INTRODUCTION. 



,1 of v.e individual. Each individual, according to Bacon, has his own 



/ dirk cave or den, into which the light is imperfectly admitted, and in 



} the obscurity of which an idol lurks, at whose shrine the truth is often 



> sacrificed. Some minds are best adapted to catch the differences, others 



/ the rsse nblances of things. Some proceed too rapidly, others too 



siowly. Almost every person has acquired a partiality for some branch 



of science, to which he is prone to fashion and force every other. 



The idols of the forum are those which arise out of the intercourse of 

 society, and especially from language, by means of which men commu- 

 nicate with each other. It is well known that words, in some measure, 

 govern thought, and that we cannot think accurately unless we are able 

 to express ourselves accurately. The same word does not convey the 

 same idea to different persons. Hence many disputes are merely verbal, 

 though the disputants may not be aware of the circumstance. 



The idols of the theatre are the deceptions which have taken their rise 

 from the systems of different schools of philosophy. These errors af- 

 fected the philosophy of the ancients more than that of the moderns. 

 But they are not yet without their effect, and often act powerfully upon 

 individuals without their being aware of their effect. 



After an historical view of science from its dawn among the Greeks 

 to his own time, and pointing out the little progress which it had made, 

 in consequence of the improper way in which it had been cultivated, 

 Bacon proceeds, in his second book, to point out the true way of ad- 

 vancing science by induction. 



The first object ought to be, to prepare a history of the phenomena 

 to be explained, in all their modifications and varieties. This history is 

 to comprehend not only all such facts as spontaneously offer themselves, 

 but all the experiments instituted for the sake of discovery, or for any of 

 the purposes of the useful arts. It ought to be composed with great 

 care; the facts should be accurately related and distinctly arranged 

 their authenticity carefully ascertained, and those that are doubtful should 

 le marked as uncertain, with the grounds for the judgment formed. 

 Tin* record of facts Bacon calls natural history. 



The next object is, a compaiison of the different facts, to find out the 

 cause of the phenomenon. 



