mirror. requiring to be levelled and polished, or discharged of its falfe imaginations and perverted notions, before it can be fet to receive and reflect the light of truth and juft informa tion: and the levelling part is of four kinds, with respect to the four different forts of idols, or falfe notions, that poffefs the mind. These idols are either acquired or natural; and proceed either from the doctrines and fects of philofophers, the perverted and corrupt laws and methods of demonftration; or elfe are innate and inherent in the very constitution of the mind itself.

The first labour, therefore, is to difcharge and free the mind from its fwarms of false theories, which occafion fuch violent conflicts and oppofitions. The next point is to release it from the flavery of perverted demonftrations: and the laft is to put a check upon this feduceing power of the mind, and either to pluck up thofe innate idols by the root, or, if that cannot be done, to point them out, that they may be thoroughly known and watched, and fo have the depravities which they occafion corrected. This levelling part, therefore, is performed by three kinds of confutations: viz. the confutation of philofophies, the confutation of demonstrations, and the confutation of the natural unaffifted reason.

When thus the mind is rendered equable and unbiaffed, the work proceeds to fet it in a proper fituation; and, as it were, with a benevolent afpect to the remaining infructions;

whereby

whereby the bufinefs of preparing the mind is Aill further carried on; and the whole drift of this enfuing part is only to poffefs mankind with a juft opinion of the whole Inftauration for a time, that they may wait with patience the iffue and event thereof, upon folid affureances of fome confiderable benefit and advantage from it when its fcape fhall come to be well understood; and thence it proceeds diftinctly to obviate all the objections and falfe fufpicions which may be raifed about it, through the prevailing notions and prejudices drawn from religious confiderations, thofe of abstract speculation, natural prudence, diftruft, levity, &c. thus endeavouring to pacify and allay every wind of oppofition,

To render this preparation ftill more compleat and perfect, the next thing is, to raife the mind from the languor and torpidity ic may contract from the apparent miraculous nature of the thing; and, as this wrong dif pofition of the mind cannot be rectified without the discovery of caufes, the work proceeds to mark out all the impediments which have hitherto perverfly retarded and blocked the way of true philofophy; and thus makes it appear no wonder at all that mankind fhould have been fo long entangled and perplexed with

errors.

When the ways of removing the fe impediments are fhewn, there follows a chain of arguments for establishing a solid foundation of

14

hope

hope, for the better fuceefs of genuine and and ferviceable philosophy in future; for it is hereby demonftrated, that, though the interpretation of nature intended by the Inftauration may indeed be difficult, yet much the greater parts of the difficulties attending it are in the power of man to remove; as arifing, not from the nature of the fenfes and things themselves, but only require that the mind be rectified, in order to their removal: and this first general part concludes with an account of the excellence of the end in view.

The preparatory part being thus dispatched, the work proceeds to the bufinefs of informa tion, the perfecting of the understanding, and the delivery of the art of working with this new machine in the interpretation of nature. This is laid down in three feveral branches, with regard to the fenfe, the memory, and the reason ; each whereof is affifted in its

turn.

This work he addreffed to his majesty, who, in his letter dated October 16, 1620, tells him, that he could not have made him a more acceptable prefent; and, that, for his part, he could not exprefs his thanks better, than by informing him of the refolution he had taken to read it through with care and attention, though he fhould steal fome hours from his fleep, having otherwife as little spare time to read as his lordship had to write it; with many other gracious expreffions which fully demonftrate

monftrate how much the chancellor was in the king's good graces, and how high an esteem. he had for his parts and learning.

The famous Sir Henry Wotton, to whom: his lordship fent three copies of this book, wrote him a large letter of praise in return ;; which, as we have no room for compliments, we fhall omit. He received the like tribute of commendation from fuch as were the most learned, or fo affected to be thought, in this. and in the neighbouring nations; yet, after. all, this performance was rather praised than read, and more generally applauded than un-. derstood. This produced a kind of latent cenfure, a fort of owl like criticism, that durft

not abide day-light. Honeft Ben. Johnfon produced this to the world a little after our author's death; when he very generously, as.. well as judicioufly, gave this character of the Novum Organum: That, though, by most fuperficial men, who cannot get beyond the ti-tle of Nominals, it is not penetrated or underftood, really openeth all defects of learning whatfoever, and is a book,.

Qui longum noto fcriptori prorogat ævum.

To latest times fhall hand the author's name..

We need not wonder at this, when we con-fider the pains it coft the noble Verulam : for: Dr. Rawley affures us, that he had feen twelvecopies revifed, altered, and corrected, year by.

year,

year, before it was reduced into the form in which it was published. We muft however allow that it is not abfolutely perfect, as appears from what a most ingenious and judicious writer has delivered upon it, with that modefty, circumfpection, and good fenfe, which is difcernible in all his writings. The perfon I mean, is the late learned and excellent Mr. Baker, of St. John's college in Cambridge; who allows that my lord Bacon faw clearer into the defects of the art of reafoning than most men did; and, being neither fatisfied with the vulgar logic, nor with the reformations that were made, fuitable to his vaft and enterprising genius, attempted a logic wholly new and plain, which is laid down in his Novum Or

ganum.

The way of fyllogifing," fays he, "feemed to him very fallacious, and too dependent upon words to be much relied on; his fearch was after things; and therefore he brought in a new way of arguing from induction, and that grounded upon obfervations and experiments. But the fame gentleman obferves, That "this plan, as laid by him, looks liker an univerfal art than a distinct logic; and the defign is too great, and the induction too large, to be made by one man, or any fociety of men in one age, if at all prac-' ticable; for, whatever opinion he might have of the conclufiveness of this way, one cross circumftance in an experiment would as eafily overthrow his induction, as an ambiguous word