Bacon, Essays 002

8/3/2019 Bacon, Essays 002

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Lord Baccns EfTaysCONTINUED IN

Twenty Seven Chapters^ Tranflatedfrom His LordOiip's Treatife,De Augmentis Scientiarum

By WILLIAM WiLLYMOTT, L. L. D. Feilowof K^ng's-College in Cambridge^ and Maflerof a Prtvate School at Ifiewortb inMiMefex.

With the Life of the Author.VOL. II

L I^ D h\Printed for Htf7 P^irfin, at the Turks-Bcad

in Grace-Cbnrcb-Strect. 1720.


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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2009 with funding from

University of Toronto

http://www.archive.org/details/lordbaGonsessays02baGO


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tJoTi? in the Frefs^ and will fpeedily beFtibltfUd.

A Colled Ion of Devotions for the Altar inTwo Volumes , By Dr. Willymott,BOOKS formerly PnblijFd by Dr.

Willymott, for the Vfe of Schools.I. npH E Peculiar Ufe and Signification of

-- certain Words in the Latin Tongue.2. Englijb Particles.3. Longer Examples.4. Shorter Examples.5. Three Plays of Terence with EngUJb

l^otes,6. Select Stories of Ovid Metamorphojiswith Engllfl) Notes.7. Ph^dri4s Fables with Englifi Notes.S. Lily New-Conftrued.9. Caftalio,10. i^oims and Verbs,11. Corderiiis with Englifi Notes.


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THE

TABLE.OF the Bifcredtts of Learnings md theAnpwer Page iOf the Difcredits of Learning from the Ohje'4

Bions of Po!iticia?u, d^c. lOOf the Difcred'its of Learning from LearnedMc7is Fortunes 2?Of the Difcredics of Learning from LearnedMens Studies, b^c* ^ 5^Peccant Humours in Learnhig 54Of the Vignity of Learning 65Of Human Proof and Arguments 76The Influence ofLearning in Military Affairs 88The Influence of Learning in Moral ^ ntue loiOf the Power and Sovt^reignty, and Pleafures

of Learning , r - t?.Of the ABs of Merit towards Learning

1 1

Of Defers in thefe A5fs ^^^Of the Hijhry of Learning 1 27Of the Dignity and Difficulty of Civil hi-P9 '0/


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The TABLE*Of the Tartitwn of Civil Uijiory 135Of Ecclefiaflical Biftory 140Of the Jp'penJages of Hijiory I44Of Poetry I47Of the Triumphs of Man 187Of the Knowledge of Man's Body 1 92Of Memory 72$Of Rhetorick 230Of Critical and Fedantical Knowledge g 1Of Moral Knowledge 319Of Civil Converfat'wn 36The Architect of his Fortune 368Of Infpired Divinity 409


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v


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ii Tk LIFE of theQueen Elizabeth ^ the fecond Prop of theKingdom, in his Tiiue,,, Sit I^kholas Bacon^Knight, Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal ofEn^!a?iJ , a Worthy, of known Prudence,Judgment, Moderation, and Integrity t HisMother was Ann Cook^ a Daughter of SirAnthonj Cook, Knight , unto whom the Eru-dition of King Edward, the Sixth, had beencommitted ^ a choice Lady, and eminent forPiety, Virtue, and Learning ^ being exqui-iitely skill'd, for a Woman, in the Greek andLau?t Tongue. Thefe being the Parents,any one might eafily make an early Con-jedure, what the Iffue was like to be , ha-ving had all the Advantages that Nature andEducation could give him;

His^ firft and tender Years of Childhood,pafs'd not without remarkable Proofs of fu-perior Excellency , at which Age, he wasendued with fuch a towardnefs and acute-^nefs ofV/ir, as gave great Hopes of that pro-found and univerfal Apprehenfion, which hewas afterwards famous for ^ and caufed him^to be taken notice of by feveral of the No-bles, and other Perfons of Eminence f >rWorth and Place -^ and efpecially by theQaeen her felf,. v/ho ( as 1 have been credi-bly informM ) delighted to talk with him,and to try him v;ith pretty hard QiieftionsUnto whom he acquitted himfelf with thatGravity and Maturity of Judgment, abovehis Years, that her Majefly ufed to call him.


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iv The LIFE of thefor that End fent him over into France, inthe Retinue of Sir Amyas Panlet^ then dc-fign*d Ambaflador in ordinary to the F'/enchKing : By whom he was, after a while,held fit to be fent back into England with aMeflage to the Queen. Which Affair havingperformed, not without Thanks from HerMajefty, he return'd a fecond Time intoFrance, with Intention not to fee England a-gain for forae Years. During his Travels inFrance, his Father, the Lord- Keeper, died ^leaving ( as I have heard of knowing Per-fons) a confiderable Sum of Money, colled-ed with Intention to have made a Purchafeof Land for the ufe of this his youngeft Son ^( who was the only one unprovided for afterhis Father's Death , and tho' he had the leaflPart of his Father's Eftate, he had a princi-pal Share in his AfPedion ) but this Purchafebeing defign'd only whilft his Father was a-live, and not accomplifli'd, there came nogreater Share to him than his fingle Part, andPortion of the Money dividable among fiveBrethren^ which was the Caufe of his li-ving in fome Strait's and NecelTities in hisyounger Years. For as for that noble andpleafant Manour of Gorhambury^ he came notto it, till many Years after, namely, by theDeath of his deareft Brother, Mr. AnthonyBacon, a celebrated Gentleman, and perfedlywell vers'd in foreign Courts, equal to hisBrother in' height of Wit, but inferiour tohim


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Homurable A "V I H K. viicheared him much with the Bounry cf herCountenance, yet (he never cheated him withthe Bounty of her Hand, having never con-ferM upon him any Office, whether of Ho-nour or Profit, fave only one dry Reverfiouc^ the Regifter^s-Office in the Star-Chamberworth about 1600/. per Annum , for whichhe waited, in expectation, either fully, ornear twenty Years *, of which OfFice his Lord-:ihip, in Queen Eliz^abeth'sThii^^ p]eaf;intlyiaid. That it was like another Mans Groundlying upon his Koufe, which tni^ht 7nend hisFrofpeUy but did not fill his Barn. Never-thelefs, in the Reign of King Ja?nes, lie atlafl enjoy*d it, and managed it by a Deputy.But this could not be any ways imputed toa Difatredion, or Av^rfenefc in the Queentowards him, but to the Arts and Emulationof a certain Peer at that Time in great Fa-vour with the Queen, v;ho f ibour'd by allmeans to deprefs and ^keep hiiu down, left,if he had-rifen to any Pitch, his own Gloryalight have been obfcured by hhih

But tbd' he flood long at a Stay, in theDays of his Miflrefs, Qiieen Elizabeth, yetafter xhc change of Adminiftration, and .co-ming in of his new Mailer, King Jr.mes^ hemade a hafty [^rogrefs ^ by whom he wasremarkably advanced into Places of Trufl,Jionour, and Profito \ have feen a Letterin his Lordihip*s own Hand to King James^wherein he acknowledges. That he tpas tha:B 4 MaJIer


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Honourable A V 7 H R. 155ful , like Jupiter, when he brought forthPal/as, Neither did the Want of Children,in the lead, abate his Affection to his Con-fort, whom he ever profecuted with the high-eft conjugal Love, and Marks of Refped withmany rich Gifts, and Settlements, belides amatrimonial Robe of Honour, which flie woretwenty Years after his Death. For fo longflie furviv'd her honourable Husband.The laft Five Years of his Life, with-drawing from Civil Affairs, and an adiveLife, he employ'd wholly in Contemplationand Studies. A Thing which he feems tohave had moft at Heart ^ as if he had affededto dye in the Shade, rather than in the Light.Whereof plain Difcoveries are to be met with,in perufing his Works. In which Time hecompofed the greateft Part of his Books, bothin Englifi and Latin ; which [ will endeavourto ennumerate in the jull: Order of Time( being prefent, and obfcrving it ) whereinthey were Written. They (land thus. The'Hiflory of the Reign of Henry the SeventhKing of England, in the Engliflj Tongue.4becedariittn l^atur^ ^ a Metaphyfical Piece,which by fome ill Fate is loft. Hijioria Ten-toriim, Hijioria Vit et Mortis, HijioridDenfj, et Rari, now firft Printed. Hi/IoriaGravis, & Levis ^ which is alfo loft. ThefePooks written in Latin, Afterwards certainfragments in EngliJJj ^ as, A Difcourfe of aIf^ar with Spain. A Dialogue touching an

Ha"


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The L I F E of theHoly War, The Fable of the New Atlantis.A Preface to a Digeji of the Laws of En-gland. The begimmg of the Hijlory of theReign of HQury the Eighth King .9/ England.There had pafs*d between, A Work concefn-Ing the Advattcement ^f Learning ^ in theTranflating of which, by his own properStrength, and without Help, out of EjigUjhinto Latin^ he laboured exceedingly, and en-lich'd it every where with many and vari-ous Additions and Enlargements. After-wards, Coitnfeh Civil and Moral, ( call'd be-fore, Effajis ) but then enlarg'd bath ia Num-ber and Weight, in the Englijb Tongue. TheConverfion of certain Ffalms of David intoEngUfli Verfe, Again -.^ The Tranflation ofcertain Writings of his out of Englifh intoLatin ; as, The Eijlory of King Henry theSeventh, Connfels Civil and Moral , call'dafter that, Sermones Fideles ^ or, InteriorsRerum, The Dialogue of the Holy War /And, The Fable of the New Atlantis *, togratify Foreigners, who, he was told, had aDefire to fee them. \i\s Book of The Wifdom of the Antients, revifed. Inquifitio deMagnete, T


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Honourable A V 7 H K. xvin new and better Apparel : So that theAuthor {hould find his own Speech betteredin the Stile, but in Senfe and Subftance thefame *, as if it had been natural to him talife good Forms : As OvU fpake of his F-eulty of Verfifying ^

; q^uod ter.taham dieere, Verfm erauWhenever his Office oblig'd him (as he

was of the Kin^s Counsel Learned) to chargeany Offender, either in Criminal^ or CapitalMatters, he never fhew'd any thing of Raugh-tinefs, or Infult over the Delinquent *, but be-hav'd hirafelf with Mildnefs, and decent Tem-per r And though he knew it his Duty, asconcern'd for the King, to charge the PartyHome, yet he carried it fo as to caff; a fevereEye upon the Example, and a merciful Eye1.1 pon the Ferfon. And in Affairs of State,when he was made of the Frivj-Coiwcit^he obferv'd an excellent Method of Jduf^Jiiig \ not engaging his Mafier in any preci-pitatc, or unpopular and oppreffive Counfels but in moderate, and equal Courfes : KingJames honouring him with this Teftimony,That he had the Knack of inanaging Bufmefshi a pleajing agrerutble Manner -, and declar'd.That was the ^Fay which was moft accord-ifig to his. own Heart,

Neither


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Honourable A "U T H K. xixbme time fince, and lately, by the Natives ofthofc Countries. Several Perfons of Qua-lity, during his Lordfliip's Life, crofs*d theSeas into England, for no other Reafon butto fee him, and to gain an Opportunity ofdifcourfing with him. One of whom he pre-fented with his Pidure, at full length, tocarry into France with him ^ which thatStranger acknowledg'd would be a Thingmoft acceptable to his Country-men, that fothey might enjoy the Image of his Perfon,as well as the Images of his Brain, his BooksAmongft the reft, Marquis Fiaty a French No-bleman, who came AmbafTador into Efiglandthe firft Year of Queen Marj^ Wife to KingCharles^ was taken with an extraordinary De-fire to fee him. And meeting with an Opportunity for it, when he was come into hisChamber, being then, through Weaknefs, con-fined to his Bed, he faluted him in a Stile alittle of the grandeft j That his Lordjhip hadever been to him like the Angels^ ofwhom hehad heard mitch^ a?id had alfo read mticBof them in Books^ but was never indulged dISight of them. After which Interview, fointimate a Friendfhip was contraded betweeiithem, and the Marquis did fo much reverehim, that befides frequent VilitS, Letters pafs'dbetween them Under the Titles arid Appella-tions of Father ?indi Son, As for Salutations^without Number, by Letters from foreignWorthies, devoted to Wifdoraj or good Learn-G 3 ingy


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XX 'The L I F E of theing, I forbear to mention them ^ becaufe thisis a Thing, common to other Men of Note,together with him.

