optimum est. Quid 
 hoc tandem sit ? Hoc ipsum scilicet, quod vestra incuria et culpa 
 res vestj'CB male se habeant. Nam si vos officio vestro per omnia 
 perfuncti essetis, et nihilominus status vester, ut nunc, laborasset, 
 ne spes quidem reliqua esset eum futurum aliquando meliorem. 
 Cum vero errores vestri in causa potissimum fuerint, coiifidendum 
 plane vos illis emendatis pristinum statum vestrum recuperaturos. 
 Similiter Epictetus, de gradibus tranquillitatis animi verba 
 faciens, infimum locum illis attribuit qui alios accusant, su- 
 periorem iis qui seipsos, supremum vero illis qui nee alios nee 
 seipsos. 3 Fallit secundo, propter insitam animis humanis Su- 
 perbiam; qua aegre adducuntur homines ut errores proprios 
 agnoscant. Hoc vero ut evitent, patientiam adhibent longe 
 majorem in iis malis quae culpa sua contraxerunt. Etenim, 
 quemadmodum fieri videmus, ut cum culpa admissa sit, neque 
 de authore constiterit, supra modum excandescunt homines 
 et tumultuantur ; quod si postea in notitiam pervenerit culpam 
 illam ad filium aut uxorem aut gratiosum aliquem pertinere, 
 statim sedantur turbae et consilescunt ; eodem modo fit, cum 
 res aliqua accidit propter quam necessitas incumbit culpam in 
 nos ipsos recipiendi. Id quod in mulieribus saspissime con- 
 spicitur, quae si quid infoeliciter egerunt contra consensum 
 parentum aut amicorum, qualecunque infortunium sequatur, 
 illud sedulo dissimulabunt. 4 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 9. Gradus privationis major videtur quam gradus diminu- 
 
 1 Virg. Eclog. v. 23. 
 
 2 See the first and the third Philippic for passages to this effect. 
 
 ' Encliirid. c. 5. 4 Bacon makes the same remark in the Essay on Marriage.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 681 
 
 tionis ; et rursus, gradus incozptionis major videtur quam gradus 
 incrementi. 
 
 Canon est in Mathematicis nullas esse rationes nihili ad ali- 
 quid. Itaque gradus nullitatis et quidditatis majores videntur 
 gradibus incrementi et decrementi. Sicut monoculo durius est 
 unum perdere oculum, quam utrunque oculum habenti. Simi 
 liter, complures liberos habenti gravius est ultimum qui super- 
 stes fuerit filium amittere, quam reliquos priores. Itaque et 
 Sibylla cum duos priores libros combussisset, pretium tertii 
 duplicavit ; siquidem illius amissio gradus fuisset Privationis, 
 non Diminutionis. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma primo, propter eas res quarum usus in suffi- 
 cientia quadam sive competentia, hoc est, quantitate determi- 
 nata, consistit. Si quis enim obligetur po3naliter ad solutionem 
 certae pecuniae sumrnae ad diem certum, gravius ei fuerit nummo 
 unico aureo carere, quam si, posito quod ille unicus parari non 
 potuerit, deessent etiam decem alii. Similiter in decoctionibus 
 fortunarum, damnosior videtur gradus obaerationis qui primus 
 sortem minuit, quam extremus, qui ad egestatem redigit. Hue 
 spectant formulas illae usitatae; Sera in fundo parsimonia: 1 
 Parum interest utrum nihil habeas, an quod nihil juvet, etc. 
 Fallit secundo, propter illud principium in natura, quod cor- 
 ruptio unius sit generatio alterius.* Adeo ut gradus ipse Priva- 
 tionis ultimas minus interdum incommodet, quoniam ansam et 
 stimulum praebet novae alicui rationi ineundae. Unde etiam 
 Demosthenes saepius conqueritur apud cives suos ; Conditiones 
 minus utiles et honorificas, quas a Philippo impositas subibant, 
 nihil aliud esse quam alimenta qu&dam ipsorum ignavice et socor- 
 dice; ut multo Us fuisset satius illis omnino carere, propter ea quod 
 hoc pacto industria illorum melius acui possit ad alia paranda 
 remedial Novimus certe medicum quendam qui mulieribus 
 
 1 This sentence occurs in the first of Seneca's epistles, and is given as a proverb by 
 Erasmus. See his Adagia, ii. 2. 64. Seneca probably took it from Hesiod, 5eiA^ $' M 
 irvOfjifvi <t>ei5<a, Op. et Dies, v. 339. ; and the right reading is perhaps misera, not sera. 
 
 2 Arist. De Gen. et Corr. i. 4. 
 
 3 Wats refers to the first Philippic, towards the end of which there is a passage not 
 unlike that in the text ; but the phrase " alimenta socordiae," which Bacon has quoted 
 in several parts of his works, is not to be found there. He derived it from H. Wolfs 
 translation of a passage in the third Olynthiac, c. 33., where the Greek is simply tcrri 
 ravra TO. -r^v fKdffrov j>a9vfj.ica> vpGov eVauJovoj/ra, which Wolf renders by " alimenta 
 sunt vestrum omnium socordiae. " There is no reference to Philip's conduct in the 
 immediate context, the "alimenta socordiae" being in reality matters of internal 
 arrangement. It seems as if Bacon read the oration in Wolfs version, and adopted
 
 682 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 delicatis querentibus se male habere sed tamen a medicamentis 
 omnibus abhorrere, solebat dicere, non minus facete quam 
 morose, Vobis omnino opus est ut deterius valeatis, quo medica- 
 menta etiam qucelibet libenter toleretis. Quinetiam ipse gradus 
 Privationis sive indigentiae ultimas salutaris esse possit, non 
 tantum ad excitandam industriam, verum etiam ad imperandam 
 patientiam. 
 
 Quod ad secundum membrum hujus Sophismatis, illud eodem 
 quo prius fimdamento (de gradibus quidditatis et nullitatis) 
 nititur. Hinc tanta usurpantur de initiis negotiorum prseconia ; 
 
 Dimidium facti, qui bene coepit, habet, &C. 1 
 
 Hinc Astrologorum superstitio, qui judicium faciunt de dispo- 
 sitione aut fortuna hominis ex momento sive articulo nativitatis 
 aut conceptus. 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma primo, quoniam in nonnullis primae rerum 
 incoeptiones nihil aliud sunt quam quae Epicurus in philosophia 
 sua appellat Tentamenta 2 ; id est, rudimenta qusedam, quse 
 nihili sunt nisi iterentur aut provehantur. Itaque in hoc casu 
 gradus secundus dignior videtur et potentior quam primus. 
 Quemadmodum in plaustris, equus qui penultimus est plus 
 
 the phrase " alimenta socordiae " (the point of -which belongs to the translator and not 
 to Demosthenes) without comparing it with the original. [I think, however, that the 
 idea of " alimenta " is really involved in the word firavdvovra, when taken with the 
 context, and that no other word could have given the meaning so well. To exhibit 
 the full meaning in Demosthenes's words, it is necessary to quote the whole sentence. 
 'Eav ovv a\\a vvv y' en aira\\ayfvres rovruv ruv f8iav I9e \-fiffrjre ffrparevetrBai re Kal 
 irpdrreiv dio>s v/j.iav avruv, Kal rals irtptovtriais rais olxoi rat/rats aQopfjLais eVi ra ea> 
 ruv ayaQcav xpfjariaQe, Iffcas bv Iffats S> &v8pts 'A6r)vatoi re\fi6v TI Kal fj.eya KTriaataQe 
 ayadSv, Kal riav roioincav XTJJUJUOTCOJ' oTroAA-a^e/ijTe, a TO"IS dffdevovfft irapb. T&V 
 larpwv ffiriots 5i5o/ueVois toiwe. Kal yap oi/r" iffxvv exetj-a i=VT\.Qi\ffiv o%-f atro- 
 6v4l<TKtu> (<} Kal ravra, a Vffj.eff6f vvv vfifis, oCre TOffavra effTiv ware iatpf\ttav ex*"' T"** 
 SiapKrj, oCr* dvoyv6vras a\\o TI irpdrreiv eif, dA\* ezn ravra T^JV (naffrov padupiav 
 11/j.aiv firav^dvovroL. The AVj/u/taro, or ravra & vep.*orQe vvv vfj.eis, to which Demosthenes 
 alluded, were apparently the theoric fund ; but it seems as if Bacon understood him 
 to allude to the small advantages recently gained over Philip, which gave occasion to 
 the speech; an interpretation which, if otherwise justifiable, would, I think, rather 
 improve the sense. J. ] 
 
 1 Horace. Ep. L 2. 40. But bene is not in the original. Compare Ausonius, Epig. 
 81., and the proverbial phrase, apx^) ^fuav iravris, in Hesiod. 
 
 2 That is, inchoate productions, not having the conditions requisite in order to their 
 perfection and continuance. See Lucretius, v. 835. et sqq., on which passage Gassendi 
 remarks : " Supponit nempe fuisse varia quasi tentamenta naturae, adeo ut longe 
 plura animalium genera quam quae nunc habentur quasi affecta fuerint, sed ea tamen 
 sola superfuerint quae contigit perfici posse." See his Essay on Epicurus entitled In 
 Libr. X. Diog. Laert. de Physiol. Epicuri Animadversiones, (1649) p. 650. Pliny 
 alludes to a similar notion in his description of the convolvulus, " veluti naturae 
 rudimentum, lilia facere condiscentis." Hist. Nat. xxi. 1 1 . Rapin's lines are merely 
 a plagiarism of Pliny's phrase : 
 
 " Dulce rudimentum meditantis lilia quondam 
 Naturae, cum sese opera ad majora parabat."
 
 LIBER SEXTTJS. 683 
 
 confert ad motum plaustri quam primus. Etiam non inepte 
 dici solet ; Convitium regestum illud esse quod pugnce sit reum. 
 Prius enim fortasse prsetervolaturum fuisset. Itaque prius 
 malo principium dedit, sed posterius modum dbstulit. Fallit 
 Sophisma secundo, propter dignitatem perseverantise ; quas in 
 progressu, non in aggressu sita est. Etenim casus aut natura 
 primum impetum progignere possunt; at affectus tantum- 
 modo maturus et judicium, constantiam. Fallit tertio in iis 
 rebus, quarum natura et cursus ordinarius in contrarium rei 
 incoeptse fertur ; ita ut prima incoeptio perpetuo evacuetur, nisi 
 vires continuentur. Quemadmodum in formulis illis usitatis 
 dicitur ; Non progredi, est regredi ; et Qui non prqficit, deficit ; 
 ut in cursu in adversum montis; remigatione in adversum 
 gurgitis. At contra, si in declivi montis motus incipiat, aut 
 secundo flumine remigatio fiat, turn gradus incoeptus longe 
 potiores partes tenet. Porro iste Color non tantum extenditur 
 ad gradum incceptionis qui sit a potentia ad actum, comparatum 
 cum gradu qui sit ab actu ad incrementum ; verum etiam ad 
 gradum qui sit ab impotentia ad potentiam, comparatum cum 
 gradu qui sit a potentia ad actum. Etenim gradus ab impoten- 
 tia ad potentiam major videtur quam a potentia ad actum. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 10. Quod ad veritatem refertur majus est quam quod ad 
 opinionem. Modus autem et probatio ejus quod ad opinionem 
 pertinet, hcec est; quod quis, si clam putaret fore, facturus non 
 esset. 
 
 Ita pronunciant Epicurei de Fcelicitate Stoicorum in Virtute 
 collocata, quod similis sit foelicitati histrionis in scena ; qui si a 
 spectatoribus et plausu eorum destitueretur, animis statim con- 
 cideret. Itaque virtutem, per ignominiam, Bonum Theatrale 
 vocant. Aliter fit in divitiis, de quibus ille, ; 
 
 Populus me sibilat ; at mihi plaudo. 1 
 
 Itidem in voluptate, 
 
 Grata sub imo 
 
 Gaudia corde premens, vultu simulante pudorem. 2 
 
 1 Horace, Sat. i. 1. 66. 
 
 8 This is a quotation from the Latin translation of Theocritus by Hessus (Paris, 
 1546.)- The original is, 
 
 OHIJMGW aiSSpeva, KpaSia 8' ot evSov IdvBrj. 
 
 a line which occurs near the end of the twenty-seventh Idyll. The translation, unlike 
 most translations made in the sixteenth century, is printed without the text, and is 
 4 exceedingly loose andparaphrastic. Eobanus Hessus has been supposed one o f **"> 
 authors of the Epistola Obscurorum Virorum.
 
 684 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallacia hujus Sophismatis subtilior paulo est ; licet responsio 
 ad exemplum quod adducitur facilis. Neque enim virtus eligitur 
 propter auram popularem ; cum etiam illud prasceptum sit, Ut 
 quis maxime omnium seipsum revereatur. 1 Ita ut vir bonus idem 
 fuerit in solitudine, idem in theatro. Licet forte intendatur 
 virtus nonnihil per laudes, quemadmodum calor augetur per 
 reflexionem. Sed hoc suppositionem negat, non fallaciam red- 
 arguit. Elenchus vero talis est. Dato, quod virtus (praesertim 
 ea quae labores et conflictus subit) non eligeretur, nisi quod 
 laudes et fama earn comitari soleant ; baud inde sequitur, quod 
 appetitus et motus ad virtutem non sit praecipue propter se. 
 Siquidem fama possit esse causa tantum impulsiva aut sine qua 
 non, neutiquam efficiens aut constituens. Exempli gratia ; si 
 duo fuerint equi, quorum unus calcaribus non admotis quaevis 
 baud segniter praestaret, at alter calcaribus admotis priorem 
 longe superaret ; posterior iste (arbitror) palmam referet, et pro 
 equo meliore judicabitur. Neque quenqnam judicii sani com- 
 moverit formula ilia ; Apage istum equum, cujus spiritus siti sunt 
 in calcaribus. Quandoquidem enim instrumentum ordinarium 
 equitanti sit calcar, neque ullo modo oneri aut impedimento ei 
 sit, non minoris propterea asstimandus est equus qui calcare 
 incitatur; neque etiam ille alter, qui absque calcaribus mira 
 praestat, eo ipso melior, sed delicatior tantum, habendus est. 
 Simili ratione, gloria et honor virtuti pro stimulis et calcaribus 
 subserviunt; ac licet virtus sine illis paulo futura esset lan- 
 guidior, tamen cum semper ilia praesto sint ei etiam non invitata, 
 nil officit quominus virtus propter se quoque expetatur. Ita- 
 que recte redarguitur ilia positio ; Nota ejus rei, quod 2 propter 
 opinionem et non propter veritatem eligitur, hcBc est ; quod quis si 
 clam putaret fore, facturus nonfuisset. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 11. Quod opera et virtute nostra partum est, majus bonum; 
 quod ab alieno beneficio vel ab indulgentia fortunes delatum est, 
 minus bonum. 
 
 Causae hujus rei has sunt : primo, propter Spem de Future. 
 Siquidem in aliorum gratia aut fortunae ipsius ventis secundis, 
 non multum inest certitudinis ; propria vero industria aut 
 
 jAtffr' alffx^to ao.vr6v. PTTHAGORAS, Aur. Vers. v. 12, 
 
 * So in the original J. S.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 685 
 
 virtus semper domi adsunt. Adeo ut postquam boni quid 
 nobis hoc modo paratum fuerit, maneant etiam eadem instru- 
 menta in novos usus parata ; quin et consuetudine et successu 
 reddita validiora. Secundo, quia quod alieno beneficio adipi- 
 scimur, ejus etiam aliis debitores sumus ; cum quze per nos ipsi 
 comparaverimus nihil oneris secum trahant. Etiam si quid 
 indulgentia divina in nos cumulaverit, retributionem quandam 
 erga Dei bonitatem efflagitat, quod homines pravos et improbos 
 mordet ; ubi in priore genere illud Prophetae usuveniat, Lce- 
 tantur et exultant, immolant plagis suis, et sacrificant reti suo. 1 
 Tertio, quia ea quae a virtute nostra minime profecta sunt, 
 nulla sequitur laus et existimatio. Quae enim fbelicitatis sunt, 
 admirationem quandam pariunt, laudem minime. Sicut ait 
 Cicero ad Caesarem ; Quce miremur habemus, quce laudemus 
 expcctamus."* Quarto, quia quae industria propria acquiruntur, 
 cum laboribus et contentione fere conjuncta sunt, quod non- 
 nullam habet in se suavitatem; uti Salomon, Suavis cibus a 
 venatu, 3 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 At quatuor inveniuntur Colores Oppositi, qui rem in con- 
 trariam partem inclinant, possintque esse prioribus instar 
 Elenchorum. Primo, quia Foslicitas vjdetur esse signum 
 quoddam et character Favoris Divini; et propterea turn in 
 nobismetipsis confidentiam et alacritatem generat, turn apud 
 alios authoritatem et reverentiam. Foelicitas autem ista etiam 
 fortuita complectitur, ad quae virtus aegre aspirat ; veluti 
 cum Caesar ad navis gubernatorem animos addendo dixit, C&sa- 
 rem portas et fortunam ejus.* Quod si dixisset, Ccesarem portas 
 et virtutem ejus, frigidum prorsus fuisset solatium periclitanti in 
 procella. Secundo, quia ea quae a virtute aut industria pro- 
 cedunt sunt imitabilia, et aliis patent ; cum foelicitas sit res in- 
 imitabilis, et praerogativa quaedam hominis individui. Itaque 
 
 1 Habakkuk, i. 15, 16. 
 
 2 Cicero pro Marcello, c. 9. ; but the quotation is inaccurate. [The meaning, how- 
 ever, is accurately given ; which (as in the passage from Demosthenes, p. 681.) could 
 not have been done in the exact words of the original without a long quotation, much 
 of which would have been irrelevant. When Bacon quotes an author as " saying " 
 anything, we are always to understand the words " in effect." J. S.] 
 
 * In the Colours of Good and Evil, of which this tract is only an expansion, this 
 sentence is given in Latin as here, but without any reference to Solomon. There are 
 one or two of Solomon's proverbs to the same purpose, but none I think in these 
 words. It was probably suggested to Bacon by something in Solomon, and turned into 
 its present shape by himself. In after years, remembering where the thought came - 
 from, he may easily have forgotten that the expression was his own. J. S. 
 
 4 Plutarch, De Fortuna Roman, p. 319.
 
 686 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 in genere videmus res naturales artificialibus praeponi, quia 
 imitationem non recipiunt. Quod enim imitabile est, potentia 
 vulgatum est. Tertio, quae ex foelicitate proveniunt, bona vi- 
 dentur gratuita, nee laboribus empta ; at quae virtute pro- 
 pria, pretio veluti acquisita. Itaque eleganter Plutarchus de 
 rebus Timoleontis, hominis longe fortunatissimi, cum rebus 
 Agesilai et Epaminondae qui uno a3vo vixerunt comparatis, 
 dixit: Ulas Homeri carminibus fuisse similes, qua, cum alias ex- 
 cellant, sponte etiam jftuere videantur, et quasi Genium sapere. 1 
 Quarto, quia quod prater spem aut praeter expectatum con- 
 tingit, gratiua et majore cum voluptate in hominum animos 
 influit. Illud vero neutiquam competit iis, quae propria cura 
 et ambitu comparantur. 
 
 SOPHISMA. 
 
 12. Quod ex pluribus constat et divisibilibus, est majus quam 
 quod ex paucioribus et magis unum ; nam omnia per paries con- 
 siderata majora videntur. Quare et pluralitas partium magni- 
 tudinem prce sefert ; fortius autem operatur pluralitas partium, 
 si ordo absit ; nam inducit similitudinem infiniti, et impedit com- 
 prehensionem. 
 
 Sophisma istud videtur etiam primo intuitu fallax, et quasi 
 palpabile ; siquidem non pluralitas partium tantum, sed majo- 
 ritas earundem, poterit constituere totum auctius. Attamen 
 abripit hoc ipsum Sophisma saepius phantasiam ; quinetiam in- 
 sidiatur sensui. Etenim aspectui ipsi brevior videtur via in 
 planitie, ubi nihil intercurrat quod visum frangat, quam in tali 
 tractu terrae ubi simul conspiciuntur arbores, aut aedificia, aut 
 aliud aliquod signum quod spatium metiri et dividere possit. 
 Sic homini bene nummato, postquam areas suas et marsupia 
 diviserit et digesserit, major etiam quam antea subit divitiarum 
 phantasia. Habet etiam vim in amplificationibus, si res in 
 plures portiones dividatur, atque singulae seorsum tractentur. 
 Hoc vero adhuc magis phantasiam implet, si fiat promiscue et 
 sine ordine. Confusio enim multitudinis opinionem generat. 
 Siquidem quae ordine ostenduntur aut proponuntur, turn ipsa 
 magis finita apparent, turn certum praebent argumentum nihil 
 esse praetermissum. At contra, quae confuse repraesentantur 
 non solum in se numerosa putantur, sed et suspicioni locum 
 relinquunt restare adhuc plura quae omittuntur. 
 
 1 Plutarch in Timol. c. 36.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 687 
 
 ELENCHUS. 
 
 Fallit Sophisma primo, ubi quis ampliorem praeceperit de re 
 aliqua opinionem quam pro vera rei ipsius magnitudine. Etenim 
 cum hoc fit, distributio falsam illam opinionem destruet, et rem 
 in veritate sua, non autem cum amplificatione, monstrabit. 
 Itaque si quis morbo aut dolore corripiatur, horse longiores ei 
 videbuntur absque horologio aut clepsydra, quam si iisdem 
 mensurentur. Nam si taedium et vexatio morbi tempus videri 
 longius faciunt quam revera est, at computatio temporis errorem 
 ilium corrigit, et brevius facit quam opinio ilia falsa conceperat. 
 Etiam in planitie, contra quam superius dictum est aliquando 
 evenit. Licet enim visus in principio viam ostentet breviorem 
 sensui, quia indivisa est; tamen si ex eo obrepat opinio de 
 longe minori intervallo quam reperitur, opinionis ejus vanas 
 frustratio efficiet ut videatur demum etiam quam revera est 
 productior. Itaque si quis opinion! alicujus falsaa de magnitu- 
 dine rei cujuspiam velificari cupiat, caveat a distributionibus, 
 sed rem integram utique extollat. Fallit Sophisma secundo, 
 si distributio ea distrahatur, non autem simul obversetur, aut 
 uno aspectu visum feriat. Itaque si flores in horto aliquo in 
 plures torulos distinguantur, majoris quantitatis speciem prae- 
 bebunt quam si omnes in uno toro simul crescerent, modo toruli 
 illi oculis simul subjiciantur ; aliter enim unio distribution! dis- 
 tractae praevalebit. Sic reditus eorum majores videntur, quibus 
 prsedia et latifundia sua vicina aut conjuncta sunt. Nam, si 
 sparsim sita sint, non veniunt tarn facile sub aspectum. Fallit 
 Sophisma tertio, propter dignitatem unitatis supra multitudi- 
 nem. Omnis enim compositio, indigentiae in singulis signum 
 est certissimum ; ubi illud usu venit, 
 
 Et quae non prosunt singula, multa juvant. 1 
 
 Itaque Marias partes potiores ; Martha, Martha, attendis ad 
 plurima, unum sufficit. 2 Hinc ilia fabula JEsopi de vulpe et 
 feli. Jactabat enim vulpes quantas artes haberet et eftugia, 
 quibus se a canibus eriperet ; felis autem se unico tantum con- 
 fidere auxilio dixit, utpote quae tenuem scandendi facultatem 
 haberet; quod tamen reliquis illis vulpinis longe prasstantius 
 praesidium fuit : unde adagium ; Multa novit vulpes, sed felis 
 unum magnum? Quinetiam in hujus fabulas significatione morali 
 
 1 Ovid. Rem. Amor 420. 2 St. Luke, x. 41, 42. 
 
 8 " Multa novit vulpes, se'd echinus unum magnum," is a proverb in Erasmus's 
 collection. Vide Er. Adag. i. 5. 18.
 
 688 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 idem cernitur. Nam potent! et fido amico niti plus praesidii 
 habet, quam artes et astutiae complurimae. 
 
 Atque haec exempli loco sufficient. Superest autem nobis ejus- 
 modi Colorum numerus etiam magnus, quos olim adolescentes 
 congessimus ; attamen sine illustrationibus suis atque Elenchis ; 
 quos hoc tempore concinnare non vacat. Ideoque Colores illos 
 nudos absque illustrationibus suis (cum superiores isti vestiti 
 prodeant) proponere, minime nobis consentaneum videtur. Illud 
 interim monemus; rem istam, qualiscunque ea videri possit, 
 haud parvi judicio nostro esse pretii : utpote quae ex Philoso- 
 phia Prima, et ex Politica, et ex Rhetorica participet. Atque 
 de Signis Popularibus sive Coloribus Boni ac Mali apparentis, 
 tarn Simplicis quam Comparati, hactenus. 
 
 Secunda Collectio, quae pertinet ad Promptuariam, et desi- 
 deratur, ea est quam Cicero (ut superius in Logica diximus l ) 
 innuit; cum praecipit, ut in promptu habeantur Loci Com- 
 munes, in utramque partem disputati et tractati. Quales sunt, 
 Pro verbis legis et Pro sententia legis, &c. Nos vero hoc prae- 
 ceptum etiam ad alia extendimus ; ut non solum ad genus 
 Judiciale, sed etiam ad Deliberativum et Demonstrativum ad- 
 hibeatur. Omnino hoc volumus, Locos omnes quorum frequens 
 est usus (sive ad probationes et refutationes, sive ad suasiones 
 et dissuasiones, sive ad laudes et vituperia spectent) meditates 
 jam haberi ; eosque ultimis ingenii viribus, et tanquam improbe 
 et prorsus praeter veritatem, attolli et deprimi. Modum autem 
 hujus collections, tarn ad usum quam ad brevitatem, optimum 
 fore censemus, si hujusmodi Loci contrahantur in sententias 
 quasdam acutas et concisas 2 ; tanquam glomos quosdam, quo- 
 rum fila in fusiorem discursum, cum res postulat, explicari 
 possint. Atque similem quandam diligentiam in Seneca 3 re- 
 perimus, sed in hypothesibus sive casibus. Ejus generis, cum 
 plurima parata habeamus, aliqua ad exemplum proponere visum 
 est. Ea autem Antitheta Rerum nominamus. 4 
 
 1 Supra, p. 634. 
 
 2 The habit of reducing arguments into this form accounts probably for the diffi- 
 culty of verifying many of Bacon's quotations. The form fittest for the promptuaria 
 was the form easiest to -remember and most convenient to use. See notes 2 and 
 3, p. 685. J. S. 
 
 1 The Seneca here referred to is M. Annaeus Seneca, the rhetorician, who is sup- 
 posed to have been the uncle of L. Annseus Seneca, the preceptor of Nero. 
 4 Of these Antitheta many are Bacon's own, and are to be found in other parts of
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 689 
 
 Exempla Antithetorum. 
 
 I. NOBILITAS. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Quibus virtus a genere pe- 
 nitus insita est, ii jam non 
 mail esse nolunt, sed ne- 
 queunt. 
 
 Nobilitas laurea, qua tern- 
 pus homines coronat. 
 
 Antiquitatem etiam in mo- 
 numentis mortuis veneramur; 
 quanto magis in vivis ? 
 
 Si nobilitatem familiarum 
 contemnas, quaa tandem erit 
 differentia inter sobolem ho- 
 minum et brutorum ? 
 
 Nobilitas virtutem invidiae 
 subducit, gratise tradit. 
 
 II. FORMA. 
 Pro. 
 
 Deformes naturam ulcisci 
 solent. 
 
 Et virtus nil aliud quam 
 interna forma; et forma nil 
 aliud quam externa virtus. 
 
 Deformes se a contemptu 
 per malitiam utique suam 
 vindicare cupiunt. 
 
 Forma virtutes splendere 
 facit, vitia rubere. - 
 
 III. JUVENTTJS. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Primse cogitationes, et ju- Juventus poenitentiae cam- 
 venum consilia, plus habent e pus. 
 numine. Ingenitus est juvenibus se- 
 
 his writings; others are doubtless quotations, of which I shall mention some, though 
 many more might probably be easily pointed out. [A great many of them will be 
 found in the Essays. J. ] 
 
 VOL. I. Y Y 
 
 Contra. 
 
 Raro ex virtute nobilitas ; 
 rarius ex nobilitate virtus. 
 
 Nobiles majorum depreca- 
 tione ad veniam saspius utun- 
 tur, quam suffragatione ad 
 honores. 
 
 Tanta solet esse industria 
 hominum novorum, ut nobi- 
 les praa illis tanquam statute 
 videantur. 
 
 Nobiles in stadio respe- 
 ctant nimis saepe ; quod mali 
 cursoris est. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Virtus, ut gemma nobilis, 
 melius inseritur sine multo 
 auro et ornatu. 
 
 Quod vestis lauta deformi, 
 hoc forma improbo. 
 
 Similiter plerunque leves 
 sunt quos forma ornat et 
 quos movet.
 
 690 
 
 BE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Senes sibi sapiunt magis, 
 aliis et reipublicae minus. 
 
 Si conspici daretur, magis 
 deformat animos quam cor- 
 pora senectus. 
 
 Senes omnia metuunt, pra- 
 ter Deos. 
 
 IV. VALETUDO. 
 Pro. 
 
 Cura valetudinis animum 
 humilem facit et corpori sup- 
 plicem. 
 
 Corpus sanum hospes animae 
 est; aegrum, ergastularius. 
 
 Nil tarn summas actionum 
 promovet, quam prospera vale- 
 tudo; at contra infiruia feri- 
 atur nimis. 
 
 nilis authoritatis contemptus ; 
 ut quisque suo periculo sapiat. 
 
 Tempus, ad quae consilia 
 non advocatur, nee rata habet. 
 
 Senibus Veneres mutantur 
 in Gratias. 1 
 
 Con. 
 
 Saepe convalescere est saepe 
 juvenescere. 
 
 Excusatio valetudinis poly- 
 chresta; ad quam etiam sani 
 confugimus. 
 
 Nimis arcto fbedere corpus 
 animae jungit sanitas. 
 
 Et lectus magna imperia 
 administravit, et lectica ma- 
 ghos exercitus. 
 
 V. UXOK ET LIBERI. 
 Pro. 
 
 Charitas reipublicae incipit a 
 farailia. 
 
 Uxor et liberi disciplina 
 quaedam humanitatis; at CO3- 
 libes tetrici et severi. 
 
 Coelibatus et orbitas ad nil 
 aliud conferunt, quam ad fu- 
 gam. 
 
 Morti sacrificat, qui liberos 
 non procreat. 
 
 Caetera foelices, in liberis 
 fere infortunati sunt; ne di- 
 vinae sorti nimium appropin- 
 
 Con. 
 
 Qui uxorem duxit et libe- 
 ros suscepit, obsides fortunae 
 dedit. 
 
 Generare et liberi, humana 
 sunt ; creare et opera, divina. 
 
 Brutorum aeternitas soboles ; 
 Virorum, fama, merita, et in- 
 stituta. 
 
 CEconomicaB rationes publi- 
 cas plerunque evertunt. 
 
 Aliquibus fortuna Priami 
 placuit, qui suis omnibus su- 
 perstes fuit. 3 
 
 quent homines. 2 
 
 1 This idea has been expressed in a different form by Mr. Milnes : 
 
 " On that deep retiring shore 
 
 Frequent pearls of beauty lie ; 
 Where the passion-waves of yore 
 Fiercely beat and mounted high." 
 
 2 This seems to me to belong more properly to the other side of the argument ; but 
 if it be rightly placed where it is, it must mean that to be happy in his children is 
 happiness too great for a man, unless it be balanced by misfortune in other ways. /. S. 
 
 8 The allusion is to Tiberius. See Suet in Tiber, c. 62.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 691 
 
 VI. DIVITLS:. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Divitias contemnunt, qui 
 desperant. 
 
 Invidia divitiarum virtutem 
 effecit deam. 
 
 Dum philosophi dubitant 
 utruin ad virtutem an volu- 
 ptatem omnia sint referenda, 
 collige instrumenta utriusque. 
 
 Virtus per divitias vertitur 
 in commune bonum. 
 
 Caetera bona provincialem 
 habent administrationem, di- 
 vitiae solas generalem. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Divitiarum magnarum vel 
 custodia est, vel dispensatio 
 quaedam, vel fama ; at nullus 
 usus. 
 
 Annon vides lapillis et id 
 genus deliciis fingi pretia, ut 
 possit esse aliquis magnarum 
 divitiarum usus ? 
 
 Multi dum divitiis suis 
 omnia venalia fore credide- 
 runt, ipsi in primis venerunt. 
 
 Non aliud divitias dixerim, 
 quam impedimenta virtutis ; 
 nam virtuti et necessarian sunt, 
 et graves. 
 
 Divitias bona ancilla, pessima 
 domina. 
 
 VTI. HONORES. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Honores non tyrannorum 
 (ut loquuntur), sed Provi- 
 dentiae Divinae calculi sunt. 
 
 Honores faciunt et virtutes 
 et vitia conspicua ; itaque illas 
 provocant, haec refraenant. 
 
 Non novit quispiam quan- 
 tum in virtutis cursu profe- 
 cerit, nisi honores ei campum 
 praebeant apertum. 
 
 Virtutis, ut reruin aliarum, 
 rapidus motus est ad locum, 
 placidus in loco; est autem 
 virtutis locus honos. 
 
 VIII. IMPEKIA. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Felicitate frui, magnum Quam miserum habere nil 
 bonum est; sed earn et aliis fere quod appetas, infinita 
 impertiri posse, adhuc majus. quae metuas. 
 
 y Y 2 
 
 Con. 
 
 Dum honores appetimus 
 libertatem exuimus. 
 
 Honores dant fere potesta- 
 tem earum rerum, quas optima 
 conditio est nolle, proxima 
 non posse. 
 
 Honorum ascensus arduuo, 
 static lubrica, regressus prae- 
 ceps. 
 
 Qui in honore sunt, vulgi 
 opinionem mutuentur oportet, 
 ut seipsos beatos putent.
 
 692 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Reges non hominum instar 
 sed astrorum sunt ; nam et in 
 singulos et in tempora ipsa 
 magnum habent influxum. 
 
 Qui Dei vices gerunt, iis 
 resistere non tantum laasae 
 majestatis crimen est, sed the- 
 omachia quajdam. 
 
 IX. LATJS, 
 Pro. 
 
 Virtutis radii reflexi laudes. 
 
 Laus honor is est, ad quern 
 liberis suffragiis pervenitur. 
 
 Honores a diversis politiis 
 conferuntur; sed laudes ubique 
 sunt libertatis. 
 
 Vox populi habet aliquid 
 divinum. Nam quomodo aliter 
 tot capita in unum conspirare 
 possint ? 2 
 
 Ne mireris, si vulgus verius 
 loquatur quam honoratiores ; 
 quia etiam tutius loquitur. 
 
 Qui in imperiis sunt, similes 
 sunt corporibus ccelestibus, 
 quae magnam venerationem 
 habent, requiem nullam. 1 
 
 Nemo humanae sortis ad 
 Deorum convivia admittitur, 
 nisi ad ludibrium. 
 
 EXISTIMATIO. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Fama deterior judex quam 
 nuncia. 
 
 Quid viro bono cum saliva 
 vulgi? 
 
 Fama, veluti fluvius, levia 
 attollit, solida mergit. 
 
 Infimarum virtutum apud 
 vulgus laus est; mediarum 
 admiratio ; supremarum sensus 
 nullus. 
 
 Laus magis ex ostentatione 
 quam ex merito, et ventosis 
 magis accedit quam realibus. 
 
 X. NATURA. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Cogitamus secundum na- 
 turam ; loquimur secundum 
 prascepta; sed agimus secun- 
 dum consuetudinem. 
 
 Natura pedantius quidam 
 est ; consuetude magistratus. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Consuetudinis progressus 
 est arithmeticus ; naturae geo- 
 metricus. 
 
 Ut in rebuspublicis se ha- 
 bent leges communes erga 
 consuetudines, eodem modo 
 in singulis se habet natura 
 ad consuetudinem. 
 
 Consuetude contra natu- 
 ram, quasi tyrannis quaedam 
 est; et cito ac levi occasione 
 corruit. 
 
 I .' "Ex quo se Caesar orbi terrarum dedicavit, sibi eripuit ; et siderum modo, quse 
 irrequieta semper cursus suos explicant, nunquam illi licet nee subsistere nee quicquam 
 suum facere." Senec. Consol ad Polyb. c. 26. 
 
 <ptffj.T) 5' otiris ird/jiTrav dir6\\vTcu T^vriva iro\\ol 
 
 \aol <jyrnjuovffi' 6tos vv ris tffn na.1 airr}. HESIOD, Op. et Dies. v. 683
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 693 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Virtutes apertae laudes pa- 
 riunt, occultae fortunas. 
 
 Virtutes officiorum laudes 
 pariunt, facultatum fortunas. 
 
 Fortuna veluti Galaxia ; 
 hoc est, nodus quarundam 
 obscurarum virtutum, sine no- 
 mine. 
 
 Fortuna saltern ob filias 
 suas honoranda est; Confi- 
 dentiam scilicet, et Authori- 
 tatem. 
 
 XII. VITA. 
 Pro. 
 
 Absurdum est accidentia 
 vitae magis amare, quam vitam 
 ipsam. 
 
 Prasstat ad omnia, etiam ad 
 virtutem, curriculum longum 
 quam breve. 
 
 Absque spatiis vitae ma- 
 joribus, nee perficere datur, 
 nee perdiscere, nee poenitere. 
 
 XL FOKTUNA. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Stultitia unius, fortuna al- 
 terius. 
 
 In fortuna illud praacipue 
 laudaverim, quod cum non 
 eligat, non tueatur. 
 
 Viri magni, dum invidiam 
 virtutum suarum declinarunt, 
 inter fortune cultores reperti 
 sunt. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Qui zelo peccant non pro- 
 bandi, sed tamen amandi sunt. 
 
 Mediocritates moralibus de- 
 bentur, extremitates divinis. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Philosophi, dum tantum 
 apparatum adversus mortem 
 colligunt, ipsam magis timen- 
 dam efFecerunt. 
 
 Mortem homines timent, 
 quia nesciunt; ut pueri te- 
 nebras. 
 
 Non invenias inter hu- 
 manos affectum tarn pusillum, 
 qui si intendatur paulo vehe- 
 mentius non mortis metum 
 superet. 
 
 Mori velle non tantum for- 
 tis, aut miser, aut prudens, sed 
 etiam fastidiosus potest. 1 
 
 XIII. SUPEBSTITIO. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Ut simia? similitude cum 
 nomine deformitatem addit, 
 ita superstition! similitude cum 
 religione. 
 
 1 " Mori velle, non tantura prudens et fortis, sed etiam fastidiosus potest." Seneca, 
 Ep. 77. 
 
 TT 3
 
 694 
 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Superstitiosus religiosus de- 
 signatus. 
 
 Fabulosissima quaeque por- 
 tenta cujusvis religionis citius 
 crediderim, quam haec omnia 
 sine numine fieri. 
 
 Quale odium est affectationis 
 in civilibus, tale superstitionis 
 in divinis. 
 
 Praestat nullam habere de 
 Diis opinionem, quam contu- 
 meliosam. 
 
 Non Epicuri schola, sed 
 Stoa, veteres respublicas per- 
 turbavit. 
 
 Non cadit in mentem hu- 
 manam, ut sit merus atheista 
 dogmate; sed magni hypo- 
 critae sunt veri atheistae, qui 
 sacra perpetuo contrectant, 
 sed nunquam verentur. 
 
 XIV. SUPERBIA. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Superbia etiam vitiis in- Hedera virtutum ac bono- 
 
 sociabilis ; atque ut venenum rum omnium superbia. 
 
 veneno, ita haud pauca vitia Caetera vitia virtutibus tan- 
 
 superbia expelluntur. turn contraria ; superbia sola 
 
 Facilis, etiam alienis vitiis contagiosa. 
 
 obnoxius est; superbus tan- Superbia optima vitiorum 
 
 turn suis. conditione caret, id est, late- 
 
 Superbia, si ab aliorum bris. 
 
 contemptu ad sui contemptum Superbus, cum caeteros con- 
 
 ascendet, fiet demum philo- temnit, se interim negligit. 
 sophia. 
 
 XV. INGRATITUDO. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Crimen ingrati animi nil Crimen ingrati animi non 
 
 aliud est, quam perspicacia suppliciis coercetur, sed Furiis 
 
 quaedam in causam beneficii permittitur. 
 
 collati. 1 Arctiora sunt vincula be- 
 
 Dum grati erga quosdam neficiorum quam officiorum ; 
 
 ease volumus, nee caeteris jus- quare, qui ingratus, injustus, 
 
 titiam praestamus, nee nobis et omnia. 
 
 ipsis libertatem. Ea est conditio humana : 
 
 1 This sentence is more, I think, in the manner of Rochefoucauld than any other in 
 Bacon's writings.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 695 
 
 Beneficii gratia eo minus 
 reddenda est, quod de pretio 
 non constat. 
 
 nemo tarn publica fortuna na- 
 tus est, quin privatae et gra- 
 tiae et vindictae se omnino 
 debeat. 
 
 XVI. INVIDIA. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Naturale est exprobrationem 
 fortunse suse odisse. 
 
 Invidia in rebuspublicis tan- 
 quam salubris ostracismus. 
 
 Con. 
 festos 
 
 dies non 
 
 Invidia 
 agit 
 
 Nemo virtuti invidiam re- 
 conciliaverit praeter mortem. 
 
 Invidia virtutes laboribus 
 exercet, ut Juno Herculem. 
 
 XVII. IMPDDICITIA. 
 Pro. 
 
 Zelotypiae debetur, quod 
 castitas sit facta virtus. 
 
 Multa tristitia opus est, 
 ut quis Venerem rem seriam 
 putet. 
 
 Quid vel diaetae partem, vel 
 munditiae speciem, vel super- 
 bias filiam, inter virtutes col- 
 locas? 
 
 Amorum, ut avium silve- 
 strium, nulla proprietas est> 
 sed jus possessione trans- 
 fertur. 
 
 XVIII. CRUDELITAS. 
 Pro. 
 
 Nulla virtutum tam saepe 
 rea est, quam dementia. 
 
 Crudelitas, si a vindicta est, 
 justitia est ; si a periculo, pru- 
 dentia. 
 
 Qui misericordiam inimico 
 impertit, sibi denegat. 
 
 Non saepius phlebotomies 
 necessarias sunt in curationi- 
 bus, quam caedes in civili- 
 bus. 
 
 T T 4 
 
 Con. 
 
 Pessima Circes transforma- 
 tio impudicitia. 
 
 Impudicus prorsus reveren- 
 tiam sui perdidit; quod frae- 
 num est omnium vitiorum. 
 
 Omnes, ut Paris, qui formae 
 option em faciunt, prudentiae 
 et potentiae jacturam faciunt. 
 
 In veritatem non vulga- 
 rem incidit Alexander, cum 
 Somnum et Venerem mortis 
 arrhabones esse dixit. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Caedibus grassari, aut ferae 
 aut Furiae est. 
 
 Crudelitas viro bono semper 
 fabulosa esse videtur, et fictio 
 tragica.
 
 696 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 XIX. GLORIA VANA. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Qui suas laudes appetit, 
 aliorum simul appetit utili- 
 tates. 
 
 Qui tarn sobrius est ut 
 nihil alienum curet, vereor ne 
 et publica aliena putet. 
 
 Ingenia in quibus aliquid 
 inane est, facilius curam rei- 
 publicae recipiunt. 
 
 Con. 
 Gloriosi semper factiosi, 
 
 mendaces, mobiles, nimii. 
 Thraso Gnathonis praecla. 1 
 Turpe est proco sollicitare 
 
 ancillam ; est autem virtutis 
 
 ancilla laus. 
 
 XX. JUSTITIA. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Imperia et politiae justitiae 
 tantum additamenta sunt ; si 
 enim justitia aliter possit 
 exerceri, illis minime fuerit 
 opus. 
 
 Justitiae debetur, quod 
 homo homini sit Deus, non 
 lupus. 
 
 Justitia etsi vitia tollere 
 non possit, tauten hoc efficit 
 ut non laedant. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Si hoc est justum esse, qutc 
 tibi fieri nolis ea alter! non 
 facere, dementia demum jus- 
 titia est. 
 
 Si suum cuique tribuendum 
 est, certe et venia humani- 
 tati. 
 
 Quid mihi aequitatem narras, 
 cum sapienti omnia inaequalia 
 sint? 2 
 
 Considera qualis reorum 
 conditio fuerit apud Romanes, 
 et pronuncia justitiam e re- 
 publica non esse. 
 
 Vulgaris ista justitia politi- 
 arum, philosophus in aula; 
 hoc est, facit tantum ad re- 
 verentiam imperantium. 
 
 1 The allusion is to the Eunuchus of Terence. 
 
 2 [So in the original edition ; but] the sense requires incequalia to be replaced by 
 eequalia. There is no colour for the assertion that to the wise man all things are un- 
 equal ; but the Stoics, teaching that, except the distinction between right and wrong, 
 everything is to the wise man a matter of indifference, went on to maintain that he 
 could suffer wrong from no man, because no change of outward circumstance could in 
 any degree affect his inward and essential happiness. There is a treatise by Seneca, 
 of which the title is In Sapientem non cadere Injuriam, in which this doctrine is taught. 
 So far as the wise man was concerned, the difference between justice and injustice was 
 of no moment whatever, a view which shows how strongly Stoicism tended to isolate 
 
 ach of its disciples from the rest of mankind. Even in Plato the same way of think- 
 ng may be observed. Cf. the words ascribed to Socrates in the Apology : ^ pin yap 
 Stv j8Acii|/ei ojrre Metros otfre "Avvros.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 697 
 
 XXI. FORTITUDO. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Nil terribile nisi ipse timor. 
 
 Nil aut in voluptate so- 
 lidum aut in virtute muni- 
 turn, ubi timor infestat. 
 
 Qui perieula apertis oculis 
 intuetur ut excipiat, advertit 
 et ut evitet. 
 
 Caeterae virtutes nos a do- 
 minatu liberant vitiorum ; for- 
 titudo sola a dominatu for- 
 tunae. 
 
 XXIL TEMPERANTIA. 
 Pro. 
 
 Eadem fere vis abstmendi 
 et sustinendi. 
 
 Uniformitates, concordia?, 
 et mensurae motuum ccelestia 
 sunt, et characteres aeterni- 
 tatis. 
 
 Temperantia, velut frigora 
 salubria, animi vires colligit 
 et firmat. 
 
 Exquisiti et vagi sensus 
 narcoticis indigent ; similiter 
 et affectus. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Praeclara virtus, velle perire 
 ut perdas. 
 
 Praeclara virtus, quam etiam 
 ebrietas inducit. 
 
 Vitae suae prodigus, alienae 
 periculosus. 
 
 Virtus ferreae aetatis forti- 
 tudo. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Negativae istae virtutes non 
 placent ; nam innocentiam 
 praestant, non merita. 
 
 Languet mens quse exces- 
 sibus caret. 
 
 Amo virtutes quae excel- 
 lentiam actionis inducunt, non 
 hebetudinem passionis. 
 
 Cum consonantes animi 
 motus ponis, paucos ponis; 
 nam pauperis est, numerare 
 pecus. 
 
 Ista Non uti ut non appetas ; 
 Non appetere ut non timeas ; 
 pusillanimi sunt et diffidentis. 
 
 XXHI. CONSTANTLY 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Basis virtutum constantia. 
 
 Miser est, qui qualis ipse 
 futurus sit non novit. 
 
 Imbecillitas humani judicii 
 rebus ipsis constare non po- 
 test; quare saltern sibi con- 
 stet. 
 
 Etiam vitiis decus aspirat 
 constantia. 
 
 Si ad fortunae inconstan- 
 
 Con. 
 
 Constantia, ut janitrix mo- 
 rosa, multa utilia indicia abi- 
 git. 
 
 JEquum est ut constantia 
 res adversas bene toleret ; nam 
 fere inducit. 
 
 Stultitia brevissima optima.
 
 698 
 
 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tiam accedat etiam inconstan- 
 tia mentis, in quantis tenebris 
 vivitur ! 
 
 Fortuna tanquam Prote- 
 us, si perseveres, ad formam 
 redit 
 
 XXIV. MAGNANIMITAS. 
 Pro. 
 
 Si animus semel generosos 
 fines optaverit, statim non mo- 
 do virtu tes circumstant, sed et 
 numina. 
 
 Virtutes ex habitu aut prae- 
 ceptis, gregales aunt; ex fine, 
 heroicae. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Magnanimitas 
 poetica. 
 
 est virtus 
 
 XXV. SCIENTIA, 
 Pro. 
 
 Ea demum voluptas est se- 
 cundum naturam, cujus non 
 est satietas. 
 
 Dulcissimus prospectus in 
 errores aliorum subjacentes. 
 
 Quam bonum est orbes 
 mentis habere concentricos 
 universe ! 
 
 Omnes affectus pravi falsae 
 aestimationes sunt ; atque ea- 
 dem sunt bonitas et veritas. 
 
 CONTEMPLATIO. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Contemplatio, speciosa in- 
 ertia. 
 
 Bene cogitare non multo 
 melius est, quam bene somni- 
 are. 
 
 Orbem Numen curat, tu 
 patriam. 
 
 Vir politicus etiam contem- 
 plationes serit. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Si de rebus minutis libri 
 scripti forent, vix ullus esset 
 experientiae usus. 
 
 Lectio est conversatio cum 
 prudentibus ; actio fere cum 
 stultis. 
 
 Non inutiles Scientiae ex- 
 istimandae sunt, quarum in 
 se nullus est usus, si ingenia 
 acuant et ordinent. 
 
 LITERS. 
 
 Con. 
 
 In Academiis discunt cre- 
 dere. 
 
 Quae unquam Ars docuit 
 tempestivum Artis usum? 
 
 Sapere ex regula et ex 
 experientia, plane contrariac 
 rationes sunt ; ut qui alteri 
 assuefactus sit, ad alterum sit 
 ineptus.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 699 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Opportuna prudentia non 
 est, quae celeris non est. 
 
 Qui cito errat, cito errorem 
 emendat. 
 
 Qui ex composite et non 
 obiter prudens est, nil magni 
 facit. 
 
 Artis saepissime ineptus usus 
 est, ne sit nullus. 
 
 Hoc fere omnes Academici 
 habent, ut ex qualibet re sole- 
 ant agnoscere quod sciant, et 
 non addiscere quod nesciant. 
 
 PROMPTITUDO. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Prudentia non alte petitur, 
 quae praesto est. 
 
 Prudentia, ut vestis, levis 
 quae expedita. 
 
 Cujus consilia non maturat 
 deliberatio, nee prudentiam 
 aetas. 
 
 Quae ad breve tempus ex- 
 cogitantur, ad breve tempus 
 placent. 
 
 XXVIII. TACITURNITAS IN SECRETIS. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Taciturno nil reticetur ; quia 
 omnia tuto communicantur. 
 
 Qui facile loquitur quae scit, 
 loquitur et quae nescit. 
 
 Secretis etiam mysteria de- 
 bentur. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Varietas morum optime ani- 
 mum collocat in secreto. 
 
 Taciturnitas confessoris vir- 
 tus. 
 
 Taciturno omnia reticentur ; 
 quia silentium rependitur. 
 
 Tectus, ignoto proximus. 
 
 XXIX. FACILITAS. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Amo virum alieno affectui 
 obnoxium, sed tamen judicium 
 ab obsequio revocantem. 
 
 Flexibilem esse, ad naturam 
 auri proxime accedit. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Facilitas, judicii quaedam in- 
 epta privatio. 
 
 Facilium beneficia, debita 
 videntur ; negationes, injuriae. 
 
 Sibi gratiam habet, qui a 
 facili aliquid impetrat. 
 
 Facilem omnes difficultates 
 premunt, nam omnibus se im- 
 plicat. 
 
 Facilis fere se recipit cum 
 pudore.
 
 700 
 
 DE ATTGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 XXX. POPULARITAS. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Prudentibus eadem fere pla- 
 cent; at stultorum varietati 
 occurrere, prudentiae est. 
 
 Colere populum, est coli. 
 
 Qui ipsi magni viri sunt, 
 neminem unum fere habent 
 quern vereantur, sed popu- 
 lum. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Qui valde cum stultis con- 
 gruit, ipse suspectus esse po- 
 test. 
 
 Qui turbse placet, fere et 
 turbas miscet. 
 
 Nil moderatum vulgo gra- 
 tum est. 
 
 Infima assentatio est assen- 
 tatio vulgi. 
 
 XXXI. LOQUACITAS. 
 Pro. 
 
 Qui silet, aut alios habet 
 pro suspectis aut suspectus 
 est ipse sibi. 
 
 Custodiae omnes infoelices, 
 miserrima silentii. 
 
 Silentium, stultorum virtus. 
 Itaque recte ille silenti: Si 
 prudens es, stultus es ; si stul- 
 tus, prudens. 1 
 
 Silentium, veluti nox, in- 
 sidiis opportunum. 
 
 Cogitationes in profluente 
 sanissimae. 
 
 Silentium, solitudinis genus. 
 
 Opinioni se venditat, qui 
 silet. 
 
 Silentium nee pravas cogi- 
 tationes egerit, nee bonas dis- 
 tribuit. 
 
 XXXII. DISSIMULATIO. 
 Pro. 
 
 Dissimulatio compendiaria 
 sapientia. 
 
 Non idem dicere, sed idem 
 spectare, debemus. 
 
 CON. 
 
 Silentium verbis et gratiam 
 addit et auctoritatem. 
 
 Silentium, veluti somnus 
 quidam, alit prudentiam. 
 
 Silentium fermentatio cogi- 
 tationum. 
 
 Stilus prudentiae silentium. 
 
 Silentium ambit veritatem. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Cum cogitare secundum re- 
 rum veritatem non possimus, 
 at loquamur secundum cogita- 
 tionem. 
 
 1 This sarcasm is ascribed by Diogenes Laertius and Plutarch to Theophrastus, the 
 author of the Characters (which form the foundation of those of La Bruyere) and of 
 many other works. It has also been ascribed to Simonides. Bacon seems to have taken 
 it from Plutarch.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 701 
 
 Etiam in animo deformis 
 nuditas. 
 
 Dissimulatio et decori est, 
 et praesidio. 
 
 Sepes consiliorum dissimu- 
 latio. 
 
 Aliqui bono suo falluntur. 
 
 Qui indissimulanter omnia 
 agit, ajque decipit; nam plu- 
 rimi aut non capiunt aut non 
 credunt. 
 
 Indissimulatio nihil aliud, 
 quam animi impotentia. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Docet improbare qui vere- 
 cundatur. 
 
 Quod actio oratori, id auda- 
 cia viro civili ; primum, secun- 
 dum, tertium. 
 
 Confitentem verecundiam 
 amo, accusantem odi. 
 
 Confidentia morum animos 
 promptius sociat. 
 
 Placet obscurus vultus, et 
 perspicua oratio. 
 
 Quibus artes civiles supra 
 captum ingenii sunt, iis dissi- 
 mulatio pro prudentia erit. 
 
 Qui dissimulat, praecipuo ad 
 agendum instrumento se pri- 
 vat, i. e. fide. 
 
 Dissimulatio dissimulatio- 
 nem invitat. 
 
 Qui dissimulat, liber non 
 est. 
 
 AUDACIA. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Audacia stultitise viator. 
 
 Inverecundia inutilis nisi ad 
 imposturam. 
 
 Confidentia stultorum im- 
 peratrix, prudentium scurra. 
 
 Audacia est stupor quidam 
 sensus, cum malitia voluntatis. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 Pro. 
 
 Vultus et gestus decora mo- 
 deratio, verum condimentum 
 virtutis. 
 
 Si et in verbis vulgo pare- 
 mus, quidni in habitu et ge- 
 stu? 
 
 Qui in levibus et quotidiana 
 consuetudine decus non reti- 
 net, sit licet vir niagnus, noris 
 
 PuNTOS 1 , AFFECTATIO. 
 Con. 
 
 Quid deformhis, quam sce- 
 nam in vitam transferre ? 
 
 Ex ingenuitate decorum, ex 
 arte odium. 
 
 Magis placent cerussatae 
 buccae et calamistrata coma, 
 quam cerussati et calamistrati 
 mores. 
 
 Qui animum ad tarn exiles 
 
 1 This word is clearly a mere gloss, being the English, if it can be called so, of that 
 which precedes it. A little further on Bacon uses the word " punctus " as a Latin 
 version of " punto ; " and the text might be corrected by substituting puncti for pantos. 
 But I should prefer to omit this word altogether.
 
 702 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tamen hunc tantum certis ho- 
 ris sapere. 
 
 Virtus et prudentia, sine 
 punctis, velut peregrinae lin- 
 guae sunt ; nam vulgo non in- 
 telliguntur. 
 
 Qui vulgi sensum per con- 
 gruitatem non novit, is si nee 
 per observationem noverit, 
 omnium stultissimus est. 
 
 Puncti, translatio sunt vir- 
 tutis in linguam vernaculam. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Oratorum ara jocus. 
 
 Qui in omnibus modestum 
 leporem miscet, libertatem ani- 
 mi retinet. 
 
 Res est supra opinionem 
 politica, facile transire a joco 
 ad serium, a serio ad jocum. 
 
 Veritatis alias non perven- 
 turse saepe vehiculum jocus. 
 
 observationes applicat, magnae 
 cogitationis capax non est. 
 
 Affectatio, ingenuitatis pu- 
 tredo lucens. 1 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Annon vides omnes se quae- 
 rere? At amans solus se in- 
 venit. 
 
 Non est melior ordinatio 
 animi, quam ex imperio affectus 
 alicujus insignis. 
 
 Qui sapit, desiderium quae- 
 rat; nam qui non aliquid in- 
 
 Joci. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Istos deformitatum ac con- 
 cinnitatum aucupes, quis non 
 contemnat ? 
 
 Rerum magnitudinem eluere 
 joco, improbum artificium est. 
 
 Jocos turn considera, cum 
 risu destituti sunt. 
 
 Faceti isti fere non pene- 
 trant ultra superficiem rerum, 
 ubi joci sedes est, 
 
 TJbi jocus ad seria momenti 
 aliquid habet, ibi levitas pue- 
 rilis est. 
 
 AMOR. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Amori multum debet scena, 
 nihil vita. 
 
 Nil tarn varii nominis est 
 quam amor ; nam res aut tarn 
 stulta est ut se nesciat, aut 
 tarn turpis ut se fuco condat. 
 
 Odi istos Mono-Phronti- 
 stas. 
 
 1 The same image occurs in Ralegh's Lye : 
 
 " Go tell the Court it glows 
 And shines like rotten wood."
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 703 
 
 signiter appetit, ei omnia in- 
 grata sunt et taedio plena. 1 
 
 Quidni in imitate acquiescat 
 unus? 
 
 XXXVII. 
 Pro. 
 
 Eadem facit amicitia quse 
 fortitude, sed suavius. 
 
 Suave condimentum omni- 
 um bonorum amicitia. 
 
 Pessima solitude, non veras 
 habere amicitias. 
 
 Digna malas fidei ultio, ami- 
 citiis privari. 
 
 xxxvni. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Adulatio magis ex more, 
 quam ex malitia. 
 
 Laudando instituere, semper 
 formula fuit debita potentio- 
 ribus. 
 
 Angusta admodum contem- 
 platio amor. 
 
 AMICITIA. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Qui amicitias arctas copulat, 
 novas necessitates sibi impo- 
 nit. 
 
 Animi imbecilli est, partiri 
 fortunam. 
 
 ADULATIO. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Adulatio stilus servorum. 
 
 Adulatio calx vitiorum. 
 
 Adulatio aucupii illud ge- 
 nus, quod similitudine vocis 
 aves fallit. 
 
 Adulationis deformitas co- 
 mica, nocumentum tragicum. 
 
 Auribus mederi difficilli- 
 mum. 
 
 XXXIX. VINDICTA. 
 Pro. 
 
 Vindicta privata, justitia 
 agrestis. 
 
 Qui vim rependit, legem 
 tantum violat, non hominem. 
 
 Utilis metus ultionis pri- 
 vatae ; nam leges nimium ssepe 
 dormiunt. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Qui injuriam fecit, princi- 
 pium malo dedit ; qui reddidit, 
 modum abstulit. 
 
 Vindicta, quo magis natura- 
 lis, eo magis coercenda. 
 
 Qui facile injuriam reddit, 
 is fortasse tempore, non volun- 
 tate, posterior erat. 
 
 XL. INNOVATIO. 
 Pro. 
 Omnis medicina innovatio. 
 
 Con. 
 Novi partus deformes 'sunt. 
 
 1 " Qui nolet fieri desidiosus, amrt." Ov. Amares, i. 9. 46. 
 
 This is one of the lines contained in Bacon's Promns. J. S.
 
 704 
 
 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Qui nova remedia fugit, 
 nova mala opperitur. 
 
 Novator maximus tempus: 
 quidni igitur tempus imite- 
 mur? 
 
 Exempla remota, inepta 
 sunt; recentia, corrupta et 
 ambitiosa. 
 
 Imperitis et contentiosis 
 permitte, ut ad exempla res 
 agant. 
 
 Sicut qui nobilitatem in fa- 
 miliam introducunt digniores 
 fere sunt posteris ; ita novati- 
 ones rerum plerunque prae- 
 stant iis quae ad exempla fi- 
 unt. 
 
 Morosa morum retentio res 
 turbulenta est, aeque ac novi- 
 tas. 
 
 Cum per se res mutentur in 
 deterius, si consilio in melius 
 non mutentur, quis finis erit 
 mali? 
 
 Moris servi, temporis ludi- 
 bria. 
 
 XLL 
 Pro. 
 
 Fortuna multa festinanti 
 vendit, quibus morantem do- 
 nat. 
 
 Dum initia rerum amplecti 
 properamus, umbras prensa- 
 mus. 
 
 Fluctuantibus rebus adver- 
 tendum, inclinantibus agen- 
 dum. 
 
 Prima actionum Argo com- 
 mittenda sunt, extrema Bri- 
 areo. 
 
 Nullus author placet, prater 
 tempus. 
 
 Nulla no vitas absque inju- 
 ria ; nam praesentia convellit. 
 
 Quaa usu obtinuere, si non 
 bona, at saltern apta inter se 
 sunt. 
 
 Quis novator tempus imi- 
 tatur ; quod novationes ita in- 
 sinuat, ut sensus fallant ? 
 
 Quod prater spem evenit, 
 cui prodest minus acceptum, 
 cui obest magis molestum. 
 
 MORA. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Occasio primum ansam vasis 
 porrigit, deinde ventrem. 
 
 Occasio, instar Sibyllas, mi- 
 nuit oblatum, pretium auget. 
 Celeritas Orci galea. 
 Quae mature fiunt, judicio 
 fiunt ; quse sero, per ambitum.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 
 
 705 
 
 XLII. PR-aSPARATIO. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Qui parvia copiis rem ma- 
 gnam aggreditur, fingit oppor- 
 tunitatem ut speret. 
 
 Parvis apparatibus non for- 
 tuna, sed prudentia emitur. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Optimus terminus parandi, 
 prima occasio agendi. 
 
 Nemo speret se fortunam 
 apparatu ligare posse. 
 
 Alternatio l apparatus et 
 actionis, politica sunt ; distin- 
 ctio, tumida et infcelix. 
 
 Magnus apparatus, prodigus 
 et temporis et rerum. 
 
 XLIII. PRINCIPIIS OBSTARE. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Plura pericula fallunt, quam 
 vincunt. 
 
 Minus operis est periculo 
 remedium adhibere, quam pro- 
 gressum ejus observare et 
 custodire. 2 
 
 Non jam leve est periculum, 
 si leve videatur. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Docet periculum progredi 
 qui accingitur, et periculum 
 figit remedio. 
 
 Etiam in remediis periculo- 
 rum levia pericula subsistunt. 
 
 Praestat cum paucis peri- 
 culis 3 , quae invaluerunt, rem 
 habere, quam cum minis sin- 
 gulorum. 
 
 XLIV. CONSILIA VIOLENTA. 
 
 Pro. 
 
 Qui lenem istam prudentiam 
 amplectuntur, iis augmenta 
 mali salubria sunt. 
 
 Necessitas, quae violenta 
 consulit, eadem exequitur. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Omne remedium violentum, 
 praegnans novi mali. 
 
 Violenta consilia nemo dat, 
 praeter iram et metum. 
 
 XLV. SUSPICIO. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Diffidentia nervi prudentiae ; Suspicio fidem absolvit 4 
 
 1 M. Bouillet proposes to read ahernatlo, by which the sense would be very much 
 improved. [It is alteratio in the original. But M. Bouillet's reading is so evidently 
 right that I have introduced it into the text. /. S.] 
 
 2 " If a man watch too long, it is odds he will fall asleep." Essays : Of Delays. 
 J. S. 
 
 * \_Remediis in the original edition.] The sense requires remediis to be replaced by 
 periculis. The word remediis appears to have been accidentally repeated from the last 
 sentence. [Or suggested by rem, which in the original stands at the end of the line 
 immediately below. J. ] 
 
 * " Sospetto licenza fede," is an Italian proverb. 
 
 VOL. I. Z Z
 
 706 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 at suspicio medicamentum ar- Suspicionum intemperies est 
 thriticum. mania quaedam civilis. 
 
 Merito ejus fides suspecta 
 est, quam suspicio labefacit. 
 
 Suspicio fragilem fidem sol- 
 vit, fortem intendit. 
 
 XL VI. VERBA LEGIS. 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Non est interpretatio, sed Ex omnibus verbis elicien- 
 divinatio, qua? recedit a litera. dus est sensus, qui interpre- 
 
 Cum receditur a litera, ju- tetur singula. 
 dex transit in legislatorem. Pessima tyrannis lex in 
 
 equuleo. 
 
 XL VII. PRO TESTIBUS CONTRA ARGUMENTA. 
 
 Pro. Con. 
 
 Secundum oratorem non Si testibus credendum sit 
 secundum causam pronunciat, contra argumenta, sufficit tan- 
 qui argumentis nititur. turn judicem esse non surdum. 
 
 Qui argumentis potius credit Argumenta antidotum con- 
 quam testibus, etiam ingenio tra venena testimoniorum. 
 magis debet fidere quam sen- lis probationibus tutissimo 
 sui. creditur, quse rarissime men- 
 
 Tutum foret argumentis tiuntur. 
 credere, si homines nihil ab- 
 surdi facerent. 
 
 Argumenta, cum sint contra 
 testimonia, hoc praestant; ut 
 res mira videatur, non autem 
 ut vera. 1 
 
 Atque haec Antitheta (quae nunc proposuimus) fortasse tanti 
 non fuerint ; sed cum jam olim parata et collecta a nobis essent, 
 noluimus diligentise nostrse juvenilis fructum perire; praesertim 
 cum (si quis acutius introspiciat) semina sint, non Jlores. In 
 illo autem adolescentiam plane spirant, quod sint in Morali sive 
 Demonstrative genere uberiora; in Deliberative et Judiciali 
 perpauca. 
 
 1 It would seem that the last clause ought to be " non autem ut non vera ; " the 
 res being the matter in favour of which testimony has been produced.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 707 
 
 Tertia Collectio, quae pertinet ad Promptuariam, atque etiam 
 desideratur, est ea quam vocare placet Formularum Minorum. 1 
 Illae autem sunt veluti vestibula, posticae, ante-camerae, re- 
 camerae, transitus, &c., orationis ; quae indiscriminatim omnibus 
 subjectis competere possint. Quales sunt Praefationes, Con- 
 clusiones, Digressiones, Transitiones, Promissiones, Declina- 
 tiones, et plurima ejusmodi. Quemadmodum enim in aedificiis 
 plurimum facit et ad voluptatem et ad usum, ut frontispicia, 
 gradus, ostia, fenestrae, aditus, transitus, et hujusmodi, commode 
 distribuantur; eodem modo etiam in oratione fit, ut additamenta 
 et interpositiones istae (si decore et perite formentur et collo- 
 centur) plurimum turn gratiae turn commoditatis universae ora- 
 tionis structures adjiciant. Harum Formularum exemplum 
 unum aut alterum proponemus, neque diutius iisdem immora- 
 bimur. Etsi enim sint res baud exigui usus, tamen cum nihil 
 in his addamus de nostro, sed tantum Formulas nudas ex De- 
 mosthene aut Cicerone aut alio quopiam selecto authore de- 
 scribamus, inferius quiddam videntur quam ut in eo tempus 
 teramus. 
 
 Exempla Formularum Minorum. 
 
 CONCLUSIO DELIBERATIV2E. 
 
 Sic et culpam praeteritam fas erit redimere, et futuris incom- 
 modis eadem opera prospicere. 
 
 PAKTITIONIS ACCURATE COROLLARTOM. 
 
 Ut omnes intelligant nihil me et subterfugere voluisse reti- 
 cendo, aut obscurare dicendo. 2 
 
 TRANSITIO CUM MONITO. 
 
 Verum haec ita praetereamus, ut tamen intuentes et respe- 
 ctantes relinquamus. 3 
 
 PR^-OCCUPATIO CONTRA OPINIONEM INVETERATAM. 
 Faciam ut intelligatis in tota causa quid res ipsa tulerit, quid 
 error affinxerit, quid invidia conflaverit. 4 
 
 1 The Promus already referred to (p. 627.) contains some of these formulae. 
 
 2 Cicero pro Cluent. c. 1. But the quotation is inaccurate. The original is "nihil 
 me nee subterfugere voluisse reticendo nee obscurare dicendo." It is probable that 
 Bacon intended to write aut where et now stands. 
 
 3 Id. pro Sext. c. 5. A phrase resembling Dante's 
 
 " Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa." 
 
 4 Id. pro Cluent. c. 4. 
 
 z Z 2
 
 708 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Haec pauca enumerassc, ad exempla satis f uerit ; cum quibus 
 Appendices Rhetoricas, qua? ad Promptuariam spectant, con- 
 cludimus. 
 
 CAPUT IV. 
 
 Appendices generates duos Traditivce ; Critica ct Paedagogica. 
 
 SUPEKSUNT duae appendices Traditivas in genere ; altera 
 Critica, altera Pasdagogica. Sicut enim pars Traditivae prae- 
 cipua in Scriptione Librorum consistit, ita pars ejus relativa 
 in Librorura versatur Lectione. Lectio autem vel magi- 
 strorum ope regitur, vel industria cujusque propria perficitur ; 
 atque huic rei inserviunt doctrinae illx, quas diximus, duas. 
 
 Ad Criticam spectant primo authorum probatorum limata 
 correctio et emendata editio ; quibus et ipsorum authorum honor 
 vindicatur, et studiosis lumen prasfertur. Qua tamen in re, studiis 
 haud parum detriment! intulit quorundam hominum diligentia 
 temeraria. Criticis enim haud paucis mos est, ubi incidunt in 
 quidpiam quod non intelligunt, vitium statim in exemplari 
 supponere ; veluti in illo loco Taciti : cum quaedam colonia jus 
 asyli apud senatum assereret, narrat Tacitus non aequis admo- 
 dum auribus quaa ab iis proferebantur fuisse ab imperatore et 
 senatu audita ; itaque legati causa diffisi bonam pecuniae sum- 
 mam Tito Vinio dederunt, ut eis patrocinaretur ; hoc itaque 
 pacto res obtinuit. Turn (inquit Tacitus) dignitas et antiquitas 
 colonice valuit : quasi arguments quae antea levia videbantur, 
 accedente pretio, novum turn pondus accepissent. At Criticus 
 quidam, non ex infimis, verbum Turn expunxit, et Tantum re- 
 posuit. 1 Atque hac prava Criticorum consuetudine factum est, 
 ut (quod nonnemo prudenter , notavit) exemplaria maxime casti- 
 gata sint s&penumero minime omnium casta. Quinimo, ut verum 
 dicamus, nisi Critici fuermt eruditi in scientiis illis de quibus 
 libri ab ipsis editi tractant, periculo diligentia eorum non vacat. 
 
 1 Justus Lipsius, in his first edition of Tacitus, puts the following note at turn, 
 " Forte tantum ; " but he does nut alter the text, and in subsequent editions the note 
 is omitted. That Bacon had but an imperfect recollection of the passage, is plain from 
 his substituting the name of Titus Vinius for that of Fabius Valens, and from his 
 mentioning the senate, as if the transaction had taken place at Rome. It was by a 
 donative to the soldiery that the colony of Vienna was saved, not (directly at least) by 
 a bribe to their loader ; though Tacitus tidds that it was believed that he also had been 
 bought over, ' ipsuin Valentcin magna pecunia cmptum." Hist. i. 66.
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 709 
 
 Secundo ad Criticam spcctant authorum interpretatio et ex- 
 plicatio, commcntarii, scholia, notae, spicilegia, et similia. In 
 istiusraodi autem laboribus pessiinus ille Criticorum nonnullos 
 quasi morbus invasit, ut multa ex obscurioribus transiliant, in 
 satis vero perspicuis ad fastidium usque immorentur et expat i- 
 entur. Scilicet non tarn ilhid agitur ut author ipse illustretur, 
 quam ut Criticus ille multiplicem suam eruditionem et va- 
 riam lectionem, ubique arrepta occasione, ostentet. Optandum 
 inprimis foret (licet haec res ad Traditivam principalem, non 
 ad Appendices pertineat) ut qui argumenta obscuriora et no- 
 biliora pertractet scriptor, suas ipse explicationes subjungat; 
 ut et textus ipse digressionibus aut explicationibus non abrum- 
 patur, et note a scriptoris mente non recedant. Cujusinodi 
 quidpiam suspicamur de Theone Euclidis. 1 
 
 Tertio ad Criticam spectat (quod etiam nomen eidem indidit) 
 de authoribus quos edunt breve aliquod judicium interponere; 
 et illos cum caeteris scriptoribus qui eadem tractant coniparare ; 
 ut per hujusmodi censuram studiosi et de librorum delectu 
 moneantur, et ad ipsam lectionem eorum instructiores accedant. 
 Atque hoc ultimum est Criticorum tanquam cathedra, quam 
 certe nostra setate nobilitarunt viri nonnulli magni, majores 
 certe nostro judicio quam pro modulo Criticorum. 
 
