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IM 


THE   ESSAYS 

OR 

COUNSELS  CIVIL  AND  MORAL 

OF 

FRANCIS  BACON 

LORD  VERULAM,  VISCOUNT  ST.  ALBANS 


EDITED  WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 

BY 

A.  S.  GAVE,  M.A. 

LATE    SCHOLAR    OF   TKIXITV    COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE 


OXFORD 

AT  THE  CLARENDON  PRESS 
1911 


PR 

22.0k 

GB 


HENRY   FROWDE,   M.A. 

rCBLISHEB  TO   THE    UMVEKSITY   OF   OXFORD 

LONDON,  EDINBURGH,  NEW  YORK 

TORONTO  AND  MELBOURNE 


CONTENTS 


rjao<Y  i 

*Q 
55 


DEATH 

OF  UNITY  IN  RELIGIONS/ 


NTRODUCT10N 

ESSAY 

OF 
OF 
III. 

OF  REVENGK 

OF  ADVERSITY 

OF  SIMULATION  AND  DISSIMULATION 

OF  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN  . 

OF  MARRIAGE  XAND  SINGLE  LIFE  . 

OF  ENVY-J^ 

OF  LOVE    ?>x 

Or  GREAT  PLACE     .... 

OF  BOLDNESS 

OF     GOODNESS, 

NATURE         .... 
OF  NOBILITY  Vv 
OF  SEDITIONS  AND  TROUBLES 
OF  ATHEISM 
OF  SUPERSTITION  Xj[ 
OF  TRAVEL       .... 
OF  EMPIRE       .... 
OF  COUNSEL     .... 
OF  DELAYS       .... 
OF  CUNNING     .... 
OF  WISDOM  FOR  A  MAN'S  SELF 
OF  INNOVATIONS 
OF  DISPATCH   .... 
OF  SEEMING  WISE'S] 


PAGE 
5 


AND     GOODNESS    OF 


XIV. 
-  XV. 

XVI. 

'-  xvn. 

X¥IH. 

Vxix. 

4^-  XX. 

XXI. 
fc^XXII. 

-  XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

-  XXVI. 


27 
29 
30 
33 

36 
4* 

47 

48 
51 
52 
-59 
62 
63 
66 
70 
75 
76 
80 
81 
82 
84 


V* 


4 

CONTENTS 

ESSAY 

—  vVj-  xxvn. 

*  XXVIII. 

OF  FRIENDSHIP       y 

PAGE 

•      86 
93 

V^ 

OF    THE    TRUE   GREATNESS    OF 

KlNG- 

DOMS  AND  ESTATES    . 

.       'J4 

•^. 

•  XXX. 

OF  REGIMENT  OF  HEALTH     . 
OF  SUSPICION          ... 

.      10o 
.     10-5 

^ 

"XXXII. 

OF  DISCOURSE  .... 

.     106 

(S 

-*  XXXIII. 

OF  PLANTATIONS 

.     108 

K  XXXIV. 

OF  RICHES        .... 

.     Ill 

IS" 

XXXV. 

OF  PROPHECIES 

.     114 

•-  XXXVI. 

•  ^  xxxvn. 

OF  AMBITION    . 
OF  MASQUES  AND  TRIUMPHS.-^ 
OF  NATURE  IN  MEN 

.     117 
.     120 
.     121 

v- 

-  XXXIX. 

OF  CUSTOM  AND  EDUCATION  . 

.     123 

XL. 

OF  FORTUNE     .        .        .    ""  . 

.     125 

'  XLII. 

OF  USURY        .... 
OF  YOUTH  AND  AGE  *>(  . 

.     126 
.     130 

£.    -XLIII. 

OF  BEAUTY  >. 

.     132 

W" 

XLIV. 
XLV. 

OF  DEFORMITY  Y*  . 
OF  BUILDING   . 

.     133 
.     184 

XLVI. 

OF  GARDENS     .... 

.     139 

\,/ 

VXLVII. 
XLVIII. 

OF  NEGOTIATING 
OF  FOLLOWERS  AND  FRIENDS  ^ 

.     145 

!,.         .     147 

^ 

XLIX. 

OF  SUITORS      .... 

.     148 

NLI. 

OF  STUDIED      .... 
OF  FACTION      .... 

.     150 
152 

l'' 

LII. 
B  LIII. 

OF  CEREMONIES  AND  RESPECTS 
OF  PRAISED  .... 

.     153 
.     155 

^T 

-  LIV. 

OF  VAIN  GLORY 

.     157 

V 

<-•  LV. 

OF  HONOUR  AND  REPUTATION 

.     158 

\/ 

i\/LVl. 

OF  JUDICATURE 

.     160 

LVII. 
-  LV11I. 

OF  ANGER   S^- 
OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS    . 

.     164 

.     166 

;  : 

L1X. 

NOTES 

A  FRAGMENT  OF  AN  ESSAY  :  OF 

FAME.--.  J7'J 
174 

GLOSSARY 

224 

INTRODUCTION 

A.     LIFE   OF   BACON 

FRANCIS  BACON  was  born  in  London  on  January  22, 
.561.  His  father  was  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  Lord  Keeper 
if  the  Great  Seal  (i.  e.  he  exercised  the  duties  of  Lord 
Chancellor,  without  enjoying  the  full  dignity  which 
,hat  title  confers),  a  great  lawyer,  a  wise  statesman, 
tnd  a  scrupulously  honest  man.  His  mother  was  one 
)f  the  accomplished  daughters  of  Sir  Anthony  Cooke, 
Dhe  tutor  of  King  Edward  VI ;  she  knew  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Italian  thoroughly,  and  made  theology  her  chief 
study.  Using  to  the  full  the  opportunities  offered  by 
such  parentage,  young  Bacon  was  a  proficient  scholar 
and  an  adroit  courtier  by  the  age  of  twelve.  'He  de 
livered  himself  with  that  gravity  and  maturity  above 
his  years,  that  Her  Majesty  would  often  term  him 
"  the  young  Lord  Keeper  ".  Being  asked  by  the  Queen 
how  old  he  was,  he  answered  with  much  discretion, 
being  then  but  a  boy,  that  he  was  two  years  younger 
than  Her  Majesty's  happy  reign,  with  which  answer 
the  Queen  was  much  taken  '  (KAWLEY).  In  his  thir 
teenth  year,  an  extraordinarily  early  age  even  in  those 
days,  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  where 
he  stayed  for  three  years,  and  then  '  departed,  carrying 
with  him  a  profound  contempt  for  the  course  of  study 
pursued  there,  a  fixed  conviction  that  the  system  of 
academic  education  in  England  was  radically  vicious, 


6  INTRODUCTION 

jt  just  scorn  for  the  trifles  on  which  the  followers  of 
Aristotle  had  wasted  their  powers,  and  no  great 
reverence  for  Aristotle  himself  '  (MACAULAY). 

In  1576  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  Gray's  Inn, 
though  probably  at  that  time  he  did  not  intend  to 
make  the  Bar  his  profession.  At  any  rate  he  did  not 
immediately  begin  studying  the  Law,  for  a  few  months 
later  he  went  to  France  in  attendance  upon  Sir  Amyas 
Paulet,  the  English  ambassador.  Only,  once  in  the 
Essays  (Essay  xxxv)  does  he  make  direct  allusion  to 
his  stay  in  France,  but  the  bitter  religious  hatred 
between  Catholics  and  Huguenots,  which  at  that  time 
convulsed  the  country  with  civil  war,  gave  him  a 
store  of  experience  from  which  he  drew  largely  in 
writing  '  Of  Unity  in  Religion '  (in),  '  Of  Revenge '  (iv), 
'  Of  Seditions  and  Troubles  '  (xv),  and  '  Of  Faction '  (LI). 
Bacon  was  all  his  life  a  firm  believer  in  religious 
toleration  ;  having  quoted  the  famous  line  of  Lucretius. 
Tantum  religio  pohtit  suadere  mdlonivn,  he  continues. 
'  What  would  he  have  said,  if  he  had  known  of  the 
massacre  in  France?'  (Essay  in),  referring  to  the 
massacre  of  the  Huguenots  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day. 
1572.  the  memory  of  which  he  found  still  fresh  in 
men's  minds  on  his  arrival  in  Paris  four  years  later. 
In  1579  he  was  suddenly  recalled  to  England  by  the 
i  death  of  his  father,  one  of  the  turning-points  in  his 
'  career.  The  fortune  which  he  inherited  was  not  suffi 
cient  in  itself  to  keep  him  in  that  state  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed.  Lord  Treasurer  Burghley,  his  uncle 
by  marriage,  whose  patronage  he  sought,  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  his  appeals,  actuated  less  perhaps  by  his 
dislike  of  nepotism  than  by  a  fear  that  the  advance- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

ment  of  his  son,  Robert  Cecil,  afterwards  Lord  Salis 
bury,  would  suffer  in  competition  with  his  more 
talented  nephew.  Bacon  was  still  in  favour  with 
Queen  Elizabeth,  but  she  rewarded  his  faithful  flattery 
and  learned  conversation  only  with  compliments.  So 
he  began  to  read  seriously  for  the  Bar,  and  was  called 
in  1582.  Two  years  later  he  entered  Parliament  as 
member  for  Melcombe  Regis.  In  1589  he  was  granted 
the  reversion  of  the  registrarship  to  the  Court  of  Star 
Chamber,  but,  as  the  holder  of  this  lucrative  post 
lived  on  for  twenty  years,  his  prospects  were  not  much 
improved.  And  he  made  matters  worse  for  himself 
in  1593,  when  as  member  for  Middlesex  he  opposed 
a  demand  for  large  subsidies  and  strongly  denounced 
an  attempt  by  the  House  of  Lords  to  interfere  with 
the  constitutional  right  of  the  Commons  to  deal  with 
question^  of  Supply.  This  action  of  his  not  only 
alienated  Burghley  still  further  from  him,  but  also 
offended  the  Queen,  who  had  just  before  appointed 
him  '  Queen's  Counsel  Extraordinary  '. 

Disgusted,  not  without  reason,  by  Burghley's  treat 
ment  of  him,  and  recognizing  that  he  had  nothing  to 
hope  for  from  that  quarter,  Bacon  about  this  time 
assiduously  cultivated  the  friendship  of  the  Earl  of 
Essex,  who  was  Burghley's  most  formidable  rival  and 
stood  high  in  the  favour  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  But 
even  Essex,  though  he  appears  to  have  made  every 
effort,  could  not  break  down  the  Queen's  displeasure  ; 
the  offices  of  Attorney-General,  Solicitor-General,  and 
Master  of  the  Rolls  successively  fell  vacant,  and  for 
each  of  them  Bacon  applied  in  vain.  In  1597  the  first 
edition  of  the  Essays  was  published,  ten  in  all.  In 


8  INTRODUCTION 

some  of  them,  e.  g.  '  Of  Followers  and  Friends '  (XLVIII), 
'  Of  Suitors '  (XLIX),  and  '  Of  Ceremonies  and  Respects ' 
(LIT),  we  may  see  here  and  there  faint  reflections  of 
the  disappointment  which  he  felt  at  the  delay  in  the 
due  recognition  of  his  abilities.     He  preached  in  his 
Essay  '  Of  Expense '  (xxvm)  wisdom  which  he  did  not 
practise ;  he  was  now  deep  in  debt,  notwithstanding 
the   benevolence  of  Essex,  who  had   presented  him 
with  an  estate  at  Twickenham  worth  some  £2,000. 
Burghley  died  in  1598,  but  Essex  too  was  nearing  the 
end  of  his  adventurous  career.     He  went  in  1599  at 
his  own  wish  and  against  Bacon's  advice  to  Ireland 
in  order  to  put  down  the  rebellion  of  Tyrone  ;   he 
failed,  returned  to  England,  tried  in  vain  to  justify  his 
failure,   and  fell  into  utter   disgrace.     Desperate,   he 
made  an  absurd  attempt  to  restore   his  fortunes  by 
a  coup  d'etat :  his  plan  was  to  seize  Whitehall  by  force 
of  arms  and  compel  the  Queen  to  receive  him  back 
into  favour.     His  plot  was  discovered,  he  was  tried 
for  high  treason,  condemned,  and  executed.     Bacon. 
as  Queen's  Counsel  Extraordinary,  appeared  for  the 
prosecution  and  conducted  the  case  against  his  ok 
friend  and  benefactor  with  marked  severity.     Man} 
hard  things  have  been  said  of  Bacon  for  the  part  whicl 
he  played  in  this  tragedy,  and  many  apologies  hav< 
been  made  for  him.     Whether  he  was  actuated   bj 
mere  callous  opportunism,  knowing  that  Essex  was 
doomed  and  wishing  to  be  on  the  right  side,  or  b] 
honest  hatred  of  the  crime,  '  the  highest  civil  crime, 
as  Blackstone  says,  '  which  (considered  as  a  mem  be 
of  the  community)  any  man  can  possibly  commit,'  i 
too  complicated  a  question  to  be  settled  here.     Ho\\ 


INTRODUCTION  9 

ever  we  regard  it,  it  was  a  most  unhappy  episode  in 
Bacon's  life.  Only  let  us  remember  that  Brutus  of 
old  put  his  two  sons  to  death  for  treason  and  has  been 
unreservedly  applauded  by  historians  of  all  ages  for 
his  stern  sense  of  justice. 

Elizabeth  died  in  1603,  leaving  Bacon  still  without 
any  official  position  at  the  age  of  forty-two  and  heavily 
burdened  with  debt.  But  with  sure  foresight  he  had 
already  taken  pains  to  ingratiate  himself  with  James, 
and  early  in  the  new  reign  he  began  to  reap  his 
reward  in  the  shape  of  a  knighthood  and  a  pension  of 
£QO  a  year.  Immediately  afterwards  he  was  made 
'  King's  Counsel ',  with  an  annuity  of  £40.  He 
married  in  1606,  and  having  taken  a  year  or  there 
abouts  to  consider  the  matter  he  wrote  his  Essay  'Of 
Marriage  and  Single  Life '  (vin),  in  which  he  very 
judicially  sums  up  the  pros  and  cons  of  both  estates, 
showing  no  decided  preference  for  either.  During  the 
next  fifteen  years  honours  were  showered  upon  him  ; 
he  was  made  Solicitor-General  in  1607,  Attorney- 
General  in  1613,  a  Privy  Councillor  in  1616,  Lord 
Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  in  1617,  Lord  Chancellor 
and  Baron  Verulam  in  1618,  and  lastly  Viscount 
St.  Alban  in  1621.  But  no  sooner  had  he  reached 
the  summit  of  his  power  than  he  fell.  At  the  end 
of  January  1621  Parliament  met  after  an  interval  of 
seven  years.  The  Commons  reassembled  in  no  friendly 
mood  towards  Bacon,  who  had  steadily  supported  the 
King  in  his  aggressions,  particularly  in  the  matter  of 
'forced  gifts '  or  'benevolences '  and  the  granting  of  op 
pressive  monopoly-patents  (cf.  Essay  xxxiv).  Petitions 
were  also  presented  to  the  House  charging  Bacon  with 


10  INTRODUCTION 

accepting  bribes  in  the  execution  of  his  judicial  dutie 
as  Lord  Chancellor.     A  searching  inquiry  was  mad-1 
and  it  was  proved  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt  th 
he   had   received   many  large  sums  of  money  froi 
suitors  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  over  which  he  pr  / 
sided.     His  apologists  urge  with   great  force  that 
was  the  recognized  practice  of  judges  in  those  da; 
to  accept    'gratuities'   from   litigants   after  the  piv 
nouncement  of  judgement,  and  that,  although  in  son: 
instances  Bacon  accepted  such  gratuities  during  tl 
trial  of  suits,  in  no  single  case  can  it  be  proved  4 
even  suggested  with  any  probability  that  his  judg 
ment  was  influenced  ;   on  the  contrary,  some  of  tl 
petitioners  were  aggrieved  that  in  spite  of  their  present  \ 
he  had  decided  against  them  !    After  reading  the  letter 
which  he  wrote  during  the  time  that  the  evidence      < 
against  him  was  being  collected,  it  is  almost  impossibl< 
to  believe  that  he  had  any  guilt  upon  his  conscience 
But  when  the  full  particulars  of  the  charge  were  lai 
before  him,  then  for  the  first  time  he  saw  that  he  ha.       b 
done  wrong;    'I  do  confess,'  he  wrote,  'that  in  the       e 
points  charged  upon  me,  though  they  should  be  taken 
as  myself  have  declared  them,  there  is  a  great  deal  of       * 
corruption  and  neglect,  for  which  I  am  heartily  & 
penitently   sorry.'     The   sentence    pronounced   up 
him  was  that  he  should  pay  a  fine  of  £40,000, 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower  during  the  King's  pleasu 
be  incapable  of  holding  any  office  in  the  State,  and 
disabled  from  sitting  in  Parliament  and  from  comi 
within  twelve  miles  of  the  Court.     But   the  \vh 
sentence   was   soon   afterwards    revoked,    except 
disability  from  sitting  in  Parliament.     He  retired 


INTRODUCTION  1 1 

his  estate  at  Gorhainbury  in  Hertfordshire,  where  he 
wrote  copiously  during  the  remaining  five  years  of  his 
life.  The  calm  resignation  with  which  he  looked  back 
upon  his  fall  is  reflected  in  his  Essay  '  Of  Adver 
sity  '  (v).  He  died  on  April  9,  1626. 

'  His  faults  as  a  philosopher,  as  a  statesman,  and  as 
a  judge,  arose  alike  from  the  same  source.  "I  have 
taken  all  knowledge  for  my  province,"  he  once  ex 
claimed  in  the  enthusiasm  of  youth.  He  laid  himself 
open  to  the  criticism  of  chemists  and  astronomers, 
because  he  believed  that  the  whole  intellectual  world 
was  at  his  feet,  and  that  a  single  generation  would 
suffice  to  classify  and  arrange  the  infinite  phenomena 
of  nature.  He  laid  himself  open  to  the  criticism  of 
statesmen  and  lawyers,  because,  in  his  reverence  for 
the  powrers  of  intellect,  he  despised  the  checks  upon, 
the  exercise  of  sovereign  power  which  in  a  free  con 
stitution  are  necessarily  placed  in  the  hands  of  com 
monplace  and  ill-educated  men.  He  laid  himself  open 
to  the  criticism  of  the  moralist,  by  fancying  that 
integrity  of  heart  might  be  left  to  its  own  guidance ; 
and  that  a  vivid  intelligence  and  a  direct  honesty  of 
purpose  might  safely  dispense  with  the  forms  which 
are  needed  for  the  guidance  of  smaller  men,  and  might 
even,  on  occasion,  overstep  the  line  at  which  courtesy 
passes  into  insincerity.  Yet,  in  the  end,  the  wisest 
and  greatest  of  his  generation  had  to  learn  that  he 
too  was  fallible,  and  that  even  for  him  forms  were 
necessary '  (GARDINER).  This  passage  may  be  recom 
mended  as  a  mild  homoeopathic  corrective  for  those 
whose  prejudices  may  have  been  inflamed  against  Bacon 
by  the  fierce  invective  of  Macaulay's  famous  Essay. 


12  INTRODUCTION 

Though    his    public    career  ended   ingloriously. 
will  now  deny  to  Bacon  the  right  to  a  place 
England's  great  men. 

B.     THE  ESSAYS 

The  word  essay  came  into  English  through  t\ 
French  from  the  late  Latin  exagium,  meaning  '  a  weig 
ing,  testing  on  the  balance '.  The  collateral  form  ass< 
is  still  used  for  the  testing  of  metals.  In  1580  Mo 
taigne  published  his  first  book  of  Essais,  short  diss< 
tations  on  matters  of  general  human  interest,  and  the 
is  little  doubt  that  Bacon  read  them  and  borrowed  ' 
title.  It  is  significant  that  Montaigne  was  an  inti  .< 
friend  of  Bacon's  elder  brother  Anthony,  to  whom  t 
first  edition  of  the  Essays  (1597)  was  dedicated.  f.* 
volume  contained  the  following  ten  papers  : — 
Of  Study  Of  Expense 

Of  Discourse  Of  Regiment  of  Health- 

Of  Ceremonies  and   Re-     Of  Honour  and  Reputatioi 

spects 

Of  Followers  and  Friends     Of  Faction 
Of  Suitors  Of  Negotiating. 

In  the  dedication  he  apologized  for  publishing  '  the$« 
fragments  of  my  conceits ' ;  it  seems  that  he  had  hat* 
some   copies    privately   printed,    and    had   reason    t 
suspect  unauthorized  publication  by  some  unscrupulou 
person  into  whose  hands  a  copy  had  come  ;    for  h 
wi'ote:  'I  do  now  like  "some  that  have  an  orchard  il 
neighboured,  that  gather  their  fruit  before  it  is  rip 
to  prevent  stealing.  .  .  .  Therefore  I  hold  it  best  dis 
cretion  to  publish  them  myself,  as  they  passed  lon< . 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


my  pen,  without  any  further  disgrace  than 
jakness  of  the  author.  .  .  .  Only  I  disliked  now 
mil  them  out  because  they  will  be  like  the  late  new 
pence,  which  though  the  silver  were  good,   yet 
pieces  were  small.' 
The  second  edition  (1612)  contained  the  following  : — 


Of  Religion 

}f  Death 

Of  Goodness  and   Good 

ness  of  Nature 
~>f  Cunning 


)f  '.-ferriage  and  Single     Of  Beauty 


Of  Seeming  Wise 
Of  Riches 
Of  Ambition 

Of  Young  Men  and  Age 


)f  Parents  and  Children 

)flSbility 

)f  Great  Place 

)f  Empire 

)f  Counsel 

)f  Dispatch 

)f  Love 

>f  Friendship 

)f  Atheism 

Superstition 
,     Wisdom  for  a  Man's 

Self 

)f  Regiment  of  Health 
)f  Expense 
)f  Discourse 


Of  Deformity 

Of  Nature  in  Men 

Of  Custom  and  Education 

Of  Fortune 

Of  Studies 

Of  Ceremonies  and  Respects 

Of  Suitors  - 

Of  Followers 

Of  Negotiating 

Of  Baction 

Of,R-aise 

Of  Judicature 

Of.  Vain  Glory 

Of.  Greatness  of  Kingdoms. 


It  was  dedicated  to  Sir  John  Constable,  who  had 
named  Bacon's  wife's  sister,  Dorothy  Barnhani.  But 
'.•aeon's  original  intention  had  been  to  dedicate  this 


14  INTRODUCTION 

new  edition  to  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  who  died 
shortly  before  it  was  published\j  the  dedicatory  letter 
addressed  to  the  Prince  is  preserved,  however,  and  ia 
interesting  in  that  it  contains  an  interpretation  of  the 
word  essay.  l  The  word  is  late,'  he  wrote,  '  but  the 
thing  is  ancient.  For  Seneca's  Epistles  to  Lucilius,  il 
one  mark  them  well,  are  but  essays,  that  is  dispersed 
meditations  though  conveyed  in  the  form  of  epistles. 
Elsewhere  in  the  letter  he  described  them  as  '  certain' 
brief  notes  set  down  rather  significantly  than  curiously', 
and  '  although  they  handle  those  things  wherein  both 
men's  lives  and  their  pens  are  most  conversant,  yet 
.  fl  have  endeavoured  to  make  them  not  vulgar  but  of 
V  nature  whereof  a  man  shall  find  much  in  experience, 
/little  in  books '. 

>-"  The  third  and  last  edition  published  under  Bacon's 
own  supervision  (1625)  contained  the  fifty-eighi  essays 
printed    in    this   volume,    viz.    all   those   whi u    hac 
appeared  in  the  1612  edition,  some  of  them    mut 
altered,  the  Essay  ;  Of  Honour  and  Reputation '  whic 
hud  been  included  in  the  first  but  omitted  from  tl 
second  edition,  and  nineteen  others  which  were  ne> 
The  unfinished  Essay  '  Of  Fame  ?  was  found  by  D. 
Rawley  after  Bacon's  death.    The  dedication  addresse 
to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  is  printed  in  full  in  fron 
of  the  text  of  the  present  edition.     It  will  be  observe< 
that  reference  is  made  there  to  a  Latin  version  :  thi. 
was  not  published  until  after  Bacon  T~3eath,  and  thu 
authorship  of  it  is  uncertain  ;    some  part  of  it,  but 
certainly  not  all,  may  have  been  Bacon's  own  work. 
There  were  also  contemporary  translations  into  French 
and  Italian. 


THE 

E  S  8  A  Y  E  S 

O  R 

COUNSELS, 

CIVILL  AND  MORALL, 

O  F 

FRANCIS  LO.    FERVLAM, 
VISCOUNT  ST.  ALBAN. 

Newly  Enlarged. 


LONDON, 

Printed  by  JOHN  HAVILAND 

For  HANNA  BARRET  and  RICHARD  WHITAKE.R, 

are  to  be  sold  tit  the  signe  of  the  lyings  head  in  Pauls  Church-yard 

I      6      2        ". 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORIE 

To  the  Bight  Honorable  My  Very  Good  Lo.  The  Duke 
of  Buckingham  his  Grace,  Lo.  High  Admirall  of 
England. 

Excellent  Lo. 

Salomon  saies  ;  A  good  Name  is  as  a  precious 
oyntment ;  And  I  assure  my  selfe,  such  wil  your  Graces 
Name  bee,  with  Posteritie.  For  your  Fortune,  and 
Merit  both,  have  been  Eminent.  And  you  have 
planted  Things,  that  are  like  to  last.  I  doe  now 
publish  my  Essayes;  which,  of  all  my  other  workes, 
have  been  most  Currant :  For  that,  as  it  seems,  they 
come  home,  to  Mens  Businesse  and  Bosomes.  I  have 
enlarged  them,  both  in  Number,  and  Weight ;  So  that 
they  are  indeed  a  New  Worke.  I  thought  it  therefore 
agreeable,  to  my  Affection,  and  Obligation  to  your 
Grace,  to  prefix  your  Name  before  them,  both  in 
English,  and  in  Latine.  For  I  doe  conceive,  that  the 
Latine  Volume  of  them,  (being  in  the  Uni versa!  1 
Language)  may  last,  as  long  as  Bookes  last.  My 
Installation,  I  dedicated  to  the  King :  My  Historic  of 
Henry  the  Seventh  (which  I  have  now  also  translated 
into  Latine)  and  my  Portions  of  Naturall  History,  to  the 
Prince:  And  these  I  dedicate  to  your  Grace;  Being 
of  the  best  Fruits,  that  by  the  good  Encrease,  which 
God  gives  to  my  Pen  and  Labours,  I  could  yeeld.  God 
leade  your  Grace  by  the  Hand. 

Your  Graces  most  Obliged  andfaithfull  Servant. 

Fr.  St.  Alban. 


THE  ESSAYES 

OR 

COUNSELS   CIVILL   AND  MOEALL 

OP 
FRANCIS    BACON,   VISCOUNT    ST.   ALBAN 

I 
OF  TKUTH 

WHAT  is  truth  ?  said  jesting  Pilate ;  and  would  not 
stay  for  an  answer.  Certainly  there  be  that  delight  in 
giddiness,  and  count  it  a  bondage  to  fix  a  belief ;  affect 
ing  free-will  in  thinking,  as  well  as  in  acting.  And 
5  though  the  sects  of  philosophers  of  that  kind  be  gone, 
yet  there  remain  certain  discoursing  wits,  which  are  of 
the  same  veins,  though  there  be  not  so  much  blood  in 
them  as  was  in  those  of  the  ancients.  But  it  is  not 
only  the  djfficu^^jjidJ^MailVrWhich  men  take  in  find- 

10  ing  out  of  Truth;  nor  again,  that  \vhen  it  is  found,  it 
imposeth  upon  men's  thoughts,  that  /  doth  bring  lies 
in  favour ;  but  a  natural  though  corrupt  love  of  the 
lie  itself.  One  of  the  later  school  of  ttte  Grecians 
examineth  the  matter,  and  is  at  a  stand  to  think  what 

15  should  be  in  it,  that  men  should  love  lies  ;  where 
neither  they  make  for  pleasure,  as  with  poets  ;  nor  for 
advantage,  as  with  the  merchant;  but  for  the  lie's 
sake.  But  I  cannot  tell :  this  same  truth  is  a  naked 
and  open  daylight,  that  doth  not  show  the  masques,  and 

•20  mummeries,  and  triumphs  of  the  world,  half  so  stately 
and  daintily  as  candle-lights.  Truth  may  perhaps 


20  ESSAY    I 

come  to  the  price  of  a  pearl,  that  showeth  best  by  day, 
but  it  will  not  rise  to  the  price  of  a  diamond  or  car 
buncle,  that  showeth  best  in  varied  lights.  A  mixture 
of  a  lie  doth  ever  add  pleasure.  Doth  any  man  doubt 
that  if  there  were  taken  out  of  men's  minds  vain  5 
opinions,  flattering  hopes,  false  valuations,  imagina 
tions  as  one  would,  and  the  like,  but  it  would  leave  the 
minds  of  a  number  of  men  poor  shrunken  things,  full 
of  melancholy  and  indisposition,  and  unpleasing  to 
themselves?  One  of  the  fathers,  in  great  severity,  10 
called  poesy  vinum  dacmonum,  because  it  filleth  the 
imagination,  and  yet  it  is  but  with  the  shadow  of  a  lie. 
But  it  is  not  the  lie  that  passeth  through  the  mind, 
but  the  lie  that  sinketh  in,  and  settleth  in  it,  that  doth 
the  hurt,  such  as  we  spake  of  before.  But  howsoever  15 
these  things  are  thus  in  men's  depraved  judgements 
and  affections,  yet  truth,  which  only  doth  judge  itself. 
teacheth  that  the  inquiry  of  truth,  which  is  the  love- 
making  or  wooing  of  it,  the  knowledge  of  truth,  which 
is  the  presence  of  it,  and  the  belief  of  truth,  which  is  -0 
.the  enjoying  of  it,  is  the  sovereign  good  of  human 
nature.  The  first  creature  of  God,  in  the  works  of  the 
days,  was  the  light  of  the  sense :  the  last  was  the  light 
of  reason :  and  his  sabbath  work  ever  since  is  the 
illumination  of  his  Spirit.  First,  he  breathed  lighl 
upon  the  face  of  the  matter,  or  chaos  ;  then  he  breathed 
light  into  the  face  of  man  ;  and  still  he  breatheth  and 
inspireth  light  into  the  face  of  his  chosen.  The  poet 
that  beautified  the  sect  that  was  otherwise  inferior  to 
the  rest,  saith  yet  excellently  well  :—Itis  a  pleasure  to 
stand  upon  the  shore,  and  to  see  ships  tossed  upon  the  sea  : 
a  pleasure  to  stand  in  the  window  of  a  castle,  and  to  sec 
a  battle  and  the  adventures  thereof  beloiv  :  but  no  pleasure 
is  comparable  to  the  standing  upon  the  vantage  ground 
of  truth,  (a  hill  not  to  be  commanded,  and  where  the 
air  is  always  clear  and  serene),  and  to  see  the  errors, 
and  wanderings,  and  mists,  and  tempests,  in  the  vale 
below :  so  always  that  this  prospect  be  with  pity,  and 


OF  TEUTH  21 

not  with  swelling  or  pride.      Certainly,  _it.  Js__h.euven 
upon  earth^-to  ht>v&--ft-^»fttt'a  mind  move  in  charity,  j 
rest  in  providence,  and  turn  upon  the  poles  of  truth. 
To  pass  from  theological  and  philosophical  truth  to  the 

5  .truth  of  civil  business;  it  will  be  acknowledged,  even  by 
those  that  practise  it  not,  that  clear  and  round  dealing 
is  the  honour  of  man's  nature,  and  that  mixture  of  false 
hood  is  like  alloy  in  coin  of  gold  and  silver,  which 
may  make  the  metal  work  the  better,  but  it  embaseth 

10  it.  For  these  winding  and  crooked  courses  are  the 
goings  of  the  serpent ;  which  goeth  basely  upon  the 
belly,  and  not  upon  the  feet.  There  is  no  vice  that 
doth  so  cover  a  man  with  shame  as  to  be  found  false 
and  perfidious  ;  and  therefore  Montaigne  saith  prettily, 

15  when  he  inquired  the  reason  why  the  word  of  the  lie 
should  be  such  a  disgrace,  and  such  an  odious  charge, 
saith  he,  If  it  l)t  tvell  weighed,  to  say  that  a  man  lietli, 
is  as  much  to  sat)  an  that  he  is  brave  towards  God  and 
a  coicard  towards  men.  For  a  lie  faces  God,  ami  shrink* 

20 /row  "mail?  Surely  the  wickedness  of  falsehood 
and  breach  of  faith  cannot  possibly  be  so  highly  ex 
pressed,  as  in  that  it  shall  be  the  last  p£al  to  call  the 
judgements  of  God  upon  the  generations  of  men  :  it 
being  foretold  that,  when  Christ  cometh,  he  shall  jiot 

25  find  faith  upon  the  earth. 

II  #/lW 

OF   DEATH 

MEN  fear  death  as  children  fear  to  go  in  the  dark  ; 
and  as  that  natural  fear  in  children  is  increased  with 
tales,  so  is  the  other.  Certainly,  the  contemplation  of 
death,  as  the  wages  of  sin,  and  passage  to  another 
30  world,  is  holy  and  religious  ;  but  the  fear  of  it,  as 
a"lrTb"ute  due  unto  nature,  is  weak.  Yet  in  religious 
meditations  there  is  sometimes  mixture  of  vanity  and 
of  superstition.  You  shall  read,  in  some  of  the  friars' 
books  of  mortification,  that  a  man  should  think  with 
himself  what  the  pain  is  if  he  have  but  his  finger's  end 


22  ESSAY  II 

pressed  or  tortured,  and  thereby  imagine  what  the 
pains  of  death  are,  when  the  whole  body  is  corrupted 
and  dissolved ;  when  many  times  death  passeth  with 
less  pain  than  the  torture  of  a  limb  ;  for  the  most  vital 
parts  are  not  the  quickest  of  sense.     And  by  him  that  5 
spake  only  as  a  philosopher,  and  natural  man,  it  was 
well  said,  Pompa  mortis  mar/is  terret  quam  mors  ipsa. 
Groans  and  convulsions,  and  a  discoloured  face,  and 
friends  weeping,  and  blacks,  and  obsequies,  and  the 
like,  show  death  terrible.     It  is  worthy  the  observing,  10 
that  there  is  no  passion  in  the  mind  of  man  so  weak, 
but  it  mates  and  masters  the  fear  of  death  ;  and  there 
fore  death  is  no  such  terrible  enemy  when  a  man  hath 
so  many  attendants  about  him  that  can  win  the  com 
bat   of  him.      Revenge    triumphs  over   death ;    love  15 
slights  it ;  Jhonour  aspireffi  To  it  ]"  grief*" flieth  to  it  ; 
fear  pre-occupateth  it ;  nay,  we  read,  after  Otho  the 
emperor  had  slain  himself,  pity  (which  is  the  tenderest 
of  affections)  provoked  many  to  die  out  of  mere  com 
passion  to  their  sovereign,  and  as  the  truest  sort  of  20 
followers.      Nay,  Seneca  adds  niceness  and   satiety  : 
Coyita  quamdiu  eadem  feceris ;  mori  vclle,  non  tanttin> 
fortis,  uut  miser,  scd  etiam  fastidiosus  fwtest.     A  man 
would  die.  though  he  were  neither  valiant  nor  miser 
able,  only  upon  a  weariness  to  do  the  same  thing  ko  25 
oft  over  and  over.  /It  is  no  less  worthy  to  observe, 
how  little  alteration  in  good  spirits  the  approaches  of 
death  make  :  for  they  appear  to  be  the  same  men  till 
the  last  instant.     Augustus  Caesar  died  in  a  compli 
ment  ;  Livid,  conjugii  nostri  memor,  vivc  ct  vale.  Tiberius  30 
in  dissimulation,  as  Tacitus  saith  of  him,  Jam  Tibcrhnn 
vires  et  corpus,  non  dissimulutio,  deserebant :  Vespasian 
in  a  jest,  sitting  upon  the  stool,  Utputo  Deusfio :  Galba 
with  a  sentence,  Peri,  si  ex  re  sit  populi  Romani,  holding 
forth  his  neck  ;  Septimius  Severus  in  dispatch,  Adcste,  35 
si  quid  mihi  rcstat  agendum ;  and  the  like.     Certainlv 
the  Stoics  bestowed  too  much  cost  upon  death,  and  b 
their  great  preparations  made  it  appear  more  fearfu 


OF  DEATH  23 

Better  saith  he,  qui  fineni  vitae  cxtrcmum  inter  munera 
ponat  naturae.  It  is  as  natural  to  die  as  to  be  born  ; 
and  to  a  little  infant,  perhaps,  the  one  is  as  painful  as 
the  other.  He  that  dies  in  an  earnest  pursuit  is  like 
5  one  that  is  wounded  in  hot  blood,  who,  for  the  time, 
scarce  feels  the  hurt ;  and  therefore  a  mind  fixed  and 
bent  upon  somewhat  that  is  good  doth  avert  the 
dolours  of  death  ;  but,  above  all,  believe  it,  the  sweetest 
canticle  is  Nunc  dimittis,  when  a  man  hath  obtained 
10  worthy  ends  and  expectations.  Death  hath  this  also, 
that  it  openeth  the  gate  to  good  fame,  and  extinguisheth 
envy :  Extinctus  amabitur  idem. 

Ill 
OF  UNITY  IN  KELIGION 

KELIGION  being  the  chief  band  of  human  society,  it 
is  a  happy  thing  when  itself  is  well  contained  within 

15  the  true  band  of  unity.  The  quarrels  and  divisions 
about  religion  were  evils  unknown  to  the  heathen. 
The  reason  was,  because  the  religion  of  the  heathen 
consisted  rather  in  rites  and  ceremonies,  than  in  any 
constant  belief:  for  you  may  imagine  what  kind  of 

•20  faith  theirs  was,  when  the  chief  doctors  and  fathers  of 
their  church  were  the  poets.  But  the  true  God  hath 
this  attribute,  that  he  is  a  jealous  God  ;  and  therefore 
his  worship  and  religion  will  endure  no  mixture  nor 
partner.  We  shall  therefore  speak  a  few  words  £Oifc 

25  cerjjijig  the  unity  of  the  church  ;  what  are  the  fruits 
tnereof ;  what  the  bounds  ;  and  what  the  means. 

The  fruits  of  unity  (next  unto  the  well-pleasing  of 
God,  which  is  all  in  all)  are  two ;  the  one  towards 
those  that  are  without  the  church,  the  other  towards 

3o  those  that  are  within.  For  the  former,  it  is  certain 
that  heresies  and  schisms  are  of  all  others  the  greatest 
scandals :  yea,  more  than  corruption  of  manners :  for 
as  in  the  natural  body  a  wound  or  solution  of  con- 


24  ESSAY   III 

tinuity  is  worse  than  a  corrupt  (humour,  so  in  the 
spiritual :  so  that  nothing  doth  so  much  keep  men  out 
of  the  church,  and  drive  men  out  of  the  church,  as 
breach  of  unity :  and  therefore  whensoever  it  cometh 
to  that  pass  that  one  saith,  Ecce  in  Deserto,  another  5 
saith,  Ecce  in  penetralibus ;  that  is,  when  some  men 
seek  Christ  in  the  conventicles  of  heretics,  and  others 
in  an  outward  face  of  a  church,  that  voice  had  need 
continually  to  sound  in  men's  ears,  nolite  cxire, — go  not 
out.  The  doctor  of  the  Gentiles  (the  propriety  of  10 
whose  vocation  drew  him  to  have  a  special  care  of 
those  without)  saith,  If  a  heathen  come  in,  and  hear 
you  speak  with  several  tongues,  will  he  not  say  that 
you  are  mad  ?  and  certainly  it  is  little  better  when 
atheists  and  profane  persons  do  hear  of  so  many  dis- 15 
cordant  and  contrary  opinions  in  religion.  It  doth 
avert  them  from  the  church,  and  maketh  them  to  sit 
down  in  the  chair  of  the  scorners.  It  is  but  a  light 
thing  to  be  vouched  in  so  serious  a  matter,  but  yet  it 
expresseth  well  the  deformity  ;  there  is  a  master  of  20 
scoffing  that  in  his  catalogue  of  books  of  a  feigned 
library  sets  down  this  title  of  a  book,  The  Morris- 
Dance  of  Heretics  :  for,  indeed,  every  sect  of  them  hath 
a  diverse  posture  or  cringe  by  themselves,  which  can 
not  but  move  derision  in  worldlings  and  depraved  25 
politics,  who  are  apt  to  contemn  holy  things. 

As  for  the  fruit  towards  those  that  are  within,  it  is 
peace,  which  containeth  infinite  blessings  ;  it  estab- 
lisheth  faith  ;  it  kindleth  charity  ;  the  outward  peace 
of  the  church  distil leth  into  peace  of  conscience,  and  it  30 
turneth  the  labours  of  writing  and  reading~oT  contro 
versies  into  treaties  of  mortification  and  devotion. 

Concerning  the  bounds  of  unity,  the  true  placing  of 
them  importeth  exceedingly.  There  appear  to  be -two 
extremes :  for  to  certain  zealants  all  speech  of  pacifica-  35 
tion  is  odious.  Is  it  peace,  Jehu  ? — What  hast  thou  to 
do  with  peace?  turn  thee  behind  me.  Peace  is  not 
the  matter,  but  following  and  party.  Contrariwise, 


OF   UNITY   IN   KELIGION  25 

certain  Laodiceans  and  lukewarm  persons  think  they 
may  accommodate  points  of  religion  by  middle  ways, 
and  taking  part  of  both,  and  witty  reconcilements,  as 
if  they  would  make  an  arbitrament  between  God  and 

5  man.  Both  these  extremes  are  to  be  avoided  ;  which 
will  be  done  if  the  league  of  Christians,  penned  by  our 
Saviour  himself,  were  in  the  two  cross  clauses  thereof 
soundly  and  plainly  expounded :  He  that  is  not  with 
us,  is  against  us  ;  and  again,  He  that  is  not  against  us, 

10  is  with  us ;  that  is,  if  the  points  fundamental  and  of 
substance  in  religion  were  truly  discerned  and  distin 
guished  from  points  not  merely  of  faith,  but  of  opinion, 
order,  or  good  intention.  This  is  a  thing  may  seem  to 
many  a  matter  trivial,  and  done  already  ;  but  if  it  were 

15  done  less  partially,  it  would  be  embraced  more 
generally.  .  j-"8^"* 

Of  this  I  may  give  only  this  advice,  according  to  my 
small  model.  Men  ought  to  take  heed  of  rending  God's 
church  by  two  kinds  of  controversies  ;  the  one  is,  when 

•JO  the  matter  of  the  point  controverted  [is  too  small  and 
light,  not  worth  the  heat  and  strife  about  it,  kindled 
only  by  contradiction  ;  for,  as  it  is  noted  by  one  of  the 
fathers,  Christ's  coat  indeed  had  no  seam,  but  the 
church's  vesture  was  of  divers  colours  ;  whereupon  he 

•25  saith,  In  veste  varielas  sit,  scissura  non  sit ;  they  be  two 
thlagsy.ju.uity_and  uniformity.     The  other  is,  when  the" 
matter  of  the  point  controverted  is  great,   but  it  is 
driven  to  an  over  great  subtilty  and  obscurity,  so  that 
it  becometh  a  thing  rather  ingenious  than  substantial. 

30  A  man  that  is  of  judgement  and  understanding  shall 
sometimes  hear  ignorant  men  differ,  and  know  well 
within  himself  that  those  which  so  differ  mean  one 
thing,  and  yet  they  themselves  would  never  agree  :  and 
if  it  come  so  to  pass  in  that  distance  of  judgement 

"5  which  is  between  man  and  man,  shall  we  not  think  that 
God  above,  that  knows  the  heart,  doth  not  discern 
that  frail  men,  in  some  of  their  contradictions,  intend 
the  same  thing,  and  accepteth  of  both?  The  nature 


26  ESSAY  III 

of  such  controversies  is  excellently  expressed  by  St. 
Paul,  in  the  warning  and~precept  that  he  giveth  con 
cerning  the  same  ;  Devita  pro/anas  vocum  novitates,  et 
oppositiones  falsi  nominis  scicntiac.  Men  create  opposi 
tions  which  are  not,  and  put  them  into  new  terms,  so  5 
fixed  as,  whereas  the  meaning  ought  to  govern  the 
term,  the  term  in  effect  governeth  the  meaning.  There 
be  also  two  false  peaces,  or  unities :  the  one,  when  the 
peace  is  grounded  but  upon  an  implicit  ignorance,  for 
all  colours  will  agree  in  the  dark  :  the  other,  when  it  10 
is  pieced  up  upon  a  direct  admission  of  contraries  in 
fundamental  points:  for  truth  and  falsehood,  in  such 
things,  are  like  the  iron  and  clay  in  the  toes  of  Nebu 
chadnezzar's  image  ;  they  may  cleave,  but  they  will 
not  incorporate.  15 

Concerning  the  means  of  procuring  unity,  men  must 
beware  that,  in  the  procuring  or  muniting  of  religious 
unity,  they  do  not  dissolve  and  deface  the  laws  of 
charity  and  of  human  society.  There  be  two  swords 
amongst  Christians,  the  spiritual  and  temporal ;  and  2<"> 
both  have  their  due  office  and  place  in  the  mainten 
ance  of  religion :  but  we  may  not  take  up  the  third 
sword,  which  is  Mahomet's  sword,  or  like  unto  it: 
that  is,  to  propagate  religion  by  wars,  or  by  sanguinary 
persecutions  to  force  consciences ;  except  it  be  in  cases  25 
of  overt  scandal,  blasphemy,  or  intermixture  of  practice 
against  the  state  ;  much  less  to  nourish  seditions ;  to 
authorize  conspiracies  and  rebellions  ;  to  put  the  sword 
into  the  people's  hands,  and  the  like,  tending  to  the 
subversion  of  all  government,  which  is  the  ordinance  :;o 
of  God.  For  this  is  but  to  dash  the  first  table  against 
the  second  ;  and  so  to  consider  men  as  Christians,  as 
we  forget  that  they  are  men.  Lucretius  the  poet, 
when  he  beheld  the  act  of  Agamemnon,  that  could 
endure  the  sacrificing  of  his  own  daughter,  exclaimed :  35 

1**Vfr 

Tantum  religio  potuit  suadere  mafonMN, 

What  would  he  have  said,  if  he  had  known  of  the 


OF  UNITY   IN   RELIGION  y  27 

massacre  in  France,  or  the  powder  treason  of  Eng 
land  ?  He  would  have  been  seven  times  more  epicure 
and  atheist  than  he  was.  For  as  the  temporal  sword 
is  to  be  drawn  with  great  circumspection  in  cases  of 
5  religion,  so  it  is  a  thing  monstrous  to  put  it  into  the 
hands  of  the  common  people  ;  let  that  be  left  unto  the 
Anabaptists  and  other  furies.  It  was  great  blasphemy, 
when  the  devil  said,  I  will  ascend  and  be  like  the 
Highest ;  but  it  is  greater  blasphemy  to  personate 

10  God,  and  bring  him  in  saying,  I  will  descend,  and  be 
like  the  prince  of  darkness :  and  what  is  it  better,  to 
make  the  cause  of  religion  to  descend  to  the  cruel 
and  execrable  actions  of  murdering  princes,  butchery 
of  people,  and  subversion  of  states  and  governments  ? 

15  Surely  this  is  to  bring  down  the  Holy  Ghost,  instead 
of  the  likeness  of  a  dove,  in  the  shape  of  a  vulture  or 
raven  ;  and  to  set  out  of  the  bark  of  a  Christian  church 
a  flag  of  a  bark  of  pirates  and  assassins ;  therefore  it 
is  most  necessary  that  the  church  by  doctrine  and 

_'o  decree,  princes  by  their  sword,  and  all  learnings,  both 
Christian  and  moral,  as  by  their  Mercury  rod,  do  damn 
and  send  to  hell  for  ever  those  facts  and  opinions 
tending  to  the  support  of  the  same  ;  as  hath  been 
already  in  good  part  done.  Surely,  in  counsels  con- 

25  cerning  religion,  that  counsel  oTthe  apostle  wouldTJe 
prefixed,  Ira  liominis  non  implet  jnstitiam  Dei :  and  it 
was  a  notable  observation  of  a  wise  father,  and  no  less 
ingenuously  confessed,  that  those  which  held  and 
persuaded  pressure  of  consciences  were  commonly 

30  interessed  therein  themselves  for  their  own  ends. 


REVENGE  is  a  kind  or  wild  justice,)which  the  more 
man's  nature  runs  to,  theTHUlia  uugmi  law  to  weed  it 
out :  for  as  for  the  first  wrong,  it  doth  but  offend  the 


28  ESSAY  IV 

law,  but  the  revenge  of  that  wrong  putteth  the  law 
out  of  office.  Certainly,  in  taking  revenge,  a  man  is 
but  even  with  hia  gpenry  ;  but  in  passing  it  over,  he 
is  superior ;  for  it  is  a  prince's  part  to  pardon :  and 
Salomon,  I  am  sure,  saith,  It  is  the  glory  of  a  man  to  5 
pass  by  an  offence.  That  which  is  past  is  gone  and 
irrevocable,  and  wise  men  have  enough  to  do  with 
things  present  and  to  come  ;  therefore  they  do  but 
trifle  with  themselves  that  labour  in  past  matters. 
There  is  no  man  doth  a  wrong  for  the  wrong's  sake,  10 
but  thereby  to  purchase  himself  profit,  or  pleasure,  or 
honour,  or  the  like ;  therefore  why  should  I  be  angry 
wvEITTlnan  for  loving  himself  better  than  me  ?  And 
if  any  man  should  do  wrong,  merely  out  of  ill-nature, 
why,  yet  it  is  but  like  the  thorn  or  briar,  which  prick  15 
and  scratch  because  they  can  do  no  other.  The  most 
tolerable  sort  of  revenge  is  for  those  wrongs  which 
there  is  no  law  to  remedy  ;  but  then,  let  a  man  take 
heed  the  revenge  be  such  as  there  is  no  law  to  punish, 
else  a  man's  enemy  is  still  beforehand,  and  it  is  two  20 
for  one.  Some,  when  they  take  revenge,  are  desirous 
the  party  should  know  whence  it  cometh  :  this  is  the 
more  generous  :  for  the  delight  seemeth  to  be  not  so 
much  in  doing  the  hurt  as  in  making  the  party  repent : 
but  base  and  crafty  cowards  are  like  the  arrow  that  2f> 
flieth  in  the  dark.  Cosmus,  Duke  of  Florence,  had  a 
desperate  saying  against  perfidious  or  neglecting  friends, 
as  if  those  wrongs  were  unpardonable.  Yojifjiallreatl, 
saith  he,  that  we  are  commanded  Jo  foryi  re  our  enemies; 
but  you  never~rea$'1hat  we^mTcpnnm_nffS/t-  t^o~JotyTve~ol(r  30 
ftic it ils~.  Jtmt  yet  the  spirit  of  J  ob  was  in  a  better  tune  f 
"$fatlt~tve,  saith  he,  take  good  at  God's  hands,  and  not  be 
content  to  take  evil  also  ?  and  so  of  friends  in  a  propor 
tion.  This  is  certain,  that  a  man  that  studieth  revenge 
keeps  his  own  wounds  green,  which  otherwise  would  35 
heal  and  do  well.  Public  revenges  are  for  the  most; 
part  fortunate  ;  as  that  for  the  death  of  Caesar ;  for  the 
death  of  Pertinax  ;  for  the  death  of  Henry  the  Third  of 


OF   REVENGE  29 

France ;  and  many  more.  But  in  private  revenges  it 
is  not  so  ;  nay,  rather  vindicative  persons  live  the  life 
of  witches,  who,  as  they  are  mischievous,  so  end  they 
infortunate. 


OF  ADVERSITY 

5  IT  was  a  high  speech  of  Seneca  (after  the  manner  of 
the  Stoics)  that  Tlie  good  things  tvhich  belong  to  prosperity 
are  to  be  ivished,  but  the  good  things  that  belong  to  adversity 
are  to  be  admired.  Bona  rerum  secundarum  opldT)itta~; 
adversarum  mirabilia.  Certainly,  if  miracles  be  the 

10  command  over  nature,  they_apj>ear  most  In "aHversityr" 
It  is  yet  a  higher  speech  of  his  than  the  other,  (much 
too  high  for  a  heathen)  It  is  true  greatness  to  have  in  one 
the  frailty  of  a  man,  and  the  security  of  a  God.     Vere 
magnum  haberc  fragilitatem  hominis,   securitatcm  Dei. 

15  This  would  have  done  better  in  poesy,  where  trans 
cendencies  are  more  allowed  ;  and  the  poets,  indeed, 
have  been  busy  with  it ;  for  it  is,  in  effect,  the  thing 
which  is  figured  in  that  strange  fiction  of  the  ancient 
poets,  which  seemeth  not  to  be  without  mystery  ;  nay, 

20  and  to  have  some  approach  to  the  state  of  a  Christian, 
that  Hercules,  tvhen  he  went  to  unbind  Prometheus,  by 
whom  human  nature  is  represented,  sailed  the  length  of 
the  great  ocean  in  an  earthen  pot  or  pitcher,  lively 
describing  Christian  resolution,  that  saileth  in  the 

25  frail  bark  of  the  flesh  through  the  waves  of  the  world. 
But  to  speak  in  a  mean.  The  virtue  of  prosperity  is 
temperance  ;  the  virtue  of  adversity  is  fortitude  ;  which 
in  morals  is  the  more  heroical  virtue.  Prosperity  is 
the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testament ;  adversity  is  the 

30  blessing  of  the  New,  which  carrieth  the  greater  bene 
diction,  and  the  clearer  revelation  of  God's  favour. 
Yet  even  in  the  Old  Testament,  if  you  listen  to  David's 
harp,  you  shall  hear  as  many  hearse-like  airs  as  carols ; 
and  the  pencil  of  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  laboured  more 


80  ESSAY  VI 

in  describing  the  afflictions  of  Job  than  the  felicities 
of  Salomon.  Prosperity  is  not  without  many-fears 
and  distastes ;  and  adversity  is  not  withoutfcomforts 
and  hopes.  We  see  in  needleworks  and  embroideries, 
it  is  more  pleasing  to  have  a  lively  work  upon  a  sad  5 
and  solemn  ground,  than  to  have  a  dark  and  melancholy 
work  upon  a  lightsome  ground  :  judge,  therefore,  of 
the  pleasure  of  the  heart  by  the  pleasure  of  the  eye. 
Certainly  virtue  is  like  precious  odours,  most  fragrant 
when  they  are  incensed,  or  crushed :  for  pr 
doth  best  discover  vice,  but  adversity  doth  best  dis- 


VI 

OF  SIMULATION  AND   DISSIMULATION 

DISSIMULATION   is   but   a   faint   kind   of  policy,  or 
wisdom  ;  for  it  asketh  a  strong  wit  and  a  strong  heart 
to  know  when  to  tell  truth,  and  to  do  it:  therefore  it  15 
is   the  weaker   sort   of    politics    that    are   the   great 
dissemblers. 

Tacitus  saith,  Liviu  sorted  well  with  the  arts  of  ha- 
husband,  and  dissimulation  of  her  son  ;  attributing  arts 
or  policy  to  Augustus,  and  dissimulation  to  Tiberius  :  20 
and  again,  when  Mucianus  encourageth  Vespasian  to 
take  arms  against  Vitellius,  he  saith,  We  rise  not 
against  the  piercing  judgement  of  Augustus,  nor  the  extreme 
caution  or  closeness  of  Tiberius.  These  properties  of 
arts  or  policy,  and  dissimulation  or  closeness,  are  in-  25 
deed  habits  and  faculties  several  and  to  be  distinguished; 
for  if  a  man  have  that  penetration  of  judgement  as  he 
can  discern  what  things  are  to  be  laid  open,  and  what 
to  be  secretted,  and  what  to  be  showed  at  half-lights, 
and  to  whom  and  when  (which  indeed  are  arts  of  80 
state,  and  arts  of  life,  as  Tacitus  well  calleth  them),  to 
him  a  habit  of  dissimulation  is  a  hinderance  and  a  poor 
ness.  But  if  a  man  cannot  obtain  to  that  judgement, 
then  it  is  left  to  him  generally  to  be  close,  and  a  dis- 


OF  SIMULATION  AND  DISSIMULATION    31 

sembler :  for  where  a  man  cannot  choose  or  vary  in 
particulars,  there  it  is  good  to  take  the  safest  and 
wariest  way  in  general,  like  the  going  softly  by  one 
that  cannot  well  see.  Certainly,  the  ablest  men  that 

5  ever  were,  have  had  all  an  openness  and  frankness  of 
dealing,  and  a  name  of  certainty  and  veracity:  but 
then  they  were  like  horses  well  managed,  for  they 
could  tell  passing  well  when  to  stop  or  turn  ;  and  at 
such  times  when  they  thought  the  case  indeed  required 

10  dissimulation,  if  then  they  used  it  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  former  opinion,  spread  abroad,  of  their  good  faith 
and  clearness  of  dealing,  made  them  almost  invisible. 

There  be  three  degrees  of  this  hiding  and  veiling  of 
a  man's  self:  the  first,  closeness,  reservation,  and 

15  secrecy ;  when  a  man  leaveth  himself  without  obser 
vation,  or  without  hold  to  be  taken,  what  he  is :  the 
second,  dissimulation  in  the  negative  ;  when  a  man 
lets  fall  signs  and  arguments  that  he  is  not  that  he  is  : 
and  the  third,  simulation  in  the  affirmative ;  when 

20  a  man  industriously  and  expressly  feigns  and  pretends 
to  be  that  he  is  not. 

For  the  first  of  these,  secrecy,  it  is  indeed  the  virtue 
of  a  confessor ;  and  assuredly  the  secret  man  heareth 
many  confessions ;  for  who  will  open  himself  to  a  blab 

25  or  a  babbler?  But  if  a  man  be  thought  secret,  it 
inviteth  discovery ;  as  the  more  close  air  sucketh  in 
the  more  open  ;  and,  as  in  confession  the  revealing  is 
not  for  worldly  use,  but  for  the  ease  of  a  man's  heart, 
so  secret  men  come  to  the  knowledge  of  many  things 

30  in  that  kind  ;  while  men  rather  discharge  their  minds 
than  impart  their  minds.  In  few  words,  mysteries 
are  due  to  secrecy.  Besides  (to  say  truth),  nakedness 
is  uncomely,  as  well  in  mind  as  body ;  and  it  addeth 
no  small  reverence  to  men's  manners  and  actions  if 

35  they  be  not  altogether  open.  As  for  talkers  and  futile 
persons,  they  are  commonly  vain  and  credulous  withal : 
for  he  that  talketh  what  he  knoweth,  will  also  talk 
what  he  knoweth  not.  Therefore  set  it  down,  that 


82  ESSAY  VI 

a  habit  of  secrecy  is  both  politic  and  moral :  and  in 
this  part  it  is  good  that  a  man's  face  give  his  tongue 
leave  to  speak  ;  for  the  discovery  of  a  man's  self  by  the 
tracts  of  his  countenance  is  a  great  weakness  and 
betraying,  by  how  much  it  is  many  times  more  marked  5 
and  believed  than  a  man's  words. 

For  the  second,  which  is  dissimulation.    It  followeth 
many  times  upon  secrecy  by  a  necessity ;  so  that  he 
that  will  be  secret  must  be  a  dissembler  in  som§ 
degree ;    for  men  are  too  cunning  to  suffer  a  man  to  10 
keep  an  indifferent  carriage  between  both,  and  to  be 
secret,  without  swaying  the  balance  on  either  side. 
They  will  so  beset  a  man  with  questions,  and  draw 
him   on,  and   pick  it  out  of  him,  that  without  an 
absurd  silence,  he  must  show  an  inclination  one  way  ;  15 
or  if  he  do  not,  they  will  gather  as  much  by   his 
silence  as  by  his  speech.     As  for  equivocations,  or"' 
oraculous  speeches,  they  cannot  hold  out  long :  so  that 
no  man  can  be  secret,  except  he  give  himself  a  little 
scope  of  dissimulation,  which  is,  as  it  were,  but  the  20 
skirts  or  train  of  secrecy. 

But  for  the  third  degree,  which  is  simulation  and 
false  profession,  that  I  hold  more  culpable,  and  less 
politic,  except  it  be  in  great  and  rare  matters:  and, 
therefore,  a  general  custom  of  simulation  (which  is  25 
this  last  degree)  is  a  vice  rising  either  of  a  natural 
falseness  or  fearfulness,  or  of  a  mind  that  hath  some 
main  faults ;  which  because  a  man  must  needs  dis 
guise,  it  maketh  him  practise  simulation  in  other 
things,  lest  his  hand  should  be  out  of  ure.  30 

The  great  advantages  of  simulation  and  dissimulation 
are  three :  first,  to  lay  asleep  opposition,  and  to  sur 
prise  ;  for  where  a  man's  intentions  are  published,  it  is 
an  alarum  to  call  up  all  that  are  against  them.  The 
second  is,  to  reserve  to  a  man's  self  a  fair  retreat ;  for  35 
if  a  man  engage  himself  by  a  manifest  declaration,  he 
must  go  through,  or  take  a  fall.  The  third  is,  the 
better  to  discover  the  mind  of  another;  for  to  him 


OF  SIMULATION  AND  DISSIMULATION    33 

that  opens  himself  men  will  hardly  show  themselves 
adverse ;  but  will  (fair)  let  him  go  on,  and  turn  their 
freedom  of  speech  to  freedom  of  thought ;  and  there 
fore  it  is  a  good  shrewd  proverb  of  the  Spaniard,  Tell 

5  a  lie  and  find  a  troth ;  as  if  there  were  no  way  of  dis 
covery  but  by  simulation.  There  be  also  three 
disadvantages  to  set  it  even.  The  first,  that  simulation 
and  dissimulation  commonly  carry  with  them  a  show 
of  fearfulness,  which  in  any  business  doth  spoil  the 

10  feathers  of  round  flying  up  to  the  mark.  The  second, 
that  it  puzzleth  and  perplexeth  the  conceits  of  many, 
that  perhaps  would  otherwise  co-operate  with  him,  and 
makes  a  man  walk  almost  alone  to  his  own  ends.  The 
third  and  greatest  is,  that  it  depriveth  a  man  of  one  of 

15  the  most  principal  instruments  for  action,  which  is 
trust  and  belief.  The  best  composition  and  tempera 
ture  is,  to  have  openness  in  fame  and  opinion ; 
secrecy  in  habit ;  dissimulation  in  seasonable  use  ;  and 
a  power  to  feign,  if  there  be  no  remedy. 

VII 
OF  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN 

20  THE  joys  of  parents  are  secret,  and  so  are  their  griefs 
and  fears ;  they  cannot  utter  the  one,  nor  they  will 
not  utter  the  other.  Children  sweeten  labours,  but 
they  make  misfortunes  more  bitter  ;  they  increase  the 
cares  of  life,  but  they  mitigate  the  remembrance  of 

25  death.     The  perpetuity  by  generation  is  common  to 
beasts ;  but  memory,  merit,  and  noble  works  are  pro 
per  to  men :  and  surely  a  man  shall  see  the  noblest  I 
works  and  foundations  have  proceeded  from  childless  I 
men,  which  have  sought  to  express  the  images  of  their—' 

30  minds  where  those  of  their  bodies  have  failed  ;  so  the 
care  of  posterity  is  most  in  them  that  have  no  posterity. 
They  that  are  the  first  raisers  of  their  houses  are  most 


34  ESSAY  VII 

indulgent  towards  their  children,  beholding  them  as 
the  continuance,  not  only  of  their  kind  but  of  their 
work,  and  so  both  children  and  creatures. 

The  difference  in  affection  of  parents  towards  their 
several  children  is  many  times  unequal,  and  sometimes  5 
unworthy,  especially  in  the  mother ;  as  Salomon  saith, 
A  wise  son  rejoiceth  the  father,  but  an  ungracious  son 
shames  the  mother.     A  man  shall  see,  where  there  is 
a  house  full  of  children,  one  or  two  of  the  eldest  re 
spected,  and  the  youngest  made  wantons ;  but  in  the  lo 
midst  some  that  are  as  it  were  forgotten,  who  many 
times  nevertheless   prove  the  best.      The  illiberality 
of  parents  in  allowance  towards  their  children  is  an 
harmful  error,  makes  them  base,  acquaints  them  with 
shifts,   makes   them    sort   with   mean   company,   and  15 
makes  them  surfeit  more  when  they  come  to  plenty : 
and  therefore  the  j3roof  is  best  when  men  keep  their 
authority  towards  thgg^hildren,  but  not  their  purse; 
Menhave  a  foolish  manner  (both  parents  and  sdl66b 
masters  and  servants),  in  creating  and  breeding  an  20 
emulation  between  brothers  during  childhood,  which 
many  times  sorteth  to  discord  when  they  are  men,  and 
disturbeth  families.     The  Italians  make  little  differ 
ence  between  children  and  nephews  or  near  kinsfolk  ; 
but  so  they  be  of  the  lump  they  care  not,  though  they  '25 
pass  not  through  their  own  body ;  and,  to  say  truth, 
in  nature  it  is  much  a  like  matter ;  insomuch  that  we 
see  a  nephew  sometimes  resembleth  an  uncle  or  a  kins 
man  more  than  his  own  parent,  as  the  blood  happens. 
Let  parents  choose  betimes  the  vocations  and  courses  30 
they  mean  their  children  should  take,  for  then  they  are 
most  flexible ;  and  let  them  not  too  much  apply  them 
selves  to  the  disposition  of  their  children,  as  thinking 
they  will  take  best  to  that  which  they  have  most  mind 
to.     It  is  true  that,  if  the  affection  or  aptness  of  the  35 
children  be  extraordinary,  then  it  is  good  not  to  cross 
it ;   but  generally  the  precept  is  good,  Optimum  clige, 
suave  c(  facile  ittudfaciet  consuetudo.    Younger  brothers 


OP  PAKENTS  AND  CHILDREN  35 

are  commonly  fortunate,  but  seldom  or  never  where 
the  elder  are  disinherited. 


VIII 
OF  MAKRIAGE  AND  SINGLE  LIFE 

HE  that  hath  wifojind  children  frath  given  hostages 
to  fortune ;  for  theY"^~iSIBgdiipD9njj^to  great  enter^, 
5  prises,  either  of  virtue  or  mischief.    Certainly  the  bes 

•^r^frq-    onH    fif   pynofQcf    nr.avi'1    fnvftTo.     pi^K1i'»      haV6     prO 

ceeded  from  the  unmarried  o^childles^men,  which 
both  in  affection  and  means  nave  married  and  en 
dowed  the  public.  Yet  it  were  great  reason  that  those 

10  that  have  children  should  have  greatest  care  of  future 
times,  unto  which  they  know  they  must  transmit 
their  dearest  pledges.  Some  there  are  who,  though 
they  lead  a  single  life,  yet  their  thoughts  do  end  with 
themselves,  and  account  future  times  impertinences. 

15  Nay,  there  are  some  other  that  account  wife  and  chil 
dren  but  as  bills  of  charges.  Nay  more,  there  are 
some  foolish  rich  covetous  men  that  take  a  pride  in 
having  no  children,  because  they  may  be  thought  so 
much  the  richer ;  for,  perhaps  they  have  heard  some 

20  talk,  Such  an  one  is  a  great  rich  man,  and  another 
except  to  it,  Yea,  but  he  hath  a  great  charge  of  children  ; 
as  if  it  were  an  abatement  to  his  riches.  But  the  most 
ordinary  cause  of  a  single  life  is  liberty,  especially 
in  certain  self-pleasing  and  huniQrous  minds,  which 

25  are  so  sensible  of  every  restraint  as  they  will  go  near 
to  think  their  girdles  and  garters  to  be  bonds  and 
shackles.  Unmarried  men  are  best  friends,  b^st 
masters,  best  servants  ;  but  not  al\vays~b~es't  subjects, 
for  they  are  light  to  run  away,  and  almost  all  fugitives 

30  are  of  that  condition.     A  single  life  doth  well  with 

churchmen,  for  charity  will  hardly  water  the  ground 

where  it  must  first  fill  a  pool.     It  is  indifferent  for 

judges  and  magistrates  ;  for  if  they  be  facile  and  cor- 

o2 


86  ESSAY  IX 

rupt,  you  shall  have  a  servant  five  times  worse  than  a 
wife.  For  soldiers,  I  find  the  generals  commonly  in 
their  hortatives  put  men  in  mind  of  their  wives  and 
children ;  and  I  think  the  despising  of  marriage  amongst 
the  Turks  maketh  the  vulgar  soldier  more  base.  Cer-  5 
tainly,  wife  and  children  are  a  kind  of  discipline  of 
humanity ;  and  single  men,  though  they  be  many 
times  more  charitable  because  their  means  are  less 
exhaust,  yet,  on  the  other  side,  they  are  more  cruel 
and  hardhearted  (good  to  make  severe  inquisitorsjj_10 
because  their  tenderness  is  -not"  so  oft  called  upon. 
Grave  natures,  led  by  custom,  and  therefore  constant, 
are  commonly  loving  husbands  ;  as  was  said  of  Ulysses, 
Vctulam  suam  praetulit  immortalitati.  Chaste  women 
are  often  proud  and  fro  ward,  as  presuming  upon  the  15 
merit  of  their  chastity.  It  is  one  of  the  best  bonds 
both  of  chastity  and  obedience  in  the  wife,  if  she 
think  her  husband  wise,  which  she  will  never  do  if 
she  find  him  jealous.  Wives  are  young  men's  mis 
tresses,  companions  for  middle  age,  and  old  men's  20 
nurses ;  so  as  a  man  may  have  a  quarrel  to  marry 
when  he  will.  But  yet  he  was  reputed  one  of  the  wise 
men,  that  made  answer  to  the  question  when  a  man 
should  marry,  A  young  man  not  yet,  an  elder  man  not 
at  all.  It  is  often  seen  that  bad  husbands  have  very  25 
good  wives ;  whether  it  be  that  it  raiseth  the  price  of 
their  husbands'  kindness  when  it  comes,  or  that  the 
wives  take  a  pride  in  their  patience ;  but  this  never 
fails  if  the  bad  husbands  were  of  their  own  choosing, 
against  their  friends'  consent,  for  then  they  will  be  30 
sure  to  make  good  their  own  folly. 