But when I fpeak of his Fame, I wouldbe underflooci not i^ the Exclufive, but inthe Comparative only ^ for his Reputationis not dec^y'd, or weak, but flrong and vi-gorous, among thofe of his Country alfo ^efpeciaily fuch as are f a more acute andfublime Underftanding , which I will ex-emplify but with two Teflimonies, and nomore. The former is this : When his Hi-Jlcry of the Reigii of Henry the Seventhwas ready for the Frefs, it was delivered byKing James to the Lord Brook to perufe ywho, when he had difpatch'd it, return'dit to the Author with this Elogy, Commendme to his Lordjliip^, and ciefire him to getgood Paper and hik, for the Work is incomparable. The other fhall be that cf DoctorSarniiel Collins^ late ProfefTor of Divinity,and Provoft of King's College in Cambridge^a Man of no vulgar Wit, who affirm'd toiijfx, ( whether in Mirth or Earneft ) Thatwhen he had read the Book of the Advance-ment of Learnings be jound himfelfin a cafeto begin his Studies anew *, and that he hadlojl all the lime of his Studying before,

' It hath been delired by fome Ferfons, thatfomething Ihould be inferted touching hi*Diet, and the Regimen of his Health ^ forthat, by reafon vt his univerfal Inlight in-

to


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Honourable J V T H K. xxito Nature, he may, perhaps, be to fome anExample therein. For his Diet, k was ra-ther pjentihji and liberal, as his Stomachwould bear, than low or retrained ^ whichhe elfewhere commended in his Hijhry ofLife and Death, In his younger Years he fed

f chiefly upon the finer and hghter Meats( as Fowls, and the hke ) bur, upon fur-ther Experience, he approv'd rather theflronger M.eats, fuch as the Shambles afford ,as thofe Meats which bred the ftronger andmore folid, and ( to ufe his own Words)the lefi diffipahle Juices of the Body ^ andwould often eat nothing elfe, though therewere other Dilhes upon the Table. You maybe lure he would by no means negledl thachimfelf, which you find fo much extord inhis Writings^ that is, the frequent ule ofhitre, whereof he took the Quantity of aboutthre^ Grains, in thin, warm Broth, everyMorning, for thirty Years, more or le(s, nextbefore his Death. As for Medicipje, it is true,tii^i he lived Medkijiaily, but not Mfer^'^bk ,for he conflantly took half a Dram, and nomore, of Rhubarb, iiififevi in a Draught ofWhite-Wine and Beer mingled together, for?:he fpace of half an Hour, once in fix orfeven Days : And that a little before Meat( whether Dinner, or Supper) that it mightdry the Body the lefs , which ( as hiuifeifailcrted ) carried away frequently the grouerHaiiiours of the Body, without caufing theC 5 spirits


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xxii The L I F E of theSpirits to exhale, which repeated Sweatingsdo. And for other Phyfick, ( whatfoeverhath been commonly faid ) he ufed noncoThe Receipt for the Goitt, which himfelfwas the Author of, and which, upon fre-quent Experience, eafed his Pain within twoHours, is extant in the End of the Natura!%Biftory,

It may feem that the Moon had fome prin-cipal Place in the Figure of his NativityFor as often as the Moon was eclipfed, hewas feiz'd with a fudden Fit of Fainting ^and that tho' he had no previous Knowledgeof the Lunar Defed : And the Eclipfe nofooner ceas'd, but he recover'd,- and cameto himfelf again.He died on the 19th Day of Aprils in theYear 1626, early in the Morning of the Daycelebrated for our Saviour's Refurredion, inthe 66th Year of his Age, at the Earl ofAninddVs Houfe, in High^Gate, near Lon-doyi J to which Place he cafually repair-ed eight Days before, for Diverfion, andnot with defign to flay ^ God fo ordaining,that he Ihould dye there of a gentle Fever,accompanied with a violent Deiluxion, whereby the Rheum fell fo plentifully upon hisBreafl, that he dyed by Suffocation. Hewas buried in St. Michaels Church, at St..Albans ^ the Place appointed for his Burialby his laft Will and Teftament, both becaufethe Body of his Mother v/as inter'd there

and


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Honourable A V T H K, xxii'iand becaufe it was the only Church remahi-ing from the Ruins of old Ventlam. Wherehe hath a noble Monument of White Mar-Me erec^led for hiin ( by the Care and Grati-tude of Sir Tbc7n(iis Meaiitys, Kt. his Execu-tor, and formerly his Lordihip's Secretary, andafterwards Clark of the Privy-Council, undertwo Kings ) reprefenting hi's Effigies fittingm a Chair, and ftudying ^ together withan Epitaph cojnpofed out of Love and Admi-ration, by that accomplifh'd Gentleman, andbright Wit, Sir Henry JFotton.But howfoever his Body, which he depo-fited, was mortal, yet his Works and Memo-ry will undoubtedly live, and endure aslong as the World endures. In order towhich, I have thought good ( according tomy poor Ability ) to make this Colledfon,luch as n is, by way of contributing ( af-ter a lort ) to the propagating of his Nameto Pofteruy.

The


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' Honourable A "V 7 H K, xxvrigence towards his Servants, who made a cor-rupt Ufe of it, that it ftrippM him of allthofe Riches and Honours which a long Se-ries of Merits had heaped upon him. Butin this Prayer, at the fame Time that wefind him proftrating himfelf before the greatMercy-Seat, and humbled under Afilidions,which at that Time lay heavy upon him,we fee him fupported by the Senfe of hisIntegrity, his Zeal, his Devotion, and hisLove to Mankind, which give him a muchhigher Figure in the Minds of ThinkingMen, than that Greatnefs had done fromwhich he was fallen. I fhall beg leave towrite down the Prayer it klf, with theTitle to it, as it was found among hisLordfhip's Papers, written by his own Hand not being able to furniih my Reader with anEntertainment more fuitabie to this folemnTime.

A Prayer, or Pfalm, made by my LordBacon, Chancellor of England.

TV /f OS T gracious Lord God, my mcr- IVJ. ciful Father j from my Youth-up,* my Creator, my Redeemer, my Comforter.* Thou, O Lord, fdundeft and fearcheft the* Depths and Secrets of all Hearts ; Thou* acknowledgeft the upright of Heart , Thou

' judgeft


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xxviii The L I F E of the* judgeft the Hypocrite , Thou pondered* Men's Thoughts and Doings, as in a Ba-* lance ^ Thou nieafureft their Intentions* as with a Line : Vanity and crooked Ways* cannot be hid from Thee. Remember, O* Lord I how thy Servant hath walked be-* for Thee : Remember what I have firft^ fought, and what hath been principal ia"* my Intentions. I have loved thy AlTem-"" blies, I have mourned for the Divifions of^ thy Church, I have delighted in the"^ Bri|htnefs of thy Sanduary, This Vine,* which thy Right-Hand hath planted in* this Nation, I have ever prayed unto Thee, that it might have the tirft and the latter Rain *, and that it might ftretch* her Branches to the Seas, and to the Floods.* The State and Bread of the Poor and Op-'^ prelTed have been precious in mine Eyes,* I have hat^d ail Cruelty, and hardnefe ojf". Heart. I have ( tho' in a defpifed Weed )* procured the Good of all Men. If any*" have been my Enemies, I thought not of*^ them ; neither hath the Sun almoft fet'^ upon my Dilpleafure , but I have been as* a Dove, free from Superfluity of Mali-* cioufnefs. Thy Creatures have been my' Books, but thy Scriptures much more. I* have fought 1 bee in the Courts, Fields,' G?!rdensj but I have found Thee in thy


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Honourable A V T H R. xxix* Thoufands have been my Sins, and ten

* Thoufands my Tranfgrefiions, but thy San-* diiications have remained with nre, and' my Heart ( through thy Grace ) hath been* an unquenched Coal upon thine Altar.

' O Lord, my Strength! I havefincemy* Youth met with Thee in all my Ways, fey* thy fatherly Corapaflions, by thy comfor-* table Chaftifcraents, and by thy moft vifi-* ble Providence. As thy Favours have in-* creafed upon me, fo have thy Correal-* ons , fo as Thou haft been always near' me, O Lord ! And ever as ray worldly* Blefiings were exalted, fo fecret Darts from' Thee have pierced me ^ and when I have* afcended before Men, 1 have defccnded in* Humiliation before Thee. And now when* I thought moft of Peace and Honour, thy Hand is heavy upon me, and hath* humbled me according to thy former lo-* ving Kindnefs, keeping me ftill in thy fa-* therly School, not as a Baftard, but as a* Child. Juft are thy Judgments upon me* for my Sins, which are more in Nura-* ber than the Sands of the Sea, but have* no proportion to thy Mercies : For what* are the Sands of the Sea > Earth, Hea-* vens, and all thefe, are nothipg to thy* Mercies.

