First published by Dr. Rawley in Resuscitatio. 1657. p. 281. A FRAGMENT OF AN ESSAY, He Poets make Fame a Monster. They describe her, in Part, finely, and elegantly; and, in part, grauely, and fententiously. They fay, look how many Feathers fhe hath, fo many Eyes fhe hath vnderneath: So many Tongues; So many Voyces; She pricks up fo many Ears. This is a flourish: There follow excellent Parables; As that, the gathereth ftrength in going; That she goeth upon the ground, and yet hideth her head in the Clouds. That, in the day time, fhe fitteth in a Watch Tower, and flyeth, moft, by night: That the mingleth Things done, with things not done: And that she is a Terrour to great Citties: But that, which paffe all the reft, is. They do recount, that the Earth, other of the Gyants, that made War against Futer, and were by him destroyed, thereupon, in an anger, brought forth Fame: For certain it is, That Rebels, figured by the Gyants, and Seditious Fames, and Libels, are but Brothers, and Sifters; Mafculine, and Feminine. But now, if a Man can tame this Monster, and bring her to feed at the hand, and govern her, and with her fly other ravening Fowle, and kill them, it is fomewhat worth. But we are infected, with the stile of the Poets. To speak now, in a fad, and serious manner : not, in all the Politiques, a Place, leffe h ίς more worthy to be handled, then this of Fame. We will, therefore, speak of these points. What are false Fames; And what are true Fames; And how they may be beft difcerned; How Fames, may be fown, and raised; How they may be spread, and multiplyed; And how they may be checked, and layed dead. And other Things, concerning the Nature of Fame. Fame, is of that force, as there is, fcarcely, any great Action wherein, it hath not, a great part; Especially, in the War. Mucianus undid Vitellius by a Fame, that he scattered; That Vitellius had in purpose, to remove the Legions of Syria, into Germany; And the Legions of Germany, into Syria: whereupon the Legions of Syria were infinitely inflamed. Fulius Cæfar, took Pompey unprovided, and layed asleep his industry, and preparations, by a Fame that he cunningly gaue out; How Cafars own Souldiers loved him not; And being wearied with the Wars, and Laden with the spoyles of Gaul, would forsake him, as foon as he came into Italy. Livia, fetled all things, for the Succeffion, of her Son Tiberius, by continuall giving out, that her husband Auguftus, was upon Recovery, and amendment. And it is an ufuall thing, with the Baffhawes, to conceale the Death of the Great Turk from the Fannizaries, and mien of War, to save the Sacking of Conftantinople, and other Towns, as their Manner is. Themistocles, made Zerxes, king of Perfia poaft apace out of Græcia, by giving out, that the Gracians, had a purpose, to break his Bridge, of Ships, which he had made athwart Hellefpont. There be a thousand fuch like Examples; And the more they are, the leffe they need to be repeated; Because a Man, meeteth with them, every where: Therefore, let all Wife Governors, have as great a watch, and care, ouer Fames, as they have, of the Actions, and Defignes themselves. The reft was not Finished. respecting LORD BACON AND HIS WRITINGS. We fairly despair of giving any adequate representation of either the Author or his Works. Some vital contemporary testimony has been adduced at þþ. xi.-xxi.; and the few following notes, which are all our space will admit, may be taken simply as a handful of gleanings out of a vast harvest. 1558. Nov. 17. Elizabeth succeeds to the throne. 1560. JAN. 22. 1576. Nov. 21. 1579. 1586. 1588. 1592. Francis Bacon is born at York House. Bacon becomes an 'Ancient' of Gray's Inn. Harl. MS. 1912. He becomes a Student of his Inn. Harl. MS. 1912. He becomes an 'Utter Barrister.' Harl. MS. 1912. He becomes a Bencher of Gray's Inn. Harleian MS. 1912. He is appointed a 'Reader' of his Inn.' Harleian MS. 1912. Mr. Spedding edited, in 1870, for his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, 'A Conference of Pleasure, composed for some festive occasion about the year 1592. The original title of the partially burnt MS. is Mr. ffr. Bacon of tribute or giuing that which is due. 1. The praise of the worthiest vertue [Fortitude]. 