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Mrs. Wallace Nesbltt

THE

WORKS

FRANCIS BACON,

BARON OF VERULAM, VISCOUNT ST. ALBANS, AND LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND.

BY '

JAMES SPEDDING, M. A;

OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE;

ROBERT LESLIE ELLIS, M.A.

LATE FELLOW OF TRIKITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AND

DOUGLAS DENON HEATH,

BARRISTER-AT-LAW ; LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

VOLUME L

V^

BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY BROWN AND TAGGARD.

M DCCC LXI.

MICROFORMED BY

PRESERVATION

SERVICES

DATE AUG - 8 1989

RIVEKSIDK, CAMBRIDGE:

STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY

H. 0. HOUGHTON.

HISTORY AND PLAN

THIS EDITION.

Bacon's works were all published separately, and never collected into a body by himself ; and though he had determined, not long before his death, to distribute them into consecutive volumes, the order in which they were to succeed each other was confessedly irregular ; a volume of moral and political writings being intro- duced between the first and second parts of the Itv- stauratio Magna, quite out of place, merely because he had it ready at the time.^ In arranging the col- lected works therefore, every editor must use his own judgment.

Blackbourne, the first editor of an Opera Omnia,^ took the Distributio Operis as his groundwork, and endeavoured first to place the various unfinished por-

1 " Debuerat sequi Novum Organum : interposui tamen Scripta mea Mo- ralia et Politica, quia magis erant in promptu. . . . Atque hie tomus (ut diximus) interjectus est et non ex ordine Instaurationis." — Ep. ad Ful- gentium, Opuscula, p. 172.

2 Francisci JBaconi, ^c, Opera Omnia, quatuor voluminibus comprehensa. Londini, mdccxxx.

Vl HISTORY AND PLAN

tions of the Instauratio Magna in the order In which they would have stood had they been completed ac- cording 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 great inconvenience — it mixes up earlier writ- ings 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 five volumes* which (reprinted in ten volumes oc- tavo) has since kept the market and is now known as the *' trade edition," followed Blackboume's ar- rangement in the main, — though with several varia- tions which are for the most part not improvements. The arrangement adopted by Mr. Montagu ^ is in these respects no better, in all others much worse. M. Bouillet, in his (Euvres Philomphiques de Fran- pats Bacon^ does not profess to include all even of the Philosophical works ; and he too, though the beat editor by far who has yet handled Bacon, has

» The Works of Francis Bacon, &c., in five volumes. London, 1768. « The Works of Francis Hacon, Lord Chancellor of England. A new edition hy Basil Montagu, Esq. London, 1826-34. • Paris, 1834.

OF THIS EDITION. vii

aimed at a classification of the works more system- atic, as it seems to me, than the case admits, and has thus given to some of the smaller pieces a promi- nence which does not belong to them.

In the edition of which the first volume is here offered to the public, a new arrangement has been attempted ; the nature and grounds of which I must now explain.

When a man publishes a book, or Avrites a letter, or delivers a speech, it is always with a view to some particular audience by whom he means to be understood without the help of a commentator. Giv- ing them credit for such knowledge and capacity as they are presumably furnished with, he himself sup- plies what else is necessary to make his meaning clear ; so that any additional illustrations would be to that audience more of a hindrance than a help. If however his works live into another generation or travel out of the circle to which they were original- ly 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 hoth accounts requiring explanations and elucidations of many things which to the original audience were sufficiently intelligible. These it is the proper busi- ness of an editor to supply.

This consideration suggested to me, when con- sulted about a new edition of Bacon, the expediency

viii HISTORY AND PLAN

of arraiiffing his works with reference — not to sub- ject, size, language, or form — but to the different classes of readers whose requirements he had in view when he composed them. So classified, they will be foimd 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 ; ad- dressed to lawyere, 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 persons or bodies, had reference to particular occasions, as- sumed 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 nature and amount, and requires qual-

OF THIS EDITION. IX

ifications differing accordingly. 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 him- self a man of science, capable of handling scientific questions. To produce a correct text of the Profes- sional works and supply w^hat 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 tedious 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 Pro- fessional works by Mr. Douglas Denon Heath ; the Occasional and the Literary works by me ; each di- vision 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 con- cluded 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 with-

X HISTORY AND PLAN

in another half year, when unhappily about the end of 1849 lie was seized with a rheumatic 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 re- vision which the whole was to have undergone be- fore 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 hence it is that my name ap- pears in connexion with the Philosophical works ; with Inch 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 compared with his own ideal and with what he would himself have made them, they must on no ac- count 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. Per- fect or imperfect, it was clear to me that they must be kept as he left them, clear of all alien infusion ; and

OF THIS EDITION. Xl

not knowing of any one who was likely to take so much interest 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 alter- ation whatever (unless of errors obviously accidental which I might perhaps meet with in verifying any of the numerous references and quotations) without his express sanction. That the text should be carefully printed from the proper authorities, and all the biblio- graphical information 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 meddle 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 various subjects of inquiry, — although I had no means, I say, of supplying what he had left to be done in those de- partments, and must therefore be content to leave the work so far imperfect, — yet in all matters which lay within my compass I promised to do my best to complete the illustration and explanation of the text ; adding where I had anything to add, objecting where I had anything to object, but always disthiguishing as my own whatever was not his.

To this proposal he agreed, as the best course that

xii HISTORY AND PLAN

could be taken in the circumstances. Early in 1863 I took the work in hand ; and in the three volumes which follow, the reader will find the result.

The thinffs 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 ac- cording to the order in which they were composed; — a point however which is in most cases very dif- ficult to ascertain.

For the grounds on which I have proceeded in each case, and for whatever else in my part of the work re- quires explanation, I refer to the places. But there are two or three particulars in which this edition differs fi'om former ones, and which may be more conven- iently explained here.

OF THIS EDITION. Xiii

In the third and last division of the entire works, according to the scheme already explained, every au- thentic writing and every intelligibly reported speech of Bacon's (not belonging to either of the other divis- ions) which can be found in print or in manuscript will be set forth at full length, each in its due chron- ological place ; with an explanatory narrative running between, in which the reader will be supplied to the best of my skill and knowledge with all the informa- tion necessary to the right understanding of them. 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 biog- raphy 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 con- fronted 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 becomes clear as soon as the simple facts are set down in the order of their true dates ; and most of the difficulties presented by Bacon's life will be found to disappear

Xiv HISTORY AND PLAN

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 biogra2)hy 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 some- thing about himself and his life. Now there exists a short memoir of Bacon, which was drawn up by Dr. Rawley in 1657 to satisfy this natural desire, and pre- fixed to the Resusdtatio^ and is still (next to Bacon's own writings) the most important and authentic evi- dence concerning him that we possess. The origin of Dr. Rawley's connexion with Bacon is not known, but it must have begun early. It was in special compli- ment 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.^ Shortly after, Bacon becoming

1 " Ad quam pnesentatus fuit per honorand. virum Franciscum Bacon mil. Rcgije maj. advocatum generalem, ejusdem vicariaB [rectorioe] pro hac

OF THIS EDITION. XV

Lord-Keeper selected him for his chaplain ; and during the last five years of his life, which were entirely occu- pied 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 executors with the care and publica- tion of his papers. Rawley's testimony must therefore be regarded as that of a witness who, however favour- able 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 interpolations 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 biographical introduction.

The Latin translation of it, published by Rawley in 1658 as an introduction to a little volume entitled Opuscula Philosophical and now commonly prefixed to the Be Augmentis Sdentiarum^ I have thought it super- fluous to reproduce here ; this edition being of little

unica vice, ratione concessionis magistri et sociorum Coll. C. C (uti assere- batur) patronus." Collections prefixed, to Blackboume's edition 1730, i. 218. Bacon's father was a member and benefactor of Benet's; which accomits for this compliment.

XVI HISTORY AND PLAN

use to those who cannot read English, and the transla- tion being of no use to those who can. And this brings me to the second innovation which I have ventured to introduce.

Bacon had no confidence in the permanent vitality of EngHsh 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 translated 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 ; and though it is not to be feared that Latin will ever become ob- solete, it is certain that English has been rapidly gain- ing 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 ex- cluded by the Latin dress than admitted. Consider- ing also the universal disuse of Latin as a medium of oral communication, and the almost universal disuse of it as a medium of communication in writing, even among learned men, and the rapid spreading of Eng- lish 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 Eng- lish market. To those who are not masters of Eng- lish it offers few attractions; while of those who are,

OF THIS EDITION. XVll

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 Eng- lish. 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 inde- pendent of the English originals. Having been made later and made under Bacon's own eye, the differ- ences, where they are greater than can be naturally accounted for by the different idiom and construction of the languages, must be considered 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 advantage which we cannot afford to sacrifice, I have thought it my duty in all instances to compare the translation carefully with the original, and to quote in foot-notes those passages in which the variation appeared to be material ; and as this is a labour which few readers would take upon themselves, 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 foimer editors in not keeping the Latin and English works separate. Such separation is incompatible with the chronological arrangement which I hold to be far preferable. I see no inconvenience in the change

VOL. I. 2

xviii HISTORY AND PLAN

which is at all material; and I only mention it here lest any future publisher, out of regard to a super- ficial synmietiy, should go back to the former prac- tice 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 Instaura- tion, I ought to have followed the order laid down in the Dutributio Operis, marshalling them according to their place in the scheme rather than the date of com- position ; and therefore that the De Augmentis Scien- liar am which was meant to stand for the first part, should have been placed befoi-e 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 com- pleted according to the original design. All were more or less abortive. In every one of them, the De Aug- mentis and the Novum Organum itself not excepted, accidental difficulties, and considerations 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 cannot 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 nat- ural order in which they can be presented is that in which they stand here ; first, the Bistributio Operis^ setting forth the perfect work as he had conceived it in

OF THIS EDITION". xix

his mind, and tlien the series of imperfect and irregular efforts which he made to execute it, in the order in which they were made.

The text has been 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), prcejudice, fained, mathematiques, chymist^ &c., I adopt the modern form ; but I do not substitute lose for leese^ politicians for politiques, external for ex- terne, 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 ; as foelix, author, chymista, chymicus, ^c.

In the matter of punctuation and typography, though I have followed the example of all modern editors in

XX raSTORY AND PLAN

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 sometimes deciding questions of construction which admit of doubt. But I have endeavoured to represent the effect of the original arrangement to a modem eye, with as little departure as possible from modern fashions. I say endeavoured ; for I cannot say that I have succeeded in satisfying even myself. But to all matters of this kind I have attended personally ; and though I must not suppose that my mind has observed everything that my eyes have looked at, 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 Philosophical works an accurate and readable transla- tion 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. Arrange- ments were made accordingly ; and a translation of the Novum Organum was immediately begun. As succes- sive portions were completed, they were forwarded in the first instance to myself; were by me carefully ex- amined ; 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 cor-

OF THIS EDITION. xxi

rections Mr. Ellis marked the greater part for adop- tion, 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 revis- ion I have been careful to preserve all Mr. Ellis's cor- rections which affect the substance and sense of the translation. 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 be- ing commonly less agreeable to the reader, and mine (as the case now stands) being necessarily the predom- inating 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.

Though this volume is already twice as thick as I would have had it, I must add a few words concern- ing the portraits of Bacon ; a subject which has not received the attention which it deserves, and upon which, if picture-dealers and collectors and inheritors

xxii HISTORY AND PLAN

of family })ortraits 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.^ The original has a border, bearing the words honoratiss : d*. fran-

CISCUS BACON : EQUES AU I MAG : SIGILL : ANGL :

cusTos. Above are his arms, with the motto moniti MELIORA. Below the chancellor's bag, on which the left hand rests. These accessories, as being presuma- bly 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 under- neath has been copied verbatim,^ 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 12th 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

1 This work was published in 1618; and though one would not expect from the title to find Baron there, Brunet mentions a copy in the Biblioth. du Roi at Paris "qui, outre les portraits qui composent ordinairenient le recueil, renferine encore d'autres portraits du meme genre, representants des reines, des princes du sang, et des seigneurs de la cour des Rois Jacques Iw et Charles I"," &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 stire that any copy is perfect.

2 The righte Honourable S^ Frauncis Bacon knight, Lorde highe Chancellour of Englande and one of his l&a!^ most honW« privie Coun- aell.

OF THIS EDITION. XXIU

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 he sould by John Sudbury and Greorge Humble at the signe of the white horse in Pope^s head Allyy The plate appears to have been used afterwards for a frontis- piece to the Syha Sylvarum^ which was published in 1627, the year after Bacon's death. At least I have a copy of the second edition of that work (1628) in which the same print is inserted, only with the border and inscription altered; the title which originally sur- rounded it, together with the Chancellor'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 right Hon'''' Francis Lo. Veridam^ Viscount S' Alban. Mortuus 9° Aprilis^ Anno Dni 1626, Annoq^ Aetat. ^^. It is probable that the rapid demand for the Syha Sylvarum wore out the plate ; for none of the later editions which I have seen con- tain any portrait at all ; and that which was prefixed to the Resuscitatio 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

XXIV HISTORY AND PLAN

has lost its shapeliness and delicacy ; and the first line- and-half of the inscription underneath has apparent- ly been erased in order to give the name and titles in Latin. Nevertheless the adoption by Dr. Rawley of this print sufficiently authenticates it as a likeness at that time approved ; only the likeness must of course be looked for in the plate as Simon Pass left it, — not in restorations or copies. This Mr. HoU has endeav- oured faithfully, and in my opinion very successfully, 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 represents.

I selected this likeness by preference, partly because original 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 repre- sented by the engraving in Lodge's collection; but chiefly because I have some reason to suspect that it was made from a painting by Cornelius Janssen, and some hope that the original is still in existence and that this notice may lead to the discovery of it. Jans- sen 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 some- body (but it may no doubt have been to Van Somer) about that time ; at least 33/, was " paid to the pic- ture drawer for his Lp's picture," on the 12th of Sep-

OF THIS EDITION. XXV

tember, 1618.^ Now I have in my possession an en- graving in mezzotinto, purporting to be a portrait of Bacon, representing him in the same position and at- titude, and the same dress (only that the figure on the vest is different), and having a similar oval frame with the same kind of border. In the left-hand cor- ner, 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 performer. 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 com- position of the picture, — 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 dam- aged 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 mez- zotint) as it could not possibly have done in nature ; and the flap of the brim follows a somewhat different line, though the irregularity is of the same kind ; also 1 See a book of accounts preserved in the State Paper Office.

xxvl HISTORY AND PLAN

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 hand ; and the ribbon i*ound the neck, the lower part of which is con- cealed in Pass's print, is changed into a George and Garter.^ 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 outlines of the forms without caring to represent the effect of the picture (the practice I think of en- gravel's in Simon Pass's time), and the other is at- tending to the effect of the picture without caring, or without being able, to preserve the individual details, according to the practice of the popular engi'avers of the eighteenth century ; whereas in two independent and original portraits of the same face the correspond- encies 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 Conielius Johnson, — that is (no doubt) Cor- nelius Janssen. When it was made becomes therefore an interesting question ; and I regret to say that it is a question which I have no data for determining, be- yond the fact that it is in mezzotinto (an art of com- paratively modern invention) ; that it was " sold by J. Cooper in James Street Co vent Garden ; " and

1 If the orif;inal picture really has this badge, we may conclude, I sup- po8«, 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.

OF THIS EDITION. XXvil

that there was an English engraver called Richard Cooper, who flourished about the year 1763, and among whose engravings a portrait of Francis Bacon Lord Keeper and Chancellor is mentioned as one.^

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 fea- tures of which may be traced through many genera- tions of copies, each less like than its predecessor ; though always to be identified by the hat with irregu- lar brim curving upwards towards the sides, and bound with a scarf. The other is a portrait by Van Somer ; the same I suppose that Aubrey saw at Gorhambury in 1656 ; which has become the parent of two separate families ; one w^earing a hat with a brim describing a regular curve downwards towards the sides, which suf- ficiently distinguishes it from Pass's portrait ; the other without any hat ; the composition being in other re- spects 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 fash-

1 See Bryan's Painters and Engravers.

XXviii HISTORY AND PLAN

ion 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 ; 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 intended 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 with- out any sense of form. Moreover the hair is of a dif- ferent texture; and although we have neither any description nor any drawing of the upper part of Ba- con's full-grown head, we know what it was like in his boyhood from two very admirable representations, quite independent of each other and yet exactly agree- ing ; 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 execution made them very popular and gave them almost a monopoly of English historical por- traiture in the 18th century, were both utterly with- out conscience in the matter of likeness. And though

OF THIS EDITION. xxix

many of their works are brilliant specimens of effect in line-engraving, yet regarded as likenesses 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 char- acter, is indeed represented well enough. But if any one wishes to form a notion of Bacon's face as in- terpreted by Van Somer, he must consult the more modern engraving in Lodge's collection, which is at least a conscientious attempt to translate it faithfully ; Houbraken's can only mislead 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 Haw- kins, Esq., representing Bacon 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 for- tunate that he did not fulfil the intention which he

XXX HISTORY AND PLAN OF THIS EDITION.

announced of giving an engraving of a bust in terra cotta representing Bacon in his twelfth year, which is at Gorliambury, in the possession of the Earl of Vem- 1am. But tliis also is a work of great merit, and ex- tremely 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 ; and cer- tainly the work of an accomplished sculptor, who had a delicate perception of form and character. A faith- ful representation of it would be one of the most valuable contributions 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 communi- cation 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, 1857.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

Life of the Right Honourable Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, by William Rawley, D. D. 33

PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS.

General Preface to the Philosophical Works, BY Robert Leslie Ellis 61

PART L

WORKS PUBLISHED, OR DESIGNED FOR PUBLICATION, AS PARTS OF THE INSTAURATIO MAGNA.

NOVUM ORGANUM. Preface to the Novum Organum, by Robert Les- lie Ellis 131

Instauratio Magna 195

Prsefatio 199

Distributio Operis .212

Pars Secunda Operis, qu^ dicitur Novum Organum 231

Prgefatio .233

Aphorism! de Interpretatione Naturae et Regno Hom-

inis 241

Liber Secundus Aphorismorum de Interpretatione

Naturae sive de Regno Hominis . . . 341

->

3

THE

LIFE

OF

THE EIGHT HONOUEABLE

FRANCIS BACON,

BARON OF VERULAM, VISCONNT ST. ALBAN.

BY

WILLIAI EAWLEY, D.D.

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 prefixed to the ninth edition of the Sylva Sylvarum. The text of the Life itself is taken from the second edition of the Resuscitatio, tlie 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. — /. S.'\

VOL. I. 3

THE LIFE

THE HONOUKABLE AUTHOR.^

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 daughters of Sir Anthony Cook ; unto whom the erudition of King Edward the Sixth had been com- mitted ; a choice lady, and eminent for piety, virtue, and learning ; being exquisitely skilled, for a woman.

1 This Life was first published in 1657, as an introduction to the volume entitled " Resuscitatio ; or bringing into public light several pieces of the works, civil, historical, philosophical, and theological, hitherto sleeping, of the Right Honourable Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Al- ban; according to the best corrected copies." Of this volume a second edi- tion, or rather a re-issue with fresh titlepage and dedication, and several sheets of new matter inserted, appeared in 1661 ; the " Life of the Honour- able 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.

36 DR. RAW LEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

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 })ut 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 in- formed) delighted much then to confer with him, and to 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 Lordrkeeper. Being asked by the queen how old he was, he answered with much discretion, being then but a boy. That he was two years younger than Her Majes- ty^s happy reign; with which answer the queen was much taken.^

At the ordinary years of ripeness for the university, or rather something earlier, he was sent by his father to Trinity College, in Cambridge,^ to be educated and bred under the tuition of Doctor John White-gift, then master of the college ; afterwards the renowned arch- bishop of Canterbury ; a prelate of the first magnitude

1 This last sentence was added in the edition of 1661. The substance of it had appeared before in the Latin Life prefixed to the Opuscula Philo- Bophica in 1658, which is only a free translation of this, with a few correc- tions.

2 He began to reside in April 1673 ; was absent from the latter end of August 1674 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 accounts, printed in the British Magazine, vol. xxxii. p. 366., and xxxiii. p. 444.

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 37

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 six- teen 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 worth- lessness of the author, to whom he would ever as- cribe all high attributes, but for the unfruitfulness of the way ; being a philosophy (as his lordship used to say) only strong for disputations 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 thouo;ht 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 ; ^ by whom he was after awhile held fit to be entrusted with some message or adver- tisement 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,^ having collected (as I have heard of knowing persons) a considerable sum of money, which he had separated, with intention to have made a competent 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

1 Sir Amyas landed at Calais on the 25th of September 1576, and suc- ceeded Dr. Dale as ambassador in France in the following February. See Burghley's Diary, Murdin, pp. 778, 779.

2 In February 1578-9.

88 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

fether's affection) ; but the said purchase being unac- complished 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 man- or of Gorhambury, he came not to it till many years after, by the death of his dearest brother, Mr. Anthony Bacon,^ a gentleman equal to him in height of wit, though inferior to him in the endo^vments of learning and knowledge ; unto whom he was most nearly con- joined in affection, they two being the sole male issue of a second venter.

Being returned from travel, he apphed himself to the study of the common law, which he took upon him to be his profession ;2 in which he obtained to great ex- cellency, though he made that (as himself said) but as an accessary, and not his principal study. He wrote several tractates upon that subject : 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 before.^ He seated himself,

1 Anthony Bacon died in the spring of 1601. See a letter from Mr. John Chamberlain to Sir Dudlev Cailton, in the State Paper Office, dated 27th May 1601.

2 He had been admitted de societate intrm-um of Gray's Inn on the 27th of June 1576; commenced his regular career as a student in 1579; became "utter barrister" on the 27th of June 1582; bencher in 1586; reader in 1688; and double reader in 1600. See Harl. MSS. 1912, and Book of Or- ders, p. 56.

8 In the Latin version of this memoir, for " after a while" Rawley substi- tutes nondum ti/rocinium in lege egressm, by which lie seems to assign a

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 39

for the commodity of his studies and 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 ex- cepted) unto his dying day. In w^hich house he carried himself with such sweetness, comity, and gen- erosity, 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

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 1620-1. " You found me of the Learned Council, Extraordinary, without patent or fee, a kind of indimduum vigum. 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 " appro- priating him to her service," he imagined that the thanks were for the ap- pointment in question. This however is incredible. A copy of this letter in the Landsdowne 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 referred to afterwards. Moreover, we have another letter of Bacon's to King James, written in 1606, in Avhich 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 and Eger- ton. It appears however to have been no regular or formal appointment- He was not sworn. He had no patent; not even a Avritten warrant. His tenure was only ratione verbi regii EUzabeihce (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 sei-vice of that nature, — the first at least of which I find any record, — was in 1594. 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."

40 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

was more carried after the affairs and places of estate ; for whicli, 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 precipi- tate counsel of others his adherents and followers ; which was his fate and ruin.^

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 com- munication, 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 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 ; hav- ing never conferred upon him any ordinaiy place or

' 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 cannot 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 fidel- ity 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 agreed upon; and for the correction of all errors in matter of fact, I must refer to the Occasional Works, where the whole story will necessarily 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. 41

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 expec- tation either fully or near twenty years ; ^ of which his lordship would say in Queen Elizabeth's time. That it was like another man^s ground huttalling upon his house, which might mend his prospect, hut it did not fill his ham; (nevertheless, in the time of King James it fell unto him) ; which might be imputed, 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 risen, he might have obscured his glory .^

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^ to

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 deputj'.

2 The person here alluded to is probably his cousin Robert Cecil, who, though he always professed an anxiety to serve him, was supposed (appar- ently not without reason ) to have thrown obstacles secretly in the way of his advancement.

3 See note 3. p. 38. Rawley should rather have said " counsel learned, ru> 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 sal-

42 DR RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

His Majesty, as lie had been to Queen Elizabeth ; King's Solicitor-General ; His Majesty's Attorney- General ; Counsellor of Estate, being yet but Attor- ney ; Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal of England ; lastly, Lord Chancellor ; which two last places, tliough they be the same in authority and power, yet they dif- fer in patent, height, and favour of the prince ; since whose time none of his successors, until this present honourable lord,^ did ever bear the title of Lord Chan- cellor. His dignities were first Knight, then Baron of Veinilam ; 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,^ 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 married estate, and took to wife Alice, one of the daughters and coheirs of Benedict Barnham, Esquire and Alderman of London ; with whom he received a sufficiently ample and libei'al portion in marriage.^ Children he had none ; which, though they be the

ary of 40/., which he reckons as first in the series of advancements. This was in 1604. He was made solicitor in 1607, attorney in 1613, counsellor of state in 1616, lord-keeper in 1617, lord chancellor in 1618. His suc- cessive dignities were conferred respectively in 1603, 1618, and 1620-1.

1 Sir F:dward 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.

« It appears, ftvm a manuscript preserved in Tenison's Library, that he had about 220/. a-year with his wife, and upon her mother's death was to have about 140/. a-year more.

r

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 43

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 intermarriage, 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.^

The last five years of his life, being withdrawn from civil affairs ^ and from an active life, he employed

1 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 Eyworth in Bedfordshire on the 29th of June 1650.

2 On the 3rd of May 1621, Bacon was condemned, upon a charge of cor- ruption to which he pleaded guilty, to pay a fine of 40,000Z.; to be impris- oned 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 un- doubtedly 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 understanding, 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 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 universally 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

44 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

wholly in contemplation and studies — a thing where- of 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 : ^ — The Hia- tory of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh ; Ahceda-

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 po- litical 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 un- just 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 manuscript 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 discredit 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 Commonsybr the purpose of setting aside such decrees; but I can- not 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 book 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, quamprouem observavi; which gires this list a peculiar value.

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 45

Hwn Naturce^ or a Metaphysical piece which is lost ; ^ Historia Ventorum ; Historia Vitce et Mortis ; Historia Densi et Hari, not yet printed ; ^ Historia Gravis et Levis, which is also lost ; ^ a Discourse of a War with Spain; a 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 Augmentis Scientiarum, or the Advancement of Learning, put into Latin/ 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,^ of

1 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.

2 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 sub- stitutes yamjynmMTW 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.

3 This was probably the tract which Gruter 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 Levi in manibus hctbui integrum et grande volumen, sed quod, prceter nudam delineatce fabriece compagem ex tituUs materiam prout earn conceperat Baconus absolventibiis, nihil descrip- tionis continebat:' See his letter to Rawley, May 29. 1652, in the Ba- coniana, p. 223.

4 In this edition I have placed the De Augmentis before the Historia Ven- torum ; because, though published after, it was prepared and arranged, and in that sense composed, before. And in this view I am supported by a slight variation which is introduced here in the Latin version, viz. " Inter- venerat opus de Augmentis Scientiarum,''- &c.

We learn also from the Latin version that Bacon worked at the transla- tion of the Advancement of Learning himself : in quo e lingua vernaculd, proprio Marte, in Latinam transferendo honoratissimus auctor plurimum desudavit.

5 These were the Essays as they appeared in the third and last edition ;

46 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

the Dialogue of the Holy TFar, of the Fable of the New Atlantis^ for the benefit of other nations ; ^ his revising of his book De Sapientid Veterum ; Inquiaitio de Mag- nete ; Topica Inquisitionis de Luce et Lumine ; both these not yet printed ; ^ lastly, Sylva Sylvarum^ or the Natural History. These were the fruits and produc- tions 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 Mis- cellany Works.

There is a commemoration due as well to his abili- ties and virtues as to the course of his life. Those abilities which commonly go single in other men, though of prime and observable parts, were all con- joined and met in him. Those are, sharpness of wit, memory, judgment, and elocution. For the former three his books do abundantly speak them ; which ^ with what sufficiency he wrote, let the world judge ; but with what celerity he wrote them, I can best tes- tify. But for the fourth, liis elocution, I will only set down what I heard Sir Walter Raleigh once speak of

but he gave them a weightier title when he had them translated into " the general language:" eximle dicli, senmmeajideles, sive interiora rerum.

1 The Latin version adds, npwl quoa expeti audiverat.

2 These words are omitted in the Latin version, and must have been left by oversight in the edition of IfiGl; for they occur in one of the cancelled leaves; and the works in question had been printed in 1658. 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.

> The Latin version adds, ut de JuUo Cxmre Hirtim.

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF. BACON. 47

him by way of comparison (whose judgment may well be trusted), That the Earl of Salisbury was an excellent speaker^ hut no good penman ; that the Earl of North- ampton (the Lord Senry Howard) was an excellent perv- man^ hut no good speaker ; hut that Sir Francis Bacon was emineiit in hath.

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,^ but from some grounds and notions from within himself; which, notwithstanding, he vented with great caution and circumspection. His book of Instauratio Magna^ (which in his own ac- count 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 committed to the press ; as many liv- ing 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 masculine and clear expression than at any fineness or affectation of phrases, and would often ask if the

li. e. not from books only: Ex libris tamen solis scientiam suam depromp- sisse 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.

48 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

meaning were expressed plainly enough, as being one that accounted words to be but subservient or minis- terial to matter, and not the principal. And if his style were polite,^ it was because he would do no otherwise. Neither was he given to any light con- ceits, 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 in- tended, and to derogate from the weight and dignity of the style.

He was no plodder upon books ; though he read much, and that with great judgment, and rejection of impertinences incident 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 im- mediate 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 Atticoe, or Convivia Deiprw- 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 otherwise, he was no dashing man,^ as some men

1 The Latin version adds: Siquidem apud nostrates eloquii Angliatni arti- ftx habitus est.

2 In the Latin version Ravvley adds gentle exercise on horseback and playing at bowls : Equitatimem, non citam sed lentam, globorum lusum, et id gentu exercitia.

« The word dath 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, raild man; an

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 49

are, but ever a countenancer and fosterer of another man's parts. Neither was he one that would appro- priate 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 sentence by the scales of truth and reason, or else to the reverence and esti- mation wherein he was commonly had, that no man would contest with him ; so that there was no argu- mentation, 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 apparel than they had before ; so that the author should find his own speech much amended, and yet the substance of it still retained ; ^ as if it had been natural to him to

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 : Convivantimn neminem aut alios colhquentium pudore sufFun- dere glorke sibi duxit, sicut nonnulU gestiunt.

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

VOL. I. 4

50. DR. RAWLET'S LIFE OF BACON.

use good forms, as Ovid spake of his faculty of vei-sify-

" 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 crim- inals 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 ad- vising, 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 was the way that was most according to his otvn heart.

Neither was he in his time less gracious with the subject than with his sovereign. He was ever accept- able to the House of Commons ^ when he was a mem-

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 fre- quently, 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 occa- sion. In citing the evidence of witnesses, on the contrary, in support of a narrative statement or an argument upon matter of fact, he is always verj' careful.

1 The Latin version adds, in quo scepe peroravit, non sine magno applattsu ; a statement 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 happened in my time one noble speaker, who was

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 51

ber thereof. Being the king's attorney, and chosen to a place in parhament, he was allowed and dispensed with to ^it in the House ; which was not permitted to other attorneys.

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 ^ 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 suspect and prejudge great wits and politics to have somewhat of the atheist, yet he was conversant with God, as appeareth by several passages through- out the whole current of his writings. Otherwise he should have crossed his own principles, which were, That a little philosophy maheth men apt to forget Grod, as attributing too much to second causes; but depth of philosophy bringeth a man back to God again. Now I

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 idleness, 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 their affections more in his power. The fear of every man that heard him was, lest he should make an end." — Dis- coveries: under title Dominus Verulamitts.

1 Gratis, in the Latin version ; e. e. without taking any money for them ; an unusual thing in Bacon's time, when the sale of offices was a principal source of all great men's incomes.

<52 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

am sure there is no man that will deny liim, or account otherwise of him, but to have him been a deep j)hilosopher. And not only so ; but he was able to render a reason of the hope which was in him, 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 administration of tlie 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 norfed.^ He was no revenger of 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

1 " 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 Kssays and Sfipientin Veterum, 1618, " et posso dir con veritii (per haver io havute r honore di pratticarlo molti anni, et quando era in mvioribtis, et hora quando sta in colmo et fiore della sua grandezza) di non haver mai sco- perto in lui animo di vendetta, per qualsivoglia aggravio che se gli fosse fatto; nb manco sentito uscirgli di bocca parola d' ingiuria contra veruno, che mi paresse venire da passione contra la tal persona; ma solo (et questo ancora molto scarsamentc) per giudicio fattone in sangue freddo. Non 6 gik la sua grandezza quel che io ammiro, ma la sua virtu; non sono li favori fattimi da lui (per infiniti che siano) che mi hanno posto il cuore in quenti ceppi et catene in che mi ritrovo; ma si bene il suo procedere in com- mune; che »e egli fosse di conditione inferiore, non potrei manro honorarlo, e 86 mi fosse nemico io dovrei con tutto cib amar et procurar di servirlo."

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 53

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 veri- fying that divine sentence, A prophet is not without hon- our, save in his own country, and in his own house. Con- cerning which I will give you a taste only, out of a letter written from Italy (the storehouse of refined wits) to the late Earl of Devonshire, then the Lord Candish : I 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 : hut in par- ticular 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 understanding. This lord is more and more known, and his hooks 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 pens. Several persons* of quality, during his lordship's life, crossed the seas on purpose to gain an opportu- nity of seeing him and discoursing with him ; whereof one carried his lordship's picture from head to foot^ over with him into France, as a thing which he fore- saw 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

1 This picture was presented to him by Bacon himself, according to the Latin version.

M DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

Fiat, a French nobleman, 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 througli weak- ness confined to his bed, the marquis saluted him with tliis high expression. That his lordship had been ever to him like the angels; of whom he had often heard, and read much of them in books, but he never saw them. Af- ter which they contracted an intimate acquaintance, and the marquis did so much revere liim, 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 wor- thies devoted to learning, I forbear to mention them, because that is a thing common to other men of learn- ing or note, together with him.

But yet, in this matter of his fame, I speak in the comparative 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 tes- timonies 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. Commend me to my lord, and bid him take care to get good paper and ink, for the work is incomparable. The other shall be that of Doctor Samuel Collins, late provost of King's Col- lege in Cambridge, a man of no vulgar wit, who af- firmed unto me,^ That when he had read the book of the

1 In the Latin version Rawley lias thought it worth while to add that this may have been said p'ayfully : Siveftttive sive scrio.

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 65

Advancement of Learning^ he found himself in a case to heyin his studies a7iew^ and that he had lost all the time of his studying before.

It hath been desired, that something should be sig- nified touching 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 ; w hich he also com- mended 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,^ he pre- ferred the stronger meats, such as the shambles af- forded, 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 ex- tolled in his writings, and 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,^ 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 sup- per), that it might dry the body less ; which (as he said) did carry away frequently the grosser humours

1 More judicious (that is) by experience and observation: experientid edoctus is the expression in the Latin version.

2 In the Latin version Rawley gives the quantity : Rhabarbari sesqui- drachmam.

56 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

of the body, and not diminish or carry away any of the spirits, as sweating doth. And this was no griev- ous thing to take. As for other physic, in an ordi- nary way (whatsoever hath been vulgarly spoken) he took not. His receipt for the gout, which did constantly ease liim 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,^ but he was surprised with a sudden fit of fainting ; and that, though he observed not nor took any previous knowledge 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,

1 Lord Campbell (who appears to have read Rawley's memoir only in the Latin, where the words are quoties luna defecit sive ecUpsin passu est), suppos- ing 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 ap- proaching eclipse, visible or invisible." And it is true that if rfe/ec<MS 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 phe- nomena. 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 the fact of the fainting-fits may be fairly taken, I think, as evidence of the extreme delicacy of Bacon's temperament, and its sen- sibility to the skiey influences. That Bacon himself never alluded to this relation between himself and the moon is easily accounted for by suppos- ing that he M'as not satisfied of the fact. He may have obser^'ed the co- incidence, and mentioned it to Rawley; and Rawley (whose common- place book proves that he had a taste for astrology) may have believed in the physical connexion, though Bacon himself did not.

DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON. 57

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 he should die there of a gentle fever, accidentally accompanied with a great cold, whereby the defluxion of rheum fell so plentifully 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 because the body of his mother was interred there, and because it was the only church then remaining within the precincts of old Yerulam : 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) ; representing his full portraiture in the posture of studying, with an inscription composed by that accomplished gentleman and rare wit, Sir Henry Wotton.^

FRANCISCUS BACON, BARO DE VERULAM, S\ AJ.BANI VIC""'*,

SEU NOTIOEIBUS TITULIS

SCIENTIAKUM LUMEN FACUNDI^ LEX

SIC SEDEBAT.

QUI rOSTQUAM OMNIA NATUKALIS SAPIENTI^

ET CIVILIS ARCANA EVOLVISSET •

NATURE DECRETUM EXPLEVIT

COMPOSITA SOLVANTUR

AN. DNI M.DC.XXVI.

^TATW LXVI.

TANTI VIRI

MEM.

THOMAS MEAUTUS

SUPERSTITIS CULTOR

DEFUNCTI ADMIRATOR

H. P.

58 DR. RAWLEY'S LIFE OF BACON.

But howsoever his body was mortal, yet no doubt his memory and works will live, and will in all proba- bility 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 conduc- ing to the same.

PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS

FRANCIS BACON.

GENERAL PREFACE

TO

BACON'S PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS.

BY ROBERT LESLIE ELLIS.

(1.) Our knowledge of Bacon's method is much less complete 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 Naturce^ 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 at- tempt to determine what his method, taken as a whole, was or would have been, must necessarily 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 appre- hended.

62 GENERAL PREFACE TO

(2.) Of the subjects which were to have occupied the remainder of the Novum Organum we learn some- thing from a passage at the end of the second book.

" Nunc vero," it is said at the conclusion of the doc- trine of prerogative instances, " ad adminicula et rectifi- cationes inductionis, et deinceps ad concreta, et latentes processus, et latentes schematismos, et reliqua qua' aph- orismo xxi ordine proposuimus, pergendum." On re- ferring to the twenty-first aphorism we find a sort of table of contents of the whole work. *' Dicemus ita- que primo loco, de praerogativis instantiarum ; secundo, de adminiculis inductionis ; tertio, de rectificatione in- ductionis ; quarto, de variatione inquisitionis pro natura subjecti ; quinto, de praerogativis naturarum quatenus ad inquisitionem, sive de eo quod inquirendum est prius et posterius ; sexto, de terminis inquisitionis, sive de synopsi omnium naturarum in universo ; septimo, de deductione ad praxin, sive de eo quod est in ordine ad hominem ; octavo, de parascevis ad inquisitionem ; pos- tremo autem, de scala ascensoria et descensoria axioma- tum." 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 practical applications were to be made of the conclusions, axiomata, to which the inquirer had been led by a systematic process of induction. " Log- ica quaB nunc habetur inutilis est ad inventionem sci-

entiarum Spes est una in inductione vera."^

It is to be observed that wherever Bacon speaks of an

" ascending " process, he is to be understood to mean

induction, of which it is the character to proceed from

1 Nov. Org. i. U. and 14.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 63

that which is fiohis notius to that which is notius simpli- citer. Contrariwise when he speaks of a descent, he always refers to the correlative process of deduction. Thus when in the Partis secuncke Delineatio he says, . . . " meminerint homines in inquisitione activ^ ne- cesse esse rem per scalam descensoriam (cujus usum in contemplativa sustulimus) confici : omnis enim operatio 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 syllogis- mum ; neque id solum quoad principia (ad quae nee illi eam adhibent) sed etiam quoad propositiones me- dias." Everything was to be established by induction. " 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." ^

(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 particu- laribus," and acquiesce "in maxime generalibus ; " ^ but while ordinary induction proceeds " per enum- erationem simplicem," by a mere enumeration of particular cases, " et precario concludit et periculo exponitur ab instantia contradictori^," the new method " naturam separare debet, per rejectiones et exclusiones debitas; et deinde post negativas tot quot sufficiunt super affirmativas concludere."^ A form of induction was to be introduced, " quae ex aliquibus generaliter concludat ita ut instantiam contradictoriam 1 Nov. Org. i. 105. 2 Nov. Org. i. 22. a Nov. Org. i. 105.

64 GENERAL PREFACE TO

inveniri non posse demonstretur."^ In strong contrast with this method stands " the induction which the logi- cians speak of," wliich " is utterly vicious and incom- petent." . . . *' For to conclude upon an enumeration of particulars, without instance contradictory, 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 scorn- ful towards particulars." ^ We thus see what is meant by the phrase " quot sufficiunt" in the passage which has been cited from the Novum Organum ; it means " as many as may suffice in order to the attainment of certainty," it being necessary to have a method of in- duction, " quae experientiam solvat et separet, et per exclusiones et rejectiones debitas necessario concludat."^ 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 at- taining to the truth. " Nostra vero inveniendi scientias ea est ratio ut non multum ingeniorum acumini et ro- bori relinquatur ; sed qua? ingenia et intellectus fere exa^quet;"* 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 indicated by the illustration : the

1 Cogitata et Visa, § 18.

2 Advancement of Learning. The corresponding passage in the De Augm. is in the 2nd chap, of tiie 5th book.

8 Distrib. Operi.s, § 10.

■* Nov. Org. i. 61., and comp. i. 122. Also the Inquisitio legitima de Motu, and Valerius Terminus, c. 19.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. Q^

method " exagquat ingenia," " cum omnia per certis- simas regulas et demonstrationes transigat."

(5.) Absolute certainty, and a mechanical mode of procedure such that all men should be capable of employing it, are thus two great features of the Ba- conian method. His system can never be rightly understood if they are neglected, and any explanation of it which passes them over in silence leaves unex- plained the principal difficulty which that system pre- sents to us. But another difficulty takes the place of the one which is thus set aside. It becomes impossible to justify or to understand 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 inducatur qusedam ingenii, vel excellentiee, vel facultatis comparatio, sive contentio. . . . Verum cum per nos illud agatur, ut alia omnino via intellectui ape- riatur 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 systematic. And it need not be remarked that induc- tion 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

1 Nov. Org. i. 113. vol.. I. 6

66 GENERAL PREFACE TO

than it would thus appear to have been. Whoever considers his writings without reference to their place in the histoiy of philosophy will I think be convinced that he aimed at giving a wholly new method, — a method universally applicable, and in all cases infal- lible. By this method, all the knowledge which the human mind is capable of receiving might be attained, and attained without unnecessary labour. Men were no longer to wander from the truth in helpless uncer- tainty. The publication of this new doctrine was the Temporis Partus Mascuhis ; it was as the rising of a new sun, before which " the borrowed beams of moon and stars" were to fade away and disappear.^

(6.) That the wide distinction which Bacon con- ceived to exist between his own method and any which had previously 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 explicitly adopted those portions of Ba- con's doctrine which have seemingly been as a stum- bling-block to his later followers. In Hooke's General Scheme or Idea of the Present State of Natural PhUos- ophy? which is in many respects the best commentary on Bacon, we find it asserted that in the pursuit of

1 See, for instance, the Pra-fatio 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."

2 Published posthumously in 1705.

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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 except the incompar- able 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."^ Here the absolute novelty of Bacon's method, its de- monstrative character, and its power of reducing all minds to nearly the same level, are distinctly recog- nised.

(7.) Before we examine the method of which iBacon proposed to make use, it is necessary to determine the nature of the problems 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

1 Present State of Nat. PhiL pp. 6, 7.

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hereafter how this assumption connected itself with the whole spirit of his philosophy. I mention it now be- cause 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 na- turas, generare et superinducefe, opus et intentio est humanae potentise. Datae autem naturae formam, sive differentiam veram, sive naturam naturantem, sive fon- tem emanationis, (ista enim vocabula habemus quae ad indicationem rei proxime accedunt) invenire, opus et intentio est humanae scientiae." This passage, with which the second book of the Novum Organum com- mences, 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 (naturae) 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 Masculm ; ^ and in the Novum Organum he has expressed an equivalent

1 Mr. Ellis alludes, I think, to the De Intei'pretatione Naturce SententicB XII., which M. Bouillet prints as part of the Tempotis Partus Mmcultia. 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. 8.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 69

opinion : " quod iste modus operandi, (qui naturas in- tuetur simplices licet in corpore concreto) procedat ex iis quae in natura sunt constantia et seterna et catholica, et latas praebeat potentise humanae vias." ^ Quite in accordance wdth this passage is a longer one in the Adr vancement of Learning^ which I shall quote in extenso, as it is exceedingly important. " The forms of sub- stances, I say, as they are now by compounding and transplanting multiplied, are so perplexed as they are not to be inquired ; no more than it were either possi- ble or to purpose to seek in gross the forms of those sounds which make words, which by composition and transposition of letters are infinite. But on the other side to inquire the form of those sounds or voices which make simple letters is easily comprehensible, and being known induceth 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 mo- tion, 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."

1 Nov. Org. ii. 5.

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We see from these passages why the study of sim- ple natures is so important — namely because they are com j)a rati vely 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 Sil- varum. " Gold," it is there said, " has these natures : greatness of weight, closeness of parts, fixation, pliant- ness or softness, immunity from rust, colour or tinc- ture of yellow. Therefore the sure way, though most about, to make gold, is to know the causes of the sev- eral natures before rehearsed, and the axioms concern- ing the same. For if a man can make a metal that hath all these properties, let men dispute whether it be gold or no." ^

Of these simple natures Bacon has given a list in the third book of the De Augmentis. 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 se- cures the impenetrability of matter ; the motus nexus, commonly called the motus ex fuga vacui, &c. ; and of these motions fourteen are mentioned. Tliis list how- ever does not profess to be complete, and accordingly in the Novum Organum (ii. 48.) another list of sim-

1 Compare Nov. Org. ii. 6.

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pie 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 con- sidering the account which he has given of the nature of science, it is necessary to examine. I am, for rea- sons which will be hereafter mentioned, much disposed to believe that the doctrine of Forms is in some sort an extraneous 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 re- marks 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 modified sense, " praesertim quum hoc vocabulum invaluerit, et familiariter oc- currat." ^ He has however distinctly stated that in speaking of Forms, he is not to be understood to speak

1 Nov. Org. i. 51. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 2.

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of tlie Forms " quibus hominum contemplationes et cogitationes hactenus assueverunt." ^

As Bacon uses the word in his own sense, we must endeavour to interpret the passages in wliich it occurs by means of wliat he lias liimself said of it ; and tliis may I think be satisfactorily accomplished.

We may begin by remarking that in Bacon's sys- tem, as in those of many others, the relation of sub- stance and attribute is virtually the same as the relation of cause and effect. The substance is conceived of as the causa immanens of its attributes,^ or in other words it is the formal cause of the qualities which are re- ferred to it. As there is a difference between the properties of different substances, there must be a cor- responding difference between , the substances them- selves. But in the first state of the views of which we are speaking this latter difference is altogether unimaginable : " distincte quidem intelligi potest, sed non explicari imaginabiliter." ^ It belongs not to nat- ural philosophy, but to metaphysics.

These views however admit of an essential modifi- cation. If we divide the qualities of bodies into two classes, and ascribe those of the former class to sub- stance as its essential attributes, while we look on those of the latter as connected with substance by the rela- tion 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 pos- sible to give a definite answer to the question. Wherein

1 Nov. Org. ii. 17.

2 See Zimmerman's Essay on the Monadology of Leibnitz, p. 86. (Vien- na, 1807).

» Leibnitz, De ipsa Natura.

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does the diflPerence between different substances, corre- sponding to the difference between their sensible quah- ties, consist?

The answer to this question of course involves a ref- erence 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.^

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 phys- ical science. And this transition Bacon had made, though not perhaps with a perfect consciousness of having done so. Thus he has repeatedly denied the truth of the scholastic doctrine that Forms are incog- noscible because supra-sensible ; ^ 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,^ and that of whiteness a mode of arrano;ement amono- those particles.* This peculiar motion or arrangement cor- responds to and engenders heat or whiteness, and this in every case in which those qualities exist. The state- ment of the distinguishing character 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 fldfilling which any substance determines the existence of the quality in question. It is for this

1 Whewell, Phil. Ind. Science, [book iv. ch. i.]

2 See Scaliger, Exercit. in Cardan.

8 [Nov. Org. ii. 20.] 4 [Valerius Terminus, ii. 1.]

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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 secondar}' qualities, we can only say in general terms tliat his doctrine of Forms is founded upon the theoiy that certain qualities of bodies are merely sub- jective and phenomenal, and are to be regarded as necessarily resulting from others which belong to sub- stance as its essential attributes. In the passage from which we set out,^ the Form is spoken of as vera dif- ferentia, 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 circumstance, the definition, thougli not incorrect if the accident be an inseparable one, will nevertheless not express the true and es- sential 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 ex-

1 [Nov. Org. ii. 1,]

2 See Vossius, De Vitiis Serm. in voce Naturare; and Castanaeus, Distinc- tiones in voc. Natura.

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press the relation in which the Form stands to the phe- nomenal nature which results from it.

The phrase fons emanationis does not seem to require any explanation. It belongs to the kind of philosophi- cal 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 scholasticism.

A little farther on in the second book of the Novum Organum than the passage we have been considering, — namely 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 phe- nomenal 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 xiature noth- ing really exists (vere existat) except " corpora indi- vidua edentia actus puros individuos ex lege," yet that in doctrine this law is of fundamental importance, 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 IvT^Xix^tat from mere motions or kivt^o-ci?, thereby by implication denying the objective reality of the latter ; and, lastly, by using the

76 GENERAL PREFACE TO

word " individuos," he implies that though in contem- plation 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 natural sciences.

The investigation of the Forms of natures or ab- stract qualities is the principal object of the Baconian method of induction. It is true that Bacon, although he gives the first place to investigations 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 Orga- num sufficiently explains the relation in which, as he conceived, the abstract and the concrete, considered as objects of science, ought to stand to one another. This relation corresponds to that which in the De Angmentis [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 conversant 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 Ba-

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con'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 ? I believe that, if Bacon's recognition of physique as a distinct branch of science which was to be studied apart from metaphysique or the doctrine of Forms, can be ex- plained except on historical grounds, — that is, except by saying that it was derived from the quadripartite division of causes given by Aristotle,^ — the explana- tion 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 in- vestigations to which he gave the first rank.^

However this may be, it seems certain that Bacon's method, as it is stated in the Novum Organiim., is pri- marily 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 ex- plained. All in fact that we know of these modifica- tions results from comparing two passages which have been already quoted ; ^ 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 sub- ject of concrete bodies corresponds to the " variation of the investigation according to the nature of the sub- ject " in the other, and from this it seems to follow that Bacon looked on his method of investigatino; Forms as the fundamental type of the inductive process, from which in its other applications it deviated more or less

1 For an explanation of which, see note on De Augmentis, iii. 4. — J. 8. '^ See, in illustration of this, Nov. Org. ii. 5. 8 Vide supra, ^ 2.

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according to the necessity of the case. This being un- derstood, we may proceed to speak of the inductive method itself.

(9.) The practical criterium of a Form by means of which it is to be investigated and recognised, reduces itself to this, — that the form nature and the phenome- nal 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.^ Set- ting 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 re- quires the form nature, beside being convertible with the given one, to be also a limitation of a more general nature. His words are " natura alia quae sit cum na- tura data convertibilis et tamen sit limitatio naturae notioris instar generis veri."^ Of this the meaning will easily be apprehended 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 gen- eral natura, of which heat is a specific limitation ; for wherever heat is present there also is motion, but not vice vers^. 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 alto- gether 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 1 Nov. Org. ii. 4, 13, 16. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 4.

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commences. The first is the table " essentige et pras- sentiae," and contains all known instances in which the given nature is present. The second is the table of declination or absence in like case (declinationis sive absentise in proximo), and contains instances which re- spectively correspond to those of the first table, but in which, notwithstanding this correspondence, the given nature is absent. The third is the table of degrees or comparison (tabula graduum 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 ta- bles, which are collectively called tables of appearance, " comparentiae," and the criterium. For, let any in- stance 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 na- tures is necessarily the form nature, since this is always to be present when the given nature is. Similarly, the second table corresponds 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 pro- cess of induction 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 induction and of his own method he always remarks that the former proceeds " per enumerationem sim-

80 GENERAL PREFACE TO

plicem," 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 neces- sarily follow. Moreover 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 negatives, and then only can arrive at an affirmative when the process of exclusion has been completed (post omnim- odam exclusionem).^ The same doctrine is taught in the exposition of the fable of Cupid. For according to some of the mythographi 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 hypoth- esis, to perceive why this method is of paramount im- portance. 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 subjective or logical, but deals, so to speak, with the very essence 1 Nov. Org. ii. 15.

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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 nega- tive one, or which manifests itself in a greater degree when the given nature manifests itself in a less, or vice vers&. 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 ar- rived, 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 previ- ously 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 survivor of all the natures combined with which the given na- ture was at first presented to us. There can therefore be no doubt as to our result, nor any possibility of con- founding the Form with any other of these natures. This is what Bacon expresses, 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 vers^i. And then, he goes

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Oil to say, when this exclusion has been duly per- formed, 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.^ 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 are to be excluded — pro- cesses 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 practical operation, namely the investigation of the form of heat,^ 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 can- not at the outset (sub initiis) be perfectly 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 remove the obstacles which make the Exclusiva de- fective and inconclusive. But in the meanwhile, and as it were provisionally, the intellect may be permitted to attempt an affirmative determination on the subject I Nov. Org. ii. 16. a Nov. Org. ii. 11—20.

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before it : " Quod genus tentamenti Permissionem Intellectus, sive Interpretationem inchoatam, sive Vin- demiationem 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 reverts to its usual state. In this Vindemiatio we accordingly find no reference to the method of exclusion : it rests immediately 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 confu- sion," 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 the general method, whereas the Ex- clusiva, 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

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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.^ In order to the completion of his method, it is necessary to remove this defect. 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 induction is mentioned for the first time in the Novum Organum in a passage which relates not to axioms but to conceptions.''^ Bacon's induction therefore is not a mere liraymyrf, 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 circumstance our knowledge of his method is rendered imperfect and unsatisfactory. We may perhaps be per- mitted 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 proposed. For of all parts of the process of scientific discovery, the for- mation 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 apparently, in reducing to the semblance of a mechanical operation ; that of the formation of concep- tions does not admit of any similar reduction. Yet these two processes are in Bacon's system of co-or- dinate importance. All commonly received general scientific conceptions Bacon condemns as utterly worth-

1 Nov. Org. ii. 19. ; and compare i. 16., which shows the necessity of a complete reform. * Nov. Org. i. 14., and comp. i. 18.

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less.^ A complete change is, therefore, required; yet of the way in which induction is to be employed in order to produce this change he has said nothing.

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 re- sult, 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 cor- responds 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 prin- cipii. 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 Kep- ler's discovery that Mars moves in an ellipse into its constituent elements, we perceive that the whole diffi- culty is antecedent to the act of induction. It con- sists 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

1 Nov. Org. i. 15, 16.

bb GENERAL TREFACE TO

observed places of tlie planet. The mere act of induc- tion, the eVaycoyj;, is perfectly obvious. If all the ob- served 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 ob- vious that it must have passed through the mind of the discoverer almost unconsciously, is an instance of in- duction '' per enumeratjonem sjmplicem ; " 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 ex- planation. I mean by it the opinion, which Bacon undoubtedly entertained, that for the purposes of in- vestigation, the objects of our thoughts may be re- garded 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 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 accomplished, that the process by which they are derived should be carefully and systematically performed. But he had not perceived that which now at least can scarcely be doubted of, that the progress of science continually re- quires the formation of new conceptions whereby new principles of arrangement are introduced among the results which had previously been obtained, 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

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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 introduction 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 writ- ings ; — less however than if we could arrange his smaller works in chronological order. Nevertheless two results, not without their value, may be thus ob- tained ; 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 ex- traneous part of his philosophy.

(10.) In the earliest work in which the new method of induction is proposed, namely, the English tract en- titled 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, unembarrassed with that which constitutes its principal difficulty. But when we advance from Valerius Terminus to the Partis seeundce Delineatio et Argumentum^ which is clearly of a later date, we find that Bacon has become aware of the necessity of having some scientific method for the

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due construction of abstract conceptions. It is there said that the " pars informans," that is, the descriptions 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) ; tlie sec- ond is how the senses may be assisted ; and the third, how to form a satisfactory 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 Or- ganum ; and it w^ould 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^ though it has there become less prominent than in the tract of which we have been speaking. In the minis- tration 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 disap- peared, and both this ministration and that to the memory are postponed 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 1 Nov. Org. ii. 10.

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of the establishment of axioms are so intertwined to- gether, that the one cannot be presented independently of the other, although in practice his method abso- lutely 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 conceptions, and that subsequently these conceptions must themselves 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 Bacon had once pro- posed to overcome at the outset of his undertaking remained to the last unconquered. The doctrine of the Novum Organum (that we must first employ com- monly received notions, and afterwards correct them) is expressly laid down in the De Interpretatione Naturoe Sententice Duodecim?- 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 exclusion, the claim to absolute immu- nity 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 men- tioned as a part of Bacon's system, either in Valerius Terminus or in the Partis secundce Delineatio, or in the Be Interpretatione Naturoe Sententice Duodecim, although

1 Vide § viii. of this tract. 2 Nov. Org. ii. 19.

90 GENERAL PREFACE TO

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. Tliis defi- nition, 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 ad- mitted that in the Advancement of Learning^ published in 1605, Forms are spoken of as one of the subjects of Metaphysique. Their not being mentioned except ex obliquo in Valerius Terminus is more remarkable, be- cause 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 re- marks 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.^

The essential character of Bacon's philosophy, name- ly the analysis of the concrete into the abstract, is nowhere more prominent than in Valerius Terminus. It is there said " that every particular that worketh any effect is a thing compounded more or less of di- verse single natures, more manifest and more obscure, and that it appeareth not to whether (which) of the natures the effect is to be ascribed." ^ Of course the great problem is to decide this question, and the method of solving it is called " the freeing of a direc- tion." In explanation of this name, it is to be ob- served that in Valerius Terminus the practical point

1 I refer to my preface to Valerius Terminus for an illustration of some of the difficultien of this very obscure tract.

2 Val. Ter. c. 17.

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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 white- ness, since we have only to mingle air and water to- gether 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 rejecting, 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 su- perinducing that nature upon any variety of nature." Beyond question, the problem of superinducing 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 constitution 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

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admit of an answer, Valerius Terminus appears to sug- gest it. Bacon connected the doctrine of Forms with practical operations, because this doctrine, so to speak, represented to him his original notion of the freeing of a direction, which, as the phrase itself implies, had alto- gether a practical significance.

Even in the Novum Organum the definition of the Form is made to correspond with the praeceptum ope- randi, or practical direction.^ The latter is to be " cer- tum, 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 pres- ence 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 agree- ment between the practical 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 pro- duction of the proposed result, corresponds the condi- tion that the Form is to be " the limitation of a more general nature ; " that is to say, the Form presents it- self as a limitation 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 anal- ogous to the limitation here spoken of, and there is no reason to suppose that it is easier to see how this limi-

1 Nov. Org. ii. 4., which is the best comment on the dictum, Knowledge is power.

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tation is to be introduced than to see how the original problem, the H apx% TrpoKct/xevor, 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 philosophy. We shall however hereafter have occasion to suggest con- siderations which may seem to modify this conclusion.

(12.) In a survey of Bacon's method it is not ne- cessary 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 prob- able that its practical utility would have been explained when Bacon came to speak of the Adminicula Induc- tionis.

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 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 in- stance, are the instantiae conformes ; Bacon's exam- ples of which are mostly taken from comparative 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 Nov. Org. ii. 27. It does not seem that Bacon added much to what he found in Aristotle on the subject of these analogies.

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The other classes of prerogative instances have es- pecial reference to particular investigation, and are to be collected when individual tables of comparence are formed.

It would seem from this that the theory of preroga- tive instances is intended to guide us in the formation of these tables. But it is difficult to see how the cir- cumstances which give any instance its prerogative could have been appreciated a priori. An instantia crucis,^ to take the most celebrated of all, has its dis- tinguishing character only in so far as it is viewed with reference to two contending hypotheses. In forming at the outset of an inquiry the appropriate tables, noth- ing would have led the interpreter to perceive its pecu- liar value.

This theory, whatever may be its practical utility, may supply 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 solitariae, whose prerog- ative it is to accelerate the Exclusiva.^ 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 independent of the particular constitution of these bodies must be ex- cluded from the form of colour.

Next to the instantiae solitariae are placed the instan- 1 Nov. Org. ii. 36. 9 Nov. Org. ii. 22.

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tiae migrantes, which show the given nature in the act of appearing 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 Affirmative, or Form itself, by showing that it is something which is given or taken away by the observed change. A little farther 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 Exclusiva."

Other remarks to the same effect might be made with reference to other classes of instances ; but these are probably sufficient.

I shall now endeavour to give an account of Ba- con's views on some questions of philosophy, which are not immediately connected with the reforms he pro- posed 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 especially of that of Democ- ritus, 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 con- trasted. But setting this aside, it is certain that these systems were more akin to his own views than the doc- trine of the schools of which Socrates may be called the founder. The problems which they proposed were essentially physical, — given certain material first prin-

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dples, to determine the origin and causes of all phe- nomena. They were concerned, for the most part, with that which is accessible to the senses, or which 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 philosophy, 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 subtleties. Plato, Aristotle, and their followers, were in his opinion but a better kind of sophists. What Dionysius said to Plato, that his discourse was but dotage, might fitly be applied to them all.^

It cannot be denied, that to Bacon all sound philos- ophy 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 proposed to do in investigating the Forms of simple natures. Nevertheless he did not adopt the peculiar opinions of Democritus and his followers. In the Novum Organum he rejects altogether the notion of a vacuum and that of the unchangeableness of matter .^ His theory of the intimate constitution of bodies does

1 Redargut. Phil, et Nov. Org. i. 71.

2 Nov. Org. ii. 8. Compare Cogit. De Nat. Rerum.

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not, lie 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 Democri- tus, though he has spoken of him as being, of all the Greek philosophers, the one who had the deepest in- sight into nature.^

But though Bacon was not an atomist, he was what has been called a mechanical physiologist. Leibnitz's remark that the restorers of philosophy ^ all held the principle that the properties of bodies are to be ex- plained 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 doctrine), 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 sometimes 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 princi- ples, or as he has himself defined it, the science of that which is, as such. In the first book of the Meta- physics 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 differ- ently. With him, the first philosophy is divided into two parts. Of these the first is to be a receptacle of

1 Nov. Org. i. 51. ; also Parm. Teles, and Dem. Phil.

2 Namely, the Cartesians, Verulam, Hobbes, &c. See his letter to Tho- masius, p. 48. of the edition of his philosophical works by Erdmann.

VOL. I. 7

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the axioms which do not belong exclusively to particu- lar sciences, but are common to more than one ; wliile 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 im- possible, &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, refeiTing to the distinction laid down by Aris- totle 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 mathematical principle, but yet, differently stated, forms the foun- dation 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 cate- gories, are common to all. The last are in his nomen- clature axioms, though Bacon, following probably Ra- mus, 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 na-

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ture. They are not derived from the laws of thought, but on the contrary involve an empirical element, and therefore are neither self evident, nor capable of an k 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 doc- trine 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 reflection," 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 differ- ent sciences simply in virtue of the classification em- ployed. For this axiom, if true, properly belongs to physiology, and neither to perspective 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 na- turae 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 Omnipotence to make something out of nothing, or vice versa. Of this axiom it may be re- marked, 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 sub- stance, and which can never be established by an

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empirical demonstration, is constantly quoted by Ba- con 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 wliat manner Bacon supposed that they ought to be demonstrated ; or, if he thouglit they required no demonstration, 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 syllogism 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 ex- ception 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 (recep- taculum) of axioms — a phrase which implies that it is not a science in itself, having its own principles and an independent development, but that, contrariwise, 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 which, however. Bacon intended to contrast it by requiring that the ^' conditiones entium," which he has doubtless called transcendent from their applicability to all classes of

1 Trendelenberg has accordinglj' quoted the passages in the De Augmtntis which relate to it, in the historical part of his work on the categories.

I

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objects, should be treated not logically but physi- cally.^

But then what are the questions to be resolved in this mode of treating them? Bacon gives some ex- amples of the discussions 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 simili et diverso," 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 quadru- peds, or moss between corruption and plants, &c. The difficulty however which I have already men- tioned 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 an- swered? 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 per- haps his way of looking at the whole subject, connect themselves with what has recently been called palae- tiology. 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..

1 De Augmeiitis iii. 4.

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Yet on the other hand the discussion on Like and Unhke was to include at least one portion of a differ- ent 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 into man only.^ To the latter he gave the name of spiraculum, which was of course suggested by the text, " Spiravit in faciem ejus spiraculum vitai." M. Bouil- let, in his edition of Bacon's philosophical works,^ con- demns 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 doctrine of the duality of the soul is con- demned 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 writ- ings 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 De

1 De Augmentis iv. 3.

'i CEuvres Philosophiques de Bacon. Paris, 1834. —J. 8.

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^ L

Ecclesice Dogmatihus^ and nearly in the same words in that De Animd^ 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 nutrition, of sensation, and of reason. In opposing the tenets of the Manicheeans, he has more than once condemned the same doctrine, though less at length than in the works just mentioned. The school- men also peremptorily rejected the doctrine which M. Bouillet has affirmed that Bacon derived from them. Thus S. Thomas Aquinas says, " Impossibile est in uno homine esse plures animas per essentiam differen- tes, sed una tantum est anima intellectiva quae vege- tativaB et sensitivag et intellectivae officiis fungitur." ^ And this follows at once from the received opinion, that the soul is joined to the body as its form (ut fornia unitur corpori). It would be easy to multiply cita- tions to the same effect ; but as no schoolman could venture to contradict an emphatically expressed opin- ion of S. Augustine, it appears unnecessary to do so.^

Telesius of Cozensa, whom Bacon has commended as " the best of the novellists," w^as one of the Italian reformers of philosophy. Tennemann's remark that the reform which he attempted to introduce was but

1 S. Thorn. Prim. Q. 76. a. 3. Cond.

2 With what bold ignorance the schoolmen are sometimes spoken of is well seen in Dr. Gutwauer's preface to his edition of Leibnitz De Prin- cipio Jndividui. The sixth proposition in the Corollarium attached to this disputation is as follows : — " Hominis solum una est anima quae vegetati- vam et sensitlvam virtualiter includat." The learned Doctor declares that in this statement Leibnitz set himself in direct opposition 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. Q. 76. a. 3., to which I have already referred. Leibnitz scarcely thought that in following the Angelic Doctor, he was protesting against scholas- ticism.

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partial, as having reference only to the natural sciences, is not altogether accurate, but it describes with suffi- cient 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 phi- losophy. 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 sensa- tion, voluntary motion, &c., which should be in accord- ance with his fundamental hypothesis. He therefore sets out from the physiological point of view ; and in order to explain the phenomena of animal and vegeta- ble life, refers them to an indwelling spiritus, or animal soul, which in plants resides in the bark and fibres, and in animals in the white and exsanguine parts of the body, the bones being however excepted.^ The ani- mal 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 por- tion) propagated by generation ; whereas it was decided by orthodox theology that souls are not ex traduce, do 1 De Rerum Nat. v. 1. et vi. 26.

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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 disfig- ured. They have, on the contrary, much of the mel- ancholy earnestness which characterises those of his disciple Campanella. The difference between the fac- ulties of men and brutes appeared to him to be such that merely a subtler organisation 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 indepen- dent, and if not, how are they connected ? The crite- rion by which Telesius would decide what ought to be reserved as the peculiar appanage of the divinely cre- ated 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 ani- mated 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.^ As to the connexion between the two, Telesius

1 De Rerum Natura, v. 2.

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decides " both on grounds of human reason and from the authority of Scripture " that they cannot be wliolly 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,^ although he condemns Aristotle for saying so ; asserting that Aristotle refers to the spiritus, and not to the true soul, with which probably he was unac- quainted.'^ The tendency of these views is towards materialism; the immaterial principle being annexed to the system, as it were, ab extra. Accordingly Te- lesius's disciple Donius, whom Bacon has more than once referred to, omits it altogether.^

Comparing the views of Telesius with those of Bacon, we see that in both the duality of the soul is distinctly asserted, and that in both the animal soul is merely material.* Our knowledge 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 for- mula to which either in his system or that of Telesius no definite sense could be attached. He differs from

1 The collection known as the Clementines contains an authoritative de- cision on this point. " Ut quisque deinceps asserere defendere aut tenere pertinaciter prsesumpserit, quod anima rationalis non sit forma corporis hu- mani per se et esaentialiter tanquam hajreticus sit censendus." I quote from Vulpes on Duns Scotus, Disp. 46. a. 5. To this decision Telesius seems to allude, De Rer. Nat. v. 40. Campanella has expressly mentioned it

2 De Rer. Nat. v. 3.

* See his De Nat. Hominis.

* Proceeding e matricibus elementorum, De Augm. iv. 8.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 107

his predecessor in this also, that with him the spiritus is more a physiological and less a psychological hypoth- esis than with Telesius — it is at least less enwrapped in a psychological system than we find it in the De JRerum Naturd.

On the other hand, he has not, I think, recognised so distinctly as Telesius or Campanella the prmciple 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 anj'-thing more than an illustration) that he con- ceived 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 in- fluenced 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 doc- trines to which in the time of Bacon the majority 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,^ 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

1 P. 48. of Erdmann's edition of his philosophical works.

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•

ad tot deunculos quot formas sabstantiales et Gentilem prope polytheismum. Et certe omnes qui de siib- stantiis illis incorporalibus corporum loquuntur non possunt mentem suam explicare nisi translatione a Men- tibus sumpta. Hinc enim attributus illis appetitus vel instinctiis ille naturalis ex quo et sequitur cognitio nat- uralis, hinc illud axioma; Natura nihil facit frustra, omnis res fugit sui destructionem, similia similibus gaudent, materia appetit formam nobiliorem, et alia id genus. Quum tamen revera in natura nulla sit sapi- entia, 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 uncon- scious workings of an indwelling power which pervades all things, 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 uni- verse.

It is on account of these views that Bacon charges Aristotle with having set aside the doctrine of a prov- idence, by putting Nature in the place of God.^ Nev- ertheless Bacon himself thought it possible to explain large classes of phenomena by referring them, not cer- tainly 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 dif- fused sensation. Th

1 De Aug. iii. 4.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. ^ 109

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 continuity, and the rising of cream is to be explained by the desire of homo- geneous elements for one another.

The distinction which Bacon has elsewhere taken between sensation and perception, which corresponds to Leibnitz's distinction between apperception and per- ception, does not appear to accord with these expres- sions. He there asserts that inanimate bodies have perception without sensation. But such words as dedre 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.

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 conscious- ly 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 configuration 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 which it animates, is not- withstanding as truly material as any other part. In

110 GENERAL PREFACE TO

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 consti- tuted spirits of animals were supposed to possess. How far however this analogy between animate and inani- mate bodies ought to be carried, was a doubtful ques- tion ; 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 funda- mental explanation 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 phenom- ena of which, without it, no explanation could readily be given. Thus Bacon is much disposed to ridicule 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 PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. Ill

the appetite of bodies for contact. This appetite " ae- rem non bene tolerat, sed aliud tangibile mavult."

(17.) Bacon's opinion as to Final Causes has often been discussed. It seems however scarcely necessary to refute the interpretation which on no just grounds has been given to the phrase, " causarum finaliura inquisitio tanquam virgo Deo consecrata nihil parit." ^ Nihil parit, as the context plainly shows, [means simply 7wn parit opera] ? Bacon is speaking of the classifica- tion of physics and metaphysics — the one being the science of the material and efficient cause, and the other containing two parts, namely the doctrine of forms and the doctrine of final causes. To physics corresponds in practical application mechanica or me- chanics— to metaphysics, magia or natural magic. But magia corresponds to metaphysique because the latter contains the doctrine of Forms ; that of final causes admitting from its nature of no practical appli- cation. It is this idea which Bacon has expressed by saying that the doctrine in question 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 benev- olent 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 Ba- con has expressly censured Aristotle for having made use of final causes without referring to the fountain

1 De Augm. iii. 5. See note on the place. — J. 8.

2 I have supplied these words to complete the sentence, which ends ab- ruptly at the bottom of a page, a fresh page having apparently been substi- tuted for that which originally followed. — /. S.

112 GENERAL PREFACE TO

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 posteri- ori founded on the contrivance displayed in the w^orks of creation is entirely taken away.

This is, in effiict, 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 derogatino; from our idea of the di- vine 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 sin- gulis schematibus et motibus naturalibus providentiae characteres essent impressi." ^ 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 phys- ical causes from withdrawing men from God and provi- dence, 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 advantage which is to be derived from the study of 1 De Aug. iii. 4.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 113

final causes. In the sciences which relate to animal and vegetable life, the conviction that every part of the organisation has its appropriate function which con- duces 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 organisation 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 other hand it is certain that we can in no- wise affect the causes by which these phenomena are produced. But on the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth. Nature is perpetually 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 unceasing and benevolent activity. From the seed of corn Nature developes the stalk, the blade,

VOL. I. 8

114 GENERAL PREFACE TO

and the ear, and superinduces on the yet immature produce the qualities which make it fit for the suste- nance 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 transitory, 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 domin- ion 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 profit- less, 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 human- ity 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 Philosophiarum, 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 oflen been called an utili-

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 115

tarian ; not because lie loved truth less than others, but because he loved men more.

The philosopher is therefore not merely to contem- plate the works of the Creator, but also to employ the knowledge thus obtained for the rehef 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 restoration 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 per- formed. 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 produced 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 oper- ations, 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 yel- lowness on the green leaf, or silently and gradually transforms ice into crystal, we ask how are these

116 GENERAL PREFACE TO

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 con- ditions which in each case accompany its production. Of all these those only can be necessary which are uni- versally concomitant. Again he proposes to observe all the cognate cases in which, though certain of the conditions before mentioned are present, they are not accompanied by the required phenomenon. By these two classes of observations all the superfluous condi- tions may be rejected, and those which remain are what we seek. Wherever we can determine their ex- istence we can produce the phenomenon in question.

This process is what Bacon calls, in Valerius Termi- nus^ the freeing of a direction, and in his later writings the investigation of the Form.

His thinking that this process would in all cases, or even generally, be successful, arose from his not hav- ing sufficiently appreciated the infinite variety and com- plexity of Nature. Thus he strongly condemns as most false and pernicious the common opinion that the num-

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 117

ber 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 uni- verse, 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 production of any phenomenon ; and as this de- termination was meant chiefly to enable us to imitate Nature, or rather to direct her operations, Bacon was naturally led to assume that the conditions 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 exist- ence of any phenomenon must be something which in- heres more closely in the essence of the substance by which that phenomenon is exhibited than the phenome- non 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

(

118 GENERAL PREFACE TO

according to certain rules. Between arranging stones 80 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 touch- ing 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 precon- ceived idea as to the subject of observation ; and in the second, the statement which embodies the result of ob- servation always involves some portion of theory. Ac- cording to the common use of language, it is a fact and not a theory that in ordinary refraction the sine of the angle of incidence is to the sine of the angle of refrac- tion in a given ratio. But the observations on which this statement is based, and the statement itself, presup- pose 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 magni-

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS.

119

tude of the angle of refraction depends on that of the angle of incidence.

As we advance farther in any science, what we call facts involve more and more of theory. Thus it is a fact that the tangent of the angle of polarisation is equal to the index of refraction. But no one could have made the observations which prove it, or have stated their result in words, without a distinct concep- tion, 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 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 col- lecting facts and that of deriving consequences from them might be carried on independently and by differ- ent persons. This opinion was based on an imperfect apprehension of the connexion between facts and the- ories ; the connexion appearing to him to be merely an external one, namely that the former are the ma- terials 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.

1 See the Phaenomena Universi, and the Partis secundas Del., &c.

120 GENERAL PREFACE TO

The facts on which the new philosophy was to be based, being conceivable apart from any portion of theory, and moreover 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. Some- thing was therefore left for posterity to do ; and prob- ably 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 instaura^ tion of the sciences might speedily become an opus operatum. Of the ffistoria Naturalis on which it was to be based be there speaks, not less than of the Novum Organum^ as of a work which he had himself accom- plished, — " Tertia pars operis complectitur Phaenom- ena Universi," — not " complecti debet." Doubtless 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.^

1 The sixth part, containing the new philosophy itself, is spoken of at tho end of the Distributio as at least an inchoate work, which others naust finish, but to which he hopes to give " initia non coutemueudo."

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WOKKS. 121

In a letter to Fulgenzio, written probably when Ba- con 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 be- fore it received its consummation, yet he always re- garded it as a thing which sooner or later would be effectually accomphshed, and which would thenceforth remain as a KTrjixa es dct. 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 assumption 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 es- tate 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 pros- pect, yet still the Promised Land was a land of defi- nite 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

122 GENERAL PREFACE TO

be derived from the symbol which, though on other grounds, Bacon himself 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 impathed waters — undreamed shores ; "

and though they have a good hope of success, yet they know 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 prog- ress 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 phi- losophy.

He did good service when he declared with all the weight of his authority and of his eloquence that the true end of knowledge is the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate. The spirit of this declara- tion 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 question how their respective claims

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 123

P

^m to authority might be most fitly co-ordinated. It was H to meet, perhaps rather to evade, this question, that H the distinction between that which is true in philos- ophy 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 sat- isfied 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 Him who is the father of lights, the foun- tain 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 be- comes more remarkable when we contrast it with the tone of the most illustrious of his contemporaries. Galileo's works are full of insincere deference to au- thority and of an affected disbelief in his own discov- eries. Surely he who loves truth earnestly will be slow to believe that the cause of truth is to be served by irony. But we must not forget the difference be- tween the circumstances in which the two men were placed.

Next to his determination of the true end of natural philosophy and of the relation in which it stands to nat- ural 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

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idea, and has especially commended Plato and Par- menides for affirming " that all things do by scale ascend to unity." The Creator is holy in the multi- tude 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.^ All classifi- cations of the sciences ought to be as veins or mark- ings, 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 perpetu- ally enforced the necessity of laying aside all pre- conceived 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 interpretation of his philosophy, was shaken, if not overthrown. Nevertheless the sys- tematising spirit of the schoolmen still survived, and of the reformers of philosophy not a few attempted to substitute a dogmatic system of their own for that from which they dissented.

Nor were these attempts unsuccessful. For men

i The latter is in effect what ia now called Kosmos.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 125

still leaned upon authority, and accepted as a test of truth the appearance of completeness and scien- tific 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 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 arrogance of those who thought it beneath the dignity of the philosopher to dwell on matters of observation and experiment, and reminded them that the sun " aeque palatia et cloacas ingreditur ; nee tamen pol- luitur." We do not, he continues, erect or dedicate 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 rejection of systems and authority is coupled with the assertion, that it is beyond all things necessary that the philosopher should be an humble fol- lower 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 pecu- liarities of each man's individual mind, from his inter- course with other men, from the formal teaching of the received philosophies. All these must be re- nounced and put away, else no man can enter into the kingdom which is to be founded on the knowl-

126 GENERAL PREFACE TO

edge of Nature.^ Of the four kinds of idols Mersenne has spoken in his VSritS des Sciences, published in 1625, as of the four buttresses of the Organum of Verulam. This expression, though certainly inaccu- rate, serves to show the attention which in Bacon's time was paid to his doctrine of idola.'^

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 phi- losophy the value of the syllogistic method was unduly exalted. Bacon was right in denying that it was possi- ble 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 ex- erted any practical influence on the progress of science, while the truth with which it was associated was a truth of which his contemporaries 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 artificial process than as merely a formal statement of the steps necessarily involved in every act of reasoning. How- ever 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

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 Comoare Gassendi, Inst. Log.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 127

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 au- thority ; 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 de- prive 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 fethers had trusted — that it was only another proof of the mercy of Him whose mercy is over all his works.

PHILOSOPHICAL WOKKS

PAET L

WORKS PUBLISHED, OR DESIGNED FOR PUBLICATION, AS PARTS OF THE INSTAURATIO MAGNA ;

AKRANGED ACCORDING TO THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN.

Consilium est universum opus Instaurationis potius promovere in multis quam perficere in paucis ; iioc perpetuo maximo cum ardore (qualem Deus mentibus ut plane confidimus addere solet) appetentes ; ut quod adhuc nunquam tentatum sit id ne jam frustra tentetur. — Auctoris Monitum, 1622.

NOVUM ORGANUM.

NOTE.

