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nydus/Novum organumPublic

Francis Bacon critiques the limitations of both dogmatic philosophy and extreme skepticism in their approaches to understanding nature. He proposes a new method that prioritizes sensory perception and establishes a structured, certain path for the mind to follow.

Page 139 of 375
Table of Contents

APHORISMS—BOOK II ON THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE, OR THE REIGN OF MAN

    1. Conflagrations, which take place with a high wind, are thought to make greater way against than with the wind, because when the wind slackens, the flame recoils more rapidly than it advances when the wind is favorable.
    1. Flame does not burst out or arise unless it have some hollow space to move and exert itself in, except in the exploding flame of gunpowder, and the like, where the compression and confinement of the flame increase its fury.
    1. The anvil becomes so hot by the hammer, that if it were a thin plate it might probably grow red, like ignited iron by repeated strokes. Let the experiment be tried.
    1. But in ignited bodies that are porous, so as to leave room for the fire to move itself, if its motion be prevented by strong compression, the fire is immediately extinguished; thus it is with tinder, or the burning snuff of a candle or lamp, or even hot charcoal or cinders; for when they are squeezed by snuffers, or the foot, and the like, the effect of the fire instantly ceases.
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