CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE T)ate Due -im^p«s7 i-m-'i: w^^ -,^M- 1966 H V -OEC-^^9~»S66.i:^ MAR.Ir6-B69-^1! grfc W^-^~^. AUa-L4=49^f 2 ® PR 2206.842""" """'^""'yubra^ '_ 3 1924 0131 if 639 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 31 1 7639 THE ESSAYS OF PEANCIS BACON THE ESSAYS OF FRANCIS BACON EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY MAEY AUaUSTA SCOTT, Ph.D. PBorESSOB or the bnsiiISh lanouaqe and LITEBATUEB IN SMITH COLIiKQE NEW YORK CHARLES SCEIBNER'S SONS 1908 T^ A«^i.o^^V He had been created Viscount St. Alban, January 27, 1621. On January 30 Parliament met. Five days later Sir Edward Coke, Bacon's life-long rival, moved that a committee be appointed to in- quire into public grievances. Two committees were xlvih INTEODUCTION named, to investigate monopolies and to report on the administration of the courts of justice. This latter committee reported to the House of Commons, March 15, that the Lord Chancellor was guilty of corruption in office, and cited two cases of bribery as proof. Bacon fell ill, and sat in the House of Lords for the last time on March 17. He wrote to the Duke of Buckingham, he had an interview with the King, but he was only referred back to the Commons. By the middle of April the two original charges had increased to twenty-three. At first Bacon was inclined to meet the charges against him and to defend his honor, but his judgment wavered from day to day. He wrote to the King, April 20, asking for the charges in particular. The next day, April 21, it occurred to him that he might weather the "tempest that had come upon him" by a general submission, and he wrote again, — "I assure myself that if it be reformation that be sought, the very taking away the Seal, upon my general submission, will be as much an exam- ple for these four hundred years as any further severity." On the following day, April 22, he sent a letter to the Lords, entitled, The Humble Submission and Supplication of the Lord Chan- cellor, in which he said,— "I do ingenuously con- fess and acknowledge that, having understood the particulars of the charge, not formally from the House, but enough to inform my conscience and memory, I find matter sufficient and full, both to move me to desert the defence, and to move your Lordships to condemn and censure me." The INTBODUCTION Lords were puzzled by Bacon's change of front, from demanding particulars to a general confes- sion of guilt, when as yet the charges had neither been read in full committee, nor formally laid be- fore the accused Lord Chancellor. The Earl of Southampton, whom Bacon had assisted in con- demning to death with Essex, voiced the opinion of the peers when he said,— "He is charged by the Commons with corruption ; and no word of confes- sion of any corruption in hiS submission. It stands with the justice and honour of this House not to proceed without the parties' particular confession; or to have the parties hear the charge, and we to hear the parties' answer." The Lords voted to spare the Lord Chancellor the indignity of being brought to the bar to be confronted with the charges, but they sent him a "collection of corruptions," with the message that they expected "his answer to the same with all convenient expedition." Bacon replied, April 30, with a full confession. It reads in part, — "To the Right Honorable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in the High Court of Parliament Assembled. "The Confession and Humble Submission of me, Lord Chancellor: — "Upon advised consideration of the charge, de- scending into my own conscience, and calling my memory to account so far as I am able, I do plainly and ingenuously confess that I am guilty of cor- ruption, and do renounce all defence. ' ' 1 INTEODUCTION Nothing was left to do but to pronoimce judg- ment. Bacon was summoned before the House of Lords May 3 to receive sentence, but he was too ill to appear. It was voted unanimously that the Lord Chancellor Bacon should pay a fine of £40,000; that he should be forever incapable of holding of- fice, or of sitting in Parliament ; that he should be imprisoned in the Tower during the King's pleas- ure ; and that he should not come within the verge of the Court, that is, within a range of twelve miles round the King's residence in London. By a majority of two he was allowed to retain his titles. On the 31st of May Bacon was imprisoned in the Tower, and wrote the same day to Bucking- ham begging for a warrant for his release. In this letter, in the same sentence in which he acknow- ledged "the sentence just, and for reformation sake fit," he declared that he was "the justest Chan- cellor that hath been in the five changes since Sir Nicholas Bacon's time." The King ordered Ba- con's release at once, as we learn from a letter of thanks to Buckingham, dated June 4. Subse- quently the fine was remitted by transferring it from the King to persons named by Bacon, in trust for Bacon. The rest of the sentence stood, except that in about a year he was allowed to re- turn to London. It had been a rise to vast power and influence. It wag a fall full of shame and ignominy. Bacon was too great a man, however, not to be great still even in disgrace. He retired to Gorhambury, and there for the remaining five years of his life he li INTEODUCTION occupied himself with literary' pursuits. During the first summer of his enforced retirement to private life, he composed his Historie of the Baigne of King Henry the Seventh. In 1623, he published the Latin version of the Advancement of Learn- ing, now issued in nine books with the title De Augmentis Scientiarum. The poet George Her- bert is said to have helped him with the translation. His Apophthegmes New and Old, 1624, can only be said to have been the occupation of a morning in the sense that he may have arranged the order of the stories in one morning. The last three years of Bacon's life were spent in writing his Sylva Syl- varum: or A Natural History, and in editing the third and final edition of the Essays. This edition, published in March, 1625, contains the fifty-eight essays of all subsequent editions, and was entitled Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall. The book was dedicated to the Duke of Buckingham. To us who have received the great inheritance of the Eng- lish language, it seems very curious that Bacon should write in the dedication, nine years after the death of Shakspere,— "For I do conceive that the Latin volume of them (being in the universal lan- guage) may last as' long as books last. ' ' The Latin translation of Bacon's Essays was first published in 1638 by his chaplain. Dr. William Eawley, among the Opera Moralia et Civilia, and with the title Sermones Fideles sive Interiora Berum. It is inferred that Bacon at least supervised the Latin translation, from the fact that he left this opinion as to its value, but it is now impossible to ascertain INTEODUCTION whether he himself was the translator of the whole or of any particular part of the work. Mr. Sped- ding thinks that Bacon was concerned in the re- vision of the essay, Of Plantations, if not in its careful translation. Two essays, Of Prophecies and Of Masques and Triumphs, have no Latin translation. The absence of translations of these two essays may mean, either that Bacon was his own translator and had not time to complete the whole series before his death, or that the work of supervising translations by other persons ceased with the death of the author. The story of the death of Francis Bacon is fa- miliar. It was the direct result of an experiment like those he describes in his Natural History. On a cold, raw day in early spring, April 2, 1626, as he was driving out of London, it occurred to him to find out whether a fowl stuffed with snow could be kept. He stopped and bought a hen from a woman by the roadside and stuffed it with snow himself. He was taken with a chiU, and, unable to go home, he sought refuge in the house of the Earl of Arundel, at Highgate. His last letter, one of apology to Lord Arundel for his involuntary in- trusion, shows that he knew his condition was se- rious, but that he did not expect the end. He says, —"I was like to have had the fortune of Caius Plinius the elder, who lost his life by trying an experiment about the burning of the mountain Vesuvius," and adds, characteristically, "as for the experiment itself, it succeeded excellently well." After an illness of a week only, Francis Ba- liii INTEODUCTION con died, early on Easter morning, April 9, 1626, of the disease now known as bronchitis. He was buried, as he had directed in his will, beside his mother, in St. Michael's Church, St. Albans, where a monument in white marble was erected to his memory by his former secretary, Sir Thomas Meautys. An effigy on the stone represents Ba- con's "full portraiture in the posture of study- ing." In wide-brimmed hat and long official robe, with falling ruff. Bacon is seated in an arm-chair, his head resting on his left arm. The Latin in- scription underneath was written by Sir Henry Wotton. The monument portrait is figured as the frontispiece to Part I of John Nicol's Francis Ba- con: His Life and Philosophy. Sir Thomas Meautys had married Anne Bacon, daughter of Bacon's half-brother. Sir Nathaniel Bacon. After her husband's death. Lady Meautys became the second wife of Sir Harbottle Grim- ston. Speaker of the House of Commons in the year of the Eestoration. She had a life interest in the manor of Gorhambury, which Sir Harbottle Grimston made his principal country seat, and of which he bought the reversion. James Walter Grimston, third Earl of Verulam, descends from Sir Harbottle Grimston, so that Sir Nicholas Ba- con's manor of Gorhambury passed through his .granddaughter to the present owner. Posterity is indebted to the Grimston family for the preservation of at least two of the five con- temporary representations of what Francis Bacon looked like. There is at Gorhambury a set of three liv INTRODUCTION colored busts in terra cotta representing Sir Nich- olas Bacon, Lady Anne Cooke Bacon, and their son Francis, as a boy of about twelve. The work- manship is Italian, and by the same hand, and of a high degree of artistic excellence. From the age of the boy the busts must have been made about the year 1572. The boy's bust is especially inter- esting, because seen beside the busts of his father and mother, it shows that Francis Bacon 's likeness was to his mother. The frontispiece of Vol. XI of James Spedding's The Works of Francis Bacon is an engraving from a drawing of the bust of Ba- con done in profile. The next portrait is a miniature made by Nich- olas HiUiard, in 1578, when Bacon was living in Paris in the household of Sir Amias Paulet, the English ambassador. Nicholas HiUiard is the ar- tist of whom John Donne wrote in his poem, The Storm, — " a hand or eye By HiUiard drawn is worth a history By a coarse painter made." Mr. Spedding describes the HiUiard miniature as "a work of exquisite beauty and delicacy." An engraving of it was made for Basil Montagu's, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England, 1825-1834, whose notice in The Edin- burgh Review, for July, 1837, is T. B. Macaulay's celebrated essay on Lord Bacon. The HiUiard miniature was at that time in the possession of John Adair Hawkins. Iv INTEODUCTION The Earl of Verulam owns a portrait of Bacon by the Dutch artist, Paul Van Somer. Mr. Sped- ding dates the picture 1618 or thereabout, after Bacon had been made Lord Chancellor and created Baron Verulam. Van Somer 's work is more inter- estiag for the details of the dress of the period than for character, and he gives Lord Chancellor Bacon a rather wooden and expressionless face. He is painted in his robe and wearing a hat. A second portrait at Gorhambury, without a hat, is there attributed to Van Somer. Mr. Spedding thinks it is not a Van Somer, but a copy of the other done by an iuferior artist at some later period when the fashion of painting people with the head covered had gone out. The reputed Van Somer, with a very wooden face, is figured in Vol. II of John Nicol's Francis Bacon: His Life and Philosophy. The frontispiece of Vol. I of James Spedding 's edition of Bacon is an engraving after the old print of Simon Pass. This artist, whose name is vari- ously spelled Pass, Van de Pas, or Passe, Passaeus, was one of the earliest copperplate engravers in England, having emigrated from the Netherlands to pursue his art in London. Mr. Spedding thought that he had "some reason to suspect" that Pass's engraving was made from a painting, now lost, by the Dutch artist, Cornelius Jannsen Van Ceulen. Whoever the artist, his work is much su- perior to that of Van Somer. He portrays a hand- some man, well worthy to have developed out of the graceful youth of the Hilliard miniature and the beautiful boy of the Italian bust. Ivi INTEODTJCTION Another portrait of Bacon, not mentioned by Spedding, is now in the National Portrait Gal- lery. A process print of it illustrates the article on Francis Bacon, at page 214 of Sidney Lee's Great Englishmen of the Sixteenth Century. The original is a second portrait of Bacon as Lord Chancellor by Paul Van Somer. As a work of art the picture seems to have more character and it is certainly more attractive than the Van Somer at Gorhambury. In the effort to make a fair judgment of Bacon's moral character, Bacon himself is found to be at once his best advocate and worst accuser. He was inconsistent and he wielded a ready pen. An anec- dote of the time relates that Bacon retired to Gor- hambury while his trouble was upon him to try to recover there his disturbed health and harassed spirits. On the journey, the story says, Prince Charles returning from a hunt "espied a coach, attended with a goodly troop of horsemen, who, it seems, were gathered together to wait upon the Chancellor to his house at Gorhambury, at the time of his declension. At which the Prince smiled: 'Well, do what we can,' said he, 'this man scorns to go out like a snuff.' " But arrived at Gorham- bury, Bacon made the first draft of his will, dated 10th April, 1621, and wrote "the majestic prayer to which Addison refers as more after the manner of an archangel than of a man." Majestic also, easily overtopping the language of all but the great- est of men, is the opening sentence of the will,— "For my name and memory, I leave it to men's Ivii INTRODUCTION charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and the next ages." The world has accepted Bacon's own judgment of himself, — "I was the justest judge that was in England these fifty years. But it was the justest censure of Parliament that was these two hundred years." Francis Bacon was a man of his time, and it was a time of gift-giving and gift-taking. He was ostentatious and lived always beyond his means. He kept a large retinue of servants and was too busy and too careless of detail to look to them closely. All this made him an easy prey to facility, which he describes as the fourth vice of authority, — "As for facility, it is worse than bribery; for bribes come but now and then ; but if importunity or idle respects lead a man, he shall never be with- out." Of Great Place. During the four years of Bacon's Chancellorship he made some two thou- sand orders and decrees a year. Not one of these judgments was reversed, even in the twenty-three eases where bribery was charged. No case of proved injustice was brought forward in all that heat of prosecution, nor has historical research discovered any such case since. Bacon did not sell injustice. But the selling of justice, even through carelessness or time-serving, is intolerable. There is no freedom, except under the supremacy of law. The reign of law cannot be maintained by corrupt judges. By his own confession, Lord Chancellor Bacon was a corrupt judge. "The pity of it." IViii INTEODUCTION II The Essays The Elizabethan age is the most creative period in English literature. The foreign wars in which the young Chaucer bore a part had ended in the aban- donment of the English claim to the French crown. The civil Wars of the Roses had brought forward the Tudor family, who in Henry VII, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth, gave to the English nation three of the ablest rulers it has ever produced. By the marriage of one of the Tudors the Scottish king who had become heir to the English throne was to carry peace with him into England after three centuries of warfare on the northern border. For the first time Englishmen had leisure to devote their energies to other interests than war upon their neighbors. Fortunately, just at this time, the great wave of the Renaissance, the new birth of letters, having spent itself in Italy and crossed France and Spain, reached the shores of England. There it was eagerly welcomed by men, who, if they had not the poise and mental reach of the Italians of the Renaissance, or the gayety and sense of form of their French contemporaries, had yet more daring and more intellectual curiosity. The same spirit of adventure that carried Sir Francis Drake around the globe induced the Eliza- bethans to try aU sorts of new forms in literature. Shakspere would not be "oui* myriad-minded lix INTEODUCTION Shakspere,'' as Coleridge called him, if he had not best expressed the thought of a myriad-minded age. Most of the new literary forms were first made known to the Elizabethans by translations from the Italian and French. Sir Thomas Wyatt translated Italian songs and sonnets and presages a burst of lyric music from that "nest of singing- birds," the poets and dramatists of Elizabeth's time. William Painter translated novels from Boc- caccio and Queen Marguerite, and Robert Greene composed original tales after their manner. Translations ot Machiavelli and Comines taught men how to write history, and Sir Walter Ealegh, ending his days in imprisonment, wrote the His- tory of the World in the Tower. Richard Hak- luyt's Principall Navigations, "the great Eliza- bethan bible of adventure," largely translated from the journals of Italian, Spanish, and Portu- guese navigators, is the beginning of that splendid series of stories of voyage and discovery and peace- able conquest by Englishmen which is unsurpassed in the literature of any nation. Sir Philip Sidney, an Italianated Englishman of the noblest type, inaugurates English criticism in The Defence of Poesie. With Francis Bacon begins philosophical reflection upon life, in the style of Plutarch's Mor- als and the Essais of Montaigne. Bacon's mind was catholic in its range like Plutarch's, but the subjecta of moral thought that interest him are comparatively few, because generalized. His treat- ment of a moral subject is more scientific also than that of the classical writer, more scientific than Iz INTEODUCTION himself even when writing on a strictly scientific theme. In the Sylva Sylvarum: or A Natural His- tory, for example, Bacon brings together a great many facts about nature, which he calls "experi- ments," some of them observations of real value, while others must have been trivial even to him- self. In the Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall, the method is ever to reduce reflection to its lowest terms, to try to discover the fundamental princi- ^ pies of conduct that influence the actions of men. Again, Bacon has nothing of the attractive person- ality of Montaigne, a man of the world who made a point of finding out what the world was like from all sorts and conditions of men, from the king on his throne to the groom of his riding-horse. Montaigne writes on and on about a subject in breezy discursiveness, like a man on horseback traversing an interesting country. Bacon's Essays reflect his experience of life, but they tell us little y or nothing of his personal likes and dislikes. They are austere, brief to the point of crudeness, they ^ smeU of the lamp . ' Bacon 's own judgment of his Essays, as we know from the dedicatory epistle prefixed to the third edition, was that they might last as long as books last. In the essay. Of Innovations, he says, "Time is the greatest innovator." The most obvious di- vision of the Essays is that which time has made. Certain essays do "come home to men's business and bosoms" in a universal way. They appeal to all men at all times. They discourse of great subjects in the grand manner. The essays. Of Truth, Of Ixi INTEODUCTION Death, Of Great Place, might have been written by Aristotle, and what is said in these and other essays of like character is as true to-day as when Bacon lived. Another type of essay is distinctly limited, partly by Bacon's own character and partly by the social characteristics of his time. The essay Of Friendship grew out of Bacon's longest and most disinterested friendship, but no man can write an adequate essay on this noble theme, and yet say, as Bacon did in Of Followers and Friends, "There is little friendship in the world, and least of all between equals, which was wont to be magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose fortunes may comprehend the one the other." A thought like that puts friendship on the low plane of a paying basis. That Bacon could utter it has tarnished his fame with the charge of treachery towards Essex. The essays. Of Love, and Of Marriage and Single Life, were the product of a social condition in which pas- ■^ sion did not necessarily enter into the marriage relation, and marriage itself was an afPair to be arranged between parties suitably situated. It was a man's world, and it is impossible to judge it fairly now, because in the modern world the ad- vancement of woman has revolutionized the older ideas of domestic relations. Essayists of Bacon's mental characteristics will still write on love and marriage, but their treatment of these themes must ' inevitably be broader and deeper; because it has been spiritualized. It is juster, because it recog- nizes the mutual obligations of men and women. Ixii INTEODUCTION When Emerson talks about Friendship and Love we are in another world than Bacon's. Emerson opens his essay on Domestic Life with impassioned tenderness for the child in the house. There are no children in Bacon's world and the few children in Shakspere's plays are all sharp of wit, preco- cious beyond their years. They are the children of his brain, not little people he had lived with. Some eight or ten of Bacon's essays have become obsolete in thought. They are those which grew out of his experience of life at the Courts of Eliza- beth and James I, of the petty rivalries and in- trigues which led him to believe and to say, ''All rising to great place is by a winding stair." Ba- con's "winding stair" to the Lord Chancellorship runs through the essays. Of Simulation and Dis- simulation, Of Delays, Of Cunning, Of Wisdom for a Man's Self, Of Dispatch, Of Suspicion, Of Negociating, and Of Followers and Friends. Fancy Emerson writing an essay on cunning ! It is not that dissimulation and cunning no longer exist in the world, but that the intellectual appeal of such subjects is now restricted to their kind. Like drunkenness, dissimulation has descended in the social scale. When we recall that the composition of his Essays occupied Bacon's thought for the space of more than thirty years, it is curious that he nowhere alludes to any English contemporary by name, ex- cept Queen Elizabeth, and that after her death. But between the lines Bacon has left on record the characters of three men who crossed his path. Ixiii INTEODUCTION From the singularly intimate private diary which he called Commentarius Solutus, we know that the essay Of Seeming Wise is a portrait of Sir Henry Hobart, who by securing the appointment of Attorney-General, in 1606, effectually barred Bacon's way to that position for seven years. Bacon bitterly resented being passed over, and jotted now in his notes a series of epigrams on "Hubbard's disadvantages" which seem to have developed iato this essay, in which Attorney-Gen- eral Hobart represents as type the weak man who is made to believe himself wondrous wise. The essay Of Deformity, at the time of its publication, was said to be a portrait to the life of Bacon's cousin, Eobert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, who may be also in mind in the essays Of Envy and Of Cunning. Cecil's stature of scarce five feet was produced by curvature of the spine. He was so small that Elizabeth called him "little man" or "little elf." James I addressed him as "pygmy" or even "little beagle." The fine essay Of Judica- ture is the substance of a charge to Sir Rich- ard Hutton, on his being raised to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, 3d May, 1617. Bacon as Lord Chancellor on delivering him his patent com- plimented him on possessing the virtues of a judge, essentially those set forth in the essay. Three of the essays tell us what recreations ap- pealed to Bacon in the intervals of his busy life of statecraft and authorship. The essay Of Masques and Triumphs grew out of a long experience of writing in lighter vein. Between 1588 and 1614 Ixiv INTRODUCTION Bacon was the author or "chief contriver" or "chief eneourager" of no less than six masques. After his marriage, in 1606, he found his father's house at Gorhambury too small, and built there a large and stately mansion, Verulam House, an experience which enabled him to speak with au- thority Of Building. In the following essay, Of Gardens, he writes,— "I, for my part, do not like images cut out in juniper or other garden stuffs; they be for children." That is a criticism of Sir Nicholas Bacon's garden at Gorhambury, which gave place to the "princely garden" of not less than "thirty acres" surrounding Verulam House, and which is described with such minute- ness of detail that the plan of it may be easily re- constructed. Bacon's fondness for gardens is his most engaging trait. A garden, he says, is "the purest of human pleasures," "the greatest refresh- ment to the spirits of man." John Aubrey's gos- sip brings him before us enjoying his own garden. ' ' Every meale, according to the season of the yeare, he had his table strewed with sweet herbes and flowers, which he sayd did refresh his spirits and memorie." And again, — "His Lordship was a very contemplative person, and was wont to con- template in his delicious walks at Gorhambury, and dictate to Mr. Bushell, or some of his gentle- men, that attended him with ink and paper ready to set downe presently his thoughts." But the favorite companion in the meditative walks through the covert alleys of Gorhambury was Thomas Hobbes, author of The Leviathan. "Mr. Ixv INTRODUCTION Tho. Hobtes (Malmesburiensis) was beloved by his Lop. [Lordship], who was wont to have him walke in his delicate groves, when he did meditate : and when a notion darted into his mind, Mr. Hobbes was presently to write it downe, and his Lop. was wont to say that he did it better than any one els about him ; for that many times, when he read their notes he scarce understood what they writt, because they understood it not clearly them- selves. In short, all that were great and good loved and honoured him. ' ' Of Regiment of Health narrates how Bacon managed to preserve almost to the Psalmist's three score years and ten a body naturally frail, and to get out of it a vast amount of hard work. It was accomplished through a thorough knowledge of his own constitution, and by the constant observance of a few simple principles of hygiene, temperance always, and a just mean between work and recre- ation. With the essay Of Plantations should be read the early history of the colony of Virginia. The first attempt to colonize Virginia was in 1585, when Sir Richard Grenville carried out a band of colonists under rules of government drawn up by Grenville 's cousin, Sir Walter Ralegh. This colony failed a year later while Bacon was serving his second term in the House of Commons as member for Taunton. Ralegh as member for Devon was at the time his colleague, and the failure undoubtedly left an impression in Bacon's mind, as all matters of public policy did. In the second year of his Ixvi ESTTEODUCTION Solicitor-GeneralsMp, when King James was pro- posing the Protestant plantation of Ulster, Bacon wrote his first article on colonization, Discourse of the Plantation in Ireland, about January, 1608-1609. His point of view was essentially that put forth in Certain Articles or Considerations touching the Union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland (1604). The Solicitor- General believed in the ag- grandizement of the United Kingdom, peaceably by preference, but by force if necessary. At the very time that Bacon was engaged in writing this paper on the Irish plantation, a fresh attempt to colonize Virginia was maturing at Court, for on May 23, 1609, "The Treasurer of the Company of Adventurers and Planters of the City of London for the First Colony in Virginia" was chartered by King James, primarily to go to the relief of Cap- tain John Smith. Among the six hundred and fifty- nine "adventurers" were Sir Francis Bacon, his cousin, Eobert Cecil, now Earl of Salisbury, Shak- spere's friend, the Earl of Southampton, and Sir Oliver Cromwell, uncle to the Protector. The essay Of Plantations, first published in the third edition of the Essays (1625), was written from a personal knowledge of the London or South Virginia Com- pany. Bacon mentions the over-cultivation of the new plant, tobacco, in Virginia, "to the untimely prejudice of the main business." The very streets of Jamestown were planted with tobacco by the first settlers, who then secured for themselves from King James a monopoly of the home market for their commodity, in spite of the royal objection to Ixvii INTRODUCTION the "vile eustome of Tobacco taking." The ad- vice to colonists not to let their government depend upon too many counsellors at home, "but upon a temperate number only," doubtless reflects Ba- con's own experience of the unwieldy committee of noblemen and gentlemen who tried to govern the planters of Virginia from the safe and uninformed distance of London. "Travel," says Bacon, "in the younger sort, is a part of education ; in the elder, a part of experi- ence." His own travels, as we know, were "a part of education," and they extended no farther than Prance, nor beyond his eighteenth year. After that he was too busy and for many years too poor to travel. But the essay Of Travel shows that he had profited by the travels of others, and especially by those of his brother, Anthony, who wandered about the continent, chiefly in France, for the eleven or twelve years between 1579 and 1592. By the middle of Elizabeth's reign, it had become the fashion for noblemen's sons and young men of family to travel to com- plete their education. It was expensive education, for the conditions of travel were such that the young man had to be accompanied by a tutor and by servants. The only means of transportation were horses for land travel and boats where water- ways were available. Yojing men, and older men who could stand it, rode horseback day after day. The letters of the poet, Francis Davison, to his father, Secretary Davison, make known what diffi- culties the sons of gentlemen met with when Ixviii INTRODUCTION travelling like noblemen. Anthony Bacon's long travels so seriously embarrassed his estate that he never afterwards was out of debt. During these travels he found himself, in 1582, in Bordeaux, and there he formed a friendship with the Sieur de Montaigne. At that time about a year had passed since Montaigne's return from a seventeen months' tour through France, Germany, Switzer- land, and Italy. The young traveller and the older one must have exchanged many pleasant memories of places, persons, and things. Montaigne, keeping a diary, and less interested in sights than in the ways of life of foreign folk, their social and politi- cal institutions, was such a traveller as Bacon would have been, if it had been his fortune to travel in mature years. Of Englishmen, the late Elizabethan, John Evelyn, cultivated, observant, tolerant, is also of the sort. But no Elizabethan traveller is merely chatty. Fynes Moryson's Itin- erary and Coryats Crudities, in spite of its quips and cranks, are valuable records of travel under Elizabeth and James. In the essay Of Studies a lifelong student de- scribes his craft. "He was no plodder upon bool^s, " writes his chaplain. Dr. Rawley, "though he read much, and that with great judgment, and rejection of impertinences incident to many au- thors; for he would ever interlace a moderate re- laxation of his mind with his studies, as walking, or taking the air abroad in his coach, or some other befitting recreation [in the Latin version Rawley adds 'gentle exercise on horseback and playing Ixix INTEODUCTION at bowk'] and yet he would lose no time, inas- much as upon his first and immediate return he would fall to reading again, and so suffer no mo- ment of time to slip from him without some pres- ent improvement. It may well be that the subject Of Studies was the one that revolved longest in Bacon 's mind, for it is the first essay of the edition of 1597, where it consists of eleven sentences only arranged in seven paragraphs, each formally iso- lated from the rest by the paragraph sign H. In the edition of 1625, Of Studies is number fifty. This original construction of detached sentences on a single theme accords with the first meaning of the word 'essay,' which Bacon in his 1597 title seems to have introduced into English, from Mon- taigne, though it was quite in character for him to cite a favorite Latin classic to support his use of the term. In the draft of the dedication of the second edition of the Essays, 1607-1612, to Prince Henry, not used on account of the death of the prince and never printed by Bacon, he says he had chosen "to write certaine breif notes, sett downe rather significantlye, then curiously, which I have called Essaies; The word is late, but the thing is auncient. For Senecaes Epistles to Lucilius; yf one marke them well, are but Essaies,— That is dis- persed Meditacions. " Dr. Johnson's definition of 'essay,' in 1755, is "an irregular undigested piece. ' ' It is extremely interesting to observe the growth of the original ten essays through the second edi- tion to the third. It will be seen that as Bacon's Ixx INTEODUCTION literary style developed the thought of the earliest essays does not materially change in the second edi- tion, but that it is here and there expanded by a qualifying idea or by an apt illustration. For ex- ample, the apothegms of the last paragraph of Studies, of 1597, "Histories make men wise. Poets wittie, ' ' etc., is enlarged in 1612 by the simile com- paring the effect of study upon the mind to that of exercise upon the body. The edition of 1625 sent forth the ten early essays expanded to nearly dou- ble their original size, while some of the essays of 1612 were entirely rewritten, notably the essay Of Friendship. "When Bacon expanded a subject the method that came most natural to him was that of the scientist, by analysis and contrast. Friendship resolves it- self for him into three principal "fruits," "peace in the affections," "support of the judgment," and "aid and comfort in action." The puzzling degrees of dissimulation he describes. Of Simula- tion and Dissimulation, remind one of the ex- cellent fooling of Touchstone on how to "quarrel in print, by the book," or the seven degrees of lies. The essay Of Adversity is merely a series of antitheses, an oracular list of pros and cons. It might have been composed by drawing up on oppo- site pages a debit and credit account of life. Again, Bacon's choice of abstract subjects to write upon is in keeping with the analytic character of his mind. To choose a general theme, like "Truth" or "Death" or "Praise," and to say something upon it which is at once worth while and new can be Ixzi INTRODUCTION done by a great writer only. To express a new and valuable thought in language that combines at once the qualities of simplicity, precision, dignity, and universality can be done by a very great writer only. That feat Bacon accomplished, best of Eng- lishmen. When one examines Bacon 's literary style as the outcome of his reading and study, it presents the same anomaly as his moral character. He was a diligent reader of Cicero, and he had so little faith in the English language that he had his Essays translated into Latin, to preserve them in what he called "the universal language." But the Essays "come home to men's business and bosoms" pre- cisely because in forming his English style Bacon is not Ciceronian and rhetorical. He quotes a pun of Caesar's and one of his apothegms, but nothing more; he does not mention Catullus; and yet in English, Bacon displays the same quality of style that distinguishes the Commentaries of Caesar and the lyric poetry of Catullus. It is the Attic style, which aims at idiomatic purity, not only in choice of words, but also in a simple and even severe cor- rectness of construction, urbanitas, as the Latin says. Dr. Rawley tells us that Bacon was always seeking the "clear" word and could not but be ' ' polite, ' ' that is, urbane. In hitting upon just the right word, Bacon exhibits everywhere a mastery of his art that is as subtle as it is inimitable. No- tice the emotional tone of the word 'reverend' in "it is a reverend thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay;" so 'strangely' in "it Ixxii INTRODUCTION draws the eye strangely" is fairly hypnotic in sug- gestion. Of beautiful and striking antitheses Ba- ' con is full, like "for if a man can he partaker of God's theatre, he shall likewise be partaker of God 's rest. ' ' It adds much to the pleasure of read- ing Bacon's Essays to be sensitive to the fulness and nicety of meaning of the well chosen words used, v' Discretion of speech," says Bacon in Of Discourse, "is more than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal, is more than to speak in good words, or in good order." This principle, in the stylistic code of the Atticists, is the conversational tone, the loqui of Caesar, not the dicere of Cicero. It is vastly more difficult to put elegance and dignity and weight into con- versational language, than to write with rhetorical flourishes, to express the thought in fine language merely. It can be accomplished, as Bacon accom- plished it, by taking pains always.) Dr. Eawley goes on, — "Neither was he given to any light con- ceits, or descanting upon words, but did ever pur- posely and industriously avoid them; for he held such things to be but digressions or diversions from the scope intended, and to derogate from the weight and dignity of the style." The Attic style is particularly hard to write in English, because English is naturally a discursive language. Bacon caught it in the first place from the happy accident of being an Elizabethan. Again, Bacon's mind was a thoroughly logical one. Every new acquisition of its full content fell into its proper place with great distinctness. Lastly, INTRODUCTION Bacon was a Latinist, and Latin is the one lan- guage, ancient or modern, that can say the most in the fewest words. The Roman Atticist who most affected Bacon's style is his favorite philosophical historian, Taci- tus. As stylists the likenesses and differences be- tween Tacitus and Bacon are of interest. Both wri- ters were keen observers of men and things, the minds of both were naturally analytic, both pos- sessed the faculty of crystallizing psychological or ethical or general truths in pointed epigrams or well-balanced antitheses. Bacon is fond of quoting from Tacitus the brief and telling sentences in which he summed up the character of a man, or the tone of an era. On the other hand, .Bacon care- fully avoided the rhetorical faults which lay Taci- tus 's style open to the charge of occasional ob- scurity. Bacon did not coin words, neither did he put new meaning into old words, nor use rare and uncommon expressions. He has no tricks of singu- larity. His is an art so bare and open that it even suggests no art, stylelessness. Instead of the la- bored obscurity here and there in Tacitus, Bacon's style is illuminated by the play of a great imagina- tion, which suggested to him now a picturesque word, and now a striking comparison. Finally, Tacitus lived in the decline of an era, and his pre- vailing tone is gray and pessimistic. Over Bacon's style there rests the serenity of philosophic calm. The English Tacitus was born in a great age, and he was a lover of his fellow-men. As to specific points of style, the most casual Ixxiv INTEODUCTION reader cannot but notioe Bacon's manner of introduction. It is that of a practised debater. Bacon is a good opener. Many of the opening sentences arrest attention at once, as it was un- doubtedly intended they should. Sometimes the thought is expressed in an aphoristic figure, as, "Eevenge is a kind of wild justice," Of Revenge. Sometimes it is an apt quotation, like "What is truth? said jesting Pilate," Of Truth. Sometimes it is a great thought inimitably set in speech. "God Almighty first planted a garden," is the jewel-like sentence that opens the essay Of Oar- dens. ""; When the weary wayfarer sees that le- gend shining resplendent over the gate of an old- time garden, he must needs enter in to refresh his spirit. As has been said, Bacon's model for brief and pointed expression is Tacitus, whom he had read "wholly, and with diligence and attention." Taci- tus more than any other author contributed to the swiftness and philosophic range of Bacon's thought, and the other classical writers who helped to make him "a full man," stand, after Tacitus, probably in this order, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, Livy, Vergil, Ovid, the two Plinies, Suetonius, Lucretius, Lucian, Caesar, Lucan, Plautus, Terence, Horace, Martial, Plato, Homer, Herodotus and Aristotle. The Greeks make way for the Eomans in this list, both in number and in frequency of quota- tion. Plutarch was a favorite Greek author with Bacon, as he was with Shakspere and the other Elizabethans. There are two reasons for the popu- Ixxv INTEODUCTION larity of Plutarch at that time. The active and in- quiring minds of the Elizabethans enjoyed Plutarch as an all-round man. He satisfied their intellectual curiosity on many points. Besides, Plutarch was the most fortunate of the Greeks in contemporary translation. Thomas North's translation of Plu- tarch, from the French of Jacques Amyot, was called The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Bo- mans, and came out in 1579, with a dedication to Queen Elizabeth. It was written in simple, idio- matic, picturesque prose, the best English proSe that had been written up to that time. As is well known. North's Plutarch was Shakspere's store- house of classical learning. Page after page of the 'lives' of Caesar, Brutus, Antony, and Coriolanus in Shakspere is simply the noble English of North's narrative animated with the life and play of dia- logue. North's masterly manner in prose was to develop into Bacon himself and into the translators of the Authorized Version of the Bible. Bacon read Greek and may have quoted the Plutarch's Lives from that reading, but it is more than likely that he used one of the four editions of North's translations that appeared during his lifetime. He was cer- tainly familiar with The Philosophic, commonly called the Morals, written by the learned philoso- pher Plutarch, and translated from the Greek, in 1603, by Philemon Holland, with a dedication to James I. In general reading. Bacon quotes of the Fathers, St. Augustine, Of Truth, and St. Bernard, Of Unity in Religion and Of Atheism. Of French- Ixxvi INTRODUCTION men, lie alludes to Rabelais as "a master of scoff- ing" in Of Unity in Religion. The story of Charles the Bold in Of Friendship Bacon took from Thomas Danett's admirable English trans- lation, The Historie of Philip de .Commines, Knight, Lord of Argenton, which was published in 1601, but is dedicated to his uncle. Lord Burghley, under date "1 Nov. 1596." Elsewhere in the ^s- says, Bacon shows acquaintance with Comines's 'History of Louis XI,' a serene, dispassionate, philosophical account of that Machiavellian pruice. Comines, who has been described as "as humane as the ancients and almost as wise as Tacitus him- self," was a historian after Bacon's own heart. Besides the 'pretty' saying about truth and his title. Bacon adopted from Montaigne the idea of popular- izing moral philosophy. Montaigne had discoursed delightfully of the philosophy of common things for Frenchmen. He would do the same for Eng- lishmen, and he did it, but the French and English manner differ as the poles. Montaigne's reflections on life centre in his own individuality. For- tunately, it was a great and original individuality, diseipliued by the conduct of affairs, and cultivated by books and society and travel. With that equip- ment, Montaigne tells us from his tower what he thought of life. He is garrulous, he is personal, painfully personal at times, he is familiar, "the intimate friend of us all," as Sainte-Beuve said. Bacon's philosophy of life is nearly as impersonal as Shakspere's; it is brief, almost blunt; it has a remote air, as if Seneca had indeed inspired it. Ixxvii INTEODTJCTION The love of classical learning, breadth of view, benevolence, and wit are qualities which distin- guish alike the essays of Michel de Montaigne and Francis Bacon. Montaigne observes of the moral insensibility of Francesco Guicciardini, his cold, passionless man- ner of depicting a great national tragedy, the de- cline and fall of his own country after the French invasion of 1494, "among the many motives and counsels on which he adjudicates, he never attri- butes any one of them to virtue, religion, or con- science, as if all these were quite extinct in the world." Bacon had doubtless read Montaigne's opinion of Guicciardini, in the second book of his Essais. He had imdoubtedly read Guicciardini 's L'historia d'italia, either in the original, or what is more likely, in the translation of Geoffrey Fen- ton, The Historie of Guicciardin (1579). Fenton's Guicciardini was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, and was a popular translation from the Italian, running to three editions during her reign and one in King James's time. There is a certain likeness between Guicciardini and Bacon in both career and character. Benedetto Varchi, his contempo- rary and fellow-historian, writes of Guicciardini,— "Messer Francesco, besides his noble birth, his riches and his academical degree, and besides hav- ing been Governor and Viceroy of the Pope, was highly esteemed and enjoyed a great reputation; not only for his knowledge, but for his great prac- tical acquaintance with the affairs of the world and the actions of men. Of such he would dis- Ixxviii INTRODUCTION course admirably, and his judgment was sound. But his conduct did not tally with his speech ; be- ing by nature proud and curt, he was swayed sometimes by ambition, but oftener by avarice, in a manner unbecoming to a well-bred and modest man. ' ' Bacon was proud, but not curt, nor was he avaricious, though the love of what money can buy was strong in him. Otherwise, Varchi's character of Guicciardini might do for Bacon set down in Italy. Like Bacon, Guicciardini was keenly ob- servant, he had the habit of recording his impres- sions of men and things, and it was his mental turn to record them in the form of aphorisms. But Guicciardini 's view was narrow, as Montaigne says, and he had not the ability to relate and com- bine facts on broad general principles ; his history is therefore rather the memoranda and maxims of a statesman, scientifically arranged, than a philo- sophical summing up of human affairs. Nor had Guicciardini a literary style. He is more of a thinker than an author. In the essay Of Superstition Bacon quotes from the Historia del Concilio Tridentino, by the Venetian, Fra Paolo Sarpi, probably from the con- temporary translation of Sir Nathaniel Brent, but the Italian whom Bacon knew best was Machia- veUi. Though the great Florentine is quoted but four times, three times only by name, yet many of the Essays should be read in connection with Machiavelli 's Discorsi sopra La Prima Deca di T. Livio. The last essay. Of Vicissitude of Things, was clearly suggested by Book II, Chapter 5, Ixxix INTEODUCTION of Machiavelli 's work, which is on the subject ' ' That Deluges, Pestilences, the change of Religion and Languages, and other accidents, in a manner ex- tinguish the memory of many things. ' ' Machia- velli 's Discourses on Livy was facile princeps the history that made Bacon wise. From abstract principles in the sphere of government, Machiavelli appealed to experience; for authority as the test of truth, he substituted scientific facts. This prac- tical method of writing history Bacon approved of highly. "We are much beholden," he says, "to Machiavel and others that wrote what men do, and not what they ought to do." The principle thus clearly stated explains such essays as, Of Cunning, Of Wisdom for a Man's Self, and the like. What is called Bacon 'sMachiavellism has been the subject of much controversy and much misunder- standing. It seems to make it well-nigh impossible for historians of letters to write of him without tak- ing sides. Pope's epigram, "the wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind," is said to have been the in- spiration of Macaulay's well-known essay. Lord Bacon. R. W. Church, in English Men of Letters, and E. A. Abbott, one of the best of recent editors of the Essays, are both severe critics of Bacon. James Spedding devoted his life to the defence and succeeded in clarifying many of the points at •issue. The subject can scarcely be presented bet- ter to the student, at first hand, and in brief com- pass, than by suggesting the reading of the essay Of Gunning in immediate connection with that Of Fortune. Bacon believed, as he says, that Izzz INTRODUCTION every man is the architect of his own fortune. That is a truism. The experience of men in every land and at all times confirms it. The older de- mocracy of the French Revolution and of the Signers cherished the idea as almost inspired doc- trine. The difBculty is that moral ideas develop and change. rBacon, though a religious man, was essentially not a moralist. Like MachiaveUi, but with the sea change from Italy to England, he ac- cepted the moral and religious ideas of his time. His religious writings show that by preference he always took the middle course. In morals. Bacon's ideas combine curiously the enlightened thought of pagan Greece and Rome with the Christian ethics of the Bible. But this is theory with him; in practice he did not rise above the political mo- rality of his time. He fell below it at the last. In that morality the distinction between right and wrong in conduct was neither so sharply nor so widely drawn as now. The development of moral ideas and the ethical point of view should be factors in any judgment of the actions of men and women of former times. The same justice which underlies James Spedding's eminently sane judgment of Bacon, John Morley extended to MachiaveUi in his brilliant Romanes Lecture of 1897. When we consider the great drama of the Eliza- bethan age, the bulk of it running to some fifteen hundred plays, its popularity, its reflection of con- temporary life at all angles, its excellence and the high average of ability of the writers who were pro- ducing it, and Shakspere one of them, it is little Ixxxi INTEODUCTION short of astounding that /nowhere throughout the lifty-eight essays does Bacon either quote a thought from the drama or mention a single dramatist. His silence is all the more extraordinary from the fact that he was himself concerned in the representa- tion of six masques, the first as a Gray's Inn man of twenty-five and the last so late in life as his At- torney-Generalship, when he was fifty-two years old. Various explanations may be offered. Bacon was born in Court circles and was a lifelong cour- ' tier. Players were held in such contempt as to be classed legally with vagabonds. We know that Shakspere was sensitive to the degradation of his calling in public opinion, "My nature is subdued To what it works in, like the dyer's hand." Francis Beaumont was born a gentleman, and his name does not appear on the title-page of any play of his published during his lifetime. Further, Bacon was a busy man, probably occupied all day and every day with law and politics, and by night with his studies and authorship. He worked too hard to be much of a play-goer, even if he had been in- clined to spend his afternoons at the theatres. Curious as the phenomenon is, nothing conceivable can better express the vitality and power of English literature than that it added to the thought of the world two such productions as the Essays of Bacon and the plays of Shakspere, the work of two men who walked the streets of London together for the span of some thirty years, so far as we know, each Ixxxii INTEODUCTION unknown personally to the other.} One person made a link between them, the Earl of Southamp- ton, to whom Shakspere dedicated Venus and Adonis, in 1593, 'the first heir of his invention.' Five years later Southampton lost the Queen's fa- vor by marrying without her consent, Elizabeth Vernon, the Earl of Essex's cousin. He was obliged to absent himself from Court, and we hear of him in 1599 as "passing his time in London merely in going to plays every day. ' ' Bacon knew Southampton as a friend to the Earl of Essex, and acted as Queen 's counsel in prosecuting him for his complicity in Essex's treasonable practices. Later in James the First's reign, Bacon was associated with the Earl of Southampton on the board of gov- ernors of the South Virgiaia Company. But Southampton would seem not to have forgotten Bacon's share in Essex's death and his own im- prisonment, for when Lord Chancellor Bacon was charged with corruption before the House of Lords, it was the Earl of Southampton who drove the charges home by insisting on a particular confes- sion. The patron of Shakspere in youth did not befriend Bacon in age. Doubtless a sufficient explanation of Bacon's unconsciousness of the local drama that was being written and acted all about him is that as a reader he preferred the classics. Nor, indeed, was he an omnivorous reader, though he had read much. He was a man who read the best books and read them thoroughly. Moreover, as a man of affairs rather than a mere bookish person, he thought about what Ixxxiii INTRODUCTION he read and meditated upon it.) But the books that he read most and knew best were the works of Latin authors; he wrote Latin fluently, he thought in Latin, as his writings in both Latin and English abundantly show. The Latin of Bacon is partly his individual bent and partly the tenor of his age. Latin has come into English mainly in two great streams, through the French of the Norman con- quest and directly from the revival of learning, and just as one must" read Chaucer to understand the French influence, so Bacon best represents the learned borrowing of Latin of the Renaissance. Bacon was the most learned man of Elizabethan times, and the Elizabethan time was learned. To learn to read then was to learn to read Latin. Boys in school learned their grammar from Latin gram- mars, as Shakspere shows that he did in the King's New School of Stratford-upon-Avon, and a very good way to learn grammar it is. By the time the boy had completed his university course, if he had made good use of his time, Latin had be- come to him a second vernacular. If the young man was the son of a landed proprietor and stayed at home, his household accounts were kept in Latin. If he entered one of the learned professions, the law, or the church, or medicine, he had to draw up legal documents in Latin, or to read theology in Latin, or to study medical science written in Latin. If he was ambitious to become an author, he thought he must write his books in Latin. Roger Ascham, dedicating his Toxophilus to Henry VIII, in 1545, remarked that it would have been easier, INTEODUCTION and more , suitable to his scholar's profession, to have written the book in Latin or Greek. A young man destined for the service of the state^ as Bacon was, found Latin the language of diplomacy and official business. With a Latin training like this, possessed of an unusually bright mind, and' a scholar by instinct, Bacon remained throughout his life singularly in touch with the great Roman writers. It is a matter of common observation that the English language from century to century swings like a great pendulum to and fro between its two elements, Teutonic and Eomance. In Eliz- abeth's time the two forces were probably nearer equilibrium than they have ever been, before or since. This is why the Authorized Version of the Bible, and Shakspere's plays, and Bacon's Essays are the great conservators of the English speech. The bones of English are in them, and in good style, as in good portraiture or good sculpture, the bones underneath must show. Of the three. Bacon is consciously the most Latinized. For this reason, if one wishes to learn something of the Latin in English, either its prevalence or its stylistic effect. Bacon is the best English classic to study. Apart from the general question of style already dis- cussed. Bacon's Latinity shows itself in the Essays mainly in his Latin paraphrases, in the use of Eng- lish words in their Latin senses (thinking in Latin), in the frequent quotation of Latin prov- erbs, and even of a Latin pun. Any one of Bacon 's Latin paraphrases will illustrate what a hold on Ixxxv INTKODUCTXON the English language it is to have Latin for a sec- ond vernacular. One of the most remarkable ex- amples is the summing up of Livy's comment on Scipio Africanus Major at the end of the essay Of Youth and J.gre,— "Livy saith, in effect, VIU- ma primis cedebant," 'the last fell short of the first.' Bacon's three Latin words, recollected from Ovid, condense fourteen of Livy's and Livy fur- nished not one of the three. An interesting varia- tion between Bacon 's Latin and that of his original occurs at the close of the essay Of Cunning. Quot- ing Proverbs xiv. 8, — "The wisdom of the pru- dent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit," from his recollection of the Vul- gate, he writes, "Salomon saith, Prudens advertit ad gressus sues: stultus divertit ad dolos." The Vulgate reads, Sapientia callidi est intelligere viam suam: et imprudentia stultorum errans. Here Bacon says in nine Latin words what the Vulgate says in ten, and all of his words are different but one, and that one appears in a different form. It is illuminating to observe the master of a great language wielding another great language and so moulding it to his will as to compel it to assume new and strange forms. There is no surer test of command over a foreign language than appreciation of its wit. ' ' Caesar did himself infinite hurt in that speech — 'Sylla nesci- vit literas, nan potuit dictare,' " says Bacon, writ- ing on so serious a subject as Of Seditions and Troubles. The pun here is of that subtle sort that cuts both ways when the edges meet, like the blades Ixxxvi INTEODUCTION of a pair of sharp scissors. If Caesar did not utter this one, it is worthy of him. Bacon thought so, too, and recorded Caesar's witticism among his Apophthegmes New and Old, with the regret ex- pressed in the preface, — "It is a pitie his Booke is lost : for I imagine they were collected, with Judge- ment and Choice." All his life Bacon was a collector of pointed say- ings, not only apothegms but proverbs. In part this was a personal inclination towards the sim- plest and clearest expression of thought, in part it was the Elizabethans cultivating brevity as the soul of wit. Numerous books of "prittie conceites" and many strings of proverbs attest their fond- ness for short, pithy sayings, grave and gay. "I hold the entry of commonplaces to be a matter of great use and essence in studying," says Bacon. The habit of jotting down ideas on all sorts of sub- jects, and in the fewest possible words, explains in some measure how Bacon came by that charac- teristic of his style which makes so many of his sen- tences represent the compressed essence of things. Sometimes the thought is so packed that the lan- guage may fairly be said to give way, the sentence, like an ill-constructed building, being unable to bear the pressure put upon it; for example, "but if the force of custom, simple and separate, be great, the force of custom, copulate and conjoined and col- legiate, is far greater," Of Custom and Educa- tion. A similar expression, packed to the point of clumsiness, is "but no receipt openeth the heart but a true friend, to whom you may impart griefs, Ixxxvii INTEODUCTION joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, counsels, and what- ever lieth upon the heart to oppress it," Of Friend- ship. The whole essay Of Studies illustrates this manner of composition. .The aphoristic sen- tences are simply packed closely one upon another, like gold sovereigns in a bag. The separate pieces of money have the continuity of being coin of the realm, but by the theory of chances they might be packed in an infinite variety of ways. In form, the essay is crude, styleless; in effect, it is direct, keen as a rapier's thrust. Besides translated proverbs. Bacon quotes prov- erbs in Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish. And always, as he puts it, the proverb "pierces the knot in the business." Compare Cor ne edito, 'eat not the heart,' Of Friendship; In node, consilium,' \h& night brings counsel,' as we say colloquially, sleep over it. Of Counsel; Beaucoup de bruit, peu de fruit, 'much bruit, little fruit,' Of Vain- Glory; Mi venga la muerte de Spagna, " 'let my death come from Spain,' for then it will be sure to be long in coming," Of Dispatch. This same es- say contains the well-known English proverb, 'the more haste, the less speed,' ia the form of Bacon's apothegm about his diplomatic chief, Sir Amias Paulet, who was wont to say, "Stay a little, that we may make an end the sooner." But the bulk of proverbs in English throughout the Essays are quoted from the wisdom of the Bible, both the old Testament and New. ; The Bible is directly quoted in thirty-four of the fifty-eight essays, and if to these thirty-four essays Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION there is added those in which Bacon's language echoes Biblical thought, the number would be con- siderably greater. Bacon's familiarity with the Bible was great and at the same time catholic in its range. The only parts of it that did not occur to him for apt quotation were the boobs dealing with Jewish ceremonial law, the minor prophets, and the general epistles. The reading is more in- clusive, but it is not unlike the list of books Rus- kin gives in Praeterita as those his mother required him largely to commit to memory, while he read the Bible through every year from Genesis to the Apocalypse. "Once knowing," says Euskin, "the 32d of Deuteronomy, the 119th Psalm, the 15th of 1st Corinthians, the Sermon on the Mount, and most of the Apocalypse, every syllable by heart, and having a way of thinking with myself what words meant, it was not possible for me, even in the foolishest times of youth, to write entirely su- perficial or formal English." It cannot be said that Bacon's literary style owes as much to the Bi- ble as that of Ruskin, a conscious stylist, but^in the Bible he undoubtedly found that union of nat- uralness and dignity which is so inimitably his own. ' fit has been suggested as one explanation of the noble English of the Bible that the translators of the Authorized Version had been brought up in the old religion, and that in consequence their Eng- lish unconsciously caught and retained something of the music of the Latin service, as they had often heard it reverberating from hymn and chant through the lofty arches and down the long aisles- g Ixxxiz INTRODUCTION of the cathedrals of England.; Bacon's frequent quotations from the Vulgate show that he read the Bible in Latin habitually. Not seldom he quotes the Vulgate from memory, varying consid- erably from the original, just as he cites the sense of passages from Cicero and Livy. Even when he cites the Bible in English, it would seem that he had oftener in mind the Vulgate, rather than the Authorized Version of his later years.) Ecclesiastes V. ii, "Where much is, there are many to consume it; and what hath the owner but the sight of it with his eyes?" is briefer and more picturesque in the essay Of RicJies than in the Authorized Version. On the other hand, Bacon's "Salomon saith. Riches are as a strong hold in the imagina- tion of the rich man ' ' has become a proverb in the English of the translators, "The rich man's wealth is his strong city." {Proverbs x. 15.) ("One reason why Bacon 's Essays, one of the most learned works in English, is so easy to read and to understand, is that the language used is that of the Bible both in vocabulary and construction!) The words 'marvel' meaning 'to wonder,' 'wax,' 'to grow,' 'profit,' 'to improve,' need no explanation to the reader of the Authorized Version. So, 'withe,' 'a willow twig,' Of Custom and Educa- tion, is familiar from the story of Samson. These and many others are Bible words in Bible meaning, and their construction is in simplest terms. (The object of the translators was to put the Bible into the hands of the plain man, so that he could read it and understand it for himself. They INTEODUCTION therefore purposely used the plain man's language, refining it only as language is naturally refined by education and good breeding.^' The only conscious principle of style that Bacon^ followed is the same. "In the composing of his books," says Dr. Eawley, "he did rather drive at a masculine and clear expression than at any fineness or affectation of phrases, and would often ask if the meaning were expressed plainly enough, as be- ing one that accounted words to be but subservient or ministerial to matter, and not the principal." As in the Bible, English folk-lore is embedded in Bacon's style. Twice, in Of Friendship and Of Nature in Men, he illustrates a point by means of the rustic's advice to his fellow in anger, to "say over the four and twenty letters." The use of the curious old expression "to turn the cat in the pan," Of Cunning, (that is, to reverse the order of things dexterously, to change sides,) by Sir Walter Scott, in Old Mortality (XXXV), suggests the point that various words and expres- sions that have gone out of English since Bacon's time still survive in the picturesque Scottish ver- nacular. In this same essay on Cunning, Bacon speaks of the "falls of business," meaning its 'chances.' That is what Burns means when in the Address to the Deil, he cries out, "Black be your fa'!" Simplicity, or homeliness, in its fine old sense, is a marked characteristic of Bacon's imagery. No- tice the homely words, that is to say, the words of home, in the well-known figure,— "Some books are INTEODUCTION to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested," Of Studies. So he writes, "Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight," Of Sus- picion. Another figure brings into mind the recollection of some low-studded Elizabethan room, wainscoted and ceiled with quartered oak. The picture is all the more vivid, because it is so unex- pected, as if a curtain suddenly drawn aside should give a glimpse through a window where no window was known to be. Speaking of the secure fame of Cicero, Of Vain- Glory, he says almost casu- ally that vanity contributed to it, "like unto var- nish, that maketh ceilings not only shine, but last. ^ Bacon was fond of such sharp breaks in thoughy. They arrested attention. The stuff, however, of this image was a part of his daily life. "He seated himseK, for the commodity of his studies and prac- tice, amongst the Honourable Society of Gray's- Inn ; of which House he was a member : where he erected that elegant pile or structure, commonly known by the name of The Lord Bacon's Lodgings, which he inhabited, by turns, the most part of his life (some few years only excepted) unto his dying day." (Dr. Rawley.) Picture to yourself Bacon, the lifelong student, in his chambers. The harass- ing business of the day in the House of Commons or in attendance at Court is done, and he has re- tired to his writing-room to converse with the men of old he loved so well. He reads the vain Cicero or the sententious Tacitus, he sets down in his common-place book what he has learned from xcii INTEODUCTION their discourse. Perhaps of a summer evening a wandering bat darts in at the open window to dis- turb the vigil. Late, too late for sound health, he lies down on his couch, and when he wakes in the broad light of fuU day, his eyes open on the var- nished wooden ceiling of a large, low bedroom, (feacon was no poet. His imagery is not that of a transcendent imagination playing over a subject and illuminating it here and there with brilliant flashes of light. But Bacon's mind was poetic, and he had the gift, which while it is not so rare as the transcendent imagination, is yet very rare, the gift of seeing analogies in common things. His similes and metaphors are the hardy flowers that grow by the wayside for any one to pluck. A whole body of them come from contemporary sports, cards, bowls, horsemanship. A cunning man may be able to "pack the cards" and yet not play weU; so cun- ning men who understand persons rather than mat- ters "are good but in their own alley," Of Cun- ning. Of a delicate constitution, he dabbled perforce in medicine, and another set of tropes re- veal the curious materia medica of Tudor times, — "You may take sarza to open the liver, steel to open the spleen, flower of sulphur for the lungs, castoreum for the brain ; but no receipt openeth the heart but a true friend," Of Friendship. Finally, the freshness of much of Bacon's imagery is delightful, like "Charity wiU hardly water the groimd where it must first fill a pool," Of Mar- riage and Single Life. Men who hold on to busi- ness with failing powers are "like old towns- xeiii INTEODUCTION men, that will pe still sitting at their street door, though thereby they oiifer age to scorn," Of Great Place. In manufactures and commerce he thought the Low Countries had "the best mines above ground in the world," Of Seditions and Troubles. And what a splendid metaphor that ds in Of Vicissitude of Things,— "The great wind- ing-sheets that bury all things in oblivion are two; deluges and earthquakes." The image here transcends the thought and as artistry produces upon the mind the same effect in kind as the ^ cataclysm itself. The force of language can no 'farther go. I The combination of wisdom in thought and brev- ity and picturesqueness in form, what Lady Anne Bacon called her son's "enigmatic gilded writing," makes Bacon's Essays the most quotable prose in English. Sharing the world-wide fame of Shaks- pere in this respect, many of Bacon's words and phrases of singular beauty and power are now fast woven into the web of English speech. No other prose work is so often quoted or has furnished so many quotations, even for those persons who have never read the essa^in whole or in part. Not infrequently Bacon ,iSflm^ for the Bible, but more often he is confptinded byjthe unwary with Shaks- jere. Every^say is qjjmable, — 'The viftue of prosperity is temperance, the virtils|» advers.it/' is fortitude," Of Adversity. "Iris a poor centre of a man's actions, himself," -Of Wisdom for a Man's Self. "It hath been an opinion, that the French are INTEODUCTION wiser than they seem,' and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are, ' ' Of Seeming Wise. "In sickness, respect health principally; and in health, action," Of Regiment of Health. "For a crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cym- bal, where there is no love," Of Friendship. To vary Bacon, I have given the rule, if a man cannot find a bit of wisdom for himself, he may close the book. What kind of man was the writer of these Es- says? Politically, as was natural in a man of family bom and bred under the Tudor govern- ment, Bacon was an imperialist. His ideal was a strong, centralized government. He believed in rank and dignities, and thought ruling a natural function of the nobility. Though a contemporary of the young Oliver Cromwell, he was no democrat. Neither was Shakspere, bom a man of the people. But Bacon would hardly have pushed the doctrine of royal divine right to the breaking point. He would have made concessions to the rising com- monalty. Tolerance is a peculiarly attractive vir- tue and Bacon possessed it in a high degree. His wise prince is a sort of benevolent despot, a classi- cal despot humanized by the ideas of the Renais- sance. As to the conduct of life, there is much worldly wisdom inculcated in Bacon's maxims, some of which are frankly Machiavellian. Human nature is complex, and the bigger the man, the greater the complexity. ) The Essays are as surely the expression of a genuinely religious spirit, as INTRODUCTION of a worldly-wise one. Indeed, in spite of Bacon's errors of conduct, and however repellent Bacon's political trimming is to the straightforward man, his Essays bear the strongest possible testimony to the essential soundness of Bacon's moral character. A good man only could have written them. Hear the witness of Ben Jonson, as honest a man as ever lived,— "My conceit of his Person was never in- creased towards him, by his place, or honours. But I have, and doe reverence him for the greatnesse, that was only proper to himself e, in that hee seem'd to mee ever, by his worke one of the greatest men, and most worthy of admiration, that had beene in many Ages. In his adversity I ever prayed, that God would give him strength: for Greatnesse hee could not want. Neither could I condole in a word, or syllable for him ; as knowing no Accident could doe harme to vertue, but rather helpe to make it manifest." (Timber, or Discoveries. De augmen- tis scientiarum.) xcvi THE ESSATES OR COUNSELS, CIVILL AND MOEALL, OP FRANCIS 10. VBRULAM, VISCOUNT ST. AIBAN. NEWLY ENLARGED. LONDON: Printed by John KavuiAnd, for Hanna Babrett and Richard Whitakeb And are to be sold at the sign of the King's Head, in Paul's Cbnrcbyard. 1625. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. To the Eight Honourable my very good Lo. the Duke of Buckingham his Grace, Lo. High Ad- miral of England. Excellent Lo. Salomon says, A good name is as a precious ointment; and I assure myself, such will your Grace's name be with posterity. For your fortune and merit both have been eminent. And you have planted things that are Kke to last. I do now publish my Essays ; which, of all my other works have been most cur- rent ; for that, as it seems, they come home to men's business and bosoms. I have enlarged them both ia number and weight ; so that they are indeed a new work. I thought it therefore agreeable to my affection and obhgation to your Grace, to prefix your name before them, both in English and in Latin. For I do conceive that the Latin volume of them (being in the universal language) may last as long as books last. My Instauration I dedicated to the King; my History of Henry the Seventh (which I have now also translated into Latin), and my portions of Natural History, to the Prince ; and these I dedicate to your Grace; being of the xeix THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY best fruits that by the good enerease which God gives to my pen and labours I could yield. God lead your Grace by the hand. Your Grace's most obliged and faithful seruant, TR. St. ALBAN. TH y\ TABLE 1. Of Truth.- 23. Of Wisdom for a Man's 2. Of Deaths Self. 3. Of Unity in Religion^ 24. Of TuTiovations. A- Of Revenge,—- 25. Of Dispatch. 