Mr. Ellis's preface to the Novum Organum was written when he was travelling abroad and had not his books of reference about him. He was at work upon it the night he was taken ill at Men- tone, and 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 second book it was not neces- sary to say anything ; the subject of it being Bacon's method^ which has been fully discussed in the General Preface. A few bibliographical inaccuracies of little consequence in themselves I have corrected, either in notes or by the insertion of words within brackets. These were merely oversights, 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 de- liberately. With regard to these (Mr. Ellis not being in a con- dition 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 ap- pendix, and contented myself in the foot notes with marking the particular expressions which I hold to be questionable. — /. .S.

PREFACE TO THE NOVUM ORGANUM.

BY ROBERT LESLIE ELLIS.

The Novum Organum was published in 1620. Cer- tain prolegomena to the whole of the Instanratio were prefixed to it, namely a Prooemium beginning " Fran- ciscus de Verulamio sic cogitavit," a dedication to King James, a general preface, and an account, entitled Dis- tributio 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 pub- lished, 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 doubtless their natural place. Nevertheless as Bacon's general design was not com- pleted, 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 Instaura- tio apart from the rest. " Decrevit," he there says, speaking of himself, " prima quaeque quae perficere licuit in publicum edere. Neque hsec festinatio am- bitiosa fuit, sed soUicita, ut si quid illi humanitus accid- eret, exstaret tarn en design atio quaedam ac destinatio rei quam animo complexus est," &c.

After the Prooemium and the dedication we come to

132 PREFACE TO

the Praefatio 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 por- tions, 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 materials 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 which it leads. The fifth is to contain what Bacon had ac- complished in natural philosophy without the aid of his own method, but merely " ex eodem intellectus usu quem alii in inquirendo et inveniendo adhibere consue- verunt." 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- gether 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 Distri- butio 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 frag- ments published by Gruter.^ To the fifth division

1 Francisci Baconi de Verulamio Scripta in naturali et universali Phil-

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 133

however M. Bouillet^ is disposed to refer several of Bacon's philosophical writings ; as, for instance, the tracts entitled De Fluxu et Refluxu Maris, and Thema Ooeli. But though they correspond with the descrip- tion which Bacon gives of the contents 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 intellectuaUs, written in 1612,^ and the De Fluxu et Refluxu Maris being probably written before Bacon had become ac- quainted 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 Be Muxu, if the latter had not been written either before it was published, or but a short time afterwards.^ These tracts, and the others which M. Bouillet mentions, are clearly occasional writings not belonging to the circuit of the Instauratio.

osophia. Amst. 1653. For a particular account of this volume, see my preface to Part III. — J. S.

1 (Euvres Philosophiques de Bacon, publi^es d'apr^s les textes originaux, avec notice, sommaires et ^claircissemens, par M. N. Bouillet. Paris, 1834. — /. S.

2 See the Preface to the Descriptio Globi inttUectualis. — J. S.

8 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 demon- strationes 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 should have done so here ; for in any 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 Ba- con's discourse touching the flux and reflux of the sea: but he alludes ap- parently to a discourse of Galileo's on that subject which had never been printed. — J. S.

134 PREFACE TO

To the fourth part have been referred the Historia Ventorum^ the Historia Vitce 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 "primitiae Historise nostras naturaHs." Even the general title with which the Historia Ventorum and the titles of five other Historiae were published, shows that they belong not to the fourth but to the third part of the Instauratio. It is as follows : — Historia Nat- uraHs ad condendam Philosophiam, sive Phcenomena Universi, quce 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, cannot 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 introducing into this division of the Instauratio a fragment on Motion, published by Gruter with the title Filum LabyrintJd, sive Inquisitio legitima de Motu. This fragment, which is doubtless 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 Dis- tributio Operis. It is not to be supposed that Bacon, after thus expressing himself in the Distributio — " Neque enim hoc siverit Deus ut phantasiui nostras somnium pro exemplari mundi edamus ; sed potius

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.

r

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 135

benigne faveat ut apocalypsim ac veram visionem vestigiorum et sigilloruin Creatoris super creaturas scribamus " — would have repeated this remarkable sentence with scarcely any alteration in another part of the Instauratio ; ^ nor that he would have repeated in a somewhat less finished form the whole substance of the hundred 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 Ba- con's shorter tracts preserved by Gruter and others are merely, so to speak, experimental fragments, of which the substance is embodied in his more finished writings.

Of the fourth and fifth parts of the Instauratio nothing, as I have already remarked, has been pre- served except the prefaces, if indeed any other por- tion 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 Natu- ralis ad condendam Philosophiam, which has been al-

1 I doubt whether this argument can be safely relied upon. Among the works which were certainly meant to stand as part of the Instauratio sev- eral remarkable passages occur twice and more than twice. But there are other grounds for concluding that the Inquisitio de Mohi was written soon after the Cogitata et Visa (1607). In the Commentanus solufus, a kind of diary which will be printed among the Occasional Works, I find the fol- lowing entry under the date July 26. 1608: — " The finishing the 3 tables J)e Motu, De Calore et Frigore, De Sono.''^ After which follow (Juh'- 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 which 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. — /. S.

136 PREFACE TO

ready mentioned. In this however only the Historia Ventoriim is contained in extenso; and of the five other Historise of which Bacon speaks in the dedica- tion, and of which he proposed to pubhsh one every month, only two are now in existence, namely the Historia Vitce 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 Historia? Gravis et Levis, Sym- pathice et Antipathice Rerum, and Sidphuris Mercurii et Salis, we have only the prefaces, which were published in the same volume as the Historia Ventorum.

These Historiae, and the Sylva Sylvaram, 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 fonner 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 conden- dam Philosophiam}

Other tracts however, of more or less importance, have been placed in the third part of the Instauratio, as for instance a fragment, published by Rawley in 1658, entitled Historia et Inquisitio prima de Sono et Auditu et de Formd Soni et latente processu Soni, sive Sylva Soni Auditus. But the substance of this frag- ment occurs also in the Sylva Sylvarum, and therefore

1 " The wliole body of the Natural History, either designed or written by the late lord Viscount St. Albans, was dedicated to Your Majesty in the book De Ventis, about four years past, when Your Majesty was prince, 80 as there needed no new dedication of this work, but only in all humble- ness to let Your Majesty know that is yours." — Dedication to the King of the Sylva Sylvarum.

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 137

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^ 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 HistoricB Naturalis ad condendam Philosophiam Prcefatio destinata^^ published by Gruter, is clearly irreconcilable with the plan laid down in the dedica- tion to Prince Charles of the Historia Naturalis. 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 natural history of the winds. Subse- quently he changed his plan ; and the first published portion of the third part of the Instauratio 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. When- ever what an author publishes or prepares for publi- cation supersedes or contradicts unpublished and un- finished papers, these ought beyond all question to be set aside, and if published at all to be published

1 It was probably the table De Sono referred to in the Commentariw solutus, July 26. 1608 (see note 1. p. 135.), and designed, like the tables De Motu and De Calore et Frigore^ for an example of the new method. — /. S.

2 See Bouillet, vol. ii. p. 264. The preface in question is the introduc- tion to the Tabula Exporrectionis et Expansionis Materice, a rudiment of the Histona Densi et Eari. It was published by Gruter, before the His- tmHa Densi et Ran appeared, among the Impetus Philosqphici: with the title, Phcenomena Universi ; sive Historia Naturalis ad condendam Philoso- phiam. Prcefatio. M. Bouillet gives the preface only. The whole tract as given by Gruter will be found in Part III. of this edition. — /. S.

138 PREFACE TO

apart from his other writings. Against some of the other fragments 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 which we have no information whatever.

From what has been said it is manifest that what we possess of the third part of the Instauratio is merely a fragment — for the St/lva Sylvarum^ a mis- cellaneous 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 " Phaenomena universi " which are potentially if not actually cognisable; 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 insuffi- cient as materials for the sixth part of the Instauratio, in which was to be contained all the knowledge of Na- ture 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 phe- nomena of the universe.^ From many places in Ba-

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 Inws of Nature, that it could not be increased or affected by the discovery of any n^y/ 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 re- spect to the laws themselves they would all say the same thing, and there-

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 139

con's writings it appears, as I have elsewhere re- marked, 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 Organum itself, is incomplete. The second book con- cludes with the doctrine -of prerogative instances. But in its twenty-first aphorism a number of subjects are mentioned of which this doctrine is the first, the last being the " Scala ascensoria et descensoria axiom- atum." Neither this, nor any of these subjects after the first, except the last but one, is anywhere discussed in Bacon's writings ; and our knowledge of his method is therefore incomplete. Even the penultimate divis- ion of the Novum Organum which was published along with the first two books, and which treats " de par- ascevis ad inquisitionem," has all the appearance of being a fragment, or at least of being less developed than Bacon had intended it to be.

fore bring no new knowledge. Every new application of mechanical power contains 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 produced 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? — J. S.

140 PREFACE TO

The first part of the Instaiiratio is represented, not inadequately, by the De Augmentis, published about three years after the Distributio Operis and the Novum Organum. It is a translation with large additions of the Advancement of Learning, published in 1605 ; and if we regard the latter as a development of the ninth chapter of Valerius Terminus, which is an early frag- ment containing the germ of the whole of the Instau- ratio,^ 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 relat- ing to the Partitions of the Sciences already executed, though less solidly than the dignity of the argument demanded, . . . 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 Instauratio, as described in the Distributio Operis, we proceed to consider more particularly the Novum Or- ganum. Although it was left incomplete, it is never- theless of all Bacon's works that upon which he be- stowed the most pains. In the first book especially every word seems to have been carefully weighed ; and

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 Vnleritts Terminus any traces of the ^rst part, of which the Advancement of Learn- ing 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 explained in the preface to the De Augmentis. — J. 8.

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 141

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 ex- pressed with singular precision and felicity. His chap- lain, Rawley, says that he had seen among his papers at least twelve yearly revisions of the Novum Orga- num.^ 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 Oogitata 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 pub- lished 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 remarked. In the Cogitata et Visa Bacon speaks of the considerations whereby he had been led to perceive the necessity of a reform in philosophy, and goes on to say that the ques- tion 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 perpen- denti ante omnia visum est ei tabulas inveniendi, sive legitimae inquisitionis formulas ... in aliquibus subjectis

1 " Ipse reperi m archivis Dominationis suae a utographa plusminus du- odecim 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." — Auc- toris Vita, prefixed to the Opuscula 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 ; re- vised 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 ex- pressions that these twelve several copies were made in twelve several years; but substantially they bear out the inference drawn from them. — J. S.

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propoiii tanquam ad exomplum et opens descriptionem fere visibilem.^ . . . Visum est ^utem, nimis abruptum esse ut a tabulis ipsis docendi initium sumatur. Itaque idonea quaedara praefari oportuisse, quod et jam se fecisse arbitratur." It was Bacon's intention therefore when he wrote the Oogitata et Visa, and when apparently some years later ^ he communicated it to Bodley, to publish an example of the application of his method to some particular subject — an intention which remained unfulfilled until the publication of the Novum Orga- num. We may therefore conjecture that it was about this time that Bacon addressed himself to the great work of composing the Novum Organum;^ and this agrees with what Rawley says of its having been twelve years in hand. This view also explains M'hy the whole

1 In the Commentarius solutits, under date July 26, 1608, I Hnd the follow- ing 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 phy- sicians, and learning from them experiments of surgery and physic ; which explains the epithet "sickly " in the above extract. — J. S.

2 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 vrritten " some years " before. Bodley may only allude to his having kept such thoughts so long to himself. — J. S.

8 In the Commentarius solutus, under date July 26. 1608, 1 find the fol- lowing memorandum: — " The finishing the Aphorisms, Claris interpreta- tionis, and then setting forth the book," and in the same page, a little afler, " Imparting my Cogitata et Visa, with choice, ut videbitur." The aphorisms here spoken of may have been the " Aphorismi et Consiliade auxiliis mentis etaccensione luminis naturalis;" a friigment containing the substance of the first, second, and third aphorisms of the first book of the Novum Orgnnum, and the first, third, and sixteenth of the second. Cinvis interpretationis was probably the name which was afterwards exchanged for Novum Or- ganum. — J, S.

^^^^ THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 143

substance of the Cogitata et Visa is reproduced in the first book of the Novum Organum ; for this tract w<is 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 tlie 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 divid- ing 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.

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That the Partis secundce Delineatio is earlier than the Cogitata et Visa appears plainly from several con- siderations which M. Bouillet, who expresses a contrary opinion, seems to have overlooked. In the first place, whole sentences and even paragraphs 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 Delineatio. 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 No- vum Organum^ it may be well to compare them some- what in detail.

In speaking of the prospects which the reform of philosophy was to open to mankind. Bacon thus ex- presses himself in the Novum Organum: — "Quinetiam prudentia civilis ad consilium vocanda est et adhibenda, quse ex prasscripto diffidit, et de rebus human is in dete- rius conjicit." The corresponding sentence in the Cog- itata et Visa is, " Consentaneum enim esse, prudentiam civilem in hac parte adhibere, quae ex praescripto diffidit et de humanis in deterius conjicit." Again, in the Partis secundce Delineatio the same idea is thus ex- pressed, "Si quis sobrius (ut sibi videri possit), et civi- lis prudentiae diffidentiam ad haac transferens, existimet haec quae dicimus votis similia videri," &c. Here the somewhat obscure phrase " civilis prudentiae diffiden- tiam " is clearly the germ of that by which it is re- placed in the other two passages, namely, "prudentia civilis quae ex prsescripto diffidit." Again, in the Partis secundce Delineatio Bacon affirms that ordinary induc- tion " puerile quiddam est et precario concludit, perio-

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 145

ulo ab instantia contradictori^ exposita : " in the Cogi- tata 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, " quas procedit per enumerationem simplicem, puerile quiddam est, preca- rio concludit, et periculo ab instantia contradictori^ ex- ponitur." To take another case : in the Partis seeundce Delineatio, Bacon, speaking of those who might object to his frequent mention of practical results as a thing unworthy of the dignity of philosophy, affirms that they hinder the accomplishment of their own wishes. " Quin etiam illis, quibus in contemplationis amorem effusis frequens apud nos operum mentio asperum quid- dam atque ingratum et mechanicum sonat, monstrabi- mus quantum illi desideriis suis propriis adversentur, quum puritas contemplationum atque substructio et in- ventio 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 veneratio- nem 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 vitse beneficia, sed et veritatis pignora esse." On comparing 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

VOL. I. 10

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correspond to it in the former, especially as we find this antithesis reproduced, though with another context, in the Novum Organum. " Opera ipsa," it is there said, " pluris facienda sunt quatenus sunt veritatis pignora quam propter vitae commoda." ^

These instances will probably be thought sufficient to justify us in concluding that the Partis secundce De- lineation 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 No- vum 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 Novmn Organum. If we could determine the date of Valerius Tertninus, we should be able to assign limits within which the formation 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 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

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 secuudoB Delineatio. But it will be observed that I am only compar- ing passages which occur in all three works. Of the greater general resem- blance of the Cogitata ct Visa to the Novum Organum there can be no question.

2 Querjr. See Note A. at the end, § 1. — J. 8.

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of the Novum Organum. Nor does it appear that Va- lerius Terminus was to contain anything corresponding to the last four parts of the Instauratio ; ^ it was a work, as its title ^ shows, on the Interpretation 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.^ Bacon has on all occasions condemned epitomes, and it is therefore altogether improbable that after writing the Advayicement of Learning he w^ould have endeavoured to compress its contents, or even those of the second book, within the limits proposed 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 con- clude therefore, on these and other grounds, that Vale- rius Terminus w^as written some time before 1605 : how much before cannot be known; but as by com- paring the Partis secundce 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

1 Query. See Note A. at the end, § 2. — J. S.

2 " Valerius Terminus of the Interpretation of Nature ; with the Anno- tations of Hermes Stella. A few fragments of the first book, viz.," &c.

8 Query. See Note A. at the end, § 1. — J. S.

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his method by means of an example, so by comparing the first-named of these three works with Valerius Ter- minus^ we perceive that the idea of the work on the Intei-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 Temporis Partus Masculus, published by Gruter,^ is the same as the Temporis Partus Maxi- mus 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 frag- ment 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 Naturce Prooemium 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?

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 In- stauratio. 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

1 Say rather, " the several tracts collected by M. Bouillet under the title Temporis Partus Masculus.'''' See Note A. at the end, § 3. — J. 8.

2 See Note A. at the end, (ii. — J. 8.

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the notion of a new method of induction, and from that time forth this notion determined the character of all his speculations. 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 pos- session of this method which had suggested to him the hopes which he entertained.^ There seems some rea- son 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 in- terpretation of Nature is not so much an artificial pro- cess 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.^ So that his pre-

1 1 quite agree in this, but 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 responsible, will otherwise create a difficulty ; being in some respects inconsistent with the opinions here ex- pressed. — J. S.

2 Nov. Org. i. 130. " Est enim Interpretatio verum et naturale opus men- tis, demptis iis quae obstant." But compare the following passage in Vale- rius Terminus, c. 22. " that it is true that intei-pretation is the very natural and direct intention, action, and progression of the understanding, de- livered 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 Organum 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.

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cepts are, he says, not of absolute necessity : " necessi- tatem ei (arti interpretationis scilicet) ac si absque ek 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.^

If it be asked why Bacon determined on propound- ing 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 un- derstood by all who were capable of understanding it. " Fere enim se in ea esse opinione, nempe (quod quis- piam dixit) prudentibus hsec satis fore, imprudentibus autem ne plura quidem."

His expectations have not been fulfilled, for very few of those who have spoken of Bacon have under- stood 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 tliat he could not demonstrate the valid-

1 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 pre- sumption in the text is founded, and to show that it proves either too much or too little. — J. S.

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itj, or at least the practicability, 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, 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 represented by the result of this analysis. Now this assumption or postulate cannot be made the subject of a direct demonstration, and probably Bacon came grad- ually to perceive more or less the difficulties which it involves. But these difficulties are less obvious in special cases than when the question is considered generally, and on this account Bacon may have de- cided to give instead of a demonstration of his method an example of its use. He admits at the close of the example that the operation 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 in- herent 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 process. 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 men- tioned. In Valerius Terminus nothing is said of the

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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 con- siderations. We have seen that he was at first unwil- ling that his peculiar method should become generally known. In the De Interpretatione Naturoe Prooemium he speaks of its being a thing not to be published, but to be communicated orally to certain persons.^ In Valerius Terminus his doctrine was to be veiled in an abrupt and obscure style,^ such as, to use his own ex- pression, would choose its reader, — that is, would re- main unread except by worthy recipients of its hidden meaning. This affected obscurity appears also in the Temporis Partus Masculus. In this unwillingness openly to reveal his method Bacon coincided with the common feeling of his own and earlier times. In the middle 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 recorded 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 re- markable discoveries of Galileo — that of the phases of Venus — was similarly hidden in an anagram,

1 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. — ./. 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. — J. 8.

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though the veil in this case was more easily seen through. This disposition to conceal scientific dis- coveries 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 fortunate 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 mar- vellous inclined men to believe in the existence of wonderful secrets handed down by tradition from for- mer ages, and any new discovery acquired something 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 un- lawful knowledge, the facility which it gave to decep- tion and imposture, and the like.

The manner in which Bacon proposed at one time to perpetuate 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 conver- sation 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 sev- eral of his early pieces. Even in the De Augmentis

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the highest and most effectual form of scientific teach- ing is called the " methodiis ad filios." ^

When he wrote the Cogitata et Visa, Bacon seems to have perceived ^ how much of vanity and imposture had always been mixed up with this affectation of con- cealment and reserve. " Reperit autem," he there says, " homines in rerum scientia quam sibi videntur adepti, interdum proferenda interdum occultanda, famai

1 Lib. vi. c. 2. I cannot think however that the merit of this method had anything to do with secresy. For the distinctive object of it is stated to be the "continuatio et ulterior progressus " of knowledge; and its distinctive characteristic, the being " solito apertio7\" Its aim was to transfer knowl- edge into the mind of the disciple 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 individuals, but be- tween 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 "filii," 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 of Prometheus. " Atque continet in se monitum, idque prudentissimum, ut perfectio scientiarum a successi-

one, non ab unius alicujus pernicitate aut facultate, expectetur Atque

optandum esset ut isti ludi in honorem Promethei, sive humanae naturae, instaurarentur, atque res certamen, et cemulatwnem, et bonarn fortunam re- ciperet; 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 wislied not only to find the fit, but also to ex- clude 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 fnrtlierance 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. — ./. S.

2 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.

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et ostentationi servire ; quin et eos potissimum qui minus solida proponunt, solere ea quae afFerunt obscura et ambigua luce venditare, ut facilius vanitati suae veliti- care 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 in- fiuenced by the example of those whom he here con- demns.

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 ex- position of his method in the whole of his writings has not been sufficiently 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 Novu7n Organum., have received much more attention than the method itself, which is nevertheless the car- dinal point of his whole system. Bacon is to be re- garded, 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 conveniently divided.

After the preface, in which Bacon professes that it is

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not liis 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 Hfe, and such as would satisfy those who are content with probable opinions and com- monly received notions ; the other for the sons of sci- ence, who desire to attain to certainty and to an in- sight 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 Organurrt^ occurs twice in the fragments published by Gruter ; namely in the Aphorismi et Oonsilia de Auxiliis Mentis^ and again in a less perfect form in the De Interpretatione Naturce Sententice XII., both which fragments are in- cluded [by M. Bouillet] ^ 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 Organum, In all three places man is styled " naturas minister et interpres." He is naturae 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 therefore from the phenomencm to its hidden cause is to interpret the signs which enable us to become ac- quainted with the operations of Nature. Again, he is the minister natur;©, because in all his works he can 1 Not 80 included by Gruter. See note A. at the end, ^3. — J. 8.

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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 hav- ing been fulfilled, she produces new phenomena accord- ing to the laws of her own action. Thus the two words minister and interpres refer respectively to works and contemplation — to power and knowledge — the substance of Bacon's theory of both being compressed into a single phrase. The third and fourth aphorisms are developments 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 existing sciences, and (11 — 17.) remarks on the inutility of logic. In (14.) Bacon asserts that every- thing 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 fi'om partic- ulars to the highest generalities, and thence deduce all intermediate propositions ; in the latter they rise by gradual induction and successively, from particu- lars 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 doc- trine 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 hu- mange mentis idola et divinge mentis ideas." He no- where refers to the common meaning of the word,

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namely the image of a false god. Idols are with him " placita quaidam 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 doc- trine 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 classi- fication is borrowed from Roger Bacon, who in the be- ginning of the Opus Majus speaks of four hindrances whereby men are kept back from the attainment of tnie knowledge. But this supposition is for several 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 read- ing it, or any part of it, in manuscript.^ 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 rea- son for believing that he was acquainted with is a tract on the art of prolonging life, which was pub- lished at Paris in 1542, and of which an English translation appeared in 1617. The general resem-

1 1 can hardly think that he would have omitted to look into a work like the Ojnis 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 Temporis Partm Masculus, as belonging to the " utile genus " of experi- mentalists, " qui de theoriis non admodum solicit! mechnnicd quddam sub- tilitnle rerum inrtntnrum exlensionea prehendunf,^^ seems rather to imply that he knew of him at that time chiefly by his reputation for mechanical inventions. — J. S.

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blance between the spirit in which the two Bacons speak of science and of its improvement is, notwith- standing what has sometimes been said, but sHght. 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 writ- ings 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 moreover but little analogy between his idols and his namesake's hindrances to knowledge. The principle of classifi- cation is altogether 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.^ It is therefore well to remark that in the early form of the doctrine of idols there were only three. In the Partis seeundce Delineatio the idols wherewith the mind is beset are said to be of three kinds : they either are inherent and innate or adsci- titious ; and if the latter, arise either from received opinions in philosophy or from wrong principles of demonstration. This classification occurs also in Fo- lerius Terminus.^

1 That the two may be the more conveniently compared, I have quoted Roger 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 " offendicula " to its proper class. If not, try by the help of Roger's classification to find out Francis's. — J. S.

2 Not in Valerius Terminus. It occurs in the Distributio Operis, and ma}'^ be traced though less distinctly in the Advancement and the Dc Aug- mentis. See Note C. at the end. — /. S.

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The first of these three classes corresponds to the first and second of those spoken of in the Novum Or- ganum. The idols of the tribe are those which be- long, as Aristotle might have said, to the humftn mind as it is human, — the erroneous tendencies com- mon 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 [open- ing of the seventh book of Plato's Republic.'] ^ 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.^ They also are extraneous idols, but result neither from received opinions nor erroneous forms of demonstration, 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," remarks Ba- con, " ex captu vulgi imponuntur."

It is only when we compare the later with the ear- lier form of the doctrine of idols that we perceive the principle of classification which Bacon was guided by, namely the division of idols according as they come from the mind itself or from without.^ In the Novum Organum two belong to the former class and two to

1 Mr. Ellis had written " in the of Aristotle." But the words of the De Augmentts (v. 4.) (" de specu Platonis ") prove that it was the passage in Plato which suggested the metaphor. — J. S.

2 i. e. in the classification adopted in the Partis sectindce Delineatio; for they correspond exactly with the third kind of fallacies or false appear- ances 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. — /. 8.

8 Rather, I think, as they are separable or inseparable from our nature and condition in life. See Note C — /. S.

(

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the latter, so that the members of the classification are better balanced^ than in the previous arrange- ment : in both perhaps we perceive a trace of the dichotomizing principle of Ramus, one of the seem- ing novelties which he succeeded in making popular.^ After enumerating the four kinds of idols. Bacon gives instances of each (45 — 67.) ; and speaking in (62.) of idols of the theatre, introduces a triple clas- sification 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 consists of dialectic subtleties built upon no better foundation than common notions and every-day ob- servation ; empirical, when it is educed out of a few experiments, however accurately examined ; and su- perstitious, when theological traditions are made its basis. In the Cogitata et Visa he compares the ra- tional philosophers (that is, those whose system is sophistical, — the name implying that they trust too much to reason and despise observation) 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 transforms them.^ The third kind of

1 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. — J. S.

2 Bacon alludes to Ramus in the De Augmentis vi. 2., " De unica methodo et dichotomiis perpetuis nil attinet dicere. Fuit enim nubecula qusedam doctrinse quae; cito transiit: res certe simul et scientiis damnosissima," &c.

8 In the Advancement of Learning and the De Augmentis, the schoolmen

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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.^

In (69.) Bacon speaks of faulty demonstrations as the defences and bulwarks of idols, and divides the common process for the establishment of axioms and conclusions into four parts, each of which is defective. He here describes in general 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 Or- ganum 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 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 im- portance. Thus in the De Interpretatione NaturcB Sententioe Duodecim he says, in the abrupt style of his earlier philosophical writings, " Qui primum et

in particular are compared to the spider; a passage which has been mis- understood by a distinguished writer, whose judgments seem not unfre- quently 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 ob- servations of Nature and artificial experiment; an instance of the "curiosa felicitas" of his metaphors.

1 Fludd's work, entitled Phihsophia Moysnica, was puWished in 1638.

2 In the Biographie Unirerselle (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 sufiiciently refuted by its scrupulous and submissive orthodoxy.

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ante alia omnia animi motus humani penitus non ex- plorarit, ibique scientiye meatus et errorum sedes ac- curatissime descriptas non liabuerit, is omnia larvata et veluti incantata reperiet ; fascinum ni solvent in- terpretari non poterit.^

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 augurium, quod ex consensu cap- itur in rebus intellectualibus." ^

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 seemingly 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

1 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 knowledge and error, he hath not been, nor shall not be, possibly able to guide or keep on his course aright." — J. 8.

2 He however excepts matters political and religious.

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time, have been really favourable to the progress of science. The second, that even during the more fa- vourable times natural philosophy, the great mother of the sciences, has been for the most part neglected ; men having of late chiefly busied themselves with the- ology, and among the Greeks and Romans with moral philosophy, "quae ethnicis vice theologias erat." More- over, even when men occupied 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 philos- ophy have seldom, especially in these latter times, given themselves wholly up to it. Thus, natural phi- losophy having been neglected and the sciences there- by 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 remembrance. 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 advance- ment of knowledge has not only been neglected but blocked up, men having come not only to neglect expe- rience but also to despise it. Also the reverence for antiquity has hindered progress ; and here Bacon re- peats the remark he had made in the Advancement, that antiquity was the world's youth, and the latter times its age.^

1 Thia 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

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Again, the progress of science has been hindered by too much respect for what has been already accom- phshed. And this has been increased by the ap- pearance of completeness which systematic writers on science have given to their works, and also by the vain and boastful promises of some who have pretended 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, — su- perstitious bigotry, the constitution of schools, univer- sities, 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 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 pro- posed is in itself an indication that the matter in hand is from God, nor is the prophecy of Daniel concern- ing the latter times to be omitted, namely that many shall go to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. Again, the errors committed in time past are a reason

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 Centre, the latter in the preface to his Problemata Marina, which was pub- lished 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.

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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 al- ready 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 em- pirici. 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 philosophy ceases to be al- loyed 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 opin- ions, to apply himself afresh to experience and par- ticulars. And here Bacon introduces an illustration which he has also em})loyed elsewhere, comparing the regeneration of the sciences to the exploits of Alexan- der, 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 enumera- tion of the improvements which are to be made, each of which will be a ground of hope. The first is a bet- ter natural history than has yet been composed ; and it is to be observed that a natural history which is de- signed to contain the materials for the instauration of philosophy 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 furnished by the arts. In the sec- ond place, among these results themselves there is a great lack of experimenta lucifera, that is of experi- ments which, though not practically useful, yet serve

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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, experimental researches must be conducted orderly and according 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,^ his meaning apparently be- ing 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 mate- rials for the construction of axioms, our path leading us upwards from particulars to axioms, and then down- M^ards from axioms to works ; and the ascent from par- ticulars to axioms must be gradual, that is axioms of a less degree of generality must always be established before axioms of a higher. Again a new form of in- duction is to be introduced ; for induction by simple

1 " Ilia vero in usum veniente, ab experientia facta demum literatd, me- lius sperandum." In Montagu's edition literatd 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 quam vocamus literatam in Aph. 103. But they are, in fact, two different things ; the one being op- posed to experience which proceeds without any written record of its re- sults ; the other to vaga experientia et se tantum sequens — experience which proceeds without any method in its inquiries. See my note on Aph. 101. — J. S.

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enumeration is childish and precarious. But true in- duction analyses nature by rejections and exclusions, and concludes affirmatively after a sufficient number of negatives. And our greatest hope rests upon this w^ay 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, " per novorura particularium designationem,^ quasi fide- jussione 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, 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 be- forehand, gunpowder, silk, and the mariner's compass ; remarking that if the conditions to be fulfilled had been

1 1 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 VaUritu Terminus, ch. xii., quoted in note on Aph. 106. — J. S.

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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 de- scribed, they would have thought of some modification of the battering-ram or the catapult, and not of an ex- pansive vapour ; and so in the other cases. He also mentions the art of printing 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 advancement of sound and real knowledge, all diffi- culties 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 partic- ulars to be observed ought not to deter us ; on the con- trary, 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 phsenomena 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 communicating 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 ad-

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venture, seeing how great a reward success would bring.

And here (115), Bacon says, conckides the pulling- down part, pars destruens, of the Instauration. It consists of three confutations ; namely, of the nat- ural working of the mind, of received methods of demonstration, and of received theories or philoso- phies. 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 portions, each containing one of the confutations just mentioned. Thus, for instance, the doctrine of Idols, which undoubtedly forms a dis- tinct 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 secundce Delineation in which the doctrine of Idols is introduced by the remark, "Pars destruens triplex est secundum triplieem naturam idolorum quas men- tem obsident." And then, after dividing idols into the three classes already mentioned, he proceeds thus : — " Itaque pars ista quam destruentem appellamus tribus redargutionibus absolvitur, redargutione philosophia- rum, redargutione demonstrationum, et redargutione rationis humana? nativae." 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 redargutiones is in the Novum Orgamim less systematically set forth

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 171

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 pub- lished bj Gruter with the title Temporis Partus Mas- culus^ and that it is also the title of a tract published [by Stephens in 1734, and reprinted] by Mallet [in 1760 3], 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

1 I think this apparent discrepanc}' 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 affin- ity 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 Thea- tre, and the sole objects of the two Redargutiones which stand first in the Delineaiio, and last in the Novum Organum. If this be true, the Eedargiir- tio rationis humance nativce (or I should rather say, the part of the Novum Organum, which belongs to it) extends from the 40th to the 60th aphorism ; and the Redargutio Philosophiarum and Demonstrationum from the 61st to the 115th. For a fuller explanation and justification of this view, see NoteC — J. S.

2 Say rather, " is the title prefixed by M. Bouillet to the second chapter of the fragment printed by Gruter with the heading Tradendi modus legitir- mus." 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.

3 A small portion of it was printed by Gruter at the end of the Partis secundce Delineatio [and it seems to have been the beginning of the Pars secunda itself].

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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 de- rived from works nor experiments from experiments, but causes and axioms are derived from both, and from these new works and experiments are ulti- mately 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 Natural History and . Tables of Invention are n^t free from errors, which at first they cannot be, is not a matter of much importance. These errors, if not too numer- ous, will readily be corrected 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 com- monplace 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 cannot 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, what- ever is worthy of existence is also worthy to be known ; for knowledge represents and is the image of existence. Lastly, things apparently 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 gives access to all the secrets on which

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works depend, though in itself it is of no great use.

Again it may be thought a hard saying that all sci- ences 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 an- other 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 dem- onstrations. Bacon anticipates also anotlier 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 inasmuch 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,^ 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

1 I have adopted here the correction introduced into the text of the pres- ent edition.

2 Mr. Ellis had written thus far when the fever seized him. The remain- ing pages which complete the analysis of the first book, are mine. — J. S.

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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 depart- ment of knowledge ; the aim being to obtain an insight into the nature of things by processes varied according to the conditions of the subject ; and that in declaring that no great progress can be expected either in knowl- edge of trutli or in power of operation by the methods of inquiry hitherto employed, he means no disrespect to the received arts and sciences, but fully recognises them as excellent in their proper place and use, and would have them honoured and cultivated accord- ingly.

These explanations, — together with some remarks (129), by way of encouragement to folio wei-s and fel- low-labourers, on the dignity, importance, and grandeur of the end in view, — bring the preliminary consider- ations 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 cer- tainly 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

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 175

to give, though he beheves them to be very useful and sound, and hkely to prove a great help, are not offered either as perfect in themselves or as so indispensable that nothing can be done without them. Three things only- he represents as indispensable : 1st, ut " justam naturae et experientise historiam prassto haberent homines atque in ea sedulo versarentur ; " 2nd, " ut receptas opiniones et notiones deponerent : " 3rd, " ut mentem a generalissi- mis 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 : " fore ut etiam vi pro- pria et genuina mentis, absque alia arte, in formam nos- tram interpretandi incidere possent ; est enim interpre- tatio verura 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 de- voted to the developement of his philosophy, he applied himself almost exclusively to the natural history ; leav- ing 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 already done what he could. Every motive by which men could be encouraged to lay prejudices aside, and refrain from premature 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

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the completion of the Novum Organum^ which was not indispensable, 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.]

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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 assumed 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 designed to comprehend a general survey of knowledge, such as forms the subject of the second book of the Advancement of Learn- ing 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 compre- hend 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 Ad- vancement of Learning.

Now my impression is that this Inventary would have corre- sponded, 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 depart- ment ; that, namely, which is called in the Advancement Naturalis Magia, sive Physica operativa major ; i and in the Catalogue De-

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 omit- ted ; so that the correspondence between the two Inventaries was the more easily overlooked.

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sideralorum at the end of the De Augmentis^ Magia Naturalis^ sive Deductio formarxim ad opera.

The grounds of this conclusion will be explained fully in their proper place, i 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 for thinking that anything corresponding to the first part of the Instauratio entered into the design of ValerixiS Terminus; also that the principal ground here alleged for con- cluding that Valeinus Terminus was written some time before the Advancement — a conclusion which involves one considerable dif- ficulty— is taken away.

2. It is assumed also that Valerius Terminus was not to con- tain anything corresponding to the last four parts of the Instau- ratio, 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 Interpretation 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 Temporit Partus Masculus — of which we happen to know that it was meant to be in three books; the first to be entitled Per- politio et applicatio 7nentis ; the second, Lumen Natura;, seu for- mula Interpretationis ; the third, Natura illuminata, sive Veritas Rerum. The first would have corresponded therefore to the first book of the Novum Organum ; the second, being a state- ment of the new method, to the second and remaining books; the third, being a statement of the application of the new method, to the sixth and last part of the Instauratio. 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 excepted), though less fully de- veloped and differently distributed. And I see no sufficient reason for supposing that the design of the Valerius Terminus was less ex- tensive.

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 Fulgen- zio," and if so, the earliest of all his writings.

1 See my note at the end of Mr. Ellis's preface to Valerius TemUntu.

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 179

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 " OEuvres Philosophiques " the title Temporis Par- tus Masculus 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 Interpretatione 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 col- lecting them all under the same general title. But it is not so. In Gruter's Scripta philosophica the title Temporis Partus Mas- culus appears in connexion with the first, and the first only. The last has indeed an undoubted claim to it upon 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 Masculus 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 Mas- culus, had yet thought of producing a great work like the In- stauratio) — 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 Instauratio ; not as pref- aces 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 concluding 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 Naturce Procemium would not have contained the new method and its results (these being, according to his then intention, to be communicated only to chosen follow- ers), but merely the general views of science which form the sub- ject of the first book of the Novum Organum.

This seems to be gathered from what he says in the Prooemium concerning the manner in which the several parts of the work were to be published : " Publicandi autem ista ratio ea est, ut quaa

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ad ingeniorum correspondentias eaptandas et mentium areas pur- gandas pertinent, edantur in vulgus et per ora volitent: reliqua per manus tradantur cum eleclione et judicio:" the "reliqua" being, as appears a little further on, " ipsa Interpretationis for- mula et inventa per eandem : " from which it seems to be inferred that the exposition of the new method was not only not to be pub- lished 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 ques- tion 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 intention not to tm-ite, so neither does an intention to write imply an intention to publish. And since there is nothing in the Partvi secundce De- lineaiio 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 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 Inter- pretation of Nature it was meant to be prefixed, there is none which it seems to fit so well as the Temporif 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 conclusion of importance appear to rest upon them ; and in the present case all inferences which are in any way dependent upon the assumptions which I have noticed as questionable may I think be freely dispensed with. That to bring in a new method of In- duction was Bacon's central idea and original design, and that the idea of an Instauratio Magna came after, may in the absence of

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 181

all evidence to the contrary be safely enough inferred from his own words in the Advancement of Learning ; where after report- ing a deficiency of the first magnitude in that department of knowledge which concerns the invention of sciences, — a de- ficiency 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, concerning the Inven- tion of Sciences, I purpose, if God give me leave, hereafter to propound ; having digested into two parts ; whereof the one I term Experientia Literata, and the other Interprctatio Natures ; ^ 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 " Interprctatio Naturje " can have been nothing else there- fore than a new method of induction to supply the place of the vicious and incompetent method 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 merely 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 Adoancement 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 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,'-^ is effectually removed.

As an additional reason for thinking that the idea of the In- stauratio Magna was of later date than that of a work on the Inter- pretation of Nature, I may observe that the name Instauratio does not occur in any of Bacon's letters earlier than 1609. The earli- est of his compositions in which it appears was probably the Partis Instaurationis 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

1 The corresponding passage in the De Augmentis calls it "Interprctatio Naturae sive Novum Organum.^''

2 See my note at the end of Mr. Ellis's Preface to the Valerius Terminus.

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. title only, not in the body of the work, we cannot even be sure that it was originally there. If Gruter found a manuscript headed " Partis secundae Delineatio, &c.," and evidently referring to the parts of the Instauratio 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 prece- dent of many vain persons and deceivers abused, of publishing part and reserving part to a private succession, and of publish- ing in such a manner whereby it may not be to the taste or capac- ity 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 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 conten- tion."

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 183

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 eases 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, enigmat- ical and disclosed. The pretence whereof [that is, of the enigmat- ical method] is to remove the vulgar capacities from being admit- ted to the secrets of knowledges, and to reserve them to selected auditors, or wits of such sharpness as can pierce the veil."

4. Procemium de Interpretation e Naturce.

" Publicandi autem ista ratio ea est, ut quse ad ingeniorum cor- respondentias captandas et mentium areas purgandas pertinent, edantur in vulgus et per ora volitent; reliqua per manus tra- dantur cum electione etjudicio. Nee me latet usitatum et tritum esse impostorum artificium, ut quaedam a vulgo secernant nihilo lis ineptiis quas vulgo propinant meliora. Sed ego sine omni impos- tura, ex providentia sana prospicio, ipsam interpretationis formu- 1am et inventa per eandem, intra legitima et optata ingenia clausa, vegetiora et munitiora futura."

5. De Inter pretatione Natures Sentential XII. De moribus Interprelis.

" Sit etiam in scientia quam adeptus est nee occultanda nee proferenda vanus, sed ingenuus et prudens : tradatcjue inrventa non ambitiose aut maligne, sed modo primum maxime vivaci et vegeto, id est ad injurias temporis munitissimo, et ad seientiam propagandam fortissimo, deinde ad errores pariendos innocen- tissimo, et ante omnia qui sihi 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 obstructi 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 in- genio subvertuntur, vi et contentione efferantur, omnino ita in

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hac uuiversali insania mos gerendus est. Quid ? leviores illsB conditiones, quae ad legitlmum scientiae tradend* modum perti- nent, an tibi tarn expedite et faciles videntur ? ut modus innocens sit; id est nulli prorsus errori ansam et occasionem prajbeat? ut vim quandam insitam et innatam habeat turn ad fidem coneilian- dam, turn ad pellendas injurias temporis, adeo ut scientia ita trad- ita, 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 (quS par est cura) cogitationem suscipiendam esse. Reperit autem homines in rerum scientia quam sibi videntur adepti, interdum proferenda interdum occultanda, famae et osten- tationi servire : quin et eos potissimum qui minus solida propo- nunt solere ea quae adf'erunt obscura et ambigua luce venditare, ut facilius vanitati suje velificare possint. Putare autem se id tractare quod ambitione aliqua aut affectatione polluere minime dignum sit ; sed tamen neccssario eo decurrendum esse (nisi forte rerum et aniraorum valde imperitus esset, et prorsus inexplorato viam inire vellet) ut satis meminerit, inveteratos semper errores, tanquam phreneticorum deliramenta, arte et ingenio subverti, vi et contentione efferari. Itaque prudentia et morigeratione qufi- dam utendum (quanta cum simplicitate et candore conjungi potest) ut contradictlones ante extinguentur quam excitentur. . . . . Venit el itacjue in mentem posse aliquid simplicius proponi, quod in vulgus non editum, saltem tamen ad rei tam salu- taris iibortum arcendum satis fortasse esse possit. Ad hunc finem parare se de natura opus quod errores minima asperitate des- truere, et ad hominum mentes non turbide accedere possit ; quod et facilius fore, quod non se pro duce gesturus, sed ex natur& lucem prsebiturus 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 professi sumus) abesse volumus : atque quod Borgia facetd de Caroli octavi expeditione in Italiam dixit ; Gallos venisse in manibus cretam tenentes (ju& diversoria notarent, non arma quibus perrumperent ; similem quo- que inventorum nostrorum et rationem et successum animo prae-

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 185

cipimus; 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 ani- mos idoneos el capaces suhintret ; confutationum enim nullus est usus, ubi de principiis et ipsis notionibus atque etiam de formis demonstrationum dissentimus."

10. De Augmentis Scientiarum. VI. 2.

" Sequitur aliud methodi discrimen, priori [methodo ad filios, etc.], intentione affine, reipsS fere contrarium. Hoc enim habet utraque methodus commune, ut vulgus auditorum a selectis separet; illud oppositum, quod prior introducit modum tradendi solito aper- tiorem ; altera, de qua jam dicemus, occultiorem. Sit igitur dis- crimen tale, ut altera methodus sit exoterica, altera acroamatica. Etenim quam antiqui adhibuerunt praecipue in edendis libris dif- ferentiam, eam nos transferimus ad ipsum modum tradendi. Quin etiam acroamatica ipsa apud veteres in usu fuit, atque prudenter et cum judicio adhibita. At acroamaticum sive senigmaticum 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 (^profanwn scilicet) a secretis scien- tiarum summoveatur ; atque illi tantum admittantur qui aut per ma- nus magistrorum paraholarum interpretationem nacti sunt, aut pro- prio ingenii acumine et suhtilitate 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 " treasures of which the value would be decreased if others Avere allowed to share in it."

Now I would observe in the first place that though the expres- sion " single and adopt his reader," or its equivalent, occurs in all these passages, and that too in immediate reference to the method

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of delivery or transmission, yet in many of them the object of so singling and adopting the reader was certainly not to keep the knowledge 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 quae ad ingeniorum correspon- dentias 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 secundcB Delineation " mentis area aequanda et libei*anda ab eis quae hactenus recepta sunt." This he calls Pars destruens ; and proposes to begin with the Redargutio 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 capa- ble of lodging and harbouring the truth, which are spoken of in the Advancement.

Next to the Pars destruens came the Pars prceparans, the ob- ject 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 evi- dently corresponds to it ; and if the sixth, then the fifth, which is but the sixth condensed. Or if there be any doubt about the cor- respondence between the seventh and sixth, it will I think be re- moved by comparing them both with the following passage which winds up the description of the Paj's prceparans in the Partis se- cundce Delineatio.

" Quod si cui supervacua videatur accurata ista nostra quam adhibemus ad mentes praeparandas diligentia, atque cogitet hoc quiddam esse ex pomp3, et in ostentationem compositum ; itaque cupiat rem ipsam missis ambagibus et praestructionibus simpliciter exhiberi ; certe optabilis nobis foret (si vera esset) hujusmodi in- simulatio. Utinam enim tam proclive nobis esset difficultates et impedimenta vincere quam fastum inanem et falsum apparatum deponere. Verum hoc velimus homines existiment, nos baud inexplorato viam in tantd solitudine inire, praesertim cum argu-

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 187

mentum hujusmodi pras manibus habeamus quod tractandi impe- ritia 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 invenimus, ac tradendi labores inveniendi laboribus baud multo leviores experimur, atque, quod in intellectualibus res nova fere est, morem gerimus, et tam nostras eogitationes quam aliorum simul bajulamus. Onine enim idolum vanum arte atque obsequio ae debito accessu subvertitur, vi et contentione atque incursione subita et abrupta efFeratur. . . . . Qua in re accedit et alia quaedam diffieultas ex mor- ibus nostris non parva, quod constantissimo decreto nobis ipsi san- civimus, ut candorem nostrum et simplicitatein perpetuo retinea- mus, nee per vana ad vera aditum qugeramus ; sed ita obsequio nostro moderemur ut tamen non per artificium aliquod vafrum aut imposturam aut aliquld simile imposturae, sed tantummodo per ordinis lumen et novorum super saniorem partem veterum soUer- tem 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 understand the hgitimus lector of the fifth and sixth extract, as corresponding with the " animus capax et icloneus " 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 ob- scurity in style, which should exclude others ; but by presenting the truth in such a shape as should be least likely to shock preju- dice 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 anticipated was not in excluding auditors, but in finding them.'

1 It may be worth while perhaps to compare with these passages an ex- pression which Bacon uses in his letter to Dr. Playfere, — proposing to him to translate the Advancement of Learning into Latin; where a similar mean- ing 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 mean- est office, it cannot but be consonant to my desire to have that bell heard as far as can be. And since they are but sparks which can work but upon matter prepared, I have the more reason to wish that those sparks may

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Thus I conceive that six out of the ten passages under con- sideration 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 con- tain no evidence that Bacon approved of it. These are the third and the last, and come respectively from the Advancement of Learn- ing, one of his earliest works, and from the De Augmentis Scien- tiarum, one of his latest. In both these works the object being to show in what departments the stock of knowledge then exist- ing was defective, the various methods which have been or may be adopted for the transmission of knowledge are pointed out as a fit subject of inquiry, and the secret or enigmatical or acroa- matic 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 supposi- tion seems to me inconsistent not only with all we know of his proceedings, purposes, and aspirations, but with the very expla- nation with which he himself accompanies the suggestion. The fruits which he anticipated from his philosophy were not only in- tended for the benefit of all mankind, but were to be 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 meditates. Ask why in Valerius Terminus he proposes to re- serve part of his discovery to " a private succession ? " His an- swer is, first " for the prevention of abuse in the excluded ; " that

fly abroad, that they may the better find and light upon those minds and sjnrits that ore apt to be kiiulled.'^

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 189

is, because if it should fall into incapable and unfit hands it will be misused and mismanaged : secondly, " for the strengthening of affection in the admitted ; " that is, because the fit and capable will take more interest in the work when they feel that it is com- mitted to their charge. Ask again why in the Procemium he pro- poses to keep the Formula of interpretation 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 obstructions 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 prosecution of the new philosophy, we may easily understand why he anticipated moie hindrance than help from a popular audience.

Upon a review of the evidence therefore I see no reason to sus- pect 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 Orgatium, 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 Redargutiones is in the Novum Organum less systetpatically set forth than 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 secundae Delineatio et Argumentum"

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he meant to handle the subject regularly and completely, or (as he would lumself have expressed it) "in Corpore tractatus justi;" and this in the entrance of the Novum Organum, which is the " Pai-s secunda " itself, we are expressly warned not to expect. " Se(juitur secunda pars Instaurationis, qua? artem ipsam inter- pretandi Naturam et verioris adoperationis Intellectus exhibet : neque earn ipsam tamen in Corpore tractatus justi ; sed tantum di- gestam per sumrnas, in Aphoris7no!<." 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 Avithout binding him to exhibit them in regular and apparent connexion, it left him at liberty to make the connexion as perfect and apparent as he pleased. But it has one disadvantage : the divisions between aphorism and aphorism tend to conceal from the eye the larger di- visions between subject and subject. And hence arises the appear- ance (for I think it is only an appearance) of a deviation 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 under- went one considerable modification ; but not, I think, the one here supposed. That modification was introduced before the Partis secundce 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 assumes, and then give what I suppose to be the true history of them.

In the Advancement of Learning, the Idols, native and adven- titious, of the human mind are distributed into three kinds ; not distinguished 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 (corresponding with the Market-place), the Cave, and the Theatre. In the Partis secunda Delineatio they are distributed again into three, but classified quite differently. The two great divisions of Adventitious and Native are retained : " aut adscititia sunt . . . nimirum quae immigr&runt in mentem, &c., aut ea quae menti ipsi et substantias ejus inhajrentia 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

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 191

Advancement ; the Native, which are divided into two kinds in the Advancement^ not being divided at all here, but classed together as one. In the Advancement we find nothing corresponding to the Idols of the Theatre, to which belong hoth the kinds of adventitious Idols mentioned in the Delineatio — those derived ex pliilosopho- rum placitis, and those derived ex perversis legihus demonstra- tionum ; — 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 rad- ical, amounting to an entire rearrangement of all the classes. In- stead 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 distribution and description of those " fallacies and false appear- ances " 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 demonstration, — he had resolved to deal with these first ; and therefore introduces them as a separate class, di- viding 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 dif- ference 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

192 NOTES TO PREFACE TO

which may be probabl}' 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 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 sec- ond and fourth of the other, — seems to prove that no such classi- fication 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 lai^e 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 Alasculus, c. 2. (which is I think the earli- est form of the Redargutio Philosophiarum though probably of later date than the Delineatio) we find " Nam Idola quisque sua {non jam scencB dico, sed praecipue fori et specus "), &c. In the De Augmentis Scientiarum where the four kinds of Idols are enumer- ated 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 members of his classification on the "dichotomising principle," as suggested by Mr. Ellis, p. 161.), but between the three first and the fourth ; the Idola Fori being classed along with the Idola Tribiis and Specus, as " quse plane obsident mentem, neque evelli possunt," the Idola Theatri being broadly distinguished from them, as " quae abnegari possunt et

THE NOVUM ORGANUM. 193

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 sub- ject, yet if we look carefully we shall see that the line of demarca- tion 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 Iniellectum [like those of the Market-place], sed ex fabulis theoriarum et perversis legibus demonstrationum plane indita et recepta." Lastly, in the Dktri- biilio 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 immi- gr&runt in mentes hominum, vel ex philosophorum placitis et sec- tis, vel ex perversis legibus 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 incon- sistency of classing the Idola Fori among the Innata, and of the practical inconvenience 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 in- verted. According to the plan of the Partis secundce Delineatio and also of the Distributio Operis, the confutation of the Immi- grants, — that is, the Redargutio PhilosopMarum and Redargutio Demonstrationum, — was to have the precedence, and the confu- tation of the Natives, — that is, the Redargutio Rationis humance nativcB, — 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 PhilosopMarum, as he handles it, traverses a wider and more various field, and rises gradually into a strain of prophetic anticipation, after which the Redargutio Rationis would have sounded flat.

VOL. I. 13

FEANCISCUS DE YEEULAIIO

SIC COGITAVIT; TALEMQUE APUD SE RATIONEM INSTITUIT,

QUAM VIVENTIBUS ET POSTERIS NOTAM PIEEl EPSORUM INTEBESSE PUTATIT.

Cum illi pro comperto esset intellectum Jiumanum sibi ipsi ne- gotium facessere^ neqite auxiliis veris {quae in hominis potestate sunt) uti sobrie et commode; unde multiplex rerum ignoratio et ex ignoratione rerum detrimenta innumera : omni ope conniten- dum existimavit, si quo modo commercium istud Mentis et Rerum (cui vix aliquid in tejTis, aut saltern in terrenis, se ostendit simile) restitui posset in integrum, aut saltem in melius deduci. Ut vera errores qui invaluerunt, quique in ceternum invalituri sunt, alii post alios (si mens sibi permittatur) ipsi se corrigerent, vel ex vi intellectus propria vel ex auxiliis atque adminiculis dialeciicce, nulla prorsus suberat spes ; propterea quod notiones rerum primce, quas mens Tiaustu faclli et supino excipit recondit atque accumu- lat (unde reliqua omnia Jluunt), vitiosce sint et confusce et temere a rebus abstractce ; neque minor sit in secundis et reliquis libido et inconstanfia ; ex quo Jit, ut universa ista ratio humana, qua utimur quoad inquisitionem naturce non bene congesta et cedijicata sit, sed tanquam moles aliqua magnijica sine fundamento. Dum enim falsas mentis vires mirantur homines et celebrant, veras ejusdem quce esse possint (si debita ei adhibeantur auxilia, atque ipsa rebus morigera sit, nee impotenter rebus insultet) prcetereunt et perdunt. Restabat illud unum ut res de integro tentetur me- lioribus prcesidiis, utque fiat scientiarum et artium atque omnis humance doctrince in universum Instauratio, a debitis excitata fun- damentis. Hoc vera licet aggressu infinitum quiddam videri possit ac supi-a vires mortales, tamen idem tractatu sanum invenietur ac sobrium, magis quam ea quce adhuc facta sunt. Exitus enim

196

hujus ret est nonnullus. In lis vero quce jam Jiunt circa scien-

tias, est vertigo qumdam et agitatio perpetua et circulus. Neque

eum fugit quanta in soliludine versetur hoc experimentum^ et

quam durum et incredibile sit ad faciendam Jidem. Nihilominus^

nee rem nee seipsum deserendum putavit, quin viam quce una hu-

mance menti pervia est tentaret at que iniret. Prcestat enim prin-

cipium dare rei quce exitum habere possit, quam in iis quce exi-

tum nullum hahent perpetua contentione et studio implicari. Vice

autem contemplaticce viis illis activis decantatis fere respondent;

ut altera, ah initio ardua et difficilis, desinat in apertum; altera,

primo intuitu expedita et procliois, 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 quceque quce perjicere 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 propensce in generis

humani commoda voluntatis. Certe aliam quam-

cunque ambitionem inferiorem duxit re quam

proe manibus habuit. Aut enim hoc quod

agitur nihil est, aut tantum, ut

merito ipso contentum esse

debeat nee fructum

extra qucerere.

SEREKISSIHO POTENTIS8IMOQUE PRINCIPI AC DOMINO N08TRO,

J ACOB 0,

DEI GRATIA

MAGN^ BRITANNIiE, FRANCIS, ET HIBERNI^ REGI,

FIDEI DEFENSORI, ETC.

Serenissime Potentissimeque Rex,

PoTERiT fortasse Majestas tua me furti incusare, quod tan- tum temporis quantum ad haec sufficiat negotiis tuis suffuratus sim. Non habeo quod dicam. Temporis enim non fit restitutio ; nisi forte quod detractum fuerit temporis rebus tuis, id memoriae nomi- nis tui et honori saeculi tui reponi possit ; si modo haee alicujus sint pretii. Sunt certe prorsus nova ; etiam toto genere : sed descripta ex veteri admodum exemplari, mundo scilicet ipso, et natura re- rum et mentis. Ipse certe (ut ingenue fatear) soleo aestimare hoc opus magis pro partu temporis quam ingenii. lUud enim in eo solummodo mirabile est, initia rei et tantas de iis quae invaluerunt suspiciones alicui in mentem venire potuisse. Caetera non illiben- ter sequuntur. At versatur proculdubio casus (ut loquimur) et quiddam quasi fortuitum non minus in iis quae cogitant homines quam in iis quae agunt aut loquuntur. Verum hunc casum (de quo loquor) ita inteiHgi volo, ut si quid in his quae affero sit boni, id immensae misericordiae et bonitati divinae et foelicitati temporum tuorum tribuatur: cui et vivus integerrimo affectu servivi, et mortuus fortasse id effecero, ut ilia posteritati, nova

198 EPISTOLA DEDICATORIA.

hac accensa face in philosophlae tenebris, praelucere possint

Merito autem temporibus regis omnium sapientissimi et doctis-

simi Regeneratio ista et Instauratio scientiarum debetur. Su-

perest petitio, Majestate tua non indigna, et maxime omnium

faeiens ad id quod agitur. £a est, ut quando Salomonem in plu-

rimis referas, judieiorum gravitate, regno paeifico, cordis latitu-

dine, librorum denique quos composuisti nobiii varietate, etiam hoc

ad ejusdem regis exemplum addas, ut cures Historiam Naturalem

et Experimentalem, veram et severam (missis philologicis), et quae

sit in ordine ad condendam philosophiam, denique qualem suo loco

describemus, congeri et perfici : ut tandem post tot mundi aetates

pbilosophia et scientise non sint amplius pensiles et aereae, sed

solidb experientiae omnigenae, ejusdemque bene pensitatae,

nitantur fundamentis. Equidem Organum praebui ;

verum materies a rebus ipsis petenda est.

Deus Opt. Max. Majestatem tuam

diu servet incolumem.

SerenissimcB Majestati tuce

Serous devinctifsimus,

et devotissimus,

FRANCISCUS VERULAM, Cancellarius.

FRANCISCI DE VERULAMIO INSTAURATIO MAGNA.

PRiEFATIO,

De statu scientiarum, quod non sit fodvx aut majorem in modum

auctus ; quodque alia omnino quam prioribus cognita

fuerit via aperienda sit intellectui humano, et .

alia comparanda auxilia, ut mens

sua jure in rerum naturam

uti possit.

YiDENTUR 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 sestimantes nil amplius quaerant, aut seipsos plus aequo contemnentes vires suas in levioribus consumant, in iis quae ad summam rei faciant non experiantur. Quare sunt et suae scientiis columnae tanquam fatales ; cum ad ulterius penetrandum homines nee desiderio nee spe excitentur. Atque cum opinio copiae inter maximas causas inopiae sit; quumque ex fiducia prae- sehtium vera auxilia negligantur in posterum ; ex usu est, et plane ex necessitate, ut ab illis quae adhuc in- venta sunt in ipso operis nostri limine (idque relictis ambagibus et non dissimulanter) honoris et admira- tionis excessus tollatur ; utili monito, ne homines eorum

200 PRiEFATIO.

aut copiam aut utilltatem in majus accipiant^ aut celebrent. Nam si quis in omnem illam librorum varietatem qua artes et scientiae exultant diligentius introspiciat, ubique inveniet ejusdera rei repetitiones infinitas, tractandi modis diversas, inventione praeoc- cupatas ; '^ ut omnia primo intuitu numerosa, facto examine pauca reperiantur. Et de utilitate aperte dicendum est, sapientiam istam quam a Grsecis potis- simum hausimus pueritiam quandam scientiae videri, atque habere quod proprium est puerorum, ut ad gar- riendum prompta, ad generandum invalida et immatura sit. Controversiarum enim ferax, operum 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 adliaerebant. Ita habent et scientiae quibus insuevimus generalia quaedam blan- dientia et speciosa, sed cum ad particularia ventum sit, veluti ad partes generationis, ut fructum et opera ex se edant, tum contentiones et oblatrantes disputationes ex- oriuntur, in quas desinunt, et quae partus locum obti- nent. Praeterea, si hujusmodi scientiae plane res mortua non essent, id minime videtur eventunim 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 as- sertio maneat assertio sed etiam quaestio maneat quaes- tio, et per disputationes non solvatur sed figatur et alatur, omnisque traditio et successio disciplinarum rep- raesentet et exhibeat personas magistri et auditoris, non

1 Exaggerate.

2 Anticipated, so far as relates to originality of invention. (One of Ba- con's antitheses between " inventione " and " modis tractandi." )

PRJEFATIO. 201

inventoris et ejus qui inventis aliquid eximium adjiciat. In artibus autem mechanicis contrarium evenire vide- mus ; quae, ac si aurae cujusdam vitalis forent participes, quotidie crescunt et perficiuntur, et in primis authori- bus rudes plerunque et fere onerosae et informes ap- parent, postea vero novas virtutes et commoditatem quandam adipiscuntur, eo usque, ut citius studia homi- num et cupiditates deficiant et mutentur, quam illae ad culmen et perfectionem suam pervenerint. Pliilosophia contra et scientiae intellectuales, statuarum more, ado- rantur et celebrantur, sed non promoventur. Quin etiam in primo nonnunquam autliore maxime vigent, et deinceps degenerant. Nam postquam homines dedi- titii 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, scien- tias paullatim succrescentes tandem ad statum quendam pervenisse, et tum demum (quasi confectis spatiis legiti- mis) in operibus paucorum sedes fixas posuisse ; atque postquam nil melius inveniri potuerit, restare scilicet ut quae inventa sint exornentur et colantur. Atque optan- dum quidem esset haec ita se habuisse. Rectius illud et verius, istas scientiarum mancipationes nil aliud esse quam rem ex paucorum hominum confidentia et reliquo- rum socordia et inertia natam. Postquam enim scientiae per partes diligenter fortasse excultse et tractatae fuerint, tum forte exortus est aliquis, ingenio audax et propter methodi compendia acceptus et celebratus, qui specie te- nus artem constituent, re vera veterum labores corrupe- rit. Id tamen posteris gratum esse solet, propter usum operis expeditum et inquisitionis novae taedium et impa- tientiam. Quod si quis consensu jam inveterato tan-

202 PRiEFATIO.

quam temporis judicio moveatur, sciat se rati one admo- dum fallaci et infirma niti. Neque enira nobis magna ex parte notum est, quid in scientiis et artibus, variis saBculis et locis, innotuerit et in publicum emanarit; multo minus, quid a singulis tentatum sit et secreto agitatum. Itaque nee temporis partus nee abortus ex- tant in fastis. Neque ipse consensus ejusque diutur- nitas magni prorsus aestimandus est. Utcunque enim varia sint genera politiarum, unicus est status scien- tiarum, isque semper fliit et mansurus est popularis. Atque apud populum plurimum vigent doctrinae aut contentiosae et pugnaces aut speciosae et inanes, quales videlicet assensum aut illaqueant aut demulcent. Ita- que maxima ingenia proculdubio per singulas aetates vim passa sunt ; dum viri captu et intellectu non vulgares, niliilo secius existimationi suas consulentes, temporis et multitudinis judicio se submiserint. Qua- mobrem altiores contemplationes si forte usquam emicu- erint, opinionum vulgarium ventis subinde agitataB sunt et extinctaB. Adeo ut Tempus, tanquam fluvius, levia et inflata ad nos devexerit, gravia et solida demerserit. Quin et illi ipsi authores qui dictaturam quandam in scientiis invaserunt et tanta confidentia de rebus pro- nuntiant, cum tamen per intervalla ad se redeunt, ad querimonias de subtilitate naturae, veritatis recessibus, rerum obscuritate, causarum implicatione, ingenii hu- mani 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 statu- ant. Neque vero damnari potest ars, quum ipsa dis- ceptet et judicet. Itaque id agitur, ut ignorantia etiam

PR^FATIO. 203

ab ignominia liberetur. Atque quas tradita et recepta sunt ad hunc fere modum se habent : quoad opera sterilia, quaestionum plena ; incrementis suis tarda et languida ; perfectionem in toto simulantia, sed per partes male impleta ; delectu autem popularia et au- thoribus ipsis suspecta, ideoque artificiis quibusdam munita et ostentata.^ Qui autem et ipsi experiri et se scientiis addere earumque fines proferre statuerunt, nee illi a receptis prorsus desciscere ausi sunt, nee fontes re- rum petere. Verum se magnum quiddam consequutos putant si aliquid ex proprio inserant et adjiciant ; pru- dcnter secum reputantes, se in assentiendo modestiam, in adjiciendo libertatem tueri posse. Verum dum opi- nionibus et moribus consulitur, mediocritates istae lau- datae in magnum scientiarum detrimentum cedunt. Vix enim datur autliores simul et admirari et superare. Sed fit aquarum more, quse non altius ascendunt quam ex quo descenderunt. Itaque hujusmodi homines emen- dant 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 magno- pere profectum est ; quum philosophiam et artes non re ac opere amplificare, sed placita tantum permutare at- que regnum opinionum in se transferre contenderint ; exiguo sane fructu, quum inter errores oppositos er- randi causae sint fere communes. Si qui autem nee alienis nee propriis placitis obnoxii, sed libertati faven- tes, ita animati fuere ut alios secum simul quaerere

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.

204 PRiEFATIO.

ouperent ; illi sane afFectu honesti, sed conatu invalidi fuerunt. Probabiles enim tantum rationes secuti vi- dentur, et argumentorum vertigine circnmagiintiir, et promiscua quserendi licentia severitatem inquisitionis enervarunt. Nemo autem reperitur, qui in rebus ipsis et experientia moram fecerit legitiinam. Atque non- nulli rursus qui experientiae undis se commisere et fere mechanici facti sunt, tamen in ipsa experientia errat- icam quandam inquisitionem exercent, nee ei ^ certi lege militant. Quin et plerique pusilla quondam pensa sibi proposuere, pro magno ducentes si unum aliquod inventum eruere possint ; instituto non minus tenui, quam imperito. Nemo enim rei alicujus naturam in ipsa re recte aut foeliciter perscrutatur ; verum post l^boriosam experimentorum variationem non acquiescit, sed invenit quod ulterius quaerat. Neque illud imprimis omittendum est, quod omnis in experiendo industria statim ab initio opei-a quandam destinata praepropero et intempestivo studio captavit ; fructifera (inquam) ex- perimenta, non lucifera, quaesivit ; nee ordinem divinum imitata est, qui pnmo die lucem^ tantum creavit, eique unuin diem integnim attribuit ; neque illo die quic- quam materiati operis produxit, verum sequentibus diebus ad ea descendit. At qui summas dialecticas partes tribuerunt atque inde fidissima scientiis praesidia comparari putarunt, verissime et optime viderunt in- tellectum humanum sibi permissum merito suspectum esse debere. Verum infirmior omnino est malo medi-

1 In its service.

2 The light created on the first day is by many divines supposed to be not a corporeal 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. Tiiis idea of a spiritual light was developed at great length in connexion with the theory of the nature and cognition of angels.

PR^FATIO. 205

cina ; iiec ipsa mali expers. Siquidem dialectica quae recepta est, licet ad civilia et artes quae in sermone et opinione positae sunt rectissime adliibeatur, naturae tamen subtilitatem longo intervallo non attingit ; et prensando quod non capit, ad errores potius stabiliendos et quasi iigendos quam ad viam veritati aperiendam valuit.

Quare, ut quae dicta sunt complectamur, non videtur hominibus aut aliena fides aut industria propria circa scientias hactenus foeliciter illuxisse ; prsesertim quum et in demonstrationibus et in experimentis adhuc cognitis parum sit praesidii. ^dificium autem hujus universi structura sua, intellectui humano contemplanti, instar labyrintlii est ; ubi tot ambigua viarum, tarn fallaces rerum et signorum similitudines, tam obliquae et im- plexae naturarum spirae et nodi, undequaque se osten- dunt. 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 ofFe- runt, et ipsi implicantur, atque errorum et errantium numerum augent. In rebus tam duris, de judicio hominum ex vi propria, aut etiam de foelicitate fortuita, desperandum est. Neque enim ingeniorum quanta- cunque excellentia, neque experiendi alea saepius repe- tita, ista vincere queat. Vestigia filo regenda sunt : omnisque via, usque a primis ipsis sensuum percep- tionibus, certa ratione munienda. Neque haec ita accipienda sunt, ac si nihil omnino tot saeculis, 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 praestitere. Verum quemadmodum saeculis

206 PRiEFATIO.

prioribus, cum homines in navigando per stellarum tantmn observationes cursum dirigebant, veteris sane continentis oras legere potuerunt, aut maria aliqua minora et mediterranea trajicere ; priusquam autem oceanus trajiceretur et novi orbis regiones detegeren- tiir, necesse fuit usum acus nauticae, ut ducem viaB magis fidum et certum, innotuisse : simili prorsus ra- tione, quae hucusque in artibus et scientiis inventa sunt, ea hujusmodi sunt ut usu, meditatione, obser- vando, argumentando, reperiri potuerint ; utpote quae sensibus propiora sint et communibus notionibus fere subjaceant ; antequam vero ad remotiora et occul- tiora naturae liceat appellere, necessario requiritur ut melior et perfectior mentis et intellectus humani usus et adoperatio introducatur.

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 haesitationes et scrupulos, et con- tra 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 sj)iritus hu- mani humiliatio. Omnes enim ante nos, qui ad art6s inveniendas se applicuerunt, conjectis paulisper in res et exempla ct experientiam ocuHs, statim, quasi inven- tio nil aliud esset quam quacdam excogitatio, spiritus proprios ut sibi oracula exhiberent quodammodo invo- carunt. Nos vero inter res caste et perpetuo versantes, intellectum longius a rebus non abstrahimus quam ut rerum imagines et radii (ut in sensu fit) coire pos-

PR^FATIO. 207

sint ; ^ unde fit, ut ingenii viribus et excellentiae non multum relinquatur. Atque quam in invenieiido ad- hibemus humilitatem, eandem et in docendo sequuti sumus. Neque enim aut confutationum triumphis, aut antiquitatis advocationibus, aut authoritatis usurpatione quadam, aut etiam obscuritatis velo, aliquam his nos- tris inventis majestatem imponere aut conciliare cona- mur ; qualia reperire non difficile esset ei, qui nomini suo non animis aliorum lumen afFundere conaretur. Non (inquam) ullam aut vim aut insidias hominum judiciis fecimus aut paramus ; verum eos ad res ipsas et I'erum foedera adducimus ; ut ipsi videant quid habe- ant, quid arguant, quid addant atque in commune con- ferant. Nos autem si qua in re vel male credidimus, vel obdormivimus et minus attendimus, vel defecimus in via et inquisitionem abrupimus, nihilominus iis mo- dis res nudas et apertas exhibemus, ut errores nostri, antequam scientise massam altius inficiant, notari et

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 py- ramidalem, cujus basis in re visa et conus in oculo videntis est." — Marg. Phil. X. 2. c. 11. Again Telesius, whose theory of vision was adopted by Bacon, says, " quaj a re qu(B spectatur rehicet lux universa quidem unum in pupilla coit in punctum," thus forming the "radius" just 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 "imagines" then are therefore in some unexplained manner borne along by the light which constitutes the visual cone, and ex- ist 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 Telesius, De Rerum Naturd, vi. c. 23 and 24.

208 PRiEFATIO.

separari possint ; atque etiam ut facilis et expedita sit laborum nostrorum continuatio. Atque hoc modo inter empiricam et rationalem facultatem (quarum morosa et inauspicata divortia et repudia omnia in liumana familia turbavere) conjugium verum et legitimum in perpet- uum nos firmasse existimamus.^

Quamobrem, quum haec arbitrii nostri non sint, in ))rincipio operis, ad Deum Patrem, Deum Verbum, Deum Spiritum, preces fundimus humillimas et arden- tissimas, ut humani generis aerumnarum memorcs et peregrination is istius vitaa 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 offici- ant, neve ex reseratione viarum sensus et accensione majore luminis naturalis aliquid incredulitatis et noctis animis nostris erga divina mysteria oboriatur ; sed potius, ut ab intellectu puro, a pliantasiis et vanitate repurgato et divinis oraculis nihiloniinus subdito et prorsus dedititio, fidei dentur quae fidei sunt. Pos- tremo, ut scientisB veneno a serpente infuso, quo ani- mus humanus tumet et inflatur, deposito, nee altum sapiamus nee ultra sobrium, sed veritatem in chari- tate colamus.

Peractis autem votis, ad homines conversi, quaedam et salutaria monemus et a^qua postulamus. Monemus primum (quod etiam precati sumus) ut homines sen- sum in officio, quoad divina, contineant. Sensus enim (instar sobs) globi terrestris faciem aperit, coelestis claudit et obsignat.^ Rursus, ne hujusce mali fuga

1 This is one of the passages which show that Bacon did not imagine that the empirical faculty was the onl}- thing to be considered in the phi- losophy of science, but that he recognised another coordinate element.

3 This image, which in the Advancement of Learning and in the De Aug-

PR^FATIO. 209

in contrarium peccent; quod certe fiet, si naturae 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 scientise 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 pro- nuntiat, Grloriam Dei esse celare rem; gloriam regis autem rem invenire : non aliter ac si divina natura innocenti et benevolo puerorum ludo delectaretur, qui ideo se abscondunt ut inveniantur ; atque animam hu- manam sibi coUusorem in hoc ludo pro sua in homines indulgentia et bonitate cooptaverit. Postremo omnes in universum monitos volumus, ut scientiai veros fines cogitent ; nee eam aut animi causa petant, aut ad

mentis Bacon quotes from "one of Plato's school," is taken from Philo Judaeus, perhaps the most poetical of the Neo-Platonists. " Post exortum ejus [solis scilicet] illustrantur in terris omnia, in coelo vero celantur; e diverso, post ejus occasum sidera quidem promicant, terrestria vero cuncta obteguntur umbris supervenientibus : ad eundem modum res nostrae se habent; quoties sensuum splendor tanquam sol oritur, tunc scientiae revera coelestes occultantur: quoties autem ad occasum accedit, tunc fulgentissimae virtutum stellae se proferunt, quando etiam 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 Geschbpf Nacht ist, in der wacht der Gesammelte ; In der jeglich Geschbpf wachet, ist des schauenden Weisen Nacht.

S. W. V. Humboldt's Works, i. 34

Which might be thus rendered in the Latin of the middle ages : —

In nocte creaturae vigilat internus homo ; Cum autem Tigilat creatura, contemplatiyo nox est. VOL. I. 14

210 PR^FATIO.

contcntionem, aut ut alios despiciant, aut ad commo- duin, aut ad famum, aut ad potentiam, aut hujusmodi inferiora ; sed ad meritum et usus vitse ; eamque in charitate perficiant et regant. Ex appetitu enim potentiae angeli lapsi sunt ; ex appetitu scientiae, homines ; sed charitatis non est excessus ; neque an- gelus aut homo per earn unquam in periculum venit.

Postulata autem nostra quae afFerimus talia sunt. De nobis ipsis silemus : de re autem quae agitur pet- imus, ut homines earn non opinioncm sed opus esse cogitent ; ac pro certo habeant, non sectae nos alicu- jus aut placiti, sed utilitatis et ampHtudinis humanae fundamenta moHri. Deinde ut suis commodis aequi, exutis opinionum zelis et pniyudiciis, in commune consulant ; ac ab erroribus viarum atque impedimen- tis, nostris praesidiis et auxihis, liberati et muniti, la- borum qui restant et ipsi in partem veniant. Prae- terea, 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 immemor ; quum rem non intra unius aetatis cur- riculum omnino perfici posse confidat, sed succession! destinet ; denique scientias, non per arrogantiam in humani ingenii cellulis, sed submisse in mundo ma- jore quaerat. Vasta vero ut plurimum solent esse, quae inania : solida contrahuntur maxime, et in parvo sita sunt. Postremo 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

PR^FATIO. 211

permissum patent: quum nos omnem istam rationem humanam praematuram, anticipantem, et a rebus tern- ere et citius quam oportuit abstractam, (quat- enus ad inquisitionem naturae) ut rem variam et perturbatam et male ex- tructam rejiciamus. Neque po&- tulandum est ut ejus judicio stetur, quae ipsa in ju- dicium vocatur.

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Ejus constituuntur Partes sex.

Prima.; Partitiones Scientiarum.

Secunda ; Novum Organum^ sive Indicia de Interpret

tatione Natures. Tertia ; Phcenomena Universi^ sive IRstoria Naturalis

et Experimentalis ad condendam Philoso-

phiam. Quarta ; Scala Intellectus. Quinta ; Prodromi, sive Anticipationes Philosophice Se-

cundce. Sexta ; Philosophia Secunda^ sive Scientia Aetiva,

Singularum Arguments.

Pars autem instituti nostri est, ut omnia, quantum fieri potest, aperte et perspicue proponantur. Nuditas enim animi, ut olim corporis, innocentiae et simplicita- tis comes est. Pateat itaque primo, ordo operis atque ratio ejus. Partes operis a nobis constituuntur sex.

Prima pars exhibet scientiic ejus sive doctrinas in cujus possessione humanum genus hactenus versatur, Summam, sive descriptionem universalem. Visum enim est nobis etiam in iis qua? recepta sunt non- nullam facere moram ; eo nimirum consilio, ut facilius et verteribus perfectio et novis aditus detur. Pari enim

, DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 213

fere studio ferimur et ad vetera excolenda et ad ulte- riora assequenda. Pertinet etiam hoc ad faciendam fidem ; juxta illud, JVon accipit indoctus verba seientice, nisi prius ea dixeris quce versantur in corde ejus. Ita- que scientiarum atque artium receptarum oras legere, necnon utilia quaedam in illas importare, tanquam in transitu, non negligemus.

Partitiones tamen Scientiarum adhibemus eas, quae non tantum jam inventa et nota, sed liactenus omissa et debita, complectantur. Etenim inveniuntur in globo intellectuali, quemadmodum in terrestri, et culta pariter et deserta. Itaque nil mirum videri debet, si a divisioni- bus usitatis quandoque recedamus. Adjectio enim, dum totum variat, etiam partes earumque sectiones neces- sario variat : receptee autem divisiones receptse summse 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 desiderantur proponamus. Nam siquid inter omissa retulerimus (modo sit dignioris subj^cti) cujus ratio paulo videatur obscurior, adeo ut merito suspicari possimus homines non facile intel- lecturos quid nobis velimus aut quale sit illud opus quod animo et cogitatione complectimur, perpetuo nobis curae erit aut praecepta hujusmodi operis confici- endi aut etiam partem operis ipsius jam a nobis con- fectam ad exemplum totius subjungere ; ut in singulis aut opera aut consilio juvemus. Etenim etiam ad nos- tram existimationem, non solum aliorum utilitatem, pertinere putavimus, ne quis arbitretur levem aliquam de istiusmodi rebus notionem mentem nostram per- strinxisse, atque esse ilia quae desideramus ac prensa- mus tanquam votis similia. Ea vero talia sunt, quorum

214 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

et penes homines (nisi sibi ipsi desint) potestas plane sit, et nos apud nosmet rationem quandam certam et explicatam habeamus. Neque enim regiones metiri animo, ut augures, auspiciorum causa : sed intrare, ut duces, proinerendi studio,^ suscepimus. Atque hcec jprir ma opeiis pars est.

Porro praetervecti artes veteres, intellectum huma- num ad trajiciendum instruemus. Destinatur itaque parti secundas, doctrina de meliore et perfectiore usu rationis in rerum inquisitione, et de auxiliis veris intel- lectus : ut per hoc (quantum conditio humanitatis ac mortalitatis patitur) exaltetur intellectus, et facultate amphficetur ad naturae ardua et obscura superanda. Atque est ea quam adducimus ars (quam Interpretatio- nem Naturoi appellare consuevimus) ex genere logicae; licet phirimum, atque adeo immensum quiddam, inter- sit. Nam et ipsa ilia logica vulgaris auxilia et praesidia intellectui moliri ac parare profitetur: et in hoc uno consentiunt. DifFert autem plane a vulgari rebus prae- cipue tribus : viz. ipso fine, ordine demonstrandi, et in- quirendi initiis.

