BACON, FRANCIS. 



BACON, JOHN. 



478 



viewed beside the result* obtained by bii immediate successors, do 

 not appear to greet advantage. It is only when viewed with reference 

 to the general state of knowledge in hi* own time*, that Bacon's 

 recorded xperiinmU and observation* can be fairly estimated. Hit 

 DhU indeed would bare been greater than thoee of any experimental 

 philosopher, were hj discoveries at all equal to the method of studying 

 scienos which he taught. 



In tli* first part of hi* gnat work on the ' Instauration of the 

 Science*,' Bacon propotcd to make a surrey of knowledge as it thru 

 existed, which was a necessary preliminary to the reform which he 

 contemplated. In Uiia work he ha* made a distribution of all know- 

 ledg* under the three beada of Memory, Imagination, and Reason, 

 Tliu divi.iou has been occasionally adopted by subsequent writer*, 

 though it doe* not appear to hare the recommendation either ol 

 sxsutnses or utility. The ' Norum Orgauum,' which U divided into 

 two books, ia the second part of the ' Instauration.' In the first booV 

 of the Urganum,' Bacon attempted to point out the atatea of mind 

 which c >ua*d the exiatnoe of a false and fruitlea* philosophy. He 

 aaw eauae* of error in our common nature in the peculiarities which 

 ark the individual in the mental use of the symbol) of thought, 

 and in those sectarian and party habits whiob the processes of asso- 

 ciation interweare with all the elements of the character, and harden 

 into the tchooU and creeds which exert a despotic sway over successive 

 generations. The influence of these mental stab* upon the interpreters 

 of nature, Bacon called the worship of an idol ; and the states them- 

 selves, in hi* fanciful nomenclature, are idols of different kinds : those 

 which proceed from principles common to the speci. s are idols of tho 

 tribe ; those produced by the peculiar character of the individual are 

 idols of the den ; the commerce or intercourse of society by tin- use 

 of words causes the worship of the idols of the forum ; and the idols 

 of the theatre are the creatures of the imaginary and visionary sys- 

 tem* of philosophy which bare appeared. Some causes of error are 

 universal; the undue lore of simplicity, and the spirit of system, are 

 illusions influencing every mind, and therefore perpetually opposing 

 the advancement of real knowledge. Other causes of error are pecu- 

 liar. Some are disposed to mark the differences and others the resein- 

 blanoes of things, and the peculiar studies of a single miiid are apt to 

 warp its views in other regions of thought Words influence thoughts, 

 and the subtlety of the processes of the mind in using them is a 

 source of error affecting the operations of the intellect and the com- 

 munication of its results. The perverse influence of systems is 

 illustrated fully by the history of philosophy. The undue reverence 

 for antiquity, the authority of names, the pursuit of unattainable 

 object-, the examination only of the rare, the extraordinary, and the 

 grtat, together with aupcrstition, which Bacon does not forget to 

 enumerate, had long opposed the progress of all true knowledge. 



In the first part of tho ' Organum,' tho true object of science ia 

 clearly pointed out by Bacon: "It is impossible," ho says, "to advance 

 with any profit in the race, when the point to be attained is not dis- 

 tinctly determined. In science, the true end is to enrich human life 

 with new discoveries and wealth." ( Orgsnum, 1 lib. i. aphorism 81.) 

 In the second book Uacon proceeds to explain the method of studying 

 nature, which he proposed, for the advancement of science. The first 

 thing is to prepare, with great caution and cnre, a history of the 

 phenomena to be explained, in all their modifications and varieties. 

 Having brought together the facts, we must begin by considering 

 what things they exclude from the number of possible causes, or 

 forms ss they arc called in the language of Bacon. Negative instance* 

 in which the supposed form is wanting ought to be collected. " It 

 nay perhaps,- says Baoon, "be competent to angels or superior intelli- 

 gences to determine the form or essenoe directly by affirmations from 

 the first consideration of the subject. But it u certainly beyond thu 

 power of man, to whom it is only given at first to proceed by negatives, 

 and in the hut place, to end in an affirmation after the exclusion of 

 everything else." 



The observations and experiments of the natural philosopher the 

 bets which he is to record in his inductive history are witnesses 

 whose evidence, and the weight duo to whan testimonies, vary in the 

 w 7 in the evidences which form the ground* of moral 

 investigations. The facts, or m-lsuces, as Baoon calls them, vary in 

 eiswnw, in authenticity, applicability. Ac. Bacon enumerates twenty- 

 seven different kinds of instances, and estimates the weight due to 

 each from the peculiar circumstances which constitute their value or 



_j of discovery and aids to investigation ; but it 

 is impossible, ia this outline, to enter into a description of their nature 

 aad importance. Of toes* twenty-seven instances, fifteen an enume- 

 rated to aeaist the understanding in estimating the value and forming 

 right judgment of different facts j five correct the fallacies of the 

 senses and instruct them in their observations ; and the remaining 

 seven direct the hand* "in raising the superstructure of art on the 

 foundation of science." This last division includes the ue of instru- 

 ments in aiding the senses, in subjecting objects to alteration for the 

 purpose of observing them better, and in the production of that 

 lUenos of knowledge and power which baa, in our day, crowded every 

 pan of imlised life with the most useful inventions. 

 Bueh were the principles which Bacon shaped into rules for the 

 at of experimental inquiries, when he was almost without an 

 example of Miossi to confirm his confidence and encourage his efforts. 



