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BACON'S ESSAYS.
BACON'S ESSAYS
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
F. G. SELBY, M.A.
LATE SCHOLAR OF WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD ; PRINCIPAL AND PROFESSOR OF
LOGIC AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY, DECCAN COLLEGE, POONA ; FELLOW
OF THK UNIVERSITY OF BOMBAY
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK 1892
(All rights reserved]
First Edition, 1889 ; Reprinted 1890, 1892.
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PKEFACE.
THIS edition of Bacon's Essays is, like my edition of the Advancement of Learning, intended mainly for Indian students. The notes therefore contain much which to English readers will appear superfluous. The text is that of the edition of 1625, the last edition published by Bacon himself. The spelling is modernized. In pre paring this edition I have derived much information from Ellis and Spedding's edition of Bacon's Works, Francis Bacon and his Times by Spedding, Gardiner's History of England, and, above all, from Mr. Wright's edition of the Essays. The letter " W" appended to a note shows that it is borrowed from Mr. Wright.
POONA,
October 2nd, 1888
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION, ......... ix
ESSAYS OR COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL, .... 1
NOTES, 151
INDEX, 293
INTRODUCTION.
THERE are certain periods in the world's history which have a special attraction for those who are watching \vith interest the intellectual and moral development of India. Such a period is the age of Socrates and the Sophists in Greece. Then, as now in India, the belief in an old mythology was being shattered; tradition, authority, and custom, were no longer accepted as ade quate sanctions for moral rules and political institutions. In a word, a spirit of rational inquiry and criticism was supervening upon an age of childlike faith. Such a period again is the age of the Keformation and the Revival of Learning. Here, too, we have a revolt of reason against authority. The dangers of such a move ment were greater in Greece than in modern Europe. There was no political stability in any Grecian city, and therefore no natural resistance to revolutionary doctrines. There was no organized or powerful system of scientific or moral beliefs to check the free play of crude and wanton speculation. In this respect there is a c?ose analogy between Greece and India. Both countries suffered in the same ways and from the same causes. The Indian mind was bewildered, at the same time that it was attracted, by the novelty of English
x INTRODUCTION.
philosophy and science. Here, as in Greece, the up rooting of old beliefs has begotten a premature and excessive scepticism, and an exaggerated distrust of everything established. The fascination of a new intel lectual world has produced a recklessness in specula tion and criticism, which time and experience only can correct. Lastly, a gulf has been set between old and young, and there are dangerous disruptions in families and in society. The spirit of the sixteenth century was a more serious one. The Church had established over the world a dominion which was not to be lightly attacked or easily overthrown. On its religious side, the new movement was, in its essence, a revolt in favour of high spiritual principles. On its secular side, it was a free and generous interest in the new world presented by literature, and in the promises of science. India has differed from Europe in this respect, that Europe had by serious struggle and effort to create for herself that great body of knowledge which she has presented as a gift to India. It may be doubted whether this difference represents pure gain to India — "Difficulty is a severe instructor, set over us by the supreme ordinance of a parental guardian and legislator, who knows us better than we know ourselves, as he loves us better too."
With the sixteenth century the modern world begins. The spirit of its religion, its philosophy, and its science is our spirit. Reason was asserting, as against authority, that independence which is still our dearest object. Bacon is one of the most interesting figures of that interesting age. He represents its deep patriotism, its patient effort, its wide interests, its high aims, its lofty enthusiasm. His earliest and chief interest in life was
INTRODUCTION. xi
the reform of scientific method. When only twelve years and three months old he was sent to Cambridge. His experience there was disappointing to him. Aristotle reigned supreme in the schools, and Bacon was struck with " the unfruitfulness of his way " Science had little or nothing to show in the way of results ; and nothing, it occurred to him, was to be hoped for, until a new method was invented and applied. To supply this want became henceforth the passion of his life. Writing to Lord Burleigh at the beginning of his thirty-second year, he says, " I have taken all knowledge to be my province ; and if I could purge it of two sorts of rovers, whereof the one with frivolous disputations, confutations, and verbosities, the other with blind experiments and auri cular traditions and impostures, hath committed so many spoils, I hope I should bring in industrious observations, grounded conclusions, and profitable inventions and discoveries : the best state of that province." There was, he complains, no " art of invention." Such dis coveries as had been made were the result of accident, not of methodical and rational inquiry. The so-called induction that was practised was nothing but a process of hasty generalization. The human mind had neglected those artificial aids which alone can enable it to cope with the subtlety of nature Impatience and an undue eager ness to show results had led to premature dogmatizing and hypothesis. Conclusions had been deduced from premises which were mere combinations of inaccurate, ill-defined, inadequate notions of things. Instead of ascertaining the laws of phenomena, science had been content to point out the final causes of things. Above all, no attempt had been made to compare and co-ordinate
xii INTRODUCTION.
the results of the different branches of inquiry. Besides the mistakes into which men had been led by peculiar ities of temperament and education, by language, and by an exaggerated respect for the authority of great names, there are certain fallacies to which the human mind is from its very nature liable " The mind of man is far from the nature of a clear and equal glass, wherein the beams of things should reflect according to their true incidence : nay, it is rather like an enchanted glass, full of superstition and imposture, if it be not delivered and reduced." These inherent and universal tendencies to error Bacon calls "idols of the tribe." The times in the world's history in which learning of any kind had flourished had been but few, and even in them inquiry had been directed rather to ethics, politics, and theology, than to natural science. The progress of science had been further impeded by the jealousy of theologians and statesmen, as well as by the credulity and frivolity of professed students, and the ignorance and affectation of professed teachers. It seemed, however, to Bacon that there were grounds for hopefulness in his day, partly because of the unexpected discoveries which science had recently made, partly because of the extension of cos mography. " It may be truly affirmed, to the honour of these times, and in a virtuous emulation with antiquity, that this great building of the world had never through- lights made in it, till the age of us and our fathers." Two things were wanted to secure progress : a right conception of the end and aim of science, and a method which should correct the natural defects of the intellect, should put all inquirers on one level, and should be certain in its results. " Men have entered into a desire
INTRODUCTION. xiii
of learning and knowledge, sometimes upon a natural curiosity and inquisitive appetite ; sometimes to enter tain their minds with variety and delight; sometimes for ornament and reputation ; and sometimes to enable them to victory of wit and contradiction; and most times for lucre and profession ; and seldom sincerely to give a true account of their gift of reason, to the benefit and use of men : as if there were sought in knowledge a couch whereupon to rest a searching and restless spirit ; or a terrace for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect ; or a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself upon ; or a fort or com manding ground for strife and contention ; or a shop for profit or sale ; and not a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate." Over and over again Bacon insists that knowledge is to be judged by its results. By its fruit ye shall know it. "The true relation between the nature of things and the nature of the mind is as the strewing and decoration of the bridal chamber of the mind and the universe, the Divine good ness assisting; out of which marriage let us hope (and be this the prayer of the bridal song) there may spring helps to man, and a line and race of inventions that may in some degree subdue and overcome the necessities and miseries of humanity." Fruit, in fact, is not so much the justification as the test of knowledge. Bacon is not degrading knowledge by representing it as an instrument for promoting the comfort of man. He was quite aware that study is a duty imposed upon us by the possession of our talents, that it is a source of innocent pleasure, that it is the handmaid of religion, and that it is the condition of all moral and spiritual perfection. God is
xiv INTRODUCTION.
disgraced and man rendered miserable by ignorance and the barbarism which attends it. The removal of super stition, refinement of manners, and improvement of morals are all included in the fruit of knowledge. Bacon was not thinking merely of additions to man's stock of material comforts. But he was deeply impressed with the idea that what nature does we can do, if we can only find out how she does it. And man may, if he will, possess himself of the key to the interpretation of nature. " The spirit of man is as the lamp of God, wherewith he searcheth the inwardness of all secrets." It was Bacon's mission to point out the vast dominion which a perfected science would open up to man, and at the same time to point out the road which man must follow if he would enter into possession of his kingdom. " I most humbly," he says, " and fervently pray to God that, remembering the sorrows of mankind and the pil grimage of this our life, wherein we wear out days few and evil, he will vouchsafe through my hands to endow the human family with new mercies." It is ordained that man shall possess nothing but by the sweat of his brow. Power can be gained only through knowledge ; and knowledge can be reached only by a patient and methodical study of nature. We must be content to be the servants and interpreters of nature. We must become as little children, if we wish to enter into " the kingdom of man."
Fired with this idea of a perfect science which, besides being a fresh revelation of God's glory, should also be fraught with untold blessings to man, Bacon projected " a total reconstruction of sciences, arts, and all human knowledge, raised upon the proper foundations," namely,
INTRODUCTION. xv
"experience of every kind, and the same well examined and weighed." This Great Instauraiion was to consist of six parts. In the first part he proposed "to exhibit a summary or general description of the knowledge which the human race in his day possessed, taking note at the same time of things omitted which ought to be there." This part of the scheme is represented by the Advance ment of Learning, and the expanded translation of it known as the De Augmentis Scientiarum. After this was to come the New Organon, or Bacon's own scientific method. This method was, in the first place, to be in ductive. But it was to differ altogether from that hasty process of generalization from a few casual observations, which generally passed by the name of induction. Experience was to be analyzed. By a process of ex clusion and rejection conclusions were to be reached, the truth of which could not be doubted. The mind was to be led gradually and regularly from one axiom to another, the most general being reached last, so that no loophole might be left by which error could creep in. Lastly, men were to be warned against such tendencies to error as are ineradicable, as well as against those that are accidental : while instruments and experiments were to supply the failures and correct the errors of sense. The experience which this method of interpretation presupposes was to be accumulated in a < Natural and Experimental history, which was to form the third part of the Instauration. It was to supply the intellect with fit matter to work upon, as the Logic supplied it with safeguards to guide and control its working. It was to be a complete and exhaustive description of the pheno mena of nature as revealed by observation and experi-
xvi INTRODUCTION.
ment. Bacon, strangely enough, thought that, if a sufficient number of workers were employed, such a history might in a short time be compiled, and that then nothing would remain to complete the sum of knowledge but to interpret the " stuff and matter " thus supplied according to the rules of his Logic. Bacon's own contributions to this history are to be found in the second volume of Ellis and Spedding's edition of his works. The Natural and Experimental history was to be followed by the Ladder of the Intellect. As all rules and reasonings are made more intelligible by examples, Bacon proposed in this part of his scheme " to set forth examples of inquiry and invention according to his method, exhibited by anticipation in some particular subjects ; choosing such subjects as are at once the most noble in themselves, and most different from one another ; that there may be an example in every kind." This was to be followed by Anticipations of the New Philosophy, or conclusions which Bacon himself had arrived at, but which, as not being discovered and proved by his new method, were to be accepted only provisionally. Last of all was to come the New Philo sophy or Active Science : — " the apocalypse or true vision of the footsteps of the Creator imprinted on his creatures," which will be revealed by the proper "Interpretation of Nature." Bacon did not do more than write the prefaces to the fourth and fifth parts. If we wish to understand what practical results he anticipated from that "legitimate, chaste, and severe course of inquiry " which he had propounded, we must read his New Atlantis.
But Bacon's interests were not confined to the advance-
INTRODUCTION. xvii
ment of science. There is nothing, he says, in being and action, which should not be drawn into contemplation and doctrine. He was anxious that "pragmatical men may not go away with an opinion that learning is like a lark that can mount, and sing, and please herself, and nothing else : but may know that she holdeth as well of the hawk, that can soar aloft, and can also descend and strike upon the prey." No more keen observer of life and affairs than Bacon ever lived. He delighted in the writings of moralists, like Seneca, Lucian, and Montaigne : of critics of character, like Tacitus, Plu tarch, and Suetonius : and of critics of affairs, like Cicero and Machiavelli. His curiosity had been whetted and his mind enlarged by travel. In the Essays he presents himself as the moralist, the statesman, and the man of the world. He calls them " certain brief notes set down rather significantly than curiously : not vulgar, but of a kind whereof men shall find much in experience and little in books." As we read them, we naturally compare Bacon to one of those old Eomans whom he himself describes as walking at certain hours in the Forum, and giving audience to those that would use their advice. They are specimens of that wisdom which arises out of an universal insight into the affairs of the world. They come home, he says, to men's business and bosoms. He describes them truly as being not set treatises, but "dispersed meditations." It was a favourite idea with him that such was the best form of writing in matters relating to conduct. The Essays are the fruits of his observation of life. They reflect his experience of men and the world. The most curious are those which treat of cunning, of suitors, of wisdom for a man's self, of
b
xviii INTRODUCTION.
simulation and dissimulation, and other subjects of the kind. They reveal a habit of thought and action which is naturally generated under despotic rule. When all depends on the favour of one man, men will intrigue to gain his favour. There is probably nothing in the whole range of literature which would be more appreciated in an Indian darbar than these Essays of Bacon and the Prince of Machiavelli. Bacon often checks himself, as if half ashamed of the practices which he is criticising, if not recommending. He knew quite well the moral dangers that beset a public man. But he had laid him self out to get on in the world, and success then was hard to attain without servility, adulation, and com placency. The very advantages which he possessed of tact and address were an additional danger to him. Left a poor man by his father's death, he found himself forced at the beginning of his career to become a suitor to those in power. At first he wanted a place chiefly with a view to securing leisure and means for carrying out his scientific work. During the reign of Elizabeth all his applications for office were unsuccessful. Hope deferred made his heart grow sick. Time was passing, and with it the chances of accomplishing that reform of learning, which was the dominant interest of his life. He was conscious too of great abilities, which might be turned to the advantage of the state. In the House of Commons he found his talents recognised, and his judgment respected. The traditions of his family made him look naturally to a public career. Life and its problems, the world and its honours, the court and its pageantry had a real attraction for him. Yet he remained outside the charmed circle of office. The queen
INTRODUCTION.
XIX
probably thought it unnecessary to reward him with a permanent place, seeing that he was always ready and able to perform such occasional services as were required of him. He was a man of wisdom and discretion beyond his years, an eloquent and thoughtful speaker,* a keen observer, but above all a pliant instrument. Just as in after times he could sound the very depths of subservi ence when he thought he had offended Villiers, so under Elizabeth he was willing to appear as the prosecutor of his friend Essex, because hesitation or refusal would have prejudiced his own interests. Promotion came to him under Elizabeth's successor. The history of his advancement may be told in his own words. Writing to the king, he says, u You found me of the Learned Counsel, Extraordinary, without patent or fee ; a kind of individuum mgum. You established me, and brought me into ordinary. Soon after you placed me Solicitor, where I served seven years. Then your Majesty made me your Attorney or Procurator General. Then a Privy Councillor, while I was Attorney ; a kind of miracle of your favour, that had not been in many ages. Then Keeper of your Seal : and because that was a kind of planet and not fixed, Chancellor. And when your
* " He was full of gravity in his speaking. His language, when he could spare, or pass by a jest, was nobly censorious. No man ever spoke more neatly, more prestly, more weightily, or suffered less emptiness, less idleness, in what he uttered. No member of his speech but consisted of his own graces. His hearers could not cough, or look aside from him, without loss. He commanded, where he spoke ; and had his judges angry and pleased at his devotion. No man had their affections more in his power. The fear of every man that heard him was, lest he should make an end. " — Ben Jonson.
xx INTRODUCTION.
Majesty could raise me no higher, it was your grace to illustrate me with beams of honour; first making me Baron Verulam, and now Viscount St. Albans." The key to his life is to be found in his favourite quotation, " My soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage." Destined by inclination and capacity to be a student, he found himself engrossed with the cares and occupations of public life. Animated by a high ideal of government and law, he had to stoop to be the instru ment of the petty policy, the mean conceptions, and the narrow jealousies of James. Profoundly religious at heart, and filled with high principles of morality, he had yet to adapt himself to the conditions of a selfish and intriguing world, and to study and practise the arts by which material success in life was to be won. To James he was an invaluable servant. But the very conditions of service were full of danger to one who combined so much ability Avith so much suppleness. We need not wonder at the cynical contempt which he sometimes expresses for human nature. He found favourites to be conciliated, and rivals to be outwitted. Ready obedience was more valued than honest independence. Courtly deference was necessary to obtain commendation for conscientious and useful work.
It was Bacon's practice through life to record his opinions on the current questions of the day ; and even when the king failed to appreciate his higher aims and statesmanship, yet he could always understand and profit by his knowledge of men, and his keen insight into the requirements of expediency. Bacon said truly of himself that he was never the author of immoderate or unsuc cessful counsels, and that he had always desired to have
INTRODUCTION. xxi
things carried in pleasant ways. He was just the man to smooth away by the practical wisdom of compromise the differences which could not but arise between an arbitrary king like James and his subjects. He was a strong defender of the king's prerogative. He regarded monarchy as the earliest and most natural form of government, as being only an extension of the original patriarchal authority. But he wished it to be limited as in England, not despotic as in Turkey. He saw the economic and social dangers of having too large an idle class. At the same time he thought an order of nobles useful, partly as an ornament and protection to the monarch, partly as a security to the people against oppression. He saw to the full the importance of trade, and recommended the regulation of it by law in ways of which we should not approve. With regard to the masses of the people, he says that they must above all things be warlike. War is to the state what exercise is to the body. Pretexts for a declaration of war should never be wanting, when the interests of the state demand war. Our views on this subject are different. The difference is due partly to an improved morality, but partly also to our having learnt, what Bacon did not know, that the industrial prosperity of one country requires peace and prosperity in other nations. Bacon thought of war partly as being useful in diverting popular attention from internal grievances. The position of England, too, among the Protestant powers in his day suggested, if it did not actually demand, a military policy. True to his principle of turning observation and reflection to account for the benefit of man, Bacon was constantly revolving projects of practical reform. He
xxii INTRODUCTION.
was specially interested in the codification of law and the simplification of procedure. He was the determined foe of empiricism in politics. "It is almost without instance contradictory," he says, " that ever any govern ment was disastrous that was in the hands of learned governors." One of his reasons for supporting the English form of government was that it represented government by intelligence. He was a strong advocate of Parliaments ; but in all matters of importance he thought that the king and not the Parliament should take the initiative. He objected altogether to the position into which James was drifting with regard to Parliament. It seemed to him politically dangerous, and altogether beneath the dignity of the Crown, that the king should become a mere suitor to Parliament, de pendent for his supplies upon the concessions which the Commons could wrest from him. 'It seemed to him that the king should meet the Commons with proposals for legislation, and that they should inform and assist him with advice as to the wishes, the interests, and the grievances of the people. Common dangers and common patriotism had grappled Elizabeth to the souls of her people with hoops of steel. In Hooker's account of government we find no suggestion of that divergence of interest between Sovereign and people which was implied in subsequent theories of contract, and which was per sistently showing itself in the dealings of James with his Parliaments. Bacon s studies in Greek and Italian history had familiarized him with the conception of social order as the result of a delicate balance of power, which might at any time be disturbed. We find him constantly endeavouring to keep irritating questions of
INTRODUCTION. xxiii
principle in the background, and to effect a compromise between pai'ties on the particular difficulties that might arise. He talks of setting one powerful noble against another, of balancing the gentry by the higher nobility, and the higher nobility by the people. His historical studies will also account for his exaggerated ideas of the political results which can be produced by the intelligence and influence of individuals.
The conciliatory nature of Bacon's policy is nowhere more manifest than in his utterances with regard to religion. He had himself been educated in a strict and narrow school of theology. The policy which he advo cated, however, was a policy of toleration. His Essay on Superstition reflects the natural fear of Catholicism felt by men at a time when the life of the Sovereign was in danger from Catholic plots. The relation of the State to the Church was a question which could not then be overlooked. All matters affecting Church Government, Bacon says, have two considerations, " the one in them selves, the other how they stand compatible and agree able to the civil state." He tried his utmost to still the rage of doctrinal controversy within the Church itself. He hated controversy of every kind. In religious matters especially he deprecated it. It seemed to him both fruitless and wicked. Theological controversies, he says, have generally turned upon subjects which the human intellect can never comprehend, or have resulted from attempts to raise human inferences to the dignity of revealed dogmas. He draws a clear distinction between theology or revealed religion, and natural religion, which he defines as " that knowledge or rudiment of knowledge concerning God which may be obtained by
xxiv INTRODUCTION.
the contemplation of His creatures." The greatness, the power, and the wisdom of God are revealed in the book of His works. But of His nature and will we can know so much only as He has chosen to reveal in the book of His word. The contents of the latter are to be accepted on faith. We are to believe absolutely what Scrip ture says ; and the greater the difficulty, the greater the merit of belief. Reason must be content with the task of understanding and interpreting, so far as she can, the text of the Bible. There is much in it that will always appear puzzling and even contradictory, but we must be content to accept the fact. God has willed that our knowledge of Him should, in this life at least, be imper fect. Our duty is to accept reverently what He has chosen to tell us of Himself. But we are not to pry into that which He has hidden. All must accept what God has positively said ; but no man may compel another to accept his own individual interpretations and inferences. Such a divorce of faith from reason is, of course, quite impossible. At the same time Bacon's position is intel ligible enough. His own acceptance of the Christian creed was little more than nominal. The Reformation was, in the first instance, a return to the text of Scrip ture, as distinguished from arbitrary interpretations of that text. There was no thought of questioning the claim of the Bible to be accepted as a Revelation. Bacon accepted the creed of Christianity as we accept so many of the commonplaces of the society in which we live. But it was no vital part of his spiritual self, in the sense in which his scientific convictions and interests were. As a statesman, he wished to obtain acceptance for a practical principle of compromise, which should
INTRODUCTION. xxv
unite all Englishmen upon essential matters of belief. He was anxious, too, in the interests of science, to per suade theologians that their jealousy of science was unreasonable. Hence he argued that theology and science cannot possibly come into competition. If theo logians deprecated a criticism of the Book of God's Word, on what principle could they claim the right to doubt the Book of His Works ? Nature is, like the Bible, a book written by God for our instruction. But the two books have different objects, and are to be studied by different methods. The object of the Bible is not to teach science. Any attempts, therefore, to elicit the truths of nature from the Bible must result in false science ; and any attempt to limit the inquiries of science in the interest of religion is essentially irrational. Conversely, any attempt to find in nature what can only be found in the Scriptures must end in heresjr. The object, the method, and the evidence of science and theology are entirely distinct. But though Bacon was thus indifferent with regard to dogma, yet it is impos sible to read his writings without seeing how sincere his religion was, and how profoundly he was influenced by it. He believed nothing for which warrant is not to be found in Scripture ; at the same time we are not surprised to find that he supports his beliefs by the evidence of observation and reflection. There is a double advantage in this procedure. It not only gives certainty and precision to the beliefs themselves, but it also affords proof of the divine origin of Christianity. Every fresh analogy between Scripture and the work of God's hands was to him a fresh proof that Scripture, too, comes from God. A careful and thorough study of nature,
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
Bacon says, proves the existence of a God who created, and who continues to regulate the physical universe. The moral world is equally the object of His supervision and guidance, as is proved by " the notable examples of His judgments, chastisements, deliverances, and blessings," which history forces upon our observation. Lastly, in the life of each individual man we may trace " His fatherly compassion, His comfortable chastisements, His visible Providence." Thus Bacon found in religion both a stimulus and a consolation. So far as he was true to himself, he worked constantly with the sense of divine guidance and support. He worked in the spirit of an apostle commissioned to reveal to man the glory and the mercies of God. For mercy is the distinguishing char acteristic of God. " In the first platform of the divine nature itself the heathen religion speaketh thus, Best and Greatest ; and the sacred Scriptures thus. His mercy is over all His works." Nature and revelation alike teach us that the first duty of man is " to aspire to a similitude of God in goodness or love." Practical morality, indeed, may be summed up in the one rule of charity. For charity is " excellently called the bond of perfection, because it comprehendeth and fasteneth all virtues together." Its insistence upon the virtue of charity, and its correspond ence in this respect with the teachings of nature are among the proofs of the divine origin of Christianity. The moral teaching of Christianity in this respect naturally exercised a profound influence on a man of Bacon's character and aims. He had by nature an even temper and a kindly and humane disposition. "The state and bread of the poor and oppressed," he says, " have been precious in mine eyes ; I have hated all
INTRODUCTION. xxvii
cruelty and hardness of heart : I have (though in a despised weed) procured the good of all men. If any have been mine enemies, I thought not of them ; neither hath the sun almost set upon my displeasure ; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of malicious ness." To this we must add his strong conviction that human misery might be indefinitely relieved by scientific discovery. We need not wonder that he was attracted by a religion which exalted a life of active charity. By its condemnation of a life of selfish isolation, Christianity gave the death-blow to the doctrines of half the schools. "Men must know that in this theatre of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers on." Bacon was no philosopher. Indeed, the questions of philosophy, if they had presented themselves to his mind, would probably have been dismissed by him as " barren." We are not therefore to look for any syste matic treatment of the problem of conduct in his writings. He would have said, and truly, that moral failure springs more often from the want of will to do what is right, than from ignorance of what right is. There are some principles of conduct which are self-evident, and which constitute what he calls "the law of nature." Further, we have the positive commands of Scripture. The faculty of reason, too, has been given to us to enable us to develop and apply these. Lastly, there survive in man, as relics of the purity of his first estate, certain imper fect intuitions, insufficient indeed to inform him fully oi his duty, but at the same time sufficient to tell him that certain actions are wrong. When dealing with the subject of conduct, Bacon lays the chief stress upon the necessity of a good moral training, or, as he calls it,
xxviii INTRODUCTION.
"the Georgics of the mind." The science of conduct, like all other sciences, must be " fruitful " ; and, like all other sciences, it must be founded upon experience. Moral diseases must be studied as diseases of the body are. We require, first, an enumeration of the normal types of character. Special attention should be paid to such differences as involve a large number of subordinate differences. In the next place, just as tKe physician ascertains by anatomy the possible modifications of the normal bodily structure, so we must ascertain the varieties of disposition and temperament due to the accidents of sex, climate, and circumstances. Lastly, as the physician studies diseases and their cures, so we require a complete analysis of the passions, which are, as it were, the diseases of the mind, and a consideration of the influences of habit, praise, reproof, reading, and all the other cures for moral diseases. This is the course which must be adopted, unless we mean " to follow the indiscretion of empirics, which minister the same medicine to all patients." There is a close analogy between the methods and the objects of moral discipline and of medicine. "For as we divided the good of the body into health, beauty, strength, and pleasure, so the good of the mind, inquired in rational and moral knowledges, tendeth to this, to make the mind sound and without perturbation; beautiful and graced with decency; and strong and agile for all duties of life."
Bacon's writings have always been widely read and admired. There is the stamp of greatness upon them. We are not to look to him for any particular discoveries. His acquaintance even with the results of scientific inquiry in his own time was imperfect. In
INTRODUCTION. xxix
some cases he rejected the truth, and clung to old- fashioned but erroneous beliefs. The method which he invented is not the method by which science has achieved her conquests. Indeed, it is from the nature of things impossible that the Logician should anticipate the method of science. He can only formulate it by a study of re sults. The influence exercised by Bacon has been such as we should expect from a thinker surveying the whole field of knowledge. Inquirers were naturally gratified by the dignity which he gave to their labours, and encouraged by the prospects which he held out. He gave to science a human interest. He gave it high hopes and a definite aim. For ourselves his writings have a great historical interest. The Advancement of Learning and the Novum Organum help to bridge the gulf which separates us from the era of Scholasticism. And, speak ing generally, the world profits by an occasional survey and criticism of its intellectual achievements and efforts. Part of Bacon's influence is of course due to the charm of his style. His sentences are often loosely constructed, but they are generally clear and intelligible. He is always interesting, because his own interest in his sub ject never flags. Enthusiasm stimulates his eloquence. His luxuriant imagination enlivens every page. He is perhaps unrivalled in the combination of picturesqueness with weight. This is well illustrated in the Essays. We are alternately charmed by the play of fancy, and arrested by a sentence into which the experience of a lifetime is compressed. No language is too homely, no example too simple, which will serve to drive home a truth. The maxims of Bacon have become the commonplaces of science. Yet his expression of them can never lose its
xxx INTRODUCTION.
charm and force. To the mass of men their positive value is as great as it ever was. Scientific hypotheses are now taken up, discussed, and adopted, without any adequate comprehension of them, or any appreciation of the evidence for and against them. In the sphere of political and social discussion especially, there is need of that patient and conscientious study and reflection advo cated by Socrates in the old world, and by Bacon in the new. The history of Bacon's fall will always serve to point a moral ; yet it is true that he is one of our great masters in the art of life. He has shown men how full of interest life and the world are to every healthy mind. He has directed them to high aims and worthy interests as the true source of real and abiding satisfaction, and has encouraged them by the assurance that wisdom is justified by her children.
THE EPISTLE DEDICATOEY.
To the Eight Honourable my very good Lord the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM his Grace, Lord High Admiral of England.
EXCELLENT LORD,
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 like to last. I do now publish my Essays ; which, of all my other works, have been most current ; for that, as it seems, they come home to men's business and bosoms. I have enlarged them both in number and weight ; so that they are indeed a new work. I thought it therefore agreeable to my affection and obligation to your Grace, to prefix your name before them, both in English and Latin. For I do conceive that the Latin volume of them (being in the universal language) may last as long as books last. My Installation I dedicated to the King ; my History of Henry the Seventh (which I have now also translated into Latin) and my portions of JYatural History to the Prince ; and these I dedicate to your Grace ; being of the best fruits that by the good increase 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 servant,
FR. ST. ALBAN.
THE TABLE.
1. Of Truth.
2. Of Death.
3. Of Unity in Religion.
4. Of Revenge.
5. Of Adversity.
6. Of Simulation and Dissim
ulation.
7. Of Parents and Children.
8. Of Marriage and Single
Life.
9. Of Envy.
10. Of Love.
11. Of Great Place.
12. Of Boldness.
13. Of Goodness, and Goodness
of Nature.
14. Of Nobility.
15. Of Seditions and Troubles.
16. Of Atheism.
17. Of Superstition.
18. Of Travel.
19. Of Empire.
20. Of Counsel.
21. Of Delays.
22. Of Cunning.
23. Of Wisdom for a Man's
Self.
24. Of Innovation.
25. Of Dispatch.
26. Of Seeming Wise
27. Of Friendship,
28. Of Expense.
Of Fame, a
29. Of the True Greatness of
Kingdoms and Estates.
30. Of Regiment of Health.
31. Of Suspicion.
32. Of Discourse.
33. Of Plantations.
34. Of Riches.
35. Of Prophecies.
36. Of Ambition.
37. Of Masks and Triumphs.
38. Of Nature in Men.
39. Of Custom and Education.
40. Of Fortune.
41. Of Usury.
42. Of Youth and Age.
43. Of Beauty.
44. Of Deformity.
45. Of Building.
46. Of Gardens.
47. Of Negotiating.
48. Of Followers and Friends.
49. Of Suitors.
50. Of Studies.
51. Of Faction.
52. Of Ceremonies and Re
spects.
53. Of Praise.
54. Of Vain Glory.
55. Of Honour and Reputation.
56. Of Judicature.
57. Of Anger.
58. Of Vicissitudes of Things, fragment.
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 ; 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 discoursing 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 10 favour ; but a natural though corrupt 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 advantage, 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 20 rise to the price of a diamond or carbuncle, that sheweth
A
2 BACOX'S ESSAYS. [i.
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 like, but it would leave the minds of a number of men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves ? One of the Fathers, in great severity, called poesy vinum dcemonum [the wine of devils], because it filleth
30 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 howsoever these things are thus in men's depraved judgments 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, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature. The first creature of God, in the
40 works of the clays, 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 excel lently well : It is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tost upon the sea ; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle and the adventures thereof "below :
50 but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of Truth, (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always pure and serene,) and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale beloioj so always that this prospect be with pity, and not with 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.] OF TRUTH. 3
To pass from theological and philosophical truth, to the truth of civil business ; it will be acknowledged even by those that practise it not, that clear and round dealing is 60 the honour of man's nature ; and that mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these wind ing 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 be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as 70 much as to say, that he is brave towards God and a coward towards men. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of falsehood and breach of faith can not possibly be so highly expressed, as in that it shall be the last peal to call the judgments of God 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 increased 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 mixture 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 10 death are, when the Avhole body is corrupted and dissolved ; when many times death passes with less pain than the tor-
4 BACON'S ESSAYS. [n.
ture of a limb : for the most vital parts are not the quickest of sense. And by him that spake only as a philosopher and natural man, it was well said, Pompa mortis magis terret quain mors ipsa: [The accompaniments of death frighten more than death itself.} 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
20 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 tenderest of affections) provoked many to die, out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest sort of followers. Nay Seneca adds niceness and satiety : Cogita quamdiu, eadem
30 feceris ; mori velle, non tantum fortis, aut miser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest. A man would die, though 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 till the last instant. Augustus Caesar died in a compliment ; Livia, conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale: [Farewell, Livia; as long as you live forget not the days of our married life.] Tiberius in dissimulation ; as Tacitus saith of him, Jam Tiberium vires
40 et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant : [his bodily strength was deserting Tiberius, biit his dissimulation remained,] Vespasian in a jest ; sitting upon the stool, Ut puto Deusjio: \_IthinJc I am becoming a God.] Galba with a sentence : Feri, si ex re sit populi Romani : [Strike, if it be for the good of the Roman people /] holding forth his neck. Septimius Severus iii dispatch, Adeste si quid mihi restat agendum : [Come quickly, if there remains anything for me to do.] And the like. Cer tainly the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by
IL] OF DEATH. 5
their great preparations made it appear more fearful. Better saith he, qui finem vitce extremum inter munera ponat Natiirce: 50 [who accounts the end of life as one of the boons of nature.~\ 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 all, believe it, the sweetest canticle is, Nunc dimittis, [now Icttest thou tlvj servant depart ;] when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death has this also ; that it openeth the gate to good fame, 60 and extinguished! envy. Extinctus amabitur idem : [Ife icko was envied when alive, will be loved when dead.]
III. OF UNITY IN RELIGION.
RELIGION being the 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 re ligion 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 therefoi'e his worship and religion will endure no mixture nor partner. 10 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 all) are two ; the one towards 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
6 BACON'S ESSAYS. [m.
of manners. For as in the natural body a wound or solution
20 of continuity is worse than a corrupt humour ; so in the spiritual. So that nothing 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, [Behold, he is in the desert,] another saith Ecce in penetralibiw, [Behold, he is in the secret chamber;] that is, when some men seek Christ in the con venticles of heretics, and others in an outward face of a church, that voice had need continually to sound in men's ears, Nolite exire, — Go not out. The Doctor of the Gentiles (the
30 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, ivill he not say that you are mad? 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 well the deformity. There is a master of scoffing, that in his catalogue of books of a feigned library sets down
40 this title of a book, The morris-dance of Heretics. For indeed every sect of them hath a diverse posture or cringe by them selves, which cannot but move derision 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. It kindleth charity. The outward peace of the church distilleth into peace of conscience. And it turneth the labours of writing and reading of controversies into treatises of mortification and devotion.
50 Concerning the Bounds of Unity ; the true placing of them importeth exceedingly. There appear to be two extremes. For to certain zelants all speech of pacification is odious. Is it peace, Jehu ? What hast thou to do with peace ? turn thee behind me. Peace is not the matter, but
in.] OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 7
following and party. Contrariwise, certain Laodiceans and lukewarm persons think they may accommodate points of religion by middle ways, and taking part of both, and witty reconcilements ; as if they would make an arbitrament between God and man. Both these extremes are to be avoided ; which will be done, if the league of Christians 60 penned by our Saviour Himself were in the two cross clauses thereof soundly and plainly expounded : He that is not with us is against m ; and again, He that is not against its is with m ; that is, if the points fundamental, and of substance in religion, were truly discerned and distinguished 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 TO model. Men ought to take heed of rending God's church by two kinds of controversies. The one is, when the matter of the point controverted 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 indeed had no seam, but the church's vesture was of divers colours ; where upon he saith, In veste varietas sit, scissura non sit, [let there be variety, but no division in the garment:'] they be two things, Unity and Uniformity. The other is, when the matter of the point controverted is great, but it is driven 80 to an over-great subtilty and obscurity ; so that it becometh 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 judgment 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 contradictions intend the same thing ; and accepteth of both ? The nature of such 90
8 BACON'S ESSAYS. [in.
controversies is excellently expressed by St. Paul in the warning and precept that he giveth concerning the same, Devita profanas vocum novitates, et oppositiones falsi nominis scientice : [Avoid profane novelties of terms, and oppositions of science falsely so called.] 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
100 implicit ignorance ; for all colours will agree in the dark : the other, when it is pieced 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 Nebuchadnezzar'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,
110 the spiritual and temporal; and both have their due office and place in the maintenance of religion. But we may not take up the thii-d sword, which is Mahomet's sword, or like unto it ; that is, to propagate religion by wars or by sanguinary persecutions to force consciences ; except it be in cases of overt scandal, blasphemy, or intermixture of practice against the state ; much less to nourish seditions ; to authorise conspiracies and rebellions ; to put the sword into the people's hands ; and the like ; tending to the subversion of all govern ment, which is the ordinance of God. For this is but to dash
120 the first table against the second ; and so to consider men as Christians, as we forget that they are men. Lucretius the poet, when he beheld the act of Agamemnon, that could endure the sacrificing of his own daughter, exclaimed :
Tantum relligio potuit suadere malorum : [So great the evils to which religion could prompt.~\ What would he have said, if he had known of the massacre in
in.] OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 9
France, or the powder treason of England ? He would have been seven times more Epicure and atheist than he was. For as the temporal sword is to be drawn with great circumspection in cases of religion ; so it is a thing monstrous 130 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, / will ascend and be like the Highest ; but it is greater blasphemy to personate God, and bring him in saying, / will 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 actions of murdering 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 140 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 doctrine 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 the same ; as hath been already in good part done. Surely in counsels concerning religion, that counsel of the apostle would be pre fixed, Ira hominis non implet justitiam Dei: [The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.] And it was a 150 notable obsei-vation of a wise father, and no less ingenuously confessed ; that those which held and persuaded pressure of consciences, were commonly inter essed 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. Cer tainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy ;
10 BACON'S ESSAYS. [iv.
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
10 present and to come ; therefore they do but trifle with them selves, that labour in past matters. There is no man doth a wrong for the wrong's sake ; but thereby to purchase him self 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-nature, 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
20 be such as there is no law to punish ; else a man's enemy is still beforehand, and it is two for one. Some, when they take revenge, are desirous the party should know whence it cometh. This is 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 ; You shall read (saith he) that we are commanded to forgive our enemies ;
30 but you never read that we are commanded to forgive our friends. But yet the spirit of Job was in a better tune : Shall we (saith he) take good at God's hands, and not be content to take evil also ? And so of friends in a proportion. This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well. Public revenges are for the most part fortunate ; as that for the death of Caesar ; for the death of Pertinax ; for the death of Henry the Third of France ; and many more. But in private revenges it is not so. Nay rather, vindictive
40 persons live the life of witches ; who, as they are mis chievous, so end they infortunate.
v.] OF ADVERSITY. 11
V. OF ADVEESITY.
IT was a high speech of Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics), that the good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired. Bona rerum secundarum optabilia, adversarum mirabilia. Certainly 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 fragi- litatem hominis, securitatem Dei. This would have done better 10 in poesy, where transcendences are more allowed. And 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 resolu tion, that saileth in the frail bark of the flesh thorough the waves of the world. But to speak in a mean. The virtue of 20 Prosperity is temperance, the virtue of Adversity is fortitude ; which in morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament ; Adversity is the blessing of the New ; which cai'rieth 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 describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes ; and Adversity is not without 30 comforts and hopes. We see in needleworks and embroi deries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy
12 BACON'S ESSAYS. [v.
work upon a lightsome ground : judge therefore of the plea sure 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 SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION.
DISSIMULATION is but a faint kind of policy or wisdom ; for it asketh a strong wit and a strong heart to know when to tell truth, and to do it. Therefore it is the weaker sort of politics that are the great dissemblers.
Tacitus saith, Livia sorted well with the arts of her hmband and dissimulation of her son; attributing arts or policy to Augustus, and dissimulation to Tiberius. And again, when Mucianus encourageth Vespasian to take arms against Vitel- lius, he saith, We rise not against the piercing judgment of
10 Augustus, nor the extreme caution or closeness of Tiberius. These properties, of arts or policy and dissimulation or close ness, are indeed habits and faculties several, and to be dis tinguished. 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 calleth them,) to him a habit of dissimu lation is a hinderance and^a poorness. But if a man cannot obtain to that judgment, then it is left to him generally to
20 be close, and a dissembler. 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 ; 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
vi.] OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 13
case indeed 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 in- 30 visible.
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 40 confessor. And assuredly the secret man heareth many confessions. For who will open himself to a blab or babbler ? But if a man be thought secret, it inviteth discovery ; as the more close air sucketh in the more open ; and as in confes sion 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 discharge their minds than 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 50 men's manners and actions, if they be not altogether open. As for talkers, and futile persons, they are commonly vain and credulous withal. For he that talketh what he knoweth, will also talk what he knoweth not. Therefore set it down, that an habit 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. 60
For the second, which is Dissimulation ; it followeth many times upon secrecy by a necessity ; so that he that will be secret must be a dissembler in some degree. For men are
14 BACON'S ESSAYS. [vi.
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 absurd silence, he must shew an inclination one way ; or if he do not, they will gather as much by his silence as by his
70 speech. As for equivocations, or oraculous 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 profession ; 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 fearfulness, or of a mind that hath some main faults, which because a man must
80 needs disguise, it maketh him practise simulation in other things, lest his hand should be out of ure.
The great advantages of simulation and dissimulation are three. First, to lay asleep opposition, and to surprise. For where a man's intentions are published, 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 manifest declaration, he must go through or take a fall. The third is, the better to discover the mind of another. For to him that opens himself men will hardly show them-
90 selves adverse ; but will (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, to set it even. The first, that simulation and dissimulation commonly carry with them a shew of fearfulness, which in any business doth spoil the feathers of round flying up to the mark. The second, that it puzzleth and perplexeth the conceits of many, that perhaps would otherwise co-operate with him ; and
vi.] OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 15
makes a man walk almost alone to his own ends. The third 100 and greatest, is, that it depriveth a man of one of the most principal instruments for action ; which is trust and belief. The best composition and temperature is to have openness in fame and opinion ; secrecy in habit ; dissimulation in season able 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 they will not utter the other. Children sweeten labours ; but they make mis fortunes 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 foundations have proceeded from childless men ; which have sought to express the images of their minds, where those of their bodies have failed. So the 10 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 full of children, one 20 or two of the eldest respected, and the youngest made wantons ; but in the midst some that are as it were for gotten, who many times nevertheless prove the best. The illiberality of parents in allowance towards their children is an harmful error ; makes them base ; acquaints them with shifts ; makes them sort with mean company ; and makes
16 BACON'S ESSAYS. [vii.
them surfeit more when they come to plenty. And there fore the proof is best, when men keep their authority towards their children, but not their purse. Men have a
30 foolish manner (both parents and schoolmasters and servants) in creating and breeding an emulation between brothers during childhood, which many times sorteth to discord when they are men, and disturbeth families. The Italians make little difference between children and nephews or near kins folk ; 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 resembleth an uncle or a kinsman more than his own parent ; as the blood happens. Let parents
40 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 themselves to the disposition of their children, as thinking they will take best to that which they have most mind to. It is true, that if the affection or aptness 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 faciet consuetudo : [Choose what is best, custom will make it agreeable and easy.] Younger brothers are commonly fortunate, but seldom or never where the
50 elder are disinherited.
VIII. OF MAERIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE.
HE that hath wife and children hath given hostages 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
viii.] OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 17
must transmit their dearest pledges. Some there are, who though they lead a single life, yet their thoughts do end 10 with themselves, and account future times impertinences. Nay, there are some other that account wife and children but as bills of charges. Nay more, there are some foolish rich covetous men, that take a pride in having no children, because 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, Yea, but 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, especi ally in certain self-pleasing and humorous minds, which are 20 so sensible of every restraint, as they will go near to think their girdles and garters to be bonds and shackles. Un married men are best friends, best masters, best servants ; but not always best subjects ; for they are light to run away ; and almost all fugitives are of that condition. A single life doth well with churchmen ; for charity will hardly water the ground where it must first fill 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 30 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 single men, though they may be many times more charitable, 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 commonly loving husbands ; as was said of Ulysses, 40 vetulam suam prcelulit immortalitati : [he preferred his old wife to immortality.'] Chaste women are often proud and froward, as presuming upon the merit of their chastity. It is one of the best bonds both of chastity and obedience in
18 BACON'S ESSAYS. [vni.
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 50 made answer to the question, when a man should marry ? — A young man not yet, 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. OF ENVY.
THERE be none of the affections which have been noted to fascinate or bewitch, but love and envy. They both have vehement wishes ; they frame themselves readily into imag inations 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 10 the act of envy, an ejaculation or irradiation of the eye. Nay some have been so curious as to note, that the times when the 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 .unworthy 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 them-
ix.] OF ENVY. 19
selves ; and what is the difference beticeen public and private 20 envy.
A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others. For men's minds will either feed upon their own good, or upon others' evil ; and who wanteth the one will prey upon the other ; and whoso is out of hope to attain to another's virtue, will 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 be cause all that ado may concern his own estate ; therefore it 30 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 not keep home : Non est curiosus, quin idem sit male- volus : [All inquisitive persons are malevolent.}
Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards 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. 40
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 calamities and 50 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
20 BACON'S ESSAYS. [ix.
want work ; it being impossible bnt many in some one of those tilings should surpass them. Which was the character of Adrian the Emperor ; that mortally envied poets and painters and artificers, in works wherein he had a vein to
60 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 cometli 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 malignant towards his brother Abel, because when his sacrifice was better accepted there was nobody to look on. Thus much for those
70 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 the comparing of a man's self ; and where there is no comparison, no envy ; and therefore kings are not envied but by kings. Nevertheless it is to be noted that unworthy per sons are most envied at their first coming in, and afterwards
80 overcome it better ; whereas contrariwise, persons of worth and merit 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 seerneth 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 upon a flat. And for the same reason those
90 that are advanced by degrees are less envied than those that are advanced suddenly, and per saltum.
rx. 1 OF ENVY. 21
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 greatness, are ever bemoaning themselves, what a life they lead ; chanting a quanta patimur ! [How muck we suffer /] 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, 100 and not such as they call unto themselves. For nothing in creased! envy more than an unnecessary and ambitious engross ing of business. And nothing doth extinguish envy more than for a great person to preserve all other inferior officers in their full rights and pre-eminences of their places. For by that means there be so many screens between him and envy.
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 110 all opposition or competition ; whereas wise men will rather do sacrifice to envy, in suffering themselves sometimes of purpose 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. 120
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 derive the envy that would come upon themselves ; some-
22 BACON'S ESSAYS. [ix.
times upon ministers and servants ; sometimes upon col leagues and associates ; and the like ; and for that turn there
130 are never wanting some persons of violent and undertaking natures, who, so they 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 therefore 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 discontentment; of which
140 we shall speak in handling Sedition. It is a disease in a state like 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 turneth 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
150 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 discontent ment, and the difference thereof from private envy, which was handled in the first place.
We will add this in general, touching the affection of envy ; that of all other affections it is the most importune
160 and continual. For of other affections there is occasion given but now and then ; and therefore it was well said, Invidia festos dies non agit : [Envy takes no holidays.'] For it is ever working upon some or other. And it is also noted
ix.] OF ENVY. 23
that love and envy do make a man pine, which other affec tions 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 attribute of the devil, who is called The envious man, that soweth tares amongst the wheat by night ; as it always cometh to pass, that envy worketh subtilly, and in the dark ; and to the prejudice of good things, such as is the 170 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 siren, sometimes like a fury. You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or recent), there is not one that hath been transported to the mad degree of love : which shews that great spirits and great business do keep out this weak passion. You must except nevertheless Marcus Antonius, the half partner of the empire 10 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: [We are a sufficiently large theatre one for another] ; as if man, made for the contemplation of heaven and all noble objects, should do nothing but kneel before a little idol, and make 20 himself 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
24 BACON'S ESSAYS. [x.
the speaking in a perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but in love. Neither is it merely in the phrase ; for whereas it hath been well said that the arch-flatterer, with whom all the petty flatterers have intelligence, is a man's self ; cer tainly the lover is more. For there was never proud man
30 thought so absurdly well of himself as the lover doth of the person loved ; and therefore it is well said, That it is im possible 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 reci proque 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
40 that preferred Helena, 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 adversity ; 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 folly. 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 once with business,
50 it troubleth men's fortunes, and maketh men that they can no ways be true to their own ends. I know not how, but martial 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 inclination and motion towards love of others, which if it be not spent upon some one or a few, doth naturally spread itself towards many, and maketh men become humane and charitable ; as it is seen sometime in friars. Nuptial love maketh man kind ; friendly love perfecteth it ; but wanton love cor-
60 rupteth and embaseth it.
XL] OF GREAT PLACE. 25
XI. OF 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 desire, 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 dignities. The standing is slippery, and the regress is either a downfall, or at least an eclipse, which 10 is a melancholy thing. Cum non sis qui fueris, non csse cur velis vivere : [ When you are no longer what you have been, there is no reason for wishing to live.] Nay, retire men cannot when they would, neither will they when it were reason ; but are impatient of privateness, even in age and sickness, which require the shadow ; like old townsmen, 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, 20 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 notiis nimis omnibus, ignotus moritur sibi: [Death falls heavy upon him 30 wlio dies too well known to others, but unknown to himself.] In place there is license to do good and evil ; whereof the latter is a curse : for in evil the best condition is not to will ; the second not to can. But power to do good is the true and
26 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xi.
lawful 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 with out power and place, as the vantage and commanding ground. Merit and good works is the end of man's motion ; and con science of the same is the accomplishment of man's rest.
40 For if a man can be partaker of God's theatre, he shall like wise be partaker of God's rest. Et conversus Dem, ut aspiceret opera quce fecerunt manus suce, vidit qiiod omnia essent bona nimis ; [and God turned to behold the u-orks which his hands had made, and saw that they were all very good;] and then the Sabbath. In the discharge of thy place set before thee the best examples ; for imitation is a globe of precepts. And after a time set before thee thine own example ; and ex amine thyself strictly whether thou didst not best at first. Neglect not also the examples of those that have carried
50 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. Reduce 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
60 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 accept of them in good part. The vices of authority are chiefly
XL] OF GREAT PLACE. 27
four ; delays, corruption, roughness, and facility. For de- 70 lays ; 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 integrity professed, and with a manifest de testation of bribery, doth the other. And avoid not only the fault, but the suspicion. Whosoever is found variable, and changeth manifestly without manifest cause, giveth suspicion of corruption. Therefore always when thou 80 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 corrup tion. For roughness ; it is a needless cause of discontent : severity breedeth feai*, 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 lead 90 a man, he shall never be without. As Salomon saith, To respect persons is not good ; for such a man will transgress for a piece of bread. 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. [if he had never been emperor, all would have pronounced him fit for empire,] saith Tacitus of Galba ; but of Vespasian he saith, Soliis imperantium, Ves- pasianus mutatus in melius: [Vespasian was the one emperor whom the possession of power improved/} though the one was 100 meant of sufficiency, 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
28 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xi.
violent, 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 110 predecessor fairly 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 sensible or too remembering of thy place in conversation 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? 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
10 were all in all. But the reason is plain. There is in human nature generally more of the fool than of the wise ; and there fore those faculties by which the foolish part of men's minds is taken are most potent. Wonderful like is the case of Bold ness, in civil business ; what first ? Boldness : what second and third ? Boldness. And yet boldness is a child of ignoi-ance and baseness, far inferior to other parts. But nevertheless 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
20 men at weak times. Therefore we see it hath done wonders in popular states ; but with senates and princes less ; and
xii.] OF BOLDNESS. 29
more ever upon the first entrance of bold persons into action than soon after ; for boldness is an ill keeper of promise. Surely as there are mountebanks for the natural body, so are there mountebanks for the politic body ; men that under take 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 hill to him, and from 30 the top of it offer up his prayers for the observers of his law. The people assembled ; Mahomet called the hill to come to him, again and again ; and when the hill stood still, he was never a whit abashed, but said, If the Mil will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill. So these men, when they have promised great matters and failed most shame fully, yet (if they have the perfection of boldness) they will but slight it over, and make a turn, and no more ado. Cer tainly to men of great judgment, bold persons are a sport to behold ; nay and to the vulgar also, boldness hath somewhat 40 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 bashfulness 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 serious observation. This is well to be weighed ; that 50 boldness is ever blind ; for it seeth not dangers and incon veniences. 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 execution not to see them, except they be very great.
30 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xm.
XIII. OF GOODNESS, AND GOODNESS OF NATURE.
I TAKE Goodness in this sense, the affecting of the weal of men, which is that the Grecians call Philanthropies ; and the word humanity (as it is used) is a 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 admits no excess, but error. The desire
10 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 goodness is imprinted deeply in the nature of man ; insomuch 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 Constantinople had like to have been stoned for gagging in a waggishness a long-billed fowl.
20 Errors indeed in this virtue of goodness or charity may be committed. The Italians have an ungracious proverb, Tanto buon che val niente : So 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 faith had given up good men in prey to those that are tyrannical and unjust. Which he spake, because indeed there was never law, or sect, or opinion, did so much magnify goodness, as the Christian religion doth. There fore, to avoid the scandal and the danger both, it is good to
30 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 ^Esop's cock a
xni.] OF GOODNESS, AND GOODNESS OF NATURE. 31
gem, -who would be better pleased and happier if he had a barley-corn. The example of God teacheth the lesson truly ; He sendoth his rain, and maketh his sun to shine, upon the just and unjust ; but he doth not rain wealth, nor shine 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 40 the pattern. For divinity maketh the love of ourselves the pattern ; the love of our neighbours but the portraiture. Sell 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 thoii 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 disposition towards it ; as on the other side there is a natural malignity. 50 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 frowardness, or aptness to oppose, or difficilness, 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 like flies that are still buzzing upon anything that is raw ; misanthropi, that make it their practice to bring men to the bough, and yet have never a tree for the purpose in their gardens, as Timon had. Such 60 dispositions are the very errors 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 shows 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 shows that
32 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xm.
70 his heart is like the noble tree that is wounded itself when it gives the balm. If he easily pardons and remits offences, it shows 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 shows much of a divine nature, and a kind of conformity with Christ himself.
XIV. OF NOBILITY.
WE will speak of Nobility first as a portion of an estate , then as a condition of particular persons. A monarchy where there is 110 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
10 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 respects. The United Provinces of the Low Countries in their govern ment excel ; for where there is an equality, the consulta tions are more indifferent, and the payments and tributes more cheerful. 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
20 when nobles are not too great for sovereignty nor for justice ; and yet maintained in that height, as the insolency of infei'iors may be broken upon them before it come on too fast upon the majesty of kings. A numerous nobility causeth
xiv.] OF NOBILITY. 33
poverty and inconvenience in a state ; for it is a sur charge of expense ; and besides, 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 reverend thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay ; or 30 to see a fair timber tree sound and perfect. 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 them selves. Nobility of birth commonly abateth industry ; and 40 he that is not industrious envieth him that is. Besides, noble persons cannot go much higher : and he that standeth at a stay when others rise, can hardly avoid motions of envy. On the other side, nobility extinguisheth the passive envy from others towards them ; because they are in possession of honour. Certainly, kings that have able men of their nobility 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 tem pests in state ; which are commonly greatest when things grow to equality ; as natural tempests are greatest about the Equinoctia. And as there are certain hollow blasts of wind and secret swellings of seas before a tempest, so are there in states :
c
34: BACON'S ESSAYS. [xv.