Nam huic nostrae scientiae finis proponitur, ut inveni- antur non argumenta sed artes, nee principiis consenta- nea sed ipsa principia, nee rationes probabiles sed desig- nationes et indicationes Operum. Itaque ex intentione diversa diversus sequitur effectus. Illic enim adversa- rius disputatione vincitur et constringitur, hie natura opere.

Atque cum hujusmodi fine conveniunt demonstrati- onum ipsarum natura et ordo. In logica enim vulga- ri opera fere universa circa Syllogismum consumitur. 1 Purposing to deserve well o^ their country.

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De Inductlone vero Dialectic! vix serio cogitasse viden- tur ; levi mentione earn transmittentes, et ad disputan- di formulas properantes. At nos demonstrationem per syllogismum rejicimus, quod confusius agat, et naturam emittat e manibus. Tametsi enim nemini dubium esse possit quin, quas in medio termino conveniunt, ea et inter se conveniant (quod est mathematicjB cujusdam certitudinis) : nihilominus hoc subest fraudis, quod syl- logismus ex propositionibus constet, propositiones ex verbis, verba autem notionum tesserae et signa sint. Itaque si notion es ipsae mentis (quae verborum quasi anima sunt, et totius hujusmodi structurae ac fabricae basis) male ac temere a rebus abstractae, et vagae, nee satis definitae et circumscriptas, denique multis modis vitiosas fuerint, omnia ruunt. Rejicimus igitur syllo- gismum ; neque id solum quoad principia (ad quae nee illi eam adhibent) sed etiam quoad propositiones me- dias, quas educit sane atque parturit utcunque syllo- gismus, sed operum steriles et a practica remotas et plane quoad partem activam scientiarum incompetentes. Quamvis igitur relinquamus syllogismo et hujusmodi demonstrationibus famosis ac jactatis jurisdictionem in artes populares et opinabiles (nil enim in hac parte mo- vemus), tamen ad naturam rerum Inductione per omnia, et tam ad minores propositiones quam ad majores, uti- mur. Inductionem enim censemus eam esse demon- strandi formam, quse sensum tuetur et naturam premit et operibus imminet ac fere immiscetur.

Itaque ordo quoque demonstrandi plane invertitur. Adhuc enim res ita geri censuevit ; ut a sensu et par- ticularibus primo loco ad maxime generalia advoletur; tanquam ad polos fixos circa quos disputationes vertan- tur; ab illis caetera per media deriventur: via certe

216 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

compendiaria, sed praecipiti, et ad naturara impervia, ad disputationes vero proclivi et accommodata. At secundum nos, axiomata^ continenter et gradatim ex- citantur, ut non nisi postremo loco ad generalissima ve- niatur : ea vero generalissima evadunt non notionalia, sed bene terminita, et talia quae natura ut revera sibi notiora agnoscat,^ quieque rebus hasreant in medullis.

At in forma ipsa quoque inductionis, et judicio quod per earn fit, opus longe maximum movemus. Ea enim de qua dialectici loquuntur, qua? procedit per enumera- tionem simplicem, puerile quiddam est, et precario con- cludit, et periculo ab instantia contradictoria exponitur, et consueta tantum intuetur, nee exitum reperit.

Atqui opus est ad scientias inductionis forma tali, quae experientiam sol vat et separet, et per exclusiones ac rejectiones debitas necessario concludat. Quod si

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 tlie word is used in the same way by Cicero, who probably took it from the Stoics.

2 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 Postevwr AimlyticSyX. 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 natur& 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 quos lon- gius absunt; quo quid autem magis universale eo est remotius, ac singula quaeque sunt proxima." The schoolmen, misled by the ambiguity of the Greek dative, substitute for "notius natura," rj? (^vaec yvuptfiurepov, "no- tius naturoj," as if Aristotle had spoken of Nature's knowledge in oppo- sition 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 equivalent to St. Thomas's expres- sion " 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, Trendelenburg Kkmenta Log. AruM. 81.

Bartholdy's rendering is merely founded in error: "dass es die Natur fur einen wirklichen Beweis eiuer innigern Bekanntschafl mit ihr anerkennen muss."

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judicium illud vulgatum dialecticorum tarn operosum fuerit, et tanta ingenia exercuerit ; quanto magis labo- randum est in hoc altero, quod non tantum ex mentis penetralibus, sed etiam ex naturae visceribus extrahitur ?

Neque tamen hie finis. Nam fundamenta quoque scientiarum fortius deprimimus et solidamus, atque initia inquirendi altius sumimus, quam adhuc homines fecerunt : ea subjiciendo examini, quae logica vulgaris tanquam fide aliena recipit. Etenim dialectici princi- pia scientiarum a scientiis singulis tanquam mutuo sumunt : rursus, notiones mentis primas venerantur : postremo, informationibus immediatis sensus bene dis- positi 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 reddendas com- pellere quousque plane constent.^ Quod vero attinet ad notiones primas intellectus ; nihil est eorum quae intellectus sibi permissus congessit, quin nobis pro sus- pecto sit, nee uUo modo ratum, nisi novo judicio se stiterit et secundum illud pronuntiatum fuerit. Qui- netiam sensus ipsius informationes multis modis excu- timus. 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 impedi- tum effugiunt; aut subtilitate totius corporis, aut par- tium minutiis, aut loci distantia, aut tarditate atque etiam velocitate motus, aut familiaritate objecti, aut alias

1 On the relation of philosophy to the sciences, I may refer to an interest- ing essay by Ritter in the Berlin Transactions.

218 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

ob causas. Neque rursus, ubi sensus rem tenet, prehen- siones ejus admodum firmae sunt. Nam testimonium et informatio sensus semper est ex analogia hominis, non ex analogia universi : ^ atque magno prorsus errore asseritur, sensum esse mensuram rerum.

Itaque ut his occurratur, nos multo et fido ministe- rio auxilia sensui undique conquisivimus et contraxi- mus, ut destitutionibus substitutiones, variationibus rec- tificationes suppeditentur. Neque id molimur tam instrumentis quam experimentis. Etenim experimen- torum longe major est subtilitas quam sensus ipsius, licet instrumentis exquisitis adjuti; (de iis loquimur experimentis, quae ad intentionem ejus quod quaeritur perite et secundum artem excogitata et apposita sunt.) ^ Itaque perceptioni sensus immediatae ac proprias non multum tribuimus : sed eo rem deducimus, ut sensus tan turn de experimento, experimentum de re judicet. Quare existimamus nos sensus (a quo omnia in natu-

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) forma;; " — "except by reference to form." It seems not improbable that this way of using the word was suggested by the pas- sage in the Physics which gave rise to the dictum I have quoted. Aristotle says, Phys. i. 7., " 'H de vnoKeifitvij ^vfftf , tmaTTjry Kard, uva?Mycav — in which however the word is really used in its usual sense, since Aristotle goes on to say that this v~0KeifiKV7] (pvaic stands in the same relation to ovaio 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 analo- gia; " 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 Philoso- phus primo Physicorum; " so that the two phrases seem equivalent. See S. Thomas, De Naturd Materia, c. 2., compared with the tract De prindpio individuationii.

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 Zaba- rella, De prim, rerum mnterid, i. 4.

2 [Compare Nov. Org. ii. 36.— J. 5.]

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ralibus petenda sunt, nisi forte libeat insanire) antistites religiosos, et oraculorum ejus non imperitos interpretes, nos prsBstitisse : 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 human us aequs et instar tabulae abrasae esset. Sed cum mentes hominum miris modis adeo obsessae sint ut ad veros rerum radios excipiendos sincera et polita area prorsus desit, necessitas quaedam incumbit ut etiam huic rei remedium quaerendum esse pute- mus.

lobla autem a quibus occupatur mens, vel Adscititia sunt vel Innata. Adscititia vero immigrarunt in men- tes hominum, vel ex philosophorum placitis et sectis vel ex perversis legibus demonstrationum. At Innata in- haerent naturae ipsius intellectus, qui ad errorem longe proclivior esse deprehenditur quam sensus. Utcunque enim homines sibi placeant et in admirationem mentis 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 patitur, in notionibus suis expedi- endis et comminiscendis baud optima fide rerum na- turae suam naturam inserere et immiscere.

Atque priora ilia duo Idolorum genera aegre, pos- trema vero haec nullo modo, evelli possunt.^ Id tan- tum relinquitur, ut indicentur, atque ut vis ista mentis insidiatrix notetur et convincatur ; ne forte a destruc- tione veterum novi subinde errorum sarculi ex ipsa mala complexione mentis puUulent, eoque res recidat,

1 The priora duo are the Idols of the Theatre, which include both kinds. The postrema hcec 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.

220 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

ut errores non extinguantur sed permutentur ; veriim e contra nt illiid tandem in aiternum ratum et fixum sit, intellectum nisi per inductionem ej usque formam legitimam judicare non posse. Itaque doctrina ista de expurgatione intellectus ut ipse ad veritatem habilis sit, tribus redargutionibus absolvitur: redargutione philo- sophiarum, redargutione demonstrationum, et redargu- tione rationis liumanie nativae.^ His vero explicatis, ac postquam demum patuerit quid reinim natura, quid mentis natura ferat, existimamus nos tlialamum Men- tis et Universi, pronuba divina bonitate, stravisse et ornasse. Epithalamii autem votum sit, ut ex eo con- nubio auxilia humana et stirps inventorum quas neces- sitates ac miserias hominum aliqua ex parte doment et subigant, suscipiatur.^ Hcec vero est operia pars se-

eunda.

•

At vias non solum monstrare et munire, sed inire

1 Compare Aph. 115, where these three Redargutiones are enumerated in the inverse order; in which order they are treated. This shows that the Dlstribulio Opens was written before Bacon had decided upon tlie arrange- ment of the Novum Organum. See Note C. at the end of the Preface. — J. S.

2 The received reading is stiscipiatur, which seems erroneous, but may perhaps be defended. [I have myself verj' little doubt that Bacon wrote suscipiatnr, not smdpiantur. 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 pas- sage (which will be found in the Partis Instaurationis secundoi Delineatio), 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 de- fended. In the Redargutio Philosophiarum it appears again in still another shape. There we have two nommatives, one singular and one plural, as here; but the plural coming last, the verb is in the plural, " ut ex illo connubio, non phantasioe monstra, sed stirps heroum, quae monstra domet et extinguat, — hoc est inventa salutaria et utilia ad necessitates humanas ^quantum fieri datur) debellandos et relevandos, suscipiantur. Hoc epitha- lamii votum sit." — J. S.'\

DISTKIBUTIO OPERIS. 221

quoque consilium est. Itaque tertia pars operis com- plectitur Phcenomena Universi ; hoc est, omnigenam experientiam, atque historiam naturalem ejus generis quse possit esse ad condendam philosophiam funda- mentalis. Neque enim excellens aliqua demonstrandi via sive naturam interpretandi forma, ut mentem ab errore et lapsu defendere ac sustinere, ita ei materiam ad sciendum prsebere et subministrare possit. Verum iis quibus non conjicere et hariolari, sed invenire et scire propositum est, quique non simiolas et fabulas mundorum comminisci, sed hujus ipsius veri mundi naturam introspicere et velut dissecare in animo lia- bent, omnia a rebus ipsis petenda sunt. Neque huic labori et inquisitioni ac mundanae perambulationi, ulla ingenii aut meditationis aut argumentationis substitutio aut compensatio 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 insequalis et tanquam fortuita ; traditio, vana et ex rumore ; practica, operi intenta et servilis ; vis experimentalis, caeca, stupida, vaga, et praerupta ; denique historia naturalis, levis et inops, vitiosissimam materiam intellectui ad philoso- phiam et scientias congesserunt.

Delude, praepostera argumentandi subtilitas et ven- tilatio serum rebus plane desperatis tentatur reme- dium, nee negotium ullo modo restituit aut errores separat. Itaque nulla spes majoris augmenti ac pro- gressus sita est, nisi in restauratione quadam scien*- tiarum.

222 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

Hujus autem exordia omnino a natural! historia sumenda sunt, eaque ipsa novi cujusdam generis et apparatus. Frustra enim fuerit speculum expolire, si desiiit imagines ; et plane materia idonea pra^paranda est intellectui, non solum praesidia fida comparanda. DifFert vero rursus historia nostra (quemadniodum logica nostra) ab ea quas habetur, multis rebus: fine sive officio, ipsa mole et congerie, dein subtilitate, etiam delectu et constitutions in ordine ad ea quae sequuntur.

Primo enim eam proponimus historiam naturalem, qua3 non tam aut rerum varietate delectet aut prae- senti experimentorum fructu juvet, quam lucem in- ventioni causarum afFundat, et pliilosophia) enutri- candae primam mammam praebeat. Licet enim opera atque activam scientiarum partem prascipue sequamur, tamen messis tempus expectamus, nee museum et sege- tem herbidam demetere conamur. Satis enim scimus, axiomata recte inventa tota agmina operum secum tra- here, atque opera non sparsim sed confertim exhibere. Intempestivum autem ilium et puerilem affectum, ut pignora aliqua novorum operum propere captentur, prorsus damnamus et amovemus, ceu pomum AtalantaB quod cursum retardat. Atque Historiae nostrte Natu- ralis officium tale est.

Quoad congeriem vero, conficimus historiam non so- lum naturaa libera} ac solutse (cum scilicet ilia sponte fluit et opus suum peragit), qualis est historia coeles- tium, meteororum, terrae et maris, mineralium, plan- tarum, animalium ; sed multo magis natunc constrictae et vexatae ; nempe, cum per artem et ministerium hu- manum de statu suo detruditur, atque premitur et fin- gitur. Itaque omnia artium mechanicarum, omnia

DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 223

operativse partis liberalium, omnia practicanim com- pluriuin quae in artem propriam non coaliierunt, ex- perimenta (quantum inquirere licuit et quantum ad finem nostrum faciunt) perscribimus. Quin etiam (ut quod res est eloquamur) fastum hominum et spe- ciosa nil morati, multo plus et operse et praesidii in hac parte quam in ilia altera ponimus; quandoquidem natura rerum inagis se prodit per vexationes artis quam in libertate propria.

Neque Corporum tantum historiam exhibemus ; sed diligentiae insuper nostras esse putavimus, etiam Virtu- tum ipsarum (illarum dicimus quae tanquam cardinales in natura censeri possint, et in quibus naturae primor- dia plane constituuntur, utpote materiae primis passion- ibus ac desideriis, viz. Denso, Raro^ Calido, Frigido^ Consistently Fluido, Gravis Levi, aliisque baud paucis) historiam seorsum comparare.^

Enimvero ut de subtilitate dicamus, plane conquiri- mus genus experimentorum longe subtilius et simplicius quam sunt ea quae occurrunt. Complura enim a tene- bris educimus et eruimus, quae nulli in mentem venis- set investigare, nisi qui certo et constanti tramite ad inventionem causarum pergeret ; cum in se nuUius magnopere sint usus ; ut liquido appareat, ea non propter se quaesita esse ; sed ita prorsus se habeant ilia ad res et opera quemadmodum literae alphabet! se habeant ad orationem et verba ; quae licet per se inutiles eaedem tamen omnis sermonis elementa sunt.

In delectu autem narrationum et experimentorum

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 connex- ion with several passages in the second book of the Novum Organum,

224 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

melius hominibus cavisse nos arbitramur quam qui adhuc in historia natural i versati sunt. Nam omnia fide oculata aut saltern perspecta, et summa quadam cum severitate, recipimus ; ita ut nil referatur auctum mirac'uli causa, sed quae narramus a fabulis et vani- tate casta et intemerata sint. Quinetiam et recepta qurcque ac jactata mendacia (quae mirabili quodam neglectu per saecula multa obtinuerunt et inveterata sunt) nominatim proscribimus et notamus ; ne scien- tiis amj)lius molesta sint. Quod enim prudenter anim- advertit quidam, fabulas et superstitiones et nugas quas nutriculye pueris instillant, mentes eorum etiam serio depravare : ita eadem nos movit ratio ut solliciti atque etiam anxii simus ne ab initio, cum veluti infantiam j)hilos()])liiae 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 quom- odo singula nobis constiterint, videant homines quid erroris subesse et adhaerere possit, atque ad probationes magis fidas et magis exquisitas (si quae sint) expergis- cantur : denique ubique monita et scrupulos et cau- tiones aspergimus, religione quadam et tanquam exor- cismo omnia phantasinata ejicientes ac cohibentes.

Postremo, cum nobis exploratum sit quantopere ex- perientia et historia aciem mentis humanae disgreget, et quara difficile sit (praesertim animis vel teneris vel praeoccupatis) a principio cum natura consuescere, ad- jungimus saepius observationes nostras, tanquam primas quasdam conversiones et inclinationes ac veluti aspectus historiae ad philosophiam ; ut et pignoris loco homini- bus sint eos in historiae fluctibus perpetuo non detentos

DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 225

iri, utque cum ad opus intellectus deveniatur omnia sint magis in procinctu. Atque per hujusmodi (qualem describimus) Historiam Naturalem, aditum quendam fieri posse ad naturam tutum et commodum, atque materiam intellectui praeberi probam et praeparatam, censemus.

Postquam vero et intellectum fidissimis auxiliis ac praesidiis stipavimus, et justum divinorum operum exer- citum severissimo delectu comparavimus ; nil amplius superesse videtur, nisi ut philosophiam ipsam aggre- diamur. Attamen in re tarn ardua et suspensa, sunt quaedam quae necessario videntur interponenda ; partim docendi gratia, partim in usum praesentem.

Horum primum est, ut exempla proponantur in- quirendi et inveniendi secundum nostram rationem ac viam, in aliquibus subjectis repraesentata : sumendo ea potissimum subjecta quae et inter ea quae quaeruntur sunt nobilissima et inter se maxime 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 praestitimus) ; sed plane typos in- telligimus et plasmata, quae universum mentis proces- sum 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 secundae partis applicatio particularis et explicata.

VOL. I. 15

226 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

At quinta pars ad tempus tantiim, donee reliqua per- ficiantur, adhibetur ; et tanquam foenus redditur, usque dum sors haberi possit. Neque enim finem nostinim ita petimus occaecati, ut quae occurrunt in via utilia negli- gamus. Quamobrem quintam partem operis ex iis con- ficimus quae a nobis aut inventa aut probata aut addita sunt ; neque id tamen ex rationibus atque praescriptis interpretandi, sed ex eodem intellectus usu quem alii in inquirendo et inveniendo adhibere consueverunt. Etenim cum, ex perpetua nostra cum natura consue- tudine, majora de meditationibus nostris quam pro ingenii viribus speramus ; tum poterunt ista veluti tabernaculorum in via positorum vice fungi, ut mens ad certiora contendens in iis paulisper acquiescat. At- tamen testamur interim, nos illis ipsis, quod ex vera interpretandi forma non sint inventa aut probata, teneri minime velle. Istam vero judicii suspensionem non est quod exhorreat quispiam, in doctrina quae non simplici- ter nil sciri posse, sed nil nisi certo ordine et certa via sciri posse, asserit; atque interea tamen certos certi- tudinis gradus ad usum et levamen constituit, donee mens in causarum explicatione consistat. Neque enim illae ipsae scholae philosophorum qui Acatalepsiam sim- pliciter tenuerunt inferiores fuere istis quae pronun- tiandi licentiam usurparunt. Illse 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 reliquae inservi- unt ac ministrant) eam demum recludit et proponit philosophiam, quae ex hujusmodi (qualem ante doeui- mus et paravimus) inquisitione legitima et casta et

DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS. 227

severa educitur et constituitur. Hanc vero postremam partem perficere et ad exitum perducere, res est et su- pra vires et ultra spes nostras collocata. Nos ei initia (ut speramus) non contemnenda, exitum generis hu- mani fortuna dabit, qualem forte homines in hoc rerum et animorum statu haud facile animo capere aut metiri queant. Neque enim agitur solum foelicitas contem- plativa, sed vere res humanaa 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 araplius scit, aut potest. Neque enim ullae vires causarum catenam solvere aut perfringere possint, neque natura aliter quam parendo vincitur. Itaque intentiones gem- inae illae, humanae scilicet Scientice et Potentice^ vere in idem coincidunt ; et frustratio operum maxime fit ex ignoratione causarum.

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 phantasiae nostras somnium pro exemplari mundi edamus : sed po- tius benigne faveat, ut apocalypsim ac veram visionem vestigiorum ^ et sigillorum creatoris super creaturas scribamus.

Itaque Tu Pater, qui lucem visibilem primitias crea- turae dedisti, et lucem intellectualem ad fastigium ope- rum tuorum in faciem hominis inspirasti ; opus hoc, quod a tua bonitate profectum tuam gloriam repetit, tuere et rege. Tu postquam conversus es ad spectandum opera

1 This application of the word " vestigia " is constantly made by the schoolmen. Thus St. Thomas Aquinas : " In rationalibus creaturis est imago Trinitatis, in caeteris vero creaturis est vestigium Trinitatis, in quan- tum in eis inveniuntur aliqua quae reducuntur in divinas personas." — Summa Theolog. l^a pars, q. 45. art. 7.

228 DISTRIBUTIO OPERIS.

qusB fecerunt manus tuae, vidisti quod omnia essent bona valde ; et requievisti. At homo conversus ad op- era quaB fecerunt manus suae, vidit quod omnia essent vanitas et vexatio spiritus ; nee ullo modo requievit, Quare si in operibus tuis sudabimus, facies nos visionis tuaB et sabbati tui participes.^ Supplices petimus, ut haec mens nobis constet ; utque novis elee^ mosynis, per manus nostras et aliorum quibus eandem mentem largi-^ eris, familiam humanam dotatam velis.

1 Compare this with St. Augustine's prayer at the close of the On/e»- sions, *' Domine Deus pacem da nobis (omnia enim praestitisti nobis), pacem quietis, pacem Sabbati, Sabbati sine vespera. Omnis quippe iste ordo pulcherrimus rerum valde bonarura modis suis peractis transiturus est, «t mane quippe in eis factum est et vespera. Dies autem septiraus sine yespera est, nee habet occasum, quia sanctificasti eum ad permansionen\ sempitemam, ut id quod tu post opera tua bona valde, quamvis ea quietus feceris, requievisti septimo die, hoc praeloquatur nobis vox libri tui, quod et nos post opera nostra, ideo bona valde quia tu nobis ea donasti, sabbato vitse aeternae requiescamus in te." — Conf. xiii. 35—6.

Compare also the line with which the Faerie Queene breaks off: — » 0 that [q. thou?] great Sabbaoth God graunt me that Sabbaoth sight."

DEEST

PARS PRIMA INSTAURATIONIS,

QU^ COMPLECTITUR

PARTITIONES SCIENTIARUM.

nice tamen ex Secundo Libro de Progressibus faciendis in Doctrina

Divina et Humana, nonnulla ex parte

petipossuntA

SEQUITUR

SECUNDA PARS INSTAURATIONIS,

qUM ARTEM IPSAM

Interpretandi Naturam, et verioris adoperationis Intellectus exhibet :

neque earn ipsam tamen in Corpore tractatus justi,

sed tantum digestam per summas, in

Aphorismos.^

1 This is omitted in the common editions of Bacon's collected works (in all, I believe, except Montagu's); the De Augmeniis Scientiarum, with the title " Instaurationis Magnce pars prima''^ prefixed on a separate leaf, being

2 This explains a certain discrepancy between the design of the second part, as set forth in the Distributio Operis, and the execution of it in the Novum Organum. The Distributio, like the Delineatio, was probably writ- ten when Bacon intended to work it out in a regular and consecutive trea- tise, and represents the idea of the work more perfectly than the work itself. See note on Distr. Op. p. 220.—/. S.

230

substituted for it. And it is true that Bacon did afterwards decide upon supplying this deficiency by a translation of the Advancement of Learning enlarged ; that he produced the De Augmentis Scientiarum with that inten- tion and understanding; and that though the original edition does not bear '■'■ In$taurationis Magnce pars pnma'"' on the titlepage, yet in Dr. Rawley's reprint of it in 1638 those words were inserted. Nevertheless this notice is of importance, as showing that when Bacon published the Novum Orgnnum he did not look to a mere enlargement of the Advancement of Leaiming as satisfying the intention of the pars prima ; for if he had, he would have referred to the work itself, not to the second book only. He meant, no doubt, to reproduce the substance of it in a different form. And my own impression is that the Descriptio Ghbi InteUectualis was originally designed for this place, and that he had not yet abandoned the hope of completing it; but that soon after, — fortune gone, health shaken, assistance not to be commanded, and things of more importance remaining to be done, — he found he had not time to finish it on so large a scale, and therefore resolved to enlarge the old house instead of building a new one. — J. S.

->

PARS SECUNDA OPERIS,

QU^ DICITUR

NOVUM ORGANUM,

INDICIA VERA

DE INTERPRETATIONE NATURE.

PR^FATIO.

Qui de natura tanquam de re explorata pronuntiare ausi sunt, sive hoc ex animi fiducia fecerint sive ambi- tiose et more professorio, maximis illi philosophiam et scientias detrimentis affecere. Ut enim ad fidem faci- endam validi, ita etiam ad inquisitionem extinguendam et abrumpendam efficaces fuerunt. Neque virtute pro- pria tantum profuerunt, quantum ^ in hoc nocuerunt, quod aliorum virtu tern corruperint et perdiderint. Qui autem contrariam huic viam ingressi sunt atque nihil prorsus sciri posse asserueinint, 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 deri- varunt, et studio quodam atque affectatione provecti, prorsus modum excesserunt. At antiquiores ex Graecis (quorum scripta perierunt) inter pronuntiandi jactan- tiam et Acatalepsice desperationem prudentius se sus- tinuerunt: atque de inquisitionis difficultate et rerum obscuritate ssepius querimonias et indignationes mis- centes, et veluti frsenum mordentes, tamen propositum urgere atque naturae se immiscere non destiterunt ; consentaneum (ut videtur) existimantes, hoc ipsura (videlicet utrum aliquid sciri possit) non disputare,

234 PR^FATIO.

sed experiri. Et tamen illi ipsi, impetu tan turn in- tellectus usi, regulam non adhibuerunt, 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 reductionem quandam tueamur,^ sed mentis opus quod sensum subsequitur plerunque rejiciamus ; novam autem et certam viam, ab ipsis sensuum percep- tionibus, menti aperiamus et muniamus. Atque hoc proculdubio viderunt et illi qui tantas dialecticae partes tribuerunt. Ex quo liquet, illos intellectui adminicula quaesivisse, mentis autem processum nativum et spon- te 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 dialecticae, sero (ut diximus) cavens neque rem ullo modo restituens, ad errores potius figendos quam ad veritatem aperiendam valuit. Restat unica salus ac sanitas, ut opus mentis universum de integro resumatur ; 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 in- strumentorum vi et ope, aggressi essent, quemadmodum opera intellectualia nudis fere mentis viribus tractare

1 The word " reductio " appears to be used much as in modern scientific language; that is, as nearly equivalent to correction; — as when we speak of reducing observations, &c., by which is meant the applying to them of certain principles of correction : I should translate the clause in which it occurs by " we guard the sense from error by a certain method of correc- tion;"— a translation which accords with what is said infra, 1.69., with respect to the short-comings and errors of the senses.

PR^FATIO. 235

non dubitarunt, parvae admodum fuissent res quas movere et vincere potuissent, licet operas enixas atque etiam conjunctas prasstitissent. Atque si paulisper mo- rari, atque in hoc ipsum exemplum, veluti in speculum, intueri velimus ; exquiramus (si placet) si forte obelis- cus aliquis magnitudine insignis ad triumphi vel hujus- rnodi magnificentiae decus transferendus esset, atque id homines nudis manibus aggrederentur, annon hoc magnae cujusdam esse dementias spectator quispiam rei sobrius fateretur ? Quod si numerum augerent opera- riorum, atque hoc modo se valere posse confiderent, annon tanto magis ? Sin autem delectum quendam adhibere vellent, atque imbecilliores separare, et robus- tis tantum et vigentibus uti, atque hinc saltem se voti compotes fore sperarent, annon adhuc eos impensius delirare diceret ? Quin etiam si hoc ipso non contenti, artem tandem athleticam consulere statuerent, ac om- nes deinceps manibus 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 consensu vel excellentia et acumine magna sperant, aut etiam dialectica (quas quaedam athletica censeri possit) mentis nervos roborant ; sed interim, licet tanto studio et conatu, (si quis vere judicaverit) intellectum nudum applicare non desinunt. Manifestissimum au- tem est, in omni opere magno, quod manus hominis praestat, sine instrumentis et machinis, vires nee singu- lorum intendi nee omnium coire posse.

Itaque ex his quae diximus prasmissis, statuimus duas esse res de quibus homines plane monitos volumus, ne

236 PR^FATIO.

forte ilUi3 eos fugiant aut praetereant. Quarum prima hujusinodi est ; fieri fato qiiodam (ut existimamus) bono, ad extinguendas et depellendas contradiction es et tumores animorum, ut et veteribus honor et reve- rentia intacta et imminuta maneant, et nos destinata 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 quae- dam ingenii vei excellentiae vel facultatis comparatio sive contentio; non ea quidem illicita aut nova; — quid- ni 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 intentata et incognita, com- mutata jam ratio est ; cessant studium et partes ; nos- que indicis tantummodo personam sustinemus, quod mediocris certe est authoritatis, et fortunaB cujusdam potius quam facultatis et excellentias. Atque haec moniti species ad personas pertinet ; altera ad res ipsas.

Nos siquidem de deturbanda ea quaB nunc floret philosophia, aut si quae alia sit aut erit hac emendatior aut auctior, minime laboramus. Neque enim officimus, quin philosophia ista recepta, et aliae id genus, disputa- tiones alant, sermones ornent, ad professoria munera et vitae civilis compendia adjiibeantur et valeant. Quin etiam aperte significamus et declaramus, eam quam nos adducimus philosophiam ad istas res admodum utilem non futuram. Non praBsto est, neque in transitu

PRJEFATIO. 237

capitur, neque ex prsenotionibus intellectm blanditur, neque ad vulgi captum nisi per ntilitatem et efFecta descendet.

Sint itaque (quod foelix faustumque sit utrique parti) duse doctrinarum emanationes, ac duae dispensation es ; duae similiter contemplantium sive philosophantium tri- bus ac veluti cognationes ; atque illse neutiquam inter se inimicae aut alienae, sed foederatae et mutuis auxiliis devinctae : sit denique alia scientias colendi, alia inve- niendi ratio. Atque quibus prima potior et acceptior est, ob festinationem, vel vitae civilis rationes, vel quod illam alteram ob mentis infirmitatem capere et com- plecti non possint (id quod longe plurimis accidere necesse est), optamus ut iis fceliciter et ex voto succe- dat quod agunt, atque ut quod sequuntur teneant. Quod si cui mortalium cordi et curae sit, non tantum inventis haerere atque iis uti, sed ad ulteriora pene- trare ; atque non disputando adversarium, sed opere naturam 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, quae infiniti contriverunt, adi- tus aliquando ad interiora patefiat. Atque ut melius intelligamur, utque illud ipsum quod volumus ex nomin- ibus impositis magis familiariter occurrat, altera ratio sive via Antidpatio Mentis^ altera Interpretatio Naturce^ a nobis appellari consuevit.

Est etiam quod petendum videtur. Nos certe cogi- tationem suscepimus et curam adhibuimus, ut quae a nobis proponentur non tantum vera essent, sed etiam ad animos hominum (licet miris modis occupatos et interclusos) non incommode aut aspere accederent. Veruntamen aequum est, ut ab hominibus impetremus

238 PR^FATIO.

(in tanta praesertim doctrinarura et scientiarum restau-

ratione) ut qui de hisce nostris aliquid, sive ex sensu

proprio, sive ex authoritatum turba, sive ex demonstra-

tionum formis (quas nunc tanquam leges quaedam judi-

ciales invaluerunt), statuere 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 pauUatim tentet ; subtilitati rerum

quae 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 SECUND^ SUMMA,

DIGESTA

IN APHORISMOS.

PAKTIS SECUNDiE SUMMA,

DIGESTA IN

APHOKISMOS.

APHORISMI

DE INTERPRETATIONE NATURE ET REGNO HOMINIS.

Aphorismus I. Homo, Naturae minister^ et interpres, tantum facit et intelUgIt quantum de Naturae ordine re vel mente observaverit, nee amplius scit aut potest.

n.

Nee manus nuda nee intellectus sibi permissus mul- tum valet ; instrumentis et auxiliis res perficitur ; qui- bus opus est non minus ad intellectum quam ad manum. Atque ut instrumenta manus motum aut cient aut re- gunt, ita et instrumenta mentis intellectui aut sugge- runt aut cavent.

III.

Scientia et potentia humana in idem coincidunt, quia ignoratio causae destituit efFectum. Natura enim non nisi parendo vincitur ; ^ et quod in contemplatione in- star causae est, id in operatione instar regulae est.

1 That the physician is "naturae minister," (j>vaeo)g VTnjpeTrjc, is quoted more than once from Hippocrates by Galen, xv. 369. xvi. 35. (Kuhn): the first passage in his commentary on Hippoc. Be Aliment, iii., the second in his do. De Humor, i.

2 This antithesis was probably suggested by Publius Syrus's gnome : — " Casta ad virum matrona parendo imperat."

VOL. I. 16

SA2 NOVUM ORGANUM.

IV.

Ad opera nil aliud potest homo, quam ut corpora naturalia admoveat et araoveat; reliqua Natura intus transigit.^

V.

Solent se immiscere naturae (quoad opem) mechan- icus, mathematicus, medicus, alchymista, et magus ; sed omnes (ut nunc sunt res) conatu levi, successu tenui.

VI.

Insanum quiddam esset, et in se contrarium, existi- mare ea qua3 adhuc nunquam facta sunt fieri posse, nisi per modes adhuc nunquam tentatos.

vn.

Generationes mentis et manus numerosas admodum videntur in libris et opificiis. Sed omnis ista varie- tas sita est in subtilitate eximia, et derivationibus pau- carum rerum quae innotuerunt ; non in numero Axi- omatum.

VIII.

Etiam opera, quae jam inventa sunt, casui debentur et experientiae magis quam scientiis : scientiae enim, quas nunc habemus, 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 scien- tiis ea una est ; quod dum mentis humanae vires falso

1 For some remarks upon the first four Aphorisms, see the Preface, p.

166.— y. S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 243

miramur et extollimus, vera ejus auxilia non quae- ramus.

X.

Subtilitas naturae subtilitatem sensus et intellectus multis partibus superat; ut pulcbrae illae meditationes et speculationes humanae et causationes res male-sana sint, nisi quod non adsit qui advertat.^

XI.

Sicut scientiae quae nunc liabentur inutiles sunt ad inventionem operum ; ita et logica quae nunc habetur inutilis est ad inventionem scientiarum.

XII.

Logica quae in usu est ad errores (qui in notionibus vulgaribus fundantur) stabiliendos et figendos valet, potius quam ad inquisitionem veritatis ; ut magis dam- nosa sit quam utilis.

XIII.

Syllogismus ad principia scientiarum non adhibetur, ad media axiomata frustra adhibetur, cum sit subtili- tati naturae longe impar. Assensum itaque constringit, non res.

XIV.

Syllogismus ex propositionibus constat, propositiones ex verbis, verba notion um tesserae sunt. Itaque si notiones ipsae (id quod basis rei est) confusae sint et temere a rebus abstractae, nihil in iis quae superstruun- tur est firmitudinis. Itaque spes est una in induetione 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. — /. 8.

244 NOVUM ORGANUM.

XV.

In notionibus nil sani est, nee in logicis nee in phys- icis ; non Substantia^ non Qualitas, Agere, Pati, ipsum Esse, bonae notiones sunt ; multo minus Grave, Leve^ Densum, Tenue, Humidum, Siccum, Greneratio, Corrup- tio, Attrahere, Fugare, Elementum, Materia, Forma, et id genus ; sed omnes phantasticae et male terminatas.

XVI.

Notiones infimarum speqierum, Rominis, Canis, Oo- lumhce, et prehensionum immediatarum sensus, Calidi, Frigidi, Albi, Nigri, non fallunt magnopere ; quae tamen ipsae a fluxu materiae et commistione^ rerum quandoque confunduntur ; reliquas omnes (quibus hom- ines hactenus usi sunt) aberrationes sunt, nee debitis modis a rebus abstractae et excitatas.

XVII.

Nee minor est libido et aberratio in constituendis axiomatibus, quam in notionibus abstrahendis ; idque in ipsis principiis, quae ab inductione vulgari pendent. At multo major est in axiomatibus et propositionibus inferioribus, quae educit syllogismus.

xvin.

Quae adhuc inventa sunt in scientiis, ea hujusmodi sunt ut notionibus vulgaribus fere subjaceant ; ut vero

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 giv- ing rise to new qualities 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. ^ 84, -J.S.]

NOVUM ORGANUM. 245

ad interiora et remotiora naturae penetretur, necesse est ut tam 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 inveniendam veritatem. Altera a sensu et partic- ularibus 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, as- cendendo continenter et gradatim, ut ultimo loco per- veniatur ad maxime generalia ; quae via vera est, sed intentata.

XX.

Eandem ingreditur viam (priorem scilicet) intellec- tus sibi permissus, quam facit ex ordine dialecticae. Gestit enim mens exilire ad magis generalia, ut ac- quiescat ; et post parvam moram fastidit experien- tiam. Sed hsec mala demum aucta sunt a dialec- tica, ob pompas disputationum.

XXI.

Intellectus sibi permissus, in ingenio sobrio et pa- tiente et gravi (praesertim si a doctrinis receptis non impediatur), ten tat nonnihil illam alteram viam, quae recta est, sed exiguo profectu ; cum intellectus, nisi regatur et juvetur, res inaequalis sit, et omnino inhab- ilis ad superandam rerum obscuritatem.^

1 1 should be inclined to translate this clause, " since the intellect, if it be not guided and assisted, acts irreffularly (res inaequalis sit), and is al- together unequal to overcoming the obscurity of nature." Thus in § 60. we meet with a similar use of the adverb ^'' incequaliter : ''^ — "temere et

246 NOVUM ORGANUM.

XXII.

Utraqiie via orditur a sensu et particularibus, et ac- quiescit in maxime generalibus; sed immensum quid- dam discrepant ; cum altera perstringat tantum ex- perientiam et particularia cursim, altera in iis rite et ordine versetur ; altera rursus jam a principio con- stituat generalia quaedam abstracta et inutilia, altera gradatim exurgat ad ea quae revera naturae sunt no- tiora.^

XXIII.

Non leve quiddam interest inter humanae mentis idola et divinae mentis ideas; hoc est, inter placita quaedam inania et veras signaturas ^ atque impressiones factas in creaturis, prout inveniuntur.

XXIV.

Nullo modo fieri potest, ut axiomata per argumen-

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.

1 This phrase is a scholastic mistranslation of the Aristotelian phrase Ty (piiaei yvupi/j.uTepov • 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 yvwpt/zof ; " notus " and " known " being of course participles, and immediately suggesting the question, "known to whom?" [See note on Distrib. Operis, p. 216. In his English writings. Bacon seems to use the word " original " as equiva- lent to "naturae notius." Compare the instruction for "freeing a direc- tion," in the Valerius Terminus, with the " prajceptum verum et perfectum operandi," in the Nov. Org. ii. 4.; where the rule that "the nature dis- covered be more (yriyinal 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, qua; inest pluribus et notior est naturce (ut loquuntur) quam ipsa forma," in the other. — J. 8.]

2 See note on Distr. Op. p. 227. — J.S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 247

tationem constituta ad inventionem novorum operum valeant ; quia subtilitas naturae subtilitatem argumen- tandi multis partibus superat. Sed axiomata a par- ticularibus rite et ordine abstracta nova particularia rursus facile indicant et designant ; itaque scientias reddunt activas.

XXV.

Axiomata quag in usu sunt ex tenui et manipulari experientia et paucis particularibus, quae ut plurimum occurrunt, fluxere ; et sunt fere ad mensuram eorum facta et extensa : ut nil mirum sit, si ad nova particu- laria non ducant. Quod si forte instantia aliqua non prius animadversa aut cognita se oiFerat, axioma dis- tinctione aliqua frivola salvatur, ubi emendari ipsum verius foret.

XXVI.

Rationem humanam qua utimur ad naturam, Antici- pationes Naturce (quia res temeraria est et prsematura), at illam rationem quae debitis modis elicitur a rebus, Interpretationem Naturce, docendi gratia vocare con- suevimus.

XXVII.

Anticipationes satis firmse sunt ad consensum ; quan- doquidem si homines etiam insanirent ad unum modum et conformiter, illi satis bene inter se congruere possent.

XXVIII.

Quin longe validiores sunt ad subeundum assensum Anticipationes quam Interpretationes ; quia ex paucis collectae, iisque maxime quae familiariter occurrunt, intellectum statim perstringunt et phantasiam implent : ubi contra Interpretationes, ex rebus admodum variis et multum di stantibus sparsim collectae, intellectum subito

248 NOVUM ORGANUM.

percutere non possunt ; ut necesse sit eas, quoad opin- iones, duras et absonas, fere instar raysteriorum fidei, videri.

XXIX.

In scientiis quas in opinionibus et placitis fdndatae 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 mag- nus fieri poterit in scientiis per Anticipationes ; quia errores radicales, et in prima digestione mentis, ab excellentia functionum et remediorum sequentium non curantur.

XXXI.

Frustra magnum expectatur augmentum in scientiis ex superinductione et insitione novorum super vetera ; sed instauratio facienda est ab imis fundamentis, nisi libeat perpetuo circumvolvi in orbem, cum exili et quasi contemnendo progressu.

XXXII.

Antiquis authoribus suus constat honos, atque adeo omnibus ; quia non ingeniorum aut facultatum indu- citur comparatio, sed viae; nosque non judicis sed indicis personam sustinemus.

XXXIII.

Nullum (dicendum enim est aperte) recte fieri po- test judicium nee de via nostra, nee de iis quae secun- dum eam inventa sunt, per Anticipationes (rationem scilicet quae in usu est) ; quia non postulandum est

NOVUM ORGANUM. 249

ut ejus rei judicio stetur, quae ipsa in judicium vo- catur.

XXXIV.

Neque etiam tradendi aut explicandi ea quae adduci- mus facilis est ratio ; quia quae in se nova sunt intelli- gentur tamen ex analogia veteruin.^

XXXV.

Dixit Borgia de expeditione Gallorum in Italiam, eos venisse cum creta in manibus ut diversoria nota- rent, non cum armis ut perrumperent : ^ 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.

1 For the meaning of "analogia" see note on the Distr. Op. p. 218. — J. S.

2 " Diceva in quei tempi Papa Alessandro sesto che i Francesi havevano corso r Italia con gli speroni di legno et presola col gesso: dicendo cosi perche pigliando essi gli alloggiamenti nelle citta loro furieri segnavano le povte delle case col gesso; et cavalcando per loro diporto i gentil' hu- omini 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 Malespini, [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 ap- parently written about the beginning of the seventeenth century, the re- mark ascribed to Alexander the Sixth by Nardi and Bacon is mentioned as a popular saying.

250 NOVUM ORGANUM.

xxxvn.

Ratio eorum qui acatalepsiam tenuerunt, et via nos- tra, initiis suis quodammodo consentiunt ; exitu im- mensum disjunguntur et opponuntur. Illi enim nihil sciri posse simpliciter assenint ; nos non multum sciri posse in natura, ea quae nunc in usu est via : verum illi exinde authoritatem sensus et intellectus destruunt ; nos auxilia iisdem excogitamus et subministramus.

XXXVIII.

Idola et notiones falsae quae intellectum humanum jam occuparunt atque in eo alte haerent, non solum mentes hominum ita obsident ut veritati aditus diffi- cilis pateat ; sed etiam dato et concesso aditu, ilia nirsus 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 huraa- nas obsident. lis (docendi gratia) nomina imposu- imus ; ut primum genus, Idola Tribus ; secundum, Idola Specus ; tertium, Idola Fori ; quartum, Idola Theatri vocentur.^

1 These four idols have been compared to the four hindrances to truth enumerated by Roger Bacon. These are, the use of insuiiicient authority, custom, popular opinions, 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. 159. Roger Bacon's words are as follows: —

" Quatuor vero maxima sunt comprehendendss veritatis offendicula, quae omnem quemcunque sapientem impediunt, et vix aliquem permittunt ad verum titulum sapientiae pervenire: viz. fragilis et indigna? auctoritatis ex-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 251

XL.

Excitatio Notionum et Axiomatum per Inductionem veram, est certe proprmm remedium ad Idola arcenda et siimmovenda ; sed tamen indicatio Idolorum magni est usus. Doctrina enim de Idolis similiter se habet ad Interpretationem Naturse, 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 ; ^ quin contra, omnes perceptiones tarn sensus quam mentis sunt ex analogia hominis, non ex analogia uni- versi. Estque intellectus humanus instar speculi in- sequalis ad radios rerum, qui suam naturam naturae rerum immiscet, eamque distorquet et inficit.

XLII.

Idola Specus sunt idola hominis individui. Habet enim unusquisque (prseter aberrationes naturae hu- man93 in genere) specum sive cavernam quandam individuam, quae lumen naturae frangit et corrumpit ;

emplum, consuetudinis diutumitas, vulgi sensus imperiti, et propriae ig- norantiae occultatio cum ostentatione sapientiae apparentis. His omnis homo involvitur, omnis status occupatur. Nam quilibet singulis artibus vitse et studii et omnis negotii tribus pessimis ad eandem conclusionem utitur argumentis: scil. hoc exemplificatum est per majores, hoc consue-

tum est, hoc vulgatum est, ergo tenendum Si vero hsec tria

refellantur aliquando magnifica rationis potentia, quartum semper in promptu est et in ore cujuslibet, ut quilibet ignorantiara suam excuset, et licet nihil dignum sciat illud tamen magnificet imprudenter [impuden- ter?] et sic saltem suae stultitiae infelici solatio veritatem opprimat et eli- dat." — Opus Majus^ 1. i. — J. S.'\ 1 Protagoras. See Hippias Major.

252 NOVUM ORGANUM.

vel propter naturam cuj usque propriam et singula- rem ; vel propter educationeiu et conversationem cum aliis ; vel propter lectionem librorum, et authoritates eorum quos quisque colit et miratur ; vel propter difFe- rentias impressionum, prout occurrunt in animo prae- occupato et prasdisposito aut in animo asquo et sedate, vel ejusmodi ; ut plane spiritus humanus (prout dis- ponitur in hominibus singulis) sit res varia, et omnino perturbata, et quasi fortuita : unde bene Heraclitus, homines scientias quaerere in minoribus mundis, et non in majore sive communi.^

XLIII.

Sunt etiam Idola tanquam ex contractu et societate humani generis ad invicem, quas Idola Fori, propter hominum commercium et consortium, appellamus. Homines enim per sermones sociantur; at verba ex captu vulgi imponuntur. Itaque mala et inepta ver- borum impositio miris modis intellectum obsidet. Neque definitiones aut explicationes, quibus homines docti se munire et vindicare in nonnullis consueve- runt, rem ullo modo restituunt. Sed verba plane vim faciunt intellectui, et omnia turbant; et homines ad inanes et innumeras controversias et commenta deducuut.

XLIV.

Sunt denique Idola quae immigrarunt in animos hominum ex diversis dogmatibus philosophiarum, ac etiam ex perversis legibus demonstrationum ; quae Idola Theatri nominamus ; quia quot philosopliiae receptae aut inventae sunt, tot fabulas productas et

1 See Sextus Empiricus, Adverstu Logicos, i. ^ 133.; and compare ii. ^ 186. of the same treatise.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 253

actas censemus, quae mundos efFecenint fictitios et scenicos. Neque de his quse jam habentur, aut etiam de veteribus philosophiis et sectis, tantum loquimur; cum complures alias ejusmodi fabulae componi et con- cinnari possint ; quandoquidem errorum prorsus diver- sorum causae sint nihilominus fere communes. Neque rursus de philosophiis universalibus tantum hoc intellig- imus, sed etiam de principiis et axiomatibus compluri- bus scientiarum, quae ex traditione et fide et neglectu invaluerunt. Verum de singulis istis generibus idolo- rum fusius et distinctius dicendum est, ut intellectui humano cautum sit.

XLV.l

Intellectus humanus ex proprietate sua^ facile sup- ponit majorem ordinem et aequalitatem in rebus quam invenit; et cum multa sint in natura monodica'^ et plena imparitatis, tamen aftingit parallela et corre- spondentia et relativa quae non sunt. Hinc commenta ilia, in coelestibus omnia moveri per circulos perfectos, lineis spiralibus et draconibus^ (nisi nomine tenus)

1 Here, according to the tripartite distribution of the "Pars Destruens" mentioned in the 115th aphorism, begins the first Redargutio — Redargutio Rationis Humanse Nativae. — J. S.

2 That is " in accordance with the homogeneity of its own substance," or as Bacon expresses it in § 52., "ex aequalitate substantiae spiritus hu- mani."

3 The Avord 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 as- cending node was called the caput draconis, and the descending the cauda draconis. The same terms were occasionally 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

254

NOVUM ORGANUM.

prorsus rejectis. Hinc elementum ignis cum orbe suo introductum est, ad constituendam quaternionem cum reliquis tribus, quas subjiciuntur sensui.^ Etiam ele- mentis (quae vocant) imponitur ad placitum decupla proportio excessus in raritate ad invicem -^ et hujus- modi somnia. Neque vanitas ista tantum valet in dog- matibus, verum etiam in notionibus simplicibus.

IgaW

XLVI.

Intellectus humanus, in iis quae semel placuenint (aut quia recepta sunt et credita, aut quia delectant), alia etiam omnia traliit ad sufFragationem et consen- sum 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

surface of the sphere might represent inequalities in latitude. Compare (Nov. Org. II. 48.) what is said of the variations of which the " motus rota- tionis spontaneus " admits.

1 The orb of the element of fire was sup- posed to lie above that of the element of air, and therefore might be said " non subjici sensui." The quaternion of elements fol- lows directly from the quaternion of ele- mentary qualities ; namely, hot, cold, moist, dry. For these may be combined two and two in six different ways ; two of these combinations are rejected as simply con- tradictory (viz. hot and cold, moist and

dry); and to each of the other combinations corresponds one of the four ele- ments. The diagram will illustrate.

2 This doctrine of the decupla ratio of density of the elements was sug- gested by a passage in Aristotle [De Gen. et Cor. ii. 6.]. It is found in all books of mediaeval physics. Cf. the Margarita Philosophias, ix. c. 4., or Alsted's Encychpcedia^ where it is thus expressed: " Proportio elementorum ad se invicem ratione transmutation is 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 TirruBus.

Terra

Priglduni

Aqua

NOVUM ORGANUM. 255

prioribus illis syllepsibus authoritas maneat Inviolata. Itaque recte respondit ille, qui, cum suspensa tabula in templo ei monstraretur eorum qui vota solverant quod naufragii periculo elapsi sint, atque interrogando prem- eretur anne turn quidem deorum numen agnosceret, quaesivit denuo, At uhi sint illi depicti qui post vota nuneupata perierint?^ Eadem ratio est fere omnis superstitionis, ut in astrologicis, in somniis, omnibus, nemesibus, et hujusmodi ; in quibus homines delectati hujusmodi vanitatibus advertunt eventus ubi implentur, ast ubi fallunt (licet multo frequentius) tamen negli- gunt et praetereunt. At longe subtilius serpit hoc ma- lum 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 intellectui error est proprius et perpetuus, ut magis mo- veatur et excitetur affirmativis quam negatiVis ; cum rite et ordine aequum se utrique praebere debeat ; quin contra, in omni axiomate vero constituendo, major est vis instantiae negativae.

XLvn.

Intellectus humanus illis quae simul et subito mentem ferire et subire possunt maxime movetur ; a quibus phantasia irapleri et inflari consuevit ; reliqua vero modo quodam, licet imperceptibili, ita se habere fingit et supponit, quomodo se liabent pauca ilia quibus mens obsidetur ; ad ilium vero transcursum ad instantias remotas et heterogeneas, per quas axiomata tanquam igne probantur, tardus omnino intellectus est et inhab-

1 This story is told of Diagoras by Cicero, De Nat. Deor. iii., and of Di- ogenes tlie Cynic by Diogenes Laertius.

256 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ilis, nisi hoc illi per duras leges et violentum imperium imponatur.

XLVIII.

Gliscit intellectus Immanus, neque consistere aut acqiiiescere potis est, sed ulterius petit ; at frustra. Itaque incogitabile est ut sit aliquid extremum aut extimum mundi, sed semper quasi necessario occurrit ut sit aliquid ulterius : ^ neque rursus cogitari potest quomodo seternitas defluxerit ad hunc diem ; cum dis- tinctio 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 infi- nito majus, atque ut consumatur infinitum, et vergat ad finitum. Similis est subtilitas de lineis semper divis- ibilibus,^ ex impotentia cogitationis. At majore cum pernicie intervenit haec impotentia mentis in invcntione causarum : nam cum maxime universalia in natura positiva esse debeant, quemadmodum inveniuntur, ne- que sunt revera causabilia; tamen intellectus humanus, nescius acquiescere, adlmc appetit notiora. Tum vero ad ulteriora tendens ad proximiora recidit, videlicet ad causas finales, quae sunt plane ex natura hominis potius quam universi;^ atque ex hoc fonte philosophiam miris

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 dimen- sions no reason could be given for its occupying any one region of space rather than any other.

2 In the phrase " subtilitas de lineis semper divisibilibus," reference is made to Aristotle, who in several places in his writings (particularly in the tract nept uTOfiuv ypafifiuTuv) 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 recognise a tendency towards a

NOVUM ORGANUM. 257

modis corruperunt. Est autem seque imperiti et lev- iter philosophantis, in maxime universalibus causam requirere, ac in subordinatis et subalternis causam non desiderare.i

XLIX.

Intellectus humanus luminis sicci non est ; ^ sed re- cipit infusionem a voluntate et affectibus, id quod gen- erat Ad quod vult scientias. Quod enim mavult homo verum esse, id potius credit. Rejicit itaque difficilia, ob inquirendi impatientiam ; sobria, quia coarctant spem ; altiora naturae, propter superstitionem ; lumen experientiae, propter arrogantiam et fastum, ne videa- tur mens versari in vilibus et fluxis ; paradoxa, propter opinionem vulgi ; denique innumeris modis, iisque in-

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 doc- trine of the final cause as it were in antithesis to that of the unit}' 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 can- not 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 philosophy is expressed by the phrase "the Idea in Nature."

1 ean jup aTrmSevaia to fifj yiyvuoKscv rlvuv del ^r/Telv aTcodei^tv Kal Tivoiv oil del, o/iug fiev yap dnavTuv udivarov unodei^iv elvui. • elg anetpov yap av ^adiCpL • ioare (lijS' ovTug elvai uirodei^iv. — Metaph., iii. 4.

2 Heraclitus apud Plut., De Esu Camium. 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 hac re admodum confuse loquitur, et fere nihil probat, sed tantum narrat: " and concludes by saying, " quas adhuc alias causas adsignat (he has just enumerated three of the Idols of the Tribe) facile omnes ad unicam Cartesii reduci possunt; scilicet quia voluntas hu- mana est libera et latior intellectu ; sive, ut ipse Verulamius magis confuse loquitur, quia intellectus luminis sicci non est, sed recipit infusionem a voluntate." See Spinoza to Oldenburg, ep. 2. vol. ii. p. 146. of Bruder's edition.

VOL. I. 17

258 NOVUM ORGANUM.

terdum imperceptibilibus, affectus intellectum imbuit et inficit.

L.

At longe maximnm impedimentum et aberratio in- tellectus liumani provenit a stupore et incompetentia et fallaciis sensuum ; ut ea quae sensum feriant, illis quse sensum immediate non feriunt, licet potioribus, praepondereut. Itaque contemplatio fere desinit cum aspectu ; adeo ut rerum invisibilium exigua aut nulla sit observatio. Itaque omnis operatic spirituum in cor- poribus tangibilibus inclusorum latet, et homines fugit. Omnis etiam subtilior meta-scliematismus in partibus rerum crassiorum (quem 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 infirma est et aberrans ; neque organa ad amplifican- dos sensus aut acuendos multum valent ; sed omnis verior interpretatio naturae conficitur per instantias, et experimenta idonea et apposita ; ubi sensus de exper- imento tantum, experimentum de natura et re ipsa judicat.

LI.

Intellectus humanus fertur ad abstracta propter na- turam propriam, atque ea quae fluxa sunt fingit esse constantia. Melius autem est naturam secare, quam abstrahere ; ^ id quod Democriti schola fecit, quae magis penetravit in naturam quam reliquae. Materia

1 "Naturam secare," to dissect nature into her constituent parts; " Natu- ram abstrahere,'' to resolve nature into abstractions.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 259

potius considerari debet, et ejus schematismi et meta- scliematismi, atque actus purus, et lex actus sive mo- tus ; Formge enim commenta animi humani sunt, nisi libeat leges illas actus Formas appellare.

Ln.

Hujusmodi itaque sunt Idola, quae vocamus Idola Tribus ; quae ortum habent aut ex asqualitate sub- stantise spiritus humani ; ^ aut ex praeoccupatione ejus ; aut ab angustiis ejus ; aut ab inquieto motu ejus ; aut ab infusione afFectuum ; aut ab incompetentia sen- suum ; aut ab impressionis modo.

LIIT.

Idola Specus ortum liabent ex propria cujusque natura et animi et corporis ; atque etiam ex educa- tione, et consuetudine, et fortuitis. Quod genus licet sit varium et multiplex, tamen ea proponemus in qui- bus maxima cautio est, quaeque plurimum valent ad polluendum intellectum ne sit purus.

LIV. I

Adamant homines scientias et comtemplationes par- ticulares ; aut quia authores et inventores se earum credunt ; aut quia plurimum in illis opera3 posue- runt, iisque maxime assueverunt. Hujusmodi vero homines, si ad philosophiam et contemplationes uni- versales se contulerint, illas ex prioribus phantasiis detorquent et corrumpunt ; id quod maxime con- spicuum cernitur in Aristotele, qui naturalem suam

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.

260 NOVUM ORGANUM.

philosophiam logicas suae prorsus mancipavit, ut earn fere inutilem et contentiosam reddiderit. Chymico- rum autem genus, ex paucis experimentis fornacis, philosophiam constituerunt phantasticam et ad pauca spectantem. Quinetiam Gilbertus, postquam in con- templationibus magnetis se laboriosissime exercuisset, confinxit statim philosophiam consentaneam rei apud ipsum praepollenti.

LV.

Maximum et velut radicale discrimen ingeniorum, quoad philosophiam et scientias, illud est; quod alia ingenia sint fortiora et aptiora ad notandas rerum differentias, alia ad notandas rerum similitudines. In- genia enim constantia et acuta figere contemplationes et morari et haerere in omni subtilitate difFerentiarum possunt : ingenia autem sublimia et discursiva etiam tenuissimas et catholicas rerum similitudines et agnos- cunt et componunt. Utrumque autem ingenium facile labitur in excessum, prensando aut gradus rerum aut umbras.

LVI.

Reperiuntur ingenia alia in admirationem antiqui- tatis, alia in amorem' et amplexum novitatis eflPusa ; pauca vero ejus temperamenti sunt ut modum tenere possint, quin aut quae recte posita sunt ab antiquis convellant, aut ea contemnant quae recte afferuntur a novis. Hoc vero magno scientiarum et philosophise detrimento fit ; quum studia potius sint antiquitatis et novitatis, quam judicia; Veritas autem non a felici- tate temporis alicujus, quae res varia est, sed a lumine naturae et experientiae, quod a3ternum est, petenda est. Itaque abneganda sunt ista studia, et videndum ne intellectus ab illis ad consensum abripiatur.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 261

LVII.

Contemplation es naturae et corporum in simplici- tate sua, intellectum frangunt et comminuunt : ^ con- templationes vero naturae et corporum in compositione et configuratione sua, intellectum stupefaciunt et sol- vunt.2 Id optime cernitur in scliola Leucippi et Demo- criti,^ collata cum reliquis philosophiis. Ilia enim ita versatur in particulis rerum, ut fabricas fere negligat : reliquse autem ita fabricas intuentur attonitae, ut ad simplicitatem naturae non penetrent. Itaque alter- nandee sunt contemplationes istae et vicissim sumendse ; ut intellectus reddatur simul penetrans et capax, et evitentur ea quse diximus incommoda atque Idola ex iis provenientia.

LVIII.

Talis itaque esto prudentia contemplativa in arcendis et summovendis Idolis Specus ; quae aut ex prjedom- inantia, aut ex excessu compositionis et divisionis, aut ex studiis erga tempora, aut ex objectis largis et mi- nutis, maxime ortum habent. Generaliter autem pro suspecto habendum unicuique rerum naturam contem- planti, quicquid intellectum suum potissimum capit et detinet ; tantoque major adhibenda in hujusmodi placi- tis est cautio, ut intellectus servetur sequus et punis.

LIX.

At Idola Fori omnium molestissima sunt ; quae ex foedere verborum et nominum se insinuarunt in intel-

1 i. e. Break up the understanding and distract it in minute observation of the parts. — J. S.

2 i. e. Astonish and dissolve it in a vain endeavour to take in the whole. — J.S.

3 That is, in the Atomists.

262 NOVUM ORGANUM.

lectum. Credunt enim homines rationem suam ver- bis imperare ; sed fit etiam ut verba vim suam super intellectum retorqueant et reflectant ; quod philoso- phiam et scientias reddidit sophisticas et inactivas. Verba autem plerunque ex captu vulgi induntur, atque per lineas vulgari intellectui maxime conspic- uas res secant. Quum autem intellectus acutior aut observatio diligentior eas lineas transferre velit, ut illis sint raagis secundum naturam, verba obstrepunt. Unde fit ut magnae et solennes disputationes hominum doctorum saepe in controversias circa verba et nomina desinant ; a quibus (ex more et pnidentia mathemati- corum) incipere consultius foret, easque per defini- tiones in ordinem redigere. Qua? tamen definitiones, in naturalibus et materiatis, huic malo mederi non possunt ; quoniam et ipsas definitiones ex verbis con- stant, et verba gignunt verba : adeo ut necesse sit ad instantias particulares earumque series et ordines re- currere ; ut mox dicemus, quum ad modum et ra- tionem constituendi notiones et axiomata deventum fuerit.

LX.

Idola quse per verba intellectui imponuntur duorum generum sunt. Aut enim sunt rerum nomina quas non sunt (quemadmodum enim sunt res quae nomine carent per inobservationem, ita sunt et nomina quae carent rebus per suppositionem phantasticam) ; aut sunt nomina rerum quae sunt, sed conftisa et male terminata, et temere et inaequaliter a rebus abstracta. Prions generis sunt Fortuna, Primum Mobile, Plan- etarum Orbes, Elementum Ignis, et liujusmodi cora- menta, quae a vanis et falsis theoriis ortum habent.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 263

Atque hoc genus Idolorum facilius ejicitur, quia per constantem abnegationem et antiquationem tlieoriarum exterminari possunt.

At alterum genus perplexum est et alte haerens ; quod ex mala et imperita abstractione excitatur. Ex- empli gratia, accipiatur aliquod verbum (^Sumidum^ si placet), et videamus quomodo sibi constent quae per hoc verbum significantur ; et invenietur verbum istud Humidum nihil aliud quam nota confusa diversarum action um, quae null am constantiam aut reductionem patiuntur. Significat enim et quod circa aliud corpus facile se circumfundit ; et quod in se est indetermi- nabile, nee consistere potest ; et quod facile cedit un- dique ; et quod facile se di^ idit 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 praedicationem et impositionem ventum sit, si alia accipias, flamma humida est ; si alia accip- ias, aer humidus non est ; si alia, pulvis minutus hu- midus est ; si alia, vitrum humidum est ; ut facile appareat istam notionem ex aqua tantum et commu- nibus et vulgaribus liquoribus, absque ulla debita veri- ficatione, temere abstractam esse.

In verbis autem gradus sunt quidam pravitatis et erroris. Minus vitiosum genus est nominum substan- tias alicujus, praBsertim specierum infimarum et bene deductarum (nam notio Cretae, Luti, bona ; Terras mala) ; vitiosius genus est actionum, ut Generare, Corrumpere, Alterare : vitiosissimum qualitatum (ex- ceptis objectis sensus immediatis), ut Gravis, Levis, Tenuis, Densi, etc. ; et tamen in omnibus istis fieri

264 NOVUM ORGANUM.

non potest, quin sint aliaB notiones aliis paulo meliores, prout in sensum humanuin incidit rerum copia.^

LXI.

At Idola Theatri innata non sunt, nee occulto in- sinuata in intellectum ; sed ex fabulis theoriarum et perversis legibus demonstrationum plane indita et re- cepta. In his autem confutationes tentare et suscip- ere consentaneuin prorsus non est illis quae a nobis dicta sunt. Quum enim nee de principiis consentia- mus nee de demonstrationibus, tollitur omnis argu- mentatio. Id vero bono fit f'ato, ut antiquis suus con- stet lionos. Nihil enim illis detrahitur, quuni de via omnino quaestio sit. Claudus enim (ut dicitur) in via antevertit cursorem extra viam. Etiam illud mani- festo liquet, currenti extra viani, quo habilior sit et velocior, eo majorem contingere aberrationem.

Nostra vero inveniendi scientias ea est ratio, ut non multum ingeniorum acumini et robori relinquatur ; sed qua3 ingenia et intellectus fere exaequet. Quemad- modum enim ad hoc, ut linea recta fiat aut circulus perfectus describatur, multum est in constantia et ex- ercitatione manus, si fiat ex vi manus propria ; sin autem adhibeatur regula aut circinus, parum aut nihil ; omnino similis est nostra ratio. Licet autem confuta- tionum particularium 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 tantas

1 Here, according to the tripartite distribution of the subject mentioned in aphorism 115, the first of the three Redarj^utiones ends. The following aphorisms from 61 to 115 contain the two others, Kedargutio Philosophia- rum and Kedargutio Demonstrationum, which are not kept quite separate. The 69th and 70th aphorisms belong especially to the last. — J. S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 265

infelicitatis et tarn diuturni et generalis In errore con- sensus ; ut ad vera minus difficilis sit aditus, et in- tellectus liumanus volentius expurgetur et Idola di- mittat.

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 re- ligionem et theologiam occupata fuissent, atque etiam polltiae civiles (praesertim monarchise) ab istiusmodi novitatibus, etiam in contemplationibus, essent aversae ; ut cum periculo et detrimento fortunarum suarum in illas homines incumbant, non solum prsemio destituti, sed etiam contemptui et invidiae expositi ; complures alias proculdubio philosophiarum et theoriarum sectae, similes illis quae magna varietate olim apud Graecos floruerunt, introductae fuissent. Quemadmodum enim super phaenomena aetheris plura themata cceli confingi possunt ; similiter, et multo magis, super phaenomena philosophise fundari possunt et constitui varia dogmata. Atque hujusmodi theatri fabulae habent etiam illud quod in theatro poetarum usu venit, ut narrationes fictae ad scenam narrationibus ex historia veris concin- niores sint et elegantiores, et quales quis magis vellet.

In genere autem, in materiam philosophise sumitur aut multum ex paucis aut parum ex multis ; ut utrin- que philosophia super experientiae et naturalis historiae nimis angustam basin fundata sit, atque ex paucioribus quam par est pronunciet. Rationale enim genus phi- losophantium ex experientia arripiunt varia et vulgaria, eaque neque certo comperta nee diligenter examinata et pensitata ; reliqua in meditatione atque ingenii agita- tione ponunt.

266 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Est et aliud genus philosophantium, qui in paucis experiraentis sedulo et accurate elaborarunt, atque inde philosophias educere et confingere ausi sunt ; reliqua miris modis ad ea detorquentes.

Est et tertium genus eorum, qui theologiam et tra- ditiones ex fide et veneratione immiscent ; inter quos vanitas nonnuUorum ad petendas et derivandas scien- tias a Spiritibus scilicet et Geniis deflexit ; ita ut stirps errorum, et philosophia falsa, genere triplex sit : So- phistica, Empirica, et Superstitiosa.

LXIII.

Primi generis exemplum in Aristotele maxima con- spicuum est, qui philosophiam naturalem dialectica sua corrupit ; quum mundum ex categoriis efFecerit ; ani- mse human*, nobilissimae substantijB, genus ex voci- bus secundas intentionis tribuerit ; ^ negotium Densi et Rari, per quod corpora subeunt majores et minores di- mensiones sive spatia, per frigidam distinctionem Actus et Potential ^ transegerit ; motum singulis corporibus unicum et proprium,^ et si .participent ex alio motu id aliunde moveri, assenierit ; et innumera alia, pro arbit- rio suo, naturs9 rerum imposuerit : magis ubique sollic-

1 This censure refers to Aristotle's definition of the soul, De Anima, ii. 1., — 7] Trponri IvreMxeia aufuiTog (pvaiKov bpyaviKov, — 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 potcntioe" refers apparently to the Phys. Ausc. iv. c. 5. ; where it is said that water is air in potentifi,, and vice versfi. The possibility of their reciprocal transmutation Bacon does not appear to have doubted of. [With reference to this censure of Aristotle, see the pref- ace to the Hiitorid Densi et Rari. — J. /S.]

8 " Simplicis corporis simplicem esse motum " is an important principle in Aristotelian ph3'sics, as one of the bases on which the system of the uni- verse was made to depend. See, for instance, Melanchthon's Jnitin Doctr. Physicce, p. 41.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 267

itus quomodo quis respondendo se explicet, et aliquid reddatur in verbis positivum, quam de interna rerum veritate ; quod etiam optime se ostendit in compara- tione philosophise ejus ad ahas philosophias quae apud Graecos celebrabantur. Habent enim Homoiomera An- axagorse, Atomi Leucippi et Democriti, Coelum et Ter- ra Parmenidis, Lis et Amicitia Empedoclis, Resolutio corporum in adiaphoram 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 dia- lecticas voces plerunque sonet ; quam etiam in Meta- physicis sub solenniore nomine, et ut magis scilicet realis, non nominalis, retractavit. Neque illud quen- quam moveat, quod in libris ejus de animalibus, et in problematibus, et in aliis suis tractatibus, versatio fre- quens sit in experimentis. Ille enim prius decreverat, neque experientiam ad constituenda decreta et axiomata rite consuluit ; sed postquam pro arbitrio suo decrevis- set, experientiam ad sua placita tortam circumducit et captivam ; ut hoc etiam nomine magis accusandus sit, quam sectatores ejus moderni (scholasticorum philoso- phorum genus) qui experientiam omnino deseruerunt.

LXIV.

At philosophise genus Empiricum placita magis de- formia et monstrosa educit, quam Sophisticum aut ra- tionale genus ; quia non in luce notionum vulgarium (quae licet tenuis sit et superficialis, tamen est quodam- modo universalis et ad multa pertinens) sed in pauco- rum experimentornm angustiis et obscuritate fundatum est. Itaque talis philosophia iliis qui in hujusmodi ex- perimentis quotidie versantur atque ex ipsis phantasiam

268 NOVUM ORGANUM.

contaminarunt probabilis videtur, et quasi certa ; caste- ris, incredibilis et vana. Cujus exemplum iiotabile est in chymicis, eonimque dogmatibus ; alibi autem vix hoc tempore invenitur, nisi forte in philosopliia Gil- bert!. Sed tamen circa liujusmodi philosophias cautio nullo mbdo pra3termittenda erat ; quia mente jam prajv- idemus et auguramur, si quando homines, nostris mon- itis excitati, ad experientiam se serio contulerint (va- lere jussis doctrinis sophisticis), turn demum propter praematuram et praeproperam intellectus festinationem, et saltum sive volatum ad generalia et rerum prin- cipia, fore ut magnum ab hujusmodi philosophiis peric- ulum immineat ; cui malo etiam nunc obviam ire debemus.

LXV.

At corruptio philosophias ex Superstitione et theolo- gia admista, latins omnino patet, et plurimum mali in- fert, 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 Sophisti- cum illaqueat intellectum : at illud alteram phantasti- cum et tumidum, et quasi Poeticum, magis blanditur intellectui. Inest enim homini qutedam intellectus am- bitio, non minor quam voluntatis ; praesertim in inge- niis altis et elevatis.

Hujus autem generis exemplum inter Grsecos illuces- cit, praicipue in Pytliagora, sed cum superstitione ma- gis crassa et onerosa conjunctum ; at periculosius et subtilius in Platone, atque ejus schola. Invenitur eti- am hoc genus mali in partibus philosophiamm reliqua- rum, introducendo formas abstractas, et causas finales, et causas primas ; omittendo saepissime medias, et hu-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 269

jusmodi. 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 nonnuUi ex modernis summa levitate ita indulserunt, ut in primo capitulo Geneseos et in libro Job et aliis scripturis sacris, pliilosophiam naturalem fundare conati sint; inter viva qucerentes mortua. Tantoque magis haec vanitas inhibenda venit et coercenda, quia ex divinorum et humanorum male- sana admistione non solum educitur pliilosophia pban- tastica, sed etiam religio hasretica. Itaque salutare admodum est, si mente sobria fidei tantum dentur quae fidei sunt.^

LXVI.

Et de malis authoritatibus philosophiarum, quae aut in vulgaribus notionibus, aut in paucis experimentis, aut in superstition e fundatae sunt, jam dictum est. Dicendum porro est et de vitiosa materia contempla- tionum, prassertim in philosophia naturali. Inficitur autem intellectus humanus ex intuitu eorum quae in artibus mechanicis fiunt, in quibus corpora per com- positiones aut separationes ut plurimum alterantur ; ut cogitet simile quiddam etiam in natura rerum uni- versali fieri. Unde fluxit commentum illud Elemen- torum, atque illorum concursu, ad constituenda corpora naturalia. Rursus, quum homo naturae libertatem ^ contempletur, incidit in species rerum, animalium, plantarum, mineralium ; unde facile in eam labitur cogitationem, ut existimet esse in natura quasdam

1 Compare Kepler's phrase: "Missum faciat Spiritum Sanctum, neque ilium in scholas physicas cum ludibrio pertrahat." — i)e Stella Mortis Prcefat.

2 That is, nature acting freely, in opposition to nature constrained by the conditions of our experiments.

270 NOVUM ORGANUM.

formas rerum primarias, quas natura educere molitur, atque reliquam varietatem ex impedimentis et aberra- tionibus naturie in opere suo conficiendo, aut ex diver- sarum specierum conflictu et transplantatione alterius in alteram, provenire. Atque prima cogitatio quali- tates primas elementares, secunda proprietates occultas et virtutes specificas, nobis peperit ; ^ quarmn utraque pertinet ad inania contemplationum compendia, in qui- bus acquiescit animus et a solidioribus avertitur. At medici, in secundis rerum qualitatibus et operationibus, attraliendi, repellendi, attenuandi, inspissandi, dilatandi, astringendi, discutiendi, maturandi, et hujusmodi, ope- ram praistant meliorem ; atque nisi ex illis duobus (quae dixi) compendiis (qualitatibus scilicet elemen- taribus, et virtutibus specificis) ilia altera (quae recte notata sunt) corrumperent, reducendo ilia ad primas qualitates earumque mixturas subtiles et incommensu- rabiles, aut ea non producendo cum majore et diligen- tiore observatione ad qualitates tertias et quartas, sed contemplationem intempestive abrumpendo, illi multo melius profecissent. Neque hujusmodi virtutes (non dico eaedem, sed similes) in humani corporis medicinis tantum exquirendae sunt ; sed etiam in caeteronim cor- porum naturalium mutationibus.

Sed multo adhuc majore cum malo fit, quod quies- centia rerum principia, ex quibus, et non moventia, jt?er quce, res fiunt, contemplentur et inquirant. Ilia enim ad sermones, ista ad opera spectant. Neque enim vul-

1 The elementan- qualities are four in number, — hot, cold, dry, moist; and it is by combining them two and two tliat 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. 271

gares illae differentiae Motus, quae in naturali philo sophia recepta notantur, Generationis, Corruptionis, Augmentationis, Diminutionis, Alterationis, et Latio- nis, ullius sunt pretii.^ Quippe hoc sibi volunt ; si corpus, alias non mutatum, loco tamen moveatur, hoc Lationem esse ; si manente et loco et specie, qualitate mutetur, hoc Alterationem esse ; si vero ex ilia muta- tion e moles ipsa et quantitas corporis non eadem ma- neat, hoc Augmentationis et Diminutionis motum esse ; si eatenus mutentur ut speciem ipsam et substantiam mutent et in alia migrent, hoc Generationem et Cor- ruptionem esse. At ista mere popularia sunt, et nullo mode in naturam penetrant ; suntque mensurse et pe- riodi tantum, non species motus. Inuunt enim illud hucusque, et non quomodo vel ex quo fonte. Neque enim de corporum appetitu, aut de partium eorum pro- cessu, aliquid significant ; sed tantum quum motus ille rem alitor ac prius, crasso modo, sensui exhibeat, inde divisionem suam auspicantur. Etiam quum de causis motuum aliquid significare volunt, atque divisionem ex illis instituere, ditFerentiam motus naturalis et vio- lenti, maxima cum socordia, introducunt ; quae et ipsa omnino ex notione vulgari est ; cum omnis motus vio- lentus etiam naturalis revera sit, scilicet cum externum eflficiens naturam alio modo in opere ponet quam quo prius.

At hisce omissis ; si quis (exempli gratia) observav- erit, 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

1 In the Physics, Aristotle does not reckon Generation and Corruption as kinds of motion. Bacon's enumeration is that given in the Categories.

272 NOVUM ORGANUM.

dimensionem vel tensuram, ut si ultra earn aut citra earn comprimantur aut distrahantur, statim in veterem spha^ram et exporrectioiiem suam se recuperare et re- mittere moliantur ; aut si quis dicat, inesse corporibus appetitum congregationis ad massas connaturalium suo- rum, densorum videlicet versus orbem terras, tenuiorum et rariorum versus ambitum coeli ; haec et hujusmodi vere physica sunt genera motuum ; at ilia altera plane logica sunt et scholastica, ut ex hac collatione eorum manifesto liquet.

Neque minus etiam malum est, quod in pliilosophiis et contemplationibus suis, in principiis rerum atque ultimitatibus naturae investigandis et tractandis opera insumatur ; cum omnis utilitas et facultas operandi 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 ; quse, etiamsi vera essent, tamen ad juvandas hominum for- tunas parum possunt.^

LXVII.

Danda est etiam cautio intellectui de intemperantiis pliilosophiarum, quoad assensum praebendum aut cohi- bendum ; quia hujusmodi intemperantiae videntur Idola figere, et quodammodo perpetuare, ne detur aditus ad ea summovenda.

Duplex autem est excessus : alter eorum qui facile pronunciant, et scientias reddunt positivas et magis- trales ; alter eorum qui Acatalepsiam introduxeinint, et

1 The construction of this sentence is somewhat abrupt. The relative quoR must be referred to some such antecedent as " doctrines of this char- acter;" and for possunt we ought to read possent. For the antithesis be- tween abstrahere and secare, see § 51. The first part of Bacon's censure refers to Aristotle.

NOVUM ORGAN UM. 273

inquisitionem vagam sine termino ; quorum primus in- tellectum deprimit, alter enervat. Nam Aristotelis philosophia, postquam ceteras philosophias (more Otto- manorum erga fratres suos) pugnacibus confutationibus contrucidasset, de singulis pronunciavit ; et ipse rursus quaestiones ex arbitrio suo subornat, deinde conficit ; ut omnia certa sint et decreta ; quod etiam apud succes- siones suas valet, et in usu est.

At Platonis schola Acatalepsiam introduxit, primo tanquam per jocura et ironiam, in odium veterum soph- istarum, Protagorae, Hippiae, et reliquorum, qui nihil tarn verebantur quam ne dubitare de re aliqua videren- tur.^ 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 post- quam animus humanus de veritate invenienda semel desperaverit, omnino omnia fiunt languidiora : ex quo fit, ut deflectant homines potius ad amoenas disputa- tiones et discursus, et rerum quasdam peragrationes, quam in severitate inquisitionis se sustineant. Verum quod a principio diximus, et perpetuo agimus, sensui et intellectui humane eorumque infirmitati authoritas non est deroganda, sed auxilia praebenda.