5. Of Adversity, 26. Of Seeming Wise. 6. Of Simulation and Dis- '^28. Of Friendship. simulation. Of Expense. 7. Of Parents and CMl- 29. Of the True Greatness dren^-^ of Kingdoms and 8, Of Marriage and Single^ Estates. Life. 30. Of Regiment of Health. 9. Of Envy. 31. Of Suspicion^^ 10. Of Love^-- ^32. Of Discourse .XI- Of Great Place.- 33. Of Plantations. 12. Of Boldness. 34. Of Riches. 13. Of Goodness, and Good- 35. Of Prophecies. ness of Nature. 36. Of Ambition. 14. Of Nobility. 37. Of Masks and Tri- 15. Of Seditions and umphs. Troubles. 38. Of Nature ia Men. 16. Of Atheisms 39. Of Custom and Educa- 17. Of Superstition. tion. 18. Of Travel..'^ 40. Of Fortune. 19. Of Empire. 41. Of Usury. 20. Of Counsel. ^2. Of Youth and Ag^.--^ ^1- Of Delays. 43. Of Beauty^ 22. Of Cunning. ^44. ci Of Deformity..' THE TABLE 45. Of Building. ^3. Of Praise,--^ ^6. Of Gardens..^ JA. Of Vain Glory. 47. Of Negotiating. , 55. Of Honour and Eepu- AS. Of Followers and Friends^ tation. 49. Of Suitors. 56. Of Judicature/^ J>Q. Of Studies^ ^7. Of Anger. 51. Of Faction. 58. Of Vicissitude of 52. Of Ceremonies and Ee- TMngs. spects. ESSAYS OR COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL ESSAYS OR COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL. I. Of Truth. What is Truth ? ^ said jesting Pilate ; and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be that delight in giddiness ; and count it a bondage to fix a belief J 2 affecting^ free-will in thinking, as well as in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discours- ing* wits which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in them as was in those of the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labour which men take in finding out of truth ; nor again that when it is found it imposeth^ upon men's thoughts; that doth bring lies in favour; but a * John xviii. 38. 2 Bacon probably had in mind here the sceptical philosophy of Heraclitns of Ephesus, born about 535 B.C., died about 475 B.C. Pyrrho, 360( 1)-270( ?) B.C., and Carneades, 213(?)-129 B.C., maintained that certainty could not be afirmed about anything. The reference may be to Democritus, *the Abderite,' born about 460 B.C., died about 357 B.C., called 'the laughing philosopher.' "Meat Seraclitua, an Hdeat Democritus? . . . shall I laugh with Democritus or weep with Seraclitus?" Robert Burton. The Anat- omy of Melancholy. Partition 3. Section 4. Member 1. Subsec- tion 3. ^ Affect; To make a show of, be fond of. * Discoursing. Possibly in the sense of discursive; i.e. roving, unsettled. But the word may mean debating, arguing. " Impose, To exert an influence on. 3 4 BACON'S ESSAYS natural though corrapt love of the lie itself. One of the later school of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand to think what should be in it, that men should love lies, where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets,^ nor for ad- vantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie's sake. But I cannot tell : this same truth is a naked and open day-light, that doth not shew the masks and mummeries and triumphs of the world, half so stately and daintily^ as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that sheweth best by day ; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond or carbuncle, that sheweth best in varied lights. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure. Doth any man doubt, that if there were taken out of men's minds vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would,^ and the Uke, but it would leave the minds of a number of men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indis- position, and unpleasing to themselves? One of the Fathers, in great severity, called poesy vinum dcemonum^ because it filleth the imagination; and yet it is but with the shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in and settleth in it, that doth the hurt; such as we spake of before. But howso- ' "There should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric, and pure invention is but the talent of a liar." Byron. Letter to John Murray. April 2, 1817. Letters and Journals. T. Moore. ^ Daintily. Delicately, elegantly, graeefuUy. ' As one would. That is, as one willed, or wished. The verb will has here its presentive sense, as in Philippians ii. 13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." *Wine of devils. Used by St. Augustine, 354 — 430 A.D., Bishop of Hippo Begins in Numidia. The Confessions of Augustine. I. xvi. «6. OF TEUTH 5 ever^ these tilings are thus in men's depraved judg- ments and affections, yet truth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making or wooing of it, the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth,wliich is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature. The fii'st creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the sense ; the last was the light of reason ; and his sabbath work ever since, is the illumination of his Spirit. First he breathed light upon the face of the matter or chaos ; then he breathed light into the face of man ; and still he breatheth and inspireth light into the face of his chosen. The poet that beautified the sect that was otherwise inferior to the rest,^ saith yet excellently well : It is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the sea; a pleasure to stand in the mndow of a castle, and to see a battle and the adventures^ thereof below: but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of Truth, (a hiU not to be commanded,* and where the air is always clear and serene, ) and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale below; so^ always that this prospect^ be with pity, ^Howsoever. Notwithstanding that, albeit. "And so will he do; for the man doth fear God, howsoever it seems not in him by some large jests he will make." Shakspere. Much Ado About Nothing, ii. 3. 2 The poet is Titus Lucretius, born 99 or 98 B.C., died 55 B.C. The sect is the Epicureans. Bacon quotes the thought, not the exact language, of the beginning of the second book of Lueretius's De Rerum Natura. Compare the Advancement of Learning. I. viii. 5. •* Adventure. Chance, hap, luck, fortune. * In military tactics a high hill commands a lower one near it. ° So, Provided, or on condition. 'Prospect is active in sense, and means overlooking, looking down wpon. 6 BACON'S ESSAYS and not witli swelling or pride. Certainly, it is heaven upon earth, to have a man's mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.i To pass from theological and philosophical truth, to the truth of civil business ; it will be acknowl- edged even by those that practise it not, that clear and round^ dealing is the honour of man's nature ; and that mixture of falsehood is _like allav^ in coin of gold a nd silver, which ma-" ^ TuaTrP fTia mpfal wnrTr the better, but it' embaseth* it. For these winding and crooked courses are the goings of the serpent ; which goeth basely upon the belly,^ and not upon the feet. There is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious. And therefore Montaigne^ saith prettily, when he inquired the reason, why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace and such an odious charge? Saith he. If it ie well weighed, to say that a man lieth, ^ "The basis of all excellence is truth." Dr. Samuel Johnson. Life of Cowley. Edited by Mrs. A. Napier. Bohn. 1890. p. S. ^ Round. Plain, downright, straightforward. *'I will a round, unvarnish'd tale deliTer Of my whole course of love." Shakspere. Othello, i. 3. ' Allay. Old form of 'alloy,' an inferior metal mixed with one of greater value. "For fools are stubborn in their way, As coins are harden'd by th' allay." Samuel Butler. Eudibras. Part III. Canto II. 481-482. * Erribase. To reduce from a higher to a lower degree of worth or purity; to debase. " "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." Genesis Hi. 14. » Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, the celebrated French essayist, was born in 1583 and died in 1592. The first edition of the Essais ap- peared in 1580. Montaigne's thought will be found in the Essais, II. 18, where he quotes Plutarch's Life of Lysander. OF DEATH 7 is as much to say, as that he is brave towards God and a coward towards men. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of false- hood and breach of faith cannot possibly be so highly expressed, as in that it shall be the last peal to call the judgments of G-od upon the generations of men ; it being foretold, that when Christ cometh, he shall not find faith upon the earth?- II. Of Death. Men fear Death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is in- creased with tales, so is the other. Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin^ and passage to another world, is holy and religious ; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations there is sometimes mix- ture of vanity and of superstition. You shall read in some of the friars' books of mortification,^ that a man should think with himself what the pain is if he have but his finger's end pressed or tortured, and thereby imagine what the pains of death are, when the whole body is corrupted and dissolved ; when many times death passeth with less pain than the torture of a limb : for the most vita! parts are not the quickest of sense. And by him that spake only ' "Nevertheless TfJieB-tte Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?" Euke xviii. 8. ' "For the wages of sin is death." Bomans vi. 23. * Mortification. Summation, penance. g . BACON'S ESSAYS as a philosopher and natural man, it was well said, Pompa mortis magis terret, quam mors ipsa:^ Groans and convulsions, and a discoloured face, and friends weeping, and blacks,^ and obsequies, and the like, . shew death terrible. It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in the mind of man so weak, but it mates' and masters the fear of death ; and therefore death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many attendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over death; Love slights it; Honour aspireth to it; Grief flieth to it ; Fear pre-occupateth* it ; nay we read, after Otho^ the emperor had slain himself, Pity (which is the tenderestof affections) provoked^ many to die, out of mere compassion to their sov- ereign, and as the truest sort of followers. Nay Seneca adds niceness and satiety: Cogita quamdiu eadem feceris ; mori velle,non tantum fortis, aut miser, 'The surroundings of death strike more terror than death itself. L. Annaei Senecae ad Lucilium Epistularum MoraMurti Liber HI. Epistula III. Seneca lived 4 — 65 a.d. ^ Blacks. Black clothing for mourning ; hangings oi black cloth used in churches, etc., at funerals. In Shakspere's time the upper part of the stage, technically called 'the heavens,' was hung with black when tragedies were performed. "I would not hear of blacks, 1 was so light, But chose a color orient like my mind: For blacks are often such dissembling mourners, There is no credit given to 't; it has lost All reputation by false sons and widows." Middleton. The Old Law. ii. 1. ^ Mate. To daunt; to stupefy. "My mind she has mated and amazed my sight." Shakspere. Macbeth, v. 1. * Pre-occupate. To occupy before; to anticipate. "Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman emperor, 32-69 a.d. 'Provoke. To stimulate to action; to move; to excite. "And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works." Sebrewfl x. 24. OF DEATH 9 sed etiam fastidiosiis potest} A man would die, thougli he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over. It is no less worthy to observe, how little alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make ; for they appear to be the same men tin the last instant. Augustus Caesar^ died in a compliment; lAvia^ conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale:*^ Tiberius^ in dissimulation; as Tacitus^ saith of him. Jam Tiberium vires et corpus, nan dis- simulatio, deserel}ant :'' Vespasian^ in a jest; sitting upon the stool, Utputo Deusfio:^ Gralba^" with a sen- tence ; -Fen, si ex re sitpopuU Boniani : ^^ holding forth ^ Think how often you do the same things. A man may wish to die, not so much because he is brave or miserable, as that lie is tired of living. L. Annaei Senecae ad Lucilium Epistularum Moralium Liber X. Epistula I. "It is a brave act of valour to contemn death; but where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valour to dare to live." Sir Thomas Browne. Religio Medici. Part I. Section 44. 2 Caius Octavius, called later, Caius Julius Caesar Octavlanus Augustus, great-nephew of Julius Caesar, and first Boman emperor, lived 63 B.C. to 14 a.d. ^ Livia DrusiUa was the mother of Tiberius and the third wife of Augustus. 'Caesar Augustus died in a compliment. — I hope *t was a sincere one I — quoth my Uncle Toby. — 'T was to his wife, — said my father.' Sterne. Tristram Shandy. Y. 3. * Livia, mindful of our union, live on, and farewell. C. Siie- toni TranquiUi Be XII Caesaribus Liber II. D. Octavius Caesar Augustus. 100. = Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, stepson of Augustus and Roman emperor, lived 42 B.C. to 37 a.d. ^ Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian, lived from about 55 to about 117 A.D, He wrote De vita et moribus Julii Agricolae; Germania; Bistoriae, accounts of the reigns of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian; and Annales, a history of the Julian dynasty from the death of Augustus. ' His strength and vitality were now deserting Tiberius, but not his dissimulation. P. Cornelii Taciti Annalium Liber YI. Caput 50. 'Titus Flavins Sabinus Vespasianus, Roman emperor, 9-79 A.D. ° I suppose I am becoming a god. O. Suetoni TranquiUi De XII Caesaribus Liber YIII. T. Flavius Yespasianus Augustus. 23. " Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman emperor, lived 3 B.C. to 69 A.D. " Strike, if it be for the good of the Roman people. Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Liber I. Caput 41, 10 BACON'S ESSAYS his neck. Septimius Severusi j^ despatch; Adeste si quid mihi restat agendum : ^ And the like. Certainly the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by their great preparations made it appear more fear- ful. Better saith he, qui finem vitm extremum inter munera ponat naturce? It is as natural to die as to be born ; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. He that dies in an earnest pursuit, is like one that is wounded in hot blood ; who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good doth avert the dolours* of death. But above aU, believe it, the sweetest canticle is, Nunc dimittis;^ when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death hath this also; that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy. JExtinctus amaUtur idem.^ 1 Lucius Septimius Severus, Roman emperor, 146 — 211 A.D. 2 Make haste, if anything remains for me to do. Dion Cassius. Liber LXXYI. 17. * Who considers the end of life as one of nature's blessings. The thought is Juvenal's, D. Junii Juvenalis Aquinatis Satiraru/m Liber lY. Satira X. 358 — 359. Bacon quotes the verse again in the Advancement of Learning. II. xxi. 5. * Dolours. Griefs, sorrows. "About this time I did light on a dreadful story of that miserable mortal, Francis Spira ; a book that was to my troubled spirit, as salt when rubbed into a fresh wound: every sentence in that book, every groan of that man, with all the rest of his actions in his dolours, as his tears, his prayers, his gnashing of teeth, his wringing of hands, his twisting, and lan- guishing, and pining away under that mighty hand of God that was upon him, were as knives and daggers to my soul." Bunyan. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. The Works of thai emi- nent servant of Christ, John Bunyan, Minister of the Gospel; and formerly Pastor of a Congregation at Bedford. Vol. I. p. 49. (New Haven. 1831.) ^ Nunc dimittis, or the Song of Simeon. Luke ii. 29 — 32. "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." It is one of the canticles for Evening Prayer in the Church of England. " The same man, dead, will be loved ; i.e., he who is envied and suffers from detraction in life, may become a hero after death. Q. Boratii Flacci Epistolarum Liber II. Epistola I. Ad Ayr guttum. 14. OF UNITY IN RELIGION H III. Op Unity in Religion. Religion being tlie chief band of human society, it is a happy thing when itself is well contained within the true band of Unity. The quarrels and divisions about religion were evils unknown to the heathen. The reason was, because the religion of the heathen consisted rather in rites and ceremonies, than in any constant belief. For you may imagine what kind of faith theirs was, when the chief doctors^ and fathers of their church were the poets. But the true God hath this attribute, that he is a jealous God ; ^ and therefore his worship and religion will endure no mixture nor partner. We shall therefore speak a few words concerning the Unity of the Church ; what are the Fruits thereof ; what the Bounds ; and what the Means. The Fruits of Unity (next unto the well pleasing of God, which is all in aU) are two ; the one to- wards those that are without the church, the other towards those that are within. For the former ; it is certain that heresies and schisms are of all others the greatest scandals ; yea, more than corruption of manners. For as in the natural body a wound or solution of continuity^ is worse than a ^ Doctor. Teacher, instructor. "And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." Lulce ii. 46. 2 "For thou Shalt worship no other god : for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Exodus xxxiv. 14. Compare also the Second Commandment, Exodus xx. 5. 3 A wound makes a solution of continuity by severing muscles, nerves, arteries, and the like. 12 BACON'S ESSAYS corrupt humour ; so in the spiritual. So that noth- ing doth so much keep men out of the church, and drive men out of the church, as breach of unity. And therefore, whensoever it cometh to that pass, that one saith Ecce in deserto,^ another saith Ucce in penetralibus ;^ that is, when some men seek Christ in the conventicles of heretics, and others in an out- ward face of a church, that voice had need continu- ally to sound in men's ears, Nolite exire, — Go not out? The Doctor of the Gentiles* (the propriety* of whose vocation^ drew him to have a special care of those without) saith, If an heathen come in, and hear you speak with several tongues, will he not say that you are madf And certainly it is little better, when atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion ; it doth avert ^ them from the church, and maketh them to sit down in the chair of the scorners? It is but a light thing to be vouched^" in so serious a matter, but yet it expresseth weU the deformity. There is a master of scoflng, that in his catalogue 1 "Behold, lie is in the desert." Matthew xxiv. 26. ' "Behold, he is in the secret chambers." Matthew xxiv. 26. ' "Go not forth." Matthew xxiv. 26. ' The Apostle Paul is the 'Doctor of the Gentiles.' In Acts xxii. 21, Paul relates how he was specially called to his apostleship among the Gentiles: "And he said unto me. Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." " Propriety. Peculiar quality, especial concern. ® Vocation. Calling in life. ' "If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are un- learned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?" I. Corinthians xiv. 23. ^ Avert. To turn from; to repel, ' "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the un- godly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Psalms i. 1. ^"Youch. To bear witness to; to confirm. OF UNITY IN RELIGION 13 of books of a feigned library sets down this title of a book, The morris-dance of Heretics?- For in- deed every sect of tbem bath a diverse^ posture or cringe* by themselves, which cannot but move de- rision in worldlings and depraved politics,* who are apt to contemn holy things. As for the fruit towards those that are within ; it is peace; which containeth infinite blessings. It establisheth faith, ft kindleth charity. The out- ward peace of the church distiUeth into peace of conscience. And it turneth the labours of writing and reading of controversies into treatises of mor- tification and devotion. Concerning the Bounds of Unity ; the true placing of them importeth exceedingly.* There appear to be two extremes. For to certain zelants^ aU speech of pacification is odious. Is it peace, Jehu? What hast ^ Bacon alludes to FranQois Kabelais, born about 1483, died April 9, 1553. Among the books which Pantagruel, son of Gar- gantua, found in the Library of St. Victor in Paris was, La Morisque des h^rHiques. (Les Cinq Livres de F. Rabelais. Tonne I. p. 255. Edition Jouaust. Paris. 1885.) The morris, or morris- dance, is a dance performed with bells, castanets, or tambours. It comes from the Spanish morisco, a Moorish dance; from rtioro, a Moor. 2 Diverse. Different. "And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." Daniel vii. 3. ^ Cringe. A deferential, servile, or fawning obeisance; derisively, a bow. "Why should history go on kneeling to the end of time? I am for having her rise off her knees, and take a natural posture: not to be forever performing cringes and congees like a court- chamberlain, and shuffling backwards out of doors in the presence of the sovereign. In a word, I would have history familiar rather than heroic: and think that Mr. Hogarth and Mr. Fielding will give our children a much better idea of the manners of the present age in England, than the Court Gazette and the newspapers which we get thence." Thackeray. Henry Esmond. I. 1. * Politics. Politicians. ^Importeth exceedingly. That is, in modern phrase, is exceedr ingly important. ' Zela/nts. Zealots. 14 BACON'S ESSAYS thou to do mth peace? turn thee behind me.^ Peace is not the matter, but following and party. Con- trariwise, certain Laodieeans and lukewarm^ per- sons think they may accommodate^ points of re- ligion by middle ways, and taking part of both, and witty* reconcilements ; as if they would make an arbitrement^ between God and man. Both these extremes are to be avoided ; which wiU be done, if the league of Christians penned by our Saviour himself were in the two cross clauses thereof soundly and plainly expounded : JBTe that is not mth us is against us; ^ and again. He that is not against us is with us;'' that is, if the points funda- mental and of substance in religion were truly dis- cerned and distiaguished from points not merely^ of faith, but of opinion, order, or good intention. This is a thing may seem to many a matter trivial, and done already. But if it were done less partially, it would be embraced more generally. Of this I may give only this advice, according to my small model. Men ought to take heed of rend- * "So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king. Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me." //. Kings ix. 18. ^ "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodieeans write; . So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Bevelation iii. 14, 16. ^ Accow/modate. To adjust, reconcile (things or persons that differ) ; to hring into harmony or agreement, * Witty. Ingenious. ^ Arbitrement. Compromise, friendly agreement. * "He that is not with me is against me." Matthew xii. 30 and Luke xi. 23. ^ "For he that is not against us is on our part." MarJc ix. 40. ^ Merely. Absolutely, wholly, completely. "X wish ye all content, and am as happy. In my friend's good as if 't were merely mine." Beaumont and Fletcher. The Honest Man's Fortwne, v, 3, OF UNITY IN BELIGION 15 ing God's churcli by two kinds of controversies. The one is, when the matter of the point contro- verted is too small and light, not worth the heat and strife about it, kindled only by contradiction. For as it is noted by one of the fathers, Christ's coat in- deed had no seam, hut the church's vesture was of divers colours;^ whereupon he saith. In veste varietas sit, scissura non sit:^ they be two things. Unity and Uniformity. The other is, when the matter of the point controverted is great, but it is driven to an over-great subtilty and obscurity; so that it be- cometh a thing rather ingenious than substantial. A man that is of judgment and understanding shall sometimes hear ignorant men differ, and know well within himself that those which so differ mean one thing, and yet they themselves would never agree. And if it come so to pass in that distance of judg- ment which is between man and man, shall we not^ think that God above, that knows the heart, doth not^ discern that frail men in some of their contra- dictions intend the same thing; and accepteth of* both? The nature of such controversies is excel- ^ The allusion is to Psalms xlv, 14. "She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework," but the phrase in raiment of needlework is in the Vulgate, circumamicta varietatibus, 'enveloped with varieties.' 2 Let there be many colors in the garment, but let there be no rending of it. St. Bernard. Letter CCCXXXIV. To Guy of Pisa. Against the same Abaelard. Life and Works of Saint Bernard. Edited by Dom John MabiUon. Translated by Samuel J. Eales. II. 865. ' So in the original. One of the nots should obviously be struck out; the reader can choose which. S. * Accept. To receive (a thing or person) with approval; fre- quently followed by 'of.' "And ye say moreover. Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the pres- ent that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; per- adventure he will accept of me." Genesis xxxii. SO. 16 BACON'S ESSAYS lently expressed by St. Paul in the warning and precept that he giveth concerning the same, Devita prof anas vocum novitates, et oppositiones falsi nominis scientice:^ Men create oppositions which are not ; and put them into new terms so fixed, as^ whereas the meaning ought to govern the term, the term in effect governeth the meaning. There be also two false peaces or unities : the one, when the peace is grounded but upon an implicit ignorance ; for aU colours will agree in the dark : the other, when it is pieced up upon a direct admission of contraries in fundamental points. For truth and falsehood, in such things, are like the iron and clay in the toes of Nabuchadnezzar's image ; ^ they may cleave, but they will not incorporate. Concerning the Means of procuring Unity ; men must beware, that in the procuring or muniting* of religious unity they do not dissolve and deface the laws of charity and of human society. There be two swords amongst Christians, the spiritual and temporal ; and both have their due ofQce and place in the maintenance of religion. But we may not take up the third sword, which is Mahomet's sword, or Kke unto it ; that is, to propagate religion by wars or by sanguinary persecutions to force con- sciences ; except it be in the cases of overt scandal, blasphemy, or intermixture of practice against the state ; much less to nourish seditions ; to authorize ' "Avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called." J. Timothy vi. 20. ' As. That. ' "His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay." Daniel ii. 33. * Muniting. From the Latin munio, fortifying, strengthening. OF UNITY IN EELIGION I7 conspiracies and rebellions ; to put the sword into the people's hands ; and the like ; tending to the subversion of aU government, which is the ordi- nance of God. For this is but to dash the first table against the second ;i and so to consider men as Christians, as we forget that they are men. Lu- cretius the poet, when he beheld the act of Agamem- non,^ that could endure the sacrificing of his own daughter, exclaimed : Tantum Relligio potuit suadere malorum : ' What would he have said, if he had known of the massacre in France,* or the powder treason^ of Eng- land ? He would have been seven times more Epi- cure® and atheist than he was. For as the temporal sword is to be drawn with great circumspection in ^ "And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tahles out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount." Exodus xxxii, 19. ^ Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks before Troy, made a vow to Artemis that he would offer up to her the dearest possession that came to him within the next twelvemonth. This happened to be a child, his daughter, Iphigeneia. When, some years later the Trojan fleet was wind-bound at Aulis, Calchas, the priest, said it was on account of the wrath of the goddess because Agamemnon had not kept his vow. Iphigeneia was thereupon bound to the altar to be sacrificed, but Artemis substituted a hind in her stead and carried off the maiden to Tauris to become her priestess. Note the likeness of the story to that of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Genesis xxii, 1—19; and to Jephthah's vow. Judges xi. 30—40. Iphigeneia's story was treated by Euripides, in his tragedy, Iphi- geneia in Tauris, and by Goethe, in Tphigenie auf Tauris. ^ To ills so dire could religion prompt. T. Lucreti Cari De Berum Natura. Liber I. 101. * The massacre of the Huguenots in France on St. Bartholomew's day, August 24, 1572, by the order of Charles IX. and his mother, Catharine de' Medici. ''The Gunpowder Plot, of Guy Fawkes (1570-1606) and other conspirators, who proposed to blow up the House of Lords at the opening of Parliament, Nov. 5, 1605, when the King, the royal family, and the House of Commons would be present. " Epicure. Epicurean. 13 BACON'S ESSAYS cases of religion; so it is a thing monstrous to put it into the hands of the common people. Let that be left unto the Anabaptists/ and other furies. It was great blasphemy when the devil said, I will ascend and he like the Highest; ^ but it is greater blasphemy to personate God, and bring him in sajdng, I mil descend, and be like the prince of darkness: and what is it better, to make the cause of religion to descend to the cruel and execrable ac- tions of murthering princes, butchery of people, and subversion of states and governments ? Surely this is to bring down the Holy Ghost, instead of the likeness of a dove,^ in the shape of a vulture or raven; and set out of the bark of a Christian church a flag of a bark of pirates and assassins. Therefore it is most necessary that the church by doc- trine and decree, princes by their sword, and all learnings, both Christian and moral, as by their Mercury rod,* do damn and send to hell for ever those facts and opinions tending to the support of 1 Anabaptists. The followers of John Matthiesen and John Boek- old, or John of Leyden, who attempted to set up a socialistic kingdom of New Zion or Mount Zion at Mlinster in Westphalia, about 1530—1535. Anabaptize means to baptize again; an Anabaptist in the literal sense is one who believes in re-baptism, or adult baptism. Bacon cofiipares the Anabaptists to furies from their vicious doc- trines, one of which was polygamy, '"'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah xiv. 14. *'Por so we see, aspiring to be like God in power, the angels transgressed and fell; Ascendam, et ero similis altissimo." Advancement of Learning. II. xxii. IS. ^ "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." Matthew Hi. 16. * Mercury rod. The cadniceus, a rod entwined with two ser- pents and surmounted by two wings. With it Mercury, the mes- ■enger of the gods, summoned souls to Hades. OF REVENGE 19 tlie same ; as hath been already in good part done. Surely in counsels concerning religion, that coun- sel of the apostle would ^ be prefixed, Ira hominis non implet justitiam Dei :^ And it was a notable ob- servation of a wise father, and no less ingenuously confessed ; that those which held and persuaded^ pres- sure of consciences were commonly interessed* therein themselves for their own ends. IV. Of Revenge. Revenge is a kind of wild justice ; which the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. For as for the first wrong, it doth but offend the law ; but the revenge of that wrong putteth the law out of office. Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy ; but in passing it over, he is superior ; for it is a prince's part to pardon. And Salomon, I am sure, saith, It is the glory of a man to pass by an offence.^ That which is past is gone, and irrevocable ; and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come; therefore they do but trifle with themselves, that '^ Would = should, as frequently in Elizabethan English. ^ "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." James i. 20. ' Persuade. To commend a statement or opinion to acceptance ; to inculcate. "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing, and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Acts xix. 3. * Interessed. Earlier form of interested. '"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression." Proverbs odx. 11. 20 BACON'S ESSAYS labour in past matters. There is no man doth a wrong for the wrong's sake ; but thereby to pur- chase himself profit, or pleasure, or honour, or the like. Therefore why should I be angry with a man for loving himself better than me ? And if any man should do wrong merely out of ill-natuxe, why, yet it is but like the thorn or briar, which prick and scratch, because they can do no other. The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs which there is no law to remedy ; but then let a man take heed the revenge be such as there is no law to pim- ish ; else a man's enemy is still before hand, and it is two for one. Some, when they take revenge, are desirous the party should know whence it cometh. This the more generous. For the delight seemeth to be not so much in doing the hurt as in making the party repent. But base and crafty cowards are like the arrow that flieth in the dark.^ Cosmus,^ duke of Florence, had a desperate saying against perfidious or neglecting^ friends, as if those wrongs were unpardonable ; Tou shall read (saith he) that we are commanded to forgive our enemies* but you never read that we are commanded to forgive our friends. 1 "Thou Shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day." Psalms xci. 6. ^Cosimo de' Medici, pater patriae, 1389-1464, was a Florentine banker and statesman, and a munificent patron of literature and art. "Cosmos duke of Florence was wont to say of perfidious friends; That we read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.'^ Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 208 (92). Mar4chal Pierre de Villars, 1623-1698, is said to have taken leave of Louis XIV. with the witticism, "Defend me from my friends; I can defend myself from my enemies." ' Neglecting. Negligent, neglectful. * "And forgive ns our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Mai- thew vi. 12. OF REVENGE 21 But yet the spirit of Job was in a better tune : Shall we (saitb he) take good at GoWs hands, and not he con- tent to take evil also f^ And so of friends in, a pro- portion. This is certain^ that a man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green, which other- wise would heal and do well. Public revenges ^ are for the most part fortunate j as that for the death of Caesar;^ for the death of Pertinaxj^ for the death of Henry the Third^ of France ; and many more. But in private revenges it is not so. Nay rather, Adndictive persons hve the life of witches ; who, as they are mischievous, so end they infortu- nate.® ^"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Joh U. lo. ^Revenges. Y indications. "And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges." Shakspere. Twelfth Night, v. 1. * Julius Caesar, Roman general and dictator, born 100 B.C., was assassinated at a meeting of the Roman senate held on the Ides of March, 44 B.C. His great-nephew, Caius Octavius, then a youth of only nineteen, took it upon himself to avenge Caesar. With Mark Antony and Lepidus he formed the second triumvirate, which relentlessly pursued the assassins. When the republicans, Brutus and Cassius, fell upon their own swords after the defeat at Philippi, 42 B.C., most of them were gone. Philippi was the grave of the Roman republic. * The Emperor Pertinax was murdered by the Praetorian guards, March 28, 193 A.D., who then disposed of the crown at public auction to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus. Lucius Septimius Severus was the avenger of Pertinax. Gibbon says of his treat- ment of the Praetorian guards : "A chosen part of the Illyrian army encompassed them with levelled spears. Incapable of flight or resistance, they expected their fate in silent consternation. Severus mounted the tribunal, sternly reproached them with perfidy and cowardice, dismissed them with ignominy from the trust which they had betrayed, despoiled them of their splendid ornaments, and banished them, on pain of death, to the distante of a hundred miles from the capital." The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. I. Ch. Y. ^ Henry III,, of France, was assassinated August 1, 1589, by a Jacobin monk, Jacques Clement. * The spirit of resentment, which is a sudden passion, is much commoner than that of revenge, a prolonged feud. Revenge is barbaric ; the civilized man has too much to think about and to do to nurse a feud. "The fact is, I cannot keep my resentments. 22 BACON'S ESSAYS V. Of Adversity.^ It was a high speech of Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics)^ that the good things which belong to prosperity are to he wished; hut the good things that belong to adversity are to he admired. Bona rerum secundarum optahilia; adversarum mirahilia? Cer- tainly if miracles be the command over nature, they appear most in adversity. It is yet a higher speech of his than the other (much too high for a heathen), It is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man, and the security of a God. Vere magnum habere fragilitatem hominis, securitatem Dei? This would have done better in poesy,* where transcendences^ though violent enough in their onset." Byron. Letter to Thomas Moore. March 6, 1822. The Works of Lord Byron. R. E. Prothero. Vol. YI. p. 35. "How happy might "we be, and end our time with blessed days, and sweet content, if we could contain ourselves, and, as we ought to do, put up injuries, learn humility, meekness, patience, forget and forgive, (as in God's word we are injoyned), compose such small controversies amongst ourselves, moderate our passions in this kind, and think better of others (as Paul would have us) than of ourselves: be of like affection one towards another, and not avenge ourselves, but have peace with all men!" Robert Burton. The Anatomy of Melancholy. Partition 1. Section 2. Member 3. /Subsection 8. Edited by Rev. A. R. Shilleto, M.A., with an Intro- duction by A. S. Bullen. London. 1893. ^ This essay was first printed in the edition of 1625, after Bacon had experienced the height of prosperity as Lord Chancellor and the depth of adversity in his degradation and fall. ^ Ilia bona optabilia, haec mirabilia sunt. L. Annaei Seneeae ad Lucilium Epistularum Moralium Liber YII. Epistula lY. 29. ^Ecce res magna, habere inbecillitatem hominis, securitatem dei. L. Annaei Seneeae ad Lucilium Epistularum Moralium Liber YI. Epistula I. 12. * Poesy. Poetry. "Music and poesy use, to quicken you." Shakspere. The Taming of the Shrew, i, 1, ^Transcendence. Elevation, loftiness (of thought). OF ADVEESITY 23 are more allowed. Aud the poets indeed have been busy with it ; for it is in effect the thing which is figured in that strange fiction of the ancient poets, which seemeth not to be without mystery;^ nay, and to have some approach to the state of a Christian ; that Hercules, when he went to unbind Prometheus,^ (by whom human nature is represented), sailed the length of the great ocean in an earthen pot or pitcher; lively describing Christian resolution, that saUeth in the frail bark of the flesh thorough the waves of the world. But to speak in a mean.^ The virtue of Prosperity is temperance ; the virtue of Adversity is fortitude ; which in morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testa- ment ; Adversity is the blessing of the New ; which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God's favour. Yet even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath laboured more in 1 Mystery. Midden Tneaning, as in the word 'myth,' which is a fable containing elements of truth. 2 Prometheus was the son of lapetus, one of the Titans. He formed men of clay, and animated them with fire brought from heaven. For this Jupiter sent Mercury to bind him to the Caucasus, where a vulture preyed upon his liver until killed by Hercules. 'Prometheus' means 'the Foreknower,' as in Mrs. Browning's drama, Prometheus Bound, "Unto me the foreknower." W. M. Rossetti, in his Memoir of Percy Bysshe Shelley, p. 97, places Shelley's drama, Prometheus Unbound, 1820, "at the summit of all latter poetry." "It is the ideal poem of perpetual and triumphant progression — the Atlantis of Man Emancipated." Prometheus ; or the State of Man, in Of the Wisdom of the Ancients, is Bacon's version of the myth of Prometheus. ^ To speak in a mean. To speak with moderation. "the golden mean, and quiet ilow, Of truths that soften hatred, temper strife." Wordsworth. Ecclesiastical Sonnets. Part III. Sacheverel. 13—14. 24 BACON'S ESSAYS describing the afaictions of Job than the felicities ^ of Salomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes ; and Adversity is not without com- forts and hopes. "We see in needle-works and em- broideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad^ and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground: judge therefore of the pleasure of the heart by the pleasure of the eye. Certainly virtue is like precious odours, most fragrant when they are incensed^ or crushed: for Prosperity doth best discover vice, but Adversity doth best discover virtue. VI. Of SnrtJLATiON* and Dissbidlation.^ Dissimulation is but a faint kind of policy or wisdom ; for it asketh a strong wit and a strong heart to know when to teU truth, and to do it. Therefore it is the weaker sort of politics that are the great dissemblers. Tacitus saith, Idvia sorted well with the arts of her ^ Felicities. Prosperous circumstances, successes. ^ Sad. Dark-colored. "This is a gentleman every inch of Mm, and a virtuoso, a clean virtuoso — a sad-coloured stand of claithes, and a wig like the curled back of a mug-ewe." Scott. The Monas- tery. Introductory Epistle. ^ Incensed. Enkindled, set on fire. "The same Mr. Bettenham [Header of Gray's Inn] said: That virtuous men were like some herbs and spices, that give not their sweet smell, till they he broken 'and crushed." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 253. * Simulation. The act of sirrmlating or feigning ; pretense, usuaUy for the purpose of deceiving. ^ Dissimulation. Deceit, hypocrisy. OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION 25 husband and dissimulation of her son;'^ attributing arts or policy to Augustus, and dissimulation to Tiberius. And again, wben Mucianus eneourageth Vespasian to take arms against Vitellius,^ he saith, We rise not against the piercing judgment of Augustus, nor the extreme caution or closeness of Tiberius.^ These properties, of arts or policy and dissimulation or closeness, are indeed habits and faculties several, and to be distinguished. For if a man have that penetration of judgment as* he can discern what things are to be laid open, and what to be secreted, and what to be shewed at half lights, and to whom and when, (which indeed are arts of state and arts of life, as Tacitus well ealleth them,) to him a habit of dissimulation is a hinderance and a poorness. But if a man cannot obtain^ to that judgment, then it is left to him generally to be close, and a dissem- bler. For where a man cannot choose or vary in particulars, there it is good to take the safest and wariest way in general ; like the going softly, by one that cannot well see. Certainly the ablest men that ever were have had all an openness and frankness of dealing ; and a name of certainty and veracity ; 1 Mater impotens, uxor faeUis et cum, artihus mariti, sirfiulatione filii bene eomposita, as a mother imperious, as a wife oompliant and well matched with the subtlety of her husband and the dissimu- lation of her son. P. Cornelii Taciti Annalium Liber Y. Frag- mentum. Caput 1. Of. Advancement of Learning. II. xxiii. 36. ^Aulus Vitellius, 15 — 69 A.D., Roman emperor immediately before Vespasian, ^ Non adversus divi Augusti acerrimam mentem, nee adversus cautissiTnam Tiberii aenectutem, ne contra Gai quide-m aut Claudii vel Neronis fundatam longo imperio domum exsurgim/us. Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Liber II. Caput 76. ' As. That. ^Obtain. To attam to; to reach; to gain; intransitive, with 'to* or 'unto.' 26 BACON'S ESSAYS but then they were like horses well managed ; for they could tell passing well when to stop or turn ; and at such times when they thought the case in- deed required dissimulation, if then they used it, it came to pass that the former opinion spread abroad of their good faith and clearness of dealing made them almost invisible. There be three degrees of this hiding and veiling of a man's self. The first. Closeness, Reservation, and Secrecy; when a man leaveth himself without observation, or without hold to be taken, what he is.^ The second. Dissimulation, in the negative; when a man lets fall signs and arguments, that he is not that^ he is. And the third. Simulation, in the affirmative ; when a man industriously and expressly feigns and pretends to be that he is not. For the first of these. Secrecy ; it is indeed the virtue of a confessor. And assuredly the secret man heareth many confessions. For who will open him- self to a blab or babbler ? But if a man be thought secret, it inviteth discovery ; as the more close air sucketh i-n the more open ; and as in confession the revealing is not for worldly use, but for the ease of a man's heart, so secret men come to the knowledge of many things in that kind ; while men rather dis- * Before Milton set out on his Italian journey, he received a letter of advice from Sir Henry Wotton, then Provost of Eton. Wotton said that in Siena he had been "tabled in the house of one Alberto Scipioni, an old Koman courtier in dangerous times . . . and at my departure toward Borne (which had been the centre of his experience) I had won his confidence enough to beg his advice how I might carry myself there without offence of others or of mine own conscience. 'Signer Arrigo mio,' says he, *Z pensieH stretti ed il visa sciolto' [honest thoughts and an open countenance] will go safely over the wliole world.' " 2 That. What. OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION 27 charge their minds thau impart their minds. In few words, mysteries are due to secrecy.^ Besides (to say truth) nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as body ; and it addeth no small reverence to men's manners and actions, if they be not altogether open. As for talkers and futile^ persons, they are com- monly vain and credulous withal. For he that talketh what he knoweth, will also talk what he knoweth not. Therefore set it down, that an hahit of secrecy is both politic and moral. And in this part it is good that a man's face give his tongue leave to speak. For the discovery of a man's self by the tracts* of his countenance is a great weakness and betraying; by how much it is many times more marked and believed than a man's words. For the second, which is Dissimulation ; it f oHow- eth many times upon secrecy by a necessity ; so that he that wiU be secret must be a dissembler in some degree. For men are too cunning to suffer a man to keep an indifferent* carriage between both, and to be secret, without swaying the balance on either side. They will so beset a man with questions, and draw him on, and pick it out of him, that, without an ab- surd silence, he must show an inclination one way ; or if he do not, they will gather as much by his silence as by his speech. As for equivocations, or oraculous^ * "A proper secrecy is the only mystery of able men : mystery the only secrecy of weak and cunning ones." Maxims: Enclosed in Let- ter of January 15, 1753. The Letters of Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, with the Characters. Edited with Introduction, Notes, and Index, iy John Bradshaw. II. S7^, 2 Futile. Talkative. ' Tract. Trait, lineament, feature. 'Indifferent. Impartial, neutral, ' Qraculous, Oracular, 28 BACON'S ESSAYS speeches, they cannot hold out long. So that no man can be secret, except he give himself a little scope of dissimulation ; which is, as it were, but the skirts or train of secrecy. But for the third degree, which is Simulation and false prof ession ; that I hold more culpable, and less politic ; except it be in great and rare matters. And therefore a general custom of simulation (which is this last degree) is a vice, rising either of a natural falseness or f earf ulness, or of a mind that hath some main faults, which because a man must needs dis- guise, it maketh him practise simulation in other things, lest his hand should be out of use. The great advantages of simulation and dissimu- lation are three. First, to lay asleep opposition, and to surprise. For where a man's intentions are pub- lished, it is an alarum to call up all that are against them. The second is, to reserve to a man's self a fair retreat. For if a man engage himself by a mani- fest declaration, he must go through or take a faU.i The third is, the better to discover the mind of an- other. For to him that opens himself men will hardly shew themselves adverse ; but wiU (fair) ^ let him go on, and turn their freedom of speech to freedom of thought. And therefore it is a good shrewd proverb of the Spaniard, Tell a lie and find a troth? As if there were no way of discovery but by simulation. There be also three disadvantages, ^ Fall. A hout at wrestling; to 'take a fall' is to he tripped, to he thrown. 2 The Latin translation renders fair by potius, rather; the adverb fairly preserves the sense in the phrase fairly viell^rather well. ' This Spanish proverb will be found in the Advancement of Learning, II. xxiii. 18; "Di Tnentira, y sacaras verdad." OP PAEENTS AND CHILDEEN 29 to set it even. The first, that simulation and dis- simulation commonly carry with them a shew of fearfnlness, which in any business doth spoil the feathers of round^ flying up to the mark. The sec- ond, that it puzzleth and perplexeth the conceits ^ of many, that perhaps would otherwise co-operate with him ; and makes a man walk almost alone to his own ends. The third and greatest, is, that it de- priveth a man of one of the most principal instru- ments for action ; which is trust and belief. The best composition and temperature^ is to have open- ness in fame and opinion ; secrecy in habit ; dissim- ulation in seasonable use ; and a power to feign, if there be no remedy. VII. Of Parents and Children. The joys of parents are secret ; and so are their griefs and fears. They cannot utter the one ; nor ^ Round. Direct. 2 Conceit. Conception, idea, thought, notion. "Is it not monstrous, that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit, That from her working all his visage wann'd ; Tears in his eyes, distraction in 's aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit?'^ Shakspere. Hamlet, ii. 2. 3 Temperature. Temperament, constitution. Bacon uses the word 'temperature,' as also 'temper,' in the essay Of Empire, in the old physiological sense. A person's 'temperature' or 'temperament' was his 'mixture,' or, to put the idea in another way, his 'complexion' was his 'combination,' that is, of the four liquids or humors. 30 BACON'S ESSAYS they will not^ utter the other. Children sweeten labours; but they make misfortunes more bitter. They increase the cares of life ; but they mitigate the remembrance of death, The perpetuity by generation is common to beasts; but memory, merit, and noble works, are proper to men. And surely a man shall see the noblest works and founda- tions ^ have proceeded from childless men ; which have sought to express the images of their minds, where those of their bodies have failed. So the care of posterity is most in them that have no posterity. They that are the first raisers of their houses^ are most indulgent towards their children; beholding them as the continuance not only of their kind but of their work ; and so both children and creatures.* The difference in affection of parents towards their several children is many times unequal; and sometimes unworthy ; especially in the mother ; as Salomon saith, A wise son rejoiceth the father, but an ungracious son shames the mother.^ A man shall see, where there is a house fuU of children, one or two of the eldest respected, and the youngest made wantons;^ but in the midst some that are as it were forgotten, who many times nevertheless prove the best. The illiberality of parents in allowance » Nor win. they not means simply nor will they. It is the old English double negative used to strengthen the negation. Here the two negatives happen to mal^e an affirmative, but that is by no means always the case, nor is the common statement of modern grammars that two negatives make an affirmative an adequate ex- planation of the idiom. 'Foundations. Endowments, institutions, such as colleges, or hospitals. ^ Houses. Families of rank. * Creature. A created thing, animate or inotfiimo/te ^ a crec^tion^ ** Proverbs x. 1. P Wantons, Spoiled chUd,r^tt, OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN 31 towards their children is an harmful error ; makes them base; acquaints them with shifts; makes them sort^ with mean company ; and makes them surfeit more when they come to plenty. And there- fore the proofs is best, when men keep their authority towards their children, but not their purse. Men have a foolish manner (both parents and school- masters and servants) in creating and breeding an emulation between brothers during childhood, which nmny times sorteth^ to discord when they are men, and disturbeth families. The Italians make little difference between children and nephews or near kinsfolks ; but so they be of the lump, they care not though they pass not through their own body. And to say truth, in nature it is much a like matter ; insomuch that we see a nephew sometimes re- sembleth an uncle or a kinsman more than his own parents ; as the blood happens. Let parents choose betimes the vocations and courses they mean their children should take; for then they are most flexible; and let them not too much apply them- selves to the disposition of their children, as think- ing they will take best to that which they have most mind to. It is true, that if the affections* or apt- * Sort. Associate. "1 will not sort you with the rest of my servants." Shakspere. Samlet, ii. 2. -Proof. Things proved; fact, result. "But 't is a common proof, That lowliness is young ambition's ladder." Shakspere. Julius Caesar, ii. 1. " Sorteth. Sort here means to happen ; to turn out. "Well, I am glad that all things sort so well." Shakspere. Much Ado About Nothing, v, i, * Affection, pisposition towards; inclinatiQn, bent. 32 BACON'S ESSAYS ness of the children be extraordinary, then it is good not to cross it ; but generally the precept is good, optimum elige, suave et facile illud faciei consuetudo} Younger brothers are commonly fortunate, but seldom or never where the elder are disinherited. VIII. Of Maeeiage and Singue Life. He that hath wife and children hath given hos- tages to fortune ; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men; which both in affection and means have married and endowed the public. Yet it were great reason that those that have children should have greatest care of future times ; unto which they know they must transmit their dearest pledges. Some there are, who. though they lead a single life, yet their thoughts do end with themselves, and account future times impertinences'.^ N^'Y? there are some ^ Choose the best, and custom will make it pleasant and easy. A saying of Pythagoras, quoted fey Plutarch, De Exilio. 8, "Maxims to make one get up : 1st. Ovtiinwrn eligete, et consuetudo faciei iucundissirrvwrn. 2d. 'I must get up at last, it will be as diificult then as now. 3d. By getting up I gain health, knowledge, temper, and animal spirits." A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith. By his Daughter, Lady Holland. Edited by Mrs. Austin. Tol. I. p. 171 (Third edition. 1855). ^Impertinences. Latin sense of the word, things irrelevant. **0, matter and impertinency mixed! Reason is madness!" Shakspere. King Lear. iv. 6, OF MAEKIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE 33 other that account wife and children but as bills of charges. Nay more, there are some fooUsh rich covetous men, that take a pride in having no chil- dren, because 1 they may be thought so much the richer. For perhaps they have heard some talk. Such an one is a great rich man, and another except to it, Tea, hut he hath a great charge of children; as if it were an abatement to his riches. But the most ordinary cause of a single life is liberty, especially in certain self -pleasing and humorous^ minds, which are so sensible of every restraint, as they will go near to think their girdles and garters to be bonds and shackles. Unmarried men are best friends, best masters, best servants ; but not always best subjects ; for they are like to run away; and almost all fugitives are of that condition. A single life doth well with churchmen ; ^ for charity will hardly water the groimd where it must first fiU a pool. It is indifferent for judges and magistrates ; for if they be facile and corrupt, you shall have a servant five times worse than a wife. For soldiers, I find the generals commonly in their hortatives put men in mind of their wives and children ; ^ and I think the despising of marriage amongst the Turks maketh the vulgar soldier more base. Certainly wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity ; and sin- ^ Because. In order that. ^ Kumorous. OontroUed by humors ; whimsical, capricious. *'As humorous as winter.*' Shakspere. II, King Henry IV. iv. 4, ' Churchmen. Clergymen. ' "Strike — for your altars and their fires ; Strike — for the green graves of your sires; God — and your native landl" Fitz-Greene Halleck, Marco Bozzaris. 34 BACON'S ESSAYS gle men, tnough they may be many times more char- itable, because their means are less exhaust,^ yet, on the other side, they are more cruel and hardhearted, (good to make severe inquisitors,) because their tenderness is not so oft called upon. Grave natures, led by custom, and therefore constant, are com- monly loving husbands ; as was said of Ulysses,^ vetulamsuamprcetuUtimmortalitati.^ Chaste women are often proud and fro ward, as presuming upon the merit of their chastity. It is one of the best bonds both of chastity and obedience in the wife, if she think her husband wise ; which she will never do if she find him jealous. Wives are young men's mistresses; companions for middle age; and old men's nurses. So as a man may have a quarrel,* to marry when he will. But yet he was reputed one of the wise men, that made answer to the question when a man should marry ? — A young man not yet, '■Exhaust. Condensed preterit for exhausted. The form is coin- mon in tlie Bible and in Shakspere. "Our State to be disjoint and out of frame." Shakspere. Hamlet, i. 3. ''Ulysses (Greek, Odysseus), in Greek legend a king of Ithaca and one of the heroes of the Trojan war. The Odyssey, an epic poem attributed to Homer, celebrates the adventures of Odysseus during ten years of wandering spent in repeated efforts to return to Ithaca after the close of the Trojan war. ^ He preferred his aged wife to immortality. The goddess Calypso entreated Ulysses to share her immortality, instead of returning to Ithaca. Compare the AdvanceTnent of Learning I. viii. 7 : "Ulysses, qui vetulam preetulit immortalitati being a figure of those which prefer custom and habit before all excellency." The thought is Plu- tarch's, Opera Moralia. Gryllus. 1. Plutarch took it from Cicero, De Oratore. I. 44. ' Quarrel. Cause, reason. "and the chance of 'goodness Be like our warranted quarrel I" Shakspere. Macbeth, iv. 3. This means, 'May the sucpesg of right be as well warranted a; onr cause is just!' OF ENVY 35 an elder man not at all} It is often seen that bad husbands have very good wives ; whether it be that it raiseth the price of their husband's kindness when it comes; or that the wives take a pride in their patience. But this never fails, if the bad husbands were of their own choosing, against their friends' consent ; for then they will be sure to make good their own folly. IX. Op Enty. Theee be none of the affections which have been noted to fascinate or bewitch, but love and envy. They both have vehement wishes ; they frame them- selves readily into imaginations and suggestions; and they come easily into the eye, especially upon the presence of the objects ; which are the points that conduce to fascination, if any such thing there be. We see likewise the scripture calleth envy an evil eye; and the astrologers call the evil influences of the stars evil aspects; so that still there seemeth to be acknowledged, in the act of envy, an ejacula- tion^ or irradiation of the eye. Nay some have been so curious as to note, that the times when the ^ This epigrammatic reply is quoted of Thales of Miletus, 640 — 546 B.C., one of the 'seven wise men' of Greece. The anecdote is told by Plutarch, Opera Moralia. Symposiaca. III. vi. 3. (Plutarch'8 Miscellanies and Essays. Edited by W. W. Goodwin, with an Introduction by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Tol. III. p. 276.) "Thales being asked when a man should marry, said: "Young men not yet, old men not at all." Bacon, Apophthegmes New and Old. 220. ^ Ejaculation. The art of throwing or darting out. 3(5 BACON'S ESSAYS stroke or percussion of an envious eye doth most hurt, are when the party envied is beheld in glory or triumph ; for that sets an edge upon envy : and besides, at such times the spirits of the person envied do come forth most into the outward parts, and so meet the blow. But leaving these curiosities,^ (though not un- worthy to be thought on in fit place), we will handle,^ what persons are apt to envy others ; what persons are most subject to be envied themselves; and what is the difference between public and private envy. A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others. For men's minds wiU either feed upon their own good or upon others' evU ; and who* wanteth the one will prey upon the other ; and whoso is out of hope to attain to another's virtue, wiU seek to come at even hand by depressing another's fortune. A man that is busy and inquisitive is commonly envious. For to know much of other men's matters cannot be because all that ado* may concern his own estate ; therefore it must needs be that he taketh a kind of play-pleasure^ in looking upon the fortunes of others. Neither can he that mindeth but his own business find much matter for envy. For envy is a gadding passion, and walketh the streets, and doth ^ Curiosities. Niceties. 2 Handle. To treat, or discourse on. ' Who. He who. * Ado. Fuss; difficulty. In Norse the infinitive was at dOf where the English says to do. Compare Shakspere's title, 'Much Ado Abont Nothing.' ^ Play-pleasure is the pleasure of one looking on at a play. OF ENVY 37 not keep home : Won est ruriosus, quin idem sit malevolus} Men of noble birth are noted to be envious to- wards new men when they rise. For the distance ' is altered ; and it is like a deceit of the eye, that when others come on they think themselves go back. Deformed persons, and eunuchs, and old men, and bastards, are envious. For he that cannot possibly mend his own case will do what he can to impair another's; except these defects light upon a very' brave and heroical nature, which thinketh to make his natural wants part of his honour; in that it should be said, that an eunuch, or a lame man, did such great matters ; affecting the honour of a miracle; as it was in Narses^ the eunuch, and Agesilaus and Tamberlanes,^ that were lame men. The same is the case of men that rise after calami- ties and misfortunes. For they are as men fallen out with the times ; and think other men's harms a redemption of their own sufferings. They that desire to excel in too many matters, out of levity and vain glory, are ever envious. For they cannot want work ; * it being impossible but many in some one of those things should surpass ^ No one is curious without being also malevolent. The thought of the spite and malignity of idle curiosity is uppermost in Flu- • tarch's essay, Of Curiosity, or on Over-Busy Inquisitiveness into Things Impertinent. Plutarch's Morals (Yol. II. pp. 424 — 445. Ed. W. W. Goodwin). ^Narses 478( ?)-573 ( ?) A.D., a general of the Byzantine empire, joint commander in Italy with Belisarius, 538 — 539. ^ Timur, or Timour, or Timur Bey, also called Timur-Leng (Timur the Lame), corrupted into Tamerlane, 1333-1405. Tamer- lane was a Tatar conqueror who overran the provinces of Asia from Delhi to Damascus, and from the Sea of Aral to the Persian Gulf. * i.e. Matter for envy to work upon : ubique enim occurrunt ob- jecta invidim. S. 38 BACON'S ESSAYS them. Which was the character of Adrian ^ the Em- peror ; that mortally envied poets and painters and artificers, in works wherein he had a vein^ to excel. Lastly, near kinsfolks, and fellows in office, and those that have been bred together, are more apt to envy their equals when they are raised. For it doth upbraid unto them their own fortunes, and pointeth at them, and cometh oftener into their remembrance, and incurreth^ likewise more into the note of others ; and envy ever redoubleth from speech and fame. Cain's envy was the more vile and malignsint to- wards his brother Abel, because when his sacrifice was better accepted there was no body to look od. Thus much for those that are apt to envy. Concerning those that are more or less subject to envy : First, persons of eminent virtue, when they are advanced, are less envied. For their fortune seemeth but due unto them ; and no man envieth the payment of a debt, but rewards and liberality rather. Again, envy is ever joined with a compar- ing of a man's self; and where there is no com- parison, no envy ; and therefore kings are not envied but by kings. Nevertheless it is to be noted that unworthy persons are most envied at their first coming in, and afterwards overcome it better; whereas contrariwise,* persons of worth and merit 1 Publius Aelius Hadrianus, 76-138, Roman emperor from 117 to 138 A.D. Bacon is quoting Spartian. Aelii Spartiani Adrianus Imperator ad Diocletianum Augustum. xv., in Historiae Augustae Scriptores. ^Veirt. Humor. "I 'm glad to see you in this merry vein." Shakspere. The Comedy of Errors, ii. 2. ^ Incur. To run or rush into, Latin sense. * Contrariwiae. On the contrary. or ENVY 39 are most envied when their fortune continueth long. For by that time, though their virtue be the same, yet it hath not the same lustre ; for fresh men grow up that darken it. Persons of noble blood are less envied in their rising. For it seemeth but right done to their birth. Besides, there seemeth not much added to their fortune ; and envy is as the sunbeams, that beat hotter upon a bank or steep rising ground, than up- on a flat. And for the same reason those that are advanced by degrees are less envied than those that are advanced suddenly and per saltum} Those that have joined with their honour great travels, cares, or perils, are less subject to envy. For men think that they earn their honours hardly, and pity them sometimes; and pity ever healeth envy. Wherefore you shall observe that the more deep and sober sort of politic persons, in their great- ness, are ever bemoaning themselves, what a life they lead; chanting a quanta patimur? Not that they feel it so, but only to abate the edge of envy. But this is to be understood of business that is laid upon men, and not such as they caU unto them- selves. For nothing increaseth envy more than an unnecessary and ambitious engrossing of business. And nothing doth extinguish envy more than for a great person to preserve aU other inferior ofScers in their full rights and preeminences of their places. For by that means there be so many screens be- tween him and envy. ^ At one bound. 2 How much we Buffer I 40 BACON'S ESSAYS Above all, those are most subject to envy, which carry the greatness of their fortunes in an insolent and proud manner ; being never well but while they are shewing how great they are, either by outward pomp, or by triumphing over all opposition or com- petition ; whereas wise men will rather do sacrifice to envy, in suffering themselves sometimes of ^ pur- pose to be crossed and overborne in things that do not much concern them. Notwithstanding so much is true, that the carriage of greatness in a plain and open manner (so it be without arrogancy^ and vain glory) doth draw less envy than if it be in a more crafty and cunning fashion. For in that course a man doth but disavow fortune ; and seemeth to be conscious of his own want in worth ; and doth but teach others to envy him. Lastly, to conclude this part ; as we said in the beginning that the act of envy had somewhat in it of witchcraft, so there is no other cure of envy but the cure of witchcraft ; and that is, to remove the lot (as they call it) and to lay it upon another. For which purpose, the wiser sort of great persons bring in ever upon the stage somebody upon whom to de- rive * the envy that would come upon themselves ; sometimes upon ministers and servants ; sometimes upon colleagues and associates ; and the like ; and for that turn there are never wanting some persons of violent and undertaking* natures, who, so they ^ Of. With. Of purpose means with purpose or intention, inten- tionally. ^ Arrogancy. Arrogance. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." Proverbs viii. 13. ^ Derive. To divert, or turn the course of. * Undertaking. Enterprising. OF ENVY 41 may have power and business, will take it at any cost. Now, to speak of public envy. There is yet some good in public envy, whereas in private there is none. For public envy is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men when they grow too great. And there- fore it is a bridle also to great ones, to keep them within bounds. This envy, being in the Latin word invidia, goeth in the modern languages by the name of discontent- ment; of which we shall speak in handling Sedition. It is a disease in a state Kke to infection. For as infection spreadeth upon that which is sound, and tainteth it ; so when envy is gotten once into a state, it traduceth even the best actions thereof, and turn- eth them into an ill odour. And therefore there is little won by intermingling of plausible '^ actions. For that doth argue but a weakness and fear of envy, which hurteth so much the more ; as it is likewise usual in infections ; which if you fear them, you call them upon you. This public envy seemeth to beat chiefly upon principal officers or ministers, rather than upon kings and estates themselves. But this is a sure rule, that if the envy upon the minister be great, when the cause of it in him is small ; or if the envy be general in a manner upon all the ministers of an estate ; then the envy (though hidden) is truly upon the state itself. And so much of public envy or dis- contentment, and the difference thereof from private envy, which was handled in the first place. ^ Plausible. Deserving of applause. 42 BACON'S ESSAYS We will add this in general, touching the affec- tion of envy ; that of all other affections it is the most importune and continual. For of other affec- tions there is occasion given but now and then ; and therefore it was well said, invidia festos dies non agit:^ for it is ever working upon some or other. And it is also noted that love and envy do make a man pine, which other affections do not, because they are not so continual. It is also the vilest affection, and the most depraved ; for which cause it is the proper at- tribute of the devil, who is called The envious man, that soweth tares amongst the wheat by night ;^ as it always eometh to pass, that envy worketh subtilly, and in the dark ; and to the prejudice of good things, such as is the wheat. X. Of Love. The stage is more beholding^ to Love, than the life of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of tragedies ; but in life it doth much mischief ; sometimes like a syren, some- times like a fury. You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the mem- ory remaineth, either ancient or recent), there is not * Envy keeps no holidays. ^ "But "while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way." Matthew xiii. 05. ' BeholSifig. Beholden. A common Elizabethan error. "A jus- tice of peace sometime may be beholding to his friend for a man." Shahspere. The Mer*ry Wives of Windsor, i. 1, OF LOVE 43 one that hath been transported to the mad degree of love : which shews that great spirits and great business do keep out this weak pdssion. You must except nevertheless Marcus Antonius/ the half part- ner of the empire of Rome, and Appius Claudius,^ the decemvir and lawgiver ; whereof the former was indeed a voluptuous man, and inordinate ; but the latter was an austere and wise man : and therefore it seems (though rarely) that love can find entrance not only into an open heart, but also into a heart well fortified, if watch be not well kept. It is a poor saying of Epicurus, Satis magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus:^ as if man, made for the contem- plation of heaven and all noble objects, should do nothing but kneel before a httle idol, and make him- self a subject, though not of the mouth (as beasts are), yet of the eye ; which was given him for higher purposes. It is a strange thing to note the excess of this passion, and how it braves the nature and value of things, by this ; that the speaking in a per- petual hyperbole is comely in nothing but in love. Neither is it merely in the phrase ; for whereas it hath been weU said that the arch-flatterer, with whom 1 Marcus Antonius, 83 — 30 B.C., Roman triumvir and general. Antony's love story is best told by Sliakspere in The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. ^Appius Crassus Claudius was one of the decemvirs, 451-449 B.C. The tragical story of Appius and Virginia, first told by Livy, reappears, in English, in The Doctor's Tale of Chaucer, in Grower's Confessio Amantis, and in three different tragedies, one written by John Webster in Bacon's time. * We are to one another a spectacle great enough. Epicurus, 343-270 B.C., was the founder of the Epicurean philosophy which took pleasure to be the highest good. Bacon quotes the saying of Epicurus from L. Annaei Senecae ad Luciliurn Epistularum Mora- livm Liber I. Epistula Til. 11. The quotation occurs again in the Advancement of Learning. I. Hi. 7. 44 BACON'S ESSAYS all the petty flatterers have intelligence, is a man's self ;^ certainly the lover is more. For there was never proud man thought so absurdly well of him- self as the lover doth of the person loved ; and there- fore it was well said, That it is impossible to love and to be wise? Neither doth this weakness appear to others only, and not to the party loved ; but to the loved most of all, except the love be reciproque.^ For it is a true rule, that love is ever rewarded either with the reciproque or with an inward and secret contempt. By how much the more men ought to beware of this passion, which loseth not only other things, but itself. As for the other losses, the poet's relation doth well figure them ; That he that preferred Hel«na, quitted the gifts of Juno and Pallas. For whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection quitteth both riches and wisdom. This passion hath his floods in the very times of weakness ; which are great prosperity and great ad- versity ; though this latter hath been less observed ; both which times kindle love, and make it more fervent, and therefore shew it to be the child of f oUy. They do best, who if they cannot but admit love, yet make it keep quarter ; * and sever it wholly from their serious affairs and actions of life ■ for if it check 5 once with business, it troubleth men's for- tunes, and maketh men that they can no ways® be ^Plutarch. Be adulatore et amico. 