The essays of Francis Bacon ... on civil, moral, literary and political subjects. Together with the life of that celebrated writer

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THE
ESSAYS

O F

F R A N C I S BACON,

B A R O iNi OF V E R U L A M,
\ 1 i> C O U N T S r. A L B A N,

AND

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,

O N

Civil, Moral, Literary, and Political Subjeds,

TOGETHER WITH

THE LIFE

OF THAT CELEBRATED WRITER.

ANEW EDITION.
IN T .f O V O L \j M E S.

VOL. I

LONDON:

Pciiitcn at ti)e iCojojraptjtc pccfiJ, -

BY J. WALTER, f'RINTING-HOUSE-SrjJJARE, ELACKFRIARS;
AND SOLD BY J. ROBSO.V, NEW BOND STREET : T. LOXG-
MAN', AND R. BALDWIN, PATERNOSTER-ROW J AND W|
RICHARDSON, UNDER THE ROYAL EXClIANCe,
M,OCC,LXX.XVII.

¥■

TO THE

Right Honourable my very good Lord
THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM,
LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF ENGLAND.
EXCELLENT LORD,

C OLOMON fays, " A good name
" is as a precious ointment;" and
I afTure myfelf, fuch will your Grace's
name be with pofterity. For your
fortune and merit both have been emi-
nent ; and you have planted things that
are like to laft. I now publifh my
Essays, which of all my other works
have been moft current; for they come
home to mens bufinefs and bofoms. I
have enlarged them, both in number
and weight ; fo that they are indeed o,
new work. I thought it therefore a-
a 2 greeable

DEDICATION.

greeable to my affeaion, and obligate
on to your Grace, to prefix your name
before them, both in Englifli and m
Latin; for I conceive, that the
Latin vokime of them, being in the
univerfal language, ma; lall as long
as books laft. My " Inftauration," I
dedicated to the king ; my '' Hiilory
'^ of Henry the Seventh/' (which I
have now alfo tranflated into Latin),
and my " Portions of Natural Hillo-
" ry," to the prince ; and thefe I der
dicate to your Grace ; being of the
beft fruits, that by the good increafe,
which God gives to my pen and la-
bours, I could yield. God lead your
Grace by the hand.

Your Grace's moll obliged

And faithful Servant,

FR. St. ALBAN,

CONTENTS.

f^' Truth,

V>/ Of Unity in Religion,

Page 1
6

Of Revenge,

JS

OfAlverfity,

18

Of Simulation and DifTimulation,

20

Of Parents and Children,

27

Of M:\rriagc and Single Life,

30

Of Envy,
Of Love,

34

44

Of Magilbacies and Dignities,

47

Of Boldnefs,

55

Of Goodncfs, and Goodncfs of Nature,

58

Of Nobility,

64

Of Seditions and Troubles,

67

Of Athe.fm,

81

Of Superftition

87

Of Travelling
Of Empire,

90

95

104

Of Counfel,

Of Delays,

114
116

Of Cunning, -

Of Self-Wifdom,

124
127
130

Of Innovations,

Of Difpatch,

Of feeming Wife,

i^4

Of Friendfhip,

Of Regimen of Health,

Of Sufpicion,

^55

161

Of Difcourfe,
Of Ex pence, '

O-' Enlarging the Bounds of Kingdoms and States, 164
Of Plantations, ,2^

CONTENTS.

Of Riches, Page iqo

Of Prophecies, 197

Of Ambition, 203
Of Nature, and Natural Dlfpofitlons in Men, 208

Of Cuftom and Education, 21 f

Of Fortune, 214

OfUfury, 218

Of Youth and age, 226

Of Beauty, 233

Of Deformity, 232

Of Building, 23^

Of Gardens, 243

Of Negociating, 255

Of Followers and Friends, 259

Of Suitors, 263

Of Studies, 267

Of Factions, 271

Of Ceremonies, 274

Of Praifc, 278

Of Vain-Glory, 281

Of Honour and Reputation, 285

Of the Office of a Judge, 289

Of Anger, 298

Of VicifTitudes, 302

Of Death, 313

A Fragment of an ElTay on Fame, 317
An EfTay touching Helps for the Intclle£lual Powers, 320

An ElTay on Death, 327

A Civil Character of Julius Cafar^ 338

A Civil Charafter of Augujlus Ceefar^ 34^

A Civil Charaftcr of Henry VII. 351

Of the Felicities of Qiieen Elmabcth, ^71

Parables, or Counfels touching Bulinefs, 4^2

THE

LIFE

OF THE

AUTHOR.

By Dr. If I L L 1' M 0 T "T.

F

RANG IS BACON, the gloi'y of his
ajie and nation, the adorner and orna-
ment of learning, was born in Tork-PIace,
in the Strand, on the twenty- fecond of Ja^
niwry, in the year of our Lord 1560. His
father was a famous councellor to Queen
Elizabeth, the fecond prop of the kingdom,
in his time, Sir Nicholas Bacon, knight.
Lord-keeper of the Great Seal of Enjand,
a worthy man, of known prudence, judg-
ment, moderation, and integrity : his mo-
ther was Anne Cook, a daughter of Sir An-
thony

11 THELiFEOF

thony Cook^ knight, unto whom the educaL-"
tion of King Edward the Sixth was com-
mitted ; a lady eminent for piety, virtue,
and learning; being exquilitely Ikilled,
in the Greek and Latin tongues, Thefe
being the parents, any one might ealily
make an early conjecture what the ilTue
was like to be, having had all the advanta-
ges that nature and education could give
him.

His firfl and tender years of childhoc^d
pafled not without remarkable proofs of fu-
perior excellency ; at which age, he was
endued with fuch a towardnefs and acute-
nefs of wit, as gave great hopes (5f that pro-
'found and univerfal comprehenfion, which
he was afterwards famous for ; and caufed
him to be taken notice of by feveral of the
nobles, and other perfons of eminence for
vv^orth and place ; and efpecialiy by the
Queen herfelf, who, as I have been credibly
informed, delighted to talk with him, and
to try him with pretty hard queftions ; be-
fore Vv^hom he acquitted bimfelf with that
gravity and maturity of judgment, above hfs
years, that her Majefty iifed to call him;

*' The

T H E A U T H O R. lil

" The young Lord Keeper.'* When fhe
alked him how old he was, he ingenlouflj,
though but a child, anfwered, *' That he
" was two years younger than her Majeily's
'* happy adminiftration."

At the ordinary years of ripenefs for uni-
verlity-learning, or rather fomething earlier,
by order of his father, .he was entered of
T'rlniiy College, under the care of the Rev.
jfo/jn JJ^itglft, doclor ©f divinity, then maf-
ter of the college, afterwards archbifKop of
Canterbury, a prelate of the firil magnitude,
for fanclity, learning, patience, and humi-
lity ; under whom he was obferved to have
made a wonderful progrefs above any of his
cotemporaries, in the liberal arts and fcien-
ces. While he was a ftudent in the univer-
fity, when about iixteen years of age, as his
lordfhip has been pleafed to impart, he firfh
took a diflike to the Ar'iJtoteUan philofophy,
not from any undervalue entertained of the
author, whom he ever ufed to extol verv
highly, but for theunfrultfulnefs ofthewav;
being a philofophy, as his lordfhip was of-
ten pleafed to {\\y, made only for difputa-
tions and contentions, but of no ufe for the

produ^^ion

3V THELIFEOF

production of works for the benefit of hil*
man life. In which mind he continued to
the end of his exiftence*

After he had run the circle of the libe-
ral arts, his father thought fit to frame and
mould him to the arts of ftate ; and for
that end fent him to France^ in the retinue of
Sir Amyas Pmilet, then defigned ambaffador
in ordinary to the Freficbk'mg \ by whom he
was, after a while, held fit to be fent back
to England with a meflage to the queen*
Which being performed, not without thanks
from her Majefly, he returned a fecond
time to France^ with an intention not to fee
England again for fome years. During his
travels, his father the Lord Keeper, died ;
leaving, as I have underflood, a confiderable
fum of money, colle6led with intention to
have made a purchafe of land for the ufe of
this his youngeft fon, who was the only one
unprovided for after his father's death ; and
though he had the leaft part of his father's
eftate, he had a principal fhare in his affec-
tion ; but this purchafe being defigned only
while his father was alive, and not accom-
pliihed, there came no greater Ihare to him

than

THE AUTHOR. V

than his fingle part, and portion of the money
dividable among five brothers ; which was
the caufe of his living very oeconomically
in his younger years* The noble and plea-
fant manor, of Gorhambury he came not to
till many years after, by the death of his
brother Anthony Bacon ^ a celebrated gentle-
man, and perfectly well verfed in foreign
courts, equal to his brother in height of
wit, but inferior to him in the knowledge of
the liberal arts ; between whom there was a
great affedion, they two being the fole male
ifllie of a fecond wife.

Being returned from France^ lie was to
refolve upon a courfe of life ; therefore he
applied himfelf to the ftudy and profefiion
of the Common-law, in which he attained
to great excellence in a fhort time ; though,
to ufe his own words, he made that know-
ledge but as an accelTary, not as his princi-
pal fludy. He publifhed very early, feveral
trails upon that fubjecl, wherein, though
fome great mafters of the law outwent him,
perhaps, in bulk and number of cafes, yet
in weight, and in the knowledge of the
I grounds

Vi ^THELIFEOF

grounds and myfleries of the law, he waS
■exceeded by none^

Before he was out of his FreJJjmatiJIjip iri
the law, he was fworn of the ^eens Coun-
cil Learned Extraordinary ; a grace, as I have
been told, fcarce ever indulged to any be-
fore. He feated himfelf for the conveni-
ence of his ftudles, and pradice^ among the
honourable fociety of Grays-hin ; of which
he was admitted a member, where he
ereded that elegant pile, or ftfudlure, com-
m.only known by the name of, *' The Lord
" Bacons lodgings ;'* which he inhabited
by turns fome few years only excepted,
unto his death : in which fociety he car-
ried himfelf with fuch fweetnefs, plea-
fantry, and generofity of fpirit, that
he was much revered and loved by the
feniors, and young gentlemen of the
houfe.

But notwlthftanding that he ftuck to the
profeflion of the law, for his livelihood and
fubfiftence, yet, in his heart and atfc6lion^
he was carried more to political arts, and
places of ftate ; for which, if her Royal

Majefty

•THE A U T H O U. -rii

^ajefty had then pleafed, he was fingularly
qualified. In his younger years, he joined
himlelf with thofe that flu died the fervice
and fortunes of the noble, but unfortunate
JLar; of EJex, whom he ferved, to the ut-
moH of his power, as a private and rrioft
faithful counfellor ; and endeavoured to in-
flil into him fafe and honourable advice, till,
in the end, the Earl hearkening to thecoun-
fels of raih and violent perfons, hurried
himfclf into ruin.

His birth, and ingenuous qualifications,
gave him, above others of his profeffion, an
eafy and free accefs to court, and confe-
quently to the Qreen's prcfence ; who vouch-
f^fed to difcourfe with him in private, and
with great familiarity, whenever it was con-
venient, not only about matters of his pro-
feffion, and law-bufinefs, but alfo about the
arduous affairs of the ftate ; in whofe an-
fwers from time to time, fhe was much Hi-
tisfied. Neverthelefs, though fhe cheared
him with the bounty of her countenance,
yet fhe never beflowed the bounty of her
hand, having never conferred upon him any
office, whether of honour or profit, five

onlj

VIU THE LIFE OF

only a reverfion of the RegiPier's-Office in
the Star-Chamber, worth about 1600I. per
annum ; for which he waited, in expectation
near twenty years ; of which office his
loi^dfhip, in Q^jeen Elizabeth'' s time, plea-
fantly faid, '' That it was like another man's
*' ground lying upon his houfe, which
*' might mend his profpeft, but did not fill
" his barn." Neverthelefs, in the reign of
King James ^ he at laft enjoyed it, and ma-
naged it by a deputy. But this could not be
any ways imputed to a difafFedion, or averfe^
nefs in the Queen towards him, but to the
arts and emulation of a certain peer at that
time in great favour with the Queen, who
laboured to deprefs and keep him down, left,
if he had rifen to any pitch, his own glory
might have been obfcured by him.

But though he met little promotion in. the
days of his miftrefs Queen Elizabeth, yet af-
ter the change of adminidration, and com-
ing in of his new mafter King James, he
made a hafty progrefs ; by whom he was re-
markably advanced into places of truft, ho-,
nour, and profit. I have feen a letter in his
lordfliip's own hand to King James, wherein

he

THE AUTHOR. ix

he acknowledges, " That he was that maf-
" ter to him, that had raifed and advanced
" hinn nine times ; thrice in dignity, and
" fix times in office." The offices he meant
were, I conceive, " Council Learned ex-
«' traordinary to his Majelly, as he had been
" before to Queen Elizabeth ; King s Solici-
" tor-General ; King's Attorney-General ;
" Privy-Counfellor (being yet but attor-
'' ney) ; Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of
" England ; laflly, Lord Chancellor:"
which two laft places, though they be the
fame in authority and power, yet they dif-
fer in patent, height, and favour of the
prince ; fince which none of his fucceflbrs
were ever graced with the title of Lord
Chancellor to this day. His dignities were,
firft, Knight', then, Baron of Verulam \ laft-
ly, Fifcount St. Alban ; befides other gifts and
bounties which his Majefly was pleafed to
give him, both out of the Broad Seal and
Alienation Office.

Tow ARDs his rifing years, he had thoughts
of marriage. Accordingly he chofe Alice,
one of the daughters and co-heirefTes oi Be-
nedidi Barnham, Efquire, and Alderman of

EondoT^.

?6 T H E L I F E O B^

London ; with whom he received a fiiffici*-
ently ample and liberal portion, as well in
land as money. By her he had no children ;
which, though they be a means to perpetu^
ate our name after death, yel he had the
fortune to be blelTed with another ifllie to
perpetuate his memory, the ilTue of his
brain, in which he was ever happy, and
wonderful; Yi^q Jupiter^ wheu he brought
forth Pallas. Neither did the want of chil-
dren, in the ieafl, abate kis afretflion to his
confort, whom he ever bore the hlghefl
conjugal love, and marks of refped for ;
with many rich gifts and fetth^raents. be-
sides a matrimoijlal robe of honour, winch
fhe wore twenty years after his death. For
fo long ihQ furvived her huiband.

The lafl five years of his life, withdraw^
ing from civil affairs, and an active life, he
employed wholly in contemplation and flu?
dies. K thing which he feems to have had
mofl at heart ; as if he had affe(£l:eci to die in
the fliade, rather than in the light : which
plain difcoveries are to be met with, in pe-»
rufing his works. He compofed the greatefl:
part of his books, both in En^liJJd and Latin ;

which

THE AUTHOR. XI

which I will endeavour to enumerate in the
juft order of time (being prefent, and ob-
ferving it) wherein they were written.
They ftand thus: " The Hiflory of the
*' Reign ot Henry the Seventh, King of E?jg-
" Li/id, m the Eng/'i/'/j tongue." Abecedarium
Naturae ; a Metaphyfical piece, which by
fome ill fate is loft. H'ljtoria Fentorusn, Hif-
tori a Vlti^ et Mortis. Hiftoria Denfi^ et Rari^
now firfl printed. Htftoria Gravis y & Levis;
w^hich is alfo loll:. Thefe books written in
Latin. Afterwards certain fragments in
LngUfrj ; as, A Difcourfe of a War with
Spain. A Dialogue touching an Holy War.
The Fable of the New Atlantis. A Preface
to a Digeft of the Laws of England. The
beginning of the Hiftory of the Reign of
Henry the Eighth King of England. There
had paffed between, a work concerning the
Advancement of Learning ; in the tranflat-
ing of which, without help, out of Englijh
into Latin y he laboured exceedingly, and en-
riched it every where with many and vari-
ous additions. Afterwards, Counfels Civil
and Moral, (called before Eifays) but then
enlarged both in number and weight, in the
Engli/lj tongue. The Converfion of certain
b Pfahns

XU THE LIFE OF

Pfalms of David into EngliJJj Verfe. The
Tranflation of certain Writings of his, out of
'EngliJJj into Latin ; as, The Hiftory of King
Henry the Seventh. Counfels Civil and
Moral; called afterwards, 5'^r/72o;?^j F/^<?/(?j ; or
Inter tor a Rerum, The Dialogue of the Holy
War; and, The Fable of the ^t\N Atlantis^
to gratify foreigners, who, he was told, had
a defire to fee them. His book of The Wif-
dom of the Antients revifed. Inquifitio de
Magnete. I'opica Inquijitionis de Luce ^ Lu^
mine* Laftly, Sylva Sylvarum ; or The Na-
tural Hiflory, an EngliJJj Piece. And thefe
were the fruits and productions of his lafl
years. Books wrote before that time, I do
not mention. His Lordfhip alfo defigned,
at the defire of his Majefty King Charles^
to have written the Reign of Henry the
Eighth : But that book went no further
than defign only, God not indulging our
glorious author longer life. However there
is a fpecimen extant of that hiftory, being
the produ6l of a few morning hours of one
day, amongft his Lordfhips Mifcellaneous-
Works, publifhed in Englijlj ; by which you
may fee, ex ungue Leonem*

There

THE AUTHOR^ Xlll

There is a commemoration due, as well
to the virtues and abilities of this great man,
as to the courfe of his life. Thofe abiUties,
which commonly are parted, and gofinglein
other men, though of prime parts, met to-
gether and were married, as it were in him*
Thefe were, fharpnefs of- wit, ftrength of
memory, a piercing judgment, and a flow-
ing elocution. For the former three, his
books abundantly fpeak ; of which (as
Hirtius fays of Julius defar) " how well
*' and corre6lly he wrote them, let the
" world judge ; but with what eafe and
*• quicknefs he di6lated them, I know my-
" felf." But for the fourth, that is, his
elocution, I fhall mention what I heard
Sir PValter Rawleigh (whofe judgment
may well be trufled) once fpeak of him ;
" That the Earl of Salifhury was a good
*' fpeaker, but no good pen-man ; on the
" other hand, that the Earl oi Northampton
*' was a good pen-man, but no fpeaker;
" but that Sir Francis Bacon excelled in
** both fpeaking and writing.'*

I HAVE often thought, that if there was

any man whom God vouchfafed to illumi-

b % nate

k

Xiy THE LIFE OF

nate with a beam of human knowledge, in
thefe modern times, it was undoubtedly him.

For though he was a great reader of books,
yet that he drew his knowledge from books
only, mufl never be granted ; but from cer-
tain principles and notions, lighted up with*
in himfelf ; which notwithftanding he ven-
ted not rafhly, but with great caution,
and circumfpe6lion. His Novum Organum, he
laboured and revifed from year to year, and
every year flill further polifhed and amend-
ed, till at laft it came to that frame, in
which it was publifhed : as many living
creatures lick their young, till they bring
them to flrength of limbs.

In the compofing of his books, he prin*
cipally drove at ftrength and perfpicuity of
expreffion ; not elegance, or fprucenefs of
language. And in writing or didlating,
would often alk, " If the meaning were ex-
*' prefl'ed clearly and plainly enough :" As
knowing it fit, that words fhould be fubfer-
vient to matter, not m.attcr to words. And
if he happened to hit upon a polite flile, (as
lie -was reckoned a mailer of the EngliJJ)
tongue) it was becaufe he could do no

otherwife.

THE AUTHOR. ^Y

otherwife. Neither was he taken with tri-
fling and playing upon words; but ever in^
duftrioufly avoided it; well knowing that
fuch follies are but deviations and digreffions
from the fcope intended, which prejudice
and derogate not a little, from the gravity
and dignity of the ftile.

He was no plodder upon books, for
though he read much, and that with great
judgment, and rejedlion of impertinences in-
cident to many authors, yet he would ufe
fome relaxation of mind with his fludies; as
gentle walking, coaching, flow riding, play-
ing at bowls, and other fuch-Hke exercifes.
Yet he would lofe no time ; for upon his
fivft return, he would immediately fall to
reading or thinking again ; and fo fufFered no
moment to be loft, and pafs by him unpro-
fltably.

You might call his table a refe(n:ion of
the ear, as well as the ftomach : like the
No^es Attica'^ or entertainments of the Deip-
nofophijls ; wherein a man mig,ht be refrcfhed
in his mind and underftanding, no lefa than

b ::

^

la

%yt THE LIFE 05*

in his body. I have known fome men of
mean parts, that have profeffed to make ufe
of their note-books, when they have rifen
from his table, He never took a pride as
is the humour of fome, in putting any of
hisguefts, or that otherwife difcourfed with
him to the blufli ; but was ever ready to
countenance and encourage their abilities,
whatever they were. Neither was he one
that would appropriate the difcourfe to him-
felf alone, but left a liberty to the reft of
the company to take their turns ; and he
took pleafure to hear a man fpeak in his own
faculty, and would draw him on, and allure
him to difcourfe upon different fubje£ls.
And for himfelf, he defpifed no man's obfer-
vations ; but would light his torch at any
man's candle.

His opinions and affertions, were fcarcc
ever controverted ; and while he difcourfed,
all hearkened, and none contradicted ; as if
he had uttered oracles, rather than difcour-
fes. Which I think, may be imputed, either
to the exa£t weighing of his fentence, before
he declared it in the fcales of truth and rea-
fon ; or to the efteem wherein he was uni-

verftilly

THE AUTHOR. XVli

verfally held, that no man would contefl
with him. So that there was feldom any ar-
gument, OYpro and con known at his table ;
and when there chanced to be any, it was car-
ried with much fubmiffion and moderation.

I HAVE obferved, and fo have other men
of great weight, that if he had occafion, in
difcourfe, to repeat another man's words,
he had a faculty to drefs them in new
and better apparel : fo that the author
fhould find his own fpeech altered in the
flile, but in fenfe and fubftance the fame ;
as if it had been natural to him to ufe good
Forms : as Ovid fpake of his faculty of ver-
ifying;

Et quod tentaham dicere^ Ferfus erat.

Whenever his office obliged him (as he
was of the King's Council) to charge any
offender, either in criminal or capital mat-
ters, he never fhewed any thing of haugh-
tinefs, or infult over the delinquent ; but
behaved himfelf with mildnefs, and decent
temper ; and though he knew it his duty, as
concerned for the King, to charge the party
b 4 home.

XVlll THE LIFE OF

home, yet he carried It fo as to c^d a fevere
eye upon the example, and a merciful eye
upon the perfon. And in affairs of ftate,
when he was made of the Privy-Council, he
obferved an excellent method of advifing ;
not engaging his mafter in any precipitate,
or unpopular and oppreffive counfels ; but
in mod rate, and equal courfes : King^^w^j
honouring him with this teft'.mony, " that
" he had the knack of managing bufinefs in
'^ a pleafing agreeable manner; and declared,
" that was the way which was moft accord-^
'^ ing to his own heart."

Neither was he, when there was occa^
lion, lefs gracious with the fubje(51:s of the
kingdom, than with the King himfelf. He
was ever very acceptable to the Houfe of
Commons, while he was a member thereof;
being the King's attorney, and chofen to a
place in parliament, he was allowed and dif-
penfed with to fit in the Houfe, which was
not permitted to other attorn ies. And as he
had the reputation of a good fervanttohis
mafter, being never in nineteen years fervice,
(as he averred) rebuked by the King, for
any offence relating to his Majefly; fo he had

the

THE AUTHOR- Xi^C

the charaaer of a good mafter to his own
fervants; and freely rewarded their long
attendance with good places, when they,
fell into his power ; which was the caufe
why he was almoft tired with importuni-
ties, to admit fo many young gentlemen of
blood and quality into the number of his
retinue. And if any of them made an ill
ufe of his grace and favour, it mufl be im-
puted only to an error in the goodnefs of his
nature, and be a perpetual mark of mfamy
and indifcretion upon them.

This great man was ilriftly religious:
for though the world are apt to brand great
politicians, and exalted wits, with the name
of Jtheifts, yet he was converfant with God,
as evidently appears by various teftimonies,
fcattered throughout the whole thread of his
works. Otherwile he would have deflroyed,
and overturned his own principles, which
were, •' That a fmattering in philofophy
*' draws the mind from God, as attributing
" too much to fecond caufes ; but a full
" draught of philofophy, brings it about
" ap-ain to God." Now that he was a deep
philofopher, I believe there is no one
^ will

XX THELIFEOP

will deny. And not only fo, but he was
both able and ready " to render a reafon
*' of the hope that was m him ;" which
the confefiion of faith written by him, does
abundantly tefcify. He repaired frequently,
when his health would permit him, to the
fervice of the church, to hear fermons, to
the adminiftration of the facrament, and at
lafl: died in the true faith, efcablifhed in the
church of England,

This may be laid down for a certain truth,
that he was entirely void of all malice ;
which, as he faid himfelf, " he neither
•* bred, nor fed." As for revenging of in-
juries, he never fo much as thought of it ;
for which if he had been fo difpofed, he was
armed both with opportunity and power.
He was not accuftomed to turn men out of
their places ; as if the ruin and undoing of
others were fatnefs to his bones. He was no
defamer of any man to his prince. One
day, when a great ftatefman, that had been
no friend of his, was juft dead, the King
aiked him, " What he thought of that
" Lord who was gone ;" to whom he
made anfwer, <' That he was one that ne-

THE AUTHOR. XXI

<f ver would have advanced or improved his
<' Majefty's eilate ; but undoubtedly he
«' would have done his beft to keep it from
*« being worfe." Which 1 reckon not
among his moral, but his Chriflian vir-
tues.

His fame is greater, and founds louder a-
broad, and in foreign parts, than at home, in
his own nation ; thereby verifying the divine
oracle, that " A prophet is not without
•' honour, fave in his own country, and in
*< his own houfe." Concerning which, I
will give you a tajfle only, out of a letter
written from Italy, (the ftore-houfe of re-
fined wits) to the late Earl of Devonfj'ire^
then Lord Cavendi/Jj, It was thus : " I
«' will expe6t the New EJfays of my Lord
♦« Chancellor Bacon \ as alfo his hiftory,
*« and whatever elfe he is composing, with
*' great impatience : but particularly, in his
«' hiftory I promife myfelf a perfedl and
" finilhed piece, efpecially in Henry the
" feventh ; where he will have fcope to ex-
*' ercife the talent of his divine underfl:and»
" ing. This Lord is daily more and more
^^ known, and his works here more and

^' more

KXll THE LIFE OF

'« more delighted in ; and thofe men that
*^ have a more than ordinary infight into
*^ human affairs, efleem him one of the
" moft capable, and fublime fpirits of this
*' age; and he is truly fuch.'*

His fame does not decay by length of
time, but rather encreafes. Many of his
books have been taught to fpeak other-
languages, as well learned as modern, both
heretofore, and lately, by the natives of
thofe countries. Several perfons of qua-
lity, during his Lorofliip's life, crofled the
feas into 'England^ for no other reafon but ta
fee him, and gain an opportunity of dif-
courfmg with him. One of whom he pre-
fented with his pi6lure at full length, to
carry into France ; which the ftranger
acknowledged would be a thing mofl ac^
ceptable to his countrymen, that fo they
might enjoy the image of his perfon, as well
as the images of his brain, his books.
Amongft the refl, the Marquis Flat a French
nobleman who came ambali'ador into England
the tirft year of Queen Mary, wife to King
Charles, was taken with an extraordinary de^
fire to fee him. And meeting with an op^

portunity

THE AUTHOR. XXlll

portunity, when he was come into his
chamber, being then through weaknefs con-
fined to his bed, he faluted liim in a ftile
rather of the grandefl: ; " That his Lordfliip
*' had ever been to him Uke the angels, of
" whom he had heard much, and had alfo
*' read much of them in books, but was ne-
*' ver indulged with a fight of them." After
this interview, fo intimate a friendfhip was
contradled between them, and the IVIarquis
did fo much revere him, that befides fre-
quent vifits, letters pafled between them un-
der the titles and appellations of Father and
Son. As for falutations, without num.ber,
by letters from foreigners devoted to wifdom,
or good learning, I forbear to mention
them ; becaufe common to other men of
note.

But when I fpeak of his fame, I Vv-ouldbe
underflood not in the exclufive, but in the
comparative only ; for his reputation is not
decayed, or weak, but ftrong and vigorous,
among thofe of his country alio ; efpecially
fuch as are of a more acute and fublime un-
derftanding ; which I will exemplifv but
with two telllmonies. The former is : When

hu

XXlV THE LIFE OP

his Hiftory of the Reign o^ Henry the Seventh
was ready for the prefs, it was dehvered by
King James to the Lord Brooke to perufe ; who
when he had examined it, returned it to the
author with his Eulogy ; *' Commend me
** to his Lordfliip, and defire him to get
*' good paper and ink, for the work is in-
" comparable." The other iliall be that of
Do6lor SaiVMel Collins^ late profeffor of divi-
nity, andprovoft of King's College in Cam-
bridge^ a man of refined wit, who affirm-
ed to me, (whether in mirth or earneil:)
*' That when he had read the book of the
*' advancement of learning, he found him-
*' felf in a cafe to begin his fludies anew %
*' and that he had loft all the time of his
•' flu dying before.

It has been defired by many perfons, that
fomething fliould be inferted touching his
diet, and the regimen of his health ; for by
reafon of his univerfal infight into nature, he
may perhaps, be to fome an example. For
his diet, it was rather plentiful and liberal,
as his fhomach would bear, than low or re-
trained ; which he elfewhere commended in
his Hiflory of Life and death. In his

younger

THE AUTHOR, XXV

younger years he fed chiefly upon the finer
and lighter meats, as fowls, and the like,
but upon further experience, he approved
rather the ftronger meats fuch as the fham-
bles afford ; as thofe meats which bred the
ftronger and more folid, and, to ufe his own
words, *' The lefs diflipable" juices of the
body ; and would often eat nothing el-fe,
though there were other difhes upon the ta-
ble. You may be fare he would by no means
negled that himfelf, which you find fo
much extolled in his writings ; that is, the
frequent ufe of Nitre., whereof he took the
quantity of about three grains, in thin, warni
broth, every morning, for thirty years,
more or lefs, next before his death. As
for medicine, it is true, that he lived medi-
cinally, but not miferably; forhe conftantly
took half a dram, and no more, of Rhubarb,
infufed in a draught of white-wine and beer
mingled together, for the fpace of half an
hour, once in fix or feven days : and that a
little before meat (whether dinner or fupper)
that it might dry the body the lefs ; which,
as he himfelf afTerted, carried away fre-
quently the grofTer humours of the body,
without caufing the fpirits to exhale.

1 He

XXVI LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

He died on the 19th day of April, in the
year 1626, early in the morning of the day
celebrated for our Saviour's refurre£llon, in
the 66th year of his age, at the Earl of
ArundeV s houfe in Highgaie near Lo?idon ;
to which place he cafually repaired eight
days before for diverfion, and not with de-
lign to ftay ; God fo ordaining that he iliould
die there of a gentle fever, accompanied
with a violent defluxion, whereby the rheum
fell fo plentifully upon his breail:, that it
fuftbcated him. He was buried in St. Mi-
chacT% church, at St. Albans 1, the place ap-
pointed for his burial by his lafl: will and
teflament, both becaufe the bod}^ of his mo-
ther was interred there, and becaufe it was
the only church remaining from the ruins
of old Vcridam, where he has a noble mo-
nument of white marble ere6led for him, by
the care and gratitude of Sir 'Thmnas Meutys^
Knight, his executor, and formerly his
Lordlhip's fecretary, and afterwards Clerk
of the J^rivy-Council under two kings, re-
prefenting his effigies fitting in a chair, and
fludying ; together with an epitaph com-
pofed out of love and admiration, by that
accomphfhed gentleman and bright wit,
Sif Henry JVootton,

THE

ESSAYS

O F

FRANCIS, LORD BACON,

VISCOUNT St. ALBA N.

OF T R U .T H.

WHAT is Truth ? faid fcoffing Pllaie ;
and would not ftay for an anfwer.
Certainly there are many who delight in
giddinefs of thought, and count it a bon-
dage to be tied up to a fixed belief, or fteadl-
nefs of opinion, affedting the ufe of free will
in thinking, as well as in afting. And
though the feds of philofophers of that
kind are gone, yet there remain certain
windy difcourfing wits, who are of the
fame veins, though there is not fo much
blood in them as in thofe of the ancients.
But it is not only the difficulty and la-
VoL. I. B bour,

2 OFTRUTH.

bour, which men undergo in finding out
Truth; nor, when found, theflavery it im-
pofes upon men's thoughts, that brings Lies
in favour but a natural, though corrupt love of
the Lie itfelf. One of the later fchooiofthe
Grecians examines the matter, and is at a
ftand to think what there ihould be in it, that
men fhould love a Lie, where it neither m.akes
for pleafure, as with poets, nor for advan-
tage, as with the merchant, but for
the Lie's fake. But I know not how.
Truth, like a naked and open day-light,
does not fhew the mafquerades and tri-
umphs, the farces and fooleries of this
world, half fo magnificently and advanta-
geoufly, as torches and candle-light Truth
may perhaps come up to the value of a pearl,
that fhews befl by day, but it will never
rife to the price of a diamond or carbuncle,
that (hines brightefl in varied lights. The
mixture of a Lie ever adds to pleafure ;
and does any man doubt that if there were
taken out of men's minds vain opinions,
flattering hopes, falfe valuations of things,
imaginations at pleafure, and the like ; but
It would leave the minds of a number of
men, poor, deje6led,fhrunken things, full of

, melan-

OF TRUTH.

melancholy and languor, nneafy and un-
pleafing to themfelves ?

One of the fathers in great feverity, calls
poefy the wine of devils, beeaufe it fills
the imagination with vain things ; though
poefy is but the fhadow of a Lie; but it is
not the Lie paffing through the mind, w^hich
does the hurt, but the lie that finks in and
fettles in it, fuch I mean as we have fpo-
ken of before. But however thefe things are
in men's depraved judgments and affec-
tions, yet Truth, which only judges it-
felf, teaches, that the inquiry after Truth
which is the love-making or wooing of it,
the knowledge of Truth, which is the pre-
fence of it, and the reception of, and ailent
to Truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the
fovereign good of human nature.

The firfl creature of God in the fix days
work, w^as the light of fenfe ; the lafl,
the light of reafon ; and his Sabbath-work,
ever fince, is the illumination of his fpirlt.
Firfl he breathed light upon the face of
matter, ov chaos; next into the face of man ;
and flill he breathes and infpires light into
B 2 the

4 OFTRUTH.

the face ofiils chofen. The Poet that beau-
tified the fe(£l, which was otherwife inferior to
the reil:, fays in a very defcriptive manner :
" It is a pleafure to fland upon the fhore,
" to fee fhips tofled upon the waves: A
" pleafure to fland at the window of a
** caftle, to behold an engagement, and
*' the various events thereof below. But
*' no pleafure is comparable to the fland-
*' ing upon the ground of Truth :" a hill
not to be commanded, where the air is
always clear and ferene; " and from
** thence to behold the errors and wander-
" ings, the mifts and tempefls in the vale
*' beneath :" Provided this profpe£l is with
pity, and not with fwelling or pride. Cer-
tainly it is a heaven upon earth, when a
man's mind moves in charity, refts in
Providence, and turns upon the poles of
Truth.

But to pafs from theological and phllofo-
phical Truth, to Truth, or rather veracity in
civil bufinefs, it will be acknowledged, even
by thofe who do not pra6life it, that clear and
round dealings is the honour of man*s na-
ture ; and that mixture of falfehood is like

alloy

OF TRUTH. 5

alloy in coin of gold and filver, which may
make the metal work the better, but yet de-
bafeth it, for thefe winding and crooked
courfes are the goings of the ferpent, which
moves bafely upon the belly, and not upon
the feet. There is no vice that fo over-
whelms a man with fhame, as when he is
found falfe or perfidious: and therefore
Montalgn fays very acutely, when he in-
quired the reafon, why the giving the Lie
fhould be fuch a difgraceful and odious
charge ; " If it be well weighed," (fays
he,) " to fay that a man lies, it is as much
" as to fay, that he is a bravado towards
" God, and a coward towards men." For
the liar infults God, and crouches to man.
Surely the wickednefs of falfehood, and
breach of faith cannot p' ilibly be more high-
ly exprefled, than that it ihall be the lafl
warning to call down the judgments of God
upon the generations of men ; it being fore-
told, that Chrifl at his fecond combg fhall
not find faith upon earth.

B 3 Of

OF UNITY IN RELIGflONf

OF UNIT Y IN RE LIGION.

13 ELIGION being the chief band of hii-
mai) focietj, it is right that it fhoiild
be contained within the bands of true Unity
and charity. Qu^arrels and divifions about
Religion, were evils unknown to the hea-
thens ; and no wonder, fince the Religion
of the heathens confifted rather in rites and
external worihip of their gods, than in any
conftant confeflipn and belief. For it is
eafy to guefs what kind of faith they pofTef-
fed, when the chief do6lors and fathers of
their church were.j.pqets. But it is one of
the attributes of the true God, that he is a
jealous God ; therefore his worfhip will ad-
mit of no mixture or partner. We fhall
f here fox e fpeak a tew words concerning
Unity in the Church ; namely, ♦' What are
" the Fruits, what the bounds, and what
" the means,"

The fruits of Unity over and above that it
Is highly plealing to God, which is all in

all

OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 7

all, are two principally. The one regards
thofe that are without the church, the other,
thofe that are within. For the former, it is
certain, that herefies and fchifms are of all
others the greatefl fcandals in the church,
being even worfe than corruption of man-
ners. For as in the natural body, wounds
and a folution of continuity, are worfe in
kind, than corrupt humours ; fo is it in the
fpiritual body. So that nothing keeps mer;
fo much out of the church, and drives them
from it, as breach of Unity; and therefore,
whenever it comes to pafs, that one faith,
Ecce in deferto, another, Ecce m penetrahbus'y
that is, while fome men feek Chrlfl in the
conventicles of hereticks ; others in an out-
ward face of a church ; that voice had need
continually to found in men's ears, noHte
exire, go not out.

The great do6lor of the Gentiles, whofe,
peculiar vocation and miflion enjoined him
to have a fpecial care of thofe without, faid ;
" If an infidel or an heathen enter your con-
" gregations, and hear you fpeak with di-
*' vers tongues, will he not fay that you
'' are mad r" And certainly it is little bet-
B 4 ter

8 OF UNITY IN RELIGION.

ter, when atheifls and profane perfons do
fee fuch contentions, and fo many difcor-
dant opinions in religion; for this turns
them from the church, and makes them
" Sit down in the chair of the fcorners."
It may feem too light a thing, to he cited m
fo ferious a treatife, but yet it very excel-
lently exprefles its deformity. A great maf-
ter of Icoffiiig, in his catalogue of books of
n feigned library, amongft the reil:, fets
down a book with this title, " The An-
*' tick Dances, and Gefticulations of Here-
*' ticks." Kor every fe6l of them has a cer-
tain ridiculous pofture, and deformity of
cringe, peculiar to itfelf, which cannot but
meet with derifion in libertines, and deprav-
ed politicians, who are apt to contemn reli*
gion.

As for the fruit of Unity, redounding to
thofe that are within, it is in one word,
peace, which contains mfinite bleffings; for
it eftablifhes faith, it kindles charity; nay,
the outward peace of the church diflills by
degrees into inW^ard peace of confcience ; and
it turns the labours of writing and reading

con-

OF UNITY IN RELIGION. p

controverfies, Into treatlfes of devotion, and
mortification.

As to the bounds and limits of Unity, the
true and ]uft placing of them is doubtlefs of
exceeding great import to all things in religi-
on. And in ilating thefe, there appear to
be two extremes, for to certain zealots, all
mention of pacification is odious; " Is it
*' peace, Jehu ? What haft thou to do with
<' peace ? turn thee behind me." As though
peace were not the matter, but fed and
party. On the contrary, certain Laodice-
ans, and luke-warm perfons think they may
accommodate points of religion by a me-
dium, in taking part of both ; and by wit-
ty reconciliations, as if they meant to be
arbitrators between God and man. Both
thefe extremes fhould be avoided ; which
will be done, if the league between Chrif-
tians, penned by our Saviour himfelf, were
in thofe claufes, that feem at firft fight to
crofs one another, foundly and plainly ex-
pounded: *' He that is not with us, is
" againft us :" and again, " He that is
" not againfl us, is with us :" That is, if
the points plainly eflential and fundamental

m

lO OF UNITY IN RELIGION

in religion were truely difcerned and diflin-
guilhed from points not merely of faith, but
of opinion, and good intention, eftablifhed
for the fake of order and church policy. —
This is a thing that may feem a very trivial
matter to many ; but if it w^ere done lefs
partially, it would be embraced more gene-
rally.

In this matter, I think it right to give
advice, according to my fmall model. Men
ought to take heed of rending God's church,
by two kinds of controverfy. The firft is,
when the point controverted is too fmall and
light, not worth the heat and flrife about
it, being kindled only by contradiction ,
For as it is acutely and elegantly noted by
one of the father's: " Chrifl's coat indeed
*' had no feam : but the church's veflure
*' was of divers colours." Whereupon he
advifes, " Let there be variety in the vef-
" ture, but no fciffure." For Unity, and
Uniformity are widely different. The other
is, when the point controverted is weighty
indeed, but is driven to an over-great fubti-
Ity and obfcurity; fo that it feems to be a
thing rather ingenious than fubilantial. A

mail

' OF UNITY IN RELIGION. II

man that is of judgment and underflandlng,
fhall fometimes hear ignorant men fquabble
about a queftion; and know well within
himfelf, that thoit who differ, are in reality
of the fame fentiment, and mean one thing,
and yet they themfelves would never agree.
And if it comes to pafs fometimes in that
fmall diflanc. of judgment, which may
be between man and man, fhall we not think
God above, who fearches and knows the
heart, difcerns clearly, that frail men in
fome of their controverfies, intend really the
fame thing, and accepts of both ? The na-
ture and charaaer of fuch controverfies, is
beautifully exprefled by St. Paul in the
warning and precept that he gives concern-
ing it; " Avoid profane novelties of
" words, and oppofitions of fcience, falfely
" fo called." Men create to themfelves op-
pofmons, which in truth are not, and fa-
fhion and coin them into new terms, which
are fo fixed and unvariable, that though the
meaning ought to govern the term, the
t^rm governs the meaning.

There are alfo, as of controverfies, foof
Unities, two kinds, w^hich may be reckoned

adult-

I2 OF UNITY IN RELIGION.

adulterate. The one, when the peace is
grounded upon an implicit ignorance, (for
all colours agree in the dark:) the otlier,
when it is pieced and patched up of por-
tions diametrically oppofite to one another in
fundamental points ; for truth and falfehood
in fuch thing, are like the iron and clay in
the toes of the image that Nebuchadnezzar
faw in a dream ; they may cleave, but they
will not incorporate.

Now as to the means of obtaining Unity,
men muft beware, that in the procuring and
defending religious Unity, they do not dif-
folve and demolifh the laws of charity and
fociety. There are but two fwords amongft
chriflians ; the fpiritual and temporal; and
both have their due place and office, in the
maintenance and protection of religion. But
we muft by no means take up the third
fword, which is Mahomet's fword, or
like unto it ; that is, to propagate rehgion
by wars, or by fanguinary perfecutions
to force confciences ; except it be in
cafes of overt- fc an dal, and infolent blaf-
phemy, or pradlifmg againfl: the civil ilate .
much lefs to nourifh feditions ; to authorize

con-

OF UNITY IN RELIGION. IJ

confpiracies and rebellions ; to put the
fword into the people's hands, and the like ;
which manifeilly tend to the violating the
majefty of government, and undermining
the authority of magiftrates ; when all law-
ful power is by the ordinance of God. For
this is to da/h one table of the law againd
the other ; and in fuch degree to confider
men as chrifrians, though in the meantime
to forget they are men. Lucretius the Poet,
when he read the ad of Agamemnon s facri-
ficing his own daughter, exclaims :

*' Tantum Relliglo potu'it Jv.adcre mahrnvi /"
*' Such impious afl:s Religion could perluade !"

Creech-

What would he have find, if he had
known of the maffacre of France, or the
powder-treafon of England? Certainly he
would have been feven times more Epicure
and Atheift than he was. For as the tem-
poral fword is to be drawn, not raihly, but
with great judgment, in cafes of religion ; fb
it is monflrous, to put it into the hands of
the people. Let that be left unto intem-
perate zealots. Certainly, it was great blaf-
phemy, when the devil faid ; " I will alcend

14 OF UNITY IN RELIGION.

" andbelikethehlglieft;" butitwouldbeflill
greater to reprefent God faying, " I will de-
*' fcend, and be like the prince of darknefs."
And what is it better, to make the caufe of
Religion defcend and be carryed headlong,
to the cruel and execrable a6lion of murder-
ingprinces, butchery of people, andutterfub-
verlion of flates and government? Surely this
looks like bringing down the Holy Ghoft
in the likenefs, not of a dove, but of a vul-
ture, or raven : or fetting out of the bark of
a chriftian church, a flag of pirates and
aflaflins. Wherefore it is juft, and the ne-
ceffity of the times requires, that the church
by doftrineand decree, princes by their fword,
and all learning, whether religious or moral,
by a Mercury-rod, fhould condemn for ever
fuch fa£ls and dodrines, which give any
fupport or encouragement to the fame, as
hath been long fince done in good part. Cer-
tainly it is to be wifh'd, that in all counfels
concerning Religion, this counfel of the
apoftle might be prefixed ; the wrath of man
worketh not the righteoufnefs of God. And
it was a notable obfervation of a very wife
father, and no lefs ingenuoufly confefTed ;
that thofe who perfuade preflure and force of

con-»

OF REVENGE. I5

confcieiices, cover their own defires under
that poiition, and think themfelves interefl-
ed therein.

OF REVENGE.

R

EVENGE is a kind of wild juflice ;
which the more it fpreads in human na-
ture, the more requires fevere laws to weed
it out. For the firft injury offends the law ;
but the return of that injury robs the law
entirely of its authoiity.

Certainly, in Revenging an injury,
a man is but even with his enemy ; but
in forgiving it, he is fuperior: for it is a
prince's part to pardon. And Solomon^
faith: " It is the glory of a man, to pafs
" by an offence." That which is pafl,
cannot be undone again ; and wife men think
it enough to mind things prefent, and to
come. Therefore they trifle and diflurb
themfelves in vain, that bii fy themfelves
about pafl matters.

No

l6 ' OF REVENGE.

No man doth a wrong for the wrong's
fake ; but to purchafe himfelf profit, plea-
fure, or honour : therefore why fhould I be
angry with a man for loving himfelf better
than me ? and if any man fhould do wrong
merely out of malignity : what then ? it is
but like the thorn and briar, which prick
and fcratch, becaufe they follow their
nature.

Revenge is excufable in thofe injuries,
for which there is no law to remedy : but then
let a man take heed, the Revenge be fuch,
as there is no law to punifli : elfe he doubles
his own punifhment, and his enemy makes
advantage. Some, when they take Revenge,
are dellrous that the parties hurt fhould
know from what quarter the mifchief came
upon them. Doubtlefs this is the more
generous afFe£lion : for they feem not to be
fo much delighted with the bare Revenge,
as in making the party hurt, repent of what
he did. But bafe and malicious natures,
are like the arrow that flieth in the dark.

CosMUs, great duke of Florence, had a

defperate fling at perfidious, or negledlful

z friends ;

OF REVENGE. 1 -

friends : '' We read," %s he, *'andarecom-
*' manded to forgive our enemies ; but it is no
" where faid, that we are obliged to forgive
*« our friends." But the fpiritof y,5<3 fpeaks
better things : " Shall we," fays he, " take
*' good at god's hands, and not fometimes
" bear evil alfo ?" which is fit to be faid of
friends too, in fome proportion.

This is mofl certain, that a man wlio
iludies Revenge, frets his own wounds,
which otherwife being left to themfelves,
would heal and do well.

Public Revenges are for the m.ofl part
fortunate; as were thole for the death
of Cefar, Pertinax, Henry IV. King of
France, and of many more. But in pri-
vate Revenges, this by no means holds.
Nay rather, vindidive perfons in a manner
live a life of torture, and generally come to
an unfortunate end.

OF

X8 OF ADVERSI T Y,

I

OF ADVERSITY.

T was a very high and exalted fpeech of
Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics ;)
*' That the good things which belong to
*' profperity are to be wilhed ; but the good
*' things that belong to Adverfity are to be
*' admired." Certainly, if that be rightly
termed a miracle, which is above nature, the
greateft miracles appear in calamities. There
is another fpeech of his yet higher than the
former (much too high for an heathen ;)
" It is true greatnefs, to have the frailty of
" a man, and the fecurityof agod." Surely
this faying would have been much better in
poefy, where fuch tranfcendencies are more
allowed. And the poets indeed have been
bufy with it ; for it is in efFe6l,i the thing
which is figured in that ftrange fidlion of the
ancient poets, which feems not to be with-
out myftery ; nay, and to refemble not ob-
fcurely the flate of a chriftian ; namely, that
of Hercules : who, when he went to un-
bind Prometheus, (by Prometheus human
nature is reprefented) *' failed the length
•' of the ocean in an earthen veflel or

" pitch*

f> ¥ ADVERSITV* I ft

«' pitcher;" lively defcrlblng chriftian refo*
lution that fails in the frail bark of the flefli,
through the waves of the world flowing
everyway about it.

The principal virtue of Profperity, is tem-
perance ; of Adverfity, fortitude ; which
in morals is reputed the moft heroic virtue*
Again, Profperity belongs to the bleffings
of the Old Teftament; Adverfity to the
beatitudes of the New, which are both in
reality greater, and carry -a clearer reve-
lation of the divine favour. Yet, even in
the Old Teflament, if you liften to David's
harp, you'll find more lamentable airs, than
triumphant ones : and the affliaions of Job,
more diffu fely handled by the pencil of the
holy Gholl, than the felicities of Solomon.

Prosperity paffesnot without abundance
of fears and troubles ; Adverfity likewife is
not without its comforts and hopes. Cer-
tainly, virtue bears fome fimilitude to fome
precious odours ; which are mofl fragrant
either incensM or cruflied: for a profperous
fortune beft difcovers men's vices ; but an
adverfe one their virtues.

C 2 ^p

20 O F S I M U L A T I O K

O F

SIMULATION

AND

DISSIMULATION.

TAISSIMULx'^TION is a fort of abridgement
of civiiarts, and but a faint kind of policy
or wifdom. For it requires great ability and
a flrong heart, to know when to tell truth,
and dare to do it. Therefore it is the weaker
fort of politicians that are the great diffem-
blers.

This difference is well noted in Tacitus^
between Cafar uiugiiftuSy and Tiberius, For
thus he fays of Ltvia, " that fhe was a
" happy compofition of the arts of her huf-
" band, and the Diflimulation ofherfon :'*
attributing Arts of Government, or Policy
to Jttgujlus, and Diflimulation to Tiberius,
The fame hiftorian in another place brings in
Mucianus encouraging Fefpafan to take up

arms

AND DISSIMULATION, 21

arms againfl: VitelUus in thefe words :-=^*
*' We rife not up againfl the deep infight
** and piercing judgement of Augujlus, nor
** againft the extreme cautious old age of
*' Tiberius.''^ Wherefore thefe properties of
arts or policy, and of Diffimulation and
clofenefs, are indeed fevere habits and facul-
ties to t)e diflinguifhed. For if a man have
that happy acutenefs and penetration of
judgment, as to difcern what things are to be
laid open, what to be kept fecret, and what
to be {hewed at half-lights, with an exad
confideration alfo of time and perfon ; which
are indeed arts of ftate, and arts of life,
as 'Tacitus well calls them ; fuch Diffi-
mulation is a hinderance, and a poverty of
fpirit. But if a man cannot attain to that
degree of judgment and difcernment, then
it is left him generally to be clofe, and a
diffembler. For where a man cannot chufe
or vary in particulars, there it is good to
take the fafeft and warieft way in general ;
like going foftly by one that cannot well
fee.

T;^c. Hift.3. jj.Ch. 76, .

C 3 Ckr-

tZ OFSIMULATION,

Certainly the ableft men that ever
were, have all had an opennefs and frank-
nefs of dealing, and a name of certahity and
veracity ; but then they were like horfes
well managed, that knew perfedly when
to flop, or turn. And at fuch times when
they thought the cafe required Diffimuk'
tion, if then they ufed it, the former opi-
nion fpread abroad of their good faith and
clearnefs of dealing, m*ide it almofl in-
vifible.

There are three degrees of this hiding and
veiling of a man*s felf. The firft, clofenefs,
refervation, and fecrecy ; when a man con-
ceals his thoughts and balances himfelffo
even, that no one can eafily guefs to what
fide he inclines. The fecond, Diffimula-
tion in the negative, when a man on pur-
pofe lets fall iigns and arguments that he Is
not what he is. And the third. Simulation
in the affirmative, when a man induftriouf-
ly ^nd exprefsly feigns and pretends to be
what he is not,

For the firft of thefe, Secrecy ; it is
indeed the virtue of a confeflbr : and aflur-

edly

AND DISSIMU LATIOK. 23

cdly, the fecret man heareth many confef-
fions ; for who will open himfelf to a blab
or a babler ? but if a man has the reputation
offecrecy, it invites difcovery, as the more
clofe air fucks in the more open. And as
confefTion tends to no end relating to world-
ly matters, but to the eafe of a man's con-
fcience ; fo certainly fecret men come to
the knowledge of many things upon a like
account ; while men are defirous not fo
much to impart, as to difcharge their minds.
In few words, myfteriesare due to the filent.
Befides to fay truth, nakednefs is uncome-
ly, as well in mind as in body ; and it adds
no fmall reverence to men's manners and
adions, if they be not altogether open.
But talkers and weak minds are commonly
vain, and credulous : For he that talks
what he knows, will alfo talk what he knows
not. Therefore fet it down for a maxim,
" That an habit offecrecy is a virtue both
*' political and moral. I may add likewife
upon this head, that it is good that a man'3
face give his tongue leave to fpeak. For
the revealing of a man's mind by the traits
of his countenance is a great defedl:, and a
kind of betraying, and the more fo, for that
C 4 it

24 6 F S I M U L A T I O N,

it is many times more marked and believed
than a man's words.

For the fecond, which is Diffimulation,
follows many times upon fecrecy by a
kind of neceffity : fo that he who will be fe-
cret, mufl: be a diffembler in fome degree,
whether he will or not. For men are too
cunning to fuffer another to keep an equi-
librium between both, without fwaying the
balance on either fide. They will fo befet
him with queftions, that without an ob-
ftinate and abfurd filence, he muft fliew an
inclination one way, or if he did not, they
will gather as much by his filence, as by
his fpecch. As for equivocations they can-
not hold out long : fo that no man can be
fecret, unlefs he gives himfelf a little fcope
of Diffimuiation, which is as it were, but
the emblem (af fecrecy.

But for the third degree, that is Simula-
tion, and falfe profeffion, I hold it more
culpable, and lefs politic, unlefs in great
and important matters. Therefore a gene-
ral cuftom of Simulation, is a vice rifmg

either

AND DISSIMULATION". 25

either from a natural duplicity, or fearful-
nefs ; from a conftitution of mind that
hath fome leading faults ; which becaufe a
man muft needs difguife, it makes him prac-
tice Simulation in other things alfo, left his
hand fhould be out of ufe. The great ad-
vantages of Simulation and Diflimulation are
three. Firft, to lay afleep oppofition, and
to furprife. For where a man's intentions
are publifhed, it is an alarm to call up all
that are againft him. The fecond is, that
it leaves a man at liberty to retreat, and to
draw off from a bufmefs without lofs of re-
putation. For if a man engages himfelf by
a manifefl declaration, he mufl go through,
or lofe his reputation. The third is, that it
opens a way to the difcovery of other men's
counfels. * For to him that opens himfelf,
men will hardly fhew themfelves adverfe ;
but will fairly let him go on, and turn their
freedom of fpeech to freedom of thought.
And therefore it is a good ihrewd proverb
of the Spaniard; " tell a he, and find a

* Ei qui fua confiUaprofert^ non facile qnisfc advcrfarlwn
profiteatur, verum, aj]entg.hittir potius; l^ libertatem loqueudi
in lihertatem cogltandi verut,

" truth."

26 OFSIMULATION.

** truth." As though Simulation were the
key to unlock fecrets.

There are alfo three dlfadvantages of Si-
mulation and Diflimulation, to fet it even.
Firft, that they commonly carry with them
a fhew of fearfulnefs, which in any bufniefs
difarms them of all refolution to accomplifh
the purfuit. The fecond, that they puzzle
and perplex the minds of many, who per-
haps would otherwife co-operate with him,
and make a man walk almoft alone to his
own ends* The third, and greatefl is, that
they deprive a man of one of the principal
inftruments of adion, which is truft and" be-
lief. The beft compofition and temperature
is, to have opennefs in fame and opinion,
fecrecy in habit, DifTimulation in feafonable
ufe, and a power to feign, if there is no
remedy.

OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.

^ OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.

'TpHE joys of parents are fecret, and fo
* are their griefs and fears. They can-
not exprefs the one, and do not care to utter
the other. Certainly Children fweeten hu-
man labours, but they make misfortunes
more bitter. They increafe the cares of life,
but they mitigate the remembrance of death.
Perpetuity by generation is common to man
and the brute creation ; but the memory of
merits and works is peculiar to men : and
furely a man ihall fee the nobleft works and
foundations to have proceeded from Childlefs
men, who have taken care to exprefs the
images of their minds, where thofe of their
bodies have failed : fo the care of pofterity is
moft in them that have no pofterity.

They that are the firfl raifers of their fa-
milies, are moft indulgent towards their
Children, for they look upon them not only
gs the continuance of their fpecies, but of

their

28 OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.

their works alfo ; and fo both Children and
Creatures.