LXVIII.

Atque de Idolorum singulis generibus, eorumque apparatu jam diximus ; quae omnia constanti et solenni

1 " Turn Velleius, fidenter sane, ut solent isti, nihil tarn verens quam ne dubitare aliqua de re videretur; tanquam modo ex Deorum concilio et ex Epicuri intermundiis descendisset; Audite, in quit," &c. — Cic. De NaL Deor. i. c. 8.

VOL. I. 18

274 NOVUM ORGANUM.

decreto sunt abneganda et renuncianda, et intellectus ab iis omniiio liberandus est et expurgandus ; ut non alius fere sit aditus ad regnum hominis, quod f'unda- tur in scientiis, quam ad regnum coelorum, in quod^ nisi sub perso7ia infantis, intrare non datur.

LXIX.

At pravae demonstrationes, Idolorum veluti muniti- ones qujedam sunt et praesidia ; eseque quas in dialec- ticis habemus id fere agunt, ut mundum plane cogita- tionibus humanis, cogitationes autem verbis, addicant et mancipent. Demonstrationes vero potentia quadam philosophise ipsae sunt et sciential. Quales enim ese sunt, ac prout rite aut male institutae, tales sequuntur philosophiae et contemplationes. Fallunt autem et in- competentes sunt eae quibus utimur in universo illo processu qui a sensu et rebus ducit ad axioniata et conelusiones. Qui quidem processus quadruplex est, et vitia ejus totidem. Prime, impressiones sensus ipsius vitiosae sunt ; sensus enim et destituit et fallit. At destitution ibus substitutiones, fallaciis rectificationes debentur. Seeundo, notiones ab impressionibus sen- suum male abstrahuntur, et intcrminatae et confusa3 sunt, quas terminatas et bene finitas esse oportuit. Tertio, inductio mala est, quae per enumerationem simplicem principia concludit scientiarum, non adhib- itis exclusionibus et solutionibus, sive se[)arationibus natune debitis. Postremo, modus ille inveniendi et probandi, ut primo principia maxime generalia constit- uantur, deinde media axiomata ad ea applicentur et probentur, errorum mater est et scientiarum omnium calamitas. Verum de istis, quae jam obiter perstringi- mus, fusius dicemus, cum veram interpretanda; naturse

NOVUM ORGANUM. 275

vlani, absolutis istis expiationibus et expurgationibus mentis, proponemus.

LXX.

Sed demonstratio longe optima est experientia ; modo hagreat in ipso experimento. Nam si traducatur ad alia quae similia existimantur, nisi rite et ordine fiat ilia traductio, res fallax est. At modus experiendi quo homines nunc utuntur csecus est et stupidus. Ita- que cum errant et vagantur nulla via certa, sed ex occui'su rerum tantum consilium capiunt, circumferun- tur ad multa sed parum promovenf ; et quandoque gestiunt quandoque distrahuntur ; et semper inveniunt quod ulterius quaerant. Fere autem ita fit, ut homi- nes leviter et tanquam per ludum experiantur, vari- ando paululum experimenta jam cognita ; et si res non succedat, fastidiendo et conatum deserendo. Quod si magis serio et constanter ac laboriose ad experimenta se accingant, tamen in uno aliquo experimento eruendo operam collocant ; quemadmodum Gilbertus in mag- nete, chymici in auro. Hoc autem faciunt homines instituto non minus imperito quam tenui. Nemo enim alicujus rei naturam in ipsa re foeliciter perscrutatur, sed ampHanda est inquisitio ad magis communia.

Quod si etiam scientiam quandam et dogmata ex experimentis moliantur, tamen semper fere studio prae- propero et intempestivo deflectunt ad praxin ; non tan- tum propter usum et fructum ejusmodi praxeos, sed ut in opere aliquo novo veluti pignus sibi arripiant, se non inutihter in reliquis versaturos ; atque etiam aliis se venditent, ad existimationem meliorem comparandam de iis in quibus occupati sunt. Ita fit ut, more Ata- lantae, de via decedant ad tollendum aureum pomum ; interim vero cursum interrumpant, et victoriam emit-

276 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tant e manibus. Verum in experientiae vero curriculo, eoque ad nova opera producendo, Divina Sapientia omnino et ordo pro exemplar! sumenda sunt. Deus autem primo die creationis lucem tantum creavit, eique operi diem integrum attribuit ; nee aliquid materiati operis eo die creavit. Similiter et ex omnimoda ex- perientia, primum inventio causarum et axiomatum verorum elicienda est ; et lucifera experimenta, non fructifera quasrenda. Axiomata autem recte inventa et constituta praxin non strictim sed confertim in- struunt, et operum agmina ac turmas post se trahunt. Verum de experiendi viis, quae non minus quam viae judicandi obsessae sunt et interclusae, postea dicemus; impraesentiarum de experientia vulgari, tanquam de mala demonstratione, tantum loquuti. Jam vero pos- tulat ordo rerum, ut de iis quorum paulo ante men- tionem fecimus signis, quod philosophiae et contem- plationes in usu male se habeant, et de causis rei primo intuitu tam mirabilis et incredibilis, quaedam subjungamus. Signorum enim notio prieparat assen- sum : causarum vero explicatio toUit miraculum. Quae duo ad extirpationem Idolorum ex intellectu faciliorem et clementiorem multum juvant.

LXXI.

Scientiae quas habemus fere a Grsecis fluxerunt. Quae enim scriptores Romani aut Arabes aut recen- tiores addiderunt, non multa aut magni momenti sunt ; et qualiacunque sint, fundata sunt super basin eorum quae inventa sunt a Graecis.^ Erat autem sapientia

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 Hin- doos or Arabs, but from the Greeks. It is remarkable that the Chinese have from the earliest times known how to express any number by means of a few characters.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 277

Graecorum 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 antiquos rhet- ores rejectum et traductum est, Gorgiam, Protagoram, Hippiam, Polum, etiam universo generi competit Pla- toni, Aristoteli, Zenoni, Epicuro, Theophrasto, et eorum successoribus, Chrysippo, Carneadi, reliquis. Hoc tan- tum intererat ; quod prius genus vagum fuerit et mer- cenarium, civitates circumcursando, et sapientiam suam ostentando, et mercedem exigendo ; alteram vero solen- nius et generosius, quippe eorum qui sedes fixas hab- uerunt, et scholas aperuerunt, et gratis philosophati sunt. Sed taraen utrumque genus (licet csetera dis- par) professorium erat, et ad disputationes rem de- ducebat, et sectas quasdam atque haereses philosophisB instituebat et propugnabat: ut essent fere doctrinae eorum (quod non male cavillatus est Dionysius in Platonem) Verba otioso')'um senum ad imperitos juvenes} At antiquiores illi ex GrsBcis, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, Democritus, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Xe- nophanes, Philolaus, reliqui, (nam Pythagoram, ut su- perstitiosum, omittimus,) scholas (quod novimus) non aperuerunt ; sed majore silentio, et severius, et sim- plicius, id est, minore cum afFectatione et ostentatione, 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

1 oi "Xbyoi aov yepovnibai. — Diog. Laert. in Platon. c. 18.

278 NOVUM ORGANUM.

in ambitionem et vanitatem sectos condendaB et aurse popularis captandte nimium propendebant. Pro des- perata autem habenda est veritatis inquisitio, cum ad hujusmodi inaniu deflectat. Etiam non omittendum videtur judicium illud, sive vaticinium potius, sacerdo- tis ^gyptii de Grjecis : quod semper puen essent, neque haberent antiquitatem scientice, aut scientiam antiquitOr tis.^ Et certe habent id quod puerorum est ; ut ad garriendum prompti sint, generare autem non possint : nam verbosa videtur sapientia eoniin, et operum ster- ilis. Itaque ex ortu et gente philosophia} quae in usu est, quai capiuntur signa bona non sunt.

LXXII.

Neque multo meliora sunt signa quae ex natura tem- poris et aetatis capi possunt, quam quae ex natura loci et nationis. Augusta enim erat et tenuis notitia per illam aetatem, vel temporis vel orbis : quod longe pes- simum est, praesertim iis qui omnia in experientia ponunt. Neque enim mille annorum historiam, quae digna erat nomine historiae, habebant ; sed fabulas et ru- rnores antiquitatis. Regionum vcro tractuumque mundi exiguam partem noverant ; cum omnes hyperboreos, Scythas, omnes occidentales, Celtas, indistincte appel- larent: nil in Africa ultra citimam iEtliiopise partem, nil in Asia ultra Gangem, multo minus Novi Orbis provincias, ne per auditum sane aut famam aliquam certam et constantem, nossent ; imo et plurima climata et zonae, in quibus populi infiniti spirant et degunt, tan- quam inhabitabiles ab illis pronuntiata sint : quinetiam peregrination es Democriti, Platonis, Pytbagorae, non longinquse profecto sed potius suburbanas, ut magnum

1 Timrous, p. 22. b. "EXXrjveg uel naldii kare, yipuv 6e ''ETChjv oiK lart.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 279

aliquid celebrarentur. Nostris autem temporibus et Novi Orbis partes complures et veteris orbis extrema undique innotescunt ; et in infinitum experimentorum cumulus excrevit. Quare si ex nativitatis aut geniturae 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 in- venta, pro veritate philosophiarum velut sponsores et fidejussores sunt. Atque ex philosophiis istis Grseco- rum, et derivationibus earum per particulares scientias, jam per tot annorum spatia vix unum experimentum adduci potest, quod ad hominum statum levandum et juvandum spectet, et philosophiae speculationibus ac dogmatibus vere acceptum referri possit. Idque Celsus ingenue ac prudenter fatetur ; nimirum experimenta medicinae primo inventa fuisse, ac postea homines circa ea philosophatos esse et causas indagasse et assignasse ; non ordine inverso evenisse, ut ex philosophia et causa- i-um cognitione ipsa experimenta inventa aut deprompta essent.i Itaque mirum non erat, apud ^Egyptios (qui rerum inventoribus divinitatem et consecrationem at- tribuerunt) plures fiiisse brutorum animalium imagines quam hominum : quia bruta animalia, per instinctus naturales, multa inventa pepererunt ; ubi homines ex

1 " Repertis deinde medicinae remediis homines de rationibus eorum dis- serere coepisse : nee post rationem medicinara esse inventam, sed post in- ventam medicinam rationem esse quajsitam." — Cekus, Prafatio.

But this remark is not made b}' Celsus as the expression of his own opin- ion ; 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 Augmentis, v. 2. — J. S.]

280 NOVUM ORGANUM.

semionibus et conclusionibus rationalibus pauca aut nulla exhibuerint.

At chymicorum industria nonnuUa peperit ; sed tan- quam fortuito et obiter, aut per experimentoinim quan- daiii vanationem (ut mechanici solent,) non ex arte aut tlieoria aliqua ; nam ea quam confinxerunt, ex- perimenta inagis perturbat quam juvat. Eorum etiam qui in magia (quam vocant) naturali versati sunt, pauca reperiuntur inventa ; eaque levia et imposturae propiora. Quocirca quemadmodum in religione cavetur, ut fides ex operibus monstretur ; idem etiam ad philosophiam uptime traducitur, ut ex fructibus judicetur et vana habeatur qu9B sterilis sit ; atque eo magis si, loco fruc- tuimi uvae et oliva3, producat disputationum et conten- tionum carduos et spinas.

LXXIV.

Capienda etiam sunt signa ex incrementis et pro- gressibus philosopliiarum et scientiarum. QuaB enim in natura fundata sunt crescunt et augentur : qua? au- tem in opinione, variantur non augentur. Itaque si istae doctrinae plane instar plantas a stirpibus suis re- vulsae non essent, sed utero naturae adhaererent atque ab eadem alerentur, id minime eventuinim fuisset, quod per annos bis mille jam fieri videmus, nempe ut scien- tiae suis haereant vestigiis et in eodem fere statu mane- ant, neque augmentum aliquod memorabile sumpse- rint ; quin potius in primo authore maxime floruerint et deinceps declinaverint. In artibus autem median icis, quae in natura et experientiae luce fxmdatse sunt contra evenire videmus : quae (quamdiu placent) veluti spiritu quodam repletae continue vegetant et crescunt primo rudes, deinde commodae, postea excultae, et per- petuo auctae.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 281

LXXV.

Etiam aliud signum capiendum est (si modo signi appellatio huic competat ; cum potius testimonium sit atque adeo testimoniorum omnium validissimum) ; hoc est propria confessio authorum, quos homines nunc sequuntur. Nam et illi qui tanta fiducia de rebus pro- nuntiant, tamen per intervalla cum ad se redeant, ad querimonias de naturae subtilitate, rerum obscuritate, humani ingenii infirmitate, se convertunt. Hoc vero si simphciter fieret, alios fortasse qui sunt timidiores ab ulteriori inquisitione deterrere, ahos vero qui sunt ingenio alacriori et magis fidenti ad ulteriorem pro- gressum acuere et incitare possit. Verum non satis illis est de se confiteri, sed quicquid sibi ipsis aut ma- gistris 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, quae Acat- alepsiam ex professo tenuit, et homines ad sempiter- nas tenebras damnavit. Hinc opinio, quod Formae sive verse remm differentiae (quae revera sunt leges actus puri ^) inventu impossibiles sint, et ultra homi- nem.2 Hinc opiniones illae in activa et operativa parte ; calorem solis et ignis toto genere difFerre ; ne

1 Compare II. § 2. " Licet enim in natura nihil vere existat praeter cor- pora individua edentia actus puros ex lege. &c. Earn autem legem ej usque paragraphos Formarum nomine intelligimus." And for an explanation of the meaning of " actus /jwrws " see the General Preface, p. 75. — J. S.

2 The doctrine of the incognoscibility of forms is quoted by Boyle and Sennert. See the " Quid sint qualitates occultse" of the latter, from Scali- ger's Exercitationes in Cardanum, — a work which seems to have been very generally read.

282 NOVUM ORGANUM.

scilicet liomines putent, se per opera ignis aliqiiid simile lis quie in natura fiunt educere et formare posse. Hinc illud : compositionem tantum opus hominis, mistionem vero opus solius naturae esse : ^ ne scilicet homines sperent aliquam ex arte corporum naturalium gene- rationem aut transformationem. Itaque ex hoc signo homines sibi persuaderi facile patientur, ne cum dog- matibus non solum desperatis sed etiam desperationi devotis fortunas suas et labores misceant.

LXXVI.

Neque illud signum praetermittendum est ; quod tanta fuerit inter philosophos olim dissensio et schola- rum ipsarum varietas : quod satis ostendit viam a sensu ad intellectum non bene munitam fiiisse, cum eadem materia philosophiae (natura scilicet rerum) in tam vagos et multiplices errores abrepta fuerit et distracta. Atque licet hisce temporibus dissensiones et dogma- tum diversitates circa principia ipsa et philosophias in- tegras ut plurimum extinctfie sint ; tamen circa partes philosophise innumerse manent quaestiones et contro- versiae; ut plane appareat, neque in philosophiis ii)sis neque in modis demonstrationum aliquid certi aut sani esse.

LXXVII.

Quod vero putant homines in philosophia Aristotelis magnum utique consensum esse ; cum post illam edi- tam antiquorum philosophiae cessaverint et exoleverint, ast apud tempora quae sequuta sunt nil melius inven- tum fuerit; adeo ut ilia tam bene posita et fundata

1 The reference is to Galen, who in his treatise De Natural. FacuUaiibm contrasts the inwardly formative power of nature with the external opera- tions of art. See note on Temjmis Partus Mnsculm. — J. 8.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 283

videatur, ut utrumque tempus ad se traxerit : primo, quod de cessatione antiquarura philosophiarum post Aristotelis opera edita homines cogitant, id falsum est; diu enim postea, usque ad tempora Ciceronis et saecula sequentia, manserunt opera veterum philoso- phorum. Sed temporibus insequentibus, ex inunda- tione barbarorum in imperium Romanum postquam doctrina humana velut naufragium perpessa esset, turn demum philosophise Aristotelis et Platonis, tanquam tabular ex materia leviore et minus solida, per fluctus temporum servatse 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 phil- osophiam consenserunt, ex praejudicio et authoritate aliorum se illi mancipavit ; 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 eti- am violentam prsesumptionem inducat in contrarium. Pessimum enim omnium est augurium quod ex con- sensu capitur in rebus intellectualibus ; exceptis di- vinis et politicis, in quibus suffragiorum jus est.^ Nihil enim multis placet, nisi imaginationem feriat, aut intellectum vulgarium notionum nodis astringat, ut supra dictum est. Itaque optime traducitur illud Phocionis a moribus ad intellectualia ; ut statim se examinare debeant homines, quid erraverint aut pee-

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.

284 NOVUM ORGANUM.

caverint^ si muUitudo consentiat et complaudat} Hoc signum igitur ex aversissimis est. Itaque quod signa veritatis et sanitatis philosophiarum et scientiarum quas in usu sunt, male se habeant ; sive capiantur ex origin- ibus 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 tam diuturnge in illis per tot ssecula morse ; quae plurimae sunt et potentissimae : ut tollatur omnis admiratio, haec quae 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 existimamus) felicitatis magis est cujusdam, quam excellentis alicujus 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 annorum centuriis, in quibus me- moria 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 vasti- tates. Tres enim tantum doctrinanim revoltitiones et periodi recte numerari possunt : una, apud Grae- cos ; altera, apud Romanos ; ultima, apud nos, occi- dentals scilicet Europae nationes : quibus singulis xix duae centuriae annorum merito attribui possunt. Media mundi tempora, quoad scientiainim segetem uberem aut lajtam, infcelicia fuerunt. Neque enim causa est, ut vel

1 Plutarch in Phocion, c. 8.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 285

Arabum vel Scholasticorum mentio fiat : qui per inter-; media tempora scientias potius contriverunt numerosis tractatibus, quam pondus earum auxerunt. Itaque prima causa tam pusilli in scientiis profectus ad an- gustias temporis erga illas propitii rite et ordine re- fertur.

LXXIX.

At secundo loco se oflPert causa illamagni certe per omnia momenti : ea videlicet, quod per illas ipsas setates quibus hominum ingenia et literae maxime vel etiam mediocriter floruerint, Naturalis Philosophia minimam partem humange operae sortia sit. Atque haec ipsa nihilominus pro magna scientiarum matre haberi de- bet. Omnes enim artes et scientise ab hac stripe re- vulsae, 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 contulisse ; atque huic rei et amplis- sima praemia proposita, et omnis generis adjumenta copiosissime subministrata fuisse : atque hoc Theolo- giae studium praecipue occupasse tertiam illam partem sive periodum temporis apud nos Europaeos occiden- tals; eo magis, quod sub ideni. fere tempus et literae florere et controversiae circa religionem pullulare coep- erint. At sevo superiori, durante periodo ilia secunda apud Romanes, potissimas philosophorum meditationes et industrise in Morali Philosophia (quse Ethnicis vice Theologiae erat) occupatse et consumpt^e fiierunt : etiam summa ingenia illis temporibus ut plurimum ad res civ- iles se applicuerunt, propter magnitudinem imperii Ro- mani, quod plurimorum hominum opera indigebat. At ilia aetas, qua Naturalis Philosophia apud Graecos max-

286 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ime florere visa est, particula fuit temporis minime diuturiia; cum et antiquioribus temporibus septem illi qui sapientes nominabantur, omnes (praeter Thaleteni) ad Moralem Philosophiam et civilia se applicuerint ; et posterioribus temporibus postquam Socrates philoso- phiam de coelo in terras deduxisset, adhuc magis in- valuerit MoraHs Pliilosophia, et ingenia hominum a Naturali averterit.

At ipsissima ilia periodus temporis in qua inquisi- tiones de natura viguerunt, contradictionibus et novo- rum placitorum ambitione corrupta est, et inutilis red- dita. Itaque quandoquidem per tres istas periodos Naturalis Pliilosophia majorem in modum neglecta aut impedita fuerit, nil minim 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, praesertim 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 Philosophia instar tran- situs cujusdam et ponti-sternii ad alia.

Atque magna ista scientiarum mater mira indignitate ad officia ancillae detrusa est ; quae medicinae aut mathe- maticis operibus ministret, et rursus qua; adolescentium immatura ingenia lavet et imbuat velut tinctura qua- dam prima, ut aliam postea foelicius et commodius ex- cipiant. Interim nemo expectet magnum progressum in scientiis (praesertim in parte earum operativa), nisi Philosophia Naturalis ad scientias })articulares produc^a ftierit, et scientiae particulares rursus ad Naturalem

NOVUM ORGANUM. 287

Philosoplilam reductae. Hinc enim fit, ut astronomia, optica, musica, plurimse artes mechanicae, atque ipsa medic in a, atque (quod qui8 magis miretur) philoso- phia moralis et civilis, et scientiae logicae, nil fere ha- beant altitudinis in profiindo ; sed per superfieiem et varietatem rerum tantum labantur : quia postquam particulares istse scientiae dispertitse et constitutae fue- rint, a Philosophia Naturali non amplius alantur ; quae ex fontibus et veris contemplationibus motuum, radi- orum, sonorum, texturae et scliematismi corporum, af- fectuum, et preliensionum intellectualium, novas vires et augmenta illis impertiri potuerit. Itaque minime minim est si scientiae non crescant, cum a radicibus suis sint separatee.

LXXXI.

Rursus se ostendit alia causa potens et magna, cur scientiae parum promoverint. Ea vero haec est ; quod fieri non possit, ut recte procedatur in curriculo, ubi ipsa meta non recte posita sit et defixa. Meta autem scientiainim vera et legitima non alia est, quam ut do- tetur 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 in- vento det operam ; quod fere fit cum facultatum dispen- dio. At apud plerosque tantum abest ut homines id sibi proponant, ut scientiarum et artium massa augmen- tum obtineat, ut ex ea quas praesto est massa nil amplius sumant aut quaerant, quam quantum ad usum profes- sorium aut lucrum aut existimationem aut hujusmodi compendia convertere possint. Quod si quis ex tanta multitudine scientiam affectu ingenuo et propter se expetat ; invenietur tamen ille ipse, potius contempla-

288 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tionum et doctrinarum varietatem, quam veritatis seve- ram 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 cau- sarum rerum quae jampridem sunt cognitae ; non earn quae nova operum pignora et novam axiomatum lucem assequatur. Itaque, si finis scientiarum a nemine ad- huc bene positus sit, non minim est si in iis quae sunt subordinata ad finem, sequatur aberratio.

LXXXII.

Quemadmodum autem finis et meta scientiarum male posita sunit apud homines ; ita rursus etiamsi ilia recte posita fuissent, viam tamen sibi delegerunt omnino er- roneam et imperviam. Quod stupore quodam animum rite rem reputanti perculserit ; non ulli mortalium curae aut cordi fuisse, ut intellectui human o, ab ij)so sensu et experientia ordinatalet bene condita, via aperiretur et muniretur ; sed omnia vel traditionum caligini, vel argu- mentorum vertigini et turbini, vel casus et experientiae vagas et inconditae undis et ambagibus permissa esse. Atque cogitet quis sobrieet diligenter, qualis sit ea via quam in inquisitione et inventione alicujus rei homines adhibere consueverunt ; et primo notabit proculdubio in- veniendi modum simplicem et inartificiosum, qui homin- ibus 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 agitation em spiritum suum pro- prium soUicitet, et quasi invocet, ut sibi oracula pan- dat ; quae res omnino sine fundamento est, et in opin- ionibus tantum volvitur.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 289

At alius qiilspiam dialecticam ad inveniendum ad- vocet, quae nomine tenus tantum ad id quod agitur pertinet. Inventio enim dialecticse non est principio- rum et axiomatum praecipuorum, ex quibus artes con- stant, sed eorum tantum quae illis consentanea videntur. Dialectica enim magis curiosos et importunos, et sibi negotium facessentes, eamque interpell antes de proba- tionibus et inventionibus principiorum sive axiomatum primorum, ad fidem, et veluti sacramentum cuilibet arti praestandum, notissimo responso 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,^ 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 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 ; quum nee verbum divinum in rerum massam absque ordine operatum sit.

Itaque desinant homines mirari si spatium scientia- rum non confectum sit, cum a via omnino aberraverint ; relicta prorsus et deserta experientia, aut in ipsa (tan-

1 i. e. a besom without a band. " Scopas dissolvere proverbio dicitur, rem aliquam prorsus inutilem reddere; nam scopae solutse nullse sunt." — Facciolati. I do not remember any proverbial expression which answers to this in English; but the allusion is to the want of combination and co- herency in these experiments. They are the "Experimenta omnigena absque ul la serie aut methodo tentata." {De Augm. v. 2.), and are op- posed to the " Experientia Literata," or " Experientia certa lege procedens seriatim et continenter," spoken of in aphorisms 100 and 103. — J. S. VOL. I. 19

290 NOVUM ORGANUM.

quam in labyrintho) se intricando et circnmciirsando ; cum rite institutus ordo per experientiae sylvas ad aperta axiomatum tramite constanti ducat.

LXXXIII.

Excrevit autem mirum in modum istud malum, ex opinione quadam sive a3stimatione inveterata, vemra tumida et damnosa ; minui nempe mentis humanaB majestatem, si expcrimentis, et rebus particularibus sensui subjectis et in materia determinatis, diu ac mul- tum versetur : praesertim quum hujusmodi res ad in- quirendum laboriosaB, ad meditandum ignobiles, ad dicendum asperae, ad practicam illiberales, numero infinitaa, et subtilitate tenues esse soleant. Itaque jam tandem hue res rediit, ut via vera non tantum deserta, sed etiam interclusa et obstructa sit ; fastidita experi- entia, nedum relicta, aut male administrata.

LXXXIV.

Rursus vero homines a progressu in scientiis detinuit et fere incantavit reverentia antiquitatis, et virorura qui in philosophia magni habiti sunt authoritas, at^ue deinde consensus. Atque de consensu superius dic- tum est.

De antiquitate autem, opinio quam homines de ipsa fovent negligens omnino est, et vix verbo ipsi congrua. Mundi enim senium et grandasvitas pro antiquitate vere habenda sunt ; quae temporibus nostris tribui de- bent, non juniori aetati mundi, qualis apud antiquos fuit. Ilia enim aetas, respectu nostri antiqua et major,^ respectu mundi ipsius nova et minor fuit. Atque re- vera quemadmodum majorem rerum humanarum noti-

1 See note on De Augm. lib. i. near the middle.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 291

tiam et maturius judicium ab homine sene exspectamus quam a juvene, propter experientiam et rerum quas vidit et audivit et cogitavit varietatem et copiam ; eodem modo et a nostra aetate (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 observii- tionibus aucta et cumulata.

Neque pro nibilo aestimandum, quod per longinquas navigationes et peregrinationes (quae saecubs nostris increbuerunt) plurima in natura patuerint et reperta sint, quae novam pbilosophiae lucem immittere possint. Quia et turpe hominibus foret, si globi materiabs trac- tus, terrarum videlicet, marium, astrorum, nostris tem- poribus immensum aperti et illustrati sint ; globi autem intellectualis fines inter veterum inventa et angustias cohibeantur.^

Autbores vero quod attinet, summae pusillanimitatis est autboribus infinita tribuere, authori autem autborum atque adeo omnis autboritatis, Tempori, jus suum dene- gare. Recte enim Veritas Temporis filia dicitur, non Autboritatis. Itaque mirum non est si fascina ista antiquitatis et autborum et consensus, hominum vir- tutem ita ligaverint, ut cum rebus ipsis consuescere (tanquam maleficiati) non potuerint.

1 Compare Campanella: '' Quapropter invidi sunt aut ingenio et fide in Deum exigui qui putant in Aristotele et aliis philosophis antiquis quiescen- dum, nee ultra quserendum: praesertim post evangelii lucem, et novi orbis ac stellarum inventionera, qua prisci caruerunt, sicut et luce fidei quae per- ficit in nobis naturam supra ethnicos non deprimit sub eorum jugo; cum eorum philosophia sit catechismus et nostra sit perfecta doctrina, teste Cy- rillo : unde in mundo qui est liber Dei et sapientia [q. sapientiaa ?] melius legere poteriraus, si gratiam quae est in nobis non negligamus." — ApoJog. pro Galileo.

292 NOVUM ORGANUM.

LXXXV.

Neque solum admiratio antiquitatis, authoritatis, et consensus, hominum industriam in iis quae jam inventa sunt acquiescere compulit ; verum etiam operum ipso- rum admiratio, quorum copia jampridem facta est humano generi. Etenim quum quis rerum varieta- tem, et pulcherrimum apparatum qui per artes me- chanicas ad cultum humanum congestus et introductus est, oculis subjecerit, eo certe inclinabit, ut potius ad opulentiae humanae admirationem quam ad inopia? sen- sum accedat ; minime advertens primitivas hominis observation es ^ atque naturae operationes (quae ad om- nem illam varietatem instar animae sunt, et primi motus) nee multas nee alte petitas esse ; caetera ad patientiam hominum tantum, et subtilem et ordinatum manus vel instrumentorum motum, pertinere. Res enim (exempli gratia) subtilis est certe et accurata confectio horologiorum, talis scilicet, quae coelestia in rotis, pulsum animalium in motu successivo et ordi- nato, videatur imitari ; quae tamen res ex uno aut al- ter© naturae axiomate pendet.

Quod si quis rursus subtilitatem illam intueatur quae ad artes liberales pertinet ; aut etiam eam qute ad cor- porum naturalium praeparationem per artes mechanicas spectat, et hujusmodi res suspiciat ; veluti inventionem motuum coelestium in astronomia, concentuum in mu- sica, literarum alphabeti (quae etiam adhuc in regno Synarum in usu non sunt) in grammatica ; aut rursus in mechanicis, factorum Bacchi et Cereris, hoc est, prae-

1 "Primitivas hominis observationes " maybe rendered "primary re- sults of ob8er>'ation." The word hominis is merely used in antithesis to natures in the next clause.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 293

parationum vini et cervisias, panificiorum, aut etiain mensae delitiarum, et distillationum et similium ; ille quoque si secuin cogitet, et animum advertat, per qnan- tos temporum circuitus (cum liasc omnia, prseter distil- lationes,^ antiqua fuerint) haec ad earn quam nunc haberaus culturam perducta sint, et (ut jam de horo- logiis dictum est) quam parum habeant ex observa- tionibus et axiomatibus naturae, atque quam facile, et tanquam per occasiones obvias et contemplationes in- currentes, ista inveniri potuerint ; ille (inquam) ab omni admiratione se facile liberabit, et potius humanae conditionis miserebitur, quod per tot saecula tanta fuerit rerum et inventorum penuria et sterilitas. Atque haec ipsa tamen quorum nunc mentionem fecimus inventa, philosophia et artibus intellectus antiquiora fuerunt. Adeo ut (si verum dicendum sit) cum hujusmodi scientiae rationales et dogmaticae inceperint, inventio operum utilium desierit.^

Quod si quis ab officinis ad bibliothecas se conver- terit, et immensam quam videmus llbrorum varietatem in admiratione habuerit, is examinatis et diligentius introspectis ipsorum librorum materiis et contentis, ob- stupescet certe in contrarium ; et postquam nullum dari finem repetitionibus observaverit, quamque hom- ines eadem agant et loquantur, ab admiratione varie-

1 It has been said that Porson 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 dfi0i^, operculum; thus resembling in formation the word "almagest" and some others. But no valid conclusion can be drawn from hence. See Dutens, Origine des Decouveries, &c., p. 187. of the London edition. See a very interesting account of the history of distillation in Humboldt's Ex- amen critique de V 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 beginning of the Metaphysics.

294 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tatis transibit ad miraculum indigenti;i3 et paucitatis earum rerum quae hominum mentes adliuc teiuierunt et occuj^arunt.

Quod si quis ad intuendum ea quse magis curiosa habentur quam sana animum submiserit, et Alcliymis- tarum aut Magorum opera penitius introspexerit, is dubitabit forsitan utrum risu an lachrymis potius ilia digna sint. Alchymista enim spem alit a^ternain, atque ubi res non succedit errores proprios reos substi-tuit ; secum accusatorie reputando, se aut artis aut anthorum vocabula non satis intellexisse, unde ad traditiones et auriculares susurros animum applicat ; aut in practica) suae scrupulis et momentis aliquid titubatum esse,^ unde experimenta in infinitum repetit ; ac interim quum inter experimentorum 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 negan- dum est, Alchymistas non pauca invenisse et inventis utilibus homines donasse. Verum fabula ilia non male in illos quadrat, de sene qui filiis aurum in vinea de- fossum (sed locum se nescire simulans) legaverit ; unde illi vineas fodiendas diligenter incubuerunt, et auinim quidem nullum repertum, sed vindemia ex ea cultura facta est uberior.

At naturalis Magiae cultores, qui per rerum Sym- patliias et Antipatliias omnia expediunt, ex conjecturis otiosis et supinissimis, rebus virtutes et operationes admirabiles affinxerunt ; atque si quando opera ex- hibuerint, ea illius sunt generis, ut ad admirationem et

1 That is, that something has gone wrong in his manipulations, cithfr in weighing his materials, or because the moment of projection lia~ lum missed.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 295

novitatem, non ad fructum et utilitatem, accommodata sint.

In superstitiosa autem Magia (si et de hac dicendum sit) illud imprimis animadvertendum est, esse tantum- modo certi cujusdam et definiti generis subjecta, in qui- bus artes curiosse et superstitiosae, per omnes nationes atque setates atque etiam religion es, aliquid potuerint aut luserint. Itaque ista missa faciamns : interim nil mirum est si opinio copise causam inopiae dederit.

LXXXVI.

Atque hominum admirationi quoad doctrinas et artes, per se satis simplici et prope puerili, incrementum ac- cessit ab eorum astu et artificio qui scientias tractave- runt et tradiderunt. Illi enim ea ambitione et afFec- tatione eas proponunt, atque in eum modum efFormatas ac veluti personatas in hominum conspectum producunt, ac si illse omni ex parte perfectai essent et ad exitum perductae. Si enim methodum aspicias et partitiones, illae prorsus omnia complecti et concludere videntur quas in illud subjectum cadere possunt. Atque licet membra ilia male impleta et veluti capsulae inanes sint, tamen apud intellectum vulgarem scientias formam et rationem integrae prae se ferunt.

At primi et antiquissimi veritatis inquisitores, meliore fide et fato, cognitionem illam, quam ex rerum contem- platione decerpere et in usum recondere statuebant, in apTiorismos^ sive breves easdemque sparsas nee metliodo revinctas sententias, conjicere solebant ; neque se artem universam complecti simulabant aut profitebantur. At eo quo nunc res agitur modo, minime mirum est si homines in iis ulteriora non quaerant, quae pro perfectis et numeris suis jampridem absolutis traduntur.

296 NOVUM ORGANUM.

LXXXVII.

Etiam antiqua magnum existimationis et fidei iiicre- mentum acceperunt, ex eorum vanitate et levitate qui nova proposuerunt ; praesertim in Philosophiae Naturalis parte activa et operativa. Neque enim defuerunt hom- ines vaniloqui et pliantastici, qui partim ex credulitate, partim ex impostura, genus humanum promissis onera- runt : vitas prolongationem, senectutis retardationem, dolorum levationem, naturalium defectuum reparatio- nem, sensuum deceptiones, afFectuum ligation es et in- citationes, intellectualium facultatum illuminationes et exaltationes, substantiarum transmutationes, et motuum ad libitum roborationes et multiplicationes, aeris impres- siones et alterationes, coelestium influentiarum deduc- tiones et procurationes, rerum futurarum divinationes, remotarum reprassentationes, occultarum revelationes, et alia complura pollicitando et ostentando. Verum de istis largitoribus non multum aberraverit qui istiusmodi judicium fecerit, tantum nimirum in doctrinis philoso- phiae inter horum vanitates et veras artes interesse, quantum inter res gestas Julii Caesaris aut Alexandri Magni et res gestas Amadicii ex Gallia aut Arthuri ex Britannia in historiae narrationibus intersit. Inveniun- tur enim clarissimi illi imperatores revera majora ges- sisse quam umbratiles isti heroes etiam fecisse fingantur ; sed modis et viis scilicet actionum minime fabulosis et prodigiosis. Neque propterea aequum est verae memo- riae fidem derogari, quod a fabulis ilia quandoque laesa sit et violata. Sed interim minime mirum est si prop- ositionibus novis (praesertim cum mentione operum) magnum sit factum praejudicium per istos impostores qui similia tentaverunt ; cum vanitatis excessus et fas-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 297

tidium etiam nunc omnem in ejusmodi conatibus mag- nanimitatem destruxerit.

LXXXVIII.

At longe majora a pusillanimitate, et pensorum quae humana industria sibi proposuit parvitate et tenuitate, detrimenta in scientias invecta sunt. Et tamen (quod pessimum est) pusillanimitas ista non sine arrogantia et fastidio se offert.

Primum enim, omnium artium ilia reperitur cautela jam facta familiaris, ut in qualibet arte autliores artis suae infirmitatem in naturae calmnniam vertant ; et quod ars ipsorum non assequitur id ex eadem arte im- possibile 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 homini- bus omnino persuaderi volunt ; nil ab arte vel hominis opere arduum, aut in naturam imperiosum et validum, expectari debere ; ut de heterogenia caloris astri et ig- nis, et mistione, superius dictum est. Quae si notentur accuratius, omnino pertinent ad humanee potestatis cir- cumscriptionem malitiosam, et ad quaesitam et artificio- sam desperationem, quae non solum spei auguria turbet, sed etiam omnes industriae stimulos et nervos incidat atque ipsius experientiae 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 comprehensum non sit, id omnino nee inveniri nee comprehendi posse in futu- rum credatur. At si quis rebus addere se^ et novum

1 Compare Eedargutio Philosophiarum, — "Quare missis istis philoso- phiis abstractis, vos et ego, filii, rebus ipsis nos adjungamus; " and Prsefatio,

298 NOVUM ORGANUM.

aliquod reperire conetur, ille tamen omnino sibi pro- ponet et destinabit iinum aliquod inventum (nee ultra) perscrutari et eruere ; ut magnetis naturam, maris flux- um et refluxum, tliema coeli, et hujusmodi, quai secreti aliquid habere videntur et hactenus parum foeliciter tractata sint : quum summa} sit imperitiaB, rei alicujus naturam in se ipsa perscrutari ; quandoquidem eadem natura, quae in aliis videtur latens et occulta, in aliis manifesta sit et quasi palpabilis, atque in illis admira- tion em, in his ne attentionem quidem moveat ; ut fit in natura consistentiae, quie in ligno vol lapide non nota- tur, sed solidi appellatione transmittitur, neque amplius de; fuga separationis aut solutionis continuitatis inquiri- tur : at in aquarum bullis eadem res videtur subtilis et ingeniosa ; qute huWiv. se conjiciunt in pelliculas quas- dam in hemisphaerii formam curiose effictas, ut ad mo- mentum temporis evitetur solutio continuitatis.

Atque prorsus ilia ipsa quii3 habentur })ro secretis, in aliis habent naturam manifestam et communem ; qujL' nunquam se dabit conspiciendam, si hominum experi- menta aut contemplationes in illis ipsis tantum versen- tur. Generaliter autem et vulgo, in operibus mechanicis habentur pro novis inventis, si quis jampridem inventa subtilius poliat, vel ornet elegantius, vel shnul uniat et componat, vel cum usu commodius copulet, aut opus majore aut etiam minore quam fieri consuevit mole vel volumine exhibeat, et similia.

Itaque minime mirum est si nobilia et genere hu- mano digna inventa in lucem extracta non sint, quum

pr203. of this volume, — " Qui autem et ipsi experiri et se scientiig addere, earunique fines proferre, statuerunt, nee iili a receptis prorsus desciscerc ausi sunt," &c. '■'^Adtlcre «e" (says Heyne, Virg. Georg. i. 513.) " vuljrari usu est adjungere se, accedere. . . . Inde si idem fit cum impetu, irriiere, instare, Inixeiv." — •/• S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 299

homines hujusmodi exiguis pensis et puerilibus contenti et delectati fuerint ; quinetiam in iisdem se magnum aliquod sequutos aut assequutos putaverint.

LXXXIX.

Neque illud praetermittendum est, quod nacta sit Philosophia Naturalis per omnes setates adversarium molestum et difficilem ; superstitionem nimirum, et ze- lum relio-ionis caecum et immoderatum. Etenim videre est apud Grsecos, eos qui primum causas naturales ful- minis et tempestatum insuetis adlmc hominum auribus proposuerunt, impietatis in deos eo nomine damnatos : nee multo melius a nonnullis antiquorum patrum re- ligionis christiange exceptos fuisse eos, qui ex certissimis demonstrationibus (quibus nemo hodie sanus contra- dixerit) terram rotundam esse posuerunt, atque ex con- sequenti antipodas esse asseruerunt.

Quinetiam ut nunc sunt res, conditio sermonum de natura facta est durior et magis cum periculo, propter theologorum scliolasticorum summas et methodos ; qui cum theologian! (satis pro potestate) in ordinem re- degerint et in artis formam effinxerint, hoc insuper efFecerunt, ut pugnax et spinosa Aristotelis philosophia corpori religionis plus quam par erat immisceretur.^

Eodem etiam spectant (licet diverso modo) eorum commentationes, qui veritatem christiange religionis ex

1 Compare Kepler in the introduction to his great work De Stella Martis: — " In theologia quidem authoritatum, in Philosophia vero rationum esse momenta ponderanda. Sanctus igitur Lactantius qui terram negavit esse rotundam : Sanctus Augustinus qui rotunditate concessa negavit tamen An- tipodas: Sanctum Officium hodiernorum qui exilitate terrte concessa negant tamen ejus motum: at magis mihi sancta Veritas qui terram et rotundam et Antipodibus cn-cumhabitam et contemptissimae 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 Terrce Immobili, c. 4.

300 NOVUM ORGANUM.

principiis et authoritatibus philosophorum deducere et coiifirmare hand veriti sunt ; fidei et sensus conjugium tanquam legitimum niulta pompa et solonnitate cele- brantes, et grata rerum varietate animos hominum permulcentes ; sed interim divina humanis impari con- ditione permiscentes. At in Imjusmodi niisturis theo- logiae cum philosophia, ea tantum quae nunc in philoso- phia recepta sunt comprehenduntur ; sed nova, licet in melius mutata, tantum non summoventur et extermi- nantur.

Denique invenias ex quorundam theologorum im- peritia aditum alicui philosophiae, quamvis emendatae, pene interclusum esse. Alii siquidem simplicius sub- verentur ne forte altior in naturam inquisitio ultra concessum sobrietatis terminum penetret ; traducentes et perperam torquentes ea quae de divinis mysteriis in scripturis sacris adversus rimantes secreta divina dicuntur, ad occulta naturae quae nullo interdict© pro- hibentur. 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 mendadum gratificari vclle. Alii ab exemplo met- uunt, ne motus et mutationes circa philosophiam in religionem incurrant ac desinant. Alii denique sol- liciti videntur, ne in naturae inquisitione aliquid in- veniri possit quod religionem (praesertim apud indoc- tos) subvertat, aut saltem labefactet. At isti duo posteriores metus nobis videntur omnino sapientiam animalem sapere ; ac si homines, in mentis suae re- cessibus et secretis cogitationibus, de firmitudine relig- ionis et fidei in sensum imperio diffiderent ac dubita- rent ; et propterea ab inquisitione veritatis in natural-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 301

ibus periculum illis impendere metuerent. At vere rem reputanti Philosophia Naturalis, post verbum Dei, certissima superstitionis medicina est ; eademque prob- atissimuni fidei alimentum. Itaque merito religion! donatur tanquam fidissima ancilla : cum altera volun- tatem Dei, altera potestatem manifestet. Neque enim erravit ille qui dixit, Urratis, neseientes scripturas et 'potestatem Dei :^ informationem de voluntate et med- itationem de potestate nexu individuo commiscens et copulans. Interim minus mirum est si Naturalis Philosophise incrementa cohibita sint, cum religio, quae plurimum apud animos hominum pollet, per quorun- dam imperitiam et zelum incautum in partem contra- riam transient et abrepta fuerit.

xc.

Rursus in moribus et institutis scholarum, academi- arum, collegiorum, et similium conventuum, quae doc- torum hominum sedibus et eruditionis culturae destinata sunt, omnia progressui scientiarum adversa inveniun- tur. Lectiones enim et exercitia ita sunt disposita, ut aliud a consuetis haud facile cuiquam in men tern veniat cogitare aut contemplari. Si vero unus aut alter fortasse judicii libertate uti sustinuerit, is sibi soli hanc operam imponere possit ; ab aliorum autem censor tio nihil capiet utilitatis. Sin et hoc toleraverit, tamen in capessenda fortuna industriam hanc et mag- nanimitatem 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

1 Matt. xxii. 29.

302 NOVUM OEGANUM.

certe discrimen inter res civiles et artes ; non eiiim idem periculum a novo motu et a nova luce. Vcrum m rebus civilibus mutatio etiam in melius suspecta est ob perturbationem ; cum civilia auctoritate, consensu, fama, et opinione, non dcmonstratione, nitantur. In artibus autem et scientiis, tanquam in metalli-fodinis, omnia novis operibus et ulterioribus progressibus cir- cumstrepere debent. Atque secundum rectam ratio- nem res ita se habet, sed interim non ita vivitur ; sed ista, quam diximus, doctrinarum administratio et poli- tia scientiarum augmenta durius premere consuevit.

xci.

Atque insuper licet ista invidia cessaverit; tamen satis est ad cohibendum augmentum Scientiarum, quod hu- jusmodi conatus et industriai prajmiis careant. Non enim penes eosdem est cultura scientiarum et pra> mium. Scientiarum enim augmenta a magnis utique ingeniis proveniunt ; at pretia et praemia scientiarum sunt penes vulgus aut principes viros, qui (nisi rare admodum) vix mediocriter docti sunt. Quinetiam hu- jusmodi 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 minim si res ilia non foeliciter successerit, qua) in honore non fuit.

XCII.

Sed longe maximum progressibus scientiarum et no- vis pensis ac provinces in iisdem suscipiendis obstacu- lum deprehenditur in desperatione hominum, et sup- positione Impossibilis. Solent enim viri prudcntes et

I

NOVUM ORGANUM. 303

severi in Imjusmodi rebus plane diffidere: naturae ob- scuritatem, vitas brevitatem, sensuum fallacias, judicii infirmitatem, experimentorum difficultates, et similia secum reputantes. Itaque existimant esse quosdam scientiarum, per temporum et ^etatum mundi revolu- tiones, fluxus et refluxus ; cum aliis temporibus cres- cant et floreant, aliis deelinent et jaceant : ita tamen, ut cum ad certura quendam gradum et statum per- venerint, nil ulterius possint.

Itaque si quis majora credat aut spondeat, id putant esse cujusdam impotentis et immaturi animi ; atque hujusmodi conatus, initia scilicet laeta, media ardua, extrema confusa habere. Atque cum liujusmodi cogi- tationes ese sint quae in viros graves et judicio pra^stan- tes facile cadant, curandum revera est ne rei optimae et pulclierrimaB 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 om- nino discutiendae sunt et pensitandae. Quinetiam pru- dentia civilis ad consilium vocanda est et adhibenda, quae ex praescripto diffidit, et de rebus humanis in de- terius 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 impri- mendam, quando homines ad particularia, prsesertim in Tabulis nostris Inveniendi digesta et disposita (quae partim ad secundam, sed multo magis ad quartam In- staurationis nostrae partem pertinent), adducemus; cum hoc ipsum sit non spes tantum, sed tanquam res ipsa : tamen ut omnia clementius fiant, pergendum est in

304 NOVUM ORGANUM.

institute nostro de praeparandis hominum mentibus ; cujiis praeparationis ista ostensio spei pars est iion ex- igua. Nam absque ea, reliqua faciunt magis ad con- tristationem hominum (scilicet ut deteriorem et vili- orem habeant de iis quae jam in usu sunt opinionem quam nunc habent, et suae conditionis infortunium plus sentiant et pernoscant), quam ad alacritatem ali- quam inducendam, aut industriam experiendi acuen- dam. Itaque conjecturae nostras, quae spem in hac i-e faciunt probabilem, aperiendae sunt et prajponendae : sicut Columbus fecit, ante navigationem illam suam mirabilem maris Atlantici, cum rationes adduxerit cur ipse novas terras et continentes, praeter eas quae ante cognita^ fuermit, inveniri posse confideret: quae ra- tiones, licet primo rejectae, postea tamen experimento probatse sunt et rerum maximarum causae et initia fuerunt.

XCIII.

Principium autum sumendum a Deo : ^ hoc nimirum quod agitur, propter excellentem in ipso boni naturam, manifeste a Deo esse, qui author boni et pater luminum est. In operationibus autem divinis, initia quaeque tenuissima exitum certo trahunt. Atque quod de spiritualibus dictum est, regnum Dei non venit cum observatione, id etiam in omni majore opere provi- dential divinae evenire reperitur ; ut omnia sine strep- itu et sonitu placide labantur, atque res plane aga- tur priusquam homines eam agi putent aut advertant. Neque omittenda est prophetia Danielis de ultimis mundi temporibus: Multi pertransibunt et multiplex erit scientia: manifeste innuens et significans esse in fatis, id est in providentia, ut pertransitus mundi (qui 1 'E/c Aidg dpxufiea&a. — Aratus, Phaenom. 1. 1.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 305

per tot longinqiias navigationes impletus plane aut jam in opere esse videtur) et augmenta scientiarum in ean- dem setatem incidant.

XCIV.

Sequitur ratio omnium maxima ad faciendam spem ; nempe ex erroribus temporis prseteriti et viarum ad- huc tentatarum. Optima enim est ea reprehensio, quam de statu civili hand prudenter administrato quis- piam his verbis complexus est : Quod ad prceterita pes- simum est, id ad futura optimum videri debet. Si enim vos omnia quce ad officium vestrum spectant prcestitissetis, neque tamen res vestrce in meliore loco essent^ ne spes quidem ulla reliqua foret eas in melius p)rovehi posse, Sed cum rerum vestrarum status nan a vi ipsa rerum sed ah erroribus vestris male se Jiabeat, spei^andum est, illis erroribus missis aut correctis, magnam rerum in melius mutationem fieri posse} Simili modo, si homi- nes per tanta annorum spatia viam inveniendi et co- lendi scientias tenuissent, nee tamen ulterius progredi potuissent, audax proculdubio et temeraria foret opinio, posse rem in ulterius provehi. 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 nostrse non sunt, sed in intellectu human o ejusque usu et applicatione, quae res remedium 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 his quae superius dicta sunt non intacta omnino

1 Demosthenes : see the first Philippic, p. 40. ; and the third, p. 112. Ed. Reisk.

VOL. I. 20

306 NOVUM ORGANUM.

fueriiit, tamen ea etiam nunc breviter verbis nudis ac simplicibus repraisentare visum est.

xcv.

Qui tractaverunt scientias aut Empirici aut Dog- matici fuerunt. Empirici, formicae more, congerunt tantum et utuntur ; Rationales, aranearum more, telas ex se conficiunt : ^ apis vero ratio media est, quae ma- tej'iam ex floribus horti et agri elicit, sed tamen earn propria facultate vertit et digerit. Neque absimile pliilosophiaj verum ojnficium est ; quod nee mentis viiibus tantum aut pnecipue nititur, neque ex liistoria naturali et meclianicis experimentis praibitam mate- riam, in memoria integram, sed in intellectu mutatam et subactam, reponit. Itaque ex harum facultatum (experimentalis scilicet et rationalis) arctiore et sanc- tiore foedere (quod adhuc factum non est) bene speran- dum est.

xcvi.

Naturalis Philosopliia adhuc sincera non invenitur, sed infecta et corrupta : in Aristotelis schola per logi- cam, in Platonis schola per theologiam naturalem ; in secunda schola Platonis, Procli et aliorum, per mathe- maticam ; quae philosophiam naturalem terminare, non generare aut procreare debet. At ex philosophia nat- urali pura et impermista meliora speranda sunt.

XCVII.

Nemo adhuc tanta mentis constantia et rigore in- ventus est, ut decreverit et sibi imposuerit, theorias

^ 'Apiaruv Toi)g ^oyovg rdv SiaTi^KUKuv rolq Tdv apaxviuv ifdafioaiv eUa^v, ovdhf fiiv xpvollMvg, Xiav de Tfjfvi/couf (perhaps xpvoifioii and TtX^'-i^O''^)- — Stobaeup, Floril. § 82. Compare De Augmentis, v. 2.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 307

et notiones communes penitns abolere, et intellectum abrasum et a3quum ad particularia de integro applicare. Itaque ratio ilia humana quam habemus, ex multa fide et miilto etiam casu, nee non ex puerilibus quas primo hausimus notionibus, farrago quasdam 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. At- que liac in parte nobis spondemus fortunam Alexandri Magni : neque quis nos vanitatis arguat, antequam ex- itum rei audiat, quae ad exuendam omnem vanitatera spectat.

Etenim de Alexandro et ejus rebus gestis ^scbines ita loquutus est : JSfos certe vitam mortalem non vivimus ; sed in hoc nati sumus, ut posteritas de nobis portenta narret et prcedicet : perinde ac si Alexandri res gestas pro miraculo habuisset.^

At gevis sequentibus Titus Livius melius rem advertit et introspexit, atque de Alexandro hujusmodi quippiam dixit : ^um non aliud quam bene ausum vana con- temnere? Atque simile etiam de nobis judicium fu- turis temporibus factum iri existimamus : nos nil magni fecisse, sed tantum ea quce pro magnis habentur mi- nons fecisse. Sed interim (quod jam diximus) non est spes nisi in regeneratione scientiarum ; ut eae scilicet ab Experientia certo ordine excitentur et rursus condan- tur : quod adhuc factum esse aut cogitatum nemo (ut arbitramur) affirmaverit.

XCVIIl.

Atque Experientiae ftmdamenta (quando ad banc

1 ^schines, De Corona, p. 72. Ed. H. St^phan.

2 Lib. ix. c. 17.

308 NOVUM ORGANUM.

omnino deveniendum est) aut nulla aut admodum in- firma adhuc fuerunt ; nee particularium sylva et mate- ries, vel numero vel gen ere 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 constituendam vel confirraandam exceperunt, atque illis nihilominus pondus legitimi testimonii attribnerunt. Ac veluti si regnum aliquod aut status non ex literis et relationibus a legatis et nuntiis fide-dignis missis, sed ex urbanorum sermunculis et ex triviis, consilia sua et ne- gotia gubernaret ; omnino talis in philosophiam admin- istratio, quatenus ad Experientiam, introducta est. Nil debitis modis exquisitum, nil vcrificatum, nil numera- tum, nil appensum, nil dimensum in Naturali Historia reperitur. At quod in observatione indefinitum et vagum, id in informatione fallax et infidum est. Quod si cui haec mira dictu videantur et querehe minus justae propiora, cum Aristoteles, tantus ipse vir et tanti regis opibus subnixus, tam accuratam de Animalibus histo- riam confecerit, atque alii nonnulli majore diligentia (licet strepitu minore) multa adjecerint, et rursus alii de plantis, de metallis, et fossilibus, historias et narra- tiones copiosas conscripserint ; is sane non satis atten- dere et perspicere videtur quid agatur in praesentia. Alia enim est ratio Naturalis Historias qua} propter se confecta est; alia ejus quae collecta est ad informan- dum intellectum in ordine ad condendam philosophiam. Atque hae duae historiae tum aliis rebus, tum praBcipue in hoc differunt ; quod prima ex illis specierum natu- ralium varietatem, non artium mechanicarum exj)eri- menta, contineat. Quemadmodum enim in civilibus

NOVUM ORGANUM. 309

ingenium cujusque et occultus animi aff'ectuumque sen- sus 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 tum demum bene sperandum est de Naturali Philosophia, postquam Historia Naturalis (quae ejus basis est et fundamentum) melius instructa fuerit ; antea vero minime.

XCIX.

Atque rursus in ipsa experimentorum mechanicorum copia, summa eorum quae ad intellectus informationem maxime faciunt et juvant detegitur inopia. Mechanicus enim, de veritatis inquisitione nullo modo sollicitus, non ad alia quam quae operi suo subserviunt aut animum erigit aut manum porrigit. Tum vero de scientiarum ulteriore progressu spes bene fundabitur, quum in His- toriam Naturalem recipientur et aggregabuntur com- plura experimenta, quae in se nullius sunt usus, sed ad inventionem causarum et axiomatum tantum faciunt ; quae nos liicifera experimenta, ad difFerentiam fructif- erorum^ appellare consuevimus. Ilia autem miram habent in se virtutem et conditionem ; banc 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, intentioni aequo satisfaciunt ; cum quaestionem terminent.

c.

At non solum copia major experimentorum quaerenda est et procuranda, atque etiam alterius generis, quam adbuc factum est ; sed etiam methodus plane alia et ordo et processus continuandae et provehendae Experi-

310 NOVUM ORGANUM.

entiae introducenda. Vaga enim Experientia et se tan- tum sequens (ut superius dictum est) mera palpatio est, et homines potius stupefacit quam informat. At cum Experientia lege certa procedet, seriatim et continen- ter, de scientiis aliquid melius sperari potent.

CI.

Postquam vero copia et materies Historiae Naturalis et Experientiae, talis qualis ad opus intellectus sive ad opus philosophicum requiritur, praesto jam sit et parata ; tamen nullo modo sufficit intellectus, ut in illam mate- riem agat sponte et memoriter; non magis, quam si quis computationem alicujus ephemeridis memoriter se tenere et superare posse speret. Atque hactenus tamen potiores meditationis partes quam scriptionis in inveni- endo 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.

CII.

Atque insuper cum tantus sit particularium numenis et quasi exercitus, isque ita sparsus et diffusus, ut intel- lectum disgreget et confundat, de velitationibus et levi- bus motibus et transcursibus intellectus non bene speran- dum est ; nisi fiat instructio et coordinatio, per tabulas

1 " Experientia literata " does not appear to be used here in the same sense as in Aph. 103., or in the De Aur/menfis, v. 2. : " Cum quis experi- menta oranigena absque ulla serie aut methodo tentet, ea demum mera est palpatio: cum vero nonnulla utatur in experimentando directione et or- dine, perinde est ac si manu ducatur. Atque hoc ipsum est quod per Ex- perientiam 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 procedens" of the last aphorism. — J. 8.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 311

inveniendi idoneas et bene dispositas et tanquam vivas, eorum quse pertinent ad subjectum in quo versatur in- quisitio, atque ad liarum tabularum auxilia praeparata et digesta mens applicetur.

cm.

Verum post copiam particularium rite et ordine vel- uti sub oculos positorum, non statim transeundum est ad inquisitionem et inventionem novorum particularium aut operum ; aut saltern, si hoc fiat, in eo non acqui- escendum. Neque enim negamus, postquam omnia omnium artium experimenta collecta et digesta fuerint atque ad unius liominis notitiam et judicium pervene- rint, quin ex ipsa traductione exp crimen torn m unius artis in alias multa nova inveniri possint ad humanam vitam et statum utilia, per istam Experientiam quam vocamus Literatam ; ^ sed tamen minora de ea speranda sunt ; majora vero a nova luce Axiomatum ex particu- laribus illis certa via et regula eductorum, qua? rursus nova particularia indicent et designent. Neque enim in piano via sita est, sed ascendendo et descendendo ; ascendendo primo ad Axiomata, descendendo ad Opera.

CIV.

Neque tamen permittendum est, ut intellectus a par- ticularibus ad axiomata remota et quasi generalissima (qualia sunt principia, quae vocant, artium et rerum) saliat et volet ; et ad eorum immotam veritatem axiom- ata media probet et expediat : quod adhuc factum est, prono ad hoc impetu naturali intellectus, atque etiam ad hoc ipsum, per demonstrationes quae fiunt per syllo-

1 Here "experientia literata" is the same as in the De Augmentis. See the last note. — J. S.

312 NOVUM ORGANUM.

gismum, jampridem edocto et assuefacto. Sed de sci- entiis turn deinuin bene sperandum est, quando per scalam veram, et per gradus continues et non intermis- SQs aut hiulcos, a particularibus ascendetur ad axiom- ata minora, et deinde ad media, alia aliis superiora, et postremo demum ad generalissima. Etenim axiomata infima non multum ab experientia nuda discrepant. Suprema vero ilia et generalissima (quae habentur) notionalia smit et abstracta, et nil habent solidi. At media sunt axiomata ilia vera et solida et viva, in quibus liumanaj res et fortunae sitae sunt ; et supra haec quoque, tandem ipsa ilia generalissima ; talia scil- icet qua3 non abstracta sint, sed per h;BC media vere limitantur.^

Itaque liominum intellectui non pluma3 addendae, sed plumbum potius et pondera ; ut cohibeant omnem sal- tum 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 (quas vocant) probanda et invenienda, sed etiam ad axiomata minora et media, denique omnia. Inductio enim quae procedit per enu- merationem simplicem res puerilis est, et precario con- cludit, et periculo exponitur ab instantia contradictoria, et plerumque secundum pauciora quam par est, et ex his tantummodo quae prassto sunt, pronunciat. At In- ductio quaB ad inventionem et demonstrationem scien- tiarum et artium erit utilis naturam separare debet, per

1 That is, of which these intermediate axioms are really limitations, t. e. particular cases.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 313

rejectiones et exclusiones debitas ; ac deinde, post neg- ativas 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.^ Verum ad hujus inductionis, sive demonstrationis, in- structionem bonam et legitimam, quamplurima adhi- benda sunt quae adhuc nullius * mortalium cogitationem subiere; adeo ut in ea major sit consumenda opera, quam adhuc consumpta est in syllogismo. Atque hujus inductionis auxilio, non solum ad axiomata invenienda, verum etiam ad notion es terminandas, utendum est.^ Atque in hac certe Inductione spes maxima sita est.

cvi.

At in axiomatibus constituendis per banc induc- tionem, examinatio et probatio etiam facienda est, utrum quod constituitur axioma aptatum sit tantum et ad mensuram factum eorum particularium ex qui- bus extrahitur ; an vero sit amplius et latius. Quod si sit ampHus aut latius, videndum an eam suam am- plitudinem et latitudinem per novorum particularium designationem, quasi fide-jussione quadam, firmet ; ^ ne

1 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 re- markable that M. de St. Hilaire in his translation of the treatise De Animd of Aristotle has repeated the popular assertion that Bacon claimed to be the first discoverer of induction.

2 "Ad notiones terminandas " may be rendered " in order to the forma- tion of conceptions " 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.

3 The meaning of this will be made clearer by comparing it with the following passage in Valerius Terminus : —

" That the discovery of new works or active directions not known before

314 NOVUM ORGANUM.

vel in jam notis tantura haereamas, vcl laxiore fortasse complexu umbras et formas abstractas, non solida et determinata in materia, prensemus. Haec vero cum in usum venerint, solida tum demum spes merito afFul- serit.

CVII.

Atque hie etiam resumendum est, quod superius dictum est de Naturali Philosophia producta, et scien- tiis particularibus ad eam 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 praBteriti temporis erroribus valere jussis aut rt'ctifi- catis, jam dictum est. Videndum autem et si quae aha sint quae spem faciant. Ilhul vero occurrit ; si hominibus non qujerentibus, et ahud agentibus, multa utiha, tanquam casu quodam aut per occasionem, in- venta sint ; nemini diibium esse posse, quin iisdem quaerentibus et hoc agentibus, idque via et ordine, non impetu et desuhorie, longe plura detegi necesse sit. Licet enim semel aut iterum accidere possit, ut quis- piam in id forte fortuna incidat, quod magno conatu et de industria scrutantem antea fugit; tamen in sum- 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 discoveretli and designeth new particulars. That the nature of thia 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 con- clude that the axiom which discovereth new instances is true; but con- trariwise you may safely conclude that, if you discover not any new in- stance, it is vain and untrue. That by new instances are not always to be understood new recipes, but new assignations; and of the diversity be- tween these two." — Vul. Ter., abridgment of the 12th chapter of the first book. J. S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 315

ma rerum proculdubio contrarium invenitur. Itaque longe plura et meliora, atque per minora intervalla, a ratione et industria et directione et intentione hominum speranda sunt, quam a casu et instinctu animalium et hujusmodi, quae hactenus principium inventis dedeiiint.

cix.

Etiam illud ad spem tralii 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 impos- sibilia 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 tormentorum igneorum inven- tionem, rem per eflfectus descripsisset, atque in hunc modum dixisset : inventum quoddam detectum esse, per quod muri et munitiones quaeque maximae ex longo intervallo concuti et dejici possint ; homines sane de viribus tormentorum et machinarum per pondera et rotas et hujusmodi arietationes et impulsus multipli- candis, multa et varia secum cogitaturi fuissent ; de vento autem igneo, tam subito et violenter se ex- pandente et exsufflante, vix unquam aliquid alicujus imaginationi aut phantasiae occursurum fuisset; utpote cujus exemplum in proximo non vidisset,^ nisi forte in terrae motu aut fulmine, quae, ut magnalia naturae et non imitabilia ab homine, homines statim rejecturi fuissent.

1 As a thing to which he had seen nothing immediately analogous.

316 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Eodem modo si, ante fili bombycini inventioncm, quispiam hujusmodi sermonem injecisset ; esse quod- dam fili genus inventum ad vestium et supellectilis usum, quod filum linteum aut laneum tenuitate et ni- hilomiuus tenacitate, ac etiam splendore et mollitie, longe superaret; homines statim aut de serico aliquo vegetabili, aut de animalis alicujus pilis delicatioribus, aut de avium plumis et lanugine, aliquid opinaturi fuis- sent ; verum de vermis pusilli textura, eaque tam co- piosa et se renovante et anniversaria, nil fuissent certe commenturi. Quod si quis etiam de vermi verbum aliquod injecisset, ludibrio certe futurus fuisset, ut qui novas aranearum operas somniaret.

Similiter, si ante inventionem acus nauticas quispiam hujusmodi sermonem intulisset: inventum esse quoddam instrumentum, per quod cardines et puncta coeli exacte capi et dignosci possint ; homines statim de magis exqui- sita fabricatione instrumentorum astronomicorum, ad mulfa et varia, per agitationem phantasiaB, discursuri fiiissent ; quod vero aliquid inveniri possit, cujus motus cum coelestibus tam bene conveniret, atque ipsum tamen ex coelestibus non esset, sed tantum substantia lapidea aut metallica, omnino incredibile visum fuisset. At- que haec tamen et similia per tot mundi astates homines latuerunt, nee per philosophiam aut artes rationales inventa sunt, sed casu et per occasionem; suntque illius (ut diximus) generis, ut ab iis quae antea cognita fuerunt plane heterogenea et remotissima sint, ut prae- notio 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 parallclismum, sed omnino sita sunt extra vias phantasiaj ; quaj tamen

NOVUM ORGANUM. 317

adhuc inventa non sunt; quse proculclubio per multos saeculorum circuitus et ambages et ipsa quandoque prodibmit, sicut ilia siiperiora prodierunt ; sed per viam quam nunc tractamus, propere et subito et simul repraesentari ^ et anticipari possunt.

ex.

Attamen conspiciuntur et alia inventa ejus generis quae iidem faciant, posse genus liumanum nobilia in- venta, etiam ante pedes posita, prseterire et transilire. Utcunque enim pulveris tormentarii vel fili bombycini vel acus nauticse vel sacchari vel papyri vel similium inventa quibusdam rerum et naturae proprietatibus niti videantur, at certe Imprimendi artificium nil habet quod non sit apertum et fere obvium. Et nihilominus homines, non advertentes literarum modulos difficilius scilicet collocari quam literae per motum man us scri- bantur, sed hoc interesse, quod literarum moduli semel collocati infinitis impressionibus, literae autem per ma- num exaratffi unicae tantum scriptioni, sufficiant ; aut fortasse iterum non advertentes atramentum ita in- spissari posse, ut tingat, non fluat ; praesertim literis resupinatis et impressione facta desuper; hoc pulcher- rimo invento (quod ad doctrinarum propagationem tantum facit) per tot saecula caruerunt.

Solet autem mens humana, in hoc inventionis cur- riculo, tam lasva saepenumero et male composita esse,

1 I. e. to be presented at once, before the regular time. Thus Pliny, 31.2., "Thespiarum fons conceptus mulieribus reprcesentat ; ^^ i. e. makes them conceive at once. And Cicero, Ep. ad Fam. v. 16., "neque debemus expectare temporis medicinam, quam reprcesentare ratione possimus." And again Phil. 2., " Corpus libenter obtulerim, si reprcesentaH morte mea libertas civitatis potest; '' i. e. to be recovered at once; or at least the re- covery hastened. Many other examples are given by Facciolati, showing that this was a very common use of the word. — J. S.

318 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ut primo diffidat, et paulo post se contemnat ; atque primo incretlibile ei videatur aliquid tale inveniri posse, postqiiam autem inventum sit, incredibile rursus vide- atur id homines tamdiu fugere potuisse. Atque hoc ipsum ad spem rite trahitur ; superesse nimirum ad- huc magnum inventorum cumulum, qui non solum ex operationibus incognitis einiendis, sed et ex jam cognitis transferendis et componendis et applicandis, •per eam quam diximus Experientiam literatam de- duci possit.

CXI.

Neque illud omittendum ad faciendam spem: repu- tent (si placet) homines infinitas ingenii, temporis, facultatum expensas, quas homines in rebus et studiis longe minoiis usus et pretii collocant ; quorum pars quota si ad sana et solida verteretur, nulla non diffi- cultas superari possit. Quod idcirco adjungere visum est, quia plane fatemur Historiai Naturalis et Experi- mentalis collectionem, qualem animo metimur et qua- lis esse debet, opus esse magnum, et quasi regium, et multae operas atque impensae.

CXII.

Interim particularium multitudinem nemo reformi- det, quin potius hoc ipsum ad spem revocet. Sunt enim artium et naturas particularia Phasnomena ma- nipuli instar ad ingenii commenta, postquam ab ev- identia rerum disjuncta et abstracta fuerint. Atque hujus viae exitus in aperto est, et fere in propinquo; alterius exitus nullus, sed implicatio infinita. Homi- nes enim adhuc parvam in Experientia moram fece- runt, et eam leviter perstrinxerunt, sed in meditati- onibus et commentationibus ingenii infinitum tempus

NOVUM ORGANUM. 319

contriverunt. Apud nos vero si esset prgesto quis- piam qui. de facto naturae ad interrogata responderet,^ paucorum annorum esset inventio causarum et scienti- arum omnium.

CXIII.

Etiara nonuiliil hominibus spei fieri posse putamus ab exemplo nostro proprio ; neque jactanti^e causa hoc dicimus sed quod utile dictu sit. Si qui diffi- dant, me videant, liominem inter homines setatis mesB civihbus negotiis occupatissimum, nee firma admodum valetudine (quod magnum habet temporis dispendium), atque in hftc re plane protopirum, et vestigia nullius sequutum, neque haec ipsa cum ullo mortalium com- municantem, et tamen veram viam constanter ingres- sum et ingenium rebus submittentem, hsec ipsa ali- quatenus (ut existimamus) provexisse ; et deinceps videant, quid ab hominibus otio abundantibus, atque a laboribus consociatis, atque a temporum successione, post haec indicia nostra expectandum sit ; prsesertim in via quae non singulis solummodo pervia est (ut fit in via ilia rationali), sed ubi hominum labores et operae (prsesertim quantum ad experiential collectam) optime distribui et deinde componi possint. Tum enim homi- nes vires suas nosse incipient, cum non eadem infiniti, sed alia alii praestabunt.

cxiv.

Postremo, etiamsi multo infirmior et obscurior aura spei ab ista Nova Continente spiraverit,^ tamen omnino

1 The alhxsion is to judicial examination on interrogatories. Naturae is to be construed with de facto, and not with interrogata. "Interrogata naturse" cannot be rendered our " interrogations of nature," which is Mr. Wood's translation.

2 Bacon refers to what Peter Martyr Anghiera has related, that Colum-

320 NOVUM ORGANUM.

experiendum esse (nisi velimus animi esse plane ab- jecti) statuimus. Non eniin res pari periculo non tentatur, et non succedit ; cum in illo ingentis boni, in hoc exigusB Immanai operas, jactura vertatur. Ve- rum 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 cre- dendum.

cxv.

Atque de desperatione tollenda, quse inter causas potentissimas ad progressum scientiarum remorandum et inhibendum fuit, jam dictum est. A^que simul sermo de signis et causis errorum, et inertise et igno- rantias quae invaluit, absolutus est ; praesertim cum subtiliores causae, et quae in judicium populare aut ob- servationem non incurrunt, ad ea quae de Idolis animi humani dicta sunt referri debeant.

Atque hie simul pars destruens Instaurationis nos- tras claudi debet, quae perficitur tribus redargutioni- bus; redargutione nimirum Humance Itatmiis Nativce et sibi permisste ; ^ redargutione Demonstrationum ; et redargutione Theoriarum, sive philosophiarum et doc- trinarum quae receptae sunt. Redargutio vero earum talis fuit qualis esse potuit ; videlicet per signa, et evidentiam causarum ; cum confutatio alia nulla a no- bus 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 land to generate them.

1 For an explanation of this passage, as connected with the first form of the doctrine of Idols when they were divided into three kinds to each of which one of these confutations corresponded, see the preface. In compar- ing it with the corresponding passages in the Partis secundce delineatio, and the Distributto qperis, it will be observed that the order of the confutations is inverted. The first of these redargutions extends from the 40th to tlie 60th aphorism; the other two, which are not kept distinct, end here. — J. 8.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 321

bis (qui et de principiis et de demonstrationibus ab aliis dissentimus) adhiberi potuerit.

Quocirca tempus est, ut ad ipsam artem et normam Interpretandi Naturam veniamus ; et tamen nonnihil restat quod praBvertendum est. Quum enim in hoc primo Aphorismorum libro illud nobis propositum sit, ut tarn ad intelligendum quam ad recipiendum ea quae sequuntur mentes hominum praeparentur ; 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 praejudicium, non solum praeoccupatio fortis opinionis veteris, sed et praeceptio sive praefiguratio falsa rei quae afFertur. Itaque conabimur efficere ut habeantur bonae et verse de iis quae adducimus opin- iones, licet ad tempus tantummodo, et tanquam usura- riae,^ donee res ipsa pernoscatur.

ex VI.

Primo itaque postulandum videtur, ne existiment homines nos, more antiquorum Graecorum, aut quo- rundam novorum hominum, Telesii, Patricii, Seve- rini,2 sectam aliquam in philosophia condere velle. Neque enim hoc agimus; neque etiam multum inter- esse putamus ad hominum fortunas quales quis opin- iones abstractas de natura et rerum principiis habeat ; neque dubium est, quin multa hujusmodi et Vetera

1 Compare Distr. Op., p. 226. : " At quinta pars ad tempus tantum, donee reliqua perfieiantur, adhibetur; et tanquam foenus redditur usque dum sors haberi possit." See also the next aphorism, in which the same expression occurs.

2 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 CobH et Cupidinis ; for Patricius, the Descriptio Globi intellectualis ; for Sev- erinus, the Temporis Partus Masculus. — /. S.

VOL. I. 21

322 NOVUM ORGANUM.

revocari et nova introduci possint; quemadmodum et complura themata coeli snpponi possunt, quae cum phaenomenis sat bene conveniunt, inter se tamen dis- sentiunt.

At nos de hujusmodi rebus opinabilibus, et simul inutilibus, non laboramus. At contra nobis consti- tutum est experiri, an revera potentiae et amplitu- dinis humanae firmiora fundamenta jacere ac fines in latins proferre possimus. Atque licet sparsim et in aliquibus subjectis specialibus, longe veriora habea- mus et certiora (ut arbitramur) atque etiam magis fructuosa quam quibus homines adhuc utuntur, (quae in quintam Instaurationis nostrae partem congessi- mus,) tamen theoriam nullam universalem aut inte- gram proponimus. Neque enim huic rei tempus ad- huc adesse videtur. Quin nee spem habemus vitae producendae ad sextam Instaurationis partem (quae philosophiae per legitimam Naturae Interpretationem inventa3 destinata est) absolvendam ; sed satis habe- mus si in mediis sobrie et utiliter nos geramus, atque interim semina veritatis sincerioris in posteros sparga- mus, atque initiis rerum magnainim non desimus.

CXVII.

Atque quemadmodum sectae conditores non sumus, ita nee operum particularium largitores aut promis- sores. Attamen possit aliquis hoc modo occurrere ; quod nos, qui tarn saepe operum mentionem faciamus et omnia eo trahamus, etiam operum aliquorum pig- nora exhibeamus. Verum via nostra et ratio (ut saspe perspicue diximus et adhuc dicere juvat) ea est; ut non opera ex operibus sive experimenta ex experi- mentis (ut empirici), sed ex operibus et experimentis

NOVUM ORGANUM. 323

causas et axiomata, atque ex causis et axiomatibus rursus nova opera et experimenta (ut legitimi Naturse Interpretes), extrahamus.

Atque licet in tabulis nostris inveniendi (ex quibus quarta pars Instaurationis consistit), atque etiam ex- emplis particularium (quae in secunda parte addux- imus), atque insuper in observationibus nostris super historiam (quae in tertia parte operis descripta est), qui vis vel mediocris perspicaciae et solertise 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 legit- imaj Interpretationi satisfacere aut ministrare possit.

Itaque si quis ad mechanica sit magis aptus et paratus, atque sagax ad venanda opera ^ ex conversatione sola cum experimentis, ei permittimus et relinquimus illam industriam, ut ex historia nostra et tabulis multa tan- quam 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 prseproperam et praematuram in istiusmodi rebus tan- quam Atalantae pilas (ut saepius solemus dicere) dam- namus. Neque enim aurea poma pueriliter afFectamus, sed omnia in victoria cursus artis super naturam poni- mus ; neque museum aut segetem lierbidam demetere festinamus, sed messem tempestivam expectamus.

CXVIIT.

Occurret etiam alicui proculdubio, postquam ipsam

1 Compare Temporis Partus Mascuius : — " Siquidem utile genus eorum est qui de theoriis non admodum solicit!, mechanica quadara subtilitate rerum inventarum extensiones prehendunt; qualis est Bacon." — J. S. .

324 NOVUM ORGANUM.

historiam nostram et inventionis tabulas perlegerit, ali- quid in ipsis experimentis minus certum, vel omnino falsum ; atque propterea secum fortasse reputabit, fun- damentis et principiis falsis et dubiis inventa nostra niti. Verurn hoc nihil est ; necesse enim est talia sub initiis evenire. Simile enim est ac si in scriptione aut impres- sione una forte litera aut altera perperam posita aut collocata sit ; id enim legentem non multum impedire solet, quandoquidem errata ab ipso sensu facile corri- guntur. Ita etiam cogitent homines multa in historia naturali experimenta falso credi et recipi posse, quas paulo post a causis et axiomatibus inventis facile ex- punguntur et rejiciuntur. Sed tamen verum est, si in historia naturali et experimentis magna et crebra et continua fuerint errata, ilia nulla ingenii aut artis fcelic- itate corrigi aut emendari posse. Itaque si in historia nostra naturali, quae tanta diligcntia et severitate et fere religione probata et collecta est, aliquid in particulari- bus quandoque subsit falsitatis aut erroris, quid tandem de naturali historia vulgari, quae prae nostra tam negli- gens est et facilis, dicendum erit ? aut de philosophia et scientiis super hujusmodi arenas (vel syrtes potius) aedificatis? Itaque hoc quod diximus neminem mo- v.^at.

cxix.

Occurrent etiam in historia nostra et experimentis plurimae res, primo leves et vulgatae, deinde viles et illi- berales, postremo nimis subtilcs ac mere speculativn^, 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 qu»

NOVUM ORGAN UM. 325

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 quaerunt ; sed illis, tan- quam pro evidentibus et manifestis, receptis, de ceteris rebus qua^ non tam frequenter et familiariter occurrunt disputant et judicant.

Nos vero, qui satis scimus nullum de rebus raris aut notabilibus judicium fieri posse, multo minus res novas in lucem protrabi, absque vulgarium rerum causis et causarum causis rite examinatis et repertis, necessario ad res vulgarissimas in historiam nostram recipiendas compellimur. Quinetiam nil magis philosophiae offe- cisse deprehendimus quam quod res qu£e familiares sunt et frequenter occurrunt contemplationem liominum non morentur et detineant, sed recipiantur obiter, neque earum causae quaeri soleant : ut non saepius requiratur informatio de rebus ignotis, quam attentio in notis.

cxx.