Ille etiam csecos instare tuniultus Ssepe, monet, fraudesque et operta tumescere bella. [ Warning is often given that dark troubles are impending, 10 And that treachery and secret wars are threatening .~]
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 disadvantage of the state, and hastily embraced ; are amongst the signs of troubles. Virgil giving the pedigree of Fame, saith she was sister to the Giants : Illam terra parens, ira irritata deorum, Extremam (ut perhibent) Cseo Enceladoque sororem Progenuit ?
[Enraged against the Gods, Earth brought forth Fame, 20 Last of the giant brood. Sister she was
To Cceus and EnceladusJ]
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 ; especially 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 shows the envy great, as Tacitus saith, conftata 30 magna iavidia, sen bene, seu male, gesta premunt : [When the government is unpopular, good acts and bad acts alike offend.] Neither doth it follow, that because these fames are a sign of troubles, that the suppressing 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 make a wonder long- lived. Also that kind of obedience which Tacitus speaketh of, is to be held suspected : Erant in officio, sed tamen qui mallent mandata imperantium interpretari, quam exequi ; 40 [They were ready to serve, but liked to criticize rather than obey the orders of their officers ;] disputing, excusing, cavilling upon mandates and directions, is a kind of shaking off the yoke,
xv.] OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 35
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 Machiavel 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 well seen in the time of Henry the Third of France ; for first himself entered league for the 50 extirpation 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 motion of the greatest persons in a govern ment ought to be as the motions of the planets under primum mobile (according to the old opinion), which is, that every of 60 them is carried swiftly by the highest motion, and softly in their own motion. And therefore, when great ones in their own particular motion move violently, and, as Tacitus expresseth it well, liberius quam ut imperantium meminissent, [more freely than is consistent icith obedience to authority] it is a sign the orbs are out of frame. For reverence is that wherewith princes are girt from God ; who threateneth the dissolving thereof; Solvam cingula regum: [I will loose the girdles of kings.]
So when any of the four pillars of government are mainly shaken or weakened (which are Religion, Justice, Counsel, 70 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 followeth) ; and let us speak first of the Materials of sedi tions ; 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
36 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xv.
the times do bear it) is to take away the matter of them. 80 For if there be fuel prepared, 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 discon tentment. 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 foenus, Hinc concussa fides, et mult-is utile bellurn : [Devouring usury, shaken credit, and wars advantageous t many.]
90 This same multis utile helium is an assured and infallible 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 necessity 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 politic body like to humours in the natural, which are apt to gather a preternatural heat and to inflame. And let no prince mea sure the danger of them by this, whether they be just or unjust : for that were to imagine people to be too reasonable ;
100 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 dangerous discontentments where the fear is greater than the feeling : Dolendi modus, tiinendi non item: [There is a limit to suffering, but not to fear.} Besides, in great oppressions, the same things that 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
110 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 pro verb noteth well, The cord breaketh at the last by the weakest pull.
xv.j OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 37
The Causes and Motives of seditions are, innovation in religion ; taxes ; alteration of laws and customs ; breaking of privileges ; general oppression ; advancement of unworthy persons ; strangers ; dearths ; disbanded soldiers ; factions grown desperate ; and whatsoever, in offending people, joineth and knitteth them in a common cause. "120
For the Eemedies ; there may be some general preserva tives, 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 manufactures ; the banishing of idleness ; the repressing of waste and excess by sumptuary laws ; the 130 improvement and husbanding of the soil ; the regulating 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 (especially if it be not mown down by wars) do not exceed the stock of the kingdom which should maintain 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 140 quality in an over-proportion to the common people, doth speedily bring a state to necessity ; and so doth likewise an over-grown clergy ; for they bring nothing to the stock ; and in like manner, when more are bred scholars than pre ferments can take off. .
It is likewise to be remembered, that forasmuch as the increase of any estate must be upon the foreigner (for what soever is somewhere gotten is somewhere lost), there be but three things which one nation selleth unto another ; the commodity as nature yieldeth it ; the manufacture ; and the 150
38 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xv.
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 the treasure and monies in a state be not gathered into few hands. For otherwise a state may have a great stock, and
160 yet starve. And money is like muck, not good except it be spread. This is done chiefly by suppressing, or at least keeping a strait hand upon the devouring trades of usury, engrossing, 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 commonalty. 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,
170 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 would 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 shew how safe it is for monarchs to make sure of the good will of common people.
To give moderate liberty for griefs and discontentments to
180 evaporate (so it be without too great insoleiicy or bravery), is a safe way. For he that turneth the humours back, and maketh the wound bleed inwards, 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. Epimetheus, when griefs and evils
xv.] OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 39
flew abroad, at last shut the lid, and kept hope in the bottom of the vessel. Certainly, the politic and artificial nourishing and entertaining of hopes, and carrying men from hopes to hopes, is one of the best antidotes against the poison of dis- 190 contentments. 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 themselves, 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 200 under whom they may join, is a known, but an excellent point of caution. I understand a fit head to be one that hath greatness and reputation ; that hath confidence with the dis contented party, and upon whom they turn their eyes ; and that is thought discontented in his own particular : 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 breaking of all factions and combinations that are adverse to 210 the state, and setting them at distance, or at least distrust, among themselves, is not one of the worst remedies. For it is a desperate case, if those that hold with the proceeding of the state be full of discord and faction, and those that are against it be entire and united.
I have noted that some witty and sharp speeches which have fallen from princes have given fire to seditions. Caesar did himself infinite hurt in that speech, Sylla nescivit literas, nonpotuit dictare ; [Si/lla had not skill of letters, therefore knew not how to dictate :] for it did utterly cut off that hope which 220 men had entertained, that he would at one time or other give over his dictatorship. Galba undid himself by that speech,
40 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xv.
legi a se militem, non emi: [/ do not buy soldiers, but enlist them:~\ for it put the soldiers out of hope of the donative. Probus likewise, by that speech, Si vixero, non opus erit amplius Romano imperio militibus ; \If 1 live the Roman empire will no longer want soldiers;} a speech of great despair for the soldiers. And many the like. Surely princes had need, in tender matters and ticklish times, to
230 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 discourses, they are flat things, and not so much noted.
Lastly, let princes, against all events, not be without 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 \iseth to be more trepidation in court upon the first breaking out of trouble than were fit. And the state runneth the danger of that which Tacitus saith ;
240 A tque is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum f acinus auderent pauci, plures vellent, omnes paterentur. But let such military persons be assured, 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.
XVI. OF ATHEISM.
I 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 miracles to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a little 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 sometimes rest in them, and go no farther ; but when it beholdeth the chain of them,
xvi.] OF ATHEISM. 41
confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Pro- 10 vidence and Deity. Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion ; that is, the school of Leucippus and Democritus and Epicurus. For it is a thousand times more credible, that four mutable ele ments, and one immutable fifth essence, duly and eternally placed, need no God, than that an army of infinite small portions or seeds unplaced, should have pi^oduced 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 20 rote to himself, as that he would have, than that he can throughly 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 appeareth 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 would be glad to be strengthened by the consent of others. Nay more, you shall have atheists strive to get disciples, as it fareth with other sects. And, which is most of all, you shall have of them 30 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 enjoy 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 mdgi opinianes diis applicare profanum : [Pro- 40 fanity consists, not in denying the Gods of the vulgar, but in applying to the Gods the conceptions of the mdgar.~\ Plato could have said no more. And although he had the con fidence to deny the administration, he had not the power to deny the nature. The Indians of the West have names for
42 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xvi.
their particular gods, though they have no name for God (as if the heathens should have had the names Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, etc., but riot the word Deus) ; which shews that even these barbarous people have the notion, though they have
50 not the latitude and extent of it. So that against atheists the very savages take part with the very subtlest philo sophers. The contemplative atheist is rare : a Diagoras, a Bion, a Lucian perhaps, and some others ; and yet they seem to be more than they are ; for that all that impugn a re ceived 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 cauterized in the end. The causes of atheism are ; divisions in religion, if
60 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. Bernard saith, Ron est jam dicere, ut populus, sic sacerdos ; quia nee sic populiis, ut sacerdos ; \0ne can now no longer say that the priest is as the people, for the people are now better than the priest ;] a third is, a custom of profane scoffing in holy matters ; which doth by little and little deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned times, especially with peace and prosperity ; for troubles and adversities do more bow
70 men's minds to religion. They that deny a God destroy man's nobility ; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts by his body ; and, if he be not of kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature. It destroys likewise magna nimity, 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 himself 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,
80 when he resteth and assureth himself upon divine protection and favour, gathereth a force and faith which human nature
xvi.] OF ATHEISM. 43
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 Eome. Of this state hear what Cicero saith : Quam volumus licet, patrcs conscripti, nos amemus, tamcn nee numero llispanos, nee robore Gallos, nee calliditate Pcenos, nee artibus Grcecos, nee denique hoc ipso hujus gentis et terrce domcstico nativoque sensu Italos ipsos et Latinos; sed 90 pietate, ac religione, atque hoc una sapientiq, quod Deorum immortaUum numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes nationesque superavimus: [However highly we may think of ourselves, yet we are not superior to the Spaniards in numbers, to the Gauls in strength, to the Carthaginians in cunning, nor even to the Italians and Latins in the homely and native sense which characterizes this nation and land : but in piety, religion, and the single wisdom of understanding that all things are guided and governed by the Providence of the im mortal Gods, we surpass all nations and peoples.] 100
XVII. OF 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 re proach of the Deity. Plutarch saith well to that purpose : Surely (saith he) / 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 born ; 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 10 sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation ; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not ; but superstition dismounts all
44 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xvn.
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 further : and we see the times inclined to atheism (as the time of Augustus Ciesar) were civil times. But superstition hath been the confusion of many states, and bringeth in a new primum
20 mobile, that ravisheth all the spheres of government. The master of superstition is the people ; and in all superstition wise men follow fools ; and arguments are fitted to practice, 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 like astro nomers, which did feign eccentrics and epicycles, and such engines of orbs, to save the phenomena ; though they knew there were no such things ; and in like manner, that the schoolmen had framed a number of subtle and intricate axioms and
30 theorems, to save the practice of the church. The causes of superstition are, pleasing and sensual rites and ceremonies ; excess of outward and pharisaical holiness ; over-great rever ence 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 openeth the gate to conceits and novelties ; the taking an aim at divine matters by human, which cannot but breed mixture of imaginations : and, lastly, barbarous times, especially joined with calamities and disasters. Superstition, without a veil,
40 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 wholesome meat cor- rupteth to little worms, so good forms and orders corrupt into a number of petty observances. There is a superstition in avoiding superstition, when men think to do best if they go farthest from the superstition formerly received ; there fore 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 reformer.
xviii.] OF TRAVEL. 45
XVIII. OF TRAVEL.
TRAVEL, in the younger sort, is a part of education ; in the elder, a part of experience. He that travelleth into a country before he hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to travel. That young men travel under some tutorx or grave servant, I allow well ; so that he be such a one that hath the language, and hath been in the country before; .whereby he may be 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 10 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 observed, for the most part they omit it ; as if chance were fitter to be registered than observation. Let diaries there fore be brought in use. The things to be seen and observed are, the courts of princes, especially 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 ; 20 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 ; shipping and navies ; houses and gardens of state and pleasure, near great cities ; armories ; arsenals ; magazines ; exchanges ; burses ; warehouses ; exercises 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, whatsoever is memor able in the places where they go. After all which the tutors 30 or servants ought to make diligent inquiry. As for triumphs, masks, feasts, weddings, funerals, capital executions, and such shows, men need not be put in mind of them ; yet are they
46 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xvin.
not to be neglected. If you will 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 en trance 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 describ-
40 ing 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 deserveth, 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 acquaint ance. Let him sequester himself from the company of his countrymen, and diet in such places where there is good company of the nation where he travelleth. Let him upon his removes from one place to another, procure recommenda-
50 tion 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 all profitable, is ac quaintance with the secretaries and employed men of ambas sadors ; 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 tell how the life agreeth with the fame.
60 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 discourse than in his apparel or gesture ; and in his discourse let him be rather advised in his answers,
xviii.] OF TRAVEL. 47
than forward to tell stories ; and let it appear that he doth 70 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 case of kings ; who, being at the highest, want matter of desire, which makes their minds more languishing ; and have many representations 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 king's heart is inscrutable. For multitude of jealousies, and lack of some predominant desire that should marshal and put in order all the rest, maketh any man's heart hard to find or sound. 10 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 harp, Domitiaii 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 20 standing at a stay in great. We see also that kings that have been fortunate conquerors in their first years, it being not possible 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 ; Dioclesian ; and in our memory, Charles the Fifth ; and others : for he that is used to go forward, and findeth a stop, falleth out of his own favour, and is not the thing he was.
48 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xix.
To speak now of the true temper of empire ; it is a thing
30 rare and hard to keep ; for both temper and distemper consist of contraries. But it is one thing to mingle contraries, an other to interchange them. The answer of Apollonius to Vespasian is full of excellent instruction. Vespasian asked him, What was Nero's overthrcnv? He answered, Nero could touch and tune the harp well ; biit in government sometimes he med to loind the pins too high, sometimes to let them down too low. And certain it is that nothing destroy eth authority so much as the unequal and untimely interchange of power pressed too far, and relaxed too much.
40 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 :
50 Sunt plerumque regum voluntates vehementes, et inter se con traries ; [As a rule, the desires of kings are strong and incon sistent.] For it is the solecism of power to think to command the end, and yet not to endure the mean.
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 all these arise dangers, if care and circumspection be not used.
First for their neighbours ; there can no general rule be
60 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 become more able to annoy them than they were.
xix.] OF EMPIRE. 49
And this is generally the work of standing councils to foresee and to hinder it. During that triumvirate of kings, King Henry the Eighth of England, 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 balance it, 70 either by confederation, or, if need were, by a war ; and would not iu any wise take up peace at interest. And the like was done by that league (which Guicciardine saith was the security of Italy) made between Ferdinando King of Naples, Lorenzius Medices, and Ludovicus Sforza, potentates, the one of Florence, the other of Milan. Neither is the opinion of some of the schoolmen to be received, that a war cannot justly be made but upon a precedent injury or provocation. For there is no question but a just fear of an imminent danger, though there be no blow given, is a lawful 80 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 destruction 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 murdering of her husband. This kind of danger is then to be feared chiefly, when the wives have plots for the raising of their own children ; or else that they be advoutresses. 90
For their children ; the tragedies likewise of dangers from them have been many. And generally, the entering of fathers into suspicion of their children hath been ever unfortunate. The destruction 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 supposititious. The destruction of Crispus, a young prince of rare towardness, by Constantinus the Great, his father, was in like manner fatal to his house ; for 100
D
50 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xix.
both Constantinus and Constance, his sons, died violent deaths ; and Constantius, his other son, did little better ; who died indeed of sickness, but after that Julianus had taken arms against him. The 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
110 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, Archbishops 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 ; William Rufus, Henry the First, and Henry 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
120 elected, not by the collation of the king, or particular patrons, but by the people.
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 perform anything 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 full of difficulties and troubles ; for the nobility, though they continued loyal unto him, yet did they not co-operate with him in his business.
130 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 sometimes dis course high, but that doth little hurt ; besides, 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.
xix.] OF EMPIRE. 51
For their merchants ; they are rena portaj and if they flourish not, a kingdom may have good limbs, but will have empty veins, and nourish little. Taxes and imposts upon 140 them do seldom good to the king's revenue ; for that that he wins in the hundred 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 religion, 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 ; 150 whereof we see examples in the janizaries, and pretorian bands of Rome ; but trainings 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. All precepts concerning kings are in effect comprehended in those two remembrances; Memento quod es homo; and Memento quod es Deus, or vice Dei; [Remember that you are a man, and Remember that you are a God, or God's vice- 1 60 gerenti] the one bridleth their power, and the other their will.
XX. OF COUNSEL.
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 children, their credit, some particular affair ; 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,
52 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xx.
or derogation to their sufficiency, to rely upon counsel. God himself is not without, but hath made it one of the great
10 names of his blessed Son ; The Counsellor. Salomon hath pronounced that in counsel is stability. Things will 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 full of inconstancy, doing and undoing, like the reeling 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 ;
20 that it was young counsel, for the persons ; and violent counsel, for the matter.
The ancient times do set forth in figure both the incor poration and inseparable conjunction of counsel with kings, and the wise and politic use of counsel 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 con ceived by him and was with child, but Jupiter suffered her
30 not to stay till she brought forth, but ate her up ; whereby he became himself with child, and was delivered of Pallas .armed, out of his head. Which monstrous fable containeth a secret of empire ; 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 ;
40 but take the matter back into their own hands, and make it appear to the world that the decrees and final directions (which, because they come forth with prudence and power, are resembled to Pallas armed) proceeded from themselves ;
xxi] OF COUNSEL. 53
and not only from their authority, but (the more to add reputation to themselves) from their head and device.
Let us now speak of the inconveniences of counsel, 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 50 themselves. Thirdly, the danger of being unfaithfully coun selled, and more for the good of them that counsel than of him that is counselled. For which inconveniences, the doctrine of Italy, and practice of France, in some kings' times, hath introduced cabinet councils ; a remedy worse than the disease.
As to secrecy ; princes are not bound to communicate all matters with all counsellors ; but may extract and select. Neither is it necessary that he that consulteth what he should do, should declare what he will do. But let princes 60 beware that the unsecreting of their affairs comes not from themselves. And as for cabinet councils, it may be their motto, Plenus rimarum sum : [Full of chinks.~\ One futile person that maketh it his glory to tell, will do more hurt than many that know it their duty to conceal. It is true that 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 then it must be a prudent 70 king, such as is able to grind with a hand-mill ; and those inward counsellors 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 sheweth 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 ;
54 BACON'S ESSAYS. fxx.
80 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 terrain, [He shall not find faith upon the earth] 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, 90 but that one counsellor keepeth sentinel over another ; so that if any do counsel out of faction or private ends, it com monly comes to the king's ear. But the best remedy is, if princes know their counsellors, as well as their counsellors know them :
Principis est virtus maxima nosse suos.
[The chief virtue of a ruler is to know his subjects.] 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 skilful in his master's business,
100 than in his nature ; for then he is like to advise him, and not to feed his humour. It is of singular use to princes if they take the opinions of their council both separately and together. For private opinion is more free ; but opinion before others is more reverend. 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, if they
110 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 concerning persons secundum genera \by classes], as in an idea, or mathematical description, what the kind and character of the person should be ; for the greatest errors
xx.] OF COUNSEL. 55
are committed, and the most judgment is shown, in the choice of individuals. It was truly said, Optimi consiliarii inortui: [the dead are the best counsellors:} books will speak plain when counsellors blanch. Therefore it is good to be conversant in them, specially the books of such as themselves 120 have been actors upon the stage.
The councils 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 council. It were better that in causes of weight, the matter were pro pounded one day and not spoken to till the next day ; in node consilium : [the night should be spent in deliberation.] So was it done in the commission of Union between England and Scotland ; which was a grave and orderly assembly. I com mend set days for petitions ; for both it gives the suitors 130 more certainty for their attendance, and it freee the meetings for matters of estate, that they may hoc agcre. In choice of committees for ripening business for the council, it is better to choose indifferent persons, than to make an indifferency by putting in those that are strong on both sides. I com mend also standing commissions ; as for trade, for treasure, for war, for suits, for some provinces ; for where there be divers particular councils, and but one council of estate (as it is in Spain), they are, in effect, no more than standing commissions : save that they have greater authority. Let 140 such as are to inform councils out of their particular profes sions, (as lawyers, seamen, mintmen, and the like,) be first heard before committees ; and then, as occasion serves, before the council. And let them not come in multitudes, or in a tribunitious manner ; for that is to clamour councils, 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 all the business ; but in the other form there is more use of the counsellors' opinions that sit lower. A king, when he pre- 150 sides in council, let him beware how he opens his own
56 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xx.
inclination too much in that which he propoundeth ; for else counsellors will but take the wind of him, and instead of giving free counsel, sing him a song of placebo.
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 still holdeth up the price. For occasion (as it is in the common verse) turneth a bald noddle, after she hath presented her locks 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
10 beginnings and onsets of things. Dangers are no more light, if they once seem light ; 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 off before the time ; or to teach dangers to come on, by over -early buckling towards them ; is another extreme.
20 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 Argus 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 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. 57
XXII. OF CUNNING.
WE take Cunning for a sinister or crooked wisdom. And certainly there is a great difference between a cunning man and a wise man ; not only in point of honesty, but in point of ability. There be that can pack the cards, and yet cannot play well ; so there are some that are good in canvasses and factions, 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 constitiition of one that hath studied men more than books. 10 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 ambos nudos ad ignotos, et videbis, [Send them both naked to strangers, and you iinll see,] doth scarce hold for them. And because these cunning men are like haberdashers of small wares, it is not amiss to set forth their shop.
It is a point of cunning, to wait upon him with whom you speak, with your eye ; as the Jesuits give it in precept : for 20 there be many wise men that have secret hearts and trans parent countenances. 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 obtain of present despatch, you entertain and amuse the party with whom you deal with some other discourse ; that he be not too much awake to make objections. I knew a counsellor and secretary, that never came to Queen Elizabeth 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. 30
The like surprise may be made by moving things when the party is in haste, and cannot stay to consider advisedly of that is moved.
58 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxn.
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 about to say, as if he took himself up, breeds a greater appetite in him 40 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 shewing another visage and countenance than you are wont ; to the end to give occasion for the party to ask what the matter is of the change ; as Nehemiah did ; And I had not before that time been sad before 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 50 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 Messalina and Silius.
In things that a man would not be seen in himself, 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.
60 I knew another that, when lie 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.
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 themselves they are desirous to utter.
xxii.] OF CUNNING. 59
It is a point of cunning, to let fall those words in a man's 70 own name, which he would have another man learn and use, and thereupon take advantage. I knew two that were com petitors for the secretary's place in Queen Elizabeth's time, and yet kept good quarter between themselves ; and would confer one with another upon the business ; and the one of them said, That to be a secretary in the declination 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 80 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.
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 another 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 90 others by justifying themselves by negatives ; as to say, This I do not; as Tigellinus did towards Burrhus, &e non diversas spes, sed incolumitatem imperatoris simpliciter spectare : [" 1 have no eye" he said, " to two conflicting aims, but only to the emperor's safety."']
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 100 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 they will beat over, to
60 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxn.
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
110 came behind him and called him by his true name, whereat straightways he looked back.
But these small wares and petty points of cunning 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 resorts 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. Therefore you shall see them find out pretty
120 looses in the conclusion, but are no ways able to examine or debate matters. And yet commonly they take advantage of their inability, and would be thought wits of direction. Some build rather upon the abusing of others, and (as we now say) putting tricks upon them, than upon soundness of their own proceedings. But Salomon saith, Prudeiis advertit ad gressus suos: stultus divertit ad dolos: \The vise man taketh heed to his steps: t/ie fool turneth aside to deceit.]
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 certainly 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 ; especially to thy king and coun try. It is a poor centre of a man's actions, himself. It is right earth. For that only stands f.-ist upon his own centre ; whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens, move upon the centre of another, which they benefit. The refer-
xxin.] OF WISDOM FOR A MAN'S SELF. 61
ring of all to a man's self is more tolerable in a sovereign 10 prince : because themselves are not only themselves, but their good and evil is at the peril of the public fortune. But it is a desperate evil in a servant to a prince, or a citizen in a re public. For whatsoever affairs pass such a man's hands, he crooketh them to his own ends ; which must needs be often eccentric 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 acces sary. That which maketh the effect more pernicious is that all proportion is lost. It were disproportion enough for the 20 servant's good to be preferred before the master's ; but yet it is a greater extreme, when a little 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 envies, to the overthrow of their master's great and important affairs, and for the most part, the good such 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 30 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 them selves ; 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 the wisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made 40 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 [lovers of themselves, without a rival\, are many times unfortunate. And whereas they
62 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxm.
have all their time sacrificed to themselves, they become in the end themselves sacrifices to the inconstancy of fortune ; whose wings they thought by 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 not withstanding, 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 continuance ; but Good has a forced motion, strongest at first. Surely every medicine is an inno vation ; and he that will not apply new remedies must expect
10 new evils ; for time is the greatest innovator ; and if time of course alter things to 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 confederate within themselves ; where as new things piece not so well ; but though they help by their utility, yet they trouble by their inconformity. Besides, they are like strangers ; more admired and less favoured. All this is true, if time stood still ; which contrariwise moveth
20 so round, that a froward retention of custom is as turbulent a thing as an innovation ; 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 perceived. For otherwise, what soever is new is unlocked for ; and ever it mends some, and pairs others ; 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-
xxiv.] OF INNOVATIONS. 63
ments in states, except the necessity be urgent, or the utility 30 evident ; and well 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 rejected, yet be held for a suspect ; and, as the Scripture saith, that we make a stand upon the ancient way, and then look about its, 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 advancement 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, procxireth dispatch. It is the care of some only to come off speedily for the time ; or to 10 contrive some false periods of business, 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 goetli commonly back ward and forward in an unsteady manner. I knew a wise man that had it for a by- word, when he saw men hasten 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 20 dispatch. The Spartans and Spaniards have been noted to be of small dispatch ; Mi venga la muerte de Spagna ; Let my death come from Spain ; for then it will be sure to be long in coming.
\
64 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxv.
Give good hearing to those that give the first information 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 will go forward and back ward, and be more tedious while he waits upon his memory,
30 than he could have been if he had gone on in his own course. But sometimes it is seen that the moderator is more trouble some 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 a race. Prefaces and passages, and excusations, and other speeches of reference to the person, are great wastes of time ; and -though they seem
40 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 requireth preface of speech ; like a fomentation to make the unguent enter.
Above all things, order, and distribution, and singling 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 unseasonable motion is but beating the air. There be
50 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 some what 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 indefinite ; as ashes are more generative than dust.
xxvi.] OF SEEMING WISE. 65
XXVI. OF SEEMING WISE.
IT hath been an opinion that the French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seern 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 show of godliness, but deny ing the power thereof; so certainly there are in point of wisdom and sufficiency, that do nothing or little very solemnly: Magno 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 10 depth and bulk. Some are so close and reserved, as they will not shew their wares but by a dark light ; and seem always to keep back somewhat ; and when they know within themselves they speak of that they do not well know, would nevertheless 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 ; Hespondes, altero ad frontem sublato, altero ad mentum 20 depresso supercilio, crudelitatem tibi non placcre. Some think to bear it by speaking a great word, and being peremptory ; 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 subtilty, blanch the matter ; of whom A. Gellius saith, Ilominem delirum, qui verborum minutiis rerum frangit pondera : [A silly person who by verbal subtilties breaks up the 30 mass of matter :] Of which kind also Plato, in his Protagoras, bringeth in Prodicus in scorn, and maketh him make a speech that consisteth of distinctions from the beginning to
66 BACON'S ESSAYS. fxxvi.
the end. Generally, such men in all deliberations find ease to be of the negative side, and affect a credit to object and foretell difficulties ; 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 merchant, or inward 40 beggar, hath so many tricks to uphold the credit of their wealth, as these empty persons have to maintain the" credit of their sufficiency. Seeming wise men may make shift to get opinion ; but let no man choose them for employment ; for certainly you were better take for business a man some what absurd than over-formal.
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 icild 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 ; except 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
10 conversation : such as is found to have been falsely and feignedly in some of the heathens ; as Epimenides the Candian, Nitma the Roman, Empedocles the Sicilian, and Apollonius 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 riot company ; 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; [A great city is a great solitude;]
20 because in a great town friends are scattered ; so that there
xxvii.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 67
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 solitude 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 friendship, he taketh it of the beast, and not from humanity.
A principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause and induce. We know diseases of stoppings 30 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 ; but no receipt openeth the heart, but 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 40 whereof we speak : so great, as they purchase it many times at the hazard of their own safety and greatness. For 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 equals 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 50 thereof, naming them 1'articipes curarnm ; [Sharers of their cares;] for it is that which tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath been done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most politic that ever reigned ; who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of their servants ; whom both themselves have called friends,
68 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxvu.
and allowed others likewise to call them in the same manner ; using the word which is received between private men.
L. Sylla, when he commanded Rome, raised Pompey (after
60 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 Sylla 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 rising than the sun setting. With J.ulius Ciesar, Decimus Brutus had obtained that interest, as he set him down in his testa ment for heir in remainder after his nephew. And this was the man that had power with him to draw him forth to his
70 death. For when Csesar 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 he recited verbatim in one of Cicero's Philippics, called him venefica, witch; as if he had enchanted Csesar. Augustus raised Agrippa (though of mean birth) to that height, as when he consulted with Maecenas about the marriage of his
80 daughter Julia, Maecenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must either marry his daughter to Agrippa, or take away his life : there was no third way, he had made him so great. With Tiberius Csesar, 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, hvec pro amicitia nostra non occultavi; [in consideration of our friendship I have not hidden these things from you ;] 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
90 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
xxvii.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 69
son ; and did write also in a letter to the senate, by these words : / love the man so well, as I wish he may over-live me. Now if 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 all these were, it proveth most plainly that they found their own felicity (though as great as ever hap- 100 pened to mortal men) but as an half piece, except they mought 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 all, those secrets which troubled him most. Whereupon he goeth on and saith that towards his latter time that closeness did impair and a little perish his understanding. Surely no Comineus mought have made the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second master, Louis the Eleventh, whose closeness was indeed his tormentor. The parable of Pythagoras is dark, but true ; Cor ne edito ; Eat not the heart. Certainly, 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 communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects ; for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in 120 halfs. For there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more : and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth 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 still to the good and benefit of nature. But yet without praying in aid of alchy mists, there is a manifest image of this in the ordinary course
70 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxvu.
of nature. For in bodies, union strengtheneth and cherisheth
130 any natural action ; and on the other side weakeneth and dulleth 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 tempests ; but it maketh daylight in the under standing, out of darkness and confusion of thoughts. Neither is this to be understood only of faithful counsel, which a man receiveth from his friend ; but before you come to that, certain it is that whosoever hath his mind fraught with
140 many thoughts, his wits and understanding do clarify and break up, in the communicating and discoursing with another : he tosseth his thoughts more easily ; he mar- shalleth them more orderly ; he seeth how they look when they are turned into words : finally, he waxeth wiser than himself ; and that more by an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation. It was well said by Themistocles to the king of Persia, That speech was like cloth of Arras, opened and put abroad ; whereby the imagery doth appear in figure ; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs. Neither is this
150 second fruit of friendship, in opening the understanding, restrained only to such friends as are able to give a man counsel ; (they indeed are best ;) but even without that, a man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light, and whetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In 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
160 vulgar observation ; which is faithful counsel from a friend. Heraclitus saith well in one of his enigmas, Dry light is ever the best. And certain it is, that the light that a man re ceiveth by counsel from another, is drier and purer than that which cometh from his own understanding and judgment ;
xxvii.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 71
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 as is a man's self ; and there is no such remedy against flattery of a man's self as the liberty 170 of a friend. Counsel is of two sorts ; the one concerning manners, the other concerning business. For the first, the best preservative 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 piercing 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. It is a strange thing to behold what gross errors and extreme absurdities 180 many (especially of the greater sort) do commit, for want of a friend to tell them of them ; to the great damage both of their fame and fortune : for, as St. James saith, they are as men, that look sometimes into a glass, and presently forget their oicn shape and favour. As for business, a man may think, if he will, that two eyes see no more than one ; or that 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 190 imaginations, to think himself all in all. But when all is done, the help of good counsel is that which setteth business straight. And if any man think that he will take counsel, but it shall be by pieces ; asking counsel 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 faith fully counselled ; for it is a rare thing, except it be from a perfect and entire friend, to have counsel given, but such as shall be bowed and crooked to some ends which he hath that 200
72 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxvn.
givetli it. The other, that he shall have counsel given, hurtful and unsafe, (though with good meaning,) and mixed partly of mischief 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 overthroweth your health in some other kind ; and so cure the disease and kill the patient. But a friend that is wholly acquainted with a man's estate will beware, by fur-
210 thering any present business, how he dasheth upon other inconvenience. And therefore rest not upon scattered coun sels ; they will rather distract and mislead, than settle and direct.
After these two noble fruits of friendship, (peace in the affections, and support of the judgment,) followeth the last fruit ; which is like the pomegranate, full of many kernels ; I mean aid and bearing a part in all actions and occasions. Here the best way to represent to life the mani fold use of friendship, is to cast and see how many things
220 there are which a man cannot do himself ; and then it will appear that it was a sparing speech of the ancients, to say, that 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 child, the finishing of a work, or the like. If a man have a true friend, he may rest almost secure that the care of those things will continue after him. So that a man hath, as it were, two lives in his desires. A man hath a body, and that body is confined to a place ; but where friend-
230 ship is, all offices of life are as it were granted to him and his deputy. For he may exercise them by his friend. How many things are there which a man cannot, with any face or comeliness, say or do himself? A man can scarce allege his own merits with modesty, much less extol them ; a man can not sometimes brook to supplicate or beg ; and a number of the like. But all these things are graceful in a friend's
xxvii.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 73
mouth, which are blushing in a man's own. So again, a man's person hath many proper relations which he cannot put off. A man cannot speak to his son but as a father ; to his wife but as a husband ; to his enemy but upon terms : 240 whereas a friend may speak as the case 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 friend, he may quit the stage.
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 ordinary 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 show, that the bills may be less than the estima tion abroad. Certainly, if a man will keep but of even hand, his ordinary expenses ought to be but to the half of his 10 receipts ; and if he think to wax rich, but to the third part. It is 110 baseness for the greatest to descend and look into their own estate. Some forbear it, not upon negligence alone, but doubting to bring themselves into melancholy, in respect they shall 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 employ eth, 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 20 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
74 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxvni.
stable ; and the like. For he that is plentiful in expenses of all kinds will hardly be preserved from decay. In clearing of a man's estate, he may as well hurt himself in being too sudden, as in letting it run on too long. For hasty selling is commonly as disadvantageable as interest. Besides, he that clears at once will relapse ; for finding himself out of straits, 30 he will revert 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 gettings. A man ought warily to begin charges which once begun will continue : but in matters that return not he may be more magnificent.
XXIX. OF THE TKUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES.
THE speech of Themistocles the Athenian, which was haugh ty and arrogant in taking so much to himself, 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, but yet he could make a small town a great city. These words (hoi pen 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 counsellors and statesmen, there may be found (though rarely) those which can make a 10 small state great, and yet cannot fiddle : as on the other side, there will be found a great many that can fiddle very cunning ly, 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 flourishing estate to ruin and decay. And, certainly, those degenerate arts and shifts, whereby many counsellors and governors gain both favour with their masters and esti mation with the vulgar, deserve no better name than fiddling ;
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 75
being things rather pleasing for the time, and graceful to themselves only, than tending to the weal and advancement of the state which they serve. There are also (no doubt) 20 counsellors and governors which may be held sufficient negotiis pares, able to manage affairs, and to keep them from preci pices and manifest inconveniences ; which nevertheless are far from the ability to raise and amplify an estate 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 kingdoms 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 30 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 finances and revenue 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 anything amongst civil affairs more subject to error, than the right valuation i and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate. The kingdom of heaven is compared, not to any great 40 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 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 founda tions of great monarchies.
Walled towns, stored arsenals and armouries, goodly races of horse, chariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like ; all this is but a sheep in a lion's skin, except the breed and disposition of the people be stout and warlike. 50 Nay, number (itself) in armies importeth not much, where the people is of weak corn-age ; for (as Virgil saith) It never troubles a wolf how many the sheep be. The army of the
76 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxix.
Persians in the plains of Arbela was such a vast sea of peo ple, as it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alex ander's army ; who came to him therefore, and wished him to set upon them by night ; but he answered, He would not pilfer the victory. A nd the defeat was easy. When Tigranes the Armenian, being encamped upon a hill with four hundred
60 thousand men, discovered the army of the Romans, being not above fourteen thousand, marching 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 truly make a judge ment, 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,
70 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 will be master of all this gold. Therefore 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 whatsoever estate or prince doth rest
80 upon them, he may spread his feathers for a time, .but he will mew them soon after.
The blessing of Judah and Iss^char will never meet ; that the same people or nation should be both the lion's whelp and the ass between burthens : neither will it be, that a people over laid 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
I xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 77
i and not of the purse. So that although the same tribute and 90 I tax, laid by consent or by imposing, be all one to the purse, I yet it works diversely" upon the courage. So that you may | conclude, that no people over-charged with tribute is fit for I empire.
Let states that aim at greatness, take heed how their I nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast. For that maketh I the common subject grow to be a peasant and base swain, I driven out of heart, and in effect but the gentlemen's labourer. I Even as you may see in coppice woods ; if you leave your
st;u Idles too thick, you shall never have clean underwood, but 100
I shrubs and bushes. So in countries, if the gentlemen be too
I many, the commons will be base ; and you will bring it to
! that, that not the hundredth poll will be fit for an helmet ;
especially as to the infantry, 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 England,
though far less in territory and population, hath been
(nevertheless) an over-match ; in regard the middle people
) of England make good soldiers, which the peasants of France 110
do not. And herein the device of King Henry the Seventh | (whereof I have spoken largely in the history of his life) was I profound and admirable ; in making farms and houses of j husbandry of a standard ; that is, maintained 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 I the plough in the hands of the owners, and not mere hire lings. And thus indeed you shall attain to Virgil's character i which he gives to ancient Italy :
Terra potens armis atque ubere glebae. 120
[A land powerful in arms, and with a fertile soil.] Neither is
| that state (which, for any thing I know, is almost peculiar to
I 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 ;
78 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxix.
which are no ways inferior unto the yeomanry for arms. And therefore, out of all question, the splendour and mag nificence and great retinues and hospitality of noblemen and gentlemen, received into custom, doth much conduce unto
130 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 Nebu chadnezzar'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,
140 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 Spartans 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 Eomans. Therefore it sorted with them accordingly ; for they grew to the greatest monarchy. Their manner was
150 to grant -naturalization (which they called jus civitatis [rights of citizenship^), and to grant it in the highest degree ; that is, not only jus commercii, jus connubii, jus hcereditatis [right of trading, right of marriage, right of inheritance'] ; but also jus suffragii and jus honorum [right of voting and right of holding office]. 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
160 say that it was not the Eomans that spread upon the world, but it was the world that spread upon the Romans ; and that
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 79
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 compass 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 naturalize 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 170 instant they are sensible of this want of natives ; as by the Pragmatical Sanction, now published, appeareth.
It is certain, that sedentary and within-door arts, and delicate manufactures (that require rather the finger than the arm), have in their nature a contrariety to a military disposition. And generally, all warlike people are a little idle, and love danger better than travail. 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 180 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 tho^e arts chiefly to strangers (which for that piirpose 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, carpenters, etc. : not reckoning professed soldiers.
But above all, for empire and greatness, it importeth most, 190 that a nation do profess arms as their principal honour, study,, and occupation. For the things which we formerly have spoken of are but habitations towards arms ; and what is habilitation without intention and act ? Romulus, after his death (as they report or feign), sent a present to the Romans, that above all they should intend arms ; a,nd then they should prove the greatest empire of the world. The
80 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxix.
fabric of the state of Sparta was wholly (though not wisely) framed and composed to that scope and end. The
200 Persians and Macedonians had it for a flash. The Gauls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans, and others, had it for a time. Th.e Turks have it at this day, though in great declination. 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
210 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 notwithstanding commonly attained that greatness in that age which main tained 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 just occasions (as may be pretended) of war. For there is that justice im printed in the nature of men, that they enter not upon wars
220 (whereof so many calamities do ensue) 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 pro-
230 vocation. 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 defen sive with divers other states, and, upon invasion offered, did
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 81
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 do not see how they may be well justified : as when the Romans made a war for the liberty of Graecia ; or when the Lacedaemonians and Athenians made wars to set up or pull down democracies and 240 oligarchies ; or when wars were made by foreigners, under the pretence of justice or protection, to deliver the subjects of others from tyranny and oppression ; 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 politic ; and certainly to a kingdom 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 ; 250 for in a slothful peace, both courages will effeminate and manners corrupt. But howsoever it be for happiness, with out all question, for greatness it maketh, to be still for the most part in arms ; and the strength of the 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. 260 Cicero, writing to Atticus of Pompey his preparation against Csesar, saith, Consilium Pompeii plane Themistoclcum est ; putat enim, qui mari potitur, eum rerum potiri ; [The policy of Pompey is like that of Themistocles. He thinks that power is with him who commands the sea ;] and, without doubt, Pompey had tired out Caesar, if upon vain confidence he had not left that way. We see the great effects of battles by sea. The battle of Actium decided the empire of the world. The battle of Lepanto arrested the greatness of the Turk. There
82 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxix.
270 be many 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 liberty, 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 kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt
280 with the sea most part of their compass ; and because the wealth of both Indies seems in great part but an accessary to the command of the seas.
The wars of latter ages seem to be made in the dark, in respect of the glory and honour which reflected upon men 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 soldiers ; and some remembrance perhaps upon the scut cheon ; and some hospitals for maimed soldiers ; and such
290 like things. But in ancient times, the trophies erected upon the place of the victory ; the funeral laudatives and monu ments 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 all men's courages. But above all, that of the triumph, amongst the Romans, was not pageants or gaudery, but one of the wisest and noblest institutions that ever was.
300 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 impropriate the actual triumphs to themselves and their
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 83
sons, for such wars as they did achieve in person ; and left only, for wars achieved by subjects, some triumphal garments and ensigns to the general.
To conclude : no man can by care taking (as the Scripture saith) add a cubit to his stature, in this little model of a man's 310 body ; but in the great frame of kingdoms and common wealths, it is in the power of princes or estates to add ampli tude 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 suc cession. But these things are commonly not observed, but left to take their chance.
XXX. .OF EEGIMENT 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 ivith me, there fore I ivill not continue it ; 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 will not be defied. Beware of sudden change in any great point of diet, and if necessity 10 enforce it, fit the rest to it. For it is a secret both in nature and state, that it is 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 dis posed at hours of meat and of sleep and of exercise, is one of 20
84 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxx.
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 exhilarations in excess ; sadness not communicated. Enter tain hopes ; mirth rather than joy ; variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them ; wonder and admiration, and therefore novelties ; studies that fill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects, as histories, fables, and contemplations of nature. If you fly physic in health altogether, it will be
30 too strange for your body when you shall need it. If you make it too familiar, it will work no extraordinary 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 could
40 never have spoken it as a physician, had he not been a wise man withal, when he giveth it for one of the great precepts of health and lasting, that a man do vary and interchange contraries, but with an inclination to the more benign ex treme : 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 cherished, and yet taught mnsteries. 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
50 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 a 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. 85
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 busi ness cannot go on currently and constantly. They dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, wise men to irre solution 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 suspicious man, nor a more stout. And in 10 such a composition they do small hurt. For commonly they are not admitted, but with examination, whether they be likely or no. But in fearful natures 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 procuring to know more, and not to keep their suspicions in smother. What would men have ? Do they think those they employ and deal with are saints ? Do they not think they will have their own ends, and be truer to themselves than to them ? Therefore there is 110 better way to moderate 20 suspicions, 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. Sus picions 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 he shall be sure to 30 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 suspicion. But this would not be done to
86 BACON'S ESSAYS. . [xxxi.
men of base natures ; for they, if they find themselves once suspected, will never be true. The Italian says, Sospetto licencia fede ; [Suspicion gives license to faith :] 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 commendation 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 discourse and speech of
10 conversation, to vary and intermingle speech of the present occasion with arguments, tales with reasons, asking of questions with telling of opinions, and jest with earnest : for it is a dull 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 somewhat that is piquant and to the quick. That
20 is a vein which would be bridled ;
Parce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris. [Spare the spur, boy, and pull harder at the reins.'} And generally, men ought to find the difference between 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, shall learn much, and content much ; but especially if he
xxxn.] OF DISCOURSE. 87
apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he asketh ; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge. 30 But let his questions not be troublesome ; 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 ycm dissemble 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 be a wise man, he 40 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 blow 50 given ? To which the guest would answer, Siich and suck a thing passed. The lord would say, / 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, shows slowness ; and a good reply or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth 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 60 greyhound and the hare. To use too many circumstances ere one come to the matter, is wearisome ; to use none at all, is blunt.
BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxm.
XXXIII. OF PLANTATIONS.
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 displanted to the end to plant in others. For else it is rather an extirpation than a plantation. Planting of countries is like planting of woods ; for you must make account to leese almost twenty years profit, and expect your
10 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 farther. 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 spoileth the plantation ; for they will ever live like rogues, and not fall to work, but be lazy, and do mischief, and spend victuals, and be quickly weary, and then
20 certify over to their country to the discredit of the planta tion. The people wherewith you plant ought to be gardeners, ploughmen, labourers, smiths, carpenters, joiners, fishermen, fowlers, 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, pine-apples, olives, dates, plums, cherries, wild honey, and the like ; and make use of them. Then consider what victual or esculent things there are, which grow speedily, and within the year ; as parsnips, carrots,
30 turnips, onions, radish, artichokes of Hierusalem, maize, and the like. For wheat, barley, and oats, they ask too much labour ; but with peas and beans you may begin, both because they ask less labour, and because they serve for
xxxiu.] OF PLANTATIONS. 89
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 40 plantations ought to be expended almost as in a besieged town ; that is, with certain allowance. And let the main part of the ground employed to gardens or corn be to a com mon stock ; and to be laid in, and stored up, and then deliv ered out in proportion; besides some spots of ground that any particular person will manure for his own private. Consider likewise what commodities the soil where the plantation is 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 50 with tobacco in Virginia. 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 mills, iron is a brave commodity where wood aboundeth. Making of bay- salt, if the climate be proper for it, would be put in exper ience. Growing silk likewise, if any be, is a likely commod ity. Pitch and tar, where store of firs and pines are, will not fail. So drugs and sweet woods, where they are, can not but yield great profit. Soap-ashes likewise, and other things that may be thought of. But moil not too much Tinder 60 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
90 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxni.
70 let those be rather noblemen and gentlemen, than merchants ; for they look ever to the present gain. Let there be freedoms from custom, till the plantation 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 send ing too fast company after company ; but rather hearken how they waste, and send supplies proportionally ; but so as the number may live well in the plantation, and not by sur charge be in penury. It hath been a great endangering to
80 the health of some plantations, that they have built along the sea and rivers, in marish and unwholesome grounds. There fore, though you begin there, to avoid carriage and other like discommodities, yet build still rather upwards from the streams than along. It concerneth likewise the health of the planta tion 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 guard nevertheless ; and do not win their favour by helping
90 them to invade their enemies, but for their 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 sinfullest thing in the world to forsake or destitute a plantation once in forwardness ; for besides the dishonour, it is the guiltiness of blood of many commiserable persons.
XXXIV. OF EICHES.
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
xxxi v.] OF RICHES. 91
left behind, but it liiudereth the inarch ; yea ami 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, Where much is, there are many to consume it ; and what hath the owner but the sight of it with his eyes ? The personal fruition in any man cannot reach to feel great riches : there is a custody of them ; or a power 10 of dole 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 undertaken, 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 stronghold, in the imagination of the rich man. But this is excellently expressed, that it is in imagin ation, and not always in fact. For certainly great riches have sold more men than they have bought out. Seek uot proud 20 riches, but such as thou niayest get justly, use soberly, distri bute cheerfully, and leave contentedly. Yet have no abstract or friarly contempt of them. But distinguish, as Cicero saith well of Rabirius Posthumus, In studio rei amplijicanda;, apparebat, non avaritice prcedam, sed instrumentum bonitati quceri : [In his zeal to increase his estate it was evident that he was seeking not a prey for avarice, but a means of doing good.] Hearken also to Salomon, and beware of hasty gathering of riches ; Qui festinat ad divitias, non erit insons : [He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.] The poets feign, 30 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.
92 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxiv.
40 Tlie ways to enrich are many, and most of them foul. Parsi mony is one of the best, and yet is not innocent ; for it with- holdeth men from works of liberality and charity. The improvement 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
50 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 was truly ob served 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 great ness are few men's money, and be partner in the industries of younger men, he cannot but increase mainly. The gains of ordinary trades and vocations are honest ; and furthered
60 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 practices, 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, both upon the seller and upon the buyer. Sharings do greatly enrich, if the hands be well chosen that are trusted. Usury
70 is the certainest means of gain, though one of the worst ; as that whereby a man doth eat his bread in sitdore vulttis alieni ; [in the sweat of another's face ;] and besides, 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
xxxiv.] OF RICHES. 93
in an invention 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 80 resteth upon gains certain, shall hardly grow to great riches ; and he that puts all upon adventures, doth oftentimes break and come to poverty : it is good therefore 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 request, and so store himself beforehand. Riches gotten by service, though it be of the best rise, yet when they are gotten by flattery, feeding humours, and other servile conditions, they 90 may be placed amongst the worst. As for fishing for testa ments and executorships (as Tacitus saith of Seneca, testa- menta et orbos tanquam indagine capi, [the mils of the childless were, so to say, caught vn a snare,]) 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 themselves, sometimes they must be sent flying to bring in more. Men leave their 100 riches either to their kindred, 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 iritliout salt ; and but the painted sepulchres of alms, which soon will putrefy and corrupt inwardly. Therefore measure not thine advancements by quantity, but frame them by measure : and defer not charities till death ; for, certainly, if a man weigh it rightly, he that doth so is rather liberal of 110 another man's than of his own.
94 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxv.
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 sons shall be with me. Homer hath these verses :
At domus ^Eneae cunctis dominabitur oris, Et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis. [The house of JEneas shall rule over every land, And his children's children, and those who sltall be born of 10 them.]
A prophecy, as it seems, of the Roman empire. Seneca the tragedian hath these verses :
Venient annis
Srecula seris, quibus Oceanus Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens Pateat tellus, Tiphysque novos Detegat orbes ; nee sit terris Ultima Thule :
[Ocean in years to come shall loose her bands, 20 The vast earth be disclosed, and Tiphys show
New worlds, nor Thule be the farthest bound :] 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, because 30 men do not use to seal up vessels that are empty. A phantasm that appeared to M. Brutus in his tent, said to him, Philippis iterum me videbis : [Thou shalt see me again at Philippi]. Tiberius said to Galba, Tu quoque, Galba, de- gustabis imperium : [Thou too, Galba, shalt taste of empire].
xxxv.] OF PROPHECIES. 95
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 was slain, that a golden head was growing out of the nape of his neck : and indeed the succes- 40 sion 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 croicn 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 husband'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 50 course at 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,
When hempe is sponne England's done :
whereby it was generally conceived, that after the princes had reigned which had the principial letters of that word hempe (which were Henry, Edward, Mary, Philip, and Elizabeth), England should come to utter confusion ; which, 60 thanks be to God, is verified only in the change of the name , for that the King's style is now no more of England, but of Britain. There was also another prophecy, before 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 vou have none. 70
96 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxv.
It was generally conceived to be meant of the Spanish fleet that came in eighty-eight : for that the king of Spain's sur name, as they say, is Norway. The prediction of Kegio- montanus,
Octogesimus octavus mirabilis annus,
[The eighty-eighth year shall be remarkable]
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 Cl eon's
80 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 sausages, that troubled him exceedingly. There are numbers of the like kind ; especially if you include dreams, and pre dictions of astrology. But I have set down these few only of certain credit, for example. 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
90 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 probable conjectures, or obscure traditions, many times turn themselves into prophecies ; while the nature of man, which coveteth divination, thinks it no peril 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 100 beyond the Atlantic, which mought be probably conceived not to be all sea : and adding thereto the tradition in Plato's Timpeus, 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 passed.
xxxvi.] OF AMBITION. 97
XXXVI. OF AMBITION.
AMBITION is like clioler ; which 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 adust, and thereby malign and venomous. So ambitious men, if they find the way open for their rising, and still get forward, they are rather busy than dangerous ; but if they be checked in their 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 10 it is good for princes, if they use ambitious men, to handle it so as they be still progressive and not retrograde ; which because it cannot be without inconvenience, it is good not to use such natures at all. For if they rise not with their ser vice, 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 cases 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 20 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 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 pulling 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 30 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
G
98 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxvi.
fortified in their greatness. It is counted by some a weak ness 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
40 as they. But then there must be some middle counsellors, to keep things steady ; for without that ballast the ship will roll too much. At the least, a prince may animate and inure some meaner persons, 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 well ; but if they be stout and daring, it may precipitate their designs, and prove dangerous. As for the pulling 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
50 of favours and disgraces ; 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 con fusion, and mars business. But yet it is less danger to have an ambitious man stirring in business, than great in depend ences. 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 cyphers is the decay of a whole age. Honour hath three things in it ;
60 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 wise prince. Gene rally, let princes and states choose such ministers as are more sensible of duty than of rising ; 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. 99
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. Dancing 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 ; 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 vulgar thing) ; and the voices of the dialogue would be strong and manly, (a base 10 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 figure is a childish curiosity. And generally let it be noted, that those things which I here set down are such as do naturally take the sense, and not respect petty wonderments. It is true, the alterations of scenes, so it be quietly and without noise, are things of great beauty and pleasure ; for they feed and relieve the eye, before it be full of the same object. Let the 20 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 discern. Let the songs be loud and cheer ful, and not chirpings or pulings. Let the music likewise be sharp and loud, and well placed. The colours that show best by candle-light, are white, carnation, and a kind of sea- water-green ; and oes, or spangs, as they are of no great cost, 30 so they are of most glory. As for rich embroidery, it is lost and not discerned. Let the suits of the masquers be graceful, and such as become the person when the vizards are off ; not
100 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxvu.
after examples of known attires ; Turks, soldiers, mariners, and the like. Let anti-masques not be long ; they have been commonly of fools, satyrs, baboons, wild-men, antics, beasts, sprites, witches, Ethiopes, pigmies, turquets, nymphs, rustics, Cupids, statuas moving, and the like. As for angels, it is not comical enough to put them in anti-masques ; and any
40 thing 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 refreshment. Double masques, one of men, another of ladies, addeth state and variety. But all is nothing except the room be kept clear and neat.
For justs, and tourneys, and barriers ; the glories of them are chiefly in the chariots, wherein the challengers make their
50 entry ; especially if they be drawn with strange beasts : as lions, 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 NATUEE IN MEN.
NATURE is often hidden ; sometimes overcome ; seldom ex tinguished. 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 small proceeder, though by often prevailings. And at the first let him practise with helps, as swimmers do with bladders or rushes ; but 10 after a time let him practise with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes. For it breeds great perfection, if the
xxxviii.] OF NATURE IN MEN. 101
practice be harder than the use. Where nature is mighty, and therefore the victory hard, the degrees 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 quantity ; 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 himself at once, that is the best : 20
Optimus ille animi vindex laedentia pectus Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel.
[ Wouldst thou be free ? The chains that gall thy breast With one strong effort burst, Q'.nd be at rest.]
Neither is the ancient rule amims, to bend nature as a wand to a contrary extreme, whereby to set it right ; understand ing it, where the contrary extreme is no vice. Let not a man force a habit upon himself with a perpetual continuance, but with some intermission. For bol h the pause reinf orceth the new onset ; and if a man that is not perfect be ever in 39 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 intermissions. 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 ^Esop's damsel, turned from a cat to a woman, who sat v ery 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 per- 40 ceived in privateness, for there is no affectation ; in passion, for that putteth 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 w ith their vocations ; other wise they may say, midtuin incoh i fuit anima mea, [my soul
102 BACON'S ESSAYS. [xxxvui.
hath been long a sojourner ;~\ when they converse in those things they do not affect. In studies, whatsoever a man commandeth upon himself, let him set hours for it ; but whatsoever is agreeable to his nature, let him take no care 50 for any set times ; for his thoughts will fly to it of them selves ; so as the spaces of other business or studies will suffice. A man's nature r uns either to herbs or weeds ; therefore let him seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.
