{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56463/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56463","id":"gutenberg_56463","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56463","summary":null,"tags":["Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626","Category: British Literature","Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","English essays -- Early modern, 1500-1700","Mythology, Classical"],"text":"Produced by Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n BACON\u2019S ESSAYS\n\n AND\n\n WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS\n\n WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE BY A. SPIERS\n\n PREFACE BY B. MONTAGU, AND\n\n NOTES BY DIFFERENT WRITERS\n\n[Illustration]\n\n BOSTON\n\n LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY\n\n _Copyright, 1884_,\n BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.\n\n THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A.\n\n\n\n\nADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\nIn preparing the present volume for the press, use has been freely\nmade of several publications which have recently appeared in England.\nThe Biographical Notice of the author is taken from an edition of the\nEssays, by A. Spiers, Ph. D. To this has been added the Preface to\nPickering\u2019s edition of the Essays and Wisdom of the Ancients, by Basil\nMontagu, Esq. Parker\u2019s edition, by Thomas Markby, M. A., has furnished\nthe arrangement of the Table prefixed to the Essays, and also \u201cthe\nreferences to the most important quotations.\u201d The Notes, including the\ntranslations of the Latin, are chiefly copied from Bohn\u2019s edition,\nprepared by Joseph Devey, M. A. We have given the modern translation of\nthe Wisdom of the Ancients contained in Bohn\u2019s edition, in preference\nto that \u201cdone by Sir Arthur Gorges,\u201d although the last mentioned has a\nclaim upon regard, as having been made by a contemporary of Lord Bacon,\nand published in his lifetime. Its language is in the style of English\ncurrent in the author\u2019s age, and for this reason may resemble more\nnearly what the philosopher himself would have used, had he composed\nthe work in his own tongue instead of Latin.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n PAGE\n Preface by B. Montagu, Esq. xi\n\n Introductory Notice of the Life and Writings of Bacon, by\n A. Spiers, Ph. D. 1\n\n\n ESSAYS; OR, COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL.\n\n NO.\n\n 1. Of Truth 1625; 57\n\n 2. Of Death 1612; enlarged 1625 62\n\n 3. Of Unity in Religion; Of Religion 1612; rewritten 1625 65\n\n 4. Of Revenge 1625; 73\n\n 5. Of Adversity 1625; 75\n\n 6. Of Simulation and Dissimulation 1625; 78\n\n 7. Of Parents and Children 1612; enlarged 1625 82\n\n 8. Of Marriage and Single Life 1612; slightly enlarged 1625 84\n\n 9. Of Envy 1625; 87\n\n 10. Of Love 1612; rewritten 1625 95\n\n 11. Of Great Place 1612; slightly enlarged 1625 98\n\n 12. Of Boldness 1625; 103\n\n 13. Of Goodness, and Goodness\n of Nature 1612; enlarged 1625 105\n\n 14. Of Nobility 1612; rewritten 1625 110\n\n 15. Of Seditions and Troubles 1625 113\n\n 16. Of Atheism 1612; slightly enlarged 1625 124\n\n 17. Of Superstition 1612; \u201d \u201d 1625 130\n\n 18. Of Travel 1625; 132\n\n 19. Of Empire 1612; much enlarged 1625 135\n\n 20. Of Counsels 1612; enlarged 1625 143\n\n 21. Of Delays 1625; 151\n\n 22. Of Cunning 1612; rewritten 1625 153\n\n 23. Of Wisdom for a Man\u2019s Self 1612; enlarged 1625 159\n\n 24. Of Innovations 1625; 161\n\n 25. Of Dispatch 1612; 163\n\n 26. Of Seeming Wise 1612; 166\n\n 27. Of Friendship 1612; rewritten 1625 168\n\n 28. Of Expense 1597; enlarged 1612;\n and again 1625 179\n\n 29. Of the true Greatness of\n Kingdoms and Estates 1612; enlarged 1625 181\n\n 30. Of Regimen of Health 1597; enlarged 1612;\n again 1625 195\n\n 31. Of Suspicion 1625; 197\n\n 32. Of Discourse 1597; slightly enlarged 1612;\n again 1625 199\n\n 33. Of Plantations 1625; 202\n\n 34. Of Riches 1612; much enlarged 1625 207\n\n 35. Of Prophecies 1625; 212\n\n 36. Of Ambition 1612; enlarged 1625 217\n\n 37. Of Masques and Triumphs 1625; 218\n\n 38. Of Nature in Men 1612; enlarged 1625 223\n\n 39. Of Custom and Education 1612; \u201d \u201d 225\n\n 40. Of Fortune 1612; slightly enlarged 1625 228\n\n 41. Of Usury 1625; 231\n\n 42. Of Youth and Age 1612; slightly enlarged 1625 237\n\n 43. Of Beauty 1612; \u201d \u201d 1625 240\n\n 44. Of Deformity 1612; somewhat altered 1625 241\n\n 45. Of Building 1625; 243\n\n 46. Of Gardens 1625; 249\n\n 47. Of Negotiating 1597; enlarged 1612;\n very slightly\n altered 1625 259\n\n 48. Of Followers and Friends 1597; slightly enlarged 1625 261\n\n 49. Of Suitors 1597; enlarged 1625 264\n\n 50. Of Studies 1597; \u201d 1625 266\n\n 51. Of Faction 1597; much enlarged 1625 269\n\n 52. Of Ceremonies and Respects 1597; enlarged 1625 271\n\n 53. Of Praise 1612; \u201d 1625 273\n\n 54. Of Vainglory 1612; 276\n\n 55. Of Honor and Reputation 1597; omitted 1612;\n republished 1625 279\n\n 56. Of Judicature 1612; 282\n\n 57. Of Anger 1625; 289\n\n 58. Of the Vicissitude of Things 1625; 292\n\n\n APPENDIX TO ESSAYS.\n\n 1. Fragment of an Essay of Fame 301\n\n 2. Of a King 303\n\n 3. An Essay on Death 307\n\n\n THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS; A SERIES OF\n MYTHOLOGICAL FABLES.\n\n Preface 317\n\n 1. Cassandra, or Divination. Explained of too free and\n unseasonable Advice 323\n\n 2. Typhon, or a Rebel. Explained of Rebellion 324\n\n 3. The Cyclops, or the Ministers of Terror. Explained\n of base Court Officers 327\n\n 4. Narcissus, or Self-Love 329\n\n 5. The River Styx, or Leagues. Explained of Necessity,\n in the Oaths or Solemn Leagues of Princes 331\n\n 6. Pan, or Nature. Explained of Natural Philosophy 333\n\n 7. Perseus, or War. Explained of the Preparation and\n Conduct necessary to War 343\n\n 8. Endymion, or a Favorite. Explained of Court Favorites 348\n\n 9. The Sister of the Giants, or Fame. Explained of\n Public Detraction 350\n\n 10. Acteon and Pentheus, or a Curious Man. Explained\n of Curiosity, or Prying into the Secrets of Princes\n and Divine Mysteries 351\n\n 11. Orpheus, or Philosophy. Explained of Natural and\n Moral Philosophy 353\n\n 12. C\u0153lum, or Beginnings. Explained of the Creation,\n or Origin of all Things 357\n\n 13. Proteus, or Matter. Explained of Matter and its\n Changes 360\n\n 14. Memnon, or a Youth too forward. Explained of the\n fatal Precipitancy of Youth 363\n\n 15. Tythonus, or Satiety. Explained of Predominant\n Passions 364\n\n 16. Juno\u2019s Suitor, or Baseness. Explained of Submission\n and Abjection 365\n\n 17. Cupid, or an Atom. Explained of the Corpuscular\n Philosophy 366\n\n 18. Diomed, or Zeal. Explained of Persecution, or Zeal\n for Religion 371\n\n 19. D\u00e6dalus, or Mechanical Skill. Explained of Arts and\n Artists in Kingdoms and States 374\n\n 20. Ericthonius, or Imposture. Explained of the improper\n Use of Force in Natural Philosophy 378\n\n 21. Deucalion, or Restitution. Explained of a useful Hint\n in Natural Philosophy 379\n\n 22. Nemesis, or the Vicissitude of Things. Explained of\n the Reverses of Fortune 380\n\n 23. Achelous, or Battle. Explained of War by Invasion 383\n\n 24. Dionysus, or Bacchus. Explained of the Passions 384\n\n 25. Atalanta and Hippomenes, or Gain. Explained of the\n Contest betwixt Art and Nature 389\n\n 26. Prometheus, or the State of Man. Explained of an\n Overruling Providence, and of Human Nature 391\n\n 27. Icarus and Scylla and Charybdis, or the Middle Way.\n Explained of Mediocrity in Natural and Moral\n Philosophy 407\n\n 28. Sphinx, or Science. Explained of the Sciences 409\n\n 29. Proserpine, or Spirit. Explained of the Spirit included\n in Natural Bodies 413\n\n 30. Metis, or Counsel. Explained of Princes and their\n Council 419\n\n 31. The Sirens, or Pleasures. Explained of Men\u2019s Passion\n for Pleasures 420\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIn the early part of the year 1597, Lord Bacon\u2019s first publication\nappeared. It is a small 12mo. volume, entitled \u201cEssayes, Religious\nMeditations, Places of Perswasion and Disswasion.\u201d It is dedicated\n\n \u201c_To M. Anthony Bacon, his deare Brother_.\n\n \u201cLouing and beloued Brother, I doe nowe like some that have an\n Orcharde ill Neighbored, that gather their Fruit before it is\n ripe, to preuent stealing. These Fragments of my Conceites were\n going to print, To labour the staie of them had bin troublesome,\n and subiect to interpretation; to let them passe had beene to\n aduenture the wrong they mought receiue by vntrue Coppies, or\n by some Garnishment, which it mought please any that should set\n them forth to bestow vpon them. Therefore I helde it best as\n they passed long agoe from my Pen, without any further disgrace,\n then the weaknesse of the Author. And as I did euer hold, there\n mought be as great a vanitie in retiring and withdrawing mens\n conceites (except they bee of some nature) from the World, as\n in obtruding them: So in these particulars I haue played myself\n the Inquisitor, and find nothing to my vnderstanding in them\n contrarie or infectious to the state of Religion, or Manners, but\n rather (as I suppose) medecinable. Only I disliked now to put\n them out, because they will be like the late new Halfepence,\n which, though the Siluer were good, yet the Peeces were small.\n But since they would not stay with their Master, but would needes\n trauaile abroade, I haue preferred them to you that are next my\n selfe, Dedicating them, such as they are, to our Loue, in the\n depth whereof (I assure you) I sometimes wish your Infirmities\n translated vppon my selfe, that her Maiestie mought haue the\n Seruice of so actiue and able a Mind, and I mought be with\n excuse confined to these Contemplations and Studies for which I\n am fittest, so commend I you to the Preseruation of the Diuine\n Maiestie: From my Chamber at Graies Inne, this 30 of Januarie,\n 1597. Your entire Louing Brother, FRAN. BACON.\u201d\n\nThe Essays, which are ten in number, abound with condensed thought and\npractical wisdom, neatly, pressly, and weightily stated, and, like\nall his early works, are simple, without imagery. They are written in\nhis favorite style of aphorisms, although each essay is apparently a\ncontinued work, and without that love of antithesis and false glitter\nto which truth and justness of thought are frequently sacrificed by the\nwriters of maxims.\n\nA second edition, with a translation of the _Meditationes Sacr\u00e6_, was\npublished in the next year; and another edition enlarged in 1612, when\nhe was solicitor-general, containing thirty-eight essays; and one still\nmore enlarged in 1625, containing fifty-eight essays, the year before\nhis death.\n\nThe Essays in the subsequent editions are much augmented, according\nto his own words: \u201cI always alter when I add, so that nothing is\nfinished till all is finished,\u201d and they are adorned by happy and\nfamiliar illustration, as in the essay of Wisdom for a Man\u2019s Self,\nwhich concludes, in the edition of 1625, with the following extract,\nnot to be found in the previous edition: \u201cWisdom for a man\u2019s self is,\nin many branches thereof, a depraved thing. It is the wisdom of rats,\nthat will be sure to leave a house somewhat before it fall. It is the\nwisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made\nroom for him. It is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears when they\nwould devour. But that which is specially to be noted is, that those\nwhich (as Cicero says of Pompey) are _Sui Amantes sine Rivali_ are many\ntimes unfortunate. And whereas they have all their time sacrificed\nto themselves, they become in the end themselves sacrifices to the\ninconstancy of Fortune, whose wings they thought, by their self wisdom,\nto have pinioned.\u201d\n\nSo in the essay upon Adversity, on which he had deeply reflected before\nthe edition of 1625, when it first appeared, he says: \u201cThe virtue of\nprosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude; which\nin morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of\nthe Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth\nthe great benediction, and the clearer revelation of God\u2019s favor. Yet,\neven in the Old Testament, if you listen to David\u2019s harp, you shall\nhear as many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy\nGhost hath labored more in describing the afflictions of Job than\nthe felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and\ndistastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. We see in\nneedle-works and embroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively\nwork upon a sad and solemn ground than to have a dark and melancholy\nwork upon a lightsome ground; judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the\nheart by the pleasure of the eye. Certainly, virtue is like precious\nodors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed; for prosperity\ndoth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.\u201d\n\nThe Essays were immediately translated into French and Italian, and\ninto Latin, by some of his friends, amongst whom were Hacket, Bishop of\nLichfield, and his constant, affectionate friend, Ben Jonson.\n\nHis own estimate of the value of this work is thus stated in his\nletter to the Bishop of Winchester: \u201cAs for my Essays, and some other\nparticulars of that nature, I count them but as the recreations of my\nother studies, and in that manner purpose to continue them; though I\nam not ignorant that these kind of writings would, with less pains and\nassiduity, perhaps yield more lustre and reputation to my name than the\nothers I have in hand.\u201d\n\nAlthough it was not likely that such lustre and reputation would dazzle\nhim, the admirer of Phocion, who, when applauded, turned to one of his\nfriends, and asked, \u201cWhat have I said amiss?\u201d although popular judgment\nwas not likely to mislead him who concludes his observations upon the\nobjections to learning and the advantages of knowledge by saying:\n\u201cNevertheless, I do not pretend, and I know it will be impossible for\nme, by any pleading of mine, to reverse the judgment either of \u00c6sop\u2019s\ncock, that preferred the barleycorn before the gem; or of Midas, that\nbeing chosen judge between Apollo, president of the Muses, and Pan,\ngod of the flocks, judged for plenty; or of Paris, that judged for\nbeauty and love against wisdom and power. For these things continue\nas they have been; but so will that also continue whereupon learning\nhath ever relied and which faileth not, _Justificata est sapientia\na filiis suis_:\u201d yet he seems to have undervalued this little work,\nwhich for two centuries has been favorably received by every lover\nof knowledge and of beauty, and is now so well appreciated that a\ncelebrated professor of our own times truly says: \u201cThe small volume to\nwhich he has given the title of \u2018Essays,\u2019 the best known and the most\npopular of all his works, is one of those where the superiority of his\ngenius appears to the greatest advantage, the novelty and depth of his\nreflections often receiving a strong relief from the triteness of the\nsubject. It may be read from beginning to end in a few hours; and yet\nafter the twentieth perusal one seldom fails to remark in it something\noverlooked before. This, indeed, is a characteristic of all Bacon\u2019s\nwritings, and is only to be accounted for by the inexhaustible aliment\nthey furnish to our own thoughts and the sympathetic activity they\nimpart to our torpid faculties.\u201d\n\nDuring his life six or more editions, which seem to have been pirated,\nwere published; and after his death, two spurious essays, \u201cOf Death,\u201d\nand \u201cOf a King,\u201d the only authentic posthumous essay being the Fragment\nof an Essay on Fame, which was published by his friend and chaplain,\nDr. Rawley.\n\nThis edition is a transcript of the edition of 1625, with the\nposthumous essays. In the life of Bacon[1] there is a minute account of\nthe different editions of the Essays and of their contents.\n\nThey may shortly be stated as follows:\u2014\n\nFirst edition, 1597, genuine.\n\nThere are two copies of this edition in the university library at\nCambridge; and there is Archbishop Sancroft\u2019s copy in Emanuel Library;\nthere is a copy in the Bodleian, and I have a copy.\n\nSecond edition, 1598, genuine.\n\nThird edition, 1606, pirated.\n\nFourth edition, entitled \u201cThe Essaies of Sir Francis Bacon, Knight, the\nKings Solliciter Generall. Imprinted at London by Iohn Beale, 1612,\u201d\ngenuine. It was the intention of Sir Francis to have dedicated this\nedition to Henry, Prince of Wales; but he was prevented by the death\nof the prince on the 6th of November in that year. This appears by the\nfollowing letter:\u2014\n\n _To the Most High and Excellent Prince, Henry, Prince of Wales,\n Duke of Cornwall, and Earl of Chester._\n\n It may please your Highness: Having divided my life into the\n contemplative and active part, I am desirous to give his Majesty\n and your Highness of the fruits of both, simple though they be.\n To write just treatises, requireth leisure in the writer and\n leisure in the reader, and therefore are not so fit, neither in\n regard of your Highness\u2019s princely affairs nor in regard of my\n continual service; which is the cause that hath made me choose\n to write certain brief notes, set down rather significantly than\n curiously, which I have called Essays. The word is late, but the\n thing is ancient; for Seneca\u2019s Epistles to Lucilius, if you mark\n them well, are but Essays; that is, dispersed meditations though\n conveyed in the form of epistles. These labors of mine, I know,\n cannot be worthy of your Highness, for what can be worthy of you?\n But my hope is, they may be as grains of salt, that will rather\n give you an appetite than offend you with satiety. And although\n they handle those things wherein both men\u2019s lives and their\n persons are most conversant; yet what I have attained I know not;\n but I have endeavored to make them not vulgar, but of a nature\n whereof a man shall find much in experience and little in books;\n so as they are neither repetitions nor fancies. But, however, I\n shall most humbly desire your Highness to accept them in gracious\n part, and to conceive, that if I cannot rest but must show my\n dutiful and devoted affection to your Highness in these things\n which proceed from myself, I shall be much more ready to do it in\n performance of any of your princely commandments. And so wishing\n your Highness all princely felicity, I rest your Highness\u2019s most\n humble servant,\n\n 1612. FR. BACON.\n\n\nIt was dedicated as follows:\u2014\n\n _To my loving Brother, Sir John Constable, Knt._\n\n My last Essaies I dedicated to my deare brother Master Anthony\n Bacon, who is with God. Looking amongst my Papers this vacation,\n I found others of the same nature: which, if I myselfe shall\n not suffer to be lost, it seemeth the World will not; by the\n often printing of the former. Missing my Brother, I found you\n next; in respect of bond both of neare Alliance, and of straight\n Friendship and Societie, and particularly of communication in\n Studies. Wherein I must acknowledge my selfe beholding to you.\n For as my Businesse found rest in my Contemplations, so my\n Contemplations ever found rest in your loving Conference and\n Judgment. So wishing you all good, I remaine your louing Brother\n and Friend,\n\n FRA. BACON.\n\n\nFifth edition, 1612, pirated. Sixth edition, 1613, pirated. Seventh\nedition, 1624, pirated. Eighth edition, 1624, pirated. Ninth edition,\nentitled, \u201cThe Essayes or Covnsels, Civill and Morall, of Francis Lo.\nVervlam, Viscovnt St. Alban. Newly enlarged. London, Printed by Iohn\nHaviland for Hanna Barret and Richard Whitaker, and are to be sold at\nthe Signe of the King\u2019s Head in Paul\u2019s Churchyard.\u201d 1625, genuine.\n\nThis edition is a small quarto of 340 pages; it clearly was published\nby Lord Bacon; and in the next year, 1626, Lord Bacon died. The\nDedication is as follows, to the Duke of Buckingham:\u2014\n\n _To the Right Honorable my very good Lo. the Duke of Buckingham\n his Grace, Lo. High Admirall of England._\n\n EXCELLENT LO.:\u2014Salomon saies, A good Name is as a precious\n Oyntment; and I assure myselfe, such wil your Grace\u2019s Name bee,\n with Posteritie. For your Fortune and Merit both, haue beene\n eminent. And you haue planted things that are like to last. I\n doe now publish my Essayes; which, of all my other Workes, have\n beene most currant: for that, as it seemes, they come home to\n Mens Businesse and Bosomes. I haue enlarged them both in number\n and weight, so that they are indeed a new Work. I thought it\n therefore agreeable to my Affection, and Obligation to your\n Grace, to prefix your Name before them, both in English and in\n Latine. For I doe conceiue, that the Latine Volume of them (being\n in the vniuersal language) may last as long as Bookes last. My\n Instauration I dedicated to the King: my Historie of Henry the\n Seventh (which I haue now also translated into Latine), and my\n Portions of Naturall History, to the Prince: and these I dedicate\n to your Grace: being of the best Fruits, that by the good\n encrease which God gives to my pen and labours, I could yeeld.\n God leade your Grace by the Hand. Your Graces most obliged and\n faithfull Seruant.\n\n FR. ST. ALBAN.\n\n\nOf this edition, Lord Bacon sent a copy to the Marquis Fiat, with the\nfollowing letter:[2]\u2014\n\n \u201cMONSIEUR L\u2019AMBASSADEUR MON FILZ: Voyant que vostre Excellence\n faict et traite Mariages, non seulement entre les Princes\n d\u2019Angleterre et de France, mais aussi entre les langues (puis\n que faictes traduire mon Liure de l\u2019Advancement des Sciences en\n Francois) i\u2019ai bien voulu vous envoyer mon Liure dernierement\n imprim\u00e9 que i\u2019avois pourveu pour vous, mais i\u2019estois en doubte,\n de le vous envoyer, pour ce qu\u2019il estoit escrit en Anglois. Mais\n a\u2019 cest\u2019heure pour la raison susdicte ie le vous envoye. C\u2019est un\n Recompilement de mes Essays Morales et Civiles; mais tellement\n enlargi\u00e9s et enrichi\u00e9s, tant de nombre que de poix, que c\u2019est de\n fait un ouvre nouveau. Ie vous baise les mains, et reste vostre\n tres affection\u00e9e Ami, et tres humble Serviteur.\n\n\n THE SAME IN ENGLISH.\n\n MY LORD AMBASSADOR, MY SON: Seeing that your Excellency makes and\n treats of Marriages, not only betwixt the Princes of France and\n England, but also betwixt their languages (for you have caused\n my book of the Advancement of Learning to be translated into\n French), I was much inclined to make you a present of the last\n book which I published, and which I had in readiness for you. I\n was sometimes in doubt whether I ought to have sent it to you,\n because it was written in the English tongue. But now, for that\n very reason, I send it to you. It is a recompilement of my Essays\n Moral and Civil; but in such manner enlarged and enriched both in\n number and weight, that it is in effect a new work. I kiss your\n hands, and remain your most affectionate friend and most humble\n servant, &c.\n\nOf the translation of the Essays into Latin, Bacon speaks in the\nfollowing letter:\u2014\n\n \u201cTO MR. TOBIE MATHEW: It is true my labors are now most set to\n have those works which I had formerly published, as that of\n Advancement of Learning, that of Henry VII., that of the Essays,\n being retractate and made more perfect, well translated into\n Latin by the help of some good pens which forsake me not. For\n these modern languages will, at one time or other, play the\n bankrupt with books; and since I have lost much time with this\n age, I would be glad, as God shall give me leave, to recover it\n with posterity. For the Essay of Friendship, while I took your\n speech of it for a cursory request, I took my promise for a\n compliment. But since you call for it, I shall perform it.\u201d\n\nIn his letter to Father Fulgentio, giving some account of his writings,\nhe says:\u2014\n\n \u201cThe _Novum Organum_ should immediately follow; but my moral and\n political writings step in between as being more finished. These\n are, the History of King Henry VII., and the small book, which,\n in your language, you have called _Saggi Morali_, but I give it a\n graver title, that of _Sermones Fideles_, or _Interiora Rerum_,\n and these Essays will not only be enlarged in number, but still\n more in substance.\u201d\n\nThe nature of the Latin edition, and of the Essays in general, is thus\nstated by Archbishop Tenison:\u2014\n\n \u201cThe Essays, or Counsels Civil and Moral, though a by-work\n also, do yet make up a book of greater weight by far than the\n Apothegms; and coming home to men\u2019s business and bosoms, his\n lordship entertained this persuasion concerning them, that\n the Latin volume might last as long as books should last. His\n lordship wrote them in the English tongue, and enlarged them as\n occasion served, and at last added to them the Colors of Good and\n Evil, which are likewise found in his book _De Augmentis_. The\n Latin translation of them was a work performed by divers hands:\n by those of Dr. Hacket (late Bishop of Lichfield), Mr. Benjamin\n Jonson (the learned and judicious poet,) and some others, whose\n names I once heard from Dr. Rawley, but I cannot now recall them.\n To this Latin edition he gave the title of _Sermones Fideles_,\n after the manner of the Jews, who called the words Adagies, or\n Observations of the Wise, Faithful Sayings; that is, credible\n propositions worthy of firm assent and ready acceptance. And\n (as I think), he alluded more particularly, in this title, to\n a passage in _Ecclesiastes_, where the preacher saith, that he\n sought to find out _Verba Delectabilia_ (as Tremellius rendereth\n the Hebrew), pleasant words; (that is, perhaps, his Book of\n Canticles;) and _Verba Fidelia_ (as the same Tremellius),\n Faithful Sayings; meaning, it may be, his collection of Proverbs.\n In the next verse, he calls them Words of the Wise, and so many\n goads and nails given _ab eodem pastore_, from the same shepherd\n [of the flock of Israel\u201d].\n\nIn the year 1638, Rawley published, in folio, a volume containing,\namongst other works, _Sermones Fideles, ab ipso Honoratissimo Auctore,\npr\u00e6terquam in paucis, Latinitate donati_. In his address to the reader,\nhe says:\u2014\n\n _Accedunt, quas pri\u00f9s_ Delibationes Civiles _et_ Morales\n _inscripserat; Quas etiam in Linguas plurimas Modernas translatas\n esse novit; sed eas poste\u00e0, et Numero, et Pondere, auxit; In\n tantum, ut veluti Opus Novum videri possint; Quas mutato Titulo_,\n Sermones Fideles, _sive_ Interiora Rerum, _inscribi placuit_. The\n title-page and dedication are annexed: _Sermones Fideles sive\n Interiora Rerum. Per Franciscum Baconum Baronem de Vervlamio,\n Vice-Comitem Sancti Albani. Londini Excusum typis Edwardi\n Griffin. Prostant ad Insignia Regia in C\u0153meterio D. Pauli,\n apud Richardum Whitakerum_, 1638.\n\n\n Illustri et Excellenti Domino _Georgio_ Duci _Buckinghami\u00e6_,\n Summo _Angli\u00e6_ Admirallio.\n\n _Honoratissime Domine_, _Salomon_ inquit, _Nomen bonum est\n instar Vnguenti fragrantis et pretiosi_; Neque dubito,\n quin tale futurum sit _Nomen_ tuum apud Posteros. Etenim\n et Fortuna, et Merita tua, pr\u00e6celluerunt. Et videris ea\n plantasse, qu\u00e6 sint duratura. In lucem jam edere mihi visum\n est _Delibationes meas_, qu\u00e6 ex omnibus meis Operibus fuerunt\n acceptissim\u00e6: Quia forsitan videntur, pr\u00e6 c\u00e6teris, _Hominum_\n Negotia stringere, et in sinus fluere. Eas autem auxi, et\n Numero, et Pondere; In tantum, ut plan\u00e8 Opus Novum sint.\n Consentaneum igitur duxi, Affectui, et Obligationi me\u00e6, erga\n _Illustrissimam Dominationem_ tuam, ut _Nomen_ tuum illis\n pr\u00e6figam, tam in _Editione Anglic\u00e2_, quam _Latin\u00e2_. Etenim, in\n bon\u00e2 spe sum, Volumen earum in _Latinam_ (_Linguam_ scilicet\n universalem), versum, posse durare, quamdi\u00f9 _Libri_ et _Liter\u00e6_\n durent. _Instaurationem_ meam _Regi_ dicavi: _Historiam\n Regni Henrici Septimi_ (quam etiam in _Latinum_ verti et\n Portiones meas _Naturalis Histori\u00e6_, _Principi_): Has autem\n _Delibationes Illustrissim\u00e6 Dominationi_ tu\u00e6 dico, C\u00f9m sint,\n ex Fructibus optimis, quos Gratia divin\u00e2 Calami mei laboribus\n indulgente, exhibere potui. _Deus illustrissimam Dominationem_\n tuam manu ducat. _Illustrissim\u00e6 Dominationis_ tu\u00e6 Servus\n Devinctissimus et Fidelis.\n\n FR. S. ALBAN.\n\n\nIn the year 1618, the Essays, together with the Wisdom of the Ancients,\nwas translated into Italian, and dedicated to _Cosmo de Medici_, by\nTobie Mathew; and in the following year the Essays were translated into\nFrench by Sir Arthur Gorges, and printed in London.\n\n\nWISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS.\n\nIn the year 1609, as a relaxation from abstruse speculations, he\npublished in Latin his interesting little work, _De Sapientia Veterum_.\n\nThis tract seems, in former times, to have been much valued. The\nfables, abounding with a union of deep thought and poetic beauty, are\nthirty-one in number, of which a part of The Sirens, or Pleasures, may\nbe selected as a specimen.\n\nIn this fable he explains the common but erroneous supposition that\nknowledge and the conformity of the will, knowing and acting, are\nconvertible terms. Of this error, he, in his essay of Custom and\nEducation, admonishes his readers, by saying: \u201cMen\u2019s thoughts are much\naccording to their inclination; their discourse and speeches according\nto their learning and infused opinions, but their deeds are after as\nthey have been accustomed; \u00c6sop\u2019s Damsel, transformed from a cat to\na woman, sat very demurely at the board-end till a mouse ran before\nher.\u201d In the fable of the Sirens he exhibits the same truth, saying:\n\u201cThe habitation of the Sirens was in certain pleasant islands, from\nwhence, as soon as out of their watchtower they discovered any ships\napproaching, with their sweet tunes they would first entice and stay\nthem, and, having them in their power, would destroy them; and, so\ngreat were the mischiefs they did, that these isles of the Sirens,\neven as far off as man can ken them, appeared all over white with the\nbones of unburied carcasses; by which it is signified that albeit the\nexamples of afflictions be manifest and eminent, yet they do not\nsufficiently deter us from the wicked enticements of pleasure.\u201d\n\nThe following is the account of the different editions of this work:\nThe first was published in 1609. In February 27, 1610, Lord Bacon wrote\nto Mr. Mathew, upon sending his book _De Sapientia Veterum_:\u2014\n\n \u201cMR. MATHEW: I do very heartily thank you for your letter of the\n 24th of August, from Salamanca; and in recompense therefore I\n send you a little work of mine that hath begun to pass the world.\n They tell me my Latin is turned into silver, and become current:\n had you been here, you should have been my inquisitor before it\n came forth; but, I think, the greatest inquisitor in Spain will\n allow it. But one thing you must pardon me if I make no haste to\n believe, that the world should be grown to such an ecstasy as\n to reject truth in philosophy, because the author dissenteth in\n religion; no more than they do by Aristotle or Averroes. My great\n work goeth forward; and after my manner, I alter even when I add;\n so that nothing is finished till all be finished. This I have\n written in the midst of a term and parliament; thinking no time\n so possessed, but that I should talk of these matters with so\n good and dear a friend. And so with my wonted wishes I leave you\n to God\u2019s goodness.\n\n \u201cFrom Gray\u2019s Inn, Feb. 27, 1610.\u201d\n\n\nAnd in his letter to Father Fulgentio, giving some account of his\nwritings, he says: \u201cMy Essays will not only be enlarged in number, but\nstill more in substance. Along with them goes the little piece _De\nSapientia Veterum_.\u201d\n\nIn the Advancement of Learning he says:\u2014\n\n \u201cThere remaineth yet another use of poesy parabolical, opposite\n to that which we last mentioned; for that tendeth to demonstrate\n and illustrate that which is taught or delivered, and this other\n to retire and obscure it; that is, when the secrets and mysteries\n of religion, policy, or philosophy are involved in fables or\n parables. Of this in divine poesy we see the use is authorized.\n In heathen poesy we see the exposition of fables doth fall out\n sometimes with great felicity; as in the fable that the giants\n being overthrown in their war against the gods, the earth, their\n mother, in revenge thereof brought forth Fame,\u2014\n\n _Illam Terra parens, ir\u00e2 irritata Deorum,_\n _Extremam, ut perhibent, C\u0153o Enceladoque sororem_\n _Progenuit,_\n\n expounded, that when princes and monarchs have suppressed actual\n and open rebels, then the malignity of the people, which is the\n mother of rebellion, doth bring forth libels and slanders, and\n taxations of the State, which is of the same kind with rebellion,\n but more feminine. So in the fable, that the rest of the gods\n having conspired to bind Jupiter, Pallas called Briareus, with\n his hundred hands, to his aid; expounded, that monarchies need\n not fear any curbing of their absoluteness by mighty subjects,\n as long as by wisdom they keep the hearts of the people, who\n will be sure to come in on their side. So in the fable, that\n Achilles was brought up under Chiron, the centaur, who was part\n a man and part a beast, expounded ingeniously, but corruptly by\n Machiavel, that it belongeth to the education and discipline\n of princes to know as well how to play the part of the lion in\n violence, and the fox in guile, as of the man in virtue and\n justice. Nevertheless, in many the like encounters, I do rather\n think that the fable was first, and the exposition then devised,\n than that the moral was first, and thereupon the fable framed.\n For I find it was an ancient vanity in Chrysippus, that troubled\n himself with great contention to fasten the assertions of the\n stoics upon the fictions of the ancient poets; but yet that all\n the fables and fictions of the poets were but pleasure, and not\n figure, I interpose no opinion. Surely, of those poets which\n are now extant, even Homer himself (notwithstanding he was made\n a kind of Scripture by the latter schools of the Grecians), yet\n I should without any difficulty pronounce that his fables had no\n such inwardness in his own meaning; but what they might have upon\n a more original tradition, is not easy to affirm; for he was not\n the inventor of many of them.\u201d\n\nIn the treatise _De Augmentis_ the same sentiments will be found, with\na slight alteration in the expressions. He says:\u2014\n\n \u201cThere is another use of parabolical poesy opposite to the\n former, which tendeth to the folding up of those things, the\n dignity whereof deserves to be retired and distinguished, as\n with a drawn curtain; that is, when the secrets and mysteries of\n religion, policy, and philosophy are veiled and invested with\n fables and parables. But whether there be any mystical sense\n couched under the ancient fables of the poets, may admit some\n doubt; and, indeed, for our part, we incline to this opinion, as\n to think that there was an infused mystery in many of the ancient\n fables of the poets. Neither doth it move us that these matters\n are left commonly to school-boys and grammarians, and so are\n embased, that we should therefore make a slight judgment upon\n them, but contrariwise, because it is clear that the writings\n which recite those fables, of all the writings of men, next to\n sacred writ, are the most ancient; and that the fables themselves\n are far more ancient than they (being they are alleged by those\n writers, not as excogitated by them, but as credited and recepted\n before) seem to be, like a thin rarefied air, which, from the\n traditions of more ancient nations, fell into the flutes of the\n Grecians.\u201d\n\nOf this tract, Archbishop Tenison, in his _Baconiana_, says:\u2014\n\n \u201cIn the seventh place, I may reckon his book _De Sapientia\n Veterum_, written by him in Latin, and set forth a second\n time with enlargement; and translated into English by Sir\n Arthur Gorges; a book in which the sages of former times are\n rendered more wise than it may be they were, by so dexterous an\n interpreter of their fables. It is this book which Mr. Sandys\n means, in those words which he hath put before his notes on the\n Metamorphosis of Ovid. \u2018Of modern writers, I have received the\n greatest light from Geraldus, Pontanus, Ficinus, Vives, Comes,\n Scaliger, Sabinus, Pierius, and the crown of the latter, the\n Viscount of St. Albans.\u2019\n\n \u201cIt is true, the design of this book was instruction in natural\n and civil matters, either couched by the ancients under those\n fictions, or rather made to seem to be so by his lordship\u2019s wit,\n in the opening and applying of them. But because the first ground\n of it is poetical story, therefore, let it have this place till a\n fitter be found for it.\u201d\n\nThe author of Bacon\u2019s Life, in the _Biographia Britannica_, says:\u2014\n\n \u201cThat he might relieve himself a little from the severity of\n these studies, and, as it were, amuse himself with erecting a\n magnificent pavilion, while his great palace of philosophy was\n building, he composed and sent abroad, in 1610, his celebrated\n treatise of the Wisdom of the Ancients, in which he showed\n that none had studied them more closely, was better acquainted\n with their beauties, or had pierced deeper into their meaning.\n There have been very few books published, either in this or any\n other nation, which either deserved or met with more general\n applause than this, and scarce any that are like to retain it\n longer, for in this performance Sir Francis Bacon gave a singular\n proof of his capacity to please all parties in literature, as\n in his political conduct he stood fair with all the parties in\n the nation. The admirers of antiquity were charmed with this\n discourse, which seems expressly calculated to justify their\n admiration; and, on the other hand, their opposites were no\n less pleased with a piece from which they thought they could\n demonstrate that the sagacity of a modern genius had found out\n much better meanings for the ancients than ever were meant by\n them.\u201d\n\nAnd Mallet, in his Life of Bacon, says:\u2014\n\n \u201cIn 1610 he published another treatise, entitled, Of the Wisdom\n of the Ancients. This work bears the same stamp of an original\n and inventive genius with his other performances. Resolving not\n to tread in the steps of those who had gone before him, men,\n according to his own expression, not learned beyond certain\n commonplaces, he strikes out a new tract for himself, and enters\n into the most secret recesses of this wild and shadowy region, so\n as to appear new on a known and beaten subject. Upon the whole,\n if we cannot bring ourselves readily to believe that there is all\n the physical, moral, and political meaning veiled under those\n fables of antiquity, which he has discovered in them, we must\n own that it required no common penetration to be mistaken with\n so great an appearance of probability on his side. Though it\n still remains doubtful whether the ancients were so knowing as\n he attempts to show they were, the variety and depth of his own\n knowledge are, in that very attempt, unquestionable.\u201d\n\nIn the year 1619 this tract was translated by Sir Arthur Gorges.\nPrefixed to the work are two letters; the one to the Earl of Salisbury,\nthe other to the University of Cambridge, which Gorges omits, and\ndedicates his translation to the high and illustrious princess the Lady\nElizabeth of Great Britain, Duchess of Baviare, Countess Palatine of\nRheine, and chief electress of the empire.\n\nThis translation, it should be noted, was published during the life of\nLord Bacon by a great admirer of his works.\n\nThe editions of this work with which I am acquainted are:\u2014\n\n Year. Language. Printer. Place. Size.\n\n 1609 Latin, R. Barker, London, 12mo.\n 1617 \u201d J. Bill, \u201d \u201d\n 1618 Italian, G. Bill, \u201d \u201d\n 1619 English, J. Bill, \u201d \u201d\n 1620 \u201d \u201d \u201d \u201d\n 1633 Latin, F. Maire, Lug. Bat., \u201d\n 1634 \u201d F. Kingston, London, \u201d\n 1638 \u201d E. Griffin, \u201d Folio.\n 1691 \u201d H. Wetstein, Amsterdam, 12mo.\n 1804 French, H. Frantin, Dijon, 8vo.\n\n\n\n\nNOTICE\n\nOF\n\nFRANCIS BACON.\n\n\nFrancis Bacon, the subject of the following memoir, was the youngest\nson of highly remarkable parents. His father, Sir Nicholas Bacon,\nwas an eminent lawyer, and for twenty years Keeper of the Seals and\nPrivy Counsellor to Queen Elizabeth. Sir Nicholas was styled by\nCamden _sacris conciliis alterum columen_; he was the author of some\nunpublished discourses on law and politics, and of a commentary on\nthe minor prophets. He discharged the duties of his high office with\nexemplary propriety and wisdom; he preserved through life the integrity\nof a good man, and the moderation and simplicity of a great one.\nHe had inscribed over the entrance of his hall, at Gorhambury, the\nmotto, _mediocria firma_; and when the Queen, in a progress, paid him\na visit there, she remarked to him that his house was too small for\nhim. \u201cMadam,\u201d answered the Lord Keeper, \u201cmy house is well, but it is\nyou that have made me too great for my house.\u201d This anecdote has been\npreserved by his son,[3] who, had he as carefully retained the lesson\nof practical wisdom it contained, might have avoided the misfortunes\nand sorrows of his checkered life.\n\nBacon\u2019s mother, Anne Cooke, was the daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke,\ntutor to King Edward the Sixth; like the young ladies of her time,\nlike Lady Jane Grey, like Queen Elizabeth, she received an excellent\nclassical education; her sister, Lady Burleigh, was pronounced by Roger\nAscham, Queen Elizabeth\u2019s preceptor, to be, with the exception of Lady\nJane Grey, the best Greek scholar among the young women of England.[4]\nAnne Cooke, the future Lady Bacon, corresponded in Greek with Bishop\nJewel, and translated from the Latin this divine\u2019s _Apologia_; a task\nwhich she performed so well that it is said the good prelate could not\ndiscover an inaccuracy or suggest an alteration. She also translated\nfrom the Italian a volume of sermons on fate and freewill, written by\nBernardo Ochino, an Italian reformer. Francis Bacon, the youngest of\nfive sons, inherited the classical learning and taste of both his\nparents.\n\nHe was born at York House, in the Strand, London, on the 22d of\nJanuary, 1560-61. His health, when he was a boy, was delicate; a\ncircumstance which may perhaps account for his early love of sedentary\npursuits, and probably the early gravity of his demeanor. Queen\nElizabeth, he tells us, took particular delight in \u201ctrying him with\nquestions,\u201d when he was quite a child, and was so much pleased with the\nsense and manliness of his answers that she used jocularly to call him\n\u201cher young Lord Keeper of the Seals.\u201d Bacon himself relates that while\nhe was a boy, the Queen once asked him his age; the precocious courtier\nreadily replied that he \u201cwas just two years younger than her happy\nreign.\u201d He is said, also, when very young, to have stolen away from his\nplayfellows in order to investigate the cause of a singular echo in St.\nJames\u2019s Fields, which attracted his attention.\n\nUntil the age of thirteen he remained under the tuition of his\naccomplished mother, aided by a private tutor only; under their care\nhe attained the elements of the classics, that education preliminary\nto the studies of the University. At thirteen he was sent to Trinity\nCollege, Cambridge, where his father had been educated. Here he studied\ndiligently the great models of antiquity, mathematics, and philosophy,\nworshipped, however, but indevoutly at the shrine of Aristotle, whom,\naccording to Rawley, his chaplain and biographer, he already derided\n\u201cfor the unfruitfulness of the way,\u2014being only strong for disputation,\nbut barren of the production of works for the life of man.\u201d He remained\nthree years at this seat of learning, without, however, taking a degree\nat his departure.\n\nWhen he was but sixteen years old he began his travels, the\nindispensable end of every finished education in England. He repaired\nto Paris, where he resided some time under the care of Sir Amyas\nPaulet, the English minister at the court of France.\n\nHere he invented an ingenious method of writing in cipher; an art which\nhe probably cultivated with a view to a diplomatic career.\n\nHe visited several of the provinces of France and of the towns of\nItaly. Italy was then the country in which human knowledge in all its\nbranches was most successfully cultivated. It is related by Signor\nCancellieri that Bacon, when at Rome, presented himself as a candidate\nto the Academy of the _Lincei_, and was not admitted.[5] He remained\non the continent for three years, until his father\u2019s death, in 1580.\nThe melancholy event, which bereft him of his parent, at the age of\nnineteen, was fatal to his prospects. His father had intended to\npurchase an estate for his youngest son, as he had done for his other\nsons; but he dying before this intention was realized, the money was\nequally divided between all the children; so that Francis inherited\nbut one fifth of that fortune intended for him alone. He was the\nonly one of the sons that was left unprovided for. He had now \u201cto\nstudy to live,\u201d instead of \u201cliving to study.\u201d He wished, to use his\nown language, \u201cto become a true pioneer in that mine of truth which\nlies so deep.\u201d He applied to the government for a provision which his\nfather\u2019s interest would easily have secured him, and by which he might\ndispense with a profession. The Queen must have looked with favor\nupon the son of a minister, who had served her faithfully for twenty\nlong years, and upon a young man whom, when he was a child, she had\ncaressed, she had distinguished by the appellation of her \u201cyoung Lord\nKeeper.\u201d But Francis Bacon was abandoned, and perhaps opposed by the\ncolleague and nearest friend of his father, the brother-in-law of his\nmother, his maternal uncle, Lord Burleigh, then Prime Minister, who\nfeared for his son the rivalry of his all-talented nephew. It is a\ntrick common to envy and detraction, to convert a man\u2019s very qualities\ninto their concomitant defects; and because Bacon was a great thinker,\nhe was represented as unfit for the active duties of business, as \u201ca\nman rather of show than of depth,\u201d as \u201ca speculative man, indulging\nhimself in philosophical reveries, and calculated more to perplex than\nto promote public business.\u201d[6] Thus was the future ornament of his\ncountry and of mankind sacrificed to Robert, afterwards Sir Robert\nCecil, Earl of Salisbury, of whose history fame has learned but little,\nsave the execution of Essex and Mary Queen of Scots, the name, and this\npetty act of mean jealousy of his father! In the disposal of patronage\nand place, acts and even motives of this species are not so unfrequent\nas the world would appear to imagine. In all ages, it is to be feared,\nmany and great, as in Shakspeare\u2019s time, are,\n\n the spurns\n That patient merit of th\u2019 unworthy takes.\n\nIt is, however, but justice to the morals of Lord Burleigh, to add that\nhe was insensible to literary merit; he thought a hundred pounds too\ngreat a reward to be given to Spenser for what he termed \u201can old song,\u201d\nfor so he denominated the _Faery Queen_.\n\nBacon then selected the law as his profession; and in 1580 he was\nentered of Gray\u2019s Inn;[7] he resisted the temptations of his companions\nand friends, (for his company was much courted), and diligently\npursued the study he had chosen; but he did not at this time entirely\nlose sight of his philosophical speculations, for he then published\nhis _Temporis partus maximus_, or _The Greatest Birth of Time_. This\nwork, notwithstanding its pompous title, was unnoticed or rather fell\nstillborn from the press; the sole trace of it is found in one of his\nletters to Father Fulgentio.\n\nIn 1586, he was called to the bar; his practice there appears to have\nbeen limited, although not without success; for the Queen and the Court\nare said to have gone to hear him when he was engaged in any celebrated\ncause. He was, at this period of his life, frequently admitted to the\nQueen\u2019s presence and conversation. He was appointed her Majesty\u2019s\nCounsel Extraordinary,[8] but he had no salary and small fees.\n\nIn 1592, his uncle, the Lord Treasurer, procured for him the reversion\nof the registrarship of the Star Chamber, worth sixteen hundred pounds\n(forty thousand francs) a year; but the office did not become vacant\ntill twenty years after, so that, as Bacon justly observes, \u201cit might\nmend his prospects, but did not fill his barns.\u201d\n\nA parliament was summoned in 1593, and Bacon was returned to the House\nof Commons, for the County of Middlesex; he distinguished himself\nhere as a speaker. \u201cThe fear of every man who heard him,\u201d says his\ncontemporary, Ben Jonson, \u201cwas lest he should make an end.\u201d He made,\nhowever, on one occasion a speech which much displeased the Queen and\nCourt. Elizabeth directed the Lord Keeper to intimate to him that he\nmust expect neither favor nor promotion; the repentant courtier replied\nin writing, that \u201cher Majesty\u2019s favor was dearer to him than his\nlife.\u201d[9]\n\nIn the following year the situation of Solicitor-General[10] became\nvacant. Bacon ardently aspired to it. He applied successively to Lord\nBurleigh, his uncle, to Lord Puckering, his father\u2019s successor, to\nthe Earl of Essex, their rival, and finally to the Queen herself,\naccompanying his letters, as was the custom of the times, with a\npresent, a jewel.[11] But once more he saw mediocrity preferred, and\nhimself rejected. A Serjeant Fleming was appointed her Majesty\u2019s\nSolicitor-General. Bacon, overwhelmed by this disappointment, wished to\nretire from public life, and to reside abroad. \u201cI hoped,\u201d said he in a\nletter to Sir Robert Cecil, \u201cher Majesty would not be offended that,\nnot able to endure the sun, I fled into the shade.\u201d\n\nThe Earl of Essex, whose mind, says Mr. Macaulay, \u201cnaturally disposed\nto admiration of all that is great and beautiful, was fascinated by\nthe genius and the accomplishments of Bacon,\u201d[12] had exerted every\neffort in Bacon\u2019s behalf; to use his own language, he \u201cspent all his\npower, might, authority, and amity;\u201d he now sought to indemnify him,\nand, with royal munificence, presented him with an estate of the value\nof nearly two thousand pounds, a sum worth perhaps four or five times\nthe amount in the money of our days. If anything could enhance the\nbenefaction, it was the delicacy with which it was conferred, or, as\nBacon himself expresses it, \u201cwith so kind and noble circumstances as\nthe manner was worth more than the matter.\u201d\n\nBacon published his _Essays_ in 1597; he considered them but as the\n\u201crecreations of his other studies.\u201d The idea of them was probably first\nsuggested by Montaigne\u2019s _Essais_, but there is little resemblance\nbetween the two works beyond the titles. The first edition contained\nbut ten Essays, which were shorter than they now are. The work was\nreprinted in 1598, with little or no variation; again in 1606; and in\n1612 there was a fourth edition, etc. However, he afterwards, he says,\n\u201cenlarged it both in number and weight;\u201d but it did not assume its\npresent form until the ninth edition, in 1625, that is, twenty-eight\nyears after its first publication, and one year before the death of the\nauthor. It appeared under the new title of _The Essaies or Covnsels\nCivill and Morall, of Francis Lo. Vervlam,_ _Viscovnt St. Alban.\nNewly enlarged._ This is not followed by the _Religious Meditations,\nPlaces of Perswasion and Disswasion, seene and allowed_. The _Essays_\nwere soon translated into Italian with the title of _Saggi Morali del\nSignore Francesco Bacono, Cavagliero Inglese, Gran Cancelliero d\u2019\nInghilterra_. This translation was dedicated to Cosmo de Medici, Grand\nDuke of Tuscany; and was reprinted in London in 1618. Of the three\nEssays added after Bacon\u2019s decease, two of them, _Of a King_ and _Of\nDeath_, are not genuine; the _Fragment of an Essay on Fame_ alone is\nBacon\u2019s.\n\nIn this same year (1597) he again took his seat in Parliament. He soon\nmade ample amends for his opposition speech in the previous session;\nbut this time he gained the favor of the Court without forfeiting his\npopularity in the House of Commons.\n\nHe now thought of strengthening his interest, or increasing his\nfortune, by a matrimonial connection; and he sought the hand of a\nrich widow, Lady Hatton, his second cousin; but here he was again\ndoomed to disappointment; a preference was given to his old rival,\nthe Attorney-General, Sir Edward Coke, notwithstanding the \u201cseven\nobjections to him\u2014his six children and himself.\u201d But although Bacon\nwas perhaps unaware of it, the rejection of his suit was one of the\nhappiest events of his life; for the eccentric manners and violent\ntemper of the lady rendered her a torment to all around her, and\nprobably most of all to her husband. In reality, as has been wittily\nobserved, the lady was doubly kind to him; \u201cshe rejected him, and she\naccepted his enemy.\u201d\n\nAnother mortification awaited him at this period. A relentless\ncreditor, a usurer, had him arrested for a debt of three hundred\npounds, and he was conveyed to a spunging-house, where he was confined\nfor a few days, until arrangements could be made to satisfy the claim\nor the claimant.\n\nWe now arrive at a painfully sad point in the life of Bacon; a dark\nfoul spot, which should be hidden forever, did not history, like the\nmagistrate of Egypt that interrogated the dead, demand that the truth,\nthe whole truth, should be told.\n\nWe have seen that between Bacon and the Earl of Essex, all was\ndisinterested affection on the part of the latter; the Earl employed\nhis good offices for him, exerted heart and soul to insure his success\nas Solicitor-General, and, on Bacon\u2019s failure, conferred on him a\nprincely favor, a gift of no ordinary value.\n\nWhen Essex\u2019s fortunes declined, and the Earl fell into disgrace, Bacon\nendeavored to mediate between the Queen and her favorite. The case\nbecame hopeless. Essex left his command in Ireland without leave,\nwas ordered in confinement, and after a long imprisonment and trial\nbefore the Privy Council, he was liberated. Irritated by the refusal\nof a favor he solicited, he was betrayed into reflections on the\nQueen\u2019s age and person, which were never to be forgiven, and he engaged\nin a conspiracy to seize on the Queen, and to settle a new plan of\ngovernment. On the failure of this attempt, he was arrested, committed\nto the Tower, and brought to trial for high treason before the House\nof Peers. During his long captivity, who does not expect to see Bacon,\nhis friend, a frequent visitor in his cell? Before the two tribunals,\ncan we fail to meet Bacon, his counsel, at his side? We trace Bacon\nat Court, where, he assures us, after Elizabeth\u2019s death, that he\nendeavored to appease and reconcile the Queen; but the place was too\ndistant from the prison: for he never visited there his fallen friend.\n\nAt the first trial, Bacon did indeed make his appearance, but as \u201cher\nMajesty\u2019s Counsel extraordinary,\u201d not for the defence, but for the\nprosecution of the prisoner. But he may be expected at least to have\ntreated him leniently? He admits he did not, on account, as he tells\nus, of the \u201csuperior duty he owed to the Queen\u2019s fame and honor in a\npublic proceeding.\u201d But hitherto, the Earl\u2019s liberty alone had been\nendangered; now, his life is at stake. Do not the manifold favors, the\nmunificent benefactions all arise in the generous mind of Bacon? Does\nhe not waive all thought of interest and promotion and worldly honor\nto devote himself wholly to the sacred task of saving his patron,\nbenefactor, and friend? Her Majesty\u2019s Counsel extraordinary appeared\nin the place of the Solicitor-General, to reply to Essex\u2019s defence;\nhe compared the accused first to Cain, then to Pisistratus. The Earl\nmade a pathetic appeal to his judges; Bacon showed he had not answered\nhis objections, and compared him to the Duke of Guise, the most odious\ncomparison he could have instituted. Essex was condemned; the Queen\nwavered in her resolution to execute him; his friend\u2019s intercession\nmight perhaps have been able to save Essex from an ignominious death.\nDid Bacon, in his turn, \u201cspend all his power, might, and amity?\u201d The\nQueen\u2019s Counsel extraordinary might have offended his sovereign by\nhis importunity, and have been forgotten in the impending vacancy of\nthe office of Solicitor-General! Essex died on the scaffold. But the\nexecution rendered the Queen unpopular, and she was received with\nmournful silence when she appeared in public. She ordered a pamphlet\nto be written to justify the execution; she made choice of Bacon as\nthe writer; the courtier did not decline the task, but published _A\nDeclaration of the Practices and Treasons attempted and committed by\nRobert, late Earle of Essex and his Complices, against her Maiestie and\nher Kingdoms_. This faithless friend, to use the language of Macaulay,\n\u201cexerted his professional talents to shed the Earl\u2019s blood, and his\nliterary talents to blacken the Earl\u2019s memory.\u201d\n\nThe memory of Essex suffered but little from the attack of the\npamphlet; the base pamphleteer\u2019s memory is blackened forever, and\nto his fair name of \u201cthe wisest, brightest,\u201d has been appended the\n\u201cmeanest of mankind.\u201d But let us cast a pall over this act, this moral\nmurder, perpetrated by the now degraded orator, degraded philosopher,\nthe now most degraded of men.\n\nElizabeth died in 1601; and before the arrival of James, in England,\nBacon wrote him a pedantic letter, probably to gratify the taste of\nthe pedant king; but he did not forget in it, \u201chis late dear sovereign\nMistress\u2014a princess happy in all things, but most happy\u2014in such a\nsuccessor.\u201d\n\nBacon solicited the honor of knighthood, a distinction much lavished at\nthis period. At the King\u2019s coronation, he knelt down in company with\nabove three hundred gentlemen; but \u201che rose Sir Francis.\u201d He sought\nthe hand of a rich alderman\u2019s daughter, Miss Barnham, who consented to\nbecome Lady Bacon.\n\nThe Earl of Southampton, Shakspeare\u2019s generous patron and friend, who\nhad been convicted of high treason in the late reign, now received the\nKing\u2019s pardon. This called to all men\u2019s minds the fate of the unhappy\nEarl of Essex, and of his odiously ungrateful accuser; the latter\nunadvisedly published the _Sir Francis Bacon, his Apologie in certaine\nimputations concerning the late Earle of Essex_; a defence which, in\nthe estimation of one of his biographers, Lord Campbell, has injured\nhim more with posterity than all the attacks of his enemies.\n\nIn the new Parliament, he represented the borough of Ipswich; he spoke\nfrequently, and obtained the good graces of the King by the support he\ngave to James\u2019s favorite plan of a union of England and Scotland; a\nmeasure by no means palatable to the King\u2019s new subjects.\n\nThe object of all his hopes, the price, perhaps, of his conduct to\nEssex, seemed in 1606 to be within his reach; but he was once more to\nbe disappointed. His old enemy, Sir Edward Coke, prevented the vacancy.\nThe following year, however, after long and humiliating solicitation,\nhe attained the office to which he had so long aspired, and was\nappointed Solicitor-General to the Crown.\n\nOfficial advancement was now the object nearest his heart, and he\nlonged to be Attorney-General.[13]\n\nIn 1613, by a master stroke of policy, he created a vacancy for himself\nas Attorney-General, and managed at the same time to disserve his old\nenemy, Coke, by getting him preferred in rank, but at the expense of\nconsiderable pecuniary loss.\n\nAfter his new appointment, he was re\u00eblected to his seat in the House\nof Commons; he had gained so much popularity there, that the House\nadmitted him, although it resolved to exclude future Attorneys-General;\na resolution rescinded by later Parliaments.\n\nThe Attorney-General, as may be supposed, did not lack zeal in his\nmaster\u2019s service and for his master\u2019s prerogative. One case, in\nparticular, was atrocious. An aged clergyman, named Peacham, was\nprosecuted for high treason for a sermon which he had neither preached\nnor published; the unfortunate old man was apprehended, put to the\ntorture in presence of the Attorney-General, and as the latter himself\ntells us, was examined \u201cbefore torture, between torture, and after\ntorture,\u201d although Bacon must have been fully aware that the laws of\nEngland did not sanction torture to extort confession. Bacon tampered\nwith the judges, and obtained a conviction; but the government durst\nnot carry the sentence into execution. Peacham languished in prison\ntill the ensuing year, when Providence rescued him from the hands of\nhuman justice.\n\nIn 1616, Bacon was offered the formal promise of the Chancellorship, or\nan actual appointment as Privy Councillor; he was too prudent not to\nprefer an appointment to a promise, and he was accordingly nominated\nto the functions of member of the Privy Council. His present leisure\nenabled him to prosecute vigorously his _Novum Organum_, but he turned\naside to occupy himself with a proposition for the amendment of the\nlaws of England, on which Lord Campbell, assuredly the most competent\nof judges, passes a high encomium.\n\nAt length, in 1617, Sir Francis Bacon attained the end of the ambition\nof his life, he became Lord Keeper of the Seals, with the functions,\nthough not the title, of Lord High Chancellor of England. His promotion\nto this dignity gave general satisfaction; his own university,\nCambridge, congratulated him; Oxford imitated the example; the world\nexpected a perfect judge, formed from his own model in his Essay of\nJudicature. He took his seat in the Court of Chancery with the utmost\npomp and parade.\n\nThe Lord Keeper now endeavored to \u201cfeed fat the ancient grudge\u201d he\nbore Coke. He deprived him of the office of Chief Justice, and erased\nhis name from the list of privy councillors. Coke imagined a plan\nof raising his falling fortunes; he projected a marriage between\nhis daughter by his second wife, a very rich heiress, and Sir John\nVilliers, the brother of Buckingham, the King\u2019s favorite. Bacon was\nalarmed, wrote to the King, and used expressions of disparagement\ntowards the favorite, his new patron, to whom he was indebted for the\nSeals he held. The King and his minion were equally indignant; and\nthey did not conceal from him their resentment. On the return of the\ncourt, Bacon hastened to the residence of Buckingham; being denied\nadmittance, he waited two whole days in the ante-chamber with the Great\nSeal of England in his hand. When at length he obtained access, the\nLord Keeper threw himself and the Great Seal on the ground, kissed the\nfavorite\u2019s feet, and vowed never to rise till he was forgiven! It must\nafter this have been difficult indeed for him to rise again in the\nworld\u2019s esteem or his own.\n\nBacon was made to purchase at a dear price his reinstatement in the\ngood graces of Buckingham. The favorite constantly wrote to the judge\nin behalf of one of the parties, and in the end, says Lord Campbell,\nintimated that he was to dictate the decree. Nor did Bacon once\nremonstrate against this unwarrantable interference on the part of\nthe man to whom he had himself recommended \u201cby no means to interpose\nhimself, either by word or letter in any cause depending on any court\nof justice.\u201d The Lord Keeper received soon after, in 1618, the reward\nof his \u201cmany faithful services\u201d by the higher title of Lord High\nChancellor of England, and by the peerage with the name of Baron of\nVerulam.\n\nThe new Minister of Justice lent himself with his wonted complaisance\nto a most outrageous act of injustice, which Macaulay stigmatizes as a\n\u201cdastardly murder,\u201d that of the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh, under\na sentence pronounced sixteen years before; Sir Walter having been in\nthe interval invested with the high command of Admiral of the fleet.\nSuch an act it was the imperative duty of the first magistrate of the\nrealm not to promote, but to resist to the full extent of his power;\nand the Chancellor alone could issue the warrant for the execution!\n\nIn 1620, he published what is usually considered his greatest work, his\n_Novum Organum_ (New Instrument or Method), which forms the second part\nof the _Instauratio Magna_ (Great Restoration of the Sciences). This\nwork had occupied Bacon\u2019s leisure for nearly thirty years. Such was\nthe care he bestowed on it, that Rawley, his chaplain and biographer,\nstates that he had seen about twelve autograph copies of it, corrected\nand improved until it assumed the shape in which it appeared. Previous\nto the publication of the _Novum Organum_, says the illustrious Sir\nJohn Herschel, \u201cnatural philosophy, in any legitimate and extensive\nsense of the word, could hardly be said to exist.\u201d[14]\n\nIt cannot be expected that a work destined completely to change\nthe state of science, we had almost said of nature, should not be\nassailed by that prejudice which is ever ready to raise its loud but\nunmeaning voice against whatever is new, how great or good soever it\nmay be. Bacon\u2019s doctrine was accused of being calculated to produce\n\u201cdangerous revolutions,\u201d to \u201csubvert governments and the authority of\nreligion.\u201d Some called on the present age and posterity to rise high\nin their resentment against \u201cthe Bacon-faced generation,\u201d for so were\nthe experimentalists termed. The old cry of irreligion, nay, even of\natheism, was raised against the man who had said: \u201cI would rather\nbelieve all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran,\nthan that this universal frame is without a mind.\u201d[15] But Bacon had\nto encounter the prejudices even of the learned. Cuffe, the Earl of\nEssex\u2019s secretary, a man celebrated for his attainments, said of the\n_Instauratio Magna_, \u201ca fool could not have written such a book, and a\nwise man would not.\u201d King James said, it was \u201clike the peace of God,\nthat surpasseth all understanding.\u201d And even Harvey, the discoverer\nof the circulation of the blood, said to Aubrey: \u201cBacon is no great\nphilosopher; he writes philosophy like a Lord Chancellor.\u201d Rawley, his\nsecretary and his biographer, laments, some years after his friend\u2019s\ndeath, that \u201chis fame is greater and sounds louder in foreign parts\nabroad than at home in his own nation; thereby verifying that divine\nsentence: A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and\nin his own house.\u201d Bacon was for some time without honor \u201cin his own\ncountry and in his own house.\u201d But truth on this, as on all other\noccasions, triumphs in the end. Bacon\u2019s assailants are forgotten; Bacon\nwill be remembered with gratitude and veneration forever.\n\nHe was again, in 1621, promoted in the peerage to be Viscount\nSaint-Albans; his patent particularly celebrating his \u201cintegrity in the\nadministration of justice.\u201d\n\nIn this same year the Parliament assembled. The House of Commons first\nvoted the subsidies demanded by the Crown, and next proceeded, as was\nusual in those times, to the redress of grievances. A committee of the\nHouse was appointed to inquire into \u201cthe abuses of Courts of Justice.\u201d\nA report of this committee charged the Lord Chancellor with corruption,\nand specified two cases; in the first of which Aubrey, a suitor in his\ncourt, stated that he had presented the Lord Chancellor with a hundred\npounds; and Egerton, another suitor in his court, with four hundred\npounds in addition to a former piece of plate of the value of fifty\npounds; in both cases decisions had been given against the parties\nwhose presents had been received. (Lord Campbell asserts that in the\ncase of Egerton both parties had made the Chancellor presents.)[16] His\nenemies, it is said, estimated his illicit gains at a hundred thousand\npounds; a statement which, it is more than probable, is greatly\nexaggerated.[17] \u201cI never had,\u201d said Bacon in his defence, \u201cbribe or\nreward in my eye or thought when I pronounced sentence or order.\u201d This\nis an acknowledgment of the fact, and perhaps an aggravation of the\noffence. He then addressed \u201can humble submission\u201d to the House, a kind\nof general admission, in which he invoked as a plea of excuse _vitia\ntemporis_.\n\nHow widely different from this is his own language! It is fair justice\nto appeal from the judge to the tribunal of the philosopher and\nmoralist; it is appealing from Philip drunk to Philip sober; unhappily\nit is likewise\n\n to have the engineer\n Hoist with his own petar.\n\nHe says, in his Essay of Great Place: \u201cFor corruption: do not only\nbind thine own hands, or thy servant\u2019s hands from taking, but bind\nthe hands of suitors from offering. For integrity used doth the one;\nbut integrity professed, and with a manifest detestation of bribery,\ndoth the other; and avoid not only the fault, but the suspicion.\u201d[18]\nHe says again, in the same Essay: \u201cSet it down to thyself, as well to\ncreate good precedents as to follow them.\u201d\n\nBut the allegation that it was a custom of the times requires\nexamination. It was a custom of the times in reality to make presents\nto superiors. Queen Elizabeth received them as New Year\u2019s gifts from\nfunctionaries of all ranks, from her prime minister down to Charles\nSmith, the dust-man (see note 1, page 7), and this custom probably\ncontinued under her successor, and may have been applied to other high\nfunctionaries, but it does not appear to have been in legitimate use\nin the courts of judicature. Coke, himself Chief Justice, was Bacon\u2019s\nprincipal accuser; and, although an enemy, he has been said to have\nconducted himself with moderation and propriety on this occasion only.\nLord Campbell, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen\u2019s Bench, and author\nof the _Lives of the Chancellors and Chief Justices of England_,\nrepels the plea, as inadmissible. It cannot be denied that if Bacon\nextended the practice to the courts of justice, he has heaped coals\nof fire on his head; for applied to his own case personally it would\nbe sufficiently odious; but what odium would not that man deserve who\nshould systematize, nay, legitimize a practice that must inevitably\npoison the stream of justice at its fountain-head! What execration\ncould be too great, if that man were the most intelligent, the wisest\nof his century, one of the most dignified in rank in the land, clad\nin spotless ermine, the emblem of purity, in short, the Minister of\nJustice!\n\nThe Lords resolved that Bacon should be called upon to put in a\nparticular answer to each of the special charges preferred against\nhim. The formal articles with proofs in support were communicated to\nhim. The House received the \u201cconfession and humble submission of me,\nthe Lord Chancellor.\u201d In this document, Bacon acknowledges himself to\nbe guilty of corruption; and in reply to each special charge admits in\nevery instance the receipt of money or valuable things from the suitors\nin his court; but alleging in some cases that it was after judgment,\nor as New Year\u2019s gifts, a custom of the times, or for prior services.\nA committee of nine temporal and three spiritual lords was appointed\nto ascertain whether it was he who had subscribed this document. The\ncommittee repaired to his residence, were received in the hall where\nhe had been accustomed to sit as judge, and merely asked him if the\nsignature affixed to the paper they exhibited to him was his. He\npassionately exclaimed: \u201cMy lords, it is my act, my hand, my heart. I\nbeseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed.\u201d The committee\nwithdrew, overwhelmed with grief at the sight of such greatness so\nfallen.\n\nFour commissioners dispatched by the King demanded the Great Seal of\nthe Chancellor, confined to his bed by sickness and sorrow and want of\nsustenance; for he refused to take any food. He hid his face in his\nhand, and delivered up that Great Seal for the attainment of which he\n\u201chad sullied his integrity, had resigned his independence, had violated\nthe most sacred obligations of friendship and gratitude, had flattered\nthe worthless, had persecuted the innocent, had tampered with judges,\nhad tortured prisoners, had plundered suitors, had wasted on paltry\nintrigues all the powers of the most exquisitely constructed intellect\nthat has ever been bestowed on any of the children of men.\u201d[19]\n\nAll this he did to be Lord High Chancellor of England; and, had he not\nbeen the unworthy minister of James, he might have been, to use the\nbeautiful language of Hallam, \u201cthe high-priest of nature.\u201d\n\nOn the 3d of May, he was unanimously declared to be guilty, and he was\nsentenced to a fine of forty thousand pounds, to be imprisoned in the\nTower during the King\u2019s pleasure, to be incapable of holding any public\noffice, and of sitting in Parliament or of coming within the verge of\nthe court.[20] Such was the sentence pronounced on the man whom three\nmonths before the King _delighted to honor_ for \u201chis integrity in the\nadministration of justice.\u201d\n\nThe fatal verdict affected his health so materially that the judgment\ncould not receive immediate execution; he could not be conveyed to\nthe Tower until the 31st of May; the following day he was liberated.\nHe repaired to the house of Sir John Vaughan, who held a situation in\nthe prince\u2019s household.[21] He wished to retire to his own residence\nat York House; but this was refused. He was ordered to proceed to his\nseat at Gorhambury, whence he was not to remove, and where he remained,\nthough very reluctantly, till the ensuing spring.\n\nThe heavy fine was remitted. But as he had lived in great pomp, he had\neconomized naught from his legitimate or ill-gotten gains. As he was\nnow insolvent, a pension of twelve hundred pounds a year was bestowed\non him; from his estate and other revenues he derived thirteen hundred\npounds per annum more. On the 17th of October, his remaining penalties\nwere remitted. It cannot but strike the reader as a most remarkable\ncircumstance that, within eighteen months of the condemnation, all the\npenalties were successively remitted. Would this induce the belief\nthat he was but the scape-goat of the court, that the condemnation was\npurely political? It is, we believe, to be explained ostensibly by the\nadvanced age of Bacon, but really by the circumstance that the King\u2019s\nfavorite, Buckingham, was an accomplice.\n\nBacon discovered, alas! when it was too late, that the talent God had\ngiven him he had \u201cmisspent in things for which he was least fit;\u201d or as\nThomson has beautifully expressed it:[22]\u2014\n\n Hapless in his choice,\n Unfit to stand the civil storm of state,\n And through the smooth barbarity of courts,\n With firm, but pliant virtue, forward still\n To urge his course; him for the studious shade\n Kind Nature form\u2019d; deep, comprehensive, clear,\n Exact, and elegant; in one rich soul,\n Plato, the Stagyrite and Tully join\u2019d.\n The great deliverer he!\n\nIt is gratifying to turn from the melancholy scenes exhibited by the\npolitical life of Bacon, to behold him in his study in the deep search\nof truth; no contrast is more striking than that between the chancellor\nand the philosopher, or, as Macaulay has well termed it, \u201cBacon seeking\nfor truth, and Bacon seeking for the Seals\u2014Bacon in speculation, and\nBacon in action.\u201d From amidst clouds and darkness we emerge into the\nfull blaze and splendor of midday light.\n\nWe now find Bacon wholly devoting himself to the pursuits for which\nnature adapted him, and from which no extent of occupation could\nentirely detach him. The author redeemed the man; in the philosopher\nand the poet there was no weakness, no corruption.\n\n Nothing is here for tears; nothing to wail\n Or knock the breast; no weakness, no contempt,\n Dispraise or blame, nothing but well and fair.\n\nHere the writer yielded not to _vitia temporis_; but combated them with\nmight and main, with heart and soul.\n\nIn 1623, he published the _Life of Henry VII._ In a letter addressed\nto the Queen of Bohemia with a copy, he says pathetically: \u201c\u2019Time was\nI had honor without leisure, and now I have leisure without honor.\u201d\nBut his honor without leisure had precipitated him into \u201cbottomless\nperdition;\u201d his leisure without honor retrieved his name, and raised\nhim again to an unattainable height.\n\nIn the following year, he printed his Latin translation of the\n_Advancement of Learning_, under the title of _De Dignitate et\nAugmentis Scientiarum_.\n\nThis was not, however, a mere translation; for he made in it omissions\nand alterations; and appears to have added about one third new matter;\nin short, he remodelled it. His work, replete with poetry and beautiful\nimagery, was received with applause throughout Europe. It was reprinted\nin France in 1624, one year after its appearance in England. It was\nimmediately translated into French and Italian, and was published in\nHolland, the great book-mart of that time, in 1645, 1650, and 1662.\n\nIn 1624, he solicited of the King a remission of the sentence, to the\nend, says he, \u201cthat blot of ignominy may be removed from me and from\nmy memory with posterity.\u201d The King granted him a full pardon. But he\nnever more took his seat in the House of Lords. When the new Parliament\nmet, after the accession of Charles the First, age, infirmity, and\ntardy wisdom had extinguished the ambition of Baron Verulam, Viscount\nSt. Albans. When the writ of summons to the Parliament reached him, he\nexclaimed: \u201cI have done with such vanities!\u201d\n\nBut the philosopher pursued his labor of love. He published new\neditions of his writings, and translated them into Latin, from the\nmistaken notion that in that language alone could they be rescued from\noblivion. His crabbed latinity is now read but by few, or even may be\nsaid to be nearly forgotten; while his noble, majestic English is read\nover the whole British empire, on which the sun never sets, is studied\nand admired throughout the old world and the new, and it will be so by\ngenerations still unborn; it will descend to posterity in company with\nhis contemporary, Shakspeare (whose name he never mentions), and will\nendure as long as the great and glorious language itself; indeed, as he\nforetold of his Essays, it \u201cwill live as long as books last.\u201d\n\nIn the translation of his works into Latin, he was assisted by Rawley,\nhis future biographer, and his two friends, Ben Jonson, the poet, and\nHobbes, the philosopher.\n\nHe wrote for his \u201cown recreation,\u201d amongst very serious studies, a\n_Collection of Apophthegms, New and Old_, said to have been dictated in\none rainy day, but probably the result of several \u201crainy days.\u201d This\ncontains many excellent jocular anecdotes, and has been, perhaps, with\ntoo much indulgence, pronounced by Macaulay to be the best jest-book in\nthe world.\n\nHe commenced a _Digest of the Laws of England_, but he soon\ndiscontinued it, because it was \u201ca work of assistance, and that which\nhe could not master by his own forces and pen.\u201d James the First had not\nsufficient elevation of mind to afford him the means of securing the\nassistance he required.\n\nHe wrote his will with his own hand on the 19th of December, 1625. He\ndirects that he shall be interred in St. Michael\u2019s Church, near St.\nAlbans: \u201cThere was my mother buried, and it is the parish church of\nmy mansion-house at Gorhambury.... For my name and memory, I leave it\nto men\u2019s charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and the next\nages.\u201d This supreme act of filial piety towards his gifted mother is\naffecting. Let no \u201cuncharitable\u201d word be uttered over his last solemn\nbehest; foreign nations and all ages will not refuse a tribute of\nhomage to his genius! Gassendi presents an analysis of his labors, and\npays a tribute of admiration to their author; Descartes has mentioned\nhim with encomium; Malebranche quotes him as an authority; Puffendorff\nexpressed admiration of him; the University of Oxford presented to him,\nafter his fall, an address, in which he is termed \u201ca mighty Hercules,\nwho had by his own hand greatly advanced those pillars in the learned\nworld which by the rest of the world were supposed immovable.\u201d Leibnitz\nascribed to him the revival of true philosophy; Newton had studied\nhim so closely that he adopted even his phraseology; Voltaire and\nD\u2019Alembert have rendered him popular in France. The modern philosophers\nof all Europe regard him reverentially as the father of experimental\nphilosophy.\n\nHe attempted at this late period of his life a metrical translation\ninto English of the Psalms of David; although his prose is full of\npoetry, his verse has but little of the divine art.\n\nHe again declined to take his seat as a peer in Charles\u2019s second\nParliament; but the last stage of his life displayed more dignity and\nreal greatness than the \u201cpride, pomp, and circumstance\u201d of his high\noffices and honors. The public of England and of \u201cforeign nations\u201d\nforgot the necessity of \u201ccharitable speeches\u201d and anticipated \u201cthe\nnext ages.\u201d The most distinguished foreigners repaired to Gray\u2019s Inn\nto pay their respects to him. The Marquis d\u2019Effiat, who brought over\nto England the Princess Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles the\nFirst, went to see him. Bacon, confined to his bed, but unwilling to\ndecline the visit, received him with the curtains drawn. \u201cYou resemble\nthe angels,\u201d said the French minister to him, \u201cwe hear those beings\ncontinually talked of; we believe them superior to mankind; and we\nnever have the consolation to see them.\u201d\n\nBut in ill health and infirmity he continued his studies and\nexperiments; as it occurred to him that snow might preserve animal\nsubstances from putrefaction as well as salt, he tried the experiment,\nand stuffed a fowl with snow with his own hands. \u201cThe great apostle of\nexperimental philosophy was destined to become its martyr;\u201d he took\ncold. From his bed he dictated a letter to the Earl of Arundel, to\nwhose house he had been conveyed. \u201cI was likely to have had the fortune\nof Ca\u00efus Plinius the Elder, who lost his life by trying an experiment\nabout the burning of the Mount Vesuvius. For I was also desirous to\ntry an experiment or two touching the conservation and induration of\nbodies. As for the experiment itself, it succeeded excellently well.\u201d\nHe had, indeed, the fortune of Pliny the Elder; for he never recovered\nfrom the effects of his cold, which brought on fever and a complaint of\nthe chest; and he expired on the 9th of April, 1626, in the sixty-sixth\nyear of his age. Thus died, a victim to his devotion to science,\nFrancis Bacon, whose noble death is an expiation of the errors of his\nlife, and who was, as has been justly observed, notwithstanding all his\nfaults, one of the greatest ornaments and benefactors of the human race.\n\nNo account has been preserved of his funeral; but probably it was\nprivate. Sir Thomas Meautys, his faithful secretary, erected at his own\nexpense a monument to Bacon\u2019s memory. Bacon is represented sitting,\nreclining on his hand, and absorbed in meditation. The effigy bears the\ninscription: _sic sedebat_.\n\nThe singular fact ought not to be omitted, that notwithstanding the\nimmense sums that had been received by him, legitimately or otherwise,\nhe died insolvent. The fault of his life had been that he never adapted\nhis expenses to his income; perhaps even he never calculated them.\nTo what irretrievable ruin did not this lead him? To disgrace and\ndishonor, in the midst of his career; to insolvency at its end. His\nlove of worldly grandeur was uncontrollable, or at least uncontrolled.