--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are and can be only two ways of…" description: "\"There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/francis-bacon-297_ascent_there-are-and-can-be-only-two-ways-of-se_475995.jpg" --- # There are and can be only two ways of searching into and… ![“There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms, and from these principles, the truth of which it takes for settled and immovable, proceeds to judgment and to the discovery of middle axioms. And…” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/francis-bacon-297_ascent_there-are-and-can-be-only-two-ways-of-se_475995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/francis-bacon-297_ascent_there-are-and-can-be-only-two-ways-of-se_475995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/francis-bacon-297_ascent_there-are-and-can-be-only-two-ways-of-se_475995.jpg) > “There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms, and from these principles, the truth of which it takes for settled and immovable, proceeds to judgment and to the discovery of middle axioms. And this way is now in fashion. The other derives axioms from the senses and particulars, rising by a gradual and unbroken ascent, so that it arrives at the most general axioms last of all. This is the true way, but as yet untried.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Two methods to discover truth: one starts with abstract principles and works down, the other builds from concrete observations upward; the latter is the true but untried path. **In simple terms:** Truth can be found by building from facts, not from assumptions. Key Takeaway Base knowledge on observation. Themes methodology knowledge science Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research - education - policy making - everyday decision making Key Concepts empiricism induction philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply observation‑first thinking? - What assumptions do you often start with? A Different Perspective Empirical method can be slow and may lack clear guidance early on. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Axioms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/axioms/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“PRACTICING THE FIRST TWO AXIOMS These are the first two axioms of The Way of the Heart, to be built on, to be remembered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanti-christo-foundation/practicing-the-first-two-axioms-these-are-the-first-two-axioms-of-the/) [Shanti Christo Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanti-christo-foundation/) > [The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-strategy-of-semantic-ascent-is-that-it-carries-the-discussion/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [How much time, creative energy, and emotion do we expend resisting change because we assume growth must always be painful? Much personal growth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/how-much-time-creative-energy-and-emotion-do-we-expend-resisting/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“Any movement toward Christ is ascent, and any direction away from Him is down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/any-movement-toward-christ-is-ascent-and-any-direction-away-from-him/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [The ascent to greatness, however steep and dangerous, may entertain an active spirit with the consciousness and exercise of its own power: but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-ascent-to-greatness-however-steep-and-dangerous-may-entertain-an/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Sometimes, when I get a good picture, it feels like I have taken another nervous step into increasingly rarified air. Each good-news picture, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/sometimes-when-i-get-a-good-picture-it-feels-like-i-have-taken/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [I at once commenced the ascent through a shower of arrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crook/i-at-once-commenced-the-ascent-through-a-shower-of-arrows/) [George Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crook/) > [There is wonder and a certain wicked pleasure in these giddy ascents and terrible falls, especially as they happen to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/there-is-wonder-and-a-certain-wicked-pleasure-in-these-giddy-ascents/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The growth of all the plants of the garden from seeds and roots keep us mindful, in accordance with of the Parable of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stokes/the-growth-of-all-the-plants-of-the-garden-from-seeds-and-roots-keep/) John Stokes > [As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more-deeply-aware-of-it-and-the/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [The real goal of a spiritual tradition should not be ascent, but openness, vulnerability, and this does not require great experiences but, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/the-real-goal-of-a-spiritual-tradition-should-not-be-ascent-but/) [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [No one should deny the danger of the descent, but it can be risked. No one need risk it, but it is certain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-one-should-deny-the-danger-of-the-descent-but-it-can-be-risked-no/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Without shedding of blood there is no anything. Everything, it seems to me, has to be purchased by selfsacrifice. Our race has marked every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/without-shedding-of-blood-there-is-no-anything-everything-it-seems-to/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Ascent quotes > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Without shedding of blood there is no anything. Everything, it seems to me, has to be purchased by selfsacrifice. Our race has marked every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/without-shedding-of-blood-there-is-no-anything-everything-it-seems-to/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [No one should deny the danger of the descent, but it can be risked. No one need risk it, but it is certain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-one-should-deny-the-danger-of-the-descent-but-it-can-be-risked-no/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The real goal of a spiritual tradition should not be ascent, but openness, vulnerability, and this does not require great experiences but, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/the-real-goal-of-a-spiritual-tradition-should-not-be-ascent-but/) [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) > [As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more-deeply-aware-of-it-and-the/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [The growth of all the plants of the garden from seeds and roots keep us mindful, in accordance with of the Parable of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stokes/the-growth-of-all-the-plants-of-the-garden-from-seeds-and-roots-keep/) John Stokes > [There is wonder and a certain wicked pleasure in these giddy ascents and terrible falls, especially as they happen to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/there-is-wonder-and-a-certain-wicked-pleasure-in-these-giddy-ascents/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I at once commenced the ascent through a shower of arrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crook/i-at-once-commenced-the-ascent-through-a-shower-of-arrows/) [George Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crook/) > [Sometimes, when I get a good picture, it feels like I have taken another nervous step into increasingly rarified air. Each good-news picture, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/sometimes-when-i-get-a-good-picture-it-feels-like-i-have-taken/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [The ascent to greatness, however steep and dangerous, may entertain an active spirit with the consciousness and exercise of its own power: but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-ascent-to-greatness-however-steep-and-dangerous-may-entertain-an/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Any movement toward Christ is ascent, and any direction away from Him is down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/any-movement-toward-christ-is-ascent-and-any-direction-away-from-him/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [How much time, creative energy, and emotion do we expend resisting change because we assume growth must always be painful? Much personal growth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/how-much-time-creative-energy-and-emotion-do-we-expend-resisting/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-strategy-of-semantic-ascent-is-that-it-carries-the-discussion/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Despair is good. Despair can be the nadir of one life and the starting point of an ascent into another, better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/despair-is-good-despair-can-be-the-nadir-of-one-life-and-the-starting/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) Browse all 168 Ascent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms, and from these principles, the truth of which it takes for settled and immovable, proceeds to judgment and to the discovery of middle axioms. And this way is now in fashion. The other derives axioms from the senses and particulars, rising by a gradual and unbroken ascent, so that it arrives at the most general axioms last of all. 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