PBA Galleries

10 volumes. Vol. 1 with portrait frontispiece and foldout table, 1 other foldout table. (8vo) 22x13 cm (8½x5"), period calf with tooled borders, decorative spines with black leather title and number labels printed in gilt.

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban KC, 1561 1626, was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism. His works argued for the possibility of scientific knowledge based only upon inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. Most importantly, he argued this could be achieved by use of a skeptical and methodical approach whereby scientists aim to avoid misleading themselves. Although his political career ended in disgrace, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific revolution.