The degrees of afFe£lion in parents towards
their feveral Children are often unequal, and
fometimes unjuft, efpecially in the mother.
Whence Solomon fays, " A wife fon re-
*' joiceth the father ; but the foolilh fon is
*' the heavinefs of his mother."

In a family of Children, a man fhall fome-
times fee one or two of the eldeil: refpedled,
and as many of the youngefl carefled ; but
in the midfl perhaps, fome are forgotten,
w^ho neverthelefs many times prove the
moft promifmg. The illiberality of pa-
rents in difcovering a partiality to their Chil-
dren, is a very mifchievous error, for it
makes them bafe-fpirited, given to Ihifts
and tricks, delighting in mean company,
and more prone to luxury when in afflu-
ence. And therefore it does beft, when
Parents keep up their authority with their
Children, but flacken their purfe.

There

OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 29

There is a cuflom, I am fure a foolifh
one, which has prevailed as well with pa-
rents as fchool- mailers and fervants, of fow-
ing and breeding emulations between bro-
thers during their childhood, which many
times end in quarrels when they are men,
and difturb the peace of families.

The Italians make little difference between
Children and Nephews, or near kindred ;
but fo they be of the fame blood, they care
not much, whether they are their own be-
gotten. And to fpeak the truth, in nature
it is much the fame thing, for we often fee
a nephew refemble an uncle or a kinfmaa
more than his own parent, according as the
blood happens to run.

Let Parents take care, while their Chil-
dren are of tender age, what courfe af
life to fix them to, for then they are moft
flexible and pUant. And let them not in
this choice too much regard the inclination
of the Children themfelves, as thinking they
will take befl to that which they have mod
mind to. It is true, if the affedion or apt-
nefs of the Children be remarkable towards

any

30 OP MARRIAGE, AND SINGLE LIFfi»

any vocation, it is not good to crofs nature
or difpofition : But generally the precept is
good, Optimum elige, fuave ^facile tlludfacl'
et confuetudo, " Chufe the beft, Cuftom
*' will make it pleafant and eafy.'* Young-
er brothers are commonly fortunate, but
feldom or never where the elder are difin*
herited.

OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE,

ILJE that has a Wife and Children, has
given hoflages to fortune, for they are
impediments to great enterprizes, whether
in the way of virtue or wickednefs. Cer-
tainly the noblefl works, (as we faid before)
and the greateft merits to the public, have
proceeded from the unmarried or childlefs
men, who both in affedion and fortune
have married and endowed the public : yet
there are fome, who, though they have
no Children, are however carelefs of their
memory, and terminate their thoughts with

their

OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 31'

their own lives, looking upon future times
as of no import ; but it ftands more to rea-
fon, that thofe who leave Children (hould
have greateft care of future times, unto
which they know they muft tranfmit their
dearefl: pledges: though there arefome others
who account Wives and Children as in-
cumbrances. There are likewife found
fome foolifh covetous men, that take a pride
in having no Children, that they may be
thought fo much the richer. They have
heard probably fome fay, " Such an one is
*' a very rich man," and others except to
It ; " Yes, but he has a great charge of
" Children;" as if they were an abatement
of his riches.

But the mofl ordinary caufe of a iingle
life is hberty; efpecially in certain felf-
pleafmg and fuitaftic minds, which are fo
exquifitely fenfible of every engagement,
that they conceive the mofl: trifling re-
ftraints as fhackles to their inclinations. Bat-
chelors are befl: friends, befl: mailers, and befl:
fervants alfo ; but not always befl: fubjeiSs ;
for they are light to run away : and in trutli
almofl all fugitives are of that condition.

A SIN*

32 OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE.

A Single Life doth well with church-
men ; for charity will hardly admit of con-
veniences, much lefs of fuperfluities. For
judges and magiftrates it is a thing indiffer-
ent; for if they are eafy and corrupt, a fer-
vant may be five times worfe in catching at
fuch gains, than a Wife. As for foldiers,
I perceive the generals in their harangues to
their armies, commonly put them in mind
of their Wives and Children. And I find
the defpifing of marriage amongft the Turks
debafes the common foldiery.

Certainly, Wives and Children are a
difcipline of humanity: and Single Men,
though they are many times more bounti-
ful and charitable, becaufe their fortunes are
lefs exhaufted ; yet, on the other fide, they
are more cruel and hard-hearted, (good to
niake fevere inquifitors) becaufe their in-
dulgence and tendernefs is not fo often call-
ed upon and excited.

Grave natures led by cuftom, commonly
make falfe hulbands ; as is faid oiUlyJfeSy " He
«* preferedhis old woman to immortality." —

Chafl©

OF MARRIAGE AND SI>fGLE LIFE. 07

Chafte women are generally proud and fro-
ward, as prefuming upon the merit of their
chaflity. It is one of the bed: bonds both of
chaftity and obedience in the wife to the
hufhand, if fhe think him wife; which fhe
will never do, if fhe find him jealous.

Wives are young men's miftreffes ; com-
panions for middle age, and old men's
nurfes : fo that a man has a handle to marry
at any age. But yet he was reputed one of
the wife men that made anfwer to the quef-
tion, when a man fliould marry — " A young
" man not yet, an elderly man not at all."

It is often feen, that bad Huibands have
good Wives : whether it be, that the price of
their hufhands kindnefs is enhanced by the
interchange, or that the Wives take a pride
in their patience. But this never fails, if
the bad huibands were of their own chufmo-,
againfl: tlieir friends confent ; for in that cafe
they have always fpirit enough to make
good their own folly.

Vol. I. D OF

I4

(^ F ENVY.

O F JE N V Y.

T

HERE are none of the afFe£lions
JL which are thought to fafcinate ex-
cept Love and Envy. They both caufe
vehement v^^iflies ; they both readily form
themfelves into imaginations and fuggef-
tions; and they both mount up eafily into
the eye, efpecially upon the prefence of the
o'bjed ; all which points conduce to fafcina-
tion, if there is fuch a thing. We fee like-
wife the fcripture calls Envy an evil eye :
and the aftrologers call the evil influences of
the flars, evil afpeds ; fo that ftill there
feems to be acknowledged in Envy, and the
operation thereof, a certain ejaculation and
Irradiation from the eye. Nay, fome have
been fo curious as to note, that the times
when the ftroke or percuffion of an envious
eye does moft hurt, are particularly, when the
party envied is beheld in glory and triumph ;
for this fets an edgf- upon Envy, and befides
at fuch times the fpirits of the perfon envied
- ^- come

OF ENVY.

35

c6me forth moft into the outward parts, and
fomeet the blo\\%

But leaving thefe curiofities, though not
unworthy to br confidered in their place, we
•fhi^ll fpeak to thefe three points : what pcr-
fons are mod apt to envy — what perfons are
moft fubje6i: to be envied — and what is the
difference between public and private Envy,

• He that has no virtue himfelf, envies vir-
tue in'another: for mens minds either feed
upon, and pleafe themlelves with their own
good, or others evil ; and he that want's the
firfl food, will fatisfy himfelf with the fe-
cond; and he that is out of hope of arriving
at another's virtue, the fame gladly depref-
fes the other's fortune, that there may be
the lefs difparity between them.

A MAN that is curious and a meddler In
other mens affairs, is commonly envious.
For the being very inquifltive about other
mens matters, can never proceed from this
caufe, as it may be of ufe to a man's own
affairs; therefore it follows that fuch a
D 2 man

36 O F E N V Y.

man takes a kind of theatrical pleafure in
looking upon the fortunes of others ; neither
can he, that minds his own bufinefs only,
find much matter for Envy. For Envy is
a gadding paflion, walks the flreets, and
does not keep at home :

*' Non efi curiofus^ quia idemjti makvolus.''*

Men of noble birth are noted to be envi-
ous towards new men : For the diftance is
altered, and it is like a deceit of the eye^ that
when others come on, they feem to go back.

Deformed perfons, eunuchs, old men,
and baftards are envious : for he that can-
not poffibly mend his own cafe, will do
what he can to impair another's; unlefj
thefe defeats happen to light upon generous
natures, which endeavour to turn their na-
tural defedls to the encreafe of their honour,
to the end it may be divulged, that an eunuch
or a lame man, did fuch great things, afted-
ing the honour of a miracle ; which was the
cafe of Narfes the eunuch, and of Agcfilaus
and amerlane who were lame.

The

OF ENVY. 37

The cafe is much the fame in thofe that
rife again after calamities: for they are com-
monly angry with the times, and relifh
other mens calamities as redemptions of
their own troubles. They that endeavour
to excel in abundance of things out of levity
and vain glory, muft needs be envious ; for
they every where meet with objeds of
Envy ; it being impoffible, but in fo many
things fome fhould furpafs them. Which
was the charader of Adrian the Emperor,
that mortally envied poets, painters and
other artificers in thofe works, wherein he
himfelf had a fancy to excel.

Lastly, kinsfolks, colleagues, and thofe
that have been bred together, are apt to
Envy their equals when they are raif-
ed. For this upbraids them with their
own fortune, and points at them, and
frequently Simulates their memory : more-
over, this comparifon of fortune falls more
into the obfervation of others; and Envy
ever reflects and redoubles from fpeeck
and fame. Whence Cains Envy towards
his brother Abel was the more malignant,
becaufe when AbePs facrifice was better ac-
D 3 cept^d

|S OF ENVY.

cepted, no body looked on. Thus much
foj- thofe that are apt to Envy.

As for thofe that are more or lefs obnoxi-
ous to Envy; firil:, perfons of eminent vir-
tue are lels envied when they are advanced,
for their promotion feems but due unta
th m ; and no man envies the payment of a
debt, but libeahty beyond merit. Again,
J^nvy is always joined with comparing, and
where there is no comparifon there is no
Envy; therefore Kings are only envied by
Kings. Neverthtlefs it is obfervable, that
unworthy perfons are mofl envied at their
firft rifing to honour, and afterwards not
fo much; on the contrary, perfons of worth
^nd merit then firfl paeet with Envy, after

their fortunes have continued long

For though their virtue holds the fame, yet
it has not the fame luftre; for frelh men
grow up that darken it.

Persons of noble blood are lefs expofed
%o Envy wh.en honours ar^ heaped upon
jhem ; for it feems no other than a debt
paid to their ancertors : beiides, there feems
iut little, added to their fpitune ; and Envy,

like

OF EN V Y. 39

like the fun-beams, beats hotter upon a ri-
fing ground than upon a flat. And for the
fame realbn, thofe that are advanced by de-
grees, undergo lefs Envy than thofe that are
advanced fuddenly zndi per faltum.

Those that have great travails, cares and
perils joined with their honours, labour lefs
under Envy. For men think that they pay
dear for their honours, and begin fometlmes
rather to pity them ; and pity ever healeth
Envy : wherefore we may obferve common-
ly, that the more deep and fober fort of
politic perfons that glitter in honour, are
ever bemoaning themfelves, what a life they
lead: crying ^anta fathnur I Not that
they feel it fo, but in order to blunt the
edge of Envy. This is to be underftood
of bufmefsthat is impofed upon fuch men,
not of what they voluntary take upon
themfelves. Nothing roufes Envy more
than an ambitious and immoderate engrof-
llng of bufmefs : and nothing on the other
hand extinguiOies Envy more, than for a man
in the highefl: honours, to draw nothing
from inferior officers : for by this means,
D 4 as

40 O F E N V Y.

as many minifters as he has, fo many fcreens
between him and Envy.

Above all, thofe flir up Envy mofl, who
carry the greatnels of their fortunes in an
infolent and proud manner; being never
well but while they are boafting of their
power, either by outward pomp, or by
triumphing over their adverfaries or compe-
titors they have overthrown; whereas on
the other fide, prudent men love fometimes
to make facrifice to Envy, in fufFering them-
felves now and then, on purpofe, to be over-
borne in things that they have not much
at heart. Notwithftanding, fomuch is true,
that the carriage of greatnefs in an open
and undiffembled manner, fo it be without
arrogancy and vain glory, occafions lefs
Envy than the withdrawing itfelf craftily,
and as it were by ftealth from notice. For
in that courfe, a man does nothing but im-
peach fortune, as though he were confcious
of his own want of w^orth, and fo teaches
others to epvy him.
-/
To conclude this part : as we faid in the
beginning, that the ad of Envy had fome-

what

O F E N V Y, 4t

what in it of witchcraft, fo 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 purpofe the wifer fort of great
perfons ever bring in upon the ftage fome
body upon whom to fix the Envy that
would otherwife come upon themfelves ;
throwing it off fometimes upon miniflers
^and fervants, fometimes upon colleagues and
aflociates. And for that turn there are ne-
ver wanting perfons of violent natures,
who, fo they may have power and bufi-
nefs, make no fcruple to purchafe it at any
rate.

Now to fpeak of public Envy , and there
is fome good yet in this ; w^hereas in private
Envy there is none at all. For public Envy
is a kind of wholefome cenfure that eclip-
feth great men when they grow too big ;
and therefore it is a bridle alfo to thofe
that are too powerful to keep them within
bounds.

This

',42 ^OF ENVY.

This Envy which goeth in the modem
languages by the name of difcontent, and
fhall be more fully handled under the title
of Sedition, is in kingdoms and ftates not un-
like to Infedlion. For as Infection fpreads
<^upon thofe parts that are found, and taints
them ; fo alfo when Envy is once got into a
ftate, it traduces even the beft adions and
ordinances, and turns them into fi^clion. —
There is little won by intermingling plaufi-
ble and popular anions, with odious ones ;
for it does but argue weaknefs, and fear of
.Envy, which hurts fo much the more ; as it
is likewife in Infedions, which, if you are
afraid of them, come upon you the fooner.

And this public Envy feems to bear more
upon principal officers and minifters, than
upon Kings and eftates themfelves : but take
this as a rule that feldom fails, if the Envy
upon the minifter be great, when the caufeof
it in him is fmall, or if the Envy be general
in a manner, and takes in all the miniflers of
^ftate, then the Envy, though fecretly, ftrikes
at the King or ftate itfelf. And fomuch for
public Envy, or malevolence, and the dif-
ference

O F E N V Y. 43

ferencc thereof from private Envy, which
we delcribed in the iirft pldCe.

We will add this alfo in general touching
the iffeclion of Envy; that of all the afFcfti-
ons it is themoft importunate and continual:
For of other afFedions there is occafion given
but now and then. It was well faid that
Envy has no holidays, becaufe it ever finds
matter to work upon. Whence it is alfo
noted, that Love and envy make men pine,
which other afFeclions do not, becaufe they
are not continual. Envy alfo is the vileft
of affedions, and the mofl depraved ; for
which caufe it is the proper attribute of the
Devil, who is called the envious man — ■
*>' That fowed tares amongfh the wheat by
** night:" As it always comes to pafs that
Envy works fubtilely, and in the dark, and
frequently to the prejudice of the beft men.

OF

44 O F L O V E.

OF LOVE.

npHE ftage is more beholden to tove,
than the Hfe of man. For as to the
ftage, Love is always matter of comedy,
and now and then of tragedy too ; but in life
it does much mifchief, fometimes like a
Syren, fometimes like a fury. You may ob-
ferve that among all the great and illuftrious
perfons in the memory of man, either ancient
or modern, there is not one that has been
driven to the mad degree of Love; which
fhews that great fpirits and great bufinefs do
not admit this weak paffion. You muft ex-
cept neverthelefs, Mark Anthony , the half-
partner of the empire of Rome, and Applus
Claudius the 'Decemvir^ and great law -giver
amongft the Romans : the forrtier was indeed
a luxurious and voluptuous man, but the
latter was an auftere and wife man. Whence
any one may difcern clearly, that Love
can find entrance, not only into an open
heart, but alfo, though rarely, into a heart

well

i

OF LOVE.

45

well fortified, if watch is not well kept. It
is an abjedl and poor fpirited faying of Epi-
curus^ Satis magnum alter alteri theatrumfumus : .
as if man made for the contemplation of
Heaven and heavenly objects, fhoulddo no-
thing but adore a little idol, and fubjedl
himfelf though not to the mouth, as beafts
are, yet to the eye, which was given un-
doubtedly for higher purpofes.

It is flrange to confider the excefs of this
paffion, and how it infuits the nature and
true value of things by this only, that the
fpeakingin a perpetual ftrain of exaggeration,
is decent in nothing but in Love. Neither does
this appear only in the manner of expreffion ;
for it has been faid that the arch- flatterer,
with whom all the petty flatterers have intel-
ligence, is a man's felf ; but certainly the
lover is fomething more. For no proud
man ever thought fo abfurdly well of him-
felf, as the lover does of the perlbn loved,
and therefore it was well faid, " That to
" love, and to be wife, is fcarce poffible
" even to a God." Neither does this weak-
nefs appear to others only, and not to
the party loved; but to the perfon loved

moil;

46' OF LOVE.

mofi of all, unlefs the Love be reciprocal.
For it is a true rule that Love is ever re-
warded, either with reciprocal, or with an
inward and fecret contempt : It fhould teach
men to beware of this paflion, which lofes
not only other things but itfelf. As for
other loffes they are prettily figured in the
fable of the poets, " That he that preferred
*' Helena, lofi: the gifts oi Juno and Pallas.''^
Whoever therefore too much indulges amo-
rous atfedions, quits both riches and wifdom.

This paffion hath its floods at the very
time, when the mind is fofttril:; that is,
in great profperity, and great adverfitv : —
though this latter hath perhnps been lefs ob-
ferved ; both which feafons kindle Love,
and make it more fervent, which proves it
to be the child of folly. They do befl:, who
if they cannot avoid Love, yet make it fub-
fervient to their ferious affairs and adions
of life. For if it interfere once with bu-
finefs, it troubles mens fortunes, and
hinders them from being true to their own
ends,

I KN.ovr

OP MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES. 47

■ I KNOW not how, martial men are given to
Love, unlefs it arifes from their beinggiven to
wine; forperils commonly expedl to be paid
inpleafures. There is in man's nature a fecret
inclination and motion towards Love of
others, which if it is not fpent upon one, or
a few, doth naturally fpread itfelf towards
many, and makes m.en become humane and
charitable, as it is feen fometimes in Friars.
Nuptial Love makes mankind, friendly Love
perfeds it, but wanton Love corrupts and
debafes it.

OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES.

MEN in Great Place are thrice fervants ;
fervants of the prince or ftate, fer-
vants of fame, and fervants of bufinefs. So
that they enjoy no manner of liberty, neither
in their perfons, in their a6lions, nor in
their time. A ftrange kindof defire to covet
power, and to lofe liberty; or to court
power over others, and to diveft a man of
I power

40 OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES.

power over himfelf. The rifing unto Place
is laborious, and by pains men come to
greater pains ; often times alfo, it is not
clear of unworthy pra6lices. And by indig-
nities men come to Dignities. The ftanding
is flippery, and the regrefs is either a down-
fall, or at leaft an eclipfe, and even this is a
fad and melancholy tiling. Cum nonjis, qui
fuerh, non e/l, cur veils vivere ; nay, there
is no retiring, though a man were ever fo
willing: neither will men retire, when it
were reafon they fhould ; but they continue
impatient of a private life, even when
old age or infirmity bear hard upon them,
which require eafe, and the fhade; like old
townfmen that will be ftill fitting before the
ftreet door, though they expofe themfelves
to fcorn.

Certainly, men in Pods had need to
borrow other mens opinions to think them-
felves happy ; for if they judge by their own
feeling, they will fmd no fuch thing ; but
when they think with themfelves what other
men think of them, and how gladly they
w^ould change conditions with them, then,
and uQt till then, they are happy, apparently,

by

OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES. 4a

\

by report, when perhaps, they find the con-
trary within. For they are the firfl fenfiblc
of their own griefs, though they are the lafl
of all feniible of their own faults.

Certainly, men in fublime Nations
are Grangers to themfelves ; and while they
are in the hurry of bufinefs, they have no
time to confult the health, either of body
or foul :

** //// mors gravis incubat,
*' ^ii notus nlmis omnibuSy
** Ignotus morltur Jtbi.^^

In Office there is great licence to do both
good and evil, the latter ought to be reckon-
ed a ciirfe: for in evil, the befl: condition is,
not to be willing ; the next, not to be able.
Certainly power to oblige is the true and law-
ful end of ambition. For good thoughts,
though God accept them, yet towards men
are little better than good dreams, uniefs
they are put in adlion ; and that cannot be
without fome public place and power, as
the commanding ground.

Obligations and good works are the

true ends of man's labours : and a confci-

VoL. I. E oufnefs

50 OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES,

oufiiefs of the performance, the accompli fK^
meni of his reft. For if a man can ba
part.iker of God's theatre, he (liall likevvife
be partaker of God's rcfl. Et converfus
DeuSy ut afpiceret (f^era^ qtij^ fecerunt manus
fua^ vidk quod omnia ejfmt bona nimis ; and
then the Sabbath.

In the difcharge of a man*s duty, let him
fet before him the befl: examples ; there is a
number of precepts for imitation ; and after a
time fet bifore him his own example, and
examine himfelf ftrictly whether he began
better than he ended. Let him negle<fl not,
on the other hand, the example of thofe
that have carried themfelves ill in the fame
place; not to fet himfelf off by taxing their
jnemory, but to direct himfelf what to avoid.
Reform, therefore, but without oflentation,
or defaming form.r times and perfons ;
yet he fhouid fet it down as a rule to himfelf,
to introduce good precedents, as well as to
follow them. Reduce things to their firfl
inftitution, and obferve well wherein and
how they have degenerated; but yet afk
counfel of both times; of the antient, that
you may know what is beil, and of the

latter

OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES. 51

latter time that you may underhand what is
fitteft. Endeavour to make your courle re-
gular, that men may know beforehand what
they are to expe£t ; neverthelefs be not too
pofitlve and preremptory", and whenever
you recede from your rule, explahi yourfelf
properly. Preferve fteadily the ri-hts of
your place, but do not lightly provoke dif-
putes touching juriididion ; and carry it
in fuch manner as to affume and exercife
your rights in filence and de fadtd^ rather
than raife and debate queftions about them
with noife and clamour.

Preserve likewlfe the rights of inferior
Places, fubordinate to you, and think it a
greater honour to direct in chief, than to be
bufy in all. Embrace, nay invite fuch as
may help and inform you, touching the exe-
cution of your place, and do not drive away
thofe that offer their fervice as if they were
meddlers, but rather encourage a-d coun»
t^nance them.

The vices in the exercife of authority are
chiefly four : too much Delay; Corruption ,
Roughnefs; and Facility.

E %, For

52 OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES.

For Delays: give eafy accefs, keep times
appoint, d, go through that which is in hand,
without taking up new bufinefs, but from
neceffity.

For Corruption : do not only bind your
ownhandb, and thofe of your fervants from
taking bribes, but the hands of fuitors alfo
from offering them. Integrity ufed undoubt-
edly does the firft of thefe; and integrity
given out and profefled, with a deteflation
of bribery, brings about the latter alfo.
Avoid not only the fault, but the fufpicion
likewife. Whoever are found variable, and
change manifeftly, without a fufficient
caufe, give fufpicion of corruption. There-
fore always when you turn from the
opinion you have declared, or from the
courle you have begun, profcfs the fame in-
genuoufly, and withal honeflly acknQw-
ledge the caufes that induced you to it,
and don't think to be able to fteal away. A
favourite fervant, who ha-, interefl: with his
mafier, if there be no apparent caufe of
favour, is commonly thought an inflrunr.ent
to corruption.

Fqr

OF MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES. 53

For Roughnefs : it breeds envy and ill-
will without producing any advantage; for
feverity ftrikes fear, but roughneis breeds
hatred. Even reproofs from authoiity ought
to be grave though not inf'ulting.

As for Facility, that is even worfe than
bribery ; for bribes are attempted but now
and then ; but if a man lies open to impor-
tunity, or is led by idle refpedls, he will
never be without them. As Solomon faith,
" To refpecl perfons is not good ; for fuch
" a man will tranfgrefs for a piece of bread.'*
The faying of the antients is mofl: certainly
true, " A place fhews the man.'* And
fome it {hews for the better, others for the
"vvorfe : Omnium confenfu capax imperii^ nifi im-
ferajfet, fays Tacitus of Galba : on the other
hand, the fame author fays of VefpafiaUy
Solu^ impera7uium Vejpafianus mutatus in melius^
Though the one is meant by Tacitus^ of the
art of governing, the other of manners and
affedions. It is a mofl evident fign of a
generous difpofition, where honour improves
it : for honour is, or fhould be, the place
of virtue : and as in nature, bodies move
violently to, and calmly in their place,
E 3 fv>

54 OP MAGISTRACIES AND DIGNITIES*

fo virtue in ambition is violent ; in authority
obtained, fettled and calm.

Gradual rifing to the pinnacle of promo-
tion is by a grinding pair of ftairs ; if fa6lion9
prevail, it is good to adhere to one party,
while a man is climbing to honour : and to
reduce himfelf to a balance, w^hen he has at-
tained the lame.

Preserve the memory of your predecef-
for unhurt ; if you do not, it is a debt will
be paid you by your fucceflbr. Treat your
felloes in office friendly, and call them in
rather when they do not expedt it, than ex-
clude them when with reafon they ihould be
called in. Do not be too miudlul of your
place, nor make frequent mention of it in
common difcourfe, or in private con verfatlon ;
but rather let it be faid of you, " When hs
fits m place he is quite another man."

Of

©FBOLDNESS* 55

OF BOLDNESS,

TT is a trivial grammar-fchool t^xt, but'
yet worthy a v/iie man's obfervation : De^
mofthcnes being aiked once, '^ What was the
principal quaUfication of an orator r" anfvver-
ecl " A6hion." What next ? '' A-flion." What
next again? "Action." He faid, that knew
it bell:, and yet was not much indebted to
Nature for what he commended. A ftrangq
thing furely, that that part of an orator,
w-hich is but fuperficial, and to be eil:ee[):!ed
rather the virtue of a player, fhould be placed
fo high above thofe nobler parts of Inven-
tion, Elocution, and the. refl, as almoft
alone to be efteemed the effential quality.
But the reafon is plain, for there is in
human nature generally more of the fool
than of the wife ; and therefore thofe facul-
ties, by which the fooliih part of mens
minds is taken, are moft potent of all.
Wonderful, and as it were parallel, is the
cafe of Boldnefs in civil buiinefs. What
firft? "Boldnefs." What fecond and thiri ?
*' Boldnefs." And yet Boldnefs is a child of
E 4 Ig-

56 OFBOLDNESi.

Ignorance, and of a bafe nature, and far In-
ferior to other parts of civil fcience. But
ji^verthelefs it fafcinates and captivates thole
that are either weak in judgment, or fearful
in nature ; and fuch are the greatefl part of
mankind. Nay it prevails even with wife
men themfelves, when their minds are weak.
Therefore we fee it has had great fway
in popular ftates, but with fenates and
princes evidently lefs. Further, when bold
perfons firft enter upon adion, they can do
more than afterwards ; for Boldnefs is a bad
keeper of a promife.

As now and then mountebanks ftep in
who pretend to cure the natural body,
fo alfo for the politic body there are not
wanting men that will undertake even the
mod difficult cures ; who perhaps have
been lucky in fome few experiments, but
having no notion of the grounds of fcience,
oftener fail. Nay you ihall fee a bold
fellow fometimes do Mahomefs miracle.
Mahomet made the people believe that he
would call a hill to him ; and from the
top of it offered up his prayers for the ob-
fervers of his law. The people allembled

in

OF BOLDNESS. 57

ill great numbers : Mahomet called the hill
to him again and again ; but when the hill
ftood ftlll, he, nothing abafhed, fays, *' If
" the hill will not come to Mahomet, Maho-
** met will go to the hill." So thefe men,
when they have taken upon themfelves
mighty matters, and failed mofl (hamefully
in them, yet if they have the perfedlion of
Boldnefs, they will make a jefl of it, give
themfelves a turn, and there itfinifhes.

Certainly, to men of great judgment,
bold perfons are a fport to behold ; nay, and
to the vulgar alfo, Boldnefs has fomewhat
of the ridiculous. For if abfurdity be the
fubjc61: of laughter, you need not doubt but
great Boldnefs is feldom without fome ab-
furdity. Nor can there be a pleafanter light,
hardly, than to fee a bold fellow out of
countenance ; fince that puts his face into a
moil confufed and humiliating poftu re : for
inBafhfulnefs the fpirits naturally fluctuate;
but with bold men, upon a like occafion, they
ftand ftill ; like a ftale at Chefs *, where it is

Lat. • Ut fit hi Shacclce ludo quando non vincitur collufor^
Jed torpa tantum motus,

no'

5^ OFGOODNESS*

no mate, but yet the game cannot flir. Tho*
this lafl: is fitter for fatire, than for ferious
obfervation.

It is obfervable, that Boldnefs is ever
blind ; for it fees no dangers nor obftacles :
wherefore it is bad in counfel, but good in
execution. So that if you would make ufe
of bold perfons with fifety, you muft not
give them the command in chief; but let
them be feconds, and under the direction of
others. For in deliberations it is good to
have dangers before our eyes ; but in exe-
cution we ihould ilvjt our eyes, unlefs the
dangers are very great.

OF GOODNESS.

T TAKE Goodnefs, in this fenfe, that it h
an affedion which ftudies the good of men ;
the fame that the Greeks call philanthropy.
The word humanity, as it is generally ufed,
Is a little too light and narrow to exprefs

tho

O F G O O D N E S S» 59

the force of it. Goodnefs I call the habit,
and Goodnefs of Nature the inchnation.
This fame Goodnefs, of all the virtues and
dignities of the mind, is undoubtedly the
chief, being a faint kind of refemblance and
character of the Divine Nature itlelf; which
being banifhed out of the world, the natural
man would be nothingbut an unquiet, wick-
ed, wretched thing; nay, a kind of mif-
chievous animal.

Moral Goodnefs anfwers to the theologi-
cal virtue, Charity ; nor does it admit of ex-
cefs, but is capable of error. An immoderate
defire of power threw the angels out of Hea-
ven : an immoderate defire of knowledge
expelled man Paradife : but in charity there
is no excefs ; nor cari either angel or man
come in danger by it.

An inclination to Goodnefs is deeply root-
ed in the nature of man ; which, being des-
titute of matter, or occaiion to exercife itfelf
upon men, will turn at leafl to brute crea-
tures. As it is feen in the Turks, a cruel and
brutal people, who neverthelefs are merciful

to

^O OFGOODNESS.

to beafls, and diftrlbute alms to dogs and
birds. Bujhequius relates a circumflance of a
Venetian goldlmlth, reliding at Conjlantinople,
who had much ado to efcape the fury of the
people for gagghig a long-billed fowl. Yet
this virtue of Goodnefs, or charity, has its
errors. The Italians have an ungracious
proverb ; " So good, that he is good for no-
" thing." And Nicholas Machiavel had the
confidence to fet down in writing, and
almofl in plain terms, " That the Chriftian
*' Faith had given up good and innocent
" men in prey to the iniquity of tyrants :"
Which he pronounced, becaufe there never
was law, fe£V, or opinion, that fo highly
exalts Goodnefs as the Chriflian religion
does.

The better therefore to fecure ourfelves
from the flroke of fcandal, and danger too in
this point, it will be worth our while to
take notice of the errors that turn us out
of the right way of fuch an excellent ha-
bit. Seek the good of others fo as not to
enflave yourfelf to their faces or pleafures ;
for that is an argument of facility and foft-

nefsj

i

OF GOODNESS. 6l

nefs, which takes an hoiiefl mind captive.
Neither caft a gem to JE fop's cock, who
would be better pleafed, and happier with a
barley-corn. Let the example of God in
this matter be your leflbn : *' He fendeth
** his rain, and maketh his fun to fhine,
•* upon the juft and unjull: aUke:*' but yet
he does not rain wealth, nor fhine honours
or virtues upon all men equally. Common
benefits indeed are to be communicated to
all; but peculiar ones to few, and with
choice. But beware, left in engraving the
portraiture, you deftroy the origmai. For
theology fets up the love of ourfelvcb for the
original, and the love of our neighbour for
the copy. " Sell all thou hail:, give it to
*' the poor, and follow me." But fell not
all thou haft, except thou come and follow
me ; that is, unlels } ou enter upon fuch a
vocation, wherein you can do as much good
to others with a fmall fubftance as with a
great one; otherwife in feeding tiie ftreacns
you dry up the fountain. Neither is there
only found a habit of Goodnels uirc6led by
the rule of right reafon, but in Ibme m.n
alfo there is found a natural difpofition and
propenfity to it ; as on the other hand in

fomc

6Z O F G O O D N E S S,

fome others a natural maUgnitj. For there
are thofe that in their natural temper have
an averfion to the Good of others. And as
to the lighter fort of malignity, that turns to
morofjnefs, or perverfenefs, or an unbridled
humour of oppofition, and fh^vving itfelf
difficult in all thing? : but the more grievous
and deeper, approaches to envy and mere
malice. Such men, in other mens calami-
ties, are, as it were, in feafon, and are ever
inclined to oppreffion; not good enough to be
compared to the dogs that licked Lazarus's
fores, but to flies, that are ftlll buzzing
upon any thing that is raw ; mifanthropes,
that take a pleafure in bringing men to the
bough, and yet have never a tree for the
purpofe, as ^imon had. Such difpofitions
inay well be called the impofthumes and can-
cers of human nature. And yet they are the
fittefl: timber to make political executioners
of; being of the crooked kind, that is good
for building fhips to encounter a ftorm, but
jiot for houfes that are to ftand firm.

The parts and figns of Goodnefs are
many. If a man be kind and courteous to
ilrangers and foreigners, he proves himfelf

9 citi-

O F G O O D N E S S. 6^

a citizen of the world, and that his heart is
not like an ifland, cut off froni other lands,
but like a continent that joins to them.

If he be compaffionate to the affli£led, he
fhews a noble heart, and is like the cele-
brated tree, that is wounded itfelf when it
gives the balm.

If he eafily remits offences, and pardons
faults, it fhews his mind is planted on high
above the fhot of injuries. If he be thankful
for fmall benefits, it is an argument that he
values mens minds more than their trinkets.
But above all, if he has attained the highefl
pitch of perfection, even that of St. Paul
the apoftle, ot devoting and anathematizing
himfelf from Chri/l for the falvation of his
brethren, it ihews the neareft approach to
the divine nature, and a kind of conformity
with Cbri/i himfelf,

Of.

64 O F N O B I L I T Y.

OF NOBILITY.

T ET us fpeak of Nobility, firfl as it is a
part of a ftate ; next, as it is a condition
of particular perfons. A monarchy where
there is no nobility at all, is ever a pure and
abfolute tyranny, as that of the Turks. For
Nobility tempers fovereignty, and draws
the eyes of the people afide from the royal
line. But in a democracy there is no need
of nobles ; nay that popular flate is much
more quiet, and lefs fubje(£l to fa(^ions and
feditions, where there is no order of no-
bility. For there mens eyes are upon the
bufinefs, not upon the perfons ; or if upon
the perfons, it is for the bulinefs fake, as
being fitteft for it, and not out of any regard
to the pageantry of anCeftors.

The Sw/tzers, we fee, are a flourishing
people, notwithftanding their diverfity of
religion, and of cantons. For utility is
their bond, and not rank and title. The
form of government ufed in the United
I Provinces

OF NOBILITY. 65

Provinces of the Low^ountries Is furely ex-
cellent : for where there is an equality,
both the confultations are more indifferent,
and the payments and tributes more chear-
ful.

A great and potent Nobility in a mo-
narchy, adds majefly to the prince, but dl-
minifhes his power ; and puts life and fpirit
into the people, but depreffes their fortune.
It is well when the nobles are not too great
for fovereignty or judice; and yet main-
,tained in that height, that the infolence of
the multitude may be blunted by their reve-
rence of them, as by a bar in the way, be-
fore it pours itfelf forth upon the majefty of
kings. On the other hand, a numerous No-
bility caufes poverty and inconvenience in a
ftate ; for it occafions a vaft expence : and
befides, it is a thing of fuch neceffity, that
fhould many of the Nobility in courfe of
time fall to poverty, there follows a kind of
divorce or difproportion between honour and
cftate.

As for Nobility in particular pcrfons, if

it is a venerable thing to fee an antient

Vol. I. F cailk

€6 O F N O B I L I T y.

caftle or building pot the leall: in decay;
or an aged tall timber tree found and per-
fe6t ; how much more to behold an antient
noble family uninjured by the waves and
ftorms of time ? For new Nobility is the
a£t of royal power ; but antient Nobility is
the pure a£l of time.

Those that are firft raifed to a high pitch
of Nobility, generally excel their defcend-
ants in the brightnefs of their virtues, but
by no means in innocence : for thereis rare-
ly any promotion to honour but by a mix-
ture of good and evil arts. It is right there-
fore, that the memory of their virtues fhould
pafs down to their pofterity, and that their
vices fhould die with themfelves.

Nobility of birth commonly abates in-
duftry ; and he that is not induflrious, en-
vies another's diligence. Befides, noble per-
fons cannot be advanced much further; and
he that ftands flill while others rife, can
hardly avoid emotions of envy. On the other
fide, Nobility very much allays the envy of
others towards them; for this reafon, be-

caufc

I

OFSEDITIONS, Sy

caufe noblemen feem born in the poffefTion
of honours.

Certainly kings that have a wife and
able Nobility about them, will find an
eaher progrefs m their bulinefs by employ-
ing them principally : for the people natu-
rally bend to Lhem, as born ni lome degree
to govern.

OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES.

T T greatly concerns the fliepherds of the
people to know the prognoftics of ftate
tempefts ; which are greateft, when things
grow to equaUty ; as natural tempefls are
greatefl about the equinox. And as there
are hollow blafls of wind, and fecret fwell-
ings of feas before a tempefl:, fo are there ia
flates :

I.k etiam ccecos hijlare iumultus

Sapc ?7ionety fraudcpiue & operta tumcfcere hella:

Geosg. I. 464. &C»'
*' The change of empires often he declares,
*' Fierce tumults, hidden treaibns, murders, wars."

Dryden','

F % Libels

^8' OFSEDITIONS

Libels, and licentious and fatyrical dif-
courfes againfl: the ftate, when they fly about
every where, and are frequent ; and in like
manner falfe news running up and down to
the difadvantage of the ftate, and greedily
embraced by the people, are certainly among
the figns of Seditions. Flrgil giving the pe-
digree of FamCy makes her iifter to the
giants :

Jllam Terra parens^ Ira Irrttata J^cornmj
Rxtremam {ut perhiheui) Caeo Enceladoquey^ro/'tf.w.
Progenuit,

*' Enrag'd againfl the Gods, revengeful Earth
" Piodiic'd her lalt of the litanian birth."

Dryden."

As if Tame was the offspring of Seditions
paft ; but fhe is no lefs indeed the prelude
of Seditions to come. However, it is rightly
obferved, that feditious tumults and fedi-
tious fame differ in effect no more than as
brother and fifter, mafculine and feminine ;
efpecially if the evil come to that height,
that the moil laudable actions of a ffate, and
the mofl plaufible, which ought to give
greateft content, are taken in an ill-fenfe,
and traduced; for that fhews the load of

envy

AND TROUBLES. 6^

envy to be great : as T'achus well fays, " In
*' a prince once in obloquy, do^ lie well, do
*' he ill, all is ill taken." Hlfl. I. ch. 7.
Neither does it follow, that, becaufe thofe
fames are a fign of Troubles, therefore the
fuppreffing of them with too much fe verity
ihould be a remedy : for generally they
vanifh foonefl by being defpifed ; and the
going about earneftly to check them, does
but make them longer lived.

Also that kind of obedience in executing
commands, which Tacitus fpeaks of, is to be
held fufpefted : Erant hi officio, fed tamen qui
mallent mandata imperaniium interpretari, quam
exequi, Difcu fling, fhifting off, cavilling
■upon commands and diredlons, what elfe
are they but an endeavour to fhake off the
yoke, and an effay of difobedience ? Efpe-
cially if in thofe difputings they that are for
the command, fpeak fearfully and tenderly;
and thofe that are againfl them, audacioufly,

Machiavel fays, " When princes, that

*' ought to carry themfelves as common pa-

*' rents, make themfelves a party, and lean

•' to a fide, it is as when a boat is overfet by

F 3 *^ uneveo

yO O F S E D I T I O N S

*' uneven weight ;" as was feen In the time
of Henry the Third of France. For he at
firfl: entered into the league for the extir-
pation of the Proteflants ; which prefently
after, was turned upon tlie King himfelf.
When the authority of princes is made but
an acceflary to a cauie, and that there arife
ftroiget bands than the band of fovereignty,
kings begin then to be put almofl: out of
poilfcirion.

Also, when difcords, quarrels, and fac-"
tions are carried openly and audacioufly, it
is a fign the reverence of Government is
loft. For the motions of the great ones in
a Government, ought to be as the motions
of the planets under the primum mobile, ac-
cording to the old opinion ; which is,
th.:t each of them is carried fwiftly by the
higheft motion, and loftly in their own
motion ; and therefore, if great men
and noblts, in th.ir own particular mo-
tion, move violently; and, as Tacitus ex-
prvfl'eth it well, Libcnus, quamut hyiperantlum
viemhajjent, it is a fjgn the orbs are out of
i] ame ; for reverence is that wherewith
princes are invefled from God, whofome-

times

I

AND TROUBLES. 7I

times threatens the diflblving thereof;

Solvam c'mgula regum.

Again, when any of the four pillars of
Government are fhaken or weakened, which
are Religion, Juftice, Counfel, and Trea-
fure, then men had need to pray for fair
weather. But let us pafs over thofe prog-
noftics of feditions (concerning which, nt-
verth clefs, more light may be taken from
that which follows) ; and let us fay fome-
thing firil of the Matter of Seditions; then
of the Motives of them ; and laftly of their
Remedies.

As to the Matter of Seditions, it is f
thing well worth the confidering. The
furefl way to prevent them, if the times
will bear it, is to take away the matter :
for if there be fuel prepared, it is hard
to tell whence the fparks may come, that
ihall fet it on fire. The Matter of Se-
ditions is of two kinds, much poverty and
much difcontent. This is mofl certain, io
many impaired eftates and broken fortunes,
fo many votes for difturbances. Whence
that obfervation of Lucan^ concerning the
F 4 flatc

^2 OF SEDITIONS

eVnpire,

flate of the Roman eVnpire, a little before
the civil war :

H'nc iifura I'orrx^ rapiclu.mque in tevtforc farfius^
Hint- concujjh fiiUs^ i^ vinltis utile Idlum,

This inference, multls utile helium^ Is a
fure fign of a ftate dilpofed to commotions
and troubles. Should this indigence, from
a n.ined eflate in the better fort, be joined
with extreme want and poveity in the ordi-
nary people, the danger is imminent and
great ; rebeUions that arife from the belly
are always the worft. As for DifaiFedion
and Difcontent at the prefent flate of af-
fairs, thek ill rely are in the politic body
4ike unto ill humours in the natural, which
are apt to gatiicr a preternatural h. at, and
toinflaiBe. But let no Frince meafure his
danger by this, whether the motives that
alienate the afFcdioiis of the Teople be juft,
or unjuil: ; for that were to imagine the vul-
gar to be too rational, who often fpurn at
their own good. Nor yet hy this, whether
the grievances from whence the odium
fprings, be great or fmall : tor they are the
mofi dangerous difcontents where the fear
is greater than the feeling. Dolendi modusy

Umendi

ANDTROUBLES. *J^

ttmendi non item : '* Grief has bounds, but
*' fear has none." Befides, in great op-,
preflions, the fame things that provoke th«
patience, alfo break the courage ; but in
fears, the cafe is othervvife. Neither, again,
let a prince or ftate flight a Difaffe£tion, and
growing Odium, becaufe thofe difgufls and
ferments have been either frequent, or long,
and yet the ftate hath received no detriment
thereby. For as it is true, that every va-
pour does not end in a ftorm, fo it may tru-
ly be faid, on the other fide, that ftorms,
though they frequently blow over, yet at
length gather, and fall : And according to
the Spanifh proverb, " The cord breaks at
" lafl by the weakefl pull."

The caufes of Seditions are thefe : in*
novation in matters of religion ; tributes
and taxes ; alteration of laws and cufloms ;
violation of immunities and privileges ; ge-
neral oppreffion ; advancement of unwor-
thy perfons to honour and dignities ; . fo*
reigners ; dearths, foldiers incautioufly dif-
banded ; factions grown defperate ; and
whatfoever, in fine, offends the people,

unites

74 O F S E D I T I O N S

unites, and makes them confpire together
in a common caufe.

For the Remedies, there may be fome
general prefervatives affigned, which wc
Ihall point out ; but for the jufl: cure, it
mufl anfwer to the particular dileale, and
fo be left to counfei, rather than rule.

The firft Remedy and prevention of Se-
dition is thid : To remove, by all poflible
means and diligence, that material caufe
of . Sedition, which we have already ob-
ferved ; I mean, poverty and want in the
flate. To which purpole ferves the open-
ing and well- balancing of trade ; the intro-
ducing and cherifliing of artilans and manu-
factures ; the banifnmg of (loth and idle-
nefs ; the repreffing of luxury and wafte by
fumptuary laws ; the huihanding and im-
provement of the foil ; the regulating the
prices of goods ; the moderating of taxes
and tributes ; and the like. In general,
proviiion fliould be made, that the number
of people (in times of peace I mean, when
the Iword mows down none) do not exceed
the Hock of the kingdom, which Ihould

maintain

AND troubles;

75

maintain them. Neither is the population
to be reckoned only by number ; for a fmal-
ler number that fpend much, and earn little,
wear out a ftate looner than a much greater
number that live lower, and lave money.
Therefore the muhipJying of nobility, and
other perfons of eminent degree, in an over-
proportion to the common people, fpeedily
brings a ftate to necellity ; fo does likewife a
numerous clergy ; for they bring nothing to
the flock. It has the fame efFecl alfo, when
more are bred fciiolars than civil preferments
can employ. """

It is likewife to be remembered, that all
increafe of a fl:ate in wealth mufl neccffari-
ly come from foreign nations ; for what-
ever is acquired by one citizen, is loft to
another. There are but three things which
one nation fells to another ; the natural
Commodity, the Manufadure, and the
Freight or Carriage ; fo that, if thele three
wheels go right, wealth will flow as in a
fp?'ing-tide, and that of the poet many
times come to pafs, Mat en am fufe rah at opus ;
that is, the manufadure and carriage is
worth m.ore than the matter, and enriches a

ftate

yS OF SEDITIONS

flate more ; as it is notably feen in the peo-
ple of the Low-Countries, who havc; the
richefl: mines above ground of any nation in
the world.

But above all things, good policy is to
be iifed, that the treaiure and money in
a flate is not gathered into few hands ; for
otherwife a ftate may eafily {brve in the
niidft of a great flock. And money, like
manure, does not enrich, except it be fpread.
This will be effected chiefly by fuppreiiliig,
or at leaft laying reftridions upon thole de-
vouring trades of ufury, engroffmg, turn-
ing great eftates into pafturage, and the
like.

For the calming difcontent, or at Icafl
for removing the danger : There are in
every ftate (as it is well known) two
kinds of fubjeds ; the nobles and the com-
mons. If but one of thefe parties be
incenfed, there is no great danger lurking ;
for the common people are of flow motion,
if they are not fpurred on by thofe of high-
er rank : and the nobles are of fmall
ilrength, unlefs the multitude are of them-
I felves

AND TROUBLES.

11

felves apt and predifpofed to move : then is
the danger, when the luperior orders do but
wait for the troubling of the waters among
the meaner, that they may at lafl declare
themfelves. The poets feign, that the
gods were in a confpiracy to bind Jupiter ;
which he hearing of, by the counfel of
Pallas, fent for Briareus with his hundred
hands to come in to his aid. An allegory,
no doubt, to warn monarchs, how fafe and
wholefome it is for them to gain and fecure
the good-will of the people.

To give moderate liberty for grief and
difcontent to evaporate, (lb it be without in-
folence and audacioufnefs) is a very fafe way;
for he that turns the humours back, and
makes the w^ound bleed inwards, endangers
malign ulcers, and pernicious impoflhumes.

In order to foften imbittered and malevo-
lent fpirits, the part of Epimetheus might
fitly be transferred to Prometheus, For there
cannot be a better remedy. Epimetheus^
w^hen he found evils and calamities flying
abroad, made hafte and put the lid upon the
vefTel, and kept hope in the bottom of it.

Certainly,

'7^ OF SEDITIONS

Certainly, the politic and artificial nonrifli-
ing and infpiring of hopes, and the carry-
ing men from one hope to another, is one of
the ftrongefl antidotes againft the poifon of
malevolence.

And it is a certain fign of a wife govern-
ment and prudent adminiftration, that can
hold mens hearts hy hopes, when it can-
not fatisfy them ; and where things are ma-
naged in fuch a manner, that no evil fhall
appear lb imminent, hut that it has fome
outlet of hope ; which is the iefs difficult
to do, becaufe it is natural both for particu-
lar perfons and facftions to flatter themfelves,
or at leaft to boaft of what they do not be-
lieve.

There is a common, indeed, but an ex-
cellent point of caution agauifl: the dangers
that Difcontents threaten, viz. the forefight
and prevention, that there be no likely or
£t head, to whom an angry and imbittered
people may refort, and under whofe protec-
tion they may join in a body. I underftand
a fit head or leader to be one who is eminent
for nobility and reputation ; acceptable and
gracious v^ith the dilcontented party, unto

whom

ANDTROUBLES. *J^

whom they turn their eyes ; and who is
thought alfo difcontented in himfelf ; which
kind of perfons are either to be won and re-
conciled to the ftate, and that not (lightly,
but in a faft and true manner ; or to be
counteracted by fome other of the fame
partv that may oppofe them, and fo divide
and cut afunder the popular intereii.

It is a general obfervation, that the divi-
ding and breaking of faClions and combina-
tions that fet themfelves again ft the govern-
ment, and the making them fall out with
one another, or at leafl fowing diftrufl:
among them, is none of the worft reme-
dies. For a flate is in a defperate cafe, if
thofe who are well-affeded to the govern-
ment are jarring and difcordant, and thofe
that are againll it, entire and united,

I have often noted, that witty and fharp
fayings, which have fallen from princes un-
awares, have given fire to Seditions. Cafar
gave himlelf a fatal wound by that faying :
Sylla nefcivit literas^ non poiuit dlUare. For this
fmgle fpeech cut off all the hope that men
entertained of his giving up the didatorihip

at

86 OFSEDITIONS

at one time or other. Galha undid himfelf
by that fpeech, Legi a fe mU'item^ ?ion emi :
for it put the foldiers out of hope of the
donatives. Prohus^ likewife, by that of ;
Si vixero^ non opus erit ampllus Romano Imperio
milhibus ; for this was a fpeech of defpoii-
dency : but furely it is the intereft of princes,
in tender matters and critical times, to be-
ware what they fay; efpecially in thefecon-
cife fentences, which fly abroad like darts,
and are thought to be fliot out of their fe-
cret intentions ; for long difcourfes are flat
and not fo much noted.

Lastly, Let princes, againft all events,
have about them fome perfons of approved
military valour, for the repreffing of Sedi-
lions in their firft motions ; for without this
there would be too much trepidation in the
courts of princes, upon the firfl: breaking
out of Troubles ; and the ftate in that kind
of danger that Tacitus hints in thefe words :
Ifgue habitus animorum fiiit^ ut peJJ^mum f acinus
^luderent pauci, plures vellent^ omnes pater entur :
*' And fuch was the difpofition of their
*< minds, that into fo horrible a treafon few
« only durft enter^ many wilhed it, and all

'' were

OF ATHEISM. ' 8l,

*' were content to fufFer it." 'Tac. Hijf,
B. i. Ch. 28. But llich military perlbns
(hould be fingularly faithful, and well re-
puted, rather than fadllous or popular ;
holding alfo good correfpondence with the
other great men in the ftate ; or elfe the re-
medy is worfe than the difeafe.

OF ATHEISM,

TT is lefs difficult to believe the moft fa-
bulous ftories of the Alcoran^ the "talmud,
or the Legend, than that this univerfal frame
of nature is without an intelligent Being;
and therefore God never wrought a miracle
to convince Atheifm, becaufe his ordinary
works are fufficient for that purpofe. Ne-
verthelefs it is true, that a little natural phi-
lofophy inclines men to Atheifm ; but depth
in pbilofophy brings them about to religion ;
for the mind of man, while it looks upon
fecond caufes feparately, fometimes refts in
them, and goes no further; but when it
Vol. I. G proceeds.

§2 0 t" A T H E I S M.

proceeds to contemplate the chain of them
linked, and confederated together, it miift
needs fly to Providence and a Deity. Nay,
even that fchool, which is mofl accufed of
Atheifm, if a man confiders right, does
clearly demonftrate rehgion ; that is, the
fchool of Leucippiis, Dcmocritusy and Epicu-
rus. For it is far more probable, that four
mutable ekmcnts, and one fifth immutable
elfence, duly and eternally placed, fhould
need no God, than that an army of infinite
atoms and feeds, cafually roaming without
order, fliould have produced this orderly
and beautiful frame of things without a Di-
vine Marfhal.

The Scripture faith : " The fool hath
•' faid in his heart, there is no God :" It
does not fay, *' The fool hath thought in
** his heart :" So that he rather aflerts this
within himfelf, as a thing he would gladly
have, than as what he thoroughly believes
and thinks. For nobody believes there is
no God, but he for whom it is expedient
that there were no God.

Certainly,

OT A T PI E I S M. 2^

Certainly it appears in nothing more,
that Atheifm fits upon the lips rather than
upon the heart, than by this, that Atheifts
are often talking of, and defending their
opinion ; as if they dllhelieved themfelves,
and would be glad to be upheld and
ftrengthened by the confent of others. Fur-
ther, you fhall fometimes fee Atheifts en-
deavouring to get themfc;lves difciples, as
other feds do. Nay, what is very fl: range,
fome of them have undergone death and
torture, rather than recant ; whereas, if
they thought from their heart that there
was no fuch thing as God, why are they fo
anxious in procuring advocates to fupport
their caufe ?

Epicurus is charged with having dlflem-
bled, for his credit's fake, when he affirm-
ed, that there were certain biefled natures
indeed, but fuch as enjoyed themfelves,
without having any concern in the govern-
iTient of the world. In wliich opinion they
fay he temporized, when in truth he thought
there was no God. But it feems he is tra-
duced, for his words are noble and divine :
" To deny the gods of the vulgar is not
^^2 *' profane ;

84 O F A T H E I S M.

^* profane ; but to npply the opinions of the
*' vulgar to tlie gods is profane.'* Plato
himfelf could have faid no more. Whence
it appears, that, although he had confi-
dence enough to deny the divine adminiftra-
tion, yet he had not the affu ranee to deny
their nature. The hidians of the IVeJi have
names for their particular Gods, though
they have no general name that fignifies
God : as if the heathens, for example,
ifliould have had in ufe the names o^ Jupiter,
Apolloy Mars^ &c. but no word to exprefs
Goidi. Which fhews fufficiently, that the
moll barbarous people have a notion of a
Divine Being, though they have not the la-
titude and extent of his power. So that
againft Atheifts the greatefl favages take
part with the very fubtileft of the phllofo-
phers. The contemplative Atheift is rare ;
a Diagoras, a Bion^ a Lucian perhaps, and
a few more ; and yet they feem to be more
than they are ; becaufe all that deny a receiv-
ed religion, or fuperflition, are by the ad-
verfe party branded with the name of A-
theifts. But the great Atheifls indeed are
hypocrites, who are ever handling holy
things, but without feeling them ; till at

laft

OF ATHEISM. 85

iaft they become callous, even to the fenti-
ment of a Deitv,

The caufes of Atheifm are, divlfions in
religion, if they are many ; for one divifioix
only increafes the zeal of both iides ; but
many divifions introduce Atheifm. Ano-
ther caufe is, the fcandal of priefts, when
it comes to that which St. Barnard hints at ;
Non eji jam dicere, ut populus, fc facerdos ;
^u'm nee fic populus, ut facerdos. A third is,
a profane cuftom of turning religion into
ridicule, which, by little and little, wears
away the reverence of its do£lrine. And
laftly, learned times, joined with peace and
profperity : for calamities and adverfity
ftrongly incline mens minds to religion.

They that deny a God, deflroy man's
nobility ; for it is mofl certain, that man is
allied to the beafts by his body ; and if he
be not related to God by his fpirit, he is a
very bale and ignoble creature. They de-
ftroy likewife the magnanimity and exalta-
tion of human nature ; for, take example
by a dog, and mark what a fpirit that crea-
ture affumes, and what a generofity he puts
G 3 on,

85 O N A T H E I S M.

on, when he finds himfelf mamtamed by a
man, who to him is inftead of a God, dip
better nature ; which courage i^ manifeflly
fuch, as that creature, without the affu-
rance of a better nature than his own, could
never attain : fo llkewlfe man, when he
refls upon, and places his hope, in the di-
vine proteclion and favour, gathers an aflb-
rance and flrength beyond what human na-
ture, left to itfelf, could have obtained.
Wherefore as Atheifm is in all refpe6ls hate-
ful, fo in this, that it deprives human na-
ture of the means to exalt itfelf above hu-
man frailty. As it is in particular pcrfons,
fo is it likewife in nations. Never was there
fuch a flate for magnanimity as Ro?ne :

Hear, therefore, what Cicej'o fays :

^^am volumus, lice I, Pa I res Cofifcripti, nos
miemus^ tamen nee nunwo Hifpanos, nee robore
Gallos^ &c. " We may think as well of
" ourfelves, Confcript Fathers, as we pleafe ;
*' neverthelefs, we have neither exceeded
" the Spaniards in number, the Gauls in
^' ftoutnefs, the Carthaginians in craft, the
*' Grecians in arts, nor finally, the Italians
5' and Lafms themfelves in the natural fenfe
«* peculiar to this people and country ; but

"in

I

OF SUPERSTITION. 87

in piety and religion, and in this fingle
wiidom of difcerning clearJy, that all
things are direded and governed by the
over-ruling providence of the immortal
Gods ; herein we have outgone all coun-
tries and nations of the world."

