Sulphure et Mercurio, sed mistum ex utrisque per spiritum acrem devinctis. Etenim Sal omnis habet partes inflammabiles; habet alias, flammam non solum non concipientes, sed eam exhorrentes et strenue fugientes. Nihilominus cum inquisitio de Sale, sit quiddam affine inquisitioni de duobus reliquis, atque insuper sit eximii usus, utpote vinculum utriusque naturæ, Sulphureæ et Mercurialis ', et vitæ ipsius rudimentum; illum etiam in hanc historiam et inquisitionem recipere visum est. At illud interim monemus, de Pneumaticis illis, Aëre, Flamma 2, Stellis, Æthere, nos illa (prout certe merentur) inquisitionibus propriis reservare; et de Sulphure et Mercurio tangibili (nimirum vel minerali, vel vegetabili et animali) hic tantum historiam instituere.

1 Salis in the original edition; corrected in the edition of 1638.-J. S.
2 Aqua in the original edition; corrected in ed. 1638.-J. S.

84

ADITUS AD TIT. IN PROX. QU. MEN. DESTINATOS.

HISTORIA VITE ET MORTIS.

ADITUS.

[For the aditus which follows in the original edition, see Historia Vita et Mortis, p. 105.]

FRAGMENTUM LIBRI VERULAMIANI,

CUI TITULUS,

ABECEDARIUM NATURE.'

CUM tam multa producantur a terra et aquis, tam multa pertranseant aërem et ab eo excipiantur, tam multa mutentur et solvantur ab igne, minus perspicuæ forent inquisitiones cæteræ, nisi natura massarum istarum, quæ toties occurrunt, bene cognita et explicata. His adjungimus inquisitiones de Cœlestibus et Meteoricis, cum et ipsæ sint Massæ majores, et ex · Catholicis.

Massæ Majores.

Inquisitio sexagesima septima. Triplex

Tau, sive de Terra.

Massæ Majores. Inquisitio sexagesima octava. Triplex

Upsilon, sive de Aqua.

Massæ Majores. Inquisitio sexagesima nona.
Phi, sive de Aëre.

Triplex

1 From the first paragraph of the Norma Historia Præsentis (sup. p. 17.) it appears that Bacon intended to add at the end of the volume an Abecedarium of abstract natures; and in Dr. Rawley's list of the works composed by him during the last five years of his life (which he enumerates, as nearly as he can, in the order in which they were written), the second in order, immediately preceding the Historia Ventorum, is "Abecedarium Naturæ, or a metaphysical piece, which is lost." It seems probable therefore that when the volume was published this was not to be found. The fragment which follows was discovered among Bacon's papers by Dr. Tenison, and published in his Baconiana, p. 77. Supposing it to be a part of the lost work, I have thought this the proper place for it. The Norma Abecedarii, with which it concludes, was probably intended originally to be prefixed, like the Norma Historia Præsentis, of which it is obviously a rudiment; but this must have been when the Abecedarium was meant to stand by itself, or to come first; the Historia Ventorum not being yet written. Had it been placed at the end of the volume, as intended, the Norma would doubtless have been omitted.-J. S.

2 As is the nineteenth of the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet, it appears from this passage that Bacon proposed to denote the first twenty-four inquisitions by single Greek letters, the twenty-fifth by aa, and so on. For the sixty-seventh would thus be denoted by TTT, sixty-seven being equal to the sum of forty-eight and nineteen.

Massæ Majores. Inquisitio septuagesima. Triplex Chi,

sive de Igne.

Massæ Majores.

Inquisitio septuagesima prima. Triplex

Psi, sive de Cœlestibus.

Massa Majores. Inquisitio septuagesima secunda. Triplex Omega, sive de Meteoricis.

Conditiones entium.

Supersunt ad inquirendum in Abecedario Conditiones Entium quæ videntur esse tanquam transcendentia, et parum stringunt de corpore naturæ, tamen eo quo utimur inquirendi modo haud parum afferent illustrationis ad reliqua. Primo igitur, cum optime observatum fuerit a Democrito, naturam rerum esse copia materiæ et individuorum varietate amplam, atque (ut ille vult) infinitam; coitionibus vero et speciebus in tantum finitam, ut etiam angusta et tanquam paupercula videri possit1; quandoquidem tam pauca inveniantur species quæ sint aut esse possint, ut exercitum millenarium vix conficiant; cumque negativa affirmativis subjuncta ad informationem intellectus plurimum valeant; constituenda est inquisitio de Ente, et non Ente. Ea ordine est septuagesima tertia, et quadruplex Alpha

numeratur.

Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Alpha; sive de Ente et non Ente.

At Possibile et Impossibile nil aliud est, quam Potentiale ad Ens aut non Potentiale ad Ens. De eo inquisitio septuagesima quarta conficitor; quæ quadruplex Beta numeratur.

Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Beta; sive de Possibili et Impossibili.

1 Bacon seems to have been misled by supposing that the opinions of Democritus are in all points represented by those of Lucretius. For Democritus certainly affirmed that as there is an infinite variety of phenomena, so likewise there must be a corresponding, and therefore infinite variety of atomic σxnuára. See Mullach, Democrit. Abder. Oper. Fragm. p. 381. On the other hand, Lucretius says, De Rer. Nat. ii. 512:

"fateare necesse est

Materiam quoque finitis differre figuris."

According to him there is a finite number of oxnμáta or formæ, each of which must be repeated an infinite number of times, as the universe itself is infinite. The doctrine of Epicurus on this subject seems to be intermediate between those of Democritus and of Lucretius. See Diog. Laert. For the substance of this note I am indebted to Mr. Munro, fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

A

Etiam Multum, Paucum, Rarum, Consuetum, sunt Potentialia ad Ens in Quanto. De iis inquisitio septuagesima quinta esto, quæ quadruplex Gamma numeretur.

Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Gamma; sive de Multo et Pauco.

Durabile et Transitorium, Eternum et Momentaneum, sunt Potentialia ad Ens in Duratione. De illis septuagesima sexta inquisitio esto, quæ quadruplex Delta numeratur.

Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Delta; sive de Durabili et Transitorio

Naturale et Monstrosum sunt Potentialia ad Ens, per cursum naturæ, et per deviationes ejus. De iis inquisitio septuagesima septima esto, quæ quadruplex Epsilon numeratur.

Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Epsilon; sive de Natu

rali et Monstroso.

Naturale et Artificiale sunt Potentialia ad Ens, sine homine, et per hominem. De iis inquisitio septuagesima octava conficitor, quæ quadruplex Zeta numeretur.

Conditiones entium.

et Artificiali.

Quadruplex Zeta; sive de Naturali

Exempla in explicatione ordinis Abecedarii non adjunximus, quia ipsæ inquisitiones continent totas acies exemplorum.

Tituli secundum quos ordo Abecedarii est dispositus, nullo modo eam authoritatem habento, ut pro veris et fixis rerum divisionibus recipiantur. Hoc enim esset profiteri scire nos quæ inquirimus. Nam nemo res vere dispertit, qui non naturam ipsarum penitus cognovit. Satis sit, si ad ordinem inquirendi (id quod nunc agitur) commode se habeant.

NORMA ABECEDARII.

ABECEDARIUM hoc modo conficimus et regimus. Historia et experimenta omnino primas partes tenent. Ea, si enumerationem et seriem rerum particularium exhibeant, in tabulas conficiuntur; aliter sparsim excipiuntur.

Cum vero historia et experimenta sæpissime nos deserant,