第 60 节
作者:乐乐陶陶      更新:2021-02-24 23:08      字数:9321
  progress in science; the way to it being indicated by him pre…
  eminently?
  The whole thing consists in this; that Bacon pointed out the right
  road to truth;as a board where two roads meet or diverge
  indicates the one which is to be followed。  He did not make a
  system; like Descartes or Spinoza or Newton: he showed the way to
  make it on sound principles。  〃He laid down a systematic analysis
  and arrangement of inductive evidence。〃  The syllogism; the great
  instrument used by Aristotle and the Schoolmen; 〃is; from its very
  nature; incompetent to prove the ultimate premises from which it
  proceeds; and when the truth of these remains doubtful; we can
  place no confidence in the conclusions drawn from them。〃  Hence;
  the first step in the reform of science is to review its ultimate
  principles; and the first condition of a scientific method is that
  it shall be competent to conduct such an inquiry; and this method
  is applicable; not to physical science merely; but to the whole
  realm of knowledge。  This; of course; includes poetry; art;
  intellectual philosophy; and theology; as well as geology and
  chemistry。
  And it is this breadth of inquirydirected to subjective as well
  as objective knowledgewhich made Bacon so great a benefactor。
  The defect in Macaulay's criticism is that he makes Bacon
  interested in mere outward phenomena; or matters of practical
  utility;a worldly utilitarian of whom Epicureans may be proud。
  In reality he soared to the realm of Plato as well as of Aristotle。
  Take; for instance; his Idola Mentis Humanae; or 〃Phantoms of the
  Human Mind;〃 which compose the best…known part of the 〃Novum
  Organum。〃  〃The Idols of the Tribe〃 would show the folly of
  attempting to penetrate further than the limits of the human
  faculties permit; as also 〃the liability of the intellect to be
  warped by the will and affections; and the like。〃  The 〃Idols of
  the Den〃 have reference to 〃the tendency to notice differences
  rather than resemblances; or resemblances rather than differences;
  in the attachment to antiquity or novelty; in the partiality to
  minute or comprehensive investigations。〃  〃The Idols of the Market…
  Place〃 have reference to the tendency to confound words with
  things; which has ever marked controversialists in their learned
  disputatious。  In what he here says about the necessity for
  accurate definitions; he reminds us of Socrates rather than a
  modern scientist; this necessity for accuracy applies to
  metaphysics as much as it does to physics。  〃The Idols of the
  Theatre〃 have reference to perverse laws of demonstration which are
  the strongholds of error。  This school deals in speculations and
  experiments confined to a narrow compass; like those of the
  alchemists;too imperfect to elicit the light which should guide。
  Bacon having completed his discussion of the Idola; then proceeds;
  to point out the weakness of the old philosophies; which produced
  leaves rather than fruit; and were stationary in their character。
  Here he would seem to lean towards utilitarianism; were it not that
  he is as severe on men of experiment as on men of dogma。  〃The men
  of experiment are;〃 says he; 〃like ants;they only collect and
  use; the reasoners resemble spiders; who make cobwebs out of their
  own substance。  But the bee takes a middle course; it gathers the
  material from the flowers; but digests it by a power of its own。 。 。 。
  So true philosophy neither chiefly relies on the powers of the
  mind; nor takes the matter which it gathers and lays it up in the
  memory; whole as it finds it; but lays it up in the understanding;
  to be transformed and digested。〃  Here he simply points out the
  laws by which true knowledge is to be attained。  He does not extol
  physical science alone; though doubtless he had a preference for it
  over metaphysical inquiries。  He was an Englishman; and the English
  mind is objective rather than subjective; and is prone to over…
  value the outward and the seen; above the inward and unseen; and
  perhaps for the same reason that the Old Testament seems to make
  prosperity the greatest blessing; while adversity seems to he the
  blessing of the New Testament。
  One of Bacon's longest works is the 〃Silva Sylvarum;〃a sort of
  natural history; in which he treats of the various forces and
  productions of Nature;the air the sea; the winds; the clouds;
  plants and animals; fire and water; sounds and discords; colors and
  smells; heat and cold; disease and health; but which varied
