On the Secret Works of Art and Nature and the Nullity of Magic

1. Opus maius Greater Work. This is one of the works he sent to Pope Clement IV, and it is the only one of them that is in print. The Opus minus Lesser Work and Opus tertium Third Work are located in manuscript form in libraries. This opere maiori greater work contains almost all the improvements and discoveries that Bacon made in the sciences. It consists of six parts, which have been torn apart over time into a multitude of individual treatises and titled differently. Thus, the first and second parts contain the books cited by others as separate works: de impedimentis sapientiae on the impediments to wisdom, de causis ignorantiae humanae on the causes of human ignorance, and de utilitate scientiarum on the utility of the sciences. The third part contains the book de utilitate linguarum on the utility of languages. The fourth part contains the books de centris gravium on the centers of heavy things, de ponderibus on weights, de valore musices on the value of music, de iudiciis astrologiae on the judgments of astrology, de cosmographia on cosmography, de situ orbis on the position of the globe, de regionibus mundi on the regions of the world, de situ palaestinae on the location of Palestine, de locis sacris on sacred places, and descriptiones locorum mundi descriptions of the places of the world. The appendix contains the work de utilitate astronomiae on the utility of astronomy, prognostica ex siderum cursu prognostications from the course of the stars, and perhaps also de aspectibus lunae on the aspects of the moon. From the fifth part, a perspectiva singularis singular perspective, perspectiva distincta distinct perspective, and perspectiva continua continuous perspective have been created. Located with this part is also the tractatus de multiplicatione specierum treatise on the multiplication of species, which has likewise been multiplied through its own divisions. The sixth part contains the treatises de arte experimentali on experimental art, de radiis solaribus on solar rays, and de coloribus per artem fiendis on colors made by art.