\n\u201cThe virtue of prosperity is temperance,\u201d says he himself; but this\nvirtue he did not possess. His stately bark rode proudly over the\nwaves, unmindful of the rocks; on one of these, alas! it split and\nfoundered.\n\nBacon was very prepossessing in his person; he was in stature above\nthe middle size; his forehead was broad and high, of an intellectual\nappearance; his eye was lively and expressive; and his countenance bore\nearly the marks of deep thought.\n\nIt might be mentioned here with instruction to the reader, that few\nmen were more impressed than Bacon with the value of time, the most\nprecious element of life. He assiduously employed the smallest portions\nof it; considering justly that the days, the hours, nay minutes of\nexistence require the greatest care at our hands; the weeks, months,\nand years have been wisely said to take care of themselves. His\nchaplain, Rawley, remarks: \u201c_Nullum momentum aut temporis segmentum\nperire et intercidere passus est_,\u201d he suffered no moment nor fragment\nof time to pass away unprofitably. It is this circumstance that\nexplains to us the great things he accomplished even in the most busy\npart of his life.\n\nThe whole of Bacon\u2019s biography has been admirably recapitulated by Lord\nCampbell[23] in the following paragraph:\u2014\n\n \u201cWe have seen him taught his alphabet by his mother; patted\n on the head by Queen Elizabeth; mocking the worshippers of\n Aristotle at Cambridge; catching the first glimpses of his great\n discoveries, and yet uncertain whether the light was from heaven;\n associating with the learned and the gay at the court of France;\n devoting himself to Bracton[24] and the Year Books in Gray\u2019s\n Inn; throwing aside the musty folios of the law to write a moral\n Essay, to make an experiment in natural philosophy, or to detect\n the fallacies which had hitherto obstructed the progress of\n useful truth; contented for a time with taking \u201call knowledge for\n his province;\u201d roused from these speculations by the stings of\n vulgar ambition; plying all the arts of flattery to gain official\n advancement by royal and courtly favor; entering the House of\n Commons, and displaying powers of oratory of which he had been\n unconscious; being seduced by the love of popular applause, for\n a brief space becoming a patriot; making amends, by defending\n all the worst excesses of prerogative; publishing to the world\n lucubrations on morals, which show the nicest perception of what\n is honorable and beautiful as well as prudent, in the conduct\n of life; yet the son of a Lord Keeper, the nephew of the prime\n minister, a Queen\u2019s counsel, with the first practice at the\n bar, arrested for debt, and languishing in a spunging-house;\n tired with vain solicitations to his own kindred for promotion,\n joining the party of their opponent, and after experiencing the\n most generous kindness from the young and chivalrous head of\n it, assisting to bring him to the scaffold, and to blacken his\n memory; seeking, by a mercenary marriage to repair his broken\n fortunes; on the accession of a new sovereign offering up the\n most servile adulation to a pedant whom he utterly despised;\n infinitely gratified by being permitted to kneel down, with three\n hundred others, to receive the honor of knighthood; truckling\n to a worthless favorite with the most slavish subserviency that\n he might be appointed a law-officer of the Crown; then giving\n the most admirable advice for the compilation and emendation\n of the laws of England, and helping to inflict torture on a\n poor parson whom he wished to hang as a traitor for writing an\n unpublished and unpreached sermon; attracting the notice of all\n Europe by his philosophical works, which established a new era\n in the mode of investigating the phenomena both of matter and\n mind; basely intriguing in the meanwhile for further promotion,\n and writing secret letters to his sovereign to disparage his\n rivals; riding proudly between the Lord High Treasurer and Lord\n Privy Seal, preceded by his mace-bearer and purse-bearer, and\n followed by a long line of nobles and judges, to be installed\n in the office of Lord High Chancellor; by and by, settling with\n his servants the account of the bribes they had received for\n him; a little embarrassed by being obliged, out of decency, the\n case being so clear, to decide against the party whose money\n he had pocketed, but stifling the misgivings of conscience by\n the splendor and flattery which he now commanded; struck to the\n earth by the discovery of his corruption; taking to his bed,\n and refusing sustenance; confessing the truth of the charges\n brought against him, and abjectly imploring mercy; nobly rallying\n from his disgrace, and engaging in new literary undertakings,\n which have added to the splendor of his name; still exhibiting\n a touch of his ancient vanity, and, in the midst of pecuniary\n embarrassment, refusing to \u2018be stripped of his feathers;\u2019[25]\n inspired, nevertheless, with all his youthful zeal for science,\n in conducting his last experiment of \u2018stuffing a fowl with snow\n to preserve it,\u2019 which succeeded \u2018excellently well,\u2019 but brought\n him to his grave; and, as the closing act of a life so checkered,\n making his will, whereby, conscious of the shame he had incurred\n among his contemporaries, but impressed with a swelling\n conviction of what he had achieved for mankind, he bequeathed\n his \u2018name and memory to men\u2019s charitable speeches, to foreign\n nations, and the next ages.\u2019\u201d\n\nAfter this brilliant recapitulation of the principal facts of Bacon\u2019s\neventful life, there remains the difficult task of examining his\ncharacter as a writer and philosopher; and then of presenting some\nobservations on his principal works. As these subjects have occupied\nthe attention of the master minds and most elegant writers of England,\nwe shall unhesitatingly present the reader with the opinions of these,\nthe most competent judges in each special department.\n\nBut first, let the philosopher speak for himself.\n\nThe end and aim of the writings of Bacon are best described by himself,\nas these descriptions may be gleaned from his various works. He taught,\nto use his own language, the means, not of the \u201camplification of the\npower of one man over his country, nor of the amplification of the\npower of that country over other nations; but the amplification of the\npower and kingdom of mankind over the world.\u201d[26] \u201cA restitution of\nman to the sovereignty of nature.\u201d[27] \u201cThe enlarging the bounds of\nhuman empire to the effecting of all things possible.\u201d[28] From the\nenlargement of reason, he did not separate the growth of virtue; for he\nthought that \u201ctruth and goodness were one, differing but as the seal\nand the print, for truth prints goodness.\u201d[29]\n\nThe art which Bacon taught, has been well said to be \u201cthe art of\ninventing arts.\u201d\n\nThe great qualities of his mind, as they are exhibited in his works,\nhave been well portrayed by the pen of Sir James Mackintosh. We\nsubjoin the opinion of this elegant writer in his own words:\n\n \u201cIt is easy to describe his transcendent merit in general terms\n of commendation: for some of his great qualities lie on the\n surface of his writings. But that in which he most excelled all\n other men, was in the range and compass of his intellectual\n view\u2014the power of contemplating many and distant objects\n together, without indistinctness or confusion\u2014which he himself\n has called the discursive or comprehensive understanding. This\n wide-ranging intellect was illuminated by the brightest Fancy\n that ever contented itself with the office of only ministering\n to Reason: and from this singular relation of the two grand\n faculties of man, it has resulted, that his philosophy, though\n illustrated still more than adorned by the utmost splendor of\n imagery, continues still subject to the undivided supremacy of\n intellect. In the midst of all the prodigality of an imagination\n which, had it been independent, would have been poetical, his\n opinions remained severely rational.\n\n \u201cIt is not so easy to conceive, or at least to describe, other\n equally essential elements of his greatness, and conditions of\n his success. He is probably a single instance of a mind which,\n in philosophizing, always reaches the point of elevation whence\n the whole prospect is commanded, without ever rising to such\n a distance as to lose a distinct perception of every part of\n it.\u201d[30]\n\nMr. Macaulay speaks of the following peculiarity of Bacon\u2019s\nunderstanding:[31]\u2014\n\n \u201cWith great minuteness of observation he had an amplitude\n of comprehension such as has never yet been vouchsafed to\n any other human being. The small fine mind of La Bruy\u00e8re had\n not a more delicate tact than the large intellect of Bacon.\n The \u201cEssays\u201d contain abundant proofs that no nice feature of\n character, no peculiarity in the ordering of a house, a garden,\n or a court-masque, could escape the notice of one whose mind\n was capable of taking in the whole world of knowledge. His\n understanding resembled the tent which the fairy Paribanou gave\n to prince Ahmed. Fold it, and it seemed a toy for the hand of the\n lady. Spread it, and the armies of powerful sultans might repose\n beneath its shade.\n\n \u201cIn keenness of observation he has been equalled, though,\n perhaps, never surpassed. But the largeness of his mind was all\n his own. The glance with which he surveyed the intellectual\n universe, resembled that which the archangel, from the golden\n threshold of heaven, darted down into the new creation.\n\n \u201cRound he surveyed and well might, where he stood\n So high above the circling canopy\n Of night\u2019s extended shade\u2014from eastern point\n Of Libra, to the fleecy star which bears\n Andromeda far off Atlantic seas\n Beyond the horizon.\u201d\n\nBacon\u2019s philosophy is, to use an expression of his own, \u201cthe servant\nand interpreter of nature;\u201d he cultivated it in the leisure left him by\nthe assiduous study and practice of the law and by the willing duties\nof a courtier; it was rather the recreation than the business of his\nlife; \u201cmy business,\u201d said he, \u201cfound rest in my contemplations;\u201d but\nhis very recreations rendered him, according to Leibnitz, the father\nof experimental philosophy, and, according to all, the originator of\nall its results, of all later discoveries in chemistry and the arts, in\nshort, of all modern science and its applications.\n\nMr. Macaulay is of opinion that the two leading principles of his\nphilosophy are _utility_ and _progress_; that the ethics of his\ninductive method are to do good, to do more and more good, to mankind.\n\nLord Campbell believes that a most perfect body of ethics might be made\nout from the writings of Bacon.\n\nThe origin of his philosophy was the conviction with which he was\nimpressed of the insufficiency of that of the ancients, or rather of\nthat of Aristotle, which reigned with almost undisputed sway throughout\nEurope. He reverenced antiquity for its great works, its great men;\nbut not because of its ancientness; he deemed its decrees worthy of\nreverential consideration, but did not think they admitted of no\nappeal; he was not a bigot to antiquity or a contemner of modern times.\nHe happily combated that undue and blind submission to the authority\nof ancient times for the mere reason that they are older than our own,\nalleging truly that \u201cANTIQUITAS SECULI JUVENTUS MUNDI, that our times\nare the ancient times, when the world is ancient, and not those which\nwe account ancient, _ordine retrogrado_, by a computation backward from\nourselves.\u201d[32]\n\nThrowing off, then, all allegiance to antiquity, he appealed directly\nfrom Aristotle to nature, from reasoning to experiment.\n\nBut let us invoke the testimony of an eminent philosopher, Sir John\nHerschel:\u2014\n\n \u201cBy the discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, the\n errors of the Aristotelian philosophy were effectually overturned\n on a plain appeal to the facts of nature; but it remained to\n show, on broad and general principles, how and why Aristotle\n was in the wrong; to set in evidence the peculiar weakness of\n his method of philosophizing, and to substitute in its place a\n stronger and better. This important task was executed by Francis\n Bacon, Lord Verulam, who will therefore justly be looked upon in\n all future ages as the great reformer of philosophy, though his\n own actual contributions to the stock of physical truths were\n small, and his ideas of particular points strongly tinctured with\n mistakes and errors, which were the fault rather of the general\n want of physical information of the age than of any narrowness\n of view on his own part; of this he was fully aware. It has been\n attempted by some to lessen the merit of this great achievement,\n by showing that the inductive method had been practised in many\n instances, both ancient and modern, by the mere instinct of\n mankind; but it is not the introduction of inductive reasoning,\n as a new and hitherto untried process, which characterizes the\n Baconian philosophy, but his keen perception, and his broad\n and spirit-stirring, almost enthusiastic, announcement of its\n paramount importance, as the alpha and omega of science, as the\n grand and only chain for the linking together of physical truths,\n and the eventual key to every discovery and every application.\n Those who would deny him his just glory on such grounds would\n refuse to Jenner or to Howard their civic crowns, because a\n few farmers in a remote province had, time out of mind, been\n acquainted with vaccination, or philanthropists, in all ages, had\n occasionally visited the prisoner in his dungeon.\u201d\n\n \u201cIt is to our immortal countryman Bacon,\u201d says he, again,\n \u201cthat we owe the broad announcement of this grand and fertile\n principle; and the development of the idea, that the whole of\n natural philosophy consists entirely of a series of inductive\n generalizations, commencing with the most circumstantially\n stated particulars, and carried up to universal laws, or axioms,\n which comprehend in their statements every subordinate degree of\n generality and of a corresponding series of inverted reasoning\n from generals to particulars, by which these axioms are traced\n back into their remotest consequences, and all particular\n propositions deduced from them, as well those by whose immediate\n consideration we rose to their discovery, as those of which we\n had no previous knowledge....\n\n \u201cIt would seem that a union of two qualities almost opposite\n to each other\u2014a going forth of the thoughts in two directions,\n and a sudden transfer of ideas from a remote station in one to\n an equally distant one in the other\u2014is required to start the\n first idea of _applying science_. Among the Greeks, this point\n was attained by Archimedes, but attained too late, on the eve\n of that great eclipse of science which was destined to continue\n for nearly eighteen centuries, till Galileo in Italy, and Bacon\n in England, at once dispelled the darkness; the one, by his\n inventions and discoveries; the other, by the irresistible force\n of his arguments and eloquence.\u201d[33]\n\nHis style is copious, comprehensive, and smooth; it does not flow\nwith the softness of the purling rill, but rather with the strength,\nfulness, and swelling of a majestic river, and the rude harmony of the\nmountain stream. His images are replete with poetry and thought; they\nalways illustrate his subject. Hallam is of opinion that the modern\nwriter that comes nearest to him is Burke. \u201cHe had,\u201d said Addison,\n\u201cthe sound, distinct, comprehensive knowledge of Aristotle, with all\nthe beautiful lights, graces, and embellishments of Cicero. One does\nnot know which to admire most in his writings, the strength of reason,\nforce of style, or brightness of imagination.\u201d[34]\n\nBacon improved so much the melody, elegance, and force of English\nprose, that we may apply to him what was said of Augustus with regard\nto Rome: _lateritiam invenit, marmoream reliquit_; he found it brick,\nand he left it marble. Mr. Hallam\u2019s opinion differs somewhat from this;\nit is as follows:\u2014\n\n \u201cThe style of Bacon has an idiosyncrasy which we might expect\n from his genius. It can rarely indeed happen, and only in men\n of secondary talents, that the language they use is not, by\n its very choice and collocation, as well as its meaning, the\n representative of an individuality that distinguishes their\n turn of thought. Bacon is elaborate, sententious, often witty,\n often metaphorical; nothing could be spared; his analogies are\n generally striking and novel; his style is clear, precise,\n forcible; yet there is some degree of stiffness about it, and in\n mere language he is inferior to Raleigh.\u201d[35]\n\nIt is a most remarkable characteristic of Bacon, and one in which Burke\nresembled him, that his imagination grew stronger with his increasing\nyears, and his style richer and softer. \u201cThe fruit came first,\u201d says\nMr. Macaulay, \u201cand remained till the last; the blossoms did not appear\ntill late. In eloquence, in sweetness and variety of expression, and\nin richness of illustration, his later writings are far superior to\nthose of his youth.\u201d His earliest Essays have as much truth and cogent\nreasoning as his latest; but these are far superior in grace and\nbeauty. A most striking illustration of this is afforded by one of the\nlast Essays, added a year before Bacon\u2019s death, that of _Adversity_\n(Essay V.), than which naught can be more graceful and beautiful.\n\nThe account of Bacon\u2019s works will necessarily be very succinct, and,\nwe fear, imperfect. We shall, however, for each of them, call in the\naid of the most competent judges, whose award public opinion will not\nreverse.\n\n\nESSAYS.\n\nBacon published his _Essays_ in 1597. They were, in the estimation of\nMr. Hallam, the first in time and in excellence of English writings on\nmoral prudence. Of the fifty-eight Essays, of which the work is now\ncomposed, ten only appeared in the first edition. But to these were\nadded _Religious Meditations, Places of Perswasion and Disswasion,\nSeene and allowed_; many of which were afterwards embodied in the\nEssays. These Essays were: 1. Of Studie; 2. Of Discourse; 3. Of\nCeremonies and Respects; 4. Of Followers and Friends; 5. Of Sutors; 6.\nOf Expence; 7. Of Regiment of Health; 8. Of Honor and Reputation; 9. Of\nFaction; 10. Of Negociating. In the edition of 1612, \u201cThe Essaies of\nS^r Francis Bacon Knight, the King\u2019s Atturny Generall,\u201d were increased\nto forty-one.\n\nThe new Essays added are: 1. Of Religion; 2. Of Death; 3. Of Goodnesse,\nand Goodnesse of Nature; 4. Of Cunning; 5. Of Marriage and Single\nLife; 6. Of Parents and Children; 7. Of Nobility; 8. Of Great Place;\n9. Of Empire; 10. Of Counsell; 11. Of Dispatch; 12. Of Love; 13. Of\nFriendship; 14. Of Atheism; 15. Of Superstition; 16. Of Wisedome for a\nMan\u2019s selfe; 20. Of seeming wise; 21. Of Riches; 22. Of Ambition; 23.\nOf Young Men and Age; 24. Of Beauty; 25. Of Deformity; 26. Of Nature in\nMen; 27. Of Custom and Education; 28. Of Fortune; 35. Of Praise; 36. Of\nJudicature; 37. of Vaine-Glory; 38. Of Greatnesse of Kingdomes; 39. Of\nthe Publique; 40. Of Warre and Peace.\n\nThese forty-one Essays were afterwards again augmented to fifty-eight,\nwith the new title of _The Essaies or Covnsels, Civill and Morall_;\nthey were likewise improved by corrections, additions, and\nillustrations. By the peculiarity of Bacon, already noticed, the later\nEssays rise in beauty and interest.\n\nBacon considered his Essays but as \u201cthe recreations of his other\nstudies.\u201d He has entitled them, in the Latin translation, _Sermones\nfideles, sive Interiora rerum_. The idea of them, as has been already\nmentioned, was suggested by those of Montaigne; but there is but\nlittle resemblance between the two productions. Montaigne is natural,\ningenuous, sportive. Bacon\u2019s \u201c_Essays or Counsels, civil and moral_,\u201d\n\u201cthe fragments of his conceits,\u201d as he styles them, are all study,\nart, and gravity; but the reflections in them are true and profound.\nMontaigne confessedly painted himself, declared that he was the matter\nof his own book,[36] while with Bacon the man was merged in the author\nand the philosopher, who propounded like Seneca, and somewhat in\nSeneca\u2019s style, the maxims of practical wisdom, that, to use Bacon\u2019s\nown language, \u201ccome home to men\u2019s business and bosoms,\u201d and clothed\nthem in a garb, new, elegant, and rich, hitherto unknown in England.\nBut our author, if we may judge by the matter and even manner of his\nEssays, may have had in view, not so much Montaigne\u2019s _Essais_ as\nSeneca\u2019s _Letters to Lucilius_. The Essay of _Death_ is obviously\nfounded on Seneca\u2019s Epistles on this subject. That he was well\nacquainted with Seneca\u2019s _Letters_, is incontrovertible. He alludes\nto them thus in the dedication to Prince Henry, in 1612: \u201cThe word\n(Essays),\u201d says he, \u201cis late, but the thing is ancient; for Seneca\u2019s\nEpistles to Lucilius, if you mark them well, are but Essays, that is,\ndispersed meditations, though conveyed in the form of epistles.\u201d Bacon\njustly foretold of his Essays that they \u201cwould live as long as books\nlast.\u201d\n\nThe following is the opinion of Dugald Stewart, himself an eminent\nphilosopher and elegant writer:\n\n \u201cHis _Essays_ are the best known and most popular of all his\n works. It is also one of those where the superiority of his\n genius appears to the greatest advantage; the novelty and depth\n of his reflections often receiving a strong relief from triteness\n of the subject. It may be read from beginning to end in a few\n hours; and yet, after the twentieth perusal, one seldom fails\n to remark in it something unobserved before. This, indeed, is a\n characteristic of all Bacon\u2019s writings, and only to be accounted\n for by the inexhaustible aliment they furnish to our own\n thoughts, and the sympathetic activity they impart to our torpid\n faculties.\u201d[37]\n\nThe reader will, perhaps, be rather gratified than wearied with another\nappreciation of this valuable production of our young moralist of\ntwenty-six. It is of no incompetent judge,\u2014Mr. Hallam.\n\n \u201cThe transcendent strength of Bacon\u2019s mind is visible in the\n whole tenor of these Essays, unequal as they must be from the\n very nature of such compositions. They are deeper and more\n discriminating than any earlier, or almost any later work in the\n English language, full of recondite observation, long matured and\n carefully sifted. It is true that we might wish for more vivacity\n and ease; Bacon, who had much wit, had little gayety; his Essays\n are consequently stiff and grave where the subject might have\n been touched with a lively hand; thus it is in those on Gardens\n and on Building. The sentences have sometimes too apophthegmatic\n a form and want coherence; the historical instances, though far\n less frequent than with Montaigne, have a little the look of\n pedantry to our eyes. But it is from this condensation, from this\n gravity, that the work derives its peculiar impressiveness.\n Few books are more quoted, and what is not always the case\n with such books, we may add that few are more generally read.\n In this respect they lead the van of our prose literature; for\n no gentleman is ashamed of owning that he has not read the\n Elizabethan writers; but it would be somewhat derogatory to a man\n of the slightest claim to polite letters, were he unacquainted\n with the Essays of Bacon. It is, indeed, little worth while to\n read this or any other book for reputation sake; but very few in\n our language so well repay the pains, or afford more nourishment\n to the thoughts. They might be judiciously introduced, with a\n small number more, into a sound method of education, one that\n should make wisdom, rather than mere knowledge, its object, and\n might become a text-book of examination in our schools.\u201d[38]\n\n\nADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING.\n\nThe _Advancement of Learning_ was published in 1605. It has usually\nbeen considered that the whole of Bacon\u2019s philosophy is contained in\nthis work, excepting, however, the second book of the _Novum Organum_.\nOf the _Advancement of Learning_ he made a Latin translation, under\nthe title of _De Dignitate et Augmentis Scientiarum_, which, however,\ncontains about one third of new matter and some slight interpolations;\na few omissions have been remarked in it.\n\nThe _Advancement of Learning_ is, as it were, to use his own language,\n\u201ca small globe of the intellectual world, as truly and faithfully as I\ncould discover with a note and description of those facts which seem to\nme not constantly occupate or not well converted by the labor of man.\nIn which, if I have in any point receded from that which is commonly\nreceived, it hath been with a purpose of proceeding _in melius_ and\nnot _in aliud_, a mind of amendment and proficience, and not of change\nand difference. For I could not be true and constant to the argument\nI handle, if I were not willing to go beyond others, but yet not more\nwilling than to have others go beyond me.\u201d\n\nThe _Advancement of Learning_ is divided into two parts; the former of\nwhich is intended to remove prejudices against the search after truth,\nby pointing out the causes which obstruct it; in the second, learning\nis divided into history, poetry, and philosophy, according to the\nfaculties of the mind from which they emanate\u2014memory, imagination, and\nreason. Our author states the deficiencies he observes in each.\n\nAll the peculiar qualities of his style are fully developed in this\nnoble monument of genius, one of the finest in English, or perhaps any\nother language; it is full of deep thought, keen observation, rich\nimagery, Attic wit, and apt illustration. Dugald Stewart and Hallam\nhave both expressed their just admiration of the short paragraph on\npoesy; but, with all due deference, we must consider that the beautiful\npassage on the dignity and excellency of knowledge is surpassed by\nnone. Can aught excel the noble comparison of the ship? The reader\nshall judge for himself.\n\n \u201cIf the invention of the ship was thought so noble, which\n carrieth riches and commodities from place to place, and\n consociateth the most remote regions in participation of their\n fruits; how much more are letters to be magnified, which,\n as ships, pass through the vast seas of time, and make ages\n so distant to participate of the wisdom, illuminations, and\n inventions, the one of the other?\u201d\n\n\nDE SAPIENTIA VETERUM.\n\nThe _Wisdom of the Ancients_, or rather, _De sapientia veterum_ (for\nit was written in Latin), is a short treatise on the mythology of\nthe ancients, by which Bacon endeavors to discover and to show the\nphysical, moral, and political meanings it concealed. If the reader is\nnot convinced that the ancients understood by these fables all that\nBacon discovers in them, he must at least admit the probability of it,\nand be impressed with the penetration of the author and the variety and\ndepth of his knowledge.\n\n\nINSTAURATIO MAGNA.\n\nThe _Instauratio Magna_ was published in 1620, while Bacon was still\nchancellor.\n\nIn his dedication of it to James the First, in 1620, in which he says\nhe has been engaged in it nearly thirty years, he pathetically remarks:\n\u201cThe reason why I have published it now, specially being imperfect,\nis, to speak plainly, because I number my days, and would have it\nsaved.\u201d His country and the world participate in the opinion of the\nphilosopher, and would have deemed its loss one of the greatest to\nmankind.\n\nSuch was the care with which it was composed, that Bacon transcribed it\ntwelve times with his own hand.\n\nIt is divided into six parts. The first entitled _Partitiones\nScientiarum_, or the divisions of knowledge possessed by mankind, in\nwhich the author has noted the deficiencies and imperfections of each.\nThis he had already accomplished by his _Advancement of Learning_.\n\nPart 2 is the _Novum Organum Scientiarum_, or new method of studying\nthe sciences, a name probably suggested by Aristotle\u2019s _Organon_\n(treatises on Logic). He intended it to be \u201cthe science of a better\nand more perfect use of reason in the investigation of things and of\nthe true end of understanding.\u201d This has been generally denominated\nthe _inductive method_, i. e. the experimental method, from the\nprinciple of _induction_, or bringing together facts and drawing from\nthem general principles or truths, by which the author proposes the\nadvancement of all kinds of knowledge. In this consists pre\u00ebminently\nthe philosophy of Bacon. Not reasoning upon conjecture on the laws\nand properties of nature, but, as Bacon quaintly terms it, \u201casking\nquestions of nature,\u201d that is, making experiments, laboriously\ncollecting facts first, and, after a sufficient number has been brought\ntogether, then forming systems or theories founded on them.\n\nBut this work is rather the summary of a more extensive one he\ndesigned, the aphorisms of it being rather, according to Hallam, \u201cthe\nheads or theses of chapters.\u201d But some of these principles are of\nparamount importance. An instance may be afforded of this, extracted\nfrom the \u201cInterpretation of Nature, and Man\u2019s dominion over it.\u201d It is\nthe very first sentence in the _Novum Organum_. \u201cMan, the servant and\ninterpreter of nature, can only understand and act in proportion as he\nobserves and contemplates the order of nature; more, he can neither\nknow nor do.\u201d This, as has justly been observed, is undoubtedly the\nfoundation of all our real knowledge.\n\nThe _Novum Organum_ is so important, that we deem it desirable to\npresent some more detailed accounts of it.\n\nThe body of the work is divided into two parts; the former of which is\nintended to serve as an introduction to the other, a preparation of the\nmind for receiving the doctrine.\n\nBacon begins by endeavoring to remove the prejudices and to obtain fair\nattention to his doctrine. He compares philosophy to \u201ca vast pyramid,\nwhich ought to have the history of nature for its basis;\u201d he likens\nthose who strive to erect by the force of abstract speculation to the\ngiants of old, who, according to the poets, endeavored to throw Mount\nOssa upon Pelion, and Olympus upon Ossa. The method of \u201canticipating\nnature,\u201d he denounces \u201cas rash, hasty, and unphilosophical;\u201d whereas,\n\u201cinterpretations of nature, or real truths arrived at by deduction,\ncannot so suddenly arrest the mind; and when the conclusion actually\narrives, it may so oppose prejudice, and appear so paradoxical as to\nbe in danger of not being received, notwithstanding the evidence that\nsupports it, like mysteries of faith.\u201d\n\nBacon first attacks the \u201cIdols of the Mind,\u201d i. e. the great sources\nof prejudice, then the different false philosophical theories; he\nafterwards proceeds to show what are the characteristics of false\nsystems, the causes of error in philosophy, and lastly the grounds of\nhope regarding the advancement of science.\n\nHe now aspires, to use his own language, \u201conly to sow the seeds of pure\ntruth for posterity, and not to be wanting in his assistance to the\nfirst beginning of great undertakings.\u201d \u201cLet the human race,\u201d says he\nfurther, \u201cregain their dominion over nature, which belongs to them by\nthe bounty of their Maker, and right reason and sound religion will\ndirect the use.\u201d\n\nThe second part of the _Novum Organum_ may be divided into three\nsections. The first is on the discovery of forms, i. e. causes in\nnature. The second section is composed of _tables_ illustrative of the\ninductive method, and the third and last is styled the _doctrine of\ninstances_, i. e. facts regarding the discovery of causes.\n\nPart the third of the _Instauratio Magna_ was to be a Natural History,\nas he termed it, or rather a history of natural substances, in which\nthe art of man had been employed, which would have been a history of\nuniversal nature.\n\nPart 4, to be called _Scala intellectus_, or _Intellectual Ladder_, was\nintended to be, to use his own words, \u201ctypes and models which place\nbefore our eyes the entire process of the mind in the discovery of\ntruth, selecting various and remarkable instances.\u201d\n\nHe had designed in the fifth part to give specimens of the new\nphilosophy; a few fragments only of this have been published. It was to\nbe \u201cthe fragment of interest till the principal could be raised.\u201d\n\nThe sixth and last part was \u201cto display a perfect system of philosophy\ndeduced and confirmed by a legitimate, sober, and exact inquiry\naccording to the method he had laid down and invented.\u201d \u201cTo perfect\nthis last part,\u201d says Bacon, \u201cis above our powers and beyond our hopes.\u201d\n\nLet us return, however, for a moment to the commencement, to remark\nthat he concludes the introduction by an eloquent prayer that his\nexertions may be rendered effectual to the attainment of truth and\nhappiness. But he feels his own inability, for \u201chis days are numbered,\u201d\nto conduct mankind to the hoped for goal. It was given to him to point\nout the road to the promised land; but, like Moses, after having\ndescried it from afar, it was denied him to enter the land to which he\nhad led the way.\n\n\nLIFE OF HENRY VII.\n\nThe _Life of Henry VII._, published in 1622, is, in the opinion of\nHallam, \u201cthe first instance in our language of the application of\nphilosophy to reasoning on public events in the manner of the ancients\nand the Italians. Praise upon Henry is too largely bestowed; but it was\nin the nature of Bacon to admire too much a crafty and selfish policy;\nand he thought also, no doubt, that so near an ancestor of his own\nsovereign should not be treated with severe impartiality.\u201d[39]\n\n\nLETTERS.\n\nHis _Letters_ published in his works are numerous; they are written\nin a stiff, ungraceful, formal style; but still, they frequently bear\nthe impress of the writer\u2019s greatness and genius. Fragments of them\nhave been frequently quoted in the course of this notice; they have,\nperhaps, best served to exhibit more fully the man in all the relations\nof his public and private life.\n\n\nMISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.\n\nAmongst his miscellaneous papers there was found after his death a\nremarkable prayer, which Addison deemed sufficiently beautiful to be\npublished in the _Tatler_[40] for Christmas, 1710. We extract a passage\nor two, that may serve to illustrate Bacon\u2019s position or his character.\n\n \u201cI have, though in a despised weed, procured the good of all\n men. If any have been my enemies, I thought not of them, neither\n hath the sun almost set upon my displeasure; but I have been as\n a dove, free from superfluity of maliciousness.\u201d\n\n \u201cJust are thy judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in\n number than the sands of the sea, but have no proportion to\n thy mercies; for what are the sands of the sea? Earth, heaven,\n and all these are nothing to thy mercies.\u201d\n\nAddison observes of this prayer, that for elevation of thought and\ngreatness of expression, \u201cit seems\u2014rather the devotion of an angel than\na man.\u201d\n\nIn taking leave of the life and the works of the greatest of\nphilosophers, and alas! the least of men, we have endeavored to present\na succinct but faithful narrative\u2014\u201chis glory not extenuated wherein he\nwas worthy, nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered\u201d merited\nobloquy with his own contemporaries and all posterity. Our endeavor has\nbeen\n\n Verba animi proferre et vitam impendere vero.\n\nBut his failings, great as they were, are forgotten through his\ntranscendent merit; his faults injured but few, and in his own time\nalone; his genius has benefited all mankind. The new direction he gave\nto philosophy was the indirect cause of all the modern conquests\nof science over matter, or, as it were, over nature. What it has\nalready accomplished, and may yet effect for the whole human race, is\nincalculable. Macaulay, the historian of England, has been likewise the\neloquent narrator of the progress, that owes its origin to the genius\nof Francis Bacon.\n\n \u201cAsk a follower of Bacon,\u201d says Macaulay, \u201cwhat the new\n philosophy, as it was called in the time of Charles the Second,\n has effected for mankind, and his answer is ready: \u2018It hath\n lengthened life; it has mitigated pain; it has extinguished\n diseases; it has increased the fertility of the soil; it has\n given new securities to the mariner; it has furnished new arms\n to the warrior; it has spanned great rivers and estuaries with\n bridges of form unknown to our fathers; it has guided the\n thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to earth; it has lighted up\n the night with the splendor of the day; it has extended the range\n of the human vision; it has multiplied the power of the human\n muscle; it has accelerated motion; it has annihilated distance;\n it has facilitated intercourse, correspondence, all friendly\n offices, all dispatch of business; it has enabled man to descend\n to the depths of the sea, to soar into the air, to penetrate\n securely into the noxious recesses of the earth, to traverse the\n land on cars which whirl along without horses, and the ocean in\n ships which sail against the wind. These are but a part of its\n fruits, and of its first-fruits. For it is a philosophy which\n never rests, which has never attained, which is never perfect.\n Its law is progress. A point which yesterday was invisible is its\n goal to-day, and will be its starting-post to-morrow.\u2019\u201d[41]\n\n\n\n\nESSAYS.\n\n\n\n\nI.\u2014OF TRUTH.\n\n\nWhat is truth? said jesting Pilate;[42] and would not stay for an\nanswer. Certainly, there be that delight in giddiness; and count it\na bondage to fix a belief; affecting freewill in thinking as well as\nin acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone,\nyet there remain certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins,\nthough there be not so much blood in them as was in those of the\nancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labor which men take in\nfinding out of truth: nor again, that, when it is found, it imposeth\nupon men\u2019s thoughts, that doth bring lies in favor; but a natural\nthough corrupt love of the lie itself. One of the later schools[43] of\nthe Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand to think what\nshould be in it that men should love lies; where neither they make\nfor pleasure, as with poets; nor for advantage, as with the merchant,\nbut for the lie\u2019s sake. But I cannot tell; this same truth is a naked\nand open daylight, that doth not show the masks, and mummeries, and\ntriumphs of the world, half so stately and daintily as candle-lights.\nTruth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that showeth best by\nday, but it will not rise to the price of a diamond or carbuncle,\nthat showeth best in varied lights. A mixture of a lie doth ever add\npleasure. Doth any man doubt, that if there were taken out of men\u2019s\nminds vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations\nas one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds of a number\nof men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and\nunpleasing to themselves? One of the fathers,[44] in great severity,\ncalled poesy \u201cvinum d\u00e6monum,\u201d[45] because it filleth the imagination,\nand yet it is but with the shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie that\npasseth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth\nin it, that doth the hurt, such as we spake of before. But howsoever\nthese things are thus in men\u2019s depraved judgments and affections, yet\ntruth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of\ntruth, which is the love-making, or wooing of it, the knowledge of\ntruth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which\nis the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature. The\nfirst creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the\nsense;[46] the last was the light of reason;[47] and his sabbath work,\never since, is the illumination of his Spirit. First, he breathed light\nupon the face of the matter, or chaos; then he breathed light into\nthe face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light into the\nface of his chosen. The poet[48] that beautified the sect,[49] that\nwas otherwise inferior to the rest, saith yet excellently well: \u201cIt\nis a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon\nthe sea; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a\nbattle, and the adventures thereof below; but no pleasure is comparable\nto the standing upon the vantage-ground of truth\u201d (a hill not to be\ncommanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), \u201cand to\nsee the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale\nbelow;\u201d[50] so always that this prospect be with pity, and not with\nswelling or pride. Certainly it is heaven upon earth, to have a man\u2019s\nmind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of\ntruth.\n\nTo pass from theological and philosophical truth to the truth of civil\nbusiness; it will be acknowledged, even by those that practise it not,\nthat clear and round dealing is the honor of man\u2019s nature, and that\nmixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which\nmay make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these\nwinding and crooked courses are the goings of the serpent; which goeth\nbasely upon the belly, and not upon the feet. There is no vice that\ndoth so cover a man with shame, as to be found false and perfidious;\nand therefore Montaigne[51] saith prettily, when he inquired the\nreason why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace, and such an\nodious charge: saith he, \u201cIf it be well weighed, to say that a man\nlieth, is as much as to say that he is brave towards God and a coward\ntowards men. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man;\u201d surely, the\nwickedness of falsehood and breach of faith cannot possibly be so\nhighly expressed, as in that it shall be the last peal to call the\njudgments of God upon the generations of men: it being foretold, that,\nwhen \u201cChrist cometh,\u201d he shall not \u201cfind faith upon the earth.\u201d[52]\n\n\n\n\nII.\u2014OF DEATH.[53]\n\n\nMen fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural\nfear in children is increased with tales, so is the other. Certainly,\nthe contemplation of death, as the wages of sin, and passage to another\nworld, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due\nunto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations there is sometimes\nmixture of vanity and of superstition. You shall read in some of the\nfriars\u2019 books of mortification, that a man should think with himself,\nwhat the pain is, if he have but his finger\u2019s end pressed or tortured;\nand thereby imagine what the pains of death are, when the whole body\nis corrupted and dissolved; when many times death passeth with less\npain than the torture of a limb, for the most vital parts are not\nthe quickest of sense. And by him that spake only as a philosopher\nand natural man, it was well said, \u201cPompa mortis magis terret, quam\nmors ipsa.\u201d[54] Groans and convulsions, and a discolored face, and\nfriends weeping, and blacks[55] and obsequies, and the like, show death\nterrible. It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in\nthe mind of man so weak, but it mates and masters the fear of death;\nand therefore death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many\nattendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs\nover death; love slights it; honor aspireth to it; grief flieth to it;\nfear preoccupateth it; nay, we read, after Otho the emperor had slain\nhimself, pity (which is the tenderest of affections) provoked many\nto die out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest\nsort of followers.[56] Nay, Seneca[57] adds niceness and satiety:\n\u201cCogita quamdiu eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantum fortis, aut\nmiser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest.\u201d[58] A man would die, though he\nwere neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the\nsame thing so oft over and over. It is no less worthy to observe, how\nlittle alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make: for\nthey appear to be the same men till the last instant. Augustus C\u00e6sar\ndied in a compliment: \u201cLivia, conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale.\u201d[59]\nTiberius in dissimulation, as Tacitus saith of him, \u201cJam Tiberium\nvires et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant:\u201d[60] Vespasian in a\njest, sitting upon the stool,[61] \u201cUt puto Deus fio;\u201d[62] Galba with\na sentence, \u201cFeri, si ex re sit populi Romani,\u201d[63] holding forth\nhis neck; Septimus Severus in dispatch, \u201cAdeste, si quid mihi restat\nagendum,\u201d[64] and the like. Certainly, the Stoics[65] bestowed too much\ncost upon death, and by their great preparations made it appear more\nfearful. Better, saith he, \u201cqui finem vit\u00e6 extremum inter munera ponit\nnatur\u00e6.\u201d[66] It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little\ninfant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. He that dies in\nan earnest pursuit, is like one that is wounded in hot blood, who,\nfor the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and\nbent upon somewhat that is good, doth avert the dolors of death; but,\nabove all, believe it, the sweetest canticle is \u201cNunc dimittis,\u201d[67]\nwhen a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death hath this\nalso, that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy:\n\u201cExtinctus amabitur idem.\u201d[68]\n\n\n\n\nIII.\u2014OF UNITY IN RELIGION.\n\n\nReligion being the chief band of human society, it is a happy thing\nwhen itself is well contained within the true band of unity. The\nquarrels and divisions about religion were evils unknown to the\nheathen. The reason was, because the religion of the heathen consisted\nrather in rites and ceremonies, than in any constant belief; for you\nmay imagine what kind of faith theirs was, when the chief doctors and\nfathers of their church were the poets. But the true God hath this\nattribute, that he is a jealous God; and therefore his worship and\nreligion will endure no mixture nor partner. We shall therefore speak\na few words concerning the unity of the church; what are the fruits\nthereof; what the bounds; and what the means.\n\nThe fruits of unity (next unto the well-pleasing of God, which is all\nin all), are two; the one towards those that are without the church,\nthe other towards those that are within. For the former, it is certain\nthat heresies and schisms are, of all others, the greatest scandals,\nyea, more than corruption of manners; for as in the natural body a\nwound or solution of continuity is worse than a corrupt humor, so\nin the spiritual; so that nothing doth so much keep men out of the\nchurch, and drive men out of the church, as breach of unity; and\ntherefore, whensoever it cometh to that pass that one saith, \u201cEcce\nin Deserto,\u201d[69] another saith, \u201cEcce in penetralibus;\u201d[70] that is,\nwhen some men seek Christ in the conventicles of heretics, and others\nin an outward face of a church, that voice had need continually to\nsound in men\u2019s ears, \u201cnolite exire,\u201d \u201cgo not out.\u201d The doctor of the\nGentiles (the propriety of whose vocation drew him to have a special\ncare of those without) saith: \u201cIf a heathen[71] come in, and hear\nyou speak with several tongues, will he not say that you are mad?\u201d\nand, certainly, it is little better: when atheists and profane persons\ndo hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it\ndoth avert them from the church, and maketh them \u201cto sit down in the\nchair of the scorners.\u201d[72] It is but a light thing to be vouched in\nso serious a matter, but yet it expresseth well the deformity. There\nis a master of scoffing, that, in his catalogue of books of a feigned\nlibrary, sets down this title of a book, \u201cThe Morris-Dance[73] of\nHeretics;\u201d for, indeed, every sect of them hath a diverse posture, or\ncringe, by themselves, which cannot but move derision in worldlings and\ndepraved politicians, who are apt to contemn holy things.\n\nAs for the fruit towards those that are within, it is peace, which\ncontaineth infinite blessings; it establisheth faith; it kindleth\ncharity; the outward peace of the church distilleth into peace of\nconscience, and it turneth the labors of writing and reading of\ncontroversies into treatises of mortification and devotion.\n\nConcerning the bounds of unity, the true placing of them importeth\nexceedingly. There appear to be two extremes; for to certain zealots\nall speech of pacification is odious. \u201cIs it peace, Jehu?\u201d\u2014\u201cWhat hast\nthou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.\u201d[74] Peace is not the\nmatter, but following, and party. Contrariwise, certain Laodiceans[75]\nand lukewarm persons think they may accommodate points of religion by\nmiddle ways, and taking part of both, and witty reconcilements, as if\nthey would make an arbitrament between God and man. Both these extremes\nare to be avoided; which will be done if the league of Christians,\npenned by our Saviour himself, were in the two cross clauses thereof\nsoundly and plainly expounded: \u201cHe that is not with us is against\nus;\u201d[76] and again, \u201cHe that is not against us, is with us;\u201d that is,\nif the points fundamental, and of substance in religion, were truly\ndiscerned and distinguished from points not merely of faith, but of\nopinion, order, or good intention. This is a thing may seem to many a\nmatter trivial, and done already; but if it were done less partially,\nit would be embraced more generally.\n\nOf this I may give only this advice, according to my small model.\nMen ought to take heed of rending God\u2019s church by two kinds of\ncontroversies; the one is, when the matter of the point controverted is\ntoo small and light, not worth the heat and strife about it, kindled\nonly by contradiction; for, as it is noted by one of the fathers,\n\u201cChrist\u2019s coat indeed had no seam, but the church\u2019s vesture was of\ndivers colors;\u201d whereupon he saith, \u201cIn veste varietas sit, scissura\nnon sit,\u201d[77] they be two things, unity and uniformity; the other is,\nwhen the matter of the point controverted is great, but it is driven\nto an over-great subtilty and obscurity, so that it becometh a thing\nrather ingenious than substantial. A man that is of judgment and\nunderstanding shall sometimes hear ignorant men differ, and know well\nwithin himself, that those which so differ mean one thing, and yet\nthey themselves would never agree; and if it come so to pass in that\ndistance of judgment, which is between man and man, shall we not think\nthat God above, that knows the heart, doth not discern that frail men,\nin some of their contradictions, intend the same thing, and accepteth\nof both? The nature of such controversies is excellently expressed by\nSt. Paul, in the warning and precept that he giveth concerning the\nsame: \u201cDevita profanas vocum novitates, et oppositiones falsi nominis\nscienti\u00e6.\u201d[78] Men create oppositions which are not, and put them\ninto new terms, so fixed as, whereas the meaning ought to govern the\nterm, the term in effect governeth the meaning. There be also two\nfalse peaces, or unities; the one, when the peace is grounded but upon\nan implicit ignorance; for all colors will agree in the dark; the\nother, when it is pieced up upon a direct admission of contraries in\nfundamental points; for truth and falsehood, in such things, are like\nthe iron and clay in the toes of Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s image;[79] they may\ncleave, but they will not incorporate.\n\nConcerning the means of procuring unity, men must beware that, in the\nprocuring or muniting of religious unity, they do not dissolve and\ndeface the laws of charity and of human society. There be two swords\namongst Christians, the spiritual and temporal, and both have their due\noffice and place in the maintenance of religion; but we may not take up\nthe third sword, which is Mahomet\u2019s sword,[80] or like unto it; that\nis, to propagate religion by wars, or, by sanguinary persecutions, to\nforce consciences; except it be in cases of overt scandal, blasphemy,\nor intermixture of practice against the state; much less to nourish\nseditions, to authorize conspiracies and rebellions, to put the sword\ninto the people\u2019s hands, and the like, tending to the subversion of all\ngovernment, which is the ordinance of God; for this is but to dash the\nfirst table against the second, and so to consider men as Christians,\nas we forget that they are men. Lucretius the poet, when he beheld\nthe act of Agamemnon, that could endure the sacrificing of his own\ndaughter, exclaimed;\u2014\n\n \u201cTantum religio potuit suadere malorum.\u201d[81]\n\nWhat would he have said, if he had known of the massacre in France,[82]\nor the powder treason of England?[83] He would have been seven times\nmore epicure and atheist than he was; for as the temporal sword is\nto be drawn with great circumspection in cases of religion, so it\nis a thing monstrous to put it into the hands of the common people;\nlet that be left unto the Anabaptists, and other furies. It was\ngreat blasphemy when the devil said, \u201cI will ascend and be like the\nHighest;\u201d[84] but it is greater blasphemy to personate God, and bring\nhim in saying, \u201cI will descend, and be like the prince of darkness;\u201d\nand what is it better, to make the cause of religion to descend to\nthe cruel and execrable actions of murdering princes, butchery of\npeople, and subversion of states and governments? Surely, this is to\nbring down the Holy Ghost, instead of the likeness of a dove, in the\nshape of a vulture or raven; and to set out of the bark of a Christian\nchurch a flag of a bark of pirates and assassins; therefore, it is most\nnecessary that the church by doctrine and decree, princes by their\nsword, and all learnings, both Christian and moral, as by their Mercury\nrod,[85] do damn and send to hell forever those facts and opinions\ntending to the support of the same, as hath been already in good part\ndone. Surely, in counsels concerning religion, that counsel of the\napostle would be prefixed: \u201cIra hominis non implet justitiam Dei;\u201d[86]\nand it was a notable observation of a wise father, and no less\ningenuously confessed, that those which held and persuaded pressure of\nconsciences, were commonly interested therein themselves for their own\nends.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\u2014OF REVENGE.\n\n\nRevenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man\u2019s nature runs\nto, the more ought law to weed it out; for as for the first wrong, it\ndoth but offend the law, but the revenge of that wrong, putteth the\nlaw out of office. Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even\nwith his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a\nprince\u2019s part to pardon; and Solomon, I am sure, saith, \u201cIt is the\nglory of a man to pass by an offence.\u201d That which is past is gone and\nirrevocable, and wise men have enough to do with things present and\nto come; therefore they do but trifle with themselves that labor in\npast matters. There is no man doth a wrong for the wrong\u2019s sake, but\nthereby to purchase himself profit, or pleasure, or honor, or the like;\ntherefore, why should I be angry with a man for loving himself better\nthan me? And if any man should do wrong merely out of ill-nature, why,\nyet it is but like the thorn or briar, which prick and scratch, because\nthey can do no other. The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those\nwrongs which there is no law to remedy; but then, let a man take heed\nthe revenge be such as there is no law to punish, else a man\u2019s enemy is\nstill beforehand, and it is two for one. Some, when they take revenge,\nare desirous the party should know whence it cometh. This is the more\ngenerous; for the delight seemeth to be not so much in doing the hurt\nas in making the party repent; but base and crafty cowards are like\nthe arrow that flieth in the dark. Cosmus, Duke of Florence,[87] had\na desperate saying against perfidious or neglecting friends, as if\nthose wrongs were unpardonable. \u201cYou shall read,\u201d saith he, \u201cthat we\nare commanded to forgive our enemies; but you never read that we are\ncommanded to forgive our friends.\u201d But yet the spirit of Job was in a\nbetter tune: \u201cShall we,\u201d saith he, \u201ctake good at God\u2019s hands, and not\nbe content to take evil also?\u201d[88] and so of friends in a proportion.\nThis is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds\ngreen, which otherwise would heal and do well. Public revenges[89]\nare for the most part fortunate; as that for the death of C\u00e6sar;[90]\nfor the death of Pertinax; for the death of Henry the Third of\nFrance;[91] and many more. But in private revenges it is not so; nay,\nrather, vindictive persons live the life of witches, who, as they are\nmischievous, so end they unfortunate.\n\n\n\n\nV.\u2014OF ADVERSITY.\n\n\nIt was a high speech of Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics), that\n\u201cthe good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished, but\nthe good things that belong to adversity are to be admired.\u201d (\u201cBona\nrerum secundarum optabilia, adversarum mirabilia.\u201d)[92] Certainly, if\nmiracles be the command over nature, they appear most in adversity.\nIt is yet a higher speech of his than the other (much too high for a\nheathen), \u201cIt is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man,\nand the security of a God.\u201d (\u201cVere magnum habere fragilitatem hominis\nsecuritatem Dei.\u201d)[93] This would have done better in poesy, where\ntranscendencies are more allowed, and the poets, indeed, have been\nbusy with it; for it is, in effect, the thing which is figured in\nthat strange fiction of the ancient poets,[94] which seemeth not to\nbe without mystery; nay, and to have some approach to the state of a\nChristian, \u201cthat Hercules, when he went to unbind Prometheus (by whom\nhuman nature is represented), sailed the length of the great ocean in\nan earthen pot or pitcher,\u201d lively describing Christian resolution,\nthat saileth in the frail bark of the flesh through the waves of the\nworld. But to speak in a mean, the virtue of prosperity is temperance,\nthe virtue of adversity is fortitude, which in morals is the more\nheroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament,\nadversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth the greater\nbenediction, and the clearer revelation of God\u2019s favor. Yet even in the\nOld Testament, if you listen to David\u2019s harp, you shall hear as many\nhearse-like airs[95] as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath\nlabored more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities\nof Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and\nadversity is not without comforts and hopes. We see, in needleworks and\nembroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and\nsolemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome\nground: judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the heart by the pleasure\nof the eye. Certainly, virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant\nwhen they are incensed, or crushed; for prosperity doth best discover\nvice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.[96]\n\n\n\n\nVI.\u2014OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION.\n\n\nDissimulation is but a faint kind of policy, or wisdom; for it asketh\na strong wit and a strong heart to know when to tell truth, and to do\nit; therefore it is the weaker sort of politicians that are the great\ndissemblers.\n\nTacitus saith, \u201cLivia sorted well with the arts of her husband, and\ndissimulation of her son;[97] attributing arts or policy to Augustus,\nand dissimulation to Tiberius:\u201d and again, when Mucianus encourageth\nVespasian to take arms against Vitellius, he saith, \u201cWe rise not\nagainst the piercing judgment of Augustus, nor the extreme caution or\ncloseness of Tiberius.\u201d[98] These properties of arts or policy, and\ndissimulation or closeness, are indeed habits and faculties several,\nand to be distinguished; for if a man have that penetration of judgment\nas he can discern what things are to be laid open, and what to be\nsecreted, and what to be showed at half-lights, and to whom and when\n(which indeed are arts of state, and arts of life, as Tacitus well\ncalleth them), to him a habit of dissimulation is a hinderance and a\npoorness. But if a man cannot obtain to that judgment, then it is left\nto him generally to be close, and a dissembler; for where a man cannot\nchoose or vary in particulars, there it is good to take the safest and\nwariest way in general, like the going softly by one that cannot well\nsee. Certainly, the ablest men that ever were, have had all an openness\nand frankness of dealing, and a name of certainty and veracity: but\nthen they were like horses well managed, for they could tell passing\nwell when to stop or turn; and at such times, when they thought the\ncase indeed required dissimulation, if then they used it, it came to\npass that the former opinion spread abroad, of their good faith and\nclearness of dealing, made them almost invisible.\n\nThere be three degrees of this hiding and veiling of a man\u2019s self: the\nfirst, closeness, reservation, and secrecy; when a man leaveth himself\nwithout observation, or without hold to be taken, what he is: the\nsecond, dissimulation in the negative; when a man lets fall signs and\narguments, that he is not that he is: and the third, simulation in the\naffirmative; when a man industriously and expressly feigns and pretends\nto be that he is not.\n\nFor the first of these, secrecy, it is indeed the virtue of a\nconfessor; and assuredly the secret man heareth many confessions; for\nwho will open himself to a blab or a babbler? But if a man be thought\nsecret, it inviteth discovery, as the more close air sucketh in the\nmore open; and, as in confession, the revealing is not for worldly use,\nbut for the ease of a man\u2019s heart, so secret men come to the knowledge\nof many things in that kind; while men rather discharge their minds\nthan impart their minds. In few words, mysteries are due to secrecy.\nBesides (to say truth), nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as\nbody; and it addeth no small reverence to men\u2019s manners and actions,\nif they be not altogether open. As for talkers and futile persons,\nthey are commonly vain and credulous withal; for he that talketh what\nhe knoweth, will also talk what he knoweth not; therefore set it down,\nthat a habit of secrecy is both politic and moral: and in this part\nit is good that a man\u2019s face give his tongue leave to speak; for the\ndiscovery of a man\u2019s self by the tracts[99] of his countenance, is a\ngreat weakness and betraying, by how much it is many times more marked\nand believed than a man\u2019s words.\n\nFor the second, which is dissimulation, it followeth many times upon\nsecrecy by a necessity; so that he that will be secret must be a\ndissembler in some degree; for men are too cunning to suffer a man to\nkeep an indifferent carriage between both, and to be secret, without\nswaying the balance on either side. They will so beset a man with\nquestions, and draw him on, and pick it out of him, that without an\nabsurd silence, he must show an inclination one way; or if he do not,\nthey will gather as much by his silence as by his speech. As for\nequivocations, or oraculous speeches, they cannot hold out long: so\nthat no man can be secret, except he give himself a little scope of\ndissimulation, which is, as it were, but the skirts or train of secrecy.\n\nBut for the third degree, which is simulation and false profession,\nthat I hold more culpable, and less politic, except it be in great and\nrare matters; and, therefore, a general custom of simulation (which is\nthis last degree) is a vice rising either of a natural falseness, or\nfearfulness, or of a mind that hath some main faults; which because a\nman must needs disguise, it maketh him practise simulation in other\nthings, lest his hand should be out of use.\n\nThe advantages of simulation and dissimulation are three: first, to\nlay asleep opposition, and to surprise; for, where a man\u2019s intentions\nare published, it is an alarum to call up all that are against them:\nthe second is, to reserve to a man\u2019s self a fair retreat; for if a man\nengage himself by a manifest declaration, he must go through or take\na fall: the third is, the better to discover the mind of another; for\nto him that opens himself men will hardly show themselves adverse; but\nwill (fair) let him go on, and turn their freedom of speech to freedom\nof thought; and therefore it is a good shrewd proverb of the Spaniard,\n\u201cTell a lie, and find a troth;\u201d[100] as if there were no way of\ndiscovery but by simulation. There be also three disadvantages to set\nit even; the first, that simulation and dissimulation commonly carry\nwith them a show of fearfulness, which, in any business, doth spoil the\nfeathers of round flying up to the mark; the second, that it puzzleth\nand perplexeth the conceits of many, that, perhaps, would otherwise\nco\u00f6perate with him, and makes a man walk almost alone to his own ends:\nthe third, and greatest, is, that it depriveth a man of one of the most\nprincipal instruments for action, which is trust and belief. The best\ncomposition and temperature is, to have openness in fame and opinion,\nsecrecy in habit, dissimulation in seasonable use, and a power to feign\nif there be no remedy.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\u2014OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.\n\n\nThe joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and fears;\nthey cannot utter the one, nor they will not utter the other. Children\nsweeten labors, but they make misfortunes more bitter; they increase\nthe cares of life, but they mitigate the remembrance of death. The\nperpetuity by generation is common to beasts; but memory, merit, and\nnoble works, are proper to men: and surely a man shall see the noblest\nworks and foundations have proceeded from childless men, which have\nsought to express the images of their minds where those of their bodies\nhave failed; so the care of posterity is most in them that have no\nposterity. They that are the first raisers of their houses are most\nindulgent towards their children, beholding them as the continuance,\nnot only of their kind, but of their work; and so both children and\ncreatures.\n\nThe difference in affection of parents towards their several children\nis many times unequal, and sometimes unworthy, especially in the\nmother; as Solomon saith, \u201cA wise son rejoiceth the father, but an\nungracious son shames the mother.\u201d[101] A man shall see, where there\nis a house full of children, one or two of the eldest respected, and\nthe youngest made wantons;[102] but in the midst some that are, as\nit were, forgotten, who many times, nevertheless, prove the best.\nThe illiberality of parents, in allowance towards their children, is\na harmful error, makes them base, acquaints them with shifts, makes\nthem sort with mean company, and makes them surfeit more when they\ncome to plenty; and, therefore, the proof[103] is best when men keep\ntheir authority towards their children, but not their purse. Men have\na foolish manner (both parents, and schoolmasters, and servants), in\ncreating and breeding an emulation between brothers during childhood,\nwhich many times sorteth[104] to discord when they are men, and\ndisturbeth families.[105] The Italians make little difference between\nchildren and nephews, or near kinsfolk; but so they be of the lump,\nthey care not, though they pass not through their own body; and, to\nsay truth, in nature it is much a like matter; insomuch that we see a\nnephew sometimes resembleth an uncle or a kinsman more than his own\nparent, as the blood happens. Let parents choose betimes the vocations\nand courses they mean their children should take, for then they are\nmost flexible; and let them not too much apply themselves to the\ndisposition of their children, as thinking they will take best to that\nwhich they have most mind to. It is true, that if the affection or\naptness of the children be extraordinary, then it is good not to cross\nit; but generally the precept is good, \u201cOptimum elige, suave et facile\nillud faciet consuetudo.\u201d[106]\u2014Younger brothers are commonly fortunate,\nbut seldom or never where the elder are disinherited.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\u2014OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE.\n\n\nHe that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for\nthey are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or\nmischief. Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the\npublic, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men, which,\nboth in affection and means, have married and endowed the public.\nYet it were great reason that those that have children should have\ngreatest care of future times, unto which they know they must transmit\ntheir dearest pledges. Some there are who, though they lead a single\nlife, yet their thoughts do end with themselves, and account future\ntimes impertinences; nay, there are some other that account wife and\nchildren but as bills of charges; nay more, there are some foolish,\nrich, covetous men, that take a pride in having no children, because\nthey may be thought so much the richer; for, perhaps they have heard\nsome talk, \u201cSuch an one is a great rich man,\u201d and another except to\nit, \u201cYea, but he hath a great charge of children;\u201d as if it were an\nabatement to his riches. But the most ordinary cause of a single life\nis liberty, especially in certain self-pleasing and humorous minds,\nwhich are so sensible of every restraint, as they will go near to\nthink their girdles and garters to be bonds and shackles. Unmarried\nmen are best friends, best masters, best servants; but not always best\nsubjects, for they are light to run away, and almost all fugitives are\nof that condition. A single life doth well with churchmen, for charity\nwill hardly water the ground where it must first fill a pool.[107]\nIt is indifferent for judges and magistrates; for if they be facile\nand corrupt, you shall have a servant five times worse than a wife.\nFor soldiers, I find the generals commonly, in their hortatives, put\nmen in mind of their wives and children; and I think the despising\nof marriage amongst the Turks maketh the vulgar soldier more base.\nCertainly, wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity; and\nsingle men, though they be many times more charitable, because their\nmeans are less exhaust, yet, on the other side, they are more cruel\nand hard-hearted (good to make severe inquisitors), because their\ntenderness is not so oft called upon. Grave natures, led by custom,\nand therefore constant, are commonly loving husbands, as was said of\nUlysses, \u201cVetulam suam praetulit immortalitati.\u201d[108] Chaste women are\noften proud and froward, as presuming upon the merit of their chastity.\nIt is one of the best bonds, both of chastity and obedience, in the\nwife, if she think her husband wise, which she will never do if she\nfind him jealous. Wives are young men\u2019s mistresses, companions for\nmiddle age, and old men\u2019s nurses, so as a man may have a quarrel[109]\nto marry when he will; but yet he was reputed one of the wise men that\nmade answer to the question when a man should marry, \u201cA young man not\nyet, an elder man not at all.\u201d[110] It is often seen that bad husbands\nhave very good wives; whether it be that it raiseth the price of their\nhusbands\u2019 kindness when it comes, or that the wives take a pride in\ntheir patience; but this never fails, if the bad husbands were of their\nown choosing, against their friends\u2019 consent, for then they will be\nsure to make good their own folly.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\u2014OF ENVY.\n\n\nThere be none of the affections which have been noted to fascinate or\nbewitch, but love and envy. They both have vehement wishes; they frame\nthemselves readily into imaginations and suggestions, and they come\neasily into the eye, especially upon the presence of the objects which\nare the points that conduce to fascination, if any such thing there\nbe. We see, likewise, the Scripture calleth envy an evil eye;[111] and\nthe astrologers call the evil influences of the stars evil aspects;\nso that still there seemeth to be acknowledged, in the act of envy, an\nejaculation, or irradiation of the eye; nay, some have been so curious\nas to note that the times, when the stroke or percussion of an envious\neye doth most hurt, are, when the party envied is beheld in glory or\ntriumph, for that sets an edge upon envy; and besides, at such times,\nthe spirits of the person envied do come forth most into the outward\nparts, and so meet the blow.\n\nBut, leaving these curiosities (though not unworthy to be thought on\nin fit place), we will handle what persons are apt to envy others;\nwhat persons are most subject to be envied themselves; and what is the\ndifference between public and private envy.\n\nA man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others;\nfor men\u2019s minds will either feed upon their own good, or upon others\u2019\nevil; and who wanteth the one will prey upon the other; and whoso is\nout of hope to attain to another\u2019s virtue, will seek to come at even\nhand[112] by depressing another\u2019s fortune.\n\nA man that is busy and inquisitive, is commonly envious; for to know\nmuch of other men\u2019s matters cannot be, because all that ado may concern\nhis own estate; therefore, it must needs be that he taketh a kind of\nplay-pleasure in looking upon the fortunes of others; neither can he\nthat mindeth but his own business find much matter for envy; for envy\nis a gadding passion, and walketh the streets, and doth not keep home:\n\u201cNon est curiosus, quin idem sit malevolus.\u201d[113]\n\nMen of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they\nrise, for the distance is altered; and it is like a deceit of the eye,\nthat when others come on they think themselves go back.\n\nDeformed persons and eunuchs, and old men and bastards, are envious;\nfor he that cannot possibly mend his own case, will do what he can to\nimpair another\u2019s; except these defects light upon a very brave and\nheroical nature, which thinketh to make his natural wants part of his\nhonor; in that it should be said, \u201cThat a eunuch, or a lame man, did\nsuch great matters,\u201d affecting the honor of a miracle; as it was in\nNarses[114] the eunuch, and Agesilaus and Tamerlane,[115] that were\nlame men.\n\nThe same is the case of men that rise after calamities and\nmisfortunes; for they are as men fallen out with the times, and think\nother men\u2019s harms a redemption of their own sufferings.\n\nThey that desire to excel in too many matters, out of levity and\nvainglory, are ever envious, for they cannot want work; it being\nimpossible but many, in some one of those things, should surpass them;\nwhich was the character of Adrian the emperor, that mortally envied\npoets and painters, and artificers in works, wherein he had a vein to\nexcel.[116]\n\nLastly, near kinsfolk and fellows in office, and those that have been\nbred together, are more apt to envy their equals when they are raised;\nfor it doth upbraid unto them their own fortunes, and pointeth at them,\nand cometh oftener into their remembrance, and incurreth likewise more\ninto the note[117] of others; and envy ever redoubleth from speech and\nfame. Cain\u2019s envy was the more vile and malignant towards his brother\nAbel, because when his sacrifice was better accepted, there was nobody\nto look on. Thus much for those that are apt to envy.\n\nConcerning those that are more or less subject to envy: First, persons\nof eminent virtue, when they are advanced, are less envied, for their\nfortune seemeth but due unto them; and no man envieth the payment of\na debt, but rewards and liberality rather. Again, envy is ever joined\nwith the comparing of a man\u2019s self; and where there is no comparison,\nno envy; and therefore kings are not envied but by kings. Nevertheless,\nit is to be noted, that unworthy persons are most envied at their first\ncoming in, and afterwards overcome it better; whereas, contrariwise,\npersons of worth and merit are most envied when their fortune\ncontinueth long; for by that time, though their virtue be the same, yet\nit hath not the same lustre; for fresh men grow up that darken it.\n\nPersons of noble blood are less envied in their rising; for it seemeth\nbut right done to their birth: besides, there seemeth not so much added\nto their fortune; and envy is as the sunbeams, that beat hotter upon\na bank or steep rising ground, than upon a flat; and, for the same\nreason, those that are advanced by degrees are less envied than those\nthat are advanced suddenly, and _per saltum_.[118]\n\nThose that have joined with their honor great travels, cares, or\nperils, are less subject to envy; for men think that they earn their\nhonors hardly, and pity them sometimes, and pity ever healeth envy.\nWherefore you shall observe, that the more deep and sober sort of\npolitic persons, in their greatness, are ever bemoaning themselves\nwhat a life they lead, chanting a _quanta patimur_;[119] not that they\nfeel it so, but only to abate the edge of envy; but this is to be\nunderstood of business that is laid upon men, and not such as they call\nunto themselves; for nothing increaseth envy more than an unnecessary\nand ambitious engrossing of business; and nothing doth extinguish envy\nmore than for a great person to preserve all other inferior officers in\ntheir full rights and pre\u00ebminences of their places; for, by that means,\nthere be so many screens between him and envy.\n\nAbove all, those are most subject to envy, which carry the greatness\nof their fortunes in an insolent and proud manner; being never well\nbut while they are showing how great they are, either by outward pomp,\nor by triumphing over all opposition or competition. Whereas wise men\nwill rather do sacrifice to envy, in suffering themselves, sometimes of\npurpose, to be crossed and overborne in things that do not much concern\nthem. Notwithstanding, so much is true, that the carriage of greatness\nin a plain and open manner (so it be without arrogancy and vainglory),\ndoth draw less envy than if it be in a more crafty and cunning fashion;\nfor in that course a man doth but disavow fortune, and seemeth to be\nconscious of his own want in worth, and doth but teach others to envy\nhim.\n\nLastly, to conclude this part, as we said in the beginning that the\nact of envy had somewhat in it of witchcraft, so there is no other\ncure of envy but the cure of witchcraft; and that is, to remove the\nlot (as they call it), and to lay it upon another; for which purpose,\nthe wiser sort of great persons bring in ever upon the stage somebody\nupon whom to derive the envy that would come upon themselves; sometimes\nupon ministers and servants, sometimes upon colleagues and associates,\nand the like; and, for that turn, there are never wanting some persons\nof violent and undertaking natures, who, so they may have power and\nbusiness, will take it at any cost.\n\nNow, to speak of public envy: there is yet some good in public\nenvy, whereas in private there is none; for public envy is as an\nostracism,[120] that eclipseth men when they grow too great; and\ntherefore it is a bridle also to great ones, to keep them within bounds.\n\nThis envy, being in the Latin word _invidia_,[121] goeth in the modern\nlanguages by the name of discontentment, of which we shall speak in\nhandling sedition. It is a disease in a state like to infection; for as\ninfection spreadeth upon that which is sound, and tainteth it, so, when\nenvy is gotten once into a state, it traduceth even the best actions\nthereof, and turneth them into an ill odor; and therefore there is\nlittle won by intermingling of plausible actions; for that doth argue\nbut a weakness and fear of envy, which hurteth so much the more, as it\nis likewise usual in infections, which, if you fear them, you call them\nupon you.\n\nThis public envy seemeth to beat chiefly upon principal officers or\nministers, rather than upon kings and estates themselves. But this is a\nsure rule, that if the envy upon the minister be great, when the cause\nof it in him is small; or if the envy be general in a manner upon all\nthe ministers of an estate, then the envy (though hidden) is truly upon\nthe state itself. And so much of public envy or discontentment, and the\ndifference thereof from private envy, which was handled in the first\nplace.\n\nWe will add this in general, touching the affection of envy, that,\nof all other affections, it is the most importune and continual; for\nof other affections there is occasion given but now and then; and\ntherefore it was well said, \u201cInvidia festos dies non agit:\u201d[122] for\nit is ever working upon some or other. And it is also noted, that love\nand envy do make a man pine, which other affections do not, because\nthey are not so continual. It is also the vilest affection, and the\nmost depraved; for which cause it is the proper attribute of the devil,\nwho is called \u201cThe envious man, that soweth tares amongst the wheat by\nnight;\u201d[123] as it always cometh to pass that envy worketh subtilely,\nand in the dark, and to the prejudice of good things, such as is the\nwheat.\n\n\n\n\nX.\u2014OF LOVE.\n\n\nThe stage is more beholding[124] to love than the life of man; for as\nto the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of\ntragedies; but in life it doth much mischief, sometimes like a Siren,\nsometimes like a Fury. You may observe, that, amongst all the great\nand worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or\nrecent), there is not one that hath been transported to the mad degree\nof love, which shows that great spirits and great business do keep out\nthis weak passion. You must except, nevertheless, Marcus Antonius,\nthe half partner of the empire of Rome, and Appius Claudius,[125] the\ndecemvir and lawgiver; whereof the former was indeed a voluptuous\nman, and inordinate, but the latter was an austere and wise man; and\ntherefore it seems (though rarely) that love can find entrance, not\nonly into an open heart, but also into a heart well fortified, if watch\nbe not well kept. It is a poor saying of Epicurus, \u201cSatis magnum alter\nalteri theatrum sumus;\u201d[126] as if man, made for the contemplation\nof heaven and all noble objects, should do nothing but kneel before\na little idol, and make himself subject, though not of the mouth (as\nbeasts are) yet of the eye, which was given him for higher purposes.\nIt is a strange thing to note the excess of this passion, and how it\nbraves the nature and value of things, by this, that the speaking in\na perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but in love, neither is it\nmerely in the phrase; for whereas it hath been well said, \u201cThat the\narch flatterer, with whom all the petty flatterers have intelligence,\nis a man\u2019s self;\u201d certainly, the lover is more; for there was never\nproud man thought so absurdly well of himself as the lover doth of the\nperson loved; and therefore it was well said, \u201cThat it is impossible\nto love and to be wise.