In his Confession of Faith, Francis Bacon makes the striking claim that the laws of nature have changed over time. While the connections between this claim and theology are outlined in the Confession itself, it is not clear what role the proposal of mutable laws of nature might play in Bacon’s program of reform for natural philosophy. I argue that the notion that the laws of nature have changed over time plays a significant role in shaping the character and content of much of Baconian natural philosophy. I explore this role as it evolves in published works from the 1597 Meditationes Sacrae to the 1623 Historia Vitae et Mortis, while also showing how unpublished material can provide important clarification and illumination of the published works.

中文翻译：

---

1597 年至 1623 年培根语料库中自然规律变化的概念

在他的信仰告白, 弗朗西斯·培根 (Francis Bacon) 惊人地宣称自然法则随着时间而改变。虽然这一主张与神学之间的联系在告白本身，尚不清楚可变自然法则的提议在培根的自然哲学改革计划中可能扮演什么角色。我认为，自然法则随着时间而改变的观念在塑造培根自然哲学的特征和内容方面发挥着重要作用。我探索了这个角色，因为它在 1597 年出版的作品中不断演变神圣沉思到 1623生与死史，同时还展示了未发表的材料如何为已发表的作品提供重要的澄清和启发。