The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

LIFE OF BACON. 1xxviL
The NovuM OROANUM is the next subject of The intended work is then separated into six
consideration. It thus opens: parts:
FRANCISCUS 1. Divisions of the Sciences.
2. Novum Organum; or, Precepts for the InDE VERULAMIO terpretation of Nature.
3. Phenomena of the Universe; or, Natural
and Experimental History on which to
found Philosophy.
His despair of the possibility of completing his Scale of the ilonderstandinophy
important work, of which his Novum Oroganum.
important work, of which his ovum Organum 5. Precursors or Anticipations of the Second
was only a portion, appears at the very entrance Philosophy.
of the volume, which, instead of being confined to?n X *. t.6. Sound Philosophy, or Active Science.
the Novum Organum, exhibits an outline, and
only an outline, of the whole of his intended And with respect to each of these parts he exlabours. plains his intentions.
After his dedication to the king, he, accord- As to the first, or THE DIVISION OF THE
in( to his wonted mode, clears the way by a re- SCIENCES, he, in 1605, had exhibited an outline in
view of the state of learning, which, he says, is the Advancement of Learning, and lived nearly to
neither prosperous nor advanced,but, being barren complete it in the year 1623. In this treatise he
in effects, fruitful in questions, slow and languid describes the cultivated parts of the intellectual
in its improvement, exhibiting in its generality world and the deserts; nottomeasure out regions,
the counterfeit of perfection, ill filled up in its de- as augurs for divination, but as generals to invade
tails, popular in its choice, suspected by its very for conquest.
promoters, and therefore countenanced with arti- THE NovuM ORGANUM is a treatise upon the
fices, it is necessary that an entirely different conduct of the understanding in the systematic
way trom any known by our predecessors must be discovery of truth, or the art of invention by a
opened to the human understanding, and differ- New Organ: as, in inquiring into any nature, the
ent helps be obtained, in order that the mind hydrophobia, for instance, or the attraction of the
may exercise its jurisdiction over the nature of magnet, the Novum Organum explains a mode
things. of proceeding by which its nature and laws may
with certainty be found.
but only because the like was never attempted before: an ir- It having been Bacon's favourite doctrine, th it
rational, and, as it were, a passionate manner of experiment-s
ing; but yet the wonders of nature lie out of the high road im
and beaten paths, so as the very absurdity of an attempt may and familiar instances, as the nature of a comsometimes be prosperous. monwealth, in a family and the simple conjnvaSuch is the nature of his tract entitled " Literate Experience." tions of society, man and wife, parents and children, master and servant, which are in every cot.
Vol. ix. p. 145, 147. Cllm autem incertus esset, quando tage; and as he had early taught that all truths,
hnec alicui posthac in mentem ventura sint; eo potissimuni e Ll
usus argumento, quod neminem hactenus invenit, qui ad however divisible as lines and veins, are not sesimiles cogitationes animurn applicuerit; decrevit prima parable as sections and separations, but partake
quaeque, que perficere licuit, in publicum edere. Neque of one common essence, which, like the drops of
haec festinatio ambitiosa fuit, sed sollicita; ut si qnid illi humanitus accideret, exstaret tamen designatio qu adam, ac rain, fall separately intothe river, mixthemselves
destinatio rei quam animo complexus est; utque exstaret at once with the stream, and strengthen the gesilnul signum aliquod honestee suct et propenste in generis neral current, it may seem extraordinary that it
humani commoda voluntatis. Certe aliam quamcunque ambitioneminferiorem duxitre, quam prae manibus habuit. Ait should not have occurred to him that the mode to
enim hoc quod agitur nihil est; ant tantum, ut merito ipso discover any truth might, possibly, be seen by
contentumn esse debeat, nec fructum extra querere. tile proceedings in a court of justice, where the
immediate and dearest interests of men being conFRANCIS OF VERULAMI cerned, and great intellect exerted, it is natural to
THOUGHT THUS. suppose that the best mode of invention would be
Uncertain, however, whether these reflections would ever adopted.
hereafter suggest themselves to another, and particularly hav- In a well constituted court of justice the judge
ing observed that he has never yet met with any person dis- is without partiality. He hears the evidence on
posed to apply his mind to similar meditations, he determined and t of the adto publish whatsoever he had first time to conclude. Nor is this
the haste of ambition, but of his anxiety, that if the common vocates. He then forms his judgment. This is
lot of umankind should befall him, some sketch and determina- the mode adopted by Bacon in the Novurn Ortion of the matter his mind had embraced might be extant, oanum for the disover of alltruths. I-Ie enas well as an earnest of his will being honourably bent upon
promoting the advantage of mankind. He assuredly looked deavours to make the philosopher in his study
upon any other ambition as beneath the matter he had on- proceed as a judge in his court.
dertaken; for that which is here treated of is either nothing, For this purpose his work is divisible into three
or it is so great that he ought to be satisfied with its own
worth and seek no other return. parts: 1st. The removal of prejudice, or the do(G 2)