1. ' Amare et sapet-e vix Deo conceditur. It is hardly granted by God to love and to be wise. Publilii Syri Mimi Sententiae. 15. ^ Reciproque. Reciprocal. * Quarter. Proper or appointed place; now used in the plural 'quarters.* ' ^ Check with. Interfere with. ° Way. Wise ; no ways means in no wise. OF GEEAT PLACE 45 true to their own ends. I know not how, but mar- tial men are given to love : I think it is but as they are given to wine ; for perils commonly ask to be paid in pleasures. There is in man's nature a secret inchnation and motion towards love of others, which if it be not spent upon some one or a few, doth nat- urally spread itself towards many, and maketh men become humane and charitable ; as it is seen some- time in friars. Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perf ecteth it ; but wanton love cor- rupteth and embaseth it. XI. Op Great Place. Men in great place are thrice servants : servants of the sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business. So as they have no freedom; neither in their persons, nor in their actions, nor in their times. It is a strange de- sire, to seek power and to lose liberty: or to seek power over others and to lose power over a man's self. The rising unto place is laborious; and by pains men come to greater pains ; and it is sometimes base; and by indignities ^ men come to ^ Indignity, Conduct involving shame or disgrace ; a disgraceful act. "Fie on the pelfe for which good name is sold, And honour with indignity debased." Spenser. The Faery Queene. Book Y. Canto xi. Stanza 63. "Whoever is apt to hope good from others is diligent to please them; but he that believes his powers strong enough to force their own way, commonly tries only to please himself." Dr. Samuel Johnson, Lives of the EnglisK Poets. John Gay, 46 BACON'S ESSAYS dignities. The standing is slippery, and the regress is either a downfall, or at least an eclipse, which is a melancholy thing. Gum non sis qui fueris, non esse cur velis vivere. ^ Nay, retire men cannot when they would, neither will they when it were reason j^ but are impatient of privateness,^ even in age and sick- ness, which require the shadow ; * like old towns- men that will be still sitting at their street door, though thereby they offer age to scorn. Certainly great persons had need to borrow other men's opinions, to think themselves happy; for if they judge by their own feeling, they cannot find it : but if they think with themselves what other men think of them, and that other men would fain be as they are, then they are happy as it were by report ; when perhaps they find the contrary within.^ For they are the first that find their own griefs, though they be the last that find their own faults. Certainly men in great fortunes are strangers to themselves, and while they are in the puzzle of business they have no time to tend their health either of body or mind. Illi mors gravis incubat, qui notus nimis ^Since you are not what you were, there is no reason why you should wish to live. M, TuUii Ciceronis Epistolarum ad FamUiares Liber YII. Hi. (Ad Marium). ^ Reason. Reasonable ; the idiom is French, and was frequent in English from about 1400 to 1650, though now rare. "And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables." Acts vi. 2. ^ Privateness. Privacy, retirement. ^Shadow. Shade, retirement. "Old politicians chew on wisdom past, And totter on in business to the last." Pope. Epistle I. 11. 228-229. * "He who looks for applause from jwithout has all his happiness in another's keeping." Oliver Goldsmith. The Good-natured Man. v. OF GREAT PLACE 47 omnibus, ignohis moritur sUn,} In place ttere is license to do good and evil ; whereof the latter is a curse : for in evil the best condition is not to wiU ; the second not to can.^ But power to do good is the true and lawfid end of aspiring. For good thoughts (though God accept them) yet towards men are little better than good dreams, except they be put in act ; and that cannot be without power and place, as the vantage and commanding ground. Merit and good works is the end of man's motion; and conscience'' of the same is the accom- plishment of man's rest. For if a man can be par- taker of Grod's theatre, he shall likewise be partaker of God's rest. Et conversus Deus, ut aspiceret opera qua fecerunt manus sum, vidit quod omnia essent bona nimis;^ and then the sabbath. In the discharge of thy place set before thee the best examples ; for imita- tion is a globe ^ of precepts. And after a time set before thee thine own example ; and examine thy- self strictly whether thou didst not best at first. ^ Death presses heavily upon him who dies known too well by all, but unknown to himself. Seneca, Tkyestea. XI. 401—403. - Can. To know ; the verb is independent and bears its original meaning. "She could the Bible in the holy tongue." Ben Jonson. The Magnetic Lady. i. 5. ^ Conscience. Consciousness. "Her virtue and the conscience of her worth." Milton. Paradise Lost. Till. 502. * And God, turning, looked upon the works which his hands had made and saw that all were very good. Bacon has here put into his own Latin Genesis i. 31 : "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Yiditque Deus cuncta quae fecerat: et erant valde bona, the Tulgate reads. ° Globe. Circle. "him round A fflobe of fiery seraphim enclos'd With bright imblazonry." Milton. Paradise Lost. II. 511-513. 48 BACON'S ESSAYS Neglect not also the examples of those that have' carried themselves ill in the same place ; not to set off thyself by taxing their memory, but to direct thyself what to avoid. Reform therefore, without bravery! or scandal of former times and persons ; but yet set it down to thyself as well to create good precedents as to follow them. Eeduce things to the first institution, and observe wherein and how they have degenerate ; but yet ask counsel of both times ; of the ancient time, what is best ; and of the latter time, what is fittest. Seek to make thy course regular,^ that men may know beforehand what they may expect; but be not too positive and peremptory; and express thyself well when thou digressest from thy rule. Preserve the right of thy place ; but stir not questions of jurisdiction : and rather assume thy right in silence and de facto,^ than voice it with claims and challenges. Preserve likewise the rights of inferior places; and think it more honour to direct in chief than to be busy in all. Embrace and invite helps and advices touching the execution of thy place ; and do not drive away such as bring thee information, as meddlers ; but except of them in good part. The vices of authority are chiefly four ; delays, corruption, roughness, and facility.* For ^Bravery. Rashness. ^ Regular. Governed by rules, consistent, steady. "De facto. As a matter of (act. * Facility. Lack of firmness, pliability. "No man is fit to govern great societies who hesitates ahout disobliging the few who have access to him for the sake of the many whom he will never see. The facility of Charles was such as has perhaps never been found in any man of equal sense." Macaulay. History of England. Vol. I. Chap. II. ^Character of Charles II. OF GEEAT PLACE 49 delays ; give easy access ; keep times appointed ; go through with that which is in hand, and interlace not business but of necessity. For corruption ; do not only bind thine own hands or thy servants' hands from taking, but bind the hands of suitors also from offering. For integrity used doth the one ; but in- tegrity professed, and with a manifest detestation of bribery, doth the other. And avoid not only the fault, but the suspicion. Whosoever is found vari- able, and changeth manifestly without manifest cause, giveth suspicion of corruption. Therefore always when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, and declare it, together with the reasons that move thee to change ; and do not think to steal ^ it. A servant or a favourite, if he be inward,^ and no other apparent cause of esteem, is commonly thought but a by-way to close* corruption. For roughness ; it is a needless cause of discontent : severity breedeth fear, but roughness breedeth hate. Even reproofs from authority ought to be grave, and not taunting. As for facility ; it is worse than bribery. For bribes come but now and then; but if importunity or idle respects* ^ steal. To conceal. *' 'T were good, methinks, to steal our marriage." Shakspere. The Taming of the Shrew. Hi. 3, ^Inward. Intimate, confidential. "For what is inward between us, let it pass." Shakspere. Love's Labour's Lost. v. T. ^ Close. Secret; of persons, secretive, sly. "Close villain, I Will have this secret from thy heart, or rip Thy heart to find it." Shakspere. Cymheline. iii. 5. * Respects. Considerations. "But the respects thereof are nice and trivial." Shakspere. King Richard III. Hi. 7. 50 BACON'S ESSAYS lead a man, he shall never be without. As Sal- omon saith, To respect persons is not good; for such a man will transgress for a piece of Iread} It is most true that was anciently spoken, A place sheweth the man. And it sheweth some to the better, and some to the worse. Omnium consensu capax imperii, nisi imperasset,^ saith Tacitus of Galba; but of Vespasian he saith. Solus imperantium, Vespasianus mutatus in melius:^ though the one was' meant of sufaciency,* the other of manners and affection. It is an assured sign of a worthy and generous spirit, whom honour amends. For honour is, or should be, the place of virtue ; and as in nature things move violently to their place and calmly in their place, so virtue in ambition is vio- lent, in authority settled and calm.^ All rising to great place is by a winding stair ; and if there be factions, it is good to side a man's self whilst he is in the rising, and to balance himself when he is placed. Use the memory of thy predecessor fairly ^Proverbs xxviii. 21. In the Advancement of Jjeaming, II. xcdii. 6, Bacon quotes this proverb from the Vulgate, and goes right on with the distinction just made here, that facility is worse than bribery: "Qui cognoscit in judicio faeiem, non bene facit ; iste et pro buccella panis deseret veritatem. Here is noted, that a judge were better be a briber than a respecter of persons ; for a corrupt judge offendeth not so lightly as a facile." 2 If he had not governed, all would have thought him capable of governing. Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Liber I. Caput 49. ^ Vespasian alone as emperor changed for the better. Et am- bigua de Yespasiano fama solusque omnium ante se prindpuTn in melius mutatus est. Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Liber I. Caput 50. In the Advancement of Learning, II. xxii. 5, Bacon quotes Tacitus's criticism of Vespasian again. Solus Vespasianus mutatus in melius. * Sufficiency. De arte imperatoria, in the Latin text, that is, ability. ^ "So that it is no marvel though the soul so placed enjoy no rest, if that principle be true, that Motus rerum est rapidus extra locem, placidus in loco." Advancement of Learning, II. x. 2, OF BOLDNESS 51 and tenderly ; for if thou dost not, it is a debt will sure be paid when thou art gone. If thou have colleagues, respect them, and rather call them when they look not for it, than exclude them when they have reason to look to be called. Be not too sensi- ble or too remembering of thy place in conversa- tion and private answers to suitors ; but let it rather be said, When he sits in place he is another man. XII. Of Boldness. It is a trivial grammar-school text, but yet worthy a wise man's consideration. Question was asked of Demosthenes,^ what was the chief part of an orator 9 he answered, action : what next ? action : what next again ? action. He said it that knew it best, and had by nature himself no advantage in that he commended. A strange thing, that that part of an orator which is but superficial, and rather the virtue of a player, should be placed so high, above those other noble parts of invention, elocution, and the rest ; nay almost alone, as if it were all in all. But the reason is plain. There is in human nature generally more of the fool than of the wise ; and therefore those faculties by which the foolish part of men's minds is taken are most potent. Wonder- ful like is the case of Boldness, in civil business ; ^Demosthenes, born 384 or 385, died 322 B.C., the greatest Greek orator. His best orations are the three PhUippice, 351, 344, and 341 B.C., and the famous speech. On the Crown, 330 B.C. 52 BACON'S ESSAYS what first? Boldness: what second and third? Boldness. And yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness, far inferior to other parts. But never- theless it doth fascinate and bind hand and foot those that are either shallow in judgment or weak in courage, which are the greatest part ; yea and prevaileth with wise men at weak times. Therefore we see it hath done wonders in popular states ; but with senates and princes less ; and more ever upon the first entrance of bold persons into action than soon after ; for boldness is an iU keeper of promise. Surely as there are mountebanks^ for the natural body, so are there mountebanks for the politic^ body ; men that undertake great cures, and perhaps have been lucky in two or three experiments, but want the grounds of science, and therefore cannot hold out. Nay you shall see a bold fellow many times do Mahomet's miracle. Mahomet' made the people believe that he would call an hiU to him, and from the top of it offer up his prayers for the ob- servers of his law. The people assembled ; Mahomet called the hiU to come to him, again and again ; and when the hUl stood still, he was never a whit* abashed, but said. If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill. So these men, when they have promised great matters and failed most shame- 1 Mountehanlc. A quack doctor who mounts a bench or platform to sell his wares. Ben Jonson gives a good description of an Elizabethan mountebank in his satirical comedy, Yolpone. ii. 1. ' PoUtic. Political. ^Mohammed, or Mahomet, 'the praised one,' 570 — 632 A.D., founder of Mohammedanism, or Islam ('surrender,' namely, to God). * Whit, The smallest part; a jot, tittle, or iota: often used adverbially, and generally with a negative. "For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chietest apostles." //. Corinthians xi. 5. OF GOODNESS AND GOODNESS OE NATUEB 53 fully, yet (if they have the perfection of boldness) they will but slight it over, and make a turn, and no more ado. Certainly to men of great judgment, bold persons are a sport to behold ; nay and to the vulgar also, boldness has somewhat of the ridiculous. For if absurdity be the subject of laughter, doubt you not but great boldness is seldom without some absurdity. Especially it is a sport to see, when a bold fellow is out of countenance ; for that puts his face into a most shrunken and wooden posture ; as needs it must ; for in bashftdness the spirits do a little go and come ; but with bold men, upon like occasion, they stand at a stay ; like a stale ^ at chess, where it is no mate, but yet the game cannot stir. But this last were fitter for a satire than for a seri- ous observation. This is well to be weighed ; that boldness is ever blind; for it seeth not dangers and inconveniences. Therefore it is ill in counsel, good in execution ; so that the right use of bold persons is, that they never command in chief, but be seconds, and under the direction of others. For in counsel it is good to see dangers ; and in execu- tion not to see them, except they be very great. XIII. Of Goodness and G-oodness of Nature. I TAKE Goodness in this sense, the affecting of the weal of men, which is that the Grecians call Philan- thropia; and the word humanity (as it is used) is a ^ stale. Stale-mate, in chess, the position of a king when he cannot move but into check. 54 BACON'S ESSAYS little too light to express it. Goodness I call the habit, and Goodness of Nature the inclination. This of all virtues and dignities of the mind is the greatest ; being the character of the Deity : and without it man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing ; no better than a kind of vermin. Goodness answers to the theological virtue Charity, and ad- mits no excess, but error. The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall : but in charity there is no excess ; neither can angel or man come in danger by it. The inclination to good- ness is imprinted deeply in the nature of man ; in- somuch that if it issue not towards men, it will take unto other living creatures; as it is seen in the Turks, a cruel people, who nevertheless are kind to beasts, and give alms to dogs and birds ; insomuch as Busbechius^ reporteth, a Christian boy in Con- stantinople had like to have been stoned for gagging in a waggishness a long-billed f owl.^ Errors indeed in this virtue of goodness or charity may be com- mitted. The Italians have an ungracious proverb, Tanto buon che vol niente ; 80 good, that he is good for nothing. And one of the doctors of Italy, Nicholas Machiavel,^ had the confidence to put in writing, almost in plain terms, That the Christian ^Augier Ghislen de Biisbec, or Busbecq, or Busbecque (Latin- ized, Busbechius here, but better, Busbequius), 1522—1592, a Flemish diplomatist and scholar, ambassador of Ferdinand I. at Constantinople. ^ The bird was a goat-sucker, -which the goldsmith fastened over his door with wings spread and jaws distended. The story will be found in Busbequius's letter from Constantinople, p. 179 of ed. 1633. S. 'Niccol5 Machiavelli, 1469-1527, Florentine statesman, author of Discourses on the First Decade of T. LiviuSj the Prince, and a OF GOODNESS AND GOODNESS OF NATURE 55 faith had given up good men in prey to those that are tyrannical and unjust} Which he spake^ because in- deed there was never law, or sect, or opinion, did so much magnify goodness, as the Christian religion doth. Therefore, to avoid the scandal and the danger both, it is good to take knowledge ^ of the errors of an habit so excellent. Seek the good of other men, but be not in bondage to their faces or fancies; for that is but facility or softness; which taketh an honest mind prisoner. Neither give thou -^sop's cock a gem, who would be better pleased and happier if he had a barley-corn.^ The example of God teacheth the lesson truly ; He sendeth his rain, and maJceth his sun to shine, upon the just and unjust;^ but he doth not rain wealth, nor shine History of Florence. Bacon was much attracted towards Machia- velli, who was a kindred spirit, a man of acute intellect and no compelling conscience. ^ Disc or si sopra La Prima Deca di T. Livio. II. 2. 2 Knowledge. Cognizance ; notice ; only in the phrase, 'to take knowledge of,' that is, *to take cognizance or notice of, to observe.' "Take you, as 't were, some distant knowledge of him." Shakspere. Hamlet, ii. 1. ^ "As a Cock was turning up a Dunghill, he spy'd a Jewel. Well (says he to himself), this sparkling Foolery now to a Lapi- dary in my place, would have been the making of him, but as for any Use or Purpose of mine, a Barley-Corn had been worth Forty on 't. "The Moral. "He that 's Industrious in an honest Calling, shall never fail of a Blessing. 'T is the part of a wise Man to prefer Things neces- sary before Matters of Curiosity, Ornament, or Pleasure." Fable I. A Cock and a Diamond. Fables of Aesop and other Eminent Mytholo gists : with Morals and Kefleodons. By Sir Roger L'Es- trange, Et. "When peace was renewed with the French in England, divers of the great counsellors were presented from the French with jewels. The Lord Henry Howard was omitted. Whereupon the King said to him: My Lord, how haps it that you have not a jewel as well as the rest? My Lord answered again (alluding to the fable of Aesop) : Non sum Gallus, itaque non reperi gemmam.** Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 203 (34). *"FoT he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew v. 45. 56 BACON'S ESSAYS honour and virtues, upon men equally. Common benefits are to be communicate with all ; but peculiar benefits with choice. And beware how in making the portraiture thou breakest the pattern. For divinity maketh the love of ourselves the pattern ; the love of our neighbours but the portraiture. SeU all thou hast, and give it to the poor, and follow me: ^ but sell not all thou hast, except thou come and follow me ; that is, except thou have a vocation wherein thou mayest do as much good with little means as with great ; for otherwise in feeding the streams thou driest the fountain. Neither is there only a habit of goodness, directed by right reason ; but there is in some men, even in nature, a disposi- tion towards it; as on the other side there is a natural malignity. For there be that in their nature do not affect the good of others. The lighter sort of malignity turneth but to a crossness, or froward- ness, or aptness to oppose, or dif&cUness,^ or the like ; but the deeper sort to envy and mere mischief. Such men in other men's calamities are, as it were, in season, and are ever on the loading^ part : not so good as the dogs that licked Lazarus' sores ; * but hke flies that are still buzzing upon any thing that is raw ; misanthropi,^ that make it their practice to bring men to the bough, and yet have never a tree ^ "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come and follow me." Matthew xix. 21. - Digicilnesa. Unreasonableness, stubbornness. * Loading. Present participle active, 'that loads' ; hence burden- ing, aggravating, oppressive. * Luke xvi. 21. ° Misanthropi. Misanthropes, that is, from the Greek, haters of mankind. OF GOODNESS AND GOODNESS OF NATUEB 57 for the piirpose iu their gardens, as Timon^ had. Such dispositions are the very errours of human nature ; and yet they are the fittest timber to make great politiques of; like to knee timber,^ that is good for ships, that are ordained to be tossed ; but not for building houses, that shall stand firm. The parts and signs of goodness are many. If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shews he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them. If he be compassionate towards the afflictions of others, it shews that his heart is like the noble tree that is wounded itself when it gives the balm. If he easily pardons and remits offences, it shews that his mind is planted above injuries ; so that he cannot be shot. If he be thankful for small benefits, it shows that he weighs men's minds, and not their trash. But above all, if he have St. Paul's perfection, that he would wish to be an anathema^ from Christ for the salvation of his brethren, it shews much of a divine nature, and a kind of conformity with Christ himself. ^ Timon of Athens, the Misanthrope. Plutarch, in his Life of Marcus Antonius, tells the story that Timon one day mounted the rostrum in the market-place to announce that he had a fig-tree in his garden on which many citizens had hanged themselves, that he meant to cut the fig-tree down to build on the spot, and thought it well to make the fact known, so that, "if any of you be desperate, you may there go hang yourselves." ^Knee-timber. Tiniber having a natural angular bend, suitable for making 'knees' in shipbuilding or carpentry, 2 Anathema, from the Greek, meaning, anything devoted, espe- cially to evil, a curse. The Bible reference is to Romans ix, 3 : "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Compare Advance- ment of Learning, II. xx. 7. 5g BACON'S ESSAYS XIV. Of Nobility. We will speak of Nobility first as a portion of an estate ; ^ then as a condition of particular per- sons. A monarchy where there is no nobility at all, is ever a pure and absolute tyranny ; as that of the Turks. For nobility attempers sovereignty, and draws the eyes of the people somewhat aside from the line royal. But for democracies, they need it not ; and they are commonly more quiet and less subject to sedition, than where there are stirps^ of nobles. For men's eyes are upon the business, and not upon the persons ; or if upon the persons, it is for the business sake, as fittest, and not for flags and pedigree. We see the Switzers last well, notwithstanding their diversity of religion and of cantons. For utility is their bond, and not re- spects.* The united provinces of the Low Coun- tries in their government excel ; for where there is an equality, the consultations are more indiffer- ent, and the payments and tributes more cheer- ful. A great and potent nobility addeth majesty to a monarch, but diminisheth power ; and putteth life and spirit into the people, but presseth their fortune. It is well when nobles are not too great for sovereignty nor for justice; and yet main- tained in that height, as the insolency* of in- feriors may be broken upon them before it come on ^ Stirp. Stocic, race, family. = Estate. State. ^ Respects. Personal considerations, * Jnsolency. Insolence. OF NOBILITY 59 too fast upon tlie majesty of kings. A mimerous nobility causeth poverty and inconvenience in a state; for it is a surcharge^ of expense; and be- sides, it being of necessity that many of the nobility fall in time to be weak in fortune, it maketh a kind of disproportion between honour and means. As for nobility in particular persons ; it is a reve- rend thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay ; or to see a fair timber tree sound and per- fect. How much more to behold an ancient noble family, which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time. For new nobility is but the act of power, but ancient nobility is the act of time. Those that are first raised to nobility are commonly more virtuous, but less innocent, than their descendants ; for there is rarely any rising but by a commixture of good and evil arts. But it is reason^ the memory of their virtues remain to their posterity, and their faults die with themselves.* Nobility of birth commonly abateth industry ; and he that is not in- dustrious, envieth him that is. Besides, noble per- sons cannot go much higher : and he that standeth at a stay* when others rise, can hardly avoid " Surcharge. An extra charge, ^ Reason. A matter agreeable to reason; the idiom is from the old French, it est raison, c'est (bien) raison. ^ Compare the turn of this thought as twice expressed by Shak- spere. "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." ShaJcapere. Julius Caesar, in. 2. "Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water." ShaJcspere. King Benry YIII. iv. 2. * Stay. Standstill; at a stay, that is, at a standstill. go BACON'S ESSAYS motions! of envy. On the other side, nobility ex- tinguisheth the passive envy from others towards them ; because they are in possession of honour. Certainly, kings that have able men of their nobil- ity shall find ease in employing them, and a better slide^ into their business; for people naturally bend to them, as born in some sort to command. XV. Of Seditions and Troubles. Shepherds of people had need know the calendars of tempests in state ; which are commonly greatest, when things grow to equality ; as natural tempests are greatest about the Equinoctial And as there are certain hollow blasts of wind and secret swell- ings of seas before a tempest, so are there in states : Ille etiam csecos instare tnmultus Seepe monet, fraudesque et operta tumesoere bella.* Libels and licentious discourses against the state, when they are frequent and open ; and in like sort, false news often running up and down to the dis- advantage of the state, and hastily embraced ; are 1 Motions, Natural impvXses, especially of the mind or soul. "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death." Romans vii. 5. ^ Slide. Smooth and easy passage. ^Equinoctia. Equinoxes. * He even often warns that secret tumults are impending, and that treason and open wars are ready to burst forth. TergU, Cfeorgicon Liber I, 464-465, OF SEDITIONS AND TEOUBLES 61 amongst the signs of troubles. Virgil i giving the pedigree of Fame, saith she was sister to the Giants : lUam Terra parens, ira irritata Deorum, Extremam (ut perhibent) Coeo Enoeladoque sororem Progeirait.2 As if fames ^ were the relics of seditions past; but they are no less indeed the preludes of seditions to come. Howsoever he noteth it right, that seditious tumults and seditious fames differ no more but as brother and sister, masculine and feminine ; especi- ally if it come to that, that the best actions of a state, and the, most plausible, and which ought to give greatest contentment, are taken in ill sense, and traduced : for that shews the envy great, as Tacitus saith, conflata magna invidia, seu dene seu male gesta prenmnt.^ Neither doth it follow, that because these fames are a sign of troubles, that^ the sup- pressing of them with too much severity should be a remedy of troubles. For the despising of them many times checks them best ; and the going about to stop them doth but mgk;e a wonder long-lived. Also ^ Publius Vergilius Maro, 70—19 B.C., a famous Roman epic, didactic, and idyllic poet. He wrote the Aeneid, ten Bucolics or Eclogues, and four Georgies, ^ Irritated by the vengeance of the gods, teeming Earth, as they relate, brought her forth last, sister to Coeus and Eneeladus. Yergil. A.eneido3 Liber IT. 178—180. Bacon also quotes this pas- sage from the Aeneid in the Advancement of Learning, II. iv. 4. Compare also in the Wisdom of the Ancients, The Sister of the Giants; or Fame. ^ Fame. Rumor; report. "And the fam.e thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants." Genesis xlv. 16. * When great unpopularity is excited, they condemn acts, both good and bad. Tacitus. Historiarum Liber I. 7. Bacon quotes the sense, not the exact language. ° So in original. One of .the thats should of course be omitted. S, g2 BACON'S ESSAYS that kind of obedience whieli Tacitus speaketh of is to be held suspected : Urant in officio, sed tamen qui mallmt mandata imperantium interpretari quam exequi;^ disputing, excusing, cavilling upon man- dates and directions, is a kind of shaking off the yoke, and assay^ of disobedience ; especially if in those disputings they which are for the direction speak fearfully and tenderly, and those that are against it audaciously. Also, as MaehiaveP noteth well, when princes, that ought to be common parents, make themselves as a party, and lean to a side, it is as a boat that is overthrown by uneven weight on the one side ;* as was weU seen in the time of Henry the Third ^ of France ; for first himself entered league for the ex- tirpation of the Protestants ; and presently after the same league was turned upon himself. For when the authority of princes is made but an accessary to a cause, and that there be other bands that tie faster than the band of sovereignty, kings begin to be put almost out of possession. Also, when discords, and quarrels, and factions, are carried openly and audaciously, it is a sign the reverence of government is lost. For the motions of the greatest persons ia a government ought to be as the motions of the planets under primum 'They were in office, but chose rather to interpret the conunands of their rulers than to execute them. Tacitus. JSistoriarum Liber I. 7. (Sense quoted again, not the language.) 2 Assay. Trial. ^ The Italian translation omits the name of Machiavel, and says only un scrittore. S. * Discorsi sopra La Prima Deca di T. Livio. III. 27. "Henry III., of Valois, 1551-1589, King of Prance, 1574- 1589. OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES 63 mobile;^ (according to the old opinion,) which is, that every of them^ is carried swiftly by the highest motion, and softly in their own motion. And there- fore, when great ones in their own particular motion move violently, and, as Tacitus expresseth it well, liberius quam ut imperantium meminissent,^ it is a sign the orbs are out of frame. For reverence is that wherewith princes are girt from God ; who threat- eneth the dissolving thereof; Solvam dngula re,- gum.'^ So when any of the four piUars of government are mainly shaken or weakened (which are Religion, Justice, Counsel, and Treasure), men had need to pray for fair weather. But let us pass from this part of predictions (concerning which, nevertheless, more light may be taken from that which f olloweth) ; and let us speak first of the Materials of seditions ; then of the Motives of them; and thirdly of the Remedies. Concerning the Materials of seditions. It is a thing well to be considered ; for the surest way to prevent seditions (if the times do bear it) is to take away the matter of them. For if there be fuel pre- pared, it is hard to tell whence the spark shall come that shall set it on fire. The matter of seditions is of two kinds ; much poverty and much ^'Prirtium mobile. Literally, the movable first; in the Ptolemaic system of astronomy the primum mobile was the tenth or outermost of the revolving spheres of the universe. It was supposed to re- volve from east to west in twenty-four hours, and to carry the nine inner spheres along with it in its motion ; hence, any great or first source of motion. '^ Every of theriL. Each of them, every one of them. ^ More freely than is consistent with allegiance to their rulers. * I will loosen the girdles of Kings. "He looseth the bond of Kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle." Job xii. 18. 64 BACON'S ESSAYS discontentment. It is certain, so many overthrown estates, so many votes for troubles. Lucan^ noteth well the state of Eome before the civil war, Hinc usura vorax, rapidumque in tempore fosnus, Hino concussa fides, et multis utile 1)61111111.2 This same multis utile helium, is an assured and in- fallible sign of a state disposed to seditions and troubles. And if this poverty and broken estate' in the better sort be joined with a want and neces- sity in the mean people, the danger is imminent and great. For the rebellions of the belly are the worst. As for discontentments, they are in the poUtie body like to humours in the natural, which are apt to gather a preternatural heat and to in- flame. And let no prince measure the danger of them by this, whether they be just or unjust : for that were to imagine people to be too reasonable ; who do often spurn at their own good : nor yet by this, whether the griefs* whereupon they rise be in fact great or small : for they are the most danger- ous discontentments where the fear is greater than the feeling : Dolendi modus, timendi non item.^ Be- sides, in great oppressions, the same things that ^Marcus Annaeus Lucan, 39 — 65 A.D., a Roman poet; he wrote the Civilis Belli Libri X, called the Pharsalia, an epic poem in ten books on the war between Caesar and Pompey. ^ Uine usura vorax, avidumgue in tempore foenus, Et concussa fides; et multis utile beUum. Lucan. Civilis Belli Liber I. 181—182. Hence voracious usury, and interest rapidly compounding; hence broken faith, and war profitable to many. * Estate. Condition. * Griefs. Grievances. "Be factious for redress of all these griefs." Shakspere. Julius Caesar, i. 3, " There is » limit to suffering, but to fear not so, OF SEDITIONS AND TEOUBLES 65 provoke the patience, do withal mate the courage ; but in fears it is not so. Neither let any prince or state be secure concerning discontentments, because they have been often, or have been long, and yet no peril hath ensued : for as it is true that every vapour or fume doth not turn into a storm ; so it is nevertheless true that storms, though they blow over divers times, yet may fall at last ; and, as the Spanish proverb noteth well, TJie cord brealceth at the last iy the weakest pull. The Causes and Motives of Seditions are, innova- tion in religion ; taxes ; alteration of laws and cus- toms ; breaking of privileges ; general oppression ; advancement of unworthy persons; strangers; dearths ; disbanded soldiers ; factions grown desper- ate; and whatsoever, in offending people, joineth and knitteth them in a common cause. For the Remedies ; there may be some general preservatives, whereof we will speak: as for the just cure, it must answer to the particular disease : and so be left to counsel rather than rule. The first remedy or prevention is to remove by all means possible that material cause of sedition whereof we spake ; which is, want and poverty in the estate. To which purpose serveth, the opening and well-balancing of trade ; the cherishing of man- ufactures ; the banishing of idleness ; the repressing of waste and excess by sumptuary la^s; the im- provement and husbanding of the soil ; the regulat- ing of prices of things vendible ; the moderating of taxes and tributes, and the like. Generally, it is to be foreseen that the population of a kingdom (es- 66 BACON'S ESSAYS pecially if it be not mown down by wars) do not exceed the stock of the kingdom which should main- tain them. Neither is the population to be reckoned only by number ; for a smaller number that spend more and earn less, do wear out an estate sooner than a greater number that live lower and gather more. Therefore the multiplying of nobility and other degrees of quality^ in an over proportion to the common people, doth speedily bring a state to necessity ; and so doth likewise an overgrown clergy ; for they bring nothing to the stock; and in like manner, when more are bred scholars than prefer- ments can take off. It is likewise to be remembered, that forasmuch as the increase of any estate must be upon the for- eigner (for whatsoever is somewhere gotten is some- where lost), there be but three things which one nation selleth unto another; the commodity as na- ture yieldeth it ; the manufacture ; and the vecture, or carriage. So that if these three wheels go, wealth will flow as in a spring tide. And it cometh many times to pass, that materiam superabit opus; ^ that the work and carriage is more worth than the material, and enricheth a state more ; as is notably seen in the Low-Countrymen, who have the best mines above ground in the world. Above all things, good policy is to be used that * Quality. Nobility or gentry. "The rest are princes, barons, lords, knights, squires. And gentlemen of blood and quality." Shakspere. King Henry Y, iv. 8. 2 The work will surpass the material. Bacon is quoting Ovid, literally for once, materiem superabit opus. P, Ovidii Nasonis Metamorphoseon Liber II. S. OF SEDITIO^rS ANT) TROUBLES 67 the treasure and monies in a state be not gathered into few hands. For otherwise a state may have a great stock, and yet starve. And money is like muck, not good except it be spread.^ This is done chiefly by suppressing, or at the least keeping a strait hand upon the devouring trades of usury, ingross- ing,2 great pasturages, and the like. For removing discontentments, or at least the danger of them ; there is in every state (as we know) two portions of subjects ; the nobless and the com- monalty. "When one of these is discontent, the danger is not great ; for common people are of slow motion, if they be not excited by the greater sort ; and the greater sort are of small strength, except the multitude be apt and ready to move of them- selves. Then is the danger, when the greater sort do but wait for the troubling of the waters amongst the meaner, that then they may declare themselves. The poets feign, that the rest of the gods woidd have bound Jupiter ; which he hearing of, by the counsel of Pallas, sent for Briareus, with his hundred hands, to come in to his aid.^ An emblem, no doubt, to show how safe it is for monarchs to make sure of the good will of common people. To give moderate liberty for griefs and discontent- ments to evaporate (so it be without too great inso- lency or bravery), is a safe way. For he that tumeth 1 "Mr. Bettenham used to say: That riches were like muck; when it lay upon an heap, it gave but a stench and ill odour; but when it was spread upon the ground, then it was cause of much fruit." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 2B2 (107). 2 Ingrosaing. The action of buying (any article) in large quan- tities with a view of obtaining a monopoly. 'Homer. Iliad. 1.396-406. (58 BACON'S ESSAYS the humours back, and maketh the wound bleed in- wards, endangereth malign ulcers and pernicious imposthumations.^ The part of Epimetheus^ mought well become Prometheus, in the case of discontentments; for there is not a better provision against them. Epi- metheus, when griefs and evils flew abroad, at last shut the lid, and kept hope in the bottom of the vessel. Certainly, the politic and artificial nourish- ing and entertaining of hopes, and carrying men from hopes to hopes, is one of the best antidotes against the poison of discontentments. And it is a certain sign of a wise government and proceeding, when it can hold men's hearts by hopes, when it cannot by satisfaction; and when it can handle things in such manner, as no evil shall appear so peremptory but that it hath some outlet of hope : which is the less hard to do, because both particular persons and factions are apt enough to flatter them- selves, or at least to brave ^ that they believe not. Also the foresight and prevention, that there be no likely or fit head whereunto discontented persons may resort, and under whom they may join, is a known, but an excellent point of caution. I under- stand a fit head to be one that hath greatness and reputation; that hath confidence with the discon- tented party, and upon whom they turn their eyes ; ^ ImposthuTnation. Abscess. ' Epimetheus. 'Afterthought,' brother of Prometheus, 'Pore- thought,' and husband of Pandora. According to the Greek myth, Prometheus had confined the 'griefs and evils' of men in a box, which Pandora opened. Bead Bacon's telling of the story of Pan- dora's box in the Wisdom of the Ancients, Prometheus ; or the State of Man. Also Longfellow's, The Masque of Pandora, ' Brave. To boast of. OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES 69 and that is thought discontented in his own partic- ular : which kind of persons are either to be won and reconciled to- the state, and that in a fast and true manner ; or to be fronted with some other of the same party, that may oppose them, and so divide the reputation. Generally, the dividing and break- ing of all factions and combinations that are adverse to the state, and setting them at distance,^ or at least distrust, amongst themselves, is not one of the worst remedies. For it is a desperate case, if those that ^ hold with the proeeediug of the state be full of dis- cord and faction, and those that are against it be entire and united!.' 1 have noted that some witty and sharp speeches which have fallen from princes have given fire to seditions. CfesaLr did himself infinite hurt in that speech, Sylla nescivit literas, non potuit dictare :^ for it did utterly cut o& that hope which men had enter- tained, that he would al one time or other give over his dictatorship. Galba undid himself by that speech, legi a se militem, non emi;^ for it put the soldiers out ^ Distance. Discord, dissension, enmity. The meaning is derived from fencing, "So is lie mine; and in such bloody distance. That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near'st of life." JShakspere. Macbeth. Hi. 1. 2 Sulla knew not letters, he could not dictate. C. Suetoni Tran- quilli De XII Caesaribus Liber I. Divus Julius Caesar. Caput 77, where the pun is "Sullam nescisse litteras, qui dictaturam de- posuerit." "Caesar would say of Sylla, for that he did resign his dic- tatorship; That he was ignorant of letters, he could not dictate." Bacon. Xpophthegmes New and Old. 135 (116). The pun is also quoted in the Advancement of Learning, I. vii. 29, where Bacon is speaking of Caesar's "perfection in learning." ' He levied his soldiers, he did not buy them. Tacitus. Histo- riarum Liber I. 5. 70 BACON'S ESSAYS of hope of the donative. Problisi likewise, by that speech, si vixero, non opus erit amplius Romano imperio militibus; - a speech of great despair for the soldiers. And many the like. Surely princes had need, in tender matters and ticklish times, to beware what they say ; especially in these short speeches, which fly abroad like darts, and are thought to be shot out of their secret intentions. For as for large dis- courses, they are flat things, and not so much noted. Lastly, let princes, against all events, not be with- out some great person, one or rather more, of military valour, near unto them, for the repressing of seditions in their beginnings. For without that, there useth to be more trepidation in court upon the first breaking out of troubles than were fit. And the state runneth the danger of that which Tacitus saith; Atque is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum f acinus auderent pauci, plures vellent, omnes paterentur? But let such military persons be as- sured,* and well reputed of, rather than factious and popular; holding also good correspondence with the other great men in the state ; or else the remedy is worse than the disease. ^ Marcus Aurelius Probus, Boman Emperor, 276 — 282 A.D. ^If I live, the Boman Empire will need no more soldiers. Fla- vins Vopiscus. Probus. 20, in Augustae Bistoriae Scriptores. ' And that was the state of their minds that a few dared the worst villainy, more willed it, all tolerated it. Taeitwa. Hiato- riarum Liber I, 28. * Assured, Trustworthy, OF ATHEISM 7j XVI. Of Atheism. 1 HAD rather believe all the fables in the Legend^ and the Talmud,^ and the Alcoran,^ than that this universal frame is without a mind. And therefore God never wrought miracle to convince* atheism because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a httle philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism ; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may some- times rest in them, and go no further ; but when it beholdeth the chain of them, confederate and hhked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity. Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion ; that is, the school of Leueippus^ and Democritus and Epicurus.^ For it is a thousand times more credible, that four ^The Legend. A book of miraculous stories, so called because it was appointed to be read in churclies on certain days. 2 The Talmud. The book of Jewish traditional or oral laws and regulations of life explanatory of the written law of the Penta- teuch, together with the commentaries of the rabbins thereon. The two recensions of the Talmud, the Palestinian and the Babylonian, were composed between the ends of the 2d and 6th centuries A.D. ^Alcoran (Arabic, the book), or Koran, the Mohammedan book of faith and worship. * Convince. To disprove; to refute. "There was never miracle wrought by God to convert an atheist, because the light of nature might have led him to confess a God." Advancement of Learning, II. vi. 1. ^ Leucippus, Greek philosopher, flourished about 500 B.O. He founded the atomic school of philosophy. 'Epicurus, Greek philosopher, 342-270 B.C. Epicurus taught that pleasure is the only possible end of rational action, and that the ultimate pleasure is freedom. With Democritus, he accepted and helped to develop the theory of atoms of Leucippus. 72 BACON'S ESSAYS mutable elements/ and one immutable fifth essence, duly and eternally placed, need no God, than that an army of infinite smaU portions or seeds unplaced, should have produced this order and beauty without a divine marshal. The scripture saith, The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God;^ it is not said. The fool hath thought in his heart; so as* he rather saith it by rote to himself, as that* he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it.^ For none deny there is a God, but those for whom it maketh* that there were no God. It ap- peareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this ; that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted in it within themselves, and woul^ be glad to be strengthened by the consent '' of others. Nay more, you shall have atheists strive to get disciples, as it f areth with other sects. And, which ^Four mutable elements. The four elements are earth, air, fire, and water, of which all things were thought to be made. Aristotle suggested a 'fifth being,' or 'form of existence,' for that which makes a thing "what it is, its 'soiil* The Latin language translated 'fifth being' as quinta essentia, 'fifth essence' ; that is, 'quintes- sence,' in English. "The cumbrous elements, earth, flood, air, fire; And this ethereal quintessence of heav'n Flew upward, spirited with various forms, That roU'd orbicular, and turn'd to stars Numberless." Milton, Paradise Lost. III. 715—719, ^ This is the first sentence of the first verse of both the Fourteenth and the Fifty-third Psalms. ' As. That. * That means what, that which. ^ "For myself, I wo.uld not give up the poetry of religion for all the wisest results that philosophy will ever arrive at." Thomas Moore to Lord Byron, Feb. 9, 1822. Letters and, Journals of Lord Byron, with Notices of his Life. Thomas Moore. ^ Maheth. Make means profit. ^ Consent, Agreement or unity of opinion; unanimity, consensus. or ATHEISM 73 is most of all/ you shall have of them that will suffer for atheism, and not recant ; whereas if they did truly think that there were no such thing as God, why should they trouble themselves ? Epicurus is charged that he did but dissemble for his credit's sake, when he affirmed there were blessed natures, but such as enjoyed themselves without having respect to the government of the world. "Wherein they say he did temporize; though in secret he thought there was no God. But certainly he is traduced ; for his words are noble and divine : Non Deos vulgi negare profanum; sed vulgi opiniones Diis appUcare profanum.^ Plato could have said no more. And although he had the confidence' to deny the administration, he had not the power to deny the nature. The Indians of the west have names for their particular gods, though they have no name for God : as if the heathens should have had the names Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, &c., but not the word Deus ; which shews that even those barbarous people have the notion, though they have not the latitude and extent of it. So that against atheists the very sav- ages take part with the very subtlest philosophers. The contemplative atheist is rare: a Diagoras,* * The Latin text shows that the phrase rtiost of all means raost extraordinary of all. ^ It is not profane to deny the gods of the common people ; but it is profane to apply the opinions of the common people to the gods. Diogenes Laertius. X. 123. " Confidence. Assurance, boldness, fearlessness, arising from reli- ance (on one's self, on circumstances, on divine support, etc.). "Alas, my lord, Your wisdom is consumed in confidence." Shakspere. Julius Caesar, ii. 2. * Diagoras of Melos, surnamed 'the Atheist,' lived in the last half of the Sth century, B.C. 74 BACON'S ESSAYS a Bion,i a Lucian^ perhaps, and some others; and yet they seem to be more than they are; for that all that impugn a received religion or superstition are by the adverse part branded with the name of atheists. But the great atheists indeed are hypocrites ; which are ever handling holy things, but without feeling ; so as they must needs be cau- terized in the end. The causes of atheism are; divisions in religion, if they be many ; for any one main division addeth zeal to both sides ; but many divisions introduce atheism. Another is, scandal of priests ; when it is come to that which St. Ber- nard saith,^ Non estjamdicere,utpopulus sic sacerdos ; quia nee sic populus ut sacerdos.* A third is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters ; which doth by little and little deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned times, specially with peace and pros- perity ; for troubles and adversities do more bow men's minds to religion. They that deny a G-od de- stroy man's nobility ; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts by his body ; and, if he be not of kin to * Bion, a witty philosopher of the Cyrenaic school, born at Borysthenes; he lived for some time at the court of Antigonus (Oonatas), who was king of Macedon from 277 to 239 B.C. ^Lucian 120(.f)-200( «) A.D., Greek satirist and wit. Among other works, he wrote Dialogues of the Gods, Dialogues of the Dead, and the Veracious History, a mock narrative of travel, which is the original of such books as Gulliver's Travels. Lucian's Timon, a very amusing and witty dialogue, was, probably through the Timone of Matteo Maria Boiardo, one of the sources of Shakspere's Timon of Athens. ' St. Bernard, 1091—1153, Abbot of Clairvaux, one of the most eloquent and influential men in Europe of his time. * It cannot now be said, Like priest, like people, because the people are not like the priests, i.e., they are better. Ad Pastores in Synodo Congregatoa aermo. 8. The sermon of St. Bernard here quoted, entitled, Cujuscunque sit, nee inelegans est, nee lectu indignua, will be found in Jacques Paul Migne's Patrologiae Curaus Computus. S, Bernardua. Volume 3. Columns 1091-1092. OF ATHEISM 75 God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature. It destroys likewise magnanimity, and the raising of human nature ; for take an example of a dog, and mark what a generosity and courage he will put on when he finds himseK maintained by a man ; who to him is instead of a God, or melior natura ; ^ which courage is manifestly such as that creature, without that confidence of a better nature than his own, could never attain. So man, when he resteth and assureth himself upon divine protection and favour, gathereth a force and faith which human nature in itself could not obtain. Therefore, as atheism is in all respects hateful, so in this, that it depriveth human nature of the means to exalt itself above human frailty.^ As it is in particular persons, so it is in nations. Never was there such a state for magnanimity as Rome. Of this state hear what Cicero^ saith : Quam volutnus licet patres conscripti, nos amemus, tamen nee numero Hispanos, nee robore Gallos, nee calliditate Poenos, nee artibus Orcecos, nee denique hoc ipso hujus gentis et terrce domestico nati- voque sensu Italos ipsos et Latinos; sed pietate ac reli- gione, atque hac una sapientia, quod Deorum immorta- lium numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes nationesque superavimtis.^ 1 Better, or higher, nature. P. Ovidii Nasonis Metamorphoseon Liber I. Fabula I. 21. 2 "If it is a dream ["the prospect of a future state"], let me enjoy it, Bince it makes me the happier and hetter man." Joseph Addison. The Spectator. No. 186. ' Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 B.C., Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman. * We may have as good an opinion of ourselves as we will, con- script fathers, yet we do not surpass the Spaniards in number, nor the Gauls in strength, nor the Carthaginians in cunning, nor the Greeks in arts, nor finally the Italians and Latins themselves in 76 BACON'S ESSAYS XVII. Op Superstition.^ It were better to have no opinion of God at all, than such an opinion as is unworthy of him. For the one is unbelief, the other is contumely: and certainly superstition is the reproach of the Deity. Plutarch^ saith well to that purpose : Surely (saith he) I had rather a great deal men should say there was no such man at all as Plutarch^ than that they should say that there was one Plutarch that would eat his children as soon as they were homj ^ as the poets speak of Saturn.* And as the contumely is greater towards God, so the danger is greater towards men. Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety,^ to laws, to reputation, all which may the homely and native intelligence of this nation and land; but we do surpass all nations and peoples in piety and in religion, and in this one wisdom of recognizing that all things are ruled and gov- erned by the power of the immortal gods. M. Tullii Ciceronis Oratio De Saruspicum Mesponso in P. Clodium in Senatu Hdbita. Caput ix. 19. ^ This Essay is omitted in the Italian translation. S. ^ Plutarch, born about 46 A.D., Greek historian, author of forty- six 'Parallel Lives' of Greeks and Romans. An excellent transla- tion, The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans was made from the French of Amyot, by Thomas North, in Bacon's youth, 1579. North's Plutarch was Shakspere's store-house of classical know- ledge. * The quotation is from 'Plutarch's Morals,' Of Superstition or Indiscreet Devotion. 10. Plutarch's Miscellanies and Essays. Vol.1. Edited by W. W. Goodwin. With an Introduction by Ralph Waldo Emerson. * Saturn has been identified with tlie Greek Cronos. He was the youngest of the Titans, children of Sky (Uranus) and Earth (Gaea). Sky and Earth foretold to Cronos that he would be de- posed by one of his own children, so he swallowed them one after another as soon as they were born. Cronos was confounded with Chronos, Time, and the myth then comes to explain the tendency of time to destroy whatever it has brought into existence. ° yatural piety. Morality. OF SUPEESTITION 77 be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not ; but superstition dismounts all these, and erecteth an absolute monarchy in the minds of men.^ Therefore atheism did never perturb^ states; for it makes men wary of themselves, as looking no fur- ther : and we see the times inclined to atheism (as the time of Augustus CsBsar) were civil ^ times. But superstition hath been the confusion of many states, and bringeth in a new primuni mobile, that ravisheth all the spheres of government. The master of super- stition is the people ; and in all superstition wise men follow fools ; and arguments are fitted to prac- tice, in a reversed order. It was gravely said by some of the prelates in the council of Trent,* where the doctrine of the schoolmen bare great sway, that the schoolmen were Mice astronomers, which did fdgn eccentrics^ and epicycles,^ and such engines'' of orbs, to ^ "Sickness and sorrows come and go, but a superstitious soule hath no rest." Robert Burton. The Anatomy of Melancholy. Parti- tion 3. Section 4. Member 1. Subsection 3. ^Perturb. To disturb greatly; to unsettle; to confuse. "What folk ben ye that at myn horn comynge Pertourben so my feste with cryinge?" Chaucer. The Enightes Tale. II. 47-4S. ^ CivU. Tranquil, well-governed, orderly. "the round-uproared world Should have shook lions into civil streets, And citizens to their dens." ShaJcspere. Antony and Cleopatra, v. 1. * The Council of Trent, summoned to meet at Trent in the Austrian Tyrol, March 15, 1545, was the parting of the ways be- tween Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. ^ Eccentric. A circle not having the same centre as another. " Epicycle. A little circle whose centre is on the circumference of a greater circle. ^Engine. Artifice, contrivance, device. "Nor did he scape By all his engines, but was headlong sent With his industrious crew to build in hell." Milton. Paradise Lost. I. 749 — 751. 78 BACON'S ESSAYS save the phcenomena; though they Mew there were no such things; ^ and in like manner, that tlie schoolmen had framed a number of subtle and intricate axioms and theorems, to save the practice of the church. The causes of superstition are, pleasing and sensual rites and ceremonies ; excess of outward and Phar- isaical holiness ; over-great reverence of traditions, which cannot but load the church ; the stratagems of prelates for their own ambition and lucre; the favouring too much of good intentions, which open- eth the gate to conceits and novelties ; the taking an aim at divine matters by human, which cannot but breed mixture of imaginations : and, lastly, barbar- ous times, especially joined with calamities and disasters. Superstition, without a veil, is a deformed thing ; for as it addeth deformity to an ape to be so like a man, so the similitude of superstition to religion makes it the more deformed. And as whole- some meat corrupteth to little worms, so good forms and orders corrupt into a number of petty observ- ances. There is a superstition in avoiding super- stition, when men think to do best if they go fur- thest from the superstition formerly received; therefore care would be had that (as it fareth in ill purgings) the good be not taken away with the bad ; which commonly is done when the people is the re- former. ' "Some pleasant wits said, that if the Astrologers, not knowing the true causes of the celestiall motions, to salue the appearances, have invented Bccentriques and Epicicies, it was no wonder if the Councel, desiring to salue the appearances of the supercelestiall motions, did fall into excentricitie of opinions." The Siatorie of the Councel of Trent. Nathanael Brent. II. 227. Translated from Fra Paolo Sarpi's Historia del ConcUio Triientino. OF TEAVEL 79 XVIII. Of Travel. Travel, in tlie younger sort, is a part of educa- tion ; in the elder, a part of experience. He that trav- elleth into a country before he hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to travel. That young men travel under some tutor, or grave servant, I allow ^ well ; so that he be such a one that hath the language, and hath been ia the country be- fore ; whereby he maybe able to tell them what things are worthy to be seen in the country where they go ; what acquaintances they are to seek ; what exercises or discipline the place yieldeth. For else young men shall go hooded, and look abroad little. It is a strange thing, that in sea voyages, where there is nothing to be seen but sky and sea, men should make diaries ; but in land-travel, wherein so much is to be ob- served, for the most part they omit it ; as if chance were fitter to be registered than observation. Let diaries therefore be brought in use. The things to be seen and observed are, the courts of princes, specially when they give audience to ambassadors ; the courts of justice, while they sit and hear causes ; and so of consistories ecclesiastic ; the churches and monasteries, with the monuments which are therein extant ; the walls and fortifications of cities and towns, and so the havens and harbours ; antiquities and ruins ; libraries ; col- leges, disputations, and lectures, where any are; '■Allow. Approve. "The Lord alloweth the righteous." Psalm sni. 6. fhe Psalter. 80 BACON'S ESSAYS shipping and navies ; houses and gardens of state and pleasure, near great cities ; armories ; arsenals ; magaziaes; exchanges; burses;^ warehouses; exer- cises of horsemanship, fencing, training of soldiers and the like ; comedies, such whereunto the better sort of persons do resort ; treasuries of jewels and robes ; cabinets and rarities ; and, to conclude, what- soever is memorable in the places where they go. After all which the tutors or servants ought to make dihgent inquiry. ' As for triumphs, masks, feasts, weddings, funerals, capital executions, and such shows, men need not to be put in mind of them ; yet are they not to be neglected. If you wiU have a young man to put his travel into a little room, and in short time to gather much, this you must do. First as was said, he must have some entrance into the language before he goeth. Then he must have such a servant or tutor as knoweth the country, as was likewise said. Let him carry with him also some card or book describing the country where he travelleth ; which will be a good key to his inquiry. Let him keep also a diary. Let him not stay long in one city or town ; more or less as the place de- serveth, but not long ; nay, when he stayeth in one city or town, let him change his lodging from one end and part of the town to another; which is a great adamant^ of acquaintance. Let him sequester himself from the company of his countrymen, and diet in such places where there is good company of ^ Burse. The French bourse, a purse. The sign of a purse was once set over the shop of a banker, hence bourse comes to mean exchange. ^ Adamant. Loadstone. OF TKAVEL 81 the nation where he travelleth. Let him upon his removes from one place to another, procure recom- mendation to some person of quality residing in the place whither he removeth ; that he may use his favour in those things he desireth to see or know. Thus he may abridge his travel with much profit. As for the acquaintance which is to be sought in travel ; that which is most of aU profitable, is ac- quaintance with the secretaries and employed men of ambassadors : for so in travelling in one country he shall suck the experience of many. Let him also see and visit eminent persons in all kinds, which are of great name abroad ; that he may be able to teU how the life agreeth with the fame. For quarrels, they are with care and discretion to be avoided. They are commonly for mistresses, healths,^ place, and words. And let a man beware how he keepeth company with choleric and quarrelsome persons; for they will engage him into^ their own quarrels. When a traveller returneth home, let him not leave the countries where he hath travelled altogether be- hind him ; but maintain a correspondence by letters with those of his acquaintance which are of most worth. And let his travel appear rather in his dis- course than in his apparel ^ or gesture ; and in his discourse let him be rather advised * in his answers, than forward to teU stories ; and let it appear that ^Healths. Refusal to drink healths. ^ Into. In. * "Farewell, Monsieur Traveller : look, you lisp, and wear strange suits; disable all the benefits of your own country; be out of love with your nativity, and ahnost chide God for making you that counte- nance you are; or I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola." Shakspere. As Tou Like It. iv. 1. * Advised. Circumspect, cautious. 32 BACON'S ESSAYS he doth not change his country manners for those of foreign parts ; but only prick in some flowers of that he hath learned abroad into the customs of his own country. XIX. Of Empiee. It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire, and many things to fear ; and yet that commonly is the ease of kings ; who, being at the highest, want matter of desire, which makes their minds more languishing ; and have many represen- tations of perils and shadows, which makes their minds the less clear. And this is one reason also of that effect which the Scripture speaketh of, That the Icing's heart is inscrutable} For multitude of jealous- ies, and lack of some predominent desire that should marshal and put in order all the rest, maketh any man's heart hard to find or sound. Hence it comes likewise, that princes many times make themselves desires, and set their hearts upon toys ; sometimes upon a building; sometimes upon erecting of an order ; sometimes upon the advancing of a person ; sometimes upon obtaining excellency in some art or feat of the hand; as Nero^ for playing on the ^ "The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable." Proverbs xxv, 3. 2 Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, later Nero Claudius Caesar Dru- sus Germanicns, commonly called Nero, 37—68 A.D., Roman em- peror, 54—68 A.D, OF EMPIEE 83 harp, Domitiani for certainty of the hand with the arrow, Commodus^ for playing at fence, Caracalla^ for driving chariots, and the like. This seemeth incredible unto those that know not the principle that the mind of man is more cheered and refreshed by profiting in small things, than by standing at a stay in great. "We see also that kings that have been fortu- nate conquerors in their first years, it being not pos- sible for them to go forward infinitely, but that they must have some check or arrest in their fortunes, turn in their latter years to be superstitious and melancholy; as did Alexander the Great;* Dio- clesian ; ^ and in our memory, Charles the Fifth ; ^ and others: for he that-is used to go forward, and findeth a stop, f alleth out of his own favour, and is not the thing he was. To speak now of the true temper of empire ; it is a thing rare and hard to keep ; for both temper'' and distemper^ consist of contraries. But it is one thing to mingle contraries, another to interchange them. The answer of Apollonius to Vespasian is ^ Titns Flavins Domitiantis Augustus, 51—96 A.D., Boman em- peror, 81-96 A.D, 2 Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus (also Marcus Antoninus), 161-192 A.D., Roman emperor, 180-192 A.D. ^ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, originally Bassianus, nicknamed Oaracalla or Caracallus, 188 — 217 A.D., Koman emperor, 211- 217 A.D. * Alexander III., surnamed 'the Great,' 356-323 B.C., King of Macedon, 336-323 B.C. Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, surnamed Jovius, 245 - 313 A.D., Boman emperor, 284-305 A.D. 'Charles V., 1500-1558, Emperor of the Holy Boman Empire, 1519-1556. ''Temper. Balance of qualities. 'Distemper. Disturbed condition. Bacon uses temper and dis- temper in their old physiological senses. Temper, or temperament, from temperare, 'to mix,' was one's 'mixture'; distemper was a 'variation from the proper mixture.' 84 BACON'S ESSAYS full of excellent instruction. Vespasian asked him, what was Nereis overthrow? He answered, Nero could touch and tune the harp well; hut in government sometimes he used to wind the pins too high, sometimes to let them down too low.^ And certain it is that nothing destroyeth authority so much as the un- equal and untimely interchange of power pressed too far, and relaxed too much. This is true, that the wisdom of all these latter times in princes' affairs is rather fine deliveries and shiftings of dangers and mischiefs when they are near, than solid and grounded courses to keep them aloof. But this is but to try masteries with fortune. And let men beware how they neglect and suffer matter of trouble to be prepared; for no man can forbid the spark, nor tell whence it may come. The difficulties in princes' business are many and great ; but the greatest difficulty is often in their own mind. For it is common with princes (saith Tacitus) to will contradictories, Sunt plerumque regum voluntates vehementes, et inter se contrarice? For it is the solecism^ of power, to think to 1 "Vespasian asked of Apollonius, What was the cause of Nero's ruin? who answered; Nero could tune the harp well; but in gov- ernment he did always wind up the strings too high, or let them down too low." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 51 (136). This anecdote is related by Philostratus, the Greek sophist, in his account of the )ife, travels, and prodigies of Apollonius of Tyana, V. 28. ' ^ The desires of kings are for the most part vehement and incon- sistent one with another. Elsewhere Bacon correctly quotes this thought from Sallust (Caius Sallustius Crispus. Bellum Jugurthi- num. 113). "Sallust noteth that it is usual with Kings to desire contradictories : Sed plerumque regiae voluntates, ut vehementes sunt, sic mobiles, saepegue ipsae sibi adversae." Advancement of Lea/m- ing, II. xxii. B. ' Solecism. Absurdity, OF EMPIRE 85 command the end, and yet not to endure the mean 1 Kings have to deal with their neighbours, their wives, their children, their prelates or clergy, their nobles, their second-nobles or gentlemen, their merchants, their commons, and their men of war ; and from aU these arise dangers, if care and cir- cumspection be not used. First for their neighbours ; there can no general rule be given (the occasions are so variable,) save one, which ever holdeth ; which is, that princes do keep due sentinel, that none of their neighbours do overgrow so (by increase of territory, by embracing of trade, by approaches, or the like), as^ they be- come more able to annoy them than they were. And this is generally the work of standing coun- sels to foresee and to hinder it. During that trium- virate of kings. King Henry the Eighth^ of Eng- land, Francis the First,* King of France, and Charles the Fifth Emperor, there was such a watch kept, that none of the three could win a palm* of ground, but the other two would straightways^ bal- ance it, either by confederation, or, if need were, by a war ; and wotdd not in any wise take up peace at interest. And the like was done by that league (which Guicciardine'' saith was the security of Italy) ^ Mean. Means. 2 A.a. That. s Henry VIII., 1491-1547, King of England from 1509 to 1547. * Francis I., 1494-1547, King of France from 1515 to 1547. " Palm. Hand's breadth. ® Straightways, straightway. Immediately. "And they straight- way left their nets and followed him.'* Matthew iv. 20. ^Francesco Guicciardini, 1482—1540, Italian historian and statesman; he wrote L'istoria d'ltalia, 1561—1564. 86 BACON'S ESSAYS made between Ferdinando,! King of Naples, Loren- zius Medices,^ and Lndovicus Sforza,^ potentates, tlie one of Florence, the other of Milan. Neither is the opinion of some of the schoolmen to be re- ceived, that a war cannot justly he made hut upon a pre- cedent^ injury or provocation. For there is no ques- tion but a just fear of an imminent danger, though there be no blow given, is a lawful cause of a war. For their wives; there are cruel examples of them. Livia is infamed^ for the poisoning of her husband; Roxalana,^ Solyman's wife, was the de- struction of that renowned prince Sultan Mustapha,'' and otherwise troubled his house and succession; Edward the Second* of England his* queen had the principal hand in the deposing and murther of her husband. This kind of danger is then to be feared '■ Ferdinand II., 1469-1496, King of Naples, 2 Lorenzo dei Medici, 1449—1492, 'the Magnificent,' Florentine statesman and patron of letters. ' Lodovico Sforza, 'II Moro,' 1451—1508, Duke of Bari, and de facto, of Milan. * Precedent. Preceding. ^ Infamed. Infamous. This Livia was sister to Gennanicus and wife of Drusus Caesar, son of Tiberius. Tacitus says that Sejanus was responsible for the death of Drusus, and not Livia. P. Gornelii Taciti Anrmlvwrn Liber IV. 3. * The name of the Sultana Roxalana was really Khourrem, which means 'the joyous one.' She was a Russian and was frequently spoken of as 'La Kossa,' that is, 'the Russian woman.' La liossa was afterwards euphonized into Roxalana. In 1553, through the machinations of the Sultana Khourrem and her son- in-law, the Grand Vizier, Roostem Pacha, Prince Mustapha was murdered, in order to make way for the succession of Khourrem's son. Prince Selim. ^ Mustapha, eldest son of Solyman I. ^ Edward II., 1284-1327, King of England from 1307 to 1327. His queen was Isabella of Prance. » "Edward the Second of England his queen" ; notice the peculiar use of the pronoun to take the place of the ending of the genitive case. It is almost always used with names of persons, particularly with those ending with the sound of s. The locution was common with the Elizabethans, but went out of use in the following century. OF EMPIEE 87 cMefly, when the wives have plots for the raising of their own children ; or else that they be advou- tresses.^ For their children; the tragedies likewise of dangers from them have been many. And gener- ally, the entering of fathers into suspicion of their children hath been ever unfortunate. The destruc- tion of Mustapha (that we named before) was so fatal to Solyman's line, as the succession of the Turks from Solyman^ until this day is suspected to be untrue, and of strange blood ; for that Selymus the Second^ was thought to be suppositious. The destruction of Crispus,* a young prince of rare to- wardness,^ by Constantinus the Great,^ his father, was in like manner fatal to his house; for both Constantinus'' and Constance,^ his sons, died vio- lent deaths; and Constantius,^ his other son, did little better ; who died indeed of sickness, but after that Julianus^" had taken arms against him. The ^ Advoutreas. Obsolete fonn of adulteress. ^ Solyman I., surnamed 'the Magnificent,' 1494—1566, Sultan of the Ottoman Turks, 1520-1566. 