XXXIX. OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION.
MEN'S thoughts are much according to their inclination ; 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 ;
10 but take such an one as hath had his hands formerly in blood. But Machiavel knnw not of a friar Clement, nor a Ravillac, nor a Jaureguy, nor a Baltazar Gerard ; yet his rule holdeth still, that nature, nor the engagement of words, are not so forcible as custom. Only superstition is now so well advanced, that men of the first blood are as firm as butchers by occupation ; and votary resolution is made equipollent to custom even in matter of blood In other things the pre dominancy of custom is every where visible ; insomuch as a man would wonder to hear men profess, protest, engage, give
20 great words, and then do jiust 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 custom, what it is. The ] ndians (I mean the sect of their
xxxix.] OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION. 103
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 England, an Irish rebel condemned, put up a petition to the deputy that 30 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 penance, 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 and body. Therefore, since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavour 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 40 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 ; except 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 if 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, emulation quickeneth, glory raiseth : 50 so as in such places the force of custom is in his exaltation. Certainly the great multiplication of virtues upon human nature resteth upon societies well ordained and disciplined. For commonwealth and good governments do nourish 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 desired.
104 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XL.
XL. OF FOBTUNE.
IT cannot be denied, but outward accidents conduce 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. Faber quisque fortunes suce, [Every one may be the architect of his own fortune,] 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' error. Serpens nisi serpentem comcderit non fit draco : [A serpent does not become a dragon except by eating
10 another serpent.] 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 name. The Spanish name, disemboltura, partly expresseth them ; when there be not stonds nor restiveness 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 tantum robur corporis et animi fuit, ut qriocunque loco natus esset, fortunam sibi facturus videretur; [He possessed such strength of mind and body, that
20 he could probably have made for himself a fortune, wherever he had been born;]) 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 giving light together. So are there a number of little and scarce discerned virtues, or rather faculties and customs, that make men fortunate. The Italians note some of them, such as a man would little think.
30 When they speak of one that cannot do amiss, they will throw in into his other conditions, that he hath Poco di matto : [a little of the fool.] And certainly there be not two more fortunate properties, than to have a little of the fool,
XL.] OF FORTUNE. 105
and not too much of the honest. Therefore extreme lovers of their country or masters were never fortunate, neither can they be. For when a man placeth his thoughts without himself, he goeth not his own way. An hasty fortune maketh an enterpriser and remover ; (the French hath it better, entreprenant, or remnant ;) but the exercised fortune maketh the able man. Fortune is to be honoured and respected, and 40 it be but for her daughters, Confidence and Reputation. For those two felicity breedeth ; the first within a man's self, and the latter in others towards him. All wise men, to decline the envy 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, et fortunam ejus : [ You carry Ccesar and his fortune,] So Sylla chose the name of Felix [Fortunate], and not of Magnus [Great]. And it hath been noted, that 50 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 prospered in any thing he under took afterwards. Certainly there be, whose fortunes are like Homer's verses, that have a slide and easiness more than 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. 60
XLI. OF USURY.
MANY have made witty invectives against Usury. They say that it is a pity the devil should have God'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 ;
106 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLI.
Ignavum fucos pecus a prsesepibus arcent. [They drive away the drones, an idle herd, from their hives.] That the usurer breaketh the first law that was made for mankind after the fall, which was, in sudore vulttis tui comedes
10 panem tuum, not, in sudore vultils alieni : [in the siveat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread ; not, in the sweat of another man's brow,~\ That usurers should have orange-tawny bonnets, because they do judaize. That it is against nature for money to beget money ; and the like. I say this only, that usury is a concessum propter driritiem cordis : [a thing allowed on account of the hardness of man's heart :] 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
20 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 merchandizing ; which is the vena porta of
30 wealth in a state. 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 uncertainties, at the end of the game most of the money will be in the box ; and ever a state flourisheth when wealth is
40 more equally spread. The fifth, that it beats down the price of land ; for the employment of money is chiefly
xo.] OF USURY. 107
either merchandizing or purchasing ; and usury waylays both. The sixth, that it doth dull and damp all industries, improvements, 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 respects hindereth merchandizing, yet in some other it advanceth it ; for it is certain that the 50 greatest part of trade is driven by young merchants, upon borrowing at interest ; so as if the usurer either call in or keep back his money, there will ensue presently a 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 sell 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 will little mend the matter : for either men 60 will not take pawns without 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 keeps 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 borrowing be cramped. Therefore to speak of the abolishing 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. 70
To speak now of the reformation and reiglement of usury ; how the discommodities of it may be best avoided, and the commodities retained. It appears by the balance of com modities 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 merchants, for
108 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLI.
the continuing and quickening of trade. This cannot be done, except you introduce two several sorts of usury, a less 80 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 general be reduced to five in the hundred ; and let 90 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 general stop or dryness. This will ease infinite borrowers 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 ; because many will rather venture in that kind than take five in the hundred, especially having
100 been used to greater profit. Secondly, let there be certain persons licensed to lend to known merchants upon usury at a higher rate ; and let it be with the cautions 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 borrowers shall have some ease by this reformation, be he merchant, or whosoever. Let it be no bank or common 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
1 10 answered some small matter for the licence, and the rest left to the lender ; for if the abatement be but small, it will no whit discourage the lender. For he, for example, that took before ten or nine in the hundred, will sooner descend to
XLL] OF USURY. 109
eight in the hundred, than give over his trade of usury, and go from certain gains to gains of hazard. Let these licensed 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 license of nine will not suck away the current rate of five ; for no man will lend his monies far off, 120 nor put them into unknown hands.
If it be objected that this doth in a sort authorize usury, which before was in some places but permissive ; the answer is, that it is better to mitigate usury by declaration, than to suffer it to rage by connivance.
XLIL OF 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 imaginations 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 10 whom it is said, Juventutem egit erroribus, imo furoribiis, plenam ; [I fe passed a youth full of errors, nay of madnesses.] A.nd yet he was the ablest emperor, almost, of all the list. But reposed natures may do well in youth. As it is seen in Augustus Caesar, Cosmus Duke of Florence, Gaston de Foix, and others. On the other side, heat and vivacity in age is an excellent composition 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 20
110 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLII.
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 upon absurdly ; care not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences ; use extreme remedies at
30 first ; and that which doubleth all errors, will not acknow ledge 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, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success. Certainly it is good to com pound 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 ;
40 and, lastly, good for externe accidents, because authority followeth 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 admitted 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 intoxicateth : and age doth profit rather in the powers of understanding, than in the virtues of the will and
50 affections. There be some have an over-early ripeness in their years, which fadeth betimes. These are, first, such as have brittle wits, the edge whereof is soon turned ; such as was Hermogenes the rhetorician, whose books are exceeding subtle ; who afterwards waxed stupid. A second sort is of those that have some natural dispositions which have better grace in youth than in age ; such as is a fluent and luxuriant
XLII.] OF YOUTH AND AGE. Ill
speech ; which becomes youth well, but not age : so Tully saith of Hortensius, Idem manebat, neque idem decebat : [He did not change, though change would have been becoming.] The third is of such as take too high a strain at the first, and 60 are magnanimous more than tract of years can uphold. As was Scipio Africanus, of whom Livy saith in effect, Ultima primis cedebant: [The end of his career was not equal to the beginning."]
•7 «7 J
XLIIL 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 beau tiful persons are otherwise of great virtue ; as if nature were rather busy not to err, than in labour to produce excellency. And therefore they prove accomplished, but not of great spirit ; and study rather behaviour than virtue. But this holds not always : for Augustus Csesar, Titus Vespasianus, Philip le Bel of France, Edward the Fourth of England, 10 Alcibiades of Athens, Ismael the Sophy of Persia, were all high and great spirits ; and yet the most beautiful men of their times. In beauty, that of favour is more than that of colour ; and that of decent 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 the 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 20 the best parts out of divers faces, to 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
112 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLIII.
kind of felicity, (as a musician that maketh an excellent air in music,) and not by rule. A man shall see faces, that if you examine them part by part, you shall find never a good ; and yet all together do well. If it be true that the principal part of beauty is in decent motion, certainly it is no marvel 30 though persons in years seem many times more amiable ; pulchrorum autummis pulcher ; [the autumn of the beautiful is beautiful ;] for no youth can be comely but by pardon, and considering the youth as to make up the comeliness. Beauty is as summer 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.
XLIV. OF DEFORMITY.
DEFORMED persons are commonly even with nature ; for as nature hath done ill by 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. Cer tainly 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 altero. 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 10 inclination are sometimes obscured by the sun of discipline and virtue. Therefore it is good to consider of deformity, 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. 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
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observe the weakness of others, that they may have some- 20 what to repay. Again, in their superiors, it quencheth jealousy towards 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, till 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 obnoxious and officious towards one. But yet their trust 30 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 there fore let it not be marvelled if sometimes they prove excellent persons ; as was Agesilaus, Zanger the son of Solyman, ^Esop, Gasca President of Peru ; and Socrates may go like wise amongst them ; with others.
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 ; whereby the heat of the sun is pent in, and the wind 10 gathereth as in troughs ; so as you shall have, and that suddenly, as great diversity of heat and cold as if you dwelt
H
114 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLV.
in several places. Neither is it ill air only that maketh an ill seat, but ill ways, 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 fruitful- ness, 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
20 near the sea, too remote ; 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 he wanteth in the one he may find in the other. Lucullus answered
30 Pompey well ; who, when he saw his stately galleries, and rooms so large and lightsome, in one of his houses, said, Surely an excellent place for summer, but how do you in winter ? Lucullus answered, Why, do you not think me as wise as some fowl are, that ever change their abode towards the ivinter ?
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
40 model thereof. For it is strange to see, now in Europe, such huge buildings as the Vatican and Escurial and some others be, and yet scarce a very fair room in them.
First therefore, I say you cannot have a perfect palace, except you have two several sides ; a side for the banquet, as is spoken of in the book of Hester, and a side for the house hold ; 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,
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though severally partitioned within ; and to be on both sides of a great and stately tower in the midst of the front, that, 50 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 foot 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 hall and a chapel, (with a partition between ;) both of good state and bigness ; and those not to go all 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 60 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 wings ; and a goodly leads upon the top, railed with statuas 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 newel, 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 other- 70 wise you shall have the servants' 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 building than the front. And in all the four corners of that court fair stair-cases, cast into turrets, on the outside, and not within the row of buildings themselves. But those towers are not to be of the height of 80 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
116 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLV.
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 windows of several works. On the household side, chambers of presence 90 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 embowed windows, I hold them of good use ; (in cities, indeed, upright do better, in respect of the uniformity towards the street ;) for they be pretty
100 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 environed with the garden on all sides ; and in the inside, cloistered on all sides, upon decent and beautiful arches, as high as the first story. On the under story, towards the garden, let it be turned to a grotto, or place of shade, or estivation ; and only have
110 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 statuas in the midst of this court ; and to be paved as the other court was. These buildings to be for privy lodgings 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, antecamera, and recamera, joining to it. This upon the second story. Upon the ground
120 story, a fair gallery, open, upon pillars ; and upon the third
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story likewise, an open gallery, upon pillars, to take the prospect and freshness of the garden. At both corners 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 will 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 130 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 wall, 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 offices, let them stand at dis tance, with some low galleries, to pass from them to the palace itself. 140
XLVI. OF GAEDENS.
GOD 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 all the months in the year ; in which severally things of beauty may be then in season. For December, and January, and the latter part of November, ]Q you must take such things as are green all winter : holly ; ivy ; bays ; juniper ; cypress-trees ; yew ; pine-apple-trees ;
118 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLVI.
fir-trees ; rosemary ; lavender ; periwinkle, the white, the purple, and the blue ; germander ; flag ; orange-trees ; lemon- trees ; and myrtles, if they be stoved ; and sweet marjoram, warm set. There followeth, for the latter part of January and February, the mezereon-tree, which then blossoms ; crocus vernus, both the yellow and the grey ; primroses ; anemones ; the early tulippa ; hyacinthus orientalis ; cha-
20 ma'iris ; fritellaria. For March, there come violets, specially the single blue, which are the earliest ; the yellow daffodil ; the daisy ; the almond-tree in blossom ; the peach-tree 'in blossom ; the cornelian-tree in blossom ; sweet-briar. In April follow, the double white violet; the wall-flower; the stock-gilliflower ; the 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
30 and June come pinks of all sorts, especially the blush-pink ; roses of all kinds, except the musk, which comes later ; honeysuckles ; strawberries ; bugloss ; columbine ; the French marigold ; flos Africanus ; cherry-tree in fruit ; ribes ; figs in fruit ; rasps ; vine-flowers ; lavender in flowers ; the sweet satyrian, with the white flower ; herba muscaria ; lilium con- vallium ; the apple-tree in blossom. In July come gilli- flowers 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 ;
40 berberries ; filberds ; musk-melons ; monks-hoods of all colours. In September come grapes ; apples ; poppies of all colours ; peaches ; melocotones ; nectarines ; cornelians ; wardens ; quinces. In October and the beginning of November come services ; medlars ; bullaces ; roses cut or removed to come late ; holy-oaks ; and such like. These particulars are for the climate of London ; but my meaning is perceived, that you may have ver perpetrmm, [a perpetual spring,] as the place affords.
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And because the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air (where it comes and goes like the warbling of music) than in 50 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 morn ing's dew. Bays likewise yield no smell as they grow. Rose mary 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 Bartholomew-tide. 60 Next to that is the musk-rose. Then the strawberry-leaves dying, with a most excellent cordial smell. Then the flower of the vines ; it is a little dust, 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, especially the matted pink and clove gilliflower. Then the flowers of the lime-tree. Then the honeysuckles, so they be somewhat afar off. Of bean-flowers I speak not, because they are field flowers. But those which 70 perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but being trodden upon and crushed, are three ; that is, burnet, wild-thyme, 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 contents 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 ; 80 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 one, because nothing is
120 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLVI.
more pleasant to the eye than green grass kept finely shorn ; the other, because 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 90 the shade in the garden by going in the sun thorough the green, therefore you are, of either side the green, to plant a covert alley, upon carpenters' work, about twelve foot in height, by which you may go in the 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 pillars of car-
100 penters' work, of some ten foot high, and six foot broad ; and the spaces between of the same dimensions with the breadth of the arch. Over the arches let there be an entire hedge of some four foot high, framed also upon carpenters' 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 gilt, for the sun to play upon. But this hedge I intend to be raised upon a bank, not steep, but gently slope, of some six foot, set all with flowers. Also
110 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 alleys 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
120 leave it to variety of device ; advising nevertheless that
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whatsoever form you cast it into, first, it be not too busy, or full of work. Wherein I, for my part, do not like images cut out in juniper or other garden stuff ; they be for children. Little low hedges, round, like welts, with some pretty pyra mids, I like well ; and in some places, fair columns upon frames of carpenters' 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 130 perfect circles, without any bulwarks or embossments ; and the whole mount to be thirty foot high ; and some fine ban- queting-house, with some chimneys neatly cast, and without too much glass.
For fountains, they are a great beauty and refreshment ; but pools mar all, and make the garden unwholesome, and full of flies and frogs. Fountains I intend to be of two natures : the one that sprinkleth or spouteth water ; the other a fair receipt of water, of some thirty or forty foot square, but without fish, or slime, or mud. For the first, the 140 ornaments of images gilt, or of 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 discoloured, 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 up to it, and some fine 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 ourselves : as, that the bottom be finely paved, 150 and with images ; the sides likewise ; and withal embellished with coloured glass, and such things of lustre ; encompassed also with fine rails of low statuas. 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 than the pool, and delivered into it by fair
122 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLVI.
spouts, and then discharged away under ground, by some equality of bores, that it stay little. And for fine devices, of arching water without spilling, and making it rise in several
160 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 honeysuckle, 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
170 also little heaps, in the nature of mole-hills (such as are in wild heaths), to be set, some with wild thyme ; some with pinks ; some with germander, that gives a good flower to the eye ; some with periwinkle ; some with violets ; some with strawberries ; some with cowslips ; some with daisies ; some with red roses ; some with lilium convallium ; 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 ; juniper ;
180 holly ; berberries ; (but here and there, because of the smell of their blossom ;) red currants ; gooseberries ; rosemary ; 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 wind ; and these closer alleys must be
190 ever finely gravelled, and no grass, because of going wet. In many of these alleys likewise, you are to set fruit-trees of all sorts ; as well upon the walls as in ranges. And this would
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be generally 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 200 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 you 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 evening, or over-cast days.
For aviaries, I like them not, except they be of that large- 210 ness 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 on the floor of the aviary. So I 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 great princes, that for the most part taking advice with workmen, with no less cost set their things together ; and sometimes add statuas, and such things, for state and magnificence, but nothing to the true 220 pleasure of a garden.
XLYII. 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
124 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLVII.
again ; or when it may serve for a man's justification after wards 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 commonly with inferiors ; or in tender cases, where a man's eye upon the countenance of him with whom he speaketh may give him a
10 direction how far to go ; and generally, where a man will re serve 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 faithfully the success, than those that are cunning to contrive out of other men's business somewhat to grace themselves, and will help the matter in report for satisfaction sake. Use also such persons as affect the busi ness wherein they are employed ; for that quickeneth much ; and such as are fit for the matter ; as bold men for expostu-
20 lation, fair-spoken men for persuasion, crafty men for inquiry and observation, 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
30 with another upon conditions, 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 un awares, and of necessity, when they would have somewhat done and cannot find an apt pretext. If you would work any man, you must either know his nature and fashions, and
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so lead him ; or his ends, and so persuade him ; or his weak- 40 ness 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 difficulty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once ; but must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees.
XLVIII. OF FOLLOWEKS AND FEIENDS.
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 conceived against some other ; whereupon commonly ensueth that ill intelligence that we 10 many times see between great personages. Likewise glorious followers, who make themselves as trumpets of the com mendation of those they follow, are full of inconvenience ; 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 likewise 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 officious, and commonly exchange tales. The following by certain estates of men, 20 answerable to that which a great person himself professeth, (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
126 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLVIII.
popularity. But the most honourable kind of following is to be followed as one that apprehendeth to advance virtue and desert in all sorts of persons. And yet, where there is no eminent odds in sufficiency, it is better to take with the more passable, than with the more able. And besides, to
30 speak truth, in base times active men are of more use than virtuous. 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 difference 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 discretion not to make too much of any man at the first ; because one cannot hold out that proportion. To be governed (as we
40 call it) by one, is not safe ; for it shows softness, and gives a freedom to scandal 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 distracted with many is worse ; for it makes men to be of the last im pression, 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 friendship in the world, and least of all between
50 equals, which was wont to be magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose fortunes may compre hend the one the other.
XLIX. OF SUITORS.
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
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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, 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 10 they could not otherwise have apt pretext ; without care what become of the suit when that turn is served ; or, generally, to make other men's business a kind of enter tainment to bring in their own. Nay some undertake 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 affection lead a man to favour the wrong side in justice, let him rather use his countenance to compound the 20 matter than to carry it. If 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 30 deserved, is grown not only honourable but also gracious. In suits of favour, the first coming ought to take little place : so far forth consideration 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 sort recompensed for his discovery. To be ignorant of the value of a suit is simplicity ; as well 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 dis- 40
128 BACON'S ESSAYS. [XLIX.
courage 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, 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 show himself neither dejected nor discontented. Iniquum petas ut
50 cequum feras, [ask more than is reasonable, that you may get as much as is reasonable,] is a good rule, where a man hath strength of favour : but otherwise 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 reputation. There are no worse instruments than these general contrivers of suits ; for they are but a kind of poison and infection to
60 public proceedings.
L. OF STUDIES.
STUDIES serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring ; for ornament, is in discourse ; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps 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 10 rules, is the humour of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience : for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need proyning by study ; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except
L.] OF STUDIES. 129
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 contradict and confute ; nor to believe and take for granted ; nor to find talk and discourse ; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swal- 20 lowed, 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 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 man ; conference a ready man ; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great 30 memory ; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit : and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise ; poets witty ; the mathematics subtile ; natural philosophy deep ; moral grave ; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt stiidia in mores: [Studies pass into the character.] Nay there is no stond or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies : 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 40 for the stomach ; riding for the head ; and the like. So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics ; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, 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.
130 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LI.
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 contrariwise, the chiefest wisdom is either in ordering those things which are general, and wherein men of several factions do nevertheless agree ; or in dealing with correspondence to particular persons, one by one. But I say not that the consideration of factions is to be neglected. Mean men, in their rising, must adhere ; but great men,
10 that have strength in themselves, were better to maintain themselves indifferent 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, commonly giveth best way. The lower and weaker faction is the firmer in con junction ; 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 optimates) held out awhile
20 against the faction of Pompey and Csesar ; but when the senate's authority was pulled down, Csesar and Pompey soon after brake. The faction or party of Antonius and Octavianus Csesar against Brutus and Cassius, held out likewise for a time ; but when Brutus and Cassius were overthrown then soon after Antonius and Octavianus brake and subdivided. These examples are of wars, but the same holdeth in private factions. And therefore those that are seconds in factions do many times, when the faction subdivideth, prove prin cipals ; but many times also they prove cyphers and cashiered ;
30 for many a man's strength is in opposition ; and when that faileth 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
LT.] OF FACTION. 131
faction lightly goeth away with it ; for when matters 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 trueness to a man's self, with end to make use of both. Certainly in Italy they hold it a little suspect in 40 popes, when they have often in their mouth Padre commune : and take it to be a sign of one that meaiieth 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 per nicious to monarchies : for they raise an obligation paramount to obligation of sovereignty, and make the king tanquam unus ex nobis [as one of u-s], as was to be seen in the League of France. When factions are carried too high and too violently, it is a sign of weakness in princes ; and much to the prejudice 50 both of their authority and business. The motions of factions 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 AND RESPECTS.
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 foil. But if a man mark it well, it is in praise and com mendation of men as it is in gettings and gains : for the proverb is true, That light gains make heavy purses ; for light gains come thick, whereas great come but now and then. So it is true that small matters win great commendation, because they are continually in use and in note : whereas the occasion of any great virtue cometh but on festivals. Therefore it cloth much add to a man's reputation, and is (as Queen Isabella 10 said) like perpetual letters commendatory, to have good forms. To attain them it almost sufficeth not to despise
132 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LIT.
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 matters, that breaketh his mind too much to small observations ? Not to use ceremonies at all, is to
20 teach others not to use them again ; and so diminisheth respect to himself ; especially they be not to be omitted to strangers and formal natures ; but the dwelling upon them, and exalt ing 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 im printing 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 therefore it is good a little to keep state. Amongst a man's inferiors one shall be sure
30 of reverence ; and therefore it is good a little to be familiar. He that is too much in any thing, so that he giveth another occasion of satiety, maketh himself cheap. To apply one's self to others is good ; so it be with demonstration that a man doth it upon regard, and not upon facility. It is a good precept generally in seconding another, yet to add somewhat of one's own : as if you will grant his opinion, let it be with some distinction ; if you will follow his motion, let it be with condition ; if you allow his counsel, let it be with alleging further reason. Men had need beware how they be too per-
40 feet in compliments ; for be they never so sufficient otherwise, their enviers will be sure to give them that attribute, to the disadvantage of their greater virtues. It is loss also in business to be too full of respects, or to be curious in observing times and opportunities. Salomon saith, He that considereth the wind shall not soiv, and he that looketh 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.
LIII.] OF PRAISE. 133
LIII. OF PRAISE.
PRAISE is the 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 under stand not many excellent virtues. The lowest virtues draw praise from them ; the middle virtues work in them astonish ment or admiration ; but of the highest virtues they have no sense of perceiving at all. But shows, and species virtutibus similes, serve best with them. Certainly fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swoln, and drowns things 10 weighty and solid. But if persons of quality and judgment concur, then it is (as the Scripture saith), Nomcn bonum instar unguenti fragrantis ; [A good name like a fragrant ointment.'] 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 common attributes, which may serve every man ; if he be a cunning flatterer, he will follow the arch-flatterer, 20 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 impudent flatterer, look wherein a man is conscious to himself that he is most defective, and is most out of coun tenance in himself, that will the flatterer entitle him to per force, spretd conscientid : \_in contempt of conscience.^ Some praises come of good wishes and respects, which is a form due in civility to kings and great persons, laudando prceci- pere, \to teach by praising ;~\ when by telling men what they are, they represent to them what they should be. Some men 30 are praised maliciously to their hurt, thereby to stir envy and jealousy towards them ; pessimum genus inimicorum laudantium ; [The worst kind of enemies are those who praise.'}
134 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LIU.
Insomuch as it was a proverb amongst the Grecians, that he that was praised to his hurt, should have a push rise upon his nose ; as we say, that a blister will rise upon one's tongue that tells a lie. Certainly moderate praise, used with opportunity, and not vulgar, is that which doth the good. Salomon saith, He that praiseth his friend aloud, rising early, it shall be to him
40 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 man's office or profession, he may do it with good grace, and with a kind of magnanimity. The cardinals of Eome, 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, sbir- rerie, which is under-sheriffries ; as if they were but matters
50 for under-sheriffs and catch-poles : though many times those under-sheriffries do more good than their high speculations. St. Paul, when he boasts of himself, he doth oft interlace, 7 speak like a fool ; but speaking of his calling, he saith, Mag- nificabo apostolatum meum : [7 will magnify my office.']
LIV. OF VAIN-GLORY.
IT was prettily devised of ^Esop ; 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 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 glorious must weeds 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 10 de bruit, peu de fruit ; much bruit, little fruit. Yet certainly there is use of this quality in civil affairs. Where there is
LIV.] OF VAIN-GLORY. 135
an opinion and fame to be created either of virtue or great ness, these men are good trumpeters. Again, as Titus Livius noteth in the case of Antiochus arid the ^Etolians, There are sometimes great effects of cross lies ; as if a man that nego- ciates between two princes, to draw them to join in a war against a third, doth extol the forces of either of them above measure, the one to the other : 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 20 these and the like kinds, it often falls out that somewhat is produced of nothing ; for lies are sufficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings on substance. In military 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 adventure, 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 night will be slow without some feathers of ostentation. Qui de 30 contemnenda gloria libros scribunt, nomen mum, inscribunt. [ Those who write books about despising glory, put their name upon the book.] Socrates, Aristotle, Galen, were men full of ostentation. Certainly vain-glory helpeth to perpetuate a man's memory ; and virtue was never so beholden 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 themselves ; like unto varnish, that makes seelings not only shine but last. But all this while, when I speak of 40 vain-glory, I mean not of that property that Tacitus doth attribute to Mucianus ; Omnium, quce dixerat feceratque, arte quadam ostentator : [In all that he said and did he had the art of displaying himself to advantage .•] for that proceeds not of vanity, but of natural magnanimity and discretion ; and in some persons is not only comely, but gracious. For excusa- tions, cessions, modesty itself well governed, are but arts of
136 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LIV.
ostentation. And amongst those arts there is none better than that which Plinius Secundus speaketh of, which is to be 50 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 be to be commended, you much more ; if he be superior, if he be not to be commended, you much less. Glorious men are the scorn of wise men, the admiration of fools, the idols of parasites, and the slaves of their own vaunts.
LV. OF HONOUE AND EEPUTATION.
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 show of it ; so as they be undervalued in opinion. If a man perform that which hath not been attempted before ; or attempted and given over ; or hath been achieved, but not with so good circumstance ; he shall purchase more honour than by
10 effecting a matter of greater difficulty or virtue, wherein he is but a follower. If a man so temper his actions, as in some one of them he doth content every faction or combination of people, the music will be the fuller. A man is an ill husband of his honour, that entereth into any action, the failing where in 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 diamonds cut with facets. And therefore let a man contend to excel any com petitors of his in honour, in outshooting them, if he can, in
20 their own bow. Discreet followers and servants help much to reputation. Omnis fama a domesticis emanat : [all fame
LV.] OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 137
emanates from those of our household.'} 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 successes 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 the first place are conditores imperiorum, founders of states and commonwealths ; such as were Romulus, Cyrus, Csesar, Ottoman, Ismael. In the second place are legislators, law- 30 givers ; which are also called second founders, or perpetid principes, because they govern by their ordinances after they are gone ; such were Lycurgns, Solon, Justinian, Eadgar, Alphonsus of Castile, the Wise, that made the Siete partidas. In the third place are liberatores, or salvatores, [liberators or saviours,] such as compound the long miseries of civil wars, or deliver their countries from servitude of strangers or tyrants ; as Augustus Caesar, Vespasianus, Aurelianus, Theodoricus, King Henry the Seventh of England, King Henry the Fourth of France. In the fourth place are 40 propagatores or propugnatores imperil ; [extenders or defenders of empire ;] such as in honourable wars enlarge their terri tories, or make noble defence against invaders. And in the last place are patres patrice, [fathers of their country ;] 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 participcs curarum, [partners of their cares,] those upon whom princes do discharge the greatest weight of their affairs ; their right hands as we call them. The next are duces belli, great leaders ; 50 such as are princes' lieutenants, and do them notable services in the wars. The third are gratiosi, favourites ; such as exceed not this scantling, to be solace to the sovereign, and harmless to the people. And the fourth, negotiis pares; [men capable of affairs;] such as have great places under princes, and execute their places with sufficiency. There is an honour, likewise, which may be ranked amongst the
138 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LV.
greatest, which happeneth rarely ; that is, of such as sacrifice themselves to death or danger for the good of 60 their country ; as was M. Begulus, and the two Decii.
LVI. OF JUDICATURE.
JUDGES ought to remember that their office is jus dicere, and not jus dare,; to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law. Else will it be like the authority claimed by the church of Rome, which under pretext of exposition of Scripture doth not stick to add and alter ; and to pronounce that which they do not find ; and by show of antiquity to intro duce novelty. Judges ought to be more learned than witty, more reverend than plausible, and more advised than confi dent. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper
10 virtue. Cursed (saith the law) is he that removeth the land mark. The mislayer of a mere-stone is to blame. But it is the unjust judge that is the capital remover of landmarks, when he defineth 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, Fons turbatus, et vena corrupta, est Justus cadens in causa sud coram adversaria: [A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain or a corrupt spring.] The office of judges may have reference
20 unto the parties that sue, unto the advocates that plead, unto the clerks and ministers of justice underneath them, and to the sovereign or state above them.
First, for the causes or parties that sue. There be (saith the Scripture) that turn judgment into wormwood; 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, which ought
LVI.] OF JUDICATURE. 139
to be spewed out, as the surfeit of courts. A judge ought to 30 prepare his way to a just sentence, as God useth to prepare his way, by raising valleys and taking down hills : so when there appeareth on either side an high hand, violent prosecu tion, 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. Qui fortiter emungit, elicit sanguinem ; [To blow the nose violently makes it bleed;] 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 40 strained inferences ; for there is no worse torture 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 : [tie shall rain snares upon them.] 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 afficium est, ut res, ita 50 tempora rerum, etc. : [It is the business of the judge to consider the time as well as the matter.] In causes of life and death 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 gravity of hearing is an essential 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 60 of conceit in cutting off evidence or counsel too short ; or to prevent information by questions, though pertinent. 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
HO BACON'S ESSAYS. [LVI.
that which hath been said ; and to give the rme or sentence. Whatsoever is above these is too much ; and proceedeth either of glory and willingness to speak, or of impatience to hear, or of shortness of memory, or of want of a staid and
70 equal attention. It is a strange thing to see that the bold ness of advocates should prevail with judges ; whereas they should imitate God, in whose seat they sit ; who repressetJt the presumptuous, and giveth grace to the modest. But it is more strange, that judges should have noted favourites ; which cannot but cause multiplication of fees, and suspicion of bye-ways. There is due from the judge to the advocate some commendation and gracing, where causes are well handled and fair pleaded ; especially towards the side which obtaineth not ; for that upholds in the client the reputation of his coun-
80 sel, and beats down in him the conceit of his cause. There is likewise due to the public a civil reprehension of advocates, where there appeareth cunning counsel, gross neglect, 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 ministers. The
90 place of justice is an hallowed place ; and therefore not only the bench, but the foot-pace and precincts and purprise there of, ought to be preserved without scandal and corruption. For certainly Grapes (as the Scripture saith) will not be 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 100 in quarrels of jurisdiction, and are not truly amid ounce [friends of the court], but parasiti curice [parasites of the court],
LVI.] OF JUDICATURE. HI
in puffing a court up beyond her bounds, for their own scraps and advantage. The third sort is of those that may be ac counted 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 labyrinths. And the fourth is the poller and exacter of fees ; which justifies the common resemblance of the courts of justice to the bush whereunto while the sheep flies for defence in weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. 110 On the other side, an ancient clerk, skilful in precedents, wary in proceeding, and understanding in the business of the court, is au excellent finger of a court ; and doth many times point the way to the judge himself.
Fourthly, for that which may concern the sovereign and estate. Judges ought above all to remember the conclusion of the Eoman twelve tables, Sahis populi suprema lex ; [the safety of the people is the highest law ;] 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 120 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 in- tervenient 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 judgment 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 sovereignty, but whatsoever introduceth any great alter ation or dangerous precedent ; or concerneth manifestly any 130 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 suppor ted by lions on both sides : let them be lions, but yet lions under the throne ; being circumspect that they do not check or oppose any points of sovereignty. Let not judges also be
142 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LVI.
so ignorant of their own right, as to think there is not left to them, as a principal part of their office, a wise use and appli- 140 cation of laws. For they may remember what the Apostle saith of a greater law than theirs ; JVos scimus quia lex bona est, modo quis ed utatur legitime : [we know that the law is good, provided that a man use it laiofuUy.~\
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.
10 For the first ; there is no other way but to meditate 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 patience. Who soever is out of patience, is out of possession of his soul. Men must not turn bees ;
animasque in vulnere ponunt.
[Put their lives in the wounds they inflict.] Anger is certainly
20 a kind of baseness ; as it appears 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
LVII.] OF ANGER. H3
is angry that feels not himself hurt ; and therefore tender and delicate persons must needs be oft angry ; they have so many things to trouble them, which more robust natures 30 have little sense of. The next is, the apprehension and con struction of the injury offered to be, in the circumstances thereof, full of contempt : for contempt is that which putteth an edge upon anger, as much or more than the hurt itself. And therefore when men are ingenious in picking out cir cumstances 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 Gonsalvo was wont to say, telam honoris crassiorem, [honour of a stouter web.] But in all 40 retrainings 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 {common insults] are nothing so much ; and again, that in anger a man reveal no secrets ; for that makes him not fit 50 for society. The other, that you do not peremptorily break off, in any business, in a fit of anger ; but howsoever you show bitterness, do not act anything that is not revocable.
For raising and appeasing anger in another ; it is done chiefly by 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 business ; for the first impression is much ; and the 60 other is, to sever, as much as may be, the construction of the injury from the point of contempt ; imputing it to misunder standing, fear, passion, or what you will.
X44 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LVIII.
LVIII. OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS.
SALOMON saith, There is no new thing upon the earth. So that as Plato had an imagination, That all knowledge was but remembrance; so Salomon giveth his sentence, That all novelty is but oblivion. Whereby you may see that the river of Lethe runneth 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
10 motion perpetually keepeth time), no individual ivould 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 par ticular, and left people alive. As for the great burnings by lightnings, which are often in the "West Indies, they are but narrow. But in the other two destructions, by deluge and
20 earthquake, it is further to be noted, that the remnant of people which hap to be reserved, 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 likely that the destruction that hath heretofore been there, was not by earthquakes (as the ^Egyptian priest told Solon concerning the island of Atlantis, that it was swallowed by an
30 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 Afric and Europe are but brooks to them. Their
LVIII.] OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. H5
Andes likewise, or mountains, are far higher than those with ua ; whereby it seems that the remnants of generations of men were in such a particular deluge saved. As for the observation that Machiavel hath, that the jealousy of sects doth much extinguish the memory of things ; traducing Gregory the Great, that he did what in him lay to extinguish all heathen antiquities ; I do not find that those zeals do any 40 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 renewing 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 ques tion, have likewise power and effect over the gross and mass 50 of things ; but they are rather gazed upon, and waited upon in their journey, than wisely observed in their effects ; especially 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 and suit of 60 years and weathers comes again ; as great frosts, great wet, great droughts, warm winters, summers with little heat, and the like ; and they call it the prime. It is a thing I do the rather mention, because, computing backwards, I have found some concurrence.
But to leave these points of nature, and to come to men. The greatest vicissitude of things amongst men, is the vicis situde of sects and religions. For those orbs rule in men's minds most. The true religion is built upon the rock ; the
K
146 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LVIII.
70 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.
When the religion formerly received is rent by discords ; and when the holiness of the professors of religion is decayed arid 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
80 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 established ; 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 plantations of new
90 sects. By the power of signs and miracles ; by the eloquence and wisdom of speech and persuasion ; and by the sword. For martyrdoms, I reckon them amongst miracles ; because 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 differences ; to proceed mildly, and not with sanguinary per secutions ; and rather to take off the principal authors by winning and advancing them, than to enrage them by violence 100 and bitterness.
The changes and vicissitudes in wars are many ; 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
LVIII.] OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 147
invaders,) were all eastern people. It is true, the Gauls were western ; but we read but of two incursions of theirs ; the one to Gallo-Grsecia, 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 110 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 courages 120 warmest.
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 Roman empire ; and likewise in the empire of Almaigne, after Charles the Great, every bird taking a feather ; and were not unlike to befall to Spain, if it should break. The 130 great accessions and unions of kingdoms do likewise stir up wars : for when a state grows to an over-power, it is like a great flood, that will be sure to overflow. As it hath been seen in the states of Rome, 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 every where at this day, except Tartary,) there is no danger of inundations of people: but when there be great shoals of people, which go on to populate, without foreseeing means of life and sustentation, it is of 140 necessity that once in an age or two they discharge a portion
148 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LVTII.
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 for tunes. When a warlike 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 encourageth a war.
As for the weapons, it hardly falleth under rule and obser- 150 vation : yet we see even they have returns 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 conditions of weapons, and their improvements, are, first, the fetching afar off; for that out runs the danger; as it is seen in ordnance and muskets. Secondly, the strength of the percussion; wherein likewise ordnance do exceed all arietations and ancient inventions. 160 The third is, the commodious use of them; as that they may serve in all weathers; that the carriage may be light and manageable ; 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 170 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 merchandize. Learning 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, when it
LVIII.] OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 149
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. 180 As for the philology of them, that is but a circle of tales, and therefore not fit for this writing.
LIX. A FEAGMENT OF AN ESSAY ON FAME.
THE poets make Fame a monster. They describe her in part finely and elegantly ; and in part gravely and sententiously. They say, look how many feathers she hath, so many eyes she hath underneath ; so many tongues ; so many voices ; she pricks up so many ears.
This is a flourish. There follow excellent parables ; as that she gathereth strength in going : that she goeth upon the ground, and yet hideth her head in the clouds : that in the day-time she sitteth in a watch-tower, and flieth most by night : that she mingleth things done with things not done : 10 and that she is a terror to great cities. But that which passeth all the rest is ; they do recount that the earth, mother of the Giants that made war against Jupiter and were by him destroyed, thereupon in an anger brought forth Fame ; for certain it is that rebels, figured by the giants, and seditious fames and libels, are but brothers and sisters ; masculine and feminine. But now, if a man can tame this monster, and bring her to feed at the hand, and govern her, and with her fly other ravening fowl and kill them, it is somewhat worth. But we are infected with the style of the poets. To speak 20 now in a sad and serious manner. There is not in all the politics a place less handled, and more worthy to be handled, than this of fame. We will therefore speak of these points. What are false fames ; and what are true fames ; and how they may be best discerned ; how fames may be sown and raised ; how they may be spread and multiplied ; and how they may be checked and laid dead. And other things con-
150 BACON'S ESSAYS. [LIX.
cerning the nature of fame. Fame is of that force, as there is scarcely any great action wherein it hath not a great part ;
30 especially in the war. Mucianus undid Vitellius, by a fame that he scattered, that Vitellius had in purpose to remove the legions of Syria into Germany, and the legions of Ger many into Syria ; whereupon the legions of Syria were infinitely inflamed. Julius Caesar took Pompey unprovided, and laid asleep his industry and preparations, by a fame that he cunningly gave out, how Caesar's own soldiers loved him not ; and being wearied with wars, and laden with the spoils of Gaul, would forsake him as soon as he came into Italy. Livia settled all things for the succession of her son Tiberius,
40 by continual giving out that her husband Augustus was upon recovery and amendment. And it is an usual thing with the bashaws, to conceal the death of the great Turk from the Janizaries and men of war, to save the sacking of Constantinople and other towns, as their manner is. Themistocles made Xerxes King of Persia post apace out of Grsecia, by giving out that the Grecians had a purpose to break his bridge of ships which he had made athwart Hellespont. There be a thousand such like examples, and the more they are, the less they need to be repeated ; because
50 a man meeteth with them every where. Therefore let all wise governors have as great a watch and care over fames, as they have of the actions and designs themselves.
The rest was not finished.
NOTES.
ESSAY I. OF TRUTH.
1. Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, before whom Christ was tried and condemned to death. He is introduced simply as a type of the sceptical. In the first paragraph of this Essay Truth is opposed to error, not, as in the second paragraph, to lying. In the Adv., bk. i. 1. 3, Bacon says that truth is attain able. Here he says that men do not care to know it. He implies — as he does also in the Adv., bk. ii. 13. 4 — that men prefer the freedom of scepticism to the monotony of a fixed belief, and that they deliberately reject the truth in favour of opinions which satisfy their vanity, their caprices, or their imagination.
2. there be that, there are some who. Be is frequently used for are. Abbott (Sh. Gr. § 300) notes the use of it to refer to a number of persons considered as a kind or class.
giddiness, constant change of opinion, count, consider.
3. affecting, aiming at, desiring. It is used like the Latin affectare. We use it to mean ' to assume ' or ' pretend to. ' Similarly ' affectation ' means ' pretence ' : as in Essay xxxviii. 41. In the Adv. , bk. ii. 20. 9, he refers to Herillus, who " placed felicity in extinguishment of the disputes of the mind, making no fixed nature of good and evil, esteeming things according to the clearness of the desires, or the reluctation ; which opinion was revived in the heresy of the Anabaptists, measuring things according to the motions of the spirit, and the constancy or wavering of belief. "
4. sects, alluding to the various sceptical schools of philosophy in Greece.
6. discoursing, unsteady. In the Adv. , bk. ii. 7. 7, he uses the word discoursing in the sense of ' continually shifting, ' the metaphor being taken from treacherous ground, wits, minds.
which are of the same veins, etc., i.e. they preach scepticism like the ancient philosophers, but they cannot support their scepticism by such good arguments. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 13. 4. The word ' vein ' signifies ' disposition ' or ' inclination. ' "
152 NOTES. [i.
10. imposetli upon, restrains. The Latin word imponere means to lay (a yoke) upon.
in, We should say ' into.'
12. One of the later, etc. He probably refers to the Philo- pseudes of Lucian (\V.). He was a satirist and humourist born at Samosata on the Euphrates about 125 A. n.
13. is at a stand, etc. , cannot understand why it is that.
14. they make for pleasure, see the account of Poetry given in Adv., bk. ii. 4.
make for, conduce to.
16. I cannot tell, I know not how it is.
this same truth, etc. Truth dispels pleasing illusions, as daylight reveals the tinsel of the stage.
17. masks, etc. See Essay xxxvii.
18. stately, used as an adverb.
19. Truth may perhaps, etc. Truth, which is unchanging, wants the charm of variety.
25. as one would, arbitrary. 27. unpleasing, unpleasant.
29. the wine of devils, cf. Adv., bk. ii. 22. 13. Ellis says that the expression is made up of the saying of Augustine, that poetry is the wine, of error, and the saying of Hieronymus, that it is the food of demons. By the Fathers he means those priests of the early Church whose writings have been accepted as authori tative on matters of doctrine.
35. which only doth judge itself, only those who have sought, found, and enjoyed the truth, know what its value is.
37. knowledge, In the Latin translation this word is rendered " the receiving and assenting to what is true " ; while ' belief ' is rendered " the enjoyment and embracing of the truth."
39. creature, often used by Bacon in the sense of 'a created thing. '
41. his sabbath work, his occupation during the leisure (Sabbath) which he has enjoyed since the work of creation was finished. Cf. Bacon's Confession of Faith, " I believe that as at the first the soul of man was not produced of heaven or earth, but was breathed immediately from God : so that the ways and proceedings of God with spirits are not included in nature ; that is, in the laws of heaven or earth ; but are reserved to the law of his secret will and grace : so that God worketh still, and resteth not from the work of redemption as he doth from the work of creation : but continueth working to the end of the world ; at
i.] OF TRUTH. 153
wha time that work also shall be accomplished, and an eternal Sabbath shall ensue. " See Essay xi. 38.
42. the illumination of Ms spirit, i.e. the illumination of men's minds by means of his spirit. Similarly in Adv., bk. ii. 1. 13, he calls God " the Father of illuminations or lights." Similarly, in a prayer which he has left, he says, "Thou, O Father, who gavest the visible light as the first-born of thy creatures, and didst pour into man the intellectual light as the top and con summation of thy workmanship, be pleased to protect and govern this work, which coming from thy goodness, returneth to thy glory " : and again, " Illuminate the eyes of our mind and under standing with the bright beams of thy Holy Spirit." So Milton, in his invocation to the Holy Spirit, says, " What in me is dark, Illumine": and again, "So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers Irradiate." Par. Lost, bk. i. 22, and bk. iii. 51.
43. the matter, we should omit the article. Cf. Essay Iviii. 11.
45. the poet, Lucretius, born about B.C. 95. He wrote a poem " on the nature of things," explaining and defending the atomistic philosophy.
beautified, was an ornament to.
46. the sect, viz. , the Epicureans.
otherwise, etc., in all respects but their zeal for truth. Bacon condemns the atheism of the Epicureans, cp. Essay xvi. and Adv., bk. ii. 6. 1 ; and also their doctrine that pleasure is the highest good, Adv., bk. ii. 20. 9. He praises the method of the Atomists, Adv., bk. ii. 7. 7- Epicurus, who was an atomist in physics, and a Hedonist in ethics, was born B.C. 342.
51. not to be commanded, which has an advantage over every other.
53. so that, provided that.
56. move in charity, as the stars do in their spheres. See note on Essay xv. 58. Charity should be our sole motive : the element in which we live should be habitual acquiescence in the divine will : all our reasonings should rest upon truths. Dante ends his poem by saying that supreme blessedness consists in the total surrender of our will to God's will. " But already my will and desires were being turned, like a wheel in even motion, by the Love, which moves the sun and stars in heaven." For the metaphor of the poles of truth, cf. Adv., bk. ii. 14. 2, "The nature of man doth extremely covet to have somewhat in his understanding fixed and immovable, and as a rest and support of the mind. And therefore, as Aristotle endeavoureth to prove, that in all motion there is some point quiescent ; and as he
154 NOTES. [i.
elegantly expoundeth the ancient fable of Atlas (that stood fixed, and bare up the heaven from falling) to be meant of the poles or axle-tree of heaven, whereupon the conversion is accomplished ; so assuredly men have a desire to have an Atlas or axle-tree within to keep them from fluctuation, which is like to a perpetual peril of falling. Therefore men did hasten to set down some principles about which the variety of their disputations might turn."
60. clear and round, honest and straightforward. Cf. ' clear ness of dealing,' Essay vi. 30. For round, cf. Essay vi. 97.
63. embaseth, deteriorates.
64. the serpent, Satan tempted Eve in the form of a serpent, so the serpent is taken as the type of deceit. Bacon is referring to the words of the curse pronounced upon the serpent by God after the temptation, " 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," Gen. iii. 14.
67. Montaigne, Essays, bk. ii. 18. He was a French writer in the sixteenth century.
76. when Christ cometh, namely, for the final judgment of mankind. See Luke xviii. 8, where however faith means, not good faith, but belief in God. Cf. Essay xx. 85.
ESSAY II. OF DEATH.
3. The wages of sin, a Scriptural expression. Death was imposed as a penalty upon mankind for the sin of Adam and Eve.
7. You shall read, you will find. Abbott points out that shall properly connoted obligation or compulsion. "You shall see," he says, " was especially common in the meaning ' you will ' applied to what is of common occurrence, or so evident that it cannot but be seen." Sh. Gr. § 315.
13. quickest of sense, most sensitive.
14. only as a philosopher, etc., i.e., uninformed by the light of revelation.
16. The accompaniments of death, etc., probably suggested by a passage in Seneca's Epistles. (W.) Seneca was a Roman philosopher and dramatist of the first century A.D.
18. blacks, mourning.
19. shew, make it appear.
20. mates, overpowers.
ii.] OF DEATH. 155
23. of him, from death.
25. pre-occupateth, anticipates, viz. by suicide.
Otho, see Tacitus, Hist., ii. 49. The Roman Emperor Otho committed suicide after his defeat by the army of Vitellius at Bedriacum, A.D. 69.
29. Seneca, cf. Adv., bk. ii. 21. 1.
niceness, fastidiousness.
32. upon a weariness to do, because tired of doing. 34. in good spirits, in noble and strong minds.
36. Augustus Csesar, etc. This story, and the one given below about Vespasian, are quoted from Suetonius. He lived A.D. 75- 160, and wrote biographies of the Caesars. He does not give a chronological account of events, but divides each biography into sections, one dealing with the Emperor's virtues and vices, another with his mode of life, another with his personal pecu liarities, etc. Cf. " When I read in Tacitus the actions of Nero and Claudius, with circumstances of time, inducements, and occasions, I find them not so strange ; but when I read them in Suetonius Tranquillus, gathered into titles and bundles and not in order of time, they seem more monstrous and incredible." Adv., bk. ii. 8. 5.
38. Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Roman Emperor. Tacitus was a Roman historian, born about the year 54 A.D.
41. Vespasian, Roman Emperor, A.D. 69-79.
43. Galba, Roman Emperor, A.D. 68-9. He was killed by in surgent troops in the capital. Tacitus, Hist., i. 41.
44. strike, addressed by Galba to his murderers.
45. Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor, A.D. 193-211.
48. the Stoics, see note on Essay v. 2. The name is derived from the stoa, or porch, in which Zeno lectured.
bestowed too much cost upon, made too much of.
49. Better saith he, etc. Juvenal, Satire, x. 358. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 21. 5, and bk. i. 8. 1.
57. dolours, pain. It is a Latin word. Cf. "I esteem it the office of a physician ... to mitigate pain and dolors." Adv. bk. ii. 10. 7.
58. Now lettest thou, etc. A Jew named Simeon, having lived long enough to see Christ, expressed his willingness to die in a passage beginning " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace," Luke ii. 29.
61. He who, etc. Horace, Ep., ii. 1. 14.
156 NOTES. [m.
ESSAY III. OF UNITY IN RELIGION.
IN illustration of this Essay the student should read the Adv., bk. i. 1, and bk. ii. 6. and 25. Here Bacon expresses strongly his aversion to theological controversy. He held that the dogmas of religion do not admit either of discovery or proof by human reason. They are revealed, and are to be taken on faith. There is therefore no room for controversy as to the first principles of theology. Human reason may be legitimately and usefully employed in deducing what is involved in the text of Scripture ; but human reasonings are not to be put on the same level with the positive declarations of Scripture. Bacon would allow perfect freedom of judgment, limited only by the express words of the Bible. The subject of religious controversies was an important one at the time, owing to the disputes between the High Church and the Puritanical parties. See Spedding's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. i., pp. 17, 35, and 429.
2. contained, held together. A broken band will hold nothing together.
4. The reason was, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 25. 4, "The religion of the heathen had no constant belief or expression, but left all to the liberty of argument."
7. doctors, teachers, cf. below, 1. 29. Bacon means that the religious beliefs of the Greeks and Romans consisted of myths drawn from the poets. He has some remarks on the origin and interpretation of myths in Adv. , bk. ii. 4. 4. See note on Essay v. 14.
9. jealous, the attribute is taken from one of the command ments given by God to the Jews.
17. For, as regards.
19. manners, morals. " It were perhaps edifying to remark what a singular thing customs (in Latin mores) are ; and how fitly the virtue, vir-tus, manhood or worth, that is in a man, is called his morality or customariness. Fell slaughter, one of the most authentic products of the Pit you would say, once give it customs, becomes War, with laws of War ; and is customary and moral enough." Carlyle.
24. Behold, he is in the desert, Christ told his disciples that false Christs should arise, and addressed to them the following warning, " Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert ; go not forth : behold, he is in the secret chambers ; believe it not." Bacon understands the warning to have reference not to the appearance of individuals, each of whom should claim to be Christ, but to the multiplication of sects, each of which should claim the exclusive possession of the truth about Christ. There can be but one true belief : and men still need the warning
in.] OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 157
not to go forth from the Church and set up heresies of their own in place of this belief. Cf. " It was foretold by Christ saying, that in the latter times it should be. said, Lo, here, lo, there is Christ : which is to be understood, not as if the very person of Christ should be assumed and counterfeited, but his authority and pre eminence, which is to be the truth itself, should be challenged and pretended." Of Church Controversies.
29. The Doctor, i.e. St. Paul.
30. propriety, peculiarity. The Latin word proprius (proper) signifies that which belongs to a thing in its own right. Hence the logical term property, in the sense of a distinguishing mark.
31. those without, those who are not members of the Church.
36. the chair of the scorners, Psalm i. 1 .
37. vouched, quoted as evidence. He is alluding to Rabelais, a French humourist of the fifteenth century. Cf. " For pre cedents, in the producing and using of that kind of proof, of all others it behoveth them to be faithfully vouched." Case of the Post-nati of Scotland.
40. morris dance, a dance formerly common in England on festival days, and especially on May-day, and not yet entirely out of use. The name appears to indicate that it was borrowed from the Morriscos or Moors, but nothing is known of its origin. (W.)
43. politics, politicians.
44. within, those who are members of the Church.
51. importeth, is of importance.
52. zelants, zealots.
54. is not the matter, is not what they are interested in. The words quoted above were addressed by Jehu to the messengers of Joram, king of Israel, whom he was marching to attack. Kings ii. 10. 40.
55. following, sect.
56. accommodate, come to an agreement about, effect a com promise.
Laodiceans, in Revelation iii. 14, the Church of Laodicea is rebuked for lukewarmness.
57. witty, ingenious. Cf. Essay xxxii. 1 ; and xli. 1.
58. arbitrement, arbitration.
61. the two cross clauses, the Latin translation has "the clauses which at first sight seem to contradict one another. " In the Adv. , bk. ii. 25. 9, he says that the heat of many contro versies would be abated if the points fundamental, and the points of further perfection only were with piety and wisdom
158 NOTES. [m.
distinguished — for " we see of the fundamental points, our Saviour penneth the league thus, He that is not with us is against -us ; but of points not fundamental, thus, He that is not against us is with us. " Christians must agree upon essential points, and lukewarmness as to these is unpardonable. But variety of opinion upon unessential points is admissible. For example, different forms of Church government and different forms of ritual and worship are allowable, since no definite rule as to these is laid down in the Bible. Cf . ' ' We contend about cere monies and things indifferent, about the external policy and government of the Church, in which kind if we would but remember that the ancient and true bonds of unity are one faith, one baptism, and not one ceremony, one policy ; if we would observe the league amongst Christians that is penned by our Saviour, he that is not against us is with its : if we could but comprehend that saying, the diversities of ceremonies do set forth the unity of doctrine, and that religion hath parts which belong to eternitf/, and parts ivhich pertain to time ; and if we did but know the virtue of silence, and slowness to speak, commended by St. James, our controversies of themselves would close up and grow together ; but most especially if we would leave the over-weaning and turbulent humours of these times, and revive the blessed proceeding of the Apostles and Fathers of the primitive church, which was, in the like and greater cases, not to enter into assertions and positions, but to deliver counsels and advices, we should need no other remedy at all ; brother, if that which you set down as an assertion you would deliver by way of advice, then were, reverence due to your counsel, whereas faith is not due to your affirmation. St. Paul was content to speak thus, I, and not the Lord : and, according to my counsel. But now men do too lightly say, Not I, but the Lord : yea, and bind it with a heavy denunciation of his judgments, to terrify the simple, which have not sufficiently understood out of Solomon that the causeless curse shall not come." Of Church Controversies.
