which were sent, there were many philosophical pieces written in Latin; that he consulted Isaac Gruter about them; and that the result was a 12mo volume printed by Elzevir at Amsterdam in the year 1653, entitled Francisci Baconi de Verulamio Scripta in Naturali et Universali Philosophiâ, and containing these pieces following::

1. A Prayer, headed Temporis Partus Masculus, sive Instauratio magna imperii humani in universum. The same in substance, and almost the same in expression, as the prayer which is introduced towards the end of the Preface to the Instauratio (Vol. I. p. 131.): placed here by itself on the blank side of the title-leaf, as if it were a motto to the volume an office for which the heading makes it altogether inappropriate.

2. Cogitata et Visa; to which is added a Latin translation of Sir Thomas Bodley's letter to Bacon concerning that work. (p. 62.)

3. Descriptio Globi Intellectualis. (p. 75.)

4. Thema Cæli. (p. 154.)

5. De Fluxu et Refluxu Maris. (p. 178.)

6. De Principiis atque Originibus secundum Fabulas Cupidinis et Cæli, &c. (p. 208.)

These are all printed as separate pieces; each carrying its own title along the top of its own pages.

Then follow, under a general running title of Impetus Philosophici:

7. Indicia Vera de Interpretatione Naturæ. (p. 285.) Merely the Præfatio to the Novum Organum, already printed in the first volume of this edition, p. 151.

Partis Instaurationis Secunda Delineatio et Argumentum. (p. 293.) Printed as if it were a sequel to the last, the two forming one piece; which originally perhaps they did. 9. Phænomena Universi, sive Historia Naturalis ad condendam Philosophiam. (p. 323.) A fragment, consisting of a preface intended for the third part of the Instauratio, and a rudiment of the Historia Densi et Rari, with which it seems that Bacon then intended to begin his collection of histories.

10. Scala Intellectus, sive Filum Labyrinthi. (p. 379.) A preface intended for the fourth part of the Instauratio. Already printed: Vol. II. p. 687.

11. Prodromi sive Anticipationes Philosophia Secunda. (p. 385.) The preface intended for the fifth part of the Instauratio. Already printed: Vol. II. p. 690.

12. Cogitationes de Naturâ Rerum. (p. 389.) The piece with which in the present edition Part II. begins: infra p. 15.

13. A Preface, entitled Franciscus Bacon Lectori. (p. 431.) A first draught probably of the preface to the fourth part of the Instauratio.

14. Filum Labyrinthi, sive Inquisitio legitima de Motu. (p. 435.) A skeleton of an enquiry conducted upon the true method; that is to say, a complete list of the titles of the several processes of an investigation into the Form of Motion; followed by some general remarks, which may have been designed for the conclusion of the work which Bacon had in contemplation when he wrote the Cogitata et Visa, and intended to set forth the new method in an example.

15. Franc. Baconi Aphorismi et Consilia, de auxiliis mentis et accensione luminis naturalis. (p. 448.)

16. De Interpretatione Naturæ Sententiæ XII. (p. 451.) This

and the preceding are rudiments of the Novum Organum. 17. Tradendi Modus legitimus. (p. 458.) This consists of two chapters; of which the first is the same as the first chapter of the Temporis Partus Masculus; the second another form of the Redargutio Philosophiarum. They are printed here (probably by mistake) as if they were a sequel to the Sententia XII., with which they do not appear to be connected.

18. De Interpretatione Natura Proœmium. (p. 479.) This has been intended for a preface to the Instauratio, in some of its forms; probably to the Temporis Partus Masculus.

19. Francisci Baconi Topica Inquisitionis de Luce et Lumine. (p. 485.) Another copy, with a few slight variations, of the paper which has been already printed (Vol. II. p. 317.) from Dr. Rawley's copy.

Of these nineteen pieces, the last thirteen are (as I have said) distinguished from the others by a general running title of Impetus Philosophici; the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th carrying each its own title on the top of its own pages; and to the whole volume is prefixed an address from Gruter to the reader, which contains all the information that is to be had about it; and which I must transcribe at length, the meaning being in some places so obscure that I can only guess at it.

LECTORI S. ISAACUS GRUTerus.