IX 
OF  ENVY 

THEKE  be  none  of  the  affections  which  have  been 
noted  to  fascinate  or  bewitch  but  love  and  envy.  They 
both  have  vehement  wishes ;  they  frame  themselves 

•« 


OF   ENVY  87 

readily  into  imaginations  and  suggestions  ;  and  they 
come  easily  into  the  eye,  especially  upon  the  presence 
of  the  objects ;  which  are  the  points  that  conduce  to 
fascination,  if  any  such  thing  there  be.  We  see,  like- 
5  wise,  the  Scripture  calleth  envy  an  evil  eye  ;  and  the 
astrologers  call  the  evil  influences  of  the  stars  evil 
aspects ;  so  that  still  there  seemeth  to  be  acknowledged, 
in  the  act  of  envy,  an  ejaculation  or  irradiation  of  the 
eye.  Nay,  some  have  been  so  curious  as  to  note  that 

10  the  times  when  the  stroke  or  percussion  of  an  envious 
eye  doth  most  hurt  ai'e,  when  the  party  envied  is 
beheld  in  glory  or  triumph  ;  for  that  sets  an  edge  upon 
envy:  and  besides,  at  such  times,  the  spirits  of  the 
person  envied  do  come  forth  most  into  the  outward 

15  parts,  and  so  meet  the  blow. 

But  leaving  these  curiosities  (though  not  unworthy 
to  be  thought  on  in  fit  place),  we  will  handle  what 
persons  are  apt  to  envy  others  ;  what  persons  are  most 
subject  to  be  envied  themselves ;  and  what  is  the 

•20  difference  between  public  and  private  envy. 

A  man  that  hath  no  virtue  in  himself  ever  envieth 
virtue  in  others ;  for  men's  minds  will  either  feed 
upon  their  own  good,  or  upon  others'  evil ;  and  who 
wanteth  the  one  will  prey  upon  the  other ;  and  whoso 

•25  is  out  of  hope  to  attain  to  another's  virtue  will  seek 

to  come  at  even  hand  by  depressing  another's  fortune. 

A  man  that  is  busy  and  inquisitive  is  commonly 

envious ;   for  to  know  much  of  other  men's  matters 

cannot  be  because  all  that  ado  may  concern  his  own 

30  estate ;  therefore  it  must  needs  be  that  he  taketh  a 
kind  of  play-pleasure  in  looking  upon  the  fortunes  of 
others:  neither  can  he  that  mindeth  but  his  own 
business  find  much  matter  for  envy ;  for  envy  is  a 
gadding  passion,  and  walketh  the  streets,  and  doth 

35  not  keep  home :  Non  est  curiosits,  qum  idem  sit  male- 
I'olus. 

Men  of  noble  birth  are  noted  to  be  envious  towards 
new  men  when  they  rise ;  for  the  distance  is  altered  ; 


38  ESSAY  IX 

and  it  is  like  a  deceit  of  the  eye,  that  when  others  come 
on  they  think  themselves  go  back. 

Deformed  persons  and  eunuchs  and  old  men  and 
bastards  are  envious    For  he  that  cannot  possibly  mend 
his  own  case  will  do  what  he  can  to  impair  another's ;  5 
except   these   defects   light   upon   a   very  brave   and 
heroical  nature,  which  thinketh  to  make  his  natural 
wants  part  of  his  honour ;  in  that  it  should  be  said, 
that  a  eunuch,  or  a  lame  man,  did  such  great  matters, 
affecting  the  honour  of  a  miracle :  as  it  was  in  Narses  10 
the  eunuch,  and  Agesilaus  and  Tamerlane,  that  were 
lame  men. 

The  same  is  the  case  of  men  that  rise  after  calamities 
and  misfortunes  ;  for  they  are  as  men  fallen  out  with 
the  times,  and  think  other  men's  harms  a  redemption  15 
of  their  own  sufferings. 

They  that  desire  to  excel  in  too  many  matters,  out 
of  levity  and  vain- glory,  are  ever  envious,  for  they 
cannot  want  work :  it  being  impossible  but  many,  in 
some  one  of  those  things,  should  surpass  them  ;  which  20 
was  the  character  of  Adrian  the  emperor,  that  mortally 
envied  poets  and  painters  and  artificers  in  works 
wherein  he  had  a  vein  to  excel. 

Lastly,  near  kinsfolk,  and  fellows  in  office,  and  those 
that  have  been  bred  together,  are  more  apt  to  envy  25 
their  equals  when  they  are  raised  ;  for  it  doth  upbraid 
unto  them  their  own  fortunes,  and  pointeth  at  them, 
and  cometh  oftener  into  their  remembrance,  and  in- 
curreth  likewise  more  into  the  note  of  others;  and 
envy  ever  redoubleth  from  speech  and  fame.  Cain's  30 
envy  was  the  more  vile  and  malignant  towards  his 
brother  Abel,  because  when  his  sacrifice  was  better 
accepted  there  was  no  body  to  look  on.  Thus  much 
for  those  that  are  apt  to  envy. 

Concerning  those  that  are  more  or  less  subject  to  35 
envy.    First,  persons  of  eminent  virtue  when  they  are 
advanced  are  less  envied.     For  their  fortune  seemeth 
but  due  unto  them  ;  and  no  man  envieth  the  payment 


OF  ENVY  :50 

of  a  debt,  but  rewards  and  liberality  rather.  Again, 
envy  is  ever  joined  with  the  comparing  of  a  man's 
self ;  and  where  there  is  no  comparison,  no  envy  ;  and 
therefore  kings  are  not  envied  but  by  kings.  Never- 

5  theless,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  unworthy  persons  are 
most  envied  at  their  first  coming  in,  and  afterwards 
overcome  it  better ;  whereas,  contrariwise,  persons  of 
worth  and  merit  are  most  envied  when  their  fortune 
continueth  long  ;  for  by  that  time,  though  their  virtue 

10  be  the  same,  yet  it  hath  not  the  same  lustre ;  for  fresh 
men  grow  up  that  darken  it. 

Persons  of  noble  blood  are  less  envied  in  their  rising ; 
for  it  seemeth  but  right  done  to  their  birth  :  besides, 
there  seemeth  not  much  added  to  their  fortune  ;  and 

15  envy  is  as  the  sunbeams,  that  beat  hotter  upon  a  bank 
or  steep  rising  ground  than  upon  a  flat ;  and,  for  the 
same  reason,  those  that  are  advanced  by  degrees  are 
less  envied  than  those  that  are  advanced  suddenly 
and  per  saltum. 

20  Those  that  have  joined  with  their  honour  great 
travels,  cares,  or  perils,  are  less  subject  to  envy ;  for 
men  think  that  they  earn  their  honours  hardly,  and 
pity  them  sometimes  ;  and  pity  ever  healeth  envy. 
Wherefore  you  shall  observe,  that  the  more  deep  and 

25  sober  sort  of  politic  persons,  in  their  greatness,  are 
ever  bemoaning  themselves  what  a  life  they  lead, 
chanting  a  quanta  patimur  ;  not  that  they  feel  it  so,  but 
only  to  abate  the  edge  of  envy.  But  this  is  to  be 
understood  of  business  that  is  laid  upon  men,  and 

30  not  such  as  they  call  unto  themselves ;  for  nothing 
increaseth  envy  more  than  an  unnecessary  and  am 
bitious  engrossing  of  business ;  and  nothing  doth 
extinguish  envy  more  than  for  a  great  person  to  pre 
serve  all  other  inferior  officers  in  their  full  rights  and 

35  pre-eminences  of  their  places ;  for  by  that  means  there 
be  so  many  screens  between  him  and  envy. 

Above  all,  those  are  most  subject  to  envy  which 
carry  the  greatness  of  their  fortunes  in  an  insolent 


40  ESSAY  IX 

and  proud  manner :  being  never  well  but  while  they 
are  showing  how  great  they  are,  either  by  outward 
pomp,  or  by  triumphing  over  all  opposition  or  com 
petition  ;  whereas  wise  men  will  rather  do  sacrifice  to 
envy,  in  suffering  themselves,  sometimes  of  purpose,  5 
to  be  crossed  and  overborne  in  things  that  do  not 
much  concern  them.  Notwithstanding  so  much  is 
true,  that  the  carriage  of  greatness  in  a  plain  and  open 
manner  (so  it  be  without  arrogancy  and  vain-glory) 
doth  draw  less  envy  than  if  it  be  in  a  more  crafty  and  10 
cunning  fashion ;  for  in  that  course  a  man  doth  but 
disavow  fortune,  and  seemeth  to  be  conscious  of  his 
own  want  in  worth,  and  doth  but  teach  others  to 
envy  him. 

Lastly,  to  conclude  this   part,   as  we  said  in  the  15 
beginning  that  the  act  of  envy  had  somewhat  in  it  of 
witchcraft,  so  there  is  no  other  cure  of  envy  but  the 
cure  of  witchcraft ;  and  that  is,  to  remove  the  lot  (as 
they  call  it)  and  to  lay  it  upon  another ;  for  which 
purpose  the  wiser  sort  of  great  persons  bring  in  ever  20 
upon  the  stage  somebody  upon  whom  to  derive  the 
envy  that  would  come  upon  themselves ;  sometimes 
upon  ministers  and  servants,  sometimes  upon  colleagues 
and  associates,  and  the  like ;  and,  for  that  turn,  there 
are  never  wanting  some  persons  of  violent  and  under-  25 
taking  natures,  who,  so  they  may  have  power  and 
business,  will  take  it  at  any  cost. 

Now,  to  speak  of  public  envy :  there  is  yet  some 
good  in  public  envy,  whereas  in  private  there  is  none  ; 
for  public  envy  is  as  an  ostracism,  that  eclipseth  men  30 
when  they  grow  too  great ;  and  therefore  it  is  a  bridle 
also  to  great  ones,  to  keep  them  within  bounds. 

This  envy,  being  in  the  Latin  word  invidia,  goeth 
in  the  modern  languages  by  the  name  of  discontent 
ment  ;  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  handling  sedition.  35 
It  is  a  disease  in  a  state  like  to  infection ;  for,  as  infec 
tion  spreadeth  upon  that  which  is  sound  and  tainteth  it, 
so,  when  envy  is  gotten  once  into  a  state,  it  traduceth 


OF  ENVY  41 

even  the  best  actions  thereof  and  turneth  them  into 
an  ill  odour ;  and  therefore  there  is  little  won  by  inter 
mingling  of  plausible  actions  ;  for  that  doth  argue  but 
a  weakness  and  fear  of  envy,  which  hurteth  so  much 
5  the  more,  as  it  is  likewise  usual  in  infections,  which, 
if  you  fear  them,  you  call  them  upon  you. 

This  public  envy  seemeth  to  beat  chiefly  upon 
principal  officers  or  ministers,  rather  than  upon  kings 
and  estates  themselves.  But  this  is  a  sure  rule,  that 

10  if  the  envy  upon  the  minister  be  great  when  the  cause 
of  it  in  him  is  small,  or  if  the  envy  be  general  in 
a  manner  upon  all  the  ministers  of  an  estate,  then  the 
envy  (though  hidden)  is  truly  upon  the  state  itself. 
And  so  much  of  public  envy  or  discontentment,  and 

15  the  difference  thereof  from  private  envy,  which  was 
handled  in  the  first  place. 

We  will  add  this  in  general  touching  the  affection 
of  envy,  that  of  all  other  affections  it  is  the  most 
importune  and  continual ;  for  of  other  affections  there 

20  is  occasion  given  but  now  and  then  ;  and  therefore  it 
was  well  said,  Invidia  festos  dies  non  agit:  for  it  is  ever 
working  upon  some  or  other.  And  it  is  also  noted 
that  love  and  envy  do  make  a  man  pine,  which  other 
affections  do  not,  because  they  are  not  so  continual. 

25  It  is  also  the  vilest  affection,  and  the  most  depraved  ; 
for  which  cause  it  is  the  proper  attribute  of  the  devil, 
who  is  called  The  envious  man,  iliat  soweth  tares  amongst 
the  ivheat  l>;j  night;  as  it  always  cometh  to  pass  that 
envy  worketh  subtilely,  and  in  the  dark,  and  to  the 

30  prejudice  of  good  things,  such  as  is  the  wheat. 

X 

OF  LOVE 

THE  stage  is  more  beholding  to  love  than  the  life 
of  man  ;  for  as  to  the  stage,  love  is  ever  matter  of 
comedies,  and  now  and  then  of  tragedies ;  but  in  life 


42  ESSAY   X 

it  doth  much  mischief,  sometimes  like  a  Siren,  some 
times  like  a  Fury.  You  may  observe  that  amongst  all 
the  great  and  worthy  persons  (whereof  the  memory 
remaineth,  either  ancient  or  recent),  there  is  not  one 
that  hath  been  transported  to  the  mad  degree  of  love,  5 
which  shows  that  great  spirits  and  great  business  do 
keep  out  this  weak  passion.  You  must  except,  never 
theless,  Marcus  Antonius,  the  half  partner  of  the 
empire  of  Rome,  and  Appius  Claudius,  the  Decemvir 
and  lawgiver ;  whereof  the  former  was  indeed  a  10 
voluptuous  man,  and  inordinate ;  but  the  latter  was 
an  austere  and  wise  man :  and  therefore  it  seems 
(though  rarely)  that  love  can  find  entrance  not  only 
into  an  open  heart,  but  also  into  a  heart  well  fortified, 
if  watch  be  not  well  kept.  It  is  a  poor  saying  of  15 
Epicurus,  Satis  magnum  alter  alteri  tlicatrum  sumus: 
as  if  man,  made  for  the  contemplation  of  heaven  and 
all  noble  objects,  should  do  nothing  but  kneel  before 
a  little  idol,  and  make  himself  subject,  though  not  of 
the  mouth  (as  beasts  are),  yet  of  the  eye,  which  was  20 
given  him  for  higher  purposes.  It  is  a  strange  thing 
to  note  the  excess  of  this  passion,  and  how  it  braves 
the  nature  and  value  of  things,  by  this,  that  the 
speaking  in  a  perpetual  hyperbole  is  comely  in  nothing 
but  in  love.  Neither  is  it  merely  in  the  phrase ;  for  25 
whereas  it  hath  been  well  said  that  the  arch-flatterer, 
with  whom  all  the  petty  flatterers  have  intelligence, 
is  a  man's  self,  certainly  the  lover  is  more  ;  for  there 
was  never  proud  man  thought  so  absurdly  well  of  him 
self  as  the  lover  doth  of  the  person  loved  ;  and  there-  30 
fore  it  was  well  said  that  it  is  impossible  to  love  and  to 
be  wise.  Neither  doth  this  weakness  appear  to  others" 
only,  and  not  to  the  party  loved,  but  to  the  loved  most 
of  all,  except  the  love  be  reciproque  ;  for  it  is  a  true 
rule,  that  love  is  ever  rewarded,  either  with  the  reci^.35 
proque,  or  with  an  inward  and  secret  contempt ;  by 
how  much  the  more  men  ought  to  beware  of  this 
passion,  which  loseth  not  only  other  things  but  itself. 


OF   LOVE  43 

As  for  the  other  losses,  the  poet's  relation  doth  well 
figure  them  :  that  he  that  preferred  Helena,  quitted 
the  gifts  of  Juno  and  Pallas  ;  forjvhosoever  esteemeth 
too  much  of  amorous  affection,  quitteth  both  riches  and 
5  wisdom.  This  passion  hath  his  floods  in  the  very 
times  of  weakness,  which  are  great  prosperity  and 
great  adversity,  though  this  latter  hath  been  less 
observed  ;  both  which  times  kindle  love,  .and  mal^-it 
more  fervent,  and  therefore  show  it  to  be  the  child  of 

10  folly.  They  do  best  who,  if  they  cannot  but  admit 
love,  yet  make  it  keep  quarter,  and  sever  it  wholly 
from  their  serious  affairs  and  actions  of  life ;  for  if  it 
check  once  with  business,  it  troubleth  men's  fortunes, 
and  niaketh  men  that  they  can  no  ways  be  true  to 

15  their  own  ends.     I  know  not  how,  but  martial  men., 
are  given  to  love :  I  think  it  is  but  as  they  are  given 
to  wine,  for  perils  commonly  ask  to  be  paid  in  pleasures. 
There  is   in   man's   nature   a  secret  inclination  and 
motion   towards   love   of  others,  which,  if  it  be  not 

20  spent  upon  some  one  or  a  few,  doth  naturally  spread 
itself  towards  many,  and  maketh  men  become  humane 
and  charitable,  as  it  is  seen  sometime  in  friars.  Nuptial 
lovejmaketh  mankind,  friendly  love  perfecteth  "It,  but 
"wanton  love  corrupteth  and  embaseth  it. 

XI 
OF  GEEAT  PLACE 

25  MEN  in  great  place  are  thrice  servants  :  servants  of 
the  sovereign  or  state,  servants  of  fame,  and~1seTvants 
of  business;  so  as  they  have  no  freedom,  neither  in 
their  persons,  nor  in  their  actions,  nor  in  their  times. 
It  is  a  strange  desire  to  seek  power  and  to  lose  liberty  ; 

30  or  to  seek  power  over  others,  and  to  lose  power  over 
a  man's  self.  The  rising  unto  place  is  laborious,  and 
by  pains  men  come  to  greater  pains  ;  and  it  is  some 
times  base,  and  by  indignities  men  come  to  dignities. 


44  ESSAY   XI 

The  standing  is  slippery,  and  the  regress  is  either 
a  downfall,  or  at  least  an  eclipse,  which  is  a  melancholy 
thing :  Cum  non  sis  qui  fueris,  non  esse  cur  veils  vivere. 
Nay,  retire  men  cannot  when  they  would,  neither  will 
they  when  it  were  reason ;  but  are  impatient  of  5 
privateness  even  in  age  and  sickness,  which  require  the 
shadow ;  like  old  townsmen,  that  will  be  still  sitting 
at  their  street-door,  though  thereby  they  offer  age 
to  scorn.  Certainly,  great  persons  had  need  to 
borrow  other  men's  opinions  to  think  themselves  10 
happy ;  for  if  they  judge  by  their  own  feeling  they 
cannot  find  it :  but  if  they  think  with  themselves 
what  other  men  think  of  them,  and  that  other  men 
would  fain  be  as  they  are,  then  they  are  happy  as  it 
were  by  report,  when,  perhaps,  they  find  the  contrary  if» 
within  ;  foii^they  are  the  first  that  find  their  own 
griefs,  thoughtfiey  De  the  last  that  find  their  own 
faults.  Certainly,  men  in  great  fortunes  are  strangers 
to  themselves,  and  while  they  are  in  the  puzzle  of 
business  they  have  no  time  to  tend  their  health  either  20 
of  body  or  mind.  Illi  mors  gravis  incubat,  qui  notus 
nimis  omnibus,  iynotits  moritur  sibl.  In  place  there  is 
licence  to  do  good  and  evil ;  whereof  the  latter  is 
a  curse :  for  in  evil  the  best  condition  is  not  to  will, 
the  second  not  to  can.  But  power  to  do  good  is  the  -25 
true  and  lawful  end  of  aspiring ;  for  goocTthOUgTiTs 
(though  God  accept  them)  yet  towards  men  are  little 
better  than  good  dreams,  except  they  be  put  in  act ; 
and  that  cannot  be  without  power  and  place,  as  the 
vantage  and  commanding  ground.  Meiit^andgpod  30 
works  is  the  end  of  man's  m_otion  ;  and  conscience  of 
tfre~~siame  is  the  accomplishment  of  man's  rest :  for  if 
a  man  can  be  partaker  of  God's  theatre,  he  shall  like 
wise  be  partaker  of  God's  rest.  FA  converses  Dcus,  ut 
aspiceret  opera  qiiaefeccntntmamissuae,  vklitquod  oninia  35 
essent  bona  nimis  ;  and  then  the  Sabbath. 

In  the  discharge  of  thy  place  set  before  thee  thejbest    _ 
examples ;  for  imitation  is  a  globe  of  precepts~f  and 


OF   GREAT   PLACE  45 

after  a  time  set  before  thee  thine  own  example  ;  and 
examine  thyself  strictly  whether  thou  didst  not  best 
at  first.  Neglect  not  also  the  examples  of  those  that 
have  carried  themselves  ill  in  the  same  place ;  not  to 

5  set  off  thyself  by  taxing  their  memory,  but  to  direct 
thyself  what  to  avoid.  Reform,  therefore.  Avithout 
bravery  or  scandal  of  former  times  and  persons ;  but 
yet  set  it  down  to  thyself,  us  well  to  create  good  pre 
cedents  as  to  follow  them.  Reduce  tilings  to  the  first 

10  institution,  and  observe  wherein  and  how  they  have 
rlrp-rnmtrfi  •  hut  yfit  ftfJfi  ^iirH  of  both  Jimes ;  of 
the  ancient  time  what  Ja— best,  and  of  the  latter  time 
what  is  fittest.  Seek  to  make  thy  course  regular,  that 
men  may  know  beforehand  what  they  may  expect ; 

15  but  be  not  too  positive  and  peremptory  ;  and  express 
thyself  well  when  thou  digressest  from  thy  rule. 
Preserve  the  right  of  thy  place,  but  stirjiot  questions 
of  jurisdiction  ;  and  rather  assume  thy  right  in  silence 
and  (]g~/(iLdo,  than  voice  it  with  claims  and  challenges. 

•20  Preserve  likewise  the  rights  of  inferior  places  ;  and 
think  it  more  honour  to  direct  in  chief  than  to  be  busy 
in  all.  Embrace  and  invite  helps  and  advices  touching 
the  execution  of  thy  place  ;  and  do  not  drive  away  such 
as  bring  thee  information  as  meddlers,  but  accept  of 

25  them  in  good  part. 

The  vices  of  authority  are  chiefly  four:  delays, 
corruption,  roughness,  and  facility.  For  delays,  give 
easy  access  ;  keep  times  appointed  ;  go  through  with 
that  which  is  in  hand,  and  interlace  not  business  but 

30  of  necessity.  For  corruption,  do  not  only  bind  thine 
own  hands  or  thy  servants'  hands  from  taking,  but 
bind  the  hands  of  suitors  also  from  offering ;  for 
integrity  used  doth  the  one ;  but  integrity  professed, 
and  with  a  manifest  detestation  of  bribery,  doth  the 

S5  other  ;  and  avoid  not  only  the  fault,  but  the  suspicion. 
Whosoever  is  found  variable,  and  changeth  manifestly 
without  manifest  cause,  giveth  suspicion  of  corruption  : 
therefore,  always  when  thou  changest  thine  opinion  or 


46  ESSAY   XI 

course,  profess  it  plainly  and  declare  it,  together  with 
the  reasons  that  move  thee  to  change,  and  do  not  think 
tosteal.it.     A  servant  or  a  favourite,  if  he  be  inward, 
anoTTnTTSther  apparent  cause  of  esteem,  is  commonly 
thought  but  a  by-way  to  close  corruption.     For  rough-  5 
ness,   it  is  a  needless  cause   of  discontent:    severity^ 
breed eth  fear,  but    roughness   breedeth    hate.    "Even 
reproofs  from  authority  ought  to  be  grave,  and  not 
taunting.     As  for  facijity^  it  is  worse  than  bribery ; 
for  bribes  come  but~Kow  and  then  ;  but  if  importuniJ^Llo 
or  idle  respects  lead  a  man,  he  shall  never  be  without ; 
as  Salomon  saith,  To  respect  persons  is  not  good  ;  for  such 
a  man  will  transgress  for  a  piece  of  bread. 

It  is  most  true  that  was  anciently  spoken  ;  A  place 
showeth  the  man  ;   and  it  showeth  some  to  the  better  15 
and  some  to  the  worse :  Omnium  consensu  capax  imperii, 
nisi  imperasset,  saith  Tacitus  of  Galba  ;  but  of  Vespasian 
he  saith,  Solus  imperantium   Vespasianus   mutatus   in 
melius ;  though  the  one  was  meant  of  sufficiency,  the 
other  of  manners  and  affection.     It  is  an  assured  sign  20 
of  a  worthy  and  generous  spirit,  whom  honour  amends  j 
for  honour  is  or  should  be  the  place  of  virtue";  and  as 
in   nature  things  move  violently  to  their  place  and 
calmly  in  their  place,  so  virtue, in  ambition  is  violent, 
in  authority  settled  and  calm^    All  "rising  to   greaTas 
place  is~by  a  Winding  stair ;  and  if  there  be  factions,  it 
is  good  to  side  a  man's  self  whilst  he  is  in  the  rising, 
and  to  balance  himself  when  he  is  placed.     Use  the 
memory  of  thy  predecessor  fairly  and  tenderly ;  for  if 
thou  dost  not,  it  is  a  debt  will  sure  be  paid  when  thou  30 
art  gone.     If  thou  have  colleagues,  respect  them  ;  and 
rather  call  them  when  they  look  not  for  it,  than  ex 
clude  them  when  they  have  reason  to  look  to  be  called. 
Be  not  too  sensible  or  too  remembering  of  thy  place 
in  conversation  and  private  answers  to  suitors ;  but  let  35 
it  rather  be  said,  When  he  sits  in  place,  he  is  another 
man. 


47 

XII 
OF  BOLDNESS 

IT  is  a  trivial  grammar-school  text,  but  yet  worthy 
a  wise  man's  consideration :  question  was  asked  of 
Demosthenes,  what  tvas  the  chief  part  of  an  orator?  he 
answered,  Action :  what  next  ? — Action  :  what  next 
5  again? — Action.  He  said  it  that  knew  it  best,  and 
had  by  nature  himself  no  advantage  in  that  he  com 
mended.  A  strange  thing,  that  that  part  of  an  orator 
which  is  but  superficial,  and  rather  the  virtue  of  a 
player,  should  be  placed  so  high  above  those  other 

10  noble  parts  of  invention,  elocution,  and  the  rest ;  nay 
almost  alone,  as  if  it  were  all  in  all.  But  the  reason 
is  plain.  There  is  in  human  nature  generally  more  of 
the  fool  than  of  the  wise  ;  and  therefore  those  faculties 
by  which  the  foolish  part  of  men's  minds  is  taken  are 

15  most  potent.  Wonderful  like  is  the  case  of  boldness 
in  civil  business;  what  first?  boldness;  what  second 
and  third?  boldness:  and  yet  boldness  is  a  child  of 
ignorance  and  baseness,  far  inferior  to  other  parts : 
but,  nevertheless,  it  doth  fascinate  and  bind  hand  and 

20  foot  those  that  are  either  shallow  in  judgement  or  weak 
in  courage,  which  are  the  greatest  part ;  yea,  and 
prevaileth  with  wise  men  at  weak  times.  Therefore 
we  see  it  hath  done  wonders  in  popular  states,  but 
with  senates  and  princes  less ;  and  more  ever  upon 

25  the  first  entrance  of  bold  persons  into  action  than  soon 
after  ;  for  boldness  is  an  ill  keeper  of  promise.  Surely 
as  there  are  mountebanks  for  the  natural  body,  so  are 
there  mountebanks  for  the  politic  body ;  men  that 
undertake  great  cures,  and  perhaps  have  been  lucky 

30  in  two  or  three  experiments,  but  want  the  grounds  of 
science,  and  therefore  cannot  hold  out.  Nay,  you 
shall  see  a  bold  fellow  many  times  do  Mahomet's 
miracle.  Mahomet  made  the  people  believe  that  he 
would  call  a  hill  to  him,  and  from  the  top  of  it  offer 


48  ESSAY   XIII 

up  his  prayers  for  the  observers  of  his  law.  The 
people  assembled:  Mahomet  called  the  hill  to  come 
to  him  again  and  again ;  and  when  the  hill  stood  still, 
he  was  never  a  whit  abashed,  but  said,  If  the  hill  ivill 
not  come  to  Mahomet,  Mahomet  icill  go  to  the  hill.  So  5 
these  men,  when  they  have  promised  great  matters 
and  failed  most  shamefully,  yet  (if  they  have  the 
perfection  of  boldness)  they  will  but  slight  it  over, 
and  make  a  turn,  and  no  more  ado.  Certainly,  to 
men  of  great  judgement,  bold  persons  are  a  sport  to  10 
behold ;  nay,  and  to  the  vulgar  also  boldness  hath 
somewhat  of  the  ridiculous ;  for  if  absurdity  be  the 
subject  of  laughter,  doubt  you  not  but  great  boldness 
is  seldom  without  some  absurdity.  Especially  it  is 
a  sport  to  see  when  a  bold  fellow  is  out  of  countenance,  15 
for  that  puts  his  face  into  a  most  shrunken  and  wooden 
posture,  as  needs  it  must ;  for  in  bashfulness  the  spirits 
do  a  little  go  and  come  ;  but  with  bold  men,  upon  like 
occasion,  they  stand  at  a  stay  ;  like  a  stale  at  chess, 
where  it  is  no  mate,  but  yet  the  game  cannot  stir.  20 
But  this  last  were  fitter  for  a  satire  than  for  a  serious 
observation.  This  is  well  to  be  weighed,  that  boldness 
is  ever  blind  ;  for  it  seeth  not  dangers  and  incon 
veniences  :  therefore  it  is  ill  in  counsel,  good  in  execu 
tion  ;  so  that  the  right  use  of  bold  persons  is,  that  25 
they  never  command  in  chief,  but  be  seconds  and 
under  the  direction  of  others ;  for  in  counsel  it  is  good 
to  see  dangers,  and  in  execution  not  to  see  them  except 
they  be  very  great. 

XIII 
OF   GOODNESS.  AND   GOODNESS  OF  NATURE 

I  TAKE  goodness  in  this  sense,  the  affecting  of  the  30 
weal  of  men,  which  is  that  the  Grecians  call  philan- 
thropia ;   and  the  word  humanity  (as  it  is  used)  is  a 
little  too  light  to  express  it.    Goodness  I  call  the^habit, 
and  goodness  of  nature  the  inclination.    -This,  of  all 


OF  GOODNESS,  AND  GOODNESS  OF  NATURE  49 

virtues  and  dignities  of  the  mind,  is  the  greatest,  being 
the  character  of  the  Deity :  and  without  it  man  is 
a  busy,  mischievous,  wretched  thing,  no  better  than 
a  kind  of  vermin.  Goodness  answers  to  the  theo- 
5  logical  virtue  charity,  and  admits  no  excess  but  error. 
The  desire  of  power  in  excess  caused  the  angels  to  fall ; 
the  desire  of  knowledge  in  excess  caused  man  to  fall ; 
but  in  charity  there  is  no  excess,  neither  can  angel  or 
man  come  in  danger  by  it.  The  inclination  to  good- 

10  ness  is  imprinted  deeply  in  the  nature  of  man  ;  inso 
much  that  if  it  issue  not  towards  men  it  will  take  unto 
other  living  creatures ;  as  it  is  seen  in  the  Turks,  a 
cruel  people,  who  nevertheless  are  kind  to  beasts,  and 
give  alms  to  dogs  and  birds  ;  insomuch  as,  Busbechius 

15  reporteth,  a  Christian  boy  in  Constantinople  had  like 
to  have  been  stoned  for  gagging  in  a  waggishness  a 
long-billed  fowl.  Errors,  indeed,  in  this  virtue  of 
goodness  or  charity  may  be  committed.  The  Italians 
have  an  ungracious  proverb,  Tanto  buon  die  val  nienle : 

20  $o  good,  that  lie  is  good  for  nothing:  and  one  of  the 
doctors  of  Italy,  Nicholas  Macciavel,  had  the  confidence 
to  put  in  writing,  almost  in  plain  terms,  that  the 
Christian  faith  had  given  up  good  men  in  prey  to  those 
that  are  tyrannical  and  unjust;  which  he  spake  because, 

25  indeed,  there  was  never  law  or  sect  or  opinion  did  so 
much  magnify  goodness  as  the  Christian  religion  doth. 
Therefore,  to  avoid  the  scandal  and  the  danger  both, 
it  is  good  to  take  knowledge  of  the  errors  of  an  habit 
so  excellent.  Seek  the  good  of  other  men,  but  be  not 

30  in  bondage  to  their  faces  or  fancies ;  for  that  is  but 
facility  or  softness,  which  taketh  an  honest  mind 
prisoner.  Neither  give  thou  Aesop's  cock  a  gem,  who 
would  be  better  pleased  and  happier  if  he  had  had 
a  barley-corn.  The  example  of  God  teacheth  the  lesson 

35  truly  ;  He  sendeth  his  rain,  and  maketh  his  sun  to  shine 
upon  the  just  and  unjust ;  but  he  doth  not  rain  wealth, 
nor  shine  honour  and  virtues  upon  men  equally. 
Common  benefits  are  to  be  communicate  with  all,  but 


50  ESSAY   XIII 

peculiar  benefits  with  choice.  And  beware  how  in 
making  the  portraiture  tliou  breakest  the  pattern  ;  for 
divinity  maketh  the  love  of  ourselves  the  pattern,  the 
love  of  our  neighbours  but  the  portraiture.  Sell  all 
thou  hast,  and  give  it  to  the  poor,  and  follow  me:  but  sell  5 
not  all  thou  hast  except  thou  come  and  follow  me ; 
that  is,  except  thou  have  a  vocation  wherein  thou 
mayest  do  as  much  good  with  little  means  as  with 
great ;  for  otherwise,  in  feeding  the  streams,  thou  driest 
the  fountain.  Neither  is  there  only  a  habit  of  good-  10 
ness  directed  by  right  reason ;  but  there  is  in  some 
men,  even  in  nature,  a  disposition  towards  it ;  as,  on 
the  other  side,  there  is  a  natural  malignity :  for  there 
be  that  in  their  nature  do  not  affect  the  good  of  others. 
The  lighter  sort  of  malignity  turneth  but  to  a  cross-  15 
ness,  or  frowardness,  or  aptness  to  oppose,  or  difficile- 
ness,  or  the  like  ;  but  the  deeper  sort  to  envy  and 
mere  mischief.  Such  men  in  other  men's  calamities 
are,  as  it  were,  in  season,  and  are  ever  on  the  loading 
part :  not  so  good  as  the  dogs  that  licked  Lazarus'  20 
sores,  but  like  flies  that  are  still  buzzing  upon  anything 
that  is  raw ;  misanthropi,  that  make  it  their  practice 
to  bring  men  to  the  bough,  and  yet  have  nev-er  a  tree 
for  the  purpose  in  their  gardens,  as  Timon  had.  Such 
dispositions  are  the  very  errors  of  human  nature,  and  25 
yet  they  are  the  fittest  timber  to  make  great  politics 
of ;  like  to  knee  timber,  that  is  good  for  ships  that  are 
ordained  to  be  tossed,  but  not  for  building  houses  that 
shall  stand  firm.  The  parts  and  signs  of  goodness 
are  many.  If  a  man  be  gracious  and  courteous  to  80 
strangers,  it  shows  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and 
that  his  heart  is  no  island  cut  off  from  other  lands, 
but  a  continent  that  joins  to  them.  If  he  be  com 
passionate  towards  the  afflictions  of  others,  it  shows 
that  his  heart  is  like  the  noble  tree  that  is  wounded  35 
itself  when  it  gives  the  balm.  If  he  easily  pardons 
and  remits  offences,  it  shows  that  his  mind  is  planted 
above  injuries,  so  that  he  cannot  be  shot.  If  he  be 


OF  GOODNESS,  AND  GOODNESS  OF  NATURE  51 

thankful  for  small  benefits,  it  shows  that  he  weighs 
men's  minds  and  not  their  trash.  But  above  all,  if  he 
have  St.  Paul's  perfection,  that  he  would  wish  to  be 
an  anathema  from  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  his 
5  brethren,  it  shows  much  of  a  divine  nature,  and  a 
kind  of  conformity  with  Christ  himself. 

XIV 
OF  NOBILITY 

WE  will  speak  of  nobility  first  as  a  portion  of  an 

estate;    then   as   a   condition   of   particular    persons. 

CA  monarchy,  where  there  is  no  nobility  at  all,  is  ever 

10  a  pure  and  absolute  tyranny,  as  ttyat  of  the  Turks ; 
for  nobility  attempers  sovereignty/  and  draws  the 
eyes  of  the  people  somewhat  aside  from  the  line  royal. 
But  for  democracies,  they  need  it  not ;  and  they  are 
commonly  more  quiet  and  less  subject  to  sedition  than  ! 

15  where  there  are  stirps  of  nobles ;  for  men's  eyes  are 
upon  the  business,  and  not  upon  the  persons  ;  or  if/ 
upon  the  persons,  it  is  for  the  business'  sake,  as  fittest,  \ 
and  not  for  flags  and  pedigree.     We  see  the  Switzers  \ 
last  well,  notwithstanding  their  diversity  of  religion 

20  and  of  cantons ;    for  utility  is  their   bond,  and   not  V 
respects.     The  United  Provinces  of  the  Low  Countries 
in   their  government   excel ;    for   where   there  is  an 
equality  the  consultations  are  more  indifferent,  and    / 
the  payments  and  tributes  more  cheerful.     A  great  ^ 

25  and  potent  nobility  addeth  majesty  to  a  monarch,  but 
diminisheth  power ;  and  putteth  life  and  spirit  into 
the  people,  but  presseth  their  fortune.  It  is  well  when 
nobles  are  not  too  great  for  sovereignty  nor  for  justice  ; 
and  yet  maintained  in  that  height,  as  the  insolency  of 

30  inferiors  may  be  broken  upon  them  before  it  come 
on  too  fast  upon  the  majesty  of  kings.  A  numerous 
nobility  causeth  poverty  and  inconvenience  in  a  state, 
for  it  is  a  surcharge  of  expense  ;  and  besides,  it  being 
of  necessity  that  many  of  the  nobility  fall  in  time  to 


52  ESSAY   XV 

be  weak  in  fortune,  it  maketh  a  kind  of  disproportion 
between  honour  and  means. 

As  for  nobility  in  particular  persons  ;  it  is  a  reverend 
thing  to  see  an  ancient  castle  or  building  not  in  decay, 
or  to  see  a  fair  timber-tree  sound  and  perfect ;  how  5 
much  more  to  behold  an  ancient  noble  family,  which 
hath  stood  against  the  waves  and  weathers  of  time: 
for  new  nobility  is  but  the  act  of  power,  but  ancient 
nobility  is  the  act  of  time.  Those  that  are  first  raised 
to  nobility  are  commonly  more  virtuous  but  less  10 
innocent  than  their  descendants ;  for  there  is  rarely 
any  rising  but  by  a  commixture  of  good  and  evil  arts  ; 
but  it  is  reason  the  memory  of  their  virt.upa  remain^  to 
their_postejiiff^ajid  their  faults  die  witfr  themselves, 
lability  of  birth  commonly  abateth  industry ;  and  he  15 
that  is  not  industrious  envieth  him  that  is ;  besides, 
noble  persons  cannot  go  much  higher ;  and  he  that 
standeth  at  a  stay  when  others  rise  can  hardly  avoid 
motions  of  envy.  On  the  other  side,  nobility  extin- 
guisheth  the  passive  envy  from  others  towards  them,  20 
because  they  are  in  possession  of  honour.  Certainly, 
kings  that  have  able  men  of  their  nobility  shall  find 
ease  in  employing  them,  and  a  better  slide  into  their 
business ;  for  people  naturally  bend  to  them  as  born 
in  some  sort  to  command.  25 

XV 
OF   SEDITIONS   AND   TEOUBLES 

SHEPHERDS  of  people  had  need  know  the  kalendars 
of  tempests  in  state,  which  are  commonly  greatest 
when  things  grow  to  equality  ;  as  natural  tempests  are 
greatest  about  the  aequinoctia.  And  as  there  are 
certain  hollow  blasts  of  wind  and  secret  swellings  of  30 
seas  before  a  tempest,  so  are  there  in  states : 

Ilk  etiam  caecos  instare  tumultus 
Saepc  monet,  fraitdesque  et  operta  himescere  bella. 


OF   SEDITIONS   AND   TKOUBLES          53 

Libels  and  licentious  discourses  against  the  state,  when 
they  are  frequent  and  open,  and  in  like  sort  false 
news,  often  running  up  and  down,  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  state,  and  hastily  embraced,  are  amongst  the 
5  signs  of  troubles.  Virgil,  giving  the  pedigree  of  Fame, 
saith  she  was  sister  to  the  giants  : 

Ittam  Terra  parens,  ira  irritata  Deorum, 
Extremam  (ut  perhibent)  Coeo  Encdadoqiic  sororem 
Progenuit. 

10  As  if  fames  were  the  relics  of  seditions  past ;  but 
they  are  no  less  indeed  the  preludes  of  seditions  to 
come.  Howsoever  he  noteth  it  right,  that  seditious 
tumults  and  seditious  fames  differ  no  more  but  as 
brother  and  sister,  masculine  and  feminine  ;  especially 

15  if  it  come  to  that,  that  the  best  actions  of  a  state,  and 
the  most  plausible,  and  which  ought  to  give  greatest 
contentment,  are  taken  in  ill  sense  and  traduced :  for 
that  shows  the  envy  great,  as  Tacitus  saith,  Conftata 
magna  invidia,  seu  bene  seu  male  gesta  premtmt.  Neither 

20  doth  it  follow  that  because  these  fames  are  a  sign  of 
troubles,  that  the  suppressing  of  them  with  too  much 
severity  should  be  a  remedy  of  troubles ;  for  the 
despising  of  them  many  times  checks  them  best,  and 
the  going  about  to  stop  them  doth  but  make  a  wonder 

25  long-lived.  Also  that  kind  of  obedience  which  Tacitus 
speaketh  of  is  to  be  held  suspected:  Erant  in  officio, 
sed  tarmn  qiii  mallent  imperantium  mandata  interpretari 
quam  exsequi ;  disputing,  excusing,  cavilling  upon 
mandates  and  directions,  is  a  kind  of  shaking  off  the 

30  yoke  and  assay  of  disobedience  ;  especially  if  in  those 
disputings  they  which  are  for  the  direction  speak 
fearfully  and  tenderly ;  and  those  that  are  against  it 
audaciously. 

Also,  as  Machiavel  noteth  well,  when  princes,  that 

35  ought  to  be  common  parents,  make  themselves  as 
a  party  and  lean  to  a  side,  it  is  as  a  boat  that  is  over 
thrown  by  uneven  weight  on  the  one  side  ;  as  was  well 


54  ESSAY    XV 

seen  in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Third  of  France ;  for 
first,  himself  entered  league  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
Protestants,  and  presently  after  the  same  league  was 
turned  upon  himself.  For  when  the  authority  of 
princes  is  made  but  an  accessary  to  a  cause,  and  that  5 
there  be  other  bands  that  tie  faster  than  the  band 
of  sovereignty,  kings  begin  to  be  put  almost  out  of 
possession. 

Also,  when  discords  and  quarrels  and  factions  are 
carried  openly  and  audaciously,  it  is  a  sign  the  reve- 10 
rence  of  government  is  lost.     For  the  motions  of  the 
greatest  persons  in  a  government  ought  to  be  as  the 
motions  of  the  planets  under  primwm  mobile,  (accord 
ing  to  the  old  opinion),  which  is,  that  every  of  them 
is  carried  swiftly  by  the  highest  motion,  and  softly  in  15 
their  own  motion  ;    and  therefore,   when  great  ones 
in  their  own  particular  motion  move  violently,  and  as 
Tacitus  expresseth  it  well,  libcrius  quam  ut  impcrantium 
mcminisscnt,  it  is  a  sign  the  orbs  are  out  of  frame  :  for 
reverence  is  that  wherewith  princes  are  girt  from  God,  20 
who  threateneth  the  dissolving  thereof ;  Solvam  cingula 
rcgum. 

So  when  any  of  the  four  pillars  of  government  are 
mainly  shaken  or  weakened  (which  are  religion,  justice, 
counsel,  and  treasure),  men  had  need  to  pray  for  fair  -25 
weather.  But  let  us  pass  from  this  part  of  predictions 
(concerning  which,  nevertheless,  more  light  may  be 
taken  from  that  which  followeth),  and  let  us  speak 
first  of  the  materials  of  seditions ;  then  of  the  motives 
of  them  ;  and  thirdly  of  the  remedies.  30 

Concerning  the  materials  of  seditions,  it  is  a  thing 
well  to  be  considered  ;  for  the  surest  way  to  prevent 
seditions  (if  the  times  do  bear  it)  is  to  take  away  the 
matter  of  them  ;  for  if  there  be  fuel  prepared,  it  is 
hard  to  tell  whence  the  spark  shall  come  that  shall  set  35 
it  on  fire.  The  matter  of  seditions  is  of  two  kinds ; 
much  poverty  and  much  diqcopteptqigllt  It  is  certain, 
so  many  overthrown  estates,  so  many  votes  for  troubles. 


OF   SEDITIONS   AND   TEOUBLES          55 

Lucan  noteth  well  the  state  of  Kome  before  the  civil 
war: 

Hinc  usura  vorax,  rapidumque  in  tempore  foenus, 
Hinc  concussa  fides,  et  multis  utlle  helium. 

5  This  same  multis  utile  lellum  is  an  assured  and  in 
fallible  sign  of  a  state  disposed  to  seditions  and  troubles ; 
and  if  this  poverty  and  broken  estate  in  the  better  sort  be 
joined  with  a  want  and  necessity  in  the  mean  people, 
the  danger  is  imminent  and  great :  for  the  rebellions 

10  of  the  belly  are  the  worst.  As  for  discontentments, 
they  are  in  the  politic  body  like  to  humours  in  the 
natural,  which  are  apt  to  gather  a  preternatural  heat 
and  to  inflame  ;  and  let  no  prince  measure  the  danger 
of  them  by  this,  whether  they  be  just  or  unjust ;  for 

15  that  were  to  imagine  people  to  be  too  reasonable,  who 
do  often  spurn  at  their  own  good ;  nor  yet  by  this, 
whether  the  griefs  whereupon  they  rise  be  in  fact  great 
or  small ;  for  they  are  the  most  dangerous  discontent 
ments  where  the  fear  is  greater  than  the  feeling :  Dolendi 

20  modus,  timendi  non  item.  Besides,  in  great  oppressions, 
the  same  things  that  provoke  the  patience  do  withal 
mate  the  courage ;  but  in  fears  it  is  not  so.  Neither 
let  any  prince  or  state  be  secure  concerning  discontent 
ments,  because  they  havelieen  often,  or  have  been  long, 

25  and  yet  no  peril  hath  ensued  :  for  as  it  is  true  that 
every  vapour  or  fume  doth  not  turn  into  a  storm,  so  it 
is  nevertheless  true  that  storms,  though  they  blow  over 
clivers  times,  yet  may  fall  at  last ;  and,  as  the  Spanish 
proverb  noteth  well,  The  cord  breateeth  at  the  last  by  the 

30  weakest  pull. 

The  causes  and  motives  of  seditions  are,  innovation 
in  religion  ;  taxesj  alteration  of  laws  and  customs  ; 
breakin&jbf  privileges ;  general  oppression^  advaiice- 
ment  of  unworthy  persons  ;  strangers ;  dearths ;  dis- 

35  banded  soldiers  ;  factions  grown  desperate  ;  and  what 
soever  in  offending  people  joineth  and  knitteth  them  in 
a  common  cause. 


56  ESSAY   XV 

For  the  remedies,  there  may  be  some  general  pre 
servatives,  whereof  we  will  speak  :  as  for  the  just  cure, 
it  must  answer  to  the  particular  disease  ;  and  so  be  left 
to  counsel  rather  than  rule. 

The  first  remedy  or  prevention  is  to  remove,  by  all  5 
means  possible,  that  material  cause  of  sedition  whereof 
we  spake,  which  is,  want  and  poverty  in  the  estate  :  to 
which  purpose  serveth  the^opening  and  well-balancing 
ojLlrade ;  the  cherishing  of  manufactures  ;  the  banish 
ing  of  idleness  ;  the  repressing  of  waste  and  excess  by  10 
sumptuary  laws  ;  the  improvement  and  husbanding  of 
the  soil ;  the  regulating  of  prices  of  things  vendible ; 
the  moderating  of  taxes  and  tributes ;   and  the  like. 
Generally,  it  is  to  be  foreseen  that  the  population  of 
a  kingdom  (especially  if  it  be   not   mown  down  by  15 
wars)  do  not  exceed  the  stock  of  the  kingdom  which 
should  maintain  them.     Neither  is  the  population  to 
be  reckoned  only  by  number ;  for  a  smaller  number, 
that  spend  more  and  earn  less,  do  wear  out  an  estate 
sooner   than  a  greater  number  that  live  lower  and  20 
gather  more.     Therefore  the  multiplying  of  nobility, 
and  other  degrees  of  quality,  in  an  over-proportion  to  the 
common  people,  doth  speedily  bring  a  state  to  necessity ; 
and  so  doth  likewise  an  overgrown  clergy,  for  they 
bring  nothing  to  the  stock;  and,  in  like  manner,  when  25 
more  are  bred  scholars  than  preferments  can  take  off. 

It  is  likewise  to  be  remembered  that,  forasmuch  as 
the  increase  of  any  estate  must  be  upon  the  foreigner 
(for  whatsoever  is  somewhere  gotten  is  somewhere  lost), 
there  be  but  three  things  which  one  nation  selleth  upon  30 
another ;  the  commodity,  as  nature  yieldeth  it ;  the 
manufacture ;  and  the  vecture,  or  carriage ;  so  that  if 
these  three  wheels  go,  wealth  will  flow  as  in  a  spring 
tide.  And  it  cometh  many  times  to  pass,  that  materiam 
superabtt  opus,  that  the  work  and  carriage  is  more  worth  35 
than  the  material,  and  enricheth  a  state  more :  as  is 
notably  seen  in  the  Low  Countrymen,  who  have  the 
best  mines  above  ground  in  the  world. 


OF  SEDITIONS  AND   TROUBLES          57 

Above  all  things,  good  policy  is  to  be  used  that  the 
treasure  and  moneys  in  a  state  be  not  gathered  into 
few  hands  ;  for,  otherwise,  a  state  may  have  a  great 
stock,  and  yet  starve:  and  money  is  like  muck,  not 
5  good  except  it  be  spread.  This  is  done  chiefly  by 
suppressing,  or  at  least  keeping  a  strait  hand  upon 
the  devouring  trades  of  usury,  engrossing,  great  pastur 
ages,  and  the  like. 

For  removing  discontentments,  or  at  least  the  clanger 

10  of  them,  there  is  in  every  state  (as  we  know)  two 
portions  of  subjects,  the  noblesse  and  the  commonalty:. 
When  one  of  these  is  discontent,  the  danger  is  not 
great ;  for  common  people  are  of  slow  motion,  if  they 
be  not  excited  by  the  greater  sort ;  and  the  greater 

15  sort  are  of  small  strength,  except  the  multitude  be  apt 
and  ready  to  move  of  themselves.  Then  is  the  danger, 
when  the  greater  sort  do  but  wait  for  the  troubling  of 
the  waters  amongst  the  meaner,  that  then  they  may 
declare  themselves.  The  poets  feign  that  the  rest  of 

20  the  gods  would  have  bound  Jupiter ;  which  he  hearing 
of  by  the  counsel  of  Pallas  sent  for  Briareus,  with  his 
hundred  hands,  to  come  in  to  his  aid :  an  emblem,  no 
doubt,  to  show  how  safe  it  is  for  monarchs  to  make 
sure  of  the  good-will  of  common  people. 

25  To  give  moderate  liberty  for  griefs  and  discontent 
ments  to  evaporate  (so  it  be  without  too  great  insolency 
or  bravery)  is  a  safe  way:  for  he  that  turneth  the 
humours  back,  and  maketh  the  wound  bleed  inwards, 
endangereth  malign  ulcers  and  pernicious  imposthuma- 

30  tions. 

The  part  of  Epimetheus  might  well  become  Prome 
theus  in  the  case  of  discontentments,  for  there  is  not 
a  better  provision  against  them.  Epimetheus,  when 
griefs  and  evils  flew  abroad,  at  last  shut  the  lid,  and 

35  kept  Hope  in  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  Certainly,  the 
politic  and  artificial  nourishing  and  entertaining  of 
hopes,  and  carrying  men  from  hopes  to  hopes,  is  one 
of  the  best  antidotes  against  the  poison  of  discontent- 


58  ESSAY   XV 

ments.  And  it  is  a  certain  sign  of  a  wise  government 
and  proceeding,  when  it  can  hold  men's  hearts  by 
hopes  when  it  cannot  by  satisfaction  ;  and  when  it  can 
handle  things  in  such  manner  as  no  evil  shall  appear  so 
peremptory  but  that  it  hath  some  outlet  of  hope ;  which  5 
is  the  less  hard  to  do,  because  both  particular  persons 
and  factions  are  apt  enough  to  flatter  themselves,  or  at 
least  to  brave  that  which  they  believe  not. 

Also  the  foresight  and  prevention,  that  there  be  no 
likely  or  fit  head  whereunto  discontented  persons  may  10 
resort,  and  under  whom  they  may  join,  is  a  known  but 
an  excellent  point  of  caution.     I  understand  a  fit  head 
to  be  one  that  hath  greatness  and  reputation,  that  hath 
confidence  with  the  discontented  party,  and  upon  whom 
they  turn  their  eyes,  and  that  is  thought  discontented  15 
in  his  own  particular  :  which  kind  of  persons  are  either 
to  be  won  and  reconciled  to  the  state,  and  that  in  a  fast 
and  true  manner ;  or  to  be  fronted  with  some  other  of 
the  same  party  that  may  oppose  them,  and  so  divide 
the  reputation.     Generally,  the  dividing  and  breaking  20 
of  all  factions  and  combinations  that  are  adverse  to  the 
state,  and  setting  them  at  distance,  or  at  least  distrust 
amongst  themselves,  is  not  one  of  the  worst  remedies  ; 
for  it  is  a  desperate  case,  if  those  that  hold  with  the 
proceeding  of  the  state  be  full  of  discord  and  faction,  25 
and  those  that  are  against  it  be  entire  and  united. 

I  have  noted  that  some  witty  and  sharp  speeches 
which  have  fallen  from  princes  have  given  fire  to 
seditions.  Caesar  did  himself  infinite  hurt  in  that 
speech,  Sylla  nescivit  litteras,  non  potuit  dictare ;  for  it  30 
did  utterly  cut  off  that  hope  which  men  had  enter 
tained  that  he  would  at  one  time  or  other  give  over 
his  dictatorship.  Galba  undid  himself  by  that  speech, 
Legi  a  se  militem,  non  emi ;  for  it  put  the  soldiers  out  of 
hope  of  the  donative.  Probus  likewise  by  that  speech,  35 
Si  vixero,  non  opus  erit  amplius  Romano  imperio  militibus, 
a  speech  of  great  despair  for  the  soldiers.  And  many 
the  like.  Surely  princes  had  need  in  tender  matters 


OF   SEDITIONS   AND   TROUBLES          59 

and  ticklish  times  to  beware  what  they  say,  especially 
in  these  short  speeches  which  fly  abroad  like  darts,  and 
are  thought  to  be  shot  out  of  their  secret  intentions ; 
for  as  for  large  discourses,  they  are  flat  things  and  not 
5  so  much  noted. 

Lastly,  let  princes,  against  all  events,  not  be  with 
out  some  great  person,  one  or  rather  more,  of  military 
valour,  near  unto  them,  for  the  repressing  of  seditions 
in  their  beginnings ;  for  without  that,  there  useth  to 

10  be  more  trepidation  in  court  upon  the  first  breaking 
out  of  troubles  than  were  fit ;  and  the  state  runneth  the 
danger  of  that  which  Tacitus  saith  ;  Atque  is  habitus 
amniorumfuit,  ut  pessitnum  facinus  auderent  pauci,  plures 
vellcnf,  omnes  paterentur.  But  let  such  military  persons 

15  be  assured,  and  well  reputed  of,  rather  than  factious 
and  popular;  holding  also  good  correspondence  with 
the  other  great  men  in  the  state,  or  else  the  remedy  is 
worse  than  the  disease. 


XVI 
OF  ATHEISM 

I  HAD  rather  believe  all  the  fables  in  the  Legend,  and 

20  the  Talmud,  and  the  Alcoran,  than  that  this  universal 

frame  is  without  a  mind  ;  and,  therefore,  God  never 

wrought   miracle   to   convince    atheism,    because   his 

oi'dinary  works  convince  it.     It  is  true,  that  a  little 

philosophy  inclineth  man's  mind  to  atheism,  but  depth 

•25  in  philosophy  bringeth  men's  minds  about  to  religion  ; 

for  while  the  mind  of  man  looketh  upon  second  causes 

scattered,  it  may  sometimes  rest  in  them,  and  go  no 

further  ;   but  when  it  beholdeth  the  chain  of  them 

confederate,  and  linked  together,  it  must  needs  fly  to 

30  Providence  and  Deity.     Nay,  even  that  school  which 

is   most   accused  of  atheism  doth  most  demonstrate 

religion :  that  is,  the  school  of  Leucippus  and  Demo- 

critus  and  Epicurus :    for  it  is  a  thousand  times  more 


60  ESSAY   XVI 

credible  that  four  mutable  elements,  and  one  immutable 
fifth  essence,  duly  and  eternally  placed,  need  no  God, 
than  that  an  army  of  infinite  small  portions  or  seeds 
unplaced  should  have  produced  this  order  and  beauty 
without  a  divine  marshal.  The  Scripture  saith,  The  5 
fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God  ;  it  is  not  said, 
The  fool  hath  thought  in  his  heart ;  so  as  he  rather  saith 
it  by  rote  to  himself,  as  that  he  would  have,  than  that 
he  can  thoroughly  believe  it,  or  be  persuaded  of  it ; 
for  none  deny  there  is  a  God,  but  those  for  whom  it  10 
maketh  that  there  were  no  God.  It  appeareth  in 
nothing  more  that  atheism  is  rather  in  the  lip  than 
in  the  heart  of  man  than  by  this,  that  atheists  will 
ever  be  talking  of  that  their  opinion,  as  if  they  fainted 
in  it  within  themselves,  and  would  be  glad  to  be  15 
strengthened  by  the  consent  of  others  ;  nay  more,  you 
shall  have  atheists  strive  to  get  disciples,  as  it  fareth 
with  other  sects ;  and,  which  is  most  of  all,  you  shall 
have  of  them  that  will  suffer  for  atheism,  and  not 
recant ;  whereas,  if  they  did  truly  think  that  there  20 
were  no  such  thing  as  God,  why  should  they  trouble 
themselves?  Epicurus  is  charged,  that  he  did  but 
dissemble  for  his  credit's  sake,  when  he  affirmed  there 
were  blessed  natures,  but  such  as  enjoyed  themselves 
without  having  respect  to  the  government  of  the  world ;  25 
wherein  they  say  he  did  temporize,  though  in  secret 
he  thought  there  was  no  God.  But  certainly  he  is 
traduced,  for  his  words  are  noble  and  divine :  Non 
Deos  vulgi  negare  profanum ;  sed  vulgi  opiniones  Diis 
applicare  profanum.  Plato  could  have  said  no  more;  30 
and  although  he  had  the  confidence  to  deny  the  ad 
ministration,  he  had  not  the  power  to  deny  the  nature. 
The  Indians  of  the  West  have  names  for  their  particular 
gods,  though  they  have  no  name  for  God :  as  if  the 
heathens  should  have  had  the  names  Jupiter,  Apollo,  35 
Mars,  &c.,  but  not  the  word  Deus,  which  shows  that 
even  those  barbarous  people  have  the  notion,  though 
they  have  not  the  latitude  and  extent  of  it ;  so  that 


OF  ATHEISM  61 

against  atheists  the  very  savages  take  part  with  the 
very  subtilest  philosophers.  The  contemplative  atheist 
is  rare  ;  a  Diagoras,  a  Bion,  a  Lucian  perhaps,  and 
some  others  ;  and  yet  they  seem  to  be  more  than  they 

5  are ;  for  that  all  that  impugn  a  received  religion,  or 
superstition,  are,  by  the  adverse  part,  branded  with  the 
name  of  atheists.  But  the  great  atheists  indeed  are 
hypocrites,  which  are  ever  handling  holy  things,  but 
without  feeling ;  so  as  they  must  needs  be  cauterized 

10  in  the  end.  The  causes  of  atheism  are  :  divisions  in 
religion,  if  they  be  many ;  for  any  one  main  division 
addeth  zeal  to  both  sides,  but  many  divisions  introduce 
atheism :  another  is,  scandal  of  priests,  when  it  is 
come  to~  that  which  St.  Bernard  saith,  Non  est  jam 

15  dicere  ut  populus,  sic  saccrdos  ;  quia  nee  sic  populus,  ut 
sacenlos :  a  third  is,  custom  of  profane  scoffing  in 
holy  matters,  which  doth  by  little  and  little  deface 
the  reverence  of  religion :  and  lastly,  learned  times, 
specially  with  peace  and  prosperity  ;  for  troubles  and 

20  adversities  do  more  bow  men's  minds  to  religion. 
They  that  deny_a  God  destroy  man's  nobility ;  for 
certainly  man  is  of  kin  to  the  beasts  by  his  bod)7 ; 
and,  if  he  be  not  of  kin  to  God  by  his  spirit,  he  is 
a  base  and  ignoble  creature.  It  destroys  likewise 

25  magnanimity,  and  the  raising  of  human  nature ;  for 
take  an  example  of  a  dog,  and  mark  what  a  generosity 
and  courage  he  will  put  on  when  he  finds  himself 
maintained  by  a  man,  who  to  him  is  instead  of  a  God, 
or  melior  natura ;  which  courage  is  manifestly  such 

30  as  that  creature,  without  that  confidence  of  a  better 
nature  than  his  own,  could  never  attain.  So  man, 
when  he  resteth  and  assureth  himself  upon  divine  pro 
tection  and  favour,  gathereth  a  force  and  faith  which 
human  nature  in  itself  could  not  obtain ;  therefore,  as 

35  atheism  is  in  all  respects  hateful,  so  in  this,  that  it 
depriveth  human  nature  of  the  means  to  exalt  itself 
above  human  frailty.  As  it  is  in  particular  persons, 
so  it  is  in  nations :  never  was  there  such  a  state  for 


62  ESSAY  XVII 

magnanimity  as  Kome.  Of  this  state  hear  what  Cicero 
saith ;  Quam  volumns,  licet,  Patres  conscripti,  nos  amemus, 
tamen  nee  numero  Hispanos,  nee  robore  Gallos,  nee  calli- 
ditate  Poenos,  ncc  artibus  Graecos,  nee  denique  hoc  ipso 
hujus  gentis  et  terrae  domestico  nativogue  sensu  Italos  5 
ipsos  et  Latinos ;  sed  pietate,  ac  religione,  atque  hae 
una  sapientia,  quod  Deorum  immortal  turn  numine  omnia 
regi  gubernarique  perspeximus,  omnes  gentes  nationesque 
superavimus. 

XVII 
OF  SUPEKSTITION 

IT  were  better  to  have  no  opinion  of  God  at  all  than  10 
such  an  opinion  as  is  unworthy  of  him  ;  for  the  one 
is  unbelief,   the   other  is   contumely :    and    certainly 
superstition  is  the  reproach  of  the  Deity.     Plutarch 
saith  well  to  that  purpose ;    Surely,  saith  he,  I  had 
rather  a  great  deal  men  should  say  there  ivas  no  such  man  15 
at  all  as  Plutarch,  than  that  they  should  say  that  there 
was  one  Plutarch  that  would  eat  his  children  as  soon  as 
they  ivere  born  ;  as  the  poets  speak  of  Saturn.    And,  as 
the  contumely  is  greater  towards  God,  so  the  danger 
is  greater  towards  men.      Atheism  leaves  a  man  to  20 
sense,    to   philosophy,    to   natural   piety,   to  laws,    to 
reputation :   all  which  may  be  guides  to  an  outward 
moral  virtue,  though  religion  were  not ;  but  supersti 
tion   dismounts   all   these,  and   erecteth  an   absolute 
monarchy  in  the  minds  of  men.     Therefore  atheism  25 
did  never  perturb  states ;   for  it  makes  men  wary  of 
themselves,  as  looking  no  further  ;    and  we  see  the 
times  inclined  to  atheism  (as  the  time  of  Augustus 
Caesar)  were  civil  times ;  but  superstition  hath  been 
the  confusion  of  many  states,  and  bringeth  in  a  new  so 
primum  mobile  that  ravisheth  all  the  spheres  of  govern 
ment.     The  master  of  superstition  is  the  people  ;  and 
in  all  superstition  wise  men  follow  fools ;  and  argu 
ments  are  fitted  to  practice  in  a  reversed  order.     It 


OF   SUPERSTITION  63 

was  gravely  said  by  some  of  the  prelates  in  the  Council 
of  Trent,  where  the  doctrine  of  the  schoolmen  bare 
great  sway,  that  the  schoolmen  ivere  like  astronomers, 
which  did  feign  eccentrics  and  epicycles,  and  such  engines 
5  of  orbs  to  save  the  phenomena,  though  they  knew  there  ivere 
no  such  things;  and,  in  like  manner,  that  the  school 
men  had  framed  a  number  of  subtile  and  intricate 
axioms  and  theorems,  to  save  the  practice  of  the 
Church.  The  causes  of  superstition  are :  pleasing  and 

10  sensual  rites  and  ceremonies ;  excess  of  outward  and 
Pharisaical  holiness  ;  overgreat  reverence  of  traditions, 
which  cannot  but  load  the  Church ;  the  stratagems 
of  prelates  for  their  own  ambition  and  lucre ;  the 
favouring  too  much  of  good  intentions,  which  openeth 

15  the  gate  to  conceits  and  novelties  ;  the  taking  an  aim 
at  divine  matters  by  human,  which  cannot  but  breed 
mixture  of  imaginations  ;  and,  lastly,  barbarous  times, 
especially  joined  with  calamities  and  disasters.  Super 
stition,  without  a  veil,  is  a  deformed  thing ;  for  as  it 

20  addeth  deformity  to  an  ape  to  be  so  like  a  man,  so  the 
similitude  of  superstition  to  religion  makes  it  the  more 
deformed :  and  as  wholesome  meat  corrupteth  to  little 
worms,  so  good  forms  and  orders  corrupt  into  a 
number  of  petty  observances.  There  is  a  superstition 

25  in  avoiding  superstition,  when  men  think  to  do  best 
if  they  go  furthest  from  the  superstition  formerly 
received ;  therefore  care  would  be  had  that  (as  it 
fareth  in  ill  purgings)  the  good  be  not  taken  away 
with  the  bad,  which  commonly  is  done  when  the 

30  people  is  the  reformer. 

XVIII 
OF  TRAVEL 

TRAVEL,  in  the  younger  sort,  is  a  part  of  education  ; 
in  the  elder,  a  part  of  experience.  He  that  travelleth 
into  a  country  before  he  hath  some  entrance  into  the 


64  ESSAY  XVIII 

Language,  goeth  to  school,  and  not  to  travel.  That 
young  men  travel  under  some  tutor  or  grave  servant, 
I  allow  well ;  so  that  he  be  such  a  one  that  hath  the 
language,  and  hath  been  in  the  country  before  ;  whereby 
he  may  be  able  to  tell  them  what  things  are  worthy  5 
to  be  seen  in  the  country  where  they  go,  what  acquaint 
ances  they  are  to  seek,  what  exercises  or  discipline  the 
place  yieldeth ;  for  else  young  men  shall  go  hooded, 
and  look  abroad  little.  It  is  a  strange  thing,  that  in 
sea  voyages,  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  but  sky  10 
and  sea,  men  should  make  diaries;  but  in  land  travel, 
wherein  so  much  is  to  be  observed,  for  the  most  part 
they  omit  it ;  as  if  chance  were  fitter  to  be  registered 
than  observation :  let  diaries,  therefore,  be  brought  in 
use.  The  things  to  be  seen  and  observed  are :  the  15 
counts  of  princes,  especially  when  they  give  audience 
to  ambassadors ;  the  courts  of  justice,  while  they  sit 
and  hear  causes  ;  and  so  of  consistories  ecclesiastic ; 
the  churches  and  monasteries,  with  the  monuments 
which  are  therein  extant";  the  walls  and  fortifications  20 
of  cities  and  towns ;  and  so  the  havens  and  harTxnirs  ; 
antiquities  and  ruins  ;  libraries ;  colleges,  disputations, 
and  lectures,  where  any  aTe ;  shipping  and  navies ; 
houses  and  gardens  of  state  and  pleasure,  near  great 
cities ;  armories,  arsenals,  magazines,  exchanges,  burses,  25 
warehouses,  exercises  of  horsemanship,  fencing,  train 
ing  of  soldiers,  and  the  like  ;  comedies,  such  where- 
unto  the  better  sort  of  persons  do  resort;  treasuries 
of  jewels  and  robes ;  cabinets  and  rarities ;  and,  to 
conclude,  whatsoever  is  memorable  in  the  places  where  30 
they  go ;  after  all  which  the  tutors  or  servants  ought 
to  make  diligent  inquiry.  As  for  triumphs,  masques, 
feasts,  weddings,  funerals,  capital  executions,  and  such 
shows,  men  need  not  to  be  put  in  mind  of  them  :  yet 
are  they  not  to  be  neglected.  If  you  will  have  a  young  35 
man  to  put  his  travel  into  a  little  room,  and  in  short 
time  to  gather  much,  this  you  must  do:  first,  as  was 
said,  he  must  have  some  entrance  into  the  language 


OF  TRAVEL  65 

before  he  goeth  ;  then  he  must  have  such  a  servant  or 
tutor  as  knoweth  the  country,  as  was  likewise  said  ;  let 
him  carry  with  him  also  some  card  or  book  describing 
the  country  where  he  travelleth,  which  will  be  a  good 

5  key  to  his  inquiry  ;  let  him  keep  also  a  diary  ;  let  him 
not  stay  long  in  one  city  or  town,  more  or  less  as  the 
place  deserveth,  but  not  long ;  nay,  when  he  stayeth 
in  one  city  or  town,  let  him  change  his  lodging  from 
one  end  and  part  of  the  town  to  another,  which  is 

10  a  great  adamant  of  acquaintance ;  let  him  sequester 
himself  from  the  company  of  his  countrymen,  and  diet 
in  such  places  where  there  is  good  company  of  the 
nation  where  he  travelleth  ;  let  him,  upon  his  removes 
from  one  place  to  another,  procure  recommendation 

15  to  some  person  of  quality  residing  in  the  place  whither 
he  removeth,  that  he  may  use  his  favour  in  those 
things  he  desireth  to  see  or  know ;  thus  he  may 
abridge  his  travel  with  much  profit.  As  for  the 
acquaintance  which  is  to  be  sought  in  travel,  that 

20  which  is  most  of  all  profitable,  is  acquaintance  with 
the  secretaries  and  employed  men  of  ambassadors  ;  for 
so  in  travelling  in  one  country  he  shall  suck  the 
experience  of  many :  let  him  also  see  and  visit  eminent 
persons  in  all  kinds,  which  are  of  great  name  abroad, 

25  that  he  may  be  able  to  tell  how  the  life  agreeth  with 
the  fame.  For  quarrels,  they  are  with  care  and  discretion 
to  be  avoided ;  they  are  commonly  for  mistresses, 
healths,  place,  and  words  ;  and  let  a  man  beware  how 
he  keepeth  company  with  choleric  and  quarrelsome 

30  persons ;    for  they  will  engage  him  into  their   own      / 
quarrels.     When  a  traveller  returneth  home,  let  him  I/ 
not  leave  the  countries  where  he  hath  travelled  alto 
gether  behind  him,  but  maintain  a  correspondence  by 
letters  with  those  of  his  acquaintance  which  are  of 

35  most  worth  ;  and  let  his  travel  appear  rather  in  his 
discourse  than  in  his  apparel  or  gesture ;  and  in  his 
discourse  let  him  be  rather  advised  in  his  answers, 
than  forwards  to  tell  stories :  and  let  it  appear  that  he 


66  ESSAY  XIX 

doth  not  change  his  country  manners  for  those  of 
foreign  parts ;  but  only  prick  in  some  flowers  of  that 
he  hath  learned  abroad  into  the  customs  of  his  own 
countiy. 