OF SUPERSTITION.

TT were better to have no belief of a God
at all, than fuch a belief as is unworthy
of him ; for the one is infidelity, the other
impiety and contumely. And certainly Su-
perftition is the reproach of the Deity.
Plutarch hjs well to that purpofe : " Sure-
" ly, I had much rather men fhould fay,
*' there never was any fuch man at: all as
" Plutarch^ than that they fhould fay,
*' there was one Plutarch, that ufed to eat
*' and devour his children as foon as they
*' were born ; as the poets tell of Saturn^^
And as the contumely of Superftition Is
greater with regard to God, fo alfo is the
danger of it greater with regard to men.
G 4 Fpr

88 OF SUPERSTITION.

For Atheifm does not wholly eradicate the
dictates of fenfe, philofophy, natural affec-
tion, the laws, nor a defire of reputation;
all which, though there was no religion,
may conduce to an outward moral virtue; but
Superflition difmounts all thofe, and exer-
cifes an abfolute tyranny ov-er the minds of
men. Therefore, Atheifm never raifes dif-
turbanccs in ftates ; for it makes men wary,
and confult their own fecurity, as looking
no farther. We confequently fee the very
times inclined to Atheifm, as thofe o^AugiiJius
Ccefar^ were peaceable times. But Super-
flition has been the ruin of many kingdoms
and flates; for it brings in a ntw primum mobile
tliat carries away with it all the fpheres of
government. The mafter of Supcrflition is
the people ; in all Superftition wife men
follow fools; and arguments fubmit to prac-
tice in a reverfed order. It was gravely
faid by fome of the prelates in the council
of Tre?itj where the dodrine of the fchool-
men bore great fway ; " That the fchool-
*' men were like aftronoraers, who have
'' feigned eccentric circles, and epicycles,
<^' and fuch engines of orbs, to folve pheno-
*^ mena; though they knew well enough

" there

OF SUPERSTITION, S^

" there were in reality no fuch things."
And in like manner, that they had invented
a number of fubtile and intricate Axioms
and Theorems to defend the pradice of the
church.

The caufes of Superftition are, pleafing
and fenfual rites and ceremonies ; excefs of
outward and pharifaical hoHnefs ; too great
reverence for traditions, which cannot but
load the church ; the firatagems of prelates
for their own ambition and lucre ; the fa-
vouring too much of good intentions, which
opens the gate to conceits and novelties ;
the forming an idea of divine by human
matters, which mufi: breed a mixture of in-
coherent imaginations ; and laftly, barbarous
times, joined with calamities and difafters.

Superstition, without a veil, is odious
in the extreme ; for as it adds deformity to an
ape to be fo much like a man, the fimilitude
of Superftition to Religion, makes it the
more deformed. And as wholefome meats
are corrupted to little worms, fo are good
and found rites and forms into a number of
petty and fuperfluous obfervances.

There

9<^ OF TRAVELLING.

There is a Superftition fometlmes in
avoiding Superftition ; when men think the
way they take fo much the purer, the more
they deviate fi-om the Su perditions before
received. Therefore care fhould be taken in
reforming religion, as in purging the body,
that the good be not taken away with the
bad; which is commonly done, when the
people are the reformers.

OF TRAVELLING.

nPRAVELLING in youth, is a part of
education ; in age a part of experience.
He that goes into foreign parts before he
has made lome entrance into the language of
the country he goes to, goes to fchool, not
to travel. That young men travel under a
tutor, or fome experienced fervant, i well
approve, provided he underftands the lan-
guage, and has been in the country before ;
that he may be able to tell them, what
things are worthy to be feeii and known

where

OF TRAVELLING. 9I

where they travel ; what friendfliips and ac-
quamtances are to be contracled ; and what
fludles and difclpUnes are in refpecl there :
for otherwile young men will travel hood-
winked, and look abroiid to httle purpofe.

The things to be feen and obferved are
thefe ; the courts of princes, efpecially w^heii
they give audience to foreign ambaffadors;
the courts of juilice, when caufes are plead-
ing ; and fo of confiftories ecclefiaflic ;
churches and monafteries, with the monu-
ments which are extant ; the walls and for-
tifications of cities and towns; the havens
and harbours ; antiquities and ruiiis ; libra-
ries, colleges , difputations and ledures ;
navies and fhipping ; palaces, and gardens
of ftate and pleafure near great cities ; ar-
mories; arfenals; magazines; exchanges;
warehoufes ; exercifes of horfemanfhip and
fencing; muftering and training of fol-
diers ; comedies, fuch I mean to which the
better fort of people refort ; trcafuries of
jewels and robes ; curiofities and rarities ;
and to conclude, whatfoever is famous or
iiiemorable in the places through which
they pafs : after thefe, the tutors or fervants

ought

^2 OF TRAVELLING.

ought to make diligent enquiry. As for
triumphs, mafques, feafts, weddings, fune-
rals, capital executions, and public fpecla-
cles, men need not be put in mind of them ;
yet 'tis certain thofe things are not wholly
to be negledled.

If you have a mind that a young man
Ihould epitomize his Travels, and in a fhort
time gather much, I would advife you to ob-
ferve the following plan : Firfl, he muft
have fome entrance into the language, be-
fore he goes. Then he mufl have with him
fome fervant or tutor that knows the coun-
try well, as was before obferved. Let him
have by him alfo fome book or map of the
country where he travels ; which will be a
key to his enquiries. Let him make a diary
alfo. Let him not ftay long in one city or
town : more or lefs, as $he place deferves,
but by no means long. Nay, whilft he
ilays in any city or town, let him change
his lodging often from one part of the town
to another ; for this doubtlefs is a kind of
load-ftone to attra£t the acquaintance and
converfation of abundance of perfons. Let
him fequefter himfelf, for the moft part,

from

OF TRAVELLING. 93

from the company of hk countrymen, and
diet in fuch places as the better fort of com-
pany of the nation where he travels, eat
together.

Likewise upon his removal from one
place to another, let him procure letters of
recommendation to fome perfon of quality
refiding in the place whither he removes ;
that he may ufe his favour and fervice ia
thofe things he deiires to fee or know. By
this means he may quicken the advantage
of travel.

As for the acquaintance and friendfhlps
to be made in travel, the moil: profitable of
all is that made by the fecretaries and inti-
mate fervants of ambafladors : for thus, by
travelling in one country, he will extract
and imbibe the knowledge and experience
of many.

Let him alfo vifit perfons eminent, in all
kinds, that are of great character abroad ;
that he maybe able to mark, how their face,
afped, lineaments, and motions of their
body, agree with the report.

As

94

OF TRAVELLING.

i\s for quarrels and private animofities,
with care and diligence avoid them. They
arife mofl commonly upon the account of
miflrefles, healths, place, and difputes : and
let a man beware efpecially, how he keeps
company with choleric and quarrelfome per-
fons, for they will engage him in their own
quarrels.

When a traveller returns home, let him
not leave the countries, where he has tra--
veiled, altogether behind him ; but let him
preferve and cultivate the friendfhip of thofe^
with whom he has contracted an acquaint-
ance (thofe I mean that are of mofl: worth)
by epiflolary corrcfpondence : let his travel
appear rather in his difcourfe, than in his
apparel or gefture ; and in his difcourfe, let
him rather confider what to anfwer ad-
vifedly, than be forward to tell flories. Let
this alfo be apparent in him, that he has not
changed his country manners for thofe of
foreign parts : but rather, that he has inter-
fperled the cuftoms of his own countrv with
fome flowers, as it were, of what he has
learned abroad.

Of

I

I

OF EMPIRE. 95

OF EMPIRE.

T Is a miferable ftate of mind, to have
few tilings to deiire, and many to fear :
and yet this commonly is the very cafe of
kings, who being at the fummit, wantfcope
of afpiring ; which make their minds more
languifhing: and, on the other hand, have
many phantoms of perils and imaginary
fears, which make their minds lefs ferene.
And this is one reafon alfo of that effedt,
which the Scripture attributes to kmgs,
*' That the king's heart is infcrutable." For
a multitude of jealoulies, and the want of
fome predominant defire to command and
marfhal the reft, makes any man's heart hard
to find, or found. Hence it comes to pafs,
that kings frequently make themfelves de-
fires, and fet their hearts upon trifles : fome-
times Tipon eredling buildings ; fometimes
upon inftituting an order or college ; fome-
times upon the advancement of a perfon ;
fometimes upon exercifmg fome mechanical
art, or feat of the hand; as Nero fludied

play in";

96 OF EM P I R E.

playing upon the harp ; 'Domitlan^ fhooting ;
Commodus^ fencing; Caracalla^ chariot- driv-
ing. This may feem incredible to fuch as
are unacquainted with the axiom, " That
'' the mind of man is more cheared and re-
*' frefhed by advancing in fmall things, than
*' by {landing ftill in great ones." We fee
alfo that kings, who, in the beginning of
their empire, have been exceeding fortunate
in viiStories, and fubduing provinces (it'^being
fcarce pofiible for therfi to make perpetual
advances, but that they mufl fome time or
other meet with crofs, retrogade fortune)
have, in the end, turned fuperftitious and
melancholy : as did Alexander the Great ;
Dioclejtan ; and, in our memory, Charles the
Fifth; and others. For he that has been
always ufed to go forivard, and meets at lafl:
with a flop, falls out of favour with him-
felf, and is no longer what he was.

I proceed now to treat of the true tem-
perature of Empire ; which is a thing rare
and hard to keep. For both temper and
diflemper confift of contraries. But it is
one thing to mingle contraries, another to
interchange them. The anfwer of Jpollonlus

is

A

O F E M P I R E. 97

IS full of excellent w'lfdom : Veffiajian afked
him, " What was Nero's overthrow r" He
anfwered, " Nero knew how to touch and
" tune the harp well ; but in government he
*' fometimes ftrained the ftrings too much ;
" and fometimes relaxed them too much."
mofl: certain it is, that nothing deftroys au-
thority fo much, as an unequal, fubfultory,
and unleafonable interchange of power,
fometimes wound up too high, fometimes
let down too low.

Nevertheless this alfo is true, that the
wifdom of the modern times, as to the ma-
nagement of princes affairs, confifls chiefly
in cafting about for, and the fitting of re-
medies and efcapes of mifchiefs and dan-
gers when they are near ; rather than the
beating off, and keeping of them aloof by
a folid and grounded courfe of wildom,
before they impend. But this is only to
contend with fortune. Let men beware how
they negled the materials that give birth to
commotions : for no man can forbid the
fpark that kindles the fire, nor tell from
what quarter it may break forth. The dif-
ficulties and impediments in the affairs gf

Vol. I. II princes

9^ O F E M P I R E.

princes are no doubt many and great ; biit
frequently the greateft impediments are
the paffions and manners of the princes
themfelves. For the refolutions of fove-
reigns (as 'T'achus well obferves) are gene-
rail v violent and contrary. Sunt plerumque
regum volmitates veheinentes, & inter fe con-
trariac. And it is the inconfiftency of great
power, to think of commanding the end,
and yet not endure the means.

Kings have to deal with their neigh-
bours, their wives, their children, their
prelates and clergy, their nobles, their fe-
cond nobles, or gentlemen, their merchants,
their commons, and the military power;
and from all thefe arife danger, if care and
circumfpe6lion be not ufed.

As for their Neighbours, there can be
no general rule given (the occafions are fo
variable) fave one, which ever holds good.
It is this, princes fhould be perpetually upon
the watch, that none of their neighbours
grow too powerful, whether by encreafe of
territory, encouragement of trade, or by ap-
proaching too near, as to become more able

to

OF EMPIRE.

99

to annov them, than they were before. Thig
is generally the work of llianding councils
to forefee and hinder. Certainly, during
the triumvirate of kings, (Hewy the Vlllth
,of Knghind, Francis the Ifl; of France, and
Charles the IVth of Spa/ n) there was fuch vi-
gilance among them, that none of the three
could gain an inch of territory, but the other
two would immediately counterbalance it,
either by confederation, or if necefl'ary, by
war ; and would not take up peace at inte-
reft. The like was done by that league
(which Guicclardine faid was the fecurity of
Italy) made between Ferdmando king of Na^
pies ; Lorenzius de Me did s ; and Ludovicus
Sforza, potentates, the one of Florence, the
other of Milan, Neither is the opinion of
fome of the fchoolmen to be received ;
" That a war cannot juftly be undertaken,
*' but upon a precedent injury, or provo-
" cation :" for there is no queftion, but 3
juft fear of imminent danger, though ther$
be no blow given, is a competent and law»
ful caufe of war.

For their Wives ; there are cruel and bar-
barous examples upon record, hivia is in^
H 2 famous

.10^ OF E M P I R E,

^famous for poifoning of her hufband ; Roxa-
lana^ Solyman?, wife was the deftrudlion of
the renowned prince Mufta-pha ; and other-
■wife troubled the fuccellion, and houfe of
her hufband. Edward the Second of Eng-
land's queen, had the principal hand in the
depofing and murder of her hufband. This
kind of danger is then chiefly to be feared,
■%vhen the queens have plots for raifmg their
children by a former hufband, or when they
live in adultery. •

With refpe6l to their Children ; the trage-
dies occafioned by them, have been many:
and generally, fufpicions taken up by fathers
againfl their children have been unfortunate.
The murder of Mujlapha was fo fatal to Soly-
inan's line, that the fuccefTion of the ^urks
from Solyman^ until this day, is held fulpe^l-
ed, as untrue, and of flrange blood ; becaule
Solyman the fecond was thought to be fup-
pofititious. The deflirudlion alfo of Crifpus^
a young gentleman of rare talents, by Con-
Jtant'mus the great his father, was in like man-
ner fatal to his houfe ; for both Conjlantlnus
and Conjfance^ his fons, died violent deaths ;

and

O F E M P I R E, 10 1

and Conjlantlus, his furvlving Ion, died indeed
of ficknefs, but not till Julian had taken up
arms againft him. The deflrudlion likewife
of Demetrius, fon to Philip the fecond of
Macedofiy turned upon the father, who died
of grief and repentance. And many like
examples there are ; but few, or none,
where the fathers have reaped any good by
fuch diftrufts ; except where the fon s were
in open arms againft the fathers ; as Selymus
the firfl was againfl his flither Bajazet ; and
the three fons of Henry the fecond, king
of England,

There is danger from their Prelates alfo,
when they are great and proud. As in the
times of Anfelmus, and Tha?nas Becket, Arch-
bifhops of Canterbury ; who with their cro-
fiers did aliiioft contend for the fovereignty
with the king's fword ; and yet they had to
deal with ftout and haughty kings, JVilliam
Rufus, Henry the firft, and Henry the fe-
cond. But danger of this kind from the
prelates is not much to be feared, unlefs
where the clergy depend upon the autho-
rity of a foreign jurifdidion ; or where the
H 3_ clergy

I

lOi OF EMPIRE,

clergy are ele(r};ed by the people, and not
by the king, or particular patrons.

In regard to their Nobles ; to reftraln and
keep them at a juft diftance from the royal
throne is not impolitic ; but to deprefs
them, may make a king perhaps more abfo-
lute, though in the mean time lefs fafe, and
lefs able to perform any thing that he de-
fires. This I have noted in my hiftory of
king Henry the feventh *, who always de-
preffed his nobility : whence it came to pafs,
that his times were full of difficulties and
troubles. For the nobility, though they
continued loyal unto him, yet they did not
co-operate with him in his bulinefs ; fo that
in effed he was obliged to do all things
himfelf.

There is not much danger from fecond
nobles, being a difperfed body. They may
fometimes talk big, but do little hurt ; be-
fides, they are a counterpoife to the higher
nobility, that they grow not too potent : and
laflly, having immediate authority over the

* A new edition of tliis HHioiy is jufl pubilllied from the
Ldgographlc Prefs, in 8vo.

commozx

OF EMPIRE,

03

common people, they befl temper popular
commotions.

Merchants ; like the vetta porta of the
bod)^ convey vigour and fpirit to the flate ;
if they flourifh not, though a kingdom may
have good limbs, it will foon decay for want
of nourifhment. Taxes, and exceffive im-
pofts, feldom encreafe the king's revenue ;
for what he gains in part, he lofes in the ag-
gregate ; the particular rates being encreafed,
but the total bulk of trading is diminiihed.

There Is feldom danger from the Com-
mons ; except it be, where they have great
xmd potent heads ; where you introduce a
change in point of religion ; in their antient
cufloms ; in impofing heavy taxes ; or other
things, that curtail their livelihood.

Lastly, for the Military ; it is very dan-
gerous where they are united into one body,
whether as an army or garrifon : of w^hom
we fee manifefl; examples in the Janizaries ^
and Pretorian bands of Rome. But raifing
of men, and training them to arms, in feve-
ral places, and under feveral commanders,
H 4 without

104 OF COUNSEL.

without donatives, are fubje6ls of defence,
and not danger.

Princes are like heavenly bodies, which
caufe good or evil times by their influence ;
and which have much majefly, but no re-
pofe. All precepts concerning kings are
comprehended- in thofe two memorials :
" Remember that thou art a man;" and,
** Remember that thou art a God ; or,
" God's vicegerent :" The one of which
tends to the bridling of their power ; the
other, to the ruling of their will.

OF COUNSEL.

''T^HE greateft truft between man and man
is that of giving Counfel. For in every
other fort of confidence, we commit to others
only the parts of life ; as lands, goods,
children, reputation, and other particular
affairs ; but to fuch as we make our Coun-
fellors, we commit the whole. The more

then

■OF COUNSEL. 105

then are thofe obliged to a6l with integrity
and fmcerity, that iuftain the part of Coun-
fellors. , *

Even the wifefl princes need not think it
any diminiuion of their authority, to ufe
the counfel of choice perfons. Nay, God
himfelf is not without Counfel ; but makes
it one of the great names of his bleffed
Son, to be called "the Counfellor." Solomon
hath pronounced, that " in Counfel is la-
bility." Human affairs, doubtlefs, will
have either their firft, or fecond agitation :
If they are not difcufled by the argu-
ments of Counfel, they will at leaffc be
vague and fluctuating from the impulfe of
fortune, and like the reeling of a drunken
man, without progreflion.

Certainly Solomon\ fon found the force
of Counfel, as his father faw the necefiity
and ufe of it. For the beloved kingdom of
God was hrft rent and broken by ill Coun-
fel ; upon which there are fet, for our in-
ftrudtion, the two marks whereby the
bad may for ever be difcerned ; The
one, that it was young, with refped to the

perfons ;

106 OF COUNSEL,

perfons ; and the other, that it was violent,
as to the matter.

The wifdom of the ancients has repre-
fented hi a parable, as well the union and
infeparable conjunction of Counfel with
kings, as the wile and politic ufe thereof to
be made by them : The one, by tell-
ing us, that Jupiter married Metis (which
word lignlfies Counfel), whereby they hint,
that Counfel is in (lead of a fpoufe to fove-
relgnty : the other, which is in the feqiiel
of the ficllon : they fay, that, after Metis
was married to Jupiter, flie was with child
by him ; but that Jupiter waited not till flie
brought forth, but eat her up ; whereby he
became hlmfelf with child, and was deliver-
ed of Pallas armed, out of his head. Which
monftrous fable has a fecrct of Empire
couched under it, viz. in what manner Kings
ought to carry themfelves towards their ca-
binet Council : firH:, to propofe matters to
their confideratlon ; which is the firfl: con-
ception : next, when they hav^e been well-
laboured, moulded, and fhaped in the womb,
and are grown ripe, and ready to be brought
forth, that then they fuffcr them not to fi-"

iiifh

OV COUNSEL^

107

nlfK the refolutlon, as if it depended upon
their authority, but take the matter back
into their own hands, and make it appear to
the world, that the final decrees and re-
folves, like Pallas armed, proceed from
themfelves, and ilTue not only from their
authority, but in order to raife their reputa-
tion, from their own head and ingenuity.

Let us fpeak now of the inconveniences
of Counfel, and its remedies. The Incon-
veniences that appear in calling and ufmg
Counfel, are three: Firll:, that it reveals
affairs, and renders them lefs fecret. Se-
condly, that it feems to derogate from the
authority of Princes, as if they were lefs
independent. Thirdly, that there is dan-
ger of unfaithful counfel, fuch as tends
more to the good of him that counfels, than
of the Prince himfelf. To remedy which
inconveniences, the doftrine of Italy, and
pradices of Fr^;7c^, in certain Kings times,
have introduced Privy Councils, commonly
called Cabinet Councils ; a remedy worfe
than the difeafe.

As

JoS OF COUNSEL*

As to fecrecy : Princes are not obliged to
communicate all matters \vith all Counfel-
iors ; but may extract and fele£t, as well
perfons as affairs. Neither is it neceffary for
a Prince who confults what he fhould do, to
declare at the fame time what he will do.
But let Princes beware that the difclofing of
their fecrets come not from themfelv^es. Aiid
as for Cabinet-Councils, it may be their *
Motto, Plenus rlmarum fum ; '* I am very
*' leaky." One weak perfon that makes it
his glory to tell, will do more hurt than
many, that know it their duty to conceal.
It is true, there happen fome affairs of fuch
a nature, as to require the utmofl fecrecy ;
fuch as fhould hardly go beyond the know-
ledge of one or two perfons, befides the
King himfelf : and thofe Councils are ufu-
ally profperous ; for befides the fecrecy^
they generally go on fteadily, and in one
fpirit of diredtion, without contention.
But then this only fucceeds well, when the
King is a wife man ; and thofe fecret Coun-
fellors had need alfo be fagacious men, and,
above all things, true and trufty to the
King's ends ; as it was with King Henry the
Seventh of Englafjd^ who imparted his fe-
cret Si

OF COUNSEL. 109

crets of importance only to two, Morton and

Fox,

As for weakening of authority, the fa-
ble (hews the remedy. Nay, the majefty
of Kings is rather exalted, than diminished,
when they fit in the chair of Counfel. Nei-
ther was there ever Prince that loft autho-
rity by his Council, except where there has
happened an over-greatnefs in one of them ;
or an over-ilri^t. combination in many :
which two mifchiefs are foon found, and
remedied.

For the la ft inconvenience, viz, " That
*' men will counfel with an eye to them-
'< felves ;" doubtlefs that Scripture, " He
■" fhall not find faith upon earth,*' is to be
under ftood of the nature of the times, and not
of all particular perfcns. There are men to
be found that are in nature faithful, fincere,
plain, and direct ; not crafty and intricate.
Let Princes, above all things, draw tothem-
felves fuch fubjeds. Belides, Counfellors
are feldom fo united, but that one
keqps centinel over another ; fo that if
any one gives Counfel out of faction or pri-
vate

no OFCOUI^SEL.

vate ends, it prcfently comes to 'the King's
ear. But the beft remedy is, for Princes to
endeavour to know their Counfellors tho-
roughly, as well as their Counfellors to
know them :

Fr'incipis cjl virtiis maxima jiojjc fuos.

But, on the other fide, it becomes not
Counfellors to be prying into their fove-
reign's perfon : , for the true compofition of
a Counfellor is, rather to be fkilful in their
mafter's bufmefs, than in his -temper :
then he is like to advife dire£lly and honefl:-
ly, and not to fuit himfelf to his Prince's
humour, in order to pleafe.

It is of fingular ufe alfo to Princes, to
take the opinions of their Council, both fe-
parately and together. For private opinion
is more free ; but opinion before others is
more guarded. In private, men are more bold
in their own humours ; but in concert, are
more obnoxious to others humours : there-
fore it is ffood to take both : of the inferior
fort, rather in private, to preferve freedom ;
of the greater, rather in concert, to pre-
ferve refpe^l.

It

OF COUNSEL, III

-It is in vain for Princes to take Counfel
concerning things, if they take none like-
wife concerning perions : for all Things
are as dead images ; and the life of the ex-
ecution of affairs confifts chiefly in a right
choice of perfons. Neither is it fufficient
to confult concerning perfons, feamdum ge^
nera^ as in an idea, or mathematical defcrip-
tion ; that is, what the kind and chara^er
of the perfon ought to be ; for the greateft
errors are committed, and the moil judg-
ment is fhewn, in the choice of indivi-
duals.

This faying alfo fliould not be forgot ;
Optimi ConfiUarn mortui : Books do not fpare
to fpeak truth, when living Counfellors
perhaps are apt to ffide into flattery. There-
fore it is good to turn over books much,
efpecially of fuch authors as have them-
felves been at the helm.

Councils, at this day, In mofl: places,
are hardly any thing elfe but meetings, and
familiar converfluions ; where matters are
rather talked over, than debated with due
arguments. And they generally run too

precipitately

il2 OFCOUNSEL,

precipitately to the order, or a6l of Council.
It would be better, that, in caufes of impor-
tance, the matter was propounded one day,
and fpoken to the next, in nodfe conjiUum. So
was it appointed in the commiffion of Union
between 'England and Scotland .^ which was a
grave and orderly affembly.

For private petitions, I approve of fet
days : as this both gives the petitioners more
certainty for their attendance, and it frees and
dilburthens the more folemn meetings for
matters of ftate, that they may be the better
able hoc agere^ *' to attend the prefent bufi-
iiefs."

In choice of committees for ripening bu-
fmefs for the Council, it is better to chufe
indifferent perfons, that incline to neither
fide, than to make a kind of equality, by
putting in thofe that flrongly favour both
fides.

I COMMEND alfo {landing Commiffions ;
fuch, for inftance, as fhall feparately take
care of trade, the treafury, war, fuits, par-
ticular provinces ; for where there are par-
ticular Councils, and but one Council of

flate,

OF C O U N S E L. 113

ftate, as It is in Spa'm^ they are in effect no
more than Handing commifTions, only they
have greater authority.

Let fuch as are to inform connclls out
of their particular profeffions, as lawyers,
feamen, mintmen, &c. be firft heard be-
fore committees ; and then, as occafion
ferves, before the council : and let them
not come in multitudes, or in a tumultuous
manner ; for that is only to perplex, not
to inform them,

A King, when he prefldes in Council,
fliould beware how he declares his own
opinion too foon : If he does this, the Coun-
fellors will take the lead from him, and,
inflead of a free Counfel, will be flattering
and fervile.

Vol. I. I OF

114

OF DELAYS,

OF DELAYS.

T70RTUNE is not unlike the market ;
^ where many times, if you can ftay a
little, the price will fall. Again, it is fome-
times likened to the 5"%/'^ offer, who at firft
prefents the commodity entire, then con-
fumes fome parts, and ftill demands the
whole price. For occaiion, as we have it
in the common verfe, *' turns us a bald
*' noddle, after fhe has prefented her locks
" in front, and no hold is taken :'* Or at
leaft turns the handle of the bottle firft to
be received, and afterwards the belly, which
is hard to grafp.

There is furely no greater wifdom than
to time well the beginning and onfet of
things. Dangers are no longer light,
than they feem fo ; and more have received,
than have offered violence. It were better
to meet fome dangers half way, than to be
perpetually enquiring into, and watching
their motions and approaches ; for he that

over-

OF DELAYS,

115

over- watches himfelf fometimes falls afleep.
On the contrary, to be deceived with too
long (hadows, as fome have been when the
moon was low, and fhone on their enemies
back, and (o to flioot off before the time ;
or to teach dangers to come on by too early
preparation againfl them, is another extreme.
For the ripenefs or unripenefs of the occa-
on, muil: ever be exa6lly weighed. And
generally it is good to commit the beo-in^
ning of all great adlions to Jrgus with his
hundred eyes ; and the end to Briareus with
his hundred hands ; firfl to watch, and then
to fpeed. The helmet of Pluto^ which tru-
ly makes the politic man invilible, is fecre-
cy in counfel, and celerity in execution ;
there is no fecrecy comparable to Celerity ;
like the motion of a cannon-bullet, which
flies fo fvvift, that it outruns the eye.

I 2 Of

Il6 OF CUNNING,

OF CUNNING,

BY Cunning, we mean a certain crooked
and finifler wifdom. And certain it
is, there is a great difference between a
cunning and a wife man ; not only in
point of honefty, but alfo in point of abili-
ty. There are fome that know how to pack
the cards, and yet cannot play well ; fo
there are fome, that have a good knack at
managing canvaffes and fadions, who are
otherwife weak men. Again, it is one
thing to undei-ftand the nature and manner
pf perfons, and another thing to underfland
bufinefs ; for many are perfect in mens hu-
mours, that are not greatly capable of the
real part of bufinefs ; which is the very
conftitution of one, who has ftudied men
more than books. Such men are fitter for
practice than counfel, and are good only in
their own walks. Turn them to new men,
and they have lofl: their aim ; fo as the old
rule, to know a fool from a wife man,
^' fend them both to ftrangers and you ihall

*' fbe,"

OF CUNNING. Xiy

" fee," doth fcarce apply to thefe men : and
bccaufe thefe cunning men are like haber-
dafhers of fmall wares, it will not be amifs
to examine their fliops.

It may be reckoned a point of Cunning,
for a man to obferve nicely the countenance
of him with whom he fpeaks ; a rule which
the Jefuits alfo obferve : for there are many
men, and thofe wife too, that have fecret
hearts, and tranfparent countenances ; but
this fliould be done with a demure down caft
of the eye by turns, as the Jefuits alfo ufed
to do.

Another piece of Cunning is; that when
you defire to obtain any thing eafily, and
to have it foon difpatched, you detain and
pre-engage the party with whom you
treat, by bringing in difcourfe fome other
bufniefs, left he ihould be too much awake
to objections and fcruples. I knew a certain
counfellor and fecretary, that never came
to Queen Elizabeth with bills to fign, but
he would firft draw her into difcourfe about
fome weighty flate-afflfn-s, to the end that
I 3 being

Il8 OF CUNNING.

being intent upon thefe, flie might be lefs
attentive to the bills.

A SUDDEN furprife has the fame effect.
Bringing forward a fubje^l, when the party
treated with is haftening to others, and can-
not allow time to confider the matter ac-
curately.

If a man would crofs a bufnefs that he
doubts fome other would handfomely and
effedually move, let him pretend to wifli it
well, and move it himfelf ; but in fuch a
manner as to deftroy the fuccefs of it.

The breaking off in the middle of dif-
courfe, as if a man took himlelf up, creates
a greater defire in him with whom you
confer, to enquire further : and, as that
makes a ftronger impreffion which is got
from you .by queflion, than what you offer
of yourfelf, you may lay a bait for a quef-
tion, by putting on an unufual vifage,
whereby an occafion may be given to the
other to alk, *' What that change of coun-
*' tenance means ;" as Nehemiah did : " And

" I had

CF CUNNING. 119

" I had not before that tune been fad before
" the king.'*

In things that are tender and unpleafmg,
it is good to break the ice by fome whole
words are of lefs weighty and to referve the
more weighty voice, to come in as by chance
upon the other's fpeech ; as NarciJJus- did^
in rehiting to Claudius the marriage of Me/--
falina and Slllus*

In things that a man would not be ittn
in himfelf, it is not anlifs to borrow the
name of the world : as if a man fliould ufe
fome fuch form as this ; " The world fays ;'*
orj " There is a fpeech abroad."

I KNEW one, that when he wrote a let-
ter, would always put that which was mofh
material in the poftfcript, as a thing that he
had almoft forgot.

I KNEW another, that, when he came to
have a conference with any perfon, ufed to
pafs over that which he was mod concern-
ed for, go away, then come back again, and
1 4 at

lid O F C U N N I N G.

at lad mention the thing, as if it had
almofl flipt out of his mind.

Others permit themfelves to be fnrprif-
ed, when it is likely the party they lay wait
for, will fuddenly come upon them, and be
found with a paper in their hand, or doing
fomething contrary to cuftom ; that they
may be afked about thofe things, which in
reality they are defirous themfelves to re-
late.

It is a good piece o£ Cunning to let
fall thofe words in a man's own name,
which he would have another man lay hold
and make ufe of, that thereby he may
enfnare and ruin the other.

I KNEW two that were competitors for
the fecretary's place in queen Elkabetb's
time, who neverthelefs treated one another
amicably, for they often conferred together
about the bufinefs of their competition : and
one of them faid, " That to be fecretary in
*' the declenfion of a monarchv,'* was a
thing of no fmall danger ; and that he for
his part did by no means aiFed an honour of

that

O F C U N N I N G. 121

that kind. The other fliralght caught up, in
limphcity of heart, thofe words which were
craftily ti'irown out, and difcourfed freely
with fome of his friends, " That he had no
*' reafon to be ambitious of the fecretary's
*' place in the declenfion of a monarchy.**
The firfl mad^ advantage of this, and took
care to have thofe words brought to the
queen., as though uttered by his competitor :
who refenting the expreffion, when ihe
thought herfelf in vigour, would never after
hear of the other's fuit.

There is a cunning, which we in Eng-
land call " The turning cat in pan ;'* which
is, when that which a man fays to another,
is mentioned as if another had faid it to him ;
and indeed it is not eafy when fuch a mat-
ter paffed between two, to make it appear
from which of them it firll originated.

There is an artifice in ufe, of glancing
at others, to jufrify one's felf by negatives :
as to fay, " This I do not do;" as rigelii-
71US did by insinuation againft Burrhus % Sc
91671 diver/as Jpes, fed Incolumitatem imperatoris^
fimpUciter fpcdlari\ And Panneno, in the Eu-
nuch ;

122 o F C U N N IN G.

finch : At que hcec qui mijit, non Jtbl foli pojluhit
fe vivere : neque pugnas narrate neque cicatrices
fuas ojfentat, neque t'lbi ohjiat, quod quidam facltj
'Dcrum ubiy ^c.

Some have in readinefs fo many tales and
ftories, that there is nothing they would in-
fniuate, but they can wrap up in a tale ;
whence they both keep themfelves more on
their guard, as affirming nothing exprefsly,
and yet caufe the matter itfelf to be fpread
with greater delight.

It is a point of good Cunning, for a mail
to ftiape the anfwer he would have, in his
own words and propofitions ; for it makes
the other party lefs inclined to hefitate.

It is ftrange to fee how long fome men
will wait for an opportunity to fpeak fome-
thing they are defirous to communicate,what
a compafs they will fetch : and how many
other matters talk over, that they may come
to the point aimed at. This certainly is a-
thing of great patience, but of much ufe.

An

O F C U N N I K G* 12

An unexpecled bold queflion, fometlmes
furprizes a man, and lays him open. Some-
thing like this happened to a man that had
changed his name, and walking in St. PauFs,
another came behind him, and called him by
his true name ; on which he immediately
looked back.

But thefe petty points of Cunning are
infinite ; and it would be a good deed, to
make a large lift of them, becaufe nothing
does more hurt in a flate, than for cunnins:
to pafs for wife men.

But certainly there are fome, that know
the periods and paufes of buhnefs, who are
not able to enter into the heart and bottom
of it : like houfes, that have convenient
flairs and entries, but not a aood room.
Therefore you Ihall fee fuch men find out
pretty iffues or out-lets in the conclufion of
deliberations, who are no ways able to exa-
mine or debate on them. And yetthej' fre-
quently take advantage of others inabiUtv,
and would be thought fitter to dired and
determine, than to dlfpute. Some build
more upon abufmg of others, and putting

tricks

l24 OF SELF- WISDOM.

tricks upon them, than on the foundnefs
of their own proceedings : but Solomon faith,
" The wifdom of the prudent is to under-'
*' ftand his way; but the folly of fools is
*' deceit." Prov, xiv. 8.

OF SELF- WISDOM.

A N Ant is a wife creature foritfelf ; but
it is de{lru6live to an orchard or gar-
den. And certainly men that are too great
lovers of themfelves, are an injury to the
public. Divide therefore with reafon be-
tween felf-love and the love of the public ;
and be your own beil friend, fo as not
to be injurious to others ; efpecially to
your king and country. Self is a poor cen-
tre of a man's a£lions ; like the earth which
ftands faft upon its own centre ; whereas
every thing that has affinity with the hea-
vens, move upon the centre of another
which they benefit.

The

OF SELF- WISDOM. 1 25

The referring of all to a man's felf is
more tolerable in fovereign princes, becaufe
their felf is of a complex nature ; and the
good or evil they do extends to the public
fortune. But it is a defperate evil in a fer-
vant to a prince, or a citizen in a republic :
for whatever affairs pafs through fuch a man's
hands, he contrives them to anfwer his own
ends; which muft needs be often eccentric to
the endsof hismafler, orthe ftate. Therefore
let princes and flates chufe fuch minifters
and fervants, as liave not this mark upon
them ; unlefs they mean their own affairs
fhould be made but an acceffary. That
which makes this effe£l the more pernicious,
is, that all proportion is lofl. For it is dif-
proportion enough, when the fervants good
is preferred before the mailer's ; but it is
a greater extreme, when a little good of the
fervant is carried againft a greater good of the
mafter's : yet this is the cafe of bad officers ;
as treafurers, ambaffadors, generals, and
other fervants when falfe and corrupt ; who
are often biafled by their own paltry views
and jealoufies, to the overthrow of their
mafters great and important affairs. Though
for the mofl part, the good fuch fervants

receive,

126 OF S E L F - W I S D O M.

receive, is after the model of their own for-
tune ; but the hurt they do, in exchange
for that good, is after the model of their
mafters fortune. For the nature of thefe felt-
lovers is fuch, they will fet a neighbour's
houfe on fire, if it be but to roafi: their eggs ;
and yet fuch fervants many times hold cre-
dit with their mafters ; becaufe their ftudy
is but to pleale them, and profit themfelves ;
and to accomplilli either they will betray
the fortune pf their conftituent.

Wisdom for a man's felf only, is, in many
refpe6ls, a depravity of heart. It may be
compared to the fagacity of rats, that will
be fure to leave a houfe a little before it
fiills : to the cunning o'i the fox, who thrufts
the badger out of the hole that he dug
for himfelf: to the art of the crocodile,
that fheds tears, when he would devour.
But this is particularly to be obferved ; that
thofe fort of men, who (as Cicero fays of
Pompey) " are lovers of themfelves without
^' a rival," are many times unfortunate :
and as they have all their life facrificed to
themfelves, in the end they fiacrifice to the

incon-j

OF INNOVATIONS. 12^

inconftancy of Fortune^ whofe wings they
thought they had dipt by that notable Self-
wifdom.

OF INNOVATIONS.

A S living creatures, at their firft births,
are ill-fhapen ; fo are all Innovations,
which are the birth of time. Yet, notwith-
ftanding, as thofe that firfl bring honour
into their family are commonly more wor-
thy than their fuccefibrs, fo the firft patterns
and precedents of things (when they are
happily caft) are generally beyond the power
of the fucceeding age to imitate. For ill,
in the perverted nature of man, has a natu-
ral m.otion, which grows flronger by con-
tinuance : but good, as in all forced motions,
is jftrongefl at firft.

Certainly, every medicine is an Inno-
vation ; and he that will not apply new re-
medies, mufl exped new evils : for time is

the

I2& OF INNOVATIONS.

the great innovator ; and if time, of courfe,
alters things for the worfe, and wifdom and
counfel do not labour to alter them for the
better, what will be the end ? It muft be
granted, that what is fettled by cuftom,
though it be not good, yet at leaft is fit for
the times ; and that thofe things, which
have long gone together, are joined to one
another by a kind of confederacy : where-
as, on the other fide, new things do not fo
well agree with old ; for though they help
by their utility, 3^et they trouble by their
novelty and want of conformity. Befides,
they are like Grangers and foreigners, more
admired, and lefs loved. All this is true in-
deed, if time ftood ftill ; vvrhich on the con-
trary, runs round inceffantly in a circle.
Hence it is, that a flilT and froward reten-
tion of cuftom is as turbulent as an Inno-
vation ; and they that reverence antient
ufages too fuperflitioufly, are the fcorn of
the prefent age. It were prudent therefore,
if men in their Innovations would follow the
example of time itfelf ; for time innovates
more than any thing ; but does it quietly,
and by degrees fcarcely to be perceived ; for
this is certain, that whatever is new comes

OF INNOVATION.

129

iiiiexpe6led and unlooked for; adds fome-
thing to one, and takes from another : now
he that Is bettered by an Innovation, thanks
Fortune and the time ; but he that is hurt,
accufes the author of the Innovation of doing
him an injury.

It is good alfo, not to try new experi-
ments in bodies politic, except the neceflity
be urgent, or the utility evident ; and to
take good care that it be the defire of reform-
ation that draws on the change, and not the
defire of change that pretends the reform-
ation. Further, all novelty, though per-
haps it mufi: not be rejeded, yet ought ever
to be held fufpecfled. And laftly, as the
Scripture directs, " Let us make a ftand
*' upon the antient ways, and then look
" about us and difcover what is the ftraight
" and right way, and fo walk in it."

Vol.1. K Of

130 OF DISPATCH.

OF DISPATCH.

/^VER- GREAT and afFeaed Difpalch
^^^ is generally the ruin of bufinefs. It is
like that, which the phyficians call predi-
geftion, or hafty-digeftion ; which is wont
to fill the body with crudities, and fecret
feeds of difeafes. Therefore meafure not
Difpatch by the times of fitting to bufinefs,
but by the advancement of the bufinefs it-
felf. And as in a race, it is not the large
ftride, or high lift of the feet, but the
low and even motion of them, that makes
the fpeed ; fo in bufinefs, the keeping clofe
to the matter, and not greedily taking too
much of it at one time, procures difpatch.

It is the only concern of fome, to feem
to have done much in a little time ; or to
contrive fome falfe periods of bufinefs, to
the end they may be thought men of dif-
patch. But it is one thing to abbreviate by
contracting, another by cutting off: and
bufinefs fo handled, that is, at feveral fit-
tings

OF DISPATCH. 131

tliigs or meetings, goes commonly back-
ward and forward, in a very unfteady man-
ner. I knew a wife man, that had it al-
ways in his moiiih, when he faw men
haften too much to a conclufion ; " Stay a
" little, that we may make an end the foon*
" er."

On the other fide, true Difpatch Is a
precious thing. For time is the meafure of
bufinefs, as money is of wares. Therefore
bufinefs is bought at a dear rate, where
there is too much delay. The Spartans and
Spaniards have been noted for fmall Dif*-
patch ', Mi venga la muerte de Spagna ;'*
" Let my death come from Spain\' then I
am fure, it will be long a coming.

Give fair hearing to thofe that are ap*"
pointed to give the fir ft information in bufi-
nefs ; and rather dired them in the begin-
ning, than interrupt them often in the thread
of their fpeeches : for he that is put out of
the order he prefcribcd himfelf, v^^ill go for-
ward and backward, and become more pro-
lix, whilft he recoUeds his memory, than
he would have been otherwife, if he had
K 2 gone

1^2 OF DISPATCH.

gone on in bis own method. But fometimes
it is feen, that the moderator is more trou-
blefome than the orator.

Repetitions are commonly lofs of time :
neverthelefs there is no gain of time equal
to that of repeating often the ftate of the
queftion : for it caufes many a frivolous
fpeech to mifcarry in the very birth. Long
and curious fpeecbes are as fit for difpatch
as a long robe trailing upon the ground is
for a race. Prefaces, fine tranfitions, apo-
logies, and other fpeeches referring to the
perfon of the fpeaker, are great wafters of
time ; and though they may feem to pro-
ceed from moderation, yet in truth their aim
is glory. Yet beware of falling point-blank
upon the matter at firft, when there is found
any impediment or obftrudion in mens
wills ; to remove prepofl'efiions in the au-
dience requires an exordium ; like a foment-
ation before-hand, to make the unguent
enter the more kindly.

Above all things, order, and diftribu-
tion, and an apt feledion of parts, are the
life of difpatch; yet fo that the diflri-

bution

OF DISPATCH. 133

butlon be not too minute : for he that does
not divide, will never enter cleverly into bull-
nefs ; and he that divides too much, will
fcarce come out of it clearly. To make a
prudent choice of time faves abundance of la-
bour ; and an unreafonable motion is but
beating the air, and mifpending time. There
are three parts of bufinefs : the preparation,
the debate or examination, and the perfec-
tion. If you look for expedition, let the
middle be the work of many ; but the firft
and the laft the work of few.

To enter upon bufinefs from a written
plan, for the moft part promotes difpatch :
for though it fhould happen to be wholly
rejecled, yet that negative is more pregnant
of direction, than an indefinite ; as afhes are
more generative than dufl.

K 3 Of

J34 OF SEEMING WISE,

OF SEEMING WISDOM,

TT is a received opinion, that the French
are wiler than they feem ; and the Spa^
n'mrds feem wifer than they are. But how-
ever it he between nations, it is certainly fo
between man and man. For as the apoflle
fpeaks of godlinefs, '' Having a fhew of
" godlinefs, but denying the power there^
" of;" fo certainly there are fome to be
found, that trifle folemnly, being by no
means wife men ; Magno conatunugas. Surely
it is a ridiculous thing to perfons of judg-
ment and fit for fatire, to fee into how many
fh^pes thefe pretenders will turn themfelves,
and what fhades they ufe, to make a furface
feem a body, which hath depth and bulk.

Some are fo clofe and referved, that they
will not fhew their thoughts but by a half
light ; and would always feem to referve
fomething, and to hint rather than to fpeak :
and wdien they know within themfelves,
t\\dX they are fpeaking of that they do not

well

I

OF SEEMING WISE. I35

well underftaud; they would neverthelefs
feem to others to know that which they can
not fafely ipeak.

Some help themfelves with countenance
and geflure, and are wife as It were hy figns ;
as Cicero faith of Pifo, that when he an-
fwered him, he drew one of his brows up
to his forehead, and bent the other down to
his chin : Refpondes, altera adfrontem Juhlato,
altera ad mentum deprejfofupercilio, crudelitatem
tibi non placere.

Others think to carry their point by
fpeaking a great word, and that in a peremp-
tory ftile : and fo on they go, and take for
granted that, which they cannot make good.

Whatever is above fome men's capa-
city, they will feem to defpife or make light
of, as impertinent or curious ; and fo pafs
their ignorance upon others for exad judg-
ment.

Others are ever ready with fome dif-
tlnaion ; and for the moft part, by amufmg
men with a fubtilty. Hide over the matter.
K4 ^^

136 OF SEEMING WISE.

Of men of this defcrlption ^. GelUus faith,
<' A fuperficial wit, that breaks the weight
<* of things by the niceties of words." Of
which kind alfo, Plato in his Protagoras^ by-
way of banter, brings in Prodicus making a
fpeech that confifts of diflindions from the
beginning to the end.

Generally, fuch men in all delibe-
rations love to be of the negative fide, and
affect a credit by Parting and foretelling im-
pediments and difficulties ; for when a pro-
pofition is utterly rejeded, there is an end of
it ; but if it be allowed, it requires a new
work ; which fpurious kind of Wifdom is
the very bane of bufmefs.

To conclude, there is not a deep indebted
merchant, nor fecret bankrupt, has fo many
arts to make a fhew of wealth, as thefe
empty perfons have to uphold the credit of
their fufficiency. Certainly, men of fuch a
ftandard of wifdom may eafily get repute
among the common people : but let no man
chufe them for weighty employments : for
doubtlefs you had better take for bulinefs a
man fomewhat abfurd, than fuch a naufe-
ous formalift. O F

OF FRIENDSHIP. J ^y

OF FRIENDSHIP.

TT would be difficult indeed, even for him
that fpake it, to have put more truth and
untruth together, and in fewer words too,
than in this fentence : «' Whofoever is de-
'' lighted with foHtude, is either a wild
'' beaft, or a god:" for it is mofl true,
that a natural and fecret hatred of, or an
averfion to fociety in any man, has fome-
thing of the favage beafl: ; yet it is equally
untrue, on the contrary, that it fhould have
any charadler at all of the Divine Nature,
unlefs it proceeds not merely from a love
of folitude, but from a defire of fequeflering
a man's felf, in order to attend higher con-
templations ; fuch as is found to have been,
but affededly and feignedly, in fome of the
heathens ; as in Epimenides the Candian, Nw
ma the Roman, Empedocles the SicUian, and
Apollonius of Tyana : but ftridly true in fe-
vera! of the ancient hermits, and holy fa-
tl ers of the church.

Men,

128 OF FRIENDSHIP.

Men, however, have a very imperfed
notion of what is called folitude, and what
are its limits. For a great crowd muft
not be called company; faces are but a
gallery of pictures; and talk, where there
is no love, is no better than a tinkling cym-
bal. The Latin adage hints as much, " A
«' great city is a great wildernels ;'* becaufe,
in great towns, friends and acquaintance
are remotely difperfed, fo that there is not
that fellowfliip, for the moft part, which
is in lefs neighbourhoods. But we may go
further flill, and affirm moft truly, that it
is a meer and miferable folitude to want
true friends, without w^hom the world is
but a wildernefs ; and even in this fenfe alfo
of folitude, whofoever in the frame of his
nature is averfe to Friendfhip, takes this
4ifpofition from the beaft, and not from the
man.

The greateft fruit of Friendfhip is the
cafe and difcharge of the anxiety and fwell-
ings of the heart, which the paflions, of
what kind foever, ufually create. We
know that thofe difeafes in the body are moft
dangerous, which arife from ftoppages and

fuffocations ;

I

OF FRIENDSHIP.

39

fuffocations : and it is not much otherwife
in difeafes of the foul. You may take far-
za to open the Hver, prepared fteel to open
the fpleen, flower of fulphur for the lungs,
caftor for the brain ; but there is no opening
medicine found for the obllrudlions of the
heart, befides a faithful friend ; to whom
you may impart griefs, joys, fears, hopes,
fufpicions, cares, counfels, and in fliort
whatfoever lies upon the heart, under the
feal as it were of a civil confeffion.

It is flrange to confider, how high a rate
the greateft princes and monarchs let upon
this fruit of friendfhip, of which we arc
ipeaking: fo great, that they purchafe it
Ibmetimes at the hazard both of their own
fafety and greatnefs. For princes, from
the diflance and fublimity of their for-
tune, above that of their fervants and
fubjeds, cannot gather this fruit, unlefs, to
gather it the better, they raife and advance
lome perfons, to be in fome meafure com-
panions and equals to themfelves ; which
many tmies, is not without inconvenience.
The modern languages give fuch perfons
tlie i^ame of favourites, as if it were a

matter

140 OF FRIENDSHIP.

matter of grace or converfatlon ; but the
Roman name expreffes the true ufe and caufe
thereof, namhig them Partkeps curarum,
*' Part;akers of their cares ;'* for this is that
which ties the knot. And we fee plainly
this has been done, not by foft and weak
princes only, but by the wifeft and moft
politic that ever reigned ; who have often
joined themfelves to fome of their fervants,
whom they have called friends, and allowed
others to honour them with that name ; ufmg
no other word, than what is received between
private men.

L. Sylla, after he had feized the Roman
empire, raifed Pompey (afterwards furnam-
ed the Great) to that height, that he gave
himfelf airs, as if he were now become
' Sylla's fuperior : he had made a friend of his
conful, in oppofition to Sylla, at which Sylla
was offended, and fpoke fome words of high
refentment : Pompey could not brook this,
but almoft in exprefs words bade him be
quiet; adding, " that more men adored
" the fun-rifmg than the fun-fetting."
With Jtilius Ccejar, Dedmus Brutus had that
intered, that Oefar made him heir in re-
mainder

OF FRIENDSHIP. 14I

mainder after his nephew O^av'ius, And
this was the man that lured C^far to his
death. For when defar intended to have
difcharged the fenate, on account of fome
ill prefages (efpecially a dream of his wife
Calpurnia)^ Brutus lifting him gently by the
arm out of his chair, told him, he hoped
*' he did not value a fenate fo little, as to
" think of diflblving it, till fuch time as
*' his wife had dreamed a better dream."
And he feems indeed to have been fo highly
in favour with Cafar^ that Antony^ in a let-
ter, which is recited verbatim by Cicero in one
of his Philippics^ charged him with forcery,
as if he had enchanted Ccejar, Auguftiis
raifed Agrippa^ though of mean birth, to
that height, that when he confulted with
Macenas about the marriage of his daughter
y«//^, Maecenas took the liberty to tell him,
" That he mufl either make Agrippa his
" fon-in-law, or take away his life ; that
" there was no other alternative, fince he
*' had made him fo great."

Tiberius Cesar advanced Sejanus to
fuch honours, that they were reckoned as a
pair of friends : ^iberius^ it is certain, in a

letter

"142 OF FRIENDSHII'.

letter to him, writes thus : " Thefe things,
" in regard of our friendship, I have not
" concealed from you :" and the whole fe-
nate dedicated an altar to Friendfhip, as to a
goddefs, from a regard to the flrong affedlion
of friendfliip between them.

An inftance of a like, or even greater
friendfhip, is feen betw^ee;i Septimius Severus
and Plantianus ; for he forced his eldeft fon
to marry Plantianus'' s daughter ; and he of-
ten honoured Plantiafius^ even to affront his
fon. Nay more, he wrote to the fenate in
thefe words : " I love the man fo well, that
*' I wifh he may furvive me." Now, had
thefe Princes been like a 'Trajan^ or a Mar^
cus AureliuSy this might have been attributed
to an extraordinary goodnefs of nature in
them ; but being men of fuch wifdom,
Arength, feverity of mind, and fuch migh-
ty lovers of themfelves, it proves clearly,
that they have looked upon their own hap-
pinefs (though greater had fcarce ever hap-
pened to mortal men) as defedive, unlefs
by fuch friendfhips it had become entire and
perfed. And yet, what is more, they were
princes that had waves, fons, and nephews ;

flill

I

OF FRIENDSHIP.

43

ftill all thefe things could not fupply the
comforts of friendfhip.

The obfervation is by no means to be for-
got, that Comm'mes has left of his firfl maf-
ter, Duke Charles^ furnamed the Hardy ;
namely, " that he would communicate his
*' fecrets with no one ; and leaft of all,
*' thofe fecrets that troubled him moft."
And he goes on, and fays, " That
*' the clofenefs in his latter years, did
*' a little impair and perifh his underftand-
*' Ing." Surely Commines might, if he had
pleafed, have made the fame judgment of
his fecond mafter, hewh the Eleventh^ whofe
clofenefs was his torment. The parable of
Pythagoras is dark, but excellent : " Eat
*' not thy heart.** Certainly, if a man
would give it a hard phrafe, thofe that want
friends to impart their thoughts and anxie-
ties freely to, are cannibals of their own
hearts.

But this is very wonderful, wliich con-
cludes my difcourfe, concerning the firft
fruit of friendfhip, namely, that this com-
municating of a man's felf to his friend,
I works

144 OF FRIENDSHIP.

works two contrary efFe£l:s; it redoubles
joys, and cuts forrow in half, For no
man imparts his joys to a friend, but he
enjoys them more ; and no one communi-
cates his forrows to a friend, but his forrows
are lefs. So that in truth it has the fame
virtue and operation upon a man's mind, as
the alchymifts ufe to attribute to their ftone
upon a man's body ; that is, to work con-
trary effeds, but ftill to the good and bene-
fit of nature. But yet, without calling in
the aid of chymifts, there is a manifefl
image of this, in the ordinary courfe of
nature. For in bodies, union cherifhes and
flrengthens all natural adions ; and, on the
other fide, weakens and deadens any violent
impreffion ; and even fo it is in minds.

The fecond fruit of friendfliip is benefi-
cial to the underftanding, as the firft to the
afFedions. For friendfliip introduces a fere-
nity in the afFedlions from florms and tera-
pefts ; but in the underftanding, it even
drives away darknefs and infufes light, by
diflipating confufion of thought. Nor is
this to be underftood of faithful counfel
only, fuch as friends ufe to give ; but be-
fore

OF FRIENDSHl1>,

45

fore we fpeak of that, certain it is> that
whofoever has his mind fraught trith many
thoughts, his wit and underflanding clear
up as it were into day-light, by communi-
cating counfels, and difcourfing with ano-
ther. For he conveys his thoughts mor^
eafily, and turns them all ways ; he marfhals
them more orderly ; he looks them in the
face, when they are turned into words :
finally, he becomes wifer than himfelf;
and that more by an hour's difcourfe, than
by a whole day's meditation. It was well
faid by Themiftocles to the King of Peijitj^
" That conference was like tapeftry, open-
*' ed and unfolded, whereby the figures ap-
" pear diflindly ; whereas thoughts, like
" packs, are complicated and involved."

No-R Is this fecond fruit of friendfhip,
Xvhich confifls in opening the obflrucflions
of the underflanding, reftrained only to
fuch as are able counfellors ; they doubtlefs
are befl ; but even fetting that afide, a
man certainly learns of himfelf, brings- his
own thoughts to light, and whets his wit as
againfl a flone, which cuts not itfelf. In a
word, a man had better impart himfeb" to a

146 OF F R I ENDSH I p.

ftatue or pi6ture, than fmother his thoughts
in filence.

Let us add, to make our difcourfe con-
cerning this laft fubjedl more complete, the
following obfervation, which falls within
vulgar notice ; I mean " faithful counfel
" from a friend." HeracUtus afferts well
in one of his Enigmas, " That dry light
*' is befl." And mofl certain it is, that the
light which proceeds from another by way
of counfel, is purer than that, which iflues
from a man's own judgment and under-
ftanding, which is ever infufed with parti-
ality in his affeftions ; fo that there is as
much difference between the counfel of a
friend, and what a man gives himfelf, as
between the counfel of a friend and a fla-
terer. For there is not a more deadly flat-
terer than a man's felf, nor a more fovereign
remedy againfl it than the liberty of a friend.

Counsel is of two forts : the one con-
cerning manners ; the other concerning bu-
finefs. For the firft. The befl: prefervativc
to keep the mind in health, is the admoni-
tion

I

OF FRIENDSHIP. J^y

tion of a faithful friend. The calling of a
man's felf. to a ftricl account, is a medicine
fometimes too piercing and corrofive. Read-
ing books of morality is a little flat and
dead. Obferving Our own defeats in
others, as in a mirror, fometimes, as it hap-
pens alfo in glafles, does not anfwer exact-
ly. But, the beft medicine to take, and
moft efFe6live, is the admonition of a
friend.

