Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1626

Sylva Sylvarum

Francis Bacon · 1626

Bacon's posthumous collection of 1,000 experiments and observations, meant to supply the natural histories his scientific method required.

Bacon's own posthumously published collection of experiments, central to his scientific method.

Ask Francis Bacon about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Engraved frontispiece of Sylva Sylvarum. Two cherub heads sit in clouds at top, with Hebrew letters and Latin text 'Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona'. A globe labeled 'Mundus Intellectualis' sits between two classical columns above a title cartouche reading 'Sylva Sylvarum or A Naturall History in ten centuries'. Printed in London, 1627.
Frontispiece to Sylva Sylvarum by Francis Bacon, 1626 (printed 1627). Houghton Library, Harvard University.

About this source

What it is

Sylva Sylvarum, or A Natural History in Ten Centuries, is a book by Francis Bacon published after his death in 1626 (printed 1627). It collects a thousand short entries of experiments and observations. The frontispiece shown here, from a copy at Harvard's Houghton Library, includes a Latin quotation and an image of a globe labelled 'Mundus Intellectualis' between two columns.

Why it matters

Bacon believed that science needed huge collections of careful observations before true laws of nature could be found. Sylva Sylvarum was his attempt to build such a collection himself, covering many everyday phenomena. It shows his working method and his ambition to reform how knowledge was built, even in a sometimes disorganised form.

Look closer

  • Why might Bacon have organised his observations into a thousand short numbered entries rather than one continuous argument?
  • What does the frontispiece's imagery of columns, a globe, and religious text suggest about how the book wanted to present knowledge?
  • What might be missing from a natural history based only on observation, without later scientific testing?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Francis Bacon on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Francis Bacon sources

Meet the AI Francis Bacon →
Engraved title page of Novum Organum Scientiarum by Francis Bacon, Leiden 1645, showing two classical columns, ships on the sea, and the Latin motto Multi pertransibunt & augebitur scientia.Book

Primary source

Novum Organum

Francis Bacon · 1620

Black and white engraving of a bearded man in 17th-century dress: a tall black hat, a large white lace ruff, and a dark cloak with patterned trim. He stands before a draped curtain with his right hand resting on a draped table.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait Engraving of Francis Bacon, Proof Impression

Title page of a 1696 London edition of Sir Francis Bacon's Essays, Or Councils, Civil and Moral, with a table of the colours of good and evil and a discourse on the wisdom of the ancients. Printed for H. Herringman, R. Scot, R. Chiswell, A. Swalle, and R. Bentley.Book

Primary source

Essays

Francis Bacon · 1597

Black and white engraved portrait of a bearded man with curly hair, wearing a wide-brimmed dark hat, a large white lace collar, and a dark embroidered doublet, against a shaded background. The caption below reads 'LORD BACON'.Painting

Secondary source

Francis Bacon, Engraving by C. Cook after Houbraken

C. Cook after Jacobus Houbraken · 1738

Title page of New Atlantis, printed in old-style typeface: 'NEVV ATLANTIS. A Vvorke vnfinished. Vvritten by the Right Honourable, Francis Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban.' Below the text is a small ornate woodcut frame with a figure and a winged creature.Book

Primary source

New Atlantis

Francis Bacon · 1627

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Francis Bacon now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions