This richly annotated second edition of the now-classic pairing of Bacons masterpieces, New Atlantis and The Great Instauration features the addition of other works by Bacon, including The Idols of the Mind, Of Unity in Religion and Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates, as well a Summary of the each work and Questions for the reader. SIncludes works new to the second edition, including The Idols of the Mind, Of Unity in Religion, and Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and EstatesUpdates the layout of the previous edition with a more generous interior design, making this work more student-friendly and easier to navigate in the classroomEach work is introduced and subsequently discussed, revealing the importance of Bacons work to his contemporaries as well as to modern readersIncludes a comprehensive introduction and annotations throughout the text; as well as an appendix of Principal Dates in the Life of Sir Francis Bacon; a selected bibliography; and synopses and questions to accompany each work

Jerry Weinberger is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. He received his B.A. from The University of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has won the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award, fellowships from the Earhart Foundation and the Institute for Educational Affairs, and has twice been a Senior Research Fellow of the NEH. He is Director of the LeFrak Forum and Co-Director of the Symposium on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy. Among his books areScience,Faith and Politics: Francis Bacon and the Utopian Roots of the Modern Age (1985);Francis Bacons History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh: A New Edition and Interpretive Essay (1996); andBenjamin Franklin Unmasked: On the Unity of His Moral, Religious, and Political Thought (2005). A resident of Washington, DC, he is a regular contributor toCity Journal, the nations premier urban-policy magazine.

Preface: Why a Second Edition? Vii

Acknowledgments ix

Note on the Texts xi

Principal Dates in the Life of Sir Francis Bacon Introduction to the Second Edition xv

The Great Instauration 1

Pro½mium 2

Epistle Dedicatory 5

Preface 8

The Plan of the Work 19

The Idols of the Mind 35

Synopsis and Questions 56

New Atlantis 61

Of Unity in Religion 113

Synopsis and Questions 118

Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates 121

Synopsis and Questions 130

On Bacons New Atlantis 133

Bibliography 159