' Belides my innumerable Sins, 1 confcfs* before Thee, that I atn a Debtor to Thee* il)f the gracious Taknt of thy Gifts and

' Graces,


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning, 3fa

any Man may fee plainly, that thefe Mendo not obferve and confidef, that the Know-ledge which occafion'd the Fall, was notthat pure and primitive Knowledge of Na-ture, by the Light of which, Man gaveNames to other Creatures in Paradife^ asthey were brought before him, accordingto their Proprieties , but that proud Know-ledge of Good and Evil^ by which he af-feded to fhake off God, and give Law tohimfelf. Neither is it any Quantity ofKnowledge, how great foever, that can fwellthe Mind, (ince nothing can fill the Soul,much lefs extend it, but God, and the Con-templation of God : And therefore Solo^Mofi fpeaking of the two principal Senfes ofInquifition (Seeitig and Hearing j faithj Thatthe Eye is never fatisfied with Seeing^ n&rthe Ear with Hearing, Ecclef. i. 8. Andif there be no Fulnefs, it follows, that theContinent is greater than the Contentel I N like manner, of Knowledge it felfj^fid the Mind of Man ( to which the Sen-fes are but as EmifTaries ) he defines in thefeVVordSj which he fubjoins to his Calendar^or Regifter^ that fets down the Times andSeafons of all Things, concluding thus tGod hath made all ibings beautiful^ or de-cent^ in the true return of their SeafotiSiEcclef. ^.11. Alfo he bath placed the Worldi?) Alans Heart, jet cannot Man find out theVOL. IL D n^ork


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4 B AC N's Effays contimid.Work which God vporketh fnm the Begin-fling to the End By which Words beplainly intimates, that God has framed theMind like a Mirrour, or Glafs, capable ofthe Image of the Univerfal World, and asdcfirous of receiving ir, as the Eye is ofLight, and delighted to behoid not only theVarieties and Viciditudes of Times, but am-bitious likewife to. fearch, and fpy out theimmoveable and inviolable Laws and Decreesof Nature. And altho' he feem to infinu-ate, that the Whole of that Oeconomy ofNature ( which he calln the Work ufhkh Godworks from the Beginning to the End) isnot poflible to be found out by Man -^ thisdoes not derogate from the Capacity of Man,but (hould be caft upon the Impedinjents ofKnowledge ^ fuch as the (hortnefs of Life-,reparation in Men's Studies , a depraved andunfaithful Tradition of Knowledge, from handto hand , and a World of other Inconvenien-cies, to which the Condition of Man is fub-jcd:. For that' iio P^^rt of the Univerfe isimproper for the Difquifition of Man, heihews clearly enough


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Of the Dijcredits of Learnvjg, 5large foever ) left it ftiould make it fweil 5but merely in the Quality of Knowledge,which tho' never fo fmall, if it be takenwithout its proper Antidote, hath a kind ofMalignity and Venom in it, full offlatuousSymptoms. This Antidote^ or Corredive-Spice ( the mixture whereof tempers Know-ledge, and renders it exceeding whoifomeis Charity, which alfo the Apoftle fubjoinsto the former Claufe, faying, Knozvledge fiif^feth up, but Charity buildeth tfp : Not un-like that which he delivers in another Place,Tho* ( fays he ) I/pake with the Tongues ofMen, and of Angels^ and have not Charity, tam become as founding Brafs, or a tinklingCymbal, 1 Cor. i^. Not but that it is anexcellent Thing to fpeak with the Tonguesof Men and Angels, but becaufe if it befevered from Charity, and not referr'd to i\\tpubiick Good of Mankind, it will rather ex-hibit an empty Glory, than any folid Fruit.A S for Solomon^s Cenfure, touching the

Excefs of Writing and Reading Books , andthe Anxiety of Spirit redounding from Know-ledge , and that Admonition of St. P/^r//, '[hat^we be not feduced by vain Phtlofophy ^ letthofe Pafluges be rightly explained, and theydo excellently point out the true Boundsand Limits, within which Human Know-ledge is conhned and circumfcribed, yet fdas that She nuy be at liberty^ without anyD % Itrau*


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6 B AC 'N's Effays continud.flraitning, to comprehend and take in theuniverfal Nature of Things. The Limits areThree. The Firft^ That we do not fo placeour Felicity in Knowledge, as to forget ourMortality. The Second^ That we do not foufe our Knowledge, as that it may be theoccafion of Anxiety,not Tranquillity of Mind.The ThirJ, That we do not think, by theContemplation of Nature, to be able to reachthe Divine Myfteries.A S to the Firfl, Solomon doth excellently

expound himfelf in another Place of the fameBook, Ecclef. 2. 19. &c\ I Jarv well, faithbe, th^t Wifdom recedeth as far from Follyas Light pom Darkiiefs, The wife Man'sEves keep watch in his Head^ ivhereas thefool roveth about in Darknefs , but withalI learn'd^ that the fame Mortality involvesthem both,FOR the Second^ Certain it is, that no

Anxiety, or Perturbation of Mind, refultsiTom Knowledge, but merely by. Ac-cident. For all Knowledge, and Wonder,C which is the Seed of Knowledge ) is in itfelf Pieafant , but when Conclufions aredrawn from it, which being obliquely ap-plied to our own Particular, beget eitherweak Fears, or vaft Defires, then, and nottill then, arifes that Vexation, arjd Troubleof Mind, of which w^e are fpeaking : forthen


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Of the Discredits of Learning.then Knowledge is no longer Dry Lights f asHeracluus tlTe Ohfcure, would have ir, Lu-men ficaim cpuma anwia , Dry Ijghfs thebefi Soul J but becomes Lumen tnadiditm^ at-que Hivnoribus AffeSlumn maceratiim , Lightjleeped and infufed in the Humours of theAjjections,

THE Third Rule requires a mor^ accu-rate Difquifition, and is not to be lightlypalled over. For if any Man thinks, by aView and Enquiry into fenlible and materi-al Things, to attain fo much Light, as willbe fufficient to difcover the Nature, or Willof God, that Man indeed is fpoiVd throughvain Philofophy. For the Conteuiphtion ofthe Creatures, with regard to the Creaturesthemfelves, produces Knowledge*, but withregard to God, Wonder only, which is akind of broken Knowledge. And thereforeit was moll: aptly faid by one of Plato'sSchool : That Human Senfes refemhle theSun, which reveals indeed the TerreJIrialGlobe, but feals itU the Celejiial, and theStars. So the Senfe difcovers natur.il Thingsbut darkens and fhuts up Divine. And henceit hath come to pafs, that tome of the learn-ed Tribe have tumbled into Hereu', whiillI hey iabour'd lo fly up to the Secrets ofthe Deity, upon the waxen Wings oi ticSenfes.

D 3 AS


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning* pthe Works of Providence, then according tothe Allegory of the Poets, he will eafily be-lieve that the higbefl Link of 'Mature s Chain^js faften'd to the Foot of Jufherh Chair,TO conclude in a Word, let no Mail,

in purfuit of the Name of an ill-apply 'dSobriety and Moderation, imagin, that wecan go too far, or be too well-fludied inthe Book of God's Word, or in the Bookof God's Works, Divinity, or Philofophy ^but rather let Men awaken themfelves, andvigoroully urge and purfue an endlefs Pro-grefs, or Proticiency in both *, only let 'embeware, left they apply Knowledge to Swel-ling, not to Charity ^ to Oftentation, notto Ufe : And again. That they do not un-Ikilfuily mingle and confound thofe difrindLearnings of Theology and Philofophy, andtheir feverai Waters together.

D4 CHAP,


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Of the Difcredits of Learning. iiQuarters about Carneades the Philofopher,who was come Embailcidor from R ome^ ta-ken with the Sweetnefs and Majefly of hisEloquence, gave Counfel in full Senate, Thatthey Ihould give him his Difpatch with allfpeed, left he fliouid infed and inchant theMinds of the Citizens, and at unawares bringin an Alteration of the Manners and Cu-lioms of the State. The fame Conceit mov'dVirgil alfo, preferring the Honour of hisCountry, before his own Profeffion, to makea Separation between the Arts of Policy,and the Arts of Literature, claiming thofeto the Ramans^ and leaving thefe to the Gre^cians^ in thofe celebrated Verfcs, ^n. 6. VS47. &c,

Excudetit aiii, dzc.Let others better mould the runnhig MafiOf Mettal, and inform the breathing BrafsÂndfften into Flefi a Marble Face :Flead better at the Bar ^ defcribe the SkieS^Ând when the Starydefcend, and when they rife.But Rome, *tis Thine alo7ie^ with an>ful Sivay^To ride Mankind^ and make the IForld obey ,Pifpofng Peace and JVar thy own majefick Jây.

Dryden.

WE


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12 B AGO N's Effays cominn d.W E fee likewife that Anytas, the Accu-

fer of Socrates^ laid it as an Articie ofCharge and Accufation againft him, Thathe did by the Power and Variety of hisDifcourfes and Difputations, embafe in theMinds of young Men, the Authority andReverence of the Laws and Cuftoms oftheir Country *, and that he did pro-fefs a dangerous and pernicious Art, withwhich, whoever was furniih'd, might makethe worfe Caufe the better, and fupprefsTruth it felf by the Train and Braveryof Eloquence.BUT thefe, and the like Imputations,

carry rather a perfonated Gravity, than anySincerity of Truth. For Experience wit-nelles, as the feif-fame Perfons, fo the felf-fame Times have flourifh'd in the Glory ofArms and Good Letters at once. As for .Men, we may inftance in that noble Pairof Emperors, Alexander the Great, and Ju-lius cJfar the Didator , the One, Arijiotle'sScholar in Philofophy, the Other, Ckero*sRival in Eloquence. Or if any Man (houldrather call for Learned Men, that have pro-ved great Generals, than Generals that weregreat Scholars, there is ready for him Epa.-minorJas the Thehan, or Zenopbon the Athe-nian ^ the former of which was the iirflthat paved the Way to the overthrow of

the


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of the DiJcredits of Learning. i 5the Ferfian Monarchy. And this Marriage, asit were, of Aims and Letters, is yet morevifible in Times, than in Perfons, by howmuch an Age is a greater Objed thati aMan. For the very fame Times with theFgypuans, AJfyriav.s^ Verfians^ Greciaiu, andRemans^ that are moft renown*d for mili-tary Vcrtue, were likewife moft admired forLearning too -^ fo that the graveft i\uthorsand Philofophers, and the moft celebratedCaptains and Governours, have lived in thefame Age. Nor indeed can it otherwife be,fur as in Man the Vigor of Body and Mindgrow to maturity almuft together ( favethat the former is a little more eafly thanthe other) fo in States, the Glory of Armsand Learning ( the one whereof correfpondsto the Body, the other to the Soul ; areeither Coeval, or follow one another verypiofe.