It is ftrange to behold, what grofs errors
and extreme abfurdities, fome, efpecially of
the greater fort, commit, for want of a
friendly counfel, which hurts both their re-
putation and fortune ; for they are, as the
Apoftle St. James fays, " As men that look
" into a glafs, and prefently forget their
*' own fhape and favour."

As for bufinefs, it is an old faying,
*' That two eyes fee better than one." It
is alfo well faid, " That a looker-on often
•' fees more than a player." Further, a
muiket is fhot off with more certainty upon
a reft than upon the arm ; though fome are
fo highly conceited, as to think thcmfelves
L 2 all

I4S OF FRIENDSHIP.

dl in all. But, whatever may be faid to
the contrary, it is certain that counfel di-
rects and eftabliflies bulinefs.

Now, if man takes counfel by pieces,
afking in one bufinefs of one man, and in
another bufmefs of another, it is well, or
better, perhaps, than if he alked none at
all ; but he runs two dangers ; one, that
he will fcarce meet with faithful counfel ;
for it is a rare thing, except it be from a
perfed and entire friend, to have counfel
given that is not likely to be perverted to
fome ends which he has, who gives it ; the
other, that the counfels coming from diffe-
rent perfons, though given honeftly, and
with good intention, will be often hurtful
and unfafe; mixt and made np partly of
mifchief, and partly of remedy : even, as
if you fhould fend for a phyfician, that is
thought good for the cure of the difeafe
you complain of, but is unacquainted with
your conftitution, and therefore may put you
in a way for prefent cure, but with dan-
ger of prejudicing your health in the end,
and fo cure the difeafe, and kill the patient.
But a friend, who is perfedlly acquainted

with

OF FRIENDSHIP. 149

with a man's eftate, will beware, by fur-
thering any prefent bulinefs, how he dafhes
upon a future inconvenience ; and therefore,
I would not advife you to reft upon fcatter-^
ed counfels, for they will rather diftrail and
mlflead, than diredl and fettle.

After thefe two noble fruits of friend-
fhip, I mean " peace in the affedions, and
<v fupport of the judgment," follows the
laft, which is, like the pomegranate, full of
many kernels ; I mean aid, and bearing a
part in the actions and occaiions of life.

And here, the moft expeditious way of
reprefenting to the life the manifold ufe of
friend fhip, is to look about and fee how
many things there are which a man cannot
handfomely do himfelf ; and then it will
appear, that it was not hyperbolical, but a
fober fpeech of the antients to fay, *' That
" a friend is a fecond felf ;" fince, if a
man confiders the thing truly, the offices
of a friend furpafs a man's own ftrength.
Men are mortal, and die ma\iy times in the
midft of certain works, which they have
principally at heart ; as in the marrying of
L 3 a fon,

I^O OFFRIENDSHIP.

a foil, the confummating of their attempts
and defires, and the like. Now, if a man
has a faithful friend, he has a fecurity gi-
ven him, that thofe things will be finifhed
by the care and labour of his friend, after
his death ; fo that an untimely death is
fcarce any prejudice ; and a man has (to
fpeak after the manner of farmers) not one,
but two lives in his defires. A man is con-
fined to a body, and that body confined to a
place ; but where fi-iendfliip Is at hand, all
offices of life are granted to him, and his
deputy.

How many things are there, which a
man cannot do himfelf with any grace or
decorum ? He cannot recite his own merits
with modefty, much lefs extol them : A
man cannot brook to fupplicate or beg ; and
yet there is an infinity of things of this kind.
But thefe things are graceful enough in a
friend's mouth, which are blufhing in a
man's own. Again, a man's perfon or cha-^
ra£ler carries with it many concomitants,
which he cannot put off. A man cannot
fpeak to a fon, but as a father; to a wife, i
but as a huiband ; to an enemy, but with a J

referve ; *

OF REGIMEN. I5I

referve ; whereas It is allowed a friend to
fpeak, as the cafe requires ; nor is he tied up
to any regard for perfon or character. But
to enumerate thefe things were endlefs. I
have given the rule : where a man is not
able to ad his own part in the play, if he
has not a friend, it is better for him to quit
the flage.

OF REGIMEN.

T N the ordering of health, thfere is a wif-
dom to be found beyond the rules of
phyfic : a man's own obfervation, what he
finds good, and what is hurtful, is the bed
phyfic to preferve health. But it is a fafer
conclufion to fay ; " I have found hurt by
*' this, therefore I will not continue it ;"
than this, " I find no offence of this, there-
*' fore I may ufe it." For ftrength of na-
ture in youth covers many excelTes, which
are owing a man till his age. Dlfcern the
coming on of years, and venture not to con-
L 4 tinue.

l^Z OP R E G I M E N.

tinue the fame things always : for there is
no defying age.

Beware of a fudden change in any prin-
cipal point of regimen ; and if neceffity en-
force it, fit the reil: to it. For it is a fee ret
both in nature and politics, " That it is
*' fafer to change many things than one
" great one.'* Examine your cuftoms of
diet, deep, exercife, apparel, &c. and then
try to difcontinue it by little and little ; yet
fo as to return to it again, if you find any
inconvenience by the change : for it is hard
to diflinguifh that which is good and whole-
fome, from that which fuits your particular
conftitution,

To be free-minded and chearfully difpo^
fed at hours of meat, fleep, and exercife, is
one of the befl: precepts for prolongation of
life. As for the paffions of the p:ixnd and
ftudies ; ayqid envy, anxious fears, anger
kept in, fiibtle and knotty difquifitions, joy
and exhilaration in excefs, fadnefs fmother-
ed. Entertain hopes ; mirth rather than
joy ; variety of delights, rather than fatiety ;
wonder and admiration, and therefore no-
velties

OF REGIMEN. 1 53

/eltles ; ftudies that fill the mind with fplen-
did and illuftrious objeds ; as hiftories, fa-
bles, and contemplations of nature.

If you totally fly phyfic In health, It will
be too ftrange to your body when there is
a neceffity for it. If you make it too fa-
miliar, it will work no extraordinary efFeifl
when flcknefs comes, I approve rather cer-
tain diets, at certain feafon^ than frequent
ufe of phyfic ; unlefs it be grown into a cuf-
torn. For thofe diets alter the body more,
and trouble it lefj.

Despise not any new and unufual acci-
dent in your body, but take advice about it.

In ficknefs refpea health principally;
and in health make ufe of your body, and
be not over-indulgent to it. For thofe that
put their bodies to endure, in health, may,
in moft illneffes, fuch I mean as are not very
acute, be cured by diet only, and proper at-
tention, without much phylic.

Celfus could never have given this direc-
tion as a phyfician, had he not been a wife

matt.

•154 O F R E G I M EN.

man. He a'dvifes as a fecret of Health and
long life, that a man vary, , and, now and
then, interchange contrarieties ; but with an
inclination to the more benign extreme. For
inftance ;' ufe a fpare and full diet, but often-
er the latter ; accuftom yourfelf to watch-
ing, and full fleep, but rather full fleep ; to
fitting and exercife, but rather exercife : for
fo fliall nature be both cherilhed and flrength-p
ened at once.

Physicians are fomeof them fo pleafing
and conformable to the humour of the pa-
tient, that they prefs not the true cure of
the difeafe ; and fome others are fo regular
and ftrid in proceeding according to art,
in the cure of the difeafe, that they do not
fufficiently regard the condition and nature
of the patient. Take a phyfician of a mid-
dle defcription; or if this fucceed not to
your defire in any one phylician, combine
two of either fort ; and forget not to fend
for, as well the beft acquainted with your
body, as the befl approved of in his profef-
fion»

Of

QF SUSPICION, 155

OF SUSPICION.

OUSPICIONS among thoughts, are llk&
bats among birds ; they never fly but by
twilight. Certainly, they ought to be re-
prefled, or at leaft to be carefully guarded :
for they cloud the underftanding, alienate
friends, and interrupt bufinefs ; fo that it
can neither be carried on chearfully nor
fteadily. They difpofe kings to tyranny ;
hufbands to jealoufy ; even wife men to ir-
refolution and melancholy. They are de-
fe6ls, not fo much of the heart as of the
brain : for they find room even in the ftout-
eft natures ; as in the example of Henry the
Seventh of England ; than whom there was
not a more fufpicious or refolute man. And
in fuch a compofition they do little hurt ; for
commonly they are not admitted, but with
examination whether they are probable or not.
But in fearful natures they gain ground a
great deal too faft. Certainly nothing makes
a man fo fufpicious, as to know little. There-
fore the beft remedy againfl fufpicions, is for

1^6 OFSUSPICION*.

a man to make good enquiry. '' What would
*' men have, I wonder ? Do they thuik that
** all men, that they employ and converfc
*' with, are angels or faints ? Don't they
*' know, that they labour for their own private
* ends ; and that every man is nearer a-kiii
" to himfelf than to another ?'* Therefore
there is no better way to moderate fufpicions,
than to provide remedies, as if the fufpicions
were true ; and to bridle them, as though
they were falfe. For fo far fufpicions may
be of ufe, viz. in putting us upon making
fuch provifion, as that, though the thing we
fufped is true, yet it may do us no hurt.

Suspicions, which the mind fofters, are^
nothing but empty phantoms. But fuch as,
are nourifhed by outward artifice, and put
into men's heads by the ftories of whifper-
crs and tale-bearers, have certainly flings.
The beft way to get clear of this intricate
wood of fufpicions, is a frank and open de-
claration of them to the parties we fufpefl.
For thereby we cannot fail of knowing more
of the truth than we did before: and this
will likewile make the party we fufped
more cautious and circumfped, not to give

fur-.

OF DISCOURSE.

'SI

further caule of fufplcion. But this muft
not be done to men of bafe, degenerate na-
tures : for if they find themfelves once fuf^
pe6led, they will never be true afterwards.
The Italians have a bye -word : Sofpetto licen-*
fia fede : as if fufplcion gave a paffport to
faith ; v^hereas it ought rather to kindle it,
in ofder to clear itfeif.

OF DISCOURSE.

COME in their difcourfe affeA rather
the commendation of wit, in being able
to hold up all arguments, than of judg-
ment, in finding out the truth : as if it were
deferving praife, to know what may be faid,
and not what ought to be rejeaed. Some
have in readinefs certain common places and
themes in which they are luxuriant, but as
to other fubje^fs barren : which kind of po-
verty is for the moft part tedious,, and, vvhea •
it is deteded, ridiculous.

The

158 OF DISCOURSE^

The mofl honourable part of difcourfd
is this : to introduce a fubjed feafonably,
and moderate it, and then to pafs to fome-
thing elfe : for then a man leads the dance.
It is good, in converfation and familiar dif-
courfe, to vary every now and then, and to
intermingle the converfation of the day with
topics of difpute ; flories with arguments;
afking of quelHons with telling opinions ;
and jeft with earneft : for it is cloying to
dwell upon any thing too far.

As for jeft, there are certain things which
ought to be exempted from it, by a kind of
privilege ; namely religion, matters of ftate,
great perfons, private men's bufmefs of im-
portance, or any cafe that deferves pity.
Yet you will meet with fome, who think
their wits afleep, unlefs they have darted out
fome poignant and biting farcafm at a man.
That is a habit which fhould by all means be
reftrained ;

■ Farce puer Jiltmills^ k^ fortiui utcre loi'ls.

In fhort, a difference is to be obferved
between attic wit and bitternefs. Certainly,
he that is fond of a fatyrical vein, as he

makes

OF DISCOURSE.. 1 59,

makes others afraid of his wit, fo he fhould
be afraid of others memory.

He that interrogates much, (hall both
learn and pleafe much ; efpecially if he adapt
his queftions to the capacity and ikill of the
refpondent ; for he will give him an pcca-
iion to fhew his knowledge, and will him-
felf be continually gathering a new increafe
of it. But let his queftions not be trouble-
Ibme, for that is fit for a difputant.

Further, he that would keep up the de-
corum of familiar difcourfe, let him leave
other men their turns to fpeak. Nav, if
there be any that affed to reign in difcourfe,
and to take up all the time, let him find
fome art to take them ofF, and to bring others
on ; as the mulic is wont to moderate the
dancers.

If you diffemble fometimes your know-
ledge of that you are thought to know, you
fhall be thought another time to know what
you know not.

. Speech

t6o OF DiSCOtJRSfi.

Speech of a man's felf ought to be rare^
and with judgment* I knew one, who
would often fay, by way of irony; " He
*' mull needs be an exceeding wife man,, he
*' talks fo much of himfelf." There is
fcarcely any cafe where a man can commend
himfelf with good grace, excepting one ; and
that is, in commending virtue in another ;
but I mean fuch a virtue to which he him-
felf afpires.

Speech that ftings others, fhould be fpa-
ringly ufed : for familiar difcourfe ought to
be as an open field, wherein a man may ex-
patiate ; not like the high road, that leads
home. I knew two noblemen of the wt{^
part of England, one of which indulged him*
felf too much in raillery, but was exceeding
hofpitable ; and the other would alk thofe
that had been at the table of the former ;
*' Tell truly, was there never a flout or dry
*' rub given to any body ?" To whom the
gueft would perhaps anfwer ; " Such and
** fuch a thing pafled.'* Upon this he, as
being the other's rival, would fay, " I knew
*' well enough, he would fpoil a good din*
" ner with bad fauce."

Discretion

O F E X P E N C E. i6l

Discretion of fpeech is beyond elo-
quence ; and to fpeak fuitably to the perfon
with whom we talk, is more effedlual than
to aftecl method and the ornament of words.
A good continued fpeech, without the ability
of replying, /hews flownefs : and a good re-
ply, or fecond fpeech, without an ability of
makuig a continued one, difcovers a poverty
of knowledge : as we fee in beafts, thofe
that are weak in the courfe, are nimbleft in
the turn ; as it is between the greyhound
and the hare. To ufe too long an exordium
e*re we come to the matter, is tedious ; to
ufe none at all, is blunt and harfh.

OF EXPENCE.

nn H E end of riches is expence : the end
of expence, honour, and honourable
a£lions. Therefore extraordinary expence
muft be limited by the worth of the occa-
fion. For voluntary poverty is a debt fome-
times to a man's country, as well as to the
Vol.1. M king.

i

1 62 o F E X P E N C E.

kingdom of heaven ; but ordinary expence
ought to be limited by a man's eftate, to
be fo governed as not to exceed his in-
come, and not fubjed to impolition or
carelefsnefs of fervants : further, to be
ordered and managed to the beft ihtw, fo as
that the diiburfements may be lefs than the
generality of the world thinks. Certainly,
if a man would not run out, his ordinary
Expences ought not to exceed the half of his
receipts ; and if he thinks to increafe his
eftate, not the third part of them.

It is no meannefs, even in the greateft
men, to condefcend and look into their
eftates. Many forbear this, not fo much
out of negligence, as out of a fear of cha-
grining themfelves, if they Ihould find mat-
ters in an ill ftate. But wounds cannot be
cured without fearching. He that does not
look into his eftate himfelf, had need both
chufe well the fervants he employs, and
change them often : for new ones are m.ore
timorous, and lefs fubtle. If a man can look
into his accounts but feldom, it behove?
him to examine them with a degree of cer?
painty,

A MAN

OFEXPENCE. 163

A MAN had need, if he is expenfive in
one inflance, to be as faving again in fome
other. For example, if he be expenfive in
diet, to be faving in apparel : if plentiful in
the hall, to be faving in the ftable. Since he
that is profufe in all kinds of Expences, will
hardly be preferved from ruin.

In clearing an eftate, a man may as well
hurt himfelf by too much hafte, as by too
much delay. Hafty felling is commonly
as difadvantageous as money taken up at in-
terefl. Befides, he that clears at once is in
danger of a relapfe. For finding himfelf
out of freights, he will return to his old
ways : but he that extricates himfelf by de-
grees, induces a habit of frugality ; and
cures his mind and eflate at once.

He that would repair a decayed eflate,
muft not defpife even the minutefl: things :
and it is lefs difhonourable to cut off petty
charges, than to ftoop to petty gains. A
man ought to be very wary in beginning
charges, which once begun will continue :
but in Expences that are not likely to return,
he may be more fplendid and magnificent.
Ma Op

164 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, kc.

'T^HE fpeech of T/jemi/Iocks, applied to
himfelf, was Indeed rather haughty and
arrogant ; but had it been fpoken of others,
and in general, it may feem to have compre-
hended a very wife obfervation, and grave
cenfure. Defired at a feafl to touch the lute,
he anfwered, " He could not fiddle, but yet
he could make a fmall town a great city.**
Thefe words drawn to a politic lenfe, excel-
lently exprefs and diflinguifh tw^o different
abilities in thofe that fit at the helm of States.
For if a true furvey be taken of all counfel-
lors of princes, fenators, and flatefmen that
ever were, there will be found doubtlefs,
(though very rarely) thofe that can make a
fmall ftate great, yet cannot fiddle : as, on
the other hand, there will be found a great
many, that are wondrous Ikilful upon the
cittern or lute, (that is in court- trifles) but
yet are fo far from being able to make a fmall
State great, that their talent feems rather to
lie the other way ; to bring a great and flou-
rishing

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C. 165

rifhing ftate to ruin and decay. And cer-
tainly, thofe degenerate arts and fhifts,
whereby many times counfellors and minlf-
ters of flate gain both favour with their maf-
ters, and efteem with the vulgar, deferve no
better name than fiddling ; being things ra-
ther pleafing for the prefent, and ornamental
to the artifts themfelves, than tending to the
wealth and advancement of the flates which
they ferve. There are alio, no doubt, other
counfellors and governors, by no means to
be defpifed, that are fufficient and equal to
their bufinefs, and that can manage affairs
dexteroufly, and keep them from precipices
and manifeil: inconveniences ; who, never-
thelefs, are far from the ability to raife and
enlarge a ftate.

But be the workmen what they will, let
us caft our eyes upon the work : that is to
fay, what may be judged the true greatnefs
of kingdoms and ftates, and by what means
it may be obtained : an argument fit for
great princes to have perpetually in hand,
and diligently to meditate : to the end that
neither by ovcr-meafuring their forces, they
may entangle themfelves in vain and too
M 3 dif-

j[66 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &€,

difficult enterprizes ; nor, on the other fide,
by imdervahiing them, defcend to fearful
and pufillanimous counfels.

The greatnefs of empires, as to bulk and
territory, falls under meafure ; as to reve-
nues, it foils under computation. The po-
pulation and number of citizens may be
taken by mufters ; the number and great-
nefs of cities and towns, by maps. But yet
there Is not any thing among civil affairs
more fubje£t to error, than the right valu-
ation, and true judgment, concerning the
power and ftrength of an empire. The
kingdom of Heaven is compared not to any
great kernel or nut, but to a grain of muf-
tard-feed, which is one of the lead grains,
but hath in it a property and fpirit, haftily
to get up and fpread. So are there King-
doms and States in compafs and territory
very great, and yet not fo apt to enlarge
their bounds, or extend their command ;
and fome, on the contrary, that have
but a fmall dimenfion of original territory,
and yet are the foundation of great monar-
chies.

For-

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C. 167

Fortified towns, ftored arfenals and ar-
mories, goodly breeds of horfe, chariots or
war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, &c. all
this is but " a fheep in a lion's fkin," un-
lefs the breed and difpofition of the people
be flout and warlike. Nay, number itfelf
in armies fignifies not much, wdiere the fol-
diers are of weak courage. For Virgil fays
well, " It never troubles a wolf how many
" the Iheep be." The army of the PerfafJs,
in the plains of Jrbela, lay under the eye of
the Macedonians, like a vaft fea of people,
infomuch as Jlexanders commanders aflo-
nilhed at the fpeaacle, came to the king,
and wllhed him to attack them by night :
but he anfwered, " He would not fteal a
" vl<flory." And the defeat was eafier than
could be imagined. When Tigranes the Ar-
menian, being encamped upon a hill, with
four hundred thoufand men, difcovered the
army of the Romans, being not above four-
teen thoufand, marching towards him, he
made himfelf merry with it, and faid,
'' Yonder are men too many for an ambal-
" fage, and too few for a fight." But be-
fore the fun fet, he found them enough to
give him the chace with infinite (laughter.
M 4- Innu-

l68 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

Innumerable are the examples of the great
odds between number and courage. Let it
be laid down then in the firft place, for a
moft certain and undoubted maxim, that
of all things tending to the greatnefs of any
Kingdom or State, the principal is, to have
a race of military men.

And this alfo is a more trite than true
faying, *' That money is the finews of war,"
where the fuiews of men's arms, in a bafe
and effeminate people, are wanting. For
Solon laid very properly to Crcefus, when in
oftentation he fhewed him his gold ; " But
" if any one, O king ! fhould come, that
" hath better iron than you, he will be maf-
<' ter of all this gold.'* Therefore let any
prince or ftate, whofe natives or fubjefts are
not good foldiers, think foberly of their for-
ces : and let princes, on the other hand, that
have fubje6ls of martial difpofition, know
their own ftrength, unlefsthey are otherwife
wanting to themfelves. As to mercenary
forces, (which is the ufual remedy where
native forces fail) all times are full of exam-
ples, whereby it manifeflly appears, that
whatever ftate or prince depends upon them,
I '* he

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C. 1 69

" he may fpread his feathers for a time be-
" yond the compafs of hts neft, but he wiJl
*' mew them foon after."

The ble/Ting of Judah and IJachar will
never meet ; " That the fame tribe or nation
*' fhould be both the lion's whelp, and the
" afs between burthens." Neither can it
be, that a people over-burthened with taxes
ihould ever become valiant and martial. It
IS true, that taxes levied by public confent
of the ftate deprefs and abate mens courage
lefs ; as a man may plainly fee in the tri-
butes of the Low-Countriss, which they call
Excifes ; and in fome degree in thofe con-
tributions called Subfidies in England, For
it is to be noticed, that we fpeak now of the
heart, and not of the purfe ; fo that though
the fame tribute and tax given by confent
or impofed by command, be all one to the
purfe, yet it works ditferently on the cou-
rage. Therefore lay this down for a prin-
ciple, " That no people over-charged with
*' tribute, are fit for empire."

Let

lyo OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

Let ilates and kingdoms that aim at great-
nefs, by all means take heed how the nobility
and thofe we call gentlemen, multiply too
faft. For that makes the common fubjefts be-
come mean and abje£l ; in fa6l:, nothing bet-
ter than the noblemen's bond-flaves and la-
bourers. Even as you may fee in copfes, if
you leave your trees too thick, you fhall never
have clean underwood ; but the greatefl part
will degenerate into fhrubs and bufhes : fo
in a country, if the nobility be too many, the
commons will be bafe and heartlefs, and
matters will be brought to that pafs, that
not the hundredth part will be fit to carry
arms ; efpecially as to the infantry, which
is the principal ftrength of an army ; and fo
there will be a great population and little
flrength. What I fpeak of, has been in no
nation of the world more clearly proved,
than in the examples of England znd France ;
the middle-people of England make good
foldiers, which the peafants of France do
not. And in this particular, the device of
Henry the Seventh of England (of which I
have fpoken largely in the hiftory of his life)
was profound and admirable in making farms
and houfes of hufbaiidry of a certain ftand-

ard ;

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C. I71

ard ; and maintained with a proportion of
land fufficient for a fubjeiSl to live in conve-
nient plenty, and not in a fervile condition ;
and to keep the plough in the hands of the
owners, or leafeholders, and not hirelings :
and thus indeed a country fhall attain to
FirgiPs charadler, which he gives to antient
Italy :

Ej? locus, Hcfperiain Grail cognoml-iie dlcunt.
Terra antlqua^ poteris armls, at(iue uhere gleha.

iEx. I. 434, 5.

" A land there is, Ha per la nam'd of old,
'• The foil is fruitful, and the men are bold."

Dryden-.

Neither is that State, which is almofl
peculiar to 'England^ and not to be found any
where elfe, except it be perhaps in Poland^
to be pafied over ; I mean the free-fervants
and attendants of the noblemen and gentle-
men ; of which fort, even they of inferior
condition, do no way yield to the yeomanry,
as foldiers. And therefore out of all quef-
tion, the fplendor, magnificence, great re-
tinues, and hofpitality of noblemen and gen-
tlemen, cuftomary in 'England^ does fingu-
iarly conduce to martial greatnefs ; where-
as.

17a OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

as, on the contrary, the clofe, referved and
contra6led living of noblemen and gentle-
men, caufes a penury of military forces.

By all means care muft be taken, that the
trunk o^ Nebuchadnezzar'' s tree of monarchy
is large and ftrong enough to bear the
branches and the boughs ; that is, the natu-
ral fubje^ls of the crown or fiate fhould bear
a fufficient proportion to the foreign fubje6]:s
they govern. Thofe ftates that are liberal
of naturalization towards ftrangers, feem to
be well made for extent of empire. For it
is a vain opinion to think that a handful of
people fhould be able, with the greatefl: cou-
rage and policy in the world, to embrace
and govern too large an extent of domini-
on. Thib they may do for a time, but it
can never hold long. The Spartans were a
fparing and nice people in point of natural-
ization : fo long as they ruled within- a fmall
compafs, they flood firm ; but when they
began to fpread and enlarge their dominion,
and that their boughs were become too
great for the ftem of the Spartam to keep in
order, they became a falling kingdom. Ne-
ver was any ftate fo open to receive flran-

gers

i

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, ScC. I 73

gers into their body, as were the Romans,
And their fuccefs was equal to fo'wife an
inftitudoii ; for they grew" to be the greateft
monarchy in the world. Their manner
was to grant naturalization, which they
called Jus civ'itatis, and to grant it in the
highefl degree ; that is, not only right of
commerce, marriage, and inheritance, but
alfo right of fuffrage, and of canvaffing or
{landing for places ; and not only to fmgle
perfons, but to whole families ; even to ci-
ties, and fometimes to whole nations. Add
to this, their cuflom of planting colonies,
whereby the Ro?nan plant was removed into
the loil of other nations ; and putting both
conflitutions together, you will fay that it
was not the Romans who fpread upon the
whole world, but, on the contrary, it was
the whole world that fpread upon the Ro-
mans ; which is the furefl way of enlarging
the bounds of empire. I have wondered of-
ten at the SpaniJJj monarchy, how they clafp
and curb fo many kingdoms and provinces
with fo few natural Spaniards. But furely
Spain of itfelf may be looked upon as a good
handlome flem ; fince it contains a far larger
trad of country, than Roine or Sparta, at

their

174 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

their firil rife. And though the Spaniards
are fpanng enough of naturahzation, yet
they have that which is next to it ; that is,
promifcuoufly to employ in their ordinary
mihtia all nations whatfoever ; and often
they confer their highefl commands of war,
upon leaders that are no natural Spaniards ;
yet they feem, not long lince, to have been
fenfible of the want of natives, and to have
fought for a remedy, as appears by the
Pragmatical Sandion publiflied this year.

It is moft certain j that mechanical feden-
tary arts, that are exercifed without doors,
and delicate manufactures, that require ra-
ther the finger than the arm, have in their
nature a contrariety to a military difpofition.
And generally all warlike people are a little
idle, and fear danger lefs than labour ; and
this temper of theirs muil: not be much
checked, if we would preferve their vigour :
therefore it was a great advantage to Sparta,
Athens, Rojne^ and other antient flates, that
they had commonly not freemen, but flaves,
to difpatch thofe manufactures. But the ufe
of flaves, fmce the receiving of the Chriftian
law, is in the greateft part abolifhed.

That

I

I

OF ENI.AIIGING KINGDOMS, &C. I 75

That which comes nearefl to it is, to leave
thofe arts to ftrangers only, who, for that
purpole are to be courted to come amongft
us, or at leaft to be received eaiily. The
vulgar natives fhould confifl of three forts
of men, tillers of the ground, free fer-
vants, and handicrafts-men of flrong and
manly arts ; as fmiths, mafons, carpenters,
&c. not reckoning profeffed foldiers.

But above all, for empire and greatnefs
it imports moft, that a nation profefs the
ftudy of arms, as their principal glory and
occupation. What we have hitherto fpo-
ken of are only the qualifications for arms ;
but to what purpofe thefe, without difci-
pline to render them efficient ? Romulus^ as
they report, after his death fent this as a
legacy to his countrymen, *' that, above all,
^' they fhould fludy arms, and then they
?' would prove the greateft empire of the
f< world,"

The whole fabric of the flate of Sparta
was, though not very wifely, but induftri-
oufly, compofed and framed to that fcope
q,nd end, of being warriors. The Perfans

and

176 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &rc.

and Macedonians had the fame ufage, but
fiot fo conftant or laftnig. The Britons^
Gauls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans,
and feme others, gave themfelves principal-
ly to arms for cafes of emergency. The
T^urks, fpurred on not a little by their law,
retain their antient ufage to this day, though
in great declenfion of their militia. The
only nation that ftill retains it are the Spa-
niards. But it is a thing clear and manlfell:,
'' That every man profits moft in that he
" moft fludies.'* And it may be fufficient
to hint, that no nation, which 'does not di-
redlly profefs arms, can expecl to have any
confiderable greatnefs of empire fall into
their mouths : on the other fide, it is a moft
certain oracle of time, that thofc nations,
who have continued long in the profeffion
and ftudy of arms, as the Romans and Turks
principally have done, work wonders in the
propagation of empire. Nay, thofe that
have flourifhed in military glory but for the
fpace only of one age, have, notwithiland-
ing, attained the greatnefs of dominion,
which they have kept a long time after,
even when the dilcipline of arms has grown
into decay.

It

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C. I 77

It falls in with the preceding precept, for
a ftate to have fuch laws and cuftoms as may-
give them juil: occafion, or at leafl pretences
of taking up arms. For there is that juftice
imprinted in the nature of men, that they
forhear making war, upon which fo many
calamities enfue, but upon fome weighty, or
at leaft fpecious caufe. The Tw^k has always
at hand, and at command, for caufe of war,
the propagation of his law or fed. The
Romans, though they efteemed the extend-
ing of the limits of their empire to be
great honour to their generals, yet they ne-
ver refted upon that alone to begin a war.
Therefore a nation that afpires to empire
fhould have this quality, to have a lively
and quick fenfe of any wrongs, either upon
bordering fubjeds, merchants, or public
minifters ; and fhould not fit too long
upon the firft provocation. Next, let them
be forward and ready to fend aids and fuc-
cours to their allies and confederates, as the
Romatis were accuflomed to ; for if a hoftile
invafion was made upon a confederate, which
had alfo leagues defenfive with other dates,
and the fame implored aid of feveral ; the
Romans would ever be the foremoll, and

Vol. I. N * leavs

178 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, SCC.

leave it to no other to have the honour of
the kindnefs. As for the wars which were
antiently made on account of a conformity,
or tacit correfpondence between ftate and
ftate, I do not fee how they can be juftif ed.
Such were the wars undertaken by the Ro-
mans for the Hberty of Greece : Such, thofe
of the Lacedemonians and Athenlaiis^ to iet
up, or deftroy the powers of democracies :
fuch are the wars made fometimes by ftates,
or princes, under pretence of proteding the
fubje6ls of others, and delivering them from
tyranny and oppreflion, &c. Let it fuffice
upon this head, " that no ftate can expe6l
" to be great, that is not inftantly awake
" upon any juft occafion of arming.'*

No body, whether natural or politic, can
preferve its health without exercife : and to
a kingdom or ftate, a juft and honourable
war is inftead of wholefome exercife. A
civil war, indeed, is like the heat of a fe-
ver ; but a foreign war is like heat from mo-
tion, which conduces much to health : for
in a llothful, drowfy peace, both the cou-
rage grows effeminate, and the manners
corrupt. But however it may conduce to
\ happinefs,

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &G. 1 79

happinefs, it iinqueftionably makes for
greatnefs, that a ftate be ftill under arms.
And a veteran army, always on foot,
though it be chargeable to a ftate, is
that which gives the law, or at leaft repu-
tation amongfl: all neighbouring ftates ; as is
in a remarkable manner feen in Spain, which
has kept up, in one part or other, a veteran
army for more than a century.

The command of the fea is an epi-
tome of monarchy. Cicero writing to Atti-
Cus of Pompey\ preparation again ft Co'far^
fays, " Pompey\ counfel is truly I'hemijio^
*« clean ; for he thinks whoever is mafler of
" the fea, is mafter of the world." And
without doubt Pompey had tired out, and
broke the heart oi dejar^ if, upon vain con-
fidence, he had not left that purfuit. We
fee the great effects of battles by fea, in many
examples. The battle of Aclium decided the
empire of the world : the battle of Lepanto
put a ring in the nofe of the Turk. Certainly
it has often fallen out, that vi6lories by fea
have been final to the war ; but this has
been, when the fortune of the whole war
was put upon fuch battles. But thus much
N 2 is

l80 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

is certain, he that commands the fea is at
great liberty, and can take as much, and as
little of the war as he will : whereas, on the
contrary, he that is flrongeft by land, is of-
tentimes neverthelefs in great ftraits. But
at this day, and with us in Europe^ naval
ftrength, which is the dower of this \iing'
Aon). o{ Br it am, is of great moment towards
fovereignty ; both becaufe moil of the king-
doms of Europe are not merely in-land, but
partly furrounded with the fea ; and becaufe
the treafures and wealth of both Indies are a
kind of appurtenance to the command of
the feas.

Modern wars feem to be made in the
dark, in comparifon with the glory and va-
rious luflre which reflected upon military
men in antient times from warlike atchieve-
ments. We have at prefent, for encourage-
ment, fome honourable degraes, and orders
of chivalry ; which neverthelefs are confer-
red promifcuoufly upon foldiers, and no fol-
diers. We have alfo a few pedigrees upon
family efcutcheons : likewife, fome public
hofpitals for difcharged and maimed foldiers.
But among the ancients, the trophies ereded

upon

OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, .&C. l8l

upon the place of viaory ; the funeral ora-
tions, and ftately monuments for thofe thac
died in war ; the civic crowns and perfonal
ornaments ; the ftile of emperor, which the
greatefl kings afterwards borrowed of the
commanders in war; the celebrated tri-
umphs of the generals upon their return,
after the wars were fuccefsfully ended ; the
vaft donations and diftributions among the
foldiers, on the difbanding of armies : thefe,
I fay, were things fo many, fo great, and of
fuch glorious luftre, as were able to fire the
moft frozen breads, and inflame them to
war. But, above all, that of the triumph,
amongft the Romans, was not a matter of
pomp, or vain pageantry, but one of the
wifeft and nobleil inftitutions that ever was
founded: for it contained in it thefe th.ee
things ; honour and glory to the general,
riches to the treafury out of the fpoil, and
donatives to the army. But the honour of
triumph perhaps was not fit for mo-
narchies, except in the perfon of the king
himfelf, or of the king's fons ; which, in the
time of the emperors, was ufual at Rome ;
who appropriated the actual triumphs to
themfelves and their fons, for fuch wars
N 3 , as

l82 OF ENLARGING KINGDOMS, &C.

as they had atchieved in perfon ; and in-
dulged only triumphal garments, and en-
figns to the other commanders.

But to conclude this difcourfe ;♦ there is
no man (as the holy Scripture teftifies) that
by *' taking care can add one cubit to his
" ftature;" that is to fay, in this little mo-
del of man's body : but in the great frame
of Kingdoms, and Commonwealths, it is in
the power of princes and ftates to enlarge
their Kingdoms and extend their bounds.
For by introducing fuch laws, conftitutions,
and cuftoms, as we have now fuggefted, and
others of like nature with thefe, they may
fow greatnefs to their pofterity, and future
ages. But thefe counfels are feldom con-
fidered by princes, as the matter is com-
monly left to take its chance.

Of

OF PLANTATIONS. 1 83

OF PLANTATIONS.

PLANTATIONS are eminent among
antient and heroical works. The world,
in its firft ages, was much more prolific
than in the prefent ; for I may well reckon
new colonies to be the children of former
nations. I like a plantation in a pure foil ;
I mean, where one people is not exterminated
for the tranfplanting another. Where
this is done, it is plainly an extirpation, not
a plantation.

Planting of countries is like that of
w^oods : wherein you muft exped to lole
almoft twenty years profit, but th y will
produce a recompenfe in the end : for the
principal thing, that has been the deftru^lion.
of moft Plantations, (which otherwife would
have fucceeded well) is that fordid and haity
drawing of profit in the firft years I" is
true, a fpeedy harveft is not to be negltrdl-
ed, as far as may confift w^th the good of
the Plantation, but no further.

N 4 If

I §4 OF PLANTATIONS.

It is a very impolitic and fhameful tiling,
to take the fcum of the people, banifhed and
condemned men, to be the feminary of a
Plantation ; as it certainly mufl be deftruc-
tive to its profperity : for fuch profligate fel-
lows will ever live like vagabonds, without
induftry ; and giving themfelves up to lazi-
nefs, confume victuals, commit villanies, be
quickly weary, and then tranfmit accounts
to their country, tending to the prejudice
and difcredit of the plantation.

Let the people wherewith you plant, be
artifans, fuch as gardeners, ploughmen, la-
bourers, fmiths, carpenters, joiners, fifher-
men, fowlers, furgeons, apothecaries, cooks,
bakers, brewers, &c.

In the country where you intend to plant,
firft examine what kind of eatables and
drinkables the country yields of itfelf with-
out culture : as chefnuts, wall-nuts, pine-
apples, olives, dates, plumbs, cherries,
wild-honey, and fuch like ; and make ufeof
them as is neceifary. Then coniider, what
kind of efculent things the foil may produce
fpeedily wathin the year : as parfnips, car-
rots,

OF PLANTATIONS. 1 85

rots, cabbages, onions, radlfhes, cucumbers,
artichokes of Jerufakm, melons, maize, and
the like.

As for wheat, barley, and oats, they re-
quire too much labour: but with peas and
beans you may begin ; becaufe they both
take lefs labour, and ferve for meat as well
as bread. Rice likewife is very produ6live,
and is a kind of meat alfo. Above all, there
ought to be tranfported good ftore of bifcuit,
oat-meaJ, flour, meal of all forts, &c. that
they may be at hand in the beginning, till
bread may be had.

For beafls and birds, take fuch as are
leaft fubjed to difeafes, and multiply faft-
eft : as fwine, goats, cocks, hens, turkies,
geefe, houfe- doves, conies, «Scc.

Fishing fhould be efpecially confidered,
both for the fupport of the colony, and
gain of exportation. The victuals in Plan*
tations ought to be expenHed with as fparing
a hand almoft as in a befieged town ; that
is, with a certain allowance : and let the
paain part of the ground converted to gardens

or

l86 OF PLANTATIONS,

or corn, be affign^-d to public granaries,
wherein the fruits may be ftored up, and de-
livered out in proportion ; vet fo as that
fome fpots of ground may be referved for
particular perfons to exercife their induftry
upon.

Consider likewife, what commodities
the country does naturally produce, that the
exportation into places where they are much
valued, may help to defray the charges of
the Plantation, as it has happened with
tobacco in Virginia, fo it is not to the un-
timely prejudice of the Plantation itfelf.
Wood in defart countries commonly abounds;
and therefore timber, that is fit for houfes,
ihips, and fuch-like ufes, may be reckoned
one of the principal commodities. If there
is a vein of iron, and flreams whereon to fet
iron mills, that is a rich commodity in
woody countries. Making of bay- fait in
the heat of the fun, if the climate be proper
for it, would be a thing worth trying.

Growing lilk likewife, is a proper com-
modity. Pitch of all forts, where there are
ftore o_f firs, and pines, will not fail. So

drugs,

OF PLANTATIONS. 187

drugs, and fvveet woods, where they are,
yield great profit. Soap-a{hes will he very
lucrative, and other things that may be
enquired after. But work not too much
under ground, efpecially in the beginning;
for mines are fallacious and expenfive ; and
feeding the planters with great expedlations,
makes them lazy in other thmgs.

Let the government of the Plantation be
put into the hands of one perfon, but affil-
ed with counfel : and let them have com-
mifiion to exercife martial law, but with
fome limitation. And above all, let men
make this advantage of living in the wilder-^
nefs ; to have God always, and his fervice,
before their eyes.

Again, let not the colony depend upon
too many counfellors and managers, (re-
ading, I mean, in the country that phint-
eth) but upon a moderate number ; and let
thofe be rather noblemen and gen' K men,
than merchants, for the latter are too g eedy
of prefent gain. Let there be an ablolute
freedom from duties, till the Plan ration is
grown flrong : and not only freedom from

duties

.l88 OF PLANTATIONS.

duties, but a liberty alfo to export their
commodities into what parts they pleafe ;
unlefs there are fome weighty reafons to the
contrary.

Do not over-charge the Plantation by
crouding in people, and fending too fafl;
company after company : but rather hearken
to a diligent information, how they die from
time to time, and fend fupplies proportion-p
ably ; yet fo as that the colony may live
well, and not be afflicted with poverty,

It has been a great detriment to the
health of Plantations, their buildings being
near the fea and rivers, in marfhy and un-
wholefome grounds. Therefore, though
you begin in fuch places, for the conveni-
ence of carriage, and other things, yet by
degrees afcend to the upper parts of the
country, that are at fome diftance from the
water- fide.

It is of moment llkewife to the health of
the Plantation, that they have good flore of
fait with them, to feafon their meat with,
which other^vife would probably corrupt.

If

OF PLANTATIONS. 189

If you plant where lavages are, do not
win them with trifles only, and gewgaws,
but oblige them by juft and mild ufage,
yet without abating any neceffary guard;
and do not court their favour by helping
them to invade their enemies, but lend them
aid for their defence. It is of ufe, llkev/ife,
to lend often fome of the natives over to the
country from whence the colony came, that
they may fee there a much better condition
than their own, and publifh it to their coun-
trymen when they return.

When the plantation is grown to fome
ftrength, it will be feafonable to introduce
women for increafe, that the plantation niay
propagate and fpread into generations from
itfelf, and not be ever depending upou fo-
reign fupplies.

It is the mofl wicked thing in the world
to forfake and abandon a plantation once in
forwardnefs ; for, befides the difhonour, it
is no other than mere treachery, and a
mercilefs efFufion of the blood of many mi-
ferable creatures.

OF

ipO OF RICHES.

OF RICHES.

T CANNOT call riches by a more proper
name, than to ftyle them the baggage of
virtue. For as the baggage is to an army^
£o are riches to virtue. They are neceflary,
but an incumbrance ; nay, and the care of-
ten lofes or diflurbs the viftory. Of great
riches there is no ufe, but in the expending
of them ; the reft is but vanity. Solofnon
fays the fame thing : " Where much is,
" there are many to confume it ; and
*' what hath the owner but the fight of it
*' with his eyes ?" The poiTeffion of riches
gives the mafter no fenfible pleafure. They
no doubt give a man confequence, and ena-
ble him to live in fplendour and pride, but
as they alleviate the wants of others, there is
no folid ufe of them in themfelves. Do you
not fee what feigned prices are fet upon
jewels, and fuch like rarities ; and what
empty works are undertaken, out of mere
oftentation, that there may feem to be fome
ufe in having great riches ? But a perfon

will

OF RICHES. 191

will fay, that the ufe of them is feen In this
elpecially ; the redeeming their owners out
of dangers and calamities, as Solomon fays ;
" The fubftance of the rich is his ftrong-
** hold, and as a high wall in his imagin-
" ation. But helikewife cautioufly fays,
that they are fo in imagination, not in reality.
For more men, doubtlefs, have been fold by
their riches, than bought off.

Seek not to ralfe great riches, but fuch
as you may get juftly, ufe foberly, diftri-
bute cheerfully, and leave contentedly. Yet
entertain no monkifli contempt of them, but
diiiinguifh as to their ufe; as Cicero fays
excellently well of Rahirius Pojihumia : In
Jiudio re'i amplif candle, apparebat, non avari-
tia pr^edam, fed injirumentum bonitatis, qu^en.
Hearken alfo to Solomon^ and do not fet
your heart upon accumulating riches too
haftily : ^/ fejihiat ad dlvttiaSy ?wn erit in-
fins. The poets feign that Plutus, which
fignifies riches, when he is fent from Jtipi-
ter, Hmps, and goes flowly ; but when he
is fent from Pluto, he runs, and is fwift of
foot : obferving, that riches got by good
means, and juft labour, advance (lowly;

but

1^2 OFRICHES.

but when they come by the death of others,
as by the courfe of mheritance, or bequefts,
they come tumblmg upon a man. This
fable might as well be underftood llkewife
of Pluto, taking him for the devil. For,
when riches flow from the devil, as by
fraud, oppreffion, injuftice, and wicked-
nefs, they come with a violent courfe.

The ways to grow rich are various, and
moft of them foul. Parfimony may be rec-
koned one of the beft, and yet even that is
not altogether innocent ; for it cuts fhort
the works of liberality and charity. The
improvement of the ground feems to be the
moft natural way to riches, as being the
Lleffing of our great mother the earth ; but
this way is flow. And yet where men of
eminent wealth ftoop to hufl^andry, and
country gains, they grow immenfely rich.

I KNEW a nobleman oi England, that had
the greateft revenues from country affairs,
of any fubjedt in my time. He was rich in
herds, fheep, woods, as well copfes as thofe
of a larger kind, coals, corn, lead and iron-
mines, and a number of the like produc-
tions

O F R I C H E S. IpJ

tions of hufbandry ; fo that the earth was
to hhn as a fea, perpetualij importing com*
inodities.

It was rightly obferved by one, '* That
*' he came with great pains to a fmall eftatc,
*' and to a great one with fcarcely any."
For when a man's ftock of money is encreaf-
ed fo that he can wait the advantages of
fairs and markets, and can furmount thofe
bargains, which, becaufe of the greatnefs
of the fum, very few men can reach, and
partake likewife in other mens labours that
do not abound in money, he mufl naturally
grow exceeding rich.

The gains of ordinary trades and profef-
fions are undoubtedly honeft, and are for-
warded by two things chiefly ; diligence,
and a good name for honefl and fair deal-
ing.

But the gains accruing from confiderable
contracts are of a more doubtful nature ;
namely, when a man lies in wait for, and
watches the neceffities and {Iraits of other
people ; bribes other men's fervants and

Vol. I. O man aggers,

I

194-

OF RICHES.

managers, to the prejudice of their mafters ;
artificially and cunningly puts off other men,
that would, perhaps, have confented to give
more; with fuch other fraudulent practices,
which are all culpable. When a man buys,
with a defign not to hold, but to fell again,
they commonly grind both ways, as well
upon the feller as buyer. Partnerfhips
enrich greatly, if the perfons are well cho-
fen with whom we engage. Ufury is
one of the mofl certain means of gain,
though one of the worft ; as that, whereby
a man eats his bread in the fweat of an-
other's brow ; befides, it ceafes not to
plough upon Sundays. But yet, though it
is certain, it has its flaws ; for fcriveners
and brokers f will fometimes extol men of
doubtful fortunes, for their own advan-
tage.

The good fortune of being the firfl in
fome new invention, or privilege, does
fometimes caufe an overflow of wealth ; as
it was with the firft fugar-baker in the Ca-

•f In the crJglval EngUjJy, do value unfound men, to
ferve their own tuvn.

nanes-

OF RICHES. l^j

tmries. If a man can play the true logician,
and has judgment as well as invention,
doubtlefg he may do great matters, efpeci-
ally if the times are favourable.

He that depends wholly upon certain
gains, will feldom rife to great riches : on
the other hand, he that hazards all upon
adventures, will feldom efcape breaking,
and coming to nothing. It is good there-
fore to guard adventures with certainties,
fo as to uphold lofTes.

Monopolies, for refale, where they are not
reftrained by law, are a ready way to riches,
efpecially if the party can forefee what
commodities are likely to be hi demand, and
flocks himfelf well with them before-
hand.

The acquiring riches by the fervice of
kings, and great perfons, carries a kind of
dignity with it ; yet when they are got by
flattery and fervile artifices, and bending to
every nod, it may be reckoned one of the
word ways. As for fifhing to obtain tefta-
ments and executorfhips, as Tadtus charges
O 2 Seneca

I q5 o f r I c h e s.

■Seneca ; ^ejlnmenta ^ orhos tanquam Indagme
capl\ it is yet worfe, as the perfons we have
to deal with are meaner than in royal fervice.

Do not believe them who appear to de-
fpife riches ; for they defpife them that de-
fpair of them ; and none are more clofe-
f fted when in polTeffion.

Be not penny-wife ; riches have wings,
and fometimes they fly away of themfelves ;
fometimes they muft he fet flying to bring
in more. Men when they die, leave their
riches either to a public ufe, or to their
children, kindred," and friends. In both
cafes, moderate legacies profper beft. Great
riches left'to an heir, are a lure to all thd
birds of prey round about to fly to, unlels
the heir be well eftabliihed in years and
judgment. Likewife glorious and fplendid
foundations to public ufes, are like facrifices
without fait, and but the whited fepulchres
of alms, which will foon putrify, and cor-
rupt inwardly. Therefore meafure not your
gifts by quantity, but by ufefulnefs ; reduce
them to a due meafure, and defer not cha-
rities till death. For, if a man weigh it
I rightly.

OF PROPHECIES. I97

rightly, he that does Co, is rather liberal of
another man's, than of his own.

OF PROPHECIES.

TT is not my intention to fpeak of divine
prophecies, of heathen oracles, or of na-
tural predi6lions ; but only of prophecies
that have been authenticated, and from hid-
den caufes. Saith the Pyibonija to Saul^
*' To-morrow thou and thy fon fhall be
^' with me." Firgil hath thefe verfes,
^n, iii. 97.

tlic domus JE.nea cunSili dominalltur oris^
Kt nat: natoru2;i, et qui nafctntur ah illif :

A PROPHECY it feems of the Roman em-
pire. Seneca^ the tragedian, hath thefe
verfes ;

O 3 — ' Femeni

•■jq5 ov prophecies.

-Vcnient

in? ens

Secula feris, quibus oceanus
Vincula rerum laxct, tsf if
Patent tellus, Tiphyfquc novoz
Detegat orhes ; nee Jit terris
Ultima Thule :

A prophecy of the difcovery of America,

The daughter of Poly crates dreamed that
y^/M^r bathed her father, and Apollo anoint-
ed him ; and it came to pafs, that he was
crucified in an open place, where the iviW
made his body run with fweat, and the rain
wafhed it= Philip of Macedon dreamed, he
fealed up his wife's belly ; from which he
concluded, that his wife fhould be barren :
but Ariftander the foothfayer told him, his
wife was with child, becaufe men are not
wont to feal veffels that are empty. A phan-
tom that appeared to M Brutus in his tent,
faid to him, Philippis iterum me videbis. Ti-
berius faid to Galhay fu quoque Galba degujfa-
his intperium.

In Vefpajians time there was a prophecy

in the Eaji, " That thofe that fhould come

'<-' forth of Judeay fliould reign over the

^' world -'^^

OF prophecies: tpp

*« world ;" which though perhaps was
meant of our Saviour, yet T^acitus expounds
it of Fefpajtan. Domitian dreamed the night
before he was {lain, that a golden head was
growing out of the nape of his neck ; and
indeed the fucceffion that followed him, for
many years, made golden times.

Henry the Sixth of England faid oi Henry
the Seventh, when he was a lad, and gave
him water ; " This is the lad that fhall en-
*« joy the crown for which we ftrive."

When I was in France^ I heard from one
Dr. Pena^ that the Queen-mother, who was
given to curious arts, caufed the day of her
hufband's nativity to be calculated, under a
falfe name, and the aftrologer gave a judg-
ment that he fhould be killed in a duel ; at
which the Queen laughed, thinking her
hufband to be above challenges and duels ;
but he was flain upon a courfe at tilt, the
fplinters of the flaff of Mongomery going in
at his beaver.

The trivial prophecy, which I heard
O 4 when

100 OF PROPHECIES.

^hen I was a child, and Queen Elizabeth
was in the flower of her years, was,

TT'ljen Hempe is fponnct
England'^ done.

Whereby it was generally conceived, that
after the pruices had reigned, which had
the principal letters of that word hempe ^
which were Henry, Edwardy Mary, Philip,
and Elizabeth^ England would fail into utter
confufion ; but, thanks be to God, this is
verified only in the change of the name ;
for the king's flile is now no more of Eng-
land^ but of Britain, There was alfo ano-
ther prophecy before the year 88, which I
do not well under {land :

There Jhallhe feen upon a day^
Between ^/??« Baugh and the May,
*The black feet of Norway.
TVhen that is come and gone y
England build houfes of lime and fone^
For after vjars Jh all you have none.

It was generally conceived to be meant
of the Spanijl? fleet, that came in 88 ; for
the king of Spain s firname, as they fay, is
J<[orway, The predidlion of Regiomontanus^

O^ogejfimus oclavus mirabilis annus j

wag

•OF PROPHECIES. 20 1

was thought likewlfe accomplifhed, in the
fending of that fleet, being the greateft in
flrength, though not in number, that ever
fwam upon the fea.

A s for Cleons dream, that he was de*
voured by a long dragon ; I think it a
jeft ; but it was expounded of a maker
of faufages, that troubled him exceedf
ingly. There are numbers of the like
kind ; efpecially if you include dreams,
and predictions of aftrology. But 1 have
only fet down thefe few of credit, for ex-»
ample.

My judgment is, that they ought all to
be defpifed as to belief, and ought to ferve
but for winter talk by the fire-fide ; for
otherwife, the fpreading or pubHfhing of
them is by no means to be dtfpiled, as
they have done great mifchief, and I fee
many fevere laws made to fupprefs them.

What has given them grace, and fome
credit, confifts in three things : Firfl, taat
^len mark them when they hit, and never
jnark when they mifs ; as they alfo do ge-
nerally

202 OF PROPHECIES.

nerally of dreams. The fecond is, that
probable conje6lures, or obfcure traditions,
oftentimes turn themfelves into prophecies,
while the nature of man, which covets di^
vination, thinks it no hazard to foretel, that
which indeed they do but collect. As that
of Seneca s verfe ; for fo much was then
fubje£t to demonftration, that the globe of
the earth had great extent beyond the Atlan^
iicy which might be probably conceived not
to be all fea ; and adding thereto the tradi-
tion in Plato's T^hneus^ and his Atlanticus^ it
might encourage one to turn it to a predic-
tion. The third and laft, which is the
great one, is, that almofl all of them, be-
ing infinite in number, have been impof-
tures, and by idle and crafty brains, merely
contrived and feigned, after the event pafl:«

OF

\

OF AMBITIOK. 203

OF AMBITION,

A MBITION is like choler ; which is a
humour that makes men a6live, earneft,
cheerful, and ftirring, if it meets with no
obflru6lion ; but if it be flopped, fo as not
to have a free courfe, it becomes malign and
venomous. In like manner, ambitious men,
if they find no repulfe in their purfuit of
honours, but are flill getting forward, are
rather bufy than dangerous ; but if they are
checked in their defires, and often difap^
pointed, they harbour ill-will and envy in
their hearts, and look upon men and things
with an evil eye, and are inwardly delight-
ed, when affairs do not fucceed ; which is
the worfl property in a fervant of a prince
or flate. Therefore, when princes muft
employ ambitious men, they ihould endea-
vour to gradually advance, and prevent a
fudden declenfion of their honour. Which
becaufe it cannot be without inconvenience,
it were better not to ufc fuch natures at all ;
for if they rife not together with their fer-

vice.

a04 OF AMBITION.

Vice, they will take care to make their ler-
vice fall with them. But fince we have ob-
ferved it were beft not to employ ambitious
men, except it be upon necelTity, it will be
worth while to fpeak, in what cafes they are
of neceffity.

Good commanders and generals in war
mufl by all means be taken, be they never
fo ambitious ; for their ufefulnefs, in being
fet at the head, compenfates for the refl :
and to chufe a foldier without ambition, is
to pull off his fpurs. There is another ufe
alfo of ambitious men, in being fcreens to
princes againft peril and envy ; for no man
will take that part upon him, unlefs he be like
a dove hoodwinked, that continues mount-
ing, only becaufe he cannot fee about him.
There is another confiderable ufe alfo of am-
bitious men, in clipping the wings of thofe
that overtop, and pulling down their great-
nefs ; as Tiberius made ufe oi Macro to over-
throw Sejams^

Singe, therefore, they are neceflary in
the cafes mentioned, it remains to fhew,
how they are to be bridled and retrained,

that

OF AMBITION.

'.OS

that they may be the lefs dangerous. There
is lefs danger, if they are of mean birth^
than if they are noble ; and of a nature
ibmewhat harfii and auftere, than if graci-
ous and popular ; and laftly, if they are
newly raifed, they are lefs dangerous than
if they are grown cunnhig, and fortified in
their greatnefs. It is generally counted a
weaknefs in princes to have favourites and
bofom friends ; yet, to fpeak the truths
there is no better remedy againfl the excef-
live greatnefs of nobles, and minlflers ; for
when the power of pleafing or difpleafing
lies in the favourite, it is hardly pofiible that
any other fhould be over-great.

Another good way to curb ambitious
men, is to balance them by others equally-
proud and ambitious. But then there ihould
be fome moderate counfellors to inter-
pofe, and keep things even before them ; for
without that ballaft the fhip will roll too
much. At leall: princes may encourage,
and animate fome perfons of meaner condi-
tion, to be fcourges to ambitious men. As for
creating an opinion in the minds of ambitious
men, that they are upon the brink of ruin,
and to keep them in awe thai way, if they

arc

2o6 OF AMBITION,

are of fearful natures it may do well ; but
if they are ftout and daring, it will precipi-
tate their defigns and machinations, and may
prove of dangerous confequence. If there
be a neceffity of pulling them down, and
that it is not fafe to do it all at once, the
only way is, a continual interchange of fa-
vours and difgraces, whereby they may be
amazed and confounded, not knowing what
to expedl*

The ambition to prevail in great enter*
prizes is lefs hurtful than that of in-
termeddling in every thing ; for the laft
breeds confufion, and is the ruin of buli-
iiefs. But yet there is lefs danger from an
ambitious man a6live in bulinefs, than great
and powerful in intereft and dependencies.
He that makes it his bufinefs to be eminent
amongft ftirring and able men, undertakes a
very great talk, but which is ever good for
the public ; but he that plots, to keep down
men of underftanding, and to be the only
figure amongft cyphers, is the bane and ca-
lamity of an age.