3 Selymus II., son of Solyman the Great, Sultan of the Ottoman Turks, 1566-1574. He was called 'Selim the Sot.' ^Flavins Julius Crispus, died 326 A.D., eldest son of Constantino the Great and his first wife, Minervina. He was put to death by Constantine at the instigation of his stepmother, Pausta. ^ Towardness. Readiness to do or learn; docility. ^ Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, surnamed 'the Great,' 272-337 A.D., Eoman emperor, 312-337 A.D. ' Flavius Claudius Constantinus, 312-340 A.D., second son of Constantine the Great, eldest son by his second wife, Fausta, Roman emperor. •Flavius Julius Constans, 320(»)-350, youngest of the three sons of Constantine the Great and his second wife, Fausta, Roman emperor, "Flavins Julius Constantius II., 317-361 A.D., third son of Constantine the Great (second son by his second wife, Fausta), Roman emperor. "Flavius Claudius Julianus, 331(?)-363 A.D., Julian the Apos- tate, Roman emperor, 361—363 A.D, 88 BACON'S ESSAYS destruction of Demetrius, son to Philip the Second ^ of Macedon, turned upon the father, who died of repentance. And many like examples there are; but few or none where the fathers had good by such distrust ; except it were where the sons were up in open arms against them ; as was Selymus the First^ against Bajazet; and the three sons of Henry the Second,^ King of England, For their prelates; when they are proud and great, there is also danger from them ; as it was in the times of Anselmus* and Thomas Becket,® Arch- bishops of Canterbury; who with their crosiers did almost try it with the king's sword ; and yet they had to deal with stout and haughty kings ; Wilham Rufns,* Henry the First,^ and Henrj'^ the Second. The danger is not from that state, but where it hath a dependence of foreign authority ; or where the churchmen come in and are elected, not by the collation* of the king, or particular pa- trons, but by the people. 1 Philip II., 382-336 B.C., King of Macedon and father of Alex- ander the Great. Livy says that Philip "mandata dedisse dicitur de fiUo Qccidendo." T. Livii Patavini HistoriaruTn Ab Urhe Condita Liber XL. 24. ^Selymus I., 1465-1520, son of Bajazet II., Sultan of the Otto- man Turks from 1481 until he was dethroned and succeeded by his son Selim in 1512. 2 Henry II., 1133-1189, first Plantagenet King of England, 1154-1189. * St. Anselm, 1033—1109, Archbishop of Canterbury, and founder of scholastic theology. "Thomas, known as Thomas h. Becket, 1118( !)-1170, Arch- bishop of Canterbury. 'William Rufus, 1056-1100, second son of William the Con- queror, King of England, 1087-1100. ^ Henry I., 1068—1135, Beauclcrc, that is, 'fine scholar,' third son of William the Conqueror, King of England, 1100—1135. * CoUation. The bestowal of a benefice or other prefermertt upon a clergyman. OF EMPIRE 39 For their nobles ; to keep them at a distance, it is not amiss ; but to depress them, may make a king more absolute, but less safe ; and less able to per- form any thing that he desires. I have noted it in my History of King Henry the Seventh of England,^ who depressed his nobility ; whereupon it came to pass that his times were fuU of difiSculties and troubles; for the nobility, though they continued loyal unto him, yet did they not co-operate with him in his business. So that in effect he was fain^ to do all things himself. For their second-nobles ; there is not much danger from them, being a body dispersed. They may some- times discourse high, but that doth little hurt ; be- sides, they are a counterpoise to the higher nobility, that they grow not too potent ; and, lastly, being the most immediate in authority with the common people, they do best temper popular commotions. For their merchants; the j are vena porta ;^ and if they flourish not, a kingdom may have good ^ Henry VII., 1457-1509, first Tudor King of England, 1485- 1509. ^ Fain. Obliged or compelled. * Upon this phrase, which recurs two or three times in Bacon (see for instance the History of Henry VII., page 259 ; "being a king that loved wealth and treasure, he could not endure to have trade sick, nor any obstruction to continue in the gate-vein, which dis- perseth that blood,") 1 am indebted to Mr. Ellis for the following characteristic note. "The metaphor," he writes, "is historically curious ; for no one would have nsed it since, the discovery of the circulation of the blood and of the lacteals. But in Bacon's time it was supposed that the chyle was taken up by the veins which con- verge to the vena porta. The latter immediately divides into branches, and ultimately into four ramifications, which are dis- tributed throughout the substance of the liver, so that it has been compared to the trunk of a tree giving off roots at one extremity and branches at the other. Bacon's meaning therefore is, that com- merce concentrates the resources of a country in order to their redis- tribution. The heart, which receives blood from all parts of the 90 BACON'S ESSAYS limbs, but will have empty veins, and nourish little. Taxes and imposts upon them do seldom good to the king's revenue; for that he wins in the hun- dred ^ he leeseth^ in the shire ; the particular rates being increased, but the total bulk of trading rather decreased. For their commons ; there is little danger from them, except it be where they have great and potent heads ; or where you meddle with the point of reli- gion, or their customs, or means of life. For their men of war ; it is a dangerous state where they live and remain in a body, and are used to donatives ; ^ whereof we see examples in the jani- zaries,* and pretorian^ bands of Rome; but train- ings of men, and arming them in several places, and under several commanders, and without donatives, are things of defence, and no danger. Princes are like to heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times ; and which have much veneration, but no rest. AH precepts concerning kings are in effect comprehended in those two remembrances ; memento quod es homo; and memento quod es Deus, or vice Dei;^ the one bridleth their power, and the other their will. body and brings it into contact with the external air, and then redistributes it everywhere, would I think have taken the place of the vena porta, after Harvey's discovery had become known; espe- cially as the latter is a mere conduit, and not a source of motion." S. ^ Hundred. A division of a county in England. ^ Leeseth. Loseth. 3 Donatives. Gifts, gratuities. * Janizary. One of a former body of Turkish infantry, consti- tuting the Sultanas guard and the main part of the standing army. " Pretorian, or praetorian bands. In imperial Borne, the body- guards of the Emperor. 8 Remember that thou art man; remember that thou art God, or God's lieutenant. OF COUNSEL 91 XX. Of CoxmsEL. The greatest trust between man and man is the trust of giving counsel. For in other confidences men commit the parts of life ; their lands, their goods, their child,^ their credit, some particular af- fair ; but to such as they make their counsellors, they commit the whole : by how much the more they are obliged to all faith and integrity. The wisest princes need not think it any diminution to their greatness, or derogation to their sufficiency, to rely upon counsel. God himself is not without, but hath made it one of the great names of his blessed Son; The Counsellor.^ Salomon hath pronounced that in counsel is stability.^ Things wiU have their first or second agitation: if they be not tossed upon the arguments of counsel, they will be tossed upon the waves of fortune ; and be f uU of incon- stancy, doing and undoing, like the reehng of a drunken man. Salomon's son found the force of counsel, as his father saw the necessity of it. For the beloved kingdom of God was first rent and broken by ill counsel ; upon which counsel there are set for our instruction the two marks whereby bad counsel is for eVer best discerned ; that it was young » So edd. 1612 and 1625. Ed. 1639 has children. S. - "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. The Mierlii-v God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah ix. 6. ' "Every purpose is established by counsel." Proverbs xx. 18. 92 BACON'S E8SATS counsel, for the persons ; and violent counsel, for the matter. The ancient times do set forth in figure both the incorporation and inseparable conjunction of coun- sel with kings, and the wise and politic use of coun- sel by kings : the one, in that they say Jupiter did marry Metis, which signifieth counsel ; whereby they intend that Sovereignty is married to Counsel : the other in that which followeth, which was thus: They say, after Jupiter was married to Metis, she conceived by him and was with child, but Jupiter suffered her not to stay tUl she brought forth, but eat her up ; whereby he became himself with child, and wasdehvered of Pallas armed, out of his head.^ Which monstrous fable containeth a secret of em- pire ; how kings are to make use of their counsel of state. That first they ought, to refer matters unto them, which is the first begetting or impregnation ; but when they are elaborate, moulded, and shaped in the womb of their counsel, and grow ripe and ready to be brought forth, that then they suffer not their counsel to go through with the resolution and direction, as if it depended on them ; but take the matter back into their own hands, and make it appear to the world that the decrees and final di- rections (which, because they come forth with pru- dence and power, are resembled to Pallas armed) proceeded from themselves ; and not only from their authority, but (the more to add reputation to them- selves) from their head and device. ^ Bacon here relates the myth of the birth of Pallas Athene as told in Hesiod's Theogony, or 'Genealogy of the Gods.' It is Metis, or Counsel, of the Wisdom of the Ancients, OF COUNSEL 93 Let us now speak of the inconveniences of coun- sel, and of the remedies. The inconveniences that have been noted in calling and using counsel, are three. First, the revealing of affairs, whereby they become less secret. Secondly, the weakening of the authority of princes, as if they were less of them- selves. Thirdly, the danger of being unfaithfully counselled, and more for the good of them that coun- sel than of him that is counselled. For which in- conveniences, the doctrine of Italy, the practice of France, in some kings' times, hath introduced cabinet counsels ; a remedy worse than the disease. As to secrecy ; princes are not bound to communi- cate aU matters with aU counsellors ; but may extract and select. Neither is ifc necessary that he that con- sulteth what he should do, should declare what he will do. But let princes beware that the unsecret- ingi of their affairs comes not from themselves. And as for cabinet counsels, it may be their motto, plenus rimarum sum :^ one futUe^ person that mak- eth it his glory to tell, will do more hurt than many that know it their duty to conceal. It is true there be some affairs which require extreme secrecy, which will hardly go beyond one or two persons besides the king : neither are those counsels unprosperous ; for, besides the secrecy, they commonly go on constantly in one spirit of direction, without distraction. But 1 XJnaecreting. Disclosing. ' I am fiill of chinks ; tliat is, I can keep nothing to myself. Terence. Eunuchus. I. ii. 25. ^ Futile. Untrustworthy, of no weight. From the use of this word in the same connection in the Essay, Of Simulation and Dis- simulation, it would appear that 'talkative' was the ordinary mean- ing of 'futile' to Bacon. 94 BACON'S ESSAYS then it must be a prudent king, such as is able to grind with a hand-mill ; and those inward counsel- lors had need also be wise men, and especially- true and trusty to the king's ends ; as it was with King Henry the Seventh of England, who in his greatest business imparted himself to none, except it were to Morton ^ and Fox.^ For weakening of authority; the fable ^ showeth the remedy. Nay, the majesty of kings is rather exalted than diminished when they are in the chair of counsel ; neither was there ever prince bereaved of his dependences by his counsel ; except where there hath been either an over-greatness in one counsellor or an over-strict combination in divers ; * which are things soon found and holpen. For the last inconvenience, that men will counsel with an eye to themselves ; certainly, non inveniet fidem super terram^ is meant of the nature of times, and not of all particular persons. There be that are in nature faithful, and sincere, and plain, and direct ; not crafty and involved ; let princes, above all, draw to themselves such natures. Besides, counsellors are not commonly so united, but that one counsellor keepeth sentinel over another ; so that if any do counsel out of faction or private ends, it commonly ^ John Morton, 1420 (?) -1500, bishop of Ely and archbishop of Canterbury. ^Richard Foxe, or Fox, 1448( ?)-1528, successively bishop of Exeter, of Bath and Wells, of Durham, and of Winchester. ' That is, the fable of Jupiter and Metis. S. * Divers. Various, several, sundry. "And Tamar .put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying," II. Samuel anii. 19. ^ He will not find faith upon the earth. Luke xviii. 8. Notice this same verse quoted in the last sentence of the Essay, Of Truth, OF COUNSEL 95 comes to tlie king's ear. But the best remedy is, if princes know their counsellors, as well as their coun- sellors know them : Piinoipis est virtus maxima nosse suos.^ And on the other side, counsellors should not be too speculative into their sovereign's person. The true composition of a counsellor is rather to be sMlf ul in their master's business, than ia his nature ; for then he is like to advise him, and not feed his humour. It is of singular use to princes if they take the opin- ions of their counsel both separately and together. For private opinion is more free ; but opinion before others is more reverent. In private, men are more bold in their own humours ; and in consort,^ men are more obnoxious to others' humours ; therefore it is good to take both ; and of the inferior sort rather in private, to preserve freedom ; of the greater rather in consort, to preserve respect. It is in vain for princes to take counsel concerning matters, r£ they take no counsel likewise concerning persons ; for all matters are as dead images ; and the life of the execution of affairs resteth in the good choice of persons. Neither is it enough to consult concern- ing persons seamdum genera,^ as in an idea, or math- ematical description, what the kind and character of the person should be ; for the greatest errors are ^ The greatest virtue of a prince is to know his counsellors. Marci Yalerii Martialis Epigrammatu-m Liber Till. xv. Ad Domi- tianum. 8. 2 Consort. Company, council, "Yes, madam, he was of that consort." Shakspere. King Lear. n. 1, ' According to their kinds. 96 BACON'S ESSAYS committed, and the most judgment is shown in the choice of individuals. It was truly said, optimi con- siliarii mortui:^ books will speak plain when coun- sellors blanch. Therefore it is good to be conversant in them, specially the books of such as themselves have been actors upon the stage. The counsels at this day in most places are but familiar meetings, where matters are rather talked on than debated. And they run too swift to the order or act of counsel. It were better that in causes of weight, the matter were propounded one day and not spoken to till the next day ; in node consilium.^ So was it done in the Commission of Union between England and Scotland ; which was a grave and orderly assembly. I commend set days for petitions ; for both it gives the suitors more cer- tainty for their attendance, and it frees the meetings for matters of estate, that they may hoc agere? In choice of committees for ripening business for the counsel, it is better to choose indifferent persons, than to make an indifferency by putting in those that are strong on both sides. I commend also standing commissions ; as for trade, for treasure, for war, for suits, for some provinces ; for where there be divers particular counsels and but one counsel of estate (as it is in Spain), they are, in effect, no more than standing commissions: save that they have greater authority. Let such as are to infoim ^ The best counsellors are the dead. "Alonso of Arragon was wont to say of himself, That he was a great necromancer, for that he used to aslc counsel of the dead: meaning books." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 105 (78). - In night is counsel, that is, the night brings counsel. ' Do this one thing. Plutarch. Life of Coriolanus. OF COUNSEL 97 counsels out of their particular professions, (as law- yers, seamen, mintmen,! and the like,) be first heard before committees ; and then, as occasion serves, be- fore the counsel. And let them not come in multi- tudes, or in a tribunitious ^ manner, for that is to clamour* counsels, not to inform them. A long table and a square table, or seats about the walls, seem things of form, but are things of substance ; for at a long table a few at the upper end, in effect, sway aJl the business ; but in the other form there is more use of the counsellors' opinions that sit lower.* A king, when he presides in counsel, let him beware how he opens his own inclination too much in that which he propoundeth ; for else coun- sellors will but take the wind of him, and instead of giving free counsel, sing him a song of placebo.^ ^ Mintman. One skilled in coining or in coins ; a coiner. - Tribunitious. Characteristic of a tribune, or of his power or functions. We do not get the wisest counsel from tribunes or dema- gogues, as Bacon goes on to say. ^ Clamour, To disturb with clamour ; to din. "Clamoured the livelong night." Shakspere. Macbeth, ii. 1. * "At Hawarden the G. O. M. [Grand Old Man, Gladstone] was somewhat hoarse, but cheerful and full of interesting talk on various topics. The geology of Norway and Psychical Research appeared to be the subjects that interested him most, but he told us one or two noteworthy things of a political bearing, — e.g. that the Cabinet now sit round a table, whereas they used to sit on chairs in a circle; he thinks the change a mistake, as leading to a less steady concentration of attention." Henry Sidgwick. A Memoir by A.. S. and E. M. S. Diary for September 30, 1885. p. 425. * I will please. In the Roman Catholic Church, the vesper hymn for the dead, beginning, Placebo Domino in regione vivorum- 98 BACON'S ESSAYS XXI. Of Delays. Fortune is like the market ; where many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall. And again, it is sometimes like Sibylla's ^ offer ; which at first offereth the commodity at full, then consumeth part and part, and stiU holdeth up the price. For occasion (as it is in the common verse) turneth a bald noddle, after she hath presented her locJcs in front, and no hold taken; ^ or at least turneth the handle of the bottle first to be received, and after the belly,^ which is hard to clasp. There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things. Dangers are no more light, if they once seem light ; 1 Bacon alludes to the Sibyl of Cumae in Italy, the most celebrated of the wise women. According to story, she appeared before Tar- quin the Proud and offered him nine books for sale. He declined to buy them, whereupon she burned three and offered the remaining six at the original price. On being again refused, she destroyed three more and offered the remaining three at the price she had asked for the nine. Tarquin, unable to understand her importunity and her bargaining, bought the three books, which were found to con- tain directions as to the worship of the gods and the policy of the Romans. The Sibylline books were kept with great care at Rome, and were consulted from time to time under direction of the senate. They were burned in the fire which destroyed the temple of Jupiter, in 83 B.C. 2 Spenser describes Occasion as an old woman lame of one leg. Her hair hangs down before her face, so that no one may know her, till she is past; at the back of her head she is bald, so that when once she is past, no one may grasp her from behind. She personifies the truth that an opportunity once missed never returns. Bead The Faery Queene. Booh II. Canto iv. Stanza 4. A Latin proverb, from a distich of Dionysius Cato, runs: "Fronte capillata, post est occasio calva. Time hath a Lock before, but *s bald behind." Catonis Distichorum de Moribus Liber II. S6. ' Belly. That part of a thing, here a bottle, which swells out. or' DELAYS 99 and more dangers have deceived men than forced them. Nay, it were better to meet some dangers half way, though they come nothing near, than to keep too long a watch upon their approaches ; for if a man watch too long, it is odds he will fall asleep. On the other side, to be deceived with too long shadows (as some have been when the moon was low and shone on their enemies' back), and so to shoot ofE before the time ; or to teach dangers to come on, by over early buckling^ towards them ; is another extreme. The ripeness or unripeness of the occasion (as we said) must ever be well weighed; and generally it is good to commit the beginnings of all great actions to Argos^ with his hundred eyes, and the ends to Briareus^ with his hundred hands ; first to watch, and then to speed. For the helmet of Pluto/ which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in the counsel and celerity in ' Buckle. To gird one's self; to apply one's self resolutely to. "And huckling soone himselfe, gan fiercely fly Upon that carle, to save his friend from jeopardy." Spenser. The Faery Queene. Booh TI. Canto viii. Stanza 12. - Argos, sumamed Panoptes (the all-seer), had one hundred eyes, some one of which was always awake. Hera (Juno) set him to guard lo, and Hermes killed him. After his death Hera trans- ferred his eyes to the tail of the peacock. Spenser alludes to "Great Junoes golden chaire," which was "DrawBe of faire pecocks, that excell in pride, And full of Argus eyes their tailes dispredden wide." The Faery Queene. Book I. Canto iv. Stanza 17. ' Briareus or Aegaeon, a giant with fifty heads and one hundred hands. Homer mentions him in Iliad. I. 403. * The helmet of Pluto, made by the Cyclops, had the peculiar property of rendering the wearer invisible. Mercury wore it in the battle with the giants, and Perseus in his contest with the Gorgons. Minerva puts it on when she is helping Diomede against Mars on the plain of Troy. Homer. Iliad. T. 845. Por Bacon's version of the fable of Perseus, see Perseus; or War, in the Wisdom of the Ancients. 100 BACON'S ESSAYS the execution. For when things are once come to the execution, there is no secrecy comparable to celerity; like the motion of a bullet in the air, which flieth so swift as it outruns the eye. XXII. Of Cunning. We take Cunning for a sinister or crooked wis- dom. And certainly there is a great difference be- tween a cunning man and a wise man ; not only in point of honesty, but in point of abOity. There be that can pack the cards, and yet cannot play well ; so there are some that are good in canvasses and fac- tions, that are otherwise weak men. Again, it is one thing to understand persons, and another thing to understand matters ; for many are perfect in men's humours, that are not greatly capable of the real part of business ; which is the constitution of one that hath studied men more than books. Such men are fitter for practice than for counsel ; and they are good but in their own alley: ^ turn them to new men, and they have lost their aim ; so as the old rule to know a fool from a wise man, Mitte anibos nudos adignotos, et videbis,^ doth scarce hold for them. And because these cunning men are like haber- * ^ lley, A long narrow passage for playing at howls ; a metaphor fron. (he game of bowls. ' Send both naked to those who do not know, and you will see. Diogenes Laertius, II. 73, attributes this saying to Aristlppus. "One of the philosophers was asked; What a wise man differed from a fool? He answered; Send them, both naked to those that know them not, and you shall perceive." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 2BB (189). OF CUNNING 101 dashers 1 of small wares, it is not amiss to set forth their shop. It is a point of cunning, to wait^ upon In'm with whom you speak, with j'our eye ; as the Jesuits give it in precept : for there be many wise men that have secret hearts and transparent counte- nances. Yet this would.^ be done with a demure abasing of your eye sometimes, as the Jesuits also do use. Another is, that when you have anything to ob- tain of present despatch, you entertain and amuse the party with whom you deal with some other dis- course ; that he be not too much awake to make ob- jections. I knew a counsellor and secretary, that never came to Queen EUzabeth of England with bills to sign, but he would always first put her into some discourse of estate, that she mought the less mind the bills. The like surprise maybe made by moving* things when the party is in haste, and cannot stay to con- sider advisedly of that is moved. If a man would cross a business that he doubts some other would handsomely and effectually move, let him pretend to wish it well, and move it himself in such sort as may foil it. The breaking off in the midst of that^ one was ^ Haberdasher. A dealer in smaU wares pertaining to dress, such as tape, thread, ribbon, etc. ;, 2 To wait upon or on. To look watchfully to. "Wait o* ,.-tIie Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalms xxvi. 14. ' Would. Should. *Move. To propose or bring forward for consideration or ac- ceptance. 5 That. What. 102 BACON'S ESSAYS about to say, as if lie took himself up, breeds a greater appetite in him with whom you confer to know more. And because it works better when anything seemeth to be gotten from you by question, than if you offer it of yourself, you may lay a bait for a question, by showing another visage and counte- nance than you are wont ; to the end to give oc- casion for the party to ask what the matter ^ is of the change ? As Nehemias did ; And I had not be- fore that time been sad be/ore the 'king?' In things that are tender and unpleasing, it is good to break the ice by some whose words are of less weight, and to reserve the more weighty voice to come in as by chance, so that he may be asked the question upon the other's speech ; as Narcissus did, in relating to Claudius the marriage of Messa- lina and Silius.^ In things that a man would not be seen in him- self, it is a point of cunning to borrow the name of the world; as to say. The world says, or There is a speech abroad. I knew one that, when he wrote a letter, he would put that which was most material in the postscript, as if it had been a bye-matter. I knew another that, when he came to have speech, he would pass over that that he intended most ; and go forth, and come back again, and speak of it as of a thing that he had almost forgot. 1 Matter, Cause. "I have almost matter enough in me for such an emhassage." Shakspere. Much Ado About Nothing, i. 1. 2 Nehemiah ii. 1. ' Tacitus. Annalium Liber XI. 29. OF CUNNING 103 Some procure themselves to be surprised at such times as it is like the party that they work upon will suddenly come upon them; and to be found with a letter in their hand, or doing somewhat which they are not accustomed; to the end they may be apposed^ of those things which of them- selves they are desirous to utter. It is a point of cunning, to let fall those words in a man's own name, which he would have another man learn and use, and thereupon take advantage. I knew two that were competitors for the secre- tary's place in Queen Elizabeth's time, and yet kept good quarter 2 between themselves ; and would con- fer one with another upon the business ; and the one of them said, That to be a secretary in the declina- tion^ of a monarchy was a ticklish thing, and that he did not affect it : the other straight caught up those words, and discoursed with divers of his friends, that he had no reason to desire to be secretary in the declination of a monarchy. The first man took hold of it, and found means it was told the Queen ; who hearing of a declination of a monarchy, took it so ill, as* she would never after hear of the other's suit.^ 1 Appose. To examine ; to question. ^ Qiuirter. Relations with, or conduct towards, another, espe- cially in the phrase to keep good (or fair) quarter with (between). "So he would keep fair quarter with his bed." Shakspere. The Oomedy of Errors, ii. 1. ^ Declination. A gradual falling oS from, a condition of pros- perity or vigor; decline. * As. That. ' In 1597, Sir Robert Cecil was made secretary of state over Sir Thomas Bodley, who was the candidate of the Earl of Essex. Mr. Spedding first suggested that Bacon is here relating a cunning trick played by his cousin, the younger Cecil. 104 BACON'S ESSAYS There is a cunning, which we in England call The turning of the cat in the pan;^ which is, when that which a man says to another, he lays it as if an- other had said it to him. And to say truth, it is not easy, when such a matter passed between two, to make it appear from which of them it first moved and began. It is a way that some men have, to glance and dart at others by justifying themselves by negatives ; as to say. This I do not: as Tigellinus did toward Burrhus, Se non diversas spes, sed incolumitatem imperatoris simplieiter spectare.^ Some have in readiness so many tales and stories, as there is nothing they would insinuate, but they can wrap it into a tale; which serveth both to keep themselves more in^ guard, and to make others carry it with more pleasure. It is a good point of cunning, for a man to shape the answer he would have in his own words and propositions ; for it makes the other party stick the less. It is strange how long some men will lie in wait to speak somewhat they desire to say ; and how far about they will fetch ; * and how many other matters ^To turn the cat in the pan. To reverse the order of things so dexterously as to -make them appear the very opposite of what they really are. The origin of the phrase is obscure. ^ That he had not expectations from different quarters, but looked simply to the safety of the emperor. Tacitus. Annalium Liber XIT. .57. ' In. On. "But look you pray, all you that kiss my Lady Feace at home, that our armies join not in a hot day." Shakspere. II. King Henry IT. i. 2. *To fetch about. To take a roundabout course or method. "And, like a shifted wind unto a sail, It makes the course of thoughts to fetch about." Shakspere. King John. iv. 2. OF CUNNING 105 they will beat over, to come near it. It is a thing of great patience, but yet of much use. A sudden, bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man, and lay him open. Like to him that, having changed his name and walking in Paul's, another suddenly came behind him and called him by his true name, whereat straight- ways he looked back. But these small wares and petty points of cun- ning are infinite ; and it were a good deed to make a list of them ; for that nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. But certainly some there are that know the re- sorts^ and falls^ of business, that cannot sink into the main of it ; like a house that hath convenient stairs and entries, but never a fair room. There- fore you shall see them find out pretty^ looses* in the conclusion,^ but are no ways able to examine or debate matters. And yet commonly they take ad- vantage of their inability, and would be thought wits of direction. Some build rather upon the ^Resort. Spring; active power or movement. A Gallicism. ^ Fall. What befalls or happens; chance. "Black be your fa'.'" Burns. Address to the Deil. xvi. " Pretty. Suitable ; fit ; convenient. "Armado. Pretty and apt." "Moth. How mean you, sir? I pretty and my saying apt, or I apt, and my saying pretty?" Shakspere. Love's Labour's Lost. i. 2. ♦ Loose. Issue, way of escape. In archery, a loose is the dis- charge of the arrow or dart from the bow. "The extreme dart of time extremely forms All causes to the purpose of his speed; And often, at his very loose, decides That which long process could not arbitrate." Shakspere. Love's Labour's Lost. -u. ii. ^ Conclusion. Final determination, decision, resolution. 106 BACON'S ESSAYS abusing of others, and (as we now say) putting tricks upon them, than upon soundness of their own pro- ceedings. But Salomon saith, Prudens advertit ad gressus suos : stultus divertit ad dolos.^ XXIII. Of "Wisdom for a Man's Self. An ant is a wise creature for itself, but it is a shrewd^ thing in an orchard or garden. And cer- tainly men that are great lovers of themselves waste^ the public. Divide with reason between self- love and society ; and be so true to thyself, as thou be not false to others 5 * specially to thy king and country. It is a poor centre of a man's actions, Mm- ^ The prudent man looks to his steps : the fool turns aside to deceits. Proverbs xiv. 8. This is a translation of Bacon's Latin. The Authorized Version is.: "The wisdom, of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit." As Bacon remembered this saying of Solomon's, it seems to be made up from two verses of the Yulgate, loosely quoted: — Sapientia calliM est intelligere viam suam; et imprudentia stultorum errans. Proverbs xiv. 8, and astutus considerat gressus suos. Proverbs adv. 15. ^ Shrewd. Sly, mischievous, unkind. "Do my Lord of Canterbury A shrewd turn, and he is your friend for ever." Shakspere. King Henry Till. v. 2. "For many are wise in their own ways that are weak for gov- ernment or counsel; like ants, which is a wise creature for itself, but very hurtful for the garden," Advancement of Learning. II. xxiii. 10. ^ Waste. To lay waste; to devastate. * "To thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." Shakspere. Hamlet, i. 3. OF WISDOM FOR A MAN'S SELF 107 self. It is right^ earth. For that only stands fast upon his own centre ; ^ whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens, move upon the centre of another, which they benefit. The referring of all to a man's self is more tolerable in a sovereign prince ; because themselves are not only themselves, but their good and evil is at the peril of the public for- tune. But it is a desperate evil in a servant to a prince, or a citizen in a republic. For whatsoever affairs pass such a man's hands, he crooketh^ them to his own ends ; which must needs be often eccen- tric to the ends of his master or state. Therefore let princes, or states, choose such servants as have not this mark; except they mean their service should be made but the aceessary.C~~That which maketh the effect more pernicious is that aU pro- portion is lost. It were disproportion enough for the servant's good to be preferred before the mas- ter's ; but yet it is a greater extreme, when a Httle good of the servant shall carry things against a great good of the master's. And yet that is the case of bad officers, treasurers, ambassadors, generals, and other false and corrupt servants ; which set a bias^ upon their bowl, of their own petty ends and euAdes, to the overthrow of their master's great and impor- tant affairs. And for the most part, the good such ' Right. True, genuine, actual, real. "The Poet is indeed the right Popiilar Philosopher. Whereof Esops tales give good proofe." Sir Philip Sidney. The Defense of Poene. p. IS. 2 Baoon accepted the Ptolemaic system, which made the earth the centre of the universe. The Copernioan system was not gener- ally received until long after his time. 'Crook. To bend or turn out of the straight course; to pervert. 'Accessary, also spelled accessory. ''Bias. A. weight in one side of the howl, that is, 'hall,' which de- flects it from the straight line. 108 BACON'S ESSAYS servants receive is after the model of their own fortune ; but the hurt they sell for that good is after the model of their master's fortune. And certainly it is the nature of extreme self -lovers, as they will set an house on fire, and^ it were but to roast their eggs ; ^ and yet these men many times hold credit with their masters, because their study is but to please them and profit themselves ; and for either respect they will abandon the good of their affairs. Wisdom for a man's self is, in many branches thereof, a depraved thing. It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house somewhat before it fall. It is wisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made room for him. It is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears when they would devour.^ But that which is specially to be noted is, that those which (as Cicero says of Pompey*) are sui amantes sine rivali,^ are many > And. If. 2 The motive of Lamb's essay, A Dissertation upon Boast Pig, turns on the drollery that the art of roasting was discovered in China by the accidental butaing of a cottage containing "a fine litter of new-farrowed pigs, no less than nine in number." ^ "His nature is ever when he would "have his prey to cry and sob like a Christian body, to provoke them to come to him, and then he snatcheth at them." Master John Hawkins's Second Voyage. Eakluyt. p. 534. ed. 1598. "the mournful crocodile With sorrow snares relenting passengers;" Shakspere. II. King Henry YI. Hi. 1. *Cneius Pompeins Magnus, surnamed 'the Great,' 106-48 B.C. With Caesar and Orassus, Pompey formed the first triumvirate, 60 B.C. He was defeated by Caesar in the battle of Pharsalus, in Thessaly, 48 B.C. ^ Lovers of themselves, without a rival (quam se ipse amans sine rivali). Cicero, Ad Quintum Fratrem. III. 8. 4. The Corre- spondence of M. TvXlius Cicero. Robert Yelverton Tyrrell. Vol. II. p. 194. OF INNOVATIONS 109 times unfortunate. And whereas they hkve all their times sacrificed to themselves, they become in the end themselves sacrifices to the inconstancy of for- tune, whose wings they thought bv their self -wisdom to have pinioned. XXIV. Of Innovations. As the births of living creatures at first are ill- shapen, so are all Innovations, which are the births of time. Yet notwithstanding, as those that first bring honour into their family are commonly more worthy than most that succeed, so the first precedent (if it be good) is seldom attained by imitation. For 111, to man's nature as it stands perverted, hath a natural motion, strongest in contiuuance ; but Good, as a forced motion, strongest at first. Surely every medicine 1 is an innovation; and he that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils ; for time is the greatest innovator ; and l£ time of course alter things to 2 the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end ? It is true, that what is settled by custom, though it be not good, yet at least it is fit ; and those things which have long gone together, are as it were con- federate within themselves; whereas new things piece not so well ; but though they help by their utility, yet they trouble by their inconf ormity.^ Be- 1 Medicine. Remedy. - To. For. ^ Inconformity. Want of conformity 'to' ('unto') or 'with' a pat- tern; dissimilarity. 110 BACON'S ESSAYS sides, they are like strangers ; more admired and less favoured. AH this is true, if time stood still ; which contrariwise moveth so ronnd,^ that a froward re- tention of custom is as turbulent a thing as an inno- vation ; and they that reverence too much old times, are but a scorn to the new. It were good there- fore that men in their innovations would follow the example of time itself; which indeed innovateth greatly, but quietly, and by degrees scarce to be per- ceived. For otherwise, whatsoever is new is unlooked for ; and ever it mends some, and pairs ^ other ; and he that is holpen^ takes it for a fortune, and thanks the time ; and he that is hurt, for a wrong, and imputeth it to the author. It is good also not to try experi- ments in states, except the necessity be urgent, or the utility evident ; and weU to beware that it be the reformation that draweth on the change, and not the desire of change that pretendeth the reformation. And lastly, that the novelty, though it be not re- jected, yet be held for a suspect ; * and, as the Scrip- ^Sov/nd, flat adverb, quick, swiff; the idea is of an easy, smootli, brisk motion, like that of a wheel. "Bound was their pace at first, but slacken'd soon." Tennyson. Geraint and Enid. ^ Pairs. iTnpairs, injures. "No faith BO fast (quoth she) but flesh does pairs. Flesh may empaire (quoth he) but reason can repairs." Spenser. The Faery Queene. Book I. Canto vii. Stanza 41. ' Holpen. Strong past participle of help. "The holy blisful martir for to seeke, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke." Chaucer. The Prologue. II. 17—18. * Suspect. Suspicion. "My Lord of Gloster, 't is my special hope, That you will clear yourself from all suspect." Shakspere. II. King Henry YI. Hi. 1. OF DISPATCH 111 ture saith, that we make a stand upon the ancient way, and then looh about us, and discover what is the straight and right way, and so to walk in it} XXV. Of Dispatch. Affected dispatch is one of the most dangerous things to business that can be. It is like that which the physicians call predigestion, or hasty digestion ; which is sure to fill the body full of crudities and secret seeds of diseases. Therefore measure not dispatch by the times of sitting, but by the advance- ment of the business. And as in races it is not the large stride or high lift that makes the speed ; so in business, the keeping close to the matter, and not taking of it too much at once, procureth dispatch. It is the care of some only to come off speedily for the time ; or to contrive some false periods of busi- ness, because ^ they may seem men of dispatch. But it is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. And business so handled at several sittings or meetings goeth commonly backward and forward in an unsteady manner. I knew a wise man that had it for a by-word, when he saw men hasten ^ "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." Jeremiah vi. 16. 2 Because. That, in order that, usually followed by a redundant 'that.' "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified," John vii. 39. 112 BACON'S ESSAYS to a conclusion, Stay a little, that we may make an end the sooner.^ On the other side, true dispatch is a rich thing. For time is the measure of business, as money is of wares ; and business is bought at a dear hand where there is small dispatch. The Spartans and Span- iards have been noted to be of small dispatch ; Mi venga la miierte de Spagna;'^ Let my death come from Spain; for then it will be sure to be long in coming. Give good hearing to those that give the first in- formation in business ; and rather direct them in the beginning, than interrupt them in the continuance of their speeches ; for he that is put out of his own order wiU go forward and backward, and be more tedious while he waits upon his memorjr, than he could have been if he had gone on in his own course. But sometimes it is seen that the moderator is more troublesome than the actor. Iterations^ are commonly loss of time. But there is no such gain of time as to iterate often the state of the question ; for it chaseth away many a frivolous speech as it is coming forth. Long and curious speeches are as fit for dispatch, as a robe or mantle with a long train is for race. Prefaces and passages,* ^ "Sir Amice Pawlet, when he saw too much haste made in any matter, was wont to say, Stay a while, that we may make an end the sooner.*' Bacon. Apophtheffmes New and Old. 76 (71). Sir Amias Paulet or Poulet, 1536 (?)— 1588, was keeper of Mary Queen of Scots from 1585 to her execution in 1587—1588. When Paulet was sent as the Queen's ambassador to France, in 1576, Bacon, then a lad of about sixteen, accompanied him as a member of his household. ^ This proverb is a curious mixture of Italian and Spanish. It is an Italian saying and should read, Mi venga la morte di Spagna. * Iteration. Repetition. "0, thou hast damnable iteration, and art, indeed, able to corrupt a saint." Shakspere. I. King Henry IT. i. 2. * Passages, Interchange of communications, negotiations. OF DISPATCH 113 and excusations,^ and other speeches of reference to the person, are gi-eat wastes of time ; and though they seem to proceed of ^ modesty, they are bravery. Yet beware of being too material^ when there is any impediment or obstruction in men's wills ; for pre- occupation of mind ever reqnireth preface of speech ; like a fomentation* to make the unguent^ enter. Above aU things, order, and distribution, and sin- gling out of parts, is the life of dispatch ; so as the distribution be not too subtle : for he that doth not divide will never enter well into business ; and he that divideth too much will never come out of it clearly. To choose time is to save time ; and an un- seasonable motion is but beating the air. There be three parts of business ; the preparation, the debate or examination, and the perfection. Whereof, if you look for dispatch, let the middle only be the work of many, and the first and last the work of few. The proceeding upon somewhat conceived in writing doth for the most part facilitate dispatch : for though it should be wholly rejected, yet that negative is more pregnant of direction than an in- definite; as ashes are more generative than dust. ^ Excusations. Excuses, 2 Of. From. "And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt ofifering, for a sweet savour before the Lord: it is an ofEering made by fire unto the Lord." Exodus xxix. 25. 3 Material. Full of matter. "A material fool!" Shakapere. As You Like It. Hi. 3. * Fomentation. The application to the surface of the tody either of flannels, etc., soaked in hot water, whether simple or medicated, or of any other warm, soft, medicinal substance. '' Vnuuenl. Any soft substance used as an ointment or for lubrication. 114 BACON'S ESSAYS XXVI. Of Seeming Wise.^ It hath been an opinion, that the French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are. But howsoever it be between nations, certainly it is so between man and man. For as the Apostle saith of godliness. Having a shew of god- liness, but denying the power thereof;^ so certainly there are in point of wisdom and suflciency, that do nothing or little very solemnly : magna conatu nugas.^ It is a ridiculous thing and fit for a satire to persons of judgment, to see what shifts these formalists have, and what prospectives * to make superficies ^ to seem body that hath depth and bulk. Some are so close and reserved, as they will not shew their wares but ^ "In the essay on Seeming Wise we can trace from the impa- tient notes put down in his Commentarius Solutus, the picture of the man who stood in his way, the Attorney-General Hobart." B. W, Church. Bacon, in English Men of Letters. Sir Henry Hobart, d. 1625, chief justice of the common pleas. He became attorney-general July 4, 1606, and barred Bacon*s path to promotion for seven years. The Dictionary of National Biog- raphy says of Hobart: "He was a very modest and learned lawyer, and as a judge escaped the charge of subserviency to the crown." * II. Timothy Hi. 5. ^ Play the fool with great effort. "Nae, ista hercle magno jam conatu magnas nugas dixerit." Terence. Heauton-timorumenos. IV. 1. A marginal note in the Commentarius Solutus, on "Hubbard's disadvantages" reads, "Solemn goose." * Prospective. A perspective glass, a telescope. "What means my sister's eye so oft to passe Through the long entry of that Optic glasse? And is this all? doth thy Prospective please Th' abused fancy with no shapes but these?" Francis Quarles. Emblemes. III. xiv. 1, 2, 13, 14. • Superficies. The surface. OF SEEMING WISE 115 by a dark light ; and seem always to keep back some- what ; and when they know within themselves they speak of that they do not well know, would never- theless seem to others to know of that which they , may not well speak.^ Some help themselves with countenance and gesture, and are wise by signs ; as Cicero saith of Piso,^ that when he answered him, he fetched one of his brows up to his forehead, and bent the other down to his chin ; Bespondes, altera adfronUm suhlato, altero ad menhim depresso super- cilio, crudelitatem tibi non placere? Some think to bear* it by speaking a great word, and being peremp- tory ; and go on, and take by admittance that which they cannot make good . Some, whatsoever is beyond their reach, will seem to despise or make light of it as impertinent ^ or curious ; ^ and so would have their ignorance seem judgment. Some are never without a difference,'' and commonly by amusing men with a subtUty, blanch ^ the matter; of whom A. Gellius® ^ "Gravity is a mysterious carriage of the body, invented to cover the defects of the mind." Maxitnes et BSflexions Morales du due de La Rochefoucauld. 257. (Paris. 1828.) 2 Lucius Calpurnius Piso, Consul with Gabinius, 58 B.C., the year of Cicero's exile, father-in-law of Julius Caesar. Cicero's bit- terest invective speech was delivered in the senate, against Piso, 55 B.o. ' With one brow elevated to your forehead, and the other de- pressed to your chin, you respond that cruelty is not pleasing to you. M. Tullii Ciceronis in L. Calpurnium Pisonem Oratio. vi. 14. * Bear. Carry on, deal with. "Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in, Bear 't that th' opposed may beware of thee." Shakspere. Hamlet, i. 3, ' Impertinent, Latin sense, not pertaining to, irrelevant. * Curious. Over-nice, exacting. ''Difference. A. subtile distinction. 'Blanch. Evade, pass over. »Aulus Gellins, bom about 130 A.D., Roman grammarian; he wrote Nodes Atticae, in twenty books, first printed in 1469. 116 BACON'S ESSAYS saith, Hominem delirum, qui verhorum minutiis rerum frangit pondera} Of which kind also, Plato ^ in his Protagoras bringeth in Prodicus in scorn, and mak- eth him make a speech that consisteth of distinctions from the beginning to the end. Generally, such men _ in all deliberations find ease to be of the negative side, and affect a credit to object' and foretell diffi- culties ; for when propositions are denied, there is an end of them ; but if they be allowed, it requireth a new work ; which false point of wisdom is the bane of business. To conclude, there is no decaying mer- chant, or inward beggar,^ hath so many tricks to uphold the credit of their wealth, as these empty persons have to maintain the credit of their suffi- ciency. Seeming wise men may make shift to get opinion ; but let no man choose them for employ- ment ; for certainly you were better take for busi- ness a man somewhat absurd than over- formal. ^ A foolish man who fritters away weighty matters with niceties of words. Bacon is not quoting Aulus Gellius here, but Quintilian, who says of Seneca: si rerum pondera minutiasimis sententiis non fregisset, consensu potius eruditorum quwm puerorum amore com- probaretur. If he had not broken the weight of things with the most minute sentences, he would have "won the unanimous approval of the learned, rather than the admiration of boys. if. Fabii Quiti- tiliani de Institutione Oratoria Liber X. i. 130. -Plato, 429 or 427-347 B.C. His name was originally Aristo- cles, but he was surnamed Plato (IIAaTwi') from his broad shoulders. A famous Greek philosopher, a disciple of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. Plato expounded his philosophv in a series of dia- logues, of which the Protagoras is one. There is still no greater ex- position of idealism than is contained in Plato's 'Dialogues.' ' Inward beggar. One who is really bankrupt, though keeping up the appearance of solvency. OF FRIENDSHIP HJ XXVII. Of Friendship. It had been hard for him that spake it to have put more truth and untruth together in few words, than in that speech, Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god} For it is most true that a natural and secret hatred' and aversation ^ towards society in any man, hath somewhat of the savage beast ; but it is most untrue that it should have any character at all of the divine nature ; ex- cept^ it proceed, not out of a pleasure in solitude, but out of a love and desire to sequester a man's self for a higher conversation : * such as is found to have been falsely and feignedly in some of the heathen ; as Epimenides ^ the Candian, Numa ^ the Roman, Empedocles ' the Sicilian, and ApoUonius ^ "But he "who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god : he is no part of a state." The Politics of Aristotle, Translated into English by B. Jowett. Vol. I. i. 2, 2 Aversation towards. Aversion to. 3 Except. Unless. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." John Hi. 3. * Conversation. Mode or course of life. "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom," James Hi. 13. ^ Epimenides, a Cretan poet and prophet, who lived in the 7th century B.C. He was said to have fallen into a sleep that lasted fifty-seven years, and to have lived two hundred and ninety-nine years. "Numa Pompilius, second King of Rome, 715-673 B.C. The origin of many Roman institutions is referred to Numa, such as the flamens, vestal virgins, pontifices, etc. He was supposed to have been instructed in the art of legislation by the nymph Egeria. 'Empedocles was born at Agrigentum, Sicily, and lived 490-430 B.C. He was a Greek philosopher, poet, and statesman. He was said to have declared himself to be Immortal, and to be able to cure all evils. 118 BACON'S ESSAYS of Tyana ; ^ and truly and really in divers of the ancient hermits and holy fathers of the church. But little do men perceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth. For a crowd is not compam zx and faces are but a gallery of pictures ; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love.^ The Latin adage meeteth with it a little : Magna civitas, magna solitudo;^ because in a great town friends are scat- tered ; so that there is not that fellowship, for the most part, which is in less neighbourhoods. But we may go further, and affirm most truly that it is a mere * and miserable soUtude to want true friends ; without which the world is but a wilderness ; and even in this sense also of solitude, whosoever in the frame of his nature and affections is unfit for friend- ship, he taketh it of the beast, and not from human- A Tjrincipal fruit of friendshiT) is the ease, and discharge of the fulness and swelline^s of the heart, ^ Apollonius was born at Tyana, Oappadocia, and lived from about 4 B.C. to about 97 a.d. He was a Pythagorean pbiloBopher and reputed magician and wonder-worker. Divine honors were paid to Apollonius in the 3d century and his bust was placed by Alexander Severus in his lararium with those of Abraham, Orpheus, and Christ. 2 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cjTnbal." /. Corinthians xiii. 1. 3 A great city is a great solitude. Erasmi Adagia. *Mere. Absolute, utter, whole, "It is Othello's pleasure, our noble and valiant general, that, upon certain tidings now arrived, importing the mere perdition of the Turkish fleet, every man put himself into triumph." ShaJcspere. Othello, ii. B. ^Humanity. Human nature; man in the abstract. "Oh, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor Turk, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought some of Nature's journeymen had made them, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably." ShaJcspere, Hamlet, Hi. S. OF FRIENDSHIP 119 which passions of all kinds do cause and induce . We know diseases of stoppings and suffocations are the most dangerous in the body ; and it is not much otherwise in the mind ; you may take sarza^ to open the liver, steel to open the spleen, flower of sulphur ^ for the lungs, castoreum^ for the brain; b ut no x Sz— ceipt openeth the heart, b ut a true friend ; to whom you may impart griefs, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, counsels, and whatsoever lieth upon the heart to oppress it, in a kind of civil shrift or confession. It is a strange thing to observe how high a rate great kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship whereof we speak : so great, as they pur- chase it many times at the hazard of their own safety and greatness, "r^or princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune from that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit, except (to make themselves capable thereof) they raise some persons to be as it were companions and almost equa ls to themselves, which many times sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such persons the name of favourites, or privadoes ; * as if it were matter of grace, or conversation. But the Roman name attaineth the true use and cause thereof, naming them, participes curarum;^ for it is that which tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath been done, not by weak and passionate ^ Sana. SarsapariUa. -Flower of sulphur. A yellow powder formed hy condensing the vapor of sulphur. * Caatoreum. A secretion of the heaver formerly of high repute in medicine. * Privado. Spanish word, a private or intimate friend. * Sharers of cares, partners in sorrows. 120 BACON'S ESSAYS princes only, but by the wisest and most politic that ever reigned; who have oftentimes joined to them- selves some of their servants ; whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed others likewise to call them in the same manner ; using the word which is received between private men. L. SyUa,^ when he commanded Rome, raised Pom- pey (after surnamed the Great) to that height, that Pompey vaunted himself for Sylla's over-match. For when he had carried the consulship for a-friend of his, against the pursuit of Sylla, and that SyUa did a little resent thereat, and began to speak great, Pompey turned upon him again, and in effect bade him be quiet ; for that more men adored the sun ris- ing than the sun setting? With Julius CEesar, Deci- mus Brutus^ had obtained that interest, as he set him down in his testament for heir in remainder after his nephew. And this was the man that had power with him to draw him forth to his death. For when Caesar would have discharged the senate, in regard of some ill presages, and specially a dream of Calpurnia ; * this man lifted him gently by the arm out of his chair, telling him he hoped he would not dismiss the senate till his wife had dreamt a better dream.^ And it seemeth his favour was so great, as Antonius, in a letter which is recited verba- ^ Lucius Cornelius Sulla, surnamed Felix, lived from about 138 to 78 B.C., a celebrated Roman general and dictator. - Plutarch. Life of Pompey. sDecimus Junius Brutus, surnamed Albinus, Roman general, one of tbe assassins of Caesar, executed 43 B.C. He was betrayed and put to death by Antony. * Calpurnia, daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, and third wife of Caesar. ^Plutarch. Life of Caesar. or FRIENDSHIP 121 Urn in one of Cicero's Philippics,^ calleth him vene- fica, witch; as if he had enchanted Caesar.- Augustus raised Agrippa^ (though of mean birth) to that height, as* wlien he consulted with Maecenas' about the marriage of his daughter Julia, Maecenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must either marry his daughter to Agrippa, or take atvay his life : there was no third way, he had made him so greatfi With Tiberius Caesar, Sejanus had ascended to that height, as they two were termed and reckoned as a pair of friends. Tiberius in a letter to him saith, hcec pro amicitid nostrd non occultavi;'' and the whole senate dedicated an altar to Friendship, as to a goddess, in respect of the great dearness of friendship between them two. The like or more was between Septimius Severus and Plautianus. For he forced his eldest son to marry the daughter of Plautianus ; and would often maintain Plautianus in doing affronts to his son ; and did write also in a letter to the senate, by these words : I love the man so well, as I wish he may over-live^ me. Now if ^ Cicero's PhUippies are fourteen orations against Antony, deliv- ered in 44—43. The original Philippics are Demosthenes's nine orations against Philip of Macedon. 2 M. Tvllii Ciceronia in M, Antonium Oratio Philippiea Tertia Decima. XI. 25. ° Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, 63—12 B.C., Roman commander and the leading statesman of the reign of Augustus. His third wife was Julia, daughter of Augustus and widow of Marcellus. * As. That. 'Caius Cilnius Maecenas, died 8 B.C., Roman statesman and patron of letters. With Agrippa, he was the chief adviser of Augustus down to 16 B.C., when he became estranged from his master and retired to private life. He was the friend and patron of Horace and Vergil. ^ Dion Cassius. Liber LVT. 6. ' Because of our friendship, I have not concealed these things. P. Comelii Taciti AnnaXium Liber IT. 40. ' Overlive. To survive ; to outlive. "And Israel served the Lord 122 BACON'S ESSAYS these princes had been as a Trajan ^ or a Marcus Aurelius,^ a man might have thought that this had proceeded of an abundant goodness of nature ; but being men so wise, of such strength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of themselves, as aU these were, it proveth most plainly that they found their own felicity (though as great as ever happened to mortal men) but as an half piece, except they m ought ^ have a friend to make it entire ; and yet, which* is more, they were princes that had wives, sons, nephews ; and yet all these could not supply the comfort of friendship. It is not to be forgotten what Comineus ^ observeth of his first master, Duke Charles the Hardy ;^ namely, that he would communicate'' his secrets with none; and least of aJl, those secrets which troubled him most. Whereupon he goeth on and all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel." Joshua xxiv. 31. The quotation is from Dion Cassius Cocceianus (Cassii Dionis Cocceiani Historiae Romanae Liber LXXT. 15). 1 Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, surnamed Dacicus and Parthicus, born about 53, died 117 A.D., Boman emperor from 98 to 117 a.d. 2 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, originally Marcus Annus VeruB, commonly known as Marcus Aurelius, 121—180 a.d., Boman em- peror from 161 to 180 a.d. He wrote, in Greek, a very celebrated book, entitled. The Meditations of Marcus Antoninus. ^ Mought. Old form of might. "So sound he slept, that nought mouffht him awake." Spenser. The Faery Queene. Boole I. Canto i. Stanza 42. * Which. What. "Which a miracle ther befel anoou." Chaucer. The Enightes Tale. Line 1817. ^ Philippe de Comines, or Oommines, or Comynes, born about 1445, died in 1519, a French statesman and historian. 'Charles the Bold (French, le Timiraire), 1433-1477, Duke of Burgundy. "^ Oormminicate. To inform a person of; to tell. Now construed with 'to' instead of 'with.' OF FRIENDSHIP 123 saith that towards his latter time that closeness did impair and a little perish^ his understanding. Surely Comineus mought have made the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second master Lewis the Eleventh,^ whose closeness was indeed his tormentor. The parable ^ of Pythagoras* is dark, but true ; Cor ne edito : Hat not the heart? •^Jertainly, if a man would give it a hard phrase, those that want friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts."^ But one thing is most admirable (wherewith I will conclude this first fruit of friendship), which is, that this com- municat ing of a man's self to bis friend works two con ta-ary effects ; for it redouble th joys, and cuttetT griefs inhalfs. For there is no nian that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the "TnoreT and no man tiiat xmparteth bis^riefs_to_H"s ~ friend, but h^'^ieveth the less. So that it is in truth of operation upon a man's mind, of like virtue as the alchymists use to attribute to their stone for man's body; that it worketh all contrary effects, but stiU to the good and benefit of natxire. But ^Perish, a transitive verb. "You are an innocent, A soul as white as Heaven; let not my sins Perish your noble youth." Beawmont and Fletcher. The Maid's Tragedy, iv. 1. ''Louis XI., 1423-1483, King of France from 1461 to 1483. The historical setting of Sir Walter Scott's great novel, Quen- tin Durward, based largely on the Mimoires of Philippe de Comines, is the time of Louis XI. and Charles the Bold. 3 Parable means proverb here. * Pythagoras, born about 582 B.C., died about 500 B.C., Greek philosopher and mathematician. "4. Discourse Touching the Training of Children. 17. Plu- tarch's Miscellanies and Essays. Vol. I. Edited by W. W. Good- win. With Introduction by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 124 BACON'S ESSAYS yet without praying ^ in aid of alcliymists, there is a manifest image of this in the ordinary course of nature. For in bodies, union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural action ; and on the other side weakeneth and duUeth any violent impression : and even so it is of ^ minds. The second fruit of friendship is healthful and sovereign for the understanding, as the first is for the affections. For friendship maketh indeed a fair day in the affections, from storm and tempest ; but it maketh daylight in the understanding, out of darkness and confusion of thoughts. 'Neither is this to be understood only of faithful counsel, which 0", a man receiveth from his friend; but before you come to that, certain it is that whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits and understanding do clarify and break up, in the com- municating and discoursing with another ; he toss- eth his thoughts more easily ; he marshalleth them more orderly ; he seeth how they look when they are turned into words: finally, he waxeth^ wiser than himself ; and that more Iby an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation. «i It was well said by Themistocles* to the king of Persia, That speech was ^ Pray in ai&, in law, to eaU in as aid, one who has an interest in the cause. "and you shall find A conqueror that will pray in aid for kindness, Where he for grace is kneel'd to." ShaJcspere. Antony and Cleopatra, -o. 2. ^ Of means here with regard to, concerning. = Wax. To grow; to become. "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Matthew xxiv. 12. * Themistocles, born in the latter part of the 6th century B.C., died about 460 B.C., perhaps as late as 447 B.C., Athenian states- man and commander. OP FRIENDSHIP 125 like doth of Arras,^ opened and put abroad; whereby the imagery doth appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in paclcs.^ Neither is the second fruit of friendship, in opening the understanding, restrained^ only to such friends as are able to give a man coun- sel; (they indeed are best;) but even without that, a man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light, and whettet^his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. "^n a word, a man were better^ relate himself to a statua^ or picture, than to suffer his thoughts to pass in smother.^^ Add now, to make this second fruit of friendship complete, that other point which lieth more open and falleth within vidgar"^ observation ;< which is f aithfid counsel from'^a friend. Heraclitus saith well in one of his enigmas. Dry light is ever the best^ ^ Cloth of Arras. Tapestry, from Arras, the capital of the de- partment of Pas-de-Oalais, in the north of France. The expression *cloth of Arras* was probably used originally to distinguish tapestry from Arras from other kinds. ^Plutarch. Life of Themistocles. "Themistocles said of speech; That it was like Arras, that spread abroad shews fair images, but contracted is hut liJce 'oaeks." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 199. ^ Restrained. Restricted, limited. * Were better. Old English idiom, with he and the dative, Mm were better, that is, 'it would be better for him.' The correct modern form of the idiom is had better, with the verb 'have' mean- ing 'hold' or 'regard,* like the Latin habere. '* "And, in his mantle mufQing up his face, Even at the base of Pompey's statua, Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell." Shakspere. Julius Caesar. Hi, S. ^Smother. The state of being stifled; suppression. ^ Vulgar. Common, "Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar." Shakspere. Hamlet, i. 3. ^ Read, for this same thought, in the Wisdom of the Ancients, The Flight of Icarus; also, Scylla and Charyhdis; or the Middle Way. Also, Apophthegmes New and Old. 268 (188). 126 BACON'S ESSAYS And certain it is, that the light that a man receiveth by counsel from another, is drier and purer than that which cometh from his own understanding and judgment ; ^ which is ever infused and drenched in his affections and customs. So as there is as much difference between the counsel that a friend giveth, and that a man giveth himself, as there is between the counsel of a friend and of a flatterer. For there is no such flatterer a,s is a. ma,n's a^lf; and the re is no such re medy against flattery of a 'man's self, as the liberty of a friend. Counsel is of two sorts : the one concerning manners, the other concerning business. For the first, the best pre- servative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend. The calling of a man's self to a strict account is a medicine, sometime, too pierc- ing and corrosive. Reading good books of morality is a little flat and dead. Observing our faults in others is sometimes improper for our case. But the best receipt (best, I say, to work, and best to take) is the admonition of a friend. ^JLt is a strange thing to behold what gross errors and extreme absurdities many (especially of the greater sort) dp commit, for want of a friend to tell them of them f to the great damage both of their fame and fortune : for, as St. James saith, they are as men that look sometimes in- to a glass, and presently forget their own shape and favour.^ As for business, a man may think, if he wiU, that two eyes see no more than one; or that ^ "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth him- self, and goeth his way, and straightway forgettetb what manner ot plan he was." fftmes t, gS, Si, OF FRIENDSHIP 127 a gamester seeth always more than a looker-on ; or that a man in anger is as wise as he that hath said over the four and twenty letters ;^ or that a musket may be shot off as well upon the arm as upon a rest; and such other fond^ and high imaginations, to think himself all in aU. But when aU is done, the help of good counsel is that which setteth busi- ness straight. *^ And if any man think that he will take counsel, but it shall be by pieces ; asking coun- sel in one business of one man, and in another business of another man ; it is well, (that is to say, better perhaps than, if he asked none at all ; ) but he runneth two dangers :^one, that he shall not be faithfully counselled ; ^or it is a rare thing, excep t it be from a perfect and entire frien d, to have o.r>n-n . sel given, but such a s shall be bowed and crooked to some en ds which he hath that giveth it.'^ The other, that heihailhave counsel given, hurtful and unsafe, (though with good meaning,) and mixed partly of inischief and partly of remedy ; even as if you would call a physician that is thought good for the cure of the disease you complain of, but is unacquainted with your body ; and therefore may put you in way for a present cure, but overthrow- eth your health in some other kind ; and so cure the disease and kill the patient. But a friend ^ The English Grammar of Ben Jonson limits the English alpha- bet to "four and twenty letters," omitting J and U. This means that in his time and Bacon's J had not yet been differentiated from I, nor U from V, although O was coming in. U and J are modem letters. 'Fond. Foolish. " 'T is fond to wail inevitable strokes, As 't is to laugh at 'em." Shakgpere. Coriolanus. iv. i. 128 BACON'S ESSAYS that is wholly acquainted with a man's estate ^ will beware, by furthering any present business, how he dasheth upon other inconvenience. And therefore rest not upon scattered counsels; they will rather distract and mislead, than settle and direct. After _thf sp t'^" nnhlA frjajt s of friendship, (E gace i n the affections, and support of the .iudgmen t;)jol-^ loweth the last fruit ; which is like the pomegranate, full of many kernels ; I mean aid and bearing a part in all actions a nd occasions . , Here the best way to represent to life the manifold use of friend- ship, is to cast and see how many things there are which a man cannot do himself ; and t hen it will ap pear that it was a sparing speech of the anpipntg^ to say, fhat a friend is another himself: for that^ a friend is far more than himself.. Men have their time, and die many times in desire of some things which they principally take to heart ; the bestowing of a chUd, the finishing of a work, or the Kke. If a man h ave^ atrue friend^ he may re st almost secure that the care of those things will continue after ViiTn. So that a man hath, as it were, two Uves in his de- sires. A man hath a body, and that b ody is con- fined to a place ; b ut where friendship is, all offices ofjife are a,s it were p;ra,Titerl t.n liini ^.nd^his dapnty For he may exercise them by his friend. How many things are there which a man ca,TiTiot. with any face or comeliness, say or do him self ?*A man can scarce allege his own merits with modesty, much less 1 Estate. State or condition, 'For that. Because, OF FEIENDSHIP 129 extol them ; ^ a man cannot sometimes brook to sup- plicate or beg ; and a number of the like. But aU these things are graceful in a friend's mouth, which are blushing in a man's own. ^o again, a man's person hath many proper^ relations which he cannot put off, A man cannot speak to Ms son but as a father ; to his wife but as a husband ; to his enemy but upon terms : whereas j iJri erifi m a y p pe a k an tho ease requires, and not as it sorteth with the person. But to enumerate these things were endless ; I have given the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his own part ; if he have not a f riend, J i&- jnay quit ^fehe^ stage,^ ^ "It is an abominable thing for a man to commend himself." Quoted in Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Vol. I. Ch. xxii., from Dr. Joseph Hall, Bishop of Exeter, Divine Art of Meditation. ^ Proper. Peculiar. *'Aiid so, with great imagination, Proper to madmen, led his powers to death, And, winking, leap'd into destruction." Shakspere. II. King Henry lY. i. 3. ^ In the last year -of Bacon's life, at the special request of his friend, Sir Tobie Matthew, he rewrote entirely the essay on Friend- skip, to commemorate their lifelong intimacy. Sir Tobie Matthew, 1577—1655, courtier, diplomatist, and writer, was the son of Tobie, or Tobias, Matthew, Archbishop of York. Bacon and Matthew, who was the junior by sixteen years, became friends when Matthew en- tered Parliament, in 1601, and their affection knew no break through every variation of both their fortunes. Bacon held a high opinion of Matthew's literary judgment, and submitted his writings to him for criticism from time to time, among other pieces his book, De Sapientia Yeterum, with an accompanying letter, dated Feb. 17, 1610. In 1618, Matthew, who had lived in Italy, and had there become a Roman Catholic, published in London an Italian translation of the Essays, entitled, Saggi Morali del Signore Francesco Bacono, Cava- liero inglese, gran cancelliero d'Inghelterra, con un* altro suo Trat- tato delta Sapienza degli Antichi. A dedicatory letter to Cosimo dei Medici II., Grand Duke of Tuscany, eulogizes Sir Francis Bacon, praising him not only for the qualities of his intellect, but also for those of the heart and will, and moral understanding: "being a .man most sweet in his conversation and ways, grave in his judgment, invariable in his for- tunes, splendid in his expenses; a friend unalterable to his friends; 130 BACON'S ESSAYS XXVIII. Of Expense. Riches are for spending, and spending for honour and good actions. Therefore extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the occasion ; for voluntary undoing may be as well for a man's country as for the kingdom of heaven. But ordi- nary expense ought to be limited by a man's estate ; and governed with such regard, as^ it be within his compass; and not subject to deceit and abuse of servants ; and ordered to the best shew, that the bills may be less than the estimation abroad. Cer- tainly, if a man will keep^ but of even hand, his ordinary expenses ought to be but to the half of his receipts ; and if he think to wax rich, but to the third part. It is no baseness for the greatest to descend and look into their own estate. Some for- bear it, not upon negligence alone, but doubting^ an enemy to no man; a most hearty and indefatigable servant to the King, and a most earnest lover of the Public, — having all the thoughts of that large heart of his set upon adorning the age in which he lives, and benefiting as far as possible the vrhole human race." When Bacon was impeached, Matthew was of the few who re- mained faithful to him. He wrote a letter to his old friend, in his disgrace and downfall, which Bacon compared to 'old gold.' The episode is the most pleasing personal one in Bacon's life, and should be remembered to his credit in any judgment of the baseness of his conduct towards Essex. 