it my duty in all instances to compare the translation carefully with the original, and to quote in foot-notes those passages in which the variation appeared to be material; and as this is a labour which few readers would take upon themselves, I conceive that by the course which I have adopted the English student will be a gainer rather than a loser. I have also departed from the practice of former editors in not keeping the Latin and English works separate. Such separation is incompatible with the chronological arrangement which I hold to be far preferable. I see no inconvenience in the change which is at all material; and I only mention it here lest any future publisher, out of regard to a superficial symmetry, should go back to the former practice and so destroy the internal coherency of the present plan. It may be thought perhaps that in arranging the works which were to form parts of the Great Instauration, I ought to have followed the order laid down in the Distributio Operis, marshaling them according to their place in the scheme rather than the date of composition; and therefore that the De Augmentis Scientiarum which was meant to stand for the first part, should have been placed before the two books of the Novum Organum, which were meant for the commencement of the second. But the truth is that not one of the parts of the Great Instauration was completed according to the original design. All were more or less abortive. In every one of them, the De Augmentis and the Novum Organum itself not excepted, accidental difficulties, and considerations arising out of the circumstances of the time, interfered more or less with the first intention and induced alterations either in form or substance or both. They cannot be made to fit their places in the ideal scheme. It was the actual conditions of Bacon's life that really moulded them into what they are; and therefore the most natural order in which they can be presented is that in which they stand here; first, the Distributio Operis, setting forth the perfect work as he had conceived it in his mind, and then the series of imperfect and irregular efforts which he made to execute it, in the order in which they were made. The text has been corrected throughout from the original copies, and no verbal alteration (except in case of obvious errors of the press) has been introduced into it without notice. The spelling in the English works has been altered according to modern usage. I have endeavoured however to distinguish those variations which belong merely to the fashion of orthography from those which appear to involve changes in the forms of words. Thus in such words as president (the invariable spelling in Bacon's time of the substantive which is now invariably written precedent, and valuable as showing that the pronunciation of the word has not changed), præjudice, fained, mathematiques, chymist, &c., I adopt the modern form; but I do not substitute lose for leese, politicians for politiques, external for externe, Solomon for Salomon, accommodated for the past participle accommodate; and so on; these being changes in the words themselves and not merely in the manner of writing them. In the spelling of Latin words there are but few differences between ancient and modern usage; but I have thought it better to preserve the original form of all words which in the original are always or almost always spelt in the same way; as fœlix, author, chymista, chymicus, &c. In the matter of punctuation and typography, though I have followed the example of all modern editors in altering at discretion, I have not attempted to reduce them entirely to the modern form; which I could not have done without sometimes introducing ambiguities of construction, and sometimes deciding questions of construction which admit of doubt. But I have endeavoured to represent the effect of the original arrangement to a modern eye, with as little departure as possible from modern fashions. I say endeavoured; for I cannot say that I have succeeded in satisfying even myself. But to all matters of this kind I have attended personally; and though I must not suppose that my mind has observed everything that my eyes have looked at, I am not without hope that the text of this edition will be found better and more faithful than any that has hitherto been produced. It was part of our original design to append to the Philosophical works an accurate and readable translation of those originally written in Latin; at least of so much of them as would suffice to give an English reader a complete view of the Baconian philosophy. Mr. Ellis made a selection for this purpose. Arrangements were made accordingly; and a translation of the Novum Organum was immediately begun. As successive portions were completed, they were forwarded in the first instance to myself; were by me carefully examined; and then passed on to Mr. Ellis, accompanied with copious remarks and suggestions of my own in the way of correction or improvement. Of these corrections Mr. Ellis marked the greater part for adoption, improved upon others, added many of his own, and then returned the manuscript to be put into shape for the printer. But as he was not able to look over it again after it had received the last corrections, and as the translator did not wish to put his own name to it, and as this edition was to contain nothing for which somebody is not