XIX 
OF  EMPIRE 

IT  is  a  miserable  state  of  mind  to  have  few  things  to  6 
desire  and  many  things  to  fear ;  and  yet  that  commonly 
is  the  case  of  Kings  who,  being  at  the  highest,  want 
matter   of   desire,   which   makes    their    minds   more 
languishing ;  and  have  many  representations  of  perils 
and  shadows,  which  makes  their  minds  the  less  clear.  10 
And  this  is  one  reason  also  of  that  effect  which  the 
Scripture  speaketh  of,  tJiat  the  Jcing's  heart  is  inscrutable; 
for  multitude  of  jealousies,  and   lack   of  some  pre 
dominant  desire  that  should  marshal  and  put  in  order 
all  the  rest,  maketh  any  man's  heart  hard  to  find  or  15 
sound.     Hence  it  comes  likewise  that  princes  many 
times  make  themselves  desires,  and  set  their  hearts 
upon  toys ;   sometimes  upon  a  building ;   sometimes 
upon  erecting  of  an  order ;    sometimes  upon  the  ad 
vancing    of   a    person  ;    sometimes    upon    obtaining  20 
excellency  in  some  art,  or  feat  of  the  hand,  as  Nero 
for  playing   on   the  harp,  Domitian   for  certainty  of 
the  hand  with  the  arrow,    Com  mod  us  for  playing  at 
fence,   Caracalla  for   driving  chariots,   and   the   like. 
This  seemeth  incredible  unto  those  that   know  not  25 
the  principle  that  the  mind  of  man  is  more  cheered  and 
refresJied  by  profiting  in  small  things  than  by  standing  at 
a  stay  in  great.     We  see  also  that  Kings  that  have 
been  fortunate  conquerors  in  their  first  years,  it  being 
not  possible  for  them  to  go  forward  infinitely,  but  80 
that  they  must  have  some  check  or  arrest  in  their 
fortunes,  turn  in  their  latter  years  to  be  superstitious 
and  melancholy;    as  did  Alexander  the  Great,  Dio- 
clesian,  and,  in  our  memory,  Charles  the  Fifth,  and 


OF   EMPIEE  67 

others  ;  for  he  that  is  used  tc  go  forward,  and  findeth 
a  stop,  falleth  out  of  his  own  favour  and  is  not  the 
thing  he  was. 

To  speak  now  of  the  true  temper  of  empire :  it  is 
5  a  thing  rare  and  hard  to  keep ;  for  both  temper  and 
distemper  consist  of  contraries.  But  it  is  one  thing  to 
mingle  contraries,  another  to  interchange  them.  The 
answer  of  Apollonius  to  Vespasian  is  full  of  excellent 
instruction.  Vespasian  asked  him,  What  was  Nero's 

10  overthrow  ?  He  answered,  Nero  could  touch  and  tune  the 
harp  well ;  but  in  government  sometimes  he  used  to  wind 
the  pins  too  high,  sometimes  to  let  them  down  too  loic. 
And  certain  it  is,  that  nothing  destroyeth  authority 
so  much  as  the  unequal  and  untimely  interchange  of 

15  power  pressed  too  far,  and  relaxed  too  much. 

This  is  true,  that  the  wisdom  of  all  these  latter  times 
in  princes'  affairs  is  rather  fine  deliveries,  and  shiftings 
of  dangers  and  mischiefs,  when  they  are  near,  than 
solid  and  grounded  courses  to  keep  them  aloof.  But 

20  this  is  but  to  try  masteries  with  fortune  ;  and  let 
men  beware  how  they  neglect  and  suffer  matter  of 
trouble  to  be  prepared :  for  no  man  can  forbid  the 
spark,  nor  tell  whence  it  may  come.  The  difficulties 
in  princes'  business  are  many  and  great ;  but  the 

25  greatest  difficulty  is  often  in  their  own  mind.  For 
it  is  common  with  princes  (saith  Tacitus)  to  will 
contradictories ;  Sunt  plerumque  regum  vohtntates  vehe- 
mentes,  et  inter  se  contrariae ;  for  it  is  the  solecism  of 
power  to  think  to  command  the  end,  and  yet  not  to 

30  endure  the  mean. 

Kings  have  to  deal  with  their  neighbours,  their 
wives,  their  children,  their  prelates  or  clergy,  their 
nobles,  their  second-nobles  or  gentlemen,  their  mer 
chants,  their  commons,  and  their  men  of  war ;  and 

35  from  all  these  arise  dangers,  if  care  and  circumspection 
be  not  used. 

First  for  their  neighbours ;  there  can  no  general 
rule  be  given  (the  occasions  are  so  variable),  save  one 

E2 


68  ESSAY  XIX 

which  ever  holdeth  ;  which  is,  that  princes  do  keep 
due  sentinel  that  none  of  their  neighbours  do  over 
grow  so  (by  increase  of  territory,  by  embracing  of 
trade,  by  approaches,  or  the  like),  as  they  become 
more  able  to  annoy  them  than  they  were ;  and  this  5 
is  generally  the  work  of  standing  councils  to  foresee 
and  to  hinder  it.  During  that  triumvirate  of  kings, 
King  Henry  the  Eighth  of  England,  Francis  the  First, 
King  of  France,  and  Charles  the  Fifth,  Emperor,  there 
was  such  a  watch  kept  that  none  of  the  three  could  10 
win  a  palm  of  ground  but  the  other  two  would  straight- 
ways  balance  it,  either  by  confederation,  or,  if  need 
were,  by  a  war ;  and  would  not  in  anywise  take  up 
peace  at  interest.  And  the  like  was  done  by  that  league 
(which  Guicciardini  saith  was  the  security  of  Italy),  15 
made  between  Ferdinando,  King  of  Naples,  Lorenzius 
Medici,  and  Ludovicus  Sforza,  potentates,  the  one  of 
Florence,  the  other  of  Milan.  Neither  is  the  opinion 
of  some  of  the  schoolmen  to  be  received,  that  a  war 
cannot  justly  be  made  -but  upon  a  precedent  injury  or  20 
provocation;  for  there  is  no  question  but  a  just  fear 
of  an  imminent  danger,  though  there  be  no  blow 
given,  is  a  lawful  cause  of  a  war. 

For  their  wives,  there  are  cruel  examples  of  them. 
Livia  is  infamed  for  the  poisoning  of  her  husband ;  25 
Roxolana,    Solyman's   wife,    was    the    destruction    of 
that  renowned  prince  Sultan  Mustapha,  and  otherwise 
troubled  his  house  and  succession  ;  Edward  the  Second 
of  England  his  Queen  had  the  principal  hand  in  the 
deposing  and  murder  of  her  husband.     This  kind  of  30 
danger  is  then  to  be  feared  chiefly  when  the  wives 
have  plots  for  the  raising  of  their  own  children,  or 
else  that  they  be  advoutresses. 

For  their  children,  the  tragedies  likewise  of  dangers 
from  them  have  been  many  ;  and  generally  the  enter-  85 
ing  of  fathers  into  suspicion  of  their  children  hath  been 
ever  unfortunate.     The  destruction  of  Mustapha  (that 
we  named  before)  was  so  fatal  to  Solyman's  line,  as  the 


OF   EMPIRE  69 

succession  of  the  Turks  from  Solyman  until  this  day  is 
suspected  to  be  untrue  and  of  strange  blood  ;  for  that 
Selymus  the  Second  was  thought  to  be  supposititious. 
The  destruction  of  Crispus,  a  young  prince  of  rare 
f>  towardness,  by  Constantinus  the  Great,  his  father,  was 
in  like  manner  fatal  to  his  house ;  for  both  Con 
stantinus  and  Constans,  his  sons,  died  violent  deaths  ; 
uncl  Constantius,  his  other  son,  did  little  better,  who 
died  indeed  of  sickness,  but  after  that  Julianus  had 

10  taken  arms  against  him.  The  destruction  of  Deme 
trius,  son  to  Philip  the  Second  of  Macedon,  turned 
upon  the  father,  who  died  of  repentance.  And  many 
like  examples  there  are ;  but  few  or  none  where  the 
fathers  had  good  by  such  distrust,  except  it  were  where 

15  the  sons  were  up  in  open  arms  against  them  ;  as  was 
Selymus  the  First  against  Bajazet,  and  the  three  sons 
of  Henry  the  Second,  King  of  England. 

For  their  prelates ;  when  they  are  proud  and  great, 
there  is  also  danger  from  them  ;  as  it  was  in  the  times 

•20  of  Anselmus  and  Thomas  Becket,  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury,  who  with  their  crosiers  did  almost  try 
it  with  the  King's  sword ;  and  yet  they  had  to  deal 
with  stout  and  haughty  Kings,  William  Eufus,  Henry 
the  First,  and  Henry  the  Second.  The  danger  is  not 

•25  from  that  state,  but  where  it  hath  a  dependence  of 
foreign  authority ;  or  where  the  churchmen  come  in 
and  are  elected,  not  by  the  collation  of  the  King  or 
particular  patrons,  but  by  the  people. 

For  their  nobles ;  to  keep  them  at  a  distance  it  is 

30  not  amiss ;  but  to  depress  them  may  make  a  King 
more  absolute,  but  less  safe,  and  less  able  to  perform 
anything  that  he  desires.  I  have  noted  it  in  my 
History  of  King  Henry  the  Seventh  of  England,  who 
depressed  his  nobility ;  whereupon  it  came  to  pass  that 

35  his  times  were  full  of  difficulties  and  troubles  ;  for  the 
nobility,  though  they  continued  loyal  unto  him,  yet 
did  they  not  co-operate  with  him  in  his  business ;  so 
that  in  effect  he  was  fain  to  do  all  things  himself. 


70 


For  their  second-nobles  ;  there  is  not  much  danger 
from  them,  being  a  body  dispersed.  They  may  some 
times  discourse  high,  but  that  doth  little  hurt  ;  besides, 
they  are  a  counterpoise  to  the  higher  nobility,  that 
they  grow  not  too  potent  ;  and,  lastly,  being  the  most  5 
immediate  in  authority  with  the  common  people,  they 
do  best  temper  popular  commotions. 

For  their  merchants  ;  they  are  vena  porta  ;  and  if 
they  flourish  not,  a  kingdom  may  have  good  limbs,  but 
will  have  empty  veins,  and  nourish  little.  Taxes  and  10 
imposts  upon  them  do  seldom  good  to  the  King's 
revenue,  for  that  which  he  wins  in  the  hundred,  he 
loseth  in  the  shire  ;  the  particular  rates  being  increased, 
but  the  total  bulk  of  trading  rather  decreased. 

For  their  commons  ;  there  is  little  danger  from  them,  15 
except  it  be  where  they  have  great  and  potent  heads  ; 
or  where  you  meddle  with  the  point  of  religion,  or 
their  customs,  or  means  of  life. 

For  their  men  of  war  ;  it  is  a  dangerous  state  where 
they  live  and  remain  in  a  body  and  are  used  to  dona-  20 
tives  ;  whereof  we  see  examples  in  the  Janizaries  and 
Praetorian  bands  of  Eome  ;  but  trainings  of  men,  and 
arming  them  in  several  places,  and  under  several 
commanders,  and  without  donatives,  are  things  of 
defence  and  no  danger.  25 

Princes  are  like  to  heavenly  bodies,  which  cause 
good  or  evil  times  ;  and  which  have  much  veneration, 
but  no  rest.  All  precepts  concerning  Kings  are  in 
effect  comprehended  in  those  two  remembrances, 
Memento  quod  es  homo  and  Memento  quod  es  Deus,  or  30 
vice  Dei;  the  one  bridleth  their  power,  and  the  other 
their  will. 

XX 

OF  COUNSEL 

THE  greatest  trust  between  man  and  man  is  the 
trust  of  giving  counsel  ;  for  in  other  confidences  men 


OF   COUNSEL  71 

commit  the  parts  of  life,  their  lands,  their  goods,  their 
children,  their  credit,  some  particular  affair  ;  but  to 
such  as  they  make  their  counsellors  they  commit  the 
whole :  by  how  much  the  more  they  are  obliged  to  all 
5  faith  and  integrity.  The  wisest  princes  need  not  think 
it  any  diminution  to  their  greatness,  or  derogation  to 
their  sufficiency,  to  rely  upon  counsel.  God  himself 
is  not  without,  but  hath  made  it  one  of  the  great 
names  of  his  blessed  Son,  The  Counsellor.  Salomon 

10  hath  pronounced  that  in  counsel  is  stability.  Things 
will  have  their  first  or  second  agitation :  if  they  be 
not  tossed  upon  the  arguments  of  counsel,  they  will  be 
tossed  upon  the  waves  of  fortune,  and  be  full  of  incon 
stancy,  doing  and  undoing,  like  the  reeling  of  a  drunken 

15  man.  Salomon's  son  found  the  force  of  counsel,  as  his 
father  saw  the  necessity  of  it :  for  the  beloved  king 
dom  of  God  was  first  rent  and  broken  by  ill  counsel ; 
upon  which  counsel  there  are  set  for  our  instruction 
the  two  marks  whereby  bad  counsel  is  for  ever  best 

20  discerned,  that  it  was  young  counsel  for  the  persons, 
and  violent  counsel  for  the  matter. 

The  ancient  times  do  set  forth  in  figure  both  the 
incorporation  and  inseparable  conjunction  of  counsel 
with  Kings,  and  the  wise  and  politic  use  of  counsel  by 

25  Kings :  the  one,  in  that  they  say  Jupiter  did  marry 
Metis,  which  signifieth  counsel,  whereby  they  intend 
that  sovereignty  is  married  to  counsel ;  the  other,  in 
that  which  followeth,  which  was  thus :  they  say,  after 
Jupiter  was  married  to  Metis,  she  conceived  by  him 

30  and  was  with  child  ;  but  Jupiter  suffered  her  not  to 
stay  till  she  brought  forth,  but  eat  her  up :  whereby  he 
became  himself  with  child,  and  was  delivered  of  Pallas 
armed,  out  of  his  head.  Which  monstrous  fable  con- 
taineth  a  secret  of  empire,  how  Kings  are  to  make  use 

85  of  their  council  of  state :  that  first,  they  ought  to  refer 
matters  unto  them,  which  is  the  first  begetting  or 
impregnation  ;  but  when  they  are  elaborate,  moulded, 
and  shaped  in  the  womb  of  their  council,  and  grow 


72  ESSAY  XX 

ripe  and  ready  to  be  brought  forth,  that  then  they 
suffer  not  their  council  to  go  through  with  the-resolu- 
tion  and  direction,  as  if  it  depended  on  them  ;  but 
take  the  matter  back  into  their  own  hands,  and  make 
it  appear  to  the  world,  that  the  decrees  and  final  5 
directions  (which,  because  they  come  forth  with  pru 
dence  and  power,  are  resembled  to  Pallas  armed), 
proceeded  from  themselves ;  and  not  only  from  their 
authority,  but  (the  more  to  add  reputation  to  therm 
selves)  from  their  head  and  device.  1 10 

Let  us  now  speak  of  the  inconveniences  of  counsel, 
and  of  the  remedies.  The  inconveniences  that  have 
been  noted  in  calling  and  using  counsel,  are  three: 
first,  the  revealing  of  affairs,  whereby  they  become 
less  secret ;  secondly,  the  weakening  of  the  authority  15 
of  princes,  as  if  they  were  less  of  themselves  ;  thirdly, 
the  danger  of  being  unfaithfully  counselled,  and  more 
for  the  good  of  them  that  counsel  than  of  him  that  is 
counselled.  For  which  inconveniences,  the  doctrine  of 
Italy,  and  practice  of  France  in  some  Kings'  times,  20 
hath  introduced  cabinet  counsels ;  a  remedy  worse 
than  the  disease. 

As  to  secrecy ;  princes  are  not  bound  to  communi 
cate  all  matters  with  all  counsellors,  but  may  extract 
and  select ;  neither  is  it  necessaiy  that  he  that  con-  25 
sulteth  what  he  should  do,  should  declare  what  he 
will  do  ;  but  let  princes  beware  that  the  unsecreting 
of  their  affairs  comes  not  from  themselves.  And,  as  for 
cabinet  counsels,  it  may  be  their  motto,  Plenus  rima- 
nim  sum :  one  futile  person,  that  maketh  it  his  glory  30 
to  tell,  will  do  more  hurt  than  many,  that  know  it 
their  duty  to  conceal.  It  is  true  there  be  some  affairs, 
which  require  extreme  secrecy,  which  will  hardly  go 
beyond  one  or  two  persons  besides  the  King :  neither 
are  those  counsels  unprosperous ;  for,  besides  the  35 
secrecy,  they  commonly  go  on  constantly  in  one  spirit 
of  direction  without  distraction :  but  then  it  must  be 
a  prudent  King,  such  as  is  able  to  grind  with  a  hand- 


OF  COUNSEL  73 

mill ;  and  those  inward  counsellors  had  need  also  be 
wise  men,  and  especially  true  and  trusty  to  the  King's 
ends ;  as  it  was  with  King  Henry  the  Seventh  of 
England,  who  in  his  greatest  business  imparted  him- 

5  self  to  none,  except  it  were  to  Morton  and  Fox. 

For  weakening  of  authority ;  the  fable  showeth  the 
remedy.  Nay.  the  majesty  of  Kings  is  rather  exalted 
than  diminished  when  they  are  in  the  chair  of  counsel ; 
neither  was  there  ever  prince  bereaved  of  his  dependen- 

1 0  cies  by  his  council,  except  where  there  hath  been  either 
an  over-greatness  in  one  counsellor,  or  an  over  strict 
combination  in  divers,  which  are  things  soon  found 
and  holpen. 

For  the  last  inconvenience,  that  men  will  counsel 

15  with  an  eye  to  themselves ;  certainly,  non  inveniet 
fidem  super  terra  m  is  meant  of  the  nature  of  times,  and 
not  of  all  particular  persons.  There  be  that  are  in 
nature  faithful  and  sincere,  and  plain  and  direct,  not 
crafty  and  involved :  let  princes,  above  all,  draw  to 

•20  themselves  such  natures.  Besides,  counsellors  are  not 
commonly  so  united,  but  that  one  counsellor  keepeth 
sentinel  over  another ;  so  that  if  any  do  counsel  out 
of  faction  or  private  ends,  it  commonly  comes  to  the 
King's  ear :  but  the  best  remedy  is,  if  princes  know 

•25  their  counsellors  as  well  as  their  counsellors  know 
them : 

Principis  est  virtus  maxima  nosse  suos. 

And  on  the  other  side,  counsellors  should  not  be  too 
speculative  into  their  sovereign's  person.  The  true 

30  composition  of  a  counsellor  is  rather  to  be  skilful  in 
their  master's  business  than  in  his  nature  ;  for  then  he 
is  like  to  advise  him,  and  not  to  feed  his  humour.  It 
is  of  singular  use  to  princes  if  they  take  the  opinions 
of  their  council  both  separately  and  together ;  for 

35  private  opinion  is  more  free,  but  opinion  before  others 
is  more  reverend.  In  private,  men  are  more  bold  in 
their  own  humours;  and  in  consort,  men  are  more 


74  ESSAY  XX 

obnoxious  to  others'  humours ;  therefore  it  is  good  to 
take  both ;  and  of  the  inferior  sort  rather  in  private, 
to  preserve  freedom  ;  of  the  greater  rather  in  consort, 
to  preserve  respect.  It  is  in  vain  for  princes  to  take 
counsel  concerning  matters,  if  they  take  no  counsel  5 
likewise  concerning  persons ;  for  all  matters  are  as 
dead  images,  and  the  life  of  the  execution  of  affairs 
resteth  in  the  good  choice  of  persons.  Neither  is  it 
enough  to  consult  concerning  persons,  secundum  genera, 
as  in  an  idea  or  mathematical  description,  what  the  10 
kind  and  character  of  the  person  should  be ;  for  the 
greatest  errors  are  committed,  and  the  most  judgement 
is  shown,  in  the  choice  of  individuals.  It  was  truly 
said,  Optimi  consttiarii  mortui ;  books  will  speak  plain 
when  counsellors  blanch ;  therefore  it  is  good  to  be  15 
conversant  in  them,  specially  the  books  of  such  as 
themselves  have  been  actors  upon  the  stage. 

The  councils  at  this  day  in  most   places   are   but 
familiar  meetings,  where  matters  are  rather  talked  on 
than  debated  ;  and  they  run  too  swift  to  the  order  or  20 
act  of  council.     It  were  better  that  in  causes  of  weight 
the  matter  were  propounded  one  day  and  not  spoken 
to  till  the  next  day  ;  In  node  consilium.    So  was  it  done 
in   the   commission  of  union  between   England  and 
Scotland,  which  was  a  grave  and  orderly  assembly.  25 
I  commend  set  days  for  petitions ;   for  both  it  gives 
the  suitors  more  certainty  for  their  attendance,  and  it 
frees  the  meetings  for  matters  of  estate,  that  they  may 
hoc  agere.     In    choice    of    committees    for    ripening  . 
business  for  the  council,  it  is  better  to  choose  indifferent  30 
persons,  than  to  make  an  indifferency  by  putting  in 
those  that  are  strong  on  both  sides.     I  commend  also 
standing  commissions  ;  as  for  trade,  for  treasure,  for 
war,  for  suits,  for  some  provinces ;  for  where  there  be 
divers  particular    councils,   and   but    one   council   of  85 
estate  (as  it  is  in  Spain),  they  are,  in  effect,  no  more 
than  standing  commissions,  save  that  they  have  greater 
authority.     Let  such  as  are  to  inform  councils  out  of 


OF  COUNSEL  75 

their  particular  professions  (as  lawyers,  seamen,  mint- 
men,  and  the  like)  be  first  heard  before  committees  ; 
and  then,  as  occasion  serves,  before  the  council.  And 
let  them  not  come  in  multitudes,  or  in  a  tribunitious 
5  manner  :  for  that  is  to  clamour  councils,  not  to  inform 
them.  A  long  table  and  a  square  table,  or  seats  about 
the  walls,  seem  things  of  form,  but  are  things  of  sub 
stance  ;  for  at  a  long  table  a  few  at  the  upper  end,  in 
effect,  sway  all  the  business ;  but  in  the  other  form 

10  there  is  more  use  of  the  counsellors'  opinions  that  sit 
lower.  A  King,  when  he  presides  in  council,  let  him 
beware  how  he  opens  his  own  inclination  too  much  in 
that  which  he  propoundeth  ;  for  else  counsellors  will 
but  take  the  wind  of  him,  and  instead  of  giving  free 

15  counsel,  will  sing  him  a  song  of  placebo. 

XXI 


FORTUNE  is  like  the  market,  where  many  times,  if 
you  can  stay  a  little,  the  price  will  fall;  and  again,  it 
is  sometimes  like  Sibylla's  offer,  which  at  first  offereth 
the  commodity  at  full,  then  consumeth  part  and  part, 

•20  and  still  holdeth  up  the  price ;  for  Occasion  (as  it  is  in 
the  common  verse)  turneth  a  bald  noddle  after  she  hath 
presented  Jier  locks  in  front,  and  no  hold  taken;  or,  at 
least,  turneth  the  handle  of  the  bottle  first  to  be 
received,  and  after  the  belly,  which  is  hard  to  clasp. 

•25  There  is  surely  no  greater  wisdom  than  well  to  time 
the  beginnings  and  onsets  of  things.  Dangers  are  no 
more  light,  if  they  once  seem  light ;  and  more  dangers 
have  deceived  men  than  forced  them.  Nay,  it  were 
better  to  meet  some  dangers  half-way,  though  they 

30  come  nothing  near,  than  to  keep  too  long  a  watch  upon 
their  approaches ;  for  if  a  man  watch  too  long,  it  is 
odds  he  will  fall  asleep.  On  the  other  side,  to  be 
deceived  with  too  long  shadows  (as  some  have  been 


76  ESSAY   XXII 

when  the  moon  was  low,  and  shone  on  their  enemies' 
back),  and  so  to  shoot  off  before  the  time,  or  to  teach 
dangers  to  come  on  by  over  early  buckling  towards 
them,  is  another  extreme.  The  ripeness  or  unripeness 
of  the  occasion  (as  we  said)  must  ever  be  well  weighed  ;  5 
and  generally  it  is  good  to  commit  the  beginnings  of 
all  great  actions  to  Argus  with  his  hundred  eyes,  and 
the  ends  to  Briareus  with  his  hundred  hands ;  first  to 
watch  and  then  to  speed.  For  the  helmet  of  Pluta, 
which  maketh  the  politic  man  go  invisible,  is  secrecy  J  o 
in  the  counsel,  and  celerity  in  the  execution  ;  for  when 
things  are  once  come  to  the  execution,  there  is  no 
secrecy  comparable  to  celerity ;  like  the  motion  of 
a  bullet  in  the  air,  which  flieth  so  swift  as  it  outruns 
the  eye.  15 

XXII 

OF  CUNNING 

WE  take  cunning  for  a  sinister  or  crooked  wisdom  ; 
and  certainly  there  is  great  difference  between  a 
cunning  man  and  a  wise  man,  not  only  in  point  of 
honesty,  but  in  point  of  ability.  There  be  that  can 
pack  the  cards,  and  yet  cannot  play  well  ;  so  there  are  20 
some  that  are  good  in  canvasses  and  factions,  that  are 
otherwise  weak  men.  Again,  it  is  one  thing  to  under 
stand  persons,  and  another  thing  to  understand 
matters ;  for  many  are  perfect  in  men's  humours, 
that  are  not  greatly  capable  of  the  real  part  of  25 
business ;  which  is  the  constitution  of  one  that  hath 
studied  men  more  than  books.  Such  men  are  fitter 
for  practice  than  for  counsel,  and  they  are  good  but  in 
their  own  alley :  turn  them  to  new  men,  and  they 
have  lost  their  aim  ;  so  as  the  old  rule,  to  know  a  fool  30 
from  a  wise  man,  Mitte  avribos  nudos  ad  ignotos  ct  videbis, 
doth  scarce  hold  for  them.  And,  because  these  cunning 
men  are  like  haberdashers  of  small  wares,  it  is  not 
amiss  to  set  forth  their  shop. 


OF  CUNNING  77 

It  is  a  point  of  cunning  to  wait  upon  him  with  whom 
you  speak  with  your  eye,  as  the  Jesuits  give  it  in 
precept ;  for  there  be  many  wise  men  that  have  secret 
hearts  and  transparent  countenances :  yet  this  would 

5  be  done  with  a  demure  abasing  of  your  eye  sometimes, 
as  the  Jesuits  also  do  use. 

Another  is,  that  when  you  have  anything  to  obtain 
of  present  dispatch,  you  entertain  and  amuse  the  party 
with  whom  you  deal  with  some  other  discourse,  that 

10  he  be  not  too  much  awake  to  make  objections.  I  knew 
a  counsellor  and  secretary  that  never  came  to  Queen 
Elizabeth  of  England  with  bills  to  sign,  but  he  would 
always  first  put  her  into  some  discourse  of  estate,  that 
she  might  the  less  mind  the  bills. 

15  The  like  surprise  may  be  made  by  moving  things 
when  the  party  is  in  haste,  and  cannot  stay  to  con 
sider  advisedly  of  that  is  moved. 

If  a  man  would  cross  a  business  that  he  doubts 
some  other  would  handsomely  and  effectually  move, 

20  let  him  pretend  to  wish  it  well,  and  move  it  himself 
in  such  sort  as  may  foil  it. 

The  breaking  off  in  the  midst  of  that  one  was  about 
to  say,  as  if  he  took  himself  up,  breeds  a  greater 
appetite  in  him  with  whom  you  confer  to  know 

25  more. 

And  because  it  works  better  when  anything  seemeth 
to  be  gotten  from  you  by  question  than  if  you  offer  it 
of  yourself,  you  may  lay  a  bait  for  a  question,  by 
showing  another  visage  and  countenance  than  you  are 

30  wont ;  to  the  end,  to  give  occasion  for  the  party  to  ask 
what  the  matter  is  of  the  change  ;  as  Nehemias  did  : 
And  I  had  not  before  that  time  been  sad  before  the  king. 

In  things  that  are  tender  and  unpl easing,  it  is  good 
to  break  the  ice  by  some  whose  words  are  of  less 

35  weight,  and  to  reserve  the  more  weighty  voice  to  come 
in  as  by  chance,  so  that  he  may  be  asked  the  question 
upon  the  other's  speech ;  as  Narcissus  did,  in  relating 
to  Claudius  the  marriage  of  Messalina  and  Silius. 


78  ESSAY  XXII 

In  things  that  a  man  would  not  be  seen  in  himself, 
it  is  a  point  of  cunning  to  borrow  the  name  of  the 
world  ;  as  to  say,  The  world  says,  or  Tliere  is  a  speech 
abroad. 

I  knew  one  that  when  he  wrote  a  letter  he  would  5 
put  that  which  was  most  material  in  the  postscript,  as 
if  it  had  been  a  by-matter. 

I  knew  another  that  when  he  came  to  have  speech 
he  would  pass  over  that  that  he  intended  most,  and 
go  forth  and  come  back  again,  and  speak  of  it  as  of  10 
a  thing  that  he  had  almost  forgot. 

Some  procure  themselves  to  be  surprised  at  such 
times  as  it  is  like  the  party  that  they  work  upon  will 
suddenly  come  upon  them,  and  to  be  found  with 
a  letter  in  their  hand,  or  doing  somewhat  which  they  lf» 
are  not  accustomed ;  to  the  end  they  may  be 
apposed  of  those  things  which  of  themselves  they  are 
desirous  to  utter. 

It  is  a  point  of  cunning  to  let  fall  those  words  in 
a  man's  own  name,  which  he  would  have  another  man  20 
learn  and  use,  and  thereupon  take  advantage.  I  knew 
two  that  were  competitors  for  the  secretary's  place,  in 
Queen  Elizabeth's  time,  and  yet  kept  good  quarter  be 
tween  themselves,  and  would  confer  one  with  another 
upon  the  business ;  and  the  one  of  them  said,  that  to  25 
be  a  secretary  in  the  declination  of  a  monarchy  was 
a  ticklish  thing,  and  that  he  did  not  affect  it :  the  other 
straight  caught  up  those  words,  and  discoursed  with 
divers  of  his  friends,  that  he  had  no  reason  to  desire  to 
be  secretary  in  the  declination  of  a  monarchy.  The  30 
first  man  took  hold  of  it,  and  found  means  it  was  told 
the  queen  ;  who,  hearing  of  a  declination  of  a  monarchy, 
took  it  so  ill,  as  she  would  never  after  hear  of  the 
other's  suit. 

There  is  a  cunning,  which  we  in  England  call  the  35 
turning  of  the  cat  in   the  pan ;  which  is,  when  that 
which  a  man  says  to  another,  he  lays  it  as  if  another 
had  said  it  to  him ;  and,  to  say  truth,  it  is  not  easy, 


OF  CUNNING  79 

when  such  a  matter  passed  between  two  to  make  it 
appear  from  which  of  them  it  first  moved  and  began. 

It  is  a  way  that  some  men  have,  to  glance  and  dart 

at  others  by  justifying  themselves  by  negatives ;  as  to 

5  say,  This  I  do  not ;  as  Tigellinus  did  towards  Burrhus, 

Se  non  diversas  spes,  sed  incolumitatem  imperatoris  sim- 

pliciter  spectare. 

Some  have  in  readiness  so  many  tales  and  stories, 
as  there  is  nothing  they  would  insinuate,  but  they  can 

10  wrap  it  into  a  tale  ;  which  serveth  both  to  keep  them 
selves  more  in  guard,  and  to  make  others  carry  it  with 
more  pleasure. 

It  is  a  good  point  of  cunning  for  a  man  to  shape  the 
answer  he  would  have  in  his  own  words  and  proposi- 

15  tions ;  for  it  makes  the  other  party  stick  the  less. 

It  is  strange  how  long  some  men  will  lie  in  wait  to 
speak  somewhat  they  desire  to  say ;  and  how  far 
about  they  will  fetch,  and  how  many  other  matters 
they  will  beat  over  to  come  near  it.  It  is  a  thing  of 

20  great  patience,  but  yet  of  much  use. 

A  sudden,  bold,  and  unexpected  question  doth  many 
times  surprise  a  man,  and  lay  him  open.  Like  to  him, 
that,  having  changed  his  name,  and  walking  in  Paul's, 
another  suddenly  came  behind  him  and  called  him  by 

25  his  true  name,  whereas  straightways  he  looked  back. 

But  these  small  wares  and  petty  points  of  cunning- 
are  infinite,  and  it  were  a  good  deed  to  make  a  list  of 
them  ;  for  that  nothing  doth  more  hurt  in  a  state  than 
that  cunning  men  pass  for  wise. 

30  But  certainly  some  there  are  that  know  the  resorts 
and  falls  of  business  that  cannot  sink  into  the  main  of 
it ;  like  a  house  that  hath  convenient  stairs  and  en 
tries,  but  never  a  fair  room.  Therefore  you  shall  see 
them  find  out  pretty  looses  in  the  conclusion,  but  are 

35  noways  able  to  examine  or  debate  matters :  and  yet 
commonly  they  take  advantage  of  their  inability,  and 
would  be  thought  wits  of  direction.  Some  build  rather 
upon  the  abusing  of  others,  and  (as  we  now  say) 


80  ESSAY  XXIII 

putting  tricks  upon  them,  than  upon  soundness  of  their 
own  proceedings :  but  Salomon  saith,  Prudens  advert  it 
ad  gressus  suos :  stultus  divertit  ad  dolos. 


AN  ant  is   a  wise   creature  for   itself,  but  it  is  a 
shrewd  thing  in  an  orchard  or  garden.    And  certainly  5 
men   that   are  great   lovers  of  themselves  waste  the 
public.     Divide  with    reason    between   self-love   and 
society  ;  and  be  so  true  to  thyself  as  thou  be  not  false 
to  others,  specially  to  thy  king  and  country.     It  is 
a  poor  centre  of  a  man's  actions,  himself.     It  is  right  1<> 
earth  ;  for  that  only  stands  fast  upon  his  own  centre  ; 
whereas  all  things  that  have  affinity  with  the  heavens 
move  upon  the  centre  of  another,  which  they  benefit. 
The  referring  of  all  to  a  man's  self  is  more  tolerable 
in  a  sovereign  prince,  because  themselves  are  not  only  15 
themselves,  but  their  good  and  evil  is  at  the  peril  of 
the   public   fortune ;    but    it   is   a  desperate   evil   in 
a  servant  to  a  prince,  or  a  citizen  in  a  republic  ;  for 
whatsoever  affairs  pass  such  a  man's  hands,  he  crook- 
eth  them  to  his  own  ends,  which  must  needs  be  often  20 
eccentric  to  the  ends  of  his  master  or  state.    Therefore 
let  princes  or  states  choose  such  servants  as  have  not 
this  mark ;  except  they  mean  their  service  should  be 
made  but   the   accessary.     That   which    maketh   the 
effect  more  pernicious  is,  that  all  proportion  is  lost ;  25 
it  were  disproportion  enough  for  the  servant's  good  to 
be  preferred  before  the  master's  ;  but  yet  it  is  a  greater 
extreme,  when  a  little  good  of  the  servant  shall  cany 
things  against  a  great  good  of  the  master's.     And  yet 
that  is  the  case  of  bad  officers,  treasurers,  ambassadors,  30 
generals,  and  other  false  and  corrupt  servants  ;  which 
set  a  bias  upon  their  bowl  of  their  own  petty  ends  and 
envies,  to  the  overthrow  of  their  master's  great  and 


OF  WISDOM   FOE   A   MAN'S   SELF        81 

important  affairs  :  and  for  the  most  part  the  good  such 
servants  receive  is  after  the  model  of  their  own 
fortune ;  but  the  hurt  they  sell  for  that  good  is  after 
the  model  of  their  master's  fortune.  And  certainly  it 
5  is  the  nature  of  extreme  self-lovers,  as  they  will  set 
a  house  on  fire,  and  it  were  but  to  roast  their  eggs ; 
and  yet  these  men  many  times  hold  credit  with  their 
masters,  because  their  study  is  but  to  please  them,  and 
profit  themselves ;  and  for  either  respect  they  will 

10  abandon  the  good  of  their  affairs. 

Wisdom  for  a  man's  self  is,  in  many  branches  there 
of,  a  depraved  thing :  it  is  the  wisdom  of  rats,  that 
will  be  sure  to  leave  a  house  somewhat  before  it  fall : 
it  is  the  wisdom  of  the  fox,  that  thrusts  out  the  badger 

15  who  digged  and  made  room  for  him :  it  is  the  wisdom 
of  crocodiles,  that  shed  tears  when  they  would  devour. 
But  that  which  is  specially  to  be  noted  is  that  those 
which  (as  Cicero  says  of  Pompey)  are  sui  amantes  sine 
rivali  are  many  times  unfortunate  ;  and  whereas  they 

20  have  all  their  time  sacrificed  to  themselves,  they  be 
come  in  the  end  themselves  sacrifices  to  the  inconstancy 
of  fortune,  whose  wings  they  thought  by  their  self- 
wisdom  to  have  pinioned. 

XXIV 
OF   INNOVATIONS 

As   the   births  of  living  creatures  at  first  are  ill- 
25  shapen,  so  are  all  innovations,  which  are  the  births  of 
time ;   yet  notwithstanding,  as  those  that  first  bring 
honour  into  their  family  are  commonly  more  worthy 
than  most  that  succeed,  so  the  first  precedent  (if  it  be 
good)  is  seldom  attained  by  imitation  ;  for  ill,  to  man's 
30  nature  as  it  stands  perverted,  hath  a  natural  motion 
strongest  in  continuance  ;  but  good,  as  a  forced  motion, 
strongest  at  first.     Surely  every  medicine  is  an  inno 
vation,  and  he  that  will  not  apply  new  remedies  must 


82  ESSAY  XXV 

expect  new  evils  ;  for  time  is  the  greatest  innovator ; 
and  if  time  of  course  alter  things  to  the  worse,  and 
wisdom  and  counsel  shall  not  alter  them  to  the  better, 
what  shall  be  the  end?  It  is  true,  that  what  is 
settled  by  custom,  though  it  be  not  good,  yet  at  least  5 
it  is  fit ;  and  those  things  which  have  long  gone  to 
gether  are  as  it  were  confederate  within  themselves ; 
whereas  new  things  piece  not  so  well ;  but  though  they 
help  by  their  utility,  yet  they  trouble  by  their  incon- 
formity :  besides,  they  are  like  strangers,  more  admired  10 
and  less  favoured.  All  this  is  true  if  time  stood  still ; 
which  contrariwise  moveth  so  round,  that  a  froward 
retention  of  custom  is  as  turbulent  a  thing  as  an 
innovation  ;  and  they  that  reverence  too  much  old 
times  are  but  a  scorn  to  the  new.  It  were  good  there- 15 
fore  that  men  in  their  innovations  would  follow  the 
example  of  time  itself,  which  indeed  innovateth  greatly, 
but  quietly  and  by  degrees  scarce  to  be  perceived  ;  for 
otherwise,  whatsoever  is  new  is  unlocked  for  ;  and  ever 
it  mends  some  and  pairs  other ;  and  he  that  is  holpen  20 
takes  it  for  a  fortune  and  thanks  the  time ;  and  he 
that  is  hurt,  for  a  wrong,  and  imputeth  it  to  the  author. 
It  is  good  also  not  to  try  experiments  in  states,  except 
the  necessity  be  urgent  or  the  utility  evident ;  and 
well  to  beware  that  it  be  the  reformation  that  draweth  25 
on  the  change,  and  not  the  desire  of  change  that  pre- 
tendeth  the  reformation  ;  and  lastly,  that  the  novelty, 
though  it  be  not  rejected,  yet  be  held  for  a  suspect ; 
and,  as  the  Scripture  saith,  That  ive  make  a  stand  upon 
the  ancient  way,  and  then  look  about  us,  and  discovery 
what  is  the  straight  and  right  ivay,  and  so  to  ivalk  in  it. 

XXV 
OF  DISPATCH 

AFFECTED  dispatch  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
things  to  business  that  can  be :  it  is  like  that  which 


OF  DISPATCH  83 

the  physicians  call  predigestion,  or  hasty  digestion, 
which  is  sure  to  fill  the  body  full  of  crudities  and 
secret  seeds  of  diseases.  Therefore  measure  not  dis 
patch  by  the  times  of  sitting,  but  by  the  advancement 
5  of  the  business :  and  as  in  races,  it  is  not  the  large 
stride  or  high  lift  that  makes  the  speed  ;  so  in  business, 
the  keeping  close  to  the  matter,  and  not  taking  of  it 
too  much  at  once,  procureth  dispatch.  It  is  the  care 
of  some  only  to  come  off  speedily  for  the  time,  or  to 

10  contrive  some  false  periods  of  business,  because  they  may 
seem  men  of  dispatch :  but  it  is  one  thing  to  abbreviate 
by  contracting,  another  by  cutting  off ;  and  business 
so  handled  at  several  sittings  or  meetings  goeth  com 
monly  backward  and  forward  in  an  unsteady  manner. 

15  I  knew  a  wise  man  that  had  it  for  a  by-word,  when 
he  saw  men  hasten  to  a  conclusion,  Stay  a  little,  that 
we  may  mate  an  end  the  sooner. 

On  the  other  side,  true  dispatch  is  a  rich  thing ;  for 
time  is  the  measure  of  business,  as  money  is  of  wares  ; 

•20  and  business  is  bought  at  a  dear  hand  where  there  is 
small  dispatch.  The  Spartans  and  Spaniards  have 
been  noted  to  be  of  small  dispatch :  Mi  venga  la  muerte 
de  Spagna ; — Let  my  death  come  from  Spain  ;  for  then  it 
will  be  sure  to  be  long  in  coming. 

•25  Give  good  hearing  to  those  that  give  the  first  in 
formation  in  business,  and  rather  direct  them  in  the 
beginning  than  interrupt  them  in  the  continuance  of 
their  speeches ;  for  he  that  is  put  out  of  his  own  order 
will  go  forward  and  backward,  and  be  more  tedious 

30  while  he  waits  upon  his  memory  than  he  could  have 
been  if  he  had  gone  on  in  his  own  course  ;  but  some 
times  it  is  seen  that  the  moderator  is  more  troublesome 
than  the  actor. 

Iterations  are  commonly  loss  of  time  ;  but  there  is 

35  no  such  gain  of  time  as  to  iterate  often  the  state  of  the 
question  ;  for  it  chaseth  away  many  a  frivolous  speech 
as  it  is  coming  forth.  Long  and  curious  speeches  are 
as  fit  for  dispatch  as  a  robe  or  mantle  with  a  long  train 


84  ESSAY  XXVI 

is  for  race.  Prefaces,  and  passages,  and  excusations, 
and  other  speeches  of  reference  to  the  person,  are 
great  wastes  of  time ;  and  though  they  seem  to  pro 
ceed  of  modesty,  they  are  braveiy.  Yet  beware  of 
being  too  material  when  there  is  any  impediment  or  5 
obstruction  in  men's  wills  ;  for  pre-occupation  of  mind 
ever  requireth  preface  of  speech,  like  a  fomentation  to 
make  the  unguent  enter. 

Above  all  things,  order  and  distribution  and  singling 
out  of  parts  is  the  life  of  dispatch  ;  so  as  the  distribu- 10 
tion  be  not  too  subtile :  for  he  that  doth  not  divide  will 
never  enter  well  into  business ;  and  he  that  divideth 
too  much  will  never  come  out  of  it  clearly.    To  choose 
time  is  to  save  time,  and  an  unseasonable  motion  is 
but  beating  the  air.    There  be  three  parts  of  business :  15 
the  preparation  ;  the  debate,  or  examination  ;  and  the 
perfection.     Whereof,  if  you  look  for  dispatch,  let  the 
middle  only  be  the  work  of  many,  and  the  first  and 
last  the  work  of  few.    The  proceeding  upon  somewhat 
conceived  in  writing  doth  for  the  most  part  facilitate  20 
dispatch ;  for  though  it  should  be  wholly  rejected,  yet 
that  negative  is  more  pregnant  of  direction  than  an 
indefinite,  as  ashes  are  more  generative  than  dust. 


XXVI 
OF  SEEMING  WISE 

IT  hath  been  an  opinion  that  the  French  are  wiser 
than  they  seem,  and  the  Spaniards  seem  wiser  than  they  25 
are  ;  but  howsoever  it  be  between  nations,  certainly  it 
is  so  between  man  and  man ;  for  as  the  apostle  saith 
of  godliness,  Having  a  show  of  godliness,  but  denying  the 
power  thereof;  so  certainly  there  are,  in  point  of  wisdom 
and  sufficiency,  that  do  nothing  or  little  very  solemnly  \  so 
magno  conatu  nugas.     It  is  a  ridiculous  thing  and  fit 
for  a  satire  to  persons  of  judgement,  to  see  what  shifts 
these  formalists  have,  and  what  prospectives  to  make 


OF   SEEMING  WISE  85 

superficies  to  seem  body  that  hath  depth  and  bulk. 
Some  are  so  close  and  reserved  as  they  will  not  show 
their  wares  but  by  a  dark  light,  and  seem  always  to 
keep  back  somewhat ;  and  when  they  know  within 
5  themselves  they  speak  of  that  they  do  not  well  know, 
would  nevertheless  seem  to  others  to  know  of  that 
which  they  may  not  well  speak.  Some  help  them 
selves  with  countenance  and  gesture,  and  are  wise  by 
signs ;  as  Cicero  saith  of  Piso,  that  when  he  answered 

10  him  he  fetched  one  of  his  brows  up  to  his  forehead, 
and  bent  the  other  down  to  his  chin  ;  Rcspondes,  altero 
ad  frontem  sullato,  altero  ad  mentum  deprcsso  supercilio, 
crudelitatcm  tibi  non  placere.  Some  think  to  bear  it  by 
speaking  a  great  word  and  being  peremptory,  and  go 

ir»  on  and  take  by  admittance  that  which  they  cannot 
make  good.  Some,  whatsoever  is  beyond  their  reach, 
will  seem  to  despise  or  make  light  of  it  as  impertinent 
or  curious:  and  so  would  have  their  ignorance  seem 
judgement.  Some  are  never  without  a  difference,  and 

•20  commonly  by  amusing  men  with  a  subtilty,  blanch 
the  matter ;  of  whom  A.  Gellius  saith,  Hominem  deli- 
rum,  aid  verborum  minutiis  rerum  frangit  pondera.  Of 
which  kind  also  Plato,  in  his  Protagoras,  bringeth  in 
Prodicus  in  scorn,  and  maketh  him  make  a  speech 

25  that  consisteth  of  distinctions  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end.  Generally  such  men  in  all  deliberations  find 
ease  to  be  of  the  negative  side,  and  affect  a  credit  to 
object  and  foretell  difficulties ;  for  when  propositions 
are  denied  there  is  an  end  of  them  ;  but  if  they  be 

30  allowed  it  requireth  a  new  work :  which  false  point  of 
wisdom  is  the  bane  of  business.  To  conclude,  there  is 
no  decaying  merchant  or  inward  beggar  hath  so  many 
tricks  to  uphold  the  credit  of  their  wealth  as  these 
empty  persons  have  to  maintain  the  credit  of  their 

35  sufficiency.  Seeming  wise  men  may  make  shift  to  get 
opinion  ;  but  let  no  man  choose  them  for  employment ; 
for  certainly,  you  were  better  take  for  business  a  man 
somewhat  absurd  than  over-formal. 


86  ESSAY  XXVII 

XXVII 
OF  FRIENDSHIP 

IT  had  been  hard  for  him  that  spake  it  to  have  put 
more  truth  and  untruth  together  in  few  words  than  in 
that  speech,  Whosoever  is  delighted  in  solitude,  is  either 
a  wild  beast  or  a  god :  for  it  is  most  true,  that  a  natural 
and  secret  hatred  and  aversation  towards  society  in  any  5 
man  hath  somewhat  of  the  savage  beast ;  but  it  is  most 
untrue  that  it  should  have  any  character  at  all  of  the 
divine  nature,  except  it  proceed,  not  out  of  a  pleasure 
in  solitude,  but  out  of  a  love  and  desire  to  sequester 
a  man's  self  for  a  higher  conversation :  such  as  is  10 
found  to  have  been  falsely  and  feignedly  in  some  of 
the  heathen  ;  as  Epimenides,  the  Candian  ;  Numa,  the 
Eoman  ;  Empedocles,  the  Sicilian  ;  and  Apollonius  of 
Tyana ;  and  truly  and  really  in  divers  of  the  ancient 
hermits  and  holy  fathers  of  the  Church.  But  little  do  15 
men  perceive  what  solitude  is,  and  how  far  it  extendeth ; 
for  a  o.rnwd.jia  not  company,  and  faces  are  but  a  gallery 
of  pictures,  and  talk  but  a  tinkling  cymbal,  where 
ihere  is  no  love.  The  Latin  adage  meeteth  with  it 
a  little,  Magna  civitas,  magna  solitudo ;  because  in  a  20 
great  town  friends  are  scattered,  so  that  there  is  not 
that  fellowship,  for  the  most  part,  which  is  in  less 
neighbourhoods.  But  we  may  go  further,  and  affirm 
most  truly,  that  it  is  a  mere  and  miserable  solitude  to 
want  true  friends,  without  which  the  world  is  but  25 
a  wilderness ;  and  even  in  this  sense  also  of  solitude, 
whosoever  in  the  frame  of  his  nature  and  affections  is 
unfit  for  friendship,  he  taketh  it  of  the  beast,  and  not 
from  humanity. 

A  principal  fruit  of  friendship  is  the  ease  and  dis-  30 
charge  of  the  fulness  and  swellings  of  the  heart,  which 
passions  of  all  kinds  do  cause  and  induce.     We  know 
diseases  of  stoppings  and  suffocations  are  the  most 
dangerous  in  the  body ;  and  it  is  not  much  otherwise 


OF  FEIENDSHIP  87 

in  the  mind ;  you  may  take  sarza  to  open  the  liver, 
steel  to  open  the  spleen,  flowers  of  sulphur  for  the 
lungs,  castoreum  for  the  brain  ;  but  no  receipt  openeth 
the  heart  but  a  true  friend,  to  whom  you  may  impart 
5  griefs,  joys,  fears,  hopes,  suspicions,  counsels,  and  what 
soever  lieth  upon  the  heart  to  oppress  it,  in  a  kind  of 
civil  shrift  or  confession. 

It  is  a  strange  thing  to  observe  how  high  a  rate 
great  kings   and  monarchs  do  set  upon  this  fruit  of 

10  friendship  whereof  we  speak:  so  great,  as  they  purchase 
it  many  times  at  the  hazard  of  their  own  safety  and 
greatness :  for  princes,  in  regard  of  the  distance  of  their 
fortune  from  that  of  their  subjects  and  servants,  cannot 
gather  this  fruit,  except  (to  make  themselves  capable 

15  thereof)  they  raise  some  persons  to  be  as  it  were 
companions,  and  almost  equals  to  themselves,  which 
many  times  sorteth  to  inconvenience.  The  modern 
languages  give  unto  such  persons  the  name  of  favourites 
or  privadoes,  as  if  it  were  matter  of  grace  or  conversa- 

20  tion  ;  but  the  Koman  name  attaineth  the  true  use  and 
cause  thereof,  naming  them  participcs  curarum  ;  for  it 
is  that  which  tieth  the  knot.  And  we  see  plainly 
that  this  hath  been  done,  not  by  weak  and  passionate 
princes  only,  but  by  the  wisest  and  most  politic  that 

25  ever  reigned,  who  have  oftentimes  joined  to  themselves 
some  of  their  servants,  whom  both  themselves  have 
called  friends,  and  allowed  others  likewise  to  call  them 
in  the  same  manner,  using  the  word  which  is  received 
between  private  men. 

no  L.  Sylla,  when  he  commanded  Rome,  raised  Pompey 
(after  surnamed  the  Great)  to  that  height  that  Pompey 
vaunted  himself  for  Sylla's  overmatch ;  for  when  he 
had  carried  the  consulship  for  a  friend  of  his,  against 
the  pursuit  of  Sylla,  and  that  Sylla  did  a  little  resent 

35  thereat,  and  began  to  speak  great,  Pompey  turned  upon 
him  again,  and  in  effect  bade  him  be  quiet ;  for  that 
more  men  adored  the  sun  rising  than  the  sun  setting. 
With  Julius  Caesar  Decimus  Brutus  had  obtained  that 


88  ESSAY  XXVII 

interest,  as  he  set  him  down  in  his  testament  for  heir 
in  remainder  after  his  nephew  ;  and  this  was  the  man 
that  had  power  with  him  to  draw  him  forth  to  his 
death :  for  when  Caesar  would  have  discharged  the 
senate,  in  regard  of  some  ill  presages  and  specially  5 
a  dream  of  Calpurnia,  this  man  lifted  him  gently  by 
the  arm  out  of  his  chair,  telling  him  he  hoped  he  would 
not  dismiss  the  senate  till  his  wife  had  dreamt  a  better 
dream;  and  it  seemeth  his  favour  was  so  great,  as 
Antonius,  in  a  letter  which  is  recited  verbatim  in  one  10 
of  Cicero's  Philippics,  calleth  him  vcnefica, — witch  ;  as 
if  he  had  enchanted  Caesar.  Augustus  raised  Agrippa 
(though  of  mean  birth)  to  that  height,  as,  when  he 
consulted  with  Maecenas  about  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter  Julia,  Maecenas  took  the  liberty  to  tell  him,  15 
tliat  lie  must  either  marry  his  daughter  to  Agrippa,  or  take 
away  his  life :  tliere  was  tw  third  way,  he  had  made  him  so 
great.  With  Tiberius  Caesar  Sejanus  had  ascended  to 
that  height  as  they  two  were  termed  and  reckoned 
as  a  pair  of  friends.  Tiberius,  in  a  letter  to  him,  saith,  20 
Haec  pro  amicitia  nostra  non  occultavi ;  and  the  whole 
senate  dedicated  an  altar  to  Friendship,  as  to  a  goddess, 
in  respect  of  the  great  dearness  of  friendship  between 
them  two.  The  like,  or  more,  was  between  Septimius 
Severus  and  Plautianus ;  for  he  forced  his  eldest  son  2f> 
to  marry  the  daughter  of  Plautianus,  and  would  often 
maintain  Plautianus  in  doing  affronts  to  his  son  ;  and 
did  write  also  in  a  letter  to  the  senate  by  these  words : 
/  love  the  man  so  well  as  I  wish  Jte  may  over-live  me. 
Now,  if  these  princes  had  been  as  a  Trajan,  or  a  30 
Marcus  Aurelius,  a  man  might  have  thought  that  this 
had  proceeded  of  an  abundant  goodness  of  nature  ;  but 
being  men  so  wise,  of  such  strength  and  severity  of 
mind,  and  so  extreme  lovers  of  themselves,  as  all  these 
were,  it  proveth  most  plainly  that  they  found  their  own  35 
felicity  (though  as  great  as  ever  happened  to  mortal 
men)  but  as  an  half-piece,  except  they  might  have 
a  friend  to  make  it  entire  ;  and  yet,  which  is  more, 


OF   FRIENDSHIP  89 

they  were  princes  that  had  wives,  sons,  nephews  ;  and 
yet  all  these  could  not  supply  the  comfort  of  friend 
ship. 

It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  what  Comineus  observeth 
5  of  his  first  master,  Duke  Charles  the  Hardy ;  namely, 
that  he  would  communicate  his  secrets  with  none : 
and  least  of  all  those  secrets  which  troubled  him  most. 
Whereupon  he  goeth  on  and  saith  that  towards  his 
latter  time  that  closeness  did  impair  and  a  little  perish 

10  his  understanding.  Surely  Comineus  might  have  made 
the  same  judgement  also,  if  it  had  pleased  him,  of  his 
second  master,  Louis  the  Eleventh,  whose  closeness 
was  indeed  his  tormentor.  The  parable  of  Pytha 
goras  is  dark  but  true,  Cor  ne  edito, — cat  not  the  heart. 

15  Certainly,  if  a  man  would  give  it  a  hard  phrase,  those 
that  want  friends  to  open  themselves  unto  are  cannibals 
of  their  own  hearts.  But  one  thing  is  most  admirable 
(wherewith  I  will  conclude  this  first  fruit  of  friend 
ship),  which  is,  that  this  communicating  of  a  man's 

•>0  self  to  his  friend  works  two  contrary  effects ;  for  it 
redoubleth  joys,  and  cutteth  griefs  in  halves:  for  there 
is  no  man  that  imparteth  his  joys  to  his  friend,  but  he 
joyeth  the  more  ;  and  no  man  that  imparteth  his  griefs 
to  his  friend,  but  he  grieveth  the  less.  So  that  it  is, 

•25  in  truth  of  operation  upon  a  man's  mind,  of  like  virtue 
as  the  alchymists  used  to  attribute  to  their  stone  for 
man's  body,  that  it  worketh  all  contrary  effects,  but 
still  to  the  good  and  benefit  of  nature :  but  yet,  with 
out  praying  in  aid  of  alchymists,  there  is  a  manifest 

30  image  of  this  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature  ;  for,  in 

bodies,  union  strengtheneth  and  cherisheth  any  natural 

action,  and,  on  the  other  side,  weakeneth  and  dulleth 

any  violent  impression  ;  and  even  so  is  it  of  minds. 

The   second   fruit   of  friendship   is   healthful    and 

35  sovereign  for  the  understanding,  as  the  first  is  for  the 
affections  ;  for  friendship  maketh  indeed  a  fair  day  in 
the  affections  from  storm  and  tempests,  but  it  maketh 
daylight  in  the  understanding,  out  of  darkness  and 


90  ESSAY  XXVII 

confusion  of  thoughts:  neither  is  this  to  be  under 
stood  only  of  faithful  counsel,  which  a  man  receiveth 
from  his  friend  ;  but  before  you  come  to  that,  certain 
it  is  that  whosoever  hath  his  mind  fraught  with  many 
thoughts,  his  wits  and  understanding  do  clarify  and  5 
break  up  in  the  communicating  and  discoursing  with 
another ;  he  tosseth  his  thoughts  more  easily ;  he 
marshalleth  them  more  orderly ;  he  seeth  how  they 
look  when  they  are  turned  into  words:  finally,  he 
waxeth  wiser  than  himself ;  and  that  more  by  an  10 
hour's  discourse  than  by  a  day's  meditation.  It  was 
well  said  by  Themistocles  to  the  king  of  Persia,  That 
speech  was  like  cloth  of  Arras  opened  and  put  abroad; 
whereby  the  imagery  doth  appear  in  figure ;  whereas  in 
thoughts  they  lie  but  as  in  packs.  Neither  is  this  second  15 
fruit  of  friendship,  in  opening  the  understanding, 
restrained  only  to  such  friends  as  are  able  to  give 
a  man  counsel ;  (they  indeed  are  best) ;  but  even  with 
out  that  a  man  learneth  of  himself,  and  bringeth  his 
own  thoughts  to  light,  and  whetteth  his  wits  as  against  20 
a  stone  which  itself  cuts  not.  In  a  word,  a  man  were 
better  relate  himself  to  a  statua  or  picture,  than  to 
suffer  his  thoughts  to  pass  in  smother. 

Add  now,  to  make  this  second  fruit  of  friendship 
complete,  that  other  point  which  lieth  more  open,  and  25 
falleth  within  vulgar  observation :    which  is  faithful 
counsel  from  a  friend.     Heraclitus  saith  well  in  one  of 
his  enigmas,  Dry  light  is  ever  the  best :  and  certain  it  is 
that  the  light  that  a  man  receiveth  by  counsel  from 
another  is  drier  and  purer  than   that  which  cometh  30 
from  his  own  understanding  and  judgement ;  which  is 
ever  infused  and  drenched  in  his  affections  and  customs. 
So  as  there  is  as  much  difference  between  the  counsel 
that  a  friend  giveth,  and  that  a  man  giveth  himself, 
as  there  is  between  the  counsel  of  a  friend    and  of  85 
a  flatterer ;  for  there  is  no  such  flatterer  as  is  a  man's 
self,  and  there  is  no  such  remedy  against  flattery  of 
a  man's  self  as  the  liberty  of  a  friend.     Counsel  is  of 


OF  FRIENDSHIP  91 

two  sorts ;  the  one  concerning  manners,  the  other  con 
cerning  business.  For  the  first,  the  best  preservative  to 
keep  the  mind  in  health  is  the  faithful  admonition  of 
a  friend.  The  calling  of  a  man's  self  to  a  strict  account 
5  is  a  medicine  sometimes  too  piercing  and  corrosive  ; 
reading  good  books  of  morality  is  a  little  flat  and  dead  ; 
observing  our  faults  in  others  is  sometimes  unproper 
for  our  case  ;  but  the  best  receipt  (best,  I  say,  to  work 
and  best  to  take)  is  the  admonition  of  a  friend.  It  is 

10  a  strange  thing  to  behold  what  gross  errors  and  ex 
treme  absurdities  many  (especially  of  the  greater  sort) 
do  commit  for  want  of  a  friend  to  tell  them  of  them,  to 
the  great  damage  both  of  their  fame  and  fortune :  for, 
as  St.  James  saith,  they  are  as  men  that  look  sometimes 

15  into  a  glass,  and  presently  forget  their  own  shape  and 
favour.  As  for  business,  a  man  may  think,  if  he  will, 
that  two  eyes  see  no  more  than  one  ;  or  that  a  gamester 
seeth  always  more  than  a  looker-on  ;  or  that  a  man  in 
anger  is  as  wise  as  he  that  hath  said  over  the  four  and 

20  twenty  letters ;  or  that  a  musket  may  be  shot  off  as 
well  upon  the  arm  as  upon  a  rest ;  and  such  other 
fond  and  high  imaginations,  to  think  himself  all  in 
all.  But  when  all  is  done,  the  help  of  good  counsel  is 
that  which  setteth  business  straight :  and  if  any  man 

25  think  that  he  will  take  counsel,  but  it  shall  be  by 
pieces,  asking  counsel  in  one  business  of  one  man,  and 
in  another  business  of  another  man,  it  is  well  (that  is 
to  say,  better  perhaps  than  if  he  asked  none  at  all) ; 
but  he  runneth  two  dangers  ;  one,  that  he  shall  not  be 

so  faithfully  counselled  ;  for  it  is  a  rare  thing,  except  it 
be  from  a  pei'fect  and  entire  friend,  to  have  counsel 
given  but  such  as  shall  be  bowed  and  crooked  to  some 
ends  which  he  hath  that  giveth  it :  the  other,  that  he 
shall  have  counsel  given  hurtful  and  unsafe  (though 

35  with  good  meaning),  and  mixed  partly  of  mischief 
and  partly  of  remedy  ;  even  as  if  you  would  call  a 
physician,  that  is  thought  good  for  the  cure  of  the 
disease  you  complain  of,  but  is  unacquainted  with 


*2  FSSAY    \\V11 

your  body :  and  therefore  may  put  you  in  A  way  for 
a  present  cure,  but  overthroweth  your  health  in  some 
outer  kind,  and  so  cure  the  disease  and  kill  the  patient: 
bat  a  friend  that  is  wholly  acquainted  with  a  man's 
estate  will  beware,  by  furthering  any  present  business,  5 
how  he  dasheth  upon  other  inconvenience :  and  there* 
fore  rest  not  upon  scattered  counsels ;  they  will  rather 
distract  and  mislead  than  settle  and  direct 

After  these  two  noble  fruits  of  friendship  (peace  in 
the  affections,  and  support  of  the  judgement  I  followeth  10 
the  last  fruit,  which  is  like  the  pomegranate,  full  of 
many  kernels :  I  mean  aid,  and  bearing  a  part  in  all 
actions  and  occasions.    Here  the  best  way  to  represent 
to  life  the  manifold  use  of  friendship  is  to  cast  and  see 
how  many  things  there  are  which  a  man  cannot  do  1  -'• 
himself :  and  then  it  will  appear  that  it  was  a  sparing 
speech  of  the  ancients  to  say,  tkat  n  jrifHd  is  axothfr 
hiw&l/:  for  that  a  friend  is  far  more  than  himself. 
Men  have  their  time,  and  die  many  times  in  desire 
of  some  things  which  they  principally  take  to  heart ;  30 
the  btmlftniun  of  a  child,  the  finishing  of  a  work,  or 
the  like.     If  a  man  have  a  true  friend,  he  may  rest 
almost  secure  that  the  care  of  those,  things  will  continue 
after  him  ;  so  that  a  man  hath,  as  it  were,  two  livos  in 
his  desires.     A  man  hath  a  body,  and  that  body 
confined  to  a  place :  but  where  friendship  is.  all  offices 
of  life  are  as  it  were  granted  to  him  and  his  deputy  ; 
for  he  may  exercise  them  by  his  frioiul.     How  many 
things  are  there  which  a  man  cannot,  with  any  faco 
or  comeliness,  say  or  do  himself?    A  man  can  scarce  so 
allege  his  own  merits  with  modesty,  much  less  extol 
them  :  a  man  cannot  sometimes  brook  to  supplicate  or 
beg,  and  a  number  of  the  like :  but  all  these  tilings  are 
graceful  in  a  friend's  mouth,  which  are  blushing  in 
a  man's  own.\  So  again,  a  mail's  person  hath  many  Si 
proper  relations  which   he   cannot  put  off.     A  man 
cannot  speak  to  his  son  but  as  a  father ;  to  his  wife 
but  as  a  husband ;    to  his  enemy  but   upon   terms : 


OF  FBIEND8HIP  98 

whereas  a  friend  may  speak  as  the  case  requires,  and 
not  as  it  sorteth  with  the  person.  But  to  enumerate 
these  things  were  endless ;  I  have  given  the  rule  where 
a  man  cannot  fitly  play  his  own  part ;  if  he  have  not 
6  a  friend,  he  may  quit  the  stage. 

XXVIII 
OF  EXPENSE 

RICHES  are  for  spending,  and  spending  for  honour 
and  good  actions;  therefore  extraordinary  expense 
must  be  limited  by  the  worth  of  the  occasion;  for 
voluntary  undoing  may  be  as  well  for  a  man's  country 

10  as  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  ordinary  expense 
ought  to  be  limited  by  a  man's  estate,  and  governed 
with  such  regard  as  it  be  within  his  compass; 
and  not  subject  to  deceit  and  abuse  of  servants ;  and 
ordered  to  the  best  show,  that  the  bills  may  be  less 

15  than  the  estimation  abroad.  Certainly,  if  a  man 
will  keep  but  of  even  hand,  his  ordinary  expenses 
ought  to  be  but  to  the  half  of  his  receipts  ;  and  if  he 
think  to  wax  rich,  but  to  the  third  part.  It  is  no  base 
ness  for  the  greatest  to  descend  and  look  into  their  own 

20  estate.  Borne  forbear  it,  not  upon  negligence  alone, 
but  doubting  to  bring  themselves  into  melancholy,  in 
respect  they  shall  find  it  broken :  but  wounds  cannot 
be  cured  without  searching.  He  that  cannot  look  into 
his  own  estate  at  all  had  need  both  choose  well  those 

25  whom  he  employeth,  and  change  them  often  ;  for  new 
are  more  timorous  and  less  subtile.  He  that  can  look 
into  his  estate  but  seldom,  it  behoveth  him  to  turn  all 
to  certainties.  A  man  had  need,  if  he  be  plentiful  in 
some  kind  of  expense,  to  be  as  saving  again  in  some 

80  other :  as  if  he  be  plentiful  in  diet,  to  be  saving  in 
apparel :  if  he  be  plentiful  in  the  hall,  to  be  saving 
in  the  stable :  and  the  like.  For  he  that  is  plentiful  in 
expense*  of  all  kinds  will  hardly  be  preserved  from 


»4  ESSAY  XXIX 

decay.  In  clearing  of  a  man's  estate,  he  may  as  well 
hurt  himself  in  being  too  sudden  as  in  letting  it  run  on 
too  long  ;  for  hasty  selling  is  commonly  as  disadvan- 
tageable  as  interest.  Besides,  he  that  clears  at  once 
will  relapse  ;  for  finding  himself  out  of  straits,  he  will  5 
revert  to  his  customs :  but  he  that  cleareth  by  degrees 
induceth  a  habit  of  frugality,  and  gaineth  as  well  upon 
his  mind  as  upon  his  estate.  Certainly,  who  hath  a 
state  to  repair  may  not  despise  small  things ;  and 
commonly  it  is  less  dishonourable  to  abridge  petty  lu 
charges—ihan  to  stoop  to  petty  -fflM'py-  A  man 
Alight  warily  to  begin  charges  which  once  begun  will 
continue :  but  in  matters  that  return  not  he  may  be 
more  magnificent. 