1 As. That. ^ Keep but of even hand. Balance his expenses carefully. ^Douht. To fear, be afraid {that something uncertain will take or has taken place); to suspect. "Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the Sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never ^oubt I love." Samlet, ii, g. OF EXPENSE 131 to bring tkemselves into melancholy, in respect^ they shaU find it broken. But wounds cannot be cured without searching. He that cannot look into his own estate at all, had need both choose well those whom he employeth, and change them often ; for new are more timorous and less subtle. He that can look into his estate but seldom, it behoveth him to turn all to certainties. A man had need, if he be plentiful in some kind of expense, to be as saving again in some other. As if he be plentiful in diet, to be saving in apparel ; if he be plentiful in the hall, to be saving in the stable ; and the like. For he that is plentiful in expenses of aU kinds wiU hardly be preserved from decay. In clearing of a man's estate, he may as well hurt himself in being too sudden, as letting it run on too long. For hasty selling is commonly as disadvantageable^ as interest. Besides, he that clears at once will re- lapse ; for finding himself out of straits, he wiU re- vert to his customs : but he that cleareth by de- grees induceth a habit of frugality, and gaineth as well upon his mind as upon his estate. Certainly, who^ hath a state to repair, may not despise small things ; and commonly it is less dishonourable to abridge petty charges, than to stoop to petty get- tings. A man ought warily to begin charges which once begun will continue: but in matters that return not he may be more magnificent. ^ Respect. Relation, regard, case. 2 Disadvantageable. Disadvantageous. ^ Who. Se who. "I dare do all tliat may become a man; Who dares do more, is none." Shakspere. Macbeth, i. 7. 132 BACON'S ESSAYS XXIX. Of the True Greatness op Kingdoms AND Estates. The speech of Themistoeles the Athenian, which was haughty and arrogant in taking so much to him- self, had been a grave and wise observation and censure, applied at large to others. Desired at a feast to touch a lute, he said. He could not fiddle, hut yet he could make, a small town a great city} These words (holpen a little with a metaphor) may express two differing abilities in those that deal in business of estate. For if a true survey be taken of coun- sellors and statesmen, there may be found (though rarely) those which can make a small state great, and yet cannot fiddle : as on the other side, there will be found a great many that can fiddle very cun- ningly ,2 but yet are so far from being able to make a small state great, as^ their gift lieth the other way ; to bring a great and fiourishing estate to ruin and decay. And, certainly those degenerate arts and shifts, whereby many counsellors and governors gain both favour with their masters and estimation with the vulgar, deserve no better name than fid- dling ; being things rather pleasing for the time, and graceful to themselves only, than tending to the ^ Bacon quotes from Plutarch's Life of Themistocles, or the Life of Cimon, where Themistocles's haughty speech is repeated. He makes the same quotation in the Advatice'ment of Learning, Y. I. Hi, 8. 2 Cunningly, Skilfully. Compare Psalms cxzxvii. 5 : "If I for- get thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," i.e. her skiU, = As. That. OF GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 133 weal aud advancement of the state whicli they serve. There are also (no doubt) counsellors and governors which may be held sufficient (negotris pares), ^ able to manage affairs, and to keep them from precipices and manifest inconveniences; which nevertheless are far from the ability to raise and amplify an es- tate in power, means, and fortune. But be the workmen what they may be, let us speak of the work ; that is, the true Greatness of Eangdoms and Estates, and the means thereof. An argument ^ fit for great and mighty princes to have in their hand ; to the end that neither by over-measuring their forces, they leese themselves in vain enterprises ; nor on the other side, by undervaluing them, they descend to fearful and pusillanimous counsels. The greatness of an estate in bulk and territory, doth fall under measure ; and the greatness of fi- nances and revenew doth fall under computation. The population may appear by musters ; and the number and greatness of cities and towns by cards and maps. But yet there is not any thing amongst civil affairs more subject to error, than the right valuation aud true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate. The kingdom of heaven is compared, not to any great kernel or nut, but to a grain of mustard-seed ; which is one of the least grains, but hath in it a property and spirit hastily to get up and spread.^ So are there states great in ^ Negotiis pares, equal to negotiations, or, as Bacon translates, 'able to manage affairs.' ^Argument. Subject, theme. "It would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, and a good jest foroTer." Shakspere. I. King Henry JV. ii. 2. = Mark iv. 30, 31, 32. 134 BACON'S ESSAYS territory, and yet not apt to enlarge or command ; and some that have but a small dimension of stem, and yet apt ^ to be the foundations of great mon- archies. Walled towns, stored arsenals and armories, goodly races of horse, chariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like; aU this is but a sheep in a lion's skin, except the breed and disposi- tion of the people be stout and warlike. Nay, num- ber (itself) in armies importeth not much, where the people is of weak courage ; for (as Virgil saith) It never troubles a wolf how many the sheep be? The army of the Persians in the plains of Arbela was such a vast sea of people, as it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alexander's army ; who came to him therefore, and wished him to set upon them by night ; but he answered, Se would not pilfer the vic- tory. And the defeat was easy. When Tigranes * the Armenian, being encamped upon a hill with four hundred thousand men, discovered the army of the Romans, being not above fourteen thousand, march- ing towards him, he made himself merry with it, and said. Yonder men are too many for an ambassage, and too few for a fight.* But before the sun set, he found them enow ^ to give him the chase with infinite slaughter. Many are the examples of the great odds between number and courage : so that a man may ^ Apt. Suited, fitted. 'Ecloga VII. SB. 2 Tigranes, died 55(f) B.C., King of Armenia, son-in-law of Mithridates the Great. * Quoted from Plutarch's Life of Lucius Licinius LucuU/ue, consul 74 B.C., and conqueror of Mithridates and Tigranes. 'Enow. Old plural of enough. "Take with you enow of men." Scott. Ivanhoe. XXXII. OF GEEATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 135 truly make a judgment, that the principal point of greatness in any state is to have a race of military men. Neither is money the sinews ^ of war (as it is trivially said,) where the sinews of men's arms, in base and effeminate people, are failing. For Solon ^ said well to Croesus ^ (when in ostentation he shewed him his gold), Sir, if any other come that hath better iron than you, he mil he master of all this gold} There- fore let any prince or state think soberly of his forces, except his militia of natives be of good and valiant soldiers. And let princes, on the other side, that have subjects of martial disposition, know their own strength ; unless they be otherwise wanting unto themselves. As for mercenary forces (which is the help in this case), all examples show that whatso- ever estate or prince doth rest upon them, he may spread his feathers for a time, but he will mew ^ them soon after. The blessing of Judah and Issachar will never meet ; that the same people or nation should he both the lion's whelp ^ and the ass between burthens; '' neither ^ Money the sinews of war. Aeschines attributes this metaphor to Demosthenes. But Cicero, in his fifth Philippic against Antony, (M. T-ullii Cieeronis in M. Antonium Oratio Philippica Quinta. I. 5), uses the expression nervos belli, pecuniam infinitam. "Though old the thought. And oft exprest, 'T is his at last Who says it best." 2 Solon, 638(?)-559(?) B.C., Athenian lawgiver. ' Croesus became King of Lydia in 560 B.C., and was defeated and taken prisoner by Cyrus, King of Persia, in 546 B.C. * Lucia/n. Charon. ^Mew. To shed the feathers; to moult. ' "Judah is a lion's whelp." Genesis xlix. B. - j, ' ' ' "Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two bur- dens." Genesis xlix. 9. _ \ i ' , 136 BACON'S ESSAYS will it be, that a people overlaid with taxes should ever become valiant and martial. It is true that taxes levied by consent of the estate do abate men's courage less : as it hath been seen notably in the excises of the Low Countries ; and, in some degree, in the subsidies of England. For you must note that we speak now of the heart and not of the purse. So that although the same tribute and tax, laid by consent or by imposing, be all one to the purse, yet it works diversly ^ upon the courage. So that you may conclude, that no people over-charged with tribute is Jit for empire. Let states that aim at greatness, take heed how their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast. For that maketh the common subject grow to be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, and in effect but the gentleman's labourer. Even as you may see in coppice woods ; if you leave your staddles ^ too thick, you shall never have clean underwood, but shrubs and bushes. So in countries, if the gen- tlemen be too many, the commons will be base ; and you will bring it to that, that not the hundred ^ poll will be fit for an helmet ; especially as to the infan- try, which is the nerve of an army ; and so there will be great population and little strength. This which I speak of hath been no where better seen than by comparing of England and France ; whereof Eng- land, though far less in territory and population, ^Diversly. Differently, diversely, of which 'diversly' was a com- mon spelling before 1700. 2 Staddle. A young tree left standing when the underwood is cut down. ^ Hundred, used as an ordinal, hundredth, as still in composite numbers, — ^for example, hundred and tenth. or GEEATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 137 hatli been (nevertheless) an over-match ; in regard ^ the middle people of England make good soldiers, which the peasants of France do not. And herein the device of king Henry the Seventh (whereof I have spoken largely in the history of his life) was profound and admirable; in making farms and houses of husbandry of a standard ; that is, main- tained with such a proportion of land unto them, as may breed a subject to live in convenient plenty and no servile condition ; and to keep the plough in the hands of the owners, and not mere hirelings.^ And thus indeed you shall attain to Virgil's character which he gives to ancient Italy : Terra potens armis atque ubere glebEe:^ Neither is that state (which, for any thing I know, is almost peculiar to England, and hardly to be found any where else, except it be perhaps in Poland) to be passed over ; I mean the state * of free servants and attendants upon noblemen and gentlemen; ^ In regard. Since ; because. "Charles,' and tlie rest, it is enacted thus: That, in regard King Henry gives consent, You shall become true liegemen to his crown." Shakspere. I. King Henry YI. v. 4. "1 cannot say I ever saw an adder, in regard there are none in these parts." Scott. The Pirate. XXYIII. 2 The importance to a state of maintaining a free and contented agricultural class was a subject much considered by Bacon. Be- sides the discussion of it in his History of Henry Til, the Journal of the House of Commons records that Bacon's first speech in the ninth Parliament of Elizabeth, which met October 24, 1597, was on a motion he had himself made, "against depopulation of towns and houses of husbandry, and for the maintenance of husbandry and tillage." * Land powerful in arms and in fertility of soil. Vergil. Aenei- do8 Liber I. 531. * State. Class or order. 138 BACON'S ESSAYS which are no ways inferior unto the yeomanry for arms. And therefore out of all question, the splen- dour and magnificence and great retinues and hos- pitality of noblemen and gentlemen, received into custom, doth much conduce unto martial greatness. Whereas, contrariwise, the close and reserved living of noblemen and gentlemen causeth a penury of military forces. By all means it is to be procured,^ that the trunk of Nebuchadnezzar's tree^ of monarchy be great enough to bear the branches and the boughs ; that is, that the natural subjects of the crown or state bear a sufficient proportion to the stranger subjects that they govern. Therefore all states that are liberal of naturalization towards strangers are fit for empire. For to think that an handful of people can, with the greatest courage and policy in the world, embrace too large extent of dominion, it may hold for a time, but it will fail suddenly. The Spar- tans were a nice^ people in point of naturalization ; whereby, while they kept their compass, they stood firm ; but when they did spread, and their boughs were becomen too great for their stem, they became a windfall upon the sudden. Never any state was in this point so open to receive strangers into their body as were the Romans. Therefore it sorted with them accordingly; for they grew to the greatest monarchy. Their manner was to grant naturalisa- " Procure. To bring about by care and pains. "Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall." Shakspere. The Oomei/y of Errors, i, 1. ' Daniel iv. 10, and following. ■ Nice. Discriminating, particular. OF GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 139 tion (which they oaRed jus civitatis),^ and to grant it in the highest degree ; that is, not only jus com- mercii, jus connubii, jus hcereditalis ; but also jus suffragii, and. jus honorum? And this not to singular'* persons alone, but likewise to whole families ; yea to cities, and sometimes to nations. Add to this their custom of plantation of colonies ; whereby the Roman plant was removed into the soil of other nations. And putting both constitutions together, you will say that it was not the Romans that spread upon the world, -but it was the world that spread upon the Romans ; and that was the sure way of greatness. I have marvelled sometimes at Spain, how they clasp and contain so large dominions with so few natural Spaniards ; but sure the whole com- pass of Spain is a very great body of a tree ; far above Rome and Sparta at the first. And besides, though they have not had that usage to naturalise liberally, yet they have that which is next to it ; that is, to employ almost indifferently all nations in their militia of ordinary soldiers ; yea and some- times in their highest commands. Nay it seemeth at this instant they are sensible of this want of na- tives ; as by the Pragmatical Sanction,* now pub- lished, appeareth. It is certain, that sedentary and within-door arts, and delicate manufactures (that require rather the > Right of citizenship. ^ Right of trade, right of marriage, right of inheritance ; right of suflfrage, and right of honors, that is, 'right of holding office.' ^ Singular. Single. *In 1622, Philip IV., 1605-1665, King of Spain, 1621-1665, issued a royal decree, or pragmdtica, which granted certain privi- leges to those who married and established certain immunities for the parents of six children or more. 140 BACON'S ESSAYS finger than the arm), have in their nature a con- trariety to a military disposition. And generally, all warlike people are a little idle, and love danger better than travaO.^ Neither must they be too much broken of it, if they shall be preserved in vigour. Therefore it was great advantage in the ancient states of Sparta, Athens, Rome, and others, that they had the use of slaves, which commonly did rid^ those manufactures. But that is abolished, in greatest part, by the Christian law. That which cometh nearest to it, is to leave those arts chiefly to strangers (which for that purpose are the more easily to be received), and to contain the principal bulk of the vulgar natives within those three kinds,— tillers of the ground ; free servants ; and handicraftsmen of strong and manly arts, as smiths, masons, car- penters, &c. : not reckoning professed soldiers. But above all, for empire and greatness, it import- eth most, that a nation do profess arms as their principal honour, study, and occupation. For the things which we formerly have spoken of are but habilitations towards arms; and what is habilita- tion^ without intention and act ? Romulus,* after his ^Travail. Labor, worJc. "Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you." //, Theaealonians Hi, S. ^ Rid. To accomplish ; to dispatch ; to achieve. "We, having now the best at Barnet field, Will thither straight, for willingness rids way." ShaJcspere. III. King Henry YI. v. 3. * Hdbilitation. The action of enabling or endowing with ability or fitness; eapacitation ; qualification. * Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, in 753 B.C., and first King of Rome, 753-716 B.C. He was said to be the son of Mars and the vestal Rhea Silvia, and after his death he was worshipped as a divinity under the name Quirinus. OF GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 141 death (as they report or feign), sent a present^ to the Romans, that above all they should intend^ arms ; and then they should prove the greatest empire of the world. The fabric of the state of Sparta was wholly (though not wisely) framed and composed to that scope and end. The Persians and Macedonians had it for a flash. The Gauls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans, and others, had it for a time. The Turks have it at this day, though in great de- clination. Of Christian Europe, they that have it are, in effect, only the Spaniards. But it is so plain that every man profiteth in that he most intendeth, that it needeth not to be stood ^ upon. It is enough to point at it ; that no nation which doth not directly profess arms, may look to have greatness fall into their mouths. And on the other side, it is a most certain oracle of time, that those states that continue long in that profession (as the Romans and Turks principally have done) do wonders. And those that have professed arms but for an age, have notwith- standing commonly attained that greatness in that age which maintained them long after, when their profession and exercise of arms hath grown to decay. Incident* to this point is, for a state to have those laws or customs which may reach forth unto them ^Present. Any writ or writing; a mandate. "What present hast thou there?" Shakspere. Love's Labour's Lost. iv. 3. ^Intend. To direct the mind or attention to; to pay heed. ^To stand upon. To dwell on; to linger over, as a subject of thought. "But since the authors of most of our sciences were the Komans, and before them the Greeks, let us a little stand upon their authorities." Sir Philip Sidney. The Defense of Poesie. p. 5. * Incident to. Relating or pertinent to. 142 BACON'S ESSAYS just occasions (as may be pretended) ^ of war. For there is that justice imprinted in the nature of men, that they enter not upon wars (whereof so many calamities do ensuej but upon some, at the least specious, grounds and quarrels. The Turk hath at hand, for cause of war, the propagation of his law or sect ; a quarrel that he may always command. The Romans, though they esteemed the extending the limits of their empire to be great honour to their generals when it was done, yet they never rested upon that alone to begin a war. First therefore, let nations that pretend to greatness have this ; that they be sensible of wrongs, either upon borderers, merchants, or politic ministers ; and that they sit not too long upon a provocation. Secondly, let them be prest^ and ready to give aids and succours to their confederates ; as it ever was with the Romans; insomuch, as if the confederates had leagues defensive with divers other states, and, up- on invasion offered, did implore their aids severally, yet the Romans would ever be the foremost, and leave it to none other to have the honour. As for the wars which were anciently made on the behalf of a kind of party, or tacit conformity of estate, I ^ Pretend. To put forward as a reason or excuse ; to use as a pretext. "This let him know, Lest wilfully transgressing he pretend Surprisal, nnadmonisht, unforewarn'd." Milton. Paradise Lost. V. 2i3 — 245. 'Prest. Beady, prompt, eager. *'And cursfed Dionyza hath The pregnant instrument of wrath Prest for this blow." Shakspere. Pericles, Prince of Tyre. iv. Prologue. OF GEEATXESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 143 do not see how they may be well justified : as when the Romans made a war for the liberty of Grsecia ; ^ or when the Lacedaemonians and Athenians made wars to set up or pull down democracies and oH- garchies ; or when wars were made by foreigners, under the pretence of justice or protection, to de- Uver the subjects of others from tyranny and op- pression ; and the like. Let it suffice, that no estate expect to be great, that is not awake upon any just occasion of arming. No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor poUtic; and certainly to a king- dom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise. A civil war indeed is like the heat of a fever ; but a foreign war is like the heat of exercise, and serveth to keep the body in health ; for in a sloth- ful peace, both courages will effeminate and man- ners corrupt. But howsoever it be for happiness, without all question, for greatness it maketh, to be stni for the most part in arms ; and the strength of a veteran army (though it be a chargeable business) always on foot, is that which commonly giveth the law, or at least the reputation, amongst all neighbour states ; as may well be seen in Spain, which hath had, in one part or other, a veteran army almost continually, now by^ the space of six score years. To be master of the sea is an abridgment of a monarchy. Cicero, writing to Atticus^ of Pompey ^ Graeeia. Greece. ^ By. During. "Therefore watcli, and remember, that hy the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Acts xx. 31. ^ Titus Pomponius Atticus, 109 — 32 B.C., a Roman scholar and bookseller who was the friend and correspondent of Cicero. 144 BACON'S ESSAYS his preparation against Caesar, saitli Consilium Pom- peii plane Themistocleum est; putat enim, qui mari potitur, eum rerum potiriJ And, without doubt, Pompey had tired out Caesar, if upon vain confi- dence he had not left that way. "We see the great effects of battles by sea. The battle of Aetium ^ decided the empire of the world. The battle of Lepanto^ arrested the greatness of the Turk. There may be examples where sea-fights have been final to the war ; but this is when princes or states have set up their rest upon the battles. But thus much is certain, that he that commands the sea, is at great hberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will. Whereas those that be strongest by land are many times nevertheless in great straits. Surely, at this day, with us of Europe, the vantage* of strength at sea (which is one of the principal dowries of this kingdom of Great Britain) is great; both because most of the king- doms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt with the sea most part of their compass ; and be- cause the wealth of both Indies seems in great part but an accessary to the command of the seas. 1 Pompey's policy is plainly that of Themistocles ; for lie thinks that he who commands the sea, commands all. Bacon quotes Cicero freely as he was wont. Cicero wrote: "nisi forte. Us amissis, arma Pompeiu-m abiecturtim putas, cuius omne consilium Themistocleum est : existimat enim, qui mare teneat, eum necesse esse reruin •tiotiri/' M. Tullii Ciceronis Epistolae ad Atticum Liber X. viii. 4. 2 The battle of Aetium was fought September 2, 31 B.C., off the prtimontory of Aetium, Greece, between Octavius on the one side and Antony and Cleopatra on the other. Octavius won and Egypt became the first province of the Roman empire. ^ The battle of Lepanto was a great naval victory, October 7, 1571, won by the Italian and Spanish fleets under Don John of Austria, over the Turks. It took place in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Lepanto, in Aetolia, Greece. * Vantage. Advantaye. OF GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES 145 The wars of latter ages seem to be made in the dark, in respect of the glory and honour which re- flecteduponmen from the wars in ancient time. There be now, for martial encouragement, some degrees and orders of chivalry; which nevertheless are conferred promiscuously upon soldiers and no sol- diers; and some remembrance perhaps upon the scutcheon ; and some hospitals for maimed soldiers j and such like things. But in ancient times, the trophies erected upon the place of the victory ; the funeral laudatives^ and monuments for those that died in the wars ; the crowns and garlands personal ; the style of Emperor, which the great kings of the world after borrowed ; the triumphs of the generals upon their return ; the great donatives and largesses upon the disbanding of the armies; were things able to inflame aU men's courages. But above aU, that of the Ti-iumph, amongst the Romans, was not pageants or gaudery,^ but one of the wisest and noblest institutions that ever was. For it contained three things : honour to the general ; riches to the treasury out of the spoils ; and donatives to the army. But that honour perhaps were not fit for monarchies; except it be in the person of the monarch himself, or his sons ; as it came to pass in the times of the Roman emperors, who did im- propriate* the actual triumphs to themselves and their sons, for such wars as they did achieve in person ; and left only, for wars achieved by sub- ^ Laudatives. Eulogies, panegyrics, ' Gauiery. Ostentatious show. ^ Impropriate. Appropriate. 146 BACON'S ESSAYS jects, some triumphal garments and ensigns to the general. To conclude : no man can by care taking (as the Scripture saith) add a cubit to Ms stature,'^ in this little model of a man's body; but in the great frame of kingdoms and commonwealths, it is in the power of princes or estates to add amplitude and greatness to their kingdoms ; for by introducing such ordinances, constitutions, and customs, as we have now touched,^ they may sow greatness to their posterity and succession. But these things are commonly not observed, but left to take their chance. XXX. Of Regiment^ of Health. There is a wisdom in this beyond the rules of physic : a man's own observation, what he finds good of,* and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health. But it is a safer conclusion to say, This agreeth not well with me, therefore I will not con- ' "Whicli of yon by taking thouglit can add one cubit unto his stature?" Matthew vi. 27, ^ Touch. To treat lightly. "Whereat we glanced from theme to theme, Discuss'd the books to love or hate, Or touch'd, the changes of the state. Or threaded some Socratic dream." Tennyson. In Memoriam. Ixxxix. ^ Regiment or regimen. Rule of diet or mode of living, common in this phrase 'regimen of health.' * Of. After an adjective, in respect of, in the matter of, in point of, in. Now literary, and somewhat archaic, except in particular phrases, as 'blind of one eye.* OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH 147 tinueit; than this, I find no offence^ of this, therefore I may use it. For strength of nature in youth passeth over many excesses, which are owing a man till his age. Discern of the coming on of years, and think not to do the same things still ; for age wOl not be defied. Beware of sudden change in any great point of diet, and if necessity inforee it, fit the rest to it. For it is a secret both in nature and state, that it is the safer to change many things than one. Examine thy customs of diet, sleep, exercise, apparel, and the like ; and try, in any thing thou shalt judge hurtful, to discontinue it by little and little ; but so, as if thou dost find any inconvenience by the change, thou come back to it again : for it is hard to distinguish that which is generally held good and wholesome, from that which is good particularly, and fit for thine own body. To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed at hours of meat^ and of sleep and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long lasting. As for the passions and studies of the mind; avoid envy; anxious fears ; anger fretting inwards ; subtle and knotty inquisitions; joys and exhUara-tions in excess; sadness not communicated. Enter- tain hopes; mirth rather than joy; variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them ; wonder and ' Offence. Harm, injury, damage. " 'T is better that the enemy seek ns: So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, Doing him offence." Shakspere. Julius Caesar, iv. 3. ' Meat. Food, meals. "She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens." Pro- verbs xxxi. 15. 148 BACON'S ESSAYS admiration, and therefore novelties; studies that fill the mind with splendid and Ulustrious objects, as histories, fables, and contemplations of nature. If you fly physic in health altogether, it wiU be too strange for your body when you shaU. need it. If you make it too familiar, it will work no extraordi- nary effect when sickness cometh. I commend^ rather some diet for certain seasons, than frequent use of physic, except it be grown into a custom. For those diets alter the body more, and trouble it less. Despise no new accident in your body, but ask opinion of it. In sickness, respect^ health principally ; and in health, action. For those that put their bodies to endure in health, may in most sicknesses, which are not very sharp, be cured only with diet and tendering.* Celsus* coidd never have spoken it as a physician, had he not been a wise man withal, when he giveth it for one of tl^e great precepts of health and lasting, that a man do vary and interchange contraries, but with an incli- nation to the more benign extreme : use fasting and full eating but rather full eating; watching and sleep, but rather sleep ; sitting, and exercise, but rather exercise ; and the like. So shall nature be ^ Commend. Recommend. '^Respect. To have regard to; to care for; to heed or consider, "There is no terror, Oassius, in your threats; For I am arm'd so strong in honesty, That they pass by me as the idle wind, Which I respect not." ShaJcspere. Julius Caesar, iv. 3. ^ Tendering. Cherishing, care. *Aulus (or Aurelius) Cornelius Celsus, a Roman writer of the first half of the first century a.d. He wrote an encyclopedia, of which only De Medicina (Books 6—13) has come down to us. The quotation is from A. Cornelii Celsi De Medicina Liber I. Caput 1. OF SUSPICION 149 cherislied, and yet taught masteries. Physicians are some of them so pleasing and conformable to the humour of the patient, as they press not the true cure of the disease ; and some other are so regular in proceeding according to art for the disease, as they respect not sufficiently the condition of the patient. Take one of the middle temper; or if it may not be found in one man, combine two of either^ sort ; and forget not to call as well the best acquainted with your body, as the best reputed of for his faculty. XXXI. Of Suspicion. Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight. Certainly they are to be repressed, or at the least well guarded : for they cloud the mind ; they leese ^ friends ; and they check ^ with business, whereby business can- not go on currently * and constantly. They dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, wise men to irresolution and melancholy. They are defects, not in the heart, but in the brain ; for they take place in the stoutest ^ natures ; as in the example of Henry the Seventh of England. There was not a more ^Either. Each (of two.) "There was a liu£e fire-place at eitlier end of the hall." Scott. Ivanhoe, III, 2 Leese. Lose, ' Check. IntransitiTe, to clash or interfere. * Currently. In the manner of a flowing stream, smoothly. 'Stout. Proud, stubborn. 150 BACON'S ESSAYS suspicious man, nor a more stout. And in such a composition 1 they do small hurt. For commonly they are not admitted, but with examination, whether they be likely or no ? But in fearful na- tures they gain ground too fast. There is nothing makes a man suspect much, more than to know little ; and therefore men should remedy suspicion by pro- curing to know more, and not to keep their sus- picions in smother. What would men have ? Do they think those they employ and deal with are saints ? Do they not think they wiU have their own ends, and be truer to themselves than to them? Therefore there is no better way to moderate sus- picions, than to account upon such suspicions as true and yet to bridle them as false. For so far a man ought to make use of suspicions, as to provide, as if that should be true that he suspects, yet it may do him no hurt. Suspicions that the mind of itself gathers are but buzzes ; ^ but suspicions that are artificially nourished, and put into men's heads by the tales and whisperings of others, have stings. Certainly, the best mean to clear the way in this same wood of suspicions, is frankly to communicate them with the party that he suspects ; for thereby * Composition. Mental constitution, or constitution of mind and body combined. "O, how that name befits my composition f Old Gaunt, indeed; and gaunt in being old." Shakspere. King Bichard II. ii. 1. 2 Buzz. A rumor or report. "That, on every dream, Each huz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike. He may enguard his dotage with their powers, And hold our lives in mercy." Shakspere. King Lear. i. 4. OF DISCOTJESB 151 lie shall be sure to know more of the truth of them than he did before ; and withal shall make that party more circumspect not to give further cause of sus- picion. But this would ^ not be done to men of base natures ; for they, if they find themselves once sus- pected, will never be true. The Italian says, Sospeito licentia fede; ^ as if suspicion did give a passport to faith ; but it ought rather to kindle it to discharge itself. XXXII. Of Discourse. Some in their discourse desire rather commenda- tion of wit, in being able to hold all arguments, than of judgment, in discerning what is true ; as if it were a praise to know what might be said, and not what should be thought. Some have certain common places and themes wherein they are good, and want variety ; which kind of poverty is for the most part tedious, and when it is once perceived, ridiculous. The honourablest part of talk is to give the occasion ; and again to moderate and pass to somewhat else ; for then a man leads the dance. It is good, in dis- course and speech of conversation, to vary and intermingle speech of the present occasion with argu- ments, tales with reasons, asking of questions with telling of opinions, and jest with earnest : for it is ^ Would for should, as frequently in Elizabethan English. 2 Suspicion gives license to faitUessness, that is, justifies break- ing faith. 152 BACON'S ESSAYS a duU thing to tire, and, as we say now, to jade,^ any thing too far. As for jest, there be certain things which ought to be privileged from it ; namely, religion, matters of state, great persons, any man's present business of importance, and any case that deserveth pity. Yet there be some that think their wits have been asleep, except they dart out some- what that is piquant, and to the quick. That is a vein which would be bridled ; Parce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris.^ And generally, men ought to find the difference be- tween saltness and bitterness. Certainly, he that hath a satirical vein, as he maketh others afraid of his wit, so he had need be afraid of others' memory. He that questioneth much, shaU learn much, and content much ; but especially if he apply his ques- tions to the skill of the persons whom he asketh ; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in speaking, and himself shall contiaually gather knowledge. But let his questions not be trouble- some ; for that is fit for a poser.^ And let him be sure to leave other men their turns to speak. Nay, if there be any that would reign and take up all the time, let him find means to take them off, and to bring others on ; as musicians use to do .with those that dance too long galliards.* If you dissemble ^ Jade. To tnake a jade, or hacTc, of a horse ; to exhaust or wear out by driving or working too hard; to fatigue or weary. 2 Boy, spare the whip, and more firmly hold the reins. P. Ovidii Nasonis Metamorphoseon Liber II. 126; the story of Phaethon. ^ Poser. Examiner. * Galliard. A spirited dance for two dancers only, common in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. or DISCOURSE 153 sometimes your knowledge of that you are thought to know, you shall be thought another time to know that you know not. Speech of a man's self ought to be seldom, and well chosen. I knew one was wont to say in scorn, He must needs he a mse man, he speaks so much of himself: and there is but one case wherein a man may commend himself with good grace ; and that is in commending virtue in another ; especially if it be such a virtue whereunto himself pretendeth. Speech of touch ^ towards others should be sparingly used ; for discourse ought to be as a field, without coming home to any man. I knew two noblemen, of the west part of England, whereof the one was given to scoff, but kept ever royal cheer in his house ; the other would ask of those that had been at the other's table. Tell truly, was there never a flout^ or dry Wow given ? To which the guest would answer, Such and such a thing passed. The lord would say, I thought he would mar a good dinner. Discretion of speech is more than eloquence ; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal, is more than to speak in good words or in good order. A good continued speech, without a good speech of interlocution, shews slowness ; and a good reply or second speech, without a good settled speech, sheweth shallowness and weakness. As we see in beasts, that those that are weakest in the course, are yet nimblest in the turn ; as it is betwixt the greyhound ^ Speech of touch. Personalities in conversation. ^ Flout. A mocking speech or action ; jeer. "And wherefore wail for one Who put your beauty to this flout and scorn By dressing it in rags!" Tennyson. Geraint and Enid. 154 BACON'S ESSAYS and the hare. To use too many circumstances ere one come to the matter, is wearisome ; to use none at all, is blunt. XXXIII. Of Plantations.1 Plantations are amongst ancient, primitive, and heroical works. When the world was young it begat more children ; but now it is old it begets fewer : for I may justly account new plantations to be the children of former kingdoms. I like a plantation ^ in a pure soil ; that is, where people are not dis- planted ^ to the end to plant in others. For else it is rather an extirpation than a plantation. Plant- ing of countries is like planting of woods ; for you must make account to leese almost twenty years ^ This Essay seems to have been carefully translated ; and re- vised in the translation, probably by Bacon himself. S. Bacon was personally interested in colonization. Sir Walter Ka- legh's scheme of planting a colony in Virginia having failed, 1586, the London or South Virginia Company for the Colonization of Vir- ginia was chartered by King James, May 23, 1609, with larger powers and privileges. Among the new 'adventurers' were Sir Francis Bacon, his cousin, the Earl of Salisbury, with Captain John Smith, and others. At about the same time Bacon warmly advo- cated the 'Irish plantations,' that is, the policy of King James's government which led to the settlement of English and Scottish Protestants in the County of Ulster. 2 Plantation. An original settlement in a new country ; a colony. The official name of Rhode Island is 'The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.' 3 Dieplant. To undo the settlement or establishment of a planta- tion or colony. "Hang up philosophy 1 Unless philosophy can make a Juliet, Displant a town, reverse a prince's doom. It helps not, it prevails not: talk no more." Shakspere. Romeo and Juliet. Hi. 3. OF PLANTATIONS I55 profit, and e xpec t your recompense in the end. For the principal thing that hath been the destruction of most plantations, hath been the base and hasty drawing of profit in the first years. It is true, speedy profit is not to be neglected, as far as may stand ^ with the good of the plantation, but no fur- ther. It is a shameful and unblessed thing to take the scum of people, and wicked condemned men, to be the people with whom you plant ; and not only so, but it spoUeth the plantation ; for they wiU ever live like rogues, and not fall to work, but be lazy, and do mischief, and spend victuals, and be quickly weary, and then certify over to their country to the discredit of the plantation. The people wherewith you plant ought to be gardeners, ploughmen, la- bourers, smiths, carpenters, joiners, fishermen, fowl- ers, with some few apothecaries, surgeons, cooks, and bakers. In a country of plantation, first look about what kind of victual^ the country yields of itself to hand; as chestnuts, walnuts, pineapples, olives, dates, plums, cherries, wild honey, and the like; and make use of them. Then consider what victual or esculent^ thiligs there are, which grow speedily, and within the year ; as parsnips, carrots, turnips, onions, radish, artichokes of Hierusalem,* ^ To stand with. To be consistent with; to agree. - Victual. Provision of food; articles commonly used as food. Generally used in the plural as on this page elsewhere, and signify- ing (commonly) food for human beings, prepared for eating. ^Esculent. Good for food; eatable. Specifically, an 'esculent' is an edible vegetable, and especially one that may be used as a condi- ment or relish without cooking, like lettuce or radishes. * Artichokes of Hierusalem. This vegetable is not an artichoke, and its name has nothing to do with Jerusalem. It is a plant with an edible root resembling the artichoke, which was introduced into JIurope from South America about 1617, It is said to have been 156 BACON'S ESSAYS maize, and the like. For -wheat, barley, and oats, they ask too much labour ; but with pease ^ and beans you may begin, both because they ask less labour, and because they serve for meat as well as for bread. And of rice likewise cometh a great increase, and it is a kind of meat. Above all there ought to be brought store of biscuit, oat-meal, flour, meal, and the like, in the beginning, till bread may be had. For beasts, or birds, take chiefly such as are least subject to diseases, and multiply fastest ; as swine, goats, cocks, hens, turkeys, geese, house-doves,^ and the like. The victual in plantations ought to be ex- pended almost as in a besieged town ; that is, with certain allowance. And let the main part of the ground employed ^ to gardens or cotu, * be to ^ a common stock; and to be laid in, and stored up, and then delivered out in proportion ; besides some spots of ground that any particular person wiU manure for his own private.^ Consider likewise what commodities the soO. where the plantation is distributed from the Farnese garden, in Borne. There it was called girasole articioceo, which means 'sunflower artichoke.' 'Jerusa- lem' is an English corruption of girasole ('turning with the sun'). ^ Pease. Archaic plural frotn the Middle English singular 'pese.' When the final e of 'pese' disappeared, the s of 'pes' (pease) was supposed to be the plural ending, and then the singular 'pe' (pea) was made to suit it. The singular 'pea' is a case of an error in English that has established itself in good usage. * House-dove. A dove kept in a dove-house. 3 Employ. To apply (a thing) to some definite purpose ; followed by the prepositions for, in, on, and to. Archaic. * Corn. Grain. ^ To. For. "His house is not quite a mile from this place; and if he should not be at home himself, he hath a pretty young man to his son, whose name is Civility." John Bunyan. The Pilfjrim's Progress. III. ^Private. Personal interest or use; particular business. "My lords, this strikes at every Soman's private," Ben Jonson, Sejanus his Fall, Hi. 1, OF PLANTATIONS 157 doth naturally yield, that they may some way help to defray the charge of the plantation, (so it be not, as was said, to the untimely prejudice of the main business,) as it hath fared with tobacco in Virgitiia. Wood commonly aboundeth but too much; and therefore timber is fit to be one. If there be iron ore, and streams whereupon to set the miUs, iron is a brave ^ commodity where wood aboundeth. Mak- ing of bay-salt,^ if the climate be proper for it, would be put in experience.^ Growing sOt likewise, if any be, is a likely commodity. Pitch and tar, where store of firs and pines are, will not fail. So drugs and sweet woods, where they are, cannot but yield great profit. Soap-ashes likewise, and other things that may be thought of. But moil * not too much under ground ; for the hope of mines is very uncertain, and useth to make the planters lazy in other things. For government, let it be in the hands of one, assisted with some counsel; and let them have commission to exercise martial laws, with some limitation. And above all, let men make that profit of being in the wilderness, as they have God always, and his service, before their eyes. Let not the government of the plantation depend upon too many counsellors and undertakers ^ in the country that planteth, but upon a temperate number ; and ^ Brave. Excellent, fine. "Think not on him till to-morrow: 1 '11 devise thee brave punishments for him, — Strike up, pipers !" Shah- spere. Much Ado About Nothing, v. 4. 'Bay-ealt. Salt obtained in large crystals by slow evaporation; originally, from sea-water by the sun's heat. ^ To put in experience. To prove by actual trial, or by practical demonstration. * Moil. To drudge, toil, labor. = Undertaker. One who 'undertakes' or engages to perform any business; a projector. 158 BACON'S ESSAYS let tliose be rather noblemen and gentlemen, than merchants ; for they look ever to the present gain. Let there be freedoms from custom,^ till the plan- tation be of strength ; and not only freedom from custom, but freedom to carry their commodities where they may make their best of them, except there be some special cause of caution. Cram not in people, by sending too fast company after com- pany ; but rather harken ^ how they waste, and send supplies proportionably ; but so as the number may live well in the plantation, and'not by surcharge be in penury. It hath been a great endangering to the health of some plantations, that they have built along the sea and rivers, in marish^ and unwhole- some grounds. Therefore, though you begin there, to avoid carriage and other like discommodities,* yet build stni rather upwards from the streams, than along. It concerneth likewise the health of the plantation that they have good store of salt with them, that they may use it in their victuals, when it shall be necessary. If you plant where savages are, do not only entertain them with trifles and gingles,^ but use them justly and graciously, with sufficient ^ Custom. A tax levied by a king or sovereign authority upon merchandise in export or import; now levied only on imports from foreign countries. Rarely in singular in modern English. "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." Romans xiii. 7. "^Harken (hearken). To learn &y 'hearing*; to have regard to ; to heed. "This King of Naples, being an enemy To me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit." Shakspere. The Tempest, i. 2, ^ Marish. Marshy. * Discommodity. Disadvantage, inconvenience. ^ Qingle, Old spelling of jingle, anything that ^ingle^^ OF EICHES 159 guard nevertheless ; and do not win their favour by helping them to invade their enemies, hut for then- defence it is not amiss ; and send oft of them over to the country that plants, that they may see a better condition than their own, and commend it when they return. When the plantation grows to strength, then it is time to plant with women as well as with men ; that the plantation may spread into generations, and not be ever pieced from without. It is the sinf uUest thing in the world to forsake or destitute ^ a plantation once in forwardness ; for be- side the dishonour, it is the guiltiness of blood of many commis_grable^ persons. XXXIV. Of Riches. I CANNOT call Riches better than the baggage of virtue. The Roman word is better, impedimenta.^ For as the baggage is to an army, so is riches to virtue.* It cannot be spared nor left behind, but it hindereth the march ; yea and the care of it sometimes loseth or disturbeth the victory. Of great riches there is no real use, except it be in the distribution; the rest is but conceit. So saith Salomon, Wliere much is, there are many to consume it; and what hath the '^ Destitute. To abandon; to leave to neglect. ' Commiserable. Deserving commiseration or pity. ^ Hindrances. * "But Satan now is wiser than of yore, And tempts by making rich, not making poor." Pope. Epistle III. To Allen, Lord Bathurst, U, ?5i-?Bg, 160 BACON'S ESSAYS owner hit the sight of it ivith his eyes f^ The personal fruition in any man cannot reach to feel great riches : there is a custody of them ; or a power of dole 2 and donative of them; or a fame of them; but no solid use to the owner. Do you not see what feigned prices are set upon little stones and rarities ? and what works of ostentation are under- taken, because there might seem to be some use of great riches ? But then you will say, they may be of use to buy men out of dangers or troubles. As Salomon saith. Riches are as a strong hold, in the imagination of the rich man? But this is excellently expressed, that it is in imagination, and not always in fact. For certainly great riches have sold more men than they have bought out. Seek not proud riches, but such as thou mayest get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly. Yet have no abstract nor friarly contempt of them. But distinguish, as Cicero saith well of Rabirius Posthumus, In studio rei amplificandce apparebat, non avaritim prcedam, sed instrumentum bonitati quceri} Hearken also to Salomon, and bewar© of ^ "When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?" Ecclesiastefi v. 11. ^ Dole. Dealing out or distribution of gifts. "Pleasures stinted m the dale." Browning. La Saisiaz. 431. " "The rich man's wealth is his strong city." Proverbs x. 15. *In his desire to increase his wealth, it appeared that he sought not the gratification of avarice, but the means of doing good (ut in auoenda re non avaritiae praedam, sed instrumentum boni- tati quaerere videretur. M. Tullii Ciceronis Pro C. Babirio Postnmo Oratio. II. S). In the year 54 B.C. Cicero defended Cains Rabirius Postumus, a Roman knight, who by helping Pompey to restore King Ptolemy Auletes to the throne of Egypt had laid himself open to the crime of extortioUt Bacon quotes inaccurately, Cicero makes the state- 0¥ EICHES 161 hasty gathering of riches ; Qui festinat ad divitias, non erit insons} The poets feign, that when Plutus (which is Riches) is sent from Jupiter, he limps and goes slowly; but when he is sent from Pluto, he runs and is swift of foot. Meaning that riches gotten by good means and just labour pace slowly ; but when they come by the death of others (as by the course of inheritance, testaments, and the like), they come tumbling upon a man. But it mought be applied likewise to Pluto, taking him for the devil. For when riches come from the devil (as by fraud and oppression and unjust means), they come upon^ speed. The ways to enrich are many, and most of them foul. Parsimony is one of the best, and yet is not innocent; for it withholdeth men from works of liberality and charity. The improve- ment of the ground is the most natural obtaining of riches; for it is our great mother's blessing, the earth's ; but it is slow. And yet where men of great wealth do stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly. I knew a nobleman in England, that had the greatest audits^ of any man in my time ; a great grazier, a great sheep- master, a great timber man, a great collier, a great corn-master, a great lead-man, and so of iron, and a number of the like points of husbandry. So as the earth seemed a sea to him, in respect of the perpetual importation. It ment, not of Babirius Postumus, but of his father, CaiuB Curius, who made the fortune Babirius lost through his connection with Pompey's political schemes. 1 "He that maketh baste to be rich shall not be innocent." Proverbs xxviii. 20. - Upon. At, with. 3 A.udits. Bent-roUs, accounts of income. 162 BACON'S ESSAYS "was truly observed by one, that himself came very hardly to a little riches, and very easily to great riches. For when a man's stock is come to that, that he can expect^ the prime of markets, and overcome^ those bargains which for their greatness are few men's money, and be partner in the indus- tries of younger men, he cannot but increase mainly.^ The gains of ordinary trades and voca- tions are honest; and furthered by two things chiefly : by diligence, and by a good name for good and fair dealing. But the gains of bargains are of a more doubtful nature ; when men shall wait upon others' necessity, broke ^ by servants and instruments to draw them on, put off others cunningly that would be better chapmen,^ and the like pi'actices, which are crafty and naught.® As for the chopping of bargains, when a man buys not to hold but to sell over again, that commonly grindeth double, ''■ To expect the prime of markets is to wait until the market is at its best for buying and selling. Compare expect meaning to wait for in the Bible and Shakspere. "From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Hebrews x. 13. "Sweet soul, let 's in, and there expect their coming." Shakspere. The Merchant of Venice, v. 1. ^Overcome. To come over suddenly; to take by surprise. ' Mainly. Greatly. * Broke. To broke is to transact business hy means of an agent, but the context shows that here it means, as it often did, to deal craftily. ^ Chapmen. Traders. "Fair Diomed, you do as chapmen do, Dispraise the thing that you desire to buy." Shakspere. Troilus and Cressida. iv. 1. Notice Bacon's explanation of chopping of bargains, in the next sentence. ^ Naught, or naughty. Bad, wicked. "Of a certain knight that swore by his honour they were good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught : now I *11 stand to it, the pancakes were naught, and the raustui'd >vas good," Shakspere, As JoVf Lik^ Jt. i. ?, OF EICHES 163 both upon the seller and upon the buyer. Sharings do greatly enrich, if the hands be well chosen that are trusted. Usury is the certainest means of gain, though one of the worst ; as that whereby a man doth eat his bread in sudore vultus alieni;'^ and be- sides, doth plough upon Sundays. But yet certain though it be, it hath flaws ; for that the scriveners^ and brokers do value ^ unsound men to serve their own turn. The fortune in being the first in an in- vention or in a privilege, doth cause sometimes a wonderful overgrowth in riches ; as it was with the first sugar man in the Canaries. Therefore if a man can play the true logician, to have as well judgment as invention, he may do great matters ; especially if the times be fit. He that resteth upon gains certain, shall hardly grow to great riches; and he that puts all upon adventures,* doth often- times break and come to poverty : it is good there- fore to guard adventures with certainties, that may uphold losses. Monopolies, and coemption ^ of wares for re-sale, where they are not restrained, are great means to enrich ; especially if the party have intelligence what things are like to come into re- quest, and so store himself beforehand. Eiches gotten by service, though it be of the best rise,^ ^ In the sweat of the brow of another. ^ Scrivener. A. money-lender. ^ Value. To give out or represent as wealthy, or financially sound. * Adventure. A pecuniary risk, a venture, a speculation. * Coemption. The act of purchasing the whole quantity of any- thing, 'cornering the market.* ^ Rise. Value, worth, price. Bacon means to say that riches got by service, though that service may have been of the highest price, is yet often the worst, as when a man grows rich at the sacrifice of his honor or his conscience. 164 BACON'S ESSAYS yet when they are gotten by flattery, feeding hu- mours, and other servile conditions, they may be placed amongst the worst. As for fishing for testa- ments and executorships (as Tacitus saith of Seneca, testamenta et orbos tamquam indagine capi,) ^ it is yet worse; by how much men submit themselves to meaner persons than in service. Believe not much them that seem to despise riches ; for they despise them that despair of them ; and none worse when they come to them. Be not penny-wise; riches have wings, and sometimes they fly away of them- selves,^ sometimes they must be set flying to bring in more. Men leave their riches either to their kin- dred, or to the public; and moderate portions prosper best in both. A great state left to an heir, is as a lure to all the birds of prey round about to seize on him, if he be not the better stablished' in years and judgment. Likewise glorious* gifts and foundations are Like sacrifices without salt; and but the painted sepulchres of alms, which soon will pu- trefy and corrupt inwardly. Therefore measure not thine advancements^ by quantity, but frame them by measure : and defer not charities till death ; for, cer- tainly, if a man weigh it rightly, he that doth so is rather liberal of another man's than of his own. ^ Wills and childless couples taken as with a net. (Romae teata- Tnenta et orbos velut indagine ejus capi.) Gornelii Taciti Annaliwm Liber XIII. 42. 2 "For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away, as an eagle toward heaven." Proverbs xxiii. 5. ^ Stablish. Establish. * Glorious. Possessing glory ; entitled to brilliant and lofty renown. s Advancement. In legal language, the promotion of children in life, especially by the application beforehand of property or money to which they are prospectively entitled under a settlement or vnU; also, the property so applied. OF PROPHECIES 165 XXXV. Of Prophecies.^ I MEAN not to speak of divine prophecies ; nor of heathen oracles; nor of natural predictions; but only of prophecies that have been of certain memory, and from hidden causes. Saith the Pythonissa^ to Saul, To-morrow thou and thy son shall ie tvith me. Homer hath these verses : At domus ^ness euuotis dominabitiar oris, Et nati natornm, et qui naseentur ab illis.' A prophecy, as it seems, of the Roman empire. Seneca the tragedian hath these verses : Venient annis SEeeuIa serfs, quibus Oceanus Vineula rerum laxet, et ingens Pateat Tellus, Tiphysque * novos Detegat orbes ; nee sit terris Ultima TliTile.s 1 There is no Latin translation of tliis Essay. S. 2 Pythonissa. Pythoness. Apollo slew the python, the serpent or dragon, whence he was called Pythia. A pythoness was the priestess of Apollo at his temple at Delphi, who gave oracular answers ; hence, any woman supposed to have the gift of divination. Saul consulted the witch of En-dor, who said to him: "Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines : and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons he with me : the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." I. Samuel xxviii. 19. ^ The house of Aeneas shall rule over all shores, and his chil- dren's children, and those who shall he born of them. Not Homer, but Yerffil. Aeneidos Liber III. 97 — 98. * Tiphys was the pilot of the Argo. Thule was an island in the extreme north of Europe, according to some authorities, Iceland, according to others, Mainland, the largest of the Shetland Islands. ** There shall come an age in ripe years when Ocean shall loose his chains, and a vast continent shall be laid open, and Tiphys shall discover new worlds, and Thule shall not be earth's bound. Seneca. Medea, last words of the Chorus at end of Act ii. 166 BACON'S ESSAYS A prophecy of the discovery of America. The daughter of Polycrates^ dreamed that Jupiter bathed her father, and Apollo anointed him ; and it came to pass that he was crucified in an open place, where the sun made his body run with sweat, and the rain washed it. Philip of Macedon dreamed he sealed up his wife's belly ; whereby he did expound it, that his wife should be barren ; but Aristander^ the soothsayer told him his wife was with child, be- cause men do not use to seal vessels that are empty .^ A phantasm that appeared to M. Brutus* in his tent, said to him, Philippis iterum me videbis.^ Tiberius said to Galba, Tu quoque, Galba, degustabis imperium.^ In Vespasian's time, there went a prophecy in the East, that those that should come forth of Judea should reign over the world : which though it may be was meant of our Saviour, yet Tacitus expounds it of Vespasian.' Domitian dreamed, the night before he 1 Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, 536 (or 532) to 522 B.C., when he was put to death. The story of Polycrates is told by Herodotus. III. Tha- lia. 39 seq. to 124—135, for the daughter's dream and its interpreta- tion. ^ Aristander of Telmessus was p, favorite soothsayer of Alex- ander the Great, who consulted him on all occasions. 3 Plutarch. Life of Alexander. * Marcus Junius Brutus, 85 to 42 B.C., Koman politician and scholar. ° Thou Shalt see me again at Philippi. Plutarch twice tells the story of the phantasm that is said to have appeared to Brutus before the battle of Philippi, once, with remarkable details in the Life of Marcus Brutus, and again, more briefly, in the Life of Caesar. It is well told in English, in Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men. Translated from the Greelc by John Dryden and Others. Marcus Brutus. Vol. III. pp. 411-412. The story was also told by Appian, a generation after Plutarch. See, The Roman History of Appian of Alexandria. Translated from the Greek by Horace White. (The Givil Wars. IT. xvii. 134.) Vol. II. p. 382. » Thou too, Galba, shalt taste of empire. Suetonius relates this prophecy as having been said, in Greek, to Augustus. C. Suetoni Tran- quilli De XII Caesaribus Liber YII. Serg. Sulpicius Galba. Caput 4. '' Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Liber V. 13. OF PEOPHECIES 167 was slain, that a golden head was growing out of the nape of his neck: and indeed the succession that followed him, for many years, made golden times.^ Henry the Sixth^ of England said of Henry the Seventh, when he was a lad, and gave him water, This is the lad that shall enjoy the cr(mn for which we strive. When I was in France^ I heard from one Dr. Pena, that the Queen Mother, who was given to curious arts, caused the King her hus- band's nativity to be calculated, under a false name ; and the astrologer gave a judgment, that he should be killed in a duel ; at which the Queen laughed, thinking her husband to be above challenges and duels : but he was slain upon a course of tilt, the splinters of the staff of Montgomery going in at his beaver.* The trivial prophecy, which I heard when I was a child, and queen Elizabeth was in the flower of her years, was, ' C. Suetoni Tranquilli Be XII Caesaribus Liber Till. Titua Flavius Domitianus. Caput S3. = Henry VI., 1421-1471, King of England, 1422-1461. The strife he alludes to was the Wars of the Boses, 1455 to 1485, be- tween the house of Lancaster (red rose) and house of York (white rose). At the close of Bacon's Bistory of King Henry YII, he relates this story: "One day when King Henry the Sixth (whose innocency gave him holiness) "was washing his hands at a great feast and cast his eye upon King Henry, then a young youth, he said; 'This is the lad that shall possess quietly that that we now strive for." Henry VII. united the warring factions by defeating Richard III. at Bosworth Field, Aug. 22, 1485, and marrying, January 18, 1486, Elizabeth of York, thus establishing his right to the crown, as Bacon says, by "three several titles" — ^by birth, by conquest, and by marriage. 2 When Bacon was in France as a youth Henry III., 1551—1589, was King. The Queen Mother "was Catharine de' Medici, 1519—1589. Henry II., 1519-1559, husband of Catharine de' Medici and father of Henry III., was killed at a tournament held in honor of the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth with Philip II. of Spain, Montgomery was the captain of his Scottish guard. * Beaver. The movable part of a helmet which covered the face, and was raised or let down to enable the wearer to eat or drink. 168 BACON'S ESSAYS When, hempe is sponne England's done : whereby it was generally conceived, that after the princes had reigned which had the principal letters of that word hempe (which were Henry, Bdward,^ Mary,^ Philip,^ and Elizabeth), England should come to ntter confusion ; which, thanks be to God, is veri- fied only in the change of the name ; for that the King's style is now no more of England, but of Bri- tain. There was also another prophecy, J9ef ore the year of eighty-eight, which I do not well understand. There shall be seen upon a day, Between the Baugh and the May,* The black fleet of Norway. When that that is come and gone, England build houses of lime and stone, For after wars shall you have none. It was generally conceived to be meant of the Spanish fleet^ that came in eighty-eight : for that the king of Spain's surname, as they say, is Norway. The prediction of Eegiomontanus,^ Ootogesimus ootavus mirabilis annus,'' 1 Edward VI., 1537-1553, King of England, 1547-1553, son of Henry VIII. by liis third queen, Jane Seymour. 2 Mary Tudor, called 'Bloody Mary,' 1516-1558, Queen of England, 1553-1558, daughter of Henry VIII. and Catherine of Aragon. = Philip II., 1527-1598, King of Spain, 1556-1598, married Queen Mary in 1554. * Other persons besides Bacon "do not well understand" this proph- ecy. Mr. W. Aldis Wright thinks that "the Baugh and the May" are Bass Rock and the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, where some ships of the Armada were wrecked in 1588. ° The Invincible Armada. "Johann Miiller, surnamed Begiomontanus, 1436—1476, German mathematician and astronomer, Archbishop of Batisbon. ' Eighty-eight, the wonderfui year. OP PEOPHECIES 169 was thought likewise accomplished in the sending of that great fleet, being the greatest in strength, though not in number, of all that ever swam upon the sea. As for Cleon's^ dream, I think it was a jest. It was, that he was devoured of ^ a long dragon ; and it was expounded of a maker of sau- sages, that troubled him exceedingly. There are numbers of the like kind ; especially if you include dreams, and predictions of astrology. But I have set down these few only of certain credit, for ex- ample. My judgment is, that they ought all to be despised ; and ought to serve but for winter talk by the fireside. Though when I say despised, I mean it as for belief ; for otherwise, the spreading or publishing of them is in no sort to be despised. For they have done much mischief ; and I see many severe laws made to suppress them. That that hath given them grace, and some credit, consisteth in three things. First, that men mark when they hit, and never mark when they miss ; as they do generally also of dreams. The second is, that prob- able conjectures, or obscure traditions, many times turn themselves into prophecies ; while the nature of man, which coveteth divination, thinks it no peril ^ The Knights of Aristophanes is a satire on Cleon, an Athenian demagogue. In the comedy Demos, or the State, is represented as an old man who has put himself into the hands of a rascally Paphlagonian steward. Nicias and Demosthenes, slaves of Demos, contrive that the Paphlagonian shall be supplanted by a sausage- seller. No sooner has Demos been thus rescued than his youthful- ness and his good sense return together. Cleon, who was a tanner's son, was killed at Amphipolis, Macedon, in 422 B.C. ' Of in this use introduces the agent after a passive verb, and is now superseded by by, except as a biblical, poetic, or stylistic archaism. **I have been told so of many. Shakapere. As You hike It. Hi, ?, 170 BACON'S ESSAYS to foretell that which indeed they do but collect. As that of Seneca's verse. For so much was then subject to demonstration, that the globe of the earth had great parts beyond the Atlantic, which mought be probably conceived hot to be all sea : and adding thereto the tradition in Plato's Timaeus,^ and his Atlanticus, it mought encourage one to turn it to a prediction. The third and last (which is the great one) is, that almost all of them, being infinite in number, have been impostures, and by idle and crafty brains merely contrived and feigned after the event past. XXXVI. Of Ambition. Ambition is like choler ; •vrhich is an humour that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if it be stopped, and cannot have his way, it becometh ^ Of the Dialogues of Plato, the Republic, Tinuieus, and Critias ■were meant to form a trilogy. The interlocutors of Timaeus are Socrates, Critias, Timaeus the Pythagorean philosopher, and Hermo- crates. Critias begins the main line of thought by recalling some of the myths of ancient Athens, and then proposes to regard the ideal state of Socrates in the Bepublie as this ancient Athenian state. Timaeus is to carry on the discourse with the history of creation down to the birth of mankind, when Critias will make a further application of the story to the ideal Republic. The third dialogue, Critias, is but a fragment relating the legend of pre- historic Athens and Atlantis. In Timaeus and Critias Atlantis is a mythical island somewhere northwest of Africa, which, with its inhabitants, disappeared in a convulsion of nature. Bacon calls the dialogue Critias, 'Atlanticus.' OF AMBITION 171 adust,^ and thereby malign and venomous. So am- bitious men, if they find the way open for then- rising, and still get forward, they are rather busy than dangerous ; but if they be checked in then.- desires, they become secretly discontent,^ and look upon men, and matters with an evil eye, and are best pleased when things go backward ; which is the worst property in a servant of a prince or state. Therefore it is good for princes, if they use ambi- tious men, to handle it so as they be still progressive and not retrograde ; which because ib cannot be with- out inconvenience, it is good not to use such natures at all. For if they rise not with their service, they will . take order^ to make their service fall with them. But since we have said it were good not to use men of ambitious natures, except it be upon necessity, it is fit we speak in what eases they are of necessity. Good commanders in the wars must be taken, be they never so ambitious ; for the use of their service dispenseth* with the rest; and to take a soldier without ambition is to pull off his spurs. There is also great use of ambitious men in being screens to princes in matters of danger and envy ; for no man '•Adust. Parched; fiery. "High in front advanc't, The brandisht sword of God before them blaz'd Fierce as a comet; which with torrid heat, And vapour as the Libyan air adust, Began to parch .that temperate clime." Milton. Patadise Lost. XII. 63Z-636. ' Discontent. Discontented. ^ Take order. To take measures or steps; to make arrange- ments. "Now will we take some order in the town, Placing therein some expert ofScers." Shakspere. I. King Henry VI. Hi. 8. * Dispense with. To excuse. 172 BACOl^'S ESSAYS will take that part, except he be like a seeled^ dove, that mounts and mounts because he cannot see about him. There is use also of ambitious men in pulling down the greatness of any subject that overtops; as Tiberius used Macro^ in the puUing down of Sejanus.^ Since therefore they must be used in such cases, there resteth^ to speak how they are to be bridled, that they may be less dangerous. There is less danger of them if they be of mean birth, than if they be noble ; and if they be rather harsh of nature, than gracious and popular : and if they be rather new raised, than grown cunning^ and fortified in their greatness. It is counted by some a weakness in princes to have favourites ; but it is of all others the best remedy against ambitious great-ones. For when the way of pleasuring® and displeasuring"^ lieth by the favourite, it is impossible any other should be over-great. Another means to curb them, is to balance them by others as proud ^ Seel. To close the eyes of. The eyes of a newly taken hawk were 'seeled* in training it. ^ Naevius Sertorius Macro, killed 38 a.d., was prefect of the Roman pretorians under Tiberius and Caligula. ^ Aelius Sejanus, died 31 a.d., Roman courtier under Augustus and Tiberius. His story is the subject of Ben Jonson's tragedy, Sejanus his Fall; when this play was first acted, in 1603, Shak- spere was one of the "principal Tragoedians" who took part in the representation. * Rest. To he left; to remain. "Well then; nought rests But' that she fit her love now to her fortune," Ben Jonson. The Alchemist, iv. 2. ^Cunning. Skilful. "And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." Genesis xxv. 27. ^ Pleasure. To give pleasure to ; to please. "I count it one of my greatest afBictions, say, that I cannot pleasure such an honourable gentleman." Shakspere. Timon of Athens. Hi. 2. "^ Displeasure. To displease, annoy. OF AMBITION I73 as they. Btit tten there must be some middle counsellors, to keep tilings steady ; for without that ballast the ship will roll too much. At the least, a prince may animate and inure ^ some meaner per- sons, to be as it were scourges to ambitious men. As for the having of them obnoxious^ to ruin ; if they be of fearful natures, it may do weU ; but if they be stout and daring, it may precipitate their designs, and prove dangerous. As for the puUing of them down, if the affairs require it, and that it may not be done with safety suddenly, the only way is, the interchange continually of favoxirs and dis- graces ; ^ whereby they may not know what to expect, and be as it were in a wood. Of ambitions, it is less harmful, the ambition to prevail in great things, than that other to appear in every thing ; for that breeds confusion, and mars business. But yet it is less danger to have an ambitious man stirring in business, than great in dependanees.