Quod vero ad rerum vilitatem attinet, vel etiam tur- pitudinem, quibus (ut ait Plinius) honos praefandus est ; ^ eae res, non minus quam lautissimae et pretiosissi- mae, in historiam naturalem recipiendae sunt. Neque propterea polluitur naturalis historia : sol enim aeque palatia et cloacas ingreditur, neque tamen polluitur.

1 " Rerum natura, hoc est, vita narratur, et hsec sordidissima sui parte, ut plurimarum rerum aut rusticis vocabulis aut externis, imo barbaris, etiam cum honoris praefatione ponendis." — Plin. Hist. Nat. i. ad init. Compare also Aristot. De Part. Animal, i. 5.

326 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Nos autem non Capitolium aliquod aut Pyramidem hominum superbiae dedicamus aut condimus, sed tem- plum sanctum ad exemplar mundi in intellectu humano fundamus. Itaque exemplar sequimur. Nam quicquid essentia dignum est, id etiam scientia dignum, quas est essentiae imago. At vilia aeque subsistunt ac lauta. Quinetiam, ut e quibusdam putridis materiis, veluti musco et zibetlio, aliquando optimi odores 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 effoemina- tum.

cxxi.

At de illo omnino magis accurate dispiciendum ; quod plurima 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 ludfera experimenta, non fructifera quaerere ; ad ex- emplum creationis divinae, quod sa^pius diximus, quae primo die lucem tantum produxit, eique soli unum integrum diem attribuit, neque illo die quicquam ma- teriati 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 cogni- tionem bene examinatam et definitam instar lucis esse ; quai ad universa operuni penetralia aditum prsebet, atque tota agmina operum et turmas, et axiomatum nobilissimorum fontes, potestate quadam complectitur et post se trahit ; in se tamen non ita magni usus est.

NOVUM ORGANUiM. 327

Quin et literarum elementa per se et separatim nihil significant nee alicujus usus sunt, sed tamen ad omnis sermonis compositionem et apparatum instar materiae primas sunt. Etiam semina rerum potestate valida, usu (nisi in processu suo) nihili sunt. Atque lucis ipsius radii dispersi, nisi coeant, beneficium suum non imper- tiuntur.

Quod si quis subtilitatibus speculativis ofFendatur, quid de scholasticis viris dicendum erit, qui subtilitati- bus immensum indulserunt ? qua? tamen subtilitates in verbis, aut saltern vulgaribus notionibus (quod tantun- dem valet}, non in rebus aut natura consumpta; fue- runt, atque utilitatis expertes erant, non tantum in origine, sed etiam in consequentiis ; tales autem non fuerunt, ut haberent in praesens utilitatem nullam, sed per consequens infinitam ; quales sunt eae de quibus loquimur. Hoc vero sciant homines pro certo, omnem subtilitatem disputationum et discursuum mentis, si ad- hibeatur tantum post axiomata inventa, seram esse et prseposteram ; et subtilitatis tempus verum ac propri- um, aut saltem praicipuum, versari in pensitanda ex- perientia et inde constituendis axiomatibus ; nam ilia altera subtilitas naturam prensat et captat, sed nun- quam apprehendit aut capit. Et verissimum certe est quod de occasion e sive fortuna dici solet, si transfe- ratur ad naturam : videlicet, earn a f route comatam^ ah ocdpitio calvam esse.

Denique de contemptu in natural! historia rerum aut vulgarium, aut vilium, aut nimis subtilium et in origin- ibus suis inutilium, ilia vox mulierculae ad tumidum principem, qui petitionem ejus ut rem indignam et majestate sua inferiorem abjecisset, pro oraculo sit; Desine ergo rex esse : quia certissimum est, impe-

328 NOVUM ORGANUM.

rium in naturam, si quis hujusmodi rebns ut nimis exilibus et minutis vacare nolit, nee obtineri nee geri posse.

CXXII.

Oecurrit ^ 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 pl'aesidinin nostrum, sed quasi viribus propriis.

Nos autem scimus, si minus sincera fide agere voluis- semus, non difficile ftiisse nobis, ista quae afferuntur vel ad antiqua saecula ante Graeeonim tempora ((rum sci- entia? de natura magis fortasse sed tamen majore cum silentio floruerint, neque in Graeeonim tubas et fistulas adhuc incidissent), vel etiam (per partes certe) ad ali- quos ex Graecis ipsis referre, atque astipulationem et honorem inde petere : more novorum hominum, qui nobilitatem sibi ex antiqua aliqua prosapia, per genealo- giarum favores, astruunt et affingunt. Nos vero rerum evidentia freti, omnem commenti et imposturae condi- tionem rejicimus ; neque ad id quod agitur plus inter- esse putamus, utrum quae jam invenientur antiquis olim cognita, et per rerum vicissitudines et saecula oeciden- tia et orientia sint, quam hominibus curae esse debere, utrum Novus Orbis fuerit insula ilia Atlantis et veteri mundo cognita, an nunc primum reperta. Renim enim inventio a naturae luce petenda, non ab antiqui- tatis tenebris repetenda est.

Quod vero ad universalem istam reprehensionem at- tinet, certissimum est vere rem reputanti, earn et magis probabilem esse et magis modestam, quam si facta fuis- set ex parte. Si enim in primis notionibus errorcs radi-

1 So in the original edition. I think it should be occurret. — J. S.

NOVUM ORGANUiM. 329

cati non fuissent, fieri non potuisset quin nonnulla recte inventa alia perperam inventa correxissent. Sed cum errores fundamentales fuerint, atque ejusmodi ut homi- nes potius res neglexerint ac praeterierint, quam de illis pravum aut falsum judicium fecerint ; minime mirum est, si homines id non obtinuerint quod non egerint, nee ad metam pervenerint quam non posuerint aut col- locarint, neque viam emensi sint quam non ingressi sint aut tenuerint.

Atque insolentiam rei quod attinet ; certe si quis manus constantia atque oculi vigore lineam magis rec- tam 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 ad- modum jactator fuerit. Quin hoc quod dicimus non solum in hoc nostro conatu primo et incoeptivo locum habet ; sed etiam pertinet ad eos qui huic rei posthac incumbent. Nostra enim via inveniendi scientias ex- aequat fere ingenia, et non multum excellentiae eorum relinquit: cum omnia per certissimas regulas et de- monstrationes transigat. Itaque haec nostra (ut saepe diximus) foelicitatis cujusdam sunt potius quam facul- tatis, et potius temporis partus quam ingenii. Est enim certe casus aliquis non minus in cogitationibus humanis, quam in operibus et factis.

CXXIIl.

Itaque dicendum de nobis ipsis quod ille per jocum dixit, praesertim cum tam bene rem secet : fieri non po- test ut idem sentiant^ qui aquam et qui vinum hibant

330 NOVUM ORGANUM.

At cajteri homines, tarn veteres quam novi, liquorem biberunt crudem 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 ma- turis et tempestivis, 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 sco- pum scientiarum a nobis ipsis (id quod in aliis repre- hendimus) verum et oj:)timum prsefixum 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 abstracta} sapientiae serenitate et tranquillitate (tanquam a statu multo di- viniore) arcere et summovere. Nos vero huic rationi libenter assentimur ; et hoc ipsum, quod innuunt ac praeoptant, pra^cipue atque ante omnia agimus. Ete- nim verum exemplar mundi in intellectu luimano fundamus ; quale invenitur, non quale cuipiam sua propria ratio dictaverit. Hoc autem perfici non potest, nisi facta mundi dissectione atque anatomia diligentis- sima. Modulos vero ineptos mundorum et tanquam simiolas, quas in philosophiis phantasiae hominum ex- truxerunt, omnino dissipandas edicimus. Sciant itaque homines (id quod superius diximus) quantum intersit inter humanas mentis Idola, et divinas mentis Ideas.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 331

Ilia enim nihil aliud sunt quam abstractiones ad placi- tum : hfe autem sunt vera signacula Creatoris super creaturas, prout in materia per lineas veras et exquisi- tas imprimuntur et terminantur. Itaque ipsissimae res sunt (in hoc genere) Veritas et utilitas : ^ atque opera ipsa pluris facienda sunt, quatenus sunt veritatis pig- nora, quam propter vitas commoda.

cxxv.

Occurret fortasse et illud : nos tanquam actum agere, atque antiquos ipsos eandem quam nos viam tenuisse. Itaque verisimile putabit quispiam etiam nos, post tan- tum motum et molitionem, deventuros tandem ad ali- quam ex illis philosophiis quae apud antiquos valuerunt. Nam et illos in meditationum suarum principiis vim et copiam magnam exemplorum et particularium para-

1 Compare Partis Instaurationis Secundoe Delineatio : — " Quinetiam illis quibus in conteraplationis amorem eflfusis frequens apud nos operum mentio asperum quiddam et ingratum et mechanicum sonat, monstrabimus quan- tum illi desideriis suis propriis adversentur, cum jmritas conteniplationum 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 vitse bene- ficia sed et veritatis pignora esse. . . Veritatem enim per Operum indica- tionem magis quam ex argumentatione aut etiam ex sensu et patefieri et probari. Quare unam eandemque rationem et conditionis humame et mentis dotandce esse."

Compare also Nov. Org. ii. 4. : " Ista autem duo pronuntiata, Activum et Contemplativum, res eadem sunt ; et quod in operando utilissimum id in sciendo verissimura."

I do not think that the use of ipsissinice here can be justified: if the mean- ing be (as I think it must) that truth and utility are (in this kind) "the verj' same things." If ijysissimce be used correctly, the meaning must be that things themselves, the very facts of nature, are truth and utiHty both. But in that case we should expect "e< Veritas et utilitas." Mr. Ellis pro- poses to render the phrase thus: "Truth and utility are in this kind the very things we seek for." But to me it seems less probable that Bacon would have expressed such a meaning by such a phrase than that he used the word ipsissimce incorrectly in the sense I have attributed to it. — J. 8.

332 NOVUM ORGANDM.

visse, atque in commentarios per locos et titulos diges- sisse, atque inde philosophias suas et artes confecisse, et postea, re comperta, pronuntiasse, et exempla ad fidem et 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 sedificii structuram machinas et scalas a conspectu amovisse. Neque aliter factum esse credere certe oportet. Verum nisi quis omnino oblitus fuerit eorum quas superius dicta sunt, huic objectioni (aut scrupulo potius) facile respondebit. Formam enim inquirendi et inveniendi apud antiques et ipsi profitentur,^ et scripta eorum prae se ferunt. Ea autem non alia fuit, quam ut ab exemplis quibusdam et particularibus (additis notionibus communibus, et for- tasse portione nonnulla ex opinionibus receptis quas maxime placuerunt) ad conclusiones maxime generales sive principia scientiarum advolarent, ad quorum veri- tatera immotam et fixam conclusiones inferiores per media educerent ac probarent ; ex quibus artem con- stituebant. Turn demum si nova particularia et exem- pla mota essent et adducta quae placitis suis refragaren- tur, ilia aut per distinctiones aut per regularum suarum explanationes in ordinem subtiliter redigebant, aut de- mum per exceptiones grosso modo summovebant : 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 advo- latio ad generalissima omnia perdidit.

1 " Profitemur" in the original edition; obviously a misprint. Compare the corresponding passage in Inquisitio legitima de Motu.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 833

CXXVI.

Occurret et illud: nos, propter inhibitionem quan- dam pronuntiandi et principia certa ponendi donee per medios gradus ad generalissima rite perventum sit, sus- pensionem quandam judicii tueri, atque ad Acatalep- siam rem deducere. Nos vero non Acatale-psiam, sed Eucatalepsiam meditamur et proponimus : sensui enim non derogamus, sed ministramus ; et intellectum 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 Natural i tantum Philosophia, an etiam de scien- tiis reliquis, Logicis, Ethicis, Politicis, secundum viam nostram perficiendis loquamur. At nos certe de uni- versis hasc quae dicta sunt intelligimus : atque quemad- modum vulgaris logica, quae regit res per Syllogismum, non tantum ad naturales, sed ad omnes scientias per- tinet ; ita et nostra, quae procedit per Inductionem, omnia complectitur. Tam enim historiam et tabulas inveniendi conficimus de Ira, Metu, et Verecundia, et similibus ; ac etiam de exemplis rerum Civilium : nee minus de motibus mentalibus Memoriae, Compo- sitionis et Divisionis,^ Judicii, et reliquorum : quam de Calido et Frigido, aut Luce, aut Vegetatione, aut si- milibus.^ Sed tamen cum nostra ratio Interpretandi,

^ Synthesis and analysis ?

2 This passage is important because it shows that Bacon proposed to ap- ply his method to mental phenomena ; which is in itself a sufficient refuta- tion of M. Cousin's interpretation of the passage in which, when censuring

834 NOVUM ORGANUM.

post historiam praeparatam et ordinatam, non mentis tantum motus et discursus (ut logica vulgaris), sed et rerum natumm intueatur ; ita mentem regimus, ut ad reinira naturam se, aptis per omnia modis, applicare possit. Atque propterea multa et diversa in doctrina Interpretationis prascipimus, quae ad subjecti de quo inquirimus qualitatem et conditionem, modum inveni- endi nonnulla ex parte applicent.

CXXVIII.

At illud de nobis ne dubitare quidem fas sit ; utrum nos philosopliiam 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 officimus, quin istae quae inval- uerunt et disputationes alant, et sermones ornent, et ad professoria munera ac vitae civilis compendia adhib- eantur et valeant ; denique, tanquam numismata quae- dam, consensu inter homines recipiantur. Quinetiam significamus aperte, ea quae nos adducimus ad istas res non multum idonea futura; cum ad vulgi captum de- duci omnino non possint, nisi per efFecta et opera tan- tum. At hoc ipsum quod de afFectu nostro et bona voluntate erga scientias receptas dicimus quam vera profiteamur, scripta nostra in pubHcum edita (praeser- tim Hbri de Progressu Scientiarum) fidem faciant. Ita- que id verbis ampHus vincere non conabimur. Illud interim constanter et diserte monemus ; his modis qui in usu sunt nee magnos in scientiarum doctrinis et con- templatione progressus fieri, nee illas ad amplitudinem operum deduci posse.

the writings of the schoohnen, he compares them to the self-evolved web of the spider. I have elsewhere spoken more at length of this passage. [See p. 161.J

NOVUM ORGANUM. 335

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 habebunt. Quod si nos omnia per- fecissemus et plane absolvissemus, nee alios in partem et consortium laborum subinde vocaremus, etiam ab hujusmodi verbis abstinuissemus, ne acciperentur in prasdicationem meriti nostri. Cum vero aliorum in- dustria acuenda sit et animi excitandi atque accen- dendi, consentaneum est ut qusedam hominibus in mentem redigamus.

Primo itaque videtur inventorum nobilium introduc- tio inter actiones humanas longe primas partes tenere : id quod antiqua saecula judicaverunt. Ea enim rerum inventoribus divinos honores tribuerunt ; iis autem qui in rebus civilibus merebantur (quales erant urbium et imperiorum conditores, legislatores, patriarum a diu- turnis malis liberatores, tyrannidum debellatores, et his similes), heroum tantum honores decreverunt. Atque certe si quis ea recte conferat, justum hoc prisci sasculi judicium reperiet. Etenim inventorum beneficia ad universum genus humanum pertinere possunt, civilia ad certas tantummodo hominum sedes : hsec etiam non ultra paucas eetates durant, ilia quasi perpetuis tem- poribus. Atque status emendatio in civilibus non sine vi et perturbatione plerumque procedit : at inventa beant, et beneficium deferunt absque alicujus injuria aut tristitia.

Etiam inventa quasi novse creationes sunt, et divi* norum operum imitamenta ; ut bene cecinit ille :

336 NOVUM ORGANUM.

" Primum frugiferos foetus mortalibus aegris Dididerant quondam pra?stanti nomine Athense; Et Recreavekunt vitam, legesque rogarunt." i

Atque videtur notatu dignum in Solomone ; quod cum imperio, auro, magnificentia operum, satellitio, famulitio, classe insuper, et uominis claritate, ac sum- ma hominum admiratione floreret, tamen nihil horum delegerit sibi ad gloriam, sed ita pronuntiaverit : Glo- riam Dei esse, celare rem ; gloriam regis, investigare rem?

Rursus (si placet) reputet quispiam, quantum inter- sit inter hominum vitam in excultissima quapiam Eu- ropae provincia, et in regione aliqua Novae Indiie max- ime fera et barbara : ea^ tantum difFerre existimabit, ut merito hominem homini Deum esse, non solum prop- ter auxilium et beneficium, sed etiam per status com- parationem, recte dici possit. Atque hoc non solum, non coelum, non corpora, sed artes prsestant.

Rursus, vim et virtutem et consequentias rerum in- ventarum notare juvat : qu9B non in aliis manifestius occurrunt, quam in illis tribus quae antiquis incognitas, et quarum primordia, licet recentia, obscura et ingloria sunt : Artis nimirum Imprimendi, Pulveris Tormen- tarii, et Acus Nauticae. Haec enim tria rerum faciem et statum in orbe terrarum mutaverunt : primum, in re literaria ; secundum, in re bellica ; tertium, in navi- gationibus: unde innumerae rerum mutationes sequu- taB sunt ; ut non imperium aliquod, non secta, non Stella, majorem cfficaciam et quasi influxum super res humanas exercuisse videatur, quam ista mechanica exercuerunt.

Praeterea non abs re fuerit, tria hominum ambitionis

1 Lucretius, vi. 1-8. 2 Prov. xxv. 2. 8 go in the original edition.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 337

genera et quasi gradus distinguere. Primum eorum, qui propriam potentiam in patria sua amplificare cupi- unt ; quod genus vulgare est et degener. Secundum eorum, qui patriae potentiam et imperium inter hu- manum genus amplificare nituntur; illud plus certe habet dignitatis, cupiditatis baud minus. Quod si quis humani generis ipsius potentiam et imperium in rerum universitatem instaurare et amplificare conetur, ea pro- culdubio ambitio (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 util- itas ita homines afFecerit, ut eum qui genus humanum universum beneficio aliquo devincire potuerit homine majorem putaverint ; quanto Celsius videbitur tale ali- quid invenire, per quod alia omnia expedite inveniri possint ? Et tamen (ut verum omnino dicamus) quem- admodum luci magnam habemus gratiam, quod per eam vias inire, artes exercere, legere, nos invicem dig- noscere possimus ; et nihilominus ipsa visio lucis res praestantior est et pulchrior, quam multiplex ejus usus : ita certe ipsa contemplatio rerum prout sunt, sine super- stitione aut impostura, errore aut confusione, in seipsa magis digna est, quam universus inventorum fructus.^

Postremo siquis depravationem scientiarum et artium ad malitiam et luxuriam et similia objecerit ; id nem- inem moveat. Illud enim de omnibus mundanis bonis dici potest, ingenio, fortitudine, viribus, forma, divitiis, luce ipsa, et reliquis. Recuperet modo genus humanum jus suum in naturam quod ei ex dotatione divina com-

1 This is one of the passages which show how far Bacon was from what is now called a utilitarian.

338 NOVUM ORGANUM.

petit, 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. Etenim in ea opinione sumus; si justam Naturae et ExperientiaB Historiam praesto haberent homines, atque in ea sedulo versa- rentur, sibique duas res imperare possent; unam, ut receptas opiniones et notiones deponerent; alteram, ut mentem a generalissimis et proximis ab illis ad tempus cobiberent ; fore ut etiam vi propria et gen- uina mentis, absque alia arte, in formam nostram In- terpretandi incidere possent. Est enim Interpretatio verum et naturale opus mentis, demptis iis quae ob- stant : ^ sed tamen omnia certe per nostra praecepta erunt magis in procinctu, et multo firmiora.

Neque tamen illis nihil addi posse affirmamus : sed

contra, nos, qui mentem respicimus non tan-

tum in facultate propria, sed quatenus

copulatur cum rebus, Artem in-

veniendi cum Inventis ad-

olescere posse, stat-

uere debemus.

1 Compare Valeritis Terminus, ch. 22. : — " That it is true that interpreta- tion 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 accident." Also Adv. of Ijeam. (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 nat- ural 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 describe it." — /. 8.

IIBEE SECUNDrS

APHORISMORUM

LIBEE SECUNDUS

APHOEISMORUM

DE

OTERPEETATIONE NATUEJl

8IVE DE

REGNO HOMINIS.

Aphorismus I.

Super datum corpus novam naturam sive novas naturas generare et superinducere, opus et intentio est humanae Potentiae. Datae autem naturae For- mam, sive difFerentiam veram, sive naturam naturan- tem/ sive fontem emanationis (ista enim vocabula

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 considered as the causa immanens of the universe, and there- fore, 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 froiu St. Augustine, in which the latter speaks of " ea natura quae creavit omnes cseteras instituitque naturas." ( V. St. Aug., De Trin. xiv. 9.) Neither does it occur, so far as I am aware, where we might have expected it, in the De Divisions Natures of Scotus Erigena. Vossius, De Vitiis Latini Sermonis, notices its use among the schoolmen, but gives no particular reference.

342 NOVUM ORGANUM.

habemus quae ad indicationem rei proxime accedunt) invenire, opus et intentio est humanize ScientiaB.^ At- que his operibus primariis subordinantiir alia opera duo secundaria et inferioris notae ; priori, transforma- tio corporum concretorum de alio in aliud, intra ter- minos Possibilis ; ^ posteriori, inventio in omni genera- tione et motu latentis processus^ continuati ab Efficiente manifesto et materia manifesta usque ad Formam indi- tam ; et inventio similiter latentis schematismi corpo- rum quiescentium et non in motu.^

n.

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 causae quatuor; Ma- teria, 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

1 See General Preface, ^ 7. p. 67.

2 The possibility of transmiitation, 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." — Faraday, Lectures on Non- Metallic Elements, p. 106.

8 In this aphorism Bacon combines the antithesis of corpus and natura, the concrete 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 " natural 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."

NOVUM ORGANUM. 343

sunt et superficiales, et nihili fere ad scientiam veram et activam. Neque tamen obliti sumus nos superius notasse et correxisse errorem mentis humanae, in def- erendo Formis primas essentiae.^ Licet enim in na- tura nihil vere existat praeter corpora individua eden- tia actus puros individuos ex lege ; in doctrinis tamen, ilia ipsa lex, ej usque inquisitio et inventio atque expli- catio, pro fundamento est tam ad sciendum quam ad operandum. Eam autem legem, ejusque paragraphos, Formarum nomine intelligimus ; ^ praesertim cum hoc vocabulum invaluerit et familiariter occurrat.

Qui causam alicujus naturas (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 (quse causse flux^ sunt, et nihil aliud quam vehicula et causae Formam deferentes in aliquibus),^ is ad nova inventa, in materia aliquatenus simili et praaparata, pervenire potest, sed rerum terminos altius fixos non movet. At qui Formas novit, is naturae unitatem in materiis dissimillimis complectitur. Itaque quae ad- huc facta non sunt, qual^ nee naturse vicissitudines

1 [I. § 51. " Formse enim commenta animi hnmani 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 ex- istence." Bacon alludes to the maxim "forma dat esse."

2 See General Preface, p. 75. 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."

3 L e. " which are unstable causes, and merely vehicles and causes which convey the form in certain cases."

344 NOVUM ORGANUM.

neque experimentales industrias neque casus ipse in actum unquam perduxissent, neque cogitationem hu- manam subitura fuissent, detegere et producere potest. Quare ex Formarum inventione sequitur Contempla- tio vera et Operatic libera.

IV.

Licet viae ad potentiam atque ad scientiam huma- liam conjunctissimae 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 ac- tivam, atque ut ilia ipsa partem contemplativam signet et determinet. Videndum itaque est, ad aliquam natu- ram super corpus datum generandam et superinducen- dam, quale quis praeceptum aut qualem quis directio- nem aut deductionem* maxime optaret ; idque serraone simplici et minime abstruso.

Exempli gratia ; si quis argento cupiat superinducere flavum colorem auri aut augmentum ponderis (servatis legibus materiae^), aut lapidi alicui non diaphano dia- phaneitatem, 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 procul- dubio 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 operandi particulares. Fortasse enim destituetur, nee habebit facultatem et commoditatem talia media comparandi et procurandi. Quod si sint et alia media et alii modi 1 That is, with a corresponding decrease of volume.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 345

(praster illud prseceptum) progignendae talis naturae, ea fortasse ex iis erunt quae sunt in operantis potestate ; a quibus nihilominus per angustias prascepti excludetur, nee fructum capiet. Tertio, optabit aliquid sibi mons- trari, quod non sit aeque difficile ac ilia ipsa operatic de qua inquiritur, sed propius accedat ad praxin.

Itaque de praecepto vero et perfecto operandi, pro- nun tiatum erit tale ; ut sit certum, liberum, et disponens sive in ordine ad actionem. Atque hoc ipsum idem est cum inventione Formae verae. Etenim Forma naturae alicujus talis est ut, ea posita, natura data infallibiliter sequatur. Itaque adest perpetuo quando natura ilia adest, atque eam 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 da- tam ex fonte aliquo essentiae deducat quae inest pluri- bus, et notior est naturae^ (ut loquuntur) quam ipsa Forma. Itaque de axiomate vero et perfecto sciendi, pronuntiatum et praeceptum tale est ; ut inveniatur na- tura alia, quce sit cum natura data convertibilis, et tamen sit limitatio naturce notioris, instar generis veri? Ista

1 See note on Distrib. Operis, p. 216.

2 Let us adopt, for distinctness of expression, the theory commonly known as Boscovich'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 mechanical 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 configu- ration 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 bod- ies transparent and others not so — in other words, what is the essential cause of transparency which is precisely what Bacon would call the form

346 NOVUM ORGANUM.

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 cor- porum, duplicis est generis. Primum intuetur corpus, ut turmam sive conjugationem naturarum simplicium : ut in auro haec conveniunt ; 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, quae in auro concurrunt. Itaque hujusmodi axioma rem deducit ex Formis natu- rarum simplicium. Nam qui Formas et modes novit superinducendi flavi, ponderis, ductilis, fixi, fluoris, so- lutionum, et sic de reliquis, et eorum graduationes et modes, videbit et curabit ut ista conjungi possint in aliquo corpore, unde sequatur transformatio in aurum.^

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 luminiferous ether pass through it. What this configuration or this law may be, is a question 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 im]K)rtance, and that no inconsiderable advance has already been made towards the solution of some at least among them.

I " On pourroit trouver le moyen de contrefaire I'or en sorte qu'il satisfc- roit a toutes les ^preuves qu'on en a jusqu'ici; mais on pourroit aussi d^couvrir alors une nouvelle mani6re d'essai, qui donneroit le moyen de distinguer Tor naturel de cet or fait par artifice .... nous pourrions avoir une definition plus parfaite de Tor que nous n'en avons pr^sentement." — Leibnitz, Nouv. Ess. sur r Entendement, c. 2.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 347

Atque hoc genus operandi pertinet ad actionem prima- riam. Eadem enim est ratio generandi naturam unam aliquam simplicem, et plures ; nisi quod arctetur magis et restringatur homo in operando, si plures requirantur, propter difficultatem tot naturas coadunandi ; quae non facile conveniunt, nisi per vias naturse tritas et ordina- rias. Utcunque tamen dicendum est, quod iste modus operandi (qui naturas intuetur simplices, licet in cor- pore concreto) procedat ex iis quae in natura sunt con- stantia et aeterna et catholica, et latas praebeat potentise humanae vias, quales (ut nunc sunt res) cogitatio hu- man a vix capere aut repraesentare possit.

At secundum genus axiomatis (quod a latentis pro- cessus 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 rudimentis suis usque ad mineram perfectam ; aut similiter, quo pro- cessu herbse generentur, a primis concretionibus succo- rum in terra, aut a seminibus, usque ad plantam forma- tam, cum universa 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 hsec inquisitio, sed etiam ad alios motus et opi- ficia naturae. Exempli gratia ; in casu ubi fit inquisitio, de universa serie et continuatis actionibus alimentandi, a prima receptione ahmenti ad assimilationem perfec- tam ; aut similiter de motu voluntario in animalibus, a prima impressione imaginationis et continuatis nixibus

348 NOVUM ORGANUM.

spiritus usque ad flexiones et raotus artuum ; aut de explicate motu linguae et labiorum et instrumentorum reliquorura usque ad editionem vocum articulatarum. Nam haec quoque spectant ad naturas concretas, sive collegiatas et in fabiica ; et intuentur veluti consuetu- dines naturae parti culares et speciales, non leges fun- damentales et communes, quae constituunt Formas. Veruntamen omnino fatendum est, rationem istam vi- deri expeditiorem et magis sitam in propinquo, et spem injicere magis, quam illam primariam.

At pars Operativa similiter, quae huic parti Contem- plativse respondet, operationem extendit et promovet ab iis quae ordinario in natura inveniuntur ad qusedam proxima, aut a proximis non admodum remota ; sed altiores et radicales operationes super naturam pendent utique ab axiomatibus primariis. Quinetiam ubi non datur liomini facultas operandi, sed tantum sciendi, ut in coelestibus (neque enim ceditur homini operari in coelestia, 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 naturis simplicibus (veluti de natura rotationis spontaneae, attractionis sive virtutis magneticae, et aliorum complurium quae magis com- munia 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 obsiden- tur) facile possit occurrare. Neque enim intelligimus

NOVUM ORGANUM. 349

mensuras quasdam aut signa aut scalas processus in corporibus spectabiles ; sed plane processum continua- tum, qui maxima ex parte sensum fugit.

Exempli gratia ; in omni generatione et transforma- tione corporum, inquirendum quid deperdatur et evolet, quid maneat, quid accedat ; quid dilatetur, quid con- trahatur ; quid uniatur, quid separetur ; quid continue- tur, quid abscindatur ; quid impellat, quid impediat ; quid dominetur, quid succumbat ; et alia complura.

Neque hie rursus, haec tantum in generatione aut transformatione corporum quaerenda sunt ; sed et in omnibus aliis alterationibus et motibus similiter inqui- rendum quid antecedat, quid succedat ; quid sit incita- tius, quid remissius ; quid motum prasbeat, quid regat ; et hujusmodi. Ista vero omnia scientiis (quae nunc pinguissima Minerva et prorsus inhabili contexuntur) incognita sunt et intacta. Cum enim omnis actio nat- uralis per minima transigatur, aut saltem per ilia quae sunt minora quam ut sensum feriant,^ nemo se naturam regere aut vertere posse speret, nisi ilia debito modo

comprehenderit et notaverit.

f

VII.

Similiter, inquisitio et inventio latentis sehematismi in corporibus res nova est, non minus quam inventio latentis processus et Formae.^ Versamur enim plane

1 i. 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 absolute 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 def- erent 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

350 NOVUM ORGANUM.

adhuc in atriis naturaB, neque ad interiora paramus aditum. At nemo corpus datum nova natura dotare vel in novum corpus foeliciter et apposite transmutare potest, nisi corporis alterandi aut transformandi bonam habuerit notitiam. In modos enim vanos incurret, aut saltem difficiles et perversos, nee pro corporis natura in quod operatur. Itaque ad hoc etiam via plane est ape- rienda 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 anatomias spectabile est, et sensui subjectum, et in corporibus tantum organicis locum habet. Verum hoc ipsum obvium quiddam est et in promptu situm, prae anatomia vera schematismi latentis in corporibus quae habentur pro similaribus : ^ praesertim in rebus specificatis ^ et earum partibus, ut ferri, lapidis ; et partibus similaribus plantae, anima- lis ; veluti radicis, folii, floris, carnis, sanguinis, ossis, etc. At etiam in hoc genere non prorsus cessavit industria hum ana ; hoc ipsum enim innuit separatio

difficulty in understanding the nature of what appear to be spontaneous changes, because everj' 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 rapidity, that the sensible qualities associated with it pass away. The introduction of the idea of unstable equilibrium in connexion with organic chemistry, was a step in the direction which molec- ular Physics will probably soon take.

1 i. e. that are thought to be of uniform structure — made up of parts similar to one another.

2 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 elemtntary. A ruby has a specific character, is specijicatum ; com- mon 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 Be Augm. ii. 3.]

NOVUM ORGANUM. 351

corporum similarium per distillationes et alios solu- tionum modos, ut dissimilaritas compositi per congre- gationem partium homogenearum appareat.^ Quod etiam ex usu est, et facit ad id quod quaerimus ; licet saspius res fallax sit ; quia complures naturae separa- tioni imputantur et attribuuntur, ac si prius substitis- sent 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 invenien- dum Schematismum verum in composito ; qui Schema- tismus res est longe subtilior et accuratior, et ab operi- bus 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 experiments auxiliaribus ; et per compara- tionem ad alia corpora, et reductionem ad naturas sim- plices et earum Formas quse 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 transformationis norma educitm^) in lucem protrahere.

Exempli gratia ; inquirendum, quid sit in omni cor- pore spiritus, quid Sssentiae 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 ; consentiens cum externis et ambientibus, aut dissentiens ; etc. Et similiter essentia tangibilis (qua3 non pauciores recipit

1 That the complex structure of the compound may be made apparent by bringing together its several homogeneous parts.

852 NOVUM ORGANUM.

difterentias quam spiritus) atque ejus villi et fibrae et omnimoda textura, rursus autem collocatio spiritus per corpoream molem, ejusque pori, meatus, venas et cel- lulsB, et rudimenta sive tentamenta corporis organici, sub eandem inquisitionem cadunt. Sed et in his quo- que, atque adeo in omni latentis schematismi inventione, lux vera et clara ab Axiomatibus primariis immittitur, quae certe caliginem omnem et subtilitatem discutit.

VITI.

Neque propterea res deducetur ad Atomum, qui prassupponit Vacuum et materiam non fluxam (quorum utrumque falsum est), sed ad particular veras, quales inveniuntur. Neque rursus est quod exhorreat quis- piam istam subtilitatem, ut inexplicabilem ; sed contra, quo magis vergit inquisitio ad naturas simplices, eo magis omnia erunt sita in piano et perspicuo; trans- lato negotio a multiplici in simplex, et ab incommen- surabili ad commensurabile, et a surdo ad computabile, et ab infinito et vago ad definitum et certum ; ut fit in elementis literarum et tonis concentuum. Optime autem cedit inquisitio naturalis, quando physicum ter- minatur in mathematico. At rursus multitudinem aut fractiones nemo reformidet. In rebus enim quaa per numeros transiguntur, tam facile quis posuerit aut cogi- taverit millenarium quam unum, aut millesimam par- tem unius quam unum integrum.

IX.

Ex duobus generibus axiomatum quas superius posita sunt, oritur vera divisio philosophiaB et scientiarura ; translatis vocabulis receptis (quae ad indicationem rei proximo accedunt) ad sensum nostrum. Videlicet, ut

NOVUM ORGANUM. 353

inqiiisitio Formarum^ quae sunt (ratione certe, et sua lege ^) aeternae et immobiles, constituat Metaphydcam ; inquisitio vero FJfficientis, et Materice^ et Latentis Pro- cessus^ et Latentis Schematismi (quae omnia cursum naturae communem et ordinarium, non leges funda- mentales et aeternas respiciunt) constituat Fhysicam : atque his subordinentur similiter practicae duae ; Phys- icae Mechanica ; Metaphysicae (perpurgato nomine) Magia, propter latas ejus vias et majus imperium in naturam.

X.

Posito itaque doctrinae scopo, pergendum ad prascepta ; idque ordine minime perverso aut perturbato. Atque indicia de Interpretatione Naturae complectuntur partes in genere duas ; primam de educendis aut excitandis axiomatibus ab experientia ; secundam de deducendis aut derivandis experimentis novis ab axiomatibus. Prior autem trifariam dividitur ; in tres nempe ministrationes ; ministration em ad Sensum, ministrationem g,d Memo- riam, et ministrationem ad Mentem sive Rationem.^

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 dis- crepancy see General Preface, § 10. According to the order proposed in the Delineatio, the ministraiio ad sensum was to contain three parts, of which the first two are not mentioned here: namely, 1st, " Quomodo bona notio constituatur et eliciatur, ac quomodo testatio sensus, quae semper est ex analogia hominis, ad analogiam mundi reducatur et rectificetur; " 2dly, " Quomodo ea quae sensum efFugiunt aut subtilitate totius corporis, aut partium minutiis, aut loci distantia, aut tarditate vel etiam velocitate motus, aut familiaritate objecti, aut aliis, in ordinem sensus redigantur; ac insuper in casu quo adduci non possunt, quid faciendum, atque quomodo huic destitutioni vel per instrumenta, vel per graduum observationem pe- ritam, vel per corporum proportionatorum ex sensibilibus ad insensibilia

VOL. I. 23

864 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Primo enim paranda est Historia Naturalis et Ex- perimentalis, sufficiens et bona ; quod fundamentum rei est ; neque enim fingendum aut excogitandum, sed inveniendum, quid natura faciat aut ferat.

Historia vero Naturalis et Experimentalis tam varia est et sparsa, ut intellectum confiindat et disgi^eget, nisi sistatur et compareat ordine idoneo. Itaque formandae 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 movens incompetens est et inliabilis ad opi- ficium axiomatum, nisi regatur et muniatur. Itaque tertio, adhibenda est Inductio legitima et vera, quae ipsa Clavis est Interpretationis. Incipiendum autem est a fine, et retro pergendum ad reliqua.^

XI.

Inquisitio Formarum sic procedit ; super naturam datam primo facienda est comparentia^ ad Intellectum omnium Instantiainim notarum, quae in eadem natura conveniunt, per materias licet dissimillimas. Atque hujusmodi collectio facienda est liistorice, absque con-

indicationes, vel per alias vias ac substitutiones, sit siibveniendum." I suppose Bacon had. now determined to transfer these to the third minis- tration— the ministratio ad Rationem; and to treat of tliem under the heads adminicula et rectijicationes inductionis. See infra, § 21 . ; and observe that the full exposition of the Jnstantue supplementi, and Instnniice persecantes (both of which belong to the second of the two parts above mentioned) was reserved for the section relating to the adminicula Jnductionis. See §§ 42, 43. — J. 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 Ducange in voc.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 355

templatione prsefestina, aut subtilitate aliqua majore. Exempli gratia ; in inquisitione de Forma Calidi.

Instaiitice eonvenientes in natura Calidi.

1. Radii solis, prsesertim aestate et meridie.

2. Radii solis reflexi et constipati, ut inter montes, aut per parietes, et maxime omnium in speculis com- burentibus.

3. Meteora ignita.

4. Fulmina comburentia.

5. Eructationes flammarum ex cavis montium, etc.

6. Flamma omnis.

7. Ignita solida.

8. Balnea calida naturalia.

9. Liquida ferventia, aut calefacta.

10. Vapores et fumi ferventes, atque aer ipse, qui fortissimum et furentem suscipit calorem, si concluda- tur; ut in reverberatoriis.^

11. Tempestates aliquae sudae per ipsam constituti- onem aeris, non habita ratione temporis anni.

12. Aer conclusus et subterraneus in eavernis non- nullis, praesertim hyeme.

13. Omnia villosa, ut lana, pelles animalium, et plu- magines, habent nonnihil teporis.

14. Corpora omnia, tam solida quam liquida et tarn densa quam tenuia (qualis est ipse aer), igni ad tempus approximata.

15. Scintillae ex silice et chalybe per fortem percus- sionem.

16. Omne corpus fortiter attritum, ut lapis, lignum, pannus, etc. ; adeo ut temones et axes rotarum aliquan-

1 That is, furnaces in which the flame is made to return on itself by im- peding its direct course.

356 NOVUM ORGANUM.

do flaramam concipiant ; et mos excitandi ignis apud Indos Occidentales fuerit per attritionem.

17. Herbse virides et humidae simul conclusae et con- trusae, ut rosae, pinsae^ in corbibus ; adeo ut foenum, si repositum fiierit madidum, saepe concipiat flammam.^

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.

20. Animalia, praesertim et perpetuo per interiora ; licet in insectis calor ob par vita tern corporis non depre- hendatur ad tactum.

21. Fimus equinus, et hujusmodi excrementa anima- lium recentia.

^ Pisse in the original edition.

2 " That seeds when germinating, as they lie heaped in large masses, evolve a considerable depjree 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 fer- mentation. To Goppert( Ueber Wdmieentwickelung inder 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, Sperguia, Brassica, &c.), made to germinate in quantities of about a pound, became heated, at a temperature of the air of 48°— 66°, to 59°— 120° Fahr.

" It was liltewise shown by Goppert that full-grown plants also, such as Oats, Maize, Cypertis esculentus, Hyoscynmus, Sedum acre, &c., laid together in heaps and covered with bad conductors of heat, cause a thermometer placed among thera 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 Aroidea. This is considerable even in our Arum maculatum, and according to Dutro- chet's researches {Comptes rendus, 1839, 695.) rises to 25° — 27° above the temperature of the air. But this phenomenon is seen in afar higher degree in Colocasia 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 ( 6>6s. Oiermo-ekct. «. felev. de temperat. des Fleurs d. Cohens, 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.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 357

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 vini 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 torrefiat et incnistetur, ad modum panis tosti.^

25. Aromata et herbae calidae, ut dracunculus, nastur- tium 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 ;

1 The analogy which Bacon here remarks, arises probabl}'', 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 ex- tracted 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, contain- ing, 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 45° or 48° centigrade (104° to 118° Fahr.). As this effect has not been noticed in carbonic acid gas prepared artificial!}', it is probable that it requires for its production 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.

368 NOVUM ORGANUM.

" Nee Borese peaetrabile frigus adurit"!

28. Alia.

Hanc Tahulam JEJssentice et Prcesentice appellare con- sue vimus.

XII.

Secundo, facienda est comparentia ad Intellectum Instantiarum quae natura data privantur: quia Forma (ut dictum est) non minus abesse debet ubi natura abest, quam adesse ubi adest. Hoc nero infinitum esset in omnibus.

Itaque subjungenda sunt negativa affirmativis, et pri- vationes inspiciendae tantum in illis subjectis quaB sunt maxime cognata illis alteris in quibus natura data inest et comparet. Hanc Tahulam Declinationis^ sive Ab- sentlce in proximo^ appellare consuevimus.

Instantice in proximo, quce privantur natura Calidi. Adinstantiam 1. LuusB ct stellarum ct comctarum radii

primam af- . , f f ^ n • •

Armativam, nou mveumntur calidi ad tactum : ^ qumetiam

Instantia pri- , . . p . .,.,..

ma negativa observaii solcut accmma ingora in plenilunns.

vel subjunc- . ,, ^ . , , , .

ti?a. At stellae iixae majores, quando sol eas subit

aut iis approximatur, existimantur fervores solis augere et intendere ; ut fit cum sol sistitur in Leone, et diebus canicularibus.

Ad 2am 2». 2. Radii solis in media (quam vocant) re- gione aeris non calefaciunt ; cujus ratio vulgo non male redditur ; quia regio ilia nee satis appropinquat ad cor- pus solis, unde radii emanant, nee etiam ad terram, unde reflectuntur. Atque hoc liquet ex fastigiis monti-

1 Virg. Georg. I. 93.

2 M. Melloni has recently succeeded in making sensible the moon's cal- orific rays.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 359

um (nisi sint prajalti), ubi nives perpetuo durant. Sed contra notatum est a nonnullis, quod in cacumine Picus de Tenariph, atque etiam in Andis Peruviae, ipsa fas- tigia 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 vomitum. Atque ab antiquis notatum est, in vertice Olympi tantam fuisse aeris tenuitatem, ut necesse fuerit illis qui eo ascende- rant secum deferre spongias aceto et aqua madefactas, easque ad os et nares subinde apponere, quia aer ob tenuitatem non sufficiebat respirationi : ^ in quo vertice etiam relatum est, tantam fuisse serenitatem et tranquil- litatem a pluviis et nivibus et ventis, ut sacrificantibus literae descriptge digito in cineribus sacrificiorum super aram Jovis, manerent in annum proximum absque ulla perturbatione.^ Atque etiam hodie ascendentes ad ver-

1 i. e. It was insufficient for the cooling of the blood, which according to Aristotle was the end of respiration.

2 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 Ol^'mpus. The passages on the subject are to be found in Ide- ler's Meteorologia veterum Grcecorum et Romanorum (Berlin, 1832), at p. 81. Compare his edition of the Meteorologies 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 Philopo- nus 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 sacri- fices 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 Me- teorologies, 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.

360 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ticem Picus de Tenariph eo vadunt noctu et non inter- diu ; et paulo post ortum solis monentur et excitantur a ducibus suis ut festinent descendere, propter pericu- lum (ut videtur) a tenuitate aeris, ne solvat spiritus et sufFocet.^ Ad 2«'n 3». Reflexio radiorum solis, in regionibus prope circulos polares, admodum debilis et inefficax invenitur in calore : adeo ut Belgas, qui hybernarunt in Nova Zembla,^ cum expectarent navis suae liberationem et de- obstructionem a glaciali mole (quae eam obsederat) per initia mensis Julii spe sua frustrati sint, et coacti sca- phae se committere. Itaque radii solis directi videntur parum posse, etiam super terram planam ; nee reflexi etiam, nisi multiplicentur et uniantur ; quod fit cum sol magis vergit ad perpendiculum ; quia tum incidentia radiorum facit angulos acutiores, ut linea? radiorum sinl magis in propinquo : ubi contra in magnis obliquitati-

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 Zenibla. [In Barentz's first voyage, 1594, he was stopped by the ice on the 13th of July, and obliged to return. In his third voyage, 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 loose, 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 Ger- rit de Veer, one of the party, was first published in Dutch in 1598; trans- lated 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.]

NOVUM ORGANUM. 361

bus solis anguli sint valde obtusi, et proinde linese radi- orum magis distantes. Sed interim notandum est, mul- tas esse posse oper,ationes radiorum solis, atque etiam ex natura Calidi, quag non sunt proportionatse ad tactum nostrum : adeo ut respectu nostri non operentur usque ad calefactionem, sed respectu aliorum nonnullorum corporum exequantur opera Calidi.

Ad 2am 4a. Y'lSit hujusmodl experimentum. Accipiatur speculum^ fabricatum contra ac fit in speculis combu- rentibus, et interponatur inter manum et radios solis ; et fiat observatio, utrum minuat calorem solis, quemad- modum speculum comburens eundem auget et intendit. Manifestum est enim, quoad radios opticos, prout fab- ricatur speculum in densitate insequali respectu medii et laterum, ita apparere simulachra magis diffusa aut magis contracta. Itaque idem videndum in calore.

Ad 2am 5a. pi^t expcrimcntum diligenter, utrum per specula comburentia fortissima et optime fabricata radii lunse possint excipi et colligi in aliquem vel minimum gradum teporis. Is vero gradus teporis si fortasse nimis subtilis et debilis fuerit, ut ad tactum percipi et depre- hendi non possit, confugiendum erit ad vitra ilia qusB indicant constitutionem aeris calidam aut frigidam ; ita ut radii lunae per speculum comburens incidant et ja- ciantur in summitatem vitri hujusmodi ; atque turn notetur si fiat depressio aquae per teporem.

Ad 2am 6a. Practlcctur etiam vitrum comburens super calidum ^ quod non sit radiosum aut luminosum ; ^ ut

1 " Speculum," used for lens. Read " specillum," the common word. *7 passes very easily into u ; and probably the transition was more facile in the cursive hand.

2 So in the original ; qy. corpus calidum. — J. S.

8 Mersenne says the greater number of the experiments mentioned in the second book of the Novum Organum had already been made, and mentions

362 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ferri et lapidis calefacti sed non igniti, aut aqua^ ferven- tis, aut similium ; et notetur utrum fiat augmentum et intentio calidi, ut in radiis solis.

Ad2'v'n7a. Practicetur etiam speculum comburens in flamma communi.

Ad 2«m 8a. Cometarum (si et illos numerare inter me- teora libuerit) ^ non deprebenditur constans aut mani- festus efFectus in augendis ardoribus anni, licet siccitates ssepius inde sequi notatae sint. Quinetiam trabes et columnoB lucida3 et chasmata et similia apparent saepius temporibus hybernis quam a^stivis ; et maxime per in- tensissima frigora, sed conjuncta cum siccitatibus. Ful- mina tamen et coruscationes et tonitrua raro eveniunt hyeme, sed sub tempus magnorum fervorum. At stellag (quas vocant) cadentes existimantur vulgo magis con- stare ex viscosa aliqua materia splendida et accensa, quam esse naturaa igneae fortioris. Sed de hoc inquira- tur ulterius.

Ad4ara9a. Suut qusgdam coruscationes quae praebent lumen sed non urunt ; eae vero semper fiunt sine tonitru.

Ads^mioi. Eructationes et einiptiones flammarum in- veniuntur non minus in regionibus frigidis quam cali- dis ; ut in Islandia et Groenlandia ; quemadmodum et arbores per regiones frigidas magis sunt quandoque inflammabiles et magis piceae ac resinosie quam per regiones calidas ; ut fit in abietc, pinu, et reliquis ; ve-

partlcularly, 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.

1 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 propounded by the Jesuit Grossi. Bacon per- haps alludes to this controversy.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 363

rum in quali situ et natura soli hujusmodi eruptiones fieri soleant, ut possimus Affirmativse subjungere Nega- tivam, non satis quEesitum est. AdGamiia. Omnis flamma perpetuo est calida magis aut minus, neque omnino subjungitur Negativa ; et ta- men referunt ignem fatuum (quem vocant), qui etiam aliquando impingitur in parietem,^ non multum habere caloris ; fortasse instar flammse spiritus vini, quae cle- mens et lenis est. Sed adhue lenior videtur ea flamma quae in nonnullis historiis fidis et gravibus invenitur ap- paruisse circa capita et comas puerorum et virgin um ; qu£e nullo modo comas adurebat, sed molliter circum eas trepidabat. Atque certissimum est, circa equum in itinere sudantem noctu et suda tempestate apparuisse quandoque 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 factum est ob alumen aut sales quibus gremiale tinctum erat paulo crassius haerentia et incrustata, et ex frica- tione fracta. Atque certissimum est saccharum omne, sive conditum (ut vocant) sive simplex, modo sit du- rius, in tenebris fractum aut cultello scalptum corus- care. Similiter aqua marina et salsa noctu interdum invenitur remis fortiter percussa coruscare. Atque etiam in tempestatibus spuma maris fortiter agitata noctu coruscat ; quam coruscationem Hispani pulmonem marinum vocant.^ De ilia flamma autem quam anti-

i i. e. Which sometimes eveu settles on a wall.

2 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 irvevfiuv -^aTuiaaiog, which is used by Dioscorides, De Ma- teria Medicd, ii. 39. The lummous appearance arises apparently from ser- pent medusae, which in texture are like the substance of the lungs, from

364 NOVUM ORGANUM.

qui nautaB vocabant Castor em et Pollucem, et moderni Focum Sancti Ermi} qualem calorem habeat non satis quaesitum est.

Ad I'm 12*. Onine ignitum ita ut vertatur in ruborem igneum etiam sine flamma perpetuo calidum est, neque huic Affirmativas subjungitur Negativa ; sed quod in proximo est videtur esse lignum putre, quod splendet npctu neque tamen deprehenditur calidum ; et squamae piscium putrescentes, quae etiam splendent noctu, nee inveniuntur ad tactum calidse ; neque etiam corpus cicindelae aut muscae (quam vocant Luciolam) cali- dum ad tactum deprehenditur.

Ad 8»m i3». De balneis calidis, in quo situ et natura soli emanare soleant non satis quaesitum est ; itaque non subjungitur Negativa.

Ad 9am 14a. Liquidis ferventibus subjungitur Negativa ipsius liquidi in natura sua. Nullum enim invenitur liquidum tangibile quod sit in natura sua et maneat constanter calidum, sed superinducitur ad tempus tan- tum calor, ut natura ascititia : ^ adeo ut quae potestate et operatione sunt maxime calida, ut spiritus vini, olea aromatum chymica, etiam olea vitrioli et sulpluiris, et similia, qu^e paulo post adurunt, ad primum tactum sint frigida. Aqua autem balneorum naturalium ex- cepta in vas aliquod et separata a fontibus suis defer-

which circumstance they derive the name which Dioscorides gives them. Cf. De Aug. iv. 3.

1 " 0 lume vivo, que a maritima pente Tem por santo em tempo de tormenta."

Oa Lusiadas de Camoes, canto v. est. 18. I take this quotation from Humboldt's Kosmos, ii. p. 122. ♦ 2 E converso, calor is not a natura adscititia to solids. In modern phys- ics this distinction 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.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 365

vescit perinde ac aqua igne calefacta. At verum est corpora oleosa ad tactum paulo minus esse fiigida quam aquea ; ut oleum minus quam aqua, sericum mi- nus quam linteum. Verum hoc pertinet ad Tabulam Graduum de Frigido,

Ad lOam IS''. Similiter vapori fervido subjungitur Nega- tiva naturae ipsius vaporis, qualis apud nos invenitur. Etenim exhalationes ex oleosis, licet facile inflammab- iles, tamen non inveniuntur calidae, nisi a corpore calido recenter exlialaverint.

Ad lOam 16a. Similiter aeri ipsi ferventi subjungitur Neg- ativa naturae aeris ipsius. Neque enim invenitur apud nos aer calidus ; nisi fiierit aut conclusus, aut attritus, aut manifeste calefactus a sole, igne, aut aliquo alio corpore calido.

Adii«mi7a. Subjungitur Negativa tempestatum frigi- darum magis quam pro ratione temporis anni, quae eveniunt apud nos flante Euro et Borea ; quemadmo- dum et contrariae tempestates eveniunt flante Austro et Zephyro. Etiam inclinatio ad pluviam (prseser- tim temporibus hyemalibus) comitatur tempestatem tepidam ; at gelu contra frigidam. Ad I2'"n 18a. Subjungitur Negativa aeris conclusi in ca- vernis tempore aestivo. At de aere concluso omnino dil- igentius inquirendum. 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 expiration e terrae ; et rursus in media (quam vocant) regione aeris a vaporibus frig- idis 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

366 NOVUM ORGANUM.

etiani ut aer concludatur in tali vasi et materia quae nee ipsa imbuat aerom calido vel frigido ex vi propria nee facile admittat vim aeris extranei. Fiat itaque ex- perimentum per ollam figularem multiplici corio obduc- tam ad muniendam ipsam ab acre extraneo, facta mora per tres aut quatuor dies in vase bene occluso; depre- hensio autem fit post apertionem vasis vel per manum v.el per vitrum graduum ordine applicatum.

Ad 13am 19a. Subest similiter dubitatio, iitrum tepor in lana et pellibus et pliimis et hujusmodi fiat ex quodam exili calore inhaerente, quatenus excernuntur ab ani- malibus ; aut etiam ob pinguedinem quandam et oleosi- tatem, quae sit naturae congruae cum tepore ; vel plane ob conclusionem et fractionem aeris; ut in articulo prae- cedente 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 pluniis aut serico, quae excernuntur ab animatis. Notandum est etiam, omnes pulveres (ubi manifesto includitur aer) minus esse frigidos quam corpora Integra ipsorum ; quemadmodum etiam ex- istimamus omnem spumam (utpote quae aerem contin- eat) minus esse frigidam quam liquorem ipsum.

Ad 14am 20". Huic non subjungitur Negativa. Nihil enim reperitur apud nos sive tangibile sive spiritale quod admotum igni non excipiat calorem. In eo ta- men differunt, quod alia excipiant calorem citius, ut aer, oleum, et aqua ; alia tardius, ut lapis et metalla. Verum hoc pertinet ad Tabulam Q-radaum.

Adi5«m2ia. Huic Instantiae n(m subjungitur Negativa alia, quam ut bene notetur non excitari scintillas ex silice et chalybe aut alia aliqua substantia dura nisi ubi excutiuntur minutiae aliquaj ex ipsa substantia lapidis

NOVUM ORGANUM. 367

vel metalli, neque aerem attritum unquam per se gen- erare scintillas, ut vulgo putant ; quin et ipsae illae scintillae ex pondere corporis igniti magis vergunt deor- sum quam sursum, et in extinctione redeunt in quan- dam fuliginem corpoream.

Ad 16am 22a. Existimamus huic instantise non snbjungi Negativam. Nullum enim invenitur apud nos corpus tangibile quod non ex attritione manifesto calescat; adeo ut veteres somniarent non inesse ccelestibus aliam viam aut virtutem calefaciendi nisi ex attri- tione aeris per rotationem rapidam et incitatam.^ Verum in hoc genere ulterius inquirendum est utram corpora quae emittuntur ex machinis (qualia sunt pilae ex tormentis) non ex ipsa percussione contra- hant aliquem gradum caloris ; adeo ut post quam de- ciderint inveniantur nonnihil calida. At aer motus magis infrigidat quam calefacit; ut in ventis et folli- bus et flatu oris contracti. Verum hujusmodi motus non est tam rapidus ut excitet calorem, et fit secun- dum totum, non per particulas ; ut mirum non sit, si non generet calorem.

Adi7»"'23a. Circa banc instantiam facienda est inqui- sitio diligentior. Videntur enim herbse et vegetabilia viridia et humida aliquid habere in se occulti caloris. Ille vero calor tam tenuis est ut in singulis non per- cipiatur ad tactum, verum postquam ilia adunata sint

1 See Arist. Meteorol. i. c. 2. sub finem; or De Coelo, ii. 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, combustion, 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 some- thing wholly and inconceivably different from itself. Nothing is more remarkable than the way in which ontology here forces itself into physics.

368 NOVUM ORGANUM.

et conclusa, ut spiritus ipsorum non expiret in aerem sed se invicem foveat, turn vero oritur calor mani- festus, et nonnunquam flamma in materia congrua.

Ad 18am 24a. Etiam circa banc instantiam diligentior facienda est inquisitio. Videtur 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 spiri- tus ignei ab aqua, ut fiat quidam conflictus et antipe- ristasis. U tra vero res sit in causa facilius apparebit si loco aquae immittatur oleum ; oleum enim a^que ac aqua valebit ad unionem spiritus inclusi, sed non ad irritationem. Etiam faciendum est experimentum la- tins tam in cineribus et calcibus diversorum corporum, quam per immissionem diversorum liquorum.

Ad 19am 26a. Huic instantiae subjungitur Negativa ali- orum metallorum quae sunt magis moUia et fluxa. Etenim bracteolai auri solutas in liquorem per aquara regis nullum dant calorem ad tactum in dissolutions ; neque similiter plumbum in aqua forti ; neque etiam argentum vivum (ut memini) ; sed argentum ipsum parum excitat caloris, atque etiam cuprum (ut mem- ini), sed magis manifesto stannum, atque omnium maxime ferrum et chalybs, quaa non solum fortem excitant calorem in dissolutione, sed etiam violentam ebullitionem.^ Itaque videtur calor fieri per conflic- tum, cum aquae fortes penetrant et fodiunt et divel- lunt partes corporis, et corpora ipsa resistunt. Ubi vero corpora facilius cedunt vix excitatur calor.

Ad20a'n26«. Calon animalium nulla subjungitur Neg- ativa, nisi insectorum (ut dictum est) ob parvitatem

1 This ebullition is of course not the result of the heat, but arises from the disengagement of gas during the action of the acid on the metal.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 369

corporis. Etenim in piscibus collatis ad animalia ter- restria magis notatur gradus caloris quam privatio. In vegetabilibus autem et plantis nullus percipitur gradus caloris ad tactum, neque in laclirymis ipso- rum, neque in medullis recenter apertis. At in ani- malibus 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 vebementi et febribus.

Ad2iam27'i. Huic instantife vix subjungitur Negativa. Quinetiam excrcmenta animalium non recentia raani- feste habent calorem potentialem, ut cernitur in im- pinguatione soli.

Ad 22ara et 23am 28a. Liquores (sive aquae vocentur sive olea) qui habent magnam et intensam acrimoniam exequuntur opera caloris in divulsione corporum, atque adustione post aliquam moram ; sed tainen ad ipsum tactum manus non sunt calidi ab initio. Ope- rantur autem secundum analogiam^ et poros corpo- ris cui adjunguntur. Aqua enim regis aurum solvit, argentum minime ; at contra aqua fortis argentum solvit, aurum minime ; neutrum autem solvit vitrum ; et sic de cjBteris.

Ad24'»m29v. 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* ostendit potestatem ejus imitativam ca- loris in incrustationibus. Itaque fiat similiter exper- imentum in liquefactionibus. Fiat etiam experimen-

1 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. VOL. I. 24

370 NOVUM ORGANUM.

turn per vitnim graduum sive calendare quod conca- viim sit in summitate sua per exterius ; et immittatur in illud concavum exterius spiritus vini bene rectifica- tus, cum operculo ut melius contineat calorem suum ; et notetur utrum per calorem suum faciat aquam des- cendere.

Ad25>n'30a. Aromata, et herbae acres ad palatum, mul- to magis sumptas interius, perci[)iuntur calida. Viden- dum itaque in quibus aliis materiis exequantur opera calons. Atque refei-unt nauta?, cum cumuli et massae aromatum diu conclusae subito aperiuntur, periculum instare illis qui eas primo agitant et extraliunt a febri- bus et inflammationibus spiritus.^ Similiter fieri pote- rit experimentum, utrum pulveres hujusmodi aroma- tum aut herbarum non arefaciant laridum et carnem suspcnsam super ipsos, veluti fumus ignis.

Ad26u'n8i«. Acrimonia sive penetratio inest tam frigi- dis, qualia sunt acetum et oleum vitrioli, quam calidis, qualia sunt oleum origani et similia. Itaqnc similiter et in animatis cient dolorem, et in non animatis divel- lunt partes et consumunt. Neque huic instantise sub- jungitur Negativa. Atque in animatis nuUus reperi- tur dolor nisi cum quodam sensu caloris. Ad27'"i32v Communes sunt complures actiones et calidi et frigidi, licet di versa admodum ration e. Nam et nives puerorum manus videntur paulo post urere ; et frigora tuentur carnes a putrefactione, non minus quam ignis ; et calores contralmnt corpora in minus, quod faciunt et frigida. Verum base et similia oppor- tunius est referre ad Inquisitionem de Frigido.

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.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 371

XIII.

Tertio facienda est Comparentia ad Intellectum in- stantiarum in quibus natura de qua fit inquisitio inest secundum magis et minus ; sive facta comparatione incrementi et decrementi in eodem subjecto, sive facta comparatione ad invicem in subjectis diversis. Cum enim Forma rei sit ipsissima res ; neque differat res a Forma, allter quam difFerunt apparens et existens, aut exterius et interius, aut in ordine ad hominem et in ordine ad universum ; ^ omnino sequitur ut non recipiatur aliqua natura pro vera Forma, nisi per- petuo decrescat quando natura ipsa decrescit, et simil- iter perpetuo augeatur quando natura ipsa augetur. Hanc itaque tabulam Tabulam Graduum sive Tabulam Comparativce appellare consuevimus.

Tabula Graduum sive Comparativce in Calido.

Primo itaque dicemus de iis quae nullum prorsus gradum caloris habent ad tactum, sed videntur ha- bere potentialem tantum quendam calorem, sive dis- positionem et prjeparationem ad calidum. Postea de- mum descendemus ad ea quae sunt actu sive ad tactum calida, eorumque fortitudines et gradus.

1. In corporibus solidis et tangibilibus non inve- nitur aliquid quod in natura sua calidum sit originali- ter. Non enim lapis aliquis, non metallum, non sul- phur, non fossile aliquod, non lignum, non aqua, non cadaver animalis, inveniuntur calida. Aquae autem

1 " Res " is to be taken in a general sense, so as to include not only sub- stances, but also what Bacon calls naturae. It is therefore not to be trans- lated as if it were synonymous with corpus ; and in fact in a subsequent passage (II. § 50.) "res" and "corpus'" are, so to speak, placed in opposi- tion to each other. " Rerura formae et Corporum schematismi."

372 NOVmi ORGANUM.

calidae in balneis videntur calefieri per accidens, sive per flammam aiit ignem subteiTaneum, quails ex ^tna et montibus aliis compluribus evomitur, sive ex conflictu corporum, quemadmodum calor fit in ferri et stanni dissolutionibus. Itaque gradus caloris in inanimatis, quatenus ad tactum humanum, nullus est ; veruntamen ilia gradu frigoris diffenint ; non enim seque frigidum est lignum ac metallum. Sed hoc pertinct ad Tabulam Graduum in Frigido.

2. Attamen quoad potentiates calores et praepara- tiones ad flammam, complura inveniuntur inanimata admodum disposita, ut sulphur, naphtha, petrelaeum.^

3. Quae antea incaluerunt, ut fimus equinus ex an- imali, aut calx aut fortasse cinis aut fuligo ex igne, reliquias latentes quasdam caloris prioris retinent. Ita- que iiunt quaedam distillationes et separationes corpo- rum per sepulturam in limo equino, atque excitatur calor in calce per aspersionem aquae ; ut jam dictum est.

4. Inter vegetabilia non invenitur aliqua planta sive pars plantae (veluti lachryma aut medulla) quae sit ad tactum humanum calida. Sed tamen (ut superius dic- tum 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 vegetabilia inveniuntur calida, alia frigida.

5. Non invenitur in partibus animalium, postquam fiierint mortuae aut separatae, aliquid calidum ad tac- tum humanum. Nam neque firaus equinus ipse, nisi fuerit conclusus et sepultus, calorem retinet. Sed tamen omnis fimus habere videtur calorem potentialem,

1 The Latin form of the word w petrcieum.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 373

ut in afjrrorum impinguatione. Et similiter, cadavera animalium hujusmodi habent latentem et poteiitialem calorem ; adeo ut in coemeteriis ubi quotidie fiunt sepul- turaB terra calorem quendam occultum colligat, qui cadaver aliquod recenter impositum consumit longe citius quam terra pura. Atque apud orientales tradi- tur inveniri textile quoddam tenue et molle, factum ex avium plumagine, quod vi innata butyrum solvat et liquefaciat in ipso leviter involutum.

6. QuaB impinguant agros, ut fimi omnis generis, creta, arena maris, sal, et similia, dispositionem non- nullam habent ad calidum.

7. Omnis putrefactio in se rudimenta quaedam exilis caloris habet,^ licet non hucusque ut ad tactum percip- iatur. 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 qaae ad tac- tum humanum percipiuntur calida, videtur esse calor animalium, qui bene magnam liabet graduum latitudi- nem. Nam infimus gradus (ut in insectis) vix ad tac- tum deprenditur; summus autem gradus vix attingit ad gradum caloris radiorum solis in regionibus et tempor- ibus maxime ferventibus, neque ita acris est quin tole- rari possit a manu. Et tamen referunt de Constantio,^ aliisque nonnullis qui constitutionis et habitus corporis

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 Marcellinus, 1. xxi. c. 15.

374 NOVUM ORGANUM.

adniotlum sicci fuerunt, quod acutissimis febribus cor- repti ita incaluerint ut manum admotam aliquantulum urcre 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 intennittentium a principio fi-igore et horrore corripiuntur, sed paulo post majorem in modum incalescunt ; quod etiam faciunt a principio in causonibus et febribus pestilen- tialibus.

11. Inquiratur ulterius de calore comparato in di- versis aninialibus, veluti piscibus, quadrupedibus, ser- pentibus, avibus; atque etiam secundum species ip- sorum, ut in leone, milvio, homine; nam ex vulgari opinione, pisces per interiora minus calidi sunt, aves autem maxime calida; ; praesertim columbae, accipitres, struthiones.^

12. Inquiratur ulterius de calore comparato in eo- dem animali, secundum partes et membra ejus diversa. Nam lac, sanguis, sperina, ova, inveniuntur gradu mod- ico tej)ida, et minus calida quam ipsa caro exterior in animali quando movetur aut agitatur. Qualis vero gradus sit caloris in cerebro, stomacho, corde, et reli- quis, similiter adhuc non est quiesitum.

13. Animalia omnia, per hyemem et tempestates frigidas, secundum exterius frigent; sed per interiora etiam magis esse calida existimantur.

14. Calor coelestium, etiam in regione calidissima at- que temporibus anni et diei calidissimis, non eum gra- dum caloris obtinet qui vel lignum aridissimum vel

I Struthio commonly means an ostrich, but it seems here to be used for a sparrow. — J. S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 375

stramen vel etiam linteum ustum incendat aut adurat, nisi per specula comburentia roboretur ; sed tamen e rebus humidis vaporem excitare potest.

15. Ex traditione astronomorum ponuntur stellae alia? magis, alias minus calidae. Inter planetas enim post solem ponitur Mars calidissimus, deinde Jupiter, deinde Venus ; ^ ponuntur autem tanquam frigidi Luna et deinde omnium maxime Saturnus. Inter fixas au- tem ponitur calidissimus Sirius, deinde Cor Leonis, sive Regulus, deinde Canicula, etc.

16. Sol magis calefacit, quo magis vergit ad perpen- diculum sive Zenith, quod etiam credendum est de aliis planetis, pro modulo suo caloris ; exempli gratia, Jovem magis apud nos calefacere cum positus sit sub Cancro aut Leone quam sub Capricorno aut Aquario.

17. Credendum est solem ipsum et planetas reliquos magis calefacere in perigajis suis, propter propinquita- tem ad terram, quam in apogoeis. 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 ob- liquum. Adeo ut comparatio exaltationis planetarum notari debeat, prout ex perpendiculo aut obliquitate participet, secundum regionum varietatem.

18. Sol etiam, et similiter reliqui planetae, calefaceri? magis existimantur cum sint in proximo ad stellas fixas majores ; veluti cum sol ponitur in Leone, magis vici- nus fit Cordi Leonis, Caudae Leonis, et Spicae Virginis, et Sirio, et Caniculse, quam cum ponitur in Cancro, ubi tamen magis sistitur ad perpendiculum.^ Atque

1 B^v some Venus was accounted cold and moist. Vide Marganta Phil. p. 627. Ptolemy, however, confirms what Bacon says of her.

2 This astrological fancy was probably suggested by a wish to explain

376 NOVUM ORGANUM.

credendum est partes coeli majorem infundere calorem (licet ad tactum minime perceptibilem) quo magis ornate sint stellis, praesertim majoribus.

19. Omnino calor coelestium augetur tribus modis ; videlicet ex perpendiculo, ex propinquitate sive peri- gaeo, et ex conjunctione sive consortio stellariim.

20. Magnum omnino invenitur intervallum inter ca- lorem animalium ac etiam radiorum coelestium (prout ad nos deferuntur), atque flammam, licet lenissimam, atque etiam ignita omnia, atque insuper liquores, aut aerem ipsum majorem in modum ab igne calefactum. Etenim flamma spiritus vini, praesertim rara nee consti- pata, tamen potis est stramen aut linteum aut papyrum incendere ; quod nunquam faciet calor animal is vel solis, absque speculis comburentibus.

21. Flammai autem et ignitorum plurimi sunt gra- dus 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 opinanmr flammam ex veg- etabilibus levibus et porosis, ut stramine, scirpis, et foliis arefactis, a quibus non multum differre flammam ex pilis aut 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 lasciculos) lenior sit quam quae flt ex truncis arborum et radicibus. Id quod vulgo expenri licet in fornacibus quaB ferrum ex- why July is hotter than June. In the division of the Zodiac into trigone each of which corresponds to one of the elements, Leo forms one of the comers of the fiery trigon ; and it is moreover the sun's proper sign.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 377

coquunt, in quibus ignis ex fasciculis et ramis arborum non est admodum utilis. Hanc sequitur (ut arbitra- mur) flamma ex oleo et sevo et cera, et hujusmodi oleosis et pinguibus, quae sunt sine magna acrimonia. Fortissimus autem calor reperitur in pice et resina ; at- que adliuc magis in sulphure et caphura,^ et naphtha et petrelaeo et sahbus (postquam materia cruda eru- perit), et in horum compositionibus, veluti pulvere tormentario, igne Graeco (quem vulgo ignem feinira vocant), et diversis ejus generibus, quae tam obsti- natum habent calorem ut ab aquis non facile extin- guantur.

22. Existiraamus etiara flammam quae resultat ex nonnullis metallis imperfectis esse valde robustam et acrem. Verum de istis omnibus inquiratur ulterius.

23. Videtur autem flamma fuhninum potentiorum has omnes flammas superare ; adeo ut ferrnm ipsum perfectum aliquando coUiquaverit in guttas, quod flam- mae illae alterae facere non possunt.

24. In ignitis autem diversi sunt etiam gradus calo- ris, de quibus etiam non facta est diligens inquisitio. Calorem maxime debilem existimamus esse ex linteo usto, quali ad flammae excitationem 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 at- que etiam ex lateribus ignitis, et similibus. Ignitorum autem vehementissime 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 nonnullaj ex flammis. Multo enim calidius est

1 Camphor.

378 NOVUM ORGANUM.

et magis adurens ferrum ignitum quam flamma spiritus vini.

26. Inveniuntur etiam ex illis qu83 ignita non sunt sed tantum ab igne calefacta, sicut aquas ferventes et aer conclusus in revei'beratoriis, noniiulla quae superant calore multa ex flamniis ipsis et ignitis.

27. Motus auget calorem ; ut videre est in foUibus et flatu ; adeo ut duriora ex metallis non solvantur aut liquefiant per ignem mortuum ant quietum, nisi flatu excitetur.

28. Fiat experimentum per specula comburentia, in quibns (ut meinini)^ hoc fit, ut si speculum ponatur (exempli gratia) ad distantiam spithamae ab objecto combustibili, non tantopere incendat aut adurat quam si positum fuerit speculum (exempli gratia) ad dis- tantiam semi-spithamae, et gradatim et lente trahatur ad distantiam spithamcB. Conus tamen et unio radi- orura eadem sunt, sed ipse motus auget opcrationem caloris.2

29. Existimantur incendia ilia quas fiunt flante vento forti majores progressus facere adversus ventum quam secundum ventum ; quia scilicet flamma resilit motu perniciore, vento remittente, quam procedit vento im- pellente.

30. Flamma non emicat aut generatur, nisi detur aliquid concavi in quo flamma movere possit et ludere ; prajterquam in flammis flatuosis pulveris tormentarii, et siuiilibus, ubi compressio et incarceratio flammae auget ejus furorem.

1 Compare De Calore et Fiigore : — "And the operation of thcin [ burn- ing-glasses] is, as I remember, first to place them," &c., which seems to prove, not only that Bacon had no burning-glass at hand, but also that he WHS not familiar with the use of them. — J. S.

2 The only explanation of this is, that the focal length of the lens lay between a span and half a span.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 379

31. Incus per malleiim calefit admodnm ; adeo ut si incus fuerit laminae tenuioris, existimemus illam per fortes et continuos ictus mallei posse rubescere, ut fer- rum ignitum ; sed de hoc fiat experimentum.

32. At in ignitis quie sunt porosa, ita ut detur spatium ad exercendum motum ignis, si coliibeatur hujusmodi motus per compressionem fortem, statim ex- tinguitur ignis ; veluti cum linteum ustum aut filum ardens candelae aut lanipadis aut etiam carbo aut pruna ardens comprimitur per pressorium aut pedis concul- cationem 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.

35. Mora corporis calidi auget calorem. Etenim calor perpetuo transiens et emanans commiscetur cum calore prseinexistente, adeo ut multiplicet calorem. Nam focus non aequo calefacit cubiculum per moram semihorae ac si idem focus dnret per horam integram. At hoc non facit lumen ; etenim lampas aut candela in aliquo loco posita non magis illuminat per moram diuturnam quam statim ab initio.

36. Irritatio per frigidum ambiens auget calorem ; ut in focis videre est per gelu acre. Quod existima- mus fieri non tantum per conclusionem et contrac- tionem caloris, quae est species unionis, sed per exas- perationem ; veluti cum aer aut baculum violenter

380 NOVUM ORGANUM.

comprimitur aut flectitur, iion ad punctum loci prioris resilit, sed ulterius in contrarium. Itaque fiat diligens expcrimentum per baculum vel simile aliquid immissum in flammam, utrum ad latera flaminae non uratur citius quam in medio flammae.

37. Gradus autem in susceptione caloris sunt com- plures. Atque primo omnium notandum est, quam parvus et exilis calor etiam ea corpora quce caloris minime omnium sunt susceptiva immutet tamen et nonnihil calefaciat. Nam ipse calor manus globu- lum plumbi aut alicujus metalli paulisper detentum nonnihil calefacit. Adeo facile et in omnibus trans- mittitur et excitatur calor, corpore nullo modo ad apparentiam immutato.

38. Facillime omnium corporum apud nos et ex- cipit et remittit calorem aer ; quod oj)time cernitur in vitris calendaribus. Eorum confectio est talis : ^ ac- cipiatur vitrum ventre concavo, collo tenui et oblon- go; resupinetur et demittatur hujusmodi vitrum ore deorsum verso, ventre sursum, in aliud vasculum vit- reum ubi sit aqua, tangendo fundum vasculi illius re- cipientis extremo ore vitri immissi, et incumbat paul- lulum vitri immissi collum ad os vitri recipientis, ita ut stare possit ; quod ut commodius fiat, apponatur parum cerae ad os vitri recipientis ; ita tamen ut non penitus obturetur os ejus, ne ob defectum aiiris suc- cedentis impediatur motus de quo jam dicetur, qui est admodum facilis et delicatus.

Oportet autem ut vitrum demissum, antequam in-

1 1 am very much inclined to think that Bacon heard of the vitrum cal- endare from Fludde, or a Fluctibus, as he is called in Latin, who returned from Italy in [lGOo],atul in whose philosophy, built upon certain abstract notions of rarefaction and condensation, perpetual reference is made to the air-thenuometer, to which he gives the same name.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 381

seratur in alterum, calefiat ad ignem a parte superiori, ventre scilicet. 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 dimensionem qualis erit aeris ambientis aut communis tunc temporis quando im- mittitur vitrum, atque attrahet aquam in sursum ad hujusmodi mensuram. Debet autem appendi cliarta angusta et oblonga, et gradibus (quot libuerit) in- terstincta. Videbis autem, prout tempestas diei in- calescit aut frio-escit, aerem se contrahere in anmistius per frigidum et extendere se in latius per calidum ; id quod conspicietur per aquam ascendentem quando con- trahitur aer, et descendentem sive depressum quando dilatatur aer. Sensus autem aeris, quatenus ad cali- dum et frigidum, tam subtilis est et exquisitus ut facul- tatem tactus liumani multum superet ; adeo ut solis radius aliquis, aut calor anhelitus, multo magis calor manus, super vitri summitatem positus, statim deprimat aquam manifesto.^ Attamen existimamus spiritum ani-

1 In consequence of this description of the Vitrum Calendare, the inven- tion of tlie 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 inven- tion 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, Avhen 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 esaminare i gradi del caldo e del freddo." Thus far Cas- telli ; but how long after the original experiment 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 Thermometer between 1693 and 1597. It has not, I think, been remarked that the rise of water

882 NOVUM ORGANUM.

inalium magis adhuc exquisitura sensum habere calidi et frigicH, nisi quod a mole corporea impediatur et hebetetur.

39. Post aerem, existimamus corpora esse maxime sensitiva caloris ea quas a frigore recenter immutata sint et compressa, qualia sunt nix et glacies ; ea enira leni ab'quo tepore solvi incipiunt et colliquari. Post ilia sequitur rjrtasse argentum vivum. Post illud se- quuntur corpora pinguia, ut oleum, butyrum, et similia; deinde lignum ; deinde aqua ; postremo lapides et me- talla, quae non facile calefiunt, prassertim interius. Ilia tamen calorem semel susceptum diutissime retinent ; ita ut later aut lapis aut ferrum ignitum in pelvim aquae frigidae immissum et demersum, per quartam partem horae (plus minus) retineat calorem, ita ut tangi non possit.

40. Quo minor est corporis moles, eo citius per cor- pus calidum approximatum incalescit ; id quod demon- strat omnem calorem apud nos esse corpori tangibili quodammodo adversum.

41. Calidum, quatenus ad sensum et tactum hu- manum, res varia est et respectiva ; adeo ut aqua tepida, si manus frigore occupetur, sentiatur esse cal- ida ; sin manus incaluerit, frigida.

tinder 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. " Possu- mus etiam solo calore aquam ascendere facere. Sit dolium supra ttirrim, vel ligneum, vel argillaccuin aut aereum, quod melius erit, et canalem habeat in medio, qui descendat inferius usque ad aquam, et in eti submersus sit, scd adglutinatus, ne respiret. Calefiat vas superius vel sole vel igne, nam aijr, qui in alvo continetur, rarefit et foras prolabitur, unde aquam in bullas tumere videbimus, mox absentia soils ubi vas refrigescit, aiir condensatur, et quum non sufficiat inclusus aiir vacuum replere, accersitur aqua et aa- cendit supra." — PorUi'a Magic, book xix. chap. 4.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 383

XIV.