66. merely, used in its literal sense of 'purely,' 'entirely.' The Latin word merus meant ' unmixed. '
good intention, In a letter to Essex Bacon says, "And for the other point, that is the proceeding, like a good Protestant, upon express warrant, and not upon good intention, your lordship in your wisdom knoweth that as it is most fit for you to desire convenient liberty of instructions, so it is no less fit for you to observe the due limits of them." Cf. Essay xvii. 35. The en forcement of the celibacy of the priesthood in the Romish church is based on ' good intention ' only. It is not distinctly prescribed in Scripture.
68. less partially, The Latin translation has " with less of party feeling."
HI.] OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 159
75. Christ's coat, etc. After the passage quoted in the note on 1. 61 Bacon continues, " So we see the coat of our Saviour was entire without seam, and so is the doctrine of the Scriptures in itself ; but the garment of the Church was of divers colours and yet not divided." Unity as to essential points is consistent with difference as to unessential points. It is said in the Bible that the coat of Christ was made of one piece, but that the garment of the Queen, who is made to represent the Church, was of divers colours. The seamless coat of Christ symbolizes the unity of the Church as to essential points. The variegated garment of the Church symbolizes the legitimate variety of opinion and practice in minor matters. The metaphor of the coat is worked out in Swift's Tale of a Tub. The analogy between clothes and opinions is borrowed by Carlyle in his Sartor Resartus,
78. be, see note on Essay i. 2.
83. snail, we should say ' will. ' See note on Essay ii. 7.
88.' doth not discern, the ' not ' should be omitted.
94. Avoid profane novelties, etc. Cf. Adv. bk. i. iv. 5.
95. are not, do not exist. Cf. Essay xvii. 13.
96. whereas the meaning, etc. Language should be the instru ment of thought ; but if men suppose that wherever there are two distinct terms there must be two distinct things corresponding to them, then thought is the slave of language. Cf. Adv. ii. 14. 11.
100. all colours, etc. Just as the inharmoniousness of a combination of colours is not apparent in the dark, so the incompatibility of opinions is not apparent to one whose mind is darkened by ignorance. Swift in the Tale of a Tub says, "Martin (Luther) and Jack (Calvin), i.e. the Reformed Church and the Dissenters, had lived in much friendship and agreement under the tyranny of their brother Peter, (the Romish Church), as it is the talent of fellow-sufferers to do ; men in misfortune being like men in the dark, to whom all colours are the same : but when they came forward into the world, and began to display themselves to each other and to the light, their complexions appeared extremely different ; which the present posture of affairs gave them sudden opportunity to discover."
101. pieced, as we say patched up.
104. Nebuchadnezzar's image, the image which King Nebuchad nezzar saw in a dream. See Daniel ii. 33. Men may agree in a belief simply because the inconsistency or inadequacy of it is not apparent to themselves. Such uniformity is valueless. Or again, they may purchase an artificial unity by admitting contradictory beliefs on essential points : whereas unity, to be real, must be based upon a clear understanding and acceptance of the funda mental doctrines of Scripture.
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107. muniting, strengthening. The Latin word munire means to fortify.
109. be, see Essay i. 2.
113. that is to propagate, these words explain the meaning of the phrase ' ' to take up Mahomet's sword. "
115. practice, intrigue.
120. so to consider, etc. Zeal for Christianity must be tempered by a regard for our duty to men. Church and state have each legitimate modes of protecting Christianity, but proselytizing zeal is no excuse for persecution or rebellion. The first violates the rights of others ; the second is directed against the divine institution of government. The phrase "dash the first table against the second " is suggested by the statement in the Bible that the Jewish law was delivered by God to Moses written on two tables of stone. The first table defined man's duty to God, the second his duty to man. Cf. " The Scripture teacheth -us to judge and denominate men religious according to their works of the second table ; because they of the first are often counterfeit, and practised in hypocrisy. So St. John saith, that a man doth vainly boast of loving God ivhom he never saw, if he love not his brother whom he hath seen. And St. James saith, This is true religion, to visit the fatherless and the widow." Of Church Con troversies.
121. Lucretius, 1. 95. See Note on Essay i. 45. The Greeks, on their way to attack Troy, were detained through the wrath of Diana by contrary winds at Aulis. Agamemnon, the Greek leader, sacrificed his daughter to propitiate the goddess.
126. the massacre in France, alluding to the massacre of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day in 1572.
128. Epicure, Epicurean. See note on Essay i. 46. Cf. xvi. 33.
132. the Anabaptists, see Adv. bk. ii. 20. 9. This sect came into prominence in the fifteenth century . They carried to extreme lengths the principles of the independence of the individual judg ment and the importance of individual conviction in religion. They came into violent conflict with the constituted authorities in Germany through their attempts to establish an ideal Christian commonwealth with absolute equality, and community of goods. Bacon in one of his charges says ' ' The Anabaptists . . . prefer the putting down of magistrates : and they can chant the Psalm, To bind their king* in chains, and their nobles in fetters of iron. This is the glory of the saints, much like the temporal authority that the Pope challengeth over princes. But this is the difference, that that (viz. the religious zeal of the Mahomedans) is a furious and fanatical fury, and this is a sad and solemn mischief : he imagineth himself as a law, a law-like mischief. "
in.] OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 161
133. I will ascend, etc., Isaiah xiv. 14. Cf. Adv. ii. 22. 15. "Aspiring to be like God in power, the angels transgressed and fell : / ivtil ascend and be like the Highest."
134. to personate, to assign a character to. The Latin word persona means literally the mask in which an actor played, and so a part or character, taring Mm in, like a character on the stage.
135. the Prince of darkness, Satan, the spirit of evil.
140. the likeness of a dove, referring to the account of the baptism of Jesus, in which it is said that, as he came out of the water, the Spirit was seen to descend upon him in the likeness of a dove.
145. Mercury rod, The god Mercury was represented with a rod in his hand leading departed spirits to the other world.
148. would be, ought to be.
151. father, see Note on Essay i. 29.
153. interessed, the old form of interested.
ESSAY IV. OF REVENGE.
1. wild, used in the sense of natural (cf. Essay xlvi. 164), as opposed to the condition of a civilized society.
4. putteth the law out of office, usurps the function of law. Wrongs should be punished, not by the sufferers of them, but by the properly constituted tribunals.
10. trifle with themselves, the Latin translation adds "and distress themselves to no purpose."
15. merely, see note on Essay iii. 66. The Latin translation has ' out of pure ill-nature. '
16. why? What then?
20. Else a man's enemy, etc., i.e., otherwise while the party wronged inflicts only one punishment on his enemy, he himself has to endure both the original injury and the penalty for illegal revenge.
26. Cosmus, Duke of Florence in the sixteenth century.
27. neglecting, negligent.
30. we are commanded, sc. by Christ.
31. Job, a person whose history is given in the Bible. He was distinguished by his patience and piety under misfortune.
33. And so of friends, etc. , and the same applies, in some man ner, to friends. If we accept good at their hands, we must some times be content to accept evil too.
162 NOTES. [iv.
37. Caesar, i.e., Julius. Pertinax, a Roman emperor murdered by rebellious soldiers in the second century. Bacon means that Augustus who avenged the death of Tiberius, Septimius Severus who avenged the death of Pertinax, and Henry IV. all prospered.
38. Henry the Third, the Latin translation has "that great French Kin;j Henry IV." Both Henry III. and Henry IV. were assassinated, the one in 1589, the other in 1610.
41. infortunate, unfortunate. The same form occurs in Shake speare. See King John, ii. 178. In the Adv. (bk. ii. 1. 4) Bacon expresses himself cautiously with regard to witchcraft. "Neither am I of opinion, in this history of marvels, that superstitious narrations of sorceries, witchcrafts, dreams, divinations, and the like, when there is an assurance and clear evidence of the fact, be altogether excluded. For it is not yet known in what cases and how far effects attributed to superstition do participate of natural causes : and therefore howsoever the practice of such things is to be condemned, yet from the speculation and consideration of them light may be taken, not only for the discerning of the offences, but for the further disclosing of nature." As for the law, Bacon says in one of his charges, ' ' For witchcraft, by the former law it was not death, except it were actual and gross invocation of evil spirits, or making covenant with them, or taking away life by witchcraft : but now by an act in his Majesty's times, charms and sorceries in certain cases of procuring of unlawful love or bodily hurt, and some others, are made felony the second offence ; the first being imprisonment and pillory."
ESSAY V. OF ADVERSITY.
1. high, The word connotes presumptuousness or exaggeration. Cf. Essays xix. 133 and xxvii. 190.
2. the Stoics, Zeno, born about 340, was the founder of the Stoic school. The Stoics held that the end of man's life is virtue. Consequently they inculcated indifference to all external objects which came into competition with virtue.
5. miracles, suggested by the phrase ' to be admired ' (mirabilia) in the preceding sentence.
8. It is true greatness, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 20. 5.
9. security, freedom from care. It is a Latinism. 11. transcendences, exaggerations.
14. mystery, a hidden meaning. In Adv., bk. ii. 4. 4, Bacon describes poesy parabolical, " that is, when the secrets and mysteries of religion, policy, or philosophy, are involved in fables or parables. ... In heathen poesy we see the exposition of fables
v.] OF ADVERSITY. 163
doth fall out sometimes with great felicity. ... Nevertheless in many the like encounters, I do rather think that the fable was first, and the exposition devised, than that the moral was first, and thereupon the fable framed ... but yet that all the fables and fictions of the poets were but pleasure and not figure, I interpose no opinion. Surely of those poets which are now extant, even Homer himself (notwithstanding he was made a kind of scripture by the later schools of the Grecians), yet I should without any difficulty pronounce that his fables had no such inwardness in his own meaning. But what they might have upon a more original tradition, is not easy to affirm ; for he was not the inventor of many of them. " In the Latin translation Bacon expresses a more decided preference for the opinion that the myths were, from the first, consciously allegorical. Read the Preface to The Wisdom of the A ncients. The substance of the theory there expressed is that " long before the days of Homer and Hesiod, a generation of wise men had flourished on the earth, who taught the mysteries of nature in parables ; that after they and what they taught had alike passed away and been forgotten, the names and incidents of these parables still floated in tradition ; but that they were then taken merely for tales of old times, and falling into the hands of poets and minstrels were altered, adorned, and added to at pleasure, without regard to the original meaning till they settled into the shape in which we find them. The problem, therefore, was to get rid of the overgrowths and to recover and interpret the original parable," Spedding, Francis Bacon and J/is Times, vol. i. p. 564. On this subject see also Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, bk. i. ch. 6.
16. Hercules, In another passage Bacon interprets this myth as presenting "an image of God the Word hastening in the frail vessel of the flesh to redeem the human race. " See The Wisdom of the Ancient*, § 26.
18. lively, cf. stately, Essay i. 18.
19. thorough, through.
20. to speak in a mean, to come down from grandiloquent to moderate language.
21. Prosperity, etc. The Old Testament constantly promises worldly prosperity as the reward of obedience to God's law. In the New Testament, which supplements the Old (carrieth the clearer revelation of (J oil's favour), and promises greater blessings, (its blessing carrieth tlie greater benediction) the disciples of Christ are constantly told that it will be one of their privileges to suffer for the sake of their religion.
26. David's harp, etc., the Psalms— a collection of hymns forming one of the books of the Bible.
164 NOTES. [v.
27. the pencil of the Holy Ghost, referring to the doctrine that the writers of the sacred books were directly inspired by God.
30. distastes, annoyances. The sadness of the unfortunate is relieved by the brightness of hope and consolation, while fears and distastes poison the pleasures of the prosperous.
36. like precious odours, as the scent of spices becomes stronger as we crush them, so the inherent strength of a man manifests itself the more as he is pressed by adversity.
37. incensed, burned. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 25, "The good, if any be, is due as the fat of the sacrifice, to be incensed to the honour, first of the Divine Majesty, etc."
38. discover, bring to light.
ESSAY VI. OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION.
1. Dissimulation, etc. He means that dissimulation is a poor substitute for policy, and is habitually employed only by those who are wanting in ability and decision. With the whole of this passage the student should compare A dv. , bk. ii. 23. 36, where he says that of these deep dissimulations "it seemeth Tacitus made this judgment, that they were a cunning of an inferior form in regard of true policy ; attributing the one to Augustus, the other to Tiberius ; when speaking of Livia, he saith, She combined the diplomacy of her husband (Augustus) with the dissimulation of her son (Tiberius)." In the same passage he points out how dissem blers must often fail, because even their friends can give no assistance to men whose intentions and actions they do not understand.
2. asketh, requires, wit, cf. Essay i. 6.
4. politics, politicians.
5. Tacitus saith, Bacon means that the distinction between policy and dissimulation is marked in the contrast which Tacitus draws between Augustus and Tiberius. Tac. Ann., v. 1. For Tacitus, see note on Essay ii. 38.
sorted, suited, agreed with.
12. several, distinct.
13. that ... as, such that.
15. at half-lights, The Latin translation has " as it were, in twilight." Cf. " The king's manner of showing things by pieces and by dark lights so muffled it, that it hath left it almost as a mystery to this day."
19. obtain, we should say attain.
vi.] OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 165
20. close, secret. The wise man will ' vary in particulars ' — i. e. he will see when openness is expedient, and when secrecy, just as a man with the use of his eyes can see when it is safe, and when dangerous, to walk quickly. But as a blind man must walk slowly everywhere, so he who wants the light of wisdom must always hide his purposes and dissemble. For uniform secrecy and dis simulation are safer than an inopportune betrayal of his intentions.
25. a name, a reputation, of, for.
26. managed, trained.
30. clearness, openness. Cf. Essay i. 60. People naturally look without suspicion upon those who as a rule make no secret of their acts and intentions.
34. when a man, etc. , when a man gives nobody an opportunity of remarking or inferring what he is. Cf. " Observation, what he finds." Essay xxx. 2.
38. Industriously, purposely. It is a Latinism.
39. That, we should say what.
40. For, see Essay iii. 17, and below, 11. 61 and 74.
43. discovery, disclosure. Men are tempted to open their minds to those who have the reputation of being silent.
47. kind, manner. Cf. Essay xli. 99.
discharge, unburden. 52. futile, talkative. The word means literally ' leaky. '
55. politic and moral, It is politic or wise because it leads to the knowledge of many things. It is moral because it is becom ing, and is, to a certain extent, a safeguard against the habit of lying.
56. give his tongue leave to speak, Our looks must not con tradict our words. It is of no use, for instance, to express satisfaction in words, if we have already betrayed dissatisfaction by our looks. In the Adv., bk. ii. 23. 3, he says, " A man may destroy the force of his words with his countenance." Cf. also Adv., bk. ii. 23. 16.
57. discovery, see note on 1. 43. Notice that it is by the man himself that the disclosure of himself, i. e. of his feelings, is made. Cf. Essay Iv. 1, "the revealing of a man's virtue," where it is the man himself who displays his own merits. In making a general remark Bacon uses the word ' a man ' where we should use the indefinite ' one ' : see Essay vii. 7 and 20, "a man shall see," i.e. one may see : and the possessive case of ' a man ' is used by him where we should use a reflexive pronoun. For instance, in Essay Iv. 22, the passage beginning " Envy, which is the canker," etc., means ' ' One will most easily extinguish envy by giving out that
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his object is merit rather than fame, and by attributing his successes," etc.
tracts, traits.
63. must be a dissembler, etc. Men will insist on drawing from us some explanation of our acts and wishes, so that, if we are unwilling to give a true account of them, we must give a false one. If we maintain an obstinate silence, men will draw their own inferences.
64. indifferent, neutral. The word now expresses not mere neutrality, but positive unconcern. In Essay viii. 28, the word signifies ' a matter of no consequence. '
65. between both, viz. , openness and dissimulation.
68. absurd, ' ' The Latin absurdus is applied to the answer given by a deaf man (surdus) which has nothing to do with the question ; hence it signifies deaf to reason, unreasonable." W.
73. the skirts or train of secrecy, it necessarily follows secrecy. As we cannot conceal our purposes by absolute silence, we must do so by dissimulation.
78. Tearfulness, timidity.
of, we should say from. But we still say, That comes of, I.e. results from, doing so and so.
79. main, great.
86. a fair retreat, Failure involves loss of reputation. But if a man does not acknowledge, or even disclaims desire for, an object, his failing to obtain it will never be known. Cp. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 41, "Another precept of this knowledge is, not to engage a man's self peremptorily in anything, though it seem not liable to accident ; but ever to have a window to fly out at, or a way to retire : following the wisdom in the ancient fable of the two frogs, which consulted when their plash was dry whither they should go ; and the one moved to go down into a pit, because it was not likely the water would dry there ; but the other answered, True, but if it do, how shall we get out again ? "
87. take a fall, a metaphor from wrestling.
90. turn their freedom, etc., i.e. they will not agree with him even though they do not openly contradict him. fair, so we use just adverbially, in the sense of simply.
92. Tell a lie, etc. Cp. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 18.
97. round, direct. While the bold man is drawing nearer and nearer to his object, the timid man is wasting time in cunning attempts to conceal the real drift and purpose of his actions. In the Adv., bk. ii. 23. 36, he says that "the continual habit of dissimulation is but a weak and sluggish cunning and not greatly politic."
vi.j OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 167
98. conceits, ideas. It is a common use of the term in Bacon.
103. composition and temperature, temperament. The words mean literally combination and blending. Cf. Essay xix. 29 and 136.
openness in fame, a reputation for openness.
105. a power to feign, a power of simulation.
ESSAY VII. OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
2. They cannot utter the one, their joys are too great to be expressed in words.
nor . . . not, The double negative is common in Bacon.
3. sweeten labours, etc. Labour is pleasant where there are children to be benefited by it. Misfortune is bitter where there are children to be injured by it. Children rob death of its terrors, because the parents live again, as it were, in their children.
7. proper, see note on Essay iii. 30.
a man shall see, see notes on Essay ii. 7 and vi. 57. 12. are the first raisers of, The Latin translation has, "who first bring honours into their family. "
15. creatures, see note on Essay i. 39.
16. The difference, etc., i.e. the degrees in the love which parents show to their different children.
18. A wise son, etc., Prov. x. 1. He quotes it again, Adv., bk. ii. 23. 6. His comment on it in the De Aug. is, " The father takes more pleasure than the mother in a wise and prudent son, because he understands better the value of virtue, and because he sees in his son's goodness the result of his own training. But when the son does not turn out well, the mother is more grieved than the father, partly because of her greater tenderness, partly because she thinks that her own indulgence may have spoilt the boy."
21. made wantons, indulged to excess.
25. acquaints, makes acquainted.
26. sort with, consort with.
27. surfeit more, more prone to luxury and excess.
28. the proof is best, the result is best. 32. sorteth to, issues in.
35. so, provided that.
168 NOTES. [vn.
42. too much apply themselves to, pay too much regard to. Montaigne gives the same advice in his Essays, bk. i. ch. 25.
44. affection, used here in the ordinary sense of ' liking for ' a course or vocation.
47. Choose what is best, etc. A sentence of Pythagoras pre served by Plutarch. (W.)
48. Younger brothers, etc. Being brought up on the under standing that they will have to work for their living, they acquire habits of industry, thrift, and prudence. But if they enter unexpectedly into possession of property, they are often ruined by sudden prosperity.
ESSAY VIII. OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE.
1. He that hath, etc. The necessity of providing for wife and children prevents a man from running risks of any kind.
5. which, We should say ivho. Abbott (Sh. Gr. § 266) says that which, like that, is less definite than who. Who indicates an individual, which a " kind of person."
6. it were great reason, etc., we might reasonably suppose. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. Introd., "It might seem to have more con venience, though it come often otherwise to pass (excellent king) that those which are fruitful in their generations, and have in themselves the foresight of immortality in their descendants, should likewise be more careful of the estate of future times, unto which they know they must transmit and commend over their dearest pledges." Who does most for posterity — the man with children or the childless man ? On the one hand, he who has children will naturally labour for the good of the age in which they will have to live. On the other hand, he who is hampered with the cares of a family has less leisure, less freedom, and less wealth than the childless man. Moreover the childless man has this further incentive to labour, that he cannot hope to be re membered at all except by the good which he may do, or the reputation which he may establish.
9. who . . . their thoughts, The construction is irregular.
10. their thoughts, etc., they do not care to be remembered after death.
account impertinences, are indifferent to. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 2. 9. The word impertinence is used in its literal sense of ' a thing irrelevant. '
15. because, in order that. Abbott (Sh. Gr. § 117) illustrates this use of it as referring to the future, not, as with us, to the
viii.] OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 169
17. except, take exception
20. humorous, fanciful.
21. as, that.
sensible of, sensitive to.
24. light, The word in the Latin translation is the word commonly used to describe a soldier without baggage. 26. churchmen, priests.
28. indifferent, see note on Essay vi. 64.
29. facile, easily worked upon. In the Adv., bk. ii. 23. 6, the term ' facile ' is applied to a judge who is a respecter of persons.
30. For, see Essay iii. 17.
36. exhaust, This form of the participle is common in Bacon.
37. they, observe the second nominative introduced for the sake of clearness.
40. Ulysses, In Adv., bk. i. 8. 7, he mentions Ulysses, "who preferred an old woman (his ivife Penelope] to immortality, being a figure of those which prefer custom and habit before all excell ency." Calypso, an enchantress into whose hands the Greek Ulysses fell on his return from Troy, promised him immortality if he would stay with her. He preferred to return to his wife.
48. So as, so that.
a quarrel, a reason. The meaning of the word has been extended from a cause of complaint to a cause of any kind.
51. A young man, etc. The saying is attributed to Thales of Miletus. He was reckoned among the seven wise men of Greece, and was the first Greek philosopher.
ESSAY IX. OF ENVY.
1. affections, feelings or passions.
to fascinate, Bacon was inclined to share the opinion that the thoughts, beliefs, and feelings of one person could directly influence and affect the state of another. It seems reasonable enough, he says, to suppose that one mind may influence another, just as one body may infect another. See Adv. , bk. ii. 11. 3. In his Natural History, Cent. x. §§ 939. seqq., he gives certain experiments " touching the emission of immateriate virtues from the minds and spirits of men, either by affections, or by imagina tions, or by other impressions. " In § 944 he says, ' ' The affections no doubt do make the spirits more powerful and active : and especially those affections which draw the spirits into the eyes : which are two ; love, and envy, which is called the evil eye. As
170 NOTES. [ix.
for love, the Platonists, some of them, go so far as to hold that the spirit of the lover doth pass into the spirits of the person loved : which causeth the desire of return into the body whence it was emitted : whereupon followeth that appetite of contact and conjunction which is in lovers. And this is observed likewise, that the aspects which procure love are not gazings, but sudden glances and dartings of the eye. As for envy, that emitteth some malign and poisonous spirit, which taketh hold of the spirit of another : and is likewise of greatest force when the cast of the eye is oblique. It hath been noted also that it is most dangerous when an envious eye is cast upon persons in glory, in triumph, and joy. The reason whereof is, for that at such times the spirits come forth most into the outward parts, and so meet the percus sion of the envious eye more at hand : and therefore it hath been noted that after great triumphs, men have been ill-disposed for some days following. We see the opinion of fascination is ancient, for both effects : of procuring love ; and sickness caused by envy : and fascination is by the eye. But yet if there be any such infec tion from spirit to spirit, there is no doubt but that it worketh by presence, and not by the eye alone ; yet most forcibly by the eye." It was thought, then, that lovers and envious persons could, when in the presence of those whom they loved or envied, exert a direct influence upon them, the effect being produced by an outflow of the spirits through the eye. Men selected the eye as the organ of transmission because of its soft and transparent nature.
With regard to the term spirits, Bacon held that there is in every tangible substance a body of such extreme rarity as to be perceptible only by its effects, to which he gives the name of spirit or the mortuary spirit, to distinguish it from the vital spirit. Both the mortuary and the vital spirit exist in living creatures. The latter is a subtle compound of air and fire diffused throughout the body : and, so long as it remains in the body, life is preserved. Those therefore who wish for long life must keep their bodies in such a state that the vital spirit cannot force its way out. But the state of our bodies depends upon the condition and activity of the mortuary spirit, which may be controlled and modified in a number of ways. The whole subject is discussed at length in his History of Life and Death. The influence of thefeelings upon the spirits, with which we are now most directly concerned, is considered under the heading ' Modes of preserving the youth and freshness of the spirits,' §§80-99.
9. still, always.
10. ejaculation, used in its literal sense of ' a darting out.'
17. curiosities, subtleties. Cf. curious in 1. 11. In the Adv., bk. i. 4. 6, he uses curiosity as synonymous with subtlety.
ix.] OF ENVY. 171
23. feed upon, The Latin translation adds, " and find pleasure in."
26. will seek to come at even hand, will endeavour to make his own inferiority appear less. We should say ' to be even with.'
depressing, disparaging.
30. estate, condition.
31. play-pleasure, In the Latin translation it is "a pleasure like that of the stage." The mere spectacle delights.
34. gadding, wandering. The less we go out of our way to study the fortunes of others, the less we shall have to envy. The quotation which follows is from the Roman dramatist Plautus, Stick., i. 3. 55.
35. home. We should say ' at home.'
37. new men, a term applied in Rome to the first members of families who held high office.
45. wants, defects.
in that, This explains the previous sentence — His natural defects will redound to his honour if it be said, etc.
47. affecting, see Essay i. 8.
48. Narses, A.D. 472-568, the famous general of the Roman Emperor Justinian.
Agesilaus, King of Sparta in the fourth century B.C. Tamberlanes, the great Mongol conqueror. He lived in the fourteenth century. With this passage cf. Essay xliv.
56. work, matter for envy.
59. a vein, see Essay i. 6. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 7. 6. " Adrian was the most curious man that lived, and the most universal inquirer ; insomuch as it was noted for an error in his mind, that he desired to comprehend all things, and not to reserve himself for the worthiest things ; falling into the like humour that was long before noted in Philip of Macedon ; who, when he would needs over-rule and put down an excellent musician in an argument touching music, was well answered by him again, God forbid, sir (saith he), (hat your fortune should be .«o bad CM to know the-ie things better than I. "
63. upbraid unto them, reproach them with, a Latinism. incurreth, in its literal sense of 'runs into.'
67. Cain, Cain and Abel were two sons of Adam. Cain slew Abel in a fit of jealousy because, on an occasion when they both offered a sacrifice to God, that of Abel was accepted while Cain's was rejected.
172 NOTES. [ix.
75. liberality, The Latin translation has " rewards which exceed a man's deserts."
84. darken it, throw it into the shade. Cf. Essay Iv. 5. Cf.
" And you are darkened in this action, sir,
Ev'n by your own." Shakespeare, CorioL, iv. 7.
92. travels, labours. Travel and travail were not distinguished.
96. politic persons, politicians.
102. engrossing, monopolizing.
109. being never well, being never satisfied.
112. of purpose, purposely.
115. so, see note on Essay vii. 35.
118. disavow fortune, A man who seems ashamed of his position confesses that he has not deserved it.
124. the lot, the spell. The word ' sorcerer ' is derived from sors, the Latin word for lot. It was believed that certain diseases were due to the presence of evil spirits, and that the patient could only be cured if the spirit were charmed out of him and driven into another person, or into some creature or thing. For instance, it is narrated in the Bible that Christ cured some men of madness by conjuring the evil spirits out of them into a herd of swine, so transferring the disease from the men to the swine.
127. derive, turn aside. It is a Latinism.
130. undertaking1, rash, ready to undertake anything. so, provided that.
133. yet, at least.
135. an ostracism, the Latin translation has " a healthy ostra cism. " Ostracism is a Greek word denoting the sentence of banishment sometimes passed upon men whose presence was thought dangerous to the peace of the state. The word is de rived from ostrakon, the oyster shell on which the citizens recorded their votes.
144. there is little won, etc., a government gains little by inter mingling agreeable and popular acts with its unpopular ones. Such concessions are generally attributed to fear, and make the authors of them contemptible rather than popular,
145. plausible, used in its literal sense of 'deserving applause.' With the whole of this passage cf. Essay xv., p. 34.
148. them, redundant.
150. kings and estates, monarchies and republics. The same expression is used Adv., bk. i. 3. 6.
ix.] OF ENVY. 173
155. the state itself, the Latin translation has "the king or the state itself."
159. of all other affections, this form of expression is somewhat common in Bacon. We should say 'of all the affections.' importune, importunate.
168. The envious man, Matthew xiii. 25.
ESSAY X. OF LOVE.
1. beholding, indebted, beholden. Cf. 'loading,' Essay xiii. 55 ; ' owing,' Essay xxx. 7.
2. is ever matter of comedies, always affords material for a comedy.
4. sometimes like a siren, sometimes tempting to self-indul gence, sometimes goading to passion. Antony illustrates the first case, Othello the second. The sirens were women who were believed by the sweetness of their singing to entice to destruction sailors who passed near their island. See Homer's Odyssey, bk. xii. 39 and 167.
8. great spirits, cf. Essay ii. 34.
11. the decemvir, a member of the Council of Ten to whom the government of Rome was entrusted. The story of his attempt upon the chastity of Virginia is told in one of Macaulay's Lays.
13. inordinate, without self-control.
17. Epicurus, See note on Essay i. 46. In the Adv., bk. i. 3. 7, he says, "It is a speech for a lover, and not for a wise man, ' We are a sufficiently large theatre one for another. ' "
24. braves, The Latin translation has " tramples upon. " The word is common in the sense of to treat with contempt or insult.
26. Neither is it, etc. This extravagance and exaggeration do not appear in the language of lovers only, but in their thoughts also.
27. it hath been well said, etc., the quotation is from Plutarch. (W.)
28. have intelligence, are in league with.
31. it is impossible, etc., from the sentences of Publilius Syrus (W. ), " To love and to be wise is scarcely granted to God. " Pub lilius Syrus was a native of Antioch. He lived in the first century B c. A collection of moral sentences was made in the Christian era from his plays, and adulterated witli sentences from other sources in the beginning of the Middle Ages. This saying is quoted again, Adv., bk. ii. 1. 15: "But my hope is that if my extreme love to learn-
174 NOTES. [x.
ing carry me too far, I may obtain the excuse of affection ; for that it is not granfed to man to love and to be wine." Cf. Burke, "To tax and to please, no more than to love and to be wise, is not given to man.'
35. with the reciproque, with a return of love, fieciproque in the line above means mutual.
36. By how much, etc. , a Latinism : ' for which reason men ought to be more on their guard. '
which loseth, which, besides all the sacrifice that it entails, fails of its own object.
39. He that preferred Helena, In the Adv., bk. i. 8. 7, he refers to the judgment of Paris, " that judged for beauty and love against wisdom and power." The story is told in Tennyson's (Enone. The goddess Discord threw into heaven a golden apple, inscribed ' for the fairest. ' It was claimed by Juno, Minerva, and Venus. Paris, a Trojan shepherd, was chosen umpire. Each goddess tempted him with a bribe, Juno with power, Minerva with wisdom, Venus with the promise of a beautiful woman. He decided in favour of Venus, and was rewarded with the love of Helen, wife of the Greek Menelaus. His elopement with her led to the Trojan war.
42. quitteth, renounces.
hath his floods, is at its height. For his, see note on Essay xix. 86.
times of weakness, the Latin translation has, " at the very times when the mind is most soft and weak. " Cf . Essay xii. 20.
47. make it keep quarter, keep it within bounds.
49. check with, interfere with.
51. no ways, in no way.
52. martial men, etc. Cf. Aristotle's Politics, bk. ii. ch. 6. ' ' The old mythologer would seem to have been right in uniting Ares and Aphrodite (the god of war and the goddess of love), for all warlike races are prone to the love either of men or of women. "
60. embaseth, see Essay i. 63.
ESSAY XI. OF GREAT PLACE.
3. so as, see Note on viii. 48.
5. lose, The Latin translation has "to strip oneself of."
9. The standing is slippery, it is difficult to retain power when it is reached.
XL] OF GREAT PLACE. 175
12. When you are no longer, etc. Quoted from Cicero, Ep. ad Fam., vii. 3.
14. privateness, life without office.
the shadow, retirement. It is a Latin idiom. In Adv., bk. i. 2. 6, he quotes from Seneca, " Some men live so much in the shade that whenever they are in the light they seem to be in trouble." The Latin word for 'in the shadow ' is umbratilis. In his Praixe, of Queen Elizabeth, Bacon talks of "an umbratile life still under the roof."
29. death falls, etc. Quoted from the Thyesles of Seneca.
34. to can, to be able.
36. put in act, acted upon.
38. motion, activity.
conscience, consciousness.
45. Sabbath is a Hebrew word signifying rest. Cf. Essay i. 41. It is said in the Bible that God rested after the work of creating the world, which is described as " very good." Similarly, Bacon says, whoever will imitate God in doing good shall obtain the rest and peace of a satisfied conscience. To be "a partaker of God's theatre " means to look on what God looked on, viz. good done.
46. a globe, a collection. He means that from the examples of the past we may devise a body of rules for our own guidance.
48. whether thou didst not, etc. , whether you have degenerated during your tenure of office.
51. taxing, censuring.
52. bravery, ostentation.
54. Reduce things, etc., i.e. go back to the first establishment of things, and consider what modifications of the original rules are required by change of time and circumstances. Reduce here has its literal sense of ' carry back. '
58. Seek to make, etc. In the Latin translation it is, ' ' Strive that all acts done in virtue of the authority which you possess be restrained by fixed rules."
60. positive and peremptory, adhering strictly to rules laid down. In the Ailv., bk. i. 2. 1, he refers to the opinion that learning makes men " too peremptory or positive by strictness of rules and axioms."
express thyself well, give a clear explanation of your con duct. For an illustration of the rule now laid down the student may read the speech delivered by Bacon on taking his seat in Chancery.
63. voice it, etc., claim it noisily. The Latin translation has "noisily stir up and raise questions about it."
176 NOTES. [XL
64. of inferior places, of your subordinates.
67. the execution of thy place, the performance of the duties of your office. Cf. above, 1. 45, " the discharge of thy place."
70. facility, See note on Essay viii. 29. For, see Essay iii. 17. Cf. below, 1. 86.
72. interlace, intermix. Finish one thing before beginning another, but, etc., unless you are obliged.
75. used, practised.
83. steal it, do it by stealth.
84. inward, intimate. A favourite, who apparently possesses no claim to favour, is regarded as an instrument for the secret conveyance of bribes to his master.
90. respects, considerations. The Latin word respicere means to look to, to regard, to care for. Cf. Essay xxx. 36, "In sick ness respect health." Cf. Essay xvi. 36, "to have respect to." Cf. Essay xiv. 13. In the English Bible, we have " God is no respecter of persons."
91. shall never be without, he will always be beset by im portunity and idle respects. For the quotation see Prov. xxviii. 21.
94. A place, etc. The saying is attributed to several of the seven wise men of Greece. For the quotations which follow see Tac. Hist., i. 49, and i. 50. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 22. 5.
101. sufficiency, ability to rule.
affection, see note to Essay ix. 1. For manners, see Essay iii. 19.
102. whom honour amends, If a man is improved by office and authority, it is a sure sign that he possesses a noble mind. The construction is irregular.
103. honour is or should be, etc. Cf. Adv. , bk. ii. 23. 46, "Being without well-being is a curse, and the greater the being the greater the curse." Honour, like the Latin honores, means office.
104. as in nature, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 10. 2, "So that it is no marvel though the soul so placed enjoy no rest, if that prin ciple be true that The motion of things is rapid out of their place,, mid quiet in their place. "
105. ambition, the struggle for office. The Latin word ambitus means canvassing.
in authority, when the struggle is over and office is won.
108. to side himself, to range himself on the side of one faction. Cf. Essay Ii.
109. to balance himself, to be neutral. When we have
XL] OF GREAT PLACE. 177
nothing more to gain from a party, why should we support it at the risk of incurring the enmity and opposition of another party ?
114. remembering, mindful. The Latin translation has, "Do not be too mindful of your place or mention it too often in your daily discourse or private conversation." Men are flattered by the affability of the great, who should therefore practise it. For by so doing they win friends whom they may one day need.
116. when he sits in place, when he is discharging the duties of his office.
ESSAY XII. OF BOLDNESS.
I. It, viz. the answer given by Demosthenes, trivial, trite.
9. invention, see Adv., bk. ii. 13. 6-10, where he discusses " invention of speech or argument." The use of it, he says, " is no other but out of the knowledge whereof our mind is already possessed, to draw forth or call before us that which may be per tinent to the purpose which we take into our consideration."
II. more of the fool, etc. Cf. Adv., ii. 23. 21, " The Italian proverb is elegant, and for the most part true. There is com monly less money, less wisdom, and less good faith than men do account upon."
13. wonderful, see note on Essay i. 18.
16. to other parts, The Latin translation has " to the other parts of civil knowledge. " The word civil means ' relating to man as a member of a political society. ' Bacon discusses ' civil know ledge ' in the Adv., bk. ii. 23. The sum of his remarks is that men form societies for companionship, profit, and protection. Accordingly ' civil knowledge' has to consider how a man should behave in company, how he may be successful in his undertakings, and how he shall be governed.
21. popular states, democracies.
24. Mountebanks, quacks; cf. Adv., bk. i. 2. 3, "We see it is accounted an error to commit a natural body to empiric physicians, which commonly have a few pleasing receipts whereupon they are confident and adventurous, but know neither the causes of diseases, nor the complexions of patients, nor peril of accidents, nor the true method of cures, .... so by like reason it cannot be but a matter of doubtful consequence if states be managed by empiric statesmen, not well mingled with men grounded in learning. " Cf. Essay 1. 4. For mountebank*, Sir T. Brown uses the form saltimbancoes (Lat. saltare in banco), i.e. mounted on benches.
178 NOTES. [xii.
27. want, are without.
the grounds, the principles.
37. they, see note on Essay viii. 37.
38. slight it over, make light of it.
47. stand at a stay, literally, they stand still. For the, spirits see note on Essay ix. 1. The Latin translation has "But bold men, in such a case, are taken by surprise and helpless."
48. a stale, stalemate, when by a move of one player the pieces are so placed that his opponent cannot move without exposing one of his pieces to check.
ESSAY XIII. OF GOODNESS, AND GOODNESS OF NATURE.
1. affecting, see Essay i. 3.
2. that, cf. Essay vi. 39.
4. Goodness is the virtue of benevolence. Goodness of nature is a natural kindliness of disposition. With the whole of this passage, cf. Adv., bk. ii. 20. 7, and 22. 15.
9. Charity, In the Adv., bk. i. 1. 3, he defines charity as the habit of referring everything to the good of men and mankind. no excess but error, explained below, 1. 20 seqq.
14. insomuch, etc. The Latin translation has " if through want of object or opportunity it cannot be practised towards men."
17. as, that. Busbechius was a Flemish diplomatist and traveller, 1522-1592.
18. a Christian boy, The offender was a Venetian goldsmith. He caught a bird whose bill, when open, would admit a man's fist, and, by way of a joke, fixed the bird alive over his door, with a stick in its mouth to keep its beak distended. (W. ) In the Latin translation the story is given correctly.
19. a waggishness, we should not use the article here.
22. so good, etc., such a character, for instance, as the good- natured man of Goldsmith.
23. doctors, see note on Essay iii. 7.
Machiavel lived 1469-1527. He is the subject of one of Macaulay's Essays.
27. did magnify, notice the omission of the relative that. 30. take knowledge of, notice.
32. facility, See note on Essay viii. 29.
33. JEsop's cock, cf. Adv., bk. i. 8. 7. Do not cast your pearls before swine.
xiii.] OF GOODNESS, ETC. 179
37. shine, make to shine.
39. communicate, see note on Essay viii. 36.
41. divinity, theology. He refers to the commandment of Christ, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
43. sell all, etc. , a command addressed by Christ to a rich man who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Mark x. 21.
51. There be that, etc. See note on Essay i. 2. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 22. 4, " So further deserved it to be considered by Aris totle, That there its a disposition in conversation (supposing it in things which do in no sort touch or concern a man's self) to soothe and please ; and a disposition contrary to contradict and cross ; and deserveth it not much better to be considered, That there is a disposition, not in conversation or talk, but in matter of more serious nature (and supposing it still in things merely indifferent) to take pleasure in the good of another : and a disposition contrari wise to take distaste at the good of another ? which is that property which we call good nature or ill-nature, benignity or malignity."
53. difflcilness, obstinacy.
54. mere, See note on Essay iii. 66.
55. are in season, i.e. they nourish on the calamities of others. on the loading part, i. e. they aggravate calamities. Load ing means laden. Cf. Essay x. 1.
57. Lazarus, Luke xvi. 21, the name of a beggar in one of Christ's parables, who is represented as lying hungry and sick at a rich man's gate, while the dogs come and lick his sores.
still, always.
60. Timon, Plutarch in his life of Antony says of Timon, a misanthropical Athenian, said to have lived during the Pelopon- nesian War, that he once addressed the Athenian assembly as follows — " I have a small piece of ground, 0 Athenians, in which grows a fig-tree. Many Athenians have before now hanged themselves on it. Being about to build on the ground, I wished to give public notice of the fact, in order that, if any one among you wishes to hang himself, he may do so before the fig-tree is cut down." Cf. —
" I have a tree which grows here in my close, That mine own use invites me to cut down, And shortly must I fell it : tell my friends, Tell Athens, in the sequence of degree From high to low throughout, that whoso please To stop affliction, let him take his haste, Come hither, ere my tree hath felt the axe, And hang himself. "
Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, v. 1.
180 NOTES. [xin.
61. errors, The Latin translation has " sores and ulcers."
62. politiques, politicians.
63. knee-timber, crooked timber. Success in political life requires a peculiar and unnatural hardness of disposition.
64. shall stand, are meant to stand.
74. trash, money. The word meant originally ' bits of broken sticks found under trees, ' and so generally ' refuse. '
75. St. Paul's perfection, etc. , i. e. if we are willing to sacrifice our own salvation to secure that of another. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, ix. 3, says, " I could wish that myself were accursed (anathema) from Christ for my brethren." Similarly in Exodus, xxxii. 32, Moses says to God, " Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, well : and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 20. 7.
that he would, this explains in what the perfection consists.
ESSAY XIV. OF NOBILITY.
I. estate, state.
4. attempers, moderates.
6. for, see note on Essay iii. 17.
8. stirps, families. The word is properly a singular Latin noun signifying a stock or a family. The power of the nobility prevents the monarch from becoming a despot. The subjects too are less jealous of power which is shared by many than of power which is centred in one individual.
II. flags, insignia. Fitness, not rank, is the qualification for employment.
13. respects, regard for the rank of individuals. Cf. Essay xi. 90. The Latin translation has, " They care more for the common good than for rank."
16. indifferent, impartial. See note on Essay vi. 64.
19. presseth their fortune, cf. Essay xxix. 95.
21. that ... as, such that.
22. broken upon, they serve as a breakwater.
25. of necessity, necessary.
26. weak in fortune, poor.
29. reverend, venerable. Bacon also uses the form reverent in the same sense. Reverend is used passively on the analogy of the Latin gerundive ending in endus. The word is now used as the conventional title of a clergyman.
xiv.] OF NOBILITY. 181
33. weathers, storms.
36. more virtuous, i.e. they possess more eminent qualities. However unscrupulous they may be in the means which they employ, they at least possess the qualities which command success. The Latin word virtus means properly ' manly worth.'
42. standeth at a stay, cf. Essay xii. 47.
44. the passive envy, they are not objects of envy.
because they are, The Latin translation has "because the nobles seem to be born possessed of honour."
46. of, amongst.
47. a better slide, etc. , there will be less friction. The Latin translation has "they will find their business proceed more smoothly. "
ESSAY XV. OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES.
1. calendars, the signs by which sedition may be foretold.
2. when things grow to equality, when distinctions of rank dis appear. There is of course no real analogy between citizens of equal position and days and nights of equal length. Fanciful analogies of this sort are frequent in Bacon's writings.
9. Given, viz. , by the sun. Quoted from Virgil, Georg. i. 465.
12. false news, etc. The Latin translation has " lying rumours of change bandied about on all sides and eagerly caught up by the people." Before the Indian Mutiny an old prophecy that British power was doomed was revived and given fresh currency.
15. fame, rumour. Virgil, ^En. iv. 179. Cf. Adv. , bk. ii. 4. 4, where, after quoting the same passage from Virgil, he says the fable is ' ' expounded that when princes and monarchs have sup pressed actual and open rebels, then the malignity of people (which is the mother of rebellion) doth bring forth libels and slanders, and taxations of the states, which is of the same kind with rebellion but more feminine." Cf. The Wisdom of the Ancients, § 9. The giants of Greek mythology attempted, by piling mountains one upon another, to make a road by which they might reach Jupiter and deprive him of his power.
24. right, see note on Essay i. 18.
27. plausible, see note on Essay ix. 145.
29. envy, cf. Essay ix.
Tacitus, Hist. i. 1. The quotation is inaccurate. Tacitus says, "When an emperor is once hated, men find fault with good actions as well as bad. "
182 NOTES. [xv.
33. that, redundant.
36. going about, constant endeavour.
37. Tacitus, Hist. ii. 39. Here again the quotation is in accurate. Hi the original it is, "The soldiers were ready, but inclined rather to interpret than to obey the orders of their commanders. "
41. cavilling upon, The Latin translation has 'eluding by quibbles. '
43. assay of, attempt at.
44. fearfully and tenderly, timidly and shyly. Cf. Essay vi. 78.
48. it is, etc. In the Latin translation it is, "The same thing happens as when a boat is upset," etc.
50. league, The Holy League was organized in 1576 by the Duke of Guise, nominally in defence of the Catholic religion, but really to secure the succession of Catholics to the French throne.
53. that, redundant. Abbott (Sh. Gr. § 287) says it was affixed like .so and a-s to words originally interrogative to give them a relative meaning. It was then affixed by analogy to other words. A king loses authority when obedience to him ceases to be the most sacred duty.
57. of, we should say ' for. '
59. primum mobile, The sovereign is the primum mobile of those who are powerful in a state. According to the old astronomy the heavenly bodies were set in a series of spheres, having the earth as their common centre. The outermost of these spheres was called the primnm mobile, or ' first moved. ' It completed its re volution in twenty-four hours and communicated its motion to the inner spheres. The planets had also a slow movement of their own distinct from the rapid motion which the spheres de rived from the primum mobile. Similarly those who are powerful in a state should be slow and peaceable in "their own particular motion," i.e. in the pursuit of their own ends, but quick to move in obedience to their primum mobile, i.e. the sovereign. Cf. the end of Essay li.
60. Every, each. Notice the change to the plural in ' their. ' 64. more freely, inaccurately quoted from Tac. Ann., iii. iv.
68. I will loose, etc., Isaiah xlv. 1. Wright says that the MS. has "who threateneth the dissolving thereof as one of his great judgments. "
69. So, the word introduces another sign of approaching trouble.
mainly, strongly. 72. this part of predictions, this part, viz. predictions.
xv.] OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 183
79. bear it, permit it.
80. if there be fuel, etc. Cf. the saying of Aristotle that trifling events are often the occasion but never the cause of sedition. Cf. Essay xix. 44.
83. discontentment, The Latin translation has ' ' weariness of the existing condition of things."
so many, etc., all who are ruined will vote for change. They have nothing to lose, and they may gain by change, estates, fortunes.
85. the civil war, i.e., between Caesar and Pompey. The quo tation is from the Pharsalia of Lucan, i. 181.
90. This same, etc. In his Essay Of the True Greatness of Britain Bacon says, "It is necessary in a state that shall grow and inlarge, that there be that composition which the poet speaks of, nvultvi utile bellum (that many should find an advantage in war) : an ill condition of a state, no question, if it be meant of a civil war, as it was spoken ; but a condition proper to a state that shall increase, if it be taken of a foreign war. For except there be a spur in the state, that shall excite and prick them on to wars, they will but keep their own, and seek no further. "
93. the mean people, the lower classes.
104. There is a limit, etc. , quoted from the 8th Epistle of Pliny, a Roman provincial governor under the Emperor Trajan.
106. mate, see note on Essay ii. 20. Grievous oppression breaks a man's spirit, but an alarm of danger inspires even the timid with courage.
110. fume, smoke. It is the Latin word fumus. The word fume is also used metaphorically to express ' a foolish idea. ' See Essay Iviii. 47: and cf. Adv., bk. ii. 1. 6, "Such natural philosophy as shall not vanish in the fume of subtle, sublime, or delectable speculation," etc.
113. the Spanish proverb, We say " It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back."
1 1 8. strangers, There is discontent in England now at the general employment of foreign clerks and foreign workmen. Similarly Americans have grumbled at the competition of Chinese labour.
121. For, See note on Essay iii. 17. Cf. below, 1. 164.
122. the just cure, the proper cure. The wisdom of the states man must discern the particular remedy which special circum stances require.
126. material cause, what he calls above 'the materials,' or ' the matter, ' of seditions. In the language of Aristotle, which was adopted by Bacon, ' the matter ' or ' the material cause ' is the stiiff of which a thing is made.
184 NOTES. [xv.
127. to which purpose, The student will notice that Bacon advocates the interference of government with industry to a degree which modern economists would hardly sanction. After Adam Smith's demonstration of the results of a policy of protection there was, perhaps naturally, an excessive reaction of opinion in favour of a universal policy of laisser aller. Opinion is now in some quarters again veering round towards a policy of more extended state interference. We may explain this partly by reference to the exaggerated anticipations of prosperity formed when free trade was finally adopted, partly by the natural desire of newly en franchised masses of voters to use their power in some positive way for the improvement of their own condition, and partly by the conviction of some independent theorists that unlimited com petition does not as a matter of fact lead to the most equitable distribution of a nation's wealth.
128. opening, removing all hindrances to. We still talk of 1 a new opening ' for trade, in the sense of ' a new field ' or ' opportunity. '
well-balancing, i.e. providing that what conies into the country does not exceed in value what goes out of it. See below, 1. 146. In his Advice to Sir George Villiers Bacon says, " Let the foundation of a profitable trade be thus laid, that the ex portation of home commodities be more in value than the importation of foreign ; so we shall be sure that the stocks of the kingdom shall yearly increase, for then the balance of trade must be returned in money or bullion. "
131. husbanding, cultivation.
133. foreseen, provided. A Latinism.
135. the stock, the produce.
139. live lower, etc., live more economically and save more.
141. quality, rank.
147. the increase, No nation can increase its own wealth except at the expense of a foreign nation. This is a fallacy. Inasmuch as different countries are fitted by nature for the production of different things, it is evident that all countries gain by international exchange.
151. vecture, The Latin word veho means 'to carry.' Bacon, in a speech in the House of Commons, said, "There is contained an article in the treaty between Spain and us that we shall not transport any native commodities of the Low Countries into Spain : nay, more, that we shall not transport any mami- factures of the same countries ... The reason is because even those manufactures, although the materials come from other places, do yield unto them a profit and sustentation, in regard their people are set on work by them ; they have a gain likewise
xv.] OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 185
in the price, and they have a custom in the transporting — all which the policy of Spain is to debar them of."
155. the Low- Countrymen, etc. Bacon means that though they have no advantage of soil, yet by their skill in manufacture and by their extensive carrying trade they are rendered richer than the most favoured countries.
160. muck, manure.
1G2. strait, strict. Both words originate in the Latin stringere, ' to draw tight.' Cf. Essay xx. 81, "a strict combination."
163. engrossing, monopolies.
165. is, notice the singular verb.
pasturages, Bacon means that pasture land affords occupation and home to fewer labourers than arable land does.
167. discontent, discontented. See note on Essay viii. 36.
168. the greater sort, the higher classes. Cf. " the younger sort," Essay xviii. 1.
173. the poets, etc. In the Adv., bk. ii. 4. 4, referring to the same fable, he says it is " expounded that monarchies need not fear any curbing of their absoluteness by mighty subjects, as long as by wisdom they keep the hearts of the people, who will be sure to come in on their side. "
180. so, see note on Essay vii. 35. bravery, bravado.
182. endangereth, runs the risk of. It now means 'exposes to danger. '
183. imposthumations, abscesses. It is of no avail simply to drive discontent beneath the surface.
184. The part, etc. Forethought should imitate the action of Afterthought, i.e. a wise mode of providing against sedition is to take care that the people shall never be reduced to despair. Cf. The Wisdom of the Ancients, § 26. mought, might.
188. artificial, often used by Bacon in the sense of skilful. We now oppose it to natural or real.
192. proceeding, administration. Cf. 1. 213.
194. peremptory, inevitable. In the Adv., bk ii. 22. 8, he uses the word to signify ' ' what cannot be changed. "
196. particular persons, individuals.
197. to brave, ostentatiously to pretend. 203. hath confidence with, is trusted by.
205. his own particular, The Latin translation has " in his own private affairs." 207. fronted, confronted.
186 NOTES. [xv.
211. at distance, at enmity. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 22. 6.
217. Csesax, etc. There is a play on the word dictate. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 7. 29. Sulla was elected Perpetual Dictator B.C. 82, but resigned power B.C. 79.
222. Galba, See note on Essay ii. 43. Tacitus, Hist. i. 5, records that this speech irritated the Praetorians (see note on Essay xix. 151), who found that the donative promised in Galba's name was withheld.
225. Probus, was Emperor 276-282 A. D. " The imprudence of Probus is said to have inflamed the discontent of his troops. More attentive to the interests of mankind than to those of the army, he expressed the vain hope that, by the establishment of universal peace, he should soon abolish the necessity of a standing and mercenary force. The unguarded expression proved fatal to him." Gibbon, ch. xii. The story is told by Vopiscus, a Latin historian of the fourth century.
229. tender, critical.
230. short speeches, In the Adv. , bk. ii. 23. 16, Bacon advises " that more trust be given to countenances and deeds than to words ; and in words rather to sudden passages and surprised words than to set and purposed words. "
233. flat, dull.
237. there useth to be, there generally is.
242. Atque is habitus, etc. " Such was the temper of men's minds that, while there were few to venture on so atrocious a treason, many wished it done, and all were ready to acquiesce."
assured, trustworthy.
243. popular, courting the favour of the people.
holding good correspondence with, fairly matched with.
ESSAY XVI. OF ATHEISM.
1. I had rather, etc. In the Adv., bk. i. 1, Bacon says that it is only a shallow science which makes men atheists. The wider and deeper a man's knowledge of nature is, the firmer will be his conviction of the truths of religion. In bk. ii. 6. 1, he says that the existence, power, and goodness of God are proved by natural theology from the world, which is the work of His hands.
the Legend, The Golden Legend, a collection of lives of saints and other stories, written by Jacobus de Voragine, a Dominican, born about 1230. He takes his name from the place of his birth in the state of Genoa.
2. theTalmud, contained the civil and canonical laws of the Jews. 4. convince, refute.
xvi.] OF ATHEISM. 187
7. about, round.
8. second causes, efficient causes. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 1. 3. " In the entrance of philosophy, when the second causes which are next unto the senses do offer themselves to the mind of man, if it dwell and stay there it may induce some oblivion of the highest cause ; but when a man passeth on further, and seeth the depend ence of causes, and the works of Providence, then, according to the allegory of the poets, he will easily believe that the highest link of nature's chain must needs be tied to the foot of Jupiter's chair," i.e. that the series of natural phenomena is directed by God.