2. The praise of the worthiest affection [Love]. 3. The praise of the worthiest power [Knowledge]. 4. The praise of the worthiest person [Queen Elizabeth]. The first two are quite new. 1596. JUNE 2. 1596. JULY 31. Ост. 7. Remedies against Discontent, &c. is registered at Stationers' Hall: see p. ix. The Earl of Lincoln and suite were away from England on an embassy to the Landgrave of Hesse. An account of the journey was immediately written by one of the suite, Edward Monings, and published in October or November, under the the title of The Landgrave of Hessen, his princelie receiuing of her Maiesties Embassador. [There is a copy in the Grenville Collection, No. 2938.] Ост. 26. It is thus entered in the Stationers' Register C. fol. 15. 26 OCTOBER. Robert Robinson Entred for his copie in th[e] and of Mr. Hartwell and the Wardens a booke intituled The langraue of Hessen his princelye Receavinge of her maies vj ambassadors. This work is connected with the Essays, through the following undoubtable plagiarism from the Essay on 'Studies,' at pp, 6-10; as yet in MS. His education prince-like, generally knowen in all things, and excellent in many, seasoning his graue and mor[e] important studies for ability in iudgment, with studies of pastime for retiring, as in poetrie, musike, and the Mathematikes, and for ornament in discourse in the languages, French, Italian, and English, wherein he is expert reading much, conferring and writting much he is a full man, a readie man, an exact man, and so excellent a Prince that a man may say of him without flatterie as Tullie did of Pompey vnus in quo summa sunt omnia, and for my priuate opinion I thinke there are but fewe such men in the world." p. 21. 1597. JAN. 30. It was such 'garnishment' as this, that induced Bacon to publish his Essays, as he states in his dedicatory letter to his brother Anthony, see p. 4. Date of Bacon's dedication to his brother Anthony, see p. 4. The first Edition of the Essayes is registered at Stationers' Hall. The entry at the top of fol. 18. of Register C. [1595-1620 A.D.] is as follows. 1597. FEB. 5. 1596. Anno Reginæ. Eliz. xxxixo. 5 FEB. Henry Hooper. Entered for his copie vnder th[e] hands of Mr Fr. Dawson, a booke intituled Essaies Religious Medita-vja tions, Places of perswasion and disswasion by Mr Fr. Bacon. We haue here given the entry as it stands: because the regnal year corrects the date. The 5th of February in 39. Eliz. was the 5 Feb. 1597: or as it is more technically written 1596/7. FEB. 7. The Essayes thus registered were published immediately. At the top of the title-page of the Museum copy (C. 21. a) is written Septimo die Ffebruarii 39. E. R. pretium xxd. [The seventh day of February in the 39th of Queen Elizabeth: price Twenty pence.] It is interesting thus to learn from this early purchaser, the price of the first publication of the great English Philosopher. Bacon is appointed a "Double Reader" of his Inn. Harl. 1600. 1600. 1601. 1603. 1912. This year appeared Essayes by Sir W. Cornwallis. There appeared this year, a small book by Robert Johnson, gent. entitled Essaies, or rather Imperfect Offers. A work reprinted in 1604, 1621, and 1630. 1603. JULY 23. 1604. AUG. 25. 1605. SEPT. 19. Mar. 24. James E. succeeds to the English throne. Sir F. Bacon is made King's Counsel. The Two Bookes of the Proficiencie and Aduancement are thus registered in the Stationers' Register B. [1595-1630] fol. 129. Mr Ockold. Entered for his copie vnder the hande of my Lo. This was simply a license to publish it in Latin: into which language it was not as yet translated. 1605. Nov. 7. 1607. JUNE 25. 1608. 