420 ON THE SCOPE AND INFLUENCE OF THE 



singly earl j period. Baranzan was a Piedmontese monk of the 

 order of Barnabites, and officiated as a Professor of Philosophy 

 and Mathematics, in the Colleges of his order. Pie had early 

 distinguished himself as a writer on philosophical subjects, 

 and as a discarder of the authority of Aristotle. After per- 

 using the Novum Orgtuium, he appears to have begun a corre- 

 spondence with Bacon, one of whose letters to him is fortu- 

 nately preserved in the account of Baranzan's life in Nicii- 

 ron's Memoirs *. This letter is dated in 1622, only two years 

 after the publication of the Novum Organum ; and was evi- 

 dently written, in answer to some queries of Baranzan, touch- 

 ing its fundamental doctrines. The whole letter is on this ac- 

 count extremely interesting ; but the following passage may be 

 cited, as more particularly calculated to show, how much phi- 

 losophy then stood in need of such a guide as Bacon. " De 

 " multitudine instantiarum,quas homines deterrere possit, haec 

 " respondeo : quid opus est dissimulatione ? Aut copia in- 

 " stantiarum comparanda, aut negotium deserendum. Aliae 

 " omnes viae,utcunque blandiantur, impervias." It is worthy 

 of notice, that Bacon concludes this letter with an earnest 

 request, that Baranzan would employ himself in framing a 

 description of the heavenly bodies, exactly of the kind which 

 Descartes afterwards wished some competent person to un- 

 dertake ; as mentioned in his letter, before quoted, to Father 

 Mersenne. But this ingenious Italian was not permitted to 

 profit by the exhortations of his illustrious correspondent, for 

 he died soon after the date of this letter, at the early age of 

 thirty-three. 



There 



* " Elle est trop interessante," says Niceron, who possessed the original let- 

 ter, " et fait trop bien connoitre la maniere de philosopher, qulls vouloient tous 

 deux introduire, pour ne la point communiquer au publique. ,, — Memoires pour 

 servir a Phistoire des Hojmnes Itlustres, torn. iii. p. 43. 