NOW for matter of Policy and Govern-ment, that Learning fbould rather be an Im-pediment, than a Help to it, is a Thingvery improbable. We all confefs it an un-advifed Ad-, to commit a natural Body, andthe Cure of Health, to Empyrick Phyficians,who are wont to make buaft of a few Re-ceipts,^ which feera to them univcrfal Reme-dies; in confidence of which they ventureto attempt any thing, when yet they neitherknow the Caufes of Difeafes, nor the Conftl-tutions


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14 B AC NV Effays continnd,tutions of Patients, nor the Danger of Syni-ptonis, nor the true Method of Cures. Wefee it a like Error in thofe, who for thedifpatch of their Caufes and Suits, make ufe the younger, owed the ten \ears2pplaud;id Government to Mifnhem^ a Pe-dant, Nor did Alexander Severus govern

lefs


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning, i ^Jcfs happily in his Miniftry, in which SpaceWomen took care of all Things, but withthe Advice of Preceptors,N A Y, let us look into the Government

of the Bifhops of Rome, and by Name, thatof Fius Qvihnits^ or Sextiis Qnintus^ in ourTimes, who were efteem'd at their en-,trance but as poor, ignorant, and unexpe-rienced Friars ^ and we (hall find that theAcls of fuch Popes are ufually more memo-rable, than of thofe who have akended tothe Papacy from an Education and Breed-ing in Affairs of State, and in the Courts ofPrinces. For alrho' Men, that have fpentmoft of their Life in Letters, are lefs quickand nimble in apprehending Occafions, andin Points of Convenience, and accommo-dating Things for the prefent, which theItalians call Ragioni diftato, (the very Namewhereof Vius Onintus could not bear, beingufed to fay. That they were the mere De-vices of wicked Men, wherewith to opprefsReligion and the moral Virtues ) yet in thisthere is m^ide ample Recompence, that theyare perfedl and ready in the fafe and plainWay of Religion, Juflice, Honefly, and themoral Virti-es ^ which 'Way they that con-ftantiy keep, will no more need thofe otherRemedies, than a found Body does Phyfick.Moreover, tjie fpace of one Man's Life can-not furniih Prelidents enough to dired the

Events


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1 6 bacon's EJfays continud.Events of but one Man's Life. For as itfometimes happens, that the Grandfon, orgreat Grandfon^ refembles the Grand-Father,or great Grand-Father more than the Father,fo many times it comes to pafs, that theOccurrences of prefent Times fort betterwith antient Examples, than with thofeof later Times. Laftiy, The Wit of one Manyields as much to the Extent and Latitudeof Learning, as the Income of a private Manto a pubhck Treafury.AND tho' 'twere granted, that thofe De-

pravations, Indifpofitions, and Impediments,which are imputed to Learning by Politicks,were of any Force and Validity, and hadany Truth in them^ yet it muft be remem-bred withal, that Learning in each of thefeis more medicinal than it is hurtful. Forallow, that Learning by a fecret Influencerenders the Mind irrefoiute and perplext ^yet certainly it plainly teaches how to un-wind the Thoughts, now far to deliberate,and when at laft to refolve ^ nay, it (hewshow Things in the mean time may be pro-traded, and fufpended without PrejudiceB E it likewife granted. That Learning

makes Men's Minds too pofitive and ftift'yet withal it teaches, what Things are intheir nature Demonflrative, and what Con-iedural ; and propounds as well the Ufe of

Diilln.


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning, \yDiftindions and Exceptions, as the Stabilityof Rules and Principles.B E it again, That it mifleads and wfefts

Men's Mind^, either by the difproportionor diffimiJitude of Examples, that I can'ttell , yet this I know welJ, that it unfolds,and lays open as well the Force of Circum-ftances, as the Errors of Comparifons, andteaches all the Cautions of Application , fothat in the whole, it redifies Men's Mindamore than it perverts them. And thefe Re-medies Learning infinuates every where bythe great Force and Variety of Examples,Let a Man weigh well the Errors of Clementthe Vllth, fo lively defcrib'd by Gmcciardine^that was a kind of Domeftick to him ; orthe Waverings of Cicero^ painted to the Lifeby his own Pencil, in his Epiftles to Atti^ens 5 and he will of ail things Ihun Incon-flancy, and frequent Shifting of Refolutions.Let him look into the Errors of Fbocion,and he will dread Obftinacy, and Wilful-nefs. Let him read the Fable of Ixio?!^ andit will difpel exceffive Hopes, and fuch likeFumes and Mifts. Let him coniider Catothe Second, and he will never go to theAntipodes^ and tread oppofite to the prefentWorld.NOW for the Conceit of thofe that think

Learning a Fnend to Sloth, and that it o-verfpreads


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1 8 B ACOKs Ejfays continnd.verfpreads the Mind with a fweet Slumberof Repofe and Retirement, thisy will do aMiracle if they can prove^ That that whichaccuftoms the Mind to a perpetual Motion,and Agitation, is the Patronefs of Sloth :Whereas, on the contrary, it may be trulyaffirm'd. That no kind ofMen love BulinefsforBulinefs-fake, but the Learned. For other Per-fons love Affairs and Bufinefsjfor the Profit, asHirehngs the Work for the Wages : Othersfor Honour , for while they are in Adfion,they live in the Eyes of Men, and refreQitheir Reputation, which would otherwife de-cay. Others for ihe fake of Power, andthe Privileges of Fortune^ that they may beable to reward their Friends, and be reveng'dof their Enemies. Others, that they mayexercife fome peculiar Faculty that they arefond of, and in that fefped often congratu-late and pleafe themfelves. Others, laftly^to obtain other Ends of theirs. So that asit is faid of Braggadocio's, that their Valouris in the Eyes of the Spedators -^ fo fuchMen's Dihgence and Adivity feems to aimat this, either that others may applaud them,or that they may be delighted inwardly inpleafing Conceits of themfelves, and theirown Defigns : Only Learned Men love Bu-(inefs ana Employment, as Adions agreeableto Nature, and no lefs healthful to the Mind,than Exercife is to the Body, having an Eyeto the Thing only, not the Profit : So that


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning. ipail Men, they are the moft Indefatigable,provided it be any fuch Bufinefs as can filland entertain the .Mind according to its Dig*nity*

A N D if any be found fometimes adiivein Reading, but idle in Adion, they havenot this from Learning, but from fomeVVeaknefs and Softnefs of Body, or Spirit 5fuqh as Seneca touches : Some, fays he, arefo much for Shade and Obfcurky^ that what'ever is in the Light, thej take to he in aStorm, It may perchance happen, that Menfrom a Confcioufnefs of fuch a Temper, maygive themfelves to Learning , but Learningit felf implants and breeds no fuch Tem-per

B U T if any Man, notv;ithflanding, pe-remptorily maintains. That Learning fwal-lovvs up too much Time, which might other*wife be better employed , I anfwer. That noMan is fo ftraitned and oppreft with Bufi-nefs, but he has his Intermiffions and Va-cancies, till the Returns and Tides of Bufi-nefs flow in again, unlcfs he be either verydull, and of no Difp itch ; or ambitious ( lit-tle to his Credit and Reputation ) in reach-ing after Bufintfs of all Kinds and Nature*^*

I T remains then to be enquirM, with what,and in what manner it may be convenientVOL. II E 10


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ao B AC 'N's Effays continnd.to fill up tho(e fpare Hours '^ whether withStudies or Pleafures, with Senfuality, orContemplation ^ as was well anfwer'd byDemofthenes to jEfchines, a Man given toPleafure, who when he told him by wayof Reproach, That his Orations ftnelt of theLafnp, In troth, fays he, there is great dif-ference between the Things that I andjondo by Lamplight, Wherefore there is noneed of fearing, left Learning fhould expelBufinefs nay, rather it refcues and defendsthe Mind from Idlenefs and Pleafure, whichotherwife by degrees are wont to fteal in, tothe prejudice of both, Bufinefs as well asLearning.

AGAIN, Whereas they objcd, that Let-ters undermine the Reverence of Laws andGovernment, it is a mere Calumny, and hasnot the probable appearance of an Accufa-tion. For to fay, that a blind ObedienceIhould be a flronger Obligation than an o-cular Duty, is all one as to affirm, that aBlind Man with a Guide, treads furer thanhe that has the ufe of Light and Eye.Nay, without all Controverfy, the Arts fof-ten the Manners, make them tender, obfe-quious, pliable, and dudile to the Commandsof Power , whereas Ignorance on the otherhand, makes them Contumacious, Refradory,and Mutinous : And this appears clearlyby Hiitory, onfidering that the mod un-

learned


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning, a ilearned, rude, and barbarous Times, havebeen mofl: fubjed to Tumults, Seditions,and Changes.A S to the Judgment of Cato the Cenfor,

fo much I fliall fay, that he was \^ell pu-nifli*d for his Blafphemy againft Learning ^for when he was pafl Threefcorc Years ofAge, he was taken with an extreme Defireto go to School again, and to learn theGreek Tongue, in order to read the GreekAuthors , which demonftrates, that his for-mer Cenfure of the Grecian Learning, wasrather an affected Gravity, than the inwardSenfe of his own Opinion.A S to Firgirs Verfes, tho' he took a fen-

cy to infult the World, in averting to the Ro-ffians the Arts of Empire, and leaving allthe refl to others as popular and fervile ^ yecfo much is manifcft, that the Romans ne-ver afcended to the Pinnacle of Empire, tillthe Time they had afcended to the Heightof Arts. For in the Time of the two firftC^fars, Men of the greateft Perfeftion in theArt of Government, there lived Contem-poraries j the beft Poet, VirgHms Maro ^ thebelt Hiftorian, Titus Livius , the bed An-tiquary, Marcus Varro , and the beft, or ft-cond belt Orator, Marcus Cicero ^ the great-eft Men no doubt, each in their Faculties,that to UiJMcmory of Man are known.^ E 2 L A S T^


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2 2 B AC N's Ejfays comimtd.LASTLY, for the Accufation of So*crates^ 1 (hall only fay, the Time muft be

remembred, when it was profecuted, name-ly, .usder the Thirty Tyrants, of all Mor-tals the bloodiefl, the wickedeft, and moftunworthy of Government : Which Revo-lution of State and Time was no fooner o-ver, but the. fame Socrates, whom they hadmade a Perfon Criminal, was made a PerfoiiHeroical, and his Memory accumulated andcrown'd with all Honours Divine and Hu-^^man ^ and thofe Difcourfes of his, beforeefteem'd corrupters of Manners, were cele-brated by all Pofterity for moft fovereignMedicines of Mind and Manners. And letthis ferve for Anfwer to Politicks, who intheir fupercilious Severity, or in their coun-.terfeit Gravity, have prefumed to throw theirReproaches and Affronts upon Learning.

*%:hap


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning. 2 3

CHAP. III.Of the Difcredics of LEARNING,from Learned Mens Fortunes^ Man-?2erSj and Nature of Studies.