In the words of Professor Play fair, "the pow.r and compass of tho 

 mind which could form such a plan beforehand, and trace not merely 

 the outline but many of the most minute ramifications of sciences 

 which did not yet exist, must be an object of admiration to all suc- 

 ceeding ages. The great merit of Baoon undoubtedly consists in the 

 systematic method which he laid down for prosecuting philosophical 

 investigation; and his serrioes in this department cannot easily be 

 overrated. "Previous to the publication of the ' Novum Organum' 

 of Bacon," observes Sir John Herachell, " natural philosophy, in any 

 legitimate aud extensive sense of the word, could hardly be said to 

 exist; " and even at the present day, those especially who busy them- 

 selves with physical pursuits would often do well to recur to the 

 severe and rigorous principles of the ' Organum.' 



The greater part of Bacon's works were written in English, but 

 some were written in Latin, and others were translated into that 

 language. His ' Felicities of Queen Elizabeth's Reign ' was first 

 written in English, aud then revised, corrected, and turned into Latin. 

 His work on the ' Advancement of Learning' was partly written in 

 English and partly in Latin, and he caused the first part written in 

 English to be translated into Latin. His 'Cogitata et Vina,' was 

 written in Latin. 'Of the Wisdom of the Ancients,' and the ' Novum 

 Organum,' were written and published in Latin, and several trans- 

 lations of them have appeared. An ' Account of Lord Bacon's Novum 

 Organum ' was published under the superintendence of the Society 

 for the Diffusion of Useful Knowlsdge, and new translations of it have 

 been published within the last few years by Basil Montague and J. 

 Devey, the latter for Bonn's 'Scientific Library.' The beat edit 

 his works is the last published, in royal Svo, by Basil Montagu. . 

 and completed in 1831. 



BACON, JOHN, was born on the 24th of November 1740, at 

 Southwark, in Surrey, where his father carried on the trade of a cloth- 

 worker. He showed at a very early age a taste for drawing, and was 

 apprenticed when fourteen to Mr. Crispe, of Bow Churchyard, a 

 porcelain manufacturer, where be learned the art of painting on 

 china, and also of making those little ornamental figures in that 

 material which are still frequently Been on mantelpieces. So evident 

 was his talent, that in the second rear of his apprenticeship he was 

 entrusted with the formation of all tho models for the manufactory ; 

 and it is a still higher praise, that at this early age he contributed 

 essentially to tho support of his parents, then in reduced circum- 

 stances. At that time it was the practice of sculptors to send tin 'ir 

 clay models, for the purpose of being burnt, to the pottery where 

 liacou was employed, aud his attention being attracted by these works, 

 he set himself to acquire a knowledge of the sculptor's art, and from 

 this time hi* leisure was zealously devoted to his new pur-suit In 

 1758, being then eighteen, he ventured to send a small figure of Peace 

 to the Society for the Kucoumgement of Arts ; it waa favournl/ly 

 received, and he was rewarded with a premium of ton guineas. The 

 first premiums of this inetitulion were adjudged to him ou uiue. 

 different occasions. 



The discovery of the art of making statues in artificial stona 

 (cement) has been ascribed to Bacon, perhaps incorrectly ; but ho is 

 unquestionably entitled to the praise of having facilitated the process 

 of that art, and of rendering it popular. He laboured during a con- 

 siderable time in Coade's manufactory at Lambeth, where every species 

 of architectural and monumental ornaments, as well as status. 

 made in stone, and his skill and exertions were of essential service to 

 the establishment On the institution of the Koyal Academy iu 1768, 

 be entered himself as a student, aud the next year gained the first 

 gold medal for sculpture which was awarded by that society. In 1770 

 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy. He exhibited 

 about this time a statue of Mars, which brought him u great accession 

 of reputation, and procured him the personal notice of the An-hl<i-hp 

 of York, who commissioned him to execute a bust of Ueorge III. liy 

 this prelate liacou was introduced to the king, who sat to him, and 

 was personally impressed by tho general simplicity and propriety of 

 lii manners. Bacon subsequently took care to maintain the advantage 

 which he had thus obtained, and during bis whole professional career 

 lie succeeded in securing the king's favour against all c .impctitim:. 



About this time Uacon married, and removed from the small aud 

 inconvenient apartment* which he had previously occupied to a 

 spacious house in Newman-street, the premises, it is oaid, having been 

 itted up with studies, workshops, Ac., without his knowledge, by the 

 ibemlity of a friend, who left the affair of payment to his own con- 

 venience. Every circumstance now tended to his prosperity : he was 

 employed by public bodies, au well as by various private individuals, 

 and his profits were greatly augmented by the use of au ingenious 

 natriimeut of bis own invention, which facilitated the process of 

 copying the clay model in marble, and by which he was enabled to 

 execute his figures in little more than half the time previously 

 equired. In 1777 be was engaged to erect a monument for Guy's 

 Hospital, Southwark, in honour of its founder. The merit of this 

 work procured him a commission for the monument of the Earl of 

 .'hathain, now in Ouildhall. This performance furnishes evidence of 

 Ucon's abilities, but it exhibits at the same time the prevalent defects 

 of his style. Lord Chatham's attitude is oratorical and commanding, 

 and the allegory of Britannia receiving from Industry und Com: 

 the contributions of the four quarters of the globe is as perspicuously 