10. confederate, bound together, united.
13. Leucippus and Democritus, They taught the atomic theory. Democritus was born B.C. 460. The real date of Leucippus' birth is not known. For Epicurus see note on Essay i. 46.
14. four mutable elements, etc., referring to the Aristotelian quintessence, or fifth essence, of which the heavenly bodies are composed.
15. fifth essence, Wright quotes from Holland's Plutarch, p. 808, ' ' Aristoteles of Stagira, the son of Nicomachus, hath put down for principles these three, to wit, a certain form called JKnfelechia, Matter, and Privation : for elements, four, and for a fifth Quintessence, the heavenly body which is immutable."
17. portions or seeds, the atoms.
unplaced, The Latin translation has "wandering without order and at random."
19. The fool, etc., Psalm xiv. 1.
21. as that he would have, as what he wishes to believe.
23. for whom it maketh, to whose advantage it is. Cf. Essay i. 14.
27. fainted in it, distrusted it.
30. which is most of all, what is most extraordinary.
you shall have, see note on Essay ii. 7. For of see Essay xiv. 46.
31. that, some who. Cf. Essay i. 2.
36. without having respect to, without concerning themselves with. See note on Essay xi. 90. See Tennyson's Lotu* Eaters.
45. the nature, He could not deny the existence of God, though he denied the divine government of the world.
52. the contemplative atheist, the speculative atheist, the man who is really convinced of the non-existence of God, as distin guished from those who are not really convinced, and those whose
188 NOTES. [XVL
denial of God is the expression rather of a wish than of a conviction.
Diagoras of Melos lived in the fifth century B.C. ; Bion in the third century B.C. For Lucian, see note to Essay i. 12. 54. for that, because.
62. scandal of priests, scandals caused by immoral priests. St. Bernard was born 1091 A.D. See Adv., bk. i. 3. 2. 68. reverence of religion, cf. Essay xv. 57.
75. generosity, nobleness. The Latin word generosus means properly 'of good birth,' and so the qualities which should dis tinguish men of rank.
76. maintained, upheld, supported. The word means literally ' held by the hand. ' Its more common meaning now is ' to sup port a person ' in the sense of providing him with the means of living. Used intransitively, ' I maintain ' means ' I hold the opinion.' Cf. the use of the word tenable.
78. confidence of, trust inspired by.
80. assureth himself, encourages himself.
ESSAY XVII. OF SUPERSTITION.
I. no opinion, The Latin translation adds "or an uncertain one." Bacon said in the last Essay that the moral use of religion is that it exalts human nature. On the other hand, an unworthy con ception of God, so far as it influences character and action, can only be degrading in its effects. In this Essay Bacon has in view the doctrines and practice of the Catholic Church. The various Catholic plots of his time naturally made him dwell upon the political effects of superstition. In a letter to a friend who had joined the Catholic Church he writes, "And I entreat you much sometimes to meditate upon the extreme effects of superstition in this last Powder Treason : fit to be tabled and pictured in the chamber of meditation, as another hell above the ground ; and well justifying the censure of the heathen, that superstition is far worse than atheism ; by how much it is less evil to have no opinion of God at all, than such as is impious towards his divine majesty and goodness. "
7. would eat his children, According to the Greek myth Saturn, or rather Kronos, devoiired his children. The quotation is from Plutarch, De Superstitione, ch. 10. Plutarch, a Boeotian by birth, lived in the first century A. D. He wrote biographies in pairs. Selecting some eminent Greek and Roman, he gave an account of each, and ended with a comparison of the two.
II. piety, used, as in Latin, to signify 'natural affection.
XVIL] OF SUPERSTITION. 189
13. were not, did not exist. Cf. Essay iii. 95.
14. erecteth an absolute monarchy, cf. Adv., bk. i. 8. 3. " There is no power on earth which sets up a throne or chair of estate in the spirits and souls of men, and in their cogitations, imaginations, opinions, and beliefs, but knowledge and learning. And therefore we see the detestable and extreme pleasure that arch heretics, and false prophets, and impostors are transported with, when they once find in themselves that they have a sup eriority in the faith and conscience of men." The authority of law and morality is necessarily invalidated by a theology which sets the arbitrary dicta of an infallible church above both.
15. it makes men, etc. The Latin translation has " it maketh men cautious and careful of their own safety."
16. as looking no further, because they have nothing to look to beyond their own interests in this world.
18. civil, tranquil.
19. primum mobile, see note on Essay xv. 59.
20. ravisheth, carries with it in its movement. The Church usurps the functions of government. The word ravish means to seize or carry off by force. Cf. rape, rapine, rapacious, etc. "In this encyclopaedic and round of knowledge, like the great and exemplary wheels of heaven, we must observe two circles ; that, while we are daily carried about and whirled on by the swing and rapt of the one, we may maintain a natural and proper course in the slow and sober wheel of the other." Sir T. Brown.
23. in a reversed order, rules of conduct ought to be deduced from principles of reason. Superstition invents arguments to justify its precepts.
gravely, The Latin translation has, " it was a weighty saying of certain prelates." The Council of Trent met in the year 1545. Its object was to express the judgment of the Church on the questions raised by the Reformers.
25. the Schoolmen, teachers in the schools. The name is given to the philosophers of the middle ages. Speaking generally, the Scholastic philosophy was an application of the logic of Aristotle to the development and explanation of the doctrines of Christianity. It lasted from the ninth to the fourteenth century. Bacon gives a criticism of the Schoolmen in the Adv., bk. i. 4. 5-7, and bk. ii. 25. 11.
27. engines of orbs, i.e. orbits so contrived as to save, i.e. to explain or be consistent with the phenomena. Cf. Adv. , bk. ii. 8. 5, " The same phenomena in astronomy are satisfied by the received astronomy of the diurnal motion, and the proper motions of the planets, with their eccentrics and epicycles, and
190 NOTES. [xvn.
likewise by the theory of Copernicus. " Eccentrics and epicycles were invented to explain the apparently irregular movements of the planets, including the sun and moon. They revolved in "epicycles," i.e. small circles, the centres of which described larger circles. These larger circles were called " eccentric," be cause the earth was not the centre of them. Eccentric means literally "from the centre," and epicycle, "a circle added." Bacon himself did not accept the Copernicaii theory.
32. Pharisaical, The Pharisees were a sect of the Jews noted for their ostentatious observance of the minutest ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual.
33. reverence of, cf. Essay xv. 57, and xvi. 68.
35. good intentions, see note on Essay iii. 66.
36. conceits, The Latin translation has " ethelothreskeia," a word used by St. Paul, and rendered in the English version ' ' will-worship. " In the third Essay he distinguishes ' ' points of good intention " from " points fundamental and of substance in religion." Bacon means that if the Church is to enforce univer sally whatever individuals may think it right to do, new and arbitrary rules of conduct will certainly come into existence.
the taking an aim, etc. The Latin translation has, " The constant and foolish search for human analogies to explain things divine. " We still say ' to make a shot ' for ' to guess. '
42. As wholesome meat, etc. Talking of the process by which reasonable iisage generates unreasonable usage, Sir Henry Maine says, "Analogy, the most valuable of instruments in the maturity of jurisprudence, is the most dangerous of snares in its infancy. Prohibitions and ordinances, originally confined, for good reasons, to a single description of acts, are made to apply to all acts of the same class, because a man menaced with the anger of the gods for doing one thing feels a natural terror in doing any other thing which is remotely like it. After one kind of food has been interdicted for sanitary reasons, the prohibition is extended to all food resembling it, though the resemblance occasionally depends on analogies the most fanciful. So again, a wise pro vision for insuring general cleanliness dictates in time long routines of ceremonial ablution ; and that division into classes which at a particular crisis of social history is necessary for the maintenance of the national existence, degenerates into the most disastrous and blighting of all human institutions — Caste. " Ancient Law, ch. i. For the metaphor employed in the text, cf. Adv., bk. i. 4. 5, " Surely, like as many substances in nature which are solid do putrify and corrupt into worms, so it is the property of good and sound knowledge to putrify and dissolve into a number of subtle, idle, and unwholesome, and (as I may term them) vermiculate questions, which have indeed a kind of
xvii.] OF SUPERSTITION. 191
quickness and life of spirit, but no soundness of matter or good ness of quality."
44. There is a superstition, etc. In the natural reaction against the beliefs and practices of Hinduism, is there not a tendency in this country to adopt without discrimination the ideas and insti tutions of England ? And is not that most valued which is most strange and most opposed to the old Hindu modes of thought and conduct ? Amongst the causes of Church controversies in his day Bacon notices the tendency of the Reformers to go to the extreme opposite of everything Romish. He says men should remember that "it is a consideration of much greater wisdom and sobriety to be well advised, whether in general demolition of the institutions of the Church of Rome, there were not, as men's actions are imperfect, some good purged with the bad, rather than to purge the Church, as they pretend, every day anew ; which is the way to make a wound in the bowels, as is already begun." Cf. Swift, Tale of a Tub, section vi.
47. care would be had, The Latin translation has, "In reform ing a religion care ought to be taken." Cf. Essay iii. 148.
faretli, happens.
ESSAY XVIII. OF TRAVEL.
1. the younger sort, cf. Essay xv. 168.
3. hath some entrance into, has acquired some knowledge of.
5. grave, trustworthy.
I allow, I approve. It is the Latin allaudare, to laud, or praise.
so that, provided that.
6. hath the language, knows the language well.
10. hooded, The metaphor is taken from falconry. 15. observation, what they deliberately go to see.
23. disputations, The Universities used to require a candi date for a degree to maintain or oppose a given thesis. Cf. Adv. , bk. ii. Introd. § 12. The following passage from Sir Frederick Pollock's reminiscences is interesting: — "Acts and opponencies to be kept in the University schools were in my time still in existence, and, although shorn of all real significance, were necessary preliminaries to taking the B.A. degree. Early in 1835 I had to oppose Coleiiso as the keeper of an act. The pro positions he undertook to maintain were —
192 NOTES. [xvm.
(i. ) The opinion of Newton in his third section, bk. i., is
correct, (ii. ) The opinion of Hamilton in his book on conic sections is
correct.
(iii. ) The opinion of Paley on drunkenness is correct. The two men thus pitted against each other used to meet before hand to arrange their arguments, and usually in the evening at tea given in the rooms of the man keeping the act. Accordingly I went to Colenso in St. John's College, and we rehearsed together our little farce. In the schools there was no audience except the two men who had to attend for a similar purpose. A moderator presided, and the act-keeper and opponent mounted a sort of rostrum in succession. A very good argument might provoke from the moderator an optime disputasti (you have argued very well), a fair one was dismissed with a bene dispu tasti (you have argued well), and satis disputasti (you have argued enough) was the meed of the unfortunate man who failed to play his part in the comedy with credit." 21. so, similarly, likewise.
23. are, see note on Essay iii. 95.
24. of state, magnificent.
25. magazines, stores of any kind belonging to the state, burses, "Bourse" is still the French word for the exchange.
It is the same word as purse. By exchanges and burses he means places of exchange.
31. triumphs, masks, see Essay xxxvii. 39. card, chart. Cf. Essay xxix. 37.
45. adamant, magnet. The Latin translation has " This is certainly a magnet for the attraction of many acquaintances and intimacies." Cf. Shakespeare, Trail, and Cress, iii. 2. 186 — " As true as steel, as plantage to the moon, As sun to day, as turtle to her mate, As iron to adamant."
Talking of the wit of Queen Elizabeth, Bacon says that it is " as the adamant of excellencies, which draweth out of any book ancient or new, out of any writing or speech, the best."
47. diet, take his meals.
55. employed men, the private secretaries.
58. in, we should say of. But in the Latin translation it is " persons eminent in every kind."
59. the life, the real person. The Latin translation has " The expression, the countenance, the figures, and the gestures."
GO. For, see Essay iii. 17.
xvin.] OF TRAVEL. 193
61. healths, toasts.
place, precedence.
words, The Latin translation has " insulting words." 63. engage him into, entangle him in. 69. advised, thoughtful.
71. country manners, the manners of his country. The ex pression now would mean the manners of the country as opposed to those of the town.
72. prick in, plant. Cf. Essay xlvi. 178. Cf. "Farewell, Monsieur Traveller : look you lisp and wear strange suits ; dis able all the benefits of your own country ; be out of love with your nativity, and almost chicle heaven for making you that countenance you are, or I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola." As You Like It, Act iv. Sc. 1.
ESSAY XIX. OF EMPIRE.
3. being at the highest, etc. Cf. "But princes, upon a far other reason, are best interpreted by their natures, and private persons by their ends. For princes being at the top of human desires, they have for the most part no particular ends whereto they aspire, by distance from which a man mought take measure and scale of the rest of their desires ; which is one of the causes that maketh their hearts more inscrutable." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 21.
6. clear, undisturbed. As clouds overshadow a clear sky, their serenity is disturbed by anticipations of evil.
7. the Scripture, Prov. xxv. 3.
9. that should marshal, etc. , i. e. , to which other desires should be subordinated. A man haunted by jealousies and fears is naturally capricious and uncertain ; nor can we guess at the likes or dislikes of one who has no definite or leading object in life.
12. Toys, trifles.
13. an order, The Latin translation has "establishing some order or college. "
15. Nero, etc., names of Roman emperors. 21. standing at a stay, cf. Essay xii. 47.
25. Alexander the Great, Wright quotes from Holland's Plu tarch, "It is reported that King Alexander the Great, hearing Anaxarchus the philosopher discoursing and maintaining this position, that there were worlds innumerable, fell a weeping ; and when his friends and familiars about him asked what he ailed,
194 NOTES. [XTX.
Have I not (quoth he) good cause to weep, that being as there are an infinite number of worlds, I am not yet the lord of one." Diocletian abdicated eight years before his death and spent that time in retirement. Charles V. abdicated in 1556, and devoted the remainder of his life to religious observances.
29. temper, literally ' mixing. ' It denotes a judicious blending of severity with indulgence, as distinguished from distemper, which signifies a capricious transition from the one to the other. In a speech in the House of Commons Bacon told the same story about Apollonius and Vespasian, and remarked upon it, ' ' Here we see the difference between regular and able princes, and irregular and incapable, Nerva and Nero. The one tempers and mingles the sovereignty with the liberty of the subject wisely ; and the other doth interchange it, and vary it unequally and absurdly."
32. Apollonius, born at Tyana in Cappadocia. He was a diviner and reputed worker of miracles, who lived in the first century A.D.
41. fine deliveries, etc., skilful modes of escaping from and averting threatening danger.
43. grounded, reasonable. Cf. "And senators or councillors likewise, which be learned, do proceed upon more safe and sub stantial principles, than councillors which are only men of experience : the one sort keeping danger afar off, whereas the other discover them not till they come near hand, and then trust to the agility of their wit to ward or avoid them." Adv., bk. i. 7. 3. Cf. grounds, Essay xii. 28.
44. to try masteries with, to contend for superiority with. 46. the spark, the same metaphor is used in Essay xv. 80.
48. their own mind, the Latin translation has "their own de sires and character. " The substance of the following quotation is in Sallust's History of the War with Jugurtha, ch. 113. Cf. "Sallust noteth that it is usual with kings to desire contradic tories : but for the most part the desires of sovereigns are as changeable as they are strong, and are often contradictory." Adv., bk. ii. 22. 5.
52. the solecism, the natural defect. Of power, The Latin translation has "of excessive power." the mean, the means.
59. For, Essay iii. 17. It is repeated in this sense at the beginning of the following paragraphs.
63. embracing of trade, The Latin translation has " by draw ing trade to themselves."
64. as, that.
xix.] OF EMPIRE. 195
72. take up peace at interest, purchase an immediate peace at the cost of subsequent loss.
73. Guicciardine, an Italian historian, 1483-1540. The league was formed in the year 1480.
77. schoolmen, see note on Essay xvii. 28.
83. infamed, infamous. Livia was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus. Cf. Essay vi. 1.
Roxalana, the wife of the Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, who reigned from 1520 to 1566. Mustapha was her step-son. She procured his assassination in order to secure the succession to her own son.
86. his queen, In very early .times his was substituted by mistake for the 's of the genitive. The change occurred most frequently in the case of nouns ending in a sibilant, owing to the coincidence of sound : e.g. 'Mars his queen.' Abbott's Sh. Gr. § 217. His, as being the old genitive of it, was also used where we use its ; see Essay x. 42, etc.
90. advoutresses, adulteresses, that, which follows when, would be omitted now, and when would be repeated. See note on xv. 53.
91. of dangers, i.e. caused by, or resulting from dangers. 95. was fatal . . . as, was so fatal that.
97. for that, cf. Essay xvi. 54.
99. towardness, docility. Crispus was executed in the year 326 A.D.
103. that, see above, 1. 90.
104. Demetrius was executed in the year 181 B.C. on account of an accusation falsely preferred against him by his brother.
110. Selymus, Solyman the Magnificent. Bajazet was one of his sons who rebelled against him and was executed by him. 115. try it, contend.
118. that state, the order of the clergy. But, except, it hath a dependence of, it is dependent upon, but where, except where. Bacon is thinking of the troubles which resulted from the conflict of the Civil with the Papal jurisdiction.
119. churchmen, cf. Essay viii. 26.
120. particular, cf. Essay xv. 196.
122. it, We should say ' It is not amiss to keep them at a distance.'
123. to depress, to press down, to humble, more absolute, cf. Essay xiv. 4.
129. They, Notice the repetition of the nominative. Cf. Essay viii. 37.
196 NOTES. [xix.
130. Fain, the word expresses reluctant acquiescence in what is inevitable.
133. discourse high, as we say talk big, i.e. brag and bluster.
134. that they grow not, i.e. preventing them from growing. It explains how they act as a counterpoise.
135. immediate, used in its literal sense. No one stands be tween them and the people.
136. temper, moderate. The word means literally to mix, to combine in due proportion (cf. above, 1. 29), and so metaphori cally to regulate. So distemper means a disturbance of elements in combination, and so, metaphorically, a disease.
138. vena porta, The metaphor is historically curious ; for no one would have used 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 converge to the vena porta. The latter immediately divides into branches, and ultimately into four ramifications, which are distributed through out 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 commerce concen trates the resources of a country in order to their redistribution. The heart, which receives blood from all parts of the 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 : especially as the latter is a mere conduit and not a source of motion. Ellis.
140. nourish little, intransitive. In the Latin translation it is " Have a thin habit of body."
141. that that lie wins, etc. The Latin translation has " What he gains in parts he loses in the whole, the total amount of trade being diminished." Taxes diminish, of course, the power of pur chasing. Excessive taxation therefore involves stagnation of trade, and a consequent diminution of the public revenue. A hundred was an old territorial division in England intermediate between the township and the county or shire. Leeseth. loseth.
147. the point of religion, etc. Cf. Essay xv. 115.
149. men of war, soldiers. We iise the term now in the sense war-ships.
151. the Janizaries, a Turkish corps established in 1326. The praetorian bands were instituted by Augustus. Both the janizaries and the praetorians were intended as a safeguard to their sovereign : and both, being spoilt by indulgence and conscious of power, became a danger to the ruler and the state.
152. several, distinct.
xx.] OF COUNSEL. 197
ESSAY XX. OF COUNSEL.
6. obliged, used in the literal sense of ' ' bound. "
8. sufficiency, ability. Cf. Essay xi. 101.
9. hath made it, Isaiah ix. 6. The quotation which follows is from Prov. xx. 18.
12. Agitation, Notice the play on the word. The Latin agitare means both to toss and to discuss.
14. inconstancy, inconsistency. Cf. below, 1. 69, constantly.
15. Salomon's son, Rehoboam. Following the advice of young councillors, he attempted to govern with undue severity. The result was that the greater part of his subjects revolted and set up an independent state.
17. the beloved kingdom of God, the Jewish kingdom. 20. for, see iii. 17.
26. whereby they intend, the meaning of which is. 36. elaborate, elaborated. Cf. Essay xv. 167. 43. resembled, compared.
50. of themselves, by themselves : without the help of advice. By less he means ' not fit for their work. '
54. doctrine, teaching. The Latin translation has " The teach ing of some among the, Italians. "
55. cabinet councils, secret councils. The Latin translation has "Secret councils, commonly called cabinets. " Wright says that the MS. adds, " which hath turned Metis the wife to Metis the mistress, that is, councils of state to which princes are married, to councils of gracious persons recommended chiefly by flattery and affection." This was suppressed because of its obvious application to James' favourites.
61. the unsecreting, the disclosure.
63. futile, see Essay vi. 52.
64. to tell, The Latin translation has ;'to know and to reveal secrets."
66. be, see note on Essay i. 2.
67. which, viz. secrecy. A matter which is to be kept secret should not be spoken of to more than one or two persons.
71. such as is able, etc. The Latin translation has " who is strong in his own strength," i.e. who can manage his own affairs.
72. inward, intimate.
75. imparted himself, communicated his intentions to. Morton and Fox were the Bishops of Ely and Exeter. Wright quotes from Bacon's History of Henry VII., "About this time the King
198 NOTES. [xx.
called unto his Privy Council John Morton and Richard Fox, the one Bishop of Ely, the other Bishop of Exeter, vigilant men and secret, and such as kept watch with him almost upon all men else. "
76. For, cf. Essay iii. 17.
the fable sheweth the remedy, he has already explained one meaning of the fable to be that kings should appropriate the wisdom of their advisers.
79. his dependences, his dependents. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 17, i( Mutianus advanced many of the friends of Antonius : wherein, under pretence to strengthen him, he did desolate him, and won from him his dependences. "
81. over-strict, see note on Essay xv. 162.
82. holpen, remedied. Cf. " Men are to imitate the wisdom of jewellers : who if there be a grain, or a cloud, or an ice which may be ground forth without taking too much of the stone, they help it." Adv., bk. ii. 21. 5.
85. he shall not find, etc. See the conclusion of Essay i.
86. there be that, see note on Essay i. 2.
96. the chief virtue, etc. From an epigram of the Roman Martial, born A.D. 43.
97. speculative, prying into. Cf. " To, be speculative into another man to the end to know how to work him, or wind him, or govern him, proceedeth from a heart that is double and cloven and not entire and ingenuous ; which as in friendship it is want of integrity, so towards princes or superiors is want of duty." Adv., bk. i. 3. 7.
98. person, character. See note on Essay iii. 134. composition, see note on Essay vi. 103.
104. reverend, deserving of respect. See note on Essay xiv. 29.
105. obnoxious, exposed to, influenced by. A Latinism : lit. it means ' liable to punishment. '
107. to preserve freedom, i.e. that they may not hesitate to say what they think, as they might do in the presence of their superiors. For ' the inferior sort ' and ' the greater sort,' cf. Essay xv. 168, and Essay xviii. 1.
108. to preserve respect, the Latin translation has " That they may give their advice more modestly."
111. the life of the execution, etc. The law remains a dead- letter when no one is interested in enforcing it. Cf. "A purposed neglect, or, what is worse, a literal but perverse and malignant obedience must be the ruin of the wisest counsels": and "I think it impossible that any king can cordially infuse vivacity
xx.] OF COUNSEL. 199
and vigour into measures which he knows to be dictated by those who, he must be persuaded, are in the highest degree ill-affected to his person." Burke. In a letter to Villiers Bacon says, " The impediments are as much or more in the persons which are live, instruments than in the dead business itself. "
1 13. by classes, one general idea, or one mathematical definition, embraces the characteristics of a whole class of things. Such general knowledge of man is not sufficient. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 14, "Informations of particulars, touching persons and actions, are as the minor propositions in every active syllogism : for no excellency of observations (which are as the major pro positions) can suffice to ground a conclusion, if there be errors and mistaking in the minors. "
115. should be, ought to be.
119. blanch, connected etymologically with 'blink 'and 'flinch.' It means 'to shrink,' or 'be afraid.' In Essay xxvi. 28, it is used transitively in the sense of ' to avoid. ' Cf . " It is over usual to blanch the obscure places and discourse upon the plain." Adv., bk. ii. 19. 1.
120. conversant in, familiar with.
121. have been actors upon the stage, The Latin translation has " Who have guided the helm of the state."
123. debated, The Latin translation has "duly weighed and discussed."
124. act, resolution. It is used like the Latin actum to signify the result of debate.
126. spoken to, discussed. Bacon was himself a member of the Commission appointed in the year 1604 to deal with the question of the union of the two kingdoms.
132. estate, state.
133. ripening, we should say 'preparing.' Bacon means the collecting and arranging of the information required by the Council. It may be said that, if a committee is composed of the adherents of two parties in equal numbers, neither party will have an advantage. Bacon says that it is better not to admit partizans at all.
134. indifferent, see note on Essay vi. 64.
136. standing, perpetual. In a letter of advice to the king Bacon suggested the appointment of commissions for the follow ing provinces : for advancing the clothing of England : for staying treasures within the realm, and the ' reiglement of moneys : for the provision of the realm with corn and grain, and the government of the exportation and importation thereof : and directing of public granaries, if cause be : for introducing
200 NOTES. [xx.
and nourishing manufactures within the realm, for the setting people a-work : for preventing the depopulation of towns and houses of husbandry, and for nuisances and highways : for the recovery of drowned lands : for the suppression of the grievance of informers : for the better proceedings in the plantation of Ireland : for the provision of the realm with all kinds of warlike defence, ordnance, powder, munition, and armour.
137. for some provinces, for particular subjects. The Latin word provincia was used in the sense of ' a department of the public service ' before it meant ' a district. '
be, see note on Essay i. 2.
138. divers particular councils, The Latin translation has " different subordinate councils." The special committees in Spain resemble the standing councils which Bacon advocates.
142. mintmen, persons skilled in coinage.
145. tribunitious, overbearing. The tribunes in the Roman state were the magistrates who specially represented the people as distinguished from the aristocracy.
to clamour, to shout them down. 148. sway, direct.
153. take the wind of him, follow his lead. They will be guided by him as a ship follows the direction of the wind. Of=from, as it sometimes does still, after words like 'to borrow,' and 'to take.' Cf. our expression " to know which way the wind blows," i.e. in what direction things are tending. Shakespeare talks of men who ' ' turn their halcyon beaks with every gale and vary of their masters," Lear, ii. 2. 84. It was believed that if the king fisher or halcyon was hung up in the air by the neck, its bill was always directly against the wind.
154. a song of placebo, the vesper hymn for the dead, so called because it begins with the words, " I will please (placebo) the Lord in the land of the living." They will sing a song of placebo means here simply, they will do what the king wishes.
ESSAY XXI. OF DELAYS.
3. Sibylla's offer, Cf. Adr., bk. ii. 23. 33. The Roman king Tarquin refused to buy nine books which an old woman offered him. She went away and burnt three of the books, and then returned and asked as much as before for the remaining six. The king laughed at her. She then went and burnt three more of the books, and still asked the same price for the remaining three. The king was so struck by her conduct that he consulted
xxi.] OF DELAYS. 201
his augur, who told him to buy the three books, adding that he had done wrong in not buying the nine, for that they were the books of the Sibyl, and contained great secrets. The Sibylline books were consulted by the Romans in times of political diffi culty and danger.
5. the common verse, Adagla, p. 687, ed. Grynasus. Grynseus was a Suabian by birth. He was born towards the end of the fifteenth century. He was well known as a scholar and a theologian. See also Phaedrus, v. 8. (W.)
6. and no hold taken, i.e. after she has presented her locks and found that no hold is taken of them. ' Taken ' depends upon ' has. ' If we ever let slip an opportunity it may never recur.
13. nothing, used adverbially : not at all. 19. buckling, preparing to meet them.
22. Argus was set by Juno as a guard over lo. For Briareus, see Essay xv. 175.
24. the helmet of Pluto, See Homer, II. , v. 845. It rendered the wearer invisible. Cf. The Wisdom of the Ancients, chap. vii.
25. the politic man, the politician.
ESSAY XXII. OF CUNNING.
1. take Cunning for, we mean by cunning. 4. there be that, see note on Essay i. 2.
pack the cards, arrange the cards deceitfully. Many men have not the wisdom to make use of advantages which they havre had cunning enough to obtain.
6. weak, wanting in ability.
7. persons, The Latin translation has "the characters and habits of individuals."
8. are perfect in men's humours, The Latin translation has " know the favourable times for approaching men."
9. real, Res is the Latin word for matters, so ' the real part ' means matters or business as distinguished from persons.
part of business, cf. "this part of predictions," Essay xv. 72. In the Adv., bk. ii. 23. 14, he dwells on the importance of " procuring good information of particulars touching persons, their natures, their desires, and ends, their customs and fashions, their helps and advantages, and whereby they chiefly stand : so again their weaknesses and disadvantages, and where by they lie most open and obnoxious ; their friends, factions,
202 NOTES. [xxn.
dependences ; and again their opposites, enviers, and competi tors, their moods and times, you alone know the favourable times for approaching him ; their principles, rules, and observations, and the like ; and this not only of persons, but of actions ; what are on foot from time to time, and how they are conducted, favoured, and opposed, and how they import, and the like."
11. practice, intrigue.
12. but, only.
alley, a bowling alley. Under the head of "Bowl-Alley or Bowling- Alley " Nares (Glossary) gives " a covered place for the game of bowls, instead of a bowling-green." He quotes, "Whether it be in open wide places, or in close allies — the choosing of the bowls is the greatest cunning. "—Country Content ment, G. Markham, p. 58. (W.) A man who plays bowls well in the alley to which he is accustomed may play badly in a strange one. Similarly a cunning man may be able to work upon an individual whose character and habits he has studied, though for want of a general knowledge of human character he will fail when he has to deal with a stranger.
13. so as, see note on Essay viii. 48. The Greek philosopher Aristippus was the author of the saying which Bacon quotes.
16. and because, etc. It will be well to enumerate the little tricks with which they are always ready. Cf. below, 1. 112. A haberdasher is generally connected with a Norse word signifying things of small value. Skeat connects it with ' the haversack ' in which the pedlar carried his wares.
19. wait upon, carefully watch. Cf. " the motions of the coun tenance and parts .... do disclose the present humour and state of the mind and will. For, as your majesty saith most aptly and elegantly, as the tongue speaketh to the ear so the gesture speaketh to the eye. And therefore a number of subtile persons, whose eyes do dwell upon the faces and fashions of men, do well know the advantage of this observation, as being most part of their ability ; neither can it be denied but that it is a great dis covery of dissimulation, and a great direction in business." Adv., bk. ii. 9. 2.
20. Jesuits, an order in the Catholic Church founded in the sixteenth century.
21. there be, see note on Essay i. 2.
22. would be, cf. Essay iii. 148.
24. when you have, etc. The Latin translation has "When there is anything which you wish to obtain and carry through easily and quickly."
30. estate, state.
xxii.] OF CUNNING. 203
30. mought, cf. Essay xv. 184.
33. that, cf. Essay vi. 39, and below, 1. 38.
34. would, wishes to. doubts, fears.
35. handsomely, used in its proper sense of ' dexterously. '
36. in such sort, in such a way.
39. took himself up, checked himself.
45. what the matter is, etc., what your change of countenance means. The Jewish prophet Nehemiah, being in exile and wishing to return to Judaea, assumed a sorrowful look in the presence of Artaxerxes. The king asked the meaning of his sad looks, and the question afforded him an opportunity of making his request. Nehem. ii. 1.
48. tender, delicate, difficult to approach, unpleasing, cf. Essay i. 27.
51. He, i.e. the person whose voice is more weighty. Messalina, wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, forced a noble named Silius to marry her. Narcissus, the Emperor's secretary, wishing to inform the Emperor of this, but afraid to do so directly, ordered two women with whom the Emperor was intimate to mention the fact to him. They did so, and the Emperor then sent for Narcissus to inquire as to the truth of this report. Tac. Ann. xi. 30.
57. he, see note on Essay viii. 37.
66. be found, i.e. procure themselves to be surprised and found.
68. apposed, questioned. We use the word ' to pose ' for ' to puzzle with a question. ' Cf . Essay xxxii. 32.
72. thereupon take advantage, The Latin translation has "so as by this means to ensnare and overthrow the other."
two, possibly Sir Robert Cecil and Sir Thomas Bodley. (W.)
74. kept good quarter, etc. , were on friendly terms. In Essay x. 48, ' to keep quarter ' is used in a different sense.
76. declination, decline.
77. affect, see note on Essay i. 3.
78. caught up those words, The Latin translation has " took in good faith these words which were spoken with sinister intent."
82. as, see note on Essay viii. 21.
84. The turning, etc. Wright quotes the following explanation from Singer's edition of the Essays — " It was originally, no doubt, ' cate in the pan,' but thus popularly corrupted. The allusion is probably to the dexterous turning or shifting the side of a pan cake by a sleight of hand familiar to cooks." The word ' cat-a-
204 NOTES. [xxii.
pan ' occurs in a popular English song as equivalent to ' turn coat. '
86. lays it as if another, etc. , imputes it to another.
90. to glance and dart at others, indirectly to accuse others.
92. Tigellinus, Tac. Ann. xiv. 57. He was the profligate fav ourite and minister of the Roman Emperor Nero. Burrhus, who with Seneca had superintended the education of Nero, and who tried to control him for good, was put to death A.D. 63.
96. as, that.
98. keep themselves more in guard, they protect themselves because they affirm nothing explicitly.
99. carry it, spread it abroad. 101. stick, hesitate.
104. how far about they will fetch, in what a roundabout way they will approach the subject.
beat over, We have an expression ' to beat about the bush ' in the sense of ' to hesitate before coming to the point. ' The metaphor is taken from beating the jungle to start the game. So also it means 'to search carefully from point to point.' Cf. Essay 1. 46. With this passage cf. Essay xlvii. 25.
108. lay him open, reveal what he wishes to hide.
109. Paul's, "The body of old St. Paul's church in London was a constant place of resort for business and amusement. Advertisements were fixed up there, bargains made, servants hired, politics discussed," etc. Nares, Gloss, s. ?;. , quoted by Wright, who adds that frequent allusions are made to it by Shakespeare and the dramatists of his time.
112. small wares, cf. above, 1. 17. 114. for that, cf. Essay xvi. 54.
116. resorts, springs or sources. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 2. 5. "Such histories do rather set forth the pomp of business than the true and inward resorts thereof. "
117. the main, the important part. Bacon means that cunning can do no more than take advantage of opportunities for setting things afoot, and finding a way out of a difficulty. So it may be compared to a house which should contain nothing but a way in and a way out.
120. looses, modes of escape. Cf. deliveries, Essay xix. 41.
in the conclusion, the Latin translation adds " of delibera tions."
are, notice the omission of the nominative. no ways, cf. Essay x. 51.
xxn.] OF CUNNING. 205
122. would be thought, etc. They wish to be regarded as men who are more fitted to decide matters for others than to discuss them with others.
123. abusing, deceiving. The quotation which follows is from Prov. xiv. 15.
125. proceedings, cf. Essay xv. 192.
ESSAY XXIII. OF WISDOM FOR A MAN'S SELF.
1. shrewd, mischievous. Cf. Adv. , bk. ii. 23. 10. " Many are wise in their own ways that are weak for government or counsels ; like ants, which is a wise creature for itself, but very hurtful for the garden." The part of the Advancement referred to should be read in illustration of this Essay.
3. waste the public, The Latin translation has "do harm to the state." With this passage cf. Adv., bk. i. 3. 7.
6. himself, The Latin translation has "his own interest."
7. It is right earth, it is exactly like the earth, which, in Bacon's opinion, was the fixed centre round which the heavens revolved. In the Interpretation of Nature Bacon says, "The appetites to give and to receive are figured in the universal frame of the world, the one in the beam of heaven which issues forth, and the other in the lap of the earth which takes in. " For his, see note on Essay xix. 86.
10. a man's self, see note on Essay vi. 57.
14. affairs, The Latin translation has "state affairs."
15. crooketh, bends.
16. eccentric to, different from. The interests of the individual and those of the state, being sometimes opposed, form, as it were, the centres of different circles of activity. See note on EsSay xvii. 27.
17. princes or states, cf. " kings or estates," Essay ix. 150.
18. except they mean, unless they mean to employ them merely as instruments having no independent or discretionary power.
23. carry things, prevail, be preferred.
25. set a bias, etc., private interests and jealousies divert the selfish man from the path of loyalty, just as the bias diverts the bowl from the straight line. See note on Essay xxii. 12. Of ex plains what it is that gives the bias. Cf. " The corrupter sort of mere politiques, that have not their thoughts established by learning in the love and apprehension of duty, nor never look
206 NOTES. [xxni.
abroad into universality, do refer all things to themselves, and thrust themselves into the centre of the world, as if all lines should meet in them and their fortunes ; never caring, in all tempests, what becomes of the ship of estates, so they may save themselves in the cock-boat of their own fortune ; whereas men that feel the weight of duty, and know the limits of self-love, use to make good their places and duties, though with peril." Adv., bk. i. 3. 6.
28. is after the model of, is proportionate to. They barter away the interests of the state for their own advantage : and what they gain after all is small in comparison with the harm which they do to the state.
29. the hurt they sell, etc . Their own advantage is gained at the cost of the state.
31. it is the nature ... as, their nature is such that.
32. and, if.
35. for either respect, to gain either of these two ends. See note on Essay xi. 90.
36. their affairs, the business of their masters.
41. crocodiles were fabled to moan and sigh like a person in distress, in order to allure travellers near them, and even to shed tears over their prey in the act of devouring it. Cf. " As the mournful crocodile with sorrow snares relenting passengers," Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI., iii. 1. Cf. Bullokar's Expositor (1616), " Crocodile's tears do signify such tears as are feigned, and spent only with intent to deceive or do harm."
42. would, wish to.
47. self -wisdom, i.e. their ingenuity in providing for them selves.
ESSAY XXIV. OF INNOVATIONS.
1. the births, the offspring. The word ' innovation ' means simply changes, without connoting, as it generally does now, that the changes are for the worse. The student will notice that in this Essay Bacon simply jots down certain antitheta, or general considerations which may be urged for or against changes. Cf. De. Aug., bk. vi., Antith., xl.
3. as those, etc., cf. Essay 14. 36.
6. For ill, etc. , the perverted nature of man has a natural in clination towards what is bad, and therefore things tend to de teriorate by mere continuance.
8. Surely, The word introduces an argument in favour of
xxiv.] OF INNOVATIONS. 207
change. Cf. "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation," Burke.
10. if time of course alter, etc., if things deteriorate by the mere lapse of time. Cf. "Time is truly compared to a stream, that carrieth down fresh and pure waters into that salt sea of corruption which environeth all human actions. And therefore if man shall not by his industry, virtue, and policy, as it were with the oar, row against the stream and inclination of time, all institutions and ordinances, be they never so pure, will corrupt and degenerate." Of the Pacification of the Church.
14. it, see note on Essay viii. 37.
fit, The Latin translation has "suited to the times." It is no sufficient argument for changing a system or an institution that it is theoretically defective.
15. confederate, cf. Essay xvi. 10. ' Within themselves ' is the Latin inter se, i. e, ' together. '
16. piece not so well, do not fit in with the old. Cf. Essay iii. 101.
17. inconformity, their not harmonizing with the old.
20. froward, perverse, unreasoning. Cf . "A contentious retaining of custom is a turbulent thing, as well as innovation. A good husband is ever pruning in his vineyard, or his field : not unseasonably indeed, not unskilfully, but lightly ; he findeth ever somewhat to do. " Of Church Controversies. ' Turbulent ' means ' causing confusion and embarrassment. '
22. the new, the age in which they live.
It were good, etc. Cf. "It is one of the excellencies of a method in which time is amongst the assistants that its operation is slow and in some cases almost imperceptible," Burke.
27. pairs, impairs, mends, improves the condition of. Con sider e.g. the substitution of railways for stage carriages.
he that is holpen, he who is a gainer. Cf. Essay xx. 82.
33. pretendeth, urges as an excuse.
34. suspect, a thing suspected.
35. as the Scripture saith, Jeremiah vi. 16. Cf. "Antiquity envieth there should be new additions, and novelty cannot be content to add but it must deface : surely the advice of the prophet is the true direction in this matter, Stand upon the ancient paths and see which is the straight and good road and walk in it. Antiquity deserveth that reverence, that men should make a stand thereupon and discover what is the best way ; but when the discovery is well taken, then to make progression." Adv., bk. i. 5. 1.
37. to walk, The construction is irregular.
208 NOTES. [xxv.
ESSAY XXV. OF DISPATCH.
I. Affected dispatch, The Latin translation has "an excessive striving after haste." For ' affected ' cf. note on Essay i. 3. A man can scarcely do a thing well if his first object be to do it quickly.
4. crudities, The Latin translation has " sour juices." Crudus is the Latin word for ' undigested. '
7. lift, The Latin translation adds "but a lower and even motion of the feet."
10. only to come, etc. The Latin translation has "only to appear to have done much in a short time. "
II. to contrive, etc., to make it appear that the business is finished, though it is not really so. Period, conclusion.
because, in order that. Cf. Essay viii. 15; Essay xxxiv. 14.
12. to abbreviate, to economize time.
13. And business, etc. If, through a desire to get through business quickly, a point is slurred over or neglected at one meet ing, it will inevitably tiirn up to interrupt the proper business of a subsequent meeting.
15. a wise man, Sir Amyas Paulet, with whom Bacon went to France in 1576 : see Apopth., 76. In Howell's Familiar Letters, vol. ii. lett. 17, the saying is attributed to Sir Francis Walsing- ham. (W.) Cf. the proverb, " More haste less speed."
16. a byword, a proverb.
20. at a dear hand, at a high price. The question is whether a thing is worth the time that was spent upon it.
Spaniards, In a speech in the House of Commons Bacon said, " His Lordship ascribed these delays, not so much to malice or alienation of mind towards us, as to the nature of the people and nation (Spain), which is proud and therefore dilatory : for all proud men are full of delays, and must be waited on ; and especially to the multitude and diversities of tribunals and places of justice, and the number of the king's councils full of referrings, which ever prove of necessity to be deferrings ; besides the great distance of territories : all which have made the delays of Spain to come into a byword through the world. Wherein I think his Lordship might allude to the proverb of Italy, Mi venga la morte di Spafjna, Let my death come from Spain, for then it is sure to be long in coming."
29. waits upon his memory, strives to recollect what is wanted.
32. the actor, etc. The Latin translation has "the speaker." Bacon means that however wearisome the informer's story may
xxv.] OF DISPATCH. 209
be, it is sometimes not so wearisome as the interruptions of the person who tries to guide and control (moderate) him in the manner of telling his story.
33. But there is, etc. , speakers must be kept to the point. 36. curious, cf. Essay ix. 17.
38. passages, The Latin translation has "graceful transi tions. " In passing from point to point the speaker may waste time in the effort to avoid abruptness.
excusations, excuses, apologies.
40. bravery, ostentation.
41. being too material, going straight to the point. An orator will, if he is wise, prepare men's minds gradually for a proposal against which they are prejudiced. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 17. 10.
46. so as, provided that.
56. more pregnant of direction, more serviceable for guidance. Unless written proposals are put before a meeting, the discussion is apt to wander into mere generalities. On the other hand, the very criticism which shows a given mode of dealing with a problem to be inadequate points at the same time to the conditions of a satisfactory solution.
57. generative, fertilizing. If we are to press the simile, we must say that dust, existing in indefinite amount, symbolizes a discussion to which no limits are set. Ashes, on the other hand, being the definite quantity of matter resulting from the destruc tion of a given substance by fire, symbolize the positive plan which results from the destruction of a measure by criticism.
ESSAY XXVI. OF SEEMING WISE.
4. the Apostle, St. Paul, 2 Timothy iii. 5.
6. there are . . . that, there are some who. After ' solemnly ' the Latin translation adds " having little wisdom."
sufficiency, cf. Essay xx. 8.
9. formalists, pretenders to wisdom. The Latin word trans lated ' xhow ' in the quotation from St. Paul is species, and means literally ' form ' or ' appearance. '
10. prospectives, The Latin translation has " how they use, as it were, an art of prospective." Prospectives were glasses contrived to give an appearance of solidity to objects in a picture.
11. as, that.
210 NOTES. [xxvi.
12. seem always, The Latin translation has "would be
thought to suggest more than they say. "
14. that, cf. Essay vi. 39.
would ... seem, wish to appear. 16. well, The Latin translation has " safely. " 22. to bear It, to succeed.
25. impertinent, cf. ' impertinence,' Essay viii. 10. curious, trifling. See note on Essay ix. 17.
26. would have, wish to have. Cf. " For confidence, it is the last but the surest remedy, namely, to depress and seem to despise whatsoever a man cannot attain ; observing the good principle of the merchants, who endeavour to raise the price of their own commodities, and to beat down the price of others." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 32.
28. blanch, avoid. See note on Essay xx. 119.
A. Gellius, This is a mistake. Bacon is quoting from memory the substance of what Quintilian says about Seneca. (W. ) Quintilian was a famous Roman rhetorician born about A.D. 40. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 4. 6. A politician, criticising an opponent's policy as compared with his own, often blinds his hearers to the substantial identity of the two by concentrating their attention upon quite unimportant distinctions between them which his subtilty enables him to invent, and his rhetorical skill to emphasize.
31. Protagoras, the name of one of the Platonic dialogues. Protagoras and Prodicus were two Sophists, or public teachers, well known in Athens at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century B.C.
34. find ease to be, etc., prefer to criticise the proposals of others rather than make proposals of their own. For ' of ' we should say ' on. '
35. affect a credit, try to obtain a reputation by making objec tions. For ' affect,' see note 011 Essay i. 3.
36. when propositions are denied, when proposals are rejected.
37. allowed, cf. Essay xviii. 5.
38. false point of wisdom, pretended wisdom. The Latin translation has " spurious kind of wisdom. "
39. inward beggar, one who is in reality a beggar, though out wardly he maintains a show of wealth. The Latin translation has, " one who squanders his estate in secret."
40. hath . . . their. Notice the change from singular to plural. 42. sufficiency, see note above, 1. 6.
xxvi.] OF SEEMING WISE. 211
42. may make shift, etc., may manage to acquire a reputation. The Latin translation adds "with the common people."
44. you were better take, Abbott (Sft. Gr. § 352) points out that this represents an old impersonal idiom. " Me were liefer," i.e. "It would be more pleasant to me"; "Me were loth"; ' ' Him were better. " The change to the personal construction seems to have arisen from an erroneous feeling that ' ' me were better " was ungrammatical.
45. formal, see note on " formalists " above.
ESSAY XXVII. OF FRIENDSHIP.
This Essay was written at the special request of his friend Toby Matthew in commemoration of an intimacy which had been tried by adversity and prosperity on both sides, and endured to the end without cloud or interruption on either. Spedding's Francis Bacon and his Times, vol. i. p. 521.
3. Whosoever, etc. , Aristotle's Politics, i. i. A man, says Aristotle, may be so degraded as to be unfit for society, or he may be self-sufficient, and therefore may not need society. In the first case he resembles a beast, in the second he resembles God. In the Ethics, bk. x. ch. vii. , Aristotle gives the following reasons for preferring a contemplative to an active life — "It is the highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest length of time, it is the most pleasant, it is the most self-sufficient, it alone is loved for its own sake, and it implies leisure. " With the whole of this passage cf. Adv., bk. ii. 20. 8.
5. aversation, aversion.
7. should have, We should say 'has.' The word ' should ' shows that he is quoting the opinion of another.
9. to sequester, to withdraw.
a man's self, see note on Essay vi. 57. Describing the death of Essex, Bacon says, " He never mentioned nor remembered there, wife, children, or friend, nor took particular leave of any that were present, but wholly abstracted and sequestered himself to the state of his conscience and prayer."
10. conversation, mode of life. The Latin translation has "for nobler studies."
11. Epimenides, a sage and poet of Crete, who lived in the sixth century B. c. He is said to have fallen asleep in a cave when a boy, and to have remained asleep for fifty-seven years.
12. Numa was the second king of Rome. He 1'etired at times into a cave, where he is said to have received instruction from the Nymph Egeria.
212 NOTES. [xxvii.
13. Apollonius, see note on Essay xix. 32.
18. meeteth with it, expresses it.
19. A great city, etc., Adagio,, p. 506. A comic poet quoted by Strabo, xvi. p. 738, punning upon the name of Megalopolis, (lit. the great city), a town of Arcadia, said, " The great city is a great desert." Strabo applies it to Babylon. (W.)
23. mere, used in its literal sense of 'pure.' Cf. Essay iii. 66.
26. he taketh it of, he derives it from.
27. humanity, human nature. 32. sarza, sarsaparilla.
38. civil, as distinguished from the confessions which the Catholic Church orders penitents to make to the priest.
41. as, that. Cf. 11. 67, 75, 83, 94.
43. in regard of, because of. Cf. 1. 71.
47. sorteth to, results in.
49. privartoes, intimate friends. Wright quotes from Bacon's History of Henry VII. , where he says, speaking of the Duchess of Burgundy and Perkin Warbeck, that " She sent him unknown into Portugal .... with some Privado of her own to have an eye upon him." Read Bacon's letter to Villiers on the duties of a king's favourite. Spedding's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. ii. p. 151. In his Advice to Sir George Villiers Bacon says, "Kings and great princes, even the wisest of them, have had their friends, their favourites, their privadoes in all ages ; for they have their affections as well as other men. Of these they make several uses ; sometimes to communicate and debate their thoughts with them, and to ripen their judgments thereby ; some times to ease their cares by imparting them ; and sometimes to interpose them between themselves and the envy or malice of their people ; for kings cannot err, that must be discharged upon the shoulders of their ministers ; and they who are nearest unto them must be content to bear the greatest load." Favourite was a technical term to denote a private and confidential councillor chosen by the king out of personal affection. Cf . Essay xxxvi. 34, and Iv. 54.
grace or conversation, condescension or society.
51. Sharers of their cares, The title was given by the Roman Emperor Tiberius to his minister Sejanus. Dio Cass. Iviii. 4 ; Tac. Ann. iv. 2. (W.)
59. Sylla, see note on Essay xv. 217.
60. to that height that, to such a height that. 62. the pursuit, the canvassing.
G3. that, see note on Essay xv. 53.
xxvii.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 213
65. more men, etc. Cf. _<4dr.,bk. ii. 23. 6.
67. that interest as, such influence that.
68. his nephew, afterwards Augustus Caesar.
72. Calpurnia, the wife of Caesar.
73. he hoped, The Latin translation has " He hoped that Caesar would not put such a slight upon the senate as to dismiss it until his wife had dreamed a better dream. " See Shakespeare, Jul. Cita. ii. 2. (50.
76. Cicero, Philippic*, xiii. 1L
78. that height as, such a height that.
79. Maecenas, the favourite minister of Augustus. He is best known through the writings of Horace as an enlightened patron of literature.
88. in respect of, cf. "in regard of," above.
89. the like or more, etc. The Latin translation has " An instance of equal or even greater friendship than that is seen. "
90. Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome A. D. 193 — 211.
Flautianus was Praetorian Prefect. In virtue of his office, " he, in every department of administration, represented the person, and exercised the authority of, the Emperor. Plautianus' reign lasted above ten years, till the marriage of his daughter with the eldest son of the Emperor, which seemed to assure his fortune, proved the occasion of his ruin. The animosities of the palace, by irritating the ambition and alarming the fears of Plautianus, threatened to produce a revolution, and obliged the Emperor, who still loved him, to consent with reluctance to his death." Gibbon, ch. 5.
92. maintain, cf. Essay xvi. 76.
93. by, we should say ' in. '
95. Trajan was emperor A.D. 98-1 17 ; and Marcus Aurelius, A.D. 161-180. In the Adv., bk. i. 7. 5, Bacon says of Trajan, "He was for his person not learned : but if we will hearken to the speech of our Saviour, that saith, He that recdveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall have a prophet's reward, he deserveth to be placed amongst the most learned princes, for there was not a greater admirer of learning or benefactor of learning .... On the other side, how much Trajan's virtue and government was admired and renowned, surely no testimony of grave and faithful history doth more, lively set forth than that legend tale of Gregorius Magnus, bishop of Rome, who was noted for the extreme envy he bare towards all heathen excellency : and yet he is reported out of the love and estimation of Trajan's moral virtues, to have made unto God fervent and passionate prayers for the delivery of his soul out of hell : and to have obtained it,
214 NOTES. [xxvn.
with a caveat that he should make no more such petitions." Of Marcus Aurelius he says, Adv., bk. i. 7. 8, "He was named the Philosopher. As he excelled all the rest in learning, so he ex celled them likewise in perfection of all royal virtues .... And the virtue of this prince, continued with that of his predecessor, made the name of Antoninus so sacred in the world, that though it was extremely dishonoured in Commodus, Caracalla, and Heliogabalus, who all bore the name, yet when Alexander Severus refused the name because he was a stranger to the family, the Senate with one acclamation said, Let the name of Antoninus be a.s the name of Augustus. In such renown and veneration was the name of these two princes in those days, that they would have had it as a perpetual addition in all the Emperors' style."
101. as an half piece, incomplete.
105. Comineus, Philip de Commines, a French historian, born 1446.
Charles the Hardy, Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy (1433-1477). He was for a long time engaged in hostilities against Louis XI. Charles and Louis are prominent characters in Scott's Quentin Durward.
109. closeness, reserve. Cf. Essay vi. 33.
110. perish, destroy.
111. mought, cf. Essay xv. 184.
112. Louis the Eleventh, King of France from 1461-1483.
113. parable, proverb.
114. Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher. He was a native of Samos, and was born about 590 B.C.
117. admirable, marvellous. Cf. " to be admired," Essay v. 4. 119. works, produces.
125. use, cf. Essay xxii. 23.
126. still, cf. Essay ix. 9.
127. praying in aid of, invoking the assistance of. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 17. 10, "Whatsoever science is not consonant to pre suppositions must pray in aid of similitudes. "
129. in bodies, The Latin translation has " in natural objects. "
union, etc., he means that joy, being a natural motion, is increased by friendship ; whereas grief, being a violent impression, is weakened by it. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 5. 2, and Nat. Hint., Cen tury i. § 92.
133. affections, feelings. See note on Essay ix. 1. Cf. below, 1. 165.
xxvu.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 215
140. clarify, become clear.
141. break up, He means that the man's ideas, from being huddled together in a confused mass, gradually become detached and sorted.
142. tosseth, see note on Essay xx. 12. Bacon means that the man looks at tilings from different points of view.
143. orderly, cf. Essay i. 18.
147. cloth of Arras, tapestry. It is so called from the town of Arras, in Artois, Avhere it was principally made.
148. put abroad, unfolded.
in figure, The Latin translation has "distinctly." See Plutarch's Life, of Themintodes, ch. 29.
149. they, i.e. thoughts. 151. restrained, confined.
155. a man were better, it would be better for a man to. Cf. Essay xxvi. 44. To is sometimes inserted, as in the next line.
161. Heraclitus saith, etc. The philosopher, Heraclitus, born at Ephesus, lived in the sixth century B.C. He was called ' the obscure.' Bacon quotes the saying again, Adv., bk. i. 1. 3. The vord ' dry ' is used in the sense of ' clear ' or ' pure. ' What Bacon means is that our reasoning is biassed by our prejudices and feelings. Cf. Xov. Org. , i. 49, " The mind of man is not like a dry light, but it receives from the will and affections a taint which produces capricious or arbitrary sciences, for what a man wishes to be true, that he is inclined to believe to be true."
156. statua, This form of the word occurs again in Essay xlv. 64, and in xxxvii. 38. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 1. 2, and Shakespeare, Julius Ccesar, iii. 2. 192.
167. that, that which.
169. there is no such flatterer, etc. Cf. Essay liii.
