Francis Bacon, Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human (Historia Naturalis & Experimentalis).
1730, London: R. Gosling.
Latin, English

Description: 596 pages (pages in the index are unpaginated). 8º. 310 x 195 mm. Thick brownish paper with some unindetified watermarks.

Text area: 240 x 135 mm. 1 column. Printed in black ink. Paginated. Catchwords on every page, bottom right. Signatures: A-Z, Aa-Zz,Aaa-Zzz, Aaaa-Zzzz, 5A-5Z,6A-6Z, 7A-7M.

Ornamentation: 2-3 lines printed initials. Some decorative emblems printed in black. Binding: 330 x 210 mm. Original brown calf, blind-tooled with geometrical and decorative ornament; partly worn, over cardboards. Sewn on 5 double thongs. Edges speckled red. At the spine, in the second compartment, in gilt letters: Baconi Opera Omnia. In the third compartment: 2.

Provenance, inscriptions, and librarian marks: On the front pastedown appears a bookplate of the famous eighteenth century Shakespearean actor and theatre manager David Garrick (1717-1779).

Condition: Some foxing. Otherwise, in very good condition.

Contents: Francis Bacon, a luminary of early modern thought, profoundly reconfigured the landscape of intellectual inquiry. Born in 1561, his contributions transcend mere philosophical discourse, as he sought to redefine the very foundations of knowledge itself. In his seminal work, Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human (1605), Bacon embarks on a rigorous critique of contemporary educational paradigms, challenging the prevailing reverence for antiquity. He articulates a vision of learning grounded in systematic investigation and empirical rigor, positioning knowledge as a dynamic and expansive pursuit rather than a static inheritance. Bacon’s treatise not only deconstructs the deficiencies of scholasticism but also proposes an ambitious framework for the reformation of intellectual practice, one that privileges the active cultivation of knowledge for the advancement of society.

Description by Dr. Ilya Dines