Qnam inopes simus liistorise quivis facile advertet, cum in tabulis superioribus, praeterquam quod loco his torise probatae et instantiarum certarum nonnunquam traditiones et relationes inseramus (semper tamen ad- jecta dubiae fidei et anctoritatis nota), saspenumero etiam hisce verbis, fiat experimentum^ vel inquiratwr uUerius, uti cogamur.

XV.

Atque opus et officium harum trium tabularum, Coraparentiam Instantiarum ad Intellectum vocaro consuevimus. Facta autem Comparentia, in opere ponenda est ipsa Inductio. Invenienda est enim super Conlparentiam omnium et singularum Instantiarum natura talis, quae cum natura data perpetuo adsit, absit, atque crescat et dccrescat ; sitque (ut superius dictum est) limitatio naturae magis communis.^ Hoc si mens jam ab initio facere tentet affirmative (quod sibi per- missa semper facere solet), occurrent phantasmata el opinabilia et notionalia male terminata et axiomata quotidie emendanda ; nisi libeat (scholarum more) pugnare pro falsis. Ea tamen proculdubio erunt me- liora 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 contemplationis.^ Sed certe supra hominem

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 lu- minous 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

S84 NOVUM ORGANUM.

est ; cui tantum concedltur, procedere primo per Nega- tivas, et postremo loco desinere in Affirmativas, post omnimodain exclusionem.

XVI.

Itaque naturae facienda est prorsus solutio et sepa- ratio, non per ignem certe, sed per mentem, tanqiiam ignein divinum. Est itaque Inductionis vera? opus primum (quatenus ad inveniendas Formas) Rejectio sive Exclusiva naturarum singularum quas non in- veniuntur 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 decrescat, aut decrescere cum na- tura data crescat. Tum vero post Rejectionem et Exclusivam debitis modis factam, secundo loco (tan- quam in fundo) manebit (abeuntibus in fumum opin- ionibus 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 quas 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 hom-

inum contemplationes et cogitationes hactenus assue-

verunt.

the angelic nature is capable of it attains at once. Thus it is said, '* In- feriores substantiae inteliectivae, scilicet animae humanae, habent potentiam intellectivam non completam naturaliter, sed conipletur in iis successive per hoc quod accipiunt species a rebus. Potentia vero intellecliva in sub- stantiis spiritualibus superioribus, id est in angelis, completa est per species intclligibiles connaturales: in quantum habent species itftelligibiies coiina- turales ad omnia intelligenda quae naturaliter cognoscere possuuL" — 8. Thomas, Summa Theol Ima, q. 45. a 2.

I

NOVUM ORGANUM. 385

Primo enim, de Formis copulatis, quaB sunt (ut diximus) naturarum simplicium conjugia ex cursu communi universi, ut leonis, aquilae, rosae, auri, et hujusmodi, improesentiarum non loquimur.^ Tempus enim erit de iis tractandi, cum ventum fuerit ad La- tentes Processus et Latentes Schematismos, eorumque inventionem, prout reperiuntur in substantiis (quas vocant) seu naturis concretis.

Rursus vero, non intelligantur ea quee dicimus (etiam quatenus ad naturas simplices) de Formis et ideis abstractis, aut in materia non determinatis aut male determinatis. Nos enim quum de Formis loqui- mur, nil aliud intelligimus quam leges illas et determi- nationes actus puri, quae naturam aliquam simplicem 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 abstraliimus aut recedimus. Quare cum dicimus (exempli gratia) in inquisitione Formae Caloris, rejice tenuitatem^ aut tenu- itas 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 nostrae habere nonnihil abstracti, quod misceant et conjungant heterogenea (videntur enim valde esse heterogenea

1 Bacon's principle that the form of any substance may be conceived as a combination of the forms which correspond to each of its qualities is well illustrated by the phrase " formae copulatae." The " forma copulata" is the "lex ex qua corpus individuum edit actus puros." Of this law each sec- tion or paragraphus is the " forma alicujus ex naturis simplicibus quae in eo corpore conjunguntur." I have already remarked on Mr. Wood's render- ing of the word "paragraphus" in § 2. VOL. I. 25

586 NOVUM ORGANUM.

calor coelestium et ignis ; rubor fixus in rosa aut similibus, et apparens in iride aut radiis opalii aut adamantis; mors ex summersione, ex crematione, ex punctura gladii, ex apoplexia, ex atrophia ; et tamen conveniunt ista in natura calidi, iniboris, mortis), is se habere intellectum norit consuetudine et integral- itate reinim et opinionibus captum et detentum.^ Certissimum enim est ista, utcunque heterogenea et aliena, coire in Formam sive Legem earn quie ordi- nat calorem aut ruborem aut mortem ; nee emanci- pari 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 naturae, quas 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 Rejectionis naturarum, quae per Tabulas Com- parentiae reperiuntur non esse ex Forma Calidi ; illud interim monendo, non solum sufficere singulas tabulas ad Rejectionem alicujus naturae, sed etiam unam-

1 The objection 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 efFecLs," and vice versa, seems to be inseparable from the idea of causation, yet the force of the objection remains. For the reference of sensible quali- ties to outward objects involves a subjective element. The same colour, as referred to a substance as the object in which it resides, is a diflerent 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 reference 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. 387

quamque ex instantiis singularibus in illis contentis. Manlf'estum enim est ex iis quae dicta sunt, omnem instantiam contradictoriam destruere opinabile de For- ma. Sed niliilominus quandoque, perspicuitatis causa et ut usus tabularum clarius demonstretur, Exclusivam duplicamus aut repetimus.

Exemplum Excludvce^ sive Rejectionis Naturarmn a Forma Calidi.

1. Per radios solis, rejice naturam elementarem.^

2. Per ignem communem, et maxime per ignes sub- terraneos (qui remotissimi sunt et plurimum interclu- duntur a radiis cffilestibus), rejice naturam coelestem.

3. Per calefactionem omnigenum corporum (hoc est, mineralium, vegetabilium, partium exteriorum animalium, aquae, olei, aeris, et reliquorum) ex ap- proximatione sola ad ignem aut aliud corpus calidum, rejice omnem varietatem sive subtiliorem texturam corporum.

4. Per ferrum et metalla ignita, quse calefaciunt alia corpora nee tamen omnino pondere aut substantia minuuntur, rejice inditionem sive mixturam substan- tiae 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 lunas et aliarum stellarum (excepto sole), rejice etiam lucem et lumen.

7. Per Comparativam ferri igniti et flammae spiritus vini (ex quibus ferrum ignitum plus liabet calidi et

i 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.

388 NOVUM ORGANUM.

minus lucidi, flamma autem spiritus vini plus lucidi et minus calidi), rejice etiam lucem et lumen.

8. Per aurum et alia metalla ignita, quae 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 localem aut expansivmn secundum totum.

11. Per dilatationem aeris in vitris calendariis et similibus, qui movetur localiter et expansive mani- festo neque tamen colligit manifestum augmentum caloris, rejice etiam motum localem aut expansivum secundum totum.

12. Per facilem tepefactionem omnium corporum, absque aliqua destructione aut alteratione notabili, rejice naturam destructivam aut inditionem violentam alicujus naturae novae.

13. Per consensum et conformitatem openim simil- ium quae eduntur a calore et a frigore, rejice motum tarn expansivum quam contractivum secundum to- tum.

14. Per accensionem caloris ex attritione corporum, r^ice naturam principialem. Naturam principialem vocamus eam quae positiva reperitur in natura, nee causatur a natura prsecedente.^

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 na- ture, — rests mainly on experiments of friction.

Mr. Joule and Professor Thomson ascribe the discover^' 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 sourcef! of error of which Bacon takes no notice, the merit of having per-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 389

Sunt et alise naturas : neque enim Tabulas confici- mus perfectas, sed exempla tantum.

Omnes et singulte naturas praedictag non sunt ex Forma Calidi. Atque ab omnibus naturis prasdictis liberatur homo in operatione super Calidum.

XIX.

Atque in Exclusiva jacta sunt fundamenta Induc- tionis verae ; quae tamen non perficitur donee sistatur in Affirmativa. Neque vero ipsa Exclusiva ullo modo pei-fecta 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 rec- tificari potest Exclusiva ? At nonnullas ex supra- dictis (veluti notio naturae elementaris, notio naturae coelestis, notio tenuitatis) sunt notiones vagae, nee bene terminatae. Itaque nos, qui nee ignari sumus nee obliti quantum opus aggrediamur (viz. ut faciamus intellectum humanum rebus et naturae parem), nullo modo acquiescimus in his quae adhuc praecepimus ; sed et rem in ulterius provehimus, et fortiora auxilia in usum intellectus machinamur et ministramus, quae nunc subjungemus. Et certe in Interpretatione Na- turae animus omnino taliter est praeparandus et for- mandus, ut et sustineat se in gradibus debitis cer- titudinis, et tamen cogitet (pra3sertim sub initiis) ea quaead sunt multum pendere ex iis quae supersunt.

ceived tlie true significance of the production of heat by friction belongs of right to Bacon.

It is cui'ious 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 com- bination with oxygen properly so called constitutes oxygen gas, which he accordingly calls phosoxygen.

390 NOVUM ORGANUM.

XX.

Attamen quia citius emergit Veritas ex errore quam ex confusione, utile putamus ut fiat permissio intelleo- tui, post tres tabulas Comparentiae Primae (quales posui- mus) factas et pensitatas, accingendi se et tentandi opus Interjiretationis Naturae in affirmativa ; tam ex iiistan- tiis tabularum, quam ex iis quae alias occurrent. Quod genus tentamenti, Permissionem Intellectus sive Inter- pretationem Inehoatam, 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; itaque nulla plane dari potest instantia contra- dictoria. 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. Hu- jusmodi autem instantias, Eliicescentias vel Instantia^ Ostensivas appellare consuevimus. Pergendum itaque est ad Vindemiationem ipsam Primam de Forma Calidi.

Per universas et singulas instantias, natura cujus limitatio est Calor ^ videtur esse Motus. Hoc au- tem maxime ostenditur in flamma, quae perpetuo movetur ; et in liquoribus ferventibus aut bullien- tibus, qui etiam perpetuo moventur. Atque osten- ditur etiam in incitatione sive incremento caloris facto per motum ; ut in follibus, et ventis ; de quo

1' Of which heat is a particular case.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 391

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 per omnem fortem compressionem, quae fraenat et cessare facit motnm ; de qua vide In- stant. 30. et 32. Tab. 3. Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod onine corpus destruitur aut saltern insigniter alteratur ab omni igne et calore forti ac vehementi ; unde liquodo constat, fieri a calore tumultum et perturbationem et motum acrem in partibus inter- nis corporis, qui sensim vergit ad dissolutionem.

Intelligatur hoc quod diximus de Motu (nempe, ut sit instar generis ad Calorem^), 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 diflPerentias quas mox subjungemus, post- quam nonnullas cautiones adjecerimus ad evitandum aequivocum.

Calidum ad sensum res respectiva est, et in ordine ad hominem non ad universum ; et ponitur recte ut efFec- tus Caloris tantum in spiritum animalem. Quin etiam in seipso res varia est, cum idem corpus (prout sensus prsedisponitur) inducat perceptionem tam calidi quam frigidi ; ut patet per Instant. 41. Tab. 3.

Neque vero communicatio Caloris, sive natura ejus transitiva per quam corpus admotum corpori calido in- calescit, confundi debet cum Forma Calidi. Aliud enim est Calidum, aliud Calefactivum. Nam per mo- tum attritionis inducitur calor absque aliquo calido prse- cedente, unde excluditur Calefactivum a Forma Calidi.

1 i. e. that it is as the fijenus of which heat is a species.

392 NOVUM ORGANUM.

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 a^quivoco, veniendum jam tan- dem est ad Differentias veras quaB limitant Motum, et constituunt eum in Formam Calidi.

Prima igitur Differentia ea est ; quod Calor sit motus Expansivus, per quem corpus nititur ad dil- atationem sui, et recipiendi se in majorem sphae- ram sive dimensionem quam prius occupaverat. Haec autem Differentia maxime ostenditur in flam- ma ; ubi fumus sive halitus pinguis manifesto dilatatur et aperit se in flammam.

Ostenditur etiam in omni liquore fervente, qui manifesto intumescit, insurgit, et emittit bullas ; atque urget processum expandendi se, donee verta- tur 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 metal lorum, 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

NOVUM ORGANUM. 393

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 emolliun- tur. Quod etiam fit in baculis ligni ; quoB cale- facta paullulum in cineribus calidis tiunt flexibilia.

Optime autem cernitur iste motus ina ere, qui per exiguum calorem se dilatat continuo et mani- festo ; 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 exci- dant ex parietibus, aera dissiliant, vitrum etiam cale- factura et subito positum in frigido dissiliat et fran- gatur. Similiter aer per levem infrigidationem recipit se in angustius ; ut per Instant. 38. Tab. 3. Verum de his fusius dicetur in inquisitione de Fri- gido.

Neque mirum est si Calidum et Frigidum edant complures actiones communes (de quo vide In- stant. 32. Tab. 2.), cum inveniantur duae ex se- quentibus DifFerentiis (de quibus mox dicemus) quae competunt utrique naturae; licet in liac Dif- ferentia (de qua nunc loquimur) actiones sint ex diametro oppositae. Calidum enim dat motum expansivum et dilatantem, Frigidum autem dat motum contractivum et coeuntem.

Secunda Differentia est modificatio prioris ; haec videlicet, quod Calor sit motus expansivus sive versus circumferentiam ; hac lege tamen, ut una feratur corpus sursum. Dubium enim non est

894 NOVUM ORGANUM.

quin siiit motus complures mixti. Exempli gratia ; sagitta aut spiculum simul et progrudiendo 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 immit- tatur perpendiculariter tenendo manum superius, cito manum adurit ; sin ex latere aut inferius, omjiino tardius.

Conspicua etiam est in distillationilnis per de- scensorium ; quibus utuntur homines ad flores del- icatiores, quorum 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.^

Fiat autem experimentum hujus rei in contraria natura Frigidi : viz. utrum frigus non contrahat corpus descendendo deorsum, quemadmodum cal- idum dilatat corpus ascend(}ndo sursum. Itaque adhibeantur duo bacilla ferrea, vel duo tubi vitrei, quoad csetera pares, et calefiant nonnihil ; et pona- tur spongia cum aqua frigida, vel nix, subter unam, et similiter super alteram. Existimamus enim ce- leriorem fore refrigerationem ad extremitates in eo bacillo ubi nix ponitur supra quam in eo ubi nix ponitur 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 repulsus et reverberatus, adeo

1 This is an instance to show that heat does not descend so rapidly as it ascends through liquids, which is true.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 395

ut induat motum alternativum et perpetuo trepi- dantem et tentantem et nitentem et ex repercus- sione irritatum ; unde furor ille ignis et caloris ortum habet.

Ista vero Differentia ostenditur maxime in flam- ma et liquoribus bullientibus ; quae perpetuo trep- idant, et in parvis portionibus tument, et rursus subsidunt.

Ostenditur etiam in iis corporibus quae sunt tam durai compagis ut calefacta aut ignita non intu- mescant aut dilatentur mole ; ut ferrum ignitum, in quo calor est acerrimus.

Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod per frigidissimas tempestates focus ardeat acerrime.

Ostenditur etiam in hoc, quod cum extenditur aer in vitro calendari absque impedimento aut re- pulsione, uniformiter scilicet et asqualiter, non per- cipiatur 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 tran- sigatur per minutos poros corporis quod uritur ; adeo ut ustio subruat 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 corpus in quod agunt) edant opera ignis, ex natura sua cor- roderite et pungente.

Atque ista Difierentia (de qua nunc dicimus) communis est cum natura frigidi ; in quo cohibetur

896 NOVUM ORGANUM.

motus contractivus per renitentiam expandendi ; quemadinodum in calido coliibetur motus expan- sivus per renitentiam contrahendi.

Itaque sive partes corporis penetrent versus inte- rius sive penetrent versus exterius, similis est ratio ; licet impar admodum sit fortitudo ; quia non liabe- mus liic apud nos in superficie terra3 aliquid quod sit impense frigidum. Vide Instant. 27. Tab. 9.^

QuARTA Differentia est modificatio prioris : haec scilicet, quod motus ille stimulationis aut penetra- tionis debeat esse nonnihil rapidus et miniine len- tus ; atque fiat etiam per particulas, licet minutas ; tamen non ad extremam subtilitatem, sed quasi majusculas.

Ostenditur ha3c Differentia in comparaticne ope- runi quse edit ignis cum iis quaa edit t^empus sive aetas. ^tas enim sive tempus arefacit, consumit, submit, et incinerat, non minus quam ignis ; vel potius longe subtil ius ; 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 ca- lore excitato ; ferrum autem cum veliementi exci- tatione caloris, licet simili fere intervallo quoad tempus. Quia scilicet in auro, ingressus aquae separationis est clemens et subtiliter insinuans, et cessio partium auri facilis ; at in ferro, ingressus est asper et cum conflictu, et partes ferri habent obstinationem majorem.

Ostenditur etiam aliquatenus in gangraenis non-

1 So in the original.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 397

nullis et mortificationibus carnium ; quae non exci- tant magnum calorem aut dolorem, ob subtilitatem putrefactionis.

Atqne haec sit Prima Vindemiatio, sive Interpretatio inchoata de Forma Calidi, facta per JPermissionem In- tellectus.

Ex Vindemiatione autem ista Prima, Forma sive definitio vera Caloris (ejus qui est in ordine ad univer- sum, non relativus tantummodo ad sensum) talis est, brevi verborum complexu : Color est motus expansivus^ cohihitus, et nitens per partes minores. Modificatur autem expansio ; ut expandendo in amhitum, 7ionnihil tamen inclinet versus superiora. Modificatur autem et nixus ille per partes ; ut non sit omnino segnis, sed inci- tatus et cum impetu nonnullo}

1 The Inquisitio de fornaa calidi suggests these remarks : —

1st. A great part of it conduces in no way to the result. This may bo said to be the natural consequence of the method of inquirj'.

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 recog- nition 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 trj-, — 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 sec- ond;— of the " Instantiae in proximo," 14 — 19. are to be referred to the third; from 27. to the end, to the second.

4th. Calidum and Frigidura seem to be considered distinct and not cor- relative qualities.

5th. The adoption of astrological fables about the hot and cold influence

398 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Quod vero ad Operativam attinet, eadem res est. Nam designatio est talis ; jSi in aliquo corpore naturali

of the stars and planets [is to be remarked 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 aere qui per exiguum calorem se diiatat continuo et manifesto, ut per Inst. 38. Tab. 3. : " that is, by the in- stance of a vitrum calendare, or air-thermometer. And this is beyond question a good instance. But then in the "exemplum exclusivsp," § 11., we read " Per dilatationem aeris in vitris calendariis et similibus, qui movetur localiter et expansive manifesto, neque tamen coUigit manifestum augmcntum caloris, rejice etiam motum localem aut expansivum secundum totum." How is this passage to be reconciled with tlie 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 tliat the air waxes hot when it expands, the example does not prove this, Avhy is it adduced? The source of this confusion I believe to be that, tliough Bacon saw reason to affirm expansion to be the essence of the hot, }-et he was perplexed by examples of two kinds: (a) bodies which do not visibly expand when they are heated, e. g. red-hot iron; (/?) bodies whicli expand without becoming heated, e. g. compressed air when relieved from pressure. For the first difHculty, 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 second 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 interpretation 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 elas- ticitj', and not to any decrease of external pressure. Even had the modi- fication 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 un- reasonable 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 sug- gested by some obvious phenomena, had then recourse, as he himself ex- presses it, to certain " differentia; inanes " in order to save the phenomena, I think it would be liard to dispute the truth of this censure.

Nevertheless, of the matters contained in the investigation, there are several of considerable interest, though, as has been said, they are not con- nected with the final result.

The relation between heat and mechanical action has recently become

NOVUM ORGANUM. 399

poteris excitare motum ad se dilatandum aut expanden- dum ; eumque motum ita reprimere et in se vertere, ut dilatatio ilia non procedat a^qualiter, sed partim obtiyieat, partim retrudatur ; proculdubio generabis Calidam : non habita ratione, sive corpus illud sit elementare (nt lo- quuntur) sive imbutum a coelestibus ; ^ sive Inminosum sive opacum ; sive tenue sive densum ; sive localiter expansiim sive intra claustra dimensionis priniae 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 praedicti. Calidum autem ad sensum res eadem est ; sed cum analogia, qualis competit sen- sui.^ Nunc vero ad ulteriora auxilia procedendum est.

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 propounded. In one (that of S. Carnot himself), mechanical action is regarded as convertible with the transference from body to body of caloric. The other rejects the notion of caloric (the sub- stance 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 bod}' from one given temperature to another. Both make use of the axiom "ex nihilo nihil; " and the conclusions thus obtained, especially in the sec- ond way of considering 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 quali- ties 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 intellectualis in homine consequens ani- mam rationalem, ita omnes virtutes et actiones mediorum corporum tran- scendentes virtutes elementorum consequuntur eorum proprias formas, et reducuntur sicut in altiora principia in virtutes corporum coelestium, et ad- huc altius in substantias separatas." — De occuUis Operibus Natures.

2 The " analogia qualis competit sensui " is the " analogia hominis." This appears from the passages where the word occurs in the Distributio Operis, p. 218., 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.,

400 NOVUM ORGANUM.

XXI.

Post Tabulas Comparentiae Primas et Rejectionem sive Exclusivam, nee iion Vindemiationem Primam factam secundum eas, pergendum est ad reliqua auxilia intellectus circa Interpretationem Naturae et Induc- tion em veram ac perfectam. In quibus proponendis, ubi opus erit tabulis, procederaus super Calidum et Frigidum ; ubi autem opus erit tantum exemplis pau- cioribus, procedemus per alia omnia ; ut nee confun- datur inquisitio, et tamen doctrina versetur minus in angusto.

Dicemus itaque primo loco, de Prcerogativis Instan- Uarum : ^ secundo, de Adminiculis Inductionis : tertio, de Rectificatione Inductionis : quarto, de Variatione In- quiaitionis p'o Natura Sahjecti : ^ quinto, de Prcerogor tivis Natararum quatenus ad inquisitionem, sive de eo quod inquirendum est prius et posterius : sexto, de Ter- minis Inquisitionis^ sive de synopsi omnium naturarum in universo : septimo, de Deductione ad Praxin, sive de eo quod est in ordine ad Hominem : octavo, de Parascevis ad Inquisitionem : postremo autem, de S'cala Ascensoria et Descensoria Axiomatum.

XXII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, primo proponemus

may be rendered — " but with that kind of reference to man as the per- cipient which belongs to the nature of a perception."

1 Concerning the doctrine of Pra;rogative Instances, see General Preface^ p. 93. — J. S.

2 Compare the passage near the end of the last aphorism of this book — " Nunc vero ad adminicula et rectificationes inductionis, et deinceps ad con- creta et latentes processus, et latentes schematismos, et cwtera qua; apho- rismo xxi. ordine proposuimus, pergendum ; " and see General Preface, p. 77. — /. -S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 401

Instantias Solitarias. Eae aiitem sunt Solitarige, quae exhibent naturam de qua fit inquisitio in talibus subjec- tis quae nil liabent 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. Manif'estum enim est quod hujus- modi instantite tollant ambages, atque accelerent et roborent Exclusivam ; adeo ut paucae ex illis sint in- star multarum.

Exempli gratia : si fiat inquisitio de natura Coloris, Instantiae Solitariae sunt prismata, gemmae chrjstallinae, quae reddunt colores non solum in se sed exterius supra parietem, item rores, etc. Istae enim nil liabent com- mune cum coloribus fixis in floribus, gemmis coloratis, metallis, lignis, etc., praeter ipsum colorem. Unde facile colligitur, quod Color nil aliud sit quam modi- ficatio imaginis lucis ^ immissae et receptae ; in priore genere, per gradus diversos incidentiae ; in posteriore, per texturas et schematismos varies corporis. Istae autem Instantias sunt Solitariae quatenus ad similitu- dinem.

Rursus in eadem inquisitione, venae distinctae albi et nigri in marmoribus, et variegationes colorum in floribus ejusdem speciei, sunt Instantiae Solitarise. Al- bum enim et nigrum marmoris, et maculae albi et purpurei in floribus garyophylli,^ conveniunt fere in

1 Reference is made to Telesius's system of vision. " Lux donata est facultate sese elFundendi multiplicandique et aerem propria specie affici- endi, itaque et oculos subeundi." . . . Again, "lux quae res quibus in- sunt [colores] permeat. . . ab ipsarura intingitur coloribus, et eas trans- vecta oculos subit." — De Rerum Nat. vii. 31. 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

VOL. I. 26

402 NOVUxM ORGANUM.

omnibus praeter ipsum colorem. Unde facile colligi- tur, Colorem iion multum rei habere cum naturis ali- cujus corporis intrinsecis, sed tan turn situm esse in positura partium crassiori et quasi mechanica. Istae autem Instantiae sunt Solitariae quatenus ad discrepan- tiam. Utrunque autem genus Instantias Solitarias appellare consuevimus ; aut Ferinas,i sumpto vocab- ulo ab astronomis.

XXIII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus secundo loco Instantias Migr antes. Eje sunt, in quibus natura inquisita migrat ad generationem, cum prius non ex- isteret ; aut contra migrat ad corruptionem, cum prius existeret. Itaque in utraque antistrophe, instantiae tales sunt semper geminae ; vel potius una instantia in motu sive transitu, producta ad periodum adversam. At hujusmodi instantiae non solum accelerant et roborant Exclusivam, sed etiam compellunt Affirmativam sive Formam ipsam in angustum. Necesse est enim ut Forma rei sit quippiam quod per hujusmodi Migra- tionem indatur, aut contra per hujusmodi Migrationem tollatur et destruatur. Atque licet omnis exclusio pro- moveat Affirmativam, tamen hoc magis directe fit in subjecto eodem quam in diversis. Forma autem (ut ex omnibus quae dicta sunt manifesto liquet) prodens

century; see Lemmius, De Miraculis (1581), p. 107. (The description seems more applicable to the tulip.) The flowers meant are pinks and carnations.

1 1 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 it. " Feralis," we read in the Lexicon MatJiemati- cum of Vitalis (16G8), which appears to give a tolerably complete vocab- ulary of astrological words, " apud astronomos dicitur planeta, quando fuerit in loco ubi nullam cum reliquis familiaritatem habet: quod quidem maximum est detrimentum," &c.

I

NOVUM ORGANUM. 403

se in uno ducit ad omnia. Quo autera simplicior fuerit Migratio, eo magis habenda est instantia in pretio. Praeterea Instantiae Migrantes magni sunt usus ad partem operativam ; quia cum proponant For- mam copulatam cum Efficiente aut Privante, perspicue designant praxin in aliquibus ; unde f'acilis etiam est transitus ad proxima. Subest tamen in illis non- nihil periculi, quod indiget cautione ; hoc videlicet, ne Formam nimis retrahant ad Efficientem, et intel- lectum perfundant vel saltern perstringant falsa opin- ione de Forma ex intuitu Efficientis. Efficiens vero semper ponitur nil aliud esse quam vehiculum sive deferens Formae.^ Verum huic rei, per Exclusivam legitime factam, facile adhibetur remedium.

Proponendum itaque est jam exemplum Instantiae Migrantis. Sit natura inquisita Candor sive Albedo: Instantia Migrans ad generationem est vitrum inte- grum 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 Al- bedinis deferri et invehi per istam contusionem vitri et agitationem aquae. Nihil autem reperitur accessisse, praster comminutionem partium vitri et aquae, et aeris insertionem. Neque vero parum profectum est ad in- veniendam Formam Albedinis, quod corpora duo per se diaphana, sed secundum magis et minus, (aer scili- cet et aqua, aut aer et vitrum,) simul posita per minu-

1 The causa efficiens is the vehiculum formae, 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.)

404 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tas portiones exhibeant Albedinem, per refractionein inaequalem radiorum lucis.^

Verum liac in re proponenduin est etiam exemplum periculi et cautionis, de quibus diximus. Nimirum facile hie occurret intellectui ab Imjusmodi Efficienti- biis depravato quod ad Formam Albedinis aer semper j-eqniratur, aut quod Albedo generetur tantum per corpora diaphaua ; quae omuino falsa sunt, et per multas Exclusiones convicta. Quin potius apparebit (misso aere et hujusmodi) corpora omnino aequalia (secundum portiones opticas) dare diaphanum ; cor- pora vero inaequalia per texturam simplicem, dare album ; corpora inaequalia secundum texturam com- positam, sed ordinatam, dare reliquos colores, praeter nigrum ; corpora vero inaequalia per texturam com- positam, sed omnino inordinatam et confusam, dare nigrum.'^ Itaque de Instantia Migrante ad genera- tionem in natura inquisita Albedinis, propositum est jam exemplum. Instantia autem Migrans ad corrup- tionem in eadem natura Albedinis, est spuma dissoluta, aut nix dissoluta. Exuit enim albedinem et induit diaphanum aqua, postquam fit integrale sine acre.

Neque vero illud ullo modo praetermittendum est, quod sub Instantiis Migrantibus comprehendi debeant non tantum illae quae migrant ad generationem et pri-

1 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.

2 Compare Valerius Terminus, eh. 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 producet-h other colours, and absolute or orderless in- equality produceth blackness." — J. S.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 405

vationem, sed etiam ill^ quae migrant ad majorationem et minorationem ; cum illse etiam tendant ad inveni- endam Formam, ut per definitionem Formse 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 diaphanum, similem habet rationem cum instantiis supradictis.

XXIV.

Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum, tertio loco pone- mus Instmitias Ostensivas, de quibus in Vindemiatione Prima de Calido mentionem fecimus ; quas etiam Mur- eescentias, sive Instantias Liheratas et Prcedominantes^ appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt, quae ostendunt na- turam inquisitam nudam et substantivam, atque etiam in exaltatione sua aut summo gradu potentise suae ; emancipatam scilicet, et liberataln ab impedimentis, vel saltem per fortitudinem suae virtutis dominantem super ipsa, eaque supprimentem et coercentem. Cum enim omne corpus suscipiat multas naturarum Formas copulatas et in concreto, fit ut alia aliam retundat, deprimat, frangat, et liget ; unde obscurantur Formse singulae. Inveniuntur autem subjecta nonnulla in qui- bus natura inquisita prae aliis est in suo vigore, vel per absentiam impedimenti vel per praedominantiam vir- tutis. Hujusmodi autem instantiae sunt maxime osten- sivse Formae. Verum et in his ipsis instantiis adhi- benda est cautio, et cohibendus impetus intellectus. Quicquid enim ostentat Formam, eamque trudit, ut videatur occurrere intellectui, pro suspecto habendum est, et recurrendum ad Exclusivam severam et dili- gentem.

406 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Calidum. In- stantia Ostensiva inotus expansionis, quaa (ut supe- rius dictum est) portio est prsecipua Format Cali- di, est vitrum calendare aeris. Etenim flamma, li- cet manifesto exhibeat expansionem, tamen propter momentaneam extinctionem non ostendit progressmn expansionis. Aqua autem fervens, propter facilem transitionem aquae in vaporem et aerem, non tarn bene ostendit expansionem aquae in corpore suo. Rur- sus ferinim ignitum, et similia, tantum abest ut pro- gressum ostendant, ut contra per retusionem et frac- tionem spiritus per partes compactas et crassas (quae domant et fraenant expansionem) ipsa expansio non sit omnino conspicua ad sensum. At vitrum calendare clare ostendit expansionem in aere, et conspicuam et progredientem et durantem, neque transeuntem.

Rursus, exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Pondus. Instantia Ostensiva ponderis, est argentum vivum. Omnia enim superat pondere magno intervallo, pr<e- ter aurum ; quod non multo gravius est.^ At prfe- stantior 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 spir- itu, et tamen multis partibus exuperat gravitate dia- mantem, et ea quae putantur solidissima. Ex quo ostenditur Formam Gravis sive Ponderosi dominari simpliciter in copia materiae, et non in arcta com- page.

1 This mistake occurs also in the Hittoria 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 Avere made accounts for a large part of tlii'^ rrror. See the preface to the Ilistona Densi et Ran.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 407

XXV.

Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum ponemus quarto loco Instantias Clandestiiias^ quas etiam Instantias Ore- pusculi appellare consuevimus. Ese sunt veluti op- positas Instantiis Ostensivis. Exhibent enim naturam inquisitam in infima virtute, et tanquam in incunabu- lis et rudimentis suis ; tentantem et tanquam primo experientem, sed sub contraria natura latentem et subactam. Sunt autem Imjusmodi instantise magni omnino momenti ad inveniendas Formas ; quia sicut Ostensivge ducunt facile ad difFerentias, ita Clandes- tinae ducunt optime ad genera ; id est, ad naturas illas communes quarum naturae inquisitae nihil aliud sunt quam limitationes.

Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Consistens, sive se determinans ; cujus contrarium est Liquidum, sive fluens. Instantias Clandestinae sunt illae quae exhibent gradum nonnullum debilem et infimum Consistentis in fluido ; veluti bulla aquae, quae est tanquam pellicula quaedam consistens et determinata, facta ex corpore aquae. Similiter stillicidia, quae, si adfuerit aqua quae succedat, producunt se in filum admodum tenue, ne dis- continuetur aqua ; at si non detur talis copia aquae quae succedere possit, cadit aqua in guttis rotundis, quae est figura quae optime aquam sustinet contra discontinua- tionem. At in ipso temporis articulo cum desinit filum aquae et incipit descensus in guttis, resilit ipsa aqua sur- sum ad evitandam discontinuationem. Quin in metal- lis, quae cum funduntur sunt liquida sed magis tenacia, recipiunt se saepe guttae liquefactae sursum, atque ita haerent. Simile quoddam est instantia speculorum pue- rilium, quJB solent facere pueruli in scirpis ex saliva, ubi

408 NOVUM ORGANUM.

cernitur etiam pellicula consistens aquas. At multo melius se ostendit hoc ipsum in altero illo ludicro pue- rili, quando capiunt aquam, per saponem factam paulo tenaciorem, atque inflant earn per calamum cavum, atque inde formant aquam tanquam in castellum bulla- rum; quae per interpositionem aeris inducit consisten- tiam eo usque ut se projici nonnihil patiatur absque dis- continuatione.^ Optime autem cernitur hoc in spuma et nive, quas talem induunt consistentiam ut fere secari possint; cum tamen sint corpora formata ex acre et aqua, quae utraque sunt liquida. Quae omnia non ob- scure innuunt Liquidum et Consistens esse notiones tantum plebeias, et ad sensum ; inesse autem revera omnibus corporibus fiigam et evitationem se discontinu- andi ; eam vero in corporibus homogeneis (qualia sunt liquida) esse debilem et infirmam, in corporibus vero quae sunt composita ex heterogeneis, magis esse vividam et fortem ; propterea quod admotio heterogenei constrin- git corpora, at subintratio homogenei solvit et relaxat.

Similiter, exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita At- tractio, sive Coitio Corporum. Instantia circa Formam ejus Ostensiva maxime insignis est magnes. Contraria autem natura Attrahenti 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 f'erro armatus, 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

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 Silk Manufactures (Lardner's Cyclop.).

NOVUM ORGANUM. 409

feiTum, ita ut taiigat ferrum in magnete armato, tunc magnes armatus longe majus pondus ferri sustinet quam magnes simplex et inermis, propter similitudinem sub- stantia? ferri versus ferrum ; quse operatic erat omnino Clandestina et latens in ferro, antequam magnes acces- sisset.^ Itaque manifestum est Formam Coitionis esse quippiam quod in magnete sit vividum et robustum, in ferro debile et latens. Itidem notatum est sagittas par- vas 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 substantias ligni ad lignum, licet hoc ante in ligno latuerit. Itidem, licet aer aerem aut aqua aquam manifesto non trahat in cor- poribus integris, tamen bulla approximate bullas facilius dissolvit bullam quam si bulla ilia altera abesset, ob ap- petitum Coitionis aquae cum aqua et aeris cum acre. Atque hujusmodi Instantiae Clandestinae (quae sunt usus nobilissimi, ut dictum est) in portionibus corpo- rum parvis et subtilibus maxime se dant conspiciendas. Quia massse rerum majores sequuntur Formas magis catholicas et generales ; ut suo loco dicetur.

XXVI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus quinto loco Instantias Oonstitutivas, quas etiam Manipulares ap- pellare consuevimus. Eae sunt quae constituunt unam speciem naturae inquisitae tanquam Formam Minorem. Cum enim Form^e legitimae (quae sunt semper con-

1 This explanation of the effect of arming a magnet is wholly unsatis- factory. Before the Novum Organum was published, Galileo had shown that the armature acts by producing a more perfect contact. See the Dia- logi del Sistemi massimi, Giorn. 3a. p. 440. I quote from the new edition. Firenze 1842.

410 NOVUM ORGANUM.

vertibiles cum naturis inquisitis) lateant in profundo nee facile inveniantur, postulat res et infirmitas humani in- tellectus ut Formae particulares, quai sunt congregativas Manipulorum quorundam instantiarum (neutiquam vero omnium) in notionem aliquam communem, non negli- gantur, verum diligentius notentur. Quicquid enim unit naturam, licet modis imperfectis, ad inventionem Formarum viam sternit. Itaque instantisB quas ad hoc utiles sunt non sunt contemnendse potestatis, sed lia- bent nonnullam Prasrogativam.

Verum in his diligens est adhibenda cautio, ne intel- lectus humanus, postquam complures ex istis Formis particularibus adinvenerit atque inde partitiones sive divisiones naturaB inquisitas confecerit, in illis omnino acquiescat, atque ad inventionem legitimam Formae Magnae se non accingat, sed pnesupponat naturam velut a radicibus esse multiplicem et divisam, atque ulteriorem naturae unionem, tanquam rem supervacuae subtilitatis et vergentem ad merum abstractum, fas- tidiat et rejiciat.

Exempli gratia; sit natara inquisita Memoria, sive Excitans et Adjuvans memoriam. Instantiae Constitu- tivai sunt, ordo sive distributio, quae manifesto juvat memoriam ; item Loci in memoria artificiali, qui aut possunt esse loci secundum proprium sensum, veluti janua, angulus, fenestra, et similia, aut' possunt esse personam familiares et notae, aut possunt esse quidvis ad placitum (modo in ordine certo ponantur), veluti ani- malia, herbae ; etiam verba, literal, characteres, personae historicae, et caetera ; licet nonnulla ex his magis apta sint et commoda, alia minus. Hujusmodi autem Loci memoriam insigniter juvant, eamque longc supra vires naturales exaltant. Item carmina facilius haerent et

NOVUM ORGANUM. 411

discuntur memoriter quam prosa. Atque ex isto Ma- nipulo triura install tiarum, videlicet ordinis, locorum ar- tificialis memoriae, et versuum, constituitur species una auxilii ad Memoriam. Species autem ilia Abscissio In- jiniti recte vocari possit. Cum enim quis aliquid remi- nisci aut revocare in memoriam nititur, si nullam prae- notionem habeat aut perceptionem ejus quod quserit, quasrit certe et molitur et hac iliac discurrit, tanquam in infinito. Quod si certam aliquam prasnotionem ha- beat, statim abscinditur infinitum, et fit discursus me- moriae magis in vicino. In tribus autem illis instantiis quae superius dictse sunt, praenotio perspicua est et certa. In prima videlicet, debet esse aliquid quod congruat cum ordine ; in secunda debet esse imago quae relatio- nem aliquam habeat sive convenientiam ad ilia loca cer- ta ; in tertia, debent esse verba quae cadant in versum ; atque ita abscinditur infinitum. Aliae autem instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; ut quicquid deducat In- tellectuale ad feriendum Sensum (quae ratio etiam pras- cipue viget in artificiali memoria) juvet Memoriam. Alia? instantiae dabunt hanc alteram speciem ; ut quae faciunt impressionem in afFectu forti, incutientia scilicet metum, admirationem, pudorem, delectationem, juvent Memoriam. Aliae instantiae dabunt hanc alteram spe- ciem ; ut quae maxime imprimuntur a mente pura et minus praeoccupata 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 multi- tudo 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 atten-

412 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tioncm excitant melius haereant quam qua? prsetervolant. Itaque si scriptuin aliqiiod vicies perlegeris, non tam facile illud memoriter disces quam si illud legas decies, tentando interim illud recitare, et ubi deficit memoria inspiciendo librum. Ita ut sint veluti sex Formas Mi- nores eorum quae juvant Memoriam ; videlicet abscissio infiniti ; deductio intellectualis ad sensibile ; inipressio in afFectu forti ; impressio in mente pura ; multitude ansarum ; praeexpectatio.

Similiter, exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Gustus, sive Gustatio. Instantiae quas sequuntur sunt Constitu- tivae : videlicet, quod qui non olfaciunt sed sensu eo a natura destituti sunt, non percipiant aut gustu distingu- ant cibum rancidum aut putridum, neque similiter allia- tum aut rosatum, aut hujusmodi. Rursus, illi qui per accidens nares habent per descensum rheumatis ob- structas, 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 instan- tiae dabunt et constituent banc speciem, vel partem potius, gustus ; ut sensus gustationis ex parte nihil aliud sit quam olfactus interior, transiens et descendens a nar rium meatibus superioribus in os et palatum. At con- tra, salsum et dulce et acre et acidum et austerum et amarum, et similia, base (inquam) omnia aeque sentiunt illi in quibus olfactus deest aut obturatur, ac quisquam alius ; ut manifestum sit sensum gustus esse compositum quiddam ex olfactu interiori et tactu quodam exquisito ; de quo nunc non est dicendi locus.

Similiter, exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Com-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 413

municatio Qualitatis absque Commistione Substantise. Instantia Lucis dabit vel constituet unam speciem Communicationis ; Calor vero et Magnes alteram. Communicatio enim lucis est tanquam momentanea, et statim perit, amota luce originali. At calidum et virtus magnetica, postquam tramissa fuerint vel potius excitata in alio corpore, liserent et manent ad tempus non parvum, amoto primo movente.

Denique magna est omnino Prserogativa Instanti- arum Constituti varum, ut quae plurimum faciant et ad definitiones (prsesertim particulares), et ad divis- iones sive partitiones naturarum ; de quo non male dixit Plato, Quod habendus sit tanquam pro Deo^ qui definire et dividere bene sciat.^

XXVII.

Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum ponemus sexto loco Instantias Oonformes, sive Proportionatas ; quas etiam Farallelas, sive Similitudines Physicas, appellare con- suevimus. Ese vero sunt, quae ostendunt similitudi- nes et conjugationes rerum, non in Formis Minoribus (quod faciunt Instantias Constitutivae) sed plane in concreto. Itaque sunt tanquam primi et infimi gradus ad unionem Naturse. Neque constituunt ali- quod axioma statim ab initio, sed indicant et obser- vant tantum quendam consensum corporum. Atta-

1 Bacon perhaps refers to the passage in the Philebus, in which the reso- lution of articulate sounds into their elements is referred to elre rig i&edg dre Kal "delog uv^puirog. Compare Jamblichus (apud Stobaeum, § 81.): Qeoc 7]v Tig cjg uTirj&cJg 6 Karadd^ag rtjv dta'XeKTiKrjv Kal Karanifiipag rolg av&punoLg. [Mr, Kitchin, in his edition of the Novum Organum (Oxford, 1855), which I did not see till this was in type, refers to the Phcedrus, 266. a., — TOVTuv drj lyuye avTog re tpaarfig tuv SiaipEoeuv Kal avvaycjyCJv .... edv re riva iiXTiov k. t. /I. tovtov 6c6)ko) Karoma&e fisr' Ixvcov uare ^eolo, — which is undoubtedly the passage alluded to. — J. S.]

414 NOVUM ORGANUM.

men licet non multum promoveant ad inveniendas Formas, iiihilominus magna cum utilitate revelant partium universi fabricam, et in membris ejus exer- cent veluti anatomiam quandam ; atque proinde veluti manu-ducunt interdum ad axiomata sublimia et nobilia, praesertim ilia quae ad mundi configurationem perti- nent, potius quam ad naturas et Formas simplices.

Exempli gratia ; Instantiae Conformes sunt quas sequuntur: speculum, et oculus; et similiter fabrica auris, et loca reddentia echo. Ex qua conformitate, praeter ipsam observationem similitudinis, quae ad mul- ta utilis est, proclive est insuper colligere et formare illud axioma ; videlicet, organa sensuum et corpora quae pariunt reflexiones ad sensus esse similis naturae. Rursus ex hoc ipso admonitus intellectus non segre insurgit ad axioma quoddam altius et nobilius. Hoc nimirum ; nihil interesse inter consensus sive sympa- thias corporum sensu praeditorum, et inanimatorum sine sensu, nisi quod in illis accedat spiritus animalis ad corpus ita dispositum, in his autem absit. Adeo ut quot sint consensus in corporibus inanimatis, tot possint esse sensus in animalibus, si essent perfora- tiones in corpore animato ad discursum spiritus ani- malis in membrum rite dispositum, tanquam in or- ganum idoneum. Et rursus, quot sint sensus in animalibus, tot sint proculdubio motus in corpore in- animato ubi spiritus animalis abfuerit; licet necesse sit multo plures esse motus in corporibus inanimatis quam sensus in animatis, propter paucitatem organo- rum sensus. Atque hujus rei ostendit se exemplum valde manifestum in doloribus. Etenim qnum sint plura genera doloris in animalibus et tanquam varii illius characteres (veluti alius est dolor ustionis, alius

NOVUM ORGANUM. 415

frigoris intensi, alius puncturae, alius compressionis, alius extensionis, et «imilium), certissimum est omnia ilia, quoad motum, inesse corporibus inanimatis ; vel- uti ligno aut lapidi, cum uritur, aut per gelu constrin- gitur, aut pungitur, aut scinditur, aut llectitur, aut tunditur, et sic de aliis; licet non subintrent sensus, propter absentiam spiritus animalis.

Item Instantiae Conformes (quod mirum fortasse dictu) sunt radices et rami plantarum. Omne enim vegetabile intumescit, et extrudit partes in circum- ferentiam, tam sursum quam deorsum. Neque alia est differentia radicum et ramorum, quam quod radix includatur in terra, et rami exponantur aeri et soli.^ Si quis enim accipiat ramum tenerum et vegetum arboris, atque ilium reflectat in aliquam terree par- ticulam, licet non cohsereat ipsi solo, gignit statim non ramum, sed radicem. Atque vice versa, si terra ponatur superius, atque ita obstruatur lapide aut aliqua dura substantia ut planta cohibeatur nee possit frondescere sursum, edet ramos in aerem de- orsum.

Item Instantiae Conformes sunt gummi arborum, et plerseque gemmae rupium. Utraque enim nil aliud sunt quam exudationes et percolationes succorum ; in primo genere scilicet, succorum ex arboribus; in se- cundo, ex saxis ; unde gignitur claritudo et splendor in utrisque, per percolationem nimirum tenuem et accuratam. Nam inde fit etiam, quod pili animalium non sint tam pulchri et tam vividi coloris quam avium

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 circumstances) to buds or nodes, and consequently no true ramification.

416 NOVUM ORGANUM.

plumse compliires; quia succi non tarn delicate perco- lantur per cutem quani per calamum.

Item Instantiae Conformes sunt scrotum in animali- bus masculis, et matrix in femellis. Adeo ut nobilis ilia fabrica per quam sexus difFerunt, (quatenus ad animalia terrestria) nil aliud videatur esse, quam se- cundum exterius et interius;^ vi scilicet majore caloris genitalia in sexu masculo protrudente in exterius, ubi in femellis nimis debilis est calor quam ut hoc facere possit ; unde accidit quod contineantur inte- rius.

Item InstantiaB Conformes sunt pinnae piscium, et pedes quadrupedum, aut pedes et alae volucrum ; qui- bus addidit Aristoteles quatuor volumina in motu ser- pentum.2 Adeo ut in fabrica universi motus viven- tium plerumque videatur expediri per quaterniones artuum sive fiexionum.

Item dentes in animalibus terrestribus, et rostra in avibus, sunt Instantiae Conformes ; unde manifestum est, in omnibus animalibus perfectis, fluere duram quandam substantiam versus os.

Item non absurda est Similitudo et Conformitis ilia, ut homo sit tanquam planta inversa. Nam radix nervorum et facultatum animalium est caput ; partes autem seminales sunt infimje, non computatis extrem- itatibus tibiarum et brachiorum. At in planta, radix

1 This remark seems to have been suggested by a similar passage in Telesius, De Rei-urn Naturd, vi. 18.: — "Masculo .... magnus datus est calor, qui et membrum genitale foras propellat et sanguinem multum beneque omnem compactum conficiat, &c. Foeminaj autem . . . languens inditus est calor, qui neque genitale vas foras propellere nee 6 semiiie spiri- tum educere queat." The doctrine however of this passage was first taught by Galen, from whom Telesius derived it. See Galen, De Usu Partitim^ xiv. 6.

2 De Anim. Incessu, i. 7.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 417

(quae instar capitis est) regulariter infimo loco col- locatur; semina autem supremo.^

Denique illud omnino prascipiendum est et ssepius monendum ; ut diligentia hominum in inquisitione et congerie Naturalis Historiae deniceps mutetur plane, et vertatur in contrarium ejus quod nunc in usu est. Magna enim hucusque atque adeo curiosa fuit homi- num industria in notanda rerum varietate atque ex- plicandis accuartis animalium, herbarum, et fossilium difFerentiis ; quainim plerseque magis sunt lusus naturae quam serise alicujus utilitatis versus scientias. Faciunt certe hujusmodi res ad delectationem, atque etiam quandoque ad praxin ; verum ad introspiciendam na- turam parum aut nihil. Itaque convertenda plane est opera ad inquirendas et notandas rerum similitu- dines et analoga, tam in integralibus quam partibus. Illas enim sunt quae naturam uniunt, et constituere scientias incipiunt.^

Verum in his omnino est adhibenda cautio gravis et severa ; ut accipiantur pro Instantiis Conformibus

1 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 mode of development of their tissues, which, there is reason to believe, were all primarily 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 conceived 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.

2 " Natura infinita est, sed qui symbola animadverterit omnia intelliget, licet non omnino," are the words of a great poet, who perhaps also is en- titled 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.

VOL. I. 27

418 NOVUM ORGANlBf.

et Proportionatis, illag quae denotant Similitudines (ut ab initio diximus) Physicas ; id est, reales et substan- tiales et immei'sas in natura, non fortuitas et ad spe- ciem ; multo minus superstitiosas aut curiosas, quales naturalis magia? scriptores (homines levissimi, et in rebus tarn seriis quales nunc agimus vix nominandi) ubique ostentant; magna cum vanitate et desipientia, inanes similitudines et sympathias rerum describentes atque etiam quandoque affingentes.

Verum bis missis, etiam in ipsa configu rati one mundi in majoribus non sunt negligendaj Instantije Conformes ; veluti Africa, et regio Peruviana cum continente se porrigente usque ad Fretum Magellan- icum. Utraque enim regio habet similes isthmos et similia promontoria, quod non temere accidit.^

Item Novus et Vetus Orbis ; in eo quod utrique orbes versus septentriones lati sunt et expoiTecti, ver- sus austrum autem angusti et acuminati.

Item Instantiae Conformes nobilissimae sunt frigora intensa in media (quam vocant) aeris regione, et ignes acerrimi qui saape reperiuntur erumpentes ex locis sub- terraneis ; qua3 duas res sunt ultimitates et extrenia ; naturae scilicet Frigidi versus ambitum coeli, et naturie Calidi versus viscera terras ; per antiperistasin, sive re- jectionem natura3 contrariae.

Postremo autem in axiomatibus scientiarum notatu digna est Conformitas Instantiarum. Veluti tropus rhetoricae, qui dicitur Praeter Expectatum, conformis

1 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 com- pares not the opposite but the corresponding coasts of Africa and America. C. Concepcion would correspond to C. Negro; but the parallelism is not vorv close.

NOVUM ORGANITM. 419

est tropo muslcse, qui vocatur Declinatio Cadentiee. Si- militer, postulatum mathematicum, ut quoe eidem tertio cequalia sunt etiam inter se sint cequalia, conforme est* cum fabrica syllogismi in logica, qui unit ea quas con- veniunt in medio.^ Denique multura utilis est in quamplurimis sagacitas qua3dam in conquirendis et in- dagandis Conformitatibus et Similitudinibus Physicis.

XXVIII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus septimo loco Insfantias Monodicas ;^ quas etiam Irregular es sive Hetcroclitas (sumpto vocabulo a grammaticis) appellare con sue vim us. Ese sunt, quae ostendunt corpora in con- creto, quae videntur esse extravagantia et quasi abrupta in natura, et minime convenire cum aliis rebus ejusdem generis. Etenim Instantise Conformes sunt similes al- terius, at Instantiae Monodicas sunt sui similes. Usus vero Instantiarum Monodicarum est talis qualis est Instantiarum Clandestinarum : viz. ad evehendam et uniendam naturam ad invenienda genera sive com- munes naturas, limitandas postea per difFerentias veras. Neque enim desistendum ab inquisitione donee proprie- tatcs et qualitates, quas inveniuntur in hujusmodi rebus quae possunt censeri pro miraculis naturae, reducantur

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 rec- ognised. 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 a2=:o was known (v. Leib- nitz, 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 calculuses of inference (using the word in its widest sense), besides the mathematical and the logical, yet perhaps remain to be developed ; but this is a subject on which it is impossible here to enter.

2 Monadicas. See note 3. p. 253. — J. S.

420 NOVUM ORGANUM.

et comprehendantur sub aliqua Forma sive Lege certa ; ut irregularitas sive singularitas omnis reperiatur pen- dere 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 con- templationes hominum non procedant ultra quara ut ponant hujusmodi res pro secretis et magnalibus natu- rae, et tanquam incausabilibus, et pro exceptionibus regularum generalium.

Exempla Instantiarum Monodicarum sunt, sol et luna, inter astra ; magnes, inter lapides ; argentum vivum, inter metalla ; eleplias, inter quadrupedes ; sen- sus veneris, inter genera tactus ; odor venaticus in canibus, inter genera olfactus. Etiam S litera apud grammaticos, habetur pro Monodica; ob facilem com- positionem quam sustinet cum consonantibus, aliquando duplicibus, aliquando triplicibus ; quod nulla alia litera facit. Plurimi autem faciendai sunt hujusmodi instan- tia) ; quia acuunt et vivificant inquisitionem, et meden- tur intellectui depravato a consuetudine et ab lis quae fiunt plerunque.

XXIX.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco oc- tavo Instantias Deviantes ; errores scilicet naturas, et vaga, ac monstra: ubi natura declinat et deflectit a cursu ordinario. DifFerunt enim Errores naturae ab Instantiis Monodicis in hoc ; quod Monodicae sint mi- racula specierum, at Errores sint miracula individuo- rum. Similis autem fere sunt usus ; quia rectificant intellectum adversus consueta, et revelant Formas Communes. Neque enim in his etiam desistendum ab inquisitione donee inveniatur causa hujusmodi de- clinationis. Veruntamen causa ilia non exurgit ad

NOVUM ORGANUM. 421

Formam aliquam proprie, sed tantum ad latentem processum ad Formam. Qui enim vias naturae noverit, is deviationes etiam facilius observabit. At rursus, qui deviationes noverit, is accuratius vias describet.^

Atque in illo difFerunt 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 arduum. Facilis autem transitus est a miraculis naturae ad miracula artis. Si enim depre- hendatur semel natura in variatione sua, ejusque ratio manifesta fuerit, expeditum erit eo deducere naturam per artem quo per casum aberraverit. Neque solum eo, sed et aliorsum ; cum errores ex una parte monstrent et aperiant viam ad errores et deflexiones undequaque. Hie vero exemplis non est opus, propter eorundem co- piam. Facienda enim est congeries sive historia natu- ralis particularis omnium monstrorum et partuum natu- rae prodigiosorum ; 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 quomodocun- que a religione, ut prodigia Livii : nee minus, quae inveniuntur in scriptoribus magiae 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 Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco nono Instantias Limitaneas; quas etiam Participia vocare consuevimus. Eae vero sunt, quae exhibent species

1 See Owen, On the Nature of Limbs, p. 54.

422 NOVUM ORGANUM.

corporum tales, quae videntur esse compositaB ex specie- bus (luabus, vel Rudimenta inter speciem unam et alte- ram. Hse vero Instantiai inter Instantias Monodicas sive Heteroclitas recte numerari possunt : sunt enim in universitate rerum rai'JB et extraordinaria^. Sed tamen ob dignitatem seorsira tractandae et ponendaB sunt ; optime enim indicant compositionem et fabricam rerum, et innuunt causas numeri et qualitatis specierum ordinariarum in universe, et deducunt intellectum ab 430 quod est, ad id quod esse potest.

Harum exempla sunt, muscus, inter putredinem et plantam ; cometae nonnulli, inter Stellas Qt meteora ignita, ; pisces volantes, inter aves et pisces ; vespertil- liones, inter aves et quadrupedes ; etiam

" Simia quam similis turpissima bestia nobis; " i

et partus animalium biformes et commisti ex speciebus diversis, et similia.

XXXI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus decimo loco Instantias Potestatis, sive Fascium (sumpto voca- bulo ab insignibus imperii), quas etiam Ingenia^ sive Manus Hominis appellare consuevimus. Ea3 sunt opera maxime nobilia et perfecta, et tanquam ultima in una- quaque arte. Cum enim hoc agatur praicipue ut na- tura pareat rebus et commodis humanis ; consentaneum est prorsus, ut opera qua; jampridem in potestate homi- nis fuerunt (quasi provincias antea occupatse et subac- tas) notentur et numerentur; prjEsertim ea qua^. sunt maxime enucleata et peifecta ; propterea quod ab istis proclivior et magis in propinquo sit transitus ad nova et hactenus non inventa. Si quis enim ab horum contem- 1 Ennius, quoted by Cicero.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 423

platione 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 ele- vatur 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 mira- culis naturae sit magis obscurus. Attamen in his ipsis cautio est adhibenda vel maxime, ne deprimant scilicet intellectum et eum quasi humo affigant.

Periculum enim est, ne per hujusmodi opera artis, quae videntur velut summitates quaedam et fastigia in- dustriae humanae, reddatur intellectus attonitus et liga- tus et quasi maleficiatus quoad ilia, ita ut cum aliis con- suescere non possit, sed cogitet nihil ejus generis fieri posse nisi eadem via qua ilia effecta sunt, accedente tantummodo diligentia majore et praeparatione magis accurata.

Contra illud ponendum est pro certo : vias et modos efficiendi res et opera quae adhuc reperta sunt et notata, res esse plerunque pauperculas ; atque omnem poten- tiam majorem pendere et ordine derivari a fontibus Formarum, quarum nulla adhuc inventa est.

Itaque (ut alibi diximus) ^ qui de machinis et arie- tibus, quales erant apud veteres, cogitasset, licet hoc fecisset obnixe atque aetatem in eo consumpsisset, nun- quam tamen incidisset in inventum tormentorum igneo^ rum operantium per pulverem pyrium. Neque rursus,

1 1. § 109.

424 NOVUM ORGANUM.

qui in lanificiis et serico vegetabili observationem suam et meditationern collocasset, unquam per ea reperisset naturam vermis aut serici bombycini.

Quocirca omnia inventa quae censeri possunt magis nobilia (si animum advertas) in lucem prodiere nullo modo per pusillas enucleationes et extensiones artium, sed omnino per casum. Nihil autem repraesentat ^ aut anticipat casum (cujus mos est ut tantum per longa saecula operetur) praeter inventionem Formarum.

Exempla autem hujusmodi instantiarum particularia nihil opus est adducere, propter copiam eorundem. Nam hoc omnino agendum ; ut visitentur et penitus introspi- ciantur omnes ai*tes mechanicae, atque liberales etiam (quatenus ad opera), atque inde facienda est congeries sive historia particularis, tanquam magnalium et operum magistralium et maxime perfectorum in unaquaque ip- sarum, una cum modis effectionis sive operationis.

Neque tamen astringimus diligentiam, quae adhiben- da est in hujusmodi collecta, ad ea quas censentur pro magisteriis et arcanis alicujus artis tantum, atque mo- vent admirationem. Admiratio enim proles est rari- tatis ; siquidem rara, licet in genere sint ex vulgatis naturis, tamen admirationem pariunt.

At contra, quse revera admirationi esse debent prop- ter discrepantiam quae inest illis in specie collatis ad alias species, tamen si in usu familiari praesto sint levi- ter notantur. Debent autem notari Monodica artis, non minus quam Monodica natural ; de quibus antea diximus.2 Atque quemadmodum in Monodicis naturae posuimus solem, lunam, magnetem, et similia, quae re vulgatissima sunt sed natura tamen fere singulari : idem et de Monodicis artis faciendum est.

1 See note, p. 317. 2 n. ^ 28.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 425

Exempli gratia ; Instantia Monodica artis est papy- rus ; res admodum vulgata. At si diligenter animum advertas, materiee artificiales aut plane textiles sunt per fila directa et transversa ; qualia sunt pannus sericus, aut laneus, et linteus, et liujusmodi ; aut coagmentan- tur ex succis concretis ; qualia sunt later, aut argilla figularis, aut vitrum, aut esmalta, aut porcellana, et similia ; quse si bene uniantur splendent, sin minus, indurantur certe, sed non splendent. Attamen omnia talia, quae fiunt ex succis concretis, sunt fragilia, nee uUo modo hserentia et tenacia. At contra, papyrus est corpus tenax, quod scindi et lacerari possit ; ita ut imi- tetur et fere semuletur pellem sive membranam alicujus animalis, aut folium alicujus vegetabilis, et hujusmodi opificia naturae. Nam neque fragilis est, ut vitrum ; neque textilis, ut pannus ; sed habet fibras certe, non fila distincta, omnino ad modum materiarum naturali- um ; ut inter artificiales materias vix inveniatur simile aliquod, sed sit plane Monodicum.' Atque prajferenda sane sunt in artificialibus ea quae maxime accedunt ad imitationem naturas, aut e contrario eam potenter regunt et invertunt.

Rursus, inter Ingenia et Manus Hominis, non pror- sus contemnenda sunt praestigiae et jocularia. Non- nulla 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 obrutas grandi mole mendaciorum et fabularum, tamen inspi- ciendum paulisper si forte subsit et lateat in aliquibus

1 It is curious that Bacon should not have remarked that all the qualities here mentioned belong to felt as well as to paper.

426 NOVUM ORGANUM.

earum aliqua operatic naturalis ; ut in fascino, et forti- ficatione imaginationis, et consensu rerum ad distans, et transmissione impressionum a spiritu ad spiritum non minus quam a corpore ad coi-pus, et similibus.

XXXII.

Ex iis quas ante dicta sunt, patet quod quinque ilia instantiarum genera de quibus diximus (viz. Instan- tiarum Conformium, Instantiarum Monodicarum, In- stantiarum Deviantium, Instantiarum Limitanearum, Instantiarum Potestatis) non debeant reservari donee inquiratur natura aliqua certa (quemadmodum instan- tia3 reliquae, quas primo loco proposuimus, nee non plurimae ex iis qua? sequentur, reservari debent) ; sed statim jam ab initio facienda est eanim collectio, tan- quam liistoria quaedam particularis ; eo quod digerant ea qua? ingrediuntur intellectum, et corrigant pravam comj)lexionem intellectus ipsius, quem omnino necesse est imbui et infici et demum perverti ac distorqueri ab incursibus quotidianis et consuetis.

Itaque adhibendae sunt eae instanti{« tanquam prae- parativum aliquod, ad rectificandum et expurgandum intellectum. Quicquid enim abducit intellectum a consuetis aequat et complanat aream ejus ad recipien- dum lumen siccum et purum notionum verainim.

Quin etiam hujusmodi instantiae sternunt et praistru- unt viam ad operativam ; ut suo loco dicemus, quando de Deductionibus ad Praxin sermo erit.

XXXIII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus loco un- decimo Instantias Comitatus, atque Hostiles; quas etiam Instantias Propositionum Fixarum appellare consuevi-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 42T

mus. Ese sunt instantice, qu^e exhibent aliquod corpus sive concretum tale, in quo natura inquisita perpetuo sequatur tanquam comes quidam individuus ; aut con- tra, in quo natura inquisita perpetuo fugiat atque ex comitatu excludatur, ut hostis et inimicus. Nam ex hujusmodi instantiis formantur propositiones certge et universales, aut affirmativse aut negativae ; in quibus subjectum erit tale corpus in concreto, prsedicatum vero natura ipsa inquisita. Etenim propositiones particu- lares omnino fixce non sunt, ubi scilicet natura inquisita reperitur in aliquo concreto fluxa et mobilis, viz. acce- dens sive acquisita, aut rursus recedens sive deposita. Quocirca particulares propositiones non habent Prae- rogativam aliquam majorem, nisi tantum in casu Mi- grationis, de quo antea dictum est. Et nihilominus, etiam particulares illae propositiones comparatas et col- lata) cum universalibus multum juvant ; ut suo loco dicetur. Neque tamen, etiam in universalibus istis propositionibus exactam aut absolutam affirmationem vel abnegationem requirimus. Sufficit enim ad id quod agitur etiamsi exceptionem nonnullam singularem aut raram patiantur.

Usus autem Instantiarum Comitatus est ad an- gustiandam Affirmativam Formge. Queraadmodum enim in Instantiis Migrantibus angustiatur Affirma- tiva Formse ; viz. ut necessario poni debeat Forma rei esse aliquid quod per actum ilium Migrationis inditur aut destruitur ; ita etiam in Instantiis Comitatus angus- tiatur Affirmativa Formae ; ut necessario poni debeat Forma rei esse aliquid quod talem concretionem cor- poris subingrediatur, aut contra ab eadem abhorreat ; ut qui bene norit constitutionem aut schematismum hujusmodi corporis non longe abfuerit ab extrahenda in lucem Forma naturae inquisitae.

428 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Exempli gratia ; sit natura inquisita Calidum. In- stantia 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 flammai perpetuo se- qiiatur. At Instantia Hostilis Calidi nulla reperitur apud nos. Nam de visceribus terras nihil constat ad sensum ; sed eomm corporum quae nobis nota sunt nulla prorsus est concretio quas non est susceptibilis caloris.

At rursus, sit natura inquisita Consistens. Instantia Hostilis est aer. Etenim metallum potest fluere, potest consistere ; similiter vitrum ; etiam aqua potest con- sistere, cum conglaciatur : at impossibile est ut aer unquam consistat, aut exuat fluorem.

Verum de instantiis hujusmodi Propositionum Fixa- rum supersunt duo monita, quae utilia sunt ad id quod agitur. Primum, ut si defuerit plane universalis Af- firmativa aut Negativa, illud ipsum diligenter notetur tanquam non-ens ; sicut fecimus de Calido, ubi univer- salis Negativa (quatenus ad entia quae ad nostram no- titiam pervenerint) in rerum natura deest. Similiter, si natura inquisita sit -Sternum aut Incorruptibile, deest Affirmativa universalis hie apud nos. Neque enim praedicari potest ^Etemum aut Incorruptibile de aliquo corpore eorum qua3 infra coclestia sunt, aut su- pra interiora terras. Alterum monitum est, ut proposi- tionibus universalibus, tarn affirmativis quam negativis, de aliquo concreto, subjungantur simul ea concreta quae proxime videntur accedere ad id quod est ex non-en- tibus ; lit in calore, flammae mollissimae et minimum adurentes ; in incormptibili, aurum, quod proxime accedit. Omnia enim ista indicant terminos naturae inter ens et non-ens ; et faciunt ad circumscriptiones

NOVUM ORGANUM. 429

Formarum, ne gliscant et vagentur extra conditiones materise.

XXXIV.

Inter Praerogativas Instantianim, ponemus loco duo- decimo ipsas illas Instantias Suhjunctivas^ de quibus in superiori aphorismo diximus ; quas etiam Instantias Ultimitatis sive Termini appellare consuevimus. Neque enim hujusmodi instantise utiles sunt tantum, quatenus subjunguntur propositionibus fixis ; verum etiam per se, et in proprietate sua. Indicant enim non obscure veras sectiones naturae, et mensuras rerum, et illud Quousque natura quid faciat et ferat, et deinde transitus naturaa 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 quse sunt ulti- ma gradu infimo, quam quse supremo ; ut spiritus vini, in pondere ; ^ sericum, in mollitie ; vermiculi cutis, in quantitate animalium ; et csetera.

XXXV.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco deci- mo tertio Instantias Foederis sive Unionis. Eae sunt, quae confundunt et adunant naturas quae existimantur esse lieterogeneae, et pro talibus notantur et signantur per divisiones receptas.

At Instantiae Foederis ostendunt operationes et ef- fectus quae deputantur alicui ex illis heterogeneis ut propria, competere etiam aliis ex heterogeneis ; ut con- vincatur ista heterogenia (quae in opinione est) vera

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 re- discovered in the eighteenth century. Bacon's want of acquaintance with it, implied in this and other passages, is therefore not surprising.

430 NOVUM ORGANUM.

lion esse aut essentialis, sed nil aliud esse quam mo- dificatio naturae communis. Optimi itaque sunt usus ad elevandum et evehendum Intel lectum a differentiis ad genera; et ad tollendum larvas et simulachra re- rum, prout occurrunt et prodeunt personatae in sub- stantiis concretis.

Exempli gratia : sit natura inquisita Calidum. Om- nino videtur esse divisio solennis et authentica quod sint tria genera caloris ; viz. calor coelestium, calor animal ium, et calor ignis ; quodque isti calores (prae- sertim unus ex illis comparatus ad reliquos duos) sint ipsa essentia et specie, sive natura specifica, diffe rentes et plane heterogenei ; quandoquidem calor coelestium et animalium generet et foveat, at calor ignis contra corrumpat et destruat. Est itaque Instantia Foederis experimentum illud satis vulgatum, cum recipitur ra- mus aliquis vitis intra domum ubi sit focus assiduus, ex quo maturescunt uvae etiam mense integro citius quam foras ; ita ut maturatio fructus etiam pendentis super arborem fieri possit scilicet ab igne, cum hoc ipsum videatur esse opus proprium solis.^ Itaque ab

1 The regular use of artificial heat in green-houses and conservatories was not known in Bacon's time. In the ^faison Champetre, an encyclo- paedia of gardening and agriculture published in 1607, 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 imd flowers. In the Sylva Sylvarum (i12.\ 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. Ever}'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

NOVUM ORGANUM. 431

hoc initio facile insurgit intellectus, repudiata lietero- genia essentiali, ad inquirendum quae sint differentiae illas quae revera reperiuntur inter calorem solis et ignis, ex quibus fit ut eorum operationes sint tarn dissimiles, utcunque illi ipsi participent ex natura communi.

Quae differentiiB 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 humi- dior ; tertio (quod caput rei est) quod sit summe inae- qualis, atque accedens et auctus, et deinceps recedens et diminutus; id quod maxime confert ad generationem corporum. Recte enim asseruit Aristoteles ^ causam princi[)alem generationum et corruptionum quae fiunt hie apud nos in superficie terrjie, esse viam obliquam solis per zodiacum ; unde calor solis, partiin per vicis- situdines diei et noctis, partim per successiones aestatis et hyemis, evadit miris modis inaequalis. Neque tamen desinit ille vir id quod ab eo recte inventum fuit sta- tim corrumpere et depravare. Nam ut arbiter scilicet naturae (quod illi in more est) valde magistraliter as- sign at causam generationis accessui solis, causam au- tem corruptionis recessui ; cum utraque res (accessus videlicet solis et recessus) non respective, sed quasi indifferenter, praebeat causam tam generationi quam cor- ruptioni ; quandoquidem inaequalitas caloris generationi et corruptioni rerum, aequalitas conservationi tan turn,

climate became that of summer. This glorious summer, which had thus abruptly succeeded to the winter of their discontent, lasted 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. 14.

432 NOVUM ORGANUM.

ministret. Est et quarta differentia inter calorem soils et ignis, magni prorsus momenti ; viz. quod sol ope- rationes suas insinuet per longa temporis spatia, ubi operatiories ignis (urgente hominum impationtia) 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 etiam inspergat et ad- misceat nonnuUam humiditatem, maxime autem si imitetur calorem solis in inaequalitate, postremo si moram patienter toleret (non certe eam quaB sit pro- portionata operibus solis, sed largiorem quam homines adliibere solent in operibus ignis), is facile missam faciet heterogeniam illam caloris, et vel tentabit vel exasquabit vel in aliquibus vincet opera solis, per calo- rem ignis. Similis Instantia Fa3deris est resuscitatio papilionum ex frigore stupentium et tanquam emortu- arum, per exiguum teporem ignis ; ut facile cemas non magis negatum esse igni vivificare animantia quam maturare vegetabilia. Etiam inventum illud celebre Fracastorii de sartagine acriter calefacta, qua circun- dant medici capita apoplecticorum desperatorum,^ ex- pandit manifeste spiritus animales ab humoribus et obstructionibus cerebri compressos et quasi extinctos, illosque ad motum excitat, non aliter quam ignis ope- ratur in aquam aut aerem, et tamen per consequens vivificat. Etiam ova aliquando excluduntur per ca- lorem ignis, id quod prorsus imitatur calorem anima-

1 Itia 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 removing the press- ure of the atmosphere : the heat applied to the vessel has no other effect than that of rarefying the air it contains.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 433

lem ; et complura ejusmodi ; ut nemo dubitare possit quin calor ignis in multis snbjectis modificari possit ad imaginem caloris coelestium et animalium.^

Similiter sint naturae inquisitse Motus et Quies. Videtur esse divisio solennis atque ex intima philoso- phia, qnod corpora naturalia vel rotent, vel ferantur recta, vel stent sive quiescant. Aut enim est motus sine termino, aut statio in termino, aut latio ad ter- minum. At motus ille perennis rotationis videtur esse coelestium proprius ; statio sive quies videtur com- petere globo ipsi terrae ; at corpora csetera (gravia quas vocant et levia, extra loca scilicet connaturalitatis suaB sita) feruntur recta ad massas sive congregation es simi- lium ; levia sursum, versus ambitum coeli ; gravia de- orsum, versus terram. Atque ista pulchra dictu sunt.

At Instantia Foederis est cometa aliquis humilior ; qui cum sit longe infra coelum, tamen rotat. Atque commentum Aristotelis^ de alligatione sive sequaci- tate cometae ad astrum aliquod jampridem explosum est ; non tantum quia ratio ejus non est probabilis, sed propter experientiam manifestam discursus et irregu- laris motus cometarum per varia loca coeli.

At rursus alia Instantia Foederis circa hoc subjec- tum est motus aeris ; qui intra tropicos (ubi circuli rotationis sunt majores) videtur et ipse rotare ab ori- ente in occidentem.

Et alia rursus instantia foret fluxus et refluxus maris, si modo aquae ipsae deprehendantur ferri motu rota- tionis (licet tardo et evanido) ab oriente in occiden-

1 Bacon's rejection of the essential heterogeneity of the three species of heat is apparently 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.

2 Meteorol. i. 4.

434 NOVUM ORGANUM.

tern ; ita tamen iit bis in die repercutiantur. Itaque, si ha3C ita se habeant, manifestum est motum istum rotiitionis non terminari in coelestibus, sed communi- cari aeri et aquae.

Etiam ista proprietas levium, nimirnm ut ferantur Rursum, vacillat nonnihil. Atque in hoc sumi potest pro Instantia Foederis bulla aquae. Si enim aer fuerit subter aquam, ascendit rapide versus superficiem aquae, per moturn ilium plagae (quam vocat Democritus) per quam aqua descendens percutit et attollit aerem sur- sum ; non autem per contentionem aut nixum aeris ipsius. Atqui ubi ad superficiem ipsam aquae ventum fuerit, tum coliibetur 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 cen- trum terras, rara autem et tenuia versus ambitum coeli ; tanquam ad loca sua propria. Atque loca quod at- tinet, (licet in scholis liujusmodi res valeant) ])lane 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 virtu- osum plane et efficax genus niliili, aut puncti matlie- matici, quod aut alia afficeret, aut rursus quod alia appeterent: corpus enim non nisi a corpore patitur. Verum iste appetitus ascendendi et descendendi aut est in schematismo corporis quod movetur, aut in sympathia sive consensu cum alio corpore. Quod si inveniatur aliquod corpus densum et solidum, quod niliilominus non feratur ad terram, confunditur hujus-

NOVUM ORGANUM- 435

modi divisio. At si recipiatur opinio Gilberti, quod magiietica vis terrae ad alliciendum gravia non ex- tendatur ultra orbeiil virtutis suas (quae operatur sem- per ad distantiam certam, et non ultra)/ hocque per aliquam Instantiam verificetur, ea denium erit Instan- tia Foederis circa hoc subjectum. Neque tamen oc- currit imprsesentiarum aliqua instantia super hoc certa et manifesta. Proxime videntur accedere cataractae coeli, quae in navigationibus per Oceanum Atlanticum versus Indias utrasque ssepe conspiciuntur. Tanta enim videtur esse vis et moles aquarum quae per hujusmodi cataractas subito efFunditur, ut videatur collectio aqua- rum fuisse ante fiicta, atque in his locis haesisse et man- sisse ; et postea potius per causam violentam dejecta et detrusa esse, quam naturali motu gravitatis cecidisse ; adeo ut conjici possit, corpoream molem densam atque eompactam 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 simus

1 In Gilbert's philosophy, the earth's magnetic action is not distinguished from gravit}'. Thus he says: " Partes vero primariorum globorum integris

alligatjE sunt, inillos naturali desiderio incumbunt Non autem estap'

petitus aut inclinatio ad locum, aut spatium, aut terminum ; sed ad corpus, ad fontem, ad matrem, ad principium ubi uniuntur, conservantur, et a periculis vag£E partes revocatae quiescunt omnes. Ita tellus aliicit magnetica omnia, tum alia omnia in quibus vis magnetica primaria desiit materiiB ratione ; quaa 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 ap' pears 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 mini- mum magneticum per magnetem movetur." He asserts that the orb of the magnetic virtue extends to the moon, and ascribes the moon's in- equalities to the effects it produces {De Mundo, ii. c. 19.). In the preced- ing chapter he remarks, " Luna magnetice alligatur terrae, quia facies ejus semper versus terram."

486 NOVUM ORGANUM.

historiae naturalis ; cum loco instantiarum certarum non- nunquam suppositiones afFerre pro exemplis cogamur.

Similiter sit natura inquisita Discursus Ingenii. Vi- detur omnino divisio vera, ration is humante et solertiae brutorum. Attamen sunt nonnullae instantije actionum quae 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 ; atque 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 om- nino esse divisio vera et certa, lucis, qua3 est visibile originale et primam copiam facit visui, et colons, qui est visibile secundarium et sine luce non cernitur, ita ut videatur nil aliud esse quam imago aut modificatio lucis.^ Attamen ex utraque parte circa hoc videntur esse InstantiaB Foederis ; scilicet, nix in magna quanti- tate, et flamma sulphuris ; in quarum altera videtur esse color primulum lucens, in altera lux vergens ad colorem.

XXXVI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco de- cimo quarto Instantias Cruds ; translato vocabulo a Crucibus, quae erectaB in biviis indicant et signant via- rum separationes. Has etiam Instantias Decisorias et Judiciales, et in casibus nonnullis Instantias Oraculi et Mandati, appellare consuevimus. Earum ratio talis

1 The doctrine of this passage seems to be taken from Telesius, De Re- rum Natura, vii. c. 31.: — " Sensus ipse primo illam flucem] et per se visi- lem colores siquidem visiles, at secundo a luce loco et lucis omnino opera visiles declarat."