Honour

OF AMBITION.

207

Honour is attended with three remark-
able advantages ; a power to obhge, an eafy
approach to princes, and the railing of a
man's own fortune. He that has the beft
of thefe three intentions, when he afpires,
is an honeft man ; and the prince that can
difcern, and diflinguifh fuch intentions in
hisfervants, is a wife prince. But, in ge-
neral, princes and ftates fliould chufe fuch
minifters, as are led more by duty than am-
bition ; and fuch as embrace and love bu-
fmefs rather upon confcience than oflenta-
tion. In fhort, let princes judicioufly dif-
tinguifh between bufy natures, that will be
meddhng in every thing, and a willing or
chearful mind.

OF

io8 OF NATURAL DISPOSITIONS.

OF NATURAL DISPOSITIONS.

TVTATURE is often hid, frequently over*
come, feldom extinguifhed. Force
makes nature more impetuous in the re-
turn ; do6trine and precepts render the ef-
fects of it lefs importunate, but do not
entirely remove them : it is cuftom only
which perfedly changes, and fubdues na-
ture. He that defires a conquefl over his
nature, let him neither fet himfelf too great,
nor too fmall talks : for the firft will deject
him, from frequent failures in the execu-
tion ; and the fecond will not forward him
much, though he (hould often prevail. In the
beginning, let him pradife with helps, as
young fwimm^ers do with bladders or rulhes ;
and afterwards with diflidvantages, as dan-
cers are vv^ont who ufe thick ihoes. For it
breeds perfe6lion in any thing, if the prac-
tice be harder than ufual.

Where nature is very powerful, and
therefore the vidory hard, it will be necef-

fary

OF NATURAL DISPOSITIONS. 2O9

fary to proceed by certain degrees. " Firfl, to
flop nature for fome time ; like him, who,
when he was angry, ufed to fay over the
letters of the alphabet, before he gave it
vent. Secondly, to moderate nature, and
bring her down to fmailer portions ; as if a
man, in forbearing wine, fhould come from
large draughts to lefler : and laftly to fub-
due r^ature, and extinguifh it altogether.
But if a man has fo much ftrength of mind
and refolution as to be able to difengage
and emancipate himfelf all at once, that is
bed.

Opth}2Us lUe anlmi mlnclex^ ladentia pc^ui
Vincula qui rup't, dcdoluitquefemeh

Neither is the antient rule to be rejed-
ed; to bend nature, like a rod, to the con-
trary extreme, that it may come flrait at
laft : provided the other extreme does not
lead to vice. But fing not a fong of triumph
for vidory over nature too foon ; for na-
ture will he buried a long time, and yet re-
vive upon occafion ; as it was with jE fop's
damfel, turned from a cat into a woman,
who fat very demurely at the table, till a

Vol. II P moufe

aiO OF NATURAL DISPOSITIONS.

moufe happened to run before her. There-
fore either avoid fuch occafions altogether,
or accuftom yourfelf frequently to them,
that you may be the lefs afFeded by them.
Every man's natural difpofition is beft per-
ceived in familiar converfe, for here there
is no affectation : in paffions ; for they ut-
terly caft off all precepts and rules ; and
finally, in any new and unufual cafe, for
there cuftom leaves him. I may call them
happy men whofe natural difpofitions cor-
refpond with their vocations. Whatever ftu-
dies you find your nature averfe to, fet your-
felf ftated times to cultivate them : but if
they fuit your genius, you need not trouble
yourfelf about fet hours ; for your thoughts
will fpontaneoufly have recourfe to them,
when other bufmefs and ftudieswill permit.
Everyman's nature, from an inherent facuU
ty, produces either good or bad herbs :
therefore let him diligently and feafonably
water the one, and root up the other.

Of

OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION. 211

Of custom and EDUCATION.

'\jT ens thoughts are commonly accord-
ing to their inclinations : their dif-
courfe according to their learning, and the
opinions they have imbibed : but their ac-
tions hold on, are certain, and determined
by cuftom. And therefore, as Machiave I well
oblerves (though in a ihocking inftance)
there is no trufting either to the violence of
nature, or to the bravery of words ; unlefs
they be corroborated by cuflom. His in-
flance is this : that for the atchieving of
fome defperate and cruel a£l, a man fhould
not reft upon the fiercenefs of any perfon's
nature, or his refolute promifes, much lefs
oaths ; but that the villainy fhould be com-
mitted to fuch as have had their hands for-
merly in blood. But Machiavel knew nothing
of a Friar Clement ^ nor a Ravillac^ nor a JaU'
regny^ nor a Baltazar Gerard, nor a GuidoFaux.
Yet his rule holds good, that neither nature,
nor refolution of engagement, are of equal
force with cuftom. In all other things, the
P 2 pre-

ai2 OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION,

predominancy of cuflom is very manifefl ;
inafmuch as it is wonderful to hear what
profeffions, proteftations, promifes, and great
words men will make ; and yet deviate from
them all, like machines and engines, per-
fedly inanimate, and only actuated by the
fprings of cuftom. We fee alfo the tyranny
of cuflom in many other things. The In-
dians lay themfelves quietly upon a pile of
wood, and fo facrifice themfelves by fire.
Nay, the women are in hafte to be thrown
upon the funeral pile with their hufbands.
The lads of Sparta, of antient time, ufed to
bear fcourging round the altar of Diana
without a groan. I remember in the begin-
ning of queen E//zi?^^/y&'s time, an Irijj rebel
that was condemned, put up a petition to
the deputy, that he might be hanged in a
withe, and not in a halter ; becaufe that had
been more ufual with rebels. There are
irfonks found in Rujfia, that, to compleat
their penance, will not refufe to fit a whole
winter-night in a veffel of water, till they
are frozen. In fhort, a world of examples
may be brought, of the force of cufl:om, even
to amazement, as well upon the mind as
body. Therefore, fince cuflom is the prin-
cipal

OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION. 215

cipal moderator of man's life, let us by all
means take care to ingraft good cuftoms*
Cuftom is certainly mofl flrong, when it
begins with childhood : this we call edu-
cation ; which is nothing elfe but a cuftom
imbibed from tender years. So we fee, that
In learning languages, the tongue itfelf is
more pliant to all expreffions and founds ;
the joints alfo more nimble and fupple to all
poftures and motions, in childhood or youth,
than afterwards. For it is moft certain, that
late learners do not fo well take a new bias :
except men whofe minds are not yet fixed,
and that have kept themfelves open and pre-
pared for all forts of learning, to the end
that they may receive continual improve-
ment ; but this is exceeding rare.

But if the force of cuftom, when fimple
and feparateis fo great, combined with others
it mull acquire additional ftrength : for there
example teaches, company relieves, emula-
tion quickens, glory animates : fo that in
fuch circumftances, the force and influence
of cuftom is in its exaltation. Certainly, the
great multiplication of human virtues upon
P 3 human

214 OF FORTUNE.

human nature depends upon focieties well
ordered and difciplined ; for well-adminifter-
ed commonwealths, and good laws, iiou-
rifh virtue in the bud, but do not much
amend the feeds of it. The world has this
unhappinefs, that the mofl effectual means
are fometimes applied to the ends leaft to be
defired.

OF FORTUNE.

TT cannot be denied, but outward acci-
dents have a great power in raifing or
finking a man's fortune : the favour of the
great, opportunity, death of others, occa-
lion fuiting a man's pecuHar talent : but
chiefly the mould of a man's fortune is in
his own hands. Faber qiilfqui^e jortun^ Ju^^
faith the comedian. And the mofl fre-
quent of external caufes is, that the folly
of one man is the fortune of another. For
no man rifes fo fuddenly as by the occafion
pf another's errors ; according to the adage,

*' A fer-^

OF FORTUNE. 215

*' A ferpent, till he has devoured a ferpent,
" becomes not a dragon."

Open, and apparent virtues brmg forth
praife ; but thofe are fecret and hidden vir-
tues that bring forth fortune. Certain powers
of accommodating themfelves to circum-
ftances without embarraffment ; a chara6ler
befl exprefled by the SpanifJj word, defemhoU
tura : when there are no impediments in a
man's nature, but that the movement of his
mind keeps pace v/ith the wheels of his for-
tune. For Lw, after he had defcribed
Cato Major in thefe words ; " This man
" had fuch a ftrength of body and mind,
'' that wherever he had been born, he feems
*' to have been one that would have made
" his own fortune ;" adds exprefsly, that
he had " a verfatile genius." Therefore, if a
man look fharply, he will fee fortune ; for
though fhe is blind, yet fhe is not invifible.
The way of fortune is like the milky way
in the Iky, which is a ckifter of a great ma-
ny fmall ftars, invifible afunder, but illuf-
trious all together. So are there a number
of fmall and fcarce difcernible virtues, or
rather faculties and cufloms, that render
P 4 niei^

2l6 OFFORTUNE.

men fortunate. The Italiam note fome of
them, fiich as a man would little think :
when they fpeak of one whofe good for-
tune they wou d infure, they throw into his
other qualities, that he hath Poco de matto.
And certainly there are not to be found two
more fortunate properties, than to have a
little of the fool, and not too much of the
honeil:. Therefore extreme lovers of their
country, or princes, were never fortu-
nate, nor indeed can they be ; for when
a man's thoughts have no reference to him*
felf, he cannot well go his own way.

A HASTY fortune makes the rafh and en-
terprifing ; 'but fortune exercifed by fevere
trials makes the prudent and able man.

Certainly, fortune is to be honoured
and refpe£led, if it be but for her daughters,
Confidence and Reputation ; for thefe two
fuccefs produces ; the firft within a man's
felf, the latter, in others towards him.

All wife men, to keep off the envy of
their own virtues, are wont to afciibe all
to Providence and fortune ; for fo they may

ail u me

I

OFFORTUNE. 217

aflume them with better grace. And be-
fides, it adds a kind of majefty to a man,
to be the care of the higher powers. So
Co'far, to encourage the pilot in a tempeft,
'faid, *' Thou carriefh Co'far and his for-
" tune.'* Thus Sylla chofe the name of
Happy, and not of Great.

And it has been obferved, That thofe
who have profeffediy afcribed too much to
their own wifdom and policy, have ended
unfortunate. It is related of fimotheus, the
Athenian^ that after he had, in the account
he gave to the flate of his government, in-
ferted this claufe ; " And in this, fortune
•*' had no part ;'* he never profpered in any
thing he undertook afterwards.

There are thofe, whofe fortune is
like Homer ^ verfes, which have a fmooth-
nefs and eafe beyond thofe of other poets ;
as Plutarch fays of Timoleons fortune, in
comparifon with that of Agejilmis^ or
Epam'mondas. And to bring this about,
it doubtlefs lies very much in a man's own
power.

OF

2l8 OF USURY.

OF USURY.

M^

'ANY inveaives are juftly thrown out
againft ufurers. They fay, it is a pity
the devil fliould invade God's part, which
is the tithe. That the ufurer is the greateft
fabbath-breaker ; for that his plough goes
■upon Sundays. That the ufurer is the
drone that Virgil fpeaks of :

Agmlne faMo

Ignavum fucos pecns a prafeplhus arcent :

*' All, with united force, combine to drive
*' The lazy drones from the laborious hive."

D R Y D E N.

That the ufurer breaks the firftlaw that
was made after the fall ; which was, " m
*« the fweat of thy face fhalt thou eat
" bread;" and not, " in the fweat of an o-
«' ther's face." That it is a thing contrary
to nature, for money to beget money ; but
I fay this only, " that ufury is one of the
" things that is allowed, becaufe of the
«« hardnefs of our heart." For fince there

is

OF USURY. 21^

IS a neceffity of borrowing and lending, and
men are fo hard of heart chat they will not
lend freely ; it follows, that ufury muft be
permitted. Some have advanced certain
cunning, and fufpicious proportions con-
cerning bankers, pubUc exchanges, the dif-
covery of particular mens eftates, and fuch
like artifices ; but few have difcourfed of
ufury folidly, and ufe fully. The befl way
would be, to fet before us the inconveni-
ences and conveniences of ufury ; that the
good may be eflimated, and to take care,
left, while we are carried on to that which
is better, we be not intercepted by the way,
and fall into that which is worfe.

The inconveniences of ufury are thefe :
firfl:, that it leflens the number of mer-
chants : for were it not for this lazy trade
of ufury, money would not lie ftill, but
would, in a great meafure, be employed in
commerce, Vv^hich is the Fern Porta to a
kingdom to let in wealth. The fecond, that
it impoverifhes the merchants ; for as a far-
mer cannot make fuch advantage of huf-
banding his ground, if he fits at a great
rent ; fo the merchant cannot carry on his

trade

220 OF USURY.

trade with fo much advantage, if he nego-
tiates with money taken up at intereft. The
third inconvenience is a kind of appendix
of the other two ; and that is, a leffening
of the public impofts, and cuftoms, which
ebb and flow in proportion to commerce.
The fourth, that it brings the riches of a
kingdom or ftate into a few hands ; for the
ufurer deaHng on certainty, and others on
uncertainty, at the end of the game, mofl
of the money will be in his box. And this
is to be held for an unfailing maxim, " That
*' a ftate flourifhes moft, when its wealth is
*' fpread, and not hoarded." The fifth, that
it beats down the price of land ; for the em-
ployment of money is either merchandiz-
ing, or purchafnig ; and ufury way-lays
both. The fixth, that it damps all labours,
improvements, and new inventions ; by
which money would be circulating, if it
were not for this Aug. The laft, that it is
the canker and ruin of many mens eflates,
which, in procefs of time, breeds a pubUc
poverty.

On the other fide, the conveniences of
ufury are thefe : Firfl, that however ufury M
I in "'

OF USURY. 221

in feme refpe6ls may injure trade, yet in
fome other, it advances it ; for it is mofl
certain, that the greatefl part of trade is
driven by young merchants, with money
borrowed at intereil: ; therefore, if the iifu-
rer either calls in, or keeps back his money,
there will prefently enfue a great ftagnation
of trade. The fecond is, that if this eafy
borrowing upon intereft did not relieve
mens neceflities, they would foon be redu-
ced to the utmoft ftraits, as they would be
forced to fell their means, be it land or
goods, at too low a rate. Ufury not only
preys gradually upon them, but hafty and
bad markets would fwallow them quite up.
As for mortgaging, or pawning, it will lit-
tle mend the matter ; for either men will
not take pawns without ufe, or if they do,
in cafe payment be not made upon the very
day, they will go to the rigour, and keep
the forfeiture. I remember a hard-hearted
monied man, that lived in the country,
ufed to fay, " The devil take this ufury,
" it keeps us from forfeitures of mort-
" gages and bonds." The third and lafl: is,
that it is a vanity to conceive, that there can
be eafy borrowing without ufe ; nor would

it

til OF USURY*

it be poflible to conceive the innumerable in-»
conveniences that would enfue, if thofe mu-*
tual contrails of borrowing and lending
were taken away. Therefore to fpeak of
the utter abolifhing of ufury would be idle,
as all States tolerate it at one rate or other.

Let us fpeak now of the reformation and
regulating of ufury; that is, how the in-
conveniences of it may be moft avoided, and
the conveniences retained. It appears by
the ballancing of them, which I have now
done, that there are two things to be recon-
ciled. The one, that the teeth of ufury be
grinded, that it bite not too much ; the
Other, that there be ppened a way to invite
monied men to lend to the merchants, for
the continuing and quickening of trade.
And this cannot be done, unlefs you intro-
duce two feveral forts of ufury ; a lefs and
a greater. For if you reduce ufury to only
one rate, and that a low one, you will eafe
the borrower a little ; but the merchant will
have to fcek for money. And further it is
to be noted, that the trade of merchandize,
being of all the mofh profitable, may bear

ufury

4

OF USURY. 223

ufury at a good rate, which other contrails
cannot.

To ferve both thefe intentions, the way-
may be this : let there be two kinds of ufu-
ry ; the one free and general to all, the
other w^ith licence to certain perfons only,
and in certain places of great merchandize.
Firft, therefore, let ufury in general be re-
duced to five ptr cent. ; and let the rate be
proclaimed, that it may be free to all ; and
for receiving the fame, let the King or State
renounce all penalty. This will preferve
borrowing from any general ftop or difficul-
ty, and will be an eafe to infinite borrow-
ers, both in the country and elfewhere. It
will in a great meafure raife the price of
land ; * becaufe the annual value of land here
with us in England, will exceed that of ufe
reduced to this rate, as much as the annual
value of fix pounds exceeds that of five only.
Finally, this will whet and encourage the
industry of men to the making profitable

* In the orig'mal EngUJh : Becaufe land purchafed at fixteen
years purchafe, will yield fix in the hundred, and fomewhat
more j whereas this rate of intereft yields but five.

improve-

224 OF USURY.

improvements ; becaufe many will rather
venture in this kind, than take up with five
in the hundred, efpeclally having been ufed
to greater profit.

Secondly, let there be certain perfons
licenfed to lend to merchants of a certain
defcrlption, and to none elfe : and let this
be done with the cautions following. Let
the rate, even with the merchant himfelf,
be fomewhat lower than what he ufed for-
merly to pay. By this means, all borrow-
ers, be they merchants or others, will
have eafe by this reformation. Let the
Prince, or State, have fome fmall matter
for each licence ; and the reft go to the len-
der. For if the abatement be but fmall to
the lender, it will not difcourage him at all
from his trade of ufury: for inftance, he
that took before ten or nine in the hundred,
will rather be content with eight in the hun^
dred, than give over his trade, or change
certainties for uncertainties. Of thefe li^
cenfed lenders let there be no determinate
number ; but yet let them be reft rained to
certain cities and towns, where merchan-
dize flourifties ; for then they will not have

an

OF USURY. 225

an opportunity, under colour of licences,
to lend other mens money for their own ;
nor will the licenfed rate of nine or eio-ht
fwallow up the general ufage of five;
fmce no one will chufe to lend his mo-
ney far off, or to truil it in unknown
hands.

If it be obje6led, that this does, In fome
meafure authorize ufury, which was before,
in fome places, but permlffive : the anfwer is,
That it is better to mitigate ufury by decla-
ration, than to fufFer it to rage by conni-"
vance.

Vol. I. Q^ Q p

1S26 OF YOUTH AND AGE,

OF YOUTH AND AGE.

A MAN that is young in years, may be
old in experience, if he has loft no time :
but this happens rarely. Generally youth
is like the firft thought, not fo wife as the
fecond ; for there is a youth in thought as
well as in age : and yet the invention of
young men is more lively than that of old ;
and imaginations flow into their minds
brighter and more lively.

Natures that have much heat, and
are aduated by violent defires and perturba-
tions, are not ripe for a6lion, till they have
reached the meridian of their age ; as we
fee in yuHus Cafar^ and Septlmius Severus.
Of the latter of whom it is faid, Juventutem
egit, erroribus, hno furoribus^ plenam : and
yet he was eminent in the lift of emperors.
But fedate and compofed natures may flou-
rifli even in youth. Examples of which are
feen in Augujlus Cafar^ Cofmus, duke of
Florence^ and fome others. On the other

fide,

OF YOUTH AND AGE. 2 27

fide, heat and vivacity, if they are found in
old age, make an excellent compofition for
bufinefs. Young men are fitter to invent,
than to judge; good at execution, ra-
ther than connfel ; and better qualified to
be employed in new projedls, than in com-
mon ordinary bufmefs : for the experience*
of old men, in things that fall within their
compafs, direds them ; but in new occur-
rences, it leads them aflray. The errors of
young men are often the ruin of bufmefs ;
but the errors of old men amount common-
ly to this, that more might have been done,
or fooner. Young men, in the condu6l and
management of affairs, embrace greater de-
figns than they are able to execute ; fl:ir up
more than they know how to quiet again ;
fly to the end without well confidering the
degrees and means ; purfue abfurdly certain
rules, that they light on by chance ; ufe
extreme remedies at firft ; and, in fine,
that which doubles their errors, they will
not acknowledge, or retrad ; like ill-bra-
ken horfes, that will neither flop nor turn.
Men of age objed too much ; are too long
in confulting; fear dangers more than is
expedient ; waver, and are unilieady by a too

0^3 ' h^ay

328 OF YOUTH AND AGE.

hafty repentance ; and very feldom drive
bufinefs home to the full period ; content-
ing themfeives with a mediocrity of fuccefs.
Certainly, it were good in bufinefs to com-
pound both ; for it will be good for the
prefent, that the virtues of both ages
may correct the defe£ls of each : good
for the future, that young men may learn,
while men in age govern : and laftly, bet-
ter for the compofing and quieting of exter-
nal accidents, becaufe authority follows old
men, and favour and popularity, youth.

In morals, youth, perhaps, will have ths
pre-eminence, as old age, in politics. A
certain Rabbi fays, " Your young men
*« fhall fee vifions, and your old men fliall
*' dream dreams ;" from which he infers,
that God vouchfafes young men a nearer
approach to him than old ; becaufe vifion
is a clearer and more manlfeft revelation
than a dream : and certainly, the more a
man drinks of the world, the more he is in-
toxicated with it : befides, old age improves
rather in the powers of the underflanding
than in the virtues of the will and afFe£lions.
There are fome who have an over-early

ripenefs

OF YOUTH AND AGE. 229

ripenefs and forwardnefs in their youth, but
ill the courfe of years foon fade, and turn
infipid. There are, firft, fuch as have brit-
tle wits, the edge of which is foon turned ;
fuch as was Hermogenes the rhetorician,
whofe books are exceedingly fubtile, but
the author foon after became flupid. A fe-
cond fort are thofe, who have fome natural
faculties, that are more becoming in youth,
than age : fuch as a fluent and luxuriant
fpeech ; which is commended in a young,
but not in an old man. Thus Cicero fays of
Hortenjius : Idem manebat, neque idem decehat*
The third is of thofe who take too high a
ftrain at firft fetting out, and are endued
with a magnanimity, above what an ad-
vanced age is able to fupport ; as was Scifio
Jfricanus, of whom Livy faith : Ultimo prU
mis cedebant.

0^3 OF

OF BEAUTY,

OFBEAUTY.

T7IRTUE is like a rich jewel, which is
beft plain fet. And certainly virtue
fhews itfelf in a body that is comely, though
not of delicate features ; and that hath ra-
ther dignity of prefence, than beauty of
afped. Neither is it generally feen, that
very beautifulperfons are of great talents ; as
if nature had laboured rather not to err,
than to produce any thing excellent. There-
fore they are good company, but not of ex-
alted fpirits ; and ftudy rather accomplifh-
ments than virtue. But this holds not al-
ways. For Augujlus C^far\ 'Titus Fefpajian,
Philip le Belle of France, Edward the Fourth
of England, Jllcibiades of j^thens, Ifmael the
Perjian, were very great men, and, never-
thelefs, very beautiful.

In beauty, feature is before complexion ;
and decent and agreeable motion even before
feature. That is the choice and befl: part of
it, which a pidure cannot exprefs ; nor the

life

OF BEAUTY* 231

life itfelf, at firfl fight. There Is no excel-
ling beauty, which has not fome difpropor-
tion in the make.

It Is hard to fay, whether Apelks, or Al-
bert Durer^ was the greateft trifler : One
was for making a perfon according to geo-
metrical proportions ; the other, by taking
the beft parts out of divers faces, fet hlm-
felf to make one excellent. Such pl£lures,
I think, would pleafe no body, but the
painter who made them. Not but I think
a painter may make a better face than ever
was ; but he muft do it by a kind of felici-
ty or chance, as a muficlan that makes an
excellent air in muiic, and not by rule.

A MAN fhall fee faces, which, if you ex-
amine part by part, fhall fcarce find one that
can be approved feparately ; afid yet altoge-
ther they are pleafing enough. If it be true,
that the principal part of beauty confifts in
decent motion, certainly it is no wonder,
that perfcns in years ihould feem fometimes
more amiable than younger men ; according
to that of 'Euripides : Pulchrorum autumnus
pulcher. For it is impoflible that a young
0^4 man

^32 OF DEFORMITY.

man fhould obferve decency in all things,
unlefs perchance you take in youth itfelf to
fupply the place of decency.

Beauty is like the fummer fruits, which
lail not long and are ealily corrupted ; for
the moft part it ufhers in a diffolute youth,
and a penitent old age : notwithflanding, if
it light well, it makes virtue Ihine, and
vice blufh.

OF DEFORMITY.

"PREFORMED perfons are commonly
revenged of Nature : for as fhe has
been unkind to them ; fo they, on the other
hand, are crofs to her, being moft of
them (as the fcripture faith) " void of na-
** tural afFeaion."

Certainly, there is a confent between
the body and the mind : and where Nature
^rrs in the one, fhe ventures in the other.

m

OF DEFORMITY.

^33

'Ubi pec cat in uno per kilt atur in altera. But
becaufe there is in man an eleiflion touching
the frame of his mind, and a neceffity in
the frame of hl-s body; the fliars of natural
inchnation are fometimes obfcured by the
fun of virtue and difcipline. Therefore it is
good to fpeak of deformity, not as a fign,
which fometimes deceives ; but as a caufe,
which feldom fails of the efFed.

Whoever has any thing about his per-
fon that marks contempt, • has a perpetual
fpur which prompts him to refcue himfelf
from fcorn : therefore deformed perfons are
ever extremely bold: firfl, in their own de-
fence, as being expofed to fcorn : but in pro-
cefs of time by an acquired habit. De-
formity whets induftry; efpecially of
this kind, to fearch and pry carefully into
the defe£ls and infirmities of others, that they
may have fomething to repay. Further, in
their fuperiors, it quenches fufpicion and
jealoufy towards them; as perfons whom
they think they may fafely defpife. And it
lays their competitors and emulators afleep ;
jiever dreaming of their promotion to ho-
nours, till they fee them in polfeffion. So

that

^24- ^ ^ DEFORMITY.

that in great wits, deformity opens the way
to preferment.

Kings in antient times (and at the prc-
fent in fome empires) were accuftomed to
put great truft in eunuchs : for thofc that
are envious towards ail, are more faithful and
obnoxious to one. Yet they trufted them,
rather as good fpies and whifperers, than as
good magiftrates and pubhc minifters. And
the reafon is much the fame in deformed
perfons. The rule, I before laid down, will
apply ; deformed perfons, if they have fpirlt,
vigoroufly ftrive to refcue themfelves from
Icorn and reproach : which mufl be, either
by virtue, or malice : and therefore let it not
feem ftrange to any one, if fometimes they
prove excellent perfons ; as was j^gejiiaus,
Zanger^ the fon of Solyman^ ^fipt Gafca^
prefident of P^rw : and Socrates may likewife
go ^m.ong many others,

Of

i

OF BUXLPJNQ^ 235

OF BUILDING.

"LJ O U S E S are built to live in, not to
look on : therefore let ufe be preferred
to beauty ; except where both may be hadp
Let us leave the goodly fabrics of houfes,
that raife admiration, to the enchanted pala-
ces of the poets, who build them with fmall
coft.

He that builds a fair houfe in a bad fitu-
ation commits himfelf to prifon. Now I
reckon it a bad fcite, not only where the air
is unwholefome, but likewife where the aic
is unequal ; as are thofe houfes, which are
built indeed upon a rifing ground, but en-
vironed on all fides, like a theatre, with
higher hills ; whereby the heat of the fun
is pent in, and the wind gathers, as in
cavities : fo that fuddenly, there is as great
a diverfity of heat and cold, as if you dwelt
in feveral places.

Neither

2^ t>r builping;

Neither is it bad air only that makes the
iituation uncomfortable, but bad ways, bad
markets, and (if you will hearken to Momus")
bad neighbours. I forbear mentioning many
more, as want of water ; want of wood for
fire and fhelter ; barrennefs of foil, or want
of mixture of ground of feveral natures ;
want ofprofpecl, of level grounds, and pla-
ces at fome near diftance for hunting, hawk-
ing, and racing ; too near the fea, or too
remote ; no convenience of navigable rivers,
or the inconvenience of the fame by their
overflowing ; too far off from great cities,
which may hinder bufinefs; or too near
them, which fwallows up all provifions, and
makes every thing dear ; where a man has
a great eftate laid together, and where, on
the other lldc, he is confined and unable to
fpread his wings : all which particulars I
enumerate, not with this defign, as if any
feat could be free from all thefe inconveni-
ences, but that as many of them may be
avoided as is poffible : and if a man have fe-
veral dwellings, that he vary them, fo that
what conveniences are wanting in the one,
he may find in the other. Lucullus anfwered
Fompey well, when he faw in one of Lucul-

OF BUILDING. 237

his^s palaces, his ftately galleries, and rooms
fo large and light, " Doubtlefs an excellent
*' place for fummer, but how do you do in
" winter?" Lucullus ^ufwered, " Why, do
<' you not think me as wife as fome birds
*' are, that ever change their abode towards
" the winter ?"

Let us pafs now from the fituation of the
houfe, to the houfe itfelf ; imitating C;cero
in the orator's art ; who wrote books de ora-
tor e, and one book entitled " The Orator:'*
the former whereof deliver the precepts of
the art, and the latter the perfedlion. We
will therefore defcrlbe a princely palace,
making a brief model : for it is ftrange to fee
now in Europe fuch valt buildings as the
Fatican and Efcurial^ with fome others,
and yet fcarce a handfome room in them.

Therefore I lay down, in the firft place,
that you can have no perfe£l palace, except
you have two feveral fides ; a fide for the
banquet, as is fpoken of in the book of
EJlher, and a fide for the houfhold : the one
forfeafts, pomp, and magnificence ; and the
other for dwelling. I defign both thefe fides

to

238 OF BUILDING.

to be built, not as wings of the houfe, but
as parts pf the front ; and the fame to be
uniform without, though feverally parti-
tioned within. Thefe fides fhould be joined
together by a lofty and {lately tower, in the
jnidfl of the front.

As for the fide of the banquet, there fhould
be one room only above ftairs, and fifty foot
high at leaft ; and under it, another room
of the fame length and breadth, which may
conveniently hold all the preparations for
feafls and magnificence.

As for the other fide, which is the houfe-
hold, I would have it divided chiefly into a
hall and chapel, bothof them fpacious and
{lately : but thefe not to go the whole length
of the fide ; but to have at the further end
two parlours, a winter and a fummer one :
and under all thefe, excepting the chapel,
large fubterraneous cellars ; and like wife
privy kitchens, with butteries, pantries, and
the like.

As for the tower, I would have it two
ftories, fifteen foot high each, above the two

wings

OF BUILDING, $3^

wings of the front ; and beautiful leads upon
the top, railed, with ftatues interpofed: and
the fame tower to be divided into rooms as
fhall be thought fit. The ftair-cafe of the
turret to be open and fpiral, and divided into
fix fteps to each l.incing, adorned on both
fides with ftatues of wood, gilt, or at leafl:
of a brafs colour, with a noble landing place
at the top. But you mufl not affign any of
the lower rooms to a dining place for fer-
vants : otherwifeyou will have the fervants
dinner after your own, for the fteam of it
will come up as in a funnel. And fo much
for the front. Only I recomend the height
of the firfl: f}:airs to be fixteen feet, which is
the height of the lower room.

Beyond this front, let there be a good
court, but three fides of it of a far lower
building than the front. And in all the
four corners of the court handfome ftalr-
cafes, caft into turrets on the outfide, and
not within the row of buildings ; which are
not to be of the height of the front, but ra-
ther proportionable to the lower building.
But let not the lower court be paved with
broad fquare fione ; for fuch pavements

flrike

240 OF BUILDING* ^

flrike a great heat in fummer, and much
cold in winter : but let there be walks of
that ftone, on the lides only of the edifice,
with the form of a crofs in the middle, and
with quarters interpofed, turfed with grafs
kept mowed, but not too clofe.

Let the whole fide of the court on the
banquet part have ftatelj galleries ; in each
of which galleries let there be three or five
fine cupolas in the length of it, placed at
equal diftance : and fine coloured windows
of feveral works. On the houfhold fide,
chambers of prefence, and others of ordinary
life, with fome bed-chambers. And let all
three fides be a double-houfe, not with tho-
rough lights, but with windows only on
one fide ; that you may have rooms from the
fun, both for forenoon and afternoon. Con-
trive it alfo, that you may have rooms both
for fummer and winter ; fhady for fummer,
warm for winter. You will fee fometimes
fine houfes fo full of glafs, that one cannot
tell where to go to be out of the fun or
cold. As for bow-window?, I hold them
of great ufe ; (in cities indeed upright do
better, in refped of the uniformity towards

the

OF BUILDING. 24I

the ftreet ;) for they are convenient retiring
phices for conference ; and befides, thev keep
both the wind and fun off: for that which
would llrike ahiioil through the whole
room, does fcarce pafs the window. Let
them be but fjw, not exceeding four; that
is, two on each fide of the court.

Beyond this court, let there be another
inner court of the fame largencfs and height^
which is to be environed with the garden on
the outfide^ and in the infide beautifully
cloiflered and arched as high as the firfl
xtory. On the under- ftory, towards the
gardenj let it be turned to a grotto, or place
of Hiade, open or windowed towards the
garden only : and let this gr^^tto be level
with the floor, not funk under ground, to
avoid all damps : let there be a fountain, or
fome magnificent work of ftatues, in the
raidfl of this court, and paved as the other
court was. The buildings of this court to
be for private lodgings on both {ides, and the
end for private-galleries. But care muft be
taken, that one of them be defigned for an
infirmary, if the prince, or any of the great
officers fhould be fick, with chambers, anti-

Vol. I. R cham-

242 OF BUILDING,

chambers, and retiring rooms joining to if.
Upon the ground-ftory a fair gallery, open
upon pillars to take the profpe6l and frefh-
nefs ot the garden. At both corners of the
furtheft fide, by way of return, let there be
two delicate or rich cabinets, curioufly pa-
ved, richly hanged, glazed with cryftalline
glafs, and a rich cupola in the middle, and
every other elegance that can be thought of.
In the upper-gallery I would have, if the
place will afford it, fome fountains running
in divers places from the wall, with fome
fine receptacles.

And thus much for the model of the pa-
lace : fave that you mufl have, before you
come to the front, three courts : a green
court plain, with a wall about it : a fecond
court of the fame bignefs, but more garnifh-
ed with the little turrets, or rather embel-
lifhments upon the wall : and a third court,
to make a fquare with the front, but not to
be built, nor yet inclofed with a naked wall,
but inclofed with terraces leaded aloft, and
fairly garnifhed on the three fides ; and cloi-
ftered on the infide with pillars, and not
with arches b^ow. As for the offices, let

them

OF CAROEiN's; a43

them ftand at foiiie diftance from thehoufe^
tvlth fome low covered galleries^ to pafs
from them to the palace itfelf*

OF GARDENS.

QOD Almightj firft pUnted i garden;
And indeed of all human pleafures that
of a garden is the piireft. For it is the
greateft refreshment to the fpirits of man 5
Without which, buildings and palaces are
imperfea, and have nothing of nature in
them. Further, a man fliall fee, that ^hen
ages advance in civility and politenefs, men
come to build ftatelj, fooner than to garden
finely ; as if gardening was the greater per-
fedion.

I LAY it down for a rule, that in the
royal ordering of gardens, there ought to be
gardens for all the months in the year ;■ iti
Which feverally, things that are in feafon in
eJich month may be produced. For Decern^
R z 1st

244 ^ ^ GARDENS.

her, January, and the latter part oi November^
you mufl chufe fuch things as are green all
whiter ; as holly, ivy, bays, juniper, cy-
prefs, yews, box, pines, fir-trees, rofemary,
lavender, the white, purple, and blue peri-
winkle ; germander, flags, orange and le-
mon-trees, myrtle, if they are ftoved ; fweet
marjoram fet near a wall, and towards the
fun. There follows, for the latter part of
January and February, the mezarion tree ;
the yellow and the grey crocus vernus ;
primrofes, anemonies, the early tulip, hya-
cinthus orientalis, chamairis, frettellaria.
For March, all forts of violets, efpecially
the (ingle blue, which are the earliefl ; the
yellow daffodil, the daify, the almond-tree,
the peach-tree ; the cornelian tree ; fweet
briar. In April, follow the double white
violet, the wall and ftock gilly-flower, the
cowflip, flower-de-luce's, and lilies of all
kinds, rofemary-flower, the tulip, the double
piony, the pale daffodil, the French honey-
fuckle, the cherry-tree, the damfon and
plumb trees, the white thorn in leaf, and
the lilac tree.

iH

OF GARDENS.

245

In May and Jime^ come pinks of all forts,
efpecially the bluih-pink, rofes of all kinds,
except of mulk, which comes later, honey-
fuckles, flrawberries, buglofs, columbine,
the French marigold, flos Africanus, cherry-
tree, ribes, figs, rafps, vine-flowers, laven-
der, the fweet fatyrion with the white flow-
er, herba mufcaria, the lilly of the valleys,
and apple-tree.

In July^ come gilly-flowers of all varieties,
mufk rofes, and the lime-trees in blolfom,
early pears and plumbs in fruit, jennetings,
codlings. In Auguft^ come plumbs of all forts
in fruit, pears, apricots, barberries, filberts,
mufk- melons, monks-hoods of all colours. In
September come grapes, apples, poppies of all
colours, peaches, melo-cotones, ne(Slarines,
cornelians, wardens, quinces. In October
and the beginning of November^ come fer-
vices, medlars, bullaces, rofes cut or removed
to come late, hoUyoaks, and fuch like,
Thefe particulars that I have enumerated,
fuit the climate oihondon ; but my meaning
is, that you may have elfewhere a perpetual
fpring, according to the nature of the place,
R 3 Ano

t/^6 oF GARDENS.

And as the odour of flowers is far fweet-*
er in the air (where it comes and goes, like
the warbling of mufic) than in the hand ;
therefore nothing contributes more to that
delight, which the fmell of flowers yields,
than to know what are the flowers and
plants, which, as they grow, mofl: perfume
the air. Rofes, as well damafk, as red, are
flowers tenacious of their fmell, nor do they
tinge the air ; fo that you may walk by a
whole row of them, and And nothing of
their fweetnefs, though it be in a morning
dew. Bays like wife yield no fmell as they
grow : rofemary not much, nor fweet mar-
joram. That which above all others yieldsi
the fweeteft fmell in the air, is the violet,
which comes twice a year, about the middle
of Jpril, and September, Next to that is the
mufk-rofe, then the flrawberry-leaves, dy-
ing with a moft excelleut cordial ImelL
Then the flower of the vines ; it is a little
duft, like the dufh of a bent, which grows
"Upon ^he clufler in the firfl coming forth.
Then fweet- briar, wall-flowers, which are
very delightful to be fet under a parlour, ox
lower chamber window. Pinks and gilly-
flowersj efj)ecially th^ matted pink, ^nd

clove

i

OF GARDENS.

247

clove gllly-flower. Flowers of the lime-
tree. Honey-fuckles placed at a difiance.
Of bean flowers I fpeak not, becaufe they
are field flowers. But thofe which perfume
the air mofl: delightfully, when trodden upon
and crufhed, are three, burnet, wild thyme,
and water-mint. Therefore you muft fet
whole alleys of them, to have the pleafure
when you walk and tread.

The compafs of ground for gardens,
fpeaking of thofe which are indeed prince-
like, as we have done of buildings, ought
not to be under thirty acres, and to be di-
vided into three parts ; a green in the en-
trance, a heath or defart in the end, and the
main garden in the midfl: ; befides alleys on
both fides. And I like well that four acres
of ground be afligned to the green, fix to
the heath, eight to the fide- walks, and
twelve to the main garden. The green is
luxuriant to the eye, and nothing is more
pleafant than green grafs kept finely fhorn ;
the other gives you a fair alley in the midfl,
by which you pafs towards the front of a
flately hedge, which is to enclofe the main
garden. But as the alley will be long ancj
R 4 fultry

248 OF. GARDENS.

fultry in the great keat of the feafon, or day,
you ought not to buy the fhade in the garden,
by going in the lun through the green; there-
fore you are on either fide the green to phint
a covert alley of carpenters work, about
twelve feet in height, by which you may
go all the way under ihade into the garden.

The garden is beft to be fquare, encom-
paffed on all the four fides with a ftately
arched hedge ; the arches to be upon pillars
of carpenters work, of ten feet high and
fix feet broad, and the fpaces between, of
the fame dimension with the breadth of the
arch. Over the arches let there be an entire
hedge, of four feet high, of carpenters'
work alfo, and above this, a little turret
upon the top of every arch, with room fuf-
ficient to receive a cage of birds ; and over
every fpace between the arches fome other
little figure, with broad plates of round
coloured glafs gilt, for the fun to play up-
on. Bur this hedge I mean to be raifed up-
on a bank, not fteep, but gently floped, of
about fix feet, fet all with flowers. I think
alfo, that this fquare of the garden fhould
not be the whole breadth of the ground, but

to

J

OF GARDENS. 249

to leave on each fide ground enough for di-
verfity of fide-alleys, unto which the two
covert-alleys of the green may bring you ;
but there mull: be no alleys with hedges at
either end of this great inclofure : not at
the hither end, for hindering your profpeift
upon this fair hedge from the green ; nor at
the further end, for hindering your profpecSt
from the hedge through the arches upon the
heath.

For ordering the ground within the great
hedge, I leave it to variety of device ; ad-
vifing, that whatever form you cafl it into.
It be not too curious, or full of work. I-
mages cut out in juniper, or other garden-
jftuff, I difapprove. They are for children.
Little low round hedges, with fome pretty
pyramids, I like well ; and in fome places
alfo columns, and high pyramids, of car-
penters work, hedged round, I would alfo
have the alleys fpacious. You may have
clofer alleys upon the fide-grounds, but
none in the main garden. I would recom-
mend, in the very middle a mount, with
three afcents and alleys, wide enough for
four to walk abreaft, which Ihould be per-

fed

25^ O V CiARDENS*

fe6l circles, without any bulwarks or pro-
jci^iions, and the whole mount thirty feet
high, and a fine banqueting houfe, with
chimnies neatly caft, and without too much
glafs.

Fountains, are a great beauty and
refrefliment ; but let pools and fifliponds
be banifhed ; for they make the garden
unwholefome, and full of files and frogs.
Fountains I underftand to be of two kinds,
the one that fprinkles or fpouts water, the
other a fair receptacle of water, of thirty or
forty feet fquare, but without fifh, fllme or
mud. For the firfl, the ornaments of ima-
ges gilt, or of marble, which are in ufe, do
well ; but the chief matter is, fo to convey
the water, that it can never flay, either in
the bafpns, or in the ciftern ; fo that it is
never difcoloured, or gathers any mofs or
putrefadion. Pefides it mufl be cleanfed
^very day by the hand ; alfo fome fine fleps
up to iti and pavement. As for the other
kind of fountain, which we call a bathing-
place, it may admit much curiofity and
beauty ; but we fhall not trouble ourfelves
about it, only that the bottom and fxdes b^

]finelv

OF GARDENS, t^t

iiiiely paved, and embelliflied with coloured
glafs, and things of luftre ; encompaffed
with fine rails of low ftatues. But the chief
point is the fame which wc mentioned in
the former kind of fountain, that the water
be in perpetual motion, fed by a water high-
er than the bath, and delivered into it by
fair fpouts, and difcharged under ground
by tubes of equal dimenfion, that it flay
not. Fine devices of arching water with^
out fpilhng, and making it rife in feveral
forms, of feathers, drkiking-glaffes, cano-
pies, &c. are pretty thnigs to look on, but
nothing to health and fweetnefs,

For the heath, which was the third part
of our plot, I wifh it to be framed as near
as may be to a natural wildernefs. I would
have no trees in it, but fome thickets, made
only of fweet-briar and honey fuckle, with
wild-vine amongft them, and the ground
fet with violets, flrawberries and primrofes ;
for thefe are fweet, and profper in the fhade.
And thefe to be in the heath, here and there,
not in any order. I like alfo little heaps,
in the nature of mole-hills, fuch as are in
wild-heaths, to be fet, fome with wild-
thyme,

252 oP GARDENS.

thyme, fome with pinks, fome with ger-
mander, which gives a beautiful flower to
the eye ; fome with periwinkle, fome with
violets, fome with ftrawberries, fome with
cowflips, fome with daizies, fome with red
rofes, fome with lillies of the valley, fome
with red fweet williams, fome with bear's
foot, &c. Part of which heaps to be with
ftandards of little bufhes pricked upon their
top, and part without ; the ftandards to be
rofes, juniper, holly, bear-berries, (thefe
but here and there, becaufe of the fmell of
their bloflbm,) red currants, goofeberries,
rofemary, bays, fweet-briar, &c. But thefe
ftandards are to be kept with cutting, that
they grow not out of fhape.

For the fide-grounds, you are to diftri-
bute them into a variety of private alleys, to
give a full Ihade, wherefoever the fun may
be. You are to frame them likewile for Ihel-
ter, that when the wind blows fliarp, you
may walk as in a gallery. And thofe alleys
mufl be likewife hedged at both ends, to
keep out the wind. The clofer alleys mufl
be gravelled ; but no grafs, for fear of go-
ing wet. In many of thefe alleys likewile
J you

OF GARDENS. 253

you are to fet fruit-trees of all forts, as well
upon the walls, as in ranges. And this
fhould be generally obferved, that the bor-
ders wherein you plant your fruit-trees are
fair, large, low, and not fleep, and fet
with fine flowers ; but thin and fparingly,
left they beguile the- trees. At the end of
both fide-grounds, I would have a mount of
a pretty good height, leaving the wall of
the inclofure breaft-high, to look abroad
into the fields.

For the chief garden, I do not deny but
there fhould be fome fair allej^s ranged on
both fides with fruit-trees, and pretty tufts
of fruit-trees and arbors, with feats fet in
fome decent order ; but thefe fhould not be
fet too thick ; but to leave the garden, that
it be not clofe, but the air open and free ; as
for fhade, I would have you content your-
felf with the alleys of the fide-grounds,
there to walk, if you are difpofed, in the
heat of the ^^ear or day. For the chief gar-
den is for the more temperate parts of the
year, fpring and autumn ; and in the heat
of fummer, for the morning and evening,
or over-caft days.

For

354 Oi^ GARDENS.

For aviaries, I like them not, unlefs
they be of fuch largenefs as to be tufted,
to have living plants and bufhes let in them^
that the birds may have more fcope and na-
tural neftling^ and that no foulnefs appear
in the floor of the aviary.

Thus I havd made a platform of a prince-
ly garden, partly by precept, partly by
drawings not an exadl model, but fome ge-
neral lines of it : and in this I have fpared no
coil:, which is nothing to great princes, who,
for the moft part advife with gardeners ; and
■with no lefs coft, put together, with little
judgment, various things ; and fometimes
add flatues, and fuch other things, for ftate
and magnificence, but nothing conducing
to the true pleafure and delight of a gar-
den.

OF

OF NEGOTIATING, 255

OF NEGOTIATING.

TT IS generally better to negotiate by
fpeech, than by letters ; and by the me-
diation of a third perfon, than by a man's
felf. Letters are good v/hen a man has a
m/md to draw out an anfwer by a letter in
return ; or when it may be of ufe to a man
to produce afterwards copies of his own let-
ters, for his juftification ; or, when a man
has reafon to fear, leaf]: his fpeech fhould
be interrupted, or be heard by pieces. On
the other hand, it is better to negotiate in
perfon, when a man's face is apt to flrike
reverence ; as it commonly happens in dif-
courfe with inferiors ; or in tender cafes,
where a man*s eye being faflened upon the
countenance of him with whom he fpeaks,
may be a direction to him, how far to go ;
and generally, where a man has a mind to
referve to himfelf a liberty of difowning, or
explaining.

In

2^6 OF NEGOTIATING.

In ncgociating by others, it were bettej*
to chufe men of a plainer fort, who are like
to do any thing which is committed to them,
and to report back again faithfully the fuc-
cefs of it, than thofe that are cunning to
contrive out of other mens bufmefs fome-
what of honour or advantage to themfelves ;
and that are for foftening the matter, in re-
port, in order to pleafe. Ufe alfo fuch per*
fons, who are fond of the bufinefs they are
fet over, for that quickenes their induftry ;
and fuch as have a kind of aptnefs to the
matter they manage ; as bold men for expof-^
tulation, fair-fpoken men for perfualion,
crafty men for obfervation and narrow in-
quiry ; frow^ard, and men a little abfurd>
for the tranfacling of bulinefs that has an
untovv-ardnefs and iniquity in it. {][& alfo
fuch as have been lucky, and have prevailed
in things wherein you have employed them
before ; for this breeds confidence, and they
will leave no ftone unturned to maintain
their prefcription.

It is better to feel the man^s pulfe with
whom you negotiate, and to found him at
a diftance, than to propound the matter

point-

OF NEGOTIATING. 257

point-blank at firfl ; unlefs you mean to
hamper and lurprize him by feme fhort
queftion.

It is better negotiating with men In pur-
fuit, than with thofe who have obtained the
ultimate end of their defire. If you nego-
tiate with another upon conditions, the flart
of firfl performance is all ; but this you
cannot reafonably demand, unlefs the nature
of the thing be fuch as ought to go before ;
or that you can handfomely infmuate to the
other party, that he will have occafion for
you in other things ; or laftly, that you are
counted a man of extraordinary honefty and
integrity.

All negotiation tends to work upon the
nature of men; who difcover themfelves
either by way of trufl, or when they are in
paffion, and cannot well command them-
felves; on furprize, or of neceflity, w^hen
they would have fomething done, but cannot
find a fit pretext. If you would Vv'ork upon any
man,you niuft either know well his nature,and
lead him ; or find out his ends, and perfuade
him ; or his weaknefies and difad vantages.

Vol. I. S and

25S OF NEGOTIATING.

and awe him; or, finally, gain his friends,
that have greateft interefl in him, and go-
vern him.

In negotiating with cunning and crafty
perfons, you muft never believe their v^^ords,
unlefs you have their ends and intentions to
interpret them ; but it is beft to fay little
to them, and that which they ieafl look
for.

In all negotiations of difficulty, a man
mufl: not exped to fow and reap at once ;
but muft prepare bufmefs, and fo ripen it by
degrees.

PF

OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.

259

OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.

/^OSTLY followers are by no means to be
admitted, left, while a man makes his
train longer, he makes his wings fhorter.
Now I reckon expenfive, not thofe only that
are a charge upon the purfe, but fuch as are
importunate and troublefome in their fuits
and petitions.

Common followers ought to expe»fl no
higher conditions than countenance, recom-
mendation, if there fhould be occafion, and
protection from wrongs.

Factious followers are fiill more to be
avoided, who apply themfelves to a man^
not fo much out of aiteaion to him whom
they attend, as out of difpleafure conceived
againfl fome other. Whence there com-
monly follows that mifunderftanding which
re many times fee between great perfons.

w

Like-

260 OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.

Likewise, tliofe oftentatious followers,
who make it their bufinefs to be as trumpets
of the praifes of thofe they follow, do abun-
dance of hurt ; for they injure bulinefs
through want of fecrecy : belides, if a man
confiders it well, they export honour from
their patron, and make him a return in
envy.

There are other followers likewife, which
are very dangerous, being indeed no better
than fples, who make it their ftudy to exa-
mine into the fecrets of families, and whif-
per them to others. Yet fuch men many
times are held in great efteem, for they are
officious, and commonly exchange tales.

Followers fubordinate but fimilar in
profeffion to that of the great perfon, as
foldiers are to him that has had the chief
cbmmand in the wars, have ever been
efleemed a thing civil, and well taken
even in monarchies, provided it is done
without much pomp and popularity.

But the moft honourable patronage of all
is this ; for a man to profefs himfelf a pa-
tron

OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS. 261

tron of thofe that are eminent for virtue
and merit, of what rank or condition foever
they are. And yet, where there is no re-
markable odds in point of defert, it is better
to patronize the paffable middling fort, thah
thofe that are more eminent. And befides,
to fpeak truth, in times that are corrupt,
aftive men are of more ufe than the truly
virtuous. Certainly, in government, it is
beft to treat fubje6ls of the fame rank equal-
ly ; for to countenance a few extraordina-
rily, is to make them infolent, and the refl
difcontented ; fince parity of degree demands,
as due, equal conditions of grace. But, on
the contrary, in matters of mere favour, to
ufe men with much diflindion and choice, is
good ; for it makes the perfons diftinguifhed
in kindnefs more thankful, and the reft more
officious : nor can any one juftly complain of
this, fince all is of favour, and not of debt.

It is a good caution, not to make too
much of any man at firft ; for following fa-
vours can hardly hold on in the fame pro-
portion.

To be governed by any one friend, is not

fafe ; for it fhews weaknefs ; befides^, it gives

S3 a free-

262 OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.

a freedom to fcandal and difreputation : for
many that would not immediately cenfure,
or fpeak ill of a man himfelf, will make no
fcruple to talk boldly of thofe that are
'great with him, and thereby wound his ho-
nour. Yet to be under the power of, and to
be varioufly diil:ra(£ted by many, is ftill worfe ;
for it makes men to be of the lafl impreffion,
(as they now fpeak) and full of inconflancy.

To take advice of fome few friends, is
very honourable, and of great ufe ; " for
" lookers-on many times fee more than
*' gameflers :" and (as the adage is) " The
*' vale beft cjiicovereth the hill.'*

There is little friendfhip in the world,
and leafl: of all between equals ; which kind
was wont to be magnified among the an-
tients. Biit this will be found between fu-
perior and inferior, whofe fortunes may be
int:erwpven with each other.

Of

;> F SUITORS,

263

OF SUITORS,

"V/TANY ill matters and projeds are un-
dertaken, and private fuits, which do
much injury to the public good. Many
matters alfo are undertaken, good in them-
felves, but with bad minds : 1 mean not
only corrupt, but crafty minds ; without
any intention of performing the bufmefs.
There are thofe, that will take fuits in hand,
and are forward to offer their fervice, that
never mean to deal effectually in them : but
if they fee there may be life in the matter
through fome other perfon, they themfelves
will lay claim to thanks ; at leafl will catch
at fome fecondary reward ; or, laftly, will
turn the hopes of the fuitor, whilft the bu^
iinefs is in agitation, to their own ufe.

Some embrace fuits, with an intention
only to hinder and throw impediments on
other mens bufinefs, that is tranfadling at
the fame time : or to get fome information,
for which otherwife they could have no pre-
S 4 text,

264 OF SUITOR Si

text, not caring what becomes of the fuit,
when that turn is ferved : or generally, to
make other peoples bulinefs a bridge to their
own. Nay, fome adl: fo treacheroufly as to
undertake fuits with full purpofe to abandon
them, in order to gratify the competitor, or
advcrfe party.

Certainly, if a man confiders it, there
goes along with every fuit a certain right;
either of juftice, if it be a fuit of controverfy,
or of merit, if it be a fuit of grace and fa-
vour. If affe£lion leads a man to favour the
wrong fide in a judicial caufe, let him ra-
ther ufe his authority to compound the
matter, than to carry it. If, on the con-
trary, to favour the lefs worthy in defert ;
let him abflain, however, from all calumny,
and fpeaking evil of the more deferving per-
fon.

Suits, that you do not well underfland
yourfelf, refer to fome trufty and judicious
friend ; who may report whether they are of
fuch a nature that you may promote them
with honour : but that friend muft be pru-
dently

OF SUITORS. 265

deiitly and fcrnpuloufly chofen, otherwife
he will abufe your confidence.

Suitors now-a-days are fo difgufled with
delays and abufes, that plain-dealing and
candour, either in refufing the bufinefs at
firfl ; in honeflly reporting the fuccefs there-
of, be it what it will ; or in claiming no
more thanks than one has deferved, is grown
a thing not only honourable, but gracious.

To be ignorant of the value of a fuit, is
fimplicity ; as carelefsly to negledt the right
thereof, is want of confcience.

Secrecy in fuits is a very likely way to
obtain them ; for to give out that there are
hopes, though it may difcourage fome kind
of competitors, yet will it whet and awaken
others. But timing of fuits is the chief
thing of all ; not only in refped of the per-
fons in whofe power it is to reje6l or grant
them ; but alfo in refped of thofe, that may
be juftly apprehended as likely to crofs them.
In the choice of the perfon that you com-
mit the care of your fuit to, regard fitnefs
rather than greatnefs ; and rather take one

that

266 OF SUITORS.

that engages in few affairs, than a man that
lays hold of all.

A repeated denial is fometimes equivalent
to a grant ; provided a man fhews himfelf
neither dejeded, nor difcon tented.

*' Ask an unreafonable thing, that you
*' may obtain a reafonable one," is a good
rule, where a man is in great favour : for
otherwife, it is more advifeable for a man
to rife by degrees to the thing he aims at,
and he may probably obtain fomething, at
leafl : for he that would not have fcrupled
at firfl to difoblige the fuitor, will not, in
the conclufion, bear to lofe both the fuitor
^lid his own former favour at once.

Nothing is thought fo eafy a requefl to
^ great perfon as his letter ; and yet if it be
not in a good caufe, it is fo much lofs of re-
putation to the writer.

There is not a more pernicious fort of
people in a ftate, than thofe general framers
of fuits ; for they are a kind of poifon and
'i^ifeclion to public bufmefs.

OF

OF STUDIES. 267

OF STUDIES.

CTUDIES, and reading of books, ferve
either for pleafure of thought, for orna-
ment of difcourfe, or for affiftance in bufi^
nefs. Their ufe, as to pleafure, is chiefly
perceived in retirement and leifure : as to or-
nament of fpeech, it has place, as well in fa-
miliar, as fet difcourfe : and for help in buli-
nefs, it tends to the undertaking and difpof-
ing of affairs with more accurate judgment.
For men, who are expert in pradice, are
perhaps fit for the execution of bufinefs ;
and in particulars judge not amifs : but the
general counfels, defign and arrangement of
affairs, come more happily from thole that
are learned.

