PREFACE, 



IN a letter dated June 30, 1622, Bacon speaks of the De 

 Augmentis Scientiarum as a work already in the hands of trans- 

 lators, and likely to be finished by the end of the summer. 

 " Librum meum de progressu Scientiarum traducendum com- 

 misi. Ilia translatio, volente Deo, sub finem sestatis perfi- 

 cietur." 1 Therefore, though it was not published till the 

 autumn of 1623, it may be considered as coming, in order of 

 composition, next among the Philosophical works to the Novum 

 Organum and Parasceve. 



It was intended to serve for the first part of the Instauratio 

 Magna, according to the plan laid out in the Distributio Operis, 

 the part which is there entitled Partitiones Scientiarum, 

 and described as exhibiting a complete survey of the world of 

 human knowledge as it then was, " Scientiae ejus sive do- 

 ctringe in cujus possessione humanum genus hactenus versatur 

 summam sive descriptionem universalem." The relation which 

 it bears to the rest of the work is best explained in the dedica- 

 tory letter prefixed to the Dialogue of a Holy War. " And 

 again, for that my book of Advancement of Learning may be 

 some preparative or key for the better opening of the Instaura- 

 tion, because it exhibits a mixture of new conceits and old, 

 whereas the Instauration gives the new unmixed, otherwise 

 than with some aspersion of the old for taste's sake, I have 

 thought good to procure a translation of that book into the 

 general language, not without great and ample additions and 

 enrichment thereof, especially in the second book, which han- 

 dleth the partition of sciences; in guch sort as I hold it 2 may 



1 Letter to Father Redempt. Baranzan. 



2 That is, the second book ; as appears more clearly from the Latin version of this 

 letter, which was written later. " Idque ita cumulate prsestiti ut judicem librum ilium 

 jam in plures divisum, pro prima Instaurationis parte haberi posse, quam Partitionum 



Scientiarum nomine antea insignivi." 