 Ad Psedagogicam quod attinet, brevissimum foret dictu, 
 Consule scholas Jesuitarum : nihil enim, quod in usum venit, 
 his melius. Nos tamen pauca more nostro mouebimus, tan- 
 quam spicas legentes. Omnino institutionem pueritie et juven- 
 tutis collegiatam probamus ; non in ffidibus privatis ; non sub 
 ludi-magistris tantum. Adest adolescentulis in Collegiis semu- 
 latio major erga equales ; adest quoque ipse vultus et aspectus 
 virorum gravium, quod facit ad verecundiam, et teneros animos 
 etiam a principio conformat ad exemplar ; denique sunt quideni 
 plurirna Educationis Collegiate commoda. In Ordine autem 
 et Modo discipline, illud inprimis consuluerim ; ut caveatur a 
 compendiis et a prcecocitate quadam doctrines, qua) ingenia reddat 
 audacula, et magnos profectus potius ostentet quam facial. 
 Quin et favendum nonnihil ingeniorum libertati, ut si quis qua) 
 ex more discipline sunt faciat, et siinul tempus ad alia in qua) 
 
 1 It seems probable that this remark, showing a kind of reading with which Bacon 
 does not seem to have been familiar (vide supra p. 577.). was derived from his friend 
 Sir Henry Savile. We find Theon's services in relation to Euclid's Elements depre- 
 ciatingly spoken of in Savile's Pnelectiones tresdecim in Princlpium Elcmentorum 
 Etcclidis (1U21), PI'. 12, 13. 
 
 ' Z 3
 
 710 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 propensus est suffuretur, ne utique cohibeatur. Porro operae 
 pretium fuerit diligenter animadvertere (quod fortasse adhuc 
 non fuerit notatum) esse duos assuefaciendi et exercendi et 
 prseparandi ingenia modos, eosque tanquam antistrophos. Alter 
 incipit afacilioribus, et ad magis ardua paulatim deducit; alter 
 ab initio duriora imperat et urget, ut iis obtentis, facilioribus 
 quis etiam suaviter perfungi possit. Alia enim est methodus, 
 incipere natare cum utribus, qui sublevent ; alia incipere sal- 
 tare cum calceis ponderosis, qui aggravent. Neque facile est 
 dictu, quantum harum methodorum prudens intermixtio con- 
 ferat ad promovendas tarn animi quam corporis facultates. Item 
 applicatio et delectus studiorum, pro natura ingeniorum quae 
 erudiuntur, res est singularis et usus et judicii ; quam etiam 
 bene et vere notatam et perspectam magistri parentibus adole- 
 scentium debent ; ut de genere vita?, cui filios suos destinent, 
 consulere possent. Verum et illud attentius paulo observan- 
 dum; non tantum in iis ad quae natura quisque sua fertur 
 longe maximos fieri profectus ; sed etiam ad ea ad quae vitio 
 nature quis maxime fuerit inhabilis, reperiri in studiis ad hoc 
 proprie delectis remedia et curationes. Exempli gratia; si 
 cuipiam ingenium tale sit quale est avium, ut facile abripiatur, 
 nee per moram (qualern oportet) intentum esse sustineat ; re- 
 medium huic rei praebebunt Mathematica, in quibus si evagetur 
 paulo mens, de integro renovanda est demonstratio. Etiam 
 exercitiorum, in erudiendo, partes liquet esse vel maximas. At 
 illud a paucis notatum est, quod exercitiorum debeat esse non 
 solum prudens institutio, sed etiam prudens intermissio. Opti- 
 me siquidem Cicero notavit, quod in exercitiis plerumque exer- 
 ceri contingat non minus vifia quam facultates 1 , adeo ut malus 
 habitus quandoque simul acquiratur et se insinuet cum bono. 
 Itaque tutius est intermittere exercitia, et subinde repetere, 
 quam assidue continuare et urgere. Verum de his satis. Sunt 
 certe hae res primo aspectu minus grandes et solennes, sed 
 fructuosae tamen et efficaces. Quemadmodum enim in plantis 
 ad foelicitatem vel infcelicitatem ipsarum plurimum faciunt in- 
 juriae aut auxilia quae iisdem cum tenerae fuissent inter venerint ; 
 quemadmodum etiam incrementa ilia immensa Imperii Romani 
 merito a quibusdam attribuuntur virtuti et prudentiae sex il- 
 
 1 Ciccr. de Orator, i. 33. [Compare the Essay on Nature in Men : " Let not a 
 man force a habit upon himself with a perpetual continuance, but with some intermis- 
 sion. For both the pause reinforceth the new onset : and, if a man that is not perfect 
 be ever in practice, he shall as well practise his errors as his abilities, and induce one 
 habit of both." /. S.]
 
 LIBER SEXTUS. 711 
 
 lorum Regum, qui eidem in pueritia sua veluti tutores fuerunt 
 aut nutritii ' : sic certe cultura et institutio annorum puerilium 
 aut teneriorum eas habet vires, licet latentes et minime in 
 cujusvis observationem incurrentes, quas neque temporis diu- 
 turnitas neque laborum assiduitas et contentio postea ajtate 
 maturiore possint ullo modo aequiparare. Non abs re fuerit 
 etiam notare, facultates vel mediocres, si in magnos viros aut 
 res magnas inciderint, graves et insignes interdum producere 
 effectus. Ejus rei ponemus exemplum memorabile; quod eo 
 magis adducimus, quia Jesuitze eandem disciplinam non videntur 
 aspernari; sano (ut nobis videtur) judicio. Atque est res, 
 qua? si sit professoria, infamis est; verum disciplinaria facta, 
 ex optimis est. Intelligimus autem Actionem Theatralem ; 
 quippe qua? memoriam roborat; vocis et pronunciationis to- 
 num atque efficaciam temperat ; vultum et gestum ad decorum 
 componit ; fiduciam non parvam conciliat ; denique oculis ho- 
 minum juvenes assuefacit. Erit autem exemplum, e Tacito 
 desumptum, Vibuleni cujusdam, olim histrionis, tune temporis 
 autem militantis in legionibus Pannonieis. Ille sub excessu 
 Augusti seditionem moverat, ita ut Blaesus prafectus aliquos 
 ex seditiosis in carcerem conjiceret. Milites vero, impressione 
 facta, illos effractis carceribus liberarunt. At Vibulenus, apud 
 milites concionabundus, sic orsus est ; Vos (inquit] his innocen- 
 tibus et miserrimis lucem et spiritum reddidistis ; sed quis fratri 
 meo vitam, quis fratrcm mihi reddit 9 quern missum ad vos a 
 Germanico exercitu de communibus commodis node proximo, ju- 
 gulavit per gladiatores suos, quos in exitium militum habet atque 
 armat. Responde, Blase, ubi cadaver abjeceris ? Ne Jiostes 
 quidem sepulturam invident. Cum osculis, cum lachrymis do- 
 lorem meum implevero, me quoque trucidari jube ; dum inter- 
 fectos, nullum ob scelus, sed quia utilitati legionum consulebamus, 
 hi sepeliant. 2 Quibus verbis invidias ac consternationis nimium 
 quantum concivit; adeo ut nisi brevi postea innotuisset nihil 
 horum fuisse, quinetiam fratrem eum nunquam habuisse, vix 
 a praefecto milites manus abstinuissent ; ille vero rem totam 
 tanquam fabulam in seen a peregit. 
 
 Nunc vero ad colophonem pervenimus tractatus nostri de 
 Doctrinis Rationalibus. In quibus, licet a partitionibus re- 
 ceptis interdum recesserimus, nemo tamen existimet nos illas 
 
 1 See Macchiavelli, Piscorsi [i. 19.]. - Tacit. Ann. i. 1622. 
 
 Z Z 4
 
 712 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM LIB. SEXT. 
 
 omnes improbare partitiones quibus usi non sumus. Duplex 
 enim nobis imponitur necessitas partitiones mutandi. Una, quia 
 haec duo, nimirum res natura proximas in unam classem redi- 
 gere, et res ad usum promendas conjicere in unum cumulum, 
 fine ipso et intentione sunt omnino diversa. Exempli gratia ; 
 secretarius aliquis regis aut reipublicae, in musaeo chartas 
 suas ita proculdubio distribuit, ut quae similis sint naturae si- 
 mul componat ; veluti fcedera seorsum, seorsum mandata, literas 
 ab exteris, literas domesticas, et similia, seorsum omnia : contra, 
 in scrinio aliquo particulari illas simul componit, quas, licet 
 diversi generis sunt, simul tamen usui fore existimet. Sic ni- 
 mirum, in hoc universal! sciential repositorio, nobis pro natura 
 rerum ipsarum partitiones erant instituendae ; cum tamen, si 
 particularis aliqua scientia fuisset pertractanda, partitiones fu- 
 issemus secuti usui et praxi potius accommodatas. Altera ne- 
 cessitas partitiones mutandi est, quia Desideratorum ad scientias 
 adjectio, et eorum cum reliquis in integrum corpus redactio, 
 etiam, per consequential^ scientiarum ipsarum partitiones 
 transtulit. Nam (demonstrationia gratia), esto quod artes quae 
 habentur rationem habeant numeri 15, adjectis autem Desi- 
 deratis numeri 20. Dico quod partes numeri 15, non sunt 
 esedem partes quae numeri 20. Nam partes numeri 15, 
 sunt 3 et 5 ; partes vero numeri 20 sunt 2, 4, 5, 
 et 10. Itaque patet, quod haec aliter 
 fieri non potuerint. Atque de 
 Scientiis Logicis haeo 
 dicta sint.
 
 713 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AFGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIAEUM 
 
 UBEE SEPTIMUS. 
 
 AD KEGEM SUUM. . .. j 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Ethical in Doctrinam de Exemplari, et Georgica 
 Animi. Partitio Exemplaris (scilicet Boni) in Bonum Sim- 
 plex, et Bonum Comparatum. Partitio Boni Simplicis in 
 Bonum Individuate, et Bonum Communionis. 
 
 PERVENTUM est (Rex optime) ad Ethicam, quse Voluntatem 
 Humanam intuetur et tractat. Voluntatem gubernat recta 
 ratio, seducit bonum apparens. Voluntatis stimuli, affectus; 
 ministri, organa et motus voluntarii. De hac Salomon, Ante 
 omnia (intuit) custodi, Fili, cor tuum; nam inde procedunt 
 actiones vitce. 1 In hujus Scientiae pertractatione, qui de ea 
 scripserunt perinde mihi fecisse videntur, ac si quis scribendi 
 artem tradere pollicitus pulchra tantum exhibeat exemplaria 
 literarum, tarn simplicium quam copulatarum ; de calamo vero 
 ducendo aut modis characteres efformandi nihil praecipiat. Ita 
 et isti proposuerunt nobis exemplaria bella et luculenta atque 
 descriptiones sive imagines accuratas Boni, Virtutis, Officiorum, 
 Foelicitatis, tanquam vera objecta et scopes voluntatis et appe- 
 titus humani ; verum quomodo quis possit optime ad hos scopes 
 (excellentes sane et bene ab illis positos) collimare; hoc est^ 
 quibus rationibus et institutis animus ad ilia assequenda subigi 
 
 1 Prov. iv. 23.
 
 714 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 et componi pOBsit; aut nihil praecipiunt, aut perfunctorie et 
 minus utiliter. Disseramus quantum libuerit virtutes morales 
 in ammo humano esse habitualiter, non naturaliter l ; distin- 
 guamus solenniter inter spiritus generosos et vulgus ignobile, 
 quod illi rationuin momentis, hi praemio aut poena ducantur ; 
 praecipiamus ingeniose animum humanum, ut rectificetur, instar 
 bacilli in contrariam partem inclinationis suae flecti oportere 2 ; 
 aliaque insuper hujusmodi hinc inde spargamus ; longe tamen 
 abest, ut haec et alia id genus absentiam rei excusent quam 
 modo requirimus. 
 
 Hujusce neglectus causam baud aliam esse reor quam laten- 
 tem ilium scopulum, ad quern tot Scientise naviculae impin- 
 gentes naufragia passae sunt ; nimirum quod fastidiant scriptores 
 versari in rebus vulgatis et plebeiis, qua? nee satis subtiles sint 
 ad disputandum, nee satis illustres ad ornaudum. Sane baud 
 facile quis verbis assequatur, quantam calamitatem attulerit 
 hoc ipsum quod dicimus; quod homines ingenita superbia et 
 gloria vana eas materias tractationum eosque modos tractandi 
 sibi delegerint, quae ingenia ipsorum potius commendent quam 
 lectorum utilitatibus inserviant. Optime Seneca, Nocet illis 
 eloquentia, quibus non rerumfacit cupiditatem, sed sui 3 ; siquidem 
 scripta talia esse debent ut amores documentorum ipsorum, non 
 doctorum, excitent. li igitur recta incedunt via, qui de con- 
 siliis suis id praedicare possint quod fecit Demosthenes, atque 
 hac clausula ea concludere ; Qua sifeceritis, non oratorem dun- 
 taxat in prcesentia laudabitis, sed vosmetipsos etiam non ita multo 
 post statu rerum vestrarum meliore.* Ego certe (Rex optime), 
 ut de meipso quod res est loquar, et in iis quae nunc edo et in 
 iis quae in posterum meditor dignitatem ingenii et nominis mei 
 (si qua sit) saepius sciens et volens projicio, dum commodis 
 humanis inserviam ; quique architectus fortasse in philosophia 
 
 1 Bacon refers to the Aristotelian definition of virtue, ?is irpaKriict) rov 
 which St. Thomas Aquinas thus illustrates " Sunt autem quacdam potentise quas 
 secundum seipsas sunt determinate ad suos actus " (that is, naturaliter) " sicut 
 potentiae naturales activae, et ideo hujusmodi potentiae naturales secundum seipsas 
 dicuntur virtutes, potentiae autem rationales quae sunt propriae hominis non sunt de- 
 terminate ad unum, sed se habent indeterminate ad multa, determinantur autem ad 
 actus per habitum, et ideo virtutes humanse habitus sunt." Sum. Theol. i. 2 d * 45. 1. 
 
 8 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. ii. 9. 
 
 8 Ep. 52. sub fin. : " Ad rem commoveantur, non ad verba composita. Alioqui 
 uocet illis eloquentia, si non rerum cupiditatem facit, sed sui." Seneca is speaking 
 of the auditors of popular lecturers on philosophy. The only kind of applause which 
 he -would allow tbe lecturer to affect or the audience to bestow, is that of young men 
 so stirred by the matter that they cannot refrain. /. S. 
 
 1 Demosth. Olynth. ii. ad calc.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 715 
 
 et scientiis esse debeam, etiam operarius et bajulus et quidvis 
 demum fio ; cum haud pauca, quae omnino fieri necesse sit, alii 
 autem ob innatam superbiam subterfugiant, ipse sustineam et 
 exequar. Verum (ut ad rem redeamus) quod ccepimus dicere, 
 delegerunt sibi philosophi in Ethica massam quandam materise 
 splendidam et nitentem, in qua potissimum vel ingenii acumen 
 vel eloquentiae vigorem venditare possint. Quae vero practicam 
 maxime instruunt, quandoquidem tarn belle ornari non possint, 
 maxima ex parte omiserunt. 
 
 Neque tamen debuerant viri tarn eximii desperasse de for- 
 tuna simili ei quam poeta Virgilius et sibi spondere ausus et 
 revera consequutus est ; qui non minorem eloquentiae, ingenii, 
 et eruditionis gloriam adeptus est in explicando observationes 
 agriculturae, quam .^Eneae res gestas heroicas enarrando. 
 
 Nee sum animi dubius, verbis ea vincere magnum 
 Quam sit, et angustis his addere rebus honorem. 1 
 
 Certe si serio hominibus cordi sit, non in otio scribere quae per 
 otium legantur, sed revera vitam activam instruere et subor- 
 nare, Georgica ista Animi Humani non minore in pretio apud 
 homines haberi debeant, quam heroicae illse effigies Virtutis, 
 Boni, et Foelicitatis, in quibus tarn operose est insudatum. 
 
 Partiemur igitur Ethicam in doctrinas principales duas ; 
 alteram de Exemplar! sive Imagine Boni; alteram de Regi- 
 mine et Cultura Animi, quam etiam partem Georgica Animi 
 appellare consuevimus. Ilia Naturam Boni describit, haec 
 Regulas de animo ad illam conformando praescribit. 
 
 Doctrina de Exemplari (quae Boni Naturam intuetur et 
 describit) Bonum considerat aut Simplex, aut Comparatum; 
 aut Genera (inquam) Boni, aut Gradus. In posteriore horum, 
 disputationes illas infinitas et speculationes circa Boni Supre- 
 mum Gradum, quern Frelicitatem, Beatitudinem, Summum 
 Bonum vocitarunt, (quae ethnicis instar theologiae erant) 
 Christiana tandem fides sustulit, et missas fecit. Quemad- 
 modum enim Aristoteles ait, Adolescentes posse etiam beatos 
 esse, sed non aliter quam spe 2 ; eodem modo, a Christiana fide 
 edocti, debemus nos omnes minorum et adolescentum loco sta- 
 tuere, ut non aliam felicitatem cogitemus quam quae in spe 
 sita est. 
 
 Liberati igitur (bonis avibus) ab hac Doctrina, tanquam de 
 
 1 Georg. Hi. 289. 2 Aristot. Eth. ad Nicom. i. 10.
 
 716 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 coelo ethnicorum, (qua in parte proculdubio elevationem naturse 
 humanse attribuerunt majorem quam cujus ilia esset capax; 
 videmus enim quali cothurno Seneca, Vere magnum habere 
 fragilitatem hominis, securitatem Dei ! ) reliqua certe ab illis 
 circa Doctrinam Exemplaris tradita, minore aut veritatis aut 
 sobrietatis jactura, magna ex parte recipere possumus. Etenira 
 quod ad Naturam Boni Positivi et Simplicis spectat, illam 
 certe pulcherrime et ad vivum veluti in tabulis eximiis de- 
 pinxerunt ; virtutum et officiorum figuras, posituras, genera, af- 
 finitates, partes, subjecta, provincias, actiones, dispensations, 
 diligentissime sub oculos repraesentantes. Neque hie finis ; 
 nam haec omnia animo humano, magno quoque argumentorura 
 acumine et vivacitate et suasionum dulcedine, commendarunt 
 atque insinuarunt. Quinetiam (quantum verbis praestari possit) 
 eadem contra pravos et populares errores et insultus fidelissime 
 muniverunt Quatenus vero ad Naturam Boni Comparati, 
 huic rei etiam nullo modo defuerunt ; in constituendis trinis 
 illis Ordinibus Bonorum 2 ; in collatione Vitas Contemplativae 
 cum Activa 3 ; in discriminations Virtutis cum Reluctatione et 
 Virtu tis. jam Securitatem nactae et confirmatas ; in conflictu et 
 pugna Honesti et Utilis ; in Virtutum inter se Libramine, 
 nimirum cui quaeque praeponderet ; et similibus. Adeo ut 
 hanc partem de Exemplari insigniter excultam jam esse, et 
 antiques in ea re mirabiles se viros praestitisse, reperiam ; ita 
 tamen, ut philosophos longo post se intervallo reliquerit pia et 
 strenua theologorum diligentia, in Officiis et Virtutibus Mora- 
 libus et Casibus Conscientiae et Peccati Circumscriptionibus 
 pensitandis et determinandis exercitata. 4 
 
 Nihilo secius (ut ad Philosophos redeamus) si illi (antequam 
 ad populares et receptas notiones Virtutis, Vitii, Doloris, Vo- 
 luptatis, et caeterorum se applicassent) supersedissent paulisper, 
 et radices ipsas Boni et Mali et radicum illarum fibras indagas- 
 sent ; ingentem meo judicio lucem illis omnibus quae postea in 
 inquisitionem ventura fuissent, affudissent; ante omnia, si 
 Naturam Rerum non minus quam Axiomata Moralia consuluis- 
 
 1 " Ecce res magna, habere imbecillitatem hominis, securitatem Dei." Senec. Ep. 
 53. 
 
 2 Namely, the good which relates respectively to mind, body, and estate. See 
 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. i. 8. 2. 
 
 3 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. x. 7. 
 
 4 The aggregate of these inquiries constitutes what was called moral theology, which 
 in the later developments of scholasticism was treated apart from the rest of the sub- 
 jects contained in a " Summa Theologiac."
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 717 
 
 sent, doctrinas suas minus prolixas, magis autem profundas 
 reddidissent. Quod cum ab illis aut omnino omissum aut con- 
 fuse admodum tractatum fuerit, nos breviter retractabimus, et 
 Fontes ipsos Rerum Moralium aperire et purgare conabimur ; 
 antequam ad Doctrinam de Cultura Animi, quam ponimus 
 ut Desideratam, perveniamus. Hoc enim (ut arbitramur) 
 Doctrinam de Exemplari novis quodammodo viribus donabit. 
 
 Inditus est atque impressus unicuique rei appetitus ad du- 
 plicem Naturam Boni : alteram, qua res Totum quiddam est in 
 seipsa; alteram, qua est Pars Totius alicujus Majoris. Atque 
 posterior haec ilia altera dignior est et potentior ; cum tendat 
 ad conservationem Formae Amplioris. Nominetur prima Bo- 
 num Individual, sive Suitatis ; posterior Bonum Communionis. 
 Ferrum sympathia particular! fertur ad magnetem ; at si paulo 
 ponderosius fuerit, amores illos deserit, et tanquam bonus civis 
 et amator patriae Terram petit ; region em scilicet connaturalium 
 suorum. Ulterius paulo pergamus : Corpora densa et gravia 
 terrain petunt, congregationem magnam corporum densorum ; 
 attamen, potius quam natura rerum divulsionem patiatur, et 
 detur (ut loquuntur) Vacuum, corpora hujusmodi in sursum 
 ferentur, et cessabunt ab officio suo erga Terram, ut praestent 
 officium suum Mundo ipsi debitum. Ita quasi perpetuo obtinet, 
 ut conservatio Forma? magis Communis minores appetitus in 
 ordinem redigat. At praerogativa ista Boni Communionis 
 signatur praecipue in homine, si non degeneraverit ; juxta 
 memorabile illud Pompeii Magni dictum ; qui, quo tempore 
 Romam fames premeret, annonae importanda? praepositus, vehe- 
 mentissime autem ab amicis interpellate ne mari atroce tem- 
 pestate ingruente se committeret, illud tantum respondit; 
 Necesse est ut earn, non ut vivam ! ; adeo ut vita? desiderium 
 (quod in individuo maximum est) amore et fide in rempublicam 
 apud eum non praeponderaret. Sed quid moramur? Nulla 
 omnibus saeculis reperta est vel philosophia vel secta vel religio 
 vel lex aut disciplina, quse in tantum Communionis Bonum 
 exaltavit, Bonum vero Individuale depressit, quantum Sancta 
 Fides Christiana ; unde liquido pateat unum eundemque Deum 
 fuisse, qui creaturis leges illas Naturae, hominibus vero legem 
 Christianam dedisset. Propterea legimus nonnullos ex elcctis 
 et sanctis viris optasse se potius erasos ex Libro Vitae, quam ut 
 
 1 TrAew/ dvdKyt], fijf OVK avdyKT]. Pint, in Pomp. C. 50.
 
 718 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 salus ad fratres suos non perveniret ; ecstasi quadam charitatis 
 et impotent! desiderio Boni Communionis incitati. 1 
 
 Hoc positum, ita ut immotum maneat et inconcussum, non- 
 nullis ex gravissimis in Morali Philosophia controversiis finem 
 imponit. Primo enim quaestionem illam determinat, de Vita 
 Contemplativa Actives praferenda ; idque contra sententiam 
 Aristotelis. Omnes siquidem rationes, quaB ab illo pro Con- 
 templativa afferuntur, Bonum Privatum respiciunt, atque In- 
 dividui tantum ipsius voluptatem aut dignitatem; quibus in 
 rebus Contemplativa palmam hand dubie reportat. Etenim 
 Contemplativa non absimilis est comparationi qua usus est Py- 
 thagoras, ut philosophise et contemplation! honorem ac decus 
 assereret. Qui ab Hierone, quisnam esset, interrogatus, re- 
 spondit; Hieronem non latere (si forte unquam Otympicis cer- 
 taminibus interfuisset) id ibi loci contingere, ut veniant eo alii 
 fortunes suce in agonibus periculum facturi; alii vero ut merca- 
 tores, ad merces distrahendas ; alii ut amicos undique conftuentes 
 convenirent, et epulis ac Jtilaritati indulgerent ; alii denique ut 
 cceterorum essent spectatores ; se autem unum esse ex illis } qui 
 spectandi gratia venerit.* Verum homines nosse debent, in hoc 
 humanae vitae theatre, Deo et Angelis solum con venire ut 
 spectatores sint. 3 Neque sane fieri potuit, ut hac de re dubi- 
 tatio in ecclesia unquam suscitaretur (utcunque plurimis in ore 
 fuerit dictum illud, pretiosa in oculis Domini mors sanctorum 
 ejus 4 ; ex quo loco mortem illam civilem, et instituta vitae 
 monasticae et regularis attollere soleant) ; nisi illud etiam una 
 subesset, quod vita ilia monastica mere Contemplativa non sit, 
 verum plane in officiis ecclesiasticis versetur ; qualia sunt jugis 
 
 1 In [the Cogitationes de Scientia Humana, an early fragment which will be printed 
 in Part III. of this edition from a MS. in the British Museum], Moses and St. Paul are 
 expressly mentioned in a passage of which the purport is the same as that of the text. 
 See Exodus, xxxii. 32., and Romans, ix. 3. Bacon here touches on what theologians call 
 the conditional sacrifice of salvation a matter frequently referred to in the unhappy 
 controversy between Bossuet and Fenelon. The 33rd of the Articles of Issy, which 
 they both signed, sanctions the notion of this conditional sacrifice. It appears, how- 
 ever, that the article in question was one of the four added at Fenelon's suggestion 
 to Bossuet's original draft, and that the latter did not consent without reluctance to 
 its introduction. Fenelon's own views on the subject are developed in his Instruc- 
 tion Pastorale, &c., sec. 10., and elsewhere. St. Chrysostom, according to a passage 
 quoted by Fenelon, disapproved greatly of those who held that St. Paul speaks merely 
 of temporal death. 
 
 2 " Hiero " is a mistake for Leo (tyrant of Phliuns). The story of the inter- 
 view between him and Pythagoras is told by Cicero, Tusc. Quast. v. 3. Compare 
 lamblichus's Life of Pythagoras, in which, though the same sentiment is ascribed to 
 him, it is not put in a dramatic form. 
 
 8 Compare St. Augustin, speaking of St. Paul, De Civ. Dei, xiv. 9. 
 4 Psalm cxvi. 15.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 719 
 
 oratio, et votorum sacrificia Deo oblata, librorum item theolo- 
 gicorum multo in otio conscriptio ad legis divinae doctrinam 
 propagandam ; quemadmodum et Moses fecit, cum per tot 
 dies in mentis secessu moratus esset. Quinetiam Henoch, ab 
 Adamo septimus, qui -videtur fuisse princeps Vitae Contem- 
 plative (etenim cum Deo ambulasse perhibetur) *, nihilominus 
 ecclesiam Prophetiae Libro (qui etiam a Sancto Juda citatur) 
 dotavit. 2 Contemplativam vero quod attinet meram, et in 
 seipsa terminatam, quaeque radios nullos sive caloris sive lu- 
 minis in societatem humanam diffundat ; nescit earn certe 
 Theologia. 
 
 Determinat etiam quaestionem, tanta contentione agitatam, 
 inter scholas Zenonis et Socratis ex una parte, qui fcelicitatem 
 in virtute, aut sola aut adornata, (cujus semper in officiis vitae 
 partes potissimae) collocarunt, et reliquas complures sectas et 
 scholas ex altera parte ; veluti scholas Cyrena'icorum et Epicu- 
 reorum, qui earn in voluptate constituerunt, virtutem autem 
 (sicut fit in comoediis aliquibus, ubi hera cum famula vestem 
 mutet) plane ancillam statuerunt, utpote sine qua voluptati 
 commode ministrari non posset ; nee minus illam alteram Epi- 
 curi scholam, quasi Reformatam, quae foelicitatem nihil aliud 
 esse praedicabat quam animi tranquillitatem et serenitatem, a 
 perturbationibus liberi et vacui ; ac si Jovem de solio deturbare 
 vellent et Saturnum cum aureo saeculo reducere, quando neque 
 aestas nee bruma fuissent, non ver nee autumnus, sed una et 
 aequabilis aeris temperies ; denique et illam explosam Pyrrhonis 
 et Herilli scholam, qui sitam autumaverunt foelicitatem in scru- 
 pulis quibusque animi prorsus eliminandis ; nullam statuentes 
 fixam et constantem boni aut mali naturam ; sed actiones pro 
 bonis aut malis habentes, prout ex animo, motu puro et irre- 
 fracto aut contra cum aversatione et reluctatione, prodirent; 
 quae tamen opinio in haeresi Anabaptistarum revixit ; qui cuncta 
 metiebantur juxta motus et instinctus spiritus, et constantiam 
 vel vacillationem fidei. Liquet autem ista quae recensuimus 
 omnia ad privatam animorum tranquillitatem et complacentiam, 
 nullo modo autem ad Bonum Communionis, spectare. 
 
 1 Gen. v. 24. 
 
 8 St Jude, 14. Three MS. copies of the Ethiopia version of the book of Enoch 
 were brought from Abyssinia by Bruce. Dr. Lawrence published an English trans- 
 lation of it, which I have not seen. A German translation by Hoffman appeared at 
 Jena in 1833. Before Bruce's time, the contents of this apocryphal or uncanonical 
 book were, at least in Europe, wholly unknown.
 
 720 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Porro redarguit etiam Philosophiam Epicteti, qui hoc utitur 
 praesupposito ; foelicitatem in iis poni debere quse in potestate 
 nostra sunt ; ne scilicet fortunae et casibus simus obnoxii ! ; quasi 
 vero non multo fuerit foelicius in rectis et generosis intenti- 
 onibus et finibus, qui publicum bonum amplectantur, successu 
 destitui et frustrari, quam in omnibus quse ad privatam tantum 
 fortunam nostram referuntur voti perpetuo compotes fieri. 
 Sicut Consalvus, Neapolim digito militibus indicans, generosa 
 voce testatus est, Multo sibi optatius fore, unum pedem promo- 
 vendo, ad interitum cerium mere; quam unius pedis recessu, 
 vitam in multos annos producere." 2 Cui etiam concinit Coelestis 
 Dux et Imperator, qui pronunciavit Conscientiam bonam juge 
 esse convivium 3 ; quibus verbis aperte significat, mentem bona- 
 rum intentionum sibi consciam, utcunque successu careat, ve- 
 rius et purius et naturae magis consentaneum praebere gaudium, 
 quam universum ilium apparatum quo instrui possit homo, vel 
 ut desideriis suis fruatur vel ut animo conquiescat. 
 
 Redarguit itidem philosophise abusum ilium, circa Epicteti 
 tempora grassari cceptum : nempe quod philosophia versa fuerit 
 in genus quoddam vitae professorium, et tanquam in artem; 
 quasi scilicet institutum philosophiae esset, non ut pertur- 
 bationes compescerentur et extinguerentur, sed ut eausae et 
 occasiones ipsarum evitarentur et summoverentur ; ideoque par- 
 ticularis quaedam vita? ratio ad hoc obtinendum ineunda esset ; 
 introducendo sane tale genus sanitatis in animum, quale fuit 
 
 1 The moral philosophy of the Stoics is misunderstood when it is said that they 
 placed happiness in that which is in the wise man's power, in order that he may be 
 happy. They set out from the inquiry, " What is the end and purpose, the sum mum 
 bonum, of man's life ? " in which is involved the assumption that it has an end and 
 purpose, and that this is in its own nature attainable. And this assumption may be 
 developed into an answer to the inquiry in which it is involved. For as the wise 
 man, who is the representative of humanity in its best estate, must be capable of at- 
 taining the true end of his being, they concluded that whatever might in virtue of 
 outward circumstances be to him unattainable, must be, with reference to that end, a 
 thing indifferent ; or, in other words, that the summum bonum must be looked for in 
 that which is in his own power. That felicity in this sense is always in the wise man's 
 power is thus not an arbitrary assertion, but results from the principle that life is not 
 merely a purposeless dream. 
 
 2 " Desiderare piuttostodi avere al presente la sua sepoltura un palmo diterrenopiu 
 avanti, che col ritirarsi indietro poche braccie allungare la vita cento anni." Gmc- 
 ciard. vi. 2. 
 
 Fernandez Consalvo of Cordova commonly called the Great Captain, and cer- 
 tainly one of the most successful soldiers of the age in which he lived, was employed 
 by the King of Spain in his Italian wars. He died at [Granada] in [December, 1515]. 
 See, for the testimony to his merits of apparently an unwilling witness, Brantome's 
 Vies des Grands Capitaines, and for a panegyrical biography, Paulus Jovius. 
 
 3 "He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast." Proverbs, xv. 15., 
 where the Vulgate is " Secura mens quasi juge convivium."
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 721 
 
 Herodici in corpore, cujus meminit Aristoteles ' ; ilium scilicet 
 nihil aliud per totam vitam egisse quam ut valetudinem cu- 
 raret, et proinde ab infinitis rebus abstiueret, corporis interim 
 usu quasi multatus; ubi si he-minibus officia societatis con- 
 sectari cordi sit, ilia demum valetudo maxime est expetenda 
 quse quaslibet mutationes et impetus quoscunque ferre et vin- 
 cere queat. Eodem modo et animus ille demum vere et proprie 
 sanus et validus censendus est, qui per plurimas et maximas 
 teutationes et perturbationes perrumpere potest. Ita ut opti- 
 me Diogenes dixisse visus sit, qui eas vires animi laudarit 
 qucB non ad caute abstinendum sed ad fortiter sustinendum vale- 
 rent'* ; quaeque animi impetum etiam in maximis praecipitiis 
 cohibere possint ; quaeque (id quod in equis bene subactis lau- 
 datur) praestent ut brevissimo spatio et sistere se et vertere 
 possint. 
 
 Postremo, redarguit idem teneritudinem quandam et inepti- 
 tudinem ad morigerandum, in nonnullis ex antiquissimis phi- 
 losophis et maxime in veneratione habitis notatam ; qui nimis 
 facile se a rebus civilibus subduxerint, ut indignitatibus et 
 perturbationibus se exuerent, atque magis, sua opinione, illi- 
 bati et tanquam sacrosancti viverent ; ubi consentaneum esset, 
 constantiam hominis vere moralis talem fore, qualem idem Con- 
 salvus in homine militari requirebat; nimirum ut honor ejus 
 contexeretur tanquam e tela crassiore ; minimeque tarn tenui 
 ut quidvis illud vellicare et lacerare possit. 
 
 1 Rhet. i. 5. 10. A similar account is given of Herodicus in the third book of 
 Plato's Republic. In illustration of the assertion that philosophy came to be a " pro- 
 fessorium vitse genus," see Aulus Gellius, ix. 2. and elsewhere. % 
 
 2 ri> Kparclv Kal fj3) rirraaBai ri56v(av apicnbv, ov rb ^ xp^^o- 1 - But this was not 
 said by Diogenes, but by Aristippus. See Diog. Laert. in Aristip. Bacon has else- 
 where (v. sup. p. 449.) confoundf d these two names. The error in both cases may 
 perhaps have arisen from a wrong entry in a commonplace book. The inaccuracy in 
 the present passage is the more remarkable as the most celebrated of Aristippus's say- 
 ings occurs in immediate juxta-position with the words I have quoted from Diogenes 
 Laertius. 
 
 [I should rather think that Bacon alludes to the following saying of Diogenes, 
 which is also in Diogenes Laertius : ^ir^jvei robs jut \\ovras yafjitlv Kal p)] ya/tfiv 
 Ka\ TOVS jteAAovToy TT\IV Kal /J.T) KaTair\('iv TOVS ne\\6mas iro\iTfvea6ai Kal /XTJ iroAi- 
 TfVfyQat' Kal TOVS iraiSorpo(f>fiir /j.e\\ovras Kal ftij iraiSoTptxpelv Kal rovs irapaffKeuafa- 
 fifvous crvfi.ftiovi' -rots $vvd<nais Kal ft)j irpoaiovras : meaning that he admired the man, 
 not who was without passions, but who could command them. /. ] 
 
 VOL. I. 3 A
 
 722 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Partitio Boni Individuals, vel Suitatis, in Bonum Activum, et 
 Bonum Passivum. Partitio Boni Passivi in Bonum Conser- 
 vativum, et Bonum Perfectivum. Partitio Boni Commu- 
 nionis in Officia Generalia, et Respectiva. 
 
 KEPETAMUS igitur jam et persequamur primum Bonum Indi- 
 viduale, et Suitatis. Illud partiemur in Bonum Activum, et 
 Bonum Passivum. Etenim haec quoque differentia Boni (non 
 absimilis certe illis appellationibus qua? Romanis in CEcono- 
 micis erant familiares, Promt scilicet et Condi) in universa 
 rerum natura impressa reperitur ; praecipue autem se prodit in 
 duplici rerum creatarum appetitu; altero se Conservandi et 
 Muniendi, altero se Multiplicand! et Propagandi. Atque hie 
 posterior, qui Activus est et veluti Promus, potentior videtur 
 et dignior ; ille autem prior, qui Passivus est et veluti Condus, 
 inferior censeri potest. Etenim in universitate rerum natura 
 Cffilestis praecipue Agens est, at natura terrestris Patiens. 
 Etiam in delectationibus animantium major voluptas est 
 generandi, quam pascendi. In oraculis quoque divinis pro- 
 nunciatur Beatius esse dare, quam accipere. 1 Quin et in vita 
 communi nemo invenitur ingenio tarn molli et effeminate, quin 
 pluris faciat, aliquid quod ei in votis erat perficere et ad exitum 
 perducere, quam sensualitatem aliquam aut delectamentum. 
 Atque ista quidem Boni Activi praeeminentia in immensum 
 exaltatur ex intuitu conditionis humanas, quod sit et mortalis 
 et fortunes ictibus exposita. Nam si in voluptatibus hominum 
 posset obtineri perpetuitas atque certitudo, magnum pretium 
 eis accederet propter securitatem et moram. 2 Quandoquidem 
 autem videmus hue rem recidere, Magni cestimamus mori tar- 
 dius 3 ', et Ne glorieris de crastino ; nescis partum diei 4 ; mirum 
 minime est, si omni contentione feramur ad ea quae temporis 
 
 1 Acts, xx. 35. 
 
 2 Compare Homer's noble lines : 
 
 & ireirov, el juh' yap ir6\tfj.ov vepl 
 
 ftffftaff, otfre Kev avrbs tvl irpieToifft /wtxo'V'J 1 ' 
 ofrrf Kf fff <n 4 \\oifj.i tua-xw Is KvStdvftpav 
 vvv 5', f(j.in)s yap Krjpes etyeffracrtv fbavdroio 
 fivptat, 6.5 OWK effTi (puyetv ^por"bv o65' vira\voii, 
 
 H. /t. 322. 
 
 Seneca, Nat. Quaest. ii. 59. * Proverbs, xxvii. 1.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 723 
 
 injurias non reformident. Ea vero nulla esse possunt, prater 
 opera nostra; sicut dicitur, Opera eorum sequuntur eos. 1 Est 
 et altera praeeminentia Boni Activi haud exigua, et indita et 
 sustentata ex eo affectu qui humanas naturae, ut comes indivi- 
 duus, later! adhaeret ; amor scilicet novitatis aut varietatis. Ille 
 vero in sensuum voluptatibus (quas Boni Passivi pars sunt vel 
 maxima) angustus admodum est, nee latitudinem habet aliquam 
 insignem: Cogita quamdiu eadem feceris ; cibus, somnus, ludus ; 
 per hunc circulum curritur ; mori velle non tantum fortis, aut 
 miser, aut prudens, sed etiam fastidiosus potest? At in actis 
 vitae nostrae et institutis et ambitionibus insignis est varietas ; 
 eaque multa cum voluptate percipitur, dum inchoamus, pro- 
 gredimur, interquiescimus, regredimur ut vires augeamus, 
 appropinquamus, denique obtinemus, et hujusmodi; ut vere 
 admodum dictum sit, Vita sine proposito languida et vaga est.* 
 Quod sirnul et prudentibus et stultissimis competit, ut ait Sa- 
 lomon, Pro desiderio qu&rit cerebrosus, omnibus immiscet se. 4 
 Quinetiam videmus reges potentissimos, ad quorum nutum 
 quaecunque sensibus grata sunt parari possent, nihilominus 
 procurasse sibi interdum desideria hurnilia et inania (quemad- 
 modum cithara fuit Neroni, gladiatoria Commodo, Antonino 
 aurigatio, et alia aliis), quas tamen ipsis fuerint omni affluentia 
 voluptatum sensualium potiora. Tanto voluptatem majorem 
 affert ut aliquid agamus, quam ut fruamur. 
 
 Illud interim paulo attentius notandum est, Bonum Activum 
 Individuale a Bono Communionis prorsus differre, quanquam 
 nonnunquam ambo coincidant. Quamvis enim Bonum istud 
 Individuale Activum saepe opera beneficentiae (quae ex Virtu- 
 tibus Communionis est) pariat et producat ; illud tamen in- 
 terest, quod ilia opera ab hominibus plurimis fiant non animo 
 alios juvandi aut beandi, sed plane propter se, atque potentiam 
 et amplitudinem propriam. Id quod optime cernitur, quando 
 Bonum Activum in aliquid impingit, quod sit Bono Commu- 
 
 1 Revel, xiv. 1. 
 
 2 Cogita quamdiu jam idem facias ; cibus, somnus, libido, per hunc circulum 
 curritur ; mori velle non tantum prudens et fortis aut miser, sed etiam fastidiosus 
 potest." Seneca, Ep. 77. 
 
 That " tedium vitse " was considered by the Romans in the time of the Emperors 
 a reasonable and legally sufficient motive for suicide appears from the Digest iii. 2. 
 11. 3., from the Codex ix. 50. 1., and from several other texts; the burden of life 
 being most felt in an advanced state of corrupt civilization. 
 
 8 " Vita sine proposito vaga est." Seneca, Ep. 95. 
 
 4 This is probably another version of Prov. xviii. I. " Through desire a man 
 having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom." J. S. 
 
 3A 2
 
 724 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 nionis contrarlum. Siquidem gigantea ilia animi conditio, qua 
 abripiuntur magni isti orbis terrarum perturbatores, (qualis fuit 
 L. Sylla, et plurimi alii, licet in modulo longe minore, qui 
 videntur ad hoc anhelare, ut omnes foelices et aerumnosi sint 
 prout sibi fuerint amici vel inimici l , atque ut mundus tanquam 
 ipsorum praferat imaginem ; quae vera est Theomachia) ; haec 
 inquam ipsa aspirat ad Bonum Activum Individuale, saltern 
 Apparens, etsi a Bono Communionis omnium maxime recedat. 
 
 At Bonum Passivum partiemur in Bonum Conservativum, et 
 Bonum Perfectivum. Etenim inditus est unicuique rei triplex 
 appetitus, quatenus ad Bonum Suitatis, sive Individui. Primus, 
 ut se conservet ; secundus, ut se perficiat ; tertius, ut se multi- 
 plicet sive diffundat. Atque hie postremus appetitus ad Bonum 
 Activum refertur, de quo jam modo diximus. Supersunt igitur 
 reliqua tantum duo, quae diximus, Bona ; ex quibus praecellit 
 Perfectivum. Minus enim quiddam est, conservare rem in suo 
 statu; majus vero, eandem ad naturam sublimiorem evehere. 
 Reperiuntur siquidem per res universas naturae aliquae nobi- 
 liores, ad quarum dignitatem et excellentiam naturae inferiores 
 aspirant, veluti ad origines et fontes suos. Sic de hominibus, 
 non male cecinit ille ; 
 
 Igneus est ollis vigor, et caelestis origo. 3 
 
 Homini enim, assumptio aut approximatio ad divinam aut ange- 
 licam naturam est formae suae perfectio. Cujus quidem Boni 
 Perfectivi prava et praepostera imitatio pestis est ipsa vitae 
 humanae, et turbo quidam rapidus qui omnia abripit et subver- 
 tit; nimirum, dum homines, exaltationis vice formalis atque 
 essentialis, coeca ambitione ndvolent ad exaltationem tantum- 
 modo localem. Quemadmodum enim aegri, remedium mali sui 
 non invenientes, de loco in locum corpus agitant et volvunt, 
 quasi ex mutatione loci a seipsis abscedere et internum malum 
 effugere possint ; eodem modo evenit in ambitione, ut homines, 
 simulacro quodam falso naturae suae exaltandae abrepti, nihil 
 aliud adipiscantur quam loci quandam celsitudinem et fasti- 
 gium. 
 
 Bonum vero Conservativum nihil aliud est, quam receptio et 
 fruitio rerum natures nostrce congruentium. Hoc vero Bonum, 
 
 1 The epitaph which Plutarch says Sylla made for himself was probably in Bacon's 
 mind. It boasted that no man had surpassed him in doing good to his friends or evil 
 *o his enemies. See Hut. in Sylla. 
 
 2 Virg.'^En. vi. 730.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 725 
 
 licet maxime sit simplex et nativum, tamen ex Bonis videtur 
 mollissimum atque infimum. Quin et hoc ipsum Bonum re- 
 cipit differentiam nonnullam ; circa quam partim vacillavit 
 judicium hominum, partim omissa est inquisitio. Boni siqui- 
 dem Fruitiouis, sive, quod vulgo dicitur, Jucundi, dignitas et 
 commendatio aut in Sinceritate fruitionis sita est, aut in ejus- 
 dem Vigore; quorum alterum inducit et praestat JEqualitas, 
 alterum autem Varietas et Vicissitude ; alterum minorem habet 
 mixturam Mali, alterum impressionem magis fortem et vividam 
 Boni. Caaterum horum utrum melius, ambigitur ; dein, num 
 natura humana utrunque simul apud se retinere possit, non 
 inquiritur. 
 
 Atque quantum ad id de quo ambigitur, ventilari coepit ilia 
 controversia inter Socratem et sophistam quendam. 1 Ac So- 
 crates quidem asserebat, Fcdicitatem sitam esse in animi pace 
 constante et tranquillitate ; sophista vero in hoc, ut quis multum 
 appetat, et multum fruatur. Quin et ab argumentis delapsi 
 sunt ad convitia; dicente sophista Fcdicitatem Socratis stipitis 
 vel lapidis esse f&licitatem ; e contra So crate, sophistae Fozlicita- 
 tem, fodicitatem esse scabiosi, qui perpetuo pruriret et scalperet. 
 Neque tamen desunt utrique sententiae sua firmamenta. Nam 
 Socrati assentitur vel Epicuri schola ipsa, quse virtutis ad fceli- 
 citatem partes esse maximas non diffiteatur. Quod si ita sit, 
 certo certius est virtutis majorem esse usum in perturbationibus 
 sedandis, quam in rebus cupitis adipiscendis. Sophistae autem 
 nonnihil suffragari videtur assertio ilia cujus a nobis mentio 
 modo facta est, quod videlicet Bonum Perfectivum Bono Con- 
 servativo sit superius ; quippe quia cupitarmn rerum adeptiones 
 naturam videantur sensim perficere ; quod licet vere non faciant, 
 tamen et motus ipse in circulo speciem nonnullam prae se fert 
 Motus Progressivi. 
 
 At secunda quaestio (num, scilicet, natura humana non possit 
 et animi tranquillitatem et fruendi vigorem simul retinere), rite 
 diffinita, priorem illam reddit otiosam et supervacaneam. Annon 
 enim videmus haud raro animos nonnullorum ita factos et com- 
 positos, ut voluptatibus afficiantur vel maxime cum adsint, et 
 tamen earum jacturam non gravate ferant? Ita ut series ilia 
 philosophica, Non uti, ut non appetas ; non appetere, ut non 
 metuas; videatur esse pusilli cujusdam animi et diffidentis. 2 
 
 1 See the Gorgias, p. 494. 
 
 * Compare Flutarch in Solone : Uroiros 5e K<t\ &jtvv))s 6 rtp <f<5&j> TTJI c?irogoA^s 
 
 3 A 3
 
 726 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Sane doctrinse plerseque philosophorum videntur esse paulo 
 timidiores, et cavere hominibus plusquam natura rerum postu- 
 lat. Veluti cum mortis formidinem medendo augent. Etenim 
 cum nihil aliud fere vitam humanam faciant quam mortis quan- 
 dam praaparationem et disciplinary quomodo fieri possit, ut ille 
 hostis mirum in modum non videatur terribilis, contra quern 
 muniendi nullus sit finis l ? Melius poeta (ut inter ethnicos), 
 
 Qui finem vitas extremum inter munera ponat 
 Naturae. 2 
 
 Similiter et in omnibus annisi sunt philosophi animum huma- 
 num reddere nimis uniformem et harmonicum, eum motibus 
 contrariis et extremis minime assuefaciendo. Cujus causam 
 arbitror fuisse, quod ipsi vitas se privatae dedicarunt, a negotiis 
 et aliorum obsequiis immuni et liberae. Quin potius imitentur 
 homines prudentiam gemmariorum ; qui, si forte in gemma 
 inveniatur nubecula aliqua aut glaciecula quae ita posset eximi 
 ut magnitudini lapidis non nimium detrahatur, earn tollunt ; 
 aliter vero intactam earn relinquunt. Pari ratione, serenitati 
 nnimorum ita consulendum est, ut non destruatur magnanimitas. 
 Atque de Bono Individual! hactenus. 
 
 Postquam igitur de Bono Suitatis (quod etiam Particulare, 
 Privatum, Individuate, appellare solemus) jam dixerimus ; repe- 
 tamus Bonum Communionis, quod Societatem intuetur. Istud 
 nomine Officii vocari consuevit. Siquidem vocabulum Offidi 
 magis proprie attribuitur animo bene disposito erga alios ; vo- 
 cabulum Virtutis animo intra se recte formato et composite. 
 Verum ista pars, primo intuitu, Scientiae Civili deberi videtur. 
 Attamen si diligentius attendas, non ita. Siquidem tractat 
 regimen et imperium uniuscujusque in seipsum, neutiquam 
 vero in alios. Atque sicut in Architectura alia res est postes, 
 trabes, et caeteras aedificii partes eflformare, et ad a?dificandi 
 usum praaparare ; alia autem easdem ad invicem aptare et com- 
 paginare ; sicut etiam in Mechanicis, instrumentum aut machi- 
 nam fabricare et conficere, non idem est quod fabricatum 
 erigere, movere, et in opere ponere : sic doctrina de Conju- 
 gatione ipsa Hominum in Civitate, sive Societate, differt ab ea 
 
 1 "Ista enim philosophorum vita ut ait idem " (Socrates in the Phado) " commen- 
 tatio mortis est." Tusc. Disp. i. 30. The reference is to the following passage : T)> 
 ;i;AerT)^a avrb TOVTO effrt TWV <pt\off6<po>v, \vais KOI X U P I ' (T I JI ^ >S ty v X.W ""^ r v o'di/JLaros ; 
 which scarcely justifies Cicero's version of it Contrast Spinoza, Ethics, iv. 67. 
 
 2 Juven. x. 358 ; but^inew is in the original tpatium. Compare Bacon's Essay on 
 Death.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 727 
 
 quse eos reddit ad hujusmodi Societatis commoda conformes et 
 bene affectos. 
 
 Ista pars de Officiis etiam in duas portiones tribuitur ; qua- 
 rum altera tractat de Officio Hominis in Communi ; altera de 
 Officiis Specialibus et Respectivis, pro singulorum profes- 
 sione, vocatione, statu, persona, et gradu. Harum primam 
 satis excultam, diligenterque a veteribus et aliis explicatam, 
 jam antea retulimus ; alteram quoque, sparsim quidem tracta- 
 tam, licet non in corpus aliquod integrum scientias digestam 
 reperimus. Neque tamen hoc ipsum, quod sparsim tracte- 
 tur, reprehendimus ; quinimo de hoc argumento per partes 
 scribi longe consultius existimamus. Quis enim tanta fuerit 
 vel perspicacia vel confidentia, ut de Officiis Peculiaribus et 
 Relativis singulorum ordinum et conditionum perite et ad 
 vivum disceptare et diffinire possit aut sustineat? Tractatus 
 autem qui experientiam non sapiunt, sed ex notitia rerum ge- 
 nerali et scholastica tantummodo deprompti sunt, de rebus 
 hujusmodi, inanes plerunque evadunt et inutiles. Quamyis 
 enim aliquando contingat spectatorem ea animadvertere quae 
 lusorem fugiant, atque jactetur proverbium quoddam magis 
 audaculum quam sanum, de censura vulgi circa actiones prin- 
 cipum, Stantem in valle optime perlustrare montem; optandum 
 tamen inprimis esset, ut non nisi expertissimus et versatissimus 
 quisque se hujusmodi argumentis immisceret. Hominum enim 
 speculativorum in materiis activis lucubrationes, iis qui in 
 agendo fuerint exercitati nihilo meliores videntur quam disser- 
 tationes Phormionis de bellis sestimatse sunt ab Hannibale, qui 
 eas habuit pro somniis et deliriis. 1 Unum duntaxat vitium 
 illos occupat qui de rebus ad suum munus aut artem pertinen- 
 tibus libros conscribunt ; quod scilicet in illis ipsis Spartis suis 
 ornandis 2 atque attollendis modum tenere nesciant. 
 
 In hoc genere librorum piaculum foret non meminisse (ho- 
 noris causa) excellentissimi illius operis, a Maj estate tua elucu- 
 brati, De Officio Regis. 3 Scriptum enim hoc plurimos intra se 
 cumulavit ac recondidit thesauros, tarn conspicuos quam occul- 
 tos, Theologiae, Etliicas, et Politicae, insigni cum aspersione 
 aliarum artium; estque meo judicio, inter scripta quae mihi 
 
 1 See, for the story here alluded to, Cicero, De Orat. U. 18. 
 
 2 " Quam nactus es Spartam hanc orna." Erasm. Adag. ii. 5; 1. 
 
 3 The proper title of this work is Basilicon Doron. It contains three books. The 
 first is, "Of a king's Christian duetie towards God;" the second, " Of a king'* 
 duetie in his office ; " and the last, " Of a king's behaviour in things indifferent," 
 
 3 A 4
 
 728 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 perlegere contigerit, praecipue sanum et solidum. Non illud 
 ullo loco aut inventionis fervore aastuat, aut indiligentige frigore 
 torpet aut dormitat; non vertigine aliquando corripitur, unde 
 in ordine suo servando -confundatur aut excidat; non digres- 
 sionibus distrahitur, ut ilia quae nihil ad rhombum sunt expatia- 
 tione aliqua flexuosa complectatur l ; non odoramentorum aut 
 pigmentorum fucis adulteratur, qualibus illi utuntur qui lecto- 
 rum potius delectationi quam argument! naturae inserviunt; 
 ante omnia vero, spiritu valet istud opus non minus quam cor- 
 pore ; utpote quod et cum veritate optime consentiat et ad 
 usum sit accommodatissimum. Quinetiam vitio illo, de quo 
 paulo ante diximus (quod si in alio quopiam, in rege certe et 
 scripto de majestate regia tolerandum fuerit) omnino caret; 
 nempe, quod culmen et fastigium regium non immodice aut in- 
 vidiose extollat. Siquidem Majestas tua regem non depinxit 
 aliquem Assyria? aut Persia? gloria et externo fastu nitentem et 
 coruscantem ; sed vere Mosem aut Davidem, pastores scilicet 
 populi sui. Neque vero mini unquam memoria excidet dictum 
 quoddam vere regium, quod in lite gravissima terminanda 2 Ma- 
 jestas tua, pro sacro illo quo praeditus es spiritu, ad populos 
 regendos pronunciavit ; nimirum, Reges juxta leges regnorum 
 suorum gubernacula tractare, quemadmodum et Deus juxta leges 
 natures ; et ceque raro prcerogativam illam suam qua leges tran- 
 scendit ab illis usurpandam, ac a Deo videmus usurpari potesta- 
 tem miracula patrandi. Nihilo tamen secius ex libro illo 
 altero a Majestate tua conscripto, De Liber a Monarchia, satis 
 omnibus innotescit, non minus Majestati tua? cognitam esse et 
 perspectam plenitudinem potestatis regiae, atque ultimitates (ut 
 scholastic! loquuntur) jurium regalium, quam officii et muneris 
 regii limites et cancellos. 3 Non dubitavi igitur in medium 
 
 o 
 
 adducere librum ilium, a Majestatis tua? calamo exaratum, tan- 
 guam exemplum primarium et maxime illustre tractatuum de 
 Peculiaribus et Respectivis Officiis. Quo de libro qua3 a me jam 
 dicta sunt, dixissem profecto, si ante annos mille a rege quopiam 
 
 1 Compare the corresponding passage in the Advancement -. " not sick of dizziness 
 as those are who leese themselves in their order ; nor of convulsions, as those which 
 cramp in matters impertinent." J. S. 
 
 2 Probably in the case of Sir Francis Goodwin, in 1604, when the question was 
 whether it belonged to the House of Commons or the Court of Chancery to judge of 
 the validity of an election. /. S. 
 
 k This second work of James's is, " The Trew Law of Free Monarchies, or the re- 
 ciprock and mutual duetie betwixt a free King and his naturall Subjects," free being 
 nearly equivalent to absolute. This work was at first published anonymously, but is 
 included in the edition of King James's works which appeared in 1616.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 729 
 
 conscriptus fuisset. Neque vero me movet decorum illud, quod 
 vulgo praescribitur, ne quis coram laudetur l ; modo laudes illas 
 nee modum excedant, nee intempestive aut nulla data occasione 
 tribuantur. Cicero certe, in luculentissima ilia oratione sua 
 pro M. Marcello, nihil aliud agit quam ut exhibeat tabulam 
 quandam singular! artificio depictam de laudibus Caesaris, licet 
 coram ipso oratio ilia haberetur. Quod et Plinius Secundus 
 fecit erga Trajanum. 2 Itaque jam ad propositum revertamur. 
 
 Pertinet porro ad hanc partem de Officiis Respectivis Voca- 
 tionum et Professionum singularum, doctrina alia, tanquam 
 priori relativa sive opposita ; nimirum de Fraudibus, Cautelis, 
 Imposturis, et Vitiis ipsarum ; siquidem depravationes et vitia 
 officiis et virtutibus opponuntur. Neque omnino de his, in 
 plurimis scriptis et tractatibus, siletur; sed saepe ad ilia no- 
 tanda saltern obiter excurritur. At quo tandem modo? Per 
 satiram scilicet, et cynice (more Luciani), potius quam serio 
 et graviter. Etenim plus operae irnpenditur, ut pleraque in 
 artibus etiam utilia et sana maligno dente vellicentur, et ad 
 ludibrium hominibus exponantur, quam ut quse in iisdem cor- 
 rupta sunt et vitiosa secernantur a salubribus et incorruptis. 
 At optime Salomon ; Qucerenti derisori scientiam ipsa se abs- 
 condit, sed studioso fit obviam. 3 Quicunque enim ad scientiam 
 accedat animo irridendi et aspernandi, inveniet proculdubio 
 quae cavilletur plurima, ex quibus vero doctior fiat perpauca. 
 Verum tractatio hujus de quo loquimur argumenti gravis et 
 prudens, atque cum integritate quadam et sinceritate conjuncta, 
 inter munitissima virtutis ac probitatis propugnacula videtur 
 numeranda. Nam sicut fabulose perhibetur de Basilisco, si 
 primus quempiam conspexerit, illico hominem perimit ; si quis 
 ilium prior, basiliscus perit; pari ratione fraudes, imposturas, 
 et malae artes, si quis eas prior detexerit, nocendi facultate pri- 
 vantur, quod si illae praevenerint, turn vero, non alias, periculum 
 creant. Est itaque quod gratias agamus Macciavello et hujus- 
 modi scriptoribus, qui aperte et indissimulanter proferunt quid 
 homines facere soleant, non quid debeant. Fieri enim nullo 
 modo potest, ut conjungatur serpentina ilia prudentia cum inno- 
 centia columbina, nisi quis mali ipsius naturam penitus per- 
 
 Plutarch, De se ipsum citra invid. laud. 1. 
 
 2 Namely, in his Panegyrica. See below, p. 741. 
 
 3 Proverbs, xiv. 6.
 
 730 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 noscat. 1 Absque hoc enim deerunt virtuti sua praesidia et 
 munimenta. lino, neque ullo modo possit vir bonus et probus 
 malos et improbos corrigere et emendate, nisi ipse prius omnia 
 malitias latibula et profimda exploraverit. Etenim qui judicio 
 plane corrupt o sunt et depravato hoc habent, ut praesupponant 
 honestatem in hominibus ab inscitia et simplicitate quadam 
 morum oriri ; atque ab eo tan turn, quod fides habeatur concio- 
 natoribus et paadagogis ; item libris, prasceptis moralibus, et iis 
 qui vulgo praedicantur et decantantur sermonibus. Adeo ut 
 nisi plane perspiciant opiniones suas pravas ac corrupta et de- 
 torta principia non minus illis qui hortantur et admonent quam 
 sibi ipsis esse explorata et cognita, probitatem omnem morum 
 et consiliorum aspernentur: juxta oraculum illud Salomonis 
 mirabile ; Non recipit stultus verba prudentice, nisi ea dixeris qua 
 versantur in corde ejus. z Hanc autem partem de Cautelis et. 
 Vitiis Respectivis inter Desiderata numeramus; eamque no- 
 mine Satires Series, sive Tractatus de Interioribus JRerum, appel- 
 labimus. 
 
 Etiam ad doctrinam de Officiis Respectivis pertinent Officia 
 Mutua, inter maritum et uxorem, parentes et liberos, dominum 
 et servum; similiter leges amicitiae, et gratitudinis ; necnon 
 civiles obligationes fraternitatum, collegiorum ; etiam vicini- 
 tatis; ac similium. Verum intelligatur hoc semper, ilia istic 
 tractari, non quatenus sunt partes Societatis Civilis (id enim nd 
 Politicam refertur,) sed quatenus animi singulorum ad ilia 
 Societatis Vincula tuenda instrui et prasdisponi debeant. 3 
 
 At doctrina de Bono Communionis (quemadmodum et ilia de 
 Individual!) Bonum tractat non tantum simpliciter, sed et com- 
 parate ; quo spectat officia perpendere inter hominem et homi- 
 nem ; inter casum et casum ; inter privata et publica ; inter 
 tempus praesens et futurum. Sicut videre est in animadver- 
 sione ilia severa et atroci L. Bruti contra filios suos, illam a 
 plerisque in coelum laudibus efferri; at alius quispiam dixit, 
 
 1 Compare Charron De la Sagesse, liv. ii. c. 10. : " II faut temperer ct marier 
 1'innocence colombine en n'oflfensant personne avec la prudence et astuce serpentine 
 en se tenant sur ses gardes et se preservant des finesses, trahisons, et ambuches d'au- 
 trui." The whole chapter is worth comparing with Bacon's remarks on the art of 
 self-advancement 
 
 2 Proverbs, xviii. 2. The words are accurately quoted from the Vulgate : the 
 authorised version is wholly dissimilar. 
 
 8 Some curious matter as to the opinions of the Romans touching the Ordo offici- 
 orum, the order of precedence among relative duties, will be found in Aulus Gdlius 
 v. 13.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 731 
 
 Infcelix, utcunque ferent ea facta 1 minores. 2 
 
 Id ipsum licet intueri in cceua ilia, ad quam invitati sunt 
 M. Brutus, C. Cassius, et alii. Illic enim cum ad animos explo- 
 randos circa conspirationem in caput Caesaris intentam, quaestio 
 astute raota esset Num licitum foret tyrannum occidere ? ibant 
 convivse in opiniones diversas ; dum alii dicerent, plane licere, 
 quod servitus ultimum esset malorum ; alii minime, quod tyrannis 
 minus exitialis esset quam bellum civile ; tertium autem genus 
 veluti ex schola Epicuri asserebat, indignum esse prudentes peri- 
 clitari pro stultis. 3 Verum plurimi sunt casus de Officiis Com- 
 paratis, inter quos frequenter ille intervenit ; utrum a justitia 
 deftectendum sit propter salutem patrice, out hujusmodi aliquod 
 insigne bonum in futuro ? Circa quern Jason Thessalus dicere 
 solebat, Aliqua sunt injuste facienda, ut multa juste fieri pos- 
 sint*'. verum replicatio in promptu est; Authorem prcesentis 
 justiticB habes ; sponsorem futures non habes. Sequantur ho- 
 mines quae in prasentia bona et justa sunt; futura Divinaa 
 Providentiae remittentes. Atque circa doctrinam de Exem- 
 plari, sive de Bono, haec dicta sint. 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines de Cultura Animi, in Doctrinam de Cha- 
 racteribus Animorum, de Affectibus, et de Remediis sive 
 Curationibus. Appendix Doctrines ejusdem, de Congruitate 
 inter Bonum Animi et Bonum Corporis. 
 
 NUNC igitur, postquam de Fructu Vitas (sensu intelligimus 
 philosophic) verba fecerimus ; superest ut de Cultura Animi 
 quae ei debetur dicamus ; sine qua pars prior, nihil aliud videtur 
 quam imago quaedam aut statua, pulchra quidem aspectu, sed 
 motu et vita destituta. Cui sententiae Aristoteles ipse disertis 
 
 1 In the original, as also in the corresponding passage of the Advancement of Learn- 
 ing, fata is put for facta. J. S. 
 
 2 Virg. JEn. vi. 823. It is less difficult to sympathise with Sultan Mahmoud of 
 Ghisnee. When he had killed the adulterer, he said " Now bring a light," and after 
 looking at the corpse called for water. " God is merciful I was mistaken. I thought 
 no man would have ventured to commit such an outrage but my son ; and since you 
 told me of it three nights ago, I have neither eaten nor drunken." See Malcolm's 
 History of Persia. 
 
 3 See Plutarch in Brutus ; where however the story is somewhat differently told. 
 
 4 Plut, Reip. Ger. Pracep. 817.
 
 732 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARLM 
 
 verbis suffragatur; Necesse est igitur de virtute dicere, et quid 
 sit, etex quibus gignatur. Inutile enim ferefuerit, virtutem qui- 
 dem nosse, acquirendcB autem ejus modos et vias ignorare. Non 
 enim de virtute tantum, qua specie sit, qucerendum est ; sed et 
 quomodo sui copiam faciat; utrunque enim volumus, et rem 
 ipsam nosse, et ejus compotes fieri. Hoc autem ex voto non 
 succedet, nisi sciamus et ex quibus, et quo modo. l Verbis adeo 
 expressis, atque etiam iterate, hanc partem inculcat; quam 
 tamen ipse non persequitur. Hoc similiter illud est, quod 
 Cicero Catoni Juniori veluti laudem non vulgarem attribuit ; 
 quod scilicet Philosophiam amplexus esset, Non disputandi 
 causa, ut magna pars, sed ita vivendi* Quamvis autem, pro 
 temporum in quibus vivimus socordia, paucis curae sit ut 
 animum sedulo colant et componant, et vitae rationem ad nor- 
 mam aliquam instituant (secundum illud Seneca?, De partibus 
 vitce quisque deliberat ; de summa nemo 3 : adeo ut haec pars 
 censeri possit supervacua) ; illud tamen minime nos movet ut 
 earn intactam relinquamus, quin potius cum illo Hippocratis 
 aphorismo concludimus ; Qui gravi morbo correpti dolores non 
 sentiunt, us mens cegrotat. 4 Medicina illis hominibus opus est, 
 non solum ad curandum morbum, sed ad sensum expergefacien- 
 dum. Quod si quis objiciat animorum curationem Theologiae 
 Sacrae munus esse, verissimum est quod assent ; attamen Philo- 
 sophiam Moralem in famulitium Theologiae recipi instar ancillae 
 prudentis et pedissequae fidelis, quae ad omnes ejus nutus praesto 
 sit et ministret, quid prohibeat? Eteniin quemadmodum in 
 Psalmo habetur, quod oculi ancillce perpetuo ad manus domincs 
 respiciunt 5 , cum tamen minime dubium sit, quin haud pauca 
 ancillae judicio et curae relinquantur ; eodem modo et Ethica ob- 
 sequium Theologiae omnino praestare debet, ejusque praeceptis 
 morigera esse ; ita tamen ut et ipsa, intra suos limites, haud 
 pauca sana et utilia documenta continere possit. 
 
 Hanc igitur partem (quando praestantiam ejus in animo 
 recolo) in Corpus Doctrinac nondum redactam, non possum non 
 vehementer mirari. Earn igitur, ex more nostro, cum inter 
 Desiderata collocemus, aliqua ex parte adumbrabimus. 
 
 Ante omnia igitur in hac re (sicut et in universis quae 
 
 1 Arist Magn. Moral, i. 1. 
 
 2 "Neque disputandi causa, ut magna pars, sed ita vivendi." Cicero, Pro Muran. 
 c.30. 
 
 * Seneca, Ep. 71. 4 Hippocr Aphorism, ii 6. s Psalm cxxiii. 2.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 733 
 
 spectant ad practicam) ratio nobis est subducenda, quid in 
 nostra sit potestate, quid non. In altero enim datur alteratio, 
 in altero vero applicatio tantum. Agricolae nullum est impe- 
 rium aut in naturam soli, aut in aeris temperies ; itidem nee 
 medico aut in crasin et constitutionem naturalem aegri, aut in 
 accidentium varietatem. At in Cultura Animi, et morbis ejus 
 persanandis, tria in considerationem veniunt ; Characteres di- 
 versi Dispositionum ; Affectus ; et Remedia ; quemadmodum et 
 in corporibus medicandis proponuntur ilia tria, Complexio sive 
 Constitutio aegri ; Morbus ; et Curatio. Ex illis autem tribus, 
 postremum tantum in nostra potestate situm est, priora duo non 
 item. Verum et in illis ipsis quae in potestate nostra non sunt 
 non minus diligens facienda est inquisitio, quam in illis quae po- 
 testati nostras subjiciuntur. Etenim illorum perspicax et accu- 
 rata cognitio substernenda est doctrinae de Remediis, ut eadem 
 commodius et foelicius applicentur. Neque enim vestis corpori 
 aptari possit, nisi mensura corporis ante excipiatur. 
 
 Primus igitur articulus doctringe de Cultura Animi versabi- 
 tur circa diversos Characteres Ingeniorum sive Dispositionum. 
 Neque tamen loquimur de vulgatis illis propensionibus in vir- 
 tutes et vitia, aut etiam in perturbationes et affectus ; sed de 
 magis intrinsecis et radicalibus. Sane subiit animum etiam in 
 hac parte nonnunquam admiratio, quod a scriptoribus, tarn 
 Ethicis quam Politicis, ut plurimum neglecta aut praetermissa 
 sit ; cum utrique scientise clarissimum luminis jubar affundere 
 possit. In Traditionibus Astrologiae non inscite omnino distin- 
 cta sunt ingenia et dispositiones hominum, ex praedominantiis 
 planetarum ; quod alii a natura facti sint ad Contemplationes, 
 alii ad Res Civiles ; alii ad Militiam ; alii ad Ambitum ; alii 
 ad Amores ; alii ad Artes ; alii ad Genus Vitas Varium. Item 
 apud Poetas (heroicos, satiricos, tragicos, comicos) sparguntur 
 ubique simulachra ingeniorum, licet fere cum excessu et praeter 
 modum veritatis. Quin et hoc ipsum argumentum, de Diversis 
 Characteribus Ingeniorum, est ex iis rebus in quibus sermones 
 hominum communes (quod valde raro, interdum tamen con- 
 tingit) libris ipsis sunt prudentiores. At longe optima hujus 
 tractatus suppellex et sylva peti debet ab Historicis prudentio- 
 ribus ; neque tamen ab elogiis tantum, quae sub obitum per- 
 sonre alicujus illustris subnectere solent ; sed multo magis ex 
 corpore integro Historic, quoties hujusmodi persona veluti 
 scenam conscenclat. Ilia enim intertexta imago potior videtur
 
 734 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 descriptio, quam elogii censura ; qualis habetur apud T. Livium, 
 African! et Catonis Majoris ; apud Taciturn, Tiberii, Claudii, et 
 Neronis ; apud Herodianum, Septimii Severi ; apud Philippum 
 Comineum, Ludovici undecimi Gallorum Regis ; apud Francis- 
 cum Guicciardinum, Ferdinandi Hispani, Maximiliani Csesaris, 
 et Leonis et dementis Pontificum. Isti enim scriptores, harum 
 personarum quas sibi depingendas deligerunt effigies quasi 
 perpetuo intuentes, nunquam fere rerum gestarum ab ipsis 
 mentionem faciunt, quin et aliquid insuper de natura ipsorum 
 inspergant. Etiam nonnullae in quas incidimus Relationes de 
 Conclavibus Pontificum, characteres de moribus Cardinalium 
 bonos exhibuerunt l ; sicut et literae legatorum, de consiliariis 
 principum. Fiat itaque ex ea quam diximus materia (quae 
 certe fertilis est et copiosa) tractatus diligens et plenus. Neque 
 vero volumus, ut Characteres isti in Ethicis (ut fit apud histo- 
 ricos, et poetas, et in sermonibus communibus) excipiantur, 
 tanquam imagines civiles integrae; sed potius ut imaginum 
 ipsarum lineae et ductus magis simplices ; quae inter se compo- 
 site et commixtse quascunque effigies constituunt; quot et 
 quales ese sint et quomodo inter se connexae et subordinatae ; ut 
 fiat tanquam artificiosa et accurata ingeniorum et animorum 
 dissectio, atque ut dispositionum in hominibus individuis secreta 
 prodantur, atque ex eorum notitia curationum animi praecepta 
 rectius instituantur. 
 
