First edition (Gibson, no.236). Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a Renaissance Humanist writer, courtier and is considered to be the father of deductive reasoning. He was mistrusted by Queen Elizabeth I but he quickly amassed titles under her successor, King James I. Bacon lost his place in court due to an accusation of accepting a bribe while acting as a judge. The Opera Omnia is a compilation of many of Bacon's works, including theoretical works such as the Advancement of Learning (De Augmentis Scientarium), The New Atlantis (Nova Atlantis), and the Divine Dialogue (Dialogus de Bello Sacro) as well as historical writings such as Sylvia Sylvarium, A Natural History in Ten Centuries, the History of King Henri VII and writings on Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar. Front pastedown signed and dated 1794. Title page printed in red and black with allegorical engraving of a river god and earth goddess. Decorative initial letters throughout. Blind stamped on both covers. This copy is incomplete. It lacks the half-title, portrait mentioned in Gibson and 8 pages from the index/table of experiments. Tear at the fore-edge begins around column 600 and stops at the eighth page of the index. Heavy stain on the bottom edge which appears on pages from around column 1160 to the end of the book but does not interfere with the text. The front cover is detached. Both covers and spine heavily chipped, rubbed and faded. Edges of pages brittle, foxed and heavily discolored throughout. Printed on laid paper.