\u201d[127] Neither doth this weakness appear to\nothers only, and not to the party loved, but to the loved most of\nall, except the love be reciprocal; for it is a true rule, that love\nis ever rewarded, either with the reciprocal, or with an inward and\nsecret contempt; by how much the more men ought to beware of this\npassion, which loseth not only other things, but itself. As for the\nother losses, the poet\u2019s relation[128] doth well figure them: \u201cThat\nhe that preferred Helena, quitted the gifts of Juno and Pallas;\u201d for\nwhosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection, quitteth both riches\nand wisdom. This passion hath his floods in the very times of weakness,\nwhich are, great prosperity and great adversity, though this latter\nhath been less observed; both which times kindle love, and make it more\nfervent, and therefore show it to be the child of folly. They do best\nwho, if they cannot but admit love, yet make it keep quarter, and sever\nit wholly from their serious affairs and actions of life; for if it\ncheck once with business, it troubleth men\u2019s fortunes, and maketh men\nthat they can nowise be true to their own ends. I know not how, but\nmartial men are given to love; I think it is, but as they are given\nto wine, for perils commonly ask to be paid in pleasures. There is in\nman\u2019s nature a secret inclination and motion towards love of others,\nwhich, if it be not spent upon some one or a few, doth naturally spread\nitself towards many, and maketh men become humane and charitable, as it\nis seen sometimes in friars. Nuptial love maketh mankind, friendly love\nperfecteth it, but wanton love corrupted and embaseth it.\n\n\n\n\nXI.\u2014OF GREAT PLACE.[129]\n\n\nMen in great place are thrice servants\u2014servants of the sovereign or\nstate, servants of fame, and servants of business; so as they have no\nfreedom, neither in their persons, nor in their actions, nor in their\ntimes. It is a strange desire to seek power and to lose liberty; or to\nseek power over others, and to lose power over a man\u2019s self. The rising\nunto place is laborious, and by pains men come to greater pains; and\nit is sometimes base, and by indignities men come to dignities. The\nstanding is slippery, and the regress is either a downfall, or at least\nan eclipse, which is a melancholy thing: \u201cCum non sis qui fueris, non\nesse cur velis vivere.\u201d[130] Nay, retire men cannot when they would,\nneither will they when it were reason; but are impatient of privateness\neven in age and sickness, which require the shadow; like old townsmen,\nthat will be still sitting at their street door, though thereby they\noffer age to scorn. Certainly, great persons had need to borrow other\nmen\u2019s opinions to think themselves happy; for if they judge by their\nown feeling, they cannot find it; but if they think with themselves\nwhat other men think of them, and that other men would fain be as they\nare, then they are happy as it were by report, when, perhaps, they\nfind the contrary within; for they are the first that find their own\ngriefs, though they be the last that find their own faults. Certainly,\nmen in great fortunes are strangers to themselves, and while they are\nin the puzzle of business, they have no time to tend their health\neither of body or mind.\n\n \u201cIlli mors gravis incubat,\n Qui notus nimis omnibus,\n Ignotus moritur.\u201d[131]\n\nIn place, there is license to do good and evil, whereof the latter is a\ncurse; for in evil, the best condition is not to will, the second not\nto can. But power to do good is the true and lawful end of aspiring;\nfor good thoughts, though God accept them, yet towards men are little\nbetter than good dreams, except they be put in act; and that cannot be\nwithout power and place, as the vantage and commanding ground. Merit\nand good works are the end of man\u2019s motion, and conscience of the same\nis the accomplishment of man\u2019s rest; for if a man can be partaker\nof God\u2019s theatre, he shall likewise be partaker of God\u2019s rest. \u201cEt\nconversus Deus, ut aspiceret opera, qu\u00e6 fecerunt manus su\u00e6, vidit quod\nomnia essent bona nimis;\u201d[132] and then the Sabbath.\n\nIn the discharge of thy place, set before thee the best examples; for\nimitation is a globe of precepts, and after a time set before thee\nthine own example; and examine thyself strictly whether thou didst not\nbest at first. Neglect not also the examples of those that have carried\nthemselves ill in the same place; not to set off thyself by taxing\ntheir memory, but to direct thyself what to avoid. Reform, therefore,\nwithout bravery or scandal of former times and persons; but yet set it\ndown to thyself, as well to create good precedents as to follow them.\nReduce things to the first institution, and observe wherein and how\nthey have degenerated; but yet ask counsel of both times\u2014of the ancient\ntime what is best, and of the latter time what is fittest. Seek to make\nthy course regular, that men may know beforehand what they may expect;\nbut be not too positive and peremptory, and express thyself well when\nthou digressest from thy rule. Preserve the right of thy place, but\nstir not questions of jurisdiction; and rather assume thy right in\nsilence, and _de facto_,[133] than voice it with claims and challenges.\nPreserve likewise the rights of inferior places; and think it more\nhonor to direct in chief than to be busy in all. Embrace and invite\nhelps and advices touching the execution of thy place; and do not drive\naway such as bring thee information, as meddlers, but accept of them in\ngood part. The vices of authority are chiefly four: delays, corruption,\nroughness, and facility. For delays, give easy access, keep times\nappointed, go through with that which is in hand, and interlace not\nbusiness but of necessity. For corruption, do not only bind thine own\nhands or thy servant\u2019s hands from taking, but bind the hands of suitors\nalso from offering; for integrity used doth the one, but integrity\nprofessed, and with a manifest detestation of bribery, doth the other;\nand avoid not only the fault, but the suspicion. Whosoever is found\nvariable, and changeth manifestly without manifest cause, giveth\nsuspicion of corruption; therefore, always when thou changest thine\nopinion or course, profess it plainly, and declare it, together with\nthe reasons that move thee to change, and do not think to steal it. A\nservant or a favorite, if he be inward, and no other apparent cause\nof esteem, is commonly thought but a by-way to close corruption. For\nroughness, it is a needless cause of discontent: severity breedeth\nfear, but roughness breedeth hate. Even reproofs from authority ought\nto be grave, and not taunting. As for facility,[134] it is worse than\nbribery, for bribes come but now and then; but if importunity or idle\nrespects[135] lead a man, he shall never be without; as Solomon saith,\n\u201cTo respect persons is not good; for such a man will transgress for a\npiece of bread.\u201d[136]\n\nIt is most true that was anciently spoken: \u201cA place showeth the man;\nand it showeth some to the better, and some to the worse:\u201d \u201cOmnium\nconsensu capax imperii, nisi imperasset,\u201d[137] saith Tacitus of Galba;\nbut of Vespasian he saith, \u201cSolus imperantium, Vespasianus mutatus in\nmelius;\u201d[138] though the one was meant of sufficiency, the other of\nmanners and affection. It is an assured sign of a worthy and generous\nspirit, whom honor amends; for honor is, or should be, the place of\nvirtue; and as in nature things move violently to their place, and\ncalmly in their place, so virtue in ambition is violent, in authority\nsettled and calm. All rising to great place is by a winding stair; and\nif there be factions, it is good to side a man\u2019s self whilst he is in\nthe rising, and to balance himself when he is placed. Use the memory of\nthy predecessor fairly and tenderly; for if thou dost not, it is a debt\nwill sure be paid when thou art gone. If thou have colleagues, respect\nthem; and rather call them when they look not for it, than exclude\nthem when they have reason to look to be called. Be not too sensible\nor too remembering of thy place in conversation and private answers\nto suitors; but let it rather be said, \u201cWhen he sits in place, he is\nanother man.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXII.\u2014OF BOLDNESS.\n\n\nIt is a trivial grammar-school text, but yet worthy a wise man\u2019s\nconsideration. Question was asked of Demosthenes, what was the chief\npart of an orator? He answered, Action. What next?\u2014Action. What next\nagain?\u2014Action.[139] He said it that knew it best, and had, by nature,\nhimself no advantage in that he commended. A strange thing, that that\npart of an orator which is but superficial, and rather the virtue\nof a player, should be placed so high above those other noble parts\nof invention, elocution, and the rest; nay, almost alone, as if it\nwere all in all. But the reason is plain. There is in human nature\ngenerally more of the fool than of the wise; and therefore, those\nfaculties by which the foolish part of men\u2019s minds is taken are most\npotent. Wonderful like is the case of boldness in civil business. What\nfirst?\u2014Boldness: what second and third?\u2014Boldness. And yet boldness is\na child of ignorance and baseness, far inferior to other parts; but,\nnevertheless, it doth fascinate, and bind hand and foot those that are\neither shallow in judgment or weak in courage, which are the greatest\npart, yea, and prevaileth with wise man at weak times; therefore,\nwe see it hath done wonders in popular states, but with senates and\nprinces less, and more, ever upon the first entrance of bold persons\ninto action than soon after; for boldness is an ill keeper of\npromise. Surely, as there are mountebanks for the natural body, so\nare there mountebanks for the politic body; men that undertake great\ncures, and perhaps have been lucky in two or three experiments, but\nwant the grounds of science, and therefore cannot hold out; nay, you\nshall see a bold fellow many times do Mahomet\u2019s miracle. Mahomet made\nthe people believe that he would call a hill to him, and from the top\nof it offer up his prayers for the observers of his law. The people\nassembled; Mahomet called the hill to come to him again and again;\nand when the hill stood still, he was never a whit abashed, but said,\n\u201cIf the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill.\u201d\nSo these men, when they have promised great matters and failed most\nshamefully, yet, if they have the perfection of boldness, they will\nbut slight it over, and make a turn, and no more ado. Certainly, to\nmen of great judgment, bold persons are a sport to behold; nay, and\nto the vulgar also boldness hath somewhat of the ridiculous; for if\nabsurdity be the subject of laughter, doubt you not but great boldness\nis seldom without some absurdity; especially it is a sport to see when\na bold fellow is out of countenance, for that puts his face into a most\nshrunken and wooden posture, as needs it must; for in bashfulness the\nspirits do a little go and come, but with bold men, upon like occasion,\nthey stand at a stay; like a stale at chess, where it is no mate, but\nyet the game cannot stir; but this last were fitter for a satire than\nfor a serious observation. This is well to be weighed, that boldness\nis ever blind, for it seeth not dangers and inconveniences; therefore,\nit is ill in counsel, good in execution; so that the right use of bold\npersons is, that they never command in chief, but be seconds and under\nthe direction of others; for in counsel it is good to see dangers; and\nin execution not to see them except they be very great.\n\n\n\n\nXIII.\u2014OF GOODNESS, AND GOODNESS OF NATURE.\n\n\nI take goodness in this sense, the affecting of the weal of men, which\nis that the Grecians call _philanthropia_; and the word humanity, as\nit is used, is a little too light to express it. Goodness I call the\nhabit, and goodness of nature the inclination. This, of all virtues\nand dignities of the mind, is the greatest, being the character of\nthe Deity; and without it man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing,\nno better than a kind of vermin. Goodness answers to the theological\nvirtue charity, and admits no excess but error. The desire of power\nin excess caused the angels to fall;[140] the desire of knowledge in\nexcess caused man to fall; but in charity there is no excess, neither\ncan angel or man come in danger by it. The inclination to goodness is\nimprinted deeply in the nature of man, insomuch that if it issue not\ntowards men, it will take unto other living creatures; as it is seen\nin the Turks, a cruel people, who nevertheless are kind to beasts, and\ngive alms to dogs and birds; insomuch, as Busbechius[141] reporteth,\na Christian boy in Constantinople had like to have been stoned for\ngagging in a waggishness a long-billed fowl.[142] Errors, indeed, in\nthis virtue, of goodness or charity, may be committed. The Italians\nhave an ungracious proverb: \u201cTanto buon che val niente;\u201d \u201cSo good, that\nhe is good for nothing;\u201d and one of the doctors of Italy, Nicholas\nMachiavel,[143] had the confidence to put in writing, almost in plain\nterms, \u201cThat the Christian faith had given up good men in prey to those\nthat are tyrannical and unjust;\u201d[144] which he spake, because, indeed,\nthere was never law, or sect, or opinion did so much magnify goodness\nas the Christian religion doth; therefore, to avoid the scandal and the\ndanger both, it is good to take knowledge of the errors of a habit so\nexcellent. Seek the good of other men, but be not in bondage to their\nfaces or fancies; for that is but facility or softness, which taketh an\nhonest mind prisoner. Neither give thou \u00c6sop\u2019s cock a gem, who would\nbe better pleased and happier if he had had a barley-corn. The example\nof God teacheth the lesson truly: \u201cHe sendeth his rain, and maketh his\nsun to shine upon the just and the unjust;\u201d[145] but he doth not rain\nwealth, nor shine honor and virtues upon men equally; common benefits\nare to be communicate with all, but peculiar benefits with choice. And\nbeware how, in making the portraiture, thou breakest the pattern; for\ndivinity maketh the love of ourselves the pattern, the love of our\nneighbors but the portraiture: \u201cSell all thou hast, and give it to the\npoor, and follow me;\u201d[146] but sell not all thou hast, except thou\ncome and follow me; that is, except thou have a vocation wherein thou\nmayest do as much good with little means as with great; for otherwise,\nin feeding the streams thou driest the fountain. Neither is there only\na habit of goodness directed by right reason, but there is in some men,\neven in nature, a disposition towards it; as, on the other side, there\nis a natural malignity, for there be that in their nature do not affect\nthe good of others. The lighter sort of malignity turneth but to a\ncrossness, or frowardness, or aptness to oppose, or difficileness, or\nthe like; but the deeper sort to envy, and mere mischief. Such men in\nother men\u2019s calamities are, as it were, in season, and are ever on the\nloading part; not so good as the dogs that licked Lazarus\u2019s sores,[147]\nbut like flies that are still buzzing upon any thing that is raw;\nmisanthropi, that make it their practice to bring men to the bough, and\nyet have never a tree for the purpose in their gardens, as Timon[148]\nhad. Such dispositions are the very errors of human nature, and yet\nthey are the fittest timber to make great politics of; like to knee\ntimber,[149] that is good for ships that are ordained to be tossed, but\nnot for building houses that shall stand firm. The parts and signs of\ngoodness are many. If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it\nshows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island\ncut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them; if he\nbe compassionate towards the afflictions of others, it shows that his\nheart is like the noble tree that is wounded itself when it gives the\nbalm;[150] if he easily pardons and remits offences, it shows that\nhis mind is planted above injuries, so that he cannot be shot; if he\nbe thankful for small benefits, it shows that he weighs men\u2019s minds,\nand not their trash; but, above all, if he have St. Paul\u2019s perfection,\nthat he would wish to be an anathema[151] from Christ for the salvation\nof his brethren, it shows much of a divine nature, and a kind of\nconformity with Christ himself.\n\n\n\n\nXIV.\u2014OF NOBILITY.\n\n\nWe will speak of nobility, first, as a portion of an estate, then as a\ncondition of particular persons. A monarchy, where there is no nobility\nat all, is ever a pure and absolute tyranny as that of the Turks; for\nnobility attempers sovereignty, and draws the eyes of the people\nsomewhat aside from the line royal: but for democracies they need it\nnot; and they are commonly more quiet and less subject to sedition than\nwhere there are stirps of nobles; for men\u2019s eyes are upon the business,\nand not upon the persons; or if upon the persons, it is for the\nbusiness sake, as fittest, and not for flags and pedigree. We see the\nSwitzers last well, notwithstanding their diversity of religion and of\ncantons; for utility is their bond, and not respects.[152] The United\nProvinces of the Low Countries[153] in their government excel; for\nwhere there is an equality the consultations are more indifferent, and\nthe payments and tributes more cheerful. A great and potent nobility\naddeth majesty to a monarch, but diminisheth power, and putteth life\nand spirit into the people, but presseth their fortune. It is well\nwhen nobles are not too great for sovereignty nor for justice; and yet\nmaintained in that height, as the insolency of inferiors may be broken\nupon them, before it come on too fast upon the majesty of kings. A\nnumerous nobility causeth poverty and inconvenience in a state, for it\nis a surcharge of expense; and besides, it being of necessity that many\nof the nobility fall in time to be weak in fortune, it maketh a kind of\ndisproportion between honor and means.\n\nAs for nobility in particular persons, it is a reverend thing to\nsee an ancient castle or building not in decay, or to see a fair\ntimber-tree sound and perfect; how much more to behold an ancient noble\nfamily, which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time! For\nnew nobility is but the act of power, but ancient nobility is the act\nof time. Those that are first raised to nobility are commonly more\nvirtuous,[154] but less innocent than their descendants; for there is\nrarely any rising but by a commixture of good and evil arts; but it\nis reason the memory of their virtues remain to their posterity, and\ntheir faults die with themselves. Nobility of birth commonly abateth\nindustry, and he that is not industrious, envieth him that is; besides,\nnoble persons cannot go much higher; and he that standeth at a stay\nwhen others rise, can hardly avoid motions of envy.[155] On the other\nside, nobility extinguisheth the passive envy from others towards them,\nbecause they are in possession of honor. Certainly, kings that have\nable men of their nobility shall find ease in employing them, and a\nbetter slide into their business; for people naturally bend to them, as\nborn in some sort to command.\n\n\n\n\nXV.\u2014OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES.\n\n\nShepherds of people had need know the calendars of tempests in state,\nwhich are commonly greatest when things grow to equality; as natural\ntempests are greatest about the equinoctia,[156] and as there are\ncertain hollow blasts of wind and secret swellings of seas before a\ntempest, so are there in states:\u2014\n\n \u201cIlle etiam c\u00e6cos instare tumultus\n S\u00e6pe monet, fraudesque et operta tumescere bella.\u201d[157]\n\nLibels and licentious discourses against the state, when they are\nfrequent and open; and in like sort false news, often running up and\ndown, to the disadvantage of the state, and hastily embraced, are\namongst the signs of troubles. Virgil, giving the pedigree of Fame,\nsaith she was sister to the giants:\u2014\n\n \u201cIllam Terra parens, ir\u00e2 irritata Deorum,\n Extremam (ut perhibent) C\u0153o Enceladoque sororem\n Progenuit.\u201d[158]\n\nAs if fames were the relics of seditions past; but they are no less\nindeed the preludes of seditions to come. Howsoever, he noteth it\nright, that seditious tumults and seditious fames differ no more but\nas brother and sister, masculine and feminine; especially if it come\nto that, that the best actions of a state, and the most plausible, and\nwhich ought to give greatest contentment, are taken in ill sense, and\ntraduced; for that shows the envy great, as Tacitus saith, \u201cConflat\u00e2\nmagn\u00e2, invidi\u00e2, seu bene, seu male, gesta premunt.\u201d[159] Neither doth\nit follow, that because these fames are a sign of troubles, that\nthe suppressing of them with too much severity should be a remedy\nof troubles; for the despising of them many times checks them best,\nand the going about to stop them doth but make a wonder long-lived.\nAlso that kind of obedience, which Tacitus speaketh of, is to be held\nsuspected: \u201cErant in officio, sed tamen qui mallent imperantium mandata\ninterpretari, quam exsequi;\u201d[160] disputing, excusing, cavilling upon\nmandates and directions, is a kind of shaking off the yoke, and assay\nof disobedience; especially if, in those disputings, they which are for\nthe direction speak fearfully and tenderly, and those that are against\nit audaciously.\n\nAlso, as Machiavel noteth well, when princes, that ought to be\ncommon parents, make themselves as a party, and lean to a side; it\nis as a boat that is overthrown by uneven weight on the one side, as\nwas well seen in the time of Henry the Third of France; for first\nhimself entered league[161] for the extirpation of the Protestants,\nand presently after the same league was turned upon himself; for when\nthe authority of princes is made but an accessary to a cause, and that\nthere be other bands that tie faster than the band of sovereignty,\nkings begin to be put almost out of possession.\n\nAlso, when discords, and quarrels, and factions are carried openly and\naudaciously, it is a sign the reverence of government is lost; for the\nmotions of the greatest persons in a government ought to be as the\nmotions of the planets under \u201cprimum mobile,\u201d[162] according to the old\nopinion, which is, that every of them is carried swiftly by the highest\nmotion, and softly in their own motion; and therefore, when great\nones in their own particular motion move violently, and as Tacitus\nexpresseth it well, \u201cliberius quam ut imperantium meminissent,\u201d[163]\nit is a sign the orbs are out of frame; for reverence is that\nwherewith princes are girt from God, who threateneth the dissolving\nthereof: \u201cSolvam cingula regum.\u201d[164]\n\nSo when any of the four pillars of government are mainly shaken or\nweakened (which are religion, justice, counsel, and treasure), men\nhad need to pray for fair weather. But let us pass from this part of\npredictions (concerning which, nevertheless, more light may be taken\nfrom that which followeth), and let us speak first of the materials of\nseditions; then of the motives of them; and thirdly of the remedies.\n\nConcerning the materials of seditions, it is a thing well to be\nconsidered, for the surest way to prevent seditions (if the times do\nbear it), is to take away the matter of them; for if there be fuel\nprepared, it is hard to tell whence the spark shall come that shall\nset it on fire. The matter of seditions is of two kinds, much poverty\nand much discontentment. It is certain, so many overthrown estates, so\nmany votes for troubles. Lucan noteth well the state of Rome before the\ncivil war:\u2014\n\n \u201cHinc usura vorax, rapidumque in tempore f\u0153nus,\n Hinc concussa fides, et multis utile bellum.\u201d[165]\n\nThis same \u201cmultis utile bellum,\u201d[166] is an assured and infallible\nsign of a state disposed to seditions and troubles; and if this\npoverty and broken estate in the better sort be joined with a want and\nnecessity in the mean people, the danger is imminent and great; for\nthe rebellions of the belly are the worst. As for discontentments,\nthey are in the politic body like to humors in the natural, which are\napt to gather a preternatural heat and to inflame; and let no prince\nmeasure the danger of them by this, whether they be just or unjust;\nfor that were to imagine people to be too reasonable, who do often\nspurn at their own good; nor yet by this, whether the griefs whereupon\nthey rise be in fact great or small; for they are the most dangerous\ndiscontentments where the fear is greater than the feeling: \u201cDolendi\nmodus, timendi non item.\u201d[167] Besides, in great oppressions, the same\nthings that provoke the patience, do withal mate[168] the courage;\nbut in fears it is not so; neither let any prince or state be secure\nconcerning discontentments, because they have been often or have been\nlong, and yet no peril hath ensued; for as it is true that every vapor\nor fume doth not turn into a storm, so it is nevertheless true that\nstorms, though they blow over divers times, yet may fall at last; and,\nas the Spanish proverb noteth well, \u201cThe cord breaketh at the last by\nthe weakest pull.\u201d[169]\n\nThe causes and motives of seditions are, innovation in religion,\ntaxes, alteration of laws and customs, breaking of privileges, general\noppression, advancement of unworthy persons, strangers, dearths,\ndisbanded soldiers, factions grown desperate, and whatsoever in\noffending people joineth and knitteth them in a common cause.\n\nFor the remedies, there may be some general preservatives, whereof we\nwill speak; as for the just cure, it must answer to the particular\ndisease, and so be left to counsel rather than rule.\n\nThe first remedy, or prevention, is to remove, by all means possible,\nthat material cause of sedition whereof we spake, which is, want and\npoverty in the estate;[170] to which purpose serveth the opening and\nwell-balancing of trade; the cherishing of manufactures; the banishing\nof idleness; the repressing of waste and excess by sumptuary laws;[171]\nthe improvement and husbanding of the soil; the regulating of prices of\nthings vendible; the moderating of taxes and tributes, and the like.\nGenerally, it is to be foreseen that the population of a kingdom\n(especially if it be not mown down by wars) do not exceed the stock of\nthe kingdom which should maintain them; neither is the population to\nbe reckoned only by number; for a smaller number, that spend more and\nearn less, do wear out an estate sooner than a greater number that live\nlower and gather more. Therefore the multiplying of nobility and other\ndegrees of quality, in an over-proportion to the common people, doth\nspeedily bring a state to necessity; and so doth likewise an overgrown\nclergy, for they bring nothing to the stock;[172] and in like manner,\nwhen more are bred scholars than preferments can take off.\n\nIt is likewise to be remembered, that, forasmuch as the increase of any\nestate must be upon the foreigner[173] (for whatsoever is somewhere\ngotten is somewhere lost), there be but three things which one nation\nselleth unto another; the commodity, as nature yieldeth it; the\nmanufacture; and the vecture, or carriage; so that, if these three\nwheels go, wealth will flow as in a spring tide. And it cometh many\ntimes to pass, that, \u201cmateriam superabit opus,\u201d[174] that the work and\ncarriage is more worth than the material, and enricheth a state more;\nas is notably seen in the Low Countrymen, who have the best mines[175]\nabove ground in the world.\n\nAbove all things, good policy is to be used, that the treasure and\nmoneys in a state be not gathered into few hands; for, otherwise,\na state may have a great stock, and yet starve. And money is like\nmuck,[176] not good except it be spread. This is done chiefly by\nsuppressing, or, at the least, keeping a strait hand upon the devouring\ntrades of usury, engrossing[177] great pasturages, and the like.\n\nFor removing discontentments, or, at least, the danger of them, there\nis in every state (as we know) two portions of subjects, the nobles\nand the commonalty. When one of these is discontent, the danger is not\ngreat; for common people are of slow motion, if they be not excited by\nthe greater sort; and the greater sort are of small strength, except\nthe multitude be apt and ready to move of themselves; then is the\ndanger, when the greater sort do but wait for the troubling of the\nwaters amongst the meaner, that then they may declare themselves. The\npoets feign that the rest of the gods would have bound Jupiter, which\nhe hearing of, by the counsel of Pallas, sent for Briareus, with his\nhundred hands, to come in to his aid; an emblem, no doubt, to show how\nsafe it is for monarchs to make sure of the good-will of common people.\n\nTo give moderate liberty for griefs and discontentments to evaporate\n(so it be without too great insolency or bravery), is a safe way; for\nhe that turneth the humors back, and maketh the wound bleed inwards,\nendangereth malign ulcers and pernicious imposthumations.\n\nThe part of Epimetheus[178] might well become Prometheus, in the case\nof discontentments, for there is not a better provision against them.\nEpimetheus, when griefs and evils flew abroad, at last shut the lid,\nand kept Hope in the bottom of the vessel. Certainly, the politic and\nartificial nourishing and entertaining of hopes, and carrying men\nfrom hopes to hopes, is one of the best antidotes against the poison\nof discontentments; and it is a certain sign of a wise government and\nproceeding, when it can hold men\u2019s hearts by hopes, when it cannot by\nsatisfaction; and when it can handle things in such manner as no evil\nshall appear so peremptory, but that it hath some outlet of hope; which\nis the less hard to do, because both particular persons and factions\nare apt enough to flatter themselves, or at least to brave that which\nthey believe not.\n\nAlso the foresight and prevention, that there be no likely or fit head\nwhereunto discontented persons may resort, and under whom they may\njoin, is a known but an excellent point of caution. I understand a fit\nhead to be one that hath greatness and reputation, that hath confidence\nwith the discontented party, and upon whom they turn their eyes, and\nthat is thought discontented in his own particular: which kind of\npersons are either to be won and reconciled to the state, and that in\na fast and true manner; or to be fronted with some other of the same\nparty that may oppose them, and so divide the reputation. Generally,\nthe dividing and breaking of all factions and combinations that are\nadverse to the state, and setting them at distance, or, at least,\ndistrust amongst themselves, is not one of the worst remedies; for it\nis a desperate case, if those that hold with the proceeding of the\nstate be full of discord and faction, and those that are against it be\nentire and united.\n\nI have noted, that some witty and sharp speeches, which have fallen\nfrom princes, have given fire to seditions. C\u00e6sar did himself infinite\nhurt in that speech\u2014\u201cSylla nescivit literas, non potuit dictare,\u201d[179]\nfor it did utterly cut off that hope which men had entertained, that\nhe would, at one time or other, give over his dictatorship. Galba\nundid himself by that speech, \u201cLegi a se militem, non emi;\u201d[180] for\nit put the soldiers out of hope of the donative. Probus, likewise,\nby that speech, \u201cSi vixero, non opus erit amplius Romano imperio\nmilitibus;\u201d[181] a speech of great despair for the soldiers, and many\nthe like. Surely princes had need, in tender matters and ticklish\ntimes, to beware what they say, especially in these short speeches,\nwhich fly abroad like darts, and are thought to be shot out of their\nsecret intentions; for as for large discourses, they are flat things,\nand not so much noted.\n\nLastly, let princes, against all events, not be without some great\nperson, one or rather more, of military valor, near unto them, for the\nrepressing of seditions in their beginnings; for without that, there\nuseth to be more trepidation in court upon the first breaking out of\ntroubles than were fit, and the state runneth the danger of that which\nTacitus saith: \u201cAtque is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum facinus\nauderent pauci, plures vellent, omnes paterentur:\u201d[182] but let such\nmilitary persons be assured, and well reputed of, rather than factious\nand popular; holding also good correspondence with the other great men\nin the state, or else the remedy is worse than the disease.\n\n\n\n\nXVI.\u2014OF ATHEISM.\n\n\nI had rather believe all the fables in the legends,[183] and the\nTalmud,[184] and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is\nwithout a mind; and, therefore, God never wrought miracle to convince\natheism, because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a\nlittle philosophy[185] inclineth man\u2019s mind to atheism, but depth in\nphilosophy bringeth men\u2019s minds about to religion; for while the mind\nof man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest\nin them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them\nconfederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and\nDeity. Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism, doth\nmost demonstrate religion: that is, the school of Leucippus,[186] and\nDemocritus,[187] and Epicurus; for it is a thousand times more credible\nthat four mutable elements, and one immutable fifth essence,[188] duly\nand eternally placed, need no God, than that an army of infinite small\nportions, or seeds unplaced, should have produced this order and beauty\nwithout a divine marshal. The Scripture saith, \u201cThe fool hath said\nin his heart, there is no God;\u201d[189] it is not said, \u201cThe fool hath\nthought in his heart;\u201d so as he rather saith it by rote to himself,\nas that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be\npersuaded of it; for none deny there is a God, but those for whom it\nmaketh[190] that there were no God. It appeareth in nothing more, that\natheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this,\nthat atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they\nfainted in it within themselves, and would be glad to be strengthened\nby the consent of others; nay more, you shall have atheists strive\nto get disciples, as it fareth with other sects; and, which is most\nof all, you shall have of them that will suffer for atheism, and not\nrecant; whereas, if they did truly think that there were no such thing\nas God, why should they trouble themselves? Epicurus is charged, that\nhe did but dissemble for his credit\u2019s sake, when he affirmed there\nwere blessed natures, but such as enjoyed themselves without having\nrespect to the government of the world. Wherein they say he did\ntemporize, though in secret he thought there was no God; but certainly\nhe is traduced, for his words are noble and divine: \u201cNon Deos vulgi\nnegare profanum; sed vulgi opiniones Diis applicare profanum.\u201d[191]\nPlato could have said no more; and, although he had the confidence to\ndeny the administration, he had not the power to deny the nature. The\nIndians[192] of the west have names for their particular gods, though\nthey have no name for God; as if the heathens should have had the names\nJupiter, Apollo, Mars, &c., but not the word Deus, which shows that\neven those barbarous people have the notion, though they have not the\nlatitude and extent of it; so that against atheists the very savages\ntake part with the very subtlest philosophers. The contemplative\natheist is rare; a Diagoras,[193] a Bion,[194] a Lucian,[195] perhaps,\nand some others, and yet they seem to be more than they are; for\nthat all that impugn a received religion, or superstition, are, by\nthe adverse part, branded with the name of atheists. But the great\natheists indeed are hypocrites, which are ever handling holy things,\nbut without feeling, so as they must needs be cauterized in the end.\nThe causes of atheism are: divisions in religion, if they be many; for\nany one main division addeth zeal to both sides, but many divisions\nintroduce atheism. Another is, scandal of priests, when it is come\nto that which St. Bernard saith: \u201cNon est jam dicere, ut populus,\nsic sacerdos; quia nec sic populus, ut sacerdos.\u201d[196] A third is,\ncustom of profane scoffing in holy matters, which doth by little and\nlittle deface the reverence of religion: and lastly, learned times,\nspecially with peace and prosperity; for troubles and adversities do\nmore bow men\u2019s minds to religion. They that deny a God destroy a man\u2019s\nnobility, for certainly man is of kin to the beasts by his body; and\nif he be not of kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble\ncreature. It destroys likewise magnanimity, and the raising of human\nnature; for, take an example of a dog, and mark what a generosity and\ncourage he will put on when he finds himself maintained by a man, who,\nto him, is instead of a God, or \u201cmelior natura;\u201d[197] which courage is\nmanifestly such as that creature, without that confidence of a better\nnature than his own, could never attain. So man, when he resteth and\nassureth himself upon divine protection and favor, gathereth a force\nand faith, which human nature in itself could not obtain; therefore,\nas atheism is in all respects hateful, so in this, that it depriveth\nhuman nature of the means to exalt itself above human frailty. As it\nis in particular persons, so it is in nations: never was there such a\nstate for magnanimity as Rome. Of this state hear what Cicero saith:\n\u201cQuam volumus, licet, Patres conscripti, nos amemus, tamen nec numero\nHispanos, nec robore Gallos, nec calliditate P\u0153nos, nec artibus\nGr\u00e6cos, nec denique hoc ipso hujus gentis et terr\u00e6 domestico nativoque\nsensu Italos ipsos et Latinos; sed pietate, ac religione, atque h\u00e2c\nun\u00e2 sapienti\u00e2, quod Deorum immortalium numine omnia regi, gubernarique\nperspeximus, omnes gentes, nationesque superavimus.\u201d[198]\n\n\n\n\nXVII.\u2014OF SUPERSTITION.\n\n\nIt were better to have no opinion of God at all, than such an\nopinion as is unworthy of him; for the one is unbelief, the other is\ncontumely,[199] and certainly superstition is the reproach of the\nDeity. Plutarch saith well to that purpose: \u201cSurely,\u201d saith he, \u201cI\nhad rather a great deal men should say there was no such man at all\nas Plutarch, than that they should say that there was one Plutarch\nthat would eat his children[200] as soon as they were born,\u201d as the\npoets speak of Saturn; and, as the contumely is greater towards God,\nso the danger is greater towards men. Atheism leaves a man to sense,\nto philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation, all which may\nbe guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not; but\nsuperstition dismounts all these, and erecteth an absolute monarchy\nin the minds of men. Therefore atheism did never perturb states; for\nit makes men wary of themselves, as looking no further, and we see\nthe times inclined to atheism (as the time of Augustus C\u00e6sar) were\ncivil times; but superstition hath been the confusion of many states,\nand bringeth in a new _primum mobile_,[201] that ravisheth all the\nspheres of government. The master of superstition is the people, and\nin all superstition wise men follow fools; and arguments are fitted\nto practice in a reversed order. It was gravely said by some of the\nprelates in the Council of Trent,[202] where the doctrine of the\nschoolmen bare great sway, that the schoolmen were like astronomers,\nwhich did feign eccentrics[203] and epicycles,[204] and such engines of\norbs to save[205] the phenomena, though they knew there were no such\nthings; and, in like manner, that the schoolmen had framed a number\nof subtle and intricate axioms and theorems, to save the practice of\nthe Church. The causes of superstition are, pleasing and sensual rites\nand ceremonies; excess of outward and pharisaical holiness; over-great\nreverence of traditions, which cannot but load the Church; the\nstratagems of prelates for their own ambition and lucre; the favoring\ntoo much of good intentions, which openeth the gate to conceits and\nnovelties; the taking an aim at divine matters by human, which cannot\nbut breed mixture of imaginations; and, lastly, barbarous times,\nespecially joined with calamities and disasters. Superstition, without\na veil, is a deformed thing; for, as it addeth deformity to an ape to\nbe so like a man, so the similitude of superstition to religion makes\nit the more deformed; and as wholesome meat corrupteth to little worms,\nso good forms and orders corrupt into a number of petty observances.\nThere is a superstition in avoiding superstition, when men think to\ndo best if they go furthest from the superstition formerly received;\ntherefore care would be had that (as it fareth in ill purgings) the\ngood be not taken away with the bad, which commonly is done when the\npeople is the reformer.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII.\u2014OF TRAVEL.\n\n\nTravel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a\npart of experience. He that travelleth into a country before he hath\nsome entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to travel.\nThat young men travel under some tutor or grave servant, I allow well,\nso that he be such a one that hath the language, and hath been in the\ncountry before; whereby he may be able to tell them what things are\nworthy to be seen in the country where they go, what acquaintances they\nare to seek, what exercises or discipline the place yieldeth; for else\nyoung men shall go hooded, and look abroad little. It is a strange\nthing that, in sea voyages, where there is nothing to be seen but sky\nand sea, men should make diaries; but in land travel, wherein so much\nis to be observed, for the most part they omit it, as if chance were\nfitter to be registered than observation. Let diaries, therefore, be\nbrought in use. The things to be seen and observed are, the courts of\nprinces, especially when they give audience to ambassadors; the courts\nof justice, while they sit and hear causes; and so of consistories[206]\necclesiastic; the churches and monasteries, with the monuments which\nare therein extant; the walls and fortifications of cities and towns;\nand so the havens and harbors, antiquities and ruins, libraries,\ncolleges, disputations, and lectures, where any are; shipping and\nnavies; houses and gardens of state and pleasure, near great cities;\narmories, arsenals, magazines, exchanges, burses, warehouses, exercises\nof horsemanship, fencing, training of soldiers, and the like; comedies,\nsuch whereunto the better sort of persons do resort; treasuries of\njewels and robes; cabinets and rarities; and, to conclude, whatsoever\nis memorable in the places where they go, after all which the tutors\nor servants ought to make diligent inquiry. As for triumphs, masks,\nfeasts, weddings, funerals, capital executions, and such shows, men\nneed not to be put in mind of them; yet they are not to be neglected.\nIf you will have a young man to put his travel into a little room,\nand in short time to gather much, this you must do: first, as was\nsaid, he must have some entrance into the language before he goeth;\nthen he must have such a servant, or tutor, as knoweth the country,\nas was likewise said; let him carry with him also some card or book,\ndescribing the country where he travelleth, which will be a good key\nto his inquiry; let him keep also a diary; let him not stay long in\none city or town, more or less, as the place deserveth, but not long;\nnay, when he stayeth in one city or town, let him change his lodging\nfrom one end and part of the town to another, which is a great adamant\nof acquaintance; let him sequester himself from the company of his\ncountrymen, and diet in such places where there is good company of the\nnation where he travelleth; let him, upon his removes from one place\nto another, procure recommendation to some person of quality residing\nin the place whither he removeth, that he may use his favor in those\nthings he desireth to see or know: thus he may abridge his travel\nwith much profit. As for the acquaintance which is to be sought in\ntravel, that which is most of all profitable, is acquaintance with the\nsecretaries and employed men[207] of ambassadors, for so in travelling\nin one country he shall suck the experience of many; let him also see\nand visit eminent persons in all kinds which are of great name abroad,\nthat he may be able to tell how the life agreeth with the fame. For\nquarrels, they are with care and discretion to be avoided; they are\ncommonly for mistresses, healths,[208] place, and words; and let a man\nbeware how he keepeth company with choleric and quarrelsome persons,\nfor they will engage him into their own quarrels. When a traveller\nreturneth home, let him not leave the countries where he hath travelled\naltogether behind him, but maintain a correspondence by letters with\nthose of his acquaintance which are of most worth; and let his travel\nappear rather in his discourse than in his apparel or gesture, and in\nhis discourse let him be rather advised in his answers, than forward\nto tell stories; and let it appear that he doth not change his country\nmanners for those of foreign parts, but only prick in some flowers of\nthat he hath learned abroad into the customs of his own country.\n\n\n\n\nXIX.\u2014OF EMPIRE.\n\n\nIt is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire, and\nmany things to fear; and yet that commonly is the case of kings, who,\nbeing, at the highest, want matter of desire,[209] which makes their\nminds more languishing; and have many representations of perils and\nshadows, which makes their minds the less clear; and this is one\nreason, also, of that effect which the Scripture speaketh of, \u201cthat\nthe king\u2019s heart is inscrutable;\u201d[210] for multitude of jealousies,\nand lack of some predominant desire, that should marshal and put in\norder all the rest, maketh any man\u2019s heart hard to find or sound. Hence\nit comes, likewise, that princes many times make themselves desires,\nand set their hearts upon toys: sometimes upon a building; sometimes\nupon erecting of an order; sometimes upon the advancing of a person;\nsometimes upon obtaining excellency in some art or feat of the hand,\u2014as\nNero for playing on the harp; Domitian for certainty of the hand with\nthe arrow; Commodus for playing at fence;[211] Caracalla for driving\nchariots, and the like. This seemeth incredible unto those that know\nnot the principle, that the mind of man is more cheered and refreshed\nby profiting in small things than by standing at a stay[212] in great.\nWe see, also, that kings that have been fortunate conquerors in their\nfirst years, it being not possible for them to go forward infinitely,\nbut that they must have some check or arrest in their fortunes, turn\nin their latter years to be superstitious and melancholy; as did\nAlexander the Great, Diocletian,[213] and, in our memory, Charles the\nFifth,[214] and others; for he that is used to go forward, and findeth\na stop, falleth out of his own favor, and is not the thing he was.\n\nTo speak now of the true temper of empire, it is a thing rare and hard\nto keep, for both temper and distemper consist of contraries; but it is\none thing to mingle contraries, another to interchange them. The answer\nof Apollonius to Vespasian is full of excellent instruction. Vespasian\nasked him, \u201cWhat was Nero\u2019s overthrow?\u201d He answered, \u201cNero could touch\nand tune the harp well; but in government sometimes he used to wind the\npins too high, sometimes to let them down too low.\u201d[215] And certain\nit is, that nothing destroyeth authority so much as the unequal and\nuntimely interchange of power pressed too far, and relaxed too much.\n\nThis is true, that the wisdom of all these latter times in princes\u2019\naffairs is rather fine deliveries, and shiftings of dangers and\nmischiefs, when they are near, than solid and grounded courses to keep\nthem aloof; but this is but to try masteries with fortune, and let men\nbeware how they neglect and suffer matter of trouble to be prepared.\nFor no man can forbid the spark, nor tell whence it may come.\nThe difficulties in princes\u2019 business are many and great; but the\ngreatest difficulty is often in their own mind. For it is common with\nprinces (saith Tacitus) to will contradictories: \u201cSunt plerumque regum\nvoluntates vehementes, et inter se contrari\u00e6;\u201d[216] for it is the\nsolecism of power to think to command the end, and yet not to endure\nthe mean.\n\nKings have to deal with their neighbors, their wives, their children,\ntheir prelates or clergy, their nobles, their second nobles or\ngentlemen, their merchants, their commons, and their men of war; and\nfrom all these arise dangers, if care and circumspection be not used.\n\nFirst, for their neighbors, there can no general rule be given (the\noccasions are so variable), save one which ever holdeth; which is, that\nprinces do keep due sentinel, that none of their neighbors do overgrow\nso (by increase of territory, by embracing of trade, by approaches,\nor the like), as they become more able to annoy them than they were;\nand this is generally the work of standing counsels to foresee and to\nhinder it. During that triumvirate of kings, King Henry the Eighth of\nEngland, Francis the First, King of France,[217] and Charles the Fifth,\nEmperor, there was such a watch kept that none of the three could win\na palm of ground, but the other two would straightways balance it,\neither by confederation, or, if need were, by a war; and would not,\nin any wise, take up peace at interest; and the like was done by that\nleague (which Guicciardini[218] saith was the security of Italy) made\nbetween Ferdinando, King of Naples, Lorenzius Medicis, and Ludovicus\nSforza, potentates, the one of Florence, the other of Milan. Neither is\nthe opinion of some of the schoolmen to be received, that a war cannot\njustly be made, but upon a precedent injury or provocation; for there\nis no question, but a just fear of an imminent danger, though there be\nno blow given, is a lawful cause of a war.\n\nFor their wives, there are cruel examples of them. Livia is\ninfamed[219] for the poisoning of her husband; Roxolana, Solyman\u2019s\nwife,[220] was the destruction of that renowned prince, Sultan\nMustapha, and otherwise troubled his house and succession; Edward the\nSecond of England\u2019s Queen[221] had the principal hand in the deposing\nand murder of her husband.\n\nThis kind of danger is then to be feared chiefly when the wives have\nplots for the raising of their own children, or else that they be\nadvoutresses.[222]\n\nFor their children, the tragedies likewise of dangers from them have\nbeen many; and generally the entering of fathers into suspicion\nof their children hath been ever unfortunate. The destruction of\nMustapha (that we named before) was so fatal to Solyman\u2019s line, as the\nsuccession of the Turks from Solyman until this day is suspected to be\nuntrue, and of strange blood; for that Selymus the Second was thought\nto be supposititious.[223] The destruction of Crispus, a young prince\nof rare towardness, by Constantinus the Great, his father, was in like\nmanner fatal to his house; for both Constantinus and Constance, his\nsons, died violent deaths; and Constantius, his other son, did little\nbetter, who died indeed of sickness, but after that Julianus had taken\narms against him. The destruction of Demetrius,[224] son to Philip the\nSecond of Macedon, turned upon the father, who died of repentance. And\nmany like examples there are; but few or none where the fathers had\ngood by such distrust, except it were where the sons were up in open\narms against them; as was Selymus the First against Bajazet, and the\nthree sons of Henry the Second, King of England.\n\nFor their prelates, when they are proud and great, there is also danger\nfrom them; as it was in the times of Anselmus[225] and Thomas Becket,\nArchbishops of Canterbury, who, with their crosiers, did almost try it\nwith the king\u2019s sword; and yet they had to deal with stout and haughty\nkings; William Rufus, Henry the First, and Henry the Second. The danger\nis not from that state, but where it hath a dependence of foreign\nauthority; or where the churchmen come in and are elected, not by the\ncollation of the King, or particular patrons, but by the people.\n\nFor their nobles, to keep them at a distance it is not amiss; but to\ndepress them may make a king more absolute, but less safe, and less\nable to perform anything that he desires. I have noted it in my History\nof King Henry the Seventh of England, who depressed his nobility,\nwhereupon it came to pass that his times were full of difficulties and\ntroubles; for the nobility, though they continued loyal unto him, yet\ndid they not co\u00f6perate with him in his business; so that, in effect, he\nwas fain to do all things himself.\n\nFor their second nobles, there is not much danger from them, being\na body dispersed. They may sometimes discourse high, but that doth\nlittle hurt; besides, they are a counterpoise to the higher nobility,\nthat they grow not too potent; and, lastly, being the most immediate\nin authority with the common people, they do best temper popular\ncommotions.\n\nFor their merchants, they are \u201cvena porta:\u201d[226] and if they flourish\nnot, a kingdom may have good limbs, but will have empty veins, and\nnourish little. Taxes and imposts upon them do seldom good to the\nking\u2019s revenue, for that which he wins[227] in the hundred[228] he\nloseth in the shire; the particular rates being increased, but the\ntotal bulk of trading rather decreased.\n\nFor their commons, there is little danger from them, except it be where\nthey have great and potent heads; or where you meddle with the point of\nreligion, or their customs, or means of life.\n\nFor their men of war, it is a dangerous state where they live and\nremain in a body, and are used to donatives; whereof we see examples in\nthe Janizaries[229] and Pr\u00e6torian bands of Rome; but trainings of men,\nand arming them in several places, and under several commanders, and\nwithout donatives, are things of defence and no danger.\n\nPrinces are like to heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times;\nand which have much veneration, but no rest. All precepts concerning\nkings are in effect comprehended in those two remembrances, \u201cMemento\nquod es homo;\u201d[230] and \u201cMemento quod es Deus,\u201d[231] or \u201cvice\nDei;\u201d[232] the one bridleth their power and the other their will.\n\n\n\n\nXX.\u2014OF COUNSEL.\n\n\nThe greatest trust between man and man is the trust of giving counsel;\nfor in other confidences men commit the parts of life, their lands,\ntheir goods, their children, their credit, some particular affair;\nbut to such as they make their counsellors they commit the whole; by\nhow much the more they are obliged to all faith and integrity. The\nwisest princes need not think it any diminution to their greatness, or\nderogation to their sufficiency to rely upon counsel. God himself is\nnot without, but hath made it one of the great names of his blessed\nSon, \u201cThe Counsellor.\u201d[233] Solomon hath pronounced that, \u201cin counsel\nis stability.\u201d[234] Things will have their first or second agitation:\nif they be not tossed upon the arguments of counsel, they will be\ntossed upon the waves of fortune, and be full of inconstancy, doing and\nundoing, like the reeling of a drunken man. Solomon\u2019s son[235] found\nthe force of counsel, as his father saw the necessity of it; for the\nbeloved kingdom of God was first rent and broken by ill counsel; upon\nwhich counsel there are set for our instruction the two marks whereby\nbad counsel is forever best discerned, that it was young counsel for\nthe persons, and violent counsel for the matter.\n\nThe ancient times do set forth in figure both the incorporation and\ninseparable conjunction of counsel with kings, and the wise and politic\nuse of counsel by kings; the one, in that they say Jupiter did marry\nMetis, which signifieth counsel; whereby they intend that sovereignty\nis married to counsel; the other in that which followeth, which was\nthus: they say, after Jupiter was married to Metis, she conceived by\nhim and was with child; but Jupiter suffered her not to stay till\nshe brought forth, but eat her up; whereby he became himself with\nchild, and was delivered of Pallas armed, out of his head.[236] Which\nmonstrous fable containeth a secret of empire, how kings are to make\nuse of their council of state; that first, they ought to refer matters\nunto them, which is the first begetting or impregnation; but when they\nare elaborate, moulded, and shaped in the womb of their counsel, and\ngrow ripe and ready to be brought forth, that then they suffer not\ntheir council to go through with the resolution and direction, as if\nit depended on them; but take the matter back into their own hands,\nand make it appear to the world, that the decrees and final directions\n(which, because they come forth with prudence and power, are resembled\nto Pallas armed), proceeded from themselves; and not only from their\nauthority, but (the more to add reputation to themselves) from their\nhead and device.\n\nLet us now speak of the inconveniences of counsel, and of the remedies.\nThe inconveniences that have been noted in calling and using counsel\nare three: first, the revealing of affairs, whereby they become less\nsecret; secondly, the weakening of the authority of princes, as if they\nwere less of themselves; thirdly, the danger of being unfaithfully\ncounselled, and more for the good of them that counsel than of him\nthat is counselled; for which inconveniences, the doctrine of Italy,\nand practice of France, in some kings\u2019 times, hath introduced cabinet\ncouncils; a remedy worse than the disease.[237]\n\nAs to secrecy, princes are not bound to communicate all matters with\nall counsellors, but may extract and select; neither is it necessary\nthat he that consulteth what he should do, should declare what he will\ndo; but let princes beware that the unsecreting of their affairs comes\nnot from themselves; and, as for cabinet councils, it may be their\nmotto, \u201cPlenus rimarum sum:\u201d[238] one futile person, that maketh it\nhis glory to tell, will do more hurt than many that know it their duty\nto conceal. It is true, there be some affairs which require extreme\nsecrecy, which will hardly go beyond one or two persons besides the\nking. Neither are those counsels unprosperous; for, besides the\nsecrecy, they commonly go on constantly in one spirit of direction\nwithout distraction; but then it must be a prudent king, such as is\nable to grind with a hand-mill;[239] and those inward counsellors\nhad need also to be wise men, and especially true and trusty to the\nking\u2019s ends; as it was with King Henry the Seventh of England, who,\nin his greatest business, imparted himself to none, except it were to\nMorton[240] and Fox.[241]\n\nFor weakening of authority, the fable[242] showeth the remedy; nay,\nthe majesty of kings is rather exalted than diminished when they are\nin the chair of council; neither was there ever prince bereaved of\nhis dependencies by his council, except where there hath been either\nan over-greatness in one counsellor, or an over-strict combination in\ndivers, which are things soon found and holpen.[243]\n\nFor the last inconvenience, that men will counsel with an eye to\nthemselves; certainly, \u201cnon inveniet fidem super terram,\u201d[244] is meant\nof the nature of times,[245] and not of all particular persons. There\nbe that are in nature faithful and sincere, and plain and direct, not\ncrafty and involved: let princes, above all, draw to themselves such\nnatures. Besides, counsellors are not commonly so united, but that one\ncounsellor keepeth sentinel over another; so that if any do counsel out\nof faction or private ends, it commonly comes to the king\u2019s ear; but\nthe best remedy is, if princes know their counsellors, as well as their\ncounsellors know them:\u2014\n\n \u201cPrincipis est virtus maxima nosse suos.\u201d[246]\n\nAnd on the other side, counsellors should not be too speculative\ninto their sovereign\u2019s person. The true composition of a counsellor\nis, rather to be skilful in their master\u2019s business than in his\nnature;[247] for then he is like to advise him, and not to feed his\nhumor. It is of singular use to princes, if they take the opinions of\ntheir council both separately and together; for private opinion is\nmore free, but opinion before others is more reverend. In private,\nmen are more bold in their own humors; and in consort, men are more\nobnoxious[248] to others\u2019 humors; therefore it is good to take both;\nand of the inferior sort rather in private, to preserve freedom; of\nthe greater, rather in consort, to preserve respect. It is in vain\nfor princes to take counsel concerning matters, if they take no\ncounsel likewise concerning persons; for all matters are as dead\nimages; and the life of the execution of affairs resteth in the good\nchoice of persons. Neither is it enough to consult concerning persons,\n\u201csecundum genera,\u201d[249] as in an idea or mathematical description,\nwhat the kind and character of the person should be; for the greatest\nerrors are committed, and the most judgment is shown, in the choice\nof individuals. It was truly said, \u201cOptimi consiliarii mortui:\u201d[250]\n\u201cbooks will speak plain when counsellors blanch;\u201d[251] therefore it\nis good to be conversant in them, specially the books of such as\nthemselves have been actors upon the stage.\n\nThe councils at this day in most places are but familiar meetings,\nwhere matters are rather talked on than debated; and they run too\nswift to the order or act of council. It were better that in causes of\nweight, the matter were propounded one day and not spoken to till the\nnext day; \u201cIn nocte consilium;\u201d[252] so was it done in the commission\nof union[253] between England and Scotland, which was a grave and\norderly assembly. I commend set days for petitions; for both it gives\nthe suitors more certainty for their attendance, and it frees the\nmeetings for matters of estate, that they may \u201choc agere.\u201d[254] In\nchoice of committees for ripening business for the council, it is\nbetter to choose indifferent persons, than to make an indifferency\nby putting in those that are strong on both sides. I commend, also,\nstanding commissions; as for trade, for treasure, for war, for suits,\nfor some provinces; for where there be divers particular councils, and\nbut one council of estate (as it is in Spain), they are in effect no\nmore than standing commissions, save that they have greater authority.\nLet such as are to inform councils out of their particular professions\n(as lawyers, seamen, mintmen, and the like) be first heard before\ncommittees; and then, as occasion serves, before the council; and let\nthem not come in multitudes, or in a tribunitious[255] manner; for that\nis to clamor councils, not to inform them. A long table and a square\ntable, or seats about the walls, seem things of form, but are things\nof substance; for at a long table a few at the upper end, in effect,\nsway all the business; but in the other form there is more use of\nthe counsellors\u2019 opinions that sit lower. A king, when he presides in\ncouncil, let him beware how he opens his own inclination too much in\nthat which he propoundeth; for else counsellors will but take the wind\nof him, and, instead of giving free counsel, will sing him a song of\n\u201cplacebo.\u201d[256]\n\n\n\n\nXXI.\u2014OF DELAYS.\n\n\nFortune is like the market, where, many times, if you can stay a\nlittle, the price will fall; and again, it is sometimes like Sibylla\u2019s\noffer,[257] which at first offereth the commodity at full, then\nconsumeth part and part, and still holdeth up the price; for occasion\n(as it is in the common verse) \u201cturneth a bald noddle,[258] after she\nhath presented her locks in front, and no hold taken;\u201d or, at least,\nturneth the handle of the bottle first to be received, and after the\nbelly, which is hard to clasp.[259] There is surely no greater wisdom\nthan well to time the beginnings and onsets of things. Dangers are no\nmore light, if they once seem light; and more dangers have deceived men\nthan forced them; nay, it were better to meet some dangers half-way,\nthough they come nothing near, than to keep too long a watch upon\ntheir approaches; for if a man watch too long, it is odds he will\nfall asleep. On the other side, to be deceived with too long shadows\n(as some have been when the moon was low, and shone on their enemies\u2019\nback), and so to shoot off before the time; or to teach dangers to\ncome on by over early buckling towards them, is another extreme. The\nripeness or unripeness of the occasion (as we said) must ever be well\nweighed; and generally it is good to commit the beginnings of all great\nactions to Argus with his hundred eyes, and the ends to Briareus with\nhis hundred hands, first to watch and then to speed; for the helmet of\nPluto,[260] which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in\nthe council, and celerity in the execution; for when things are once\ncome to the execution, there is no secrecy comparable to celerity; like\nthe motion of a bullet in the air, which flieth so swift as it outruns\nthe eye.\n\n\n\n\nXXII.\u2014OF CUNNING.\n\n\nWe take cunning for a sinister, or crooked wisdom; and, certainly,\nthere is great difference between a cunning man and a wise man, not\nonly in point of honesty, but in point of ability. There be that can\npack the cards,[261] and yet cannot play well; so there are some that\nare good in canvasses and factions, that are otherwise weak men. Again,\nit is one thing to understand persons, and another thing to understand\nmatters; for many are perfect in men\u2019s humors that are not greatly\ncapable of the real part of business, which is the constitution of one\nthat hath studied men more than books. Such men are fitter for practice\nthan for counsel, and they are good but in their own alley. Turn them\nto new men, and they have lost their aim; so as the old rule, to know a\nfool from a wise man, \u201cMitte ambos nudos ad ignotos, et videbis,\u201d[262]\ndoth scarce hold for them; and, because these cunning men are like\nhaberdashers[263] of small wares, it is not amiss to set forth their\nshop.\n\nIt is a point of cunning to wait upon[264] him with whom you speak with\nyour eye, as the Jesuits give it in precept; for there be many wise men\nthat have secret hearts and transparent countenances; yet this would be\ndone with a demure abasing of your eye sometimes, as the Jesuits also\ndo use.\n\nAnother is, that when you have any thing to obtain of present dispatch,\nyou entertain and amuse the party with whom you deal with some other\ndiscourse, that he be not too much awake to make objections. I knew a\ncounsellor and secretary that never came to Queen Elizabeth of England,\nwith bills to sign, but he would always first put her into some\ndiscourse of estate,[265] that she might the less mind the bills.\n\nThe like surprise may be made by moving things[266] when the party is\nin haste, and cannot stay to consider advisedly of that is moved.\n\nIf a man would cross a business that he doubts some other would\nhandsomely and effectually move, let him pretend to wish it well, and\nmove it himself, in such sort as may foil it.\n\nThe breaking off in the midst of that one was about to say, as if he\ntook himself up, breeds a greater appetite in him with whom you confer\nto know more.\n\nAnd because it works better when any thing seemeth to be gotten from\nyou by question than if you offer it of yourself, you may lay a bait\nfor a question, by showing another visage and countenance than you are\nwont; to the end, to give occasion for the party to ask what the matter\nis of the change, as Nehemiah[267] did: \u201cAnd I had not, before that\ntime, been sad before the king.\u201d\n\nIn things that are tender and unpleasing, it is good to break the ice\nby some whose words are of less weight, and to reserve the more weighty\nvoice to come in as by chance, so that he may be asked the question\nupon the other\u2019s speech; as Narcissus did, in relating to Claudius the\nmarriage[268] of Messalina and Silius.\n\nIn things that a man would not be seen in himself, it is a point of\ncunning to borrow the name of the world; as to say, \u201cThe world says,\u201d\nor \u201cThere is a speech abroad.\u201d\n\nI knew one, that when he wrote a letter, he would put that which was\nmost material in a postscript, as if it had been a by-matter.\n\nI knew another, that when he came to have speech,[269] he would pass\nover that that he intended most; and go forth and come back again, and\nspeak of it as a thing that he had almost forgot.\n\nSome procure themselves to be surprised at such times as it is like\nthe party that they work upon will suddenly come upon them, and to be\nfound with a letter in their hand, or doing somewhat which they are not\naccustomed, to the end they may be apposed of[270] those things which\nof themselves they are desirous to utter.\n\nIt is a point of cunning to let fall those words in a man\u2019s own name,\nwhich he would have another man learn and use, and thereupon take\nadvantage. I knew two that were competitors for the secretary\u2019s place\nin Queen Elizabeth\u2019s time, and yet kept good quarter[271] between\nthemselves, and would confer one with another upon the business; and\nthe one of them said, that to be a secretary in the declination of a\nmonarchy was a ticklish thing, and that he did not affect it;[272]\nthe other straight caught up those words, and discoursed with divers\nof his friends, that he had no reason to desire to be secretary in\nthe declination of a monarchy. The first man took hold of it, and\nfound means it was told the queen, who, hearing of a declination of a\nmonarchy, took it so ill, as she would never after hear of the other\u2019s\nsuit.\n\nThere is a cunning, which we in England call \u201cthe turning of the cat in\nthe pan;\u201d which is, when that which a man says to another, he lays it\nas if another had said it to him; and, to say truth, it is not easy,\nwhen such a matter passed between two, to make it appear from which of\nthem it first moved and began.\n\nIt is a way that some men have, to glance and dart at others by\njustifying themselves by negatives; as to say, \u201cThis I do not;\u201d\nas Tigellinus did towards Burrhus: \u201cSe non diversas spes, sed\nincolumitatem imperatoris simpliciter spectare.\u201d[273]\n\nSome have in readiness so many tales and stories, as there is nothing\nthey would insinuate, but they can wrap it into a tale;[274] which\nserveth both to keep themselves more in guard, and to make others carry\nit with more pleasure.\n\nIt is a good point of cunning for a man to shape the answer he would\nhave in his own words and propositions; for it makes the other party\nstick the less.\n\nIt is strange how long some men will lie in wait to speak somewhat\nthey desire to say; and how far about they will fetch,[275] and how\nmany other matters they will beat over to come near it. It is a thing\nof great patience, but yet of much use.\n\nA sudden, bold, and unexpected question doth many times surprise a\nman, and lay him open. Like to him, that, having changed his name, and\nwalking in Paul\u2019s,[276] another suddenly came behind him and called him\nby his true name, whereat straightways he looked back.\n\nBut these small wares and petty points of cunning are infinite, and it\nwere a good deed to make a list of them; for that nothing doth more\nhurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.\n\nBut certainly, some there are that know the resorts[277] and falls[278]\nof business that cannot sink into the main of it;[279] like a house\nthat hath convenient stairs and entries, but never a fair room.\nTherefore you shall see them find out pretty looses[280] in the\nconclusion, but are noways able to examine or debate matters; and yet\ncommonly they take advantage of their inability, and would be thought\nwits of direction. Some build rather upon the abusing of others, and\n(as we now say) putting tricks upon them, than upon soundness of their\nown proceedings; but Solomon saith: \u201cPrudens advertit ad gressus suos;\nstultus divertit ad dolos.\u201d[281]\n\n\n\n\nXXIII.\u2014OF WISDOM FOR A MAN\u2019S SELF.\n\n\nAn ant is a wise creature for itself, but it is a shrewd[282] thing\nin an orchard or garden; and certainly, men that are great lovers of\nthemselves waste the public. Divide with reason between self-love and\nsociety; and be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others,\nspecially to thy king and country. It is a poor centre of a man\u2019s\nactions, himself. It is right earth; for that only stands fast upon\nhis own centre;[283] whereas all things that have affinity with the\nheavens, move upon the centre of another, which they benefit. The\nreferring of all to a man\u2019s self is more tolerable in a sovereign\nprince, because themselves are not only themselves, but their good and\nevil is at the peril of the public fortune; but it is a desperate evil\nin a servant to a prince, or a citizen in a republic; for whatsoever\naffairs pass such a man\u2019s hands, he crooketh them to his own ends,\nwhich must needs be often eccentric to the ends of his master or state.\nTherefore, let princes or states choose such servants as have not this\nmark; except they mean their service should be made but the accessary.\nThat which maketh the effect more pernicious is, that all proportion\nis lost. It were disproportion enough for the servant\u2019s good to be\npreferred before the master\u2019s; but yet it is a greater extreme, when\na little good of the servant shall carry things against a great good\nof the master. And yet that is the case of bad officers, treasurers,\nambassadors, generals, and other false and corrupt servants; which\nset a bias upon their bowl, of their own petty ends and envies, to\nthe overthrow of their master\u2019s great and important affairs; and, for\nthe most part, the good such servants receive is after the model of\ntheir own fortune; but the hurt they sell for that good is after the\nmodel of their master\u2019s fortune. And certainly, it is the nature of\nextreme self-lovers, as they will set a house on fire, an it were but\nto roast their eggs; and yet these men many times hold credit with\ntheir masters, because their study is but to please them, and profit\nthemselves; and for either respect they will abandon the good of their\naffairs.\n\nWisdom for a man\u2019s self is, in many branches thereof, a depraved\nthing. It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house\nsomewhat before it fall; it is the wisdom of the fox, that thrusts\nout the badger who digged and made room for him; it is the wisdom of\ncrocodiles, that shed tears when they would devour. But that which is\nspecially to be noted is, that those which (as Cicero says of Pompey)\nare \u201csui amantes, sine rivali,\u201d[284] are many times unfortunate; and\nwhereas they have all their times sacrificed to themselves, they become\nin the end themselves sacrifices to the inconstancy of fortune, whose\nwings they thought by their self-wisdom to have pinioned.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV.\u2014OF INNOVATIONS.\n\n\nAs the births of living creatures at first are ill-shapen, so are\nall innovations, which are the births of time; yet, notwithstanding,\nas those that first bring honor into their family are commonly more\nworthy than most that succeed, so the first precedent (if it be good)\nis seldom attained by imitation; for ill to man\u2019s nature as it stands\nperverted, hath a natural motion strongest in continuance, but good,\nas a forced motion, strongest at first. Surely, every medicine[285]\nis an innovation, and he that will not apply new remedies must expect\nnew evils, for time is the greatest innovator; and if time, of course,\nalter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter\nthem to the better, what shall be the end? It is true, that what is\nsettled by custom, though it be not good, yet, at least, it is fit;\nand those things which have long gone together, are, as it were,\nconfederate within themselves;[286] whereas new things piece not so\nwell; but, though they help by their utility, yet they trouble by their\ninconformity; besides, they are like strangers, more admired and less\nfavored. All this is true, if time stood still, which, contrariwise,\nmoveth so round, that a froward retention of custom is as turbulent\na thing as an innovation; and they that reverence too much old times\nare but a scorn to the new. It were good, therefore, that men in their\ninnovations would follow the example of time itself, which indeed\ninnovateth greatly, but quietly, and by degrees scarce to be perceived;\nfor, otherwise, whatsoever is new is unlooked for, and ever it\nmends some and pairs[287] other; and he that is holpen, takes it for\na fortune, and thanks the time; and he that is hurt, for a wrong, and\nimputeth it to the author. It is good, also, not to try experiments in\nstates, except the necessity be urgent, or the utility evident; and\nwell to beware that it be the reformation that draweth on the change,\nand not the desire of change that pretendeth the reformation; and\nlastly, that the novelty, though it be not rejected, yet be held for\na suspect,[288] and, as the Scripture saith, \u201cThat we make a stand\nupon the ancient way, and then look about us, and discover what is the\nstraight and right way, and so to walk in it.\u201d[289]\n\n\n\n\nXXV.\u2014OF DISPATCH.\n\n\nAffected dispatch is one of the most dangerous things to business\nthat can be; it is like that which the physicians call predigestion,\nor hasty digestion, which is sure to fill the body full of crudities,\nand secret seeds of diseases. Therefore, measure not dispatch by the\ntimes of sitting, but by the advancement of the business; and as in\nraces, it is not the large stride, or high lift, that makes the speed,\nso in business, the keeping close to the matter, and not taking of it\ntoo much at once, procureth dispatch. It is the care of some, only to\ncome off speedily for the time, or to contrive some false periods of\nbusiness, because they may seem men of dispatch; but it is one thing to\nabbreviate by contracting,[290] another by cutting off; and business so\nhandled at several sittings, or meetings, goeth commonly backward and\nforward in an unsteady manner. I knew a wise man[291] that had it for\na byword, when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, \u201cStay a little, that\nwe may make an end the sooner.\u201d\n\nOn the other side, true dispatch is a rich thing; for time is the\nmeasure of business, as money is of wares; and business is bought at\na dear hand where there is small dispatch. The Spartans and Spaniards\nhave been noted to be of small dispatch: \u201cMi venga la muerte de\nSpagna;\u201d \u201cLet my death come from Spain;\u201d for then it will be sure to be\nlong in coming.\n\nGive good hearing to those that give the first information in business,\nand rather direct them in the beginning, than interrupt them in the\ncontinuance of their speeches; for he that is put out of his own order\nwill go forward and backward, and be more tedious while he waits upon\nhis memory, than he could have been if he had gone on in his own\ncourse; but sometimes it is seen that the moderator is more troublesome\nthan the actor.\n\nIterations are commonly loss of time; but there is no such gain of time\nas to iterate often the state of the question; for it chaseth away many\na frivolous speech as it is coming forth. Long and curious speeches\nare as fit for dispatch as a robe, or mantle, with a long train, is\nfor a race. Prefaces, and passages,[292] and excusations,[293] and\nother speeches of reference to the person, are great wastes of time;\nand though they seem to proceed of modesty, they are bravery.[294]\nYet beware of being too material when there is any impediment, or\nobstruction in men\u2019s wills; for preoccupation of mind[295] ever\nrequireth preface of speech, like a fomentation to make the unguent\nenter.\n\nAbove all things, order and distribution, and singling out of parts,\nis the life of dispatch, so as the distribution be not too subtile;\nfor he that doth not divide will never enter well into business; and\nhe that divideth too much will never come out of it clearly. To choose\ntime is to save time; and an unseasonable motion is but beating the\nair. There be three parts of business,\u2014the preparation; the debate, or\nexamination; and the perfection. Whereof, if you look for dispatch, let\nthe middle only be the work of many, and the first and last the work of\nfew. The proceeding, upon somewhat conceived in writing, doth for the\nmost part facilitate dispatch; for though it should be wholly rejected,\nyet that negative is more pregnant of direction than an indefinite, as\nashes are more generative than dust.\n\n\n\n\nXXVI.\u2014OF SEEMING WISE.\n\n\nIt hath been an opinion, that the French are wiser than they seem,\nand the Spaniards seem wiser than they are; but howsoever it be\nbetween nations, certainly it is so between man and man; for, as the\napostle saith of godliness, \u201cHaving a show of godliness, but denying\nthe power thereof,\u201d[296] so certainly there are, in points of wisdom\nand sufficiency, that do nothing, or little very solemnly,\u2014\u201cmagno\nconatu nugas.\u201d[297] It is a ridiculous thing, and fit for a satire to\npersons of judgment, to see what shifts these formalists have, and\nwhat prospectives to make superficies to seem body, that hath depth\nand bulk. Some are so close and reserved, as they will not show their\nwares but by a dark light, and seem always to keep back somewhat; and\nwhen they know within themselves they speak of that they do not well\nknow, would nevertheless seem to others to know of that which they may\nnot well speak. Some help themselves with countenance and gesture, and\nare wise by signs; as Cicero saith of Piso, that when he answered him,\nhe fetched one of his brows up to his forehead, and bent the other\ndown to his chin: \u201cRespondes, altero ad frontem sublato, altero ad\nmentum depresso supercilio; crudelitatem tibi non placere.\u201d[298] Some\nthink to bear it by speaking a great word, and being peremptory; and\ngo on, and take by admittance that which they cannot make good. Some,\nwhatsoever is beyond their reach, will seem to despise or make light of\nit as impertinent or curious, and so would have their ignorance seem\njudgment. Some are never without a difference, and commonly by amusing\nmen with a subtilty, blanch the matter; of whom A. Gellius saith,\n\u201cHominem delirum, qui verborum minutiis rerum frangit pondera.\u201d[299]\nOf which kind also Plato, in his Protagoras, bringeth in Prodicus in\nscorn, and maketh him make a speech that consisteth of distinctions\nfrom the beginning to the end.[300] Generally such men, in all\ndeliberations, find ease to be[301] of the negative side, and affect a\ncredit to object and foretell difficulties; for when propositions are\ndenied, there is an end of them, but if they be allowed, it requireth\na new work; which false point of wisdom is the bane of business. To\nconclude, there is no decaying merchant, or inward beggar,[302] hath\nso many tricks to uphold the credit of their wealth, as these empty\npersons have to maintain the credit of their sufficiency. Seeming wise\nmen may make shift to get opinion, but let no man choose them for\nemployment; for certainly, you were better take for business a man\nsomewhat absurd than over-formal.\n\n\n\n\nXXVII.\u2014OF FRIENDSHIP.\n\n\nIt had been hard for him that spake it, to have put more truth and\nuntruth together in few words than in that speech: \u201cWhosoever is\ndelighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god:\u201d[303] for it\nis most true, that a natural and secret hatred and aversion towards\nsociety in any man hath somewhat of the savage beast; but it is most\nuntrue, that it should have any character at all of the divine nature,\nexcept it proceed, not out of a pleasure in solitude, but out of a love\nand desire to sequester a man\u2019s self for a higher conversation; such\nas is found to have been falsely and feignedly in some of the heathen;\nas Epimenides,[304] the Candian; Numa, the Roman; Empedocles, the\nSicilian; and Apollonius, of Tyana; and truly and really in divers of\nthe ancient hermits and holy fathers of the church. But little do men\nperceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth; for a crowd is\nnot company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a\ntinkling cymbal, where there is no love. The Latin adage meeteth with\nit a little: \u201cMagna civitas, magna solitudo:\u201d[305] because in a great\ntown friends are scattered, so that there is not that fellowship, for\nthe most part, which is in less neighborhoods: but we may go further,\nand affirm most truly, that it is a mere and miserable solitude to want\ntrue friends, without which the world is but a wilderness; and even in\nthis sense also of solitude, whosoever in the frame of his nature and\naffections is unfit for friendship, he taketh it of the beasts, and not\nfrom humanity.