172. manners, conduct. See note on Essay iii. 19.
for, cf. Essay iii. 17.
174. a man's self, see note on Essay vi. 57- 177. unproper, unsuitable. 183. St. James, i. 23. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 23. Cf . ' ' 0 wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us ! It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An' foolish notion :
What airs in dress and gait wad lea'e us, And ev'n devotion ! " — Burns.
216 NOTES. [xx vn.
In a letter to Sir Edward Coke, Bacon says, ' ' That which I have propounded to myself is, by taking this seasonable advantage, like a true friend, though far unworthy to be counted so, to shew you your true shape in a glass ; and that not in a false one to flatter you, nor yet in one that should make you seem worse than you are, and so offend you ; but in one made by the reflection of your own words and actions."
184. presently, immediately.
185. favour, face.
a man may think, etc. The Latin translation has, "It is an old saying that eyes are better than an eye, though some deny it : it is wisely said also that a looker-on often sees more than one who is engaged in the game." Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 21. 7. Writing on the pacification of the English Church, Bacon says, "It is very true that these ecclesiastical matters are things not pro perly appertaining to my profession : which I was not so incon siderate but to object to myself : but finding that it is many times seen that a man that standeth off, and somewhat removed from a plot of ground, doth better survey it and discover it than those which are upon it, I thought it not impossible, but that J, as a looker on, might cast mine eyes upon some things which the actors themselves, especially some being interested, some led and addicted, some declared and engaged, did not or could not see. ): Cf. Essay xlviii. 1. 40 stqq.
188. the twenty-four letters, cf. Essay xxxviii. 15.
190. fond and high, foolish and presumptuous. Cf. "to dis course high," Essay xix. 133.
191. when all is done, after all. The Latin translation has "whatever may be said to the contrary."
199. entire, the Latin integer, literally untouched, entire : so, sincere, honest.
200. bowed, bent.
crooked, cf. Essay xxiii. 15. 207. kind, cf. Essay vi. 47. 209. estate, cf. Essay ix. 30. 211. rest upon, depend upon.
scattered counsels, advice from a number of people
218. to life, vividly. We should say ' to the life.'
219. to cast, to reckon.
221. sparing, it fell short of the truth.
222. for that, cf. Essay xvi. 54.
223. in desire of, before they have attained.
xxvn.] OF FRIENDSHIP. 217
225. the bestowing, The Latin translation has "the mar riage."
226. secure, sure. See note on Essay v. 9.
228. in his desires, so far as his desires are concerned. If he dies before they are accomplished, his friend survives to carry them out.
237. which are blushing, which cause a blush.
238. proper, see note on Essay iii. 30.
240. upon terms, The Latin translation has ' ' without loss of honour. " 242. sorteth with, see note on Essay vi. 5.
ESSAY XXVIII. OF EXPENSE.
1. spending for honour, i.e. spending is for honour.
3. voluntary undoing, etc. The Latin translation has ' ' Volun tary poverty is due sometimes to one's country, and not only to the kingdom of heaven. " Patriotism sometimes requires that we should make a sacrifice of our possessions.
4. the kingdom of heaven, Bacon is thinking of such a passage as the following, " Then said Jesns unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." — Matt. xix. 24. Cf. Essay xiii. 43.
6. as, that.
9. if a man, etc. The Latin translation has " if a man does not wish to suffer a diminution of his wealth." Literally it means " if a man wishes his income to equal his expenditure." doubting, cf. Essay xxii. 34.
13. upon, by reason of. Cf. Essay ii. 32.
14. in respect, in case.
18. new, i.e. new servants.
20. to certainties, The Latin translation explains it to mean that both his income and his expenditure should be fixed. It is only a man of leisure who can calculate from time to time how much he has, and how much, therefore, he can afford to spend at a given time or on a given object. Busy men must so invest their money as to return a fixed amount, and of this they must set aside a fixed amount for expenditure. Notice that the con struction is irregular.
23. if he be plentiful in the hall, if he spend much upon his house.
218 NOTES. [xxviii.
25. clearing, freeing from debt.
26. a man's estate, see note on Essay vi. 57. as well, quite as much.
28. disadvantageafole, disadvantageous. 32. who, he who.
a state, a property.
ESSAY XXIX. OF THE TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES.
THIS Essay will be found incorporated in the De Aucj. viii. 3. See my note on Adv. , bk. ii. 23. 47. In the Latin transla tion the title of the Essay is "On Extending the Limits of Empire." Wright remarks that the beginning of the Essay seems to have been the discourse " Of the True Greatness of the Kingdom of Britain," written in 1608, which was never com pleted, but was turned into a general treatise " Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates."
2. had been, would have been. Cf . 1. 266. 4. He could not fiddle, cf. Adv., bk. i. 3. 8.
6. holpen with a metaphor, if with a little assistance from the imagination we transfer it to politics. Metaphor is a Greek word signifying 'transference.' In Adv., bk. i. 7. 17, he uses the Latin equivalent, 'translation,' ''Consider further, for tropes of rhetoric, that excellent use of a metaphor or translation, where with he taxed Antipater," etc.
7. estate, state.
11. cunningly, skilfully. This is the proper meaning of the word. In the English translation of the Bible we have, " If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her cunning," i.e. skill.
13. as, that. Cf. 1. 232.
21. sufficient, capable.
22. manage, a metaphor from horsemanship. Cf. Essay vi. 26.
23. which, see note on Essay viii. 5.
27. an argument, a subject. It is a Latinism.
29. leese, cf. Essay xix. 141.
31. fearful, timid. Cf. Essay vi. 78.
33. doth fall under, admits of.
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 219
37. cards, cf. Essay xviii. 39.
40. is compared, viz., by Christ. Matt. xiii. 31.
42. a property, see note on Essay iii. 30.
44. apt, in its literal sense of ' fitted. '
51. importeth not, is not of much consequence. Cf. Essay iii. 51.
55. This saying of Alexander is quoted again, Adv., bk. i. 7. 17. The battle of Arbela was fought B. c. 330.
58. Tigranes, King of Armenia, ascended the throne about the beginning of the first century B.C. The battle referred to took place at Tigranocerta, the capital of Western Armenia, when Tigranes was defeated by the Roman Lucullus.
63. ambassage, embassy.
65. of the great odds between, how unequally matched are numbers and courage.
69. trivially, tritely. Cf. Essay xii. 1.
71. Croasus, king of Lydia, B.C. 5fiO. He was conquered by Cyrus the Persian. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 38. In his Essay Of the True Greatness of Britain, Bacon quotes the same story, and remarks that ' ' the records of all times do concur to falsify that conceit, that wars are decided not by the sharpest sword, but by the greatest purse."
74. think soberly of, have but a small opinion of. militia, army.
77. they, i.e. the subjects.
79. rest upon, depend upon.
81. mew them, shed them : moult. It is the Latin mutare, 1 to change. '
82. The blessing, etc. The Jewish patriarch Jacob before his death called his sons before him and foretold the character and destiny of each. He described the warlike Judah as "a lion's whelp"; but Isaachar he described as "a strong ass crouching down between two burdens .... bowing his shoulder to bear, and becoming a servant unto tribute." Genesis xlix.
87. less, The Latin translation adds "than those which are imposed simply by authority."
the excises, etc. In the Netherlands, in the seventeenth century, heavy duties were levied upon commodities to meet the expenses of the war with Spain.
88. subsidies, the sums voted by Parliament. 91. by imposing, by authority. Cf. Essay i. 10.
220 NOTES. [xxix.
95. Let states, etc. Cf. Essay xiv. 23.
100. staddles, young trees left standing in a wood after the underwood has been cleared away.
103. poll, head.
109. in regard, because.
the middle people, the Latin translation has "the farmers and people of lower rank."
111. Henry the Seventh, Bacon in his history says that, at the time, large estates were growing up, and there was a general tendency to convert arable land into pasture. The result of this was "a decay of people and, by consequence, a decay of towns, churches, tithes, and the like." There ensued withal "a decay and diminution of subsidies and taxes." To remedy these defects it was ordered ' ' that all houses of husbandry, that were used with twenty acres of ground, and upwards, should be maintained and kept up for ever ; together with a competent proportion of land to be used and occupied with them." Bacon remarks upon the advantage of having these farms, as it were, of a standard. They maintained " an able body out of penury, and did, in effect, amortize a great part of the lands of the kingdom unto the hold and occupation ofjthe yeomanry or middle people, of a condition between gentlemen and cottagers or peasants. " Further, the mili tary power of the kingdom was increased, for ' ' the principal strength of an army consisteth in the infantry or foot : and to make good infantry, it requireth men bred, not in a servile or indigent fashion, but in some free or plentiful manner " Cf. Spedding's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. i. pp. 208-9.
116. to keep, the construction is irregular. Bacon means that one of the advantages of the system was that, under it, the land was tilled by the owner.
133. Nebuchadnezzar's tree, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, dreamt that he saw a large tree cut down all but the stump, which was left in the ground. The dream was interpreted to mean that he was to be deprived for a time of his empire. Daniel iv. 10.
141. it may hold, etc. The sentence is loosely constructed. The meaning is " As for supposing that a handful of people can hold a large empire, such an empire must be short-lived."
142. nice, etc., i.e. they seldom naturalized. Nice, fastidious. Cf. Essay ii. 29.
143. they kept their compass, they confined their dominion within narrow limits.
145. their boughs were becomen, etc. The Latin translation explains this to mean, when their empire had so far extended
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 221
that the crowd of foreign subjects could not well be controlled by native Spartans. For becomen, cf. holpen, Essay xx. 82 ; gotten, ix. 142.
146. a windfall, anything thrown down by the wind.
148. sorted, resulted.
150. naturalization, Full Roman citizenship comprised the (ius suffrayii) right of voting in the popular assemblies, the right of being eligible to all public offices (his honorum), the right of contracting a regular marriage (ius connuhii), and the right of acquiring, transferring, and holding property of all kinds according to the Roman laws (hi* commercii). With regard to the third of these rights, no regular marriage coiild be contracted by parties between whom it did not exist. For instance, in early times a marriage between a patrician and a plebeian would affect the status of the children. The rights of citizenship in the first instance were possessed by the patricians only : but they were from time to time extended to all who were likely to bring strength or influence to the community. It was not until after a long struggle that the plebeians entered into the possession of full citizenship. It was conferred at first by the king acting with the consent of the Comilia Centuriata. During the flourishing period of the republic, when citizenship was valued and sought for, it could only be given by an express law. When individual rulers like Marius and Sulla arose, they obtained and exercised freely the power of granting civilax. Under the empire it was given by the Emperor, and at last Caracalla bestowed it on all the free inhabitants of the Roman world. It had really come to be less valued when at the end of the Social War all the Italian states were admitted to it. See Ramsay's Roman Antiquities. In his Discourse of the Union of England and Scotland, Bacon says, " But that which is chiefly to be noted in the whole continuance of the Roman government ; they were so liberal of their naturali zations, as in effect they made perpetual mixtures. For the manner was to grant the same, not only to particular persons, but to families and lineages ; and not only so, but to whole cities and countries. So as in the end it came to that, that Rome was
a common country, as some of the civilians call it So likewise
the authority of Nicholas Machiavel seemeth not to be con temned ; who enquiring the causes of the growth of the Roman Empire, doth give judgment ; there was not one greater than this, that the state did so easily compound and incorporate with strangers. It is true, that most estates and kingdoms have taken the other course : of which this effect hath followed, that the addition of further Empire and territory hath been rather matter of burden, than matter of strength unto them : yea, and farther it hath kept alive the seeds and roots of revolts and rebellions for many ages. . . . For abilities and freedoms, they were amongst
222 NOTES. [xxix.
the Romans of four kinds, or rather degrees. Jim connubii, jus civitatis, jus suffragii and jus petitionis or fionorum. Jus connubii is a thing in these times out of use : for marriage is open between all diversities of nations. Jus civitatis answereth to what we call denization or naturalization. Jus suffragii answereth to the voice in parliament. Jus petitionis answereth to place in council or office. And the Romans did many times sever these freedoms, granting jus connubii without civitas, and civitas without suffra- (jium, and suffragium without jus petitionis, which was commonly with them the last." Again, in his speech of The General Naturalization of the Scottish Nation, he says, "Wheresoever several kingdoms or estates have been united in sovereignty, if that union hath not been fortified and bound in with a farther union, and namely, that which is now in question, of naturaliza tion, this hath followed, that at one time or other they have broken again, being upon all occasions apt to revolt and relapse to the former separation." Bacon says the same thing in his Essay Of the True Greatness of Britain. 155. singular, single.
157. colonies, The Roman colonies were mainly of the nature of military outposts established to secure newly acquired territory, or to overawe turbulent neighbours. They did of course produce the effect which Bacon ascribes to them.
158. plant, A colony is an off-shoot of the mother country. Cf. Essay xxxiii.
159. both constitutions, viz., the practice of naturalizing, and the practice of colonizing. Bacon means that, instead of being subjected to an alien dominion, the whole world became Roman.
163. contain, keep in check.
164. Sure, we must bear in mind.
165. great body of a tree, the expression is of course suggested by the reference above to Nebuchadnezzar's " tree of monarchy."
168. indifferently, without distinction.
169. militia, army. The application of Bacon's remarks to British policy in India is easy. A similar policy too was the secret of Akbar's success.
172. Pragmatical Sanction, Wright quotes Ellis's note, Bacon's Works, vol. i. p. 798 : " Soon after the accession of Philip IV. a royal decree or Praymatica was published which attempted to carry out some of the recommendations of the council, and which gave certain privileges to persons who married, and further im munities to those who had six children." Cf. my note on Adv., bk. i. 5. 2.
177. travail, work.
XXTX.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 223
178. broken of it, checked or interfered with in this their natural inclination.
if they shall be preserved, if they are to be preserved ; if we wish them to be preserved.
179. it was great advantage, But it must be remembered that when the classes referred to were treated really as slaves, in our sense of the term, they constituted a serious political danger to the states of the ancient world.
181. rid, dispose of. 185. contain, confine.
190. it importeth, cf . Essay iii. 51.
191. their, notice the plural after the singular 'nation.' 193. habilitations, trainings.
195. sent a present to, bequeathed to them the advice that.
196. intend, devote their attention to. Cf. below, ' in that he most intendeth,' 1. 205.
198. though not wisely, Bacon does not mean that they were unwise in framing it with a view to war, but that they did not frame it skilfully with a view to war.
199. scope, Used in its literal sense of aim or object.
200. had it, i. e. were organized with a view to war. for a flash, for a short time.
203. declination, cf. note on Essay xxii. 76.
205. that, used for ivhat. Cp. Essay vi. 39.
206. stood upon, dwelt upon.
207. may look, can expect.
209. oracle of time, a lesson of history.
213. that greatness ... which maintained, i.e., a greatness which maintained.
217. just occasions as may be pretended, The Latin transla tion has "just occasions, or at least pretexts." Notice them after the singular ' state. '
218. that, such.
221. quarrels, grounds. Cf. Essay viii. 48. 225. they, observe the repetition of the nominative. Cf. Essay viii. 37.
227. pretend to greatness, make greatness their object.
228. sensible of, cf. Essay viii. 21.
borderers, The Latin translation has "dependents on the border." The Afghans are borderers on the Indian Empire.
224 NOTES. [xxix.
229. politic ministers, representatives of the state.
they sit not too long, revenge must follow immediately upon an insult.
230. prest, ready.
233. upon invasion offered, when threatened with invasion.
237. conformity of estate, similarity of political institutions. Greeee was throughout its history divided against itself. The attack of Philip of Macedon upon the liberties of Greek states first afforded the Romans a pretext for interfering in the affairs of Greece. In earlier times, there was in every Greek state an oligarchical party looking for assistance to Sparta, and a demo- cratical party looking for assistance to Athens. Desire to strengthen the democratical and the oligarchical party respec tively in Greece was the real, if not the declared motive for many of the wars in which Athens and Sparta engaged.
247. body politic, state.
estate, a republic, as distinguished from a monarchy.
249. fever, cf. Hitt. Henry VII. , "When the King was advertised of this new insurrection, being almost a fever that took him every year, etc."
251. courages, spirits, effeminate, grow effeminate.
252. manners, see note on Essay iii. 19. corrupt, grow corrupt.
253. it maketh, see note on Essay i. 14. still, always.
255. chargeable, expensive.
256. the law, The Latin translation has "the power of de ciding matters."
260. abridgment, The Latin translation has "an epitome."
261. Pompey his, see note on Essay xix. 86.
264. Themistocles, It was Themistocles who in the year 480 B.C. persuaded the Athenians to meet the invading Persians at sea instead of on land.
266. had, would have.
268. Actium, By defeating Antony at Actium B.C. 31, Octavi- anus, afterwards known as Augustus, became master of the Roman world.
269. Lepanto. In the battle of Lepanto, 1571, the naval power of Turkey was broken by the united Papal, Spanish, and Vene tian forces.
xxix.] TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS. 225
270. there be, cf. 1. 285. See note on Essay i. 2. have been final to, have put an end to.
271. set up their rest upon, have risked everything upon. Nares (Glossary) thus explains it: "A metaphor from the once fashionable and favourite game of primero : meaning to stand upon the cards you have in your hand, in hopes they may prove better than those of your adversary. " Quoted by Wright.
279. merely, see note on Essay iii. 66.
283. in respect of, in comparison with.
284. reflected, used intransitively.
291. funeral laudatives, The student should read the famous oration of Pericles, Thucyd. ii. 35.
293. personal, granted to individuals. These decorations were granted for acts of distinguished gallantry in the field.
style, title. Imperator (emperor) was originally a military title. It was assumed first by Augustus to denote suprane power, civil as well as military.
294. triumphs, Roman generals, on their return from a suc cessful campaign, were sometimes allowed a triumphal procession through the city to the temple of Jupiter. The captives taken in the war marched in the procession, in which also were carried the spoils of the campaign.
297. that of the triumph, notice that there is no noun to which that properly refers. The triumph is one of ' the things ' referred to in the previous sentence. Cf. 32. 31.
298. gaudery, display.
305. impropriate, appropriate.
308. ensigns, the Latin insirjnia : badges, decorations. 310. little model of a man's body, i.e. man's body which is a model on a small scale of the state. For of, cf . Essay xv. 72.
312. estates, see note on 1. 247. 315. touched, glanced at.
ESSAY XXX. OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH.
Regiment, management. 5. I find no offence of, it seems to do me no harm.
7. which are owing, etc. The Latin translation has " Which nevertheless, when old age at last comes upon him, will be exacted from him as a debt." For ou-ij>g, cf. loading, Essay xiii. 56.
226 NOTES. [xxx.
8. discern of, discern, take account of.
11. it is a secret, etc., cf. Essay xxiv. 13.
15. so as, in such a way that.
18. particularly, for you individually.
21. of long lasting, to secure a long life. Cf. 1. 42.
23. fretting inwards, The Latin translation has ' ' restrained within." Cf. Essay xxxvi. 3.
35. accident, symptom.
36. respect, consider. Cf. below, " they respect not the con dition of the patient. " See note on Essay xi. 90.
37. action, exercise.
put to, force them to. 39. tendering, care.
Celsus, a writer on medicine, born B. c. 53.
47. masteries, The Latin translation has "will gain strength." He means that a strong constitution will conquer a disease.
48. pleasing, indulgent.
51. as, that.
52. temper, cf. Essays vi. 103 and xix. 29.
55. faculty, skill, With the whole of this Essay the student should read Bacon's remarks on medicine, Adv. , bk. ii. 10, and also his History of Life and Death. Rawley, in his life of Bacon, says, ' ' It hath been desired that something should be signified touching his diet, and the regimen of his health, of which, in regard of his universal insight into nature, he may perhaps be to some an example. For his diet, it was rather a plentiful and liberal diet, as his stomach would bear it, than a restrained : which he also commended in his book of the History of Life, and Death. In his younger years he was much given to the finer and lighter sorts of meats, as of fowls, and such like ; but afterwards, when he grew more judicious, he preferred the stronger meats, such as the shambles afforded, as those meats which bred the more firm and substantial juices of the body, and less dissipable ; upon which he would often make his meal, though he had other meats upon the table. You may be sure he would not neglect that himself, which he so much extolled in his writings, and that was the use of nitre ; whereof he took in the quantity of three grains in thin warm broth every morning, for thirty years together next before his death. And for physic, he did indeed live physically, but not miserably ; for he took only a maceration of rhubarb, infused into a draught of white wine and beer mingled together for the space of half an hour, once in six or seven days, immedi-
xxx.] OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH. 227
ately before his meal (whether dinner or supper), that it might dry the body less ; which (as he said) did carry away frequently the grosser humours of the body, and not diminish or carry away any of the spirits, as sweating doth. And this was 110 grievous thing to take. As for other physic, in an ordinary way (what soever hath been vulgarly spoken) he took not."
ESSAY XXXI. OF SUSPICION.
3. guarded, kept under control,
4. leese, cause the loss of.
check with, interfere with. Cf, Essay x. 49.
5. currently, uninterruptedly. Bacon says of James I. "His speech is swift and cursory," i.e. flutnt.
I. not in the heart, i.e. they do not imply want of courage. 8. stoutest, most courageous.
II. composition, temperament. See note on Essays vi. 103 and xix. 29.
13. fearful, timid. Cf. Essay vi. 78.
16. and not to keep, and should not keep. To is redundant. Cf. Essay xxiv. 37.
to keep in smother, to stifle. The Latin translation has "for suspicions are fostered by smoke and darkness." Our sus picions of a man are often seen to be unfounded when we come to know his motives and to understand the circumstances in which he is placed. In a letter to Sir Robert Cecil Bacon says, " I trust on, and yet do not smother what I hear. "
17. Do they think, etc. The Latin translation has "Do they think that all whose services they engage, or with whom they have dealings, are angels or saints ? "
21. to account upon such suspicions as true, The Latin trans lation has " to provide remedies as if they were true." 23. as, that.
25. buzzes, The Latin translation has "empty noises."
26. artificially, The Latin translation has "by the arts of others."
33. would, we should say should. Cf. Essay iii. 148. 36. gives license to faith, frees men from the obligation to be loyal.
38. discharge itself, free itself from suspicion. A man who finds himself suspected should be the more eager to show that the suspicion is undeserved.
228 NOTES. [xxxn.
ESSAY XXXII. OF DISCOURSE.
1 . of wit, for their ingenuity.
2. to bold, etc., to support any argument.
5. common places, subjects. The word place in the sense of subject is suggested by the Latin word locus, which means both a place and a subject. Topic is the Greek topos, which means a place.
8. moderate, control the discourse. Of. Essay xxv. 32.
11. intermingle, etc. A skilful talker will know how to intro duce considerations of general interest to illustrate and relieve the monotony of the immediate subject of conversation.
14. jade, over-drive. The Latin translation has "when a man dwells too long on a subject, he becomes wearisome. "
20. would be, ought to be. The line which follows is from Ovid., Met., ii. 127.
24. saltness, wit. The Latin word sal, salt, is used in this sense.
25. he, notice the repetition of the subject. Cf. Essay viii. 37.
27. content, please others.
28. apply, suit.
31. that, the habit of putting awkward questions. See note on Essay xxix. 297.
32. a poser, one who puts questions. The Latin translation has " an examiner. " Cf. Essay xxii. 68.
33. would, wishes to.
35. use to, cf. Essay xv. 237.
36. galliards, the name of a dance.
If you dissemble, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 13. 4. "Socrates used to disable his knowledge, to the end to enhance his know ledge." In the corresponding passage in the De Aug. Bacon adds — " By denying that he knew things which he manifestly did know, he thought that he would get the reputation of knowing things which he really did not know. "
37. 38. that, for ' that which,' cf. Essay vi. 39. 44. pretendeth, lays claim.
Speech of touch towards others, malicious sayings about others.
46. as a field, The Latin translation has " Conversation should be like an open field in which one may walk about : not like the highway, which leads home. "
xxxii.] OF DISCOURSE. 229
50. a dry blow, a jest. 54. agreeably, suitably.
56. interlocution, conversation. Conversation, above all things, requires readiness. The man who does not possess it is compared below to the greyhound. He can run on, but cannot turn about.
57. without a good settled speech, without the power of speak ing continuously. A man may be clever enough to keep up a conversation, though his knowledge is not sufficient to afford material for a continuous speech. Such a man is compared below to the hare. He can turn about, but cannot run on. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 14. 6. " The difference is good which was made between orators and sophisters, that the one is as the greyhound, which hath his advantage in the race, and the other as the hare, which hath her advantage in the turn, so as it is the advantage of the weaker creature."
59. in the course, in running.
61. to use too many circumstances, to dwell too much upon incidental matters connected with the main subject of the speech.
63. blunt, The Latin translation has " is abrupt and unpleas- ing." Cf. Essay xxv. 37. Of Bacon's own conversation Rawley says, " He was no dashing man, as some men are (he did not use his wit, as some do, to put others out of countenance,) but ever a countenancer and fosterer of another man's parts. Neither was he one that would appropriate the speech wholly to himself, or delight to outvie others, but leave a liberty to the coassessors to take their turns. Wherein he would draw a man on and allow him to speak upon such a subject, as wherein he was peculiarly skilful, and would delight to speak. And for himself, he con temned no man's observations, but would light his torch at every man's candle. His opinions and assertions were for the most part binding, and not contradicted by any ; rather like oracles than discourses ; which may be imputed either to the well- weighing of his sentence by the scales of truth and reason, or else to the reverence and estimation wherein he was commonly had, that no man would contest with him ; so that there was no argumentation, or pro and con (as they term it) at his table : or if there chanced to be any, it was carried with much submission and moderation."
ESSAY XXXIII. OF PLANTATIONS.
1. Plantations, colonies. See note on Essay xxix. 158.
2. When the world, etc. This sounds strange when we look at the vast Colonial Empire of Great Britain, which began with the
230 NOTES. [xxxin.
charter given to Virginia in 1606. We imist remember too that ' ' there was once 'a Greater Spain, a Greater Portugal, a Greater France, and a Greater Holland, as well as a Greater Britain, but from various causes these four Empires have either perished or have become insignificant. Greater Spain disappeared, and Greater Portugal lost its largest province, Brazil, half a century ago in wars of independence similar to that which tore from us our American colonies. Greater France and a large part of Greater Holland were lost in wars and became merged in Greater Britain. " With Bacon's metaphor contrast the following explanation: — "The appropriation by a settled community of lands on the other side of an ocean is wholly different from the gradual diffusion of a race (the Greeks) over a continuous ter ritory or across narrow seas. Slight motives calling into operation moderate forces may suffice for the latter, but the former demands a prodigious leverage. In the life of Columbus it may be re marked that he needs the help of the state at every turn. It is the state which has equipped him and paid the expense of the discovery. Moreover when the discovery is made, it is observable that no irresistible impulse prompts the European to take advan tage of it. When the floodgates are thrown open, there is no stream ready to flow, for in Europe at that time there was no superfluous population seeking an outlet, only individual adven turers ready to go in search of gold. Columbus can make no progress but by proving to the sovereigns that the territory he discovers will yield revenue to them." Seeley, 7'Ae Expansion of England. For the origin and nature of Roman Colonies, see note on Essay xxix. 157.
9. to leese, to lose. Cf. Essay xix. 141. 13. stand with, be consistent with.
20. certify over, etc. The Latin translation has " Will send home news calculated to harm and discredit the colony." Some of the Australian colonies have within recent years complained of parts of their territory being turned into penal settlements. In his Advice, to Sir Geor/je Villiers, Bacon says, "If any trans plant themselves into plantations abroad, who are known schis matics, outlaws, or criminal persons, they are to be sent for back upon the first notice : such persons are not fit to lay the foundation of a new colony."
24. a country of plantation, where a colony is to be founded.
25. of itself, The Latin translation has ' ' without cultivation. " 28. victual, we should use victuals. Cf. 1. 40.
esculent, the Latin word for eatable.
30. Hierusalem, Jerusalem.
31. For, as for. Cf. below, " For beasts," etc.
xxxin.] OF PLANTATIONS. 231
33. ask, cf. Essay vi. 2.
35. a great increase, abundant crops.
42. certain, fixed.
let the main part, etc. This is put more clearly in the Latin. " Of the ground which is turned into gardens or corn land let the largest part be assigned to public granaries : and let the crops be stored in these granaries and divided in a fixed proportion. Care however must be taken that there shall be some portions of ground left on which the industry of individuals may find employment." For to we should say for,
44. to be laid, cf. Essay xxiv. 37. 46. manure, cultivate.
for his own private, for himself. Private is a substantive.
48. that they may some way, etc. The Latin translation has " that part of the expenditure may be met by exporting them to places where they are highly valued. "
49. so, provided that. The order of this and the following sentence is inverted in the Latin translation.
As was said, 1. 10.
51. wood, etc. The Latin translation has " In unoccupied districts forests for the most part abound : and therefore wood suited for building, for ships, and other such purposes is to be reckoned one of the chief commodities."
54. brave, fine.
55. would be, etc., ought to be tried. The Latin translation has " the making of black salt by the heat of the sun.'
56. growing silk, vegetable silk. It is the produce of the silk-cotton tree of South America. (W.)
if any be, if there is any.
57. are, notice the plural verb. For ' to be ' in the sense of ' to exist, ' cf . Essay iii. 95 ; we should say ' where there is abund ance of,' etc.
59. soap ashes, etc. The Latin translation has " Ashes which men use for soap would yield large profits. So too would other things which may be discovered. "
60. moil, work. The Latin translation has, "Trust not too much to mines, especially at first. For mines are deceptive and costly, and by fostering fair hopes they render men idle in other things."
61. useth, cf. Essay xv. 237.
65. Above all, etc. Solitude is, or should be, favourable to religious meditation.
232 NOTES. [xxxiu.
65. that profit ... as, such profit that.
68. undertakers, contractors. The Latin translation has, "Let not the colony be dependent upon too large a council residing in the mother country ; nor, on account of its small revenues, let it be subjected to too large a number ; but let the number of those who look after and manage the affairs of the colony be moderate." The word undertaker was used in its proper sense of one who undertook, one to whom a, business was entrusted. In a speech in the House of Commons Bacon said, "There were undertakers for the plantations of Derry and Coleraine in Ireland, the better to command and bridle those parts. " Perhaps the nearest equivalent is commiwioners. Else where Bacon uses the word to describe the colonists themselves. temperate, moderate.
71. for they look ever, etc. We are reminded of the pressure which the Directors of the East India Company so often brought to bear upon their servants.
72. custom, duties on exports and imports. Bacon recom mended James I. to grant to the colonists in Ireland " liberty to transport any of the commodities growing upon the countries now planted ; liberty to import from hence all things appertain ing to their necessary use, custom free ; liberty to take timber and other materials in your Majesty's woods there, and the like.''
74. makes their best of them, we should say, ' make the most they can of them,' i.e. sell them most profitably.
77. how they waste, how their population decreases.
78. by surcharge, through excess of population.
81. marish, marsh : lit. mere-ish, full of meres or pools.
83. discommodities, inconveniences, still, always.
85. that they may use it, etc. The Latin translation has ' ' with which to season food that would probably go bad without it." Notice they after the singular plantation. Cf. Essay xxix. 216.
88. gingles, rattles.
89. guard, caution.
90. it is not amiss, viz. to help them.
91. of them, i.e. some of them.
96. Pieced, cf. Essay iii. 101.
97. destitute, desert : a Latinism.
99. commiserable, miserable and deserving of pity. Cf . ' ' This was also the end of this noble and commixerable person, the Earl of Warwick." — Hist. Henr;/ VII.
xxxiv.] OF RICHES. 233
ESSAY XXXIV. OF RICHES.
1. better, The Latin translation has " by a more appropriate name."
2. impedimenta, The Latin word signifying ' baggage ' means literally 'a hindrance.'
7. conceit, opinion.
9. The personal fruition, etc. When a certain point has been reached, any additional wealth contributes nothing to the per sonal enjoyments of the owner. He can hoard it : he can divide it : he can make presents : he may be talked about : but, as he already had enough to satisfy every want and gratify every taste, so far as he personally is concerned, it is of no real use to him. It may be worth while to point out that in the language of political economy ?i-se means capacity to satisfy a desire : it is not opposed to pleasure. Diamonds therefore have a very great ' value in use. '
12. feigned, fictitious, fanciful. 14. because, in order that.
20. proud riches, riches which serve only for display, since they exceed what is required for use.
22. abstract, The Latin translation has "such as is felt by a person n-ho ha* withdrawn himxelf from the world." This is the literal meaning of the Latin word abstractus.
32. Pluto, the god of the lower world. 34. pace, advance.
36. tumbling, cf . ' ' No man I suppose will think that I mean fortunes are not obtained without all this ado ; for I know they come tumbling into some men's laps." Adv. bk. ii. 23. 43.
37. mought, might. Cf. Essay xv. 184.
39. upon speed, quickly.
40. to enrich, to grow rich.
49. collier, owner of coal-mines, corn-master, corn owner.
50. lead-man, owner of lead-mines. so, cf. Essay xviii. 21.
51. husbandry, cf. Essay xv. 131. So as, so that.
52. in respect of, cf Essay xxvii. 88.
53. himself, he himself, viz. , the speaker.
54. when a man's stock, etc. , when a man is so rich that he
234 NOTES. [xxxiv.
can afford to wait for a favourable market, and can secure bargains which are beyond the means of ordinary men, etc.
55. expect, as in Latin, to wait for.
56. overcome, lit. make his own.
58. mainly, greatly. Cf. Essay xv. 69.
63. broke, deal, do business. The meaning is, ' When a man bribes other men's servants to induce their masters to sell to him, and puts out of the way others who would have offered a higher price. '
64. chapmen, purchasers. Cf.
" Beauty is bought by judgment of the eye, Not uttered by base sale of chapmen's tongues."
Sh. Loves L. L., ii. 1.
Ben Jonson uses the form copeman : cf. to chop, Essay Ivi. 84. To chap or chop meant to exchange, from ceap, a market. Cf.
"How now, how now, chop-logic ! What is this?"
Sh. fiomeo and Jul., iii. 5. 150.
65. naught, bad.
68. the seller and upon the buyer, i.e. the person who sells it to, and the person who buys it from him who bought it to resell.
69. usury, cf. Essay xli. 74. for that, because.
value, exaggerate the wealth of. unsound, whose credit is not good.
79. Play the true logician, cf . ' ' The arts intellectual are four in number ; divided according to the ends whereunto they are referred : for man's labour is to invent (discover) that which is sought or propounded : or to judge that which is invented : or to retain that which is judged : or to deliver over (teach) that which is retained." Adv., bk. ii. 12. 3.
80. fit, favourable.
81. resteth upon, cf. Essay xxix. 79. 85. coemption, buying up.
89. it, i.e.. the acquisition of wealth by service. The structure of the sentence is irregular throughout.
though it be of the best rise, The Latin translation has "has a dignity of its own." 'Rise' is used in the sense of 'source.' The Latin translation adds "of kings and nobles" after ' ' service. "
90. They, cf. Essay viii. 37.
xxxiv.] OF RICHES. 235
92. Tacitus, Annals, xiii. 42.
97. and none worse, etc. The Latin translation has " Nor will you find anywhere people more tenacious than these are when they begin to grow rich."
98. penny- wise, stingy in small things. Cf . the phrase ' ' penny- wise and pound-foolish."
104. the better stablisned, i.e. unless his strength of mind is in proportion to his wealth. The better, the richer he is, the more he requires the experience of age.
105. glorious, ostentatious, like the Latin gloriosus.
sacrifices without salt, In the letter referred to in the last note on this Essay, Bacon says, " I find it a positive precept of the old (Jewish) law, that there should be no sacrifice without salt : the moral whereof, besides the ceremony, may be, that God is not pleased with the body of a good intention, except it be seasoned with that spiritual wisdom and judgment, as it be not easily subject to be corrupted and perverted : for salt, in the Scripture, is a figure both of wisdom and lasting. "
106. painted, fair on the outside only. It is suggested by the Scriptural expression ' a whited sepulchre. '
107. corrupt, cf. Essay xxix. 252.
108. advancements, gifts.
frame them by measure, let the gift be in proportion to the object. In Adv., bk. ii. 1. 2, he talks of works and acts " which are rather matters of magnificence and memory than of progression and proficience." In illustration of Bacon's meaning the student should not fail to read a very important letter written by Bacon to King James on the subject of a legacy left by a man called Sutton for the foundation of, a hospital. The letter is given in Spedding's Francis Bacon and Uix Times, pp. 647-654.
ESSAY XXXV. OF PROPHECIES.
1. divine prophecies, On the subject of Scriptural prophecies Bacon says (Adv. , bk. ii. 3. 2), "History of prophecy consisteth of two relatives, the prophecy and the accomplishment ; and therefore the nature of such a work ought to be, that every prophecy of the Scripture be sorted with the event fulfilling the same, throughout the ages of the world ; both for the better confirmation of faith, and for the better illumination of the Church touching those parts of prophecies which are yet unful filled ; allowing nevertheless that latitude which is agreeable and
236 NOTES. [xxxv.
familiar unto divine prophecies; being of the nature of their author, with whom a thousand years are but as one day ; and therefore are not fulfilled punctually at once, but have springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages ; though the height or fulness of them may refer to some one age. This is a work which I find deficient ; but is to be done with wisdom, sobriety, and reverence, or not at all. "
2. natural predictions, predictions made on the basis of ascer tained laws of nature, such, for instance, as the prediction of an eclipse.
3. of certain memory, cf. 1. 85, "of certain credit," i.e. sup ported by trustworthy evidence.
from hidden causes, as distinguished from 'natural pre dictions ' where the causes of the event predicted are known.
4. Pythonlssa, a woman endowed with the spirit of divination. " The Pythian " was an epithet of Apollo, the god who delivered oracles at Delphi. Saul, King of Israel, consulted a witch on the eve of a struggle with his enemies the Philistines. The witch summoned the spirit of the prophet Samuel, who thus addressed Saul, " The Lord will deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines : and to-morrow shall thou and thy sons be with me." 1 Samuel xxviii. 19.
5. Homer, The lines which Bacon quotes are from Virgil, jEn. iii. 97. They are altered by Virgil from Homer, II. xx. 307-8. " ./Eneas, and the children who shall come after him, shall reign over the Trojans."
20. Tiphys, the pilot of the Argo, a ship famous in Greek mythology. He is the type of those who make voyages of discovery.
23. Polycrates, ruler of Samos in the sixth century B.C. The story which follows is told by Herodotus, iii. 124.
30. do not use, cf. Essay xv. 237.
31. a phantasm, cf. Shakespeare, Julius Cce,tar, iv. 3. 275.
33. Tiberius, The story is told by Tacitus, Ann. vi. 20. Galba, who was consul at the time, became emperor in the year 68 A.D.
35. In Vespasian's time, etc. Tacitus, describing certain pro digies said to have occurred during the siege of Jerusalem, says — " Some few of the Jews put a fearful meaning upon these events, but in most there was a firm persuasion that in the ancient records of their priests was contained a prediction of how at this very time the East was to prove powerful, and rulers, coming from Judaga, were to acquire universal empire.
xxxv.] OF PROPHECIES. 237
These mysterious prophecies had pointed to Vespasian and Titus, but the common people, with the usual blindness of ambition, had interpreted these mighty destinies of themselves, and could not be brought even by disaster to believe the truth." Hist. v. 13. For Vespasian, see Essay i. 41.
35. there went, Cf. " It seemed to him that he was advertised of the battles of the frogs and mice, that the old tales went of." Adv., bk. i. 8. 1. We still say 'the story goes,' or 'the story runs. ' This last expression is the English equivalent of the Latin is current.
36. of, for 'from.'
37. which ... it, notice the irregular construction. Cf. Essay xxxvi. 12.
38. Domitian, see Essay xix. 17.
42. Henry the Sixth, cf. Shakspeare, 3 Henry VL, iv. 6. 68.
46. curious arts, magic. Cf. "At this time the king began again to be haunted with spirits by the magic and curious arts of the Lady Margaret." Hist. Henry VII. In the Adv., bk. i. 4. 11, Bacon includes magic and astrology among the arts "which have had better intelligence and confederacy with the imagin ation of man than with his reason." But, he says, " the ends or pretences of both are noble." He defines magic thus, " Natural magic pretendeth to call and reduce natural philosophy from variety of speculations to the magnitude of works " : and in the I)e Aug. thus, " The proper function of natural magic is to apply the knowledge of hidden causes to the production of wonder ful results." But, he says, with regard both to magic and astrology, and also alchemy, " the derivations and prosecutions to their ends, both in the theories and in the practices are full of error and vanity ; which the great professors themselves have sought to veil over and conceal by enigmatical writings, and referring themselves to auricular traditions and such other devices, to save the credit of impostures." Bacon himself wished to reconstitute the art of magic upon a sound basis. The differ ence between magic as it was and magic as he wished it to be is made plain by the following passage : ' ' We may note in these sciences which hold so much of imagination and belief, as this degenerate natural magic, alchemy, and astrology, and the like, that in their propositions the description of the means is ever more monstrous than the pretence or end. For it is a thing more probable, that he that knoweth well the natures of weight, of colour, of pliant and fragile in respect of the hammer, of volatile and fixed in respect of the fire, and the rest, may superinduce upon some metal the nature and form of gold by such mechanism as longeth to the production of the natures afore rehearsed, than that some grains of the medicine projected should in a few
238 NOTES. [xxxv.
moments of time turn a sea of quicksilver or other material into gold. So it is more probable that he that knoweth the nature of arefaction, the nature of assimilation of nourishment to the thing nourished, the manner of increase and clearing of spirits, the manner of the depredations which spirits make upon the humours and solid parts, shall by ambages of diets, bathings, anointings, medicines, motions, and the like, prolong life, or restore some degree of youth or vivacity, than that it can be done with the use of a few drops or scruples of a liquor or receipt. The true natural magic is that great liberty and latitude of operation which dependeth upon the knowledge of forms (causes)." Of astrology Bacon says, " It pretendeth to discover that corre spondence or concatenation which is between the superior globe and the inferior." Adv., bk. i. 4. 11. In the De Aug. he regrets, in the sphere of physic, the absence of a rational astrology based on physical laws. In his time he complains that " astrology was so full of fictions that he could scarcely find anything sound in it." Bacon believed himself that it might enable us to predict not only natural phenomena, such as frosts, floods, earthquakes, etc. , but wars, seditions, schisms, transmigrations of peoples, and, in short, all commotions or great revolutions of things, natural as well as civil. He thought also that it might be of use in the choice of favourable times for undertakings. " We must not," he says, " altogether reject the choice of times, though we should place less reliance on it than on predictions. For we see that in sowing, and planting, and grafting, an observation of the age of the moon is a thing not altogether to be despised." Bacon gives his views at some length in the De Aug., bk. iii. ch. 4. Cf. Sir Thomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica, bk. i. ch. 10 ; and Rdi'jio Me.dlcl, § 30.
50. was slain, Henry II. of France was killed at a tourna ment in 1559.
52. trivial, common. Cf. Essay xii. 1.
57. whereby it was conceived, which was interpreted to mean that, etc.
58. prineipial, initial. Lat. principium, a beginning. 62. for that, cf. Essay xvi. 54. See below, 1. 72.
style, title.
of Britain, in consequence of the union of England and Scotland.
66. the Baugh, " Mr. Daniel has suggested to me that the ' Baugh ' is probably the Bass Rock, and the ' May ' the Isle of May in the Frith of Forth. " (W. )
68. when that, when. See Essay xv. 53.
xxxv.] OF PROPHECIES. 239
73. Regiomontanus, Johannes Midler. He is called Regio- montamis, i.e. of the royal mount, because he was born at Kbnigsberg, i.e. the king's hill. The date of the prophecy was A.D. 1475. (W.)
79. Cleon, a prominent democrat in Athens in the fifth century B.C. He was of low birth and a leather-seller by trade. The comic dramatist Aristophanes in his play of The Knights, v. 195 seqif. introduces an oracle to the effect that ''a dragon shall get the better of the leather-eagle," i.e. of Cleon. The dragon, he goes on to explain, symbolizes a sausage-seller, "for both a dragon and a sausage are long."
81. of, for 'by.'
88. the spreading or publishing, cf. the end of the last Essay in the book.
89. in no sort, not at all, in no way.
91. given them grace, brought them into favour.
92. men mark, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 14. 9, "The root of all superstition is that to the nature of the mind of all men it is consonant for the affirmative or active to affect more than the negative or privative. So that a few times hitting or presence countervails ofttimes failing or absence ; as was well answered by Diagoras to him that showed him in Neptune's temple the great number of pictures of such as had scaped shipwreck, and had paid their vows to Neptune, saying, Advise noiv, you that think it folly to invocate Neptune in tempest. Yea, but (saith Diagoras) where are they painted that are droivned ? "
96. divination is discussed in the Adv., bk. ii. 11. 2. It is either artificial or natural. The first is a prophecy based upon some sign or argument, whether on a mere coincidence, as in heathen auguries, or on a knowledge of causes, as in the pre diction of an eclipse by an astronomer. Natural divination is that foresight with which, under certain conditions, the mind is supposed to be endowed. This also is of two kinds. Firstly, when the mind is self-absorbed, and not distracted, it is thought that it may see into the future, in which case the divination is primitive. Secondly, it is thought that in certain ecstatic states of mind the future is revealed to it by God and spirits, in which case the divination is by wflitxion.
97. collect, infer. A Latinism.
102. Atlanticus, the treatise commonly known as the Critias.
mought, might. Cf. Essay xv. 184. In the two treatises referred to Plato mentions a tradition that there had existed a vast island in the Atlantic, which was afterwards submerged.
240 NOTES. [xxxvi.
ESSAY XXXVI. OF AMBITION.
3. his, cf. Essay xix. 86.
4. adust, parched. " Anger, when checked, is a kind of tor ment, and makes the spirit prey upon the juices of the body, but when left to itself and allowed to escape, it is beneficial." //ittorjf of Life and Death, § 85. Cf. Essay xxx. 22, " Avoid anger fretting inwards."
6. still, continually. Cf. below, "That they be still pro gressive."
they, cf. Essay viii. 37. 8. discontent, discontented. Cf. Essay viii. 36.
an evil eye, cf. Essay ix.
10. property, see note on Essay iii. 30.
a prince or state, a king or a republic. Cf. Essay ix. 150.
11. to handle it so as, so to manage matters that.
12. which ... it, cf. Essay xxxv. 37.
15. they will take order to, they will endeavour to.
17. upon, cf. Essay ii. 32 ; and below, 1. 67.
18. of necessity, necessary.
19. be they never so, etc. , no matter how ambitious they may be.
20. dispenseth with, makes up for other defects.
23. envy, unpopularity.
24. seeled, blinded by having its eyes sewn up. Ambition blinds men to danger and unpopularity.
28. Sejanus, the friend and minister of Tiberius. When the emperor became jealous and suspicious of him, Macro took his place as commander of the praetorian guards.
29. resteth, remains.
30. of, for 'from.'
32. popular, cf. Essay xv. 243. Shakespeare makes Richard IT. say of Bolingbroke that he
" Observed his courtship to the common people, How he did seem to dive into their hearts With humble and familiar courtesy ; What reverence he did throw away on slaves, Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles And patient underbearing of his fortune, As 'twere to banish their affects with him. Off goes his bonnet to an oyster-wench ; A brace of draymen bid God speed him well,
xxxvi.] OF AMBITION. 241
And had the tribute of his supple knee, With ' Thanks, my countrymen, my loving friends ; ' As were our England in reversion his, And he our subjects' next degree in hope." 36. when the way, etc. When the king distributes favours and the reverse through the favourite. Bacon is probably think ing of the position of Buckingham. Cf. Bacon's letter to him, given in Speddiiig's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. ii. p. 151. 39. to balance them, " In the government of states it is some times necessary to bridle one faction with another." Adv. , bk. ii. 22. 6. For the metaphor of ' the ship, ' cf . Essay xv. 48.
43. inure, accustom.
44. obnoxious, liable. Cf. Essay xx. 105.
45. fearful, timid. Cf. Essay vi. 78.
46. stout, bold. Cf. Essay xxxi. 8.
48. that, coupled with ' if. ' See note on Essay xv. 53.
51. of ambitions, etc. Of the different forms of ambition, that which aims at prevailing in great things is less harmful than that, etc.
55. dependences, followers. Cf. Essay xx. 79.
59. the decay, used transitively, as we use ' ruin. '
61. a man's, see note 011 Essay vi. 57.
63. discern of, cf. Essay xxx. 8.
65. princes and states, cf. Essay ix. 150.
66. sensible of, sensitive to. The Latin translation has ' ' are more led by." Cf. Essay viii. 21.
67. bravery, love of display.
68. busy, meddling.
discern, used in its proper sense of distinguish.
ESSAY XXXVII. OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS.
Masques and Triumphs, Bacon himself had a great fancy for these. On the occasion of the marriage of a princess in 1612 he was the chief contriver of a masque presented by the Inns of Court, the subject of which was the marriage of the Thames and the Rhine. At Christmas, 1593, Bacon took part in "divers plot* and dericex " arranged by the students at Gray's Inn. A descrip tion of the entertainment is given in Speddiiig's Francis Bacon and Hi* Times, vol. i. p. 137 seqq. At another time he took part in arranging "a device" for the entertainment of Queen
Q
242 NOTES. [xxxvi r.
Elizabeth. See Ibid. vol. i. p. 173. Both Elizabeth and James were extremely fond of these performances. The best known masques are those of Ben Jonson. In the introduction to one of them he says, " Two years being now past, that her Majesty had intermitted these delights, and the third almost come, it was her Highness's pleasure again to glorify the court, and command that I should think on some fit presentment," etc.
1. toys, cf. 1. 54, and Essay xix. 12.
3. daubed with cost, extravagantly showy. ' To daub ' means properly ' to plaster. '
6. broken music, Mr. Chappell, in his Popular Music, of the Olden Time*, explained this to mean music on stringed instruments, " the term originating probably from harps, lutes, and such other stringed instruments as were played without a bow, not having the capability to sustain a long note to its full duration of time." But in a note on Shakespeare, Henri/ V., i. 11. 127, where the expression also occurs, Mr. Wright explains that Mr. Chappell subsequently changed his opinion and gave the following explana tion. Some instruments, such as viols, violins, flutes, etc. , were formerly made in sets of four, which when played together formed ' a consort. ' If one or more of the instruments of one set were substituted for the corresponding ones of another set, the result was no longer ' a consort ' but ' broken music. '
7. ditty, song. It is the Latin dictum, a word.
device, This was the common name for such pageants.
acting in song, as in a modern opera, where the actors sing instead of speaking.
9. dancing in song, i.e. to dance and sing at the same time, as distinguished from dancing to .so?«/, which means that one person sings and another dances.
10. would be, ought to be.
12. dainty, pretty.
13. taking the voice by catches, singing one after another. Sacred music is often sung in this wray in churches.
anthem is a corruption of antiphon, alternate voices.
14. turning dances into figure, inventing complicated dances. Thus we find in one of Ben Jonson's masques that the characters, " dancing forth a most curious dance, full of excellent device and change, ended it in the figure of a diamond."
15. curiosity, cf. Essay ix. 17.
And generally, etc. I am describing what is naturally attractive, without regard to mere artifices for exciting surprise. For respect, see note on Essay xi. 90.
xxxvn. J OF MASQUES ANT) TRIUMPHS. 243
18. so, provided that.
22. let the maskers, etc. The scene (Latin sccena, a stage) was a raised platform. It could be turned round, each face of it presenting a different scene. When the curtain rose the specta tors saw upon the scene a group of allegorical figures with appro priate surroundings, as in a modern tableau rivant. These figures first moved in dumb show (motions) : and then some or all of them came down from the scene, and in speech or song explained the meaning of the symbolical representation.
25. that, for what, Cf. Essay vi. 39.
30. oes, bright round spots. Cf. Shakspeare, Mids. A7ight Dream iii. 2. —
" Fair Helena, that more engilds the night Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light."
spangs, spangles.
31. they, cf. Essay viii. 37.
35. anti-masques, An anti-masque was a grotesque interlude between the acts of the masque, to which it served as a foil and contrast, and hence its name. But Jonson uses antic-masque, i.e. a masque in which antics or grotesque figures took part, but it is uncertain whether this is the true etymology. (W. ) Ben Jonson in an introduction to one of his masques says — "And because her Majesty (best knowing that a principal part of life, in these spectacles, lay in their variety) had commanded me to think on some dance or show, that might precede hers, and hare the place of a first or false masque: I was careful to decline, not only from others, but mine own steps in that kind, since the last year I had an antimasque of boys : and therefore now devised that twelve women, in the habit of hags or witches, sustaining the persons of Ignorance, Suspicion, Credulity, etc. , the opposites to good fame, should fill that part, not as a masque, but a spectacle of strangeness, producing multiplicity of gesture, and not unaptly sorting with the current, and whole tale of the device."
37. turquets, little figures representing Turks.
38. statuas, cf. Essay xxvii. 156.
48. justs and tourneys, cf. " The very practice of chivalry in 'justs and tourneys,' which are but images of martial action, appear by ancient precedents not to be lawful without the king's license obtained." Decree of the Star Chamber ayainst Duds. The chief difference between a tourney and a joust was that the former was an encounter between bodies of men, and the latter between single combatants. They were rapidly going out of fashion in Bacon's time.
244 NOTES. [xxxvu.
48. barriers, the lists within which a tournament was fought, and so, the fight itself. Nares, Glossary, s.v. A mimic fight was sometimes part of a masque. Ben Jonson introduces a solemnity of barriers, in which two parties ranged on opposite sides of the hall tilt across a bar.
52. bravery, finery.
ESSAY XXXVIII. OF NATURE IN MEN.
1. Nature, disposition and character.
2. in the return, i.e. when the force is withdrawn.
3. doctrine, cf. Essay xx. 54.
importune, importunate. Cf. Essay ix. 160.
6. often, equivalent to an adjective : frequent.
7. a small proceeder, one who makes small progress.
8. though by often prevailings, although he generally succeed. With this passage cf. Adv., bk. ii. 19. 2. and bk. ii. 22. 8-12.
11. if the practice, etc., i.e., if a man trains himself to do more difficult things than he is ever required to do.
14. in time, i.e. in respect of time. We must not act immedi ately upon a natural impulse.
15. when he was angry, The Latin translation adds ' before he did anything.' Cf. Essay xxvii. 188.
21. optimus ille, etc. Ovid, Remedies for Lowe , v. 293.
34. lay, for 'lie.'
37. the board, the table.
39. put himself to, i.e. accustom himself to the temptation. The habitual drunkard finds it hard to abstain from wine when it is offered to him. He is moved ivith it, i.e. he finds it difficult to resist it.
41. privateness, The Latin translation has ' in his intercourse with his friends. '
affectation, see note on Essay i. 3. in passion, cf. Adt\, bk. ii. 23. 18.
44. sort with, suit. Cf. Essay vi. 5.
45. my soul, etc. Psalm cxx. 6, "My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace." Bacon often quotes the words in the sense of " My mind has long been employed upon (conversed in) uncongenial subjects." Writing to Sir Thomas Bodley, Bacon says, " I think no man may more truly say with the
xxxviii.] OF NATURE IN MEN. 245
psalm Multum incola fuit anima than myself : for I do confess, since I was of any understanding, my mind hath in effect been absent from that I have done ; and in absence are many errors, which I do willingly acknowledge ; and, amongst the rest, this great one that led the rest ; that knowing myself by inward calling to be fitter to hold a book, than to play a part, I have led my life in civil causes ; for which I was not very fit by nature, and more unfit by the preoccupation of my mind."
46. converse in, cf. Essay xx. 120.