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est. Cum in inquisitione naturae alicujus intellectus ponitur tanquam in aequilibrio, ut incertus sit utri naturarum e duabus, vel quandoque pluribus, causa naturae inquisitae attribui aut assignari debeat, propter complurium naturarum concursum frequentem et or- dinarium, Instantiag Crucis ostendunt consortium unius ex naturis (quoad naturam inquisitam) fidum et indis- solubile, alterius autem varium et separabile ; unde terminatur quaestio, et recipitur natura ilia prior pro causa, missa altera et repudiata. Itaque hujusmodi in- stantiae sunt maximae lucis, et quasi magnae auctori- tatis ; ita ut curriculum interpretationis quandoque in illas desinat, et per illas perficiatur. Interdum autem Instantiae Crucis illas occurrunt et inveniuntur inter jampridem notatas ; at ut plurimum novae sunt, et de industria atque ex composito quaesitae et applicatae, et diligentia sedula et acri tandem erutae.^

Exempli gratia; sit natura inquisita Fluxus et Re- fluxus Maris, ille bis repetitus in die atque sexhorarius in accessibus et recessibus singulis, cum differentia non- nulla quae coincidit in motum lunae. Bivium circa banc naturam tale est.

Necesse prorsus est ut iste niotus efficiatur, vel ab aquarum progressu et regressu, in modum aquae in pelvi agitatae, quae quando latus unum pelvis alluit de- serit alterum ; vel a sublatione et subsidentia aquarum e profundo, in modum aquae ebullientis et rursus sub- sidentis. Utri vero causae fluxus et refluxus ille assig- nari debeat, oritur dubitatio. Quod si recipiatur prior assertio, necesse est ut cum sit fluxus in mari ex una

I These are instances of the experiments spoken of in the Distributio OpeHs, "quae ad intentionem ejus quod qnaeritur perite et secundum ar- tem excogitata et apposita sunt." (p. 218.) — J. S.

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parte fiat sub idem tempus aliciibi in mari rcfluxiis ex alia. Itaque ad hoc reducitur inquisitio. Atqui obser- vavit Acosta, cum aliis nonnullis (diligenti facta inqui- sitione), quod ad litora Florida? et ad litora adversa HispanicTe et Africae, fiant fluxus maris ad eadem tem- pera, et refluxus itidem ad eadem tempora; non contra, qtiod cum fluxus fit ad littora Floridae, fiat refluxus ad littora Hispaniae et Africa?.^ Attamen adlmc dilioen- tius 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 aquai scilicet illai contrudantur et compellantur aliunde, quemadmodum fit in fliiviis, qui fluunt et refluunt ad utrumque littus horis iisdem, cum tamen iste motus liquido sit motus in progressu, nempe aquarum ingre- dientium ostia fluminum ex mari. Itaque simiH modo fieri potest, ut aquae venientes magna mole ab Oceano Orientali Indico compellantur et trudantur in alveum Maris Atlantici, et i)ro})terea inundent utrumque latus simul. Quaerendum itaque est, an sit alius alveus per quem aquas possint iisdem temporibus minui et refluere. Atque praesto est Mare Australe, Mari Atlantico neu- tiquam 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 tam FloridaB quam Hispaniae in Mari Atlantico, fiat simul

1 Compare the De Fluxu et Rejluxu Maris. I have not been able to find this statement in Acosta, wlio 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 Magellan, (iii. 14.)

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fluxus ad littora Peruvise et juxta dorsum Cliinre in Mari Australi ; turn certe per hanc Instantiam Deciso- riam abjudicanda est assertio quod fluxus et refluxus maris, de quo inquiritur, fiat per motum progressivuni : neque enim relinquitur aliud mare aut locus, ubi possit ad eadem tempora fieri regressus aut refluxus. Com- modissime autem lioc sciri possit, si inqulratur ab inco- lis Panamas et Limae (ubi uterque Oceanus, Atlanticus et Australis, per parvum Isthmum separantur), utrum ad contrarlas Isthmi partes fiat simul fluxus et refluxus maris, an e contra. Verum Hjbc docisio sive abjudi- catio certa videtur, posito quod terra stet immobilis. Quod si terra rotet, fieri fortasse potest ut ex insequali rotatione (quatenus ad celeritatem sive incitationem) terrae et aquarum maris, sequatur compulsio violenta aquarum in cumulum sursum, quae sit fluxus ; et relax- atio earundem (postquam amplius cumulari non susti- nuerint) in deorsum, quae sit refluxus. Verum de hoc facienda est inquisitio separatim. Attamen 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 at- tollens et rursus subsidens ; si forte ita accident ut (diligenti facto examine) rejiciatur motus alter, de quo diximus, progressivus. Turn vero erit trivium circa hanc naturam tale. Necesse est ut motus iste, per quem aquae in fluxibus et refluxibus se attollunt et rur- sus relabuntur, absque aliqua accessione aquarum alia- rum quae advolvuntur, fiat per unum ex his tribus modis ; vel quod ista aquarum copia emanet ex interi- oribus terrae et rursus in ilia se recipiat ; vel quod non

440 NOVUM ORGANUM.

sit aliqua amplior moles aquanim, sed quod eajdem aquoB (non aucto quanto suo) extendaiitur sive rare- fiant, ita ut majorem locum et dimensioiiem occupent, et rursus se contrahant ; vel quod nee copia accedat major nee extensio amplior, sed eaedem aqua? (prout sunt tarn copia quarn densitate aut raritate) per vim aliquam magneticam desuper eas attrahentem et evo- cantem, et per consensum, se attollant et deinde se remittant. Itaque reducatur (si placet) jam inquisitio (missis duobus illis motibus prioribus) ad liunc ulti- mum ; et inquiratur si fiat aliqua talis sublatio per con- sensum sive vim magneticam. Atqui primo manifestum jest universas aquas, prout ponuntur in fossa sive cavo maris, non posse simul attoUi, quia defuerit quod suc- cedat in fundo ; adeo ut si foret in aquis aliquis hujus- modi 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 sublata) latera per successio- nem deserant et destituant.

Itaque jam tandem perventum est ad Instantiam Cru- cis 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, quae sunt litora ; et in fluxibus eadem superficies sit magis plana et sequa, redeuntibus scilicet aquis ad priorem suam positionem ; tum certe per banc Instantiam Deci- soriam potest recipi sublatio per vim magneticam, aliter

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prorsus abjudicanda est. Hoc vero in fretis per lineas nauticas non difficile est experiri ; ^ 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 creditur) ut attollant se aquae in refluxibus, demittant se tantum in fluxibus, ita ut littora vestiant et inundent.

Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motus Rotationis sponta- neus ; et speciatim, utrum Motus Diurnus, per quem sol et stellae ad conspectum nostrum oriuntur et occidunt, sit motus rotationis verus in coelestibus, aut motus appa- rens in coelestibus, verus in terra. Poterit esse In- stantia Crucis super hoc subjectem talis. Si inveniatur motus aliquis in oceano ab oriente in occidentem, licet admodum languidus et enervatus ; si idem motus re- periatur paulo incitatior in acre, praesertim intra tropi- cos, 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 pro- pius absit a terra sit tardior, quo longius celerior, atque in coelo demum stellato sit velocissimus ; tum certe recipi debet motus diurnus pro vero in coelis, et abne- gandus est motus terrae ; quia manifestum erit, motum ab oriente in occidentem esse plane cosmic um et ex (consensu universi, qui in summitatibus cceli maxime rapidus gradatim labascat, et tandem desinat et exstin- guatur in immobili, videlicet terra.^

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.

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Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motiis Rotationis ille alter apud astronomos decantatus, renitens et coiitra- rius Motui Diiirno, videlicet ab occidente in orientem ; quern vetei*es astronomi attribuunt planetis, etiani coelo stellato ; at Copernicus et ejus sectatores terras quoque ; et quteratur utrum inveniatur in rerum natura aliquis talis motus, an potius res conficta sit et supposita, ad compendia et commoditates calculationum, et ad pul- chrum illud, scilicet de expediendis motibus coelestibus per circulos perfectos. Neutiquam enim evincitur iste motus esse in supernis verus et realis, nee per defectum restitutionis planetae in motu diurno ad idem punctum coeli stellati, nee per diversam politateni zodiaci, liabito respectu ad polos mundi ; quae duo nobis hunc motum pepererunt. Primum enim phaenomenon per antever- sionem et derelictionem optime salvatur ; secundum per lineas spiral es ; adeo ut inaiqualitas 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 geramus (missis astronomorum et scho- Ise commentis, quibus illud in more est ut sensui in multis immerito vim faciant, et obscuriora malint), ta- lem esse motum istum ad sensum, qualem diximus ; cujus imaginem per fila ferrea (veluti in macliina) ali- quando repraBsentari fecimus.^

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 hy exclusion ? The argument depends on a wholly non-logical element, the conviction of the unity and harmony of nature.

1 This passage does the author little credit. He does not seem to have perceived that the resolution of the apparent motion into otiier simpler mo- tions was an essentially necessary step before the phenomena could be grouped together in any general law. The transition from the apparent

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Verum Instantia Crucis super hoc subjectum potent esse talis. Si inveniatiir in aliqua historia fide digna, fuisse cometam aliquem vel sublimiorem vel humiliorem qui non rotaverit cum consensu manifesto (licet admo- dum 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 Instantias Crucis circa hoc confugiendum.

Similiter, sit natura inquisita, Pondus sive Grave. Bivium circa banc naturam tale est. Necesse est ut gravia et ponderosa vel tendant ex natura sua ad cen- trum terrse, per proprium schematism um ; vel ut a mas- sa corporea ipsius terra?, tanquam a congregatione cor- porum 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 magneticis) ; idque fieri intra spati- um certum ; adeo ut si elongata fuerint a terra tali di- stantia ut virtus terrse in ea agere non possit, pensilia mansura sint, ut et ipsa terra, nee omnino decasura.

Itaque talis circa banc rem poterit esse Instantia Crucis. Sumatur horologium ex iis quae moventur per pondera plumbea, et aliud ex iis quae moventur per com- pressionem laminae ferrejie ; atque vere probentur, ne alterum altero velocius sit aut tardius ; deinde ponatur

motion to the real motions could never have been made unless the former had been resolved in the maimer which Bacon here condemns. From the con- cluding 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 his own time.

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horologiiim illud movens per pondera super fastigium alicujus templi altissimi, altero illo infra detento ; et notetur diligenter si horologium in alto situm tardius moveatur quatn solebat, propter dimimitam virtutem ponderiim. Idem fiat experimentum in profundis mi- nerarum alte sub terra depressarum, utrum horologium hujusmodi non moveatur velocius quam solebat, prop- ter auctam virtutem ponderum. Quod si inveniatur virtus ponderum minui in sublimi, aggravari in subter- raneis, recipiatur pro causa ponderis attractio a massa corporea terrae.^

Similiter, sit natura inquisita Verticitas Acus Ferreas, tactae magnete. Circa banc naturam tale erit bivium. Necesse est ut tactus magnetis vel ex se indat ferro ver- ticitatem ad septentriones et austrum ; vel ut excitet ferrum tantummodo et habilitet, motus autem ipse in- datur ex prsesentia terra? ; ut Gilbertus 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 septentri-

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 de- termine the effect on the time of vibration of a pendulum, produced by car- rying 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 ITarton Colliery. They appear likely to afford more satisfactory re- sults 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 philosophic a 4t6 de deviner I'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. 1.3.) 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 Paradiso, xvi. 82.

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ones et austrum, colligat mora diutina verticitatem, ab- sque tactu magnetis ; ac si terra ipsa, quae ob distan- tiam debiliter operatur (namque superficies aut extima incrustatio terrse virtutis magneticae, ut ille vult, expers est), per moram tamen longam magnetis tactum supple- ret, et ferrum exciret, deinde excitum conformaret et verteret. Rursus, quod ferrum ignitum et candens, si in exstinctione sua exporrigatur inter septentriones et au- strum, colligat quoque verticitatem absque tactu mag- netis ; ac si partes ferri in motu positae per ignitionem, et postea se recipientes, in ipso articulo extinctionis suas magis essent susceptivae et quasi sensitivae virtutis ma- nantis a terra quam alias, et inde fierent tanquam ex- citae. Verum haec, licet bene observata, tamen non evincunt prorsus quod ille asserit.^

Instantia Crucis autem circa hoc subjectum poterit esse talis. Capiatur terrella ^ ex magneto, et notentur poll ejus ; et ponantur poll 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 magnetem, relictis polis mundi, se vertet ad polos mag- netis ; itaque quamdiu ita manet, vertitur scilicet ad orientem et occidentem mundi. Quod si inveniatur acus ilia, remota a magneto et posita super versorium, statim se applicare ad septentriones et austrum, vel

1 See, for these two remarks, the twelfth chapter of the third book of Gilbert's treatise De Magnete. It is illustrated by a curious woodcut, rep- resenting 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 fundamental 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.

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etiam paulatim se eo recipere, turn recipienda est pro causa, praisentia terrae ; sin aut vertatur (ut prius) in orientem et occidentem, aut perdat verticitatem, ha- benda est ilia causa pro suspecta, et ulterius inquiren- dum est.

Similiter, sit natura inquisita Corporea Substantia Luna3 ; an sit tenuis, flammea, sive aerea, ut })lurimi ex priscis philosophis opinati sunt ; an solida et densa, ut Gilbertus et multi moderni, cum nonnullis ex anti- quis, tenent.^ Rationes posterioris istius opinionis fim- dantur in hoc maxime, quod luna radios solis reflectat ; neque videtur fieri reflexio lucis nisi a solidis.

Itaque InstantiaB Crucis circa hoc subjectum eae esse poterint (si modo aliquae sint) qua3 demonstrent reflex- ionem a corpore tenui, qualis est flamma, modo sit cras- sitiei sufficientis. Certe causa crepusculi, inter alias, est reflexio radiorum solis a superiore parte aeris. Etiam quandoque reflecti videmus radios solis temporibus ves- pertinis serenis a fimbriis nubium roscidarum, non mi- nori splendore, sed potius illustriori et magis glorioso, quam qui redditur a corpore lunaj ; ^ neque tamen con- stat eas nubes coaluisse in corpus densum aquae. Etiam videmus aerem tenebrosum,pone fenestras noctu reflec- tere lucem candelae, non minus quam corpus densum. Tentandum etiam foret experimentum immissionis radi- orum solis per foramen super flammam aliquam subfu- scam et csBruleam. Sane radii aperti solis, incidentes in flammas obscuriores, videntur eas quasi mortificare, ut conspiciantur magis instar fiimi albi quam flammaj. Atque haBC impraisentiarum occurrunt, quae sint ex na-

1 See Gilbert's De Mundo, &c., it. c. 13 et sqq.

2 The comparison of the brightness of the moon in the da^'time with that of a cloud was ingeniously applied by Bouguer to deterniine the ratio of the moon's light to the sun's.

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tura Instantiarum Crucis circa lianc rem ; et meliora fortasse reperiri possunt. Sed notandum semper est, reflexionem a flamma non esse expectandam, nisi a flamma alicujus profunditatis ; nam aliter vergit ad diaphanum. Hoc autem pro certo ponendum, lucem semper in corpore sequali aut excipi et transmitti aut resilire.

Similiter, sit natura inquisita Motus Missilium, ve- luti spiculormn, sagittarum, globulorum, per aerem. Hunc motum Scliola (more suo) valde negligenter expedit ; satis habens, si eum nomine motus violenti a naturali (quem vocant) distinguat ; et quod ad primam percussionem sive impulsionem attinet, 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 banc naturam bivium est tale : aut iste motus fit ab aere veliente et pone corpus emissum se coUi- gente, instar fluvii erga scapham aut venti erga pa- leas ; aut a partibus ipsius corporis non sustinentibus impressionem, sed ad eandem laxandam per succes- sionem se promoventibus. Atque priorem ilium re- cipit Fracastorius, et fere .omnes qui de hoc motu paulo subtilius inquisiverunt ; ^ neque dubium est,

1 See Fracastorius, De Sympathia et Aiitipathid, c. 4.

The notion that the air concurred in producing the continued motion of projectiles is found in the Tiinceus, p. 80. Plato has been speaking of res- piration, of which his theory is, that the expiration of air through the nos- trils and mouth pushes the contiguous external air from its place, which disturbs that near it, and so on until a circle is formed, whereby, by anti- peristasis, 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 cupping instruments, swallowing, the motion of projectiles, &c. &c. All these, however, after suggesting the explanation, he leaves unexplained. But Plutarch, Qticest. Platon. x. (p. 177. of Reiske's Plutarch) developes a

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quill sint aeris partes in hac re nonnulla3 ; sed alter motus proculdubio verus est, ut ex infinitis constat experimentis. Sed inter caiteras, poterit esse circa hoc subjectum Instantia Crucis talis ; quod lamina, aut filum ferri paulo contuniacius, vel etiani 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 Pjrii in flanimam ; unde tantai moles subvertuntur, tanta pondera emittuntur, quanta in cuniculis majoribus et bombardis videmus. Bivium circa banc naturam tale est. Aut excitatur iste motus a niero corporis appetitu se dilatandi, post- quam fuerit inflammatum ; aut ab appetitu mixto spiri- tus crudi, qui rapide fugit ignem, et ex eo circumfuso, tanquam ex carcere, violenter erumpit. Schola autem et vulgaris opinio tantum versatur circa priorem ilium appetitum. Putant enim homines se pulchre philoso- phari, si asserant flammam ex forma elementi necessi- tate quadam donari locum ampliorem occupandi quam idem corpus expleverat cum subiret formam pulveris, atque inde sequi motum istum. Interim minime ad- vertunt, licet hoc verum sit, posito quod flamma gene- retur, tamen posse impcdiri flammae generationem a tanta mole quae illam comprimere et sufFocare queat ;

similar explanation in each case. I transcribe what he says of projectiles: — Tu 6i f)cirTov(ieva fiapij rdv uepa axiC^i- ^cra irXjjy^g iKireaovTa, koI ddarqaiv. 6 de 7repi/i/iewv otriacj, tu <j>vaiv Ix^lv uel rfiv ipjjfxovfiivijv X(^pav SiuKecv koI avan'K'npovv, avveneTai tu u<j>UfiEV(f>, ttjv kivijolv avvt- mTaxvviov. But this explanation is not Plato's, but Plutarch's; though it is probably what Plato would himself have said.

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ut non deducatur res ad istam necessitatem de qua loquuiitur. 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 flam- mam supprimat antequam generetur. Atque videmus flammam, prsesertim 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 Imjusmodi flammarum flatulentarum, et veluti ven- torum igneorum, fieri ex conflictu duorum corjDorum, eorumque naturae inter se plane contrarise ; alterius admodum inflammabilis, quae natura viget in sul- phure ; alterius flammam exhorrentis, qualis est spi- ritus crudus qui est in nitro ; adeo ut fiat conflictus mirabilis, inflammante se sulphure quantum potest (nam tertium corpus, nimirum carbo salicis, nil aliud fere praestat quam ut ilia duo corpora incorporet et commode 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 interim flammam sulphuris, tanquam follibus occultis, undequaque exufflante.

Poterant^ autem esse Instantias Crucis circa hoc sub- jectum duorum generum. Alteram eorum corporum quae maxime sunt inflammabilia, qualia sunt sulphur, caphura, naphtha, et Imjusmodi, cum eorum misturis ; quae citius et facilius concipiunt flammam quam pulvis pyrius, si non impediantur ; ex quo liquet appetitum inflammandi per se eflectum ilium stupendum non ope- rari. Alterum eorum quae flammam fugiunt et exhor-

1 So in the original. VOL. I. 29

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rent, qualia sunt sales omnes. Videmus enim, si jaci- antiir in ignem, spiritum aqueum erumpere cum fragore antequam flamma concipiatur ; quod etiam leniter fit in foliis paulo contumacioribus, parte aquea erumpente an- tequam oleosa concipiat flam mam. Sed maxime cerni- tur hoc in argento vivo, quod non male dicitur aqua mineralis.^ Hoc enim, absque inflammatione, per enip- jtionem et expansionem simplicem vires pulveris pyrii fere adaequat ; quod etiam admixtum pulveri pyrio ejus vires multiplicare dicitur.

Similiter sit natura inquisita, Transitoria Natura Flammaj, et extinctio ejus momentanea. Non enim videtur natura flammea hie apud nos figi et consistere, sed singulis quasi momentis generari, et statim extin- gui. Manifestum enim est, in flammis quae hie conti- nuantur et durant, istam durationem non esse ejusdem flammiE in individuo, sed fieri per successionem novsB flammae seriatim generatce, minime autem manere ean- dem flammam numero ; id quod facile pei-spicitur ex hoc, quod, substracto alimento sive fomite flammae, flamma statim pereat. Bivium autem circa banc na- turam tale est. Momentanea ista natura aut fit re- mittente se causa quae cam primo genuit, ut in lumine, sonis, et motibus (quos vocant) violentis ; aut quod flamma in natura sua possit hie apud nos manere, sed a contrariis naturis circumfusis vim patiatur et destruatur.

Itaque poterit esse circa hoc subjectum Instantia Crucis talis. Videmus flammas in incendiis majoribus, quam alte in sursum ascendant. Quanto enim basis flammae est latior, tanto vertex sublimior. Itaque vide-

1 It is well known that the expansive force of the vapour of mercury at high temperatures is enormous.

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tur principium extinctionis fieri circa latera, ubi ab aere flamma comprimitur et male babetur. At meditullia flammae, quge aer non contingit sed alia flamma undi- que circumdat, eadem numero manent, neque extin- guuntur donee paulatim angustientur ab aere per latera circumfuso. Itaque omiiis 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 in versa ; quia scilicet aer fumum recipit, flammam (ne- que enim quispiam somniet aerera esse flammam accen- sam, cum sint corpora plane heterogenea) comprimit.

Accuratior autem poterit esse Instantia Crucis ad banc rem accommodata, si res forte manifestari possit per flam mas bicolores. Capiatur igitur situla parva ex metallo, et in ea figatur parva candela cerea accensa; ponatur situla in patera, et circumfundatur spiritus vini in modica quantitate, quae ad labra situlae non attingat; tum accendc spiritum vini. At spiritus ille vini exhi- bebit flammam magis scilicet caeruleam, lyclinus can- dela3 autem magis flavam. Notetur itaque utrum flamma lycbni (quam facile est per colorem a flamma sjiiritus vini distinguere, neque enim flammae, ut li- quores, statim commiscentur) maneat pyramidalis, an potius magis tendat ad formam globosam, cum nihil inveniatur quod eam destruat aut comprimat.^ At hoc posterius si fiat, manere flammam eandem numero, quamdiu intra aliam flammam concludatur nee vim inimicam aeris experiatur, pro certo ponendum est.

Atque de Instantiis Crucis hgec dicta sint. Lon- giores autem in iis tractandis ad hunc finem fuimus,

1 This experiment is mentioned as actually tried in Syl. Sylvarum, 31. [See note on the passage. — J. S.'\

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ut homines paulatim discant et assuefiant de iiatura judicare per Instantias Crucis et experimenta lucifera, et non per rationes probabiles.

XXXVII.

Inter Prserogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco de- cimo quinto Instantias Divortii ; qua3 indicant separa- tiones naturarum earum qua^ ut plurimum occurrunt. Diff'erunt autem ab Instantiis quae subjunguntur In- stantiis Comitatus ; quia illae indicant separationes naturas alicujus ab aliquo concreto cum quo ilia famili- ariter consuescit, hae vero separationes natune alicujus ab altera natura. DifFerunt etiam ab Instantiis Crucis ; quia nihil determinant, sed monent tantum de separa- bilitate unius naturae ab altera. Usus autem earum est ad prodendas falsas Formas, et dissipandas leves contemplationes ex rebus obviis orientes ; adeo ut ve- luti plumbum et pondera intellectui addant.

Exempli gratia : sint naturae inquisitae quatuor na- turae illae, quas Contuhemales vult esse Telesius,^ et tanquam ex eadem camera ; viz. Calidum, Lucidum, Tenue, Mobile sive promptum ad motum. At pluriraae inveniuntur Instantiae Divortii inter ipsas. Aer enim tenuis est et habilis ad motum, non calidus aut lucidus ;

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 niodo quo Sol terram, etiam calor quivis, vel qui e commotis contritisque enascitur rebus, quae corripit exu- peratque immutare videtur; frigus scilicet ex iia, ej usque facultates condi- tionesque omnes, crassitiem, obscuritatem, iramobilitatem, deturbare, et se ipsum iis, propriasque facultates conditionesque omnes, tenuitatem, albe- dinem et mobilitatem, indere videtur." — De Rerum Naturd, i. c. 1.

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luna luclda, absque calore ; aqua fervens calida, absque lumine ; motus acus ferreae super versorium pernix et agilis, et tamen in corpora frigido, denso, opaco ; et complura id genus.

Similiter sint naturae inquisitae Natura Corporea et Actio Naturalis. Videtur enim non inveniri actio naturalis, nisi subsistens in aliquo corpore. Attamen possit fortasse esse circa banc rem Instantia nonnulla Divortii. Ea est actio magnetica, per quam ferrum fertur ad magnetem, gravia ad globum terrse. Addi etiam possint alise nonnullse operationes ad distans. Actio siquidem hujusmodi et in tempore fit, per mo- menta non in puncto temporis, et in loco, per gradus et spatia. Est itaque aliquod momentum temporis, et ali- quod intervallum loci, in quibus ista virtus sive actio hasret in medio inter duo ilia corpora quse motum cient. Reducitur itaque contemplatio ad hoc ; utrum ilia cor- pora quae sunt termini motus disponant vel alterent corpora media, ut per successionem et tactum verum labatur virtus a termino ad terminum, et interim sub- sistat in corpore medio ; an horum nihil sit, prseter cor- pora et virtutem et spatia ? Atque in radiis opticis et sonis et calore et aliis nonnullis operantibus ad distans, probabile est media corpora disponi et alterari ; eo ma- gis, quod requiratur medium qualificatum ad deferen- dam operationem talem. At magnetica ilia sive coitiva virtus admittit media tanquam adiaphora, nee impeditur virtus in omnigeno medio. Quod si nil rei habeat vir- tus 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 terminantibus, nee in mediis. Quare actio magnetica poterit esse Instantia Divortii

454 NOVUM ORGANUM.

circa naturam corpoream et actionem naturalem. Cui hoc adjici potest tanquam corollarium aut lucrum non praetermittendum ; viz. quod etiam secundum sensum philosophanti sumi possit probatio^ quod sint entia et substantias separata3 et incorporeae. Si enim virtus et actio naturalis, emanans a corpore, subsistere possit ali- quo tempore et aliquo loco omnino sine corpore ; prope -est ut possit etiam emanare in origine sua a substantia incorporea. Videtur enim non minus requiri natura corporea ad actionem naturalem sustentandam et deve- hendam, quam ad excitandam aut generandam.

XXXVIII.

Sequuntur quinque ordines instantiainim, quas uno vocabulo genemli Instantias Lampadis sive Infonna- tionis PrimoB appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt quae auxiliantur sensui. Cum enim omnis Interpretatio Naturae incipiat a sensu, atqne a sensuum perceptioni- bus recta, constanti, et munita via ducat ad percep- tiones intellectus, quae sunt notiones verae et axiomata, necesse est ut quanto magis copiosae et exactae fuerint repraBsentationes sive praebitiones ipsius sensus, tanto omnia cedant facilius et fa»licius.

Harum autem quinque Instantiarum Lampadis, pri- mae roborant, ampliant, et rectificant actiones sensus immediatas : secundae deducunt non-sensibile ad sensi- bile ; ^ tertiae indicant processus continuatos sive series earum rerum et motuum qua} (ut plurimum) non no- tantur nisi in exitu aut period is ; quarta; aliquid sub- stituunt sensui in meris destitutionibus; quintae excitant

1 i. e. a proof furnished by merely human philosophy,

2 t. e. make manifest things which are not directly perceptible, by means of others which are.

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attentionem sensus et advertentiam, atque una limitant subtilitatem rernm. De his autem singulis jam dicen- dum est.

XXXIX.

Inter Pi'aerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco deci- tno sexto Instaritias Januce sive Portce: eo enim nomine eas appellamus quae juvant actiones sensus immediatas. Inter sensus autem manifestum est partes primas tenere Visum, quoad informationem ; quare huic sensui prae- cipue auxilia conquirenda. Auxilia autem triplicia esse posse videntur ; vel ut percipiat non visa ; vel ut ma- jore intervallo ; vel ut exactius et distinctius.

Primi generis sunt (missis bis-oculis et liujusmodi, qus3 valent tantum ad corrigendam et levandam in- firmitatem visus non bene dispositi, atque ideo nihil amplius informant) ea quae nuper inventa sunt perspi- cilla ; quae latentes et invisibiles corporum minutias, et occultos schematismos et motus (aucta insigniter speci- erum magnitudine) demonstrant ; quorum vi, in pulice, musca, vermiculis, accurata corporis figura et linea- menta, necnon colores et motus prius non conspicui, non sine admiratione cernuntur. Quinetiam aiunt^ lineam rectam calamo vel penecillo descriptam, per hu- jusmodi perspicilla inaequalem admodum et tortuosam cerni ; quia scilicet nee motus manus, licet per regu- 1am adjutae, nee impressio atramenti aut coloris revera aequalia existant ; licet illae inaequalitates tarn minutae sint ut sine adjumento hujusmodi perspicillorum con- spici nequeant. Etiam superstitiosam quandam ob- servationem in hac re (ut fit in rebus no vis et miris)

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.

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addidernnt liomines : viz. quod hujusmodi perspicilla opera natura? illustrent, artis dehonestent. Illud vero nihil aliud est quam quod texturae naturales multo sub- tiliores sint quam artificiosae.^ Perspicillum enim illud ad minuta tantum valet : quale perspicillum si vidisset Democritus, exiluisset forte, et modum videndi atomum (quern ille invisibilem omnino affirmavit) inventum fuisse putasset.2 Verum incompetentia hujusmodi per- spicillorum, pneterquam 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 tex- tura panni lintei conspici posset tanquam rete, atque hoc modo minutiae latentes et inaequalitates gemmarum, liquorum, urinarum, sanguinis, vulnerum, et multarum aliarum rerum, cerni possent, magnaa proculdubio ex eo invento commoditates capi possent.

Secundi generis sunt ilia altera perspicilla quse me- morabili conatu adinvenit Galiheus ; quorum ope, tan- quam per scaphas aut naviculas, aperiri et exerceri pos- sint propiora cum coelestibus commercia. Hinc enim constat, galaxiam esse nodum sive coacervationem stel- larum parvamm, plane numeratarum et distinctarum ; de qua re apud antiquos tantum suspicio fuit. Hinc demonstrari videtih", quod spatia orbium (quos vocant)

1 Leibnitz goes as far as to say, " La mati^re arrangde par une sagesse divine doit etre essentiellement organis^e partout; . . . il y a machine dans ies parties de la machine naturelle a rinfini." — Sur le Principe de

Vie. p. 431. of Erdmann's edition.

2 Democritus maintained that the atom Avas wholly incognisable by the senses. Thus Sextus Empiricus mentions him along with Plato as having held the doctrine fiovn tu vo7jtu (iX-qfir] tlvai ; the reason in the case of Democritus being that his atoms, which alone he recognised as realities, possessed nuarjc tiia^TjTf/^ noionjrog ipijfwv 6vaiv. — Sext. Em. Adveri. Loyicos, ii. § 6.

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planetarum non sint plane vacua aliis stellis, seel 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 cernuntur et locantur ; adeo ut fieri possit qusedam seleno-graphia. Hinc maculae in sole, et id genus : omnia certe inventa nobilia, quatenus fides hujusmodi demonstrationibus tuto adhiberi possit.^ Quas nobis ob hoc maxime suspectao sunt, quod in istis paucis sistatur experimentum, neque alia complura in- vestigatu aequo digna eadem ratione inventa sint.^

1 Galileo often mentions the attempt which many of the Peripaticians made to set aside all arguments founded on his discoveries with the tele- scope, by saying that they were mere optical delusions. J. C. La Gnlla, in his dissertation De Phcenominis in Orbe Ltmce, 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 Gldbi Intellechialis (c. v.;i where Bacon speaks of Galileo's invention and discoveries (the first- fruits of Avhich had just been announced) in a strain of more sanguine ex- pectation : — " Atque hoc inceptum et fine et aggressu nobile quoddam et humano genere dignum esse existimamus: eo magis quod hujusmodi hom- ines et ausu laudandi sint et fide; quod ingenue et perspicue proposuerunt, quomodo singula illis constiterint Superest tantum constantia, cum mag- na judicii severitate, ut et instrumenta mutent, et testium numerum auge- ant, et singula et ssepe 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 suiB evenit circa ficus raellitas, ut vetula esset philosopho prudentior, et magnse et admirabilis speculationis 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 received 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 heav- ens than before, he was prepared to hear of a great number of new and unexpected phenomena ; and his only fear was that the observers, instead

458 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Tertii generis sunt bacilla ilia ad terras mensurandas, astrolabia, et similia ; quae sensum videndi non am- pliant, sed rectificant et dirigunt. Quod si sint aliaB instantiae quae reliquos sensus juvent in ipsorum ac- tionibus immediatis et individuis, tamen si ejusmodi sint quae informationi ipsi nihil addant plus quam jam habetur, ad id quod nunc agitur non faciunt. Itaque <3arum mentionem non fecimus.

XL.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco de- cimo septimo Instantias Citantes, sumpto vogabulo a foris civilibus, quia citant ea ut compareant qua^ prius non comparuerunt ; quas etiam Instantiae JSvocantes appellare consuevimus. Eae deducunt non-sei.sibile 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 tem- pus 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 ha^c pr*cipue ad visum pertinent, et deinde ad tactum. Nam hi duo sensus sunt informativi ad largum, atque de commu-

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 discovery of importance had been announced, he wondered how it could be that men 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 instru- ment or in the methods of observation, — J. S.

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nibus objectis ; ubi reliqui tres non informent fere nisi immediate et de propriis objectis.

In primo genere non fit deductio ad sensibile, nisi rei quae cemi non possit propter distantiam adjiciatur aut substituatur alia res quae sensum magis e longinquo provocare et ferire possit : veluti in significatione re- rum 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, perducuntur 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 con- quirendae. Hujus rei exempla sunt. Patet quod aer, et spiritus, et hujusmodi res quae sunt toto corpore te- nues et subtiles, nee cerni nee tangi possint. Quare in inquisitione circa hujusmodi corpora deductionibus om- nino est opus.

Sit itaque natura inquisita Actio et Motus Spiritus qui includitur in corporibus tangibilibus. Omne enim tangibile apud nos continet spiritum invisibilem et in- tactilem, eique obducitur 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, cor- pora intenerat et colliquat; nee prorsus emissus nee prorsus detentus, informat, membrificat, assimilat, ege- rit, organizat, et similia. Atque haec omnia deducuntur ad sensibile per effectus conspicuos.

Etenim in omni corpore tangibili inanimate, spiritus inclusus primo multiplicat se, et tanquam depascit partes tangibiles eas quae sunt maxime ad hoc faciles et prae-

460 NOVUM ORGAN UM.

paratae, easque digerit et conficit et vertit in spiritura, et deinde una evolant. Atque ha3c confectio et mul- tiplicatio spiritus deducitur ad sensum per diminu- tionem ponderis. In omni enim dessicatione, aliquid defluit de quanto ; neque id ipsum ex spiritu tantum praeinexistente, sed ex corpore quod prius fuit tangi- bile et noviter versum est : spiritus enim non j)onderat. Egressus autem sive emissio spiritus deducitur ad sen- sibile in rubigine metallorum, et aliis putrefactionibus ejus generis quae sistunt se antequam pervenerint ad rudimenta vitae ; nam illa^ ad tertium genus processus pertinent. Etenim in corporibus magis compactis spiri- tus non invenit poros et meatus per quos evolet; itaque cogitur partes ipsas tangibiles protrudere et ante se agere, ita ut illae simul exeant ; atque inde fit rubigo, et similia. At contractio partium tangibilium, post- quam aliquid de spiritu fuerit emissum (unde sequitur ilia desiccatio), deducitur ad sensibile tum per ipsam duritiem rei auctam, tum multo magis per scissuras, angustiationes, corrugationes, et complicationes cor- porum, quae inde sequuntur. Etenim partes ligni de- siliunt et angustiantur ; pelles corrugantur ; neque id solum, sed (si subita fiierit emissio spiritus per calorem ignis) tantum properant ad contractionem ut se com- plicent et convolvant.

At contra, ubi spiritus detinetur, et tamen dilatatur et excitatur per calorem aut ejus analoga (id quod fit in corporibus magis solidis aut tenacibus), tum vero cor- pora emolliuntur, ut feri*um candens ; fluunt, ut metalla ; liquefiunt, ut gummi, cera, et similia. Itaque contrariaB illae operationes caloris (ut ex eo alia durescant, alia li- quescant) facile conciliantur ; quia in illis spiritus emitti- 1 " Illae " in the original edition, which must be wrong.

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tur, in his agitatur et detinetur : quorum posterius est actio propria caloris et spiritus ; prius, actio partium tangibilium tanturn per occasionem spiritus emissi.

Ast ubi spiritus nee detinetur prorsus nee prorsus emittitur, sed tantum inter claustra sua tentat et ex- peritar, atque nacta est partes tangibiles obedientes et sequaces in promptu, ita ut quo spiritus agit eae simul sequantur ; turn vero sequitur eiformatio in corpus organicum, et membrificatio, et reliquse actiones vita- les, tarn in vegetabilibus quam in animalibus. Atque haec maxime deducuntur ad sensum per notationes dili- gentes primorum incoeptuum et rudimentorum sive tentamentorum vitae in animalculis ex putrefactione natis : ut in pvis 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 par- tium coerceatur ; quin potius ad cerae modum illas plicare et effingere possit.

Rursus, difFerAitia ilia spiritus, maxime nobilis et ad plurima pertinens, (viz. spiritus abscissi, ramosi simpliciter, ramosi simul et cellulati ; ex quibus prior est spiritus omnium corporum inanimatorum, secun- dus vegetabilium, tertius animalium), per plurimas in- stantias deductorias tanquam sub oculos ponitur.

Similiter patet, quod subtiliores texturae et scliematis- mi rerum (licet toto corpore visibilium aut tangibilium) nee cernantur nee tangantar. Quare in his quoque per deductionem procedit informatio. At differentia sche- matismorum maxime radicalis et primaria sumitur ex copia vel paucitate materiae quae subit idem spatium sive dimensum. Reliqui enim schematismi (qui refe- runtur ad dissimilaritates partium quae in eodem cor-

462 NOVUM ORGANUM.

pore continentur, et collocationes ac posituras eariin- dem) pra3 illo altero sunt secundarii.

Sit itaque iiatura inquisita Expansio sive Coitio Ma- teriae in corporibus respective : viz. quantum materiae impleat quantum dimensum in singulis. Etenim nil ve- rius in natura quam propositio ilia gemella, ex nihilo nihil fieri^ neque quicqaam in nihilum redigi ; venim quan- tum ipsum niateriaB sive summani totalem constare, nee augeri aut minui.^ Nee illud minus verum, ex quanto illo materice sub iisdem spatiis sive dimensionibus^ 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 aquai verti posse, idem sit ac si dicat ali- quid posse fieri ex nihilo. Atque ex copia ista et pau- citate materia^ notiones illae Densi et Ran, quae varie et promiscue accipiuntur, proprie abstrahuntur. A&- sumenda est et assertio ilia tertia, etiam satis certa : quod hoc de quo loquimur plus et minus materia? 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 materiae, ut opus habeat spiritus vini, ad tale quantum materiae iequandum, spa- tio vicies et semel majore quam implet aurum, non erraverit.

Coacervatio autem materiae et rationes ejus dedu- cuntur ad sensibile per pondus. Pondus enim respon-

1 It is worth remarking that Bacon here asserts as absolutely certain a maxim which is assuredly no result of experience. The same doctrine \% as distinctly, though not so emphatically, asserted by Telesius, i. c. 5.

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det copias materise, quoad partes rei tangibilis ; spiri- tus autem, et ejus quantum ex materia, non venit in computationem per pondus ; levat enim pondus potius quam gravat. At nos hujus rei tabulam fecimus sa- tis accuratam ; in qua pondera et spatia singulorum metallorum, lapidum prsecipuorum, lignorum, liquo- rum, oleorum, et plurimorum aliorum corporum tarn naturalium quam artificialium, excepimus;^ rem poly- chrestam, tam ad lucem informationis quam ad nor- mam operationis ; et quae multas res revelet om- nino praeter expectatum. Neque illud pro minimo habendum est, quod demonstret omnem varietatem quae in corporibus tangibilibus nobis notis versatur (in- telligimus autem corpora bene unita, nee plane spon- giosa et cava et magna ex parte aere impleta) non ultra rationes partium 21 excedere : tam finita scilicet est natura, aut saltem ilia pars ejus cujus usus ad nos maxime pertinet.

Etiam diligentise nostrae esse putavimus, 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 posset fieri evaporatio sequens. Hanc pbialam spiritu vini im- plevimus fere ad collum ; eligentes spiritum vini, quod per tabulam priorem eum esse ex corporibus tangibili- bus (quae bene unita, nee cava sunt) rarissimum, et minimum continens materiae sub suo dimenso, obser- varimus. Deinde pondus aquae cum pbiala ipsa ex-

1 For a full account of the methods of determining specific gravities em- ployed respectively by Porta, Ghetaldo, and Bacon, see preface to Histona Densi et Ravi. — J. S.

464 NOVUM ORGAN UM.

acte notavimus. Postea vesicam accepimus, quae circa duas pintas contineret. Ex ea acirem omnem, quoad fieri potuit, expressimus eo usque ut vesicas ambo la- tera essent contigua : etiam prius vesicam oleo oblevi- mus cum fricatione leui, quo vesica esset clausior : ejus, si qua erat, porositate oleo obturata. Hanc vesicam circa os phialae, ore phialae intra os vesicae recepto, fortiter ligavimus ; filo parum cerato, ut melius ad- haeresceret et arctius ligaret. Tum demum phialam supra carbones ardentes in foculo coUocavimus. At paulo post vapor sive aura spiritus vini, per calorem dilatati et in pneumaticum versi, vesicam paulatim suf- flavit, eamque universam veli instar undequaque ex- tendit. Id postquam factum fuit, continuo vitrum ab igne removimus, et super tapetem posuimus ne frigore disrumperetur ; statim quoque in summitate vesicae foramen fecimus, ne vapor cessante calore in liquo- rem restitutus resideret, et rationes confunderet. Tum vero vesicam ipsam sustulimus, et rursus pondus ex- cepimus spiritus vini qui remanebat. Inde quantum consumptum fuisset in vaporem seu pneumaticum com- putavimus ; et facta coUatione quantum locum sive spatium illud corpus implesset quando esset spiritus vini in phiala, et rursus quantum spatium impleverit postquam factum fuisset pneumaticum in vesica, ra- tiones subduximus ; ex quibus manifeste liquebat, cor- pus 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 debilita- tem. Haec deducuntur ad sensum per vitrum calen- dare, quale superius descripsimus. Calor enim et frigus, ipsa non percipiuntur ad tactum ; at calor aerem expan-

NOVUM ORGANUxM. 465

(lit, frigus contrahit. Neque rursus ilia expansio et con- tractio aeris percipitur ad visum ; at aer ille expansus aquam deprimit, contractus attollit ; ac turn demum ^t 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 particulari) quid habeat lac butyri, quid coaguli, quid seri, et hujusmodi. Ha^c deducuntur ad sensum per ar- tificiosas et peritas separationes, quatenus ad tangibilia. At natura spiritus in ipsis, licet immediate non perci- piatur, tamen deprehenditur per varios motus et nixus corporum tangibilium in ipso actu et processu separa- tionis suae ; atque etiam per acrimonias, corrosiones, et diversos colores, odores, et sapores eorundem corporum post separationem. Atque in hac parte, per distilla- tiones atque artificiosas separationes, strenue sane ab liominibus elaboratum est ; sed non multo foelicius quam in caeteris experimentis, quae adhuc in usu sunt : modis nimirum prorsus palpatoriis, et viis caecis, et ma- gis operose quam intelligenter ; et (quod pessimum est) nulla cum imitatione aut semulatione naturae, sed cum destructione (per calores vehementes aut virtutes nimis validas) omnis subtilioris schematismi, in quo occultas reinim virtutes et consensus prfecipue sitae sunt. Ne- que illud etiam, quod alias monuimus, hominibus in mentem aut observationem venire solet in hujusmodi separationibus : hoc est, plurimas qualitates, in corpo- rum vexationibus tam per ignem quam alios modos, indi ab ipso igne iisque corporibus quae ad separationem adhibentur, quae in composito prius non fuerunt ; unde mirae fallaciae. Neque enim scilicet vapor universus, qui ex aqua emittitur per ignem, vapor aut aer antea

VOL. I. 30

466 NOVUM ORGANUM.

fuit in corpore aquae ; sed factus est maxima ex parte per dilatationem aquae ex calore ignis.

Similiter in genere omnes exquisitae probationes corporum sive naturalium sive artificialium, per quas vera dignoscuntur ab adulterinis, meliora a vilioribus, hue referri debent : deducunt enim non-sensibile ad sensible. Sunt itaque diligenti cura undique conqui- rendae.

Quintum vero genus latitantiae quod attinet, mani- festum est actionem sensus transigi in motu, motum in tempore. Si igitur motus alicujus corporis sit vel tani tardus vel tarn velox ut non sit proportionatus ad mo- menta in quibus transigitur actio sensus, objectum om- nino non percipitur ; ut in motu indicis horologii, et rursus in motu pilae sclopeti. Atque motus qui ob tar- ditatem non percipitur, facile et ordinario deducitur ad sensum per summas motus ; qui vero ob velocitatem, adhuc non bene mensurari consuevit ; sed tamen pos- tulat inquisitio naturae ut hoc fiat in aliquibus.

Sextum autem genus, ubi impeditur sensus propter nobilitatem objecti, recipit deductionem, vel per elon- gationem majorem objecti a sensu ; vel per hebetatio- nem objecti per interpositionem medii talis, quod ob- jectum debilitet, non annihilet ; vel per admissionem et exception em objecti reflexi, ubi percussio directa sit nimis fortis ; ut solis in pelvi aquae.

Septimum autem genus latitantiae, ubi sensus ita one- ratur objecto ut novae admissioni non sit locus, non lia- bet fere locum nisi in olfactu et odoribus ; nee ad id quod agitur multum pertinet. Quare de deductionibus non-sensibilis ad sensibile, haec dicta sint.^

1 An excellent instance of the " deductio nonsensibilia ad sensibile " [in the second kind] occurs in the experiments recently made by Messrs. IIop«

NOVUM ORGANUM. 467

Quandoque tamen deductio fit non ad sensum homi- nis, sed ad sensum alicnjus alterius animalis cnjus sen- sus in aliquibus humanum excellet : ut nonnullorum odorum, ad sensum canis ; lueis, quae in acre non ex- trinsecus illuminate latenter existit, ad sensum felis, noctuge, et hujusmodi animalium quae cernunt noctu. Recte enim notavit Telesius, etiam in aere ipso inesse lucem quandam originalem, licet exilem et tenuem, et maxima ex parte oculis liominum aut plurimorum ani- malium non inservientem ; quia ilia animalia, ad quo- rum sensum hujusmodi lux est proportionata, cernant noctu ; id quod vel sine luce fieri, vel per lucem inter- nam, minus credibile est.

Atque illud utique notandum est, de destitutionibus sensuum eorumque remediis liic nos tractare. Nam fallaciae sensuum ad proprias inquisitiones de sensu et sensibili remittendae sunt ; excepta ilia magna fallacia sensuum, nimirum quod constituant lineas rerum ^ ex analogia hominis, et non ex analogia universi ; quse non corrigitur nisi per rationem et pliilosophiam uni- versalem.

XLI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco deci- mo octavo Instantias Vice, quas etiam Instantias Itine-

kins and Joule for determining 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 temper- ature reaches the melting-point, the steel sinks ; and its doing so is indi- cated by the motion of the needle.

1 This phrase may, I think, be rendered " trace the outlines of outward objects." I have already remarked on the meaning of "ex analogic." [See note on Distributio OperiSy p. 218. — J. S.]

468 NOVUM ORGANUxM.

rantes et Instantias Articulataa appellare consuevimus. Eae sunt quiB indicant natura3 motus gradatim continu- atos. Hoc autem genus instantiarum potius fugit ob- servationem quam scnsum. 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 operatione 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 inquirat, ei inspiciendum est ab ipsa satione seminis alicujus (id quod per extractionem, quasi singulis diebus, seminum quae per biduum, triduum, quatriduum, et sic deinceps, in terra manserunt, eorumque diligentem intuitum, fa- cile fieri potest), quomodo et quando semen intumes- cere et turgere incipiat et veluti spiritu impleri ; deinde quomodo corticulam rumpere et emittere fibras, cum latione nonnulla sui interim sursum, nisi terra fuerit admodum contiunax ; quomodo etiam emittat fibras, partim radicales deorsum, partim cauliculares sursum, aliquando serpendo per latera, si ex ea parte inveniat terram apertam et magis facilem ; et complura id ge- nus. Similiter facere oportet circa exclusionem ovo- rum ; ubi facile conspici dabitur processus vivificandi et organizandi, et quid et qua^ partes fiant ex vitello, quid ex albumine ovi, et alia. Similis est ratio circa animalia ex putrefactione.^ Nam circa animalia per*

1 The epithet perfecta is generally given to those animals which cannot result from putrefaction. Cassalpinus, in the Qucestiones Peripat. v. 1.,

NOVUM OEGANUiAI. 469

fecta et terrestria, per exectiones foetuum ex utero, minus humanum esset ista inquirere ; nisi forte per oc- casiones abortuum, et venationum, et similium. Om- nino igitur vigilia qua^dam servanda est circa naturam, ut quae melius se conspiciendam praebeat noetu quam interdiu. Istse enim contemplationes tanquam noc- turnce censeri ])ossint, ob lucernse parvitatem et per- petuationem.

Quin et in inanimatis idem tentandum est ; id quod nos fecimus in inquirendis aperturis liquorum per ig- nem.^ Alius enim est modus aperturse in aqua, alius in vino, alius in aceto, alius in omphacio ; ^ longe alius in lacte, et oleo, et cjieteris. Id quod facile cernere erat per ebullitionem super ignem lenem, et in vase vitreo, ubi omnia cerni perspicue possint. Verum haec brevius perstringimus, fusius et exactius de iis sermones habituri cum ad inventionem Latentis rerum Processuus ventum erit. Semper enim memoria tenendum est, DOS hoc loco non res ipsas tractare, sed exempla tan- tum adducere.

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 as- serted, as a matter not admitting of dispute, by Cardan, De Rerum Varie- tate. Cfesalpinus 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 possibility of their being produced by putrefac- tion. {De Hist. Animal vi. 37. Problem, x. 64.) Paracelsus, De Rerum Generatione, affirms that all animals produced from putrefiiction are more or less venomous. Telesius's opinion is that the more perfect animals can- not result from putrefaction, because the conditions of temperature neces- sarj^ to their production cannot be fulfilled except by means of animal heat.

1 " Apertura " means the same thing as " expansio."

2 Wine made of sour grapes. (Pliny, xiv. 18. and elsewhere.) It is prob- ably to be rendered verjuice, as it is by Lemmius.

470 NOVUM ORGANUM.

XLII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco de- cimo nono Instantias Supplementi^ sive Substitutionis ; quas etiam Instantias Perfugii appellare consuevimus. Eai sunt, quae supplent informationem ubi sensus ])lane destituitur ; atque idcirco ad eas confugimus cum in- stantitB propriae haberi non possint. Dupliciter autem fit substitutio ; aut per Graduationem, aut per Analo- ga. Exempli gratia; non invenitur medium quod in- hibeat prorsus operationem magnetis in movendo fer- rum ; 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 ali- quod aliud, comparative et in aliquo gradu ; veluti quod non traliat magnes ferrum per tantam crassitiem auri quam per par spatium aeris ; aut per tantum ar- gentum ignitum quam per frigidum ; et sic de simili- bus. Nam de his nos experimentum non fecimus ; sed sufficit tamen ut proponantur loco exempli. Siniilltci- non invenitur hie apud nos corpus quod non siis( ipiat calidum igni approximatum. Attamen longc citiiis suscipit calorem aer quam lapis. Atque talis est sub- stitutio quae fit per Gradus.

Substitutio autem per Analoga, utilis sane, sid minus certa est ; atque idcirco cum judicio quodam adhiben- da. Ea fit cum deducitur non-sensibile ad sensum, non per operationes sensibiles ipsius corporis insensi- bilis, sed per contemplationem corporis alicujus cognati sensibiHs.^ Exempli gratia ; si inquiratur de Mistura

1 Du Bois Raymond's Researches in Amtnal Electricity give a good ex-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 471

Spirltuum, qui sunt corpora non-visibilia, videtur esse cognatio qusedam inter corpora et fomites sive alimenta sua. , Fomes autem flammse videtur esse oleum et pin- guia ; aeris, aqua et aquea : flammse enim multiplicant se super halitus olei, aer super vapores aquae. Viden- dum itaque de mistura aquae et olei, quae se manifestat ad sensum ; quandoquidem mistura aeris et flammei generis fugiat sensum. At oleum et aqua inter se per compositionem aut agitationem imperfecte admodum miscentur ; eadem in lierbis, 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 hu- mida 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 spiri- talia, quae non miscentur cum aere communi, sed tan- tum liaerent 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 ar- genti vivi, olei, aquse ; atque etiam in aere, et fractions ejus, quando dissipatur et ascendit in parvis portiun-

ample of this. He constructed what may be called an electrical model of a muscle, and succeeded in obtaining an illustration not only of his funda- mental result, namely-- that any transverse section is negative with respect to any longitudinal one, but also of the more complicated relations between two different portions of the same section.

472 NOVUM ORGANUM.

culis per aquam ; atque etiam in fumis crassioribus ; denique in pulvere excitato et liarente in aijre ; in qui- bus omnibus non fit incoi*poratio. Atque repraesentatio praedicta in hoc subjecto non mala est, si illud prime diligenter inquisitum fuerit, utrum possit esse talis he- terogenia inter spiritalia qualis invenitur inter b'quida ; nam tum demum base simulacra per Analogiam non i-ncommode substituentur.

Atque de Instantiis istis Supplementi, quod diximus informationem ab iis hauriendam esse, quando desint instantiae propriae, loco Perfugii ; nihilominus intelligi volumus, quod ilia? etiam magni sint usus etiam cum propriae instantias adsint; ad roborandam scilicet infor- mationem una cum propriis. Verum de his exactius dicemus quando ad Adminicula Indactionis tractanda sermo ordine dilabetur.

KLIII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vi- cesimo Instantias Persecantes ; quas etiam Instantias Vellicantes appellare consuevimus, sed diversa ratione. Vellicantes enim eas appellamus, quia vellicant intel- lectum ; Persecantes, quia persecant naturam ; unde etiam illas quandoque Instantias Dernocrlti nominamus. Eae sunt, quae de admirabili et exquisita subtilitate na- turae intellectum submonent, ut excitetur et expergisca- tur ad attentionem et observationem et inquisitionem debitam. Exempli gratia; quod parum guttulae atra- menti ad tot literas vel lineas extendatur ; quod ar- gentum, exterius tantum inauratum, ad tantam lon- gitudinem fili inaurati continuetur ; ^ quod jmsillus

1 Dr. Woolaston's method for obtaining wires of extreme fineness was per- haps suggested by the circumstance mentioned in the text. He enclosed

NOVUM ORGANUM. 473

vermiculus, qualis in cute invenitur, habeat in se spiri- tum simul et figuram dissimilarem partium ; quod pa- rum croci etiam dolium aquae colore inficiat ; quod pa- rum zibethi ^ aut aromatis longe majus contentum aeris odore ; quod exiguo suffitu tanta excitetur nubes fumi ; quod sonorum tarn accuratae difFerentias, quales sint voces articulatas, per aerem undequaque vehantur, at- que per foramina et poros etiam ligni et aquae (licet admodum extenuatse) penetrent, quin etiam repercu- tiantur, idque tam distincte et velociter ; quod lux et color, etiam tanto ambitu et tam perniciter, per corpora solida vitri, aqu^, et cum tanta et tam exquisita varie- tate imaginum permeent, etiam refringantur et reflec- tantur ; 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 tempore per spatia aeris devehantur et visi- bilium tot imagines, et vocis articulata) tot percussiones, et tot odores specificati, ut violae, rosa3 ; etiam calor et frigus et virtutes magneticae ; omnia (inquam) simul, uno alterum non impediente, ac si singula liaberent vias et meatus sues proprios separatos, neque unum in alte- rum impingeret aut incurreret.

Solemus tamen utiliter hujusmodi Instantiis Perse- cantibus subjungere instantias, quas Metas Persecationis appellare consuevimus ; veluti quod in iis quae diximus, una actio in di verso genere aliam non perturbet aut im- pediat, cum tamen in eodem genere una aliam domet et extinguat : veluti, lux solis, lucem cicindelse ; sonitus bombardae, vocem ; fortior odor, delicatiorem ; inten-

a gold wire in a cylinder of silver, drew them out together, and then dis- solved away the silver by means of warm nitrous acid. 1 Civet. '

474 NOVUM ORGAN UM.

sior calor, remissiorem ; lamina ferri interposita inter magnetem et aliud ferrum, operationem magnetis. Ve- rum de his quoque inter Adminicula Inductionis erit proprius dicendi locus.

XLIV.

Atque de instantiis quae juvant sensum, jam dictum est ; qua? praecipui usus sunt ad partem Informativam. Infoimatio enim incipit a sensu. At univei'sum ne- gotium desinit in Opera ; atque quemadmodum illud principium, ita hoc finis rei est. Sequentur itaque in- stantiae prascipui usus ad partem Operativam. Eae genere dua3 sunt, numero septem ; quas universas, ge- nerali nomine, Instantias Practlcas a})pellare consuevi- mus. Operativae autem partis, vitia duo ; totidcmque dignitates instantiarum in genere. Aut enim fallit ope- ratic, aut onerat nimis. Fallit operatio maxime (prae- sertim post diligentem naturarum inquisitionem) prop- ter male determinatas et mensuratas corporum vires et actiones. Vires autem et actiones, corj)orum circum- scribuntur et mensurantur, aut per spatia loci, aut per momenta temporis, aut per unionem quanti, aut per praedominantiam virtutis ; quae quatuor nisi fuerint probe et diligenter pensitata, erunt fortasse scientiae speculatione quidem pulchras, sed opere inactivae. In- stantias vero quatuor itidem quae hue referuntur, uno nomine Instantias Maihematicas vocamus, et Instantias Mensurce.

Onerosa autem fit praxis, vel propter misturam re- rum inutilium, vel propter multiplicationem instrumen- torum, vel propter molem materiae et coi-porum quae ad aliquod opus requiri contigerint. Itaque eae instantia3 in pretio esse debent, quae aut dirigunt operativam ad

KOVUM ORGANUM. 475

ea quae maxime hominum intersunt ; aut qua3 parcunt instrumentis ; aut quae parcunt materiae sive supellectili. Eas autem tres instaiitias quae hue pertinent, uno no- mine Instantias Propitias sive Benevolas vocamus. Ita- que de his septem instantiis jam sigillatim dicemus ; atque cum iis partem illam de Praerogativis sive Dig- nitatibus Instantiarum claudemus.

XLV.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vice- simo primo Instantias Virgce, sive Radii; quas etiam Instantias Perlationis, vel de Non Ultra appellare con- suevimus. Virtutes enim rerum et motus operantur et expediuntur per spatia non indefinita aut fortuita, sed finita et certa ; quag ut in singulis naturis inquisitis te- neantur et notentur plurimum interest Practicse, non solum ad hoc, ut non fallat, sed etiam ut magis sit aucta et potens. Etenim interdum datur virtutes pro- ducere, et distantias tanquam retrahere in propius ; ut in perspecillis.

Atque plurimae virtutes operantur et afficiunt tantum per tactum manifestum ; ut fit in percussione corporum, ubi alteram non summovet alteram, nisi impellens im- pulsum tangat. Etiam medicinae quae exterius appli- cantur, ut unguenta, emplastra, non exercent vires suas nisi per tactum corporis. Denique objecta sensuum tactus et gustus non feriunt nisi contigua organ is.

Sunt et aliae virtutes quae operantur ad distantiam, verum valde exiguam, quarum paucae adhuc notatae sunt, cum tamen plures sint quam homines suspicen- tur ; ut (capiendo exempla ex vulgatis) cum succinum ^ aut gagates ^ trahunt paleas ; bullae approximatse sol-

1 Amber. 2 Jet

476 NOVUM ORGANUM.

vunt Inillas ; medicinse nonniilla3 purgativa? eliciiint liumores ex alto,^ et hujusmodi. At virtus ilia mag- netica per quam ferrum et magnes, vel magnetes in- vicem, coeunt, operatur intra orbem virtutis certnm, sed parvum ; ubi contra, si sit aliqua virtus magnetica emanans ab ipsa terra Cpaulo nimirum interiore) super acum ferream, quatenus ad verticitatem, operatic fiat ad distantiam magnam.

Rursus, si sit aliqua vis magnetica quae operetur per consensum inter globum terras et ponderosa, aut inter globum lunae et aquas maris (quae maxime credibilis videtur in fluxibus et refluxibus semi-menstruis'-*), aut inter coelum stellatum et planetas, per quam evocentur et attollantur ad sua apogaea ; haec omnia operantur ad distantias admodum longinquas. Inveniuntur et quon- dam inflammationes sive conceptionos flamma*, qua? fiunt ad distantias bene magnas, in aliquibus materiis ; ut re- ferunt de naphtha Babylonica.^ Calores etiam insinuant se per distantias amplas, quod etiam faciunt frigora; adeo ut habitantibus circa Canadam moles sive massas

1 Bacon here speaks in accordance with the medical theory in which the brain is the origin and seat of the rheum, wliich descends from tlience and produces disease in other organs — a theory preserved in the word catarrh. Certain purgatives were supposed to draw the rheum down.

2 It is worth remarking that Galileo speaks contemptuously of the notion that the moon exerts any influence on the tides. His strong wish to ex- plain everything mechanically led him in this instance wrong, as a simi- lar 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 ex- clusive 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 inditierent to the point in dispute. In a system of pre-established harmony, action by contact is as merely apparent as action at a distance.

8 Strabo, xvi. p. 742. Pliny, ii. § 109.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 477

glaciales, quas abrumpuiitur et natant per oceanum sep- tentrionalem et defei'untur per Atlanticum versus illas oras, percipiantur et incutiant frigora e longiiiquo. Odores quoque (licet in his videatur semper esse quae- dam emissio corporea) operantur ad distantias notabiles ; ut evenire solet navigantibus juxta litora Floridae, aut etiam nonimlla Hispanise, ubi sunt sylvae totae ex ar- boribus limonum, arantiorum,^ et hujusmodi plantaiTim odoratarum, aut frutices rorismarini, majoranse, et simi- lium.2 Postremo radiationes lucis et impressiones sono- rum operantur scilicet ad distantias spatiosas.

Verum haec omnia, utcunque operentur ad distantias parvas sive magnas, operantur certe ad finitas et naturae notas,* ut sit quiddam Non Ultra; idque pro rationibus, aut molis seu quanti corporum ; aut vigoris et debili- tatis virtutum ; aut favoribus et impedimentis medio- rum ; 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, notandae sunt.

Inveniuntur etiam quidam motus et virtutes contra- rise 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 mino- rem et fortius ad distantiam majorem. 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

1 [So in the original edition.] Qy. aurantiorum?

2 To the same purpose Milton, Paradise Lost., iv. 99. : —

As when to them who sail Beyond the Cape of Hope, &c. * t. e. fixed in the nature of things.

478 NOVUM ORGANUM.

suorum cataractls (erat autem cura talis, ut immittere- tur festuca quaedam parva argentea intra primam oculi tunicam, quae pelliculam illam cataractaB removeret et truderet in angulum oculi) clarissime vidisset festucam illam supra ipsam pupillam moventem. Quod utcun- que verum esse possit, manifestum est majora corpora non bene aut distincte cerni nisi in cuspide coni,^ coeuntibus radiis objecti ad nonnullam distantiam. Quin etiam in senibus oculus melius cernit remoto ob- jecto paulo longius, quam propius. In missilibus autem certum est percussionem non fieri tam fortem ad distan- tiam nimis parvam, quam paulo post. Haic itaque et similia in mensuris motuum quoad distantias notanda sunt.

Est et aliud genus mensurae local is motuum, quod non praBtermittendum est. Illud vero pertinet ad motus non progressivos, sed sphaericos ; hoc est, ad expansionem corporum in majorem sphaeram, aut con- tractionem in minorem. Inquirendum enim est inter mensuras istas motuum, quaiitam compressionem aut extensionem corpora (pro natura ipsorum) facile et libenter patiantur, et ad quern terminum reluctari in- cipiant, adeo ut ad extremum Non Ultra ferant ; ut cum vesica inflata comprimitur, sustinet ilia compres- sionem nonnullam aeris, sed si major fuerit, non patitur aer, sed rumpitur vesica.

At nos hoc ipsum subtiliore experimento magis ex- acte probavimus. Accepimus enim campanulam ex metallo, leviorem scilicet et tenuiorem, quali ad excipi-. endum salem utimur ; eamque in pelvim aquas immisi- mus, ita ut deportaret secum aerem qui continebatur in concavo usque ad fundum pelvis. Locaveramus autem

1 That i8, the eye being at the apex of the visual cone.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 479

prius globulum in fundo pelvis, super quern campanula imponenda esset. Quare illud eveniebat, ut si globulus ille esset minusculus (pro ration e concavi), reciperet se aer in locum minorem, et contruderetur solum, non extruderetur. Quod si grandioris esset magnitudinis quam ut aer libenter cederet, turn aer majoris pressurae impatiens campanulam ex aliqua parte elevabat, et in bullis ascendebat.

Etiam ad probandum qualem extensionem (non mi- nus quam compressionem) pateretur aer, tale quippiam practicavimus. Ovum vitreum accepimus, cum parvo fbramine in uno extremo ovi. Aerem per foramen ex-, uctione forti attraximus, et statim digito foramen illud obturavimus, et ovum in aquam immersimus, et dein digitum removimus. Aer vero tensura ilia per exuc- tioncm facta tortus et magis quam pro natura sua dila- tatus, ideoque se recipere et contraliere nitens (ita ut si ovum illud in aquam non fuisset immersum, aerem ipsum traxisset cum sibilo), aquam traxit ad tale quan- tum quale sufficere posset ad hoc, ut aer antiquam re- cuperaret sphgeram sive dimensionem.^

Atque certum est corpora tenuiora (quale est aer) pati contractionem nonnullam notabilem, ut dictum est ; at corpora tangibilia (quale est aqua) multo asgrius et ad minus spatium patiuntur compressionem. Qualem autem patiatur, tali experimento inquisivimus.

Fieri fecimus globum ex plum bo cavum, qui duas circiter pintas vinarias contineret ; eumque satis per

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 de- scribed.

480 NOVUM OKGANUM.

latera crassum, nt inajorem vim sustineret. In ilium aquam iinmisiinus, per foramen 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 sphajra figurarum sit capacissima. Deinde, cum malleatio non amplius suffi- ceret, aegrius se recipiente aqua, molendino ^ seu torcu- lari usi sumus ; ut tandem aqua, impatiens pressuraj ulterioris, per solida plumbi (instar roris delicati) ex- stillaret. Postea, quantum spatii per eam compres- sionem imminutum foret computavimus ; atque tan- tam compressionem passam esse aquam (sed violentia magna subactam) intelleximus.^

1 Molendinum is properly a Low Latin word for a mill-house; here used for a press.

2 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 Oryanum, an account of a similar experiment was published by Megalotti, who was secretary of the Accade- mia 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 raflreddata 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 raffinato, o il piombo. o altro metallo piii dolce) veniva a ri- strignersi, e scemare la sua interna capacita, senza che 1' acqua patisse una minima compressione, poichfe ad ogni colpo si videa trasudare per tutti i pori del metallo a guisa d' argento vivo il quale da alcuua pelle premuto minutamente sprizzasse." — Saggi di naturali Ksperitnzeftttle nelV Accade- mia del Cimento, 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 experiment, says that the globe was of gold (p. 229. Krduiann), whereas the Florentine academicians expressly say why they preferred sil- ver to either gold or lead.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 481

At solidiora, sicca, aut magis compacta, qualia sunt lapides et ligna, nee non metalla, multo adhuc mino- rem compression em aut extensionem, et fere imper- ceptibilem ferunt; sed vel fractione, vel progressione, vel aliis pertentationibus se liberant ; ut in curvatio- nibus ligni aut metalli, horologiis moventibus per com- plicationem laminae, missilibus, malleationibus, et in- numeris aliis motibus apparet. Atque lisec omnia cum mensuris suis in indagatione naturae notanda et exploranda sunt, aut in certitudine sua, aut per aesti- mativas, awt per comparativas, prout dabitur copia,

XLVI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vi- cesimo secundo Instantias Curriculi, quas etiam In- stantias ad Aquam appellare consuevimus ; sumpto vocabulo a clepsydris apud antiquos, in quas infunde- batur aqua, loco arenae. Eae mensurant naturam per momenta temporis, quemadmodum Instantice Virgce per gradus spatii. Omnis enim motus sive actio na- turalis 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 loquimur), deprehenduntur recipere majus et minus quoad tempus.

Primo itaque videmus restitutiones corporum coele- stium fieri per tempora numerata ; etiam fluxus et re- fluxus maris. Latio autem gravium versus terram et levium versus ambitum coeli, fit per certa momenta, pro ration e corporis quod fertur, et medii.^ At velifi-

1 Galileo had shown, before the year 1592, that the resistance of the ai|r being set aside, all bodies fall with equal velocity. He left Pisa in that j'ear in consequence of the disputes which were occasioned by this refutar tion of the Aristotelian doctrine, that the velocity is as the weight.

VOL.. I. 31

482 NOVUM ORGANUM.

cationes navium, motus animalium, perlationes missi- lium, omnes fiunt itidem per tempora (quantum ad summas) numerabilia. Calorem vero quod attinet, vidcnius pueros per hyemem manus in flamma lavare, nee tamen uri ; et joculatores Vasa plena vino vel aqua, per motus agiles et aequales, vertere deoi'sum et sursum recuperare, non eftuso liquore ; et multa hujusmodi. Nee minus ipsae compressiones et dilata- tiones et eruptiones corporum fiunt, alia? velocius, alise tardius, pro natura corporis et motus, sed per momenta certa. Quinetiam in explosione plurium bombardarum simul, qua3 exaudiuntur quandoque ad distantiam tri- ginta milliarium, percipitur 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 actuandum momenta certa temporis ; idque probatur ex iis quae propter motus velocitatem non cernuntur ; ut ex latione pilae ex sclopeto. Velo- cior enim est praetervolatio pilae quam impressio spe- ciei ejus quae deferri poterat ad visum. ^

Atque hoc, cum similibus, nobis quandoque dubi- tationem peperit plane monstrosam ; videlicet, utrum ccaYi sereni et stellati facies ad idem tempus cerna- tur quando vere existit, an potius aliquanto post ; et utrum non sit (quatenus ad visum coplestium) non minus tempus verum et tempus visum, quam locus verus et locus visus, qui notatur ab astronomis in parallaxibus.2 Adeo incredibile nobis videbatur, spe- cies sive radios corporum coelestium per tam inunensa spatia milliarium subito deferri posse ad visum; sed

1 i. e. the ball flies past in less time than tiie image conveyed to the sight requires to make an impression. * t. e. which is taken account of in the correction for parallaxes.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 483

potiiis debere eas in tempore aliquo notabili delabi. Verum ilia dubitatio (quoad majus aliquod interval- lum temporis inter tempus verum et visum) postea plane evanuit ; reputantibus nobis jacturam illam in- finitam et diminutionem quanti, quatenus ad apparen- tiam, inter corpus stellaa verum et speciem visam, quae causatur a distantia ; atque simul notantibus ad quantam distantiam (sexaginta scilicet ad minimum milliariorum) corpora, eaque tantum albicantia, subito hie apud nos cernantur ; cum dubium non sit lucem coelestium, non tantum albedinis vividum colorem, verum etiam omnis flamma? (quai apud nos nota est) lucem, quoad vigorem radiationis, multis parti- bus excedere. Etiam immensa ilia velocitas in ipso corpore, quae cernitur in motu diurno (quag etiam viros graves ita obstupefecit ut mallent credere mo- tum terras), facit motum ilium ejaculationis radiorum ab ipsis (licet celeritate, ut diximus, mirabilem) magis credibilem. Maxime vero omnium nos movit, quod si interponoretur intervallum temporis aliquod nota- bile inter veritatem et visum, foret ut species per nubes interim orientes et similes medii perturbation es interciperentur saepenumero, et coniunderentur.^ At- que de mensuris temporum simplicibus liaec dicta sint.

1 1 do not know how to understand this passage without attributing to Bacon a confusion of ideas which seems hardly credible. For surely the very thing which he supposes would happen if there were a perceptible interval between the Veritas and the visus^ that is to say, between the time when a star (for instance) is at a given point and the 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 bv a vapour: the species, to use his own word, are intercepted or confused. 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, because there would be more obstructions which they could not overcome : they would be intercepted or confused by

484 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Verum non solum qiuereiida est mensura motuum et actionum simpliciter, sed multo magis comparative : id enim eximii est usus, et ad plurima spectat. Atque videmus flammam alicujus 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 traiis- actionem motus lucis, quam soni. Videmus etiam species visibiles a visu citius excipi quam dimitti ; unde fit quod nervi fidium, digito impulsi, dupli- centur aut triplicentur quoad speciem, quia species nova recipitur, antequam prior demittatur; ex quo etiam fit, ut annuli rotati videantur globosi, et fax ardens, noctu velociter portata, conspiciatur caudata.^ Etiam ex hoc fundamento ina^qualitatis motuum quoad velocitatem, excogitavit Galilaeus causam fluxus et refluxus maris ; rotante terra velocius, aquis tardius ; ideoque accumulantibus se aquis in sursum, et deindo per vices se remittentibus in deorsum, ut demonstratur in vase aquae incitatius movente.^ Sed hoc commentus

media which they now pass through. But the force being the same, and the stream continuous, the time of passage could make no difference in thig respect. In 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, astrononu' would have been all but an impossible science. But that is another matter. — J. S.

1 Of the phenomena which he here enumerates Bacon undoubtedly gives the right explanation, though in the case of vibrating strings his explana- tion 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 motions 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 Csesalpinus in the Qua$(iones Pe- ripateliax, ill. 5. It is odd that Patritius, in giving an account of all the

NOVUM ORGANUM. 485

est concesso non concessibili (quod terra nempe move- atur), ac etiam non bene informatus de oceani motu sexhorario.

At exemplum hujus rei de qua agitur, videlicet de comparativis mensuris motuum, neque solum rei ipsius, sed et usus insignis ejus (de quo paulo ante loquuti sumus), eminet in cuniculis subterraneis, in quibus collocatur pulvis pyrius ; ubi immensae moles terras, aedificiorum, et similium, subvertuntur, et in altum jaciuntur, a pusilla quantitate pulveris pyrii. Cujus causa pro certo ilia est, quod motus dilatationis pul- veris, qui impellit, multis partibus sit pernicior, quam motus gravitatis per quem fieri possit aliqua resistentia; adeo ut primus motus perfunctus sit, antequam motus adversus inceperit ; ut in principiis nullitas quaedam sit resistentiae. Hinc etiam fit, quod in omni missili, ictus, non tam robustus quam acutus et celer, ad per- lationem potissimum valeat. Neque etiam fieri potu- isset, ut parva quantitas spiritus animalis in animalibus, praesertim in tam vastis corporibus qualia sunt balasnse aut elephanti, tantam molem corpoream flecteret et regeret, nisi propter velocitatem motus spiritus, et hebetudinem corporeae molis, quatenus ad expedien- dam suam resistentiam.

Denique, hoc unum ex pr^ecipuis fiindamentis est experimentorum magicorum, de quibus mox dicemus ; ubi scilicet parva moles materiae longe majorem su- perat et in ordinem redigit: hoc, inquam, si fieri

theories which had in his time been devised to explain the cause of the tides (see his Pancosmia., 1. 28.), does not mention Csesalpinus's, though it was published some years before his own work. Galileo perhaps alludes to Caesalpinus in his letter to Cardinal Orsino, dated 8th January, 1616. See, for remarks on Caesalpinus's doctrine, the Probhniata Marina of Cas- mann, published in 1596. Casmann's own theory is that of expansion.

486 NOVUM ORGANUM.

possit anteversio motiium per velocitatem iiniiis, ante- quain alter se expediat.

Postremo, lioc ipsum Prius et Posterius in omni actione natnrali notari debet ; veliiti quod in infusione rhabarbari eliciatur purgativa vis prius, astricti>a j)ost; simile quiddam etiam in infusione violarum in acetum experti sumus ; ubi primo excipitur suavis et delicatus •floris odor; post, pars floris magis terrea, qua? odorem conf'undit. Itaque si infnndantur viohe per diem inte- grum, odor multo languidius excipitur ; quod si ini'un- dantur per partem quartam liora? tantum, et extrahan- tur ; et (quia paucus est spiritus odoratus qui subsistit in viola) infundantur post singulas quartas lione violae novas et recentes ad sexies; turn demum nobilitatur in- fusio, ita ut licet non manserint violas, utcunque reno- vatje, plus quam ad sesquihoram, tamen i)ernianserit odor gratissimus, et viola ipsa non inferior, ad annum integrum. Notandum tamen est, quod non se colligat odor ad vires suas plenas, nisi post mensem ab infu- sione. In distillationibus vero arornatum macerato- rum in spiritu vini patet quod surgat })rimo phlegraa aqueum et inutile, deinde aqua plus habens ex spiritu vini, deinde post aqua plus habens ex aromate. Atque hujus generis quamplurima inveniuntur in distillationi- bus notatu digna. Verum lia;c sufficiant ad exempla.

XLVII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vice- simo tertio Instantias Quanti^ quas etiam Doses Naturce (sumpto vocabulo a Medicinis) vocare consuevimus. Ea3 sunt quae mensurant virtutes per Quanta corpornm, et indicant quid Quantum Corporis faciat ad Modum Virtutis. Ac primo sunt quasdam virtutes qua3 non

NOVUM ORGANUM. 487

siibsistunt nisi in Quanto Cosmico, hoc est, tali Quanto quod liabeat consensum cum configuratione 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 vir- tutes particulares secundum multum aut parvum cor- poris operantur. Aquse largse non facile corrumpun- tur; exiguse cito. Mustum et cervisia maturescunt longe citius, et fiunt potabilia, in utribus parvis, quam in doliis magnis. Si lierba ponatur in majore portions liquoris, fit infusio, magis quam imbibitio ; ^ si in mi- nore, fit imbibitio, magis quam infusio. Aliud igitur erga corpus humanum est balneum, aliud levis irrora- tio. Etiam parvi rores in aere nunquam cadunt, sed dissipantur et cum aere incorporantur. Et videre est in anhelitu super gemmas, parum illud humoris, quasi nubeculam vento dissipatam, continuo solvi. Etiam frustum ejusdem magnetis non trahit tantum ferri, quantum magnes integer. Sunt etiam virtutes in qui- bus parvitas Quanti magis potest ; ut in penetrationi- bus, stylus acutus citius penetrat, quam obtusus ; ada- mas punctuatus sculpit in vitro ; et similia.

Verum non hie morandum est in indefinitis, sed etiam de rationibiis Quanti corporis erga modum vir- tutis inquirendum. Proclive enim foret credere, quod rati ones Quanti ration es virtu tis adaequarent ; ut si pila plumbea unius uncias caderet in tali tempore, pila unciarum duarum deberet cadere duplo celerius, quod falsissimum est. Nee eaedem rationes in omni genere virtutum valent, sed longe diversae. Itaque hae men- sune ex rebus ipsis petendae sunt, et non ex verisimili- tudine aut conjecturis.

1 Absorption.

488 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Denique In omni inquisitione naturae Quantum cor- poris requiratur ad aliquod efFectum, tanquam dosis, notandum ; et cautiones de Nimis et Parum asper- gendse.

XLVIII.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vice- simo quarto Instantias Luctce; quas etiam In8ta7itia8 Prcedominantice appellare consuevimus. Eae indicant praedominantiam et cessionem virtutum ad invicem ; et quae ex illis sit fortior et vincat, quae infirmior et succumbat. Sunt enim motus et nixus corponim com- positi, decompositi, et complicati, non minus quam cor- pora ipsa. Proponemus igitur primum species prae- cipuas motuum sive virtutum activarum ; ut magis perspicua sit ipsarum comparatio in robore, et exinde demonstratio atque designatio Instantiarum Luctae et Praedominantiae.