 Neque vero Characteres Ingeniorum ex natura impressi, 
 recipi tantum in hunc tractatum debent ; sed et illi qui alias 
 animo imponuntur, ex Sexu, -5tate, Patria, Valetudine, Forma, 
 et similibus ; atque insuper illi qui ex Fortuna ; veluti Princi- 
 pum, Nobilium, Ignobilium, Divitum, Pauperum, Magistra- 
 tuum, Idiotarum, Foelicium, ^Erumnosorum, et hujusmodi. 
 Videmus enim Plautum miraculi loco habere, quod senex quis 
 sit beneficus ; Benignitas hujus ut adolescentuli est? D. autem 
 Paulus, severitatem disciplinae erga Cretenses praecipiens (In- 
 crepa eos dure) ingenium gentis ex Poeta accusat, Cretenses 
 semper mendaces, males bestics, venires pigri.* Sallustius id in 
 
 1 For an account of the writings here referred to, which were generally composed 
 by the " Conclavisti," but sometimes by one of the Cardinals, see Rnnke's work " Die 
 Ramischen Pdpste, sect. 5. of the Appendix. Among the Litterce Legatorum, those 
 of the Venetians are especially valuable. They are, properly speaking, reports made 
 to the senate on the ambassador's return. 
 
 2 Plaut. MIL Glori. iii. 1. 40. 
 
 * St Paul, Ep. to Titus, i. 12. and 13. The poet referred to is Epimenides.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 735 
 
 regum ingeniis notat, quod apud eos frequens sit contradictoria 
 appetere ; Plerunque regies voluntates, ut vehementes sunt, sic 
 mobiles, scspeque ipsce sibi adversce. 1 Tacitus observat honores 
 et dignitates ingenia hominum in deterius saspius flectere quam 
 in melius ; Solus Vespasianus mutatus est in melius? Pindarus 
 illud animadvertit, fortunam subitam et indulgentem animos 
 plerunque enervare et solvere ; Sunt qui magnam fcelicitatem 
 concoquere non possunt. 3 Psalmus innuit, facilius esse modum 
 aclhibere et temperamentum in fortune statu, quam in incre- 
 mento ; Divitice si affluant, nolite cor apponere.* De similibus 
 quibusdam observationibus ab Aristotele in Rhetoricis men- 
 tionem obiter factom non inficior ; necnon in aliorum scriptis 
 nonnullis sparsim ; verum nunquam adhuc incorporate fuerunt 
 in Moralem Philosophiam ; ad quam principaliter pertinent ; 
 non minus certe quam ad agriculturam tractatus de diversitate 
 soli et glebae, aut ad medicinam, tractatus de complexionibus 
 aut habitibus corporum diversis. Id autem nunc tandem fieri 
 oportet, nisi forte imitari velimus temeritatem empiricorum, 
 qui iisdem utuntur medicamentis ad asgrotos omnes, cujuscun- 
 que sint constitutionis. 
 
 Sequitur doctrinam de Characteribus, doctrina de Affectibus 
 et Perturbationibus ; qui loco morborum animi sunt, ut jam 
 dictum est. Quemadmodum enim politici prisci de democratiis 
 dicere solebant, quod populus esset mari ipsi similis, oratores 
 autem ventis ; quia sicut Mare per se placidum foret et tranquil- 
 lum, nisi a Ventis agitaretur et turbaretur, sic et Populus esset 
 natura sua pacatus et tractabilis, nisi a Seditiosis Oratoribus 
 impelleretur et incitaretur 5 ; similiter vere affirmari possit na- 
 
 1 Sail. Bell. Jug. c. 121. Bacon has himself remarked that it is the solecism of 
 power to will contradictories ; a phrase of which we lose the force by not observing that 
 a solecism is properly " impar et inconveniens corapositura partium orationis," not 
 merely any kind of error. V. Sinnius Capito ap. A. Gellium, v. 20. 
 
 2 Tac. Hist. i. 50. 
 
 3 Bacon alludes to an expression which occurs in the first Olympic ode ; where 
 however there is no general reflexion on the difficulty " concoquendi felicitatem, " 
 though it is certainly said that Tantalus did not do so. Vide Find. Olymp. i. 88. 
 
 4 Ps. Ixii. 10. 
 
 5 "Ex quo intelligi potuit id quod saepe dictum est, ut mare quod sua natura tran- 
 quillum sit ventorum vi agitari atque turbari, sic et populum Romanum sua sponte 
 esse placatum, hominum seditiosorum vocibus ut violentissimis tempestatibus concitari." 
 Cicero, Pro Cluent. c. 49. From one of the Apophthegms it would seem that Bacon's 
 phrase prisci politici refers especially to Solon, who however was thinking not of 
 popular orators but of Pisistratus. Solon's lines are well known : 
 
 e'J ave/J.iav 51 &oAcicr<ra ra.pa.ff a t-r at, t)v Se TIJ 
 
 p.}) Kivfi, irdvTcav tarl SiKaiordrrj. 
 
 iv5pS>v 5' K fj.eyd\(>iv ir6\is oAAt/Tca, K.T.\.
 
 736 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 turam Mentis Humanae sedatam fore et sibi constantem, si 
 AfFectus, tanquam venti, non tumultuarentur ac omnia misce- 
 rent. Et hie rursus subiit nova admiratio, Aristotelem, qui tot 
 libros de Ethicis conscripsit, Affectus ut membrum Ethic 
 principale in illis non tractasse ; in Rhetoricis autem ubi tra- 
 ctandi interveniunt secundario (quatenus scilicet oratione cieri 
 aut commoveri possint) locum illis reperisse; (in quo tamen 
 loco, de iis, quantum tarn paucis fieri potuit, acute et bene dis- 
 seruit). 1 Nam disceptationes ejus de Voluptate et Dolore huic 
 tractatui nullo modo satisfaciunt ; non magis, quam qui de Luce 
 et Lumine tantum scriberet, de Particularium Colorum Natura 
 scripsisse diceretur ; siquidem Voluptas et Dolor erga Affectus 
 Particulares ita se habent, ut Lux erga Colores. Meliorem 
 certe in hoc argumento (quatenus ex his quae nunc extant con- 
 jicere liceat) diligentiam adhibuerunt Stoici; attamen talem, 
 quae potius in diffinitionum subtilitate quam in tractatu aliquo 
 pleno et fuso consisteret. Equidem reperio etiam libellos quos- 
 dam elegantes de nonnullis ex Affectibus ; veluti de Ira, de 
 Inutili Verecundia^ et aliis perpaucis. 2 Sed si verum omnino 
 dicendum sit, doctores hujus scientiae praecipui sunt Poetae et 
 Historici; in quibus ad vivum depingi et dissecari solet, 
 Quomodo Affectus excitandi sunt et accendendi? Quomodo 
 leniendi et sopiendi? Quomodo rursus continendi ac refhe- 
 nandi, ne in actus erumpant ? Quomodo itidem se, licet com- 
 pressi et occultati, prodant ? Quas operationes edant ? Quas 
 vices subeant? Qualiter sibi mutuo implicentur? Qualiter 
 inter se digladientur et opponantur ? et innumera hujus generis. 
 Inter quae hoc ultimum plurimi est usus in Moralibus et Civi- 
 libus ; Qualiter (inquam) Affectus Affectum in ordinem cogat, et 
 alterius auxilio ad alterum subjugandum uti liceat? venatorum 
 et aucupum more, qui bestiae opera ad bestias, volucris alicujus 
 ad volucres, capiendas utuntur; quod fortasse aliter ex sese, 
 absque brutorum auxilio, homo tarn facile praestare non pos- 
 sit. Quin et hoc fundamento nititur excellens ille et per 
 omnia patens usus in civilibus Praemii et Prense ; quae rerum- 
 publicarum columen sunt; cum Affectus illi praedominantes, 
 Fonnidinis et Spei, alios omnes Affectus noxios coerceant et 
 
 1 See the second book of Aristotle's Rhetoric. 
 
 - Bacon was probably thinking of Plutarch's tract rtpl Suvairlas, which is I think 
 the only one on this subject which has come down to us from antiquity. On anger 
 there are two special treatises ; Plutarch's and Seneca's.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 737 
 
 supprimant. Etiam sicut in regimine status non raro fit, ut 
 factio factione in officio contineatur, similiter fit et in regimine 
 mentis interno. 
 
 Pervenimus mine ad ilia, quae in nostra sunt potestate ; quae- 
 que operantur in animum, voluntatemque et appetitum afficiunt 
 et circumagunt, ideoque ad immutandos mores plurimum va- 
 lent. Qua in parte debuerant Philosophi strenue et gnaviter 
 inquirere, de viribus et energia Consuetudinis, Exercitationis, 
 Habitus, Educationis, Imitationis, JEmulationis, Convictus, 
 Amicitias, Laudis, Reprehensionis, Exhortationis, Fama3, Le- 
 gum, Librorum, Studiorum, et si quae sunt alia. Haec enim 
 sunt ilia quag regnant in Moralibus ; ab istis agentibus animus 
 patitur et disponitur; ab istis, veluti ingredientibus, confi- 
 ciuntur pharmaca, quae ad conservandam et recuperandam 
 animi sanitatem conducant ; quatenus remediis humanis id 
 praestari possit. Ex quorum numero unum aut alterum selige- 
 mus, in quibus paululum immoremur, ut reliquis sint exemplo. 
 De Consuetudine igitur et Habitu, pauca delibabimus. 
 
 Opinio ilia Aristotelis, plane mihi videtur angustias quasdam 
 contemplationis et negligentiam sapere, cum asserit in illas 
 actiones quae naturales sunt Consuetudinem nihil posse; ex- 
 emplo usus, quod si lapis millies projiciatur in altum, ne inclina- 
 tionem quidem sponte ascendendi acquirit; quinetiam, quod s&pius 
 videndo aut audiendo, nihilo melius aut videmus aut audimus. 1 
 Quamvis enim hoc teneat in aliquibus ubi natura est perempto- 
 ria (cujus rei causas reddere in praasentia non vacat), aliter 
 tamen in illis fit in quibus natura, secundum latitudinem quan- 
 dam, patitur intentionem et remissionem. Sane videre potuit 
 chirothecam paulo arctiorem, manui saepius inducendo, laxiorem 
 reddi ; baculum usu et mora in contrarium flexus sui naturalis 
 incurvari, et in eodem statu paulo post durare ; vocem exercitando 
 magis fieri robustam et sonoram ; frigora astumque consuetu- 
 dine tolerari; et ejusdem generis complura. Quae quidem 
 posteriora duo exempla propius accedunt ad rem, quam quae ab 
 ipso adducta sunt. Attamen, utcunque hoc se habeat, quo 
 magis verum fuerit tarn virtutes quam mtia in habitu consistere, 
 eo magis ei contendendum fuerat ut normas praescriberet, quo- 
 modo hujusmodi habitus fuerint acquirendi aut amovendi. Plu- 
 rima siquidem confici possint praecepta de prudenti institutione 
 
 1 Arist Eth. ad Nicom. ii. 1. 
 VOL. I. 3 B
 
 738 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 exercitationum animi, non minus quam corporis. Illorum pau- 
 cula recensebimus. 
 
 Primum erit, ut jam a principio caveamus a pensis vel magis 
 arduis vel magis pusillis quam res postulat. Nam si oneris 
 nimium imponatur, apud ingenium mediocre, bene sperandi 
 alacritatem obtundes; apud ingenium fiduciae plenum, opi- 
 nionem concitabis qua plus sibi polliceatur quam praestare 
 possit; quod secum trahit socordiam. In utroque autem in- 
 genii temperamento, fiet ut experimentum expectation! non 
 satisficiat ; id quod animum semper dejicit et confundit. Quod 
 si pensa leviora fuerint, magna inducitur in progressionis summa 
 jactura. 
 
 Secundum erit, ut ad exercendam facultatem aliquant, quo 
 habitus comparetur, duo imprimis tempora observentur ; alterum, 
 quando animus optime fuerit ad rem dispositus ; alterum 
 quando pessime. Ut ex priore, plurimum in via promoveamus ; 
 ex posteriore, nodos obicesque animi contentione strenua dete- 
 ramus ; unde tempora media facile et placide labentur. 
 
 Tertium erit illud praeceptum, cujus Aristoteles 1 obiter me- 
 minit ; ut totis viribus (citra tamen vitium) nitamur in contra- 
 rium illius, ad quod natura maxime impellimur ; sicut cum in 
 adversum gurgitis remigamus, aut baculum incurvum, ut rectum 
 fiat, in contrarium flectimus. 
 
 Quartum praeceptum ex illo axiomate pendet, quod verissi- 
 mum est ; animum ad qu<ecunque fcelicius trahi et suavius, si 
 illud quo tendimus in intentione operantis non sit principale, sed 
 tanquam aliud agendo superetur ; quoniam ita fert Natura, ut 
 necessitatem et imperium durum ferme oderit. Sunt et alia 
 multa quae utiliter praecipi possint de regimine Consuetudinis. 
 Consuetudo enim, si prudenter et perite inducatur, fit revera 
 (ut vulgo dicitur) altera natura ; quod si imperite et fortuito 
 administretur, erit tantum simia naturae ; quae nihil ad vivum 
 imitetur, sed inscite tantum et deformiter. 
 
 Similiter, si de Libris et Studiis, eorumque ad Mores virtute 
 et influentia, verba facere vellemus ; numnam desunt plurima 
 praecepta et consilia fructuosa eo spectantia ? Annon unus ex 
 Patribus, magna cum indignatione, Poesim appellavit vinum 
 damonum*', cum revera progignat plurimas tentationes, cupidi- 
 
 1 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. ii. 9. 
 
 2 Bacon seems to have been thinking of the following passage in Agrippa's De In- 
 cerlitudine, &c. c. 4. : " Augustinus Poesim vocat vinum erroris ab ebriis doctoribus
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 739 
 
 tates, et opiniones vanas ? Annon prudens admodum, et digna 
 qua? bene perpendatur, est sententia Aristotelis; Juvenes non 
 esse idoneos Moralis Philosophies auditores l ; quia in illis pertur- 
 bationum aestuatio nondum sedata est, nee tempore et rerum 
 experientia consopita ? Atque ut verum dicamus, annon ideo 
 fit, ut scriptorum priscorum praestantissimi libri et sermones 
 (quibus ad virtutem homines efficacissime invitati sunt; tarn 
 augustam ejus majestatem omnium oculis reprassentando, quam 
 opiniones populates in virtutis ignominiam, tanquam habitu pa- 
 rasitorum indutas, derisui propinando) tarn parum prosint ad 
 vitae honestatem et mores pravos corrigendos, quia perlegi et 
 revolvi non consueverunt a viris aetate et judicio maturis, sed 
 pueris tantum et tironibus relinquuntur ? Annon et hoc verum 
 est, juvenes multo minus Politicae quam Ethicae auditores 
 idoneos esse, antequam Religione et Doctrina de Moribus et 
 Officiis plane imbuantur ; ne forte judicio depravati et corrupti 
 in earn opinionem veniant, non esse rerum differentias morales 
 veras et solidas, sed omnia ex utilitate aut successu metienda ? 
 Sicut poeta canit ; 
 
 Prosperum et foelix scelus virtus vocatur :* 
 et rursus, 
 
 Ille crucem pretium sceleris tulit, hie diadetna. 8 
 
 Ac poetae quidem haec satirice, et per indignationem loqui 
 videntur ; at Libri nonnulli Politici idem serio et positive sup- 
 ponunt. Sic enim Macciavello dicere placet, Quod si conti- 
 gisset Ccesarem hello superatum fuisse, Catilina ipso fuisset 
 odiosior 4 ', quasi vero nihil interfuisset, praeter fortunam solam, 
 inter furiam quandam ex libidine et sanguine conflatam, atque 
 animum excelsum et inter homines naturales maxime omnium 
 
 propinatum. Hieronymus earn damoiium cibum appellat." The combination of the 
 two quotations might easily give rise to the phrase " daemonum vinum." The passage 
 of St. Augustine to which Agrippa refers occurs in the first book of the Confessions. 
 
 1 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. i. 3. Aristotle, however, speaks not of moral but of political 
 philosophy. It is interesting to observe that the error of the text, which occurs also 
 in the Advancement of Learning, has been followed by Shakespeare in Troilus and 
 Cressida : 
 
 " Not much 
 
 Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought 
 Unfit to hear moral philosophy." 
 See Hector's speech in the second scene of the second act. 
 
 2 Senec. Here. Fur. 251. : 
 
 Prosperum et felix scelus 
 Virtus vocatur. 
 
 3 Juven. xiii. 105. * Macchiav. Discorsi, i. 10, 
 
 3 B 2
 
 740 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 (si ambitio abfuisset) suspiciendum. Videmus etiam ex hoc 
 ipso quam necessarium sit homines doctrinas pias et Ethicas, 
 antequam Politicam degustent, plenis faucibus haurire ; nimi- 
 rum, quod qui in aulis principum et negotiis civilibus a teneris 
 (ut aiunt) unguiculis innutriti sunt, nunquam fere sinceram et 
 internam morum probitatem assequantur ; quanto minus, si 
 accesserit etiam librorum disciplina ? Porro et in documentis 
 ipsis moralibus, vel saltern aliquibus eorum, annon cautio pari- 
 ter est adhibenda, ne inde fiant homines pertinaces, arrogantes, 
 et insociabiles, juxta illud Ciceronis de M. Catone ; Hcec bona, 
 qua videmus, divina et egregia, ipsius scitote esse propria ; qua 
 nonnunquam requirimus, ea sunt omnia non a natura, sed a 
 magistris ? l Sunt et axiomata alia complura de iis quae a Studiis 
 et Libris hominum animis ingenerantur. Verum est enim quod 
 dicit ille, Abeunt studio, in mores 2 : quod pariter affirmandum de 
 caeteris illis rebus, Convictu ; Fama, Legibus patriis, et reliquis, 
 quas paulo ante recensuimus. 
 
 Caeterum Animi quaedam est Cultura, quae adhuc magis ac- 
 curata et elaborata videtur quam reliquae. Nititur autem hoc 
 fundamento ; quod omnium mortalium animi certis temporibus 
 reperiantur in statu perfectiore ; aliis in statu magis depravato. 
 Hujus igitur culturas intentio fuerit et institutum, ut bona ilia 
 tempora foveantur, prava vero tanquam ex kalendario delean- 
 tur et expungantur. Ac bonorum quidem temporum fixatio 
 duobus modis procuratur ; votis, aut saltern constantissimis 
 animi decretis ; et observantiis atque exercitationibus ; quae 
 non tantum in se valent, quantum in hoc, quod animum in 
 officio et obedientia jugiter contineant. Malorum temporum 
 obliteratio duplici itidem ratione perfici potest ; redemptione 
 aliqua vel expiatione praeteritorum ; et novo vitae institute, 
 veluti de integro. Verum haec pars ad Religionem plane 
 spectare videtur ; nee mirum, cum Moralis Philosophia vera 
 et genuina (sicut ante dictum est) ancillas tantum vices erga 
 Theologiam suppleat. 
 
 Quamobrem concludemus hanc partem de Cultura Animi 
 cum eo remedio, quod omnium est maxime compendiosum et 
 summarium, et rursus maxime nobile et efficax, quo animus ad 
 virtutem efformetur, et in statu collocetur perfectioni proximo. 
 Hoc autem est, ut fines vita actionumque deligamus et nobis ipsis 
 
 1 Cicero, Pro Muraen. c. 445. 2 Vide supra, p. 445.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 741 
 
 proponamus rectos et virtuti congruos ; qui tamen tales sint ut eos 
 assequendi nobis aliquatenus suppetat facultas. Si enim haec duo 
 supponantur ; ut et fines actionum sint honesti et boni, et decre- 
 tum animi de Us assequendis et obtinendis Jixum sit et constans ; 
 sequetur ut continue vertat et efformet se animus una opera in 
 virtutes omnes. Atque haec certe ilia est operatio quae Naturas 
 ipsius opus referat ; cum reliquse, quas * diximus, videantur esse 
 solummodo sicut opera Manus. Quemadmodum enim Statu- 
 arius, quando simulachrum aliquod sculpit aut incidit, illius 
 solummodo partis figuram effingit circa quam manus occupata 
 est, non autem casterarum ; (veluti si faciem efformet, corpus 
 reliquum rude permanet et informe saxum, donee ad illud quo- 
 que pervenerit ;) e contra vero Natura, quando florem molitur 
 aut animal, rudimenta partium omnium simul parit et producit ; 
 eodem modo, quando virtutes habitu acquiruntur, dum tempe- 
 rantiae incumbimus, ad fortitudinem aut reliquas parum pro- 
 ficimus ; quando autem Rectis et Honestis Finibus nos dedi- 
 caverimus penitus et devoverimus, quascunque fuerit virtus 
 quam animo nostro commendaverint et imperaverint fines illi, 
 reperiemus nos jamdudum imbutos et prasdispositos habilitate et 
 propensione nunnulla ad earn assequendam et exprimendam. 
 Atque hie possit esse status ille animi, qui egregie ab Aristotele 
 describitur, et ab eo non Virtutis sed Divinitatis cujusdam 
 charactere insignitur. Ipsa ejus verba hasc sunt; Immanitati 
 autem consentaneum est opponere earn qua supra humanitatem 
 est, Hero'icam sive Divinam virtutem. Et paulo post ; Nam ut 
 feres neque vitium neque virtus est., sic neque Dei. Sed hie quidem 
 status altius quiddam virtute est; ille aliud quiddam a vitio" 2 
 Plinius certe Secundus, ex licentia magniloquentiae ethnics, 
 Trajani virtutem Divina? non tanquam imitamentum, sed tan- 
 quam exemplar, proponit, cum ait; Opus non esse hominibus 
 alias ad Deos preces fundere, quam ut benignos <eque et propitios 
 se dominos mortalibus pr&starent, ac Trajanus prcsstitisset. 3 
 Verum hasc profanam ethnicorum jactantiam sapiunt, qui 
 umbras quasdam corpore majores prensabant. At religio vera 
 et sancta fides Christiana rem ipsam petit ; imprimendo animis 
 
 1 In all the editions qua occurs instead of quas. I follow M. Bouillet in restoring 
 what is doubtless the true reading. 
 
 2 Arist. Eth. ad Nicom. vi. 1. 
 
 3 " Pro nobis ipsis quidem hac fuit summa votorum, ut nos sic amarent quomodo 
 tu." Plin. Paneg. C. 74. 
 
 S B 3
 
 742 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENT1ARUM 
 
 hominum charitatem, quae appositissime vinculum perfectionis 1 
 appellatur, quia virtutes omnes simul colligat et revincit. 
 Sane elegantissime dictum est a Menandro de Amore Sen- 
 euali, qui Divinum ilium perperam imitatur, Amor melior 
 sophista ICBVO ad humanam vitam. 2 Quibus innuit, morum decus 
 melius ab amore efformari quam a sophista et praeceptore 
 inepto, quem Icevum appellat. Siquidem universis suis operosis 
 regulis et praeceptionibus hominem tarn dextre et expedite 
 effingere nequeat ut seipsum et in pretio habeat et se belle 
 in omnibus componat, quam amor facit. Sic proculdubio, si 
 animus cujuspiam fervore Charitatis verae incendatur, ad ma- 
 jorem perfectionem evehetur quam per universam Ethicam 
 Doctrinam; quae Sophistae profecto habet rationem, si cum 
 altera ilia conferatur. Quinetiam, sicut Xenophon recte ob- 
 servavit, Ccsteros affectus, licet animum attollant, eum tamen 
 distorquere et discomponere per ecstases et excessiis suos ; amorem 
 vero solum eum simul et dilatare et componere 3 ', sic omnes aliaa 
 Immanae quas admiramur dotes, dum naturam in majus ex- 
 si Itant, excessui interim sunt obnoxia? ; sola autem charitas 
 non admittit excessum. Angeli, dum ad Potentiam divinas 
 parem aspirarent, prasvaricati sunt et ceciderunt ; Ascendam 
 et ero similis Altissimo. 4 Homo, dum ad Scientiam divinae 
 parem aspiraret, prasvaricatus est et lapsus ; Eritis sicut Dii, 
 scientes bonum et malum. 5 Verum ad similitudinem divinaa 
 Bonitatis aut Charitatis aspirando, nee angelus nee homo 
 unquam in periculum venit aut veniet. Imo ad hanc ipsam 
 imitationem etiam invitamur; Diligite inimicos vestros, bene- 
 facite his qui oderunt vos, et orate pro persequentibus et calumni- 
 antibus vos, ut sitis Jilii Patris vestri qui in coelis est, qui solem 
 suum oriri facit super bonos et malos, et pluit super justos et 
 injiistos.* Quin et in ipso archetypo Naturae Divinaa, verba 
 sic collocat religio ethnica, Optimus Maximus ; scriptura autem 
 Sacra pronunciat, Misericordia ejus super omnia opera ejus. 7 
 
 1 Ep. to Coloss. iii. 14. 
 
 2 Not Menander, but Anaxandrides : 
 
 epcas ffotyiffTov yiyverai Si$d,ffKa\os 
 
 ffKaiov iro\v Kpe'iTTuv irpbs rbv avBpwirov fiiov. 
 
 3 See the passage at the beginning of Xenophon's Symposium, in which the appear- 
 ance of Callias is described, 
 
 4 Isaiah xiv. 14. "Diabolus peccavit appetendo similitudinem Dei quantum ad 
 potentiam." S. Thomas Aquinas, Sum. Theol Sec. Secund. q. 163. Compare the 
 note at p. 465. 
 
 * Gen. iii. 5. St. Matth. v. 44. ' Psalm cxlv. 9.
 
 LIBER SEPTIMUS. 743 
 
 Hanc itaque Moralis Doctrines partem, de Georgicis Animi, 
 jam absolvimus. In qua, si ex intuitu portionum ejus quas 
 perstrinximus, quis existimet operam nostram in hoc tantum- 
 modo etiam esse, ut ea in Artem seu Doctrinam redigeremus 
 quae ab aliis scriptoribus praetermissa sint tanquam yulgata et 
 obvia, et per se satis clara et perspicua ; suo judicio libere 
 utatur. Interim illud meminerit, quod ab initio monuimus, 
 propositum a nobis esse non rerum pulchritudinem, sed usum 
 et veritatem sectari. Recordetur etiam paulisper commentum 
 illud parabolas antiquae, de geminis Somni portis. 
 
 Sunt geminse Somni portae, quarum altera fertur 
 Cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus umbiis ; 
 Altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto, 
 Sed falsa ad ccelum mittunt insomnia Manes. * 
 
 Insignia sane magnificentia portce eburnecs ; tamen somnia 
 vera per corneam commeant. 
 
 Additamenti vice poni possit circa doctrinam Ethicam ob- 
 servatio ilia, inveniri nimirum relationem et congruitatem 
 quandam inter Bonum Animi et Bonum Corporis. Nam sicut 
 Bonum Corporis constare diximus ex Sanitate, Pulchritudine, 
 Robore, ac Voluptate ; sic Animi Bonum, si juxta Moralis 
 Doctrinas scita illud contemplemur, hue tendere perspiciemus ; 
 ut animum reddat sanum, et a perturbationibus immunem; 
 pulchrum, verique decoris ornamentis excultum ; fortem ac 
 agilem ad omnia vitae munia obeunda ; denique non stupidum, 
 sed voluptatis et solatii honesti sensum vivide retinentem. 
 Haac autem, sicut in Corpore, ita et in Animo, raro simul 
 omnia conjunguntur. Facile enim videre est multos ingenii 
 viribus et fortitudine animi pollentes, quos infestant tamen 
 perturbationes, quorumque etiam moribus vix aliquid ele- 
 gantiae aut venustatis aspergitur ; alios, quibus abunde est in 
 moribus elegantiae et venustatis, illis tamen non suppetit aut 
 probitas animi ut velint aut vires ut possint recte agere ; alios, 
 animo praeditos honesto atque a vitiorum labe repurgato, qui 
 tamen nee sibi ipsis ornamento sunt, nee reipublicae utiles ; alios 
 qui istorum fortasse trium compotes sunt, sed tamen, Stoica 
 quadam tristitia et stupiditate praediti, virtutis quidem actiones 
 exercent, gaudiis non perfruuntur. Quod si contingat, ex 
 
 1 Virg. JEn. vi. 894. 
 3u 4
 
 744 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM LIB. SEPT. 
 
 quatuor istis duo aut tria aliquando concurrere, rarissime tamen 
 
 fit, quemadmodum diximus, ut omnia. Jam vero principale 
 
 istud membrum Philosophise Humanae, quse Hominem 
 
 contemplatur quatenus ex Corpore consistit 
 
 atque Anima, sed tamen Segregatum 
 
 et citra Societatem, a nobis 
 
 pertractatum est.
 
 745 
 
 FRANCISCI BAEONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIAEUM 
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines Civilis in Doctrinam de Conversatione, Do- 
 ctrinam de Negotiis, et Doctrinam de Imperio sive Republica. 
 
 VETUS est narratio (Rex Optime) convenisse complures phi- 
 losophos solenniter coram legato regis exteri, atque singulos 
 pro virili parte sapientiam suam ostentasse, ut haberet legatus 
 quae referret de mirabili sapientia Graecorum. Unus tamen ex 
 eorum numero silebat, et nihil adducebat in medium ; adeo ut 
 legatus ad eum conversus diceret, Tu vero quid hales quod re- 
 feram? Cui ille; Refer (inquit) regi tuo te invenisse apud 
 GrcBcos aliquem qui tacere sciret. 1 Equidem oblitus eram in hac 
 artium synopsi Artem Tacendi interserere ; quam tamen (quo- 
 niam plerumque desideretur) exemplo jam proprio docebo. 
 Etenim, cum me tandem ordo rerum ad illud deduxerit, ut 
 paulo post de Arte Imperil tractandum sit ; cumque ad tan- 
 tum regem scribam, qui perfectus adeo in ea arte sit magister, 
 ipsamque ab incunabulis suis hauserit ; nee omnino immemor 
 esse possim, qualem apud Majestatem tuam locum sustinuerim ; 
 consentaneum magis existimavi meipsum tacendo de hac re, 
 apud Majestatem tuam, quam scribendo, probare. Cicero vero 
 
 This story is told of Zeno. See Plutarch De Garrulitate, and Diog. Laert. vii. 24.
 
 746 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 non solum artis, verum etiam eloquentiae cujusdam, quae in 
 tacendo reperiatur, meminit. Cum enim sermones nonnullos 
 suos, cum alio quodam ultro citroque habitos, in epistola 
 quadam ad Atticum commemorasset, sic scribit ; Hoc loco 
 sumpsi aliquid de tua eloquentia, nam tacui. 1 Pindarus vero 
 (cui illud peculiars est, animos hominum inopinato sententiola 
 aliqua mirabili, veluti virgula divina, percutere) hujusmodi 
 quidpiam ejaculatur; Interdum magis afficiunt non dicta quam 
 dicta.* In hac parte igitur, tacere, aut (quod silentio proxi- 
 mum est) brevis admodum esse, decrevi. Verum, antequam 
 ad Artes Imperii perveniam, baud pauca de aliis Doctrinae 
 Civilis portionibus sunt praemittenda. 
 
 Scientia Civilis versatur circa subjectum quod caste rorum 
 omnium maxime est materias immersum, ideoque difficillime ad 
 axiomata reducitur. Sunt tamen nonnulla quag hanc difficul- 
 tatem levant. Primo enim, quemadmodum Cato ille Censorius 
 de Romania suis dicere solitus est, Ovibus eos similes esse, qua- 
 rum gregem integrum minore quis molestia ageret quam unam 
 aliquam; quoniam si paucas ex grege ut rectam meant mam 
 propellere possis, cateree ultro sequentur 3 ', similiter, hoc quidem 
 respectu, Ethicas munus est quodammodo illo Politicae difficilius. 
 Secundo, proponit sibi Ethica ut animus bonitate interna im- 
 buatuF et cumuletur ; at Civilis Scientia nihil amplius postulat, 
 praeter bonitatem externam: haec enim ad societatem sufficit. 
 Itaque non raro accidit, ut regimen sit bonum, tempora mala ; 
 siquidem in Sacra Historia illud non semel occurrit (cum de 
 regibus bonis et piis narretur), Sed adhuc populus non direxerat 
 cor suum ad Dominum Deum patrum suorum.* Itaque et hoc 
 quoque respectu duriores partes sunt Ethicaa. Tertio, hoc 
 habent respublicae, ut tanquam machinae grandiores tardius 
 moveantur, nee sine magno molimine; unde haud tarn cito 
 labefactantur. Sicut enim in ^Egypto septem anni fertiles ste- 
 riles septem sustentarunt ; ita in rebuspublicis priorum tem- 
 porum bona institutio efficit ut sequentium errores non statiin 
 perniciem inferant. At singulorum hominum decreta efe mores 
 magis subito subvert! solent. Hoc denique Ethicam gravat, 
 Politicae succurrit. 
 
 Scientia Civilis tres habet partes, juxta tres societatis ac- 
 
 1 Cic. Ep. ad Att. xiiL 42. The person in question was his nephew Q. Cicero. 
 
 2 Pindar. Nem. v. 32. 3 Tlut. in Cato. c. 8. * 2 Chr. xx. 33.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 747 
 
 tiones summarias; Doctrinain de Conversatione, Doctrinam 
 cle Negotiis, et Doctrinam de Imperio sive Republica. Tria 
 siquidem sunt Bona, quae ex Societate Civili homines sibi 
 parare expetunt; solamen contra Solitudinem; adjumentum 
 "in Negotiis ; et protectio contra Injurias. Suntque istae tres 
 prudentiae plane inter se diversse, et S83penumero disjunctse; 
 Prudentia in Conversando ; Prudentia in Negotiando ; et Pru- 
 dentia in Gubernando. 
 
 Enimvero, quod ad Conversationem attinet, ilia certe affe- 
 ctata esse non debet, at multo minus neglecta ; cum prudentia 
 in ejus moderamine et decus quoddam morum in seipsa prae se 
 ferat, et ad negotia tarn publica quam privata commode ad- 
 ministranda plurimum juvet. Etenim sicut actio oratori tanti 
 habetur (licet sit externum quiddam) ut etiam illis alteris par- 
 tibus, quae graviores et interiores videntur, anteponatur ; eodem 
 fere modo in viro civili, Conversatio ejusque regimen (ut- 
 cunque in exterioribus occupetur) si non summum, at certe 
 eximium locum invenit. Quale enim pondus habet Vultus 
 ipse, ejusque compositio ? Recte poeta ; 
 
 Nee vultu destrue verba tuo. l 
 
 Poterit enim quis vim orationis Vultu labefactare, et plane 
 prodere. Quin et Facta, non minus quam Verba, Vultu pa- 
 riter destrui possint, si Ciceroni credamus ; qui, cum fratri af- 
 fabil'itatem commendaret erga provinciales, non in hoc earn 
 potissimum sitam dixit, ut aditus prseberet ad se faciles, nisi 
 etiam vultu ipso comiter accedentes exciperet; Nil interest 
 habere ostium apertum, vultum clausum. 2 Videmus quoque 
 Atticum, sub primum Ciceronis cum Caesare congressum, bello 
 adhuc fervente, diligenter et serio Ciceronem per epistolam 
 monuisse de Vultu et Gestu ad dignitatem et gravitatem 
 componendis. 3 Quod si tantum possit Oris et Vultus solius 
 moderatio, quanto magis Sermo familiaris, et alia quae ad Con- 
 versationem pertinent? Atque sane summa et compendium 
 
 1 Ovid, De Arte Am. ii. 312. 
 
 2 No such remark occurs in the letter of advice which Marcus Cicero wrote to his 
 brother Quintus, when the latter was about to take possession of his province. But in 
 Quintus's tract De Petitione Consulates, in which he gives his brother advice as to 
 his conduct in canvassing for the consulship, we find the antithesis quoted in the text, 
 though somewhat differently worded. But of course the passage in which it occurs 
 has no reference to any class of "provinciales." 
 
 3 See Cicero, Ep. ad Att. ix. 12. ; and compare the eighteenth letter of the same 
 book, in which the interview with Cassar is described.
 
 748 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 decori et elegantise morum in hoc fere sita sunt, ut quasi asqua 
 lance et propriam dignitatem et aliorum metiamur et tueamur ; 
 quod etiam non male expressit T. Livius (licet alii rei intentus) 
 eo personae charactere: Ne (inquit) aut arrogans videar, aut 
 dbnoxius ; quorum alterum est alienee libertatis obliti, alterum 
 sues. 1 Ex contraria vero parte, si Urbanitati et elegantije 
 morum externae impensius studeamus, transeunt illaa in af- 
 fectationem quandam deformem et adulterinam ; Quid enim 
 deformiuSy quam scenam in vitam transferre ? Quinetiam, licet 
 in excessum ilium vitiosum minime prolabantur, temporis tamen 
 nimium in hujusmodi leviculis absumitur ; animusque ad curam 
 ipsarum, magis quam oportet, deprimitur. Ideoque sicut in 
 academiis adolescentes literarum studiosi, at sodalium congres- 
 sibus plus satis indulgentes, moneri soleant a prasceptoribus, 
 Amicos esse fares temporis ; sic certe assidua ista in Conver- 
 sationis decorum animi intentio magnum gravioribus medita- 
 tionibus furtum facit. Deinde, qui primas adeo in Urbanitate 
 obtinent et ad hanc rem unam quasi nati videntur, hoc fere 
 habent, ut sibi ipsis in ilia sola complaceant, et ad virtutes 
 solidiores et celsiores vix unquam aepirent; quando e contra, 
 qui sibi in hac parte defectus sunt conscii, decus ex bona ex- 
 istimatione quasrunt; ubi enim adest bona existimatio, omnia 
 fere decent; ubi vero ilia deficit, turn demum a commoditate 
 morum atque Urbanitate subsidium petendum est. Porro, ad 
 res gerendas vix gravius aut frequentius reperias impedimentum, 
 quam hujusce decori externi curiosam nimis observationem ; 
 atque illud alterum, quod huic ipsi inservit ; nimirum anxiam 
 temporis atque opportunitatum electionem. Egregie enim 
 Salomon : Qui respicit ad ventos, non seminal ; qui respicit ad 
 nubes, non metit' 1 : creanda siquidem nobis est opportunitas, 
 saapius quam opperienda. Ut verbo dicamus, urbana ista mo- 
 rum compositio veluti vestis animi est, et proinde vestis com- 
 moditates referre debet, Primum enim talis esse debet, ut sit 
 in usu communi; rursus, ut non sit nimis delicata aut sum- 
 ptuosa; deinde ita conficienda, ut si qua sit in animo virtus, 
 earn exhibeat maxime conspicuam ; si qua deformitas, eandem 
 suppleat et occultet; postremo, et super omnia, ne sit nimis 
 
 1 Liv. xxiii. 1 2. The original stands thus : " Si reticeam aut superbus aut ob- 
 noxius videar," and then as in the text. Compare with this maxim of Bacon's the 
 precept which Fenelon has given in the Lettres Spiriluelits. 
 
 2 Ecclesiast. xi. 4.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 749 
 
 arcta, atque ita animum angustiet ut ejusdem motus in rebus 
 gerendis cohibeat et impediat. Verum haec pars Scientise Ci- 
 vilis de Conversatione eleganter profecto a nonnullis tractata 
 est, neque ullo modo tanquam Desiderata reponi debet. 
 
 CAPUT II. 
 
 Partitio Doctrines de Negotiis in Doctrinam de Occasionibus 
 Sparsis, et Doctrinam de Ambitu Vitae. Exemplum Doctrines 
 de Occasionibus Sparsis, ex Parabolis aliquibus Salomonis. 
 PrcBcepta de Ambitu Vitce. 
 
 DOCTRINAM de Negotiis partiemur in Doctrinam de Occasio- 
 nibus Sparsis, et Doctrinam de Ambitu Vitae ; quarum altera 
 universam negotiorum varietatem complectitur, et vitae com- 
 munis tanquam amanuensis est ; altera ea tantum quae ad pro- 
 priam cujusque fortunam amplificandam spectant excerpit et 
 suggerit, quae singulis pro intimis quibusdam rerum suarum 
 tabellis aut codicillis esse possint. Verum antequam ad species 
 descendamus, aliquid circa Doctrinam de Negotiis in genere 
 praefabimur. Doctrinam de Negotiis pro rei momento tracta- 
 vit adhuc nemo, cum magna tarn literarum quam literatorum 
 existimationis jactura. Ab hac enim radice pullulat illud 
 malum, quod notam eruditis inussit ; nimirum, eruditionem et 
 prudentiam civilem raro admodum conjungi. Etenim si quis 
 recte advertat ex Prudentiis illis tribus quas modo diximus 
 ad vitam civilem spectare, ilia Conversationis ab eruditis fere 
 contemnitur, tanquam servile quiddam, atque insuper medi- 
 tationibus inimicum. Quod vero ad illam de Republica Ad- 
 ministranda, sane si quando rerum gubernaculis admoveantur 
 eruditi, munus suum non incommode sustinent; verum ea 
 promotio contingit paucis. De Prudentia autem Negotiandi 
 (qua de nunc loquimur) in qua vita humana plurimum ver- 
 satur, nulli omnino libri conscripti habentur; praeter pauca 
 quaedam Monita Civilia in fasciculum unum aut alterum col- 
 lecta, quae amplitudini hujus subjecti nullo modo respondent. 
 Etenim si libri aliqui extarent de hoc argumento, sicut de 
 caeteris, minime dubitaverim quin viri eruditi, aliquo experi- 
 entiaa manipulo instruct!, ineruditos, licet diutina experientia 
 edoctos, longe superarent, et proprio illorum (quod dicitur) 
 arcu usi magis e longinquo ferirent.
 
 750 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Neque vero est cur vereamur ne Scientias hujus tarn varia 
 sit materia, ut sub praeceptionibus non cadat : multo siquidem 
 angustior est quam ilia Reipublicae Administrandas scientia, 
 quam tamen apprime videmus excultam. Hujus generis Pru- 
 dentiae apud Romanes, optimis temporibus, extitisse videntur 
 nonnulli professores. Testatur enim Cicero moris fuisse, 
 paulo ante sua saecula, ut Senatores prudentia et rerum usu 
 maxime celebres (Coruncanii, Curii, Laelii, et alii) statis horis 
 in foro deambularent, ubi civibus copiam sui facerent, et con- 
 sulerentur, non de jure, sed de negotiis omnigenis ; veluti de 
 filia elocanda, sive de filio educando, sive de praedio coemendo, 
 de contractu, accusatione, defensione, aut alia quacunque re 
 quae in vita communi interveniat. 1 Ex quo liquet, prudentiam 
 quandam esse consilium dandi, etiam in negotiis privatis, ex 
 universal! rerum civilium cognitione et experientia proma- 
 nantem ; quas exerceatur quidem in casibus particularibus, 
 extrahatur autem ex general! casuum consimilium observatione. 
 Sic enim videmus in eo libro quern ad fratrem conscripsit 
 Q. Cicero de Petitione Consulatus (quern unicum a veteribus 
 habemus, quantum memini, tractatum de Negotio aliquo Par- 
 ticulari) 2 quanquam ad consilium dandum de re turn praesenti 
 potissimum spectaret, plurima tamen contineri axiomata poli- 
 tica, quae non usum solum temporarium, sed normam quandam 
 perpetuam circa electiones populares praescribant. In hoc 
 genere autem nihil invenitur quod ullo modo comparandum 
 sit cum Aphorismis illis quos edidit rex Salomon, de quo 
 testatur Scriptura, Cor illi fuisse instar arena marts 3 ; sicut 
 enim arenae maris universas orbis oras circundant, ita et sa- 
 pientia ejus omnia humana non minus quam divina complexa 
 est. In Aphorismis vero illis, praeter alia magis theologica, 
 reperies liquido haud pauca praecepta et monita civilia praestan- 
 tissima; ex profundis quidem sapientiae penetralibus scaturi- 
 entia, atque in amplissimum varietatis campum excurrentia. 
 Quoniam vero Doctrinam de Occasionibus Sparsis (quae Doctri- 
 nae de Negotiis portio est prior) inter Desiderata reponemus, ex 
 more nostro paulisper in ilia immorabimur ; atque exemplum 
 
 1 Cicero, de Orat iii. 33. 
 
 2 Frontinus's tract De Aqueeductibus belongs to the same class. Its chief object is 
 to give an account of the regulations affecting the Roman aqueducts, and of the frauds 
 which, on his appointment as Curator Aquarum, his examinations of the Castella, &c., 
 enabled him to detect. 
 
 s 1 Kings, iv. 29.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 751 
 
 ejusdem ex Aphorismis sive Parabolis illis Salomonis desum- 
 ptum proponemus. Neque vero quis ut arbitramur nos merito 
 sugillare possit, quod ex scriptoribus Sacrae Scriptures aliquem 
 ad sensum politicum trahamus. Equidem existimo, si extarent 
 commentarii illi Salomonis ejusdem de Natura Rerum (in 
 quibus de omni vegetabili, a musco super murum ad cedrum 
 Libani, itemque de animalibus, conscripsit) 1 non illicitum esse 
 eos secundum sensum naturalem interpretari ; quod idem nobis 
 liceat in Politicis. 
 
 Exemplum portionis doctrince de Occasionibus sparsis, ex pa~ 
 rabolis aliquibus Salomonis. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 1. Mollis responsio frangit iram.* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Si incendatur ira principis vel superioris adversus te, et 
 tuae jam sint loquendi partes, duo prsecipit Salomon : alte- 
 rum, ut fiat responsio ; alterum, ut eadem sit mollis. Prius 
 continet tria praecepta. Primo, ut caveas a silentio tristi et 
 contumaci ; illud enim aut culpam totam in te recipit, ac si 
 nihil habeas quod respondere possis ; aut dominum occulte 
 iniquitatis insimulat, ac si aures ejus defensioni licet justae 
 non paterent. Secundo, ut caveas a re comperendinanda, 
 neque tempus aliud ad defensionem postules ; hoc enim 
 aut eandem notam inurit quam prius (nimirum dominum 
 tuum nimia mentis perturbatione efferri), aut plane significat 
 te artificiosam quandam defensionem meditari, cum in promptu 
 nihil habeas ; adeo ut optimum semper fuerit, aliquid in pras- 
 sentia et e re nata in excusationem tui adducere. Tertio, ut 
 fiat prorsus responsio ; responsio (inquam) non mera confessio 
 aut mera submissio ; sed aliquid apologia? et excusationis in- 
 spergatur. Neque enim aliter tutum est facere, nisi apud 
 ingenia valde generosa et magnanima, qua? rara admodum 
 sunt. Sequitur posteriore loco, ut responsio sit mollis, minime 
 praefracta aut aspera. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 2. Servus prudens dominabitur in Jilium stultum ; et partietur 
 hcereditatem inter fratres. 3 
 
 1 1 Kings, iv. 33. 2 Prov. xv. 1. s Ib. xvii. 2.
 
 752 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 In jomni familia turbata et discordi, semper exurgit aliquis 
 servus aut humilis amicus praepotens, qui pro arbitro se gerat ad 
 lites familiae componendas ; cuique eo nomine et familia tota et 
 dominus ipse sunt obnoxii. Ille, si suam rem agat, faniilise 
 mala fovet et aggravat; sin fidelis revera fuerit et integer, 
 plurimum certe meretur; adeo ut etiam tanquam inter fratres 
 haberi debeat, aut saltern procurationem haereditatis accipere 
 fiduciariam. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 3. Vir sapiens, si cum stulto contenderit, sive irascatur sive rideat, 
 
 non inveniet requiem. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Monemur saepius, ut congressum imparem fugiamus; eo sensu, 
 ne cum potioribus decertemus. At baud minus utile est moni- 
 tum, quod hie exhibet Salomon, Ne cum indigno contendamus. 
 Iniqua enim prorsus sorte haec res transigitur. Siquidem, si 
 superiores simus, nulla sequitur victoria ; si superemur, magna 
 indignitas. Neque juvat etiam, in hujusmodi contentione exer- 
 cenda, si interdum veluti per jocum agamus, interdum cum 
 fastu et contemptu. Nam quocunque nos vertamus, leviores 
 inde efficiemur, neque commode nos explicabimus. Pessime 
 autem fit, si hujusmodi persona quacum contendimus (ut Salo- 
 mon loquitur) aliquid afline habeat cum stulto ; hoc est, si sit 
 audaculus et temerarius. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 4. Sed et cunctis sermonibus, qui dicuntur, ne accommodes aurem 
 
 tuam, ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Vix credi possit, vitam quantum perturbet inutilis curiositas 
 circa illas res quae nostra intersunt : nimirum, quando secreta 
 ilia rimari satagimus quse detecta et inventa aegritudinem qui- 
 dem animo inferant, ad consilia autem expedienda nihil juvent. 
 Primo enim sequitur animi vexatio et inquietude, cum humana 
 omnia perfidiae et ingratitudinis plena sint. Adeo ut, si com- 
 parari possit speculum aliquod magicum, in quo odia et quaecun- 
 que contra nos ullibi commoventur intueri possemus, melius 
 nobis foret si protinus projiceretur et collideretur. Hujusmodi 
 enim res veluti foliorum murmura sunt, et brevi evanescunt. 
 
 1 Prov. xxix. 9. 2 Eccles. vu. 21.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 753 
 
 Secundo, curiositas ilia animum suspicionibus nimiis onerat, 
 quod consiliis inimicissimum est eaque reddit inconstantia et 
 complicata. Tertio, eadem mala ipsa soepissime figit, alias prae- 
 tervolatura. Grave enim est conscientias hominum irritare; 
 qui, si latere se putent, facile mutantur in melius ; sin depre- 
 hensos se sentiant, malum malo pellunt. Merito igitur summaj 
 prudentiae tribuebatur Pompeio Magno, quod Sertorii chartaa 
 universas, nee a se perlectas nee aliis permissas, igni protinus 
 dedisset. ' 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 5. Advenit veluti viator pauperies ; et egestas quasi vir armatus. 2 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Eleganter describitur in Parabola, quomodo prodigis et circa 
 rem familiarem incuriosis superveniant naufragia fortunarum. 
 A principle enim pedetentim et passibus lentis, instar viatoris, 
 advenit obseratio et sortis diminutio, neque fere sentitur ; at non 
 multo post invadit egestas, tanquam vir armatus, manu scilicet 
 tarn forti et potente ut ei amplius resisti non possit ; cum apud 
 antiques recte dictum sit, Necessitate, ex omnibus rebus esse 
 fortissimam. 3 Itaque viatori occurrendum, contra armatum 
 muniendum. 
 
 PAEABOLA. 
 
 6. Qui erudit derisorem, ipse sibi injuriam facit ; et qui arguit 
 
 impium, sibi maculam generat.* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Congruit cum praecepto Salvatoris, ut non mittamus marga- 
 ritas nostras ante porcos. Distiuguuntur autem in hac Parabola 
 actiones praeceptionis et reprehensionis ; distinguuntur itidem 
 personse derisoris et impii ; distinguitur postremo id quod 
 rependitur; in priore enim rependitur opera lusa; in poste- 
 riore, etiam et macula. Cum enim quis erudit et instituit deri- 
 sorem, jactura primum fit temporis; deinde, et alii conatum 
 irrident, tanquam rem vanam et operam male collocatam ; 
 postremo, derisor ipse scientiam quam didicit fastidio habet. At 
 majore cum periculo transigitur res in reprehensione impii ; quia 
 non solum impius non auscultat, sed et cornua obvertit, et 
 
 1 See Plutarch, in Pomp. c. 20., and in Sertor. c. 27. 
 
 2 Prov. vi. 11., xxiv. 34. 
 
 3 \6yos ydp fffrtv OVK e/u&s, ffofytai' 8' firos, 
 
 Selves o.vd'yKris ojStv Iff^yfiv irAeW. EUBIP. Helena, 513. 
 
 Cf. Erasm. Adagia, ii. 3. 41. 4 Prov. ix. 7. 
 
 VOL. I. 3 C
 
 754 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 reprehensorem, odiosum sibi jam factum, aut confestim convitiis 
 proscindit, aut saltern postea apud alios criminatur. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 7. Filius sapiens latificat patrem : flius vero stultus mcestitice est 
 
 matri sues. 1 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Distinguuntur solatia atque aegritudines oeconomicae, patris 
 videlicet et matris, circa liberos suos. Etenim films prudens et 
 frugi praecipuo solatio est patri, qui virtutis pretium melius 
 novit quam mater ; ac propterea filii sui indoli ad virtutem pro- 
 pensae magis gratulatur ; quinetiam gaudium illi fortasse affert 
 institutum suum, quod filium tarn probe educarit, illique ho- 
 nestatem morum praaceptis et exemplo impresserit. E contra, 
 mater calamitati filii plus compatitur et indolet ; turn ob affectum 
 maternum magis mollem et tenerum, turn fortasse indulgentiae 
 suae conscia, qua eum corruperit et depravaverit 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 8. Memoria Justi cum laudibus ; at nomen Impiorum putrescet* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Distinguitur inter famam virorum bonorum et malorum, 
 qualis esse soleat post obtium. Viris enim bonis, extincta in- 
 vidia (quae famam eorum, dum vixerant, carpebat), nomen con- 
 tinue efflorescit, et laudes magis indies invalescunt; at viris 
 malis (licet fama eorum, per gratiam amicorum et factionis suse 
 hominum, ad breve tempus manserit) paulo post fastidium 
 nominis oboritur ; et postremo laudes illoa evanidas in infamiam 
 et veluti in odorem gravem et tetrum desinunt. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 9. Qui conturbat domum suam, possidebit ventos. 3 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 TJtile admodum monitum, de discordiis et turbis domesti- 
 cis. Plurimi enim ex dissidiis uxorum, aut exhaeredationibus 
 filiorum, aut mutationibus frequentibus familiae, magna sibi 
 spondent; ac si inde vel animi tranquillitas, vel rerum sua- 
 rum administratio foelicior, sibi obventura foret. Sed plerunque 
 abeunt spes suae in ventos. Etenim turn mutationes illae, ut 
 plurimum, non cedunt in melius ; turn etiam perturbatores isti 
 amiliae suae molestias varias, et ingratitudinem eorum quos 
 
 1 Prov. x. 1. 2 Prov. x. 7. 8 Prov. xi. 29.
 
 LIBER OCTAVTJS. 755 
 
 alils praeteritis adoptant et deligunt, saspemimero experiuntur : 
 quin et hoc pacto rumores sibi progignunt non optimos, et famas 
 ambiguas ; neque enim male a Cicerone notatum est ; Omnem 
 famam a domesticis manare. 1 Utrunque autem malum per 
 ventorum possessionem eleganter a Salomone exprimitur; nam 
 expectationis frustratio, et rumorum suscitatio, ventis recte 
 comparantur. 
 
 PAEABOLA. 
 10. Melior est finis orationis, quam principium* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Corrigit Parabola errorem frequentissimum, non solum apud 
 eos qui verbis praecipue student, verum etiam apud pruden- 
 tiores. Is est, quod homines de sermonum suorum aditu atque 
 ingressu magis sint solicit! quam de exitu ; et accuratius ex- 
 ordia et praefatiunculas meditentur quam extrema orationum. 
 Debuerant autem nee ilia negligere, et ista, ut longe potiora, 
 praeparata et digesta apud se habere ; revolventes secum, et 
 quantum fieri potest animo prospicientes, quis tandem exitus 
 sermonis sit futurus, et quomodo negotia inde promoveri et 
 maturari possint. Neque hie finis. Quinimo non epilogos 
 tantum et sermonum qui ad ipsa negotia spectant egressus 
 meditari oportet ; verum etiam et illorum sermonum cura sus- 
 cipienda quos sub ipsum discessum commode et urbane injicere 
 possint, licet a negotio prorsus alienos. Equidem cognovi con- 
 siliarios duos, viros certe magnos et prudentes, et quibus onus 
 rerum tune praecipue incumbebat, quibus illud fuit perpetuum 
 et proprium, ut quoties cum principibus suis de negotiis ipso- 
 rum communicarent, colloquia in rebus ad ipsa negotia spectan- 
 tibus nunquam terminarent ; verum semper aut ad jocum, aut 
 aliud aliquid quod audire erat volupe, diverticula quasrerent; 
 atque (ut adagio dicitur) sermones marines aqua fluviatili sub 
 extremum abluerent. 3 Neque hoc illis inter artes postremum 
 erat. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 11. Sicut musccB mortua fcetere faciunt unguentum optimum, sic 
 hominem pretiosum sapientia et gloria, parva stultitia. 4 
 
 1 Q. Cicero, De Pet. Cons. 5. 
 
 2 Eccles. vii. 8. The English version differs considerably from the Vulgate. 
 
 3 Erasm Adag. iii. 3. 26. This proverbial phrase Erasmus found in the Phcedrusot 
 Plato, and in Athenseus. 
 
 4 Eccles. x. 1. 
 
 3 C 2
 
 756 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Iniqua admodum et misera est conditio hominum virtute prae- 
 cellentium (ut optime notat Parabola), quia erroribus eorum, 
 quantumvis levissimis, nullo modo ignoscitur ; verum, quemad- 
 modum in gemma valde nitida minimum quodque granulum aut 
 nubecula oculos ferit et molestia quadam afficit, quod tamen si 
 in gemma vitiosiore repertum foret, vix notam subiret; simi- 
 liter in viris singular! virtute praeditis minima quaeque vitia 
 statim in oculos et sermones hominum incurrunt, et censura 
 perstringuntur graviore ; quae in hominibus mediocribus aut 
 omnino laterent aut veniam facile reperirent. Itaque viro 
 valde prudenti parva stultitia, valde probo parvum peccatum, 
 urbano et moribus eleganti paululum indecori, de fama et 
 existimatione multum detrahit. Adeo ut non pessimum foret 
 viris egregiis, si nonnulla absurda (quod citra vitium fieri 
 possit) actionibus suis immiscerent, ut libertatem quandam sibi 
 retineant, et parvorum defectuum notas confundant. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 12. Homines derisores civitatem perdunt ; sapientes vero 
 avertunt calamitatem. 1 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Minim videri possit quod in descriptione hominum qui ad 
 respublicas labefactandas et perdendas veluti natura comparati 
 et facti sunt, delegerit Salomon characterem, non hominis 
 superbi et insolentis ; non tyrannic! et crudelis ; non temerarii 
 et violenti ; non impii et scelerati ; non injusti et oppressoris ; 
 non seditiosi et turbulenti; non libidinosi et voluptarii; non 
 denique insipientis et inhabilis ; sed derisoris. Verum hoc 
 sapientia ejus regis, qui rerumpublicarum conservationes et 
 eversiones optime norat, dignissimum est. Neque enim similis 
 fere est pestis regnis et rebuspublicis, quam si consiliarii re- 
 gum aut senatores, quique gubernaculis rerum adrnoventur, 
 sint ingenio derisores. Hujusmodi enim homines periculorum 
 magnitudinem, ut fortes videantur senatores, semper extenu- 
 ant ; iisque qui pericula prout par est ponderant, veluti timidis 
 insultant. Consultandi et deliberandi maturas moras, et medi- 
 tatas disceptationes, veluti rem oratoriam et tasdii plenam et ad 
 summas rerum nihil facientem, subsannant. Famam, ad quam 
 principum consilia praacipue sunt cornponenda, ut salivam vulgi 
 
 1 Prov. xxix. 8.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 757 
 
 et rem cito praetervolaturam, contemnunt. Legum vim et 
 authoritatem, ut reticula quaedam quibus res majores minime 
 cohiberi debeant, nil morantur. Consilia et praecautiones in 
 longura prospicientes, ut somnia quasdam et apprehensiones 
 melancholicas, rejiciunt. Viris revera prudentibus et rerum 
 peritis atque magni animi et consilii, dicteriis et facetiis 
 illudunt. Denique fundamenta omnia regiminis politici sinml 
 labefactant. 1 Quod magis attendendum est, quia cuniculis et 
 non impetu aperto haec res agitur, neque coepit esse inter 
 homines (prout meretur) suspecta. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 13. Princeps qui libenter prcebet aures verbis mendacii, omnes 
 servos habet improbos* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Cum princeps talis fuerit, ut susurronibus et sycophantis 
 absque judicio faciles et credulas aures prsebeat, spirat omnino 
 tanquam a parte regis aura pestilens quae omnes servos ejus 
 corrumpit et inficit. Alii metus principis rimantur, eosque 
 narrationibus fictitiis exaggerant ; alii invidiae furias concitant, 
 prassertim in optimos quosque ; alii criminationibus aliorum 
 proprias sordes et conscientias malas eluunt; alii amicorum 
 suorum honoribus et desideriis velificant, competitores eorum 
 calumniando et mordendo; alii fabularum argumenta contra 
 inimicos suos, tanquam in scena, componunt ; et innumera 
 hujusmodi. Atque base illi qui ex servis principis ingenio 
 sunt magis improbo. At illi etiam qui natura probiores sunt 
 et melius morati, postquam in innocentia sua parum praesidii 
 esse senserint (quoniam princeps vera a falsis distinguere non 
 novit), morum suorum probitatem exuunt, et ventos aulicos 
 captant, iisque servilem in modum circumferuntur. Nihil enim 
 (ut ait Tacitus de Claudio) tutum est apud principem cujus 
 animo omnia sunt tanquam indita et jussa. 3 Atque bene Comi- 
 neus; Prcestat servum esse principis cujus suspicionum non est 
 finis, quam ejus cujus credulitatis non est modus.* 
 
 1 These remarks may remind the reader of Beranger's sarcasm : 
 
 " Un favori 
 
 Qui se croyait un grand ministre 
 Quand de uos maux il avait ri." Les Etoiles Filantes. 
 
 2 Prov. xxix. 12. 
 
 8 " Sed nihil arduum videbatur in animo principis cui non judicium non odium 
 erat nisi indita et jussa." Tac. Ann. xii. 3. 
 
 4 See Philip de Comines's Memoirs, book i. c. 16. 
 
 3 c a
 
 758 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 14. Justus miseretur animcB jumenti sui; sed misericordice. im 
 
 piorum crudeles. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Inditus est ab ipsa natura homino Misericordiaa affectus 
 nobilis et excellens ; qui etiam ad animalia bruta extenditur, 
 quae ex ordinatione divina ejus imperio subjiciuntur. Itaque 
 habet ista misericordia analogiam quandam cum ilia principis 
 erga subditos. Quinetiam illud certissimum est, quod quo 
 dignior est anima, eo pluribus compatiatur. Etenim animae 
 augustae et degeneres hujusmodi res ad se nihil pertinere 
 putant ; at ilia quae nobilior est portio universi, ex communione 
 afficitur. Quare videmus sub veteri lege baud pauca fuisse 
 praecepta, non tarn mere caeremonialia, quam misericordia? insti- 
 tutiva ; quale fuit illud de non comedendo carnem cum sanguine 
 ejus ; et similia. Etiam in sectis Essaeorum et Py thagorseorum 
 ab esu animalium omnino abstinebant. Quod etiam hodie 
 obtinet (superstitione inviolata) apud incolas nonnullos imperii 
 Mogollensis. Quin et Turcae (gens licet et stirpe et disciplina 
 crudelis et sanguinaria) brutis tarnen eleemosynas largiri solent; 
 neque animalium vexationes et torturas fieri sustinent. 2 Verum, 
 ne forte haec quae diximus omnis generis misericordiae patro- 
 cinari videantur, salubriter subjungit Salomon ; Impiorum mise- 
 ricordias esse crudeles. Eae sunt, quando hominibus sceleratis 
 e faeinorosis parcitur justitia? gladio feriendis ; crudelior enim 
 hujusmodi misericordia, quam crudelitas ipsa. Nam crudelitas 
 exercetur in singulos, at misericordia ilia universum facinoroso- 
 rum exercitum, concessa impunitate, in homines innocentes 
 armat et immittit. 
 
 PAEABOLA. 
 
 15. Totum spiritum suum profert stultus ; at sapiens reservat 
 
 aliquid in posterum. 3 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Corrigit Parabola praecipue (ut videtur) non hominum vano- 
 rum futilitatem, qui dicenda tacenda facile proferunt ; non 
 parrhesiam illam, qua absque discrimine et judicio in omnes et 
 
 1 Prov. xii. 10. Bacou seems here to translate from the English version. The 
 Vulgate is, " Novit Justus jumentorum suorum animas ; viscera autem impiorum 
 crudella." 
 
 2 See Busbequius, Ep. 3. J. S. * Prov. xxix. 11.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 759 
 
 omnia involant ; non garrulitatem, qua ad nauseam usque aliis 
 obstrepunt ; sed vitium aliud magis occultum ; nempe sennonis 
 regimen minime omnium prudens et politicum; hoc est, cum 
 quis ita sermonem (in colloquiis privatis) instituit, ut quaecunque 
 in animo habeat qua? ad rem pertinere putet, simul, et tanquam 
 uno spiritu et oratione continuata, proferat. Hoc enim pluri- 
 mum negotiis officit. Siquidem primo, oratio intercisa et per 
 partes infusa longe magis penetrat quam continuata ; quoniam 
 in continuata pondus rerum non distincte et sigillatim excipitur, 
 nee per moram nonnullarn insidet, sed ratio rationem antequam 
 penitus insederit expellit. Secundo, nemo tarn potenti et fcelici 
 eloquentia valet, ut primo sermonis impetu eum quern alloqui- 
 tur mutum et elinguem plane reddat; quin et alter aliquid 
 vicissim respondebit, et fortasse objiciet : turn vero accidit, ut 
 quas in refutationem aut replicationem reservanda fuissent, 
 praamissa jam et antea delibata vires suas et gratiam amiserint. 
 Tertio, si quis ea quae dicenda sunt non simul effundat sed per 
 partes eloquatur, aliud primo aliud subinde injiciens, sentiet ex 
 ejus quern alloquitur vultu et responso quomodo singula ilium 
 affecerint, quam in partem accepta fuerint ; ut quae adhuc re- 
 stant dicenda cautius aut supprimat aut excerpat. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 16. Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum 
 ne dimiseris ; quia curatio faciet cessare magma peccata, 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Praecipit Parabola quomodo se quis gerere debeat, cum iram 
 atque indignationem principis incurrerit. Praeceptum duplex : 
 primo, ut non dimittat locum suum ; secundo, ut curationi, tan- 
 quam in morbo aliquo gravi, diligenter et caute attendat. Con- 
 sueverunt enim homines, postquam commotos contra se principes 
 suos senserint, partim ex dedecoris impatientia, partim ne vulnus 
 observando refricent, partim ut tristitiam et humilitatem eorum 
 principes sui perspiciant, se a muneribus et functionibus suis 
 subducere ; quinetiam interdum ipsos magistratus et dignitates 
 quas gerunt in principum manus restituere. At Salomon hanc 
 medendi viam, veluti noxiam, improbat ; idque summa profecto 
 ratione. Primo enim, dedecus ipsum nimis ilia publicat; 
 unde turn inimici atque invidi audaciores fiunt ad laedendum, 
 turn amici timidiores ad subveniendum. Secundo, hoc pacto 
 
 1 Eccles. x. 4. 
 3 C 4
 
 760 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 fit ut principis ira, quae fortasse si non evulgaretur sponte 
 concideret, magis figatur, et veluti principle jam facto hominis 
 deturbandi in pragcipitium illius feratur. Postremo, secessus 
 iste aliquid sapit ex malevolo, et temporibus infenso ; id quod 
 malum indignationis malo suspicionis cumulat. Ad curationem 
 autem pertinent ista : primo, caveat ante omnia ne stupiditate 
 quadam, aut etiam animi elatione, indignationem principis 
 minime sentire aut inde prout debeat affici videatur : hoc est, 
 ut et vultum, non ad tristitiam contumacem, sed ad moestitlam 
 gravem atque modestam componat ; et in rebus quibuscunque 
 agendis se minus solito hilarem et lastum ostendat ; quin et in 
 rem suam erit, amici alicujus opera et sermone apud principem 
 uti, qui quanto doloris sensu in intimis excrucietur tempestive 
 insinuet. Secundo, occasiones omnes vel minimas sedulo evi- 
 tet, per quas aut res ipsa quae indignationi causam praebuit 
 refricetur, aut princeps denuo excandescendi et ipsum quacun- 
 que de causa corarn aliis objurgandi ansam arripiat. Tertio, 
 perquirat etiam diligenter occasiones omnes, in quibus opera 
 ejus principi grata esse possit; ut et voluntatem promptam 
 redimendi culpam praeteritam ostendat, et princeps suus sentiat 
 quali tandem servo, si eum dimittat, privari se contigerit. 
 Quarto, culpam ipsam aut sagaciter in alios transferat, aut 
 animo illam non malo commissam esse insinuet, aut etiam 
 malitiam illorum, qui ipsum regi detulerunt vel rem supra 
 modum aggravarunt, indicet. Denique in omnibus evigilet, et 
 curationi sit intentus. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 17. Primus in causa sua Justus ; turn venit alter a pars, et 
 
 inquirit in eum. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Prima in unaquaque causa informatio, si paulisper animo 
 judicis insederit, altas radices agit, eumque imbuit et occupat ; 
 adeo ut aegre elui possit, nisi aut manifesta aliqua falsitas in 
 materia informationis, aut artificium aliquod in eadem exhibenda 
 deprehendatur. Etenim nuda et simplex defensio, licet justa 
 sit et praeponderans, vix praejudicium informationis primae com- 
 pensare, aut libram justitiae semel propendentem ad aequilibrium 
 reducere per se valet. Itaque et judici tutissimum ut nihil 
 quod ad merita causae spectat praelibetur priusquam utraque 
 
 1 Prov. xviii. 17.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 761 
 
 pars slmul audiantur; et defensorl optimum, si judicem senserit 
 prrcoccupatum, in hoc potissimum (quantum dat causa) in- 
 cumbere, ut versutiam aliquam et dolum malum ab adversa 
 parte in judicis abusum adhibitum detegat. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 18 Qui delicate a pueritia nutrit servum suum, posted sentiet 
 eum contumacem. l 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Servandus est principibus et dominis, ex consilio Salomonis, 
 in gratia et favore suo erga servos, modus. Is triplex est ; 
 primo, ut promoveantur per gradus, non per saltus ; secundo, ut 
 interdum assuefiant repulses ; tertio (quod bene prascipit Mac- 
 ciavellus 2 ) ut habeant prce oculis suis semper aliquid, quo ulterius 
 aspirare possint. Nisi enim base fiant, reportabunt proculdubio 
 principes in fine a servis suis, loco animi grati et officiosi, fasti- 
 dium et contumaciam. Etenim, ex promotione subita, oritur 
 insolentia; ex perpetua desideratorum adeptione, impatientia 
 repulsas ; denique, si vota desint, deerit itidem alacritas et in- 
 dustria. 
 
 PAKABOLA. 
 
 19. Vidisti virum velocem in opere suo; coram regibus stabit, 
 nee erit inter ignobiles* 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Inter virtutes quas reges in delectu servorum potissimum 
 spectant et requirunt, gratissima est pros cunctis celeritas et in 
 negotiis expediendis strenuitas. Viri profunda prudentia, regi- 
 bus suspecti ; utpote qui nimium sint inspectores, et dominos 
 suos inscios et invitos ingenii sui viribus (tanquam machina) 
 circumagere possint. Populares, invisi; utpote qui regum 
 luminibus officiunt, et oculos populi in se convertunt. Animosi, 
 pro turbulentis saepe habentur, et ultra quam par est ausuris. 
 Probi, et vitas integral, tanquam difficiles existimantur, nee ad 
 omnes nutus heriles apti. Denique non est virtus alia, qure 
 non habeat aliquam quasi umbram, qua regum animi offendan- 
 tur; sola velocitas ad mandata nihil habet quod non placeat. 
 
 1 Prov. xxix. 21. 
 
 2 We find Macchiavelli's opinion, as to what the conduct of princes towards their 
 ministers ought to be, in the twenty -second chapter of 11 Principe. It hardly appears 
 to justify the reference here made to him ; but I have not met with any passage in 
 his writings which contains precisely the remark in the text. 
 
 3 Prov. xxii. 29.
 
 762 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Insuper, motus animorum regiorura celeres sunt, et morae minus 
 patientes. Putant enim se quidvis efficere posse ; illud tantum 
 deesse, ut cito fiat. Itaque ante omnia iis grata est celeritas. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 20. Vidi cunctos viventes, qui ambulant sub sole, cum adole- 
 
 scente secundo, qui consurgit pro eo. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Notat Parabola vanitatem hominum, qui se agglomerare 
 solent ad successores designates principum. Radix autem 
 hujus rei est insania ilia, hominum animis penitus a natura 
 insita; nimirum, ut Spes suas minium adament. Vix enim 
 reperitur, qui non delectatur magis iis qua? sperat, quam iis 
 quse fruitur. Quinetiam Novitas humanae natura? grata est, et 
 avide expetitur. In successore autem principis ista duo con- 
 currunt ; Spes, et Novitas. Innuit autem Parabola idem quod 
 olim dictum erat, primo a Pompeio ad Syllam, postea a Tiberio 
 de Macrone ; Plures adorare solem orientem, quam occidentem. 2 
 Neque tamen imperantes multum hac re commoventur aut earn 
 magni faciunt, sicut nee Sylla nee Tiberius fecit ; sed rident 
 potius hominum levitatem, nee pugnant cum somniis : Est 
 autem, ut aiebat ille, Spes vigilantis insomnium. 3 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 21. Erat civitas parva, et pauci in ea viri. Venit contra earn 
 rex magnus, et vadavit earn, instruxitque munitiones per gt/rum, 
 et perfecta est obsidio ; inventusque est in ea vir pauper et sa- 
 piens, et liberavit earn per sapientiam suam ; et nullus deinceps 
 recordatus est hominis illius pauperise 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Describit Parabola ingenium hominum pravum et male- 
 volum. li in rebus duris et angustis confugiunt fere ad viros 
 prudentes et strenuos, licet antea contemptui habitos. Quam- 
 primum autem tempestas transient, ingrati demum erga con- 
 servatores suos reperiuntur. Macciavellus vero, non sine 
 causa, instituit quasstionem; Uter ingratior esset erga bene 
 meritos, princeps aut populus ? * Sed interim utrunque ingra- 
 
 1 Eccles. iv. 1 5. The English version differs considerably from the Vulgate. 
 
 2 Plut. in Pomp. c. 22., and Tacitus, Annal. vi. 46. 
 
 3 " Otia animorum et spes inaneset velut somnia quaedam vigilantium." Quinlil. 
 vi. 2. 30. The apophthegm in the text is ascribed to Plato by ^Elian, Far. Hist. xiii. 
 28. M. Bouillet refers to Ecclesiasticvs, xiii. 13. 
 