Dd Aiigmentis Scientlarum, Ibid.

jOW are we come to the Thirdfurt of Difcredit, that redoundsto Learning from Learned Menthemfelves, and That commonlyflicks fafter than the reft. Thatderives its Original either from their For-tune, or their Manners, or the Nature oftheir Studies. The Firft of xvhich is outo^ their Power, the Second Accidental, andnot to the Purpofe fo that the Third onlyleems properly to fall into Inquiry. Yet be-caufe the Debate in hand 13 not fo muchconcerning, the true Weight of Things, asof topular Opmion, it will not be aniifs 10infinuate foo^ewha^ alfo of the Two orber. ' '

K5 THE


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24 B ACO N's Effays continnd.THE Derogations therefore, and Dimi-

nutions, or Difcredits, that are caft uponLearning from the Fortune of Learned Men,arc taken either from their Poverty and fear-city of Living, or from their obfcure andprivate Courfe of Life, or from the Mean-nefs of the Employments wherein they arcconverfant.

eA S to Poverty, and that it frequentlyhappens, that Learned Men are Indigent, andcommonly begin with little, and do notgrow Rich fo faft as other Men, who mindnothing but Lucre ^ it were advifeable toleave this Common-Place, in Praife of Po-verty to the Mendicayit Friars to adorn j ( ifhy their leaves I may be fo bold ) to whomMachtavell attributed much, when he faid,* That the Kingdom of the Pricfts had lonf* lince been at an end, if Reverence towards* the Poverty of Friars and Monks, had* not corapenfated for the Luxury and Ex-* cefs of Prelates. * So may a Man fay.That the Felicity and Magnificence of Prin-ces and Great Perfons had poflibly long agofunk into Barbarifm and Rudenefs, if theyhad not been obliged to thofe poor Learn-ed Men for the Civility, and Honour ofLife. But without any fuch hunting afterEncomiums, it is worthy Obfervation, what9 facred and venerable Thing Poverty it {t\

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Ofthe Difcrtdits of Learning, 2 5was e^eeiued, for fomc Ages, among theRomans^ which n^verthekfs was a State with-out Paradoxes. For thus faith Tim Lwiusm his Introduaion ^ ' Either my AfFedion* to the Work I have undertaken, deceives* me, or never was there Common-Wealth,* eiticr more Mighty than the Roman, or' more Holy and Devout, or more richly fur-* nifh'd with good Prefidents ^ or which A-* yarice and Excefs fo late invaded ^ or where-* in Poverty and Parfimony were fo greatly^ and fo long honoured. In fhort, the more* they wanted, the lefs they defired

MOREOVER, after the Rman Statehad now degenerated, we read, that when


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a 6 i> y^ C NV Effays contimid,\

IIwxy and Mifmanagement. Surely this is So-lomon% Judgment, He that hafleih to be Rich.,fiall 7ior- be Innocent -, and his Precept, Eiiythe Truth, and fell it- n^t , alfo Knowledgeand Prudence, Judging it right and good,that Riches fhould be employed to get Learn-ing, noc Learning apply'd to hoard Riches.

TO what purpofe fhould we fpeak ofthe Privatenefs and Obfcurity of Life, thatthey objel to Learned Men } It is aTheme fo trite, and bonded about by all,to extol Leifurc and Retirement (not ac-conipany'd with Sloth and Luxury ) be-fore a civil and adive Life, for Security,Libt;rty, Sweetnefs, Dignity, or at leaft Free-dom frcm Inclignities, that no Man handlesthis Subjed, but handles it well. This on-ly I fliall add, that Learned Men lying clofein States, and not living in the Eyes ofMen, are hke the Images of CaJ/ius andBrutus^ of which, not being carried, as ma-ny other wtre, at the Funeral of Julia^I'acitus faith, Eo ipfo pr^fitlgebant, quod nonvifelantur :^ They out-fhone the reft for thisvery reafoh, becaufe they did not appear.As to the Meannefs of Employment af-

ligned to Learned Men, this is chiefly ob-jed:ed, that the Education of Children andTouth is allpued to them, the Difefteera ofwhich Age, becaufe it is the Age of lead

Authp-


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I ll ~Vfthe Dtj credits of Learning. 2JAuthority, is ca(l upon the Mafters them-felves. But how unjuft this Difparagementis, if the Thing' be vveigh'd, not accordingto popular Opinion, but found Judgment, wemay take an Eltimate from hence, that Menare more careful what they put into a newVelfel, than into a VefTel feafon'd, and aremore curious what Mould they lay about ayoung Plant, than about a Plant corrobo-rate ^ from whence it is evident, that theprincipal Care is about the Beginnings ofThings and Bodies. Hearken, if you plcafe,to the Rabbies, Tour young Men jljall feeVffionSy and your old Men (ImU dream DreamsFrom this Text they gather. That Youth isthe worthier Age, by hcv much Revelationis more clear by Vifions, than by Dreams.And this is well worth the noting, that how-ever Pedagogues, have run the Derilion ofTheatres, as the Apes of Tyranny, and thatthe modern Times have been negligent, ancjas it were aileep as to -the Choice of School-Mafters, and Tutors ^ yet it hath been anantient Complaint, deliver'd down even fromthe beft and vn[d\ Ages, that States aretoo bufy as to their Laws, and too negli-gent in point of Education Which moft no-ted Part of antient Difcipline, has in fomefort been brought back again, by way ofRecovery, as it were, in the Colleges of theJefuits, whofe Induflry and Acutenefs, whenIconlider, as well in the Culture of Learn-

ing,


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q8 B ACON*s Effays continud.ing, as in the Formation of Manners ^ Thatof Agefilatts touching Pharnabazus, comes in-to my mind. Talis cumjts, utinatn ncfter effes J ' Since thou art fo excellent, I wilh* thou wert one of us. ' And thus muchfor the Difcredits drawn from the Fortunes,and Condition of Learned Men.

A S to the Manners of Learned Men,that is a Thing rather Perfonal, than belong-ing to Studies and Learning. And no doubtthere are found amongft them, as in all Or-ders and Profeflions of Life, bad as well asgood ^ but yet it is never the lefs true, whatis alFerted, Abire Jludia in Mores^ That Stu-dies have an influence upon the Manners,and that Letters, unlefs they meet with ve-ry deprav'd Indifpofitions, reform Nature in-tirely, and change it for the better.

BUT upon an attentive, and impartialView, I can't find any Difgrace that adheresto Learning, from the Manners of LearnedMen, as they are Learned, unlefs it be im-puted to them as a Fault ( which Defnoftbe-nes, Cicero, Cato the Second, Seneca^ andmany more arc accufed of) that becaulcthe Times, they read of, are commonly bet-ter than thofe they live in, and the Dutiestaught, better than the Duties pradifed ;they contend beyond what is convenient,Co reduce the Corruption of Manners to the

Hone-


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Of the Difcredits of Learning, apHonelly of Precepts, and receiv*d Opinions,and to impofe the Laws of antient Severity,upon dilfolute Times ^ of which neverthelefsthey have Caveats enow in their ownWalks. For Solon, when he was asked, TFhe-zher he had given his CittZefis the beft Laws,The hefl^ fays he, of fuch as they were di-fiofed to receive. So Flato^ finding that theManners of his Country-Men were too cor-rupt for him to bear, abftain*d from all pub-Jick Office, faying. That a Man^s Country isto be dealt with as his Farents ^ that is^ byFerfuafion^ not Viole?ice , by humbly entreat-in^^ not conteftitjg. And Cdtfar's Counfellorputs in the fame Caveat, faying, t^on ad ve*tera Inftititta revocans^ quA jam pridem cor^ritptis Moribus ludibrio fufit : * Not redu-* cing Things to the antient Cuftoras, which* have been long (ince laught at upon the De-* generacy of our Manners, ' Cicero alfonotes this Error in Cato the Second, wri-ting to his Friend Atticus : Cato (fays he)has moft excellent IsotiojiSy but he fometimeshurts the State ^ for he /peaks as in the Com-inon-Wealth of Plato, and not as in the Dregsq/' Romulus. The fame Cicero^ by a foft In-terpretation, excufes the rigid Sayings, andPlacits of the Philofophers : ' Thofe very* Preceptors and Teachers ( fays he ) ieem^ to have flretcht out the Line and Limits^ of Duties fomewhat beyond what Nattlrc* required , that when we had lrain*d our

Soul


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go B AC NV EJfays continud,* 5oul to reach the higheft Point of Pefec-^ tion, we might however reft and make a' ftand, where it is meet. * And yet hehimfelf might have faid, Momtis furn minoripfe meis *, ' I am not able to take my own* Advice : ' For he ftumbled at the fameStone, tho' not in fo extreme a Degree.

ANOTHER Fault which is perhaps de-fervedly objeded to Learned Men, is this.That they have poft-pon*d their own For-tunes, or Safeties, to the Honour or Ad-vantage of their Countries, or Mafters. Forfo Bemofthenes to his Athe?uans^ ' My Coun-* fels ( fays he) ffye note it well, are not^ fuch whereby I may grow great amongft^ you, and your felves become little amongft' the Grecians , but of that Nature as are"= fometimes not fafe for me to give, but al-^ ways good for you to follow. ' So Sene-ca^ after he had confecrated that Quinquen-nium eronis (Five Years of t^ero J to theeternal Glory of learned Preceptors, heldon his Courfe of free and bold Counfel tohis Mafter, now grown extremely Corruptby all manner of Vice, to his own greatPeril, and at laft Ruin. Neither can it o-th^rwife be, for Learning feafons Men'sMinds with a true Senfe of their own Frail-ty, and Inftabiiity of Fortune, the Dignityof their Soul, and of their own Duty ^which Things when they think of, they

can


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Of the Difcredits of Learjiing, o ipii by no means perfuade themfelves, tliat.any Advancement of their own Fortunes 'can be fet down as a true and worthy Endof their Being. Wherefore they fo live,as Perfons ready to give up their Accountto God, and to their Maflers under God,whether Kings or States, in this Form ofWords, Ecce tthi liicrifec't : ( Behold I havegainedfor thee ) and not in that, Ecce mihilucrifeci^ ( Behold I have gained for my f^lf.)But the Herd of Politicians, that have nottheir Thoughts train'd up and eftablifh'din the Doctrin of Duties, and the Contem-.plation of univerfal Good, refer all thingsto themfelves, carrying themfelves as if theywere the Center of the World, and thatthe Concurrence of all Lines ought to touchin them, and their Fortunes , never trourbling their Heads what becomes of the Shipof the Repubiick, tho' toft by Tempefts,provided they can but retreat and fave them-felves in the Cock- Boat of their own For-tune.

