Bacon, Sir Francis, Lord Verulam (1561-1626)

The Masculine Birth of Time [Temporis Partus Masculus]

c. 1603

"On waxen tablets you cannot write anything new until you rub out the old. With the mind it is not so; there you cannot rub out the old till you have written in the new."

But, my son, if I should ask you to grapple immediately with the bewildering complexities of experimental science before your mind has been purged of its idols, beyond a peradventure you would promptly desert your leader. Nor, even if you wished to do so, could you rid yourself of idols by simply taking my advice without familiarising yourself with nature. On waxen tablets you cannot write anything new until you rub out the old. With the mind it is not so; there you cannot rub out the old till you have written in the new. Nay, though you might possibly divest yourself of the idols of the inn, there would be every fear of your falling victim to the idols of the road, unless you were prepared. You have become too accustomed to following a guide. At Rome, too, when tyranny was once in the saddle, the oath of allegiance to the Senate and the People became a vain thing. Take heart, then, my son, and give yourself to me so that I may restore you to yourself.
(p. 72)

Writing::Tablet Writing::Wax

Reading

Trans. Benjamin Farrington, The Philosophy of Francis Bacon (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1964), 60-72. <Link to Online text>

04/14/2010