XXIX 

OF  THE  TRUE  GREATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS 
AND  ESTATES 

THE  speech  of  Theuiistocles,  the  Athenian,  which  15 
was  haughty  and  arrogant  in  taking  so  much  to  him 
self,  had  been  a  grave  and  wise  observation  and  censure, 
applied  at  large  to  others.     Desired  at  a  feast  to  touch 
a  lute,  he  said,  He  could  not  fiddle,  but  yet  he  could  make 
a  small  town  a  great  city.     These  words  (holpen  a  little  -Jo 
with  a  metaphor)  may  express  two  different  abilities 
in  those  that  deal  in  business  of  estate ;  for  if  a  true 
survey  be  taken  of  counsellors  and  statesmen,  there 
may  be  found  (though  rarely)  those  which  can  make  a 
small  state  great,  and  yet  cannot  fiddle :  as,  on  the  '25 
other  side,  there  will  be  found  a  great  many  that  can 
fiddle  very  cunningly,  but  yet  are  so  far  from  being 
able  to  make  a  small  state  great,  as  their  gift  lieth  the 
other  way  ;  to  bring  a  great  and  flourishing  estate  to 
ruin  and  decay.     And  certainly,  those  degenerate  arts  So 
and  shifts  whereby  many  counsellors  and  governors  gain 
both  favour  with  their  masters  and  estimation  with  the 
vulgar,  deserve  no  better  name  than  fiddling;  being 


TRUE  GREATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS,  ETC.  95 

things  rather  pleasing  for  the  time, and  graceful  to  them 
selves  only,  than  tending  to  the  weal  and  advancement 
of  the  state  which  they  serve.  There  are  also  (no 
doubt)  counsellors  and  governors  which  may  be  held 
5  sufficient  (ncgotiis  pares),  able  to  manage  affairs,  and  to 
keep  them  from  precipices  and  manifest  inconveniences; 
which  nevertheless  are  far  from  the  ability  to  raise  and 
amplify  an  estate  in  power,  means,  and  fortune.  But 
be  the  workmen  what  they  may  be,  let  us  speak  of  the 

10  work ;  that  is,  the  true  greatness  of  kingdoms  and 
estates,  and  the  means  thereof — tin  argument  fit  for 
great  and  mighty  princes  to  have  in  their  hand  ;  to 
the  end  that  neither  by  over-measuring  their  forces 
they  lose  themselves  in  vain  enterprises :  nor,  on  the 

15  other  side,  by  undervaluing  them  they  descend  to 
fearful  and  pusillanimous  counsels. 

The  greatness  of  an  estate  in  bulk  and  territory  doth 
fall  under  measure  ;  and  the  greatness  of  finances  and 
revenue  doth  fall  under  computation.  The  population 

20  may  appear  by  musters  ;  and  the  number  and  greatness 
of  cities  and  towns  by  cards  and  maps ;  but  yet  there  is 
not  anything  amongst  civil  affairs  more  subject  to  error 
than  the  right  valuation  and  true  judgement  concerning 
the  power  and  forces  of  an  estate.  The  kingdom  of 

25  heaven  is  compared,  not  to  any  great  kernel  or  nut, 
but  to  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  ;  which  is  one  of  the 
least  grains,  but  hath  in  it  a  property  and  spirit  hastily 
to  get  up  and  spread.  So  are  there  states  great  in  terri 
tory,  and  yet  not  apt  to  enlarge  or  command ;  and 

30  some  that  have  but  a  small  dimension  of  stem,  and  yet 
apt  to  be  the  foundations  of  great  monarchies. 

Walled  towns,  stored  arsenals  and  armouries,  goodly 
races  of  horse,  chariots  of  war,  elephants,  ordnance, 
artillery,  and  the  like  ;  all  this  is  but  a  sheep  in  a 

35  lion's  skin,  except  the  breed  and  disposition  of  the 
people  be  stout  and  warlike.  Nay,  number  itself  in 
armies  importeth  not  much  where  the  people  is  of 
weak  courage  ;  for  (as  Virgil  saith),  It  never  troubles  a 


96  ESSAY  XXIX 

wolfhmv  many  the  sheep  be.     The  army  of  the  Persians 
in  the  plains  of  Arbela  was  such  a  vast  sea  of  people  as 
it  did  somewhat  astonish  the  commanders  in  Alex 
ander's  army,  who  came  to  him  therefore  and  wished 
him  to  set  upon  them  by  night ;  but  he  answered,  He  5 
would  not  pilfer  the  victory :  and  the  defeat  was  easy. 
When  Tigranes,  the  Armenian,  being  encamped  upon 
a  hill  with  four  hundred  thousand  men,  discovered  the 
army  of  the  Komans,  being  not  above  fourteen  thousand, 
marching  towards  him,  he  made  himself  merry  with  it,  10 
and  said,  Yonder  men  are  too  many  for  an  ambassage, 
and  too  feiv  for  a  fight ;  but  before  the  sun  set  he  found 
them  enow  to  give  him  the  chase  with  infinite  slaughter. 
Many  are  the  examples  of  the  great  odds  between  num 
ber  and   courage :  so  that  a  man  may  truly  make  a  15 
judgement  that  the  principal  point  of  greatness  in  any 
state  is  to  have  a  race  of  military  men.     Neither  is 
money  the  sinews  of  war  (as  it  is  trivially  said),  where 
the  sinews  of  men's  arms  in  base  and  effeminate  people 
are  failing :  for  Solon  said  well  to  Croesus  (when  in  20 
ostentation  he  showed  him  his  gold),  Sir,  if  any  other 
come  that  hath  better  iron  than  you,  he  will  be  master  of 
all  this  gold.     Therefore,  let  any  prince  or  state  think 
soberly  of  his  forces,  except  his  militia  of  natives  be  of 
good  and  valiant  soldiers  ;  and  let  princes,  on  the  other  25 
side,  that  have  subjects  of  martial  disposition,  know 
their  own  strength,  unless  they  be  otherwise  wanting 
unto  themselves.     As  for  mercenary  forces  (which  is 
the  help  in  this  case),  all  examples  show  that  whatso 
ever  estate  or  prince  doth   rest  upon  them,  he  may  30 
spread  his  feathers  for  a  time,  but  he  tvill  mew  them  soon 
after. 

The  blessing  of  Judah  and  Issachar  will  never  meet ; 
that  tJie  same  people  or  nation  should  be  both  tlie  lion's 
ivhelp  and  the  ass  between  burdens ;  neither  will  it  be  35 
that  a  people  overlaid^  sadilL  taxes  should  .ever  bftflnme 
valiant  and  martial.  It  is  true  that  taxes,  levied  by 
consent  of  the  estate,  do  abate  men's  courage  less ;  as 


TKUE  GREATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS,  ETC.     97 

it  hath  been  seen  notably  in  the  excises  of  the  Low 
Countries ;  and,  in  some  degree,  in  the  subsidies  of 
England  ;  for,  you  must  note  that  we  speak  now  of  the 
heart  and  not  of  the  purse  ;  so  that  although  the  same 
5  tribute  and  tax  laid  by  consent  or  by  imposing  be  all 
one  to  the  purse,  yet  it  works  diversely  upon  the 
courage.  So  that  you  may  conclude  .that  no  people 
overcharged  with  tribute  is  fit  for  empire. 

Let  states  that  aim  at  greatness  take  heed  how  their 

10  nobility  and  gentlemen  do  multiply  too  fast ;  for  that 
maketh  the  common  subject  grow  to  be  a  peasant  and 
base  swain,  driven  out  of  heart,  and  in  effect  but  the 
gentleman's  labourer.  Even  as  you  may  see  in  coppice 
woods ;  if  you  leave  your  staddles  too  thick,  you  shall 

15  never  have  clean  underwood,  but  shrubs  and  bushes.  So  in 
countries,  if  the  gentlemen  be  too  many  the  commons 
will  be  base  :  and  you  will  bring  it  to  that  that  not  the 
hundred  poll  will  be  fit  for  an  helmet :  especially  as  to 
the  infantry,  which  is  the  nerve  of  an  army ;  and 

20  so  there  will  be  great  population  and  little  strength. 
This  which  I  speak  of  hath  been  nowhere  better 
seen  than  by  comparing  of  England  and  France ; 
whereof  England,  though  far  less  in  territory  and 
population,  hath  been  (nevertheless)  an  overmatch  ;  in 

25  regard  the  middle  people  of  England  make  good  sol 
diers,  which  the  peasants  of  France  do  not.  And  herein 
the  device  of  King  Henry  the  Seventh  (whereof  I  have 
spoken  largely  in  the  history  of  his  life)  was  profound 
and  admirable,  in  making  farms  and  houses  of  hus- 

30  bandry  of  a  standard,  that  is,  maintained  with  such  a 
proportion  of  land  unto  them  as  may  breed  a  subject 
to  live  in  convenient  plenty,  and  no  servile  condition  ; 
and  to  keep  the  plough  in  the  hands  of  the  owners, 
and  not  mere  hirelings  ;  and  thus  indeed  you  shall 

35  attain  to  Virgil's  character,  which  he  gives  to  ancient 
Italy  : 

Terra  potens  armis  atquc  ubere  glebae. 


98  ESSAY  XXIX 

Neither  is  that  state  (which,  for  anything  I  know,  is 
almost  peculiar  to  England,  and  hardly  to  be  found 
anywhere  else,  except  it  be  perhaps  in  Poland)  to  be 
passed  over  ;  I  mean  the  state  of  free  servants  and 
attendants  upon  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  which  are  5 
no  ways  inferior  unto  the  yeomanry  for  arms ;  and 
therefore,  out  of  all  question,  the  splendour  and  mag 
nificence  and  great  retinues  and  hospitality  of  noble 
men  and  gentlemen  received  into  custom  doth  much 
conduce  unto  martial  greatness  ;  whereas,  contrari- 10 
wise,  the  close  and  reserved  living  of  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  causeth  a  penury  of  military  forces. 

By  all  means  it  is  to  be  procured  that  the  trunk  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  tree  of  monarchy  be  great  enough  to 
bear  the  branches  and  the  boughs ;  that  is,  that  the  15 
natural  subjects  of  the  crown  or  state  bear  a  sufficient 
proportion  to  the  stranger  subjects  that  they  govern. 
Therefore  all  states  that  are  liberal  of  naturalization 
towards  strangers  are  fit  for  empire  ;  for  to  think  that 
a  handful  of  people  can,  with  the  greatest  courage  and  20 
policy  in  the  world,  embrace  too  large  extent  of  domi 
nion,  it  may  hold  for  a  time  but  it  will  fail  suddenly. 
The  Spartans  were  a  nice  people  in  point  of  naturali 
zation  ;  whereby,  while  they  kept  their  compass,  they 
stood  firm  ;  but  when  they  did  spread,  and  their  boughs  25 
were  becomen  too  great  for  their  stem,  they  became  a 
windfall  upon  the  sudden.  Never  any  state  was  in 
this  point  so  open  to  receive  strangers  into  their  body 
as  were  the  Romans  ;  therefore  it  sorted  with  them 
accordingly,  for  they  grew  to  the  greatest  monarchy.  30 
Their  manner  was  to  grant  naturalization  (which 
they  called  jus  civitatis),  and  to  grant  it  in  the  highest 
degree,  that  is,  not  only  jus  commercii,  jus  connubii,  jus 
haereditatis,  but  also,  jus  suffragii,  and  jus  honorum  ; 
and  this  not  to  singular  persons  alone,  but  likewise  to  35 
whole  families  ;  yea,  to  cities  and  sometimes  to  nations. 
Add  to  this  their  custom  of  plantation  of  colonies, 
whereby  the  Roman  plant  was  removed  into  the  soil 


TRUE  GREATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS,  ETC.  99 

of  other  nations ;  and,  putting  both  constitutions  to 
gether,  you  will  say  that  it  was  not  the  Romans  that 
spread  upon  the  world,  but  it  was  the  world  that  spread 
upon  the  Romans  ;  and  that  was  the  sure  way  of  great- 
5  ness.  I  have  marvelled  sometimes  at  Spain,  how 
they  clasp  and  contain  so  large  dominions  with  so  few 
natural  Spaniards  ;  but  sure  the  whole  compass  of 
Spain  is  a  very  great  body  of  a  tree,  far  above  Rome 
and  Sparta  at  the  first  ;  and  besides,  though  they  have 

JO  not  had  that  usage  to  naturalize  liberally,  yet  they 
have  that  which  is  next  to  it ;  that  is,  to  employ  almost 
indifferently  all  nations  in  their  militia  of  ordinary  soldiers; 
yea,  and  sometimes  in  their  highest  commands  ;  nay, 
it  seemeth  at  this  instant  they  are  sensible  of  this  want 

is  of  natives  ;  as  by  the  pragmatical  sanction,  now  pub 
lished,  appeareth. 

It  is  certain  that  sedentary  and  within-door  arts  and 
delicate  manufactures  (that  require  rather  the  finger 
than  the  arm)  have  in  their  nature  a  contrariety  to  a 

20  military  disposition  ;  and  generally  all  warlike  people 
are  a  little  idle,  and  love  danger  better  than  travail ; 
neither  must  they  be  too  much  broken  of  it  if  they 
shall  be  preserved  in  vigour.  Therefore  it  was  great 
advantage  in  the  ancient  states  of  Sparta,  Athens, 

25  Rome,  and  others,  that  they  had  the  use  of  slaves, 
which  commonly  did  rid  those  manufactures  ;  but 
that  is  abolished  in  greatest  part  by  the  Christian  law. 
That  which  cometh  nearest  to  it  is  to  leave  those  arts 
chiefly  to  strangers  (which  for  that  purpose  are  the 

30  more  easily  to  be  received),  and  to  contain  the  principal 
bulk  of  the  vulgar  natives  within  those  three  kinds, 
tillers  of  the  ground,  free  servants,  and  handicraftsmen 
of  strong  and  manly  arts,  as  smiths,  masons,  carpen 
ters,  &c.,  not  reckoning  professed  soldiers. 

35  But  above  all,  for  empire  and  greatness  it  importeth 
most  that  a  nation  do  profess  arms  as  t.hftir  principal 
honour,  study,  and  occupation  ;  for  the  things  which 
we  formerly  have  spoken  of  are  but  habitations 


100  ESSAY  XXIX 

towards  arms  ;  and  what  is  habilitation  without  in 
tention  and  act  ?  Komulus,  after  his  death  (as  they 
report  or  feign),  sent  a  present  to  the  Romans,  that 
above  all  they  should  intend  arms,  and  then  they 
should  prove  the  greatest  empire  of  the  world.  The  5 
fabric  of  the  state  of  Sparta  was  wholly  (though  not 
wisely)  framed  and  composed  to  that  scope  and  end  ;  the 
Persians  and  Macedonians  had  it  for  a  flash  ;  the  Gauls, 
Germans,  Goths,  Saxons,  Normans,  and  others,  had  it 
for  a  time ;  the  Turks  have  it  at  this  day,  though  in  10 
great  declination.  Of  Christian  Europe,  they  that  have 
it  are  in  effect  only  the  Spaniards.  But  it  is  so  plain  that 
every  man  profitefh  in  that  he  most  intendeth,  that  it 
needeth  not  to  be  stood  upon  :  it  is  enough  to  point  at 
it ;  that  no  nation  which  doth  not  directly  profess  arms  15 
may  look  to  have  greatness  fall  into  their  mouths ;  and 
on  the  other  side,  it  is  a  most  certain  oracle  of  time, 
that  those  states  that  continue  long  in  that  profession 
(as  the  Komans  and  Turks  principally  have  done)  do 
wonders ;  and  those  that  have  professed  arms  but  for  20 
an  age  have,  notwithstanding,  commonly  attained  that 
greatness  in  that  age  which  maintained  them  long 
after,  when  their  profession  and  exercise  of  arms  had 
grown  to  decay. 

Incident  to  this  point  is  for  a  state  to  have  those  25 
laws  or  customs  which  may  reach  forth  unto  them  just 
occasions  (as  may  be  pretended)  of  war ;  for  there  is 
that  justice  imprinted  in  the  nature  of  men,  that  they 
enter  not  upon  wars  (whereof  so  many  calamities  do 
ensue),  but  upon  some  at  the  least  specious  grounds  30 
and  quarrels.     The  Turk  hath  at  hand,  for  cause  of 
war,  the  propagation  of  his  law  or  sect,  a  quarrel  that 
he  may  always  command.     The  Romans,  though  they 
esteemed  the  extending  the  limits  of  their  empire  to 
be  great  honour  to  their  generals  when  it  was  done,  85 
yet  they  never  rested  upon  that  alone  to  begin  a  war. 
First  therefore  let  nations  that  pretend  to  greatness 
have  this,  that  they  be  sensible  of  wrongs,  either  upon 


TKUE  GKEATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS,  ETC.  101 

borderers,  merchants,  or  politic  ministers ;  and  that 
they  sit  not  too  long  upon  a  provocation :  secondly, 
let  them  be  prest  and  ready  to  give  aids  and  succours 
to  their  confederates  ;  as  it  ever  was  with  the  Eomans  ; 
5  insomuch  as  if  the  confederate  had  leagues  defensive 
with  divers  other  states,  and  upon  invasion  offered  did 
implore  their  aids  severally,  yet  the  Eomans  would  ever 
be  the  foremost,  and  leave  it  to  none  other  to  have  the 
honour.  As  for  the  wars  which  were  anciently  made 

10  on  the  behalf  of  a  kind  of  party  or  tacit  conformity  of 
estate,  I  do  not  see  how  they  may  be  well  justified : 
as  when  the  Komans  made  a  war  for  the  liberty  of 
Graecia :  or  when  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Athenians 
made  wars  to  set  up  or  pull  down  democracies  and 

15  oligarchies :  or  when  wars  were  made  by  foreigners, 
under  the  pretence  of  justice  or  protection,  to  deliver 
the  subjects  of  others  from  tyranny  and  oppression  ; 
and  the  like.  Let  it  suffice,  that  no  estate  expect  to 
be  great  that  is  not  awake  upon  any  just  occasion  of 

20  arming. 

No  body  can  be  healthful  without  exercise,  neither 
natural  body  nor  politic ;  and  certainly  to  a  kingdom 
or  estate  a  just  and  honourable  war  is  the  true  exercise. 
A  civil  war  indeed,  is  like  the  heat  of  a  fever  ;  but  a  > 

25  foreign  war  is  like  the  heat  of  exercise,  and  serveth  to  keep  ^ 
the  body  in  health  ;  for  in  a  slothful  peace  both  courages 
will  effeminate  and  manners  corrupt.    But  howsoever  it  / 
be  for  happiness,  without  all  question  for  greatness  it 
maketh  to  be  still  for  the  most  part  in  arms  ;    and  the 

30  strength  of  a  veteran  army  (though  it  be  a  chargeable  v 
business),  always   on   foot,   is  that  which  commonly 
giveth  the  law,  or  at  least  the  reputation  amongst  all 
neighbour  states,  as  may  well  be  seen  in  Spain,  which 
hath  had,  in  one  part  or  other,  a  veteran  army  almost 

35  continually  now  by  the  space  of  six-score  years. 

To  be  master  of  the  sea  is  an  abridgement  of  a 
monarchy.  Cicero,  writing  to  Atticus  of  Pompey  his 
preparation  against  Caesar,  saith,  Consilium  Pompeii 


102  ESSAY  XXIX 

plane  Tkemislocleum  cat ;  putat  cnim  qiii  inari  yotitur 
cum  rerum  potiri ;  and  without  doubt  Pompey  had 
tired  out  Caesar  if  upon  vain  confidence  he  had  not 
left  that  way.  We  see  the  great  effects  of  battles  by 
sea :  the  battle  of  Actium  decided  the  empire  of  the  5 
world  ;  the  battle  of  Lepanto  arrested  the  greatness 
of  the  Turk.  There  be  many  examples  where  sea- 
lights  have  been  final  to  the  war :  but  this  is  when 
princes  or  states  have  set  up  their  rest  upon  the  battles. 
But  thus  much  is  certain  ;  that  he  that  commands  the  lo 
sea  is  at  great  liberty,  and  may  take  as  much  and  as 
little  of  the  war  as  he  will ;  whereas  those  that  be 
strongest  by  land  are  many  times  nevertheless  in  great 
straits.  Surely  at  this  day  with  us  of  Europe  the 
vantage  of  strength  at  sea  (which  is  one  of  the  princi-  15 
pal  dowries  of  this  kingdom  of  Great  Britain)  is  great ; 
both  because  most  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe  are  not 
merely  inland,  but  girt  with  the  sea  most  part  of  their 
compass  ;  and  because  the  wealth  of  both  Indies  seems 
in  great  part  but  an  accessary  to  the  command  of  the  20 
seas. 

The  wars  of  latter  ages  seem  to  be  made  in  the  dark, 
in  respect  of  the  glory  and  honour  which  reflected  upon 
men  from  the  wars  in  ancient  time.  There  be  now,  for 
martial  encouragement,  some  degrees  and  orders  of  25 
chivalry,  which  nevertheless  are  conferred  promis 
cuously  upon  soldiers  and  no  soldiers  ;  and  some  re 
membrance  perhaps  upon  the  scutcheon,  and  some 
hospitals  for  maimed  soldiers,  and  such  like  things; 
but  in  ancient  times,  the  trophies  erected  upon  the  '60 
place  of  the  victory  ;  the  funeral  laudatives  and  monu 
ments  for  those  that  died  in  the  wars ;  the  crowns 
and  garlands  personal ;  the  style  of  emperor  which 
the  great  kings  of  the  world  after  borrowed  ;  the 
triumphs  of  the  generals  upon  their  return  ;  the  great  35 
donatives  and  largesses  upon  the  disbanding  of  the 
armies,  were  things  able  to  inflame  all  men's  courages. 
But  above  all,  that  of  the  triumph  amongst  the  Ixoinans 


TRUE  GREATNESS  OF  KINGDOMS,  ETC.    103 

was  not  pageants  or  gander},  but  one  of  the  wisest 
and  noblest  institutions  that  ever  was ;  for  it  con 
tained  three  things ;  honour  to  the  general,  riches  to. 
the  treasury  out  of  the  spoils,  and  donatives  to  the 

5  army.  But  that  honour  perhaps  were  not  fit  for 
monarchies,  except  it  be  in  the  person  of  the  monarch 
himself  or  his  sons ;  as  it  came  to  pass  in  the  times  of 
the  Roman  emperors,  who  did  impropriate  the  actual 
triumphs  to  themselves  and  their  sons  for  such  wars 

10  as  they  did  achieve  in  person,  and  left  only  for  wars 
achieved  by  subjects  some  triumphal  garments  and 
ensigns  to  the  general. 

To  conclude :  no  man  can  by  by  care  taking  (as  the 
Scripture  saith)  add  a  cubit  to  his  stature  in  this  little 

15  model  of  a  man's  body ;  but  in  the  great  frame  of 
kingdoms  and  commonwealths  it  is  in  the  power  of 
princes  or  estates  to  add  amplitude  and  greatness  to 
their  kingdoms ;  for  by  introducing  such  ordinances, 
constitutions,  and  customs,  as  we  have  now  touched, 

20  they  may  sow  greatness  to  their  posterity  and  succes 
sion  :  but  these  things  are  commonly  not  observed,  but 
left  to  take  their  chance. 

XXX 
OF   REGIMENT   OF  HEALTH 

THERE  is  a  wisdom  in  this  beyond  the  rules  of 
physic :  a  man's  own  observation  what  he  finds  good 

25  of  and  what  he  finds  hurt  of  is  the  best  physic  to 
preserve  health ;  but  it  is  a  safer  conclusion  to  say, 
This  agreeth  not  well  with  me,  therefore  I  will  not  continue 
it,  than  this,  I  find  no  offence  of  this,  therefore  I  may  use 
it :  for  strength  of  nature  in  youth  passeth  over  many 

30  excesses  which  are  owing  a  man  till  his  age.  Discern 
of  the  coming  on  of  years,  and  think  not  to  do  the 
same  things  still ;  for  age  will  not  be  defied.  Beware 
of  sudden  change  in  any  great  point  of  diet,  and,  if 


104  ESSAY  XXX 

necessity  enforce  it,  fit  the  rest  to  it ;  for  it  is  a  secret 
both  in  nature  and  state,  that  it  is  safer  to  change 
many  things  than  one.  Examine  thy  customs  of  diet, 
sleep,  exercise,  apparel,  and  the  like ;  and  try,  in  any 
thing  thou  shalt  judge  hurtful,  to  discontinue  it  by  5 
little  and  little  ;  but  so  as,  if  thou  dost  find  any  incon 
venience  by  the  change,  thou  come  back  to  it  again : 
for  it  is  hard  to  distinguish  that  which  is  generally 
held  good  and  wholesome  from  that  which  is  good 
particularly  and  fit  for  thine  own  body.  To  be  free  10 
minded  and  cheerfully  disposed  at  hours  of  meat  and  of 
sleep  and  of  exercise  is  one  of  the  best  precepts  of  long 
lasting.  As  for  the  passions  and  studies  of  the  mind, 
jivoid  envy,  anxious  fears,  anger  fretting  inwards, 
subtile  and  knotty  inquisitions,  joys  and  exhilara- 15 
tions  in  excess,  sadness  not  communicated.  Entertain 
hopes,  mirth  rather  than  joy,  variety  of  delights  rather 
than  surfeit  of  them ;  wonder  and  admiration,  and 
therefore  novelties ;  studies  that  fill  the  mind  with 
splendid  and  illustrious  objects ;  as  histories,  fables,  20 
and  contemplations  of  nature.  If  you  fly  physic  in 
health  altogether,  it  will  be  too  strange  for  your  body 
when  you  shall  need  it ;  if  you  make  it  too  familiar,  it 
will  work  no  extraordinary  effect  when  sickness  cometh . 
I  commend  rather  some  diet  for  certain  seasons  than  25 
frequent  use  of  physic,  except  it  be  grown  into  a 
custom  ;  for  those  diets  alter  the  body  more  and  trouble 
it  less.  Despise  no  new  accident  in  your  body,  but  ask 
opinion  of  it.  In  sickness,  respect  health  principally  ; 
and  in  health,  action :  for  those  that  put  their  bodies  30 
to  endure  in  health  may,  in  most  sicknesses  which  are 
not  very  sharp,  be  cured  only  with  diet  and  tendering. 
Celsus  could  never  have  spoken  it  as  a  physician,  had 
he  not  been  a  wise  man  withal,  when  he  giveth  it  for 
one  of  the  great  precepts  of  health  and  lasting,  that  35 
a  man  do  vary  and  interchange  contraries,  but  with  an 
inclination  to  the  more  benign  extreme:  use  fasting 
and  full  eating,  but  rather  full  eating ;  watching  and 


OF  EEGIMENT  OF  HEALTH  105 

sleep,  but  rather  sleep ;  sitting  and  exercise,  but  rather 
exercise,  and  the  like:  so  shall  nature  be  cherished, 
and  yet  taught  masteries.  Physicians  are  some  of 
them  so  pleasing  and  conformable  to  the  humour  of 
5  the  patient  as  they  press  not  the  true  cure  of  the 
disease  ;  and  some  other  are  so  regular  in  proceeding 
according  to  art  for  the  disease  as  they  respect  not 
sufficiently  the  condition  of  the  patient,  Take  one  of 
a  middle  temper ;  or,  if  it  may  not  be  found  in  one 
10  man,  combine  two  of  either  sort ;  and  forget  not  to 
call  as  well  the  best  acquainted  with  your  body  as  the 
best  reputed  of  for  his  faculty. 

XXXI 

OF   SUSPICION 

SUSPICIONS  amongst  thoughts  are  like  bats  amongst 
birds,  they  ever  fly  by  twilight :  certainly  they  are  to 

15  be  repressed,  or  at  the  least  well  guarded ;  for  they 

\  cloud  the  mind,  they  lose  friends,  and  they  check  with 

business,  whereby  business  cannot  go  on  currently  and 

constantly :  they  dispose  kings  to  tyranny,  husbands 

to  jealousy,  wise  men  to  irresolution  and  melancholy  : 

20  they  are  defects,  not  in  the  heart  but  in  the  brain  ; 
for  they  take  place  in  the  stoutest  natures,  as  in  the 
example  of  Henry  the  Seventh  of  England  ;  there  was 
not  a  more  suspicious  man  nor  a  more  stout :  and  in 
such  a  composition  they  do  small  hurt ;  for  commonly 

25  they  are  not  admitted  but  with  examination  whether 
they  be  likely  or  no  ;  but  in  fearful  natures  they  gain 
ground  too  fast.  There  is  nothing  makes  a  man  suspect 
much,  more  than  to  know  little ;  and  therefore  men 
should  remedy  suspicion  by  procuring  to  know  more, 

30  and  not  to  keep  their  suspicions  in  smother.  What 
would  men  have  ?  Do  they  think  those  they  employ 
and  deal  with  are  saints?  Do  they  not  think  they 
will  have  their  own  ends,  and  be  truer  to  themselves 


106  ESSAY  XXXII 

than  to  them?  Therefore  there  is  no  better  way 
to  moderate  suspicions  than  to  account  upon  such 
suspicions  as  true  and  yet  to  bridle  them  as  false : 
for  so  far  a  man  ought  to  make  use  of  suspicions  as  to 
provide,  as  if  that  should  be  true  that  he  suspects,  yet  5 
it  may  do  him  no  hurt.  Suspicions  that  the  mind  of 
itself  gathers  are  but  buzzes ;  but  suspicions  that  are 
artificially  nourished  and  put  into  men's  heads  by  the 
tales  and  whisperings  of  others  have  stings.  Certainly, 
the  best  mean  to  clear  the  way  in  this  same  wood  of  10 
suspicions  is  frankly  to  communicate  them  with  the 
party  that  he  suspects ;  for  thereby  he  shall  be  sure  to 
know  more  of  the  truth  of  them  than  he  did  before  ; 
and  withal  shall  make  that  party  more  circumspect 
not  to  give  further  cause  of  suspicion.  But  this  would  15 
not  be  done  to  men  of  base  natures  ;  for  they,  if  they 
find  themselves  once  suspected,  will  never  be  true. 
The  Italian  says,  sospctto  liccntia  fede;  as  if  suspicion 
did  give  a  passport  to  faith  ;  but  it  ought  rather  to 
kindle  it  to  discharge  itself.  20 

xxxr. 

OF  DISCOUKSE 

SOME  in  their  discourse  desire  rather  commendation 
of  wit,  in  being  able  to  hold  all  arguments,  than  of 
judgement,  in  discerning  what  is  true ;  as  if  it  were 
a  praise  to  know  what  might  be  said,  and  not  what 
should  be  thought.  Some  have  certain  common-places  25 
and  themes  wherein  they  are  good,  and  want  variety  ; 
which  kind  of  poverty  is  for  the  most  part  tedious, 
and  when  it  is  once  perceived  ridiculous.  The  hon- 
ourablest  part  of  talk  is  to  give  the  occasion  ;  and 
again  to  moderate  and  pass  to  somewhat  else ;  for  30 
then  a  man  leads  the  dance.  It  is  good  in  discourse 
and  speech  of  conversation  to  vary  and  intermingle 
speech  of  the  present  occasion  with  arguments,  tales 


OF  DISCOUKSE  107 

with  reasons,  asking  of  questions  with  telling  of 
opinions,  and  jest  with  earnest ;  for  it  is  a  dull  thing 
to  tire,  and  as  we  say  now  to  jade  anything  too  far. 
As  for  jest,  there  be  certain  things  which  ought  to  be 
5  privileged  from  it ;  namely,  religion,  matters  of  state, 
great  persons,  any  man's  present  business  of  impor 
tance,  and  any  case  that  deserveth  pity  ;  yet  there  be 
some  that  think  their  wits  have  been  asleep,  except 
they  dart  out  somewhat  that  is  piquant  and  to  the 
10  quick  ;  that  is  a  vein  which  would  be  bridled  ; 

Parce  pucr  stimulis,  ct  fortius  utere  loris. 

And  generally,  men  ought  to  find  the  difference  be 
tween  saltness  and  bitterness.  Certainly,  he  that  hath 
a  satirical  vein,  as  he  maketh  others  afraid  of  his  wit, 

15  so  he  had  need  be  afraid  of  others'  memory.  He  that 
questioneth  much  shall  learn  much,  and  content  much ; 
but  especially  if  he  apply  his  questions  to  the  skill  of 
the  persons  whom  he  asketh  ;  for  he  shall  give  them 
occasion  to  please  themselves  in  speaking,  and  him- 

•20  self  shall  continually  gather  knowledge.  But  let  his 
questions  not  be  troublesome,  for  that  is  fit  for  a 
poser ;  and  let  him  be  sure  to  leave  other  men  their 
turns  to  speak :  nay,  if  there  be  any  that  would  reign 
and  take  up  all  the  time,  let  him  find  means  to  take 

25  them  off,  and  to  bring  others  on,  as  musicians  use  to 
do  with  those  that  dance  too  long  galliards.  If  you 
dissemble  sometimes  your  knowledge  of  that  you  are 
thought  to  know,  you  shall  be  thought  another  time 
to  know  that  you  know  not.  Speech  of  a  man's  self 

30  ought  to  be  seldom,  and  well  chosen.  I  knew  one  was 
wont  to  say  in  scorn,  He  must  needs  be  a  wise  man,  he 
speaks  so  much  of  himself:  and  there  is  but  one  case 
wherein  a  man  may  commend  himself  with  good  grace, 
and  that  is  in  commending  virtue  in  another,  especially 

35  if  it  be  such  a  virtue  whereunto  himself  pretendeth. 
Speech  of  touch  towards  others  should  be  sparingly 
used  ;  for  discourse  ought  to  be  as  a  field,  without 


108  ESSAY  XXXIII 

coming  home  to  any  man.  I  knew  two  noblemen  of 
the  west  part  of  England,  whereof  the  one  was  given 
to  scoff,  but  kept  ever  royal  cheer  in  his  house  ;  the 
other  would  ask  of  those  that  had  been  at  the  other's 
table,  Tell  truly,  was  there  never  a  flout  or  dry  Wow  given  ?  5 
To  which  the  guest  would  answer,  Such  and  such  a 
thing  passed.  The  lord  would  say  I  thought  he  would 
mar  a  good  dinner.  Discretion  of  speech  is  more  than 
eloquence  ;  and  to  speak  agreeably  to  him  with  whom 
we  deal  is  more  than  to  speak  in  good  words  or  in  10 
good  order.  A  good  continued  speech,  without  a  good 
speech  of  interlocution,  shows  slowness ;  and  a  good 
reply  or  second  speech,  without  a  good  settled  speech, 
showeth  shallowness  and  weakness.  As  we  see  in 
beasts,  that  those  that  are  weakest  in  the  course  are  15 
yet  nimblest  in  the  turn ;  as  it  is  betwixt  the  grey 
hound  and  the  hare.  To  use  too  many  circumstances 
ere  one  come  to  the  matter  is  wearisome  ;  to  use  none 
at  all  is  blunt. 

XXXIII 
OF   PLANTATIONS 

PLANTATIONS  arc  amongst  ancient,  primitive,  and  20 
herolcal  works]     When  the  world"  was  young,  it  bffgat 
more  children  ;  but  now  it  is  old,  it  begets  fewer :  for 
I  may  justly  account  new  plantations  to  be  the  children 
of  former  kingdoms.    I  like  a  plantation  in  a  pure  soil ; 
that  is,  where  people  are  not  displanted,  to  the  end  to  25 
plant  in  others  ;  for  else  it  is  rather  an  extirpation  than 
a  plantation.     Planting  of  countries  is  like  planting  of 
woods  ;    for  you  must  make  account  to  lose  almost 
twenty  years'  profit,  and  expect  your  recompense  in 
the  end :  for  the  principal  thing  that  hath  been  the  30 
destruction  of  most  plantations  hath  been  the  base  and 
hasty  drawing  of  profit  in  the  first  years.     It  is  true, 
speedy  profit  is  not  to  be  neglected  as  far  as  may  stand 
with  the  good  of  the  plantation,  but  no  further.     It  is 


OF  PLANTATIONS  109 

a  shameful  and  unblessed  thing  to  take  the  scum  of 
people  and  wicked  condemned  men  to  be  the  people 
with  whom  you  plant ;  and  not  only  so,  but  it  spoileth 
the  plantation  ;  for  they  will  ever  live  like  rogues,  and 
5  not  fall  to  work,  but  be  lazy,  and  do  mischief,  and 
spend  victuals,  and  be  quickly  weary,  and  then  certify 
over  to  their  country  to  the  discredit  of  the  planta 
tion.  The  people  wherewith  you  plant  ought  to  be 
gardeners,  ploughmen,  labourers,  smiths,  carpenters, 

10  joiners,  fishermen,  fowlers,  with  some  few  apothecaries, 
surgeons,  cooks,  and  bakers.  In  a  country  of  planta 
tion,  first  look  about  what  kind  of  victual  the  country 
yields  of  itself  to  hand:  as  chestnuts,  walnuts,  pine 
apples,  olives,  dates,  plums,  cherries^  'N^ild  honey,  and 

15  the  like  ;  and  make  use  of  tHSIn.  'JFiien'ebnsfdeT  what 
victual  or  esculent  things  there  are  which  grow  speedily 
and  within  the  year ;  as  parsnips,  carrots,  turnips, 
onions,  radish,  artichokes  of  Jerusalem,  maize,  and 
the  like :  for  wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  they  ask  too 

20  much  labour  ;  but  with  pease  and  beans  you  may 
begin,  both  because  they  ask  less  labour,  and  because 
they  serve  for  meat  as  well  as  for  bread ;  and  of  rice 
likewise  cometh  a  great  increase,  and  it  is  a  kind  of 
meat.  Above  all,  there  ought  to  be  brought  store 

25  of  biscuit,  oatmeal,  flour,  meal,  and  the  like  in  the 
beginning  till  bread  may  be  had.  For  beasts  or  birds 
take  chiefly  such  as  are  least  subject  to  diseases  and 
multiply  fastest ;  as  swine,  goats,  cocks,  hens,  turkeys, 
geese,  house- doves,  and  the  like.  The  victual  in  planta- 

30  tions  ought  to  be  expended  almost  as  in  a  besieged 
town  ;  that  is,  with  certain  allowance :  and  let  the 
main  part  of  the  ground  employed  to  gardens  or  corn, 
be  to  a  common  stock ;  and  to  be  laid  in  and  stored 
up  and  then  delivered  out  in  proportion  ;  besides  some 

35  spots  of  ground  that  any  particular  person  will  manure 
for  his  own  private.  Consider  likewise  what  com 
modities  the  soil  where  the  plantation  is  doth  naturally 
yield,  that  they  may  some  way  help  to  defray  the 


110  ESSAY  XXXIII 

cliarge  of  the  plantation  :  so  it  be  not,  as  was  said,  to 
the  untimely  prejudice  of  the  main  business,  as  it 
hath  fared  with  tobacco  in  Virginia.  Wood  commonly 
aboundeth  but  too  much  ;  and  therefore  timber  is  fit  to 
be  one.  If  there  be  iron  ore,  and  streams  whereupon  5 
to  set  the  mills,  iron  is  a  brave  commodity  where  wood 
aboundeth.  Making  of  bay-salt,  if  the  climate  be  proper 
for  it,  would  be  put  in  experience :  growing  silk  like 
wise,  if  any  be,  is  a  likely  commodity :  pitch  and  tar, 
where  store  of  firs  and  pines  are,  will  not  fail ;  so  drugs  10 
and  sweet  woods,  where  they  are,  cannot  but  yield  great 
profit :  soap-ashes  likewise,  and  other  things  that  may 
be  thought  of ;  but  moil  not  too  much  under  ground, 
for  the  hope  of  mines  is  very  uncertain,  and  useth  to 
make  the  planters  lazy  in  other  things.  For  govern- 15 
ment,  let  it  be  in  the  hands  of  one,  assisted  with  some 
council ;  and  let  them  have  commission  to  exercise 
martial  laws,  with  some  limitation  ;  and  above  all,  let 
men  make  that  profit  of  being  in  the  wilderness,  as 
they  have  God  always  and  his  service  before  their  20 
eyes.  Let  not  the  government  of  the  plantation  depend 
upon  too  many  counsellors  and  undertakers  in  the 
country  that  planteth,  but  upon  a  temperate  number  ; 
and  let  those  be  rather  noblemen  and  gentlemen  than 
merchants  ;  for  they  look  ever  to  the  present  gain.  Let  25 
there  be  freedoms  from  custom  till  the  plantation  be 
of  strength  ;  and  not  only  freedom  from  custom,  but 
freedom  to  carry  their  commodities  where  they  may 
make  their  best  of  them,  except  there  be  some  special 
cause  of  caution.  Cram  not  in  people  by  sending  too  30 
fast  company  after  company  ;  but  rather  hearken  how 
they  waste,  and  send  supplies  proportionably  ;  but  so 
as  the  number  may  live  well  in  the  plantation,  and 
not  by  surcharge  be  in  penury.  It  hath  been  a  great 
endangering  to  the  health  of  some  plantations  that  35 
they  have  built  along  the  sea  and  rivers,  in  marish  and 
unwholesome  grounds  :  therefore,  though  you  begin 
there,  to  avoid  carriage  and  other  like  discommodities, 


OF  PLANTATIONS  111 

yet  build  still  rather  upwards  from  the  streams  than 
along.  It  concerneth  likewise  the  health  of  the  planta 
tion  that  they  have  good  store  of  salt  with  them,  that 
they  may  use  it  in  their  victuals  when  it  shall  be 
5  necessary.  If  you  plant  where  savages  are,  do  not 
only  entertain  them  with  trifles  and  gingles,  but  use 
them  justly  and  graciously,  with  sufficient  guard 
nevertheless  ;  and  do  not  win  their  favour  by  helping 
them  to  invade  their  enemies,  but  for  their  defence  it 

10  is  not  amiss  ;  and  send  oft  of  them  over  to  the  country 
that  plants,  that  they  may  see  a  better  condition  than 
their  own,  and  commend  it  when  they  return.  When 
the  plantation  grows  to  strength,  then  it  is  time  to 
plant  with  women  as  well  as  with  men  ;  that  the 

15  plantation  may  spread  into  generations,  and  not  be 
ever  pieced  from  without.  It  is  the  sinfullest  thing 
in  the  world  to  forsake  or  destitute  a  plantation  once 
in  forwardness  ;  for,  besides  the  dishonour,  it  is  the 
guiltiness  of  blood  of  many  commiserable  persons. 

XXXIV 
OF  EICHES 

20  I  CANNOT  call  riches  better  than  the  baggage  of 
virtue ;  the  Eoman  word  is  better,  impedimenta  ;  for 
as  the  baggage  is  to  an  army,  so  is  riches  to  virtue  ; 
it  cannotHbenSffared  nor  left  behind,  but  it  hindereth 
the  march  ;  yea  and  the  care  of  it  sometimes  losejkhjir 

25  disturbetli  the  victorgT  "Of  great  TIcFes"  there  is  no 
rear~use,  except  it  be  in  the  distribution  ;  the  rest  is 
but  conceit  ;  so  saith  Salomon,  Where  much  is,  tJtere 
are  many  to  consume  it ;  and  what  hath  tlie  owner  but  the 
sight  of  it  with  his  eyes  ?  The  personal  fruition  in  any 

30  man  cannot  reach  to  feel  great  riches  :  there  is  a 
custody  of  them  ;  or  a  power  of  dole  and  donative  of 
them  ;  or  a  fame  of  them ;  but  no  solid  use  to  the 
owner.  Do  you  not  see  what  feigned  prices  are  set 


112  ESSAY  XXXIV 

upon  little  stones  and  rarities  ?  and  what  works  of 
ostentation  are  undertaken,  because  there  might  seem 
to  be  some  use  of  great  riches  ?  But  then  you  will 
say  they  may  be  of  use  to  buy  men  out  of  dangers  or 
troubles  ;  as  Salomon  saith,  Riches  are  as  a  stronghold  5 
in  the  imagination  of  the  rich  man;  but  this  is  ex 
cellently  expressed,  that  it  is  in  imagination  and  not 
always  in  fact :  for  certainly  great  riches  have  sold 
more  men  than  they  have  bought  out.  Seek  not 
proud  riches,  but  such  as  thou  mayest  get  justly,  use  10 
soberly,  distribute  cheerfully,  and  leave  contentedly ; 
yet  have  no  abstract  nor  friarly  contempt  of  them ; 
but  distinguish,  as  Cicero  saith  well  of  Eabirius 
Posthumus,  In  studio  rei  amplificandae,  apparebat  non 
avaritiae  praedam,  sed  instrumentum  bonitati  quaeri.  15 
Hearken  also  to  Salomon,  and  beware  of  hasty 
gathering  of  riches :  Qui  festinat  ad  divitias  non  erit 
insons.  The  poets  feign  that  when  Plutus  (which  is 
riches)  is  sent  from  Jupiter,  he  limps  and  goes  slowly  ; 
but  when  he  is  sent  from  Pluto,  he  runs  and  is  swift  20 
of  foot ;  meaning  that  riches  gotten  by  good  means 
and  just  labour  pace  slowly  ;  but  when  they  come  by 
the  death  of  others  (as  by  the  course  of  inheritance, 
testaments,  and  the  like),  they  come  tumbling  upon 
a  man.  But  it  might  be  applied  likewise  to  Pluto,  25 
taking  him  for  the  devil :  for  when  riches  come  from 
the  devil  (as  by  fraud  and  oppression  and  unjust 
means)  they  come  upon  speed.  The  ways  to  enrich 
are  many,  and  most  of  them  foul:  parsimony  is  One 
of  the  best,  and  yet  is  not  innocent ;  foFifwithholdeth  30 
men  from  works  of  liberality  and  charity.  The  im 
provement  of  the  ground  is  the  most  natural  obtaining 
of  riches  ;  for  it  is  our  great  mother's  blessing,  the 
earth's ;  but  it  is  slow ;  and  yet,  where  men  of  great 
wealth  do  stoop  to  husbandry,  it  multiplieth  riches  35 
exceedingly.  I  knew  a  nobleman  in  England  that 
had  the  greatest  audits  of  any  man  in  my  time  ;  a 
great  grazier,  a  great  sheep-master,  a  great  timber- 


OF  KICHES  113 

man,  a  great  collier,  a  great  corn-master,  a  great  lead- 
man,  and  so  of  iron,  and  a  number  of  the  like  poinis 
of  husbandry  ;  so  as  the  earth  seemed  a  sea  to  him  in 
respect  of  the  perpetual  importation.  It  was  truly 

5  observed  by  one,  that  himself  came  very  hardly  to  a 
little  riches,  and  very  easily  to  great  riches  ;  for  when 
a  man's  stock  is  come  to  that  that  he  can  expect  the 
prime  of  markets,  and  overcome  those  bargains,  which 
for  their  greatness  are  few  men's  money,  and  be  partner 

10  in  the  industries  of  younger  men,  he  cannot  but  in 
crease  mainly.  The  gains  of  ordinary  trades  and 
vocations  are  honest,  and  furthered  by  two  things 
chiefly  :  by  diligence,  and  by  a  good  name  for  good 
and  fair__dealing' ;  but  the  gains  of  bargains  are  of  a 

15  more  doubtful  nature,  when  men  shall  wait  upon 
others'  necessity,  broke  by  servants  and  instruments 
to  draw  them  on,  put  off  others  cunningly  that  would 
be  better  chapmen,  and  the  like  practices,  which  are 
crafty  and  naught.  As  for  the  chopping  of  bargains, 

20  when  a  man  buys  not  to  hold  but  to  sell  over  again, 

\  that  commonly  grindeth  double,  both  upon  the  seller 

and  upon  the  buyer.     Sharings  do  greatly  enrich,  if 

the  hands  be  well  chosen  that  are  trusted.     Usury  is 

the  certainest  means  of  gain,  though  one  of  the  worst ; 

25  as  that  whereby  a  man  doth  eat  his  bread,  in  sudore 
vultus  alieni;  and  besides,  doth  plough  upon  Sundays  : 
but  yet  certain  though  it  be,  it  hath  flaws ;  for  that 
the  scriveners  and  brokers  do  value  unsound  men  to 
serve  their  own  turn.  The  fortune  in  being  the  first 

80  in  an  invention  or  in  a  privilege  doth  cause  sometimes 
a  wonderful  overgrowth  in  riches,  as  it  was  with  the 
first  sugar-man  in  the  Canaries.  Therefore,  if  a  man 
can  play  the  true  logician,  to  have  as  well  judgement 
as  invention,  he  may  do  great  matters,  especially  if 

35  the  times  be  fit :  he  that  resteth  upon  gains  certain, 
shall  hardly  grow  to  great  riches  ;  and  he  that  puts 
all  upon  adventures,  doth  oftentimes  break  and  come 
to  poverty :  it  is  good  therefore  to  guard  adventures 

1165  H 


114  ESSAY  XXXV 

with  certainties  that  may  uphold  losses.     Monopolies 
and  coemption  of  wares  for  resale,  where  they  are  not 
restrained,  are  great  means  to  enrich  ;  especially  if  the 
party  have  intelligence  what  things  are  like  to  come 
into  request,  and  so  store  himself  beforehand.     Kiches  5 
gotten  by  service,  though  it  be  of  the  best  rise,  yet 
when  they  are  gotten  by  flattery,   feeding  humours, 
and    other    servile   conditions,    they  may   be   placed 
amongst  the  worst.     As  for  fishing  for  testaments  and 
executorships  (as  Tacitus  saith  of  Seneca,  Testaments  10 
et  orbos  tanquam  indagine  capi),  it  is  yet  worse,  by  how 
much  men  submit  themselves  to  meaner  persons  than 
in   service.     Believe   not   much   them   that  seem  to 
despise  riches,  for  they  despise  them  that  despair  of 
them ;    and  none  worse  when  they  come   to   them.  15 
Be  not  penny- wise  ;  riches  have  wings,  and  sometimes 
they  fly  away  of  themselves,  sometimes  they  must  be 
set  flying  to  bring  in  more.     Men  leave  their  riches 
either  to  their  kindred,  or  to  the  public  ;  and  moderate 
portions  prosper  best  in  both.     A  great  state  left  to  an  20 
heir  is  as  a  lure  to  all  the  birds  of  prey  round  about 
to  seize  011  him,  if  he  be  not  the  better  stablished  in 
years   and  judgement :    likewise,    glorious   gifts   and 
foundations  are  like  sacrifices  without  salt ;  and  but 
the  painted  sepulchres  of  alms,  which  soon  will  putrefy  25 
and  corrupt  inwardly.     Therefore  measure  not  thine  j 
advancements  by  quantity,  but  frame  them  by  measure : 
and  defer  not  charities  till  death  ;  for  certainly,  if  a 
man  weigh  it  rightly,  he  that  doth  so  is  rather  liberal 
of  another  man's  than  of  his  own.  30 


XXXV 
.OF  PKOPHECIES 

I  MEAN  not  to  speak  of  divine  prophecies,  nor  of 
heathen  oracles,  nor  of  natural  predictions ;  but  only 
of  prophecies  that  have  been  of  certain  memory,  and 


OF  PROPHECIES  115 

from  hidden  causes.  Saith  the  Pythonissa  to  Saul, 
To-morrow  thou,  and  tliy  son  shall  be  ivith  me.  Homer 
hath  these  verses  : — 

At  domus  Aencae  cunctis  dominabitur  oris, 
5  Et  nati  natorum,  et  qui  nascentur  ab  illls  : 

a  prophecy  as  it  seems  of  the  Koman  empire.  Seneca 
the  tragedian  hath  these  verses  : — 

Venient  annis 

Saecula  sens,  quibus  Oceanus 
10  Vinctda  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 

Pateat  Tellus,  Typhisque  novos 
Detegat  orbes,  nee  sit  terris 
Ultima  Tlmle  : 

a  prophecy  of  the  discovery  of  America.     The  daughter 

15  of  Polycrates  dreamed  that  Jupiter  bathed  her  father, 
and  Apollo  anointed  him  ;  and  it  came  to  pass  that 
he  was  crucified  in  an  open  place,  where  the  sun  made 
his  body  run  with  sweat,  and  the  rain  washed  it. 
Philip  of  Macedon  dreamed  he  sealed  up  his  wife's 

20  belly  ;  whereby  he  did  expound  it  that  his  wife  should 

\  be  barren  ;  but  Aristander  the  soothsayer  told  him  his 

wife  was  with  child,  because  men  do  not  use  to  seal 

vessels  that  are  empty.     A  phantasm  that  appeared 

to  M.  Brutus  in  his  tent  said  to  him,  Philippis  iterum- 

"25  me  videbis.  Tiberius  said  to  Galba,  Tu  quoque,  Galba, 
degustabis  imperium.  In  Vespasian's  time  there  went 
a  prophecy  in  the  East,  that  those  that  should  come 
forth  of  Judaea  should  reign  over  the  world  ;  which 
though  it  may  be  was  meant  of  our  Saviour,  yet 

30  Tacitus  expounds  it  of  Vespasian.  Domitian  dreamed, 
the  night  before  he  was  slain,  that  a  golden  head  was 
growing  out  of  the  nape  of  his  neck  ;  and  indeed  the 
succession  that  followed  him  for  many  years  made 
golden  times.  Henry  the  Sixth  of  England  said  of 

35  Henry  the  Seventh,  when  he  was  a  lad  and  gave  him 
water,  This  is  the  lad  that  shall  enjoy  the  crown  for  which 
we  strive.  When  I  was  in  France,  I  heard  from  one 
a.  2 


116  ESSAY  XXXV 

Dr.  Pena  that  ^  the  queen  mother,  who  was  given  to 
curious  arts,  caused  the  king  her  husband's  nativity 
to  be  calculated  under  a  false  name  ;  and  the  astrologer 
gave  a  judgement  that  he  should  be  killed  in  a  duel ; 
at  which  the  queen  laughed,  thinking  her  husband  to  5 
be  above  challenges  and  duels  ;  but  he  was  slain  upon 
a  CQurse  at  tilt,  the  splinters  of  the  staff  of  Montgomery 
going  in  at  his  beaver.  The  trivial  prophecy  which 
I  heard  when  I  was  a  child,  and  Queen  Elizabeth  was 
in  the  flower  of  her  years,  was,  10 

When  hempe  is  spunne, 
England's  done : 

whereby   it   was   generally  conceived   that  after  the 
princes  had  reigned  which  had  the  principial  letters 
of  that  word  hempe  (which  were  Henry,  Edward,  Mary,  15 
Philip,  and  Elizabeth),  England  should  come  to  utter 
confusion ;  which,  thanks  be  to  God,  is  verified  only 
in  the  change  of  the  name  ;  for  that  the  king's  style 
is  now  no  more  of  England,  but  of  Britain.     There 
was  also  another  prophecy  before  the  year  of  eighty-  20 
eight,  which  I  do  not  well  understand  :— 

There  shall  be  seen  upon  a  day, 
Between  the  Baugh  and  the  May, 
The  black  fleet  of  Norway. 

When  that  that  is  come  and  gone,  25 

England  build  houses  of  lime  and  stone, 
For  after  tears  shall  you  have  none. 

It  was  generally  conceived  to  be  meant  of  the  Spanish 
fleet  that  came  in  eighty -eight :  for  that  the  king  of 
Spain's  surname,  as  they  say,  is  Norway.     The  pre-  30 
diction  of  Kegiomontanus, 

Octogesimus  octavus  mirabilis  annus, 

was  thought  likewise  accomplished  in  the  sending  of 
that  great  fleet,  being  the  greatest  in  strength,  though 
not  in  number,  of  all  that  ever  swam  upon  the  sea.  35 
As  for  Cleon's  dream,  I  think  it  was  a  jest ;  it  was, 


OF  PROPHECIES  117 

that  he  was  devoured  of  a  long  dragon :  and  it  was 
expounded  of  a  maker  of  sausages,  that  troubled  him 
exceedingly.  There  are  numbers  of  the  like  kind  ; 
especially  if  you  include  dreams,  and  predictions  of 

5  astrology  :  but  I  have  set  down  these  few  only  of 
certain  credit,  for  example.  My  judgement  is,  that 
they  ought  all  to  be  despised,  and  ought  to  serve  but 
for  winter  talk  by  the  fireside:  though  when  I  say 
despised,  I  mean  it  as  for  belief ;  for  otherwise,  the 

10  spreading  or  publishing  of  them  is  in  no  sort  to 
be  despised,  for  they  have  done  much  mischief ; 
and  I  see  many  severe  laws  made  to  suppress  them. 
That  that  hath  given  them  grace,  and  some  credit, 
consisteth  in  three  things.  First,  that  men  mark 

15  when  they  hit,  and  never  mark  when  they  miss;  as 
they  do  generally  also  of  dreams.  The  second  is, 
that  probable  conjectures  or  obscure  traditions  many 
times  turn  themselves  into  prophecies ;  while  the 
nature  of  man,  which  coveteth  divination,  thinks  it  no 
0  peril  to  foretell  that  which  indeed  they  do  but  collect : 
as  that  of  Seneca's  verse ;  for  so  much  was  then  sub 
ject  to  demonstration,  that  the  globe  of  the  earth  had 
great  parts  beyond  the  Atlantic,  which  might  be  prob 
ably  conceived  not  to  be  all  sea  :  and  adding  thereto 

25  the  tradition  in  Plato's  Timaeus,  and  his  Atlanticus,  it 
might  encourage  one  to  turn  it  to  a  prediction.  The 
third  and  last  (which  is  the  great  one)  is,  that  almost 
all  of  them,  being  infinite  in  number,  have  been  im 
postures,  and  by  idle  and  crafty  brains  merely  contrived 

30  and  feigned,  after  the  event  past. 

XXXVI 

OF  AMBITION 

AMBITION  is  like  choler,  which  is  an  humour  that 
maketh  men  active,  earnest,  full  of  alacrity,  and  stir 
ring,  if  it  be  not  stopped  :  but  if  it  be  stopped  and 


. 


118  ESSAY  XXXVI 

cannot  have  his  way,  it  becometh  adust,  and  thereby 
malign  and  venomous.  So  ambitious  men,  if  they 
find  the  way  open  for  their  rising  and  still  get  forward, 
they  are  rather  busy  than  dangerous ;  but  if  they  be 
checked  in  their  desires,  they  become  secretly  discon-  5 
tent,  and  look  upon  men  and  matters  with  an  evil  eye, 
and  are  best  pleased  when  things  go  backward  ;  which 
is  the  worst  property  in  a  servant  of  a  prince  or  state. 
Therefore  it  is  good  for  princes,  if  they  use  ambitious 
men,  to  handle  it  so  as  they  be  still  progressive  and  10 
not  retrograde ;  which,  because  it  cannot  be  without 
inconvenience,  it  is  good  not  to  use  such  natures  at  all ; 
for  if  they  rise  not  with  their  service,  they  will  take 
order  to  make  their  service  fall  with  them.  But  since 
we  have  said  it  were  good  not  to  use  men  of  ambitious  15 
natures,  except  it  be  upon  necessity,  it  is  fit  we  speak 
in  what  cases  they  are  of  necessity.  Good  commanders 
in  the  wars  must  be  taken,  be  they  never  so  ambitious  ; 
for  the  use  of  their  service  dispenseth  with  the  rest : 
and  to  take  a  soldier  without  ambition  is  to  pull  off  his  20 
spurs.  There  is  also  great  use  of  ambitious  men  in 
being  screens  to  princes  in  matters  of  danger  and  envy ; 
for  no  man  will  take  that  part  except  he  be  like  a 
seeled  dove,  that  mounts  and  mounts  because  he  cannot 
see  about  him.  There  is  use  also  of  ambitious  men  in  25 
pulling  down  the  greatness  of  any  subject  that  over 
tops  ;  as  Tiberius  used  Macro  in  the  pulling  down  of 
Sejanus.  Since  therefore  they  must  be  used  in  such 
cases,  there  resteth  to  speak  how  they  are  to  be 
bridled  that  they  may  be  less  dangerous.  There  is  30 
less  danger  of  them  if  they  be  of  mean  birth  than  if 
they  be  noble ;  and  if  they  be  rather  harsh  of  nature 
than  gracious  and  popular ;  and  if  they  be  rather  new 
raised  than  grown  cunning  and  fortified  in  their  great 
ness.  It  is  counted  by  some  a  weakness  in  princes  to  35 
have  favourites ;  but  it  is,  of  all  others,  the  best 
remedy  against  ambitious  great  ones ;  for  when  the 
way  of  pleasuring  and  displeasuring  lieth  by  the 


OF  AMBITION  119 

favourite,  it  is  impossible  any  other  should  be  over 
great.  Another  means  to  curb  them  is  to  balance 
them  by  others  as  proud  as  they  :  but  then  there  must 
be  some  middle  counsellors  to  keep  things  steady ;  for 

5  without  that  ballast  the  ship  will  roll  too  much.  At 
the  least,  a  prince  may  animate  and  inure  some  meaner 
persons  to  be  as  it  were  scourges  to  ambitious  men. 
As  for  the  having  of  them  obnoxious  to  ruin,  if  they 
be  of  fearful  natures,  it  may  do  well ;  but  if  they  be 

10  stout  and  daring,  it  may  precipitate  their  designs  and 
prove  dangerous.  As  for  the  pulling  of  them  down, 
if  the  affairs  require  it,  and  that  it  may  not  be  done 
with  safety  suddenly,  the  only  way  is  the  inter 
change  continually  of  favours  and  disgraces,  whereby 

15  they  may  not  know  what  to  expect,  and  be  as  it  were 
in  a  wood.  Of  ambitions,  it  is  less  harmful  the  ambition 
to  prevail  in  great  things,  than  that  other  to  appear  in 
everything ;  for  that  breeds  confusion  and  mars  busi 
ness  :  but  yet  it  is  less  danger  to  have  an  ambitious 

20  man  stirring  in  business  than  great  in  dependencies. 
He  that  seeketh  to  be  eminent  amongst  able  men  hath 
a  great  task  ;  but  that  is  ever  good  for  the  public :  but 
he  that  plots  to  be  the  only  figure  amongst  ciphers  is 
the  decay  of  an  whole  age.  Honour  hath  three  things 

25  in  it :  the  vantage  ground  to  do  good  ;  the  approach  to 
kings  and  principal  persons  ;  and  the  raising  of  a  man's 
own  fortunes.  He  that  hath  the  best  of  these  inten 
tions  when  he  aspireth  is  an  honest  man ;  and  that 
prince  that  can  discern  of  these  intentions  in  another 

30  that  aspireth  is  a  wise  prince.  Generally,  let  princes 
and  states  choose  such  ministers  as  are  more  sensible 
of  duty  than  of  rising,  and  such  as  love  business  rather 
upon  conscience  than  upon  bravery  ;  and  let  them 
discern  a  busy  nature  from  a  willing  mind, 


120  ESSAY  XXXVII 

XXXVII 
OF  MASQUES  AND  TRIUMPHS 

THESE  things  are  but  toys  to  come  amongst  such 
serious  observations ;  but  yet,  since  princes  will  have 
such  things,  it  is  better  they  should  be  graced  with 
elegancy,  than  daubed  with  cost.     Dancing  to  song  is 
a  thing  of  great  state  and  pleasure.     I  understand  it  5 
that  the  song  be  in  quire,  placed  aloft  and  accompanied 
with  some  broken  music ;  and  the  ditty  fitted  to  the 
device.     Acting  in  song,  especially  in  dialogues,  hath 
an  extreme  good  grace  ;  I  say  acting,  not  dancing  (for 
that  is  a  mean  and  vulgar  thing) ;  and  the  voices  of  10 
the  dialogue  would  be  strong  and  manly  (a  bass  and 
a  tenor,  no  treble),  and  the  ditty  high  and  tragical,  not 
nice  or  dainty.     Several  quires  placed  one  over  against 
another,  and  taking  the  voice  by  catches  anthem-wise, 
give  great  pleasure.      Turning  dances  into  figure  is  15 
a  childish  curiosity  ;  and  generally,  let  it  be  noted  that 
those  things  which  I  here  set  down  are  such  as  do 
naturally  take  the  sense,  and  not  respect  petty  wonder 
ments.     It  is  true  the  alterations  of  scenes,  so  it  be 
quietly  and  without  noise,  are  things  of  great  beauty  20 
and  pleasure  ;  for  they  feed  and  relieve  the  eye  before 
it  be  full  of  the  same  object.     Let  the  scenes  abound 
with  light  specially  coloured  and  varied  ;  and  let  the 
masquers,  or  any  other  that  are  to  come  down  from 
the  scene,  have  some  motions  upon  the  scene  itself  25 
before   their   coming   down ;   for   it   draws   the    eye 
strangely,  and  makes  it  with  great  pleasure  to  desire 
to  see  that  it  cannot  perfectly  discern.     Let  the  songs 
be  loud  and  cheerful,  and  not  chirpings  or  pulings  :  let 
the  music  likewise  be  sharp  and  loud  and  well  placed.  30 
The  colours  that  show  best  by  candlelight  are  white, 
carnation,  and  a  kind  of  sea-water  green  ;  and  oes  or 
spangs,  as  they  are  of  no  great  cost,  so  they  are  of  most 
glory.     As  for  rich  embroidery,  it  is  lost  and  not  dis- 


OF  MASQUES  AND  TEIUMPHS         121 

cerned.  Let  the  suits  of  the  masquers  be  graceful,  and 
such  as  become  the  person  when  the  vizors  are  off;  not 
after  examples  of  known  attires,  Turks,  soldiers, 
mariners,  and  the  like.  Let  anti-masques  not  be  long; 
5  they  have  been  commonly  of  fools,  satyrs,  baboons, 
wild  men,  antics,  beasts,  sprites,  witches,  Ethiopes, 
pigmies,  turquets,  nymphs,  rustics,  Cupids,  statuas 
moving,  and  the  like.  As  for  angels,  it  is  not  comical 
enough  to  put  them  in  anti-masques:  and  anything 

10  that  is  hideous,  as  devils,  giants,  is  on  the  other  side 
as  unfit;  but  chiefly,  let  the  music  of  them  be  recrea 
tive,  and  with  some  strange  changes.  Some  sweet 
odours  suddenly  coming  forth,  without  any  drops  fall 
ing,  are,  in  such  a  company  as  there  is  steam  and  heat, 

15  things  of  great  pleasure  and  refreshment.  Double 
masques,  one  of  men  another  of  ladies,  addeth  state 
and  variety;  but  all  is  nothing  except  the  room  be 
kept  clear  and  neat. 

For  justs  and  tourneys  and  barriers,  the  glories  of 

20  them  are  chiefly  in  the  chariots,  wherein  the  challengers 
make  their  entry  ;  especially  if  they  be  drawn  with 
strange  beasts,  as  lions,  bears,  camels,  and  the  like  ; 
or  in  the  devices  of  their  entrance,  or  in  the  bravery 
of  their  liveries,  or  in  the  goodly  furniture  of  their 

25  horses  and  armour.     But  enough  of  these  toys. 

XXXVIII 
OF  NATUKE  IN  MEN 

NATURE  is  often  hidden,  sometimes  overcome,  seldom  •/ 
extinguished.      Force  maketh  nature  more  violent  in 
the  return  ;  doctrine  and  discourse  maketh  nature  less  « 
importune ;  but  custom  only  doth  alter  and  subdue  J 
30  nature.     He  that  seeketh  victory  over  his  nature,  let 
him  not  set  himself  too  great  nor  too  small  tasks  ;  for 
the  first  will  make  him  dejected  by  often  failings,  and 
the  second  will  make  him  a  small  proceeder,  though 


122  ESSAY  XXXVIII 

by  often  prevailings :  and  at  the  first  let  him  practise 
with  helps,  as  swimmers  do  with  bladders  or  rushes  ; 
but  after  a  time  let  him  practise  with  disadvantages, 
as  dancers  do  with  thick  shoes ;  for  it  breeds  great 
perfection  if  the  practice  be  harder  than  the  use.  5 
Where  nature  is  mighty,  and  therefore  the  victory 
hard,  the  degrees  had  need  be,  first  to  stay  and  arrest 
nature  in  time ;  like  to  him  that  would  say  over  the 
four  and  twenty  letters  when  he  was  angry  ;  then  to 
go  less  in  quantity,  as  if  one  should,  in  forbearing  10 
wine,  come  from  drinking  healths  to  a  draught  at 
a  meal ;  and  lastly,  to  discontinue  altogether :  but  if 
a  man  have  the  fortitude  and  resolution  to  enfranchise 
himself  at  once,  that  is  the  best : 

Optinms  ille  animi  vindcx  laedentia  pechis  15 

Vincula  qui  rupit,  dedohtitquc  semcl. 

