150 



NO YUM OBGANUM. 



clatam primo facienda cst comparentia ad intellectum 

 omnium instantiarwn notarum, qua* in eadem natura 

 conveniunt, per materias licet dissimillimas. Atquc 

 hujusmodi collectio facienda est historice, absquc con- 

 templatione pnvfcstina, aut subtilitate aliqua majore. 

 Exempli gratia; in inqnisitionc de forma calidi. 



Instnntice convcnicntcs in n&amp;lt;ttnra calidi. 



1. Radii soils, prasertim instate et meridie. 



2. Hadii solis reflexi et constipati, ut inter montes, ant 



j&amp;gt;er parictes, et maximc omnium in spec ul is com- 

 bnrentibus. 



3. Meteora ignita. 



4. Fnlmina combnrentia. 



5. Ernctationes flammarum ex cavis montium, &e. 



6. Flamma omnis. 



7. Tgnita solida. 



8. Balnea calida natural ia. 



of Discovery of Forms using the 

 example of Heat. It is a striking 

 part of the work ; it shews how 

 much Bacon could make of his 

 materials. Many of his instances 

 are wrong, but many are pains 

 taking and judicious ; and, though 

 his &quot; Vindemiatio I rima&quot; is any 

 thing but a Form (as he defines it), 

 and Bacon seems aware of this, in 

 adding the adjective Pr nnu, still it 

 is to this day one of the theories 

 .is to the Nature of Heat. The 

 27 Instances in this Aphorism are 

 in no order &quot;Collectio facienda 

 historice;&quot; some are only sub 

 divisions of others (as, e. g. 5 and 

 ft, 8, 9 and 14, &c.) ; and Ba 

 con was ignorant of two sources 

 of Heat given by Herschel, as the 

 most violent of all (Discourse on 

 Nat. Phil. 348), viz. (i) Combus 

 tion of Oxygen and Hydrogen in 



the exact proportion required for 

 the production of Water; and (2) 

 the discharge of a copious and con 

 tinued current of Electricity through 

 a small conductor. The &quot; Absque 

 contemplatione pnrfestina&quot; is in 

 strict accord with his Method, but 

 looks very like the entire refusal of 

 Coleridge s &quot; Mental Initiative.&quot; 

 The question suggests itself, what 

 right have we to assume even so 

 much knowledge of Heat as to be 

 able to gather all these Instances ? 

 I suppose Nature answers this dif 

 ficulty for Bacon, roughly ; and 

 the progress of knowledge enables 

 us to correct errors, &c. For a 

 good modern discussion of Heat, 

 see Herschel s Discourse, chap. V. 



( 344-3 62 -) 



29 Comparentia a presentation 

 in company an arranged gather 

 ing. 