\n\nA principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the\nfulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do\ncause and induce. We know diseases of stoppings and suffocations are\nthe most dangerous in the body, and it is not much otherwise in the\nmind. You may take sarza[306] to open the liver, steel to open the\nspleen, flower of sulphur for the lungs, castoreum[307] for the brain,\nbut no receipt openeth the heart but a true friend, to whom you may\nimpart griefs, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, counsels, and whatsoever\nlieth upon the heart to oppress it, in a kind of civil shrift or\nconfession.\n\nIt is a strange thing to observe how high a rate great kings and\nmonarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship whereof we speak; so\ngreat, as they purchase it many times at the hazard of their own safety\nand greatness; for princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune\nfrom that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit,\nexcept (to make themselves capable thereof) they raise some persons to\nbe as it were companions, and almost equals to themselves, which many\ntimes sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such\npersons the name of favorites, or privadoes, as if it were matter of\ngrace or conversation; but the Roman name attaineth the true use and\ncause thereof, naming them \u201cparticipes curarum;\u201d[308] for it is that\nwhich tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath been done, not\nby weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most politic\nthat ever reigned, who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of\ntheir servants, whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed\nothers likewise to call them in the same manner, using the word which\nis received between private men.\n\nL. Sylla, when he commanded Rome, raised Pompey (after surnamed\nthe Great) to that height, that Pompey vaunted himself for Sylla\u2019s\novermatch; for when he had carried the consulship for a friend of\nhis, against the pursuit of Sylla, and that Sylla did a little resent\nthereat, and began to speak great, Pompey turned upon him again, and,\nin effect, bade him be quiet; for that more men adored the sun rising\nthan the sun setting.[309] With Julius C\u00e6sar, Decimus Brutus had\nobtained that interest, as he set him down in his testament for heir\nin remainder after his nephew; and this was the man that had power\nwith him to draw him forth to his death; for when C\u00e6sar would have\ndischarged the senate, in regard of some ill presages, and specially a\ndream of Calphurnia, this man lifted him gently by the arm out of his\nchair, telling him he hoped he would not dismiss the senate till his\nwife had dreamt a better dream;[310] and it seemeth his favor was so\ngreat, as Antonius, in a letter which is recited verbatim in one of\nCicero\u2019s Philippics, calleth him _venefica_, \u201cwitch,\u201d as if he had\nenchanted C\u00e6sar.[311] Augustus raised Agrippa (though of mean birth) to\nthat height, as, when he consulted with M\u00e6cenas about the marriage of\nhis daughter Julia, M\u00e6cenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must\neither marry his daughter to Agrippa, or take away his life; there was\nno third way, he had made him so great. With Tiberius C\u00e6sar, Sejanus\nhad ascended to that height, as they two were termed and reckoned\nas a pair of friends. Tiberius, in a letter to him, saith, \u201cH\u00e6c pro\namiciti\u00e2 nostr\u00e2 non occultavi;\u201d[312] and the whole senate dedicated\nan altar to Friendship, as to a goddess, in respect of the great\ndearness of friendship between them two. The like, or more, was between\nSeptimius Severus and Plautianus; for he forced his eldest son to\nmarry the daughter of Plautianus, and would often maintain Plautianus\nin doing affronts to his son; and did write, also, in a letter to the\nsenate, by these words: \u201cI love the man so well, as I wish he may\nover-live me.\u201d[313] Now, if these princes had been as a Trajan, or a\nMarcus Aurelius, a man might have thought that this had proceeded of\nan abundant goodness of nature; but being men so wise,[314] of such\nstrength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of themselves,\nas all these were, it proveth most plainly that they found their own\nfelicity (though as great as ever happened to mortal men) but as an\nhalf-piece, except they might have a friend to make it entire; and yet,\nwhich is more, they were princes that had wives, sons, nephews; and yet\nall these could not supply the comfort of friendship.\n\nIt is not to be forgotten what Comineus[315] observeth of his first\nmaster, Duke Charles the Hardy,[316] namely, that he would communicate\nhis secrets with none, and, least of all, those secrets which troubled\nhim most. Whereupon he goeth on, and saith, that towards his latter\ntime, that closeness did impair and a little perish his understanding.\nSurely, Comineus might have made the same judgment, also, if it had\npleased him, of his second master, Louis the Eleventh, whose closeness\nwas indeed his tormentor. The parable of Pythagoras is dark, but true:\n\u201cCor ne edito,\u201d \u201ceat not the heart.\u201d[317] Certainly, if a man would\ngive it a hard phrase, those that want friends to open themselves unto\nare cannibals of their own hearts; but one thing is most admirable\n(wherewith I will conclude this first fruit of friendship), which\nis, that this communicating of a man\u2019s self to his friend works two\ncontrary effects, for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halves;\nfor there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he\njoyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend,\nbut he grieveth the less. So that it is, in truth, of operation upon a\nman\u2019s mind of like virtue as the alchemists used to attribute to their\nstone for man\u2019s body, that it worketh all contrary effects, but still\nto the good and benefit of nature. But yet, without praying in aid of\nalchemists, there is a manifest image of this in the ordinary course of\nnature; for, in bodies, union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural\naction; and, on the other side, weakeneth and dulleth any violent\nimpression; and even so it is of minds.\n\nThe second fruit of friendship is healthful and sovereign for the\nunderstanding, as the first is for the affections; for friendship\nmaketh indeed a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests,\nbut it maketh daylight in the understanding, out of darkness and\nconfusion of thoughts. Neither is this to be understood only of\nfaithful counsel, which a man receiveth from his friend; but before\nyou come to that, certain it is, that whosoever hath his mind fraught\nwith many thoughts, his wits and understanding do clarify and break\nup in the communicating and discoursing with another; he tosseth his\nthoughts more easily; he marshalleth them more orderly; he seeth how\nthey look when they are turned into words; finally, he waxeth wiser\nthan himself; and that more by an hour\u2019s discourse than by a day\u2019s\nmeditation. It was well said by Themistocles to the king of Persia:\n\u201cThat speech was like cloth of Arras,[318] opened and put abroad,\nwhereby the imagery doth appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie\nbut as in packs.\u201d[319] Neither is this second fruit of friendship, in\nopening the understanding, restrained only to such friends as are able\nto give a man counsel (they indeed are best), but even without that a\nman learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light, and\nwhetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In a word,\na man were better relate himself to a statue or picture, than to suffer\nhis thoughts to pass in smother.\n\nAdd now, to make this second fruit of friendship complete, that other\npoint which lieth more open, and falleth within vulgar observation;\nwhich is faithful counsel from a friend. Heraclitus saith well, in\none of his enigmas, \u201cDry light is ever the best;\u201d[320] and certain it\nis, that the light that a man receiveth by counsel from another, is\ndrier and purer than that which cometh from his own understanding and\njudgment, which is ever infused and drenched in his affections and\ncustoms. So, as there is as much difference between the counsel that a\nfriend giveth, and that a man giveth himself, as there is between the\ncounsel of a friend and of a flatterer; for there is no such flatterer\nas is a man\u2019s self, and there is no such remedy against flattery of a\nman\u2019s self, as the liberty of a friend. Counsel is of two sorts,\u2014the\none concerning manners, the other concerning business; for the first,\nthe best preservative to keep the mind in health, is the faithful\nadmonition of a friend. The calling of a man\u2019s self to a strict account\nis a medicine sometimes too piercing and corrosive; reading good books\nof morality is a little flat and dead; observing our faults in others\nis sometimes improper for our case; but the best receipt (best, I say,\nto work, and best to take), is the admonition of a friend. It is a\nstrange thing to behold what gross errors and extreme absurdities many\n(especially of the greater sort) do commit for want of a friend to\ntell them of them, to the great damage both of their fame and fortune;\nfor, as St. James saith, they are as men \u201cthat look sometimes into a\nglass, and presently forget their own shape and favor.\u201d[321] As for\nbusiness, a man may think, if he will, that two eyes see no more than\none; or, that a gamester seeth always more than a looker-on; or, that\na man in anger is as wise as he that has said over the four and twenty\nletters;[322] or, that a musket may be shot off as well upon the arm as\nupon a rest;[323] and such other fond and high imaginations, to think\nhimself all in all; but when all is done, the help of good counsel is\nthat which setteth business straight. And if any man think that he\nwill take counsel, but it shall be by pieces, asking counsel in one\nbusiness of one man, and in another business of another man; it is well\n(that is to say, better, perhaps, than if he asked none at all); but he\nrunneth two dangers,\u2014one, that he shall not be faithfully counselled;\nfor it is a rare thing, except it be from a perfect and entire friend,\nto have counsel given, but such as shall be bowed and crooked to some\nends which he hath that giveth it; the other, that he shall have\ncounsel given, hurtful and unsafe (though with good meaning), and\nmixed partly of mischief, and partly of remedy; even as if you would\ncall a physician, that is thought good for the cure of the disease you\ncomplain of, but is unacquainted with your body; and, therefore, may\nput you in a way for a present cure, but overthroweth your health in\nsome other kind, and so cure the disease and kill the patient.\nBut a friend, that is wholly acquainted with a man\u2019s estate, will\nbeware, by furthering any present business, how he dasheth upon other\ninconvenience; and, therefore, rest not upon scattered counsels; they\nwill rather distract and mislead, than settle and direct.\n\nAfter these two noble fruits of friendship (peace in the affections,\nand support of the judgment), followeth the last fruit, which is like\nthe pomegranate, full of many kernels; I mean aid, and bearing a part\nin all actions and occasions. Here the best way to represent to life\nthe manifold use of friendship, is to cast and see how many things\nthere are which a man cannot do himself; and then it will appear that\nit was a sparing speech of the ancients to say, \u201cthat a friend is\nanother himself,\u201d for that a friend is far more than himself. Men have\ntheir time, and die many times in desire of some things which they\nprincipally take to heart; the bestowing of a child, the finishing of\na work, or the like. If a man have a true friend, he may rest almost\nsecure that the care of those things will continue after him; so that\na man hath, as it were, two lives in his desires. A man hath a body,\nand that body is confined to a place; but where friendship is, all\noffices of life are, as it were, granted to him and his deputy, for he\nmay exercise them by his friend. How many things are there, which a\nman cannot, with any face or comeliness, say or do himself? A man can\nscarce allege his own merits with modesty, much less extol them; a\nman cannot sometimes brook to supplicate, or beg, and a number of the\nlike; but all these things are graceful in a friend\u2019s mouth, which are\nblushing in a man\u2019s own. So, again, a man\u2019s person hath many proper\nrelations which he cannot put off. A man cannot speak to his son but as\na father; to his wife but as a husband; to his enemy but upon terms;\nwhereas, a friend may speak as the case requires, and not as it sorteth\nwith the person. But to enumerate these things were endless; I have\ngiven the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his own part. If he have\nnot a friend, he may quit the stage.\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII.\u2014OF EXPENSE.\n\n\nRiches are for spending, and spending for honor and good actions;\ntherefore, extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the\noccasion; for voluntary undoing may be as well for a man\u2019s country as\nfor the kingdom of heaven; but ordinary expense ought to be limited\nby a man\u2019s estate, and governed with such regard, as it be within his\ncompass, and not subject to deceit and abuse of servants, and ordered\nto the best show, that the bills may be less than the estimation\nabroad. Certainly, if a man will keep but of even hand, his ordinary\nexpenses ought to be but to the half of his receipts; and, if he think\nto wax rich, but to the third part. It is no baseness for the greatest\nto descend and look into their own estate. Some forbear it, not upon\nnegligence alone, but doubting to bring themselves into melancholy, in\nrespect they shall find it broken; but wounds cannot be cured without\nsearching. He that cannot look into his own estate at all, had need\nboth choose well those whom he employeth, and change them often; for\nnew are more timorous, and less subtle. He that can look into his\nestate but seldom, it behooveth him to turn all to certainties. A man\nhad need, if he be plentiful in some kind of expense, to be as saving\nagain in some other: as, if he be plentiful in diet, to be saving in\napparel; if he be plentiful in the hall, to be saving in the stable;\nand the like. For he that is plentiful in expenses of all kinds, will\nhardly be preserved from decay. In clearing[324] of a man\u2019s estate,\nhe may as well hurt himself in being too sudden, as in letting it run\non too long; for hasty selling is commonly as disadvantageable as\ninterest. Besides, he that clears at once will relapse; for, finding\nhimself out of straits, he will revert to his customs; but he that\ncleareth by degrees induceth a habit of frugality, and gaineth as\nwell upon his mind as upon his estate. Certainly, who hath a state\nto repair, may not despise small things; and, commonly, it is less\ndishonorable to abridge petty charges, than to stoop to petty\ngettings. A man ought warily to begin charges, which once begun will\ncontinue; but in matters that return not, he may be more magnificent.\n\n\n\n\nXXIX.\u2014OF THE TRUE GREATNESS OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES.\n\n\nThe speech of Themistocles, the Athenian, which was haughty and\narrogant, in taking so much to himself, had been a grave and wise\nobservation and censure, applied at large to others. Desired at a feast\nto touch a lute, he said, \u201cHe could not fiddle, but yet he could make\na small town a great city.\u201d[325] These words (holpen a little with a\nmetaphor) may express two different abilities in those that deal in\nbusiness of estate; for if a true survey be taken of counsellors and\nstatesmen, there may be found (though rarely) those which can make a\nsmall state great, and yet cannot fiddle: as, on the other side there\nwill be found a great many that can fiddle very cunningly, but yet\nare so far from being able to make a small state great, as their gift\nlieth the other way,\u2014to bring a great and flourishing estate to ruin\nand decay. And certainly, those degenerate arts and shifts, whereby\nmany counsellors and governors gain both favor with their masters and\nestimation with the vulgar, deserve no better name than fiddling;\nbeing things rather pleasing for the time, and graceful to themselves\nonly, than tending to the weal and advancement of the state which they\nserve. There are also (no doubt) counsellors and governors which may\nbe held sufficient, \u201cnegotiis pares,\u201d[326] able to manage affairs,\nand to keep them from precipices and manifest inconveniences; which,\nnevertheless, are far from the ability to raise and amplify an estate\nin power, means, and fortune. But be the workmen what they may be,\nlet us speak of the work; that is, the true greatness of kingdoms\nand estates, and the means thereof. An argument fit for great and\nmighty princes to have in their hand; to the end, that neither by\novermeasuring their forces, they lose themselves in vain enterprises:\nnor, on the other side, by undervaluing them, they descend to fearful\nand pusillanimous counsels.\n\nThe greatness of an estate, in bulk and territory, doth fall under\nmeasure; and the greatness of finances and revenue doth fall under\ncomputation. The population may appear by musters, and the number and\ngreatness of cities and towns by cards and maps; but yet there is not\nanything amongst civil affairs more subject to error than the right\nvaluation and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an\nestate. The kingdom of heaven is compared, not to any great kernel, or\nnut, but to a grain of mustard-seed;[327] which is one of the least\ngrains, but hath in it a property and spirit hastily to get up and\nspread. So are there states great in territory, and yet not apt to\nenlarge or command; and some that have but a small dimension of stem,\nand yet apt to be the foundations of great monarchies.\n\nWalled towns, stored arsenals and armories, goodly races of horse,\nchariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like; all this\nis but a sheep in a lion\u2019s skin, except the breed and disposition of\nthe people be stout and warlike. Nay, number itself in armies importeth\nnot much, where the people is of weak courage; for, as Virgil saith,\n\u201cIt never troubles a wolf how many the sheep be.\u201d[328] The army of\nthe Persians in the plains of Arbela was such a vast sea of people,\nas it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alexander\u2019s army, who\ncame to him, therefore, and wished him to set upon them by night; but\nhe answered, \u201cHe would not pilfer the victory;\u201d and the defeat was\neasy.[329]\u2014When Tigranes,[330] the Armenian, being encamped upon\na hill with four hundred thousand men, discovered the army of the\nRomans, being not above fourteen thousand, marching towards him, he\nmade himself merry with it, and said, \u201cYonder men are too many for an\nambassage, and too few for a fight;\u201d but before the sun set, he found\nthem enow to give him the chase with infinite slaughter. Many are the\nexamples of the great odds between number and courage; so that a man\nmay truly make a judgment, that the principal point of greatness in any\nstate is to have a race of military men. Neither is money the sinews\nof war (as it is trivially said), where the sinews of men\u2019s arms,\nin base and effeminate people, are failing: for Solon said well to\nCr\u0153sus (when in ostentation he showed him his gold), \u201cSir, if any\nother come that hath better iron than you, he will be master of all\nthis gold.\u201d Therefore, let any prince or state, think soberly of his\nforces, except his militia of natives be of good and valiant soldiers;\nand let princes, on the other side, that have subjects of martial\ndisposition, know their own strength, unless they be otherwise wanting\nunto themselves. As for mercenary forces (which is the help in this\ncase), all examples show that, whatsoever estate or prince doth rest\nupon them, he may spread his feathers for a time, but he will mew them\nsoon after.\n\nThe blessing of Judah and Issachar[331] will never meet; that the\nsame people, or nation, should be both the lion\u2019s whelp and the ass\nbetween burdens; neither will it be, that a people overlaid with taxes\nshould ever become valiant and martial. It is true that taxes, levied\nby consent of the estate, do abate men\u2019s courage less; as it hath been\nseen notably in the excises of the Low Countries, and, in some degree,\nin the subsidies[332] of England; for, you must note, that we speak now\nof the heart, and not of the purse; so that, although the same tribute\nand tax, laid by consent or by imposing, be all one to the purse, yet\nit works diversely upon the courage. So that you may conclude, that no\npeople overcharged with tribute is fit for empire.\n\nLet states that aim at greatness take heed how their nobility and\ngentlemen do multiply too fast; for that maketh the common subject grow\nto be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, and, in effect,\nbut the gentleman\u2019s laborer. Even as you may see in coppice woods; if\nyou leave your staddles[333] too thick, you shall never have clean\nunderwood, but shrubs and bushes. So in countries, if the gentlemen\nbe too many, the commons will be base; and you will bring it to that,\nthat not the hundred poll will be fit for a helmet, especially as\nto the infantry, which is the nerve of an army; and so there will be\ngreat population and little strength. This which I speak of, hath been\nnowhere better seen than by comparing of England and France; whereof\nEngland, though far less in territory and population, hath been,\nnevertheless, an overmatch; in regard, the middle people of England\nmake good soldiers, which the peasants of France do not. And herein\nthe device of King Henry the Seventh (whereof I have spoken largely\nin the history of his life) was profound and admirable; in making\nfarms and houses of husbandry of a standard, that is, maintained with\nsuch a proportion of land unto them as may breed a subject to live in\nconvenient plenty, and no servile condition, and to keep the plough in\nthe hands of the owners, and not mere hirelings; and thus, indeed, you\nshall attain to Virgil\u2019s character, which he gives to ancient Italy:\u2014\n\n \u201cTerra potens armis atque ubere gleb\u00e6.\u201d[334]\n\nNeither is that state (which, for anything I know, is almost peculiar\nto England, and hardly to be found anywhere else, except it be,\nperhaps, in Poland), to be passed over; I mean the state of free\nservants and attendants upon noblemen and gentlemen, which are noways\ninferior unto the yeomanry for arms; and, therefore, out of all\nquestion, the splendor and magnificence, and great retinues, and\nhospitality of noblemen and gentlemen received into custom, do much\nconduce unto martial greatness; whereas, contrariwise, the close and\nreserved living of noblemen and gentlemen causeth a penury of military\nforces.\n\nBy all means, it is to be procured that the trunk of Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s\ntree of monarchy[335] be great enough to bear the branches and the\nboughs; that is, that the natural subjects of the crown, or state, bear\na sufficient proportion to the stranger subjects that they govern.\nTherefore, all states that are liberal of naturalization towards\nstrangers are fit for empire; for to think that a handful of people\ncan, with the greatest courage and policy in the world, embrace too\nlarge extent of dominion, it may hold for a time, but it will fail\nsuddenly. The Spartans were a nice people in point of naturalization;\nwhereby, while they kept their compass, they stood firm; but when\nthey did spread, and their boughs were becoming too great for their\nstem, they became a windfall upon the sudden. Never any state was, in\nthis point, so open to receive strangers into their body as were the\nRomans; therefore, it sorted with them accordingly, for they grew to\nthe greatest monarchy. Their manner was to grant naturalization (which\nthey called \u201cjus civitatis\u201d),[336] and to grant it in the highest\ndegree, that is, not only \u201cjus commercii,\u201d[337] \u201cjus connubii,\u201d[338]\n\u201cjus h\u00e6reditatis;\u201d[339] but, also, \u201cjus suffragii,\u201d[340] and \u201cjus\nhonorum;\u201d[341] and this not to singular persons alone, but likewise to\nwhole families; yea, to cities and sometimes to nations. Add to this\ntheir custom of plantation of colonies, whereby the Roman plant was\nremoved into the soil of other nations, and, putting both constitutions\ntogether, you will say, that it was not the Romans that spread upon\nthe world, but it was the world that spread upon the Romans; and\nthat was the sure way of greatness. I have marvelled sometimes at\nSpain, how they clasp and contain so large dominions with so few\nnatural Spaniards;[342] but sure the whole compass of Spain is a very\ngreat body of a tree, far above Rome and Sparta at the first; and,\nbesides, though they have not had that usage to naturalize liberally,\nyet they have that which is next to it; that is, to employ, almost\nindifferently, all nations in their militia of ordinary soldiers;\nyea, and sometimes in their highest commands; nay, it seemeth at\nthis instant they are sensible of this want of natives, as by the\npragmatical sanction,[343] now published, appeareth.\n\nIt is certain that sedentary and within-door arts, and delicate\nmanufactures (that require rather the finger than the arm), have in\ntheir nature a contrariety to a military disposition; and, generally,\nall warlike people are a little idle, and love danger better than\ntravail; neither must they be too much broken of it, if they shall be\npreserved in vigor. Therefore, it was great advantage in the ancient\nstates of Sparta, Athens, Rome, and others, that they had the use\nof slaves, which commonly did rid those manufactures; but that is\nabolished, in greatest part, by the Christian law. That which cometh\nnearest to it is, to leave those arts chiefly to strangers (which, for\nthat purpose, are the more easily to be received), and to contain the\nprincipal bulk of the vulgar natives within those three kinds, tillers\nof the ground, free servants, and handicraftsmen of strong and manly\narts; as smiths, masons, carpenters, &c., not reckoning professed\nsoldiers.\n\nBut, above all, for empire and greatness, it importeth most, that\na nation do profess arms as their principal honor, study, and\noccupation; for the things which we formerly have spoken of are but\nhabilitations[344] towards arms; and what is habilitation without\nintention and act? Romulus, after his death (as they report or feign),\nsent a present to the Romans, that, above all, they should intend[345]\narms, and then they should prove the greatest empire of the world. The\nfabric of the state of Sparta was wholly (though not wisely) framed\nand composed to that scope and end; the Persians and Macedonians had\nit for a flash;[346] the Gauls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans, and\nothers, had it for a time; the Turks have it at this day, though in\ngreat declination. Of Christian Europe, they that have it are in effect\nonly the Spaniards; but it is so plain, that every man profiteth in\nthat he most intendeth, that it needeth not to be stood upon. It is\nenough to point at it, that no nation which doth not directly profess\narms, may look to have greatness fall into their mouths; and, on the\nother side, it is a most certain oracle of time, that those states that\ncontinue long in that profession (as the Romans and Turks principally\nhave done), do wonders; and those that have professed arms but for an\nage have, notwithstanding, commonly attained that greatness in that age\nwhich maintained them long after, when their profession and exercise of\narms had grown to decay.\n\nIncident to this point is, for a state to have those laws or customs\nwhich may reach forth unto them just occasions (as may be pretended)\nof war; for there is that justice imprinted in the nature of men,\nthat they enter not upon wars (whereof so many calamities do ensue),\nbut upon some, at the least specious grounds and quarrels. The Turk\nhath at hand, for cause of war, the propagation of his law or sect, a\nquarrel that he may always command. The Romans, though they esteemed\nthe extending the limits of their empire to be great honor to their\ngenerals when it was done, yet they never rested upon that alone to\nbegin a war. First, therefore, let nations that pretend to greatness\nhave this, that they be sensible of wrongs, either upon borderers,\nmerchants, or politic ministers; and that they sit not too long upon\na provocation: secondly, let them be pressed,[347] and ready to give\naids and succors to their confederates, as it ever was with the Romans;\ninsomuch, as if the confederate had leagues defensive with divers other\nstates, and, upon invasion offered, did implore their aids severally,\nyet the Romans would ever be the foremost, and leave it to none other\nto have the honor. As for the wars, which were anciently made on the\nbehalf of a kind of party, or tacit conformity of estate, I do not see\nhow they may be well justified: as when the Romans made a war for the\nliberty of Gr\u00e6cia; or, when the Laced\u00e6monians and Athenians made wars\nto set up or pull down democracies and oligarchies; or when wars were\nmade by foreigners, under the pretence of justice or protection, to\ndeliver the subjects of others from tyranny and oppression, and the\nlike. Let it suffice, that no estate expect to be great, that is not\nawake upon any just occasion of arming.\n\nNobody can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor\npolitic; and, certainly, to a kingdom, or estate, a just and honorable\nwar is the true exercise. A civil war, indeed, is like the heat of a\nfever; but a foreign war is like the heat of exercise, and serveth to\nkeep the body in health; for, in a slothful peace, both courages will\neffeminate and manners corrupt. But, howsoever it be for happiness,\nwithout all question for greatness, it maketh to be still, for the\nmost part, in arms; and the strength of a veteran army (though it be a\nchargeable business) always on foot, is that which commonly giveth the\nlaw, or, at least, the reputation amongst all neighbor states, as may\nwell be seen in Spain,[348] which hath had, in one part or other, a\nveteran army, almost continually, now by the space of sixscore years.\n\nTo be master of the sea is an abridgment of a monarchy. Cicero, writing\nto Atticus, of Pompey\u2019s preparation against C\u00e6sar, saith, \u201cConsilium\nPompeii plane Themistocleum est; putat enim, qui mari potitur, eum\nrerum potiri;[349] and, without doubt, Pompey had tired out C\u00e6sar, if\nupon vain confidence he had not left that way. We see the great effects\nof battles by sea. The battle of Actium decided the empire of the\nworld: the battle of Lepanto arrested the greatness of the Turk. There\nbe many examples where sea-fights have been final to the war; but this\nis when princes, or states, have set up their rest upon the battles.\nBut thus much is certain, that he that commands the sea is at great\nliberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will;\nwhereas, those that be strongest by land are many times, nevertheless,\nin great straits. Surely, at this day, with us of Europe, the vantage\nof strength at sea (which is one of the principal dowries of this\nkingdom of Great Britain) is great; both because most of the kingdoms\nof Europe are not merely inland, but girt with the sea most part of\ntheir compass; and because the wealth of both Indies seems, in great\npart, but an accessary to the command of the seas.\n\nThe wars of latter ages seem to be made in the dark, in respect of\nthe glory and honor which reflected upon men from the wars in ancient\ntime. There be now, for martial encouragement, some degrees and orders\nof chivalry, which, nevertheless, are conferred promiscuously upon\nsoldiers and no soldiers; and some remembrance, perhaps, upon the\nescutcheon, and some hospitals for maimed soldiers, and such like\nthings; but in ancient times, the trophies erected upon the place of\nthe victory; the funeral laudatives,[350] and monuments for those\nthat died in the wars; the crowns and garlands personal; the style of\nemperor which the great kings of the world after borrowed; the triumphs\nof the generals upon their return; the great donatives and largesses\nupon the disbanding of the armies; were things able to inflame all\nmen\u2019s courages. But, above all, that of the triumph amongst the\nRomans was not pageants or gaudery, but one of the wisest and noblest\ninstitutions that ever was; for it contained three things: honor to the\ngeneral, riches to the treasury out of the spoils, and donatives to\nthe army. But that honor, perhaps, were not fit for monarchies, except\nit be in the person of the monarch himself, or his sons; as it came\nto pass in the times of the Roman emperors, who did impropriate the\nactual triumphs to themselves and their sons, for such wars as they did\nachieve in person, and left only for wars achieved by subjects, some\ntriumphal garments and ensigns to the general.\n\nTo conclude. No man can by care-taking (as the Scripture saith) \u201cadd\na cubit to his stature,\u201d[351] in this little model of a man\u2019s body;\nbut in the great frame of kingdoms and commonwealths, it is in the\npower of princes, or estates, to add amplitude and greatness to\ntheir kingdom; for, by introducing such ordinances, constitutions,\nand customs, as we have now touched, they may sow greatness to their\nposterity and succession: but these things are commonly not observed,\nbut left to take their chance.\n\n\n\n\nXXX.\u2014OF REGIMEN OF HEALTH.\n\n\nThere is a wisdom in this beyond the rules of physic. A man\u2019s own\nobservation, what he finds good of, and what he finds hurt of, is the\nbest physic to preserve health; but it is a safer conclusion to say,\n\u201cThis agreeth not well with me, therefore I will not continue it;\u201d than\nthis, \u201cI find no offence of this, therefore I may use it;\u201d for strength\nof nature in youth passeth over many excesses which are owing[352] a\nman till his age. Discern of the coming on of years, and think not to\ndo the same things still; for age will not be defied. Beware of sudden\nchange in any great point of diet, and, if necessity enforce it, fit\nthe rest to it; for it is a secret both in nature and state, that it\nis safer to change many things than one. Examine thy customs of diet,\nsleep, exercise, apparel, and the like; and try, in any thing thou\nshalt judge hurtful, to discontinue it by little and little; but so, as\nif thou dost find any inconvenience by the change, thou come back to\nit again; for it is hard to distinguish that which is generally held\ngood and wholesome, from that which is good particularly,[353] and fit\nfor thine own body. To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed at hours\nof meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of\nlong lasting. As for the passions and studies of the mind, avoid envy,\nanxious fears, anger fretting inwards, subtle and knotty inquisitions,\njoys, and exhilarations in excess, sadness not communicated. Entertain\nhopes, mirth rather than joy, variety of delights, rather than surfeit\nof them; wonder and admiration, and therefore novelties; studies that\nfill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects, as histories,\nfables, and contemplations of nature. If you fly physic in health\naltogether, it will be too strange for your body when you shall need\nit; if you make it too familiar, it will work no extraordinary effect\nwhen sickness cometh. I commend rather some diet, for certain seasons,\nthan frequent use of physic, except it be grown into a custom; for\nthose diets alter the body more, and trouble it less. Despise no new\naccident[354] in your body, but ask opinion[355] of it. In sickness,\nrespect health principally; and in health, action; for those that put\ntheir bodies to endure in health, may, in most sicknesses which are\nnot very sharp, be cured only with diet and tendering. Celsus could\nnever have spoken it as a physician, had he not been a wise man withal,\nwhen he giveth it for one of the great precepts of health and lasting,\nthat a man do vary and interchange contraries, but with an inclination\nto the more benign extreme. Use fasting and full eating, but rather\nfull eating;[356] watching and sleep, but rather sleep; sitting and\nexercise, but rather exercise, and the like; so shall nature be\ncherished, and yet taught masteries.[357] Physicians are some of them\nso pleasing and conformable to the humor of the patient, as they\npress not the true cure of the disease; and some other are so regular\nin proceeding according to art for the disease, as they respect not\nsufficiently the condition of the patient. Take one of a middle temper;\nor, if it may not be found in one man, combine two of either sort; and\nforget not to call as well the best acquainted with your body, as the\nbest reputed of for his faculty.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI.\u2014OF SUSPICION.\n\n\nSuspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever\nfly by twilight. Certainly they are to be repressed, or at the least\nwell guarded; for they cloud the mind, they lose friends, and they\ncheck with business, whereby business cannot go on currently and\nconstantly. They dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, wise\nmen to irresolution and melancholy. They are defects, not in the heart\nbut in the brain; for they take place in the stoutest natures, as in\nthe example of Henry the Seventh of England. There was not a more\nsuspicious man, nor a more stout, and in such a composition they do\nsmall hurt; for commonly they are not admitted, but with examination,\nwhether they be likely or no; but in fearful natures they gain ground\ntoo fast. There is nothing makes a man suspect much, more than to know\nlittle; and, therefore, men should remedy suspicion by procuring to\nknow more, and not to keep their suspicions in smother. What would men\nhave? Do they think those they employ and deal with are saints? Do they\nnot think they will have their own ends, and be truer to themselves\nthan to them? Therefore, there is no better way to moderate suspicions,\nthan to account upon such suspicions as true, and yet to bridle them\nas false:[358] for so far a man ought to make use of suspicions as to\nprovide, as if that should be true that he suspects, yet it may do him\nno hurt. Suspicions that the mind of itself gathers are but buzzes; but\nsuspicions that are artificially nourished, and put into men\u2019s heads by\nthe tales and whisperings of others, have stings. Certainly, the best\nmean, to clear the way in this same wood of suspicions, is frankly to\ncommunicate them with the party that he suspects: for thereby he shall\nbe sure to know more of the truth of them than he did before; and,\nwithal, shall make that party more circumspect, not to give further\ncause of suspicion. But this would not be done to men of base natures;\nfor they, if they find themselves once suspected, will never be true.\nThe Italian says, \u201cSospetto licentia fede;\u201d[359] as if suspicion did\ngive a passport to faith; but it ought rather to kindle it to discharge\nitself.\n\n\n\n\nXXXII.\u2014OF DISCOURSE.\n\n\nSome in their discourse desire rather commendation of wit, in being\nable to hold all arguments,[360] than of judgment, in discerning what\nis true; as if it were a praise to know what might be said and not\nwhat should be thought. Some have certain commonplaces and themes,\nwherein they are good, and want variety; which kind of poverty is for\nthe most part tedious, and, when it is once perceived, ridiculous. The\nhonorablest part of talk is to give the occasion,[361] and again to\nmoderate and pass to somewhat else; for then a man leads the dance.\nIt is good in discourse, and speech of conversation, to vary and\nintermingle speech of the present occasion with arguments, tales with\nreasons, asking of questions with telling of opinions, and jest with\nearnest; for it is a dull thing to tire, and, as we say now, to jade\nany thing too far. As for jest, there be certain things which ought\nto be privileged from it; namely, religion, matters of state, great\npersons, any man\u2019s present business of importance, and any case that\ndeserveth pity; yet there be some that think their wits have been\nasleep, except they dart out somewhat that is piquant, and to the\nquick; that is a vein which would be bridled:[362]\u2014\n\n \u201cParce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris.\u201d[363]\n\nAnd, generally, men ought to find the difference between saltness and\nbitterness. Certainly, he that hath a satirical vein, as he maketh\nothers afraid of his wit, so he had need be afraid of others\u2019 memory.\nHe that questioneth much, shall learn much, and content much, but\nespecially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom\nhe asketh: for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in\nspeaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge; but let\nhis questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser.[364]\nAnd let him be sure to leave other men their turns to speak; nay, if\nthere be any that would reign and take up all the time, let him find\nmeans to take them off, and to bring others on, as musicians used to\ndo with those that dance too long galliards.[365] If you dissemble\nsometimes your knowledge of that you are thought to know, you shall be\nthought, another time, to know that you know not. Speech of a man\u2019s\nself ought to be seldom, and well chosen. I knew one was wont to say\nin scorn, \u201cHe must needs be a wise man, he speaks so much of himself;\u201d\nand there is but one case wherein a man may commend himself with good\ngrace, and that is in commending virtue in another, especially if it\nbe such a virtue whereunto himself pretendeth. Speech of touch[366]\ntowards others should be sparingly used; for discourse ought to be as\na field, without coming home to any man. I knew two noblemen, of the\nwest part of England, whereof the one was given to scoff, but kept\never royal cheer in his house; the other would ask of those that had\nbeen at the other\u2019s table, \u201cTell truly, was there never a flout[367]\nor dry blow[368] given?\u201d To which the guest would answer, \u201cSuch and\nsuch a thing passed.\u201d The lord would say, \u201cI thought he would mar a\ngood dinner.\u201d Discretion of speech is more than eloquence; and to speak\nagreeably to him with whom we deal, is more than to speak in good\nwords, or in good order. A good continued speech, without a good speech\nof interlocution, shows slowness; and a good reply, or second speech,\nwithout a good settled speech, showeth shallowness and weakness. As\nwe see in beasts, that those that are weakest in the course, are yet\nnimblest in the turn; as it is betwixt the greyhound and the hare. To\nuse too many circumstances, ere one come to the matter, is wearisome;\nto use none at all, is blunt.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII.\u2014OF PLANTATIONS.[369]\n\n\nPlantations are amongst ancient, primitive, and heroical works. When\nthe world was young, it begat more children; but now it is old, it\nbegets fewer; for I may justly account new plantations to be the\nchildren of former kingdoms. I like a plantation in a pure soil;\nthat is, where people are not displanted,[370] to the end to plant\nin others; for else it is rather an extirpation than a plantation.\nPlanting of countries is like planting of woods; for you must make\naccount to lose almost twenty years\u2019 profit, and expect your recompense\nin the end; for the principal thing that hath been the destruction\nof most plantations, hath been the base and hasty drawing of profit\nin the first years. It is true, speedy profit is not to be neglected,\nas far as may stand with the good of the plantation, but no further.\nIt is a shameful and unblessed thing[371] to take the scum of people\nand wicked condemned men, to be the people with whom you plant; and\nnot only so, but it spoileth the plantation; for they will ever live\nlike rogues, and not fall to work; but be lazy, and do mischief, and\nspend victuals, and be quickly weary, and then certify over to their\ncountry to the discredit of the plantation. The people wherewith you\nplant ought to be gardeners, ploughmen, laborers, smiths, carpenters,\njoiners, fishermen, fowlers, with some few apothecaries, surgeons,\ncooks, and bakers. In a country of plantations, first look about what\nkind of victual the country yields of itself to hand; as chestnuts,\nwalnuts, pine-apples, olives, dates, plums, cherries, wild honey,\nand the like, and make use of them. Then consider what victual, or\nesculent things there are, which grow speedily, and within the year; as\nparsnips, carrots, turnips, onions, radish, artichokes of Jerusalem,\nmaize, and the like. For wheat, barley, and oats, they ask too much\nlabor; but with pease and beans you may begin, both because they ask\nless labor, and because they serve for meat as well as for bread;\nand of rice, likewise, cometh a great increase, and it is a kind of\nmeat. Above all, there ought to be brought store of biscuit, oatmeal,\nflour, meal, and the like, in the beginning, till bread may be had. For\nbeasts, or birds, take chiefly such as are least subject to diseases,\nand multiply fastest; as swine, goats, cocks, hens, turkeys, geese,\nhouse-doves, and the like. The victual in plantations ought to be\nexpended almost as in a besieged town, that is, with certain allowance;\nand let the main part of the ground employed to gardens or corn, be to\na common stock; and to be laid in, and stored up, and then delivered\nout in proportion; besides some spots of ground that any particular\nperson will manure for his own private use. Consider, likewise, what\ncommodities the soil where the plantation is doth naturally yield, that\nthey may some way help to defray the charge of the plantation; so it be\nnot, as was said, to the untimely prejudice of the main business, as\nit hath fared with tobacco in Virginia.[372] Wood commonly aboundeth\nbut too much; and therefore timber is fit to be one. If there be iron\nore, and streams whereupon to set the mills, iron is a brave commodity\nwhere wood aboundeth. Making of bay-salt, if the climate be proper for\nit, would be put in experience; growing silk, likewise, if any be, is\na likely commodity; pitch and tar, where store of firs and pines are,\nwill not fail; so drugs and sweet woods, where they are, cannot but\nyield great profit; soap-ashes, likewise, and other things that may\nbe thought of; but moil[373] not too much under ground, for the hope\nof mines is very uncertain, and useth to make the planters lazy in\nother things. For government, let it be in the hands of one, assisted\nwith some counsel; and let them have commission to exercise martial\nlaws, with some limitation; and, above all, let men make that profit\nof being in the wilderness, as they have God always, and his service,\nbefore their eyes. Let not the government of the plantation depend upon\ntoo many counsellors and undertakers in the country that planteth,\nbut upon a temperate number; and let those be rather noblemen and\ngentlemen, than merchants, for they look ever to the present gain. Let\nthere be freedoms from custom, till the plantation be of strength; and\nnot only freedom from custom, but freedom to carry their commodities\nwhere they may make their best of them, except there be some special\ncause of caution. Cram not in people, by sending too fast company\nafter company; but rather hearken how they waste, and send supplies\nproportionably; but so as the number may live well in the plantation,\nand not by surcharge be in penury. It hath been a great endangering to\nthe health of some plantations, that they have built along the sea and\nrivers, in marish[374] and unwholesome grounds; therefore, though you\nbegin there, to avoid carriage and other like discommodities, yet\nbuild still rather upwards from the streams than along. It concerneth,\nlikewise, the health of the plantation, that they have good store of\nsalt with them, that they may use it in their victuals when it shall\nbe necessary. If you plant where savages are, do not only entertain\nthem with trifles and gingles,[375] but use them justly and graciously,\nwith sufficient guard, nevertheless; and do not win their favor by\nhelping them to invade their enemies, but for their defence it is not\namiss; and send oft of them over to the country that plants, that they\nmay see a better condition than their own, and commend it when they\nreturn. When the plantation grows to strength, then it is time to plant\nwith women as well as with men; that the plantation may spread into\ngenerations, and not be ever pieced from without. It is the sinfullest\nthing in the world, to forsake or destitute a plantation once in\nforwardness; for, besides the dishonor, it is the guiltiness of blood\nof many commiserable persons.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIV.\u2014OF RICHES.\n\n\nI cannot call riches better than the baggage of virtue; the Roman word\nis better, \u201cimpedimenta;\u201d for as the baggage is to an army, so is\nriches to virtue; it cannot be spared nor left behind, but it hindereth\nthe march; yea, and the care of it sometimes loseth or disturbeth\nthe victory. Of great riches there is no real use, except it be in\nthe distribution; the rest is but conceit. So saith Solomon: \u201cWhere\nmuch is, there are many to consume it; and what hath the owner, but\nthe sight of it with his eyes?\u201d[376] The personal fruition in any man\ncannot reach to feel great riches: there is a custody of them, or a\npower of dole and donative of them, or a fame of them, but no solid use\nto the owner. Do you not see what feigned prices are set upon little\nstones and rarities? and what works of ostentation are undertaken,\nbecause there might seem to be some use of great riches? But then you\nwill say, they may be of use to buy men out of dangers or troubles;\nas Solomon saith: \u201cRiches are as a strong-hold in the imagination of\nthe rich man;\u201d[377] but this is excellently expressed, that it is in\nimagination, and not always in fact; for, certainly, great riches have\nsold more men than they have bought out. Seek not proud riches, but\nsuch as thou mayest get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully,\nand leave contentedly; yet have no abstract nor friarly contempt of\nthem, but distinguish, as Cicero saith well of Rabirius Posthumus:\n\u201cIn studio rei amplificand\u00e6 apparebat, non avariti\u00e6 pr\u00e6dam, sed\ninstrumentum bonitati qu\u00e6ri.\u201d[378] Hearken also to Solomon, and beware\nof hasty gathering of riches: \u201cQui festinat ad divitias, non erit\ninsons.\u201d[379] The poets feign, that when Plutus (which is riches) is\nsent from Jupiter, he limps, and goes slowly; but when he is sent from\nPluto, he runs, and is swift of foot; meaning, that riches gotten by\ngood means and just labor pace slowly; but when they come by the death\nof others[380] (as by the course of inheritance, testaments, and the\nlike), they come tumbling upon a man. But it might be applied likewise\nto Pluto, taking him for the devil; for when riches come from the devil\n(as by fraud and oppression, and unjust means), they come upon speed.\nThe ways to enrich are many, and most of them foul: parsimony is one\nof the best, and yet is not innocent; for it withholdeth men from works\nof liberality and charity. The improvement of the ground is the most\nnatural obtaining of riches; for it is our great mother\u2019s blessing, the\nearth\u2019s, but it is slow; and yet, where men of great wealth do stoop\nto husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly. I knew a nobleman,\nin England, that had the greatest audits[381] of any man in my time,\na great grazier, a great sheep-master, a great timber-man, a great\ncollier, a great corn-master, a great lead-man, and so of iron, and a\nnumber of the like points of husbandry; so as the earth seemed a sea\nto him in respect of the perpetual importation. It was truly observed\nby one, \u201cThat himself came very hardly to a little riches, and very\neasily to great riches;\u201d for when a man\u2019s stock is come to that, that\nhe can expect the prime of markets,[382] and overcome those bargains,\nwhich for their greatness are few men\u2019s money, and be partner in the\nindustries of younger men, he cannot but increase mainly. The gains of\nordinary trades and vocations are honest, and furthered by two things,\nchiefly: by diligence, and by a good name for good and fair dealing;\nbut the gains of bargains are of a more doubtful nature, when men shall\nwait upon others\u2019 necessity: broke by servants and instruments to draw\nthem on; put off others cunningly that would be better chapmen; and\nthe like practices, which are crafty and naught. As for the chopping\nof bargains, when a man buys not to hold, but to sell over again,\nthat commonly grindeth double, both upon the seller and upon the\nbuyer. Sharings do greatly enrich, if the hands be well chosen that\nare trusted. Usury is the certainest means of gain, though one of the\nworst; as that whereby a man doth eat his bread, \u201cin sudore vult\u00fbs\nalieni;\u201d[383] and, besides, doth plough upon Sundays; but yet certain\nthough it be, it hath flaws, for that the scriveners and brokers do\nvalue unsound men to serve their own turn. The fortune, in being the\nfirst in an invention, or in a privilege, doth cause sometimes a\nwonderful overgrowth in riches, as it was with the first sugar-man[384]\nin the Canaries; therefore, if a man can play the true logician, to\nhave as well judgment as invention, he may do great matters, especially\nif the times be fit. He that resteth upon gains certain, shall hardly\ngrow to great riches; and he that puts all upon adventures, doth\noftentimes break and come to poverty; it is good, therefore, to\nguard adventures with certainties that may uphold losses. Monopolies,\nand coemption of wares for resale, where they are not restrained, are\ngreat means to enrich; especially if the party have intelligence what\nthings are like to come into request, and so store himself beforehand.\nRiches gotten by service, though it be of the best rise, yet when they\nare gotten by flattery, feeding humors, and other servile conditions,\nthey may be placed amongst the worst. As for fishing for testaments\nand executorships (as Tacitus saith of Seneca, \u201cTestamenta et orbos\ntanquam indagine capi\u201d),[385] it is yet worse, by how much men submit\nthemselves to meaner persons than in service. Believe not much them\nthat seem to despise riches, for they despise them that despair of\nthem; and none worse when they come to them. Be not penny-wise; riches\nhave wings, and sometimes they fly away of themselves, sometimes they\nmust be set flying to bring in more. Men leave their riches either to\ntheir kindred, or to the public; and moderate portions prosper best in\nboth. A great state left to an heir, is as a lure to all the birds of\nprey round about to seize on him, if he be not the better stablished\nin years and judgment; likewise, glorious gifts and foundations are\nlike sacrifices without salt, and but the painted sepulchres of alms,\nwhich soon will putrefy and corrupt inwardly. Therefore, measure not\nthine advancements by quantity, but frame them by measure, and defer\nnot charities till death; for, certainly, if a man weigh it rightly, he\nthat doth so is rather liberal of another man\u2019s than of his own.\n\n\n\n\nXXXV.\u2014OF PROPHECIES.\n\n\nI mean not to speak of divine prophecies, nor of heathen oracles,\nnor of natural predictions; but only of prophecies that have been of\ncertain memory, and from hidden causes. Saith the Pythonissa[386] to\nSaul, \u201cTo-morrow thou and thy sons shall be with me.\u201d Virgil hath these\nverses from Homer:\u2014\n\n \u201cHic domus \u00c6ne\u00e6 cunctis dominabitur oris,\n Et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis.\u201d[387]\n\nA prophecy, as it seems, of the Roman empire. Seneca the tragedian hath\nthese verses:\u2014\n\n \u201cVenient annis\n S\u00e6cula seris, quibus Oceanus\n Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens\n Pateat Tellus, Tiphysque novos\n Detegat orbes; nec sit terris\n Ultima Thule.\u201d[388]\n\nA prophecy of the discovery of America. The daughter of\nPolycrates[389] dreamed that Jupiter bathed her father, and Apollo\nanointed him; and it came to pass that he was crucified in an open\nplace, where the sun made his body run with sweat, and the rain washed\nit. Philip of Macedon dreamed he sealed up his wife\u2019s belly, whereby\nhe did expound it, that his wife should be barren; but Aristander the\nsoothsayer told him his wife was with child, because men do not use\nto seal vessels that are empty.[390] A phantasm that appeared to M.\nBrutus in his tent, said to him, \u201cPhilippis iterum me videbis.\u201d[391]\nTiberius said to Galba, \u201cTu quoque, Galba, degustabis imperium.\u201d[392]\nIn Vespasian\u2019s time, there went a prophecy in the East, that those\nthat should come forth of Judea, should reign over the world; which,\nthough it may be was meant of our Saviour, yet Tacitus expounds it of\nVespasian.[393] Domitian dreamed, the night before he was slain, that a\ngolden head was growing out of the nape of his neck;[394] and, indeed,\nthe succession that followed him, for many years, made golden times.\nHenry the Sixth of England said of Henry the Seventh, when he was a\nlad, and gave him water, \u201cThis is the lad that shall enjoy the crown\nfor which we strive.\u201d When I was in France, I heard from one Dr. Pena,\nthat the queen mother,[395] who was given to curious arts, caused the\nking her husband\u2019s nativity to be calculated under a false name; and\nthe astrologer gave a judgment, that he should be killed in a duel; at\nwhich the queen laughed, thinking her husband to be above challenges\nand duels; but he was slain upon a course at tilt, the splinters of the\nstaff of Montgomery going in at his beaver. The trivial prophecy which\nI heard when I was a child, and Queen Elizabeth was in the flower of\nher years, was,\n\n \u201cWhen hempe is spunne,\n England\u2019s done;\u201d\n\nwhereby it was generally conceived, that after the princes had reigned\nwhich had the principal letters of that word hempe (which were Henry,\nEdward, Mary, Philip, and Elizabeth), England should come to utter\nconfusion; which, thanks be to God, is verified only in the change of\nthe name; for that the king\u2019s style is now no more of England, but\nof Britain.[396] There was also another prophecy before the year of\neighty-eight, which I do not well understand.\n\n \u201cThere shall be seen upon a day,\n Between the Baugh and the May,\n The black fleet of Norway.\n When that that is come and gone,\n England build houses of lime and stone,\n For after wars you shall have none.\u201d\n\nIt was generally conceived to be meant of the Spanish fleet that came\nin eighty-eight; for that the king of Spain\u2019s surname, as they say, is\nNorway. The prediction of Regiomontanus,\n\n \u201cOctogesimus octavus mirabilis annus,\u201d[397]\n\nwas thought likewise accomplished in the sending of that great fleet,\nbeing the greatest in strength, though not in number, of all that\never swam upon the sea. As for Cleon\u2019s dream,[398] I think it was\na jest; it was, that he was devoured of a long dragon; and it was\nexpounded of a maker of sausages, that troubled him exceedingly. There\nare numbers of the like kind, especially if you include dreams,\nand predictions of astrology; but I have set down these few only of\ncertain credit, for example. My judgment is, that they ought all to\nbe despised, and ought to serve but for winter talk by the fireside;\nthough, when I say despised, I mean it as for belief; for otherwise,\nthe spreading or publishing of them is in no sort to be despised,\nfor they have done much mischief; and I see many severe laws made\nto suppress them. That that hath given them grace, and some credit,\nconsisteth in three things. First, that men mark when they hit, and\nnever mark when they miss;[399] as they do, generally, also of dreams.\nThe second is, that probable conjectures, or obscure traditions, many\ntimes turn themselves into prophecies; while the nature of man, which\ncoveteth divination, thinks it no peril to foretell that which indeed\nthey do but collect, as that of Seneca\u2019s verse; for so much was then\nsubject to demonstration, that the globe of the earth had great parts\nbeyond the Atlantic, which might be probably conceived not to be all\nsea; and adding thereto the tradition in Plato\u2019s Tim\u00e6us, and his\nAtlanticus,[400] it might encourage one to turn it to a prediction.\nThe third and last (which is the great one), is, that almost all of\nthem, being infinite in number, have been impostures, and, by idle and\ncrafty brains, merely contrived and feigned, after the event past.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVI.\u2014OF AMBITION.\n\n\nAmbition is like choler, which is a humor that maketh men active,\nearnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped; but if\nit be stopped, and cannot have its way, it becometh adust,[401] and\nthereby malign and venomous. So ambitious men, if they find the way\nopen for their rising, and still get forward, they are rather busy\nthan dangerous; but if they be checked in their desires, they become\nsecretly discontent, and look upon men and matters with an evil eye,\nand are best pleased when things go backward; which is the worst\nproperty in a servant of a prince or state. Therefore, it is good\nfor princes, if they use ambitious men, to handle it so, as they be\nstill progressive, and not retrograde; which, because it cannot be\nwithout inconvenience, it is good not to use such natures at all;\nfor if they rise not with their service, they will take order to make\ntheir service fall with them. But since we have said, it were good\nnot to use men of ambitious natures, except it be upon necessity, it\nis fit we speak in what cases they are of necessity. Good commanders\nin the wars must be taken, be they never so ambitious; for the use\nof their service dispenseth with the rest; and to take a soldier\nwithout ambition, is to pull off his spurs. There is also great use\nof ambitious men in being screens to princes in matters of danger and\nenvy; for no man will take that part, except he be like a seeled[402]\ndove, that mounts and mounts, because he cannot see about him. There\nis use, also, of ambitious men, in pulling down the greatness of any\nsubject that overtops; as Tiberius used Macro[403] in the pulling\ndown of Sejanus. Since, therefore, they must be used in such cases,\nthere resteth to speak how they are to be bridled, that they may\nbe less dangerous. There is less danger of them if they be of mean\nbirth, than if they be noble; and if they be rather harsh of nature,\nthan gracious and popular; and if they be rather new raised, than\ngrown cunning and fortified in their greatness. It is counted by some\na weakness in princes to have favorites; but it is, of all others,\nthe best remedy against ambitious great ones; for when the way of\npleasuring and displeasuring lieth by the favorite, it is impossible\nany other should be over-great. Another means to curb them, is, to\nbalance them by others as proud as they; but then there must be some\nmiddle counsellors, to keep things steady, for without that ballast,\nthe ship will roll too much. At the least, a prince may animate and\ninure some meaner persons to be, as it were, scourges to ambitious\nmen. As for the having of them obnoxious to[404] ruin, if they be of\nfearful natures, it may do well; but if they be stout and daring, it\nmay precipitate their designs, and prove dangerous. As for the pulling\nof them down, if the affairs require it, and that it may not be done\nwith safety suddenly, the only way is, the interchange continually of\nfavors and disgraces, whereby they may not know what to expect, and be,\nas it were, in a wood. Of ambitions, it is less harmful the ambition to\nprevail in great things, than that other to appear in every thing; for\nthat breeds confusion, and mars business; but yet, it is less danger to\nhave an ambitious man stirring in business, than great in dependencies.\nHe that seeketh to be eminent amongst able men, hath a great task, but\nthat is ever good for the public; but he that plots to be the only\nfigure amongst ciphers, is the decay of a whole age. Honor hath three\nthings in it: the vantage-ground to do good; the approach to kings and\nprincipal persons; and the raising of a man\u2019s own fortunes. He that\nhath the best of these intentions, when he aspireth, is an honest man;\nand that prince that can discern of these intentions in another that\naspireth, is a wise prince. Generally, let princes and states choose\nsuch ministers as are more sensible of duty than of rising, and such as\nlove business rather upon conscience than upon bravery; and let them\ndiscern a busy nature from a willing mind.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVII.\u2014OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS.\n\n\nThese things are but toys to come amongst such serious observations;\nbut yet, since princes will have such things, it is better they should\nbe graced with elegancy, than daubed with cost. Dancing to song is a\nthing of great state and pleasure. I understand it that the song be in\nchoir, placed aloft, and accompanied with some broken music, and the\nditty fitted to the device. Acting in song, especially in dialogues,\nhath an extreme good grace; I say acting, not dancing (for that is\na mean and vulgar thing); and the voices of the dialogue would be\nstrong and manly (a base and a tenor, no treble), and the ditty high\nand tragical, not nice or dainty. Several choirs, placed one over\nagainst another, and taking the voices by catches anthem-wise, give\ngreat pleasure. Turning dances into figure is a childish curiosity;\nand, generally, let it be noted, that those things which I here set\ndown are such as do naturally take the sense, and not respect petty\nwonderments. It is true, the alterations of scenes, so it be quietly\nand without noise, are things of great beauty and pleasure: for they\nfeed and relieve the eye before it be full of the same object. Let the\nscenes abound with light, specially colored and varied; and let the\nmasquers, or any other that are to come down from the scene, have some\nmotions upon the scene itself before their coming down; for it draws\nthe eye strangely, and makes it with great pleasure to desire to see\nthat it cannot perfectly discern. Let the songs be loud and cheerful,\nand not chirpings or pulings;[405] let the music, likewise, be sharp\nand loud, and well placed. The colors that show best by candlelight,\nare white, carnation, and a kind of sea-water green; and ouches,[406]\nor spangs,[407] as they are of no great cost, so they are of most\nglory. As for rich embroidery, it is lost and not discerned. Let the\nsuits of the masquers be graceful, and such as become the person\nwhen the vizors are off; not after examples of known attires, Turks,\nsoldiers, mariners, and the like. Let anti-masques[408] not be long;\nthey have been commonly of fools, satyrs, baboons, wild men, antics,\nbeasts, sprites, witches, Ethiopes, pigmies, turquets,[409] nymphs,\nrustics, Cupids, statues moving, and the like. As for angels, it is\nnot comical enough to put them in anti-masques; and any thing that\nis hideous, as devils, giants, is, on the other side, as unfit; but,\nchiefly, let the music of them be recreative, and with some strange\nchanges. Some sweet odors suddenly coming forth, without any drops\nfalling, are, in such a company as there is steam and heat, things of\ngreat pleasure and refreshment. Double masques, one of men, another of\nladies, addeth state and variety; but all is nothing, except the room\nbe kept clear and neat.\n\nFor justs, and tourneys, and barriers, the glories of them are chiefly\nin the chariots, wherein the challengers make their entry; especially\nif they be drawn with strange beasts, as lions, bears, camels, and the\nlike; or in the devices of their entrance, or in the bravery of their\nliveries, or in the goodly furniture of their horses and armor. But\nenough of these toys.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVIII.\u2014OF NATURE IN MEN.\n\n\nNature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished. Force\nmaketh nature more violent in the return; doctrine and discourse maketh\nnature less importune, but custom only doth alter and subdue nature.\nHe that seeketh victory over his nature, let him not set himself too\ngreat nor too small tasks; for the first will make him dejected by\noften failings, and the second will make him a small proceeder, though\nby often prevailings. And at the first, let him practise with helps,\nas swimmers do with bladders, or rushes; but, after a time, let him\npractise with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes; for it\nbreeds great perfection, if the practice be harder than the use. Where\nnature is mighty, and therefore the victory hard, the degrees had need\nbe, first, to stay and arrest nature in time; like to him that would\nsay over the four and twenty letters when he was angry; then to go less\nin quantity: as if one should, in forbearing wine, come from drinking\nhealths to a draught at a meal; and, lastly, to discontinue altogether;\nbut if a man have the fortitude and resolution to enfranchise himself\nat once, that is the best:\u2014\n\n \u201cOptimus ille animi vindex l\u00e6dentia pectus\n Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel.\u201d[410]\n\nNeither is the ancient rule amiss, to bend nature as a wand to a\ncontrary extreme, whereby to set it right; understanding it where\nthe contrary extreme is no vice. Let not a man force a habit upon\nhimself with a perpetual continuance, but with some intermission, for\nboth the pause reinforceth the new onset; and if a man that is not\nperfect be ever in practice, he shall as well practise his errors as\nhis abilities, and induce one habit of both; and there is no means to\nhelp this but by seasonable intermissions. But let not a man trust his\nvictory over his nature too far; for nature will lie buried a great\ntime, and yet revive upon the occasion or temptation; like as it was\nwith \u00c6sop\u2019s damsel, turned from a cat to a woman, who sat very demurely\nat the board\u2019s end till a mouse ran before her. Therefore, let a man\neither avoid the occasion altogether, or put himself often to it, that\nhe may be little moved with it. A man\u2019s nature is best perceived in\nprivateness, for there is no affectation; in passion, for that putteth\na man out of his precepts; and in a new case or experiment, for there\ncustom leaveth him. They are happy men whose natures sort with their\nvocations; otherwise they may say, \u201cMultum incola fuit anima mea,\u201d[411]\nwhen they converse in those things they do not affect. In studies,\nwhatsoever a man commandeth upon himself, let him set hours for it: but\nwhatsoever is agreeable to his nature, let him take no care for any set\ntimes; for his thoughts will fly to it of themselves, so as the spaces\nof other business or studies will suffice. A man\u2019s nature runs either\nto herbs or weeds; therefore, let him seasonably water the one, and\ndestroy the other.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIX.\u2014OF CUSTOM AND EDUCATION.\n\n\nMen\u2019s thoughts are much according to their inclination;[412] their\ndiscourse and speeches according to their learning and infused\nopinions; but their deeds are, after, as they have been accustomed;\nand, therefore, as Machiavel well noteth (though in an evil-favored\ninstance), there is no trusting to the force of nature, nor to the\nbravery of words, except it be corroborate by custom.[413] His instance\nis, that, for the achieving of a desperate conspiracy, a man should\nnot rest upon the fierceness of any man\u2019s nature, or his resolute\nundertakings, but take such a one as hath had his hands formerly\nin blood; but Machiavel knew not of a Friar Clement,[414] nor a\nRavaillac,[415] nor a Jaureguy,[416] nor a Baltazar Gerard;[417] yet\nhis rule holdeth still, that nature, nor the engagement of words, are\nnot so forcible as custom. Only superstition is now so well advanced,\nthat men of the first blood are as firm as butchers by occupation; and\nvotary[418] resolution is made equipollent to custom, even in matter\nof blood. In other things, the predominancy of custom is everywhere\nvisible, insomuch as a man would wonder to hear men profess, protest,\nengage, give great words, and then do just as they have done before,\nas if they were dead images and engines, moved only by the wheels of\ncustom. We see, also, the reign or tyranny of custom, what it is.\n\nThe Indians[419] (I mean the sect of their wise men) lay themselves\nquietly upon a stack of wood, and so sacrifice themselves by fire;\nnay, the wives strive to be burned with the corpses of their husbands.\nThe lads of Sparta, of ancient time, were wont to be scourged upon\nthe altar of Diana, without so much as quecking.[420] I remember, in\nthe beginning of Queen Elizabeth\u2019s time of England, an Irish rebel\ncondemned, put up a petition to the deputy that he might be hanged in\na withe, and not in a halter, because it had been so used with former\nrebels. There be monks in Russia for penance, that will sit a whole\nnight in a vessel of water, till they be engaged with hard ice. Many\nexamples may be put of the force of custom, both upon mind and body;\ntherefore, since custom is the principal magistrate of man\u2019s life,\nlet men, by all means, endeavor to obtain good customs. Certainly,\ncustom is most perfect when it beginneth in young years: this we call\neducation, which is, in effect, but an early custom. So we see, in\nlanguages, the tongue is more pliant to all expressions and sounds, the\njoints are more supple to all feats of activity and motions in youth,\nthan afterwards; for it is true, that late learners cannot so well take\nthe ply, except it be in some minds that have not suffered themselves\nto fix, but have kept themselves open and prepared to receive continual\namendment, which is exceeding rare. But if the force of custom, simple\nand separate, be great, the force of custom, copulate and conjoined\nand collegiate, is far greater; for there example teacheth, company\ncomforteth, emulation quickeneth, glory raiseth; so as in such places\nthe force of custom is in his exaltation. Certainly, the great\nmultiplication of virtues upon human nature resteth upon societies well\nordained and disciplined; for commonwealths and good governments do\nnourish virtue grown, but do not much mend the seeds; but the misery\nis, that the most effectual means are now applied to the ends least to\nbe desired.\n\n\n\n\nXL.\u2014OF FORTUNE.\n\n\nIt cannot be denied, but outward accidents conduce much to fortune;\nfavor, opportunity, death of others, occasion fitting virtue; but,\nchiefly, the mould of a man\u2019s fortune is in his own hands: \u201cFaber\nquisque fortun\u00e6 su\u00e6,\u201d[421] saith the poet; and the most frequent\nof external causes, is that the folly of one man is the fortune of\nanother; for no man prospers so suddenly as by others\u2019 errors. \u201cSerpens\nnisi serpentem comederit non fit draco.\u201d[422] Overt and apparent\nvirtues bring forth praise: but there be secret and hidden virtues that\nbring forth fortune; certain deliveries of a man\u2019s self, which have no\nname. The Spanish name, \u201cdisemboltura,\u201d[423] partly expresseth them,\nwhen there be not stonds[424] nor restiveness in a man\u2019s nature, but\nthat the wheels of his mind keep way with the wheels of his fortune;\nfor so Livy (after he had described Cato Major in these words, \u201cIn\nillo viro, tantum robur corporis et animi fuit, ut quocunque loco\nnatus esset, fortunam sibi facturus videretur,\u201d)[425] falleth upon\nthat, that he had \u201cversatile ingenium:\u201d[426] therefore, if a man look\nsharply and attentively, he shall see Fortune; for though she be\nblind, yet she is not invisible. The way of Fortune is like the milky\nway in the sky; which is a meeting, or knot, of a number of small\nstars, not seen asunder, but giving light together; so are there a\nnumber of little and scarce discerned virtues, or rather faculties\nand customs, that make men fortunate. The Italians note some of them,\nsuch as a man would little think. When they speak of one that cannot\ndo amiss, they will throw in into his other conditions, that he hath\n\u201cPoco di matto;\u201d[427] and, certainly, there be not two more fortunate\nproperties, than to have a little of the fool, and not too much of\nthe honest; therefore, extreme lovers of their country, or masters,\nwere never fortunate; neither can they be, for when a man placeth\nhis thoughts without himself, he goeth not his own way. A hasty\nfortune maketh an enterpriser and remover (the French hath it better,\n\u201centreprenant,\u201d or \u201cremuant\u201d); but the exercised fortune maketh the\nable man. Fortune is to be honored and respected, and it be but for her\ndaughters, Confidence and Reputation; for those two Felicity breedeth;\nthe first within a man\u2019s self, the latter in others towards him. All\nwise men, to decline the envy of their own virtues, use to ascribe them\nto Providence and Fortune; for so they may the better assume them;\nand, besides, it is greatness in a man to be the care of the higher\npowers. So C\u00e6sar said to the pilot in the tempest, \u201cC\u00e6sarem portas,\net fortunam ejus.\u201d[428] So Sylla chose the name of \u201cFelix,\u201d[429] and\nnot of \u201cMagnus;\u201d[430] and it hath been noted, that those who ascribe\nopenly too much to their own wisdom and policy, end unfortunate. It\nis written, that Timotheus[431] the Athenian, after he had, in the\naccount he gave to the state of his government, often interlaced his\nspeech, \u201cand in this Fortune had no part,\u201d never prospered in any\nthing he undertook afterwards. Certainly there be, whose fortunes are\nlike Homer\u2019s verses, that have a slide[432] and easiness more than\nthe verses of other poets; as Plutarch saith of Timoleon\u2019s fortune in\nrespect of that of Agesilaus or Epaminondas; and that this should be,\nno doubt it is much in a man\u2019s self.\n\n\n\n\nXLI.\u2014OF USURY.[433]\n\n\nMany have made witty invectives against usury. They say that it is pity\nthe devil should have God\u2019s part, which is the tithe; that the usurer\nis the greatest Sabbath-breaker, because his plough goeth every Sunday;\nthat the usurer is the drone that Virgil speaketh of:\u2014\n\n \u201cIgnavum fucos pecus a pr\u00e6sepibus arcent;\u201d[434]\n\nthat the usurer breaketh the first law that was made for mankind\nafter the fall, which was, \u201cin sudore vult\u00fbs tui comedes panem\ntuum;\u201d[435] not, \u201cin sudore vult\u00fbs alieni;\u201d[436] that usurers should\nhave orange-tawny[437] bonnets, because they do Judaize; that it is\nagainst nature for money to beget money, and the like. I say this only,\nthat usury is a \u201cconcessum propter duritiem cordis;\u201d[438] for, since\nthere must be borrowing and lending, and men are so hard of heart as\nthey will not lend freely, usury must be permitted. Some others have\nmade suspicious and cunning propositions of banks, discovery of men\u2019s\nestates, and other inventions; but few have spoken of usury usefully.\nIt is good to set before us the incommodities and commodities of usury,\nthat the good may be either weighed out, or culled out; and warily to\nprovide, that, while we make forth to that which is better, we meet not\nwith that which is worse.\n\nThe discommodities of usury are, first, that it makes fewer merchants;\nfor were it not for this lazy trade of usury, money would not lie\nstill, but would, in great part, be employed upon merchandising,\nwhich is the \u201cvena porta\u201d[439] of wealth in a state. The second, that\nit makes poor merchants; for as a farmer cannot husband his ground\nso well if he sit at a great rent, so the merchant cannot drive his\ntrade so well if he sit[440] at great usury. The third is incident to\nthe other two; and that is, the decay of customs of kings, or states,\nwhich ebb or flow with merchandising. The fourth, that it bringeth the\ntreasure of a realm or state into a few hands; for the usurer being at\ncertainties, and others at uncertainties, at the end of the game most\nof the money will be in the box; and ever a state flourisheth when\nwealth is more equally spread. The fifth, that it beats down the price\nof land; for the employment of money is chiefly either merchandising or\npurchasing, and usury waylays both. The sixth, that it doth dull and\ndamp all industries, improvements, and new inventions, wherein money\nwould be stirring, if it were not for this slug. The last, that it is\nthe canker and ruin of many men\u2019s estates, which, in process of time,\nbreeds a public poverty.\n\nOn the other side, the commodities of usury are, first, that, howsoever\nusury in some respect hindereth merchandising, yet in some other\nit advanceth it; for it is certain that the greatest part of trade\nis driven by young merchants upon borrowing at interest; so as if\nthe usurer either call in, or keep back his money, there will ensue\npresently a great stand of trade. The second is, that, were it not for\nthis easy borrowing upon interest, men\u2019s necessities would draw upon\nthem a most sudden undoing, in that they would be forced to sell their\nmeans (be it lands or goods), far under foot; and so, whereas usury\ndoth but gnaw upon them, bad markets would swallow them quite up. As\nfor mortgaging or pawning, it will little mend the matter; for either\nmen will not take pawns without use, or, if they do, they will look\nprecisely for the forfeiture. I remember a cruel moneyed man in the\ncountry, that would say, \u201cThe devil take this usury, it keeps us from\nforfeitures of mortgages and bonds.\u201d The third and last is, that it is\na vanity to conceive that there would be ordinary borrowing without\nprofit; and it is impossible to conceive the number of inconveniences\nthat will ensue, if borrowing be cramped. Therefore, to speak of the\nabolishing of usury is idle; all states have ever had it in one kind\nor rate, or other; so as that opinion must be sent to Utopia.[441]\n\nTo speak now of the reformation and reglement[442] of usury, how the\ndiscommodities of it may be best avoided, and the commodities retained.\nIt appears, by the balance of commodities and discommodities of usury,\ntwo things are to be reconciled; the one, that the tooth of usury be\ngrinded, that it bite not too much; the other, that there be left\nopen a means to invite moneyed men to lend to the merchants, for the\ncontinuing and quickening of trade. This cannot be done, except you\nintroduce two several sorts of usury, a less and a greater; for if you\nreduce usury to one low rate, it will ease the common borrower, but\nthe merchant will be to seek for money; and it is to be noted that the\ntrade of merchandise being the most lucrative, may bear usury at a good\nrate; other contracts not so.