Neither  is  the  ancient  rule  amiss,  to  bend  nature  as 
a  wand  to  a  contrary  extreme,  whereby  to  set  it  right ; 
understanding  it  where  the  contrary  extreme  is  no  vice. 
Let  not  a  man  force  a  habit  upon  himself  with  a  perpetual  20 
continuance,  but  with  some  intermission  :  for  both  the 
pause  reinforceth  the  new  onset ;  and  if  a  man  that  is 
not  perfect  be  ever  in  practice,  he  shall  as  well  practise 
his  errors  as  his  abilities,  and  induce  one  habit  of  both  ; 
and  there  is  no  means  to  help  this  but  by  seasonable  25 
intermissions.  But  let  not  a  man  trust  his  victory 
over  his  nature  too  far ;  for  nature  will  lay  buried  a 
great  time,  and  yet  revive  upon  the  occasion  or  temp 
tation  ;  like  as  it  was  with  ^Esop's  damsel,  turned 
from  a  cat  to  a  woman,  who  sat  very  demurely  at  the  30 
board's  end  till  a  mouse  ran  before  her :  therefore  let 
a  man  either  avoid  the  occasion  altogether,  or  put 
himself  often  to  it  that  he  may  be  little  moved  with 
it.  A  man's  nature  is  best  perceived  in  privateness, 
for  there  is  no  affectation  ;  in  passion,  for  that  putteth  85 
a  man  out  of  his  precepts  ;  and  in  a  new  case  or  experi 
ment,  for  there  custom  leaveth  him.  They  are  happy 


OP  NATURE  IN  MEN  123 

men  whose  natures  sort  with  their  vocations;  other 
wise  they  may  say,  Multum  incola  fuit  anima  meet, 
when  they  converse  in  those  things  they  do  not  affect. 
In  studies,  whatsoever  a  man  commandeth  upon  him- 
r>  self,  let  him  set  hours  for  it ;  but  whatsoever  is  agree 
able  to  his  nature,  let  him  take  no  care  for  any  set 
times,  for  his  thoughts  will  fly  to  it  of  themselves  ; 
so  as  the  spaces  of  other  business  or  studies  will 
suffice.  A  man's  nature  runs  either  to  herbs  or  weeds  ; 
10  therefore  let  him  seasonably  water  the  one  and  destroy 
the  other.  , 

XXXIX 
OF  CUSTOM  AND  EDUCATION 

MEN'S  thoughts  are  much  according  to  their  inclina 
tion  :  their  discourse  and  speeches  according  to  their 
learning  and  infused  opinions;  but  their  deeds  are 

if)  after  as  they  have  been  accustomed  :  and,  therefore, 
as  Macciavel  well  noteth  (though  in  an  evil-favoured 
instance)  there  is  no  trusting  to  the  force  of  nature 
nor  to  the  bravery  of  words,  except  it  be  corroborate 
by  custom.  His  instance  is,  that  for  the  achieving 

20  of  a  desperate  conspiracy  a  man  should  not  rest  upon 
the  fierceness  of  any  man's  nature  or  his  resolute  under 
takings  ;  but  take  such  an  one  as  hath  had  his  hands 
formerly  in  blood  ;  but  Macciavel  knew  not  of  a  Friar 
Clement,  nor  a  Kavillac,  nor  a  Jaureguy,  nor  a  Balta- 

25  zar  Gerard  ;  yet  his  rule  holdeth  still,  that  nature  nor 
the  engagement  of  words  are  not  so  forcible  as  custom. 
Only  superstition  is  now  so  well  advanced  that  men 
of  the  first  blood  are  as  firm  as  butchers  by  occupation ; 
and  votary  resolution  is  made  equipollent  to  custom 

30  even  in  matter  of  blood.  In  other  things,  the  pre 
dominancy  of  custom  is  everywhere  visible  ;  insomuch 
as  a  man  would  wonder  to  hear  men  profess,  protest, 
engage,  give  great  words,  and  then  do  just  as  they 
have  done  before,  as  if  they  were  dead  images,  and 


124  ESSAY  XXXIX 

engines  moved  only  by  the  wheels  of  custom.  We 
see  also  the  reign  or  tyranny  of  custom,  what  it  is. 
The  Indians  (I  mean  the  sect  of  their  wise  men)  lay 
themselves  quietly  upon  a  stack  of  wood,  and  so 
sacrifice  themselves  by  fire :  nay,  the  wives  strive  to  5 
be  burned  with  the  corpses  of  their  husbands.  The 
lads  of  Sparta  of  ancient  time  were  wont  to  be  scourged 
upon  the  altar  of  Diana,  without  so  much  as  queching. 
I  remember,  in  the  beginning  of  Queen  Elizabeth's 
time  of  England,  an  Irish  rebel  condemned  put  up  10 
a  petition  to  the  deputy  that  he  might  be  hanged  in  a 
withe,  and  not  in  an  halter,  because  it  had  been  so 
used  with  former  rebels.  There  be  monks  in  Kussia 
for  penance  that  will  sit  a  whole  night  in  a  vessel  of 
water,  till  they  be  engaged  with  hard  ice.  Many  15 
examples  may  be  put  of  the  force  of  custom  both  upon 
mind  and  body:  therefore,  since  custom  is  the  prin 
cipal  magistrate  of  man's  life,  let  men  by  all  means 
endeavour  to  obtain  good  customs.  Certainly,  custom 
is  most  perfect  when  it  beginneth  in  young  years  :  20 
this  we  call  education,  which  is  in  effect  but  an  early 
custom.  So  we  see,  in  languages  the  tongue  is  more 
pliant  to  all  expressions  and  sounds,  the  joints  are 
more  supple  to  all  feats  of  activity  and  motions  in 
youth  than  afterwards  ;  for  it  is  true  that  late  learners  25 
cannot  so  well  take  the  ply,  except  it  be  in  some 
minds  that  have  not  suffered  themselves  to  fix,  but 
have  kept  themselves  open  and  prepared  to  receive 
continual  amendment,  which  is  exceeding  rare.  But 
if  the  force  of  custom  simple  and  separate  be  great,  30 
the  force  of  custom  copulate  and  conjoined  and  colle 
giate  is  far  greater ;  for  there  example  teacheth,  com 
pany  comforteth,  emulation  quickeneth,  glory  raiseth  ; 
so  as  in  such  places  the  force  of  custom  is  in  his 
exaltation.  Certainly,  the  great  multiplication  of  35 
virtues  upon  human  nature  resteth  upon  societies  well 
ordained  and  disciplined ;  for  commonwealths  and 
good  governments  do  tjourish  virtue  grown,  but  do 


OF  CUSTOM  AND  EDUCATION          125 

not  much  mend  the  seeds  ;  but  the  misery  is  that  the 
most  effectual  means  are  now  applied  to  the  ends 
least  to  be  desired. 

XL 
OF  FOKTUNE 

IT  cannot  be  denied  but  outward  accidents  conduce 
5  much  to  fortune ;  favour,  opportunity,  death  of  others, 
occasion  fitting  virtue :  but  chiefly  the  mould  of  a 
man's  fortune  is  in  his  own  hands:  Faber  quisque 
fortunae  sitae,  saith  the  poet ;  and  the  most  frequent 
of  external  causes  is  that  the  folly  of  one  man  is  the 

10  fortune  of  another  ;  for  no  man  prospers  so  suddenly 
as  by  others'  errors.  Serpens  nisi  serpentem  comederit 
non  fit  draco.  Overt  and  apparent  virtues  bring  forth 
praise  ;  but  there  be  secret  and  hidden  virtues  that 
bring  forth  fortune  ;  certain  deliveries  of  a  man's 

15  self,  which  have  no  name.  The  Spanish  name,  dis- 
emboltura,  partly  expresseth  them ;  when  there  be  not 
stonds  nor  restiveness  in  a  man's  nature,  but  that  the 
wheels  of  his  mind  keep  way  with  the  wheels  of 
his  fortune ;  for  so  Livy  (after  he  had  described  Cato 

20  Major  in  these  words,  In  illo  viro,  tantum  robur  corporis 
ct  animi  fuit,  ut  quocunque  loco  natus  esset,  fortunam 
sibi  factunts  videretur),  falleth  upon  that  that  he  had 
versatile  ingenium  :  therefore,  if  a  man  look  sharply 
and  attentively,  he  shall  see  Fortune ;  for  though  she 

25  be  blind,  yet  she  is  not  invisible.  The  way  of  Fortune 
is  like  the  milken  way  in  the  sky  ;  which  is  a  meeting 
or  knot  of  a  number  of  small  stars,  not  seen  asunder, 
but  giving  light  together:  so  are  there  a  number  of 
little  and  scarce  discerned  virtues,  or  rather  faculties 

30  and  customs,  that  make  men  fortunate.  The  Italians 
note  some  of  them,  such  as  a  man  would  little  think. 
When  they  speak  of  one  that  cannot  do  amiss,  they 
will  throw  in  into  his  other  conditions,  that  he  hath 
poco  cli  matto ;  and  certainly  there  be  not  two  more 


126  ESSAY  XLI 

fortunate  properties  than  to  have  a  little  of  the  fool, 
and  not  too  much  of  the  honest ;  therefore  extreme 
lovers  of  their  country  or  masters  were  never  fortunate  ; 
neither  can  they  be ;  for  when  a  man  placeth  his 
thoughts  without  himself,  he  goeth  not  his  own  way.  5 
An  hasty  fortune  maketh  an  enterpriser  and  remover  ; 
(the  French  hath  it  better,  entreprenant  or  remuant) ; 
but  the  exercised  fortune  maketh  the  able  man. 
Fortune  is  to  be  honoured  and  respected  and  it  be  but 
for  her  daughters,  Confidence  and  Keputation  ;  for  10 
those  two  Felicity  breedeth ;  the  first  within  a  man's 
self,  the  latter  in  others  towards  him.  All  wise  men, 
to  decline  the  envy  of  their  own  virtues,  use  to  ascribe 
them  to  Providence  and  Fortune  ;  for  so  they  may  the 
better  assume  them :  and,  besides,  it  is  greatness  in  15 
a  man  to  be  the  care  of  the  higher  powers.  So  Caesar 
said  to  the  pilot  in  the  tempest,  Caesarem  portas  el 
fortunam  ejus.  So  Sylla  chose  the  name  of  Felix  and 
not  of  Magnus :  and  it  hath  been  noted,  that  those 
who  ascribe  openly  too  much  to  their  own  wisdom  20 
and  policy  end  infortunate.  It  is  written  that  Timo- 
theus  the  Athenian,  after  he  had,  in  the  account  he 
gave  to  the  state  of  his  government,  often  interlaced 
this  speech,  and  in  this  Fortune  had  no  part,  never  pros 
pered  in  anything  he  undertook  afterwards.  Certainly  25 
there  be  whose  fortunes  are  like  Homer's  verses,  that 
have  a  slide  and  easiness  more  than  the  verses  of  other 
poets ;  as  Plutarch  saith  of  Timoleon's  fortune  in  re 
spect  of  that  of  Agesilaus  or  Epaminondas :  and  that 
this  should  be,  no  doubt  it  is  much  in  a  man's  self.  30 

XLI 
OF  USUEY 

MANY  have  made  witty  invectives  against  usury. 
They  say  that  it  is  pity  the  devil  should  have  God's 
part,  which  is  the  tithe,  that  the  usurer  is  the  greatest 


OF  USURY  127 

Sabbath-breaker,  because  his  plough  goeth  every 
Sunday;  that  the  usurer  is  the  drone  that  Virgil 
speaketh  of: 

Ignavum  fucos  pecus  a  pracsepibus  arcent ; 

5  that  the  usurer  breaketh  the  first  law  that  was  made 
for  mankind  after  the  fall,  which  was,  in  sudore  vultus 
tui  comedes  panem  tuum  ;  not,  in  sudore  vultus  alieni ; 
that  usurers  should  have  orange-tawny  bonnets, 
because  they  do  Judaize  ;  that  it  is  against  nature  for 

10  money  to  beget  money,  and  the  like.  I  say  this  only, 
that  usury  is  a  concessum  propter  duritiem  cordis :  for 
since  there  must  be  borrowing  and  lending,  and  men 
are  so  hard  of  heart  as  they  will  not  lend  freely,  usury, 
must  be  permitted.  Some  others  have  made  suspicious 

15  and  cunning  propositions  of  banks,  discovery  of  men's 
estates,  and  other  inventions ;  but  few  have  spoken  of 
usury  usefully.  It  is  good  to  set  before  us  the  incom- 
modities  and  commodities  of  usury,  that  the  good  may 
be  either  weighed  out  or  culled  out ;  and  warily  to 

20  provide  that,  while  we  make  forth  to  that  which  is 
better,  we  meet  not  with  that  which  is  worse. 

The  discommodities  of  usury  are,  first,  that  it  makes 
fewer  merchants ;  for  were  it  riot  for  this  lazy  trade 
of  usury,  money  would  not  lie  still  but  would  in  great 

25  part  be  employed  upon  merchandising,  which  is  the 
vena  porta  of  wealth  in  a  state :  the  second,  that  it 
makes  poor  merchants  ;  for  as  a  farmer  cannot  husband 
his  ground  so  well  if  he  sit  at  a  great  rent,  so  the 
merchant  cannot  drive  his  trade  so  well  if  he  sit  at 

30  great  usury :  the  third  is  incident  to  the  other  two ; 
and  that  is,  the  decay  of  customs  of  kings  or  states, 
which  ebb  or  flow  with  merchandising :  the  fourth, 
that  it  bringeth  the  treasure  of  a  realm  or  state  into 
a  few  hands ;  for  the  usurer  being  at  certainties,  arid 

35  others  at  uncertainties,  at  the  end  of  the  game  most 
of  the  money  will  be  in  the  box ;  and  ever  a  state 
flourisheth  when  wealth  is  more  equally  spread :  the 


128  ESSAY  XLI 

fifth,  that  it  beats  down  the  price  of  land ;  for  the 
employment  of  money  is  chiefly  either  merchandising 
or  purchasing,  and  usury  waylays  both:  the  sixth, 
that  it  doth  dull  and  damp  all  industries,  improve 
ments,  and  new  inventions,  wherein  money  would  5 
be  stirring  if  it  were  not  for  this  slug :  the  last,  that 
it  is  the  canker  and  ruin  of  many  men's  estates,  which 
in  process  of  time  breeds  a  public  poverty. 

On  the  other  side,  the  commodities  of  usury  are, 
first,  that  howsoever  usury  in  some  respect  hindereth  10 
merchandising,  yet  in  some  other  it  advanceth  it ;  for 
it  is  certain  that  the  greatest  part  of  trade  is  driven  by 
young  merchants  upon  borrowing  at  interest ;  so  as  if 
the  usurer  either  call  in  or  keep  back  his  money,  there 
will  ensue  presently  a  great  stand  of  trade  :  the  second  15 
is,  that  were  it  not  for  this  easy  borrowing  upon  interest, 
men's  necessities  would  draw  upon  them  a  most  sudden 
undoing,  in  that  they  would  be  forced  to  sell  their 
means  (be  it  lands  or  goods),  far  under  foot ;  and  so, 
whereas  usury  doth  but  gnaw  upon  them,  bad  markets  20 
would  swallow  them  quite  up.  As  for  mortgaging  or 
pawning,  it  will  little  mend  the  matter:  for  either 
men  will  not  take  pawns  without  use,  or  if  they  do, 
they  will  look  precisely  for  the  forfeiture.  I  remember 
a  cruel  moneyed  man  in  the  country  that  would  say,  25 
The  devil  take  this  usury,  it  keeps  us  from  forfeitures 
of  mortgages  and  'bonds.  The  third  and  last  is,  that 
it  is  a  vanity  to  conceive  that  there  would  be  ordinary 
borrowing  without  profit ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  con 
ceive  the  number  of  inconveniences  that  will  ensue,  30 
if  borrowing  be  cramped:  therefore  to  speak  of  the 
abolishing  of  usury  is  idle  ;  all  states  have  ever  had  it 
in  one  kind  or  rate  or  other ;  so  as  that  opinion  must 
be  sent  to  Utopia. 

To  speak  now  of  the  reformation  and  reglement  of  35 
usury,  how  the   discommodities   of  it  may  be   best 
avoided  and  the  commodities  retained.     It  appears,  by 
the  balance  of  commodities  and   discommodities  of 


OF  USURY 


129 


usury,  two  things  are  to  be  reconciled ;  the  one  that 
the  tooth  of  usury  be  grinded  that  it  bite  not  too 
much  ;  the  other  that  there  be  left  open  a  means  to 
invite  moneyed  men  to  lend  to  the  merchants,  for  the 
5  continuing  and  quickening  of  trade.  This  cannot  be 
done  except  you  introduce  two  several  sorts  of  usury, 
a  less  and  a  greater;  for  if  you  reduce  usury  to  one 
low  rate,  it  will  ease  the  common  borrower,  but  the 
merchant  will  be  to  seek  for  money  :  and  it  is  to  be 

10  noted  that  the  trade  of  merchandise  being  the  most 
lucrative,  may  bear  usury  at  a  good  rate :  other  con 
tracts  not  so. 

To  serve  both  intentions,  the  way  would  be  briefly 
thus :  that  there  be  two  rates  of  usury  ;  the  one  free 

15  and  general  for  all ;  the  other  under  licence  only  to 
certain  persons,  and  in  certain  places  of  merchandising. 
First  therefore,  let  usury  in  general  be  reduced  to  five 
in  the  hundred,  and  let  that  rate  be  proclaimed  to  be 
free  and  current  ;  and  1<  t  the  state  shut  itself  out  to 

20  take  any  penalty  for  the  same.  This  will  preserve 
borrowing  from  any  general  stop  or  dryness  ;  this 
will  ease  infinite  borrowers  in  the  country ;  this  will 
in  good  part  raise  the  price  of  land,  because  land  pur 
chased  at  sixteen  years'  purchase  will  yield  six  in  the 

25  hundred  and  somewhat  more,  whereas  this  rate  of 
interest  yields  but  five  ;  this  by  like  reason  will 
encourage  and  edge  industrious  and  profitable  improve 
ments,  because  many  will  rather  venture  in  that  kind 
than  take  five  in  the  hundred,  especially  having  been 

SO  used  to  greater  profit.  Secondly,  let  there  be  certain 
persons  licensed  to  lend  to  known  merchants  upon 
usury  at  a  higher  rate,  and  let  it  be  with  the  cautions 
following :  let  the  rate  be,  even  with  the  merchant 
himself,  somewhat  more  easy  than  that  he  used 

35  formerly  to  pay  :  for  by  that  means  all  borrowers 
shall  have  some  ease  by  this  reformation,  be  he  mer 
chant  or  whosoever ;  let  it  be  no  bank  or  common 
stock,  but  every  man  be  master  of  his  own  money  ; 

1165  T 


130  ESSAY  XLII 

not  that  I  altogether  mislike  banks,  but  they  will 
hardly  be  brooked  in  regard  of  certain  suspicions. 
Let  the  state  be  answered  some  small  matter  for  the 
licence,  and  the  rest  left  to  the  lender  ;  for  if  the 
abatement  be  but  small,  it  will  no  whit  discourage  5 
the  lender  ;  for  he  for  example  that  took  before  ten 
or  nine  in  the  hundred,  will  sooner  descend  to  eight 
in  the  hundred  than  give  over  his  trade  of  usury,  and 
go  from  certain  gains  to  gains  of  hazard.  Let  these 
licensed  lenders  be  in  number  indefinite,  but  restrained  10 
to  certain  principal  cities  and  towns  of  merchandising; 
for  then  they  will  be  hardly  able  to  colour  other  men's 
moneys  in  the  country :  so  as  the  licence  of  nine  will 
not  suck  away  the  current  rate  of  five  ;  for  no  man 
will  send  his  moneys  far  off,  nor  put  them  into  15 
unknown  hands. 

If  it  be  objected  that  this  doth  in  a  sort  authorize 
usury,    which   before   was   in   some  places    but   per 
missive,  the  answer  is,    that  it  is  better  to  mitigate 
usury  by  declaration  than  to  suffer  it  to  rage  by  20 
connivance. 

XLII 
OF  YOUTH  AND  AGE 

A  MAN  that  is  young  in  years  may  be  old  in  hours, 
if  he  have  lost  no  time  ;  but  that  happeneth  rarely. 
Generally,  youth  is  like  the  first  cogitations,  not  so 
wise  as  the  second  :  for  there  is  a  youth  in  thoughts  as  25 
well  as  in  ages  ;  and  yet  the  invention  of  young  men 
is  more  lively  than  that  of  old,  and  imaginations  stream 
into  their  minds  better,  and  as  it  were  more  divinely. 
Natures  that  have  much  heat,  and  great  and  violent 
desires  and  perturbations,  are  not  ripe  for  action  till  30 
they  have  passed  the  meridian  of  their  years :  as  it 
was  with  Julius  Caesar  and  Septimius  Severus  ;  of  the 
latter  of  whom  it  is  said,  Juventutem  egit  erroribus,  imo 
furor  ibus  plenani ;  and  yet  he  was  the  ablest  emperor, 


OF  YOUTH  AND  AGE  131 

almost,  of  all  the  list ;  but  reposed  natures  may  do  well 
in  youth,  as  it  is  seen  in  Augustus  Caesar,  Cosmus 
duke  of  Florence,  Gaston  de  Foix,  and  others.  On  the 
other  side,  heat  and  vivacity  in  age  is  an  excellent 
5  composition  for  business.  Young  men  are  fitter  to 
invent  than  to  judge,  fitter  "for  execution  than  for 
counsel,  and  fitter  for  new  projects  than  for  settled 
business  ;  for  the  experience  of  age,  in  things  that  fall 
within  the  compass  of  it,  directeth  them  ;  but  in  new 

10  things  abuseth  them.  The  errors  of  young  men  are 
the  ruin  of  business  ;  but  the  errors  of  aged  men 
amount  but  to  this,  that  more  might  have  been  done 
or  sooner. 

Young  men,  in  the  conduct  and  manage  of  actions, 

15  embrace  more  than  they  can  hold  ;  stir  more  than  they 
can  quiet ;  fly  to  the  end  without  consideration  of  the 
means  and  degrees  ;  pursue  some  few  principles  which 
they  have  chanced  upon  absurdly  ;  care  not  to  inno 
vate,  which  draws  unknown  inconveniences  ;  use 

20  extreme  remedies  at  first ;  and,  that  which  doubleth 
all  errors,  will  not  acknowledge  or  retract  them,  like 
an  unready  horse,  that  will  neither  stop  nor  turn. 
Men  of  age  object  too  much,  consult  too  long,  adven 
ture  too  little,  repent  too  soon,  and  seldom  drive 

25  business  home  to  the  full  period,  but  content  them 
selves  with  a  mediocrity  of  success.  Certainly  it  is 
good  to  compound  employments  of  both  ;  for  that  \vill 
be  good  for  the  present,  because  the  virtues  of  either 
age  may  correct  the  defects  of  both  ;  and  good  for 

30  succession,  that  young  men  may  be  learners  while  men 
in  age  are  actors  ;  and  lastly,  good  for  externe  accidents, 
because  authority  followeth  old  men,  and  favour  and 
popularity  youth  :  but  for  the  moral  part,  perhaps 
youth  will  have  the  pre-eminence,  as  age  hath  for  the 

35  politic.     A  certain  rabbin,  upon  the  text,  Your  young 

men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams, 

inferreth  that  young  men  are  admitted  nearer  to  God 

than  old,  because  vision  is  a  clearer  revelation  than  a 

i2 


132  ESSAY  XLIII 

dream  ;  and  certainly,  the  more  a  man  drinketh  of  the 
world  the  more  it  intoxicateth :  and  age  doth  profit 
rather  in  the  powers  of  understanding  than  in  the 
virtues  of  the  will  and  affections.  There  be  some 
have  an  over-early  ripeness  in  their  years,  which  fadeth  5 
betimes :  these  are,  first,  such  as  have  brittle  wits,  the 
edge  whereof  is  soon  turned  :  such  as  was  Hermogenes 
the  rhetorician,  whose  books  are  exceeding  subtile, 
who  afterwards  waxed  stupid :  a  second  sort  is  of  those 
that  have  some  natural  dispositions  which  have  better  10 
grace  in  youth  than  in  age  ;  such  as  is  a  fluent  and 
luxuriant  speech,  which  becomes  youth  well  but  not 
age  :  so  Tully  saith  of  Hortensius,  Idem  manebat,  neque 
idem  decebat :  the  third  is  of  such  as  take  too  high 
a  strain  at  the  first,  and  are  magnanimous  more  than  15 
tract  of  years  can  uphold  ;  as  was  Scipio  Africanus,  of 
whom  Livy  saith  in  effect,  Ultima  primis  cedebant. 

XLIII 
OF  BEAUTY 

VIRTUE  is  like  a  rich  stone,  best  plain  set ;  and  surely 
virtue  is  best  in  a  body  that  is  comely,  though  not  of 
delicate  features  ;  and  that  hath  rather  dignity  of  pre-  20 
sence  than  beauty  of  aspect ;  neither  is  it  almost  seen 
that  very  beautiful  persons  are  otherwise  of  great 
virtue  ;  as  if  nature  were  rather  busy  not  to  err  than 
in  labour  to  produce  excellency  ;  and  therefore  they 
prove  accomplished,  but  not  of  great  spirit ;  and  study  25 
rather  behaviour  than  virtue.  But  this  holds  not 
always :  for  Augustus  Caesar,  Titus  Vespasianus, 
Philip  le  Bel  of  France,  Edward  the  Fourth  of  Eng 
land,  Alcibiades  of  Athens,  Ismael  the  Sophy  of  Persia, 
were  all  high  and  great  spirits,  and  yet  the  most  30 
beautiful  men  of  their  times.  In  beauty,  that  of 
favour  is  more  than  that  of  colour  ;  and  that  of  decent 
and  gracious  motion  more  than  that  of  favour.  That 


OF  BEAUTY  133 

is  the  best  part  of  beauty  which  a  picture  cannot 
express  ;  no,  nor  the  first  sight  of  the  life.  There  is 
no  excellent  beauty  that  hath  not  some  strangeness  in 
the  proportion.  A  man  cannot  tell  whether  Apelles 
5  or  Albert  Durer  were  the  more  trifler  ;  whereof  the  one 
would  make  a  personage  by  geometrical  proportions  : 
the  other,  by  taking  the  best  parts  out  of  divers  faces 
to  make  one  excellent.  Such  personages,  I  think, 
would  please  nobody  but  the  painter  that  made  them  : 

10  not  but  I  think  a  painter  may  make  a  better  face  than 
ever  was  ;  but  he  must  do  it  by  a  kind  of  felicity  (as 
a  musician  that  maketh  an  excellent  air  in  music),  and 
not  by  rule.  A  man  shall  see  faces  that,  if  you  examine 
them  part  by  part,  you  shall  find  never  a  good  ;  and 

15  yet  altogether  do  well.  If  it  be  true  that  the  principal 
part  of  beauty  is  in  decent  motion,  certainly  it  is  no 
marvel  though  persons  in  years  seem  many  times  more 
amiable  ;  Pulclirorum  autumnus  pulclier ;  for  no  youth 
can  be  comely  but  by  pardon,  and  considering  the 

20  youth  as  to  make  up  the  comeliness.  Beauty  is  as 
summer  fruits,  which  are  easy  to  corrupt  and  cannot 
last ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  it  makes  a  dissolute 
youth  and  an  age  a  little  out  of  countenance  ;  but  yet 
certainly  again,  if  it  light  well  it  maketh  virtues  shine, 

25  and  vices  blush. 

XLIV 

OF  DEFOEMITY 

DEFORMED  persons  are  commonly  even  with  nature  ; 
for  as  nature  hath  done  ill  by  them,  so  do  they  by 
nature,  being  for  the  most  part  (as  the  Scripture  saith), 
void  of  natural  affection;  and  so  they  have  their  revenge 

30  of  nature.  Certainly  there  is  a  consent  between  the 
body  and  the  mind,  and  where  nature  erreth  in  the 
one,  she  ventureth  in  the  other  :  Ubi  peccat  in  uno, 
periclltatur  in  altero :  but  because  there  is  in  man  an 
election  touching  the  frame  of  his  mind,  and  a  necessity 

35  in  the  frame  of  his  body,  the  stars  of  natural  inclination 


134  ESSAY  XLV 

are  sometimes  obscured  by  the  sun  of  discipline  and 
virtue  ;  therefore  it  is  good  to  consider  of  deformity, 
not  as  a  sign  which  is  more  deceivable,  but  as  a  cause 
which  seldom  faileth  of  the  effect.  Whosoever  hath 
anything  fixed  in  his  person  that  doth  induce  contempt,  5 
hath  also  a  perpetual  spur  in  himself  to  rescue  and 
deliver  himself  from  scorn  ;  therefore  all  deformed 
persons  are  extreme  bold  ;  first,  as  in  their  own  de 
fence,  as  being  exposed  to  scorn,  but  in  process  of 
time  by  a  general  habit.  Also  it  stirreth  in  them  in- 10 
dustry,  and  especially  of  this  kind,  to  watch  and  observe 
the  weakness  of  others  that  they  may  have  somewhat 
to  repay.  Again,  in  their  superiors  it  quenchetli 
jealousy  towards  them,  as  persons  that  they  think 
they  may  at  pleasure  despise  :  and  it  layeth  their  com- 15 
petitors  and  emulators  asleep,  as  never  believing  they 
should  be  in  possibility  of  advancement  till  they  see 
them  in  possession ;  so  that  upon  the  matter,  in  a  great 
wit,  deformity  is  an  advantage  to  rising.  Kings  in 
ancient  times  (and  at  this  present  in  some  countries)  20 
were  wont  to  put  great  trust  in  eunuchs,  because  they 
that  are  envious  towards  all  are  more  obnoxious  and 
officious  towards  one  ;  but  yet  their  trust  towards  them 
hath  rather  been  as  to  good  spials  and  good  whisperers 
than  good  magistrates  and  officers :  and  much  like  is  25 
the  reason  of  deformed  persons.  Still  the  ground  is, 
they  will,  if  they  be  of  spirit,  seek  to  free  themselves 
from  scorn  :  which  must  be  either  by  virtue  or  malice; 
and,  therefore,  let  it  not  be  marvelled  if  sometimes 
they  prove  excellent  persons  ;  as  was  Agesilaus,  Zanger  30 
the  son  of  Solyman,  Aesop,  Gasca  President  of  Peru  ; 
and  Socrates  may  go  likewise  amongst  them,  with 
others. 

XLV 

OF  BUILDING 

HOUSES  are  built  to  live  in  and  not  to  look  on  ;  there 
fore  let  use  be  preferred    before   uniformity,  except  35 


OF  BUILDING  135 

where  both  may  be  had.     Leave  the  goodly  fabrics  of 

houses  for  beauty  only  to  the  enchanted  palaces  of  the 

poets,  who  build  them  with  small  cost.  He  that 
builds  a  fair  house  upon  an  ill  seat  committeth  himself 
5  to  prison  :  neither  do  I  reckon  it  an  ill  seat  only  where 
the  air  is  unwholesome,  but  likewise  where  the  air  is 
unequal  ;  as  you  shall  see  many  fine  seats  set  upon 
a  knap  of  ground  environed  with  higher  hills  round 
about  it,  whereby  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  pent  in,  and 

10  the  wind  gathereth  as  in  troughs  ;  so  as  you  shall  have, 
and  that  suddenly,  as  great  diversity  of  heat  and  cold 
as  if  you  dwelt  in  several  places./  Neither  is  it  ill  air 
only  that  maketh  an  ill  seat ;  but  ill  ways,  ill  markets, 
and,  if  you  will  consult  with  Momus,  ill  neighbours. 

15  I  speak  not  of  many  more ;  want  of  water,  want  of 
wood  shade  and  shelter,  want  of  fruitfulness  and  mix 
ture  of  grounds  of  several  natures ;  want  of  prospect, 
want  of  level  grounds,  want  of  places  at  some  near 
distance  for  sports  of  hunting,  hawking,  and  races  ; 

20  too  near  the  sea,  too  remote  ;  having  the  commodity 
of  navigable  rivers,  or  the  discommodity  of  their  over 
flowing  ;  too  far  off  from  great  cities,  which  may  hinder 
business ;  or  too  near  them,  which  lurcheth  all  pro 
visions  and  maketh  everything  dear  ;  where  a  man 

25  hath  a  great  living  laid  together,  and  where  he  is 
scanted  ;  all  which,  as  it  is  impossible  perhaps  to  find 
together,  so  it  is  good  to  know  them  and  think  of 
them,  that  a  man  may  take  as  many  as  he  can  ;  and  if 
he  have  several  dwellings,  that  he  sort  them  so  that 

30  what  he  wanteth  in  the  one  he  may  find  in  the  other. 
Lucullus  answered  Pompey  well,  who,  when  he  saw 
his  stately  galleries  and  rooms  so  large  and  lightsome 
in  one  of  his  houses,  said,  Surely  an  excellent  place  jw 
summer,  but  how  do  you  in  winter?  Lucullus  answered, 

35  WJiy,  do  you  not  think  me  as  ivise  as  some  fowls  are,  that 
ever  change  tJieir  abode  towards  the  winter? 

To  pass  from  the  seat  to  the  house  itself,  we  will  do 
as  Cicero  doth  in  the  orator's  art,  who  writes  books 


136  ESSAY  XLV 

De  Oratore  and  a  book  he  entitles  Orator ;  whereof  the 
former  delivers  the  precepts  of  the  art  and  the  latter 
the  perfection.  We  will  therefore  describe  a  princely 
palace,  making  a  brief  model  thereof ;  for  it  is  strange 
to  see  now  in  Europe  such  huge  buildings  as  the  5 
Vatican  and  Escurial  and  some  others  be,  and  yet 
scarce  a  very  fair  room  in  them. 

First  therefore  I  say,  you  cannot  have  a  perfect 
palace  except  you  have  two  several  sides  ;  a  side  for 
the  banquet,  as  is  spoken  of  in  the  book  of  Hester,  and  10 
a  side  for  the  household  ;  the  one  for  feasts  and 
triumphs,  and  the  other  for  dwelling.  I  understand 
both  these  sides  to  be  not  only  returns  but  parts  of  the 
front :  and  to  be  uniform  without,  though  severally 
partitioned  within ;  and  to  be  on  both  sides  of  a  great  15 
and  stately  tower  in  the  midst  of  the  front,  that  as  it 
were  joineth  them  together  on  either  hand.  I  would 
have,  on  the  side  of  the  banquet,  in  front,  one  only 
goodly  room  above  stairs,  of  some  forty  foot  high  ;  and 
under  it  a  room  for  a  dressing  or  preparing  place  at  20 
times  of  triumphs.  On  the  other  side,  which  is  the 
household  side,  I  wish  it  divided  at  the  first  into  a  hall 
and  a  chapel  (with  a  partition  between),  both  of  good 
state  and  bigness  ;  and  those  not  to  go  all  the  length, 
but  to  have  at  the  further  end  a  winter  and  a  summer  25 
parlour,  both  fair ;  and  under  these  rooms  a  fair  and 
large  cellar  sunk  under  ground  ;  and  likewise  some 
privy  kitchens,  with  butteries  and  pantries,  and  the 
like.  As  for  the  tower,  I  would  have  it  two  stories  of 
eighteen  foot  high  apiece  above  the  two  wings  ;  and  30 
a  goodly  leads  upon  the  top,  railed  with  statuas  inter 
posed  ;  and  the  same  tower  to  be  divided  into  rooms, 
as  shall  be  thought  fit.  The  stairs  likewise  to  the 
upper  rooms,  let  them  be  upon  a  fair  open  newel,  and 
finely  railed  in  with  images  of  wood  cast  into  a  brass  35 
colour  ;  and  a  very  fair  landing-place  at  the  top.  But 
this  to  be,  if  you  do  not  point  any  of  the  lower  rooms 
for  a  dining-place  of  servants  ;  for  otherwise  you  shall 


OF  BUILDING  137 

have  the  servants'  dinner  after  your  own :  for  the 
steam  of  it  will  come  up  as  in  a  tunnel.  And  so  much 
for  the  front :  only  I  understand  the  height  of  the  first 
stairs  to  be  sixteen  foot,  which  is  the  height  of  the 
5  lower  room. 

Beyond  this  front  is  there  to  be  a  fair  court,  but 
three  sides  of  it  of  a  far  lower  building  than  the  front ; 
and  in  all  the  four  corners  of  that  court  fair  staircases, 
cast  into  turrets  on  the  outside,  and  not  within  the 

10  row  of  buildings  themselves  :  but  those  towers  are  not 
to  be  of  the  height  of  the  front,  but  rather  proportion 
able  to  the  lower  building.  Let  the  court  not  be  paved, 
for  that  striketh  up  a  great  heat  in  summer  and  much 
cold  in  winter :  but  only  some  side  alleys  with  a  cross, 

15  and  the  quarters  to  graze,  being  kept  shorn  but  not  too 
near  shorn.  The  row  of  return  on  the  banquet  side, 
let  it  be  all  stately  galleries :  in  which  galleries  let 
there  be  three  or  five  fine  cupolas  in  the  length  of  it, 
placed  at  equal  distance,  and  fine  coloured  windows 

20  of  several  works  :  on  the  household  side,  chambers  of 
presence  and  ordinary  entertainments,  with  some  bed 
chambers  :  and  let  all  three  sides  be  a  double  house, 
without  thorough  lights  on  the  sides,  that  you  may 
have  rooms  from  the  sun,  both  for  forenoon  and  after - 

25  noon.  Cast  it  also  that  you  may  have  rooms  both  for 
summer  and  winter  ;  shady  for  summer  and  warm  for 
winter.  You  shall  have  sometimes  fair  houses  so  full 
of  glass  that  one  cannot  tell  where  to  become  to  be  out 
of  the  sun  or  cold.  For  imbowed  windows,  I  hold 

30  them  of  good  use  (in  cities  indeed  upright  do  better,  in 
respect  of  the  uniformity  towards  the  street) ;  for  they 
be  pretty  retiring  places  for  conference ;  and  besides, 
they  keep  both  the  wind  and  sun  off ;  for  that  which 
would  strike  almost  through  the  room  doth  scarce  pass 

35  the  window :  but  let  them  be  but  few,  four  in  the 
court,  on  the  sides  only. 

Beyond  this  court,  let  there  be  an  inward  court  of 
the  same  square  and  height,  which  is  to  be  environed 


138  ESSAY  XLV 

with  the  garden  on  all  sides ;  and  in  the  inside,  clois 
tered  on  all  sides  upon  decent  and  beautiful  arches,  as 
high  as  the  first  story  :  on  the  under  story  towards  the 
garden,  let  it  be  turned  to  a  grotto,  or  place  of  shade, 
or  estivation,  and  only  have  opening  and  windows  5 
towards  the  garden,  and  be  level  upon  the  floor,  no 
whit  sunk  under  ground  to  avoid  all  dampishness  :  and 
let  there  be  a  fountain,  or  some  fair  work  of  statuas  in 
the  midst  of  this  court,  and  to  be  paved  as  the  other 
court  was.  These  buildings  to  be  for  privy  lodgings  10 
on  both  sides,  and  the  end  for  privy  galleries  ;  whereof 
you  must  foresee  that  one  of  them  be_for  an  infirmary, 
if  the  prince  or  any  special  person  should  be  sick,  with 
chambers,  bed-chamber,  antecamera,  and  recamera, 
joining  to  it ;  this  upon  the  second  story.  Upon  the  15 
ground  story,  a  fair  gallery,  open,  upon  pillars  ;  and 
upon  the  third  story  likewise,  an  open  gallery  upon 
pillars,  to  take  the  prospect  and  freshness  of  the  garden. 
At  both  corners  of  the  further  side,  by  way  of  return, 
let  there  be  two  delicate  or  rich  cabinets,  daintily  20 
paved,  richly  hanged,  glazed  with  crystalline  glass,  and 
a  rich  cupola  in  the  midst ;  and  all  other  elegancy  that 
can  be  thought  upon.  In  the  upper  gallery  too,  I  wish 
that  there  may  be,  if  the  place  will  yield  it,  some 
fountains  running  in  divers  places  from  the  wall,  with  25 
some  fine  avoidances.  And  thus  much  for  the  model 
of  the  palace  ;  save  that  you  must  have,  before  you 
come  to  the  front,  three  courts ;  a  green  court  plain 
with  a  wall  about  it ;  a  second  court  of  the  same  but 
more  garnished,  with  little  turrets  or  rather  embellish-  30 
ments  upon  the  wall ;  and  a  third  court,  to  make  a 
square  with  the  front,  but  not  to  be  built  nor  yet  enclosed 
with  a  naked  wall,  but  enclosed  with  terraces  leaded 
aloft,  and  fairly  garnished  on  the  three  sides  ;  and 
cloistered  on  the  inside  with  pillars,  and  not  with  85 
arches  below.  As  for  offices,  let  them  stand  at  distance, 
with  some  low  galleries  to  pass  from  them  to  the  palace 
itself. 


139 

XLVI 
OF  GAKDENS 

GOD  Almighty  first  planted  a  garden  ;  and,  indeed, 
it  is  the  purest  of  human  pleasures  ;  it  is  the  greatest 
refreshment  to  the  spirits  of  man  ;  without  which 
buildings  and  palaces  are  but  gross  handy-works :  and 
5  a  man  shall  ever  see  that,  when  ages  grow  to  civility 
and  elegancy,  men  come  to  build  stately  sooner  than 
to  garden  finely  ;  as  if  gardening  were  the  greater 
perfection.  I  do  hold  it,  in  the  royal  ordering  of 
gardens,  there  ought  to  be  gardens  for  all  the  months 

10  in  the  year,  in  which  severally  things  of  beauty  may 
be  then  in  season.  For  December  and  January  and 
the  latter  part  of  November,  you  must  take  such  things 
as  are  green  all  winter :  holly,  ivy,  bays,  juniper, 
cypress -trees,  yew,  pineapple-trees,  fir-trees,  rosemary, 

15  lavender,  periwinkle,  the  white  the  purple  and  the  blue, 
germander,  flags,  orange-trees,  lemon-trees,  and  myrtles, 
if  they  be  stoved  ;  and  sweet  marjoram,  warm  set. 
There  followeth,  for  the  latter  part  of  January  and 
February,  the  mezereon-tree  which  then  blossoms ; 

20  crocus  vernus  both  the  yellow  and  the  grey  ;  primroses, 
anemones,  the  early  tulippa,  the  hyacinthus  orientalis, 
chama'iris,  fritillaria.  For  March,  there  come  violets, 
especially  the  single  blue  which  are  the  earliest,  the 
yellow  daffodil,  the  daisy,  the  almond-tree  in  blossom, 

25  the  peach-tree  in  blossom,  the  cornelian-tree  in  blossom, 
sweet-briar.  In  April  follow  the  double  white  violet, 
the  wall  flower,  the  stock-gilliflower,  the  cowslip, 
flower-de-luces,  and  lilies  of  all  natures,  rosemary- 
flowers,  the  tulippa,  the  double  peony,  the  pale  daffodil, 

30  the  French  honeysuckle,  the  cherry-tree  in  blossom, 
the  damson  and  plum-trees  in  blossom,  the  white 
thorn  in  leaf,  the  lilac-tree.  In  May  and  June  come 
pinks  of  all  sorts,  specially  the  blush-pink,  roses  of  all 
kinds,  except  the  musk  which  comes  later,  honey- 


140  ESSAY  XLVI 

suckles,  strawberries,  bugloss,  columbine,  the  French 
marygold,  flos  Africanus,  cherry-tree  in  fruit,  ribes, 
figs  in  fruit,  raspes,  vine-flowers,  lavender  in  flowers, 
the  sweet  satyiian  with  the  white  flower,  herba  mus- 
caria,  lilium  convallium,  the  apple-tree  in  blossom.  5 
In  July  come  gilliflowers  of  all  varieties,  musk-roses, 
the  lime-tree  in  blossom,  early  pears,  and  plums  in 
fruit,  ginnitings,  codlins.  In  August  come  plums  of 
all  sorts  in  fruit,  pears,  apricocks,  barberries,  filberts, 
musk-melons,  monks-hoods  of  all  colours.  In  September  10 
come  grapes,  apples,  poppies  of  all  colours,  peaches, 
melocotones,  nectarines,  cornelians,  wardens,  quinces. 
In  October  and  the  beginning  of  November  come 
services,  medlars,  bullaces,  roses  cut  or  removed  to 
come  late,  hollyhocks,  and  such  like.  These  particulars  15 
are  for  the  climate  of  London  ;  but  my  meaning  is 
perceived,  that  you  may  have  ver  perpetuum  as  the 
place  affords. 

And  because  the  breath  of  flowers  is  far  sweeter  in 
the  air  (where  it  comelTand  goes  like  the  warbling  of  20 
music),  than  in  the~hand,  therefore  nothing  is  more  fit 
for  that  delight  than  to  know  what  be  the  flowers  and 
plants  that  do  best  perfume  the  air.     Koses,'  damask 
and  red,  are  fast  flowers  of  their  smells ;  so  that  you 
may  walk  by  a  whole  row  of  them,  and  find  nothing  25 
of  their  sweetness;    yea,  though  it   be   in   a   morn 
ing's   dew.      Bays   likewise  yield   no   smell  as   they 
grow,  rosemary  little,  nor  sweet  marjoram  ;  that  which 
above  all  others  yields  the  sweetest  smell  in  the  air  is 
the  violet,  especially  the  white  double  violet,  which  30 
comes  twice  a  year,  about  the  middle  of  April  and  about 
Bartholomew-tide.      Next  to  that  is  the  musk-rose; 
then  the  strawberry-leaves  dying,  which  [yield]  a  most 
excellent  cordial  smell ;  then  the  flower  of  the  vines, 
it  is  a  little  dust  like  the  dust  of  a  bent,  which  grows  35 
upon  the  cluster  in  the  first  coming  forth  ;  then  sweet- 
briar,  then  wallflowers,  which  are  very  delightful  to  be 
set  under  a  parlour  or  lower  chamber  window  ;  then 


OF  GARDENS  141 

pinks  and  gilliflowers,  specially  the  matted  pink  and 
clove  gilliflower ;  then  the  flowers  of  the  lime-tree  ; 
then  the  honeysuckles,  so  they  be  somewhat  afar  off. 
Of  bean-flowers  I  speak  not,  because  they  are  field- 
5  flowers ;  but  those  which  perfume  the  air  most 
delightfully,  not  passed  by  as  the  rest,  but  being 
trodden  upon  and  crushed,  are  three  ;  that  is,  burnet, 
wild  thyme,  and  water  mints  ;  therefore  you  are  to  set 
whole  alleys  of  them,  to  have  the  pleasure  when  you 

10  walk  or  tread. 

For  gardens  (speaking  of  those  which  are  indeed 
prince-like,  as  we  have  done  of  buildings),  the  contents 
ought  not  well  to  be  under  thirty  acres  of  ground,  and 
to  be  divided  into  three  parts ;  a  green  in  the  entrance, 

15  a  heath  or  desert  in  the  going  forth,  and  the  main 
garden  in  the  midst,  besides  alleys  on  both  sides  ;  and 
I  like  well  that  four  acres  of  ground  be  assigned  to  the 
green,  six  to  the  heath,  four  and  four  to  either  side, 
and  twelve  to  the  main  garden.  The  green  hath  two 

20  pleasures :  the  one,  because  nothing  is  more  pleasant 
to  the  eye  than  green  grass  kept  finely  shorn  ;  the 
other,  because  it  will  give  you  a  fair  alley  in  the  midst, 
by  which  you  may  go  in  front  upon  a  stately  hedge 
which  is  to  enclose  the  garden  :  but  because  the  alley 

25  will  be  long,  and  in  great  heat  of  the  year  or  day  you 
ought  not  to  buy  the  shade  in  the  garden  by  going  in 
the  sun  through  the  green  ;  therefore  you  are,  of  either 
side  the  green,  to  plant  a  covert  alley  upon  carpenter's 
work,  about  twelve  foot  in  height,  by  which  you  may 

30  go  in  shade  into  the  garden.  As  for  the  making  of 
knots  or  figures  with  divers  coloured  earths,  that  they 
may  lie  under  the  windows  of  the  house  on  that  side 
which  the  garden  stands,  they  be  but  toys  ;  you  may 
see  as  good  sights  many  times  in  tarts.  The  garden 

35  is  best  to  be  square,  encompassed  on  all  the  four  sides 
with  a  stately  arched  hedge ;  the  arches  to  be  upon 
pillars  of  carpenter's  work,  of  some  ten  foot  high  and 
six  foot  broad,  and  the  spaces  between  of  the  same 


142  ESSAY  XLVI 

dimension  with  the  breadth  of  the  arch.  Over  the 
arches  let  there  be  an  entire  hedge  of  some  four  foot 
high,  framed  also  upon  carpenter's  work  ;  and  upon 
the  upper  hedge,  over  every  arch  a  little  turret  with 
a  belly  enough  to  receive  a  cage  of  birds :  and  over  5 
every  space  between  the  arches  some  other  little  figure, 
with  broad  plates  of  round  coloured  glass  gilt,  for  the 
sun  to  play  upon  :  but  this  hedge  I  intend  to  be  raised 
upon  a  bank,  not  steep  but  gently  slope,  of  some  six 
foot,  set  all  with  flowers.  Also  I  understand,  that  10 
this  square  of  the  garden  should  not  be  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  ground,  but  to  leave  on  either  side 
ground  enough  for  diversity  of  side  alleys,  unto  which 
the  two  covert  alleys  of  the  green  may  deliver  you  ; 
but  there  must  be  no  alleys  with  hedges  at  either  end  15 
of  this  great  enclosure  ;  not  at  the  hither  end,  for 
letting  your  prospect  upon  this  fair  hedge  from  the 
green  ;  nor  at  the  further  end,  for  letting  your  prospect 
from  the  hedge  through  the  arches  upon  the  heath. 

For  the  ordering  of  the  ground  within  the  great  20 
hedge,  I  leave  it  to  variety  of  device ;  advising  never 
theless  that  whatsoever  form  you  cast  it  into,  first  it 
be  not  too  busy,  or  full  of  work  ;  wherein  I  for  my  part 
do  not  like  images  cut  out  in  juniper  or  other  garden 
stuff ;  they  be  for  children.     Little  low  hedges,  round,  25 
like  welts,  with  some  pretty  pyramids,  I  like  well ; 
and  in  some  places  fair  columns  upon  frames  of  car 
penter's  work.     I  would  also  have  the  alleys  spacious 
and  fair.     You  may  have  closer  alleys  upon  the  side 
grounds,  but  none  in  the  main  garden.     I  wish  also,  30 
in  the  very  middle,  a  fair  mount  with  three  ascents 
and  alleys,  enough  for  four  to  walk  abreast ;   which 
I  would  have  to  be  perfect  circles,  without  any  bulwarks 
or  embossments ;  and  the  whole  mount  to  be  thirty 
foot  high,  and  some  fine  banqueting-house  with  some  35 
chimneys  neatly  cast,  and  without  too  much  glass. 

For  fountains,  they  are  a  great  beauty  and  refresh 
ment  ;  but  pools  mar  all  and  make  the  garden  un- 


OF  GARDENS  143 

wholesome  and  full  of  flies  and  frogs.  Fountains  I 
intend  to  be  of  two  natures ;  the  one  that  sprinkleth 
or  spouteth  water :  the  other  a  fair  receipt  of  water, 
of  some  thirty  or  forty  foot  square,  but  without  fish 

5  or  slime  or  mud.  For  the  first,  the  ornaments  of 
images  gilt  or  of  marble  which  are  in  use  do  well : 
but  the  main  matter  is  so  to  convey  the  water  as  it 
never  stay,  either  in  the  bowls  or  in  the  cistern,  that 
the  water  be  never  by  rest  discoloured,  green  or  red, 

10  or  the  like,  or  gather  any  mossiness  or  putrefaction  ; 
besides  that,  it  is  to  be  cleansed  every  day  by  the 
hand  :  also  some  steps  up  to  it,  and  some  fine  pave 
ment  about  it  doth  well.  As  for  the  other  kind  of 
fountain,  which  we  may  call  a  bathing-pool,  it  may 

15  admit  much  curiosity  and  beauty,  wherewith  we  will 
not  trouble  ourselves~T~  as  that  the  bottom  be  finely 
paved,  and  with  images ;  the  sides  likewise ;  and 
withal  embellished  with  coloured  glass  and  such  things 
of  lustre ;  encompassed  also  with  fine  rails  of  low 

20  statuas ;  but  the  main  point  is  the  same  which  we 

\  mentioned  in  the  former  kind  of  fountain  ;  which  is 

that  the  water  be  in  perpetual  motion,  fed  by  a  water 

higher  than  the  pool,   and  delivered  into  it  by  fair 

spouts  'and  then   discharged   away  under  ground  by 

25  some  equality  of  bores,  that  it  stay  little ;  and  for 
fine  devices,  of  arching  water  without  spilling,  and 
making  it  rise  in  several  iSrms  (of  feathers',  drirrkintg- 
glasses,  canopies,  and  the  like),  they  be  pretty  things 
to  look  on  but  nothing  to  health  and  sweetness. 

30  For  the  heath,  which  was  the  third  part  of  our  plot, 
I  wish  it  to  be  framed  as  much  as  may  be  to  a  natural 
wildness.  Trees  I  would  have  none  in  it,  but  some 
thickets  made  only  of  sweet-briar  and  honeysuckle, 
and  some  wild  vine  amongst ;  and  the  ground  set  with 

35  violets,  strawberries,  and  primroses ;  for  these  are 
sweet,  and  prosper  in  the  shade  ;  and  these  to  be  in 
the  heath  here  and  there,  not  in  any  order.  I  like 
also  little  heaps,  in  the  nature  of  mole-hills  (such  as  are 


144  ESSAY  XLVI 

in  wild  heaths),  to  be  set,  some  with  wild  thyme,  some 
with  pinks,  some  with  germander  that  gives  a  good 
flower  to  the  eye,  some  with  periwinkle,  some  with 
violets,  some  with  strawberries,  some  with  cowslips, 
some  with  daisies,  some  with  red  roses,  some  with  lilium  5 
convallium,  some  with  sweet-williams  red,  some  with 
bear's-foot,  and  the  like  low  flowers,  being  withal  sweet 
and  sightly  ;  part  of  which  heaps  to  be  with  standards 
of  little  bushes  pricked  upon  their  top,  and  part  without : 
the  standards  to  be  roses,  juniper,  holly,  barberries  (but  10 
here  and  there,  because  of  the  smell  of  their  blossom), 
red  currants,  gooseberries,  rosemary,  bays,  sweet-briar, 
and  such  like :  but  these  standards  to  be  kept  with 
cutting,  that  they  grow  not  out  of  course. 

For  the  side  grounds,  you  are  to  fill  them  with  15 
variety  of  alleys,  private,  to  give  a  full  shade,  some 
of  them,  wheresoever  the  sun  be.     You  are  to  frame 
some  of  them  likewise  for  shelter,  that  when  the  wind 
blows  sharp  you  may  walk  as  in  a  gallery :  and  those 
alleys  must  be  likewise  hedged  at  both  ends,  to  keep  '20 
out  the  wind  ;  and  these  closer  alleys  must  be  ever 
finely  gravelled,  and  no  grass,  because  of  going  wet. 
In  many  of  these  alleys  likewise  you  are  to  set  fruit- 
trees  of  all  sorts,  as  well  upon  the  walls  as  in  ranges  ; 
and  this  should  be  generally  observed,  that  the  borders  25 
wherein  you  plant  your  fruit-trees  be  fair  and  large 
and  low  and  not  steep ;  and  set  with  fine  flowers,  but 
thin  and  sparingly,   lest  they  deceive,  the  trees.     At 
the  end  of  both  the  side  grounds  I  would   have  a 
mount  of  some  pretty  height,  leaving  the  wall  of  the  30 
enclosure  breast-high,  to  look  abroad  into  the  fields. 

For  the  main  garden,  I  do  not  deny  but  there  should 
be  some  fair  alleys,  ranged  on  both  sides,  with  fruit- 
trees,  and  some  pretty  tufts  of  fruit-trees  and  arbours 
with  seats,  set  in  some  decent  order ;  but  these  to  be  35 
by  Ui  maans  set  too  thick,  but  to  ..leave  the  main 
garden  so  as  it  be  not  close  but  the  air  open  and  free. 
For  as  for  shade,  I  would  have  you  rest  upon  the  alleys 


OF  GARDENS  145 

of  the  side  grounds,  there  to  walk,  if  you  be  disposed, 
in  the  heat  of  the  year  or  day ;  but  to  make  account 
that  the  main  garden  is  for  the  more  temperate  parts 
of  the  year,  and  in  the  heat  of  summer  for  the  morning 
5  and  the  evening  or  overcast  days. 

For  aviaries,  I  like  them  not,  except  they  be  of  that 
largeness  as  they  may  be  turfed  and  have  living  plants 
and  bushes  set  in  them  ;  that  the  birds  may  have  more 
scope  and  natural  nestling,  and  that  no  foulness  appear 

10  in  the  floor  of  the  aviary.  So  I  have  made  a  platform 
of  a  princely  garden,  partly  by  precept,  partly  by 
drawing ;  not  a  model,  but  some  general  lines  of  it ; 
and  in  this  I  have  spared  for  no  cost :  but  it  is  nothing 
for  great  princes,  that  for  the  most  part,  taking  advice 

15  with  workmen,  with  no  less  cost  set  their  things 
together,  and  sometimes  add  statuas  and  such  things 
for  state  and  magnificence,  but  nothing  to  the  true 
pleasure  of  a  garden. 


IT  is  generally  better  to  deal  by  speech  than  by 
20  letter  ;  and  by  the  mediation  of  a  third  than  by  a 
man's  self.  Letters  are  good  when  a  man  would  draw 
an  answer  by  letter  back  again  ;  or  when  it  may  serve 
for  a  man's  justification  afterwards  to  produce  his  own 
letter  ;  or  where  it  may  be  danger  to  be  interrupted 
25  or  heard  by  pieces.  To  deal  in  person  is  good  when 
a  man's  face  breedeth  regard,  as  commonly  with  in 
feriors  ;  or  in  tender  cases  where  a  man's  eye  upon  the 
countenance  of  him  with  whom  he  speaketh  may  give 
him  a  direction  how  far  to  go :  and  generally  where 
30  a  man  will  reserve  to  himself  liberty  either  to  disavow 
or  to  expound.  In  choice  of  instruments,  it  is  better 
to  choose  men  of  a  plainer  sort,  that  are  like  to  do  that 
that  is  committed  to  them  and  to  report  back  again 
faithfully  the  success,  than  those  that  are  cunning  to 


146  ESSAY  XLVII 

contrive  out  of  other  men's  business  somewhat  to  grace 
themselves,  and  will  help  the  matter  in  report,  for 
satisfaction  sake.     Use  also  such  persons  as  affect  the 
business  wherein  they  are  employed,  for  that  quickeneth 
much  ;  and  such  as  are  fit  for  the  matter,  as  bold  men  5 
for  expostulation,  fair-spoken  men  for  persuasion,  crafty 
men  for  inquiry  and  observation,  froward  and  absurd 
men  for  business  that  doth  not  well  bear  out  itself. 
Use  also  such  as  have  been  lucky  and  prevailed  before 
in  things  wherein  you  have  employed  them  ;  for  that  10 
breeds  confidence,   and  they  will  strive  to  maintain 
their  prescription.     It  is  better  to  sound  a  person  with 
whom  one  deals  afar  off  than  to  fall  upon  the  point  at 
first,  except  you  mean  to  surprise  him  by  some  short 
question.     It  is  better  dealing  with  men  in  appetite  15 
than  with  those  that  are  where  they  would  be.     If 
a  man  deal  with  another  upon  conditions,  the  start  or 
first  performance  is  all :  which  a  man  cannot  reason 
ably  demand,  except  either  the  nature  of  the  thing  be 
such  which  must  go  before  ;  or  else  a  man  can  per-  20 
suade  the  other  party  thftt  he  shall  still  need  him  in 
some  other  thing;    or  else   that   he   be  counted  the 
honest er  man.     All  practice  is  to  discover  or  to  work. 
Men  discover  themselves  in  trust,  in  passion,  at  un 
awares,  and  of  necessity,  when  they  would  have  some-  25 
what  done  and  cannot  find  an  apt  pretext.     If  you 
would  work  any  man,  you  must  either  know  his  nature 
and  fashions,  and  so  lead  him ;  or  his  ends,  and  so 
persuade  him;    or  his  weakness   and   disadvantages, 
and  so  awe  him ;  or  those  that  have  interest  in  him,  30 
and  so  govern  him.     In  dealing  with  cunning  persons, 
we  must  ever  consider  their  ends  to  interpret  their 
speeches ;  and  it  is  good  to  say  little  to  them,  and 
that  which  they  least  look  for.     In  all  negotiations  of 
difficulty,   a  man  may  not  look  to  sow  and  reap  at  35 
once  ;  but  must  prepare  business  and  so  ripen  it  by 
degrees. 


147 

XLVIII 
OF  FOLLOWERS  AND  FRIENDS 

COSTLY  followers  are  not  to  be  liked ;  lest  while  a 
man  maketh  his  train  longer,  he  make  his  wings 
shorter.  I  reckon  to  be  costly  not  them  alone  which 
charge  the  purse,  but  which  are  wearisome  and  im- 
5  portune  in  suits.  Ordinary  followers  ought  to  challenge 
no  higher  conditions  than  countenance,  recommenda 
tion,  and  protection  from  wrongs.  Factious  followers 
are  worse  to  be  liked,  which  follow  not  upon  affection 
to  him  with  whom  they  range  themselves,  but  upon 

10  discontentment  conceived  against  some  other ;  where 
upon  commonly  ensueth  that  ill  intelligence,  that  we 
many  times  see  between  great  personages.  Likewise 
glorious  followers,  who  make  themselves  as  trumpets 
of  the  commendation  of  those  they  follow,  are  full  of 

15  inconvenience ;  for  they  taint  business  through  want 
of  secrecy  ;  and  they  export  honour  from  a  man,  and 
make  him  a  return  in  envy.  There  is  a  kind  of 
followers  likewise  which  are  dangerous,  being  indeed 
espials ;  which  inquire  the  secrets  of  the  house  and 

20  bear  tales  of  them  to  others  ;  yet  such  men  many  times 
are  in  great  favour  ;  for  they  are  officious,  and  com 
monly  exchange  tales.  The  following  by  certain 
estates  of  men  answerable  to  that  which  a  great 
person  himself  professeth  (as  of  soldiers  to  him  that 

25  hath  been  employed  in  the  wars,  and  the  like),  hath 
ever  been  a  thing  civil  and  well  taken  even  in 
monarchies,  so  it  be  without  too  much  pomp  or 

1  popularity.  But  the  most  honourable  kind  of  following 
is  to  be  followed  as  one  that  apprehendeth  to  advance 

30  virtue  and  desert  in  all  sorts  of  persons  ;  and  yet, 
where  there  is  no  eminent  odds  in  sufficiency,  it  is 
better  to  take  with  the  more  passable  than  with  the 
more  able  ;  and  besides,  to  speak  truth,  in  base  times 
active  men  are  of  more  use  than  virtuous.  It  is  true 

K2 


148  ESSAY  XLIX 

that  in  government  it  is  good  to  use  men  of  one  rank 
equally  :  for  to  countenance  some  extraordinarily  is  to 
make  them  insolent  and  the  rest  discontent ;  because 
they  may  claim  a  due :  but  contrariwise  in  favour  to 
use  men  with  much  difference  and  election  is  good  ;  5 
for  it  maketh  the  persons  preferred  more  thankful, 
and  the  rest  more  officious :  because  all  is  of  favour. 
It  is  good  discretion  not  to  make  too  much  of  any 
man  at  the  first ;  because  one  cannot  hold  out  that 
proportion.  To  be  governed  (as  we  call  i$)  by  one  is  10 
not  safe  ;  for  it  shows  softness,  and  gives  a  freedom  to 
scandal  and  disreputation ;  for  those  that  would  not 
censure  or  speak  ill  of  a  man  immediately,  will  talk 
more  boldly  of  those  that  are  so  great  with  them,  and 
thereby  wound  their  honour ;  yet  to  be  distracted  15 
with  many  is  worse  ;  for  it  makes  men  to  be  of  the 
last  impression,  and  full  of  change.  To  take  advice 
of  some  few  friends  is  ever  honourable  ;  for  lookers-on 
many  times  see  more  than  gamesters;  and  the  vale  "best 
discovereth  the  hill.  There  is  little  friendship  in  the  20 
world,  and  least  of  all  between  equals,  which  was  wont 
to  be  magnified.  That  that  is  is  between  superior 
and  inferior,  whose  fortunes  may  comprehend  the  one 
the  other. 

XLIX 
OF  SUITORS 

MANY  ill  matters  and  projects  are  undertaken  ;  and  25 
private  suits  do  putrefy  the  public  good.     Many  good 
matters  are  undertaken  with  bad  minds  ;  I  mean  not 
only  corrupt  minds,  but  crafty  minds,  that  intend  not 
performance.     Some  embrace  suits  which  never  mean 
to  deal  effectually  in  them  ;  but  if  they  see  there  may  30 
be  life  in  the  matter  by  some  other  mean,  they  will  be 
content  to  win  a  thank,  or  take  a  second  reward,  or  at 
least  to  make  use  in  the  mean  time  of  the  suitor's 
hopes.     Some  take  hold  of  suits  only  for  an  occasion 


OF  SUITORS  149 

to  cross  some  other,  or  to  make  an  information, 
whereof  they  could  not  otherwise  have  apt  pretext, 
without  care  what  become  of  the  suit  when  that  turn 
is  served  ;  or  generally,  to  make  other  men's  business 
5  a  kind  of  entertainment  to  bring  in  their  own :  nay, 
some  undertake  suits  with  a  full  purpose  to  let  them 
fall,  to  the  end  to  gratify  the  adverse  party  or  com 
petitor.  Surely  there  is  in  some  sort  a  right  in  every 
suit ;  either  a  right  of  equity  if  it  be  a  suit  of  con- 

to  troversy,  or  a  right  of  desert  if  it  be  a  suit  of  petition. 
If  affection  lead  a  man  to  favour  the  wrong  side  in 
justice,  let  him  rather  use  his  countenance  to  com 
pound  the  matter  than  to  carry  it.  If  affection  lead 
a  man  to  favour  the  less  worthy  in  desert,  let  him  do 

15  it  without  depraving  or  disabling  the  better  deserver. 
In  suits  which  a  man  doth  not  well  understand,  it  is 
good  to  refer  them  to  some  friend  of  trust  and  judge 
ment,  that  may  report  whether  he  may  deal  in  them 
with  honour:  but  let  him  choose  well  his  referendaries, 

20  for  else  he  may  be  led  by  the  nose.  Suitors  are  so 
distasted  with  delays  and  abuses  that  plain  dealing  in 
denying  to  deal  in  suits  at  first,  and  reporting  the 
success  barely,  and  in  challenging  no  more  thanks 
than  one  hath  deserved,  is  grown  not  only  honourable 

25  but  also  gracious.  In  suits  of  favour,  the  first  coming 
ought  to  take  little  place  ;  so  far  forth  consideration 
may  be  had  of  his  trust,  that  if  intelligence  of  the 
matter  could  not  otherwise  have  been  had  but  by  him, 
advantage  be  not  taken  of  the  note,  but  the  party  left 

30  to  his  other  means,  and  in  some  sort  recompensed  for 
his  discovery.  To  be  ignorant  of  the  value  of  a  suit 
is  simplicity ;  as  well  as  to  be  ignorant  of  the  right 
thereof  is  want  of  conscience.  Secrecy  in  suits  is  a 
great  mean  of  obtaining  ;  for  voicing  them  to  be  in 

35  forwardness  may  discourage  some  kind  of  suitors,  but 
doth  quicken  and  awake  others:  but  timing  of  the 
suit  is  the  principal ;  timing  I  say  not  only  in  respect 
of  the  person  that  should  grant  it,  but  in  respect  of 


150  ESSAY  L 

those  which  are  like  to  cross  it.  Let  a  man,  in  the 
choice  of  his  mean,  rather  choose  the  fittest  mean  than 
the  greatest  mean ;  and  rather  them  that  deal  in 
certain  things  than  those  that  are  general.  The 
reparation  of  a  denial  is  sometimes  equal  to  the  first  5 
grant,  if  a  man  show  himself  neither  dejected  nor 
discontented.  Iniquum  petas,  ut  aequumfcras  is  a  good 
rule  where  a  man  hath  strength  of  favour :  but  other 
wise  a  man  were  better  rise  in  his  suit ;  for  he  that 
would  have  ventured  at  first  to  have  lost  the  suitor,  10 
will  not  in  the  conclusion  lose  both  the  suitor  and  his 
own  former  favour.  Nothing  is  thought  so  easy  a 
.request  to  a  great  person  as  his  letter ;  and  yet,  if  it 
be  not  in  a  good  cause,  it  is  so  much  out  of  his  repu 
tation.  There  are  no  worse  instruments  than  these  15 
general  contrivers  of  suits  ;  for  they  are  but  a  kind  of 
poison  and  infection  to  public  proceedings. 


OF  STUDIES 

STUDIES  serve  for  delight,  for  ornament,  and  for 
ability.  Their  chief  use  for  delight  is  in  privateness 
and  retiring ;  for  ornament  is  in  discourse ;  and  for  20 
ability  is  in  the  judgement  and  disposition  of  Imsiness ; 
for  expert  men  can  execute,  and  perhaps  judge  of 
particulars,  one  by  one :  but  the  general  counsels,  and 
the  plots  and  marshalling  of  affairs  come  best  from 
those  that  are  learned.  To  spend  too  much  time  in  25 
studies  is  sloth  ;  to  use  them  too  much  for  ornament 
is  affectation  ;  to  make  judgement  wholly  by  their  rules 
is  the  humour  of  a  scholar :  they  perfect  nature,  and 
are  perfected  by  experience :  for  natural  abilities  are 
like  natural  plants,  that  need  proyning  by  study  ;  and  30 
studies  themselves  do  give  forth  directions  too  much 
at  large,  except  they  be  bounded  in  by  experience. 
Crafty  men  contemn  studies,  simple  men  admire  them. 


