PREFACE.


On the art of memory, 1 book.	Leland. Bale. Pits.
To the letter of Bonaventura, 1 book.	Bale. Pits. original: "Ad epist. Bonaventuræ." This likely refers to a response to Saint Bonaventure, who was the Minister General of the Franciscan Order and often at odds with Bacon’s scientific pursuits.
On the life of Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury.	Leland. Saint Edmund Rich (d. 1240) was a prominent figure at Oxford during Bacon's time there.

Did Leland not speak truly, O most learned sir, when he said that Bacon wrote a vast number of books? Yet this vast number of books, if we consider the matter a little more closely, will easily be reduced to a few. For while copies of Bacon’s works were scattered here and there in different places, it happened that the same short works were either regarded as different ones because they were titled differently, or certain chapters and fragments torn from them were presented as complete treatises. To make this clearer, we shall deal briefly with Bacon’s writings a little more explicitly, preserving the chronological order as much as possible.

r Work 3 to Clement IV. Manuscript Tiberius C. v. folio 3.

s Ibid.

t Ibid.

Bacon writes that while he lived a secular life The "secular life" refers to his time as a university teacher before joining the Franciscan Order., he composed no philosophical work. For he himself says to Clement, r "In my other state of life, I produced no writing on Philosophy." And after he had assumed the monk's habit, the prelates of his order not only did not demand such a work from him, but even prohibited him, under severe penalty, from communicating any writing composed by himself. "And certainly if I could have," s he says, "communicated freely, I would have composed many things for my brother scholar and my other most dear friends. But when I despaired of communication, I neglected to compose [anything]. Hence, when I offered myself as ready to Your Glory, know most certainly that this was for writings yet to be made, not already done." For although he had previously written certain very small treatises at the persuasion of his friends, he did not consider these worthy to be offered to the Roman Prelate. t "For although I have sometimes compiled some chapters on various subjects in a transitory manner at the instance of friends, this is not a writing of note, nor one to be offered to Your Wisdom."

u Volume 5 of the Chemical Theater, published at Strasbourg, by Lazarus Zetzner, 1622. 8vo. Hamburg, 1608, 1618, in 8vo.

Therefore, before the year 1276, in which he transmitted his works to Clement, Bacon wrote nothing except certain chapters. u There exist

but original: "autem." This is a catchword indicating the first word of the following page.