1610. John Chamberlain_informs Dudley Carleton of 'Sir F. This year appeared Essayes Politicke and Morrall. by D. A second part of Sir W. Cornwallis' Essays appeared. 1612. OCT. 12. At fol. 227 of Stationers' Registers, is the following register in the year 1612. 10 James, of Text V in this Reprint. William Hall. 12 OCTOBER. Entered for their copy vnder the hande of my Lo. Svja For this edition, he wrote the dedication on p. 158 to Prince Henry: but on 1612. Nov. 3. Prince Henry died. Nov. Bacon then wrote a fresh dedication to his brother-in-law Sir John Constable, see p. 420, beginning_thus-" My last Essaies I dedicated to my deare brother Master Anthony Bacon." It is therefore clear that he himself looked on this edition, as a second and revised Text. 1612. DEC. 17. Nicolas Chamberlain writing on this day to Sir Dudley Carleton says, 'Sir Francis Bacon hath set out new Essays, that he paints out his little cousin [Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury] to the where, in a chapter of Deformity, the world takes notice life.' Court and Times of James I. i. 214. Ed. 1848. 1613. OCT. 27. Sir F. Bacon is made Attorney General. 1615. Nicholas Breton published his Characters vpon Essaies Sir F. Bacon is promoted to be Lord Keeper. 1616. JUNE 9. "It deserveth not to be read in schools But to be freighted in the ship of fools." [? Authority.] Quoted by A. S. Allibone. Crit. Dict. i. 91. Ed. 1859. 1621. JAN. 22. Lord Verulam is created Viscount St Alban. His patent was drawn in the most flattering terms, and the Prince of Wales signed it as a witness. The ceremony of investiture was performed with great state at Theobalds, and Buckingham condescended to be one of the chief actors. Lord Macaulay. Ed. Rev. No. 132, p. 48. July 1837. 1621. MAY 3. He is sentenced by the House of Lords. 1623. MAR. 23. Bacon writing at this day to Conway, the Secretary of State, thus finishes his letter, which is now in the State Paper Office. "I was looking over some short papers of mine touching usury, how to grind the teeth of it, and yet to make it grind to his Majesty's mill in good Sort, without discontent or perturbation: if you think good I will perfect it, as I send it to his Maiesty as some fruits of my leisure. But yet I would not have it come from me, not from any tenderness in the thing, but because I know well in the courts of princes it is usual non res, sed displicet Auctor. Fr. St. Alban." Quoted by Mr Dixon in Personal History of Lord Bacon, p. 296. Ed. 1861. About this time then, Bacon wrote the Essay on Usury, see pp. 541-6. 1625. [1624. Dec. 15] Bacon published The translation of Certaine Psalmes into English verse. 4to. It is thus dedicated: To his very good frend, Mr George Herbert. The paines, that it pleased you to take, about some of my Writings, I cannot forget; which did put mee in minde, to dedicate to you, this poore Exercise of my sicknesse. Besides, it being my manner for Dedications, to choose those that I hold most fit for the Argument, I thought in respect of Diuinitie and Poesie, met, (whereof the one is the Matter, the other the Stile of this little Writing) I could not make better choice. So, with signification of my Loue and Acknowledgement I euer rest. Your affectionate Frend, FR. St ALBAN. 1625. [1624. DEC.] There appeared this year, Lord Bacon's Apophthegmes New and Old with the following preface. "Ivlius Cæsar, did write a Collection of Apophthegmes, as appeares in an Epistle of Cicero. I need say no more, for the worth, of a Writing, of that nature. It is pitie his Booke is lost: for I imagine, they were collected, with Iudgement, and Choice: whereas that of Plutarch, and Stobaeus, and much more, the Moderne ones, draw much of the dregs. Certainly, they are of excellent vse. They are, Mucrones Verborum, Pointed Speeches. Cicero prettily cals them, Salinas, Salt pits; that you may extract salt out of, and sprinkle it, where you will. They serue, to be interlaced, in continued Speech |