 4 Eccles. ix. 14, 15. s Macch. Discorsi, i. 29.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 763 
 
 titudinis arguit. Attamen hoc non solum ex ingratitudine 
 principis aut populi oritur, sed accedit plerunque his invidia 
 procerum, qui secreto indolent eventui, licet foelici et prospero, 
 quia ab ipsis profectus non sit; itaque et meritum hominis 
 extenuant et ipsum deprimunt. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 22. Iter pigrorum quasi sepes spinarum. 1 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Elegantissime ostendit Parabola Pigritiam in fine laboriosam 
 ease. Diligentia enim et sedula praaparatio id praestant, ut pes 
 in aliquod offendiculum non impingat, sed ut complanetur via 
 antequam ineatur. At qui piger est et omnia in extremum 
 momentum executionis differt, necesse est ut perpetuo et singulis 
 passibus quasi per rubos et sentes incedat, qui eum subinde de- 
 tineant et impediant. Idem observari possit etiam in familia 
 regenda ; in qua si adhibeatur cura et providentia, omnia placide 
 et veluti sponte procedunt, absque strepitu et tumultu ; sin haec 
 desint, ubi majoraliquis motus intervenerit, omnia simul agenda 
 turmatim occurrunt ; tumultuantur servi ; sedes personant. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 23. Qui cognoscit in judicio faciem, non bene facit; iste, et pro 
 
 buccella panis, deseret veritatem,' 2 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Prudentissime notat Parabola, in judice magis perniciosam 
 esse facilitatem morum quam corruptelam munerum. Munera 
 enim haudquaquam ab omnibus deferuntur; at vix ulla est 
 causa, in qua non inveniatur aliquid quod flectat judicis ani- 
 mum, si personas respiciat. Alius enim respicietur, ut popu- 
 laris ; alius, ut maledicus; alius, ut dives; alius, ut gratus; 
 alius, ut ab amico commendatus ; denique omnia plena sunt ini- 
 quitatis, ubi dominatur respectus personarum ; et levi omnino 
 de causa, veluti pro buccella panis, judicium pervertetur. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 24. Vir pauper calumnians pauperes similis est imbri vehementi 
 
 in quo paratur fames. 3 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Parabola ista antiquitus expressa et depicta fuit sub fabula 
 hirudinis utriusque ; nimirum, plenae et vacuae. Pauperis 
 
 1 Prov. xv. 19. - Prov. xxviii. 21. 3 Prov. xxviii. 3.
 
 764 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 enim et famelici oppressio longe gravior est quam oppressio 
 per divitem et repletum, quippe qua? omnes exactionum technas 
 et omnes nummorum angulos perquirit. Solebat hoc ipsum 
 etiam spongiis assimilari ; qua? aridae fortiter sugunt, madidas 
 non item. Monitum autem utile continet, turn erga principes, 
 ne praefecturas provinciarum aut magi stratus viris indigentibus 
 et obaeratis committant ; turn erga populos, ne reges suos cum 
 nimia egestate conflictari permittant. 
 
 PAEABOLA. 
 
 25. Fans turbatus pede, et vena corrupta, est Justus cadens 
 
 cor am impio. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Praecipit Parabola, rebuspublicis ante omnia cavendum esse 
 de iniquo et infami judicio, in causa aliqua celebri et gravi : 
 praesertim ubi non absolvitur noxius, sed condemnatur insons. 
 Etenim injuriae inter privates grassantes turbant quidem et 
 polluunt latices justitiae, sed tanquam in rivulis ; verum judi- 
 cia iniqua, qualia diximus, a quibus exempla petuntur, fontes 
 ipsos justitiae inficiunt et inquinant. Postquam enim tribunal 
 cesserit in partes injustitiae, status rerum vertitur tanquam in 
 latrocinium publicum ; fitque plane, ut homo homini sit lupus. 2 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 26. Noli esse amicus homini iracundo, nee ambulato cum 
 
 homine furioso. 3 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Quanto religiosius amicitiae jura inter bonos servanda et 
 colenda sunt, tanto magis cavendum est jam usque a principio 
 de prudente amicorum delectu. Atque amicorum natura et 
 mores, quantum ad nos ipsos spectant, omnino ferendi sunt ; 
 cum vero necessitatem nobis imponunt, qualem erga alios per- 
 sonam induamus et geramus, dura admodum et iniqua amicitias 
 conditio est. Itaque interest inprimis, ut praecipit Salomon, ad 
 vitas pacem et praesidia, ne res nostras cum hominibus iracundis, 
 et qui facile lites et jurgia provocant aut suscipiunt, commi- 
 sceamus. Istud enim genus amicorum perpetuo nos conten- 
 tionibus et factionibus implicabit ; ut aut amicitiam abrumpere, 
 aut incolumitati propriae deesse cogamur. 
 
 1 Prov. xxv. 26. 2 See Erasm. Adag. i. 1. 70. 3 Prov. xxii. 24.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 765 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 27. Qui celat delictum, quant amicitiam; sed qui altero 
 
 sermone repctit, separat feeder atos. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Duplex concordiam tractandi et animos reconciliandi via ; 
 altera, quae incipit ab ainnestia ; altera quae a repetitione inju- 
 riarum, subjungendo apologias et excusationes. Equidem me- 
 mini sententiam viri admodum prudentis et politici ; Qui pacem 
 tractat, non repetitis conditionibus dissidii, is magis animos dulce- 
 dine concordice fallit quam aquitate componit. Verum Salomon, 
 illo scilicet prudentior, in contraria opinione est ; et amnestiam 
 probat, repetitionem prohibet. Etenim in repetitione haec 
 insunt mala ; turn quod ea sit veluti unguis in ulcere; turn quod 
 periculum impendeat a nova altercatione (siquidem de injuri- 
 aruni rationibus inter partes nunquam conveniet) ; turn denique 
 quod dcducat rem ad apologias ; at utraque pars malit videri 
 potius offensam remisisse, quam admisisse excusationenu 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 28. In omni opere bono erit abundantia ; ubi autem verba sunt 
 
 plurima, ibi frequenter egestas? 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Separat Salomon hac Parabola fructum laboris linguae et 
 laboris manuum ; quasi ex altero proveniat egestas, ex altero 
 abundantia. Etenim fit fere perpetuo ut qui multa effutiant, 
 jactent multa, multa promittant, egeni sint, nee emolumentum 
 capiant ex illis rebus de quibus loquuntur. Quinetiam, ut 
 plurimum, industrii minime sunt aut impigri ad opera, sed tan- 
 tummodo sermonibus se, tanquam vento, pascunt et satiant. 
 Sane, ut poeta loquitur, Qui silet est firmus? Is qui conscius 
 est se in opere proficere, sibi plaudit et tacet ; qui vero e contra 
 conscius est auras se inanes captare, multa et mira apud alios 
 praedicat. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 29. Melior est correptio manifesto,, quam amor occultus. 4 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Reprehendit Parabola mollitiem amicorum, qui amicitiae 
 privilegio non utuntur in admonendo libere et audacter amicos, 
 
 1 Prov. xvii. 9. 2 Prov. xiv. 23. 
 
 3 Ovid, Remed. Amor. 697. 4 Trov. xxvii. 5.
 
 766 DE ADGMENTIS SCIEXTIARUM. 
 
 tarn de erroribus quam de periculis suis. Quid enim faciam 
 (solet hujusraodi mollis amicus dicere), aut quo me veriam ? 
 Amo ilium quantum quis maxime, meque si quid UK adversi con- 
 tigerit ipsius loco libenter substituerim ; sed novi ingenium ejus ; si 
 libere cum eo egero, onimum illivs qffendam, saltern contristabo ; 
 neque tamen prqficiam ; atque citius eum ab amicitia mea alienabo, 
 quam ab Us qua in animo Jixa habet abducam. Hujusmodi 
 amicum, tanquam enervem et inutilem, redarguit Salomon, 
 atque plus utilitatis ab inimico manifesto quam ab ejus generis 
 amico sumi posse pronunciat. Siquidem ea fortasse audire ei 
 contigerit ab inimico per contumeliam, quas amicus mussat prse 
 niniia indulo;entia. 
 
 o 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 30. Prudens advertit ad gressus suos ; stultus divertit ad dolos. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Duae sunt prudentias species ; altera vera et sana, altera 
 degener et falsa, quam Salomon stultifies nomine appellare non 
 dubitat. Qui priori se dederit, viis et vestigiis propriis cavet ; 
 periculis prospiciens, meditans remedia, proborum opera utens, 
 contra improbos seipsum muniens ; cautus incoeptu, receptu 
 non imparatus ; in occasiones attentus, contra impedimenta 
 strenuus ; cum innumeris aliis, quae ad sui ipsius actiones et 
 gressus regendos spectant. At altera species tota est consuta 
 ex fallaciis et astutiis, spemque ponit omnino in aliis circum- 
 veniendis iisdemque ad libitum effingendis. Hanc merito 
 rejicit Parabola, non tantum ut improbam, sed etiam ut stul- 
 tam. Primo enim, minime est ex iis rebus quae in nostra 
 sunt potestate, nee etiam aliqua constant! regula nititur ; sed 
 nova quotidie comminiscenda sunt stratagemata, prioribus 
 fatiscentibus et obsoletis. Secundo, qui vafri et subdoli ho- 
 minis famam et opinionem semel incurrerit, prascipuo se ad res 
 gerendas instrumento prorsus privavit ; hoc est, fide : itaque 
 omnia parum votis suis consentientia experietur. Postremo, 
 artes istae, utcunque pulchrae videantur et complaceant, attamen 
 soepius frustrantur : quod bene notavit Tacitus ; Consilia callida 
 et audacia expectatione Iceta, tractatu dura, eventu tristia. 2 
 
 1 Prov. xiv. 8. and 15 ? M. Bouillet refers to Prov. xv. 21. 
 
 2 Consilia callida et audacia prima specie Iseta, tractatu dura, eventu tristia essc." 
 These words, however, do not occur in Tacitus, but in the thirty-fifth book of Livy, 
 c. 32. Bacon's recollection was probably misled by the epigrammatic character of 
 the expression.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 767 
 
 PAEABOLA. 
 
 31. Noli csse Justus nimium, nee sapientior qitam oportet ; cur 
 abripiare subito ? l 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Sunt tempora (ut inquit Tacitus) in quibus magnis virtutibus 
 ccrtissimum est exitium. 3 Atque hoc viris virtute et justitia 
 egregiis aliquando subito, aliquando diu ante praevisum, con- 
 tingit. Quod si adjungatur etiam prudentia, hoc est, ut cauti 
 sint et ad propriam incolumitatem evigilent, turn hoc lucrantur 
 ut ruina eorum subito obveniat, ex occultis omnino et obscuris 
 consiliis ; quibus et evitetur invidia, et pernicies ipsos impa- 
 ratos adioratur. Quod vero ad illud nimium quod in Parabola 
 ponitur (quandoquidem non Periandri alicujus, sed Salomonis 
 verba sunt ista, qui mala in hominum vita saspius notat, nun- 
 quam prsecipit) intelligendum est non de virtute ipsa (in qua 
 nimium non est) sed de vana ejus atque invidiosa affectatione 
 et ostentatione. Simile quiddam innuit Tacitus de Lepido ; 
 miraculi loco ponens, quod nunquam servilis alicujus sententia? 
 author fuisset, et tamen tarn saevis temporibus incolumis man- 
 sisset; Subit (inquit) cogitatio, utrum hcec fato regantur, an 
 ctiam sit in nostra potestate cursum quendam tenere inter deforme 
 obsequium et abruptam contumaciam medium, periculo simul et 
 indignitate vacuum ? 3 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 32. Da sapienti occasionem, et addetur ei sapiential 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Distinguit Parabola inter sapientiam illam quoa in verum 
 habitum increverit et maturuerit, et illam quas natat tantum in 
 cerebro et conceptu, aut sermone jactatur, sed radices altas non 
 egerit. Siquidem prior, oblata occasione in qua exerceatur, 
 illico excitatur, accingitur, dilatatur, adeo ut seipsa major 
 videatur; posterior vero, quse ante occasionem alacris erat, 
 occasione data fit attonita et confusa ; ut etiam ipsi qui ea se 
 przeditum arbitrabatur in dubium vocetur, annon praaceptiones 
 de ea fuerint insomnia mera et speculationes inanes ? 
 
 1 Eccles. vii. 16. 
 
 2 " Ob virtutes certissimum exitium." Tac. Hist. i. 2. 
 
 3 " Unde dubitare cogor, fato et sorte nascendi, ut ccetera, ita principum inclinatio in 
 hos, offensioin illos : an sit aliquid in nostris consiliis, liceatque inter abruptam contu- 
 maciam et deforme obsequium pergere iter ambitione et periculis vacuum." Tac. 
 Ann. iv. 20. 
 
 4 Prov. ix. 9. 5 Prov. xxvii. 14.
 
 768 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 33. Qui laudat amicum voce alta, surgendo mane, erit illi luco 
 
 maledictionis. 1 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Laudes moderatae, et tempestivae, et per occasionem prolataa, 
 famas hominum atque fortunae plurimum conferunt ; at immo- 
 derate, et streperae, et importune effusae, nihil prosunt: imo 
 potius, ex sententia Parabolas, impense nocent. Primo enim 
 manifesto se produnt, aut ex nimia benevolentia oriundas, aut 
 ex composite afFectatas ; quo collaudatum potius falsis praeconiis 
 demereantur quam veris attributis ornent. Secundo, laudes 
 parcae et modestae invitant fere praesentes, ut ipsis etiam aliquid 
 adjiciant; profusa? contra et immodicje, ut aliquid demant et 
 detrahant. Tertio (quod caput rei est) conflatur illi invidia, 
 qui nimium laudatur; cum laudes omnes nimisa videantur 
 spectare ad contumeliam aliorum qui non minus merentur. 
 
 PARABOLA. 
 
 34. Quomodo in aquis resplendent fades, sic corda hominum 
 
 manifesta sunt prudentibus. z 
 
 EXPLICATIO. 
 
 Distinguit Parabola inter mentes prudentium et caeterorum 
 hominum; illas aquis aut speculis comparans, quae species et 
 imagines rerum recipiunt; cum alterae similes sint terras, aut 
 lapidi impolite, in quibus nihil reflectitur. Atque eo magis 
 apte comparator animus hominis prudentis ad speculum, quia 
 in speculo imago propria spectari possit una cum imaginibus 
 aliorum ; id quod oculis ipsis sine speculo non conceditur. Quod 
 si animus prudentis adeo capax sit, ut innumera ingenia et 
 mores observare et internoscere possit, superest ut detur opera 
 quo reddatur non minus varius applicatione quam reprassen- 
 tatione ; 
 
 Qui sapit, iuuumeris moribus aptus erit. 3 
 
 Atque his Salomonis Parabolis diutius fortasse immorati 
 sumus, quam pro modo exempli ; dignitate et rei ipsius et au- 
 thoris longius provecti. 
 
 Neque tantum in usu erat apud Hebrseos, sed alibi etiam 
 priscorum sapientibus frequentissimum ; ut si cujuspiam ob- 
 servatio in aliquid incidisset quod vitae communi conducibile 
 
 1 Prov. xxvii. 14. - Prov. xxvii. 19. 3 Ovid, De Arte Amand. i. 760.
 
 LIBER OCTAVOS. 769 
 
 fuisset, id redigeret et contraheret in brevem aliquam Senten- 
 tiam, vel Parabolam, vel etiam Fabulam. Verum, quod ad 
 Fabulas (sicut alias dictum est), illae exemplorum vicarii et 
 supplementa olim extiterunt : nunc, quando tempera histo- 
 riarum copia abundent, ad animatum scopum rectius et alacrius 
 collimatur. At modus scribendi qui optime convenit argu- 
 mento tarn vario et multiplici (quale est tractatus de Negotiis 
 et Occasionibus Sparsis) aptissimus ille esset, quern delegit 
 Macciavellus ad tractandas res politicas T ; nimirum per obser- 
 vationes, sive Discursus (ut loquuntur), super Historiam et 
 Exempla. Nam scientia quae recenter et quasi in conspectu 
 nostro ex particularibus elicitur, viam optime novit particularia 
 denuo repetendi; atque certe ad practicam longe conducit 
 magis, cum discursus sive disceptatio sub exemplo militat, 
 quam cum exemplum disceptationi subjungitur. Neque enim 
 hie ordo tantum spectatur, sed res ipsa. Cum enim exemplum 
 statuitur tanquam disceptationis basis, universe cum circum- 
 stantiarum apparatu proponi solet; quae discursum interdum 
 corrigant, interdum suppleant; unde fit loco exemplaris ad 
 imitationem et practicam. Ubi e contra, exempla in gratiam 
 disceptationis adducta succincte et nude citantur, et tanquam 
 mancipia nutus tantum disceptationis observant. 
 
 Hoc vero discriminis operas pretium fuerit observasse ; quod 
 sicut Historiae Temporum optimam praebent materiam ad Dis- 
 cursus super Politica, quales sunt illi Macciavelli, ita Historiae 
 Vitarum optime adhibentur ad Documenta de Negotiis ; quo- 
 niam omnem occasionum et negotiorum, tarn grandium quam 
 leviorum, varietatem complectuntur. Imo, reperire est basin 
 ad Praeceptiones de Negotiis, utraque ilia Historia adhuc com- 
 modiorem. Ea est, ut discursus fiant super Epistolas, sed 
 prudentiores et magis serias ; quales sunt illae Ciceronis ad 
 Atticum, et aliae. Siquidem Epistolae magis in proximo et ad 
 vivum negotia solent repraesentare, quam vel Annales vel Vitae. 
 Quare jam et de materia et de forma portionis primae Doctrinae 
 de Negotiis, quae tractat Occasiones Sparsas, diximus ; eamque 
 inter Desiderata numeramus. 
 
 Est et alia portio ejusdem Doctrinae, quae tantum differt ab 
 ilia altera de qua diximus, quantum sapere et sibi sapere. Al- 
 tera enim movere videtur tanquam a centre ad circumferen- 
 
 1 Vide sup., p. 513. 
 VOL. I. 3D
 
 770 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 tiam ; altera, tanquam a circumferentia ad centrum. Est enim 
 prudentia quaedam consilii aliis impertiendi; est vero et alia 
 suis rebus prospiciendi ; atque hae nonnunquam conjunguntur, 
 ssepius separantur. Multi siquidem in suis ipsorum rationibus 
 instituendis prudentissimi sunt, qui tamen in rebuspublicis ad- 
 ministrandis aut etiam consiliis dandis nihil valent; formicae 
 similes, quae creatura sapiens est ad sese tuendum, sed horto 
 plane noxia. Haec virtus sibi sapiendi Romanis ipsis, licet pa- 
 triae optimis curatoribus, non ignota fait : unde Comicus, Nam 
 pol sapiens fingit fortunam sibi. 1 Quin et in adagium apud 
 ipsos versum est, Faber quisque fortuna proprice 2 : et Livius 
 hanc ipsam Catoni Majori tribuit ; In hoc viro tanta vis animi 
 et ingenii inerat, ut quocunque loco natus esset sibi ipse fortunam 
 facturus videretur. 3 
 
 Hoc genus Prudentiae, si quis ipsum profiteatur et palam 
 venditet, semper habitum est non modo non politicum, verum 
 etiam infaustum quiddam et inauspicatum : sicut in Timotheo 
 Atheniensi observatum est ; qui, postquam praeclara multa 
 facinora in decus et commodum civitatis suae edidisset, atque 
 administrationis suae (sicut turn moris erat) populo rationem 
 redderet, singula conclusit hac clausula ; Atque in hac re For- 
 tunes paries fuerunt nullce. 4 Contigit vero, ut post id temporis 
 nunquam ei quicquam foeliciter cesserit. Sane nimis elatum 
 hoc et altum sapiens, eodem spectans quo Ezechielis illud de 
 Pharaone ; Dicis, Fluvius est meus, et ego fed memetipsum 5 ; aut 
 illud Habacuc prophetae ; Exultant et sacrificant reti suo 6 : aut 
 illud etiam poetae, de contemptore Deum Mezentio ; 
 
 Dextra mihi Deus, et telum quod missile libro, 
 Nunc adsint." 7 
 
 Denique Julius Caesar nunquam (quod memini) impotentiam 
 cogitationum suarum arcanarum prodidit, nisi simili dicto. 
 Cum enim aruspex ei referret exta reperta fuisse non bona, 
 admurmuravit submisse ; Erunt l&tiora cum volo 8 : quod etiam 
 dictum mortis suae infortunium non diu praecessit. Verum 
 excessus iste fiduciae (ut diximus) res, ut profana, ita semper 
 infoelix. Quapropter viris magnis et vere sapientibus visum, 
 
 " Nam sapiens quidem pol ipse fingit fortunam sibi." 
 
 PLAUT. Trinummus, ii. 2. 84. 
 
 Appius Claudius Is said to have been the author of this commonly quoted sentence. 
 1 Livy, xxxix. 40. * Plut in Sylla, c. 6. 5 Ezek. xxix. 3. 
 
 6 Habak. i. 16. ' Virg. ^En. x. 773. 8 Sueton. in Julio, c. 77.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 771 
 
 successus quoslibet fcelicitati suae, non virtuti aut industries, 
 tribuere : nam et Sylla Fcelicem se, non Magnum cognominavit 1 ; 
 et Caesar (melius quam supra) ad navis gubernatorem : Casarem 
 vehis, et Fortunam ejus.* 
 
 Attamen istae sententiae; Faber quisque fortunes sues; Sapiens 
 dominabitur astris 3 ; Invia virtuti nulla est via * ; ac similes ; si 
 intelligantur et adhibeantur potius pro calcaribus ad industriam 
 quam pro stapedibus ad insolentiam, magisque ut progignant in 
 hominibus decretorum constantiam et robur quam arrogantiam 
 et jactantiam, tanquam sanae et salutares merito habitaa sunt, ac 
 proculdubio in pectoribus hominum magnanimorum sedem non- 
 nullam occuparunt ; eousque, ut cogitationes tales quandoque 
 aegre dissimulent. Videmus enim Augustum Cassarem (qui, 
 cum avunculo suo comparatus, potius ab illo diversus quam 
 inferior fuit, sed vir certe paulo moderatior) sub finem vita3 
 petiisse ab amicis qui lectum ejus circumstabant, ut postquam 
 expirasset sibi plauderent ; quasi conscius sibi fuisset, Mimum 
 vita a se commode transactum. 6 Haac quoque doctrinae portio 
 inter Desiderata numeranda est ; non quin in praxi, etiam nimio 
 plus quam oportet, usurpata sit et frequentata; verum quod 
 libri de ilia silent. Quamobrem ex more nostro, sicut in 
 priore, nonnulla ejus capita recensebimus ; eamque Fair um 
 Fortunes, sive (ut diximus) Doctrinam de Ambitu Vitce, nomi- 
 nabimus. 
 
 Ac primo quidem intuitu novum quoddam et insolitum 
 argumentum tractare videbor, docendo homines quomodo For- 
 tunae suae Fabri fieri possint: doctrinam certe, cui quivis 
 libenter se discipulum addixerit, donee difficultatem ejusdem 
 habuerit perspectam. Non enim leviora sunt aut pauciora aut 
 minus ardua quae ad Fortunam comparandam requiruntur, quam 
 quae ad Virtutem ; resque est aeque difficilis ac severa, fieri vere 
 Politicum ac vere Moralem. At hujus Doctrinaa pertractatio 
 plurimum ad literarum turn decus turn pondus pertinet. Inter- 
 est enim inprimis honoris literarum, ut homines isti pragmatici 
 sciant eruditionem haudquaquam aviculae qualis est alauda 
 
 1 Vide Plut. in Sylla, c. 6. 2 Plut. De Roman. Fortun. p. 319. 
 
 3 This sentence is ascribed to Ptolemy by Cognatus. 
 
 4 Ovid, Met. xiv. 113. 
 
 5 Amicos admissos percunctatus Ecquid videretur mimum vita commode trans- 
 egisse, adjecit et clausulam : 
 
 &6T Kp6-rv t Kal -rravres u/tets juerot xPs Krvif/jffart." 
 Sueton. in Avg. c. 99 
 
 3 D 2
 
 772 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 similem esse, quas in sublime ferri et cantillando se oblectare 
 soleat, at nihil aliud ; quinimo ex accipitris potius genere esse, 
 qui et in alto volare, ac subinde, cum visum fuerit, descendere 
 et praedam rapere novit. Deinde et ad perfectionem literarum 
 hoc ipsum spectat, quia legitima? inquisitionis vera norma est, 
 ut nihil inveniatur in globo materice, quod non habeat parallelum 
 in globo crystalline sive intellectu. Hoc est, ut nihil veniat in 
 Practicam, cujus non sit etiam Doctrina aliqua et Theoria. 
 Neque tamen literae hanc ipsam Fortunae Architecturam aliter 
 admirantur aut aestimant, quam ut opus quoddam inferioris 
 generis. Nemini enim Fortuna Propria, pro dono Esse ! sui a 
 Deo concesso, ullo modo digna retributio esse possit. Quin et 
 non raro fit, ut viri virtutibus egregii fortunas suae sponte 
 renuncient, ut rebus sublimioribus vacent. Digna tamen est 
 Fortuna, quatenus virtutis ac bene merendi organum est, sua 
 quoque speculatione et doctrina. 
 
 Ad hanc Doctrinam pertinent praecepta, nonnulla Summaria, 
 nonnulla Sparsa et Varia. Praecepta Summaria versantur circa 
 veram Notitiam et Aliorum et Sui. Primum igitur praeceptum 
 (in quo cardo Notitiae Aliorum vertitur) illud constituatur, ut 
 procuremus nobis quantum fieri possit fenestram illam, quam 
 olim requisivit Momus. 2 Hie, cum in humani cordis fabrica tot 
 angulos et recessus conspicatus esset, id reprehendit quod de- 
 fuisset fenestra, per quam in obscuros illos et tortuosos anfractus 
 inspicere quis possit. Hanc autem fenestram obtinebimus, si 
 omni sedulitate nobis informationem comparemus et procure- 
 mus de personis, quibuscum intercedunt negotia, particularibus; 
 earumque ingeniis, cupiditatibus, finibus, moribus, auxiliis et 
 adminiculis quibus praecipue suffulciuntur et valent; et rursus 
 defectibus et imbecillitatibus, quaque ex parte maxime pate- 
 ant et obnoxii sint; amicis, factionibus, patronis, clientelis; 
 rursusque inimicis, invidis, competitoribus ; etiam temporibus 
 et aditibus 
 
 (Sola viri molles aditus et tempora noris) ; 3 
 denique institutis et normis quas sibi praescripserunt, et simili- 
 
 1 "Esse" is here used as an indeclinable substantive, a construction common among 
 the schoolmen. " Posse " and " Velle " are often used in the same way. 
 
 2 See Lucian. in Hermotim. 20. But as Bacon, in the Essay on Building, alludes 
 to a part of the story which Lucian does not tell, it is probable that his knowledge of 
 it was derived from some other source. The most obvious one is the JEsopic fable ; 
 but there Momus's wish is not quite the same as in the text. In the fable he com- 
 plains not that there are no shutters, Supt'Ses, in the breast, but that oZ ipptvfs are 
 inside it, and not on the surface. 
 
 3 Virg. .Sin. iv. 423.
 
 LIBER OCTAVOS. 773 
 
 bus. Quinetiam non solum informatio capienda est de Personis, 
 sed insuper de Actionibus particularibus quae de tempore in 
 tempus in motu sunt et tanquam sub incude ; quomodo regantur 
 et succedant, quorum studiis foveantur, a quibus oppugnentur, 
 cujusque sint ponderis et momenti, et quid secum trahant, et 
 hujusmodi. Etenim Actiones praesentes nosse, et in se plurimum 
 prodest, et illud insuper habet quod absque hoc etiam persona- 
 rum notitia valde futura sit fallax et erronea. Mutantur enim 
 homines simul cum actionibus ; et alii sunt, dum actionibus ipsis 
 itnplicentur et obsideantur, alii postquam redierint ad ingenium. 
 Atque has de rebus particularibus informationes, qua? tarn ad 
 Personas quam ad Actiones spectant, sunt tanquam proposi- 
 tiones minores in omni active syllogismo. Nulla enim observa- 
 tionum aut axiomatum (unde conficiuntur majores propositiones 
 politico?) veritas. aut excellentia ad conclusionis firmamentum 
 sufficere possit, si in minore propositione fuerit erratum. Quod 
 vero hujusmodi notitia comparari possit, fidejussor nobis est 
 Salomon, qui ait; Consilium in corde viri, tanquam aqua pro- 
 funda; sed vir prudens exhauriet illud. 1 Quamvis autem ipsa 
 notitia non cadat sub praeceptum, quoniam individuorum est, 
 attamen mandata de eadem elicienda utiliter dari possunt. 
 
 Notitia hominum sex modis elici et hauriri potest ; per Vul- 
 tus et Ora ipsorum ; per Verba ; per Facta ; per Ingenia sua ; 
 per Fines suos ; denique per Relationes Aliorum. Quantum 
 ad Vultus attinet, minime nos moveat vetus adagium, Fronti 
 nulla fides? Licet enim hoc ipsum non perperam dictum sit 
 de Vultus et Gestus compositione externa et generali, attamen 
 subsunt subtiliores quidam motus et labores Oculorum, Oris, 
 Vultus, et Gestus; ex quibus reseratur et patet (ut elegan- 
 ter ait Q. Cicero) veluti janua qucedam animi. 3 Quis Tiberio 
 Caesare occultior ? At Tacitus, notans characterem et modum 
 loquendi diversum quo usus est Tiberius in laudando apud 
 senatum res a Germanico et a Druso gestas, de laudibus Ger- 
 manici sic ; Magis in speciem adornatis verbis, quam ut penitus 
 sentire videretur* ; de laudibus Drusi sic ; Paucioribus, sed inten- 
 tior, et fida oratione. 5 Iterum Tacitus, eundem Tiberium alias 
 
 1 Prov. xx. 5. 2 Juven. ii. 8. 8 De Pet. Cons. 11. 
 
 4 In the Advancement of Learning, this passage stands thus : " None more close than 
 Tiberius, and yet Tacitus saith of Gallus, Etenim vultu offensionem conjecluverat. So 
 again, noting," &c. The passage referred to is in Annals, i. 12., and was probably 
 omitted by an oversight, for it is quite in point. J. S. 
 
 5 Tac. Ann. i. 52. [" Rettulit tamen ad senatum de rebus gestis, multaque d 
 
 3D 3
 
 774 DE AUGMENT1S SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 etiam ut nonnihil pellucidum notans ; In aliis (inquit) erai 
 veluti eluctantium verborum ; solutius vero loquebatur, quando 
 subveniret. 1 Sane difficile reperiatur simulationis artifex aliquis 
 tarn peritus et egregius, aut vultus aliquis ita coactus, et, ut 
 ille loquitur, jussus, qui a sermone artificioso et simulatorio 
 possit istas notas sejungere, quin aut sermo sit solito solutior, 
 aut comptior, aut magis vagus et oberrans, aut magis aridus et 
 quasi eluctans. 
 
 Ad Verba Hominum quod attinet ; sunt quid em ilia (ut de 
 urinis loquuntur medici) meretricia. Sed isti meretricii fuci 
 optime deprehenduntur duobus modis ; cum scilicet proferuntur 
 verba aut ex improvise, aut in perturbatione. Sic Tiberius, cum 
 ex Agrippinae verbis aculeatis subito commotus esset et nonnihil 
 abreptus, extra innatae simulationis terminos pedem protulit ; 
 Audita hcec (inquit Tacitus) raram occulti pectoris vocem eli- 
 cuere ; correptamque Graco versu admonuit, ideo Icedi quid non 
 regnant* Quare poe'ta perturbationes hujusmodi non inscite 
 appellat Torturas, quod ab iis secreta sua prodere homines com- 
 pellantur : 
 
 Vino tortus et ira. 3 
 
 Ipsa sane testatur experientia paucos admodum reperiri, qui 
 erga arcana sua tarn fidi sint, animumque gerant adeo obfirma- 
 tum, quin interdum ex iracundia ; interdum ex jactantia ; inter- 
 dum ex intima erga amicum benevolentia ; interdum ex animi 
 imbecillitate, qui se mole cogitationum onerari amplius non 
 sustineat ; interdum denique ex alio quopiam afFectu ; intimas 
 animi cogitationes revelent et communicent. Ac ante omnia 
 sinus animi excutit, si simulatio simulationem impulerit ; juxta 
 adagium illud Hispanorum ; Die mendacium, et erues veritatem. 4 
 Quin et Factis ipsis, licet humani anirai pignora sint certis- 
 sima, non prorsus tamen fidendum ; nisi diligenter atque attente 
 pensitatis prius illorum et magnitudine et proprietate. Illud 
 enim verissimum ; Fraus sibi in parvis fidem prastruit, ut ma- 
 
 virtute ejus memoravit, magis in speciem verbis adornata quam ut penitus sentire cre- 
 deretur. Paucioribus Drusum et finem Illyrici motus laudavit, sed intentior et fida 
 oratione."] 
 
 1 ... Compositus alias et velut eluctantium verborum, solutius promptiusque loque- 
 batur quotiens subveniret." Tac. Ann. iv. 31. 
 
 2 Tac. Ann. iv. 52. In modern editions of Tacitus the last clause stands thus : 
 " Non ideo laedi quia non regnaret." 
 
 3 Hor. Ep. i. 18. 38. 
 
 4 In the Advancement of Learning this proverb is given in Spanish : " Di mentira 
 y sacaras verdad."
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 775 
 
 jore emolumento f allot. l Italus vero seipsum in ipso stare lapide 
 putat ubi prceco prcedicat, si melius solito tractetur absque causa 
 manifesta. 2 Etenim officia ista minora homines reddunt osci-- 
 tantes et quasi consopitos, tarn ad cautionem quam ad industri- 
 am, atque recte a Demosthene appellantur alimenta socordia. 3 
 Porro proprietatem et naturam nullorum Factorum, etiam quge 
 beneficiorum loco habentur, subdolam et ambiguam, lucul enter 
 cernere licet ex eo quod Antonio Primo imposuit Mutianus ; 
 qui post reditum cum eo in gratiam, sed fide pessima, plurimos 
 ex Antonii amicis ad dignitates evexit ; Simul amicis ejus prce- 
 fecturas et tribunatus largitur.* Hoc autem astu, Antonium 
 non munivit, sed exarmavit penitus et desolavit, amicitias ejus 
 ad se transferendo. 
 
 Certissima autem clavis ad animos hominum reserandos ver- 
 titur in rimandis et pernoscendis vel Ingeniis et Naturis ipso- 
 rum, vel Finibus et Intentionibus. Atque imbecilliores certe 
 et simpliciores ex Ingeniis, prudentiores autem et tectiores ex 
 Finibus suis optime judicantur. Certe prudenter et facete 
 (licet meo judicio minus vere) dictum fuit a nuntio quopiam 
 Pontificis, sub reditu ejus a legatione apud nationem quandam 
 ubi tanquam Ordinarius resederat. Interrogatus de delectu 
 successoris sui, consilium dedit ; Ut nullo modo mitteretur aliquis 
 qui eximie prudens esset, sed potius mediocriter tantum ; quoniam 
 (inquit) ex prudentioribus nemo facile conjiciet, quid verisimile 
 foret illius gentis homines facturos. Sane non raro intervenit 
 ille error, et maxime familiaris est viris prudentibus, ut ex mo- 
 dulo ingenii proprii alios metiantur; ac proinde ultra scopum 
 saspius jaculentur, supponendo quod homines majora quasdam 
 meditentur et sibi destinent, et subtilioribus technis utantur, 
 quam quae illorum animos unquam subierint. Quod etiam 
 eleganter innuit adagium Italicum, quo notatur nummorum, pru- 
 dentittfjidei, semper minor es inveniri rationes quam quis putaretf 
 Quare in levioris ingenii hominibus, quia multa absurda faciunt, 
 capienda est conjectura potius ex propensionibus Ingeniorum 
 
 1 " Fraus fldem in parvis sibi praestruit, ut, quum opera pretium sit, cum magna 
 mercede fallat." Livy, xxviii. 42. 
 
 2 Bacon alludes to the Italian proverb : 
 
 " Chi mi fa piu caresse che* non suole 
 O m' a ingannato, o ingannar mi vuole." 
 
 3 See the note at p. 681. 4 Tac. Hist. iv. 39 . 
 5 Di danari, di senno, e di fede 
 
 C' e ne manco che non credi. 
 See the Advancement of Learning. 
 
 3D 4
 
 776 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 quam ex destinationibus Finium. Porro, Principes quoque 
 (sed longe aliam ob causam) ab Ingeniis optinie judicantur ; 
 Privati autem ex Finibus. Principes enim fastigium adept! 
 humanorum desideriorum, nullos fere sibi propositos Fines 
 habent ad quos, prsesertim vehementer et constanter, aspirant ; 
 ex quorum Finium situ et distantia reliquarum suarum actio- 
 num possit excipi et confici directio et scala; id quod inter 
 alia causa est vel praecipua, ut corda eorum (quod Scriptura 
 pronunciat) sint inscrutabilia. 1 At Privatorum nullus est, qui 
 non sit plane veluti viator, et proficiscatur intente ad aliquam 
 itineris metam, ubi consistat; unde non male divinare quis 
 poterit quid facturus sit, aut non facturus. Si enim in ordine 
 sit quidpiam ad finem suum, probabile est facturum ; sin sit in 
 contrarium finis, minime. Neque de Finium aut Ingeniorum 
 in hominibus diversitate informatio capienda est simpliciter tan- 
 turn, sed et comparate ; quid scilicet praedornmetur, et reliqua 
 in ordinem cogat. Sic, ut videmus, Tigellinus, cum se Pe- 
 tronio Turpiliano inferiorem sentiret in voluptatibus Neroni 
 ministrandis et praegustandis, metus (ut ait Tacitus) Neronis 
 rimatus est^ ; et hoc pacto aemulum evertit. 
 
 Ad notitiam quod attinet de hominum animis secundariam, 
 nimirum quae ab Aliorum Relatione desumitur, breviter die ere 
 sufficiet. Defectus et vitia didiceris optime ab inimicis ; vir- 
 tutes et facultates ab amicis; mores et tempora a famulis; 
 opiniones et meditationes ab intimis familiaribus, cum quibus 
 frequentius colloquia miscent. Fama popularis levis est; et 
 superiorum judicia minus certa; etenim coram illis tectiores 
 incedunt homines. Verior fama e domesticis emanat. 3 
 
 Verum ad inquisitionem istam universam via maxime compen- 
 diaria in tribus consistit. Primum, ut amicitias multas compa- 
 remus cum ejusmodi hominibus qui multiplicem et variam 
 habent tarn rerum quam personarum notitiam ; inprimis vero 
 enitendum ut saltern singulos habeamus praesto, qui pro nego- 
 tiorum atque hominum diversitate, nos de unaquaque re cer- 
 tiores facere et solide inforniare possint. Secundo, ut prudens 
 temperamentum et mediocritatem quandam persequamur et in 
 libertate sermonis et in taciturnitate ; frequentius libertatem 
 usurpantes ; at cum res postulat, silentium. Libertas siquidem 
 
 1 Prov. xxv. 3. 2 Tac. Ann. xiv. 57. 
 
 3 "Fere omnis sermo ad forensem famam a domesticis emanat auctoribus." Q. 
 Cicero, De Pet. Consul. 5.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. . 777 
 
 in sermone etiam alios invitat et provocat ut pari libertate erga 
 nos utantur, et sic multa deducit ad notitiam nostram ; at taci- 
 .turnitas fidem conciliat, efficitque ut ament homines secreta 
 sua apud nos tanquam in sinu deponere. Tertio, is nobis paula- 
 tim acquirendus est habitus, ut vigilante et praesente animo, in 
 omnibus colloquiis et actionibus, simul et rem quae instat gera- 
 mus et alia quae incidunt observemus. Nam sicut Epictetus 
 praecipit, ut Philosophus in singulis suis actionibus ita secum 
 loquatur ; Et hoc volo, et etiam institutum servare 1 ; sic Politicus 
 in singulis negotiis ita secum statuat ; Et hoc volo, atque etiam 
 aliquid quod in futurum usui esse possit addiscere. Itaque, qui 
 eo sunt ingenio, ut nimium hoc agant, et toti sint in praesente 
 negotio quod in manibus habent, de iis autem quae interveniunt 
 nee cogitant quidem (id quod in se agnoscit Montaneus 2 ), illi 
 certe ministri regum aut rerumpublicarum sunt vel optimi, sed 
 ad proprias fortunas claudicant. Interim cautio ante omnia 
 adhibenda, ut impetum animi et alacritatem nimiam cohibea- 
 mus ; ne multa sciendo ad nos multis immiscendum feramur. 
 Inftelix enim quiddam est et temerarium Polypragmosyne, 
 Itaque ista quam comparandam praecipimus Notitia? Rerum et 
 Personarum varietas hue tandem redit, ut et Rerum quas 
 suscipimus, et Hominum quorum opera utimur, magis cum 
 judicio delectum faciamus; unde cuncta et magis dextre et 
 magis tuto disponere et administrare sciamus. 
 
 Notitiam Aliorum sequitur Notitia Sui. Etenim non minor 
 diligentia adhibenda est, sed major potius, ut nos de nobis ipsis 
 quam de aliis vere et accurate informemus. Quippe cum ora- 
 culum illud, Nosce teipsum, non tantum sit canon prudentia? 
 universalis, sed et in Politicis praecipuum locum habeat. Optime 
 enim homines monet S. Jacobus ; Eum qui vultum in speculo 
 consider avit, oblivisci tamen illico qualis fuerit 3 ; ut omnino fre- 
 quenti inspectione sit opus. Idque tenet etiam in politicis. 
 Sed specula scilicet sunt diversa. Nam speculum divinum, in 
 quo nos contueri debemus, est Verbum Dei ; speculum autem 
 politicum non aliud est quam status rerum et temporum in 
 quibus vivimus. 
 
 Examen igitur accuratum, nee quale esse solet sui nimium 
 amantis, instituendum est homini de propriis Facultatibus, 
 
 1 Epict. Enchir. c. 9. 
 
 * See Montaigne's Essay, De V Utilite et de I'HonnSttete. 
 
 3 St. James, i. 23, 24.
 
 778 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Virtutibus, et Adminiculis : necnon de Defectibus, Inhabili- 
 tatibus, et Obstaculis : ita rationem subducendo, ut haec per- 
 petuo in majus, ilia autem minoris potius quam revera sunt 
 sestimentur. Ex hujusmodi autem examine in considerationem 
 veniant quag sequuntur. 
 
 Prima consideratio sit, quomodo alicui homini moribusque et 
 naturae suae cum temporibus conveniat ; quae si inventa fuerint 
 congrua, omnibus in rebus magis libere et solute agere, et suo 
 ingenio uti liceat; sin sit aliqua antipathia, turn demum in uni- 
 verso vitae cursu magis caute et tecte est incedendum, minusque 
 in publico versandum. Sic Tiberius fecit, qui morum suorum 
 sibi conscius cum sasculo suo non optime convenientium, ludos 
 publicos nunquam spectavit; quinetiam per duodecim conti- 
 nuos annos postremos nunquam in senatum venit ; ubi contra 
 Augustus perpetuo in oculis hominum vixit, quod et Tacitus 
 observat; Alia Tiberio morum via. 1 Eadem et Periclis ratio 
 fuit 
 
 Secunda sit consideratio, quomodo alicui conveniat cum pro- 
 fessionibus et generibus vita qua? in usu et pretio sunt, quorum- 
 que sibi delectus sit faciendus ; ut si jam decretum non sit de 
 genere vitae, maxime aptum et ingenio suo congruum sumat; 
 sin jampridem id genus vitae ad quod minus a natura factus est 
 fuerit ingressus, sub prima occasione se subducat et novam 
 conditionem arripiat. Id quod a Valentino Borgia 2 videmus 
 factum, ad vitam sacerdotalem a patre immtrito, quam tarn en 
 postea ejuravit, suo obsecutus ingenio, et vitae militari se appli- 
 cuit; quanquam principatu aeque ac sacerdotio indignus, cum 
 utrunque homo pestilens dehonestaverit. 
 
 Tertia sit consideratio, quomodo se habeat quis comparatus 
 ad aquales et et cemulos suos, quos verisimile sit eum habiturum 
 in fortuna sua competitores ; eumque vitae cursum teneat, in 
 quo maxima inveniatur virorum egregiorum solitudo, atque in 
 quo probabile sit seipsum inter caeteros maxime posse enitere. 
 Id quod a C. Caesare factum est ; qui ab initio orator fuit, 
 et causas egit, et in toga potissimum versabatur ; cum vero 
 vidisset Ciceronem, Hortensium, Catulum, eloquentiae gloria 
 excellere, rebus vero bellicis clarum admodum neminem, praeter 
 
 1 Tac. Annal. i. 54. 
 
 2 Better known as Caesar Borgia, son of Alexander the Sixth. After his change of 
 profession, for an account of which see Guicciardini, vi. 3., he was made Duke of the 
 Valentino!?, and is therefore spoken of by Italian writers as "il duea Valentino." 
 Bacon has here used this title as a praenomen.
 
 LIBER CCTAVUS. 779 
 
 Pompeium, destitit ab incoepto, et potentiae illi civili multum 
 valedicere jubens transtulit se ad artes militares et imperatorias ; 
 ex quibus summum rerum fastigium conscendit. 1 
 
 Quarta sit consideration ut naturae suae et ingenii rationem 
 habeat quis in deligendis amicis ac necessariis. Siquidem diversis 
 .versum genus amieorum convenit; aliis solenne et tacitur- 
 num; aliis audax et jactabundum ; et complura id genus. Certe 
 notatu dignum est, quales fuerint amici Julii Caesaris (Anto- 
 nius, Hirtius, Pansa, Oppius, Balbus, Dolabella, Pollio, reliqui). 
 Illi scilicet jurare solebant, Ita vivente Ccesare moriar"* ; infini- 
 tum studium erga Caesarem prae se ferentes; erga omnes alios 
 arrogantes et contemptores ; fueruntque homines in negotiis 
 gerendis impigri, fama et existimatione mediocres. 
 
 Quinta sit consideratio, ut caveat quis sibi ab exemplis, neque 
 ad imitationem aliorum se inepte componat ; quasi quod aliis 
 fuerit pervium, etiam sibi patere necesse sit ; neutiquam secum 
 reputans, quantum fortasse interfuerit inter suum et illorum 
 quos ad exemplum sibi delegit ingenium et mores. In quern 
 errorem manifesto incidit Pompeius, qui (ut Cicero scriptum 
 reliquit) toties solitus erat dicere ; Sylla potuit, ego non potero ? 3 
 Qua in re vehementer sibi imposuit, cum ingenium et rationes 
 agendi Sylla3 a suis toto ccelo (ut aiunt) distarent: cum alter 
 ferox esset, violentus, quique factum in omnibus urgeret ; alter 
 gravis, legum memor, omniaque ad majestatem et famam com- 
 ponens ; unde longe minus erat ad perficienda qua3 cogitarat 
 efficax et validus. Sunt et alia? hujus generis praeceptiones : 
 verum hae ad exemplum reliquarum sufficient. 
 
 Neque vero Nosse seipsum homini sufficit ; sed ineunda etiam 
 est ratio secum quomodo se ostentare, declarare, deniqnejlectere 
 se et effingere, commode et prudenter possit. Ad ostentandum 
 se quod attinet, nihil videmus usuvenire frequentius quam ut 
 qui virtutis habitu sit inferior, specie virtutis externa sit potior. 
 Non parva igitur est prudentia? praerogativa, si quis arte quadam 
 et decore specimen sui apud alios exhibere possit ; virtutes suas, 
 merita, atque fortunam etiam (quod sine arrogantia aut fastidio 
 fieri possit) commode ostentando ; contra vitia, defectus, infor- 
 tunia et dedecora artificiose occultando : illis immorans easque 
 
 1 See Plut. in Caesar, c. 3. 
 
 2 Bacon alludes to the phrase which occurs in Balbus's letter to Cicero -. " Ita 
 incolumi Csare moriar." See the Ep. ad Att. ix. 8. 
 
 3 Cicero, Ep. ad Att. ix. 10.
 
 780 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 veluti ad lumen obvertens, his subterfugia quaerens aut apte 
 ea interpretando eluens ; et similia. Itaque de Mutiano, viro 
 sui temporis prudentissimo et ad res gerendas impigerrimo, 
 Tacitus ; Omnium) quce dixeratfeceratque, arte quadam ostentator. 1 
 Indiget certe res base arte nonnulla, ne taedium et contemptum 
 pariat : ita tamen ut Ostentatio quaepiam, licet usque ad vani- 
 tatis primum gradum, vitium sit potius in Ethicis quam in 
 Politicis. Sicut enim dici solet de calumnia ; Audacter calu- 
 mniare, semper aliquid hceret 2 ; sic dici possit de jactantia (nisi 
 plane deformis fuerit et ridicula), Audacter te vendita, semper 
 aliquid hceret. Haerebit certe apud populum, licet prudentiores 
 subrideant. Itaque existimatio parta apud plurimos paucorum 
 fastidium abunde compensabit. Quod si ista de qua loquimur 
 sui ostentatio decenter et cum judicio regatur ; exempli gratia, 
 si nativum quendam pectoris candorem et ingenuitatem prae se 
 ferat ; aut si illis temporibus adhibeatur, vel cum pericula cir- 
 cumstent (ut apud viros militares in bellis), vel cum alii invidia 
 flagrent ; aut si verba quoe ad laudes proprias pertinent tan- 
 quam aliud agenti excidisse videantur, minimeque vel serio vel 
 prolixe nimis iis insistatur ; aut si ita quis se laudibus honestet, 
 ut simul etiam censuris et jocis erga se non abstineat ; aut si 
 denique hoc facit non sponte, sed tanquam lacessitus et aliorum 
 insolentiis et contumeliis provocatus; non parvum certe haec 
 res existimationi hominis cumulum adjicit. Neque sane exiguus 
 est eorum numerus, qui cum natura sint magis solidi et minime 
 ventosi, atque propterea hac arte honori suo velificandi careant, 
 moderationis suae nonnulla cum dignitatis jactura dant prenas. 
 
 Verum hujusmodi ostentationem Virtutis utcunque aliquis 
 infirmiore judicio et nimium fortasse ethicus improbaverit ; 
 illud nemo negarit, dandam saltern esse operam ut virtus per 
 incuriam justo suo pretio non fraudetur, et minoris quam 
 revera est asstimetur. Haec vero, in virtute asstimanda, pretii 
 diminutio tribus modis solet contingere. Primo, quando quis 
 in rebus gerendis se et operam suam offert et obtrudit, non 
 vocatus aut accersitus ; hujusmodi enim officiis remunerationis 
 loco esse solet, si non repudientur. Secundo, quando quis in 
 principio rei gerendae viribus suis nimium abutitur, et quod 
 
 1 " Omnium quae diceret atque ageret arte quadam ostentator." Tac. Hist. ii. 80. 
 
 2 This precept seems taken from the advice given by Medius to Alexander's sy- 
 cophants. He told them to calumniate boldly, "that the wounds they inflicte-l 
 might heal, but would always leave a scar." Pint. Quomodo quis disctrnere, frc., 
 c. 24.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 781 
 
 sensim erat prastandum uno impetu effundit ; id quod rebus 
 bene administratis praeproperam conciliat gratiam, in fine autem 
 satietatem inducit. Tertio, quando quis virtutis suae fructum 
 in laudibus, plausu, honore, gratia, sibi praebitis nimis cito et 
 leviter sentit, atque in iis sibi complacet ; de quo prudens 
 habetur monitum ; Cave ne insuetus rebus majoribus videaris, si 
 hcec te res parva sicuti magna delectat. 1 
 
 Defectuum enimvero sedula occultatio minoris haudquaquam 
 momenta est, quam virtutum prudens et artificiosa ostentatio. 
 Defectus autem occultantur et latent maxime triplici quadam 
 industria, et quasi tribus latebris ; Cautione, Praetextu, et Confi- 
 dentia. Cautionem dicimus, quando iis rebus prudenter abs- 
 tinemus, quibus pares non sumus ; ubi contra ingenia audacula 
 et inquieta se facile ingerunt sine judicio rebus quibus non in- 
 sueverunt, et proinde defectus suos proprios publicant et quasi 
 proclamant. Prsetextum dicimus, cum sagaciter et prudenter 
 viam nobis sternimus et munimus, qua benigna et commoda 
 de vitiis et defectibus nostris fiat interpretatio, quasi aliunde 
 provenientibus aut alio tendentibus quam vulgo existimatur. 
 Etenim de latebris vitiorum non male poeta ; 
 
 Saepe latet vitium proximitate boni. 2 
 
 Quare, si quern defectum in nobis ipsis perceperimus, opera 
 danda ut personam et praetextum virtutis finitimae mutuemur, 
 sub cujus umbra lateat. Verbi gratia, tardo gr a vitas prae- 
 texenda, ignavo lenitas, et sic de caeteris. Illud etiam utile, 
 probabilem aliquam causam obtendere et in vulgus spargere, qua 
 adducti ultimas vires nostras promere refugiamus ; ut quod non 
 possimus, nolle videamur. Quod ad Confidentiam attinet, im- 
 pudens certe est remedium, sed tamen certissimum atque effica- 
 cissimum ; nempe, ut quis ea omnino contemnere et vilipendere 
 se profiteatur, quae revera assequi non possit : mercatorum pru- 
 dentium more, quibus solenne est et proprium ut pretium mer- 
 cium suarum attollant, aliorum deprimant. Est tamen et aliud 
 Confidentias genus hoc ipso impudentius ; nimirum, perfricta 
 fronte defectus suos etiam opinioni obtrudere et venditare, quasi 
 in iis quibus maxime destituitur se eminere credat ; atque ut 
 hoc facilius caeteris imponat, se in iis rebus quibus revera pluri- 
 
 1 " Videte ne insueti rerum m^jorum videamini, si vos parva res sicuti magna 
 delectat." Rhetor, ad Heren. iv. 4. 
 
 2 Vide supra, p. 677.
 
 782 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 mum pollet fingat diffidentem ; quemadmodum fieri videmus in 
 poetis ; poeta enim carmina sua recitante, si unum aliquem ver- 
 siculum non admodum dixeris probandum, audias illico ; Atque 
 hie versus pluris mihi constitit, quam reliquorum plurimi. Turn 
 vero alium quempiam versum adducet quasi sibi suspectum, ct 
 de eo quid putes sciscitabitur, quern satis norit inter plurimos 
 esse optimum et censurae minime obnoxium. Ante omnia vero 
 ad hoc quod nunc agitur, ut scilicet specimen sui quis edat 
 coram aliis illustre et jus suum in omnibus retineat, nil magis 
 interesse judico quam ne quis per nimiam suam naturae bonita- 
 tem et suavitatem se exarmet et injuriis et contumeliis exponat; 
 quin potius in omnibus aliquos aninii liberi et generosi, et non 
 aculei minus quam mellis intra se gestantis, igniculos subinde 
 emittat. Quae quidem munita vitae ratio, una cum prompto et 
 parato ad se a contumeliis vindicandum animo, aliquibus ex 
 accidente imponitur et necessitate quadam inevitabili, propter 
 aliquid infixum in persona aut fortuna sua; veluti fit in de- 
 formibus et spuriis et ignominia aliqua mulctatis ; unde hujus- 
 modi homines, si virtus non desit, frelices plerunque evadunt. 
 
 Quod vero ad se declarandum attinet; id alia res omnino est 
 ab ostentatione sui, de qua diximus. Neque enim ad virtutes 
 aut defectus hominum refertur, sed ad actiones vitae particulares. 
 Qua in parte nihil invenitur magis politicum, quam ut medio- 
 critas quaedam servetur prudens et sana, in sensa animi circa 
 actiones particulares aperiendo aut recondendo. Licet enim 
 profunda taciturnitas, et consiliorum occultatio, et is rerum 
 gerendarum modus qui omnia coecis et (ut modernae linguae 
 potius loquuntur) surdis artibus et mediis operatur, res sit et 
 utilis et mirabilis ; tamen non raro evenit, ut (quod dicitur) 
 Dissimulatio errores pariat, qui dissimulatorem ipsum illaqueant. 
 Nam videmus viros politicos maxime omnium insignes, libere 
 et indissimulanter fines quos peterent palam proferre non dubi- 
 tasse. Sic L. Sylla manifesto prae se tulit, Se omnes mortales 
 velfodices vel infodices fieri cupere, prout sibi essent vel amici vel 
 inimici. Sic Caesar, cum primum profectus est in Gallias, nil 
 veritus est profiteri, Se malle primum esse in villa obscura quam 
 secundum Romce. 1 Idem Caesar, coepto jam bello, dissimulatorem 
 minime egit, si audiamus quid Cicero de illo praedicet. Alter 
 (Cassarem innuens) non recusat, sed quodammodo postulat, ut (ut 
 
 1 See Plutarch's Apophthegms.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 783 
 
 esf) sic appelletur Tyrannus. 1 Similiter videmus, in epistola 
 quadam Ciceronis ad Atticum, quam minime fuerit Augustus 
 Cassar dissimulator ; qui in ipso ingressu ad res gerendas, cum 
 adhuc senatui esset in deliciis, solitus tamen erat in concionibus 
 apud populum jurare ilia formula ; Ita parentis honores consequi 
 liceat.* Illud autem non minus quiddam erat quam ipsa 
 tyrannis. Verum est, ad invidiam paululum leniendam, soli- 
 turn euin simul ad statuam Julii Cassaris, quae in rostris posita 
 erat, manum protendere. Homines autem ridebant, et plaude- 
 bant, et admirabantur, et inter se ita loquebantur ; Quid hoc est? 
 Qualis adolescens! Sed tamen nihil malitiae in eo suspicabantur, 
 qui tarn candide et ingenue quod sentiret loqueretur. Et isti 
 quidem, quos nominavimus, prospera omnia consecuti sunt; 
 Pompeius contra, qui ad eosdem tendebat fines, sed viis magis 
 umbrosis et obscuris (sicut Tacitus de eo loquitur, Occultior non 
 melior 3 ; atque Sallustius similiter idem insiinulat, Ore probo, 
 animo inverecundo*}, id prorsus agebat et innumeris technis 
 moliebatur, ut cupiditates suas et ambitionem alte recondendo 
 interim rempublicam in anarchiam et confusionem redigeret, 
 quo ilia se necessario in sinus ejus conjiceret, atque hoc pacto 
 summa rerum ad eum deferretur quasi invitum et renitentem. 
 Cum A'ero hoc se putaret consecutum, factus consul solus (quod 
 nunquam cuiquam contigisset), nihilo plus ad fines suos proficie- 
 bat ; eo quod etiam illi qui proculdubio eum fuissent adjuturi, 
 quid vellet non perciperent. Adeo ut tandem coactus sit tritam 
 et vulgarem inire viam ; ut scilicet, praetextu se Caesari oppo- 
 nendi, arma et exercitum compararet. Adeo lenta, casibus 
 obnoxia, et plerunque infoelicia, solent esse ea consilia quae 
 profunda dissimulatione obteguntur ! Qua de re idem sensisse 
 videtur Tacitus, cum simulationis artificia tanquam inferioris 
 subsellii prudentiam constituit, prae artibus politicis : illam 
 Tiberio, has vero Augusto Caesari attribuens. Etenim, de 
 Livia verba faciens, sic loquitur ; quod fuisset ilia cum artibus 
 mariti et simulatione filii bene composita. 5 
 
 Quod ad amumm faciendum et effingendum attinet; totis viri- 
 bus certe incumbendum ut animus reddatur occasionibus et 
 opportunitatibus obsequens, neque ullo modo erga eas durus 
 
 1 Cicero, Ep. ad Attic, x. 4. 2 Ibid. xvi. 15. 
 
 3 Tac. Hist. ii. 38. 
 
 4 See, for the fragment, of Sallust here referred to, Suetonius De Claris Gramma- 
 ticis, c. 15. 
 
 5 Tac. Annal. v. 1
 
 784 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 aut renitens. Neque enim majus fuerit impedimentum ad res 
 gerendas, aut fortunas hominum constituendas, quam illud 
 Idem manebat, neque idem decebat l ; videlicet, curn homines iidem 
 sint, et natura sua utantur, postquara occasiones se mutaverint. 
 Bene itaque Livius, cum Catonem Majorem introducit tanquam 
 fortunae suae architectum peritissimum, illud subjungit ; quod ei 
 fuerit ingenium versatile.' 1 Atque hinc fit, quod ingenia gravia 
 et solennia et mutare nescia, plus plerunque habeant dignitatis 
 quam fcelicitatis. Hoc vero vitium in aliquibus a natura penitus 
 insitum est, qui suopte ingenio sunt viscosi, et nodosi, et ad 
 versandum inepti. At in aliis consuetudine obtinuit (quse est 
 altera natura) atque opinione quadam (quae in animos hominum 
 facile obrepit), ut minime mutandam sibi putent rerum gereu- 
 darum rationem, quam prius bonam et prosperam sint experti. 
 Prudenter enim observat Macciavellus in Fabio Maximo, quod 
 pristinum suum et inveteratum cunctandi et belli trahendi mprem 
 retinere mordicus voluerit, cum natura belli esset alia, et acriora 
 postularet consilia. 3 In aliis porro idem vitium ex inopia judicii 
 progignitur, cum homines periodos rerum et actionum non tem- 
 pestive discernant, sed turn demum se vertant postquam oppor- 
 tunitas jam elapsa sit. Tale quidpiam in Atheniensibus suis 
 redarguit Demosthenes, eos aiens esse rusticis similes, qui in ludo 
 gladiatorio se probantes semper post pla gam acceptam in earn par- 
 tern muniendam scutum transferunt qua percussi sunt ; non prius.* 
 In aliis rursus hoc ipsum contingit, quia operam in via ea quam 
 semel ingressi sunt collocatam perdere gravantur, nee receptui 
 canere sciunt ; sed potius se occasionibus superiores fore con- 
 stantia sua confidunt. Verum ista animi viscositas et renitentia, 
 a quacunque ilia tandem radice pullularit, rebus gerendis et 
 fortunae hominum est damnosissima ; nihilque magis politicum 
 quam animi rotas reddere cum rotis fortune concentricas et 
 simul volubiles. Atque de praeceptis duobus Summariis, circa 
 Fortunae Architecturam, hactenus. Prsecepta autem Sparsa 
 haud pauca sunt. Nos tamen perpauca deligemus, pro modo 
 exempli. 
 
 Primum Praeceptum est ; Faber Fortunae amusse 5 sua perite 
 
 1 " Remanebat idem neque decebat idem " is said by Cicero, in speaking of the youth- 
 ful character of the eloquence of Hortensius. See the De claris Orat. c. 95. 
 
 2 Livy, xxxix. 40. 3 Macch. Discorsi, iii. 9. 
 
 4 Demosth. 1 Philip. 46. " Rustic! " is in the original fidpfiapoi ; and the illus- 
 tration is derived, not from fencing, but from boxing. 
 * The word amussis very seldom occurs, except in the phrase " ad amussim." Its
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 785 
 
 utatur, eamque rite applicet ; hoc est, animum assuefaciat ut 
 reruin omnium pretium et valorem asstimet prout ad fortunam 
 et fines suos magis aut minus conducant ; hocque curet sedulo 
 non perfunctorie. Mira enim res, sed verissima ; inveniuntur 
 plurimi, quorum mentis pars logica (si ita loqui licet) est bona, 
 mathematica pessima; videlicet, qui de rerum consequentiis 
 satis firmiter judicant ; de pretiis vero imperitissime. Hinc fit, 
 ut alii privata et secreta cum principibus colloquia, alii auras 
 populares, tanquam magna adepti, admirentur; cum sit utrunque 
 saspenumero res et invidia et periculo plena ; alii autem res 
 metiantur ex difficultate, atque opera sua in eis impensa ; fieri 
 oportere existimantes, ut quantum moverint tantum etiam pro- 
 moverint ; sicut Cassar de Catone TJticensi, veluti per ironiam, 
 dixit; narrando quam laboriosus fuerit et assiduus et quasi 
 indefatigabilis, neque tamen multum ad rem ; Omnia (inquit) 
 magno studio agebat. 1 Hinc etiam illud accidit, ut homines 
 saepius seipsos fallant ; qui si magni alicujus aut honorati viri 
 opera utantur, sibi omnia prospera promittant; cum illud verum 
 sit, non grandissima quasque instrumenta, sed aptissima, citius 
 et foelicius opus quodque perficere. Atque ad mathematicam 
 veram animi informandam, operas pretium est illud inprimis 
 nosse et descriptum habere, quid ad cujusque fortunam consti- 
 tuendam et promovendam primum statui debeat, quid secundum ; 
 et sic deinceps. Primo loco, Emendationem Animi pono ; animi 
 enim impedimenta et nodos tollendo et complanando, citius viam 
 fortune aperueris, quam fortunas auxiliis animi impedimenta 
 sustuleris. Secundo loco, Opes pono et Pecuniam ; quam 
 summo loco plurimi fortasse collocaverint, cum tanti sit ad 
 omnia us us. Verum earn opinionem similem ob causam ab- 
 judico atque Macciavellus fecit, in alia re non multum ab ea 
 discrepante. Cum enim vetus fuerit sententia, Pecuniam esse 
 nervos belli; ille contra non alios esse nervos belli asseruit^ 
 quam nervos virorum fortium et militarium.^ Eodem prorsus 
 modo vere asseri possit, nervos fortune non esse pecuniam, sed 
 potius animi vires ; ingenium, fortitudinem, audaciam, constan- 
 tiam, moderationem, industriam, et similia. Tertio loco, colloco 
 Famam et Existimationem ; eo magis quod ilia asstus quosdam 
 
 ablative ought to be amussi, not amusse. I do not know whether there is authority 
 for either form. 
 
 1 The words of the original are " Hsec magno studio agebat." Casar. Sell. Civil. 
 i. 30. 
 
 2 Macchiav. Discorsi, ii. 10. And for the opinion he refutes, see Cicero, Philipp. 5. 
 
 VOL. I. 3 E
 
 786 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 habeant et tempora, quibus si non opportune utaris, difficile erit 
 rem in integrum restituere. Ardua enim res, Famam praecipi- 
 tantem retrovertere. Postremo loco, pono Honores, ad quos 
 certe facilior aditus per unumquodque ex illis tribus, multo 
 magis per omnia conjuncta, datur, quam si ab Honoribus auspi- 
 ceris et deinde ad reliqua perrexeris. Verum, ut in ordinc 
 rerum servando baud parum est momenti, ita non multo minus 
 in servando ordine temporis ; cujus perturbatione frequentissime 
 peccatur ; dum ad fines turn properatur quando initia essent 
 curanda ; atque dum ad maxima quaeque subito advolamus, qua; 
 in medio posita sunt temere transilientes. At illud recte pras- 
 cipitur ; Quod nunc instat agamus. 1 
 
 Secundum Prasceptum est, ut caveamus ne animi quadam 
 magnitudine et praafidentia ad magis ardua quam par est fera- 
 mur, neve in adversum fluvii remigemus. Optimum enim 
 consilium circa fortunas hominum, 
 
 Fatis accede Deisque. 2 
 
 Circumspiciamus in omnes partes, et observemus qua res 
 pateant, qua clausas et obstruct sint, qua proclives, qua 
 arduaa ; neque viribus nostris, ubi non patet aditus commodus, 
 abutamur. Hoc si fecerimus, et a repulsa nos immunes prse- 
 stabimus ; et in negotiis singulis nimis diu non hasrebimus ; et 
 moderationis laudem reportabimus ; et pauciores offendemus ; 
 et denique foelicitatis opinionem acquiremus ; dum qua? sponte 
 fortasse eventura fuissent, nostra? industria? accepta ferentur. 
 
 Tertium Praaceptum cum proxime praacedente nonnihil 
 pugnare videri possit; licet probe intellectum, minime. Illud 
 hujusmodi est; ut occasiones non semper expectemus, sed 
 eas quandoque provocemus et ducamus. Quod etiam innuit 
 Demosthenes, magniloquentia quadam ; Et quemadmodum re- 
 ceptum est, ut exercitum ducat imperator ; sic a cordatis viris res 
 ipsce ducendcB, ut qua ipsis videntur ea gerantur, et non ipsi per- 
 sequi eventus tantum cogantur. 3 Etenim si diligeuter attendu- 
 mus, duas observabimus easque discrepantes species eorum qui 
 rebus gerendis et negotiis tractandis pares habeantur. Alii 
 siquidem occasionibus commode sciunt uti, sed nihil ex se 
 moliuntur aut excogitant; alii toti sunt in macliinando, qui 
 occasiones quas opportune incidunt non arripiunt. Harum 
 
 1 Virg. Eel. ix. 66. 2 Lucan, viii. 486. 3 Dcmosth. Philipp. 1. 45.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 787 
 
 facultatum altera, alteri non conjuncta, manca omnino et im- 
 perfecta censenda est. 
 
 Quartum est Praceptum, ut nihil suscipiamus in quo necesse 
 sit temporis plurimum insumere ; verum ut versiculus ille au- 
 rem semper vellicet; 
 
 Sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus. 1 
 
 Neque alia subest causa cur ii qui professionibus laboriosis aut 
 rebus similibus se addixerunt, veluti jureconsulti, oratores, 
 theologi doctiores, librorum scriptores, et hujusmodi, in fortuna 
 sua constituenda et promovenda minus sint solertes, quam quod 
 tempore (alias scilicet insumpto) indigent ad particularia per- 
 noscenda, opportunitates captandas, et machinas quse ad fortu- 
 nam suam spectent comminiscendas et meditandas. Quinetiam 
 in aulis principum et rebuspublicis eos reperias et ad fortunam 
 suam promovendam et ad aliorum invadendam maxime efficaces, 
 qui nullo publico munere funguntur, sed in hoc de quo loqui- 
 mur Ambitu Vitas perpetuo occupantur. 
 
 Quintum est Praeceptum, ut Naturam quodammodo imite- 
 niur, quae nihil facit frustra. Id quod factu non erit admodum 
 difficile, si negotia nostra omnium generum perite commis- 
 ceamus et contexamus. In singulis enim actionibus ita 
 animus est instituendus et praeparandus, atque intentiones 
 nostrae alias aliis substernendae et subordinandas, ut si in aliqua 
 re voti compotes in summo gradu fieri non possimus, in secundo 
 tamen liceat consistere, imo vel in tertio ; quod si nee in 
 aliqua omnino parte rei haerere aut consistere possimus, turn 
 vero ad alium quempiam (praeter destinatum) finem operam im- 
 pensam flectamus ; sin nee in prcesenti aliquem fructum demetere 
 queamus, saltern aliquid ex ea extrahamus quod in futurum 
 prosit ; si vero nihil solidi nee in pra?senti nee in futuro inde 
 elicere detur, satagamus saltern ut aliquid existimationi nostras 
 inde accrescat ; et alia id genus ; rationes semper a nobis ipsis 
 exigendo, quibus constet nos fructus aliquid, plus minus, ex 
 singulis actionibus et consiliis nostris percepisse; neque ullo 
 modo permittendo, ut tanquam confusi ac consternati animum 
 illico despondeamus, si forte scopum principalem non licuerit 
 attingere. Nihil enim minus convenit viro politico, quam 
 uni rei unice esse intentum. Qui enim hoc facit occasionum 
 
 1 Virg. Georg. iii. 284. 
 3 E 2
 
 788 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 innumerarum jactura mulctabitur, qune rebus agendis ex ob- 
 liquo intervenire solent ; quaeque fortasse magis fuerint pro- 
 pitiae et commodaa ad alia qure postea usui futura sint, quam 
 ad ea qure in manibus habeamus. Ideoque bene calleamus 
 illam regulam, Hcec op ortet facer e, et ilia non omittere. 1 
 
 Sextum est Praeceptum, ut nos rei alicui nimis peremptorle 
 non astringamus, quanquam casui videatur primo intuitu minus 
 obnoxia ; sed semper habeamus vel fenestram apertam ad 
 evolandum, yel posticum aliquod secretum ad redeundum. 
 
 Septimum Praeceptum est antiquum illud Biantis; modo 
 non ad perfidiam, sed ad cautionem et moderationem, adhi- 
 beatur ; Et ames tanquam inimicus futurus, et oderis tanquam 
 amaturus. 2 Nam utilitates quasque mirum in modum prodit et 
 corrumpit, si quis nimium se immerserit amicitiis infrelicibus, 
 molestis et turbidis odiis, aut puerilibus et futilibus Eemula- 
 tionibus. 
 
