PREFACE

TO THE

HISTORIA VENTORUM.

BY ROBERT LESLIE ELLIS.

THE Historia Ventorum was published in 1622 in a volume entitled "Historia Naturalis et Experimentalis ad condendam Philosophiam; sive Phænomena Universi." This volume was dedicated to Prince Charles, and contains beside the Historia Ventorum the titles of five similar histories, one or more of which Bacon proposed to publish month by month; namely, the Historiæ Densi et Rari; Gravis et Levis; Sympathie et Antipathic Rerum; Sulphuris, Mercurii, et Salis; et Vitae et Mortis. Under the title of each, except the last, is placed an aditus or preface that of the Historia Vitae et Mortis is omitted because, as we are told at the end of the volume,1 the history itself

1" Aditus ad hanc historiam invenitur in historia ipsa, jam proxime sequente." But this comes from Dr. Rawley's reprint, published along with the Opera Moralia et Civilia in 1638, from which Mr. Montagu's copy is taken; and "jam proxime sequente " merely means "which is the next piece in this volume." The original edition, published by Bacon himself in 8vo in 1622, has the aditus to the Historia Vitæ et Mortis as well as the

rest.

The Historia Ventorum appears to have been published about the beginning of November, 1622; the Historia Vita et Mortis about the end of the following January. See Chamberlain's letter to Sir D. Carleton, 11. Feb.

or was shortly, "jam proxime," to be puband however appear until 1623. Eera Votorum is thus the first published tela Naturalis, which was to be the

of the Instauratio. It begins with a list e subjects to be inquired into. Of these thirnumerated, and something is said in the sund the work with relation to each, but they are ry Escassed fully, nor in the order in which they J. Bacon concludes the list by remarking rat more complete knowledge of the pherants some of the questions which he proposes svt be answered. "Posteri," he concludes, cætgra vocant,”

The principal sources from which Bacon compiled ru statements which he goes on to give are Pliny's Matinal History, Aristotle's Problems, and Acosta's

story of the Indies. Almost the whole of the seczors en prognosties, which is one of the most complete, saken from the eighteenth book of Pliny. A number of scattered remarks come from the twenty-sixth section of the problems, the most remarkable being the statement that on the top of Athos there is always

absolute calm-so much so that letters traced in the ashes of the sacritice performed there year by year were always found, on each succeeding occasion, un

bed. He adds that this is also told with respect to Campus. His authority for this addition to what Artete had said may have been Solinus; or Alexador Aphrodisiensis as quoted by Olympiodorus. Per

1993. Omet and Times of James I. vol. ii. p. 362), and compare Bacon's how to Roofingham, 24th misprinted 4th in the common editions) of No

haps, however, he took it from Giordano Bruno, by whom the windlessness of the summit of Olympus is mentioned in the Cene di Cenere.

Acosta, who was provincial of the Jesuits in Peru, published in 1589 his De Naturâ novi Orbis which contains an account of the climatology of America, and especially of Peru. In the following year he published a larger work, entitled "Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias," of which the first two books are a translation of the De Naturâ novi Orbis. This second work seems to have become very popular - it was translated into Latin, French, Italian, and German.2 Most of the statements which Bacon derives from Acosta, may be found in the De Naturâ novi Orbis, but there are some which show that he used the Historia Natuy Moral either in the original or in some translation.

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Acosta's account of the climate of Peru is very favourable, and he speaks largely of the winds by which the heat of the sun is so pleasantly tempered that, as he affirms, the climate is more agreeable than that of Spain. He mentions the fine mist by which the want of rain is supplied, but does not seem to have been aware of its cause.

Both in the following work, and in the De Fluxu et Refluxu Maris, Bacon cites Acosta by name in most of the places in which he takes anything from him.

There are several passages in the Historia Vento

1 The French translation by Regnier was published in 1600. It is singular that it is not mentioned by Antonio Biblioth. Hisp., who enumerates the other translations.

2 There is also an English translation by E. G. published in 1604. — J. S.

run, which show that Bacon had read William Gilher' Pryseniz Nova, which was not published until The history of this remarkable book is obwas prepared for publication by the author's hother, who was also called William Gilbert, and he moted to it a dedication to Prince Henry. It wise therefore that it was ready for publication ar in which year the Prince died. Probably his was the cause of its remaining unpublished, uns possible that not long afterwards it came maz Sacon's hands. Two copies of it, both impertere among the papers which Sir William Bosel, setime English minister in Holland, gave to Na Gruter; and from them the work was published

281. Gruter says nothing of the way in which Sell had become possessed of them, but in his ecce to the tracts and fragments of Bacon's which

published two years afterwards, and which he bad also received from Boswell, he mentions that Dese had been bequeathed to the latter by Bacon

self. It is not improbable that the copies of Gbert's work were included in this bequest or gift, which consisted of a fragmentary and miscellaneous collection of papers. However this may be, Gruter remarks in the preface to the Physiologia Nova, that it is clear that certain eminent men had had access to it while it was yet unpublished — plainly alluding to Bacon, to whose Historia Ventorum he has once

or twice given marginal references. The way in which the remark is made seems to intimate that Gruter thought the use which Bacon has made of Gilbert's unpublished work was more or less unfair. It is therefore well to point out that in the Novum