LTBER SECUNDUS 



APHORISMOltrM 



DE 



I NTERPRETATIOXE NATURE, 



SIVE 



DE REGNO HOMINIS. 



AMIORISMUS T-. 



SUPER datum corpus novam iiaturani, sive novas 

 naturas gcncrare et superimlucere, opus et hitentio cst 



i If the &quot; Aphorisms&quot; of the first 

 Book were by no means &quot; breves 

 esedemque sparse, nee methodo re- 

 vincta- sententkr,&quot; (I. 86), still less 

 are they such here : for in this Book 

 they are long chapters. 



- These Aphorisms are very ob 

 scure, and it is doubtful how far 

 their main object, the discovery of 

 Forms, is practicable. Bacon s lan 

 guage is not free from the techni 

 calities of the Schools, nor are his 

 thoughts at all clear; nor do his 

 illustrations carry us far towards 

 the end he puts before himself. 

 With all this, no one ought to un 

 derrate the value of these Chapters ; 

 for they are full of most useful mat 

 ter: and Bacon s accounts of Latent 

 Process and Structure are excellent. 

 The Morning Star, though it be 



longs &quot; better to the dawn,&quot; is yet 

 &quot;last in the train of Night;&quot; and 

 we must expect obscurities. 



Even those who have not the pa 

 tience to read through the twenty- 

 seven &quot; Prerogatives among In 

 stances,&quot; ought to endeavour to 

 make themselves masters of these 

 first twenty Aphorisms ; for they 

 were intended by Bacon to illustrate 

 and expand the statements made at 

 the opening of the work, (Bk. I. 

 I _ 3&amp;gt; & c&amp;gt; ), and are clearly meant 

 to give us a concise view (with an 

 example) of the End and Method, 

 for which he has been preparing us 

 throughout Bk. I. And no one who 

 cares to understand Bacon s objects 

 and system can omit them. As to 

 the objections that the end is quite 

 unattainable, and that the Method 



