II. The two books of Francis Bacon, Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human; to the king. We have a large and excellent account of this work given us by the learned Dr. Tenison, who, fpeaking of the great inftauration of the fciences, which our author divided into fix parts, proceeds thus, "The first part propofed was, the partition of the fciences; and this the author perfected in that golden treatife, Of the Advancement of Learning, addressed to king James; a labour which he termed a comfort to his other labours. This he firft wrote in two books in the English tongue; in which his pen excelled and of this first edition, that is to be meant which, with fome truth, and more modefty, he wrote to the earl of Salifbury, telling him, That, in his book, he was contented to awake better fpirits, being himfelf like a bell-ringer, who is firft up to call others to church.

:

"Afterwards he enlarged those two dif courfes, which contained especially the afore. faid partition, and divided the matter of it into eight books; and, knowing that this work was defired beyond the feas; and being alfo aware, that books written in a modern lan

guage, which receiveth much change, in a few years were out of ufe; he caused that part of it which he had written in English, to be tranflated into the Latin tongue by Mr. Herbert, and fome others, who were esteemed mafters in the Roman eloquence. Notwith

ftanding

1

ftanding which, he fo fuited the file to his conceptions, by a strict caftigation of the whole work, that it may defervedly feem his own.

The tranflation of this work, that is, of much of the two books written by him in English, he first commended to Dr. Playfer, a profeffor of divinity in the univerfity of Cambridge; ufing, among others, thefe words to

him:

;

The privatenefs of the language confidered, wherein the book is written, excluding fo many readers; as, on the other fide, the obfcurity of the argument in many parts of it, excludeth many others I must account it a. fecond birth of that work, if it might be. tranflated into Latin, without manifeft lofs of the fenfe and matter: for this purpose, I could not represent to myself any man, into whofe hands I do more earnestly defire the work fhould fall than yourself; for by that I have heard and read, I know no man a greater mafter in commanding words to serve matter.'

"The doctor was willing to ferve fo excellent a perfon, and fo worthy a defign; and, within a while, fent him a fpecimen of a Latin tranflation. But men generally come fhort of themselves when they ftrive to outdo themfelves; they put a force upon their natural. genius, and, by a ftraining of it, crack and difable it and fo it feems it happened to that worthy and elegant man upon this great occafion; he would be over accurate; and:

he

he fent a fpecimen of fuch fuperfine Latinity, that the lord Bacon did not encourage him to labour further in that work; in the penning of which, he defired not fo much neat and polite, as clear, mafculine, and apt expref fion.

"The whole of this book was rendered into English by Dr. Gilbert Wats of Oxford, and the tranflation has been well received by many, but fome there were who wished, that a tranflation had been fet forth, in which the genius and spirit of the lord Bacon had more appeared; and I have feen a letter, written by a certain gentleman to Dr. Rawley, wherein they thus importune him for a more accurate verfion by his own hand:

• It is our humble fuit to you, and we do earneftly follicit you, to give yourself the trou ble to correct the too much defective tranfla tion of De Augmentis Scientiariam; which Dr. Wats hath fet forth. It is a thousand pities fo worthy a piece fhould lofe its grace and credit by an ill expofitor; fince thofe perfons who read that tranflation, taking it for genuine, and upon that prefumption not regarding the Latin edition, are thereby robbed of the benefit; which, if you would please to undertake the business, they would receive.? This tendeth to the dishonour of that noble lord, and the hindrance of the advancement of learning.

"This work hath been alfo tranflated into

French, upon the motion of the marquis Fiat

but

but in it there are many things wholly omitted, many things perfectly mistaken, and some things, especially fuch as relate to religion, wilfully perverted; infomuch that, in one place, he makes his lordfhip to magnify the Legend; a book fure of little credit with him, when he thus begins one of his effays: I had rather believe all the fables in the Legend and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than, that this univerfal frame is without a mind.'

"The fairest and moft correct edition of this book in Latin, is that in folio, printed at London, anno 1623; and whofoever would understand the lord Bacon's cypher, let him confult that accurate edition; for, in fome other editions which I have perused, the form of the letters of the alphabet, in which much of the mystery confifteth, is not obferved; but the Roman and Italic fhapes of them are confounded.

"To this book we may reduce the first four chapters of that imperfect treatise, published in Latin by Ifaac Gruter, and called, The Defcription of the Intellectual Globe: they being but a rude draught of the partition of the fciences, fo accurately and methodically difpofed in the book Of the Advancement of Learning. To this alfo we may reduce the treatise called Thema Coli, published likewise in Latin by Gruter; and it particularly belongeth to the fourth chapter and the third book of it, us being a difcourfe tending to an improvement of the fyftem of the heavens ;

which

which is treated of in that place; the houses of which, had God granted him life, he would have understood as well almost as he did his own.

"For the fame reason, we may reduce to the fame place Of the Advancement, the fifth, fixth, and feventh chapter of the Defcriptio Globi Intellectualis, above mentioned."

III. Cogitata & Vifa; containing the ground-work, or plan, of his famous Novum Organum; fo effential a part of his Inftauration that it fometimes bears that title. He was fenfible of the difficulties that would attend his great defign of building up the whole palace of wisdom anew; and, that he might be the better able to overcome thofe difficulties, he was defirous of feeing what they were, before he undertook his large work; of which this piece was no more than the out-lines.

We may form a true notion of what he fought, by confidering the letter which he wrote to the learned bishop Andrews, when he fent him the discourse of which we are speaking.

"Now your lordship hath been fo long in the church and the palace, difputing between kings and popes, methinks you fhould take pleasure to look into the field, and refresh your mind with fome matter of philofophy, though the fcience be now, through age, waxed a child again, and left to boys and young men; and because you were wont to make me believe you took a liking to my writings,