Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- I -- II -- III -- IV -- Chronology -- Editor's note -- The translation -- The notes -- Bibliographical note -- Introduction -- Bibliographies -- English translations of other works by Vico -- Works on Vico -- Glossary -- The First New Science -- Idea of the Work -- Book I -- Book II -- Book III -- Book IV -- Book V -- BOOK I THE NECESSITY OF THE END AND THE DIFFICULTY OF THE MEANS OF DISCOVERING A NEW SCIENCE -- [Chapter] I Reasons for our meditation on this work -- [Chapter] II Meditation on a New Science -- [Chapter] III The defect of such a Science if based upon the maxims of the Epicureans and Stoics or the practices advocated… -- [Chapter] IV This Science is meditated on the basis of the Roman jurisconsults' idea of the natural law of the gentes -- [Chapter] V The defect of such Science if based upon the systems of Grotius, Selden or Pufendorf -- [Chapter] VI Reasons why this Science has hitherto been lacking among the philosophers and philologists -- [Chapter] VII The necessity, both human and doctrinal, that the origins of this Science be derived from sacred history -- [Chapter] VIII The difficulty of discovering the progress or continuity [proper to this Science] -- [Chapter] IX [The difficulty of discovering the origins of humanity] from the philosophers -- [Chapter] X [The difficulty of discovering the origins of humanity] from the philologists -- [Chapter] XI The necessity to seek the principles of the nature of nations by means of a metaphysics raised to contemplate a… -- [Chapter] XII On the idea of a jurisprudence of mankind -- [Chapter] XIII The severe difficulties of discovering [the mode of men's first ideas] -- BOOK II THE PRINCIPLES OF THIS SCIENCE CONCERNING IDEAS -- [Introduction].

[Chapter] I The first principle of the nations is Providence -- [Chapter] II The rule of the world of nations is vulgar wisdom -- [Chapter] III The artificer of the world of nations is human will regulated by vulgar wisdom -- [Chapter] IV The natural order of human ideas of an eternal justice -- [Chapter] V The natural order of human ideas of a universal justice -- [Chapter] VI The natural order of gentile human ideas of divinity through which, depending upon whether they have been kept… -- [Chapter] VII The natural order of ideas concerning the law of the nations [as it proceeds] through their own religions… -- Corollary A practical test comparing [the results of] our reasoned principles with the vulgar tradition that the Law of… -- [Chapter] VIII The idea of an ideal eternal history in accordance with which the histories of all nations proceed through… -- [Chapter] IX The idea of a new critical art -- [Chapter] X First: through certain kinds of evidence synchronous with the times in which the gentile nations were born -- [Chapter] XI Second: through certain kinds of medals belonging to the first peoples, with which the Universal Flood is… -- [Chapter] XII Third: through physical demonstrations which prove that the first origin of profane history lay in the giants… -- [Chapter] XIII Fourth: by interpreting the fables in the light of physics, it is discovered that the principle of idolatry… -- [Chapter] XIV Fifth: with metaphysical proofs through which it is discovered that the whole theology of the gentiles owes… -- [Chapter] XV Through a metaphysics of mankind the great principle of the division of the fields and the first outlines of… -- [Chapter] XVI The origin of nobility is discovered -- [Chapter] XVII The origin of heroism is discovered.

[Chapter] XVIII This New Science proceeds through a morality of mankind, from which the limits within which the customs of… -- I -- II -- III -- IV -- V -- VI -- VII -- [Chapter] XIX This New Science proceeds through a politics of mankind, from which it is discovered that the first… -- [Chapter] XX The first fathers in the state of the families are discovered to have been monarchical kings -- [Chapter] XXI The first kingdoms in the state of the cities are discovered to have been heroic -- [Chapter] XXII The principle of heroic virtue -- [Chapter] XXIII The principles of all three forms of republic -- [Chapter] XXIV The principles of the first aristocratic republics -- [Chapter] XXV The discovery of the first families that include others than just their children -- [Chapter] XXVI Determination of the first occupations, usucaptions and mancipations -- [Chapter] XXVII The discovery of the first duels or the first private wars -- [Chapter] XXVIII The origin of the genealogies and the nobility of the first gentes -- [Chapter] XXIX The discovery of the first asylums and of the eternal origins of all states -- [Chapter] XXX The discovery of the first clienteles and the first outlines of surrender in war -- [Chapter] XXXI The discovery of the fiefs of the heroic times -- [Chapter] XXXII The point at which the heroic republics were born from the clienteles -- [Chapter] XXXIII The discovery of the first [forms of] peace and the first tributes in the two oldest agrarian laws, which… -- [Chapter] XXXIV The discovery of the heroic republics that were uniform among the Latins, Greeks and Asians, and of the… -- [Chapter] XXXV The discovery of the heroic or aristocratic nature of the Roman kingdom -- [Chapter] XXXVI The discovery of the truth concerning the Law of the Twelve Tables as the basis of the greater part of the….