 Haec, exempli loco, circa doctrinam de Ambitu Vitae suffi- 
 cient. Illud enim hominibus in memoriam subinde reducen- 
 dum est, longe abesse ut adumbrationes ista?, quibus utirnur in 
 Desideratis, loco justorum tractatuum ponantur ; sed sint solum- 
 modo tanquam schedae aut fhnbriae, ex quibus de tela Integra 
 judicium fieri possit. Xeque rursus ita desipiinus, ut fortunam 
 absque tanto quantum diximus molimine minime parari assera- 
 mus. Probe enim novimus, earn tanquam sponte in gremiuin 
 aliquorum defluere; alii autem earn diligentia sola et assidui- 
 tate (cautione nonimlla aspersa) absque arte multa aut operosa 
 
 1 St. Matth. xxiii. 23. ; St Luke, xi. 42. 
 
 * La Bruyere's remarks on this precept are, I think, worth transcribing : " Vivre 
 avec nos ennemis comme s'ils devoient un jour etre nos amis, ct vivre avec nos amis 
 comme s'ils pouvoient devenir nos ennemis, n'estni selon la nature de la haine, ni selon 
 les regies de 1'amitie : ce n'est point une maxime morale, mais politique. On ne doit 
 pas se faire des ennemis de ceux qui mieux connus pourroient avoir rang entre nos 
 amis. On doit faire choix d'amis si surs et d'une si exacte probite que venant a cesser de 
 1'etre, ils ne veuHlent pas abuser de notre conflance, ui se faire craindre comme nos 
 ennemis." Les Caructeres, c. 4 
 
 [La Bruyere's rule would, I think, be perfect, if it were possible to make a certain 
 judgment of each man's character beforehand. The defect of it is, that, taking no 
 account of the necessary uncertainty of all such judgments, it fails to give any prac- 
 tical direction in the real affairs of life. Put it thus : " Treat no man as your enemy 
 unless you are sure that he can never deserve to be your friend, make no man your 
 friend unless you are sure that he will never become your enemy ; " and your prac- 
 tical direction becomes much the same as that of Bias. The question which in 
 morals is really disputable is, whether a man should encourage himself to doubt other 
 men, or not to doubt ; and this, being a question of more or less, cannot be determined 
 except in reference to particular cases. No man will say generally either that you 
 cannot doubt too much, or that you cannot doubt too little. Perhaps the best general 
 direction that can be given is to lean against your natural inclination, whichever way 
 it goes. If you are naturally inclined to distrust appearances, trust them more ; if to 
 trust, tru?t them less. /.&]
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 789 
 
 atlipiscuntur. Verum sicut Cicero, oratorem perfectum depin- 
 gens, non id vult ut causidici singuli tales esse debeant aut 
 possint : ac rursus, sicut in principe aut aulico describendo 
 (quod nonnulli tractandum susceperunt 1 ) modulus effingitur 
 prorsus secundum artis perfectionem, non autem secundum 
 practicani vulgatam ; idem et nos in Politico instruendo praesti- 
 timus ; Politico (inquam) quoad fortunam propriam. 
 
 Enimvero illud utique monendum, Praecepta qua? circa hanc 
 rem delegimus et proposuimus, omnia ex genere eorum esse 
 quae Bonce Artes vocantur. Quod enim ad Malas Artes attinet, 
 si quis Macciavello se dederit in disciplinam, qui praecipit virtu- 
 tern ipsam non magnopere curandam, sed tantum speciem ejus in 
 pullicum versam ; quia virtutis fama et opinio homini adjumento 
 sit, virtus ipsa impedimento ; quique alio loco prascipit ut homo 
 politicus illud tanquam fundamentum prudentia SUCB substernat ; 
 quod prcesupponat homines non recte nee tuto ad ea quce volumus 
 flecti aut adduci posse, pr&terquam solo metu ; ideoque det operam 
 ut omnes, quantum in se est, obnoxii sint, atque in periculis et 
 angustiis constituti* : ita ut politicus suus videatur esse, quod 
 Itali dicunt, seminator spinarum ; aut si quis axioma illud quod 
 a Cicerone citatur amplecti velit; Cadant amid, dummodo 
 inimici inter -cidant 3 ; sicut Triumviri fecerunt, qui inimicorum 
 interitum amicissimorum exitio redimebant ; aut si quis L. Ca- 
 tilinas imitator esse velit, ut rerumpublicarum incendiarius fiat 
 et perturbator, quo melius in aquis turbidis piscari et fortunam 
 suam expedire possit ; Ego (inquit), si in fortunis meis incen- 
 dium sit excitatum, id non aqua sed ruina restinguam* ; aut si 
 quis illud Lysandri ad se transferat, qui dicere solebat pueros 
 placentis, viros perjuries alticiendos 5 ; cum aliis ejusdem farina? 
 pravis ac perniciosis dogmatibus; quorum (ut fit in caeteris 
 rebus omnibus) major est numerus quam rectorum et sanorum ; 
 si quis (inquam) hujusmodi inquinata prudentia delectetur ; 
 non ierim inficias eum (quandoquidem legibus charitatis et vir- 
 tutis omnibus seipsum solutum fortunae solummodo manciparit) 
 posse majore compendio et celerius fortunam suam promovere. 
 
 % 
 
 1 The allusion is probably to Macchiavelli's Principe, and to the Cortigiano of Cas- 
 tiglione. 
 
 2 See for these two quotations Macchiavelli's Principe, c. 17,1 8. 
 
 3 " Percant amici dummodo inimici intercidant." Cicero, Pro Delotar. c. 9. 
 
 4 See Cicero, Pro Mursen. c. 25. ; and compare Sallust, Catil. c. 31. 
 
 5 Plutarch in Lysand. c. 8. The saying seems, however, not to be Lysander's. He 
 apparently only adopted it from Polyn-ates of Samos. 
 
 3 E 3
 
 790 DE AUGMENTI3 SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 Fit vero in vita, quemadmodum et in via, ut iter brevius sit 
 ibedius et coenosius ; neque sane, ut per viam meliorem quis 
 incedat, multa circuitione opus est. 
 
 Tantum vero abest ut homines ad hujusmodi artes pravas 
 se applicare oporteat, ut potius sane (si modo sint apud se, 
 seque sustinere valeant, neque ambitionis turbine et procella 
 in adversum rapiantur) ante oculos proponere debeant non 
 solum mundi chorographiam generalem illam, quod omnia sint 
 vanitas et vexatio spiritus 1 ; verum etiam et illam magis specialem, 
 videlicet quod ipsum Esse, sejunctum a Bene Esse, maledicti- 
 onis loco sit; et quo grandius sit Esse eo major sit maledictio; 
 quodque amplissimum virtutis prgemium sit ipsa virtus ; quem- 
 admodum et ultimum vitii supplicium est vitium ipsum ; sicut 
 egregie poeta, 
 
 Quae vobis, quae digna, viri, pro laudibus istis 
 Praemia posse rear solvi ? Pulcherrima primum 
 Dii moresque dabunt vestri. 2 
 
 Et e contra non minus vere ille de sceleratis, Atque eum ulci- 
 scentur mores sui. s Quinetiam mortales, dum in omnes partes 
 cogitationes suas agitant et diffundunt ut fortunis suis recte 
 prospectum atque consultum sit, interim in mediis illis animi 
 transcursibus ad divina judicia et providentiam ffiternam oculos 
 attollere debent; quae saepissime impiorum machinationes et 
 consilia prava, licet profunda, subvertit et ad nihilum redigit ; 
 secundum illud Scriptura3, Concepit iniquitatem, et pariet vani- 
 tatem. 4 Imo, etsi injuriis et malis artibus abstineant, attamen 
 haec jugis et irrequieta anhelatio ad ardua fortunae, absque 
 cessatione et quasi sine sabbato, tributum temporis nostri Deo 
 debitum minime solvit ; qui, ut videre est, facultatum nostra- 
 rum decimas, temporis autem septimas exigit et sibi seponit. 
 Quorsum enim fuerit os gerere in co3li sublimia erectum, men- 
 tern vero humi prostratam, et pulverem instar serpentis come- 
 dentem ? Quod etiam ethnicos non fugit ; 
 
 Atque affigit humo divina; particulam aurae. 5 
 
 Quod si in hoc sibi quisquam adblandiatur, quod fortuna sua, 
 utcunque earn malis artibus obtinuerit, recte uti decreverit ; 
 sicut de Augusto Caesare et Septimio Severo solitum erat dici, 
 
 1 Eccles. ii. 11. 2 Virg. ^n. ix. 252. 
 
 3 Cicero, Ep. ad Att. ix. 12. 
 
 4 Ps. vii. 14. [or Job, xv. 35.] * Hor. Sat ii. 2. 79.
 
 LIBER, OCTAVUS. 791 
 
 Debuisse illos out nunquam nasci, aut nunquam mori l ; tanta 
 in ambitu fortunae suae patrarunt mala ; tanta rursus summa 
 adepti, contulerunt bona ; intelligat nihilominus hanc malo- 
 rum per bona compensationem post factura probari ; consilium 
 autem hujusmodi merito damnari. Abs re postremo nobis non 
 fuerit, in cursu isto incitato et fervido versus fortunam nostram, 
 frigidam paulisper aspergere, haustam e dicterio illo non inele- 
 gante Caroli Quinti Imperatoris, in Institutionibus suis ad 
 filium; Imitari Fortunam mores mulierum, qua procos plus 
 nimio ambientes plerunque superbe aversantur. 2 Verum hoc 
 ultimum remedium pertinet ad eos, quibus gustus ex morbo 
 animi corruptus est. Innitantur potius homines lapidi illi, qui 
 Theologian et Philosophic est tanquam angularis ; qua? idem 
 fere asserunt de eo, quod primum quceri debeat. Etenim 
 Theologia edicit, Primum qucerite regnum Dei, et ista omnia 
 adjicientur vobis 3 : Philosophia autem simile quiddam jubet ; 
 Primum qucsrite bona animi, ccetera aut aderunt aut non oberunt. 
 Quamvis autem hoc fundamentum, humanitus jactum, interdum 
 locetur super arenas ; quemadmodum videre est in M. Bruto, 
 qui in earn vocem sub exitum suum prorupit ; 
 
 Te colui, Virtus, ut rem ; ast tu nomen inane es ; * 
 
 At idem fundamentum, divinitus locatum, firmatur semper in 
 petra. Hie autem Doctrinam de Ambitu Vitas, et simul 
 Doctrinam Generalem de Negotiis, concludimus. 
 
 1 See, with reference to Augustus, Aurelius Victor, Epit. c. 1. ; and for Severus, 
 his life by Lampridius. 
 
 2 It was on being obliged to raise the siege of Metz that Charles V. remarked that 
 Fortune was like a woman, that, after having favoured him in his youth, she turned 
 against him when he was no longer young. There are, I believe, several papers of 
 instructions addressed by him to Philip II. In one or two which I have seen the 
 remark mentioned in the text does not appear to occur. 
 
 3 St. Matt. vi. 33. 
 
 4 This line is of course a translation of the following : 
 
 2 r\rjfj.ov aper^j \6yos op' ?jff6' ey&> 5e ffe 
 
 us tpyov tfffKovv, ffv 5' ap" I5ov\fves Tvxy> 
 
 which, according to Dio Cassius, xlvii., was the dying exclamation of Brutus. From 
 the way in which the lines are introduced by Dio Cassius, they appear to be a frag- 
 ment of a speech of Hercules in some lost tragedy. The first line and the first portion 
 of the second (which, in effect, is all that is here translated) occur nbt only in Dio 
 Cassius, but also in Plutarch, De Superstltione, where, however, no reference is made 
 to Brutus. Most editions of Dio Cassius are accompanied by a Latin translation. In 
 the earlier ones of those which I have seen, the words in question are given in prose, 
 and in the later in Iambic verse. 
 
 3E 4
 
 792 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENT1ARUM 
 
 CAPUT III. 
 
 Partitiones Doctrines de Imperio, sive Republica, omittuntur ; 
 tantum aditus Jit ad Desiderata duo ; Doctrinam de Pro- 
 ferenclis Finibus Imperii, et Doctrinam de Justitia Universal!, 
 sive de Fontibus Juris. 
 
 VENIO jam ad Artem Imperii, sive Doctrinam de Republica 
 Adininistranda ; sub qua etiam (Economica continetur, ut 
 Familia sub Civitate. In hac parte, sicut jam an tea dixi. 
 silentium mini imperavi. Neque tamen prorsus diffidere debui, 
 quin possim de illafortasse non imperite aut inutiliter disserere; 
 utpote qui longa experientia edoctus, et per tot niunerum et 
 honorum gradus ad amplissimum regni magistratum, favore 
 Majestatis tuae indulgentissimo, nullo merito meo, evectus 
 fuerim; eundemque magistratum per annos quatuor integros 
 gesserim ; et quod pluris est, Majestatis tuas mandatis et collo- 
 quiis per annos octodeciin continues assueverim (quod etiam 
 e stipite aliquo politicum exculpere potuisset) ; quique etiam, 
 inter omnes artes, plurimum temporis in historiis et legibus 
 contriverim. Qua3 omnia non jactantia ad posteros refero, sed 
 quia ad literarum dignitatem nonnihil pertinere putem, quod 
 homo quispiam ad literas potius quam ad aliud quicquam natus, 
 et ad res gerendas nescio quo fato contra genium suum abreptus, 
 ad civilia tamen munera tarn houorifica et ardua sub rege pru- 
 dentissimo assumptus fuerit. Verum, si quid circa Politicam 
 posthac parturiet otium meum, erit fortasse proles aut abortiva 
 aut posthuma. Interim, ne scientiis omnibus jam veluti in 
 subselliis suis collocatis, sedes haec tarn excelsa omnino vacet, 
 decrevi duas tantum Civilis Scientias portiones, qua3 ad Arcana 
 Imperii non pertinent, sed sunt naturae magis communis, ut 
 Desiderata notare, earumque more nostro Exempla proponere. 
 
 Cum Artes Imperii tria Officia Politica complectantur ; 
 primo, ut Imperium conservetur; secundo, ut beatum tfficiatur et 
 florens; tertio, ut amplificetur Jinesque ejus longius proferantur ; 
 de duobus primis Officiis maxima ex parte egregie a nonnullis 
 tractatum est ; de tertio siletur. Illud itaque inter Desiderata 
 reponemus, et more nostro Exernplum ejus proponemus ; earn 
 doctrinae partem Consulem Paludatum, sive Doctrinam de 
 Proferendis Imperii Finibus, nominantes.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 793 
 
 Exemplum Tractatus Summarii de Proferendis Finibus 
 Imperil. 
 
 DICTUM Themistcclis, sibi ipsi applicatum, incivile certe fuit 
 et inflatum ; sin de aliis, atque in genere, prolatum fuisset, 
 prudentem sane observationem et pergravem censuram com- 
 plecti videatur. Rogatus in convivio ut citharam pulsaret, 
 respondit ; Fidibus se nescire ; cceterum posse oppidum parvum in 
 magnam civitatem evehere. 1 Ista certe verba, ad sensum politi- 
 cum translata, facultates duas multum inter se discrepantes, in 
 iis qui rerum gubernacula tractant, optime describunt et distin- 
 guunt. Etenim si regum consiliarios, senatores, aliosque ad 
 negotia publica admotos, qui usquam fuerunt, attente intueamur, 
 reperientur profecto (licet rarissime) nonnulli qui regnum aut 
 civitatem e parvis ampla efficere possint, fidicines tamen sint 
 valde imperiti ; e contra autem, alii quamplurimi in cithara aut 
 lyra (hoc est, aulicis tricis) miri artifices, qui tantum abest ut 
 rempublicam aniplificare possint, ut potius a natura comparati 
 videantur ad statum reipublicae beatum et florentem labefactan- 
 dum et evertendum. Sane artes illas degeneres et praestigiaa, 
 quibus gffipenumero consiliarii atque rerum potentes et gratiam 
 apud principes suos et famam in vulgus reportant, haud aliud 
 uornen merentur quam peritix cujusdam fidicularia?; utpote 
 cum sint res magis grata? in prassens, et artificibus ipsis orna- 
 mento, quam ad rerumpublicarum, quarum sunt ministri, opes 
 et amplitudinem utiles aut accommodae. Occurrent proculdu- 
 bio et alii consiliarii atque reipublicas gubernatores mininie 
 spernendi, qui sint negotiis pares, possintque res commode 
 administrare, casque a manifestis prascipitiis et incommodis 
 conservare ; a virtute tamen ilia rerumpublicarum erectrice et 
 amplificatrice longo intervallo absunt. 
 
 Verum qualescunque demum fuerint operarii, conjiciamus 
 oculos in opus ipsum; qualis nimirum censeri debeat vera 
 Regnorum et Rerumpublicarum Magnitude, et quibus artibus 
 obtineri possit : Dignum profecto argumentum, quod principes 
 perpetuo in manibus habeant et diligenter meditentur; quo 
 nee vires suas in majus aestiniantes incoeptis se vanis et nimis 
 arduis implicent ; nee rursus easdem plus aequo despicientes ad 
 consilia pusillanima et meticulosa se demittant. 
 
 Magnitude Imperiorum, quoad molem et territoriurn, men- 
 surre subjicitur ; quoad reditus, calculis. Numerus civium et 
 
 1 Tlut. in Them. 2.
 
 794 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 capita, censu; urbium et oppidorum multitudo et amplitude, 
 tabulis excipi possint. Attamen non reperitur inter civilia res 
 errori magis obnoxia, quam verum et intrinsecum excipere 
 valorem circa vires et copias imperil alicujus. Assimilatur 
 Regnum Ccelorum non glandi ant nuci alicui grandiori, sedgrano 
 sinapis, quod inter grana est minimum; quod tamen habeat 
 interim intra se proprietatem quandam et spiritum innatum, 
 quo se et citius attollat et latius diffiindat. Eodem modo, in- 
 venire est regna et status, ambitu quidem et regionum tractu 
 valde ampla, quae tamen adjftnes tilterius proferendos, aut latius 
 imperandum, sunt minus apta; alia contra, dimensione satis 
 exigua, qua3 tamen bases in quibus maximse monarchies ina3di- 
 ficentur esse possint. 
 
 1. Urbes inunitas, plena armamentariaj equorum propagines 
 generosa?, currus armati, elephanti, machina3 atque tormenta 
 bellica omnigena, et similia ; sunt certe ista universa nihil aliud 
 quam ovis induta pelle leonina, nisi gens ipsa stirpe sua et in- 
 genio sit fortis et militaris. Imo, nee numerus ipse copiarum 
 multum juvat, ubi milites imbelles sunt et ignavi. Recte enim 
 Virgilius; Lupus numerum pecorum non cur at. 1 Exercitus 
 Persarum in campis Arbelas oculis Macedonum, tanquam va- 
 stum hominum pelagus, subjiciebatur ; adeo ut duces Alexandri, 
 nonnihil ipso spectaculo perculsi, regem interpellarent, atque 
 ut noctu praslium committeret ei auctores erant; quibus ille, 
 Nolo (inquit) suffurari victoriam. 2 Ea autem etiam opinione 
 fuit facilior. Tigranes Armenius, castrametatus in quodam 
 colle cum exercitu quadringentorum millium, cum spectaret 
 aciem Romanorum, qua? quatuordecim millia non excessit, 
 contra se tendentem, in dicterio illo suo sibi complacuit ; Ecce 
 (inquit) hominum pro legatione nimio plus quam oportet, pro 
 pugna longe minus. 3 Eosdem tamen, priusquam occubuisset 
 sol, satis multos ad ilium infinita strage profligandurn expertus 
 est. Innumera sunt exempla, quam sit multitudinis cum for- 
 titudine congressus impar. Primo igitur pro re certissima et 
 exploratissima decernatur et statuatur, quod caput omnium 
 quae ad magnitudinem regni aut status spectent sit ut populus 
 ipse sit stirpe *et ingenio bellicosus. Atque illud magis tritum 
 quam verum, quod nervi belli sint pecunice ; si desint nervi 
 
 1 Virg. Eel. vii. 52 - Vide sup. p. 476. 
 
 3 Plutarch, in Lucull., and Appian, Bell. Mithrid. c. 65
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 795 
 
 lacertorum in gente raolli et effoeminata. Recte enim Croeso 
 ostentanti aururn respondit Solon ; At si quis (o rex) venerit, qui 
 melius quam tuferrum gestet, illi profecto totum hoc cedet aurum. 1 
 Quare quicunque is tandem sit princeps aut status cujus sub- 
 diti nativi et indigenae non sint animosi et militares, potentiam 
 suam admodum sobrie aestimet; atque e contra principes qui 
 dominantur in gentes animosas et martias, norint illi satis vires 
 suas, si sibi alias non desint. Quod attinet ad copias merce- 
 narias (quod solet adhiberi remedium cum copise nativas desint), 
 plena sunt omnia exemplis, quibus liquido patet quod quicun- 
 que status illis innitetur, poterit fortasse pennas ad tempus 
 breve nido majores extendere, sed defluent illse paulo post. 
 
 2. Benedictio Judae et Tssacharis in unum nunquam con- 
 venient ; nimirum, ut eadem tribus aut gens sit simul et leonis 
 catulus, et asinus procumbens inter sarcinas. 2 Neque unquam 
 fiet, ut populus tributis oppressus fortis existat et bellicosus. 
 Verum est, collationes publico consensu factas minus animos 
 subditorum dejicere et deprimere, quam quae ex imperio mero 
 indicuntur. Id quod liquido videre est in tributis Germaniaj 
 Inferioris, quas Excisas 3 vocant; atque aliqua ex parte, in iis 
 quaa Subsidia nominantur apud Anglos. Etenim notandum 
 est, sermonem jam institui de animis hominum, non de opibus. 
 Tributa autem quas ex consensu conferuntur, et quae ex im- 
 perio imponuntur, etsi eadem res sint quoad opes exhauriendas, 
 varie tamen omnino animos subditorum afficiunt. Statuatur 
 igitur et hoc, populum tributis gravatum idoneum ad impe- 
 randum non esse. 
 
 3. Aspirantibus ad magnitudinem regnis et statibus prorsus 
 cavendum, ne Nobiles et Patricii, atque (quos vocamus) Ge- 
 nerosi majorem in modum multiplicentur. Hoc enim eo rem 
 deducit, ut Plebs regni sit humilis et abjecta, et nihil aliud fere 
 
 1 For the epigrammatic antithesis of gold and iron, see the conversation of Solon and 
 Croesus in Lucian's Charon. 
 
 2 Genes, xlix. 9. 14. 
 
 8 The excise, or accise (from acciisse) was originally in the Low Countries a mu- 
 nicipal tax ; it seems to have arisen from a privilege granted by Charles V. in 1536 to 
 certain towns, of imposing duties on wine, beer, and woollen and silken stuffs. See Histoire 
 Generals des Provinces- Unies, i. 236. That the inhabitants of these countries were 
 from an early time jealous of the administration of public money appears from the 
 following passage from Meteranus : " Status Belgici, Italico et Gallico gravati bello, 
 novennalem exactionem Regi consentiunt : harum autem pecuniarum administra- 
 tionem et praesidiorutn atque turmarum publice merentium satisfactionem suo officio 
 reservant : quae res multis sibi id arrogantibus non parum displicuit : hinc Regis 
 subditorumque mutua alicnatio et oftensio ort;i, cum Regi esset persuasum, hoc modo 
 suse mr\iestati summopere derogari." Hist. Bdg. Meter, in anno 1554.
 
 796 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 quam nobilium raancipia et operarii. Simile quiddam fieri 
 videmus in sylvis cseduis; in quibus, si major quam par est 
 caudicum sive arborum majorum relinquatur numerus, non re- 
 nascetur sylva sincera et pura; sed major pars in vepres et 
 dumos degenerabit. Eodem modo in nationibus, ubi nuine- 
 rosior justo est nobilitas, erit plebs vilis et ignava; atque eo 
 demum res redibit, ut nee centesimum quodque caput sit ad 
 galeam portandam idoneum; prsesertim si peditatum spectes, 
 qui exercitus plerunque est robur praecipuum ; unde succedet 
 magna populatio, vires exiguae. Nusquam gentium hoc quod 
 dico luculentius comprobatum est, quam exemplis Anglise et 
 Galliae; quarum Anglia, quamvis territorio et numero inco- 
 larum longe inferior, potiores tamen partes fere semper in bellis 
 obtinuit; hanc ipsam ob causam, quod apud Anglos coloni et 
 inferioris ordinis homines militia? habiles sint, rustici Gallite 
 non item. Qua in re mirabili quadam et profunda prudentiu 
 excogitatum est ab Henrico Septimo Anglian rege (id quod in 
 Vitas ejus Historia fusius tractavimus), ut prasdia minora atquc 
 domus agricolationis instituereniur, quas habeant certum eum- 
 que mediocrem agri modum annexum, qui distrahi non possit ; 
 eo fine ut ad victum liberaliorem sufficiat, utque agricultura 
 ab iis exerceretur qui domini fuerint fundi, aut saltern usu- 
 fructuarii, non couductitii aut mercenarii. Nam ita demum 
 characterem ilium, quo antiquam Italiam insignivit Virgilius, 
 merebitur regio aliqua ; 
 
 Terra potens armis, atque ubere gleba. 1 
 
 Neque prsetereunda est ilia pars populi (qu Anglia3 fere est 
 peculiaris, nee alibi (quod scio) in usu, nisi forte apud Po- 
 lonos), famuli scilicet Nobilium. Hujus enim generis etiam in- 
 feriores, quoad peditatum, agricolis ipsis minime cedunt. Quare 
 certissimum est, quod magnificentia et splendor ille hospitalis, 
 atque famulitia et veluti satellitia ampla, qua3 in more sunt 
 apud Nobiles et Generosos in Anglia, ad potentiam militarem 
 apprime conducant; ubi contra, Nobilium obscura et magis 
 privata et in se reducta vitaa ratio copias militares minuit. 
 
 4. Danda est onmino opera ut Arbor ista Monarchias, qualis 
 fuit Nebuchadnezzaris 2 , truncum habeat satis amplum et ro- 
 bustum ad ramos suos et frondes sustentandos ; hoc est, ut 
 numerus indigenarum ad subditos extraneos cohibendos satis 
 
 1 Virg. ^En. i. 631. 2 Daniel, c. iv.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 797 
 
 superque sufficiat. Illi igitur status ad Imperil Magnituclinem 
 bene comparati sunt, qui Jus Civitatis lacile et libenter largi- 
 untur. Vana siquiclem fuerit opinio, posse manipulum homi- 
 num, utcunque animis et consilio excellant, regiones nimio plus 
 ampins et spatiosas imperil jugo colribere et fnenare. Id ad 
 tempus fortasse facere possint, sed diuturnitatem haec res non 
 assequitur. Spartan! parci fuerunt et difficiles in cooptandis 
 novis civibus. Unde, donee intra parvos limites dominati sunt, 
 res eorum firma? fuerunt et stabiles ; at postquam limites suos 
 coepissent proferre, et latius dominari quam ut stirps Sparta- 
 norum turbam exterorum imperio commode coercere posset, 
 potentia eorunci subito corruit. Nulla unquam respublica sinus 
 suos ad novos cives recipiendos tarn profuse laxavit, quam res- 
 publica Romana. Itaque par erat instituto tarn prudenti for- 
 tuna; cum in imperium toto orbe amplissimum succreverint. 
 Moris apud eos erat, Jus Civitatis prompte elargiri ; idque in 
 supremo gradu ; hoc est, non solum Jus Commercii, Jus Con- 
 nubii, Jus Haereditatis ; verum etiam Jus SufFragii, et Jus 
 Petitionis sive Honorum ; hocque rursus non singulis tantum 
 personis, sed totis familiis, imo civitatibus, et nonnunquam in- 
 tegris nationibus, communicarunt. Hue adde consuetudinem 
 deducendi Colonias, quibus Romana? stirpes in solum exterum 
 transplantabantur. Qua? duo instituta si simul componas, dices 
 profecto non Romanes se diffudisse super universum orbem; 
 sed contra orbem universum se diffudisse super Romanes ; qua? 
 securissima proferendi imperil est ratio. Subit mirari saspius 
 imperium Hispanorum, quod tarn paucis indigenis tot regna et 
 provmcias amplexari et fra?nare possit. At certe Hispania? 
 ipsae pro arboris stemmate satis grandi haberi debent; cum 
 longe ampliorem contineant regionum tractum quam Romas aut 
 Sparta? sub initiis suis contigerat. Porro, quanquam Jus Ci- 
 vitatis satis parce soleant Hispani impertire, quod proximum 
 tamen est faciunt ; quippe qui cujuscunque nationis homines 
 ad militiam suam ordinariam promiscue admittant. Quin- 
 etiam summum belli imperium haud raro ad duces natione non 
 Hispanos deferunt. 1 Attamen et illam ipsam videntur non 
 ita pridem indigenarum paucitatem sensisse, eique succurrere 
 
 1 E. g. Bourbon, Prosper Colonna, Pescara, Egmont, Castaldo, Parma, Piccolomini, 
 Spinola. Of these, however, one or two might almost be called Spaniards ; and it must 
 be remembered that the dominions both of Charles V. and of his successors extended 
 beyond the natural limits of the Spanish monarchy.
 
 798 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 cupiisse ; ut ex Pragmatica Sanctione, hoc anno promulgata, 
 cernere est. 1 
 
 5. Certissimum est Artes Mechanicas Sedentarias, quae non 
 sub dio sed sub tecto exercentur, atque Manufacturas Delicatas 
 (quze digitum potius quam brachium requirunt), sua natura 
 militaribus animis esse contrarias. In universum, populi belli- 
 
 1 In 1618, the Cortes, among other projects of reformation, petitioned the king not 
 to grant any licences for monastic foundations. 
 
 The excessive multiplication of religious houses had attracted the attention of the 
 government long before; and the opinions of a number of ecclesiastics were taken on 
 the subject, in 1603, but nothing further seems to have been done. Subsequently 
 however to the representation of the Cortes, the state of the kingdoms belonging to the 
 crown of Castile was referred by the king to the council of Castile; and their report, which 
 is given at full length in Davila's Life of Philip the Third (see chap. 86.), is known as the 
 Gran Consulta de 1619. The distress and depopulation of the parts of Spain to which it 
 refers are stated in very strong language, the causes assigned being mainly excessive and 
 oppressive taxation, the increase of luxury, and the non-residence of the rich on their 
 estates. To relieve the revenue, the revocation of royal grants, when any fair reason 
 could be found for doing so, is recommended. Sumptuary laws are also proposed, and 
 some regulations tending to the relief of the agricultural class. The king is also 
 advised to be cautious in granting licenses to religious houses. Ortiz states expressly 
 that no measures were taken to carry out the recommendation of the council during 
 the reign of Philip the Third ; a statement which seems to be fully confirmed by the 
 silence of so copious and seemingly so painstaking an annalist as Gonzalez Davila. 
 The assertion to be found in some French and English books, that the king made a 
 decree in virtue of which those who introduced agricultural improvements on their 
 estates were ennobled, is in itself exceedingly improbable, and has perhaps no other 
 foundation than the imagination of some French economist who may have been mis- 
 led by the circumstance that in the Cortes of 1618 something was done with respect 
 to proofs of nobility. I speak however without having seen Navarrete's Conservation 
 della Moiiarquia. Soon after the accession of Philip the Fourth a royal decree or 
 Pragmatica was published which attempted to carry out some of the recommendations 
 of the council, and which gave certain privileges to persons who married, and further 
 immunities to those who had six children. For some account of its provisions, see 
 Cespedes' History of the first Six Years of Philip the Fourth (published at Lisbon in 
 1631, and reprinted in Spain in 1634), book 3. cc. 17, 18. Cespedes does not pre- 
 cisely fix the date of the decree, but it was plainly issued some time in the summer of 
 1622, and is 110 doubt that to which Bacon refers. The date assigned by Desormeaux, 
 namely the 10th of February 1624, is manifestly wrong; the sumptuary part of the 
 enactment was suspended on the occasion of the visit of Prince Charles in 1623. See 
 Mead's Letters to Stuteville, in Ellis's Letters. 
 
 It is a historical commonplace to assert that the depopulation of Spain was caused 
 by the expulsion of the Moriscos, but this alone could not have produced so permanent 
 an effect. The energies of the country were exhausted by excessive and unequal 
 taxation ; and the increase of the number of religious houses, especially of those belong- 
 ing to the Mendicant Orders, aggravated the evil. Rtnke has justly remarked that 
 Spain must always have been a thinly peopled country ; and he might have added, a 
 country in which there seems always to have been a tendency to become depopulated. 
 Thus in a passage of the Siete Partidas, quoted in the Gran Consulta, it is said to be 
 part of the duty of the king to see that the population of places does not fall off. Even 
 the word despoMado suggests a different idea from that which is expressed by weald or 
 wilderness. It may be well to remark that there seems no reason to doubt that the 
 population of Spain is much greater now than it was in the 1 6th century, although for 
 a considerable time there must have been a decrease. Cassmany, in an interesting essay 
 on the subject, has shown how much exaggeration there is in the statements made by 
 Spanish writers of the 16th and 17th centuries, as to the population and manufacturing 
 industry of the country in earlier times. According to him the population reached its 
 minimum about 1700.
 
 LIBER OOTAVUS. 799 
 
 cosi feriari gaudent ; et pericula quam labores minus exhorrent. 
 Atque in hoc ingenio suo non sunt admodum reprimendi, si 
 animos ipsorum in vigore conservare cordi nobis sit, Magno 
 itaque adjumento Spartas, Athenis, Romas, aliisque antiquis 
 rebuspublicis fuit, quod habuerint non Ingenuos, sed Servos 
 plerunque, quorum laboribus istiusmodi opificia expediebantur. 
 Verum mancipiorum usus, post legem Christianam receptam, 
 maxima ex parte abiit in desuetudinem. Huic vero rei proxi- 
 mum est, ut artes istae alienigenis tantum permittantur, qui 
 propterea alliciendi aut saltern facile recipiendi sunt. Nativo- 
 rum autem plebs ex tribus generibus hominum constare debet ; 
 nempe ex agricolis, famulis ingenuis, et artificibus quorum 
 opera robur et lacertos viriles postulant ; cujusmodi sunt fabri 
 ferrarii, lapidarii, lignarii, et similes; non annumerando mi- 
 litiam descriptam. 
 
 6. Ante omnia ad Imperii Magnitudinem confert, ut gens 
 aliqua armorum studium profiteatur, tanquam decus suum, et 
 institutum vitas primarium, et in praecipuo honore habitum. 
 Quas enim a nobis adhuc dicta sunt, ad habilitates tantum erga 
 arma spectant ; quorsum autern habilitas, si non rei ipsi incum- 
 bitur, ut producatur in actum? Romulus (ut narrant, aut 
 fingunt) postquam e vivis excesserat illud civibus suis legavit, 
 ut ante omnia rem militarem colerent, unde in caput orbis 
 terrarum urbs eorum insurgeret. 1 Imperii Spartani fabrica 
 universa (non nimis prudenter quidem, sed diligenter tamen) 
 ad ilium finem et scopum composita est et constructa, ut cives 
 sui belligeratores essent. Persarum et Macedonum idem erat 
 institutum, sed non tarn constans aut diuturnum. Britanni, 
 Galli, Germani, Gothi, Saxones, Normanni, et nonnulli alii, 
 etiam ad tempus armis se praecipue dediderunt. Turcae idem 
 institutum, lege sua haud paululum extimulati, hodie retinent, 
 sed magna cum militias suae (ut nunc est) declinatione. In 
 Europa Christiana, gens quas illud adhuc retinet et profitetur 
 soli sunt Hispani. Verum res est tarn liquida et manifesta, 
 unumquemque in eo proficere maxime in quo plurimum impen- 
 dit studii, ut verbis non indigeat. Satis sit innuisse, desperan- 
 dum omnino alicui nationi esge, quae non ex professo arma et 
 militiam colat iisque praecipue studeat et incumbat, sibi veluti 
 ultro obventuram insignem aliquam Imperii Magnitudinem; 
 
 1 Liv. i. 16.
 
 800 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 contra autenr, certissimum esse temporis oraculum, nationes 
 illas quae in armorum professione et studiis diutius pcrmanse- 
 rint (id quod Romani Turcaeque potissimum fecere), miros in 
 Imperio Amplificando facere progressus. Quin et illae quae 
 bellica gloria per unius tantummodo saaculi spatium floruere, 
 inde tamen unico illo saeculo earn Imperil Amplitudinem asse- 
 cutae sunt, quam longo post tempore, etiam remissa ilia armo- 
 rum disciplina, retinuerunt. 
 
 7. Praecepto praecedenti affine est, ut status quis utatur ejus- 
 modi Legibus et Consuetudinibus, quae justas illi causas aut 
 saltern prastextus arma capessendi tanquam in promptu mi- 
 nistrent. Etenim ea est insita animis hominum justitiae appre- 
 hensio, ut bellum (quod tot sequuntur calamitates) nisi gravem 
 ob causam, saltern speciosam, inferre abstineant. Turcis praesto 
 est semper, et ad nutum, belli causa ; propagatio scilicet legis 
 et sectae suae. Romani, quanquam pro magno decore imperato- 
 ribus apud eos f'uerit si Fines Imperii ipsorum protulissent, 
 tamen ob hanc solam causam, ut fines proferrentur, nunquam 
 bella susceperunt. Aspiranti igitur ad imperium nationi illud 
 in more sit, ut sensum habeat vividum et acrem injuria? alicujus 
 vel subditis suis limitaneis vel mercatoribus vel publicis mi- 
 nistris illatae ; neque a prima provocatione diutius torpeat aut 
 tardet. Item, prompta sit et alacris ad auxilia mittenda sociis 
 suis et foederatis ; id quod perpetuum erat apud Romanes ; adeo 
 ut si forte in populum fcederatum, cui etiam cum aliis fredus 
 defensivum intercederet, hostilis impressio facta esset, atque 
 ille a plurimis suppetias peteret, Romani omnium primi semper 
 adessent, beneficii decus nemini praeripiendum relinquentes. 
 Quod vero attinet ad bella antiquis temporibus propter statuum 
 conformitatem quandam, aut correspondentiam tacitam, gesta, 
 non video in quo jure ilia fundata sint. Talia fuerunt bella 
 quae a Romanis suscepta erant ad Graeciam in libertatem vindi- 
 candam ; talia a Lacedaemoniis et Atheniensibus ad constituen- 
 das aut evertendas democratias et oligarchias ; talia quandoque 
 illata sunt a rebuspublicis aut principibus, sub praetextu subdi- 
 tos alienos protegendi et a tyrannide liberandi. Ad rem prae- 
 sentem sufficiat, ut illud decernatur; non esse expectandum 
 statui alicui Imperii Amplitudinem, nisi ad quamvis occasionem 
 justam se armandi protinus expergiscatur. 
 
 8. Nullum omnino corpus, sive sit illud naturale sive politi- 
 cum, absque exercitatione sanitatem suam tueri queat. Regno
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. . 801 
 
 autem aut reipublicae, justum atque honorificum bellum loco 
 salubris exercitationis est. Bellum civile profecto instar caloris 
 febrilis est ; at bellum externum instar caloris ex motu, qui vale- 
 tudini inprimis conducit. Ex pace enim deside atqiie torpente, 
 et emolliuntur animi et corrumpuntur mores. Sed utcunque res 
 se habeat, quatenus ad alicujus status fcelicitatem, Magnitudinis 
 proculdubio interest ut quasi semper in armis sit. Atque ex- 
 ercitus veteranus perpetuo tanquam sub vexilHs habitus, etsi res 
 sit magni proculdubio sumptus et impensae, attamen ejusmodi 
 est ut statui alicui quasi arbitrium rerum inter vicinos, aut 
 saltern plurimum existimationis ad omnia conferat. Id quod 
 insigniter cernere est in Hispanis, qui jam per annos centum et 
 viginti exercitum veteranum ad aliquas partes, licet non semper 
 ad easdem, aluerunt. 1 
 
 9. Maris Dominium monarchic quaedam epitome est. Ci- 
 cero, de Pompeii contra Caesarem apparatu scribens ad Atti- 
 cum: Consilium (inquit) Pompeii plane Themistocleum est ; putat 
 enim., qui mart potitur, eum rerum potiri. 2 Atque Caesarem 
 Pompeius proculdubio delassasset et attrivisset, nisi inani fiducia 
 inflatus ab illo incoepto destitisset. Praalia navalia quanti fue- 
 rint momenti, ex multis exemplis patet. Pugna ad Actium 
 orbis imperium determinavit. Pugna ad Insulas Cursolares 
 circulum in naribus Turcas posuit. 3 Multoties certe evenit, ut 
 Victorias navales finem summae belli attulerint ; sed hoc factum 
 est, cum alese hujusmodi praeliorum totius belli fortuna com- 
 missa est. Illud minime dubium, quod qui maris potitur domi- 
 nio in magna libertate agit, et tantum quantum velit de bello 
 sumere potest ; ubi contra, qui terrestribus copiis est superior, 
 nihilominus plurimis angustiis conflictatur. At hodie, atque 
 apud nos Europaeos, si unquam aut uspiam, potentia navalis 
 (quD3 quidem huic regno Britannia} in dotein cessit) summi ad 
 rerum fastigia momenti est ; turn quia pleraque Europe regna 
 mediterranea simpliciter non sunt, sed maxima ex parte mari 
 cincta ; turn etiam quia utriusque Indiae thesauri et opes impe- 
 rio maris veluti accessorium quiddam existunt. 
 
 1 Commencing, that is, with the wars in Italy which arose out of the invasion of 
 that country by Charles VIII. 
 
 2 Cicero, Ep. ad Att. x. 8. 
 
 3 The Insulse Cursolares or Kurzolari islands are the ancient Echinades. The 
 naval engagement generally, though perhaps incorrectly, called the Battle of Lepanto, 
 took place off these islands in 1571. The Turkish fleet was defeated with great loss. 
 It was on this occasion that Cervantes lost his hand. 
 
 VOL. I. 3 F
 
 802 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 10. Bella moderna veluti in tenebris gesta censeri possunt, 
 pra3 gloria et decore vario quae in homines militates priscis 
 temporibus a rebus bellicis resilire solebant. Habemus hodie, 
 fortasse ad animos faciendos, Ordines quosdam honorificos mili- 
 tiae; qui tamen jam facti sunt et armis et togas communes. 
 Etiam in Scutis Gentilitiis Stemmata nonnulla habemus ; insu- 
 per, Hospitia quasdam Publica militibus emeritis et mutilatis 
 destinata, et hujusmodi. Verum apud veteres, in locis ubi 
 victorias partae sunt extructa Trophaea ; Laudationes Funebres, 
 et Monumenta Magnifica occumbentium in bello ; Coronae 
 Civicre, Militares, singulis concessze ; nomen ipsum Imperatoris, 
 quod postea reges maximi a belli ducibus mutuati sunt ; rede- 
 untium ducum, bellis prospere confectis, celebres Triumplii ; 
 Donativa atque Largitiones ingentes in milites sub exercituum 
 dimissionem ; haec (inquam) tot et tanta fuerunt, et tarn insigni 
 splendore coruscantia, ut pectoribus mortalium etiam maxime 
 conglaciatis igniculos subdere, eaque ad bellum inflammare po- 
 tuerint. Ante omnia vero, mos ille Triumphancli apud Romanes 
 non res erat ex pompa, aut spectaculum quoddam inane, sed 
 inter prudentissima plane nobilissimaque instituta numeraudus ; 
 utpote, qui in se base tria haberet ; Ducum Decus et Gloriam ; 
 JErarii ex spoliis Locupletationem ; et Donativa Militum. 
 Verum honor Triumphi fortasse monarchiis non competit 
 praeterquam in personis regis ipsius aut filiorum regis ; quo'd 
 etiam temporibus Imperatorum Romae obtinuit ; qui honorem 
 ipsum triumphi sibi et filiis suis, de bellis qua? praesentes ipsi 
 confecerant, tanquam peculiarem reservarunt; Vestimenta 
 autem solummodo et Insignia Triumphalia aliis ducibus in- 
 dulserunt. 
 
 Verum, ut sermones hos claudamus, nemo est (ut testatur 
 Sacra Scriptura), qui sollicite cogitando potest apponere ad sta- 
 turam suam cubitum unum '; in pusillo scilicet corporis humani 
 modulo ; caeterum in magna regnorum et rerumpublicarum 
 fabrica miperium amplificare et fines proferre, reges penes et 
 dominantes est. Nam prudenter introducendo leges, instituta, 
 et consuetudines, quales jam proposuimus, et alias his similes, 
 posteris et saeculis futuris magnitudinis sementem fecerint. 
 Verum ista consilia apud principes raro tractantur, sed res for- 
 tune plerunque committitur. 
 
 1 S. Matthew, vi. 27. S. Luke, xii. 25.
 
 LIBER OOTAVUS. 803 
 
 Atque haec habuimus, quae de Proferendis Imperil Finibus in 
 praesentia occurrunt. Verum quorsum ista commentatio ; cum 
 Monarchia Romana futura sit inter mundanas (ut creditur) 
 ultima ? Nisi quod nobis, institute nostro fidis neque uspiam 
 de via declinantibus, (quandoquidem Amplificatio Imperil fuerit 
 inter Officia tria Politices tertium) illud omnino praetermittere 
 non licuerit. Restat jam Desideratum alterum, ex iis quae 
 posuimus duobus ; nimirum, de Justitia Universali, sive de 
 Fontibus Juris. 
 
 Qui de Legibus scripserunt, omnes vel tanquam Philosophi 
 vel tanquam Jurisconsult! argumentum illud tractaverunt. 
 Atque Philosophi proponunt multa dictu pulchra, sed ab usu 
 remota. Jurisconsulti autem, suae quisque patriae legum, vel 
 etiam Romanarum aut Pontificiarum, placitis obnoxii et ad- 
 dicti, judicio sincere non utuntur ; sed tanquam e vinculis ser- 
 mocinantur. Certe cognitio ista ad viros civiles proprie spectat; 
 qui optime norunt quid ferat societas humana, quid salus 
 populi, quid aequitas naturalis, quid gentium mores, quid re- 
 rumpublicarum formae diversae ; ideoque possint de Legibus, 
 ex principiis et praeceptis tarn aequitatis naturalis quam poll- 
 tices, decernere. Quamobrem id nunc agatur, ut Fontes 
 Justitiae et Utilitatis Publicae petantur, et in singulis Juris 
 partibus Character quidam et Idea Justi exhibeatur, ad quam 
 particularium regnorum et rerumpublicarum leges probare, 
 atque inde emendationem moliri, quisque cui hoc cordi erit 
 et curas possit. Hujus igitur rei, more nostro, Exemplum in 
 uno titulo proponemus. 
 
 Exemplum Tractatus de Justitia Universali, sive de Fontibus 
 Juris, in uno titulo, per Aphorismos, 
 
 PROCEMIUM. 
 APHORI8MU8 1. 
 
 IN Societate Civili, aut Lex aut Vis valet. Est autem et vis 
 quaadam legem simulans, et lex nonnulla magis vim sapiens 
 quam sequitatem juris. Triplex est igitur Injustitiae Fons; 
 Vis mera ; Illaqueatio malitiosa praetextu Legis ; et Acerbitas 
 ipsius Legis. 
 
 APHORISMUS 2. 
 
 Firmamentum Juris Privati tale est. Qui injuriam facit, re 
 utilitatem aut voluptatem capit, exeniplo periculum. Caeteri 
 
 3 F 2
 
 804 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 utilitatis aut voluptatis illlus participes non aunt, sed exemplum 
 ad se pertinere putant. Itaque facile coeunt in consensum, ut 
 caveatur sibi per Leges ; ne injuriae per vices ad singulos red- 
 eant. Quod si ex ratione temporum et communione culpae id 
 eveniat, ut pluribus et potentioribus per legem aliquam peri- 
 culum creetur quam caveatur, factio solvit legem ; quod et 
 saepe fit. 1 
 
 APHOEISMUS 3. 
 
 At Jus Privatum sub tutela Juris Publici latet. Lex enim 
 cavet civibus, magistratus legibus. Magistratuum autem au- 
 thoritas pendet ex maj estate imperii, et fabrica politise, et 
 legibus fundamentalibus. Quare, si ex ilia parte sanitas fuerit 
 et recta constitutio, leges erunt in bono usu ; sin minus, parum 
 in iis pra3sidii erit. 
 
 1 The doctrine of this aphorism resembles that of Hobbes, inasmuch as there is no 
 recognition of the principle that moral ideas lie at the root of civil rights. All the 
 evidence of which the nature of the subject admits tends to show that society has 
 always been held together, not by fear, but by notions more or less perfectly developed 
 of the distinction between right and wrong ; and to assert that in the absence of any 
 such notions selfish fear could serve as the " firmamentum juris privati," is at best 
 to assert that which never has been proved and never can be. 
 
 Of course it is not meant to deny that fear is the principle by means of which the 
 moral force of society becomes efficient in the repression of crime. 
 
 [That a notion of the distinction between right and wrong in general lies at the 
 bottom of all our notions of individual rights and wrongs ; that when we think of one 
 man as doing an injury to another, we think of him as doing something not only in 
 its effect hurtful, but in its nature unjust ; I do not think Bacon would have denied. 
 That in the absence of any such notion the interest which all men have in protection 
 from injury would lead them to concur in the measures necessary to secure protec- 
 tion to each, he would not, I think, have affirmed. But such questions did not enter 
 into the practical problem with which he had to deal ; which was this : Given our 
 common notions of right and wrong, jus and injuria, with all their constituent ele- 
 ments, what is the principle by which they are made to bear upon the protection of 
 individuals ? To this he answers : It is the interest which each individual has in being 
 himself protected. That the personal interest would be insufficient without the sanc- 
 tion of the " moral idea " to stimulate and support it, is probably true ; for we see 
 that actions the most dangerous to society, if committed by madmen, and therefore 
 not objects of moral disapprobation, are exempted from punishment ; the necessity of 
 self-defence requiring only that measures be taken to prevent the recurrence of them, 
 and the sense of justice refusing to sanction any further severity. But that the 
 " moral idea," unassisted by the sense of personal interest, could be still less relied upon 
 as a "firmamentum privati juris," seems to me still more certain ; for we see that the 
 penalties exacted or denounced by the laws, though proportioned with tolerable accu- 
 racy to the danger of the offence, bear no proportion at all to the moral disapprobation 
 of which it is the object Actions which are morally wrong in the highest degree, if 
 they be such as every man may protect himself against, are not punished at all. 
 Actions which the moral sense scarcely condemns, if such that the general permission 
 of them would entail a general insecurity of property, are punished with great severity. 
 And the truth seems to be, that to make an action seem a fit object of punishment, 
 there must be something morally offensive in it, but that the nature and amount of 
 punishment varies according to the interest of society in preventing it, and the diffi- 
 culty of effecting that end. Men are not content with less severity than they think 
 necessary for their protection, nor do they feel justified in using more. J. S.]
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 805 
 
 APHORISMUS 4. 
 
 Neque tamen Jus Publicum a$ hoc tantum spectat, ut ad- 
 datur tanquam custos Juri Private, ne illud violetur, atque ut 
 cessent injuries ; sed extenditur etiam ad religionem et arma 
 et disciplinarn et ornamenta et opes, denique ad omnia circa 
 Bene Esse civitatis. 
 
 APHORISMUS 5. 
 
 Finis enim et scopus quern leges intueri, atque ad quern 
 jussiones et sanctiones suas dirigere debent, non alius est quam 
 ut cives foeliciter degant. Id fiet, si pietate et religione recte 
 instituti ; moribus honesti ; armis adversus hostes externos 
 tuti; legum auxilio adversus seditiones et privatas injurias 
 muniti ; imperio et magistratibus obsequentes ; copiis et opibus 
 locupletes et florentes fuerint. Harum autem rerum instru- 
 menta et nervi sunt leges. 
 
 APHORISMUS 6. 
 
 Atque hunc finem optimae leges assequuntur, plurimae vero 
 ipsarum aberrant. Leges enim mirum in modum, et maximo 
 intervallo, inter se differunt ; ut alias excellant ; alias medio- 
 criter se habeant ; alias prorsus vitiosas sint. Dictabimus igitur, 
 pro judicii nostri modulo , quasdam tanquam Legum Leges, ex 
 quibus informatio peti possit, quid in singulis legibus bene 
 aut perperam positum aut constitutum sit. 
 APHOKISMUS 7. 
 
 Antequam vero ad corpus ipsum legum particularium deve- 
 niamus, perstringemus paucis virtutes et dignitates legum in 
 genere. Lex bona censeri possit, quas sit intimations certa ; 
 prctcepto justa ; executione commoda ; cum forma politics congrua; 
 et generans virtutem in subditis. 
 
 TITULUS L 
 De Prima Dignitate Legum, ut sint Certce. 
 
 APHORISMUS 8. 
 
 Legis tantum interest ut certa sit, ut absque hoc nee justa 
 esse possit. Si enim incertam vocem det tuba, quis se parabit ad 
 bettum ? l Similiter, si incertam vocem det lex, quis se parabit 
 ad parendum? Ut moneat igitur oportet, priusquam feriat. 
 Etiam illud recte positum est ; optimum esse legem, qua minimum 
 relinquit arbitrio judicis* : id quod certitudo ejus prasstat. 
 
 1 1 Corinth, xiv. 8. 2 Arist. Rhet. i. 1. 
 
 3 F 3
 
 80(j DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 APHORISMUS 9. 
 
 Duplex legum Incertitude : altera, ubi lex nulla prae- 
 scribitur ; altera, ubi ambigua et obscura. Itaque de Casibus 
 Omissis a lege primo dicendum est ; ut in his etiam inveniatur 
 aliqua norma Certitudinis. 
 
 De Casibus Omissis a Lege. 
 APHORISMUS 10. 
 
 Angustia prudentise humanae casus omnes quos tempus re- 
 perit non potest capere. Non raro itaqiie se ostendunt casus 
 omissi et novi. In hujusmodi casibus triplex adhibetur reme- 
 dium, sive supplementum ; vel per processum ad similia ; vel 
 per usum exemplorum, licet in legem non codluerint ; vel per 
 jurisdictiones qua statuunt ex arbitrio boni viri et secundum 
 discretionem sanam; sive ilia? Curias fuerint Praetoriae sive 
 Censoriae. 
 
 De Processu ad Similia, et Extensionibus Legum. 
 AFHOEISMDS 11. 
 
 In Casibus Omissis deducenda est norma legis a similibus ; 
 sed caute, et cum judicio. Circa quod servandae sunt regulse 
 sequentes. Ratio prolifica, Consuetudo sterilis esto, nee generet 
 casus. Itaque quod contra rationem juris receptum est, vel 
 etiam ubi ratio ejus est obscura, non trahendum est ad conse- 
 quentiam. 1 
 
 APHORISMUS 12. 
 
 Bonum publicum insigne rapit ad se casus omissos. Quam- 
 obrem quando lex aliqua reipublicae commoda notabiliter et 
 majorem in modum intuetur et procurat, Interpretatio ejus 
 extensiva esto et amplians. 
 
 APHORISMUS 13. 
 
 Durum est torquere leges, ad hoc ut torqueant homines. 
 Non placet igitur extendi leges poenales, multo minus capitales, 
 ad delicta nova. Quod si crimen vetus fuerit et legibus notum ; 
 sed prosecutio ejus incidat in casum novum, a legibus non pro- 
 visum ; omnino recedatur a placitis juris potius quam delicta 
 maneant impunita. 
 
 1 "Quod contra rationem juris receptum est, non est producendum ad conse- 
 quentla." Paulus, D. 141., Ff. De Div. Keg. Jur. It may be remarked that, al- 
 though the phrase " ad consequentias " is used as well as "ad consequential' yet 
 there seems to be no authority for " ad consequential^"
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 807 
 
 APHORISMUS 14. 
 
 In statutis quae Jus Commune (praesertim circa ea quae fre- 
 quenter incidunt, et diu coaluerunt) plane abrogant, non placet 
 procedi per similitudinem ad casus omissos. Quando enim res- 
 publica tota lege diu caruerit, idque in casibus expressis, parum 
 periculi est si casus omissi expectent remedium a statute novo. 
 
 APHORISMUS 15. 
 
 Statuta quae manifesto Temporis Leges fuere atque ex occa- 
 sionibus reipublicse tune invalescentibus natse, mutata ratione 
 temporum, satis habent si se in propriis casibus sustinere 
 possint ; praeposterum autem esset, si ad casus omissos ullo 
 modo traherentur. 
 
 APHORISMUS 16. 
 
 Consequentise non est consequentia ; sed sisti debet extensio 
 intra casus proximos. Alioqui labetur paulatim ad dissimilia ; 
 et magis valebunt acumina ingeniorum, quam authoritates 
 legum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 17. 
 
 In legibus et statutis brevioris stili, extensio facienda est 
 liberius. At in illis quae sunt enumerativa casuum particu- 
 larium, cautius. Nam ut exceptio firmat vim legis in casibus 
 non exceptis, ita enumeratio infirmat earn in casibus non enu- 
 meratis. 
 
 APHORISMUS 18. 
 
 Statutum Explanatorium claudit rivos statuti prioris, nee 
 recipitur postea extensio in alterutro statute. Neque enim fa- 
 cienda est super-extensio a judice, ubi semel ccepit fieri extensio 
 a lege. 
 
 APHORISMUS 19. 
 
 Solennitas Verborum et Actorum non recipit extensionem 
 ad similia. Perdit enim naturam solennis, quod transit a more 
 ad arbitrium; et introductio novorum corrumpit majestatem 
 veterum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 20. 
 
 Proclivis est extensio legis ad casus post-natos ; qui in rerum 
 natura non fuerunt tempore legis latae. Ubi enim casus ex- 
 primi non poterat, quia tune nullus erat, casus omissus habetur 
 pro expresso, si similis fuerit ratio. 
 
 Atque de Extensionibus Legum in Casibus Omissis hsec 
 dicta sint : nunc de usu Exemplorum dicendum. 
 
 3 F 4
 
 808 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 De Exemplis, et usu eorurn. 1 
 
 APHORISMUS 21. 
 
 De Exemplis jam dicendum est, ex quibus Jus hauriendum 
 sit, ubi Lex deficit. Atque de Consuetudine, qu Legis species 
 est, deque Exemplis quas per frequentem usum in consuetu- 
 dinem transierunt, tanquam Legem Tacitam, suo loco dicemus. 
 Nunc autem de exemplis loquimur quas raro et sparsim inter- 
 veniunt, nee in legis vim coaluerunt ; quando et qua cautione 
 norma Juris ab ipsis petenda sit, cum Lex deficiat. 
 APHORISMUS 22. 
 
 Exempla a temporibus bonis et moderatis petenda sunt ; non 
 tyrannicis, aut factiosis, aut dissolutis. Hujusmodi exempla 
 temporis partus spurii sunt, et magis nocent quam docent. 
 
 APHORISMUS 23. 
 
 In exemplis, recentiora habenda sunt pro tutioribus. Quod 
 enim paulo ante factum est, unde nullum sit secutum incom- 
 modum, quidni iterum repetatur ? Sed tamen minus habent 
 authoritatis recentia ; et si forte res in melius restitui opus sit, 
 recentia exempla magis sseculum suum sapiunt quam rectam 
 rationem. 
 
 APHORISMUS 24. 
 
 At vetustiora exempla caute, et cum delectu, recipienda. 
 Decursus siquidem setatis multa mutat; ut quod tempore 
 videatur antiquum, id perturbatione et inconformitate ad 
 pra?sentia sit plane novum. Medii itaque temporis exempla 
 sunt optima, vel etiam talis temporis quod cum tempore 
 currente plurimum conveniat; quod aliquando prsestat tem- 
 pus remotius magis quam in proximo. 
 
 1 It is to be observed, that the principle on which the English courts have pro- 
 ceeded, namely, that a decision on a point not previously decided on is to be accepted 
 merely as a declaration of an already existing law virtually contained in the unwritten 
 corpus juris entitled the Common Law, has had the effect of giving nearly equal 
 weight to all cases decided by a competent tribunal. On the other hand, we find in 
 the history of French jurisprudence that great uncertainty has existed as to the degree 
 of authority to which a "res judicata " was entitled ; the principle that " res judicata 
 pro veritate accipitur " extending only to the parties between whom the actual decision 
 was had. Thus it is related that De Thou was in the habit of saying, when it was 
 mentioned that in a case similar to the one before him a decree had been given in 
 favour of the plaintiff or defendant, " C'est bon pour lui; " implying that it was not of 
 authority in any other case. The Parliament of Paris was for a long time in the habit 
 of distinguishing the decisions to the principle of which it intended to give force of law 
 from other decisions, by a more solemn form of delivering j udgment ; thereby in effect 
 claiming what our courts have never claimed, namely, a power of making new law. 
 A collection has been published of these quasi-legislative decisions, with the title of 
 " Arrets rendus en robe rouge." It is evident that the practice of the Parliament of 
 Paris, which was probably followed by other of the French Parliaments, escapes from 
 gome of the inconveniences-of the English theory.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 809 
 
 APHOEISMUS 25'. 
 
 Intra fines exempli, vel citra potius, se cohibeto, nee illos 
 ullo modo excedito. Ubi enim non adest Norma Legis, omnia 
 quasi pro suspectis habenda sunt. Itaque, ut in obscuris, 
 minimum sequitor. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 26. 
 
 Cavendum ad exemplorum Fragmentis et Compendiis ; atque 
 integrum exemplum et universus ejus processus introspiciendus. 
 Si enim incivile sit, nisi tota lege perspecta, de parte ejus judi- 
 care 1 , multo magis hoc valere debet in exemplis ; quae ancipitis 
 sunt usus, nisi valde quadrent. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 27. 
 
 In exemplis plurimum interest, per quas manus transierint et 
 transacta sint. Si enim apud scribas tantum et ministros 
 justitiae, ex cursu curioe, absque notitia manifesta superiorum, 
 obtinuerint; autetiam apud errorum magistrum populum ; con- 
 culcanda sunt et parvi facienda. Sin apud senatores aut 
 judices aut curias principales ita sub oculis posita fuerint, ut 
 necesse fuerit ilia approbations judicum, saltern tacita, munita 
 fuisse, plus dignationis habent. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 28. 
 
 Exemplis quse publicata fuerint, utcunque minus fuerint 
 in usu, cum tamen sermonibus et disceptationibus hominum 
 agitata et ventilata extiterint, plus authoritatis tribuendum. 
 Quae vero in scriniis et archivis manserunt tanquam sepulta, 
 et palam in oblivionem transierunt, minus. Exempla enim, 
 sicut aquae, in profluente sanissima. 
 
 APHORISMUS 29. 
 
 Exempla quae ad leges spectant, non placet ab historicis peti ; 
 sed ab actis publicis et traditionibus diligentioribus. Versatur 
 enim infcelicitas quaedam inter historicos vel optimos, ut legibus 
 et actis judicialibus non satis immorentur ; aut si forte diligen- 
 tiam quandam adhibuerint, tamen ab authenticis longe varient. 
 APHOEISMUS 30. 
 
 Exemplum quod aetas contemporanea aut proxima respuit 
 cum casus subinde recurreret, non facile admittendum est. 
 Neque enim tantum pro illo facit quod homines illud quan- 
 doque usurparunt, quam contra, quod experti reliquerunt. 
 
 1 " Incivile est, nisi tota lege perspecta, una aliqua particula ejus proposita judicare 
 vel respondere. " Celsvs, D. i. 3. 24.
 
 810 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARIDI 
 
 APHOKISMUS 31. 
 
 Exempla in consilium adhibentur, non utique jubent aut 
 imperant. Igitur ita regantur, ut authoritas praeteriti temporis 
 flectatur ad usum praesentis. 
 
 Atque de Informatione ab Exemplis, ubi Lex deficit, base 
 dicta sint. Jam dicendum de Curiis Prastoriis et Censoriis. 
 
 De Curiis Prcetoriis et Censoriis. 1 
 APHOKISMUS 32. 
 
 Curiae sunto et jurisdictiones, quae statuant ex arbitrio boni 
 viri et discretione sana, ubi legis nonna deficit. Lex enim 
 
 1 M. Bouillet remarks that every one who has commented on this tract of Bacon's has 
 condemned the institution of these Courts. M. Dupin is evidently much perplexed by 
 them. " Hie raera Utopia proponitur " is the commencement of his note on the thirty- 
 second aphorism. Doubtless it is odd that in inquiring how the law may be made 
 certain Bacon should have iutroduced two Courts, of which the distinguishing cha- 
 racter is the absence of any kind of certainty. But to every one who is acquainted 
 with the history of Englibh law, it is manifest that Bacon's intention was to give an 
 idealised description of the Court of Star-Chamber, and of the equity jurisdiction 
 of the Court of Chancery. Of the two institutions which he thus indirectly praises it 
 is not necessary to say much. The Court of Star-Chamber, though of use in parti- 
 cular cases was unquestionably on the whole, an instrument of injustice and op- 
 pression ; while, on the other hand, if equity had continued to be as indefinite as the 
 jurisdiction of the " curiae prastoriae," it. would soon have become a more intolerable 
 evil than any which it could have been applied to relieve. 
 
 [The apparent inconsistency of introducing these discretionary tribunals into a 
 scheme specially designed to make the operation of the law certain, admits, in my 
 opinion, of a satisfactory explanation. The uncertainty of the law is injurious in two 
 ways. On the one hand, it may lead me to expect that if I observe certain prescribed 
 conditions, my liberty will not be interfered with ; and when I think I have observed 
 them, it may, by some arbitrary or unexpected interpretation, take me up and send me 
 to prison. On the other hand, it may lead me to expect protection against particular 
 kinds of injury, or (failing protection) redress; and, from some defect in its pro- 
 visions, it may fail to prevent the injury or to afford the redress. The first kind of 
 uncertainty resides in the interpretation, the second in the framing, of the law ; and 
 against both it is necessary, as far as may be, to provide. The perftct remedy is a code 
 of laws so framed as to provide expressly for every possible case, coupled with a rule of 
 interpretation which leaves no discretion whatever to the judge. But this is for Uto- 
 pia. No lawgiver can perfectly foresee either the conditions of cases or the effect of 
 words. Laws will therefore pass occasionally, which, if strictly construed, will punish 
 the man whom they were intended to protect, and protect the man whom they were 
 intended to punish. To correct such errors, a discretion must be allowed somewhere 
 in the administration of the law ; and the question is, where ? According to Bacon's 
 scheme, the necessary discretion is to be confided, not to the ordinary tribunals, but to 
 others specially constituted for the purpose, and acting under restrictions and regula- 
 tions specially framed to prevent them from abusing it ; lest, in correcting one kind of 
 uncertainty, uncertainties of another kind be introduced. What these restrictions 
 and regulations should be, the rest of the section is occupied in explaining. 
 
 Now, to supply the defects of the law by the exercise of this kind of discretion was the 
 proper function of the Star-Chamber and the Court of Chancery ; and I see no occasion 
 to seek further for Bacon's motive in introducing ' an idealised description " of those 
 Courts, or, I should rather say, a description of two Courts constituted as, in a per- 
 fect administrative system, the Star-Chamber and the Court of Chancery ought to be. 
 
 With regard to the character of the actual Star-Chamber, we are not to forget that Bacon 
 was not the only eminent jurist who approved of it. Sir Edward Coke, in the fourth book
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 811 
 
 (ut antea dictum est) non sufficit casibus ; sed ad ea quas 
 plcrunque accidunt aptatur, Sapientissima autem res Teinpus 1 
 (ut ab antiquis dictum est), et novorum casuum quotidie author 
 et inventor. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 33. 
 
 Interveniunt autem novi casus, et in Criminalibus, qui poena 
 indigent ; et in Civilibus, qui auxilio. Curias quae ad priora 
 ilia respiciunt, Ccnsorias ; qua? ad posteriora, Prcetorias appel- 
 lamus. 
 
 APHORISMUS 34. 
 
 Habento Curias Censoriae jurisdictionem et potestatem, non 
 tantum nova delicta puniendi, sed etiam poenas a legibus con- 
 stitutas pro delictis veteribus augendi ; si casus fuerint odiosi et 
 enormes, modo non sint capitales. Enorme enim tanquam 
 novum est. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 35. 
 
 Habeant similiter Curae Prastoriae potestatem, tarn subve- 
 
 of his Institutes, which was written in his old age, when he was regarded as the great 
 champion of the people against the Crown, speaks of it in terms as favourable as ever 
 Bacon did. " It is the most honourable Court" (he says) " our parliament excepted 
 that is in the Christian world, both in respect of the Judges of the Court, and of their 
 honourable proceeding according to their just jurisdiction, and the ancient and just orders 
 of the Court." And I cannot help thinking that modern constitutional writers have 
 judged of it too hastily from the accidental and exceptional circumstances which led to 
 its abolition. It was an instrument of government. When the government was oppressive 
 and unjust, it was an instrument of oppression and injustice. So, also, at many periods 
 of our history have the Courts of Common Law been. But if we would know whether 
 a Court constituted like the Star-Chamber had any necessary tendency to become an 
 instrument of oppression, we must consider it in connexion with the rest of the con- 
 stitution. Was it in any especial manner under the command of the Crown ? Cer- 
 tainly not : it was under the command of the Crown so far only and so long only as 
 the whole powers of government were under the command of the Crown. So far and 
 so long as the King could appoint his own ministers and maintain them and carry on 
 the government with, them in spite of the House of Commons, so far and so long he 
 could exercise an effectual control over the proceedings of a Court constituted like the 
 Star-Chamber ; no farther and no longer. The body of the Court was composed of 
 the chief officers of the government ; less than eight did not make a quorum ; 
 their proceedings were public ; each member gave his own sentence with the reasons ; 
 the majority decided ; the decree was solemnly recorded. As soon as the theory of a 
 responsible ministry was recognised, and the impossibility of carrying on the govern- 
 ment without money voted by the House of Commons gave the people an effective 
 check upon the Crown, they would have had a check equally effective upon the pro- 
 ceedings of a court of justice so constituted. Any abuse of its authority would have 
 led to a change of ministry, and to the transfer of that authority to other hands. 
 
 With regard to the Court of Chancery, it is less easy to say how it would have worked 
 had its jurisdiction been exercised according to the conditions here prescribed for the 
 Curia; Pr.-etoria; ; one of which is, that it was not to be confided to a single man. 
 " Curiac illae" (i. e. Curia? Censorise et Pretoria, see Aph. 36.) " uni viro ne commit- 
 tantur, sed ex pluribus constent." And in speculating upon the evil which it might 
 have become with powers so indefinite, we must not forget how great an evil it has 
 actually become in consequence of the rules by which its discretion has been defined 
 and limited. The nearest approach to certainty attained by the existing system appears 
 to be the certainty of damage to both parties. J. S.] 
 
 1 6 aAriOcffraros \ry6/j.evos XP^vos flvai. Xenoph. Hellenic, iii. 3. 2.
 
 812 DE AUG MENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 niendi contra rigorem Legis, quam supplendi defcctum Legis. 
 Si enim porrigi debet remedium ei quern lex praeteriit ; raulto 
 magis ei quern vulneravit. 
 
 APHORISMUS 36. 
 
 Curias istae Censorial et Praetorias omnino intra casus enormes 
 et extraordinarios se continento ; nee jurisdictiones ordinarias 
 invadunto ; ne forte tendat res ad supplantationem legis, magis 
 quam ad supplementum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 37. 
 
 Jurisdictiones istse in Supremis tantum Curiis resident, nee 
 ad Inferiores communicantor. Parum enim abest a potestate 
 leges condendi, potestas eas supplendi aut extendendi aut 
 moderandi. 
 
 APHORISMUS 38. 
 
 At Curias illas uni viri ne committantur, sed ex pluribus con- 
 stent. Nee decreta exeant cum silentio ; sed judices sententise 
 suas rationes adducant, idque palam atque astante corona ; ut 
 quod ipsa potestate sit liberum, fama tamen et existimatione sit 
 circumscriptum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 39. 
 
 Rubricae Sanguinis ne sunto ; nee de capitalibus, in quibus- 
 cunque curiis, nisi ex lege nota et certa pronunciato. Indixit 
 enim mortem Deus ipse prius ; postea inflixit. Nee vita eri- 
 pienda nisi ei qui se in suam vitam peccare prius nosset. 
 
 APHORISMUS 40. 
 
 In Curiis Censoriis calculum tertium dato ; ut judicibus non 
 imponatur necessitas aut absolvendi aut condemnandi ; sed 
 etiam ut non liquere pronunciare possint. Etiam censoria non 
 tantum pcena, sed et nota esto ; scilicet quae non infligat suppli- 
 cium, sed aut in admonitionem desinat, aut reos ignominia levi 
 et tanquam rubore castiget. 
 
 APHORISMUS 41. 
 
 In Curiis Censoriis, omnium magnorum criminum et scele- 
 rum actus inchoati et medii puniuntor; licet non sequatur 
 effectus consummatus l ; isque sit earum curiarum usus vel 
 maximus ; cum et severitatis intersit, initia scelerum puniri ; 
 et clementiae, perpetrationem eorum (puniendo actus medios) 
 inter cipi. 
 
 1 Of the Star-Chamber, Bacon has said, in his History of Henry FIT., that it took 
 cognisance of " forces, frauds, crimes various of stellionate, and the indications or 
 middle acts towards crimes capital or heinous, not actually committed or perpetrated."
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 813 
 
 APHORISMUS 42. 
 
 Cavendum inprimis, ne in Curiis Praetoriis praebeatur auxi- 
 lium in casibus quos lex non tarn omisit, quam pro levibus 
 contempsit, aut pro odiosis remedio indignos judicavit. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 43. 
 
 Maxime omnium interest Certitudinis Legum (de qua nunc 
 agimus), ne Curiae Praetoriae intumescant et exundent in 
 tantum, ut prastextu rigoris legum mitigandi, etiam robur et 
 nervos iis inciclant aut laxent ; omnia trahendo ad arbitrium. 
 
