284 PEEFACE TO THE 



mainder of the tract is taken up. Parmenides, he 

 observes, among the ancients, and Telesius in modern 

 times, had made fire and earth, or heaven and earth, 

 the two first principles. 



In connecting together Telesius and Parmenides 

 Bacon overlooked an essential point of difference. 

 For the system of Telesius is merely physical, it deals 

 only with phenomena, and seeks for no higher grounds 

 of truth than the evidence of the senses. Parmeuides, 

 on the other hand, recognised the antithesis of TO oV and 

 TO {/xxu/o/Aei/ov, of that which exists and that which is ap 

 parent. His doctrine is ontological rather than phys 

 ical, and he does not admit that phenomena have any 

 connexion with real or essential truth. He seeks for 

 a deeper insight into things than any which a mere 

 &quot; Welt-anschauung,&quot; a mere contemplation of the 

 universe, could be made to furnish. The hypothesis 

 which he framed to explain the phenomena by which 

 we are surrounded, is with him a hypothesis merely, 

 and though, like Telesius s, this hypothesis refers every 

 phenomenon to the antagonism of heat and cold, yet it 

 has a character of its own, inasmuch as in a way not 

 distinctly conceivable it also serves to represent the 

 metaphysical antithesis of TO oV and TO ^ 6V. 



It is however to be remembered that with the onto 

 logical aspect of the philosophy of Parmenides Bacon 

 has here no concern. 



The fundamental notion of Telesius s system was 

 doubtless suggested both to him and to Parmenides, 1 

 by certain obvious phenomena, and especially by the 



1 The same notion is ascribed also to Hippo of Rhegium, and to others 

 of the Greek philosophers. See Pseudo-Orig. Philos. (16.)) for the fullest 

 statement as to Hippo. 