* He that seeketh to be eminent amongst able men hath a great task ; but that is ever good for the public. But he that plots to be the only figure amongst ciphers is the decay of a whole age. Honour hath three things in it : the vantage ground to do good ; the approach to kings and principal persons ; and the raising of a man's own fortunes. He that hath the best of these intentions, when he aspireth, is an honest man ; and that prince that can discern of these intentions in another that aspireth, is a ^ Inure. To make use of. 2 Obnoxious. Liable, subject, or exposed (to anything harmful or undesirable) . ^ Disgrace. Disfavor, dishonor, affront. * Dependance. A body of dependants or subordinates; a retinue. 174 BACON'S ESSAYS wise prince. G-enerally, let princes and states choose sncli miaisters as are more sensible of duty than of rising j and such as love business rather upon conscience than upon bravery ; ^ and let them discern a busy nature from a willing mind. XXXVII. Of Masques^ and Triumphs.^ These things are but toys, to come amongst such serious observations.* But yet, since princes will have such things, it is better they should be graced with elegancy than daubed with cost. Danc- ing to song, is a thing of great state and pleasure. I understand it, that the song be in quire, placed aloft, and accompanied with some broken music j^ ^Bravery. Ostentation; display. 2 Masque. A form of dramatic entertainment popular at Court and among the nobility of England during the Elizabethan age; originally consisting of dancing and acting in dumb show, the per- formers being masked and dressed in character, but afterwards in- cluding dialogue (usually in verse), and song. Milton wrote, Cormis. A Mash Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634. Before John, Earl of Bridgewater, then President of Wales. ^Triumph, A public festivity or display; a stately procession or pageant. Beaumont and Fletcher's Four Plays in One consists of four Triumphs — of Honor, of Love, of Death, and of Time. * Francis Bacon was concerned as author, or "chief contriver,'' or "chief encourager" of six Elizabethan masques. Two were for entertainments given to Queen Elizabeth by the Earl of Essex; three were Gray's Inn masques; and he was "chief contriver" of Beaumont's masque The Marriage of the Thames and the Rhine, written for the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth, and presented February 20, 1613. " Broken music. Music arranged for different instruments, 'part' or concerted music. "And so likewise in that music which we call broken music, or consort music, some consorts of instruments are sweeter than others (a thing not sufficiently yet observed) : as the Irish harp and base viol agree well; the recorder and stringed music OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS I75 and the ditty ^ fitted to the device. Acting in song, especially in dialogues, hath an extreme good grace ; I say acting, not dancing (for that is a mean and vnlgar thing) 5 and the voices of the dialogue would ^ be strong and manly, (a base and a tenor; no treble;) and the ditty high and tragical; not nice^ or dainty.^ Several quires, placed one over against another, and taking the voice by catches,^ anthem- wise, give great pleasure. Turning dances into fig- ure is a childish curiosity. And generally let it be agree well; organs and the voice agree well, &c; but the virginals and the lute, or the Welsh harp and Irish harp, or the voice and pipes alone, agree not so well." Bacon. Sylva Sylvarum. Century III. 278. ^ Ditty. A song; now, u> short, simple song. "And near, and nearer as they row'd, Distinct the martial ditty fiow'd." Scott. The Lady of the Lake. II. xviii. 2 Would. Should. 2 Nice. Fine, delicate, finicky. "Why, brother, wherefore stand you on nice points?" ShaJcspere. III. King Senry VI. iv. 7. * Dainty. Choice; excellent. "Ayl indeed? a scheme o' yours? that must be a denty anel" Scott. Old Mortality. YI. ^ Catch. Originally, a short musical composition in which each succeeding singer takes up or 'catches' his part in turn; a round. Subsequently , especially applied to rounds, in which the words are so arranged as to produce ludicrous effects, one singer 'catching' at the words of another. "Sir Toby. Shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch that will draw three souls out of one weaver? shall we do that? Sir Andrew. An you love me, let 's do 't: I am a dog at a catch. Clown. By 'r Lady, sir, and some dogs will catch well. Sir Andrew. Most certain. Let our catch be, Thou knave. Clown. Hold thy peace, thou knave, knight? I shall be con- strained in 't to call thee knave, knight. Sir Andrew. 'T is not the first time I have constrained one to call me knave. Begin, Fool: it begins, Sold thy peace. Clown. I shall never begin, if I hold my peace. Sir Andrew. Good, i' faith. Gome, begin. [They sing the catch.]" Shakspere. Twelfth Night, ii. 5. 176 BACON'S ESSAYS noted, that those things which I here set down are such as do naturally take the sense, and not respect petty wondemients.^ It is true, the alterations of scenes, so it be quiatly and without noise, are things of great beauty and pleasure ; for they feed and re- lieve the eye, before it be full of the same object. Let the scenes abound with light, especially coloured and varied ; and let the masquers, or any other, that are to come down from the scene, have some motions upon the scene itself before their coming down ; for it draws the eye strangely, and makes it with great pleasure to desire to see that it cannot perfectly dis- cern. Let the songs be loud and cheerful, and not chirpings or pulings.^ Let the music likewise be sharp and loud, and well placed. The colours that shew best by candle-light, are white, carnation, and a kind of sea-water-green ; and ogs,' or spangs,* as they are of no great cost, so they are of most glory.^-a V'-^ 'v^' As for rich embroidery, it is lost and not discerned. Let the suits of the masquers be graceful, and such ^ Wonderment, Surprise. ^ Pulinff. Whining. * Oes. SmaU round spangles used to ornament dress in the seven- teenth century. "Fair Helena; who more engilds the night Than all yon fiery O's and eyes of light." Shakspere. A Midsummer-Night's Dream. Hi. 2. "The Ornaments of Honor were these: a rich full robe of blew silke girt about her, a mantle of siluer worne ouerthwart, ful gath- ered, and descending in folds behind: a vaile of net lawne, en- brodered with Oos and Spangl'd." George Chapman. The Memora- ble Mashe of the two Honorable Houses or Inns of Court; the Middle Temple, and Lyncolns Inne. . . . "With a description of their whole show." * Spang. A shining object or ornament; a spangle. "The compass heaven, smooth without grain or fold. All set with spangs of glitt'ring stars untold." Bacon. The Translation of the CIYth Psalm. ° Glory. Brilliancy, splendor. OF MASQUES AND TEIUMPHS I77 as become the person when the vizards ^ are off ; not after examples of known attires ; Turks, soldiers, mariners, and the Kke. Let anti-masques ^ not be long; they have been commonly of fools, satyrs, baboons, wild-men, antics,^ beasts, sprites,* witches, Ethiops, pigmies, turquets,^ nymphs, rustics, Cupids, statua's moving, and the like. As for angels, it is not comical enough to put them in anti-masques; and anything that is hideous, as devils, giants, is on the other side as unfit. But chiefly, let the music of them be recreative, and with some strange changes. Some sweet odours suddenly coming forth, without any drops falling, are, in such a company as there is steam and heat, things of great pleasure and re- freshment. Double masques, one of men, another of ladies, addeth state and variety. But all is no- thing except the room be kept clear and neat. For justs,® and tourneys,'' and barriers;^ the ^ Vizard (viaor) . A mash covering the face. ^Anti-masque. A grotesque interlude between the acts of a masque, to which it served as a foil, and of which it was at first often a burlesque. Vrson and his bears, and Straying and deformed Pilgrims, are two anti-masques of Ben Jonson's Masque of Augurs, acted before the Court, Christmas, 1621. 3 Antic. A clown, a mountebank, a buffoon. "Thou antic death, which laugh'st us here to scorn." Shakspere. I. King Henry YI. iv. 7. * Sprite (spirit). Elf, fairy, goblin. "Of these am I, who thy protection claim, A watchful sprite, and Ariel is my name." Pope. The Rape of the Lock. I. 108-109. ^ Turquet. A diminutive figure of a Turk or Mohammedan. " Just (joust) . A mock fight, as at a tournament. ' Tourney. A tournament ; a mock fight or martial sport of the middle ages for exhibiting prowess and skill in arms. ' Barriers. The palisades enclosing the ground where a tourna- ment, tilting, or other martial contest or exhibition was held; the lists. Hence, a masque or entertainment in the form of a tourna- ment. Ben Jonson wrote an entertainment presented at Court, Jan. 6, 1610, called Prince Henry's Barriers. 178 BACON'S ESSAYS glories of them are chiefly in the chariots, wherein the challengers make their entry ; especially if they be drawn with strange beasts : as Uons, bears, camels, and the like; or in the devices ^ of their entrance; or in the bravery of their liveries ; or in the goodly furniture of their horses and armour. But enough of these toys.^ XXXVIII. Of Nature in Men. Nature is often hidden; sometimes overcome; seldom extinguished. Force maketh nature more violent in the return ; doctrine and discourse maketh nature less importune ;^ but custom only doth alter and subdue nature. He that seeketh victory over his nature, let him not set himself too great nor too small tasks ; for the first will make him dejected by often failings; and the second will make him a smaU proeeeder, though by often prevailings. And at the first let him practise with helps, as swimmers do with bladders or rushes ; but after a time let him practise with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes. For it breeds great perfection, if the practice be harder than the use. Where nature is mighty, and therefore the victory hard, the degrees 1 Device. Somethinp devised or fancifully invented for dramatic representation. "The song is Iieard,_ the rosy garland worn; Devices quaint, and frolics ever new, Tread on each other's kibes." Byron. Ckilde Rarold. I. Ixvii. ' This Essay is not translated. S. * Importune. Importunate ; troublesome. OF NATURE IN MEN I79 had need be,^ first to stay and arrest nature in time ; like to him that would say over the four and twenty letters when he was angry ; then to go less in quan- tity ; as if one should, in forbearing wine, come from drinking healths to a draught at a meal; and lastly, to discontinue altogether. But if a man have the fortitude and resolution to enfranchise himseK at once, that is the best : Optimus ille animi vindex Isedentia pectus Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel.^ Neither is the ancient rule amiss, to bend nature as a wand to a contrary extreme, whereby to set it right, understanding it, where the contrary extreme is no vice. Let not a man force a habit upon him- self with a perpetual continuance, but with some in- termission. For both the pause reinf orceth the new onset ; and if a man that is not perfect be ever in practice, he shall as well practise his errors as his abilities, and induce one habit of both ; and there is no means to help this but by seasonable intermis- sions. But let not a man trust his victory over his nature too far ; for nature will lay ^ buried a great time, and yet revive upon the occasion or temptation. Like as it was with ^sop's* damsel, turned from a ^ Had need be. Had, with following infinitive, means to he under obligation, to be necessitated, to do something; need in this idiom is the Middle English genitive, nede, 'of need, or necessity.' 2 He is the best assertor of the soul who bursts the bonds that gall his breast, and suffers all at once. P. Ovidii Nasonis Remedia Amoris. 293-294. ' So in original, and also in Ed. 1639. I have not thought it right to substitute lie, as has been usually done; because it may be that the form of the word was not settled in Bacon's time; and the correction of obsolete forms tends to conceal the history of the lan- guage. Compare Natural History, Century I. 19. S. * Aesop or Esop. According to tradition, a Greek fabulist of the 6th century, B.C., represented as a dwarf and originally a slave. 180 BACON'S ESSAYS cat to a woman, who sat very demurely at the board's end, till a mouse ran before her.^ Therefore let a man either avoid the occasion altogether; or put himself often to it, that he may be little moved with it. A man's nature is best perceived in privateness,^ for there is no affectation ; in passion, for that put- teth a man out of his precepts ; and in a new case or experiment, for there custom leaveth him. They are happy men whose natures sort with their voca- tions ; otherwise they may say, multum incola fuit anima mea ^ when they converse * in those things they do not affect.^ In studies, whatsoever a man com- mandeth upon himself, let him set hours for it ; but whatsoever is agreeable to his nature, let him take no care for any set times ; for his thoughts will fly to it of themselves ; so as the spaces of other busi- ness or studies will suffice. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds ; therefore let him season- ably water the one, and destroy the other. ^Fables of Aesop and other Eminent Mythologists : with Morals and Refiexiona. By Sir Roger L'Estrange, Kt. Fable LXI. A Cat and Yenua. ^ Privateness. Privacy. ^ Psalms cxx. 6. Vulgate. In the Douay Bible of 1610 this verse is translated "My soul hath long .been a sojourner" ; in the Authorized Version, it is, "My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace." * Converse. To deal with, or to be engaged in. ' Affect. To like. "In brief, sir, study what you most affect." ShaJcspere. The Taming of the Shrew, i. 1. OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION 181 XXXIX. Of Custom and Education. Men's thoughts are much according to their in- clination ; their discourse and speeches according to their learning and infused opinions ; but their deeds are after ^ as^ they have been accustomed. And therefore, as Machiavel well noteth (though in an evil-favoured instance), there is no trusting to the force of nature nor to the bravery of words, except it be corroborate^ by custom. His instance is, that for the achieving of a desperate conspiracy, a man should not rest upon the fierceness of any man's nature, or his resolute undertakings ; but take such an one as hath had his hands formerly in blood.* But Machiavel knew not of a friar Clement," nor a Ravillac,^ nor a Jaureguy,' nor a Baltazar Gerard; yet his rule holdeth still, that nature, nor the en- gagement of words, are not so forcible as custom. Only superstition is now so well advanced, that men * After. According to. "O Lord, deal not with us after our sins." The Litany. ' As. That. ' Corroborate. Preterit participle, clipped form. Strengthened, confirmed. "Ye know my father was the rightful heir Of England, and his right came down to me. Corroborate by your acts of Parliament." Tennyson. Queen Mary. ii. 2. * Discorsi di Niccold MachiaveUi Segretario e Citt. Fiorcntino aopra La Prima Deca di T. Livio. III. e. Delle Gongiure. p. 40. "Jacques Clement, 1555( «)-1589, a fanatical monk who mur- dered Henry III., of Prance. "Francois Kavaillac, 1578( »)-1610, assassinated Henry IV., of France, May 14, 1610. ^ John Jaureguy attempted to assassinate William the Silent, Prince of Orange, March 18, 1582. On July 10, 1584, William the Silent was shot by Balthazar Gerard. 182 BACON'S ESSAYS of the first blood ^ are as firm as butchers by occu- pation ; and votary ^ resolution is made equipollent ^ to custom even in matter of blood. In other things the predominancy of custom is every where visible ; insomuch as a man would wonder to hear men pro- fess, protest, engage, give great words, and then do just as they have done before ; as if they were dead images, and engines moved only by the wheels of custom. We see also the reign or tyranny of cus- tom, what it is. The Indians (I mean the sect of their wise men) lay themselves quietly upon a stack of wood, and so sacrifice themselves by fire. Nay the wives strive to be burned with the corpses of their husbands. The lads of Sparta,* of ancient time, were wont to be scourged upon the altar of Diana, without so much as queching.^ I remember, in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's * time of Eng- land, an Irish rebel condemned, put up a petition to the Deputy that he might be hanged in a with,' and not in an halter ; because it had been so used with former rebels. There be monks in Russia, for pen- ance, that will sit a whole night in a vessel of water, till they be engaged^ with hard ice. Many examples may be put of the force of custom, both upon mind ^ The translation has priTtu^e classis mcarii ; (murderers of the first class) : which seems to me to miss the meaning of the English. "Men of the first blood" must mean here, men whose hands have not Jjeen in hlood before, S. ^ "Votary. Consecrated by a vow. ^ Equipollent. Equivalent. * M. TuUii Ciceronis Tusculanarum Disputaiionum ad M. Bru- tum Liber II. Caput 14. ^ Quech, or quitch, means to flinch, to shrink. "Elizabeth, 1533-1603, Queen of England, 1558-1603. "^ With, withe. A willow twig; a band of twigs. *'And Samson said unto her. If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man." Judges xvi. 7. ' Engaged with, Beld in. OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION 183 and body. Therefore, since custom is tlie principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means en- deavour to obtain good customs. Certainly custom is most perfect when it beginneth in young years : this we call education ; which is, in effect, but an early custom. So we see, in languages the tongue is more pliant to all expressions and sounds, the joints are more supple to all feats of activity and motions, in youth than afterwards. For it is true that late learners cannot so well take the ply ; ^ ex- cept it be in some minds that have not suffered themselves to fix, but have kept themselves open and prepared to receive continual amendment, which is exceeding rare. But i£ the force of custom simple and separate be great, the force of custom copulate ^ and conjoined and collegiate ^ is far greater. For there example teacheth, company comforteth,* emu- lation quickeneth, glory raiseth : so as in such places the force of custom is in his^ exaltation.^ Certainly the great multiplication "^ of virtues upon human na- ^ Ply. Bent, direction. - Copulate. Connected, united. 3 Collegiate. 0/ or belonging to colleagues; corporate. * Comfort, in the Latin sense, to strengthen much, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalms xxiii. 4. "Be comfortable to my mother, your mistress, and make much of her." Shakspere. All's Well that Ends Well. i. 1. ^ His. Its. ' The pronoun *its' first appeared in print in John Florio's A Worlde of Wordes, 1598. It does not occur in King James's Bihle of 1611, nor in any work of Shakspere published during his lifetime. There are, however, nine 'it's' and one 'its' in the Shakspere folio of 1623. The essay Of Custom and Education first saw the light in the second edition of the Essays, in 1612. ® Exaltation. In astrological language, a planet was said to be in exaltation when it was in that sign of the zodiac where it was sup- posed to exert its strongest influence. ^Multiplication upon. Compare the language of the Collect for the fourth Sunday after Trinity in The Booh of Common Prayer: "Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy." 184 BACON'S ESSAYS ture resteth upon societies well ordained and discip- lined. For commonwealths and good governments do nourisli virtue grown, but do not much mend the seeds. But the misery is, that the most effectual means are now applied to the ends least to be de- sired. XL. Of Foetdke. It cannot be denied, but outward accidents con- duce much to fortune ; favour, opportunity, death of others, occasion fitting virtue. But chiefly, the mould of a man's fortune is in his own hands. Fdber quisque fortunce stice,^ saith the poet. And the most frequent of external causes is, that the folly of one man is the fortune of another. For no man prospers so suddenly as by others' errors. Serpens nisi serpentem comederit non fit draco.^ Overt and apparent^ virtues bring forth praise ; but there be secret and hidden virtues that bring forth fortune ; certain deliveries of a man's self, which have no ' Every man is the maker of his own fortune. It is a Latin epi- gram of Bacon's, making in four words a short cut through eight words of Plautns: Uain sapiens quidem pol ipsits fingit fortunam sibi. For indeed the wise man really makes his own fortune for him- self. Plautus. Trinummus, II. it. 82. ' Unless the serpent has devoured a serpent, it does not become a dragon. 3 Apparent. Manifest to the understanding, evident, plain. "It may be, these apparent prodigies. The unaceustom'd terror of this night. And the persuasion of his augurers. May hold him from the Capitol to-day." Shalcspere. Julius Caesar, ii. 1, OF FORTUNE 185 name. The Spanish name, desemboUura,^ partly ex- presseth them ; when there be not stonds nor res- tiveness in a man's nature ; but that the wheels of his mind keep way^ with the wheels of his fortune. For so Livy (after he had described Cato Major' in these words, In illo viro tantuni robur corporis et animi fuit, ut quocunque loco natus esset, fortunam sihi facturus videretur)^ falleth upon that, that he had versatile ingenium.^ Therefore if a man look sharply and attentively, he shall see Fortune : for though she be blind, yet she is not invisible. The way of fortune is like the milken way^ in the sky ; which is a meeting or knot of a number of small stars ; not seen asunder, but giviag light together. So are there a number of little and scai'ce discerned virtues, or rather faculties and customs, that make men fortunate. The Italians note some of them, such as a man would little think. "When they speak of one that cannot do amiss, they will throw in into his other conditions, that he hath Poco di mattoJ' And certainly there be not two more fortunate properties, than to have a little of the fool, and not * Desemboltura for desenvoltura (from desenvolver, to unroll, un- fold). Graceful and easy delivery of one's sentiments and thoughts, ^ Keep way. To keep pace. 3 Marcus Porcius Cato, surnamed 'the Censor' and Priscus, 234—149 B.C., Roman statesman, general, and writer. * In that man there was so much strength of body and of mind, that in whatever place he had been born, it seems he would have made a fortune for himself. (In hoc viro tanta via animi in- geniique fuit, ut quocunque loco natus esset, fortunam sibi ipse facturus fuisse videretur. T. lAvii Patavini Historiarum Ab Urbe Condita Liber XXXIX. Caput 40.) ° A mind easily turned from one thing to another. ^ Milken way. The galaxy, or milky way ; a luminous band or track encircling the heavens irregularly, and known to consist of innumerable stars perceptible only by means of the telescope. ' A little of the fool. 186 BACON'S ESSAYS too much of the honest. Therefore extreme lovers of their country or masters were never fortunate, neither can they be. Tor when a man placeth his thoughts without himself, he goeth not his own way. An hasty fortune maketh an enterpriser^ and re- mover j^ (the French hath it better, entreprenant, or remnant;) but the exercised fortune maketh the able man. Fortune is to be honoured and respected, and it be but for her daughters, Confidence and Reputation. For those two felicity breedeth ; the first within a man's self, the latter in others towards him. All wise men, to decline^ the pnvy of their own virtues, use to ascribe them to Providence and Fortune ; for so they may the better assume them : and, besides, it is greatness in a man to be the care of the higher powers. So Caesar said to the pilot in the tempest, Ccesarem portas, etfortunam yus.^ So Sylla chose the name of Felix, and not of Magnus? And it hath been noted, that those who ascribe openly too much to their own wisdom and policy, end infortunate. It is written that Timotheus® the Athenian, after he had, in the account he gave to the state of his government, often interlaced this speech, and in this Fortune had no part, never pros- pered in any thing he undertook afterwards. Cer- tainly there be, whose fortunes are like Homer's verses, that have a slide ^ and easiness more than ^Enterpriser. One who attempts an undertaking; an adventurer. 2 Remover. An agitator. * Decline. To avoid; to turn aside. ' You carry Caesar and his fortune. Plutarch. Life of Caesar. " 'Fortunate' and not of 'Great.' Plutarch. Life of Sulla. ° TimotheuB, died 354 B.C., Athenian naval commander. ' Slide. Fluency. OF TJSUEY 187 the verses of other poets; as Plutarch saith of Timoleon's^ fortune, in respect of that of Agesilaus or Epaminondas.^ And that this should be, no doubt it is much in a man's self. XLI. Of UsxffiT. Many have made witty invectives against Usury.^ They say that it is a pity the devil should have Grod's part, which is the tithe. That the usurer is the greatest sabbath-breaker, because his plough goeth every Sunday. That the usurer is the drone that Virgil speaketh of : Ignavum fuoos peous a prsesepibus aroent.* That the usurer breaketh the first law that was made for mankind after the fall, which was, in sudor e vulMs tui comedes panem tuum; not, in sudor e vuttiis alieni? That usurers should have orange- tawny® bonnets, because they do judaize. That it ^Timoleon, died 337 or 336 B.C., a celebrated Corinthian general and statesman. 2 Epaminondas, 418(?)— 362 B.C., Theban general and statesman, victorious but mortally wounded in the battle of Mantinea, 362 B.C. 3 Usury formerly meant interest on money only, as in the parable, Luke xix. 23 : "Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?" Usury now means an illegal or exorbitant rate of interest for lent money. * They drive from the hives the drones in lazy swarm. P. Yer- gili Maronis Georgicon Liber IV, 168. ^ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread; not in the sweat of the face of another. Bacon has in mind the curse of Adam after the fall. Genesis Hi. 19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread til] thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." ^ Coryats Crudities, Vol. I. Observations of Venice, pp. 370 — 372, ed, 1905, records the "orange-tawny bonnets" of the Jews, which 18g BACON'S ESSAYS is against nature for money to beget money ; and the like. I say this only, that usury is a concessum propter duritiem cordis :^ for since there must be borrowing and lending, and men are so hard of heart as they will not lend freely, usury must be permitted. Some others have made suspicious and cunning propositions of banks, discovery of men's estates, and other inventions. But few have spoken of usury usefully. It is good to set before us the incommodities^and commodities* of usury, that the good may be either weighed out or culled out; and warily to provide, that while we make forth to that which is better, we meet not with that which is worse. The discommodities of usury are, First, that it makes fewer merchants. For were it not for this lazy trade of usury, money would not lie still, but would in great part be employed upon merchandiz- ing;* which is the vena porta^ of wealth in a state. Thomas Coryate saw in 1611. In the Ghetto, he says, "the Levantine Jewes, which are borne in Hierusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, &c., weare Turbents upon their heads as the Turkes do; but the difference is this: the Turkes weare white, the Jewes yellow." In the synagogue of Venice, he goes on, "every one of them what- soever he be, man or childe, weareth a kinde of light yellowish vaile, made of Linsie Woolsie (as I take it) over his shoulders, some- thing worse than our courser - Holland, which reacheth a little beneath the middle of their backes." Sir Walter Scott, describing the dress of the Jew, Isaac of York, says: "He wore a high, square yellow cap of a peculiar fashion, assigned to his nation to distin- guish them from Christians, and which he doffed with great humility at the door of the hall." Ivanhoe. V. ^ A concession on account of the hardness of heart [of men]. ^ IneommocUties, Disadvantages. ^ Commodities. Advantages. * Merchandizing. Buying and selling, trading. ^ Vena porta, or portae, or portarum, that is, the 'vein of the gate,' the gateway (of the liver). The portal vein is a short trunk which receives the blood from the viscera and carries it to the liver. The metaphor illustrates its importance to the physical economy. OF USUEY 189 The second, that it makes poor merchants. For as a farmer cannot husband his ground so well if he sit^ at a great rent ; so the merchant cannot drive his trade so well, if he sit at great usury. The third is incident to the other two ; and that is the decay of customs of kings or states, which ebb or flow with merchandizing. The fourth, that it bringeth the treasure of a realm or state into a few hands. For the usurer being at certainties, and others at uncer- tainties at the end of the game most of the money will be in the box ; and ever a state flourisheth when wealth is more equally spread. The fifth, that it beats down the price of land ; for the employ- ment of money is chiefly either merchandizing or purchasing ; and usury waylays both. The sixth, that it doth dull and damp all industries, improve- ments, and new inventions, wherein money would be stirring, if it were not for this slug.^ The last, that it is the canker and ruin of many men's estates ; which in process of time breeds a public poverty. On the other side, the commodities of usury are, first, that howsoever^ usury in some respect hinder- eth merchandizing, yet in some other it advanceth it; for it is certain that the greatest part of trade is driven by young merchants, upon borrow- ing at interest ; so as* if the usurer either call in or keep back his money, there will ensue presently a ^ Sit. To be located or placed; to abide. "And, Steenie, if you can hold your tongue about this matter, you shall »it, from this term downward, at an easier rent." Scott. JRedffauntlet. Letter XI, Wandering Willie's Tale. 2 Sluff. Hindrance, obstruction. 3 Howsoever. Notwithstanding that, albeit, « As, That. j^gO BACON'S ESSAYS great stand of trade. The second is, that were it not for this easy borrowing upon interest, men's necessities would draw upon them a most sudden undoing ; in that they would be forced to seU their means (be it lands or goods) far under foot ; ^ and so, whereas usury doth but gnaw upon them, bad markets would swallow them quite up. As for mortgaging or pawning, it wiU little mend the matter : for either men will not take pawns^ with- out use ; ^ or if they do, they will look precisely for the forfeiture. I remember a cruel monied man in the country, that would say. The devil take this usury, it keep us from forfeitures of mortgages and bonds. The third and last is, that it is a vanity to conceive that there would be ordinary borrowing without profit ; and it is impossible to conceive the number of inconveniences that will ensue, if borrow- ing be cramped. Therefore to speak of the abolish- ing of usury is idle. All states have ever had it, in one kind or rate, or other. So as that opinion must be sent to Utopia.* ^ Under foot. Below standard value. ^ Pawn. Surety, pledge. "Do you hear, sir? we have no store of money at this time, but you shall have good pawns; look you, sir, this jewel, and that gentleman's silk stockings." Ben Jonaon. Every Man in his Humour, iv. 7. ^ Use. Interest. "Me, therefore, studious of laborious ease. Not slothful, happy to deceive the time. Not waste it, and aware that human life Is but a loan to be repaid with use, When He shall call his debtors to account. From whom are all our blessings, business iindB E'en here." Cowper. The XasTc. Book III. The Garden. * Vtopia. 'Nowhere,' in Greek; an imaginary island which is the seat of an ideal commonwealth in Sir Thomas More's political romance of the same name. It was published in Latin, in 1516, and entitled, De Optimo Beipublicm Statu, deque Ngvcf Insula Vtopia, OF USURY 191 To speak now of the reformation and reiglement^ of usury; howtlie discommodities of it may be best avoided, and the commodities retained. It appears by the balance of commodities and discommodities of usury, two things are to be reconciled. The one that the tooth of usury be grinded, that it bite not too much ; the other, that there be left open a means to invite monied men to lend to the mer- chants, for the continuing and quickening^ of trade. This cannot be done, except you introduce two several sorts of usury, a less and a greater. For if you reduce usury to one low rate, it will ease the common borrower, but the merchant will be to seek^ for money. And it is to be noted, that the trade of merchandize, being the most lucrative, may bear usury at a good rate : other contracts not so. To serve both intentions,* the way would be briefly thus. That there be two rates of usury ; the one free, and general for all; the other under licence only, to certain persons and in certain places of merchandizing. First therefore, let usury in gen- eral be reduced to five in the hundred ; and let that rate be proclaimed to be free and current ; and let the state shut itself out to take any penalty for the same. This will preserve borrowing from any gen- eral stop or dryness. This will ease infinite ^ bor- ^ Reiglement (reglement) . Regulation. ^ Quicken. To give life to. ^ To seek, used adjectively, usually with he, as here. At a loss; withovt knowledge, influence, or resources. "I that have dealt so long in the fire, will not be to seek in smoke, now." Ben Jonson. Bartholomew Fair. ii. 1. * Intention. Object, purpose. '' Infinite. In hyperbolical use, very nrnch or many ; 'no end of.' Always in the plural. 192 BACON'S ESSAYS rowers in the country. This will, in good part, raise the price of land, because land purchased at sixteen years' purchase will yield six in the hundred, and somewhat more ; whereas this rate of interest yields but five. This by like reason will encourage and edge industrious and profitable improvements ; be- cause many will rather venture in that kind than take five in the hundred, especially having been used to greater profit. Secondly, let there be certain per- sons licensed to lend to known merchants upon usury at a higher rate ; and let it be with the cau- tions following. Let the rate be, even with the merchant himself, somewhat more easy than that he used formerly to pay ; for by that means all borrow- ers shall have some ease by this reformation, be he merchant, or whosoever. Let it be no bank or com- mon stock, but every man be master of his own money. Not that I altogether mislike ^ banks, but they will hardly be brooked, in regard ^ of certain suspicions. Let the state be answered ^ some smaU matter for the licence, and the rest left to the lender ; for if the abatement be but small, it will no whit dis- courage the lender. For he, for example, that took before ten or nine in the hundred, will sooner de- scend to eight in the hundred, than give over his trade of usury, and go from certain gains to gains 1 MisUJce. To disliJce ; to disapprove of. "Mislike me not for my complexion." Shakspere. The Merchant of Venice, ii. 1. 2 In regard 'of or 'to.' Out of consideration for. "I thank my liege that in regard of me He shortens four years of my son's exile." Shakspere. King Richard II. i. 3, ^Answer. To repay; to pay. OF YOUTH AND AGE 193 of hazard. Let these hcensed lenders be in number indefinite, but restrained to certain principal cities and towns of merchandizing ; for then they will be hardly able to colour ^ other men's monies in the country: so as the licence of nine will not suck away the current rate of five ; for no man will lend his monies far off, nor put them into unknown hands. If it be objected that this doth in a sort author- ize usury, which before was in some places but per- missive ; the answer is, that it is better to mitigate usury by declaration, thaai to suffer it to rage by connivance. XLII. Op Youth and Age. A MAN that is young in years may be old in hours, if he have lost no time. But that happeneth rarely. Generally, youth is like the first cogitations, not so wise as the second. For there is a youth in thoughts, as well as in ages. And yet the invention of young men is more lively than that of old ; and imagina- tions stream into their minds better, and as it were more divinely. Natures that have much heat and great and violent desires and perturbations, are not ripe for action till they have passed the meridian of their years ; as it was with Julius Caesar, and Septimius Severus. Of the latter of whom it is said, Juventu- ^ Colour. To represent or deal with the property of another as one's own. 194 BACON'S ESSAYS tem egit erroribus, imo furoribus, plenum} And yet he was the ablest emperor, almost, of aU the list. But reposed 2 natures may do weU in youth. As it is seen in Augustus Csesar, Cosmus Duke of Flor- ence, Gaston de Fois,^ and others. On the other side, heat and vivacity in age is an excellent com- position* for business. Young men are fitter to invent than to judge ; fitter for execution than for counsel ; and fitter for new projects than for settled business. For the experience of age, in things that fall within the compass of it, directeth them ; but in new things, abuseth ^ them. The errors of young men are the ruin of business ; but the errors of aged men amount but to this, that more might have been done, or sooner. Young men, in the conduct and manage " of actions, embrace more than they can hold ; stir more than they can quiet ; fly to the end, without consideration of the means and degrees ; pursue some few principles which they have chanced * He spent his youth in errors, nay rather, it was full of mad- nesses. Quoted with variations. "Juventam plenam furorum, non- nunquam et criminum habuit." Aeliue Spartianus. Life of Septi- mius Severua, Caput 2, in Augustae Historiae Scriptores. ^ Reposed. Calm,, ' Gaston de Fois, Duo de Nemours, 1489-1512, son of Jean de Fois, Vicomte de Narhonne and of Marie d' Orleans, sister of Louis XII., a celebrated French general. He commanded the French armies in Italy against the Spaniards, and was killed in the battle of Ravenna, in 1512. * Composition. Temperament. ^ Abuse. To deceive, to lead astray. "The Devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps. Out of my weakness and my melancholy, — As he is very potent with such spirits, — Abuses me to damn me." Shakspere. Hamlet, ii. 2. ^Manage. Management. "I commit into your hands The husbandry and manage of my house." Shakspere, The Merchant of Tenice, Hi. 4, OF YOUTH AND AGE 195 upon absurdly ; care ^ not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences ; use extreme remedies at first ; and that which doubleth all errors, will not acknowledge or retract them ; like an unready horse, that will neither stop nor turn. Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, re- pent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period,^ but content themselves with a medi- ocrity of success. Certainly it is good to compound employments of both ; for that will be good for the present, because the virtues of either age may correct the defects of both ; and good for succession, that young men may be learners, while men in age are actors ; and, lastly, good for extern ^ accidents, be- cause authority f olloweth old men, and favour and popularity youth. But for the moral part, perhaps youth will have the pre-eminence, as age hath for the politic. A certain rabbin, upon the text. Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,* inferreth that young men are ad- mitted nearer to God than old, because vision is a clearer revelation than a dream. And certainly, the more a man drinketh of the world, the more it in- toxicateth : and age doth profit ^ rather in the powers of understanding, than in the virtues of the will and affections. There be some have an over-early ripe- ^ Care not to innovate, are not careful how they innovate, that is to say, young men are incautious, heedless. 2 Period,, Completion. ^ Extern. External. • "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." Joel ii. 28. ^Profit. To improve. "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." I. Timothy iv. 15. 196 BACON »S ESSAYS ness in their years, whicli fadeth betimes. These are, first, such as have brittle wits, the edge whereof is soon turned ; such as was Hermogenes ^ the rhet- orician, whose books are exceeding subtle; who afterwards waxed stupid. A second sort is of those that have some natural dispositions which have bet- ter grace in youth than in age ; such as is a fluent and luxuriant speech ; which becomes youth well, but not age ; so Tully saith of Hortensius,^ Idem manebatj neque idem decebat? The third is of such as take too high a strain at the first, and are magnani- mous more than tract ^ of years can uphold. As was.Seipio AfricanuSj^ of whom Livy ^ saith in effect, Ultima primis ctdehmiV ^ Hermogenes, of Tarsus, in Cilicia, lived in the second half of the second century, a.d. He was a noted Greek rhetorician, and is said to have lost his memory at the age of twenty-five. 2 Quintus Hortensius, 114 — 50 B.C., an eminent Roman orator and contemporary of Cicero, who said of him: "Sed quum iam honor es et ilia senior auctoritas gravius guiddam requireret, re- manehat idem nee decebat idem." Marcus Tullius Cicero. Brutus, Caput 95. ^ He remained the same, but the same was no longer becoming. Vivacity which increases with age is little short of folly. La vivacit4 qui augmente en vieilUssant ne va pas loin de la folie. Maximes et BSfiexions Morales du due de La Rochefoucauld. 416. * Tract. Course. "My fancies all be fledde: And tract of time begins to weave, Gray heares upon my hedde." TotteVs Miscellany. The aged lover renounceth love. Thomas Lord Vaux. This is the ballad from which Shakspere took the gravedigger's song in Hamlet, v. 1. ''Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, 234-183 (?) B.C., a great Roman general, who defeated the Carthaginians under Hanni- bal in the battle of Zama, 202 B.C. ® Titus Livius, 59 B.C. to 17 a.d., a great Roman historian. He wrote a history of Rome, from the founding of the city to the death of the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus, brother of Tiberius, 9 B.C. The work consisted of 142 books, of which 35 are extant, 1—10, and 21—45. "^ The last fell short of the first. Bacon's three Latin words con- dense fourteen of Livy's. "Vir m,em.ordbilis, bellicis tamen quam pads artibus memordbilior, prima pars vitae quam postrema fuit." OF BEAUTY I97 XLIII. Of Beauty. Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set ; and surely virtue is best in a body that is comely, though not of delicate features; and that hath rather dignity of presence, than beauty of aspect. Neither is it almost^ seen, that very beautiful per- sons are otherwise of great virtue ; as if nature were rather busy not to err, than in labour to produce excellency.^ And therefore they prove accom- plished, but not of great spirit ; and study rather behaviour than virtue. But this holds not always : for Augustus Caesar, Titus Vespasianus, Philip le Bel^ of France, Edward the fourth* of England, Alcibiades^ of Athens, Ismael the Sophy ^ of Persia, were all high and great spirits ; and yet the most T. Livii Patavini Hiatoriarum Ab Vrbe Condita Liber XXXYIII. Caput 53. He probably recollected the thought, "in effect," not from Livy, but from Ovid: "Goepiati melius, quam desinis : ultima primis Cedunt :" P. Ovidii Nasonia Heroides. Epistola IX. Deianira Herculi. 23-24. "Alonso of Arragon was "wont to say, in commendation of age, That age appeared to be best in four things: Old wood to burn; old wine to drink; old friends to trust; and old authors to read." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 97 (75). ^ Almost. For the most part. ^Excellency. Excellence. "Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds." Psalms Ixviii. 34. ' Philippe le Bel, 'Philip the Fair,' Philippe IV. of the House of Capet, 1268-1314, King of France from 1285 to 1314. • Edward IV., 1441-1483, King of England, 1461-1483. '■ Alcibiades, 450(?)— 404 B.C., an Athenian politician and gen- eral, nephew of Pericles. He was rich, handsome, accomplished, and an admirable orator, but reckless and unsteady in character. "Ismail I., Shah (Sophy) of Persia, 1487-1524, founder of the Suffarian dynasty. 198 BACON »S ESSAYS beautiful men of their times. In beauty, that of favour^ is more than that of coloui-; and that of decent 2 and gracious^ motion more than that of favour. That is the best part of beauty, which a picture cannot express ; no nor the first sight of life. There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. A man cannot tell whether Apelles^ or Albert Durer^ were the more® trifler ; whereof the one would make a personage by geometrical proportions ; the other, by taking the best parts out of divers'^ faces, to 1 Favor. Features, looks, a f ossiliferous sense of favor, sur- viving in 'hard-favored,' that is, 'hard-looking,' 'ugly.* He favors his father means 'he looks like his father.' So 'kissing goes by favor' means by 'looks,' not by 'preference,' as is commonly under- stood. ^Decent. Fit, becoming. *'Let all things be done decently and in order." I. Corinthians xiv. 40. ^ Gracious, Graceful. "My gracious silence, hail." Coriolanus. ii. 1. It is Coriolanus's greeting to his wife, Virgilia, on his return from ■war. * Apelles, a celebrated Greek painter of the time of Philip and Alexander of Macedon, 4th century B.C. His most famous picture was the Aphrodite Anadyomene, 'Venus rising from the sea.' Both Cicero and Pliny tell us that the Greek painter of a composite face Bacon alludes to here was not Apelles, but Zeuxis, who was probably a native of Heraclea (Magna Graecia), and lived from 420 to 390 B.C. According to Cicero, when Zeuxis was commis- sioned to paint a picture of Helena for the temple of Juno Lacinia at Croton, he was allowed, at his own request, the presence of five of the most beautiful maidens of Croton, "ut mutuTn in simulacrum ex animali exemplo Veritas transfer atur," that he might transfer the truth of life to a mute image. M. Tullii Ciceronis Rhetoricorum seu De Inventione Rhetorica Liber II. 2, 3. Compare, C. Plinii Se- cundi Naturalis Historiae Liber XXXV. 36. ix. ^ Albrecht Diirer, 1471—1528, a famous German painter, designer of woodcuts, and engraver. He wrote a book on human proportions, Hierinnen sind begriffen vier BilcKer von menschlicker Proportion. ( Nuremberg. 1528.) ® More. Greater. "^ Divers. Many. "And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far." Mark viii. 3. Oi"' BEAUTY 199 make one excellent. Such personages, I think, would please nobody but the painter that made them. Not but I think a painter may make a better face than ever was ; but he must do it by a kind of felicity,^ (as a musician that maketh an ex- cellent air in music,) and not by rule. A man shall see faces, that if you examine them part by part, you shall find neyer a good ; and yet altogether do well. If it be true that the principal part of beauty is in decent motion, certainly it is no marvel though persons in years seem many times more amiable ; pulchrorum autumnus pulcJier ;^ for no youth can be comely but by pardon, and considering the youth as to make up the comeliness. Beauty is as sum- mer fruits, which are easy to corrupt, and cannot last; and for the most part it makes a dissolute youth, and an age a little out of countenance ; but yet certainly again, if it light well, it maketh virtue shine, and vices blush. ^ felicitate quadam et casu. Keats seems to have felt that this is true also with regard to his own art : — "When I behold upon the night's starred face Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace Their shadows, with the jnagic hand of chance." Life, Letters, i&c. of John Keats, vol. ii. p. 293. S. ^The autumn of the beautiful is beautiful. A thought from Euripides, quoted in the beginning of Plutarch's Life of Aldbiades. *'Euripides would say of persons that were beautiful, and yet in some years. In fair todies not only the spring is pleasant, but also the autumn." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 145. The spiritual beauty of old age as one sees it in the faces of old men and women who have lived good lives is nowhere so finely described as by Edmund Wallers "The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, Lets in new light through chinks that time has made." Edmund Waller. Old Age. 200 BACON'S ESSAYS XLrV. Op Defoemity.1 Deformed persons are commonly even witli na- ture, for as nature hath done ill hy them, so do they by nature ; being for the most part (as the Scripture saith) void of natural affection;^ and so they have their revenge of nature. Certainly there is a consent ^ between the body and the mind ; and where nature erreth in the one, she ventureth in the other. Ubi peccat in uno, periclitatur in altera. But because there is in man an election touching the frame of his mind, and a necessity in the frame of his body, the stars of natural inclination are sometimes obscured by the sun of discipline and virtue. Therefore it is good to consider of de- formity, not as a sign, which is more deceivable ; * but as a cause, which seldom faileth of the effect. Whosoever hath any thing fixed in his person that doth induce contempt, hath also a perpetual spur in himself to rescue and deliver himself from scorn. * Nicholas Chamberlain wrote to Sir Dudley Carleton, December 17, 1612, "Sir Francis Bacon hath set out new Essays, where in a chapter of Deformity, the world takes notice that he paints out his little cousin [Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury] to the life." Court and Times of James I. I. 214. ed. 1848. ^ "Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." Somans i. 31. ' Consent. Agreement. "For then will I turn to the people a pure languages that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him witB one consent." Zephaniah Hi. 9. * Deceivable. Deceptive, passive form with active sense. "There 's something in 't That is deceivable." ShaJcspere, Twelfth Night, iv. S. OF DEFOEMITY 201 Therefore all deformed persons are extreme ^ bold. First, as in their own defence, as being exposed to scorn ; but in process of time by a general habit. Also it stirreth in them industry, and especially of this kind, to watch and observe the weakness of others, that they may have somewhat to repay. Again, in their superiors, it quencheth jealousy to- wards them, as persons that they think they may at pleasure despise : and it layeth their competitors and emulators asleep; as never believing they should be in possibility of advancement, tiU they see them in possession. So that upon the matter,^ in a great wit, deformity is an advantage to rising. Kings in ancient times (and at this present in some countries) were wont^ to put great trust in eunuchs ; because they that are envious towards all are more obnoxi- ous* and of&cious towards one. But yet their trust towards them hath rather been as to good spials^ and good whisperers, than good magistrates and officers. And much like is the reason of deformed persons. Still the ground is, they will, if they be of spirit, seek to free themselves from scorn ; which must be either by virtue or malice ; " and therefore let it not be marvelled' if sometimes they prove ex- ^ Extreme, Extremely. ' Matter. Whole ; 'upon tlie matter' means 'on the whole.' * Wont. Accustomed. * Obnoxious. Submissive. ° Spials (espials) . Spies. "The Prince's 'spials have informed me." Shakspere. I. King Henry YI. i. 4. * Malice. Vice. "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leSven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." I. Corinthians v. 8. ' Marvel. To wonder at. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." /. John Hi. 13, 202 BACON'S ESSAYS cellent persons ; as was Agesilaus/ Zanger^ the son of Solyman, -^sop, Gasca^ President of Peru; and Socrates* may go likewise amongst them; with others. ^Agesilaus II., King of Sparta from 398 to 361 B.C. He was a man of small stature and lame from his birth, hut he developed into * a vigorous ruler and great general. 2 Zanger. JAhangif, Tzihanger, Djangir, Zangir, or Zanger (as the name is variously spelled), *the Crooked,' was the son of Soly- man the Magnificent and Roxalana. Bacon probably read his story in Richard Knolles's Generall Historie of the Turkes, etc. 1603. There it is to the effect that after Solyman, at the instigation of the Sultana Roxalana, had put to death Mustapha, his son by another wife, he bade Zanger go to meet his brother. When Zanger saw his brother lying on the ground strangled, he foresaw his own probable fate, and resolved to anticipate it. He refused to inherit Mustapha's property and position, and committed suicide, much to his father's grief. 8 Pedro de la Gasca, 1485—1561, President of the Royal Audience of Peru, 1546 to 1550, and conqueror of Gonzalo Pizarro, in 1548; for his services in restoring peace and ordered government in Peru, Gasca upon his return to Spain was raised to the bishopric of Palencia, and subsequently to that of Siguenza. Prescott in the Conquest of Peru compares the character of Gasca 'with that of Washington. "Gasca," says Prescott, "was plain in person, and his countenance was far from comely. He was awkward and ill- proportioned ; for his limbs were too long for his body, — so that when he rode he appeared to be much shorter than he really was." History of the Conquest of Peru. W. R. Prescott. Booh V. Chapter iv. * Socrates, 470-399 B.C., a famous Greek pbilosopher. He is the chief character in the Dialogues of Plato, one of his pupils, and is the subject of the Memorabilia of Xenophon, another pupil. His personal appearance was so odd and ugly that he was caricatured by the comic dramatists of his time. OF BUILDING 203 XLV. Of Building.^ Houses are built to live in, and not to look on ; therefore let use be preferred^ before uniformity, except where both may be had. Leave the goodly fabrics of houses, for beauty only, to the enchanted palaces of the poets; who build them with small cost. He that builds a fair house upon an ill seat,^ committeth himself to prison. Neither do I reckon it an ill seat only where the air is unwholesome ; but likewise where the air is unequal ; as you shall see many fine seats set upon a knap* of ground, environed with higher hills round about it ; where- by the heat of the sun is pent in, and the wind gathereth as in troughs ; so as^ you shaU have, and that suddenly, as great diversity of heat and cold as if you dwelt in several places. Neither is it ill^ air only that maketh an ill seat, but iU ways, ^ By the death of his brother, Anthony, in 1601, Bacon inherited his father's manor of Gorhambury, near St. Albans, Herts. There, after his marriage, in 1606, he built a new country residence of great dimensions, Verulam House, spending on the mansion and gardens vastly more money than he could afford. In this and the following essay. Of Gardens, Bacon therefore writes from an actual experience of building a country house. ^ Preferred before. The verb prefer is now followed by the prepo- sition to, 2 Seat. Site. * Knap. A small hill, hillock, or knoll. " 'Now, where 's the inn ?' said Mountclere, yawning. 'Just on the knap,* Sol answered." Thomas Hardy. The Hand of Ethelberta. Chapter XLIV. ' A.S. That. ' III. Bad. 204 BACON'S ESSAYS ill markets : and, if you will consult with Momus/ ill neighbours. I speak not of many more ; want of water ; want of wood, shade, and shelter ; want of fruitfulness, and mixture ^ of grounds of several natures ; want of prospect ; want of level grounds ; want of places at some near distance for sports of hunting, hawking, and races ; too near the sea, too re- mote ; having the commodity of navigable rivers,^ or the discommodity of their overflowing; too far off from great cities, which may hinder business, or too near them, which lurcheth* all provisions, and maketh every thing dear ; where a man hath a great living laid together, and where he is scanted : ^ all which, as it is impossible perhaps to find together, so it is good to know them, and think of them, that a man may take as many as he can ; and if he have several dwellings, that he sort^ them so, that what ^ MomuS, in Greek mythology, is a god personifying censure and mockery. According to Hesiod, he is the son of Night, the sleepy god. Bacon has in mind the fable of Aesop (.Aesopi fabulae Graeco- latinae, 193), which relates that Zeus made a bull, Prometheus, a man, and Athena, a house. Momus was called upon to decide which was the best creation, and objected to all three. The bull, he said, should have its horns below its eyes in order to see where to strike; man should have a window in his breast so that his thoughts could be seen ; and a house should be built on wheels, so as to be easily and quickly rolled away from uncomfortable neighbors. Bacon ex- plains Momus's window of the heart in the Advancement of Learn- ing, II. xxiii. 14. ' Bacon means 'want of mixture,' the construction of 'want' going on to the semicolon. ' So in the original, and also in Ed. 1639. It seems as if not had dropped out; or as if the should be no. The translation has commoditas nulla fluviorum navigabilium. S. * Lurch. To absorb ; to monopolize. ° Scant. To limit; to stint. °Sort. To choose, select, pick out. "Nurse, will you go with me into my closet, To help me sort such needful ornaments As you think fit to furnish me to-morrow?" Shakspere. Romeo and Juliet, iv. g. OF BTJILBING 205 he wanteth in the one he may find in the other. Lucullus answered Pompey well ; who, when he saw his stately galleries, and rooms so large and light- some, in one of his houses, said. Surely an excellent place for summer, hut hem do you in winter ? Lucullus answered. Why, do you not think me as mse as some fowl are, that ever change their abode towards the winter f^ To pass from the seat to the house itself ; we will do as Cicero doth in the orator's art ; who writes books De Oratore, and a book he entitles Orator ; whereof the former delivers the precepts of the art, and the latter the perfection. We will therefore describe a princely palace, making a brief model thereof. For it is strange to see, now in Europe, such huge buildings as the Vatican^ and BscuriaP and some others be, and yet scarce a very fair* room in them. First therefore, I say you cannot have a perfect 1 "He had also fine seats in Tusculiim, belvideres, and large open balconies for men's apartments, and porticos to walk in, where Pompey coming to see him, blamed him for making a house which would be pleasant in summer, but uninhabitable in winter ; whom he answered with a smile; 'You think me, then, less provident than cranes and storks, not to change my home with the seasons.* " Plu- tarch. Life of Lucullus. Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men, Translated from the Greek by John Bryden and Others. ' The Vatican, on the Vatican hill, in Rome, is a vast palace which has been the chief residence of the Pope, since the popes returned from Avignon, in 1377. Besides the papal apartments and offices, it contains the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican library and art galleries. ' The Escurial is a celebrated building situated twenty-seven miles northwest of Madrid, and containing a library, a monastery, a palace, a church, and a mausoleum for the Kings of Spain. It was built by Philip II., in 1563-1584. * Vair. Beautiful. "If thou wouldst view fair Melrose aright, Go visit it by the pale moonlight." Scott. The Lay of the Last Minstrel. Canto II. 1. 206 BACON'S ESSAYS palace, except you have two severaP sides ; a side for the banquet,^ as is spoken of in the book of Hester^^ and a side for the household ; the one for feasts and triumphs, and the other for dwelling. I understand both these sides to be not only returns/ but parts of the front ; and to be uniform without, though severally partitioned within ; and to be on both sides of a great and stately tower in the midst of the front, that, as it were, joineth them together on either hand. I would have on the side of the banquet, in front, one only goodly room above stairs, of some forty f oot^ high ; and under it a room for a dressing or preparing place at times of triumphs. On the other side, which is the household side, I wish it divided at the first into a haU and a chapel, (with- a partition between;) both of good state and bigness ; and those not to go aU the length, but to have at the further end a winter and a summer parlour, both fair. And under these rooms, a fair and large cellar sunk under ground ; and likewise some privy kitchens, with butteries and pantries, and the like. As for the tower, I would have it two stories, of eighteen foot high a piece, above the two ^ Several. Separate; individual; not common to two or more. "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." Revelation xxi. 21. 2 Banquet. Banquet or dining hall. ' Esther i, the feast ef King Ahasuerus in Shushan the palace. * Return. In architecture, the continuation of a molding, pro- jection, etc., in an opposite or different direction; also, a side or part that falls away from the front of any straight worlc. As a feature of a molding, it is usual at the termination of the drip- stone or hood of a window or door. ' Forty foot high. Foot as a term of measure is often in the gin^ar when preceded by numerals. OF BUILDING • 207 wings ; and a goodly leads ^ upon the top, railed with statua's interposed ; and the same tower to be divided into rooms, as shall be thought fit. The stairs likewise to the upper rooms, let them be upon a fair open neweP and finely railed in with images of wood, cast into a brass colour ; and a very fair landing-place at the top. But this to be, if you do not point^ any of the lower rooms for a dining place of servants. For otherwise you shall have the ser- vants' dinner after your own : for the steam of it will come up as in a tunnel. And so much for the front. Only I understand the height of the first stairs to be sixteen foot, which is the height of the lower room. Beyond this front is there to be a fair court,* but three sides of it, of a far lower buUding than the front. And in aU the four corners of that court fair staircases, cast into turrets, on the outside, and ^ Leads. The sheets or strips of lead used to cover a roof. "If Fairford's journey had been hitherto in a stifled and sub- terranean atmosphere, it was now open, lofty, and airy enough; for he had to follow his guide over leads and slates, which the old smuggler traversed with the dexterity of a cat." Scott. Red- gauntlet. XIII. ^ Newel. The newel of a winding stair is the upright pillar round which the steps turn, and by which they are supported from the bottom to the top. An 'open,' or hollow, 'newel' is the central or open space or well in a winding stair. 3 Point. To appoint. "The souldier may not move from watchful sted, Nor leave his stand, untill his captaine bed. Who life doth limit by almightie doome (Quoth he) knowes best the termes established; And he, that points the centonell his roome. Doth license him depart at sound of morning droome.'' Spenser. The Faery Queene. Boole I. Canto ix. Stanza 41. * In his edition of the Essays, Mr. S. H. Beynolds suggests that the "fair court" Bacon describes may be the Great Court of Trinity College, Cambridge. The plan of the Great Court, "with a cross" and four grass plots, was the work of Thomas Nevile, Master of Trinity College from 1593 to 1615. Bacon took his M.A. degree at Cambridge July 27, 1594, and represented the University in Parlia- ment in 1614. 208 ■ BACON'S ESSAYS not within the row of buildings themselves. But those towers are not to be of the height of the front, but rather proportionable to the lower building. Let the court not- be paved, for that striketh up a great heat in summer, and much cold in winter. But only some side alleys, with a cross, and the quarters to graze, being kept shorn, but not too near shorn. The row of return on the banquet side, let it be all stately galleries: in which galleries let there be three, or five, fine cupolas in the length of it, placed at equal distance ; and fine coloured win- dows of several works. On the household side, chambers of presence^ and ordinary entertainments, with some bed-chambers ; and let all three sides be a double house, without thorough lights on the sides, that you may have rooms from the sun, both for forenoon and afternoon. Cast ^ it also, that you may have rooms both for summer and winter; shady for summer, and warm for winter. You shall have sometimes fair houses so full of glass, that one cannot tell where to become^ to be out of the sun or cold. For inbowed'' windows, I hold them of good ^ Chamber of presence, or presence-chaTtiber. The room in which a great personage receives company. ^ Cast. To plan ; to devise. "Therefore to cherish him with diets daint, She cast to bring him, where he chearen might, Till he recovered had his late decayed plight." Spenser. The Faery Queene. Book I. Canto x. Stanza 2. ^ Become. To come to a place, to arrive ; passing, later, into to betake one's self, to go. "I cannot joy, until I be resolved Where our right valiant father is hecome." Shakspere. III. King Henry 71. ii. i. *Inbowed. Embowed ; a bow-window or bay-window is a window that 'bows' or projects outwards, on the ground floor, forming a kind of 'bay' within. Bacon probably refers here to oriel windows, which are bow-windows projecting from an upper story. OT BUILDING 209 use ; (in cities, indeed, upright do better, iu respect of the nniformity towards the street;) for they be pretty retiring places for conference ; and besides, they keep both the wind and sun off; for that which would strike almost thorough the room doth scarce pass the window. But let them be but few, four in the court, on the sides only. Beyond this court let there be an inward ^ court, of the same square and height ; which is to be envi- roned with the garden on aU sides ; and in the in- side, cloistered on all sides, upon decent and beau- tiful arches, as high as the first story. On the under story, towards the garden, let it be turned to a grotta, or place of shade, or estivation.^ And only have opening and windows towards the garden; and be level upon the floor, no whit sunken under ground, to avoid all dampishness. And let there be a fountain, or some fair work of statua's in the midst of this court ; and to be paved as the other court was. These buUdings to be for privy lodg- ings on both sides ; and the end for privy galleries. Whereof you must foresee that one of them be for an infirmary, if the prince or any special person should be sick, with chambers, bed-chamber, ante- camera,^ and recamera,^ joining to it. This upon the second story. Upon the ground story, a fair gal- lery, open, upon pUlars; and upon the third story ^Inward. Inner. "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." //. Corinthians iv. 16. 2 Estivation, or aestivation. The passing or spending of the summer; a summer retreat or residence. ^ Antecamera. Antechamber. *Reeamera, A hack chamber; retiring-room. 210 BACON'S ESSAYS likewise, an open gallery, npon pillars, to take the prospect and freshness of the garden. At both cor- ners of the further side, by way of return, let there be two delicate or rich cabinets, daintily paved, richly hanged, glazed with crystalline glass, and a rich cupola in the midst; and all other elegancy that may be thought upon. In the upper gallery too, I wish that there may be, if the place wiU yield it, some fountains running in divers places from the wall, with some fine avoidances.^ And thus much for the model of the palace ; save that you must have, before you come to the front, three courts. A green court plain, with a wall about it ; a second court of the same, but more garnished, with little turrets, or rather embellishments, upon the wall; and a third court, to make a square with the front, but not to be built, nor yet enclosed with a naked waU, but enclosed with tarrasses, leaded ^ aloft, and fairly garnished, on the three sides ; and cloistered on the inside, with pillars, and not with arches below. As for oflces, let them stand at distance, with some low galleries, to pass from them to the place itself. ^ Avoidances. Outlets. * Leaded. Covered with lead. OF GAEDENS 211 XL VI. Of Gardens. GrOD Almighty first planted a Garden. And indeed it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man ; ^ without which buildings and palaces are but gross handy- works: and a man shall ever see that when ages grow to civility ^ and elegancy,' men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely ; as if gardening were the greater perfection. I do hold it, in the royal ordering of gardens, there ought to be gardens for aU the months in the year ; in which severally things * of beauty may be then in season. For De- cember, and January, and the latter part of Novem- ber, you must take such things as are green all win- ter : hoUy ; ivy ; bays ; juniper ; cypress-trees ; yew ; pine-apple-trees ; fir-trees ; rosemary ; lavender ; ^ "Friends, books, a garden, and perliaps his pen. Delightful industry enjoy'd at home. And Nature, in her cultivated trim Dress'd to his taste, inviting him abroad — Can he want occupation who has these?" Cowper. The Task. Booh III. The Garden, 2 Civility. Civilization. ^ Elegancy. Blegance. * "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." John Keats. Endymion. Line 1. ' Lavender. One of the Labiatae or mints, Lavandula Vera, a small shrub with small pale lilac-colored flowers, and narrow oblong or lanceolate leaves. It is a native of the south of Europe and northern Africa, but is extensively cultivated in other countries for its perfume. "Here 's flowers for you; Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram; The marigold, that goes to bed wi' th' sun And with him rises weeping; these are flowers Of middle summer." Shakspere, The Winter's Tale. iv. 3. 212 BACON'S ESSAYS periwinkle, the wliite, the purple, and the blue; germander ;i flags; orange-trees; lemon-trees; and myrtles, if they be stoved ; ^ and sweet mar- joram, warm set. There foUoweth, for the latter part of January and February, the mezereon-tree ^ which then blossoms ; crocus vernus, both the yel- low and the grey ; primroses ; anemones ; the early tulippa ; hyacynthus orientalis ; * chamairis ; ^ fritel- laria.* For March, there come violets, specially the single blue, which are the earliest ; the yeUow daf- fodil; the daisy; the almond-tree in blossom; the peach-tree in blossom ; the cornelian-tree '' in blos- som ; sweet-briar. In April follow, the double white violet ; the wall-flower ; the stock-giUiflower ; ® the ^ Germander. A plant of the genus Teucrium, as Teucrium Canade-nse, American germander, or -wood sage. Bacon probably means the Teucrium Scorodonia, or wood germander, which was cul- tivated in old English gardens. Its blossoms are yellowish-white, in terminal racemes. ' Stove. To keep warm in a house or room hy artificial heat; as, to 'stove' orange trees. 3 Mezereon-tree. The Mezereum is a species of small erect or trailing shrubs of the order Thymeleaceae. The best known repre- sentative of the family in cultivation is Daphne Mezereum, a small shrub with sweet wnite flowers that bloom in December in green- houses. ^Eyacinthus orientalis. The common hyacinth, which came originally from the Levant. 'Chamairis. There are but two irises native to England, and one of them is an aquatic plant. The other one. Iris VoetidAssima, may be what is called here chamairis; it is a blue iris. Possibly chamairis is Iris Reticulata, one of the earliest irises cultivated in England. But the Elizabethans cultivated many varieties of iris. ' Fritellaria. A genus of liliaceous plants, the best known species of which are the Crown Imperial (Fritellaria Imperialis), and the Common Fritellary or Snakeshead (Fritellaria Meleagris) , England. The Crown Imperial is a native of Persia, and was introduced into the royal garden at Vienna about 1576. It is said to have arrived in England shortly afterwards. It was therefore a new flower to both Bacon and Shakspere, and they could only have Been it in some choice garden. ^ Cornelian-tree. The cornel-tree, or cornelian cherry. ' Stock-gilliflower, This is the White StocTc (Matthiola Incana). OF GARDENS 213 cowslip ; flower-de-lices,^ and lilies of all natures ; rosemary-flowers; the tulippa; the double piony; the pale daffodil; the French honeysuckle; the cherry-tree in blossom ; the dammasin ^ and plum- trees in blossom ; ^ the white thorn in leaf; the lilac-tree. In May and June come pinks of all sorts, specially the blush-pink ; roses of all kinds, except the musk, which comes later ; honey- suckles; strawberries; bugloss; columbine; the French marigold ; flos Africanus ; ^ cherry-tree in ^ "Now, my fair'st friend, I would I had some flowers o' the spring that might Become your time of day; — and yours, and yours. That wear upon your virgin branches yet Tour maidenhoods growing: — O Proserpina, For th' flowers now, that, frighted, thou lett'st fall From Dis's wagon I golden daffodils. That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty; violets dim, But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes Or Cytherea's breath ; pale primroses, That die unmarried, ere they can behold Bright Phoebus in his strength, — a malady Most incident to maids ; bold oxlips and The crown-imperial; lilies of all kinds, The flower-de-luce being one I" Shakspere. The Winter's Tale, iv, 3. Flower-de-lices. Since both Bacon and Shakspere refer to the flower-de-luce as a lily, it is clear that for them the iris had not yet wholly appropriated the name. Their fleur-de-lis may have been the same as Ghajicer's, the LUium, Candidum; the common white lily. "His nekke whit was as the flour-de-iys," Chaucer writes of the singing friar. The Prologue. 238. 2 Dammasin. The damson plum-tree. The damson is a small black or dark purple plum, the fruit of Prunus Communis, or Do- mestica. The particular variety, Damascena, was introduced in very early times into Greece and Italy from Syria. "Gloster. Mass, thou lovedst plums well, that wouldst venture so. Simpcox. Alas, good master, my wife desired some damsons. And made me climb, with danger of my life." Shakspere. 11. King Henry YI. ii. 1. 3 Flos Africanus. The Latin translation reads Flos Africanus, simplex et multiplex, and omits "the French marigold." It would seem then that by Flos Africanus, or 'African flower,' Bacon meant the African marigold (Tagetes Freda) ; the French marigold is Tagetes Patula. Or possibly, the French marigold was called the 214 BACON *S ESSAYS fruit J ribes ; ^ figs in fruit ; ra^ps ; ^ vine-flowers ; lavender in flowers; the sweet satyrian,^ with the white flowers; herba muscaria;* lilium con- vallium;^ the apple-tree in blossom. In July come gilliflowers of all varieties; musk-roses ; the lime-tree in blossom; early pears and plums in fruit ; genitings,® quadlins.'