 APHORISMUS 44. 
 
 Decernendi contra Statutum Expressum, sub ullo aequitatis 
 praetextu, Curiis Praetoriis jus ne esto. Hoc enim si fieret, 
 Judex prorsus transiret in Legislatorem, atque omnia ex arbi- 
 trio penderent. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 45. 
 
 Apud nonnullos receptum est, ut jurisdictio quas decernit 
 secundum cequum et bonum, atque ilia altera quae procedit 
 secundum jus strictum, iisdam curiis deputentur ; apud alios 
 autem, ut diversis. Omnino placet curiarum separatio. Neque 
 enim servabitur distinctio casuum, si fiat commixtio juris- 
 dictionum ; sed Arbitrium Legem tandem trahet. 
 APHOEISMUS 46. 
 
 Non sine causa in usum venerat apud Romanos Album Prce- 
 toris, in quo prasscripsit et publicavit quomodo ipse jus dicturus 
 esset. 1 Quo exemplo, judices in Curiis Praetoriis regulas sibi 
 certas (quantum fieri potest) proponere easque publice affigere 
 debent. Etenim optima est lex, quae minimum relinquit arbi- 
 trio judicis ; optimus judex, qui minimum sibi. 
 
 Verum de Curiis istis fusius tractabimus, cum ad locum de 
 Judiciis veniemus ; obiter tantum jam locuti de iis, quatenus 
 expediant et suppleant Omissa a Lege. 
 
 De Retrospectione Legum. 
 APHOEISMUS 47. 
 
 Est et aliud genus Supplement! Casuum Omissorum, cum lex 
 legem supervenit, atque simul casus omissos trahit. Id fit in 
 
 1 " Album praetoris est queedam tabula dealbata posita pro rostris, in qua. propone- 
 bantur edicta praetoris, ut facile ex eminenti conspicerentur et legerentur." Vetus 
 Gloss, a Brissonio laudat. In the ordinary use of the word it signifies a collection of 
 the formulas by means of which actions were carried on, thus corresponding to the 
 register of writs in our municipal law. The edict contained a good deal more than a 
 mere collection of formulae, though these probably constituted a portion of it.
 
 814 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 legibus sive statutis quae retrospiciunt , ut vulgo loquuntur ; 
 cujus generis leges raro et magna cum cautione sunt adhi- 
 bendae. Neque enim placet Janus in Legibus. 
 APHOEISMUS 48. 
 
 Qui verba aut sententiam legis captione et fraude eludit et 
 circumscribit, dignus est qui etiam a lege sequente innodetur. 
 Igitur in casibus fraudis et evasionis dolosaa, jus turn est ut 
 leges retrospiciant, atque alters? alteris in subsidiis sint ; ut 
 qui dolos meditatur et eversioneni legum prcesentium, saltern 
 a futuris metuat. 
 
 APHORISMUS 49. 
 
 Leges qua3 actorum et instrumentorum veras intentiones 
 contra formularum aut solennitatum defectus roborant et con- 
 firmant, rectissime praaterita complectuntur. Legis enim quse 
 retrospicit, vitium vel praacipuum est quod perturbet. At hujus- 
 modi leges confirmatoriae ad pacem et stabilimentum eorum quae 
 transacta sunt spectant. Cavendum tamen est, ne convellantur 
 
 res judicatfE. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 50. 
 
 Diligenter attendendum, ne eae leges tantum ad praeterita 
 respicere putentur, quae ante-acta infirmant ; sed et eae quae 
 futura prohibent et restringunt, cum praeteritis necessario con- 
 nexa. Veluti, si quae lex artificibus aliquibus interdicat, ne 
 mercimonia sua in posterum vendant ; hasc sonat in posterum, 
 sed operatur in praeteritum ; neque enim illis alia ratione victum 
 quaerere jam integrum est. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 51. 
 
 Lex Declaratoria omnis, licet non habet verba de praeterito, 
 tamen ad praeterita, ipsa vi declarationis, omnino trahitur. Non 
 enim turn incipit interpretatio cum declaratur, sed efficitur 
 tanquam contemporanea ipsi legi. Itaque Leges Declaratorias 
 ne ordinato, nisi in casibus ubi leges cum justitia retrospicere 
 possint. 
 
 Hie vero earn partem absolvimus, quae tractat de Incertitudine 
 Legum ubi invenitur lex nulla. Jam dicendum est de altera 
 ilia parte, ubi scilicet lex extat aliqua, sed perplexa et obscura. 
 
 De Obscuritate Legum. 
 APHOEISMUS 52. 
 
 Obscuritas Legum a quatuor rebus originem ducit ; vel ab
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 815 
 
 accumulatione legum nimia, prsesertim adraixtis obsoletis ; vel a 
 descriptione earum ambigua aut minus perspicua et dilucida ; vel 
 a modis enucleandi juris neglectis aut non bene institutis ; vel 
 denique a contradictione et vacillatione judiciorum. 
 
 De Accumulatione Lcgum nimia. 
 
 APHORISMUS 53. 
 
 Dicit Propheta ; Pluet super eos laqueos. } Non sunt autem 
 pejores laquei quam laquei legum, praesertim poenalium; si 
 numero immensae, et temporis decursu inutiles, non lucernam 
 pedibus praebeant, sed retia potius objiciant, 
 
 APHORISMUS 54. 
 
 Duplex in usum venit Statuti Novi condendi ratio. Altera 
 statuta priora circa idem subjectum confirmat et roborat ; dein 
 nonnulla addit aut mutat. Altera abrogat et delet cuncta quae 
 ante ordinata sunt, et de integro legem novam et uiiiformem 
 substituit. Placet posterior ratio. Nam ex priore ratione 
 ordinationes deveniunt complicate et perplexas ; et quod instat 
 agitur sane, sed Corpus Legum interim redditur vitiosum. In 
 posteriore autem, major certe est adhibenda diligentia, dum de 
 lege ipsa deliberatur ; et anteacta scilicet evolvenda et pensi- 
 tanda antequam lex feratur ; sed optime procedit per hoc legum 
 concordia in futurum. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 55. 
 
 Erat in more apud Athenienses, ut contraria legum capita 
 (quas Anti-Nomias vocant) quotannis a sex viris examinaren- 
 tur ; et qua? reconciliari non poterant proponerentur populo, ut 
 de illis certum aliquid statueretur. 2 Ad quorum exemplum, ii 
 qui potestatem in singulis politiis legum condendarum habent, 
 per triennium, aut quinquennium, aut prout videbitur, Anti- 
 Nomias retractanto.' Eae autem a viris ad hoc delegatis 
 prius inspiciantur et prseparentur, et demum Comitiis exhi- 
 beantur ; ut quod placuerit, per suffragia stabiliatur et figatur. 
 
 APHORISMUS 56. 
 
 Neque vero contraria legum capita reconciliandi, et omnia (ut 
 loquuntur) salvandi, per distinctiones subtiles et qusesitas, nimis 
 
 1 Psalm xi. 6. 
 
 2 The sex viri here mentioned are the 6eff/jLo6frou. See Schoman, De Com. Athen. 
 p. 259. The word Antinomia is used in the sense of a contradiction between different 
 laws by Justinian. In Plutarch (Symposiaca, ix. 13.) it is nearly equivalent to what 
 Jurisconsults designate by the phrase " casus perplexus."
 
 816 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sedula aut anxia cura esto. Ingenii enim haec tela est ; atque 
 utcunque modestiam quandam et reverentiam prae se ferat, inter 
 noxia tamen censenda est ; utpote qua3 reddat corpus univer- 
 sum legum varium, et male consutum. Melius est prorsus ut 
 succumbant deteriora, et meliora stent sola. 
 APHOEISMUS 57. 
 
 Obsoletae Leges et quse abierunt in desuetudinem, non minus 
 quam Anti-Nomiae, proponantur a delegatis ex officio tollen- 
 das. Cum enim Statutum Expressum regulariter desuetudine 
 non abrogetur, fit ut ex contemptu legum obsoletarum fiat 
 nonnulla authoritatis jactura etiam in reliquis; et sequitur 
 tormenti illud genus Mezentii, ut leges vivce in complexu mor- 
 tuarum perimantur. Atque omnino cavendum est a gangrasna 
 in legibus. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 58. 
 
 Quin et in legibus et statutis obsoletis, nee noviter promul- 
 gatis, Curiis Praetoriis interim contra eas decernendi jus esto. 
 Licet enim non male dictum sit, neminem oportere legibus esse 
 sapientiorem 1 , tamen intelligatur hoc de legibus cum evigilent, 
 non cum dormitent. Contra recentiora vero statuta (quas juri 
 publico nocere deprehenduntur) non utique Praetoribus, sed 
 Regibus, et Sanctioribus Consiliis, et Supremis Potestatibus, 
 auxilium praebendi jus esto ; earum executionem per edicta aut 
 acta suspendendo, donee redeant Comitia, aut hujusmodi coetus 
 qui potestatem habeant eas abrogandi ; ne salus populi interim 
 periclitetur. 2 
 
 1 Bacon refers perhaps to D'Argentre's maxim, " Stulta videtur sapientia quae 
 lege vult sapientior videri." In the passage from which these words are taken, he is 
 condemning the presumption of judges who depart from the text on the pretence of 
 equity. D'Argentre died in 1590. 
 
 Compare Aristotle, Rhet. i. 15. 12. : Kal Sri rb riav v6/juav ffo^xarfpov ^rjreiv elvai, 
 TOVT' tariv & tv roTs lira.ivovfj.fvots v6fu>is airayopeverai. See also Cleon's speech, 
 Thucyd. iii. 37. The " obliqua oratio," in the passage quoted from Aristotle arises 
 from the way in which the remark is introduced : namely, as what might be said by 
 a pleader to whom the letter of the law is favourable. 
 
 2 Here, as in the description of the Curise Censorite and Praetoriae, reference is 
 made to what actually existed in England in Bacon's time. In the concluding part 
 of this aphorism he sanctions the doctrine that an act of Parliament may provisionally 
 at least be suspended or set aside by an Order in Council. This doctrine was un- 
 doubtedly commonly maintained in Bacon's time, but it was nevertheless even then 
 protested against. 
 
 [When the rights of the people were not sufficiently secured against the powers of 
 the Crown, and therefore to weaken those powers was a patriotic object, such doctrines 
 were naturally protested against. For when the Crown could successfully and 
 safely abuse the powers it had, the evil could only be remedied or mitigated by taking 
 them away. And it was doubtless by restricting its authority in matters like this that 
 the people were in fact enabled to win the game, and exact sufficient securities for
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 817 
 
 De novis Digestis Legum. 1 
 APHORISMUS 59. 
 
 Quod si Leges alias super alias accumulate in tarn vasta ex- 
 creverint volumina, aut tanta confusione laboraverint, ut eas de 
 integro retractare et in corpus sanum et habile redigere ex usu 
 sit ; id ante omnia agito ; atque opus ejusmodi opus hero'icum 
 esto ; atque authores talis operis inter legislatores et instaura- 
 tores rite et merito numerantor. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 60. 
 
 Hujusmodi Legum Expurgatio, et Digestum Novum, quin- 
 que rebus absolvitur. Primo, omittantur obsoleta, quae Jus- 
 tinianus antiquas fabulas vocat. 2 Deinde, ex Anti-Nomiis 
 recipiantur probatissimas, aboleantur contrariae. Tertio, Ho- 
 moio-Nomiae, sive leges quse idem sonant atque nil aliud sunt 
 quam iterationes ejusdem rei, expungantur; atque una qua3- 
 piam ex iis, quae maxime est perfecta, retineatur vice omnium. 
 Quarto, si quas legum nihil determinent, sed quaestiones tan- 
 tuna proponant, casque relinquant indecisas, similiter facessant. 
 Postremo, quae verbosas inveniuntur et nimis prolixae, contra- 
 hantur magis in arcturi. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 61. 
 
 Omnino vero ex usu fuerit in Novo Digesto Legum, leges 
 pro Jure Communi receptas, qua? tanquam immemoriales sunt 
 in origine sua, atque ex altera parte statuta de tempore in 
 tempus superaddita, seorsum digerere et componere; cum in 
 plurimis rebus non eadem sit, in jure dicendo, Juris Communis 
 et Statutorum interpretatio et administratio. Id quod fecit 
 Trebonianus in Digesto et Codice. 3 
 
 themselves. But we must remember that throughout this treatise Bacon assumes the 
 existence of a government otherwise well constituted. And I am much inclined to 
 think that these securities being once attained, and the House of Commons having 
 in fact a veto upon all the proceedings of the Crown, such an authority might be in- 
 trusted to the government both safely and beneficially. Bacon was not considering 
 what powers could be exercised constitutionally, i. e. according to law and precedent, 
 by the English government, but generally what powers it was good for a people that 
 the governing authority should have. J. S.~\ 
 
 1 This section, and especially the 64th Aphorism, is spoken of with great commen- 
 dation by perhaps the highest authority on such subjects. See Savigny " On the 
 Vocation of our Time to Legislation," 3d edition, p. 20. 
 
 2 Institut. Prooem. 3. The great bulk of Justinian's Institutiones are merely a 
 reproduction of those of Gaius. 
 
 3 The Digest consists of Excerpta from the works of a great number of jurists, so 
 arranged as to form a connected view of the whole of the Roman law. The Codex is 
 a collection of imperial ordinances most of which relate to particular cases, but are 
 nevertheless of general authority, while others are in form as well as in effect legisla- 
 tive enactments. 
 
 The Digest cannot be regarded as a Corpus of customary law : we find in every 
 
 VOL. I. 3 G
 
 818 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 APHORISMUS 62. 
 
 Verum in hujusmodi Legum Regeneratione atque structura 
 nova, veterum legum atque libforum legis verba prorsus et 
 textum retineto; licet per centones et portiones exiguas eas 
 excerpere necesse fuerit: Ea deinde ordine contexito. Etsi 
 enim fortasse commodius atque etiam, si ad rectam rationem 
 respicias, melius hoc transigi posset per textum novum quam 
 per hujusmodi consarcinationem ; tamen in legibus, non tarn 
 stilus et descriptio, quam Authoritas, et hujus patronus Anti- 
 quitas, spectanda est. Alias videri possit hujusmodi opus scho- 
 lasticum potius quiddam et methodus, quam Corpus Legum 
 Imperantium. 
 
 APHOEISMUS 63. 
 
 Consultum fuerit in Novo Digesto Legum vetera volumina 
 non prorsus deleri et in oblivionem cedere, sed in bibliothecis 
 saltern manere ; licet usus eorum vulgaris et promiscuus prohi- 
 beatur. Etenim in causis gravioribus, non abs re fuerit legum 
 pra3teritarum mutationes et series consulere et inspicere ; ac 
 certe sollenne est antiquitatem prsesentibus aspergere. Novum 
 autem hujusmodi Corpus Legum ab iis qui in politiis singulis 
 habent potestatem legislatoriam prorsus confirmandum est ; ne 
 forte, praetextu veteres leges digerendi, leges novae imponantur 
 occulto. 
 
 APHORISMUS 64. 
 
 Optandum esset ut hujusmodi Legum Instauratio illis tem- 
 poribus suscipiatur, quae antiquioribus, quorum acta et opera 
 retractant, literis et rerum cognitione praestiterint. Quod 
 secus in opere Justiniani evenit. Infoelix res namque est, cum 
 ex judicio et delectu aetatis minus prudentis et eruditae antiquo- 
 rum opera mutilentur et recomponantur. Veruntamen saepe 
 necessarium est, quod non optimum. 
 
 Atque de Legum Obscuritate, quae a nimia et confusa earum 
 
 portion of it continual references to every source of law, to leges, plebiscite, edicta, 
 senatus consulta, and imperial rescripts and constitutions, as well as to jus civile, in 
 the narrow sense in which the phrase is equivalent to immemorial custom. It is 
 scarcely necessary to mention that Tribonianus was Justinian's chief instrument in 
 the compilation of the Digest, Codex, and the Institutes. The first of these three 
 works is the greatest in extent and importance. It was drawn up by a commission of 
 seventeen persons, of which Tribonianus was the head, as he was likewise of the 
 smaller commissions by which the other two were compiled. By the Codex I mean 
 the Codex Repetitce Pra lect ioni.t : Tribonianus was not at the head of the commission 
 by which the original Codex was drawn up, and it has been conjectured that his dis- 
 satisfaction at this circumstance occasioned the revision.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 819 
 
 accumulatione fit, hoec dicta sint. Jam de Descriptione earum 
 Ambigua et Obscura dicendum. 
 
 De Descriptione Legum Perplexa et Obscura. 
 APHORISMUS 65. 
 
 Descriptio Legum obscura oritur, aut ex loquacitate et ver- 
 bositate earum ; aut rursus ex brevitate nimia ; aut ex prologo 
 legis cum ipso corpore legis pugnante. 
 APHORISMUS 66. 
 
 De obscuritate vero legum quae ex earum descriptione prava 
 oritur, jam dicendum est. Loquacitas quee in perscribendo 
 leges in usum venit, et prolixitas, non placet. Neque enim 
 quod vult et captat ullo modo assequitur, sed contrarium 
 potius. Cum enim casus singulos particulars verbis appositis 
 et propriis persequi et exprimere contendat, majorem inde 
 sperans certitudinem ; e contra quaestiones multiplices parit 
 de verbis ; ut difficilius procedat interpretatio secundum sen- 
 tentiam legis (qua? sanior est et verior) propter strepitum 
 verborum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 67. 
 
 Neque propterea nimis concisa et affectata brevitas, ma- 
 jestatis gratia, et tanquam magis imperatoria, probanda est ; 
 praesertim his sseeulis, ne forte sit lex instar Regular Lesbm. 1 
 Mediocritas ergo assectanda est ; et verborum exquirenda gene- 
 ralitas, bene terminata; quse licet casus comprehensos non 
 sedulo persequatur, attamen non comprehensos satis perspicue 
 excludat. 
 
 APHORISMUS 68. 
 
 In legibus tamen atque edictis ordinariis et politicis, in 
 quibus ut plurimum nemo jurisconsultum adhibet, sed suo 
 sensui confidit, omnia fusius explicari debent, et ad captum 
 vulgi tanquam digito monstrari. 
 
 APHORISMUS 69. 
 
 Neque nobis prologi legum, qui inepti olim habiti sunt, et 
 
 1 " Lesbia regula dicitur quoties praepostere, non ad rationem factum, sed ratio ad 
 factum accommodatur." Erasm. Adag. i. 93. 
 
 Bacon's meaning is, that if the law be too concisely stated it may be bent by the 
 interpretations which its excessive brevity will render necessary, so as to operate in a 
 way which the legislator did not contemplate. This will more clearly appear to be his 
 meaning from the following passage from the Nicomachean Ethics, v. c. 10. to which 
 Erasmus refers: TOV yap aoplffrov aopiaros Kal 6 KO.V&V eaTw, tiairfp Kal rrjs Af<rias 
 o(Ko5o/w)s 6 fjLo\v&Sivos Kavitiv. In building with irregularly shaped stones, flexible 
 rules might be found of use, and it would appear that the Lesbians were in the habit 
 of employing them. 
 
 3 G 2
 
 820 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 leges introducunt disputantes non jubentes, utique placerent, si 
 priscos mores ferre possemus. 1 Sed prologi isti legum plerun- 
 que (ut nunc sunt tempora) necessario adhibentur, non tarn ad 
 explicationem legis, quam instar suasionis ad perferendam legem 
 in Comitiis ; et rursus ad satisfaciendum populo. Quantum 
 fieri potest tamen, prologi evitentur, et lex incipiat a jussione. 
 
 APHORISMUS 70. 
 
 Intentio et sententia legis, licet ex praefationibus et praeam- 
 bulis (ut loquuntur) non male quandoque eliciatur, attamen 
 latitude aut extensio ejus ex illis minime peti debet. Saepe 
 enim praeambulum arripit nonnulla ex maxime plausibilibus et 
 speciosis ad exemplum, cum lex tamen multo plura complecta- 
 tur ; aut contra, lex restringit et limitat complura, cujus limita- 
 tionis rationem in praeambulo inseri non fuerit opus. Quare 
 dimensio et latitude legis ex corpore legis petenda. Nam prae- 
 ambulum saepe aut ultra aut citra cadit. 
 
 APHORISMUS 71. 
 
 Est vero genus perscribendi leges valde vitiosum. Cum 
 scilicet casus ad quern lex collimat fuse exprimitur in praeam- 
 bulo ; deinde ex vi verbi (talis) aut hujusmodi relativi corpus 
 legis retro vertitur in praeambulum, unde praeambulum inseritur 
 et incorporatur ipsi legi ; quod et obscurum est et minus tutum, 
 quia non eadem adhiberi consuevit diligentia in ponderandis et 
 examinandis verbis praeambuli, quae adhibetur in corpore ipsius 
 legis. 
 
 Hanc partem, de Incertitudine legum quae ex mala de- 
 scriptione ipsarum ortum habet, fusius tractabimus, quando de 
 Interpretatione legum postea agemus. Atque de Descriptione 
 legum Obscura haec dicta sint ; jam de Modis Enucleandi Juris 
 dicendum. 
 
 De Modis Enucleandi Juris, et Tollendi Ambigua. 
 APHORISMUS 72. 
 
 Modi Enucleandi Juris et Tollendi Dubia, quinque sunt. 
 Hoc enim fit aut per Perscriptiones Judiciorum ; aut per Scri- 
 ptores Authenticos ; aut per Libras Auxiliares ; aut per Pra- 
 lectiones ; aut per Responsa sive Consulta Prudentum. Haec 
 
 1 " Jubeat," says Seneca, speaking of law, " non disputet Nihil videtur mihi in- 
 eptius quam lex cum prologo." Ep. 95.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 821 
 
 omnia, si bene instituantur, praesto erunt magna legum obscuri- 
 tati subsidia. 
 
 De Perscriptione Judiciorum. 
 APHORISMUS 73. 
 
 Ante omnia, judicia reddita in curiis supremis et principali- 
 bus atque causis gravioribus, praesertim dubiis, quaeque aliquid 
 habent difficultatis aut novitatis, diligenter et cum fide ex- 
 cipiunto. Judicia enim anchoraa legum sunt, ut leges rei- 
 publicae. 
 
 APHORISMUS 74. 
 
 Modus hujusmodi judicia excipiendi et in scripta referendi, 
 talis esto. Casus prascise, judicia ipsa exacte, perscribito; 
 rationes Judiciorum, quas adduxerunt judices, adjicito; casuum 
 ad exemplum adductorum authoritatem cum casibus principali- 
 bus ne commisceto ; de advocatorum perorationibus, nisi quid- 
 piam in iis fuerit admodum eximium, sileto. 
 APHORISMUS 75, 
 
 Personae quae hujusmodi judicia excipiant, ex advocatis 
 maxime doctis sunto, et honorarium liberale ex publico exci- 
 piunto. Judices ipsi ab hujusmodi perscriptionibus abstinento ; 
 ne forte opinionibus propriis addicti, et authoritate propria 
 freti, limites referendarii transcendant. 
 APHORISMUS 76. 
 
 Judicia ilia in ordine et serie temporis digerito, non per 
 methodum et titulos. Sunt enim scripta ejusmodi tanquam 
 historiae aut narrationes legum. Neque solum acta ipsa, sed et 
 tempora ipsorum, judici prudenti lucem praebent. 
 
 De Scriptoribus Authenticis. 
 
 APHORISMUS 77. 
 
 Ex legibus ipsis, quae Jus Commune constituunt; deinde 
 ex constitutionibus sive statutis; tertio loco ex judiciis per- 
 scriptis, Corpus Juris tantummodo constituitor. Praater ilia, 
 alia authentica aut nulla sunto, aut parce recipiuntor. 
 APHORISMUS 78. 
 
 Nihil tarn interest Certitudinis Legum (de qua nunc tracta- 
 mus) quam ut scripta authentica intra fines moderates coer- 
 ceantur, et facessat multitude enormis authorum et doctorum 
 in jure; unde laceratur sententia legum, judex fit attonitus, 
 processus immortales, atque advocatus ipse, cum tot libros per- 
 
 3 G 3
 
 822 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 legere et vincere non possit, compendia sectatur. Glossa for- 
 tasse aliqua bona, et ex scriptoribus classicis pauci, vel potius 
 scriptorum paucorum pauculae portiones, recipi possint pro au- 
 thenticis. Reliquorum nihilominus maneat usus nonnullus in 
 bibliothecis, ut eorum tractatus inspiciant judices aut advocati, 
 cum opus fuerit; sed in causis agendis, in foro citare eos non 
 permittitor, nee in authoritatem transeunto. 
 
 De Libris Auxiliaribus. 
 APHORISMUS 79. 
 
 At Scientiam Juris et Practicam auxiliaribus libris ne nu- 
 danto, sed potius instruunto. 1 li sex in genere sunto. Insti- 
 tutiones. De Verborum Significatione. De Regulis Juris. 2 
 Antiquitates Legum. Summae. Agendi Formulae. 
 APHORISMUS 80. 
 
 Przeparandi sunt juvenes et novitii ad scientiam et ardua 
 juris altius et commodius haurienda et imbibenda, per Institu- 
 tiones. Institutiones illas ordine claro et perspicuo componito. 
 In illis ipsis universum Jus Privatuni percurrito; non alia 
 omittendo, in aliis plus satis immorando, sed ex singulis quadam 
 breviter delibando, ut ad Corpus Legum perlegendum acces- 
 suro nil se ostendat prorsus novum, sed levi aliqua notione prze- 
 ceptum. Jus Publicum in Institutionibus ne attingito, verum 
 illud ex fontibus ipsis hauriatur. 
 
 APHORISMUS 81. 
 
 Commentarmm de Vocabulis Juris conficito. In explicatione 
 ipsorum, et sensu reddendo, ne curiose nimis aut laboriose ver- 
 sator. Neque enim hoc agitur, ut diffinitiones verborum quae- 
 rantur exacte, sed explicationes tantum quce legendis juris libris 
 viam aperiant faciliorem. Tractatum autem istum per literas 
 alphabet! ne digerito ; id indici alicui relinquito ; sed collo- 
 centur simul verba qua3 circa eandem rem versantur, ut alterum 
 alteri sit juvamento ad intelligendum. 
 
 APHORISMUS 82. 
 
 Ad Certitudinem Legum facit (si quid aliud) tractatus bo- 
 nus et diligens de Diversis Regulis Juris. Is dignus est, qui 
 maximis ingeniis et prudentissimis jure-consultis committatur. 
 Neque enim placent quse in hoc genere extant. Colligendse 
 
 1 So in the original edition : q. nudato .... instntito. /. S. 
 
 2 "De verborum significatione" and "De diversis regulis antiqui juris," are 
 respectively the penultimate and the last Tituli in the Digest.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 823 
 
 autem sunt regulae, non tantum notae et vulgatae, sed et alias 
 magis subtiles et reconditaa, quaa ex legum et rerum judicata- 
 rum harmonia extrahi possint ; quales in rubricis optimis quan- 
 doque inveniuntur ; suntque dictamina generalia rationis, quae 
 per materias legis diversas percurrunt, et sunt tanquam Sa- 
 burra Juris. 
 
 APHORISMUS 83. 
 
 At singula Juris Scita aut Placita non intelligantur pro 
 Regulis, ut fieri solet satis imperite. Hoc enim si reciperetur, 
 quot Leges tot Regulas ; Lex enim nil aliud quam Regula Im- 
 perans. Verum eas pro Regulis habeto, quae in forma ipsa 
 justitiae haerent: unde, ut plurimum, per Jura Civilia diver- 
 sarum rerumpublicarum easdem Regulae fere reperiuntur ; nisi 
 forte propter relationem ad formas politiarum varient. 
 
 APHORISMUS 84. 
 
 Post Regulam brevi et solido verborum complexu enuntia- 
 tam, adjiciantur Exempla, et Decisiones Casuum maxime lu- 
 culentae, ad Explicationem ; Distinctiones et Exceptiones, ad 
 Limitationem ; Cognata, ad Ampliationem ejusdem Regulae. 
 APHORISMUS 85. 
 
 Recte jubetur, ut non ex Regulis Jus sumatur ; sed ex Jure 
 quod est, Regula fiat. 1 Neque enim ex Verbis Regulae pe- 
 tenda est probatio, ac si esset Textus Legis. Regula enim 
 Legem (ut acus nautica polos) indicat, non statuit. 
 
 APHORISMUS 86. 
 
 Praster Corpus ipsum Juris, juvabit etiam Antiquitates Le- 
 gum invisere ; quibus licet evanuerit authoritas, manet tameu 
 reverentia. Pro antiquitatibus autem legum habeantur scripta 
 circa leges et judicia, sive ilia fuerint edita sive non, quas ipsum 
 Corpus Legum tempore praecesserunt. Earum siquidem ja- 
 ctura facienda non est. Itaque ex iis utilissima quaeque ex- 
 cerpito (multa enim invenientur inania et frivola), eaque in 
 unum volumen redigito ; ne antiques fabulce, ut loquitur Tre- 
 bonianus, cum Legibus ipsis misceantur. 
 APHORISMUS 87. 
 
 Practicae vero plurimum interest, ut jus universum digeratur 
 ordine in Locos et Titulos ; ad quos subito (prout dabitur oc- 
 casio) recurrere quis possit, veluti in promptuarium paratum 
 ad prassentes usus. Hujusmodi Libri Summarum et ordinant 
 
 1 " Non ex regula jus sumatur ; sed ex jure quod est, regula flat." Paulus, D. 
 De diversis rcgulis an ti'-iui juris, 1. I. 
 
 3 G 4
 
 824 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 sparsa, et abbreviant fusa et prolixa in lege. Cavendum autem 
 est, ne summae istae reddant homines promptos ad practicam, 
 cessatores in scientia ipsa. Earum enim officium est tale, ut 
 ex iis recolatur jus, non perdiscatur. Summae autem omnino 
 magna diligentia, fide, et judicio sunt conficienda, ne furtum 
 faciant legibus. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 88. 
 
 Formulas Agendi diversas in unoquoque genere colligito. 
 Nam et practical hoc interest; et certe pandunt ilia? oracula 
 et occulta legum. Sunt enim non pauca qua3 latent in legibus, 
 at in formulis agendi melius et fusius perspiciuntur ; instar 
 pugni et palmae. 
 
 De Responsis et Consultis. 
 APHORISMUS 89. 
 
 Dubitationes Particulares qua? de tempore in tempus emer- 
 gunt dirimendi et solvendi, aliqua ratio iniri debet. Durum 
 enim est ut ii qui ab errore cavere cupiant ducem via? non in- 
 veniant, verum ut actus ipsi periclitentur, neque sit aliquis 
 ante rem peractam juris praenoscendi modus. 
 
 APHORISMUS 90. 
 
 Responsa Prudentum, quae petentibus dantur de jure sive 
 ab advocatis sive a doctoribus, tanta valere authoritate ut ab 
 eorum sententia judici recedere non sit licitum, non placet. 1 
 Jura a Juratis Judicibus sumunto. 
 
 APHOKISMUS 91. 
 
 Tentari judicia per causas et personas fictas, ut eo modo 
 experiantur homines qualis futura sit legis norma, non placet. 2 
 
 1 By the Roman Jurists the Responsa prudentium are reckoned among the Fontes 
 Juris, but there are few points in the history of Roman law on which it is more diffi- 
 cult to form a satisfactory opinion. We have no satisfactory information either as to 
 the form in which these Responsa were given, or as to the degree of authority with 
 which they were invested. The common opinion is, that they received absolute force 
 of law in virtue of an ordinance of Augustus, and that more precise regulations with 
 respect to cases in which a diversity of opinion existed were made by Hadrian. The 
 connexion between them and the law of citations of Honorius and Valentinian is also 
 a matter of much obscurity. See Bbcking's Pandekten, i. p. 36. Walter, Gesch. d. R. 
 Rechts, 409. and 421. Hugo, Gesch. d. R. Rechts, 313. and 385. 
 
 8 Lord Ellenborough refused to try a case in which a bet had been made on a point 
 of law. He asked, it is said, to see the record, and threw it down " with much in- 
 dignation." Tradition adds that he threw it at the head of the plaintiff's attorney. 
 Until lately, when it was found necessary in proceedings in equity to have the decision 
 of a jury on a question of fact, recourse was had to the machinery of a feigned issue ; 
 that is, an action was brought on an imaginary wager as to the truth or falsehood of 
 an agreed upon statement of facts. Possibly in Bacon's time a similar course may 
 have been adopted iu order to obtain the opinion of the judges on points of law. In
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 825 
 
 Dedecorat enim majestatem legum, et pro prsevaricatione qua- 
 piam censenda est. Judicia autem aliquid habere ex scena 
 deforme est. 
 
 APHORISMUS 92. 
 
 Judicum igitur solummodo, tarn Judicia quam Responsa et 
 Consulta sunto. Ilia de litibus pendentibus, haec de arduis 
 juris quasstionibus in thesi. Ea Consulta, sive in privatis rebus 
 sive in publicis, a Judicibus ipais ne poscito (id enim si fiat, 
 judex transeat in advocatum) ; sed a Principe, aut Statu. Ab 
 illis ad Judices demandentur. Judices vero, tali authoritate 
 freti, disceptationes advocatorum, vel ab his quorum interest 
 adhibitorum, vel a Judicibus ipsis (si opus sit) assignatorum, et 
 argumenta ex utraque parte audiunto; et, re deliberata, jus 
 expediunto et declaranto. Consulta hujusmodi inter Judicia 
 referunto et edunto, et paris authoritatis sunto. 1 
 
 De Prcelectionibus. 
 APHORISMUS 93. 
 
 Praelectiones de Jure, atque Exercitationes eorum qui juris 
 studiis incumbunt et operam dant, ita instituuntor et ordinantor, 
 ut omnia tendant ad quasstiones et controversias de jure sedan- 
 das potius quam excitandas. Ludus enim (ut nunc fit) fere 
 apud omnes instituitur et aperitur ad altercationes et quaesti- 
 ones de jure multiplicandas, tanquam ostentandi ingenii causa. 
 Atque hoc vetus est malum. Etenim etiam apud antiques 
 
 modern times the practice has been in accordance with what he a little further on 
 recommends ; the point of law being referred to the j udges directly, who, after 
 hearing counsel, certify their opinion of it to the Chancellor. 
 
 1 Bacon refers to the practice of extra-judicial consultations as it existed in his own 
 time. It does not, I believe, appear that it was ever the practice for private persons 
 to obtain through the intervention of the Privy Council authoritative decisions on 
 legal questions, but it is well known that the Court occasionally obtained " prajj'u- 
 dicia " from the judges on points in which it was itself interested. The effect of this 
 practice in promoting judicial servility is well seen in the case of ship-money ; the 
 extra-judicial decision of the judges in favour of its legality being unanimous, whereas 
 when the case came on in the exchequer chamber, it was affirmed to be legal 
 by a bare majority of seven against five. 
 
 [I cannot think that Bacon alludes to extra-judicial consultations of this kind ; 
 which were conducted in a different way from those he recommends, and resorted to 
 for a different purpose. The object of the Government in asking the judges' opinions 
 on the case privately before commencing a prosecution, was to ascertain that the case 
 was a good one, and so avoid the scandal and disrepute which then attended the failure 
 of a Crown prosecution. The object of the proceeding which Bacon here advocates, is to 
 provide a means of settling any disputed point of law, without either waiting for a real 
 cause in which it may be involved, or getting up a fictitious one ; and the manner of 
 it is to be public and formal. The case is to be regularly argued and the judgment 
 formally recorded. J. S.]
 
 826 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 gloria3 fuit, tanquam per sectas et factiones, quaestiones com- 
 plures de jure magis fovere quam extinguere. 1 Id ne fiat 
 provideto. 
 
 De Vacillatione Judiciorum. 
 APHOKISMUS 94. 
 
 Vacillant Judicia, vel propter immaturam et praefestinam 
 sententiam; vel propter semulationem curiarum; vel propter 
 rnalam et imperltam perscriptionem Judiciorum; vel propter 
 viam praebitam ad rescissionem eorum nimis facilem et expedi- 
 tam. Itaque providendum est ut judicia emanent, matura de- 
 liberatione prius habita ; atque ut curiae se invicem revereantur, 
 atque ut judicia perscribantur fideliter et prudenter ; utque via 
 ad rescindenda judicia sit arcta, confragosa, et tanquam muri- 
 cibus strata. 
 
 APHORISMUS 95. 
 
 Si judicium redditum fuerit de casu aliquo in aliqua curia 
 principali, et similis casus intervenerit in alia curia, ne pro- 
 cedito ad judicium antequam fiat consultatio in collegio aliquo 
 judicum majore. Judicia enim reddita, si forte rescindi necesse 
 sit, saltern sepeliuntor cum honore. 
 
 APHORISMUS 96. 
 
 Ut curiae de jurisdictione digladientur et conflictentur, hu- 
 manum quiddam est ; eoque magis, quod per ineptam quandam 
 sententiam (quod boni et strenui sit judicis, ampliare jurisdicti- 
 onem Curies} alatur plane ista intemperies, et calcar addatur 
 ubi fraeno opus est. Ut vero ex hac animorum contentione 
 curias judicia utrobique reddita (quae nil ad jurisdictionem per- 
 tinent) libenter rescindant, intolerable malum ; et a regibus, 
 aut senatu, aut politia plane vindicandum. Pessimi enim ex- 
 empli res est, ut curiae, quae pacem subditis praestant, inter se 
 duella exerceant. 
 
 1 Our knowledge of the history of the two sects or schools of jurists which existed 
 during what is called the middle period of Roman jurisprudence is still imperfect, 
 though less so than before the discovery of the Institutes of Gaius. It appears pro- 
 bable that the importance of the differences of opinion between them has been ex- 
 aggerated, and that the sects themselves had died out before the time of Justinian, 
 The two schools respectively regarded Ateius Capito and Anstitius Labeo as their head 
 or founder ; but the followers of the former were called Sabinians or Cassians ; the 
 other school being that of the Proculeians j all these names being derived from those of 
 certain eminent followers of the two jurists just mentioned. Gaius, the author of the 
 Institutes, belonged to the former school, which is said to have been distinguished 
 from the other by a closer adherence to the letter of the law. Probably the best writer 
 on the subject is Dirksen, whose work was published in 1825. The distinction 
 between the character of the doctrines of the two schools is not very strongly marked.
 
 LIBER OCTAVUS. 827 
 
 APHORISMUS 97. 
 
 Non facilis esto aut proclivis ad judicia rescindenda aditus 
 per Appellationes, aut Impetitiones de Errore, aut Revisus, et 
 similia. Receptum apud nonnullos est, ut lis trahatur ad 
 forum superius, tanquam res Integra ; judicio inde dato seposito, 
 et plane suspense. Apud alios vero, ut judicium ipsum maneat 
 in suo vigore, sed executio ejus tantum cesset. Neutrum 
 placet; nisi curias in quibus judicium redditum sit fuerint 
 humiles et inferioris ordinis ; sed potius, ut et judicium stet, et 
 procedat ejus executio ; modo cautio detur a defendente de 
 damnis et expensis, si judicium fuerit rescissum. 
 
 Atque hie Titulus, de Certitudine Legum, ad exemplum 
 Digesti reliqui (quod meditamur) sufficiet. 
 
 Jam vero Doctrinam Civilem (quatenus earn nobis tractare 
 visum est) conclusimus ; atque una cum ea Philosophiam Hu- 
 manam ; sicut etiam, cum Philosophia Humana, Philosophiam 
 in genere. Tandem igitur paululum respirantes, atque ad ea 
 qua? prastervecti sumus oculos retroflectentes, hunc tractatum 
 nostrum non absimilem esse censemus sonis illis et praeludiis 
 quae praetentant musici dum fides ad modulationem concinnant ; 
 quae ipsa quidem auribus ingratum quiddam et asperum ex- 
 hibent, at in causa sunt ut quae sequuntur omnia sint suaviora ; 
 sic nimirum nos in animum induximus ut in cithara musarum 
 concinnanda et ad harmoniam verani redigenda operam navare- 
 mus, quo ab aliis postea pulsentur chordae meliore digito aut 
 plectro. Sane, cum nobis ante oculos proponamus temporum 
 horum statum, in quibus literae jam tertio ad mortales videntur 
 rediisse ; et una diligenter intueamur quam variis jam nos invi- 
 serint instructae praesidiis et auxiliis ; qualia sunt, ingeniorum 
 nostri temporum complurium acumen et sublimitas ; eximia ilia 
 monumenta scriptorum veterum, quae veluti tot faces nobis 
 praelucent ; ars typographica, libros cujuscunque fortunae ho- 
 minibus larga manu suppeditans ; oceani sinus laxati, et orbis 
 ex omni parte peragratus, unde experimenta plurima priscis 
 ignota comparuerunt, et ingens accessit Natural! Historiae cu- 
 mulus ; otium, quo ingenia optima in regnis et provinciis 
 Europ ubique abundant, cum negotiis minus his in locis im- 
 plicentur homines quam aut Graeci propter populares status, 
 aut propter ditionum amplitudinem Romani solebant ; pax qua 
 f'ruitur hoc tempore Britannia, Hispania, Italia, etiam mine
 
 828 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM LIBER OCTAVUS. 
 
 Gallia, et alias regiones non paucse ; consumptio et exinanitio 
 omnium quae videntur excogitari aut dici posse circa controver- 
 sias religionis, quae tot ingenia jamdiu diverterunt a caeterarum 
 artium studiis ; summa et excellens Majestatis tuae eruditio, cui 
 (tanquam Phoenici volucres) aggregant se undique ingenia; 
 proprietas denique ilia inseparabilis quae Tempus ipsum se- 
 quitur, ut veritatem indies parturiat ; Haec (inquam) cum cogi- 
 tamus, non possumus non in earn spem animum erigere, ut 
 existimemus tertiam hanc Literarum periodum duas illas priores 
 apud Graecos et Romanes longo intervallo superaturam ; modo 
 saltern homines et vires suas, atque defectus etiam virium 
 suarum, probe et prudenter nosse velint; atque alii ab aliis, 
 inventionis lampada, non contradictionis torres, accipiant ; 
 atque inquisitionem veritatis pro incoepto nobili, non pro de- 
 lectamento aut ornamento putent ; atque opes ac magnificen- 
 tiam impendant in res solidas et eximias, non in pervulgatas et 
 obvias. Ad labores meos quod attinet, si cui libeat in eorum 
 reprehensione aut sibi aut aliis placere, veterem certe et ul- 
 timae patientiae petitionem exhibebunt illi ; Verbera, sed audi. 1 
 Reprehendant homines quantum libuerit, modo attendant et 
 perpendant quae dicuntur. Appellatio sane legitima fuerit 
 (licet res fortasse minus ea indigebit), si a primis cogitationi- 
 bus hominum ad secundas provocetur, et ab asvo praesenti ad 
 posteros. Veniamus nunc ad earn Scientiam qua caruerunt 
 duae illae priscse temporum periodi (neque enim tanta illis 
 foelicitas concessa est), Sacram dico et divinitus Inspi- 
 ratam Theologiam ; cunctorum laborum ac 
 peregrinationum humanarum 
 sabbatum ac portum 
 nobilissimum. 
 
 1 See Plut in Themist c. 11.
 
 829 
 
 FRANCISCI BARONIS DE VERULAMIO, 
 
 VICE-COMITIS SANCTI ALBANI, 
 
 DE DIGNITATE ET AUGMENTIS 
 SCIENTIARUM 
 
 LIBER NONUS. 
 
 AD REGEM SUUM. 
 
 CAPUT I. 
 
 Partitiones Theologiae Inspiratae omittuntur ; Tantum aditus fit 
 ad Desiderata tria ; Doctrinam de Legitimo Usu Rationis 
 Humana? in Divinis ; Doctrinam de Gradibus Unitatis in 
 Civitate Dei ; et Emanationes Scripturarum. 
 
 JAM vero (Rex optime) cum carina parva, qualis nostra esse 
 potuit, universum ambitum tarn veteris quam novi orbis scien- 
 tiarum circumnavigaverit (quam secundis ventis et cursu, 
 posterorum sit judicium), quid superest, nisi ut vota, tandem 
 perfuncti, persolvamus ? At restat adhuc Theologia Sacra, 
 give Inspirata. Veruntamen si earn tractare pergamus, ex- 
 eundum nobis foret e Navicula Rationis Humanaa, et transeun- 
 dum in Ecclesiae Navem ; quae sola Acu Nautica Divina pollet 
 ad cursum recte dirigendum. Neque enim sufficient amplius 
 Stellas Philosophise, quae hactenus praecipue nobis affulserunt. 
 Itaque par foret, silentium quoque in hac re colere. Quam- 
 obrem partitiones legitimas circa earn omittemus ; pauca tamen, 
 pro tenuitate nostra, etiam in hanc conferemus, loco votorum. 
 Id eo magis facimus, quia in corpore Theologiaa nullam prorsus 
 regionem aut tractum plane desertum aut incultum invenimus ; 
 tanta fuit hominum diligentia in seminandis aut tritico, aut 
 zizaniis.
 
 830 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Tres igitur proponemus Theologiae Appendices, quas non clc 
 niateria per Theologiam informata aut informanda, sed tantum- 
 modo de Modo Informationis, tractent. Neque tamen, circa 
 eos tractatus (lit in reliquis consuevimus) vel Exempla sub- 
 jungemus, vel Praecepta dabimus. Id theologis relinquemus. 
 Sunt enim ilia (ut diximus) instar votorum tantum. 
 
 1. Praerogativa Dei totum hominem complectitur ; nee minus 
 ad Rationem quam ad Voluntatem Humanam extenditur ; ut 
 homo scilicet in universum se abneget, et accedat Deo. Quare, 
 sicut Legi Divinae obedire tenemur, licet reluctetur Voluntas ; 
 ita et Verbo Dei fidem habere, licet reluctetur Ratio. Etenim, 
 si ea duntaxat credamus qua? sunt ration! nostrae consentanea, 
 rebus assentimur, non authori ; quod etiam suspectae fidei 
 testibus prastare solemus. At fides ilia, quae Abrahamo impu- 
 tabatur ad justitiam, de hujusmodi re extitit quam irrisui habe- 
 bat Sarah; quae in hac parte imago quaedam erat Rationis 
 Naturalis. Quanto igitur mysterium aliquod divinum fuerit 
 magis absonum et incredibile, tanto plus in credendo exhibetur 
 honoris Deo, et fit victoria Fidei nobilior. Etiam et pec- 
 catores, quo magis conscientia sua gravantur, et nihilominus 
 fidem de salute sua in Dei misericordia collocant, eo Deum 
 majore afficiunt honore ; omnis autem desperatio Deo pro con- 
 tumelia est. Quinetiam, si attente reni perpendamus, dignius 
 quiddam est credere quam scire, qualiter nunc scimus. In 
 scientia enim mens humana patitur a sensu, qui a rebus mate- 
 riatis resilit ; in fide autem anima patitur ab anima ; quae est 
 agens dignius. Aliter se res habet in Statu Glorias : tune 
 siquidem cessabit Fides, atque cognoscemus sicut et cogniti 
 sumus. 
 
 Concludamus igitur, Theologiam Sacram ex verbo et oraculis 
 Dei, non ex lumine naturae aut rationis dictamine, hauriri 
 debere. Scriptum est enim, Cadi enarrant gloriam Dei 1 ', at 
 nusquam scriptum invenitur, Cceli enarrant voluntatem Dei. 
 De ilia pronunciatur, Ad Legem et Testimonia, si non fecerint 
 secundum verbum istud^, &c. Neque hoc tenet tantum in 
 grandibus illis mysteriis de Deitate, Creatione, Redemptione ; 
 verum pertinet etiam ad interpretationem perfectiorem legis 
 moralis ; Diligite inimicos vestros; benefacite his qui oderunt vos, 
 &c. ; ut sitisjilii patris vestri qui in ccelis est, qui pluit super 
 
 1 Ps. xix. 1. 8 Isaiah, viii. 20.
 
 LIBER NONUS. 831 
 
 justos et injustos. 1 Quae certe verba plausum ilium merentur, 
 Nee vox hominem sonat. 2 Siquidem vox est quae lumen na- 
 turae superat. Quinetiam videmus poetas ethnicos, prassertim 
 cum pathetice loquantur, expostulare non raro cum legibus et 
 doctrinis moralibus (quae tamen legibus divinis multo sunt 
 indulgentiores et solutiores), ac si naturae libertati cum ma- 
 lignitate quadam repugnent : 
 
 Et quod Natura remittit, 
 Invida jura negant. 3 
 
 Ita Dendamis Indus ad Alexandra nuntios, Se inaudisse quidem 
 aliquid de nomine PythagortB et aliorum sapientum e Grcecia, et 
 credere illosfuisse viros magnos ; vitio tamen illo laborasse, quod 
 scilicet nimia in reverentia et veneratione habuissent rem quampiam 
 phantasticam, quam Legem et Morem vocitdbant.^ Quare nee 
 illud dubitandum, magnam partem legis moralis sublimiorem 
 esse, quam quo lumen natures ascendere possit. Veruntamen 
 quod dicitur, habere homines etiam ex lumine et lege natura? 
 notiones nonnullas Virtutis, Vitii ; Justitiae, Injuriae ; Boni, 
 Mali ; id verissimum est. Notandum tamen, Lumen Naturoc 
 duplici significatione accipi ; primo, quatenus oritur ex sensu, 
 inductione, ratione, argumentis, secundum leges coeli ac teme ; 
 secundo, quatenus animae humanae interno afFulget instinctu, 
 secundum legem conscientiae ; quae scintilla quaedam est, et 
 tanquam reliquiae, pristinas et primitivae puritatis. In quo po- 
 steriore sensu praecipue particeps est anima lucis nonnullas ad 
 perfectionem intuendam et discernendam legis moralis ; quae 
 tamen lux non prorsus clara sit, sed ejusmodi ut potius vitia 
 quadamtenus redarguat, quam de officiis plene informet. Quare 
 Religio, sive mysteria spectes sive mores, pendet ex Reve- 
 latione Divina. 
 
 Attamen usus Rationis Humanae in spiritualibus multiplex 
 sane existit, ac late admodum patet. Neque enim sine causa 
 est, quod Apostolus Religionem appellaverit Rationalem Cultum 
 
 1 St. Matth. v. 44. and 45 2 Virg. ^En. i. 328. 
 
 8 Ovid. Metara. x. 330. 
 
 4 The name of the person of whom this story is told by Plutarch is Dandamis, but 
 wherever Bacon has mentioned it, he spells it as in the text. Dandamis is also men- 
 tioned by Arrian, who, however, does not relate this anecdote. We find the same 
 story in Strabo ; but the name of the Indian is with him not Dandamis, but Mandanis. 
 See Plut. in Alex. c. 65., and Strabo, 1. xv. In the Tempr.ris Partus Masculus, 
 Bacon speaks of these remarks of Dandamis as one of the exceptions to his general 
 assertion of the worthlessness of the speculations of the philosophers of antiquity.
 
 832 DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM 
 
 Dei. 1 Recordetur quis caeremonias et typos veteris legis; fue- 
 runt illae rationales et significativse, longe discrepantes a csere- 
 moniis idolatriae et magiae ; quae tanquam surdse et mutas erant, 
 nihil docentes plerunque, imo ne innuentes quidem. Prascipue 
 Christiana Fides, ut in omnibus, sic in hoc ipso eminet ; quod 
 auream servet mediocritatem circa usum Rationis et Disputa- 
 tionis (quae Rationis proles est) inter leges Ethnicorum et 
 Mahometi, quae extrema sectantur. Religio siquidem Ethni- 
 corum fidei aut confessionis constantis nihil habebat ; contra, 
 in religione Mahometi, omnis disputatio interdicta est ; ita 
 ut altera erroris vagi et multiplicis, altera vafrae cujusdam 
 et cautae imposturoe, faciem prae se ferat ; cum sancta Fides 
 Christiana Rationis usum et Disputationem (sed secundum 
 debitos fines) et recipiat et rejiciat. 
 
 Humanae Rationis usus, in rebus ad Religionem spectantibus, 
 duplex est ; alter in explicatione mysterii, alter in illationibus 
 quae inde deducuntur. Quod ad mysteriorum explicationem 
 attinet, videmus non dedignari Deum ad infinnitatem captus 
 nostri se demittere, mysteria sua ita explicando ut a nobis 
 op time ea possint percipi; atque revelationes suas in rationis 
 nostrae syllepses et notiones veluti inoculando ; atque inspira- 
 tiones ad intellectum nostrum aperiendum sic accommodando, 
 quemadmodum figura clavis aptatur figuras sera?. Qua tamen 
 in parte, nobis ipsis deese minime debemus ; cum enim Deus 
 ipse opera rationis nostrae in illuminationibus suis utatur, etiam 
 nos eandem in onines partes versare debemus, quo magis capaces 
 simus ad mysteria recipienda et imbibenda : modo animus ad 
 amplitudinem mysteriorum pro modulo suo dilatetur, non mys- 
 teria ad angustias animi constringantur. 
 
 Quantum vero ad Illationes, nosse debemus, relinqui nobis 
 usum rationis et ratiocinationis (quoad mysteria) secundarium 
 quendam et respectivum, non primitivum et absolutum. Post- 
 quam enim Articuli et Principia Religionis jam in sedibus suis 
 fuerint locata, ita ut a rationis examine penitus eximantur, turn 
 demum conceditur ab illis Illationes derivare ac deducere, se- 
 cundum analogiam ipsorum. In rebus quidem naturalibus hoc 
 non tenet. Nam et ipsa principia examini subjiciuntur ; per 
 Inductionem (inquam) licet minime per Syllogismum ; atque 
 eadem ilia nullam habent cum ratione repugnantiam, ut ab 
 
 1 Romans, xii. 1 .
 
 LIBER NONUS. 833 
 
 codem fonte turn primte propositiones turn mediae deducantur. 
 Aliter fit in Religione ; ubi et primae propositiones authypo- 
 statae sunt, atque per se subsistentes ; et rursus non regun- 
 tur ab ilia Ratione quas propositiones consequentes deducit. 
 Neque tamen hoc fit in Religione sola, sed etiam in aliis 
 scientiis, tarn gravioribus quam levioribus ; ubi scilicet pro- 
 positiones primaria3 Placita sint, non Posita ; siquidem et in 
 illis rationis usus absolutus esse non potest. Videmus enim 
 in ludis, puta schaccorum, aut similibus, primas ludi normas 
 et leges mere positivas esse et ad placitum ; quas recipi, non 
 in disputationem vocari, prorsus oporteat ; ut vero vincas, et 
 perite lusum instituas, id artificiosum est et rationale. Eodem 
 modo fit et in legibus humanis ; in quibus baud paucae sunt 
 Maxima (ut loquuntur), hoc est, Placita mera Juris, quae 
 authoritate magis quam ratione nituntur, neque in discepta- 
 tionem veniunt. Quid vero sit justissimum, non absolute, sed 
 relative (hoc est, ex analogia illarum Maximarum), id demum 
 rationale est, et latum disputation! campum prasbet. Talis 
 igitur est Secundaria ilia Ratio, quse in Theologia Sacra locum 
 habet ; quas scilicet fundata est super Placita Dei. 
 
 Sicut vero Rationis Humanae in Divinis usus est duplex, ita 
 et in eodem usu duplex excessus ; alter, cum in Modum My- 
 sterii curiosius quam par est inquiritur ; alter cum Illationibus 
 aqua tribuitur authoritas ac Principiis ipsis. Nam et Ni- 
 codemi discipulus videri possit, qui pertinacius quaerat, Quo- 
 modo posset homo nasci cum sit senex? 1 Et discipulus Pauli 
 neutiquam censeri possit, qui non quandoque in doctrinis suis 
 inserat, Ego, non Dominus ; aut illud, Secundum consilium 
 meum. 2 Siquidem Illationibus plerisque stilus iste conveniet. 
 Itaque nobis res salubris videtur et inprimis utilis, si tractatus 
 instituatur sobrius et diligens, qui de Usu Rationis Humana; 
 in Theologicis utiliter praecipiat, tanquam Divina quaedam Dia- 
 lectica; utpote quas futura sit instar opiates cujusdam medicines, 
 quse non modo speculationum quibus schola interdum laborat 
 inania consopiat, verum etiam controversiarum furores quae in 
 Ecclesia tumultus cient nonnihil mitiget. Ejusmodi tractatum 
 inter Desiderata ponimus ; et Sophronem, sive de Legitimo usu 
 Rationis Humance in Divinis, nominamus. 
 
 2. Interest admodum pacis Ecclesiae, ut foedus Christianorum 
 
 ' St. John, iii. 4. 2 See 1 Coriuth. viU 
 
 VOL. I. ^ H
 
 834 DE AUGMENT1S SCIENTIARUM 
 
 a Servatore praescriptum, in duobus illis capitibus quse nonnihil 
 videntur discrepantia, bene et clare explicetur ; quorum alterum 
 sic diffinit; Qui non est nobiscum, est contra nos ; alterum 
 autem sic; Qui contra nos non est, nobiscum esf. } Ex his liquido 
 patet esse nonnullos articulos, in quibus qui dissentit extra 
 Fcedus statuendus sit; alios vero, in quibus dissentire liceat, 
 salvo Foedere. Vincula enim communionis Christianas ponun- 
 tur, Una Fides, Unum Baptisma, &c. 2 ; non Unus Hitus, Una 
 Opinio. Videmus quoque tunicam Salvatoris inconsutilem ex- 
 titisse ; vestem autem Ecclesise versicolorem. Paleas in arista 
 separandae sunt a frurnento; at zizania in agro non protinus 
 evellenda. Moses, cum certantem reperisset JEgyptium cum 
 Israelita, non dixit, Cur certatis ? sed gladio evaginato JE,gy- 
 ptium interfecit. At cum Israelitas duos certantes vidisset, 
 quamvis fieri non potuit ut utrique causa justa contingeret, 
 ita tamen eos alloquitur, Fratres estis, cur certatis ? 3 His 
 itaque perpensis, magni videatur res et momenti et usus esse, 
 ut diffiniatur qualia sint ilia et quantse latitudinis, quas ab Ec- 
 clesias corpore homines penitus divellant, et a communione 
 fidelium eliminent. Quod si quis putet hoc jampridem factum 
 esse, videat ille etiam atque etiiim quam sincere et moderate. 
 Illud interim verisimile est, eum qui pads meutionem fecerit 
 reportaturum responsum illud Jehu ad nuntium (Nunquid pax 
 est, Jehu?} Quid tibi et pad ? Transi, et sequere me*; cum 
 non pax, sed paries, plerisque cordi sint. Nobis nihilominus 
 visum est tractatum de Gradibus Unitatis in Civitate Dei, ut 
 salubrem et utilem, inter Desiderata reponere. 
 
 3. Cum Scripturarum Sacrarum circa Theologiam informan- 
 dam tantae sint partes, de earum Intcrpretatione inprimis viden- 
 
 1 The two passages Bacon refers to are St. Luke, xi. 23. (or St. Matth. xii. 30.), and 
 St. Luke, is. 50. But the former he has not quoted accurately. The words of our 
 version are, " He that is not with me is against me ; " while the passage in the ninth 
 chapter is, " He that is not against us is for us." 
 
 2 Ephes. iv. 5. 
 
 " Sit ergo una fides universe quse ubique dilatatur ecclesiae, tanquam intus in 
 membris, etiamsi ipsa fidei unitas quibusdam diversis observation ibus celebratur, 
 quibus nullo modo quod in fide verum est impeditur : omnis enim pulchritudo filice 
 regis intrinsccus, ills autem observations qua; varie celebrantur in ejus veste intelii- 
 guntur. Unde illi dicitur < In fimbriis aureis circumamicta varietate.'" St. Auyust. 
 Ep. ad Casutan. de jejuniis priscorum. He has elsewhere said, "Desupc-r texta 
 tunica, quid significat nisi unitatern ? " See his Exp.in Evan. Joan, in c. 3. and 
 other passages. Compare St. Jerome, Pro Libris adversus Jovin. Apolog., where the 
 many-coloured coat of Joseph is expressly mentioned, as well as the passage in the 
 Psalms to which St. Augustin refers. 
 
 3 See the second chapter of Exodus. 
 
 4 -1 Kings, ix. 1 9.
 
 LIBER NONUS. 835 
 
 dum. Neque nunc de authoritate eas interpretandi loquimur, quae 
 in consensu Ecclesias firmatur ; sed de modo interpretandi. Is 
 duplex est ; Methodicus, et Solutus. Etenim latices isti divini, 
 qui aquis illis ex puteis Jacob! in infinitum prasstant, similibus 
 fere hauriuntur et exhibentur modis quibus aquas naturales 
 ex puteis solent. Has siquidem aut sub primum haustum in 
 cisternas recipiuntur, unde per tubos coraplures ad usum com- 
 mode diduci possunt ; aut statim in vasa infunduntur, subinde 
 prout opus est utenda3. Atque modus ille prior Methodicus 
 Theologiam nobis tandem peperit Scholasticam ; per quam Do- 
 ctrina Theologica in Artem, tanquam in cisternam, collecta est> 
 atque inde Axiomatum et Positionum rivuli in omnes partes 
 sunt distributi. At in interpretandi modo Soluto duo inter- 
 veniunt excessus: alter ejusmodi praesupponit in Scripturis 
 perfectionem, ut etiam omnis philosophia ex earum fontibus 
 peti debeat; ac si philosophia alia quasvis, res profana esset 
 et ethnica. Hoec intemperies in schola Paracelsi proecipue, 
 necnon apud alios invaluit : initia autem ejus a Rabbinis et 
 Cabalistis defluxerunt. 1 Verum istiusmodi homines non id 
 assequuntur quod volunt ; neque enim honorem, ut putant, 
 Scripturis deferunt ; sed easdem potius deprimunt et polluunt. 
 Coclum enim materiatum et terram qui in Verbo Dei quas- 
 siverit (de quo dictum est ; Ccelum et Terra pertransibunt, 
 Verbum autem meum non pertransibit 2 ), is sane transitoria inter 
 aiterna temere persequitur. Quemadmodum enim Theologiam 
 in Philosophia quaarere, perinde est ac si vivos quaeras inter 
 mortuos ; ita e contra Philosophiam in Theologia quasrere, non 
 aliud est quam mortuos quaerere inter vivos. Alter autem 
 interpretandi modus (quern pro excessu statuimus) videtur primo 
 intuitu sobrius et castus ; sed tamen et Scripturas ipsas dede- 
 corat, et plurimo Ecclesiain anicit detrimento. Is est (ut verbo 
 dicamus) quando Scripturas divinitus inspirator eodem quo 
 Scripta Humana explicantur modo. Meminisse autem oportet, 
 Deo Scripturarum Author! duo ilia patere quas humana ingenia 
 fugiunt; Secreta nimirum Cordis, et Successiones Temporis. 
 Quamobrem, cum Scripturarum dictamina talia sint ut ad cor 
 scribantur, et omnium sajculorum vicissitudines complectantur ; 
 cum tcterna et certa praescientia omnium hacresium, contradi- 
 ctionum, et status Ecclesiae varii et, mutabilis, turn in communi 
 
 ' In support of this statement, see Tennemann's History of Philosophy. 
 
 2 St. Mark, xiii. 3 1 . 
 
 3 II 2
 
 836 DE AUGMENTIS SC1ENTIARUM 
 
 turn in electis singulis, interpretandae non sunt solumraodo 
 secundum latitudinem et obvium sensum loci ; aut respiciendo 
 ad occasionem ex qua verba erant prolata ; aut precise ex con- 
 textu verborum praecedentium et sequentium ; aut contemplando 
 scopum dicti principalem ; sed sic ut intelligamus complecti eas, 
 non solum totaliter aut collective, sed distributive, etiam in clau- 
 sulis et vocabulis singulis, innumeros doctrinae rivulos et venas, 
 ad Ecclesiae singulas partes et animas fidelium irrigandas. 
 Egregie enim observatum est, quod responsa Salvatoris nostri 
 ad quaestiones non paucas ex iis quse proponebantur non viden- 
 tur ad rem, sed quasi impertinentia ; cujus rei causa duplex 
 est; altera, quod cum cogitationes eorum qui interrogabant 
 non ex verbis, ut nos homines solemus, sed immediate et ex 
 sese cognovisset, ad cogitationes eorum non ad verba respondit ; 
 altera quod non ad eos solum locutus est qui tune aderant, sed 
 ad nos etiam qui vivimus, et ad omnis jevi ac loci homines qui- 
 bus Evangelium fuerit praedicandum. Quod etiam in aliis 
 Scripturae locis obtinet. 
 
 His itaque praslibatis, veniamus ad tractatum eum quern 
 desiderari statuimus. Inveniuntur profecto inter scripta theo- 
 logica libri Controversiarum nimio plures; Theologiae ejus, 
 quam diximus Positivam, massa ingens; Loci Communes; 
 Tractatus Speciales ; Casus Conscientiae ; Conciones et Homi- 
 lias ; denique prolixi plurimi in libros Scripturarum Commen- 
 tarii. Quod desideramus autem est hujusmodi : Cottectio scilicet 
 succincta, sana, et cum judicio, Annotationum et Observationum 
 super textus Scriptures particulares ; neutiquara in locos com- 
 munes excurrendo, aut controversias persequendo, aut in artis 
 methodum eas redigendo ; sed quae plane sparsae sint et nativae. 
 Res certe in concionibus doctioribus se quandoque ostendens, 
 quae ut plurimum non perennant ; sed quae in libros adhuc non 
 coaluit, qui ad posteros transeant. Certe quemadmodum vina 
 quae sub primam calcationem molliter defluunt, sunt suaviora 
 quam quae a torculari exprimuntur ; quoniam ha?c ex acino et 
 cute uvae aliquid sapiant ; similiter salubres admodum ac suaves 
 sunt doctrinae, qua3 ex Scripturis leniter expressis emanant, nee 
 ad controversias aut locos communes trahuntur. Hujusmodi 
 tractatum Emanationes Scripturarum nominabimus. 
 
 Jam itaque mini videor confecisse globum exiguum Orbis 
 Intellectuals, quam potui fidelissiine ; una cum designatione et
 
 LIBER NONUS. 837 
 
 descriptione earum part him, quas industria et laboribus hominum 
 aut non constanter occupatas, aut non satis excultas, invenio. 
 Quo in opere, sicubi a sententia vetertim recesserim, intelligatur 
 hoc factum esse animo prqficiendi in melius, non innovandi aut 
 migrandi in aliud. Neque enim mihimetipsi, aut argumento 
 quod in manibus habeo, constare potui, nisi plane decretum 
 mihi fuisset aliorum inventis quantum in me fuerit addere ; 
 cum tamen non minus optaverim etiam inventa mea ab aliis 
 in posterum superari. Quam autcm in hac re sequus fue- 
 rim, vel ex hoc apparet; quod opiniones meas proposuerim 
 ubique nudas et inermes, neque alienee libertati per confuta- 
 tiones pugnaces praejudicare contenderim. Nam in iis quae 
 recte a me posita sunt, subest spes id futurum, ut si in prima 
 lectione emergat scrupulus aut objectio, at in lectione iterata 
 responsum se ultro sit exhibiturum ; in iis vero in quibus 
 mihi errare contigit, certus sum nullam a me illatam esse 
 vim veritati per argumenta contentiosa ; quorum ea fere est 
 
 ura, ut erroribus authoritatem concilient, recte inventis 
 derogent. Siquidem ex dubitatione error honorem acquirit; 
 veritas patitur repulsam* Interim in mentem mihi venit re- 
 sponsum illud Themistoclis, qui cum ex oppido parvo legatus 
 quidam magna nonnulla perorasset, hominem perstrinxit ; 
 Amice, verla tua civitatem desiderant. 1 Certe objici mihi re- 
 ctissime posse existimo, quod verba mea scsculum desiderent ; 
 saaculum forte integrum ad probandum ; complura autem 
 sascula ad perficiendum. Attamen, quoniam etiam res qua> 
 que maxima? initiis suis debentur, mihi satis fuerit sevisse 
 Posteris et Deo Immortali ; cujus numen supplex precor, per 
 
 Filium suum et Servatorem nostrum, ut has et hisce 
 
 similes Intellectus Humani Victimas, Religione 
 
 tanquam sale respersas, et Glorias 
 
 SUBS immolatas, propitius 
 
 accipere dignetur. 
 
 > Not Themistocles, but Lysandcr. See Plutarch, Lac. Apophtlugmala. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 838 
 
 NOVUS ORBIS SCIENTIARUM, 
 
 DESIDERATA, 
 
 LIB. II. 
 
 ERRORES Naturae, sive Historia Prater -Generationum. 
 
 Vincula Naturae, sive Historia Mechanica. 
 
 Historia Inductiva, sice Historia Naturalis in ordine ad conden- 
 
 dam Philosophiam. 
 
 Oculus Polyphemi, sive Historia Literarurn. 
 Historia ad Prophetias. 
 Philosophia secundum Parabolas Antiquas. 
 
 LIB. III. 
 
 Philosophia Prima, sive de Axiomatilus Scientiarum Com- 
 
 munibus. 
 
 Astronomia Viva. 
 Astrologia Sana. 
 
 Continuatio Problematum Naturalium. 
 Placita Antiquorum Philosophorum. 
 Pars Metaphysics de Formis Rerum. 
 Magia Naturalis, sive Deductio Formarum ad Opera. 
 Tnventarium Opum Humanarum. 
 Catalogus Polychrestorum.
 
 DESIDERATA. 839 
 
 LIB. IV. 
 
 Triumph! Hominis, sive de Summitatibus Natura Humana;. 
 
 Physiognomia Corporis in Motu. 
 
 Narrationes Medicinales. 
 
 Anatomia Comparata. 
 
 De Curatione Morborum habitorum pro Insanabilibus. 
 
 De Euthanasia exteriore. 
 
 De Medicinis Authenticis. 
 
 Imitatio Tkermarum Naturalium. 
 
 Filum Medicinale. 
 
 De Prolongando Curricula Vita. 
 
 De Substantia Animce Sensibilis. 
 
 De Nixibus Spiritus in Motu Voluntario. 
 
 De Differentia Perceptions et Sensus. 
 
 Radix Perspectives, sive de Forma Lucis. 
 
 LIB. V. 
 
 Experientia Liter at a, sive Venatio Panis. 
 
 Organum Novum. 
 
 Topicos Particularcs. 
 
 Elenchi Idolorum. 
 
 De Analogia Demonstrationum. 
 
 LIB. VI. 
 De Notts Rerum. 
 Grammatica Philosophans. 
 Traditio Lampadis, sive Metlwdus ad Filios. 
 De Prudentia Sermonis Privati. 
 Colores Boni et Mali Apparentis, tarn Simplicis quam Compa- 
 
 rati. 
 
 Antitheta Rerum. 
 Formula Minores Orationum. 
 
 LIB. VII. 
 
 Satira Seria, sive de Interioribus Rerum. 
 Georgica Anirai, sive de Cultura Morum.
 
 840 DESIDERATA. 
 
 LIB. VIII. 
 
 Amanuensis Vitae, sive de Occasionibus Sparsis. 
 Faber Fortunse, sive de. Ambitu Vitce. 
 Consul Paludatus, sive de Proferendis Imperil Finibus. 
 Idea Justifies Universalis, sive de Fontibus Juris. 
 
 LIB. IX. 
 
 Sophron, sive de Legitimo Usu Rationis Humana in Divinis. 
 Irenseus, sive de Gradibus Unitatis in Civitate Dd. 
 litres Coclestes, sive Emanationes Scripturarum,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [The following Notes on some old treatises on the art of writing !n cipher are re- 
 ferred to by Mr. Ellis, at p. 658. note 1. J. S.] 
 
 THE earliest writer, I believe, on ciphers, except Trithemius whom 
 he quotes, is John Baptist Porta, whose work De occultis lite- 
 rarum notis was reprinted in Strasburg in 1606. The first edi- 
 tion was published when Porta was a young man. The species of 
 ciphers which Bacon mentions are described in this work. What he 
 calls the ciphra simplex is doubtless that in which each letter is re- 
 placed by another in accordance with a secret alphabet. (Porta, ii. 
 c. 5.) The manner of modifying this by introducing non-significants 
 and by other contrivances is described in the following chapter. 
 The ivheel cipher is described in chapters 7, 8, 9. It is that in which 
 the ordinary alphabet and a secret one are written respectively on 
 the rim of two concentric disks, so that each letter of the first 
 corresponds in each position of the second (which is movable) to a 
 letter of the secret alphabet. Thus in each position of the movable 
 disk we have a distinct cipher, and in using the instrument this disk 
 is made to turn through a given angle after each letter has been 
 written. The ciphra clavis is described by Porta, book ii. 15, 16. 
 It is a cipher of position ; that is, one in which the difficulty is ob- 
 tained not by replacing the ordinary alphabet by a new one, but by 
 deranging the order in which the letters of a sentence or paragraph 
 succeed each other. This is done according to a certain form of words 
 or series of numbers which constitute the key. The cipher of words 
 was given by Trithemius and in another form by Porta, ii. 19. (and 
 in a different shape, v. 16.). It is a cipher which is meant to escape 
 suspicion. Each letter of the alphabet corresponds to a variety of 
 words arranged in columns. Any word of the first column followed 
 by any of the second, and that followed by any of the third, &c., will 
 make, with the help of a non-significant word occasionally introduced, 
 a perfectly complete sense; and by the time the last alphabet has been 
 used, a letter on some indifferent subject has been written. Only sixty
 
 842 APPENDIX. 
 
 alphabets are given by Porta, and therefore the secret communication 
 can consist only of sixty letters. It is worth remarking that when 
 Porta wrote it was usual to put the sign of the cross at the head of 
 an ordinary epistle. The first of his alphabets corresponds not to a 
 series of words but to two and twenty different modifications of the 
 figure of a cross, and his second alphabet similarly corresponds to 
 two and twenty different modifications of the introductory flourish. 
 His sixtieth alphabet is of the same kind. We see here perhaps 
 whence Bacon derived his idea of giving significance to seemingly 
 accidental modifications of the characters of ordinary writing. 
 