O N the contrary. Men that feel the Weightof Duty, and underftand the Limits of Self-Love, make good their Places and Stations,tho* with Peril. And if they chance toftand in Seditions, and Alterations of Go-vernment, it is to be attributed not to anyArts, or verfatil temporizing Difpoiitions inthem, but to that Reverence, which Probi-

ty


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g2 B AC Oh's Ejfays continnd.ty extorts even from Enemies. But as loconftancy of Faith, and tender Senfe andreligious Obfervation of Duty, which Eru-dition doth certainly plant in the Mindsof Men, however Fortune may fometimestax and amerce them, or Politicians, from un-found corrupt Principles, may condemn them,yet they will certainly carry a publick Com-mendation from all Men , fo that in thisPoint, there needs no long Defence.ANOTHER Fault there is ordinary

with Learned Men, (and which may foon-er be excufed than denied ) namely this ^that they do not eafily apply and accommo-date themfelves to Perfons, with whom theyNegotiate, or Live : Which Defed arifethfrom two Caufes : TheFirflis theLargenefsand Greatnefs of their Soul, upon the accountof which they can hardly ftoop to the Ob-lervance of any one Man. It is a Speechfor a Lover, not for a Wife Man, Satis mag-num alter alter't Tbeatrum fumns, ' We are* a Theatre of Pleafure and Entertainment,* large enough, the one to the other. ' Ne-verthelefs I (hall yield, that he that cannotcontrad the Sight of the Mind, like that ofthe Eye, as well as dilate it, is deftituteof a notable Faculty for the managementof Bufinefs. But the Second Caufe is theProbity and Simplicity of their Manners ;

which


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Of the Dijcredtts of Learning. 3 5which argues Choice and Judgment, not De-? and Inabihty in them. For the trtle andjult Bounds of obfervance towards any Per-fon extend no further, than fo to Gnder-ftand his Temper, as to be able to converfewith him without Offence, and to aflift him.If occafion be, with CounfeJ, and in themean time to take care of ourfelves in allMan s AfFeftionsi to the end to work him,wind hira, and turn him about at Pleafure3s not the part of an ingenuous Nature, butof a "afty and cloven-hearted Man ; whichas m Friendlhip, it is want of Integrity, fotowards Princes or Superiors, is want ofDuty. For the Cuftom of the Levant, whereLa\ ^^^5V"f?'l a heinous Offence, to gazeand fix their Eyes upon their Princes, in^hefn r M^'r""/ 'l^''^ '' '"''^ro'us, butn the Moral good: For it Becomes not Sub-jcfls, by curious Obfervation, to rierce andpenetrate into the Hearts of King wf^dithe Scripture declares to be McrttalleJu\^^^\ " y" ^"Off^" Fault (withfutS^tJY' ^"^^t''''' P-O often im-uted to Learned Men namely, that inand oumard Matters ( as Ju'ntenance,eit?, 7 many times in obferving Dc-ency 5 from whence ignorant Men mike",^>dgment from thofe minute and trivi Mif-

carriages.


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54 3 AC ON's Effays continud.carriages, how great their Errors muft be inthe management of more important Matters.But this Confequence does generally deceivethem '^ therefore let them know, that The-miftochs has given them their Anfwer,who be-ing ask'd to touch a Lute, anfwer'd arrogantlyenough as to bis own Perfon, but very ap-pofitely to the Furpofe in hand. That hecould not FtiUle indeed, but he knew well e-noiigh, by what Means afmall Town mighthecome a great State

AND there are, no doubt, many fmgu-larly Ikilful in the Arts of Policy, who not-withftanding are flrangely to feek in com-mon Life, and ordinary Matters of no Weight.Such Scoffers alfo are to be referred to Flato'sElogyofhis Mafter S^^r^f^J, whom he com-pared to the Gaily- Pots of Apothecaries,which on the out-fides were drawn with ^Apes, Owls, and Anticks , but contain-,ed within pretious Liquors, and noble.Medicaments , acknowledging, that to vul-;gar Capacity, and popular Report, he wasnot without fome fuperficial Levities, andeven Deformities, but was inwardly reple-nifii'd with moft excellent Faculties and Vir-tues. And (o much for the Manners otLearned Men. 1IN the mean rime, I think good to ad^

vertife. That I intend nothing lefsthan tQ^Patro-


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Ofthe Difcredits of Learning, 5 5Patronize certain abje6t and bafe Pradli-ces of ProfeiTors of Learning, whereby theyhave difcredited both themfelves and Let-ters ^ fuch as were^ in the latter Age ofthe Roman State, certain Trencher- Phiio-fophers, in the Families of wealthy Per-fons, whom yoU may hot Improperly callfolemn Farafttes : One of which kind Litciarimakes a merry Defcription of, whom a no-ble Matron would needs have carry herLap-Dog in the Coach with h?r ^ whichhe doing ofticioufly, but aukward ly^ thePage fcoffing, / dm afraid ( fays he ) onfFhilofopher of a Stskk wili turn Cy?ikLBUT above all the reft, nothing has fomuch prejudic*d the Dignity of Letters, aSthe grofs and fcandalous Flattery, whereun-to many ( and thofe not Unlearned ) haveabafcd their Wits and Pens, transformingHecuba into Helena^ and Fauftina into Lii^cretia, (^3.^ Du-Bartas fays, )NEITHER, indeed, do 1 dver-madltommend that received Cuftoni of Dedicating

Books to Patrons ^ for that Books ( fach asarc worthy the Name of Books ) ought tohave no Patrons but Truth and Reafon. TheCiiftom of the Antients was better, whowere wont to Dedicate their Writings tonone but Friends and Equals ^ or to enti-tle their Treatifes with the Names of facfiVOL. \l F Frieii


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56 B AC NV Effays conttmd.Friends : Or if they Dedicated to Kihgs,or Great Perfons, 'twas then only done,when the Argument of the Book was fitand proper for fuch a Perfon. But thefe,and the like Courfes, luay deferve ratherReprehension, than Dcfencfe.

' NO R fay I this, as if f condenin'd "Learn-ed Meh,' for applying theilifelves fomel:imesto Men 6f Fortune, and Power : t'or toone that ask'd in mockery, Hovt^ it ca7ne tbpafs that fhilofophers Tx^ere the followers ofrich Men, and not rich M&n of pbilofopbers ^the Anfwer that Diogenes m:\dc was rightand (harp ^ That it was^ becauf Fhilofophersknen> lii^ll what- they had need of^ hut richMen did not. A-kin to this, is that oi Ari*flippm\vib.^Vi having a Petition to DionyfmSyand no Ear given to him, he threw him-felf at his Feet in manner of an Adorer,upon^ which, at laff, he gave him the hear-ing, and granted his Petition : But a littleafter, fome Perfon te;nder of the Honour andCredit of Philofophy, reprov'd Jriflippusythat he fliould offer the ProfeiTion of Phi-lofophy fuch an Indignit}', as fur fuch ani-nconliderable Matter to fall at a Tyrant'sFeet ^ to whom he reply'd. That it was nothis tankJ hut Dionyfius'j, that had his Earsin his Feet'.' Neither was it accounted Weak-nefs, but" Difcretion in him, that fufPer*dKimiclf to be worfted in a certain Difpu-

' tation


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Of the Dijcredits of Leammg. 5 7tion with Adrianu^ C^far , excufing the Fad,That it was bin reafon to field to One thatcommanded Thirty Legions. Learned Men,therefore, muft not be condemned, when,upon occafion, thej^ abate fomewhat of theirGravity, whether in Point of Neceflity, orConvenience j which tho* it may feem meanand fervile, at iirft fight ^ yet in a Judgmenttruly made, they will be efteem*d to fub-mit to the Occafion, and not to the Per^fon

CMA P.


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::^ 8 B ACOKs EJfays cofitinnd.

CHAP. tV.Difcredits of LEARNING from

Learned Mens Studies^ &c.

De Avgrnentls Scientwrwn, Ibid.

ET us now proceed to thofe Er-rors and Vaniiies, which inter-vene in the Studies themfclvesr^ of the Learned, and mix withthem -, wherein my Defign is

not to juflify the Errors, but by a Cenfureand Separation of them, to fift out thatwhich is found and folid, and to deliverthe fame from Calumny. For we fee itis the Cuftom, efpecially of envious Men,upon the account of what is corrupt anddepraved, to traduce alfo that which is un-tainted, and hath retained its State , as theHeathens in the Primitive Church ufed toblemifli the Chriftians with the Fauits and

Cor-


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Of the Discredits of Leanibig, 59Corruptions of the Hereticks. Neverthelefs,i purpofe not to make any exad Animad-verfion upon the Errors and Impedimentsof Learning, which are more fecret and re-mote from vulgar Capacity , but only tofpeak to fuch as fall under common and po-pular Obrervation,and Note, or at leaft do notrecede far from it.

I find therefore chiefly three Vanities andEmptineiTes in Learning, which have prin-cipally given a handle to the Traducing ofh. For we edeem thofe Things Vain, whichare either Falfe, or Frivolous ^ where-in, that is, there is either no Truth, or no\j{q : Thofe Perfons alfo we elleemVain and Light, who are either Credulousin Things Falfe, or Curious in Things oflittle Ufe. And Curiofity is either m Mat-ter, or Words ^ th^t is, when either Labouris fpent in Vain Matters, or too much Painstaken about Delicacy of Words. Where-fore it feenis j^^greeable as Vv^ell to rightReafon, as to approv'd Experience, to fetdown Three Dif^empers of Learning. 1 heFirft is, Fijatitaffkiil Learning ^ the Second,Conteniious Lfaniing ^ the Third, Paintedand Delicate Learning, Or thus , I'ain hna-filiation}^ Vain Altercations, Vain Ajfettations 1and v/ith th-: lafl I ihall begin.

Dr/.i


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40 B AC N's EJfays contimid.DELICATE LEARlsIVG,

THE Diftemper featcd in fuperfluityand profufenefs of Speech ( tho' in Timespad, by turns, it was held in fome Efteein )about Luther*s Time, prevailed wonderfully.The principal Reafon was, the Heat and Ef-ficacy of Preaching, to footh and entice thePeople, which about that Time flourifli'dhugely , and this required a popular kindof Expreflion. Another Reafon was, TheHatred and Contempt that grew up in thofevery Times, towards the School-Men, whoufed a very different Stile, and Form ofExpreffion, taking an exceflive Liberty toCoyn new and rugged Terms, without re-gard to the Ornament and Elegancy of Speech,fo they might avoid Circumlocution, anddeliver their Senfe and Conceptions with a-cutenefs ^ and fo it came to pafs a little af-ter, that greater Care generally began to betaken of Words than Matter ^ inoft afPedingrather Coaptnefs of Phrafe, Roundnefs ofPeriod, the fweet-fiUing of the Claufes, andthe fparkling of Tropes and Figures, thanthe Weight of Matter, the Soundnefs of Ar-gument, the Life of Invention, or ExadnefsofJudgment, Then firft flouriOi'd the luxu-riant and watry Vein of Oforhis, the Fortu-gal Bifliop. Then did Stnrmhis fpcnd fucliinfinite and anxious Pains upon Cicero the

Orator,


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Of the DijcreditsofLear?7i}2g. 41Orator, and Hermoge7ic-s the Rhetorician.Then did our Car ar^d Afcham, in their Le-dures and Writings, extol Cicero and De*tnofthenes even to the Skies, and invite youngMen to this polite nnd fiourifliing kind ofLearning. Then did Erafmus take occafionto bring in that fcoffing Eccbo, Decern An-tios confiimpfi in legendo Cicerone ^ / havefpent ten Tears in reading Cicero : To whichthe Eccho anfwer'd, One^ Afs. Then beganthe Learning of the School-Men to be ut-terly defpifed, as rough and barbarous. Infhort, the chief Inclination and Bent of thofeTimes, was rather to Plenty than Weight.HERE then we fee the firft Diftejiiperof Learning, when, as we liave faid, Menftudy Words, not Matter , of which tho* Ihave brought Examples of late Times only,yet fuch Impertinencies have taken more orlefs, both in Times pafl, and will againhereafter. Now it is not podible, but thatthis very Thing (liould tend much to theDifcredit and Difparagement of Learning,even with the ignorant Vulgar, when theyfe Learned Men's Writings like the tirltLetter of a Patent, which tho' it be lim-ned and drawn out with various Turns andFlouriOies of the Pen, jct is it but onefingle Letter. And to nic indeed Pigma^iion*^ Frenzy leems a very appofite Repre-fentation, and Emblem, as it were, of thisF 4 Vanity ^^