To fpend too much time in reading and
fludies, is a fpecious kind of floth ; to abufe
the fame effeminately for ornament, is mere
affedation, which betrays itfelf; and to
judge of things, according to the rules of
art, is altogether the humour of a fcholar,

and

268 OF STUDIES.

and does not in general fucceed. Letters
perfect nature, and are themfelves perfefted
by experience. For natural abilities are like
plants, coming up of themfelves, which re-
quire culture, and the pruning-hook of art :
learning, on the other hand, gives direc-
tions too much at large, unlefs it be bound-
ed by experience. Crafty men defpife let-
ters ; fimple men admire them ; and wife
men ufe their help, as much as is conveni-
ent ; for letters do not fufficiently teach their
own ufe ; but a certain prudence difl:in6t
fromy, and fuperior to them, which is ac-
quired by obfervation only.

Read not books with a defign to contra-
di6l, and to engage in difputes ; nor yet
to take all for granted, or implicitly fol-
low the author; nor, laflly, to fet ofFyour-
felf in difcourfe ; but learn to weigh, and
to ufe in fome meafure your judgment.

Some books there are which it Is conve-
nient juft to tafle only; others, that we
ought to fwallow quickly ; and fome, laft-
ly, but thofe are very few, that we Ihould
digefl : that is, fome books are to be looked

into

OF STUDIES. 269

into only in parts ; others to be read indeed,
but in a curfory manner ; and fome few to
be turned over diligently, and with fingular
attention. You will meet with many books
alfo, which it may be fufficient to read by
others, and to make only extracts of them.
But I would have this only done in the
meaner fort of arguments, and in lefs im*
portant authors : for otherwife, extracts from
books (to ufe that expreflion) like thofe from
plants, lofe much of their elTential fpirit.

Reading gives a fund of univerfal know-
ledge ; difputation and conference, acutenefs
and eloquence : writing and colledling of
notes, imprints what we read in the mind,
and fixes it deep. And therefore if a man is
carelefs in noting, he had need have a good
memory : if he confers little, he (hould
have a prefent wit ; and if he reads little,
there is nothing left, but to ufe a kind of
artifice, whereby he may feem to know
what he does not. .

The reading of hiftory makes men wife ;
poets, witty ; the mathematics, fubtile ; na-
tural philofophy, deep ; moral, grave ; lo-
gic

270 OF Sl^l/DIfiS.

gic and rhetoric, dlfputatious and ready iil
controverfy. Aheunt Jiudla in mores. Nay,
there is fcarce found any inbred, or natural
impediment in the underftanding, but may
be amended, and removed by a proper fludy :
as bodily diflempers may be eafed by proper
exercifes. Bowling is good for the ftone
and reins ; fhooting for the lungs and breafl: ;
gentle walking for the ftomach ; riding for
the head, &c. Thus, if any man has a
rambling wit, let him ftudy mathematics :
for, in mathematical demonflrations, if the
mind flrays ever fo little, he mufl begin
again. If a man's wit is not ready at find-
ing out differences and diftindions, let him
betake himfelf to the fchool-men ; for they
are cumtnije^ores. If he wants quicknefs of
wit to range over matters, and cannot with
dexterity call up one cafe to illuftrate ano-
ther, let him turn over the lawyers cafes :
fo every indifpofition of the underftanding
may have its proper remedy from learning.

OF

OF FACTIONS.

OF FACTIONS.

jyTANY have an opinion, by no means
found, that a prince, in the govern-
ment of his ftate, and a great perfon in the
dire^ion of his affairs, ought efpecially to
regard the fadions that prevail; and that
this is a principal part of policy : whereas,
on the contrary, this ability confifts chiefly,
either in ordering thofe things, which belong
inditferently to all in general, and wherein
men of divers factions do neverthelefs agree ;
or in careffing, winning, and dealmg with
particular perfons one by one. Yet I allow,
that a due confideration of parties is not to
be neglefted. Men of a fmall fortune, in
their advancement, muft adhere to forne par-
ty ; but for great men, and fuch as are in
pofleihon of honour, it is more advifeable
to keep themfelves indifferent and neutral.
Yet even, in the cafe of purfuers, to adhere
fo moderately, as that a man may be thought
of one party, and yet not be odious to the
other, is the befl way to preferment.

The

272 OF FACTIONS.

The weaker fadlon is commonly the
firmer in their union : and it is often feen,
that a few, that are fliff and obftinate, do,
m the end, tire out a greater number that
are more moderate.

When one of the fadions is extinguifli-
ed, the remaining one fubdivides : as the fac-
tion of LuciiUus and the nobles, held out
awhile again il: the fadion of Pompey and C^-
far ; but, when the authority of the fenate
and the nobles was degraded, Cafar 2x16. Pom-
pey were foon after difunited. In like man-
ner, the faction of Antonius and Odlavianus
Cf/^r, again ft Brutus zwd-CaJJius, held out for
fometime : but, when 5r///z^j and C^z/j were
overthrown, then Antonius and Odlav'ianus^
with their parties, divided. Thefe examples
(you will fay) relate to fatlions in war : but
the fame thing happens in private fadions.
And therefore thofe who were at firft feconds
in fadions, do, when the fadion fplit, prove
principals : yet they often lofe all power :
for many a man's ftrength lies in oppofi-
tion ; and when that fails, he becomes ufe-
lefs. It is frequently feen, and is worth
obferving, that many, when they have gain-
ed

OF FACTIQNS^ ^73

fed their point, and are in pojGTcffion of the
dignity they courted, take immediately the
bppofite fide, being ah-eady fure uf the af-
fedions of their former partisans, are ready
for a new purchafe.

The traitor in fadion cornmonly goes
away with the prize ; for \vhen matters jiave
hung long in an equal ballance, fome one
perfon going over to the contrary {ide.qafb
the fcale, and gets all the thanks. The
carrying an even hand between two fadionSj
proceeds not ahvays from moderation, but
from a crafty defign, (as every man is truefl
io himfelf ) of making an advantage of _both,
Jn//^/y, they conceive it fufpicious in popes,
when they have often in their mouth fadre
commune, and take it to be a \\gn of one that
means to refer ail to the greatnefs of his own
houfev

Kings fliould of all things, take care how
they make themfelves of a party or fadlon
with any of their fubjecls ; for leagues with-
in the flate are ever pernicious to monar-
chies; they raife an obligation paramount to
the obligation of fovereignty, md make the

Vol. I. T^ king

ifi or <*IVIL C EH E MONIES.

king *' as one of us ;** which may be feefi
in the league of France,

When fa£lions are carried openly With a
high hand, it is a fign of decay of power iti
princes, and much to the prejudice both of
their authority and bufinefs. The motions
of factions under kings ought to be like
thofe (as the aftronomers fpeak) of the infe-
rior orbs, which may have their proper mvwe-
ment, but yet flill are quietly carried round
by the higher motion of the primum tnohlk.

OF CIVIL CEREMONIES.

A M A N of veracity only, without the
external modes of complaifance, fhould
have a great (hare of intrinfic merit. As the
flone that is plain fet fhould be exceeding
rich and pure. But if a man refledls, he
will find a fimilarity in the acquifition of
praife and commendation, to that of gain*
For the proverb is true, " That light gains

" make

I

0f CIVIL CEREMONIES^ 275

*' make heavy purfes : for light ganis
come thick, whereas great ones come but
now and then; In hke manner it is true^
that ordinary accomphfliments win great
commendation, becaufe they are continually
in ufe : befides,- there is conftant notice ta-
ken of them: whereas^ on the other hand^
there is but now and then an occafion for the
exercife of any great talent. Therefore it
contributes much to a man's reputation, and
is (as IJabellaoi Cqfiile ufed to fay) '' like
*' perpetual letters commendatory," for a
man to have good and decent forms. To
attain it almoft fuffiees not to defpife,
but obferve them in the behaviour of others ;
and for the reft, let him truft to himfelf :. for
if he labour too much about them, they lofe
their grace ; which confifts chiefly in this^
that they feem natural and unaffe£led. Some
men's countenance, geflure, and other be-
haviour, are like a verfe wherein QWQxy fv lia-
ble is meafured. How can a man compre-
hend great, that ftoops to fuch little things.

Not to ufe decent ceremonies towards

others, is to teach them to negled the fame

to you ; by which you will render yourfelf

T z cheap.

ij^ Of JClVlh CEREMONIES.

cheap : efpecially they miift not be omitted
to thofe you are not familiar with ; nor to
formal natures ; but excefs in them, and a
phrafe perfedly extravagant (as is ufual with
fome men) is not only naufeous, but alfo
diminifhes very much the weight of what
is faid.

There is a kind of artificial Infmuation
in the very words of compllmental forms,
which is wonderfully taking and engaging^
if a man can but hit upon it. Among
one's equals, a man need not trouble him-
felf about familiarity, that he may be fure
©f; and therefore it is good to be upon
the referve, and to keep diftance a little.
Among a man's inferiors, one will be fure
©f reverence ; and therefore it may not be
amifs to be a little open and familiar

He that over-talks or over-does any things
fo as to tire people, leffens himfelf. To
apply one's felf to others, is good ; provided
it appear at the fame time to proceed, not
from eafmefs, but civility and good breed-
ing. It is a good precept, when you go
over to another man's opmion, yet always to

add

OF CIVIL CEREMONIES. 277

add fomewhat of your own. Forinftance :
if you fecond his motion, let it be with fome
diftinclion, and not otherwife. If you con-
fent to his propofition, let it be with fome
reflriclion or condition. If you think good
to follow and embrace his counfel, let it be
with alledging fome further reafon why you
do fo.

A man fhould by all means take care no*
to be efteemed affe£ledly courteous in his
mai:^ier: for, if he is never fo fufficient
otherwife, his enviers will be fure to give
him that title, to the difadvantage of hii
greater virtues. It is alfo prejudicial to bu»
iinefs, to be too full of forms, or to be too
curious in obferving times and opportunities.
Solomon faith, *' He that confidereth the
^' wind, fhall not fow ; and he that looketh
** to the clouds, fhall not reap." A wife
man will make more opportunities, than he
finds. Mens outward behaviour (hould be
like their apparel ; not too ftrait or finical,
but perfectly eafy, and free for exercife, or
motion.

T 3 OP

^7^ ^ ^ PRAISE.

OF PRAISE.

T>RAISE is the reflection of virtue. Ami
as it is in looking-glafles, it draws fome-
thing from the nature of the body that yields
the reflection. If it comes from the com-
mon people, it is in general a wrong and
falfe lefledion ; and rather accompanies the
yaln, than men of true virtue. For a great
many virtues that are excellent, are above
the capacity of the common people. The
lowefl: virtues draw praife from them ; the
middle foit ftrike them with admiration, or
aftonifhment ; but of the fublime virtues
they have no {enfe, or notion at all. Apr
pearances of virtue take mofl with them,
Certainly, fame is lik^ a riyer, that btars up
.-things light and fwoln, and drowns what
are weighty and folid. Now if men of
profound judgment and charader, concur
•with the common people, then it is as the
Scripture fays : " A good name is like a
** fragrant ointment; '* it fills all the fpace
found, and does not eafily go off. For the

odours

I

OF PRAISE.

79

Oilours of ointments ar^ more durable, thari
thofe of flowers.

There are fo many falfe colours of praife^
that it may defervedly be fufpeded. Some
praife proceeds merely from flattery ; and if
he is an ordinary flatterer, he will make ufe
of certain common qualifications, and fuch
as may ferve every man; not ftudied, or
appofite: if a cunning o;ie, he will fol-
low the arch-flatterer clofe ; I mean, your-
fejf ; and wherein you have an opinion of
yourfelf, or thin'<; you excel, there the flat-
terer will dwell mofl ; but, if be be an im-
p'ldent, brazen flatterer, then wherefoevet
you are moft confcious to yourfelf of your
own defeat, and what you are moft out of
countenance at in yourfelf, that will the flat-
terer principally entitle you to, and fafteij.
upon you by force, and in fpight of con*
fcience.

Some praife proceeds from a good Incll-?
nation, accompanied with reverence ; which
certainly is a form of praife due to kings,
and all great perfonages : haudando pr helper ei
When by laying before theip> what tbe^
T 4 arc

286' O fr PRAISE.

zrt, you humbly put them in mind What
they fliouid be.

Sometimes men are loaded with praife,
with a malicious intention, to ftir up envy,
and hatred towards them ; pcjpmum genus
inimicorum laudantiutn^ as is fald. It was \
proverb amongft the Greeh ; that, " He that
^' v/;.s praifed to his hurt, fhould have a
^' pufh rif? immediately upon his ncfe,"
There is a common faying with us, " That
** a blifter will rife upon a man's tongue,
<* that tells a lie." This one may aver,
titaf m.oderate praife, given fcafonably, and
having nothing vulgar in it, turns greatly
to a man's honour. It is a fayin? of Solo-
mor^^^ '' He that praifeth his friend aloud,
*' rifmg early, it fhall be to him no bet-
«' ter than a curfe." For to extol either
man or matrer, to the fky, provokes contra-
diction and expofes to fcorn. It is hardly
allowable to p-aife a man's itl'i^ except in
" very rare cafes : bur a man may praife his
vocation, and the office he bears, or the fl:u-
dies he has addicled himfelf to, with a good
grace ; nay, with fome kind of magnani-
mity.

The

OF VAIN-GLORY, aSt

The Cardinals of Rome have a phrafe of
the utmoft contempt and Icorn, towards
civil bufinefs : for they call all temporal
bufinefs (as of war, embaflies, judicatures,
&c.) by the Spanijh name o^JJj'irrerie, which
fignifies Under- fheriffries ; as if thofe arts
became under- fheriffs and bailiffs, rather
than men in their fublime ftation. Though
(if the matter be rightly weighed) fpecu-
lative and civil affairs may go well enough
together. St. Paul, when he boafted of
himfelf, faid, «' I fpeak like a fool.'- But,
fpeaking of his calling, he is not afliamed to
fay, " 1 will magnify my apoillefhip.'*

OF VAIN-GLORY.

J T was a pretty fi^ion that ^fip ufed,
'' A fly fitting upon the fpoke of a cha-
<* riot-wheel, faid to herfelf. What a dufl do
" I raife !" Thus there are fome vain per-
fons, that, when any thing goes on either
pf itfelf, or moves upon greater means, if

they

282 OF VAIN-GLORY.

they have the fmallefl hand in it, think pre-
fently it is they who turn the whole ma^
chine.

They that are glorious are ever factious »
for there is no oftentation without compar-
ing a man's felf. They muil: needs be vio-
lent, to the end they may make good their
own valour. Neither can they be fecret;
and therefore they feldom do any thing ef-
fedually ; according to the French proverb,
Beaucoup de bruit ^ pen de fruit : "Mucbbruit,
<^ little fruit,'* Yet doubtlefs there is fome-
times ufe of this quality in civil affairs.
Where there is a fame to he raifed, or an
opinion to be fpread, whether of virtue, or
greatnefs, fuch men are excellent trumpet-
ers. Again, as Livy Vvifely notes in the cafe
of Antwchm and the MtoUam : " Reciprocal
♦' and crofs lies are fometimes of great
♦* ufe :" as, when anyone negotiates be-
tween two princes, to join them in a war
againft a third; and to effe6l this, extols the
forces of either of thepi above meafure, the
one to the other. And fometimes alfo he
that deals between man and man, raife his
own credit with both, by infmu^ting artifi-
cially.

OF VAIN-GLORY. 283

cially, that he hath greater interefl with
either of them, than he really has. In thefe
and the like arts, it often falls out, that
fomething is produced of nothing: for lies
are fufficient to breed opinion, and opinion
brings on fubftance.

In commanders and military men, vain-
glory is of ufe ; for as iron (harpens iron, fo
by glory one courage fharpens and excites
another. Moreover, in great a£lions, which
are undertaken at the charge and peril of
private men, glorious natures put life into
bufinefs ; for thofe who are of a fober folid
temper, have more of the ballaft, than of
the fail In reputation of learning, a man's
fame will be flow, and not well-whiged,
without fome plumes of oftentation, '^ Thofe
*' that write books of the contempt of glory,
*' put their names to them." Socrates, Arif-
iotle, Galen, (great names) were of an often-
tatious nature. Certainly, vaiuTglory helps
exceedingly to propagate and perpetuate a
man's memory : and virtue itfelf is not fo
much beholden to human nature, for the
fp reading her fame, as to heifelf. For the
faine of Ciceroy Seneca^ Plinius Secundus^ had

fcarce

28'4 OF VAIN-GLORY.

fcarce lafted to this day, or at leaft not fa
frefh, if it had not been joined with fome
vanity and boafting in themlelves. For
boafting feems to be like varnidi, that makes
wood not only fhine, but durable.

But, while I am difcourfing of vain-
glory, I mean not by any means that pro-
perty, which 'Tacitus attributes to Mudanus ;
*' That he had a lingular faculty of fetting
♦' off to advantage every thing he faid or
** did :" for this proceeds not at all from
vanity, but from art and prudence, accom-
panied with fome fort of magnanimity : and
in many perfons that are, as it were, m.adc
for it, it is not only comely, but gracious.
For decent excufes, feafonable conceffions,
nay, and modefty itfelf well governed, arc
but arts of oflentation,

And among thofe arts, there is none more
fuccefsful than that which Plinius Secundus
fpeaks of, viz. to be liberal of praife and
ccmm.endation to others, in that for which
a man himfelf is eminent. For he very
wittily fays, *' In commending another, you
** ferve yourfelf ; for he that you commend,

is

OF H0140UR AND REPUTATION-. 285

** is either fLiperiorto you in what you com-
" mend, or inferior. If he be inferior, and
*' yet to be commended, you much more ^
*' if he be fuperior, and yet not to be com-
•' mended, you much lefs." "

Vain*glorious men are the fcorn of
wife men, the admiration of fools, and flaves
to themfelves, and their own vanity.

Of Honour and reputation.

T^HE true and proper means of acquir-
ing honour and reputation, is this ; for
a man to reveal his virtues and abilities
handfomely and without difad vantage. For
fome in their actions are wooers of fame :
which fort of men are commonly much
talked of, but inwardly little reverenced.
Others^ on the contrary, darken their virtue
in the fhewing of it ; whence it comes to
pafs, that they are lefs efleemed than they
deferve*

IP

286 OF HONOUR AND REFUTATlONi

If a man undertakes, and alfo perfofms
Z thing, which had not heen attempted be-
fore ; or attempted, but given over; or
brought perhaps to art end, but not fo cle-
verly and happily; he (hall gain greater ho-
nour than by effecting a matter of greater
difficulty and excellence, by imitating, with-
out huproving on the original.

If a man fo put together and temper his
a£lions, as in fome of them to pleafe all fac-
tions and combinations of people, the mufie
will be fuller.

He is by no means a good hufband of his
honour, that enters into any a£lion, the fail-
ing wherein may difgrace him more, than
the carrying it through can honour hirti.
Honour that is comparative, and that eclipfes
another by its fuperior brilliancy, has the
livelieft reflection; like a diamond or car-
buncle cut with various angles. Therefore
\ife your utmoft endeavours to out-do your
competitors, if you can, even in thofe things
wherein they pride themfelves moft-

Servants

d? HONOUR AND REPUTATION. i^J

Servants and familiar friends, provided
they are difcreet and cautious, help much to
a man's reputation ; omm's fama a domejlicis
e?nanat. Envy, which a£ls as a corrofive
poifon on honour, is befl extinguifhed, by a
man's feeming to make it a rule with him-
felf, to court merit, rather than fame; and
by attributing his fuccelTes, rather to Divine
Providence ahd felicity, than to his own po-
licy or virtues.

The true and bed marfhalhng of the de-
gfees of fovereign honour is this : In the
firft place, founders of empires, fuch as,
Romulus, Cyrus, Julius C^far, Ottoman, If--
inael. In the fecond place, legiflators ; who
were alfo called fecond founders, ov perpetul
principes ; becaufe they govern empires by
their laws, even after they are gone : Such
were Lycurgus, Solon, Jujlinian, Edgar, Al-
phonfus of Cajlile, firnamed the wife, that
made the {qn^w partitions. In the third
place, Liberatores, or faviours of their coun-
tries ; fuch as have put an end to long intef-
tine wars, or delivered their countries from
fervitude to Grangers or tyrants : as Augullus
C^far^ Vefpafian^ Aiirdian, TheodoriCy Henry

the

288 OF HONOUll AND REPUTATION,

the Seventh of England, Henry the Fourth^
king of France, In the fourth place, propa^
gatores, or propugnatores imperii ; fiich as iu
honourable wars have enlarged the territo-
ries of empire ; or have made a flrenuoits
or noble defence againfl invaders. In the
lafh place, zrt patres patriae, that reigh juft-
Jy, and blefs their people as long as they
live, with happy times. Of thefe two laft
I give no examples, becaufe they are in fuch
number^

Degrees of honour in fubje^ts are thefe :
firft, participes cur arum ; thofe Upon whofe •
fhoulders princes lay the greateil: weight of
their affairs: "kings right hands," as we
call them. Next, duces belli, great leaders ;
princes lieutenants I mean ; fuch as do them
notable fervice in the wars. In the third
place, favourites ; fach I rriean, who carry
their influence no farther than to be a folace
to the fovereign, andharmiefs to the people.
In the fourth place, negotiis pares ; fuch as
have great places under princes, and execute
them Vv^ith juftice and prudence. There is
an honour likewife, which happens rarely^
and yet deferves to be ranked among the
I greateil ;

OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE. aSp

gfeateft. That is, of fuch as devote and fa-
crihce themfelves to death and danger, for
the good of their country : as did M Regu*
ins and the two Decii.

Of the office of a JUDGE»

JUDGES ought to remember, that theii-
office is jus d'lcere^ and not jus dare : I
mean to interpret the laws, and not to make
them. Elfe their authority will be like that
claimed by the church of Rome: which^
under pretence of interpreting fcripture,
fometimes alfo adds and alters ; pronounces
that which fhe does not find ; and under a
ifhew of antiquity, introduces novelty;

A Judge ought to be rather learned, than
tvitty ; venerable than plaufible ; and more
advifed than confident. Above all things,
mtegrity is the portion of judges, and their
proper virtue. " Curfed (faith the law) is
" he that removeth the antient land-mark."

Vol. L U He

2gO. OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE.

He that tranfpofes a ftone, the diftmguifher
of bounds, is certainly to blame. But it is
the unjuft judge, that is the capital remover
of land' marks, when he gives a partial fen-
tence of lands and property. Doubtlefs, one
foul fentence does more hurt than many foul
examples. For thefe do but corrrupt the
ftreams ; the other corrupts the fountain.
So faith Solomon : " A righteous man falling
" down before his adverfary (caufa cadens
*' coram, &c.) is as a troubled fountain, and
*' a corrupted fpring." Prov. xxiv. 26.

The office of a judge may have relation
partly to the litigants, partly to the advo-
cates, partly to the clerks and miniflers of
juftice under them, and partly to the fove-
reign or ftate above them.

As to the contendmg parties, " There be
*' (faith the Scripture) that turn judgment
" into worm-wood:'* and furely there be
alfo, that turn it into vinegar. Forinjuftice
makes it bitter, and delays make it four.

A firenuous judge makes it his principal
bufmefs to reflrain force and fraud ; force is

the

OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE. 29 1

the more pernicious, the more open it
is ; and fraud, the more clofe and dif-
guifed it is. Add ' likewife contentious
fuits, which ought to be ejected as the fur-
feit of courts. A judge fhould prepare his
way to a juft fentence, as God prepares his,
by raiting vallies, and taking down hills.
After the fame manner, when a judge fees
on either fide a high hand, viz. a violent
profecution, cunning advantages taken, com-
bination, great and powerful friends, difpa-
rity of counfel, &c. then the virtue of a
judge fhines forth, in making inequality
equal, that he may be able to plant his judg-
ment upon even ground.

^i forth er emungit, elicit fangulnem : where
the wine-prefs is hard wrought, it yields a
harfh wine, that taftes of the grape-ftone.
Therefore let judges beware of hard con-
ftru6lions, and ftrained inferences. For
there is no worfe torture than the torture of
laws. Efpecially in the cafe of penal laws,
they ought to have a care, that what were
made for terror be not turned into rigour :
and that they bring not upon the people
that fhower, whereof the fcripture fpeaks ;

u 2 Fka

^i OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE.

Tluet fuper eoT laqueos. For penal laws, fe*
Verely executed, are like a fhower of fnares
falling upon the peaple. Therefore let fuch
laws, if the]^ have been long dormant, or
do not well fuit the prefent times, be re-
trained by prudent judges, in their execu-
tion. Judicis oJSicium £/?, ut res, it a tempora
teruniy &c.

In cafes of life and death, It becomes
judges, as far as the law permits, in judg-
ment to remember mercy ; and to caft a fe-
vere eye upon the example, and a merciful
one upon the perfon.

As for the advocates and counfel that
plead, patience and gravity in hearing caufes
are an effential part of a judge ; and a judge
too interlocutory, is no well-tuned cymbal.
It is no commendation to a judge, firfl to
find and lay hold of, in a caufe, what he
might better have heard in due time from
the counfel ; to fhew qulcknefs in- cutting
off evidence or counfel too fhort ; or to pre-
vent Informations by queilions, though per^
tinent.

The

J

OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE, 2^2

The parts of a judge In heanng are four :
to draw up the evidence ; to moderate
length, repetition, or impertinence of
fpeech in the counfel and witnefTes; to re-
capitulate and fele(fl the material points of
what has been alledged ; and at lafl to give
fentence. Whatever is more than this, is
too much ; and arifes either from vanity and
a fondnels of fhewing his eloquence, impa-
tience to hear, weaknefs of memory, or
froni want of a fedate and even attention.

It is flrange to fee how frequently the
boldnefs of advocates prevails with judges;
whereas, on the other hand, judges, in
imitation of God, in whofe feat they lit,
ought " to reprefs the prefumptuous, and
** fet up the humble. But it is flill more
flrange, that judges fhould have open fa-
vourites ; which mufl tend to increafe and
multiply fees, ^nd give fufpicion of corrupt
tion, and of collufipn in the judge.

There is fome confideration due to the

advocate from the judge, where caufes are

well handled, and fairly pleaded, efpecially

if he lofe his caufe ; for this fupports in the

V 3 client

294 O^ "^HE OFFICE OF A JUDGE.

client the reputation of his council, and at
the fame time leflens the opinion he enter-
tained of his caufe. There is likewife due
to the public a moderate reprehenfion of ad-
vocates, where they give too crafty counfel,
or grofs negled appears, flight information,
indecent preffing, or an impudent defence.
And let the counlel pay fo much deference to
the judge as not to interrupt him, or art-
fully induce him to a frefh enquiry after the
judge has given fentence. But on the other
fide, let not the judge interfere in the mid-
dle of the caufe, and before it is half plead-
ed ; nor give occaiion to the client to com-
plain, that his " counlel, or proofs, were
*' not fully heard."

In treating of clerks and practitioners, the
place of juftice is, as it were, an hallowed
place ; where not only the feat itfelf, but
the under-feats alfo, and the precinfts of
the leat ought to be free from fcandal and
corruption. For certainly '' grapes (as
'«' the fcripture faith) will not be gathered
«' of thorns or thiflles :" Neither can juf-
tice yield her fruit with fweetnefs among

the

OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE, 295

the briars and brambles of greedy and rapa-
cious clerks and pradtitioners.

There are four evil attendants of courts :
Firfi:, certain fowers of fuits, who make
the court thrive, and the country pine. Se-
condly, thofe who engage courts inquarrels
of jurifdi6lion : nor are they in truth (as
they are efleemed) friends, but rather para-
lites, in puffing a court up beyond her
bounds, for their own views and advantage.
Thirdly, thofe who may be accounted " the
•' left hand of courts ;" pcrfons who are full
of nimble and finifter tricks and fhifts,
whereby they pervert the plain and direct
pradlices of courts, and bring juflice into
intricate labyrinths. Fourthly, the pilla-p
gers and exa£lers of fees, who juftify the
common refemblance of the courts of juf-
tice to the bufh, whereuntc, while the
fheep flies for defence in bad weather, he is
lure to lofe part of his fleece. On the other
fide, an old clerk, (kilful in precedents, wary
in drawing up the a6ls, and underfl:anding
the bufinefs, is an excellent guide of a court,
and frequently points the way tp the judge
himfelf,

U4 As

Z^6 OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE,

As for what may concern the fovereign,
or ftate, judges ought always to remember
the conciufion of the Roman twelve tables,
** The fafety of the people is the fupreme
^' law ;" and to lay it down for a maxim,
that laws, unlefs they tend to that end, are
but captious things, and oracles not well
infpired. Therefore, it is a happy circum-
ftance for a flate, when t}ie king or (late of-
ten confults with judges; and again, wher^
judges oft n confult with the king and ftate :
the one, when matter of law intervenes In
builnefs of flate ; the other, when fome
confideration of flate intervenes in matter of
law. For many times a thing brought into
court may concern meum and pjum, and yet
the reafon and confcquence thereof m^y
reach to affairs of flate,

I UN'DEESTAND by matters of ftate ^ not
only whatever touches the rights of the
crown, but introduces any unfafe alteration,
dangerous precedent, or manifeilly opprefTe^
any conllderable portion of the people. Let
po one weakly conceive, that juft laws, an4
tfue politics have ^nj aiitipathy ; for they

OF THE OFFICE OF A JUDGE. igj

are like the fpirits and flnews, oiie moves
with the other.

Let judges alfo remember, that Solomor^^
|:hrone was lupported by lions on both fides ;
let them be lions, but yet lions under the
throne ; cautious to attack, or weaken any
part of the royal prerogative.

Finally, let not judges be fo ignorant
of their own right and prerogative, as tQ
think, there Is not left to them, as a princi-
pal part of their office, a found and pru*
dent ufe and application of the laws. For
they may remember, what the apoftle fays
pf a greater law than theirs ; " We know
f' that the law Is good, provided a man ufe
f « it lawfully,"^

OF

ZpS OF ANGER,

OF ANGER.

npHE endeavour to extlnguifh anger utter-
ly, is a bravado of the Stoics. We
have better oracles : " Be angry, but iiii
*' not. Let not the fun go down upon your
*' anger." Anger muf} be limited, both as
to degree, and time. We v^riil firft fpeak,
how the natural inclination, or habit of an-
ger, may be tempered and calmed. Second-
ly, how the particular motions of anger
may be reprefied, or at leaft reftrained from
doing mifchief. Thirdly, how to raife or
appeafe anger in another.

For the firfl ; there feems to be no other
way, than ferioufly to ruminate upon the
evils and calamities of anger ; and how ve-
hemently it difturbs and embroils the life of
man. And the moft feafonable time to do
this, is to look behind us, as foon as ever
the fit is over. Seneca fays ingenioufly,
** That anger is like a ruin, which, by fall-
«* ing upon fomething elfe, breaks and dafh-

es

i

OF ANGER, 2p^

<^ es itfelf to pieces." The fcrlpture exhorts
us, " to poffefs our fouls in patience."
Certainly, whofoever is out of patience, is
out of pofleffion of his foul. It does not
become men to imitate bees ;

Mb

afque in vulnere ponunt.

Prone to revenge, the bees, a wrathful race.
When once provok'd, afiault th' aggrelTor's face ;
And thro' the purple veins a pafTage find,
There fix their flings, and leave their fouls behind.

D R Y" D E N.

Doubtless, anger, if a man confiders it
well, is a mean thing, and below the dig-
nity of man. This will manifeftly appear,
by confidering thofe perfons in whom anger
reigns ; who are generally of the weaker
fort; children, women, old folks, fick
folks. Therefore, when they chance to be
angry, men lliould take care, if they mean
not to forget their dignity, to blend their
anger not with fear, but with fcorn of the
perfons they are angry with, which is eafily
done, if a man could govern and manage
his anger a little.

Aa

30© OF ANGER.

As to the fecond, the caufes and motives
of anger arc chiefly three. Firft, if a man
be too fenfible of ijijury ; for no man is an^
gry, but he that feels himfelf hurt. There^
fore tender and delicate perfons will fre-
quently feel the imp"jlfe of anger; for they
have abundance of things to trouble them,
which more robuft natures have hardly any
fenfe of. Secondly, if a man be curious
and quick in the conflrufiion of the injury
offered, as to tiie circumflances of it, as
though it breathed contempt : for an ap-
prehenfion of contempt, excites and puts an
edge upon anger, more than the hurt itfelf.
Therefore if men are ingenious in picking
out circumflances of contempt, they will
ll:rangely inflame their anger. Laftly, an
opinion, that a man's reputation is hurt and
touched, inCreafes and multiplies anger :
"wherein the remedy is, for a man to have,
as Cofifaho ufed to fay, telam honoris crajjio^
rem ; to have honour of a flronger texture.
But in retraining of anger, it is beft to win
time, and to perfuade one's felf, that the
hour of revenge is not yet come, but that
an exceltot opportunity for it is juft at

hand I

OF ANGER* 301

hand ; and thus to retrain the diforder, and
to referve himfelf for another feafon.

To contain anger from doing mifchlef,
whenever it takes hold of a man, there are
two things we miift efpecially he ware of.
The firfl is, bitternefs of words, efpecially
if they be ftinging, and proper to the per-*
fon whom we fmite; for common reproach-
es fling leff. And again, revealing of fe-*
crets ; for this renders a man unfit for focie--
ty. The next is, that you do not, in a fit
of anger, break off any bufmefs that you
have in hand ; but however you give the
reins to paffion, that you a6c nothing, how-'
ever, that is irrevocable.

Raising, or appeafing anger in others,
is done chiefly by a prudent choice of times.
When men are rather fad, or a little out of
humour, then is th€ time to incenfe them*
Again, by gathering and inculcating what-
ever may argue or aggravate contempt. On
the other fide, anger is appeafed by the two
contraries. Firft, by pitching upon times
of ferenity and cheerfulnefs, to difcover an
unwelcome angry bufinefs ; for the firfl im-

preflioii

^6t OP VICISStTUJDES.

preffion is a great matter. Next, by fever-'
ing, as much as may be, the conftrudlion
of the injury from the point of contempt ;
imputing it to inexperience, fear, a fudden
paflion, or the like.

Of vicissitudes.

COLOMON faith, «' There is no new
thing under the fun. Wherefore, as'
Plato had an imagination, " That all kiiow-
*' ledge is but remembrance ;" fo Solomon
pronounces, " That all novelty is but obli-
*' vion. Whereby you may fee, that the
river Letbe runs as well above ground as
below.

A CERTAIN abftrufe and little known
aftrologer alTerts, " That if it were not for
*' two things that are conftant, the one is,
*« that the fixed ftars ever ftand at like dif-
<* tance one from another, and never come
*' nearer together, nor go further afunder :"

the

i

OF VICISSITUDES. 303

the other, " that the diurnal motion varies
*' not : no individual would lafl one mo^
" ment." Certain it is, that matter is in a
perpetual flux, and never flops its courfe.

The great winding- (heets that bury all
things in oblivion are two ; deluges and
earthquakes. As for conflagrations and
great droughts, they do not utterly difpeo-
ple, or deftroy. Phaeton s chariot went but
a day ; and the three years drought in the
time of Ellas, was but particular, and left
many alive. As for the great fires kindled
by lightnings, which are often in the JVeJi^
Indies, they are but narrow, and extend not
to any great fpace of country. Peflilences
alfo I pafs by, becaufe thofe alfo do not to-
tally fweep ; but in the other two foremen-
tioned calamities, deluges and earthquakes,
it is necefTary to mention, that the remnants
of people who happen to efcape are commonly
ignorant and mountainous people, and fuch
as can deliver down no account of the time
pafl to poflerity ; io that the oblivion is all
one, as if none had been left.

n

§64 OF VICISSITUDE So

If a man conflder well of the people iii
the JVe ft Indies^ he will find it piobable, that
they are a younger people, than the people
of the old world. But it is much more like-
ly, that the delolation that had heretofore
invaded them, was not by earthquakes (con-
trary to what the Mgyptian prieft told Solon^
concerning the ifland of AlldJitis^ " That it
*' was fwallowed by an earthquake :") but
rather by~ a particular deluge. For earth-
quakes feldom happen in thofe parts. But
on the other fide, they have fuch vafl: rivers,
that thofe of Afia^ Africa^ and Europe, are
but brooks to them. Their Andes like wife,
or mountains, are far higher than thofe with
us : whereby it appears credible, that the
remnants of generations of men among
them, were faved after fuch a particular de-
luge.

As for the obfervation of Macbiavel ; that
the jealoufy and emulation of fe£ls have la-
boured much to extinguifh the memory of
things ; branding Gregory the Great, for en-
deavouring to extinguifh all heathen anti-
quities : I do not find, that fuch a zeal pro-
duces any great or permanent effed ; as it
J appears

OF VICISSITUDES* 305

appears in the fucceffion of Sabinian^ who
revived the former antiquities. Befides,
things prohibited, though kept in darknefs,
will neverchelels emerge, and have their
periods.

Vicissitudes, or changes in the fuperior
globe, are not to be much infilled upon in
this argument. It may be, Plato' ^ great
year, if the world fhould lafl fo long, would
have fome effed ; not in renewing the ftate
of individuals, for that is the vanity of
thofe, who conceive that the celeflial bodies
have more accurate influences upon thefe.
things below, than indeed they have, but
only in the fum of things. Comets, out of
queftion, have likewife fome power and ef-
fect over the mafs of matter. But men,
now-a-days, are either carelefs, or curious
about them ; and rather gaze upon them
with admiration, and attend to their courfe,
than wifely and ferioufly obferve their ef-
fects; efpecially their refpeclive or compa-
rative effeds : that is, diflinguifhing the
fpecies of a comet, by magnitude, colour,
verfion of the beams, place in the region of
heaven, duration, and influence.

Vol. I. X There

3o6 OP Vicissitudes.

There is an opinion, which I have heard
and would not have flighted, but taken no-
tice of a little. It is obferved in the Low-
Countries^ (I know not in what part) that
every five and thirty years the fame kind
of years and weather comes about again : for
inflance, great froils, great rains, great
droughts, warm winters, fummers with lit-
tle heat, and the like. And they call fuch
a circle of years, the Prime. This is a thing
I the rather mention, beeaufe computing
backwards, I have found fomething like
this ; not to an exadlnefs indeed, yet with-
out any great variation.

But to leave thefe points of nature, and
come to men. The greatefl viciflitude of
things among men, is the change of
fedls and religion. For thofe objefts have
the greatefl influence on the minds of men.
The *' true religion is built upon a rock ;"
the reft are tofl upon the waves of time.
Let us fpeak therefore of the caufes of new
fe^ls, and interfperfe fome counfel concern-
ing them ; as far as the weaknefs of human
judgment may be able to give check, or re-
medy, to fuch great revolutions.

I When

OF ViClSSlTtJJDES. 307

When the received religion is rent by
difcords ; and when the holinefs of the pro*
feffors is decayed and full of fcandal ; the
times alfo flupid, ignorant, and barbarous t
the fpriiiging up of a tiew fe6l may reafon-
ably be feared ; efpecially, if there fhould
then arife any extravagant and heretical fpi-
rit : all which points held, when Mahomet
publifhed his law.

THotJGH a Hew fe£t fhould fhoot up, yef
if it be deftitute of two props, fear it not %
as it will not fpread. The firft is, the fup*
planting or oppofing of the authority eftab^
lifhed : for nothing is more popular than to
deflroy civil governments and ftates. The
other is, giving licence to luxury and vo*
iuptuoufrtefs. As for fpeculative herelieSj
(fuch as were anciently the Brians, and no\V
the Arminians) though they work wonder«
fully upon men's wits, yet they do not pro-
duce any great alterations in ftates, except
it be by the help of civil occafions*

There are three ways of planting new

fedls t by miracles, eloquence, and the

fword. As for martyrdoms, I reckon them

X 2 amongfi:

3oS OF VICISSITUDES.

amongfl: miracles ; becaufe they feem to ex-
ceed the ilrength of human nature : and I
may do the like of an exalted and admirable
holinefs of life.

Certainly, there is no better way to
jflop the rifing of new feds and fchifms,
than to reform abufes ; to compound the
fmaller differences ; to proceed mildly at
£.rft ; to abftain from fanguinary perfe-
cutions ; and rather to foften and allure the
principal authors, by favouring and advan-
cing them, than to enrage them by violence
and bitter nefs.

The changes and viciflitudes in warlike
jnatters are many ; but they lie chiefly in
three things : in the feat of war ; in wea-
pons ; and military difcipline. Wars in
ancient time feemed chiefly to move from
eaft to weft : for the Perjtans^ AJyrians, Ara-
hlans, Scythians, (who were the invaders)
were all eaftern people. It is true, the Gauls
were weftern ; but we read only of two in-
curfions of theirs : the one on Gallo-Gr^cja,
the other againft the Roinans, But eaft and
weft have no certain points of heaven ; nor

have

OF VICISSITUDES.

309

have the wars, either from the eafl or weft,
any certahity of obfervation. But north and
fouth are fixed by nature : and it hath fel-'
dom or never been feen, that the far fouth-
ern people have invaded the northern : but,
on the contrary. Whence it is manifeft,'
that the northern tra6l of the world is in
nature the more martial region ; whether
in refpe6l to the ftars of that hemifphere, or'
of the great continents that are upon the
north : whereas the fouth part (for ought
that is known) is almofl: all fea ; or, which
is moft apparent, in refpe£l to the cold of
the northern parts, which, without any
other caufe whatever, hardens the body, and
fires the courage.

Upon the deicline and fubverfion of a
great ftate and empire, you may be fure to
have wars. For great empires, while they
ftand, enervate and deftroy the native forces
of the provinces which they have fubdued,
trufting to their own forces at home : and
when thefe fail, all goes to ruin, and they
become a prey to other nations. So was it
in the declenlion of the Roman empire ; and
likewife in the empire oi Almain^ ^ilQv Charles
X 3 the

3IP OF VICISSITUDE?.

the Great, every bird taking a feather : and
fome fuch thing may probably happen tp
the Spani/h empire, if it ihould break.

On the other fide, great acceffions of do-
minion, and unions of kingdoms, do like-
wife ftir up wars. For when a ftate rifes
to an over-great power, it is like the fwelling
of a river, which prefently threatens an in-
undation ; as it hath been feen in the em-
pires of Rome, Turkey^ Spain^ and others.
We may obferve, when the world abounds
with people not barbarous, but are ge*
ner^lly civilii^ed ; fuch as will not marry at
random or generate, unlefs they forefee the
means of maintaining their families hand-
fomely, or at leaft of getting a livelihood,
which prevails every where at this day,
except in 'Tartary, there is no danger of
inundations, or removals of people into other
parts. But when there are great Ihoals of
people that are perpetually generating, with-
out any care or forefight of their future for-
tune and fupport, they muft once in an age
or two difcharge a portion of their people,
and feek new habitations, and fo invade other
countries ; which the ancient northern peo-
ple

OP VICISSITUDES. ^If

pie are accuftomed to do by lot : cafting
lots, what part fhould flay at home, and
what fhould feek their fortunes.

When a warlike flate grows effeminate,
they may be fure of a war : for commonly
fuch flates grow rich in the time of their
degenerating ; and fo the prey invites, and
their decay in valour encourages other na-
tions to invade them.

As for arms and weapons, they hardly
fall under obfervation ; yet we fee even thefe
have their returns and viciflitudes. For
certain it is, that ordnance was known in
the city oiOxydrakes^ in India ; and was what
the Macedonians called thunder, lightning,
and magic. It is well known alfo, that
the ufe of ordnance has been in China above
2000 years.

The properties of weapons, and their im-
provements, are thefe : firft, the carrying a
great way, for that out- runs the danger ;
which is the cafe of ordnance and mufquets.
Secondly, the flrength and force of the per-
cuffion ; wherein like wife ordnaace exceeds
X4 aU

312 OF VICISSITUDES,

all the ftrokes of the battering ram, and an-
tient inventions. Thirdly, the commodious
\ife of them : and here again ordnance comes
in, which ferve all weathers, and are light
and manageable for carriage.

The conduct of war, in ancient times,
depended chiefly upon number : princes
trufted likewife to the courage and bravery
of the foldiers ; and often appointed days
for pitched fields, to try an even match ;
and they were more ignorant in ranging and
arraying their battles. Afterwards, they
were for a chofen army well appointed ;
they fhudied advantage of place, cunning,
diverfions, and other ftratagems : laflly, they
grew to be more Ikilful in the arrangement
of their battles.

In the youth of a flate arms flourifh ; rn
its middle age learning ; and then both of
them together for a time : in its declining
age, mechanical arts and merchandize.
Learning has its infancy, when it is light
and puerile : then its youth, when it is lux-
uriant and juvenile : next, its flrength of
.years, when it is folid and exa61: : iaflly, its

old

OF DEATH. 313

old age, when it is dry and exhaufled, but
verbofe. It is not good to look too long
"Upon thefe turning wheels of viciffitude, left
we become giddy. As for philology, which
generally comes in on this fubjeft, it is but
a train of narrations, and therefore not fit
for this eflay.

OF DEATH.

TV/TEN fear death, as children fear dark-
nefs. And as that natural fear in
children is increafed with frightful tales, fo
is the other alfo. Certainly, the contem-
plation of death, as '' the wages of fin,*'
and a pafTage to another life, is pious and
wholefome ; but the fear of it, as it is a debt
of nature, is weak and vain. Yet in reli-
gious meditations, there is fometiirres an
alloy of vanity and of fuperfi:ition likewlfe.
It is advifed, in fome of the friar's books
which treat of mortification, that a man
fhould think with himfelf, what the pain is,

when

314 O T DEATH.

when even the leafl joint of a finger is tor-
tured ; and thereby judge how great the
torment of death is, when the whole body-
is corrupted and diflblved ; though death
many times pafles with lefs pain, than is
felt in the torture of a hmb : for the mofh
vital parts are not the quickefl of fenfe. And
by him that fpake only as a philofopher,
and natural man, it was well faid ; Pojnpa
mortis magh ferret, quam mors ipfa : groans
and fobs, convuKions, palenefs of vifage,
friends weeping, funeral obfequies, and the
like, are the things that fhew death terrible.
It is very obfervable, that there is no pailion
of the mind fo w^eak, but it mafters and
fubdues the fear of death. And therefore
death is no fuch formidable enemy, flnce a
man has fo many champions about him,
that can win the combat of him. Kevenge
triumphs over death ; love flights it ; ho-
nour courts it ; fear of difgrace chufes it ;
grief flies to it ; fear anticipates it. Nay
we read, that after Otho the emperor had
flain himfelf, even pity (which is the ten-
dered of affedions) provoked many to die
with him, out of mere companion to their
fovereign, and as the truefl fort of attend^

ants.

OF DEATH. 31^

ants. Nay, Seneca adds nicenefs and fatiety ;
Cogita quamdiu eadeni feceris : mori velle, non
tanium fortis, aut mifery fed etiam fajlidiofus
poteft, *' Confider how long you iiave done
" the fame things ; a man would die, though
" he were neither valiant, nor miferable,
" only upon wcarinefs of doing the fame
" things over and over again.'*

Nor is it lefs obfervable, what little al-
teration, in a generous and brave mind, the
approach of death makes ; for thofe men
bear the fame fpirit even to the laft moment.
Augujlus C^far died in a compliment • Liviay
conjugil nojiri, vive, et vale, 'Tiberius^ in dif-
fimulation ; for Tacitus fays thus of him ;
yam fiberium, vires et corpus^ non dijjimulatioj
deferebant. Fefpajtan, in a jefl ; tor eafnig
himfelf upon the ftool* Ut puto, Deus jio,
Galba with a lentence ; Fm, Ji ex re Jit po^
puU Romania holding forth his neck at the
fame time. Septtmius Severus, in the difpatch
of bufinefs ; Adejie^ ji quid mihi rejlat agen^
dum ; and the like of others. Certainly the
Stoics beftowed too much coft upon death ;
for, by their grand preparations again fl: it,
they have made it appear more terrible.

Better

3l6 OF DEATH.

Better he, ^ijinem vit^e extremum Inter mu^
tiera ponat naturae. For it is as natural for men
to die as to be born ; and an infant, perhaps,
feels as much pain in this, as the other.

He that dies in the profecution of fome
earneft defire, is like one that is wounded
in hot blood, who does not feel the blow ;
therefore a mind fixed and bent upon what is
good, fteals from the pains of death. But,
when all is done, the fweeteft of canticles
is nunc dimittls ; when a man has obtained
Ills ends, and worthy expectations. There
is this alfo in death, that it opens the gate
to good fame, and extinguiflies envy.

Mxtin^us amahitur idem,*

OF

OF FAME, 317

OF F A M

FRAGMENT.

npHE poets make Fame a monfler. They
defcribe her in part finely and elegantly,
and in part gravely and fententioufly. They
fay, " Behold as many feathers as fhehath,
*' fo many eyes alfohas fhe underneath ; fb
" many tongues, fo many ears ered to liften."

This is a poetical flourifh. There fol-
low excellent fimiles ; as that fhe gathers
ftrength in going ; that fhe goes upon the
ground, and yet hides her head in the clouds ;
that in the day-time fhe keeps watch, and flies
moflly by night ; that flie fings of things
done, and things not done ; that fhe is a ter-
ror to great cities : but what excels all the
refl is, that the Earth, mother of the giants
that made war upon Jupiter, and were de-
llroyed by him, afterwards in anger brought

forth

3l8 OF FAME,

forth fame. For indeed rebels, which ard
reprefented by the giants, and feditious fame
and libels, are but brothers and fiflers, maf-^
culine and feminine. But now if a man
could tame this monfler, and bring her to
feed from the hand, govern her, and fly her
at, and kill other birds of prey, it would be
fomething worth. But we are infe(fbed with
the ftile of the poets. To fpeak in a fober
and ferious manner, there is not in all poli-
tics a fubjed lefs handled, and yet more
worthy of notice than fame. We will
therefore fpeak to thefe points : what is falfe,
what true fame, and how they may be dif-
cerned ; how rumours may be fown an df
raifed ; how they may be fpread and multi-
plied ; laftly, how they may be fuppreffed,
and other matters concerning the nature of
fame.

Fame is of that force, that thefe is fcarce
any a6lion wherein it has not a part, efpe-
cially in war. Mucianus Undid Fitellius by at
report he had fpread ; that ^//^///Vipurpofed
to remove the legions of Syria into Germany^
and the legions of Germany into Syria ; upon
which the legions of S^ria were infinitely

inflamed^

OP FAME,

519

inflamed. Julius Ccefar took Pompey unpro-
vided, and laid afleep his induflry and pre-
parations, by a report which he cunningly
gave out, that C^fars own foldiers loved
him not ; and being wearied with the wars,
and laden with the fpoils of Gaul, would
forfake him as foon as he came into Italy,
Livia fettled all things for the fucceffion of
her fon 'Tiberius, by continually giving out,
that her hufband Augujlus was upon recovery
and amendment. And it is an ufual thing
with Bafhaws to conceal the death of the
Great Turk from the Janizaries, and mea
of war, to fave the facking of Conjlantimple^
and other towns, as is their ufual cuftom.
'Themijlocles made Xerxes king of Perjia poft
out of Greece^ by reporting that the Grecians
had a defign to break his bridge of fhips
which he had made acrofs the Hellefpont.
There are a thoufand fuch examples ; and
the more they are, the lefs they need to be
repeated ; becaufe a man meets with them
everywhere. Therefore let all wife gover-
nors have as great a watch and care over ru-
mours and fame, as they have of the anions
and defigns themfelves.

HELPS

320 HELPS FOR THE

H E

FOR THE

INTELLECTUAL POWERS.

T EVER held it for an infolent and unlucky
faying, Faber qutfquis fortune fu^ ; " Eve-
<« ry man may be the architedl of his own
" fortune ;" except it be uttered only as an
exhortation, or fpur to correal iloth. For,
otherwife, if it is believed as it founds, that
a man imagines he can compafs and fathom
all accidents; afcribes all fucceffes to his
own defigns ; and the contrary to his floth
and negligence ; it is commonly feen, that
the evening fortune of that man is not fo
profperous, as of him, that, without flack-
ening of his induftry, attributes much to
felicity, and a providence above him. But
if the fentence were turned to this ; " Eve-
" ry man is the archited of his own wit
« and underftanding ;" it were more likely
to be true, and much more profitable;

becaufe

INTELLECTUAL fOWERS, 32I

becaufe it would teach men to reform thofe
imperfedioiis in themfelves, -^hich now
they feek but to cover ; and to attain thofe
virtues and good parts, which now they
feek but to have only In fhew and detnon-
ftration. Yet^ notwithftanding, every man
attempts to be an artift of the firfl branch,
and few bind themfelves to the fecond ; ne<*
verthelefs, the rifing in fortune feldom a-
mends the mind ; but, on the contrary^
removing the Hands and impediments of the
mindj does often clear the pafilige and cur*
rent to a man's fortune. For certain it is,
whether it be believed or not, that as the
moil excellent of metals, gold, is of all
others the moil pliant, and malleable ; fo^
of all living and breathing fubflances, ths
moft per fed:, man, is the moft fufceptible
of help, improvement, impreffion, and al-
teration ; and not only in his body, but in
his mind and fpirit ; not only in his appe-
tite and affection, but in his powers of wit
and reafon.

For as to tile body of man, we find many
and ftrange experiences, how nature is over-
wrought by cuilom, even in actions that

Vol, I, Y feqm

J22 HELPS FOR THE

feem of moft difficulty, and Jeafl poffible.
As firfl, in voluntary motion ; which, though
it be termed voluntary, yet in the highefl
degrees of it is not fo ; for it is in my
power and will to run ; but to run fafter,
than according to my lightnefs, or difpofi-
tlon of body, is not in my power, nor will.
We fee the induftry and pra£lice of tum-
blers, what wonderful effedls it brings the
body of man unto. So for fuffering of pain
and grief, which is thought fo contrary to
the nature of man, there are many exam-
ples of penances which they, in (inS: orders
of fuperftition, endure ; fuch as may ve-
rify the report of the Spartan boys, who
were ufed to be fcourged upon the altar fo
bitterly, as fometimes they died of it, and
yet were never heard to complain. And to
pafs to thofe faculties, which are reckoned
more involuntary, as long failing and ab-
ftinence ; and the contrary extreme, vora-
city, the leaving and forbearing the ufe of
drink altogether, the enduring vehement
cold, and the like. There are not wanting
many examples of flrange vidtories over the
body, in every one of thefe. Nay, in re-
fpiration, there is proof of fome, who, by

continual

INTELLECTUAL POWERS. ^2^

continual ufe of diving, and working imder
the water, have brought themfelves to be
able to hold their breath an Incredible time ;
and others, that have been able, without
fuffocation, to endure the flifling breath of
an oven or furnace, fo heated, as though
it did not fcald nor burn, yet it was many-
degrees too hot for any man, not made
to it, to breath in. And fome impoftors
and counterfeits likewife have been able
to writhe, and cafl their bodies into
ftrange forms and motions ; others to
bring themfelves into trances and fits of
flupefadion, which examples demonftrate
how varioufly, and to what high points and
degrees the body of man may be, as it were,
moulded and wrought. And if any man
conceives, that it is fome fecret propriety of
nature, that has been in thofe perfons who
have attained to thofe points ; and that it is
not open for every man to do the like, though
he had been put to it ; for which caufe fuch
things come but very rarely to pafs. It is
true no doubt, but fome perfons are apter
than others ; but, as the greater qulcknefs
caufes perfe6lIon, the lefs aptnefs does not
difable. There is no quclHon, but thefe
Y 2 abilities

324 HELP'S FOR THE

"abilities would have been more common ;
^nd others of the like fort not attempted,
"would likewife have been brought upon the
ftage, but for two reafons ; the one, be-
caufe of mens diffidence, in prejudging them
as impoffibilities ; for it holds in thofe things
which the poet {^YS,f>qffunt, quia pojfe videntur',
** They can conquer, who believe they can."
For no man fhall know how much may be
done, except he believes it can be done.
The other reafon is, bccaufe they are prac-
tices bafe and inglorious, and of no great
rfe, and therefore fequeftered from reward
of value ; and, on the other fide, painful,
fo as the recompence ballances not the fuf-
fering. And as to the will of man, it is
that which is mofl manageable and obedient,
^s that which admits mofl: medicines to cure
and alter it. The mofl fovereign of all is
religion ; which is able to change and tranl-
form it, in the deepefl and mofl inward in-
clinations and motions. And next to that is
opinion and apprehenfion, whether it be in-
fufed by tradition and inflitution, or wrought
in by difputation or perfuafion. The third
is example, which transforms the will of
-man into the fimilitude of thar, which is

xnofl

I>f TELLECTU AL POWERS. 325

mofl: obverfant and familiar towards it. Th$
fourth is, when one afFe£tion is healed and
corrected by another ; as when cowardice i^
remedied by ihame and difhonour ; or flug-
giflinefs and backwardnefs, by indignation
and emulation, and fo forth. And laftly,
when all tliefe means, or any of them, have
new framed or formed human will ; theu
cuftom and habit corroborate and confirm
all the reft. And therefore it is no marvel,
though this faculty of the mind, of will
and eledion, which inclines affedion. ancj
appetite, being but the inceptions and rudi-
ments of will, may be fo well governed and
managed ; becaufe it admits accefs to divers
remedies to be applied, and work upon it.
The effe£):s are fo many and fo known, as
to require no enumeration ; but generally
they iffue, as medicines do, into two' kinds
of cures ; the one of which is a jufl or true
cure, and the other is called palliation. For
either the labour and intention is, to reform
the affections really and truly ; reftraining
them if they be too violent, and raifin^
them, if they be too foft and weak ; or elfe
it is, to cover them ; or, if there is occafi-
on, to pretend and reprefent them. Of the
Y 3 former

32(

HELPS FOR THE, &C,

former fort, the examples are plentiful in
the fchools of philofophers, and in all other
inftitutions of moral virtue ; and of the lat-
ter, the examples are more plentiful in the
courts of princes, and in all political traf-
fic ; where it is ufual to find, not only pro-
found didimulations, and fuffocating the
affe6tions, that no note or mark appear of
them outwardly ; but alfo living {imilitudes
and afFe6tations, carrying the tokens of paf-
fions which are not ; as a commanded laugh,
and tears forced,

AN ESSAY ON DEATH. 327

A N

ESSAY

DEATH.