  subjects he presents to communicate knowledge; with no especial
  utilitarian end。
  〃The Advancement of Learning〃 is one of Bacon's most famous
  productions; but I fail to see in it an objective purpose to enable
  men to become powerful or rich or comfortable; it is rather an
  abstract treatise; as dry to most people as legal disquisitions;
  and with no more reference to rising in the world than
  〃Blackstone's Commentaries〃 or 〃Coke upon Littleton。〃  It is a
  profound dissertation on the excellence of learning; its great
  divisions treating of history; poetry; and philosophy;of
  metaphysical as well as physical philosophy; of the province of
  understanding; the memory; the will; the reason; and the
  imagination; and of man in society;of government; of universal
  justice; of the fountains of law; of revealed religion。
  And if we turn from the new method by which he would advance all
  knowledge; and on which his fame as a philosopher chiefly rests;
  that method which has led to discoveries that even Bacon never
  dreamed of; not thinking of the fruit he was to bestow; but only
  the way to secure it;even as a great inventor thinks more of his
  invention than of the money he himself may reap from it; as a work
  of creation to benefit the world rather than his own family; and in
  the work of which his mind revels in a sort of intoxicated delight;
  like a true poet when he constructs his lines; or a great artist
  when he paints his picture;a pure subjective joy; not an
  anticipated gain;if we turn from this 〃method〃 to most of his
  other writings; what do we find?  Simply the lucubrations of a man
  of letters; the moral wisdom of the moralist; the historian; the
  biographer; the essayist。  In these writings we discover no more
  worldliness than in Macaulay when he wrote his 〃Milton;〃 or Carlyle
  when he penned his 〃Burns;〃even less; for Bacon did not write to
  gain a living; but to please himself and give vent to his burning
  thoughts。  In these he had no worldly aim to reach; except perhaps
  an imperishable fame。  He wrote as Michael Angelo sculptured his
  Moses; and he wrote not merely amid the cares and duties of a great
  public office; with other labors which might be called Herculean;
  but even amid pains of disease and the infirmities of age;when
  rest; to most people; is the greatest boon and solace of their
  lives。
  Take his Essays;these are among his best…known works;so
  brilliant and forcible; suggestive and rich; that even Archbishop
  Whately's commentaries upon them are scarcely an addition。  Surely
  these are not on material subjects; and indicate anything but a
  worldly or sordid nature。  In these famous Essays; so luminous with
  the gems of genius; we read not such worldly…wise exhortations as
  Lord Chesterfield impressed upon his son; not the gossiping
  frivolities of Horace Walpole; not the cynical wit of Montaigne;
  but those great certitudes which console in affliction; which
  kindle hope; which inspire lofty resolutions;anchors of the soul;
  pillars of faith; sources of immeasurable joy; the glorious ideals
  of true objects of desire; the eternal unities of truth and love
  and beauty; all of which reveal the varied experiences of life and
  the riches of deeply…pondered meditation on God and Christianity;
  as well as knowledge of the world and the desirableness of its
  valued gifts。  How beautiful are his thoughts on death; on
  adversity; on glory; on anger; on friendship; on fame; on ambition;
  on envy; on riches; on youth and old age; and divers other subjects
  of moral import; which show the elevation of his soul; and the
  subjective as well as the objective turn of his mind; not dwelling
  on what he should eat and what he should drink and wherewithal he
  should be clothed; but on the truths which appeal to our higher
  nature; and which raise the thoughts of men from earth to heaven;
  or at least to the realms of intellectual life and joy。
  And then; it is necessary that we should take in view other labors
  which dignified Bacon's retirement; as well as those which marked
  his more active career as a lawyer and statesman;his histories
  and biographies; as well as learned treatises to improve the laws
  of England; his political discourses; his judicial charges; his
  theological tracts; his speeches and letters and prayers; all of
  which had relation to benefit others rather than himself。  Who has
  ever done more to instruct the world;to enable men to rise not in
  fortune merely; but in virtue and patriotism;