\n\nTo serve both intentions, the way would be briefly thus: that there\nbe two rates of usury; the one free and general for all; the other\nunder license only to certain persons, and in certain places of\nmerchandising. First, therefore, let usury in general be reduced to\nfive in the hundred, and let that rate be proclaimed to be free and\ncurrent; and let the state shut itself out to take any penalty for the\nsame. This will preserve borrowing from any general stop or dryness;\nthis will ease infinite borrowers in the country; this will, in good\npart, raise the price of land, because land purchased at sixteen years\u2019\npurchase will yield six in the hundred, and somewhat more, whereas\nthis rate of interest yields but five. This, by like reason, will\nencourage and edge industrious and profitable improvements, because\nmany will rather venture in that kind, than take five in the hundred,\nespecially having been used to greater profit. Secondly, let there be\ncertain persons licensed to lend to known merchants upon usury, at a\nhigher rate, and let it be with the cautions following: Let the rate\nbe, even with the merchant himself, somewhat more easy than that he\nused formerly to pay; for, by that means, all borrowers shall have some\nease by this reformation, be he merchant, or whosoever; let it be no\nbank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money; not\nthat I altogether mislike banks, but they will hardly be brooked, in\nregard of certain suspicions. Let the state be answered[443] some small\nmatter for the license, and the rest left to the lender; for if the\nabatement be but small, it will no whit discourage the lender; for he,\nfor example, that took before ten or nine in the hundred, will sooner\ndescend to eight in the hundred, than give over his trade of usury, and\ngo from certain gains to gains of hazard. Let these licensed lenders\nbe in number indefinite, but restrained to certain principal cities\nand towns of merchandising; for then they will be hardly able to color\nother men\u2019s moneys in the country, so as the license of nine will not\nsuck away the current rate of five; for no man will send his moneys far\noff, nor put them into unknown hands.\n\nIf it be objected, that this doth in a sort authorize usury, which\nbefore was in some places but permissive; the answer is, that it is\nbetter to mitigate usury by declaration, than to suffer it to rage by\nconnivance.[444]\n\n\n\n\nXLII.\u2014OF YOUTH AND AGE.\n\n\nA man that is young in years may be old in hours, if he have lost no\ntime; but that happeneth rarely. Generally, youth is like the first\ncogitations, not so wise as the second; for there is a youth in\nthoughts as well as in ages; and yet the invention of young men is\nmore lively than that of old, and imaginations stream into their minds\nbetter, and, as it were, more divinely. Natures that have much heat,\nand great and violent desires and perturbations, are not ripe for\naction till they have passed the meridian of their years: as it was\nwith Julius C\u00e6sar and Septimius Severus; of the latter of whom it is\nsaid, \u201cJuventutem egit erroribus, imo furoribus plenam;\u201d[445] and yet\nhe was the ablest emperor, almost, of all the list; but reposed natures\nmay do well in youth, as it is seen in Augustus C\u00e6sar, Cosmus Duke of\nFlorence, Gaston de Foix,[446] and others. On the other side, heat\nand vivacity in age is an excellent composition for business. Young\nmen are fitter to invent than to judge, fitter for execution than for\ncounsel, and fitter for new projects than for settled business; for\nthe experience of age, in things that fall within the compass of it,\ndirecteth them; but in new things abuseth them. The errors of young\nmen are the ruin of business; but the errors of aged men amount but to\nthis, that more might have been done, or sooner.\n\nYoung men, in the conduct and manage of actions, embrace more than\nthey can hold, stir more than they can quiet; fly to the end, without\nconsideration of the means and degrees; pursue some few principles\nwhich they have chanced upon absurdly; care not to innovate, which\ndraws unknown inconveniences; use extreme remedies at first; and that,\nwhich doubleth all errors, will not acknowledge or retract them,\nlike an unready horse, that will neither stop nor turn. Men of age\nobject too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too\nsoon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content\nthemselves with a mediocrity of success. Certainly, it is good to\ncompound employments of both; for that will be good for the present,\nbecause the virtues of either age may correct the defects of both;\nand good for succession, that young men may be learners, while men\nin age are actors; and, lastly, good for externe accidents, because\nauthority followeth old men, and favor and popularity youth; but, for\nthe moral part, perhaps, youth will have the pre\u00ebminence, as age hath\nfor the politic. A certain rabbin, upon the text, \u201cYour young men shall\nsee visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,\u201d[447] inferreth\nthat young men are admitted nearer to God than old, because vision\nis a clearer revelation than a dream; and, certainly, the more a man\ndrinketh of the world, the more it intoxicateth; and age doth profit\nrather in the powers of understanding, than in the virtues of the will\nand affections. There be some have an over-early ripeness in their\nyears, which fadeth betimes; these are, first, such as have brittle\nwits, the edge whereof is soon turned; such as was Hermogenes[448] the\nrhetorician, whose books are exceedingly subtle; who afterwards waxed\nstupid. A second sort is of those that have some natural dispositions,\nwhich have better grace in youth than in age; such as is a fluent and\nluxuriant speech, which becomes youth well, but not age; so Tully saith\nof Hortensius: \u201cIdem manebat, neque idem decebat.\u201d[449] The third is of\nsuch as take too high a strain at the first, and are magnanimous more\nthan tract of years can uphold; as was Scipio Africanus, of whom Livy\nsaith, in effect, \u201cUltima primis cedebant.\u201d[450]\n\n\n\n\nXLIII.\u2014OF BEAUTY.\n\n\nVirtue is like a rich stone, best plain set; and surely virtue is best\nin a body that is comely, though not of delicate features, and that\nhath rather dignity of presence than beauty of aspect; neither is it\nalways most seen, that very beautiful persons are otherwise of great\nvirtue; as if nature were rather busy not to err, than in labor to\nproduce excellency; and therefore they prove accomplished, but not of\ngreat spirit, and study rather behavior than virtue. But this holds\nnot always; for Augustus C\u00e6sar, Titus Vespasianus, Philip le Bel of\nFrance, Edward the Fourth of England,[451] Alcibiades of Athens, Ismael\nthe Sophy of Persia, were all high and great spirits, and yet the most\nbeautiful men of their times. In beauty, that of favor is more than\nthat of color; and that of decent and gracious motion, more than that\nof favor.[452] That is the best part of beauty, which a picture cannot\nexpress; no, nor the first sight of the life. There is no excellent\nbeauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. A man cannot\ntell whether Apelles, or Albert Durer, were the more trifler; whereof\nthe one would make a personage by geometrical proportions; the other,\nby taking the best parts out of divers faces to make one excellent.\nSuch personages, I think, would please nobody but the painter that made\nthem: not but I think a painter may make a better face than ever was;\nbut he must do it by a kind of felicity (as a musician that maketh an\nexcellent air in music), and not by rule. A man shall see faces, that,\nif you examine them part by part, you shall find never a good, and yet\naltogether do well. If it be true that the principal part of beauty is\nin decent motion, certainly it is no marvel, though persons in years\nseem many times more amiable; \u201cPulchrorum autumnus pulcher;\u201d[453] for\nno youth can be comely but by pardon,[454] and considering the youth\nas to make up the comeliness. Beauty is as summer fruits, which are\neasy to corrupt, and cannot last; and, for the most part, it makes\na dissolute youth, and an age a little out of countenance; but yet\ncertainly again, if it light well, it maketh virtues shine, and vices\nblush.\n\n\n\n\nXLIV.\u2014OF DEFORMITY.\n\n\nDeformed persons are commonly even with nature; for, as nature hath\ndone ill by them, so do they by nature, being for the most part (as\nthe Scripture saith) \u201cvoid of natural affection;\u201d[455] and so they\nhave their revenge of nature. Certainly, there is a consent between the\nbody and the mind, and where nature erreth in the one, she ventureth\nin the other: \u201cUbi peccat in uno, periclitatur in altero.\u201d[456]\nBut because there is in man an election, touching the frame of his\nmind, and a necessity in the frame of his body, the stars of natural\ninclination are sometimes obscured by the sun of discipline and virtue;\ntherefore, it is good to consider of deformity, not as a sign which is\nmore deceivable, but as a cause which seldom faileth of the effect.\nWhosoever hath any thing fixed in his person that doth induce contempt,\nhath also a perpetual spur in himself to rescue and deliver himself\nfrom scorn; therefore, all deformed persons are extreme bold; first,\nas in their own defence, as being exposed to scorn, but, in process\nof time, by a general habit. Also, it stirreth in them industry, and\nespecially of this kind, to watch and observe the weakness of others,\nthat they may have somewhat to repay. Again, in their superiors, it\nquencheth jealousy towards them, as persons that they think they may\nat pleasure despise; and it layeth their competitors and emulators\nasleep, as never believing they should be in possibility of advancement\ntill they see them in possession; so that upon the matter, in a great\nwit, deformity is an advantage to rising. Kings in ancient times (and\nat this present in some countries) were wont to put great trust in\neunuchs, because they that are envious towards all are more obnoxious\nand officious towards one; but yet their trust towards them hath rather\nbeen as to good spials,[457] and good whisperers, than good magistrates\nand officers; and much like is the reason of deformed persons. Still\nthe ground is, they will, if they be of spirit, seek to free themselves\nfrom scorn, which must be either by virtue or malice; and, therefore,\nlet it not be marvelled, if sometimes they prove excellent persons; as\nwas Agesila\u00fcs, Zanger, the son of Solyman,[458] \u00c6sop, Gasca president\nof Peru; and Socrates may go likewise amongst them, with others.\n\n\n\n\nXLV.\u2014OF BUILDING.\n\n\nHouses are built to live in, and not to look on, therefore, let use be\npreferred before uniformity, except where both may be had. Leave the\ngoodly fabrics of houses, for beauty only, to the enchanted palaces\nof the poets, who build them with small cost. He that builds a fair\nhouse upon an ill seat,[459] committeth himself to prison; neither do I\nreckon it an ill seat only where the air is unwholesome, but likewise\nwhere the air is unequal. As you shall see many fine seats set upon\na knap[460] of ground environed with higher hills round about it,\nwhereby the heat of the sun is pent in, and the wind gathereth as in\ntroughs; so as you shall have, and that suddenly, as great diversity of\nheat and cold as if you dwelt in several places. Neither is it ill air\nonly that maketh an ill seat; but ill ways, ill markets, and, if you\nwill consult with Momus,[461] ill neighbors. I speak not of many more:\nwant of water, want of wood, shade, and shelter, want of fruitfulness,\nand mixture of grounds of several natures; want of prospect, want of\nlevel grounds, want of places at some near distance for sports of\nhunting, hawking, and races; too near the sea, too remote; having\nthe commodity of navigable rivers, or the discommodity of their\noverflowing; too far off from great cities, which may hinder business;\nor too near them, which lurcheth[462] all provisions, and maketh every\nthing dear; where a man hath a great living laid together, and where he\nis scanted; all which, as it is impossible perhaps to find together, so\nit is good to know them, and think of them, that a man may take as many\nas he can; and if he have several dwellings, that he sort them so, that\nwhat he wanteth in the one he may find in the other. Lucullus answered\nPompey well, who, when he saw his stately galleries and rooms so large\nand lightsome, in one of his houses, said, \u201cSurely, an excellent place\nfor summer, but how do you do in winter?\u201d Lucullus answered, \u201cWhy,\ndo you not think me as wise as some fowls are, that ever change their\nabode towards the winter?\u201d[463]\n\nTo pass from the seat to the house itself, we will do as Cicero doth in\nthe orator\u2019s art, who writes books De Oratore, and a book he entitles\nOrator; whereof the former delivers the precepts of the art, and the\nlatter the perfection. We will therefore describe a princely palace,\nmaking a brief model thereof; for it is strange to see, now in Europe,\nsuch huge buildings as the Vatican and Escurial,[464] and some others\nbe, and yet scarce a very fair room in them.\n\nFirst, therefore, I say, you cannot have a perfect palace, except you\nhave two several sides; a side for the banquet, as is spoken of in\nthe book of Esther,[465] and a side for the household; the one for\nfeasts and triumphs, and the other for dwelling. I understand both\nthese sides to be not only returns, but parts of the front, and to be\nuniform without, though severally partitioned within; and to be on both\nsides of a great and stately tower in the midst of the front, that, as\nit were, joineth them together on either hand. I would have, on the\nside of the banquet in front, one only goodly room above stairs, of\nsome forty foot high; and under it a room for a dressing or preparing\nplace, at times of triumphs. On the other side, which is the household\nside, I wish it divided at the first into a hall and a chapel, (with a\npartition between), both of good state and bigness; and those not to go\nall the length, but to have at the further end a winter and a summer\nparlor, both fair; and under these rooms a fair and large cellar sunk\nunder ground; and likewise some privy kitchens, with butteries, and\npantries, and the like. As for the tower, I would have it two stories,\nof eighteen foot high apiece above the two wings; and a goodly leads\nupon the top, railed, with statues interposed; and the same tower to\nbe divided into rooms, as shall be thought fit. The stairs likewise to\nthe upper rooms, let them be upon a fair open newel,[466] and finely\nrailed in with images of wood cast into a brass color, and a very fair\nlanding-place at the top. But this to be, if you do not point any of\nthe lower rooms for a dining-place of servants; for, otherwise, you\nshall have the servants\u2019 dinner after your own; for the steam of it\nwill come up as in a tunnel.[467] And so much for the front; only I\nunderstand the height of the first stairs to be sixteen foot, which is\nthe height of the lower room.\n\nBeyond this front is there to be a fair court, but three sides of it\nof a far lower building than the front; and in all the four corners of\nthat court fair staircases, cast into turrets on the outside, and not\nwithin the row of buildings themselves; but those towers are not to\nbe of the height of the front, but rather proportionable to the lower\nbuilding. Let the court not be paved, for that striketh up a great\nheat in summer, and much cold in winter; but only some side alleys\nwith a cross, and the quarters to graze, being kept shorn, but not\ntoo near shorn. The row of return on the banquet side, let it be all\nstately galleries; in which galleries let there be three or five fine\ncupolas in the length of it, placed at equal distance, and fine colored\nwindows of several works; on the household side, chambers of presence\nand ordinary entertainments, with some bedchambers; and let all three\nsides be a double house, without thorough lights on the sides, that you\nmay have rooms from the sun, both for forenoon and afternoon. Cast it,\nalso, that you may have rooms both for summer and winter; shady for\nsummer, and warm for winter. You shall have sometimes fair houses so\nfull of glass, that one cannot tell where to become[468] to be out of\nthe sun or cold. For imbowed[469] windows, I hold them of good use; (in\ncities, indeed, upright[470] do better, in respect of the uniformity\ntowards the street;) for they be pretty retiring places for conference;\nand, besides, they keep both the wind and sun off; for that which\nwould strike almost through the room doth scarce pass the window: but\nlet them be but few, four in the court, on the sides only.\n\nBeyond this court, let there be an inward court, of the same square\nand height, which is to be environed with the garden on all sides;\nand in the inside, cloistered on all sides upon decent and beautiful\narches, as high as the first story; on the under story towards the\ngarden, let it be turned to grotto, or place of shade, or estivation;\nand only have opening and windows towards the garden, and be level\nupon the floor, no whit sunk under ground to avoid all dampishness;\nand let there be a fountain, or some fair work of statues in the\nmidst of this court, and to be paved as the other court was. These\nbuildings to be for privy lodgings on both sides, and the end for\nprivy galleries; whereof you must foresee that one of them be for an\ninfirmary, if the prince or any special person should be sick, with\nchambers, bedchamber, \u201canticamera,\u201d[471] and \u201crecamera,\u201d[472] joining\nto it; this upon the second story. Upon the ground story, a fair\ngallery, open, upon pillars; and upon the third story, likewise, an\nopen gallery upon pillars, to take the prospect and freshness of the\ngarden. At both corners of the further side, by way of return, let\nthere be two delicate or rich cabinets, daintily paved, richly hanged,\nglazed with crystalline glass, and a rich cupola in the midst, and all\nother elegancy that can be thought upon. In the upper gallery, too,\nI wish that there may be, if the place will yield it, some fountains\nrunning in divers places from the wall, with some fine avoidances.[473]\nAnd thus much for the model of the palace, save that you must have,\nbefore you come to the front, three courts: a green court plain, with\na wall about it; a second court of the same, but more garnished with\nlittle turrets, or rather embellishments, upon the wall; and a third\ncourt, to make a square with the front, but not to be built, nor yet\ninclosed with a naked wall, but inclosed with terraces leaded aloft,\nand fairly garnished on the three sides, and cloistered on the inside\nwith pillars, and not with arches below. As for offices, let them stand\nat distance, with some low galleries to pass from them to the palace\nitself.\n\n\n\n\nXLVI.\u2014OF GARDENS.\n\n\nGod Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of\nhuman pleasures; it is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man;\nwithout which buildings and palaces are but gross handyworks; and a\nman shall ever see, that, when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men\ncome to build stately, sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening\nwere the greater perfection. I do hold it, in the royal ordering of\ngardens, there ought to be gardens for all the months in the year, in\nwhich, severally, things of beauty may be then in season. For December,\nand January, and the latter part of November, you must take such things\nas are green all winter: holly, ivy, bays, juniper, cypress-trees,\nyew, pineapple-trees;[474] fir-trees, rosemary, lavender; periwinkle,\nthe white, the purple, and the blue; germander, flags, orange-trees,\nlemon-trees, and myrtles, if they be stoved;[475] and sweet marjoram,\nwarm set. There followeth, for the latter part of January and February,\nthe mezereon-tree, which then blossoms; crocus vernus, both the yellow\nand the gray; primroses, anemones, the early tulip, the hyacinthus\norientalis, chama\u00efris fritellaria. For March, there come violets,\nespecially the single blue, which are the earliest; the yellow\ndaffodil, the daisy, the almond-tree in blossom, the peach-tree in\nblossom, the cornelian-tree in blossom, sweet-brier. In April, follow\nthe double white violet, the wall-flower, the stock-gillyflower,\nthe cowslip, flower-de-luces, and lilies of all natures; rosemary\nflowers, the tulip, the double peony, the pale daffodil, the French\nhoneysuckle, the cherry-tree in blossom, the damascene[476] and\nplum-trees in blossom, the white thorn in leaf, the lilac-tree. In May\nand June come pinks of all sorts, especially the blush-pink; roses\nof all kinds, except the musk, which comes later; honeysuckles,\nstrawberries, bugloss, columbine, the French marigold, flos Africanus,\ncherry-tree in fruit, ribes,[477] figs in fruit, rasps, vine-flowers,\nlavender in flowers, the sweet satyrian, with the white flower; herba\nmuscaria, lilium convallium, the apple-tree in blossom. In July come\ngillyflowers of all varieties, musk-roses, the lime-tree in blossom,\nearly pears, and plums in fruit, genitings,[478] codlins. In August\ncome plums of all sorts in fruit, pears, apricots, barberries,\nfilberts, musk-melons, monks-hoods, of all colors. In September come\ngrapes, apples, poppies of all colors, peaches, melocotones,[479]\nnectarines, cornelians,[480] wardens,[481] quinces. In October, and the\nbeginning of November, come services, medlars, bullaces, roses cut or\nremoved to come late, hollyoaks, and such like. These particulars are\nfor the climate of London; but my meaning is perceived, that you may\nhave \u201cver perpetuum,\u201d[482] as the place affords.\n\nAnd because the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air (where\nit comes and goes, like the warbling of music), than in the hand,\ntherefore nothing is more fit for that delight, than to know what be\nthe flowers and plants that do best perfume the air. Roses, damask\nand red, are fast flowers[483] of their smell, so that you may walk by\na whole row of them, and find nothing of their sweetness; yea, though\nit be in a morning\u2019s dew. Bays, likewise, yield no smell as they grow,\nrosemary little, nor sweet marjoram; that which, above all others,\nyields the sweetest smell in the air, is the violet, especially the\nwhite double violet, which comes twice a year, about the middle of\nApril, and about Bartholomew-tide. Next to that is the musk-rose;\nthen the strawberry leaves dying, with a most excellent cordial smell;\nthen the flower of the vines, it is a little dust like the dust of a\nbent,[484] which grows upon the cluster in the first coming forth; then\nsweet-brier, then wall-flowers, which are very delightful to be set\nunder a parlor or lower chamber window; then pinks and gillyflowers,\nspecially the matted pink and clove gillyflower; then the flowers of\nthe lime-tree; then the honeysuckles, so they be somewhat afar off.\nOf bean-flowers[485] I speak not, because they are field-flowers; but\nthose which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the\nrest, but being trodden upon and crushed, are three; that is, burnet,\nwild thyme, and water-mints; therefore you are to set whole alleys of\nthem, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread.\n\nFor gardens (speaking of those which are indeed prince-like, as we\nhave done of buildings), the contents ought not well to be under thirty\nacres of ground, and to be divided into three parts; a green in the\nentrance, a heath, or desert, in the going forth, and the main garden\nin the midst, besides alleys on both sides; and I like well that four\nacres of ground be assigned to the green, six to the heath, four and\nfour to either side, and twelve to the main garden. The green hath two\npleasures: the one, because nothing is more pleasant to the eye than\ngreen grass kept finely shorn; the other, because it will give you a\nfair alley in the midst, by which you may go in front upon a stately\nhedge, which is to inclose the garden. But because the alley will be\nlong, and in great heat of the year, or day, you ought not to buy the\nshade in the garden by going in the sun through the green; therefore\nyou are, of either side the green, to plant a covert alley, upon\ncarpenter\u2019s work, about twelve foot in height, by which you may go in\nshade into the garden. As for the making of knots or figures, with\ndivers colored earths, that they may lie under the windows of the house\non that side which the garden stands, they be but toys; you may see\nas good sights many times in tarts. The garden is best to be square,\nencompassed on all the four sides with a stately arched hedge: the\narches to be upon pillars of carpenter\u2019s work, of some ten foot high,\nand six foot broad, and the spaces between of the same dimension with\nthe breadth of the arch. Over the arches let there be an entire hedge\nof some four foot high, framed also upon carpenter\u2019s work; and upon the\nupper hedge, over every arch a little turret, with a belly enough to\nreceive a cage of birds; and over every space between the arches some\nother little figure, with broad plates of round colored glass gilt,\nfor the sun to play upon; but this hedge I intend to be raised upon\na bank, not steep, but gently slope, of some six foot, set all with\nflowers. Also, I understand that this square of the garden should not\nbe the whole breadth of the ground, but to leave on either side ground\nenough for diversity of side alleys, unto which the two covert alleys\nof the green may deliver you;[486] but there must be no alleys with\nhedges at either end of this great inclosure; not at the hither end,\nfor letting[487] your prospect upon this fair hedge from the green; nor\nat the further end for letting your prospect from the hedge through the\narches upon the heath.\n\nFor the ordering of the ground within the great hedge, I leave it to\nvariety of device; advising, nevertheless, that whatsoever form you\ncast it into first, it be not too bushy, or full of work; wherein I,\nfor my part, do not like images cut out in juniper or other garden\nstuff; they be for children. Little low hedges, round like welts, with\nsome pretty pyramids, I like well; and in some places fair columns,\nupon frames of carpenter\u2019s work. I would also have the alleys spacious\nand fair. You may have closer alleys upon the side grounds, but none\nin the main garden. I wish, also, in the very middle, a fair mount,\nwith three ascents and alleys, enough for four to walk abreast;\nwhich I would have to be perfect circles, without any bulwarks or\nembossments; and the whole mount to be thirty foot high, and some fine\nbanqueting-house, with some chimneys neatly cast, and without too much\nglass.\n\nFor fountains, they are a great beauty and refreshment; but pools mar\nall, and make the garden unwholesome, and full of flies and frogs.\nFountains I intend to be of two natures; the one that sprinkleth or\nspouteth water; the other, a fair receipt of water, of some thirty\nor forty foot square, but without fish, or slime, or mud. For the\nfirst, the ornaments of images, gilt or of marble, which are in use,\ndo well; but the main matter is so to convey the water, as it never\nstay, either in the bowls or in the cistern; that the water be never by\nrest discolored, green, or red, or the like, or gather any mossiness\nor putrefaction; besides that, it is to be cleansed every day by the\nhand; also, some steps up to it, and some fine pavement about it,\ndoth well. As for the other kind of fountain, which we may call a\nbathing-pool, it may admit much curiosity and beauty, wherewith we\nwill not trouble ourselves: as, that the bottom be finely paved, and\nwith images; the sides likewise; and, withal, embellished with colored\nglass, and such things of lustre; encompassed, also, with fine rails\nof low statues. But the main point is the same that we mentioned in\nthe former kind of fountain; which is, that the water be in perpetual\nmotion, fed by a water higher than the pool, and delivered into it by\nfair spouts, and then discharged away under ground, by some equality of\nbores, that it stay little; and for fine devices, of arching water[488]\nwithout spilling, and making it rise in several forms (of feathers,\ndrinking-glasses, canopies, and the like), they be pretty things to\nlook on, but nothing to health and sweetness.\n\nFor the heath, which was the third part of our plot, I wish it to be\nframed as much as may be to a natural wildness. Trees I would have none\nin it, but some thickets made only of sweet-brier and honeysuckle, and\nsome wild vine amongst; and the ground set with violets, strawberries,\nand primroses; for these are sweet, and prosper in the shade, and\nthese to be in the heath here and there, not in any order. I like\nalso little heaps, in the nature of molehills (such as are in wild\nheaths), to be set, some with wild thyme, some with pinks, some with\ngermander, that gives a good flower to the eye; some with periwinkle,\nsome with violets, some with strawberries, some with cowslips, some\nwith daisies, some with red roses, some with lilium convallium,[489]\nsome with sweet-williams red, some with bear\u2019s-foot, and the like\nlow flowers, being withal sweet and sightly; part of which heaps to\nbe with standards of little bushes pricked upon their top, and part\nwithout; the standards to be roses, juniper, holly, barberries (but\nhere and there, because of the smell of their blossom), red currants,\ngooseberries, rosemary, bays, sweetbrier, and such like; but these\nstandards to be kept with cutting, that they grow not out of course.\n\nFor the side grounds, you are to fill them with variety of alleys,\nprivate, to give a full shade; some of them wheresoever the sun be.\nYou are to frame some of them likewise for shelter, that when the wind\nblows sharp, you may walk as in a gallery: and those alleys must be\nlikewise hedged at both ends, to keep out the wind; and these closer\nalleys must be ever finely gravelled, and no grass, because of going\nwet. In many of these alleys, likewise, you are to set fruit-trees of\nall sorts, as well upon the walls as in ranges;[490] and this should be\ngenerally observed, that the borders wherein you plant your fruit-trees\nbe fair, and large, and low, and not steep; and set with fine flowers,\nbut thin and sparingly, lest they deceive[491] the trees. At the end\nof both the side grounds I would have a mount of some pretty height,\nleaving the wall of the inclosure breast high, to look abroad into the\nfields.\n\nFor the main garden, I do not deny but there should be some fair\nalleys ranged on both sides with fruit-trees, and some pretty tufts of\nfruit-trees and arbors with seats, set in some decent order; but these\nto be by no means set too thick, but to leave the main garden so as it\nbe not close, but the air open and free. For as for shade, I would have\nyou rest upon the alleys of the side grounds, there to walk, if you be\ndisposed, in the heat of the year or day; but to make account[492] that\nthe main garden is for the more temperate parts of the year, and in the\nheat of summer for the morning and the evening or overcast days.\n\nFor aviaries, I like them not, except they be of that largeness as they\nmay be turfed, and have living plants and bushes set in them; that the\nbirds may have more scope and natural nestling, and that no foulness\nappear in the floor of the aviary. So I have made a platform of a\nprincely garden, partly by precept, partly by drawing; not a model,\nbut some general lines of it; and in this I have spared for no cost.\nBut it is nothing for great princes, that, for the most part, taking\nadvice with workmen, with no less cost set their things together, and\nsometimes add statues and such things for state and magnificence, but\nnothing to the true pleasure of a garden.\n\n\n\n\nXLVII.\u2014OF NEGOTIATING.\n\n\nIt is generally better to deal by speech than by letter; and by the\nmediation of a third, than by a man\u2019s self. Letters are good, when a\nman would draw an answer by letter back again; or when it may serve\nfor a man\u2019s justification afterwards to produce his own letter, or\nwhere it may be danger to be interrupted or heard by pieces. To deal\nin person is good, when a man\u2019s face breedeth regard, as commonly with\ninferiors; or in tender cases, where a man\u2019s eye upon the countenance\nof him with whom he speaketh, may give him a direction how far to go;\nand, generally, where a man will reserve to himself liberty, either to\ndisavow or to expound. In choice of instruments, it is better to choose\nmen of a plainer sort, that are like to do that that is committed to\nthem, and to report back again faithfully the success, than those that\nare cunning to contrive out of other men\u2019s business somewhat to grace\nthemselves, and will help the matter in report, for satisfaction\nsake. Use also such persons as affect[493] the business wherein they\nare employed, for that quickeneth much; and such as are fit for the\nmatter, as bold men for expostulation, fairspoken men for persuasion,\ncrafty men for inquiry and observation, froward and absurd men for\nbusiness that doth not well bear out itself. Use also such as have\nbeen lucky and prevailed before in things wherein you have employed\nthem; for that breeds confidence, and they will strive to maintain\ntheir prescription. It is better to sound a person with whom one deals\nafar off, than to fall upon the point at first, except you mean to\nsurprise him by some short question. It is better dealing with men in\nappetite,[494] than with those that are where they would be. If a man\ndeal with another upon conditions, the start of first performance is\nall; which a man cannot reasonably demand, except either the nature of\nthe thing be such, which must go before; or else a man can persuade the\nother party, that he shall still need him in some other thing; or else\nthat he be counted the honester man. All practice is to discover, or to\nwork. Men discover themselves in trust, in passion, at unawares; and,\nof necessity, when they would have somewhat done, and cannot find an\napt pretext. If you would work any man, you must either know his nature\nand fashions, and so lead him; or his ends, and so persuade him; or his\nweakness and disadvantages, and so awe him; or those that have interest\nin him, and so govern him. In dealing with cunning persons, we must\never consider their ends, to interpret their speeches; and it is good\nto say little to them, and that which they least look for. In all\nnegotiations of difficulty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once;\nbut must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees.\n\n\n\n\nXLVIII.\u2014OF FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.\n\n\nCostly followers are not to be liked, lest, while a man maketh his\ntrain longer, he make his wings shorter. I reckon to be costly,\nnot them alone which charge the purse, but which are wearisome and\nimportune in suits. Ordinary followers ought to challenge no higher\nconditions than countenance, recommendation, and protection from\nwrongs. Factious followers are worse to be liked, which follow not\nupon affection to him with whom they range themselves, but upon\ndiscontentment conceived against some other; whereupon commonly ensueth\nthat ill intelligence, that we many times see between great personages.\nLikewise glorious[495] followers, who make themselves as trumpets of\nthe commendations of those they follow, are full of inconvenience,\nfor they taint business through want of secrecy; and they export\nhonor from a man, and make him a return in envy. There is a kind of\nfollowers, likewise, which are dangerous, being indeed espials; which\ninquire the secrets of the house, and bear tales of them to others;\nyet such men, many times, are in great favor, for they are officious,\nand commonly exchange tales. The following, by certain estates[496] of\nmen, answerable to that which a great person himself professeth (as of\nsoldiers to him that hath been employed in the wars, and the like),\nhath ever been a thing civil and well taken even in monarchies, so it\nbe without too much pomp or popularity. But the most honorable kind of\nfollowing, is to be followed as one that apprehendeth to advance virtue\nand desert in all sorts of persons; and yet, where there is no eminent\nodds in sufficiency, it is better to take with the more passable, than\nwith the more able; and, besides, to speak truth in base times, active\nmen are of more use than virtuous. It is true, that, in government,\nit is good to use men of one rank equally; for to countenance some\nextraordinarily, is to make them insolent, and the rest discontent,\nbecause they may claim a due: but, contrariwise, in favor, to use men\nwith much difference and election is good: for it maketh the persons\npreferred more thankful, and the rest more officious, because all is\nof favor. It is good discretion not to make too much of any man at the\nfirst, because one cannot hold out that proportion. To be governed,\nas we call it, by one, is not safe, for it shows softness,[497] and\ngives a freedom to scandal and disreputation; for those that would not\ncensure, or speak ill of a man immediately, will talk more boldly of\nthose that are so great with them, and thereby wound their honor; yet\nto be distracted with many is worse, for it makes men to be of the last\nimpression, and full of change. To take advice of some few friends is\never honorable; for lookers-on many times see more than gamesters,\nand the vale best discovereth the hill. There is little friendship in\nthe world, and least of all between equals, which was wont[498] to be\nmagnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior,[499] whose\nfortunes may comprehend the one the other.\n\n\n\n\nXLIX.\u2014OF SUITORS.\n\n\nMany ill matters and projects are undertaken; and private suits do\nputrefy the public good. Many good matters are undertaken with bad\nminds; I mean not only corrupt minds, but crafty minds, that intend not\nperformance. Some embrace suits, which never mean to deal effectually\nin them; but if they see there may be life in the matter, by some other\nmean they will be content to win a thank, or take a second reward, or,\nat least, to make use, in the mean time, of the suitor\u2019s hopes. Some\ntake hold of suits only for an occasion to cross some other, or to make\nan information, whereof they could not otherwise have apt pretext,\nwithout care what become of the suit when that turn is served; or,\ngenerally, to make other men\u2019s business a kind of entertainment to\nbring in their own: nay, some undertake suits with a full purpose to\nlet them fall, to the end to gratify the adverse party, or competitor.\nSurely, there is in some sort a right in every suit; either a right of\nequity, if it be a suit of controversy, or a right of desert, if it be\na suit of petition. If affection lead a man to favor the wrong side\nin justice, let him rather use his countenance to compound the matter\nthan to carry it. If affection lead a man to favor the less worthy in\ndesert, let him do it without depraving[500] or disabling the better\ndeserver. In suits which a man doth not well understand, it is good\nto refer them to some friend of trust and judgment, that may report\nwhether he may deal in them with honor; but let him choose well his\nreferendaries,[501] for else he may be led by the nose. Suitors are so\ndistasted[502] with delays and abuses, that plain dealing in denying to\ndeal in suits at first, and reporting the success barely,[503] and in\nchallenging no more thanks than one hath deserved, is grown not only\nhonorable, but also gracious. In suits of favor, the first coming ought\nto take little place;[504] so far forth[505] consideration may be had\nof his trust, that if intelligence of the matter could not otherwise\nhave been had but by him, advantage be not taken of the note,[506] but\nthe party left to his other means, and in some sort recompensed for his\ndiscovery. To be ignorant of the value of a suit is simplicity; as well\nas to be ignorant of the right thereof, is want of conscience. Secrecy\nin suits is a great mean of obtaining; for voicing them to be in\nforwardness may discourage some kind of suitors, but doth quicken and\nawake others. But timing of the suit is the principal; timing, I say,\nnot only in respect of the person that should grant it, but in respect\nof those which are like to cross it. Let a man, in the choice of his\nmean, rather choose the fittest mean, than the greatest mean; and\nrather them that deal in certain things, than those that are general.\nThe reparation of a denial is sometimes equal to the first grant, if\na man show himself neither dejected nor discontented. \u201cIniquum petas,\nut \u00e6quum feras,\u201d[507] is a good rule, where a man hath strength of\nfavor; but otherwise a man were better rise in his suit; for he that\nwould have ventured at first to have lost the suitor, will not, in the\nconclusion, lose both the suitor and his own former favor. Nothing is\nthought so easy a request to a great person as his letter: and yet if\nit be not in a good cause, it is so much out of his reputation. There\nare no worse instruments than these general contrivers of suits; for\nthey are but a kind of poison and infection to public proceedings.\n\n\n\n\nL.\u2014OF STUDIES.[508]\n\n\nStudies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief\nuse for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is\nin discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of\nbusiness; for expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars\none by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling\nof affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much\ntime in studies, is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is\naffectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of\na scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience; for\nnatural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study;\nand studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large,\nexcept they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies,\nsimple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not\ntheir own use; but that is a wisdom without them and above them, won\nby observation. Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and\ntake for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and\nconsider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some\nfew to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only\nin parts; others to be read, but not curiously;[509] and some few to be\nread wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be\nread by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be\nonly in the less important arguments and the meaner sort of books; else\ndistilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy[510] things.\nReading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact\nman; and, therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great\nmemory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if\nhe read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that\nhe doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics,\nsubtile; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric,\nable to contend: \u201cAbeunt studia in mores;\u201d[511] nay, there is no stand\nor impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies.\nLike as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises, bowling\nis good for the stone and reins, shooting for the lungs and breast,\ngentle walking for the stomach, riding for the head and the like; so,\nif a man\u2019s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in\ndemonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must\nbegin again; if his wit be not apt to distinguish or find difference,\nlet him study the schoolmen, for they are \u201cCymini sectores.\u201d[512] If he\nbe not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and\nillustrate another, let him study the lawyers\u2019 cases; so every defect\nof the mind may have a special receipt.\n\n\n\n\nLI.\u2014OF FACTION.\n\n\nMany have an opinion not wise, that for a prince to govern his\nestate, or for a great person to govern his proceedings, according\nto the respect of factions, is a principal part of policy; whereas,\ncontrariwise, the chiefest wisdom is, either in ordering those things\nwhich are general, and wherein men of several factions do nevertheless\nagree, or in dealing with correspondence to particular persons, one\nby one; but I say not, that the consideration of factions is to be\nneglected. Mean men in their rising must adhere; but great men, that\nhave strength in themselves, were better to maintain themselves\nindifferent and neutral; yet, even in beginners, to adhere so\nmoderately, as he be a man of the one faction, which is most passable\nwith the other, commonly giveth best way. The lower and weaker faction\nis the firmer in conjunction; and it is often seen, that a few that\nare stiff, do tire out a great number that are more moderate. When\none of the factions is extinguished, the remaining subdivideth; as\nthe faction between Lucullus and the rest of the nobles of the senate\n(which they called \u201coptimates\u201d), held out a while against the faction\nof Pompey and C\u00e6sar; but when the senate\u2019s authority was pulled down,\nC\u00e6sar and Pompey soon after brake. The faction or party of Antonius\nand Octavianus C\u00e6sar, against Brutus and Cassius, held out likewise\nfor a time; but when Brutus and Cassius were overthrown, then soon\nafter Antonius and Octavianus brake and subdivided. These examples are\nof wars, but the same holdeth in private factions; and, therefore,\nthose that are seconds in factions do many times, when the faction\nsubdivideth, prove principals; but many times also they prove ciphers,\nand cashiered, for many a man\u2019s strength is in opposition; and when\nthat faileth, he groweth out of use. It is commonly seen, that men once\nplaced, take in with the contrary faction to that by which they enter;\nthinking, belike, that they have the first sure, and now are ready for\na new purchase. The traitor in faction lightly goeth away with it; for\nwhen matters have stuck long in balancing, the winning of some one man\ncasteth them,[513] and he getteth all the thanks. The even carriage\nbetween two factions proceedeth not always of moderation, but of a\ntrueness to a man\u2019s self, with end to make use of both. Certainly, in\nItaly, they hold it a little suspect in popes, when they have often\nin their mouth, \u201cPadre commune;\u201d[514] and take it to be a sign of one\nthat meaneth to refer all to the greatness of his own house. Kings\nhad need beware how they side themselves, and make themselves as of a\nfaction or party; for leagues within the state are ever pernicious to\nmonarchies; for they raise an obligation paramount to obligation of\nsovereignty, and make the king \u201ctanquam unus ex nobis,\u201d[515] as was\nto be seen in the League of France. When factions are carried too high\nand too violently, it is a sign of weakness in princes, and much to the\nprejudice both of their authority and business. The motions of factions\nunder kings, ought to be like the motions (as the astronomers speak) of\nthe inferior orbs, which may have their proper motions, but yet still\nare quietly carried by the higher motion of \u201cprimum mobile.\u201d[516]\n\n\n\n\nLII.\u2014OF CEREMONIES AND RESPECTS.\n\n\nHe that is only real, had need have exceeding great parts of virtue;\nas the stone had need to be rich that is set without foil; but if a\nman mark it well, it is in praise and commendation of men, as it is in\ngettings and gains; for the proverb is true, that \u201cLight gains make\nheavy purses;\u201d for light gains come thick, whereas great come but now\nand then. So it is true, that small matters win great commendation,\nbecause they are continually in use and in note; whereas the occasion\nof any great virtue cometh but on festivals; therefore it doth much\nadd to a man\u2019s reputation, and is (as Queen Isabella[517] said) like\nperpetual letters commendatory, to have good forms. To attain them, it\nalmost sufficeth not to despise them; for so shall a man observe them\nin others; and let him trust himself with the rest; for if he labor\ntoo much to express them, he shall lose their grace, which is to be\nnatural and unaffected. Some men\u2019s behavior is like a verse, wherein\nevery syllable is measured; how can a man comprehend great matters,\nthat breaketh his mind too much to small observations? Not to use\nceremonies at all, is to teach others not to use them again, and so\ndiminisheth respect to himself; especially they be not to be omitted to\nstrangers and formal natures; but the dwelling upon them, and exalting\nthem above the moon, is not only tedious, but doth diminish the faith\nand credit of him that speaks; and, certainly, there is a kind of\nconveying of effectual and imprinting passages amongst compliments,\nwhich is of singular use, if a man can hit upon it. Amongst a man\u2019s\npeers, a man shall be sure of familiarity, and, therefore, it is good a\nlittle to keep state; amongst a man\u2019s inferiors, one shall be sure of\nreverence, and therefore it is good a little to be familiar. He that is\ntoo much in any thing, so that he giveth another occasion of satiety,\nmaketh himself cheap. To apply one\u2019s self to others, is good, so it\nbe with demonstration that a man doth it upon regard, and not upon\nfacility. It is a good precept, generally in seconding another, yet to\nadd somewhat of one\u2019s own; as, if you will grant his opinion, let it be\nwith some distinction; if you will follow his motion, let it be with\ncondition; if you allow his counsel, let it be with alleging further\nreason. Men had need beware how they be too perfect in compliments; for\nbe they never so sufficient otherwise, their enviers will be sure to\ngive them that attribute to the disadvantage of their greater virtues.\nIt is loss, also, in business, to be too full of respects, or to be too\ncurious in observing times and opportunities. Solomon saith, \u201cHe that\nconsidereth the wind shall not sow, and he that looketh to the clouds\nshall not reap.\u201d[518] A wise man will make more opportunities than he\nfinds. Men\u2019s behavior should be like their apparel, not too strait or\npoint device,[519] but free for exercise or motion.\n\n\n\n\nLIII.\u2014OF PRAISE.\n\n\nPraise is the reflection of virtue; but it is glass, or body, which\ngiveth the reflection. If it be from the common people, it is commonly\nfalse and naught, and rather followeth vain persons than virtuous;\nfor the common people understand not many excellent virtues. The\nlowest virtues draw praise from them, the middle virtues work in them\nastonishment or admiration, but of the highest virtues they have\nno sense or perceiving at all; but shows and \u201cspecies virtutibus\nsimiles,\u201d[520] serve best with them. Certainly, fame is like a river,\nthat beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and\nsolid; but if persons of quality and judgment concur, then it is (as\nthe Scripture saith), \u201cNomen bonum instar unguenti fragrantis:\u201d[521]\nit filleth all round about, and will not easily away; for the odors\nof ointments are more durable than those of flowers. There be so many\nfalse points of praise, that a man may justly hold it a suspect. Some\npraises proceed merely of flattery; and if he be an ordinary flatterer,\nhe will have certain common attributes, which may serve every man; if\nhe be a cunning flatterer, he will follow the arch-flatterer, which is\na man\u2019s self, and wherein a man thinketh best of himself, therein the\nflatterer will uphold him most. But if he be an impudent flatterer,\nlook wherein a man is conscious to himself that he is most defective,\nand is most out of countenance in himself, that will the flatterer\nentitle him to, perforce, \u201cspret\u00e2 conscienti\u00e2.\u201d[522] Some praises come\nof good wishes and respects, which is a form due in civility to kings\nand great persons, \u201claudando pr\u00e6cipere;\u201d[523] when, by telling men what\nthey are, they represent to them what they should be; some men are\npraised maliciously to their hurt, thereby to stir envy and jealousy\ntowards them: \u201cPessimum genus inimicorum laudantium;\u201d[524] insomuch as\nit was a proverb amongst the Grecians, that \u201che that was praised to\nhis hurt, should have a push[525] rise upon his nose;\u201d as we say that\na blister will rise upon one\u2019s tongue that tells a lie; certainly,\nmoderate praise, used with opportunity, and not vulgar, is that which\ndoth the good. Solomon saith: \u201cHe that praiseth his friend aloud,\nrising early, it shall be to him no better than a curse.\u201d[526] Too much\nmagnifying of man or matter doth irritate contradiction, and procure\nenvy and scorn. To praise a man\u2019s self cannot be decent, except it be\nin rare cases; but to praise a man\u2019s office[527] or profession, he may\ndo it with good grace, and with a kind of magnanimity. The cardinals\nof Rome, which are theologues,[528] and friars, and schoolmen, have\na phrase of notable contempt and scorn towards civil business; for\nthey call all temporal business of wars, embassages, judicature, and\nother employments, sbirrerie, which is under-sheriffries, as if they\nwere but matters for under-sheriffs and catchpoles; though many times\nthose under-sheriffries do more good than their high speculations.\nSt. Paul, when he boasts of himself, he doth oft interlace, \u201cI speak\nlike a fool:\u201d[529] but speaking of his calling, he saith, \u201cMagnificabo\napostolatum meum.\u201d[530]\n\n\n\n\nLIV.\u2014OF VAINGLORY.\n\n\nIt was prettily devised of \u00c6sop, the fly sat upon the axle-tree of the\nchariot-wheel, and said, \u201cWhat a dust do I raise!\u201d So are there some\nvain persons, that, whatsoever goeth alone, or moveth upon greater\nmeans, if they have never so little hand in it, they think it is they\nthat carry it. They that are glorious, must needs be factious; for all\nbravery[531] stands upon comparisons. They must needs be violent, to\nmake good their own vaunts; neither can they be secret, and therefore\nnot effectual; but, according to the French proverb, \u201cBeaucoup de\nbruit, peu de fruit;\u201d\u2014\u201cmuch bruit,[532] little fruit.\u201d Yet, certainly,\nthere is use of this quality in civil affairs: where there is an\nopinion[533] and fame to be created, either of virtue or greatness,\nthese men are good trumpeters. Again, as Titus Livius noteth, in the\ncase of Antiochus and the \u00c6tolians,[534] there are sometimes great\neffects of cross lies; as if a man that negotiates between two princes,\nto draw them to join in a war against the third, doth extol the forces\nof either of them above measure, the one to the other; and sometimes\nhe that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both,\nby pretending greater interest than he hath in either; and in these,\nand the like kinds, it often falls out, that somewhat is produced of\nnothing; for lies are sufficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings\non substance. In military commanders and soldiers, vainglory is an\nessential point; for as iron sharpens iron, so by glory one courage\nsharpeneth another. In cases of great enterprise upon charge[535]\nand adventure, a composition of glorious natures doth put life into\nbusiness; and those that are of solid and sober natures, have more of\nthe ballast than of the sail. In fame of learning, the flight will be\nslow without some feathers of ostentation: \u201cQui de contemnend\u00e2 glori\u00e2\nlibros scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt.\u201d[536] Socrates, Aristotle,\nGalen, were men full of ostentation: certainly, vainglory helpeth to\nperpetuate a man\u2019s memory; and virtue was never so beholden to human\nnature, as it received its due at the second hand. Neither had the fame\nof Cicero, Seneca, Plinius Secundus,[537] borne her age so well if it\nhad not been joined with some vanity in themselves; like unto varnish,\nthat makes ceilings not only shine, but last. But all this while, when\nI speak of vainglory, I mean not of that property that Tacitus doth\nattribute to Mucianus, \u201cOmnium, qu\u00e6 dixerat feceratque, arte qu\u00e2dam\nostentator;\u201d[538] for that[539] proceeds not of vanity, but of natural\nmagnanimity and discretion; and, in some persons, is not only comely,\nbut gracious; for excusations,[540] cessions,[541] modesty itself, well\ngoverned, are but arts of ostentation; and amongst those arts there is\nnone better than that which Plinius Secundus speaketh of, which is\nto be liberal of praise and commendation to others, in that wherein a\nman\u2019s self hath any perfection. For, saith Pliny, very wittily, \u201cIn\ncommending another, you do yourself right;[542] for he that you commend\nis either superior to you in that you commend, or inferior: if he be\ninferior, if he be to be commended, you much more; if he be superior,\nif he be not to be commended, you much less.\u201d Glorious[543] men are the\nscorn of wise men, the admiration of fools, the idols of parasites, and\nthe slaves of their own vaunts.\n\n\n\n\nLV.\u2014OF HONOR AND REPUTATION.\n\n\nThe winning of honor is but the revealing of a man\u2019s virtue and worth\nwithout disadvantage; for some in their actions do woo and affect honor\nand reputation; which sort of men are commonly much talked of, but\ninwardly little admired; and some, contrariwise, darken their virtue\nin the show of it, so as they be undervalued in opinion. If a man\nperform that which hath not been attempted before, or attempted and\ngiven over, or hath been achieved, but not with so good circumstance,\nhe shall purchase more honor than by affecting a matter of greater\ndifficulty or virtue, wherein he is but a follower. If a man so temper\nhis actions, as in some one of them he doth content every faction\nor combination of people, the music will be the fuller. A man is an\nill husband of his honor that entereth into any action, the failing\nwherein may disgrace him more than the carrying of it through can honor\nhim. Honor that is gained and broken upon another hath the quickest\nreflection, like diamonds cut with facets; and therefore let a man\ncontend to excel any competitors of his in honor, in outshooting them,\nif he can, in their own bow. Discreet followers and servants help much\nto reputation: \u201cOmnis fama a domesticis emanat.\u201d[544] Envy, which is\nthe canker of honor, is best extinguished by declaring a man\u2019s self in\nhis ends, rather to seek merit than fame; and by attributing a man\u2019s\nsuccesses rather to Divine providence and felicity, than to his own\nvirtue or policy. The true marshalling of the degrees of sovereign\nhonor are these. In the first place are \u201cconditores imperiorum,\u201d[545]\nfounders of states and commonwealths; such as were Romulus, Cyrus,\nC\u00e6sar, Ottoman,[546] Ismael: in the second place are \u201clegislatores,\u201d\nlawgivers, which are also called second founders, or \u201cperpetui\nprincipes,\u201d[547] because they govern by their ordinances after they\nare gone; such were Lycurgus, Solon, Justinian, Edgar,[548] Alphonsus\nof Castile, the Wise, that made the \u201cSiete Partidas:\u201d[549] in the third\nplace are \u201cliberatores,\u201d or \u201csalvatores,\u201d[550] such as compound the\nlong miseries of civil wars, or deliver their countries from servitude\nof strangers or tyrants, as Augustus C\u00e6sar, Vespasianus, Aurelianus,\nTheodoricus, King Henry the Seventh of England, King Henry the Fourth\nof France: in the fourth place are \u201cpropagatores,\u201d or \u201cpropugnatores\nimperii,\u201d[551] such as in honorable wars enlarge their territories, or\nmake noble defence against invaders: and, in the last place are \u201cpatres\npatri\u00e6,\u201d[552] which reign justly, and make the times good wherein they\nlive; both which last kinds need no examples, they are in such number.\nDegrees of honor in subjects are, first, \u201cparticipes curarum,\u201d[553]\nthose upon whom princes do discharge the greatest weight of their\naffairs, their right hands, as we call them; the next are \u201cduces\nbelli,\u201d[554] great leaders, such as are princes\u2019 lieutenants, and do\nthem notable services in the wars; the third are \u201cgratiosi,\u201d favorites,\nsuch as exceed not this scantling,[555] to be solace to the sovereign,\nand harmless to the people; and the fourth, \u201cnegotiis pares,\u201d[556]\nsuch as have great places under princes, and execute their places with\nsufficiency. There is an honor, likewise, which may be ranked amongst\nthe greatest, which happeneth rarely; that is, of such as sacrifice\nthemselves to death or danger for the good of their country; as was M.\nRegulus, and the two Decii.\n\n\n\n\nLVI.\u2014OF JUDICATURE.\n\n\nJudges ought to remember that their office is \u201cjus dicere,\u201d[557] and\nnot \u201cjus dare;\u201d[558] to interpret law, and not to make law, or give\nlaw; else will it be like the authority claimed by the Church of Rome,\nwhich, under pretext of exposition of Scripture, doth not stick to\nadd and alter, and to pronounce that which they do not find, and, by\nshow of antiquity, to introduce novelty. Judges ought to be more\nlearned than witty, more reverend than plausible, and more advised than\nconfident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper\nvirtue. \u201cCursed (saith the law)[559] is he that removeth the landmark.\u201d\nThe mislayer of a mere stone is to blame; but it is the unjust judge\nthat is the capital remover of landmarks, when he defineth amiss of\nlands and property. One foul sentence doth more hurt than many foul\nexamples; for these do but corrupt the stream, the other corrupteth\nthe fountain: so saith Solomon, \u201cFons turbatus et vena corrupta est\njustus cadens in caus\u00e2 su\u00e2 coram adversario.\u201d[560] The office of judges\nmay have reference unto the parties that sue, unto the advocates that\nplead, unto the clerks and ministers of justice underneath them, and to\nthe sovereign or state above them.\n\nFirst, for the causes or parties that sue. \u201cThere be (saith the\nScripture) that turn judgment into wormwood;\u201d[561] and surely there be,\nalso, that turn it into vinegar; for injustice maketh it bitter, and\ndelays make it sour. The principal duty of a judge is to suppress force\nand fraud; whereof force is the more pernicious when it is open, and\nfraud when it is close and disguised. Add thereto contentious suits,\nwhich ought to be spewed out, as the surfeit of courts. A judge ought\nto prepare his way to a just sentence, as God useth to prepare his way,\nby raising valleys and taking down hills; so when there appeareth on\neither side a high hand, violent prosecution, cunning advantages taken,\ncombination, power, great counsel, then is the virtue of a judge seen\nto make inequality equal, that he may plant his judgment as upon an\neven ground. \u201cQui fortiter emungit, elicit sanguinem;\u201d[562] and where\nthe wine-press is hard wrought, it yields a harsh wine, that tastes of\nthe grape-stone. Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained\ninferences; for there is no worse torture than the torture of laws.\nEspecially in case of laws penal, they ought to have care that that\nwhich was meant for terror be not turned into rigor; and that they\nbring not upon the people that shower whereof the Scripture speaketh,\n\u201cPluet super eos laqueos;\u201d[563] for penal laws pressed,[564] are a\nshower of snares upon the people. Therefore let penal laws, if they\nhave been sleepers of long, or if they be grown unfit for the present\ntime, be by wise judges confined in the execution: \u201cJudicis officium\nest, ut res, ita tempora rerum,\u201d &c.[565] In causes of life and death,\njudges ought (as far as the law permitteth) in justice to remember\nmercy, and to cast a severe eye upon the example, but a merciful eye\nupon the person.\n\nSecondly, for the advocates and counsel that plead. Patience[566] and\ngravity of hearing is an essential part of justice, and an overspeaking\njudge is no well-tuned cymbal. It is no grace to a judge first to find\nthat which he might have heard in due time from the bar; or to show\nquickness of conceit in cutting off evidence or counsel too short,\nor to prevent information by questions, though pertinent. The parts\nof a judge in hearing are four: to direct the evidence; to moderate\nlength, repetition, of impertinency of speech; to recapitulate,\nselect, and collate the material points of that which hath been said;\nand to give the rule or sentence. Whatsoever is above these is too\nmuch, and proceedeth either of glory, and willingness to speak, or of\nimpatience to hear, or of shortness of memory, or of want of a staid\nand equal attention. It is a strange thing to see that the boldness\nof advocates should prevail with judges; whereas, they should imitate\nGod in whose seat they sit, who represseth the presumptuous, and\ngiveth grace to the modest; but it is more strange, that judges should\nhave noted favorites, which cannot but cause multiplication of fees,\nand suspicion of by-ways. There is due from the judge to the advocate\nsome commendation and gracing, where causes are well handled and fair\npleaded, especially towards the side which obtaineth not;[567] for that\nupholds in the client the reputation of his counsel, and beats down\nin him the conceit[568] of his cause. There is likewise due to the\npublic a civil reprehension of advocates, where there appeareth cunning\ncounsel, gross neglect, slight information, indiscreet pressing, or an\nover-bold defence; and let not the counsel at the bar chop[569] with\nthe judge, nor wind himself into the handling of the cause anew after\nthe judge hath declared his sentence; but, on the other side, let not\nthe judge meet the cause half-way, nor give occasion to the party to\nsay, his counsel or proofs were not heard.\n\nThirdly, for that that concerns clerks and ministers. The place of\njustice is a hallowed place; and, therefore, not only the bench,\nbut the foot-pace and precincts, and purprise thereof, ought to be\npreserved without scandal and corruption; for, certainly, \u201cGrapes (as\nthe Scripture saith) will not be gathered of thorns or thistles;\u201d[570]\nneither can justice yield her fruit with sweetness amongst the briers\nand brambles of catching and polling[571] clerks and ministers. The\nattendance of courts is subject to four bad instruments: first, certain\npersons that are sowers of suits, which make the court swell, and\nthe country pine: the second sort is of those that engage courts in\nquarrels of jurisdiction, and are not truly \u201camici curi\u00e6,\u201d[572] but\n\u201cparasiti curi\u00e6,\u201d[573] in puffing a court up beyond her bounds for\ntheir own scraps and advantage: the third sort is of those that may be\naccounted the left hands of courts; persons that are full of nimble\nand sinister tricks and shifts, whereby they pervert the plain and\ndirect courses of courts, and bring justice into oblique lines and\nlabyrinths: and the fourth is the poller and exacter of fees; which\njustifies the common resemblance of the courts of justice to the bush,\nwhereunto while the sheep flies for defence in weather, he is sure to\nlose part of his fleece. On the other side, an ancient clerk, skilful\nin precedents, wary in proceeding, and understanding in the business of\nthe court, is an excellent finger of a court, and doth many times point\nthe way to the judge himself.\n\nFourthly, for that which may concern the sovereign and estate. Judges\nought, above all, to remember the conclusion of the Roman Twelve\nTables,[574] \u201cSalus populi suprema lex;\u201d[575] and to know that laws,\nexcept they be in order to that end, are but things captious, and\noracles not well inspired; therefore it is a happy thing in a state,\nwhen kings and states do often consult with judges; and again, when\njudges do often consult with the king and state: the one, when there\nis matter of law intervenient in business of state; the other, when\nthere is some consideration of state intervenient in matter of law;\nfor many times the things deduced to judgment may be \u201cmeum\u201d[576]\nand \u201ctuum,\u201d[577] when the reason and consequence thereof may trench\nto point of estate. I call matter of estate, not only the parts of\nsovereignty, but whatsoever introduceth any great alteration, or\ndangerous precedent, or concerneth manifestly any great portion of\npeople; and let no man weakly conceive, that just laws and true policy\nhave any antipathy, for they are like the spirits and sinews, that one\nmoves with the other. Let judges also remember, that Solomon\u2019s throne\nwas supported by lions[578] on both sides; let them be lions, but yet\nlions under the throne, being circumspect that they do not check or\noppose any points of sovereignty. Let not judges also be so ignorant of\ntheir own right, as to think there is not left to them, as a principal\npart of their office, a wise use and application of laws; for they\nmay remember what the apostle saith of a greater law than theirs: \u201cNos\nscimus quia lex bona est, modo quis e\u00e2 utatur legitime.\u201d[579]\n\n\n\n\nLVII.\u2014OF ANGER.\n\n\nTo seek to extinguish anger utterly is but a bravery[580] of the\nStoics. We have better oracles: \u201cBe angry, but sin not; let not the sun\ngo down upon your anger.\u201d[581] Anger must be limited and confined, both\nin race and in time. We will first speak how the natural inclination\nand habit, \u201cto be angry,\u201d may be attempered and calmed; secondly,\nhow the particular motions of anger may be repressed, or, at least,\nrefrained from doing mischief; thirdly, how to raise anger, or appease\nanger in another.\n\nFor the first, there is no other way but to meditate and ruminate well\nupon the effects of anger, how it troubles man\u2019s life; and the best\ntime to do this is, to look back upon anger when the fit is thoroughly\nover. Seneca saith well, \u201cthat anger is like ruin, which breaks itself\nupon that it falls.\u201d[582] The Scripture exhorteth us \u201cto possess our\nsouls in patience;\u201d[583] whosoever is out of patience, is out of\npossession of his soul. Men must not turn bees:\u2014\n\n \u201canimasque in vulnere ponunt.\u201d[584]\n\nAnger is certainly a kind of baseness; as it appears well in the\nweakness of those subjects in whom it reigns, children, women, old\nfolks, sick folks. Only men must beware that they carry their anger\nrather with scorn than with fear; so that they may seem rather to be\nabove the injury than below it; which is a thing easily done, if a man\nwill give law to himself in it.\n\nFor the second point, the causes and motives of anger are chiefly\nthree. First, to be too sensible of hurt, for no man is angry that\nfeels not himself hurt; and therefore tender and delicate persons must\nneeds be oft angry, they have so many things to trouble them, which\nmore robust natures have little sense of: the next is, the apprehension\nand construction of the injury offered, to be, in the circumstances\nthereof, full of contempt; for contempt is that which putteth an edge\nupon anger, as much, or more, than the hurt itself; and therefore,\nwhen men are ingenious in picking out circumstances of contempt,\nthey do kindle their anger much: lastly, opinion of the touch[585]\nof a man\u2019s reputation doth multiply and sharpen anger; wherein the\nremedy is, that a man should have, as Gonsalvo was wont to say, \u201cTelam\nhonoris crassiorem.\u201d[586] But in all refrainings of anger, it is the\nbest remedy to win time, and to make a man\u2019s self believe that the\nopportunity of his revenge is not yet come; but that he foresees a time\nfor it, and so to still himself in the mean time, and reserve it.\n\nTo contain anger from mischief, though it take hold of a man, there be\ntwo things whereof you must have special caution: the one, of extreme\nbitterness of words, especially if they be aculeate and proper,[587]\nfor \u201ccommunia maledicta\u201d[588] are nothing so much; and, again, that in\nanger a man reveal no secrets, for that makes him not fit for society:\nthe other, that you do not peremptorily break off in any business in a\nfit of anger; but, howsoever you show bitterness, do not act any thing\nthat is not revocable.\n\nFor raising and appeasing anger in another, it is done chiefly by\nchoosing of times when men are frowardest and worst disposed to incense\nthem; again, by gathering (as was touched before) all that you can\nfind out to aggravate the contempt: and the two remedies are by the\ncontraries; the former to take good times, when first to relate to a\nman an angry business, for the first impression is much; and the other\nis, to sever, as much as may be, the construction of the injury from\nthe point of contempt; imputing it to misunderstanding, fear, passion,\nor what you will.\n\n\n\n\nLVIII.\u2014OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS.\n\n\nSolomon saith, \u201cThere is no new thing upon the earth;\u201d[589] so\nthat as Plato[590] had an imagination that all knowledge was but\nremembrance, so Solomon giveth his sentence, \u201cThat all novelty is but\noblivion;\u201d[591] whereby you may see, that the river of Lethe runneth\nas well above ground as below. There is an abstruse astrologer that\nsaith, if it were not for two things that are constant (the one is,\nthat the fixed stars ever stand at like distance one from another, and\nnever come nearer together, nor go further asunder; the other, that\nthe diurnal motion perpetually keepeth time), no individual would last\none moment; certain it is, that the matter is in a perpetual flux, and\nnever at a stay. The great winding-sheets that bury all things in\noblivion, are two,\u2014deluges and earthquakes. As for conflagrations and\ngreat droughts, they do not merely dispeople, but destroy. Phaeton\u2019s\ncar went but a day; and the three years\u2019 drought in the time of\nElias,[592] was but particular,[593] and left people alive. As for the\ngreat burnings by lightnings, which are often in the West Indies,[594]\nthey are but narrow;[595] but in the other two destructions, by deluge\nand earthquake, it is further to be noted, that the remnant of people\nwhich happen to be reserved, are commonly ignorant and mountainous\npeople, that can give no account of the time past; so that the oblivion\nis all one, as if none had been left. If you consider well of the\npeople of the West Indies, it is very probable that they are a newer,\nor a younger people than the people of the old world; and it is much\nmore likely that the destruction that hath heretofore been there, was\nnot by earthquakes, (as the Egyptian priest told Solon, concerning the\nIsland of Atlantis,[596] that it was swallowed by an earthquake), but\nrather that it was desolated by a particular deluge, for earthquakes\nare seldom in those parts; but, on the other side, they have such\npouring rivers, as the rivers of Asia, and Africa, and Europe, are but\nbrooks to them. Their Andes, likewise, or mountains, are far higher\nthan those with us; whereby it seems, that the remnants of generations\nof men were in such a particular deluge saved. As for the observation\nthat Machiavel hath, that the jealousy of sects doth much extinguish\nthe memory of things,[597] traducing Gregory the Great, that he did\nwhat in him lay to extinguish all heathen antiquities, I do not find\nthat those zeals do any great effects, nor last long; as it appeared in\nthe succession of Sabinian,[598] who did revive the former antiquities.\n\nThe vicissitude, or mutations, in the superior globe, are no fit matter\nfor this present argument. It may be, Plato\u2019s great year,[599] if the\nworld should last so long, would have some effect, not in renewing\nthe state of like individuals (for that is the fume[600] of those\nthat conceive the celestial bodies have more accurate influences upon\nthese things below, than indeed they have), but in gross. Comets, out\nof question, have likewise power and effect over the gross and mass\nof things; but they are rather gazed, and waited upon[601] in their\njourney, than wisely observed in their effects, especially in their\nrespective effects; that is, what kind of comet for magnitude, color,\nversion of the beams, placing in the region of heaven, or lasting,\nproduceth what kind of effects.\n\nThere is a toy,[602] which I have heard, and I would not have it given\nover, but waited upon a little. They say it is observed in the Low\nCountries (I know not in what part), that every five and thirty years\nthe same kind and suit of years and weather comes about again; as great\nfrosts, great wet, great droughts, warm winters, summers with little\nheat, and the like; and they call it the prime. It is a thing I do\nthe rather mention, because, computing backwards, I have found some\nconcurrence.\n\nBut to leave these points of nature, and to come to men. The greatest\nvicissitude of things amongst men, is the vicissitude of sects and\nreligions; for those orbs rule in men\u2019s minds most. The true religion\nis built upon the rock; the rest are tossed upon the waves of time. To\nspeak, therefore, of the causes of new sects, and to give some counsel\nconcerning them, as far as the weakness of human judgment can give stay\nto so great revolutions.\n\nWhen the religion formerly received is rent by discords, and when the\nholiness of the professors of religion is decayed and full of scandal,\nand, withal, the times be stupid, ignorant, and barbarous, you may\ndoubt the springing up of a new sect; if then, also, there should arise\nany extravagant and strange spirit to make himself author thereof; all\nwhich points held when Mahomet published his law. If a new sect have\nnot two properties, fear it not, for it will not spread. The one is the\nsupplanting or the opposing of authority established, for nothing is\nmore popular than that; the other is, the giving license to pleasures\nand a voluptuous life; for as for speculative heresies (such as were in\nancient times the Arians, and now the Arminians),[603] though they work\nmightily upon men\u2019s wits, yet they do not produce any great alterations\nin states, except it be by the help of civil occasions. There be three\nmanner of plantations of new sects: by the power of signs and miracles;\nby the eloquence and wisdom of speech and persuasion; and by the\nsword. For martyrdoms, I reckon them amongst miracles, because they\nseem to exceed the strength of human nature; and I may do the like of\nsuperlative and admirable holiness of life. Surely, there is no better\nway to stop the rising of new sects and schisms, than to reform abuses;\nto compound the smaller differences; to proceed mildly, and not with\nsanguinary persecutions; and rather to take off the principal authors,\nby winning and advancing them, than to enrage them by violence and\nbitterness.\n\nThe changes and vicissitude in wars are many, but chiefly in three\nthings: in the seats or stages of the war, in the weapons, and in the\nmanner of the conduct. Wars, in ancient time, seemed more to move from\neast to west; for the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, Tartars (which\nwere the invaders), were all eastern people. It is true the Gauls\nwere western; but we read but of two incursions of theirs, the one to\nGallo-Gr\u00e6cia, the other to Rome: but east and west have no certain\npoints of heaven; and no more have the wars, either from the east or\nwest, any certainty of observation; but north and south are fixed; and\nit hath seldom or never been seen that the far southern people have\ninvaded the northern, but contrariwise: whereby it is manifest that\nthe northern tract of the world is in nature the more martial region,\nbe it in respect of the stars of that hemisphere,[604] or of the great\ncontinents that are upon the north; whereas, the south part, for aught\nthat is known, is almost all sea; or (which is most apparent) of\nthe cold of the northern parts, which is that which, without aid of\ndiscipline, doth make the bodies hardest, and the courage warmest.\n\nUpon the breaking and shivering of a great state and empire, you may be\nsure to have wars; for great empires, while they stand, do enervate and\ndestroy the forces of the natives which they have subdued, resting upon\ntheir own protecting forces; and then, when they fail also, all goes\nto ruin, and they become a prey. So was it in the decay of the Roman\nempire, and likewise in the empire of Almaigne,[605] after Charles\nthe Great,[606] every bird taking a feather, and were not unlike to\nbefall to Spain, if it should break. The great accessions and unions\nof kingdoms do likewise stir up wars; for when a state grows to an\nover-power, it is like a great flood, that will be sure to overflow,\nas it hath been seen in the states of Rome, Turkey, Spain, and others.\nLook when the world hath fewest barbarous people, but such as commonly\nwill not marry or generate, except they know means to live (as it is\nalmost everywhere at this day, except Tartary), there is no danger of\ninundations of people; but when there be great shoals of people, which\ngo on to populate, without foreseeing means of life and sustenation,\nit is of necessity that once in an age or two they discharge a portion\nof their people upon other nations, which the ancient northern people\nwere wont to do by lot; casting lots what part should stay at home,\nand what should seek their fortunes. When a warlike state grows soft\nand effeminate, they may be sure of a war, for commonly such states are\ngrown rich in the time of their degenerating; and so the prey inviteth,\nand their decay in valor encourageth a war.\n\nAs for the weapons, it hardly falleth under rule and observation, yet\nwe see even they have returns and vicissitudes; for certain it is that\nordnance was known in the city of the Oxidraces, in India, and was that\nwhich the Macedonians[607] called thunder and lightning, and magic;\nand it is well known that the use of ordnance hath been in China above\ntwo thousand years. The conditions of weapons, and their improvements\nare, first, the fetching[608] afar off, for that outruns the danger,\nas it is seen in ordnance and muskets; secondly, the strength of the\npercussion, wherein, likewise, ordnance do exceed all arietations,[609]\nand ancient inventions; the third is, the commodious use of them, as\nthat they may serve in all weathers, that the carriage may be light and\nmanageable, and the like.\n\nFor the conduct of the war: at the first, men rested extremely upon\nnumber; they did put the wars likewise upon main force and valor,\npointing days for pitched fields, and so trying it out upon an even\nmatch; and they were more ignorant in ranging and arraying their\nbattles. After they grew to rest upon number, rather competent than\nvast, they grew to advantages of place, cunning diversions, and the\nlike, and they grew more skilful in the ordering of their battles.\n\nIn the youth of a state, arms do flourish; in the middle age of a\nstate, learning; and then both of them together for a time; in the\ndeclining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise. Learning\nhath its infancy when it is but beginning, and almost childish; then\nits youth, when it is luxuriant and juvenile; then its strength of\nyears, when it is solid and reduced; and, lastly, its old age, when\nit waxeth dry and exhaust. But it is not good to look too long upon\nthese turning wheels of vicissitude, lest we become giddy; as for the\nphilology of them, that is but a circle of tales, and therefore not fit\nfor this writing.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX TO ESSAYS.\n\n\n\n\nI.\u2014A FRAGMENT OF AN ESSAY OF FAME.[610]\n\n\nThe poets make fame a monster; they describe her in part finely and\nelegantly, and in part gravely and sententiously; they say, Look, how\nmany feathers she hath, so many eyes she hath underneath, so many\ntongues, so many voices, she pricks up so many ears!\n\nThis is a flourish: there follow excellent parables; as that she\ngathereth strength in going; that she goeth upon the ground, and yet\nhideth her head in the clouds; that in the daytime she sitteth in a\nwatch-tower, and flieth most by night; that she mingleth things done\nwith things not done; and that she is a terror to great cities; but\nthat which passeth all the rest is, they do recount that the Earth,\nmother of the giants that made war against Jupiter, and were by him\ndestroyed, thereupon in anger brought forth Fame; for certain it is,\nthat rebels, figured by the giants, and seditious fames and libels,\nare but brothers and sisters, masculine and feminine. But now, if\na man can tame this monster, and bring her to feed at the hand and\ngovern her, and with her fly other ravening fowl, and kill them, it is\nsomewhat worth; but we are infected with the style of the poets. To\nspeak now in a sad and serious manner, there is not in all the politics\na place less handled, and more worthy to be handled, than this of fame.\nWe will, therefore, speak of these points. What are false fames, and\nwhat are true fames, and how they may be best discerned; how fames may\nbe sown and raised; how they may be spread and multiplied; and how they\nmay be checked and lay dead; and other things concerning the nature\nof fame. Fame is of that force, as there is scarcely any great action\nwherein it hath not a great part, especially in the war. Mucianus\nundid Vitellius by a fame that he scattered, that Vitellius had in\npurpose to remove the legions of Syria into Germany, and the legions\nof Germany into Syria; whereupon the legions of Syria were infinitely\ninflamed.