QUE tibi damus Amice Lector, ad Universalem et Naturalem Philosophiam spectantia, ex Manuscriptis Codicibus, quos accurate recensuerat et varie emendarat author, me amanuense apographa sunt. Sola Bodlei epistola, quæ ad examen vocat Cogitata et Visa, per me ex Anglico facta Latina est, atque ex opere epistolarum Baconi, quæ tali idiomate circumferuntur, huc translata ob materiæ cognationem. Titulus quem frons libri præfert et totum complectitur opusculi in varias dissertationes secti argumentum, ab ipso Verulamio est; quem singulæ exhibent paginæ ex rerum tractatarum serie distinctum, a me, ut minus confunderet quærentem Lectorem indiculi defectus. Quicquid sequitur, ab eo loco cujus inscriptio est in ipso contextu Indicia vera de interpretatione naturæ usque ad finem, donavi eo nomine Impetus Philosophici, quod ex familiaribus Viri magni colloquiis notassem, cum de istis chartis mecum ageret. Non aliter enim appellare solebat quicquid prioribus per titulos suos separatis connecteretur; ne quis imperfectum statim suspicetur quod defervescente Impetu non videt trahere syrma prolixæ tractationis. Omnia autem hæc inedita (nisi quod in editis paucissimis rara exstent quarundam ex his meditationum vestigia) debes, Amice Lector, Nobilissimo Guil. Boswello, ad quem ex ipsius Baconi legato pervenerant, cum aliis in politico et morali genere elaboratis, quæ nunc ex dono roũ μaкapírov penes me servantur non diu premenda. Boswello inquam, viro nobilitate, prudentia insigni, varia eruditione, humanitate summa, et Oratori olim apud Batavos Anglo; cujus sancta mihi memoria est. Vale et conatibus nostris fave, qui mox plura daturi sumus Baconiana latine versa, maximam partem inedita; et σvλλóyŋy adornamus epistolarum quas vir eminentissimus Hugo Grotius scripsit ad Belgas, Germanos, Italos, Suecos, Danos, Gallis exceptis, quas Clarissimus Sarravius Senator Parisiensis edidit. Rogantur itaque in quorum manus hæc inciderint, ut, si quid ejus notæ habent, aut sciunt unde haberi queat, ad typographum transmittant, et significent, cæteris jam collectis aggregandum.

From this statement we learn, first, that all the pieces in the volume are genuine, having been copied by Gruter from original manuscripts, bearing marks of revision and correction by Bacon himself; which manuscripts Gruter received directly from Sir William Boswell, to whom they had come directly from the executors; secondly, that Gruter had then in his possession, "non diu premenda," certain other writings of Bacon's (in Latin apparently) relating to morals and politics, which had come to Boswell along with these; and thirdly, that he had in his hands (but whether derived from the same source or not we cannot say) some pieces written by Bacon in English, and most of them unpublished; and that of these he intended shortly to bring out a Latin translation.

With regard to the works contained in this volume, he seems to have had no further information to give. He has confined himself to the simple office of transcriber. The order in which they are arranged tells nothing either as to nature or date; and the running titles, which are his own device, seem to imply a distinction which, being untrue, can only introduce confusion. By assigning separate running titles to some of the pieces and printing all the rest under one general running title of Impetus Philosophici, any one would suppose that he meant to distinguish the first as in some way different in character from the last, to separate the complete from the incomplete, for instance, the solid from the slight, or the deliberate and final judgment from the experimental and rudimentary essay;-whereas there is in fact no such difference to be found between the two: there being pieces among the last as complete in themselves as any among the first, and pieces among the first as incomplete as any among the last. And if I rightly understand Gruter's own explanation of his motive in making the distinction, namely, lest the reader should impute the imperfection of the pieces to the fault of the editor instead of the defervescens impetus of the author,

it would even seem that he supposed the Descriptio Globi Intellectualis and the De Principiis et Originibus to be complete; which he could not possibly have done if he had read them with his mind as well as with his eyes.

The fact probably is that the five pieces which stand first under separate titles - the priora per titulos suos separatawere found copied out in a book; and that the rest,- "quic

quid prioribus, &c. connecteretur,"-were in separate papers, tied up with it. We happen to know from the Commentarius Solutus that in the year 1608 this was the way in which Bacon's manuscripts were actually arranged,-that among his Libri Compositionum was one entitled Scripta in Naturali et Universali Philosophiâ, and that all his books "had pertaining to them fragments and loose papers of like nature with the books; and those likewise were bundled or laid up with the books." These last I presume it was, or such as these, that were called Impetus Philosophici by the "Vir Magnus" (that is, by Boswell,- for Bacon cannot be meant) with whom Gruter conferred about the papers: a description convenient enough for the purpose of distinguishing in a box of manuscripts the loose from the bound-up pieces, but worse than useless when introduced, especially with such imperfect explanation, into a printed book. In the present edition, the plan of which makes it necessary to separate and disperse the several pieces collected by Gruter under this title, the title itself is of course dispensed with. But if the reader wishes to know which of Bacon's posthumous writings he had taken pains to preserve by having them transcribed into a book, and which he had merely kept by him in loose bundles, - a point which it may sometimes be of use to ascertain,- he will find in the table of contents which I have just given all the information on the subject that can be extracted from Gruter's volume.

The duty of transcriber Gruter appears to have performed tolerably well; there are but a few places in which the text is manifestly corrupt; but since he has attempted nothing more, it is to be regretted that he has left us without any information as to the fate of the original manuscripts; not one of which, I believe, is known to be in existence. There is not one of them which would not be well worth examining, if it could be found; not only for the correction of the text, but because some interesting questions as to date might possibly be cleared up by help of the interlineations and alterations.

Another question well worth asking is, what became of those moral and political pieces which Gruter had received from Boswell, and had by him in 1653, and intended to publish? I cannot hear that he ever did publish anything answering the description; and unless he transferred them to Dr. Rawley to