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4:j B ACQ NV Effays cant'tnud.Vanity *, for what elfc are Words but theImages of Things, fo that unlefs they be a-nimated with the Spirit of Reafon, to fallin love with them, is all one as to fall inlove with a Pidure,B U T yet notwithftanding it is a Thing

not haftily to be condemn'd, for a Man toilluftrate and fmooth the Obfcurities andRoughneOes of Philofophy with the Splen-dor of Words. For we have great Exam-ples of this, in ZenophoJi^ Cicero, Seneca^Plutarchy and even Plato himfelf ^ and theUfefulnefs of it is as great. For althoughthis Thing may be forae hindrance to a fevere Inquilition of Truth, and a deep Stu-dy of Philofophy, becaufe it is too earlyfatisfadory to the Mind, and quenches theThirft and Ardor of farther Search ^ yet ifa Man applies his Learning to Civil Ufes,( as Conference, Counfel, Perfuafion, Argu-ing, and the like ) he will find all that he'defires, prepared and fet out to his hand,in fuch Authors. However the Excefs ofthis is fo juflly contemptible, that as Her^cuUsy when he faw in a Temple the Imageof Adorns^ Venus Minion, faid in Indigna-tion, A'i/ fncri es j (Thou art nothingfacredfo all Herculean Champions in Learning,that is, the more laborious and ftcady En-quirers into Truth, will naturally defpifefuch Delicacies and Fopperies, as having no-thing Divine in them. O M E-


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Of the Discredits of Learning, 43

SOMEWHAT more found is anotherkind of Stile ( yet neither is That altogetherexempt from Vanity ) which near about thefame Time fucceeded this Copy, and Super-fluity of Speech. That confifts altogetherin this, that the Words be aculeate, the Sen-tences concife, the Contexture of the Speech,in fine, rather returning into it itU^ thanfpread and dilated-, fo that it comes to pafsby this Artifice, that every Pafiage feemsmore ingenious, than indeed it is. Such aStile as this we find more cxceflivcly inSeneca^ more moderately in Tacitus and Fli'onus Secundus ^ and not Jong fince it beganto be pleafing to the Ears of our own Time.But this very Stile is wont to find accep-tance with ordinary Capacities (foasto bea kind of Dignity and Ornament to Learn-ing) neverthelefs, by the more exad Judg-ments, it is defervcdly naufeated, and maybe fet down as a Dijiernper of Ledrning^ finesit is nothing qKq but a hunting after Words,and the Finery and Quaintnefs of the fame.And thus much of the Firft Diftemper ofLearning.CONTENTIOUS LEARNING.NO W follows the Diftemper in the Mat-

ter it felf, which we placed Second, anddefign*d by the Name of Contentious Subtilty,And


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^4 B AC NV EJfays continnd.And this is fomewhat worfe than that, ofwhich we fpake but now. For as Subftan-tialnefs of Matter excels Ornament of Words,fo on the contrary. Vanity of Matter is moreodious. than Vanity of Words. Wherein, thatReprehenfion of St. Faul may refer as wellto the following Times, as to his own Age ând feems to refped not only Divinity, butall Sciences alfo : Avoid profane 'Noveltiesof Words^ and Oppofitions ofScience falfly focalled, Tim. i. v. 20. For in thefe Wordshe alledges two Marks and Badges of fufpe-ded and fahifxed Science. The firft is the lô-velty and Strangenefs of Terms *, the other,the Rigor and Stri^nefs of Poftions^ whichmuft needs occaiion Oppofitiooi, and thenAltercations and Queftions.CERTAIN LI as many Natural Sub-

ftances, which are folid and entire, fo longas they are in a State of Perfedion, domany times corrupt and pafs into Worms âfter the fame manner, found and folid Know-ledge, often-times putrifies, and diflblves intofubtle, vain, unwholforae, and (iflinay fofpeak S Vermiculate Queflions , which feemindeed to have a kind of Motion and Quick-nefs in them, but are unfavory, and of noUfe.

THIS


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Of the Difcredits of Learning. 45THIS kind of unfound and felf-cor-rupting Learning, prevailM chiefly amongft

the School-Men, who having abundance ofLeifure, fharp and ftrong Wits, but fmallVariety of Reading ( their Underllandingsbeing Ihut up within the Writings of a feviAuthors, efpecialiy Ariftotle, their Didatoras their Perfons were in thp Cells of Mo-nafteries } and for the mofl part ignorant ofthe Hiftory, as well of Nature as Time ;did out of no great Quantity of Matter, butinhnite Agitation of Wit and Spirit, fpin outunto us thofe mofl: laborious Webs of Learn-ing, which are extant in their Books. Forthe Mind of Man, (if it work upon Matter,by contemplating the Nature of Things,and the Works of God ) works according tothe Stuff, and is limited by the fame ^ butif it turns inward, and works upon it felf( like the Spider weaving his Web ) then isit endlefs, and brings forth indeed Cobwebsof Learning, admirable for finenefs of Threadand Work, but as to Ufe, frivolous, and ofno Subftance,THIS fame unprofitable Sabtilty, or

Curiofity, is Two-fold : And is feen ei-ther in the Subjecl it felf, fuch as is a fruit-lefs Speculation, or Controverfy ( of whichKind there are no fmall Number both inBivimty and Fbiiofophy J or in the Mannerand


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0.6 B AC N's Ejfays continud.and Method of Handling , which araongfl:the School-Men was generally this. Uponevery Pofition or AlTertion they formed Ob-jedions, then Solutions of thofe Objedlions jwhich Solutions, for the mofl part, wereonly Diftin^ions : Whereas, indeed, theStrength of all Sciences, like the old Man'sFagot, confifteth not in every Stick afunder,but in all togeUaer united in the Band. Forthe Harmony of a Science, that is, wheneach Part mutually fupports the other, is,and ought to be, the true and expedite Wayof confuting all the fmaller fort of Obje-dions : But on the other fide, if you takeout every Axiom, as the Sticks of a Fagor,one by one feve rally, you may eafily dif-prove them, and bend and break them atpleafare. So that what was faid of Seneca^Hs breaks the Weight of Matter by the ItttUNiceties of Words, may truly be faid of theSchool-Men, They break the Solidity of Sci-ences by the little Niceties of Qn^ions,Were it not better in a fpacious Hall to fetup one great Light, or to hang up a Branchfurni(h*d with divers Lights, whereby allmay be feen at once, than to go up anddov/n with a fmall Watch-Candle into everyCorner ? And fuch is their Method, whodo not fo much endeavour to illuftrate Truthby clear Arguments, Authorities, Compari-Ibns, and Examples , as they labour to takeout every minute Scruple, and to anfwercaptious


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Of the Difcredits of Learning, 47captious Cavils, and to folve Doubts ^ bythis means breeding Queflion out of Que-flion, even as in the Comparifon above, ofthe Light, when you carry it into onePlace, you forfake, and darken all the relhSo that the Fable of Scjflla exprelTes tothe Life this kind of Philofophy, whofeFace and Bread refembled a beautiful Vir^gin, but below they fay ihe was,CandidafuccinSam latrantihus inguina monjiris,A beauteous Maid ahovcy hut Maqick Arts^With barkitjg Dogs deform'd her nether Farts,

Dryden.SO you fiiall find certain Generals, a-niongft the School-Men, that are handfomly

faid, and not invented ainifs -^ but when youdefcend to their Diflin^ions and Decifions,inilead of a fruitful Womb, for the benefitof human Life, they end in monftrous andbarking Queftions.THEREFORE it is no marvel, if thiskmd of Learnmg fall under, even the Con-tempt of the Vulgar, who nre generallywont to defpife Truth upon the account ofLontroverfies raifed about it, and think theyare all out of the Way who never meet :And when they fee the Scuffles of LearnedMen one with another, about Matters of no

Moment,


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48 B ACO N's Effays coiithmd.Moment, tliey enfily catch up that Sayingof Dionyfnts o^ Sjracitfe, Verba ifla fimt fennmotiofonm *, This is nothing but the Tattle ofold Men and Women^ that have nothhig elfeto do. Notwithftanding moft certain it is.That if the School-Men, to their unquench-able Thirft of Truth, and continual workingof their Wit, had joyn'd Variety and Multi-plicity of Reading, and Contemplation, theyhad doubtlefs prov'd diftinguilhing Lights,to the wonderful Advancement of all Artsand Sciences. And fo much for the SecondDifeafe of Learning.FHANTASTICAL LEARNING.FOR the Third Difeafe, which relates

to Falfity and Untruth , this is of all otherthe Fouleft, as being that which deftroysthe very Nature and Soul of Knowledge,which is nothing elfe but the Image ofTruth. For the Truth of Being, and theTruth of Knowing, are all one -^ nor do theydiffer more from one another, than the Di-rect Beam, and the Beam Reileaed. ThisVice, therefore, brancheth it felf into two Iforts, hnpofture, and Credulity : This is De-ceiv'd. That Deceives , which altho* they ap-pear to be of a different Nature, the onefeeming to proceed from Craft, the otherfrom Simplicity, yet for the moft part theyconcur. For as the Verfe has it. Per-


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Ofthe Dijcredits of Learning. 49.' ' ^ercontatorem fugito, natn Garruhs idem ef.Intimating, xYizi'^^'m hiqitjfttive ?^t{on is aFratler aJfo *, fo upon the like reafon, he thatis apt to Believe, is apt to Deceive. Aswe fee it alfo in Fame, and Rumors, thathe that eafily beh'eves them, will' as eafiiyaugment and add to them. Which Ta-citits wifely hints in thefe Words, Theyhivent^ and Believe at once : So great ariAffinity is there between a Pro^^nfity t6Deceive^ and a Facility to Believe^'.' '^-'^^^^THIS Facility of Believing, and admiS-

ting all things, tho' weakly authorized, 0%warranted, is of two Kinds, according to theNature = of the Subjed-Matter ; For we ei^ther Believe Story, or Matter of Fad, ( asthe Lawyers fpeak ) or elfe Matter of Opi-nion and Pofition, As to the former Kind;we fee how much this Error has difcredi-ted, and derogated from fome EccleliafticalHiftories ^ which have been too eafy in Re-giftrmg and Tranfcribing Miracles wroughtby Martyrs, Hermits, Anchorites, and otherHoly Men, and by their Reliques, Sepul-chres, Chappels, and Images.SO in Natural Hiilory, we raiy fee ma-ny Things raftily, and with little Choice,orjijdgment, received and regiftred ^ as ap-

pears


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5o B AC N'j- EJfays continncl,pears by the Writings of PUny^ CarJanus, Al*iertus^^nd divers of the Arabians, which areevery where fraught with forged and fabu-lous Stories ^ and thofe not only uncertainand untried, but notorioully untrue, and ma-nifeftly convided ^ to the huge Difcredit ofNatural Philofophy, with grave and foberMen. Wherein, in truth, the Wifdoin andIntegrity of Ariftode fhines forth^ who ha-ving wrote a dih'gent and exquifite Hiftoryof Living Creatures, hath mingled it fo fpa-ringly with feigned or fabulous Matter ^ butrather than do that, he has caft all the Fro-digious Reports, which he thought worthyRecording, into one Commentary i Excel-lently difcerning that Matter of manifefl:Truth ( which like a folid experimental Ba-fis, might ferve as a Foundation for Philofo-phy and Sciences to be built Upon ) wasnot unadviledly to be mingled with Matterof doubtful Credit , and yet again^ that thingsrare and ftrange, which to moft People feemincredible, are not wholly to be fupprefTed,or to be denyed to the Records of Pofterity

BUT that other Credulity, which is yield-ed, not to Hiftory, or Reports, but to Artsand Opinions, is likewife of two Sorts : Ei-ther when we give too much Credit to theArts themfelves, or to the Authors in anyArt.