OF  STUDIES  151 

and  wise  men  use  them  ;  for  they  teach  not  their  own 
use ;  but  that  is  a  wisdom  without  them  and  above 
them,  won  by  observation.  Head  not  to  contradict 
and  confute,  nor  to  believe  an$  take  for  granted,  nor 

5  to  find  talk  and  discourse,  but  jto  weigh  and  consider. 

d    Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be  "swalTowecl, 

and~some  few  to  be  chewed  and  digested  ;    that  is, 

some  books  are  to  be  read  only  in  parts  ?  others  to  be 

read  but  not  curiously,  and  some  few  to  be  read  wholly, 

10  and  with  diligence  and  attention.  Some  books  also 
may  be  read  by  deputy,  and  extracts  made  of  them 
by  others  ;  but  that  would  be  only  in  the  less  impor 
tant  arguments  and  the  meaner  sort  of  books  ;  else 
distilled  bj^oks  are  like  common  distilled  waters, 

15  flashy  things?  Keadmg  HlUkelli  a  lull  mall}  con- 
ference  a  ready  man  ;  and  writing  an  exact  man  ;  and 
therefore,  if  a  man  write  little  he  had  need  have  a 
great  memory  ;  if  he  confer  little  he  had  need  have 
a  present  wit ;  and  if  he  read  little  he  had  need 

20  have  much  cunning,  to  seem  to  know  that  he  doth  not. 
Histories  make  men  wise ;  poets,  witty ;  the  mathe 
matics,  subtile ;  natural  philosophy,  deep ;  moral, 
grave ;  logic  and  rhetoric,  able  to  contend.  Abeunt 
studta  in  mores ;  nay,  there  is  no  stond  or  impediment 

'25  in  the  wit  but  may  be  wrought  out  by  fit  studies:  like 
as  diseases  of  the  body  may  have  appropriate  exercises  ; 
bowling  is  good  for  the  stone  and  reins,  shooting  for 
the  lungs  and  breast,  gentle  walking  for  the  stomach, 
riding  for  the  head,  and  the  like  ;  so  if  a  man's  wit 

30  be  wandering,  let  him  study  thd  mathematics  ;  for  in 
demonstrations,  if  his  wit  be  called  away  never  so 
little,  he  must  begin  again ;  if  his  wit  be  not  apt  to 
distinguish  or  find  differences  let  him  study  the  school 
men  ;  for  they  are  Cymini  sectores.  If  he  be  not  apt 

35  to  beat  over  matters,  and  to  call  up  one  thing  to 
prove  and  illustrate  another,  let  him  study  the  lawyers' 
cases :  so  every  defect  of  the  mind  may  have  a  special 
receipt. 


152  ESSAY  LI 

LI 
OF  FACTION 

MANY  have  an  opinion  not  wise,  that  for  a  prince 
to  govern  his  estate  or  for  a  great  person  to  govern 
his  proceedings  according  to  the  respect  of  factions, 
is  a  principal  part  of  policy ;  whereas,  contrariwise, 
the  chiefest  wisdom  is,  either  in  ordering  those  things  5 
which  are  general,  and  wherein  men  of  several  factions 
do  nevertheless  agree,  or  in  dealing  with  correspondence 
to  particular  persons,  one  by  one.  But  I  say  not  that 
the  consideration  of  factions  is  to  be  neglected.  Mean 
men  in  their  rising  must  adhere ;  but  great  men,  that  10 
have  strength  in  themselves,  were  better  to  maintain 
themselves  indifferent  and  neutral :  yet  even  in 
beginners,  to  adhere  so  moderately  as  he  be  a  man 
of  the  one  faction  which  is  most  passable  with  the 
other  commonly  giveth  best  way.  The  lower  and  15 
weaker  faction  is  the  firmer  in  conjunction  ;  and  it  is 
often  seen  that  a  few  that  are  stiff  do  tire  out  a  greater 
number  that  are  more  moderate.  When  one  of  the 
factions  is  extinguished,  the  remaining  subdivideth ; 
as  the  faction  between  Lucullus  and  the  rest  of  the  20 
nobles  of  the  senate  (which  they  called  optimates)  held 
out  a  while  against  the  faction  of  Pompey  and  Caesar  ; 
but  when  the  senate's  authority  was  pulled  down, 
Caesar  and  Pompey  soon  after  brake.  The  faction 
or  party  of  Antonius  and  Octavianus  Caesar,  against  25 
Brutus  and  Cassius,  held  out  likewise  for  a  time  ;  but 
when  Brutus  and  Cassius  were  overthrown,  then  soon 
after  Antonius  and  Octavianus  brake  and  subdivided. 
These  examples  are  of  wars,  but  the  same  holdeth  in 
private  factions  :  and  therefore,  those  that  are  seconds  30 
in  factions  do  many  times,  when  the  faction  sub 
divideth,  prove  principals ;  but  many  times  also  they 
prove  ciphers  and  cashiered  ;  for  many  a  man's  strength 
is  in  opposition ;  and  when  that  faileth,  he  groweth 


OF  FACTION  153 

out  of  use.  It  is  commonly  seen  that  men  once  placed 
take  in  with  the  contrary  faction  to  that  by  which 
they  enter ;  thinking,  belike,  that  they  have  the  first 
sure,  and  now  are  ready  for  a  new  purchase.  The 
5  traitor  in  faction  lightly  goeth  away  with  it ;  for  when 
matters  have  stuck  long  in  balancing,  the  winning 
of  some  one  man  casteth  them,  and  he  getteth  all  the 
thanks.  The  even  carriage  between  two  factions  pro- 
ceedeth  not  always  of  moderation,  but  of  a  trueness  to 

10  a  man's  self,  with  end  to  make  use  of  both.  Certainly, 
in  Italy  they  hold  it  a  little  suspect  in  Popes,  when 
they  have  often  in  their  mouth  Padre  commune  ;  and 
take  it  to  be  a  sign  of  one  that  mearieth  to  refer  all 
to  the  greatness  of  his  own  house.  Kings  had  need 

15  beware  how  they  side  themselves,  and  make  themselves 
as  of  a  faction  or  party  ;  for  leagues  within  the  state 
are  ever  pernicious  to  monarchies ;  for  they  raise  an 
obligation  paramount  to  obligation  of  sovereignty,  and 
make  the  king  tanquam  unus  ex  nobls ;  as  was  to  be 

20  seen  in  the  League  of  France.  When  factions  are 
carried  too  high  and  too  violently,  it  is  a  sign  of 
weakness  in  princes,  and  much  to  the  prejudice  both 
of  their  authority  and  business.  The  motions  of 
factions  under  kings  ought  to  be  like  the  motions  (as 

25  the  astronomers  speak)  of  the  inferior  orbs,  which  may 
have  their  proper  motions,  but  yet  still  are  quietly 
carried  by  the  higher  motion  oiprimum  mobile. 


HE  that  is  only  real  had  need  have  exceeding  great 
parts  of  virtue  ;  as  the  stone  had  need  to  be  rich  that 
30  is  set  without  foil ;  but  if  a  man  mark  it  well,  it  is  in 
praise  and  commendation  of  men  as  it  is  in  gettings 
and  gains :  for  the  proverb  is  true,  That  light  gains 
make  lieavy  purses  ;  for  light  gains  come  thick,  whereas 


154  ESSAY  LII 

great  come  but  now  and  then  :  so  it  is  true  that  small 
matters  win  great  commendation,  because  they  are 
continually  in  use  and  in  note :  whereas  the  occasion 
of  any  great  virtue  cometh  but  on  festivals.  There 
fore  it  doth  much  add  to  a  man's  reputation,  and  is  5 
(as  Queen  Isabella  said)  like  2>erpetual  letters  com 
mendatory,  to  have  good  forms ;  to  attain  them,  it 
almost  sufficeth  not  to  despise  them ;  for  so  shall  a 
man  observe  them  in  others ;  and  let  him  trust  him 
self  with  the  rest ;  for  if  he  labour  too  much  to  express  10 
them  he  shall  lose  their  grace,  which  is  to  be  natural 
and  unaffected.  Some  men's  behaviour  is  like  a  verse, 
wherein  every  syllable  is  measured  ;  how  can  a  man 
comprehend  great  matters  that  breaketh  his  mind  too 
much  to  small  observations  ?  Not  to  use  ceremonies  15 
at  all  is  to  teach  others  not  to  use  them  again  ;  and  so 
diminisheth  respect  to  himself  ;  especially  they  be  not 
to  be  omitted  to  strangers  and  formal  natures ;  but 
the  dwelling  upon  them,  and  exalting  them  above  the 
moon,  is  not  only  tedious,  but  doth  diminish  the  faith  20 
and  credit  of  him  that  speaks ;  and  certainly,  there  is 
a  kind  of  conveying  of  effectual  and  imprinting  pas 
sages  amongst  compliments,  which  is  of  singular  use 
if  a  man  can  hit  upon  it.  Amongst  a  man's  peers 
a  man  shall  be  sure  of  familiarity ;  and  therefore  it  is  25 
good  a  little  to  keep  state  ;  amongst  a  man's  inferiors 
one  shall  be  sure  of  reverence  ;  and  therefore  it  is  good 
a  little  to  be  familiar.  He  that  is  too  much  in  any 
thing,  so  that  he  giveth  another  occasion  of  satiety, 
maketh  himself  cheap.  To  apply  one's  self  to  others  30 
is  good  ;  so  it  be  with  demonstration  that  a  man  doth 
it  upon  regard,  and  not  upon  facility.  It  is  a  good 
precept  generally  in  seconding  another  yet  to  add 
somewhat  of  one's  own :  as  if  you  will  grant  his 
opinion,  let  it  be  with  some  distinction ;  if  you  will  35 
follow  his  motion,  let  it  be  with  condition ;  if  you 
allow  his  counsel,  let  it  be  with  alleging  further 
reason.  Men  had  need  beware  how  they  be  too  perfect 


OF  CEREMONIES  AND  RESPECTS       155 

in  compliments  ;  for  be  they  never  so  sufficient  other 
wise,  their  enviers  will  be  sure  to  give  them  that 
attribute,  to  the  disadvantage  of  their  greater  virtues. 
It  is  loss  also  in  business  to  be  too  full  of  respects,  or 
5  to  be  too  curious  in  observing  times  and  opportunities. 
Salomon  saith,  He  that  considereth  the  wind,  shall  not 
soiv,  and  he  that  looketh  to  the  clouds  shall  not  reap.  A 
wise  man  will  make  more  opportunities  than  he  finds. 
Men's  behaviour  should  be  like  their  apparel,  not  too 
10  strait  or  point  device,  but  free  for  exercise  or  motion. 

LIII 
OF  PRAISE 

PRAISE  is  the  reflection  of  virtue  ;  but  it  is  as  the 
glass  or  body  which  giveth  the  reflection.  If  it  be 
from  the  common  people,  it  is  commonly  false  and 
naught,  and  rather  folio  weth  vain  persons  than  virtuous: 

15  for  the  common  people  understand  not  many  excellent 
virtues :  the  lowest  virtues  draw  praise  from  them ; 
the  middle  virtues  work  in  them  astonishment  or 
admiration ;  but  of  the  highest  virtues  they  have  no 
sense  or  perceiving  at  all ;  but  shows  and  species  virtu- 

20  tibus  similes  serve  best  with  them.  Certainly,  fame  is 
Iik6  a  river,  that  beareth  up  things  light  and  swollen, 
and  drowns  things  weighty  and  solid  ;  but  if  persons  of 
quality  and  judgement  concur,  then  it  is  (as  the  Scrip 
ture  saith),  Notnen  bonum  instar  unguenti fragrant  is  ;  it 

25  filleth  all  round  about,  and  will  not  easily  away ;  for 
the  odours  of  ointments  are  more  durable  than  those 
of  flowers.  There  be  so  many  false  points  of  praise 
that  a  man  may  justly  hold  it  a  suspect.  Some  praises 
proceed  merely  of  flattery ;  and  if  he  be  an  ordinary 

30  flatterer,  he  will  have  certain  common  attributes  which 
may  serve  every  man  ;  if  he  be  a  cunning  flatterer,  he 
will  follow  the  arch-flatterer  which  is  a  man's  self,  and 
wherein  a  man  thinketh  best  of  himself,  therein  the 


156  ESSAY  LIII 

flatterer  will  uphold  him  most :  but  if  he  be  an  im 
pudent  flatterer,  look  wherein  a  man  is  conscious  to 
himself  that  he  is  most  defective,  and  is  most  out  of 
countenance  in  himself,  that  will  the  flatterer  entitle 
him  to  perforce,  spreta  conscientia.  Some  praises  come  5 
of  good  wishes  and  respects,  which  is  a  form  due  in 
civility  to  kings  and  great  persons,  laudando  prae- 
cipere ;  when  by  telling  men  what  they  are,  they 
represent  to  them  what  they  should  be  ;  some  men  are 
praised  maliciously  to  their  hurt,  thereby  to  stir  envy  10 
and  jealousy  towards  them  ;  Pessimum  genus  inimicorum 
laudantium ;  insomuch  as  it  was  a  proverb  amongst 
the  Grecians  that  lie  that  was  praised  to  his  hurt  should 
have  a  push  rise  upon  his  nose ;  as  we  say  that  a  blister 
will  rise  upon  one's  tongue  tJiat  tells  a  lie.  Certainly  15 
moderate  praise,  used  with  opportunity  and  not  vulgar, 
is  that  which  doth  the  good.  Salomon  saith,  He  that 
praiseth  his  friend  aloud,  rising  early,  it  shall  be  to  him 
no  better  than  a  curse.  Too  much  magnifying  of  man 
or  matter  doth  irritate  contradiction  and  procure  envy  20 
and  scorn.  To  praise  a  man's  self  cannot  be  decent, 
except  it  be  in  rare  cases  ;  but  to  praise  a  man's  office 
or  profession,  he  may  do  it  with  good  grace,  and  with 
a  kind  of  magnanimity.  The  cardinals  of  Rome,  which 
are  theologues  and  friars  and  schoolmen,  have  a  phrase  25 
of  notable  contempt  and  scorn  towards  civil  business  ; 
for  they  call  all  temporal  business  of  wars,  embassages, 
judicature,  and  other  employments,  sbirrerie,  which  is 
under-sheriffries,  as  if  they  were  but  matters  for  under- 
sheriffs  and  catchpoles ;  though  many  times  those  30 
under-sheriffries  do  more  good  than  their  high  specu 
lations.  St.  Paul,  when  he  boasts  of  himself,  he  doth 
oft  interlace  I  speak  like  a  fool ;  but  speaking  of  his 
calling  he  saith,  Magnifaabo  apostolatum  meum. 


157 

LIV 
OF  VAIN  GLORY 

IT  was  prettily  devised  of  Aesop,  The  fly  sat  upon  the 
axle-tree  of  the  cliariot-ivlieel  and  said,  what  a  dust  do  I 
raise.  So  are  there  some  vain  persons  that,  whatsoever 
goeth  alone  or  moveth  upon  greater  means,  if  they 
5  have  never  so  little  hand  in  it  they  think  it  is  they 
that  carry  it.  They  that  are  glorious  must  needs  be 
factious  ;  for  all  bravery  stands  upon  comparisons. 
They  must  needs  be  violent  to  make  good  their  own 
vaunts  ;  neither  can  they  be  secret  and  therefore  not 

10  effectual  ;  but  according  to  the  French  proverb  Beaii- 
conp  de  bruit,  pcu  de  fruit ; — much  bruit,  little  fruit. 
Yet  certainly  there  is  use  of  this  quality  in  civil 
affairs  :  where  there  is  an  opinion  and  fame  to  be 
created,  either  of  virtue  or  greatness,  these  men  are 

15  good  trumpeters.  Again,  as  Titus  Livius  noteth  in 
the  case  of  Antiochus  and  the  Aetolians,  there  are 
sometimes  great  effects  of  cross  lies ;  as  if  a  man  that 
negotiates  between  two  princes,  to  draw  them  to  join 
in  a  war  against  the  third,  doth  extol  the  forces  of 

20  either  of  them  above  measure,  the  one  to  the  other : 
and  sometimes  he  that  deals  between  man  and  man 
raiseth  his  own  credit  with  both  by  pretending  greater 
interest  than  he  hath  in  either  ;  and  in  these  and  the 
like  kinds  it  often  falls  out  that  somewhat  is  produced 

25  of  nothing  ;  for  lies  are  sufficient  to  breed  opinion,  and 
opinion  brings  on  substance.  In  militar  commanders 
and  soldiers,  vain  glory  is  an  essential  point ;  for  as 
iron  sharpens  iron,  so  by  glory  one  courage  sharpeneth 
another.  In  cases  of  great  enterprise  upon  charge  and 

30  adventure,  a  composition  of  glorious  natures  doth  put 
life  into  business  ;  and  those  that  are  of  solid  and 
sober  natures  have  more  of  the  ballast  than  of  the  sail, 
In  fame  of  learning,  the  flight  will  be  slow  without 
some  feathers  of  ostentation  :  Qui  de  contemnenda  gloria 


158  ESSAY  LV 

libros  scribunt,  nomen  suum  inscnbunt.  Socrates, 
Aristotle,  Galen,  were  men  full  of  ostentation :  cer 
tainly  vain  glory  helpeth  to  perpetuate  a  man's 
memory ;  and  virtue  was  never  so  beholding  to 
human  nature  as  it  received  his  due  at  the  second  5 
hand.  Neither  had  the  fame  of  Cicero,  Seneca, 
Plinius  Secundus,  borne  her  age  so  well  if  it  had  riot 
been  joined  with  some  vanity  in  themselves;  like  unto 
varnish,  that  makes  seelings  not  only  shine  but  last. 
But  all  this  while,  when  I  speak  of  vain  glory,  I  mean  10 
not  of  that  property  that  Tacitus  doth  attribute  to 
Mucianus,  Omnium  quae  dixerat  feceratque,  arte  quadam 
ostentator :  for  that  proceeds  not  of  vanity,  but  of 
natural  magnanimity  and  discretion,  and,  in  some 
persons,  is  not  only  comely,  but  gracious  :  for  excusa-  15 
tions,  cessions,  modesty  itself  well  governed,  are  but 
arts  of  ostentation  ;  and  amongst  those  arts  there  is 
none  better  than  that  which  Plinius  Secundus  speaketh 
of,  which  is  to  be  liberal  of  praise  and  commendation 
to  others  in  that  wherein  a  man's  self  hath  any  20 
perfection  :  for,  saith  Pliny  very  wittily,  In  commending 
another  you  do  yourself  tight ;  for  he  that  you  commend  is 
cither  superior  to  you  in  that  you  commend,  or  inferior  :•  if 
he  be  inferior,  if  he  be  to  be  commended,  you  much  more  ; 
if  lie  be  superior,  if  he  be  not  to  be  commended,  you  much  25 
less.  Glorious  men  are  the  scorn  of  wise  men,  the 
admiration  of  fools,  the  idols  of  parasites,  and  the 
slaves  of  their  own  vaunts. 

LV 
OF  HONOUK  AND  KEPUT.ATION 

THE  winning  of  honour  is  but  the  revealing  of  a 
man's  virtue  and  worth  without  disadvantage  ;  for  30 
some  in  their  actions  do  woo  and  affect  honour  and 
reputation  ;  which  sort  of  men  are  commonly  much 
talked  of,  but  inwardly  little  admired :  and  some, 
contrariwise,  darken  their  virtue  in  the  show  of  it ; 


OF  HONOUR  AND  REPUTATION        159 

so  as  they  be  undervalued  in  opinion.  If  a  man 
perform  that  which  hath  not  been  attempted  before, 
or  attempted  and  given  over,  or  hath  been  achieved 
but  not  with  so  good  circumstance,  he  shall  purchase 
5  more  honour  than  by  effecting  a  matter  of  greater 
difficulty  or  virtue  wherein  he  is  but  a  follower.  If  a 
man  so  temper  his  actions  as  in  some  one  of  them  he 
doth  content  every  faction  or  combination  of  people, 
the  music  will  be  the  fuller.  A  man  is  an  ill  husband 

10  of  his  honour  that  entereth  into  any  action,  the  failing 
wherein  may  disgrace  him  more  than  the  carrying  of 
it  through  can  honour  him.  Honour  that  is  gained 
and  broken  upon  another  hath  the  quickest  reflection, 
like  diamonds  cut  with  facets ;  and  therefore  let  a 

15  man  contend  to  excel  any  competitors  of  his  in  honour, 
in  outshooting  them,  if  he  can,  in  their  own  bow. 
Discreet  followers  and  servants  help  much  to  reputa 
tion  :  Omnis  fama  a  domesticis  emanat.  Envy,  which 
is  the  canker  of  honour,  is  best  extinguished  by 

20  declaring  a  man's  self  in  his  ends  rather  to  seek  merit 
than  fame :  and  by  attributing  a  man's  successes 
rather  to  divine  providence  and  felicity  than  to  his 
own  virtue  or  policy.  The  true  marshalling  of  the 
degrees  of  sovereign  honour  are  these  :  in  the  first 

25  place  are  conditores  imperiorum,  founders  of  states  and 
commonwealths ;  such  as  were  Romulus,  Cyrus,  Caesar, 
Ottoman,  Ismael :  in  the  second  place  are  legislators, 
lawgivers ;  which  are  also  called  second  founders  or 
perpetui  principes,  because  they  govern  by  their  ordi- 

30  nances  after  they  are  gone ;  such  were  Lycurgus, 
Solon,  Justinian,  Edgar,  Alphonsus  of  Castile  the 
Wise  that  made  the  Siete  Partidas  :  in  the  third  place 
are  liberatores  or  salvatores,  such  as  compound  the  long 
miseries  of  civil  wars,  or  deliver  their  countries  from 

35  servitude  of  strangers  or  tyrants  ;  as  Augustus  Caesar, 
Vespasianus,  Aurelianus,  Theodoricus,  King  Henry 
the  Seventh  of  England,  King  Henry  the  Fourth 
of  France  :  in  the  fourth  place  are  propagatorcs 


160  ESSAY  LVI 

or  propugnatores  imperil,  such  as  in  honourable  wars 
enlarge  their  territories  or  make  noble  defence  against 
invaders :  and,  in  the  last  place  are  patres  patriae, 
which  reign  justly  and  make  the  times  good  wherein 
they  live  ;  both  which  last  kinds  need  no  examples,  5 
they  are  in  such  number.  Degrees  of  honour  in 
subjects  are,  first  participes  curarum,  those  upon  whom 
princes  do  discharge  the  greatest  weight  of  their  affairs; 
their  right  hands,  as  we  call  them  ;  the  next  are  cluces 
belli,  great  leaders,  such  as  are  princes'  lieutenants  and  10 
do  them  notable  services  in  the  wars :  the  third  are 
gratiosi,  favourites,  such  as  exceed  not  this  scantling, 
to  be  solace  to  the  sovereign  and  harmless  to  the 
people :  and  the  fourth,  negotiis  pares,  such  as  have 
great  places  under  princes,  and  execute  their  places  15 
with  sufficiency.  There  is  an  honour  likewise  which 
may  be  ranked  amongst  the  greatest,  which  happeneth 
rarely  ;  that  is,  of  such  as  sacrifice  themselves  to  death 
or  danger  for  the  good  of  their  country;  as  was 
M.  Kegulus,  and  the  two  Decii.  20 

LVI 
OF  JUDICATUKE 

JUDGES  ought  to  remember  that  their  office  is  jus 
dicere  and  not  jus  dare ;  to  interpret  law,  and  not  to 
make  law  or  give  law  ;  else  will  it  be  like  the  authority 
claimed  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  which,  under  pretext 
of  exposition  of  Scripture,  doth  not  stick  to  add  and  25 
alter,  and  to  pronounce  that  which  they  do  not  find, 
and  by  show  of  antiquity  to  introduce  novelty.  Judges 
ought  to  be  more  learned  than  witty,  more  reverend 
than  plausible,  and  more  advised  than  confident. 
Above  all  things,  integrity  is  their  portion  and  proper  30 
virtue.  Cursed  (saith  the  law)  is  he  that  removeth  the 
landmark.  The  mislayer  of  a  meere  stone  is  to  blame ; 
but  it  is  the  unjust  judge  that  is  the  capital  remover 


OF  JUDICATURE  161 

of  landmarks,  when  he  defineth  amiss  of  lands  and 
property.  One  foul  sentence  doth  more  hurt  than 
many  foul  examples  ;  for  these  do  but  corrupt  the 
stream,  the  other  corrupteth  the  fountain :  so  saith 

5  Salomon,  Fons  turbatus  et  vena  corrupta  est  Justus  cadens 
in  causa  sua  coram  adversaria.  The  office  of  judges  may 
have  reference  unto  the  parties  that  sue,  unto  the 
advocates  that  plead,  unto  the  clerks  and  ministers  of 
justice  underneath  them,  and  to  the  sovereign  or  state 

10  above  them. 

First,  for  the  causes  or  parties  that  sue.  There  Ic 
(saith  the  Scripture)  that  turn  judgement  into  ivormwood  ; 
and  surely  there  be  also  that  turn  it  into^vinegar ;  for 
injustice  maketh  it  bitter,  and  delays  make  it  sour. 

15  The  principal  duty  of  a  judge  is  to  suppress  force  and 
fraud  ;  whereof  force  is  the  more  pernicious  when  it 
is  open,  and  fraud  when  it  is  close  and  disguised. 
Add  thereto  contentious  suits,  which  ought  to  be 
spewed  out  as  the  surfeit  of  courts.  A  judge  ought 

20  to  prepare  his  way  to  a  just  sentence  as  God  useth  to 
prepare  his  way,  by  raising  valleys  and  taking  down 
hills:  so  when  there  appeareth  on  either  side  a  high 
hand,  violent  prosecution,  cunning  advantages  taken, 
combination,  power,  great  counsel,  then  is  the  virtue 

25  of  a  judge  seen  to  make  inequality  equal ;  that  he  may 
plant  his  judgement  as  upon  an  even  ground.  Qui 
fortiter  emungit  elicit  sanguinem ;  and  where  the  wine 
press  is  hard  wrought,  it  yields  a  harsh  wine  that 
tastes  of  the  grape-stone.  Judges  must  beware  of  hard 

30  constructions  and  strained  inferences  ;  for  there  is  no 
worse  torture  than  the  torture  of  laws :  especially  in 
case  of  laws  penal  they  ought  to  have  care  that  that 
which  was  meant  for  terror  be  not  turned  into  rigour ; 
and  that  they  bring  not  upon  the  people  that  shower 

35  whereof  the  Scripture  speaketh,  Pluet  super  eos  laqueos  ; 
for  penal  laws  pressed  are  a  shower  of  snares  upon 
the  people :  therefore  let  penal  laws,  if  they  have  been 
sleepers  of  long  or  if  they  be  grown  unfit  for  the 

1166  T, 


1G2  ESSAY  LVI 

present  time,  be  by  wise  judges  confined  in  the  execu 
tion  :  Judicis  officium  est,  ut  res,  ita  tempora  rerum,  &c. 
In  causes  of  life  and  death,  judges  ought  (as  far  as  the 
law  permitteth)  in  justice  to  remember  mercy,  and  to 
cast  a  severe  eye  upon  the  example  but  a  merciful  eye  5 
upon  the  person. 

Secondly,  for  the  advocates  and  counsel  that  plead. 
Patience  and  gravity  of  hearing  is  an  essential  part  of 
justice  ;  and  an  overspeaking  judge  is  no  well-tuned 
cymbal.  It  is  no  grace  to  a  judge  first  to  find  that  10 
which  he  might  have  heard  in  due  time  from  the  bar, 
or  to  show  quickness  of  conceit  in  cutting  off  evidence 
or  counsel  too  short,  or  to  prevent  information  by 
questions  though  pertinent.  The  parts  of  a  judge  in 
hearing  are  four :  to  direct  the  evidence ;  to  moderate  15 
length,  repetition,  or  impertinency  of  speech ;  to 
recapitulate,  select,  and  collate  the  material  points  of 
that  which  hath  been  said  ;  and  to  give  the  rule  or 
sentence.  Whatsoever  is  above  these  is  too  much, 
and  proceedeth  either  of  glory  and  willingness  to  20 
speak,  or  of  impatience  to  hear,  or  of  shortness  of 
memory,  or  of  want  of  a  staid  and  equal  attention. 
It  is  a  strange  thing  to  see  that  the  boldness  of 
advocates  should  prevail  with  judges  ;  whereas  they 
should  imitate  God,  in  whose  seat  they  sit,  who  25 
represseth  the  presumptuous  and  giveth  grace  to  the 
modest :  but  it  is  more  strange  that  judges  should 
have  noted  favourites,  which  cannot  but  cause  multi 
plication  of  fees  and  suspicion  of  by-ways.  There  is 
due  from  the  judge  to  the  advocate  some  commendation  30 
and  gracing,  where  causes  are  well  handled  and  fair 
pleaded,  especially  towards  the  side  which  obtaineth 
not ;  for  that  upholds  in  the  client  the  reputation  of 
his  counsel,  and  beats  down  in  him  the  conceit  of  his 
cause.  There  is  likewise  due  to  the  public  a  civil  35 
reprehension  of  advocates,  where  there  appeareth 
cunning  counsel,  gross  neglect,  slight  information, 
indiscreet  pressing,  or  an  over-bold  defence  ;  and  let 


OF  JUDICATURE  163 

not  the  counsel  at  the  bar  chop  with  the  judge,  nor 
wind  himself  into  the  handling  of  the  cause  anew  after 
the  judge  hath  declared  his  sentence  ;  but,  on  the 
other  side,  let  not  the  judge  meet  the  cause  half-way, 
5  nor  give  occasion  to  the  party  to  say,  his  counsel  or 
proofs  were  not  heard. 

Thirdly,  for  that  that  concerns  clerks  and  ministers. 
The  place  of  justice  is  a  hallowed  place ;  and  therefore 
not  only  the  bench  but  the  foot-pace  and  precincts  and 

10  purprise  thereof  ought  to  be  preserved  without  scandal 
and  corruption  ;  for  certainly  Grapes  (as  the  Scripture 
saith)  will  not  lie  gathered  of  thorns  or  thistles ;  neither 
can  justice  yield  her  fruit  with  sweetness  amongst  the 
briars  and  brambles  of  catching  and  polling  clerks  and 

15  ministers.  The  attendance  of  courts  is  subject  to  four 
bad  instruments  ;  first,  certain  persons  that  are  sowers 
of  suits,  which  make  the  court  swell  and  the  country 
pine  :  the  second  sort  is  of  those  that  engage  courts  in 
quarrels  of  jurisdiction,  and  are  not  truly  amid  curiae, 

26  but  parasiti  curiae,  in  puffing  a  court  up  beyond  her 
bounds  for  their  own  scraps  and  advantage  :  the  third 
sort  is  of  those  that  may  be  accounted  the  left  hands 
of  courts,  persons  that  are  full  of  nimble  and  sinister 
tricks  and  shifts,  whereby  they  pervert  the  plain  and 

25  direct  courses  of  courts,  and  bring  justice  into  oblique 
lines  and  labyrinths  :  and  the  fourth  is  the  poller  and 
exacter  of  fees  ;  which  justifies  the  common  resem 
blance  of  the  courts  of  justice  to  the  bush,  whereunto 
while  the  sheep  flies  for  defence  in  weather  he  is  sure 

30  to  lose  part  of  his  fleece.  On  the  other  side,  an  ancient 
clerk,  skilful  in  precedents,  wary  in  proceeding,  and 
understanding  in  the  business  of  the  court,  is  an 
excellent  finger  of  a  court,  and  doth  many  times  point 
the  way  to  the  judge  himself. 

35  Fourthly,  for  that  which  may  concern  the  sovereign 
and  estate.  Judges  ought  above  all  to  remember  the 
conclusion  of  the  Roman  Twelve  Tables,  Salus  populi 
suprema  lex ;  and  to  know  that  laws,  except  they  be  in 

L2 


164  ESSAY  LVII 

order  to  that  end,  are  but  things  captious  and  oracles 
not  well  inspired  :  therefore  it  is  a  happy  thing  in  a 
state  when  kings  and  states  do  often  consult  with 
judges  ;  and  again,  when  judges  do  often  consult  with 
the  king  and  state :  the  one  when  there  is  matter  of  5 
law  intervenient  in  business  of  state  ;  the  other  when 
there  is  some  consideration  of  state  intervenient  in 
matter  of  law  ;  for  many  times  the  things  deduced  to 
judgement  may  be  meum  and  tuum,  when  the  reason 
and  consequence  thereof  may  trench  to  point  of  estate  :  10 
I  call  matter  of  estate  not  only  the  parts  of  sovereignty, 
but  whatsoever  introduceth  any  great  alteration  or 
dangerous  precedent,  or  concerneth  manifestly  any 
great  portion  of  people.  And  let  no  man  weakly  con 
ceive  that  just  laws  and  true  policy  have  any  antipathy ;  ir> 
for  they  are  like  the  spirits  and  sinews,  that  one  moves 
with  the  other.  Let  judges  also  remember  that 
Salomon's  throne  was  supported  by  lions  on  both 
sides  :  let  them  be  lions,  but  yet  lions  under  the 
throne ;  being  circumspect  that  they  do  not  check  or  20 
oppose  any  points  of  sovereignty.  Let  not  judges  also 
be  so  ignorant  of  their  own  right  as  to  think  there  is 
not  left  to  them,  as  a  principal  part  of  their  office,  a 
wise  use  and  application  of  laws ;  for  they  may 
remember  what  the  apostle  saith  of  a  greater  law  than  25 
theirs  ;  Nos  scimus  qula  lex  bona  est,  modo  quis  ea  utatur 
legitime. 

LVII 
OF  ANGER 

To  seek  to  extinguish  anger  utterly  is  but  a  bravery 
of  the  Stoics.  We  have  better  oracles :  Be  angry,  but 
sin  not :  let  not  the  sun  go  clown  upon  your  anger.  Anger  30 
must  be  limited  and  confined  both  in  race  and  in  time. 
We  will  first  speak  how  the  natural  inclination  and 
habit  to  be  angry  may  be  attempered  and  calmed ; 
secondly,  how  the  particular  motions  of  anger  may  be 


OF  ANGER  165 

repressed,  or  at  least  refrained  from  doing  mischief; 

thirdly,  how  to  raise  anger  or  appease  anger  in  another. 

For  the  first,  there  is  no  other  way  but  to  meditate 

and  ruminate  well  upon  the  effects  of  anger,  how  it 

5  troubles  man's  life :  and  the  best  time  to  do  this,  is  to 

look  back  upon  anger  when  the  fit  is  thoroughly  over. 

Seneca  saith  well  that  anger  is  like  ruin,  which  breaks 

itself  upon  that  it  falls.     The  Scripture  exhorteth  us  to 

possess  our  souls   in  patience  ;    whosoever  is  out  of 

10  patience  is  out  of  possession  of  his  soul.     Men  must 

•  not  turn  bees, 

— animasque  in  vulnere  ponunt. 

Anger  is  certainly  a  kind  of  baseness ;  as  it  appears 
well   in  the  weakness  of  those  subjects  in  whom  it 

15  reigns :  children,  women,  old  folks,  sick  folks.  Only 
men  must  beware  that  they  carry  their  anger  rather 
with  scorn  than  with  fear  ;  so  that  they  may  seem 
rather  to  be  above  the  injury  than  below  it ;  which  is 
a  thing  easily  done  if  a  man  will  give  law  to  himself 

20  in  it. 

For  the  second  point,  the  causes  and  motives  of 
anger  are  chiefly  three  :  first,  to  be  too  sensible  of 
hurt ;  for  no  man  is  angry  that  feels  not  himself  hurt ; 
and  therefore  tender  and  delicate  persons  must  needs 

25  be  oft  angry,  they  have  so  many  things  to  trouble  them 
which  more  robust  natures  have  little  sense  of^he 
next  is  the  apprehension  and  construction  of  the  injury 
offered  to  be,  in  the  circumstances  thereof,  full  of 
contempt ;  for  contempt  is  that  which  putteth  an  edge 

30  upon  anger,  as  much  or  more  than  the  hurt  itself ;  and 
therefore  when  men  are  ingenious  in  picking  out  cir 
cumstances  of  contempt,  they  do  kindle  their  anger 
much  :  lastly,  opinion  of  the  touch  of  a  man's  reputation 
doth  multiply  and  sharpen  anger ;  wherein  the  remedy 

35  is  that  a  man  should  have,  as  Consalvo  was  wont  to 
say,  Telam  honoris  crassiorem.  But  in  all  retrainings  of 
anger  it  is  the  best  remedy  to  win  time,  and  to  make 


166  ESSAY  LVIII 

a  man's  self  believe  that  the  opportunity  of  his  revenge 
is  not  yet  come,  but  that  he  foresees  a  time  for  it,  and 
so  to  still  himself  in  the  mean  time,  and  reserve  it. 

To  contain  anger  from  mischief,  though  it  take  hold 
of  a  man,  there  be  two  things  whereof  you  must  have  5 
special  caution :  the  one,  of  extreme  bitterness  of  words, 
especially  if  they  be  aculeate  and  proper  ;  for  communia 
maledicta  are  nothing  so  much  ;  and  again,  that  in  anger 
a  man  reveal  no  secrets ;  for  that  makes  him  not  fit 
for  society  :  the  other,  that  you  do  not  peremptorily  10 
break  off  in  any  business  in  a  fit  of  anger ;  but  how 
soever  you  show  bitterness,  do  not  act  anything  that 
is  not  revocable. 

For  raising  and  appeasing  anger  in  another,  it  is 
done  chiefly  by  choosing  of  times  when  men  are  15 
frowardest  and  worst  disposed,  to  incense  them  ;  again, 
by  gathering  (as  was  touched  before)  all  that  you  can 
find  out  to  aggravate  the  contempt :  and  the  two 
remedies  are  by  the  contraries  ;  the  former  to  take 
good  times  when  first  to  relate  to  a  man  an  angry  20 
business  ;  for  the  first  impression  is  much  :  and  the 
other  is  to  sever,  as  much  as  may  be,  the  construction 
of  the  injury  from  the  point  of  contempt ;  imputing  it 
to  misunderstanding,  fear,  passion,  or  what  you  will. 

LVIII 
OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS 

SALOMON  saith  There  is  no  new  tiling  upon  the  earth ;  25 
so  that  as  Plato  had  an  imagination  that  all  knowledge 
was  but  remembrance,  so  Salomon  giveth  his  sentence, 
that  all  novelty  is  but  oblivion ;  whereby  you  may  see 
that  the  river  of  Lethe  runneth  as  well  above  ground 
as  below.     There  is  an  abstruse  astrologer  that  saith  30 
if  it  were  not  for  two  things  that  are  constant  (the  one  is 
that  the  fixed  stars  ever  stand  at  like  distance  one  from 
another  and  never  come  nearer  together  nor  go  further 


OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS  167 

asunder:  the  other  that  the  diurnal  motion  perpetually 
keepeth  time),  no  individual  tcould  last  one  moment  : 
certain  it  is  that  the  matter  is  in  a  perpetual  flux 
and  never  at  a  stay.  The  great  winding-sheets  that 
5  bury  all  things  in  oblivion  are  two ;  deluges  and 
earthquakes.  As  for  conflagrations  and  great  droughts, 
they  do  not  merely  dispeople  and  destroy.  Phaeton's 
car  went  but  a  day  ;  and  the  three  years'  drought  in 
the  time  of  Elias  was  but  particular,  and  left  people 

JO  alive.  As  for  the  great  burnings  by  lightnings,  which 
are  often  in  the  West  Indies,  they  are  but  narrow ; 
but  in  the  other  two  destructions,  by  deluge  and  earth 
quake,  it  is  further  to  be  noted  that  the  remnant  of 
people  which  happen  to  be  reserved  are  commonly 

15  ignorant  and  mountainous  people,  that  can  give  no 
account  of  the  time  past ;  so  that  the  oblivion  is  all 
one  as  if  none  had  been  left.  If  you  consider  well  of 
the  people  of  the  West  Indies,  it  is  very  probable  that 
they  are  a  newer  or  a  younger  people  than  the  people 

20  of  the  old  world  ;  and  it  is  much  more  likely  that  the 
destruction  that  hath  heretofore  been  there  was  not  by 
earthquakes  (as  the  Egyptian  priest  told  Solon,  con 
cerning  the  island  of  Atlantis,  that  it  was  swalloived  by 
an  earthquake),  but  rather  that  it  was  desolated  by  a 

25  particular  deluge  ;  for  earthquakes  are  seldom  in  those 
parts.  But  on  the  other  side,  they  have  such  pouring 
rivers  as  the  rivers  of  Asia  and  Africa  and  Europe  are 
but  brooks  to  them.  Their  Andes  likewise,  or  moun 
tains,  are  far  higher  than  those  with  us ;  whereby  it 

30  seems  that  the  remnants  of  generation  of  men  were  in 
such  a  particular  deluge  saved.  As  for  the  observation 
that  Macciavel  hath,  that  the  jealousy  of  sects  doth 
much  extinguish  the  memory  of  things,  traducing 
Gregory  the  Great,  that  he  did  what  in  him  lay  to 

35  extinguish  all  heathen  antiquities  ;  I  do  not  find  that 
those  zeals  do  any  great  effects  nor  last  long ;  as  it 
appeared  in  the  succession  of  Sabinian  who  did  revive 
the  former  antiquities. 


168  ESSAY  LVIII 

The  vicissitude  or  mutations  in  the  superior  globe 
are  no  fit  matter  for  this  present  argument.  It  may 
be,  Plato's  Great  Year,  if  the  world  should  last  so  long, 
would  have  some  effect,  not  in  renewing  the  state  of 
like  individuals  (for  that  is  the  fume  of  those  that  5 
conceive  the  celestial  bodies  have  more  accurate  in 
fluences  upon  these  things  below  than  indeed  they 
have),  but  in  gross.  Comets,  out  of  question,  have 
likewise  power  and  effect  over  the  gross  and  mass  of 
things ;  but  they  are  rather  gazed  and  waited  upon  in  10 
their  journey  than  wisely  observed  in  their  effects ; 
specially  in  their  respective  effects  ;  that  is,  what  kind 
of  comet  for  magnitude,  colour,  version  of  the  beams, 
placing  in  the  region  of  heaven,  or  lasting,  produceth 
what  kind  of  effects.  15 

There  is  a  toy  which  I  have  heard,  and  I  would  not 
have  it  given  over  but  waited  upon  a  little.  They  say 
it  is  observed  in  the  Low  Countries  (I  know  not  in 
what  part),  that  every  five  and  thirty  years  the  same 
kind  and  suit  of  years  and  weathers  comes  about  again ;  20 
as  great  frosts,  great  wet,  great  droughts,  warm  winters, 
summers  with  little  heat,  and  the  like ;  and  they  call 
it  the  prime;  it  is  a  thing  I  do  the  rather  mention, 
because,  computing  backwards,  I  have  found  some 
concurrence.  25 

But  to  leave  these  points  of  nature  and  to  come  to 
men.  The  greatest  vicissitude  of  things  amongst  men 
is  the  vicissitude  of  sects  and  religions :  for  those  orbs 
rule  in  men's  minds  most.  The  true  religion  is  built 
upon  the  rock  ;  the  rest  are  tossed  upon  the  waves  of  30 
time.  To  speak  therefore  of  the  causes  of  new  sects, 
and  to  give  some  counsel  concerning  them,  as  far  as 
the  weakness  of  human  judgement  can  give  stay  to  so 
great  revolutions. 

When  the  religion  formerly  received  is  rent  by  dis-  35 
cords,   and   when   the   holiness   of  the   professors  of 
religion  is  decayed  and  full  of  scandal,  and  withal  the 
times  be  stupid,   ignorant,  and   barbarous,  you   may 


OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS  169 

doubt  the  springing  up  of  a  new  sect ;  if  then  also 
there  should  arise  any  extravagant  and  strange  spirit 
to  make  himself  author  thereof ;  all  which  points  held 
when  Mahomet  published  his  law.  If  a  new  sect  have 
5  not  two  properties,  fear  it  not,  for  it  will  not  spread  : 
the  one  is  the  supplanting  or  the  opposing  of  au 
thority  established  ;  for  nothing  is  more  popular  than 
that :  the  other  is  the  giving  licence  to  pleasures  and 
a  voluptuous  life ;  for  as  for  speculative  heresies 

10  (such  as  were  in  ancient  times  the  Arians,  and  now 
the  Arminians),  though  they  work  mightily  upon 
men's  wits,  yet  they  do  not  produce  any  great  altera 
tions  in  states,  except  it  be  by  the  help  of  civil 
occasions.  There  be  three  manner  of  plantations  of 

15  new  sects :  by  the  power  of  signs  and  miracles ;  by 
the  eloquence  and  wisdom  of  speech  and  persuasion  ; 
and  by  the  sword.  For  martyrdoms,  I  reckon  them 
amongst  miracles,  because  they  seem  to  exceed  the 
strength  of  human  nature :  and  I  may  do  the  like  of 

20  superlative  and  admirable  holiness  of  life.  Surely 
there  is  no  better  way  to  stop  the  rising  of  new  sects 
and  schisms  than  to  reform  abuses,  to  compound  the 
smaller  differences,  to  proceed  mildly  and  not  with 
sanguinary  persecutions,  and  rather  to  take  off  the 

25  principal  authors  by  winning  and  advancing  them 
than  to  enrage  them  by  violence  and  bitterness. 

The  changes  and  vicissitude  in  wars  are  many  ;  but 
chiefly  in  three  things:  in  the  seats  or  stages  of  the 
war ;  in  the  weapons ;  and  in  the  manner  of  the  conduct. 

30  Wars  in  ancient  time  seemed  more  to  move  from  east 
to  west ;  for  the  Persians,  Assyrians,  Arabians, 
Tartars  (which  were  the  invaders),  were  all  eastern 
people.  It  is  true  the  Gauls  were  western  ;  but  we 
read  but  of  two  incursions  of  theirs,  the  one  to  Gallo- 

35  Graecia,  the  other  to  Kome :  but  east  and  west  have 
no  certain  points  of  heaven ;  and  no  more  have  the 
wars,  either  from  the  east  or  west,  any  certainty  of 
observation :  but  north  and  south  are  fixed  :  and  it 


170  ESSAY  LVIII 

hath  seldom  or  never  been  seen  that  the  far  southern 
people  have  invaded  the  northern,  but  contrariwise  ; 
whereby  it  is  manifest  that  the  northern  tract  of  the 
world  is  in  nature  the  more  martial  region ;  be  it  in 
respect  of  the  stars  of  that  hemisphere,  or  of  the  great  5 
continents  that  are  upon  the  north,  whereas  the  south 
part,  for  aught  that  is  known,  is  almost  all  sea,  or 
(which  is  most  apparent)  of  the  cold  of  the  northern 
parts,  which  is  that  which  without  aid  of  discipline 
doth  make  the  bodies  hardest  and  the  courages  10 
warmest. 

Upon  the  breaking  and  shivering  of  a  great  state 
and  empire  you  may  be  sure  to  have  wars ;  for  great 
empires  while  they  stand  do  enervate  and  destroy  the 
forces  of  the  natives  which  they  have  subdued,  resting  15 
upon  their  own  protecting  forces ;  and  then,  when 
they  fail  also,  all  goes  to  ruin  and  they  become  a  prey  ; 
so  was  it  in  the  decay  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  like 
wise  in  the  empire  of  Almaigne  after  Charles  the 
Great,  every  bird  taking  a  feather ;  and  were  not  un-  20 
like  to  befall  to  Spain,  if  it  should  break.  The  great 
accessions  and  unions  of  kingdoms  do  likewise  stir 
up  wars  :  for  when  a  state  grows  to  an  over-power,  it 
is  like  a  great  flood  that  will  be  sure  to  overflow  ;  as  it 
hath  been  seen  in  the  states  of  Rome,  Turkey,  Spain,  25 
and  others.  Look  when  the  world  hath  fewest  bar 
barous  people,  but  such  as  commonly  will  not  marry 
or  generate  except  they  know  means  to  live  (as  it  is 
almost  everywhere  at  this  day,  except  Tartary),  there 
is  no  danger  of  inundations  of  people ;  but  when  there  30 
be  great  shoals  of  people  which  go  on  to  populate 
without  foreseeing  means  of  life  and  sustentation,  it  is 
of  necessity  that  once  in  an  age  or  two  they  discharge 
a  portion  of  their  people  upon  other  nations ;  which 
the  ancient  northern  people  were  wont  to  do  by  lot ;  35 
casting  lots  what  part  should  stay  at  home  and  what 
should  seek  their  fortunes.  When  a  warlike  state 
grows  soft  and  effeminate  they  may  be  sure  of  a  war : 


OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS  171 

for  commonly  such  states  are  grown  rich  in  the  time 
of  their  degenerating :  and  so  the  prey  inviteth,  and 
their  decay  in  valour  encourageth  a  war. 

As  for  the  weapons,  it  hardly  falleth  under  rule  and 

5  observation :  yet  we  see  even  they  have  returns  and 
vicissitudes  ;  for  certain  it  is  that  ordnance  was  known 
in  the  city  of  the  Oxidrakes  in  India ;  and  was  that 
Avhich  the  Macedonians  called  thunder  and  lightning 
and  magic ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  use  of 

10  ordnance  hath  been  in  China  above  two  thousand 
years.  The  conditions  of  weapons  and  their  improve 
ments  are,  first,  the  fetching  afar  off ;  for  that  outruns 
the  danger,  as  it  is  seen  in  ordnance  and  muskets : 
secondly,  the  strength  of  the  percussion,  wherein  like- 

15  wise  ordnance  do  exceed  all  arietations  and  ancient 
inventions  :  the  third  is,  the  commodious  use  of  them, 
as  that  they  may  serve  in  all  weathers,  that  the  carriage 
may  be  light  and  manageable,  and  the  like. 

For  the  conduct  of  the  war :  at  the  first,  men  rested 

20  extremely  upon  number ;  they  did  put  the  wars  like 
wise  upon  main  force  and  valour,  pointing  days  for 
pitched  fields,  and  so  trying  it  out  upon  an  even 
match  ;  and  they  were  more  ignorant  in  ranging  and 
arraying  their  battailes.  After  they  grew  to  rest  upon 

25  number  rather  competent  than  vast ;  they  grew  to 
advantages  of  place,  cunning  diversions,  and  the  like  ; 
and  they  grew  more  skilful  in  the  ordering  of  their 
battailes. 

In  the  youth  of  a  state  arms  do  flourish  ;  in  the 

30  middle  age  of  a  state,  learning ;  and  then  both  of  them 
together  for  a  time ;  in  the  declining  age  of  a  state, 
mechanical  arts  and  merchandise.  Learning  hath  his 
infancy,  when  it  is  but  beginning  and  almost  childish  : 
then  his  youth,  when  it  is  luxuriant  and  juvenile : 

85  then  his  strength  of  years,  when  it  is  solid  and 
reduced  :  and  lastly  his  old  age,  when  it  waxeth  diy 
and  exhaust ;  but  it  is  not  good  to  look  too  long  upon 
these  turning  wheels  of  vicissitude,  lest  we  become 


172  ESSAY  LIX 

giddy :  as  for  the  philology  of  them,  that  is  but  a  circle 
of  tales  and  therefore  not  fit  for  this  writing. 

LIX 

A  FRAGMENT  OF  AN  ESSAY 
OF   FAME 

THE  poets  made  Fame  a  monster.  They  describe 
her  in  part  finely  and  elegantly ;  and  in  part  gravely 
and  sententiously.  They  say,  look  how  many  feathers  5 
she  hath,  so  many  eyes  she  hath  underneath ;  so 
many  tongues ;  so  many  voices ;  she  pricks  up  so 
many  ears. 

This  is  a  flourish  :  there  follow  excellent  parables ; 
as  that  she  gathereth  strength  in  going ;  that  she  goeth  10 
upon   the   ground,  and  yet   hideth    her  head  in  the 
clouds ;    that  in  the  day  time  she  sitteth  in  a  watch 
tower,  and  flieth  most  by  night ;   that  she  mingleth 
things  done  with  things  not  done  ;   and  that  she  is 
a  terror  to  great  cities.    But  that  which  passeth  all  the  15 
rest  is,  they  do  recount  that  the  Earth,  mother  of  the 
Giants,   that  made  war  against  Jupiter  and  were  by 
him  destroyed,  thereupon,  in  an  anger,  brought  forth 
Fame :    for  certain  it  is,  that  rebels,  figured  by  the 
Giants,  and  seditious  fames  and  libels,  are  but  brothers  20 
and   sisters,  masculine   and   feminine.     But   now,   if 
a  man  can  tame  this  monster,  and  bring  her  to  feed 
at  the  hand,  and  govern  her,  and  with  her  fly  other 
ravening  fowl  and  kill  them,  it  is  somewhat  worth. 
But  we  are  infected  with  the  style  of  the  poets.     To  25 
speak  now  in  a  sad  and  serious  manner :  there  is  not, 
in   all   the   politics,  a  place  less  handled,  and  more 
worthy  to  be  handled,  than  this  of  fame.     We  will 
therefore  speak  of  these  points  :  what  are  false  fames, 
and  what  are  true  fames,  and  how  they  may  be  best  80 
discerned ;  how  fames  may  be  sown  and  raised,  how 
they  may  be  spread  and  multiplied,  and  how  they 


OF  FAME  173 

may  be  checked  and  laid  dead ;  and  other  things 
concerning  the  nature  of  fame.  Fame  is  of  that  force, 
as  there  is  scarcely  any  great  action  wherein  it  hath  not 
a  great  part ;  especially  in  the  war.  Mucianus  undid 

5Vitellius  by  a  fame  that  he  scattered,  that  Vitellius 
had  in  purpose  to  remove  the  legions  of  Syria  into 
Germany,  and  the  legions  of  Germany  into  Syria: 
whereupon  the  legions  of  Syria  were  infinitely  in 
flamed.  Julius  Caesar  took  Pompey  unprovided,  and 

10  laid  asleep  his  industry  and  preparations,  by  a  fame 
that  he  cunningly  gave  out,  how  Caesar's  own  soldiers 
loved  him  not,  and,  being  wearied  with  the  wars  and 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  Gaul,  would  forsake  him  as 
soon  as  he  came  into  Italy.  Livia  settled  all  things 

15  for  the  succession  of  her  son  Tiberius,  by  continual 
giving  out  that  her  husband  Augustus  was  upon 
recovery  and  amendment.  And  it  is  an  usual  thing 
with  the  bashaws,  to  conceal  the  death  of  the  Great 
Turk  from  the  Janizaries  and  men  of  war,  to  save  the 

20  sacking  of  Constantinople  and  other  towns,  as  their 
manner  is.  Themistocles  made  Xerxes,  king  of  Persia, 
post  apace  out  of  Graecia,  by  giving  out  that  the 
Graecians  had  a  purpose  to  break  his  bridge  of  ships 
which  he  had  made  athwart  Hellespont.  There  be 

25  a  thousand  such  like  examples ;  and  the  more  they 
are,  the  less  they  need  to  be  repeated  ;  because  a  man 
meeteth  with  them  every  where.  Therefore  let  all 
wise  governors  have  as  great  a  watch  and  care  over 
fames,  as  they  have  of  the  actions  and  designs  them- 

30  selves. 

The  rest  ivas  not  finished. 


NOTES 


ESSAY  I.    OF  TRUTH 

PAGE  19.  1.  What  is  truth?  said  jesting  Pilate]  John 
xviii.  36-8.  A  claim  to  have  a  kingdom  '  not  of  this  world  ' 
was  in  Pilate's  judgement  too  absurd  to  be  worth  serious 
investigation. 

5.  sects  of  philosophers  of  that  kind]  i.  e.  the  Sceptic  school, 
founded  by  Pyrrho  of  EHs  (350-300  B.C.),  who  maintained 
that  there  can  be  no  certain  knowledge  of  anything.  In 
Essay  XVI  he  is  described  as  a  '  contemplative  atheist '. 

13.  One  of  the  later  school  of  the.  Grecians]  i.e.  Lucian 
of  Samosata  (fl.  A.D.  160),  who  wrote  a  dialogue,  entitled 
Philopsendes  (=  'lover  of  lies'),  in  which  this  question  is 
discussed. 

19.  masques,  and  mummeries,  and  triumphs]  Metaphorical. 
'  Masque '  is  defined  by  Prof.  Saintsbury  as  '  a  dramatic 
entertainment  in  which  plot,  diameter,  and  even  to  a  great 
extent  dialogue  are  subordinated  on  the  one  hand  to 
spectacular  illustration,  and  on  the  other  to  musical  ac 
companiment.  It  was  thus  a  sort  of  precursor  to  the  opera.' 
Originally  it  consisted  of  dancing  and  acting,  with  little 
or  no  dialogue,  the  performers  being  masked  (whence  the 
name)  and  habited  to  represent  allegorical  and  mytho 
logical  characters.  The  dainty  literary  form  given  to  it 
by  Ben  Jonson,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  and  subsequently 
by  Milton  in  Arcades  and  Comits,  was  a  later  development. 
Masques  had  a  great  vogue  in  England  during  the  period 
1590-1635,  and  Bacon  himself  wrote  two  or  three.  'Mum 
meries'  also  were  at  first,  as  the  word  implies,  entertainments 
in  dumb-show  ;  they  were  of  a  broader,  more  popular,  cast 
than  masques,  and  took  literary  shape  in  such  farces  as 
Ralph  Roister  Doister  (1550?)  and  Gammer  Gurtons  Needle 
(1563?).  'Triumphs'  were  grander  spectacular  shows  or 
pageants,  including  'justs  and  tourneys  and  barriers'.  Cf. 
Essay  XXXVII. 


OF   TRUTH  175 

PAGE  20.  3.  A  mixture  of  a  lie]  This  sentence  must  be 
read  in  connexion  with  that  which  follows ;  '  lie '  is  used 
here  in  its  widest  possible  sense,  viz.  anything  not  exactly 
true,  a  fiction  or  mistake,  however  innocent. 

6.  imaginations  as  one  would]  i.e.  when  one  imagines 
things  to  be  as  one  would  have  them  be,  the  wish  being 
father  to  the  thought. 

10.  One  of  the  fathers,  &c.]  The  phrase  vinum  daemonum 
(=  'wine  of  devils ')  has  not  yet  been  found  in  any  patristic 
writing.  But  cf.  daemonum  cibus  estpoetarum  carmina  ( — ' the 
food  of  devils  is  poetry  ')  in  Jerome  (ob.  A.  D.  420),  Epist.  146, 
and  vinum  erroris  db  ebriis  doctoribus  propinatum  ( — '  the 
wine  of  error  given  by  drunken  teachers  to  their  pupils  to 
drink ')  in  Augustine  (ob.  A.  D.430),  Confessions,  i.  16.  Bacon 
probably  had  both  these  passages  in  his  mind  and  confused 
them. 

15.  such  as  we  spake  of  before]  i.  e.  the  lie  '  for  the  lie's 
sake '. 

17.  truth,  which  only  doth  judge  itself,  &c.]  i.  e.  While  we 
are  still  seeking  truth,  we  have  to  appeal  to  and  rely  on  our 
reason  to  guide  us  straight,  and  at  each  step  we  have  to 
judge  for  ourselves  whether  we  are  right  or  wrong.  But 
truth,  unlike  reason,  is  infallible ;  so  that,  if  and  when  we 
have  once  arrived  at  truth  and  believe  in  it,  there  is  no  more 
use  for  reason :  truth  stands  by  itself  without  the  possibility 
of  further  appeal.  Having  found  truth,  we  can  look  back 
and  see  that  the  inquiry,  the  knowledge,  and  the  belief  of  it 
together  make  up  'the  sovereign  good  of  human  nature'. 
But  only  truth  itself,  not  reason,  can  teach  us  this. 

22.  The  first  creature  &c.]  Cf.  Genesis  i.  '  The  light  of 
the  sense '  is  the  visible  light  created  on  the  first  day  ;  '  the 
light  of  reason '  is  the  human  mind,  created  on  the  sixth 
day  ;  God's  '  sabbath  work  ever  since  '  the  creation  has  been 
to  guide  man's  reason  towards  truth  (cf.  the  last  preceding 
note)  by  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

28.  The  poet  that  beautified  the  sect  &c.]  The  poet  is 
Lucretius  (95-51  B.C.),  and  the  sect  is  that  of  the  Epicureans, 
the  followers  of  Epicurus  (342-270  B.C.).  Their  philosophy, 
shortly,  was  that  (1)  the  physical  world  was  produced  by  a 
fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,  (2)  the  gods  do  not  concern 
themselves  with  human  affairs,  (3)  there  is  no  existence  after 
death,  (4)  pleasure  is  the  highest  good.  On  account  of  this 
glorification  of  pleasure  they  have  been  charged  with  being 


176  NOTES 


tof  self-indttlgenee;  bat  the  true  Epicurean  doctrine 
was  that  real  pleasure  is  the  peace  of  inind  which  is  acquired 
by  the  practice  of  Yirtae.  *  Otherwise  inferior*  may  either 
nBhr  to  fte  ilbgni  immiiiililj  of  thgsr  liaihini  «r  mean 
:^_:  L  -  .:T~:  -?  "  -  '.'—-  :-'.'•  '.--..  .-  —  .-  __.:._•  '.--—  -._-:- 
passage,  of  which  Bacon  g/atm  a  rough  translation  here,  is 
in  his  great  poem  ife  £fr*M  Actons,  Book  n.  1-10. 

PAGE  2L  3.  fur*  mftmAtftltm  i/fnifft]  ie.  so  m  to  fiw» 
anagpecUoflife,  •ilhanj  iniMlin^  ftamtrnlh. 

b.  tnA  of  dtU  ktthK»]  Le.  trnthfolne»  in  dealings 
betwcca  nnw  and  man. 

14.  Mtmtmiymr  mitk  Ac.]  The  sentence  i«  no*  Monta^ne's 
own,  bat  a  quotation  by  him  (&Mfx.  iL  18;  from  Flotareh 
i  Lift  ifLymmdrr,  p.  gQ7  b).  TfiiaUjftMi  •••tniaJB  I  II  ITTt 
and  dkd  in  15&L  ffis  Eoays  (the  eariieat  BK  of  the  word 
in  this  sen*e»  were  first  published  in  1580L 

XL  4f  k»f  JtntM  &e.]  See  Luke  xrin.  ?.  where  the 
words  are  not  prophetic,  but  interrogative.  Hnftm»  both 
mistfnotes  and  misapplies  them  ;  for  '  faith  '  w*§  elearly  not 
nsed  in  the  sense  of  *  good  £uth  ",  which  k  required  br  the 
context  here. 


ESSAY  IL     OF  DEATH 


PAGE  2L  29.  Ik  wm§m  «/M]    Romans  ri.  23. 

33.  frimri  IMS*  •/"  msrfi/f twfi'an]    Friars  -Lat.>rw*ref) 
members  of  certain  retigloas  hinihfihiuiili  in  the 
Cathafie  Church,  e-  g-  Angustines  or  Anstin  Friars, 
rites  or  White  Friars,  Dominicans  or  Black  Friars,  and 
Franciscans  or  Grey  ftmn     They  aujukil  thrmsfliri 
largely  with  copious  derotional  writing,  bat  the 
which  Bacon  had  in  mind  has  not  been  traced.    For 

FAa»«.«.  m  •  niffiMjigr,  mmi  mmfmiml  mmm] 
wnW  contemphties  Mfe  and  ianft  with  a  mind 
by  retigian.    Seneca  K  meant.    Bacon  nnes 'natural' ehw- 

7.  Jtanna  snarini  frr  ]    L  e.  •  The  solemn 
of  death  are  more  fasiM  ft  •  •  liili  1 1  ilT,  not  a" 

bat  a  mmmary  of  a  passage  in  Seneca,  fpttf.  xxir. 
14.  ««i  Ine  fiMlnf  ^*M»]    '  him  *  is  death. 
17.  ,^«r  nmsuBnaftrt  If]    Cl  Seneca  < £>£nt.  xxtr),  ttf 

otf  sMrfesi  ('so  that  some  by 


OF  DEATH  177 

fear  of  death  are  driven  to  death  '),  as,  for  example,  when 
a  man  throws  himself  to  certain  death  from  an  upper 
window  of  a  burning  house. 

after  Otho  &c.]  Otho  was  emperor  at  Rome  from 
January  15  to  April  16  in  the  year  A.D.  69.  He  stabbed 
himself  on  hearing  that  his  army  had  been  defeated  at 
Betriacum  by  the  forces  of  Yitellius,  who  succeeded  him  in 
the  principate.  The  suicide  of  many  of  Otho's  soldiers  is 
recorded  by  Tacitus  (Hist.  ii.  49)  and  Suetonius  (Otho,  12). 

21.  Seneca  adds  &c.]  Cf.  Seneca,  Epist.  Ixxvii.  The 
quotation,  as  usual,  is  verbally  inaccurate,  but  the  substance 
of  the  passage  is  given.  The  words  are  not  Seneca's  own  ; 
he  was  himself  quoting  from  a  Stoic  friend's  address  to  a 
young  man  who  contemplated  suicide.  '  Consider  how  long 
you  have  done  the  same  things ;  a  man  may  be  willing  to 
die  not  only  because  he  is  brave  or  unhappy,  but  just  because 
he  is  wearied  of  life.' 

29.  Augustus  Caesar  &c.]  Augustus  died  on  August  19, 
A.D.  14.  He  was  devoted  to  his  wife  Livia,  but  there  is  no 
obvious  '  compliment '  in  his  last  words  to  her,  quoted  from 
Suetonius  (Aut/ustus,  99) ;  perhaps  emphasis  should  be  laid 
on  conjugii  and  the  sentence  rendered  thus :  '  Livia,  good 
bye  ;  never  forget  what  a  true  wife  you  were  to  me,'  a  tribute 
to  her  fidelity,  which  was  a  somewhat  rare  quality  in  Roman 
ladies  of  high  rank  during  the  Empire. 

31.  Jam  Tiberium  &c.J  i.  e.  '  His  bodily  strength  was 
leaving  Tiberius,  but  not  his  habit  of  dissimulation',  Tacitus, 
Annals,  vi.  50.  Tiberius  died  on  March  16,  A.  D.  37.  Always 
reserved  and  suspicious  of  those  about  him,  he  dissimulated 
to  the  last,  trying  to  conceal  even  from  his  physician  the 
desperate  state  of  his  health. 

33.  Ut  puto  &c.]    i.  e. '  Methinks  I  am  becoming  a  god ', 
Suetonius,  Vespasian,  23.     Vespasian  carried  out  a  successful 
revolt  against  Vitellius  in  A.D.  69,  and  succeeded  him  as 
emperor;  he  died  on  June  23,  79.     Roman  emperors  after 
death  were  deified  and  received  the  title  Dims. 

34.  Feri,  si  &c.]     i.  e. '  Strike,  if  it  is  to  benefit  the  Roman 
people '.     The  words  are   not  accurately  taken  from   any 
classical  writer;   but  cf.  Plutarch,   Galba,  714 b;   Tacitus, 
Hist.  i.  41 ;  Suetonius,  Galba,  20.     Galba  was  emperor  from 
June  16,  A.  D.  68,  to  January  15,  69. 

35.  Adestf,  si  &c.]    i.  e.  '  Be  ready,  if  anything  remains 
for  me  to  do'.    This  is  apparently  taken  from  the  Greek 


178  NOTES 

fiyeT€,  8oTf,  tl  n  irpa^ai  e^o/iev  (Dio  Cassius,  Ixxvi.  17).     The 
Emperor  Severus  died  at  Eboracum  (York)  on  February  4, 

A.D.  211. 

37.  the  Stoics  &c.]  This  school  of  philosophers  took  its 
name  from  the  oroa  TroiKiXq,  a  colonnade  at  Athens,  in  which 
Zeno  their  founder  taught  about  300  B.  c.  They  held  virtue 
to  be  the  highest  good,  and  became  proverbial  for  their 
studied  indifference  to  the  pains  and  pleasures  of  life.  There 
is  no  justification  for  saying  that  the  Stoics  in  general  '  be 
stowed  too  much  cost  upon  death ' ;  Seneca  certainly  was 
inordinately  fond  of  discussing  the  subject,  and  Bacon  had 
him  principally  in  his  mind  ;  but  Seneca  was  not  a  typical 
Stoic. 

PAGE  23.  1.  gui  Jinem  &c.]  i.e.  'Who  can  rank  the  last 
end  of  life  among  the  blessings  of  nature ',  Juvenal,  Sat. 
x.  858  (N.B.— Jinem  is  a  mistake  for  spathim). 

12.  Extinctus  &c.]  i.e.  'The  same  man  (who  in  life  is 
hated)  will  be  loved  when  he  is  dead',  Horace,  Epist.  ii. 
1.  14. 

ESSAY  III.     OF  UNITY  IN  RELIGION 

PAGE  23. 17.  the  religion  of  the  heathen  &c.]  i.e.  Especially 
the  '  established  '  religion  of  ancient  Greece,  which  gave  rise 
to  no  such  bitter  internal  controversies  as  those  which  have 
agitated  most  Christian  peoples.  The  traditional  beliefs  were 
primitive,  superstitious,  and  unspiritual,  and  were  generally 
accepted  without  question :  there  were  no  sects. 

'  The  chief  doctors'  (i.e.  teachers)  of  religion  in  Greece, 
at  least  in  Athens,  were  no  doubt  poets,  such  as  Aeschylus 
and  Sophocles ;  but  there  were  also  professional  priests 
attached  to  the  temples  of  the  various  recognized  deities. 
Ancient  Rome  has  usually  been  considered  to  be  included 
in  '  the  heathen  '  in  this  Essay.  But  it  is  impossible  to  regard 
any  Roman  poet  as  a  '  doctor '  of  religion,  and,  though  Bacon 
Avas  quite  capable  of  such  inaccuracy,  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  thinking  of  any  one  except  the 
Greeks. 

22.  a  jealous  God}    Exodus  xx.  5. 

PAGE  24.  5.  Ecce  in  Deserto,  &c.]  i.e.'  Behold  he  is  in 
the  wilderness  '  .  .  .  '  Behold  he  is  in  the  inner  chambers'. 
Matthew  xxiv.  26. 

12.  If  a  heathen  come  in,  &c.]     1  Cor.  xiv.  23. 


OF  UNITY'  IN  EELIGION  179 

17.  to  sit  down  in  &c.]     Psalms  i.  1. 

20.  a  master  of  scoffing]  i.  e.  Rabelais  of  Touraine  (1495  ?- 
1553).  The  reference  is  to  Pantagruel,  ii.  7,  where  is  set  out 
a  catalogue  of  fantastically  named  books,  found  by  Panta- 
gruel  in  the  library  of  St.  Victor  at  Paris. 

36.  Is  it  peace,  Jehu  ?  £c.]     2  Kings  ix.  18,  19. 

PAGE  25.  1.  Laodiceans}  The  Laodiceans  were  'neither 
hot  nor  cold  '.  See  Revelation  iii.  14-16. 