[611] Julius C\u00e6sar took Pompey unprovided, and laid asleep his\nindustry and preparations by a fame that he cunningly gave out, how\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s own soldiers loved him not; and being wearied with the wars,\nand laden with the spoils of Gaul, would forsake him as soon as he came\ninto Italy.[612] Livia settled all things for the succession of her son\nTiberius, by continually giving out that her husband Augustus was upon\nrecovery and amendment;[613] and it is a usual thing with the bashaws\nto conceal the death of the Grand Turk from the janizaries and men of\nwar, to save the sacking of Constantinople, and other towns, as their\nmanner is. Themistocles made Xerxes, king of Persia, post apace out\nof Gr\u00e6cia, by giving out that the Grecians had a purpose to break his\nbridge of ships which he had made athwart Hellespont.[614] There be a\nthousand such like examples, and the more they are, the less they need\nto be repeated, because a man meeteth with them everywhere; therefore,\nlet all wise governors have as great a watch and care over fames, as\nthey have of the actions and designs themselves.\n\n\n\n\nII.\u2014OF A KING.\n\n\n1. A king is a mortal God on earth, unto whom the living God hath lent\nhis own name as a great honor; but withal told him, he should die like\na man, lest he should be proud and flatter himself, that God hath, with\nhis name, imparted unto him his nature also.\n\n2. Of all kind of men, God is the least beholden unto them; for he doth\nmost for them, and they do, ordinarily, least for him.\n\n3. A king that would not feel his crown too heavy for him, must wear\nit every day; but if he think it too light, he knoweth not of what\nmetal it is made.\n\n4. He must make religion the rule of government, and not to balance the\nscale; for he that casteth in religion only to make the scales even,\nhis own weight is contained in those characters: \u201cMene, mene, tekel,\nupharsin: He is found too light, his kingdom shall be taken from him.\u201d\n\n5. And that king that holds not religion the best reason of state, is\nvoid of all piety and justice, the supporters of a king.\n\n6. He must be able to give counsel himself, but not rely thereupon;\nfor though happy events justify their counsels, yet it is better that\nthe evil event of good advice be rather imputed to a subject than a\nsovereign.\n\n7. He is a fountain of honor, which should not run with a waste-pipe,\nlest the courtiers sell the water, and then, as Papists say of their\nholy wells, it loses the virtue.\n\n8. He is the life of the law, not only as he is _Lex loquens_ himself,\nbut because he animateth the dead letter, making it active towards all\nhis subjects _pr\u00e6mio et p\u0153na_.\n\n9. A wise king must do less in altering his laws than he may; for new\ngovernment is ever dangerous. It being true in the body politic, as in\nthe corporal, that _omnis subita immutatio est periculosa_; and though\nit be for the better, yet it is not without a fearful apprehension;\nfor he that changeth the fundamental laws of a kingdom, thinketh there\nis no good title to a crown, but by conquest.\n\n10. A king that setteth to sale seats of justice, oppresseth the\npeople; for he teacheth his judges to sell justice; and _pretio parata\npretio venditur justitia_.\n\n11. Bounty and magnificence are virtues very regal, but a prodigal king\nis nearer a tyrant than a parsimonious; for store at home draweth not\nhis contemplations abroad, but want supplieth itself of what is next,\nand many times the next way. A king therein must be wise, and know what\nhe may justly do.\n\n12. That king which is not feared, is not loved; and he that is well\nseen in his craft, must as well study to be feared as loved; yet not\nloved for fear, but feared for love.\n\n13. Therefore, as he must always resemble Him whose great name he\nbeareth, and that as in manifesting the sweet influence of his mercy on\nthe severe stroke of his justice sometimes, so in this not to suffer\na man of death to live; for, besides that the land doth mourn, the\nrestraint of justice towards sin doth more retard the affection of\nlove, than the extent of mercy doth inflame it; and sure, where love is\n[ill] bestowed, fear is quite lost.\n\n14. His greatest enemies are his flatterers; for though they ever speak\non his side, yet their words still make against him.\n\n15. The love which a king oweth to a weal public should not be\noverstrained to any one particular; yet that his more especial favor do\nreflect upon some worthy ones, is somewhat necessary, because there are\nfew of that capacity.\n\n16. He must have a special care of five things, if he would not have\nhis crown to be but to him _infelix felicitas_.\n\nFirst, that _simulata sanctitas_ be not in the church; for that is\n_duplex iniquitas_.\n\nSecondly, that _inutilis \u00e6quitas_ sit not in the chancery; for that is\n_inepta misericordia_.\n\nThirdly, that _utilis iniquitas_ keep not the exchequer; for that is\n_crudele latrocinium_.\n\nFourthly, that _fidelis temeritas_ be not his general; for that will\nbring but _seram p\u0153nitentiam_.\n\nFifthly, that _infidelis prudentia_ be not his secretary; for that is\n_anguis sub viridi herb\u00e2_.\n\nTo conclude: as he is of the greatest power, so he is subject to the\ngreatest cares, made the servant of his people, or else he were without\na calling at all.\n\nHe, then, that honoreth him not is next an atheist, wanting the fear of\nGod in his heart.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\u2014ON DEATH.\n\n\n1. I have often thought upon death, and I find it the least of all\nevils. All that which is past is as a dream; and he that hopes or\ndepends upon time coming, dreams waking. So much of our life as we have\ndiscovered is already dead; and all those hours which we share, even\nfrom the breasts of our mothers, until we return to our grandmother the\nearth, are part of our dying days, whereof even this is one, and those\nthat succeed are of the same nature, for we die daily; and, as others\nhave given place to us, so we must, in the end, give way to others.\n\n2. Physicians, in the name of death, include all sorrow, anguish,\ndisease, calamity, or whatsoever can fall in the life of man, either\ngrievous or unwelcome. But these things are familiar unto us, and we\nsuffer them every hour; therefore we die daily, and I am older since I\naffirmed it.\n\n3. I know many wise men that fear to die, for the change is bitter,\nand flesh would refuse to prove it; besides, the expectation brings\nterror, and that exceeds the evil. But I do not believe that any man\nfears to be dead, but only the stroke of death; and such are my hopes,\nthat if Heaven be pleased, and nature renew but my lease for twenty-one\nyears more without asking longer days, I shall be strong enough to\nacknowledge without mourning, that I was begotten mortal. Virtue walks\nnot in the highway, though she go _per alta_; this is strength and the\nblood to virtue, to contemn things that be desired, and to neglect that\nwhich is feared.\n\n4. Why should man be in love with his fetters, though of gold? Art thou\ndrowned in security? Then I say thou art perfectly dead. For though\nthou movest, yet thy soul is buried within thee, and thy good angel\neither forsakes his guard, or sleeps. There is nothing under heaven,\nsaving a true friend (who cannot be counted within the number of\nmovables), unto which my heart doth lean. And this dear freedom hath\nbegotten me this peace, that I mourn not for that end which must be,\nnor spend one wish to have one minute added, to the uncertain date of\nmy years. It was no mean apprehension of Lucian, who says of Menippus,\nthat in his travels through hell, he knew not the kings of the earth\nfrom other men but only by their louder cryings and tears, which were\nfostered in them through the remorseful memory of the good days they\nhad seen, and the fruitful havings which they so unwillingly left\nbehind them. He that was well seated, looked back at his portion, and\nwas loath to forsake his farm; and others, either minding marriages,\npleasures, profit, or preferment, desired to be excused from death\u2019s\nbanquet. They had made an appointment with earth, looking at the\nblessings, not the hand that enlarged them, forgetting how unclothedly\nthey came hither, or with what naked ornaments they were arrayed.\n\n5. But were we servants of the precept given, and observers of the\nheathens\u2019 rule, _Memento mori_, and not become benighted with this\nseeming felicity, we should enjoy it as men prepared to lose, and\nnot wind up our thoughts upon so perishing a fortune. He that is not\nslackly strong (as the servants of pleasure), how can he be found\nunready to quit the vail and false visage of his perfection? The\nsoul having shaken off her flesh, doth then set up for herself, and\ncontemning things that are under, shows what finger hath enforced her;\nfor the souls of idiots are of the same piece with those of statesmen,\nbut now and then nature is at a fault, and this good guest of ours\ntakes soil in an imperfect body, and so is slackened from showing her\nwonders, like an excellent musician, which cannot utter himself upon a\ndefective instrument.\n\n6. But see how I am swerved, and lose my course, touching at the soul\nthat doth least hold action with death, who hath the surest property in\nthis frail act; his style is the end of all flesh, and the beginning of\nincorruption.\n\nThis ruler of monuments leads men, for the most part, out of this world\nwith their heels forward, in token that he is contrary to life, which\nbeing obtained, sends men headlong into this wretched theatre, where,\nbeing arrived, their first language is that of mourning. Nor, in my own\nthoughts, can I compare men more fitly to any thing than to the Indian\nfig-tree, which, being ripened to his full height, is said to decline\nhis branches down to the earth, whereof she conceives again, and they\nbecome roots in their own stock.\n\nSo man, having derived his being from the earth, first lives the life\nof a tree, drawing his nourishment as a plant, and made ripe for death,\nhe tends downwards, and is sown again in his mother the earth, where he\nperisheth not, but expects a quickening.\n\n7. So we see death exempts not a man from being, but only presents\nan alteration; yet there are some men (I think) that stand otherwise\npersuaded. Death finds not a worse friend than an alderman, to whose\ndoor I never knew him welcome; but he is an importunate guest, and will\nnot be said nay.\n\nAnd though they themselves shall affirm that they are not within, yet\nthe answer will not be taken; and that which heightens their fear is,\nthat they know they are in danger to forfeit their flesh, but are not\nwise of the payment-day, which sickly uncertainty is the occasion that\n(for the most part) they step out of this world unfurnished for their\ngeneral account, and, being all unprovided, desire yet to hold their\ngravity, preparing their souls to answer in scarlet.\n\nThus I gather, that death is unagreeable to most citizens, because they\ncommonly die intestate; this being a rule, that when their will is\nmade, they think themselves nearer a grave than before. Now they, out\nof the wisdom of thousands, think to scare destiny, from which there is\nno appeal, by not making a will, or to live longer by protestation of\ntheir unwillingness to die. They are, for the most part, well made in\nthis world (accounting their treasure by legions, as men do devils).\nTheir fortune looks towards them, and they are willing to anchor at it,\nand desire (if it be possible) to put the evil day far off from them,\nand to adjourn their ungrateful and killing period.\n\nNo, these are not the men which have bespoken death, or whose looks are\nassured to entertain a thought of him.\n\n8. Death arrives gracious only to such as sit in darkness, or lie heavy\nburdened with grief and irons; to the poor Christian, that sits bound\nin the galley; to despairful widows, pensive prisoners, and deposed\nkings; to them whose fortune runs back, and whose spirits mutiny: unto\nsuch, death is a redeemer, and the grave a place for retiredness and\nrest.\n\nThese wait upon the shore of death, and waft unto him to draw near,\nwishing above all others to see his star, that they might be led to his\nplace; wooing the remorseless sisters to wind down the watch of their\nlife, and to break them off before the hour.\n\n9. But death is a doleful messenger to a usurer, and fate untimely cuts\ntheir thread; for it is never mentioned by him, but when rumors of war\nand civil tumults put him in mind thereof.\n\nAnd when many hands are armed, and the peace of a city in disorder,\nand the foot of the common soldiers sounds an alarm on his stairs,\nthen perhaps such a one (broken in thoughts of his moneys abroad, and\ncursing the monuments of coin which are in his house) can be content\nto think of death, and (being hasty of perdition) will perhaps hang\nhimself, lest his throat should be cut; provided that he may do it in\nhis study, surrounded with wealth, to which his eye sends a faint and\nlanguishing salute, even upon the turning off; remembering always, that\nhe have time and liberty, by writing, to depute himself as his own heir.\n\nFor that is a great peace to his end, and reconciles him wonderfully\nupon the point.\n\n10. Herein we all dally with ourselves, and are without proof of\nnecessity. I am not of those, that dare promise to pine away myself in\nvainglory, and I hold such to be but feat boldness, and them that dare\ncommit it, to be vain. Yet, for my part, I think nature should do me\ngreat wrong, if I should be so long in dying, as I was in being born.\n\nTo speak truth, no man knows the lists of his own patience, nor can\ndivine how able he shall be in his sufferings, till the storm come (the\nperfectest virtue being tried in action); but I would (out of a care to\ndo the best business well) ever keep a guard, and stand upon keeping\nfaith and a good conscience.\n\n11. And if wishes might find place, I would die together, and not\nmy mind often, and my body once; that is, I would prepare for the\nmessengers of death, sickness, and affliction, and not wait long, or be\nattempted by the violence of pain.\n\nHerein I do not profess myself a Stoic, to hold grief no evil, but\nopinion, and a thing indifferent.\n\nBut I consent with C\u00e6sar, that the suddenest passage is easiest, and\nthere is nothing more awakens our resolve and readiness to die than\nthe quieted conscience, strengthened with opinion that we shall be\nwell spoken of upon earth by those that are just, and of the family\nof virtue; the opposite whereof is a fury to man, and makes even life\nunsweet.\n\nTherefore, what is more heavy than evil fame deserved? Or, likewise,\nwho can see worse days, than he that, yet living, doth follow at the\nfunerals of his own reputation?\n\nI have laid up many hopes, that I am privileged from that kind of\nmourning, and could wish the like peace to all those with whom I wage\nlove.\n\n12. I might say much of the commodities that death can sell a man;\nbut, briefly, death is a friend of ours, and he that is not ready to\nentertain him, is not at home. Whilst I am, my ambition is not to\nforeflow the tide; I have but so to make my interest of it as I may\naccount for it; I would wish nothing but what might better my days,\nnor desire any greater place than the front of good opinion. I make\nnot love to the continuance of days, but to the goodness of them; nor\nwish to die, but refer myself to my hour, which the great Dispenser\nof all things hath appointed me; yet, as I am frail, and suffered for\nthe first fault, were it given me to choose, I should not be earnest to\nsee the evening of my age; that extremity, of itself, being a disease,\nand a mere return into infancy; so that, if perpetuity of life might be\ngiven me, I should think what the Greek poet said; \u201cSuch an age is a\nmortal evil.\u201d And since I must needs be dead, I require it may not be\ndone before mine enemies, that I be not stript before I be cold; but\nbefore my friends. The night is even now: but that name is lost; it is\nnot now late, but early. Mine eyes begin to discharge their watch, and\ncompound with this fleshly weakness for a time of perpetual rest; and\nI shall presently be as happy for a few hours, as I had died the first\nhour I was born.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe earliest antiquity lies buried in silence and oblivion, excepting\nthe remains we have of it in sacred writ. This silence was succeeded by\npoetical fables, and these, at length, by the writings we now enjoy; so\nthat the concealed and secret learning of the ancients seems separated\nfrom the history and knowledge of the following ages by a veil, or\npartition-wall of fables, interposing between the things that are lost\nand those that remain.[615]\n\nMany may imagine that I am here entering upon a work of fancy, or\namusement, and design to use a poetical liberty, in explaining poetical\nfables. It is true, fables, in general, are composed of ductile\nmatter, that may be drawn into great variety by a witty talent or an\ninventive genius, and be delivered of plausible meanings which they\nnever contained. But this procedure has already been carried to excess;\nand great numbers, to procure the sanction of antiquity to their own\nnotions and inventions, have miserably wrested and abused the fables of\nthe ancients.\n\nNor is this only a late or unfrequent practice, but of ancient date\nand common even to this day. Thus Chrysippus, like an interpreter of\ndreams, attributed the opinions of the Stoics to the poets of old;\nand the chemists, at present, more childishly apply the poetical\ntransformations to their experiments of the furnace. And though I\nhave well weighed and considered all this, and thoroughly seen into\nthe levity which the mind indulges for allegories and allusions,\nyet I cannot but retain a high value for the ancient mythology.\nAnd, certainly, it were very injudicious to suffer the fondness and\nlicentiousness of a few to detract from the honor of all ego and\nparable in general. This would be rash, and almost profane; for, since\nreligion delights in such shadows and disguises, to abolish them were,\nin a manner, to prohibit all intercourse betwixt things divine and\nhuman.\n\nUpon deliberate consideration, my judgment is, that a concealed\ninstruction and allegory was originally intended in many of the ancient\nfables. This opinion may, in some respect, be owing to the veneration\nI have for antiquity, but more to observing that some fables discover\na great and evident similitude, relation, and connection with the\nthing they signify, as well in the structure of the fable as in the\npropriety of the names whereby the persons or actors are characterized;\ninsomuch, that no one could positively deny a sense and meaning to\nbe from the first intended, and purposely shadowed out in them. For\nwho can hear that Fame, after the giants were destroyed, sprung up as\ntheir posthumous sister, and not apply it to the clamor of parties\nand the seditious rumors which commonly fly about for a time upon the\nquelling of insurrections? Or who can read how the giant Typhon cut out\nand carried away Jupiter\u2019s sinews\u2014which Mercury afterwards stole, and\nagain restored to Jupiter\u2014and not presently observe that this allegory\ndenotes strong and powerful rebellions, which cut away from kings\ntheir sinews, both of money and authority; and that the way to have\nthem restored is by lenity, affability, and prudent edicts, which soon\nreconcile, and, as it were, steal upon the affections of the subject?\nOr who, upon hearing that memorable expedition of the gods against\nthe giants, when the braying of Silenus\u2019s ass greatly contributed in\nputting the giants to flight, does not clearly conceive that this\ndirectly points at the monstrous enterprises of rebellious subjects,\nwhich are frequently frustrated and disappointed by vain fears and\nempty rumors?\n\nAgain, the conformity and purport of the names is frequently manifest\nand self-evident. Thus Metis, the wife of Jupiter, plainly signifies\ncounsel; Typhon, swelling; Pan, universality; Nemesis, revenge, &c.\nNor is it a wonder, if sometimes a piece of history or other things\nare introduced, by way of ornament; or, if the times of the action are\nconfounded; or, if part of one fable be tacked to another; or, if the\nallegory be new turned; for all this must necessarily happen, as the\nfables were the inventions of men who lived in different ages, and had\ndifferent views; some of them being ancient, others more modern; some\nhaving an eye to natural philosophy, and others to morality or civil\npolicy.\n\nIt may pass for a further indication of a concealed and secret meaning,\nthat some of these fables are so absurd and idle in their narration,\nas to show and proclaim an allegory, even afar off. A fable that\ncarries probability with it may be supposed invented for pleasure, or\nin imitation of history; but those that could never be conceived or\nrelated in this way must surely have a different use. For example,\nwhat a monstrous fiction is this, that Jupiter should take Metis to\nwife, and as soon as he found her pregnant eat her up, whereby he also\nconceived, and out of his head brought forth Pallas armed. Certainly no\nmortal could, but for the sake of the moral it couches, invent such an\nabsurd dream as this, so much out of the road of thought!\n\nBut the argument of most weight with me is this, that many of these\nfables by no means appear to have been invented by the persons who\nrelate and divulge them, whether Homer, Hesiod, or others; for if I\nwere assured they first flowed from those later times and authors that\ntransmit them to us, I should never expect any thing singularly great\nor noble from such an origin. But whoever attentively considers the\nthing, will find that these fables are delivered down and related by\nthose writers, not as matters then first invented and proposed, but\nas things received and embraced in earlier ages. Besides, as they are\ndifferently related by writers nearly of the same ages, it is easily\nperceived that the relators drew from the common stock of ancient\ntradition, and varied but in point of embellishment, which is their\nown. And this principally raises my esteem of these fables, which I\nreceive, not as the product of the age, or invention of the poets, but\nas sacred relics, gentle whispers, and the breath of better times,\nthat from the traditions of more ancient nations came, at length,\ninto the flutes and trumpets of the Greeks. But if any one shall,\nnotwithstanding this, contend that allegories are always adventitious,\nor imposed upon the ancient fables, and no way native or genuinely\ncontained in them, we might here leave him undisturbed in that gravity\nof judgment he affects (though we cannot help accounting it somewhat\ndull and phlegmatic), and, if it were worth the trouble, proceed to\nanother kind of argument.\n\nMen have proposed to answer two different and contrary ends by the\nuse of parable; for parables serve as well to instruct or illustrate\nas to wrap up and envelop; so that though, for the present, we drop\nthe concealed use, and suppose the ancient fables to be vague,\nundeterminate things, formed for amusement, still, the other use must\nremain, and can never be given up. And every man, of any learning,\nmust readily allow that this method of instructing is grave, sober,\nor exceedingly useful, and sometimes necessary in the sciences, as\nit opens an easy and familiar passage to the human understanding,\nin all new discoveries that are abstruse and out of the road of\nvulgar opinions. Hence, in the first ages, when such inventions and\nconclusions of the human reason as are now trite and common were\nnew and little known, all things abounded with fables, parables,\nsimiles, comparisons, and allusions, which were not intended to\nconceal, but to inform and teach, whilst the minds of men continued\nrude and unpractised in matters of subtilty and speculation, or even\nimpatient, and in a manner incapable of receiving such things as did\nnot fall directly under and strike the senses. For as hieroglyphics\nwere in use before writing, so were parables in use before arguments.\nAnd even to this day, if any man would let new light in upon the\nhuman understanding, and conquer prejudice, without raising contests,\nanimosities, opposition, or disturbance, he must still go in the same\npath, and have recourse to the like method of allegory, metaphor, and\nallusion.\n\nTo conclude, the knowledge of the early ages was either great or happy;\ngreat, if they by design made this use of trope and figure; happy,\nif, whilst they had other views, they afforded matter and occasion to\nsuch noble contemplations. Let either be the case, our pains, perhaps,\nwill not be misemployed, whether we illustrate antiquity or things\nthemselves.\n\nThe like, indeed, has been attempted by others; but, to speak\ningenuously, their great and voluminous labors have almost destroyed\nthe energy, the efficacy, and grace of the thing; whilst, being\nunskilled in nature, and their learning no more than that of\ncommonplace, they have applied the sense of the parables to certain\ngeneral and vulgar matters, without reaching to their real purport,\ngenuine interpretation, and full depth. For myself, therefore, I expect\nto appear new in these common things, because, leaving untouched such\nas are sufficiently plain and open, I shall drive only at those that\nare either deep or rich.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS.\n\nA SERIES OF MYTHOLOGICAL FABLES.[616]\n\n\n\n\nI.\u2014CASSANDRA, OR DIVINATION.\n\nEXPLAINED OF TOO FREE AND UNSEASONABLE ADVICE.\n\n\nThe poets relate, that Apollo, falling in love with Cassandra, was\nstill deluded and put off by her, yet fed with hopes, till she had got\nfrom him the gift of prophesy; and, having now obtained her end, she\nflatly rejected his suit. Apollo, unable to recall his rash gift, yet\nenraged to be outwitted by a girl, annexed this penalty to it, that\nthough she should always prophesy true, she should never be believed;\nwhence her divinations were always slighted, even when she again and\nagain predicted the ruin of her country.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems invented to express the insignificance\nof unseasonable advice. For they who are conceited, stubborn, or\nintractable, and listen not to the instructions of Apollo, the god of\nharmony, so as to learn and observe the modulations and measures of\naffairs, the sharps and flats of discourse, the difference between\njudicious and vulgar ears, and the proper times of speech and silence,\nlet them be ever so intelligent, and ever so frank of their advice, or\ntheir counsels ever so good and just, yet all their endeavors, either\nof persuasion or force, are of little significance, and rather hasten\nthe ruin of those they advise. But, at last, when the calamitous event\nhas made the sufferers feel the effect of their neglect, they too late\nreverence their advisers, as deep, foreseeing, and faithful prophets.\n\nOf this, we have a remarkable instance in Cato of Utica, who discovered\nafar off, and long foretold, the approaching ruin of his country,\nboth in the first conspiracy, and as it was prosecuted in the civil\nwar between C\u00e6sar and Pompey, yet did no good the while, but rather\nhurt the commonwealth, and hurried on its destruction, which Cicero\nwisely observed in these words: \u201cCato, indeed, judges excellently, but\nprejudices the state; for he speaks as in the commonwealth of Plato,\nand not as in the dregs of Romulus.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nII.\u2014TYPHON, OR A REBEL.\n\nEXPLAINED OF REBELLION.\n\n\nThe fable runs, that Juno, enraged at Jupiter\u2019s bringing forth Pallas\nwithout her assistance, incessantly solicited all the gods and\ngoddesses, that she might produce without Jupiter; and having by\nviolence and importunity obtained the grant, she struck the earth, and\nthence immediately sprung up Typhon, a huge and dreadful monster, whom\nshe committed to the nursing of a serpent. As soon as he was grown\nup, this monster waged war on Jupiter, and taking him prisoner in the\nbattle, carried him away on his shoulders, into a remote and obscure\nquarter; and there, cutting out the sinews of his hands and feet, he\nbore them off, leaving Jupiter behind miserably maimed and mangled.\n\nBut Mercury afterwards stole these sinews from Typhon, and restored\nthem to Jupiter. Hence, recovering his strength, Jupiter again pursues\nthe monster; first wounds him with a stroke of his thunder, when\nserpents arose from the blood of the wound; and now the monster being\ndismayed, and taking to flight, Jupiter next darted Mount \u00c6tna upon\nhim, and crushed him with the weight.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems designed to express the various fates\nof kings, and the turns that rebellions sometimes take, in kingdoms.\nFor princes may be justly esteemed married to their states, as Jupiter\nto Juno; but it sometimes happens, that, being depraved by long\nwielding of the sceptre, and growing tyrannical, they would engross\nall to themselves, and, slighting the counsel of their senators and\nnobles, conceive by themselves; that is, govern according to their own\narbitrary will and pleasure. This inflames the people, and makes them\nendeavor to create and set up some head of their own. Such designs\nare generally set on foot by the secret motion and instigation of the\npeers and nobles, under whose connivance the common sort are prepared\nfor rising; whence proceeds a swell in the state, which is appositely\ndenoted by the nursing of Typhon. This growing posture of affairs is\nfed by the natural depravity and malignant dispositions of the vulgar,\nwhich to kings is an envenomed serpent. And now the disaffected,\nuniting their force, at length break out into open rebellion, which,\nproducing infinite mischiefs, both to prince and people, is represented\nby the horrid and multiplied deformity of Typhon, with his hundred\nheads, denoting the divided powers; his flaming mouths, denoting\nfire and devastation; his girdles of snakes, denoting sieges and\ndestruction; his iron hands, slaughter and cruelty; his eagle\u2019s talons,\nrapine and plunder; his plumed body, perpetual rumors, contradictory\naccounts, &c. And sometimes these rebellions grow so high, that kings\nare obliged, as if carried on the backs of the rebels, to quit the\nthrone, and retire to some remote and obscure part of their dominions,\nwith the loss of their sinews, both of money and majesty.\n\nBut if now they prudently bear this reverse of fortune, they may, in a\nshort time, by the assistance of Mercury, recover their sinews again;\nthat is, by becoming moderate and affable; reconciling the minds and\naffections of the people to them, by gracious speeches and prudent\nproclamations, which will win over the subject cheerfully to afford\nnew aids and supplies, and add fresh vigor to authority. But prudent\nand wary princes here seldom incline to try fortune by a war, yet do\ntheir utmost, by some grand exploit, to crush the reputation of the\nrebels; and if the attempt succeeds, the rebels, conscious of the wound\nreceived, and distrustful of their cause, first betake themselves to\nbroken and empty threats, like the hissings of serpents; and next, when\nmatters are grown desperate, to flight. And now, when they thus begin\nto shrink, it is safe and seasonable for kings to pursue them with\ntheir forces, and the whole strength of the kingdom; thus effectually\nquashing and suppressing them, as it were by the weight of a mountain.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\u2014THE CYCLOPS, OR THE MINISTERS OF TERROR.\n\nEXPLAINED OF BASE COURT OFFICERS.\n\n\nIt is related that the Cyclops, for their savageness and cruelty,\nwere by Jupiter first thrown into Tartarus, and there condemned to\nperpetual imprisonment; but that afterwards Tellus persuaded Jupiter it\nwould be for his service to release them, and employ them in forging\nthunderbolts. This he accordingly did; and they, with unwearied pains\nand diligence, hammered out his bolts, and other instruments of terror,\nwith a frightful and continual din of the anvil.\n\nIt happened, long after, that Jupiter was displeased with \u00c6sculapius,\nthe son of Apollo, for having, by the art of medicine, restored a\ndead man to life; but concealing his indignation, because the action\nin itself was pious and illustrious, he secretly incensed the Cyclops\nagainst him, who, without remorse, presently slew him with their\nthunderbolts: in revenge whereof, Apollo, with Jupiter\u2019s connivance,\nshot them all dead with his arrows.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to point at the behavior of princes,\nwho, having cruel, bloody, and oppressive ministers, first punish\nand displace them; but afterwards, by the advice of Tellus, that is,\nsome earthly-minded and ignoble person, employ them again, to serve\na turn, when there is occasion for cruelty in execution, or severity\nin exaction; but these ministers being base in their nature, whet by\ntheir former disgrace, and well aware of what is expected from them,\nuse double diligence in their office; till, proceeding unwarily, and\nover-eager to gain favor, they sometimes, from the private nods, and\nambiguous orders of their prince, perform some odious or execrable\naction: when princes, to decline the envy themselves, and knowing they\nshall never want such tools at their back, drop them, and give them\nup to the friends and followers of the injured person; thus exposing\nthem, as sacrifices to revenge and popular odium: whence, with great\napplause, acclamations, and good wishes to the prince, these miscreants\nat last meet with their desert.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\u2014NARCISSUS, OR SELF-LOVE.\n\n\nNarcissus is said to have been extremely beautiful and comely, but\nintolerably proud and disdainful; so that, pleased with himself, and\nscorning the world, he led a solitary life in the woods; hunting only\nwith a few followers, who were his professed admirers, amongst whom the\nnymph Echo was his constant attendant. In this method of life, it was\nonce his fate to approach a clear fountain, where he laid himself down\nto rest, in the noonday heat; when, beholding his image in the water,\nhe fell into such a rapture and admiration of himself, that he could by\nno means be got away, but remained continually fixed and gazing, till\nat length he was turned into a flower, of his own name, which appears\nearly in the spring, and is consecrated to the infernal deities, Pluto,\nProserpine, and the Furies.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to paint the behavior and fortune of\nthose, who, for their beauty, or other endowments, wherewith nature\n(without any industry of their own) has graced and adorned them,\nare extravagantly fond of themselves: for men of such a disposition\ngenerally affect retirement, and absence from public affairs; as a\nlife of business must necessarily subject them to many neglects and\ncontempts, which might disturb and ruffle their minds: whence such\npersons commonly lead a solitary, private, and shadowy life: see little\ncompany, and those only such as highly admire and reverence them; or,\nlike an echo, assent to all they say.\n\nAnd they who are depraved, and rendered still fonder of themselves by\nthis custom, grow strangely indolent, inactive, and perfectly stupid.\nThe Narcissus, a spring flower, is an elegant emblem of this temper,\nwhich at first flourishes, and is talked of, but, when ripe, frustrates\nthe expectation conceived of it.\n\nAnd that this flower should be sacred to the infernal powers, carries\nout the allusion still further; because men of this humor are perfectly\nuseless in all respects: for whatever yields no fruit, but passes, and\nis no more, like the way of a ship in the sea, was by the ancients\nconsecrated to the infernal shades and powers.\n\n\n\n\nV.\u2014THE RIVER STYX, OR LEAGUES.\n\nEXPLAINED OF NECESSITY, IN THE OATHS OR SOLEMN LEAGUES OF PRINCES.\n\n\nThe only solemn oath, by which the gods irrevocably obliged themselves,\nis a well known thing, and makes a part of many ancient fables. To this\noath they did not invoke any celestial divinity, or divine attribute,\nbut only called to witness the River Styx, which, with many meanders,\nsurrounds the infernal court of Dis. For this form alone, and none\nbut this, was held inviolable and obligatory; and the punishment of\nfalsifying it, was that dreaded one of being excluded, for a certain\nnumber of years, the table of the gods.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems invented to show the nature of the\ncompacts and confederacies of princes; which, though ever so solemnly\nand religiously sworn to, prove but little the more binding for it: so\nthat oaths, in this case, seem used rather for decorum, reputation, and\nceremony, than for fidelity, security, and effectuating. And though\nthese oaths were strengthened with the bonds of affinity, which are\nthe links and ties of nature, and again, by mutual services and good\noffices, yet we see all this will generally give way to ambition,\nconvenience, and the thirst of power: the rather, because it is easy\nfor princes, under various specious pretences, to defend, disguise,\nand conceal their ambitious desires and insincerity, having no judge\nto call them to account. There is, however, one true and proper\nconfirmation of their faith, though no celestial divinity, but that\ngreat divinity of princes, Necessity; or, the danger of the state; and\nthe securing of advantage.\n\nThis necessity is elegantly represented by Styx, the fatal river that\ncan never be crossed back. And this deity it was, which Iphicrates the\nAthenian invoked in making a league; and because he roundly and openly\navows what most others studiously conceal, it may be proper to give\nhis own words. Observing that the Laced\u00e6monians were inventing and\nproposing a variety of securities, sanctions, and bonds of alliance,\nhe interrupted them thus: \u201cThere may, indeed, my friends, be one bond\nand means of security between us; and that is, for you to demonstrate\nyou have delivered into our hands, such things as that, if you had the\ngreatest desire to hurt us, you could not be able.\u201d Therefore, if the\npower of offending be taken away, or if, by a breach of compact, there\nbe danger of destruction or diminution to the state or tribute, then\nit is that covenants will be ratified, and confirmed, as it were by\nthe Stygian oath, whilst there remains an impending danger of being\nprohibited and excluded the banquet of the gods; by which expression\nthe ancients denoted the rights and prerogatives, the affluence and the\nfelicities, of empire and dominion.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\u2014PAN, OR NATURE.[617]\n\nEXPLAINED OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nThe ancients have, with great exactness, delineated universal nature\nunder the person of Pan. They leave his origin doubtful; some asserting\nhim the son of Mercury, and others the common offspring of all\nPenelope\u2019s suitors. The latter supposition doubtless occasioned some\nlater rivals to entitle this ancient fable Penelope; a thing frequently\npractised when the earlier relations are applied to more modern\ncharacters and persons, though sometimes with great absurdity and\nignorance, as in the present case; for Pan was one of the ancientest\ngods, and long before the time of Ulysses; besides, Penelope was\nvenerated by antiquity for her matronal chastity. A third sort will\nhave him the issue of Jupiter and Hybris, that is, Reproach. But\nwhatever his origin was, the Destinies are allowed his sisters.\n\nHe is described by antiquity, with pyramidal horns reaching up to\nheaven, a rough and shaggy body, a very long beard, of a biform figure,\nhuman above, half brute below, ending in goat\u2019s feet. His arms, or\nensigns of power, are, a pipe in his left hand, composed of seven\nreeds; in his right a crook; and he wore for his mantle a leopard\u2019s\nskin.\n\nHis attributes and titles were the god of hunters, shepherds, and all\nthe rural inhabitants; president of the mountains; and, after Mercury,\nthe next messenger of the gods. He was also held the leader and ruler\nof the Nymphs, who continually danced and frisked about him, attended\nwith the Satyrs and their elders, the Sileni. He had also the power\nof striking terrors, especially such as were vain and superstitious;\nwhence they came to be called panic terrors.[618]\n\nFew actions are recorded of him; only a principal one is, that he\nchallenged Cupid at wrestling, and was worsted. He also catched the\ngiant Typhon in a net, and held him fast. They relate further of him,\nthat when Ceres, growing disconsolate for the rape of Proserpine, hid\nherself, and all the gods took the utmost pains to find her, by going\nout different ways for that purpose, Pan only had the good fortune\nto meet her, as he was hunting, and discovered her to the rest. He\nlikewise had the assurance to rival Apollo in music, and in the\njudgment of Midas was preferred; but the judge had, though with great\nprivacy and secrecy, a pair of ass\u2019s ears fastened on him for his\nsentence.[619]\n\nThere is very little said of his amours; which may seem strange among\nsuch a multitude of gods, so profusely amorous. He is only reported to\nhave been very fond of Echo, who was also esteemed his wife; and one\nnymph more, called Syrinx, with the love of whom Cupid inflamed him for\nhis insolent challenge; so he is reported once to have solicited the\nmoon to accompany him apart into the deep woods.\n\nLastly, Pan had no descendant, which also is a wonder, when the male\ngods were so extremely prolific; only he was the reputed father of\na servant-girl called Iambe, who used to divert strangers with her\nridiculous prattling stories.\n\nThis fable is perhaps the noblest of all antiquity, and pregnant\nwith the mysteries and secrets of nature. Pan, as the name imports,\nrepresents the universe, about whose origin there are two opinions,\nviz: that it either sprung from Mercury, that is, the divine word,\naccording to the Scriptures and philosophical divines, or from the\nconfused seeds of things. For they who allow only one beginning of\nall things, either ascribe it to God, or, if they suppose a material\nbeginning, acknowledge it to be various in its powers; so that the\nwhole dispute comes to these points, viz: either that nature proceeds\nfrom Mercury, or from Penelope and all her suitors.[620]\n\nThe third origin of Pan seems borrowed by the Greeks from the Hebrew\nmysteries, either by means of the Egyptians, or otherwise; for it\nrelates to the state of the world, not in its first creation, but\nas made subject to death and corruption after the fall; and in this\nstate it was and remains, the offspring of God and Sin, or Jupiter and\nReproach. And therefore these three several accounts of Pan\u2019s birth\nmay seem true, if duly distinguished in respect of things and times.\nFor this Pan, or the universal nature of things, which we view and\ncontemplate, had its origin from the divine word and confused matter,\nfirst created by God himself, with the subsequent introduction of sin,\nand, consequently, corruption.\n\nThe Destinies, or the natures and fates of things, are justly made\nPan\u2019s sisters, as the chain of natural causes links together the rise,\nduration, and corruption; the exaltation, degeneration, and workings;\nthe processes, the effects, and changes, of all that can any way happen\nto things.\n\nHorns are given him, broad at the roots, but narrow and sharp at the\ntop, because the nature of all things seems pyramidal; for individuals\nare infinite, but being collected into a variety of species, they\nrise up into kinds, and these again ascend, and are contracted into\ngenerals, till at length nature may seem collected to a point. And no\nwonder if Pan\u2019s horns reach to the heavens, since the sublimities of\nnature, or abstract ideas, reach in a manner to things divine; for\nthere is a short and ready passage from metaphysics to natural theology.\n\nPan\u2019s body, or the body of nature, is, with great propriety and\nelegance, painted shaggy and hairy, as representing the rays of things;\nfor rays are as the hair or fleece of nature, and more or less worn by\nall bodies. This evidently appears in vision, and in all effects and\noperations at a distance; for whatever operates thus, may be properly\nsaid to emit rays.[621] But particularly the beard of Pan is exceeding\nlong, because the rays of the celestial bodies penetrate, and act to a\nprodigious distance, and have descended into the interior of the earth,\nso far as to change its surface; and the sun himself, when clouded on\nits upper part, appears to the eye bearded.\n\nAgain, the body of nature is justly described biform, because of the\ndifference between its superior and inferior parts, as the former, for\ntheir beauty, regularity of motion, and influence over the earth, may\nbe properly represented by the human figure, and the latter, because of\ntheir disorder, irregularity, and subjection to the celestial bodies,\nare by the brutal. This biform figure also represents the participation\nof one species with another; for there appear to be no simple natures,\nbut all participate or consist of two: thus, man has somewhat of the\nbrute, the brute somewhat of the plant, the plant somewhat of the\nmineral; so that all natural bodies have really two faces, or consist\nof a superior and an inferior species.\n\nThere lies a curious allegory in the making of Pan goat-footed, on\naccount of the motion of ascent which the terrestrial bodies have\ntowards the air and heavens; for the goat is a clambering creature,\nthat delights in climbing up rocks and precipices; and in the same\nmanner the matters destined to this lower globe strongly affect to rise\nupwards, as appears from the clouds and meteors.\n\nPan\u2019s arms, or the ensigns he bears in his hands, are of two kinds\u2014the\none an emblem of harmony, the other of empire. His pipe, composed of\nseven reeds, plainly denotes the consent and harmony, or the concords\nand discords of things, produced by the motion of the seven planets.\nHis crook, also, contains a fine representation of the ways of nature,\nwhich are partly straight and partly crooked; thus the staff, having\nan extraordinary bend towards the top, denotes that the works of\nDivine Providence are generally brought about by remote means, or in\na circuit, as if somewhat else were intended rather than the effect\nproduced, as in the sending of Joseph into Egypt, &c. So likewise in\nhuman government, they who sit at the helm, manage and wind the people\nmore successfully by pretext and oblique courses, than they could by\nsuch as are direct and straight; so that, in effect, all sceptres are\ncrooked at the top.\n\nPan\u2019s mantle, or clothing, is with great ingenuity made of a leopard\u2019s\nskin, because of the spots it has; for in like manner the heavens are\nsprinkled with stars, the sea with islands, the earth with flowers, and\nalmost each particular thing is variegated, or wears a mottled coat.\n\nThe office of Pan could not be more livelily expressed than by making\nhim the god of hunters; for every natural action, every motion and\nprocess, is no other than a chase. Thus arts and sciences hunt out\ntheir works, and human schemes and counsels their several ends; and all\nliving creatures either hunt out their aliment, pursue their prey, or\nseek their pleasures, and this in a skilful and sagacious manner.[622]\nHe is also styled the god of the rural inhabitants, because men in this\nsituation live more according to nature than they do in cities and\ncourts, where nature is so corrupted with effeminate arts, that the\nsaying of the poet may be verified:\u2014\n\n \u2014pars minima est ipsa puella sui.[623]\n\nHe is likewise particularly styled President of the Mountains, because\nin mountains and lofty places the nature of things lies more open and\nexposed to the eye and the understanding.\n\nIn his being called the messenger of the gods, next after Mercury, lies\na divine allegory, as next after the Word of God, the image of the\nworld is the herald of the Divine power and wisdom, according to the\nexpression of the Psalmist: \u201cThe heavens declare the glory of God, and\nthe firmament showeth his handiwork.\u201d[624]\n\nPan is delighted with the company of the Nymphs, that is, the souls of\nall living creatures are the delight of the world; and he is properly\ncalled their governor, because each of them follows its own nature, as\na leader, and all dance about their own respective rings, with infinite\nvariety and never-ceasing motion. And with these continually join the\nSatyrs and Sileni, that is, youth and age; for all things have a kind\nof young, cheerful, and dancing time; and again their time of slowness,\ntottering, and creeping. And whoever, in a true light, considers the\nmotions and endeavors of both these ages, like another Democritus, will\nperhaps find them as odd and strange as the gesticulations and antic\nmotions of the Satyrs and Sileni.\n\nThe power he had of striking terrors contains a very sensible doctrine;\nfor nature has implanted fear in all living creatures, as well to\nkeep them from risking their lives, as to guard against injuries and\nviolence; and yet this nature or passion keeps not its bounds, but with\njust and profitable fears always mixes such as are vain and senseless;\nso that all things, if we could see their insides, would appear full\nof panic terrors. Thus mankind, particularly the vulgar, labor under a\nhigh degree of superstition, which is nothing more than a panic-dread,\nthat principally reigns in unsettled and troublesome times.\n\nThe presumption of Pan in challenging Cupid to the conflict denotes\nthat matter has an appetite and tendency to a dissolution of the world,\nand falling back to its first chaos again, unless this depravity and\ninclination were restrained and subdued by a more powerful concord\nand agreement of things, properly expressed by Love, or Cupid: it is\ntherefore well for mankind, and the state of all things, that Pan was\nthrown and conquered in the struggle.\n\nHis catching and detaining Typhon in the net receives a similar\nexplanation; for whatever vast and unusual swells, which the word\ntyphon signifies, may sometimes be raised in nature, as in the sea,\nthe clouds, the earth, or the like, yet nature catches, entangles, and\nholds all such outrages and insurrections in her inextricable net,\nwove, as it were, of adamant.\n\nThat part of the fable which attributes the discovery of lost Ceres to\nPan whilst he was hunting\u2014a happiness denied the other gods, though\nthey diligently and expressly sought her\u2014contains an exceeding just\nand prudent admonition; viz: that we are not to expect the discovery\nof things useful in common life, as that of corn, denoted by Ceres,\nfrom abstract philosophies, as if these were the gods of the first\norder,\u2014no, not though we used our utmost endeavors this way,\u2014but only\nfrom Pan; that is, a sagacious experience and general knowledge of\nnature, which is often found, even by accident, to stumble upon such\ndiscoveries whilst the pursuit was directed another way.\n\nThe event of his contending with Apollo in music affords us a useful\ninstruction, that may help to humble the human reason and judgment,\nwhich is too apt to boast and glory in itself. There seem to be two\nkinds of harmony,\u2014the one of Divine providence, the other of human\nreason; but the government of the world, the administration of its\naffairs, and the more secret Divine judgments, sound harsh and\ndissonant to human ears or human judgment; and though this ignorance\nbe justly rewarded with asses\u2019 ears, yet they are put on and worn, not\nopenly, but with great secrecy; nor is the deformity of the thing seen\nor observed by the vulgar.\n\nWe must not find it strange if no amours are related of Pan besides his\nmarriage with Echo; for nature enjoys itself, and in itself all other\nthings. He that loves, desires enjoyment, but in profusion there is no\nroom for desire; and therefore Pan, remaining content with himself,\nhas no passion unless it be for discourse, which is well shadowed\nout by Echo, or talk, or, when it is more accurate, by Syrinx, or\nwriting.[625] But Echo makes a most excellent wife for Pan, as being no\nother than genuine philosophy, which faithfully repeats his words, or\nonly transcribes exactly as nature dictates; thus representing the true\nimage and reflection of the world without adding a tittle.\n\nIt tends, also, to the support and perfection of Pan, or nature, to be\nwithout offspring; for the world generates in its parts, and not in\nthe way of a whole, as wanting a body external to itself wherewith to\ngenerate.\n\nLastly, for the supposed or spurious prattling daughter of Pan, it is\nan excellent addition to the fable, and aptly represents the talkative\nphilosophies that have at all times been stirring, and filled the\nworld with idle tales; being ever barren, empty, and servile, though\nsometimes indeed diverting and entertaining, and sometimes again\ntroublesome and importunate.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\u2014PERSEUS,[626] OR WAR.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE PREPARATION AND CONDUCT NECESSARY TO WAR.\n\n\n\u201cThe fable relates, that Perseus was dispatched from the east, by\nPallas, to cut off Medusa\u2019s head, who had committed great ravage upon\nthe people of the west; for this Medusa was so dire a monster, as to\nturn into stone all those who but looked upon her. She was a Gorgon,\nand the only mortal one of the three, the other two being invulnerable.\nPerseus, therefore, preparing himself for this grand enterprise, had\npresents made him from three of the gods: Mercury gave him wings for\nhis heels; Pluto, a helmet; and Pallas, a shield and a mirror. But,\nthough he was now so well equipped, he posted not directly to Medusa,\nbut first turned aside to the Gre\u00e6, who were half-sisters to the\nGorgons. These Gre\u00e6 were grayheaded, and like old women, from their\nbirth, having among them all three but one eye, and one tooth, which,\nas they had occasion to go out, they each wore by turns, and laid them\ndown again upon coming back. This eye and this tooth they lent to\nPerseus, who now judging himself sufficiently furnished, he, without\nfurther stop, flies swiftly away to Medusa, and finds her asleep.\nBut not venturing his eyes, for fear she should wake, he turned his\nhead aside, and viewed her in Pallas\u2019s mirror, and thus directing his\nstroke, cut off her head; when immediately, from the gushing blood,\nthere darted Pegasus winged. Perseus now inserted Medusa\u2019s head into\nPallas\u2019s shield, which thence retained the faculty of astonishing and\nbenumbing all who looked on it.\u201d\n\nThis fable seems invented to show the prudent method of choosing,\nundertaking, and conducting a war; and, accordingly, lays down three\nuseful precepts about it, as if they were the precepts of Pallas.\n\nThe first is, that no prince should be over-solicitous to subdue a\nneighboring nation; for the method of enlarging an empire is very\ndifferent from that of increasing an estate. Regard is justly had to\ncontiguity, or adjacency, in private lands and possessions; but in\nthe extending of empire, the occasion, the facility, and advantage of\na war, are to be regarded instead of vicinity. It is certain that the\nRomans, at the time they stretched but little beyond Liguria to the\nwest, had by their arms subdued the provinces as far as Mount Taurus to\nthe east. And thus Perseus readily undertook a very long expedition,\neven from the east to the extremities of the west.\n\nThe second precept is, that the cause of the war be just and honorable;\nfor this adds alacrity both to the soldiers, and the people who\nfind the supplies; procures aids, alliances, and numerous other\nconveniences. Now there is no cause of war more just and laudable than\nthe suppressing of tyranny; by which a people are dispirited, benumbed,\nor left without life and vigor, as at the sight of Medusa.\n\nLastly, it is prudently added, that, as there were three of the\nGorgons, who represent war, Perseus singled her out for this expedition\nthat was mortal; which affords this precept, that such kind of wars\nshould be chose as may be brought to a conclusion without pursuing vast\nand infinite hopes.\n\nAgain, Perseus\u2019s setting-out is extremely well adapted to his\nundertaking, and in a manner commands success; he received dispatch\nfrom Mercury, secrecy from Pluto, and foresight from Pallas. It also\ncontains an excellent allegory, that the wings given him by Mercury\nwere for his heels, not for his shoulders; because expedition is not so\nmuch required in the first preparations for war, as in the subsequent\nmatters, that administer to the first; for there is no error more\nfrequent in war, than, after brisk preparations, to halt for subsidiary\nforces and effective supplies.\n\nThe allegory of Pluto\u2019s helmet, rendering men invisible and secret,\nis sufficiently evident of itself; but the mystery of the shield and\nthe mirror lies deeper; and denotes, that not only a prudent caution\nmust be had to defend, like the shield, but also such an address and\npenetration as may discover the strength, the motions, the counsels,\nand designs of the enemy; like the mirror of Pallas.\n\nBut though Perseus may now seem extremely well prepared, there still\nremains the most important thing of all; before he enters upon the\nwar, he must of necessity consult the Gre\u00e6. These Gre\u00e6 are treasons;\nhalf, but degenerate sisters of the Gorgons; who are representatives of\nwars; for wars are generous and noble; but treasons base and vile. The\nGre\u00e6 are elegantly described as hoary-headed, and like old women from\ntheir birth; on account of the perpetual cares, fears, and trepidations\nattending traitors. Their force, also, before it breaks out into\nopen revolt, consists either in an eye or a tooth; for all faction,\nalienated from a state, is both watchful and biting; and this eye and\ntooth are, as it were, common to all the disaffected; because whatever\nthey learn and know is transmitted from one to another, as by the hands\nof faction. And for the tooth, they all bite with the same: and clamor\nwith one throat; so that each of them singly expresses the multitude.\n\nThese Gre\u00e6, therefore, must be prevailed upon by Perseus to lend him\ntheir eye and their tooth; the eye to give him indications, and make\ndiscoveries; the tooth for sowing rumors, raising envy, and stirring up\nthe minds of the people. And when all these things are thus disposed\nand prepared, then follows the action of the war.\n\nHe finds Medusa asleep; for whoever undertakes a war with prudence,\ngenerally falls upon the enemy unprepared, and nearly in a state of\nsecurity; and here is the occasion for Pallas\u2019s mirror: for it is\ncommon enough, before the danger presents itself, to see exactly into\nthe state and posture of the enemy; but the principal use of the glass\nis, in the very instant of danger, to discover the manner thereof, and\nprevent consternation; which is the thing intended by Perseus\u2019s turning\nhis head aside, and viewing the enemy in the glass.[627]\n\nTwo effects here follow the conquest: 1. The darting forth of Pegasus;\nwhich evidently denotes fame, that flies abroad, proclaiming the\nvictory far and near. 2. The bearing of Medusa\u2019s head in the shield,\nwhich is the greatest possible defence and safeguard; for one grand and\nmemorable enterprise, happily accomplished, bridles all the motions and\nattempts of the enemy, stupefies disaffection, and quells commotions.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\u2014ENDYMION, OR A FAVORITE.\n\nEXPLAINED OF COURT FAVORITES.\n\n\nThe goddess Luna is said to have fallen in love with the shepherd\nEndymion, and to have carried on her amours with him in a new and\nsingular manner; it being her custom, whilst he lay reposing in his\nnative cave, under Mount Latmus, to descend frequently from her sphere,\nenjoy his company whilst he slept, and then go up to heaven again.\nAnd all this while, Endymion\u2019s fortune was no way prejudiced by his\nunactive and sleepy life, the goddess causing his flocks to thrive,\nand grow so exceeding numerous, that none of the other shepherds could\ncompare with him.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to describe the tempers and dispositions\nof princes, who, being thoughtful and suspicious, do not easily admit\nto their privacies such men as are prying, curious, and vigilant, or,\nas it were, sleepless; but rather such as are of an easy, obliging\nnature, and indulge them in their pleasures, without seeking anything\nfurther; but seeming ignorant, insensible, or, as it were, lulled\nasleep before them.[628] Princes usually treat such persons familiarly;\nand quitting their throne, like Luna, think they may, with safety,\nunbosom to them. This temper was very remarkable in Tiberius, a prince\nexceedingly difficult to please, and who had no favorites but those\nthat perfectly understood his way, and, at the same time, obstinately\ndissembled their knowledge, almost to a degree of stupidity.\n\nThe cave is not improperly mentioned in the fable; it being a common\nthing for the favorites of a prince to have their pleasant retreats,\nwhither to invite him, by way of relaxation, though without prejudice\nto their own fortunes; these favorites usually making a good provision\nfor themselves.\n\nFor though their prince should not, perhaps, promote them to dignities,\nyet, out of real affection, and not only for convenience, they\ngenerally feel the enriching influence of his bounty.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\u2014THE SISTER OF THE GIANTS, OR FAME.\n\nEXPLAINED OF PUBLIC DETRACTION.\n\n\nThe poets relate, that the giants, produced from the earth, made war\nupon Jupiter, and the other gods, but were repulsed and conquered by\nthunder; whereat the earth, provoked, brought forth Fame, the youngest\nsister of the giants, in revenge for the death of her sons.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The meaning of the fable seems to be this: the earth\ndenotes the nature of the vulgar, who are always swelling, and rising\nagainst their rulers, and endeavoring at changes. This disposition,\ngetting a fit opportunity, breeds rebels and traitors, who, with\nimpetuous rage, threaten and contrive the overthrow and destruction of\nprinces.\n\nAnd when brought under and subdued, the same vile and restless nature\nof the people, impatient of peace, produces rumors, detractions,\nslanders, libels, &c., to blacken those in authority; so that\nrebellious actions and seditious rumors, differ not in origin and\nstock, but only, as it were, in sex; treasons and rebellions being the\nbrothers, and scandal or detraction the sister.\n\n\n\n\nX.\u2014ACTEON AND PENTHEUS, OR A CURIOUS MAN.\n\nEXPLAINED OF CURIOSITY, OR PRYING INTO THE SECRETS OF PRINCES AND\nDIVINE MYSTERIES.\n\n\nThe ancients afford us two examples for suppressing the impertinent\ncuriosity of mankind, in diving into secrets, and imprudently longing\nand endeavoring to discover them. The one of these is in the person\nof Acteon, and the other in that of Pentheus. Acteon, undesignedly\nchancing to see Diana naked, was turned into a stag, and torn to pieces\nby his own hounds. And Pentheus, desiring to pry into the hidden\nmysteries of Bacchus\u2019s sacrifice, and climbing a tree for that purpose,\nwas struck with a frenzy. This frenzy of Pentheus caused him to see\nthings double, particularly the sun, and his own city, Thebes, so that\nrunning homewards, and immediately espying another Thebes, he runs\ntowards that; and thus continues incessantly, tending first to the one,\nand then to the other, without coming at either.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The first of these fables may relate to the secrets of\nprinces, and the second to divine mysteries. For they who are not\nintimate with a prince, yet, against his will, have a knowledge of\nhis secrets, inevitably incur his displeasure; and therefore, being\naware that they are singled out, and all opportunities watched against\nthem, they lead the life of a stag, full of fears and suspicions. It\nlikewise frequently happens that their servants and domestics accuse\nthem, and plot their overthrow, in order to procure favor with the\nprince; for whenever the king manifests his displeasure, the person it\nfalls upon must expect his servants to betray him, and worry him down,\nas Acteon was worried by his own dogs.\n\nThe punishment of Pentheus is of another kind; for they who, unmindful\nof their mortal state, rashly aspire to divine mysteries, by climbing\nthe heights of nature and philosophy, here represented by climbing a\ntree,\u2014their fate is perpetual inconstancy, perplexity, and instability\nof judgment. For as there is one light of nature, and another\nlight that is divine, they see, as it were, two suns. And as the\nactions of life, and the determinations of the will, depend upon the\nunderstanding, they are distracted as much in opinion as in will; and\ntherefore judge very inconsistently, or contradictorily; and see, as\nit were, Thebes double; for Thebes being the refuge and habitation of\nPentheus, here denotes the ends of actions; whence they know not what\ncourse to take, but remaining undetermined and unresolved in their\nviews and designs, they are merely driven about by every sudden gust\nand impulse of the mind.\n\n\n\n\nXI.\u2014ORPHEUS, OR PHILOSOPHY.\n\nEXPLAINED OF NATURAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\u2014The fable of Orpheus, though trite and common, has never\nbeen well interpreted, and seems to hold out a picture of universal\nphilosophy; for to this sense may be easily transferred what is said\nof his being a wonderful and perfectly divine person, skilled in all\nkinds of harmony, subduing and drawing all things after him by sweet\nand gentle methods and modulations. For the labors of Orpheus exceed\nthe labors of Hercules, both in power and dignity, as the works of\nknowledge exceed the works of strength.\n\n\nFABLE.\u2014Orpheus having his beloved wife snatched from him by sudden\ndeath, resolved upon descending to the infernal regions, to try if, by\nthe power of his harp, he could reobtain her. And, in effect, he so\nappeased and soothed the infernal powers by the melody and sweetness\nof his harp and voice, that they indulged him the liberty of taking\nher back, on condition that she should follow him behind, and he not\nturn to look upon her till they came into open day; but he, through\nthe impatience of his care and affection, and thinking himself almost\npast danger, at length looked behind him, whereby the condition was\nviolated, and she again precipitated to Pluto\u2019s regions. From this\ntime Orpheus grew pensive and sad, a hater of the sex, and went into\nsolitude, where, by the same sweetness of his harp and voice, he first\ndrew the wild beasts of all sorts about him; so that, forgetting their\nnatures, they were neither actuated by revenge, cruelty, lust, hunger,\nor the desire of prey, but stood gazing about him, in a tame and gentle\nmanner, listening attentively to his music. Nay, so great was the power\nand efficacy of his harmony, that it even caused the trees and stones\nto remove, and place themselves in a regular manner about him. When\nhe had for a time, and with great admiration, continued to do this,\nat length the Thracian women, raised by the instigation of Bacchus,\nfirst blew a deep and hoarse-sounding horn, in such an outrageous\nmanner, that it quite drowned the music of Orpheus. And thus the power\nwhich, as the link of their society, held all things in order, being\ndissolved, disturbance reigned anew; each creature returned to its own\nnature, and pursued and preyed upon its fellow, as before. The rocks\nand woods also started back to their former places; and even Orpheus\nhimself was at last torn to pieces by these female furies, and his\nlimbs scattered all over the desert. But, in sorrow and revenge for his\ndeath, the River Helicon, sacred to the Muses, hid its waters under\nground, and rose again in other places.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The fable receives this explanation. The music of Orpheus\nis of two kinds; one that appeases the infernal powers, and the other\nthat draws together the wild beasts and trees. The former properly\nrelates to natural, and the latter to moral philosophy, or civil\nsociety. The reinstatement and restoration of corruptible things is\nthe noblest work of natural philosophy; and, in a less degree, the\npreservation of bodies in their own state, or a prevention of their\ndissolution and corruption. And if this be possible, it can certainly\nbe effected no other way than by proper and exquisite attemperations of\nnature; as it were by the harmony and fine touching of the harp. But\nas this is a thing of exceeding great difficulty, the end is seldom\nobtained; and that, probably, for no reason more than a curious and\nunseasonable impatience and solicitude.\n\nAnd, therefore, philosophy, being almost unequal to the task, has cause\nto grow sad, and hence betakes itself to human affairs, insinuating\ninto men\u2019s minds the love of virtue, equity, and peace, by means of\neloquence and persuasion; thus forming men into societies; bringing\nthem under laws and regulations; and making them forget their unbridled\npassions and affections, so long as they hearken to precepts and submit\nto discipline. And thus they soon after build themselves habitations,\nform cities, cultivate lands, plant orchards, gardens, &c. So that they\nmay not improperly be said to remove and call the trees and stones\ntogether.\n\nAnd this regard to civil affairs is justly and regularly placed after\ndiligent trial made for restoring the mortal body; the attempt being\nfrustrated in the end\u2014because the unavoidable necessity of death, thus\nevidently laid before mankind, animates them to seek a kind of eternity\nby works of perpetuity, character, and fame.\n\nIt is also prudently added, that Orpheus was afterwards averse to women\nand wedlock, because the indulgence of the married state, and the\nnatural affections which men have for their children, often prevent\nthem from entering upon any grand, noble, or meritorious enterprise for\nthe public good; as thinking it sufficient to obtain immortality by\ntheir descendants, without endeavoring at great actions.\n\nAnd even the works of knowledge, though the most excellent among human\nthings, have their periods; for after kingdoms and commonwealths have\nflourished for a time, disturbances, seditions, and wars, often arise,\nin the din whereof, first the laws are silent, and not heard; and then\nmen return to their own depraved natures\u2014whence cultivated lands and\ncities soon become desolate and waste. And if this disorder continues,\nlearning and philosophy is infallibly torn to pieces; so that only\nsome scattered fragments thereof can afterwards be found up and down,\nin a few places, like planks after a shipwreck. And barbarous times\nsucceeding, the River Helicon dips under-ground; that is, letters are\nburied, till things having undergone their due course of changes,\nlearning rises again, and shows its head, though seldom in the same\nplace, but in some other nation.[629]\n\n\n\n\nXII.\u2014C\u0152LUM, OR BEGINNINGS.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE CREATION, OR ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS.\n\n\nThe poets relate, that C\u0153lum was the most ancient of all the gods;\nthat his parts of generation were cut off by his son Saturn; that\nSaturn had a numerous offspring, but devoured all his sons, as soon\nas they were born; that Jupiter at length escaped the common fate;\nand when grown up, drove his father Saturn into Tartarus; usurped the\nkingdom; cut off his father\u2019s genitals, with the same knife wherewith\nSaturn had dismembered C\u0153lum, and throwing them into the sea, thence\nsprung Venus.\n\nBefore Jupiter was well established in his empire, two memorable wars\nwere made upon him; the first by the Titans, in subduing of whom, Sol,\nthe only one of the Titans who favored Jupiter, performed him singular\nservice; the second by the giants, who being destroyed and subdued by\nthe thunder and arms of Jupiter, he now reigned secure.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable appears to be an enigmatical account of the\norigin of all things, not greatly differing from the philosophy\nafterwards embraced by Democritus, who expressly asserts the eternity\nof matter, but denies the eternity of the world; thereby approaching to\nthe truth of sacred writ, which makes chaos, or uninformed matter, to\nexist before the six days\u2019 works.\n\nThe meaning of the fable seems to be this: C\u0153lum denotes the concave\nspace, or vaulted roof that incloses all matter, and Saturn the matter\nitself, which cuts off all power of generation from his father; as one\nand the same quantity of matter remains invariable in nature, without\naddition or diminution. But the agitations and struggling motions of\nmatter, first produced certain imperfect and ill-joined compositions\nof things, as it were so many first rudiments, or essays of worlds;\ntill, in process of time, there arose a fabric capable of preserving\nits form and structure. Whence the first age was shadowed out by the\nreign of Saturn; who, on account of the frequent dissolutions, and\nshort durations of things, was said to devour his children. And the\nsecond age was denoted by the reign of Jupiter; who thrust, or drove\nthose frequent and transitory changes into Tartarus\u2014a place expressive\nof disorder. This place seems to be the middle space, between the\nlower heavens and the internal parts of the earth, wherein disorder,\nimperfection, mutation, mortality, destruction, and corruption, are\nprincipally found.\n\nVenus was not born during the former generation of things, under the\nreign of Saturn; for whilst discord and jar had the upper hand of\nconcord and uniformity in the matter of the universe, a change of\nthe entire structure was necessary. And in this manner things were\ngenerated and destroyed, before Saturn was dismembered. But when this\nmanner of generation ceased, there immediately followed another,\nbrought about by Venus, or a perfect and established harmony of things;\nwhereby changes were wrought in the parts, whilst the universal fabric\nremained entire and undisturbed. Saturn, however, is said to be thrust\nout and dethroned, not killed, and become extinct; because, agreeably\nto the opinion of Democritus, the world might relapse into its old\nconfusion and disorder, which Lucretius hoped would not happen in his\ntime.[630]\n\nBut now, when the world was compact, and held together by its own\nbulk and energy, yet there was no rest from the beginning; for first,\nthere followed considerable motions and disturbances in the celestial\nregions, though so regulated and moderated by the power of the Sun,\nprevailing over the heavenly bodies, as to continue the world in its\nstate. Afterwards there followed the like in the lower parts, by\ninundations, storms, winds, general earthquakes, &c., which, however,\nbeing subdued and kept under, there ensued a more peaceable and lasting\nharmony, and consent of things.\n\nIt may be said of this fable, that it includes philosophy; and again,\nthat philosophy includes the fable; for we know, by faith, that all\nthese things are but the oracle of sense, long since ceased and\ndecayed; but the matter and fabric of the world being justly attributed\nto a creator.\n\n\n\n\nXIII.\u2014PROTEUS, OR MATTER.\n\nEXPLAINED OF MATTER AND ITS CHANGES.\n\n\nProteus, according to the poets, was Neptune\u2019s herdsman; an old man,\nand a most extraordinary prophet, who understood things past and\npresent, as well as future; so that besides the business of divination,\nhe was the revealer and interpreter of all antiquity, and secrets of\nevery kind. He lived in a vast cave, where his custom was to tell over\nhis herd of sea-calves at noon, and then to sleep. Whoever consulted\nhim, had no other way of obtaining an answer, but by binding him with\nmanacles and fetters; when he, endeavoring to free himself, would\nchange into all kinds of shapes and miraculous forms; as of fire,\nwater, wild beasts, &c.; till at length he resumed his own shape again.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to point at the secrets of nature, and\nthe states of matter. For the person of Proteus denotes matter, the\noldest of all things, after God himself;[631] that resides, as in a\ncave, under the vast concavity of the heavens. He is represented as the\nservant of Neptune, because the various operations and modifications\nof matter are principally wrought in a fluid state. The herd, or flock\nof Proteus, seems to be no other than the several kinds of animals,\nplants, and minerals, in which matter appears to diffuse and spend\nitself; so that after having formed these several species, and as it\nwere finished its task, it seems to sleep and repose, without otherwise\nattempting to produce any new ones. And this is the moral of Proteus\u2019s\ncounting his herd, then going to sleep.\n\nThis is said to be done at noon, not in the morning or evening; by\nwhich is meant the time best fitted and disposed for the production of\nspecies, from a matter duly prepared, and made ready beforehand, and\nnow lying in a middle state, between its first rudiments and decline;\nwhich, we learn from sacred history, was the case at the time of the\ncreation; when, by the efficacy of the divine command, matter directly\ncame together, without any transformation or intermediate changes,\nwhich it affects; instantly obeyed the order, and appeared in the form\nof creatures.\n\nAnd thus far the fable reaches of Proteus, and his flock, at liberty\nand unrestrained. For the universe, with the common structures, and\nfabrics of the creatures, is the face of matter, not under constraint,\nor as the flock wrought upon and tortured by human means. But if any\nskilful minister of nature shall apply force to matter, and by design\ntorture and vex it, in order to its annihilation, it, on the contrary,\nbeing brought under this necessity, changes and transforms itself\ninto a strange variety of shapes and appearances; for nothing but the\npower of the Creator can annihilate, or truly destroy it; so that\nat length, running through the whole circle of transformations, and\ncompleting its period, it in some degree restores itself, if the force\nbe continued. And that method of binding, torturing, or detaining, will\nprove the most effectual and expeditious, which makes use of manacles\nand fetters; that is, lays hold and works upon matter in the extremest\ndegrees.\n\nThe addition in the fable that makes Proteus a prophet, who had the\nknowledge of things past, present, and future, excellently agrees with\nthe nature of matter; as he who knows the properties, the changes, and\nthe processes of matter, must, of necessity, understand the effects and\nsum of what it does, has done, or can do, though his knowledge extends\nnot to all the parts and particulars thereof.\n\n\n\n\nXIV.\u2014MEMNON, OR A YOUTH TOO FORWARD.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE FATAL PRECIPITANCY OF YOUTH.\n\n\nThe poets made Memnon the son of Aurora, and bring him to the\nTrojan war in beautiful armor, and flushed with popular praise;\nwhere, thirsting after further glory, and rashly hurrying on to the\ngreatest enterprises, he engages the bravest warrior of all the\nGreeks, Achilles, and falls by his hand in single combat. Jupiter,\nin commiseration of his death, sent birds to grace his funeral, that\nperpetually chanted certain mournful and bewailing dirges. It is also\nreported, that the rays of the rising sun, striking his statue, used to\ngive a lamenting sound.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable regards the unfortunate end of those promising\nyouths, who, like sons of the morning, elate with empty hopes and\nglittering outsides, attempt things beyond their strength; challenge\nthe bravest heroes; provoke them to the combat; and, proving unequal,\ndie in their high attempts.\n\nThe death of such youths seldom fails to meet with infinite pity; as no\nmortal calamity is more moving and afflicting, than to see the flower\nof virtue cropped before its time. Nay, the prime of life enjoyed to\nthe full, or even to a degree of envy, does not assuage or moderate\nthe grief occasioned by the untimely death of such hopeful youths;\nbut lamentations and bewailings fly, like mournful birds, about their\ntombs, for a long while after; especially upon all fresh occasions, new\ncommotions, and the beginning of great actions, the passionate desire\nof them is renewed, as by the sun\u2019s morning rays.\n\n\n\n\nXV.\u2014TYTHONUS, OR SATIETY.\n\nEXPLAINED OF PREDOMINANT PASSIONS.\n\n\nIt is elegantly fabled by Tythonus, that being exceedingly beloved by\nAurora, she petitioned Jupiter that he might prove immortal, thereby to\nsecure herself the everlasting enjoyment of his company; but through\nfemale inadvertence she forgot to add, that he might never grow old; so\nthat, though he proved immortal, he became miserably worn and consumed\nwith age, insomuch that Jupiter, out of pity, at length transformed him\nto a grasshopper.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to contain an ingenious description of\npleasure; which at first, as it were in the morning of the day, is so\nwelcome, that men pray to have it everlasting, but forget that satiety\nand weariness of it will, like old age, overtake them, though they\nthink not of it; so that at length, when their appetite for pleasurable\nactions is gone, their desires and affections often continue; whence\nwe commonly find that aged persons delight themselves with the\ndiscourse and remembrance of the things agreeable to them in their\nbetter days. This is very remarkable in men of a loose, and men of a\nmilitary life; the former whereof are always talking over their amours,\nand the latter the exploits of their youth; like grasshoppers, that\nshow their vigor only by their chirping.\n\n\n\n\nXVI.\u2014JUNO\u2019S SUITOR, OR BASENESS.\n\nEXPLAINED OF SUBMISSION AND ABJECTION.\n\n\nThe poets tell us, that Jupiter, to carry on his love-intrigues,\nassumed many different shapes; as of a bull, an eagle, a swan, a golden\nshower, &c.; but when he attempted Juno, he turned himself into the\nmost ignoble and ridiculous creature,\u2014even that of a wretched, wet,\nweather-beaten, affrighted, trembling and half-starved cuckoo.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This is a wise fable, and drawn from the very entrails of\nmorality. The moral is, that men should not be conceited of themselves,\nand imagine that a discovery of their excellences will always render\nthem acceptable; for this can only succeed according to the nature\nand manners of the person they court, or solicit; who, if he be a man\nnot of the same gifts and endowments, but altogether of a haughty\nand contemptuous behavior, here represented by the person of Juno,\nthey must entirely drop the character that carries the least show\nof worth or gracefulness; if they proceed upon any other footing,\nit is downright folly; nor is it sufficient to act the deformity of\nobsequiousness, unless they really change themselves, and become abject\nand contemptible in their persons.\n\n\n\n\nXVII.\u2014CUPID, OR AN ATOM.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE CORPUSCULAR PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nThe particulars related by the poets of Cupid, or Love, do not properly\nagree to the same person, yet they differ only so far, that if the\nconfusion of persons be rejected, the correspondence may hold. They\nsay, that Love was the most ancient of all the gods, and existed before\nevery thing else, except Chaos, which is held coeval therewith. But\nfor Chaos, the ancients never paid divine honors, nor gave the title\nof a god thereto. Love is represented absolutely without progenitor,\nexcepting only that he is said to have proceeded from the egg of\nNox; but that himself begot the gods, and all things else, on Chaos.\nHis attributes are four; viz: 1, perpetual infancy; 2, blindness; 3,\nnakedness; and 4, archery.\n\nThere was also another Cupid, or Love, the youngest son of the\ngods, born of Venus; and upon him the attributes of the elder are\ntransferred, with some degree of correspondence.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable points at, and enters, the cradle of nature.