opportunity to do you service;' or (entry 1398), 'Value me not the less because I am yours.' Lastly, among weightier sayings, we cannot afford to forget, 'So give authors their due as you give time his due, which is to discover truth' (entry 341); or the defence of new doctrine against lazy inattention, 'Everything is subtile till it be conceived' (entry 187); or the philosophic asceticism of 'I contemn few men but most things' (entry 339). The proverbs and quotations also are by no means without interest. It is quite worth while to know what phrases from the Vulgate, Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, and Erasmus were thought worthy by Francis Bacon of insertion in his commonplace book. Readers will find that he never jotted down one of these phrases unless he thought that it contained, or might be made to contain, some double meaning, some metaphysical allusion, something at least worth thinking about; and to publish some of the best things of the best classical authors, thought worthy of being collected by one of our best English authors, seems a work that needs no apology. Besides, in many cases the proverbs are unfamiliar to modern ears, and most readers will be glad to be introduced to them. Take, for example, from the list of the French proverbs, which are too often sadly cynical and very uncomplimentary to women, the two 'Mal pense qui ne repense' (entry 1553) and Mal fait qui ne parfait' (1554). Another excellent French proverb 'Nourriture passe nature' (entry 1595) is doubly interesting, partly for its intrinsic and important truth, partly because it may have suggested the thought which we find in the Essay on Custom (Essays, xxxix. 14): 'Nature, nor the engagement of words, are not so forcible as custom;' and again (ibid. 6), 'There is no trusting to the force of nature, except it be corroborated by custom.' Similarly, the proverb of Erasmus (entry 531), ' Compendiaria res improbitas' ('Rascality takes short cuts'), evidently suggested the next entry in English (532), 'It is in action as it is in wayes: commonly the nearest is the foulest,' and this is afterwards embodied in the Advancement of Learning. As for the illustrative quotations from Shakespeare, apart from the interest which they will possess for those who may be willing to entertain and discuss the thesis of the author, they have a further value, inasmuch as they show how the thoughts and phrases of the Bible and of the great Latin authors were passing into the English language as exhibited in the works of Shakespeare, and how the proverbs, not only of our own nation but also of the Latin language, popularised in our schools by the reading of Erasmus, were becoming part and parcel of English thought. A word of apology in behalf of the author must conclude these brief remarks. The difficulties of the work would have been great even for a scholar well versed in Latin and Greek and blessed with abundance of leisure. The author makes no pretence to these qualifications, and the assistance obtained in preparing the work, and in inspecting and correcting the proof-sheets, has unfortunately not been sufficient to prevent several errors, some of which will make Latin and Greek scholars feel uneasy. For these, in part, Bacon himself, or Bacon's amanuensis, is responsible; and many of the apparent Latin solecisms or misspellings arise, not from the author's pen, but from the manuscript of the Promus.' But the renderings from 'I understand that it is the opinion of Mr. Maude Thompson of the British Museum Manuscript Department, that all the entries, except some of the French proverbs, are in Bacon's handwriting; so that no amanuensis can bear the blame of the numerous errors in the Latin quotations. Latin into English do not admit of this apology; and as to these the author would prefer to submit the work, on the one hand, to the general public as interesting from an English point of view; but, on the other hand, to the critical philologian as confessedly imperfect, to be freely corrected and amended, and as intended rather to raise questions than answer them. This apology may in some cases cover Latin quotations which have not been traced to their source, and in other cases quotations from Shakespeare which may proceeed from a misapprehension of the entry in the Promus. But I feel reluctant to conclude apologetically in thus introducing to the English public a work undertaken and completed in spite of unwonted difficulties of all kinds, with a result which, after making allowance for shortcomings, is a distinct gain to all students of the English language. I shall certainly be expressing my own feelings, as a lover of Shakespeare and of Bacon, and I trust I shall be expressing the feeling of many others, in welcoming (without ill-feeling to the author for her Shakespearian heresy and with much gratitude for her Baconian industry) the publication of this the only remaining unpublished work of an author concerning whom Dr. Johnson said that 'a Dictionary of the English language might be compiled from Bacon's works alone.' EDWIN A. ABBOTT. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER-General description of Bacon's 'Promus' Early English Literature-Negative evidence as to authorship- Authors consulted-Plays professedly written in Shakespeare's 83. Texts from the Bible (Vulgate)—Virgil's 'Eneid' 836, 84. Virgil's 'En.' and 'Georg.'-Horace's Sat. and Ep.'- 84b. Metaphors-Aphorisms-Pithy Sayings, &c. 85. Aphorisms-Forms of Speech-Notes on Judgment, Cha- racter, Honesty, Licence, &c.-English Proverbs-A few Quotations from Ovid's 'Met.' and Terence's 'Heaut. 856. Texts from Psalms, Matt., Luke, Heb.-English Sayings and 866. Texts-Latin Quotations, chiefly upon the Blessed Dead, Slander, Occasion, Fate, Good in Evil, Arbitration, 87. Short Sayings and Turns of Speech, chiefly referring to Knowing, Conceiving, Saying, Hearing, Judging, Con- 87b. Repartees-Speech-Hearing -Answering - Taunts-Strife 88. Texts from the Proverbs, Eccles., Matt. and John, chiefly on Folly, Wisdom, the Light of God, the End and the Begin- 88h. Texts from Matt., Acts, and from the Epistles, chiefly on . 89. English Proverbs from Heywood-Short Forms of Speech 896. Latin Quotatious (Hor., Virg.) chiefly on Aspiration, Great · 90. Quotations from Virgil's 'Eclogues,' Appius in Sall. de Re- publ. Ordin.,' Ovid's 'Ex. Pont. Am.' and ' Met.,' Erasmus' 'Ad.,' Lucan, and Homer, chiefly on Orpheus, the Human Mind an Instrument, Carving out Fortune, Desires, Coun- 906. Miscellaneous Latin Quotations, chiefly on how to Avoid and 91. Quotations from Psalms, Erasmus' 'Ad.,' Ovid, and Virgil, chiefly on Life, its vanity and brevity--Truth-Great Minds--Silence-Simplicity-Judgment of Character- 916. Text and Quotations from Virgil and Horace, chiefly eon- 92. Horace's 'Od.,' 'Ep.' and 'Sat.,' Virgil, Erasmus, &c.-Of the Shades or Manes-Sarcasm-Rich Men-World consists of 926. English Proverbs from Heywood's 'Epigrams' |