7.  two  cross  clauses  &c.]  i.  e.  the  two  sentences  following, 
which  appear  to  be  contradictory,  the  lukewarm  being 
classed  in  the  former  as  'against',  in  the  latter  as  'for'. 
See  Matthew  xii.  30,  Mark  ix.  40,  Luke  ix.  50. 

17.  my  small  model}  i.  e.  An  essay  is  a  treatise  on  a  small 
scale,  and  too  much  space  must  not  be  given  up  to  one 
point,  or  it  will  be  out  of  proportion. 

22.  one  of  the  fathers,  &c.]     i.  e.  Augustine,  commenting 
on  Psalm  xlv.  14. 

25.  In  veste  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Let  there  be  variety  of  colour  in 
the  vesture,  but  not  a  division '. 

36.  doth  not  discern]  The  negative,  as  often  in  Bacon,  is 
superfluous. 

PAGE  26.  3.  Devita  profanas  £c.]  i.e.  'Avoid  profane 
new  terms  and  opposition  based  on  science  falsely  so  called  '. 
1  Timothy  vi.  20. 

9.  implicit  ignorance}  This  curious  phrase  is  probably 
framed  upon  the  analogy  of  '  implicit  faith  '  (implicita  fides 
in  ecclesiastical  Latin),  i.  e.  unquestioning  faith. 

19.  There  be  tivo  swords  &c.]  Cf.  Luke  xxii.  38,  and  the 
following  passage  in  a  bull  of  Boniface  VIII :  Nam  dicentibux 
Apostolis  ' ecce  gladii  duo  hic\  in  ecclesia  scilicet  cum  Apostoli 
loquerentur,  non  respondet  Dominus  nimis  esse  sed  satis.  .  .  . 
Uterque  ergo  in  potentate  ecclesiae,  spiritualis  scilicet  gladius  et 
materialis;  sed  is  quidem  pro  ecclesia,  ille  vero  ab  ecclesia 
exercendus  &c. 

23.  Mahomet's  sword}     Mahomet  or  Mohammed  was  born  \ 

in  A.  D.  570,  and  declared  himself  to  be  the  prophet  of  God,    1  O 
commissioned  to  restore  the   truth   by  the  power  of  the    \  ' 
sword.     He  attracted  many  followers,  but  in  622  he  had 
to  flee  for  his  life  from  Mecca  to  Medina.     This  flight, 
known  as  the  Hegira,  is  the  basis  from  which  Mohammedan 
chronology  is  calculated.     During  the  next  ten  years  he 
made   himself  master   of  Arabia.      He   died   in   632.     Cf. 
Essay  XII. 

M  2 


180  NOTES 

31.  to  dash  the  first  table  against  the  second]  i.  e.  to  fail 
in  our  duty  towards  our  neighbour  in  order  to  perform  our 
duty  towards  God. 

36.  Tantum  religio  &c.]  i.  c.  '  To  such  great  wrongs  could 
religion  prompt '.  De  Serum  Natiira,  i.  95. 

PAGE  27.  1.  the  massacre  in  France]  i.e.  of  the  Huguenots 
on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  August  24,  1572. 

the  powder  treason]     i.e.  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  Novem 
ber  5,  1605. 

6.  the  Anabaptists]  i.  e.  the  Christian  sect  who  insisted 
upon  the  necessity  of  adult  baptism.  They  first  appeared 
in  Germany  about  1520,  where  they  were  responsible  for 
violent  socialistic  outbreaks,  especially  at  Munster  in  West 
phalia  in  1534-5.  Having  this  in  mind,  Bacon  called  them 
'the  madmen  of  Munster'  in  the  1612  edition.  Cf.  'The 
Anabaptists  of  Munster  had  filled  Germany  with  confusion 
by  their  system  of  levelling  and  their  wild  opinions  concern 
ing  property.'  — BURKE. 

8.  /  will  ascend  &c.]  Cf.  Isaiah  xiv.  12-14,  where  the 
words  '  are  put  into  the  mouth  not  of  the  devil,  but  of  the 
King  of  Babylon.  But  it  was  an  early  patristic  view  that 
the  devil  is  the  speaker,  and  that  the  entire  passage  is 
parabolic.' — REYNOLDS. 

16.  the  likeness  of  a  dove]     Cf.  Matthew  iii.  16. 

21.  Mercury  rod]  Mercury  was  the  Roman  god,  corre 
sponding  to  the  Greek  Hermes,  who  carrying  a  herald's 
staff  (caduceus)  conducted  the  souls  of  the  dead  to  the  lower 
regions.  Cf.  Virgil,  Aeneid  iv.  242-4. 

26.  Ira  hominis  &c.]    i.e. '  The  wrath  of  man  does  not  fulfil 
the  justice  of  God  '.    James  i.  20. 

27.  a  unse  father}    The  quotation  has  not  been  traced. 

ESSAY  IV.    OF  REVENGE 

PAGE  28.  5.  It  is  the  (/lory  &c.j     Proverbs  xix.  11. 

20.  It  is  two  for  one]  i.  e.  the  aggressor  scores  two  points, 
the  original  injury  and  the  punishment  by  the  law,  against 
the  injured  party's  one,  his  revenge. 

26.  Cosmus,  Duke  of  Florence]  Born  in  1519,  Cosmus 
(Cosimo)  de  Medici  was  appointed  Duke  of  Florence  in 
1537,  after  the  murder  of  Duke  Alessandro.  He  was  a  wise 
and  successful  ruler  and  died  in  1574.  This  'desperate' 
(i.e.  terrible)  saying  of  his  has  not  been  traced. 


OF  REVENGE  181 

32.  Shall  we  take  good,  &c.]     Job  ii.  10. 

33.  in  a  proportion}    i.  e.  If  we  should  be  content  to  take 
evil  with  good  at  God's  hands,  God  being  man's  greatest 
friend,  so  (comparing  small  with  great)  should  we  be  content 
to  take  evil  with  good  from  our  human  friends  ?    But  there 
is  no  logic  in  Bacon's  argument :  the  evil  which  we  take  at 
God's  hands  is  for  our  own  good  and  is  not  malicious,  so 
that  there  can  be  no  question  of  forgiveness.     But  there  are 
few,  if  any,  human  friends  who  are  quite  free  from  malice  : 
when  we  suffer  malicious  evil  at  their  hands,  Duke  Cosmus 
asks,  are  we  to  forgive  them  ?     We  need  not  search  long  in 
the  Gospels  for  an  answer  in  the  affirmative. 

36.  Public  revenges  &c.]  The  meaning  of  this  sentence  is 
somewhat  obscure,  and  must  be  gathered  from  the  three 
instances  given.  Julius  Caesar  was  murdered  on  March  15, 
44  B.C.,  and  was  avenged  two  years  later  at  the  Battle  of 
Philippi  by  Antony  and  Octavius  :  a  restless  period  followed, 
till  Antony's  death  after  the  Battle  of  Actium  in  31  B.C., 
when  Octavius  became  supreme  at  Rome  and  the  republic 
was  turned  into  a  monarchy.  Pertinax  was  murdered  at 
Rome  by  the  praetorian  troops  on  March  28,  A.D.  193,  after 
having  been  emperor  for  three  months;  he  was  avenged 
and  succeeded  by  Septimius  Severus,  who  reigned  success 
fully  for  eighteen  years.  Henry  III  was  murdered  by  a 
monk,  Jacques  Clement,  in  A.D.  1589,  and  the  assassin  was 
himself  immediately  killed  by  some  one  in  the  crowd :  this 
perhaps  to  some  extent  strengthened  the  hands  of  the 
Huguenots,  and  the  Edict  of  Nantes  nine  years  later  secured 
for  French  Protestants  freedom  of  religion.  In  each  of  the 
three  cases  it  may  be  said,  though  some  will  argue  contrari 
wise,  that  the  people  profited  by  the  revenge.  'Public 
revenge '  means  revenge  by  the  people,  and  it  is  '  fortunate  ' 
when  the  people  are  the  better  for  it.  The  avenging  act 
may  be,  and  generally  is,  the  work  of  one  man,  but  he  is 
the  agent  of  the  people.  Most  editors  think  that  Bacon's 
meaning  is  that  'public  revenges  are  fortunate'  for  the 
agent  who  carries  them  out;  this  will  suit  the  cases  of 
Octavius  and  Severus,  but  the  slayer  of  Jacques  Clement  is 
not  known  to  have  gained  any  personal  advantage  thereby. 

PAGE  29.  3.  witches]  By  two  statutes,  33  Hen.  VIII.  c.  8 
and  1  Jac.  I.  c.  12,  witchcraft  of  various  kinds  was  made 
a  felony  punishable  with  death.  'These  acts  continued  in 
force  till  lately  [they  were  repealed  by  9  Geo.  II.  c.  5],  to 


182  NOTES 

the  terror  of  all  ancient  females  in  the  kingdom  ;  and  many 
poor  wretches  were  sacrificed  thereby  to  the  prejudice  of 
their  neighbours  and  their  own  illusions.' — BLACKSTONE. 

ESSAY  V.    OF  ADVERSITY 

PAGE  29.  8.  Bonn  rennn  &c.]  Seneca,  Epist.  Ixvi,  mis 
quoted. 

13.  Vere  magnum  &c.]  Seneca,  Epist.  liii,  misquoted. 
'  Security '  is  now  rarely  used  in  the  sense  of  the  Latin 
securitas,  i.e.  freedom  from  care.  Cf.  Ben  Jonson,  The 
Forest,  xi  Ep.  (last  line),  '  Man  may  securely  sin,  but  safely 
never.' 

21.  Hercules,  when  Tie  went  &c.]  This  story  is  told  by 
many  classical  writers,  e.g.  Athenaeus  (xi.  38),  Macrobius 
(Saturnalia,  v.  21),  Apollodorus  (DeDeorum  Origine,  ii.  5,  10), 
but  the  pot  or  pitcher  was  golden  not  earthen.  Prometheus 
(cf.  Essay  XV)  was  according  to  Greek  mythology  punished 
for  stealing  fire  from  heaven  by  being  bound  to  a  rock  on 
the  Caucasus  mountains. 


ESSAY  VI.     OF  SIMULATION  AND  DISSIMULATION 

PAGE  30.  18.  Tacitus  saith,  £c.]  Annals,  v.  1.  For  Livia 
cf.  Essay  II. 

21.  and  again,  when  Mucianus  £c.]  Histories,  ii.  76. 
Mucianus  was  the  chief  supporter  of  Vespasian  in  his  revolt 
against  Vitellius  (cf.  Essay  II). 

PAGE  31.  26.  as  the  more  close  air  £c.]  i.e.  as  the  warmer 
air  in  a  room  being  rarefied  draws  in  the  denser  air  outside. 

30.  men  rather  discharge  &c.]     i.  e.  talk  in  order  to  un 
burden  their  own  minds  rather  than  to  impart  information 
to  others. 

31.  mysteries  are  due  to  secrecy}     i.  e.  a  man  who  can  keep 
a  secret  has  a  right  to  expect  secrets  to  be  confided  to  him. 

PAGE  32.  2.  that  a  man's  face  £c.]  i.  e.  that  a  man  should 
have  his  face  so  under  control  that  it  will  not  betray  what 
he  is  about  to  say  or  deny  what  he  has  said.  Cf.  Xe  voltu 
destrue  verba  tuo,  Ovid,  A.  A.  ii.  312. 

PAGE  33.  4.  Tell  a  lie  and  find  a  troth}  The  Spanish  is 
'  Di  mentira,  y  sacaras  verdad '. 

17.  openness  in  fame}     i.  e.  a  reputation  for  openness. 


183 


ESSAY  VII.    OF  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN 

PAGE  34.  2.  continuance,  not  only  &c.]  i.  e.  children  carry 
on  not  only  the  family  or  '  kind ',  but  also  the  worldly 
achievements  and  position  for  which  their  parents  have 
'  worked '  successfully. 

7.  A  iv'ise  son  &c.]     Proverbs  x.  1. 

37.  Optimum  elige,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Choose  the  best ;  practice 
will  make  it  pleasant  and  easy  '.  Plutarch,  De  Exilio,  viii. 


ESSAY  VIII.     OF  MARRIAGE  AND  SINGLE  LIFE 

PAGE  35.  3.  hostages  to  fortune}  i.  e.  if  a  man  takes  a  risk 
and  fails,  his  wife  and  children  suffer ;  fortune  has  that 
hold  on  him. 

PAGE  36.  14.  Vetulam  sitam  &c.]  i.e.  'He  preferred  his 
old  woman  to  immortality '.  Ulysses,  on  his  way  home 
from  Troy,  was  tempted  by  the  nymph  Calypso,  who  pro 
mised  him  immortality,  to  stay  with  her  on  her  island 
Ogygia ;  but  he  decided  (not  without  some  hesitation,  it 
must  be  admitted)  to  go  back  to  his  wife  Penelope  in  Ithaca. 
The  words  in  the  text  are  loosely  quoted  from  Cicero,  De 
Oratore,  i.  44,  but  vetulam  is  probably  interpolated  from 
a  similar  passage  in  a  Latin  translation  of  one  of  Plutarch's 
Dialogues. 

22.  one  of  the  wise  men}  i.e.  Thales  of  Miletus  (640-550 
B.C.),  the  first  of  the  great  Greek  philosophers. 

ESSAY  IX.    OF  ENVY 

PAGE  36.  33.  envy]  The  word  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
invidere,  which,  though  properly  meaning  no  more  than  'to 
look  on ',  was  used  always  with  an  evil  connotation,  especially 
in  reference  to  the  magical  '  fascination '  exercised  by  the 
1  evil  eye '  (see  below). 

PAGE  37.  5.  evil  eye]     Mark  vii.  22. 

12.  in  glory  or  triumph]     Greek  tragedy  contains  many 
instances  of  this :  to  boast  of  success  or  to  omit  the  pro 
pitiatory  offering  due  to  Nemesis  was  to  court  disaster. 

13.  the  sijirits  of  the  person  envied  &c.]     i.  e.  the  spirits,  or 
vital   essence,  of  a  person  at  the  moment  of  triumph  are 
elated  and  rise  to  his  head  and  show  themselves  in  his  eyes. 


184  NOTES 

35.  Non  est  curiosus,  &c.]  i.  e.  'A  man  is  not  meddlesome, 
without  also  being  malicious '.  Plautus,  Stichus,  i.  3.  54. 

PAGE  38.  10.  Narses]  A  freedman,  who  became  a  suc 
cessful  general  under  the  Emperor  Justinian.  He  died 
A.D.  568. 

11.  Agesilaus]     King  of  Sparta,  398-361  B.C. 

Tamerlane]    Generally  known   as  Timour  the  Tartar, 
King  of  Tartary,  A.D.  1370-1405. 

21.  Adrian]     Roman  Emperor,  A.D.  117-138. 

PAGE  39.  19.  per  saltuni]     i.  e.  at  a  bound. 

27.  quanta  patimiir]     i.  e.  '  how  much  we  suffer  ! ' 

PAGE  4O.  30.  ostracism]  When  a  political  leader  in 
ancient  Athens  was  suspected  of  despotic  intentions  or  his 
presence  was  considered  to  be  in  any  way  dangerous  to  the 
state,  it  was  the  practice  for  some  one,  generally  a  leader 
of  the  opposite  party,  to  propose  an  '  ostracism '.  If  the 
assembly  agreed,  a  day  was  fixed,  on  which  every  citizen 
was  entitled  to  record  his  vote  against  any  one  he  chose  by 
writing  his  name  on  a  potsherd  (oo-rpaKov) ;  provided  that 
6000  votes  at  least  were  given,  the  man  who  had  the  highest 
total  was  required  to  leave  the  city  within  ten  days,  and  not 
to  return  for  ten  years. 

PAGE  41.  21.  Invidia  festos  &c.]  i.e.  'Envy  keeps  no 
holidays '. 

27.  The  envious  man  &c.]  Matthew  xiii.  25.  But  it  is 
'  the  enemy ',  not  '  the  envious  man  '  who  sows  the  tares. 

ESSAY  X.    OF  LOVE 

PAGE  42.  1,  2.  Siren,  .  .  .  Fury]  The  Sirens  were  sea- 
nymphs  in  Greek  mythology,  who  by  their  sweet  singing 
used  to  tempt  mariners  to  destruction.  The  Furies  were 
avenging  deities,  who  punished  men  both  in  life  and  after 
death. 

8.  Marcus  Antonius]     He  was  the  friend  of  Julius  Caesar, 
after  whose  death  he  became  a  member  of  the  Second 
Triumvirate  with   Octavius   (Augustus)   and    Lepidus.     He 
fell  a  victim  to  the  charms  of  Cleopatra,  Queen  of  Egypt. 
He  killed  himself  in  30  B.C. 

9.  Appi us  Claudius]  He  was  one  of  the  ten  men  (Decemviri) 
appointed  to  draw  up  the  code  of  Roman  law  in  451  B.C.  His 
attempted  seduction  of  Virginia  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
Decemviri  in  the  following  year. 


OF  LOVE  185 

16.  Satis  maynum  &c.]  i.e.  'We  are  a  sufficient  theatre 
for  one  another '.  The  words  are  quoted  from  Seneca,  Kpist. 
i.  7,  and  are  wrongly  taken  by  Bacon  as  intended  to  have 
a  general  application. 

26.  it  liaih  been  ivell  said  &c.]     Cf.  Plutarch,  De  Adula- 
tione,  ii.     This  saying  is  mentioned  again  in  Essays  XXVII 
and  LIII. 

31.  it  is  impossible  &c.]  Cf.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Agesilans, 
415  (b). 

PAGE  43.  2.  he  that  preferred  Helena,  &c.]  Paris,  the  son 
of  Priam,  King  of  Troy,  was  called  upon  to  award  the  apple 
inscribed  '  to  the  fairest '  thrown  by  Eris,  the  goddess  of 
discord,  among  the  other  goddesses.  There  were  three 
claimants,  Hera  (Juno),  Athena  (Pallas),  and  Aphrodite 
(Venus) ;  Hera  promised  him  riches,  Athena  wisdom,  and 
Aphrodite  the  fairest  of  women  to  be  his  wife,  as  bribes  for 
his  favour.  He  awarded  the  apple  to  Aphrodite,  and  shortly 
afterwards  a,bducted  from  Sparta  the  beautiful  Helen,  wife 
of  King  Menelaus.  Whence  arose  the  Trojan  war. 

11.  keep  qiiarter}  i.e.  to  keep  in  its  own  quarter  or 
quarters,  the  place  assigned  to  it. 

ESSAY  XI.    OF  GREAT  PLACE 

PAGE  44.  3.  Cum  non  sis  &c.]  i.e.  'When  you  are  no 
longer  what  you  were,  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
wish  to  live  '.  Cicero,  Epist.  ad  Fam.  vii.  3. 

21.  Illi  mors  gravis  &c.]  i.e.  'Death  falls  heavy  on  him, 
who  dies  too  well  known  to  all  others  but  unknown  to  him 
self.  Seneca,  Thyestes,  ii.  401. 

34.  Et  converses  Dens,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  And  God  turned  to  look 
at  the  works  which  His  hands  had  done,  and  saw  that  they 
were  all  very  good'.  Cf.  Genesis  i.  31. 

PAGE  45.  19.  de  facto]     i.  e.  '  in  fact '. 

PAGE  46.  12.  Saloman  saith,  &c.]     Proverbs  xxviii.  21. 

14.  A  place  showeth  the  man]  dp%ri  nvSpa  fiei£et,  Arist. 
Eth.  N.  v.  1. 16,  quoting  Bias,  one  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  of 
Greece  (fl.  550  B.  c.). 

16.  Omnium  conaensu  &c.]  i.  e. '  By  common  consent  fit 
for  empire,  if  he  had  not  been  emperor'.  Tacitus,  Hist. 
i.  49. 

18.  Solus  imperantium  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Vespasian  was  the  only 
emperor  who  changed  for  the  better '.  Tacitus,  Hist.  i.  50. 

27.  to  side  a  man's  self]    i.  e.  to  take  one  side  or  the  other. 


186  NOTES 


ESSAY  XII.    OF  BOLDNESS 

PAGE  47.  2.  question  was  asked  £c.]  Of.  Cicero,  De 
Oratore,  iii.  56 ;  Orator,  xvii.  55. 

PAGE  48.  19.  a  stale  at  chess]  A  stale-mate  at  chess  is 
where  one  of  the  players  is  so  placed  that  his  king,  though 
not  in  check,  cannot  be  moved  without  being  put  in  check, 
and  none  of  his  other  pieces  can  be  moved  without  putting 
the  king  in  check. 

ESSAY  XI I F.  OF  GOODNESS  AND  GOODNESS  OF 
NATURE 

PAGE  49.  14.  Bnslechim]  Busbec  of  Flanders,  A.  D.  1522- 
1592,  was  a  noted  traveller  and  acted  as  ambassador  of  the 
Emperor  Ferdinand  I  to  the  Sultan. 

21.  Nicholas  MacciaveJ]  Niccolo  Machiavelli  was  born  at 
Florence  A.D.  1469,  and  after  an  adventurous  career  died  in 
1527.  History  represents  him  as  a  clever  but  unscrupulous 
statesman,  and  in  his  book  Del  Principe  he  openly  advocates 
the  pursuit  of  expediency  rather  than  morality  in  state 
craft. 

32.  Aesop]  A  Greek  writer  of  fables  early  in  the  sixth 
century  B.  c.  None  of  his  fables  are  extant  as  originally 
written,  but  many  were  put  into  verse  by  Babrius  in  Greek 
and  by  Phaedrus  in  Latin. 

35.  He  sendeth  &c.]     Matthew  v.  45. 

PAGE  50.  1.  bercare  how  &c.]  A  portrait  which  is  more 
beautiful  than  the  original  is,  qua  portrait,  bad.  We  are 
commanded  to  love  our  neighbours  as  ourselves,  not  more 
than  ourselves. 

4.  Sell  all  &c.]     Mark  x.  21. 

19.  on  the  loading  part]     i.e.   they  make   the   calamity 
worse  by  pressing  down  the  burden  where  it  is  heaviest. 

20.  Lazarus'  sores]    Luke  xvi.  21. 

24.  Timon]  Timon  was  an  Athenian  who  lived  during 
the  Peloponnesian  War.  Soured  by  disappointments,  he 
lived  an  unsociable  life,  and  is  known  in  history  as  '  the 
misanthrope '.  The  incident  of  the  tree,  to  which  allusion 
is  made  here,  is  told  by  Plutarch  (Life  of  Anthony,  p.  643  (b)), 
and  is  introduced  by  Shakespeare  in  his  Timon  of  Athene 
(Act  v.  Sc.  i.) :— 


OF  GOODNESS  AND  GOOD  NATURE     187 

T  have  a  tree,  which  grows  here  in  my  close, 
That  mine  own  use  invites  me  to  cut  clown, 
And  shortly  must  I  fell  it :   tell  my  friends, 
Tell  Athens,  in  the  sequence  of  degree 
From  high  to  low  throughout,  that  whoso  please 
To  stop  affliction,  let  him  take  his  haste, 
Come  hither  ere  my  tree  hath  felt  the  axe, 
And  hang  himself:    I  pray  you  do  my  greeting. 

35.  noble  tree  &c.]  Balm  is  an  aromatic  juice  obtained 
by  incision  from  various  trees  of  the  genus  balsamodendron. 

PAGE  51.  3.  St.  PauVs  perfection,  &c.]  See  Romans  ix.  3  : 
di>d0r)[M  in  classical  Greek  meant  'a  votive  offering ',  but  later, 
in  the  form  ni>u0e/u«,  it  came  to  be  used  specialty  to  mean  '  an 
accursed  thing '. 

ESSAY  XIV.    OF  NOBILITY 

PAGE  51.  18.  Sivitzers}  Switzerland  is  a  remarkably 
harmonious  and  successful  confederation  of  many  little 
states,  with  various  nationalities,  religions,  languages,  and 
interests. 

21.  United  Provinces  &c.]  i.e.  The  seven  provinces  of  the 
Netherlands,  which  in  A.  D.  1579  broke  from  their  allegiance 
to  Spain  and  became  an  independent  republic. 

PAGE  52.  20.  passive  imcy]  Envy  is  active  (cf.  '  motions 
of  envy '  above),  if  we  regard  the  person  who  is  envious ; 
passive,  if  we  regard  the  person  envied. 

ESSAY  XV.     OF  SEDITIONS  AND  TROUBLES 

PAGE  52.  29.  aequinoctia]  It  is  an  old  tradition  that 
stormy  weather  is  especially  to  be  expected  about  the  time 
of  the  spring  and  autumn  equinoxes,  viz.  21  March  and 
21  September.  The  analogy  between  the  equality  of  classes 
in  a  state  and  the  equality  in  length  of  day  and  night  is  very 
far  fetched. 

32.  Ille  etiam  &c.]  i.  e.  '  He  (viz.  the  sun)  often  warns 
men  also  that  cloaked  rebellions  are  at  hand,  that  treachery 
and  war  unseen  are  swelling  to  a  head  '.  Virgil,  Georgics,  i. 
464-5. 

PAGE  53.  7.  lllam  Terra  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Earth  her  mother, 
goaded  by  anger  against  the  gods,  bore  her,  so  they  tell,  the 
youngest  sister  to  Coeus  and  Enceladus '.  Virgil,  Aeneid,  iv. 


188  NOTES 

178-80.  The  Giants,  sons  of  Earth,  according  to  Greek 
mythology  rebelled  unsuccessfully  against  Zeus. 

18.  Conjlata  niagna  &Q;]  i.e.  'When  great  discontentment 
is  kindled  (viz.  against  a  ruler),  all  his  actions  good  or  bad 
tend  to  his  ruin '.  Tacitus,  Histories,  i.  7  (slightly  mis 
quoted). 

26.  Erant  in  ojfjficio,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  They  were  attentive,  but 
at  the  same  time  inclined  rather  to  discuss  the  meaning  of 
their  officers'  orders  than  to  obey  them  '.  Tacitus,  Histories, 
ii.  39  (loosely  quoted). 

PAGE  54.  1.  Henry  the  Third]  Henry  III  of  France  in 
1575  joined  what  was  called  the  Holy  League  for  the  sup 
pression  of  the  Huguenots.  But  in  1588  the  League  drove 
him  from  Paris  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  assassinated 
by  a  Dominican  monk,  Jacques  Clement.  Cf.  Essay  IV. 

13.  primum  mobile,  &c.]  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  Ptole 
maic  system  of  astronomy  in  its  final  stage  of  development, 
before  it  was  superseded  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  the 
Copernican  system  now  generally  accepted.  According  to 
the  Ptolemaic  system,  instituted  by  Ptolemy  of  Alexandria 
in  the  second  century,  the  Earth  is  stationary  and  surrounded 
by  ten  moving  spheres  or  orbs ;  beginning  nearest  to  the 
Earth,  the  spheres  are  in  the  following  order:  — (1)  the 
Moon,  (2)  Mercury,  (3)  Venus,  (4)  the  Sun,  (5)  Mars,  (6) 
Jupiter,  (7)  Saturn,  (8)  the  Firmament  or  fixed  stars,  (9) 
the  Crystalline  Sphere,  and  (10)  the  Primum  Mobile,  which 
last  in  its  daily  revolution  carries  round  with  it  the  nine 
other  spheres,  each  of  which  has  also  a  separate  movement 
of  its  own  slower  than  the  Primum  Mobile.  Cf.  Milton, 
Paradise  Lost,  iv.  592-5. 

(N.B. — In  the  Ptolemaic  system  the  Sun  and  the  Moon 
were  regarded  as  planets.^ 

18.  liber!  us  quam  &c.j    i.e.  'Too  freely  to  remember  their 
rulers '.     Tacitus,  Annals,  iii.  4  (loosely  quoted). 

21.  Solvam  &c.]  i.e.  'I  will  loose  the  girdles  of  kings', 
apparently  a  composite  quotation  from  Isaiah  xlvi  and  Job 
xii.  18. 

PAGE  55.  3.  Hinc  usura  &c.]  i.  e.  'Hence  came  insatiate 
usury  and  interest  quickly  falling  due,  hence  shaken  credit, 
and  war  that  benefited  many '.  Lucan  (A.  D.  39-65),  Plmnsaliti 
i.  181-2  (slightly  misquoted). 

19.  Dolendi  modus,  &c.]     i.e.  'There  is  a  limit  to  pain, 
but  none  to  fear'.     Pliny,  Letters;  vill.  xvii.  6. 


OF  SEDITIONS  AND  TKOUBLES         189 

34.  strangers]    i.  e.  apparently  '  alien  immigrants  '. 

PAGE  56.  28.  the  increase  of  any  estate  &c.]  i.  e.  the  pro 
sperity  of  a  country  depends  upon  its  exports  :  the  foreigner 
must  pay  something  over  and  above  the  cost  of  production 
and  carriage. 

34.  materiam  sitperabit  opus]  i.e.  '  The  workmanship  will 
excel  (i.e.  in  value)  the  material '.  Ovid,  Metamorphoses,  ii.  5. 

38.  mines  above  ground]  i.  e.  the  industry,  enterprise,  and 
skill  in  manufacture  of  the  Dutch  are  as  good  as  a  gold 
mine  to  them. 

PAGE  57.  7.  engrossing]  i.  e.  buying  in  gross,  with  a  view 
to  selling  again  at  an  inflated  price.  Seveial  Acts  of  Par 
liament,  the  earliest  5  &  6  Edw.  VI.  c.  12,  were  directed 
against  this  practice. 

19.  The  poets  feign  &c.]  According  to  Homer  it  was  not 
Pallas,  but  Thetis  whom  Zeus  consulted.  Cf.  Iliad,  i.  396 
et  seq. 

31.  Epimetheus  &c.]  Prometheus  (i.e.  'Forethought')  in 
Greek  mythology  stole  fire  from  the  gods  and  gave  it  to  men 
and  taught  them  its  use.  (Cf.  Essay  V.)  Zeus  in  anger 
sent  a  woman,  Pandora,  to  Epimetheus  (i.  e.  '  Afterthought '), 
Prometheus'  brother,  with  a  box  containing  all  human  ills. 
Despite  Prometheus'  warning,  Epimetheus  made  her  his 
wife.  When  the  box  was  opened  all  the  ills  flew  out,  but 
Epimetheus  closed  it  in  time  to  save  Hope,  who  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  box. 

PAGE  58.  30.  Sylla  nescivit  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Sylla  did  not  know 
his  letters  :  he  could  not  dictate '.  Suetonius,  Julius  Caesar, 
77  (loosely  quoted).  Sylla  was  born  138  B.C.,  and  as  a  young 
man  served  with  distinction  under  Marius  in  Africa ;  later 
a  bitter  rivalry  sprang  up  between  them,  resulting  in  civil 
war ;  Marius  died  in  86,  but  the  war  continued  till  82,  after 
which  Sylla  was  undisputed  master  of  Italy.  In  81  he 
became  perpetual  dictator  and,  though  cruel  and  tyrannical 
in  his  rule,  did  good  work  in  revising  the  constitution.  In 
79  he  retired  into  private  life  and  died  in  the  following 
year.  His  friendship  with  Pompey  is  mentioned  in  Essay 
XXVII.  The  word  dictare  in  the  quotation  is,  of  course,  in 
tended  to  convey  the  two  meanings,  '  to  dictate  '  and  '  to  be 
dictator '. 

34.  Legi  a  se  &c.]  i.e.  'that  his  soldiers  were  levied,  not 
bought,  by  him '.  Tacitus,  Histories,  i.  5.  For  Galba  cf. 
Essay  II. 


190  NOTES 

36.  Si  vixero,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  if  I  live,  the  Roman  Empire  will 
no  longer  need  soldiers '.  Probus  was  Roman  emperor  A.D. 
276-82.  He  was  a  successful  general,  a  good  administrator, 
and  an  honest  man.  His  unfortunate  speech  here  quoted  so 
exasperated  the  soldiers  that  they  mutinied  and  murdered 
him.  The  quotation  cannot  be  traced. 

PAGE  59.  12.  Atque  is  habitus  £c.J  i.e.  'And  such  was 
the  state  of  men's  minds  that  though  few  dared  to  commit 
this  dastardly  crime  (viz.  Galba's  murder),  many  desired  it 
and  all  acquiesced  in  it '.  Tacitus,  Histories,  i.  28. 


ESSAY  XVI.     OF  ATHEISM 

PAGE  59.  19.  the  Leyend]  The  Golden  Legend,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  was  a  collection  of  lives  of  the  Saints  com 
piled  by  Jacobus  de  Voragine,  Archbishop  of  Genoa,  in  the 
thirteenth  century. 

20.  the  Talmud]  The  Talmud  consists  of  two  parts,  viz. 
the  Mishna,  which  is  a  statement  of  Jewish  ritual  and  tra 
dition,  and  the  Gemara,  written  at  a  later  date,  which  is  a 
commentary  on  the  Mishna. 

tlie  Alcoran]  The  Koran  (N.B. — at  is  merely  the  Arabic 
definite  article]  is  the  Mohammedan  Bible,  containing 
the  sayings  of  Mohammed  collected  after  his  death.  Cf. 
Essay  III. 

26.  second  causes]  The  first  or  primary  cause  of  all  things 
is  God,  but  small  philosophers  are  apt  to  look  only  at  the 
immediate  or  efficient  causes  of  the  various  phenomena, 
without  tracing  them  back  to  the  one  original  cause  which 
links  them  all  together. 

32.  Leucippus  &c.J  Leucippus,  of  whom  hardly  anything 
is  certainly  known,  is  said  to  have  been  the  originator  of 
the  atomic  theory,  which  was  developed  by  Democritus 
(460-361  B.C.),  called  'the  laughing  philosopher',  and 
Epicurus  (cf.  Essay  1). 

PAGE  60.  1.  Jour  mutable  elements,  &c.]  i.  e.  Earth,  water, 
air,  and  fire,  which  were  believed  to  be  the  constituents  of  all 
earthly  things,  with  a  proper  admixture  of  the  '  one  immu 
table  fifth  essence '  or  quintessence,  which  was  something 
purer  than  the  elements.  Cf.  '  This  aethereal  quintessence 
of  Heaven',  Milton,  Paradise  Lost,  iii.  716.  Philosophers 
were  much  divided  on  the  question  what  this  essence 


OF  ATHEISM  191 

was;  some  said  ether,  some  alcohol,  some  that  it  was  not 
discoverable. 

5.  TJiefool  hath  said  &c.]    Psalm  xiv.  1. 

10.  For  whom  it  maketh  &c.]  i.e.  'for  whose  advantage 
it  would  be  that  &c.'  This  is  somewhat  indefinitely  ex 
plained  by  what  follows. 

28.  Non  deos  rului  &c.]     i.  e.  '  It  is  not  profane  to  deny 
that  the  gods  in  whom  the  people  believe,  exist,  but  it  is 
profane  to  attribute  to  the  gods  the  opinions  of  the  people  '. 
Diogenes  Laertius,  x.  123. 

PAGE  61.  3.  Diagoras.  £c.]  Diagoras  was  a  pupil  of 
Democritus  ;  he  criticized  the  popular  religion  at  Athens, 
especially  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  and  in  411  B.C.  had  to 
flee  from  the  danger  of  prosecution  for  impiety.  Bion  was 
born  in  Scythia  about  270  B.C.,  but  went  to  Athens,  where 
he  joined  the  Cyrenaic  philosophers ;  he  was  noted  for  his 
satirical  wit  (cf.  Horace,  Epistles,  ii.  2.  60).  For  Lucian,  cf. 
Essay  I. 

14.  JVon  est  &c.]  i.  e.  '  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  say  "  as 
the  people,  so  the  priest "  ;  for  the  people  are  not  so  bad  as 
the  priest '.  St.  Bernard  was  abbot  of  Clairvaux  during  the 
first  half  of  the  twelfth  century. 

29.  inelior  nation]     i.  e.  'a  higher  being '.     The  phrase 
conies  from  Ovid,  Metamorphoses,  i.  21. 

PAGE  62.  2.  Quam  vohimus,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Though  we  may 
admire  ourselves,  conscript  fathers,  as  much  as  we  please, 
yet  we  have  not  surpassed  the  Spaniards  in  number,  the 
Gauls  in  strength,  the  Carthaginians  in  cleverness,  the 
Greeks  in  art,  or  even  the  Italians  and  Latins  in  that  inborn 
domestic  sentiment  which  prevails  in  this  people  and  in 
this  country ;  but  in  piety  and  religion,  and  in  the  great 
philosophic  conviction  that  all  things  are  guided  and  con 
trolled  by  the  providence  of  immortal  gods,  we  have  sur 
passed  all  the  peoples  of  the  world  '.  Cicero,  De  Haruspicuin 
Itesjwnsis,  ix.  19. 

ESSAY  XVII.     OF  SUPERSTITION 

PAGE  62.  13.  Plutarch]  Plutarch  was  a  native  of  Boeotia 
and  lived  during  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century  A.D.  He 
is  best  known  for  his  Lives  of  forty-six  great  men,  Greek  and 
Honuin.  The  passage  in  the  text  is  from  an  essay  tie  Siiper- 
stit'tone,  one  of  many  short  pieces  collected  under  the  title 
Moralia.  He  is  much  quoted  by  Bacon. 


192  NOTES 

18.  Saturn]  In  Greek  mythology  Cronos,  identified  by 
the  Romans  with  their  god  Saturnus,  was  king  of  heaven  ; 
he  was  warned  that  one  of  his  own  children  would  supplant 
him,  so  he  killed  and  ate  them  all,  except  Zeus,  who  was 
hidden  from  him  and  lived  to  dethrone  him  in  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy. 

31.  primum  mobile}     See  Essay  XV. 

PAGE  63.  1.  Council  of  Trent]  The  eighteenth  General 
Council  of  the  Church  began  in  A.D.  1545  at  Trent  in  theTyrol, 
and  continued  with  some  interruptions  till  1563.  Many  ques 
tions  of  faith,  morals,  and  ecclesiastical  discipline  were  dis 
cussed  and  decided,  the  general  effect  of  the  decisions  being 
to  accentuate  the  differences  between  Roman  Catholics  and 
Protestants. 

2.  schoolmen  &c.]  The  '  Schoolmen  '  were  philosophers 
who  taught  in  the  schools  and  universities  between  A.D.  1000 
and  1550,  applying  Aristotelian  logic  to  theology  and  science. 
They  were  noted  for  great  formality  and  subtlety  in  argu 
ment. 

4.  eccentrics  and  epicycles,  &c.]  In  the  Ptolemaic  astronomy 
(cf.  Essay  XV)  each  of  the  planets  revolved  in  an  '  epicycle  ', 
i.  e.  a  small  circle  having  its  centre  on  the  circumference 
of  a  greater  circle.  These  circles  not  having  the  Earth  at 
their  centre  were  called  '  eccentric  '.  Bacon  no  doubt  had 
also  in  mind  the  common  untechnical  meaning  of  'eccen 
tric',  viz.  'fantastic'.  There  is  a  curiously  close  parallel  to 
this  passage  in  Milton :  — 

'  How  build,  unbuild,  contrive, 
To  save  appearances  ;  how  gird  the  sphere 
With  centric  and  eccentric  scribbled  o'er, 
Cycle  and  epicycle,  orb  in  orb.' 

— Paradise  Lost,  viii.  81  seq. 

Bacon's  '  to  save  the  phenomena '  and  Milton's  '  to  save 
appearances  '  are  translations  of  Aristotle's  phrase,  probably 
in  common  use  among  the  Schoolmen,  (ra>£fiv  TU  (^aivo^vn, 
i.  e.  '  to  explain  consistently  things  seen  in  nature  '. 

ESSAY  XVIII.    OF  TRAVEL 

PAGE  64.  32.  triumphs,  masques]     Sec  Essay  I. 
PAGE  65.  10.  adamant  of  acquaintance]     The  word  'ada 
mant'  is  derived  directly  from  the  Greek  dfia/aas  (a-  =  not  + 


OF  TKAVEL  193 

fia/*«<o  =  I  tame  or  break),  meaning  '  invincible,  unbreak 
able  ',  hence  used  to  denote  the  hardest  substances  known  to 
the  ancients,  e.  g.  steel  and  emery-stone,  and  later  diamond. 
But  mediaeval  Latin  writers  connected  it  with  adamare 
(=  to  love,  to  be  attracted)  and  used  it  to  denote  the  load 
stone  or  magnet  which  attracts  iron  to  it.  So  '  adamant  of 
acquaintance  '  =  means  of  attracting  friends. 

ESSAY  XIX.    OF  EMPIRE 

PAGE  66.  12.  the  king's  heart  &c.]    Proverbs  xxv.  3. 

21.  Nero  &c.]  Nero  was  Roman  emperor  A.D.  54-68, 
Domitian  A.D.  81-96,  Commodus  A.D.  180-92,  Caracalla 
A.D.  211-17. 

33.  Alexander  the  Great]     Alexander,  son  of  Philip,  King 
of  Macedon,  356-323  B.  c.,  achieved  great  conquests  in  Asia. 

Dioclesian]  Diocletian,  born  A.D.  245  in  Dalmatia, 
became  Roman  emperor  in  284,  but  after  a  victorious  career 
retired  in  305  and  died  in  312.  However,  there  is  no 
historical  evidence  that  he  was  'superstitious  and  melan 
choly'  in  the  last  stage  of  his  life,  like  Alexander  and 
Charles  V. 

34.  Charles  the  Fifth]     On  the  death  of  Ferdinand  in  1516, 
his  grandson  Charles  became  King  of  Spain,  Naples,  and 
Sicily,  and  in  1519  he  was  elected  Emperor  of  Germany. 
In  1556  he  abdicated  and  died  two  years  later. 

PAGE  67.  5.  temper  and  distemper  &c.]  i.e.  Temper  is  the 
mixture  of  contrary  ingredients  in  such  proportions  that 
they  balance  one  another,  distemper  is  a  disproportionate 
mixture ;  e.  g.  the  true  temper  of  a  soldier  is  the  due 
mixture  of  daring  and  caution :  he  is  '  distempered '  if  he 
has  too  much  in  him  of  either  of  these  contraries  or 
alternates  between  the  two. 

8.  Apollonius]  Apollonius  was  a  philosopher  who  had 
a  reputation  for  miraculous  powers;  Vespasian  in  A.D.  69, 
when  preparing  for  his  revolt  against  Vitellius  (cf.  Essay  II), 
visited  him  at  Alexandria. 

27.  Sunt  plerumcjue  &c.]  i.e.  'The  desires  of  kings  are 
for  the  most  part  violent  and  inconsistent  with  one  another '. 
The  words  in  the  text  are  not  from  Tacitus,  but  appear  to  be 
loosely  quoted  from  Sallust,  Jitgurtha,  113. 

PAGE  68.  7.  triumvirate  of  kings]  Henry  VIII,  King  of 
England  1509-47,  Francis  I,  King  of  France  1515-47, 


194  NOTES 

and  Charles  V,  Emperor  of  Germany  1519-56,  by  their 
mutual  alliances  and  rivalries  made  and  controlled  European 
history  during  that  period. 

14.  that  league,  which  &c.]  Ferdinando,  King  of  Naples 
1458-94,  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  ruler  of  Florence  (born  1448, 
died  1492),  a  great  patron  of  art  and  literature  and  founder 
of  the  famous  Laurentian  library  at  Florence,  and  Ludovic 
Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan  (born  1451,  died  1508),  formed  a 
league  in  1480  to  repress  the  growing  power  of  Venice. 
Guicciardini  was  a  distinguished  Florentine  statesman  (born 
1482,  died  1540),  who  wrote  a  history  of  Italy. 

25.  Livia]    The  reference  may  be  either  to  Livia,  the  wife 
of  Augustus  (cf.  Essay  JI),  or  to  her  grand-daughter  Livia,  the 
wife  of  Drusus,  son  of  Tiberius.     Both  were  accused  of 
poisoning  their  husbands,  but  only  in  the  case  of  the  latter 
was  there  any  real  foundation  for  the  charge. 

26.  Roxolana]     Solyman   the   Great,    Sultan  of  Turkey 
1520-66,  married  Khourrem,  called  Roxolana,  i.  e.  Russian 
woman.     She  brought  about  the  execution  of  Mustapha,  the 
eldest  son  of  Solyman  by  another  wife,  in  1553,  in  order 
that  one  of  her  own  sons,  Selymus  II,  might  succeed  to  the 
Turkish  throne. 

28.  Edward  the  Second]  Edward  II,  King  of  England 
1307-27,  was  deposed  and  murdered,  largely  on  account 
of  an  intrigue  between  his  wife,  Isabella  of  France,  and 
Roger  Mortimer. 

PAGE  69.  4.  Crispus,  &c.]  Constantinus  the  Great,  Roman 
Emperor  A.D.  306-37,  caused  his  eldest  son  Crispus  to  be 
banished  and  executed  at  the  instigation  of  his  second  wife 
Fausta.  The  empire  was  divided  at  his  death  among  his  three 
sons  by  Fausta,  Constantinus,  Constantius,  and  Constans. 
Constantinus  was  dissatisfied  with  the  division,  made  war 
on  Constans,  and  was  killed  in  340 ;  Constans  was  killed  in 
a  revolt  led  by  Magnentius  in  350;  Constantius  defeated 
the  usurper  Magnentius,  but  his  cousin  Julianus,  with  whom 
he  had  quarrelled,  was  on  the  point  of  leading  an  army, 
which  had  already  proclaimed  him  emperor  in  Gaul,  against 
him,  when  Constantius  died  suddenly  in  361.  Julianus 
himself  was  killed  in  battle  two  years  later. 

10.  Demetrius]  Perseus,  the  elder  son  of  Philip  V  of 
Macedon,  miscalled  Philip  II  by  Bacon,  suspected  his  younger 
brother  Demetrius  of  intending  to  supplant  him  in  the 
succession  to  the  throne ;  he  accordingly  accused  Demetrius 


OF  EMPIRE  195 

of  plotting  treason  with  the  Romans  and  had  him  executed. 
Philip  afterwards  learning  the  truth  was  filled  with  remorse 
and  died  in  the  same  year,  179  B.  c. 

16.  Selymus  the  First]     Bajazet  II  was  Sultan  of  Turkey 
from  1481  to  1512,  when  he  was  deposed  by  his  son  Selymus. 

17.  Henry  the  Second]    Henry  II,  King  of  England  1154-89, 
was   much  troubled  in  the   latter  part   of   his  reign  by 
rebellions  raised  by  his  sons  Geoffrey,  Richard,  and  John. 

20.  Anselmus]  Anselm  became  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
in  1093,  but  in  1097  was  driven  from  the  country  by 
"William  II  and  did  not  return  till  after  the  accession  of 
Henry  I.  However,  trouble  soon  arose  again  and  in  1103 
he  had  to  go  abroad  a  second  time.  In  1106  he  came  back 
and  remained  till  his  death  in  1109. 

Thomas  Becket]  Becket  became  Archbishop  of  Canter 
bury  in  1162,  and  after  a  bitter  controversy,  in  which  he  at 
last  gave  way,  with  Henry  II  over  the  claim  of  the  Crown  to 
try  in  the  common  courts  and  punish  clergymen  who  broke 
the  law,  he  fled  to  the  continent  in  1164.  He  returned  in 
1170,  but  again  quarrelled  with  the  king  and  was  murdered 
in  Canterbury  Cathedral  the  same  year. 

26.  foreign  authority]    i.  e.  the  Pope. 

PAGE  70.  8.  vena porta]  i.e.  the  portal  vein,  which  leads 
into  the  liver.  Cf.  porta  iecoris  in  Latin  and  TTV\T)  in  Greek. 

12.  hundred]  Most  English  counties  were  divided  into 
'  hundreds ',  but  the  origin  of  the  name  is  obscure.  '  It  has 
been  regarded  as  denoting  simply  a  division  of  a  hundred 
hides  of  land ;  as  the  district  which  furnished  a  hundred 
warriors  to  the  host ;  as  representing  the  original  settlement 
of  the  hundred  warriors  ;  or  as  composed  of  a  hundred  hides, 
each  of  which  furnished  a  single  warrior.'— STUBBS. 

30.  Memento  quod  &c.]  'Remember  that  you  are  a  man,' 
and  '  Remember  that  you  are  a  god  or  God's  deputy '. 

ESSAY  XX.    OF  COUNSEL 

PAGE  71.  9.  The  Counsellor]     Isaiah  ix.  6. 

10.  in  counsel  is  stability]     Proverbs  xx.  18  (paraphrased). 

15.  Salomon's  son]     i.  e.  Rehoboam.     Cf.  1  Kings  xii. 

PAGE  72.  29.  cabinet  counsels]  This  is  the  earliest  instance 
of  the  word  'cabinet '  in  a  political  sense,  but  it  had  not  yet 
come  to  be  used  of  any  definite  body  of  state  counsellors  in 
England.  That  came  a  little  later  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I ; 

N  2 


196  NOTES 

cf. '  These  persons  made  up  the  Committee  of  State,  which 
was  reproachfully  after  called  the  Juncto  and  enviously  then 
in  the  Court  the  Cabinet  Council '. — CLARENDON.  But  it 
was  not  till  the  reign  of  Anne  that  anything  like  the 
modern  Cabinet  was  established. 

Plenus   rimarum  sum]     i.e.   'I    am    full    of   chinks'. 
Terence,  Eunuchus,  i.  2.  25. 

38.  to  grind  ivith  a  hand-mill]  i.  e.  to  do  his  own  work, 
fight  his  own  battles. 

PAGE  73.  5.  Motion  and  Fox]  John  Morton  was  Arch 
bishop  of  Canterbury  and  Chancellor  to  Henry  VII.  He 
had  an  ingenious  and  effective  argument  for  extorting 
'  benevolences '  for  the  king :  if  a  man  lived  sumptuously, 
he  must  obviously  have  plenty  of  money,  and  if  he  lived 
inexpensively,  he  must  be  saving  money ;  in  either  case  he 
could  afford  to  contribute  towards  the  king's  expenses. 
This  dilemma  was  known  as  '  Morton's  Fork '.  Richard  Fox 
was  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  Privy  Seal. 

15.  non  inveniet  &c.]  i.  e.  '  he  shall  not  find  faith  upon 
earth'.  Cf.  Essay  I. 

27.  Principis  est  &c.]  i.  e. '  The  greatest  virtue  in  a  prince 
is  to  know  his  people '.  Martial,  vni.  xv.  8. 

PAGE  74.  9.  secundum  genera]  i.  e.  '  according  to  their 
class '. 

14.  Optimi  consiliarii  mortui]     i.  e.  '  The  dead  are  the  best 
counsellors '. 

23.  In  node  consilium]     i.  e. '  In  the  night  comes  counsel '. 

24.  commission  of  union  &c.]    In  1604  a  scheme  for  uniting 
the  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland  was  discussed  and 
almost  agreed  upon.    It  was  only  the  obstinacy  of  King  James 
on  points  of  detail  that  prevented  a  complete  settlement, 
and  the  Union  was  consequently  delayed  for  a  hundred 
years. 

29.  hoc  agere]  i.  e.  '  do  the  business  which  is  before  them '. 
PAGE  75.  14.  take  the  tvind  of  him]    i.  e.  see  which  way 
the  wind  blows  and  go  in  the  same  direction. 

15.  placebo]     i.e.  'I  will  do  what  will  please  you'.     Cf. 
'  Flateres  been  the  develes  chapelleyns  that  syngen  evere 
Placebo'  (Chaucer,  Parson's  Tale).    The  Placebo  is  properly 
the  Roman  evening  hymn  for  the  dead,  beginning  Placebo 
Domino  (Psalm  cxvi.  9). 


197 


ESSAY  XXI.     OF  DELAYS 

PAGE  75.  18.  Sibi/lla's  offer]  According  to  legend  Tar- 
quinius  Superbus,  King  of  Rome  B.C.  534-510,  was  once 
offered  nine  books  for  sale  by  a  Sibylla,  i.  e.  a  prophetess. 
He  refused  to  buy  them ;  she  went  away,  burnt  three  of  them, 
and  offered  the  remaining  six  at  the  same  price.  He  again 
refused ;  she  again  went  away,  burnt  three  more,  and  offered 
the  remaining  three  still  at  the  same  price.  Tarquinius 
consulted  the  priests  and  on  their  advice  bought  the  books, 
which  were  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Juppiter  Capitolinus 
till  82  B.  c.,  when  the  temple  was  destroyed  and  the  books 
with  it. 

21.  the  common  verse  &c.]  The  reference  is  apparently  to 
a  line  of  Erasmus,  Fronte  capillata,  post  haec  Occasio  calva. 
Cf.  also  Phaedrus,  Fabulae,  v.  8.  2,  and  the  common  saying 
'  to  take  time  by  the  forelock '. 

PAGE  76.  7.  Argus  . . .  Briareus]  These  were  monsters  of 
Greek  mythology. 

9.  Pluto]  Pluto  was  the  Greek  god  of  the  under-world 
and  as  such  controlled  all  metals,  whence  his  name,  derived 
from  ir\ovTos(= wealth).  Cf.  Essay  XXXIV.  For  the  reference 
to  his  helmet  cf.  Iliad  v.  845. 

ESSAY  XXII.     OF  CUNNING 

PAGE  76.  29.  in  their  own  alley]  The  metaphor  is  from 
the  games  of  bowls  and  skittles,  which  are  played  in  an 
'  alley ',  and  is  earned  on  in  the  following  sentence  in  the 
phrase  '  lost  their  aim '. 

31.  Mitte  ambos  &c.]     i.e.  'Send  them  both  unprepared 
among  strangers,  and  you  will  see  (the  difference).'    Diogenes 
Laertius,  ii.  73. 

PAGE  77.  2.  the  Jesuits]  The  'Society  of  Jesus',  the 
members  of  which  are  commonly  called  Jesuits,  is  a  Roman 
Catholic  order  founded  by  Ignatius  Loyola  in  1533.  The 
order  has  got  a  bad  name  in  history  owing  to  its  strict 
secret  organization  and  the  casuistry  practised  by  some  of 
its  members. 

32.  And  I  had  not  &c.]     Nehemiah  ii.  1. 

37.  as  Narcisstts  did,  &c.]  Narcissus  was  a  freedman  and 
favourite  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Claudius  (A.  D.  41-54).  He 


198  NOTES 

became  jealous  and  suspicious  of  Messalina,  the  wife  of 
Claudius,  arranged  to  have  it  reported  to  Claudius  that 
Messalina  had  publicly  married  her  paramour  Silius,  and 
then  himself  gave  orders  for  their  execution. 

PAGE  78.  21.  I  knew  two  &c.]  The  reference  is  probably 
to  Sir  Robert  Cecil  and  Sir  Thomas  Bodley.  Cecil's  cun 
ning  got  him  the  secretaryship. 

36.  turning  of  the  cat  in  the  pan]  The  meaning  of  this 
phrase  is  either  (1)  to  make  things  appear  to  be  the  opposite 
of  what  they  are  (as  here),  or  (2)  to  change  sides  (as  in  the 
well-known  song  The  Vicar  of  Bray).  '  Origin  unknown ; 
the  suggestion  that  cat  was  originally  cate  does  not  agree 
with  the  history  of  that  word  '  (Oxford  English  Dictionary). 

PAGE  79.  6.  Se  non  diversas  spes,  &c.]  '  He,  at  any  rate 
(viz.  Tigellinus)  had  no  aims  of  his  own,  but  regarded  solely 
the  Emperor's  safety.'  Tacitus,  Annals,  xiv.  57.  Tigellinus 
was  a  profligate  favourite  in  the  court  of  Nero,  and  out  of 
jealousy  procured  the  death  of  Burrus,  who  was  a  staid 
adviser  of  the  emperor. 

23.  in  Paul's]  i.e.  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  a  favourite 
place  for  promenading  and  lounging  in  Bacon's  time. 

30.  But  certainly  some  &c.]  The  exact  meaning  of  this 
passage  is  rather  obscure.  The  French  ressorts  denotes  the 
'  spring '  of  a  machine,-  that  which  makes  the  machine  move  ; 
this  may  be  the  explanation  of  '  resorts '  here,  used  meta 
phorically  in  the  sense  of  '  the  first  move,  the  start '  of 
business.  Such  an  interpretation  is  supported  by  a  passage 
in  Bacon's  Advancement  of  Learning,  '  Such  histories  do 
rather  set  forth  the  point  of  business  than  the  true  and 
inward  resorts  thereof.'  '  Falls '  may  without  difficulty  be 
construed  to  mean  the  outcome  or  conclusion  of  the  business, 
and  '  the  main '  the  solid  part,  the  hard  work  between  the 
'  resort '  and  the  '  fall '.  The  whole  passage  can  then  be 
paraphrased  thus :  There  are  some  cunning  men  who  know 
how  to  start  a  thing,  e.  g.  set  an  inquiry  on  foot,  and  how  to 
sum  up  the  results  of  it,  but  cannot  work  it  out  through  its 
various  stages ;  they  leave  the  really  hard  work  to  others, 
and  then  claim  the  credit  of  it  themselves,  as  having  directed 
the  course  of  the  proceedings  ('  wits  of  direction ').  The 
simile  of  the  house  is  far  fetched  and  inexact. 

PAGE  80.  2.  Prudens  advertit  &c.]  i.e.  'The  prudent 
man  pays  heed  to  his  goings :  but  the  fool  turns  aside  to 
deceit '.  Proverbs  xiv.  8  (loosely  quoted). 


199 

ESSAY  XXIII.    OF  WISDOM  FOR  A  MAN'S  SELF 

PAGE  80.  11.  stands  fast  upon  his  own  centre;  &c.]  An 
other  allusion  to  Ptolemaic  astronomy.  Cf.  Essay  XV. 

32.  a  bias  upon  their  bowl]  A  bowl  is  weighted  on  one 
side  to  make  it  turn  in  its  course,  the  word  '  bias '  being 
used  to  denote  both  the  weighted  side  and  its  effect. 
Corrupt  servants  are  '  biased '  in  their  service  by  '  their 
own  petty  ends '  and  so  do  not  go  straight. 

PAGE  81.  16.  crocodiles,  that  shed  tears  &c.]  Cf.  '  In  this 
river  we  saw  many  crocodils  . .  .  His  nature  is  ever  when 
hee  would  have  his  prey  to  cry  and  sobbe  like  a  Christian 
body  to  provoke  them  to  come  to  him,  and  then  hee  snatcheth 
at  them.'  Hakluyt,  Sir  J.  Haivkins'  Voyage. 

18.  sui  amantes  sine  rivali]  i.e.  'Lovers  of  themselves 
without  a  rival '.  Cicero,  ad  Quintum  Fratrem,  iii.  8  (loosely 
quoted). 

ESSAY  XXIV.    OF  INNOVATIONS 

PAGE  81.  29.  for  ill,  &c.j  i.e.  Human  nature  is  corrupt 
and  breeds  evil  from  within,  and  as  time  goes  on  the  evil 
increases  in  force ;  good  is  an  attacking  force  and  is 
weakened  by  the  continual  opposition  of  natural  evil. 

PAGE  82.  29.  we  make  a  stand  &c.]     Jeremiah  vi.  16. 

ESSAY  XXV.    OF  DISPATCH 

PAGE  83.  10.  false  periods  of  business]  i.e.  they  pretend 
that  business  was  done  when  in  fact  it  was  not  done. 

15.  a  ivise  man}  It  appears  from  the  Apophthegms  that 
this  was  Sir  Amyas  Paulet,  the  English  ambassador  at  the 
French  Court,  with  whom  Bacon  stayed  when  he  was 
a  young  man.  (See  Introduction.) 

PAGE  84.  23.  ashes  are  more  generative  than  dust]  Ashes  are 
well  known  to  be  a  good  manure ;  they  are  negative  in  the 
sense  that  they  represent  something  which  no  longer  exists, 
but  they  are  definite  in  quantity  and  come  from  a  definite 
source.  A  definite  scheme  which  fails  is  more  likely  to  lead 
to  a  useful  decision  than  mere  indefinite  talk. 


200  NOTES 


ESSAY  XXVI.    OF  SEEMING  WISE 

PAGE  84.  28.  Having  a  show  &c.]    2  Timothy  iii.  5. 

31.  magno  conatu  nugas]  i.e.  'trifles  with  great  effort'. 
Terence,  Heautontimorumenos,  iii.  5.  8. 

PAGE  85.  11.  Respondes,  &c.]  i.e.  'You  answer,  with 
one  eyebrow  raised  up  to  your  forehead,  and  the  other 
lowered  to  your  chin,  that  cruelty  does  not  please  you '. 
Cicero,  In  Pisonem,  6.  Piso  is  a  name  which  occurs  often  in 
Roman  history ;  the  one  mentioned  here  was  consul  in 
58  B.  c.,  and  joined  with  Clodius  and  others  in  forcing 
Cicero  into  banishment ;  he  then  went  to  Macedonia  as 
governor,  and  on  his  return  was  attacked  in  the  Senate  by 
Cicero,  who  had  meanwhile  been  recalled,  for  plundering  the 
province. 

21.  Hominem  delirum,  &c.]  i. e.  'A  senseless  man,  who 
tries  to  break  down  weighty  matters  with  verbal  quibbles  '. 
The  quotation  is  not  to  be  found  in  Gellius,  but  there  is 
a  similar  passage  in  Quintilian  (De  Inst.  Orat.  x.  1.  130) 
which  Bacon  probably  had  in  mind. 

24.  Prodicus]  A  sophist,  against  whom  Socrates  argues  in 
Plato's  Protagoras.  He  was  especially  noted  for  making 
distinctions  between  synonyms  (cf.  Plato,  Meno,  75  E). 

ESSAY  XXVII.    OF  FRIENDSHIP 

PAGE  86.  3.  Whosoever  is  delighted  &c.]  Aristotle, 
Politics,  i.  2. 

12.  Epimenides]     A  Cretan  poet  who  lived  about  600  B.  c. 
He  is  said  to  have  done  many  miraculous  things,  amongst 
others  to  have  slept  continuously  for  57  years,  and  to  have 
stopped  the  plague  at  Athens  about  596  B.  c. 

Numa]  The  second  king  of  ancient  Rome  716-673  B.C., 
and  the  legendary  founder  of  many  religious  observances, 
with  the  help  of  the  nymph  Egeria,  whom  he  used  to  meet 
secretly  in  a  sacred  grove. 

13.  Empedocles]    A  Sicilian  philosopher  who  lived  about 
450  B.  c.     He  is  said  to  have  thrown  himself  into  the  crater 
of  Mount  Aetna. 

Apottonius]     Cf.  Essay  XIX. 

20.  Magna  civitas,  &c.]  i.e.  'A  great  city  is  great 
solitude '. 


OF  FRIENDSHIP  201 

PAGE  87.  21.  partkipes  ciirarutn]  i.e.  'partners  in  their 
cares '. 

30.  Sylla]  Cf.  Essay  XV.  Lepidus  was  the  friend  for 
whom  Pompey  '  carried  the  consulship '  against  Sylla's 
wishes. 

38.  Decimm  Brutus]  Cf.  Shakespeare,  Julim  Caesar,  n.  ii. 
'  Nephew '  should  be  '  great-nephew ',  viz.  Octavius. 

PAGE  88.  10.  Antonius,  in  a  letter  &c.]  Cicero,  Philippics, 
xiii.  11. 

12-14.  Agrippa. . .  Maecenas]  Agrippa  was  a  life-long  friend 
of  Augustus  and  a  successful  general.  The  passage  quoted  is 
from  Dio  Cassius,  liv.  6.  Maecenas,  also  an  intimate  friend 
and  counsellor  of  Augustus,  is  famous  chiefly  as  a  patron  of 
literature. 

18.  Sejanns]  A  friend  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius  (cf. 
Essay  II)  and  prefect  of  the  Praetorian  guard.  He  aimed  at 
imperial  power  for  himself,  and  Tiberius  learning  of  his 
treachery  sent  Macro  with  a  message  from  Capreae  to  the 
Senate,  who  immediately  decreed  the  execution  of  Sejanus. 

21.  Haec  pro  amicitia  &c.]  i.e.  'These  things  in  accor 
dance  with  our  friendship  I  have  not  concealed '.  Tacitus, 
Annals,  iv.  40. 

24.  Septimius  Severus  &c.j  Severus  was  emperor  A.D. 
193-211  (cf.  Essay  II),  and  his  eldest  son,  who  married  the 
daughter  of  Plautianus,  was  Caracalla.  Plautianus  turned 
traitor,  and  was  put  to  death  in  A.D.  203.  The  quotation 
'  I  love,  &c.'  is  from  Dio  Cassius,  Ixxv.  15. 

30.  Trajan]    One  of  the  greatest  and  best  of  the  Roman 
emperors  (A.D.  98-117). 

31.  Marcus   Aurelius]      Roman    emperor    A.D.    161-80, 
a  successful  and  popular  ruler,  and  a  philosopher,  whose 
'  Thoughts '  are  still  widely  read. 

37.  as  an  half-piece]  The  meaning  of  this  phrase  is  not 
clear.  '  Bacon  is  probably  referring  to  the  old  practice 
of  cutting  silver  pennies  into  halves  to  make  up  for  the 
deficiency  of  smaller  coins.' — REYNOLDS.  But  the  simile  is 
not  very  apt. 

PAGE  89.  4.  Comineus  &c.]  Philippe  de  Commines  was 
secretary  to  Charles,  commonly  called  '  the  Bold ',  Duke  of 
Burgundy  (1433-77),  and  afterwards  served  Charles's  enemy, 
Louis  XI,  King  of  France. 

26.  alchy  mists  &c.]  The  derivation  of  the  word  '  alchymy  ' 
or  'alchemy*  is  curious.  'Al-'  is  the  Arabian  definite 


202  NOTES 

article  (cf.  '  Alcoran ',  Essay  XVI),  and  the  latter  part  of 
the  word  has  been  connected  with  both  xu/xet'a  (  =  pouring, 
infusion)  and  xipia,  a  Greek  form  of  Khem,  i.  e.  '  Black 
Earth ',  the  native  name  of  Egypt ;  xn^a  ig  found  in  the 
Decree  of  Diocletian  against  'the  old  writings  of  the 
Egyptians,  which  treat  of  the  xwt/rt  (transmutation)  of  gold 
and  silver1.  The  chemistry  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  mostly 
concerned  with  the  problem  of  making  gold  out  of  baser 
metals,  and  the  discovery  of  a  universal  medicine ;  it  was 
supposed  that  the  miracle  could  be  performed  by  means  of 
the  '  Philosopher's  Stone '. 

PAGE  90.  12.  said  by  Themistocles  £c.]  Cf.  Plutarch, 
Life  of  Themistocles,  p.  96,  where,  however,  the  distinction 
is  made  between  exact  and  inexact  speaking,  not  between 
speech  and  thought.  Themistocles  was  the  most  prominent 
Athenian  at  the  time  of  the  Persian  invasion  480  B.  c.,  when 
Xerxes  was  beaten  at  Salamis.  In  471  B.C.  he  was  banished, 
and  went  to  the  Persian  court,  where  Artaxerxes  who  was 
then  king  received  him  with  honour. 

13.  cloth  of  Arras]  i.e.  tapestry,  so  called  from  Arras, 
a  town  in  Artois,  where  it  was  made. 

28.  Dry  light  &c.]  Heraclitus  was  a  philosopher  of 
Ephesus,  who  lived  about  500  B.C.  What  he  said  was— 
'  A  dry  soul  (\J>ux»;)  is  wisest  and  best '.  In  his  Apophthegms 
Bacon  quotes  the  sentence  as  '  the  dry  light  was  the  best 
soul,  meaning,  when  the  faculties  intellectual  are  in  vigour, 
not  wet  nor,  as  it  were,  blooded  by  the  affections '.  Heraciitus 
was  well  called  '  the  Obscure  '. 

PAGE  91.  14.  that  look  sometimes  &c.]     James  i.  23-4. 

19.  four  and  twenty  letters]  Cf.  Essay  XXXVIII.  An 
angry  man  should  say  over  the  alphabet  before  acting,  as 
the  pause  may  prevent  him  from  acting  unwisely.  I  and  J 
were  regarded  as  one  letter  only,  as  were  U  and  V. 

PAGE  92.  17.  a  friend  is  another  himself]  This  is  supposed 
to  be  a  saying  originally  of  Pythagoras  ;  it  occurs  twice  in 
Aristotle,  viz.  Nic.  Eth.  ix.  4.  5  and  Eud.  Eth.  vii.  12.  1. 

21.  bestowing  of  a  child]     i.e.  in  marriage. 

ESSAY  XXVIII.    OP  EXPENSE 

PAGE  93.  9.  voluntary  undoing  &c.]  As  riches  often 
make  it  difficult  for  a  man  to  '  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven ', 
and  it  may  be  necessary  for  a  man  in  order  to  clear  the  way 
to  unburden  himself  of  them  (cf.  Matthew  xix.  21  et  seq.), 


OF  EXPENSE  203 

so,  says  Bacon,  it  may  be  well  for  a  man  voluntarily  to 
beggar  himself  for  the  good  of  his  country. 

PAGE  94.  1.  In  clearing  &c.]  i.e.  In  clearing  himself  of 
debt  a  man  may  lose  more  by  a  forced  sale  of  his  property 
than  by  having  to  pay  interest  on  the  debt. 

ESSAY  XXIX.     OF  THE  TRUE  GREATNESS  OF 
KINGDOMS  AND  ESTATES 

PAGE  94.  15.  ITiemistocles]  Of.  Essay  XXVI  I.  This  story 
is  told  by  Plutarch  (Life  of  Themistocles,  p.  84). 

PAGE  95.  5.  negotiis pares}    i.  e.  'equal  to  their  business  '. 

24.  kingdom  of  heaven  &c.]     Matthew  xiii.  31. 

38.  It  never  troubles  &c.J     Virgil,  Eclogues,  vii.  52. 

PAGE  96.  2.  plains  of  Arbela  &c.]  Alexander  the  Great 
(cf.  Essay  XIX)  defeated  the  army  of  Darius,  King  of  Persia, 
near  Arbela  in  Assyria,  331  B.  c.  The  saying  quoted  here  is 
recorded  by  Plutarch  (Life  of  Alexander,  p.  472). 

7.  Tigranes,  &c.]  Tigranes,  King  of  Armenia,  son-in-law 
of  Mithridates,  was  defeated  at  Tigranocerta  by  the  Romans 
under  Lucullus  69  B.C.  The  quotation  is  from  Plutarch 
(Life  of  Lucullus,  p.  353). 