47. whatsoever a man commandeth upon himself, The Latin translation has " Whatever is not congenial."
51. so as, so that.
the spaces, the intervals.
ESSAY XXXIX. OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION.
3. infused opinions, opinions derived from without. It is opposed to inclination, or natural disposition, after as, according as.
5. evil- favoured, ugly. Cf. 'favour,' Essay xxvii. 185, and xliii. 13.
6. bravery, boastfulness.
7. corroborate, strengthened. Cf. Essay viii. 36. rest upon, cf. Essay xxix. 79, and below, 1. 53.
11. Machiavel, Talking of the qualities required in an assassin Machiavelli says that only those experienced in such affairs should be chosen. Discourses, iii. 6.
friar Clement assassinated Henry III. of France, A.D. 1589. Ravaillac killed Henry IV. of France, A.D. 1610. Jaureguy attempted to kill William the Silent, Prince of Orange, 1582 A.D. In the year 1584 the Prince was shot by Baltazar Gerard.
13. nature ... nor ... are not, neither nature, nor the engage ments of words, is so forcible, etc.
15. of the first blood, who are committing murder for the first time.
16. votary, produced by a vow. In his Discourse in Praise of Queen Elizabeth, Bacon says that a conspiracy against her was " strengthened and bound by vows and sacraments."
18. as, that.
23. the sect, i.e. the gymnosophists. Cf. Cic. Tusc. Disp., v. 27.
246 NOTES. [xxxix.
28. queening, The Latin translation has "uttering a cry." But Nares in his Glossary says that ' to quick ' or ' quech ' means to ' stir or twist. ' He quotes —
" Like captived thrall With a strong iron chain and coller bound, That once he could not move nor quick at all."
Spenser, F. Q., v. 9. 33. 32. it had been so used, that had been the custom.
34. engaged, bound. Properly the word means ' bound by a pledge. '
44. take the ply, be bent in any direction.
47. simple, applied to individuals and not to numbers (copu late). In his discussion on poetry in the De A^^g., Bacon re marks that men, when gathered together in numbers, are much more open to impressions than when they are alone.
50. comforteth, strengthens.
51. in his exaltation, at its height. Exaltation was a techni cal term in astrology, signifying that position of a planet in which its influence is greatest. For his, see note on Essay xix. 86.
54. Commonwealth, A man asked Pythagoras what was the best education he could give his son : and the sage replied, " Make him a citizen of a well-governed state."
ESSAY XL. OF FORTUNE.
1. but, equivalent to ' that.'
to fortune, The Latin translation has " to promote or de press men's fortunes." With what follows cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 10.
2. fitting virtue, favourable to the display of any good qualities a man may possess.
10. apparent, conspicuous.
12. deliveries, literally, modes of extricating himself from difficulties. Bacon means simply a power of checking any tendency or characteristic in ourselves, which, if allowed free play, would interfere with our success. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 33.
14. stonds, hindrances. In Adr., bk. ii. 22. 10., he talks of " knots and stonds of the mind." The sentence beginning "when there be," etc., explains what he means by " certain deliveries " or " desemboltura. " For the metaphor which follows cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 33 : " But from whatsoever root or cause this restive-
XL.] OF FORTUNE. 247
ness of mind proceedeth, it is a thing most prejudicial, and nothing is more politic than to make the wheels of our mind concentric and voluble with the wheels of fortune. "
15. that, joined with ' when.' See note on Essay xv. 53. 21. falleth upon that, notes the fact. 33. properties, see note on Essay iii. 30. 36. without, outside.
38. remover, a restless man.
39. exercised, practised.
40. and it be but for, if only for the sake of. Cf. Essay xxiii. 32.
41. Confidence and Reputation, The Latin translation adds, "And these in their turn breed courage and influence."
42. felicity, good fortune.
43. to decline the envy, to turn aside the unpopularity. With this passage cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 11.
use to, cf. Essay xv. 237.
48. You carry, etc. These words were addressed by Caesar to a boatman who hesitated to take him across from Greece to Italy, B.C. 49.
52. infortunate, cf. Essay iv. 41.
Timotheus took a leading part in the arrangement of an alliance between Athens and Thebes against Sparta, B.C. 378.
54. interlaced, introduced into his speech the saying that, etc. Cf. Essay xi. 72.
56. there be whose, there are some whose. Cf. Essay i. 2.
57. have a slide and easiness, The Latin translation has ' ' flow more easily. "
59. in respect of, cf. xxix. 283.
60. it is much, depends to a great extent upon ourselves. In his life of Timoleon, Plutarch says that "as the verses of other poets appear laboured when compared with those of Homer, which, besides their force and grace, have the appearance of having been composed with ease, so, compared with the painful campaigns of Agesilaus and Epaminondas, those of Timoleon, combining ease with honour, appear to those who judge rightly to have been the result not of fortune, but of fortunate virtue. " Timoleon was an inhabitant of Corinth ; his victories effected the liberation of Sicily about the middle of the fourth century B.C. Epaminondas, the great Theban general, died B.C. 362, and Agesilaus of Sparta, B.C. 361.
NOTES. rXLi.
ESSAY XLI. OF USURY.
I. Witty, cf. iii. 57.
Usury, Used simply to denote ' lending at interest,' not necessarily 'usurious interest,' which opinion would still con demn. The opinion of the Christian world was hostile to loans on interest, partly on account of a clause in the Mosaic law which forbade Jews to take interest from Jews. But in early times the feeling was strong and general. Nor need we wonder at it. Grote points out that, in a primitive society, borrowers were generally distressed men soliciting aid, so that a loan on in terest presented the repulsive idea of making profit out of the distress of the borrower. History of Greece, vol. iii. p. 109. In Greece and Rome the predominance of military interests en gendered a feeling of contempt for anything connected with trade ; and in the minds of men like Plato and Aristotle this feeling was strengthened by the conviction that the best elements in human nature can only find satisfaction in a life of artistic and philosophic culture. In the Middle Ages the hatred of interest was intensified by the unpopularity of the Jews, who were the chief money lenders. Under the conditions of modern industrial organiza tion loans at interest are contracts entered into voluntarily, as beneficial to both parties. The prohibition of them would paralyze trade. It may of course be argued that for the protec tion of borrowers the state ought to fix a maximum rate of interest. But the answer to this is that usury laws are generally evaded, with the effect of enhancing the rate of interest, that the interests of embarrassed men cannot outweigh the general in terests of industry, and that the interests of solvent men are best secured by the free competition of the money market. See Walker, Political Economy, pt. vi. ch. i. With the opening of this Essay cf. Essay xxxiv. 69.
3. the tithe, Ten per cent, was the rate sanctioned by an Act passed under Henry VIII. Under Edward VI. usury was for bidden, but the rate of ten per cent, was again sanctioned under Elizabeth. It was not until the present reign that usury laws were altogether abolished. By the Mosaic law a tenth of every man's substance was offered to God. Cf. " This incessant and Sabbathless pursuit of a man's fortune leaveth not tribute which we owe to God of our time ; who (we see) demandeth a tenth of our substance, and a seventh, which is more strict, of our time." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 46
II. in the sweat, etc. The necessity of labour was one of the penalties inflicted by God upon man at the time of the fall of Adam. Cf . "If it be admitted that imagination hath power, and that ceremonies fortify imagination, and that they be used sincerely and intentionally for that purpose ; yet I should hold
XLI.] OF USURY. 249
them unlawful, as opposing to that first edict which God gave unto man, In the tticeat. of thy brow tshalt thou eat bread.'' Adv., bk. ii. 11.2.
1 2. orange-tawny, Yellow was the distinctive colour worn by the Jews.
13. they do judaize, The Jews were the great money-lenders, it is against nature, by a quibble derived from the Greek
word TO/COS, which means both interest and offspring, Aristotle condemns interest on the ground that, money being by nature barren, it is unnatural to make it fructify. Cf. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, i. 3. 94 —
" Ant. Is your gold and silver ewes and rams ? Shy. I cannot tell — I make it breed as fast." and ibid. 1 35 —
" Ant. When did friendship take
A breed of barren metal of his friend?" 18. as, that.
20. banks, Towards the end of this Essay Bacon again suggests that banks were regarded with suspicion. He means, I suppose, that people were unwilling to trust their money to bankers.
discovery of men's estates, i. e. requiring men to report the amount and source of their income. If this were done, the amount of money lent at interest in the kingdom and the rate of interest would be known. Bacon can see that loans are advantageous to trade, yet in treating of usury he has principally in mind those who borrow to spend uiiproductively. In his History of Henry VII. he says, "There were also made good and politic laws by that Parliament against usury, which is the bastard use of money, and against unlawful chievances and exchanges, which is bastard usury." He quotes also from an address of the king to Parlia ment. "His Grace prays you to repress the bastard and barren employment of money to usury and unlawful exchanges, that they may be, as their natural use is, turned upon common and lawful and royal trading." For discovery, see note on Essay vi. 43.
22. incommodities, inconveniences. In Essay xxxiii. 83, he uses the form discommodities.
23. weighed out, considered or separated.
24. make forth to, proceed to.
26. First, etc. The first, third, and sixth of these arguments are answered by the first argument in the following paragraph. The answer to the second is that competition reduces the rate of interest for all whose credit is good. With regard to the fourth argument wre may remark, firstly, that large capitalists are a ne cessity when trade is on a large scale, and, secondly, that ' the
250 NOTES. [XLT.
usurer ! is not necessarily " at certainties." There is speculation in money-lending as in trade. The fifth argument assumes that what is borrowed is spent unproductively. Of course so far as this is so, wealth is diminished. It must always be remembered that when trade was undeveloped, the people ignorant, com munications imperfect, and competition limited, there would be a stronger case than at present for legislation with regard to usury. The law sometimes protects the Indian ryot by ' going behind the bond.'
29. vena porta, See note on Essay xix. 138.
31. husband, cf. Essay xv. 131.
if lie sit, if he is settled on his farm.
34. customs, including all revenues raised by taxes upon commodities.
kings or states, cf. Essay ix. 150.
39. and ever, etc. , cf . Essay xv. 1 60.
42. purchasing, The Latin translation has ' ' purchasing landed estates. "
45. slug, hindrance. Cf. "They are but remoracs and hind rances to stay and slug the ship from further sailing." Adv. , bk. ii. 7. 7.
46. estates, cf. a state, Essay xxviii. 32. 52. so as, so that. Cf. 1. 70.
54. stand, stoppage.
57. far under foot, for less than they are worth.
61. take pawns without use, lend on mortgage without interest.
62. look precisely, etc. , will foreclose.
63. would say, was in the habit of saying.
70. Utopia, the ideal state described by Sir Thomas More.
71. reiglement, regulation.
75. grinded, for ground : blunted.
78. Quickening, giving life to. The word quick means properly living. The English prayer book preserves the sense in the expression "the quick and the dead." Spenser employs it as a substantive in the sense of 'a living thing.' 'The quick,' for the living or sensible parts of an animal body, is still in use ; as in "cutting to the quick" ; and in the metaphorical application to the feelings of the mind, as being "touched to the quick" by a reproach. Nares, Glossary H.V.
81. will be to seek for, will find it difficult to get.
91. shut itself out to take, undertake not to exact : to take, for from taking.
XLI.] OF USURY. 251
94. land, i.e. the annual return from money invested in land will exceed that from money lent at interest by one per cent.
97. edge, stimulate.
98. venture in that kind, invest their money in "industrious and profitable employments."
kind, cf. Essay vi. 47.
101. to known merchants, The Latin translation adds, "and to no one else."
105. shall, for will. See note on Essay ii. 7.
106. he. Notice the singular after 'borrowers.' bank, See note on 1. 20.
108. mislike, dislike.
109. in regard of, cf. Essay xxvii. 43.
let the state, etc., i.e. the money-lenders are to pay a small fee to the state for their license.
110. Answered, guaranteed. The lenders are to be 'respon sible ' for this amount to the state.
111. the abatement, viz., the fee paid to the state. 116. restrained, confined. Cf. Essay xxvii. 151.
118. colour other men's monies, lend other peoples' money in their own name. If those who are licensed to lend at 1 0 per cent, could borrow with a view to lending again, all money would be lent at the higher rate. This cannot happen, so long as 10 per cent, is allowed only in " certain towns of merchandizing," because people living in the country will not lend to strangers in a distant town. To colour is to make a thing seem what it is not.
1 22. in a sort, in a manner. Cf . ' in no sort, ' Essay xxxv. 89. With regard to Bacon's proposal the student will notice, firstly, that it is directed to the relief of a particular class, and, secondly, that it amounts to a tax upon trade, the result of which would be to increase the price of living.
124. by declaration, by public recognition of it.
ESSAY XLII. OF YOUTH AND AGE.
10. Septimius Severus, See note on Essay xxvii. 90.
14. reposed, calm.
15. Cosmus, See note on Essay iv. 26.
Gaston de Foix, born 1469. He was a nephew of Louis
252 NOTES. [XLII.
XII. He distinguished himself as commander of the French troops in Italy, and was killed at the battle of Ravenna in 1512.
16. in age, i.e. in old men. Cf. 1. 39, 'men in age.'
17. composition, temperament. Cf. Essay vi. 103.
18. to invent than to judge, cf. Essay xxxiv. 79.
19. settled, The Latin translation has ordinary. 21. them, viz. the old.
abuseth, misleads. Cf. Essay xxii. 123.
24. manage, management.
25. embrace, etc. , undertake more than they can carry through.
stir more, etc., they act inconsiderately, and so provoke tumults and discontents which they cannot suppress. Bacon means that caution and experience are the virtues of age. Its faults (1. 32) are nervousness and want of 'go.'
28. absurdly, to be taken with "pursue." For absurdly, cf. Essay vi. 68.
care not to, do not hesitate to. 31. unready, badly-trained.
34. the full period, cf. Essay xxv. 11.
35. to compound, lit. to mix : to employ old and young together. 38. for succession, for the future.
40. externe, external.
44. your young1 men, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 3. 3, "And will you hearken to the Hebrew Rabbins ? Your young men shall see visions, and your old mm shall dream dream* ; say they, youth is the worthier age, for that visions are nearer apparitions of God than dreams." The word Rabbi means properly ' a master.'
50. affections, See note on Essay ix. 1.
there be some have, there are some who have. Cf. Essay i. 2.
have an over- early ripeness, exactly equivalent to 'are precocious ' (Latin prae, before, and coquere, to ripen).
53. Hermogenes lived in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
55. which have better grace, are more becoming.
57. Tully, Cicero.
58. Hortensius, an orator contemporary with Cicero.
61. tract of years, length of years. What Livy really says of Scipio Africanus is, that in his old age circumstances were not favourable for the display of his natural qualities.
xuii.J OF BEAUTY. 253
ESSAY XLIII. OF BEAUTY.
I. virtue, etc. Cf. Essay Hi. 1. To parody a well-known line, " Virtue un-adorned 's adorned the most."
4. almost, generally.
7. they, viz. very beautiful persons.
of great spirit, high-minded. Cf. 1. 12, 'great spirit*': cf. 'good spirits,' Essay ii. 34; and ' if they be of spirit,' Essay xliv. 34.
9. Vespasianus, Emperor from 69 to 79 A.D.
10. Philip, 1285 A.D.
II. Alcibiades lived in the fifth century B.C. Ismael ascended the throne in 1499.
13. favour, beautiful features. Cf. Essay xxvii. 185, and xxxix. 5.
14. motion, the Latin translation adds "both of countenance and body " : i.e. graceful expression and graceful features.
18. Apelles, not Apelles but Zeuxis, a Greek painter born about the middle of the fifth century B. c. When painting a picture for the temple of Juno Lacinia at Croton, he selected five of the most beautiful virgins of the country, that his painting might present the best features of each.
19. Durer, a German painter, 1471-1528 A.D. The allusion is to his treatise " On the proportion of the parts of the human body." (W.)
more, greater. Cf.
" To beg of thee,
It is my more dishonour than thou of them." Sh. Coriol. iii. 2. would make, wished to make.
24. was, cf. Essay iii. 95.
25. felicity, cf. xl. 42.
26. shall see, see note on Essay ii. 7. that, of such a kind that.
27. a good, i.e. a good part.
28. all together, all the parts together. do well, are pleasant to look upon.
30. amiable, loveable.
32. can be comely, The Latin translation has "can preserve comeliness always."
but by pardon, unless we make allowances for his youth, and reckon it to make the comeliness complete.
254 NOTES. [xmi.
34. are easy to corrupt, easily rot.
36. out of countenance, The Latin translation has " repenting too late" : lit. "ashamed of" the excesses of youth. Cf. Essay xii. 44.
37. if it light well, if beauty alight upon a worthy person. maketh the vices blush, men are ashamed of their vices in
the presence of those who are beautiful and virtuous.
ESSAY XLIV. OF DEFORMITY.
Of Deformity, Chamberlain in a letter to Sir Dudley Carlton, written Dec. 17, 1612, soon after the publication of the second edition of the Etssays, says, ' ' 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 (the Earl of Salisbury) to the life." (W.) In the Adv., bk. ii. 22. 5, Bacon mentions " those impressions of nature which are imposed upon the mind by ... beauty and deformity." Cf. Essay ix. 41.
2. so do they by nature, they disgrace nature by their want of the ordinary feelings of humanity.
6. she ventureth in the other, there is always a risk that mental defects may accompany bodily deformity.
9. the stars of natural inclination, It was thought that the conjunction of planets under which a person was born deter mined his character. Cf. " This is that which will indeed dignify and exalt knowledge, if contemplation and action may be more nearly and straitly conjoined and united together than they have been ; a conjunction like unto that of the two highest planets, Saturn, the planet of rest and contemplation, and Jupiter, the planet of civil society and action." Adv., bk. i. 5. 11.
12. deceivable, deceptive, because, as he has just explained, a deformed person may alter his nature by discipline and virtue.
14. Induce, used in its literal sense of 'to bring upon.' Cf. reduce, Essay xi. 54.
15. rescuing, cf. "In this righting and helping of a man's self in his own carriage, he must take heed to show not himself dis mantled and exposed to scorn and injury, by too much dulceness, goodness, and facility of nature ; but show some sparkles of liberty, spirit, and edge. Which kind of fortified carriage, with a ready rescussing (rescuing) of a man's self from scorns, is some times of necessity imposed upon men by somewhat in their person or fortune; but it ever succeedeth with good felicity." Adi:, bk. ii. 23. 32.
XLIV.] OF DEFORMITY. 255
16. extreme, cf. Essay i. IS. With the whole of this passage cf. Essay ix. 48.
26. upon the matter, taking everything into consideration. wit, mind. Cf. Essay i. 6.
30. obnoxious, dependent. Cf. Essay xx. 105. officious, used in its literal sense of ' ready to serve.'
31. spials, spies.
32. much like, etc., i.e. and the same holds true in the case of deformed persons.
33. the ground is. The Latin translation has ' ' the rule which we have laid down holds good." Cf. Essay xii. '27.
34. if they be of spirit, cf. Essay xliii. 7.
37. Agesilaus, see note on Essay ix. 48.
Zanger, son of Solyman the Magnificent. See note on Essay xix. 83.
38. Gasca lived in the sixteenth century. He put down the rebellion of Pizarro in Peru in 1547 A.D.
JEsop lived in the sixth century B.C. He was a slave.
Socrates, cf. Adv., bk. i. 3. 8. "I refer them also to that which Plato said of his master Socrates, whom he compared to the gallipots of apothecaries, which on the outside had apes and owls and antiques, but contained within sovereign and precious liquors and confections : acknowledging that to an external report he was not without superficial levities and deformities, but was inwardly replenished with excellent virtues and powers." The ugliness of Socrates was proverbial.
ESSAY XLV. OF BUILDING.
Of Building, see Green's History of the Enc/Uili People, vol. ii. p. 390. In his Praise of Queen Elizabe/h, Bacon says, "The opulency of the peace such, as if you have respect, to take one sign for many, to the number of fair houses that have been built during her reign, as Augustus said, ' that he had received the city of brick, and left it of marble,' so she may say, she received it a realm of cottages, and hath made it a realm of palaces." In his Obxerrationn on a Libel he says, "There was never the like number of fair and stately houses as have been built and set up from the ground, since her majesty's reign : insomuch that there have been reckoned in one shire that is not great, to the number of thirty-three, which have been all new-built within that time — whereof the meanest was never built for two thousand pounds."
256 NOTES. [XLV.
5. fair, beautiful. Cf. 11. 42 and 59. seat, site.
9. knap, knoll. It is the same word as knob. It is connected with a verb meaning to strike, and so means properly ' a lump raised by a blow.'
11. so as, so that.
12. several, cf. Essay xix. 152 ; and below, 11. 28, 44, and 49.
14. ill ways, bad roads.
15. Momus, the god of fault-finding. In ^sop's Fable, 275, he finds fault with a house built by Athene, because it was not built upon wheels so as to be removed, if necessary, from bad neighbours.
20. having, The Latin translation has "not having," which is required by the sense.
21. discommodity, cf. Essay xxxiii. 83.
23. lurcheth, swallows up.
24. where a man hath, etc. The Latin translation is as follows, "A site where a man possesses or can acquire large estates, and, on the other hand, a site where he cannot stretch his wings. I do not mention all these points as thinking that any house can be free from all these inconveniences, but in order that we may avoid as many of them as possible. "
25. all which . . . them, cf. Essay xxxv. 37. 28. sort, arrange.
31. lightsome, light. 34. fowl, birds.
41. the Vatican, the Papal residence in Rome, the Escurial, in Madrid.
44. The banquet, The dining hall. Cf. below, 11. 52 and 86.
45. the book of Hester, one of the books of the Jewish Scrip tures. Hester was the wife of King Ahasuerus.
46. triumphs, shows. Cf. Essay xxxvii.
48. returns, sides built back from the front and forming a court.
49. severally, differently.
53. and under it, etc. The Latin translation has ' ' and under it another room of the same length and breadth to hold every thing that is required for displays, games, etc. , and to serve as a dressing room for the actors."
56. at the first, The Latin translation lias " especially."
XLV.] OF BUILDING. 257
59. under these rooms, The Latin translation adds, ' ' with the exception of the chapel. "
64. a goodly leads, a leaded roof, statuas, cf. Essay xxvii. 156. interposed, at intervals.
66. The stairs, etc. The Latin translation has " a winding staircase, in flights of six steps each." The word newel is explained as " a pillar of stone or wood, where the steps terminate in a winding staircase. " (W.)
69. point, appoint.
71. shall, for will. Cf. Essay ii. 7 ; and below, 1. 95.
74. sixteen, The Latin translation has " twenty. "
78. cast into, literally ' contrived within. ' The staircases are to be in the turrets, and the turrets are to stand " outside the row of buildings." Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 18. 9, "In buildings there is great pleasure and use in the well casting of the stair cases."
83. some side alleys, etc. The court is to be turfed. But there is to be a paved walk round it, and another crossing the turf from end to end and side to side.
84. alleys, walks. Cf. Essay xlvi. 74. It is the French aller. totjo.
to graze, to be turfed.
85. The row of return, the whole side of the court, near, we should say dose.
88. of several works, The Latin translation has " on which are painted columns, figures of all kinds, flowers, and the like."
89. On the household side, The Latin translation adds "and also the third side which faces the front."
chambers of presence, reception rooms.
91. thorough, cf. Essay v. 19.
92. from, away from, not exposed to.
"For't must be done to-night, And something from the palace."
Shakespeare, Macbeth iv. 1. 132.
93. Cast it, arrange the building so that, etc.
94. rooms, The Latin translation has ' ' both sitting rooms and bedrooms."
95. You shall have, i.e. you will find.
n
258 NOTES. [XLV.
96. to become, to betake oneself. Cf. Shakespeare's 3 Henry VI. ii. 1. 10,
" I cannot joy, until I be resolved Where our right valiant father is become."
97. For, as regards.
embowed windows, bow windows.
98. in respect of, cf. Essay xxvii. 88
103. on the sides only, i.e. two on each side.
104. inward, we should say inner.
106. cloistered, etc. Bacon has already explained that each side is to be "a double house." In this inner court, the inner half of all four sides on the ground floor is to consist of cloisters. The outer half, facing the garden (or, according to the Latin version, the outer half of the sides only, and not of the two ends) is to be a grotto or summer house, (estivation, from Lat. aesta*, mmmer).
113. to be paved, etc., i.e. with turf in the middle, and a paved walk round and across it.
116. foresee, This is the literal meaning of the word 'pro vide.' Cf. Essay xv. 133.
118. ante-camera, antechamber ; recamera, a room behind.
119. Upon the ground story, that is, as is explained in the Latin translation, at the end of the inner court. He has not as yet said anything about this. See above, note on cloistered.
120. upon the third story, The Latin translation adds " on all three sides."
123. the further side, i.e. the end. The Latin translation adds " on the second floor."
by way of return, i. e. jutting out into the garden. See above, note on returns.
129. avoidances, outlets for the water. The Latin translation adds "that the inner half of the upper story, which faces the court, should consist of colonnades and sheltered walks for the use of invalids."
thus much, etc. The Latin translation adds " I say nothing of baths and fish-ponds."
131. with a wall about it, The Latin translation adds " and trees planted along the wall."
132. of the same, The Latin translation has "of the same size. "
134. not to be built, not to be enclosed by buildings of any sort.
OF BUILDING. 259
136. tarrasses, terraces. The Latin translation has "with walks built not upon arches but upon pillars, and covered at the top with lead or paved with stone, and decorated at the sides with elegant little statues of the colour of brass. "
139. low, The Latin translation adds "and covered."
ESSAY XLVI. OF GARDENS.
Gardens, Amongst Bacon's private memoranda are some " directions for a plot to turn the pond-yard (in his dwelling at Gorhambury) into a place of pleasure by enclosing and laying it out in broad walks and terraces, with banks and bowers set with choice trees and flowers, and a lake in the middle with several islands in it, variously furnished and adorned for rest, exercise, and refreshment, and pleasure of eye, ear, smell, taste, and spirits." See Spedding's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. i. p. 539.
1. a Garden, referring to the garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve were placed.
4. handyworks, The Latin translation has " are works of the hand only, not savouring of nature."
5. civility, civilization, stately, cf. Essay i. 18.
7. hold it, think.
15. stoved, kept warm.
warm set, The Latin translation has " planted along a wall and towards the sun."
51. that delight, the pleasure derived from the scent of flowers.
52. perfume the air, The Latin translation has ' ' before they are plucked."
53. fast, tenacious.
60. Bartholomew-tide, St. Bartholomew's day is Aug. 24th.
69. so, provided that.
74. alleys, see note on Essay xlv. 84
76. For, as regards. Cf. 11. 119, 135, 163, 184, 199, 210.
83. to either side, i. e. to the alleys or walks on either side.
86. it will give you, etc. The Latin translation has " a walk is to be cleared across it by which you may approach a hedge. "
87. go in front upon, advance towards.
91. of, for on.
92. covert, sheltered. Cf. 1. 113.
260 NOTES. [XLVI.
94. knots, beds.
96. they be, cf. Essay i. 2. toys, cf. Essay xix. 12.
102. entire, continuous.
109. slope, sloping.
111. to leave, this depends on " understand." It is equivalent to "that there should be left." For the change, cf. Essay xxiv. 37.
113. deliver, lead.
115. for letting, because it would intercept.
121. busy, elaborate. The word busy means properly active, as in Essay xliii. 6. Then it is used in a bad sense to denote over-activity, or interference, as in Essay xxxvi. 68. Here it means not ' the person who labours ' — but ' the thing on which the labour is bestowed. '
124. welts, edges.
127. fair, cf. Essay xlv. 5 ; and below, 11. 156, 194, 200.
closer, The Latin translation has ' ' narrower and more sheltered." Cf. 1. 189.
129. with three ascents, there are to be three flights of steps, and at the top of each flight a space is to be levelled all roxind the hill, broad enough for four to walk abreast.
131. embossments, projections in architecture.
133. chimneys, fire-places, cast, cf. Essay xlv. 93.
136. pools, The Latin translation adds " and fish-ponds."
139. receipt, receptacle.
142. as, that.
149. curiosity, ingenuity. Cf. Essay ix. 17.
153. rails of low statuas, cf. " railed with statuas interposed," Essay xlv. 64.
158. equality of bores, The Latin translation has " tubes of equal dimensions. " Sore is the Latin forare in per-J "orate.
161. nothing to, i.e. contributing nothing to. Cf. 1. 220.
165. trees I would have none, etc. The Latin translation has " except that here and there I direct rows of trees to be planted with walks on the tops, covered by branches of trees and having windows. Underneath the ground should be plentifully planted with sweet-smelling flowers, breathing their fragrance upwards. With this exception I wish the heath to be without trees."
168. and these to be, etc. The Latin translation has "I wish the thickets and the walks over the trees to be, etc. "
XLVI.] OF GARDENS. 261
178. pricked, cf. Essay xviii. 72.
180. but here and there, but only occasionally, because the scent is oppressive.
183. out of course, irregularly. The Latin translation has " unsightly."
190. because of going wet, that you may not have to walk in the wet.
192. would be, ought to be.
196. deceive the trees, i.e. defraud the trees of nourishment.
197. leaving the wall, i.e. so that, when you stand upon the mount, the wall of the enclosure shall not be higher than your breast.
203. so as, so that.
205. rest upon, depend upon. Cf. Essay xxix. 79.
210. that largeness as, such a size that.
213. on the floor, After this sentence the Latin translation has " As for making walks upon hills and pretty ascents, these things are gifts of nature and cannot be made everywhere. I have men tioned those things only which can be had in any place. "
214. platform, model. Cf. "The main and primitive division of moral knowledge seemeth to be into the exemplar or platform of good, and the regiment or culture of the mind. " Adv. , bk. ii. 20. 3.
215. by drawing, etc., in outline only.
218. set their things together, The Latin translation adds " with biit little taste."
ESSAY XLVII. OF NEGOCIATING.
2. a man's self, see note on Essay vi. 57.
5. it may be danger, etc., i.e. there may be danger of being interrupted.
8. tender, delicate. Cf. Essay xv. 229. a man's eye, etc., cf. Essay xxii. 19.
11. to disavow, The Latin translation has " to unsay. " Bacon means that a personal interview affords such opportunities for explanation that there can be no. misunderstanding as to the speaker's wishes or opinions.
14. the success, the result.
16. will help, etc., i.e. will give a too favourable report, so as to please their employer. Cf. "reporting the success barely," Essay xlix. 29.
17. satisfaction sake, Abbott (Sh. Gr. § 22) says that the
262 NOTES. [XLVII.
reason for this license is to be found in an increasing dislike and disuse of the inflection in '«.
affect, are well disposed to.
18. quickeneth much, The Latin translation has "stimulate them to industry."
21. absurd, see note on Essay vi. 68.
22. doth not well, etc. The Latin translation has "which is at all discreditable."
25. prescription, title : their reputation for constant good luck. Never having failed, they look on success as a right. It is better, etc., cf. Essay xxii. 102.
28. in appetite, who want something. He who has all that he wants has nothing to gain by helping others.
30. the start, etc. The question is, how I am to persuade a man to do something for me before I do what I have promised to do for him. He may naturally think that when I have got what I want, I shall decline to perform my part of the bargain. Bacon says that I may persuade him by convincing him that I shall want his services again, so that I shall certainly keep faith with him now. Or, if I have a high reputation for integrity, he will trust me.
32. which, for that it.
34. that, redundant.
35. practice, negotiation.
to work, i.e. to accomplish something. To "work a man " means to " influence " him.
36. discover themselves, cf. Essays v. 38, vi. 43, xli. 20. at unawares, this at is redundant.
39. fashions, habits.
41. have interest in him, have influence over him. With this passage cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 18-20. The substance of the passage is that a man must thoroughly understand those with whom he has to deal. He must be distrustful, believing rather in looks than in words, and in words wrung from a man by strong feeling, than in prepared speeches. Most men reveal secrets at some time : but a man's actions may be contrived to mislead. We may gain different kinds of information about men from their friends, their enemies, and their servants. WTe may judge them by their characters, or their aims ; but we must be on our guard against crediting men with too much depth and wisdom. We must judge of princes by their character only, for they have all objects of desire at their command.
47. ripen, cf. Essay xx. 37 and 133.
XLVIII.] OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS. 263
ESSAY XLVIII. OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.
1. followers, In his Observations on a Libel, Bacon says, " Con cerning the nobility, it is true that there have been in ages past noblemen, as I take it, both of greater possessions and of greater command and sway than any one at this day. One reason why the possessions are less, I conceive to be, because certain sump tuous veins and humours of expence, as apparel, gaming, main taining of a kind of followers, and the like, do reign more than they did in times past."
2. his train, A number of dependents hamper a man, as the peacock's tail impedes his flight.
3. charge, cf. Essay xxix. 255.
4. importune, cf. Essay ix. 159.
5. to challenge, to claim. Cf. " The errors I claim and chal lenge to myself as mine own." Adv. , bk. ii. 25. 5. Ordinary followers ought not to expect from their patron more than his good-will, his recommendation, when they require it, and pro tection.
8. upon, by reason of. We should say out of. Cf. Essay ii. 32.
10. that ill intelligence, those misunderstandings.
11. glorious, boasting. Cf. Essay xxxiv. 105. Braggarts, who go about singing their master's praises, are to be avoided. They ruin projects by divulging anything and everything : and they diminish their master's reputation, and make him unpopular.
17. espials, spies.
19. officious, See note on Essay xliv. 30.
20. exchange tales, i.e. if they carry their master's secrets to others, they reveal the secrets of others to their masters.
estates, rank or order. Cf. 'state,' Essay xix. 118. It has always been thought " civil " that a man should have depen dents of his own profession.
22. to him, i. e. that soldiers should follow a soldier.
28. civil, literally " befitting a citizen." The Latin translation ha.s "seemly." Bacon means that it is not inconsistent with the subordinate position that befits a citizen, and therefore even monarchs, who are most jealous of a rival power, have not objected to it.
24. so, provided that.
25. popularity, cf. Essay xv. 243.
26. apprehendeth to, knows how to.
27. where there is, where no one man is distinctly and conspi-
264 NOTES. [XLVIII.
cuously superior to another, it is better to employ the more commonplace man.
28. sufficiency, ability. Cf. Essay xi. 101.
33. discontent, cf. Essay xv. 167.
34. they may claim a due, men of equal rank may claim equal treatment as a right.
in favour, i.e. in things which are matters of indulgence. It is opposed to "in government."
35. election, choice : discrimination. 37. officious, See note above, 1. 19.
of favour, and therefore cannot as "in government" be claimed as a right.
39. hold out, continue to the end. 41. disreputation, disrepute.
those ... them ... their, notice the plural. The sentence begins with the singular "a man." Cf. Essay xli. 105.
44. to be distracted, etc., cf. Essay xxvii. 211.
45. of the last impression, Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 22. 4. He means a man who takes the opinion simply of the person to whom he happens to have spoken last.
47. lookers-on, etc. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 21. 7: and Essay xxvii. 185. For discover, cf. Essay v. 38.
50. magnified, The Latin translation adds " amongst the ancients."
51. comprehend, used in its literal sense of 'to include.' If the superior is prosperous, the inferior is so too.
ESSAY XLIX. OF SUITORS.
1. ill, for bad, as in Essay xlv. 5.
are undertaken, viz. by men who promise to exert their in fluence to get a petition granted. When influence is exerted to gain for individuals what they do not deserve, or what cannot be given to them without doing an injustice to others, the public interest suffers. Cf. the end of the Essay. In Bacon's time, as has often been the case in India, one who had not interest at court found it difficult to get a hearing. Men pretended to influence who had it not, and those who had it often deceived those who entrusted their petitions to them.
5. embrace suits, i.e. undertake to get a petition granted.
XLIX.] OF SUITORS. 265
6. if they see, etc. The Latin translation has " if they see that the thing is likely to be carried through by the exertions of some one else." If they see that the petitioner will get by means of another what they did not intend to help him to get, they will try to persuade him that he is really indebted to them, either wholly or in part. At the least, until the suit is decided, they will get something out of him, by persuading him that they can further his suit. Notice the singular 'a thank' for ' thanks.'
9. Some take hold, etc. For instance, if A, whom I dislike, has applied for a vacant situation, I may support the application of B, simply to keep A out.
10. or to make, etc. For instance, in urging the claims of B as against those of A to an appointment, I may take occasion to inform the government of some fault of which A has been guilty.
12. when that turn, etc., when they have gained their own immediate object.
13. kind of entertainment, etc., an introduction. The Latin translation has ' ' to make other men's business a bridge to their own. "
14. Nay some, etc. If I want to keep A from getting anything, my best plan is to promise to help him to get it, and then do nothing in the matter. Depending upon me, he will make no efforts on his own account.
15. let fall, as we say 'to drop.'
16. in some sort, cf. Essay xli. 122 ; and Essay xxxv. 89.
1 7. either a right, etc. In a dispute about property, one man must be in the right and the other in the wrong. If the arbi trator is prejudiced in favour of him who is in the wrong, let him not give an absolute verdict in his favour : but let him use his influence to induce the two parties to come to an agreement between themselves. Compound, used like the Latin componere in the sense of 'to settle a quarrel.' Cf. " That which troubled them most was the conceit that they dealt with a rout of people, with whom there was no composition, or condition, or orderly treaty." Hist. Henry VII. We talk of a man compounding, i.e. making an arrangement, with his creditors.
21. If affection, etc. Of two candidates for a place, one will be better qualified than the other. If I give it to the inferior man, I need not take away the other man's character to justify my action.
22. depraving or disabling1, The Latin translation has " bringing false accusations against him, and speaking maliciously of him." For disable in the sense of disparage, cf. a letter to Sir Edward Coke, in which Bacon says, "You take to yourself a liberty to disable my law, my experience, my discretion. "
266 NOTES. [XLIX.
27. referendaries, those to whom he refers the matter and on whose advice he acts.
led by the nose, deceived.
28. distasted, disgusted. Cf. distastes, Essay v. 30.
29. denying, refusing.
reporting the success barely, giving a true and unvarnished report of the success of their efforts, and not " helping the matter in report for satisfaction sake." Essay xlvii. 16.
30. challenging, cf. Essay xlviii. 5.
31. gracious, something to be thankful for: a favour. Men have been so disgusted by the delays and the tricks (abuses) of those who have undertaken to help them, that they are actually grateful to those who have the simple honesty to say at once that they will not help them, when they do not intend to help them — to say exactly what they have succeeded in doing, and not to feed them with false hopes — and to ask to be paid only for what they have actually done.
32. of favour, as distinguished from what is claimed as a right. to take little place, to be of little weight. The first appli cant ought not necessarily to succeed.
33. his trust, i. e. the trust of the first comer. If a petitioner, whose suit is refused, gives us some information which we could not otherwise have obtained, we are not to take advantage of the information (note), but rather reward him, and leave him free to get what lie wants by any other means that are open to him. For discovery, cf. Essay vi. 43.
37. of a suit, of what is asked for. This refers to ' a suit of favour.' A man who gives an important office to an unfit person cannot afterwards excuse himself by saying that he did not know the importance of the office.
38. of the right thereof, The Latin translation has, ' To pass negligently over the justice of it.' When a thing is sought as a right by A, and we give it to B, without allowing A to iirge his own claims in full, it shows that we know that we are doing wrong, or that we do not care to do right.
39. mean, cf. Essay xix. 53.
40. voicing them to be in forwardness, Literally, proclaiming that they are going on well : feeding the petitioners with hopes.
41. quicken, stimulate. Cf. Essay xlvii. 18.
42. timing of the suit, Make your request at a time when the person to whom it is made is in a good humour, and when you are safe from those who are likely to oppose it.
45. his mean, the person who is chosen to present his petition.
XLIX.] OF SUITORS. 267
Cf. " In most things men are ready to abuse themselves in think ing the greatest means to be the best, when it should be the fittest." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 38.
46. them that deal, etc. The Latin translation has " those who meddle with few affairs rather than those who undertake anything. "
47. The reparation, etc. A man who takes a refusal good- humouredly will be perfectly contented if he gets what he wants the next time he asks for it.
52. hath strength of favour, is a favourite of the person to whom he addresses the petition. Any man would reject at once an extravagant demand, if made by a comparative stranger.
rise in his suit, The Latin translation has "to rise gradually to that which he wants, and at least to get something." For were better, cf. Essay xxvi. 44.
53. for he, etc. When a man first comes to us as a petitioner, we may either listen to him or dismiss him. But if we dismiss him, after having actually conferred favours upon him, we lose his goodwill and support, and our former acts of kindness to him are thrown away. Being discontented, he will make us no return for them.
56. letter, a testimonial.
58. worse instruments, The Latin translation has "a more pernicious class of men."
ESSAY L. OF STUDIES.
1. Studies, etc. The. Latin translation has " Studies and the reading of books serve for pleasure in reflection, for ornament in speech, and for assistance in business."
2. privateness and retiring, seclusion and retirement.
4. expert men, men of experience. See note on Essay xii. 24, and cf. Adv., bk. i. 2. 3. Cf. " Hence it proceedeth that princes find a solitude in regard of able men to serve them in causes of estate, because there is no education collegiate which is free ; where such aswere so disposed mought give themselves to histories, modern languages, books of policy and civil discourse, and other the like enablements unto service of estate." Adv., bk. ii., Introd. § 8.
6. plots, plans.
9. is affectation, The Latin translation adds "and betrays itself. "
268 NOTES. [L.
10. is the humour, etc. The Latin translation has " and does not succeed."
12. proyning, pruning.
13. too much at large, too vague.
14. bounded in, limited : corrected. English people have a special horror of ' doctrinaire ' politicians.
Crafty men, etc., they think that cunning and ingenuity will supply the place of experience.
17. without, outside. Of. Essay xl. 36.
23. curiously, carefully. The Latin translation has " much time is not to be spent upon them."
26. would be, ought to be.
28. flashy, The Latin translation has "tasteless." In the Adv., bk. ii. 17. 11, Bacon talks of "the canker of epitomes."
29. conference, conversation and discussion.
writing, etc. The Latin translation has " Writing and a collection of notes impresses and fixes what we have read deeper in the mind." Cf. " I am not ignorant of the prejudice imputed to the use of common-place books, as causing a retardation of reading, and some sloth or relaxation of memory. But because it is but a counterfeit thing in knowledges to be forward and pregnant, except a man be deep and full, I hold the entry of common places to be a matter of great use and essence in studying, as that which assureth copie of invention, and con- tracteth judgement to a strength." Adv., bk. ii. 15. 1.
31. present, ready.
32. cunning, Cf. Essay xxvi. 13, and Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, i. 1. 88.
33. that, for ivhat.
34. witty, ingenious. Bacon certainly showed ingenuity in his interpretation of "poesy parabolical." See Adv., bk. ii. 4. 4, and his treatise on The Wisdom of the Ancients. Poetry in his view was but an exercise of the imagination.
37. stond, Cf. Essay xl. 14. Cf. " Many parts of nature cannot be invented with sufficient subtlety, nor demonstrated with sufficient perspicuity, nor accommodated unto use with sufficient dexterity, without the aid and intervening of the mathematics. . . . Men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it ; if too wandering, they fix it ; if too inherent in the sense, they abstract it." Adv. , bk. ii. 8. 2. Cf. also bk. ii. 19. 2.
i,] OF STUDIES. 269
wit, mind. Cf. 11. 42, 43, 44.
38. studies, etc. Cf. "It is not without truth which is said, that studies have an influence and operation upon the manners of those that are conversant in them." — Adv., bk. i. 3. 4.
39. Bowling, playing at bowls.
40. shooting, the Latin translation has "archery."
42. wandering, cf. " If a child be bird-witted, that is, hath not the faculty of attention, the mathematics giveth a remedy there unto ; for in them, if the wit be caught away but a moment, one is new to begin. "
43. never so little, no matter how little.
46. carvers, etc. Cf. " Antoninus Pius was a prince ex cellently learned, and had the patient and subtle wit of a schoolman ; insomuch as in common speech (which leaves no virtue un taxed), he was called 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 most exact differences of causes." Adv. , bk. i. 7. 7. For the tendency of the School men to "distinguish or find differences," see Adv., bk. i. 4. 6. For the Schoolmen, see Essay xvii. 25.
beat over matters, see note on Essay xxii. 104. The Latin translation has " If his mind is not quick at passing from one matter to another." Cf. "The mind of man is altogether slow, and so unfitted to pass to remote and different examples by which conclusions are tried, as it were, by fire. " — Nov. Org. i. 47. The faculty of discovering resemblances and analogies and that of noting differences are often opposed by Bacon.. See Nov. Ore], i. 55.
48. the lawyers' cases, where all depends on finding precedents relative to the case in hand.
ESSAY LI. OF FACTION.
2. estate, kingdom.
3. according to the respect, etc., i.e. that a wise king's policy should be determined by the interests and wishes of powerful parties : literally with an eye to. See note on Essay xi. 90.
5. in ordering, etc., i.e. in arranging matters which concern all men equally.
6. nevertheless, in spite of their belonging to different factions.
270 NOTES. [M.
in dealing, etc. The Latin translation has ' ' in coaxing, conciliating, and managing individuals."
with correspondence to, in a manner appropriate to each.
9. Mean men, men in a humble position. Cf. Essay xv. 93.
10. were better, cf. Essay xxvi. 44.
11. indifferent, impartial. See note on Essay vi. 64.
Yet even, etc. It is true that a man at the beginning of his career must be a member of one party : but he will find the road to success more easy if, though belonging to one party, he have the reputation of being not distasteful to the opposite party. Both parties may combine to promote such a man.
12. he, viz. the beginner.
13. which, for who. It refers not to 'faction,' but to 'man.' most passable with, most acceptable to.
giveth best way, The Latin translation has ' ' prepares the road to power."
15. stiff, The Latin translation has "determined and per sistent."
27. are seconds, hold a subordinate place.
32. once placed, as soon as they have obtained the position which they wished.
take in with, side with.
33. belike, probably.
34. for a new purchase, The Latin translation has " to make new friends."
35. lightly, easily.
goeth away with it, carries off the prize.
36. casteth, decides.
37. The even carriage, neutrality.
38. of, for from ; cf. ' to rise of,' Essay vi. 78.
39. trueness to a man's self, i. e. a regard to his own interests, with end to make, with a view of making.
40. suspect, suspicious. See Essay xxiv. 34. 42. to refer, etc., cf. Essay xxiii. 10.
48. the League, See note on Essay xv. 50.
51. The motions, etc. See note on Essay xv. 59.
53. proper, their own. See Essay iii. 30.
ui.J OF CEREMONIES AND RESPECTS. -271
ESSAY LII. OF CEREMONIES AND RESPECTS.
Respects, good manners.
I. real, sterling worth requires to be set off by attractive manners (good forms, 1. 12).
3. a foil, a set off. Cf. Essay xliii. 1.
8. are ... in note, are noticed.
10. Isabella, Queen of Castile. Born 1450, died 1494.
II. letters commendatory, testimonials. An attractive manner is in itself a recommendation.
14. If he labour, etc. Cf. "If behaviour and outward carriage be intended too much, first it may pass into affectation, and then What is more unseemly than to carry the stage into real life, to act a man's life ? But although it proceed not to that extreme, yet it consumeth time, and employeth the mind too much. And therefore, as we iise to advise young students from company- keeping, by saying, Friend* are thieves of time ; so certainly the intending of the discretion of behaviour is a great thief of medi tation. Again, such as are accomplished in that form of urbanity please themselves in it, and seldom aspire to higher virtue ; whereas those that have defect in it do seek comeliness by re putation ; for where reputation is, almost everything becometh ; but where that is not, it must be supplied by puntos and com pliments." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 3.
18. that breaketh, etc., who trains or accustoms himself to the observance of minute rules : who is over-punctilious.
21. they be, cf. Essay i. 2.
22. formal, punctilious.
24. the faith, viz. which others have in him. An exaggerated politeness is suspected to be insincere.
25. imprinting, impressive.
29. to keep state, to be dignified.
33. so, etc. , provided that we let them see that we do it from admiration of them, and not out of mere good-nature.
To apply one's self, to accommodate oneself : to humour. 38. allow, approve. See note on Essay xviii. 5.
40. be they never, etc. , no matter how able (sufficient) they may be. Cf. Essay xxxvi. 19.
41. that attribute, viz. of paying studied and therefore insin cere compliments.
43. respects, rules of behaviour. Cf. the title of the Essay.
272 NOTES. [LII.
In the passage of the Adv. referred to above, Bacon says that good manners express self-respect and respect for others.
curious, etc., a man must not be so punctilious as to let favourable opportunities pass. Cf . ' ' There is no greater impedi ment of action than an over-curious observance of decency, and the guide of decency, which is time and season. For as Salomon saith, He who looke.th to the winds doth not soiv, and he that rer/ardeth the clouds shall not reap ; a man must make his oppor tunity as oft as find it. To conclude, behaviour seemeth to me as a garment of the mind, and to have the conditions of a gar ment. For it ought to be made in fashion ; it ought not to be too curious ; it ought to be shaped so as to set forth any good making of the mind and hide any deformity ; and above all it ought not to be too strait or restrained for exercise or motion." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 3.
48. point device, studied. Shakespeare uses the word, but the origin of it is uncertain.
ESSAY LIII. OF PEAISE.
I. it is as, it resembles.
3. naught, worthless. Of. Essay xxxiv. 65. 6. work, cf. Essay xxvii. 119.
8. shows, cf. 'a show of godliness,' Essay xxvi. 5. The Latin phrase is taken from Tacitus' description of the character of Caius Piso, Ann. xv. 48.
9. fame, etc. The same interpretation is applied to time, Adv., bk. i. 5. 3.
II. of quality and judgment, so in the passage of the Adv. quoted on Essay liv. 42, he couples ' men of wisdom and rank ' as those whose opinion is really valuable.
12. concur, sc. in praising a man.
14. away, used as a verb : ' will not depart. ' For the metaphor, cf. " That will not alter Solomon's judgement, The memory of the just is blessed, but the. name of the ivicked shall rot : the one flourisheth, the other either consumeth to present oblivion, or turneth to an ill odour. " A dv. , bk. ii. 2. 9.
16. There be so many, Praise is so often bestowed where it is not deserved that it is naturally regarded with suspicion. For a suspect, cf. Essay xxiv. 34.
17. of, for 'from.'
18. he will have, etc., he will have a number of complimentary expressions ready, which may be applied indiscriminately to all
LIII.] OF PRAISE. 273
whom he wishes to flatter. He, viz. the person who praises. Cf. ' he ' in 1. 18, and ' they ' in 1. 30. 20. the arch-flatterer, cf. Essay xxvii. 169.
24. out of countenance, ashamed. Cf. Essay xliii. 36.
25. entitle him to perforce, insist on giving him the credit of. 27. respects, we should use the singular.
33. the worst kind, etc., quoted from Tacitus' account of Agricola, the Roman governor of Britain under Vespasian and Domitian, born A.D. 40.
34. it was a proverb, Theocritus, Idyll, ix. 24, says, " I shall not raise a blister on your nose, by calling you beautiful." Theocritus was a pastoral poet, born at Syracuse in the third century B.C.
35. should, see note on Essay xxvii. 7. a push, a pimple.
36. one's tongue, we should say ' the tongue of one who.'
37. used with opportunity, cf. "It is flattery to praise in absence ; that is, when either the virtue is absent, or the occasion is absent ; and so the praise is not natural, but forced, either in truth or in time." Adv., bk. ii. 21. 8.
38. vulgar, such as might be applied to any one.
39. he that praiseth, etc., cf. Essay xlviii. 12. The quotation is from Prov. xxvii. 14. " The probity of Aristeides procured for him some jealousy from persons who heard it proclaimed with offensive ostentation. We are told that a rustic and unlettered citizen gave his ostracizing vote, and expressed his dislike against Aristeides, on the simple ground that he was tired of hearing him always called the Just. The purity of the most honourable man will not bear to be so boastfully talked of as if he were the only honourable man in the country ... , and the story just alluded to illustrates that natural reaction of feeling produced by absurd encomiasts, or perhaps by insidious enemies under the mask of encomiasts, who trumpeted forth Aristeides as The Just man of Attica, so as to wound the legitimate dignity of every one else." Grote, Gr. Hist., vol. 4, p. 266.
41. irritate, provoke.
43. To praise, as for praising. Cf. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 30. a man's, one's own. See on Essay vi. 57.
45. which, for 'who.' theologues, theologians.
46. notable, remarkable.
47. civil, opposed to ecclesiastical. By disparaging civil affairs they, by implication, exalt ecclesiastical.
274 NOTES. fun.
48. embassage, embassy. In Essay xxix. 63, he uses ' am- bassage. '
50. catch-poles, bailiffs. Cf. Essay Ivi. 107.
though many times, etc. The Latin translation has, " Yet, if it be rightly weighed, it is not amiss to vary speculation with business. " Their contempt for affairs is not altogether justifiable. 52. he, redundant. Cf. Essay viii. 37. The references are to 2 Cor. xi. 23, and Rom. xi. 13. interlace, cf. Essay xi. 72.
ESSAY LIV. OF VAIN-GLORY.
I. of, for 'by.'
3. whatsoever goeth, whatsoever goes of itself, or is set in motion by persons more powerful. The words ' go ' and ' move upon ' are suggested by the metaphor of the chariot.
4. if they have, etc. , no matter how little they have to do with it.
5. carry it, the Latin translation has ' ' turn the whole machine. " So possibly it may mean that the business ' moves on ' them, as the chariot does on its wheels. But probably Bacon meant by it ' are chiefly instrumental in bringing it about. ' So we say ' to carry the day,' ' to carry a thing through.' Cf. Essay Iv. 15.
6. glorious, boastful. See on Essay xxxiv. 105, and below, 1. 57.
bravery, boasting, which implies a depreciation of others
9. not effectual, they cannot be effectual. Cf. xlviii. 14.
10. bruit, noise.
II. civil, opposed to military. See 1. 23.
12. fame of, reputation for. Cf. 1. 29. For trumpeters, see Essay xlviii. 12.
14. the .Sitolians, a tribe in Greece.
15. of, resulting from.
cross lies, i.e. lies told to each of two parties about the other. Antiochus III. was king of Syria in the second cen tury B.C.
20. interest, influence. He exaggerates to each his influence with the other.
22. of, for ' out of. ' For instance, the JEtolian Thoas, by his exaggerated representations of the strength of the Greeks, induced Antiochus to assist them in a revolt against Rome : and
LIV.] OF VAIN-GLORY. 275
on the other hand he encouraged the revolt of the Greeks by magnifying the power of Antiochus.
23. substance, something substantial, an act as opposed to a mere thought.
25. glory, boasting. Each is anxious to surpass the boasted exploits of another.
26. upon charge, etc. The Latin translation has, "which are undertaken at the expense and risk of individuals."
27. composition, combination, put life into, cf. Essay xli. 78.
29. the ballast, cf. " Surely not a few solid natures, that want this ventosity (art of puffing themselves) and cannot sail in the height of the winds, are not without some prejudice and dis advantage by their moderation." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 30. The quotation which follows is from Cicero, Tusc. Disp. i. 15.
33. Socrates, I have quoted on Essay xxxii. 36 a passage in which Bacon attributes to Socrates a desire to get credit for knowledge which he did not possess. In the Adv., bk, ii. 7. 2, he says of Aristotle, that his delight was ' ' to confound and extinguish all ancient wisdom : insomuch as he never nameth or mentioneth an ancient author or opinion, but to confute and reprove ; wherein for glory, and drawing followers and disciples, he took the right course." Bacon probably wished to insinuate that Galen tried to attract admiration by the novelty of his theories.
Galen, a writer on medicine in the second century A.D.
35. beholden, indebted.