\nLove seems to be the appetite, or incentive, of the primitive matter;\nor, to speak more distinctly, the natural motion, or moving principle,\nof the original corpuscles, or atoms; this being the most ancient\nand only power that made and wrought all things out of matter. It is\nabsolutely without parent, that is, without cause; for causes are as\nparents to effects; but this power or efficacy could have no natural\ncause; for, excepting God, nothing was before it; and therefore it\ncould have no efficient in nature. And as nothing is more inward with\nnature, it can neither be a genus nor a form; and therefore, whatever\nit is, it must be somewhat positive, though inexpressible. And if it\nwere possible to conceive its modus and process, yet it could not be\nknown from its cause, as being, next to God, the cause of causes, and\nitself without a cause. And, perhaps, we are not to hope that the modus\nof it should fall, or be comprehended, under human inquiry. Whence it\nis properly feigned to be the egg of Nox, or laid in the dark.\n\nThe divine philosopher declares, that \u201cGod has made every thing\nbeautiful in its season; and has given over the world to our disputes\nand inquiries; but that man cannot find out the work which God has\nwrought, from its beginning up to its end.\u201d Thus the summary or\ncollective law of nature, or the principle of love, impressed by God\nupon the original particles of all things, so as to make them attack\neach other and come together, by the repetition and multiplication\nwhereof all the variety in the universe is produced, can scarce\npossibly find full admittance into the thoughts of men, though some\nfaint notion may be had thereof. The Greek philosophy is subtile, and\nbusied in discovering the material principles of things, but negligent\nand languid in discovering the principles of motion, in which the\nenergy and efficacy of every operation consists. And here the Greek\nphilosophers seem perfectly blind and childish; for the opinion of the\nPeripatetics, as to the stimulus of matter, by privation, is little\nmore than words, or rather sound than signification. And they who refer\nit to God, though they do well therein, yet they do it by a start, and\nnot by proper degrees of assent; for doubtless there is one summary, or\ncapital law, in which nature meets, subordinate to God, viz: the law\nmentioned in the passage above quoted from Solomon; or the work which\nGod has wrought from its beginning to its end.\n\nDemocritus, who further considered this subject, having first supposed\nan atom, or corpuscle, of some dimension or figure, attributed thereto\nan appetite, desire, or first motion simply, and another comparatively,\nimagining that all things properly tended to the centre of the world;\nthose containing more matter falling faster to the centre, and thereby\nremoving, and in the shock driving away, such as held less. But this\nis a slender conceit, and regards too few particulars; for neither\nthe revolutions of the celestial bodies, nor the contractions and\nexpansions of things, can be reduced to this principle. And for the\nopinion of Epicurus, as to the declination and fortuitous agitation of\natoms, this only brings the matter back again to a trifle, and wraps it\nup in ignorance and night.\n\nCupid is elegantly drawn a perpetual child; for compounds are larger\nthings, and have their periods of age; but the first seeds or atoms of\nbodies are small, and remain in a perpetual infant state.\n\nHe is again justly represented naked; as all compounds may properly\nbe said to be dressed and clothed, or to assume a personage; whence\nnothing remains truly naked, but the original particles of things.\n\nThe blindness of Cupid contains a deep allegory; for this same Cupid,\nLove, or appetite of the world, seems to have very little foresight,\nbut directs his steps and motions conformably to what he finds next\nhim, as blind men do when they feel out their way; which renders the\ndivine and overruling Providence and foresight the more surprising;\nas by a certain steady law, it brings such a beautiful order and\nregularity of things out of what seems extremely casual, void of\ndesign, and, as it were, really blind.\n\nThe last attribute of Cupid is archery, viz: a virtue or power\noperating at a distance; for every thing that operates at a distance\nmay seem, as it were, to dart, or shoot with arrows. And whoever allows\nof atoms and vacuity, necessarily supposes that the virtue of atoms\noperates at a distance; for without this operation, no motion could be\nexcited, on account of the vacuum interposing, but all things would\nremain sluggish and unmoved.\n\nAs to the other Cupid, he is properly said to be the youngest son\nof the gods, as his power could not take place before the formation\nof species, or particular bodies. The description given us of him\ntransfers the allegory to morality, though he still retains some\nresemblance with the ancient Cupid; for as Venus universally excites\nthe affection of association, and the desire of procreation, her\nson Cupid applies the affection to individuals; so that the general\ndisposition proceeds from Venus, but the more close sympathy from\nCupid. The former depends upon a near approximation of causes, but the\nlatter upon deeper, more necessitating and uncontrollable principles,\nas if they proceeded from the ancient Cupid, on whom all exquisite\nsympathies depend.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII.\u2014DIOMED, OR ZEAL.\n\nEXPLAINED OF PERSECUTION, OR ZEAL FOR RELIGION.\n\n\nDiomed acquired great glory and honor at the Trojan war, and was highly\nfavored by Pallas, who encouraged and excited him by no means to spare\nVenus, if he should casually meet her in fight. He followed the advice\nwith too much eagerness and intrepidity, and accordingly wounded that\ngoddess in her hand. This presumptuous action remained unpunished\nfor a time, and when the war was ended he returned with great glory\nand renown to his own country, where, finding himself embroiled with\ndomestic affairs, he retired into Italy. Here also at first he was\nwell received and nobly entertained by King Daunus, who, besides other\ngifts and honors, erected statues for him over all his dominions.\nBut upon the first calamity that afflicted the people after the\nstranger\u2019s arrival, Daunus immediately reflected that he entertained\na devoted person in his palace, an enemy to the gods, and one who had\nsacrilegiously wounded a goddess with his sword, whom it was impious\nbut to touch. To expiate, therefore, his country\u2019s guilt, he, without\nregard to the laws of hospitality, which were less regarded by him\nthan the laws of religion, directly slew his guest, and commanded his\nstatues and all his honors to be razed and abolished. Nor was it safe\nfor others to commiserate or bewail so cruel a destiny; but even his\ncompanions in arms, whilst they lamented the death of their leader,\nand filled all places with their complaints, were turned into a kind\nof swans, which are said, at the approach of their own death, to chant\nsweet melancholy dirges.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable intimates an extraordinary and almost singular\nthing, for no hero besides Diomed is recorded to have wounded any of\nthe gods. Doubtless we have here described the nature and fate of a man\nwho professedly makes any divine worship or sect of religion, though,\nin itself vain and light, the only scope of his actions, and resolves\nto propagate it by fire and sword. For although the bloody dissensions\nand differences about religion were unknown to the ancients, yet so\ncopious and diffusive was their knowledge, that what they knew not by\nexperience they comprehended in thought and representation. Those,\ntherefore, who endeavor to reform or establish any sect of religion,\nthough vain, corrupt, and infamous (which is here denoted under the\nperson of Venus), not by the force of reason, learning, sanctity of\nmanners, the weight of arguments, and examples, but would spread or\nextirpate it by persecution, pains, penalties, tortures, fire, and\nsword, may, perhaps, be instigated hereto by Pallas, that is, by a\ncertain rigid, prudential consideration, and a severity of judgment,\nby the vigor and efficacy whereof they see thoroughly into the\nfallacies and fictions of the delusions of this kind; and through\naversion to depravity and a well-meant zeal, these men usually for\na time acquire great fame and glory, and are by the vulgar, to whom\nno moderate measures can be acceptable, extolled and almost adored,\nas the only patrons and protectors of truth and religion, men of any\nother disposition seeming, in comparison with these, to be lukewarm,\nmean-spirited, and cowardly. This fame and felicity, however, seldom\nendures to the end; but all violence, unless it escapes the reverses\nand changes of things by untimely death, is commonly unprosperous\nin the issue; and if a change of affairs happens, and that sect\nof religion which was persecuted and oppressed gains strength and\nrises again, then the zeal and warm endeavors of this sort of men\nare condemned, their very name becomes odious, and all their honors\nterminate in disgrace.\n\nAs to the point that Diomed should be slain by his hospitable\nentertainer, this denotes that religious dissensions may cause\ntreachery, bloody animosities, and deceit, even between the nearest\nfriends.\n\nThat complaining or bewailing should not, in so enormous a case, be\npermitted to friends affected by the catastrophe without punishment,\nincludes this prudent admonition, that almost in all kinds of\nwickedness and depravity men have still room left for commiseration,\nso that they who hate the crime may yet pity the person and bewail his\ncalamity, from a principle of humanity and good-nature; and to forbid\nthe overflowings and intercourses of pity upon such occasions were\nthe extremest of evils; yet in the cause of religion and impiety the\nvery commiserations of men are noted and suspected. On the other hand,\nthe lamentations and complainings of the followers and attendants of\nDiomed, that is, of men of the same sect or persuasion, are usually\nvery sweet, agreeable, and moving, like the dying notes of swans, or\nthe birds of Diomed. This also is a noble and remarkable part of the\nallegory, denoting that the last words of those who suffer for the sake\nof religion strongly affect and sway men\u2019s minds, and leave a lasting\nimpression upon the sense and memory.\n\n\n\n\nXIX.\u2014D\u00c6DALUS, OR MECHANICAL SKILL.\n\nEXPLAINED OF ARTS AND ARTISTS IN KINGDOMS AND STATES.\n\n\nThe ancients have left us a description of mechanical skill, industry,\nand curious arts converted to ill uses, in the person of D\u00e6dalus, a\nmost ingenious but execrable artist. This D\u00e6dalus was banished for the\nmurder of his brother artist and rival, yet found a kind reception in\nhis banishment from the kings and states where he came. He raised many\nincomparable edifices to the honor of the gods, and invented many new\ncontrivances for the beautifying and ennobling of cities and public\nplaces, but still he was most famous for wicked inventions. Among the\nrest, by his abominable industry and destructive genius, he assisted\nin the fatal and infamous production of the monster Minotaur, that\ndevourer of promising youths. And then, to cover one mischief with\nanother, and provide for the security of this monster, he invented\nand built a labyrinth; a work infamous for its end and design, but\nadmirable and prodigious for art and workmanship. After this, that\nhe might not only be celebrated for wicked inventions, but be sought\nafter, as well for prevention, as for instruments of mischief, he\nformed that ingenious device of his clue, which led directly through\nall the windings of the labyrinth. This D\u00e6dalus was persecuted by Minos\nwith the utmost severity, diligence, and inquiry; but he always found\nrefuge and means of escaping. Lastly, endeavoring to teach his son\nIcarus the art of flying, the novice, trusting too much to his wings,\nfell from his towering flight, and was drowned in the sea.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The sense of the fable runs thus. It first denotes envy,\nwhich is continually upon the watch, and strangely prevails among\nexcellent artificers; for no kind of people are observed to be more\nimplacably and destructively envious to one another than these.\n\nIn the next place, it observes an impolitic and improvident kind of\npunishment inflicted upon D\u00e6dalus\u2014that of banishment; for good workmen\nare gladly received everywhere, so that banishment to an excellent\nartificer is scarce any punishment at all; whereas other conditions of\nlife cannot easily flourish from home. For the admiration of artists\nis propagated and increased among foreigners and strangers; it being\na principle in the minds of men to slight and despise the mechanical\noperators of their own nation.\n\nThe succeeding part of the fable is plain, concerning the use of\nmechanic arts, whereto human life stands greatly indebted, as receiving\nfrom this treasury numerous particulars for the service of religion,\nthe ornament of civil society, and the whole provision and apparatus of\nlife; but then the same magazine supplies instruments of lust, cruelty,\nand death. For, not to mention the arts of luxury and debauchery, we\nplainly see how far the business of exquisite poisons, guns, engines of\nwar, and such kind of destructive inventions, exceeds the cruelty and\nbarbarity of the Minotaur himself.\n\nThe addition of the labyrinth contains a beautiful allegory,\nrepresenting the nature of mechanic arts in general; for all ingenious\nand accurate mechanical inventions may be conceived as a labyrinth,\nwhich, by reason of their subtilty, intricacy, crossing, and\ninterfering with one another, and the apparent resemblances they have\namong themselves, scarce any power of the judgment can unravel and\ndistinguish; so that they are only to be understood and traced by the\nclue of experience.\n\nIt is no less prudently added, that he who invented the windings of the\nlabyrinth, should also show the use and management of the clue; for\nmechanical arts have an ambiguous or double use, and serve as well to\nproduce as to prevent mischief and destruction; so that their virtue\nalmost destroys or unwinds itself.\n\nUnlawful arts and indeed frequently arts themselves, are persecuted by\nMinos, that is, by laws, which prohibit and forbid their use among the\npeople; but notwithstanding this, they are hid, concealed, retained,\nand everywhere find reception and skulking-places; a thing well\nobserved by Tacitus of the astrologers and fortune-tellers of his time.\n\u201cThese,\u201d says he, \u201care a kind of men that will always be prohibited,\nand yet will always be retained in our city.\u201d\n\nBut lastly, all unlawful and vain arts, of what kind soever, lose\ntheir reputation in tract of time; grow contemptible and perish,\nthrough their overconfidence, like Icarus; being commonly unable to\nperform what they boasted. And to say the truth, such arts are better\nsuppressed by their own vain pretensions, than checked or restrained by\nthe bridle of laws.[632]\n\n\n\n\nXX.\u2014ERICTHONIUS, OR IMPOSTURE.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE IMPROPER USE OF FORCE IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nThe poets feign that Vulcan attempted the chastity of Minerva, and\nimpatient of refusal, had recourse to force; the consequence of which\nwas the birth of Ericthonius, whose body from the middle upwards was\ncomely and well-proportioned, but his thighs and legs small, shrunk,\nand deformed, like an eel. Conscious of this defect, he became the\ninventor of chariots, so as to show the graceful, but conceal the\ndeformed part of his body.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This strange fable seems to carry this meaning. Art is\nhere represented under the person of Vulcan, by reason of the various\nuses it makes of fire; and nature, under the person of Minerva, by\nreason of the industry employed in her works. Art, therefore, whenever\nit offers violence to nature, in order to conquer, subdue, and bend\nher to its purpose, by tortures and force of all kinds, seldom obtains\nthe end proposed; yet upon great struggle and application, there\nproceed certain imperfect births, or lame abortive works, specious in\nappearance, but weak and unstable in use; which are, nevertheless,\nwith great pomp and deceitful appearances, triumphantly carried about,\nand shown by impostors. A procedure very familiar, and remarkable in\nchemical productions, and new mechanical inventions; especially when\nthe inventors rather hug their errors than improve upon them, and go on\nstruggling with nature, not courting her.\n\n\n\n\nXXI.\u2014DEUCALION, OR RESTITUTION.\n\nEXPLAINED OF A USEFUL HINT IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nThe poets tell us, that the inhabitants of the old world being totally\ndestroyed by the universal deluge, excepting Deucalion and Pyrrha,\nthese two, desiring with zealous and fervent devotion to restore\nmankind, received this oracle for answer, that \u201cthey should succeed by\nthrowing their mother\u2019s bones behind them.\u201d This at first cast them\ninto great sorrow and despair, because, as all things were levelled by\nthe deluge, it was in vain to seek their mother\u2019s tomb; but at length\nthey understood the expression of the oracle to signify the stones of\nthe earth, which is esteemed the mother of all things.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to reveal a secret of nature, and correct\nan error familiar to the mind; for men\u2019s ignorance leads them to\nexpect the renovation or restoration of things from their corruption\nand remains, as the ph\u0153nix is said to be restored out of its ashes;\nwhich is a very improper procedure, because such kind of materials\nhave finished their course, and are become absolutely unfit to supply\nthe first rudiments of the same things again; whence, in cases of\nrenovation, recourse should be had to more common principles.\n\n\n\n\nXXII.\u2014NEMESIS, OR THE VICISSITUDE OF THINGS.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE REVERSES OF FORTUNE.\n\n\nNemesis is represented as a goddess venerated by all, but feared by the\npowerful and the fortunate. She is said to be the daughter of Nox and\nOceanus.\n\nShe is drawn with wings, and a crown; a javelin of ash in her right\nhand; a glass containing Ethiopians in her left; and riding upon a stag.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The fable receives this explanation. The word Nemesis\nmanifestly signifies revenge, or retribution; for the office of this\ngoddess consisted in interposing, like the Roman tribunes, with an \u201cI\nforbid it,\u201d in all courses of constant and perpetual felicity, so as\nnot only to chastise haughtiness, but also to repay even innocent and\nmoderate happiness with adversity; as if it were decreed, that none\nof human race should be admitted to the banquet of the gods, but for\nsport. And, indeed, to read over that chapter of Pliny wherein he has\ncollected the miseries and misfortunes of Augustus C\u00e6sar, whom, of\nall mankind, one would judge most fortunate,\u2014as he had a certain art\nof using and enjoying prosperity, with a mind no way tumid, light,\neffeminate, confused, or melancholic,\u2014one cannot but think this a\nvery great and powerful goddess, who could bring such a victim to her\naltar.[633]\n\nThe parents of this goddess were Oceanus and Nox; that is, the\nfluctuating change of things, and the obscure and secret divine\ndecrees. The changes of things are aptly represented by the Ocean, on\naccount of its perpetual ebbing and flowing; and secret providence\nis justly expressed by Night. Even the heathens have observed this\nsecret Nemesis of the night, or the difference betwixt divine and human\njudgment.[634]\n\nWings are given to Nemesis, because of the sudden and unforeseen\nchanges of things; for, from the earliest account of time, it has been\ncommon for great and prudent men to fall by the dangers they most\ndespised. Thus Cicero, when admonished by Brutus of the infidelity\nand rancor of Octavius, coolly wrote back: \u201cI cannot, however, but be\nobliged to you, Brutus, as I ought, for informing me, though of such a\ntrifle.\u201d[635]\n\nNemesis also has her crown, by reason of the invidious and malignant\nnature of the vulgar, who generally rejoice, triumph, and crown her,\nat the fall of the fortunate and the powerful. And for the javelin in\nher right hand, it has regard to those whom she has actually struck\nand transfixed. But whoever escapes her stroke, or feels not actual\ncalamity or misfortune, she affrights with a black and dismal sight\nin her left hand; for doubtless, mortals on the highest pinnacle of\nfelicity have a prospect of death, diseases, calamities, perfidious\nfriends, undermining enemies, reverses of fortune, &c., represented\nby the Ethiopians in her glass. Thus Virgil, with great elegance,\ndescribing the battle of Actium, says of Cleopatra, that \u201cshe did not\nyet perceive the two asps behind her;\u201d[636] but soon after, which way\nsoever she turned, she saw whole troops of Ethiopians still before her.\n\nLastly, it is significantly added, that Nemesis rides upon a stag,\nwhich is a very long-lived creature; for though perhaps some, by an\nuntimely death in youth, may prevent or escape this goddess, yet they\nwho enjoy a long flow of happiness and power, doubtless become subject\nto her at length, and are brought to yield.\n\n\n\n\nXXIII.\u2014ACHELOUS, OR BATTLE.\n\nEXPLAINED OF WAR BY INVASION.\n\n\nThe ancients relate, that Hercules and Achelous being rivals in the\ncourtship of Deianira, the matter was contested by single combat;\nwhen Achelous having transformed himself, as he had power to do, into\nvarious shapes, by way of trial; at length, in the form of a fierce\nwild bull, prepares himself for the fight; but Hercules still retains\nhis human shape, engages sharply with him, and in the issue broke off\none of the bull\u2019s horns; and now Achelous, in great pain and fright, to\nredeem his horn, presents Hercules with the cornucopia.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable relates to military expeditions and\npreparations; for the preparation of war on the defensive side, here\ndenoted by Achelous, appears in various shapes, whilst the invading\nside has but one simple form, consisting either in an army, or perhaps\na fleet. But the country that expects the invasion is employed infinite\nways, in fortifying towns, blockading passes, rivers, and ports,\nraising soldiers, disposing garrisons, building and breaking down\nbridges, procuring aids, securing provisions, arms, ammunition, &c. So\nthat there appears a new face of things every day; and at length, when\nthe country is sufficiently fortified and prepared, it represents to\nthe life the form and threats of a fierce fighting bull.\n\nOn the other side, the invader presses on to the fight, fearing to be\ndistressed in an enemy\u2019s country. And if after the battle he remains\nmaster of the field, and has now broke, as it were, the horn of his\nenemy, the besieged, of course, retire inglorious, affrighted, and\ndismayed, to their stronghold, there endeavoring to secure themselves,\nand repair their strength; leaving, at the same time, their country a\nprey to the conqueror, which is well expressed by the Amalthean horn,\nor cornucopia.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV.\u2014DIONYSUS, OR BACCHUS.[637]\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE PASSIONS.\n\n\nThe fable runs, that Semele, Jupiter\u2019s mistress, having bound him\nby an inviolable oath to grant her an unknown request, desired he\nwould embrace her in the same form and manner he used to embrace\nJuno; and the promise being irrevocable, she was burnt to death with\nlightning in the performance. The embryo, however, was sewed up, and\ncarried in Jupiter\u2019s thigh till the complete time of its birth; but\nthe burden thus rendering the father lame, and causing him pain, the\nchild was thence called Dionysus. When born, he was committed, for\nsome years, to be nursed by Proserpina; and when grown up, appeared\nwith so effeminate a face, that his sex seemed somewhat doubtful. He\nalso died, and was buried for a time, but afterwards revived. When a\nyouth, he first introduced the cultivation and dressing of vines, the\nmethod of preparing wine, and taught the use thereof; whence becoming\nfamous, he subdued the world, even to the utmost bounds of the Indies.\nHe rode in a chariot drawn by tigers. There danced about him certain\ndeformed demons called Cobali, &c. The Muses also joined in his train.\nHe married Ariadne, who was deserted by Theseus. The ivy was sacred to\nhim. He was also held the inventor and institutor of religious rites\nand ceremonies, but such as were wild, frantic, and full of corruption\nand cruelty. He had also the power of striking men with frenzies.\nPentheus and Orpheus were torn to pieces by the frantic women at his\norgies; the first for climbing a tree to behold their outrageous\nceremonies, and the other for the music of his harp. But the acts of\nthis god are much entangled and confounded with those of Jupiter.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to contain a little system of morality,\nso that there is scarce any better invention in all ethics. Under\nthe history of Bacchus, is drawn the nature of unlawful desire or\naffection, and disorder; for the appetite and thirst of apparent good\nis the mother of all unlawful desire, though ever so destructive, and\nall unlawful desires are conceived in unlawful wishes or requests,\nrashly indulged or granted before they are well understood or\nconsidered, and when the affection begins to grow warm, the mother\nof it (the nature of good) is destroyed and burnt up by the heat.\nAnd whilst an unlawful desire lies in the embryo, or unripened in\nthe mind, which is its father, and here represented by Jupiter, it\nis cherished and concealed, especially in the inferior part of the\nmind, corresponding to the thigh of the body, where pain twitches and\ndepresses the mind so far as to render its resolutions and actions\nimperfect and lame. And even after this child of the mind is confirmed,\nand gains strength by consent and habit, and comes forth into action,\nit must still be nursed by Proserpina for a time; that is, it skulks\nand hides its head in a clandestine manner, as it were under ground,\ntill at length, when the checks of shame and fear are removed, and\nthe requisite boldness acquired, it either assumes the pretext of\nsome virtue, or openly despises infamy. And it is justly observed,\nthat every vehement passion appears of a doubtful sex, as having the\nstrength of a man at first, but at last the impotence of a woman.\nIt is also excellently added, that Bacchus died and rose again; for\nthe affections sometimes seem to die and be no more; but there is no\ntrusting them, even though they were buried, being always apt and ready\nto rise again whenever the occasion or object offers.\n\nThat Bacchus should be the inventor of wine, carries a fine allegory\nwith it; for every affection is cunning and subtle in discovering a\nproper matter to nourish and feed it; and of all things known to\nmortals, wine is the most powerful and effectual for exciting and\ninflaming passions of all kinds, being, indeed, like a common fuel to\nall.\n\nIt is again, with great elegance, observed of Bacchus, that he subdued\nprovinces, and undertook endless expeditions, for the affections never\nrest satisfied with what they enjoy, but with an endless and insatiable\nappetite thirst after something further. And tigers are prettily\nfeigned to draw the chariot; for as soon as any affection shall, from\ngoing on foot, be advanced to ride, it triumphs over reason, and exerts\nits cruelty, fierceness, and strength against all that oppose it.\n\nIt is also humorously imagined, that ridiculous demons dance and frisk\nabout this chariot; for every passion produces indecent, disorderly,\ninterchangeable and deformed motions in the eyes, countenance, and\ngesture, so that the person under the impulse, whether of anger,\ninsult, love, &c., though to himself he may seem grand, lofty, or\nobliging, yet in the eyes of others appears mean, contemptible, or\nridiculous.\n\nThe Muses also are found in the train of Bacchus, for there is scarce\nany passion without its art, science, or doctrine to court and flatter\nit; but in this respect the indulgence of men of genius has greatly\ndetracted from the majesty of the Muses, who ought to be the leaders\nand conductors of human life, and not the handmaids of the passions.\n\nThe allegory of Bacchus falling in love with a cast mistress, is\nextremely noble; for it is certain that the affections always court\nand covet what has been rejected upon experience. And all those who\nby serving and indulging their passions immensely raise the value of\nenjoyment, should know, that whatever they covet and pursue, whether\nriches, pleasure, glory, learning, or anything else, they only pursue\nthose things that have been forsaken and cast off with contempt by\ngreat numbers in all ages, after possession and experience.\n\nNor is it without a mystery that the ivy was sacred to Bacchus, and\nthis for two reasons: first, because ivy is an evergreen, or flourishes\nin the winter; and secondly, because it winds and creeps about so\nmany things, as trees, walls, and buildings, and raises itself above\nthem. As to the first, every passion grows fresh, strong, and vigorous\nby opposition and prohibition, as it were by a kind of contrast or\nantiperistasis, like the ivy in the winter. And for the second, the\npredominant passion of the mind throws itself, like the ivy, round all\nhuman actions, entwines all our resolutions, and perpetually adheres\nto, and mixes itself among, or even overtops them.\n\nAnd no wonder that superstitious rites and ceremonies are attributed\nto Bacchus, when almost every ungovernable passion grows wanton and\nluxuriant in corrupt religions; nor again, that fury and frenzy should\nbe sent and dealt out by him, because every passion is a short frenzy,\nand if it be vehement, lasting, and take deep root, it terminates in\nmadness. And hence the allegory of Pentheus and Orpheus being torn to\npieces is evident; for every headstrong passion is extremely bitter,\nsevere, inveterate, and revengeful upon all curious inquiry, wholesome\nadmonition, free counsel, and persuasion.\n\nLastly; the confusion between the persons of Jupiter and Bacchus will\njustly admit of an allegory, because noble and meritorious actions\nmay sometimes proceed from virtue, sound reason, and magnanimity, and\nsometimes again from a concealed passion and secret desire of ill,\nhowever they may be extolled and praised, insomuch that it is not easy\nto distinguish betwixt the acts of Bacchus and the acts of Jupiter.\n\n\n\n\nXXV.\u2014ATALANTA AND HIPPOMENES, OR GAIN.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE CONTEST BETWIXT ART AND NATURE.\n\n\nAtalanta, who was exceedingly fleet, contended with Hippomenes in\nthe course, on condition that, if Hippomenes won, he should espouse\nher, or forfeit his life if he lost. The match was very unequal, for\nAtalanta had conquered numbers, to their destruction. Hippomenes,\ntherefore, had recourse to stratagem. He procured three golden apples,\nand purposely carried them with him; they started; Atalanta outstripped\nhim soon; then Hippomenes bowled one of his apples before her, across\nthe course, in order not only to make her stoop, but to draw her out\nof the path. She, prompted by female curiosity, and the beauty of the\ngolden fruit, starts from the course to take up the apple. Hippomenes,\nin the mean time, holds on his way, and steps before her; but she, by\nher natural swiftness, soon fetches up her lost ground, and leaves him\nagain behind. Hippomenes, however, by rightly timing his second and\nthird throw, at length won the race, not by his swiftness, but his\ncunning.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to contain a noble allegory of the\ncontest betwixt art and nature. For art, here denoted by Atalanta, is\nmuch swifter, or more expeditious in its operations than nature, when\nall obstacles and impediments are removed, and sooner arrives at its\nend. This appears almost in every instance. Thus, fruit comes slowly\nfrom the kernel, but soon by inoculation or incision; clay, left to\nitself, is a long time in acquiring a stony hardness, but is presently\nburnt by fire into brick. So again, in human life, nature is a long\nwhile in alleviating and abolishing the remembrance of pain, and\nassuaging the troubles of the mind; but moral philosophy, which is the\nart of living, performs it presently. Yet this prerogative and singular\nefficacy of art is stopped and retarded to the infinite detriment of\nhuman life, by certain golden apples; for there is no one science or\nart that constantly holds on its true and proper course to the end,\nbut they are all continually stopping short, forsaking the track, and\nturning aside to profit and convenience, exactly like Atalanta.[638]\nWhence it is no wonder that art gets not the victory over nature,\nnor, according to the condition of the contest, brings her under\nsubjection; but, on the contrary, remains subject to her, as a wife to\na husband.[639]\n\n\n\n\nXXVI.\u2014PROMETHEUS, OR THE STATE OF MAN.\n\nEXPLAINED OF AN OVERRULING PROVIDENCE, AND OF HUMAN NATURE.\n\n\nThe ancients relate that man was the work of Prometheus, and formed of\nclay; only the artificer mixed in with the mass, particles taken from\ndifferent animals. And being desirous to improve his workmanship, and\nendow, as well as create, the human race, he stole up to heaven with\na bundle of birch-rods, and kindling them at the chariot of the Sun,\nthence brought down fire to the earth for the service of men.\n\nThey add that, for this meritorious act, Prometheus was repayed with\ningratitude by mankind, so that, forming a conspiracy, they arraigned\nboth him and his invention before Jupiter. But the matter was otherwise\nreceived than they imagined; for the accusation proved extremely\ngrateful to Jupiter and the gods, insomuch that, delighted with the\naction, they not only indulged mankind the use of fire, but moreover\nconferred upon them a most acceptable and desirable present, viz:\nperpetual youth.\n\nBut men, foolishly overjoyed hereat, laid this present of the gods\nupon an ass, who, in returning back with it, being extremely thirsty,\nstrayed to a fountain. The serpent, who was guardian thereof, would\nnot suffer him to drink, but upon condition of receiving the burden he\ncarried, whatever it should be. The silly ass complied, and thus the\nperpetual renewal of youth was, for a drop of water, transferred from\nmen to the race of serpents.\n\nPrometheus, not desisting from his unwarrantable practices, though now\nreconciled to mankind, after they were thus tricked of their present,\nbut still continuing inveterate against Jupiter, had the boldness to\nattempt deceit, even in a sacrifice, and is said to have once offered\nup two bulls to Jupiter, but so as in the hide of one of them to wrap\nall the flesh and fat of both, and stuffing out the other hide only\nwith the bones; then, in a religious and devout manner, gave Jupiter\nhis choice of the two. Jupiter, detesting this sly fraud and hypocrisy,\nbut having thus an opportunity of punishing the offender, purposely\nchose the mock bull.\n\nAnd now giving way to revenge, but finding he could not chastise the\ninsolence of Prometheus without afflicting the human race (in the\nproduction whereof Prometheus had strangely and insufferably prided\nhimself), he commanded Vulcan to form a beautiful and graceful woman,\nto whom every god presented a certain gift, whence she was called\nPandora.[640] They put into her hands an elegant box, containing all\nsorts of miseries and misfortunes; but Hope was placed at the bottom\nof it. With this box she first goes to Prometheus, to try if she\ncould prevail upon him to receive and open it; but he being upon his\nguard, warily refused the offer. Upon this refusal, she comes to his\nbrother Epimetheus, a man of a very different temper, who rashly and\ninconsiderately opens the box. When finding all kinds of miseries and\nmisfortunes issued out of it, he grew wise too late, and with great\nhurry and struggle endeavored to clap the cover on again; but with all\nhis endeavor could scarce keep in Hope, which lay at the bottom.\n\nLastly, Jupiter arraigned Prometheus of many heinous crimes; as that he\nformerly stole fire from heaven; that he contemptuously and deceitfully\nmocked him by a sacrifice of bones; that he despised his present,[641]\nadding withal a new crime, that he attempted to ravish Pallas; for all\nwhich, he was sentenced to be bound in chains, and doomed to perpetual\ntorments. Accordingly, by Jupiter\u2019s command, he was brought to Mount\nCaucasus, and there fastened to a pillar, so firmly that he could no\nway stir. A vulture or eagle stood by him, which in the daytime gnawed\nand consumed his liver; but in the night the wasted parts were supplied\nagain; whence matter for his pain was never wanting.\n\nThey relate, however, that his punishment had an end; for Hercules\nsailing the ocean, in a cup, or pitcher, presented him by the Sun,\ncame at length to Caucasus, shot the eagle with his arrows, and set\nPrometheus free. In certain nations, also, there were instituted\nparticular games of the torch, to the honor of Prometheus, in which\nthey who ran for the prize carried lighted torches; and as any one of\nthese torches happened to go out, the bearer withdrew himself, and gave\nway to the next; and that person was allowed to win the prize, who\nfirst brought in his lighted torch to the goal.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable contains and enforces many just and serious\nconsiderations; some whereof have been long since well observed,\nbut some again remain perfectly untouched. Prometheus clearly and\nexpressly signifies Providence; for of all the things in nature, the\nformation and endowment of man was singled out by the ancients, and\nesteemed the peculiar work of Providence. The reason hereof seems,\n1. That the nature of man includes a mind and understanding, which\nis the seat of Providence. 2. That it is harsh and incredible to\nsuppose reason and mind should be raised, and drawn out of senseless\nand irrational principles; whence it becomes almost inevitable, that\nprovidence is implanted in the human mind in conformity with, and by\nthe direction and the design of the greater overruling Providence.\nBut, 3. The principal cause is this: that man seems to be the thing in\nwhich the whole world centres, with respect to final causes; so that\nif he were away, all other things would stray and fluctuate, without\nend or intention, or become perfectly disjointed, and out of frame;\nfor all things are made subservient to man, and he receives use and\nbenefit from them all. Thus the revolutions, places, and periods, of\nthe celestial bodies, serve him for distinguishing times and seasons,\nand for dividing the world into different regions; the meteors afford\nhim prognostications of the weather; the winds sail our ships, drive\nour mills, and move our machines; and the vegetables and animals of all\nkinds either afford us matter for houses and habitations, clothing,\nfood, physic; or tend to ease, or delight, to support, or refresh us so\nthat everything in nature seems not made for itself, but for man.\n\nAnd it is not without reason added, that the mass of matter whereof\nman was formed, should be mixed up with particles taken from different\nanimals, and wrought in with the clay, because it is certain, that of\nall things in the universe, man is the most compounded and recompounded\nbody; so that the ancients, not improperly, styled him a Microcosm,\nor little world within himself. For although the chemists have\nabsurdly, and too literally, wrested and perverted the elegance of the\nterm microcosm, whilst they pretend to find all kind of mineral and\nvegetable matters, or something corresponding to them, in man, yet it\nremains firm and unshaken, that the human body is, of all substances,\nthe most mixed and organical; whence it has surprising powers and\nfaculties; for the powers of simple bodies are but few, though certain\nand quick; as being little broken, or weakened, and not counterbalanced\nby mixture; but excellence and quantity of energy reside in mixture and\ncomposition.\n\nMan, however, in his first origin, seems to be a defenceless, naked\ncreature, slow in assisting himself, and standing in need of numerous\nthings. Prometheus, therefore, hastened to the invention of fire, which\nsupplies and administers to nearly all human uses and necessities,\ninsomuch that, if the soul may be called the form of forms, if the hand\nmay be called the instrument of instruments, fire may, as properly, be\ncalled the assistant of assistants, or the helper of helps; for hence\nproceed numberless operations, hence all the mechanic arts, and hence\ninfinite assistances are afforded to the sciences themselves.\n\nThe manner wherein Prometheus stole this fire is properly described\nfrom the nature of the thing; he being said to have done it by applying\na rod of birch to the chariot of the Sun; for birch is used in striking\nand beating, which clearly denotes the generation of fire to be from\nthe violent percussions and collisions of bodies; whereby the matters\nstruck are subtilized, rarefied, put into motion, and so prepared to\nreceive the heat of the celestial bodies; whence they, in a clandestine\nand secret manner, collect and snatch fire, as it were by stealth, from\nthe chariot of the Sun.\n\nThe next is a remarkable part of the fable, which represents that\nmen, instead of gratitude and thanks, fell into indignation and\nexpostulation, accusing both Prometheus and his fire to Jupiter,\u2014and\nyet the accusation proved highly pleasing to Jupiter; so that he, for\nthis reason, crowned these benefits of mankind with a new bounty.\nHere it may seem strange that the sin of ingratitude to a creator and\nbenefactor, a sin so heinous as to include almost all others, should\nmeet with approbation and reward. But the allegory has another view,\nand denotes, that the accusation and arraignment, both of human nature\nand human art among mankind, proceeds from a most noble and laudable\ntemper of the mind, and tends to a very good purpose; whereas the\ncontrary temper is odious to the gods, and unbeneficial in itself.\nFor they who break into extravagant praises of human nature, and the\narts in vogue, and who lay themselves out in admiring the things they\nalready possess, and will needs have the sciences cultivated among\nthem, to be thought absolutely perfect and complete, in the first\nplace, show little regard to the divine nature, whilst they extol their\nown inventions almost as high as his perfection. In the next place,\nmen of this temper are unserviceable and prejudicial in life, whilst\nthey imagine themselves already got to the top of things, and there\nrest, without further inquiry. On the contrary, they who arraign and\naccuse both nature and art, and are always full of complaints against\nthem, not only preserve a more just and modest sense of mind, but are\nalso perpetually stirred up to fresh industry and new discoveries.\nIs not, then, the ignorance and fatality of mankind to be extremely\npitied, whilst they remain slaves to the arrogance of a few of their\nown fellows, and are dotingly fond of that scrap of Grecian knowledge,\nthe Peripatetic philosophy; and this to such a degree, as not only to\nthink all accusation or arraignment thereof useless, but even hold it\nsuspect and dangerous? Certainly the procedure of Empedocles, though\nfurious\u2014but especially that of Democritus (who with great modesty\ncomplained that all things were abstruse; that we know nothing; that\ntruth lies hid in deep pits; that falsehood is strangely joined and\ntwisted along with truth, &c.)\u2014is to be preferred before the confident,\nassuming, and dogmatical school of Aristotle. Mankind are, therefore,\nto be admonished, that the arraignment of nature and of art is pleasing\nto the gods; and that a sharp and vehement accusation of Prometheus,\nthough a creator, a founder, and a master, obtained new blessings and\npresents from the divine bounty, and proved more sound and serviceable\nthan a diffusive harangue of praise and gratulation. And let men be\nassured that the fond opinion that they have already acquired enough,\nis a principal reason why they have acquired so little.\n\nThat the perpetual flower of youth should be the present which mankind\nreceived as a reward for their accusation, carries this moral; that\nthe ancients seem not to have despaired of discovering methods, and\nremedies, for retarding old age, and prolonging the period of human\nlife; but rather reckoned it among those things which, through sloth\nand want of diligent inquiry, perish and come to nothing, after having\nbeen once undertaken, than among such as are absolutely impossible,\nor placed beyond the reach of the human power. For they signify\nand intimate from the true use of fire, and the just and strenuous\naccusation and conviction of the errors of art, that the divine bounty\nis not wanting to men in such kind of presents, but that men indeed\nare wanting to themselves, and lay such an inestimable gift upon the\nback of a slow-paced ass; that is, upon the back of the heavy, dull,\nlingering thing, experience; from whose sluggish and tortoise-pace\nproceeds that ancient complaint of the shortness of life, and the\nslow advancement of arts. And certainly it may well seem, that the\ntwo faculties of reasoning and experience are not hitherto properly\njoined and coupled together, but to be still new gifts of the gods,\nseparately laid, the one upon the back of a light bird, or abstract\nphilosophy, and the other upon an ass, or slow-paced practice and\ntrial. And yet good hopes might be conceived of this ass, if it were\nnot for his thirst and the accidents of the way. For we judge, that if\nany one would constantly proceed, by a certain law and method, in the\nroad of experience, and not by the way thirst after such experiments as\nmake for profit or ostentation, nor exchange his burden, or quit the\noriginal design for the sake of these, he might be an useful bearer of\na new and accumulated divine bounty to mankind.\n\nThat this gift of perpetual youth should pass from men to serpents,\nseems added by way of ornament, and illustration to the fable; perhaps\nintimating, at the same time, the shame it is for men, that they, with\ntheir fire, and numerous arts, cannot procure to themselves those\nthings which nature has bestowed upon many other creatures.\n\nThe sudden reconciliation of Prometheus to mankind, after being\ndisappointed of their hopes, contains a prudent and useful admonition.\nIt points out the levity and temerity of men in new experiments,\nwhen, not presently succeeding, or answering to expectation, they\nprecipitantly quit their new undertakings, hurry back to their old\nones, and grow reconciled thereto.\n\nAfter the fable has described the state of man, with regard to arts\nand intellectual matters, it passes on to religion; for after the\ninventing and settling of arts, follows the establishment of divine\nworship, which hypocrisy presently enters into and corrupts. So that by\nthe two sacrifices we have elegantly painted the person of a man truly\nreligious, and of an hypocrite. One of these sacrifices contained the\nfat, or the portion of God, used for burning and incensing; thereby\ndenoting affection and zeal, offered up to his glory. It likewise\ncontained the bowels, which are expressive of charity, along with\nthe good and useful flesh. But the other contained nothing more than\ndry bones, which nevertheless stuffed out the hide, so as to make it\nresemble a fair, beautiful, and magnificent sacrifice; hereby finely\ndenoting the external and empty rites and barren ceremonies, wherewith\nmen burden and stuff out the divine worship,\u2014things rather intended for\nshow and ostentation than conducing to piety. Nor are mankind simply\ncontent with this mock-worship of God, but also impose and further it\nupon him, as if he had chosen and ordained it. Certainly the prophet,\nin the person of God, has a fine expostulation, as to this matter of\nchoice: \u201cIs this the fasting which I have chosen, that a man should\nafflict his soul for a day, and bow down his head like a bulrush?\u201d\n\nAfter thus touching the state of religion, the fable next turns to\nmanners, and the conditions of human life. And though it be a very\ncommon, yet is it a just interpretation, that Pandora denotes the\npleasures and licentiousness which the cultivation and luxury of\nthe arts of civil life introduce, as it were, by the instrumental\nefficacy of fire; whence the works of the voluptuary arts are properly\nattributed to Vulcan, the God of Fire. And hence infinite miseries and\ncalamities have proceeded to the minds, the bodies, and the fortunes\nof men, together with a late repentance; and this not in each man\u2019s\nparticular, but also in kingdoms and states; for wars, and tumults, and\ntyrannies, have all arisen from this same fountain, or box of Pandora.\n\nIt is worth observing, how beautifully and elegantly the fable has\ndrawn two reigning characters in human life, and given two examples,\nor tablatures of them, under the persons of Prometheus and Epimetheus.\nThe followers of Epimetheus are improvident, see not far before them,\nand prefer such things as are agreeable for the present; whence they\nare oppressed with numerous straits, difficulties, and calamities, with\nwhich they almost continually struggle; but in the mean time gratify\ntheir own temper, and, for want of a better knowledge of things, feed\ntheir minds with many vain hopes; and as with so many pleasing dreams,\ndelight themselves, and sweeten the miseries of life.\n\nBut the followers of Prometheus are the prudent, wary men, that look\ninto futurity, and cautiously guard against, prevent, and undermine\nmany calamities and misfortunes. But this watchful, provident temper,\nis attended with a deprivation of numerous pleasures, and the loss of\nvarious delights, whilst such men debar themselves the use even of\ninnocent things, and what is still worse, rack and torture themselves\nwith cares, fears, and disquiets; being bound fast to the pillar of\nnecessity, and tormented with numberless thoughts (which for their\nswiftness are well compared to an eagle), that continually wound,\ntear, and gnaw their liver or mind, unless, perhaps, they find some\nsmall remission by intervals, or as it were at nights; but then\nnew anxieties, dreads, and fears, soon return again, as it were in\nthe morning. And, therefore, very few men, of either temper, have\nsecured to themselves the advantages of providence, and kept clear of\ndisquiets, troubles, and misfortunes.\n\nNor indeed can any man obtain this end without the assistance of\nHercules; that is, of such fortitude and constancy of mind as stands\nprepared against every event, and remains indifferent to every change;\nlooking forward without being daunted, enjoying the good without\ndisdain, and enduring the bad without impatience. And it must be\nobserved, that even Prometheus had not the power to free himself,\nbut owed his deliverance to another; for no natural inbred force and\nfortitude could prove equal to such a task. The power of releasing him\ncame from the utmost confines of the ocean, and from the sun; that is,\nfrom Apollo, or knowledge; and again, from a due consideration of the\nuncertainty, instability, and fluctuating state of human life, which\nis aptly represented by sailing the ocean. Accordingly, Virgil has\nprudently joined these two together, accounting him happy who knows the\ncauses of things, and has conquered all his fears, apprehensions, and\nsuperstitions.[642]\n\nIt is added, with great elegance, for supporting and confirming the\nhuman mind, that the great hero who thus delivered him sailed the ocean\nin a cup, or pitcher, to prevent fear, or complaint; as if, through\nthe narrowness of our nature, or a too great fragility thereof, we\nwere absolutely incapable of that fortitude and constancy to which\nSeneca finely alludes, when he says: \u201cIt is a noble thing, at once to\nparticipate in the frailty of man and the security of a god.\u201d\n\nWe have hitherto, that we might not break the connection of things,\ndesignedly omitted the last crime of Prometheus\u2014that of attempting\nthe chastity of Minerva\u2014which heinous offence it doubtless was, that\ncaused the punishment of having his liver gnawed by the vulture. The\nmeaning seems to be this,\u2014that when men are puffed up with arts and\nknowledge, they often try to subdue even the divine wisdom and bring\nit under the dominion of sense and reason, whence inevitably follows a\nperpetual and restless rending and tearing of the mind. A sober and\nhumble distinction must, therefore, be made betwixt divine and human\nthings, and betwixt the oracles of sense and faith, unless mankind had\nrather choose an heretical religion, and a fictitious and romantic\nphilosophy.[643]\n\nThe last particular in the fable is the Games of the Torch, instituted\nto Prometheus, which again relates to arts and sciences, as well as the\ninvention of fire, for the commemoration and celebration whereof these\ngames were held. And here we have an extremely prudent admonition,\ndirecting us to expect the perfection of the sciences from succession,\nand not from the swiftness and abilities of any single person; for\nhe who is fleetest and strongest in the course may perhaps be less\nfit to keep his torch alight, since there is danger of its going\nout from too rapid as well as from too slow a motion.[644] But this\nkind of contest, with the torch, seems to have been long dropped and\nneglected; the sciences appearing to have flourished principally in\ntheir first authors, as Aristotle, Galen, Euclid, Ptolemy, &c.; whilst\ntheir successors have done very little, or scarce made any attempts.\nBut it were highly to be wished that these games might be renewed,\nto the honor of Prometheus, or human nature, and that they might\nexcite contest, emulation, and laudable endeavors, and the design meet\nwith such success as not to hang tottering, tremulous, and hazarded,\nupon the torch of any single person. Mankind, therefore, should be\nadmonished to rouse themselves, and try and exert their own strength\nand chance, and not place all their dependence upon a few men, whose\nabilities and capacities, perhaps, are not greater than their own.\n\nThese are the particulars which appear to us shadowed out by this trite\nand vulgar fable, though without denying that there may be contained\nin it several intimations that have a surprising correspondence with\nthe Christian mysteries. In particular, the voyage of Hercules, made\nin a pitcher, to release Prometheus, bears an allusion to the word of\nGod, coming in the frail vessel of the flesh to redeem mankind. But we\nindulge ourselves no such liberties as these, for fear of using strange\nfire at the altar of the Lord.\n\n\n\n\nXXVII.\u2014ICARUS AND SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS, OR THE MIDDLE WAY.\n\nEXPLAINED OF MEDIOCRITY IN NATURAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY.\n\n\nMediocrity, or the holding a middle course, has been highly extolled in\nmorality, but little in matters of science, though no less useful and\nproper here; whilst in politics it is held suspected, and ought to be\nemployed with judgment. The ancients described mediocrity in manners by\nthe course prescribed to Icarus; and in matters of the understanding\nby the steering betwixt Scylla and Charybdis, on account of the great\ndifficulty and danger in passing those straits.\n\nIcarus, being to fly across the sea, was ordered by his father neither\nto soar too high nor fly too low, for, as his wings were fastened\ntogether with wax, there was danger of its melting by the sun\u2019s heat in\ntoo high a flight, and of its becoming less tenacious by the moisture\nif he kept too near the vapor of the sea. But he, with a juvenile\nconfidence, soared aloft, and fell down headlong.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014The fable is vulgar, and easily interpreted; for the path\nof virtue lies straight between excess on the one side, and defect on\nthe other. And no wonder that excess should prove the bane of Icarus,\nexulting in juvenile strength and vigor; for excess is the natural vice\nof youth, as defect is that of old age; and if a man must perish by\neither, Icarus chose the better of the two; for all defects are justly\nesteemed more depraved than excesses. There is some magnanimity in\nexcess, that, like a bird, claims kindred with the heavens; but defect\nis a reptile, that basely crawls upon the earth. It was excellently\nsaid by Heraclitus: \u201cA dry light makes the best soul;\u201d for if the soul\ncontracts moisture from the earth, it perfectly degenerates and sinks.\nOn the other hand, moderation must be observed, to prevent this fine\nlight from burning, by its too great subtility and dryness. But these\nobservations are common.\n\nIn matters of the understanding, it requires great skill and a\nparticular felicity to steer clear of Scylla and Charybdis. If the ship\nstrikes upon Scylla, it is dashed in pieces against the rocks; if upon\nCharybdis, it is swallowed outright. This allegory is pregnant with\nmatter; but we shall only observe the force of it lies here, that a\nmean be observed in every doctrine and science, and in the rules and\naxioms thereof, between the rocks of distinctions and the whirlpools\nof universalities: for these two are the bane and shipwreck of fine\ngeniuses and arts.\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII.\u2014SPHINX, OR SCIENCE.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE SCIENCES.\n\n\nThey relate that Sphinx was a monster, variously formed, having the\nface and voice of a virgin, the wings of a bird, and the talons of a\ngriffin. She resided on the top of a mountain, near the city Thebes,\nand also beset the highways. Her manner was to lie in ambush and seize\nthe travellers, and having them in her power, to propose to them\ncertain dark and perplexed riddles, which it was thought she received\nfrom the Muses, and if her wretched captives could not solve and\ninterpret these riddles, she, with great cruelty, fell upon them, in\ntheir hesitation and confusion, and tore them to pieces. This plague\nhaving reigned a long time, the Thebans at length offered their kingdom\nto the man who could interpret her riddles, there being no other way\nto subdue her. \u0152dipus, a penetrating and prudent man, though lame\nin his feet, excited by so great a reward, accepted the condition, and\nwith a good assurance of mind, cheerfully presented himself before the\nmonster, who directly asked him: \u201cWhat creature that was, which, being\nborn four-footed, afterwards became two-footed, then three-footed, and\nlastly four-footed again?\u201d \u0152dipus, with presence of mind, replied it\nwas man, who, upon his first birth and infant state, crawled upon all\nfours in endeavoring to walk; but not long after went upright upon his\ntwo natural feet; again, in old age walked three-footed, with a stick;\nand at last, growing decrepit, lay four-footed confined to his bed;\nand having by this exact solution obtained the victory, he slew the\nmonster, and, laying the carcass upon an ass, led her away in triumph;\nand upon this he was, according to the agreement, made king of Thebes.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This is an elegant, instructive fable, and seems invented\nto represent science, especially as joined with practice. For science\nmay, without absurdity, be called a monster, being strangely gazed\nat and admired by the ignorant and unskilful. Her figure and form\nis various, by reason of the vast variety of subjects that science\nconsiders; her voice and countenance are represented female, by\nreason of her gay appearance and volubility of speech; wings are\nadded, because the sciences and their inventions run and fly about\nin a moment, for knowledge like light communicated from one torch\nto another, is presently caught and copiously diffused; sharp and\nhooked talons are elegantly attributed to her, because the axioms and\narguments of science enter the mind, lay hold of it, fix it down, and\nkeep it from moving or slipping away. This the sacred philosopher\nobserved, when he said: \u201cThe words of the wise are like goads or nails\ndriven far in.\u201d[645] Again, all science seems placed on high, as it\nwere on the tops of mountains that are hard to climb; for science is\njustly imagined a sublime and lofty thing, looking down upon ignorance\nfrom an eminence, and at the same time taking an extensive view on all\nsides, as is usual on the tops of mountains. Science is said to beset\nthe highways, because through all the journey and peregrination of\nhuman life there is matter and occasion offered of contemplation.\n\nSphinx is said to propose various difficult questions and riddles to\nmen, which she received from the Muses; and these questions, so long\nas they remain with the Muses, may very well be unaccompanied with\nseverity, for while there is no other end of contemplation and inquiry\nbut that of knowledge alone, the understanding is not oppressed, or\ndriven to straits and difficulties, but expatiates and ranges at large,\nand even receives a degree of pleasure from doubt and variety; but\nafter the Muses have given over their riddles to Sphinx, that is, to\npractice, which urges and impels to action, choice, and determination,\nthen it is that they become torturing, severe, and trying, and, unless\nsolved and interpreted, strangely perplex and harass the human mind,\nrend it every way, and perfectly tear it to pieces. All the riddles of\nSphinx, therefore, have two conditions annexed, viz: dilaceration to\nthose who do not solve them, and empire to those that do. For he who\nunderstands the thing proposed, obtains his end, and every artificer\nrules over his work.[646]\n\nSphinx has no more than two kinds of riddles, one relating to the\nnature of things, the other to the nature of man; and correspondent to\nthese, the prizes of the solution are two kinds of empire,\u2014the empire\nover nature, and the empire over man. For the true and ultimate end of\nnatural philosophy is dominion over natural things, natural bodies,\nremedies, machines, and numberless other particulars, though the\nschools, contented with what spontaneously offers, and swollen with\ntheir own discourses, neglect, and in a manner despise, both things and\nworks.\n\nBut the riddle proposed to \u0152dipus, the solution whereof acquired\nhim the Theban kingdom, regarded the nature of man; for he who has\nthoroughly looked into and examined human nature, may in a manner\ncommand his own fortune, and seems born to acquire dominion and rule.\nAccordingly, Virgil properly makes the arts of government to be the\narts of the Romans.[647] It was, therefore, extremely apposite in\nAugustus C\u00e6sar to use the image of Sphinx in his signet, whether this\nhappened by accident or by design; for he of all men was deeply versed\nin politics, and through the course of his life very happily solved\nabundance of new riddles with regard to the nature of man; and unless\nhe had done this with great dexterity and ready address, he would\nfrequently have been involved in imminent danger, if not destruction.\n\nIt is with the utmost elegance added in the fable, that when Sphinx was\nconquered, her carcass was laid upon an ass; for there is nothing so\nsubtile and abstruse, but after being once made plain, intelligible,\nand common, it may be received by the slowest capacity.\n\nWe must not omit that Sphinx was conquered by a lame man, and impotent\nin his feet; for men usually make too much haste to the solution of\nSphinx\u2019s riddles; whence it happens, that she prevailing, their minds\nare rather racked and torn by disputes, than invested with command by\nworks and effects.\n\n\n\n\nXXIX.\u2014PROSERPINE, OR SPIRIT.\n\nEXPLAINED OF THE SPIRIT INCLUDED IN NATURAL BODIES.\n\n\nThey tell us, Pluto having, upon that memorable division of empire\namong the gods, received the infernal regions for his share, despaired\nof winning any one of the goddesses in marriage by an obsequious\ncourtship, and therefore through necessity resolved upon a rape.\nHaving watched his opportunity, he suddenly seized upon Proserpine,\na most beautiful virgin, the daughter of Ceres, as she was gathering\nnarcissus flowers in the meads of Sicily, and hurrying her to his\nchariot, carried her with him to the subterraneal regions, where she\nwas treated with the highest reverence, and styled the Lady of Dis.\nBut Ceres, missing her only daughter, whom she extremely loved, grew\npensive and anxious beyond measure, and taking a lighted torch in her\nhand, wandered the world over in quest of her daughter,\u2014but all to no\npurpose, till, suspecting she might be carried to the infernal regions,\nshe, with great lamentation and abundance of tears, importuned Jupiter\nto restore her; and with much ado prevailed so far as to recover and\nbring her away, if she had tasted nothing there. This proved a hard\ncondition upon the mother, for Proserpine was found to have eaten three\nkernels of a pomegranate. Ceres, however, desisted not, but fell to\nher entreaties and lamentations afresh, insomuch that at last it was\nindulged her that Proserpine should divide the year betwixt her husband\nand her mother, and live six months with the one and as many with the\nother. After this, Theseus and Perithous, with uncommon audacity,\nattempted to force Proserpine away from Pluto\u2019s bed, but happening\nto grow tired in their journey, and resting themselves upon a stone\nin the realms below, they could never rise from it again, but remain\nsitting there forever. Proserpine, therefore, still continued queen of\nthe lower regions, in honor of whom there was also added this grand\nprivilege, that though it had never been permitted any one to return\nafter having once descended thither, a particular exception was made,\nthat he who brought a golden bough as a present to Proserpine, might\non that condition descend and return. This was an only bough that\ngrew in a large dark grove, not from a tree of its own, but like the\nmistletoe from another, and when plucked away a fresh one always shot\nout in its stead.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable seems to regard natural philosophy, and\nsearches deep into that rich and fruitful virtue and supply in\nsubterraneous bodies, from whence all the things upon the earth\u2019s\nsurface spring, and into which they again relapse and return. By\nProserpine, the ancients denoted that ethereal spirit shut up and\ndetained within the earth, here represented by Pluto,\u2014the spirit being\nseparated from the superior globe, according to the expression of\nthe poet.[648] This spirit is conceived as ravished, or snatched up\nby the earth, because it can in no way be detained, when it has time\nand opportunity to fly off, but is only wrought together and fixed\nby sudden intermixture and comminution, in the same manner as if one\nshould endeavor to mix air with water, which cannot otherwise be done\nthan by a quick and rapid agitation, that joins them together in froth\nwhilst the air is thus caught up by the water. And it is elegantly\nadded, that Proserpine was ravished whilst she gathered narcissus\nflowers, which have their name from numbedness or stupefaction; for the\nspirit we speak of is in the fittest disposition to be embraced by\nterrestrial matter when it begins to coagulate, or grow torpid as it\nwere.\n\nIt is an honor justly attributed to Proserpine, and not to any other\nwife of the gods, that of being the lady or mistress of her husband,\nbecause this spirit performs all its operations in the subterraneal\nregions, whilst Pluto, or the earth, remains stupid, or as it were\nignorant of them.\n\nThe ether, or the efficacy of the heavenly bodies, denoted by Ceres,\nendeavors with infinite diligence to force out this spirit, and restore\nit to its pristine state. And by the torch in the hand of Ceres, or\nthe ether, is doubtless meant the sun, which disperses light over\nthe whole globe of the earth, and if the thing were possible, must\nhave the greatest share in recovering Proserpine, or reinstating\nthe subterraneal spirit. Yet Proserpine still continues and dwells\nbelow, after the manner excellently described in the condition betwixt\nJupiter and Ceres. For first, it is certain that there are two ways\nof detaining the spirit, in solid and terrestrial matter,\u2014the one by\ncondensation or obstruction, which is mere violence and imprisonment;\nthe other by administering a proper aliment, which is spontaneous\nand free. For after the included spirit begins to feed and nourish\nitself, it is not in a hurry to fly off, but remains as it were fixed\nin its own earth. And this is the moral of Proserpine\u2019s tasting the\npomegranate; and were it not for this, she must long ago have been\ncarried up by Ceres, who with her torch wandered the world over, and\nso the earth have been left without its spirit. For though the spirit\nin metals and minerals may perhaps be, after a particular manner,\nwrought in by the solidity of the mass, yet the spirit of vegetables\nand animals has open passages to escape at, unless it be willingly\ndetained, in the way of sipping and tasting them.\n\nThe second article of agreement, that of Proserpine\u2019s remaining\nsix months with her mother and six with her husband, is an elegant\ndescription of the division of the year; for the spirit diffused\nthrough the earth lives above-ground in the vegetable world during the\nsummer months, but in the winter returns under ground again.\n\nThe attempt of Theseus and Perithous to bring Proserpine away, denotes\nthat the more subtile spirits, which descend in many bodies to the\nearth, may frequently be unable to drink in, unite with themselves, and\ncarry off the subterraneous spirit, but on the contrary be coagulated\nby it, and rise no more, so as to increase the inhabitants and add to\nthe dominion of Proserpine.[649]\n\nThe alchemists will be apt to fall in with our interpretation of the\ngolden bough, whether we will or no, because they promise golden\nmountains, and the restoration of natural bodies from their stone,\nas from the gates of Pluto; but we are well assured that their theory\nhad no just foundation, and suspect they have no very encouraging or\npractical proofs of its soundness. Leaving, therefore, their conceits\nto themselves, we shall freely declare our own sentiments upon this\nlast part of the fable. We are certain, from numerous figures and\nexpressions of the ancients, that they judged the conservation, and\nin some degree the renovation, of natural bodies to be no desperate\nor impossible thing, but rather abstruse and out of the common road\nthan wholly impracticable. And this seems to be their opinion in the\npresent case, as they have placed this bough among an infinite number\nof shrubs, in a spacious and thick wood. They supposed it of gold,\nbecause gold is the emblem of duration. They feigned it adventitious,\nnot native, because such an effect is to be expected from art, and not\nfrom any medicine or any simple or mere natural way of working.\n\n\n\n\nXXX.\u2014METIS, OR COUNSEL.\n\nEXPLAINED OF PRINCES AND THEIR COUNCIL.\n\n\nThe ancient poets relate that Jupiter took Metis to wife, whose name\nplainly denotes counsel, and that he, perceiving she was pregnant by\nhim, would by no means wait the time of her delivery, but directly\ndevoured her; whence himself also became pregnant, and was delivered in\na wonderful manner; for he from his head or brain brought forth Pallas\narmed.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable, which in its literal sense appears monstrously\nabsurd, seems to contain a state secret, and shows with what art kings\nusually carry themselves towards their council, in order to preserve\ntheir own authority and majesty not only inviolate, but so as to have\nit magnified and heightened among the people. For kings commonly\nlink themselves, as it were, in a nuptial bond to their council, and\ndeliberate and communicate with them after a prudent and laudable\ncustom upon matters of the greatest importance, at the same time justly\nconceiving this no diminution of their majesty; but when the matter\nonce ripens to a decree or order, which is a kind of birth, the king\nthen suffers the council to go on no further, lest the act should seem\nto depend upon their pleasure. Now, therefore, the king usually assumes\nto himself whatever was wrought, elaborated, or formed, as it were, in\nthe womb of the council (unless it be a matter of an invidious nature,\nwhich he is sure to put from him), so that the decree and the execution\nshall seem to flow from himself.[650] And as this decree or execution\nproceeds with prudence and power, so as to imply necessity, it is\nelegantly wrapped up under the figure of Pallas armed.\n\nNor are kings content to have this seem the effect of their own\nauthority, free will, and uncontrollable choice, unless they also take\nthe whole honor to themselves, and make the people imagine that all\ngood and wholesome decrees proceed entirely from their own head, that\nis, their own sole prudence and judgment.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI.\u2014THE SIRENS, OR PLEASURES.\n\nEXPLAINED OF MEN\u2019S PASSION FOR PLEASURES.\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\u2014The fable of the Sirens is, in a vulgar sense, justly\nenough explained of the pernicious incentives to pleasure; but the\nancient mythology seems to us like a vintage ill-pressed and trod; for\nthough something has been drawn from it, yet all the more excellent\nparts remain behind in the grapes that are untouched.\n\n\nFABLE.\u2014The Sirens are said to be the daughters of Achelous and\nTerpsichore, one of the Muses. In their early days they had wings,\nbut lost them upon being conquered by the Muses, with whom they\nrashly contended; and with the feathers of these wings the Muses made\nthemselves crowns, so that from this time the Muses wore wings on their\nheads, except only the mother to the Sirens.\n\nThese Sirens resided in certain pleasant islands, and when, from their\nwatch-tower, they saw any ship approaching, they first detained the\nsailors by their music, then, enticing them to shore, destroyed them.\n\nTheir singing was not of one and the same kind, but they adapted their\ntunes exactly to the nature of each person, in order to captivate and\nsecure him. And so destructive had they been, that these islands of\nthe Sirens appeared, to a very great distance, white with the bones of\ntheir unburied captives.\n\nTwo different remedies were invented to protect persons against them,\nthe one by Ulysses, the other by Orpheus. Ulysses commanded his\nassociates to stop their ears close with wax; and he, determining to\nmake the trial, and yet avoid the danger, ordered himself to be tied\nfast to a mast of the ship, giving strict charge not to be unbound,\neven though himself should entreat it; but Orpheus, without any binding\nat all, escaped the danger, by loudly chanting to his harp the praises\nof the gods, whereby he drowned the voices of the Sirens.\n\n\nEXPLANATION.\u2014This fable is of the moral kind, and appears no less\nelegant than easy to interpret. For pleasures proceed from plenty and\naffluence, attended with activity or exultation of the mind.[651]\nAnciently their first incentives were quick, and seized upon men\nas if they had been winged, but learning and philosophy afterwards\nprevailing, had at least the power to lay the mind under some\nrestraint, and make it consider the issue of things, and thus deprived\npleasures of their wings.\n\nThis conquest redounded greatly to the honor and ornament of the\nMuses; for after it appeared, by the example of a few, that philosophy\ncould introduce a contempt of pleasures, it immediately seemed to be a\nsublime thing that could raise and elevate the soul, fixed in a manner\ndown to the earth, and thus render men\u2019s thoughts, which reside in the\nhead, winged as it were, or sublime.\n\nOnly the mother of the Sirens was not thus plumed on the head, which\ndoubtless denotes superficial learning, invented and used for delight\nand levity; an eminent example whereof we have in Petronius, who,\nafter receiving sentence of death, still continued his gay frothy\nhumor, and as Tacitus observes, used his learning to solace or divert\nhimself, and instead of such discourses as give firmness and constancy\nof mind, read nothing but loose poems and verses.[652] Such learning as\nthis seems to pluck the crowns again from the Muses\u2019 heads, and restore\nthem to the Sirens.\n\nThe Sirens are said to inhabit certain islands, because pleasures\ngenerally seek retirement, and often shun society. And for their songs,\nwith the manifold artifice and destructiveness thereof, this is too\nobvious and common to need explanation. But that particular of the\nbones stretching like white cliffs along the shores, and appearing afar\noff, contains a more subtile allegory, and denotes that the examples of\nothers\u2019 calamity and misfortunes, though ever so manifest and apparent,\nhave yet but little force to deter the corrupt nature of man from\npleasures.\n\nThe allegory of the remedies against the Sirens is not difficult, but\nvery wise and noble; it proposes, in effect, three remedies, as well\nagainst subtile as violent mischiefs, two drawn from philosophy and one\nfrom religion.\n\nThe first means of escaping is to resist the earliest temptation in\nthe beginning, and diligently avoid and cut off all occasions that may\nsolicit or sway the mind; and this is well represented by shutting up\nthe ears, a kind of remedy to be necessarily used with mean and vulgar\nminds, such as the retinue of Ulysses.\n\nBut nobler spirits may converse, even in the midst of pleasures, if\nthe mind be well guarded with constancy and resolution. And thus some\ndelight to make a severe trial of their own virtue, and thoroughly\nacquaint themselves with the folly and madness of pleasures, without\ncomplying or being wholly given up to them; which is what Solomon\nprofesses of himself when he closes the account of all the numerous\npleasures he gave a loose to, with this expression: \u201cBut wisdom still\ncontinued with me.\u201d Such heroes in virtue may, therefore, remain\nunmoved by the greatest incentives to pleasure, and stop themselves on\nthe very precipice of danger; if, according to the example of Ulysses,\nthey turn a deaf ear to pernicious counsel, and the flatteries of their\nfriends and companions, which have the greatest power to shake and\nunsettle the mind.\n\nBut the most excellent remedy, in every temptation, is that of Orpheus,\nwho, by loudly chanting and resounding the praises of the gods,\nconfounded the voices, and kept himself from hearing the music of the\nSirens; for divine contemplations exceed the pleasures of sense, not\nonly in power but also in sweetness.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] By B. Montagu. Appendix, note 3, 1.\n\n[2] Baconiana, 201.\n\n[3] Bacon\u2019s Apophthegms.\n\n[4] It is not surprising that ladies then received an education rare\nin our own times. It should be remembered that in the sixteenth\ncentury Latin was the language of courts and schools, of diplomacy,\npolitics, and theology; it was the universal language, and there was\nthen no literature in the modern tongues, except the Italian; indeed\nall knowledge, ancient and modern, was conveyed to the world in the\nlanguage of the ancients. The great productions of Athens and Rome\nwere the intellectual all of our ancestors down to the middle of the\nsixteenth century.\n\n[5] _Prospetto delle Memorie aneddote dei Lincei da_ F. Cancellieri.\nRoma, 1823. This fact is quoted by Monsieur Cousin, in a note to his\n_Fragments de Philosophie Cart\u00e9sienne_.\n\n[6] Sir Robert Cecil.\n\n[7] Gray\u2019s Inn is one of the four Inns or companies for the study of\nlaw.\n\n[8] King\u2019s or Queen\u2019s Counsel are barristers that plead for the\ngovernment; they receive fees but no salary; the first were appointed\nin the reign of Charles II. Queen\u2019s Counsel extraordinary was a title\npeculiar to Bacon, granted, as the patent specially states, _honoris\ncausa_.\n\n[9] Letter to Lord Burleigh.\n\n[10] The Solicitor-General is a law-officer inferior in rank to the\nAttorney-General, with whom he is associated in the management of the\nlaw business of the crown. He pleads also for private individuals, but\nnot against government. He has a small salary, but very considerable\nfees. The salary in Bacon\u2019s time was but seventy pounds.\n\n[11] Bacon was, like other courtiers, in the habit of presenting the\nQueen with a New Year\u2019s gift. On one occasion, it was a white satin\npetticoat embroidered with snakes and fruitage, as emblems of wisdom\nand beauty. The donors varied in rank from the Lord Keeper down to the\ndust-man.\n\n[12] Essays.\n\n[13] The Attorney-General is the public prosecutor on behalf of the\nCrown, where the state is actually and not nominally the prosecutor.\nHe pleads also as a barrister in private causes, provided they are not\nagainst the government. As he receives a fee for every case in which\nthe government is concerned, his emoluments are considerable; but he\nhas no salary. His official position secures to him the best practice\nat the bar. The salary was, in Bacon\u2019s time, but 81_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ per\nannum; but the situation yielded him six thousand pounds yearly.\n\n[14] Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy.\n\n[15] Essay xvi.\n\n[16] Decisions being given against the parties is no proof of\nuncorruptness; it is always the party who loses his suit that\ncomplains; the gainer receives the price of his bribe, and is silent.\n\n[17] The exactions of his servants appear to have been very great;\ntheir indulgence in every kind of extravagance, and the lavish\nprofuseness of his own expenses, were the principal causes of his ruin.\nMallet relates that one day, during the investigation into his conduct,\nthe Chancellor passed through a room where several of his servants were\nsitting; as they arose from their seats to greet him, \u201cSit down, my\nmasters,\u201d exclaimed he, \u201cyour rise hath been my fall.\u201d\n\n[18] Essay xi.\n\n[19] Macaulay\u2019s Essays.\n\n[20] He was not, as has been erroneously supposed, stripped of his\ntitles of nobility; this was proposed; but it was negatived by the\nmajority formed by means of the bishops.\n\n[21] The Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles the First, was before he\nascended the throne the patron of Bacon, who said of him in his will,\n\u201cmy most gracious sovereign, who _ever when he was prince_ was my\npatron.\u201d\n\n[22] The Seasons.\n\n[23] Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of\nEngland.\n\n[24] Bracton is one of the earliest writers of English law. He\nflourished in the thirteenth century. The title of his work is _De\nLegibus et Consuetudinibus Angli\u00e6_, first printed in 1569.\n\n[25] The woods on his estate of Gorhambury.\n\n[26] Of the Interpretation of Nature.\n\n[27] Ibid.\n\n[28] New Atlantis.\n\n[29] Advancement of Learning.\n\n[30] Edinburgh Review.\n\n[31] Essays.\n\n[32] Advancement of Learning.\n\n[33] Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy.\n\n[34] Tattler, No. 267.\n\n[35] Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the fifteenth,\nsixteenth, and seventeenth centuries.\n\n[36] Montaigne says, in his author\u2019s address to the reader:\u2014\n\n\u201c_Ie veulx qu\u2019on m\u2019y veoye en ma fa\u00e7on simple, naturelle et ordinaire,\nsans estude et artifice; car c\u2019est moi que je peinds._\u201d He says again\nelsewhere: \u201c_Ie n\u2019ay pas plus faict mon livre, que mon livre m\u2019a faict;\nlivre consubstantiel \u00e0 son aucteur, d\u2019une occupation propre, membre de\nma vie, non d\u2019une occupation et fin tierce et estrangiere, comme touts\naultres livres_.\u201d (Livre ii. ch. xviii.)\n\n[37] Introduction to the Encyclop\u00e6dia.\n\n[38] Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the fifteenth,\nsixteenth, and seventeenth centuries.\n\n[39] Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the 15th, 16th, and\n17th centuries.\n\n[40] No. 267.\n\n[41] Essays.\n\n[42] He refers to the following passage in the Gospel of St. John,\nxviii. 38: \u201cPilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said\nthis, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in\nhim no fault at all.\u201d\n\n[43] He probably refers to the \u201cNew Academy,\u201d a sect of Greek\nphilosophers, one of whose moot questions was, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d Upon\nwhich they came to the unsatisfactory conclusion, that mankind has no\ncriterion by which to form a judgment.