personally responsible, I have been obliged to take charge of it myself. In my final revision I have been careful to preserve all Mr. Ellis's corrections which affect the substance and sense of the translation. In matters which concern only the style and manner of expression, I have thought it better to follow my own taste; a mixture of different styles being commonly less agreeable to the reader, and mine (as the case now stands) being necessarily the predominating one. For the same reason I have altered at discretion the translation of the prefaces, &c. which precede the Novum Organum; which were done by another hand, and have not had the advantage of Mr. Ellis's revision. For those which follow, the translator (Mr. Francis Headlam, Fellow of University College, Oxford) will himself be responsible. Though this volume is already twice as thick as I would have had it, I must add a few words concerning the portraits of Bacon; a subject which has not received the attention which it deserves, and upon which, if picture-dealers and collectors and inheritors of family portraits would take an interest in it, some valuable light might probably be thrown. The portrait in the front of the volume is taken from an old engraving by Simon Pass; which came, (as Mr. Smith of Lisle Street informed me, from whom I bought it some years ago,) out of a broken-up copy of Holland's Baziliologia.1 The original has a border, bearing the words HONORATISS: D. FRANCISCUS BACON EQUES AU: MAG: SIGILL: ANGL: CUSTOS. LIORA. rests. Above are his arms, with the motto MONITI MEBelow the chancellor's bag, on which the left hand These accessories, as being presumably the device of the engraver and not suitable to the modern style which has been preferred for the copy, have been dispensed with; but the inscription underneath has been copied verbatim 2, and enables us to fix the date of the work. Bacon was created Lord Chancellor on the 4th of January, 1617-18, and Baron Verulam on the 12th of the following July; and as it is not to be supposed that his newest title would have been omitted on such an occasion, we may infer with tolerable certainty that the engraving was published during the first half of the year 1618. 1618. Below this inscription are engraved in small letters the words "Simon Passæus sculpsit L. Are to be sould by John Sudbury and George Humble at the signe of the white horse in Pope's head Ally." The plate appears to have been used afterwards for a frontispiece to the Sylva Sylvarum, which was published in 1627, the year after Bacon's death. At least I have a copy of the second 'This work was published in 1618; and though one would not expect from the title to find Bacon there, Brunet mentions a copy in the Biblioth, du Roi at Paris "qui, outre les portraits qui composent ordinairement le recueil, renferme encore d'autres portraits du même genre, representants des reines, des princes du sang, et des seigneurs de la cour des Rois Jacques Ier et Charles Ior," &c. The copy in the British Museum has no portrait of Bacon; but as the plates are not numbered, and there is no table of contents, one cannot be sure that any copy is perfect. 2 The righte Honourable S Frauncis Bacon knight, Lorde highe Chancellour of Englande and one of his Maties most honbi privie Counsell. Mortuus 9° Aprilis, Anno edition of that work (1628) in which the same print is inserted, only with the border and inscription altered; the title which originally surrounded it, together with the Chancellor's bag and the names of the engraver and publishers, being erased; the coat of arms altered; and the words underneath being changed to The right Honble Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount St Alban. Dni 1626, Annoq Aetat. 66. demand for the Sylva Sylvarum wore out the plate; for none of the later editions which I have seen contain any portrait at all; and that which was prefixed to the Resuscitatio in 1657, though undoubtedly meant to be a fac-simile of Simon Pass's engraving, has been so much altered in the process of restoration, that I took it for a fresh copy until Mr. Holl showed me that it was only the old plate retouched. The lower part of the face has entirely lost its individuality and physiognomical character; the outline of the right cheek has not been truly followed; that of the nose has lost its shapeliness and delicacy; and the first line andhalf of the inscription underneath has apparently been erased in order to give the name and titles in Latin. Nevertheless the adoption by Dr. Rawley of this print sufficiently authenticates it as a likeness at that time approved; only the likeness must of course be looked for in the plate as Simon Pass left it,—not in restorations or copies. This Mr. Holl has endeavoured faithfully, and in my opinion very successfully, to reproduce; it being understood however that his aim has been to give as exact a resemblance as he could, not of the old engraving (the style of which has little to recommend it), but of the man whom the engraving repre sents. I selected this likeness by preference, partly because original impressions are scarce, and none of the others which I have seen give a tolerable idea of it; whereas the rival portrait by Van Somer is very fairly represented by the engraving in Lodge's collection; but chiefly because I have some reason to suspect that it was made from a painting by Cornelius |