 The idea of a biliteral alphabet, which Bacon seems to claim as 
 his own, is employed, though in a different manner, by Porta. His 
 method is in effect this. He reduces the alphabet to sixteen letters, 
 and then takes the eight different arrangements aaa, aba, &c., to 
 represent them ; each arrangement representing two letters in- 
 differently : the ambiguity arising from hence he seems to disregard. 
 In this manner he reduces any given word or sentence to a suc- 
 cession of a's and 6's. At this point his method, of which he has 
 given several modifications, departs wholly from Bacon's. Let us 
 suppose the biliteral series to commence with aababb. A word of 
 two syllables and beginning with A indicates that two a's commence 
 the series ; any monosyllable will serve to show that one b follows, 
 another that it is succeeded by one a, and then any dissyllable will 
 stand for bb. Thus Amo te mi fill or Amat qui non sapit will repre- 
 sent the biliteral arrangement aababb, and so on on a larger scale. 
 Porta's method is therefore not, like Bacon's, a method scribendi 
 omnia per omnia, but only omnia per multa. Still the analogy of 
 the two methods is to be remarked: both aim at concealing that there 
 is any but the obvious meaning, and both depend essentially on re- 
 presenting all letters by combinations of two only. See the De oc. 
 Lit. Signis. v. c 3. 
 
 The Polygraphia of Trithemius (dedicated to Maximilian in 
 1508 1 ) consists of six books. The first four contain extensive 
 tables constituting four different ciphrce verborum; the first and 
 second of which are significant, and relate, the former to the se- 
 cond person of the Trinity, and the latter to the Blessed Virgin. 
 The fifth and sixth books are of less importance. Trithemius, 
 written in the cipher of the second book, becomes " Charitatem 
 pudicissimse Virginis Maria; productricis coexistentis verbi, robus- 
 tissimi commilitonis mei dilectissimi devotissime benedicamus ; vi- 
 vificatrix omnium," &c. 
 
 1 The edition of 1 GOO is that I use.
 
 APPENDIX. 843 
 
 Traicte des Chiffres, ou secretes manieres d'escrire, par Blaise de 
 Vigenere, Bourbonnois. (Paris, 1587.) 
 
 This work is described by the author as what he had saved of his 
 work " Du Secretaire" written in Italy in 1567 and 68. The two 
 first books were stolen at Turin in 1569. The third is the founda- 
 tion of the present work. (v. f. 285. verso.) He says he had revealed 
 nothing of its contents. 
 
 The two authors whom he chiefly mentions are Trithemius and 
 Porta ; that is, modern authors ; for there is a great deal said of the 
 Cabala. The key ciphers of which Porta speaks he ascribes to a 
 certain Belasio, who employed it as early as 1549 : Porta's book not 
 being published until 1563, "auquel il a insere ce chiffre sans faire 
 mention dont il le tenoit." Porta's book, he goes on to say, was not 
 en vente until 1568. The invention was ascribed to Belasio by the 
 grand vicar of St. Peter at Rome, who had great skill in deciphering, 
 (f. 35. rect. and 37. verso.) 
 
 At f. 199. Vigenere gives an account of ciphers in which letters 
 are represented by combinations of other letters, which Porta had 
 already done, but which he varies in a number of ways. 
 
 f. 200. A table where the twenty-three letters of the alphabet, and 
 four other characters are represented by combinations of abc. D 
 (e. gr.) = aaa, S bac, &c.) 
 
 f. 201. A smaller table where an alphabet of twenty-one letters 
 is similarly represented. 
 
 f. 202. An alphabet of twenty letters represented by binary com- 
 binations of five letters, a=ED, &c. 
 
 f. 202. goes on to what Bacon speaks of, a cipher within a cipher. 
 You write in a common cipher with an alphabet of eighteen letters ; 
 the cipher being such that the five vowels are used as nulls ; then 
 by the last cipher these five vowels are made significant, and give 
 the hidden sense. He seems to speak of this as his own. 
 
 After mentioning a cipher described by Cardan, he goes on, f. 205, 
 to Porta's ciphers by transposition, &c. 
 
 At f. 240. he shows how characters may be multiplied by dif- 
 ferent ways of writing them ; which Porta had not done. 
 
 f. 241. An alphabet and #, each character written in four ways. 
 
 f. 241. verso, An application of these variations. 
 
 f! 242. He remarks that a great variety of uses may be made of 
 this idea, and gives some. 
 
 f. 244. He goes on " De ce meme retranchement et de la varie 
 figure, part une autre invention encore d'un chiffre carre" a double 
 entente, le plus exquis de tous ceux qui ayentcste decouvcrs jusqu'u
 
 844 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 icy," &c. You write with twelve letters only, as in the subjoined 
 table, in which however I have not followed his ways of diver- 
 sifying. 
 
 T 
 
 E 
 
 M 
 
 N 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 2V 
 
 $ 
 
 b, 
 /i 
 
 /3 
 
 9\ 
 
 Pi 
 
 Pz 
 
 9* 
 
 Pz 
 
 y\ 
 
 #2 
 
 In this table, Zj, for instance, represents 1st M, and 2nd R or S; 
 to distinguish whether R or S, he has recourse to a supplementary 
 contrivance by nulls. 
 
 f. 242. v. He refers to table at 200., and says the three letters a be, 
 (which there represent I) may be replaced by a single character 4 ; 
 for this table represents in another column letters by dots. Thus 
 
 T is ; D ; or if we will we may put o's for dots ; so that 
 
 D=o o o and T=oo ooo o; and the spaces may be filled up by a 
 slightly varied o. Thus D =00000, T =00000000, and thus the 
 whole cipher will apparently consist of o's. 
 
 The transition from this to Bacon's cipher is so easy that the 
 credit given to him must be reduced. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed by SPOTTISWOODE & Co.. 
 New-street- Square.
 
 LIST of WORK 
 
 Messrs. LONGMAN, I 
 
 C ! 
 
 Agriculture and Rural 
 
 Affairs . Pages. 
 Bayldon on Valuing Rents, &c. - 4 
 Caird's Letters on Agriculture - 6 
 Cecil's Stud Farm ... 6 
 Loudon's Agriculture - - -13 
 Low's Elements of Agriculture - 13 
 
 Arts, Manufactures, and 
 Architecture. 
 
 Arnott on Ventilation - 3 
 Bourne on the Screw Propeller - 4 
 
 JS in GENERAL LITERATU RE, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 ,EOWN, GEEEN, LONGMANS, and EOBEETS, 
 
 39, PATEBNOSIEB BOW, LONDON. 
 
 .ASSIFIED INDE) 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of History - 15 
 " Natural History - - 15 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery - - 17 
 Piscator's Cookery of Fish . - 17 
 Pocket and the Stud ... 9 
 Pycroft's English Reading - - 18 
 Reece's Medical Guide - - - 13 
 Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary 18 
 Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - - IS 
 Roget's English Thesauius - - 18 
 Rowton's Debater - ... 18 
 
 t. 
 
 Roget's English Thesaurus - - 18 
 Russell's Life of Lord W. Russell 19 
 Schmitz's History of Greece - 19 
 Smith's Sacred Annals - - 20 
 Southey'8 Doctor - - - - 20 
 Stephen 's Ecclesiastical Bioeraphv 21 
 " Lectures on French History 21 
 Sydney Smith's Works - - - 20 r 
 " Select Works - 23 
 " Lectures - - 20 
 " Memoirs - -20 
 Taylor's Loyoli - - - - 21 
 " Wesley - - - - 21 
 Thirlwall's History of Greece - 21 
 Thornbury's Shakspeare's England 21 
 Townsend^s State Trials - - 22 
 Turkey and Christendom - - 23 
 Turner's Anglo-Saxons - - 22 
 " Middle Ages - - - 22 
 " Sacred Hist, of the World 22 
 Vehse's Austrian Court - - - 23 
 Wade's England's Greatness - 22 
 Whitelocke's Swedish Embassy - 24 
 Woods's Crimean Campaign- - 24 
 Young's Christ of History - - 24 
 
 Geography and Atlases. 
 
 Arrowsmith's Geogr. Diet, of Bible 3 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas - 4 
 Butler's Geography and Atlases - 5 
 Cabinet Gazetteer 5 
 Cornwall : Its Mines, &c. - - 23 
 Durrieu's Morocco - - - 23 
 Hughes's Australian Colonies - 23 
 Johnston's General Gazetteer - 11 
 Maunder's Treasury of Geography 15 
 M'Culioch's Geographical Dictionary 14 
 " Russia and Turkey - 23 
 Milner's Baltic Sea - - - 15 
 " Crimea - 15 
 " Russia - 15 
 Murray's Encyclo. of Geography - 16 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer - - 19 
 Wheeler's Geography of Herodotus 24 
 
 Juvenile Books. 
 
 Thomson's Interest Tables - - 21 
 
 " Organic Chemistry- - 4 
 Cherreul on Colour - - - 6 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering - - 6 
 Fairbairn's Infoi ma. for Engineers 8 
 Gwilt's Encyclo. of Architecture - 8 
 Harford'sEngr.n ings after Michael 
 Angelo 8 
 Herring on Paper-Making - - 9 
 Humphrcys's Parables Illuminated 10 
 Jameson'sSacred& Legendary Art 11 
 " Commonplace -Book - 11 
 Konig'sPictoiial Lil> of Luther - 8 
 Loudon's Rural Architecture - 13 
 MacDougall's Theory of War - H 
 Malan's Aphorisms on Drawing - 14 
 Most-ley's Engineering - 16 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery - - 17 
 Richardson'3 Art of Horsemanship 18 
 Scrivenor on the Iron Trade - - 19 
 Stark's Printing - 23 
 Steam-Engine, by the Artisan Club 4 
 Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. - 22 
 Young on Pne-UaffaellitiMn - 24 
 
 Biography. 
 
 Arago's Autobiography - - 23 
 " Lives of Scientific Men - 3 
 Bodenstedt and Wagner's Schamyl 23 
 Buckingham's (J.S.) Memoirs - 5 
 Bunsen's Hippolytus 5 
 Clinton's (Fynes) Autobiography 6 
 Cockayne's Marshal Turenne - 23 
 Dennistoun's Strange & Lumisden 7 
 Forster'sDe Foe and Churchill - 23 
 Fulcher's Life of Gainsborouah - 8 
 Harford's Life of Michael Angelo - 8 
 Haydon's Autobiography,by Taylor 
 Hayward's ( hesterfield and Selwyn 23 
 Holcroffs Memoirs - 23 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia - 13 
 Maunder's Biographical Treasury- 14 
 Memoir of the Duke of Wellington 23 
 Memoirs of James Montgomery - 15 
 Meriv ale's Memoirs of Cicero - 15 
 Rogers's Life and Genius of Fuller 23 
 Russell's Memoirs of Moore - - 16 
 " Life of Lord Wm. Russell 19 
 St. John's Audubon - 19 
 Southey'8 Life of Wesley - - 20 
 " Life and Correspondence 20 
 " Select Correspondence - SO 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21 
 Sydney Smith's Memoirs - - 20 
 Taylor's Loyola - 21 
 " Wesley .... 21 
 Waterton's Autobiography & Essays 22 
 Wheeler's Life of Herodotus - 24 
 
 Books of General Utility. 
 
 Acton's Bread-Book ... 3 
 " Cookery - ... 3 
 Black's Treatise on Brewing - - 4 
 Cabinet Gazetteer - - - - 5 
 " Lawyer - 5 
 Gust's Invalid's Own Book - - 7 
 Gilbarfs Logic for the Million - 8 
 Hints on Etiquette ... 9 
 How to Nurse Sick Children - - 10 
 Hudson'sExecutor's Guide - - 10 
 " on Making Wills - - 10 
 Kesteven's Domestic Medicine - 11 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia - 12 
 London's Lady's Country C'ompa- 
 
 West on Children's Diseases - - 22 
 Willich's Popular Tables - - 24 
 Wilmot's Blackstone - 24 
 
 Botany and Gardening. 
 
 Hooker's British Flora - - - 9 
 " Guide to Kew Gardens - 9 
 .. Kew Museum 9 
 Lindley's Introduction to Botany 13 
 " Theory of Horticulture - 12 
 Loudon's Hortus Britannicus - 13 
 " Amateur Gardener - 13 
 Trees and Shruba - - 13 
 " Gardening - 13 
 " Plants - - - - 13 
 " Self Instruction for Gar- 
 deners, &c. - - - - 13 
 Pereira's Materia Medica - - 17 
 Rivera's Rose-Amateur's Guide - 18 
 Wilson's British Mosses - - 24 
 
 Chronology. 
 
 Blair's Chronological Tables - 4 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas - 4 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - 5 
 Haydn's Benson's Index - 9 
 Jaquemet's Chronology - - 11 
 Johns& Nicolas'sCale'ndarofVictory !1 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History - 12 
 
 Commerce and Mercantile 
 Affairs. 
 
 Gilbart's Treatise on Banking - 8 
 Lorimer's Young Master Mariner 13 
 Macleod's Banking - 14 
 M'Culloch'sCommerce & Navigation 14 
 Scrivener on Iron Trade - - 19 
 Thomson's Interest Tablef - - 21 
 Tooke's History of P. ices - - 22 
 Tuson's British C jnsul's Manual - 22 
 
 Criticism, History, and 
 Memoirs. 
 
 Blair's Chron. ana Histor. Tables - 4 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas - - - 4 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - 5 
 " Hippolytus - - - 5 
 Burton's History of Scotland - 5 
 Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus - 6 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 6 
 Erskine's History oflndia - 7 
 Gleig's Leipsic Campaign - - 23 
 Gurney's Historical Sketches - 8 
 Haydon's Autobiography, by Taylor 9 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - 11 
 Johns& Nicolas'sCalendar of Victory 11 
 Kcmble's Anglo-Saxons - - 11 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia - 11 
 Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays 13 
 " History of England - 13 
 " Speeches - 13 
 Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 14 
 History of England - 14 
 M'Culloch'sGeogiaphicnIDictionary 14 
 
 Cleve Hall ... 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) - 19 
 Experience of Life - - - 10 
 Gertrude ----- 19 
 Gilbart's Logic for the Young - 8 
 Hewitt's Boy's Country Book - 10 
 " (Mary) Children's Year - 10 
 Ivors 19 ! 
 Katharine Ashton - 19 
 Laneton Parsonage - - - 19 
 Margaret Percival - ... 19 
 
 Medicine and Surgery. 
 
 Brodie's Psychological Inquiries - 4 i 
 Bull's Hints to Mothers- - 5 
 " Management of Children - 5 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6 
 Cust's Invalid's Own Book - 7 
 Holland's Mental Physiology - 9 
 " Medical Notes and Reflect. 9 
 How to Nurse Sick Children - - 10 
 Kesteven's Domestic Medicine - 11 
 I'ereira's Materia Medica - - 17 
 Reece's Medical Guide - 18 
 West on Diseases of Infancy - - 22 
 Wilson's Dissector's Manual - 24 
 
 Miscellaneous and General 
 Literature. 
 
 Carlisle's Lectures and Addresses 23 
 Defence of Eclipse of faith - - 7 
 Digby's Lover's Seat - 7 
 Eclipse of Faith ... 7 
 Greg's Political and Social Essays 6 
 Gurney's Evening Recreations - 8 
 
 Memoir of the Duke of Wellington 23 
 Merivale's History of Rome - -IS 
 " Roman Republic- - 15 
 Milner's Church History - - 15 
 Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. - 10 
 Mure's Greek Literature - 16 
 Norman by's Year of Revolution - 17 
 Raikes's Journal - 18 
 Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian 23 
 Kiddle's Latin Dictionaries - 18 
 Roberts's Southern Counties - 18 
 Rogers's Essays from Edinb. ReviewlS 
 
 Haydn's Book of Dignities 9 
 Holland's Mental Physiology - 9 
 Hooker's Kew Guides - - - 9 
 Howitt's Rural Life of England - 10 
 " ,VisitstoRemarkablel'laces!0 
 Jameson's Commonplace Book - 11 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - 11 
 Last of the Old Squires - - 17 
 Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays 1 3 
 " Speeches - - - 13 
 Mackinlosh'sMiscelhmcous Worls 14 
 Memoirs of a Maitre d'Armes - 53 j 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 15 
 " Biographical Treasury 14 
 " Geographical Treasury 15 
 " Scientific Treasury - 15
 
 2 CLASSIFIED INDEX. 
 
 Maitland's Churchin the Catacombs 14 
 Martineau's Miscellanies - - 14 
 
 Martineau's Christian Life - - U 
 " Hymns - - 14 
 
 Moseley'sEngineering&Architecture 17 
 Nomos - - 17 
 
 Pascal's Works, by Pearce - - 17 
 Pillans's Contributions to Educationl7 
 Pinney on Duration of Human Life 17 
 
 Milner's Church of Christ - - 15 
 Montgomery's Original Hvmns - 15 
 Moore on the Use of the Body - 16 
 
 Our Coal-Fields and oar Coal-Pits 23 
 Owen's Le'ctures on Comp. Anatomy 17 
 Pereira on Polarised Light - - 17 
 
 Printing: Its Origin, &c. - - 23 
 Pycroft's English Reading - - 18 
 Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary IS 
 
 " " Soul and Body - 16 
 " 's Man and his Motives - 16 
 Mormonism - - - - - 23 
 
 Peschel's Elements of Physics - 17 
 Phillips's Fossils of Cornwall, &c. 17 
 " Mineralogy - - - 17 
 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - - 18 
 
 Neale's Closing Scene - - 16 
 
 ** Guide to Geology - - 18 
 
 Rowton's Debater - 18 
 Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreckl9 
 
 Newman's (J.H. ) Discourses - 17 
 " on Universities - - 16 
 
 Portlock's Geology of Londonderry 18 
 Powell's Unity of Worlds - - 18 
 
 Sir Roger de Coverley - 20 
 
 Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian 23 
 
 Smee's Electro-Metallurgy - - 20 
 
 Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works - 20 
 
 Readings for Lent - - - 19 
 
 Steam-Engine (The) - - - 4 
 
 Southey's Common -place Books - 20 
 " The Doctor &c. - - 20 
 
 Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek 
 
 Wilson's Electric Tel ^graph - - 23 
 
 Souvestre's Attic Philosopher - 23 
 
 Testament 18 
 
 Rural Sports. 
 
 " Confessions of a Working Man 23 
 Spencer's Psychology - - - 21 
 
 Saints our Example - - - 19 
 Sermon in the Mount - - 19 
 
 Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 3 
 
 Stephen's Essays - ... 21 
 Slew's Training System - - 21 
 Strachey's Hebrew Politics - - 21 
 
 Sinclair's Journey of Life - - 20 
 Smith's (Sydnev) Moral Philosophy 20 
 " (G".) Sacred Annals - - 20 
 
 Elaine's Dictionary of Sports - 4 
 Cecil's Stable Practice - - - 6 
 " Stud Farm - - - - 6 
 
 Thomson's Laws of Thought - 21 
 
 " Harmony of Divine Dis- 
 
 The Cricket-Field - - - - 7 
 
 Townsend's State Trials - - 22 
 
 pensations ----- 20 
 
 Davy's Piscatorial Colloquies - ' 
 
 Willich's Popular Tables - - 24 
 Yonge's English-Greek Lexicon - 24 
 
 " (J.) Voyage and Shipwreck 
 of St. Paul - - 20 
 
 Ephemera on Angling - . . 1 
 " Book of the Salmon - 7 
 
 " Latin Gradus - - 24 
 Zumpt's La tin Grammar - - 24 
 
 Natural History in general. 
 
 Sonthey's Life of Wesley - - 20 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21 
 Tayler's ( J. J.) Discourses - - 21 
 Taylor's Loyola - 21 
 
 Hawker's Young Sportsman - - 9 
 The Hunting-Field ... 9 
 Idle's Hints on Shooting - - 10 
 Pocket and the Stud ... 9 
 
 Catlow's Popular Conchology - 6 
 Ephemera and Young on the Salmon 7 
 Gosse's Natural History of Jamaica 8 
 
 " Wesley - 21 
 Theologia Germanica 5 
 Thomson on the Atonement - - 21 
 
 Richardson's Horsemanship - - 18 
 Honalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomo- 
 
 Kemp's Natural History of Creation 23 
 Kirby and Spence's Entomology - 11 
 Lee's Elements of Natural History 12 
 Mann on Reproduction - - 14 
 Maunder's Natural History - - 15 
 Turton's Shells oftheBritishlslands 22 
 
 Thumb Bible (The) - - 21 
 Tomline's Introduction to the JBiWa 22 
 Turner's Sacred History - - - 22 
 Twining's Bible Types - - - 22 
 Wheeler's Popular Bible Harmony 24 
 Young's Christ of History - - 24 
 
 logy ------ 18 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - 9 
 Stainton's June - 21 
 Stonehenge on the Grevhound - 21 
 Thacker's Courser's Guide - - 21 
 The Stud, for Practical Purposes - 9 
 
 Van der Hoeven's Handbook of 
 
 " Mystery - 24 
 
 Veterinary Medicine, &c. 
 
 Von Tschudi's Sketches in the Alps 23 
 
 Poetry and the Drama. 
 
 Cecil's Stable Practice - 6 
 
 Waterton's Essays on Natural Hist. 22 
 
 Aikin's (Dr.l British Poets - - 3 
 
 " Stud Farm 6 
 
 Youatt's The Dog - 24 
 
 Arnold's Poems 3 
 
 Hunting Field (The) - - - 9 
 
 " The Horse - 24 
 
 Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Works 3 
 
 Miles's Horse-Shoeing - 15 
 
 1-Volume Encyclopaedias 
 and Dictionaries. 
 
 Bode's Ballads from Herodotus - 4 
 Calvert's Wife's Manual - - 6 
 *' Pneuma 6 
 
 " on the Horse's Foot - - 15 
 Pocket and the Stud - - - 9 
 Practical Horsemanship - 9 
 
 Arrowsmith's Geogr. Diet, of Bible 3 
 Elaine's Rural Sports - 4 
 
 Flowers and their Kindred Thoughts 11 
 Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated - 8 
 
 Richardson's Horsemanship - 18 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - - 9 
 
 Brande's Science, Literature, and Art 4 
 Copland 's Dictionary of Medicine - 6 
 
 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works - - 12 
 Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis - 13 
 
 Stud (The) - - - - - 9 
 Youatfs The Dog - ... 24 
 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering - S 
 
 Lynch's Rivulet - 13 
 
 " The Horse - - 24 
 
 Gwilt's Architecture 8 
 Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 11 
 London's Agriculture - 13 
 
 Lyra Germanica 5 
 Macaulav's Lavs of Ancient Rome 13 
 Mac Donald's Within and Without 14 
 
 Voyages and Travels. 
 
 Auldjo's Ascent of Mont Blanc - 23 
 
 Rural Architecture - 13 
 
 Montgomery's Poetical Works - 15 
 
 Barnes's Vaudois of Piedmont - 23 
 
 Gardening - - - 13 
 
 " Original Hymns - 15 
 
 Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon - 3 
 
 " Plants - 13 
 
 Moore's Poetical Works - - 16 
 
 Barrow's Continental Tour - - 23 
 
 Trees and Shrubs - - 13 
 
 ' Epicurean- - 16 
 
 Earth's African Travels 3 
 
 M'Culloch'sGeographicalDictionary 14 
 
 " Lalla Rookh - 16 
 
 Burton's East Africa - 5 
 
 " DictionaryofCommerce 14 
 
 Irish Melodies - - - 16 
 
 " Medina and Mecca - - 5 
 
 Murray's Encyclo. of Geography - 16 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer - - 19 
 
 " Songs and Ballads - - 16 
 Reade's Man in Paradise - - 18 
 
 Carlisle's Turkey and Greece - 6 
 De Custine's Russia - - 23 
 
 Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. - - 22 
 
 Shakspeare, by Bowdler - - 19 
 
 Eothen 23 
 
 Webster's Domestic Economy - 22 
 
 Southey's Poetical Works - - 2C 
 
 Ferguson's Swiss Travels - - 23 
 
 Religious Se Moral Works. 
 
 " British Poets - - - 20 
 Thomson's Seasons, illustrated - 21 
 
 Flemish Interiors - - - - 8 
 Forester's Rambles in Norway - 23 
 
 Amy Herbert - - - - 19 
 Arrowsmith's Geogr. Diet, of Bible 3 
 
 Political Economy and 
 
 " Sardinia and Corsica - 8 
 Gironiere's Philippines - - 23 
 
 Bloomneld'sGreekTestament - 4 
 
 Statistics. 
 
 Gregorovius's Corsica - - 23 
 
 Calvert's Wife's Manual - 6 
 Cleve Hall - - 19 
 
 Caird's Letters on A griculture - 6 
 
 Halloran's Japan - ... 8 
 Hill's Travels in Siberia - - 9 
 
 Conybeare's Essays ... 6 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 6 
 Cotton's Instructions in Christianity 7 
 
 Dodd's Food of London - * 3 
 Greg's Political and Social Essays 8 
 Jennings's Social Delusions - - 11 
 Laing's Notes of a Traveller- - 23 
 
 Hope's Brittany and the Bible - 23 
 " Chase in Brittanv - - 23 
 Hewitt's Art-Student in Munich - 10 
 
 Dale's Domestic Liturgy - - 7 
 Defence of Eclipse of Faith - 7 
 Discipline - 7 
 
 M'Culloch'sGeog. Statist. &c. Diet. 14 
 Dictionary of Commerce 14 
 
 " (W.) Victoria - 10 
 Hue's Chinese Empire - 10 
 Hue and Gabet's Tartarv & Thibet 23 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) - - - 19 
 Eclipse ofTaith - - - .7 
 Englishman's Greek Concordance 7 
 
 Tegoborski's Russian Statistics - 21 
 waiich's Popular Tables - - 24, 
 
 Hudson and Kennedy's Mont 
 Blanc - - 10 
 
 Hughes's Australian Colonies - 23 
 
 Heb.&Chald.Concord. 7 
 Etheridi;e's Jerusalem - 7 
 Experience (The) of Life - - 19 
 Gertrude - 19 
 
 The Sciences in general 
 and Mathematics. 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature - 10 
 Hurlbut's Pictures from Cuba - 23 
 Hutchinson's African Exploration 23 
 
 Harrison's Light of the Forge - 8 
 Hook's Lectureson Passion Week 9 
 
 " Popular Astronomy - - 3 
 Bourne on the Screw Propeller - 4 
 
 Jerrmann's St. Petersburg - - 23 
 Kennard's Eastern Tour - - 11 
 
 Horne's Introduction to Scriptures 10 
 
 " 's Catechism of the Steam- 
 
 Laing's Norway - 23 
 " Notes of a Traveller - 23 
 
 Hnmphrcys's Parables Illuminated 10 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, 4c. 4 
 
 M'Clure's North-West Passage - 14 
 
 Ivors ---... 19 
 Jameson's Sacred Legends - - 11 
 Monastic Legends - - 11 
 Legends of the Madonna 11 
 
 " Lectures on Organic Chemistry 4 
 Brougham and Routh's Principia 4 
 Butler's Rolls Sermons - 5 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering - - 6 
 
 Mason's Zulus of Natal - - 23 
 Mayne's Arctic Discoveries - - 23 
 Miles's Rambles in Iceland - - 23 
 Pfeiffer's Voyage round the World 23 
 
 Lectures on Female Em- 
 ployment - 11 
 
 DelaBeche'sGeologyofCornwall,&c. 7 
 De la Rive's Electricity - - 7 
 
 " Second ditto - - - 17 
 Scott's Danes and Swedes - - 19 
 
 Jerem. Taylor's Works- - - 11 
 iahschs Commentary on Exodus- 11 
 Katharine Ashton ... 19 
 
 Faraday's Non-Metallic Elements 8 
 Grove's Correla. of Physical Forces 8 
 Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy 9 
 
 Seaward's Narrative - 19 
 
 Weld's United States and Canada - 22 
 Werne's African Wanderings - 23 
 
 Konig's Pictorial Life of Luther - 8 
 Laneton Parsonage - - 19 
 
 Holland's Mental Physiology - 9 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature - 10 
 
 Wheeler's Travels of Herodotus - 24 
 Wilberforce's Brazil A: Slave-Trade 23 
 
 Letters to my Unknown Friends - 12 
 1 on Happiness - - - 12 
 
 " Cosmos - - - 10 
 Hunt on Light - 10 
 
 Works of Fiction. 
 
 Lynch's Rivulet - - - . il 
 
 Kemp's Phasis of Matter - - 11 
 
 Arnold's Oakfield ... 3 
 
 Lyra Germanica 5 
 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia - 12 
 
 Macdonald's Villa Verocchio . 14 
 
 Macnaught on Inspiration - - 14 
 
 Mann on Reproduction - 14 
 
 Sir Roger de Coverley - 20 
 
 Maitlana's Church in Catacombs - 14 
 
 Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations - 15 
 
 Southev's The Doctor &c. - - 20 
 
 - If 
 
 Morell's Elements of Psychology - 16 
 
 Trollop'e's Warden - 22
 
 ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE 
 
 of 
 
 NEW WORKS and NEW EDITIONS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Messrs. LONGMAN, BEOWN, OEEEN, LONGMANS, and EGBERTS, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 
 
 Miss Acton's Modern Cookery, for Private 
 
 Families, reduced to a System of Easy Prac- 
 tice in a Series of carefully-tested Eeceipts, 
 in which the Principles of Baron Liebig and 
 other eminent Writers have been as much as 
 possible applied and explained. Newly re- 
 vised and enlarged Edition ; with 8 Plates, 
 comprising 27 Figures, and 150 Woodcuts. 
 Fcp. 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Acton. The English Bread-Book, for 
 
 Domestic Use, adapted to Families of every 
 grade : Containing plain Instructions and 
 Practical Eeceipts for making numerous 
 varieties of Bread ; with Notices of the 
 present System of Adulteration and its Con- 
 sequences, and of the Improved Baking Pro- 
 cesses and Institutions established Abroad. 
 By ELIZA ACTON. [In the press. 
 
 Arago (F.) Meteorological Essays. By 
 
 FBANCI^ABAGO. With an Introduction by 
 BABON HUMBOLDT. Translated under the 
 superintendence of Lieut.-Colonel E. SABINE, 
 E.A., Treasurer and V.P.E.S. 8vo. 18s. 
 
 Arago' s Popular Astronomy. Translated and 
 Edited by Admiral W. H. SMYTH, For. Sec. 
 E.S. ; and EOBEET GBANT, M.A., F.E.A.S. 
 In Two Volumes. Vol. I. 8vo. with Plates 
 and Woodcuts, 21s. 
 
 Arago' s Lives of Distinguished Scientific Men. 
 Translated by the Eev. BADEN POWELL, 
 M.A. ; Eear-Admiral W. H. SMYTH ; and 
 E. GrBANT, M.A. 8vo. [Nearly ready. 
 
 Aikin. Select Works of the British 
 
 Poets, from Ben Jonson to Beattie. With 
 Biographical and Critical Prefaces by DE. 
 AIKIN. New Edition, with Supplement by 
 LtrCY AIKIN ; consisting of additional Selec- 
 tions from more recent Poets. 8vo. price 18s. 
 
 Arnold. Oakfleld ; or, Fellowship in the 
 East. By W. D. ARNOLD, Lieutenant 
 58th Eegiment, Bengal Native Infantry. 
 Second Edition. 2 vols. post 8vo. price 21s. 
 
 Arnold. Poems. By Matthew Arnold. 
 
 Second Edition of the First Series. Fcp. 
 8vo. price 5s. 6d. 
 
 Arnold. Poems. By Matthew Arnold. 
 
 Second Series, about one-third new ; the rest 
 finally selected from the Volumes of 1849 and 
 1852, now withdrawn. Fcp. 8vo. price 5s. 
 
 Arnott. On the Smokeless Fire-place, 
 
 Chimney-valves, and other means, old and 
 new, of obtaining Healthful Warmth and 
 Ventilation. ByNEiL-AsNOTT, M.D.,F.R.S., 
 F.Gr.S. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Arrowsmith. A Geographical Dic- 
 tionary of the Holy Scriptures : Including 
 also Notices of the chief Places and People 
 mentioned in the APOCEYPHA. By the 
 Eev. A. ABBOWSMITH, M.A. 8vo. 15s. 
 
 Joanna Baillie's Dramatic and Poetical 
 
 Works : Comprising the Plays of the Pas- 
 sions, Miscellaneous Dramas, Metrical Le- 
 gends, Fugitive Pieces, and Ahalya Baee. 
 Second Edition, with a Life of Joanna 
 Baillie, Portrait, and Vignette. Square 
 crown 8vo. 21s. cloth ; or 42s. bound in 
 morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Baker. Eight Years' Wanderings in 
 
 Ceylon. By S. W. BAKES, Esq. With 
 6 coloured Plates. 8vo. price 15s. 
 
 Baker. The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon. 
 By S. W. BAKES, Esq. With coloured 
 Plates and Woodcuts. 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Dr. Earth's Travels and Discoveries in 
 
 Africa. With Maps and Illustrations. Com- 
 prising Journeys from Tripoli to Kouka ; 
 from Kouka to Yola, the Capital of Ada- 
 mawa, and back ; to Kanem, accompanying 
 a Slave-Hunting Expedition to Musgo ; and 
 his Journey to and Eesidence in Baginno. 
 Also, a Journey from Kouka to Timbuctoo ; 
 Eesidence in Timbuctoo ; and Journey back 
 to Kouka. Vols. I., II., and III. 8vo. 
 
 [Nearly ready. 
 
 B 2
 
 NEW WORKS ASD NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Bayldon's Art of Valuing Rents and 
 
 Tillages, and Claims of Tenants upon 
 Quitting Fai-ms, both at Michaelmas and 
 Lady-Day ; as revised by Mr. DOXALDSOX. 
 Seventh Edition, enlarged and adapted to the 
 Present Time : With the Principles and 
 Mode of Valuing Land and other Property 
 for Parochial Assessment and Enfranchise- 
 ment of Copyholds, under the recent Acts of 
 Parliament. By EOBEKT BAKEE, Laud- 
 Agent and Valuer. 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Black's Practical Treatise on Brewing, 
 
 based on Chemical and Economical Princi- 
 ples : With Formulae for Public Brewers, and 
 Instructions for Private Families. New 
 Edition, with Additions. 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Elaine's Encyclopedia of Rural Sports; 
 
 or, a complete Account, Historical, Prac- 
 tical, and Descriptive, of Hunting, Shooting, 
 Fishing, Racing, and other Field Sports and 
 Athletic Amusements of the present day. 
 New Edition, revised by HABBY HIEOVEB, 
 EPHEIIEEA, and Mr. A. GEAHAM. With 
 upwards of 600 Woodcuts. 8vo. price 50s. 
 half-bound. 
 
 Blair's Chronological and Historical 
 
 Tables, from the Creation to the Present 
 Time : With Additions and Corrections from 
 the most authentic Writers ; including the 
 Computation of St. Paul, as connecting the 
 Period from the Exode to the Temple. 
 Under the revision of SIB HENEY ELLIS, 
 K.H. Imperial 8vo. 31s. 6d. half- morocco . 
 
 Bloomfield. The Greek Testament, 
 
 with copious English Notes, Critical, Phi- 
 lological, and Explanatory. Especially 
 adapted to the use of Theological Students 
 and Ministers. By the Eev. S. T. BLOOM- 
 TIELD, D.D., F.S.A. Ninth Edition, revised 
 throughout ; with Dr. Bloomfield's Supple- 
 mentary Annotations incorporated. 2 vols. 
 8vo. with Map, price 2. 8s. 
 
 Dr. Bloomfield's College and School Greek 
 Testament : With brief English Notes, chiefly 
 Philological and Explanatory, especially 
 formed for use in Colleges and the Public 
 Schools. Seventh Edition, improved ; with 
 Map and Index. Fcp. 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Dr. Bloomfield's College and School Lexi- 
 con to the Greek Testament. Fcp. 8vo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Bode. Ballads from Herodotus : With 
 
 an Introductory Poem. By the Eev. J. E. 
 BODE, M.A., late Student of Christ Church. 
 Second Edition, with four additional Pieces. 
 16mo. price 7s. 
 
 Bourne. A Treatise on the Steam-En- 
 
 gine, in its Application to Mines, Mills, 
 Steam-Navigation, and Eailways. By the 
 Artisan Club. Edited by JoHNBorBNE, C.E. 
 New Edition ; with 33 Steel Plates and 349 
 W r ood Engravings. 4to. price 27s. 
 
 Bourne's Catechism of the Steam-Engine in 
 its various Applications to Mines, Mills, 
 Steam-Navigation, Eailways, and Agricul- 
 ture : With Practical Instructions for the 
 Manufacture and Management of Engines 
 of every class. Fourth Edition, enlarged ; 
 with 89 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Bourne. A Treatise on the Screw Pro- 
 peller : With various Suggestions of Im- 
 provement. By JOHN BOUBNE, C.E. New 
 Edition, thoroughly revised and corrected. 
 With 20 large Plates and numerous Wood- 
 cuts. 4to. price 38s. 
 
 Brande. A Dictionary of Science, Litera- 
 ture, and Art : Comprising the History, 
 Description, and Scientific Principles of 
 every Branch of Human Knowledge ; with 
 the Derivation and Definition of all the 
 Terms in general use. Edited by W. T. 
 BBANDE, F.E.S.L. and E.; assisted by DB. 
 J. CATTTIN. Third Edition, revised and cor- 
 rected ; with numerous Woodcuts. 8vo. 60s. 
 
 Professor Brande's Lectures on Organic 
 
 Chemistry, as applied to Manufactures ; 
 including Dyeing, Bleaching, Calico-Print- 
 iug, Sugar-Manufacture, the Preservation 
 of Wood, Tanning, &c. ; delivered before the 
 Members of the Royal Institution* Arranged 
 by permission from the Lecturer's Notes by 
 J. SCOFFEBN-, M.B. Fcp. 8vo. with Wood- 
 cuts, price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Brewer. An Atlas of History and Geo- 
 graphy, from the Commencement of the 
 Christian Era to the Present Time : Com- 
 prising a Series of Sixteen coloured Maps, 
 arranged in Chronological Order, with Illus- 
 trative Memoirs. By the Eev. J. S. BEEWEB, 
 M.A., Professor o'f English History and 
 Literature in King's College, London. The 
 Maps engraved by E. Weller, F.E.Gr.S. 
 Eoyal 8vo. 12s. 6d. half-bound. 
 
 Brodie. Psychological Inquiries, in a 
 
 Series of Essays intended to illustrate the 
 Influence of the Physical Organisation on 
 the Mental Faculties. By SIB BEXJAMIN C. 
 BEODiE,Bart. ThirdEdition. Fcp.Svo. 5s. 
 
 Brougham and Routh Analytical View 
 
 of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia. By HEXBY 
 LOBD BEoronAM, F.E.S., Member of the 
 National Institute of France and of the 
 Eoyal Academv of Naples; andE. J.EorTH, 
 B.A., Fellow of St. Peter's College, Cam- 
 bridge. 8vo. price 14s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 Buckingham Autobiography of James 
 
 Silk Buckingham : Including his Voyages, 
 Travels, Adventures, Speculations, Suc- 
 cesses and Failures, frankly and faithfully 
 narrated ; with Characteristic Sketches of 
 Public Men. Vols. I. and II. post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 * Vols. III. and IV., edited by the Author's Son, and 
 completing the work, are preparing for publication. 
 
 
 
 Bull. The Maternal Management of 
 
 Children in Health and Disease. By 
 T. BULL, M.D., Member of the Royal 
 College of Physicians ; formerly Physician- 
 Accoucheur to the Finsbury Midwifery 
 Institution. New Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Dr. T. Bull's Hints to Mothers on the Manage- 
 ment of their Health during the Period of 
 Pregnancy and in the Lying-in Room : With 
 an Exposure of Popular Errors in connexion 
 with those subjects, &c. ; and Hints upon 
 Nursing. New Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Bunsen. Christianity and Mankind, 
 
 their Beginnings and Prospects. By 
 CHRISTIAN CHAELES JOSIAS BUNSEN, D.D., 
 D.C.L., D.Ph. Being a New Edition, cor- 
 rected, remodelled, and extended, of Hip- 
 polijtus and his Age. 7 vols. 8vo. 5. 5s. 
 
 *** This Second Edition of the Hippotytus is composed 
 of three distinct works, which may be had separately, as 
 follows : 
 
 1. Ilippolytus and his Age; or, the Beginnings and 
 Prospects of Christianity. 2 vols. 8vo. price 1. 10s. 
 
 2. Outline of the Philosophy of Universal History ap- 
 plied to Language and Religion : Containing an Ac- 
 count of the Alphabetical Conferences. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 price 1. 13s. 
 
 8. Analecta Ante-Xicana. 3 vols. 8vo. price 2. 2s. 
 
 Bunsen. Lyra Germanica: Hymns for 
 
 the Sundays and chief Festivals of the 
 Christian Year. Translated from the 
 German by CATHERINE WINKWOSTH. 
 Second Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 ** This selection of German Hymns has been made from 
 a collection published in Germany by the Chevalier BUN SEJT ; 
 and forms a companion volume to 
 
 Theologia Germanica: Which setteth forth 
 many fair lineaments of Divine Truth, and 
 saitli very lofty and lovely things touching 
 a Perfect Life. Translated by SUSANNA 
 WINKWOETH. With a Preface by the Rev. 
 CHARLES KINGSLEY ; and a Letter by Cheva- 
 lier BUNSEN. Second Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Bunsen. Egypt's Place in Universal 
 
 History: An Historical Investigation, in 
 Five Books. By C. C. J. BUNSEN, D.D., 
 D.C.L., D.Ph. Translated from the Ger- 
 man by C. H. COTTEELL, Esq., M.A. 
 With many Illustrations. Vol. I. 8vo. 28s. ; 
 Vol. II. 8vo. 30s. 
 
 Burton First Footsteps in East Africa ; 
 
 or, an Exploration of Harar. By RICHARD 
 F. BURTON, Bombay Army ; Author of .-/ 
 Pityrimage to Medina and Mecca. With Maps 
 and coloured Plates. 8vo. 18s. 
 
 Burton. Personal Narrative of a Pil- 
 grimage to El-Medinah and Meccah. By 
 RICHARD F. BURTON, Bombay Army. With 
 Map, Plates, and Woodcuts. 3 vols. 8vo. 
 price 2. 3s. 
 
 Burton (J.H.) The History of Scotland, 
 
 from the Revolution to the Extinction of the 
 Last Jacobite Insurrection (1689-1748). By 
 JOHN HILL BUETON. 2 vols. 8vo. 26s. 
 
 Bishop S. Butler's General Atlas of 
 
 Modern and Ancient Geography ; compris- 
 ing Fifty-two full-coloured Maps ; with 
 complete Indices. New Edition, nearly all 
 re-engraved, enlarged, and greatly improved. 
 Edited by the Author's Son. Royal 4to. 
 24s. half- bound. 
 
 Separate 
 
 ( TheJModern Atlas of 28 full-coloured Maps, 
 cured Maps. 
 
 ( The Modern Atlas of 28 full-colou 
 . lv J Koyal 8vo. price 12s. 
 y ) The Ancient Atlas of 21 full-colou 
 ( Koyal 8vo. price 12s. 
 
 Bishop S. Butler's Sketch of Modern and 
 Ancient Geography. New Edition, tho- 
 roughly revised, with such Alterations intro- 
 duced as continually progressive Discoveries 
 and the latest Information have rendered 
 necessary. Post 8vo. price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Bishop J. Butler's Fifteen Sermons 
 
 preached at the Rolls Chapel. With Notes, 
 Analytical, Explanatory, and Illustrative, 
 and Observations in reply to Mackintosh, 
 Wardlaw, and Maurice, by Rev. ROBERT 
 CAEMICHAEL, M.A., Fellow of Trinity Col- 
 lege, Dublin. 8vo. 9s. 
 
 The Cabinet Lawyer : A Popular Digest 
 
 of the Laws of England, Civil and Criminal ; 
 with a Dictionary of Law Terms, Maxims, 
 Statutes, and Judicial Antiquities ; Correct 
 Tables of Assessed Taxes, Stamp Duties, 
 Excise Licenses, and Post-Horse Duties; 
 Post-Office Regulations ; and Prison Disci- 
 pline. 17th Edition, comprising the Public 
 Acts of the Session 1856. Fcp. 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 The Cabinet Gazetteer: A Popular Expo- 
 sition of All the Countries of the World j 
 their Government, Population, Revenues, 
 Commerce, and Industries ; Agricultural, 
 Manufactured, and Mineral Products ; Re- 
 ligion, Laws, Manners, and Social State : 
 With brief Notices of their History and An- 
 tiquities. By the Author of The Cabinet 
 Lawyer. Fcp. 8vo. 10s. 6d. cloth ; or 13s. 
 bound in calf. 
 
 B3
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Caird. English Agriculture in 1850 and 
 
 1851 : Its Condition and Prospects. By 
 JAMES CAIBD, Esq., of Baldoon, Agricultural 
 Commissioner of The Times. The Second 
 Edition. 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Calvert. Pneuma ; or, the Wandering 
 
 Soul : A Parable, in Rhyme and Outline. 
 By the Rev. WILLIAM CALVEBT, M.A., 
 Minor Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral. With 
 20 Etchings by the Author. Square crown 
 STO. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Calvert. The Wife's Manual ; or, 
 
 Prayers, Thoughts, and Songs on Several 
 Occasions of a Matron's Life. By the Rev. 
 W. CALVEBT, M.A. Ornamented from De- 
 signs by the Author in the style of Queen 
 Elizabeth's Prayer-Book. Second Edition. 
 Crown STO. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Carlisle (Lord). A Diary in Turkish and 
 
 Greek Waters. By the Right Hon. the 
 EABLofCABLiSLE. Fifth Edition. PostSvo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Catlow. Popular Conchology; or, the 
 
 Shell Cabinet arranged according to the 
 Modern System : With a detailed Account 
 of the Animals, and a complete Descriptive 
 List of the Families and Genera of Recent 
 and Fossil Shells. By AGNES CATLOW. 
 Second Edition, much improved ; with 406 
 Woodcut Illustrations. Post 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Cecil. The Stud Farm ; or, Hints on 
 
 Breeding Horses for the Turf, the Chase, and 
 the Road. Addressed to Breeders of Race- 
 Horses and Hunters, Landed Proprietors, 
 and especially to Tenant Farmers. By 
 CECIL. Fcp. 8vo. with Frontispiece, 5s. 
 
 Cecil's Stable Practice; or, Hints on Training 
 for the Turf, the Chase, and the Road; 
 with Observations on Racing and Hunt- 
 ing, Wasting, Race-Riding, and Handi- 
 capping : Addressed to Owners of Racers, 
 Hunters, and other Horses, and to all who 
 We concerned in Racing, Steeple-Chasing, 
 and Fox-Hunting. Fcp. 8vo. with Plate, 
 price 5s. half-bound. 
 
 Chevreul On the Harmony and Contrast 
 
 of Colours, and their Applications to the 
 Arts : Including Painting, Interior Decora- 
 tion, Tapestries, Carpets, Mosaics, Coloured 
 aiazmg, Paper-Staining, Calico-Printing, 
 Letterpress-Printing, Map-Colouring,Dress, 
 Landscape and Flower-Gardening, &c. &c. 
 Translated by CHABLES MAETEL. Second 
 Edition; with 4 Plates. Crown 8vo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Chapman. History of Gustavus Adol- 
 
 phus, and of the Thirty Years' War up to the 
 King's Death : With some Account of its 
 Conclusion by the Peace of Westphalia, in 
 1648. By B. CHAPMAN, M.A., Vicar of 
 Letherhead. 8vo. with Plans, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Clinton. Literary Remains of Henry 
 
 Fynes Clinton, M.A., Author of the Fasti 
 Hel/enici, the Fasti Romani, &c. : Comprising 
 an Autobiography and Literary Journal, 
 and brief Essays on Theological Subjects. 
 Edited by the Rev. C. J. FYNES CLINTON, 
 M.A. Post 8vo. 9s. 6d. 
 
 Conybeare. Essays, Ecclesiastical and 
 
 Social : Reprinted, with Additions, from the 
 Edinburgh Review. By the Rev. W. J. 
 CONTBEABE, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. 8vo. 12s. 
 
 Conybeare and Howson. The Life and 
 
 Epistles of Saint Paul : Comprising a 
 complete Biography of the Apostle, and 
 a Translation of his Epistles inserted in 
 Chronological Order. By the Rev. W. J. 
 CONTBEABE, M.A. ; and the Rev. J. S. 
 HOWSON, M.A. Second Edition, carefully 
 revised and corrected, and printed in a more 
 convenient form ; with several Maps and 
 Woodcuts, and 4 Plates. 2 vols. square 
 crown 8vo. 31s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 *** The Original Edition, with more numerous Illustra- 
 tions, in 2 vols. 4to. price 48s. may also be had. 
 
 Dr. Copland's Dictionary of Practical 
 
 Medicine : Comprising General Pathology, 
 the Nature and Treatment of Diseases, 
 Morbid Structures, and the Disorders es- 
 pecially incidental to Climates, to Sex, and 
 to the different Epochs of Life; with nume- 
 rous approved Formulae of the Medicines 
 recommended. Yols. I. and II. 8vo. price 
 3 ; and Parts X. to XVII. 4s. 6d. each. 
 
 V Part XVIII., completing the work, is preparing for 
 publication. 
 
 Cresy's Encyclopaedia of Civil Engi- 
 neering, Historical, Theoretical, and Prac- 
 tical. Illustrated by upwards of 3,000 
 Woodcuts. Second Edition, revised and 
 brought down to the Present Time in a 
 SupplementjComprisingMetropolitan Water- 
 Supply, Drainage of Towns, Railways, 
 Cubical Proportion, Brick and Iron Con- 
 struction, Iron Screw Piles, Tubular Bridges, 
 &e. 8vo. 63s. cloth. The SUPPLEMENT 
 separately, price 10s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 Cotton. Instructions in the Doctrine 
 
 and Practice of Christianity. Intended 
 chiefly as an Introduction to Confirmation. 
 By G. E. L. COTTON, M.A., late Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge. 18mo. 2s. 6d.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 The Cricket-Field; or, the Science and 
 
 History of the Game of Cricket. By the 
 Author of Principles of Scientific Batting. 
 Second Edition, greatly improved ; with 
 Plates and Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo. price 5s. 
 half-bound. 
 
 Lady Gust's Invalid's Book. The In- 
 
 valid's Own Book : A Collection of Recipes 
 from various Books and various Countries. 
 By the Honourable LADY CUST. Second 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Dale. The Domestic Liturgy and Family 
 
 Chaplain, in Two Parts : PAET I. Church 
 Services adapted for Domestic Ube, with 
 Prayers for Every Day of the Week, selected 
 from the Book of Common Prayer; PART 
 II. an appropriate Sermon for Every Sunday 
 in the Year. By the Rev. THOMAS DALE, 
 M.A., Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's. 
 Second Edition. Post 4to. 21s. cloth j 
 31s. 6d. calf ; or 2. 10s. morocco. 
 ( THE FAMILY CHAPLAIN, 12s. 
 Separately \ THE D OJIESTIC LIIU 
 
 Davy (Dr. J.) The Angler and his 
 
 Friend ; or, Piscatory Colloquies and Fish- 
 ing Excursions. By JOHN DAVY, M.D., 
 F.R.S., &c. Fcp. 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Delabeche. Report on the Geology of 
 
 Cornwall, Devon, and West Somerset. By 
 SIB HENEY T. DELABECHE, F.R.S., late 
 Director-General of the Geological Survey. 
 With Maps, Plates, and Woodcuts. 8vo. 
 price 14s. 
 
 De la Rive. A Treatise on Electricity, 
 
 in Theory and Practice. By A. DE LA RIVE, 
 Professor in the Academy of Geneva. Trans- 
 lated for the Author by C. V. WALKEE, 
 F.R.S. In Three Volumes ; with numerous 
 Woodcuts. Vol. I. 8vo. price 18s. j Yol. II. 
 price 28s. 
 
 Dennistoun. Memoirs of Sir Robert 
 
 Strange, Knight, Engraver, Member of 
 several Foreign Academies of Design ; and 
 of his Brother-in-law, Andrew Lurnisden. 
 By JAMES DENNISTOUN, of Dennistoun. 
 2 vols. post 8vo. with Illustrations, 21s. 
 
 Digby The Lover's Seat: Kathemerina; 
 
 or, Common Things in relation to Beauty, 
 Virtue, and Truth. By KENELM HENEY 
 DIGBY, Author of Mores Catholici, &o. 2 vols. 
 fcp. 8vo. 12s. 
 
 Discipline. By the Author of " Letters 
 
 to my Unknown Friends," &c. Second 
 Edition, enlarged. 18mo. price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Dodd The Food of London : A Sketch 
 
 of the chief Varieties, Sources of Supply, 
 probable Quantities, Modes of Arrival, Pro- 
 cesses of Manufacture, suspected Adultera- 
 tion, and Machinery of Distribution of the 
 Food for a Community of Two Millions and 
 a Half. By GEOEGE DODD, Author of 
 British Manufactures, &c. Post 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 The Eclipse of Faith ; or, a Visit to a 
 
 Religious Sceptic, ^th Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Defence of The Eclipse of Faith, by its 
 Author : Being a Rejoinder to Professor 
 Newman's Reply : Including a full Exami- 
 nation of that Writer's Criticism on the 
 Character of Christ ; and a Chapter on the 
 Aspects and Pretensions of Modern Deism. 
 Second Edition, revised. Post 8vo. 5s. 6d. 
 
 The Englishman's Greek Concordance of 
 
 the New Testament : Being an Attempt at a 
 Verbal Connexion between the Greek and 
 the English Texts ; including a Concordance 
 to the Proper Names, with Indexes, Greek- 
 English and English-Greek. New Edition, 
 with a new Index. Royal 8vo. price 42s. 
 
 The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Con- 
 cordance of the Old Testament : Being an 
 Attempt at a Verbal Connexion between 
 the Original and the English Translations ; 
 with Indexes, a List of the Proper Names 
 and their Occurrences, &c. 2 vols. royal 
 8vo. 3. 13s. 6d. ; large paper, 4. 14s. 6d. 
 
 Ephemera's Handbook of Angling; 
 
 teaching Fly-Fishing, Trolling, Bottom- 
 Fishing, Salmon-Fishing ; with the Natural 
 History of River-Fish, and the best Modes 
 of Catching them. Third Edition, corrected 
 and improved; with Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo 5s. 
 
 Ephemera. The Book of the Salmon: Com- 
 prising the Theory, Principles, and Prac- 
 tice of Fly-Fishing for Salmon ; Lists of 
 good Salmon Flies for every good River in 
 the Empire ; the Natural History of the 
 Salmon, its Habits described, and the best 
 way of artificially Breeding it. By EPHE- 
 MEBA ; assisted by ANDEEW YOUNG. Fcp. 
 8vo. with coloured Plates, price 14s. 
 
 W. Erskine, Esq. History of India 
 
 under Baber and Humayun, the First Two 
 Sovereigns of the House of Taimur. By 
 WILLIAM EBSKINE, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. 32a. 
 
 Etheridge. Jerusalem and Tiberias; 
 
 Sora and Cordova : A View of the Religious 
 and Scholastic Learning of the Jews. De- 
 signed as an Introduction to Hebrew Lite- 
 rature. By J. W. ETHEEIDGE, M.A.,Ph.D. 
 Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 B 4
 
 NEW WORKS A>T> NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Fairbairn. Useful Information for En- 
 gineers : Being a Series of Lectures delivered 
 to the Working Engineers of Yorkshire and 
 Lancashire. AYith a Series of Appendices, 
 containing the Results of Experimental In- 
 quiries into the Strength of Materials, the 
 Causes of Boiler Explosions, &c. By 
 WILLIAM FAIBBAIEN, F.R.S., F.G.S. With 
 Plates and Woodcuts. Royal Svo. price 15s. 
 
 Faraday (Professor). The Subject- 
 
 Matter of Six Lectures on the Non-Metallic 
 Elements, delivered before the Members 
 of the Royal Institution, by PBOFESSOB 
 FAEADAY, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c. Arranged by 
 permission from the Lecturer's Notes by 
 J. SCOFFEBN, M.B. Fcp. Svo. price 5s. 6d. 
 
 Flemish Interiors. By the Writer of 
 
 A Glance behind the Grilles of Religious 
 Houses in France. Fcp. Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Forester. Travels in the Islands of Cor- 
 sica and Sardinia. By THOMAS FOBESTEB, 
 Author of Rambles in Norway. With nume- 
 rous coloured Illustrations and Woodcuts, 
 from Sketches made during the Tour by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel M. A. BIDDTJLPH, R.A. 
 Imperial Svo. \_In the press. 
 
 Fulcher. Life of Thomas Gainsborough, 
 R.A. By the late GEOBGE WILLIAMS 
 FrLCHER. Edited by his SON. W r ith 4 
 Illustrations. New Edition. Fcp. Svo. 
 
 [Nearly ready. 
 
 Gilbart. A Practical Treatise on Bank- 
 ing. By JAMES WILLIAM GILBABT, F.R.S., 
 General Manager of the London and West- 
 minster Bank. Sixth Edition) revised 
 and enlarged. 2 vols. 12mo. Portrait, 16s. 
 
 Gilbart. Logic for the Million : a 
 
 Familiar Exposition of the Art of Reasoning. 
 By J. W. GILBAET, F.R.S. 4th Edition ; 
 with Portrait of the Author. 12mo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Gilbart. Logic for the Young: Consisting of 
 Twenty -five Lessons in the Art of Reasoning. 
 Selected from the Logic of Dr. Isaac Watts. 
 By J. W. GILBAET, F.R.S. 12mo. Is. 
 
 The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 Edited by BOLTON COBNEY, Esq. Illustrated 
 by Wood Engravings, from Designs by 
 Members of the Etching Club. Square 
 crown Svo. cloth, 21s. ; morocco, 1. 16s. 
 
 Gosse. A Naturalist's Sojourn in 
 
 Jamaica. By P. H. GOSSE, Esq. With 
 Plates. Post Svo. price 14s. 
 
 Mr. W. R. Greg's Contributions to The 
 
 Edinburgh Review. Essays on Political and 
 Social Science. Contributed chiefly to the 
 Edinburgh Review. By WILLIAM R. GEEG. 
 2 vols. Svo. price 24s. 
 
 Grove. The Correlation of Physical 
 
 Forces. By W. R. GEOVE, Q.C., M.A., 
 F.R.S., &c. Third Edition ; with Notes and 
 References. Svo. price 7s. 
 
 Gurney. St. Louis and Henri IV. : Being 
 
 a Second Series of Historical Sketches. 
 By the Rev. J. HAMPDEN GUENEY, M.A. 
 Fcp. Svo. 6s. 
 
 Evening Recreations ; or, Samples from 
 
 the Lecture-Room. Edited by the Rev. 
 JOHN HAMPDEN GTJENEY, M.A., Rector of 
 St. Mary's, Marylebone. Crown Svo. 5s. 
 
 Gwilt. AnEncyclopaediaof Architecture, 
 
 Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By 
 JOSEPH GWILT. With more than 1,000 
 Wood Engravings, from Designs by J. S. 
 GWILT. Third Edition. Svo. 42s. 
 
 Halloran. Eight Months' Journal of 
 
 Visit to Japan, Loochoo, and Pootoo. By 
 ALFBED L-AUBENCE HALLOBAN, Master 
 R.N., F.R.G.S., Polperro, Cornwall. With 
 Etchings and Woodcuts from Designs by 
 the Author. Post Svo. [Nearly ready. 
 
 Eare (Archdeacon). The Life of Luther, 
 
 in Forty-eight Historical Engravings. By 
 GUSTAV KONIG. With Explanations by 
 ABCHDEACON HABE and SUSANNA WINK- 
 WOETH. Fcp. 4to. price 2Ss. 
 
 Harford. Life of Michael Angelo Buo- 
 
 narrotti ; comprising Memoirs of Savonarola 
 and Yittoria Colonna, and much Contem- 
 poraneous History. By JOHN S. HAEFOED, 
 D.C.L., F.R.S., Member of the Roman Aca- 
 demy of Painting of St. Luke, and of the 
 Arch ecological Society of Rome. 2 vols. 
 Svo. with Portrait of Michael Angelo, and 
 numerous Illustrations. [/ the press. 
 
 Also, to be sold separately, in folio, 
 Engravings illustrative of the Works of Michael 
 
 Angelo, both in Painting and Architecture ; with Ex- 
 planatory Descriptions of the latter, by C. R. COCK- 
 EEELL, Esq., R.A. 
 
 Harrison. The Light of the Forge ; or, 
 
 Counsels drawn from the Sick-Bed of E. M. 
 By the Rev. W. HABBISON, M.A., Domestic 
 Chaplain to H.R.H. the Duchess of Cam- 
 bridge. Fcp. Svo. price 5s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 Harry Hieover.-Stable Talk and Table 
 
 Talk ; or, Spectacles for Young Sportsmen 
 By HABBY HIEOVEB. New Edition, 2 vols. 
 8vo. with Portrait, price 24s. 
 
 Harry Hieover.- The Hunting-Field. By Harry 
 HIEOVEE. With Two Plates. Fcp. 8vo. 
 5s. half-bound. 
 
 Harry Hieover. Practical Horseman- 
 ship. By HAEEY HIEOYEE. Second Edition ; 
 with 2 Plates. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. half-bound. 
 
 Harry Hieover. The Stud, for Practical Pur- 
 poses and Practical Men: Being a Guide 
 to the Choice of a Horse for use more than 
 for show. By HAEEY HIEOYEE. With 2 
 Plates. Fcp. 8vo. price 5s. half-bound. 
 
 Harry Hieover.-The Pocket and the Stud; or, 
 Practical Hints on the Management of the 
 Stable. By HAEEY HIEOVEE. Second 
 Edition; with Portrait of the Author. Fcp. 
 8vo. price 5s. half-bound. 
 
 Hassall (Dr.)-Food and its Adultera- 
 tions : Comprising the Eeports of the Ana- 
 lytical Sanitary Commission of The Lancet 
 for the Years 1851 to 1854 inclusive, revised 
 and extended. By AETHUE HILL HASSALL, 
 M.D., &c., Chief Analyst of the Commission. 
 8vo. with 159 Woodcuts, 28s. 
 
 Col. Hawker's Instructions to Young 
 
 Sportsmen in all that relates to Guns and 
 Shooting. 10th Edition, revised and brought 
 down to the Present Time, by the Author's 
 Son, Major P. W. L. HAWKEB. With a 
 New Portrait of the Author, and numerous 
 Plates and Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Haydon. The Life of Benjamin Robert 
 
 Haydon, Historical Painter, from his Auto- 
 biography and Journals. Edited and com- 
 piled by TOM TAYLOE, M.A., of the Inner 
 Temple, Esq. 3 vols. post 8vo. 31s. 6d. 
 
 Haydn's Book of Dignities : Containing 
 
 Rolls of the Official Personages of the British 
 Empire, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Judicial, Mili- 
 tary, Naval, and Municipal, from the Earliest 
 Periods to the Present Time. Together 
 with the Sovereigns of Europe, from the 
 Foundation of their respective States ; the 
 Peerage and Nobility of Great Britain ; &c. 
 Being a New Edition, improved and conti- 
 nued, of Beatson's Political Index. 8vo. 
 25s. half-bound. 
 
 Herring. Paper and Paper-Making, 
 
 Ancient and Modern. By RiCHABD HEB- 
 BING. With an Introduction by the Rev. 
 GEOEGE CEOLY, LL.D. Second Edition, 
 with Plates and Specimens. 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Sir John Herschel.-Outlines of Astro- 
 nomy. By SIE JOHN F. W. HEESCHEL, 
 Bart., &c. New Edition; with Plates and 
 Wood Engravings. 8vo. price 18s. 
 
 Hill-Travels in Siberia. By S. S. Hill, 
 
 Esq., Author of Travels on the Shores of 
 the Bailie. With a large Map of European 
 and Asiatic Russia. 2 vols. post 8vo. 24s. 
 
 Hints on Etiquette and the Usages of 
 
 Society: With a Glance at Bad Habits. 
 New Edition, revised (with Additions) by a 
 Lady of Rank. Fcp.Svo. price Half-a-Crown. 
 
 Holland. Medical Notes and Reflec- 
 tions. By SIE HENRY HOLLAND, Bart., 
 M.D., F.R.S., &c., Physician in Ordinary 
 to the Queen and Prince Albert. Third 
 Edition, with Alterations and Additions. 
 8vo. 18s. 
 
 Holland. Chapters on Mental Physiology. By 
 SIB HENEY HOLLAND, Bart., F.R.S., &c. 
 Founded chiefly on Chapters contained in 
 the First and Second Editions of Medical 
 Notes and Reflections by the same Author. 
 8vo. price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Hook.-The Last Days of Our Lord's 
 
 Ministry : A Course of Lectures on the 
 principal Events of Passion Week. By 
 the Rev. W. F. HOOK, D.D. New Edition. 
 Fcp. 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Hooker. Kew Gardens; or, a Popular 
 
 Guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens of 
 Kew. By SIR WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKEE, 
 K.H., &c., Director. New Edition; with 
 many Woodcuts. 16ino. price Sixpence. 
 
 Hooker. Museum of Economic Botany ; 
 
 or, a Popular Guide to the Useful and Re- 
 markable Vegetable Products of the Museum 
 in the Royal Gardens of Kew. By SIE W. J. 
 HOOKEE, K.H., &c., Director. With 29 
 Woodcuts. 16mo. price Is. 
 
 Hooker and Arnott. The British Flora ; 
 
 comprising the Phsenogamous or Flowering 
 Plants, and the Ferns. Seventh Edition, 
 with Additions and Corrections ; and nu- 
 merous Figures illustrative of the Umbelli- 
 ferous Plants, the Composite Plants, the 
 Grasses, and the Ferns. By SIE W. J. 
 HOOKEE, F.R.A. and L.S., &c. ; and G. A. 
 WALKEE-AENOTT, LL.D., F.L.S. 12mo. 
 with 12 Plates, price 14s. ; with the Plates 
 coloured, price 21s. 
 
 B 5
 
 10 
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Home's Introduction to the Critical 
 
 Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. Tenth Edition^ revised, corrected, 
 and brought down to the present time. 
 Edited by the Eev. T. HABTWELI HOBNE, 
 B.D. (the Author); the Eev. SAMUEL 
 DAVIDSON, D.D. of the University of Halle, 
 and LL.D. ; and S. PBIDEATTX TBEGELLES, 
 LL.D. With 4 Maps and 22 Vignettes and 
 Facsimiles. 4 vols. 8vo. 3. 13s. 6d. 
 
 V The Four Volumes may also be had separately as 
 follows : 
 
 VOL. I. A Summary of the Evidence for the Genuineness, 
 Authenticity, Uncorrupted Preservation, and Inspiration of 
 the Holy Scriptures. By the Rev. T. H. Home, B.D. . 8vo. 15s. 
 
 VOL. II. The Text of the Old Testament considered : With 
 a Treatise on Sacred Interpretation ; and a brief Introduc- 
 tion to the Old Testament Books and the Apocrypha. By S. 
 Davidson, D.D. (Halle) and LL.D 8vo. 25s. 
 
 VOL. III. A Summary of Biblical Geography and Anti- 
 quities. By the Rev. T. H. Home, B.D 8vo. 18s. 
 
 Vol.. IV. An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the 
 Neva Testament. By the Rev. T. H. Home, B.D. The 
 Critical Part re-written, and the remainder revised and 
 edited by S. P. Tregelles, LL.D 8vo. 18s. 
 
 Home. A Compendious Introduction to the 
 Study of the Bible. By the Rev. T. HART- 
 WILL HOBNE, B.D. New Edition, with 
 Maps and Illustrations, 12mo. 9s. 
 
 How to Nurse Sick Children : Intended 
 
 especially as a Help to the Nurses in the 
 Hospital for Sick Children ; but containing 
 Directions of service to all who have the 
 charge of the Young. Fcp. 8vo. Is. 6d. 
 
 Howitt (A. M.) An Art-Student in 
 Munich. By ANNA MABY HOWITT. 2 
 vols. post 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Howitt.- The Children's Year. By Mary 
 
 HOWITT. With Four Illustrations, from 
 Designs by A. M. HOWITT. Square 16mo. 5s . 
 
 Howitt. Land, Labour, and Gold ; 
 
 or, Two Years in Victoria : With Visit to 
 Sydney and Van Diemen's Land. By 
 WILLIAM HOWITT. 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 owitt Visits to Remarkable Places : 
 
 Old Halls, Battle-Fields, and Scenes illustra- 
 tive of Striking Passages in English History 
 and Poetry. By WILLIAM HOWITT. With 
 about 80 Wood Engravings. New Edition. 
 2 vols. square crown 8vo. 25s. cloth, gilt top. 
 
 William Howitt' s Boy's Country Book: Being 
 the Real Life of a Country Boy, written 
 by himself ; exhibiting all the Amusements, 
 Pleasures, and Pursuits of Children in the 
 Country. New Edition ; with 40 Wood- 
 cuts. Fcp. 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Howitt. The Rural Life of England. By 
 
 WILLIAM HOWITT. New Edition, cor- 
 rected and revised ; with Woodcuts by 
 Bewick and Williams. Medium 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Hue. The Chinese Empire: A Sequel 
 
 to Hue and Gabet's Journey through Tartary 
 and Thibet. By the Abbe HTTC, formerly 
 Missionary Apostolic in China, Second 
 Edition ; with Map. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. 
 
 Hudson's Plain Directions for Making 
 
 Wills in conformity with the Law : With a 
 clear Exposition of the Law relating to the 
 distribution of Personal Estate in the case 
 of Intestacy, two Forms of Wills, and much 
 useful information. New and enlarged Edi- 
 tion ; including the Provisions of the Wills 
 Act Amendment Act. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Hudson's Executor's Guide. New and 
 
 enlarged Edition; with the Addition of 
 Directions for paying Succession Duties on 
 Real Property under Wills and Intestacies, 
 and a Table for finding the Values of Annui- 
 ties and the Amount of Legacy and Succes- 
 sion Duty thereon. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Hudson and Kennedy. Where there 's 
 
 a Will there 's a Way : An Ascent of Mont 
 Blanc by a New Route and Without Guides. 
 By the Rev. C. HUDSON, M.A., St. John's 
 College, Cambridge ; and E. S. KENNEDY, 
 B.A., Caius College, Cambridge. Second 
 Edition, with Two Ascents of Monte Rosa ; a 
 Plate, and a coloured Map. Post 8vo. 5s. 6d. 
 
 Humboldt's Cosmos. Translated, with 
 
 the Author's authority, by MES. SABINE. 
 Vols. I. and II. 16mo. Half-a-Crown each, 
 sewed ; 3s. 6d. each, cloth : or in post 8vo. 
 12s. each, cloth. Vol. III. post 8vo. 
 12s. 6d. cloth : or in 16mo. Part I. 2s. 6d. 
 sewed, 3s. 6d. cloth ; and Part II. 3s. sewed, 
 4s. cloth. 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature. Translated, 
 with the Author's authority, by MES.SABINE. 
 16mo. price 6s. : or in 2 vols. 3s. 6d. each, 
 cloth 5 2s. 6d. each, sewed. 
 
 Humphreys. Parables of Our Lord, 
 
 illuminated and ornamented in the style of 
 the Missals of the Renaissance by HENEY 
 NOEL HUHPHEEYS. Square fcp. 8vo. 21s. 
 in massive carved covers ; or 30s. bound in 
 morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Hunt. Researches on Light in its 
 
 Chemical Relations ; embracing a Con- 
 sideration of all the Photographic Processes. 
 By ROBEBT HUNT, F.R.S. Second Edition, 
 with Plate and Woodcuts. 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Idle. Hints on Shooting, Fishing, &c., 
 
 both on Sea and Land, and in the Fresh- 
 Water Lochs of Scotland : Being the Expe- 
 riences of C. IDLE, Esq. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 11 
 
 Mrs. Jameson's Legends of the Saints 
 
 and Martyrs : First Series of Sacred and 
 Legendary Art, Second Edition ; with nu- 
 merous Woodcuts, and 16 Etchings by the 
 Author. Square crown 8vo. 28s. 
 
 Mrs. Jameson's Legends of the Monastic 
 Orders, as represented in the Fine Arts : 
 Second Series of Sacred and Legendary Art. 
 Second.Edition, enlarged ; with 11 Etchings 
 by the Author, and 88 Woodcuts. Square 
 crown 8vo. price 28s. 
 
 Mrs. Jameson's Legends of the Madonna, 
 as represented in the Fine Arts : Third 
 Series of Sacred and Legendary Art. With 
 55 Drawings by the Author, and 152 Wood- 
 cuts. Square crown 8vo. 28s. 
 
 Mrs. Jameson's Commonplace-Book of 
 
 Thoughts, Memories, and Fancies, Original 
 and Selected. Part I. Ethics and Character ; 
 Part II. Literature and Art. Second Edit. 
 revised and corrected ; with Etchings and 
 Woodcuts. Crown Svo. 18s. 
 
 Mrs. Jameson's Two Lectures on the Employ- 
 t ment of Women. 
 
 1. SISTERS of CHABITY, Catholic and Protestant, 
 
 Abroad and at Home. Second Edition^ with new 
 Preface. Fcp. 8vo. is. 
 
 2. The CoMMTOioif of LABOTTE : A Second Lecture on 
 
 the Social Employments of Women. Fep. 8vo. 3s. 
 
