New Atlantis (utopian novel)

In honor of the most illustrious Lord Verulam,

Viscount St. Albans, Keeper of the Great Seal,

after the publication by him of the

Great Instauration. original: Instaurationem magnam; Bacon's masterwork intended to reorganize all human knowledge through empirical science.

Who is this man, at last? For he does not walk with an ordinary expression! Do you not know, you ignorant one? You shall hear.

The Leader of Ideas original: Notionum, the High Priest of Truth, the Master of Induction Referring to Bacon's "inductive method," the process of reaching general conclusions from specific observations. and of Verulam; the sole Master of Things, but not of the [scholastic] Arts original: Artium; this implies Bacon studied reality itself rather than just traditional academic subjects.. A towering pine of depth and elegance, an intimate diviner of Nature; the Treasury of Philosophy, the mediator between experience and speculation; the standard-bearer of justice.

The Emancipator of the Sciences, which formerly lived in a state of childhood original: pupillari statu; science was previously seen as immature or restricted by ancient traditions.; the Steward of Light, the banisher of "Idols" original: Idolûm; Bacon's term for the mental errors and prejudices that distort human understanding. and of clouds.

The Colleague of the Sun; the Square of Certainty; the undoer of fallacies original: Sophismatum matrix; literally the "womb" of sophisms, here meaning the one who understands and exposes them.; a literary Brutus, casting off the tyranny of [ancient] authority.

The amazing Judge of Reason and the Senses; the polisher of the mind; a physical Atlas who stands firm while the Hercules of Stagira original: Alcide Stagiritico; a reference to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stagira. The poet suggests Bacon's science supports the world better than Aristotle's old philosophy did. gives way.

Like Noah’s Dove, which, finding no place or rest among the ancient arts, chose to return to its own home and its mother’s Ark.