[Chapter] XXXVII The eternal principle of human governments in the free republics and the monarchies -- [Chapter] XXXVIII The natural law of the gentes that proceeds in constant uniformity among the nations -- [Chapter] XXXIX The discovery of the divine nature of the first natural law of the gentes -- [Chapter] XL The principle of the external justice of war -- [Chapter] XLI Optimum law as the principle of revenge and the origin of heraldic law -- [Chapter] XLII The law of the bond as the origin of obligations and the first outlines of reprisals and slavery -- [Chapter] XLIII The religious aspect of the first laws of the nations -- [Chapter] XLIV The discovery that heroic law was the second natural law of the gentes -- [Chapter] XLV The discovery that ancient Roman law was wholly heroic and the source of Roman virtue and greatness -- [Chapter] XLVI The discovery that human law is the final law of the gentes -- [Chapter] XLVII A demonstration of the truth of the Christian religion and a criticism of the three systems of Grotius… -- [Chapter XLVIII] The idea of a jurisprudence of mankind that changes through certain sects of times -- [Chapter] XLVIII [XLIX] The jurisprudence of the sect of superstitious times -- [Chapter] XLIX [L] The discovery of the secrecy of the laws uniform in all the ancient nations -- [Chapter] L [LI] A demonstration that the laws were not born of deception -- [Chapter] LI [LII] The jurisprudence of the sect of heroic times in which the origin of the legitimate acts of the Romans… -- [Chapter] LII [LIII] The origin of the harsh jurisprudence of the ancients -- [Chapter] LIII [LIV] The discovery of the causes of the belief that the Law of the Twelve Tables came from Sparta -- [Chapter] LIV [LV] The jurisprudence of the sect of human times and the principle of the benign jurisprudence of the last….

[Chapter] LV [LVI] The discovery of the causes of the belief that the Law of the Twelve Tables came from Athens -- [Chapter] LVI [LVII] The discovery of the true elements of history -- [Chapter] LVII [LVIII] New historical principles of astronomy -- [Chapter] LVIII [LIX] The idea of a reasoned chronology of the obscure and fabulous times -- [Chapter] LIX [LX] The discovery of new kinds of anachronism and of new principles for their correction -- [Chapter] LX [LXI] New historical principles of geography -- [Chapter] LXI [LXII] The discovery of the great principle of the propagation of the nations -- [Chapter]LXII [LXIII] The discovery of the principle of the colonies and provinces and of Roman, Latin and Italic law -- [Chapter] LXIII [LXIV] The discovery of the mode of the overseas heroic colonies -- [Chapter] LXIV [LXV] The discovery of the first origin in this Science -- [Chapter] LXV [LXVI] The origins of recondite wisdom are discovered to lie within those of vulgar wisdom -- [Chapter]LXVI [LXVII] The idea of a civil history of inventions in the sciences, disciplines and arts -- [Chapter] LXVII [LXVIII] Determination of the eternal point of the perfect state of the nations -- BOOK III THE PRINCIPLES OF THIS SCIENCE CONCERNING LANGUAGE -- [Introduction] -- [Chapter] I New principles of mythology and etymology -- [Chapter] II New principles of poetry -- [Chapter] III Determination of the birth of the first fable, the origin of idolatry and divination -- [Chapter] IV The first principle of the divine poetry, i.e. the theology, of the gentiles -- [Chapter] V The discovery of the principle of the poetic characters that constituted the vocabulary of the first [gentile]… -- [Chapter] VI The discovery of the true poetic allegories -- [Chapter] VII The idea of a natural theogony.

[Chapter] VIII [The idea of a reasoned chronology proceeding] from the fables of the gods through those of the heroes to….