Motus Primus sit Motus Antitypice^ materiae, quae inest in singulis portionibus ejus ; per quem plane an- nihilari non vult : ita ut nullum incendium, nullum pondus aut depressio, nulla violentia, nulla denique setas aut diuturnitas temporis possit redigere aliquam vel mini- mam portionem materiae in nihilum ; quin ilia et sit ali- quid, et loci aliquid occupet, et se (in qualicunque neces- sitate 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. Quem Mo- tum 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 cor- pora non po88int esse in uno loco ; vel vocat motum Ne fiat penetratio dimensionum. Neque hujus motus ex- 1 This term was first used by Aristotle.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 489

empla 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 contactu alterius corporis, ut quae mutuo nexu et contactu gaudeant. Quern motum Schola vocat Motum JVe detur vacuum : veluti cum aqua attrahitur sursum exuctione, aut per fistulas ; caro per ventosas; aut cum aqua sistitur nee effluit in hydriis perforatis, nisi os hydriae ad immittendum aerem aperiatur; et innumera id genus.

Sit Motus Tertius, Motus (quern appellamus) Liber- tatis ; per quern corpora se liberare nituntur a pres- sura aut tensura praeter-naturali, et restituere se in di- mensum corpori suo conveniens. Cujus motus etiam innumera sunt exempla : veluti (quatenus ad libera- tionem a pressura) aqua3 in natando, aeris in volando ; aquae in remigando, aeris in undulationibus ventorum ; laminae in horologiis. Nee ineleo-anter se ostendit motus aeris compressi in sclopettis ludicris puerorum, cum alnum aut simile quiddam excavant, et infarciunt frusto alicujus radicis succulentae, vel similium, ad utrosque fines; deinde per embolum ^ trudunt radi- cem vel hujusmodi farcimentum in foramen alterum ; unde emittitur et ejicitur radix cum sonitu ad foramen alterum, idque antequam tangatur a radice aut farci- mento citimo, aut embolo. Quatenus vero ad libera- tionem a tensura, ostendit se hie motus in aere post ex- uctionem in ovis vitreis remanente ; in chordis, in corio, et panno ; resilientibus post tensuras suas, nisi tensuraa illge per moram invaluerint, etc. Atque hunc motum Schola sub nomine Motus ex Forma Elementi innuit :

1 'EjUjSo^oi-, anything introduced [a ramrod?].

490 NOVUM ORGANUM.

satis quidem inscite, cum hie motus non tantum ad aerem, aquam, aut jflammam pertineat, sed ad omuem diversitatem consistentiae ; ut ligni, ferri, plumbi, panni, membranai, etc., in quibus singula corpora sujb liabent diniensionis modulum, et ab eo aegre ad spatium ali- quod notabile abripiuntur. Verum quia Motus iste Libertatis omnium est maxime obvius, et ad infinita spectans, consultum fuerit eum bene et perspicue dis- tinguere. Quidam eiiim valde negligenter confundunt hunc motum cum gemino illo motu Antitypice et Nexus; liberationem scilicet a pressura, cum motu Antitypiae ; a tensura, cum motu Nexus ; ac si ideo cederent aut se dilatarent corpora compressa, ne sequeretur pene- tratio dimensionum ; ideo resilirent et contraherent se corpora tensa, ne sequeretur vacuum. Atqui si aer compressus se vellet recipere in densitatem aquae, aut lignum in densitatem la])idis, nil opus foret penetra- tione dimensionum ; et nihilominus longe major posset esse compressio illorum, quam ilia uUo modo patiuntur. Eodeni modo si aqua se dilatare vellet in raritatem at-ris, aut lapis in raritatem ligni, n(m opus foret vacuo ; et ta- men longe major posset fieri extensio eorum, quam ilia ullo modo patiuntur. Itaque non reducitur res ad penetrationem dimensionum et vacuum, nisi in ultimi- tatibus condensationis et rarefactionis : cum tamen isti motus longe citra eas sistant et versentur, neque aliud sint quam desideria corporum conservandi se in con- sistentiis suis (sive, si malint, in formis suis), nee ab lis recedendi subito, nisi per modos suaves ac per con- sensum alterentur. At longe magis necessarium est (quia multa secum trahit), ut intimetur hominibus, motum violentum (quem nos Mechanicum^ Democri- tus, qui in motibus suis primis expediendis etiam infra

NOVUM ORGANUM. 491

mediocres pliilosoplios poneiidus est, motum Plagce vocavit) nil aliud esse quam Motura Libertatis, scili- cet a compressione ad relaxationem. Etenim in omni sive siinplici protrusione sive volatii per aerem, non fit summotio aut latio localis, anteqiiam partes corporis prseter-naturaliter patiantur et comprimantur ab ira- pellente. Turn vero partibus aliis alias per succes- sion em trudentibus, fertur totum ; nee solum progre- diendo, sed etiam rotando simul ; ut etiam hoc modo partes se liberare, aut magis ex sequo tolerare possint. Atque de hoc Motu hactenus.

Sit Motus Quartus, motus cui nomen dedimus Motus Syles : qui motus antistrophus est quodammodo Motui, de quo diximus, Libertatis. Etenim in Motu Liber- tatis, corpora novum dimensum sive novam sphseram sive novam dilatationem aut contractionem (hasc enim verborum varietas idem innuit) exhorrent, respuunt, fugiunt, et resilire ac teterem consistentiam recupe- rare totis viribus contendunt. At contra in hoc Motu Hyles, corpora novam sphtEram sive dimensum ap- petunt ; atque ad illud libenter et propere, et quando- que valentissimo nixu (ut in pulvere pyrio) aspirant. Instrumenta 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 labo- ret desiderio seipsum restituendi. At admoto calore, e contra appetit dilatari, et concupiscit^ novam sphae- ram, et transit et migrat in illam libenter tanquam in novam formam (ut loquuntur) ; nee post dilatationem nonnullam de reditu curat, nisi per admotionem frigidi ad eam invitetur ; quae non reditus est, sed transmu-

1 Concupiscet, in the original. — J. S.

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tatio repetita. Eodem modo et aqua, si per compres- sionera arctetur, recalcitrat ; et vult fieri qualis fuit, scilicet latior. At si interveniat frigus intensuni et continuatum, mutat se sponte sua et libenter in con- densationem glaciei ; atque si plane continuetur frigus, nee a teporibus interrumpatur (ut fit in speluncis et cavernis paulo profundioribus), vertitur in cry- stallum ^ aut materiam similem, nee unquam resti- tuitur.

Sit Motus Quintus, Motus Continuationis. Intelli- gimus autern non continuationis simplicis et primariaB, cum corpore aliquo altero (nam ille est Motus Nexus) ; sed continuationis sui, in corpore certo. Certissimum enim est, quod corpora omnia solutionem continuitatis exliorreant ; alia magis, alia minus, sed omnia aliqua- tenus. Nam ut in corporibus duris (veluti chalybis, vitri) reluctatio contra discontinuationem est maxime robusta et valida, ita etiam in liquoribus, ubi cessare aut languere saltem videtur motus ejusmodi, tamen non prorsus reperitur privatio ejus ; sed plane inest ipsis in gradu tanquam infimo, et prodit se in experi- mentis plurimis ; sicut in bullis, in rotunditate gutta- rum, 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 mor- tariis, post contusionem ad certum gradum, non am-

1 Pliny, xxxvii. 9. Also Seneca, Natural Questions. Though this ac- count of the origin of crystals is of course erroneous, yet there is a class of cr^-stals which have been shown to occupy the volume which tiieir water of crystallisation would in the state of ice; so that their other con- stituents may in some sort be said to take up no space. This curious analog}' with ice was proved by Playfair and Joule in a very considera- ble number of cases. See Phil. Mag. Dec. 1845.

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pllus 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 insinua- tionem.

Sit Motus Sextus, motus quern nominamus Motum ad Lucrum^ sive Motum Indlgentioe. Is est, per quern corpora, quando versantur inter plane heterogenea et quasi inimica, si forte nanciscantur copiam aut commo- ditatem evitandi ilia heterogenea et se applicandi ad magis cognata, (licet ilia ipsa cognata talia fuerint quae non habeant arctum consensum cum ipsis) tamen sta- tim ea amplectuntur, et tanquam potiora malunt ; et lucri loco (unde vocabulum sumpsimus) hoc ponere videntur, tanquam talium corporum indiga. Exempli gratia : aurum, aut aliud metallum foliatum non delec- tatur aere circumfuso. Itaque si corpus aliquod tan- gibile et crassum nanciscatur (ut digitum, papyrum, quid vis aliud), adhaeret 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 ip- sorum emineat et longe attollatur supra vinum aut aquam, tamen aquam aut vinum paulatim et per gra- dus attrahunt in sursum.

Unde optimus canon sumitur aperturse et solutionum corporum. Missis enim corrosivis et aquis fortibus, qua3 viam sibi aperiunt, si possit inveniri corpus propor- tionatum et magis consentiens et amicum corpori alicui solido quam illud cum quo tanquam per neces- sitatem commiscetur, statim se aperit et relaxat cor-

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pus, et illud alterum intro recipit, priore excluso aut summoto. Neque operatur aut potest iste Motiis ad Lucrum solummodo ad tactum. Nam electrica ope- ratio (de qua Gilbertus et alii post eum taiitas ex- citarunt fabulas) non alia est quam corporis per friea- tionem levem excitati appetitus ; qui aerem non bene tolerat, sed aliud tangibile mavult, si reperiatur in . propinquo.

Sit Motus Septimus, Motus (quern appellamus) Con- gregationis Majoris ; per queni corpora feruntur ad massas connaturalium suorum : gravia, ad globum ter- ras ; levia, ad ambitum coeli. Hunc Scliola nomine Mollis Naturalis insignivit: levi contemplation e, quia scilicet nil spectabile erat ab extra quod eum motum cieret ; (itaque rebus ipsis innatum atque insitum puta- vit) ; aut forte quia non cessat. Nee mirum : semper enim praesto sunt coelum et terra ; cum e contra causce et origines plurimorum ex reliquis motibus interdum absint, interdum adsint. Itaque hunc, quia non inter- mittit sed caeteris intermittentibus statim occurrit, per- petuum et proprium ; reliquos ascititios posuit. Est autem iste motus revera satis infirmus et hebes, tan- quam is qui (nisi sit moles corporis major) caeteris mo- tibus, 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 errori- bus versantur.

Sit Motus Octavus, Motus Congregationis Minoris ; per quern partes homogeneas in corpora aliquo separant se ab heterogeneis, et coeunt inter sese ; per quern etiam corpora Integra ex similitudine substantias se amplectuntur et fovent, et quandoque ad distantiam

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aliquam congregantur, attrahuntur, et conveniunt : veluti cum in lacte flos lactis post moram aliquam su- pernatat ; in vino feces et tartarum subsidmit. Neque enim ha3C fiunt per motum gravitatis et levitatis tan- tum, ut alige partes summitatem petant, aliee ad imum vergant ; sed multo magis per desiderium liomogene- orum inter se coeundi et se uniendi. DifFert autem iste motus a Motu Indigentise, in duobus. Uno, quod in Motu Indigentiae sit stimulus major naturae malignae et contrariae ; at in hoc motu (si modo impedimenta et vincula absint) uniuntur partes per amicitiam, licet absit natura aliena quae litem moveat : altero, quod arc- tior sit unio, et tanquam majore cum delectu. Jn illo enim, modo evitetur corpus inimicum, corpora etiam non admodum cognata concurrunt ; at in hoc coeunt substantiae, germana plane similitudine devinctae, et conflantur tanquam in unum. Atque hie motus om- nibus corporibus compositis inest ; et se facile conspi- ciendum in singulis daret, nisi ligaretur et fraenaretur per alios corporum appetitus et necessitates, quae 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 lo- calis ; 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 eminen- tem, aut per motum vividum et potentem. Atque primo quoad auxilium caloris ; hinc fit, quod calor pronuntietur esse illud quod separet Heterogenea^ con-

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•greget Romogenea. Quam definitioiiem Peripatetico- rum merito derisit Gilbertus ; dicens earn esse perinde ac si quis diceret ac definiret liominem illud esse quod serat triticmn et plantet vineas : esse enim definitionera tantum per effectus, eosque particulares.^ Sed adhuc magis culpanda est ilia definitio ; quia etiam effectus illi (quales quales sunt) non sunt ex proprietate caloris, sed tantum per accidens ^ (idem enim facit frigus, ut postea dicemus), nempe ex desiderio partium homoge- ncarum coeundi ; adjuvante tantum calore ad discu- tiendum torporem, qui torpor desiderium illud antea ligaverat. Quoad vero auxilium virtutis inditae a cor- pore cognato ; illud mirabiliter eluceseit in magnete armato, qui excitat in ferro virtutem detinendi ferrum per similitudinem substantiae, discusso torpore ferri per virtutem magnetis. Quoad vero auxilium motus ; con- spicitur illud in sagittis ligneis, cuspide etiam lignea ; quae altius penetrant in alia ligna quam si fuissent ar- matse ferro, per similitudinem substantiae, discusso tor-

1 For the definition we may refer to the Margarita PhUosqphue, 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 nostra svhlunari Phi- bsophia 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 et famaj celeberri- mse." " Illi perspicace in Physicis prwsertim ingenio baud poenitendie in evolvendo operaj testimonium dederunt, quod integrum excussisse censeiin- tur, 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 ostendit aut qune ilia differentia ab effectu tantum in quibusdam corporibus, congregans homogenea et dis- gregans heterogenea f ac si diceres hominem animal esse carduos et sentes evellens, et fruges serens, cum istud sit agricoln studium." — De Mundo, &c., i. c. 26.

2 i. e. they arise indirectly.

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pore ligni per motum celerem : de quibus duobus experimentis etiam in aphorismo de Instantiis Clan- destinis diximiis.

Ligatio vero Motus Congregationis Minoris, qua3 fit per fraenum corporis dominantis, conspicitur in solu- tione sanguinis et urinarum per frigus. Quamdiu enim repleta fuerint corpora ilia spiritu agili, qui sin- gulas eorum partes cujuscunque generis ipse ut domi- nus totius ordinat et cohibet, tamdiu non coeunt homo- genea ^ propter frsenum ; sed postquam ille spiritus evaporaverit, aut sufFocatus fuerit per frigus, turn so- lutse partes a fraeno coeunt secundum desiderium suum naturale. Atque ideo fit, ut omnia corpora quae con- tinent spiritum acrem (ut sales, et hujusmodi) durent et non solvantur, ob frsenum permanens et durabile spiritus dominantis et imperiosi.

Ligatio vero Motus Congregationis Minoris, quae fit per motum externum, maxime conspicitur in agitationi- bus corporum per quas arcetur putrefactio. Omnis enim putrefactio fandatur in congregatione bomoge- neorum ; unde paulatim fit corruptio prioris (quam vocant) formae, et genera tio novas. Nam putrefacti- onem, quae sternit viam ad generationem novae formae, praecedit solutio veteris ; quae est ipsa coitio ad homo- geniam. Ea vero si non impedita fuerit, fit solutio simplex ; sin occurrant varia quae obstant, sequuntur putrefactiones quae sunt rudimenta generationis novae. Quod si (id quod nunc agitur) fiat agitatio firequens per motum externum, tum vero motus iste coitionis (qui est delicatus et mollis et indiget quiete ab exter- nis) disturbatur et cessat ; ut fieri videmus in innume-

1 [" Heterogenea " in the original edition] ; clearly a vn-ong reading: the sense requires "homogenea." VOL. I. 32

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ris; veluti cum quotidiana agitatio aut profluentia aquae arceat putrefactionem ; venti arceant pestilentiam acris; grana in granariis versa et agitata maneant pura ; om- nia clenique agitata exterius non facile putrefiant in- terius.

Superest ut non omittatur coitio ilia partium corpo- rum, unde fit prascipue induratio et desiccatio. Post- quam enim spiritus, aut humidum in spiritum versum, evolaverit in aliquo corpore porosiore (ut in ligno, osse, membrana, et hujusmodi), tum partes crassiores majore nixu contraliuntur et coeunt, unde sequitur induratio aut desiccatio : quod existimamus fieri, non tam ob Motum Nexus, ne detur vacuum, quam per motum istum amicitiiB et unionis.

Ad coitionem vero ad distans quod attinet, ea infre- quens est et rara ; et tamen in pluribus inest quam qui- bus observatur. Hujus simulacra sunt, cum bulla sol- vat bullam ; medicamenta ex similitudine substantiae trahant humores ; cliorda in diversis fidibus ad uniso- num moveat chordam ; et hujusmodi. Etiam in spiri- tibus ariimalium hunc motum vigere existimamus, sed plane incognitum. At eminet certe in magnete, et ferro excito. Cum autem de motibus magnetis loqui- mur, distinguendi plane sunt. Quatuor enim virtutes sive operationes sunt in magnete, qute 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. Se- cunda, verticitatis ejus ad septentriones et austrum, at- que simul declinationis ejus. Tertia, penetrationis ejus per aurum, vitrum, lapidem, omnia. Quarta, commu- nicationis virtutis ejus de lapide in ferrum, et de ferro in ferrum, absque communicatione substantias. Verum

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hoc loco de prima virtute ejus tan turn loquimur, videli- cet coitionis. Insio-iiis etiam est motus coitionis argenti vivi et auri ; adeo ut aurum alliciat argentum vivum, licet confectum in unguenta ; atque operarii inter vapo- res argenti vivi soleant tenere in ore frustum auri, ad colligendas emissiones argenti vivi, alias 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 ope- retur ad distantias magnas et super massas rerum mag- nas, inquisitionem meretur separatam ; praesertim si nee incipiat a tactu, quemadraodum plurimi, nee per- ducat actionem ad tactum, quemadmodum omnes mo- tus congregativi ; sed corpora tantum elevet, aut ea intumescere faciat, nee quicquam ultra. Nam si luna attollat aquas, aut turgescere aut intumescere faciat humida ; aut coelum stellatum attrahat planetas versus sua apogaea ; aut sol alliget astra Veneris et Mercurii, ne longius absint a corpore ejus quam ad distantiam certam ; videntur hi motus nee sub Congregations Majore nee sub Congregatione Minore bene collocari ; sed esse tanquam congregativa media et imperfecta, ideoque speciem debere constituere propriam.

Sit Motus Decimus, Motus Fagce ; motus scilicet Motui Congregationis Minoris contrarius ; per quern corpora ex antipathia 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 ho- mogenea nisi heterogeneis exclusis et remotis; tamen

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ponendus est motus iste per se, et in speciem constitu- endus, quia in multis appetitus Fiigse cernitur magis principalis quam appetitus Coitionis.

Eminet autem hie motus insigniter in excretionibus animalium ; 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 amams et horridus ita rejicitur a palato aut gutture, ut inducat per consensum capitis conquassationem et hor- rorem. Veruntamen etiam in aliis locum habet iste motus. Conspicitur enim in antiperistasibus nonnul- lis ; ut in aeris media regione, cujus fi'igora videntur esse rejectiones naturae frigidai ex confiniis coelestium ; quemadmodum etiam videntur magni illi fervores et inflammationes, qua? inveniuntur in locis subterraneis, esse rejectiones naturae calidae ab interioribus terrae. Calor enim et frigus, si fuerint in quanto minore, se invicem perimunt ; sin fuerint in massis majoribus et tanquam justis exercitibus, tum vero per conflictum se locis invicem summovent et ejiciunt. Etiam tradunt cinamomum 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 integrum, prohibetur per sa- livam hominis, aut axungiam porci, aut terebintliinam, et hujusmodi, ne partes ejus coeant; propter malum consensum quem 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 inortificationem argenti vivi. Etiam quod oleum cum aqua non misceatur, non tan tum in

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causa est differentia levitatis, sed malus ipsorum con- sensus : ut videre est in spiritu vini, qui cum levior sit oleo, tamen se bene miscet cum aqua. At maxima omnium insignis est Motus Fugas in nitro, et hujusmodi corporibus crudis, quae flammam exhorrent ; ut in pul- vere pyrio, argento vivo, necnon in auro. Fuga A^ero ferri ab altero polo magnetis a Gilberto bene notatur non esse Fuga propria, sed conformitas, et coitio ad si- tum magis accommodatum.^

Sit Motus Undecimus, Motus Assimilationis, sive Multiplicationis sui, sive etiam Generationis Simplids. Generationem autem Simplicem dicimus non corporum integralium, ut in plantis, aut animalibus ; sed corpo- rum similarium.2 Nempe per hunc motum corpora si- milaria vertunt corpora alia affinia, aut saltem bene dis- posita et pr^eparata, in substantiam et naturani suam ; ut flamma, quae super balitus et oleosa multiplicat se, et generat novam flammam ; aer, qui super aquam et aquea multiplicat se, et generat novum aerem ; spiritus vegetabilis et animalis, qui super tenuiores partes tarn aquei quam oleosi in alimentis suis mul- tiplicat se, et generat novum spiritum ; partes solidse plantarum et animalium, veluti folium, flos, caro, os, et sic de caeteris, quae singul^e ex succis alimentorum as- similant et generant substantiam successivam et epiu- siam. Neque enim quenquam cum Paracelso delirare juvet, qui (distillationibus suis scilicet occaecatus) nu- tritionem per separationem tantum fieri voluit ; quod-

1 " Ita coitio magnetica actus est magnetis et ferri, non actio unius, utri- usque evTeT^^x^i-o. non epycyv, avvevTe'kexeui et conactus potius quam sympa- thia ; antipathia nulla est propria magnetica. Nam fuga et declinatio ter- minorum, sive conversio totius, utriusque actus est ad unitatem, a conactu et avvEVTe'kEX^'-'^ amborum." — Gilbert, De Magnete, ii. c. 4.

2 i. e. bodies of uniform texture.

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que in pane vel cibo lateat oculus, nasus, cerebrum, jecur ; ^ in succo terras radix, folium, flos. Etenim sicut faber ex rudi massa lapidis vel ligni, per separa- tionem et rejectionem superflui educit folium, florem, oculum, nasum, manum, pedem, et similia ; ita archoe- um ilium fabrum internum ex alimento per separatio- nem et rejectionem educere singula membra et partes asserit ille. Verum missis nugis, certissimum est partes singulas, tam similares quam organicas, in vegetabilibus et animalibus, succos alimentoi-um suorum fere com- munes, aut non multum diversos, prime attrahere cum nonnullo delectu, deinde assimilare, et vertere in na- turam suam. Neque Assimilatio ista, aut Generatio Simplex, fit solum in corporibus animatis, verum et inanimata ex hac re participant ; veluti de flamma et

1 1 have not been able to find any passage in Paracelsus which altogether corresponds 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 quS ratione membris corporis nutrimentum dividatur, nos ignoramus; hoc tantiim scimus, rem ita se habere ut dixi- mus." — De Mod. Pharm. v. p. 233. (T use the edition of 1603).

Bacon has, however, correctly stated the general doctrine that alimenta- tion is by separation ; and again Paracelsus affirms that "officium vero Ar- chei est in microcosmo purum ab impuro separare." — De Morbis Tarta- reis, iii. 195. The truth is that Paracelsus's views are so often repeated and varied in the course of his writings, that 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 condemned 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 converting 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. Boussingault, was, at least a few years ago, of a different opinion. He regarded animal fut as the representative of the fatty matters contained in the food.

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aere dictum est. Quinetiam spiritus emortuus,^ qui in omni tangibili animato continetur, id perpetuo agit, ut partes crassiores digerat et vertat in spiritum, qui de- inde exeat; unde fit diminutio ponderis et exsiccatio, ut alibi diximus. Neque etiam respuenda est in As- similation e accretio ilia, quam vulgo ab alimentatione distinguunt ; veluti cum lutum inter lapillos concrescit, et vertitur in materiam lapideam ; squammae circa dentes vertuntur in substantiam non minus duram quam sunt dentes ipsi, etc. Sumus enim in ea opini- one, 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 diligen- tia inquirere oportet, quia pertinent ad senectutis refo- cillationem. Postremo videtur notatu dignum, quod in novem illis motibus, de quibus diximus, corpora tantum naturse suae conservation em appetere videntur ; in hoc decimo autera propagationem.^

' Sit Motus Duodecimus, Motus Exdtationis ; qui mo- tus videtur esse ex genere Assimilationis, atque eo no- mine quandoque a nobis promiscue vocatur. Est enim motus diffusivus, et communicativus, et transitivus, et multiplicativus, sicut et ille ; atque effectu (ut pluri-

1 By " spiritus emortuus" Bacon understands that which in the Historia VitcB et Mortis he has called " spiritus mortualis." The fourth of his Ca- nones Mobiles, in the Historia, &c. is this: — "In omnibus animatis duo sunt genera spirituum, spiritus mortuales quales insunt inanimatis, et su- peradditua 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 Be Viribus Memhrorum, i. c. 1., he describes the functions of the spiritus vitse in relation to the different organs, without referring to any in- dwelling non-vital spirit (vol. iii. p. 1. of his Philosophy).

2 The first "motus" which Bacon mentions does not relate to concrete bodies ("corpora "), but to matter in general. The "Motus Assimilatio- nis " is therefore the tenth of those which relate to "corpora," though it is the eleventh in the general arrangement.

504 NOVUM ORGANUM.

mum) consentiunt, licet efficiendi modo et subjecto dif- ferant. Motus enim Assimilationis procedit tanquam cum imperio et potestate ; jubet enim et cogit assimila- tam in assimilantem verti et mutari. At Motus Excita- tionis procedit 'tanquam arte et insinuatione et furtim ; et invitat tantum, et disponit excitatum ad naturam excitantis. Etiam Motus Assimilationis multiplicat et . transformat corpora et substantias ; veluti, plus fit flam- mas, plus aeris, plus spiritus, plus carnis. At in Motu Excitationis, multiplicantur et transeunt virtutes tan- tum ; et plus fit calidi, plus magnetic], plus putridi. Eminet autem iste motus praecipue in calido et frigido. Neque enim calor difFundit se in calefaciendo per com- munication em primi caloris ; sed tantum per Excita- tion em partium corporis ad motum ilium qui est Forma Calidi ; de quo in Vindemiatione Prima de Natura Calidi diximus. Itaque longe tardius et difficilius ex- citatur calor in lapide aut metallo quam in acre, ob in- habilitatem et impromptitudinem corporum illorum ad motum ilium ; ita ut verisimile sit posse esse interius versus viscera terrse materias quae calefieri prorsus re- spuant ; 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 vir- tute perdit. Similiter fermentum panis, et flos cervi- sise, et coagulum lactis, et nonnulla ex venenis, excitant et invitant motum in massa farinaria, aut cervisia, aut caseo, aut corpore humano, successivum et continua- tum ; non tarn ex vi excitantis quam ex praedispositione et facili cessione excitati.^

1 The theory here proposed is nearly equivalent to the most recent views on the same subject, as the following passage will sufliciently show. — It is obvious that both statements, however much of truth they may involve,

NOVUM ORGANUM. 505

Sit Motus Decimus Tertius, Motus Impressionis ; qui Motus est etiam ex genere Motus Assimilationis, estque ex diffusivis motibus subtilissimus. Nobis autem visum est eum in speciem propriam constituere, propter differentiam insignem quam habet erga priores duos. Motus enim Assimilationis simplex corpora ipsa trans- .format ; ita ut si tollas primum movens nihil intersit ad ea quas sequuntur. Neque enim prima accensio in flammam, aut prima versio in aerem, aliquid facit ad flammam aut aerem in generatione succedentem. Si- militer, Motus Excitationis omnino manet, remoto pri- mo movente, ad tempora bene diuturna ; ut in corpore calefacto, remoto primo calore ; in ferro excito, remoto magnete ; in massa farinaria, remoto fermento. At Motus Impressionis, licet sit difiusivus, et transitivus, tamen perpetuo pendere videtur ex primo movente ; adeo ut sublato aut cessante illo statim deficiat et pere- at ; itaque etiam momento, aut saltem exiguo tempore, transigitur. Quare Motus illos Assimilationis et Ex- citationis, Motus Grenerationis Jovis, quia generatio ma- net, hunc autem motum Motum Grenerationis Saturni^

are indefinite and unsatisfactory. It is not said whether the new proper- ties 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 Berthol- let, namely, that an atom or molecule, put in motion by any power whatever, may communicate its own motion 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 suf- ticiently powerful to arrest the motion imparted.

" This law has only recently been recognised as a cause of the altera- tions 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." — Ziefii^r's Letters on Chemistry, p. 209.

506 NOVUM ORGANUM.

quia iiatus statim devoratur et absorbetur, appellare consuevimus. Manifestat se vero hie motiis in tribus ; in lucis radiis ; sonorum percussion ibus ; et magncticis, quatenus ad communicationem.^ Etenim amota luce, statim pereunt colores et reliquae imagines ejus ; amota percussione prima et quassatione corporis inde facta, paulo post perit sonns. Licet enim soni etiam in medio, per ventos tanquam per undas agitentur ; tamen dili- gentius notandum est quod sonus non tam diu durat quam fit resonatio.^ 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 haerere in acre ; quod falsis- simum est. Etenim ilia resonatio non est idem sonus numero, sed renovatur. Hoc autem manifestatur ex sedatione sive cohibitione corporis percussi. Si enim sistatur et detineatur campana fortiter et fiat immobilis, statim perit sonus nee resonat amplius ; ut in cliordis, si post primam percussionem tangatur chorda, vel di- git© ut in lyra, vel calamo ut in espinetis, statim desinit resonatio. Magnete autem remoto statim ferrum deci- dit. 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 Situs ; per quem corpora appetere videntur, non coitionem aut separation em aliquam, sed situm, et col- locationem, et configurationem cum aliis. Est autem iste motus valde abstrusus, nee bene inquisitus. Atque in quibusdam videtur quasi incausabilis ; licet revera (ut existimamus) non ita sit. Etenim si qua^ratur cur

1 1. e. as regards the communication of influence.

2 i. t. the original sound does not last all the time the i^sonance goes on.

NOVUM OEGANUM. 507

potius coelum volvatur ab oriente in occidentem quam ab occidente in orientem ; ant cur vertatur circa polos positos juxta Ursas potius quam circa Orionem, ant ex alia aliqua parte coeli ; videtnr ista quaestio tanquam qusedam extasis, cum ista potius ab experientia, et ut positiva ^ recipi debeant. At in natura profecto sunt quaedam ultima et incausabilia ; verum hoc ex illis non esse videtur. Etenim hoc fieri existimamus ex qua- dam harmonia et consensu mundi, qui adhuc non venit in observation em.2 Quod si recipiatur motus terrge ab occidente in orientem, eaedem manent qusestiones. Nam et ipsa super aliquos polos movetur. Atque cur tan- dem debeant isti poli collocari magis ubi sunt quam alibi ? ^ Item verticitas, et directio, et declinatio mag- netis ad hunc motum referuntur. Etiam inveniuntur in corporibus tam naturalibus quam artificialibus, prsB- sertim consistentibus et non fluidis, collatio quaedam et positura partium, et tanquam villi et fibrse, quae dili- genter investigandae sunt; utpote sine quarum inven- tione corpora ilia commode tractari aut regi non pos- sunt. At circulationes illas in liquidis, per quas ilia dum pressa sint, antequam se liberare possunt, se in- vicem relevant, ut compressionem illam ex aequo tole- rent, Motui Libertatis verius assignamus.

1 i. 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 direc- tion, viz., from west to east. Laplace has attempted to calculate the proba- bility that this uniformity is the result of a common cause determining the direction of their movements ; but these numerical estimations of the prob- ability of the truth of any induction are, on several accounts, altogether unsatisfactory.

3 This passage shows that Bacon was not aware that the poles are not fixed (collocati) 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 mathematical physics.

508 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Sit Motus Decimus Quintus, Motus Pertransitionis^ sive Motus secundum 3Ieatu8 : per quern virtutes cor- porum magis aut minus impediuntur aut provelmntur a medris ipsorum, pro natura corpoinim et virtutura operantium, atque etiani medii. Aliud enirn medium luci convenit, aliud sono, aliud calori et frigori, aliud virtutibus magneticis, necnon aliis nonnullis respec- .tive.

Sit Motus Decimus Sextus, Motus Regius (ita enira eum appellamus) sive Politieus; per quem partes in cor- pore aliquo prasdominantes et imperantes reliquas partes fraenant, domant, subigunt, ordinant, et cogunt eas adunari, separari, consistere, moven, 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 autcm hie motus prjrcipue in spiritibus animalium, qui motus omnes partium re- liquarum, quamdiu ipse in vigors est, contemperat. Invenitur autem in aliis corporibus in gradu quodara inferiore ; quemadmodum dictum est de sanguine et urinis, quae non solvuntur donee spiritus, qui partes earum commiscebat et cohibebat, emissus fuerit aut sufFocatus. Neque iste motus omnino spiritibus pro- prius est, licet in plerisque corporibus spiritus dominen- tur ob motum celerem et penetrationem. Veruntamen in corporibus magis condensatis, nee spiritu vivido et vigente (qualis inest argento vivo et vitriolo) repletis, dominantur potius partes crassiores ; adeo ut nisi frae- num et jugum hoc arte aliqua excutiatur, de nova ali- qua hujusmodi corporum transformatione minime spe- randum sit. Neque vero quispiam nos oblitos esse existimet ejus quod nunc agitur ; quia cum ista series

NOVUM ORGANUM. 509

et distributio motuum ad nil aliud spectet, quam ut illorum Prsedominantia per Instantias LuctaB melius inquiratur, jam inter motus ipsos Prasdominantiae men- tionem faciamus. Non enim in descriptione Motus istius Regii, de Prsedominantia motuum aut virtutum tractamus, sed de Praedominantia partium in corpori- bus. Haec enim ea est Praedominantia, quae speciem istam motus peculiarem constituit.

Sit Motus Decimus Septimus, Motus Rotationis Spontaneus ; per quem corpora motu gaudentia, et bene collocata, natura sua fruuntur, atque seipsa se- quuntur, non aliud, et tanquam proprios petunt am- plexus. 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 aeterno, et infinito. Qu£e bene collocata sunt, et motum exhorrent, prorsus quiescunt. Quae non bene collocata sunt, movent in linea recta (tanquam tramite brevissimo) ad consortia suorum connaturalium.^ Recipit autem Motus iste Rotationis

1 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, the eternal circular motions of the heavenly bodies may be subject, are sufficient to destroy the whole a pnori 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 philosophy than the heliocentrical. The attempts of Turrianus and Fracastorius to construct what maj' 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 suggested 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 favour- ably received by the systematic Peripaticians. See, for instance, Fla-

610 NOVUM ORGANUM.

differentias novem. Primam, centri sui, circa quod corpora movent ; secundam, polorum suorum, supra quos movent ; tertiam, circumferentias sive ambitus sui, prOut distant a centro ; quartam, incitationis suae, prout celerius aut tardius rotant; quintam, consequu- tionis motus sui, veluti ab oriente in occidentem, aut ab occidente in orientem ; sextam, declinationis a cir- culo perfecto per spiras longius aut propius distantes a centro suo ; septimara, declinationis a circulo perfecto per spiras longius aut propius distantes a polis suis ; octavam, distantiae propioris aut longioris spirarum sua- rum ad invicem ; nonam et ultimam, variationis ipso- rum polorum, si sint mobiles ; quae ipsa ad rotationem non pertinet, nisi fiat circulariter.^ Atque iste motus communi et inveterata opinione habetur pro proprio coelestium. Attamen gravis de illo motu lis est inter nonnullos tam ex antiquis quam modernis, qui Rotatio- nem terrae attribuerunt. At multo fortasse justior mo- vetur controversia (si modo res non sit omnino extra controversiam), an motus videlicet iste (concesso quod terra stet) coeli finibus contineatur, an potius descen- dat, et communicetur aeri et aquis. Motum autem Rotationis in missilibus, ut in spiculis, sagittis, pilis sclopetorum, et similibus, omnino ad Motum Liber- tatis rejicimus.

Sit Motus Decimus Octavus, Motus Trepidationis, cui (ut ab astronomis intelligitur) non multum fidei

minius, De prima Philosoph. Paraph, p. 119. (I quote the Basle edition of 1557.)

1 1 believe the sense is that unless we restrict ourselves to circular mo- tion, that is, unless we reject the sixth and seventh species of variation, it will not be necessarj' 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.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 611

adhibemus.^ Nobis autem corporum naturalium appe- titus ubique serio perscrutantibus occurrit iste motus ; et constitui debere videtur in speciem. Est autem hie motus veluti seternae cujusdam captivitatis. Videlicet ubi corpora non omnino pro natura sua bene locata, et tamen non prorsus male se habentia, perpetuo trepi- dant, et irrequiete se agant, nee statu suo contenta, nee ulterius ausa progredi. Talis invenitur motus in corde et pulsibus animalium ; et necesse est ut sit in omni- bus corporibus, quge statu ancipiti ita degunt inter com- moda et incommoda, ut distracta liberare se tentent, et denuo repulsam patiantur, et tamen perpetuo experi- antur.

Sit Motus Decimus Nonus et postremus, motus ille cui vix nomen motus competit, et tamen est plane mo- tus. Quern motum, Motum Decubitus^ sive Motum ExJiorre7itice Motus, vocare licet. Per hunc motum terra stat mole sua, moventibus se extremis suis in me- dium; non ad centrum imaginativum, sed ad unionem. Per hunc etiam appetitum omnia majorem in modum condensata motum exhorrent, atque illis pro omni appe- titu est non moveri ; et licet infinitis modis vellicentur

1 The name of trepidation was given by the Alphonsine astronomers to a motion by which they imagined the starry heaven to be aflfected, 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 Ba- con's hesitation to accept the astronomical motion of trepidation had any better foundation than his doubts whether the proper motions of the plan- etary orbs were anything more than "res contictae et suppositse." The question of the existence or non-existence of trepidation could only be de- cided by a person conversant with the details of the received system of astronomy.

512 NOVUM ORGANUM.

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 pnebent, 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 condensa- tum est ad ultimitatem, sed etiam cum spiritu nonnullo miscetur.

Proposuimus itaque jam species sive elementa sim- phcia motuum, appetituum, et virtutum activarum, quas sunt in natura maxime cathohca. Neque parum scien- tias naturahs sub ilhs adumbratum est. Non nega- mus tamen et aHas species fortasse addi posse, atque istas ipsas divisiones secundum veriores renim venas transferri, denique in minorem numerum posse redigi. Neque tamen hoc de divisionibus ahquibus abstractis intelhgimus : veluti si quis dicat coi'pora appetere vel conservation em, vel exaltationem, vel propagationem, vel fruitionem naturae suae ; aut si quis dicat motus rerum tendere ad conservationem et bonum, vel uni- versi, ut Antitypiam et Nexum ; vel universitatum magnarum, ut Motus Congregationis Majoris, Rota- tionis, et Exhorrentiae Motus ; vel formarum specia- lium, ut reliquos. Licet enim haic vera sint, tamen nisi terminentur in materia et fabrica secundum veras lineas, speculativa sunt, et minus utilia. Interim suffi- cient et boni erunt usus ad pensitandas Pra3dominan- tias virtutum et exquirendas Instantias Luctse ; id quod nunc agitur.

1 In illustration of this phrase, see note 1. p. 399.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 513

Etenim ex his qiios proposuimus motibus alii prorsus sunt invincibiles ; alii aliis sunt fortiores, et illos ligant, frsenant, disponunt ; alii aliis longius jaculantur ; alii alios tempore et celeritate praevertunt; alii alios fovent, roborant, ampliant, accelerant.

Motus Antitypiffi omnino est adamantinus et invin- cibilis. Utrum vero Motus Nexus sit invincibilis adhuc hseremus. Neque enim pro certo affirmaverimus utrum detur Vacuum, sive coacervatum sive permistum.^ At de illo nobis constat, rationem illam, propter quam introductum est Vacuum a Leucippo et Democrito (videlicet quod absque eo non possent eadem corpora complecti et implere majora et minora spatia), falsam esse. Est enim plane plica materice complicantis et replicantis se per spatia, inter certos fines, absque inter- positione Vacui ; neque est in aere ex vacuo bis millies (tantum enim esse oportet) plus quam in auro.^ Id

1" Vacuum permistum," kevov axupiarov, is vacuum diffused through the interstices of any portion of matter. By " vacuum coacervatum," Kevbv KexoipidfiEvov, 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 Saji. 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 (1609) — "Quisquis autem atomum ponit et vacuum, necessario 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, ii. 40.) thought spirit of wine a hundred times denser than its own vapour, and gold twenty-one times denser than spirit of wine. In the Historia Densi et Ravi, he remarks that air is at least a hundred-fold rarer than water; and from the table there given it appears that the specitic density of gold is to that of water as 1000 to 56, nearly. Hence he must have estimated the density of gold at VOL. I. 33

514 NOVUM ORGANUM.

quod ex potentissimis corporum pnoumaticorum virtuti- bus (quae aliter tanquam pulveres miuuti natarent in vacuo}, ^^ multis aliis deinonstrationibus, nobis satis liquet. Reliqui vero Motus regunt et reguntur invi- cem, pro rationibus vigoris, quanti, incitationis, ejacu- lationis, necnon turn auxiliorum turn impedimentorum quae occurrunt.

Exempli gratia : magnes armatus nonnuUus detinet et suspendit ferrum, ad sexagecuplum pondus i[)sius ; eo usque dorainatur Motus Congregationis Minoris super Motum Congregationis Majoris ; quod si majus fuerit pondus, succumbit. Vectis tanti roboris subleva- bit tantum pondus ; eo usque dominatur Motus Liber- tatis super Motum Congregationis Majoris ; sin majus fuerit pondus, succumbit. Corium tensum ad tensu- ram talem non rumpitur ; eo usque dominatur Motus Continuationis super Motum Tensurae ; quod si ulterior fuerit tensura, rumpitur corium, et succumbit Motus Continuationis. Aqua per rimam perforationis talis effluit ; eo usque dominatur Motus Congregationis Ma- joris super Motum Continuationis; quod si minor fuerit rima, succumbit, et vincit Motus Continuationis. In pulvere sulpburis solius immissi^ in sclopetum cum pila, et admoto igne, non emittitur pila ; in eo Motus

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 tiie " vacua permista " which they respectively contain, and that if we take the solid matter into account the " ex 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 mention of Democritus, did not adopt the atomic philosophy, though he did not absolutely reject the physical part of it.

1 [So in the original edition.] The true reading seems to be *' immisso."

NOVUM ORGANUM. 515

Congregationis Majoris vincit Motiim Hyles. At In pulvere pyrio immlsso vincit Motus Hyles in sulphure, adjutus Motibus Hyles et Fugse in nitro. Et sic de cseteris. Etenim InstantisB Luctas (quae indicant Prae- dominantiam Virtutura, et secundum quas rationes et calculos praedominentur et succumbant) acri et sedula diligentia undlque sunt conquirendee.

Etiam modi et rationes ipsius succumbentiae motuum diligenter sunt introspiciendae. Nempe, an omnino ces- sent, 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 appa- rentiam. Quies autem ista apparens causatur aut per Equilibrium, aut per absolutam Praedominantiam Mo- tuum. Per Equilibrium, ut in bilancibus, quae stant si aequa sint pondera. Per Praedominantiam, ut in hy- driis perforatis, ubi quiescit aqua, et detinetur a decasu, per Praedominantiam Motus Nexus. Notandum tamen est (ut diximus) quatenus nitantur motus illi succum- bentes. Etenim si quis per luctam detineatur extensus in terra, brachiis et tibiis vinctis, aut aliter detentis ; atque ille tamen totis viribus resurgere nitatur ; non est minor nixus, licet non proficiat. Hujus autem rei con- ditio (scilicet utrum per Praedominantiam motus suc- cumbens quasi anniliiletur, an potius continuetur nixus, licet non conspiciatur), quae latet in conflictibus, ap- parebit fortasse in concurrentiis. Exempli gratia ; fiat experimentum in sclopetis, utrum sclopetus, pro tanto spatio quo emittat pilam in linea directa, sive (ut vulgo loquuntur) in puncto bianco, debiliorem edat percus- sionem ejaculando in supra, ubi Motus Ictus est sim- plex, quam desuper, ubi Motus Gravitatis concurrit cum Ictu.

616 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Etiam canones Prajdominantiarum qui occurrunt colligendi sunt. Veluti, quod quo communius est bo- num quod appetitur, eo Motus est fortior: ut Motus Nexus, qui respicit communionem universi, fortior est Motu Gravitatis, qui respicit communionem densorum. Etiam quod appetitus qui sunt boni privati, non pra&- valent plerunque contra appetitus boni magis publici, nisi in parvis quantis. Quas utinam obtinerent in civilibus.

XLIX.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiainim ponemus loco vi- cesimo quinto Instantias Innuentes ; eas scilicet, quae commoda hominum innuunt aut designant. Etenim ipsum Posse et ipsum Scire naturam humanam am- plificant, non beant. Itaque decerpenda sunt ex uni- versi tate rerum ea quae ad usus vitae 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 Ohartce Humance^ sive Chartce Optor tivce^ assignamus. Etenim et quaerere et optare non inepte, pars scientiae est.

L.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum ponemus loco vi- cesimo sexto Instantias Polychrestas. Eae sunt, quae pertinent ad varia et sa?pius occurrunt ; ideoque operae et novis probationibus baud parum parcunt. Atque de instrumentis ipsis atque ingeniationibus proprius erit dicendi locus, cum Deductiones ad Praxim et Experimentandi Modos tractabimus. Quinetiam quae adbuc cognita sunt et in usum venerunt, in Historiis Particularibus sinsularum artium describentur. In

NOVUM ORGANUM. 517

prsesenti autem subjungemus qu93dam catholica circa ea pro exemplis tantum Polychresti.

Operatur igitur homo super corpora naturalia (prae- ter ipsam admotionem et amotionera corporura simpli- cem) septem preecipue modis : nempe, vel per exclu- sionem eorum quae impediunt et disturbant ; vel per compressioues, extensiones, agitationes, et hujusmodi ; vel per calorem et frigus ; vel per moram in loco convenienti ; vel per froenum et regimen motus ; vel per consensus speciales ; vel per alternationem tem- pestivam et debitam, atque seriem et successionem horum omnium ; aut saltern nonnullorum ex illis.

Ad primura igitur quod attinet ; aer communis qui undique praesto est et se ingerit, atque radii coele- stium, multum turbant. Quae itaque ad illorum ex- clusionem faciunt, merito haberi possint pro Poly- chrestis. Hue igitur jDertinent materies et crassities vasorum, in quibus corpora ad operationem praeparata reponuntur. Similiter, modi accurati obturationis va- sorum, per consolidationem et lutum sapientice^ ut lo- quuntur cliymici. 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 aere. Neque pulveres res malae sunt ; qui, licet contineant aerem permistum, tamen vim aeris coacervati et circumfusi arcent ; ut fit in conserva- tione uvarum et fructuum intra arenam, et farinam. Etiam cera, mel, pix, et hujusmodi tenacia, recte obducuntur ad clausuram perfectiorem, et ad summo- vendum aerem et coelestia. Etiam nos experimentum quandoque fecimus, ponendo vas, necnon aliqua alia corpora, intra argentum vivum, quod omnium longe

518 NOVUM ORGANUM.

densissimum est ex iis qujB circumfundi possunt. Qiiin- etiam specus et cavernie subterraneae magni usus sunt ad proliibeiidum insolationem et aerem istum apertum pncdatorium ; qnalibus utiintur Geriiiani Septentrio- nales pro granariis. Necnon repositio corporum in fundo aquarum ad hoc spectat, ut memini me quip- piam 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 vinuin fac- tum est non solum non vapidum aut emortuum, sed mnlto magis nobile ad gustum, per commixtionem par- tium suarum (ut videtur) magis exquisitam. Quod si postulet res ut corpora demittantur ad fundum aquarum, veluti intra fluvios aut mare, neque tamen aquas tangant, nee in vasibus obturatis concludantur, sed aere tantum circumdentur ; bonus est usus vasis illius quod adhibitum est nonnunquam ad operandum subter aquis super navigia demersa, ut urinatores diu- tius manere possint sub aquis, et per vices ad temjius respirare. Illud hujusmodi erat. Conficiebatur doli- um ex metallo concavum, quod demittebatur aequabi- liter ad superficiem aquae, atque sic deportabat totum aerem qui continebatur in dolio secum in fundum ma- ris. Stabat autem super pedes tres (instar tripodis), qui longitudinis erant aliquanto minoris statura homi- nis ; ita ut urinator posset cum anhelitus deficeret, immittere caput in cavum dolii, et respirare, et de- inde opus continuare. Atque audivimus inventam esse jam machinam aliquam naviculas aut scaphae, qu8B homines subter aquis vehere possit ad si)atia non- nulla.^ Verum sub tali vase, quale modo diximus, 1 According to Beckmann, the first distinct mention of the diving-bell,

NOVUM ORGANUM. 519

corpora quaevis facile suspendi possint ; cujiis causa hoc experimentum acldiiximus.

Est et alius usus diligentis et perfectse clausurae corporum : nempe, non solum ut prohibeatur aditus aeris per exterius (de quo jam dictum est), verum etiam ut cohibeatur exitus spiritus corporis, super quod fit operatio per interius. Necesse est enim ut operanti circa corpora naturalia constet de summis suis : viz. quod nihil expirarit aut effluxerit. Fiunt enim pro- fundse alterationes in corporibus, quando, natura pro- hibente annihilationem, ars prohibeat etiam deperdi- tionem aut evolationem alicujus partis. Atque hac de re invaluit opinio falsa (qu^ si vera esset, de ista conservatione summas certae absque diminutione esset fere desperandum) : viz. spiritus corporum, et aerem majori gradu caloris attenuatum, nullis vasorum clau- stris posse contineri, quin per poros vasorum subtili- ores evolent. Atque in banc opinionem adducti sunt homines per vulgata ilia experimenta, poculi inversi super aquam cum candela aut charta inflammata, ex quo fit ut aqua sursum attrahatur ; atque similiter ventosarum, quae super flammam calefactae trahunt carnes. Existimant enim in utroque experimento aerem attenuatum emitti, et inde quantum ipsius mi- nui, ideoque aquam aut carnes per Nexum succedere. Quod falsi ssimum est. Aer enim non quanta dimi- nuitur, sed spatio contrahitur ; neque incipit motus iste successionis aquae, antequam fiat extinctio flammae aut refrigeratio aeris ; adeo ut medici, quo fortius at- trahant ventosae, ponant spongias frigidas^ aqua ma-

at least in modern times, is to be found in Fainsius, as quoted by Schott. Fainsius gives an account of some Greeks who exhibited a diving-bell at Toledo, before Charles the Fifth and his court, in 1538.

1 The right reading is doubtless '' frigida; " but the sense is obvious.

520 NOVUM ORGANUM.

defactas super ventosas. Itaque non est cur homines multum sibi metuant de facili exitu aeris aut spiri- tuum. Licet enim verum sit etiam solidissima cor- pora habere suos poros, tamen aegre patitur aer aut spiritus commiiiutionem sui ad tantam subtilitatem ; quemadmodum et aqua exire recusat per rimam mi- nusculam.

De secundo vero modo ex septem prasdictis illud imprimis notandum est, valere certe compressiones et hujusmodi violentias ad motum localem, atque alia id geiras, potentissime ; ut in machinis et missiUbus ; etiam ad destructionem corporis organici, atque earum virtutum quae consistunt plane in motu. Omnis enim vita, immo etiam omnis flamma et ignitio destruitur per compressiones ; ut et omnis machina corrumpitur et confunditur per easdem. Etiam ad destructionem virtutum quae consistunt in posituris, et dissimilaritate partium paulo crassiore ; ut in coloribus (neque enim idem color floris integri et contusi, neque succini in- tegri et pulverizati) ; etiam in saporibus (neque enim idem sapor pyri immaturi, et ejusdem compressi ac subacti ; nam manifesto dulcedinem majorem conci- pit). Verum ad transformationes et alteration es no- biliores corporum similarium non multum valent istas violentiae; quia corpora per eas non acquirunt consis- tentiam aliquam novam constantem et quiescentem, sed transitoriam, et nitentem semper ad restitutionem et libera tionem sui. Attamen non abs re foret hujus rei facere experimenta aliqua dihgentiora ; ad hoc scilicet, utrum condensatio corporis bene similaris (qualia sunt aer, aqua, oleum, et hujusmodi), aut rarefactio similiter per violentiam indita, possint fieri constantes et fixae et quasi mutatas in naturam. Id quod primo experi-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 521

endum per moram simplicem ; delude 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 splia3ram complanatam per aliquot dies sibi permisisse, et turn demum aquam extraxisse ; ut fieret experimentum, utrum statim im- pletura fuisset talem dimensionem, qualem liabebat ante condensationem. Quod si non fecisset aut sta- tim, aut certe paulo post, constans videlicet facta vi- deri potuisset ista condensatio ; sin minus, apparuisset factam fuisse restitutionem, et compressionem fuisse transitoriam. Etiam simile quiddam faciendum erat circa extensionem aeris in ovis vitreis. Etenim de- buerat fieri, post exuctionem fortem, subita et firma obturatio ; deinde debuerant ova ilia manere ita ob- turata per nonnullos dies ; et turn demum experien- dum fuisset, utrum aperto foramine attractus fuisset aer cum sibilo, aut etiam attracta fuisset tanta quan- titas aquae post immersionem, quanta fuisset ab initio, si nulla adhibita fuisset mora. Probabile enim, aut saltem dignum probatione est, haee fieri potuisse et posse ; propterea quod in corporibus paulo magis dis- similaribus similia efiiciat 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 succedat experimentum per moram simplicem, tamen non deserendum est nego- tium, sed auxilia alia adhibenda. Non enim parum lucri fit, si per violentias indi possint corporibus na- turae fixae et constantes. Hac enim ratione aer possit

522 NOVUM ORGANDM.

verti in aquam per condensationes, et complura alia id genus. Doininus enim est homo motuum violentorum, magis qiiam caeterorum.

At tertius ex septem modis, refertur ad magnum illud organum, tam naturae quam artis, quoad ope- randum ; videlicet calidum et frigidum. Atque in liac parte claudicat plane potentia humana, tanquam ex uno pede. Habemus enim calorem ignis, qui ca- loribus solis (prout ad nos deferuntur) et caloribus animalium quasi infinitis partibus potentior est et in- tension At deest frigus, nisi quale per te'mpestates 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 reverbe- rationes montium et parietum : nam liujusmodi utique tam calores quam frigora ab animalibus ad tempus exiguum tolerari possunt. Nihili autem sunt fere pras calore fornacis ardentis, aut alicujus frigoris quod liuic gradai respondeat. Itaque omnia hie apud nos vergunt ad rarefactionem, et desiccationem, et consumptioneni : nihil fere ad condensationem et intenerationem, nisi per misturas et modos quasi spu- rios. Quare Instantiae Frigoris omni diligentia sunt conquirendse ; quales videntur inveniri in expositione corporum super turres quando gelat acriter ; in ca- vernis subterraneis ; circundationibus nivis et glaciei in locis profundioribus, et ad hoc excavatis ; demissione corporum in puteos ; sepulturis corporum in argento vivo et metallis ; immersione corporum in aquis, quas vertunt ligna in lapides ; defossione corporum in terra (qualis fertur apud Chinenses esse confectio porcel- lanae, ubi massae ad hoc factae dicuntur manere intra

NOVUM ORGANUM. 523

terrain per quadraginta aut quinquaginta annos, et transmitti ad liaeredes, tanquam minerse qusedam arti- ficiales) ; et hujusmodi. Quinetiam quae interveniunt in natura condensationes, factae per frigora, similiter sunt investigandae ; ut, causis eoram cognitis, trans- ferri possint in artes. Quales cernuntur in exuda- tione marmoris et lapidum ; in rorationibus super vitra per interius fenestrarum, sub auroram, post gelu noc- tis ; in originibus et collectionibus vaporum in aquas sub terra, unde saepe scaturiunt fontes ; et qusecun- que sunt hujus generis.

Inveniuntur autem, praeter ilia quae sunt frigida ad tactum, quaedam alia potestate frigida, quae etiam con- densant ; veruntaraen operari videntur super corpora animalium tan turn, et vix ultra. Hujus generis se ostendunt multa in medicinis et emplastris. Alia au- tem condensant carnes et partes tangibiles ; qualia sunt medicamenta astringentia, atque etiam inspissan- tia ; alia condensant spiritus ; id quod maxime cer- nitur in soporiferis. Duplex autem est modus con- densationis spirituum, per medicamenta soporifera, sive provocantia somnum : alter per sedationem motus ; alter per fugam spirituum. Etenim viola, rosa sicca, lactuca, et hujusmodi benedicta sive benigna, per va- pores 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 animae, spiritus resolutos et nimium relaxatos se recipere facit, et tanquam alit. At opiata et eorum affinia spiritus plane fugant, ex quaKtate sua maligna et inimica. Itaque si applicentur parti ex- teriori, statim aufugiunt spiritus ab ilia parte, nee amplius libenter influunt: sin sumantur interius, va-

524 NOVUM ORGAN UM.

pores eorum, ascendentes ad caput, spiritus In ven- triculis cerebri contentos undequaque fugant ; cumque se retrahant spiritus neque in aliam partem effugere possint, per consequens coeunt et condensantur ; et quandoque plane extinguuntur et sufFocantur ; licet rursus eadem opiata moderate sumpta, per accidens secundarium (videlicet condensationem illam quse a coitione succedit), confortent spiritus, eosque reddant magis robustos, et retundant eorum inutiles et incen- sivos^ motus, ex quo ad curas morborum, et vitas prolongationem baud parum conferant.

Etiam praeparationes corporum ad excipiendum Fri- gus non sunt omittendae ; veluti quod aqua parum tepida facilius conglacietur quam omnino frigida, et hujusmodi.

Praeterea, quia natura Frigus tarn parce suppeditat, faciendum est quemadmodum pharmacopolae solent; qui quando simplex aliquod haberi non possit, car piunt succedaneum ejus, et quid pro quo^ ut vocant; veluti lignum aloes pro xylobalsamo,^ cassiam pro cinamomo. SImili modo diligenter circumspicien- dum est, si quae sint succedanea frigoris ; videlicet quibus modis fieri possint condensationes in corpori- bus, aliter quam per frigus, quod illas efiicit ut opus suum proprium. Illae autem condensationes videntur intra quaternum numerum (quantum adhuc liquet) contineri. Quarum prima videtur fieri per contru- sionem simplicem ; quae parum potest ad densitatem constantem (resiliunt enim corpora) sed nihilominus forte res auxiliaris esse queat. Secunda fit per con-

1 Exciting.

2 Xylobalsarrium is the technical name of the twigs of the tree which yields the balm of Gilead.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 525

tractionem partium crassiorum in corpore aliquo, post evolationem aut exitum partium tenuioram, ut fit in indurationibus per ignem, et repetitis extinctionibus metallorum, et similibus. Tertia fit per coitionem partium homogenearum, qua? sunt maxime solidae in corpore aliquo, atque antea fuerant distractae, et cum minus solidis commistae : veluti in restitutione mer- curii 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 consensus adhuc raro se ostendunt ; quod mirum minime est, quoniam antequam inventio succedat Formarum et Schematismorum, de inqui- sitione consensuum ^ non multum sperandum est. Certe quoad corpora animalium, dubium non est quin sint complures medicinge, tam interius quam ex- terius sumptae, quae condensant tanquam per consen- sum, ut paulo ante diximus. Sed in inanimatis rara est hujusmodi operatio. Percrebuit sane, tam scriptis quam fama, narratio de arbore in una ex insulis sive Terceris sive Canariis (neque enim bene memini), quae perpetuo stillat; adeo ut inhabitantibus nonnul- 1am commoditatem aquae praebeat.^ Paracelsus au- tem ait, herbam vocatam Rorem Solis meridie et fer- vente sole rore impleri, cum alise herbae undique sint

1 Consensus is equivalent to av/indd^eia.

2 This wonderful tree is described in Jonston's Dendrographia, published at Frankfort 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." — Be rerum variet. vi. c. 22. Compare Oviedo in Eamusio^ iii. 71. a.

626 , NOVUM ORGANUM.

siccae.^ At nos utramque narrationem fabulosam esse existimamus. Omnino autem illge instantise nobilissimi forent usiis, et introspectione dignissimae, si essent verae. Etiam rores illos mellitos, et instar mannse, qui super foliis quercus inveniuntur mense Maio, non existima- mus fieri et densari a consensu aliquo, sive a proprie- tate 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 nimi- rum homini abunde adest; observatio autem et in- quisitio deficit in nonnullis, iisque maxime necessa- riis, utcunque spagyrici se venditent. Etenim caloris intensions opificia exquiruntur et conspiciuntur ; re- missions vero, quie maxime in vias naturse 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 olesis chymicis ; partes tangibiles indurari, et emisso volatili, aliquando figi ; partes homogeneas separari ; etiam corpora heterogenea grosso modo in- corporari et commisceri ; maxime autem compages corporum compositorum et subtiliores schematismos destrui et confundi. Debuerant autem opificia calo- ris lenioris tentari et exquiri ; unde subtiliores mi- sturae et schematismi ordinati gigni possint et educi, ad exemplum naturae et imitationem operum solis; quemadmodum in aphorismo de Instantiis Foederis quaedam adumbravimus. Opificia enim naturae trans-

1 1 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 ad- ditional suns.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 527

iguntur per longe minores 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 artificiales opera naturae possint specie repraesentari, virtute perfici, copia variari ; quibus addere oportet accelerationem temporis. Nam rubigo ferri longo tempore procedit, at versio in crocum Martis subito ; et similiter de aerugine et cerussa ; christallum longo tempore con- ficitur, vitrum subito conflatur ; lapides longo tem- pore concrescunt, lateres subito coquuntur, etc. In- terim (quod nunc agitur) omnes diversitates caloris cum effectibus suis respective diligenter et industrie undique sunt colligendae et exquirendaj : coelestium, per radios suos directos, reflexos, refractos, et unitos in speculis comburentibus ; fulguris, flammae, ignis carbonum ; ignis ex diversis materiis ; ignis ai)erti, conclusi, angustiati et inundantis, denique per diver- sas 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 Mariae,^ fimi, caloris animalium per exterius, caloris animalium per inte- rius, fceni conclusi : calorum aridorum, cineris, calcis, arenas tepidae ; denique calorum cujusvis generis cum gradibus eorum.

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 con- tents become gradually and moderately heated. The reason of the name is obvious. From " balneum maris " the French made by a kind of trans- lation (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 Mariae is however, I believe, a common phrase with old writers on chemistry.

528 NOVUM ORGANUM.

Praecipue vero tentanda est inquisitio et inventio effectuum et opificiorum caloris accedentis et receden- tis graduatim, et ordinatim, et periodice, et per debita spatia et moras. Ista enim inseqiialitas ordinata revera filia coeli ^ est, et generationis mater ; neque a calore aut vehementi, aut prsecipiti, aut subsultorio, aliquid magni expectandum est. Etenim et in vegetabilibus hoc manifestissimum est ; atque etiam in uteris anima- lium magna est caloris inaequalitas, ex motu, somno, alimentationibus et passionibus foemellarum quae uterum gestant ; denique in ipsis matricibus terrse, iis nimirum in quibus metalla et fossilia efFormantur, locum habet et viget ista inaequalitas. Quo magis notanda est insci- tia aliquorum alcbymistarum ex reformatis,^ qui per calores aequabiles lampadum et hujusmodi, perpetuo uno ten ore ardentium, se voti compotes fore existima- runt. Atque de opificiis et effectibus caloris haec 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.

Quartus modus operandi est per moram, quae certe et promus et condus natura? est, et quaedam dispen- satrix. Moram appellamus, cum corpus aliquod sibi permittitur ad tempus notabile, munitum interim et defensum ab aliqua vi externa. Tum enim motus in- testini se produnt et perficiunt, cum motus extranei et adventitii cessant. Opera autum aetatis sunt longe subtiliora quam ignis. Neque enim possit fieri talis

1 i. e. of the heavens, physically ; because of the varying warmth of the seasons. ^ i. e. of the reformed school.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 529

clarificatio vini per ignem, qualis fit per moram ; ne- que etiam incinerationes per ignem tarn sunt exquisitse, quam resolutiones et consurnptiones per saecula. In- corporationes etiam, et mistiones subitse et prsecipitatae per ignem, longe inferiores sunt illis, quae fiunt per moram. At dissimilares et varii schematism!, quos corpora per moras tentant (quales sunt putredines), per ignem aut calorem veliementiorem destruuntur. Illud interim non abs re fuerit notare ; motus corpo- rum penitus conclusorum habere nonnihil ex violento. Incarceratio enim ilia impedit motus spontaneos cor- poris. Itaque mora in vase aperto plus facit ad sepa- rationes ; in vase penitus clauso ad commistiones ; in vase nonnihil clauso, sed subintrante aere, ad putrefac- tiones ; utcunque de opificiis et efFectibus morse undi- que sunt diligenter conquirendae instantias.

At regimen motus (quod est quintus ex modis ope- randi) non parum valet. Regimen autem motus vo- camus, cum corpus aliud occurrens corporis alterius motum spontaneum impedit, repellit, admittit, dirigit. Hoc vero plerunque in figuris et situ vasorum con- sistit. Etenim conus erectus juvat ad condensatio- nem vaporum in alembicis ; at conus inversus juvat ad defaecationem sacchari in vasis resupinatis. Ali- quando autem sinuatio requiritur,^ et angustiatio, et dilatatio per vices, et hujusraodi. Etiam omnis perco- latio hue spectat ; scilicet cum corpus occurrens, uni parti corporis alterius viam aperit, alteri obstruit. Ne- que semper percolatio aut aliud regimen motus fit per extra ; sed etiam per corpus in corpore : ut cum lapilli immittuntur in aquas ad colligendam limositatem ipsa- rum ; syrupi clarificantur cum albuminibus ovorum, uf

1 As in a still. VOL. I. 34

530 NOVUM ORGANUM.

crassiores partes adheerescant, et postea separari possint. Etiam huic regimini motus satis leviter et inscite at- tribiiit Telesius figuras animalium, ob rivulos scilicet et loculos matricis.^ Debuerat autem notare similem efFormationem in testis ovorum, ubi non sunt rugse aut inasqualitas. At verum est regimen motus efForma- tiones perficere in modulis et proplasticis.^

Operationes vero per consensus aut fugas (qui sextus modus est) latent saepenumero in profundo. Istae enim (quas vocant) proprietates occultae, et specificse, et sympathies, et antipathiae, sunt magna ex parte cor- ruptelae philosophiae. Neque de consensibus rerum in- veniendis multum sperandum est, ante inventionem Formarum et schematismorum simplicium. Consen- sus enim nil aliud est quam symmetria Formarum et Schematismorum ad invicem.

Atqui majores et magis catholici rerum consensus non prorsus obscuri sunt. Itaqua ab iis ordiendum. Eorum prima et summa diversitas ea est ; ut quaedam corpora copia et raritate materia; admodum discrepent, schematismis consentiant : alia contra copia et raritate materiae consentiant, schematismis discrepent. Nam

1 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, and that these, by applying themselves to correspond- ing 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 appear- ances presented by an egg opened during incubation. De rerum natura, vi. c. 4. and 40.

2 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 " proplasticus." What Bacon means is not exacth' a model, but a mould for casting.

NOVUM ORGANUM. 531

non male notatum est a chymicis, in principiorum suo- rum triade, sulphur et mercurium ^ quasi per universi- tatem rerum permeare. (Nam de sale inepta ratio est, sed introducta ut possit comprehendere corpora terrea, sicca, et fixa.) At certe in illis duobus videtur con- sensus quidam naturae ex maxime catholicis conspici. Etenim consentiunt sulphur; oleum, et exhalatio pin- guis ; flamma ; et fortasse corpus stellse. Ex altera parte consentiunt mercurius ; aqua et vapores aquei ; aer ; et fortasse aether purus et interstellaris. Attamen istas quaterniones geminas, sive magnae rerum tribus (utraque intra ordines suos) copia materiae atque den- sitate immensum difFerunt, sed schematismo valde con- veniunt ; ut in plurimis se produnt. At contra metalla diversa copia et densitate multum conveniunt (prae- sertim respectu vegetabilium, etc.), sed schematismo multifariam differunt ; et similiter vegetabilia et ani- malia diversa schematismis quasi infinitis variantur, sed intra copiam materiae sive densitatem paucorum gra- duum continentur.

Sequitur consensus maxime post priorem catholicus, videlicet corporum principalium et fomitum suorum ; videlicet menstruorum,^ et alimentorum. Itaque ex-

1 This triad is the fundamental point of Paracelsus's chemical and medi- cal philosophy. See his works throughout, and particulariy the tract De tribus primis essentiis, contained in the third book of his philosophical works.

2 By "menstrua" are meant the substances out of which any species of mineral is generated, or, in other words, the causa materialis of its exist- ence. See, on the generation of metals and other minerals, the fourth and fifth books of Agricola's work De ortu et causis fossilium. He gives an account of the opinions of Aristotle, Theophrastus, &c. In modern chem- istry 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

532 NOVUM ORGANUM.

qiiirendum, 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 singulse, et frutices, et herbae potissimum proveniant, et tanquam gaudeant; et insiraul quae impinguationes, sive per stercorationes cujuscunque generis, sive per cretam, arenam maris, eineres, etc., maxime juvent ; et quae sint ex his pro varietate glebarum magis aptae et auxiliares. Etiam insitio et inoculatio arborum et plantarum, earumque ratio, quae scilicet plantae super quas foelicius inseran- tur, etc., multum pendet de consensu. In qua parte non injucundum foret experimentum quod noviter au- divimus esse tentatum, de insitione arborum sylves- trium (quae hucusque in arboribus hortensibus fieri consuevit), unde folia et glandes majorem in modum amplificantur, et arbores fiunt magis umbrosae. Simi- liter, alimenta animalium respective notanda sunt in genere, et cum negativis. Neque enim carnivora sus- tinent herbis nutriri ; unde etiam Ordo Folitanorum (licet voluntas humana plus possit quam animantium cseterorum super corpus suum), post experientiam factam (ut aiunt), tanquam ab humana natura non tolerabilis, fere evanuit.^ Etiam materia) diversae

metaphor seems to be taken from the Aristotelian theory of generation, in which Kara ttjv TrpuTTjv vTii/v ecfnv tj Ton> KarafJTjviuv (pvai^.

1 Bacon doubtless refers to the austerities of the order of Feiiillans. Jean de la Ban-ifere, after holding the Cistercian abbey of Feiiillans in commen- dam 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 confined 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

NOVUM ORGANUM. 533

putrefactionum, unde animalcula generantur, notandaj sunt.

Atque consensus corporum principalium erga subor- dinata sua (tales enim ii possint censeri quos notavi- mus) satis in aperto sunt. Quibus addi possunt sen- suum consensus erga objecta sua. Qui consensus cum manifestissimi sint; bene notati et acriter excussi, etiam aliis consensibus qui latent magnam praebere possint lucem.

At interiores corporum consensus et fugse, sive ami- citiaa et lites (tasdet enim nos fere vocabulorum sym- pathiiE et antipathiae, propter superstitiones et inania), aut falso ascriptee, aut fabulis conspersae, aut per neg- lectum rarae admodum sunt. Etenim si quis asserat inter vineam et brassicam esse dissidium, quia juxta sata minus laete proveniunt, praesto ratio est : ^ quod utraque planta succulenta sit et deprsedatrix, unde al-

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 ot fourteen monks in a single week at Feiiillans. These constitutions were ratified in 1595. Assuming, of which there seems no doubt, that the Foli- tani of Bacon are the Feiiillans, I may remark that the latinised form of Feiiillans used is Fuliensis, as an adjective; the proper style of the society being " Congregatio Cistertiomonastica B. Marite Fuliensis." I have not seen the work of Morotius to which Helyot, from whom the preceding ac- count is taken, refers; but in that of C Henrique, also mentioned by He- lyot, I do not find any authority for Folitani. It is probable that Bacon's chief information on the subject Avas gathered orally during his residence in France, before the Feiiillans had ceased from their first love. The expres- sion '• 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 Monasti- ques, iv™e 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 Litteraive de deux Benediciins, 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 occuUis natuTce miracuUs, ii. 17. On the subject of similar enmities, see the same work, iv. 10. ; or Cardan's treatise. Be rerum varietate, and particularly the Theatrum sympatheticum.

534 • NOVUM ORGANUM.

tera alteram defraudat. Si quis asserat esse consensum et amicitiam inter segetes et cyaneum, aut papaver sylvestre, quia herbse illae fere non proveniunt nisi in arvis cultis: debuit is potius asserere dissidium esse inter ea, quia papaver et cyaneus emittuntur et cre- antur ex tali succo terras qualem segetes reliquerint et repudiaverint ; adeo ut satio segetum terram prae- paret ad eorum proventum. Atque hujusmodi falsa- rum ascriptionum magnus est numerus. Quoad fa- bulas vero, illas omnino sunt exterminandae. 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 ob- servatione 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 humores, aut morbos, aut quandoque naturas individuas. Neque omittendi sunt consensus inter motus et affectus lunae et passiones corporum inferiorum, prout ex experimentis agriculturae, nauticae, et medicinae, aut alias cum de- lectu severo et sincere colligi et recipi possint. Verum instantiae universaB consensuum secretiorum quo magis sunt infrequentes, eo majori cum diligentia sunt inqui- rendae, per traditiones, et narrationes fidas et probas ; modo hoc fiat absque ulla levitate, aut credulitate, sed fide anxia et quasi dubitabunda. Restat consensus corporum modo operandi tanquam inartificialis, sed usu polychrestus, qui nullo modo omittendus est, sed sedula observatione investigandus. Is est coitio sive unio cor- porum, proclivis aut difficilis, per compositionem, sive appositionem simplicem. Etenim corpora nonnulla fa-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 635

cile et libenter commiscentur et incorporantur, alia autem aegre et perverse : veluti pulveres melius in- corporantur cum aquis ; calces et cineres, cum oleis ; et sic de similibus. Neque tantum sunt colligendaB instantiae propensionis aut aversionis corporum erga misturam, sed etiam collocationis partium, et distri- butionis, et digestionis, postquam commista sint ; deni- que et praedominantioB post misturam transactam.

Superest ultimo loco ex modis septem operandi, Sep- timus et postremus ; operatio scilicet per alternationem et vicissitudines priorum sex ; de quo antequam in sin- gulos illos paulo altius fuerit inquisitum, tempestivum non foret exempla proponere. Series autem sive ca- tena 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 tam inquisiti- onis, quam praxeos ; cum tamen sit instar fili laby- rinthi, quoad opera majora. Atque hcec sufficiant ad exemplum Polychresti.

LI.

Inter Praerogativas Instantiarum, ponemus loco vi- cesimo 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 ; aliae primo intuitu^ ali« etiam attentius contemplanti. Has vero natura ex sese sub- ministrat parce ; quid vero factura sit sinu excusso, et post inventionem Formarum, et Processuum, et Sche- matismorum, futuris temporibus apparebit. At ista efFecta Magica (quantum adhuc conjicimus) fiunt tri-

536 NOVUM ORGANUM.

bus modis : aut per multiplicationem sui, ut In igne, et venenis, quae vocant specifica ; necnon in motibus, qui transeunt et fortiiicantur de rota in rotam ; aut per excitationem sive invitationem in altero, ut in magnete, qui excit acus innumeras, virtute nullatenus deperdita aut diminuta ; aut in fermento, et hujusmodi ; aut per ante version em motus, ut dictum est de pulvere pyrio, et bombardis, et cuniculis : quorum priores duo modi indagationcm consensuum requirunt ; tertius, mensurse motuum. Utrum vero sit aliquis modus mutandi cor- pora per minima (ut vocant), et transponendi subtili- ores materiae schematismos (id quod ad omnimodas cor- porum 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 profligamus.

LII.

Atque de Dignitatibus sive Praerogativis Instantia- rum 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 hiveniat; ita ut non solum ex natura mentis, sed ex natura Yerum quoque haec scientia emanet ; mirum non est, si ubique naturalibus contemplationibus et experimentis, ad ex- empla artis nostrae, conspersa fuerit et illustrata. Sunt autem (ut ex iis quae dicta sunt patet) Praerogativae

NOVUM ORGANUM. 537

Intantiarum numero 27 ; nominibus, Instantiag Soli- tarise : Instantise Migrantes : Instantiae Ostensivae : Instantiae Clandestinae : Instantiae Constitutivae : In- stantiae Conformes : Instantiae Monodicae : Instantiae Deviantes: Instantiae Limitaneae: Instantiae Potestatis: Instantiae Comitatus et Hostiles : Instantiae Subjunc- tivae : Instantiae Foederis : Instantiae Crucis : Instantiae Divortii : Instantiae Januae : Instantiae Citantes : In- stantiae Viae: Instantiae Supplementi : Instantiae Per- secantes: Instantiae Virgae: Instantiae Curriculi: Doses Natural : Instantiae Luctae : Instantiae Innuentes : In- stantiae Polychrestae : Instantiae Magicae. Usus autem harum instantiarum, in quo mstantias vulgares excel- lunt, versatur in genere aut circa partem informativam ; aut circa operativam ; aut circa utramque. Atque quoad informativam, juvant illfe aut sensum, aut intel- lectum. Sensum, ut quinque Instanti^ Lampadis : Intellectum, aut accelerando Exclusivam Formae, ut Solitariae ; aut angustiando et propius indicando Affir- mativam Formae, ut Migrantes, Ostensivae, Comitatus, cum Subjunctivis ; aut erigendo intellectum, et ducen- do ad genera et naturas communes ; idque aut imme- diate, ut Clandestinae, Monodicae, Foederis ; aut gradu proximo, ut Constitutivae ; aut gradu infimo, ut Con- formes; aut rectificando Intellectum a consuetis, ut Deviantes ; aut ducendo ad Formam Magnam, sive Fabricam Universi,^ ut Limitaneae; aut cavendo de Formis et causis falsis, ut Crucis et Divortii. Quod vero ad Operativam attinet ; illae practicam aut desig- nant ; aut mensurant ; aut sublevant. Designant aut ostendendo a quibus incipiendum, ne actum agamus, ut Instantiae Potestatis ; aut ad quid aspirandum, si

1 That is, the constitution (or cosmos) of the universe.

638 NOVUM ORGANUM.

detur facultas, ut Iiinuentes : mensurant quatuor illae Mathematicse : sublevant Polychrestse et Magicas.

Rursus ex istis instantiis 27, nonnullarum (ut supe- rius diximus de aliquibus) facienda est collectio jam ab initio, nee expectanda particularis inquisitio naturarum. Cujus generis sunt Instantise Conformes, Monodicae, Deviantes, Limitaneae, Potestatis, Januse, Innuentes, Polychrestae, Magicse. Hae enim aut auxiliantur et medentur intellectui et sensui, aut instruunt praxin in genere. Reliquae turn demum conquirendae sunt, cum conficiemus Tabulas Comparentiae ad opus Interpretis circa aliquam naturam particularem. Sunt enim in- stantiae Praerogativis istis insignitae et donatse animae instar, inter vulgares instantias comparentiae ; et ut ab initio diximus, paucae illarum sunt vice multarum ; quocirca cum Tabulas conficimus, illae omni studio sunt investigandae, et in Tabulas referendse. Erit etiam earum mentio necessaria in iis quae sequuntur. Prasponendus itaque erat earum tractatus. Nunc vero ad adminicLila et rectificationes Inductionis, et deinceps ad con ere ta, et Latentes Processus, et Latentes Sche- matismos, et reliqua quae Aphorismo 21. ordine propo- suimus, pergendum ; ut tandem (tanquam curatores probi et fideles) tradamus hominibus fortunas suas emancipate intellectu, et facto tanquam majore ; unde necesse est sequi emendationem status hominis, et am- pliation em potestatis ejus super naturam. Homo enim per lapsum et de statu innocentiae decidit, et de regno in creaturas. Utraque autem res etiam in hac vita nonnulla ex parte reparari potest ; prior per religio- nem et fidem, posterior per artes et scientias. Neque enim per maledictionem facta est creatura prorsus et ad extremum rebellis. Sed in virtute illius diploma-

NOVUM ORGANUM. 539

tis,^ In sudore vultus comedes panem tuum, per labores

varios (non per disputationes certe, aut per otiosas ce-

remonias magicas) tandem et aliqua ex parte

ad panem homini praebendum, id

est, ad usus vitse humanse

subigitur.

1 " Diploma" may be rendered "charter."

Finis Libri Secundi Novi Organi.

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