I. T Have often thought upon death, and
I find it the leaft of all ^vils. All that
which is paft, is as a dream ; and he that
hopes or depends upon time coming, dreams
waking. So much of our life as we have
difcovered is already dead ; and all thofe
hours which we fhare, even from the breafls
of our mother, until we return to our grand-
mother, the earth, are part of our dying
days ; whereof even this is one, and thofe
that fucceed are of the fame nature, for we
die daily ; and as others have given place to
us, fo we mufl in the end give way to
others.

Y 4 2. Phy-

^%B AN ESSAY ON DEATH,

2. Physicians, in the name of death, !n^
elude all forrow, anguifh, difeafe, calamity,
or whatfoever can fall in the life of man,
either grievous or unwelcome : but thefe
things are familiar unto us, and we fuffer
them every hour ; therefore we 4ie daily,
and I am older fuice I affirmed it.

3. I know many wife men that fear to
die ; for the change is bitter, and fleih would
refufe to prove it : befides, the expectation
brings terror, and that exceeds the evil. But
I do not believe, that any man fears to be
dead, but only the ftroke of death : and fuch
are my hopes, that if heaven be pleafed, and
nature renew but my leafe for twenty-ope
years, more, without aiking longer days, I
fhall be flrong enough to acknowledge with-
out mourning, that I was begotten mortal,
Virtue w^alks not in the highway, though (he
go per alia I this is ftrength and the blood
to virtue, to contemn things that are de-f
fired, ^nd to negle6t that which is fear'ed,

4. Why fhould marl be in love with hig
fetters, though of gold ? Art thou drowned
\Xi fecyrity ? Then I fay thou art perfeClly

AN ESSAY ON DEATH. 329

dead. For though thou movefl:, yet thy
foul is buried within thee, and thy good an-
gel either forfakes his guard, or fleeps. There
is nothing under heaven, faving a true friend,
who cannot be counted within the number of
moveables, unto w^hich my heart doth lean.
And this dear freedom hath begotten me
this peace, tliat I mourn not for that end
which mufl be, nor fpend one wifli to have
one minute added to the uncertain date of
my years. It was no mean apprehenfion
of Lucian, who fays of Menippus, that in his
travels through hell he knew not the kings
of the earth from other men, but only by
their louder cryings and tears : which was
foftered in them through the remorfeful me-
mory of the good days they had feen, and
the fruitful havings which they fo unwil-
lingly left behind them : he that was well
feated, looked back at his portion, and was
loth to forfake his farm ; and others either
minding marriages, pleafures, profit, or pre-
ferments, defired to be excufed from death's
banquet : they had made an appointment
with earth, looking at the bleffings, not the
Jiand .that enlarged them, forgetting how

naked

^^O AN ESSAY ON DEATH.

naked they came hither, or with what pri-
mitive ornaments they were arrayed.

5, But were we fervants of the precept
given, and oblervers of the heathens rule
memento mor'i^ and not become benighted
with this feeming felicity, we fhould enjoy
it as men prepared to lofe, and not wind up
our thoughts upon fo perifhing a fortune ;
he that is not flackly flrung, as the fervants
of pleafure, how can he be found unready to
c]uit the veil and falfe vifage of his perfec-
tion ? The foul having fhaken off her flefh,
does then fet up for herfelf, and contemn-
ing things that are under, (hews what fin-
ger hath enforced her ; for the fouls of
idiots are of the fame piece with thofe of
flatefmen, but now and then nature is at a
fault ; this good guefl of ours takes foil
in an imperfect body, and fo is ilackened
from fhewing her wonders ; like an excel-
lent mufician, which cannot utter himfelf
upon a defedive inftrument.

6. But fee how I fwerve, and lofe
ti\y courfe, touching at the foul, that does
ieaft hold aiSlion with death, who has the

furefl

J

AN ESSAY ON DEATH. 33I

fureft property in this frail a£t ; his flile is
the end of all flefh, and the beginning of in-
corruption.

This ruler of monuments leads men for
the mofl part out of this world with their
heels forward, in token that he is contrary
to life ; which being obtained, fends men
headlong into this wretched theatre, where
being arrived, their firft language is that of
mourning. Nor in my own thoughts, can I
compare men more fitly to any thing, than
to the Indian fig-tree, which being ripened
to his full height, is faid to decline his
branches down to the earth; whereof fhe
conceives again, and they become roots in
their own flock.

So man having derived his being from the
earth, firfl lives the life of a tree, drawing
his nourifhment as a plant, and made ripe
for death he tends downwards, and is fowed
again in his mother, the earth, where he pe-
rifheth not, but expeds a quickening.

7. So we fee death exempts not a man
from being, but only prefents an alteration ;

yet

332 AN ESSAY ON DEATH.

yet there are fome men, I think, that ftand
otherwife perfuaded. Death finds not a
.worfe friend than an alderman, to wi>ofe
door I never knew hun welcome ; hut he is
an importunate gueft, and will not be faid
nay.

And though they themfel^ves {hall affirm,
that they are not within, yet the anfwer will
not be taken ; and that which heightens
their fear is, that they know they are in dan-
ger to forfeit their flefli, but are not wife of
the payment day : which fickly imcertainty
is the occafion, that for the mofl: part, they
ftep out of this world unfumilhed for their
general account, and being all unprovided,
defire yet to hold their gravity, preparing
their fouls to anfwer in fcarlet.

Thus I gather, that death is difagreeable
to moft citizens, becaufe they commonly die
inteflate : this being a rule, that when their
will is made, they think themfelves nearer
a grave than before : now they, out of the
w^fdom of thoufands, think to fcare defliny,
from which there is no appeal, by not mak-
ing a will, or to live iQnger by proteflation

©f

AN ESSAY ON DEATH. 23'^

of tlieir iinwIHingnefs to die. They are for
the moft part well made in this world-,
accounting their treafure by legions, as men
do devils ; their fortune looks towards them,
iand they are willing to anchor at it, and
defire, if it be poffible, to put the evil day
far off from them, and to adjourn their, un-
graceful and killing period.

No, thefe are not the men which have
t)efpoken death, or whofe looks are aflured
to entertain a thought of him.

8. Death arriv-es gracious only to fuch
-as fit in darknefs,or lie heavy burdened with
^rief and irons ; to the poor Chriflian that
fits bound in the galley ; to defpairing wi-
-dows, 'peiifive prifoners, and depofed kings;
to them whofe fortune runs back, and whofe
'fpirit miitinies ; unto fuch death, is a re-
deemer,' 'and the grave a place for retire*
meut and reft.

These wait upon the Ihore of death, and
waft unto him to draw near, wifhing above
iall otliers, to fee his ftar, that they might be
led to his place ; wooing the remorfelefs

fillers

33+ AN ESSAY ON DEATH.

fifters to wind down the watch of their life,
and to break them off before the hour.

9. But death is a doleful meflenger to an
ufurer, and fate untimely cuts their thread ;
for it is never mentioned by him, but when
rumours of war and civil tumults put him in
mind thereof.

And when many hands are armed, the
peace of a city in diforder, and the foot
of the common foldiers founds an alarm oa
his ftairs, then perhaps fuch a one, broken in
thoughts of his monies abroad, and curfing
the monuments of coin which are in his
houfe, can be content to think of death, and,
being hafly of perdition, will perhaps hang
himfeif, left his throat fhould be cut ; pro-
vided that h^ may do it in his ftudy, fur-
rounded with wealth, to which his eye fends
a faint and langullhing falute, even upon the
turning off; remembering always, that he
has time and liberty, by writing, to depute
himfeif as his own heir.

For that is a great peace to his end, and
reconciles him wondejfully upon the point.

10. Herein

AN ESSAY ON DEATK. 235

10. Herein we all dally with ourfeives,
and are without proof till necelfity. I am
none of thofe who dare promlfe to pine
away in vain-glory, for I hold fuch to be but
afFe6led boldnefs, and them that dare com-
mit it to be vain. Yet for my part, I think
nature would do me great wrong, if I fhould
be fo long in dying, as I was in being born.

To fpeak truth, no man knows the extent
of his own patience ; nor can divine how
able he fhall be in his fufferings, till the
ftorm comes, the perfe^left virtue being tried
in aclion ; but 1 would, out of a care to do
the heft buluiefs well, ever keep a guard,
and {land upon keeping faith and a good
confcience.

11. And if wifhes might find place, I
would die together, and not my mind often,
and my body once ; that is, I would prepare
for the mellengers of death, ficknefs, and
afflifllon, and not wait long, or be attempted
by the violence of pain.

Herein I do not profefs myfelf a flolc, to
hold grief no evil, but opinion, and a thing
-indifferent. But

33^ AN ESSAY ON DEATm

But I confent with C^far^ that the moil
fudden pailage is eafiefl ; and there is nothing
more awakens our refolve and readinefs to
die, than the quieted conlcience, ftrength-
ened with opinion that we fhall be well
fpoken of upon earth by thofe that are juil,
and of the family of virtue ; the oppofite
whereof is a fury to man, and makes even
life unpleafant*

Therefore, what is more heavy than
evil fame deferved ? Or likewife^ who cail
fee worfe days, than he that yet living doth
follow at the funeral of his own reputation f
I have laid up many hopes that I am pri*
vileged fi'om that kind of mourning, and
could wifh the like peace to all thofe with
whom I wage love.

12. I might fiiy much of the Commodities
that death can fell a man ; but brieflyj death
is a friend of ours, and he that is not ready
to entertain hhri, is not at home. Whilft I
am, my ambition is not to flow before the
tide ; I have but fo to make my intereft, as 1
may account for it ; I would wifh nothing
but what might better my days, nor defire
I any

I

AN ESSAY ON DEATH.

Zil

any greater place than the front of good
opinion. I make not love to the continuance
of days, but to the goodnefs of them; nor
wifh to die, but refer myitXi to that hour,
which the great difpenfer of atl things 'hath
appointed me ; yet as I am frail, and fuf-
fered for the firfi fault, were it given me to
choofe, I fhould not be earncft to fee the
evening of my age; that extremity, of itfelf
being a difeafe, and a mere return into in-
f;incy : fo that if perpetuity of life might be
given me, I fhould think what the Greek
poet faid, •' Such an age is a mortal evil.
And fmce I needs muft die, I would rather
it might be before my friends than mine
enemies, that I may not hz flripped be-
fore I be cold. The night w^as even now;
but that name is loll; it is not now late
but early. Mine eyes begin to difcharge
their watch, and compound with this
fleflily weaknefs for a time of perpetual
reil: ; and I (hall prefently be as happy fora
few hours, as if I had died the firfl: hour I
was born.

Vol. I. " Z a

33^ A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

CIVIL CHARACTER

O F

JULIUS C^SAR.

JULIUS CjESAR was partaker at firfl
J oi ^ perfecuted fortune, which turn-
ed to his benefit ; for this abated the haugh-
tinefs of his fpirit, and whetted his induf-
try. He had a mind, turbulent in his de-
fires and affections ; but in his judgment
and underftanding, very ferene and placid ;
and this appears in his eafy delivery of him-
felf, both in his tranfadlions and in his
fpeech. For no man ever refolved more fwift-
!y, or fpake with more perfpicuity. Nothing
intangled, nothing intricate could be ob-
ferved in his expreflions. But in his will
and appetite he was one that never acquief-
ced in thofe things he had gotten, but ftill
advanced further ; yet fo that he would not
ruih into new affairs rafhly, but fettle and

make

JI^LIUS CJESAR. ^2^

make an end of the former, before he at-
tempted frefh a6lions ; for he always put a
full period to his undertakhigs. And there-
fore, though he won many battles in Spain,
and weakened their forces by degrees ; yet
he would not gl\^e over, nor defpife the re-
lics of the civil war there, till he had feen
all things compofed ; but then as foon as
that was done, inftantly he advanced an ex*
pedition againfl the Parthians,

He was, no doubt, a man of ah exceed-
ing great foul, yet fuch as aimed mote at
his own particular advancement, than at any
fervices to the common-wealth. For he re-
ferred all things to himfelf, and was the
true and perfeft center of all his actions ;
which was the caufe of his very great, and
almoft perpetual fuccefs and profperity.
For neither country, nor religion, nor good
turns done him, nor kindred, nor frlend-
Ihip, checked his defignj, nor bridled him
from purfulng his own ends. Neither was
he much inclined to works of perpetuity ;
for he eftablifhed nothing for future times ;
he founded no fumptuous buildings ; he
procured to be enaded no wholefome laws,
Z 2 but

340

A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

but flill minded himfelf only ; and his
thoughts were confined within the circle of
his own life. He fought indeed after fame
and reputation, becaufe he thought they
might be of fome fervice to his defigns :
ptherwife, in his inward thoughts, he pro-
pofed to himfelf rather unbounded power,
than honour and fame. As for honour and
fame, he purfued not after them for them-
felves, but as inflruments of power and
greatnefs : and therefore he was carried on
by a natural impulfe, not by any moral
rules that he had learned, to affed the fole
government, but rather to enjoy the fame,
than to feem worthy of it ; which won him
much reputation amongft the people, who
are no valuers of true worth ; but amongft
the nobility and great men, who were ten-
der of their own honour, he incurred the
imputation of an ambitious and daring
man.

Neither did they err much from the
truth, for he was by nature exceeding bold;
and never put on any fhew of modefly, but
to ferve a purpofe. Yet not with (landing,
his boldnefs was fo fafliioned, that it neither

brought

JULIUS CiESAR. 341

brought him under the cenfure of raflinefs,
nor was burthenfome and offenfive to men,
nor rendered his nature fufpedled, but was
conceived to flow from an innate fincerity
and freenefs of behaviour, and from the no-
bility of his birth. And in all other things
too he got the reputation, not of a crafty
and deceitful perfon, but of an open-heart-
ed and plain-dealing man. As he was the
greateft mafter of diffimulation, and wholly
compounded of artifices, there v/as not a re-
lic of his nature left, but what art had im-
proved ; yet nothing of artifice, nothing of
affectation appeared, but he was reputed to
enjoy and follow his natural temper and dif-
pofition. However, he did not ftoop to any
petty and mean intrigues, luch as thofe men
are obliged to ufe, who are unpradifed in
flate matters, and depend not fo much upon
their own ftrength, as upon the abilities of
others, to fupport their authority ; being a
man perfeClly ikilled in all human affairs,
and tranfading all matters of any confe-
quence by himfelf, and not by others.

He was fingularly fkillful to extinguish

envy, and thought it not impertinent to his

Z 3 end$

342 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

ends to decline it, though it were with fome
diminution of his dignity. For aiming at
a real ppwer, he was content to decline and
pafs by all vain pomp and outward fhew of
power, throughout almoft the whole courfe
of his life ; till at lail:, whether fatiated with
the continual exercifeof power, or corrupt-
ed by flattery, he affe£led even the enfigns
of power, the ftile and diadem of a king,
which turned to his deftruclion.

He harboured the thoughts of a kingdom
from his very youth ; and this, the example
of Sy Ha, the affinity of Marius^ his emula^
tion of Pompey^ and the corruption and tur^
bulency of the times, naturally fuggefted
to him. But then he paved his way to a
kingdom in a wonderful orderly manner :
firfl:, by a popular and feditious power ; af^
terwards by a military and imperial power.
For firft he was to break the power and au-
thority of the fenate, which, as long as it
remained entire, prevented his climbing to
immoderate and unlawful fovereignty. Af-
ter this, the power of Crajfus and Pompey
was to be over-turned, which could not be
done otherwife than by arms. And there-

for«

JULIUS CiESAR. 343

fore, as a mofl expert archite(£l of his own
fortune, he ralfed and carried on his firil:
flrudure by largeffes ; by corrupting the
courts of juftice ; by renewing the memory
of Caius Marius, and his party (mofl of the
fenators and nobility being of Syllas fac-
tion) ; by the law of diflributing the lands
amongft the common people ; by feditious
tribunes that he fet on ; by the madnefs and
fury of Catiline and his confpirators, whom
he fecretly favoured ; by the banifhment of
Cicero, upon which the authority of the fe-
nate turned ; and feveral other the like arts ;
but mofl of all by the conjundion of Craf"
fus and Pompey, both betwixt themfelves
and with him ; which was the thing that
finifhed the work.

Having accomplifhed this part, he pre-
fently fet himfelf to the other ; being now
made proconful of the Gallias for five years,
and afterwards continued for five years more;
furnifhed with arms and legions, and the
power of a warlike and opulent province,
he became formidable to Italy,

Z4. For

344^ A CIVIL CHARACTER. OF

For he was not ignorant, that after he
had ftrengthened himfelf with arms, and
mihtary power, neither Crqfus ' or Pompey
could bear up againll him ; the one trufling
to his riches, the other to his fame and re-
putation ; one decaying in age, the other
in authority ; neither of them depending
upon true and fi:abie foundations. All which
things fucceeded to his defire ; efpecially
having tied and obliged all the fenators and
magiftrates, and, in a word, all that had
any power, fo firmly to himfelf, by private
benefits, that he was fearlefs of any con-
fpiracy, or combination again ft his defigns,
till he had openly invaded the common-
wealth.

Which thing, though he had ever de-
figned, and at lafl efFedled, yet he did not lay
afide his malk ; but carried himfelf fo, that
what with the reafonablenefs of his demands,
his pretences of peace, and what with
the moderate ufe of his fuccefles, he
turned the envy upon the adverfe party,
and pretended to take up arms upon ne-
ceflity, for his own prefervation and fafety.
The falfenefs of vvhjch.pretence manifeftly
appeared, when having obtained the regal

power

JULIUS CiESAR. ^ 345

power, (the civil wars ended, and all his ri-
vals, that gave him any concern, being
{lain and removed out of the way) notwith-
ftanding he never once thought of reftoring
the republic, nor vouch fafed fo much as
any fl"iew or pretence of it. Which clearly
fhews, that he had ever a defire and deiign
of being a king ; for he did not lay hold
upon occafions as they happened, but form-
ed and worked out occaiions himfelf. His
chief ability flione in martial affairs, in
which he fo excelled, that he could not on-
ly lead an army, but mould them ,to his
own liking. For he was not more Ikilful
in managing affairs, than in winning of
hearts. Neither did he effe6l this by any
ordinary difcipline, which might inure
them to obedience, ftrike fliame into them,
or keep them in awe by fear ; but by
fuch a way as wonderfully flirred up an
ardor and alacrity in them, and did in a
manner affure him of the vidory before-
hand ; which endeared the loldiery to
him more than was expedient^ for a free
ilate.

And

34^ A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

He was engaged in wars of all kinds,
and joined civil arts with military ; nothing
came fo fuddenly, or furprizingly upon him,
but he had a remedy at hand for it ; and
nothing fo adverfe, but he drew fomething
out of it to his advantage.

He had a due regard to his flate and cha-
racter ; for in great battles he would fit in his
pavilion, and manage all by mefHiges : from
which he received a double advantage ; that
he both put himfelf the feldomer in danger,
and in cafe of a turn for the worfe, renewed
the battle by his own prefence, as by a frefli
fupply of auxiliaries. In all his military
preparations he did not conduct his affairs
by precedent only, but ftill devifed new
fchemes, according to the prefent exigence
of accidents and occafions.

He was conftant enough, and (ingularly
beneficent and indulgent in his friendfhlps.
Notwithftanding, he made choice of fuch
friends, that a man might eafily difcern
that he looked out for fuch, whofe friend-
fhip might be a furtherance to him, not an
impediment to his defigns. And whereas

he

JULIUS c^sah. 347

he was carried, both by nature and cuftom
to this principle, not to be eminent among
great men, but to command among vaflals,
he made mean and induftrious men his
friends, to whom he himfelf might be all
in all. Hence grew that faying, " So let
<' Cicfar /Av, though I die \* and other
fpeeches of that kind. As for the nobiHty,
and his equals, he contracted friendfhip
with them according as they ferved his turn ;
but admitted none to his cabinet council,
but thofe that had their fortunes wholly de-
pending upon him.

He was competently furnifhed with lite-
rature, fuch as chiefly contributed fome thing
to civil policy. For he was well verfed in
hiftory, and underflood wonderfully well
the force and edge of words ; and becaufe
he attributed much to his good ftars, he af-
fected to be thought Ikilful in aftronomy.
As for eloquence, that was natural to him,
and pure.

He was inclined to voluptuoufnefs, and

profufe in it ; which ferved, at his firft {qX-

ting out, for a cover to his ambition. For

I no

34^ A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

no one apprehended danger from fuch a dif-
polition. Notwithftanding, he fo governed
his pleafures, that they were no differvice
to him, nor prejudice to bufinefs, but rather
whetted than blunted the vigour of his
mind. He was temperate at his meals; free
from nicenefs and curiofity in his amours ;
pleafant and magnificent at public inter-
ludes.

Thus accomplifhed, the fame quality was
the means of his downfall at laft, which in
his beginning was a ftep to his rife ; that
is, his affedation of popularity ; for nothing
is more popular, than to forgive enemies ;
through which, whither virtue or cunning,
he loft his life.

A

,AUGUSTUS C^SAR. ^^

A
Civil. CHARACTER

O F

AUGUSTUS C.^SAR.

A^G US rUS CM SJR, (if ever any
mortal man) was endued with a great-
nefsofmind, undifturbed, ferene, and well-
ordered : which is evidenced bv the mighty
atchievements he performed in his earJy
youth. For thofe that are of a turbulent
diforderly nature, commonly pafs their
youth in various errors, and about their
middle age, but not till then, they fhew
themfelves: but thofe that are of a fedate
and calm nature, may fhuie even in their
firfl: years.

And whereas the faculties of the mind,
DO lefs than the advantages of the body,
confift, and are accomplifhed in a certain
health, beauty and flrength ; certain it is,

that

350 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

that ill ftrength of mind he was hiferior to
his uncle Julius ; in beauty and health fupe-
lior. For the former, being of a reftlefs
uncompofed fpirit, asthofe generally are who
are troubled with the falling ficknefs, ad-
vanced, notwithflanding, to his own ends
with the utmofb prudence and condu£l ;
though the ends themfelves he did not order
well ; but with a boundlefs fpring, aiming
beyond the reach of a mortal man, was ftill
carried on to further deigns : whereas Au^
gujlui, being fober, and mindful of his mor-
tality, feemed to have had bis ends alfo
fchemed out in admirable order, and tho-
roughly well weighed. For firft he was de-
firous to have the rule and principality in his
hands : then he fought to make himfelf ap-
pear worthy of that height of power : next,
he thought it but reafonable, according to
the way of the world, to enjoy his exalted
fortune : lafl of all, he turned his thoughts
to fuch actions as might continue his memo-
ry, and leave an impreffion of his good go-
vernment to after-ages. Therefore, in the
beginning of his age, he aife(^ed power ;
in the middle of his age, dignity and wor-

thinefs ;

KING HENRY VII. 35I

thinefs ; in the decline of his years, plea-
fure ; and in his old age, he was bent upon
memory and pofterity.

CIVIL CHARACTER

O F

King HENRY VIL

npHIS king, to fpeak of him in terms
equal to his deferts, was a kind of mi-
racle ; a miracle of that fort which aflo-
nifhes wife men, but does not much ftrike
the ignorant and unexperienced. For he
had many particulars, both in his virtues
and in his fortune, not fo fit for common-
place, as for wife and grave ohfcrvation.
Certainly, he was a pious and religious man,
both in his affection and obfervance ; but as
he could fee clearly enough for thofe times,
through fuperflition : fo he would be blind-
ed

352 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

ed now and then by politic refpecls and
.counfels. He advanced churchmen, and
was tender in the privilege of fanftuaries,
though they wrought him lb much mifchief.
He founded and endowed many religious
houfes, belides his memorable hofpital of
the Savo)', And yet he was a great alms-
giver in fecret ; which evidently fhews, that
his works in public alfo were dedicated to
God's glory, not his own. He profeffed
always to love exceedingly and to feek
peace to the utmofh of his power : thus it
was his ufual preface in his treatifes, " That
*' when Chrifl came into the world, peace
*' was fung by the angels ; and when he
*' went out of the world, the Lord him-
*' felf bequeathed it :" nor could this be
imputed to fear, or foftnefs in him, being
valiant and warlike, but to a virtue truly
chriftian and moral. Yet he knew the way
to peace, was not to feem too defirous of it :
therefore would he make rumours, and of-
fers of war, till he had mended the condi-
tions of peace. This alfo is wortli noting,
that being fo great a lover of peace, he
fhould be fo lucky in war ; for his arms and
expeditions, whether, in foreign or civil

wars.

KING HENRY VII.

353

wars, were never unfortunate ; neither did
he know what a difafler meant. The war
on his coming in, the rebeUions of the Earl
Q^ Lincoln, and the Lord Audley, were ended
bj vidory ; the wars of France and Spain by
peace, but peace fought at his hands ; the
war of Bretagne, by accident of the duke of
Bretagne's death ; the infurredlion of the
lord Lovel, and that of PerVin at Exeter, and
in Ke?it, by flight of the rebels, before thev
eameto blows: fo that felicity in arms was
peculiar to him, and ftill inviolate. A main
reafon whereof, as to the retraining intef-
tlne commotions was, no doubt, this, that
in the quenching of them, he ever appeared
in perfon. The beginning of the battle he
would fometimes leave to his lieutenants,
referving himfelf to back and fecond them ;
but was ever in fome part of the a^lion.
And yet that was not merely forwardnefs
and gallantry in him, but partly diftruil: of
others.

The laws of the kingdom he ever held
in great honour, and would be thought to
maintain and countenance them by his
own authority. Which was not the Icail:

Vol. I, A a im-

354

A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

impediment to him in effe(5ling his wilL For
he held the reins of the laws fo dexteroufly,
that neither revenue, nor prerogative, fuf-
fered any diminution. And yet he fo at-
tempered matters, that as he Would fome-
times draw, and in a manner ftrain up his
laws to his prerogative, fo would he al-
fo in turn delignedly let down his preroga-
tive to the equal and moderate level of the
laws ; for the difpofition of the mint, his
treaties and counfels of war and peace, and
the adminiflration of martial affairs, things
of ahfolute power, he would many times
refer to the debates and votes of parliament.

Justice was well and equally adminlf-
tered in his time, except where the king
was party, and when the council-table in-
termeddled too much in the common caufeg
of meum and tuum. For that council was
then a mere court, and tribunal of juftice,
efpecially in the beginning of his reign.
But certainly in that part of juftice and po-
licy, which is the durable part, and cut, as
it were, in brafs and marble, *' the making
*' of good laws," he excelled much.

And

KING HENRY VII,

35S

And with his juftice, he was alfo a mer-
ciful and clement prince. As in his reign
there were but three of the nobility that
fufFered : the Ear/ of IVarwick, the Lord
Chamberlain, and the Lord Audley. Though
the firfl two were inllead of numbers, in
the diflike and obloquy of the people. But
there never were fo great rebellions expiated
with fo little blood, drawn frjm the hand
of juftice, as the two famous rebellions of
Exeter and Blackheath. As for the feverity
ufed upon thofe that landed in Kent, it was
but upon the refufe of the people. His par-
dons went ever both before and after his
fword. But then he had a ftrange kind of
interchanging large and perfectly unexpe6l-
ed pardons, with fevere executions. Which,
confidering the wifdom of fo great a prince,
could not be imputed to any inconflancy, or
inequality ; but either to fome fecret reafon,
which we do not know ; or to a rule he had
fet himfelf, " to vary and try both ways in
*' turn.''

But the lefs blood he drew, the more he

took of treafure. And, as fome malicioufly

enough conftrued it, he was the more fpa-

A a 2 ring

35^ A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

ring in the one, that he might be the more
preffing in the other ; for both would have
been intolerable. Undoubtedly he was by
nature inclined to accumulate treafure, and
admired riches too much for one in his high
fphere. The people, into whom there is
infufed, for the prefervation of monarchies,
a natural defire to excufe their princes,
though it be often with the unjuft charge
of their counfellors and minifters, did im-
pute this to Cardinal Morton^ and Reginald
Bray, counfellors ; which perfons, not-
withftanding, having a great fway from
their antient authority and favour with him,
did fo fecond his humour, as neverthelefs to
temper it in fome degree. Whereas, on the
contrary, Empfom and Dudley that followed,
being perfons of no reputation with him,
otherwife than by the fervile following of
his bent, did not give way only, but diredled
to thofe oppreffions and enormities, for the
extorting of money all manner of ways, for
which both he himfelf was touched with
remorfe at his death, and which his fuccef-
for renounced, and fought to purge and
expiate. This excefs of his had, at that
time, many interpretations and glofles. Some

were

KING HENR Y VII. 357

were of opinion, that the contniual rebel-
lions, with which he had been vexed, made
him grow into a hatred of his people : fome
thought it tended to deprefs their fpirit, and
keep them low. Some, that he defired to
leave his fon a golden fleece : others, in fine,
that he had fome fecret defign upon foreign
parts. But thofe, perhaps, fhall come nearer
the truth, that fetch not their reafons fo far
ofF, but impute it to nature, years, peace,
and a mind taken up with no other ambition
or purfuit. To which I may add, that
having every day occafion to take notice of
the neceflities and fhifts for money of other
princes, it did the better, by comparifon, fet
off to him the felicity of full coffers.

As to the meafure obferved by him in ex-
pending of treafure, he kept to this rule ;
never to fpare charge when his affairs re-
quired. In his buildings he was magnifi-
cent, In his rewards ftrait-handed ; fo that
his liberaUty applied itfelf rather to thofc
things that appertained to his own ftate, or
memory, than to the rewarding of defert.

A a 3 Hb

35

8 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

He was of an high and exalted mind ; a
lover of his own opinion, and his own way ;
one that revered himfelf, and would reign m
reality. Had he been a private man, doubts
lefs he would have been termed proud : but
in a wife prince, it was but keeping a jufl:
and due diftance between himfelf and his
fubjeds ; which indeed he conftantly did
towards all ; not admitting any to a near
approach, either to his power, or to his fe-
crets ; for he was governed by none of his
people. His confort, the queen, notwith-j
landing {he had bleffed him with divers fine
children, and with a crown alfo, though he
would not acknowledge it, cpujd do little
with him. His mother he reverenced in-c
deed much, but feldom admitted her to a
participation of his counfels. For any per-
fon agreeable to him for converfation, (fuch
zs.w^^ Hajiings to king Edward the Fourth,
or Charles Brandon after to Henry the Eighth)
he had none; unlefs perchance we fliould
account for fuch, bifhop Fox, Bray, and Emp-
Jhm, becaufe they were fo much with him.
But it was only as the infhrument is with the
workman. Vain-glory he had as little of
g.§ any prince whatever; yet fo as to abate

nothing

KING HENRY VII. 359

nothing of ilate and majefty, which he ever
kept up to the height ; being fenfible that
the reverence of majefly keeps the people in
obedience ; but vain-glory, if a man rightly
confiders the matter, proflitutes princes to
popular breath.

To his confederates he was juft and con-
ilant, yet clofe and cautious. Such was his
enquiry into them, and inch in the mean
time, his own clofenefs and refer vednefs,
that they iflood in the light, as it were, to-
wards him, and he flood in the dark to
them. Yet without an appearance of ftrange-
nefs, but rather with the femblance of one
frankly and familiarly communicating his
own bufinefs ; and, on the other hand, in-
quifitive into their affairs.

As for little envies and emulations, which
are wont to pafs between princes, to the no
fmall detriment of their own afhiirs, he had
nothing of them in him ; but went earneflly
and fubftantially to his own bufinefs. Mofl
certain it is, that though his reputation was
great at home, yet it was flill greater and
more illuftrious abroad. For foreigners,
A a 4 that

360 A CIVIL CHARACTER OP

that could not fee the conclu(ft, and particu-
lar paffiiges of his affairs, but faw only the
fuins and iffues of them, noted that he was
ever in jftrife, and ever fuperior. It was part-
ly occafioned alfo by the letters and relations
of foreign ambaffadors, which were attends
ing the court in great number. To whom
he gave content, not only by courtefy, re-
ward, and familiar converfe, but upon thofe
conferences with them, put them in no
fmall admiration, to find his univerfal in-
fight into the affairs of Europe. Which,
though he had chiefly drawn from the am-
baffadors themfelves, and their informations ;
yet that which he had gathered from them
all, feemed admirable to every one. So that
Xhty wrote eyer to their fuperiors in high
terms concerning his wifdom and art of
rule. Nay, when they were returned to
their countries, they frequently gave him
intelligence, by letter, of all manner of af-
fairs worth knowing. Such a dexterity he
had in endearing himfelf to foreign minif-
ters.

Certainly he was careful, by all ways
^nd means, to procure and pbtain good in-
telligence

4

KING HENRY VII, 361

telligence from all parts. Wherein he did
not only ufe the induflry of foreign minif-
ters redding here, and of his penfioners,
which he kept both in the court of Rome
and in other princes courts ; but the vigi«-
lance of his own ambafladors alfo in foreign
parts. For which purpofe, his inftrudlions
were exad, even to curiofity, and in articles
orderly digefted ; of which, generally,
there were more touching iiiquifition than
negotiation, requiring particular and arti-
culate anfwers refpedively to his queftions.

As for his emilTarles, which he fecretly
employed both at home and abroad, to dif-
cover what practices and confpiracles were
agalnft him ; furely, in his cafe, was ex-
ceeding neceffary : he had fo many under-
ground moles perpetually working to under-
mine him. Neither can this be held un-
lawful. For if fpies are approved in war
againfl lawful enemies, they are much more
lb againfl confpirators and traitors. But
indeed to procure credit to fuch fpies by
oaths, and by execrations and anathemas
thundered out againfl them as enemies, that
pannot be well maintained ; for thofe are

too

562 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

too holy veilments for a difgulfe. Yet that
hidufbry of his in employing emiffaries had
this good in it, that as many confpiracies
were dete£led by the ufe of them, fo the
fame and fufpicion of them kept, no doubt,
many from being attempted.

As a hulband, he was nothing uxorious,
nor even indulgent; but courteous, com-
panionable, and without jealoufy. Towards
his children alfo he was full of paternal af-
fedion, very careful of their education, af-
piring alfo with a certain altitude of mind
to their high advancement in marriage ; re-
gular to fee that all honour and refpe£t be-
coming their fublime quality fhould be paid
them by every one, but not greatly defirous
to eaft any popular luftre upon them.

To his privy-council he referred nxofl bu-
j(inefs, gnd fat often there in perfon ; well
knowing this to be the right way both to
ilrengthen his authority and inform his judg-^
ment. To which end alfo he was patient
of their liberty, as well in advifmg, as vot-
ing, till he had declared his own opinion,

which

KING HENRY VII. 363

which he was wont to referve to the end of
the debates.

He kept a ftrait hand upon his nobility,
and chofe rather to advance to his fervice
clergymen and lawyers, who were more ob-
fequious to him, and lefs gracious with the
people; which made for his abfolutenefs,
but not for his fafety. Infomuch, as I am
fully perfuaded, that this was a main caufe
of the frequent commotions that happened
under his reign : for that the nobles of the
realm, though they were loyal and obedient,
yet did not co-operate with him chearfully ;
but left his defires rather to take their
chance, than urged their accomplifhment.
He was never afraid of fervants and miniflers
of more exalted parts and abilities, as Louis
the Eleventh was. But, on the contrary, he
made ufe of the moft eminent men of his
time ; without which his affairs could not
have profpered as they did. Thefe were,
for war, the duke of Bedford^ the earls of
Oxford and Surrey, baron Baubeney, and
Brook ; and Poynings, knight. For civil af-
fairs, Morton, Fox, Bray, the prior of Lan-
thony, IVarbam, Urfv(;ick^ -?/"/#/, Frowick,

and

364 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

and others. Neither did he care how crafty
and cunnnig they were that he employed ;
for he thought himfelf to have the mafler-
reach. And as he fhewed great judgment
in the choice of his minifters, fo he ufed as
much conftancy in protecting thofe he had
once chofe. For it is a flrange thing, that
though he were a dark prince, excef-
lively fufpicious, and his times turbulent
and full of confpiracies ; yet, in twenty-four
years reign he never put down, or difcom-
pofed counfellor, or near fervant, fave only
Stanley, the lord chamberlain. As for the
difpofition of his fubje£ts towards him, it
flood thus with him ; that of the three af-
fedlions, which naturally tie the hearts of
the fubjecls to their fovereigns, love, fear,
and reverence ; he had the laft in height,
the fecond in good meafure, and fo little of
the firft, as to be beholding for his fecurity
to the other two.

He was a prince, fad, ferious, and thought-
ful, and full of fecret obfervations and cares ;
and one that had notes and memorials al-
ways ready by him in his own hand, efpe-
cially touching perfons who were fit to be

employed.

KING HENRY VI€. 2^5

employed, rewarded, confulted, and guarded
againfl : who were allb moft nearly linked
together, either by fadlion or good fervice ;
or fuch who had taken a decifive part ; ma-
king and keeping a diary, in a manner, of
his thoughts. There is to this day a merry
tale, that his monkey (fet on, as was thought,
by one of his bed-chamber) tore his princi-
pal note-book, which was left out by chance,
all to pieces. Whereat the court (which
liked not that anxious diligence) were ready
to burfl: with laughter.

But though he was full of apprehenfions
and fufpicions, yet as he eafily took them, fo
he eafily difcharged them, and made them
yield to his judgment. Whence they were
rather troublefome to himfelf, than danger-
ous to others. Yet it muffc be acknowledged,
that his thoughts were fo numerous, and fb
complicated, that they could not always
fland together, but that which did good one
way, did hurt another. Neither was it pof-
fd)le for him to be wife or happy, fo much
beyond the condition of mortals, as always
to weigh things aright in their proportions.
Certainly, the rumour that raifed him {q

many

^6S A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

many and fo great troubles, that the Duke
of Tork was faved, and ftill alive, did, at the
beginning, get ftrength and credit from him-
felf; being defirous of having it fo thought,
to the end of foftening the imputation of
his reigning in his own right, and not in the
right of his wife.

He was affable, and both well and fair-
fpoken, and would ufe a remarkable fweet-
nefs and blandifhment of words, where he
delired to perfuade, or effect any thing he
took to heart. He was rather fludious than
learned ; reading, for the mofl part, books
that were written in the French tongue.
Though he underftood the Latin ; as appears
in that Cardinal Hadrian^ and others, who
were well enough acquainted with French^
neverthelefs always wrote to him in Latin. .

For his pleafures, there is no news of
them. And yet by his inftrudtions to Marfn
and Stile^ touching the queen of Naples, it
appears he could interrogate nicely touching
beauty, and the parts thereof. He did by
pleafures, as great men do by banquets,
come and look a little upon th^m, and turn

away.

KING HENRY VII. 2,^^

away. For there never reigned a prince that
was more enth'ely given up to his own af-
fairs, which engaged his whole attention;
infomtich, that at jufts, tournaments, and
other mock-fights, mafks, and fuch like af-
femblies, he feemed to be rather a princely
and gentle fpedlator, than to be much taken
or delighted with them.

No doubt, in him as in all men, (and
moft of all in kings) his fortune wrought
upon his nature, and his nature again upon
his fortune. He afcended to the crown not
only from a private fortune, which might
endow him with moderation, but alfo from
the fortune of an exiled man, which had
given him the fpur of indudry and fagacity.
And his times, being rather profperous than
calm, had raifed his confidence by fuccefs,
but in the mean time had almofl marred his
nature by perpetual vexations. His wifdom,
by his often evading of perils, (which had
taught him to- truft to extempore remedies)
was turned rather into a dexterity to extri-
cate himfelf from evils, w4ien they prefled
him, than into a forefight to prevent and
remove them afar off. And e\'en in nature,

the

368 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF

the eyes of his mind were not unlike the
bodily eyes of feme people, which are ft r on g
at hand, but weak at a diftance. For his
wit increafed upon the occafion ; and fo
much the more, if the occafion were fharp-
ened by danger. And thefe influences his
fortune had upon Jiis nature ; nor were there
wanting, on the other hand, certain influ-
ences which his nature had upon his fortune.
For whether it were the fhortnefs of his fore-
fight, the obftinacy of his will, or the
dazzling of his fufpicions, or what it was ;
certain it is, that the perpetual troubles of
his fortune, (efpecially there being no vio-
lent occafion out of which they grew) could
not have arifen without fome great defeds
in his nature, and main errors in the radical
conflitution of his mind ; which he had
enough to do to palliate by a thoufand little
induflries and arts. But thofe do befl ap-
pear in the flory itfelf. Never thelefs, take
him with all his defeds, if a man fhould
compare him with the kings, in France and
Spain, his contemporaries, he fliall find him
more politic than Louis the Twelfth of
France, and more faithful and fin^ere than
Ferdinafido of Spain* But if you ihall change

Louis

i

KING HENRY VH. ^(^9

Louis the Twelfth for Louis the Eleventh,
who reigned a little before ; then the com-
parifons will be more juft, and the parallels
more true. For thofe three, Louis the Ele-
venth, Henry ^ and Ferdinando, may be ef-
teemed as the three Magi, amoii"; the kings
of that age. To conclude, if this king did
no greater matters, it was owang to himfelf ;
for what he undertook, he compaiTed,

He w^as a comely perfonage, a little above
jull: ftature, w-ell and ftrait limbed, but {len-
der. His countenance w^as fuch as ftruck a
reverence, and refem.bled a little the afped:
of a church-man. And as it was not dark
or fupercilidus, io neither w^as it winning or
pleating; but as the face of one compofed
and fedate in mnid : but it was not to the
advantage of the painter, for it was befl:
w^hen he fpoke.

The extraordinary worth of this prince,
will bear a ftory or two, that may put upon
him lomething divine. When the lady
Margaret, his mother, a woman of rare vir-
tues, had divers fuitors for m.arriage, fhe
dreamed one night, that one in the likenefs

Vol. I. B b of

2,^0 A CIVIL CHARACTER OF, &C.

of a bifhop, in pontifical habitj^, did tender
her Edmund earl of Richmond^ (the king's
father) for her huiband. Neither had ihe
ever any child but the king, though fhe had
three hufbands. Upon a certain feftival day
alfo, when Henry the Sixth (whofe inno-
cency gave him holinefs) was wafhing after
dinner, and caft his eye upon king Henry,
then a youth, he faid, " This is the lad that
" fhall at lafl: poflefs quietly the crown that
" we now ftrive for.". But what may be
truly thought divdne in him was, that he had
the fortune of a true chriftian, as well as of
a great king ; in'living, exercifed, and dying,
repentant. So as he triumphed vi£lorioufly,
as well in fpirituals as temporals ; and had
an happy warfare in the two conflids, both
of fin and the crofs.

He was born at Pembroke Cq/lle, and lies

buried at Wejlmjnjler, in one of the ftateliefl

monuments of Europe, both for the chapel,

and for the fepulchre. So ' that he dwells

more richly dead, in the monument of his

tomb, than he did alive, either at RichmoJid,

or in any other of his palaces. I could wifli

he did the like in this monument of his

fame.

A COL-

A
COLLECTION

OF THE

FELICITIES

O F

QJT EEN ELIZABETH.

OUEEN Elizabeth, both m point of
nature, and fortune, was admirable
amongft women, and memorable among,
princes. But this is not a fubjed that re-
quires the pen of a monk, or any fuch cloi-
ftered cenfor. For thefe men are keen in
ftile, but wanting in judgment \ and perform
the fcholar's part well, but tranfmit things
but unfaithfully to pof^erity. Certainly,
this is a knowledge peculiar to men of the
firfl: rank, and to fuch as have fat at the
helms of great kingdoms, and have been ac-
quainted with the difficulties and fecrets of
civil bufinefs.

B b 3 Kare

O^-JZ THE FELICITIES OF

Rare in all ages has been the reign of a
woman, more rare the felicity in her reign ;
but moft rare, a long continuance joined with
that felicity. As for this lady, fhe reigned
four and forty years compleat ; and yet fhe
did not furvive her felicity. Of this 1 have
propofed to fay fomewhat, yet without any
excurfion into praifes. For praifes are the
tribute of men, but felicity the gift of God.

First, I reckon it as a part of her felici-
ty, that fhe was advanced to the regal
throne, from a private fortune. For this is
deeply planted in the nature and opinions of
men, to look upon thofe thhigs which come
unhoped, unlooked for, as a greater feli-
city. But this is what I intend ; that prin-
ces, that have been trained up in the family
royal, and to an undoubted hope of fuccef-
lion, are corrupted by an indulgent licen-
tious education, and become generally both
lefs capable, and lefs governable and mode-
rate in their affedlions. And therefore you
fhall find thofe to have been the beft and
moft excellent kings, that were tutored by
both fortunes. Such was king Heiiry the
Seventh, and hotih the Twelfth ; both which,
about the fame time, came to their crowns,

not

J

<UJ EEN ELIZABETH. 373

not only from a private, but alfo from an
adverfe and afflidled fortune ; and did excel,
the former in prudence, the other in juflice.
Much like was the condition of this prin-
cefs alfo ; whofe beginning and hopes for-
tune chequered, that in her reign fhe might
be conflant and fteady to her. For queen
Elizabeth was entitled from her birth to the
fucceffion, afterwards difinherited, then laid
afide and flighted : during the reign of her
brother, her fortune was m.ore propitious and
ferene; during the reign of her fifter, more
tempeftuous and hazardous. Neither yet
did fhe pafs immediately from the prifon to
the crown, fo as to be foured and exafperated
by her mnsfortune, and to fwell upon It ;
but being reftored to her liberty, and ftill
growing in her expedations, thus at lafl: fhe
obtained the crown without noife or com-
petitor, in a mofl happy calm. And thefe
things I mention, to fhew that Divine Pro-
vidence defigning a mofl excellent princefs,
did, by fuch degrees of difcipline, prepare
and advance her. Neither ought the mif-
fortune of her mother to fully the luflre of
her birth ; nnce it is fufficiently evident,
that king He?iry the Eighth was inflamed
B b 3 with

374 THE FELICITIES OF

with a new amour, before he was enraged
agalnfl: queen Anne ; and the nature of that
king pafles not uncenfured by pofterity, as
exceeding prone to amours and jealoufies,
and violent in both, even to the effufion of
blood. Add to this, that fhe was circum-
vented by an accufation, not probable, even
as to the very perfon to whom it referred,
and built upon the weakeft conjedlures ;
which was both fecretly whifpered at the
very time, and which queen Anne herfelf
protefted, with an undaunted greatnefs of
mind, and by a memorable fpeech at the in-
ftant of her death. For having got (as (he
fuppofed) a faithful and friendly meflenger,
in the fame hour, when ihe was preparing
for death, fhe fent this meffage to the king ;
^' That his Majefty did excellently obferve,
" and conflantly keep to his purpofe, in
" heaping upon her new honours : for firft,
'* he had raifed her from the eftate of a gen-
«' tlewoman only, and no way pretending to
" noble titles, to the honour of a marchio^
" nefs ; next, had taken her into a part-
** nerfhip both of his kingdom and bed ;
" and now, that there remained no higher
^' earthly honour, he meant to exalt her in-

*' nocence

I

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 375

" nocence to a crown of martyrdom." But
the meffenger did not dare to carry this to
the king, who was inflamed with another
amour ; however, fame, the aflerter of truth,
conveyed it to poflierity.

Nor do I take it to be an inconfiderabld
part of the felicity of queen Elizabeth, even
the meafure, and the very race, as it were,
and courfe of her reign : not only for that
it was long, but becaufe it fell into that fea-
fon of her life, which was fittefl: for govern-
ing, and for the fwaying of a fceptre. For
beginning her reign at twenty-five, (at
which age the curatorfhip ends) fhe con-
tinued it to the feventieth year of her age.
So that fhe neither experienced the detriment
attending minority, and the checks of an-
other's power ; nor, on the other hand, the
inconveniencies of an extreme and impotent
old age ; for that is attended with miferies
enough, even in private men ; but to kings,
over and above the ordinary evils of age, it
occalions alfo a declenfion in the ftate they
govern, and an inglorious exit. For there
has fcarce been a king, that has lived to ex-
treme old age, but he hath luffered in his
B b 4 power

aj6 THE FELICITIES OF

power and efteem. Of this we have a very
eminent inflance in Philip the Second king
of Spain, a moil piiiffant prince, and excel-
lently fkilled in the art of governing ; who
in his latter days, and feehle age, was
throughly fenfihleof this v/hereofwe fpeak :
and therefore, with the higheft prudence,
fubmitted to the condition of things ; volun-
tarily quitted his conquefts in France, eflab-
liflied a firm peace in that kingdom,- and
attempted the like in other places ; that fo
he might leave things quiet and entire to
his fucceffors. On the contrary, queen
Elizabeth's fortune was fo conflant and firmly
rooted, that no declenfion of affairs followed
her ftill vigorous, though declining years ;
nay more, for an undeniable token of her
felicity, fhe died not till the rebellion iu
Ireland was fully ended by a victory there ;
left her glory might appear any way dif-
figured and incompleat. Bcfidcs, the fort of
people, over whom flie reigned, I take to be
H matter worthy to be confidered. For had
her lot fallen among the Palmyrens, or in foft
and un warlike ^fia, it had been a lefs won-
der ; fince a female prince would have fuited
^n efferninate people : but in J^n^Iaiid^ a mofb

(loi]t

q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 377

ftout and warlike nation, for all things to be
direcled, and kept in fubjeclion by the nod
of a woman, is a thing defervingthe higheft
admiration.

Neither did this inclination of her peo^
pie, greedy of war, and hardly patient of
peace, hinder her from maintaining and pre-
ferving peace all her reign. And this incli-
nation of her's, joined with fuccefs, I reckon
to be one of her chiefeil: praifes. This
was happy for her times, becoming her fex,
and comfortable to her confcience. About
the tenth year of her reign, there was a fmall
attempt of a commotion in the northern
parts, but it was prefently fupprelTed and
extinguiflied. The reft of her reign flou-
rifhed in a domeftic peace, and that a fecure
and profound one. Now I judge it a moil
flourifhing peace, for two reafons, which
make nothing for the merit of the peace,
but very much for the glory of it. The
one, that it was rendered the more confpi-
cuous and illuftrious, by the calamities of
our neighbours, as fo many fhining flames :
the other, that the bleffings of peace were
i^pt: unattended with the honour of arms ;

fmcc

37^ THE FELICITIES OF

fince fhe not only preferved, but advanced
the renown of the EngliJJj name for arms
and military prowefs, by many glorious at-
chievements. For both the fupplies fent
into the Netherhnds, France and Scotland ;
and the expeditions made by fea into the
Indies-, fotneof them made round the whole
compafs of the globe of the earth ; the
fleets fent into PortugaU and to annoy the
coafts of Spain ; and the Irifi rebels fo often
cut off and conquered, allowed ®f no remif-
nefs or decay, either in the warlike virtue
of our nation, or diminution in the fame
thereof.

It was likewife a deferved addition to her
glory, both that neighbouring kings were
maintained on their thrones by her timely
fuccours ; and that luppliant flates, which,
by the unadvifednefs of their kings, were
abandoned, and, in a manner, devoted to
the cruelty of their minifters, to the fury
of the multitude, and to all manner of
butchery and defolation, received an allevi-
ation of their miferies from her ; by means
whereof they fubfift unto this day. Nor
was fhe a princefs, lefs beneficent and falu-

tary

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. ^Jg

tary by her counfels, than by her fuccours;
as one who had fo often interceded with the
king of Spam, to mitigate his wrath agaiiift
his fubje^ls in the Netherlands, and to reduce
them to his obedience, upon fome tolerable
conditions : and that had, with great fni-
cerity, importuned the kings of France by
perpetual and repeated admonitions, to ob-
ferve their own edids, promifing peace to
their fubjedls. I deny not but her advice
proved ineffeftual : for as to the firfl, the
common fate of Europe allowed not of it ;
left haply the ambition of Spain, freed, as it
were, from its barriers, fhould fly out (as
things then flood) to the prejudice of the
kingdoms and ftates of Chrijlendom : and for
the latter, the blood of fo many innocents,
with their wives and children, ihed at their
fire-fides, and in their chambers, by the
fcum of the people, like fo many furious
beafts heartened, and armed and let loofe
upon them by public authority, would not
fufFer it ; which blood required, in ven-
geance, that a kingdom, rendered obnoxious
to punifhment by fo horrible an impiety,
Should be expiated by inteftine flaughters
&n4 maflacres. She uevejrthelefs, however
I it

qSo THE FELICITIES OF

it fucceeded, performed the part both of a
wife and loving confederate.

There is another reafon alfo for admir-
ing this peace, which was fo much fought
and maintained by the queen : and it is this,
that it did not proceed from any bent or in-
clination of the times, but from her pru-
dence, and difcreet management of things.
For whereas fhe had both an inbred fadion,
upon the account of rehgion, to ftruggle
with at home, and that the ftrength and
protcdion of this kingdom was a kind of
bulwark to all Europe againfl: the then for-
midable and extravagant ambition and power
of the king of Spain, there wanted no mat-
ter of war ; yet what with her forces and
her policy, flie furmounted thefe difficulties.
This was demonftrated by an event, the
inofl: memorable of any that has happened
in the whole courfe of affairs of our age, if
we confider the felicity thereof. For when
the Spani/h armada, with fo much bravery,
and to the terror of all Europe, big with ex-
pectation, and with fo much aflii ranee of
victory, furrowed ourfeas, it took not fo
niuch as one poor cock-boat of ours, nor

iired

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 35 1

fired any one village, nor fo much as touched
upon our coaft : hut bemg defeated in an
engagement, was difperfed by a miferable
flight, and by frequent wrecks, and fo left
RngLind and her coafl^ in the enjoyment of
an unmoved and undifturbed peace.

Nor was flie lefs happy in efcaplng the
treacheries of confpirators, than in fubduing
and defeating the forces of her open enemies.
For not a few plots agalnft her life were
nioft fortunately both dilcovered, and difap-
pointed. Nor did flie, upon this account,
lead a more fearful and anxious life ; there
w^as no increafe of her guards ; no confining
herfelf to her palace, and appearing but fel-
dom in public ; but fearlefs and aflured, and
more mindful of her deliverance than her
danger, ihe altered nothing of her ufual cuf-
toms and ways of livinjr.

o

It is likewife worthy our obfervatlon, to
confider the nature of the times wherein fhe
flouriftied. For fome ages are fo barbarous
and ignorant, that men are as eafily govern-
ed as herds of cattle, or flocks of fheep.
But this princefs happened to live in a mod

learned

3^2 THE FELICITIES OP

learned and polite age ; in which it was not
poffible to be eminent without the greatefl
endowments or" wit, and a (ingular cafl of
virtue. Again, the reigns of women are,
for the moft part, cclipfed by their mar-
riages, and all the praife of their adls goes
to their hufbands. But thofe that live un-
married have the whole glory appropriated
to themfelves. And this is more peculiarly
the cafe of this princefs, becaufe fhe had no
props or fupports of her government, but
thofe that were of her own making ; fhe had
no brother by the fame mother ; no uncle,
nor any other of the royal family that might
be partner in her cares, and an upholder of
her government : nay, and for thofe whom
herfelf had advanced to pofts of honour, fhe
both kept fuch a ftrid hand upon them,
and fo mixed and (huffled them together,
that fhe cafl into each of them the greatefl
folicitude and concern to pleafe, and was
ever miftrefs of herfelf. Childlefs indeed
fhe was, and left no ilTue of her body be-
hind her: which has been the cafe alfo of
many of the mofi fortunate princes, of Alex-
ander the Great, yiiUus Co'far^ ^rctja7i^ and
others ; and which is a point that has b^en

varioufly

ajj EEN ELIZABETH. 383

varioufly bandied, and is ufually difputed
and argued contrary wavs ; while fome take
it as a diminution of felicity, left perchance
they might be too happy for the condition
of mortals, if they were blefTed both in their
own perfons, and in the propagation of their
fpecies ; and others accounting it as the
crown and perfection of felicity ; that feli-
city alone feeming to be compleat, over
which fortune has no more power ; which,
if we leave children behind us, can never be.

She had alfo external gifts ; a tall Ma-
ture, a good fhape, an extraordinary ma-
jefty of afpeCl, joined with fweetnefs, a
mofl happy ftate of health. Befides all this,
fhe was ftrong and vigorous to the very lafl,
never experienced the changes of fortune,
nor the miferies of old age, and obtained
that euthanafa, which Augujlin Ccvfar ufed
fo paffionately to delire, by a gentle and eafy
exit. This is alfo recorded of Antoninus Plus,
that excellent emperor, whofe death had
the refemblance of a fweet and gentle dum-
ber. So llkewife in the diflemper of queen
Elizabeth^ tl|ere was nothing (hocking, no-
thing ominous, nothing unufual to human

nature.

384 THE FELICITIES OF

nature. She was not tormented with defire
of life, with impatience under ficknefsj
nor with racking pains. She had no dcfire
of foul fymptom ; but all things were of
that kind, as did argue rather the frailty^
than the corruption or difgrace of nature^
For fome few days before her death, being
wafted by an extreme drynefs of body, and
thofe cares that attend a crown ; and being
never moiftened with wine, or with a full
and plentiful diet, (he was ftruck with a tor-
por and ftiffnefs in her nerves, not with ftand-
ing (which is not ufual in that diftemper)
fhe retained her fpeech, memory, and mo^
tion, thouoh but (low and dulL And in
this condition (he continued but a few days ;•
fo that it did not feem to be the laft acl of
her life, but as it were the firft ftep to her
death. For to live long after our faculties
are impaired, is accounted miferable ; but
by a flumber gradually laying aileep the
fenfe, to haften death, is a fair and eafy
conclufion of life. I throw in this alfo^ to
make up the full meafure of her felicity ;
that fhe was exceeding happy, not only in
her own perfon, but in the abilities and
virtues alfo of her minifters of ftate.