^ In August come plums of all sorts in fruit ; pears ; apricocks ; ^ •African flower' in Bacon's time, and the modern punctuation is at fault. Shakspere's "marigold that goes to bed wi' th' sun" was a different flower, Calendula Officinalis, one of the Compositae. It is a common flower in country gardens, of a deep yellow color; the name, Calend/ula, means 'little calendar,* or 'little weather-glass,' referring to its opening with the sun and shutting with the dew. ^ Eibes. Currants. ^ Hasps, Raspberries. ^ Satyrian. Sacyreia Hortensis, or Summer Savory, a low and homely sweet herb, with pale or purplish flowers. Like lavender, sweet mar- joram, and other aromatic herbs, it is used in English gardens in mass to fill a border. The border in an English garden needs to be filled, because it is not the mere edge of a flower-bed ; it is a strip of ground, often several feet mde, forming a fringe to the general area within laid out in flower-plots, or otherwise, and separated from it by a path. * Eerba musearia. Muscari Botryoides, the Grape-Hyacinth, or Globe-Hyacinth, of the Lily family, a common little garden flower of early spring, with a dense raceme of dark blue flowers, like a minute cluster of grapes. It is now naturalized in the United States. ^Lilium convalUum. The convall lily, convally; lily of the valley. * Jenneting. Genitings. Apparently from the French Jean or Jeannet, in poTrume de Saint-Jean, "S. John's apple, a kind of soone- ripe Sweeting." Cotgrave. A kind of early apple. "Yet, tho' I spared thee all the spring, Thy sole delight is, sitting still, With that cold dagger of thy bill. To fret the summer jenneting." Tennyson. The Blackbird. Stanza 3. "^ Quadlin, or Codling, codlin. The codling is a variety of apple in shape elongated and rather tapering towards the eye, having several sub-varieties, as Kentish codling, Keswick codling. "As a squash is before 't is a peascod, or a codling when 't is almost an apple." Shakspere. Twelfth Night, i. 5. ^ Apricocks. The fruit of the apricot, Prunus Armeniaca, or Armenian Plum. It is roundish-oval in shape, orange- colored, and has a delicious flavor. 'Feed him with apricocks and dewberries. With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries." Shakspere. A. Midsummer-Night's Dream. Hi. l. OF GARDENS 215 berberries ; ^ filberds ; musk-melons ; monks-hoods,^ of all colours. In September come grapes ; apples ; poppies of all colours ; peaches j melocotones ; ^ nectarines;* cornelian^; wardeng;^ quinces. In October, and the beginning of November come ser- vices;® medlars j*^ bullaces;^ roses cut or removed to come late ; hoUy-oaks ; ^ and such like. These ^Berberry. The barberry (Berberis Vulgaris), oommonly spelled and pronounced 'barberry.' It is a shrub that is found native in Europe and North America, with spiny shoots, and pendulous racemes of small yellow flowers, succeeded by oblong, red, sharply acid berries. ^Monk's-hood. Aconite, of the Ranunculaceae, or Crowfoot family. In England monk's-hood is especially Aconitum NapeUus, which is also called friar's-cap, fox-bane, helmet-flower, Jacob's chariot and wolf's-bane. Gray records two American aconites, Aconitum TJncinatum, or Wild Monk's-hood, with blue flowers, and Aconitum Beclinatum, or Trailing Wolf's-bane, with white flowers. ^ Melocotone. Melocoton, or Melocotoon, a large kind of peach. "A wife here with a strawberry breath, cherry lips, apricot cheeks, and a soft, velvet head, like a melicotton." Ben Jonson. Bartholo- mew Fair. i. 1. * Nectarine. A variety of the common peach, from which its fruit differs only in having a rind devoid of down, and a firmer pulp. Both fruits are sometimes found growing on the same tree. ^ Wardens. The warden is a large pear used chiefly for roast- ing or baking. Cotgrave defined this pear as "poire de garde, a warden, or winter peare, a peare which may be kept verie long." "I must have saffron to colour the warden-pies." Shalcspere. The Winter's Tale. iv. 2. ° Services. The fruit of Pyrus (Sorbus) Domestica, a tree that belongs to continental Europe. It grows from twenty "to sixty feet high, has leaves like those of the mountain ash or rowan tree, and bears a small pear-shaped or apple-shaped fruit, which, like the medlar, is pleasant only in an over-ripe condition. "^ Medlars. The fruit of the medlar, a small bushy tree, Mespilus Germanica, related to the crab-apple, cultivated in gardens for its fruit. The fruit resembles a small, brown-skinned apple, but with a broad disk at the summit surrounded by the remains of the calix lobes. When first gathered, it is harsh and uneatable, but in the early stages of decay it acquires an acid flavor relished by some. ^ Bullaces. The wild plum (Prunus Insititia) , larger than the sloe, well known in England as a semi-ctiltivated fruit ; there are two varieties, the black or dark blue, and the white. Like the persim- mon, the bullace is astringent until frost comes. ^ Holly-oaks. Hollyhocks (Althea Rosea) , the well-known gar- den flower widely cultivated in many varieties, with showy blossoms of various tints of red, purple, yellow, and white. 216 BACON'S ESSAYS particulars are for the climate of London ; but my meaning is perceived, that you may have ver per- petuwm,^ as the place affords. And because the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air (where it comes and goes like the war- bling of music) than in the hand, therefore nothing is more fit for that delight, than to know what be the flowers and plants that do best perfume the air. Roses, damask and red, are fast^ flowers of their smells ; so that you may walk by a whole row of them, and find nothing of their sweetness; yea^ though it be in a morning's dew. Bays* hkewise yield no smell as they grow. Rosemary little ; nor sweet marjoram.* That which above all others yields the sweetest smell in the air, is the violet, specially the white double violet, which comes twice a year ; about the middle of April, and about Bar- tholomew-tide.* Next to that is the musk-rose. ^ Perpetual spring. ^Fast. Firm; tenacious. "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." I. Corinthians xvi. 13. ^ Xea. Not this alone; not only so, hut also; what is more. "Many of you, yea, most, return no more." Tennyson. The Holy Grail. *Bay, also called Sweet Bay, the Laurus Nobilis, an arborescent shrub cultivated in English gardens, with deep green leaves and a i profusion of dark purple berries. The leaves, -when crushed or bruised give out the odor of cinnamon, and on this account, to- gether with their beauty, they were used in olden times to garnish dishes for a banquet. The Bible refers to the very ancient super- stition that the flourishing of the bay tree meant good, and its withering, evil. "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. "Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." Psalms xxxvii. 35 and 36. = Sweet marjoram. A plant of the mint family. Origanum Ma- jorana, peculiarly aromatic and fragrant, flowers purplish pink. ° St. Bartholomew's day, August 24 O. S. OF GARDENS 217 Then the strawberry-leaves dying, with a most ex- cellent cordial smell. Then the flower of the vines ; it is a little dnst, like the dust of a bent, which grows upon the cluster in the first coming forth. Then sweet-briar. Then wall-flowers, which are very delightful to be set under a parlour or lower chamber window. Then pinks and gilliflowers/ specially the matted pink and clove gilliflower. Then the flowers of the Hme-tree. Then the honey- suckles, so they be somewhat afar off. Of bean- flowers ^ I speak not, because they are field flowers. But those which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but being trodden upon ^ GiMflowers. Gillyflower is a name that has been applied to varions plants whose blossoms smell like the clove (Old French, girofie, or clove), and especially to the clove-scented pink, Dianthus Caryophyllus, or Clove-gillyflower. The clove-gillyflower is the original of the carnation and other double pinks in cultivation, and it is the gillyflower of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspere, and Bacon. "The fair'st flowers o' the season Are our carnations^ and streak'd gillyvors." Shafcspere. The Winter's Tale. iv. 3. In those dialects in which the name gillyflower is still current, it is commonly applied, either to the Wall-flower (Cheiranthus Oheiri), or Wall-Gillyflower, or to the White Stock (Matthiola Incana), or StocJc-Gilly flower. Bacon's garden contains all three, pinks, stocks, and wall-flowers. The wall-flower is a native of southern Europe, where its deep orange-yellow flowers light up old walls and cliffs. In cultivation, the flowers range in color from pale yellow to deep red, and are clustered in short racemes. Wall-flowers are "de- lightful to be set" under windows because of their sweet odor. 2 Bean-flower, Vicia Fdba, or Faba Yulgaris, a bean which has been cultivated in England for centuries as food for cattle, just as Indian corn is grown in the United States. In A Midsuw/mer- Night'8 Dream, ii. 1, Shakspere refers to "a fat and 6ean-fed horse." "Long let us walk, Where the breeze blows from yon extended field Of blossomed beans. Arabia cannot boast A fuller gale of joy, than, liberal, thence Breathes through the sense, and takes the ravish'd soul." James Thomson. The Seasons. Spring, 218 BACON'S ESSAYS and crushed, are three ; that is, burnet,^ •wild-thjnme,^ and -watermints. Therefore you are to set whole alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread. For gardens (speaking of those which are indeed prince-like, as we have done of buildings), the con- tents ought not well to be under thirty acres of ground ; and to be divided into three parts ; a green in the entrance ; a heath ^ or desert in the going forth ; and the main garden in the midst ; besides alleys on both sides. And I like well that four acres of ground be assigned to the green ; six to the heath ; four and four to either * side ; and twelve to the main garden. The green hath two pleasures : the ^Burnet. The popular name of plants belonging to the genera Sangxdsorba and. PoteHum, of the Rosaceae, of which the Great or Convmon Burnet (Sanguisorha Officinalis) is common, in England, on the meadows, and the Lesser or Salad Burnet (Poterium San- guisorha) on the chalk. The Salad Burnet received its generic name from the fact that its leaves, which taste somewhat like cucum- ber, were formerly dropped into goblets of wine to flavor it before drinking. "That even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs. Losing both beauty and utility." ShaJcspere. King Henry Y. o. 1. ^ Wild-thyme. Thymus Serpyllum, Creeping Thyme, an incon- spicuous plant, of the mint family, with flat green leaves and whitish or purplish flowers crowded at the ends of the branches, leaves and flowers both small. It is found growing in tufts on sunny hedgebanks, or in old fields. "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows ; Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine, With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine." Shahspere. A Midsummer-Night's Dream, ii. 1. ^ Heath. A part of a garden left more or less in a wild state; now called ;i 'wilderness.' * Either. Each. OF GARDENS 219 one, because notlimg is more pleasant to the eye than gi-een grass kept finely shorn ; the other, be- cause it will give you a fair alley in the midst, by which you may go in front upon a stately hedge, which is to enclose the garden. But because the alley will be long, and, in great heat of the year or day, you ought not to buy the shade in the garden by goiag in the sun thorough the green, therefore you are, of either side the green, to plant a covert^ alley, upon carpenter's work, about twelve foot in height, by which you may go in shade into the garden. As for the making of knots ^ or figures with divers coloured earths, that they may lie under the windows of the house on that side which the garden stands, they be but toys: you may see as good sights many times in tarts. The garden is best to be square, encompassed on all the four sides with a stately arched hedge. The arches to be upon pUlars of carpenter's work, of some ten foot high, and six foot broad ; and the spaces between of the same di- mension with the breadth of the arch. Over the arches let there be an entire hedge of some four foot high, framed also upon carpenter's work ; and upon the upper hedge, over every arch, a little turret, with a belly, enough to receive a cage of birds : and over every space between the arches some other little figure, with broad plates of round coloured glass gUt, for the sun to play upon. But this hedge ^ Covert. Covered. 2 Knot. A flower-bed laid out in a fanciful or intricate design; also, more generally, any laid-out garden plot; a flower-knot. "I must see what progress has been made with my rustic bridge — whether my terrace-walk has yet been begun — how speeds my bower — if my flower-knots are arranging according to rule." Susan Edmonstone Ferrier, The Inheritance, LXIX, 220 BACON'S ESSAYS I intend to be raised upon a bank, not steep, but gently slope,^ of some six foot, set all with flowers. Also I understand, that this square of the garden should not be the whole breadth of the ground, but to leave on either side ground enough for diversity of side alleys ; unto which the two covert alleys of the green may deliver you. But there must be no aUeys with hedges at either end of this great en- closure; not at the hither end, for letting your prospect upon this fair hedge from the green ; nor at the further end, for letting ^ your prospect from the hedge through the arches upon the heath. For the ordering of the ground within the great hedge, I leave it to variety of device ; advising nev- ertheless that whatsoever form you cast it into, first, it be not too busy,^ or f uU of work. Wherein I, for ^ Slope. Sloping, '^ Let. To hinder; to prevent. "No spears were there the shock to let." Scott. The Lord of the Isles. YI. xxiii. ^ Busy. Bacon goes on to define the old meaning of busy here, "full of work," elaborate, such as "images cut out in juniper or other garden stuff." It is more than likely that Bacon had in mind his father's gardens at Gorhambury. Edmund Lodge, in his Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain, Vol. II., says of Sir Nicholas Bacon, — "He built a mansion on his estate of Redgrave, and another at Gorhambury, near St. Albans, to which last he added gardens of great extent, in the contrivance and decoration of which every feature of the bad taste of the time was abundantly lavished." Topiary work, or the clipping of trees, especially the juniper pine, into regular or fantastic shapes, was much practised by the old gardeners. Trees were cut into figures representing men, hats, um- brellas, jugs, bottles, candles, birds, mortars, corkscrews, and the like. H. Inigo Triggs, in his Formal Gardens in England and Scotland (1902), illustrates by some fine plates some of this old topiary work as it is still to be seen at Levens Hall, Westmorland, at Heslington Hall, Yorkshire, at Balcarres Castle, Fifeshire, and elsewhere. "I was led to a pretty garden,, planted with edges of Alaternus, having at the entrance a skreene at an exceeding height, accurately cut in topiary worke, with well understood Architecture, consisting of pillars, niches, freezes, and other ornaments, with greate curi- osity; some of the columns wreathed, others spiral, all according to art." John Evelyn* Diary. %5 March, 1G44, written in Caen, France. OF GAEDENS 221 my part, do not lite images cut out in juniper or other garden stuff; they be for children. Little low hedges, round, like welts,^ with some pretty pyramides, I like well ; and in some places, fair col- umns upon frames of carpenter's work. I would also have the alleys spacious and fair. You may have closer alleys upon the side grounds, but none in the main garden. I wish also, in the very middle, a fair mount, with three ascents, and alleys, enough for four to walk abreast ; which I would have to be perfect circles, without any bulwarks or emboss- ments ; ^ and the whole mount to be thirty foot high ; and some fine banqueting-house, with some chim- neys neatly cast, and without too much glass. For fountains they are a great beauty and refresh- ment ; but pools mar all, and make the garden un- wholesome, and fuU of flies and frogs. Fountains I intend to be of two natures : the > one that sprinkleth or spouteth water ; the other a fair re- ceipt of water, of some thirty or forty foot square, but without fish, or slime, or mud. For the first, the ornaments of images gilt, or marble, which are in use, do well : but the main matter is so to convey the water, as it never stay, either in the bowls or in the cistern ; that the water be never by rest dis- coloured, green or red or the like ; or gather any mossiness or putrefaction. Besides that, it is to be cleansed every day by the hand. Also some steps ^ Welt, A border, or fringe. "Clap but a civil gown witli a welt on the one, and a canonical cloke "with sleeves on the other, and give them a few terms in their mouths, and if there comes not forth as able a doctor and complete a parson, for this turn, as may be wish'd, trust not my election." Ben Jonson. Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman, iv. 2. ' Embossment, A ivlging, or protuberance. 222 BACON'S ESSAYS up to it, and some flue pavement about it, doth well. As for the other kind of fountain, which we may- call a bathing pool, it may admit much curiosity^ and beauty; wherewith we will not trouble our- selves : as, that the bottom be finely paved, and with images ; the side likewise ; and withal embel- lished with coloured glass, and such things of lustre; encompassed also with fine rails of low statua's. But the main point is the same which we mentioned in the former kind of fountain ; which is, that the water be in perpetual motion, fed by a water higher then the pool, and delivered into it by fair spouts, and then discharged away under ground, by some equality of bores, that it stay little. And for fine devices, of arching water without spill- ing, and making it rise in several forms (of feathers, drinking glasses, canopies, and the like), they be pretty things to look on, but nothing to health and sweetness. For the heath, which was the third part of our plot, I wish it to be framed, as much as may be, to a natural wildness. Trees I would have none in it, but some thickets made only of sweet-briar and honey- suckle, and some wild vine amongst ; and the ground set with violets, strawberries, and primroses. For these are sweet, and prosper in the shade. And these to be in the heath, here and there, not in any order. I like also little heaps, in the nature of mole-hills (such as are in wild heaths), to be set, some with wUd thyme ; some with pinks ; some with germander, that gives a good flower to the eye; some with 1 Curiosity, Careful or elaborate worleTnanehip ; elegance. OF GAEDENS 223 periwinkle ; some with violets ; some with straw- berries; some with cowslips; some with daisies; some with red roses ; some with lUiam convalliam ; some with sweet-williams red; some with bear's- foot:^ and the like low flowers, being withal sweet and sightly. Part of which heaps are to be with standards of little bushes pricked upon their top, and part without. The standards to be roses; jumper ; holly ; berberries ; (but here and there, be- cause of the smeU of their blossom;) red currants; gooseberry; rosemary j^ bays; sweet-briar; and such like. But these standards to be kept with cutting, that they grow not out of course. For the side grounds, you are to fill them with variety of alleys, private, to give a full shade, some of them, wheresoever the sun be. You are to frame some of them likewise for shelter, that when the wind blows sharp, you may walk as in a gallery. And those alleys must be likewise hedged at both ends, to keep out the wiud ; and these closer alleys must be ever finely gravelled, and no grass, because of going' wet. In many of these alleys likewise, you ^ Bear'a-foot. The popular name of various species of Hellebore; especially of the Black Hellebore (Helleborus Foetid^us, Ranuncu- laceae, or Crowfoot family) ; it is a beautiful plant with spreading panicles of globular flowers, whose sepals are green edged with pinls. "The late narcissus, and the winding trail Of bear's-foot, myrtles green, and ivy pale," Dryden. Georgics. Book IT. 184—185. 2 Rosemary. An evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus Officinalis, which is a native of southern Europe. The ancients associated the plant with the spray of the sea, whence the name ros marinus, literally 'sea-dew.' It has a beautiful azure-blue flower, and a most fra- grant smell. "There 's rosemary, that 's for remembrance." Shakspere, Satnlet. iv. 2, ' Go, To tend to ; conimce. 224 BACON'S ESSAYS are to set fruit-trees of all sorts ; as well upon the walls as in ranges. And this would be generaUj' observed, that the borders wherein you plant your fruit-trees be fair and large, and low, and not steep ; and set with fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive^ the trees. At the end of both the side grounds, I would have a mount of some pretty height, leaving the wall of the enclosure breast high, to look abroad into the fields. For the main garden, I do not deny but there should be some fair alleys ranged on both sides, with fruit-trees ; and some pretty tufts of fruit-trees, and arbours with seats, set in some decent order; but these to be by no means set too thick ; but to leave the main garden so as it be not close, but the air open and free. For as for shade, I would have yoa rest upon the alleys of the side grounds, there to walk, if you be disposed, in the heat of the year or day ; but to make account that the main garden is for the more temperate parts of the year ; and in the heat of summer, for the morning and the even- ing, or overcast days. For aviaries, I like them not, except they be of that largeness as they may be turfed, and have living plants and bushes set in them ; that the birds may have more scope, and natural nestling, and that no foulness appear in the floor of the aviary. So I ^Deceive. Xo cheat; defraud. "Wheresoever one plant draweth such a particular juice out of the earth, as it qualifieth the earth, so as that juice which remaineth is fit for the other plant; there the neighbourhood doth good; because the nourishments are contrary or several; but where two plants draw much the same juice, there the neighbourhood hurteth; for the one dec^iveth the other," B^Qn, Sylva Sylvarum, Century Y. 479, OF NEGOCIATING 225 have made a platform of a princely garden, partly by precept, partly by drawing, not a model, but some general lines of it ; and in this I have spared for no cost. But it is nothing for gi-eat princes, that for the most part taking advice with workmen, with no less cost set their things together ; and sometimes add statua's, and such things, for state and magnifi- cence, but nothing to the true pleasure of a garden. XL VII. Of Negociating. It is generally better to deal by speech than by letter ; and by the mediation of a third than by a man's self. Letters are good, when a man would draw an answer by letter back again ; or when it may serve for a man's justification afterwards to produce his own letter ; or where it may be danger to be interrupted, or heard by pieces. To deal in person is good, when a man's face breedeth regard, as com- monly with inferiors ; or in tender cases, where a man's eye upon the countenance of him with whom he speaketh may give him a direction how far to go; and generally where a man wiU reserve to himself liberty either to disavow or to expound. In choice of instruments, it is better to choose men of a plainer sort, that are like to do that that is committed to them, and to report back again faith- fully the success, than those that are cunning to contrive out of other men's business somewhat to grace themselves, and wiQ help the matter in report 226 BACON'S ESSAYS for satisfactiqn sake. Use also such persons as affect the business wherein they are employed ; for that quickeneth much ; and such as are fit for the matter ; as bold men for expostulation, fair-spoken men for persuasion, crafty men for inquiry and ob- servation, froward^ and absurd men for business that doth not well bear out^ itself. Use also such as have been lucky, and prevailed before in things wherein you have employed them ; for that breeds confidence, and they will strive to maintain their prescription.^ It is better to sound a person with whom one deals afar off, than to fall upon the point at first ; except you mean to surprise him by some short question. It is better dealing with men in appetite,* than with those that are where they would be. If a man deal with another upon condi- tions, the start or first performance is all ; which a man cannot reasonably demand, except either the nature of the thing be such, which must go before ; or else a man can persuade the other party that he shall still need him in some other thing ; or else that he be counted the honester man. All practice^ is to discover, or to work. Men discover themselves in trust, in passion, at unawares, and of necessity, when they would have somewhat done and cannot find an apt pretext. If you would work ® any man, 1 Froward. Di^cult to deal with ; refractory ; ungovernable ; per- verse. "Russell had always been froward, arrogant, mutinous." Macaulay. History of England. Tol. IV. Chapter xix. 233 (1867). ^To bear out. To justify; to establish. "Prescription. Custom continued until it has the force of law; a right acquired by long or immemorial use. * Appetite. Inclination; desire. ^ Practice. Negotiation. • Work. To manage ; handle. OF FOLLOWEES AND FEIENDS 227 you must either know his nature and fashion/ and so lead him ; or his ends, and so persuade him ; or his weakness and disadvantages, and so awe him ; or those that have interest in him and so govern him. In dealing with cunning persons, we must ever consider their ends, to interpret their speeches ; and it is good to say little to them, and that which they least look for. In all negociations of difBculty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once ; but must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees. XL VIII. Of Followers and Friends. Costly followers are not to be liked ; lest while a man maketh his train longer, he make his wings shorter. I reckon to be costly, not them alone which charge the purse, but which are wearisome and importune^ in suits. Ordinary followers ought to challenge no higher conditions than countenance, recommendation, and protection from wrongs. Factious followers are worse to be liked, which follow not upon ^ affection to him with whom they range themselves, but upon discontentment* con- ceived against some other; whereupon commonly ^ Fashion. Way ; habit ; manner. "Let 's do it after the high Roman fashion." Shakspere. Antony and Cleopatra, iv. IB. ^ Importune. Importunate. ^ Upon. In eonsequence of; from. * Discontentment. Discontent. 228 BACON'S ESSAYS ensueth that ill intelligence^ that we many times see between great personages. Likewise glorious ^ followers, who make themselves as trumpets of the commendation of those they follow, are full of in- convenience ; for they taint business through want of secrecy ; and they export honour from a man, and make him a return in envy. There is a kind of followers lik;ewise which are dangerous, being indeed espials; which inquire the secrets of the house, and bear tales of them to others. Yet such men, many times, are in great favour ; for they are of&cious,* and commonly exchange tales. The fol- lowing by certain estates* of men, answerable to that which a great person himself prof esseth, (as of soldiers to him that hath been employed in the wars, and the like,) hath ever been a thing civil,^ and well taken even in monarchies; so it be without too much pomp or popularity.® But the most honorable kind of following is to be followed as one that apprehend eth'' to advance virtue and desert in aU sorts of persons. And yet, where there is no eminent odds in suflciency, it is better to take with the more passable, than with the more able. And besides, to speak truth, in base times active ^Intelligence. A. relation or footing between persons or parties; a good (or other) understanding 'between' or 'with.' ^Glorious. Boastful; vainglorious. 'Officious. Active or zealous in doing one's dMty ; dutiful; usefvX. "Come, come, be every one officious To make this banquet." Shakspere. Titus Andronicus. v. 2. * Estates of men. Order of men. ' GivU. Decorous ; proper. 'Popularity. Active in sense, u, desire to obtain favor with the people. ' Apprehend, To anticipate ; to expect. OF FOLLOWEES AND FRIENDS 229 men are of more use than virtuons. It is true that in government it is good to use men of one rank equally : for to countenance some extra- ordinarily, is to make them insolent, and the rest discontent ; ^ because they may claim a due. But contrariwise, in favour, to use men with much dif- ference^ and election is good; for it maketh the persons preferred more thankful, and the rest more officious : because all is of favour. It is good dis- cretion not to make too much of any man at the first ; because one cannot hold out that proportion. To be governed (as we call it) by one, is not safe ; for it shews softness,^ and gives a freedom to scan- dal and disreputation ; * for those that would not censure or speak ill of a man immediately, will talk more boldly of those that are so great with them, and thereby wound their honour. Yet to be dis- tracted with many is worse ; for it makes men to be of the last impression, and full of change. To take advice of some few friends is ever honourable ; for lookers-on many times see more than gamesters; and the vale best discovereth the hill. There is little friend- ship in the world, and least of all between equals, which was wont to be magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose fortunes may comprehend the one the other. ^ Discontent. Discontented. ^ Difference. Distinction. ^ Softness. Weakness. "A satire against the softness of pros- perity." Shakspere. Timon of Athens, v. 1. * Disreputation. Disrepute. 230 BACON'S ESSAYS XLIX. Of Suitoes. Many ill matters and projects are undertaken ; and private suits do putrefy the public good. Many- good matters are undertaken with bad minds; I mean not only corrupt minds, but crafty minds, that intend not performance. Some embrace suits, which never mean to deal effectually in them ; but if they see there may be life in the matter by some other mean,i they will be content to win a thank,^ or take a second ^ reward, or at least to make use in the mean time of the suitor's hopes. Some take hold of suits only for an occasion to cross some other ; or to make an information* whereof they could not otherwise have apt pretext ; without care what be- come of the suit when that turn is served ; or, gen- erally, to make other men's business a kind of enter- tainment ^ to bring in their own. Nay some under- take suits, with a full purpose to let them fall ; to the end to gratify the adverse party or competitor. Surely there is in some sort a right in every suit ; either a right in equity, if it be a suit of controversy ; or a right of desert, if it be a suit of petition. If ^ Mean. Means. ' Thank. Expression of gratitude. Now plural. "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have yel For sinners also love those that love them." Luke vi. 32. ^Second. Secondary ; inferior. * To make an information. To inform one's self. ^Enteriamment. A preliminary occupation; spending (of time). "Sir Naihaniel, as concerning some entertainment of time, some show in the posterior of this day, to be render'd by our assistance, at the King's command, and this most gallant, illustrate, and learned gentleman, before the Princess, — I say none so fit to present as the Nine Worthies." Shakspere. Love's Labour's Lost, v, 1, OF SUITOES 231 affection lead a man to favour the less worthy in desert, let him do it without depraving ^ or disabling the better deserver. In suits which a man doth not well understand, it is good to refer ^ them to some friend of trust and judgment, that may report whether he may deal in them with honour : but let him choose well his referendaries,* for else he may be led by the nose. Suitors are so distasted * with delays and abuses,^ that plain dealing in denying to deal in suits at first, and reporting the success barely, and in challenging no more thanks than one hath deserved, is grown not only honourable but also gracious. In suits of favour, the first coming ought to take little place : ^ so far forth '^ consid- eration may be had of his trust, that if intelligence of the matter could not otherwise have been had but by him, advantage be not taken of the note,^ but the party left to his other means ; and in some ^Deprave. To defame; decry; disparage. So, Italian "depra- vare, to backbite." Florio. "Unjustly thou deprav'st it with the name Of servitude to serve whom God ordains, Or Nature." Milton. Paradise Lost. YI. 174— 17e. 2 Refer, To apply or appeal to. * Referendary. One to whose decision anything is referred ; u. referee. * Distaste. To be displeased, or offended. ^ Ahuse. Deception; imposture; delusion. "What should this mean? Are all the rest come back? Or is it some abuse, and no such, thing?" Shakspere. Hamlet, iv. 4. "To take place. To take effect; to avail. ' So far forth. To the specified extent and no more. 'Note. Notice; information; knowledge. "Sir, I do know you; And dare, upon the warrant of my note. Commend a dear thing to you." Shakspere. King Lear. Hi. X, 232 BACON'S ESSAYS sort recompensed for his discovery. To be ignorant, of the value of a suit is simplicity ; as weU as to be ignorant of the right thereof is want of conscience. Secrecy in suits is a great mean of obtaining; for voicing ^ them to be in forwardness may discourage some kind of suitors, but doth quicken and awake others. But timing of the suit is the principal. Timing, I say, not only in respect of the person that should grant it, but in respect- of those which are like to cross it. Let a man, in the choice of his mean,2 rather choose the fittest mean than the greatest mean ; and rather them that deal in certain things, than those that are general. The reparation of a denial is sometimes equal to the first grant ; if a man shew himself neither dejected nor discon- tented. Iniqumn petas ut cequumferas,^ is a good rule, where a man hath strength of favour : but other- wise a man were better rise in his suit ; for he that would have ventured at first to have lost the suitor, will not in the conclusion lose * both the suitor and his own former favour. Nothing is thought so easy a request to a great person, as his letter ; and yet, if it be not in a good cause, it is so much out of his ^ Voice. To announce ; proclaim ; report. ^ Mean. Agent ; instrument. Kare in the sin^lar. 'Follow me, soldiers: we '11 devise a mean To reconcile you all unto the King." ShaTcspere. II. King Henry YI. iv. S. ^ Ask what is unreasonable, that you may get what is equitable. "Nee omnino fine ratione est, quod vulgo dicitur, Iniquum peten- dum, ut aequum feras." M. Fabii QuintUiani de Institutione Ora- toria Liber IV. v. 16. * Lose, To ruin; to destroy. "What to ourselves in passion we propose. The passion ending, doth the purpose lose." Shakapere, Hamlet. Hi. 2. OF STUDIES ■ 233 reputation. There are no worse instruments than these general contrivers of suits ; for they are but a kind of poison and infection to public proceedings. L. Of Studies. Studies serv^ for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in private-, ness and retiring ; for ornament, is in discourse ; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and per- haps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned./ To. spend too much time in studies is sloth ; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation ; to make ^ judgment wholly by their rules, is the humour of a scholar. They perfect nature^ and are perfected by experience : for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need^Toyning^ by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at ^large, except they be bounded in by experience. "Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them ; for they teach not their own use ; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. ^ Read not to ^ Make. Of a court, a judge. To render, give (a decision, judg- ment). The New English Dictionary, on the authority of Sir Fred- erick Pollock, says, "Now unusual in England; still common in America." - Proyning, old spelling of pruning. 234 BACON'S ESSAYS contradict and confute ; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find^alk and discourse; but to weigh and consider, l^ome books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested ; that is, some books are; to be read only in parts ; others to be read, but not curiously ; ^ and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. \ ' Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others ; but that would 2 be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books ; else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy ^ things. '^Reading maketh a full m,an; conference/ a ready man ; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, hehad need have a great_memory ; if he conf erTitni^ he had need have a gresent wit : and if he read little, he had need have much'^uq- ning, to seem to know that * he doth not. Historic^ make men wise ; poets witty ; the mathematics sub- tile ; natural philosophy deep ; moral grave ; logic and rhetoric able to contend^ Abeunt studia in mores.^ Nay there is no stond® or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought ' out by fit studies : ^ Curiously. Attentively. 2 Would, for should. ^Flashy. Insipid; tasteless. , ' That. What, that which. ° Studies develop into manners. Sive abeunt studia in mores, artesque mugistrae. P. Ovidii Naaonis Heroides. Epistola XT. 83. Sappho Phaoni. Note this thought and Bacon's own translation of it: "Abeunt stu- dia in mores, studies have an influence and operation upon the man- ners of those conversant in them." Advancem-ent of Learning^ I. Hi. 4. ^ Stond. Hindrance. ^ Wrought. Worked. "What hath God wrought," the first tele- gram, was sent by Samuel Finley Breese Morse, " inventor of the telegraph, from the rooms of the United States Supreme Court, in Washington, to Baltimore, May 24, 1844. or FACTION 235 like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins ; ^ shooting for the lungs and breast ; gentle walking for the stomach ; riding for head ; and the like. So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathemathics ;; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so Kttle, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the schoolmen ; for they are cymini sectores? If he be not apt to beat ^ over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers' cases. So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. LI. Of Faction. Many have an opinion not wise, that for a prince to govern his estate,* or for a great person to govern his proceedings, according to the respect of factions, is a principal part of policy; whereas contrari- ^ Reins. Kidneys. ^ Splitters of cumin, that is, hair-3plitters. Cumin is an oriental plant with small, aromatic seed. "Antoninus Pius, who succeeded him, was a prince excellently learned, and had the patient and subtle wit of a schoolman; in so much as in common speech (which leaves. no virtue untaxed) he was called Cymini Sector, a carver or divider of cummin seed, which is one of the least seeds; such a patience he had and settled spirit, to enter into the least and the most exact differences of causes; a fruit no doubt of the exceeding tranquillity and serenity of his mind; which being no ways charged or incumbered, either with fears, remorses, or scruples, but having been noted for a man of the purest goodness, without all fiction or affectation, that hath reigned or lived, made his mind continually present and entire." Advancement of Learning, I. vii. 7. ' To beat over. To beat out, to get to the bottom of. 'Estate. State. 236 BACON'S ESSAYS wise,^ the chiefest wisdom is either in ordering those things which are general, and wherein men of sev- eral factions do nevertheless agree ; or in dealing with correspondence to particular persons, one hy one. But I say not that the consideration of fac- tions is to be neglected. Mean men, in their rising, must adhere ; but great men, that have strength in themselves, were better to maintain themselves in- different and neutral. Yet even in beginners, to adhere so moderately, as he be a man of the one faction which is most passable^ with the other, com- monly giveth best way. The lower and weaker fac- tion is the firmer in conjunction ; and it is often seen that a few that are stiff do tire out a greater number that are more moderate. When one of the factions is extinguished, the remaining subdivideth ; as the faction between Lucullus and the rest of the nobles of the senate (which they called Optimatesf held oijt awhile against the faction of Pompey and Caesar ; but when the senate's authority was pulled down, Ctesar and Pompey soon after brake. The faction or party of Antonius and Oetavianus Ctesar against Brutus and Cassius,* held out likewise for a time; but when Brutus and Cassius were over- thrown, then soon after Antonius and Oetavianus brake and subdivided. These examples are of wars, ' Contrariwise. On the contrary. ^ Passable. That may be passed; receivable ; acceptable. ' Optimates. The adherents of 'the best' men, that ;s, in the Roman political sense, the aristocratic party, the aristocrats, in opposition to populares, the popular party. * Cains Cassius Longinus, died near Philippi, Macedonia, 42 B.C., Roman general and politician. He was the leading conspirator against Caesar in 44 B.C., and was defeated, with Brutus, by Pompey at Philippi. OF FACTION 237 but the same holdeth in private factions. And therefore those that are seconds in factions do naany times, when the faction subdivideth, prove princi- pals ; but many times also they prove cyphers and cashiered ;^ for many a man's strength is in oppo- sition ; and when that f aileth he groweth out of use. It is commonly seen that men once placed take in with the contrary faction to that by which they enter : thinking belike ^ that they have the first sure, and now are ready for a new purchase. The traitor in faction lightly goeth away with it ; for when mat- ters have stuck long in balancing, the winning of some one man casteth them, and he getteth all the thanks. The even carriage between two factions proceedeth not always of moderation, but of a true- ness to a man's self, with end to make use of both. Certainly in Italy they hold it a little suspect ' in popes, when they have often in their mouth Padre commune : * and take it to be a sign of one that meaneth to refer all to the greatness of his own house. Kings had need beware how they side " themselves, and make themselves as of a faction or party; for leagues within the state are ever perni- cious to monarchies : for they raise an obligation ^Cashiered. To he 'cashiered,' discarded, deposed, that is, of no account, "cyphers." ^Belike. 'By what is likely,' tliat is, not unlikely; possibly. "Tilings that I know not of belike to thee are dear." Wordsworth. The Pet Lamb. Line 51. * Suspect. Suspicious. "Suspecions was the diffame of this man, Suspect his face, suspect his word also." Chaucer. The Clerk's Tale. II. 540-541. * Common Father. ^ Side. To take or choose a side. 238 BACON'S ESSAYS paramount to obligation of sovereignty, and make the king tanquam unus ex nobis ; ^ as was to be seen in the League ^ of France. When factions are car- ried too high and too violently, it is a sign of weak- ness in princes ; and much to the prejudice both of their authority and business. The motions of fac- tions under kings ought to be like the motions (as the astronomers speak) of the inferior orbs, which may have their proper motions, but yet still are quietly carried by the higher motion of primum mobile. LII. Of Ceremonies anb Ebspects.* He that is only real, had need have exceeding great parts of virtue ; as the stone had need to be rich that is set without f oU.* But if a man mark it well, it is in praise and commendation of men as it is in gettings and gains : for the proverb is true, ITiat light gains make heavy purses; for light gains come thick, whereas great come but now and then. So it ^ As one of us. ''The Holy League was formed by the Eoman Catholic interests in 1576 under the leadership of Henry, Duke of Guise. Henry III. of Prance weakly joined the League which directed its main efforts towards preventing the succession of Henry of Navarre, his heir and a Protestant. The Duke of Guise became so powerful as to set up pretensions to the throne. Henry III. fled from Paris, and ultmiately entered into an alliance with Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots. King in name only, he took the part of a pawn m the great game Henry of Guise and Henry of Navarre were playing. "Respects. Deferential good wishes; complimentary regards. Voil. A piece of gold or silver leaf set behind a gem to give it color or lustre, " OF CEEEMOKIES AND EESPBCTS 239 is true tliat small matters win great commendation, because they are contimially in use and in note : whereas the occasion of any great virtue cometh but on festivals. Therefore it doth much add to a man's reputation, and is (as queen Isabella ^ said) like per- petual letters commendatory, to have good forms. To attain them it almost sufficeth not to despise them ; for so shall a man observe them in others ; and let him trust himself with the rest. For if he labour too much to express them, he shall lose their grace ; which is to be natural and unaffected. Some men's behaviour is like a verse, wherein every syllable is measured ; how can a man comprehend great mat- ters, that breaketh his mind too much to small observations ? ^ Not to use ceremonies at all, is to teach others not to use them again ; and so dimin- isheth respect to himself ; especially they be not to be omitted to strangers and formal natures ; but the dwelling upon them, and exalting them above the moon, is not only tedious, but doth diminish the faith and credit of him that speaks. And certainly there is a kind of conveying of effectual and imprinting ^ passages amongst compliments, which is of singular use, if a man can hit upon it. Amongst a man's peers a man shall be sure of familiarity ; and there- ^ Isabella I., the Catholic, 1451—1504, daughter and heiress of Juan II. of Castile, and queen of Ferdinand V. (II. of Aragou and III. of Naples). Isabella's enduring title to fame is that she be- lieved in Columbus, and equipped the three little ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta, with which he set forth from Palos, August 3, 1492, to discover America. "Queen Isabell of Spain used to say: Whosoever hath a good presence and a good fashion, carries letters of recommendation." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 99 (74). - Observations. Observances. ^ Imprinting. That imprints or impresses something on the mind; impressive. 240 BACON'S ESSAYS fore it is good a little to keep state. Amongst a man's inferiors one shall be sure of reverence ; and therefore it is good a little to be familiar. He that is too much in anything, so that he giveth another occasion of satiety, maketh himself cheap. To apply one's self to others is good ; so it be with demonstra- tion that a man doth it upon regard, and not upon facility. It is a good precept generally in second- ing another, yet to add somewhat of one's own : as i£ you will grant his opinion, let it be with some dis- tinction ; if you will follow his motion, let it be with condition ; if you allow his counsel, let it be with al- leging further reason. Men. had need beware how they be too perfect in compliments; for be they never so sufficient ^ otherwise, their enviers will be sure to give them that attribute, to the disadvan- tage of their greater virtues. It is loss also in busi- ness to be too full of respects, or to be curious ^ in observing times and opportunities. Salomon saith, Me that considereth the wind shall not sow, and he that looheth to the clouds shall not reap? A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Men's behaviour should be like their apparel, not too strait or point device,* but free for exercise or motion.^ ^Sufficient. Capable; qualified; competent; fit. *'You 'II never meet a more sufficient man." Shaksper'e. Othello. Hi. 4. 2 Curious. Minutely accurate ; exact ; precise. 3 Ecclesiastes xi. 4, * Point-device. Precise; nice; scrupulously neat; finical. "Then your hose should be ungarter'd, your bonnet unbanded, your sleeve unbutton'd, your shoe untied, and everything about you demonstrat- ing a careless desolation. But you are no such man: you are rather point-device in your accoutrements," Shakspere. As Sou Like It. Hi. 2. ° For Bacon's own admirable definition of behaviour as the 'gar- ment of the mind,' read the Advancement of Learning, II. xxiii. S. OF PRAISE 241 LIII. Of Praise. Praise is tlie reflexion of virtue. But it is as the glass or body which giveth the reflexion. If it be from the common people, it is commonly false and naught; and rather followeth vain persons than virtuous. For the common people understand not many excellent virtues. The lowest virtues draw praise from them ; the middle virtues work in them astonishment or admiration; but of the highest virtues they have no sense of perceiving at all. But shews, and species virtutibus similes,^ serve best with them. Certainly fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swoln, and drowns things weighty and sohd. But if persons of quality and judgment concur, then it is (as the Scripture saith), Ifomen bonum insiar miguenti fragrantis? It filleth all round about, and will not easily away.^ For the odours of ointments are more durable than those of flowers. There be so many false points of praise, that a man may justly hold it a suspect. Some praises proceed merely of flattery ; and if he be an ordinary flatterer, he will have certain com- mon attributes, which may serve every man ; if he ^ Appearances similar to virtues. "7s Cal-purnio genere ortus, ac multa insignesgue familias paterna nobilitate eomplexus, claro apud indgum rumore erai per virtutem, aut species virtutibus similes." P. Cornelii Taciti Annaliurn Liber X7. 48. ^ A good name is like unto a fragrant ointment. Bacon has here in mind Ecclesiastes vii. 1, where the proverb is, *'A good name is better than precious ointment." * Away. Go away. Elliptical use, with verb suppressed, simu- lating an imperative, or rarely, as here, an infinitive. "For 'get you gone,' she doth not mean away!" Shakspere. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hi. 1. 242 BACON'S ESSAYS be a cunning flatterer, he will foUow the arch- flatterer, which is a man's self ; and wherein a man thinketh best of himself, therein the flatterer will uphold him most : but if he be an imprudent flat- terer, look wherein a man is conscious to himself that he is most defective, and is most out of counte- nance in himself, that will the flatterer entitle him to perforce, spretd conscientid} Some praises come of good wishes and respects, which is a form due in civility to kings and great persons, laudando prmci- pere,^ when by telling men what they are, they represent to them what they should be. Some men are praised maliciously to their hurt, thereby to stir envy and jealousy towards them; pessimum genus inimicorum laudcmtium ;^ insomuch as it was a proverb amongst the Grecians, that he that was praised to Ms hurt, should have a push* rise upon his nose; as we say, that a blister will rise upon on^s tongue that tells a lie. Certainly moderate praise, used with opportunity, and not vulgar, is that which doth the good. Salomon saith. He thatprais- eth his friend aloud, rising early, it shall he to him no better than a curse? Too much magnifying of man or matter doth irritate contradiction, and procure envy and scorn. To praise a man's self cannot be decent, except it be in rare cases ; but to praise a ^ Conscience being despised. ^ To instruct by praising. * Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies. "Ca/aaa periculi non crimen vXlum, aut querela laesi cujusquam, sed infensus virtutibus Princeps, et gloria viri, ac pessimum inimicorum, gentts, laudantes." Cornelii Taciti Vita Agricolae. Caput 41. * Push. Pimple. ^ "He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him." Proverbs xxvii. 14. OF VAIN-GLOEY 243 man's office or profession, he may do it with good grace, and with a kind of magnanimity. The Cardi- nals of Rome, which are theologues,^ and friars, and schoolmen, have a phrase of notable contempt and scorn towards civil business: for they call all temporal business of wars, embassages, judicature, and other employments, shirrerie, which is under- sheriffries; as if they were but matters for under- sheriffs and catchpoles : ^ though many times those under-sheriffries do more good than their high speculations. St. Paul, when he boasts of himself, he doth oft interlace, Ispeah like a fool ;^ but speak- ing of his calling, he saith, magnificabo apostolatwm meum.* LIV. Of "Vain-Gloet. It was prettily devised of ^sop : the fly sat upon the axle-tree of the chariot wheel, and said, What a dust do I raise! ® So are there some vain persons, that ^Theologues. Theologians. ^ Catchpole, or catchpoll. A bailiff's assistant; u sergeant (of police). 3 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft." II. Corinthians xi. 23. * "For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine oifice." Romans xi. 13. 'Fable CCLXX. A Fly upon a Wheel. The Fables of Atste- mius, etc., in Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mytholo gists : With Morals and Reflexions. By Sir Roger L'Estrange, Kt. The third edition. 1669, p. 244. Laurentius Abstemius is the Latin- ized name of the Italian fabulist, Lorenzo Bevilaqua, who published a book of fables entitled, 3ecathomythium sen centum Fabvlae. (Tenetiis. 1499. 4to.). This charming fable Abstemius called, he Musca Quae Quadrigis Insidens, puluerem. se excitasse dicebat. Bacon may have read it and associated it with Aesop, in a little 244 BACON'S ESSAYS whatsoever goeth alone or moveth upon greater means, if they have never so little hand in it, they think it is they that carry it. They that are glori- ous must needs be factious ; ^ for all bravery stands upon comparisons. They must needs be violent, to make good their own vaunts. Neither can they be secret, and therefore not effectual; but according to the French proverb, Beaucoup de bruit, peu de fruit ; Much bruit,^ little fruit. Yet certainly there is use of this quality in civil affairs. Where there is an opinion and fame to be created either of vii'- tue or greatness, these men are good trumpeters. Again, as Titus Livius noteth in the case of Antiochus^ and the JEtolians, there are sometimes great effects of cross lies;* as if a man that negociates between two princes, to draw them to join in a war against the third, doth extol the forces of either of them above measure, the ore to the other : book of Latin fables published in Lyons in Henry the Eighth's time: Aesopi Phrygis et Aliorum Fabulae, quorum nomina sequenti paffella uidere licet. Accessit huic editioni Alterum Laurentii Ab- stemii Hecathomiythium, hoc est, centum fabularum libellua alter. Lugduni Apud Saeredes Simonis Vincentii M. D. XXXVII. ^Factious. Given to faction; inclined to form parties, or to act for party purposes; seditious. "He is a traitor; let him to the Tower, And chop away that factious pate of his." Shakspere. II. King Henry TI. v. 1. ^ Bruit. Noise; din; clamour. "Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons." Jeremiah x. 22. 'Antioehus III., sumamed 'the Great,' was born about 238 B.C. and died in 187 B.C. He was King of Syria from 223 to 187 B.C. * For the "cross lies" between Antiochus III. and the Aetolians, see Livy, Liber XXXVII. Capita 48, 49, and SO. After the de- feat of the Macedonians at Cynocephalae, 197 B.C., by Flamininus, the Aetolian confederation attempted to form an alliance with An- tiochus III., King of Syria. It proved to be disastrous, for Antiochus was defeated by Porcius Cato at the pass of Thermopylae, 181 B.C., and by the brothers, Cornelius and Africanus Scipio, at Magnesia, 190 B.C. OF VAIN-GLORY 245 and sometimes he that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both, by pretending greater interest than he hath in either. And in these and the like kinds, it often falls out that somewhat is produced of nothing ; for lies are suf- ficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings on substance. In militar^ commanders and soldiers, vain-glory is an essential point ; for as iron sharpens iron, so by glory ^ one courage sharpeneth another. In cases of great enterprise upon charge^ and adven- ture, a composition of glorious natures doth put life into business ; and those that are of solid and sober natures have more of the ballast than of the sail. In fame of learning, the flight will be slow without some feathers of ostentation. Qui de contemnendd glorid libros scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt.*' Soc- rates, Aristotle,' Galen," were men full of ostenta- tion. Certainly vain-glory helpeth to perpetuate a 1 MUitar. Military. "And there instruct the noble English heirs. In politique and mUitar affairs." Ben JoTtson. Vnderwoods. LXIII. A Speech. According to Horace. ^ Glory. Boastfulness. Now obsolete, except in the combination, Vainglory,' "I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the King of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks." Isaiah x. 12. 3 Charge, Expense or cost; "charge and adventure" means *cost and risk.' * Those who write books condemning glory inscribe their names therein. Bacon is quoting Cicero, "Quid? nostri philosophi nonne in iis libris ipsis, quos scribunt de contemnenda gloria, sua nomina inscribunt?" What? shall not our philosophers who write con- demning glory inscribe their names in their own books? M. Tullii Ciceronis Tusculanarwm Disputationum ad Brutum Liber I. Caput 15. ° Aristotle, 384 — 322 B.C., one of the most famous an^i influential of the Greek philosophers. He was the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the teacher of Alexander the Great. His extant works include the Politics, Poetics, Nichomachean Ethics, Metaphysics, Rhetoric, etc. ' Claudius Galenus, bom about 130 A.D., was a celebrated Greek physician and philosophical writer. 246 BACON'S ESSAYS man's memory ; and virtue was never so beholding to human nature, as ^ it received his due at the second hand. Neither had the fame of Cicero, Seneca, Plinius Secundus^ borne her age so well, if it had not been joined with some vanity in them- selves ; like unto varnish, that makes ceilings not only shine but last. But all this whUe, when I speak of vain-glory, I mean not of that property that Taci- tus doth attribute to Mucianus ; ^ Omnium, quce dix- eratfeceratque, arte quddam ostentator:^ for that pro- ceeds not of vanity but of natural magnanimity and discretion ; and in some persons is not onlj' comely, but gracious. For excusations,^ cessions,^ modesty itself well governed are but arts of ostentation. And amongst those arts there is none better than that which Plinius Secundus speaketh of, which is to be liberal of praise and commendation to others, in that wherein a man's self hath any perfection. For saith Pliny very wittily. In commending another you do yourself right; for he that you commend is either superior to you in that you commend, or inferior. If he be inferior, if he ie to he commended, you much ^As. That. ^ Cains Plinius Caecilius Seeundus, Pliny the Younger, 62—113 A.D., a Roman author. He was the nephew of, the elder Pliny, the naturalist, and the friend of Trajan and Tacitus. His Epistles and a eulogy of Trajan have been preserved. ^ Marcus Licinius Crassus Mucianus was a grandson of Licinius Crassus of the first triumvirate. He was consul in 66 A.D., gov- ernor of Syria, 67 A.D., and consul again in 70 and 72 a.d. He died in or before 77 a.d. The phrase is borrowed from Livy, XXVI. 19, who uses it of Scipio Africanus, "Fuit Scijno non veris tantum virtutibus imrahilis, sed arte quoque quadajn ab juventa in ostentationem earum compositus." * Tacitus's words are "omniumque quae diceret atque ageret arte auadam ostentator," and by a certain art a vaunter of all that he had said or done. Cornelii Taeiti Uistoriarum Liber II. 80. ^ Excusationa. Excuses. " Cessions. Concessions. OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION 247 more; if he he superior, if he he not to he commended^ you much less} Grlorious men are the scorn of wise men, the admiration of fools, the idols of parasites, and the slaves of their own vaunts.^ LV. Of Honour and Reputation. The winning of Honour is but the revealing of a man's virtue and worth without disadvantage. For some in their actions do woo and affect honour and reputation ; which sort of men are commonly much talked of, but inwardly little admired. And some, contrariwise, darken their virtue in the shew of it ; so as they be undervalued in opinion. If a man per- form that^ which hath not been attempted before; or attempted and given over ; or hath been achieved, but not with so good circumstance;^ he shall pur- ^ I quote the Latin of Pliny, to call attention to Bacon's style of translation, close but varied: "Disertior ipse es? tanto magis, ne invideris : nam qui invidet minor est, Denique, sive plus sive minus sive idem praestas, lauda vel inferiorem vel superiorem vel parem: superiorem, quia, nisi laudand/us ille, non potes ipse laudari; inferiorem, ant parem,, quia pertinet ad tuam gloriam quam maximum videri quern praecedis vel exaequas." O. Plini Caecili Secundi Epis- tolarum. Liber YI. 17. ^ Taunt. A vain display ; a toast. "As next the King, he was successive heir. And such high vaunts of his nobility. Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess By wicked means to frame our sovereign's fall." SkaJcspere, II. King Henry YI. Hi. 1. 3 That. What. * Circumstance. The logical surroundings or adjuncts of an action, such as its time,, place, manner j or cause; in the singular, any one of these conditioning adjuncts. "My lord hath sent you this note ; and by me this further charge, — that you swerve not from the smallest article of it, neither in time, matter, or other circumr stance." ShaJcspere. Measure for Measure, iv. 8. 248 BACON'S ESSAYS chase more honour, than by effecting a matter of greater difficulty or virtue, wherein he is but a fol- lower. If a man so temper his actions, as ^ in some one of them he doth content every faction or com- bination of people, the music will be the fuller. A man is an ill husband ^ of his honour, that entereth into any action, the failing wherein may disgrace him more than the carrying of it through can honour him. Honour that is gained and broken upon another^ hath the quickest reflexion, like dia- monds cut with fascets. And therefore let a man contend to excel any competitors of his in honour, in'out-shooting them, if he can, in their own bow. Discreet followers and servants help much to repu- tation. Omnis fania a domesticis emanate Envy, which is the canker of honour, is best extinguished by declaring a man's self in his ends rather to seek merit than fame ; and by attributing a man's suc- cesses rather to divine Providence and felicity, than to his own virtue or policy. The true marshalling of the degrees of sovereign honour are these. In >4.s. That. ^Euaband. One who manages his affairs with skill and thrift; a saving, frugal, or provident man; an economist. "I gave each of them a Musket witli a Firelock on it, and about eight Charges of Powder and Ball, charging them to be very good Husbands of both, and not to use either of them but upon urgent Occasion." Defoe. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, p. 253 (Globe edition) . ^The Latin essay reads, "Honor qui comparativus est et aliwm praegravat," Honor which is gained and weighs down or depresses another, that is, 'honor which is gained by overcoming a com- petitor.' ' All fame emanates from domestics. Bacon is quoting from a let- ter of Quintus Cicero to his brother Marcus Tullins, "Nam fere omnis sermo ad forensem famam a domesticis eman'at auctoribus." Epistola Q. Ciceronis Be Petitione Consulatus ad M. Fratrem. Y. 17. M. Tullii Ciceronis Scripta Quae Manserunt Omnia. III. 049. B. Klotz. Leipzig. 1885. OF HONOUE AND BEPXTTATION 249 the first place are conditores imperiorimij founders of states and commonwealths j such as were Romulus, Cyrus,^ CsBsar, Ottoman^^ Ismael. In the second place are legislatores, lawgivers; which are also called second founders, ov perpetui principeSj^ because they govern by their ordinances after they are gone 5 such were Lycurgus,^ Solon, Justinian,^ Eadgar,*^ Alphonsus of CastLLe,"^ the wise, that made the Siete partidas. In the third place are liber atores, or sal- vatores,^ such as compound ® the long miseries of civil wars, or deliver their countries from servitude of strangers or tyrants ; as Augiistus Cassar, Vespa- sianus, Aurelianus,^^ Theodoricus,^^ King Henry the ^ Cyrus the Great, 559 — 529 B.C., founder of the Persian empire. 2 Osman I. (Othman, or Ottoman), died 1326, founder of the Ottoman empire. He became chief of his tribe in 1288, and as- sumed the title'of emir (not of sultan) in 1299. 3 Perpetual princes. * Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, lived probably in the 9th cen- tury B.C. He is the traditional author of the laws and institutions of Sparta. ^ Flavius Anicius Justinianus, 'the Great,' 483—565 a.d., Byzan- tine emperor, 527 — 565. ^ Eadgar, or Edgar, 944 — 975, called 'the Peaceful,' great- grandson of Alfred, King of England, 959-975. ^Alfonso X., 1221-1284, King of Leon and Castile, 1252-1282, surnamed 'the Wise' and 'the Astronomer.' He was the author of the Spanish code of laws, which is called Las Siete Partidas, from 'the seven parts' into which it is divided. Alfonso X. made Castilian the national language of Spain by causing the Bible to be translated into it, and by requiring all legal proceedings to be conducted in Castilian. ^ Liberators or saviours. ® Compound. To settle or compose (disturbance, strife, differ- ence, litigation). "Rise, Griimio, rise; we will compound this quarrel." Shakspere. The Taming of the Shrew, i. 2. ^*> Claudius Lucius Valerius Domitius Aurelianus, 212(?)— 275 A.D., Emperor of Rome 270 — 275 a.d. Aurelian was the conqueror of Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in 272 and 273. He was called by the Roman senate, the 'Restorer of the Roman Empire,' "Theodoric the Great, 454(?)-526, King of the East Goths. In mediaeval German romance Theodoric is celebrated as Dietrich von Bern (that is, Theodoric of Verona), 250 BACON'S ESSAYS Seventh of England, King Henry the Fourth of France.! j^ ^j^q fourth place are propagatores or propugnatores imperii; ^ such as in honourable wars enlarge their territories, or make noble defence against invaders. And in the last place are patres patriae^ which reign justly, and make the times good wherein they live. Both which last kinds need no examples, they are in such number. Degrees of honour in subjects are, first participes (mrarum,* those upon whom princes do discharge the greatest weight of their affairs ; their right hands, as we call them. The next are duces belK,^ great leaders ; such as are princes' lieutenants, and do them notable ^ services in the wars. The third are gratiosi, favour- ites ; such as exceed not this scantling,^ to be solace to the sovereign, and harmless to the people. And the fourth, negotiis pares; * such as have great places under princes, and execute their places with sufil- ciency. There is an honour, likewise, which may be ranked amongst the greatest, which happeneth 'Henry IV., o( France, 1553-1610, King of France, 1589-1610. He was the son of Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre, and Jeanne d'Albret, and is the Henry of Navarre of song and story. * Propagators or defenders of empire. ^ Fathers of their country. * Sharers of cares. ^ Leaders of war. ^Notable. Worthy of notice; noteworthy; remarlcdble. "And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes." Daniel viii. S. ' Scantling. A small quantity, number, or amount, "The mule- teer, as I told you, was a little, joyous, chirping fellow, who thought not of to-morrow, nor of what had gone before, or what was to follow, provided he got but his scantling of Burgundy, and a little chit-chat along with it." Sterne. The Life and Opinions of Trie- tram Shandy, Oent. Til. 21. * Equal to negotiations. For Bacon's own translation, "able to manage affairs," see Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates, OF JUDICATURE 251 rarely ; that is, of such as sacrifice ^ themselves to death or danger for the good of their country ; as was M. Regulus,^ and the two Decii.^ LYI. Of Judicature.* Judges ought to remember that their of&ce is jus dicere, and not jus dare ; to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law. Else will it be like the au- thority claimed by the church of Rome, which under pretext of exposition of Scripture doth not stick^ to * Sacrifice. To make an offering or sacrifice of one's self; to devote one's self as an expression of thanksgiving, reconciliation, consecration, or penitence. ^ Marcus Atilius Regulus, a celebrated Roman general and consul, who died about 250 B.C. According to Roman tradition, Regulus in the first Punic War, after conquering and devastating the country of the Carthaginians up to the gates of Carthage, was finally defeated and taken prisoner. Some time afterwards, the Carthaginians sent Begulus to Rome to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, first exacting from him a promise, on oath, that, if he were unsuccessful, he would ireturn to captivity. Regulus advised the Roman senate not to con- sent to the exchange, on the ground that it would be disadvantageous to Rome. Then, true to his oath, he returned to Carthage, where the en- raged Carthaginians put him to death in the most barbarous manner. 8 The two Decii were father and son of the same name, Publius Decius Mus, of the plebeian gens of the Decii. The father was consul in 340 B.C. In the battle of Mt. Vesuvius in that year, Decius, repeating after the chief pontiff a solemn formula by which he devoted "the legions and auxiliaries of the enemy along with him- self to the Dii Manes and the earth-goddess," then dashed into the janks of the Latins, and met a death which was followed by a crush- ing defeat of the enemy. (Livy. Till. 9.) The son, Publius D«cius Mus, was consul for the fourth time in 295 B.C., and sacrificed himself after the manner of his father in the battle of Sentinum, when the left wing which he commanded was shaken by the Gauls. (Livy. X. 28.) * This essay contains the substance of Bacon's charge as Lord Chancellor to Sir Richard Hutton on being created puisne, or junior, judge of the common bench. The speech was delivered in the Court of Common Pleas, May 3, 1617. Sir Richard Hutton, 1561( ?)-1639, was a fellow 'ancient' of Bacon's at Gray's Inn. Bacon on delivering him his patent complimented him on possessing the virtues of a judge. ^ Stick. To scruple; hesitate. '1 252 /N ,., . BACON'S BSSAYS ^^ TI^^^^W add a la alter ; and to prouounce that which they do ' not fi id ; and by shew of antiquity to introduce nov^L^. elty. Judges ought to be more learned than witty, / more reverend than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue. Cursed (saith the law) is he that re- nioveth the landmark.^ The mislayer of a mere-stone ^ is to blame. But it is the unjust judge that is the capital remover of landmarks, when he deflneth amiss of lands and property. One foul sentence doth more hurt than many foul examples. For these do but corrupt the stream, the other corrupteth the fountain. So saith Salomon, Fans turbatus, et vena corrupta, est Justus cadens in causd sud coram ad- versaria.^ The office of judges may have reference unto the parties that sue, unto the advocates that plead, unto the clerks and ministers of justice under- neath them, and to the sovereign or state above them. First, for the causes »r parties that sue. There be (saith the Scripture) that turn judgment into worm- wood ; * and surely there be also that turn it into vinegar ; for injustice maketh it bitter, and delays make it sour. The principal duty of a judge is to suppress force and fraud ; whereof force is the more pernicious when it is open, and fraud when it is close and disguised. Add thereto contentious suits, 1 "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark." Deuter- onomy xxvii. 17. 2 Mere-stone. A stone to mark a boundary. ^ A just man falling in his cause before his adversary is as a troubled fountain and a corrupt spring. Bacon slightly varies the quotation from the Vulgate, "A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring." Pro- verbs XXV. 26. * "Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave ofE righteous- ness in the earth," Amos v. 7. OF JUDICATUEE 253 which ought to be spewed out, as the surfeit of courts. A judge ought to prepare his way to a just sentence, as Grod useth to prepare his way, by rais- ing valleys and taking down hills : so when there appeareth on either side an high hand, violent prose- cution, cunning advantages taken, combination, power, great counsel, then is the virtue of a judge seen, to make inequality equal ; that he may plant his judgment as upon an even ground. Quifortiter emungit, elicit sanguinem ; ^ and where the wine-press is hard wrought, it yields a harsh wine, that tastes of the grape-stone. Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences ; for there is no worse tortui-e than the torture of laws. Specially in case of laws penal, they ought to have care that that which was meant for terror be not turned into rigour ; and that they bring not upon the people that shower whereof the Scripture speaketh, Pluet super eos laqueos ; ^ for penal laws pressed are a shower of snares upon the people. Therefore let penal laws, if they have been sleepers of ^ long, or if they be grown unfit for the present time, be by wise judges confined in the execution : Judicis officium est, ut res, ita tempera rerum, cfr.* In causes of life and death, ^ He who wrings the nose hard draws blood. Bacon is quoting Proverbs xxx, 33, "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood." 2 He shall rain snares upon them. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest : this shall be the portion of tfceir cup." Psalms xi. 6. ^ Of would now be for ; so in Luke xxiii. 8, "for he was desirous to see him of a long season," that is, 'for a long season.' * It is the duty of a judge to consider the times as well as the circumstances of facts. "Judicis officium est, ut res, ita tempora rerum Quaerere." P. Ovidii Nasonie Tristium Liber I. Elegia I. 37—38, 254 BACON'S ESSAYS judges ought (as far as the law permitteth) in justice to remember mercy; and to cast a severe eye upon the example, but a merciful eye upon the person. Secondly, for the advocates and counsel that plead. Patience and gi-avity of hearing is an essen- tial part of justice ; and an overspeaking^ judge is no well-tuned cymbal.