20.  Solon  &c.]  Solon  was  an  Athenian  statesman,  who  at 
a  time  of  serious  civil  commotion  (594  B.  c.)  restored  order 
by  a  thorough  revision  of  the  constitution.  Croesus  became 
King  of  Lydia  560  B.  c.  The  story,  which  is  probably  fictitious, 
of  his  meeting  with  Solon  is  recorded  by  Herodotus,  and  the 
sentence  quoted  here  comes  from  Lucian  (Charon,  7). 

33.  blessing  ofJudah  and  Issachar]     Genesis  xlix.  9,  14. 

PAGE  97.  37.  Terra  potens  &c.]  i.  e.  'A  land  mighty  in 
arms  and  in  fruitfulness'.  Virgil,  Aeneid  i.  531. 

PAGE  98.  14.  Nebuchadnezzar's  tree]     Daniel  iv.  10  et  seq. 

33.  jus  civitatis,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  the  right  of  citizenship  ', 
comprising  '  the  right  of  trading,  the  right  of  intermarriage, 
the  right  of  inheritance,  the  right  of  voting,  and  the  right 
of  candidature  for  civic  office '. 

PAGE  99.  15.  pragmatical  sanction]  This  term  was  first 
used  of  decrees  published  by  the  Byzantine  emperors,  and 
was  afterwards  applied  to  any  imperial  decree  affecting  a 
whole  community.  The  'sanction'  here  mentioned  was 
published  by  Philip  IV  in  1622,  giving  special  privileges  to 
married  men,  more  particularly  to  those  who  had  six  or  more 
children. 


204  NOTES 

PAGE  10O.  2.  Romulus]  The  legendary  founder  of  Rome, 
753  B.  c. 

PAGE  101.  12.  war  for  the  liberty  ofGraecia]  i.e.  the  war 
(200-196  B.  C.)  between  the  Romans  and  Philip  of  Macedon, 
who  persisted  against  the  protests  of  Rome  in  occupying 
Greece  with  his  troops. 

13.  Lacedaemonians  and  Athenians  &c.]  Most  of  the  little 
wars  in  different  parts  of  the  Greek  world,  which  together 
constituted  the  so-called  Peloponnesian  War,  were  connected 
directly  or  indirectly  with  quarrels  between  the  oligarchical 
and  the  democratic  factions  in  one  or  other  of  the  lesser 
Greek  states,  the  Lacedaemonians  siding  with  the  former 
and  the  Athenians  with  the  latter. 

32.  giveth  the  laic,  &c.]  i.  e.  It  confers  actual  domination 
over  neighbouring  states,  or  at  least  inspires  respect  in 
them. 

38.  Consilium  Pompeii  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Pompey's  policy  is 
clearly  that  of  Themistocles  ;  for  he  considers  that  the  man 
who  commands  the  sea  commands  the  situation'.  Cicero, 
ad  Atticum,  x.  8  (inaccurately  quoted).  The  combination 
of  Caesar,  Pompey,  and  Crassus,  commonly  called  the  first 
Triumvirate,  which  for  a  time  directed  the  fortunes  of 
Rome,  began  60  B.  c.  Crassus  killed  himself  after  a  defeat 
by  the  Parthians  at  Carrhae  53  B.  c.,  and  soon  afterwards 
Pompey  began  to  drift  away  from  Caesar.  The  breach 
developed  into  civil  war  49  B.  c. ;  the  next  year  Pompey's 
army  was  routed  at  Pharsalus  in  Greece,  and  he  fled  to 
Egypt,  where  he  was  assassinated. 

PAGE  102.  5.  battle  of  Actium]  Octavius  (Augustus) 
defeated  Antony  off  Actium  on  the  west  coast  of  Greece 
31  B.C.  and  made  himself  master  of  the  Roman  world. 

6.  battle  ofLepanto]  The  Christian  fleet  decisively  defeated 
the  Turks  off  Lepanto  on  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  in  1571. 

PAGE  103.  13.  no  man  can  by  care  taking  &c.]  Matthew 
vi.  27. 

ESSAY  XXX.     OF  REGIMENT  OF  HEALTH 

PAGE  103.  30.  which  are  owing  &c.]  i.  e.  By  excesses  in 
his  youth  a  man  piles  up  a  debt  to  nature  which  he  will 
have  to  pay  in  his  old  age. 

PAGE  104.  33.  Celsus  &c.]  A  writer  on  medicine  in  the 
reigns  of  Augustus  and  Tiberius ;  his  treatise  De  Medicina  is 
in  eijfht  books. 


205 

ESSAY  XXXI.    OF  SUSPICION 

PAGE  106.  18.  Sospetto  licentia  fede]  i.  e.  '  Suspicion  bids 
loyalty  go '. 

ESSAY  XXXII.     OF  DISCOURSE 

PAGE  1O7.  11.  Parce^puer  &c.]  i.  e. '  Spare  the  goad,  boy, 
and  pull  more  firmly  with  the  reins '.  Ovid,  Metamorphoses, 
ii.  127. 

37.  as  ajield,  &c.]  i.  e.  Discourse  should  have  a  wide  scope 
and  be  general,  not  directed  towards  individuals. 

PAGE  108.  5.  dry  blow  &c.]  i.  e.  A  blow  which  does  not 
draw  blood,  causing  a  bruise  not  a  wound. 

ESSAY  XXXIII.     OF  PLANTATIONS 

PAGE  109.  1.  It  is  a  shameful  &c.]  Transportation  of 
criminals  had  been  a  few  years  in  operation  when  this  was 
written. 

18.  artichokes  of  Jerusalem]  '  Jerusalem '  is  probably  a 
corruption  of  the  Italian  girasole  (=  sunflower).  The  plant 
came  originally  from  tropical  America  and  was  introduced 
into  Europe,  first  into  Italy,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

PAGE  110.  7.  Making  of  bay-salt]  Bay-salt  is  salt  in  large 
crystals,  made  originally  by  evaporation  of  sea-water.  Tho 
name  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

ESSAY  XXXIV.     OF  RICHES 

PAGE  111.  27.     Where  much  is,  &c.]    Ecclesiastes  v.  11. 

PAGE  112.  5.  Riches  are  as  a  stronghold  &c.]  Proverbs 
xviii.  11. 

12.  friarly}     Cf.  Essay  II. 

14.  In  studio  rei  &c.]  i.  e. '  In  his  keenness  to  increase  his 
wealth  it  was  clear  that  he  sought  not  the  gratification  of 
avarice  but  the  means  to  do  good '.  Cicero,  Pro  Rabirio,  2. 
Rabirius  was  accused  63  B.  c.  of  having  murdered  Saturninus 
thirty-seven  years  before;  the  prosecution  was  a  political 
move  instigated  by  Caesar  against  the  Senate ;  Rabirius 
was  defended  by  Cicero,  but  the  case  was  not  pressed  to 
a  conviction. 

17.  Qui  festinat  &c.]  i.e.  'He  who  hastens  to  get  riches 
will  not  be  guiltless'.  Proverbs  xxviii.  20. 


206  NOTES 

18-20.  Plutus  .  .  .  Pluto]    Cf.  Essay  XXI. 

PAGE  113.  25.  in  sudore  vulttis  alien!]  i.  e.  '  in  the  sweat 
of  another's  brow '.  Genesis  iii.  19. 

26.  plough  upon  Sundays]  i.  e.  Money  lent  upon  usury 
earns  interest  on  Sundays  as  on  weekdays.  Cf.  Essay  XLI. 

28.  do  value  unsound  men]  i.  e.  Financial  agents,  being 
paid  by  commission,  are  apt  to  recommend  men  of  no 
substance  to  money-lenders. 

32.  Canaries]  Sugar  was  introduced  into  the  Canary 
Islands  in  A.  D.  1507. 

PAGE  114. 1.  Monopolies]  i.e.  'Licence  or  privilege  allowed 
by  the  king  for  the  sole  buying  and  selling,  making,  working, 
or  using  of  any  thing  whatsoever ;  whereby  the  subject  in 
general  is  restrained  from  that  liberty  of  manufacturing  or 
trading  which  he  had  before.  These  had  been  carried  to  an 
enormous  height  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.'  — 
BLACKSTONE.  The  right  of  the  king  to  grant  these  patents 
of  monopoly  was  one  of  the  most  burning  political  questions 
of  Bacon's  time,  and  his  attitude  towards  it  vacillating  and 
unsatisfactory.  Finally  the  Statute  of  Monopolies  (1624)  was 
passed  defining  the  law  :  rights  of  monopoly  were  reserved  to 
certain  corporations,  companies,  and  societies  of  merchants, 
and  (for  a  period  not  exceeding  fourteen  years)  to  the  authors 
of  new  inventions  ;  otherwise  monopolies  were  declared  to 
be  illegal,  except  in  a  few  special  industries,  such  as  the 
making  of  gunpowder,  shot,  and  ordnance.  That  Act  of 
Parliament  still  represents  the  general  principles  of  patent- 
law  in  England. 

2.  coemption  of  wares]     i.e.  'engrossing'.     Cf.  Essay  XV. 

5.  Riches  gotten  by  service,  &c.]  i.  e.  The  service  of  great 
men  is  one  of  the  most  honourable  means  of  becoming  rich 
(N.B.  '  rise '  =  '  source  '),  unless  the  service  consists  of  servile 
flattery,  in  which  case  it  is  one  of  the  most  dishonourable. 

10.'  Testamenta  et  orbos  &c.]  i.  e. '  Wills  and  childless  men 
were  caught  in  a  net  as  it  were '.  Tacitus,  Annals,  xiii.  42. 
But  Tacitus  was  not  speaking  of  Seneca. 

ESSAY  XXXV.     OF  PROPHECIES 

PAGE  115.  1.  Pythonissa  &c.]  1  Samuel  xxviii.  7, 
1  Chronicles  x.  13.  In  the  Vulgate  version  of  the  latter 
passage  the  Witch  of  Endor  is  called  Pythonissa,  which  is 
translated  in  the  English  '  one  that  had  a  familiar  spirit '.- 


OF  PKOPHECIES  207 

Python  is  said  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  legendary 
serpent  killed  by  Apollo  near  Delphi,  whence  Apollo  took  the 
name  Pythius,  and  the  Delphic  Oracle  was  called  Pythian. 

4.  At  domus  Aeneae  &c.]  i.  e.  '  But  the  house  of  Aeneas 
shall  lord  it  over  all  lands,  they  and  their  sons'  sons  and  the 
generations  after  them'.  Virgil,  Aeneid  iii.  97-8,  loosely 
translating  Iliad  xx.  307-8. 

8.  Venient  annis  &c.]  i.  e. '  A  time  shall  come  after  the 
passing  of  years,  when  Ocean  shall  loose  the  bonds  of  the 
world,  a  vast  land  shall  appear,  and  Tiphys  shall  discover 
new  worlds ;  nor  shall  Thule  be  the  end  of  the  earth '. 
Seneca,  Medea,  374-9.  Tiphys  wa.s  one  of  the  Argonauts, 
who  according  to  the  Greek  legend  sailed  to  Colchis  in  quest 
of  a  golden  fleece  guarded  by  a  dragon.  Jason  was  in 
command :  Medea,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Colchis,  fell  in 
love  with  him,  and  with  her  help  he  carried  off  the  fleece. 
Thule  is  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  Iceland  or  one  of 
the  Shetland  Islands. 

15.  Polycrates]  Tyrant  of  Samoa  in  the  fifth  century  B.  c. 
The  story  of  his  daughter's  dream  is  told  by  Herodotus 
(iii.  124). 

19.  Philip  o/Macedon  &c.]  Philip,  the  father  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  was  born  382  B.  C.,  became  King  of  Macedonia 
in  360,  and  after  many  successful  campaigns  was  murdered  in 
336  at  the  instigation  of  his  wife  Olympias,  whom  he  had 
deserted. 

24.  Philippis  iterum  me  videbis]     i.e.  'Thou  shalt  see  me 
again  at  Philippi '.    The  story  of  the  appearance  of  Caesar's 
ghost  to  Brutus  is  told  by  Plutarch  (Life  of  Brutus,  p.  673) 
and  used  by  Shakespeare  (Julius  Caesar,  iv.  iii). 

25.  Tu  quoque,  Galba,  &c.]    i.  e. '  You  too,  Galba,  will  taste 
imperial  power'.     Tacitus,  Annals,  vi.  20.     Cf.  Essay  II. 

26.  In  Vespasian's  time  &c.]    Tacitus,  Histories,  v.  13. 

30.  Domitian  dreamed,  &c.]  Suetonius,  Domitian,  23.  Cf. 
Essay  XIX. 

34.  Henry  the  Sixth  &c.]  Cf.  Shakespeare,  3  Henry  VI, 
IV.  vi. 

37.  When  I  was  in  France,  &c.]  Bacon  was  in  France  during 
1576-9.  Henry  II,  the  husband  of  Catherine  de  Medici, 
was  King  of  France  from  1547  to  1559. 

PAGE  116.  18.  the  king's  style  &c.]  James  I,  being  already 
King  of  Scotland,  assumed  the  title  of 'King  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Ireland '. 


208  NOTES 

23.  the  Baugh  and  the  Mat/]  These  are  two  islands  in  the 
Firth  of  Forth.  The  Baugh'  is  now  known  as  the  Bass  Rock. 

28.  the  Spanish  Fleet  &c.]  i.  e.  The  Spanish  Armada  which 
sailed  against  England  in  1588.  There  is  no  corroboration 
of  the  statement  that  the  King  of  Spain's  surname  was 
'  Norway '. 

31.  Regiomontanus&c.]  JohannMtiller.aneminentGerman 
scholar  and  astrologer,  assumed  this  name  from  his  birth 
place,  Ktfnigsberg  (  =  King's  Mountain).  He  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century  and  prophesied  a  revolution  in  1588 — 
'  eighty-eight  will  be  a  wonderful  year '.  The  Latin  version 
quoted  by  Bacon  was  made  by  Bruschius,  another  German 
scholar,  in  1553. 

36.  Cleon's  dream]  Aristophanes,  Equites,  197  el  seq. 
Cleon  was  a  tanner  and  the  most  prominent  of  the  demo 
cratic  party  at  Athens  during  the  Peloponnesian  War. 

PAGE  117.  25.  Timaeus,  .  .  .  Atlanticus]  These  are  two 
Dialogues  of  Plato,  the  latter  more  commonly  known  as 
Critias,  in  which  he  describes  a  great  imaginary  island 
called  Atlantis  to  the  west  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  (viz. 
Gibraltar). 

ESSAY  XXXVI.     OF  AMBITION 

PAGE  117.  31.  choler,  which  is  an  humour  &c.]  The  four 
cardinal '  humours '  are  blood,  choler,  phlegm,  and  melan 
choly,  which  according  to  ancient  and  mediaeval  physiology 
by  the  proportion  in  which  they  are  present  in  a  man  deter 
mine  his  physical  and  mental  qualities.  Choler,  i.  e.  bile, 
produced  irascibility. 

PAGE  118.  27-8.  Tiberius  .  .  .  Macro  .  .  .  Sejanus]  Cf. 
Essay  XXVII. 

ESSAY  XXXVII.      OF  MASQUES  AND  TRIUMPHS 

PAGE  12O.  Masques  and  Triumphs]     Cf.  Essay  I. 

7.  broken  music]  i.  e.  music  arranged  for  several  instru 
ments.  Cf.  Shakespeare,  Troilus  and  Cressida,  ill.  i. 

18.  take  the  sense,  &c.]  i.  e.  please  the  senses  of  sight  and 
hearing,  without  troubling  to  create  surprise  by  incidents 
on  the  stage. 

PAGE  121.  4.  anti-masques}  i.  e.  short  comic  interludes 
played  between  the  acts  of  a  masque  as  a  foil  (anti-)  to  the 
principal  entertainment. 


OF  MASQUES  AND  TEIUMPHS  209 

19.  justs  and  tourneys  and  barriers]  These  belong  to 
1  triumphs '.  Justs  were  single  combats,  tourneys  combats 
between  parties  of  knights ;  barriers  were  properly  the  pali 
sades  enclosing  the  ground  where  these  martial  exercises 
took  place,  and  came  to  be  used  for  the  sports  themselves. 

ESSAY  XXXVIII.     OF  NATURE  IN  MEN 

PAGE  122.  9.  the  four  and  twenty  letters]   Of.  Essay  XXVII. 

15.  optimus  ille  &c.]  i.  e.  '  He  best  frees  his  spirit  who 
bursts  the  bonds  that  hurt  his  heart  and  ends  his  pain  once 
and  for  all '.  Ovid,  Remedia  Amoris,  293.  Bacon  alters  fuit 
to  animi. 

27.  nature  will  lay  buried]  It  is  only  in  quite  recent  times 
that  this  use  of  lay  for  lie  has  been  regarded  as  a  solecism. 

PAGE  123.  2.  Multum  incola  &c.]  i.  e.  '  My  soul  has  long 
been  a  sojourner  '.  Psalm  cxx.  6. 

ESSAY  XXXIX.     OF  CUSTOM  AND  EDUCATION 

PAGE  123.  16.  Machiavel]    Cf.  Essay  XIII. 

24.  Friar  Clement]     Cf.  Essay  IV. 

Ravillac]  A  Roman  Catholic  fanatic  who  assassinated 
Henry  IV  of  France  in  1610  on  account  of  the  toleration 
shown  towards  the  Huguenots. 

Jaureguy\  A  servant  of  a  Spanish  merchant  at  Antwerp, 
who  attempted  to  assassinate  William  the  Silent,  Prince  of 
Orange,  in  1582. 

24.  Baltazar  Gerard]  Assassinated  William  the  Silent  in 
1584. 

27.  men  of  the  first  blood]  i.  e.  men  committing  their  first 
murder. 

PAGE  124. 4.  Indians  &c.]  i.e.  the  Gymnosophists,  ascetic 
and  mystical  philosophers,  of  whom  reports  were  brought  to 
Europe  by  the  companions  of  Alexander  the  Great.  Cf. 
Plutarch,  Life  of  Alexander,  p.  484,  and  Cicero,  Tusc.  Disp. 
v.  27. 

34.  in  his  exaltation]  A  metaphor  from  astrology,  exalta 
tion  being  the  place  of  a  planet  in  the  Zodiac  when  it  is 
supposed  to  exert  its  greatest  influence. 

ESSAY  XL.    OF  FORTUNE 

PAGE  125.  7.  Faber  quisque  fortunae  suae]  i.  e.  '  Every 
man  is  the  maker  of  his  own  fortune '.  The  quotation  is 


210  NOTES 

from  Appius  Claudius  (circa  300  B.C.),  the  earliest  Latin  poet 
of  whom  any  work  is  now  extant. 

11.  Serpens  nisi  serpenttm  &c.]  i.  e.  '  A  serpent,  unless  it 
first  eats  a  serpent,  does  not  become  a  dragon  '. 

15.  disemboltura]  Apparently  this  is  a  mis-spelling  of 
desenroltura  (—  'graceful,  easy  carriage1). 

20.  In  illo  viro,  &c.]    i.  e. '  Theie  was  in  that  man  such 
power  both  physical  and  mental  that  in  whatever  circum 
stances  he  had  started  life  he  seemed  bound  to  achieve 
success'.     Versatile  ingenium  =  'a  versatile  genius'.    The 
words  are  loosely  quoted  from  Livy,  xxxix.  40.    Cato  was 
born  234  B.C.,  the  son  of  a  farmer  at  Tusculum  ;  after  serv 
ing  for  26  years  with  conspicuous  success  in  the  army,  he 
turned  to  civil  life  and  vigorously  attacked  the  growing 
luxury  of  the  nobles  at  Rome.     He  died  149  B.C. 

34.  poco  di  matto]    i.  e.  '  little  of  the  fool '. 

PAGE  126.  7.  entreprenant  or  remuant]  i.  e. '  adventurous 
or  restless '.  Bacon's  attempt  to  anglicize  these  French 
words  is  not  successful.  Exercised  fortune  means  'fortune 
won  by  hard  work  and  training  '. 

13.  to  decline  the  envy]  i.  e.  to  avert  the  '  evil  eye  ',  the 
consequence  of  boasting.  Cf.  Essay  IX. 

17.  Caesarem  portas  &c.]    i.e. 'You  carry  Caesar  and  his 
fortune  '.     Plutarch,  Life  of  Caesar,  p.  502. 

18.  Felix  &c.]     i.  e.  '  The  Fortunate  '  not  '  The  Great '. 

21.  Timotheus]    An  Athenian  general  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  fourth  century  B.C. 

28.  Timoleon]    A  Greek  general,  chiefly  distinguished  for 
a  successful  campaign   in  Sicily  against  a  much  superior 
force  of  Carthaginians,  343-338  B.C. 

29.  Agesilaus]    King  of  Sparta,  398-361  B.C. 
Epaminondas]    The  only  great  statesman  produced  by 

Thebes.    He  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Man  tinea,  362  B.  c. 

ESSAY  XLI.     OF  USURY 

PAGE  126.  33.  the  tithe]  Tithe  means  'tenth  part  '.  The 
reference  is  to  a  statute  of  1545,  re-enacted  in  1561,  limiting 
money-lenders'  interest  to  10  per  cent. 

greatest  Sabbath-breaker,  &c.]     Cf.  Essay  XXXIV. 

PAGE  127.  4.  Ignavum  fucos  pecus  &c.]  i.  e.  '  The  idle 
pack  of  drones  they  keep  from  the  hive '.  Virgil,  Georgics, 
iv.  168. 


OF  USURY  211 

6.  in  sudore  &c.]  i.  e.  '  In  the  sweat  of  thy  brow  thou 
shalt  eat  thy  bread  ',  not  '  in  the  sweat  of  another's  brow  '. 
Genesis  iii.  19. 

8.  orange-tawny  bonnets,  &c.]  During  the  Middle  Ages  in 
England  Jews  were  under  various  legal  disabilities,  and  were 
required  to  wear  some  distinguishing  mark,  generally  a 
yellow  cap. 

11.  concessum  propter  duritiem  cordis]  i.  e.  'a  thing 
allowed  by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  men's  hearts '. 

15.  banks]  Modern  banking  began  in  Italy,  e.  g.  at 
Florence  and  Venice,  and  spread  thence  to  other  European 
countries,  but  in  Bacon's  time  it  was  not  yet  established  in 
England.  The  Bank  of  England  received  its  charter  in 
1694. 

26.  vena  porta]     Cf.  Essay  XIX. 

PAGE  128.  21.  mortgaging  or  pauming]  Shortly,  the 
principle  of  a  mortgage  is  this:  the  legal  ownership  of 
the  thing  or  land  mortgaged  passes  from  the  mortgagor 
(i.  e.  the  borrower)  to  the  mortgagee  (i.  e.  the  lender) :  the 
mortgagee  may  at  any  time  enter  into  possession  of  the 
property,  but  if  he  does  so  he  must  account  so  strictly  for  all 
profits  which  he  makes  or  ought  to  make  out  of  it  that  he 
generally  finds  it  more  convenient  to  leave  the  mortgagor 
in  possession  ;  the  mortgagor  may  at  any  time  redeem  the 
mortgage  by  repaying  the  loan  and  all  interest  due ;  if  he 
fails  to  repay  after  due  notice  or  falls  behind  in  paying  the 
interest,  the  mortgagee  can  acquire  absolute  ownership  of 
the  property.  A  pawn  or  pledge  gives  the  pawnee  (i.  e.  the 
lender)  a  right  to  the  possession,  but  not  to  the  use  of  the 
thing  pawned ;  but  if  it  is  not  redeemed,  he  may  after  a 
certain  period  sell  it. 

34.  Utopia]  Sir  Thomas  More  wrote  a  prose  romance  under 
this  title  describing  an  ideal  republic.  It  was  published  in 
1516.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Greek  o»;  =  '  not '  and 
TOTTOS  =  '  place ',  so  '  nowhere '. 

ESSAY  XLII.     OF  YOUTH  AND  AGE 

PAGE  130.  33.  Juventutem  egit  &c.]  i.  e.  '  His  youth  was 
full  of  blunders,  or  rather  acts  of  madness '.  Cf.  Essay  II. 

PAGE  131.  2.  Cosmus]    Cf.  Essay  IV. 

3.  Gaston  de  Foix]  Nephew  of  Louis  XII,  and  Duke  of 
Nemours.  He  commanded  the  French  army  both  in  Italy 

1166  O  2 


212  NOTES 

and  Spain  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna  A.D.  1512 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three  only. 

31.  for  eocterne  accidents]  i.  e.  for  persons  not  directly 
concerned. 

**5.  Your  young  men  &c.]     Joel  ii.  28. 

PAGE  132.  7.  Hermogenes]  A  Greek  rhetorician  of  the 
second  century  A.  D.,  born  at  Tarsus. 

13.  Idem  manebat,  &c.]  i.  e.  '  He  remained  the  same,  but 
the  same  was  no  longer  becoming  to  him ',  Cicero,  Brutus,  95. 
Hortensius  (114-50  B.C.)  was  one  of  the  greatest  orators  of 
Rome,  surpassed  by  none  except  perhaps  Cicero. 

17.  Ultima  primis  cedebant]     i.e.  'The  end  was  not  equal 
to  the  beginning'.     Scipio  was  born  234  B.C.,  and  it  was 
mainly  due  to  him  that  the  Second  Punic  War  was  brought 
to  a  successful  end  in  202  B.  c.    Later  he  was  accused  of 
accepting  bribes  from  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria,  left  Rome 
in  indignation,  and  died  in  retirement  183  B.C. 

ESSAY  XLIII.     OF  BEAUTY 

PAGE  132.  27.  Titus  Vespasianus]  Roman  Emperor  A.D. 
79-81,  son  of  Vespasian. 

28.  Philip  le  Bel]    King  of  France  A.  D.  1285-1314. 
Edivard  the  Fourth]     King  of  England  A.  D.  1461-83. 

29.  Alcibiades]    A  brilliant  but  (according  to  the  more 
general  opinion)  unscrupulous  Athenian   statesman  at  the 
time  of  the  Peloponnesian  War ;  he  died  404  B.  c. 

Ismael]     The   first  of  the  Sophy  dynasty  in  Persia 
A.  D.  1502. 

PAGE  133.  2.  first  sight  of  the  life]  i.  e.  the  first  sight  of 
the  person. 

4.  Apelles]    The  most  celebrated  of  Greek  painters,  a  con 
temporary  of  Alexander  the  Great,  who  had  a  high  opinion 
of  him.     But  he  is  mentioned  by  Bacon  here  apparently 
in  mistake   for  Zeuxis,  also  a  distinguished  painter,  who 
flourished  about  sixty  years  before  Apelles :  Cicero  relates 
that  he  used  five  models  for  one  picture  of  Helen. 

5.  Albert  Durer]      A   German   artist,   both  painter  and 
engraver,  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.    In  the 
following  sentence  '  the  one  *  refers  to  Durer,  '  the  other '  to 
Zeuxis. 

18.  Pulchrorwm  autumnus  pulcher]    i.e.  'The  autumn  of 
the  beautiful  is  beautiful '. 


OF  BEAUTY  213 

19.  but  by  pai-don]    i.e.  except  by  making  allowances. 

24.  if  it  light  ivell  &c.]     It  is  probable  that  Bacon   has 
sacrificed  exactitude  to  make  a  neat  epigram.    It  may  well 
be  that  beauty  in  a  good  man  adds  lustre  to  his  virtues  and 
makes  them  shine  out,  but  whose  vices  does  it  cause  to 
blush?     Not  his  own,  for  ex  hypothesi  he  is  virtuous  not 
vicious ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  affect  others' 
vices.    Various  explanations  have  been  suggested  ;  the  best, 
though  it  is  not  convincing,  is  that  the  words  '  if  it  light 
well'  govern  only  the  first  part  of  the  sentence,  i.e.  as  far  as 
'  shine ',  and  that  the  last  three  words  taken  by  themselves 
mean  '  and  beauty  shows  up  the  shamefulness  of  vice  '. 

ESSAY  XLIV.     OF  DEFORMITY 

PAGE  133.  29.  void  of  natural  affection.  Cf.  Romans  i.  31, 
2  Timothy  iii.  3.  But  Scripture  does  not  say  that  deformed 
persons  are  without  natural  affection. 

35.  stars  of  natural  inclination]  There  is  probably  an 
allusion  here  to  astrology,  the  belief  that  a  man's  natural 
character  is  influenced  by  the  position  of  the  stars  at  the 
time  of  his  birth. 

PAGE  134.  30.  Agesilam]    Cf.  Essay  XL. 

Zanger]  Son  of  Solyman  by  Roxolana.  Cf.  Essay  XIX. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  so  greatly  distressed  by  the  murder 
of  his  half-brother  Mustapha,  that  he  killed  himself. 

31.  Aesop]    Cf.  Essay  XIII.    There  is  no  evidence  in  the 
classics  that  he  was  deformed. 

Gasca]  Besides  being  President  of  Peru,  he  took  an 
important  part  in  the  diplomatic  negotiations  between 
England  and  Spain  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

32.  Socrates]     A  great  Athenian  philosopher,  the  principal 
character  in  Plato's  Dialogues,  born  468  B.  c.,  put  to  death 
on  a  charge  of  impiety  399  B.C. 

ESSAY  XLV.     OF  BUILDING 

PAGE  135.  14.  consult  iviih  Momus]  Momus  was  the  Greek 
god  of  mockery  and  faultfinding ;  he  is  said  to  have  criticized 
a  house  built  by  Athena,  complaining  that  it  ought  to  have 
had  wheels  so  that  it  might  be  moved  away  from  disagreeable 
company. 

25.  hath  a  great  living  &c.]     i.  e.  there  is  abundance  of 
provisions  near  at  hand,  but  little  is  to  be  had. 

o3 


214  NOTES 

31.  Lucullus]    As  a  soldier  Lucullus  met  with  consider 
able  success  in  the  war  with  Mithri dates,  but  in  66  B.C.  he 
was  superseded  by  Pompey  who  finished  the  war  and  got 
the  credit  for  it.     He  was  famous  for  his  luxury  and  ex 
travagance. 

PAGE  136.  6.  Vatican  and  Escurial]  The  Vatican  is  the 
Pope's  palace  at  Rome,  a  huge  structure;  the  Escurial  is 
the  principal  palace  of  the  Spanish  kings,  about  thirty  miles 
from  Madrid. 

10.  the  book  of  Hester]     Esther  i.  5. 

22.  at  the  first]    i.  e.  '  in  the  first  place ',  or  '  in  the  front 
part '. 

35.  cast  into  a  brass  colour]  i.  e.  coloured  to  look  like 
brass. 

PAGE  137.  14.  some  side  alleys  &c.j  i.e.  There  should  be 
a  path  along  each  side  of  the  court,  and  others  forming 
a  cross  in  the  middle,  leaving  four  plots  of  grass. 

ESSAY  XLVI.     OF  GARDENS 

PAGE  139.  1.  God  Almighty  &c.]     Genesis  ii.  8. 

PAGE  140.  17.  ver perpetuum]    i.e.  ' perpetual  spring '. 

32.  Bartholomew-tide]  St.  Bartholomew's  Day  is  August  24. 
PAGE  144.  28.  deceive  the  trees]    i.  e.  take  away  nourish 
ment  from  the  trees. 

ESSAY  XLVII.     OF  NEGOTIATING 

PAGE  146.  8.  doth  not  well  bear  out  itself]  i.  e.  in  a  weak 
case  with  no  obvious  merits  to  commend  it. 

17.  upon  conditions  &c.]  i.e.  If  you  are  negotiating  with 
a  man  on  the  terms  that  you  are  to  have  a  quid  pro  quo,  the 
important  thing  is  that  he  should  do  his  part  first ;  you  can 
reasonably  expect  this  in  three  cases,  viz.  (1)  if  in  the  nature 
of  things  what  he  has  to  do  precedes  what  you  have  to  do, 
(2)  if  you  can  persuade  him  that  you  will  need  his  services 
again,  and  so  are  not  likely  to  fail  him  now,  and  (3)  if 
you  can  persuade  him  that  you  have  a  higher  reputation  for 
honesty  than  he  has. 

23.  to  discover  or  to  work]     i.  e.  The  principles  of  negotia 
tion  are  two,  viz.  (1)  to  find   out  the  character  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  man  with  whom  you  are  dealing,  and 
(2)  to  use  your  knowledge  of  his  character  in  persuading  him 
to  do  what  you  want. 


215 

ESSAY  XLVIII.     OF  FOLLOWERS  AND  FRIENDS 

PAGE  147.  2.  maketh  his  train  longer  &c.]  i.  e.  they  give 
him  an  appearance  of  importance,  but  hamper  his  enter 
prises  ;  the  metaphor  is  suggested  by  the  peacock. 

22.  exchange  tales]  i.e.  they  bring  back  tales  about  others, 
which  they  have  got  in  exchange  for  the  tales  they  have  told 
about  their  master. 

PAGE  148.  16.  of  the  last  impression]  i.  e.  susceptible  to 
each  new  influence  that  is  brought  to  bear  on  him. 

ESSAY  XLIX.     OF  SUITORS 

PAGE  148.  31.  may  be  life  in  the  matter  &c.]  i.  e.  The  suit 
may  be  brought  to  a  successful  issue  by  the  help  of  some 
one  else. 

PAGE  149.  25.  In  suits  of  favour,  &c.]  i.  e.  If  a  favour  is 
asked  of  you,  mere  priority  of  application  ought  not  to  count 
for  much  ;  but  if  you  would  otherwise  not  have  known  of  the 
matter  at  all,  you  ought  to  respect  the  confidence  reposed 
in  you  at  least  so  far  as  not  to  use  the  information  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  first  applicant  (e.  g.  by  inducing  some  one 
else  to  oppose  him) ;  you  ought  to  leave  him  '  to  his  other 
means ',  i.  e.  to  the  merits  of  his  case,  and  to  some  extent  it 
should  tell  in  his  favour  that  he  confided  in  you. 

33.  Secrecy  in  suits  &c.]  i.  e.  It  is  wise  to  keep  quiet, 
until  you  have  got  what  you  want ;  if  you  boast  of  the 
progress  which  your  suit  is  making,  it  may  discourage  some 
of  your  competitors,  but  it  will  stimulate  others  to.  greater 
efforts. 

PAGE  150.  4.  The  reparation  of  a  denial  &c.]  i.e.  If  after 
failing  in  your  suit  once  you  try  again  and  succeed,  it  is 
sometimes  as  good  as  if  you  had  succeeded  the  first  time. 

7.  Iniquum  petas,  &c.]    i.  e. '  Ask  more  than  your  due,  that 
you  may  get  your  due  '. 

8.  strength  of  favour]    i.  e.  strong  influence  with  the  person 
to  whom  the  suit  is  made. 

9.  better  rise  in  hi*  suit  ;  &c.]     i.  e.  If  you  ask  too  much  at 
the  start,  your  patron  may  refuse  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
you ;  but  if  he  has  already  granted  you  lesser  favours,  he  is 
more  likely  to  grant  a  great  favour,  because  he  will  be  loth 
to  forfeit  the  obligation  under  which  he  has  already  placed 
you. 

13.  his  letter]    i.  e.  a  letter  of  recommendation. 


216  NOTES 

16.  general  contrivers  of  suits]  i.  e.  those  who  grant  requests 
indiscriminately. 

ESSAY  L.     OF  STUDIES 

PAGE  151.  23.  Abeunt  studia  in  mores]    i.  e. '  Studies  pass 
into  character '.     Ovid,  Heroides,  xv.  83. 
27.  shooting]     i.  e.  of  course,  archery. 

33.  schoolmen]     Cf.  Essay  XVII. 

34.  Cymini  sectores]    i.  e.  '  dividers  of  cummin-seeds '.    Cf. 
in  Bacon's  Advancement  of  Learning  :  'A  carver  or  divider  of 
cummin-seed  which  is  one  of  the  least  seeds.'     But  the 
Greek  word  Kvfui>oTrpio-Ti)t,  from  which  Bacon  obviously  took 
the  phrase,  means  a  'skinflint',  not  a  'hair-splitter',  which 
is  the  sense  here. 

36.  study  the  lawyers'  cases]  Lawyers,  especially  in  England, 
where  until  quite  recent  years  there  has  been  no  codification 
of  the  law,  have  to  refer  to  decided  cases,  in  which  similar 
questions  to  that  on  which  they  have  to  argue  or  advise  have 
been  considered  and  discussed. 

ESSAY  LI.     OF  FACTION 

PAGE  152.  13.  to  adhere  so  moderately  &c.]  i.  e.  The  best 
way  to  succeed  is  for  a  man  to  be  so  moderate  a  member  of 
his  own  party  as  to  make  the  opposite  party  well  disposed 
towards  him. 

20.  Lucullus  &c.]  Cf.  Essay  XLV.  On  Pompey's  return 
after  the  end  of  the  Mithridatic  War,  the  Senate,  at  the 
instance  of  Lucullus,  refused  to  ratify  his  acts  in  Asia.  This 
move  forced  Pompey  into  an  alliance  with  Caesar  60  B.  c. 

25.  Antonius  and  Octavianus  &c.]  After  the  murder  of 
Caesar  44  B.C.  Antony  and  Octavianus  (Augustus)  joined 
forces  against  the  republican  party  led  by  Brutus  and 
Cassius  and  utterly  routed  them  at  Philippi  42  B.  c.  Their 
friendship  lasted  on-and-off  till  33  B.  c.,  when  it  broke  com 
pletely  ;  a  short  civil  war  followed  and  ended  in  the  battle 
of  Actium  31  B.C.,  when  Antony  was  defeated;  he  fled  to 
Egypt  and  destroyed  himself  the  next  year. 

PAGE  153.  12.  Padre  commune]    i.  e.  '  Common  Father '. 

19.  tanquam  unus  ex  nobis]     i.  e.  'As   if  he  were   one 
of  us '. 

20.  League  of  France]     Cf.  Essay  XV. 
25.  inferior  orbs,  &c.]    Cf.  Essay  XV. 


217 

ESSAY  LII.     OF  CEREMONIES  AND  RESPECTS 

PAGE  153.  28.  only  real]  i.e.  simply  his  natural  self 
without  affectation. 

PAGE  154.  6.  Queen  Isabella]   Queen  of  Spain,  died  in  1504. 

PAGE  155.  2.  that  attribute]  i.  e.  That  they  are  '  too  perfect 
in  compliment '. 

6.  He  that  considereth  &c.]    Ecclesiastes  xi.  4. 

ESSAY  LIII.     OF  PRAISE 

PAGE  155.  19.  species  virtutibus  similes]  i.  e.  '  pretences 
appearing  like  virtues '. 

24.  Nomen  bomim  Sec.}  i.e.  'A  good  name  is  like  sweet- 
smelling  ointment'.  Ecclesiastes  vii.  1. 

PAGE  156.  4.  entitle  him  to  &c.]  i.  e.  force  him  to  claim 
qualities  which  he  knows  he  has  not,  'defying  conscience.' 

7.  laudando  praecipere]    i.  e.  '  to  advise  by  praising ',  e.  g. 
to  persuade  a  man  to  take  courageous  action  by  praising  his 
courage. 

11.  Pessimum  genus  &c.]    i.e.  'Those  who  praise  are  the 
worst  kind  of  enemies '. 

12.  proverb  amongst  the  Grecians]     Cf.  Theocritus,  Idylls, 
xii.  24. 

17.  He  that  praiseth  &c.]     Proverbs  xxvii.  14. 
34.  Magnificabo  apostolatum  meum]    i.  e.  'I  will  magnify 
my  apostleship '.    Romans  xi.  13. 

ESSAY  LIV.     OF  VAIN-GLORY 

PAGE  157.  4.  moveth  upon  greater  means}  i.e.  is  set  on  foot 
by  others  more  capable  than  themselves. 

16.  Antiochus  and  the  Aetolians]  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria, 
223-187  B.C.,  promised  his  help  to  the  Aetolians,  a  state  in 
central  Greece,  in  their  revolt  against  the  Romans.  Each 
had  overestimated  the  strength  of  the  other,  and  the  revolt 
was  put  down  without  great  difficulty. 

34.  Qui  de  contemnenda  &c.]  i.  e.  '  Those  who  write  books 
on  contempt  of  vain-glory,  put  their  own  names  on  the  title- 
page  '.  Cicero,  Tusc.  Disp.  i.  15  (inexactly  quoted). 

PAGE  158.  1.  Socrates]    Cf.  Essay  XLIV. 

2.  Aristotle]  The  most  celebrated  of  Greek  philosophical 
writers  384-322  B.  c. 


218  NOTES 

Galen]  A  voluminous  and  able  Greek  writer  of  medical 
treatises  A.  D.  130-200. 

4.  virtue  was  never  so  beholding  &c.]  i.  e.  Human  nature  is 
such  that  the  memory  of  a  man's  virtue  is  more  often  per 
petuated  by  his  own  expressed  opinion  of  himself,  than  by 
others'  opinions  of  him. 

7.  Plinius  Secundus]  A.  Roman  writer  of  the  latter  part  of 
the  first  century  A.D.  A  Panegyric  on  the  Emperor  Trajan 
and  ten  books  of  Letters  written  by  him  are  extant. 

12.  Omnium  quae  dixerat  &c.]    i.  e.  '  One  who  was  almost 
an  artist  in  making  known  what  he  had  said  and  done '. 
Mucianus  was  a  loyal   supporter  of  Vespasian  and  helped 
him  materially  in  his  revolt  against  Vitellius  A.  D.  69. 

ESSAY  LV.     OF  HONOUR  AND  REPUTATION 

PAGE  159.  9.  the  music  will  be  the  fuller]  i.  e.  the  chorus 
of  praise  will  be  louder  and  more  general. 

13.  broken  upon  another]    The  context  makes  the  general 
meaning  of  this  phrase  clear,  viz.  'gained  in  hard  com 
petition  ',  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  meaning  comes. 
Perhaps  it  is  that  the  severe  blows  received  in  competition 
break  the  smooth  dull  surface  of  untried  honour  and  give  it 
sharp  bright  edges  like  a  cut  diamond. 

18.  Omnis  fama  &c.]  i.e.  'All  reputation  comes  from  a 
man's  own  household'. 

26.  Romulus]    The  legendary  founder  of  Rome  753  B.  c. 
Cyrus]     The  founder  of  the  Persian  Empire  559  B.C. 
Caesar]     Julius  Caesar,  though  he  refused  the  crown, 

was  practically  the  founder  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

27.  Ottoman]    i.  e.  Osman,  the  founder  of  the  Ottoman 
dynasty  in  Turkey  about  A.D.  1300. 

Ismael]  The  founder  of  the  Sophy  dynasty  in  Persia 
A.D.  1502. 

29.  perpetui principes]    i  e.  'perpetual  rulers'. 

30.  Lycwyus]     The  framer  of  the  Spartan  constitution  in 
the  ninth  or  tenth  century  B.C. 

81.  Solon]    Cf.  Essay  XXIX. 

Justinian]  Roman  Emperor  A.D.  527-65.  He  compiled 
a  complete  digest  of  Roman  Law. 

Edgar]  King  of  England  A.D.  958-75.  With  the  help 
of  Dunstan,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  did  much  to  put 
the  English  constitution  on  a  firm  and  definite  basis. 


OF  HONOUK  AND  REPUTATION        219 

Alphonsus  of  Castile]  i.  e.  Alphonso  X,  King  of  Castile 
A.D.  1252-82.  The  Siete  Partidas  (i.e.  'Seven  Parts')  is  the 
code  of  Spanish  law  compiled  by  him. 

35.  Augustus  Caesar}     The  Battle  of  Actium  31  B.C.,  in 
which  Augustus  (then  Octavianus)  defeated  Antony,  marked 
the  end  of  the  long  series  of  civil  wars  which  had  troubled 
Rome  for  some  seventy  years. 

36.  Vespasianus]     The   civil  wars  in  the  Roman  Empire 
during  the  year  A.D.  69,  in  which  three  emperors,  Galba, 
Otho,  and  Vitellius,  perished,  ended  on  the  accession  of 
Vespasian. 

Aurelianus]  Roman  Emperor  A.D.  270-5.  He  suc 
ceeded  in  reuniting  the  empire  which  had  already  begun  to 
fall  to  pieces.  His  walls  (or  a  great  part  of  them)  still 
surround  the  city  of  Rome. 

Theodoricus]  King  of  the  Ostrogoths.  In  A.  D.  488  he 
invaded  Italy,  and  five  years  later  became  Roman  Emperor. 

Heniy  the  Seventh  of  England]  His  accession  to  the  throne 
in  1485  marked  the  end  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 

37.  Henry  the  Fourth  of  France]     After  the   murder  of 
Henry   III   (cf.   Essay  IV)   in   1589   the   conflict    between 
Catholics  and  Protestants  in  France  continued.     Henry  IV 
was  leader  of  the  Protestant  party,  but  in  1593,  to  effect 
a  compromise,  he  publicly  professed  himself  a  Catholic,  and 
in  return  the  Catholics  agreed  to  tolerate  the  Protestants. 

38.  propagatores  &c.]     i.  e.  '  enlargers  or  defenders  of  an 
empire '. 

PAGE  160. 3.  patres patnae]  i.e.  'fathers  of  their  country ', 
a  title  of  honour  accorded  to  Roman  citizens  in  return  for 
exceptional  services  to  the  state. 

7.  partidpes  curarum]  i.  e.  '  partners  in  the  cares  of 
government '.  Cf.  Essay  XXVII. 

9.  duces  belli]     i.  e.  '  leaders  in  war '. 

14.  negotiis  pares]  i.  e.  '  men  who  are  equal  to  their 
business '.  Cf.  Essay  XXIX. 

20.  M.  Eegulus]  A  Roman  general  who  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Carthaginians  255  B.  c. ;  he  was  sent  to  Rome  to  offer 
terms  of  peace,  but  he  himself  persuaded  the  Senate  to  refuse 
them  and  returned  to  Carthage,  where  he  was  put  to  death. 
the  two  Decii]  (1)  Publius  Decius  Mus,  one  of  the  Roman 
consuls,  sacrificed  his  life  in  a  battle  against  the  Latins 
340  B.C.,  and  by  his  courage  so  stimulated  his  men  that  they 
won  a  great  victory.  (2)  Publius  Decius  Mus,  the  son  of  the 


220  NOTES 

former,  followed  his  father's  example  in  a  battle  against 
the  Samnites  295  B.  o. 

ESSAY  LVI.     OF  JUDICATUKE 

PAGE  160.  31.  Cursed  is  he  &c.]     Deuteronomy  xxvii.  17. 

PAGE  161.  5.  Fons  turbatus  &c.]  i.  e. '  A  just  man  failing 
in  his  cause  before  his  adversary  is  as  a  troubled  fountain 
and  a  defiled  spring '.  Proverbs  xxv.  26  (loosely  quoted). 

11.  There  be  that  turn  &c.]     Amos  v.  7. 

21.  by  raising  valleys  &c.]    Isaiah  xl.  3,  4. 

26.  Quifortiter&c.]  i.  e.  'He  who  wrings  the  nose  violently, 
draws  blood '.  Proverbs  xxx.  33. 

35.  Pluet  super  eos  laqueos]  i.  e. '  He  shall  rain  snares  upon 
them '.  Psalm  xi.  6. 

PAGE  162.  2.  Judicis  officiutn  &c.]  i.  e.  '  The  duty  of  a 
judge  is  to  regard  not  only  facts  but  their  occasions ',  Ovid, 
'Tristia,  i.  1.  37. 

9.  well-tuned  cymbal]    Psalm  cl.  5. 

26.  represseth  the  presumptuous  &c.]    Proverbs  iii.  34. 

PAGE  163.  11.  Grapes  will  not  &c.    Matthew  vii.  16. 

14.  catching  and  polling  clerks]  The  phrase  catching  and 
polling  is  coined  from  the  word  catchpole  (cf.  Essay  LIII),  an 
opprobrious  term  for  a  constable  or  bailiff.  The  word  is 
said  to  be  of  Provencal  origin  and  to  mean  literally  '  fowl- 
chaser  '. 

19.  amid  curiae,  &c.]  i.  e.  not  '  friends  of  the  court 'but 
'  parasites  of  the  court '.  A  barrister  who,  though  not 
engaged  in  the  case,  happens  to  be  present  and  assists  the 
judge  (e.g.  by  referring  him  to  a  decided  case)  in  dealing 
with  a  difficult  point  01  law,  is  said  to  be  amicus  curiae. 

37.  Twelve  Tables]  These  were  the  earliest  code  of  Roman 
law,  drawn  up  451-450  B.C.  by  ten  commissioners  (Decemviri) 
specially  appointed. 

Salus  populi  suprema  lex]    i.e.  'The  people's  safety  is 
the  highest  law '. 

PAGE  164.  8.  things  deduced  to  judgement  &c.]  i.e.  Cases  in 
the  courts  may  nominally  be  concerned  only  with  questions 
of  private  property,  but  nevertheless  have  great  public 
importance. 

18.  Salomon's  throne  £c.]     1  Kings  x.  19-20. 

26.  Nos  scimus  quia  &c.]  i.e.  'We  know  that  the  law  is 
good  only  if  a  man  use  it  lawfully ',  1  Timothy  i.  8. 


221 

ESSAY  LVII.     OP  ANGER 

PAGE  164.  29.  the  Stoics]    Cf.  Essay  II. 
Be  angry,  but  &c.]     Ephesians  iv.  26. 

PAGE  165.  7.  anger  is  like  ruin  &c.]  Seneca,  De  Ira,  i. 
Ruin  is  used  in  the  concrete  sense,  viz.  '  a  thing  falling '. 

9.  possess  our  souls  in  patience]     Luke  xxi.  19. 

12.  animasque  in  vulnere  ponunt]  i.  e.  '  and  they  leave 
their  life  in  the  wound  '.  Virgil,  Georgics,  iv.  238. 

27.  the  apprehension  and  construction  &c.]     i.e.  If  a  man 
interprets  an  injury  done  to  him  as  a  deliberate  insult. 

33.  opinion  of  the  totich  &c.]  i.  e.  If  a  man  thinks  that  his 
reputation  is  attacked. 

36.  Tel  am  honoris  crassiorem]  i.e.  'A  thicker  web  of 
honour'.  Consalvo  (A.  D.  1443-1515)  was  a  distinguished 
Spanish  soldier. 

PAGE  166.  7.  communia  maledicta]    i.  e.  '  general  abuse '. 

ESSAY  LVIII.     OF  VICISSITUDE  OF  THINGS 

PAGE  166.  25.  There  is  no  new  thing  &c.]   Ecclesiastes  i.  9. 

26.  knowledge  was  but  remembrance]  It  is  part  of  Plato's 
argument,  especially  in  the  Phaedo,  to  prove  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  that  human  knowledge  is  not  got  for  the  first 
time  in  a  man's  life  on  earth  but  is  a  remembrance  of  what 
he,  i.  e.  his  soul,  knew  in  earlier  existence.  This  is  known 
as  the  theory  of  avapv^ais. 

28.  all  novelty  is  but  oblivion]     This  is  not  a  quotation  but 
rather  an  inexact  summary  of  Ecclesiastes  i.  9-11. 

29.  river  of  Lethe]     One  of  the  rivers  of  Hades  in  Greek 
legend  ;  the  souls  of  the  dead  drank  of  it  and  forgot  their  life 
on  earth. 

PAGE  167.  1.  diurnal  motion]  i.  e.  The  daily  revolution  of 
the  Primum  Mobile  (cf.  Essay  XV).  The  quotation  cannot 
be  certainly  traced. 

3.  in  a  perpetual  flux]  This  is  an  allusion  to  Heraclitus 
(cf.  Essay  XXVII),  the  first  philosopher  who  laid  down  the 
theory  that  everything  is  'in  a  perpetual  flux'  (nuvrn  pd). 

7.  Phaeton's  car]  According  to  a  Greek  legend  Phaethon, 
the  son  of  Helios  (the  Sun),  got  leave  to  drive  his  father's 
chariot  for  one  day  in  its  journey  across  the  sky  ;  but  he 
was  not  strong  enough  to  control  it,  and  the  chariot  came  so 
near  the  earth  as  almost  to  set  it  on  fire,  but  Zeus  averted  the 
danger  by  killing  Phaethon  with  a  thunderbolt. 


222  NOTES 

8.  three  years'  drought,  &c.]     1  Kings  xvii-xviii. 

22.  Egyptian  priest  told  Solon,  &c.j  Plato,  Timaeiis.  25  D. 
Of.  Essay  XXXV. 

34.  Gregory  the  Great  &c.]  Gregory  I,  Pope  A.  D.  590- 
604,  was  a  zealous  missionary  and  reformer;  his  successor 
Sabinian  was  Pope  for  a  few  months  only.  The  principal 
evidence  in  support  of  Machiavelli's  charge  against  Gregory 
comes  from  Sabinian  himself. 

PAGE  168.  1.  the  superior  globe]    i.  e.  the  heavens. 

3.  Plato's  Great  Year]  Timaeus,  38.  The  '  Great  Year ',  an 
idea  which  was  continued  by  later  philosophers,  is  the  period 
of  unknown  length  at  the  end  of  which  all  the  heavenly 
bodies  will  have  arrived  again  at  exactly  the  same  positions 
as  those  in  which  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

28.  those  orbs]     A  metaphor  from  the  Ptolemaic  system  of 
astronomy.     Cf.  Essay  XV. 

29.  built  upon  the  rock]     Matthew  xvi.  18. 
PAGE  169.  4.  Mahomet]    Cf.  Essay  III, 

10.  Arians]    In  the  fourth  century  A.  D.  Arius  of  Alexandria 
denied  that  Jesus  Christ  was  consubstantial,  i.  e.  of  the  same 
essence  or  substance,  with  God.    This  heresy,  which  had  a 
considerable  following,  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of 
Nicaea  A.D.  325. 

11.  Arminians]     James  Harmensen   or  Arminius  was  a 
professor   of  theology  at  Leyden    about  A.  D.   1600,  who 
strongly  opposed  the  doctrines  of  Calvin,  especially  in  deny 
ing  predestination.      After  his  death   his   opinions  were 
condemned  by  the  Synod  of  Dort  (1618). 

33-4.  Gauls  .  .  .  two  incursions]  In  390  B.  c.  the  Gauls 
invaded  Italy  and  captured  Rome  all  but  the  Capitol ;  in 
278  B.  c.  a  party  of  Gauls  settled  in  Asia  Minor,  and  the 
district  was  called  after  them  Galatia  or  Gallo-Graecia. 

PAGE  170.  19.  Charles  tlie  Great]  Born  A.D.  742,  died  814. 
His  empire  comprised  Germany  (Almaigne),  France,  and  parts 
of  Italy  and  Spain. 

PAGE  171.  7.  Oxidrakes]  A  tribe  in  the  Punjab,  the 
furthest  point  reached  by  Alexander  the  Great.  The  state 
ment  that  they  knew  the  use  of  ordnance  rests  on  very  slight 
evidence. 


223 

LIX.    A  FRAGMENT  OP  AN  ESSAY.     OF  FAME 

[This  fragment  was  not  included  in  any  of  the  three  editions 
of  the  Essays  published  in  Bacon's  lifetime.  It  was  first 
added  by  his  admirer  Dr.  Rawley  in  1657.] 

PAGE  172.  3.  Fame  a  monster  &c.]  Cf.  Virgil,  Aeneid  iv. 
175  et  seq.,  and  Essay  XV. 

PAGE  173.  4.  Mucianus  &c.]     Cf.  Essay  VI. 

9.  Julius  Caesar  &c.]  Plutarch,  Life  of  Julius  Caesar, 
I).  499. 

14.  Livia  &c.]     Cf.  Tacitus,  Annals,  i.  5,  and  Essay  II. 

21.  Themistocles  &c.]     Cf.  Essay  XXVII. 


GLOSSARY 


[The  numbers  refer  to  the  pages.] 


Abridgement,    concise   descrip 
tion  or  definition,  101. 

absurd,  unreasonable,  passim. 

abuse,  double-dealing,  149. 

accommodate,  settle,  com 
promise,  25. 

account  upon,  treat,  deal  with, 
106. 

actor,  pleader,  disputant,  83. 

aculeate,  pointed,  stinging,  166. 

adamant,  magnet,  65  (cf. 
Note). 

admittance,  take  by,  take  for 
granted,  85. 

adust,  parched,  blighted,  118. 

advoutress,  adulteress,  68. 

affect,  aspire  to,  seek,  practise, 
passim. 

affection,  inclination,  84,  46. 

agitation,  tossing,  discussion, 
71  (where  there  is  a  play  on 
the  two  meanings). 

allow,  approve,  passim. 

almost,  generally,  132. 

and,  if,  passim. 

answer  (verb),  pay,  130. 

answerable  to,  corresponding  to, 
147. 

antecamera,  ante-room,  138. 

antic,  buffoon,  121. 

appetite,  in,  eager  to  get  some 
thing,  146. 

applyi  adapt,  passim. 

appose,  question,  78. 

apprehend,  intend,  147. 

arietation,  use  of  a  battering- 
ram,  171. 


art,  artifice,  30. 

artificial,  artful,  67. 

assay,  attempt,  53. 

attemper,  moderate,  qualify,  51, 

164. 

aversation,  dislike,  86. 
avoidance,   outlet   (for  water), 

138. 

Band,  bond  of  union,  23. 
bashaw,  pasha,  prince,  173. 
battaile,  battalion,  171. 
bear  it,  carry  a  point,  85. 
beat  over,  examine,  investigate, 

79,  151. 

bent,  coarse  grass,  140. 
blacks,  mourning  clothes,  22. 
blanch,    flatter,    (or    perhaps) 
flinch,  74  ;  shirk,  gloss  over, 
85. 
bordeier,    one    living    on    the 

border  of  a  country,  101. 
brave  (verb),  defy,  despise,  42  ; 

pretend  boldly,  58. 
brave  (adj.),  excellent,  110. 
bravery,    boasting,    splendour, 

JMMfcfti 

broke,  do  business,  113. 
bruit,  noise,  157- 
buckling    towards,    arming    in 

preparation  for,  76. 
bullace,  a  kind  of  small  plum, 

140. 
burse ,  bourse,  money-exchange, 

64. 

busy,    meddlesome,    officious, 
passim. 


GLOSSARY 


225 


by-ways,    indirect  and   unfair 
means,  162. 

Cabinet,  museum,  64. 

can,  be  able,  44. 

canvass,  intrigue,  76. 

card,  map,  65,  95. 

cashier,  discard,  dismiss,  152. 

cast,  contrive,   137  ;   settle  (a 

balance),  153. 
castoreum,     a     drug     obtained 

from  the  beaver,  87. 
catchpolc,  constable,  156. 
cauterised,  seared  in  conscience, 

61. 

censure,  opinion,  94. 
certify,  send  reports,  109. 
cession,  concession,  158. 
challenge,  expect,   claim,    147, 

149. 

chamairis,  dwarf  iris,  139. 
chapman,  buyer,  113. 
charge,  cost,  expense,  passim, 
chargeable,  costly,  101. 
check  icith,  interfere  with,  43, 

105. 

chop,  bandy  words,  163. 
civil,    lay,    not    ecclesiastical, 

87 ;  seemly,  orderly,  passim, 
codlin,  a  kind  of  apple,  140. 
collect,  infer,  117. 
colour,     lend     (other     men's) 

money  as  if  it  were  one's 

own,  130. 

composition,  temperament,  pas 
sim. 

compound,  compromise,  149. 
conscience,  consciousness,  44. 
contain,  restrain,  166. 
cornelian,  cornel,  139. 
curious,      subtle,      careful     to 

excess,     passim ;      magical, 

116. 

Dart  at,  make  attacks  on  the 

character  of,  79. 
deceivable,  deceptive,  134. 


delivery,  means  of  deliverance, 
67 ;  means  of  expressing 
(oneself),  125. 

deny,  refuse,  149. 

dependencies,  power,  authority, 
73. 

derive,  turn  aside,  40. 

diet,  live,  spend  time,  65. 

discoursing,  discursive,  rum 
bling,  19. 

dispatch,  urgency,  importance, 
77. 

distaste,  disgust,  149. 

Edge,  stimulate,  129. 

embase,  make  base,  degrade, 
21,  43. 

embossment,  projection,  142. 

engross,  obtain  a  monopoly,  39, 
57. 

epicure,  epicurean,  a  disciple  ot 
Epicurus,  27. 

equipollent,  equally  strong,  123. 

espial,  spy,  147. 

estate,  state,  business  (national 
or  personal),  class,  passim. 

estivation,  spending  the  sum 
mer,  138. 

except,  retort,  35. 

expect,  wait  for,  113. 

Facile,  easily  influenced,  35. 

fact,  act,  27. 

fair,  simply,  just,  33. 

fall,  issue,  79. 

fall  under,  be  capable  of,  admit 
of,  95,  171. 

fast,  retentive,  140. 

flashy,  insipid,  151. 

Jlos  Africanus,  African  mari 
gold,  140. 

flower-de-luces,  iris,  lily,  139. 

fly,  attack  (with  a  hawk),  172. 

foil,  metal  leaf  in  which  pre 
cious  stones  are  set,  153. 

foot,  under,  below  the  true  value, 
at  a  loss,  128. 


226 


GLOSSARY 


foot-pace,  dai'.s,  163. 
force,  attack  openly,  76. 
formalist,  pedant,  84. 
foundation,  endowed  institution 

(e.  g.  a  college  or  hospital), 

38. 
fume,    cloud,    mist,   56;    vain 

fancy,  168. 
futile,  talkative,  81,  72. 

Galliard,  a  French  dance,  107. 
gaudery,  vain  display,  108. 
giddiness,  levity,  fickleness,  19. 
gingle,  rattle,  111. 
yinniting,  a  kind  of  apple,  140. 
(flobe,  compact  mass,  44. 
glorious,  ostentatious,  passim. 
grace,  bring  credit  to,  146. 
gracing,  compliment,  162. 
graze,  be  turfed,  137. 
green,  fresh,  28. 

Habilitation,  means  to  ability. 

99. 

handsomely,  skilfully,  77. 
kerba  muscaria,  grape  hyacinth, 

140. 

high,  noble,  29. 
howsoever,  whatever  may  be  the 

reason  why,  20. 
humorous,  fanciful,  85. 
hundred,  hundredth,  97. 
hyperbole,  exaggeration,  42. 

Imbowed  (windows),  bow-win- 
dows,  137. 

impertinence,  matter  of  no  im 
portance,  35. 

import,  be  important,  passim. 

impose,  put  restraint  upon,  19. 

imposthumation,  abscess,  57. 

imprinting,  impressive,  164. 

incensed,  burnt,  30. 

incur,  become  prominent,  ob 
vious,  88. 

industriously,  on  purpose,  31. 

information,  make  an,  make  a 
thing  known,  140. 


inure,  train,  119. 
invisible,  safe  from  detection,  31 . 
inward,   intimate,  46 ;   secret, 
not  apparent,  86. 

Jade,  ride  too  hard,  107. 
Janizaries,     Turkish     Sultan's 

body-guard,  70. 
judaiee,  behave  like  Jews,  127. 

Knap,  hillock,  135. 
knee-timber,  crooked  timber,  60. 
knot,  flower-bed,  141. 

Lay,  lie,  122. 

leads,  lead-covered  roof,  136. 

leese,  lose,  passim. 

let,  obstruct,  142. 

letter,  letter  of  recommendation. 

150. 
light,   unencumbered   (and    so 

able  to  run  away),  85. 
lightly,  generally,  153. 
lilium    convattium,  lily  of   the 

valley,  140. 
lively,  vividly,  29. 
load,  be  a  burden  upon,  60,  63. 
loose,  way  out  of  a  difficulty,  79. 
lot,  spell,  40. 
lurch,  absorb,  186. 

Main,  principal,  32  ;  principal 
or  essential  part,  79. 

mainly,  abundantly,  113. 

manage,  management,  131. 

manure,  cultivate,  109. 

marish,  marshy,  110. 

masteries,  superiority,  67,  106. 

mate,  overcome,  22,  55. 

material,  strictly  relevant,  84. 

mean,  in  a,  without  exaggera 
tion,  29. 

meere,  boundary,  160. 

melocotone,  a  kind  of  peach, 
140. 

merely,  entirely,  passim. 

mew,  moult,  96. 


GLOSSAKY 


227 


militar,  military,  157. 
mintman,  expert  in  coining,  75. 
misanthropi,  haters  of  mankind, 

50. 
moderator,  chairman,  president, 

83. 

moil,  work,  110. 
mought,  might,  passim, 
mounebank,  quack,  47. 
muniting,  fortifying,  26. 

Naught,  bad,  113,  155. 

newel,   the  centre   of  a  spiral 

stair,  136. 

niceness,  fastidiousness,  22. 
nourish,  get  nourishment,  70. 

Obnoxious,  dependent,  74,  119  ; 

obsequious,  134. 
oe,  spangle,  120. 
officious,  willing  to  serve,  134, 

147. 
overcome,  take  advantage  of,  113. 

Pack,  arrange  (cards)  fraudu 
lently,  76. 

pair,  impair,  82. 

pardon,  by,  by  making  allow 
ances,  133. 

partially,  in  a  partisan  spirit, 25. 

passable,  mediocre,  147 ;  accept 
able,  152. 

passage,  digression,  84. 

peal,  summons,  21. 

perish,  destroy,  89. 

personate,  assign  a  part  to,  27. 

philology,  literature,  172. 

piece,  fit,  82. 

pineapple-tree,  pine-tree,  139. 

plantation,  colony,  108. 

platform,  plan,  145. 

ply,  take  the,  be  pliant,  124. 

point,  appoint,  136,  171. 

point  device,  exactly  fitting,  155. 

politic,  politician,  passim. 

poll,  fleece,  plunder,  163. 

potter,  plunderer  (i.e.  bailiff), 
163. 


pcser,  examiner,  107. 

practice,  underhand  dealing, 
passim. 

preoccupate,  anticipate,  22. 

prescription,  prescriptive  right, 
reputation,  146. 

present,  message,  100. 

presently,  immediately,  91,  128. 

press,  depress,  51. 

prest,  prompt,  101. 

prick,  plant,  66,  144. 

principial,  initial,  116. 

private,  personal  benefit,  109. 

privateness,  private  life,  retire 
ment,  44. 

proof,  result,  34. 

propriety,  distinguishing  char 
acter,  24. 

prospectives,  optical  glasses,  84. 

proyn,  cultivate,  150. 

purprise,  enclosure,  163. 

push,  pimple,  156. 

puzzle,  preoccupation,  44. 

Quarrel,  reason,  36,  100. 
quech,  flinch,  124. 

Race,  extent,  scope,  164. 

raspe,  raspberry,  140. 

real,  natural,  unaffected,  153. 

recamera,  back-room,  138. 

receipt,  medicine,  87,  91 ;  re 
ceptacle,  143. 

reciproque,  requited,  mutual, 
42. 

referendary,  referee,  149. 

regard,  in,  because,  97. 

regiment,  regimeu,  regulation. 
103. 

reglement,  regulation,  128. 

resort,  starting-point,  source, 
79. 

rest,  stake  of  a  whole  fortune, 
102. 

restiveness,  obstinacy,  125. 

return,  wing  (of  a  building), 
136. 


228 


GLOSSARY 


ribes,  currant,  140. 
rid,  do,  deal  with,  99. 
round,  honest,  21 ;  direct,  33. 

Sarza,  sarsaparilla  (a  drug), 
87. 

satyrian,  a  kind  of  orchid,  140. 

scantling,  limit,  160. 

scope,  aim,  object,  100. 

scraps,  pickings,  163. 

scrivener,  financial  agent,  113. 

second,  secondary,  inferior,  148. 

security,  freedom  from  anxiety, 
29. 

seeled,  blinded  by  having  the 
eyelids  sewn  together,  118. 

seeling,  panelling,  158. 

sentence,  terse  epigrammatic 
saying,  22,  166. 

sharing,  partnership,  113. 

shrewd,  cursed,  mischievous, 
80. 

slide,  easy  progress,  52,  1 26. 

slope,  sloping,  142. 

slug,  impediment,  128. 

soap-ash,  alkali,  110. 

softly,  slowly,  31,  54. 

solecism,  mistake,  67. 

solution  of  continuity,  cut,  lacera 
tion,  23. 

sort,  agree,  harmonize,  80,  93, 
123  ;  associate,  34  ;  result, 
34,  87,  98 ;  arrange,  135. 

spang,  spangle,  120. 

spial,  spy,  134. 

staddle,  young  tree,  97. 

stand,  at  a,  at  a  loss,  19. 

steal,  do  stealthily,  46. 

stick,  hesitate,  79,  160. 

stirp,  hereditary  stock,  51. 

stand,  block,  stoppage,  125, 151. 

stove,  grow  in  a  hot-house,  189. 

strait,  narrow,  precise,  155. 


suit,  sequence,  168. 
surcharge,    excessive    number, 
110. 

Tax,  blame,  45. 

temperature,  temperament,  33. 

tender,  needing  delicate  hand 
ling,  77,  145. 

theatre,  spectacle  of  things 
done,  44. 

theologtie,  theologian,  156. 

towardness,  docility,  69. 

toy,  trifle,  passim. 

tract,  movement  of  the  fea 
tures,  32. 

transcendency,  flight  of  imagina 
tion,  29. 

treaty,  treatise,  21. 

trench  to,  touch  upon,  164. 

tribunitious,  overbearing,  75, 

turquet,  Turkish  dwarf,  121. 

Unready,  untrained,  131. 
unsecreting,  publication,  72. 
ure,  practice,  32. 
use,  interest,  128. 

Value,  recommend,  118. 
vecture,  carriage,  55. 
version,  direction,  168. 
vindicative,  revengeful,  29. 
virtuous,  able,  capable,  52. 
vizor,  mask,  121. 
votary,  bound  by  a  vow,  123. 
vouch,  cite,  call  in  evidence,  24. 

Warden,  a  kind  of  pear,  140. 
welt,  border,  142. 
withe,  withy,  twig  of  osier,  124. 
witty,  ingenious,  adroit,  25. 
work,  design,  137. 

Zealant,  zealot,  enthusiast,  24. 


Oxford  :  Horace  Hart,  M.A.,  Printer  to  the  University 


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