82 BACON 



division we judge extremely useful, when proposed in just and 

 familiar terms ; so that the doctrine of nature be divided into 

 speculative and practical, or the search after causes, and the 

 production of effects: the one entering into the bowels of 

 nature, and the other forming her upon the anvil. Nor are we 

 insensible of the strict union betwixt causes and effects ; so that 

 the explanation of them must, in some measure, be coupled 

 together: but as all solid and fruitful natural philosophy hath 

 both an ascending and a descending scale of parts, leading from 

 experience to axioms, and from axioms to new discoveries, it 

 seems most advisable here, in the division of sciences, to sepa- 

 rate speculation from operation, and treat them distinct. 



CHAPTER IV 



Division of the Speculative Branch of Natural Philosophy into Physics 

 and Metaphysics. Physics relates to the Investigation of Efficient 

 Causes and Matter; Metaphysics to that of Final Causes and the 

 Form. Division of Physics into the Sciences of the Principles of 

 Things, the Structure of Things, and the Variety of Things. Di- 

 vision of Physics in relation to the Variety of Things into Abstract 

 and Concrete. Division of Concretes agrees with the Distribution 

 of the Parts of Natural History. Division of Abstracts into the 

 Doctrine of Material Forms and Motion. Appendix of Speculative 

 Physics twofold: viz., Natural Problems and the Opinions of An- 

 cient Philosophers. Metaphysics divided into the Knowledge of 

 Forms and the Doctrine of Final Causes 



The speculative or theoretical part of natural philosophy we 

 divide into physics and metaphysics; taking the word meta- 

 physics in a sense different from that received. And here we 

 must, once for all, declare, as to our use of words, that, though 

 our conceptions and notions are new, and different from the 

 common, yet we religiously retain the ancient forms of speech ; 

 for as we hope that the method, and clear explanation, we en- 

 deavor at, will free us from any misconstruction that might arise 

 from an ill choice of words ; so in everything else, it is our de- 

 sire, as much as possible, without prejudice to truth and the sci- 

 ences, not to deviate from ancient opinions and forms f speech. 

 And here I cannot but wonder that Aristotle should proceed in 

 such a spirit of contradiction, as he did to all antiquity ; not only 

 coining new terms of science at pleasure, but endeavoring to 

 abolish all the knowledge of the ancients ; so that he never men- 



