HISTORIA VITÆ ET MORTIS. ADITUS. [For the aditus which follows in the original edition, see Historia Vitæ et Mortis, p. 331.] FRAGMENTUM LIBRI VERULAMIANI, CUI TITULUS, ABECEDARIUM NATURE.1 CUм 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. 1 From the first paragraph of the Norma Historiæ Præsentis (sup. p. 211.) 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 Historiæ 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. Massæ Majores. Inquisitio sexagesima septima. Triplex Tau,1 sive de Terra. Massæ Majores. Inquisitio sexagesima octava. Triplex Upsilon, sive de Aqua. Massæ Majores. Inquisitio sexagesima nona. Triplex Phi, sive de Aëre. Massæ Majores. Inquisitio septuagesima. Triplex Chi, sive de Igne. Massæ Majores. Inquisitio septuagesima prima. Triplex Psi, sive de Coelestibus. Massæ 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 possit; 2 quandoquidem tam paucæ inveniantur species quæ sint aut esse possint, ut exercitum millenarium vix conficiant; cumque negativa 1 As 7 is the nineteenth of the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet, it appears from this passage that Bacon proposed to denote the first twentyfour inquisitions by single Greek letters, the twenty-fifth by a a, 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. 2 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 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. Etiam Multum, Paucum, Rarum, Consuetum, sunt Potentialia ad Ens in Quanto. De iis inquisitio septuagesima quinta esto, quæ quadruplex Gamma nu meretur. 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. atomic oxnuára. 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 σxnuáτa 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. 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 Naturali et Monstroso. Naturale et Artificiale sunt Potentialia ad Ens, sine homine, et per hominem. De iis inquisitio septuagesima octava conficitor, quæ quadruplex Zeta nu meretur. Conditiones entium. Quadruplex Zeta; sive de Naturali et Artificiali. 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 |