^ It is no grace to a judge first to find that which he might have heard in due time from the bar ; or to show quickness of conceit ^ in cutting off evidence or counsel too short ; or to prevent* information by questions, though perti- nent. The parts of a judge in hearing are four: to direct the evidence ; to moderate length, repetition, or impertinency ^ of speech ; to recapitulate, select, and collate the material points of that "which hath been said ; and to give the rule or sentence. What- soever is above these is too much ; and proceedeth either of ^ glory '' and wiUingness to speak, or of impatience to hear, or of shortness of memory, or of want of a staid and equal attention. It is a strange thing to see that the boldness of advo- cates should prevail with judges; whereas they should imitate God, in whose seat they sit; who repressefh the presumptuous and giveth grace^ to the ^ Overspeahing. That speaks too much. ^ "Praise him upon tlxe well-tuned cylnbals." Psalms cl. 5. The Psaiter. ^Conceit. Conception ; apprehension. * Prevent. To forestall. "For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head." Psalm^s xxi. 3. ■^ Impertinency. Irrelevancy. ° Of. From. ' Olory. Vanity ; display. ' Grace. Favor. "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." James iv. 6, OF JUDICATUEE 255 modest. But it is more strange, that judges should have noted favourites ; which cannot but cause mul- tiplication of fees, and suspicion of bye-ways. There is due from the judge to the advocate some commen- dation and gracing,! where causes are well handled and fair 2 pleaded; especially towards the side which obtaiueth not ; for that upholds in the client the reputation of his counsel, and beats down in him the conceit^ of his cause. There is likewise due to the public a eivU reprehension of advocates, where there appeareth cunning counsel, gross neg- lect, slight information, indiscreet pressing, or an over-bold defence. And let not the counsel at the bar chop* with the judge, nor wind himself into the handling of the cause anew after the judge hath declared his sentence ; but on the other side, let not the judge meet the cause half way, nor give occasion for the party to say his counsel or proofs were not heard. Thirdly, for that that concerns clerks and min- isters. The place of justice is an hallowed place ; and therefore not only the bench, but the foot-pace ^ and precincts and purprise* thereof, ought to be preserved without scandal and corruption. For cer- 1 Grace. To favor. 2 Fair. Fairly. "Speak me fair in death." Shakspere. The Merchant of Venice, iv. 1. ^ Conceit. Opinion. "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him." Proverbs xxvi. 18. * Chop. To bandy words. "The chopping French we do not understand." Shakspere, King Richard II. u. 3. ^ Foot-pace. Lobby. ® Purprise. Enclosure. 256 BACON'S ESSAYS tainly €frapes (as the Scripture saith ) will not he gathered of thorns or thistles ; ^ neither can justice yield her fruit with sweetness amongst the briars and brambles of catching and polling ^ clerks and ministers. The attendance of courts is subject to four bad instruments. First, certain persons that are sowers of suits; which make the court swell, and the country pine. The second sort is of those that engage courts in quarrels of jurisdiction, and are not truly amid curia, but parasiti curiae,^ in puffing a court up beyond her bounds, for their own scraps* and advantage. The third sort is of those that may be accounted the left hands of courts ; persons that are full of nimble and sinister tricks and shifts, whereby they pervert the plain and direct courses of courts, and bring justice into oblique lines and laby- rinths. And the fourth is the poller and exacter of fees ; which justifies the common resemblance of the courts of justice to the bush whereunto whUe the sheep flies for defence in weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. On the other side, an ancient clerk, skilful in precedents, wary in proceedings, and understanding in the business of the court, is an ex- cellent finger of a court ; and doth many times point the way to the judge himself. 1 "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" Matthew vii. 16. 'Poll. Xo plunder; to exact 'graft.' Poller, a little further on, means a plunderer, a 'grafter.' ' Friends of the court, but parasites of the court. • Scrap. In the provincial English of Norfolk, a scrap, or scrape, is a quantity of chaff mixed with grain and laid as a decoy to lure small birds for the purpose of shooting or netting them; hence, a snare. Familiar, in the spelling 'scrape,' meaning a situation of difBeulty or perplexity. "Scrap. A villainous scheme or plot Grose." A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English. John S Farmer and W, E. Benley. 1905. " <■ «. OF JUDICATURE 257 Fourtlily, for that which may concern the sov- ereign and estate. Judges ought above all to re- member the conclusion of the Roman Twelve Tables ; Salus populi suprema lex ; ^ and to know that laws, except they be in order to that end, are but things captious,^ and oracles not well inspired. Therefore it is an happy thing in a state when kings and states do often consult with judges; and again when judges do often consult with the king and state : the one, when there is matter of law intervenient ^ in business of state ; the other, when there is some consideration of state intervenient in matter of law. For many times the things deduced to judg- ment may be meum and tuum* when the reason and consequence thereof may trench to point of estate : ^ I call matter of estate, not only the parts of sover- eignty, but whatsoever introduceth any great altera- tion or dangerous precedent ; or concerneth mani- festly any great portion of people. And let no man weakly conceive that just laws and true policy have any antipathy ; for they are like the spirits and sinews, that one moves with the other. Let judges also remember, that Salomon's throne was supported by lions on both sides : ^ let them be lions, but yet 1 The safety of the people is the supreme law. The quotation is not from the Laws of the XII Tables, but from Cicero, De Legihus Liber III. Caput 3. Section 8, where Cicero proposes it as a law for the government of his imaginary Republic. ' Captious. Perplexing. 2 Intervenient. Intervening. * 'Mine' and 'thine.' = Estate. State. ^ "The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. "And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps : there was not the like made in any kingdom," I. Eings x. 19 and 80. 258 BACON'S ESSAYS lions under the throne ; being circumspect that they do not check or oppose any points of sovereignty. Let not judges also be so ignorant of their own right, as to think there is not left to them, as a prin- cipal part of their offi.ce, a wise use and application of laws. For they may remember what the apostle saith of a greater law than theirs ; JVos scimus quia lex tona est, modo quis ed utatur legitime.^ LVII. Of Anger. To seek to extinguish Anger utterly is but a bravery^ of the Stoics. We have better oracles : Be angry, but sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your anger.^ Anger must be limited and confined both in race and in time. We will first speak how the natural inclination and habit to be angry may be attempered* and calmed. Secondly, how the particular motions of anger may be repressed, or at least refrained^ from doing mischief. Thirdly, how to raise anger or appease anger in another. 1 "But "we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." I. Timothy i, 8. Bacon quotes the Vulgate, varying the language slightly. It is there, "Scimus autem quia bona est lex, si quia ea legitime utatur." ^Bravery. Bravado ; boast. ^ Ephesians iv. 26. * Attempered. Tempered. 'Refrain. To restrain. "And thou, O human heart of mine, Be still, refrain thyself, and wait." Arthur Hugh Clough. Poems on Life and Duty. In u, London Square, ii. or ANGER 259 For the first ; there is no other way but to medi- tate and ruminate well upon the effects of anger, how it troubles man's life. And the best time to do this, is to look back upon anger when the fit is thoroughly over. Seneca saith well. That anger is like ruin, which breaks itself upon that it falls} The Scripture exhorteth us To possess our souls in pa- tience.^ Whosoever is out of patience, is out of possession of his soul. Men must not turn bees ; animasque in viilnere ponunt.' Anger is certainly a bind of baseness ; as it ap- pears well in the weakness of those subjects in whom it reigns; children, women, old folks, sick folks. Only men must beware that they carry their anger rather with scorn than with fear ; so that they may seem rather to be above the injury than below it ; which is a thing easily done, if a man will give law to himself in it. For the second point ; the causes and motives of anger are chiefly three. First, to be too sensible of hurt ; for no man is angry that feels not himself hurt ; and therefore tender and deHcate persons must needs be oft* angry; they have so many things to trouble them, which more robust natures have little sense of. The next is, the apprehension and construction of the injury offered to be, in the cir- cumstances thereof, f uU of contempt : for con- 1 "Buinis Hmillima, quae super id quod oppresaere franguntur." Seneca. De Ira. Liber I. 1. ^ "In your patience possess ye your souls." Luke xxi. X9. = And put their lives in the sting. P. Yergili Maronis Georgicon Liber IT. 2S8. Bees were supposed to die when they lost their stings. » Oft. Often. 260 BACON'S ESSAYS tempt is that which putteth an edge upon an- ger, as much or more than the hurt itself. And therefore when men are ingenious in picking out circumstances of contempt, they do kindle their anger much. Lastly, opinion of the touch^ of a man's reputation doth multiply and sharpen anger. Wherein the remedy is, that a man should have, as Consalvo was wont to say, telam honoris crassiorem? But in all refrainings of anger, it is the best remedy to win time ; and to make a man's self believe, that the opportunity of his revenge is not yet come, but that he foresees a time for it ; and so to still himself in the mean time, and reserve it. To contain^ anger from mischief, though it take hold of a man, there be two things whereof you must have special caution. The one, of extreme bitterness of words, especially if they be aculeate^ and proper ; ^ for communia maledicta '' are nothing so much ; and again, that in anger a man reveal no secrets; for that makes him not fit for society. '^ Touch. Censure; blame. "I never bare any touch of conscience with greater regret." Eikon Basilike. ' A thicker web of honor. Consalvo is Gonzalo Fernandez y Aguilar, 1453-1515, commonly called Gonsalvo de Cordova, or El Gran Capitan, 'the Great Captain.' He commanded the armies of 3?erdinand the Catholic, and took an active part in the conquest of Granada. "Consalvo would say: The honour of a soldier ought to be of a good strong web; meaning, that it should not be so fine and curious, that every little disgrace should catch and stick to it." Bacon. Apophthegmes New and Old. 180 (S9). Compare also, Advancement of Learning, II. xx. 12. ^ Contain. Restrain. "We can contain ourselves. Were he the veriest antic in the world." Shakspere. The Taming of the Shrew. Induction, i. * Aculeate. Pointed; incisive; stinging. •* Proper. Appropriate. * General reproaches. OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 261 The other, that you do not peremptorily break off, in any business, in a fit of anger ; but howsoever you shew bitterness, do not act anything that is not revocable. For raising and appeasing anger in another ; it is done chiefly b/ choosing of times, when men are frowardest and worst disposed, to incense them. Again, by gathering (as was touched before) all that you can find out to aggravate the contempt. And the two remedies are by the contraries. The former to take good times, when first to relate to a man an angry 1 business ; for the first impression is much ; and the other is, to sever, as much as may be, the construction of the injury from the point of con- tempt ; imputing it to misunderstanding, fear, pas- sion, or what you wiU. LVni. Of Vicissitxide of Things. Salomon saith. There is no new thing upon the earth? So that as Plato had an imagination. That all knowledge was hut remembrance;^ so Salomon giveth his sentence. That all novelty is but oblivion. Whereby you may see that the river of Lethe run- ^ Angry. Provoking anger; irritating. ^ E cclesiastes i. 9. ^ The doctrine that 'all knowledge is but remembrance' is ex- pounded by Plato in the two Dialogues, Phaedo, 72 and Meno, 81. In "The First Book of Francis Bacon; of the Proficience and Ad- vancement of Learning, Divine and Human, To the King," Bacon asserts, with fulsome flattery, "I have often thought, that of all the persons living that I have known, your Majesty were the best in- stance to make a man of Plato's opinion, that all knowledge is but remembrance." 262 BACON'S ESSAYS netii as well above ground as below. There is an abstruse astrologer that saith, if it were not for two things that are constant, (the one is, that the fixed stars ever stand at like distance one from another, and never come nearer together, nor go further asunder ; the other, that the diurnal motion perpetually Jceepeth time,) no in- dividual would last one moment. Certain it is, that the matter is in a perpetual flux/ and never at a stay. The great winding-sheets, that bury all things in oblivion, are two; deluges and earthquakes. As for conflagrations and great droughts, they do not merely dispeople and destroy. Phaeton's^ car went but a day. And the three years' drought in the time of Elias^ was but particular,* and left people alive. As for the great burning by light- nings, which are often in the West Indies, they are but narrow. But in the other two destructions, by deluge and earthquake, it is further to be noted, that the remnant of people which hap^ to be re- ^ Flux. A continuous succession of changes of condition, corn- portion, or substance; fluctuation. "The language of this country being always upon the flux, the struldbrugs of one age do not under- stand those of another." Swift. Travels into several Remote Na- tions of the World. By Lerrmel Gulliver. A Voyage to Laputa, etc. Part III. Chapter 10. 2 Phaeton, or Phaethon, in Greek mythology, was the son of Helios and Clymene. He obtained permission from Helios to drive' the chariot of the sun across the heavens for one day, but unable to check his horses he was overthrown and nearly set the world on fire. To punish his presumption Zeus struck him with a thunder- bolt and cast him into the river Po. ^ I. Kings xvii. 1. and xviii. 1. ^Particular. Partial, not universal. " 'T is ridiculous to put off, or drown, the general flood of Noah in that particular inunda- tion of Deucalion." Sir Thomas Browne. Religio Medici. Pari I. Section gg. " Sap. To have the 'hap,' fortune, or luck ('to do' something, or with clause) ; happen. "Hap what hap may, I '11 roundly go about her." Shalcspere. The Taming of the Shrew, iv. 5. OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 263 served, are commonly ignorant and mountainous people, that can give no account of the time past ; so that the oblivion is all one^ as if none had been left. If you consider well of the people of the "West Indies, it is very probable that they are a newer or a younger people than the people of the old world. And it is much more Ukely that the destruction that hath heretofore been there, was not by earthquakes (as the Egyptian priest told Solon concerning the island of Atlantis,^ tliat it was swallowed by an earthquake), but rather that it was desolated by a particular deluge. For earthquakes are seldom in those parts. But on the other side, they have such pouring rivers, as^ the rivers of Asia and Africk and Europe are but brooks to them. Their Andes likewise, or mountains, are far higher than those with us ; whereby it seems that the remnants of generation of men were in such a particular deluge saved. As for the observation that Maehiavel hath, that the jealousy of sects doth much extinguish the memory of things ; ^ traducing^ Gregory the ^ All one. One and the same; quite the same. *'Aweel, sir, if ye think it wadna be again the law, it 's a' ane to Dandie." Scott. Guy Mannering. XXXVI. ^ For the conversation between Solon and the Egyptian priest, "a man well stricken in years," see The TiTnaeus of Plato, III. 21-2S, pp. 67 — 81, in edition of R. D. Archer-Hind, 1888. ' As. That. * Bacon has in mind here Book II., Chapter Y., of Machiavelli's Discourses upon the First Decad of Livy, "That Deluges, Pestilences, the change of Religion and Languages, and other accidents, in a manner extinguish the memory of m.any things." St. Gregory is the only individual Machiavelli charges with destroying "the monuments of antiquity, defacing images and statues, and demoralizing every thing that might in any wise contribute to keep the memory of paganism alive." ° Traduce. To misrepresent ; censure. 264 BACON'S ESSAYS Great/ that he did what in him lay to extinguish all heathen antiquities; I do not find that those zeals ^ do any great effects, nor last long; as it appeared in the succession of Sabinian,^ who did revive the former antiquities. The vicissitude or mutations in the Superior Globe are no fit matter for this present argument. It may be, Plato's great year,* if the world should last so long, would have some effect/ not in renew- ing the state of like individuals, (for that is the fume® of those that conceive the celestial bodies have more accurate influences upon these things below than indeed they have,) but in gross.® Comets, out of question, have likewise power and 1 Gregory the Great, Saint Gregory, lived from about 540 to 604 A.D., and was Pope, 590 — 604. In the year 597, Gregory sent Augustine and a hand of forty monks to Ethelbert, King of Kent, and within the space of a year Ethelbert had embraced Christianity, together with some ten thousands of his subjects. ^ Zeal. Enthusiasm ; fervor. No longer used in the plural. ^ Pope Sabinian, died 606 a.d. He was the immediate successor of Gregory the Great. * "Plato's great year," or the perfect year, will be rounded out when all the planets return to one and the same region of the heavens at the same time. As to its duration, there is no agree- ment among the ancients. Tacitus, on the authority of Cicero, gives it 12,954 years, but Cicero himself expresses no opinion. Plato discusses the problem in the Timaeus, XI, 38 and 39. "^ Fume. Something which 'goes to the head' and clouds the faculties or the reason. "The charm dissolves apace; And as the morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness, so their rising senses Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason." Shakspere. Xhe Tempest, v. 1. "Zm gross, or in the gross. In a general way; generally; without going into particulars; in the main; on the whole. "The unlettered Christian, who believes in gross. Plods on to heaven, and ne'er is at a loss." Dryden. Beligio Laid. U. Sgg~S2S. or VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 265 effect over tlie gross ^ and mass of things ; but they are rather gazed upon, and waited upon in their journey, than wisely observed in their effects; specially in their respective effects ; that is, what kind of comet, for magnitude, colour, version^ of the beams, placing in the region of heaven, or lasting, produceth what kind of effects. There is a toy which I have heard, and I would not have it given over, but waited upon a little. They say it is observed in the Low Countries (I know not in what part) that every five and thirty years the same kind of suit ^ of years and weathers comes about again ; as great frosts, great wet, great droughts, warm winters, summers with little heat, and the like ; and they caU it the Prime. It is a thing I do the rather mention, because, computing backwards, I have found some conciirrence. But to leave these points of nature, and to come to men. The greatest vicissitude of things amongst men, is the vicissitude of sects and religions. For those orbs rule in men's minds most. The true religion is built upon the rock; * the rest are tossed upon the waves of time. To speak therefore of the causes of new sects ; and to give some counsel con- cerning them, as far as the weakness of human judgment can give stay to so great revolutions. ^ Gross. The greater part; the majority; the bulk. "The gross of an audience is composed of two sorts of people, those who tnow no pleasure but of the body, and those who improve or command corporeal pleasures by the addition of fine sentiments of the mind." Steele. The Spectator. No. S02. ^Version. A turning round or about, change of direction, ^ Suit. Series; succession; regular order. ^ "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not preyail against it." Matthew xvi. 18. 266 BACON'S ESSAYS When the religion formerly received is rent by discords ; and when the holiness of the professors of religion is decayed and full of scandal; and withal ^ the times be stupid, ignorant, and barbarous ; you may doubt the springing up of a new sect ; if then also there should arise any extravagant and strange spirit to make himself author thereof. All which points held when Mahomet published his law. If a new sect have not two properties, fear it not; for it will not spread. The one is, the supplanting or the opposing of authority estab- lished; for nothing is more popular than that. The other is, the giving licence to pleasures and a voluptuous life. For as for speculative heresies, (such as were in ancient times the Arians,^ and now the Arminians,) ^ though they work mightily upon men's wits, yet they do not produce any great alterations in states ; except it be by the help of civil occasions. There be three manner of planta- tions of new sects. By the power of signs and miracles ; by the eloquence and wisdom of speech and persuasion ; and by the sword. For martyr- doms, I reckon them amongst miracles ; because ^Withal. With all; in addition; besides. "For it seemeth to me unreasonable, to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him," Acts xxv, 27. ' The Arians were the followers of Arius, a deacon of Alexandria, who lived in the fourth century. Arius maintained the divinity of Jesus Christ, but held that his nature was not co-equal with that of God, not the same nature, but a similar and subordinate one. ^ The Arminians of Bacon's time were the followers of Arminius, who was a Dutch Protestant divine of Leyden, named Jacobus Har- mensen, 1560-1609. Their doctrines, 'The Remonstrance,' pub- lished in 1610, expressed their divergence from strict Calvinism, chiefly their objection to predestination, in five articles, and was presented to the states of Holland and West Friesland. The Arminians are sometimes called 'Remonstrants.' OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS ^267 they seem to exceed the strength of human nature : and I may do the like of superlative and admirable holiness of life. Surely there is no better way to stop the rising of new sects and schisms, than to reform abuses; to compound the smaller differ- ences ; to proceed mildly, and not with sanguinary persecutions ; and rather to take off the principal authors by winning and advancing them, than to enrage them by violence and bitterness. The changes and vicissitude in wars are manj-- ; but chiefly in three things ; in the seats or stages of the war ; in the weapons ; and in the manner of the conduct. Wars, in ancient time, seemed more to move from east to west ; for the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, Tartars, (which were the iavaders,) were all eastern people. It is true, the Ganls were west- ern ; but we read but of two incursions of theirs : the one to Gallo-G-rsBcia, the other to Rome. But East and "West have no certain points of heaven ; and no more have the wars, either from the east or west, any certainty of observation. But North and South are fixed ; and it hath seldom or never been seen that the far southern people have invaded the northern, but contrariwise. Whereby it is manifest that the northern tract of the world is in nature the more martial region : be it in respect of the stars of that hemisphere ; or of the great continents ; that are upon the north, whereas the south part, for aught that is known, is almost all sea ; or (which is most apparent) of the cold of the northern parts, which is that which, without aid of discipline, doth make the bodies hardest, and the courage warmest. 268 BACON'S ESSAYS Upon the breaking and shivering of a great state and empire, you may be sure to have wars. For great empires, while they stand, do enervate and destroy the forces of the natives which they have subdued, resting upon their own protecting forces ; and then when they fail also, all goes to ruin, and they become a prey. So was it in the decay of the Eoman empire ; and likewise in the empire of Almaigne,^ after Charles the Great,^ every bird taking a feather ; and were not unlike to befal^ to Spain, i£ it should break. The great accessions and unions of kingdoms do likewise stir up wars : for when a state grows to an over-power,* it is Hke a great flood, that will be sure to overflow. As it hath been seen in the states of Eome, Turkey, Spain and others. Look when the world hath fewest barbarous peoples, but such as commonly, will not marry or generate, except they know means to live, (as it is almost everywhere at this day, except Tartary,) there is no danger of inun- dations^ of people : but when there be great shoals ^ AlTnaigne. Germany, ' Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, Charlemagne, lived from 742 or 747 to 814, King of the Franks, and Emperor of the Romans. 'Befall. To fall out in the course of events, to happen, to occur (with 'to,* 'unto,' or 'upon'). Archaic. "Say, goddess, what ensu'd when Raphael, The affable archangel, had forewarn'd Adam by dire example to beware Apostasy, by what iefel in Heaven To those apostates." Milton. Paradise Lost. YII, 40—44. * Over-power. A superior, or supreme power. *• Inundation. An overspreading or overwhelming in superfluous abuTidance; superabundance. "What inundation of life and thought is discharged from one soul into another through them I The glance [of the eyes] is natural magic." Emerson. Conduct of Life. Be- havior. OP VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 269 of people, whicli go on to populate, without fore- seeing means of life and sustentation,i it is of necessity tliat once in an age or two they discharge a portion of their people upon other nations; which the ancient northern people were wont to do by lot ; casting lots what part should stay at home, and what should seek their fortunes. When a war- like state grows soft and effeminate, they may be sure of a war. For commonly such states are grown rich in the time of their degenerating ; and so the prey inviteth, and their decay in valour en- courageth a war. As for the weapons, it hardly falleth under rule and observation : yet we see even they have re- turns and vicissitudes. For certain it is, that ordnance was known in the city of the Oxidrakes in India; and was that which the Macedonians called thunder and lightning, and magic. And it is well known that the use of ordnance hath been in China above two thousand years. The con- ditions of weapons, and their improvement, are. First, the fetching ^ afar off ; for that outruns the danger; as it is seen in ordnance and muskets. Secondly, the strength of the percussion ; wherein likewise ordnance do exceed aU arietations* and ancient inventions. The third is, the commodious use of them ; as that they may serve in aU wea- ^ Sustentation. Support, especially/, the support of life, suste- nance, Tnaintenance. 'Fetch. To 'have at,' reach, strike (a person). "Come away, or I 'II fetch thee with a wanion," ShaJcspere. Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ii. 1. '" Arietation. The action of hutting, like a ram; hence, the strik- ing with a hattering-ram, or similar moxhine. 270 BACON'S ESSAYS thers ; that the carriage may be light and manage- able ; and the like. For the conduct of the war : at the first, men rested extremely upon number : they did put the wars likewise upon main force and valour ; pointing days for pitched fields/ and so trying it out upon an even match : and they were more ignorant in ranging and arraying their battles.^ After they grew to rest upon number rather competent than vast; they grew to^ advantages of place, cunning diversions, and the like : and they grew more skilful in the ordering of their battles. In the youth of a state, arms do flourish ; in the middle age of a state, learning ; and then both of them together for a time ; in the declining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise.* Learn- ing hath his infancy, when it is but beginning and almost childish : then his youth, when it is, luxuriant and juvenile : then his strength of years ^Vield. A. battle. "What though the field be lost? All is not lost; the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immoital hate, And courage never to submit or yield, And what is else not to be overcome; That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me." Milton. Paradise Lost. I. 105—110. ^Battle. A body or line of troops in battle array, whether an entire army, or one of its main divisions; battalion. "In battles four beneath their eye, The forces of King Robert lie." Scott. The Lord of the Isles. TI. x. ' So in original. A word appears to have dropped out, such as seele, or something equivalent. The translation has captabant. S. * With this sentence, compare Advancement of Learning, II. x. IS, OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 271 when it is solid and reduced:^ and lastly, his old age, when it waxeth dry and exhaust.^ But it is not good to look too long upon these turning wheels of vicissitude, lest we become giddy. As for the philology ^ of them, that is but a circle of tales, and therefore not fit for this writing.^ ^ Beduce. To subject; to make subject to one; to bring under one, into or under one's power, within bounds. * Exhaust. Exhausted. " Philology. The love or study of learning and literature. Bacon uses the word philology in its old sense, (the study of literature gen- erally, the relation of literature and literary records to history, etc. The modem sense limits philology to the study of language or lin- guistics. * In connection with this essay, read in the Wisdom of the An- cients, Nemesis; or the Vicissitude of Things. INDEX INDEX Abbott, E. A., bacx Abstemms, Laurentius (Lorenzo Bevilagua), 243 Abuse, 194, 231 Accept of, 15 Accessary, 107 Accommodate, 14 Actium, 144 Acts, 12, 19, 46, 143, 266 Aculeate, 260 Adamant, 80 Addison, Josepb, 75 Address to the Deil, xci, 105 • Ado, 36 Adulatore et amico, De, 4:4= Adust, 171 Advancement, 164 Advancetnent of Learning, xliv, lii, 5, 10, 18, 25, 28, 34, 43, 50, 57, 61, 69, 71, 84, 106, 132, 204, 234, 235, 240, 261, 270 Adventure, 5, 163 ADVEESITY, OP, Ixxi, xciv, 22 Advised, 81 Advoutress, 87 Aeneid, 61, 137, 165 Aeschines, 135 Aesop, 179, 202, 204, 243 A Oat and Venue, 180 A Cock and a Diamond, 55 A Fly upon a Wheel, 243 Momus, 204 Aesofn fabulae Graeco-latinae, 204 Aesopi Phrygis et Aliorum Fa- bulae, 244 Aestivation, 209 Affect, 3, 180 Affection, 31 After, 181 Agamemnon, 17 Agesilaus II., 37, 187, 202 Agricolae, Yita Julii, 9, 242 Agrippa, 121 Alchemist, The, 172 Alcibiades, 197 Alcibiades, Life of, 199 275 Alcoran, 71 Alexander the Great, 83, 88, 134, 166, 198 Alexander, Life of, 166 Alfonso X., 249 All one, 263 Allay, 6 Alley, 100 Allow, 79 All 's Well that Ends Well, 183 Almaigne, 268 Almost, 197 AMBITION, OF, 170 Amos, 252 Amyot, Jacques, Ixxvi, 76 Anabaptist, 18 Anathema, 57 Anatomy of Melancholy, The. 3, 22, 77 Anaxagoras, xxx And, 108 ANGEB, OF, 258 Angry, 261 Annales, 9, 25, 86, 102, 104 121, 164, 241 Anselm, St., 88 Answer, 192 Antecamera, 209 Antic, 177 Antimasque, 177 Antiochus III., 244 Antoninus Pius, 235 Antony, 21, 43, 120, 121, 135, 144, 236 Antony and Cleopatra, 43, 77, 124, 227 Antony, Life of, Ixxvi, 57 Apelles, 198 Apologia Ecclesiae Anglicanae, xix Apologie or aunswer in defence of the Church of England, xix Apology in Certain Imputations concerning the late Earl of Essex, xxxvii, xlii, xliii Apophthegmes New and Old, lii, Ixxxvii, 20, 24, 35, 55, 67, 276 INDEX 69, 84, 96, 100, 112, 125, 197, 199, 239, 260 Apparent, 184 Appetite, 226 Appian of Alexandria, The Roman History of, 166 Appius and Yvrginia, 43 Appolloni Tyanensi, Tita, 84 Appollonius of Tyana, 83, 84, 118 Appose, 108 Apprehend, 228 Apricock, 214 Apt, 134 Arbitrement, 14 Arclier-Hmd, E. I>., 263 Argos, 99 Argument, 133 Arians, 266 Arietation, 269 Aristander, 166 Aristippus, 100 Aristophanes, 169 Aristotle, xx, xxii, Ixii, Ixxv, 72, 116, 245 Metaphysics, 245 Nichomachean Ethics, 245 Poetics, 245 Politics, 117, 245 Rhetoric, 245 Armada, sxvi, xxviii, 168 Arminians, 266 Arrogancy, 40 Artichokes of Hierusalem, 155 Arundel, 2d Earl of (see, Thomas Howard) As, 16, 25, 72, 85, 103, 121, 130, 132, 181, 189, 208. 246, 248, 263 Ascham, Roger, Ixxxiv Assay, 62 Assured, 70 As You Like It, 81, 113, 162, 169, 240 ATHEISM, OF, Ixxvi, 71 Atlanticus, 170 Atlantis, 170 Attempered, 258 Attic style, Ixxii, Ixxiii Attieus, Titus Pomponius, 143, 144 Aubrey, John, Ixv Audits, 161' Augmentis Sdentiarutn, De, xxiii, lii Augustae Historiae Scriptores, 38, 70, 194 Augustine, St., Ixxvi, 4 Augustine, The Confessions of, 4 Augustus, 9, 21, 25, 77, 121, 144, 166, 172, 194, 197, 236, 249 Aurelianus, 249 Aurelius, Marcus, 122 Austin, Sarah, 32 Authorized Version, Ixxvi, Ixxxv, Ixxxix, xc, 106, 180, 183 Aversation, 117 Avert, 12 Avoidance, 210 Away, 241 Bacon (English Men of Let- ters), 114 Bacon, Anne Cooke, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxv, xxxv, xlvii, Iv, xciv Bacon, Anthony, xv, xvii, xix, XX, xxv, xxxii, xxxiv, xxxv, xxxvii, xli, xiiii, Ixviii, Ixix, 203 Bacon, Edward, xvii Bacon, Francis Life: Ancient of Gray's Inn, xxii, 251 Anecdotes of, xx, xxi, xxiii, xxiv, xxvi, xxvii, xxxiv, xxxix, xliJi. ^iiij 1^" Attorney- General, xlvii Baron Verulam, xlvii • Birth, XV Character, Ivii, Iviii, xcv, xcvi Death and burial, liii, liv Diplomatic service, xxii, xxiii Fall and condemnation, xlviii, xlix, 1, li Knignthood, xliv Lord Chancellor, xlvii Lord Keeper, xlvii Marriage, xliv Member of House of .Com- mons, xxvi, xxvii, Ixvi, xcii, 137 Portraits, liv, Iv, Ivi, Ivii Privy Councillor, xlvii Queen's Counsel Extraor- dinary, xxxvii, xxxix, xli, xliii Solicitor-General, xlv Undergraduate, xx, xxi, xxii Viscount St. Alban, xlvii Will, liv, Ivii, Iviii Works : Advancement of Learning, xliv, lii, 5, 10, 18, 25, 28, 34, 43, 50, 57, 61, 69, 71, 84, 106, 132, 204, 234, 235, 240, 261, 270 Apology in Certain Imputa- tions concerning the late Earl of Essex, xxxvii, xlii, xliii Apophthegmes New and Old, lii, Ixxxvii, 20, 24, 35, 55, 67, 69, 84, 96, 100, 112, 125, 197, 199, 239, 260 INDEX 277 Augmentis Scientiarum, De, xxiii, lii Controversies of the Church of England, An Advertise- ment touching the, xxviii Colours of Good and Evil, Of the, xxxvii Commentarius Solutus, Ixiv, 114 Custumae aptae ad Indivi- duum, xxvii Declaration of the Practises and Treasons attempted and committed by Robert late Earle of Essex, A, xlii Discourse of the Plantation in Ireland, Ixvii Essaies (second edition), xlvii, Ixx, 183, 200 Essay es (first edition), xxxvii Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall, lii, Ixi, Ixiii, Ixvii, Ixxii, Ixxiii, Ixxvii, Ixxix, Ixxx, Ixxxii, Ixxxv, Ixxxviii, xc, xciv, xcv, xcvi, 129, 207 Francis Bacon (Great Eng- lishmen of th e Sixteenth Century), Ivii Francis Bacon : Sis Life and Philosophy, liv, Ivi Historic of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, The, lii, 137, 167 In^tauratio Magna, xlviii Letter of Advice to Queen Elizabeth, xxvii, xxviii Letter to Lord Burghley, xxix, XXX, xxxi Lord Baoon, Iv, Ixxx Masques, xxxii, xlvii, xlviii, Ixv, Ixxxii Meditationes Sacrae, xxxvii Novum Organum, xlviii Opera Moralia et Civilia, lii Saggi Morali del Signore Francesco Bacono, 129 Sapientia Yeterum, De, xlvii, 23, 129 Sermones Fideles sive Inte- riora Rerum, lii Sylva Sylvarum: or A Na- tural History, xxi, xxiii, xxiv, lii, liii, Ixi, 175, 179, 224 Temporis Partus Maximus, xxviii, xlviii Union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. C&rtain Articles or Consid- erations touching the, Ixvii Works of Francis Bacon, The, liii, Iv, Ivi, Ivii, 15, 37, 54, 61, 62, 76, 90, 91, 94, 154, 165, 178, 182, 199, 204, 270 Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of Eng- land, The, Iv Bacon, Sir Nathaniel, xvii, liv Bacon, Sir Nicholas, xv, xvi, xvii, xxiv, li, liv, Iv, Ixv, 220 Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 2d, xvii Bajazet II., 88 Banquet, 206 Barberry, 215 Barnham, Alice, xliv Barnham, Benedict, xlv Barriers, 177 Barriers, Prince Henry's, 177 Bartholomew Fair, 191, 215 Bartholomew-tide, 17, 216 Battle, 270 Baugii and May, 168 Bay, 216 Bay-salt, 157 Bean-flower, 217 Bear, 115 Bear out, 226 Bear's-foot, 223 Beat over, 235 Beaumont, Francis, xlviii, Ixxxii, 174 Beaumont and Fletcher Four Plays in One, 174 The Honest Man's Fortune, 14 The Maid's Tragedy, 123 BEAUTY, OF, 197 Beaver, 167 Because, 33, 111 Become, 208 Bedford, Earl of (see, Francis Russell) Befall to, 268 Beggar, 116 Beholding, 42 Belike, 237 Bellum Jugurthinum, 84 Belly, 98 Bernard, St., Ixxvi, 74 Life and Works of Saint Ber- nard, 15 S. Bernardus. Ad Pastores in Synodo Congregatos sermo, 74 Bias, 107 Bible Acts, 12, 19, 46, 143, 266 Amos, 252 1 Corinthians, 12, 118, 198, 201, 216 2 Corinthians, 52, 209, 243 Daniel, 13, 16, ISST, 250 Deuteronomy, 252 278 INDEX Ecclesiastes, xc, 160, 240, 241, 261 Ephesians, 258 Esther, 206 Exodus, 11, 17, 113 Genesis, 6, 15, 17, 47, 61, 135, 172, 187 Eebrews, 8, 162 Isaiah, 18, 91, 245 James, 19, 117, 126, 254 Jeremiah, 111, 244 ■7^06, 21, 63 Joel, 195 John, 3, 111, 117 i John, 201 Joshua, 122 Judges, 17, 182 1 ffinffS, 257, 262 2 Kings, 14 im/fce, 7, 10, 11, 14, 56, 94, 187, 230, 253, 269 Mark, 14, 133, 198 Matthew, 12, 14, 18, 20, 42, 55, 56, 85, 124, 146, 256, 265 Nehemiah, 102 Philippians, 4 Proverbs, Ixxxvi, xc, 19, 30, 40, 50, 82, 91, 106, 147, 160, 161, 164, 242, 252, 253, 255 Psalms, 12, 15, 20, 72, 101, 132, 180, 183, 197, 216, 253, 254 Revelation, 14, 206 Romans, 7, 57, 60, 158, 200, 243 1 Samuel, 165 2 Samuel, 94 2 ThessaXonians, 140 1 Timothy, 16, 195, 258 2 Timothy, 114 Zephaniah, 200 Bible in English style, Ixxxviii, Ixxxix Biblia Sacra (see, Vulgate) Bion, 74 BlacTcbird, The, 214 Blacks, 8 Blanch, 115 Boccaccio, Giovanni, Ix Bodley, Sir Thomas, 103 Boiardo, Matteo Maria, 74 BOLDNESS, OP, 51 Botany, The Elements of, 215 Bradshaw, John, 27 Brave, 68, 157 Bravery, 48, 174, 258 Brent, Sir Nathaniel, btxix, 78 Briareiis, 99 Broke, 162 Broken music, 174 Browne, Sir Thomas, 9, 262 Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 23 Browning, Robert, 160 Bruit, 244 Brutus, 196 Brutus, Decimus Junius, 120 Brutus, Marcus Junius, 21, 166, 236 Brutus, Marcus, Life of, Ixxvi, 166 Buckingham, Duke of (see, George Villiers) Buckle, 99 BQILDING, OF, Ixv, 203 BuUace, 215 Bullen, A. H., 22 Bunyan, John Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, 10 The Pilgrim's Progress, 156 Burghley, Lord (see, William Cecil) Burnet, 218 Burns, Robert, xci, 105 Burrhus, or Burrus, Airanius, 104 Burse, 80 Burton, Robert, 3, 22, 77 Busbec, Augier Ghislen de, 54 Busy, 220 Butler, Samuel, 6 Buzz, 150 By, 143 Byron, George Gordon Noel, 72 Childe Harold, 178 Letters and Journals of Lord Byron; With Notices of his Life. T. Moore. (New TorJc, 1831), 4, 72 The Works of Lord Byron. A New, Revised and Enlarged Edition, with Illustrations. Letters and Journals. R. E. Prothero, 22 Caesar, Cains Julius, xx, Ixxii, Ixxiii, Ixxv, Ixxxvi, Ixxxvii, 21, 64, 69, 108, 115, 144, 186, 193, 236, 249 Julius Caesar, 31, 59, 64, 73, 125, 147, 148, 184 Caesar, Life of, Ixxvi, 120, 166, 186 Caesaribus, De XII., Ixxv, 9, 69, 166, 167 Calpurnia, 120 Camden, William, xv Can, 47 Captious, 257 Caracalla, 83 Care, 195 Carleton, Sir Dudley, xliv, 200 Carneades, 3 nSTDEX 279 Carr, Robert, Earl of Somerset, xlviii Cashiered, 237 Cassius, 21, 236 Cast, 208 Castoreum, 119 Cat and Venus, A, 180 Catch, 175 Catchpole, 243 Cato, Dionysius, 98 Cato, Marcus Porcius, 185 Catonis Distichorum de Mori- bus, 98 Catullus, Caius Valerius, Ixxii Cecil, Mildred Cooke, xviii, xix Cecil, Sir Robert, Earl of Salis- bury, xvii, xxvi, xxviii, xxxiv, XXXV, xxxviii, xliv, xlv, Ixiv, Ixvii, 103, 154, 200 Cecil, WiUiain, Lord Burghley, xviii, xxviii, xxix, xxxii, xxxvi, Ixxvii Celsus, Aulus Cornelius, 148 CEREMONIES AND RE- SPECTS, OF, 2S8 Certayne Sermons, xix Cessions, 246 Chamai'ris, 212 Chamber of presence, 208 Chamberlain, John, xliv Chamberlain, Nicholas, 200 Chapman, George, xliv Eastward Hoe, xliv The Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn, 176 Chapmen, 162 Charge, 245 Charlemagne, 268 Charles the Bold, Ixxvii, 122, 123 Charles, Prince (Charles L), Ivii Charles V., 83, 85 Charon, 135 Chaucer, Geofl6rey, lix, 217 The Clerk's Tale, 237 The Doctor's Tale, 43 The Knight's Tale, 77, 122 The Prologue, 110, 213 Cheek with, 44, 149 Chesterfield, The hetters of Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of, 27 Childe Harold, 178 Chop, 255 Church, R. W., Ixxx, 114 Churchmen, 33 Cicero, Marcus Tullius_, xx, Ixxii, Ixxiii, Ixxv, xc, xcii, 75, 115, 143, 160, 205, 246, 248, 264 Brutus, 196 Epistolae, 46, 108, 144 Legibus, De, 257 Orationes, 76, 115, 121, 160 Orators, De, 34, 205 Philippicae, 121, 135 Bhetorica, 198 Tusculanae, 182, 245 Cicero, Quintus Tullius, 248 Oiceronis Scripta Quae Man- serunt Omnia, M. Tullii, 248 Cimon, Life of, 132 Cipher, bUiteral, xxiii Circumstance, 247 Civil, 77, 228 Civility, 211 Clamour, 97 Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanious), 102 Claudius Crassus, Appius, 43 Clement, Jacques, 21, 181 Cleon, 169 Clerk's Tale, The, 237 Close, 49 Cloth of Arras, 125 Clough, Arthur Hugh, 258 Cock and a Diamond, A, 55 Codlin, 214 Coemption, 163 Coke, Sir Edward, xxxiii, xxxiv, xli, xlv, xlvii, xlviii Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, Ix Collation, 88 Collegiate, 183 Colour, 193 Colours of Good and Evil, Of the, xxxvii Columbus, 239 Comedy of Errors, The, 38, 103, 138 Comfort, 183 Comines, Philippe de, Ix, Ixxvii, 122, 123 Command, 5 Commend, 148 Commentaries (Caesar), Ixxii Commentarius Solutus, Ixiv, 114 Commiserable, 159 Commodities, 188 Commodus, 83 Common Prayer, The Book of, 183 Communicate, 122 Composition, 150, 194 Compound, 249 Comus, 174 Conceit, 29, 254, 255 Conclusion, 105 Conduct of Life, 268 Confessio Amantis, 43 Confessions of Augustine, The, 4 Confidence, 73 Conquest of Peru, History of the, 202 Conscience, 47 280 INDEX Consent, 72, 200 Consort, 95 ConstanS; Flavins Julins, 87 Constantine the Great, 87 Constantinus, Flavins Claudins, 87 Oonstantius, Flavins Jnlins, 87 Contain, 260 Contrariwise, 38, 236 Controversies of the Church of England. An Advertisement touching the, xxviii Conversation, 117 Converse, 180 Convince, 71 Cooke, Sir Anthony, xv, xviii Copulate, 183 1 Corinthians, 12, 118, 198, 201, 216 2 Corinthians, 52, 209, 243 Coriolanus, 127, 198 Coriolanus, Life of, Ixxvi, 96 Com, 156 Cornelian-tree, 212 Correspondence of M. Tullius Cicero, arranged according to its Chronological Order, The, 108 Corroborate, 181 Cortegiano, II, xviii Coryate, Thomas, 188 Coryats Crudities, Ixix, 187 Cotgrave, Randle, 214, 215 Council of Trent, 77 COUNSEL, OF, Ixxxviii, 91 Court, Great, 207 Court and Titnes of James J., 200 Covert, 219 Cowley, Abraham, Life of, 6 Cowper, William, 190, 211 Cranmer, Thomas, xix Creature, 30 Cringe, 13 CrispuB, Flavius Julius, 87 Critias, 170 Croesus, 135 Cromwell, Oliver, xcv Cromwell, Sir Oliver, Ixvii Crook, 107 Cunning, 172 CUNNING, OF, Ixiii, Ixiv, Ixxx, Ixxxvi, xci, xciii, 100 Cunningly, 132 Curiosities, 36 Curiosity, 222 Curiosity, Of, 37 Curious, 115, 240 Curiously, 234 Currently, 149 Custom, 158 CUSTOM AND EDUCATION, OF, xxiii, Ixxxvii, xc, 181, 183 Custumae aptae ad Individuum, xxvii Cymbeline, 49 Cyrus, 135, 249 Daintily, 4 Dainty, 175 Dammasin, 213 Danett, Thomas, Ixxvii ■ Daniel, 13, 16, 138, 250 Davison, Francis, Ixviii Davison, William, Ixviii DEATH, OF, Ixii, 7 Deceivable, 200 Deceive, 224 Decent, 198 Decii, 251 Declaration of the Practises and Treasons attempted and com- mitted by Robert late Earle of Essex, A, xlii Declination, 103 Decline, 186 Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, The History of, 21 De facto, 48 Defence of Poesie, The, Ix, 107, 141 Defoe, Daniel, 248 DEFORMITY, OF, Ixiv, 200 DELAYS, OF, Ixiii, 98 Demetrius, 88 Democritus, 3, 71 Demosthenes, xx, 51, 121, 135 Dependance, 173 Deprave, 231 Derive, 40 Desemboltura, 185 Destitute, 159 Deuteronomy, 252 Devereux, Robert, 2d Earl of Essex, xxxii, xxxiii, xxxiv, XXXV, xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, xl, xli, xlii, xliii, 1, Lxxxiii, 103, 130, 174 Devereux, Robert, 3d Earl of Essex, xlviii Device, 178 Diagoras, 73 Dialogues of the Dead, 74 Dialogues of the Gods, 74 Dialogues of Plato, 116, 170, 202, 261, 263, 264 Diary (Evelyn), 220 Dietionarie of the French and English Tongues, 214, 215 Dictionary, New English, 233 Dictionary of National Biog- raphy, 114 Dictionary of Slang and Col- loquial English, A, 256 Difference, 115, 229 DifG.ciIeness, 56 INDEX 281 Diocletian, 83 Diogenes Laertius, 73, 100 Dion Cassius, 10, 121, 122 Disadvantageable, 131 Discommodity, 158 Disconteiit, 171, 229 Discontentment, 227 Discorsi sopra La Prima Deca di T. Livio, Ixxix, Ixxx, 54, 55, 62, 181, 263 DISCOURSE, OF, Ixxiii, 151 Discourse of the Plantation in Ireland, Ixvii Discourses upon the First Decad of Livy, Political, 263 Discoursing, 3 Discovery of America, 166, 239 Disgrace, 173 DISPATCH, OF, Ixiii, Ixxxviii, 111 Dispense with., 171 Displant, 154 Displeasure, 172 Disreputation, 229 Dissimulation, 24 Distance, 69 Distaste, 231 Distemper, 83 Ditty, 175 Divers, 94, 198 Diverse, 13 Diversly, 136 Doctor, 11 Doctor's Tale, The, 43 Doderidge, Sir Jolm, xlv Dole, 160 Dolours, 10 Domestic Life, Ixiii Domitian, 9, 83, 95, 166 Donative, 90 Donne, John, Iv Douay Bible, 180 Doubt, 130 Drake, Sir Francis, lix Drama, Elizabethan, Ixxxi, Ixxxii, Ixxxiii Dmsus Caesar, 86 Drusus, Nero Claudius, 196 Dryden, John Georgics, 223 Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men Translated by John Dryden and Others, 166, 205 Religio Laid, 264 DUrer, Albrecht, 198 Eales, Samuel J., 15 Eastward Soe, xliv Eccentric, 77 Ecclesiastes, xc, 160, 240, 241, 261 Ecclesiastical Sonnets, 23 Echo of Pont- Char entou, xxiii Eclogae, 134 Edgar, 249 Edinburgh Review, The, Iv Edward II., 86 Edward IV., 197 Edward VI., xviii, 168 Egerton, Sir Thomas, xxxix Eighty-eight, the year, xxvi, 168 Eikon Basilike, 260 Either, 149, 218 Ejaculation, 35 Elegancy, 211 Element, 72 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, xlvii, 174 Elizabeth, Queen of England, xv, xvi, xvii, xix, xx, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxv, xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, xl, xlii, xliii, xlv, xlvi, lix, Ixiii, Ixiv, Ixix, Ixxvi, Ixxviii, 101, 103, 137, 167, 168, 174, 182 Embase, 6 Emblemes, 114 Embossment, 221 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Ixiii, 35, 76, 123 Conduct of Life, 268 Domestic Life, Ixiii Friendship, Ixiii Love, Ixiii Empedocles, 117 EMPIRE, OF, 29, 82 Employ to, 156 Endymion, 211 Engaged with, 182 Engine, 77 English Grammar (Ben Jon- son), 127 English language, Ixxii, Ixxiii, Ixxxv, 30, 86, 125, 127, 156, 179, 183 English Men of Letters, Ixxx, lj.4 Enow, 134 Enterpriser, 186 Entertainment, 230 ENVY, OF, Ixiv, 35 Epaminondas, 187 Ephesians, 258 Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman, 221 Epicure, 17 Epicureans, 5 Epicurus, 43, 71, 73 Epicycle, 77 Epigrammata, 95 Epimenides, 117 Epimetheus, 68 Epistle I. To Sir Richard Tem- ple, Lord Cobham, 46 Epistle III. To Allen, Lord Bathurst, 159 282 INDEX Epistolae Cicero, 46, 108, 144 Horace, 10 Pliny the Younger, "im, 247 Seneca, Ixx, 8, 9, 22, 43 Equinoctia, 60 Equipollent, 182 Erasmi Adagia, 118 Esculent, 155 Escurial, 205 Esmond, Henry, 13 Essais (Montaigne), Ix, Ixxviii, 6 Essay, Ixx Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall, lii, Ixi, Ixiii, Ixvii, Ixxii, Ixxiii, Ixxvii, Ixxix, Ixxx, Ixxxii, Ixxxv, Ixxxviii, xc, xciv, xcv, xcvi, 129, 183, 207 Essex, 2d Earl of (see, Robert Devereux) Essex, 3d Earl of (see, Robert Devereux) Estate, 58, 64, 128, 228, 235, 257 Esther, 206 Ethics, Nichomachean, 245 Eunuchus, 93 Euripides, 17, 199 Exaltation, 183 Excellency, 197 Except, 117 Bxcusation, 113, 246 Exhaust, 34, 271 Exilio, Be, 32 Exodus, 11, 17, 113 Expect, 162 EXPENSE, OP, 130 Experience, to put in, 157 Extern, 195 Extreme, 201 Evelyn, John, Ixix, 220 Every of them, 63 Every Man in his Humour, 190 Tables of Abstetnius, 243 Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists : With Morals and Reflexions, 55, 180, 243 Facility, Iviii, 48 FACTION, OF, 235 Factious, 244 Faery Queene, The, 45, 98, 99, 110, 122, 207, 208 Fain, 89 Fair, 28, 205, 255 Fall, xci, 28, 105 Fame, 61 Farmer, John S., 256 Farneworth, Ellis, 263 Fashion, 227 Fast, 216 Favor, 198 Felicity, 24 Penton, Geoffrey, Ixxviii Ferdinand II., 86 Ferrier, Susan Edmonstone, 219 Fetch, 269 Fetch about, 104 Field, 270 Flashy, 234 Fleming, Sir Thomas, xxxv, xlv, xlvii Florio, John, 183, 231 Flos Africanus, 213 Flout, 153 Flower-de-luce, 218 Flux, 262 Fly upon a Wheel, A, 243 Foil, 238 Foix, Gaston de, 194 Folk-lore, xci FOLLOWEES AND FRIENDS, OF, Ixii, Ixiii, 227 Fomentation, 113 Fond, 127 Foot, 206 Foot-pace, 255 Foot (under foot), 190 For that, 128 Forth (so far forth), 231 Formal Gardens in England and Scotland, 220 FORTUNE, OF, Ixxx, 184 Foundation, 30 Four and twenty letters, xci, 127 Four mutable elements, 72 Four Plays in One, 174 Foxe, Richard, 94 Francis Bacon : His Life and Philosophy, liv, Ivi Francis I., 85 Frederick V., Elector Palatine, xlvii Friendship, Ixiii FRIENDSHIP, OF, Ixii, Ixxi, Ixxvii, Ixxxviii, xci, xciii, xcv, 117, 129 Fritellaria, 212 Froward, 226 Fume, 264 Futile, 27, 93 Galba, 9, 50, 69, 166 Galen, 245 Galliard, 153 GARDENS, OP, Ixv, Ixxv, 203, 211 Gasca, Pedro de, 202 Gaudery, 145 Gay, John, Life of, 45 Gellius, Aulus, 115, 116 Genesis, 6, 15, 17, 47, 61, 135, 172, 187 Oeorgica, 60, 61, 187, 259 Georgics, 223 INDEX 283 Oeraint and Enid, 110, 153 Gerard, Balthazar, 181 Germander, 212 Genmania, 9 Gibbon, Edward, 21 Gidea Hall, xv Gillyflower, 217 Gingle, 158 Gladstone, William Ewart, 97 Globe, 47 Globe Theatre, xl Glorious, 164, 228 Glory, 176, 245, 254 Go, 223 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 17 Goldsmith, Oliver, 46 Gonzalo, Fernandez y Aguilar, 260 Good-natured Man, The, 46 GOODNESS AND GOODNESS OF NATURE, OP, 53 Goodwin, William Watson, 35, 37, 76, 123 Gorhambury, xvii, xxv, xxvi, li, liv, Ivi, Ivii, Ixv, 203, 220 Gower, John, 43 Grace, 254, 255 Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, 10 Gracious, 198 Graecia, 143 Grape-hyacinth, 214 Gray, Asa, 215 Gray's Inn, xxii, xxv, xxvi, xxxi, xxxii, xliv, xlvii, xlviii, Ixxxii, xcii, 174, 251 Great Englishmen of the Six- teenth Century, Ivii GREAT PLACE, OP, Iviii, Ixii, xciv, 45 GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES, OF THE TRUE, xxxviii, 132, 250 Greene, Robert, Ix Gregory the Great, 263, 264 GrenviUe, Sir Richard, Ixvi Greville, Fulke, xxxv Grief, 64 Grimston, James Walter, 3d Earl of Verulam, liv, Ivi Grimston, Sir Harbottle, liv Grose, Francis, 256 Gross, 264, 265 Gryllus, 34 Guiceiardini, Francesco, Ixxviii, Ixxix, 85 Gulliver's Travels, 74, 262 Gunpowder Plot, 17 Guy Mannering, 263 Haberdasher, 101 Habilitation, 140 Had need be, 179 Hadrian, 38 Hakluyt, Richard, Ix, 108 HaUeck, Pitz-Greene, 33 Hamlet, 29, 31, 34, 55, 106, 115, 118, 125, 130, 194, 196, 223, 231, 232 Hand of Ethelberta, The, 203 Handle, 36 Hannibal, 196 Hap, 262 Hardy, Thomas, 203 Hawkins, John Adair, Iv Healths, 81 Hearken, 158 Heath, 218 Heauton-timorumenos, 114 Hebrews, 8, 162 Hecathomythium seu centuTn Fa- bulae, 243, 244 Helmet of Pluto, 99 Henley, W. E., 256 Henry I., 88 Henry II., 88 Henry III., of Prance, 21, 62, 167 238 Henry IV., of France, 238, 250 1 Henry IV., 112, 133 2 Henry IV., 33, 104, 129 Henry T., 66, 218 Henry VI., 167 1 Henry VI., 137, 171, 177, 201 S Henry TI., 108, 110, 213, 232, 244, 247 3 Henry YI., 140, 175, 208 Henry VII., lix, 89, 94, 137, 149, 167, 250 Henry VIII., lix, Ixxxiv, 85, 168 Henry Till., 59, 106 Henry, Prince, Ixx Heraclitus, 3, 125 Herb a muscaria, 214 Herbert, George, lii Hermogenes, xx, 196 Herodotus, Ixxv, 166 Heroides, 197, 234 Hesiod, 92, 204 Hilliard, Nicholas, Iv, Ivi His, 86, 183 Historia del Concilio Tridentino, Ixxix, 78 Historia d'ltalia, L', Ixxviii, 85 Historiae (Livy), xx, 88, 185, 197, 244, 246, 251 Historiae Eomanae (Dion Cas- sius), 10, 121, 122 Historiae (Taritus), 9, 25, 50, 61, 62, 69, 70, 166, 246 Historiae Augustae Scriptores, 38, 70, 194 Historie of the Councel of Trent, The, 78 284 INDEX Historic of Guicdardin, The, Ixxviii Sistorie of Philip de Cormnines, The, Ixxvii Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, The, lii, 137, 167 Historie of the TurJces, Generall, 202 History of Appian of Alexan- dria, The Roman, 166 History of the Conquest of Peru, 202 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, The, 21 History of England, The, 48, 226 History of the World, Ix History, Veracious, 74 Hobart, Sir Henry, xlv, xlvii, Ixiv, 114 Hobbes, Thomas, Ixv Hoby, Elizabeth. Cooke, xviii Hoby, Sir Edward, xvii Hoby, Sir Thomas, xviii Holland, Lady Henry, 32 Hollandj Philemon, Ixxvi Holly-oak, 215 Holpen, 110 Holy Grail, The, 216 Holy League, xxiii, 238 Homer, xx, xxi, Ixxv, 67, 99, 165, 186 Honest Man's Fortune, The, 14 HONOUR AND REPUTA- TION, OP, 247 Horace, Ixxv, 10, 121 Hortensius, 196 House, 30 House-dove, 156 Howard, Charles, 1st Earl of Nottingham, xxxviii Howard, Lady Prances, Coun- tess of Somerset, xlviii Howard, Henry, Earl of North- ampton, xxvi Howard, Thomas, 2d Earl of Arundel, liii Howsoever, 5, 189 Hudibras, 6 Humanity, 118 Humorous, 33 Hundred, 90, 136 Husband, 248 Hutton, Sir Richard, Ixiv, 251 Hyacinthus orientalis, 212 Iliad, XX, 67, 99 111, 203 Imagery, Bacon's, xci, xcii, xciii Impertinences, 32 Impertinency, 254 Impertinent, 115 Importeth, 13 Importune, 178, 227 Impose, 3 Imposthumation, 68 Imprinting, 239 Impropriate, 145 In, 104 In MemoriaTn, 146 Inbowed, 208 Incensed, 24 Incident to, 141 Inconmiodities, 188 Inconformity, 109 Incur, 38 Indifferent, 27 Indignity, 45 Infamed, 86 Infinite, 191 Information, to make an, 230 Ingrossing, 67 Inheritance, The, 219 INNOVATIONS, OP, Ixi, 109 Insolency, 68 Instauratio Magna, xlviii Intelligence, 228 Intend, 141 Intention, 191 Interessed, 19 Intervenient, 257 Into, 81 Inundation, 268 Inure, 173 Inward, 49, 209 Iphigeneia, 17 Iphigeneia in Tauris, 17 Iphigenie auf Tauris, 17 Ira, De, 259 Isabella the Catholic, 239 Isaiah, 18, 91, 245 Ismail I,, 197, 249 Iteration, 112 Itinerary, Ixix Its, 183 Ivanhoe, 134, 149, 188 Jade, 152 James, 19, 117, 126, 254 James I., xxxviii, xliii, xlv, Ixiii, Ixiv, Ixvii, Ixix, Ixxvi, 154, 261 Janizary, 90 Jannsen (Jonson) Van Ceulen, Cornelius, Ivi Jaureguy, John, 181 Jenneting, 214 Jeremiah, 111, 244 Jewel, John, xix Job, 21, 63 Joel, 195 John, 3, 111, 117 1 John, 201 Johnson, Samuel, Ixx INDEX 285 Lives of the English Poets Cowley, 6 Gay, 45 Jonson, Ben, xliv, xcvi Alchemist, The, 172 Bartholomew Fair, 191, 215 English Grammar, 127 Epicoene; or. The Silent Woman, 221 Every Man in his Humour, 190 Magnetic Lady; or Humours Reconciled, The, 47 Masque of Augurs, 177 Prince Henry's Barriers, 177 Sejanus his Fall, 156, 172 Timber; or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter, xxvi, xcvi Underwoods, 245 Yolpone; or The Fox, 52 Joshua, 122 Joust, 177 Jowett, Benjamin, 117 Judges, 17, 182 JUDICATURE, OF, Ixiv, 251 Julia, 121 Julian tlie Apostate, 87 Justinian, 249 Juvenal, 10 Keats, John, xxxi Endymion, 211 Sonnet. — On first looking into Chapman's Homer, xxxi, xxxii Sonnet. — "When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean' d my teeming brain," 199 Keep but an even hand, 130 Keep way, 185 Elilligrew, Catherine Cooke, xviii Killigrew, Sir Henry, xviii Killigrew, Thomas, Jr., xviii Killigrew, Thomas, Sr., xviii King John, 104 1 Kings, 257, 262 2 Kings, 14 Knap, 203 Knight's Tale, The, 77, 122 Knights, The, 169 Knee-timber, 57 Knolles, Richard, 202 Knot, 219 Knowledge, 55 Lady of the Lake, The, 175 Lamb, Charles, 108 La Rochefoucauld, Francois, due de, 115, 196 Latin in English, Ixxxiv, Ixxxv Laudative, 145 Lavender, 211 Lay of the Last Minstrel, The, 205 Leads, 207 Leaded, 210 Lear, 32, 95, 150, 231 Lee, Sidney, Ivii Leese, 90, 149 Legend, The, 71 Legibus, De, 257 Lepanto, 144 L'Estrange, Sir Roger, 55, 180, 243 Let, 220 Letter of Advice to Queen Eliza- beth, xxvii, xxviii Letter to Lord Burghley, irgJTr, XXX, xxxi Leucippus, 71 Leviathan, The, Ixv Life and Works of Saint Bernard, 15 Lilium convallium, 214 L'Historia d'ltalia, Ixxviii, 85 Litany, The, 181 Lives of the English Poets, 6, 45 Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, The, Ixxvi, 76 Livia, 86 Livia Drusilla, 9, 24 Livy, Ixxv, Ixxx, Ixxxvi, xc, 43, 88, 196, 197 Historiae, xx, 88, 185, 197, 244, 246, 251 Loading, 56 Lodge, Edmund, xvii, 220 Longfellow, Henry "Wadsworth, 68 Loose, 105 Lord Bacon, Iv, Ixxx Lord of the Isles, The, 220, 270 Lose, 232 Louis XL, Ixxvii, 123 Love, Ixiii LOVE, OF, Ixii, 42 Love's Labour's Lost, 49, 105, 141, 230 Lucan, Ixxv, 64 Lucian, Ixxv, 74 Charon, 135 Dialogues of the Dead, 74 Dialogues of the Gods, 74 Timon, 74 Veracious History, 74 Lucretius, Ixxv, 5, 17 LucuUus, 134, 205, 236 Lucullus, Life of, 134, 205 Luke, 7, 10, 11, 14, 56, 94, 187, 230, 253, 259 Lurch, 204 Lycurgus, 249 Lysanaer, Life of, 6 286 INDEX Mabillon, Dom John, 15 Macaulay, Tiiomas Babington, Iv, Ixxx, 48, 226 Macbeth, 8, 34, 69, 97, 131 MacMavelli, Niccold, Ix, Ixxix, bcxx, Ixxxi, 54, 55, 62, 181, 26B Machiavellism, Ixxx, xcv Macro, 172 Maecenas, 121 Magnetic Lady; or Humours Reconciled, The, 47 Maid's Tragedy, The, 123 Mainly, 162 Make, 72, 233 Malice, 201 Manage, 194 Marco Bozzaris, 33 Marguerite d'Angouleme, Queen of Navarre, Ix Marish, 158 Marjoram, sweet, 216 Mark, 14, 133, 198 MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE, OF, Ixii, xciii, 32 Marriage of the Thames and the Rhine, The, xlviii, 174 Marston, Jolin, xliv Martial (Marcus Valerius Mar- tialis), Ixxv, 95 • Marvel, 201 Mary I., 168 Mary Queen of Scots, 112 MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS. OF, xxxii, liii, Ixiv, 174 Masque, 174 Masque of Augurs, 177 Masque of Flowers, The, xlviii Masque of^ the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn, The, 176 Masque of Pandora, The, 68 Masques (Bacon's), xxxii, xlvii, xlviii, Ixv, Ixxxii Mate, 8 Material, 113 Matter, 102, 201 Matthew, 12, 14, 18, 20, 42, 55, 56, 85, 124, 146, 256, 265 Matthew. Sir Tobie, 129, 130 Maxim,e8 et Reflexions Morales, 115, 196 Mean, 85, 230, 232 Mean, in a, 23 Measure for Measure, 247 Meat, 147 Meautys, Anne Bacon, liv Meautys, Sir Thomas, liv Medea, 165 Medici, Catharine de', xxiii. 167 Medici, Cosmo de', 20, 194 Medici, Lorenzo de', 86 Medicina, A. Cornelii Celsi De, 148 Medicine, 109 Meddtationes Sacrae, xxxvii Meditations of Marcus Antoninus, The, 122 Medlar, 215 Melocotone, 215 Memorabilia, 203 Meno, 261 Merchandizing, 188 Merchant of Venice, The, 162, 192, 194, 255 Mercury rod, 18 Mere, 118 Merely, 14 Mere-stone, 253 Merry Wives of Windsor, The, 42 Messalina, Valeria, 102 Metamorphoses, 66, 75, 152 Metaphysics (Aristotle), 245 Mew. 135 Mezereon-tree, 212 Middleton, Thomas, 8 - Midsummer- Night's Dream, A, 176, 214, 217, 218 Migne, Jacques Paul. 74 Militar, 245 Milken Way, 185 Milton, John Anecdote of, 26 Comus, 174 Paradise Lost. 47, 72, 77, 142, 171, 231. 268, 270 Mintman, 97 Misanthropi, 56 Mislike, 192 Mohammed, 16, 52, 266 Moil. 157 Momus, 204 Monastery, The, 24 Monk's-hood, 215 Montagu, Basil, Iv Montaigne, Michel de, Ix, Ixi, Ixix. Ixx, Ixxvii, Ixxviii, Ixxix, 6 Moore. Thomas, 4, 72 More, 198 More, Sir Thomas. 190 Morley, John, Ixxxi Morris-dance, 13 Morse, S. F. B., 234 Mortification, 7 Morton, John, 94 Moryson, Pynes, Ixix Most of all, 73 Motions, 60 Mought, 122 Mountebank, 52 Move, 101 Much Ado About Nothing, 5, 31, 36, 102, 157 Muciauus, 25, 246 MUller, Johann, 168 INDEX 287 Multiplication upon, 183 Muniting, 16 Mustapha, 86, 87, 202 Mystery, 23 Napier, A., 6 Narcissus, 102 Narses, 37 National Portrait Gallery, Ivii Naturalis Historia, 198 NATURE IN MEN, OP, xci, 178 Naught, 162 Nectarine, 215 Negative, double, 30 Neglecting, 20 NEGOCIATING, OF, bciii, 225 Nehemiah, 102 Nero, 82, 84 Neville, Henry, xvii Neville, Sir Henry, xviii Newel, 207 Nice, 138, 175 Nicol, John, liv, Ivi NOBILITY, OP. 58 Nodes Atticae, 115 Nonesuch, xxxviii North, Sir Thomas, Ixxvi, 76 Northampton, Earl of (see, Henry Howard) Notable, 250 Note, 231 Nottingham, 1st Earl of (see, Charles Howard) Novum Organum, xlviii Numa Pompilius, 117 Obnoxious, 173, 201 Observations, 239 Obtain, 25 Occasion, 98 Ochino, Bernardino, xix Odyssey, 34 Oes, 176 Of, 40, lis, 124, 146, 169, 253, 254 Offence, 147 Officious, 228 Oft, 259 Old Age, 199 Old Law, The, 8 Old Mortality, xci, 175 Olynthiacs , xx On first looMng into Chapman's Homer, xxxi, xxxii O'NeiU, Hugh, 2d Earl of Ty- rone, xxxviii Opera Moralia, Ix, 34, 35, 37, 76 Opera Moralia et Civilia, lii Optimates, 236 Oraculous, 27 Orationes De Haruspicum Besponso in P. Clodium, 76 In M, Antonium Philippica Tertia Decima, 121 In L, Calpurnium Pisonem, 115 Pro O. Rabirio Postumo, 160 Oratore, De, 34, 205 Oratoria, De Institutione, 116, 232 Order, to take, 171 Osman I., 249 Othello, 6, 118, 240 Otho, 8, 9 Overcome, 162 Overlive, 121 Over-power, 268 Overspealiing, 254 Ovid, Ixxv, Ixxxvi Heroides, 197, 234 Metamorphoses, 66, 75, 152 Remedia Amoris, 179 Tristium, 253 Packing of thought, Ixxxvii, Ixxxviii Painter, William, Ix Pair, 110 Palm, 85 Pandora, 68 Parable, 123 Paradise Lost, 47, 72, 77, 142, 171, 231, 268, 270 PARENTS AND CHILDREN, OP, 29 Parker, Matthew, xix Particular, 262 Pass, Simon, Ivi Passable, 236 Passages, 112 Patrologiae Cursus Completus, 74 Paul, 12 Paulet, or Poulet, Sir Amias, xxii, Iv, Ixxxviii, 112 Pawn, 190 Pease, 156 Periam, Elizabeth Bacon Neville, xviii, xlv Periam, Sir William, xlv Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 142, 269 Period, 195 Perish, 123 Persuade, 19 Pertinax, 21 Perturb, 77 Pet Lamb, The, 237 Phaedo, 261 Phaethon, 152, 262 Pharsalia, 64 Philip II., of Macedon, 88, 121, 166, 198 Philip II., of Spain, 167, 168, 205 288 INDEX Philippe le Bel, 197 Philippians, 4 Philippicae, 51, 121, 135 Philology, 271 Philostratus, 84 Piety, natural, 76 Pilgrim's Progress, The, 156 Pirate, The, 137 Piso, liiicius Calpurniiis, 115 Place, to take, 231 Plantation, 154 PLANTATIONS, OF, liii, Ixvi, Ixvii, 154 Plato, XX, Ixxv, 73, 116, 202, 261, 264 Critias, 170 Meno, 261 Phaedo, 261 Protagoras, 116 Republic, 170 TimaeuB, 170, 263, 264 Plato's great year, 264 ' Plausible, 41 Plautianus, Lucius Pulvius, 121 Plautus, Ixxv, 184 Play-pleasure, 36 Pleasure, 172 Pliny the Elder, liii, Ixxv, 198, 246 Pliny the Younger, Ixxv, 246, 247 Plutarch, Ix, Ixxv, Ixxvi, 76, 166 Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men, 166, 205 Aleibiades, 199 Alexander, 166 y Antony, Ixxvi, 57 Caesar, Ixxvi, 120, 166, 186 Cimon, 132 Coriolanus, Ixxvi, 96 Lucullus, 134, 205 Lysander, 6 Marcus Brutus, Ixxvi, 166 - ' Pompey, 120 Sulla, 186 , Themistocles, 125, 132 Timoleon, 187 Plutarch, Philosophie commonly called the Morals, written by the learned philosopher, Ix, Ixxvi .f'^Ad/ulatore et amico, De, 44 Curiosity, Of, 37 ^ Exilio, De, 32 -'Gryllus, 34 - - -Superstition, Of, 76 . Symposiaca, 35 Training of Children, Of the, ' 123 Pluto, 99, 161 Ply, 183 Poems on Life and Duty, 258 Poesy, 23 Poetics (Aristotle), 245 Point, 207 Point-device, 240 Politic, 52 Politics, 13 Polities of Aristotle, The, 117, 245 Poll, 256 Pollock, Sir Frederick, 233 Polycrates, 166 Pompey, 64, 108, 143, .144, 160, 161, 205, 236 Pompey, Life of, 120 Pope, Alexander, Ixxx Epistle I, 46 Epistle III, 159 The Eape of the Lock, IT! Popularity, 228 Portraits of Illustrious Person- ages of Great Britain, xvii, 220 Poser, 152 Practice, 226 Praeterita, Ixxxix Praetorian bands, 21, 90 Pragmatic Sanction, 139 PRAISE, OF, 241 Pray in aid, 124 Precedent, 86 Prefer before, 203 Pre-occupate, 8 Preseott, William Hickling, 202 Prescription, 226 Present, 141 Prest, 142 Pretend, 142 Pretty, 105 Prevent, 254 Primum mobile, 63, 77, 238 Prineipall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the Eng- lish Nation, etc.. The, Ix, 108 Privado, 119 Private, 156 Privateness, 46, 180 Probus, 70 Procure, 138 Profit, 195 Prologue, The, 110, 213 Prometheus, 23, 68 Prometheus Bound, 23 Prometheus Unbound, 23 Proof, 31 Proper, 129, 260 PROPHECIES, OF, xxiii, liii, 165 Proportion, Yier Biicher von ■menschlicher, 198 Propriety, 12 Prospect, 5 Prospective, 114 Protagoras, 116 Prothero, Rowland E., 23 INDEX 289 Proverb literature, Ixxxvii, Ixxxviii, 28, 44, 54, 112, 118, 123, 125, 151, 244 Proverbs, Ixxxvi, xc, 19, 30, 40, 50, 82, 91, 106, 147, 160, 161, 164, 242, 252, 253, 255 Provoke, 8 Proyning, 233 Psalm OIT., 176 Psalms, 12, 15, 20, 72, 101, 132, 180, 183, 197, 216, 253, 254 Psalter, The, 79, 254 Publilii Syri Mimi Sentential, 44 Pilling, 176 Purprise, 255 Push, 242 Pyrrho, 3 Pythagoras, 82, 123 Pythonissa, 165 Quality, 66 Quarles, Francis, 114 Quarrel, 34 Quarter, 44 Quarter, to keep good, .103 Quech, 182 Queen Mary, 181 Quentin Durward, 123 Quicken, 191 Quintessence, 72 Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus), 116, 232 Quotable prose, xciv, xcv Babelais, Francois, Ixxvii, 13 Rabelais, Les Cinq Livres de F., 13 Babirius (Oaius Rabirius Pos- tumus), 160 Balegh, Sir Walter, xxvi, xxxviii, Ix, Ixvi, 154 Rape of the Lock, The, 177 Basps, 214 Bavaillac, Francois, 181 Bawley, William, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiv, xxvi, lii, Ixix, Ixxii, Ixxiii, xci, xcii Eeason, 46, 59 Becamera, 209 Beciproque, 44 Bedburn, xxv Redgauntlet, 189, 207 Redgrave, xvi, xvii Reduce, 271 Refer, 231 Referendary, 231 Refrain, 258 Begard (in regard), 137 Begard (in regard of), 192 Begiment, 146 REGrMBNT OF HEALTH, OF, xlvi, Ixvi, xcv, 146 BegiomontanuB, 168 Regular, 48 Regius, Marcus Atilius, 251 Beiglement, 191 Eeins, 235 Religio Laid, 264 Religio Medici, 9, 262 Remedia Amoris, 179 Bemover, 186 Benaissauce, The, lix, Ix, Ixxxiv, xcv Beposed, 194 Republic, 170 Rerum Natura, De, 5, 17 Besort, 105 Bespect, 131, 148 Respects, 49, 58, 238 Best, 172 Restrained, 125 Beturn, 206 Revelation, 14, 206 REVENGE, OP, xxiii, Ixxv, 19 Revenges, 21 Reynolds, S. H., 207 Rhetoric (Aristotle), 245 Rhetorica, 198 Ribes, 214 Richard II., xl, 150, 192, 255 Richard III., 49 RICHES, OF, xc, 159 Rid, 140 Right, 107 Rise, 163 Roast Pig, A Dissertation upon, 108 Robinson Crusoe, 248 Romanes Lecture, Ixxxi Romans, 7, 57, 60, 158, 200, 243 Romeo and Juliet, 154, 204 Romulus, 140, 249 Rosemary, 223 Bossetti, William Michael, 23 Bound, 6, 29, 110 Bowlett, Margaret Cooke, xviii Bowlett, Sir Balph, xviii Eoxalana, 86, 202 Ruskin, John, Ixxxix Russell, Francis (2d Earl of Bedford), xviii Russell, Lord John, xviii Sabinian, 264 Sacrifice, 251 Sad, 24 Saggi Morali del Signore Fran- cesco Bacono, 129 Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin, Ixxvii Saisiaz, La, 160 Salisbury, Earl of, (see. Sir Robert Cecil) Sallust, XX, 84 290 INDEX 1 Samuel, 165 2 Samuel, 94 Sapientia Veterum, De, xlvii, 129 Sarpi, Paolo, Ixxix, 78 Sarza, 119 Saturn, 76 Satyrian, 214 Scant, 204 Scantling, 250 Scipio Africanus Major, Ixxxvi, 196, 244, 246 Scott, Sir Walter, xci Guy Mannering, 263 Ivanhoe, 134, 149, 188 Lady of the Lake, The, 175 Lay of the Last Minstrel, The, 205 Lord of the Isles, The, 220, 270 Monastery, The, 24 Old Mortality, xci, 175 Pirate, The, 137 Quentin Durward, 123 Redgauntlet, 189, 207 Scrap, 256 Scrivener, 163 Seasons, The, 217 Seat, 203 Second, 230 SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES, OF, Ixxxvi, xciv, 60 Seek (be to seek), 191 Seel, 172 SEEMING WISE, OF, Ixiv, xcv, 114 Sejanus his Fall, 156, 172 Sejanus, Aelius, 86, 121, 172 Selymus I., 88 Selymus II., 87 Seneca, Ixxv, Ixxvii, 8, 116, 170, 246 Epistolae ad Lucilium, Ixx, 8, 9, 22, 43 De Ira, 259 Medea, 165 Thyestes, 47 Sermones Fideles sive Interiora Rerum, lii Services, 215 Several, 206 Severus, Lucius Septimius, 10, 21, 121, 193, 194 Sforza, Lodovico, 86 Shadow, 46 Shakspere, William, xl, lii, lix, Ixvii, Ixxv, Ixxvi, Ixxvii, Ixxxi, Ixxxii, Ixxxiii, Ixxxiv, Ixxxv, xciv, xcv, 8, 34, 74, 76, 172, 183, 212, 213, 214, 217 All 's Well that Ends Well, 183 Antony and Cleopatra, 43, 77, 124, 227 As You Like It, 81, 113, 162, 169, 240 Comedy of Errors, The, 38, 103, 138 Coriolanus, 127, 198 Cymbeline, 49 Hamlet, 29, 31, 34, 55, 106, 115, 118, 125, 180, 194, 196, 223, 231, 232 1 Henry IT., 112, 133 2 Henry IT., 33, 104, 129 Henry T., 66, 218 1 Henry TI., 137, 171, 177, 201 a Henry TI., 108, 110, 213, 232, 244, 247 3 Henry TI., 140, 175, 208 Henry Till., 59, 106 Julius Oaesar, 31, 59, 64, 73, 125, 147, 148, 184 King John, 104 Lear, 32, 95, 150, 231 Love's Labour's Lost, 49, 105, 141, 230 Macbeth, 8, 34, 69, 97, 131 Measure for Measure, 247 Merchant of Tenice, The, 162, 192, 194, 255 Merry Wives of Windsor, The, 42 Midsummer-Night's Dream, A, 176, 214, 217, 218 Much Ado About Nothing, 5, 31, 102, 157 Othello, 6, 118, 240 Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 142, 269 Richard II., xl, 150, 192, 255 Richard III., 49 Romeo and Juliet, 154, 204 Taming of the Shrew, The, 22, 49, 180, 249, 260, 262 Tempest, The, 158, 264 Timon of Athena, 74, 172, 229 Titus Andronicus, 228 Troilus and Cressida, 162 Twelfth Night; or What You Will, 21, 175, 200, 214 Two Gentlemen of Terona, The, 241 Winter's Tale, The, 211, 213, 215, 217 Tenus and Adonis, Ixxxiii Shelley, Memoir of Percy Bysshe, 23 Shilleto, Arthur Richard, 22 Shrewd, 106 Sibylla's offer, 98 Side, 237 Sidgwick, Henry Henry Sidgwick, A Memoir by A. S. and E. M. S., 97 INDEX 291 Sidney, Sir Philip, Ix, 107, 141 Sidney Letters, xxxviii Silius, Cains, 102 Simulation, 24 SIMULATION AND DISSIMU- LATION, OP, Ixiii, Ixxi, 24, 93 Sinews of war, 135 SingTilar, 139 Sit, 189 Slide, 60, 186 Slope, 220 Slug, 189 Smith, Captain John, Ixvii, 154 Smith, Sydney A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by nis Daugh- ter, Lady Holland, with a Selection from his Letters, edited by Mrs. Austin, 32 Smother, 125 So, 5 Socrates, 116, 202, 245 Softness, 229 Solecism, 84 Solon, 135, 249, 263 Solution of continuity, 11 Solyman I., 87, 202 Somerset, Countess of (see. Lady Frances Howard) Somerset, Earl of (see, Kobert Carr) Sort, 31, 204 Southampton, Earl of (see, Henry Wriothesley) Spang, 176 Spartianus, Aelius, 38, 194 Spectator, The, 75, 265 Spedding, James, liii, Iv, Ivi, Ivii, Ixxx, Ixxxi, 15, 37, 54, 61, 62, 76, 89, 90, 91, 94, 103, 154, 165, 178, 179, 182, 199, 204, 270 Speech of touch, 153 Spenser, Edmund, 45, 98, 99, 110, 122, 207, 208, 217 Spials, 201 Sprite, 177 Stablish, 164 Staddle, 136 Stale, 53 Stand upon, 141 Stand with, 155 Stanhope, Michael, xriii Stanhope, Philip Dormer, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, 27 State, 137 Stay, 59 Steal, 49 Steele, Sir Richard, 265 Sterne, Lawrence, 9, 129, 250 Stick, 251 Stirp, 58 Stock-gillyflower, 212, 217 Siond, 234 Storm, The, Iv Stout, 149 Stove, 212 Straightways, 85 STUDIES, OF, Ixix, Ixx, Ixxi, Ixxxviii, xcii, 233 Suetonius, Ixxv, 9, 69, 166, 167 Sufficiency, 50 Sufficient, 240 Suit, 265 SUITORS, OF, 230 Sulla, Ixxxvi, 69, 120, 186 Sulla, Life of, 186 Sulphur, flower of, 119 Superficies, 114 SUPERSTITION, OF, Ixxix, 76 Superstition, Of (Plutarch), 76 Surcharge, 59 Survival of Elizabethan English in Scottish Vernacular, xci Suspect, 110, 237 SUSPICION, OF, Ixiii, xcii, 149 Sustentation, 269 Swift, Jonathan, 262 Sylva Sylvarum: or A Natural Misto'^y, xxi, xxiii, xxiv, lii, hii, Ixi, 175, 179, 224 Symposiaca, 35 Syrus, Pubiilius, 44 Tacitus, xxi, Ixxiv, Ixxv, Ixxvii, xcii, 9, 24, 25, 63, 84, 246, 264 Annales, 9, 25, 86, 102, 104, 121, 164, 241 Germania, 9 Historiae, 9, 25, 50, 61, 62, 69, 70, 166, 246 Julii Agricolae Vita, 9, 242 Talmud, 71 Taming of the Shrew, The, 22, 49, 180, 249, 260, 262 Task, The, 190, 211 Temper, 83 Temperature, 29 Tempest, The, 158, 264 Temporis Partus Maximus, xxviii, xlviii Tendering, 148 Tennyson, Alfred Blackbird, The, 214 Geraint and Enid, 110, 153 Eoly Grail, The, 216 In Memoriam, 146 Queen Mary, 181 Terence (Publius Terentius Afer), Ixxv Eunuchus, 93 Seauton-timorumenos, 114 Thackeray, William Makepeace, 13 292 INDEX Thales, 35 Thank, 230 That, 26, 72, 101, 234, 247 Themistocles, 124, 144 Themistoeles, Life of, 125, 132 Theodoric the Great, 249 Theogony, 92 Theologues, 243 2 Thessalonians, 140 Thomas, known as Thomas h Becket, 88 Thomson, James, 217 Thyestes, 47 Thyme, 218 Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, 9, 25, 86, 121, 166, 172, 196 Tigellinus, Sophonius, 104 Tigranes, 134 Timaeus, 170, 263, 264 Timber; or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter, xxvi, xcvi Timoleon, 187 Timoleon, Life of, 187 Timon, 57 Timon, 74 Timon of Athens, 74, 172, 229 Timone, 74 Timotheus, 186 1 Timothy, 16, 195, 258 2 Timothy, 114 Timur (Tamerlane), 37 Tiphys, 165 Titus Andronicus, 228 To, 109, 156 Topiary work, 220 TotteVs Miscellany, 196 Touch, 146, 260 Tourney, 177 Towardness, 87 Toxophilus, Ixxxiv Tract, 27, 196 Traduce, 263 Training of Children, Of the, 123 Trajan, 122, 246 Transcendence, 22 Travail, 140 TRAVEL, OF, Ixviii, 79 Tribunitious, 97 Triggs, H. Inigo, 220 Trinity College (Cambridge), XX, xxi, 207 Trinummus, 184 Tristium, 253 Tristram Shandy, 9, 129, 250 Triumph, 174 Troilus and Oressida, 162 TRUTH, OF, Ixi, Ixxv, Ixxvi, 3, 94 Turn the cat in the pan, xci, 104 Turquet, 177 Tusculanae, 182, 245 Twelfth Night, or What You Will, 21, 175, 200, 214 Twickenham, xvii, xxxv Two Gentlemen of Verona, The, 241 Tyrone, 2d Earl of (see, Hugh O'NeiU) Tyrrell, Robert Yelverton, 108 Ulysses, 34 Undertaker, 157 Undertaking, 40 "Underwoods, 245 Unguent, 113 Union of the Kingdoms of Eng- land and Scotland. Certain Articles or Considerations touching the, Ixvii UNIT? IN RELIGHON, OF, xxviii, Ixxvi, Ixxvii, 11 Unsecreting, 93 Upon, 161, 227 Use, 190 Usury, 187 USURY, OF, 187 Utopia, 190 VAIN-GLOET, OP, Ixxxviii, xcii, 243 Value, 163 Van Somer, Paul, Ivi, Ivii Vantage, 144 Varchi, Benedetto, Ixxviii, Ixxix Vatican, 205 Vaunt, 247 Vaux, Thomas, 2d Baron Vaux of Harrowden, 196 Vein, 38 Vena porta, 89, 188 Venus and Adonis, Ixxxiii Veracious History, 74 Vergil, xxi, Ixxv, 61, 121 Aeneid, 61, 137, 165 Eclogae, 134 Georgiea, 60, 61, 187, 259 Vernon, Elizabeth, Countess of Southampton, Ixxxiii Verulam, 3d Earl of (see James Walter Grimston) Verulam House, Ixv, 203 Version, 265 Vespasian, 9, 25, 50, 83, 84, 166, 197, 2^9 VICISSITUDE OP THINGS, OF, Ixxix, xciv, 261 Victual, 155 Villars, Pierre de, 20 Villiers, George, 1st Duke of Buckingham, xxxv, xlix, li, lii Virginia Company, South, Ixvii, Ixxxiii, 154 Vitellius. Anlus, 9, 25 Vizard, 177 DTOEX 293 Vocation, 12 Voice, 233 Volpone; or The Fox, 53 Vopiscus, Flavins, 70 Votary, 183 Vouch, 12 Vulgar, 135 Vuigate, Ixxxvi, xe, 15, 47, 50, 106, 180, 253, 358 Wait upon, 101 Waller, Edmund, 199 Wantons, 30 Wardens, 215 Washington, George, 202 Waste, 106 Wax, 124 Way, 44 Webster, John, 43 Welt, 221 Were better, 125 "When I have fears that I may cease to be" (Keats), 199 Which, 122 Whit, 53 White, Horace, 166 Whitgift, John, xx, xxi Who, 36, 131 William Bufus, 88 William the Silent, 181 Winter's Tale, The, 211, 213, 315, 217 Wisdom, of the Ancients, Of the, xlvii, 33, 61, 68, 93, 99, 125, 371 WISDOM FOR A MAN'S SELF, OF, Ixiii, Ixxx, xciv, 106 With (withe), 182 Withal, 366 Witty, 14 Wonderment, 176 Wont, 301 Wordsworth, William Ecclesiastical Sonnets, 23 The Pet Lamb, 237 Work, 226 Works of Francis Bacon, The (Spedding), liii, Iv, Ivi, Ivii, 15, 37, 54, 61, 63, 76, 90, 91, 94, 154, 165, 178, 179, 182, 199, 204, 370 Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England, The, Iv Works of Lord Byron, The (Prothero), 33 Worlde of Wordes, A, 183, 231 Wotton, Sir Henry, liv, 36 Would, 4, 19, 101, 151, 175, 234 Wright, W. Aldis, 168 Wriothesley, Henry, 3d Earl of Southampton, xli, xlii, 1, Ixvii, Ixxxiii Wrought, 234 Wyatt, Sir Thomas, Ix Xenophon, xx, 202 Memorabilia, 202 Tea, 216 Tear, Plato's great, 264 Tork House, xv, xxxix TOUTH AND AGE, OF, Ixxxvi, 193 Zanger, 202 Zeal, 264 Zelants, 13 Zenobia, 349 Zephaniah, 200 Zeuxis, 198