 Jaquemet's Compendium of Chronology : 
 
 Containing the most important Dates of 
 General History, Political, Ecclesiastical, 
 and Literary, from the Creation of the 
 World to the end of the Year 1854. Edited 
 by the Rev. J. ALCOBN, M.A. Post Svo. 
 price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Jennings. Social Delusions concerning 
 Wealth and Want. By RICHABD JENNINGS, 
 M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge ; Author 
 of Natural Elements of Political Economy. 
 Fcp. Svo. 4s. 
 
 Lord Jeffrey's Contributions to The 
 
 Edinburgh Review. A New Edition, com- 
 plete in One Volume, with a Portrait en- 
 graved by Henry Robinson, and a Vignette. 
 Square crown 8vo. 21s. cloth ; or 30s. calf. 
 Or in 3 vols. 8vo. price 42s. 
 
 Bishop Jeremy Taylor's Entire Works 
 With Life by BISHOP HEBEB. Revised anc 
 corrected by the Rev. CHAELES PAGE EDEN 
 Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. Now 
 complete in 10 vols. 8vo. 10s. 6d. each. 
 
 Johns and Nicolas's Calendar of Victory : 
 
 Being a Record of British Valour and Con- 
 quest by Sea and Land, on Every Day in 
 the Year, from the Earliest Period to the 
 Battle of Inkermann. Fcp. 8vo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 Johnston. A Dictionary of Geography, 
 
 Descriptive, Physical, Statistical, and Histori- 
 cal : Forming a complete General Gazetteer 
 of the World. By A. KEITH JOHNSTON, 
 F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., F.G.S., Geographer at 
 Edinburgh in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 
 Second Edition, thoroughly revised. In 1 
 vol. of 1,360 pages, comprising about 50,000 
 Names of Places. Svo. 36s. cloth ; or half- 
 bound in russia, 41s. 
 
 Jones (Owen). Flowers and their Kin- 
 dred Thoughts : A Series of Stanzas. By 
 MABY ANNE BACON. With beautiful Illus- 
 trations of Flowers, designed and executed 
 in illuminated printing by OWEN JONES. 
 Reprinted. Imperial 8vo. price 31s. 6d. calf. 
 
 Kalisch. Historical and Critical Com- 
 mentary on the Old Testament. By DB. 
 M. KALISCH, M.A. First Portion Exodus : 
 in Hebrew and English, with copious Notes, 
 Critical, Philological, and Explanatory. 
 8vo. 15s. 
 
 *** An edition of the Exodus, as above (for the use of 
 English readers), comprising the English Translation, and 
 an abridged Commentary. Svo. price 12s. 
 
 Kemble. The Saxons in England: A 
 
 History of the English Commonwealth till 
 the Norman Conquest. By JOHN M. KEM- 
 BLE, M.A., &c. 2 vols. Svo. 28s. 
 
 Kemp. The Phasis of Matter : Being 
 
 an Outline of the Discoveries and Applica- 
 tions of Modern Chemistry. By T. LIITD- 
 LEY KEMP, M.D. With 148 Woodcuts. 
 2 vols. crown Svo. 21s. 
 
 Kennard. Eastern Experiences col- 
 lected during a Winter's Tour in Egypt and 
 the Holy Land. By ADAM STEINMETZ 
 KENNAED. Post Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Kesteven. A Manual of the Domestic 
 
 Practice of Medicine. By W. B.'KESTEYEN, 
 Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of 
 England, &c. Square post Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Kirby and Spence's Introduction to 
 
 Entomology ; or, Elements of the Natural 
 History of Insects : Comprising an Account 
 of Noxious and Useful Insects, of their Meta- 
 morphoses, Food, Stratagems, Habitations, 
 Societies, Motions, Noises, Hybernation, 
 Instinct, &c. Seventh Edition, with an Ap- 
 pendix relative to the Origin and Progress 
 of the work. Crown Svo. 5s. 
 B 6
 
 12 
 
 NEW WORKS AXD NEW EDITIONS 
 
 LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOP/EDIA 
 
 Of History, Biography, Literature, the Arts and Sciences, Natural History, and Manufactures. 
 
 A Series of Original Works by 
 
 SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, 
 SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH, 
 ROBERT SOUTH EY, 
 SIR DAVID BREWSTER, 
 
 THOMAS KEIOHTLEY, 
 JOHN FORSTER, 
 SIR WALTER SCOTT, 
 THOMAS MOORE, 
 
 BISHOP THIRLWALL, 
 THE REV. G. R. GLEIG, 
 J. C. L. DE SISMONDI, 
 JOHN PHILLIPS, F.R.S., G.S. 
 
 AND OTHER EMINENT WRITERS. 
 
 Complete in 132 vols. fcp. 8vo. with Vignette Titles, price, in cloth, Nineteen Guineas. 
 The Works separately, in Sets or Series, price Three Shillings and Sixpence each Volume. 
 
 A List of the WORKS composing tJie CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA: 
 
 Bell's History of Russia 3 vols. 10s. G<1. 
 
 Bell's Lives of British Poets 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Brewster's Optics 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cooley's Maritime and Inland Discovery 3 vols. 10s. 6<1. 
 
 Crowe's History of France 3 vols. 10s. Gd. 
 
 De Morgan on Probabilities 1 vol. 3s. Cd. 
 
 De Sismondi's History of the Italian 
 Republics 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 De Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Donovan's Chemistry 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Donovan's Domestic Economy 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Dunham's Spain and Portugal 5 vols. 17s. Gd. 
 
 Dunham's History of Denmark, Sweden, 
 
 and Norway 3 vols. 10s. 6d . 
 
 Dunham's History of Poland 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Dunham's Germanic Empire 3 vols. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Dunham's Europe during the Middle 
 Ages 4 vols. 14s. 
 
 Dunham's British Dramatists 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Dunham's Lives of Early Writers of 
 Great Britain 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Fergus's History of the United States .. 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Fosbroke's Grecian & Roman Antiquities 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Forster's Lives of the Statesmen of the 
 Commonwealth 5 vols. 17s. 6d. 
 
 Gleig's Lives of British Military Com- 
 manders 3 vols. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Grattan's History of the Netherlands .. . 1 vol. 3s. Gil. 
 
 Henslow's Botany 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 Herschel's Astronomy 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Herschel's Discourse on Natural Philo- 
 sophy 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Hittory of Rome 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 History of Switzerland 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Holland's Manufactures in Metal 3 vols. 10s. 6d. 
 
 James's Lives of Foreign Statesmen 5 vols. 17s. 6d. 
 
 Kater and Lardner's Mechanics 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Keightley's Outlines of History 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 Lardner's Arithmetic 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 Lardner's Geometry 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 34. Lardner on Heat 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 35. Lardner's Hydrostatics and Pneumatics 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 36. Lardner and Walker's Electricity and 
 
 Magnetism 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 37. Mackintosh, Forster, and Courtenay's 
 
 Lives of British Statesmen 7 vols. 24s. Cd . 
 
 88. Mackintosh, Wallace, and Bell's History 
 
 of England 10 vols. Sos. 
 
 39. Montgomery and Shelley's eminent Ita- 
 lian, Spanish, and Portuguese Authors 3 vols. 10s. GJ. 
 
 40. Moore's History of Ireland 4 vols. 1 Is. 
 
 41. Nicolas's Chronology of History 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 42. Phillips's Treatise on Geology 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 43. Powell's History of Natural Philosophy 1 vol. 3s. G J. 
 
 44. Porter's Treatise on the Manufacture of 
 
 Silk 1 vol. 3s. GJ. 
 
 45. Porter's Manufactures of Porcelain and 
 
 Glass 1 vol. 3s. GJ. 
 
 46. Roscoe's British Lawyers 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 47. Scott's History of Scotland 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 48. Shelley's Lives of eminent French 
 
 Authors ' 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 49. Shuckard and Swainson's Insects 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 50. Southey's Lives of British Admirals 5 vols. 17s. 6d. 
 
 51. Stebbing's Church History 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 52. Stebbing's History of the Reformation. . 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 53. Swainson's Discourse on Natural History 1 vol. 3s. Cd. 
 51. Swainson's Natural History and Classi- 
 fication of Animals 1 vol. 3s. CJ. 
 
 55. Swainson's Habits and Instincts of 
 
 Animals 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 56. Swainson's Birds 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 57. Swainson's Fish, Reptiles, &c 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 58. Swainson's Quadrupeds 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 59. Swainson's Shells and Shell-Fish 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 CO. Swainson's Animals in Menageries 1 vol. 3s. Gd. 
 
 Gl. Swainson's Taxidermy and Biography of 
 
 Zoologists 1 vol. 3s. 6d. 
 
 62. Thirlwall's History of Greece 8 vols. 23s. 
 
 Mrs. R. Lee's Elements of Natural His- 
 tory ; or, First Principles of Zoology : Com- 
 prising the Principles of Classification, inter- 
 spersed with amusing and instructive .Ac- 
 counts of the most remarkable Animals. 
 New Edition ; Woodcuts. Fcp. STO. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Letters to my Unknown Friends. By 
 
 a LADY, Author of Letters on Happiness. 
 Fourth Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Letters on Happiness, addressed to a Friend. 
 By a LADY, Author of Letters to my Unknown 
 Friends. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 L. E. L. The Poetical Works of Letitia 
 
 Elizabeth Landon ; comprising the Impro- 
 visatrice, the Venetian Bracelet, the Golden 
 Violet, the Troubadour, and Poetical Remains, 
 New Edition ; with 2 Vignettes by R. Doyle. 
 2 vols. 16mo. 10s. cloth ; morocco, 21s. 
 
 Dr. John Lindley's Theory and Practice 
 
 of Horticulture ; or, an Attempt to explain 
 the principal Operations of Gardeniug upon 
 Physiological Grounds : Being the Second 
 Edition of the Theory of Horticulture, muck 
 enlarged ; with 98 Woodcuts. STO. 21s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 13 
 
 Dr. John Lindley's Introduction to 
 
 Botany. New Edition, with Corrections and 
 copious Additions. 2 vols. Svo. with Six 
 Plates and numerous Woodcuts, price 24s. 
 
 Linwood. Anthologia Oxoniensis, sive 
 
 Florilegium e Lusibus poeticis diversorum 
 Oxoniensium Grsecis et Latinis decerptum. 
 Curante GULIELMO LINWOOD, M.A., JEdis 
 Christi Alumno. Svo. price 14s. 
 
 Lorimer's (C.) Letters to a Young Master 
 
 Mariner on some Subjects connected with 
 his Calling. New Edition. Pep. 8vo. 5s. 6d. 
 
 Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Gardening: 
 
 Comprising the Theory and Practice of Hor- 
 ticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and 
 Landscape- Gardening. With many hundred 
 Woodcuts. New Edition, corrected and 
 improved by MBS. LOUDON. Svo. 50s. 
 
 Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Trees and 
 
 Shrubs, or Arboretum et Fruticetum Brilan- 
 nicitm abridged : Containing the Hardy Trees 
 and Shrubs of Great Britain, Native and 
 Foreign, Scientifically and Popularly De- 
 scribed. With about 2,000 Woodcuts. 
 8vo. 50s. 
 
 Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Agriculture : 
 
 Comprising the Theory and Practice of the 
 Valuation, Transfer, Laying-out, Improve- 
 ment, and Management of Landed Property, 
 and of the Cultivation and Economy of the 
 Animal and Vegetable Productions of Agri- 
 culture. New Edition; with 1,100 Wood- 
 cuts. 8vo. 50s. 
 
 London's Encyclopaedia of Plants : Com- 
 prising the Specific Character, Description, 
 Culture, History, Application in the Arts, 
 and every other desirable Particular respect- 
 ing all the Plants found in Great Britain. 
 New Edition, corrected by MES. LOTTDON. 
 With upwards of 12,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 
 3. 13s. 6d. Second Supplement, 21s. 
 
 Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Cottage, 
 
 Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture. 
 New Edition, edited by MRS. LOUDON ; with 
 more than 2,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 63s. 
 
 London's Self-Instruction for Young 
 
 Gardeners, Foresters, Bailiffs, Land Stew- 
 ards, and Farmers ; in Arithmetic, Book- 
 keeping, Geometry, Mensuration, Practical 
 Trigonometry, Mechanics, Land-Surveying, 
 Levelling, Planning and Mapping, Architec- 
 tural Drawing, and Isometrical Projection 
 and Perspective. 8vo. Portrait, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Loudon's Hortus Britannicus ; or, Cata- 
 logue of all the Plants found in Great 
 Britain. New Edition, corrected by MES. 
 LOUDON. 8vo. 31s. 6d. 
 
 Mrs. Loudon's Lady's Country Compa- 
 nion ; or, How to Enjoy a Country Life 
 Eationally. Fourth Edition, with Plates 
 and Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Mrs. Loudon's Amateur Gardener's 
 
 Calendar, or Monthly Guide to what should 
 be avoided and done in a Garden. 16mo. 
 with Woodcuts, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Low's Elements of Practical Agriculture ; 
 
 comprehending the Cultivation of Plants, the 
 Husbandry of the Domestic Animals, and 
 the Economy of the Farm. New Edition ; 
 with 200 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Lynch. The Rivulet: A Contribution 
 to Sacred Song. By THOMAS T. LYNCH, 
 Author of Memorials of TheojMlus Trinal, &c. 
 Second Edition, printed in a more convenient 
 form. Eoyal 32mo. 2s. Gd. 
 
 Macaulay. Speeches of the Right Hon. 
 
 T. B. Macaulay, M.P. Corrected by HUT- 
 SELF. Svo. price 12s. 
 
 Macaulay. The History of England 
 
 from the Accession of James II. By 
 THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. New 
 Edition. Vols. I. and II. 8vo. price 32s. ; 
 Vols III. and IV. price 36s. 
 
 Mr. Macaulay's Critical and Historical 
 
 Essays contributed to The Edinburgh 
 Review. Four Editions, as follows : 
 
 1. A LIBBARY EDITION (the ElghtTi\ in 3 vols. Svo. 
 
 price 36s. 
 
 2. Complete in ONE VOLUME, with Portrait and Vig- 
 
 nette. Square crown Svo. price 21s. cloth; or 
 80s. calf. 
 
 3. Another NEW EDITION, in 3 vols. fcp. Svo. price 
 
 21s. cloth. 
 
 4. The PEOPLE'S EDITION, in 2 vols. crov/n Svo. price 
 
 8s. cloth. 
 
 Macaulay. Lays of Ancient Rome, with 
 
 Ivrt, and the Armada. By THOMAS 
 BABINGTON MACAULAY. New Edition. 
 16mo. price 4s. 6d. cloth; or 10s. 6d. 
 bound in morocco. 
 
 Mr. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. 
 
 With numerous Illustrations, Original and 
 from the Antique, drawn on Wood by 
 George Scharf, jun., and engraved by Samuel 
 Williams. New Edition. Fcp. 4to. price 
 21s. boards ; or 42s. bound in morocco.
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 MacDonald. Within and Without: A 
 
 Dramatic Poem. By GEORGE MACDoNALD. 
 Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Macdonald. Villa VeroccHo; or, the 
 
 Toutli of Leonardo da Yinci : A Tale. By 
 the late Miss D. L. HACDONAXD. Fcp. 8yo. 
 price 6s. 
 
 MacDongall. The Theory of War illus- 
 trated by numerous Examples from Mili- 
 tary History. By Lieutenant -Colonel MAC- 
 DOUGALL, Superintendent of Studies in the 
 Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Post 
 8vo. with Plans. {Just ready. 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh's Miscellaneous 
 
 Works : Including his Contributions to The 
 Edinburgh Review. Complete in One 
 Volume ; with Portrait and Vignette. 
 Square crown 8vo. 21s. cloth ; or 30s. bound 
 in calf: or in 3 vols. fcp. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh's History of England 
 from the Earliest Times to the final Esta- 
 blishment of the Reformation. Library Edi- 
 tion, revised. 2 vols. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Macleod. The Theory and Practice of 
 
 Banking: With the Elementary Principles 
 of Currency, Prices, Credit, and Exchanges. 
 By HENRY DUNNING MACLEOD, of the 
 Inner Temple,Esq., Barrister-at-Law. 2 vols. 
 royal 8vo. price 30s. 
 
 M'Clure. A Narrative of the Discovery 
 
 of the North- West Passage by H.M.S. 
 Investigator, Capt. SIR ROBERT M'CLTTRE, 
 R.N. Edited by Capt. SHERARD OSBOHN, 
 C.B., from the Logs, Journals, and Private 
 Letters of Sir R. M'Clure. With Chart and 
 4 Views. 8vo. 15s. 
 
 Macnaught The Doctrine of Inspira- 
 tion : Being an Inquiry concerning the In- 
 fallibility, Inspiration, and Authority of 
 Holy Writ. By the Rev. JOHN MAC- 
 NAUGHT, M.A. Second Edition, revised. 
 [Just ready. 
 
 M'Culloch's Dictionary, Practical, Theo- 
 retical, and Historical, of Commerce and 
 Commercial Navigation. Illustrated with 
 Maps and Plans. New Edition, corrected 
 to the Present Time ; with a Supplement. 
 8vo. price 50s. cloth j half-russia, 55s. 
 
 M'Culloch's Dictionary, Geographical, 
 
 Statistical, and Historical, of the various 
 Countries, Places, and principal Natural 
 Objects in the World. Illustrated with Six 
 large Maps. New Edition, revised; with a 
 Supplement. 2 vols. 8vo. price 63s. 
 
 Maitland. The Church in the Cata- 
 combs : A Description of the Primitive 
 Church of Rome. Illustrated by its Sepul- 
 chral Remains. By the Rev. CHARLES 
 MAITLAXD. New Edition j with several 
 Woodcuts. 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Out-of-Doors Drawing. Aphorisms on 
 
 Drawing. By the Rev. S. C. MALAX, M.A. 
 of Balliol College, Oxford ; Vicar of Broad- 
 windsor, Dorset. Post 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Mann. The Philosophy of Reproduction. 
 By ROBERT JAMES MANN, M.D., F.R.A.S. 
 Fcp. 8vo. with Woodcuts, price 4s. 6d. 
 
 Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on Chemis- 
 try, in which the Elements of that Science 
 are familiarly explained and illustrated by 
 Experiments. New Edition, enlarged and 
 improved. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on Natural Phi- 
 losophy, in which the Elements of that 
 Science are familiarly explained. New Edi- 
 tion, enlarged and corrected j with 23 Plates. 
 Fcp. 8vo. price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on Vege- 
 table Physiology ; comprehending the Ele- 
 ments of Botany, with their Application 
 to Agriculture. New Edition ; with 4 
 Plates. Fcp. 8vo. price 9s. 
 
 Martineau. Endeavours after the Chris- 
 tian Life : Discourses. By JAJTES MAE- 
 TINEAU. 2 rols. post 8vo. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Martineau. Hymns for the Christian Church 
 and Home. Collected and edited by JAMES 
 MARTINEAU. Eleventh Edition, 32mo. 3s. 6d. 
 cloth, or 5s. calf; Fifth Edition, 32mo. Is. 4d. 
 cloth, or Is. 8d. roan. 
 
 Martineau. Miscellanies. Comprising Essays 
 on Dr. Priestley, Arnold's Life and Corre- 
 spondence, Church and State, Theodore 
 Parker's Discourse of Religion, "Phases of 
 Eaith," the Church of England, and the 
 Battle of the Churches. By JAMES MAR- 
 TINEAU. Post 8vo. 9s. 
 
 Maunder's Biographical Treasury ; con- 
 sisting of Memoirs, Sketches, and brief 
 Notices of above 12,000 Eminent Persons of 
 All Ages and Nations, from the Earliest 
 Period of History : Forming a new and com- 
 plete Dictionary of Universal Biography. 
 Ninth Edition, revised throughout. Fcp.Svo. 
 10s. cloth ; bound in roan, 12s. ; calf, 12s. 6d.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 15 
 
 Mauncler's Geographical Treasury. 
 
 The Treasury of Geography, Physical, His- 
 torical, Descriptive, and Political ; contain- 
 ing a succinct Account of Every Country in 
 the World : Preceded by an Introductory 
 Outline of the History of Geography; a 
 Familiar Inquiry into the Varieties of Eace 
 and Language exhibited by different Nations; 
 and a View of the Eolations of Geography 
 to Astronomy and the Physical Sciences. 
 Commenced by the late SAMUEL MAUNDER ; 
 completed by WILLIAM HUGHES, F.E.G.S., 
 late Professor of Geography in the College 
 for Civil Engineers. With 7 Maps and 16 
 Steel Plates. Fcp. 8vo. 10s. cloth 5 roan, 
 12s. ; calf, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Maunder's Historical Treasury; com- 
 prising a General Introductory Outline of 
 Universal History, Ancient and Modern, 
 and a Series of separate Histories of Every 
 principal Nation that exists ; their Eise, 
 Progress, and Present Condition, the Moral 
 and Social Character of their respective In- 
 habitants, their Eeligion, Manners and Cus- 
 toms, &c. New Edition; revised through- 
 out, with a new GENERAL INDEX. Fcp. 8vo. 
 10s. cloth ; roan, 12s. ; calf, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Maunder's Scientific and Literary Trea- 
 sury : A new and popular Encyclopaedia of 
 Science and the Belles-Lettres 5 including 
 all Branches of Science, and every subject 
 connected with Literature and Art. New 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. price 10s. cloth j bound 
 in roan, 12s. ; calf, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Natural History ; 
 
 or, a Popular Dictionary of Animated 
 Nature : In which the Zoological Character- 
 istics that distinguish the different Classes, 
 Genera, and Species, are combined with a 
 variety of interesting Information illustrative 
 of the Habits, Instincts, and General Eco- 
 nomy of the Animal Kingdom. With 900 
 Woodcuts. New Edition. Fcp. 8vo. price 
 10s. cloth ; roan, 12s. ; calf, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge, and 
 
 Library of Eeference. Comprising an Eng- 
 lish Dictionary and Grammar, an Universal 
 Gazetteer, a Classical Dictionary, a Chrono- 
 logy, a Law Dictionary, a Synopsis of the 
 Peerage, numerous useful Tables, &c. New 
 Edition, carefully revised and corrected 
 throughout : With Additions. Fcp. 8vo. 
 10s. cloth 5 bound in roan, 12s. 5 calf, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Merivale. A History of the Romans 
 
 under the Empire. By the Eev. CHARLES 
 MERIT ALK, B.D., late Fellow of St. John's 
 College, Cambridge. Vols. I. to III. 8vo. 
 price 2. 2s. Vols. IV. and V. (from 
 Augustus to Claudius), price 32s. 
 
 Merivale.-TheFalloftheRomanRepub- 
 
 lie : A Short History of the Last Century of 
 the Commonwealth. By the Eev. C. MEBI- 
 VALE, B.D , late Fellow of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge. New Edition. 12mo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Merivale. An Account of the Life and Letters 
 of Cicero. Translated from the German of 
 ABEKEN ; and Edited by the Eev. CHARTVKS 
 MERIYALE, B.D. 12mo. 9s. 6d. 
 
 Miles. The Horse's Foot, and How to 
 
 Keep it Sound. Eighth Edition ; with an 
 Appendix on Shoeing in general, and Hunters 
 in particular, 12 Plates and 12 Woodcuts. 
 By W. MILES, Esq. Imperial 8vo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 *** Two Casts or Models of Off Fore Feet, No. 1, Shod for 
 AH Purposes, No. 2, Shod with Leather, on Mr. Miles's plan, 
 may be had, price 3s. each. 
 
 Miles. A Plain Treatise on Horse-Shoeing. 
 By WILLIAM MILES, Esq. With Plates and 
 Woodcuts. Small 4to. price 5s. 
 
 Milner. Russia, its Rise and Progress, 
 
 Tragedies and Eevolutions. By the Eev 
 T. MILNER, M.A., F.E.G.S. Post Svo 
 with Plate, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Milner. The Crimea, its Ancient and Modern 
 History : The Khans, the Sultans, and 
 the Czars : With Sketches of its Scenery 
 and Population. By the Eev. T. MILNEB, 
 M.A. Post Svo. with 3 Maps, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Milner. The Baltic; its Gates, Shores, and 
 Cities : With a Notice of the White Sea. 
 By the Eev. T. MILNER, M.A., F.E.G.S. 
 Post Svo. with Map, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Milner's History of the Church of Christ. 
 With Additions by the late Eev. ISAAC 
 MILNER, D.D., F.E.S. A New Edition, 
 revised, with additional Notes by the Eev. 
 T. GBANTHAM, B.D. 4 vols. Svo. price 52s. 
 
 Montgomery. Memoirs of the Life and 
 
 Writings of James Montgomery : Including 
 Selections from his Correspondence, Eemains 
 in Prose and Verse, and Conversations. By 
 JOHN HOLLAND and JAMES ETERETT. With 
 Portraits and Vignettes. 7 vols. post Svo. 
 price 3. 13s. 6d. 
 
 James Montgomery's Poetical Works: 
 
 Collective Edition ; with the Author's Auto- 
 biographical Prefaces, complete in One 
 Volume ; with Portrait and Vignette. Square 
 crown Svo. price 10s. 6d. cloth ; morocco, 
 21s. Or, in 4 vols. fcp. Svo. with Portrait, 
 and 7 other Plates, price 14s. 
 
 James Montgomery's Original Hymns 
 
 for Public, Social, and Private Devotion. 
 18mo. price 5s. 6d.
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Moore. The Power of the Soul over th 
 
 Body, considered in relation to Health and 
 Morals. By GEOEGE MOOEE, M.D. Fifth 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Moore. Man and his Motives. By George 
 MOOEE, M.D. Third Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Moore. The Use of the Body in relation to the 
 Mind. By GEOBOE MOOEE, M.D. Third 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Moore's Epicurean. New Edition, with 
 
 the Notes from the Collective Edition of 
 Moore s Poetical Works ; and a Vignette en- 
 graved onWood : Uniform with Moore's Irish 
 Melodies and Lalla Rookh, and with the first 
 collected edition of Moore's Songs, Ballads, 
 and Sacred Songs. 16rno. [_In the press. 
 
 Moore's Irish Melodies. A New Edi- 
 tion, with 13 highly -finished Steel Plates, 
 from Original Designs by 
 
 C. W. COPE, R.A. ; 
 T. CRESWICK, R.A. ; 
 A. L. EGG, A.R.A.; 
 W. P. FRITH, R.A.; 
 W. E. FKOST, A.R.A. ; 
 J. C. HOBSLEY ; 
 
 D. MACLISE, R.A. 
 
 J. E. MILLAIS, A.R.A. ; 
 W. MULBEADY, R.A. ; 
 J. SANT ; 
 F. STONE, A.R.A. ; and 
 
 E. M. WABD, R.A. 
 
 Square crown 8vo.price21s. cloth ; or 31s.6d. 
 handsomely bound in morocco. 
 
 Moore's Irish Melodies. Illustrated by D. 
 Maclise, E.A. New Edition; with 161 
 Designs, and the whole of the Letterpress 
 engraved on Steel, by F. P. Becker. Super- 
 royal 8vo. 31s. 6d. boards ; 2. 12s. 6d. 
 morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Moore's Irish Melodies. New Edition, printed 
 in Diamond Type ; with the Preface and 
 Notes from the collective edition of Moore's 
 Poetical Works, the Advertisements originally 
 prefixed to the Melodies, and a Portrait of 
 the Author. 32mo. 2s. 6d. An Edition 
 in 16mo. with Yignette, 5s.; or 12s. 6d. 
 morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Moore's Lalla Rookh : An Oriental 
 
 Romance. With 13 highly-finished Steel 
 Plates from Original Designs by Corbould, 
 Meadows, and Stephanoff, engraved under 
 the superintendence of the late Charles 
 Heath. New Edition. Square crown 8vo. 
 price 15s. cloth ; morocco, 28s. 
 
 Moore's Lalla Rookh. New Edition, printed 
 in Diamond Type ; with the Preface and 
 Notes from the collective edition of Moore's 
 Poetical Works, and a Frontispiece from a 
 Design by Kenny Meadows. 32mo. 2s. 6d. 
 An Edition in 16mo. with Yignette, 5s. ; 
 or 12s. 6cl. morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Moore's Songs, Ballads, and Sacred 
 
 Songs. New Edition, printed in Diamond 
 Type ; with the Notes from the collective 
 edition of Moore's Poetical Works, and a 
 Yignette from a Design by T. Creswick, R.A. 
 32mo. 2s. 6d.. An Edition in 16nio. with 
 Vignette by R. Doyle, price 5s. ; or 12s. 6d. 
 morocco by Hayday. 
 
 Thomas Moore's Poetical Works : Com- 
 prising the Author's recent Introductions 
 and Notes. Complete in One Volume, 
 printed in Ruby Type; with a Portrait. 
 Crown 8vo. 12s. 6d. cloth ; morocco by 
 Hayday, 21s. Also an Edition complete in 
 
 1 vol. medium 8vo. with Portrait and Vig- 
 nette, 21s. cloth ; morocco by Hayday, 42s. 
 Another, in 10 vols.fcp. 8vo. with Portrait 
 and 19 Plates, price 35s. 
 
 Moore. Memoirs, Journal, and Corre- 
 spondence of Thomas Moore. Edited by 
 the Right Hon. LOED JOHN RITSSELL, M.P. 
 With Portraits and Vignette Illustrations. 
 8 vols. post 8vo. price 10s. 6d. each. 
 
 Morell. Elements of Psychology : Part 
 
 I., containing the Analysis of the Intellectual 
 Powers. By J. D. MOEELL, M.A., One oi 
 Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. Post 
 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Moseley. The Mechanical Principles of 
 
 Engineering and Architecture. By H. 
 MOSELEY, M.A., F.R.S., Canon of Bristol, 
 &c. Second Edition, enlarged ; with nu- 
 merous Corrections and Woodcuts. 8vo.24s, 
 
 Mure. A Critical History of the Lan- 
 guage and Literature of Ancient Greece. 
 By WILLIAM MURE, M.P. of Caldwell. 
 Second Edition. Vols. I. to III. 8vo. price 
 36s. ; Vol. IV. price 15s. 
 
 Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography; 
 
 comprising a complete Description of the 
 Earth : Exhibiting its Relation to the 
 Heavenly Bodies, its Physical Structure, the 
 Natural History of each Country, and the 
 Industry, Commerce, Political Institutions, 
 and Civil and Social State of All Nations. 
 Second Edition ; with 82 Maps, and upwards 
 of 1,000 other Woodcuts. 8vo. price 60s. 
 
 Neale. The Closing Scene; or, Chris- 
 tianity and Infidelity contrasted in the Last 
 Hours of Remarkable Persons. By the 
 Rev. ERSKINE NEALE, M.A. New Editions. 
 
 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. price 6s. each. 
 
 Newman. The Office and Work of 
 Universities. By JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, 
 D.D., of the Oratory. Fcp. Svo. price 6s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 17 
 
 Newman. Discourses addressed to 
 
 Mixed Congi'egations. By JOHN HENEY 
 NEWMAN, D.D. Second Edition. 8vo. 12s. 
 
 Nomos : An Attempt to Demonstrate a 
 
 Central Physical Law in Nature. Post 8vo. 
 price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Lord Normanby. A Year of Revolution. 
 
 From a Journal kept in Paris in the Year 
 1848. By the MAEQUIS of NOEMANBT, 
 K.G. 2 vols. Svo. [Just ready. 
 
 Oldacre. The Last of the Old Squires. 
 A Sketch. By CEDEIC OLDACEE, Esq., of 
 Sax - Norrnaubury, sometime of Christ 
 Church, Oxon. Crown 8vo. price 9s. 6d. 
 
 Owen. Lectures on the Comparative 
 
 Anatomy and Physiology of the Invertebrate 
 Animals, delivered at the Eoyal College of 
 Surgeons. By RICHABD OWEN, F.R.S., 
 Hunterian Professor to the College. Second 
 Edition, with 235 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Professor Owen's Lectures on the Comparative 
 Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrate 
 Animals, delivered at the Royal College of 
 Surgeons in 1844 and 1846. With numerous 
 Woodcuts. Yol. I. 8vo. price 14s. 
 
 The Complete Works of Blaise Pascal. 
 
 Translated from the French, with Memoir, 
 Introductions to the various Works, Edito- 
 rial Notes, and Appendices, by GEOEGE 
 PEAECE, Esq. 3 vols. post 8vo. with Por- 
 trait, 25s. 6d. 
 
 VOI.. I. PASCAL'S PROVINCIAL LET- 
 
 ters : with M. Villemain's Essay on Pascal prefixed, and 
 a new Memoir. Post 8vo. Portrait, 8s. 6d. 
 
 VOL. 3. PASCAL'S THOUGHTS O\ RE- 
 
 licrfon and Evidences of Christianity, with Additions from 
 original MSS. : from M. FaugCre's Edition. Post 8vo. 
 price Ss. Cd. 
 
 VOL. 8. PASCAL'S MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Writings. Correspondence, Detached Thoughts, &c. : 
 from M. Failure's Edition. Post Svo. 8s. 6d. 
 
 Dr. Pereira's Elements of Materia 
 
 Medica and Therapeutics. Third Edition, 
 enlarged and improved from the Author's 
 Materials, by A. S. TAYLOB, M.D., and 
 G. O. BEES, M.D. : With numerous Wood- 
 cuts. Vol. I. Svo. 28s.; Vol. II. Part 1. 21s. 5 
 Vol. II. Part II. 24s. 
 
 Dr. Pereira's Lectures on Polarised 
 
 Light, together with a Lecture on the 
 Microscope. 2d Edition, enlarged from 
 Materials left by the Author, by the Rev. B. 
 POWELL, M.A., &c. Fcp. Svo. with Wood- 
 cuts, 7s. 
 
 Peschel's Elements of Physics. Trans- 
 lated from the German, with Notes, by 
 E. WEST. With Diagrams and Woodcuts. 
 3 vols. fcp. Svo. 21s. 
 
 Ida Pfeiffer's Lady's Second Journey 
 
 round the World: From London to the 
 Cape of Good Hope, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, 
 Celebes, Ceram, the Moluccas &c., California, 
 Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and the United 
 States. 2 vols. post Svo. 21s. 
 
 Phillips's Elementary Introduction to 
 
 Mineralogy. A New Edition, with extensive 
 Alterations and Additions, by H. J. BBOOKE, 
 F.B.S., F.G.S. 5 and W. H. MILLEB, M.A., 
 F.G.S. With numerous Wood Engravings. 
 Post Svo. 18s. 
 
 Phillips. A Guide to Geology. By John 
 PHILLIPS, M.A., F.B.S., F.G.S., &c. Fourth 
 Edition, corrected to the Present Time ; 
 with 4 Plates. Fcp. Svo. 5s. 
 
 Phillips. Figures and Descriptions of the 
 Palseozoic Fossils of Cornwall, Devon, and 
 West Somerset ; observed in the course 
 of the Ordnance Geological Survey of that 
 District. By JOHN PHILLIPS, F.B.S., F.G.S., 
 Ac. Svo. with 60 Plates, price 9s. 
 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery, and Methods 
 
 of Obtaining the Odours of Plants : With 
 Instructions for the Manufactureof Perfumes 
 for the Handkerchief, Scented Powders, 
 Odorous Vinegars, Dentifrices, Pomatums, 
 Cosmetiques, Perfumed Soap, &c. ; and an 
 Appendix on the Colours of Flowers, Arti- 
 ficial Fruit Essences, &c. Second Edition, 
 revised and improved ; with 46 Woodcuts. 
 Crown Svo. 8s. 6d. 
 
 Pillans. Contributions to the Cause cf 
 
 Education. By J. PILLANS, Esq., Professor 
 of Humanity in the University of Edinburgh. 
 Svo. 12s. 
 
 Pinney.-The Duration of Human Life, 
 
 and its Three Eras : When Men attained to 
 be more than 900 Years of Ago ; When they 
 attained to only 450; and When they reached 
 to only 70. Showing the probable Causes 
 and material Agents that have Shortened the 
 Lives of the Human Race ; and the Bar- 
 riers that prevent a return to the Longevity 
 of the Early Patriarchs. By JOEL PINNEY, 
 Esq. Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Piscator. The Choice and Cookery of 
 
 Fish : A Practical Treatise. By PlSCATOE. 
 Fcp. Svo. price os. 6d.
 
 18 
 
 NEW WORKS AITD NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Captain Portlock's Report on the Geology 
 
 of the County of Londonderry, and of Parts 
 of Tyrone and Fermanagh, examined and 
 described under the Authority of the Master- 
 General and Board of Ordnance. 8vo. with 
 48 Plates, price 24s. 
 
 Powell. Essays on the Spirit of the 
 
 Inductive Philosophy, the Unity of Worlds, 
 and the Philosophy of Creation. By the 
 ECV.BADEN POWELL, M.A.,F.B,S.,F.E.A.S., 
 F.G.S., Savilian Professor of Geometry in the 
 University of Oxford. Second Edition, re- 
 vised. Crown 8vo. with Woodcuts, 12s. 6d. 
 
 Pycroft's Course of English Reading, 
 
 adapted to every taste and capacity : With 
 Literary Anecdotes. New and cheaper 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. price 5s. 
 
 Raikes. A Portion of the Journal kept 
 
 by THOMAS EAIEES, Esq., fromlSSl to 1847: 
 Comprising Beminiscences of Social and 
 Political Life in London and Paris during 
 that period. Second Edition. Vols. I. and 
 II. post 8vo. with Portrait, price 21s. 
 
 V Vols. III. and IV., with Portraits of Count Mon- 
 trond and Prince Talleyrand, after Sketches by Count 
 D'Orsay, and completing the work, are in the press. 
 
 Reade. Man in Paradise: A Poem in 
 
 Six Books. With Lyrical Poems. By 
 JOHN EDSTCTO) EEADE, Author of " Italy," 
 " Eevelations of Life," &c. Second Edition. 
 Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Dr. Recce's Medical Guide : Comprising 
 
 a complete Modern Dispensatory, and a 
 Practical Treatiseonthe distinguishing Symp- 
 toms, Causes, Prevention, Cure, and Pallia- 
 tion of the Diseases incident to the Human 
 Frame. Seventeenth Edition, corrected and 
 enlarged by the Author's Son, DE. H. EEECE, 
 M.E.C.S., &c. 8vo. 12s. 
 
 Rich's Illustrated Companion to the 
 
 Latin Dictionaryand Greek Lexicon : Form- 
 ing a Glossary of all the Words representing 
 Visible Objects connected with the Arts, 
 Manufactures, and Every-Day Life of the 
 Ancients. With about 2,000 Woodcuts 
 from the Antique. Post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Horsemanship ; or, the Art of Riding 
 
 and Managing a Horse, adapted to the Guid- 
 ance of Ladies and Gentlemen on the Eoad 
 and in the Field: With Instructions for 
 Breaking-in Colts and Young Horses. By 
 CAPTAIX EICHABDSON, late of the 4th Light 
 Dragoons. With 5 Plates. Square crown 
 STO. 14s. 
 
 Riddle's Complete Latin-English and 
 
 English-Latin Dictionary, for the use of 
 Colleges and Schools. New and cheaper 
 Edition, revised and corrected. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 c orifl __ t .i.. /The English-Latin Dictionary, 7s. 
 separately ^ The LatiB.Engiish Dictionary, 15s. 
 
 Kiddie's Diamond Latin-English Dictionary : 
 A Guide to the Meaning, Quality, and 
 right Accentuation of Latin Classical Words. 
 Eoyal 32mo. price 4s. 
 
 Riddle's Copious and Critical Latin- 
 
 English Lexicon, founded on the German- 
 Latin Dictionaries of Dr. William Freund. 
 New and cheaper Edition. Post 4to. 31s. 6d. 
 
 Rivers's Rose-Amateur's Guide ; contain- 
 
 ing ample Descriptions of all the fine leading 
 varieties of Eoses, regularly classed in their 
 respective Families ; their History and 
 Mode of Culture. Fifth Edition, corrected 
 and unproved. Fcp. 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Roberts. The Social History of the 
 
 People of the Southern Counties of England 
 in Past Centuries, illustrated in regard to 
 their Habits, Municipal Bye-Laws, Civil 
 Progress, &c., from the Eesearches of 
 GEOEGE EOBEETS, Author of Life of the 
 Duke ofMonmouth, &c. 8vo. with Woodcuts, 
 price 18s. 
 
 Dr. E. Robinson's Greek and English 
 
 Lexicon to the Greek Testament. A New 
 Edition, revised and in great part re- written. 
 8vo. price 18s. 
 
 Mr. Henry Rogers's Essays selected from 
 
 Contributions to the Edinburgh Review. 
 Second and cheaper Edition, with Additions. 
 3 vols. fcp. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Dr. Roget's Thesaurus of English Words 
 
 and Phrases classified and arranged so as to 
 facilitate the Expression of Ideas and assist 
 in Literary Composition. Third Edition, 
 revised and unproved. Crown 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Ronalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomology : 
 
 With coloured Eepresentations of the 
 Natural and Artificial Insect, and a few Ob- 
 servations and Instructions on Trout and 
 Grayling Fishing. Fifth Edition, thoroughly 
 revised by an Experienced Fly-Fisher ; with 
 20 Plates coloured after improved patterns. 
 8vo. 14s. 
 
 Rowton's Debater : A Series of complete 
 
 Debates, Outlines of Debates, and Questions 
 for Discussion ; with ample Beferences 
 to the best Sources of Information. New 
 Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 6s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BEOWN, AND CO. 
 
 19 
 
 Letters of Rachel Lady Russell. A New 
 
 Edition, including several unpublished Let- 
 ters, together with those edited by Miss 
 BEBBY. With Portraits, Vignettes, and 
 Facsimile. 2 vols. post 8vo. price 15s. 
 
 The Life of William Lord Russell. By 
 the Eight Hon. LOBD JOHN ETTSSELL, M.P. 
 Fourth Edition ; with a Portrait after Sir 
 Peter Lely. Post 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 St. John (Mrs.) Audubon the Natu- 
 ralist in the New World : His Adventures 
 and Discoveries. By MBS. HOBACE ST. 
 JOHN. Fcp. 8vo. price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The Saints our Example. By the Author 
 
 of Letters to my Unknown Friends, &c. Fcp. 
 8vo. price 7s. 
 
 Dr. L, Schmitz's History of Greece, from 
 
 the Earliest Times to the Taking of Corinth 
 by the Eomans, B.C. 146, mainly based upon 
 Bishop Thirlwall's History. Fourth Edition, 
 with Supplementary Chapters on the Lite- 
 rature and Arts of Ancient Greece; and 
 illustrated with a Map of Athens, and 137 
 Woodcuts, designed from the Antique by 
 G. Scharf, jun., F.S.A. 12mo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 " The fourth edition of Dr. Schmitz's History of 
 Greece has been improved by the addition of chapters on 
 Greek art and literature, a want which we had occasion 
 lately to notice in our review of a rival manual. Dr. 
 Schmitz's hook must now be considered the most complete 
 English history of Greece in a single volume, and well 
 calculated to form either an introduction or a companion 
 to the great works of Bishop Thirlwall and Mr. Grote. Its 
 value is enhanced by numerous woodcuts by Mr. G. Scharf, 
 jun., of much higher quality than we usually meet with in 
 elementary books." GUABDIAH', Oct. 22, 1856. 
 
 Scott. The Danes and the Swedes: 
 
 Being an Account of a Yisit to Denmark, 
 including Schleswig-Holstein and the Danish 
 Islands ; with a Peep into Jutland, and a 
 Journey across the Peninsula of Sweden. 
 Embracing a Sketch of the most interesting 
 points in the History of those Countries. 
 By CHABLES HENBY SCOTT. Post 8vo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Scrivener's History of the Iron Trade, 
 
 from the Earliest Eecords to the Present 
 Period. New Edition, corrected. 8vo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Sir Edward Seaward's Narrative of his 
 
 Shipwreck, and consequent Discovery of 
 certain Islands in the Caribbean Sea. 
 Third Edition, 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s. An 
 ABBIDGMENT, in 16mo. price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The Sermon in the Mount. Printed by 
 
 C. Whittingham, uniformly with the Thumb 
 JBidle ; bound and clasped. 64mo. Is. 6.d. 
 
 Sewell. Amy Herbert. By a Lady. 
 
 Edited by the Eev. WILLIAM SEWELL, B.D., 
 Fellow and Tutor of Exeter College, Oxford. 
 New Edition. Fcp. 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Sewell.-The Earl's Daughter. By the 
 
 Author of Amy Herbert. Edited by the Eev. 
 W. SEWELL, B.D. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. 93. 
 
 Sewell. Gertrude : A Tale, By the 
 
 Author of Amy Herbert. Edited by the Eev. 
 W. SEWELL, B.D. New Edition. Fcp. 
 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Sewell. Laneton Parsonage : A Tale for 
 
 Children, on the Practical Use of a portion 
 of the Church Catechism. By the Author 
 of Amy Herbert. Edited by the Eev. W. 
 SEWELL, B.D. New Edition. 3 vols. fcp. 
 8vo. price 16s. 
 
 Sewell. Margaret Percival. By the 
 
 Author of Amy Herbert. Edited by the Eev. 
 W. SEWELL, B.D. New Edition. 2 vols 
 fcp. 8vo. price 12s. 
 
 By the same Author, 
 Ivors. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. price 12s. 
 Cleve Hall. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. price 12s. 
 
 The Experience of Life. New Edition. Fcp. 
 8vo. price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Katharine Ashton. New Edition. 2 vols. 
 fcp. 8vo. price 12s. 
 
 Headings for Every Day in Lent : Compiled 
 from the Writings of BISHOP JEBEMY 
 TAYLOB. Fcp. 8vo. price 5s. 
 
 Headings for a Month preparatory to Confirma- 
 tion: Compiled from the Works of Writers 
 of the Early and of the English Church. 
 New and cheaper Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 4s. 
 
 Bowdler's Family Shakspeare : In which 
 
 nothing is added to the Original Text; but 
 those words and expressions are omitted 
 which cannot with propriety be read aloud. 
 New Edition, in Pocket Volumes ; with 36 
 Woodcuts, from Designs by Smirke, Howard, 
 and other Artists. 6 vols. fcp. 8vo. 30s. 
 
 V A LIBKAET EDITIOK, with the same Illustrations, in 
 1 vol. medium 8vo. price 21s. 
 
 Sharp's New British Gazetteer, or Topo- 
 graphical Dictionary of the British Islands 
 and Narrow Seas : Comprising concise De- 
 scriptions of about Sixty Thousand Places, 
 Seats, Natural Features, and Objects of Note, 
 founded on the best authorities. 2 vols. 
 8vo. price 2. 16s.
 
 20 
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 Short Whist; its Rise, Progress, and 
 
 Laws : With Observations to make any one a 
 Whist-Player. Containing also the Laws of 
 Piquet, Cassino, Ecarte, Cribbage, Back- 
 gammon. By Major A. New Edition ; to 
 which are added, Precepts for Tyros, by 
 1VIrs. B. Fcp. Svo. 3s. 
 
 Sinclair. The Journey of Life. By 
 
 CATHEBINE SINCLAIR, Author of The Busi- 
 ness of Life. New Edition, corrected and 
 enlarged. Fcp. Svo. 5s. 
 
 Sir Roger De Coverley. From The Spec- 
 tator. With Notes and Illustrations, by 
 W. HENBY WILLS ; and 12 Wood Engrav- 
 ings from Designs by F. TATLEB. Second 
 and cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. 10s. 6d. ; 
 or 21s. in morocco by Hayday. An Edition 
 without Woodcuts, in 16mo. price Is. 
 
 Smee's Elements of Electro-Metallurgy. 
 
 Third Edition, revised, corrected, and con- 
 siderably enlarged ; with Electrotypes and 
 numerous Woodcuts. Post Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Smith (G.) Harmony of the Divine 
 
 Dispensations : A Series of Discourses on 
 Select Portions of Holy Scripture, designed 
 to show the Spirituality, Efficacy, and Har- 
 mony of the Divine Revelations made to 
 Mankind from the Beginning. By GEOBGE 
 SMITH, F.A.S., &c. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Smith (G.) Sacred Annals; or, Besearches 
 into the History and Religion of Mankind. 
 By GEOBGE SMITH, F.A.S., &c. 3 vols. 
 crown Svo. price 1. 14s. 
 
 VOL I. -THE PATRIARCHAL AGE, from the Cre- 
 ation to the Death of Isaac. Crown Svo. price 10s. 
 
 p- PEOPLE, from the Origin 
 
 of the Israelite Nation to the Time of Christ. Crown 
 Svo. m 2 Parts, price 12s. 
 
 VOL. III. - THE GENTILE NATIONS - Egyptians, 
 Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks 
 and Romans. Crown Svo. in 2 Parts, price 12s. 
 
 Smith (J.) The Voyage and Shipwreck 
 
 of St. Paul : With Dissertations on the Life 
 and Writings of St. Luke, and the Ships and 
 Navigation of the Ancients. By JAMES 
 SMITH, of Jordanhill, Esq., F.R.S. Second 
 Edition, with additional Proofs and Illus- 
 trations ; Charts, Views, and Woodcuts. 
 Crown Svo. 8s. 6d. 
 
 A Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith. 
 
 By his Daughter, LADY HOLLAND. With 
 
 a Selection from his Letters, edited by 
 
 us. AUSTIN. New Edition. 2 vols. Svo 28s 
 
 The Rev. Sydney Smith's Miscellaneous 
 
 Works : Including his Contributions to The 
 Edinburgh Review. Three Editions : 
 
 1. A LIBRJLBT EDITION (the Fourth}, in 3 vols. Svo. 
 with Portrait, 36s. 
 
 2. Complete in ONE VOLUME, with Portrait and Vig- 
 nette. Square crown Svo. price 21s. cloth : or 30s. 
 bound in calf. 
 
 3. Another NEW EDITION, in 3 vols. fcp. Svo. price 21s. 
 
 The Rev. Sydney Smith's Elementary 
 
 Sketches of Moral Philosophy, delivered at 
 the Royal Institution in the Years 1804, 
 1805, and 1806. Third and cheaper Edition. 
 Fcp. Svo. 7s. 
 
 Robert Southey's Complete Poetical 
 
 Works ; containing all the Author's last In- 
 troductions and Notes. Complete in One 
 Volume, with Portrait and Vignette. Medium 
 Svo. price 21s. cloth ; 42s. bound in morocco. 
 Or in 10 vols. fcp. Svo. with Portrait and 
 19 Plates, price 35s. 
 
 Select Works of the British Poets ; from 
 
 Chaucer to Lovelace inclusive. With 
 Biographical Sketches by the late ROBEBT 
 SOUTHEY. Medium Svo. price 30s. 
 
 Southey's Correspondence. Selections 
 
 from the Letters of Robert Southey, &c. 
 Edited by his Son-in-Law, the Rev. JOHN 
 WOOD WABTEB, B.D., Vicar of West 
 Tarring, Sussex. 4 vols. post Svo. price 42s. 
 
 The Life and Correspondence of the late Eobert 
 Southey. Edited by his Son, the Rev. 
 C. C. SOTJTHEY, M.A., Vicar of Ardleigh. 
 With Portraits and Landscape Illustra- 
 tions. 6 vols. post Svo. price 63s. 
 
 Southey's The Doctor &c. complete in 
 
 One Volume. Edited by the Rev. J. W. 
 WABTEB, B.D. With Portrait, Vignette, 
 Bust, and coloured Plate. New Edition. 
 Square crown Svo. price 21s. 
 
 Southey's Commonplace-Books, complete in 
 Four Volumes. Edited by the Rev. J. W. 
 WABTEB, B.D. 4 vols. square crown Svo. 
 price 3. 18s. 
 
 Each Commonplace-Book, complete in itself, may be 
 had separately, as follows : 
 
 FIEST SEBIES CHOICE PASSAGES, &c. 18s. 
 SECOND SEEIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS. 18s. 
 THIBD SEBIES ANALYTICAL READINGS. 21s. 
 FOUBTH SEBIBS ORIGINAL MEMORANDA, &e. 21s. 
 
 Southey's Life of Wesley ; and Rise and 
 
 Progress of Methodism. New Edition, with 
 Notes and Additions. Edited by the Rev. 
 C. C. SOUTHEY, M.A. 2 rols. Svo. with 
 2 Portraits, price 28s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 
 
 21 
 
 Spencer. The Principles of Psychology. 
 By HEEBEET SPEXCEB, Author of Social 
 Statics. 8vo. 16s. 
 
 Stainton. June: A Book for the Country 
 in Summer Time. By H. T. STAINTON, 
 Author of The Entomologist's Manual, and va- 
 rious other popular Works on Natural His- 
 tory. Fcp. 8vo. 3s. 
 
 Stephen. Lectures on the History of 
 
 France. By the Eight Hon. SIR JAMES 
 STEPHEN,K.C.B.,LL.D.,Professor of Modern 
 History in the University of Cambridge. 
 Second Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. price 24s. 
 
 Stephen. Essays in Ecclesiastical Bio- 
 graphy ; from The Edinburgh Review. By 
 the Right Hon. SIE JAMES STEPHEN, K.C.B., 
 LL.D., Professor of Modern History in 
 the University of Cambridge. Third Edi- 
 tion. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. 
 
 Stonehenge. The Greyhound: Being a 
 
 Treatise on the Art of Breeding, Rearing, 
 and Training Greyhounds for Public Run- 
 ning ; their Diseases and Treatment : Con- 
 taining also Rules for the Management of 
 Coursing Meetings, and for the Decision of 
 Courses. By STONEHENGE. With Frontis- 
 piece and many Woodcuts. Square crown 
 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Stow. The Training System, Moral 
 
 Training School, and Normal Seminary for 
 preparing Schoolmasters and Governesses. 
 By DAVID STOW, Esq., Honorary Secretary 
 to the Glasgow Normal Free Seminary. 
 Tenth Edition ; with Plates and Woodcuts. 
 Post 8vo. price 6s. 
 
 Strachey. Hebrew Politics in the Times 
 
 of Sargon and Sennacherib : An Inquiry into 
 the Historical Meaning and Purpose of the 
 Prophecies of Isaiah, with some Notice of 
 their Bearings on the Social and Political 
 Life of England, By EDWAED STKACHEY, 
 Esq. Cheaper Issue. 8vo. price 8s. 6d. 
 
 By the same Author, 
 
 Miracles and Science. Post 8vo. price Is. 
 
 Tayler. Christian Aspects of Faith and 
 Duty : Twenty Discourses. By JOHN 
 JAMES TATLEE, B.A. Second Edition. 
 Post 8vo. price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Taylor. Loyola : And Jesuitism in its 
 
 Rudiments. By ISAAC TATLOE. Post 8vo. 
 price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Taylor. Wesley and Methodism. By 
 ISAAC TAYLOE. Post 8vo. Portrait, 10s. 6cl. 
 
 Tegoborski. Commentaries on the Pro- 
 ductive Forces of Russia. By L. DE 
 TEGOBOBSKI, Privy- Councillor and Member 
 of the Imperial Council of Russia. Vols. I. 
 and II. 8vo. price 14s. each. 
 
 Thacker's Courser's Annual Remem- 
 brancer and Stud-Boot : Being an Alpha- 
 betical Return of the Running at all the 
 Public Coursing Clubs in England, Ireland, 
 and Scotland, for the Season 1855-56 ; with 
 the Pedigrees (as far as received) of the 
 DOGS. By ROBEET ABHAM WELSH, Liver- 
 pool. 8vo. 21s. 
 
 ** Published annually in October. 
 
 Thirlwall -The History of Greece. By 
 the Right Rev. the LOED BISHOP of ST. 
 DAVID'S (the Rev. Connop Thirlwall). An 
 improved Library Edition j with Maps. 8 
 vols. 8vo. price 3. 
 
 * # * Also, an Edition in 8 vols. fcp. 8vo. 
 with Vignette Titles, price 28s. 
 
 Thomson's Seasons. Edited by Bolton 
 
 COENEY, Esq. Illustrated with 77 fine 
 Wood Engravings from Designs by Mem- 
 bers of the Etching Club. Square crown 8vo. 
 21s. cloth ; or 36s. bound in morocco. 
 
 Thomson (the Rev. W.) The Atoning 
 
 Work of Christ reviewed in relation to some 
 current Theories ; in Eight Bampton Lec- 
 tures, with numerous Notes. By the Rev. 
 W. THOMSON, M.A., Provost of Queen's 
 College, Oxford. 8vo. 8s. 
 
 Thomson. An Outline of the Laws of Thought: 
 Being a Treatise on Pure and Applied Logic. 
 By the Rev. W. THOMSON, M.A. Third 
 Edition, enlarged. Fcp. 8yo. price 7s. 6d. 
 
 Thomson's Tables of Interest, at Three, 
 
 Four, Four-and-a-Half, and Five per Cent., 
 from One Pound to Ten Thousand, and from 
 
 1 to 365 Days, in a regular progression of 
 single Days ; with Interest at all the above 
 Rates, from One to Twelve Months, and 
 from One to Ten Years. Also, numerous 
 other Tables of Exchanges, Time, and Dis- 
 counts. New Edition. 12mo. price 8s. 
 
 Thornbury. Shakspeare's England; or, 
 
 Sketches of Social History during the Reign 
 of Elizabeth. By G. W. THOBNBUBY, 
 Author of History of the Buccaneers, &c. 
 
 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s. 
 
 The Thumb Bible ; or, Verbum Sempi- 
 
 ternum. By J. TAYLOE. Being an Epi- 
 tome of the Old and New Testaments in 
 English Verse. Reprinted from the Edition 
 of 1693; bound and clasped. 64mo. Is. 6d.
 
 22 
 
 Bishop Tomline's Introduction to the 
 
 Study of the Bible : Containing Proofs of 
 the Authenticity and Inspiration of the 
 Scriptures ; a Summary of the History of 
 the Jews ; an Account of the Jewish Sects ; 
 and a brief Statement of Contents of seve- 
 ral Books of the Old Testament. New Edi- 
 tion. Fcp. Svo. 5s. 6d. 
 
 Tooke. History of Prices, and of the 
 
 State of the Circulation, from 1847 to the 
 close of 1855. By THOMAS TOOKE, F.R.S. 
 With Contributions by WILLIAM NEW- 
 MAECH. Being the Fifth and concluding 
 Volume of Tooke's History of Prices, with an 
 Index to the whole work. 8vo. 
 
 Townsend. Modern State Trials revised 
 
 and illustrated with Essays and Notes. By 
 W. C. TOWNSEND, Esq., M.A., Q.C. 2 vols. 
 8vo. price 30s. 
 
 Trollope. The Warden. By Anthony 
 TEOLLOPE. Post Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Sharon Turner's Sacred History of the 
 
 World, attempted to be Philosophically 
 considered, in a Series of Letters to a Son. 
 New Edition, edited by the Rev. S. TUENEB. 
 3 vols. post Svo. price 31s. 6d. 
 
 Sharon Turner's History of England 
 
 during the Middle Ages : Comprising the 
 Reigns from the Norman Conquest to the 
 Accession of Henry VIII. Fifth Edition, 
 revised by the ReV. S. TUBNEE. 4 vols. 
 Svo. price 50s. 
 
 Sharon Turner's History of the Anglo- 
 Saxons, from the Earliest Period to the 
 Norman Conquest. Seventh Edition, revised 
 by the Rev. S. TTTBNEB. 3 vols. Svo. 36s. 
 
 Dr. Turton's Manual of the Land and 
 
 fresh-Water Shells of the British Islands. 
 A New Edition, with considerable Additions 
 by JOHN EDWABD GRAY : With Woodcuts, 
 and 12 coloured Plates. Post Svo. price 15s. 
 
 Tuson. The British Consul's Manual : 
 
 Being a Practical Guide for Consuls, as well 
 as for the Merchant, Shipowner, and Master 
 Mauiner, in all their Consular Transactions ; 
 and containing the Commercial Treaties 
 between Great Britain and Foreign Coun- 
 tries, brought down to the present date. By 
 E. W. A. TUSON, of the Inner Temple ; 
 Chancellor of the Imperial Austrian Con- 
 sulate- General in London. Svo. price 15s. 
 
 Twining Types and Figures of the 
 
 Bible, illustrated by the Art of the Early 
 and Middle Ages. By Miss LOUISA 
 TWINING. With 54 Plates, comprising 207 
 Figures. Post 4to. 21s. 
 
 Dr. Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufac- 
 tures, and Mines : Containing a clear Expo- 
 sition of their Principles and Practice. 
 Fourth Edition, much enlarged ; most of 
 the Articles being entirely re-written, and 
 many new Articles added. With nearly 
 1,600 Woodcuts. 2 vols. Svo. price 60s. 
 
 Van Der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology. 
 
 Translated from the Second Dutch Edition 
 by the Rev. WILLIAM CLABX, M.D.,F.R.S., 
 &c., late Fellow of Trinity College, and Pro- 
 fessor of Anatomy in the University of 
 Cambridge ; with additional References fur- 
 nished by the Author. In Two Volumes. 
 Vol. I. Invertebrate Animals; with 15 Plates, 
 comprising very numerous Figures. Svo. 
 price 30s. 
 
 Vehse. Memoirs of the Court, Aristo- 
 cracy, and Diplomacy of Austria. By DE. E. 
 VEHSE. Translated from the German by 
 FEANZ DEMMLEB. 2 vols. post Svo. 21s. 
 
 Wade. England's Greatness : Its Rise 
 
 and Progress in Government, Laws, Religion, 
 and Social Life j Agriculture, Commerce, 
 and Manufactures ; Science, Literature, and 
 the Arts, from the Earliest Period to the 
 Peace of Paris. By JOHN WADE, V.P. 
 Institut d'Afrique (Historical Section), 
 Piiris ; Author of History and Political Phi- 
 losophy of the Productive Classes^ of the 
 Cabinet Lawyer, &c. Fcp. Svo. 
 
 Waterton. Essays on Natural History, 
 
 chiefly Ornithology. By C. WATEETON, Esq. 
 With an Autobiography of the Author, and 
 Views of Walton Hall. New and cheaper 
 Edition. 2 vols. fcp. Svo. price 10s. 
 
 Webster and Parkes's Encyclopaedia of 
 
 Domestic Economy ; comprising such sub- 
 jects as are most immediately connected with 
 Housekeeping : As, The Construction of 
 Domestic Edifices, with the'Modes of Warm- 
 ing, Ventilating, and Lighting them A de- 
 scription of the various articles of Furniture, 
 with the nature of their Materials Duties of 
 Servants &c. New Edition ; with nearly 
 1,000 Woodcuts. Svo. price 50s. 
 
 Weld. A Vacation Tour in the United 
 
 States and Canada. By C. R. WELD, Barris- 
 ter-at-Law. Post Svo. with Map, 10s. 6d. 
 
 West. Lectures on the Diseases of 
 
 Infancy and Childhood. By CHAELES WEST, 
 M.D., Physician to the Hospital for Sick 
 Children; Physician- Accoucheur to, and 
 Lecturer on Midwifery at, St. Bartholomew's 
 Hospital. Third Edition. Svo. 14s.
 
 PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BKOWN, AND CO. 
 
 23 
 
 COMPLETION 
 
 THE TRAVELLER'S LIBRARY. 
 
 4 
 
 Summary of the Contents of the TRAVELLER'S LIBRARY, now complete in 102 
 Parts, price One Shilling each, or in 50 Volumes, price 2s. 6d. each in cloth, 
 To be had also, in complete Sets only, at Five Guineas per Set, bound in cloth, 
 lettered, in 25 Volumes, classified as follows : 
 
 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
 
 IN EUROPE. 
 
 A CONTINENTAL TOUR BY J. BARROW. 
 
 ARCTIC VOYAGES AND \ 
 
 DISCOVERIES > BYF.MAYNE. 
 
 BRITTANY AND THE BIBLE BY I. HOPE. 
 
 BRITTANY AND THE CHASE BY I. HOPE. 
 
 CORSICA BY F. GREGOROVIUS. 
 
 GERMANY, Etc. : NOTES OF -, 
 
 A TRAVELLER / ** S. LAING. 
 
 ICELAND ; BY P. MILES. 
 
 NORWAY, A RESIDENCE IN BY S. LAING. 
 
 NORWAY, RAMBLES IN BY T. FORESTER. 
 
 RUSSIA BY THE MARQUIS DE CUSTINE. 
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY . . BY J. R. M'CULLOCH. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG BY M. JERRMANN. 
 
 THE RUSSIANS OF THE SOUTH, BY S. BROOKS. 
 SWISS MEN AND SWISS -, 
 
 MOUNTAINS ) BY R. FERGUSON. 
 
 MONT BLANC, ASCENT OF BY J. AULDJO. 
 
 SKETCHES OF NATURE-, yONTSCHUDI 
 
 IN THE ALPS JBYF.VONTSC. FDI. 
 
 HISTORY AND 
 
 MEMOIR OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 THE LIFE OF MARSHAL \ BY THE REV. T. 0. 
 
 TURENNE / COCKAYNE. 
 
 SCHAMYL .... BY BODENSTEDT AND WAGNER. 
 FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMI- \ 
 
 LIANII } BT 
 
 FRANCIS ARAGO'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 THOMAS HOLCROFT'S MEMOIRS. 
 
 VISIT TO THE VAUDOIS i 
 OF PIEDMONT I BT ' 
 
 IN ASIA. 
 CHINA AND THIBET. . . v . . . BY THE ABBE' HUC. 
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE" EOTHEN." 
 
 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, BY P. GIRONIERE. 
 IN AFRICA. 
 
 AFRICAN WANDERINGS BY M. WERNE. 
 
 MOROCCO BY X. DURRIEU. 
 
 NIGER EXPLORATION. .BY T. J. HUTCHINSON. 
 THE ZULUS OF NATAL BY G. H. MASON. 
 
 IN AMERICA. 
 
 BRAZIL BY E. WILBERFORCE. 
 
 CANADA BY A. M. JAMESON. 
 
 CUBA BY W. H. HURLBUT. 
 
 NORTH AMERICAN WILDS .... BYC.LANMAN. 
 IN AUSTRALIA. 
 
 AUSTRALIAN COLONIES BY W. HUGHES. 
 
 ROUND THE WORLD. 
 A LADY'S VOYAGE BY IDA PFEIFFER. 
 
 BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHESTERFIELD & SELWYN, BY A. HAYWARD. 
 SWIFT AND RICHARDSON, BY LORD JEFFREY. 
 DEFOE AND CHURCHILL .... BY J. FORSTER. 
 ANECDOTES OF DR. JOHNSON, BY MRS. PIOZZI. 
 TURKEY AND CHRISTENDOM. 
 LEIPSIC CAMPAIGN, BY THE REV. G. R. GLEIG. 
 AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND-. BY HENRY 
 GENIUS OF THOMAS FULLER/ ROGERS. 
 
 ESSAYS BY MR. MACAULAY. 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 LORD CLIVE. 
 
 WILLIAM PITT. 
 
 THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 RANKE'S HISTORY OF THE POPES. 
 
 GLADSTONE ON CHURCH AND STATE. 
 
 ADDISON'S LIFE AND WRITINGS. 
 
 HORACE WALPOLE. 
 
 LORD BACON. 
 
 LORD BYRON. 
 
 COMIC DRAMATISTS OF THE RESTORATION. 
 FREDERIC THE GREAT. 
 HALLAM'S CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 
 CHOKER'S EDITION OF BOSWELL'S LIFE Of 
 JOHNSON. 
 
 MR. MACAULAY'S SPEECHES ON PARLIA- 
 MENTARY REFORM. 
 
 WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 THE LOVE STORY FBOM SOUTHEY'S DOCTOR. 
 SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY.... } J*^0*. 
 MEMOIRS OF A MAITRE-D'ARMES, BY DUMAS. 
 BY E . SO UVESTRE. 
 
 CONFESSIONS OF A 
 WORKING MAN . . 
 
 AN ATTIC PHILOSO- l SOUVESTHF 
 
 PHER IN PARIS . . i BT E> S UVESTRE. 
 
 SIR EDWARD SEAWARD'S NARRATIVE OF 
 HIS SHIPWRECK. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, &c. 
 
 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH, &c. BYDR, G.WILSON. 
 
 } BY DR. L. KEMP. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF 
 
 CREATION 
 
 INDICATIONS OF INSTINCT, BY DR. L. KEMP. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 
 
 LECTURES AND ADDRESSES } 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM SYDNEY SMITH'S 
 
 WRITINGS. 
 PRINTING BY A, STARK. 
 
 OUR COAL-FIELDS AND OUR COAL-PITS. 
 CORNWALL, ITS MINES, MINERS, &c. 
 
 RAILWAY MORALS AND; SPENCER 
 
 RAILWAY POLICY > BY H. SP ER. 
 
 MORMONISM . . BY ira REV. W. J. CONYBEARE. 
 LONDON , . . BT J. R. M'CULLOCH.
 
 24 
 
 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN AND CO. 
 
 Wheeler (H. M.) A Popular Harmony 
 
 of the Bible, Historically and Chronologically 
 arranged. By HENBY M. WHEELED, Author 
 of Hebrew for Adults, &c. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 Wheeler (J.T.) The Life and Travels of 
 
 Herodotus in the Fifth Century before 
 Christ : An imaginary Biography, founded 
 on fact, illustrative of the History, Manners, 
 Religion, Literature, Arts, and Social Con- 
 dition of the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, 
 Babylonians, Hebrews, Scythians, and other 
 Ancient Nations, in the Days of Pericles 
 and Nehemiah. By TALBOTS WHEELER, 
 F.R.G.S. 2 rols. poll 8vo. with Map, 21s. 
 
 Wheeler. The Geography of Herodotus De- 
 veloped, Explained, and Illustrated from 
 Modern Researches and Discoveries. By 
 J. TALBOTS WHEELEB, F.R.G.S. With 
 Maps and Plans. 8vo. price 18s. 
 
 Whitelocke's Journal of the English 
 
 Embassy to the Court of Sweden in the 
 Years 1653 and 1654. A New Edition, 
 revised by HENBY REEVE, Esq., F.S.A. 
 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. 
 
 Willich's Popular Tables for ascertaining 
 
 the Value of Lifehold, Leasehold, and Church 
 Property, Renewal Fines, &c. Third Edition, 
 with additional Tables of Natural or Hyper- 
 bolic Logarithms, Trigonometry, Astronomy, 
 Geography, &c. Post 8vo. price 9s. 
 SUPPLEMENT, price Is. 
 
 Wilmot's , Abridgment of Blackstone's 
 
 Commentaries on the Laws of England, in- 
 tended for the use of Young Persons, and 
 comprised in a series of Letters from a Father 
 to his Daughter. A New Edition, corrected 
 and brought down to the Present Day, by 
 SIB JOHN E. EABDLEY WILMOT, Bart. 
 12mo. price 6s. 6d. 
 
 Wilson (E.) The Dissector's Manual 
 
 of Practical and Surgical Anatomy. By 
 EsASirrs WILSON, F.R.S. Second Edition, 
 corrected and improved ; with 25 additional 
 Woodcuts by Bagg. 12mo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 Wilson (W.) Bryologia Britannica : Con- 
 
 . taining the Mosses of Great Britain and 
 Ireland systematically arranged and described 
 according to the Method of Bruch and 
 Schimpei- ; with 61 illustrative Plates. Being 
 a New Edition, enlarged and altered, of the 
 Mitscoloyia Britannica of Messrs. Hooker and 
 Taylor. By WILLIAM WILSON, President 
 of the Warrington Natural History Society. 
 8vo. 42s. ; or, with the Plates coloured, 
 price 4. ds. cloth. 
 
 Woods. The Past Campaign : A Sketch 
 
 of the War in the East, from the Departure 
 of Lord Raglan to the Fall of Sebastopol. 
 By N. A. WOODS, late Special Correspon- 
 dent to the Morning Herald at the Seat of 
 War. 2 vols. post 8vo. price 21s. 
 
 Yonge. A New English-Greek Lexicon': 
 
 Containing all the Greek Words used by 
 Writers of good authority. By C. D. 
 YONGE, B.A. Second Edition ', revised and 
 corrected. Post 4to. price 21s. 
 
 Yonge's New Latin Gradus : Containing 
 
 Every Word used by the Poets of good 
 authority. For the use of Eton, West- 
 minster, Winchester, Harrow, Charterhouse, 
 and Rugby Schools ; King's College, Lon- 
 don ; and Marlborough College. Fourth 
 Edition. Post 8vo. 9s. APPENDIX of Epi- 
 thets classified according to their English 
 Meaning, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 Youatt. The Horse. By William Youatt. 
 
 With a Treatise of Draught. New Edition, 
 with numerous Wood Engravings, from 
 Designs by William Harvey. (Messrs. 
 LONGMAN and Co.'s Edition should be or- 
 dered.) 8vo. price 10s. 
 
 Youatt. The Dog. By William Youatt. 
 
 A New Edition ; with numerous Engravings, 
 from Designs by W. Harvey. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Young. The Christ of History: An 
 
 Argument grounded in the Facts of His 
 Life on Earth. By the Rev. JOHN YorNG, 
 LL.D. Edin. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Young. The Mystery; or, Evil and God. By 
 the Rev. JOHN YOTTNG, LL.D. Edin. Post 
 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Young (E.) Prse-RafFaellitism ; or, a 
 
 Popular Inquiry into some newly-asserted 
 Principles connected with the Philosophy, 
 Poetry, Religion, and Revolution of Art. 
 By the Rev. EDWAED YOUNG, M.A. of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge ; Author of Art, 
 its Constitution and Capacities. Post 8vo. 
 [Just ready. 
 
 Zumpt's Grammar of the Latin Lan- 
 guage. Translated and adapted for the 
 use of English Students by DE. L. SCHMITZ, 
 F.R S.E. : With numerous Additions and 
 Corrections by the Author and Translator. 
 4th Edition, thoroughly revised. 8vo. 14s. 
 
 [November 1856. 
 
 PRINTED BY SfOTTISWOOD H AND CO., NEW-STREET-SGVARE, LONDON'. 

 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 O.OCT082 
 
 * ... 
 
 ftEC'DYRL
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 lllllll llll III" ""' "' 
 
 A 000362438 4
 
 - 
 
 u c