\n\n[44] Perhaps he was thinking of St. Augustine.\u2014See _Aug. Confess._ i.\n25, 26.\n\n[45] \u201cThe wine of evil spirits.\u201d\n\n[46] Genesis i. 3: \u201cAnd God said, Let there be light, and there was\nlight.\u201d\n\n[47] At the moment when \u201cThe Lord God formed man out of the dust of\nthe ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man\nbecame a living soul.\u201d\u2014_Genesis_ ii. 7.\n\n[48] Lucretius, the Roman poet and Epicurean philosopher, is alluded\nto.\u2014_Lucret._ ii. _init._ Comp. _Adv. of Learning_, i. 8, 5.\n\n[49] He refers to the sect which followed the doctrines of Epicurus.\nThe life of Epicurus himself was pure and abstemious in the extreme.\nOne of his leading tenets was, that the aim of all speculation should\nbe to enable men to judge with certainty what course is to be chosen,\nin order to secure health of body and tranquillity of mind. The\nadoption, however, of the term \u201cpleasure,\u201d as denoting this object,\nhas at all periods subjected the Epicurean system to great reproach;\nwhich, in fact, is due rather to the conduct of many who, for their own\npurposes, have taken shelter under the system in name only, than to\nthe tenets themselves, which did not inculcate libertinism. Epicurus\nadmitted the existence of the Gods, but he deprived them of the\ncharacteristics of Divinity, either as creators or preservers of the\nworld.\n\n[50] Lord Bacon has either translated this passage of Lucretius from\nmemory or has purposely paraphrased it. The following is the literal\ntranslation of the original: \u201c\u2019Tis a pleasant thing, from the shore,\nto behold the dangers of another upon the mighty ocean, when the\nwinds are lashing the main; not because it is a grateful pleasure\nfor any one to be in misery, but because it is a pleasant thing to\nsee those misfortunes from which you yourself are free: \u2019tis also\na pleasant thing to behold the mighty contests of warfare, arrayed\nupon the plains, without a share in the danger; but nothing is there\nmore delightful than to occupy the elevated temples of the wise, well\nfortified by tranquil learning, whence you may be able to look down\nupon others, and see them straying in every direction, and wandering in\nsearch of the path of life.\u201d\n\n[51] Michael de Montaigne, the celebrated French Essayist. His _Essays_\nembrace a variety of topics, which are treated in a sprightly and\nentertaining manner, and are replete with remarks indicative of strong\nnative good sense. He died in 1592. The following quotation is from\nthe second book of the _Essays_, c. 18: \u201cLying is a disgraceful vice,\nand one that Plutarch, an ancient writer, paints in most disgraceful\ncolors, when he says that it is \u2018affording testimony that one _first_\ndespises God, and then fears men;\u2019 it is not possible more happily to\ndescribe its horrible, disgusting, and abandoned nature; for, can we\nimagine anything more vile than to be cowards with regard to men, and\nbrave with regard to God?\u201d\n\n[52] St. Luke xviii. 8: \u201cNevertheless, when the Son of man cometh,\nshall he find faith upon the earth?\u201d\n\n[53] A portion of this _Essay_ is borrowed from the writings of Seneca.\nSee his _Letters to Lucilius_, B. iv. Ep. 24 and 82.\n\n[54] \u201cThe array of the death-bed has more terrors than death itself.\u201d\nThis quotation is from Seneca.\n\n[55] He probably alludes to the custom of hanging the room in black\nwhere the body of the deceased lay, a practice much more usual in\nBacon\u2019s time than at the present day.\n\n[56] Tacit. Hist. ii. 49.\n\n[57] Ad Lucil. 77.\n\n[58] \u201cReflect how often you do the same things; a man may wish to die,\nnot only because either he is brave or wretched, but even because he is\nsurfeited with life.\u201d\n\n[59] \u201cLivia, mindful of our union, live on, and fare thee well.\u201d\u2014_Suet.\nAug. Vit._ c. 100.\n\n[60] \u201cHis bodily strength and vitality were now forsaking Tiberius, but\nnot his duplicity.\u201d\u2014_Ann._ vi. 50.\n\n[61] This was said as a reproof to his flatterers, and in spirit is not\nunlike the rebuke administered by Canute to his retinue.\u2014_Suet. Vespas.\nVit._ c. 23.\n\n[62] \u201cI am become a Divinity, I suppose.\u201d\n\n[63] \u201cIf it be for the advantage of the Roman people, strike.\u201d\u2014_Tac.\nHist._ i. 41.\n\n[64] \u201cIf aught remains to be done by me, dispatch.\u201d\u2014_Dio Cass._ 76, _ad\nfin._\n\n[65] These were the followers of Zeno, a philosopher of Citium, in\nCyprus, who founded the Stoic school, or \u201cSchool of the Portico,\u201d at\nAthens. The basis of his doctrines was the duty of making virtue the\nobject of all our researches. According to him, the pleasures of the\nmind were preferable to those of the body, and his disciples were\ntaught to view with indifference health or sickness, riches or poverty,\npain or pleasure.\n\n[66] \u201cWho reckons the close of his life among the boons of nature.\u201d\nLord Bacon here quotes from memory; the passage is in the tenth Satire\nof Juvenal, and runs thus:\u2014\n\n \u201cFortem posce animum, mortis terrore carentem,\n Qui spatium vit\u00e6 extremum inter munera ponat\n Natur\u00e6\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cPray for strong resolve, void of the fear of death, that reckons the\nclosing period of life among the boons of nature.\u201d\n\n[67] He alludes to the song of Simeon, to whom the Holy Ghost had\nrevealed, \u201cthat he should not see death before he had seen the Lord\u2019s\nChrist.\u201d When he beheld the infant Jesus in the temple, he took\nthe child in his arms and burst forth into a song of thanksgiving,\ncommencing, \u201cLord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,\naccording to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.\u201d\u2014_St.\nLuke_ ii. 29.\n\n[68] \u201cWhen dead, the same person shall be beloved.\u201d\u2014_Hor. Ep._ ii. 1,\n14.\n\n[69] \u201cBehold, he is in the desert.\u201d\u2014_St. Matthew_ xxiv. 26.\n\n[70] \u201cBehold, he is in the secret chambers.\u201d\u2014_Ib._\n\n[71] He alludes to 1 Corinthians xiv. 23: \u201cIf, therefore, the whole\nchurch be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and\nthere come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not\nsay that ye are mad?\u201d\n\n[72] Psalm i. 1: \u201cBlessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel\nof the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the\nseat of the scornful.\u201d\n\n[73] This dance, which was originally called the Morisco dance is\nsupposed to have been derived from the Moors of Spain; the dancers in\nearlier times blackening their faces to resemble Moors. It was probably\na corruption of the ancient Pyrrhic dance, which was performed by\nmen in armor, and which is mentioned as still existing in Greece, in\nByron\u2019s \u201cSong of the Greek Captive:\u201d\u2014\n\n \u201cYou have the Pyrrhic dance as yet.\u201d\n\nAttitude and gesture formed one of the characteristics of the dance. It\nis still practised in some parts of England.\u2014_Rabelais, Pantag._ ii. 7.\n\n[74] 2 Kings ix. 18.\n\n[75] He alludes to the words in Revelation, c. iii. v. 14, 15, 16: \u201cAnd\nunto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things\nsaith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the\ncreation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor\nhot.\u2014I will spue thee out of my mouth.\u201d Laodicea was a city of Asia\nMinor. St. Paul established the church there which is here referred to.\n\n[76] St. Matthew xii. 30.\n\n[77] \u201cIn the garment there may be many colors, but let there be no\nrending of it.\u201d\n\n[78] \u201cAvoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science,\nfalsely so called.\u201d\u20141 _Tim._ vi. 20.\n\n[79] He alludes to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, significant of the\nlimited duration of his kingdom.\u2014See _Daniel_ ii. 33, 41.\n\n[80] Mahomet proselytized by giving to the nations which he conquered,\nthe option of the Koran or the sword.\n\n[81] \u201cTo deeds so dreadful could religion prompt.\u201d The poet refers\nto the sacrifice by Agamemnon, the Grecian leader, of his daughter\nIphigenia, with the view of appeasing the wrath of Diana.\u2014_Lucret._ i.\n95.\n\n[82] He alludes to the massacre of the Huguenots, or Protestants, in\nFrance, which took place on St. Bartholomew\u2019s day, August 24, 1572,\nby the order of Charles IX. and his mother, Catherine de Medici. On\nthis occasion about 60,000 persons perished, including the Admiral De\nColigny, one of the most virtuous men that France possessed, and the\nmain stay of the Protestant cause.\n\n[83] More generally known as \u201cThe Gunpowder Plot.\u201d\n\n[84] Isa. xiv. 14.\n\n[85] Allusion is made to the \u201ccaduceus,\u201d with which Mercury, the\nmessenger of the Gods, summoned the souls of the departed to the\ninfernal regions.\n\n[86] \u201cThe wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.\u201d\u2014_James_\ni. 20.\n\n[87] He alludes to Cosmo de Medici, or Cosmo I., chief of the Republic\nof Florence, the encourager of literature and the fine arts.\n\n[88] Job ii. 10.\u2014\u201cShall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall\nwe not receive evil?\u201d\n\n[89] By \u201cpublic revenges,\u201d he means punishment awarded by the state\nwith the sanction of the laws.\n\n[90] He alludes to the retribution dealt by Augustus and Anthony to the\nmurderers of Julius C\u00e6sar. It is related by ancient historians, as a\nsingular fact, that not one of them died a natural death.\n\n[91] Henry III. of France was assassinated in 1599, by Jacques Clement,\na Jacobin monk, in the frenzy of fanaticism. Although Clement justly\nsuffered punishment, the end of this bloodthirsty and bigoted tyrant\nmay be justly deemed a retribution dealt by the hand of an offended\nProvidence; so truly does the Poet say:\u2014\n\n \u201cneque enim lex \u00e6quior ulla\n Quam necis artifices arte perire su\u00e2.\u201d\n\n[92] Sen. Ad Lucil. 66.\n\n[93] Ibid. 53.\n\n[94] Stesichorus, Apollodorus, and others. Lord Bacon makes a similar\nreference to this myth in his treatise \u201cOn the Wisdom of the Ancients.\u201d\n\u201cIt is added with great elegance, to console and strengthen the minds\nof men, that this mighty hero (Hercules) sailed in a cup or \u2018urceus,\u2019\nin order that they may not too much fear and allege the narrowness\nof their nature and its frailty; as if it were not capable of such\nfortitude and constancy; of which very thing Seneca argued well, when\nhe said, \u2018It is a great thing to have at the same time the frailty of a\nman, and the security of a God.\u2019\u201d\n\n[95] Funereal airs. It must be remembered that many of the Psalms of\nDavid were written by him when persecuted by Saul, as also in the\ntribulation caused by the wicked conduct of his son Absalom. Some of\nthem, too, though called \u201cThe Psalms of David,\u201d were really composed\nby the Jews in their captivity at Babylon; as, for instance, the 137th\nPsalm, which so beautifully commences, \u201cBy the waters of Babylon there\nwe sat down.\u201d One of them is supposed to be the composition of Moses.\n\n[96] This fine passage, beginning at \u201cProsperity is the blessing,\u201d\nwhich was not published till 1625, twenty-eight years after the first\nEssays, has been quoted by Macaulay, with considerable justice, as a\nproof that the writer\u2019s fancy did not decay with the advance of old\nage, and that his style in his later years became richer and softer.\nThe learned critic contrasts this passage with the terse style of the\nEssay of Studies (Essay 50), which was published in 1597.\n\n[97] Tac. Ann. v. 1.\n\n[98] Tac. Hist. ii. 76.\n\n[99] A word now unused, signifying the \u201ctraits,\u201d or \u201cfeatures.\u201d\n\n[100] A truth.\u2014_A. L._ II. xxiii. 14.\n\n[101] Proverbs x. 1: \u201cA wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish\nson is the heaviness of his mother.\u201d\n\n[102] Petted\u2014spoiled.\n\n[103] This word seems here to mean \u201ca plan,\u201d or \u201cmethod,\u201d as proved by\nits results.\n\n[104] Ends in.\n\n[105] There is considerable justice in this remark. Children should be\ntaught to do what is right for its own sake, and because it is their\nduty to do so, and not that they may have the selfish gratification of\nobtaining the reward which their companions have failed to secure, and\nof being led to think themselves superior to their companions. When\nlaunched upon the world, emulation will be quite sufficiently forced\nupon them by stern necessity.\n\n[106] \u201cSelect _that course of life_ which is the most advantageous;\nhabit will soon render it pleasant and easily endured.\u201d\n\n[107] His meaning is, that if clergymen have the expenses of a family\nto support, they will hardly find means for the exercise of benevolence\ntoward their parishioners.\n\n[108] \u201cHe preferred his aged wife Penelope to immortality.\u201d This\nwas when Ulysses was entreated by the goddess Calypso to give up\nall thoughts of returning to Ithaca, and to remain with her in the\nenjoyment of immortality.\u2014_Plut. Gryll._ 1.\n\n[109] \u201cMay have a pretext,\u201d or \u201cexcuse.\u201d\n\n[110] Thales, _Vide_ Diog. Laert. i. 26.\n\n[111] So prevalent in ancient times was the notion of the injurious\neffects of the eye of envy, that, in common parlance, the Romans\ngenerally used the word \u201c_pr\u00e6fiscini_,\u201d\u2014\u201cwithout risk of enchantment,\u201d\nor \u201cfascination,\u201d when they spoke in high terms of themselves. They\nsupposed that they thereby averted the effects of enchantment produced\nby the evil eye of any envious person who might at that moment possibly\nbe looking upon them. Lord Bacon probably here alludes to St. Mark vii.\n21, 22: \u201cOut of the heart of men proceedeth\u2014deceit, lasciviousness, an\nevil eye.\u201d Solomon also speaks of the evil eye, Prov. xxiii. 6, and\nxxviii. 22.\n\n[112] To be even with him.\n\n[113] \u201cThere is no person a busybody, but what he is ill-natured too.\u201d\nThis passage is from the Stichus of Plautus.\n\n[114] Narses superseded Belisarius in the command of the armies of\nItaly, by the orders of the Emperor Justinian. He defeated Totila, the\nking of the Goths (who had taken Rome), in a decisive engagement, in\nwhich the latter was slain. He governed Italy with consummate ability\nfor thirteen years, when he was ungratefully recalled by Justin the\nSecond, the successor of Justinian.\n\n[115] Tamerlane, or Timour, was a native of Samarcand, of which\nterritory he was elected emperor. He overran Persia, Georgia,\nHindostan, and captured Bajazet, the valiant Sultan of the Turks, at\nthe battle of Angora, 1402, whom he is said to have inclosed in a\ncage of iron. His conquests extended from the Irtish and Volga to the\nPersian Gulf, and from the Ganges to the Grecian Archipelago. While\npreparing for the invasion of China, he died, in the 70th year of his\nage, A. D. 1405. He was tall and corpulent in person, but was maimed in\none hand, and lame on the right side.\n\n[116] Spartian Vit. Adrian, 15.\n\n[117] Comes under the observation.\n\n[118] \u201cBy a leap,\u201d _i. e._ over the heads of others.\n\n[119] \u201cHow vast _the evils_ we endure.\u201d\n\n[120] He probably alludes to the custom of the Athenians, who\nfrequently ostracized or banished by vote their public men, lest they\nshould become too powerful.\n\n[121] From _in_ and _video_,\u2014\u201cto look upon;\u201d with reference to the\nso-called \u201cevil eye\u201d of the envious.\n\n[122] \u201cEnvy keeps no holidays.\u201d\n\n[123] See St. Matthew xiii. 25.\n\n[124] Beholden.\n\n[125] He iniquitously attempted to obtain possession of the person of\nVirginia, who was killed by her father Virginius, to prevent her from\nfalling a victim to his lust. This circumstance caused the fall of the\nDecemviri at Rome, who had been employed in framing the code of laws\nafterwards known as \u201cThe Laws of the Twelve Tables.\u201d They narrowly\nescaped being burned alive by the infuriated populace.\n\n[126] \u201cWe are a sufficient theme for contemplation, the one for the\nother.\u201d\u2014_Sen. Epist. Mor._ 1. 7. (A. L. l. iii. 6.) Pope seems,\nnotwithstanding this censure of Bacon, to have been of the same opinion\nwith Epicurus:\u2014\n\n \u201cKnow then thyself, presume not God to scan,\n The proper study for mankind is man.\u201d\n\n _Essay on Man_, Ep. ii. 1. 2.\n\nIndeed, Lord Bacon seems to have misunderstood the saying of Epicurus,\nwho did not mean to recommend man as the sole object of the bodily\nvision, but as the proper theme for mental contemplation.\n\n[127] Amare et sapere vix Deo conceditur.\u2014_Pub. Syr. Sent._ 15. (A. L.\nii. pro\u0153. 10.)\n\n[128] He refers here to the judgment of Paris, mentioned by Ovid in his\nEpistles, of the Heroines.\n\n[129] Montaigne has treated this subject before Bacon, under the title\nof _De l\u2019incommodit\u00e9 de la Grandeur_. (B. iii. ch. vii.)\n\n[130] \u201cSince you are not what you were, there is no reason why you\nshould wish to live.\u201d\n\n[131] \u201cDeath presses heavily upon him, who, well known to all others,\ndies unknown to himself.\u201d\u2014_Sen. Thyest._ ii. 401.\n\n[132] \u201cAnd God turned to behold the works which his hands had made, and\nhe saw that everything was very good.\u201d\u2014See _Gen._ i. 31.\n\n[133] \u201cAs a matter of course.\u201d\n\n[134] Too great easiness of access.\n\n[135] Predilections that are undeserved.\n\n[136] Proverbs xxviii. 21. The whole passage stands thus in our\nversion: \u201cHe that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. To\nhave respect of persons is not good; for, for a piece of bread, that\nman will transgress.\u201d\n\n[137] \u201cBy the consent of all he was fit to govern, if he had not\ngoverned.\u201d\n\n[138] \u201cOf the emperors, Vespasian alone changed for the better _after\nhis accession_.\u201d\u2014_Tac. Hist._ i. 49, 50 (A. L. ii. xxii. 5).\n\n[139] Plut. vit. Demosth. 17, 18.\n\n[140] It is not improbable that this passage suggested Pope\u2019s beautiful\nlines in the _Essay on Man_, Ep. i. 125-28.\n\n \u201cPride still is aiming at the blest abodes,\n Men would be angels, angels would be gods.\n Aspiring to be gods, if angels fell,\n Aspiring to be angels, men rebel.\u201d\n\n[141] Auger Gislen Busbec, or Busbequius, a learned traveller, born at\nComines, in Flanders, in 1522. He was employed by the Emperor Ferdinand\nas ambassador to the Sultan Solyman II. He was afterwards ambassador to\nFrance, where he died, in 1592. His \u201cLetters\u201d relative to his travels\nin the East, which are written in Latin, contain much interesting\ninformation. They were the pocket companion of Gibbon, and are highly\npraised by him.\n\n[142] In this instance the stork or crane was probably protected, not\non the abstract grounds mentioned in the text, but for reasons of state\npolicy and gratitude combined. In Eastern climates the cranes and dogs\nare far more efficacious than human agency in removing filth and offal,\nand thereby diminishing the chances of pestilence. Superstition, also,\nmay have formed another motive, as we learn from a letter written from\nAdrianople, by Lady Montagu, in 1718, that storks were \u201cheld there in\na sort of religious reverence, because they are supposed to make every\nwinter the pilgrimage to Mecca. To say truth, they are the happiest\nsubjects under the Turkish government, and are so sensible of their\nprivileges, that they walk the streets without fear, and generally\nbuild their nests in the lower parts of the houses. Happy are those\nwhose houses are so distinguished, as the vulgar Turks are perfectly\npersuaded that they will not be that year attacked either by fire or\npestilence.\u201d Storks are still protected, by municipal law, in Holland,\nand roam unmolested about the market-places.\n\n[143] Nicolo Machiavelli, a Florentine statesman. He wrote \u201cDiscourses\non the first Decade of Livy,\u201d which were conspicuous for their\nliberality of sentiment, and just and profound reflections. This work\nwas succeeded by his famous treatise, \u201cIl Principe,\u201d \u201cThe Prince;\u201d\nhis patron, C\u00e6sar Borgia, being the model of the perfect prince there\ndescribed by him. The whole scope of this work is directed to one\nobject\u2014the maintenance of power, however acquired. Though its precepts\nare no doubt based upon the actual practice of the Italian politicians\nof that day, it has been suggested by some writers that the work was\na covert exposure of the deformity of the shocking maxims that it\nprofesses to inculcate. The question of his motives has been much\ndiscussed, and is still considered open. The word \u201cMachiavellism\u201d has,\nhowever, been adopted to denote all that is deformed, insincere, and\nperfidious in politics. He died in great poverty, in the year 1527.\n\n[144] _Vide_ Disc. Sop. Liv. ii. 2.\n\n[145] St. Matthew v. 45. \u201cFor he maketh his sun rise on the evil and on\nthe good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.\u201d\n\n[146] This is a portion of our Saviour\u2019s reply to the rich man who\nasked him what he should do to inherit eternal life: \u201cThen Jesus\nbeholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest:\ngo thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou\nshalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow\nme.\u201d\u2014_St. Mark_ x. 21.\n\n[147] See St. Luke xvi. 21.\n\n[148] Timon of Athens, as he is generally called (being so styled by\nShakspeare in the play which he has founded on his story), was surnamed\nthe \u201cMisanthrope,\u201d from the hatred which he bore to his fellow-men.\nHe was attached to Apemantus, another Athenian of similar character\nto himself, and he professed to esteem Alcibiades, because he foresaw\nthat he would one day bring ruin on his country. Going to the public\nassembly on one occasion, he mounted the rostrum, and stated that he\nhad a fig-tree, on which many worthy citizens had ended their days\nby the halter; that he was going to cut it down for the purpose of\nbuilding on the spot, and therefore recommended all such as were\ninclined, to avail themselves of it before it was too late.\n\n[149] A piece of timber that has grown crooked, and has been so cut\nthat the trunk and branch form an angle.\n\n[150] He probably here refers to the myrrh-tree. Incision is the method\nusually adopted for extracting the resinous juices of trees; as in the\nIndia-rubber and gutta-percha trees.\n\n[151] \u201cA votive,\u201d and, in the present instance, a \u201cvicarious offering.\u201d\nHe alludes to the words of St. Paul in his Second Epistle to Timothy\nii. 10: \u201cTherefore I endure all things for the elect\u2019s sake, that they\nmay also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal\nglory.\u201d\n\n[152] Consideration of, or predilection for, particular persons.\n\n[153] The Low Countries had then recently emancipated themselves from\nthe galling yoke of Spain. They were called the Seven United Provinces\nof the Netherlands.\n\n[154] This passage may at first sight appear somewhat contradictory;\nbut he means to say, that those who are first ennobled will commonly be\nfound more conspicuous for the prominence of their qualities, both good\nand bad.\n\n[155] Consistent with reason and justice.\n\n[156] The periods of the Equinoxes.\n\n[157] \u201cHe often warns, too, that secret revolt is impending, that\ntreachery and open warfare are ready to burst forth.\u201d\u2014_Virg. Georg._ i.\n465.\n\n[158] \u201cMother Earth, exasperated at the wrath of the Deities, produced\nher, as they tell, a last birth, a sister to the giants C\u0153us, and\nEnceladus.\u201d\u2014_Virg. \u00c6n._ iv. 179.\n\n[159] \u201cGreat public odium once excited, his deeds, whether good or\nwhether bad, cause his downfall.\u201d Bacon has here quoted incorrectly,\nprobably from memory. The words of Tacitus are (_Hist._ B. i. C. 7):\n\u201cInviso semel principe, seu bene, seu male, facta premunt,\u201d\u2014\u201cThe ruler\nonce detested, his actions, whether good or whether bad, cause his\ndownfall.\u201d\n\n[160] \u201cThey attended to their duties; but still, as preferring rather\nto discuss the commands of their rulers, than to obey them.\u201d\u2014_Tac.\nHist._ ii. 39.\n\n[161] He alludes to the bad policy of Henry the Third of France, who\nespoused the part of \u201cThe League,\u201d which was formed by the Duke of\nGuise and other Catholics for the extirpation of the Protestant faith.\nWhen too late he discovered his error, and finding his own authority\nentirely superseded, he caused the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal De\nLorraine, his brother, to be assassinated.\n\n[162] \u201cThe primary motive power.\u201d He alludes to an imaginary centre of\ngravitation, or central body, which was supposed to set all the other\nheavenly bodies in motion.\n\n[163] \u201cToo freely to remember their own rulers.\u201d\n\n[164] \u201cI will unloose the girdles of kings.\u201d He probably alludes here\nto the first verse of the 45th chapter of Isaiah: \u201cThus saith the Lord\nto his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue\nnations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before\nhim the two-leaved gates.\u201d\n\n[165] \u201cHence devouring usury, and interest accumulating in lapse\nof time; hence shaken credit, and warfare, profitable to the\nmany.\u201d\u2014_Lucan. Phars._ i. 181.\n\n[166] \u201cWarfare profitable to the many.\u201d\n\n[167] \u201cTo grief there is a limit, not so to fear.\u201d\n\n[168] \u201cCheck,\u201d or \u201cdaunt.\u201d\n\n[169] This is similar to the proverb now in common use: \u201c\u2019Tis the last\nfeather that breaks the back of the camel.\u201d\n\n[170] The state.\n\n[171] Though sumptuary laws are probably just in theory, they have been\nfound impracticable in any other than infant states. Their principle,\nhowever, is certainly recognized in such countries as by statutory\nenactment discountenance gaming. Those who are opposed to such laws\nupon principle, would do well to look into Bernard Mandeville\u2019s\n\u201cFable of the Bees,\u201d or \u201cPrivate Vices Public Benefits.\u201d The Romans\nhad numerous sumptuary laws, and in the Middle Ages there were many\nenactments in this country against excess of expenditure upon wearing\napparel and the pleasures of the table.\n\n[172] He means that they do not add to the capital of the country.\n\n[173] At the expense of foreign countries.\n\n[174] \u201cThe workmanship will surpass the material.\u201d\u2014_Ovid, Met._ B. ii.\nl. 5.\n\n[175] He alludes to the manufactures of the Low Countries.\n\n[176] Like manure.\n\n[177] Sometimes printed _engrossing, great pasturages_. By\n_engrossing_, is meant the trade of _engrossers_\u2014men who buy up all\nthat can be got of a particular commodity, then raise the price. By\n_great pasturages_ is meant turning corn land into pasture. Of this\npractice great complaints had been made for near a century before\nBacon\u2019s time, and a law passed to prevent it.\u2014See _Lord Herbert of\nCherbury\u2019s History of Henry VIII._\n\n[178] The myth of Pandora\u2019s box, which is here referred to, is related\nin the _Works and Days_ of Hesiod. Epimetheus was the personification\nof \u201cAfterthought,\u201d while his brother Prometheus represented\n\u201cForethought,\u201d or prudence. It was not Epimetheus that opened the box,\nbut Pandora\u2014\u201cAll-gift,\u201d whom, contrary to the advice of his brother, he\nhad received at the hands of Mercury, and had made his wife. In their\nhouse stood a closed jar, which they were forbidden to open. Till her\narrival, this had been kept untouched; but her curiosity prompting her\nto open the lid, all the evils hitherto unknown to man flew out and\nspread over the earth, and she only shut it down in time to prevent the\nescape of Hope.\n\n[179] \u201cSylla did not know his letters, _and so_ he could not dictate.\u201d\nThis saying is attributed by Suetonius to Julius C\u00e6sar. It is a play\non the Latin verb _dictare_, which means either \u201cto dictate,\u201d or \u201cto\nact the part of Dictator,\u201d according to the context. As this saying was\npresumed to be a reflection on Sylla\u2019s ignorance, and to imply that by\nreason thereof he was unable to maintain his power, it was concluded\nby the Roman people that C\u00e6sar, who was an elegant scholar, feeling\nhimself subject to no such inability, did not intend speedily to yield\nthe reins of power.\u2014_Suet. Vit. C. Jul. C\u00e6s._ 77, i. and _Cf._ _A. L._\ni. vii. 12.\n\n[180] \u201cThat soldiers were levied by him, not bought.\u201d\u2014_Tac. Hist._ i. 5.\n\n[181] \u201cIf I live, there shall no longer be need of soldiers in the\nRoman empire.\u201d\u2014_Flav. Vop. Vit. Prob._ 20.\n\n[182] \u201cAnd such was the state of feeling, that a few dared to\nperpetrate the worst of crimes; more wished to do so; all submitted to\nit.\u201d\u2014_Hist._ i. 28.\n\n[183] He probably alludes to the legends or miraculous stories of the\nsaints; such as walking with their heads off, preaching to the fishes,\nsailing over the sea on a cloak, &c. &c.\n\n[184] This is a book that contains the Jewish traditions, and the\nrabbinical explanations of the law. It is replete with wonderful\nnarratives.\n\n[185] This passage not improbably contains the germ of Pope\u2019s famous\nlines:\u2014\n\n \u201cA little learning is a dangerous thing;\n Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.\u201d\n\n[186] A philosopher of Abdera; the first who taught the system of\natoms, which was afterwards more fully developed by Democritus and\nEpicurus.\n\n[187] He was a disciple of the last-named philosopher, and held the\nsame principles; he also denied the existence of the soul after death.\nHe is considered to have been the parent of experimental philosophy,\nand was the first to teach, what is now confirmed by science, that the\nMilky Way is an accumulation of stars.\n\n[188] Spirit.\n\n[189] Psalm xiv. 1, and liii. 1.\n\n[190] To whose (seeming) advantage it is; the wish being father to the\nthought.\n\n[191] \u201cIt is not profane to deny _the existence of_ the deities of the\nvulgar; but, to apply to the divinities the received notions of the\nvulgar, is profane.\u201d\u2014_Diog. Laert._ x. 123.\n\n[192] He alludes to the native tribes of the continent of America and\nthe West Indies.\n\n[193] He was an Athenian philosopher, who, from the greatest\nsuperstition, became an avowed atheist. He was proscribed by the\nAreiopagus for speaking against the gods with ridicule and contempt,\nand is supposed to have died at Corinth.\n\n[194] A Greek philosopher, a disciple of Theodorus the atheist, to\nwhose opinions he adhered. His life was said to have been profligate,\nand his death superstitious.\n\n[195] Lucian ridiculed the follies and pretensions of some of the\nancient philosophers; but though the freedom of his style was such as\nto cause him to be censured for impiety, he hardly deserves the stigma\nof atheism here cast upon him by the learned author.\n\n[196] \u201cIt is not for us now to say, \u2018Like priest like people,\u2019 for\nthe people are not even so _bad_ as the priest.\u201d St. Bernard, abbot\nof Clairvaux, preached the second Crusade against the Saracens, and\nwas unsparing in his censures of the sins then prevalent among the\nChristian priesthood. His writings are voluminous, and by some he has\nbeen considered as the latest of the fathers of the Church.\n\n[197] \u201cA superior nature.\u201d\n\n[198] \u201cWe may admire ourselves, conscript fathers, as much as we\nplease; still, neither by numbers _did we vanquish_ the Spaniards,\nnor by bodily strength the Gauls, nor by cunning the Carthaginians,\nnor through the arts the Greeks, nor, in fine, by the inborn and\nnative good sense of this _our_ nation, and this _our_ race and soil,\nthe Italians and Latins themselves; but through our devotion and\nour religious feeling, and this, the sole _true_ wisdom, the having\nperceived that all things are regulated and governed by the providence\nof the immortal Gods, have we subdued all races and nations.\u201d\u2014_Cic. de.\nHarus. Respon._ 9.\n\n[199] The justice of this position is, perhaps, somewhat doubtful. The\nsuperstitious man _must_ have _some_ scruples, while he who believes\nnot in a God (if there is such a person), _needs_ have _none_.\n\n[200] Time was personified in Saturn, and by this story was meant its\ntendency to destroy whatever it has brought into existence.\u2014_Plut. de\nSuperstit._ x.\n\n[201] The primary motive power.\n\n[202] This Council commenced in 1545, and lasted eighteen years.\nIt was convened for the purpose of opposing the rising spirit of\nProtestantism, and of discussing and settling the disputed points of\nthe Catholic faith.\n\n[203] Irregular or anomalous movements.\n\n[204] An epicycle is a smaller circle, whose centre is in the\ncircumference of a greater one.\n\n[205] To account for.\n\n[206] Synods, or councils.\n\n[207] At the present day called _attach\u00e9s_.\n\n[208] He probably means the refusing to join on the occasion of\ndrinking healths when taking wine.\n\n[209] Something to create excitement.\n\n[210] \u201cThe heart of kings is unsearchable.\u201d\u2014_Prov._ v. 3.\n\n[211] Commodus fought naked in public as a gladiator, and prided\nhimself on his skill as a swordsman.\n\n[212] Making a stop at, or dwelling too long upon.\n\n[213] After a prosperous reign of twenty-one years, Diocletian\nabdicated the throne, and retired to a private station.\n\n[214] After having reigned thirty-five years, he abdicated the thrones\nof Spain and Germany, and passed the last two years of his life in\nretirement at St. Just, a convent in Estremadura.\n\n[215] Philost. vit. Apoll. Tyan. v. 28.\n\n[216] \u201cThe desires of monarchs are generally impetuous and conflicting\namong themselves.\u201d\u2014Quoted rightly, _A. L._ ii. xxii. 5, from _Sallust_\n(B. J. 113).\n\n[217] He was especially the rival of the Emperor Charles the Fifth,\nand was one of the most distinguished sovereigns that ever ruled over\nFrance.\n\n[218] An eminent historian of Florence. His great work, which is here\nalluded to, is, \u201cThe History of Italy during his own Time,\u201d which is\nconsidered one of the most valuable productions of that age.\n\n[219] Spoken badly of. Livia was said to have hastened the death of\nAugustus, to prepare the accession of her son Tiberius to the throne.\n\n[220] Solyman the Magnificent was one of the most celebrated of the\nOttoman monarchs. He took the Isle of Rhodes from the Knights of St.\nJohn. He also subdued Moldavia, Wallachia, and the greatest part of\nHungary, and took from the Persians Georgia and Bagdad. He died A. D.\n1566. His wife Roxolana (who was originally a slave called Rosa or\nHazathya), with the Pasha Rustan, conspired against the life of his\nson Mustapha, and by their instigation this distinguished prince was\nstrangled in his father\u2019s presence.\n\n[221] The infamous Isabella of Anjou.\n\n[222] Adulteresses.\n\n[223] He, however, distinguished himself by taking Cyprus from the\nVenetians in the year 1571.\n\n[224] He was falsely accused by his brother Perseus of attempting to\ndethrone his father, on which he was put to death by the order of\nPhilip, B. C. 180.\n\n[225] Anselm was Archbishop of Canterbury in the time of William Rufus\nand Henry the First. Though his private life was pious and exemplary,\nthrough his rigid assertion of the rights of the clergy he was\ncontinually embroiled with his sovereign. Thomas \u00e0 Becket pursued a\nsimilar course, but with still greater violence.\n\n[226] The great vessel that conveys the blood to the liver, after it\nhas been enriched by the absorption of nutriment from the intestines.\n\n[227] This is an expression similar to our proverb, \u201cPenny-wise and\npound-foolish.\u201d\n\n[228] A subdivision of the shire.\n\n[229] The Janizaries were the body-guards of the Turkish sultans, and\nenacted the same disgraceful part in making and unmaking monarchs, as\nthe mercenary Pr\u00e6torian guards of the Roman Empire.\n\n[230] \u201cRemember that thou art a man.\u201d\n\n[231] \u201cRemember that thou art a God.\u201d\n\n[232] \u201cThe representative of God.\u201d\n\n[233] Isaiah ix. 6: \u201cHis name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor,\nThe mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.\u201d\n\n[234] Prov. xx. 18: \u201cEvery purpose is established by counsel: and with\ngood advice make war.\u201d\n\n[235] The wicked Rehoboam, from whom the ten tribes of Israel revolted,\nand elected Jeroboam their king.\u2014See 1 _Kings_ xii.\n\n[236] Hesiod, Theog. 886.\n\n[237] The political world has not been convinced of the truth of this\ndoctrine of Lord Bacon; as cabinet councils are now held probably by\nevery sovereign in Europe.\n\n[238] \u201cI am full of outlets.\u201d\u2014_Ter. Eun._ I. ii. 25.\n\n[239] That is, without a complicated machinery of government.\n\n[240] Master of the Rolls and Privy Councillor under Henry VI., to\nwhose cause he faithfully adhered. Edward IV. promoted him to the See\nof Ely, and made him Lord Chancellor. He was elevated to the See of\nCanterbury by Henry VII., and in 1493 received the Cardinal\u2019s hat.\n\n[241] Privy Councillor and Keeper of the Privy Seal to Henry VII.,\nand, after enjoying several bishoprics in succession, translated to\nthe See of Winchester. He was an able statesman, and highly valued by\nHenry VII. On the accession of Henry VIII. his political influence was\ncounteracted by Wolsey; on which he retired to his diocese, and devoted\nthe rest of his life to acts of piety and munificence.\n\n[242] Before mentioned, relative to Jupiter and Metis.\n\n[243] Remedied.\n\n[244] \u201cHe shall not find faith upon the earth.\u201d Lord Bacon probably\nalludes to the words of our Saviour, St. Luke xviii. 8: \u201cWhen the Son\nof man cometh, shall he find faith upon the earth?\u201d\n\n[245] He means to say, that this remark was only applicable to a\nparticular time, namely, the coming of Christ. The period of the\ndestruction of Jerusalem was probably referred to.\n\n[246] \u201c\u2019Tis the especial virtue of a prince to know his own men.\u201d\n\n[247] In his disposition, or inclination.\n\n[248] Liable to opposition from.\n\n[249] \u201cAccording to classes,\u201d or, as we vulgarly say, \u201cin the lump.\u201d\nLord Bacon means that princes are not, as a matter of course, to take\ncounsellors merely on the presumption of talent, from their rank and\nstation; but that, on the contrary, they are to select such as are\ntried men, and with regard to whom there can be no mistake.\n\n[250] \u201cThe best counsellors are the dead.\u201d\n\n[251] \u201cAre afraid\u201d to open their mouths.\n\n[252] \u201cNight-time for counsel.\u201d\u2014\u1f10\u03bd \u03bd\u03c5\u03ba\u03c4\u1f76 \u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03ae. _Gaisf. Par. Gr._ B.\n359.\n\n[253] On the accession of James the Sixth of Scotland to the throne of\nEngland in 1603.\n\n[254] A phrase much in use with the Romans, signifying, \u201cto attend to\nthe business in hand.\u201d\n\n[255] A tribunitial or declamatory manner.\n\n[256] \u201cI\u2019ll follow the bent of your humor.\u201d\n\n[257] The Sibyl alluded to here is the Cum\u00e6an, the most celebrated, who\noffered the Sibylline Books for sale to Tarquin the Proud.\n\n\u201cAt this time, an unknown woman appeared at court, loaded with nine\nvolumes, which she offered to sell, but at a very considerable price.\nTarquin refusing to give it, she withdrew and burnt three of the nine.\nSome time after she returned to court, and demanded the same price for\nthe remaining six. This made her looked upon as a mad woman, and she\nwas driven away with scorn. Nevertheless, having burnt the half of what\nwere left, she came a third time, and demanded for the remaining three\nthe same price which she had asked for the whole nine. The novelty of\nsuch a proceeding, made Tarquin curious to have the books examined.\nThey were put, therefore, into the hands of the augurs, who, finding\nthem to be the oracles of the Sybil of Cum\u00e6, declared them to be an\ninvaluable treasure. Upon this the woman was paid the sum she demanded,\nand she soon after disappeared, having first exhorted the Romans to\npreserve her books with care.\u201d\u2014_Hooke\u2019s Roman History._\n\n[258] Bald head. He alludes to the common saying: \u201cTake time by the\nforelock.\u201d\n\n[259] Ph\u00e6d. viii.\n\n[260] Hom. Il. v. 845.\n\n[261] Packing the cards is an admirable illustration of the author\u2019s\nmeaning. It is a cheating exploit, by which knaves, who, perhaps, are\ninferior players, insure to themselves the certainty of good hands.\n\n[262] \u201cSend them both naked among strangers, and _then_ you will see.\u201d\n\n[263] This word is used here in its primitive sense of \u201cretail\ndealers.\u201d It is said to have been derived from a custom of the\nFlemings, who first settled in this country in the fourteenth century,\nstopping the passengers as they passed their shops, and saying to them,\n\u201cHaber das, herr?\u201d\u2014\u201cWill you take this, sir?\u201d The word is now generally\nused as synonymous with linen-draper.\n\n[264] To watch.\n\n[265] State.\n\n[266] Discussing matters.\n\n[267] He refers to the occasion when Nehemiah, on presenting the wine,\nas cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, appeared sorrowful, and, on being\nasked the reason of it, entreated the king to allow Jerusalem to be\nrebuilt.\u2014_Nehemiah_ ii. 1.\n\n[268] This can hardly be called a marriage, as, at the time of the\nintrigue, Messalina was the wife of Claudius; but she forced Caius\nSilius, of whom she was deeply enamored, to divorce his own wife,\nthat she herself might enjoy his society. The intrigue was disclosed\nto Claudius by Narcissus, who was his freedman, and the pander to his\ninfamous vices; on which Silius was put to death. Vide _Tac. Ann._ xi.\n29, _seq._\n\n[269] To speak in his turn.\n\n[270] Be questioned upon.\n\n[271] Kept on good terms.\n\n[272] Desire it.\n\n[273] \u201cThat he did not have various hopes in view, but solely the\nsafety of the emperor.\u201d Tigellinus was the profligate minister of Nero,\nand Africanus Burrhus was the chief of the Pr\u00e6torian Guards.\u2014_Tac.\nAnn._ xiv. 57.\n\n[274] As Nathan did, when he reproved David for his criminality with\nBathsheba.\u20142 _Samuel_ xii.\n\n[275] Use indirect stratagems.\n\n[276] He alludes to the old Cathedral of St. Paul, in London, which, in\nthe sixteenth century, was a common lounge for idlers.\n\n[277] Movements, or springs.\n\n[278] Chances, or vicissitudes.\n\n[279] Enter deeply into.\n\n[280] Faults, or weak points.\n\n[281] \u201cThe wise man gives heed to his own footsteps; the fool turneth\naside to the snare.\u201d No doubt he here alludes to Ecclesiastes xiv. 2,\nwhich passage is thus rendered in our version: \u201cThe wise man\u2019s eyes are\nin his head; but the fool walketh in darkness.\u201d\n\n[282] Mischievous.\n\n[283] It must be remembered that Bacon was not a favorer of the\nCopernican system.\n\n[284] \u201cLovers of themselves without a rival.\u201d\u2014_Ad. Qu. Fr._ iii. 8.\n\n[285] Remedy.\n\n[286] Adapted to each other.\n\n[287] Injures or impairs.\n\n[288] A thing suspected.\n\n[289] He probably alludes to Jeremiah vi. 16: \u201cThus saith the Lord,\nStand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the\ngood way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.\u201d\n\n[290] That is, by means of good management.\n\n[291] It is supposed that he here alludes to Sir Amyas Paulet, a very\nable statesman, and the ambassador of Queen Elizabeth to the court of\nFrance.\n\n[292] Quotations.\n\n[293] Apologies.\n\n[294] Boasting.\n\n[295] Prejudice.\n\n[296] 2 Tim. iii. 5.\n\n[297] \u201cTrifles with great effort.\u201d\n\n[298] \u201cWith one brow raised to your forehead, the other bent downward\nto your chin, you answer that cruelty delights you not.\u201d\u2014_In Pis._ 6.\n\n[299] \u201cA foolish man, who fritters away the weight of matters by\nfinespun trifling on words.\u201d\u2014Vide _Quint._ x. 1.\n\n[300] Plat. Protag. i. 337.\n\n[301] Find it easier to make difficulties and objections than to\noriginate.\n\n[302] One really in insolvent circumstances, though to the world he\ndoes not appear so.\n\n[303] He here quotes from a passage in the _Politica_ of Aristotle,\nbook i. \u201cHe who is unable to mingle in society, or who requires\nnothing, by reason of sufficing for himself, is no part of the state,\nso that he is either a wild beast or a divinity.\u201d\n\n[304] Epimenides, a poet of Crete (of which Candia is the modern name),\nis said by Pliny to have fallen into a sleep which lasted 57 years.\nHe was also said to have lived 299 years. Numa pretended that he was\ninstructed in the art of legislation by the divine nymph Egeria, who\ndwelt in the Arician grove. Empedocles, the Sicilian philosopher,\ndeclared himself to be immortal, and to be able to cure all evils.\nHe is said by some to have retired from society that his death might\nnot be known, and to have thrown himself into the crater of Mount\n\u00c6tna. Apollonius of Tyana, the Pythagorean philosopher, pretended to\nmiraculous powers, and after his death a temple was erected to him at\nthat place. His life is recorded by Philostratus; and some persons,\namong whom are Hierocles, Dr. More, in his Mystery of Godliness, and\nrecently Strauss, have not hesitated to compare his miracles with those\nof our Saviour.\n\n[305] \u201cA great city, a great desert.\u201d\n\n[306] Sarsaparilla.\n\n[307] A liquid matter of a pungent smell, extracted from a portion of\nthe body of the beaver.\n\n[308] \u201cPartakers of cares.\u201d\n\n[309] Plutarch (_Vit. Pomp._ 19) relates that Pompey said this upon\nSylla\u2019s refusal to give him a triumph.\n\n[310] Plut. Vit. J. C\u00e6s. 64.\n\n[311] Cic. Philip. xiii. 11.\n\n[312] \u201cThese things, by reason of our friendship, I have not concealed\n_from you_.\u201d\u2014Vide _Tac. Ann._ iv. 40.\n\n[313] Dio Cass. lxxv.\n\n[314] Such infamous men as Tiberius and Sejanus hardly deserve this\ncommendation.\n\n[315] Philip de Comines.\n\n[316] Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, the valiant antagonist of\nLouis XI. of France. De Comines spent his early years at his court,\nbut afterwards passed into the service of Louis XI. This monarch was\nnotorious for his cruelty, treachery, and dissimulation, and had all\nthe bad qualities of his contemporary, Edward IV. of England, without\nany of his redeeming virtues.\n\n[317] Pythagoras went still further than this, as he forbade his\ndisciples to eat flesh of any kind whatever. See the interesting\nspeech which Ovid attributes to him in the fifteenth book of the\nMetamorphoses. Sir Thomas Browne, in his Pseudoxia (_Browne\u2019s Works_,\nBohn\u2019s Antiq. ed. vol. i. p. 27, _et seq._), gives some curious\nexplanations of the doctrines of this philosopher.\u2014_Plut. de Educat.\nPuer._ 17.\n\n[318] Tapestry. Speaking hypercritically, Lord Bacon commits an\nanachronism here, as Arras did not manufacture tapestry till the middle\nages.\n\n[319] Plut. Vit. Themist. 28.\n\n[320] Ap. Stob. Serm. v. 120.\n\n[321] James i. 23.\n\n[322] He alludes to the recommendation which moralists have often\ngiven, that a person in anger should go through the alphabet to\nhimself, before he allows himself to speak.\n\n[323] In his day, the musket was fixed upon a stand, called the \u201crest,\u201d\nmuch as the gingals or matchlocks are used in the East at the present\nday.\n\n[324] From debts and incumbrances.\n\n[325] Plut. Vit. Themist. ad init.\n\n[326] \u201cEqual to business.\u201d\n\n[327] He alludes to the following passage, St. Matthew xiii. 31:\n\u201cAnother parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven\nis like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his\nfield; which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it\nis the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of\nthe air come and lodge in the branches thereof.\u201d\n\n[328] Virg. Ecl. vii. 51.\n\n[329] Vide. _A. L._ i. vii. 11.\n\n[330] He was vanquished by Lucullus, and finally submitted to\nPompey.\u2014_Plut. Vit. Lucull._ 27.\n\n[331] He alludes to the prophetic words of Jacob on his death-bed,\nGen. xlix. 9, 14, 15: \u201cJudah is a lion\u2019s whelp; ... he stooped down,\nhe couched as a lion, and as an old lion.... Issachar is a strong ass\ncouching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and\nthe land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and\nbecame a servant unto tribute.\u201d\n\n[332] Sums of money voluntarily contributed by the people for the use\nof the sovereign.\n\n[333] Young trees.\n\n[334] \u201cA land strong in arms and in the richness of the soil.\u201d\u2014_Virg.\n\u00c6n._ i. 535.\n\n[335] He alludes to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, which is mentioned\nDaniel iv. 10; \u201cI saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and\nthe height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the\nheight thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end\nof all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof\nmuch, and in it was meat for all; the beasts of the field had shadow\nunder it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and\nall flesh was fed of it.\u201d\n\n[336] \u201cRight of citizenship.\u201d\n\n[337] \u201cRight of trading.\u201d\n\n[338] \u201cRight of intermarriage.\u201d\n\n[339] \u201cRight of inheritance.\u201d\n\n[340] \u201cRight of suffrage.\u201d\n\n[341] \u201cRight of honors.\u201d\n\n[342] Long since the time of Lord Bacon, as soon as these colonies\nhad arrived at a certain state of maturity, they at different periods\nrevolted from the mother country.\n\n[343] The laws and ordinances promulgated by the sovereigns of Spain\nwere so called. The term was derived from the Byzantine empire.\n\n[344] Qualifications.\n\n[345] Attend to.\n\n[346] For a short or transitory period.\n\n[347] Be in a hurry.\n\n[348] It was its immense armaments that in a great measure consumed the\nvitals of Spain.\n\n[349] \u201cPompey\u2019s plan is clearly that of Themistocles; for he believes\nthat whoever is master of the sea will obtain the supreme power.\u201d\u2014_Ad\nAtt._ x. 8.\n\n[350] Encomiums.\n\n[351] St. Matthew vi. 27; St. Luke xii. 25.\n\n[352] The effects of which must be felt in old age.\n\n[353] Of benefit in your individual case.\n\n[354] Any striking change in the constitution.\n\n[355] Take medical advice.\n\n[356] Incline rather to fully satisfying your hunger.\n\n[357] Celsus _de Med._ i. 1.\n\n[358] To hope the best, but be fully prepared for the worst.\n\n[359] \u201cSuspicion is the passport to faith.\u201d\n\n[360] A censure of this nature has been applied by some to Dr. Johnson,\nand possibly with some reason.\n\n[361] To start the subject.\n\n[362] Requires to be bridled.\n\n[363] He quotes here from Ovid: \u201cBoy, spare the whip, and tightly grasp\nthe reins.\u201d\u2014_Met._ ii. 127.\n\n[364] One who tests or examines.\n\n[365] The galliard was a light active dance, much in fashion in the\ntime of Queen Elizabeth.\n\n[366] Hits at, or remarks intended to be applied to, particular\nindividuals.\n\n[367] A slight or insult.\n\n[368] A sarcastic remark.\n\n[369] The old term for colonies.\n\n[370] He perhaps alludes covertly to the conduct of the Spaniards in\nextirpating the aboriginal inhabitants of the West India Islands,\nagainst which the venerable Las Casas so eloquently but vainly\nprotested.\n\n[371] Of course, this censure would not apply to what is primarily\nand essentially a convict colony; the object of which is to drain the\nmother country of its impure superfluities.\n\n[372] Times have much changed since this was penned, tobacco is now the\nstaple commodity, and the source of \u201cthe main business\u201d of Virginia.\n\n[373] To labor hard.\n\n[374] Marshy; from the French _marais_, a marsh.\n\n[375] Gewgaws, or spangles.\n\n[376] He alludes to Ecclesiastes v. 11, the words of which are somewhat\nvaried in our version: \u201cWhen goods increase, they are increased that\neat them; and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the\nbeholding of them with their eyes?\u201d\n\n[377] \u201cThe rich man\u2019s wealth is his strong city.\u201d\u2014_Proverbs_ x. 15;\nxviii. 11.\n\n[378] \u201cIn his anxiety to increase his fortune, it was evident that not\nthe gratification of avarice was sought, but the means of doing good.\u201d\n\n[379] \u201cHe who hastens to riches will not be without guilt.\u201d In our\nversion the words are: \u201cHe that maketh haste to be rich shall not be\ninnocent.\u201d\u2014_Proverbs_ xxviii. 22.\n\n[380] Pluto being the king of the infernal regions, or place of\ndeparted spirits.\n\n[381] Rent-roll, or account taken of income.\n\n[382] Wait till prices have risen.\n\n[383] \u201cIn the sweat of another\u2019s brow.\u201d He alludes to the words of\nGenesis iii. 19: \u201cIn the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.\u201d\n\n[384] Planter of sugar-canes.\n\n[385] \u201cWills and childless persons were caught _by him_, as though with\na hunting-net.\u201d\u2014_Tacit. Ann._ xiii. 42.\n\n[386] \u201cPythoness,\u201d used in the sense of witch. He alludes to the witch\nof Endor, and the words in Samuel xxviii. 19. He is, however, mistaken\nin attributing these words to the witch: it was the spirit of Samuel\nthat said, \u201cTo-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me.\u201d\n\n[387] \u201cBut the house of \u00c6neas shall reign over every shore, both his\nchildren\u2019s children, and those who shall spring from them.\u201d\u2014_\u00c6n._ iii.\n97.\n\n[388] \u201cAfter the lapse of years, ages will come in which Ocean shall\nrelax his chains around the world, and a vast continent shall appear,\nand Tiphys shall explore new regions, and Thule shall be no longer the\nutmost verge of earth.\u201d\u2014_Sen. Med._ ii. 375.\n\n[389] He was king of Samos, and was treacherously put to death by\nOr\u0153tes, the governor of Magnesia, in Asia Minor. His daughter, in\nconsequence of her dream, attempted to dissuade him from visiting\nOr\u0153tes, but in vain.\u2014_Herod._ iii. 124.\n\n[390] Plut. Vit. Alex. 2.\n\n[391] \u201cThou shalt see me again at Philippi.\u201d\u2014_Appian Bell. Civ._ iv.\n134.\n\n[392] \u201cThou, also, Galba, shalt taste of empire.\u201d\u2014_Suet. Vit. Gall._ 4.\n\n[393] Hist. v. 13.\n\n[394] Suet. vit. Domit. 23.\n\n[395] Catherine de Medicis, the wife of Henry II. of France, who died\nfrom a wound accidentally received in a tournament.\n\n[396] James I. being the first monarch of Great Britain.\n\n[397] \u201cThe eighty-eighth will be a wondrous year.\u201d\n\n[398] \u201cAristophanes, in his Comedy of the Knights, satirizes Cleon, the\nAthenian demagogue. He introduces a declaration of the oracle, that\nthe Eagle of hides (by whom Cleon was meant, his father having been a\ntanner), should be conquered by a serpent, which Demosthenes, one of\nthe characters in the play, expounds as meaning a maker of sausages.\nHow Lord Bacon could for a moment doubt that this was a mere jest, it\nis difficult to conjecture. The following is a literal translation of a\nportion of the passage from The Knights (l. 197): \u201cBut when a leather\neagle with crooked talons shall have seized with its jaws a serpent,\na stupid creature, a drinker of blood, then the tan-pickle of the\nPaphlagonians is destroyed; but upon the sellers of sausages the deity\nbestows great glory, unless they choose rather to sell sausages.\u201d\n\n[399] This is a very just remark. So-called strange coincidences, and\nwonderful dreams that are verified, when the point is considered, are\nreally not at all marvellous. We never hear of the 999 dreams that are\nnot verified, but the thousandth that happens to precede its fulfilment\nis blazoned by unthinking people as a marvel. It would be a much more\nwonderful thing if dreams were not occasionally verified.\n\n[400] Under this name he alludes to the Critias of Plato, in which an\nimaginary \u201cterra incognita\u201d is discoursed of under the name of the \u201cNew\nAtlantis.\u201d It has been conjectured from this by some, that Plato really\ndid believe in the existence of a continent on the other side of the\nglobe.\n\n[401] Hot and fiery.\n\n[402] With the eyes closed or blindfolded.\n\n[403] He was a favorite of Tiberius, to whose murder by Nero he was\nsaid to have been an accessary. He afterwards prostituted his own wife\nto Caligula, by whom he was eventually put to death.\n\n[404] Liable to.\n\n[405] Chirpings like the noise of young birds.\n\n[406] Jewels or necklaces.\n\n[407] Spangles, or O\u2019s of gold or silver. Beckmann says that these were\ninvented in the beginning of the seventeenth century. See Beckmann\u2019s\nHist. of Inventions (Bohn\u2019s Stand. Lib.), vol. i. p. 424.\n\n[408] Or antic-masques. These were ridiculous interludes dividing the\nacts of the more serious masque. These were performed by hired actors,\nwhile the masque was played by ladies and gentlemen. The rule was,\nthe characters were to be neither serious nor hideous. The \u201cComus\u201d of\nMilton is an admirable specimen of a masque.\n\n[409] Turks.\n\n[410] \u201cHe is the best asserter _of the liberty_ of his mind, who bursts\nthe chains that gall his breast, and at the same moment ceases to\ngrieve.\u201d\u2014This quotation is from _Ovid\u2019s Remedy of Love_, 293.\n\n[411] \u201cMy soul has long been a sojourner.\u201d\n\n[412] \u201cThe wish is father to the thought,\u201d is a proverbial saying of\nsimilar meaning.\n\n[413] _Vide_ Disc. Sop. Liv. iii. 6.\n\n[414] Jacques Clement, a Dominican friar, who assassinated Henry III.\nof France, in 1589. The sombre fanatic was but twenty-five year of\nage; and he had announced the intention of killing with his own hands\nthe great enemy of his faith. He was instigated by the Leaguers, and\nparticularly by the Duchess of Montpensier, the sister of the Duke of\nGuise.\n\n[415] He murdered Henry IV. of France, in 1610.\n\n[416] Philip II. of Spain having, in 1582, set a price upon the head\nof William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, the leader of the Protestants,\nJaureguy attempted to assassinate him, and severely wounded him.\n\n[417] He assassinated William of Nassau, in 1584. It is supposed that\nthis fanatic meditated the crime for six years.\n\n[418] A resolution prompted by a vow of devotion to a particular\nprinciple or creed.\n\n[419] He alludes to the Hindoos, and the ceremony of Suttee, encouraged\nby the Brahmins.\n\n[420] Flinching.\u2014_Vide_ Cic. Tuscul. Disp. ii. 14.\n\n[421] \u201cEvery man is the architect of his own fortune.\u201d Sallust, in his\nletters \u201cDe Republic\u00e2 Ordinand\u00e2,\u201d attributes these words to Appius\nClaudius C\u00e6cus, a Roman poet whose works are now lost. Lord Bacon,\nin the Latin translation of his Essays, which was made under his\nsupervision, rendered the word \u201cpoet\u201d \u201ccomicus;\u201d by whom he probably\nmeant Plautus, who has this line in his \u201cTrinummus\u201d (Act ii, sc. 2):\n\u201cNam sapiens quidem pol ipsus fingit fortunam sibi,\u201d which has the same\nmeaning, though in somewhat different terms.\n\n[422] \u201cA serpent, unless it has devoured a serpent, does not become a\ndragon.\u201d\n\n[423] Or \u201cdesenvoltura,\u201d implying readiness to adapt one\u2019s self to\ncircumstances.\n\n[424] Impediments, causes for hesitation.\n\n[425] \u201cIn that man there was such great strength of body and mind,\nthat, in whatever station he had been born, he seemed as though he\nshould make his fortune.\u201d\n\n[426] \u201cA versatile genius.\u201d\n\n[427] \u201cA little of the fool.\u201d\n\n[428] \u201cThou carriest C\u00e6sar and his fortunes.\u201d\u2014_Plut. Vit. C\u00e6ls._ 38.\n\n[429] \u201cThe Fortunate.\u201d He attributed his success to the intervention of\nHercules, to whom he paid especial veneration.\n\n[430] \u201cThe Great.\u201d\u2014_Plut. Syll._ 34.\n\n[431] A successful Athenian general, the son of Conon, and the friend\nof Plato.\n\n[432] Fluency, or smoothness.\n\n[433] Lord Bacon seems to use the word in the general sense of \u201clending\nmoney upon interest.\u201d\n\n[434] \u201cDrive from their hives the drones, a lazy race.\u201d\u2014_Georgics_, b.\niv. 168.\n\n[435] \u201cIn the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.\u201d\u2014_Gen._ iii.\n19.\n\n[436] \u201cIn the sweat of the face of another.\u201d\n\n[437] In the middle ages the Jews were compelled, by legal enactment,\nto wear peculiar dresses and colors; one of these was orange.\n\n[438] \u201cA concession by reason of hardness of heart.\u201d He alludes to the\nwords in St. Matthew xix. 8.\n\n[439] See note to Essay xix.\n\n[440] Hold.\n\n[441] The imaginary country described in Sir Thomas More\u2019s political\nromance of that name.\n\n[442] Regulation.\n\n[443] Be paid.\n\n[444] Our author was one of the earliest writers who treated the\nquestion of the interest of money with the enlightened views of a\nstatesman and an economist. The taking of interest was considered, in\nhis time, immoral.\n\nLaws on this matter are extremely ancient. Moses forbids the Jews to\nrequire interest of each other. \u201cThou shalt not lend upon usury to thy\nbrother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is\nlent upon usury:\n\n\u201cUnto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou\nshalt not lend upon usury.\u201d\u2014_Deut._ xxiii. 19, 20.\n\nAmong the Greeks, the rate of interest was settled by agreement between\nthe borrower and the lender, without any interference of the law. The\ncustomary rate varied from ten to thirty-three and one third per cent.\n\nThe Romans enacted laws against usurious interest; but their legal\ninterest, admitted by the law of the Twelve Tables, was, according to\nsome, twelve per cent., or, to others, one twelfth of the capital, i. e.\neight and one third per cent. Justinian reduced it to six per cent.\n\nIn England, the legal rate of interest was, in Henry the Eighth\u2019s\nreign, ten per cent. It was reduced, in 1624, to eight per cent. It\nwas further diminished, in 1672, to six per cent. And definitively, in\n1713, fixed at five per cent., the ordinary rate of interest throughout\nEurope. In France, the rates of interest have been nearly similar at\nthe same periods.\n\n[445] \u201cHe passed his youth full of errors, of madness even.\u201d\u2014_Spartian.\nVit. Sev._\n\n[446] He was nephew of Louis the Twelfth of France, and commanded the\nFrench armies in Italy against the Spaniards. After a brilliant career,\nhe was killed at the battle of Ravenna, in 1512.\n\n[447] Joel ii. 28, quoted Acts ii. 17.\n\n[448] He lived in the second century after Christ, and is said to have\nlost his memory at the age of twenty-five.\n\n[449] \u201cHe remained the same, but _with the advance of years_ was not so\nbecoming.\u201d\u2014_Cic. Brut._ 95.\n\n[450] \u201cThe close was unequal to the beginning.\u201d This quotation is not\ncorrect; the words are: \u201cMemorabilior prima pars vit\u00e6 quam postrema\nfuit,\u201d\u2014\u201cThe first part of his life was more distinguished than the\nlatter.\u201d\u2014_Livy_ xxxviii. ch. 53.\n\n[451] By the context, he would seem to consider \u201cgreat spirit\u201d and\n\u201cvirtue\u201d as convertible terms. Edward IV., however, has no claim to be\nconsidered as a virtuous or magnanimous man, though he possessed great\nphysical courage.\n\n[452] Features.\n\n[453] \u201cThe autumn of the beautiful is beautiful.\u201d\n\n[454] By making allowances.\n\n[455] Rom. i. 31; 2 Tim. iii. 3.\n\n[456] \u201cWhere she errs in the one, she ventures in the other.\u201d\n\n[457] Spies.\n\n[458] Solyman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Turks.\n\n[459] Site.\n\n[460] Knoll.\n\n[461] Have a liking for cheerful society. Momus being the god of mirth.\n\n[462] Eats up.\n\n[463] Plut. Vit. Lucull. 39.\n\n[464] A vast edifice, about twenty miles from Madrid, founded by Philip\nII.\n\n[465] Esth. i. 5; \u201cThe King made a feast unto all the people that were\npresent in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days,\nin the court of the garden of the king\u2019s palace.\u201d\n\n[466] The cylinder formed by the small end of the steps of winding\nstairs.\n\n[467] The funnel of a chimney.\n\n[468] Where to go.\n\n[469] Bow, or bay, windows.\n\n[470] Flush with the wall.\n\n[471] Antechamber.\n\n[472] Withdrawing-room.\n\n[473] Watercourses.\n\n[474] Pine trees.\n\n[475] Kept warm in a greenhouse.\n\n[476] The damson, or plum of Damascus.\n\n[477] Currants.\n\n[478] An apple that is gathered very early.\n\n[479] A kind of quince, so called from \u201ccotoneum,\u201d or \u201ccydonium,\u201d the\nLatin name of the quince.\n\n[480] The fruit of the cornel-tree.\n\n[481] The warden was a large pear, so called from its keeping well.\nWarden-pie was formerly much esteemed in this country.\n\n[482] Perpetual spring.\n\n[483] Flowers that do not send forth their smell at any distance.\n\n[484] A species of grass of the genus argostis.\n\n[485] The blossoms of the bean.\n\n[486] Bring or lead you.\n\n[487] Impeding.\n\n[488] Causing the water to fall in a perfect arch, without any spray\nescaping from the jet.\n\n[489] Lilies of the valley.\n\n[490] In rows.\n\n[491] Insidiously subtract nourishment from.\n\n[492] To consider or expect.\n\n[493] Love, are pleased with.\n\n[494] It is more advantageous to deal with men whose desires are not\nyet satisfied, than with those who have gained all they have wished\nfor, and are likely to be proof against inducements.\n\n[495] In the sense of the Latin \u201cgloriosus,\u201d \u201cboastful,\u201d \u201cbragging.\u201d\n\n[496] Professions or classes.\n\n[497] Weakness, or indecision of character.\n\n[498] He probably alludes to the ancient stories of the friendship\nof Orestes and Pylades, Theseus and Piritho\u00fcs, Damon and Pythias,\nand others, and the maxims of the ancient philosophers. Aristotle\nconsiders that equality in circumstances and station is one requisite\nof friendship. Seneca and Quintus Curtius express the same opinion.\nIt seems hardly probable that Lord Bacon reflected deeply when\nhe penned this passage, for between equals, jealousy, the most\ninsidious of all the enemies of friendship, has the least chance of\noriginating. Dr. Johnson says: \u201cFriendship is seldom lasting but\nbetween equals, or where the superiority on one side is reduced by some\nequivalent advantage on the other. Benefits which cannot be repaid,\nand obligations which cannot be discharged, are not commonly found\nto increase affection; they excite gratitude indeed, and heighten\nveneration, but commonly take away that easy freedom and familiarity of\nintercourse, without which, though there may be fidelity, and zeal, and\nadmiration, there cannot be friendship.\u201d\u2014_The Rambler_, No. 64.\n\n[499] In such a case, gratitude and admiration exist on the one hand,\nesteem and confidence on the other.\n\n[500] Lowering, or humiliating.\n\n[501] Referees.\n\n[502] Disgusted.\n\n[503] Giving no false color to the degree of success which has attended\nthe prosecution of the suit.\n\n[504] To have little effect.\n\n[505] To this extent.\n\n[506] Of the information.\n\n[507] \u201cAsk what is exorbitant, that you may obtain what is moderate.\u201d\n\n[508] This formed the first essay in the earliest edition of the work.\n\n[509] Attentively.\n\n[510] Vapid: without taste or spirit.\n\n[511] \u201cStudies become habits.\u201d\n\n[512] \u201cSplitters of cummin-seeds;\u201d or, as we now say, \u201csplitters of\nstraws,\u201d or \u201chairs.\u201d Butler says of Hudibras:\u2014\n\n \u201cHe could distinguish and divide\n A hair \u2019twixt south and southwest side.\u201d\n\n[513] Causes one side to preponderate.\n\n[514] \u201cThe common father.\u201d\n\n[515] \u201cAs one of us.\u201d Henry the Third of France, favoring the league\nformed by the Duke of Guise and Cardinal De Lorraine against the\nProtestants, soon found that, through the adoption of that policy, he\nhad forfeited the respect of his subjects.\n\n[516] See a note to Essay 15.\n\n[517] Of Castile. She was the wife of Ferdinand of Arragon, and was the\npatroness of Columbus.\n\n[518] The words in our version are: \u201cHe that observeth the\nwind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not\nreap.\u2014_Ecclesiastes_ xi. 1.\n\n[519] Exact in the extreme. Point-de-vice was originally the name of a\nkind of lace of very fine pattern.\n\n[520] \u201cAppearances resembling virtues.\u201d\n\n[521] \u201cA good name is like sweet-smelling ointment.\u201d The words\nin our version are, \u201cA good name is better than precious\nointment.\u2014_Ecclesiastes_ vii. 1.\n\n[522] \u201cDisregarding _his own_ conscience.\u201d\n\n[523] \u201cTo instruct under the form of praise.\u201d\n\n[524] \u201cThe worst kind of enemies are those who flatter.\u201d\n\n[525] A pimple filled with \u201cpus,\u201d or \u201cpurulent matter.\u201d The word is\nstill used in the east of England.\n\n[526] The words in our version are: \u201cHe that blesseth his friend with a\nloud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to\nhim.\u201d\u2014_Proverbs_ xxvii. 14.\n\n[527] In other words, to show what we call an _esprit de corps_.\n\n[528] Theologians.\n\n[529] 2 Cor. xi. 23.\n\n[530] \u201cI will magnify my apostleship.\u201d He alludes to the words in\nRomans xi. 13: \u201cInasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify\nmine office.\u201d\n\n[531] Vaunting, or boasting.\n\n[532] Noise. We have a corresponding proverb: \u201cGreat cry and little\nwool.\u201d\n\n[533] A high or good opinion.\n\n[534] _Vide_ Liv. xxxvii. 48.\n\n[535] By express command.\n\n[536] \u201cThose who write books on despising glory, set their names in\nthe title-page.\u201d He quotes from Cicero\u2019s \u201cTusculan\u00e6 Disputationes,\u201d\nb. i. c. 15, whose words are; \u201cQuid nostri philosophi? Nonne in\nhis libris ipsis, quos scribunt de contemnend\u00e2 glori\u00e2, sua nomina\ninscribunt.\u201d\u2014\u201cWhat do our philosophers do? Do they not, in those very\nbooks which they write on despising glory, set their names in the\ntitle-page?\u201d\n\n[537] Pliny the Younger, the nephew of the elder Pliny, the naturalist.\n\n[538] \u201cOne who set off every thing he said and did with a certain\nskill.\u201d Mucianus was an intriguing general in the times of Otho and\nVitellius.\u2014_Hist._ xi. 80.\n\n[539] Namely, the property of which he was speaking, and not that\nmentioned by Tacitus.\n\n[540] Apologies.\n\n[541] Concessions.\n\n[542] Plin. Epist. vi. 17.\n\n[543] Boastful.\n\n[544] \u201cAll fame emanates from servants.\u201d\u2014_Q. Cic. de Petit. Consul._ v.\n17.\n\n[545] \u201cFounders of empires.\u201d\n\n[546] He alludes to Ottoman, or Othman I., the founder of the dynasty\nnow reigning at Constantinople. From him, the Turkish empire received\nthe appellation of \u201cOthoman,\u201d or \u201cOttoman\u201d Porte.\n\n[547] \u201cPerpetual rulers.\u201d\n\n[548] Surnamed the Peaceful, who ascended the throne of England A. D.\n959. He was eminent as a legislator, and a rigid assertor of justice.\nHume considers his reign \u201cone of the most fortunate that we meet with\nin the ancient English history.\u201d\n\n[549] These were a general collection of the Spanish laws, made by\nAlphonso X. of Castile, arranged under their proper titles. The work\nwas commenced by Don Ferdinand his father, to put an end to the\ncontradictory decisions in the Castilian courts of justice. It was\ndivided into seven parts, whence its name \u201cSiete Partidas.\u201d It did not,\nhowever, become the law of Castile till nearly eighty years after.\n\n[550] \u201cDeliverers,\u201d or \u201cpreservers.\u201d\n\n[551] \u201cExtenders,\u201d or \u201cdefenders of the empire.\u201d\n\n[552] \u201cFathers of their country.\u201d\n\n[553] \u201cParticipators in cares.\u201d\n\n[554] \u201cLeaders in war.\u201d\n\n[555] Proportion, dimensions.\n\n[556] \u201cEqual to their duties.\u201d\n\n[557] \u201cTo expound the law.\u201d\n\n[558] \u201cTo make the law.\u201d\n\n[559] The Mosaic law. He alludes to Deuteronomy xxvii. 17. \u201cCursed be\nhe that removeth his neighbor\u2019s landmark.\u201d\n\n[560] \u201cA righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled\nfountain and a corrupt spring.\u201d\u2014_Proverbs_ xxv. 26.\n\n[561] \u201cYe who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in\nthe earth.\u201d\u2014_Amos_ v. 7.\n\n[562] \u201cHe who wrings the nose strongly brings blood.\u201d _Proverbs_ xxx.\n33: \u201cSurely, the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the\nwringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath\nbringeth forth strife.\u201d\n\n[563] \u201cHe will rain snares upon them.\u201d Psalm xi. 6: \u201cUpon the wicked he\nshall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest.\u201d\n\n[564] Strained.\n\n[565] \u201cIt is the duty of a judge to consider not only the facts, but\nthe circumstances of the case.\u201d\u2014_Ovid. Trist._ I. i. 37.\n\n[566] Pliny the Younger, Ep. B. 6, E. 2, has the observation:\n\u201cPatientiam ... qu\u00e6 pars magna justiti\u00e6 est;\u201d \u201cPatience, which is a\ngreat part of justice.\u201d\n\n[567] Is not successful.\n\n[568] Makes him to feel less confident of the goodness of his cause.\n\n[569] Altercate, or bandy words with the judge.\n\n[570] \u201cDo men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles!\u201d\u2014_St.\nMatthew_ vii. 16.\n\n[571] Plundering.\n\n[572] \u201cFriends of the court.\u201d\n\n[573] \u201cParasites,\u201d or \u201cflatterers of the court.\u201d\n\n[574] Which were compiled by the decemvirs.\n\n[575] \u201cThe safety of the people is the supreme law.\u201d\n\n[576] \u201cMine.\u201d\n\n[577] \u201cYours.\u201d\n\n[578] He alludes to 1 Kings x. 19, 30: \u201cThe throne had six steps, and\nthe top of the throne was round behind; and there were stays on either\nside on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.\nAnd twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the\nsix steps.\u201d The same verses are repeated in 1 Chronicles ix. 18, 19.\n\n[579] \u201cWe know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.\u201d\u20141\n_Timothy_ i. 8.\n\n[580] A boast.\n\n[581] In our version it is thus rendered: \u201cBe ye angry, and sin not;\nlet not the sun go down upon your wrath.\u201d\u2014_Ephesians_ iv. 26.\n\n[582] Sen. De Ira i. 1.\n\n[583] \u201cIn your patience possess ye your souls.\u201d\u2014_Luke_ xvi. 19.\n\n[584] \u201cAnd leave their lives in the wound.\u201d The quotation is from\nVirgil\u2019s Georgics, iv. 238.\n\n[585] Susceptibility upon.\n\n[586] \u201cA thicker covering for his honor.\u201d\n\n[587] Pointed and peculiarly appropriate to the party attacked.\n\n[588] \u201cOrdinary abuse.\u201d\n\n[589] \u201cThe thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and\nthat which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no\nnew thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said,\nSee, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before\nus.\u201d\u2014_Ecclesiastes_ i. 9, 10.\n\n[590] In his Ph\u00e6do.\n\n[591] \u201cThere is no remembrance of former things: neither shall there be\nany remembrance of things that are to come, with those that shall come\nhereafter.\u201d\u2014_Ecclesiastes_ i. 11.\n\n[592] \u201cAnd Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,\nsaid unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,\nthere shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my\nword.\u201d\u20141 _Kings_ xvii. 1. \u201cAnd it came to pass after many days, that\nthe word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show\nthyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.\u201d\u20141 _Kings_\nxviii. 1.\n\n[593] Confined to a limited space.\n\n[594] The whole of the continent of America then discovered is included\nunder this name.\n\n[595] Limited.\n\n[596] _Vide_ Plat. Tim. iii. 24, seq.\n\n[597] Mach. Disc. Sop. Liv. ii. 2.\n\n[598] Sabinianus of Volaterra was elected Bishop of Rome on the death\nof Gregory the Great, A. D. 604. He was of an avaricious disposition,\nand thereby incurred the popular hatred. He died in eighteen months\nafter his election.\n\n[599] This Cicero speaks of as \u201cthe great year of the mathematicians.\u201d\n\u201cOn the Nature of the Gods,\u201d B. 4, ch. 20. By some it was supposed to\noccur after a period of 12,954 years, while, according to others, it\nwas of 25,920 years\u2019 duration.\u2014_Plat. Tim._ iii. 38, seq.\n\n[600] Conceit.\n\n[601] Observed.\n\n[602] A curious fancy or odd conceit.\n\n[603] The followers of Arminius, or James Harmensen, a celebrated\ndivine of the 16th and 17th centuries. Though called a heresy by Bacon,\nhis opinions have been for two centuries, and still are, held by a\nlarge portion of the Church of England.\n\n[604] A belief in astrology, or at least the influence of the stars was\nalmost universal in the time of Bacon.\n\n[605] Germany.\n\n[606] Charlemagne.\n\n[607] When led thither by Alexander the Great.\n\n[608] Striking.\n\n[609] Application of the \u201caries,\u201d or battering-ram.\n\n[610] This fragment was found among Lord Bacon\u2019s papers, and published\nby Dr. Rawley in his Resuscitatio.\n\n[611] Tac. Hist. ii. 80.\n\n[612] C\u00e6s. de Bell. Civ. i. 6.\n\n[613] Tac. Ann. i. 5.\n\n[614] _Vide_ Herod. viii. 108, 109.\n\n[615] Varro distributes the ages of the world into three periods; viz:\nthe unknown, the fabulous, and the historical. Of the former, we have\nno accounts but in Scripture; for the second, we must consult the\nancient poets, such as Hesiod, Homer, or those who wrote still earlier,\nand then again come back to Ovid, who, in his Metamorphoses, seems,\nin imitation perhaps of some ancient Greek poet, to have intended a\ncomplete collection, or a kind of continued and connected history of\nthe fabulous age, especially with regard to changes, revolutions, or\ntransformations.\n\n[616] Most of these fables are contained in Ovid\u2019s Metamorphoses and\nFasti, and are fully explained in Bohn\u2019s Classical Library translation.\n\n[617] Homer\u2019s Hymn to Pan.\n\n[618] Cicero, Epistle to Atticus, 5.\n\n[619] Ovid, Metamorphoses, b. ii.\n\n[620] This refers to the confused mixture of things, as sung by Virgil:\u2014\n\n \u201cNamque canebat uti magnum per inane coacta\n Semina terrarumque anim\u00e6que marisque fuissent;\n Et liquidi simul ignis; ut his exordia primis\n Omnia, et ipse tener mundi concreverit orbis.\u201d\u2014\n\n _Ecl._ vi. 81.\n\n[621] This is always supposed to be the case in vision, the\nmathematical demonstrations in optics proceeding invariably upon the\nassumption of this phenomenon.\n\n[622]\n\n \u201cTorva le\u00e6na lupum sequitur, lupus ipse capellam:\n Florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva capella.\u201d\n\n _Virgil_, _Ecl._ ii. 63.\n\n[623] Ovid, Rem. Amoris, v. 343. Mart. Epist.\n\n[624] Psalm xix. 1.\n\n[625] Syrinx, signifying a reed, or the ancient pen.\n\n[626] Ovid, Metam. b. iv.\n\n[627] Thus it is the excellence of a general, early to discover what\nturn the battle is likely to take; and looking prudently behind, as\nwell as before, to pursue a victory so as not to be unprovided for a\nretreat.\n\n[628] It may be remembered that the Athenian peasant voted for the\nbanishment of Aristides, because he was called the Just. Shakspeare\nforcibly expresses the same thought:\u2014\n\n \u201cLet me have men about me that are fat;\n Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o\u2019 nights:\n Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;\n He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.\u201d\n\nIf Bacon had completed his intended work upon \u201cSympathy and Antipathy,\u201d\nthe constant hatred evinced by ignorance of intellectual superiority,\noriginating sometimes in the painful feeling of inferiority, sometimes\nin the fear of worldly injury would not have escaped his notice.\n\n[629] Thus we see that Orpheus denotes learning; Eurydice, things,\nor the subject of learning; Bacchus, and the Thracian women, men\u2019s\nungoverned passions and appetites, &c. And in the same manner all the\nancient fables might be familiarly illustrated, and brought down to the\ncapacities of children.\n\n[630]\n\n \u201cQuod procul a nobis flectat Fortuna gubernans;\n Et ratio potius quam res persuadeat ipsa.\u201d\n\n[631] Proteus properly signifies primary, oldest, or first.\n\n[632] Bacon nowhere speaks with such freedom and perspicuity as under\nthe pretext of explaining these ancient fables; for which reason they\ndeserve to be the more read by such as desire to understand the rest of\nhis works.\n\n[633] As she also brought the author himself.\n\n[634]\n\n \u201c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014cadit Ripheus, justissimus unus,\n Qui fuit ex Teucris, et servantissimus \u00e6qui:\n Diis aliter visum.\u201d\u2014_\u00c6neid_, lib. ii.\n\n[635] Te autem mi Brute sicut debeo, amo, quod istud quicquid est\nnugarum me scire voluisti.\n\n[636]\n\n \u201cRegina in mediis patrio vocat agmina sistro;\n Necdum etiam geminos a tergo respicit angues.\u201d\n\n _\u00c6neid_, viii. 696.\n\n[637] Ovid\u2019s Metamorphoses, b. iii., iv., and vi.; and Fasti, iii. 767.\n\n[638] \u201cDeclinat cursus, aurumque volubile tollit.\u201d\n\n[639] The author, in all his physical works, proceeds upon this\nfoundation, that it is possible, and practicable, for art to obtain the\nvictory over nature; that is, for human industry and power to procure,\nby the means of proper knowledge, such things as are necessary to\nrender life as happy and commodious as its mortal state will allow. For\ninstance, that it is possible to lengthen the present period of human\nlife; bring the winds under command: and every way extend and enlarge\nthe dominion or empire of man over the works of nature.\n\n[640] \u201cAll-gift.\u201d\n\n[641] Viz: that by Pandora.\n\n[642]\n\n \u201cFelix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas,\n Quique metus omnes et inexorabile fatum\n Subjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari.\u201d\n\n _Georg._ ii. 490.\n\n[643] _De Augmentis Scientiarum_, sec. xxviii. and supplem. xv.\n\n[644] An allusion which, in Plato\u2019s writings, is applied to the\nrapid succession of generations, through which the continuity of\nhuman life is maintained from age to age; and which are perpetually\ntransferring from hand to hand the concerns and duties of this fleeting\nscene. \u0393\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u1ff6\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f10\u03ba\u03c4\u03c1\u03ad\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u1fd6\u03b4\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03ac\u03b8\u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1 \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03c0\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03b2\u03af\u03bf\u03bd\n\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f04\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f10\u03be \u1f04\u03bb\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd\u2014Plato, Leg. b. vi. Lucretius also has the\nsame metaphor:\u2014\n\n \u201cEt quasi cursores vitai lampada tradunt.\u201d\n\n[645] Eccles. xii. 11.\n\n[646] This is what the author so frequently inculcates in the _Novum\nOrganum_, viz: that knowledge and power are reciprocal; so that to\nimprove in knowledge is to improve in the power of commanding nature,\nby introducing new arts, and producing works and effects.\n\n[647]\n\n \u201cTu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento:\n H\u00e6 tibi erunt artes.\u201d\n\n _\u00c6neid_, vi. 851.\n\n[648]\n\n \u201cSive recens tellus, seductaque nuper ab alta\n \u00c6there, cognati retinebat semina c\u0153li.\u201d\u2014_Metam._ i. 80.\n\n[649] Many philosophers have certain speculations to this purpose.\nSir Isaac Newton, in particular, suspects that the earth receives its\nvivifying spirit from the comets. And the philosophical chemists and\nastrologers have spun the thought into many fantastical distinctions\nand varieties.\u2014See Newton, _Princip._ lib. iii. p. 473, &c.\n\n[650] This policy strikingly characterized the conduct of Louis XIV.,\nwho placed his generals under a particular injunction, to advertise\nhim of the success of any siege likely to be crowned with an immediate\ntriumph, that he might attend in person and appear to take the town by\na _coup de main_.\n\n[651] The one denoted by the river Achelous, and the other by\nTerpsichore, the muse that invented the cithara and delighted in\ndancing.\n\n[652]\n\n \u201cVivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus;\n Rumoresque senum severiorum\n Omnes unius estimemus assis.\u201d\u2014_Catull. Eleg._ v.\n\nAnd again\u2014\n\n \u201cJura senes norint, et quod sit fasque nefasque\n Inquirant tristes; legumque examina servent.\u201d\n\n _Metam._ ix. 550.","title":"Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":113548}