The Oxford Francis Bacon XIII
The Instauratio Magna: Last Writings
Francis Bacon author The late Graham Rees editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This volume belongs to the first new critical edition of the works of Francis Bacon (1561-1626) to have been produced since the nineteenth century. The edition presents the works in broadly chronological order and according to the best principles of modern textual scholarship. The seven works in the present volume belong to the final completed stages (Parts III-V) of Bacon's hugely ambitious six-part sequence of philosophical works, collectively entitled Instauratio magna (1620-6). All are presented in the original Latin with new facing-page translations. Three of the seven texts (substantial works in two cases, and all sharing a startlingly improbable textual history) are published and translated here for the first time: these are an early version of the Historia densi, the 'lost' Abecedarium, and the Historia de animato & inanimato. Another - the Prodromi sive anticipationes philosophiae secundae - has likewise never been translated before. Together with their commentaries and the introduction they open the way to important new understandings of Bacon's mature philosophical thought.
The OFB includes a great deal of new information concerning the history of the transmission of Bacon's texts, thanks to the progress made in Bacon scholarship ... I cannot imagine a scholar who would not give preference to the convenience and complexity of the new Bacon volumes. * Acta Comeniana *
Besides the texts themselves, the volumes include substantial introductions by the editors, detailed commentary and a useful glossary that gives the modern equivalents of Bacon's terms. Moreover, scholars can consult the meticulous technical descriptions of the texts reproduced and collated. * Acta Comeniana *
Tellingly erudite ... the product of thorough, painstaking, and judicious scholarship ... should serve to strengthen the vitality and visibility of the Bacon project, and fulfil the aim of all sound critical editions: to ensure that the work will not need to be redone for a very long time. * Notes and Queries *
There can be little doubt that Graham Rees's accurate and accessible editions of Bacon's writings will speak volumes to many succeeding generations of historians of early modern science and philosophy, and provide the securest possible foundation for any new historiographies of Bacon. * The British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS) *
Essential reading for those trying to understand Bacon's philosophy. * The British Journal of the History of Science *
In his introduction to and treatment of the manuscripts and published works on which his texts are based, Rees is a clear and an engaging editor. * Sixteenth Century Journal *
Quite simply, Rees is one of the very best guides we have to Bacon's material and speculative understanding of nature itself. Not surprisingly, the editor's knowledge of Bacon's philosophical lexicon strengthens his translations of the Latin in the facing-page English. * Sixteenth Century Journal *
ISBN: 9780198184706
Dimensions: 224mm x 145mm x 28mm
Weight: 632g
460 pages