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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 151 of 375
Table of Contents

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

Heat

    1. On account of the sun’s rays, reject elementary (or terrestrial) nature.
    1. On account of common fire, and particularly subterranean fires (which are the most remote and secluded from the rays of the heavenly bodies), reject celestial nature.
    1. On account of the heat acquired by every description of substances (as minerals, vegetables, the external parts of animals, water, oil, air, etc.) by mere approximation to the fire or any warm body, reject all variety and delicate texture of bodies.
    1. On account of iron and ignited metals, which warm other bodies, and yet neither lose their weight nor substance, reject the imparting or mixing of the substance of the heating body.
    1. On account of boiling water and air, and also those metals and other solid bodies which are heated, but not to ignition, or red heat, reject flame or light.
    1. On account of the rays of the moon and other heavenly bodies (except the sun), again reject flame or light.
    1. On account of the comparison between red-hot iron and the flame of spirits of wine (for the iron is more hot and less bright, while the flame of spirits of wine is more bright and less hot), again reject flame and light.
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