36. as, that.
his, for ' its. ' See Essay xix. 86.
at the second hand, i. e. from human nature ; not at first hand, i.e. through her own efforts. The Latin translation has, "Virtue owes her reputation less to human nature than to her self.
37. had, would have. Cicero, in his speeches, constantly reminds his hearers of his services to his country. Bacon often attributes a certain presumptuousness to Seneca and the Stoics (cf. Essay v. 1), nor can we read his letters without feeling that he was very well satisfied with himself. Pliny in one of his letters boasts of his independence as an advocate in opposing the most powerful men in the state, including even friends of the Emperor ; and says that his success made men willing to listen to him, and opened for him a road to fame. In another letter he records that the Emperor Nerva called him an honour to the age
276 NOTES. [MV.
in which he lived. In another letter he records the pleasure which his wife took in reading his books.
Plinius Secundus, Pliny the Younger, see note on Essay xv. 104.
38. borne her age, continued fresh.
39. seelings, ceilings. The word means properly a covering, and was applied to flooring and wainscotting as well as to what we now call the ceiling. Skeat, however, in his dictionary refers it to the Latin coelum, French del, the heaven — literally a canopy. In any case the present spelling is due to a confusion of it with del.
41. I mean not of, I am not thinking of.
42. Mucianus, cf. Essay vi. 8. Cf. "There is a great advan tage in the well setting forth of a man's (one's own) virtues, fortunes, merits ; and again in the artificial covering of a man's weaknesses, defects, disgraces ; staying upon the one, sliding from the other ; cherishing the one by circumstances, gracing the other by expositions, and the like. Wherein we see what Tacitus saith of Mutianus, who was the greatest politique of his time, In all that he did and said he had the art of displaying himself to advantage ; which requireth indeed some art, lest it turn tedious and arrogant ; but yet so as ostentation (though it be to the first degree of vanity) seemeth to me rather a vice in manners than in policy : for as it is said, Slander boldly, something always sticks : so, except it be in a ridiculous degree of deformity, Puff yourselj boldly, something always sticks. For it will stick with the more ignorant and inferior sort of men, though men of wisdom and rank do smile at it and despise it ; and yet the authority won with many doth countervail the disdain of a few. But if it be carried with decency and government, or with a natural, pleasant, and ingenious fashion ; or at times when it is mixed with some peril and unsafety (as in military persons) ; or at times when others are most envied ; or with easy and careless passage to it and from it, without dwelling too long, or being too serious ; or with an equal freedom of taxing a man's self, as well as gracing himself ; or by occasion of repelling or putting down others' injury or insolency ; it doth greatly add to reputation." Adv., bk. ii. 23. 30.
46. excusations, cf. Essay xxv. 37.
47. cessions, concessions.
well governed, if not allowed to go too far. Cf. " the pride that apes humility."
52. wittily, ingeniously. Cf. Essay 1. 34. Bacon is quoting loosely from Pliny's Letters, vi. 17. Why does Bacon so often quote inaccurately ? Rawley in his life of Bacon says, "I have
LIV.] OF VAIN-GLORY. 277
often observed, and so have other men of great account, that if he had occasion to repeat another man's words after him, he had an xise and faculty to dress them in better vestments and apparel than they had before ; so that the author should find his own speech much amended, and yet the substance of it still retained." On this passage Mr. Spedding remarks, ' ' This is probably the true explanation of a habit of Bacon's which seems at first sight a fault, and perhaps sometimes is — a habit of inaccurate quota tion. In quoting an author's words, especially when he quotes them merely by way of voucher for his own remark, or in ac knowledgment of the source whence he derived it, or to suggest an allusion which may give better effect to it, he very often quotes inaccurately. Sometimes, no doubt, this was uninten tional, the fault of his memory ; but, more frequently, I suspect, it was done deliberately, for the sake of presenting the substance in a better form, or a form better suited to the particular occa sion. In citing the evidence of witnesses, on the contrary, in support of a narrative statement or an argument upon matter of fact, he is always very careful." In addition, we may note that Bacon occasionally referred his secretary to a passage which he wanted to quote, and wrote it down as he remembered it from the secretary's reading. Moreover, in those days, scholars knew the books which they did know much better than most of us know any book, except perhaps the Bible. Quotations were freely made, and books freely referred to in conversation. The actual text was altered in the process ; to say nothing of the fact that the slightest hint or indication was sufficient to recall the passage intended to the mind of the hearer. The best illustration that I can think of is the following passage from Trevelyan's Life of Macaulay — " When Macaulay and his sister were discoursing together about a work of history or biography, a bystander would have supposed that they had lived in the times of which the author treated, and had a personal acquaintance with every human being who was mentioned in his pages. Pepys, Addison, Horace Walpole, Dr. Johnson, Madame de Genlis, the Due de St. Simon, and the several societies in which those worthies moved, excited in their minds precisely the same sort of concern, and gave matter for discussions of exactly the same type, as most people bestow upon the proceedings of their own contemporaries. The past was to them as the present, and the fictitious as the actual. The older novels, which had been the food of their early years, had become part of themselves to such an extent that, in speaking to each other, they frequently employed sentences from dialogues in those novels to express the idea, or even the business, of the moment. On matters of the street or of the household they would use the very language of Mr. Elton and Mr. Bennett, Mr. Woodhoiise, Mr. Collins, and John Thorpe, and the other inimitable actors on Jane Austen's unpretending stage : while
278 NOTES. [LIV.
they would debate the love affairs and the social relations of their own circle in a series of quotations from Sir Charles Grandison or Evelina."
53. that, for ' what.' Cf. Essay vi. 39.
58. the idols of parasites, The Latin translation has, "Para sites (flatterers) prey and feed upon them."
ESSAY LV. OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION.
1. The winning, etc. Fame is obtained by showing off one's worth to the best advantage. See note on Essay vi. 57. The Latin translation has " a true and well-deserved reputation rests on a display of ability, " etc. Cf. " Next to the well understand ing of a man's self, there followeth the well opening and revealing a man's self (i.e. setting oneself off to the best advantage) ; wherein we see nothing more usual than for the more able man to make the less show."
2. without disadvantage, He explains in the next sentence the two ways in which men do themselves injustice. The man who does everything for effect is despised as a mere popularity hunter. The too retiring man does not attract the attention which his character and abilities deserve.
3. affect, strive after. Cf. " affected dispatch," Essay xxv. 1.
5. darken, lit. ' obscure.' Cf. Essay ix. 84.
6. so as, so that. Cf. 1. 11.
they be undervalued, etc., they do not get the reputation which they deserve.
8. given over, we should say 'given up,' i.e. abandoned in despair.
with so good circumstance, The Latin translation has " so fitly and happily. "
11. temper, mix. If with actions that please one party he combine actions that please another.
13. the music, etc. , there will be more to sing his praises.
husband, economist. The word from meaning a careful manager of a house has been extended to mean a careful manager generally. Similarly the Greek word economy means properly the management of a household. ' ' It was because a monarch or statesman was conceived to have the function of arranging the industry of the country somewhat as the father of a family arranges the industry of his household, that the art which afforded him guidance in the performance of this function was called Political Economy." — Sidgivick. For similar extensions of
LV.] OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 279
the meaning of words, cf. obnoxious, Essay xx. 105 ; and engaged, Essay xxxix. 34. In one of his letters to the king Bacon says, " I was a good husband to you, though none for myself."
16. Honour that is gained, etc. The Latin translation has " Honour which is comparative and depresses another." We are most famous when we succeed where others fail. In a letter advising Essex to undertake the administration of Irish affairs, Bacon urges as a reason that "the world will make a kind of comparison between those that set it out of frame and those that bring it into frame ; which kind of honour giveth the quickest kind of reflection. "
17. the quickest, the brightest ; or, to give the literal meaning of quickest (see on Essay xli. 78), the most vivid. (Latin vivere, to live. ) The word broken is suggested by the analogy between the collision of two rivals and the cutting of one diamond by another.
18. contend, strive. For the metaphor which follows, cf. "I doubt not but learned men with mean experience would far excel men of long experience without learning, and outshoot them in their own bow," i.e. beat them in their own subject. Adv., bk. ii. 23. 4.
21. All fame, etc., Cicero, De Petit. Cons. v. 17. Cf. " General fame is light, and the opinions conceived by superiors or equals are deceitful ; for to such men are more masked : the truer report comes from those who know them at home." — Adv. , bk. ii. 23. 19.
23. by declaring, etc., i.e. by making it clear to the world that his object is, etc.
24. by attributing, etc. Cf. Essay xl. 43.
26. The true marshalling, i.e. arranged in the order of merit. Cf. Spedding's Francis Bacon and his Times, vol. ii. pp. 170-1.
27. sovereign honour, contrasted with ' honour in subjects,' 1.47.
are, notice the plural verb. It is suggested by the plural degrees.
29. Romulus, the founder of Rome.
Cyrus founded the Persian empire in the sixth century B.C. Caesar, Julius. The Empire really dates from him.
30. Ottoman, founder of the Ottoman dynasty in the thirteenth century A.D.
Ismael, see note on Essay xliii. 11.
33. Lycurgus, the Spartan legislator, probably in the eighth century B.C.
Solon, the Athenian legislator, in the sixth century B.C.
280 NOTES. [LV.
Justinian, the Roman emperor, in the sixth century A.D. Justinian is best known for his simplification of the Roman law. Elsewhere Bacon says, ' ' Justinian the Emperor, by commissions directed to divers persons learned in the laws, reduced the Roman laws from vastness of volume, and a labyrinth of un certainties, unto that course of the civil law which is now in use." Cf. also, "From the time of Augustus there was such a race of wit and authority between the commentaries and decisions of the lawyers, and the edicts of the Emperor, as both law and lawyers were out of breath. Whereupon Justinian in the end recompiled both, and made a body of laws such as might be wielded, which himself calleth gloriously, and yet not above truth, the edifice or structure of a sacred temple of justice, built indeed out of the former ruins of books, as materials, and some novel constitutions of his own. "
Eadgar, See Green's History of the English People, vol. i. , p. 95.
34. Alphonsus, Cf. "King Edgar collected the laws of this kingdom and gave them the strength of a faggot bound, which formerly were dispersed ; which was more glory to him than his sailing about the island with a potent fleet ; for that was, as the Scripture saith, "the way of a ship in the sea"; it vanished, but this lasteth. Alphonso the Wise, the ninth of that name, King of Castile, compiled the digest of the laws of Spain, in- titled the Siete Partidas : an excellent work, which he finished in seven years. And as Tacitus noteth well, that the Capitol, though built in the beginning of Rome, yet was fit for the great monarchy that came after ; so that building of laws sufficeth the greatness of the Empire of Spain, which since hath ensued." Bacon, Of a Digest of Laivs.
36. compound, settle. See on Essay xlix. 17.
38. Vespasianus, A.D. 69-79. After the death of Nero there were struggles between rival competitors for the Roman Empire, which were put an end to by Vespasian.
Aurelianus, 270-275 A. D. , in a number of campaigns restored peace to various provinces of the Roman Empire.
39. Theodoricus, born A.D. 455, delivered Italy from the rule of Odoacer. See Gibbon, ch. xxxix.
King Henry VII. , put an end to the wars of the Roses. Henry the Fourth. See note on Essay iv. 38. He ended the struggle between the Catholics and Protestants.
44. fathers of their country, Bacon is fond of addressing James by this title. The Romans conferred it on citizens who rendered distinguished services to their country. 48. partners, etc., cf. Essay xxvii. 51.
LV.] OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 281
49. discharge upon, shift the burden (charge) on to.
51. Lieutenant, one who holds the place of another (Latin locum tenens), a deputy.
52. favourites, cf. Essay xxvii. 48, and xxxvi. 34. In the first of these two passages so called favourites are identified with those whom he here calls partners of the cares of kings. In this class he would include Buckingham. In Essay xxxvi. 34, they are ministers invested with authority, and are useful as standing between the king and unpopularity. In this Essay he means by favourites simply the king's private friends — those whom he chooses 'as a solace,' or 'as matter of grace or conversation,' Essay xxvii. 49.
scantling, limit.
56. execute their places, perform the duties of. Cf. " the dis charge of thy place," Essay xi. 45.
sufficiency, cf. Essay xx. 8.
60. Regulus, a Roman commander in the first Punic war. Having been taken prisoner by the Carthaginians he was sent by them to Rome to offer terms of peace. These were by Regulus' own advice rejected, and he, on his return to Carthage, was tortured to death, as was, Regulus was an example of this. M. = Marcus.
the two Decil, In the war between the Romans and the Latins Publius Decius devoted himself to death in battle, B.C. ,'>40. His son did the same in the war against the Samnites, B.C. 295.
ESSAY LVI. OF JUDICATURE.
5. stick, hesitate.
to pronounce, solemnly to proclaim dogmas.
6. by show of, under pretext.
7. witty, ingenious. In illustration of this Essay the student should read Bacon's speech to Justice Hutton, when he was called to be one of the judges of the Common Pleas. Spedding's Francis Bacon and His Times, vol. ii. p. 213.
8. more reverend than plausible, respected rather than popular. Generally Bacon used the word ' plausible ' in the sense of ' de serving applause ' ; but in this passage it is rendered in the Latin translation by a word signifying ' a favourite. ' For reverend, see Essay xiv. 29.
advised, cautious. Cf. Essay xviii. 69.
10. the law, i.e. the Jewish law.
11. mere-stone, boundary-stone.
282 NOTES. [LVI.
12. capital, chief.
13. One foul sentence, cf. Adv. , bk. ii. 23.6, " One judicial and exemplar iniquity in the face of the world doth trouble the fountains of justice more than many particular injuries passed over by connivance." In the corresponding passage of the De Aug. he says, "An unjust judgment in a conspicuous case is above all things to be avoided, especially if it involves not the acquittal of the guilty, but the condemnation of the innocent. A few crimes may be overlooked without serious consequences, but the judgment seat must not take the part of injustice."
23. for, as regards. Cf. 11. 56, 89, 115.
There be that, there are some who. Cf. Essay i. 2.
31. as God useth, the reference is to haiali xl. 4, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low." For useth, cf. Essay xv. 237.
34. power, i.e. when one party is patronized by the great and powerful.
great counsel, i.e. when the pleaders on the two sides are not equally matched.
35. to make, in making.
39. wrought, pressed. Cf. "I dislike that laws should not be continued, or disturbers be unpunished ; but laws are likened to the grape, that being too much pressed yields an hard and un wholesome wine." On Church Controversies.
46. He shall rain, Psalm xi. 6. This is a favourite quotation with Bacon in this connexion.
48. of long, for a long time past.
52. Rawley says of Bacon, " When his office called him, as he was of the king's council learned, to charge any offenders, either in criminals or capitals, he was never of an insulting or domineer ing nature over them, but always tender-hearted, and carrying himself decently towards the parties (though it \vas his duty to charge them home), but yet as one that looked upon the example with the eye of severity, but upon the person with the eye of pity and compassion."
58. well-tuned cymbal, a Scriptural expression. If a judge talk too much, his voice is like a discordant note in music. In his Speech to Justice Hntton Bacon says, " That you affect not the opinion of pregnancy and expedition by an impatient and catching hearing of the counsellors at the bar. That your speech be -with gravity, as one of the sages of the law ; and not talka tive, nor with impertinent flying out to show learning. "
59. grace, credit.
61. conceit, intelligence ; prevent, anticipate.
LVL] OF JUDICATURE. 283
63. to direct the evidence, The Latin translation has ' ' to determine the order in which the proofs are taken." The more obvious meaning would be ' to determine what evidence is admissible. "
64. impertinency, irrelevancy. Cf. Essay viii. 10.
68. of, for 'from.' Cf. Essay liii. 17.
glory, vanity. Cf . ' glorious, ' Essay xxxiv. 105. willingness, eagerness.
69. staid, steady.
74. favorites, viz., amongst the pleaders.
76. byeways, The Latin translation has "indirect ways of approaching the judges." Cf. Essay xi. 84.
77. gracing, compliment.
78. fair, well.
obtaineth not, is unsuccessful.
80. conceit, opinion.
81. civil, moderate. Used much as we use it in opposition to ' rude. '
84. chop with, bandy words with. See note on ' chapmen, ' Essay xxxiv. 64.
89. ministers, attendants.
91. footpace, a dais, or landing ; purprise, an inclosure.
95. catching and polling, greedy and avaricious. Cf. below, " the poller and exacter of fees," 1. 107- Writing about Ireland, Bacon says, " For justice, the barbarism and desolation of the country considered, it is not possible that they should find any sweetness at all of justice : if it shall be, which hath been the error of times past, formal, and fetched far off from the state ; because it will require running up and down for process, and give occasion for polling and exactions by fees, and many other delays and charges. " ' To poll ' meant lit. ' to cut off the hair from the head,' and so, to strip, to rob.
110. weather, a storm.
112. understanding, intelligent.
117. twelve tables, "Not in the laws of the twelve tables, but in Cic. de Ler/ibus, iii. 3. §8." (W.) The twelve tables, a code of Roman law drawn up in the middle of the fifth century B.C.
] 19. in order to, such as to promote that end.
125. For many times, etc. In the Adv., bk. ii. 23. 49, Bacon talks of the "influence which laws touching private right of property have into the public state." For example, the right of the sovereign to grant monopolies was often questioned in Bacon's
284 NOTES. [LVI.
time. These monopolies were complained of both as involving an illegitimate exercise of the prerogative, and as being bur densome to the subject. In this case questions of property would be mixed up with political questions ; for if the law sup ported the claim of a monopolist it would legalize the exercise of the prerogative, and vice versa. Consultations between king and judges were not unfrequent. For instance, before com mencing a prosecution, the Crown would consult the judges as to the chances of success. The practice was resorted to because the Crown was discredited in public estimation if it failed in a prosecution. See Gardiner's History of England, ch xxxiii. For trench to, we should say ' trench upon. '
133. that one moves, he means "one of which moves," etc.
135. lions, etc. In his speech to Justice Hutton, Bacon bids him "weigh and remember with yourself that the twelve judges of the realm are as the twelve lions under Solomon's throne ; they must be lions, but yet lions under the throne ; they must show their stoutness in elevating and bearing up the throne. "
140. the Apostle, St. Paul, who is referring to the Jewish law. 1 Tim. i. 8.
ESSAY LVII. OF ANGER.
1. bravery, boast.
2. Stoics, cf. Essay v. 2.
oracles, i.e. directions given in the Bible. The quotations are from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, iv. 26.
4. in race and In time, The Latin translation has " how far and how long."
6. attempered, moderated, controlled. 10. For, as regards. Cf. 11. 26, 54. 14. ruin, something falling. Latin mere, to tumble, upon that, etc. , i. e. upon that on which it falls.
19. put their lives, etc., Virgil, Ge.org. iv. 238.
20. baseness, The Latin translation adds " and below the dignity of a man. "
22. Only men, etc. The Latin translation has " Accordingly, when they chance to be angry, let men be careful (at least if they wish to be mindful of their own dignity) to unite their anger not with fear but with contempt of those with whom they are angry. "
LVII.J OF ANGER. 285
31. construction, interpretation. The meaning of the sentence is, that a man who is quick to see signs of contempt in the cir cumstances of a wrong done to him is easily stirred to anger. Cf. the last sentence of the Essay.
37. opinion of the touch, etc., i.e. if a man think that his reputation is affected. In the Ada., bk. ii. 20. 12, Bacon says, when talking of men, "who did retire too easily from civil business, for avoiding of indignities and perturbations," that "the resolution of men truly moral ought to be such as Gonsalvo said the honour of a soldier should be, of a coarser iveb, and not so fine as that everything should catch in it and endanger it." Fernandez Gonsalvo of Cordova, commonly called The Great Captain, and certainly one of the most successful soldiers of the age in which he lived, was employed by the King of Spain in his Italian wars. He died at (Granada) in (December, 1575). (E.)
45. contain, keep.
48. aculeate and proper, pointed and appropriate to the person addressed. Acidnis is the Latin word for a sting. For proper, see note on Essay iii. 30.
57. touched, mentioned.
59. good times, The Latin translation has " a time when he is calm and in a joyful mood."
60. an angry business, i.e. something which will make him angry.
61. to sever, to prevent him from interpreting the injury as a sign of contempt.
ESSAY LVIII. OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS.
2. Plato. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 1, "I have of ten thought that of all the persons living that I have known, your majesty were the best instance to make a man of Plato's opinion, that all know ledge is but remembrance, and that the mind of man by nature knoweth all things, and hath but her own native and original notions (which by the strangeness and darkness of this taber nacle of the body are sequestered) again revived and restored : such a light of nature I have observed in your majesty, and such a readiness to take flame and blaze from the least occasion pre sented, or the least spark of another's knowledge delivered." Plato's argument is this — We have ideas which are prior to experience. For instance, the idea of equality is a standard by which we measure perceived objects. It is therefore prior to them. But sensation begins with birth. We must therefore have brought with us the idea of equality from some previous
286 NOTES. ILVIII.
state of existence. It is a mythical way of expressing the truth that in the process by which experience is acquired the mind is not a mere passive recipient of impressions from without.
3. sentence, the Latin senlentia, an opinion.
5. Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in the lower regions.
9. the diurnal motion, i.e. of the heavens round the earth. Bacon himself did not accept the Copernican theory.
11. the matter, see note on Essay i. 43.
12. at a stay, cf. ' to stand at a stay,' Essay xii. 47.
14. merely, utterly. Cf. Essay iii. 66.
15. Phaeton, Bacon had in his mind the following passage in Plato's Timaeus — "Many and manifold are the destructions of mankind that have been and shall be : the greatest are by fire and by water : but besides these there are lesser ones in countless other fashions. For indeed that tale that is also told among you that Phaethon, the child of the sun, yoked his father's chariot, and for that he could not drive in his father's path, lie burnt up all things upon earth, and himself was smitten by a thunderbolt and slain — this story, as it is told, has the fashion of a fable ; but the truth of it is a deviation of the bodies that move round the earth in the heavens, whereby comes at long intervals of time a destruction with much fire of the things that are upon earth.
. When the gods send a flood upon the earth, cleansing
her with waters, those in the mountains are saved
The commonwealth has only just been enriched with letters and all else that cities require : and again after the wonted term of years like a recurring sickness comes rushing on them the torrent from heaven : and it leaves only the unlettered and untaught among you, so that as it were you become young again with a new birth, knowing nought of what happened in the ancient times either in our own country or in yours." Mr. Archer Hind's Timaeus, p. 7 1 . It was a favourite idea with Bacon that civiliza tions have existed and perished, leaving no trace of themselves. The Latin translation has ' ' The car of Phaeton was a type of the short duration of a conflagration, lasting only for a day."
16. Elias was a Jewish prophet.
was but particular, confined to a limited space.
21. hap, happen.
23. the oblivion, etc., past times are just as much buried in oblivion as if. Cf. " In all inductions, whether in good or vicious form, the same action of the mind which inventeth, judgeth ; all one as in the sense." Adv. bk. ii. 14. 1.
28. told Solon, viz. in the Timaem of Plato. See last note on Essay xxxv.
LVIII.] OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 287
32. as, that.
39. Gregory the Great, Pope A.D. 590-604. Cf. Adv., bk. i. 6. 14, " Neither could the emulation and jealousy of Gregory the first of that name, bishop of Rome, ever obtain the opinion of piety or devotion ; but contrariwise received the censure of humour, malignity, and pusillanimity, even amongst holy men, in that he designed to obliterate and extinguish the memory of heathen antiquity and authors." Cf. " It is commonly believed that Pope Gregory the First attacked the temples and mutilated the statues of the city : that by the command of the barbarian the Palatine Library was reduced to ashes, and that the history of Livy was the peculiar mark of his absurd and mischievous fanaticism. The writings of Gregory himself reveal his implac able aversion to the monuments of classic genius, and he points his severest censure against the profane learning of a bishop who studied the Latin poets, and pronounced with the same voice the praises of Jupiter and those of Christ. But the evidence of his destructive rage is doubtful and unreal." Gibbon, ch. xlv.
that he did, etc., this explains what the traducing or calumny wras.
40. zeals, efforts of fanaticism. do, produce.
42. Sabinian, the successor of Gregory the Great.
43. the superior globe, the heavens.
44. Plato's great year, See the Timaeus, 39 D. The perfect year is when all the heavenly bodies, having accomplished their revolutions, return at the same time to the same point of the heavens from which they started in the beginning. Cf. ' ' One general council is not able to extirpate one single heresy : it may be cancelled for the present ; but revolution of time, and the like aspects from heaven, will restore it, when it will nourish till it be condemned again. For, as though there were a metempsychosis, and the soul of one man passed into another, opinions do find, after certain revolutions, men and minds like those that first begat them. To see ourselves again, we need not look for Plato's year: every man is not only himself ; there have been many Diogeneses, and as many Timons, though but few of that name ; men are lived over again ; the world is now as it was in ages past ; there was none then, but there hath been some one since that parallels him, and is, as it were, his revived self." Bel. Medici, pt. 1. § 6.
46. in renewing the state, etc. , i. e. in bringing the same indivi duals back into existence.
47. fume, see note on Essay xv. 110.
48. accurate, down to small details.
influences, a term in astrology. Cf. Essay ix. 8.
288 NOTES. [LVIII.
51. waited upon, watched.
54. version, direction ; literally, turning.
55. lasting, In the Latin translation are added, ' ' the season of the year, and the direction of the comets' path."
57. toy, a trifle. Cf. Essay xix. 12.
58. given over, passed over without notice. The expression is used in a different sense in Essay Iv. 8.
60. suit, succession.
63. it, The Latin translation has "such a circle of years."
68. orbs, literally the spheres in which the stars are set. See note on Essay xv. 59. Men are moved by religion as the planets by the spheres, and the spheres by one another.
69. upon the rock, cf . ' ' The divine foundation is upon the rock." Adv. bk. ii. 23, 46. In one of his parables Christ con trasts the foolish man, who builds his house upon the sands, with the wise man, who builds it on the rock. Addressing Peter too, whose name signifies a rock, Christ said, " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church."
70. To speak, The infinitive, used absolutely, introduces a fresh set of remarks. So we say "to proceed" or "to return from this digression."
73. give stay to, The Latin translation has "delay or remedy."
75. when the holiness, etc., cf. "scandal of priests," Essay xvi. 62. Cf . ' ' It cannot be denied, but that the imperfections in the conversation and government of those which have chief place in the church, have ever been principal causes and motives of schisms and divisions." Of Church Controversies.
77. doubt, fear. Cf. Essay xxii. 34.
78. extravagant, the word means literally wandering beyond bounds. The word now has the special meaning of ' passing the bounds of economy.' The Latin translation has "immoderate and paradoxical. "
82. authority, viz. the government. In mentioning these two properties, Bacon is thinking of the Anabaptists, (Essay iii. 132) and of Mahomet.
86. the Arians, so called after Arius, who, in the fourth cen tury A.D., taught a doctrine that was pronounced heterodox as to the nature of the second person of the Christian Trinity.
Arminians, the followers of Arminius, a Dutch theologian born 1560 A.D. In opposition to the Calvinistic doctrine of pre destination he insisted upon the freedom of the human will.
87. wits, minds. Cf. Essay i. 6.
i,vm.] OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 289
88. except it be, etc. The Latin translation has "except on occasion of political disturbances. " Cf. "Politics often mingle with religious dissent, not that there exists any natural connec tion between them, but that statesmen are aware of the advantage to be derived from the attachment of a religious party to their interests." Lingard's History of England, vol. vii. ch. 2.
92. For, as regards. Cf. 1. 163.
96. To compound, cf. Essay xlix. 17.
102. stages, as we say ' the theatre ' of a war.
108. Gallo-Grsecia, Galatia. The invasion took place B.C. 278. The Gauls under Brennus took Rome about B.C. 390.
110. East and West are relative terms. A point East of one place is West of another. We cannot say therefore with any certainty of observation, i.e. precision, that the movement is from East to West, or West to East.
115. in respect of, cf. Essay xxvii. 43.
118. apparent, used in the proper sense of manifest. Cf. Essay xl. 10.
120. courages, cf. Essay xxix. 251.
121. warmest, The Latin translation adds, "As is clear in the case of the Araucians, who being situated furthest south far sur pass in bravery all the Peruvians. "
123. For great empires, etc. Cf. his Essay of The True Great ness of Britain, " Persia at a time was strengthened with large territory, and at another time weakened ; and so was Rome. For while they nourished in arms, the largeness of territory was a strength to them, and added forces, added treasure, added reputation : but when they decayed in arms, their greatness became a burden. For their protecting forces did corrupt, supplant, and enervate the natural and proper forces of all their provinces, which relied and depended upon the succour and direction of the state above. And when that waxed impotent and slothful, then the whole state laboured with her own magnitude, and in the end fell with her own weight. And that no question was the reason of the strange inundations of people which both from the East and North-West overwhelmed the Roman Empire in one au'e of the world, which a man upon the sudden would attribute to some constellation or fatal revolu tion of time, being indeed nothing else but the declination of the Roman Empire, which having effeminated and made vile the natural strength of the provinces, and not being able to supply it by the strength imperial and sovereign, did as a lure cast abroad, invite and entice all the nations adjacent, to make their fortunes upon her decays. And by the same reason there cannot but ensue a dissolution to the state of the Turk."
290 XOTES. [LVIII.
127. a prey, The Latin translation adds " to other nations."
128. Almaigne, Germany.
129. every bird, etc. The Latin translation has "the in dividual birds claiming their own feathers again. "
1 30. were not unlike, etc. , i.e. the same would probably happen to Spain.
132. over-power, excessive power.
139. go on to, continue to.
140. foreseeing, making provision for. Cf. Essay xv. 133. sustentation, sustenance.
of necessity, cf. Essay xiv. 2o.
141. discharge upon, cf. Essay lv. 49.
145. they, notice the plural after the collective noun state.. Cf. Essay xxxiii. 85.
148. encourageth a war, encourage others to attack them.
149. it, viz. the subject of changes in weapons.
150. returns, periods.
151. ordnance, The Latin translation has "gunpowder and cannon. "
152. in India, The Latin translation adds "in the time of Alexander the Great. " Mr. Wright says that Bacon's memory seems to have been at fault for this statement.
156. fetching, striking. Fetch is connected with/ae<, a journey. So to fetch afar off means properly to travel a long distance.
outruns the danger, The Latin translation has "anticipates the danger from the enemy."
159. ordnance, used in the plural as including different kinds of weapons.
arietations, " Aries " was the Latin term for a " batter ing ram."
160. the commodious use, i.e. that they be convenient for use.
163. rested upon, depended on. Cf. Essay xxix. 79.
164. they did put, etc. The Latin translation has "they trusted to the valour of the soldiers." We should omit the did. When two parts of a verb might be confused Bacon sometimes takes care to distinguish them. Thus he uses gotton, as ' got ' might be confused with the past tense of ' get.'
1C5. pointing, cf. Essay xlv. 69. 166. upon an even match, on equal terms. 167 battles, bodies of troops. Cf. " They say that the king divided his army into three battles," and, "Neither had they
LVIII.J OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 291
brought forward their main battle, which stood far away into the heath, near the ascent of the hill." hist. Henry V 11.
175. his, see note on Essay xix. 86.
178. reduced, The Latin translation has "more accurate." The word means "kept within limits," as opposed to luxuriant or "growing wild."
179. exhaust, exhausted. Cf. Essay viii. 36. With this passage, cf. Adv., bk. ii. 10. 13, "For as it hath been well observed that the arts which flourish while virtue is in growth are military ; and while virtue is in state, are liberal ; and while virtue is in declination, are voluptuary : so I doubt that this age of the world is somewhat upon the descent of the wheel." After the word "exhaust," the Latin translation adds, "though garrulous as ever." Bacon is thinking of an age of critics and commen tators, as opposed to an age of original production.
181. the philology, the accounts given of them, such for instance as the circumstantial account given of the rise and fall of the island of Atlantis in the Timaeux and the Critias of Plato.
LIX. A FRAGMENT OF AN ESSAY ON FAME.
I. Fame, rumour. For what follows see Virgil, ^En., iv. 175- 190. With the whole passage cf. Essay xv. 11.
II. that which passeth, cf. Essay xv. 10 seqq. Passeth, surpasses.
14. in an anger, in a fit of anger.
19. fly, i.e.. attack. Cf. " As we use to hunt beast with beast, and/y bird with bird." Adv., bk. ii. 22. 6. For fowl, cf. Essay xlv. 34.
20. To speak, cf. Essay Iviii. 70.
21. sad, sober. " Of this wisdom it seemeth some of the ancient Romans in the saddest and wisest times were professors." Adv., bk. 23. 5.
22. politics, writings on politics.
a place, a topic. Cf. Essay xxxii. 5.
25. discerned, cf. Essay xxxvi. 68.
28. that force as, such force that.
32. into Germany, Service was harder in Germany and the climate more inclement than in Syria. The story is told by Tacitus, Hist., ii. 80.
39. Livia, see note on Essay vi. 1 . During the last illness of
292 NOTES. [LIX.
Augustus " Livia surrounded the house and its approaches with a strict watch, and favourable bulletins were published from time to time, till, provision having been made for the demands of the crisis, one and the same report told them that Augustus was dead and that Tiberius Nero was master of the state/' Tacitus, Ann., i. 5.
41. upon, as we say ' on the point of.'
42. bashaws, Pashas.
43. Janizaries, see note on Essay xix. 151. men of war, cf. Essay xix. 149.
44. as their manner is, i.e.. it is the custom of the soldiers to sack the cities when a Sultan dies.
45. Themistocles, This happened after the battle of Salamia in the year 480 B.C.
50. let all wise governors, cf. Essay xxxv. 84.
INDEX TO NOTES.
Abstract. 34, 22. Absurd, 6, 68; 42, 28; 47, 21. Abuse, to, 2'1, 123; 42, 21. Accident, an, 30, 35. Acquaint, to, 7, 25. Act, to, put in, 11, 36. Act, an, 20, 124. Aculeate, 57, 48. Adamant, 18, 45. Adjective, used for Adverb, 1, 18; 5, 18; 12, 13; 15, 24. Admirable, 27, 117. Adust, 36, 4. Advancement, 34, 108. Adverbs and expressions equi valent to them —
At unawares, 47, 36.
In a sort, 41, 122.
In no sort, 35, 89.
In some sort, 49, 16.
In such sort, 22, 36.
Nothing, 21, 13.
Nothing to, 46, 161.
No ways, 10, 51, 22, 120.
Of long 56, 48.
Of necessity, 14, 25.
Of purpose, 9, 112.
Out of course, 46, 183.
Still, for always, 9, 9; 13, 57, 27, 126; 29, 253; 33, 83; 36, 6.
To life, 27, 218.
Upon speed, 34, 39.
Upon the matter, 44, 26. Advised, 18, 69; 56, 8.
Advoutress, an, 19, go. Affect, to, 1, 3; 13, I ; 9, 47;
25, i; 26,35; 47, 17; 55,3. Affections, 1, 34; 7, 44; 9, I ;
11, 101; 27, 133; 42, 50. Agitation, 20, 12. Agreeably, 32, 54. Alley, an, 45, 84; 46, 74. Allow, to, 18, 5; 26, 37; 52, 38. Almost, 43, 4. Ambassage, 29, 63. Ambition, 11, 105. Angry, 57, 60. Answer, to, 41, 109. Anti-camera, an, 45, 118. Apparent, 40, 10; 58, 118. Appose, to, 22, 68. Apply, 7, 42; 32, 28; 52, 32. Apt, 29, 44. Arbitrement, 3, s8. Argument, an, "29, 27. Arietation, 58, 159. Article, use of, 1,43; 1^> '9;
58, 1 1; 59, 14. Artificial, 15, 188. Ask, to, 6, 2; 33, 33. Assay, an, 15, 43. Assured, 15, 242. Assure oneself, to, 16, 80. Attemper, to, 14, 4; 57, 6. Avoidance, an, 45, 129. Away, as a rerb, 53, 14.
B
Banquet, a, 45, 44. Barriers, 37, 48.
293
294
BACON'S ESSAYS.
Battle, a, 58, 167.
Be, for are, 1, 2; 8,78; 13, 51;
20,66,86; 22, 21 ; 29, 270,
285 ; 52, 21. Be, to, for to exist, 3, 95; 17,
135 18, 23.
Beat over, to, 22, 104; 50, 46. Become, to, 45, 96. Beholding, 10, I. Better, you were, 26, 44; 49, 52. Blanch, to, 20, 119; 26,28. Blushing, 27, 237. Bore, a, 46, 158. Bowed, 27, 200. Brave, 33, 54. Brave, to, 10, 24; 15, 197. Bravery, 11, 52; 15, 180; 25, 40;
36, 67; 37, 52; 54, 6; 57, i. Broke, to, 34, 63. Buckle, to, 21, 19. Burse, a, 18, 25. Busy, 46, 121. Buzzes, 31, 25.
C
Can, to, 11, 34.
Capital, adj., 56, 12.
Card, a, 18, 39; 29, 37.
Carry it, to, 54, 5.
Cast, to, 27, 219; 45, 78, 93:
51,36.
Challenge, to, 48, 5; 49, 30. Chapman, 34, 63. Charge, to, 48, 3. Chargeable, 29, 255. Check with, to, 10, 49; 31, 4. Chimney, a, 46, 133. Chop, to, 34, 64. Chop with, to, 56, 84. Churchmen, 8, 26; 19, 119. Civil, 17, 18; 53, 47; 54, ii;
56, 8 1 ; 48, 23. Civility, 46, 5. Clamour, to, tr. v., 20, 145. Clear, clearness, 1, 60; 6, 30. Coemption, 34, 85. Collect, to, 35, 97.
Collier, a, 34, 49. Comfort, to, 39, 50. Command upon, to, 38, 48 Commiserable, 33, 99. Commonplace, a, 32, 5. Communicate, 13, 39. Compound, to, 49, 20; 55,36;
58, 96. Composition, 6, 103; 20, 98;
31, 11; 54, 27. Comprehend, to, 48, 51. Conceit, 6, 98; 17, 36; 34, 7;
56, 6 1, 80.
Confederate, 16, 10; 24, 15. Confidence, to have, with, 15,
203. Conjunctions and expressions
equivalent to them — As, for that, 8, 21, 48; 11, 3;
19,64; 22, 13; 26, 11; 27,
75- Because, for that, 8, 15; 25,
Ii; 34, 14. For that, for because, 16, 54;
19, 975 22, 113; 34, 74;
35, 62. In regard, for because, 29,
109.
In respect, for in case, 28, 14. So, for provided that, 7, 35;
9, 115; 15, 180; 25, 46;
33, 49; 37, 18. So, for such, 27, 98. So that, for provided that,
1, 535 IS, 5- That, used redundantly, 15,
33, 53; 19, 103; 27, 63;
35, 68; 36, 48; 47, 34. Conscience, 11, 38. Construction, a, 57, 31. Contain, to, 29, 163, 185; 57,4$. Contend, to, 55, 18. Conversant in, to be, 20, 120. Converse in, to, 38, 46. Conversation, 27, 10, 49. Convince, to, 16, 4. Correspondence, to hold with,
15, 243.
INDEX TO NOTES.
295
Corroborate, 39, 7.
Corrupt, to, 29, 252; 34, 107.
Corn-master, a, 34, 49.
Cost, to bestow, upon, 2, 48.
Count, to, 1, 3.
Country, adj., 18, 71.
Courages, 29, 251; 58, 120.
Creature, 1, 39; 7, 15.
Crook, to, 23, 15; 27, 200.
Cunningly, 29, n.
Curious, Curiosity, Curiously,
9, 17; 46, 149; 50, 23. Currently, 31, 5.
D
Darken, to, 9, 84; 55, 5. Decay, the, 36, 59. Deceivable, 44, 12. Decline, to, 40, 43. Deliveries, 19, 41; 40, 12. Dependence, a, to have of,
19, 1 1 8.
Dependences, 20, 79; 36, 55. Depress, to, 9, 26; 19, 123. Derive, to, 9, 127. Destitute, to, 33, 97. Diet, to, 18, 47. Difficilness, 13, 53. Disable, to, 49. 23. Disadvantageable, 28, 28. Discern of, to, 30, 8; 36, 63. Discern, to, 36, 68; 59, 25. Discharge, to, 55, 49; 58, 141. Discommodities, 33, 83. Discontent, 15, 167; 36, 8;
48, 33. _
Discourse high, to, 19, 133. Discoursing, 1, 6. Discover, Discovery, 5, 38 ;
6, 43; 41, 20; 47, 36. Dispense with, to, 36, 20. Disputations, 18, 23. Disreputation, 48, 41. Distance, to set at, 15, 211. Distaste, subs., 5, 30. Distaste, to, 49, 28. Do, to, 58, 40.
Do, used with the past tense,
58, 164.
Doctor, 3, 7, 29; 13, 23. Doctrine, 20, 54; 38, 3. Dolours, 2, 57.
Doubt, to, 22. 34; 28, 14; 58, 77. Dry blow, a, 32, 50.
Eccentric, 23, 16. Edge, to, 41, 97. Effeminate, to, 29, 251. Ejaculation, 9, 10. Elaborate, 20, 36. Embase, to, 1, 63; 10, 60. Embassage, an, 53, 48. Embossment, 46, 131. Embowed window, an, 45, 97. -en, past participle in, 9, 142;
20, 82; 29, 6, 145. Endanger, to, 15, 182. Engaged, 39, 34. Engross, to, 15, 163. Enrich, to, 34. 40. Ensigns, 29, 308. Entire, 27, 199; 46, 102. Entrance, to have, into, 18, 3. Espials, 48, 17. Estate, 9, 30, 150; 14, i; 20, 132;
22, 30; 27. 209; 29, 7, 247;
41, 46; 48, 20; 51, 2 Every, each, 15, 60. •Evil-favoured, 39, 5. Except, to, 8, 17. Excusations, 25, 38; 54, 46. Exhaust, 8, 36; 58, 179. Expect, to, 34, 55. Extravagant, 58, 78.
Facile, Facility, 8, 29; 11, 70;
13, 32; 52, 34. Fain, 19, 130. Faint in, to, 16, 27. Fair, 6, 90. Fame, 15, 15; 53, 9; 54, 12.
296
BACON'S ESSAYS.
Fare, to, 17, 47.
Fashion, a, 47, 39.
Fast, 46, 53.
Favour, 27, 185; 43, 13.
Fearful, Fearfulness, 6, 78; 15,
44; 31, 13; 36, 45. Felicity, 40, 42; 43, 25; 55, 26. Fetch, to, 22, 104; 58, 156. Final, 29, 270. Flash, a, 29, 200. Flashy, 50, 28. Flags, 14, ii. Fly, to, 59, 19. Following, 3, 55. Foot, to sell under, 41, 57. Foot-pace, a, 56, 91. Foresee, to, 15, 133; 45, 116;
58, 140. Fowl, 45, 34. Fronted, 15, 207. Fume, 15, no; 58,47- Futile, 6, 52; 20, 63.
G
Gaudery, 29, 298.
Genitive case, the, 19, 86; 29,
261; 36, 3; 39, 51; 47, 17:
58, 175- Giddiness, 1, 2. Gingles, 3:}, 88. Give over, to, 55, 8; 58, 58. Glory, 54, 25; of), 68. Glorious, 34, 105; 54, 6. Gracing, 56, 77. Graze, to, 45, 84. Grinded, 41, 75. Grounded, 19, 43. Grounds, 12, 27.
H
Habilitations, 29, 193. Half-lights, to show at, 6, 15. Hand, at a dear, 25. 20. Hand, to come at even, 9, 26. Hand, to keep of even, 28, 9. Handsomely, 22, 35.
Hap, to, 58, 21. Holpen, 20, 82. Hooded, 18, 10. Husband, a, 55, 13. Husband, to, 15, 131; 41, 31. Husbandry, 34, 51.
Immediate, 19, 135. Impart oneself, to, 20, 75. Impertinence, 8, 1 1 ; 56, 64. Impertinent, 26, 25. Import, to, 3, 51 ; 29, 51. Importune, 9, 159; 38, 3; 48,4. Impose upon, to, 1, 10; 29, 91. Imposthumations, 15, 183. Impropriate, to, 29, 305. Incensed, 5, 37. Incommodities, 41, 22. Inconstancy, 20, 14. Incur, to, 9, 65. Indifferent, 6, 64; 14, 16; 20,
134; 29, 1 68. Induce, to, 44, 14. Industriously, 6, 38. Infamed, 19, 83. Inf ortunate, 4,41; 40, 52. Inordinate, 10, 13. Intelligence, to have with, 10,
28.
Intend, to, 29, 196, 205. Interessed, 3, 153. Interlace, to, 11, 72; 40, 54;
53, 52.
Inure, to, 36, 43. Invention, 12, 9. Inward, 11, 84; 20, 72. Irritate, to, 53, 41.
Jade, to, 32, 14.
K
Kind, a, 6, 47; 41, 99.
Knap, a, 45, 9.
Knowledge, to take of, 13, 30.
INDEX TO NOTES.
297
Lay, to, 38, 34.
Leadman, a, 34, 50.
Leese, to, 19, 142; 29,29; 33,9-
Lightsome, 45, 31.
Loading, 13, 56.
Loose, a, 22, 120.
Lot, the, 9, 124.
Lurch, to, 45, 23.
M
Main, adj., 6, 79. Main, subs., 22, 117. Mainly, 15, 69; 34, 58. Maintain, to, 16, 76; 27, 92. Make for, to, 1, 14; 16, 23. Man, a, indefinite use of the
word, 2, 22; 6, 57; 23, 10;
47, 2.
Manage, subs., 42, 24. Manage, to, 6, 26; 29, 22. Manners, 3, 19; 11, 101, 27, 172. Manure, to, 33, 46. Marish, 33, 8 1. Masks, 18, 32.
Masteries, to try with, 19, 44. Masteries, to be taught, 30 47. Mate, to, 2, 20; 15, 106 Material cause, the, 15, 126. Mean, the. 19, 53; 49, 45. Mean people, the, 15, 93; 51, 9. Meet with, to, 27, 18. Mere, Merely, 3, 66; 4, 15;
-13. 54; 27, 23; 58, 14. Merestone, a, 56, II. Mintmen, 20, 142. Mislike, to, 41, 108. Moil, to, 33, 60. More, 43, 19. Motion, 11, 38.
Mought, 15, 184; 34,37; 35, 102. Mnmting, 3, 107.
N
Naught, 34, 65; 53,3- Negative, double, 7, 2.
Neglecting, 4, 27.
Nice, 29, 142.
Niceness, 2, 29.
Nominative, a second, 8, 37;
12, 37; 19, 129; 22, 57;
24, 14; 29, 225; 32, 25;
34, 90.
Nominative omitted, 22, 120. Notable, 53, 46. Nourish, to, 19, 140.
O
Obliged, 20, 6.
Obnoxious, 20, 105; 36, 44;
44, 30.
Obtain, to, 6, 19; 56, 78. Oes, 37, 30. Offence, 30, 5. Officious, 44, 30; 48, 19. Overcome, to, 34, 56. Over-power, an, 58, 132. Owing, 30, 7.
Pair, to, 24, 27.
Parable, a, 27, 113.
Partially, 3, 68.
Particular, 15, 196, 205; 19, 120.
Particularly, 13, 18.
Pass, to, 59, 11.
Peremptory, 11, 60; 15, 194.
Period, a, 25, 1 1 ; 42, 34.
Perish, to, 27, 109.
Person, a, 20, 98.
Personate, to, 3, 134.
Piece, to, 3, 101; 24, 16; 33, 96.
Piety, 17, n.
Place, a, 59, 22.
Placebo, to sing a song of, 20,
154.
Plantation, a, 29, 157; 33, i. Platform, a, 46, 214. Plausible, 9, 145; 15, 27; 56, 8. Ply, the, to take, 39, 44. Point, to, 45, 69; 58, 165. Point-device, 52, 48.
298
BACON'S ESSAYS.
Politic, adj., 9, 96; 21, 25; 29, 229, 247.
Politics, subs., 59, 22. -3,43; 6,4-
Politiques, sat&.s., 13, 62.
Poll, a, 29, 103.
Poll, to, 56, 96.
Popular, popularity, 15, 243; 36, 32; 48, 25.
Poser, a, 32, 32.
Practice, 3, 115; 22, II; 47, 35.
Pray in aid of, to, 27, 127.
Preoccupate, to, 2, 25.
Prepositions and phrases equi valent to them — For, for as regards, 3, 17; 6, 40; 8, 30; 11, 70, 86;
14, 6; 19,59.
From, away from, 45, 92.
In, for into, 1, 10.
In order to, 56, 1 19.
In regard of, for because of,
27, 43; 41, 109. In respect of, for because of,
27. 88; 34, 52; 58, 115. In respect of, for in compari son with, 2S), 283 ; 40, 59. Of, for amongst, 14, 46 ; 16,
30.
Of, for by, 35, 81. Of,/orfor, 6, 25; 15, 57; 16,
68; 17, 33; 32, i. Of, for from, 2, 23; 53, 17. Of, for namely, 15, 72; 22, 9;
29, 310.
Of, for on, 19, 118; 26, 35. Of, for out of, 54, 22. Of, for resulting from, 19, 91;
54, 15.
Of, for some of, 33, 91. To, for for, 33, 43. Upon, at the expense of,
15, 147.
Upon, for by reason of, 2, 32;
36, 17; 48,8. Without, for outside, 40, 36;
50, 17. Prest, 29, 230.
Pretend, to, 24, 33; 29, 227;
32, 44.
Prevent, to, 56, 62. Prick in, to, 18, 72; 46, 178. Principial, 35, 58. Privateness, 11, 15; 50, 2. Proceeding, 15, 192; 22, 125. Pronouns, use of —
Relative omitted, 42, 50. Relative with redundant pro noun, 8, 9; 9, 148; 35, 37; 36, 12; 45, 25. That, for some who. 1, 2;
13, 51; Hi, 31.
That, for that which, 6, 39 ;
13,2; 16, 21 ; 22,33; 32,37.
That, for such, 6, 13; 14, 21 ;
27, 60; 29, 218; 33, 65;
46, 210.
Who, for he who, 28, 32. Which, for who, 8, 5; 29, 23;
53, 45. Proof, 7, 28. Proper, propriety, 3, 30 ; 7, 7 ;
51, 53; 57, 48. Province, 20, 137. Purprise, a, 56, 91. Push, a, 53, 35. Put abroad, 27, 148.
Q
Quarrel, 8, 48; 29, 221. Quarter, to keep, 10, 48; 22, 74. Quech, to, 39, 28. Quicken, to, 41, 78; 49, 41:
R
Ravish, to, 17, 20. Real, 22, 9. Recamera, a, 45, 1 1 8. Receipt, a, 46, 139. Reciproque, 10, 35. Reduce, to, 11, 54. Referendary, a, 49, 27. Reflect, to, 29, 284. Regiment, ,30, i.
INDEX TO NOTES.
299
Reiglement, 41, 71. Remembering, 11, 114. Remover, a, 40, 38. Resemble, to, 20, 43. Resorts, 22, 116. Respects, 11, 90; 14, 13; 23, 35;
52, 43 ; 53, 27. Respect, to have, to, 16, 36. Respect, to, 30, 36; 37, 17. Rest, to, 36, 29.
Rest upon, to, 29, 79; 34, 81;
53, 163.
Rest, the, to set upon, 29, 271. Restrain, to, 27, 151; 41, 116. Return, a, 45, 48, 85, 123;
58, 150. Reverend, 14, 29; 20, 104;
56 8
Rid, to, 20, 181. Rise, a, 34, 89. Round, 1, 60; 6, 97. Ruin, 57, 14.
S
Sad, 59, 21.
Saltness, 32, 24.
Scantling, a, 55, 53.
Seat, a, 45, 5.
Security, 5, 9.
Seek, to be to, 41, 81.
Seeling, a, 54, 39.
Sensible, of, 8, 21; 29, 228;
36, 66.
Sentence, a, 58, 3. Sequester, to, 27, 9. Several, 19, 153 ; 45, 13, 28,
44, 49- Shadow, the, 11, 16.
Shall, for will, 2, 7; 3, 83; 7, 7, 20; 16, 30; 41, 105;
45, 95. Shew, to, 2, 19.
Should, indirect use of, 27, 7 ;
53, 35-
Show, a, 26, 5 ; 53, 8. Shrewd, 23, i. Slide, a, 14, 47.
Slight over, to, 12, 38.
Slope, 46, 109.
Smother, to keep in, 31, 16.
Sort, to, 45, 28.
Sort to, to, 7, 32; 27, 47.
Sort with, to, 6, 5 ; 7, 26 ; 27,
242; 38, 44. Speak to, to, 20, 126. Speculative into, 20, 97. Spangs, 37, 30. Spial, a, 44, 31. Stand upon, to, 29, 206. Stand, a, 41, 54. Stand, to be at a, 1, 13. Stay, to be at a, 58, 12. — to give to, 58, 73. — to stand at a, 12, 47 ; 14,
42; 19, 21. Stale, a, 12, 48. State, a, 19, 118. Statua, 27, 156. Steal, to, 11, 83. Stirps, 14, 8. Stonds, 40, 14 ; 50, 37. Stove, to, 46, 15. Strait, 15, 162. Strict, 20, 81. Success, 47, 14. Sufficient, sufficiency, 11, 101 ;
20, 8; 26, 42; 29, 21 ; 48,
28; 55, 56. Suit, a, 58, 60.
Suspect, 24, 34 ; 51,40: 53, 17. Sustentation, 58, 140.
Take in with, to, 51, 32. Take oneself up, to, 22, 39. Tarras, a, 45, 136. Tax, to, 11, 51. Temper, 19, 29; 30, 52. Temper, to, 19, 136; 55, II. Temperate, 33, 69. Temperature, 6, 103. Tender, tenderly, 15, 44, 229
22, 48; 47, 8. Theologue, a, 53, 45.
300
BACON'S ESSAYS.
Thorough, 5. 19.
Toss, to, 27, 142.
Touch, a, 57, 37.
Touch, to, 29, 315; 57, 57.
Touch, subs., 32, 44.
Towardness, 19, 99.
Toy, a, 19, 12 ; 37, I ; 58,
57-
Tracts, 6, 57. Trash, 13, 74. Travel, 9, 92. Tribunitious, 20, 145. Triumphs, 18, 31; 45, 46. Trivial, 12, i ; 29, 69 ; 35,
52.
Try it, to, 19, 115. Turquets, 37, 37.
U
Understanding, adj., 56, 112. Undertakers, 33, 68. Undertaking, 9, 130. Unpleasing, 1, 27. Unproper, 27, 177. Upbraid, to, 9, 63. Use, to, 15, 237; 27, 125; 32.
35; 33, 61; 39, 32. Unsecrete, to, 20, 61.
Value, to, 34, 74. Vein, a, 1,6; 9, 59. Version, a, 58, 54. Virtue, virtuous, 14, 36. Voice, to, 11, 63; 49, 40. Votary, 39, 16. Vulgar, 53, 38.
W
Wait upon, to, 22, 19 ; 25, 29;
58, 51.
Want, a, 9, 45. War, men of, 19, 149; 59, 43. Weather, 14, 33; 56, no. Welt, a, 46, 124. Wind, to take the, 20, 153. Wit, witty, 1, 6; 6, 2: 41, i ;
44, 26; 50, 34; 56, 7 ; 54,
52; 58, 87.
Work, to, 3, 150; 27, 1 19; 53, 6. Would, for ought to, 3, 148;
17,47; 22, 22; 31, 33; 32,
20; 37, 10; 46, 192.
Zeals, 58^ 40. Zelants, 3, 52.
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WEBB, M.A. [In preparation.
MACMTLLAN AND CO., LONDON.
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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
PR Bacon, Francis, viscount St,
2206 Albans
34 Bacon's Essays