THE


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning. 5 i

THE Arts themfelves, which have hadmore InteUigence and Confederacy with I-niagination and Belief, than with Reafon andDenionftration, are chiefly Three, JJlrology-Isatural Magick, and Alchymy ; the Ends ofwhich Sciences however are Noble. ForAflrology profelTeS to difcovet that Corref-pondence or Concatenation, which is betweenthe Superior Globe and the Inferior. f^Jatu-ral Mag'ick pretendeth to call and reduce Natural Philosophy from Variety of Specula-tions^ to the Magnitude of Works Alchymyundertakes to feparate and extract the Hete-rogeneous and unlike Parts of Things, whichare hid and incorporate in Natural Bodies,and to refine and depurate Bodies themfelves,that are ftained and foiled , to fct at libertyfuch as are bound and imprifoned ^ and tobring to perfedion fuch as are unripe. Butthe Ways and Methods which are prefumedto lead to thefe Ends, bdth in the Theoryand in the Pradife bf thofe Arts, are full ofError and Trifling. Yet furely to Alchymythis Right is due, that it may truly be com-pared to the Husbandman in AEfop^ who be-ing about to depart this Life, told his Sons^That he had left theffi a grisnt Quantity ofGolJy biirhd hi his Vineyard, but did notremember the particular Place : Who whenthey had with Spades diligently turn'd upall the Vineyard, Gold indeed they foundVOL. IL G none,


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52 b AC NV t^jfays cominncLnone, however, by reafon of their ftirringand digging the Moid about the Roots oftheir Vines, they had a very great Vintagethe Year folJowing. So the ftrenuous Pains,and mighty Stir of Chyrnifts, about makingGold, have open'd the Way to a great Num-ber of noble Inventions, and Experiments,lingularly adapted, as well to the difclofingof Nature, as to the Ufes of Human Life.NOW as for that Credulity, which has

invefled certain Authors of Sciences with akind of Di^atortan Power to give Law *, not8e7iatorian^ to give Advice : This has beenof infinite Damage to Sciences, as the prin-cipal Caufe that has deprefe'd and kept themfo low, that they have been heartlefs with-out any notable Growth or Advancement,For hence it hath come to pafs, that in ArtsMechanical, the firft Projedors have beenfhort in their Inventions, and Time has fup-piied and perfeded the reft ^ but in Sciences,the firft Authors have gone furtheft, andTime has impaired and corrupted much. So"we fee Artillery, Sailing, Printing, were intheir Beginnings imperfed, and in a man-ner formlefs, and grofsly managed -, but inprogrefs of Time, accommodated and refined.But contrariwife, the Philofophics and Sci-ences of Jriftotle^ Plato, Deinocritits^ Hippo-crates, Euclid, ArchimedeSy were of molt vi-gor under thofe vtry Authors, and in pro-... cefs


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning. 55cefs of Time degenerated rather, and loftmuch of their Lultre : Whereof the reafoiiis no other, but that in Arts Mechanicalthe Wits of many have contributed and metin one; but in Liberal Arts and Sciences,the Wits of many have yielded and fubmit-ted to fome one, v/hom yet his Followersmany times have rather depraved thanilluftrated : For as Water will not af-cend higher than the Spring-Head, fromwhence it flows , {0 Knowledge derived fromArijioth, and exempted from Liberty of Ex-amination, will never rife higher than theKnowledge of Arjjlotle, At^ therefore al-though 1 do not dillike the Rule, oportet di-fcentem credere, (a Learner ought to believe -Jyet it mud be coupled with this, oportet jamdo^um indicia fiw uti, (he that is well in-jorm\l^ ought to make VJe of his own Judg-ment,) For Difciples owe their Maflersonly a Temporary Belief, and a Sufpenfionof their Judgment, till they have throughlylearnM the Arts , and not an abfolute Refig-nation of their Liberty, and a perpetual Bon-dage of their Underftanding. Wherefore toconclude this Point, I will fay no more tl aithis : Let great Authors fo have their dueHonour, as that we do not derogate fromTime, which is the Author of Authors, andParent of Truth.

G 2 CHAP.


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54 B AC NV EJfays cotitiniid.

CHAP. V.Feccant Humours in LEARNING.

De Augmenth Scientiarum. Ibid.

HUS have we at length laidopen three Diftempers or Dif-eafes of Learning -, befideswhich there are ionie other,rather pcccajit Humours^ thanconfirn^d Difeafes ^ which, ne-

vertheJefs, are not fo occult, or fecrer, butthat they fall under a popular Obfervationand Cenfure, and therefore are by no meatusto be pafTed over.THE Firfl of thefeis an Affectation of two

Extremes, Antiquity and h'oveltj : Whereinthe Daughters of Time take after the Natureand Malice of the Father: For as Time de-vours his Children, fo do thefc one ano-ther.


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Of the Dijcredits of Learning. t^^ther, whilft Ayniqitky envies new Improve-ments and Additions, aud ovehy cannot becontent to add Things recent, unlefs it ut-ttvly turn out and rejed the old : Surely theAdvice of the Prophet is the true Diredionin this Cafe: Stand ye upon the old Fatbs^and fee where is the good and the right Way]and walk therein

^ Jerem. vi. i6. Antiquitydeferves fo much Reverence, that Men fnouldmake a Stop a-while, and fland thereupon,and look about them on everv Side, to difco-ver which is the beft Way :' But when theDjfcovery is well taken, then not to reftthere, but to advance chejrfully. Indeed, tofpeak Truth, Antiquity ofTime is the JVorld'sTouth, Certainly our Times are the AntientTimes, the World being now grown Old, andnot thofe, which are computed, ordine retro-grado, reckoning backward from our ownAge.ANOTHER Error, fpringingfrom the For-mer, IS a Sufpicion and Diffidence, whichthinks, that it is not podible to find out anything now, which the World could have beenfo long without- as if the bme Obiedionmight be made to Time, wherewith Lmianattacks Jufiter, and the reft of the HeathenGods: For he wonders thev ftiould beget fomany Children in old Time, and none inhis: And asks merrilv. Whether they wereSuperannuated, or re^rainM by the FatianG I La\j^


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5 6 B ACQ Ks Efayf coutinn cLLaw made againft Old Men's Marriages. SoMen feem to be apprehenfive, that Time isbecome Effete, and pad Children. Whereason the other hand, we may eafily difcoverhere the Levity and Inconflancy of Men,who, 'till a Thing is done, think it impoffi-ble , and aiToon as it is done, wonder it hadnot been done long before. Thus Alexander'sExpedition into Afia^ was judg'd at firfl:, asa vaft, and exceeding difficult Enterprize -^which, neverthelefs, afterwards it pleas'dLivy to make fo flight of, as to fay of Alex-ancier. He did hut bravely venture to defpifeidle OpiniGus. And the fame happened toColumbus in the Weftern Navigation. Butin intelleclual Matters, this is much . morecommon, as may be feen in mofb of the Pro-pofuions in Euclid, which, before they aredemonftrated, feem flrange, and not eafUy tabe aifented to ; but after Deraonf^ration,. theMind embraces them by a kind of Recogni-zance, (as the Lawyers fpeak) as if it hadunderftood and known thein before.ANOTHER Error, of Affinity with

the Former, is a Conceit of thofe who think,ubat of ail Seds, and antient Opinions, afterthey had been examined and lifted, the beftiiiii prevailed, and fupprefs'd the reftWherefore they conceive, if a Man fhouldbegin his Search and Examination ai-new, hemud: needs light upon Come Opinions that

bad


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58 BACO N's Effays contimid.are made from Turrets, or very high Places,and it is impoflible for a Man to explore themore remote, and deeper Parts of any Sci-ence, if he fland but upon the Fht and Le-vel of the fame Science, and afcend not theWatch-Tower as it were of a higher Sci-ence.

xA.NO T H E R Error flows from too greata Reverence, and a kind of Adoration of theMind and Underftanding of Man *, by means,whereof. Men have withdrawn themfelvesfrom the Contemplation of Nature, and theObfervations of Experience, tumbling up anddown in their ov^n Speculations, and Con-ceits. But thefe noble Opinators, and (if I .may fo fpeak) Intelleduahfts, who aje, not-withftanding, commonly taken for the moftfubiime and divine Philofophers , Heraclitm.has rightly touch'd, Men^ fays he, feek Jntthin their owt} little Worlds^ but not in the greatWcrlJ, For they difdain the Alphabet as itwere of Nature, and the Primer of the Di-vine Works , which if they did not do, theymight, perhaps, by Steps and Degrees, afterthe Knowledge of fimple Letters, and thenSyllables, come at lafl, to read perfectly theJext and Volume of the Creatures it felf.But they, contrariwife, by continual Medi-cation and Agitation of their Wit, urge, and83 it were invocate their pwn Spirits, to di-

vine.


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Of the Dtjcredits of Learti'ujg, lypvine, and give out Oracles unto them, bywhich they are defervedly and plealinglydeluded.

ANOTHER Error that hath fome Con-nexion with this Latter, is. That Men manyTimes feafon and infect their Meditations,and Dodrines, with certain Opinions, andConceits of their own, which they hold moftin Admiration ; or with feme Sciences, towhich they are mofi: addided and devoted dying and tinduring as it were all otherthings with thofe Darlings of theirs, tho' aPaint very fallacious and deceivable. Sohath Plato intermingled Theology in his Phi-lofophy , Arijlotle Logick , the fecondSchool of Plato (to wit, Froclus and therefi) Matheraaticks. So have the Chymiflsforged a new Philofophy out of a few Ex-periments, the Fire, and Furnace. AndGilbertus^ our Country-man, hath drawn anew Philofophy out of the Loadftone. SoCicero, when reciting the feveral Opinionsconcerning the Nature of the Soul, he had atlaft met with a Mufician, who held the Soulto be Harmony, faid pleafmtly, This Manryas not for going out of bis own VrofeJJioii,Bu

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