For

C2^U E E N ELIZABETH. 385

For fhe had the fortune to light upon
fuch perfons, as perhaps this ifland never
before produced. But God, when he fa-
vours princes, raifes up and adorns the fpirits
of their minifters alfo.

There remain two poflhumous felicities,
which are in a manner more noble and au-
guft than thofe that attended her living :
the one of her fucceffor, the other of her
memory. For Ihe has got fuch a fucceflbr,
who, though he may exceed and eclipfe her
greatnefs, both by his mafculine virtues,
and his iffue, and by a new acceffion of em*
pire ; yet is zealous of her name and glory,
and gives a kind of perpetuity to her a6l3 ;
having made little change either as to the
choice of perfons, or in the method of go-
verning : fo that a fon rarely fucceeds a
father with fo much filence, and with fo
little alteration and difturbance.

As for her memory, it is fo much in the
mouths, and fo frefh in the minds of men,
that envy being extinguilhed, and her fame
grown illuflrious by death, the felicity of
her memory fcems in a manner, to vie with

Vol. I. C c that

386 THE FELICITIES OF

that of her life. For if there be any fa£lioiis
fame, arifing either from party, or differ*
ence in religion, flying abroad, and which
even now feems faint through fear, and
overpowered by the confentient voice of her
praife, having no foundation on truth, can-
not be long-lived.

And for this caufe efpecially, have I made
this collection (fuch as it is) touching her
felicity, and the marks of God's favour to-
wards her ; that no malicious perfon might
dare to curfe, where God has fo highly
blefled : nor fhould any one make the fame
reply here, as one did formerly to C^far ;
*' We have matter enough for admiration,
*' but would fain fee fomething to praife."
For I am of opinion, that true admiration is
a fnperlative degree of praife. Neither can
that felicity, that we have been defcribing,
be the portion of any, but fuch a one as is
remarkably fupported and cherifhed by the
divine favour ; and that has, in fome mea-
fure alfo, carried out the fame fortune to
himfelf by his own morals and virtues.
Notwithftanding I have thought good to
add a word concerning the moral part ; yet

only

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 387

only in thofe things, which have given oc-
calion fome for to traduce her*

The queen, as to her religion, was pious,
moderate, conftant, and an enemy to novel-
ty. And for her piety, though the marks
of it are moft confpicuous in her ads and
adminiftrations, yet were there vifible ftrokes
of it, both in the courfe of her life, and in
her ordinary converfiition. She was feldom
abfent from divine fervice, and other duties
of religion, either in her chapel, or clofet.
She was very converfant in the fcriptures,
and writings of the fathers, efpecially St.
Augujilne, She compofed certain prayers her-
felf upon fome emergent occafions. When-
ever (he mentioned the name of God, though
in ordinary difcourfe, fhe generally added
the name of Creator ; and compofed both
her eyes and countenance to fome fort of
humility and reverence ; which I myfelf
have often obferved.

As for what fome have given out, that fhe

was altogether unmindful of her mortaUty,

to the degree of not being able to bear the

mention of old age or death, it is abfolutely

C c 2 falfe

388 THE FELICITIES OF

falfe ; fince fhe herfelf feveral years before
her death, would frequently with much fa-
cetlousnefs, call herfelf " the old woman ;"
and would dlfcourfe about what kind of epi-
taph fhe liked ; faying, that fhe was no lover
of glorious and pompous titles, but only
dexired her memory might be recorded in a
line or two, which (hould compendioufly
exprefs only her name, her virginity, the
time of her reign, the reformation of re-
ligion, and her prefervation of peace. It is
true, in the flower of her age, and before
fhe was called upon to declare her fucceflbr,
fhe made anfwer, " That fhe could by no
*' means endure to have a fhroud held be-
" fore her eyes while fhe Was living.'* Not-
withftanding, fome years before her death,
at a time when fhe was full of thought, and
probably meditating upon her mortality, one
of her familiars mentioning in converfation,
that divers great offices and places in the
flate were kept void too long ; fhe rofe up,
and faid with more than ordinary heat,
" That fhe was fure her place would not be
** long void."

As

Ct.U EEN ELIZABETH. 389

As to her moderation in religion, there
we are at a fland, becaufe of the feve-
rity of thofe laws againft her fubje6ls of
the RomiJIj religion : but we will mention
fuch things as are both well known to, and
were carefully obferved by us. Moft cer-
tain it is, that this princefs was in her fen-
timents averfe from offering any force to
confciences : yet, on the other hand, would
not fuffer the ftate of her kingdom to be en-
dangered under the pretence of confcience
and religion. From this ground fhe con-
cluded, firft, that to allow a liberty and to-
leration of two religions by public authority
in a bold and haughty nation, and that
might eafily fall from difagreement in judg-
ment to arms and blows, would be mofl
certain deftru£lion. Again, when her reign.
was young, and all things looked with a fuf-
picious face, fhe kept fome of the prelates,
who were of a more turbulent and fa£lious
fpirit, prifoners at large, but not without
the warrant of the law : as for the reft, of
both orders, fhe was not troublefome to
them by any fevere inquifition, but a pro-
tedion to them by a generous connivance.
And this was the pofture of affairs at firft.
C c 3 Nor

39© THE FELICITIES OF

Nor did (he abate any thing almofl of this
clemency, though provoked by the excom-
munication of Pius ^intus, (which might
have raifed her indignation, and have been
the occafion of new meafures : but flill fhe
retained her own generous temper. For this
mofl wife and magnanimous lady was not
in the leail: moved with the noife of thefe
terrible threats ; being fecure of the fide-
lity and afFedion of her fubjects, and of the
inability of the Popifh fadion within the
kingdom to do her any hurt, unlefs fecon-
ded by a foreign enemy.

But about the three and twentieth year
of. her reign the face of affairs was changed^
Nor was this diftinftion of the times artifi-
cially feigned, to ferve a turn, but it is ex-
preffed in the public records, and engraven,
as it were, in brafs. For, before that year,
none of her fubje6ls of the Romijh religion
had been puniflied with any feverity by the
laws formerly ena<^ed. But at this time it
was, that the ambitious and vaft defigns of
Spain to conquer this kingdom, began by
degrees to be difcovered. A principal part
of which was, by all ways and means, to

raif^"

QJJ EEN ELIZABETH. 39 1

raife a fadion in the heart of the kingdom,
of fuch as were ill-afFecled to the ftate, and
defirous of innovation, who might join
the enemy upon his invafion.

Their hopes of this were grounded upon
the difference there was in rehgion. There-
fore they refolved to labour that point with
all their might ; and the feminaries at that
time budding, priefts were fent mioEngland,
to raife up and difperfe a love for the Romijh
religion ; to teach and inculcate the power
of the Pope's excommunication, in freeing
fubje£ls from their allegiance, and to awa-
ken and prepare the minds of men to an ex-
pectation of a change of government.

About the fame time, both Ireland was
attemped by an invafion, and the name and
government of Queen Elizabeth vilified and
traduced by fundry fcandalous libels ; in
(hort, there was an unufual ferment in the
ftate, the prognoftic of a greater commo-
tion. Yet 1 will not affirm, that all the
priefts were taken into a participation of the
plot, or were privy to the defign carrying
on, but only that they were the wicked in-
C c 4 flruments

,39 a FELICITIES OF

{Iruments of other men's malice. How-
ever, this is true, and witneffed by the con-
feffion of many, that almoft all the priefls,
that were fent into this kingdom from the
year beforementioned, even to the thirtieth
year of Queen Elizabeth^ wherein the defign
of Spain and the Pope was put in execution,
by that memorable preparation of a fleet
and land-forces, had this alfo in their in-
flru£lions, among the other parts of their
funftion, to infmuate, " That it was im*
*' poflible affairs fhould continue long in
" that pofture ; that a new face of things,
*' and a thorough change, would be feen
'* ere long ; that both the pope and catho-
** lie princes are concerned for the Engl't/J}
<' ftate, provided they are not their own
*' hinderance."

Again, fome of the priefts had manifefl-
ly engaged themfelves in the plots and con-
trivances, which tended to the undermin-
ing and fubverfion of the ftate ; and which
was the ftrongeft proof, the whole train of
th« plot was difcovered by letters intercept-
ed from divers parts, wherein was written,
^^ That the vigilancy of the Queen and her

" council;,

CLU EEN ELIZABETH. 393

*' council, touching the catholics, would
" be baffled ; for that the Queen had an eye
" to this only, leaft any nobleman, or per-
** fon of diftin^lion, might arife to head
" the catholic faction ; whereas the defign
" they laid was of this nature, that all
*' things fhould be difpofed and prepared by
** private men and of an inferior rank, and
*' that too without confpiring or conferring
*' with one another, in the fecret way of
** confeffion.'* And thefe were the artifi-
ces which were then ufed, and which are
fo familiar and cuftomary to that order of
men, as might be feen alfo in a like parallel
cafe.

In fo great a ftorm of dangers, the Queen
was obliged, by the laws of neceflity, to
refhrain and tie up thofe of her fubjedls,
who were difaffedled to her, and rendered
incurable, as it were, by thefe poifons, and
who, in the mean time, began to grow rich
by their retired living, and exemption from
the charge and burthen of public offices, by
the bands of fome feverer laws. The
evil daily growing, and the origin thereof
being charged upon the feminary priefls,

who

394 FELICITIES OF

who had been bred in foreign parts, and
were fupported by the bounty and benev^o-
lence of foreign princes, the pro felled ene-
mies of this reahn ; and had lived in places
where the very name of Queen Elizabeth
was never heard but with the titles of he-
retic^ excommunicated^ and accurfed ; and wno,
though they themfelves were not engaged in
treafonable pra6lices, yet were known to be
the intimate friends of fuCh as had fet their
hand to villanies of that kind ; and who, by
their artifices, and poifonous infinuations,
had corrupted and foured the whole mafs
and body of the catholics, which before
was more fweet and harmlefs, and had in-
fected it with a new kind of leaven, and
pernicious malignity ; fo that there could
be found, no other remedy but by forbid-
ding ilich perfons all manner of entrance
into tliis kingdom, upon pain of death ;
which at laft, in the twenty feventh year of
her reign, was accordingly enabled.

Nor did the event itfelf, fome little time
after, when fo mighty a ftorm broke upon
tliis kingdom, and had lain upon it with all
its weight, in the leafl take off frorn the

envy

CL.U E E N ELIZABETH. ^9$

envy and hatred of thofe men ; but rather
encreafed it ; as if they had divefled them-
felves of all affedlion to their country. And
afterwards indeed, though our fears of Spain
(which were the occafion of this feverity)
were over, or abated at lead; yet both,
confidering that the memory of the former
times was deeply fixed in the minds and
imaginations of men, and that it would
have looked like inconftancy, to have abro-
gated the laws already made, or remiffiiefs,
to have negleaed them ; the very conftitu-
tion and nature of affairs fuggefted to the
Queen, that fhe could not fafely return to
the former ftate of things, that had been
before the three and twentieth year of her
reign.

To this may be added, the induflry of
fome to increafe the revenues of the Exche-
quer, and the concern of the minifters of
juftice, who are wont to confider or regard
no other fafety of their country, but
what oonfifts in the laws; both which
required and called loudly for the laws
to be put in execution. However the Queen,
^s a manifefl: fpecimen of her nature, did

fo

396 FELICITIES OF

fo far blunt the tdge of the laws, that but a
few priefls, conlidering the number, fuffered
death. Nor do we fpeak this by way of de-
fence, for thefe matters ftand in need of
none ; fince both the fafety of the kingdom
turned upon this, and the method and mea-
fure of all this feverity was far fhort of
thofe bloody maffacres, that are fcarce fit
to be named among Chriflians, and fuch too
as have proceeded, rather from arrogance
and malice, than from neceflity, in the Ca-
tholic countries. But being mindful of our
aflertion, we think w^e have made it out,
that ihe was moderate in the point of reli-
gion, and that the change which happened,
was not owing to her nature, but to the ne-
cellity of the times.

Of her conflancy in religion, and the ob-
fervance thereof, the greateft proof is. That
notwithftanding the R.omiJh religion had, in
her fitter's reign, been greatly ellablifhed by
public authority, and abundance of care, that
it began now to ftrike deep root, and was
confirmed by the confcnt and zeal of all
that were in offices and great places in the
flate ; yet becaufe it was not agreeable to the

word

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 397

word of God, to the primitive purity,
nor to her own confcience, fhe did, with a
great deal of courage, and with very few
helps, extirpate and abolifh it. Nor did fhe
do this precipitately or in a heat, but pru-
dently and feafonably. And this may be
conje£lured, as from many other particulars,
fo by a certain anfwer of her's, occafionally
made. For upon her firfh acceffion to the
throne, when, as a good omen, and gratu-
lation of the new reign, the prifoners (ac^
cording to cuflom) were releafed, as fhe
was going to chapel, fhe was accofled by a
certain courtier ; who, from nature and a
cuflom of jefling, had affumed to himfelf a
more than ordinary freedom : and he, whe-
ther of his own motion, or fet on by a wi-
fer head, delivered a petition into her hand,
and in a great concourfe of people, expref-
fed himfelf thus : *' That there were flili
four or five kept prifoners, and that for
no reafon at all ; that he came to petition
for their liberty, as well as for the refl ;
thofe were the four Evangelifls, and alfo
the apoflle St. Paul, who had been long
confitied in an unknown tongue, as in a
prifon, and were not fuffered to converfe

" with

398 FELICITIES OF

*' with the people." The Queen anfwered
with great prudence, *' That it was befl: to
*' confult them firfl, whether they were
*' willing to have their freedom, or no."
And thus fhe met a furprifing queftion with
a wary, doubtful anfwer ; referving, as it
were, the whole matter entirely in her own
power.

Nor yet did fhe introduce this alteration
timoroufly, and by fits and flarts ; but or-
derly, gravely, and maturely ; after a con-
ference betwixt the parties, and the calling
and conclufion of a parliament ; and thus at
lafl, and that too within the compafs of one
revolving year, fhe fo ordered and eftablifh-
ed all things belonging to the church, that
ihe did not fufter the leaft tittle of them to
be altered, during her whole life. Nay,
at almofl every meeting of parliament,
her public admonition was, that no innova-
tion might be made in the difcipline or rites
of the church. And thus much of her re-
ligion.

Now, ihould any of the graver fort ag-
gravate thefe levities, that fhe fufFered her-

felf,

I

CLi; EEN ELIZABETH.

399

fdf, and loved to be admired and courted,
nay, and to have love-verfes made in her
praile ; and that fhe continued thefe things
longer than was decent for her years ; yet,
if you take even thefe matters in a milder
fenfe, they are not without their due admi-
ration ; fmce they are fuch things as are of-
ten to be found in fabulous narrations ; as
of a certain queen in the Fortunate Iflands,
m whofe court love-making was allowed,
but lafcivioufnefs baniflied : but if a harfher
conftrudion be put upon it, ever j^ they
are to be admired, and that very highly too,
fince thefe dalliances did not much eclipfe
her fame, and not at all her majefly ; nei-
ther relaxed her government, nor were ob-
ferved to be any hindrance to her affairs :
for thofe forts of things frequently mix with
a public fortune, and clafh with bufniefs.

But to conclude this eflay : This prin-
cefs was certainly good and moral ; and as
fuch Ihe defired to appear : (he hated vice,
and fludied to grow famous by honourable
courfes. And indeed upon the naming of
her morals, fomething comes into my mind
to mention. When fhe had ordered an ex-

prel

400 FELICITtfiS OF

prefs to be written to her ambaflador, con-
cerning certain inftru Aliens, which he was
privately to impart to the Queen-Mother, of
the Houfe of Valoh ; and that her fecretary
had inferted a certain claufe, that the am-
baflador, to ingratiate himfelf, as it were,
Ihould fay, '* That they were two female
" princes, from whom, for experience, and
*' for the Ikill and arts of government, there
" was no lefs expected, than from the
*' greateft men.'* She could not bear the
comparifon, but ordered it to be ftruck out,
and faid, " That fhe ufed quite different
*' arts and methods of government."

She was alfo not a little pleafed, if any
one by chance had dropped fuch an expref-
lion as this, " That though fhe had fpent
•' her days in a 'private and mean flation,
*' yet fhe could not have pafTed her life
" without fome excellence in the eye of the
" world." So unwilling was fhe that any
of her virtue and praife fhould be owing to
the grandeur of her fortune.

But if I fhould enter upon her praifes,

w^hether moral or political, I mufl either

2 fall

Q^U EEN ELIZABETH. 40I

fall into certain common places and com-
memorations of virtues, which would be
unworthy lo rare a princefs ; or if I would
give them their proper luftre and grace, I
muft run out into a hiftory of her life, which
requires both more leifure, and a richer and
more copious vein. For I have given you
here but a fhort account, according to my
ability. But, to fpeak truth, the only pro-
per encomiail: of this lady is time ; which,
for as many ages as are paft, has produ-
ced nothing like her, of the fame fex, for
the adminiftration of a flate.

VoL.L Dd PARABLES

( 402 )

PARABLES

O F

SOLOMON,

t!xplamed, and culled out of the Book of Proverbs, for an
Example of that Wifdom which is to be excrcifed in Bufi-
nefs, upon various Occafions.

[Tranflated from his Lordfliip's Eighth Book, De Aug. Sdentla-
r'lum. Chap. 2.]

Parable I.

*' A SOFT anfwer turneth away wrath."
Prov. XV. I.

The Explication.

IF the wrath of a prince, or a fuperior,
be kindled againft you, and it now be your
turn to fpeak, Solomo?t gives two rules : one,
** That an anfwer be made :" The other,
" That the fame be foft." The former con-
tains three precepts : firfl:, that you " be-
" ware of a fad and fullen filence ;" for
that either charges the fault wholly upon
yourfelf, as if you had nothing to fay in

juftification ;

1

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 403

juftlfication ; or covertly impeaches your
mafter of injuftice, as if his ears were not
open to a defence, though juft. Secondly,
that you '' beware of delaying and putting
'' oft the thing," and that you do not crave
further time to give in your defence ; for
this either fixes the fame imputation with
the former, which is, that your lord and
mafler is exceffive paffionate ; or plainly fig-
uifies, that you are meditating fome artificial
apology, feeing you have nothing ready :
fo that it is ever the befl way to fay fome-
thing in your defence inftantly, as the pre-
fent occafion fhall fuggeft. Thirdly, that
by all means " an anfwer be made ;" an
anfwer, I fay; no.t a mere confeffion, but
let there be a fprinkling of apology and ex-
cufe : for it is not fafe to do otherwife, un-
lefs with very generous and noble difpofi-
tions; which are exceeding rare. It fol-
lows, in the next place, that the anfwer be
foft and placid.

Parab. II. '' A wife fervant fhall have
rule over a fon that caufeth fhame ; and
ihall divide the inheritance among the bre-
thren.'* Prov, xvii. 2.

■*-^ 2 EXPLIC.

404 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

ExPLic. In every troubled and difagree-
mg family, there ever arifes up fome fer-
vant or humble friend, who, being power*
ful with both fides, may moderate and com-
pofe the differences that are among them ;
and to whom, in that refpecl, the whole
family, and the mafter hlmfelf, are obnoxi-
ous. This man, if he aim at his own ends
only, cherifhes and aggravates the dlvifions
of the family ; but if he be truly faithful
and upright, certainly he is very deferving ;
fo that he ought to be reckoned even as one
of the brethren ; or at leaft to receive a fidu-
ciary adminiflration of the inheritance.

Parab. III. '* If a wife man contefrs
with a fool, whether he be in anger or in
jeft, there is no quiet.'* Prov, xxix. 9.

Exp Lie. We are often admonifhed to a-
void an unequal encounter ; in this fenfe,
*' not to contend with perfons flronger
•' than ourfelv^es.*' But it is a no lefs profi-
table inflru6lion, which Solomon here fets
down, " not to contend with a worthlefs
*' perfon.'* For fuch a bufinefs is ufually
tranfadled upon very difadvantageous terms.

To

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS^ 405

To oyercome, is no vi£lory ; but to be over-
come, a foul difgrace. Nor does it avail,
ill the waging a conteft of that nature, to
deal fometimes by way of jeft, fometimes
with difdain and contempt. For which way
foever we turn ourfelves, we fliall lofe there-
by, nor ihall we bring ourfelves off hand-
fomely. But the worft of all is, if the
perfon, with whom we contend, as Solomon
fpeaks, has fomewhat of the fool in him ;
that is, if he be confident and headftrong.

Parab. IV. " Lend not an ear to all
words that are fpoken, left perchance thou
hear thy fervant curfe thee." Ecclef.wu. 21.

ExpLic. It is hardly credible what dif-
turbance is created in life by unprofitable
curiofity, about thofe things which concern
our perfonal interefl ; that is, when we
make a fcrupulous enquiry after fuch fe-
crets, which, once difclofed and found out,
dio but caufe difquiet of mind, and conduce
nothing to the advancing of our defigng.
As, firft, there follows vexation and unea-
fuiefs of mind ; all human affairs being full
of treachery and ingratitude ; fo that if
D 2 there

406 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

there could be procured fome magical glafs,
wherein we might behold the hatred and
malicious contrivances ftirring up againft
us ; it would be better that fuch a glafs
were forthwith thrown away and bro-
ken in pieces. For things of this nature
are like the whifpering of leaves, and foon
vanifh. Secondly, This curiofity loads the
mind too much with fufpicions, which is a
capital enemy to counfels, and renders them
inconftant and perplexed. Thirdly, This
fame curiofity very often fixes the mifchiefs
themfelves, which would otherwife pafs by
us, and fly away. For it is a dangerous
matter to irritate men's confciences ; who,
if they think themfelves undifcovered, arc
eafily changed for the better ; but if once
they find themfelves unmalked, drive out
one mifchief by another. Wherefore it
was defervedly reckoned the highefl: wif-
dom in Poinpey the Great, that he inftantly
burnt all Sertorm^ papers, unperufed by
himfelf, nor fuffered thern to be feen by
others.

Parab,

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 407.

Parab. V. '' Thy Poverty Ihall come
" as a traveller, and thy want as an armed
** man." Prov, vi. ii.

ExPLic. It is elegantly defcribed in this
parable, after what manner prodigals, and
luch as are carelefs of their eftates, are fur-
prized with the (hipwreck of their fortunes.
For debt and diminution of ftock comes upon
them at firft, flep by flep, and with foft
paces, like a traveller, and is hardly per-
ceived : but foon after want invades them
like an armed man ; that is, with fo ftrong
and potent an arm, that there is no refifling
it any longer ; it being rightly faid by the
ancients, " That of all things neceffity was
" the flrongeft." Wherefore we mufl pre-
vent the traveller, and be well provided
againft the armed man.

Parab. VI. " He that inflruas a fcorn-
'' er, procures to himfelf reproach ; and he
" that reprehends a wicked man, procures
<' to himfelf a flain." Prov, ix. 7.

ExPLic. This agrees with our Saviour's

precept, " That we caft not our pearls

D d 4. *' be-

408 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

" before fwine." But in tliis parable the
acllons of inftruftion and of repreheiifion are
diflinguifhed. The perfons llkewife of a
fcorner, and of a wicked man, are dlftin-
giiifhed. Laftly, that which is retaliated, is
diflinguifhed. For in the former part, lofs
of labour is repaid ; in the latter, even a
/lain too. For when a man inflrudls and
teaches a fcorner, firft there is a lofs of
time : then others alfo deride his attempt as
a fruitlefs thing, and a labour ill placed :
lafl of all, the fcorner himfelf difdains the
knowledge which he has learned. But the
matter is tranfa£ted with greater danger in
the reprehenfion of the wicked : for a wic-
ked nature not only gives no ear to advice,
but turns head againft his reprehender, now
made odious unto him, and either wounds
him with prefent reproaches, or at leafl: tra-
duces him afterwards to others.

Parab. VII. " A wife fon is the glad-
*? nefs of his father ; but a foolifh fon is the
<^' fadnefs of his mother." Prey. x. i.

ExPLic. The domeflic comforts and un-
pafineffes of father and mother, touching

their

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 400

their children are here diftinguifhed. For a
wife and well-governed Ion is chleflj a comr
fort to the father, who knows the value of
virtue better than the mother : and therefore
more rejoices at his fon's towardnefs : yea,
and it may be his education of him, that he
hath brought him up fo well, and implanted
in him honefty of manners, by precept and
example, is a joy unto him. On the other
fide, the mother fympathized more with,
and is more grieved at the calamity of a fon,
both becaufe the affedion of a mother is
more foft and tender, as like wife from a
con fciou file fs of her indulgence, whereby
fhe hath tainted and corrupted his tender
years.

Par AB. VIII. *' The memory of the juft
'^ is bleft ; but the name of the wicked fliall
'' putrity." Prov, x. 'j,

ExPLic. Here is a diftindion between
the fame of good, and of bad men, fuch as
it is accuftomed to be after death. For the
name of good men, after envy is extinguilh-
ed, (which cropped the bloffom of their
fame while they were aUye) prefcritly fhoots

ou^

410 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

out and flouriflies, and their praifes dally en-
creale in ilrength and vigour : but for wic-
ked men, (though their fame, through the
partial favour of friends, and men of their
faclion, may iaft for a little time) or detef-
tation of their name foon after fp rings up ;
and at lafl thofe tranfient praifes of theirs
end in infamy, and exhale, as it were, in a
filthy and noifome odour.

Parab. IX. '* He that troubles his own
•' houfe fhall inherit the wind." Prov.xi. 9.

ExPLic. A very profitable admonition
touching difcords and domeflic breaches :
for abundance of people promife themfelves
great matters, by the divorcement of wives,
the dlfinheriting of fons, or the frequent
changing of fervants ; as if thereby they
were to gain either tranquillity of mind, or
a happier admlnlftratlon of their afl'airs. But
commonly their hopes turn to wind. For
as thofe alterations, generally fpeaking, are
not for the better ; fo thefe difturbers of
tlielr own family, oftentimes meet with
many vexations, and ingratitude from the
very perfons, whom, in exclufion of others,

thcv

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 4II

they adopt and chufe. Nay, by this means
they draw upon themfelves ill rumours and
doubtful reports : for it is well noted by
Cicero^ Omnem famam a domejikis manure^
" That all reports fpring from domeftics."
Now both thefe evils Solomon elegantly ex-
preffes by " the inheritance of winds :" for
the fruftrating of expectation, and raifnig of
rumours, are rightly compared to the winds.

Parab. X. «' Better is the end of a
" fpeech, than the beginning thereof."
Ecclef. vii. 8.

ExPLic. This parable corrects a very
common error, not only in thofe that ftudy
words chiefly ; but in the more wife alfo. It
is this, that men are more folicitous about
the entrance and ingrefs of their difcourfes,
than about the clofe of them : and more ex-
actly meditate the exordiums and prefaces,
than the conclufions of their fpeeches. But
they fhould neither negle£l thofe, and have
thefe, as far more material, ready prepared
and digefted, about them ; revolving with
themfelves, and as far as poifible fore-cafting
in their minds, what may be the iflue at lafl:

of

412 COU^TSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

of their fpeech, and how bufinefs may be
promoted and matured thereby. Nor is this
all. They ought not to iliudy epilogues
only, and conclufions of fpeeches, that are
pertinent to the bulinefs itlelf : but alio care
ihould betaken of fuch fpeeches too, as may
aptly and pleafantly be caft in, at the very
inflant of departure, although they have no
reference at all to the buiinefs in hand. I
knew two counfellors, great and wife men,
doubtlefs, and upon whom the weight of
affairs then principally lay, whofe conftant
and peculiar cuftom it was, as often as they
conferred with princes about their own af-
fairs, never to clofe their conference with
any matter referring to that bufniefs ; but
always to feek diverfions either to a jefl, or
Something elfe, that was delightful to hear,
and, as the adage is, " To wafli off at the
" conclufion of all, their fea- water dif-
" courfes with fountain water." And this
was one of their chief arts.

Parab. Xf. As dead flies caufe the beft
'* ointment to fend forth an ill odour ; fo
'* doth a little folly him that is in reputa-
*^ tioa for wifdom and honour." Ecckf. x. i.

EXPLIC.

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 413

■ ExPLic. The cafe of men eminent for
virtue, is very hard and miferable ; (as the
parable excellently notes) becaufe their er-
rors, be they never fo fmall, find no remlf-
lion. But as in a pure diamond of great
lull:re, the leaft fpeck, or fmalleft cloud,
flirikes the eye, and affeCls it with a kind of
trouble; which, in a grolTer flone, would
hardly be difcerned : fo, in men of fmgular
abilities, the leafl infirmities are prefently
elpied, talked of, and more feverely cen-
fured ; which, in men of moderate gift?,
w^ould either altogether pafs without notice,
or eafily find pardon. Therefore in a very
wife man, a little folly; in a very honefl
man, a fmall offence ; in a man of courtlv
and elegant behaviour, a flight indecency of
manners, derogates much from their fame
and reputation. So that it would not be
the worfl courfe for extraordinary pcrfons,
to mingle fome abfurdities (as far as may be
done without vice) in their actions ; that
they may retain a kind of liberty to them-
felves, and confound the notes and charac-
ters of fmaller defers.

Paras.

414 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

Parab. XII. " Scornful men enfnarc
*« a city, but wife men divert wrath."
Prov. xxix. 8.

ExpLic. It may feem flrange, that in
the defcription of men, made, as it were,
and by nature framed for the diflblution and
ruin of ftates, Solomon hath chofen the cha-
racter, not of a proud and infolent man, not
of a tyrannical and cruel, not of a rafh and
violent, not of an impious and lewd, not of
an unjuil: and oppreflive, not of a feditious
and turbulent fpirit, not of an incontinent
and voluptuous, nor, in fine, of a foolifh and
unable perfon ; but of a fcorner. But this
is a judgment moft worthy the wifdom of
that king, who beil: knew the grounds of
the confervation, or fubverfion of ftates. For
there is hardly fuch another plague to king-
doms and commonwealths, as for counfel-
lors of princes, or fenators, and fuch as fit
at the helm of government, to be by nature
fcorners. For fuch perfons, that they may
feem undaunted ftatefmen, ever extenuate
the greatnefs of dangers ; and infult over
thofe that give them their juft weight, as
timorous and faint-hearted people. All ma-
ture

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS 415

ture delays in confulting and deliberatino-,
and meditated debatings of matters, they
fcofF at, as a matter of rhetoric, full of te-
dioufnefs, and conducing nothing to the fum
and iffue of bufinefs. Fame, by which the
counfels of princes ihould in an efpecial
manner be framed, they defpife as the
" fpittle of the mob," and as a thing that
will foon blow over : the power and autho*
rity of laws they refped no more than as fo
many cobwebs, which fhould not prefume
to entangle matters of greater confequence :
counfels and precautions that look forward
to things at a diftance, they rejeft as dreams
and melancholy apprehenfions ; men really
wife, and well feen in affairs, and of great
refolution and counfel, they banter with
gibes and jefts : in a word, they at once
weaken all the foundations of civil govern-
ment. Which is the more to be attended,
becaufe the thing is done by mining and
working under ground, and not by open
force : and it is a practice which is not yet
fo fufpected in the world, as it deferves.

Parab. XIII. " A prince that lends a
*^ willing ear to lies, his fervants are all
*' wicked." Prov. xxlx. 12.

2 EXPLIC.

41 6 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

ExPLic. When a prince is of a temper
to lend an eafy and credulous ear without
examination, to whifperers and fycophants,
there breathes from the king's fide a pefli-
lential air, which corrupts and infe£ls all
his fervants. Some fearch out the fears of
a prince, and aggravate them with fi£lious
ftories : others ftir up the furies of cnyy,
efpecially againfl the befl: men in the flate :
others wafh away their own filth and ftains
of confcience, by accufations againft other
men: fome give fail to the preferments,
iand promote the fuits of their friends, by
calumniating and traducing their competi-
tors : others compofe fabulous reprefenta-
tions of their enemies, as upon a ftage. And
thefe are the arts of fuch of the princes fer-
vants, as are of a vile and bafe nature. Nay,
and thofe alfo that are of a more honefl: dif-
pofition and of better morals, when they
perceive their innocence to be little or no fe-
curity to them, (their prince not knowing
how to dlftinguiih between truth and falfe-
hood) put off moral honefty, and by this
means are tainted with fervility and accom-
modation to the air of a court. For (as
Tacitus fays of Claudius) " There is no fafety

«' with

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. l^TJ

" with that prince, into whofe head all
" things are conveyed, by infulion and dl-
" redion from others." And Commes fays,
" It IS better to be a fervant to a prince,
" whofe jealoufies hare no end, than to I
" prince whofe credulity has no mean." "

Par AB. XIV. " A juft man is merciful
" to the life of his heart ; but the mercies
" of the wicked are cruel," Prov. xii. lo,

Expi,ic. There is implanted in man's,
nature a noble and excellent afteflion of pity
and compaffion, which extends itfelf even
unto brute creatures, that are by divine or-
dinance fubjea to his command. And
therefore this compafllon has fome analooy
with that of a prhice towards his fubjeas.
This IS moft certain, that the more worthy
any foul is, the larger is its compaffion. For
narrow and degenerate fouls imagine fuch •
things appertain not to them : but the mind
that looks upon Itfelf as a nobler portion of
the un.verfe. Is kindly affected towards
inferior creatures, out of the communion
there is between them. Wherefore ^ve fee
that there were under the old law manv pre '
Vol. I. p . ■ "

^ e cepts.

4lS COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

cepts, not merely ceremonial, fo much as
inflru£live of mercy ; as that of not eathig
blood with the life in it. Even in the fe£ls
of the EJfens and Pythagoreans, they alto-
gether abftained from eating flefh ; which
obtains even to this day, by an inviolable
fuperflition with fome inhabitants under the
empire of the Mogul. Nay, the Turks
(though a cruel and bloody nation, both by
defcent and difcipline) are wont to beftow
alms upon brutes, and cannot bear the vex-
ation and torture of living creatures. But,
leail: what we have faid, fhould feem to
countenance all fort of mercy, Solomon whole-
fomely annexes, *' That the mercies of the
*' wicked are cruel.'* Thefe are,when wick-
ed and villanous perfons are fpared, who
ought to be cut off by the fword of juftice :
for this kind of mercy is more cruel than
cruelty itfelf. For cruelty is exercifed upon
fingle perfons only : but that kind of mercy,
by a grant of impunity, arms and lets loofe
the whole band of villanous men upon the
innocent.

Parab. XV. " A fool utters all ht5
*' mind ; but a wife man referves fome-
*' what for hereafter." Prov, xxix. ii.

ExPLIC.

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS, 419

ExPLTC. This parable (it feems) cor-
reSis principally, not the futility of vain
perfons, that eafily utter, as well what fliould
not be fpoken, as what fhould ; nor that
bold liberty, whereby, without difcretion
and judgment, they fly at both men and
things ; nor garrulity, whereby they dif-
turb others with their babble, even to a for-
feit : but another weaknefs, which is more
fecret, namely, a regimen of fpeech, which,
of all other, is the leaft prudent and politic :
it is this, when a man fo orders his difcourfe
in private conferences, as whatever he has
in his mind, which he conceives pertinent
to the matter in hand, to vent it at once,
in one breath, and in a fet continued fpeech :
for this is a great prejudice to bufinefs. Firft,
a fpeech broken off by interlocutions, and
inftilled by parts, penetrates much deeper
than a continued one ; becaufe in a conti-
nued fpeech the weight of matters is not
diftin^lly and particularly taken, nor does it
by any reft or paufe imprefs the mind deep-
ly ; but one reafon drives out another,' be-
fore it be fully fettled in the mind of the
hearer. Secondly, there is no man mafter
of fuch powerful and perfuafive eloquence,
E e 2 as

420 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

as at the very flrfl: dafh to ilrike the perfon
he fpeaks to, utterly dumb and fpeechlefs ;
fo as to prevent his making fome reply
again, and perhaps objed fomewhat on the
other fide. And then it falls out, that what
fhould have been referved for refutation, or
replication, being anticipated and tafted be-
fore-hand, lofes its ftrength and grace.
Thirdly, if a man do not pour out all he
has to fay at once, but deliver it by parcels,
firft one thing, and then cafting in another,
he fhall ftill find, by the looks and anfwers
of the perfon he fpeaks to, how every par-
ticular paflage has affeded him, and in what
manner they have found acceptance ; that
what is ftill remaining to be fpoke, may,
with greater caution, either be fuppreiled or
feleded.

Parab. XVL *« If the difpleafure of a
** great man rife up againft thee, forfake not
*' thy place ; for pliant demeanor pacifies
*' great offences." Ecclef, x. 4.

ExpLic. This parable advifes how a man
ought to demean himfelf, having incurred
the anger and indignation of his prince. The

precept

COUNSELS TOUGHING BUSINESS. 42!

precept Is compound ; Firft, That he reliii-
quiflies not his place and office : Secondly,
That with caution and diligence he attends
the cure, as in cafe of fome dangerous dif-
eafe. For men are ufed, when once they
have perceived their prince's difpleafure
againft them, partly out of an impatience
of difgrace, partly left they fhould make
the wound bleed afrefh by coming into the
prefence, partly that their prince may fee
their forrow and humility, to withdraw
from their employments ; nay, fometimes
to refign up the places and dignities they
held, into their prince's hands. But Solo»
mon difallows this way of cure, as hurtful
and prejudicial ; and that certainly upon
very good grounds. Firft, that courfe does
too much publifh the difgrace itfelf, from
whence both enemies and enviers grow more
bold to hurt, and friends more timorous to
help. Secondly, By this means it comes
to pafs, that the wrath of the prince, which,
if it had not been made public, would
have died perhaps of itfelf, becomes now
more fixed ; and having made an entrance,
upon the man's overthrow, is carried on to
his utter ruin. Laftly, This retiring fa-
E e 3 vours

4^2 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS,

vours fomethlng of a malignant humour,
and of one fallen out with the times ; which
crowns the evil of indignation, with that of
fufpicion.

The proper m.ethods therefore or cure are
thefe. Firfl, Above all things let him take
heed, left, through any ftupldity, ox a
haughtinefs of fpirit, he feem infenfible of
the prince's difpleafure, or not to be fo af-
fecled with it, as in duty he ought to be ;
that is, that he both compofe his counte-
nance, not to a contumacious fadnefs, but
to a grave and modeft penfivenefs ; and in
all matters of employment, that he fliew
himfelf lefs pleafant and chearful than he
was accuftomed to be. It may be expedi-
ent llkewife, to make ufe of the fervice and
mediation of fome friend with the prince,
feafonably to infinuate with what fenfible
grief he is inwardly affli6lec{.

Secondly, Let him carefully avoid even
the leaft occafion, whereby either the thing
itfelf, which w^as the firfl caufe of the in-
dignation, may be revived ; or the prince
Jay hold of a new occafion to be difpleafed

with

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 423

with him again, and upon any account
whatfoever, to chide him before others.

Thirdly, Let him with all diligence
feek occafion, wherein his fervice may be
acceptable to his prince ; that he may both
fhew a prompt and forward afFedion to re-
deem his pail offences ; and that his prince
may underftand what a good fervant he may
chance to lofe, if he difcharges him.

Fourthly. Let him either fagacioufly
lay the fault upon others, infmuate that it
was committed with no ill intention, re*
monftrate their malice, who accufed him to
the king, or aggravated the matter above
meafure. To conclude, let him be every
way diligent, watchful, and intent upon
the cure.

Parab.XVIL <* The firft In his own
*« caufeis juft; then comes the other party
** and enquires into him." Prov. xviii. 17.

ExpLic. The firft information in any

caufe, if it fmks into the mind of the judge,

takes deep root, feafons and prepoffefles

E e 4 him;

424 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS,

him ; fo that it can hardly be oppofed, un-
lefs either manifeft falfehood be found in
theTnatter of information, or fome artifice in
exhibiting and laying it open. For a bare and
fimple defence, though it be jufl and more
weighty, is fcarce of force enough to com-
penfate the prejudice of the firfl informa-
tion, or to reduce the fcales of juftice, once
fwayed down, to a balance. Therefore it
is the fafeft courfe for the judge, that no-
thing touching the merits of the caufe be
ntimated before-hand, until both parties be
heard together ; and it is beft for the defen-
dant, if he perceive the judge prepoffefled,
to labour this principally, as far as the caufe
will admit, to difcover fome cunning fhift,
and fraudulent dealing, pra£lifed by the ad-
verfe party, to the abufe of the judge.

Parab. XVIII. " He that delicately

*' brings up his fervant from a child, fhall

*' find him contumacious in the end.'*
Prov, xxix. 21,

ExPLic. Princes and mafters, by the
counfel Q>i Solomon^ are to keep a balance in
the difpenfation of their grace and favour

towards

i

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 425

towards fervants. This is three-fold : Firfl:,
That they be promoted by fteps, or degrees,
and not too rapidly : Secondly, That
they be now and then accuftomed to repulfes :
Thirdly (which Machiavel well advifes),
that they have ever in fight before them
fomething to which they may farther afpire.
For unlefs thefe courfes be taken, princes
doubtlefs will reap in the end from their fer-
vants, difrefpect and contumacy, inflcad of
a grateful and dutiful affedlion. For from
a fudden promotion arifes infolence ; from a
continual attainment of their defires, pro-
ceeds impatience of being denied : Lailly,
where there is want of further delire, there
will be want alfo of alacrity and induftry.

Parab. XIX. " Seeft thou a man of
difpatch in his bufmefs ? He ihall Hand
before kings, he {hall not be ranked
** amongft mean men." Prov, xxii. 29.

it

ExPLic. Among the good qualities which
princes, in the choice of fervants, chiefly
refpe(St and require, celerity and alacrity ia
the difpatch of bufinefs, is, above all the
reft, moft acceptable. Men of profound

wifdom

426 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

wifdom are fufpeded by kings, as prying
into things with too piercing a fight ; and
able, by the flrength of their wit, as with
an engine, to turn and wind about their
mailers infenfibly, w^hether they will or not.
Then popular natures are hated, as thofe
that fland in the light of kings, and draw
the eyes of the people too much upon them.
Men of courage are often taken for turbu-
lent fpirits, and more enterprifmg than is
neceflary. Honefl men, and of an upright
converfition, are looked upon as fliff and
morofe, and not pliable enough to every nod
of their mafters. To conclude. There is
no other good quality, but is attended with
fame fliadow, wherewith the minds of
kings may be offended : • but quicknefs of
difpatch alone has nothing in it that can
difpleafe. The motions in the minds of
kings are fwift, and impatient of delays ;
for they imagine they can ^o any thing; and
that this only is wanting, *' That it be done
*« out of hand." Therefore, above all things,
celerity is moft acceptable to them.

Parab. XX. *' I faw all the living ^

which walk under the fun, with the fuc^

ceeding

J

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 427

ceeding young prince, that fhall rife up in
his ftead." Eccief iv, 15.

ExPLic. This parable notes the vanity
of men, who are wont to prefs and flock
about the defigned fuccefibrs of princes.
Now the root of it is, that frenzy, which
is deeply implanted by nature in the minds
of men ; namely, their being too fond of
their own projected hopes. For the man is
rarely found, that is not more dehghted
with the things he hopes for, than with the
things he enjoys. xA.nother thing is, No-
velty is plealing to man's nature, and ear-
neftly coveted. Now in a fucceffor to a
prince, thefe two concur, hope and novelty.
And the parable hints what was long ago
faid, firfl by Pompey to Sylla^ and afterwards
by Tiberius touching Macro ; *' That more
*^ men adore the riling, than the fettlng
^' fun." Yet, notwithftanding, princes in
poffeffion are not much moved with this,-
nor make any great matter of it, as neither
Sylla nor 'Tiberius ^id^ but rather fm.ile at the
levity of men, and do not fland to fight
with dreams ; for hope, as is faid, is '' but
^' the dream of a man awake.'*

Parab.

423 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

Parab. XXI. " There was a little city,
and manned but by a few ; and there was a
mighty king that drew his army to it, and
ere£ted bulwarks againft it, and intrenched
it round. Now there was found within the
walls a poor wife man, and he by his wif-
dom raifed the fiege, but none remembered
that fame poor man." Ecclef, ix. 14, 15.

ExPLic. The parable fets forth the de-
praved and malignant nature of men, who
in extremities commonly fly to men of wif-
dom and courage they before defpifed. But
as foon as the florm is over, they become
unthankful wretches to their prefervers.
MachiaveU not without reafon, puts a quef-
tion, " Which of the two has been more
*' ungrateful to well-deferving perfons, the
*' prince, or the people ?*' But in the mean
time he taxes both with ingratitude. Not-
withftanding, this does not arife folely from
the ingratitude of the prince or people, but
there is generally added the envy of the no-
bility, who in fecret repine at the event,
though happy and profperous, bccaufe it
proceeds not from themfelves. Therefore

they

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 429

they both extnennate the merit of the a£l,
and reprefs the author.

Par AB. XXII. «< The way of the floth-
«« ful is as a hedge of thorns." Prov, xv.19.

ExPLic. This parable pouits out mofl
elegantly, that floth, in the conclufion,
proves laborious. For the effed of dili-
gence, and of a fedulous preparation, is
this, the fottt does not ftrike againft any
impediment; but the way is made plain,
before it is entered into. He that is flothful,
and puts oiFall to the laft moment of exe-
cution, muft needs perpetually, and at every
flep, pafs, as it were, through briars and
brambles, which ever detain and entangle
him. The fame obfervation may be made
alfo in the governing of a family ; wherein,
if there be due care and providence ufed, all
things go, on peaceably, without noife and
tumult ; but if thofe things be wanting, in
cafe of any confiderable commotion, all
things come thronging in to be difpatched at
once: the fervants are in an uproar; the
whole houfe rings, and there is nothing well
done in that confulion,

Parab.

43^ COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

Parab. XXIII. " He that refpeas per-.
*' fons in judgment doth not well ; for that
*' man will forfake the truth, even for a
" piece of bread." Fr^i;. xxviii. 21.

ExPLic. The parable mofl: wifely notes,
that, in a judge, facility of temper is more
pernicious than corruption by bribes. For
all perfons do not give bribes ; but there is
hardly any caufe, wherein fomething may
not be found, to incline the mind of the
iudge, if he refpe6t perfons. For one man
Ihall be refpe£led as his countryman ; ano-
ther, as a foul-mouthed man ; another, as
rich ; another, as a favourite ; another, as
recommended by a friend : in (hort, all is
full of iniquity, where refpeft of perfons
bears fway ; and for a very (light matter, as
for a mouthful of bread, judgment will be
perverted.

Parab. XXIV. " A poor man that by ex-
*' tortion opprefleth the poor, is like a land-
** flood that caufes famine." Prov. xxviii. 3.

EXPLIC.

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

43:

ExPLic. This parable was, by the anti-
eiits, expreffed under the fable of the two
horfe-leeches ; the full and the empty one*
For oppreiiion by the poor and needy is far
more heavy than oppreiiion by the rich and
the full ; becaufe it is fuch as narrowly feeks
out all arts of exa6lion, and all corners for
money. The fame thhig alfo was wont to
be refemBled tofponges, which, being dry,
fuck in flrongly ; but not fo, when well
moiilened. It contains alfo an ufeful in-
flrudlion to princes, that they commit not
the government of provinces, or offices of
charge, to indigent perfons, and bankrupts ;
as alfo to people, that they fuffer not their
kings to jftruggle with too much want.

Parab. XXV. " A juft man falling
" before the wicked, is a troubled fountain
*' and a corrupted fpring." Prov. xxv. 26.

ExPLic. The parable advifes, That States
ihould, above all things, beware of an un-
jull: and infamous judgment in any celebra-
ted and weighty caufe ; efpecially where not
only the guilty is acquitted, but the inno-
cent condemned. For injuries ravaging a-

432 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

mong private perfons, trouble indeed and
pollute the waters, yet only in fmaller
fbreams; but fuch unjufl judgments as I
mentioned, from which precedents are fetch-
ed, infed and flain the very fountains of
jufllce. For when once the tribunal fides
with injuilice, the ftate is turned into a
public robbery, and it manifeflly comes to
pafs, Ut homo homini Jit lupus % " that one
•1 man becomes a prey to another."

Parab. XXVL '* Make no friendfhip
" with an angry man ; nor walk thou with
*' a furious man.'* Prov, xxii. 24.

ExPLic. The more religioufly the laws
of friendfhip amongft good men are kept
and obferv^d, the more caution is to be ufed
from the very firfl: in the prudent choice of
friends. And the nature and humour of
friends, fo far as they concern ourfelves on-
ly, are by all means to be born withal ; but
when they impofe a neceffity upon us, to
behave ourfelves juft as they would have us
towards other men, it is a very hard and
•unreafonable condition of friendship. There-
fore it is of great jnoment, according to So-

lomon's

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 43J

Iot7w?is precept, towards the peace and fecu-
rity of our life, to have no commerce with
choleric natures, and fuch as eafily provoke,
or undertake quarrels and debates. For fuch
kind of friends will be perpetually ei^gaging
us in fadlions and contentions ; fo that we
fhall be conftrained, either to break ofFfriend-
fliip, or elfe be wanting to our own perfonal
fafety.

Parab. XXVII. '' He that conceals a
" fault feeks friendfhip ; but he that re-
*' peats a matter, feparates united friends."
Prov. xvli. 9.

ExPLic. The way to compofe differences,
and to reconcile affedlions, is twofold : The
one begins with an a£l of oblivion of what
is paft ; the other, with a repetition of in-
juries, interwoven with apologies and ex-
cufes. I remember the opinion of a very
wife perfon, and a great ftatefman ; *' He
*' that treats a peace, without a recapitu-
*' lation of the terms of difference, that
" man rather deludes mens minds with
*' the fweet name of agreement, than equi-
" tably makes it up." But Solomon, a wifer
man than he, is of a contrary opinion ; ap-

VoL. L F f proves

434 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

proves pardon, but forbids repetition. For
in repetition, or renewing the memory of
the caufes of difference, there are thefe in-
conveniencies : that it is, as it were. Unguis
hi ulcere, " Raking in the ulcer;" as alfo,
that there is a danger of breeding a new
quarrel, (for the parties will never agree
about the reafons of the injuries.) And,
laflly, that it brings the matter in the iflue
to apologies : whereas both parties had ra-
ther be thought to have remitted an offence,
than to have admitted an excufe for it.

Parab. XXVIII. " In every good work
*' there Ihall be abundance ; but where
" words do abound, there commonly is
*« want." Frov. xiv. 23.

ExPLic. Solomon diftinguilhes, in this
parable, the fruit of the labour of the tongue
from the labour of the hands ; as it want
were the producl of the one, and abundance
of the other. For it always comes to pafs,
that they who talk liberally, boafl much,
and pron/ife mighty matters, are beggars,
and receive no advantage from thofe things
they talk of. Further, generally fpeaking,
tluy arc no way iiuluftrious, or diligent in

their

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 435

their emplovment : but only feed and fill
themfelves with words as with wind. _ Cer-
tainly, as the poet lays,

^«:_/?iV/ ejl f.rmui. —

He that is confcious to himfelf of pro-
ficiency in his endeavours, applauds himfelf
inwardly, and holds his tongue : on the
other hand, he wlio knows within himfelf,
that he is guilty of hunting after aerial ap-
plaufe, talks' abundantly, and reports won^
ders unto others.

Paras. XXIX. " Open reprehenfion is
^* better than fecret affedion." Prov. xxvii. 5.

ExPLic. This parable reprehends the
foftnefs of fuch friends as do not life the
privilege which friendfhip gives them, in
admonifhing with freedom and boldnefs, as
well their friends errors, as their dangers,
*' For what fliall I do ? (will luch a ten-
*' der hearted friend fay) or which way
*' ihall I turn myfelf ? I love him as dearly
*' as any man can do another : and if any
«< misfortune fliould befal him, I would
*' willingly put myfelf in his place ; but I
♦^ Icnow his temper : if I deal freely with
F f 2 «* hin^

J!^2^ COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS*

" him, I fhall offend him, at leaft chagrin
*' hun ; and yet do no good: and I Ihall
*' fooner alienate him from my friendfhip,
" than bring him off from thofe courfes,
*' which he has fixed and rcfolved upon in
*' his mind." Such an effeminate and worth-
lefs friend as this, Solomon reprehends ; an4
pronounces, that a man may reap more profit
from a manifeff enemy, tlian from fuch a
friend. For he may chaiicc to hear thofe
things by way of reproach from an enemy,
which a friend, through too much indulr
gence, docs but whifper.

Parab. XXX. " A wife man is wary
" of his ways ; a cunning fool feeks eva-
^' fions." Prcj. xir. 8.

ExPLic. There are two forts of vvifdom s
the one, true and found ; the other, coun-
terfeit and falfe, which Solomon makes no
fcruple to call folly. He that has applied
himfelf, to the former, " takes heed of hi$
♦* own ways and footings ; forecafting dau-
*' gers ; ftudying remedies ; ufing the af-
*' filtance of good men, fencing himfelf
*^ again fl ill men; wary how he enters
-.1 upon a builaeis; and not unprovided of a

«' retreat \

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS. 437.

" retreat ; nttent upon advantages, ftrenu-
** ous agalnfl impediments; with infinite
•* other things, which relped the govern-
*' ment of his owni adlions and fleps." But
the other Ibrt is altogether made up of falla-
cies and crafty devices, and relics wholly
upon hopes of circumventing others, and
moulding them to his own fancy. This the
parable defervedly rejeds, not only as wic-
ked, but foolifh. Firfl:, it is by no means
in the number of thofe things which are
in our own power, nor yet is it diredled
by any conftant rule ; but new flratagems
mult every day be contrived, the old fail-
ing, and growing out of ufe. Secondly, he
that has got the name and mark of a cun-
ning and crafty man, has utterly deprived
himfelf of a principal inftrument of aftion ;
that is, trufl: : and therefore he Ihall find
all things go crofs to his defires. To con-
clude, thefe fame acts and fhifts, however
fair they look, and pleafe, yet are they mofh
commonly fruflrated ; which Tacitus well
obferves ; " Crafty and audacious counfels
*' (fays" he) are joyful in the expectation ;
*' difficult in the management; and fad
^' in the event,''

ParaBo

43S COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS.

Parab. XXXL " Be not righteous over^
*' much ; nor make thyfelf too exceffively
" wife ; why fhould'ft thou unfeafonably
*' facrifice thy fafety ?'' Ecckf. \n. 16.

ExPLic. *' There are times (as 'Tacitus
" fays) wherehi great virtues are atteaded
^' with moft certain ruin." And this befals
men eminent for virtue and juftlce, fome-
tlmes fuddenly, fometimes foreieen at a dif-
tance. But if prudence be aho added to their
other accomplifhments ; that is, if they be
wary, and watchful over their own lafetv,
then they gain thus much, that their ruin
comes fuddenly, from counfcls altogether
hidden and obfcure ; whereby both envy
may be avoided, and tlieir ruin fall upon
them unprovided. As for that nimiuni (over-
muiih) which is fet down in the parable, it
is to be underflood, not of virtue itfelf (in
which there is no nimiuni) but of a vain and
invidious affeclation and oftentation.

Something refembling this, 7'acitt4S in-
timates touching Lepidus ; fetting it down
as a miracle, that lie had never been the au-
thor of any fervlle fentence, and yet ftood
fafe in fuch cruel tim.es. " A thought (fays

COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS, 43

'* he) comes into mv mind, whether thefe

*' things are governed by fate ; or whether

" it hes alio in our own power, to fleer a

*' middle courfejat once free both from dan-

" ger and indignity, between deformed flat-

*' tery, and abrupt and fullen contumacy.'*

Parab. XXXII. " Give occafion to a
" wife man, and his wifdom will be in-
*' creafed." Prov. ix. 9.

ExPLic. This parable diftinguifhes be-
tween wifdom, grown and ripened into a
true habit ; and that which fwims only in
the brain and fancy, or is boafled in fpeech,
but hath not taken deep root. For the for-
mer, upon occafion prefent whereon to ex-
ercife itfelf, is immediately roufed, addreffes
itfelf to the bufmefs, and is fo enlarged and
dilated, that it feems greater than itfelf:
but the lattter, which, before occaiion, was
brilk and bufy ; now occafion is given, be-
comes amazed and confounded, to fo great
a degree, that the very perfon, whopreiiim-
ed himfelf pofleiied of it, begins to doubt,
whether his preconceptions of fuch wifdom
were i>ot mere dreams, and empty fpecu-
lations,

Parab.

440 COUNSELS TOUCHING BUSINESS,

Parab. XXXIII. " He that pralfeth hi^
*< friend aloud, rifing early, it Ihall be to
*' him no better than a curfe." Prov, xxvii.
14.

ExPLic. Moderate and feafonable pralfes,
tittered upon occafion, conduce much to
mens fame and fortune : but praifes immo-
derate, noify, and importunely poured out-
profit nothing ; nay rather^ according to the
fenfe of this parable, do a great deal of hurt,
Firft, they manifeftly betray themfelves to
proceed, either from excefs of love and klnd-
nefs ; or that they are affected and defigned ;
fo that they may rather ingratiate them-
felves with the perfon commended by falfe
encomiums, rather than fet him off by jufl
nnd deferved euloglums. Secondly, fparing
and modeft praifes commonly invite fuch as
are prefent to add fomcthlng of their own
to the commendation ; on the contrary, pro-
fufe and immoderate ones detract and take
away fomething. Thirdly, (which is the
principal point) too much magnifying a
man ftirs up envy ; fince all immoderate
praifes feem to tend to the reproach of others,
who are no lefs deferving.

FINIS.

IWW

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