lius, a man might have thought that this had proceeded of an abundant goodness of nature; but being men so wise, of such strength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of themselves, as all these were, it proveth most plainly, that they found their own felicity (though as great as ever happened to mortal men) but as an half piece, except they might have a friend to make it entire; and yet, which is more, they were princes that had wives, sons, nephews; yet all these could not supply the comfort of friendship. It is not to be forgotten what Comineus ob- [15] serveth of his first master, Duke Charles the Hardy, that he would communicate his secrets with none; and [14.] Of an: from an. 'I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you.'-1 Cor. 11: 23. Though as great, &c.: a very rash assertion to be made of such men as Tiberius and Sejanus, the vilest of the vile. Bacon must have referred to the means of worldly enjoyment at their command. Except: Give the word now in good Which: What is the better word. use. [15.] Communicate with: What preposition is now required? 'He communicated those thoughts only with the Lord Digby.'— Clarendon. Duke Charles the Hardy: Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a powerful vassal of Louis the XI of France. Sir Walter Scott styles him the Audacious, for 'his courage was allied to rashness and frenzy. He rushed on danger because he loved it, and on difficulties because he dispised them. The very soul of bravery, which he pushed to the verge of rashness, and beyond it-profuse in expendituresplendid in his court, his person, and his retinue, in all which he displayed the hereditary magnificence of the house of Burgundy, Charles the Bold drew into his service all the fiery spirits of the age whose temper was congenial.'-' Quentin Durward,' Chap. I. See also Chap. XXVI, wherein is graphically described an interview between Charles the Bold and Louis XI, bringing out finely the character of each. least of all, those secrets which troubled him most. [16] Whereupon he goeth on, and saith, that towards his latter time that closeness did impair and a little [17] perish his understanding. Surely Comineus might have made the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second master, Louis the Eleventh, Comineus: Philip De Comines, the historian who attended the last Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, and afterwards Louis XI, King of France. He wrote an amusing Memoir of his Times, embracing notices of these men. [16.] Perish: vitiate. [17.] Louis XI: In 1481 he had an attack of apoplexy, from which he rallied, but the next year another fit reduced his powers still further, and from this period his existence became precarious, and his condition, both physical and moral, pitiable in the extreme. Recoiling in guilty terror from the fear of death, he exhausted every artifice and caprice to conceal, both from himself and others, the inevitable advance of the great enemy. At the same time conscious that his cruelties had made him the object of universal detestation, he was haunted by suspicions of treachery and violence; and, to escape this peril, he immured himself in his gloomy, fortress-like palace of Plessis-les-Tours, where he was no less truly a prisoner, and scarcely less miserable, than the meanest victim of his tyranny. No one passed into the interior without an express order from the king; and the sentinels were ordered to fire indiscriminately upon any one who should venture within range of their weapons after night-fall.—Students' France, 270, 271. Louis XI: Sir Walter Scott, in his 'Quentin Durward' (Chap. I.), has drawn an admirable portrait of this man, a part of which is the following:-' Calm, crafty, and profoundly attentive to his own interest, he made every sacrifice, both of pride and passion, which could interfere with it. He was careful in disguising his real sentiments and purposes from all who approached him, and frequently used the expressions 'that the king knew not how to reign, who knew not how to dissemble; and that, for himself, if he thought his very cap knew his secrets, he would throw it into the fire.' No man of his own. The [18] whose closeness was indeed his tormentor. parable of Pythagoras is dark, but true, " Cor ne edito," -"eat not the heart." Certainly, if a man [19] would give it a hard phrase, those that want friends to open themselves unto, are cannibals of their own hearts: but one thing is most admirable (wherewith I will conclude this first fruit of friendship), which is that this communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects, for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halves; for there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his grief to his friend, but he grieveth the less. So that it is, in truth, of operation [20] or of any other time, better understood how to avail himself of the frailties of others, and when to avoid giving any advantage by the untimely indulgence of his own. He was by nature vindictive and cruel, even to the extent of finding pleasure in the frequent executions which he commanded. But as no touch of mercy ever induced him to spare, when he could with safety condemn, so no sentiment of vengeance ever stimulated him to a premature violence. He seldom sprung on his prey till it was fairly within his grasp, and till all chance of rescue was in vain; and his movements were so studiously disguised, that his success was generally what first announced to the world what object he had been maneuvering to attain." [18.] Cor, &c.: Plutarch, De Educat. Puer. 17. Pythagoras went further, requiring his disciples to confine themselves to a vegetable diet. See Ovid's Metamorphosis, Bk. XV. [20.] The alchymists: These were a set of ingenious but deluded experimenters who fancied that by certain long processes the baser metals might be converted into gold: that this was to be effected by the use of a certain mineral to be produced by these processes, which, being mixed with the baser metal would be able to change it, and this was denominated the philosopher's stone. Persons, professing to have invented this stone, practiced on the credulity of the multitude. Another upon a man's mind of like virtue as the alchymists use to attribute to their stone for man's body, that it worketh all contrary effects, but still to the good and benefit of nature; but yet, without praying in aid of alchymists, there is a manifest image of this in the ordinary course of nature; for, in bodies union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural action; and, on the other side, weakeneth and dulleth any violent impression; and even so it is of minds. [21] The second fruit of friendship is healthful and sovereign for the understanding, as the first is for the affections; for friendship maketh indeed a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests, but it maketh daylight in the understanding, out of darkness and con[22] fusion of thoughts. Neither is this to be under great object with them was to produce a substance that would prolong or perpetuate life-a universal remedy. Alchemy, practiced from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries, for the most part an imposture, as it was, yet led to the great art of modern chemistry. Stone for man's body: This is an application of the philosopher's stone to which the Editor can find no reference in any author. Praying in aid: a forensic phrase, equivalent to, asking the court to call in one to help who has some interest in the matter contested. "You shall find A conqueror that will pray in aid for kindness, When he for grace is kneeled to."-Shak. Of minds with regard to minds. : "This quarrel is not now of fame and tribute, [22.] Wits: mental faculties. with. [Gravatum.-Lat. Ed.] Fraught with: oppressed is now used for this? Clarify and break up: become clear the clouds breaking up and departing. Compare § 21. He seeth, &c. [Illas tanquam in faciem intuetur, postquam conversæ fuerint in verba.-Lat. Ed.] Wiser than himself: Paraphrase. stood only of faithful counsel, which a man receiveth from his friend; but before you come to that, certain it is, that whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits and understanding do clarify and break up, in the communicating and discoursing with another; he tosseth his thoughts more easily; he marshalleth them more orderly; he seeth how they look when they are turned into words; finally, he waxeth wiser than himself; and that more by an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation. It was well [23] [23.] Arras: Tapestry-ornamental figured hangings woven of worsted or silk for lining the walls of rooms. The name is derived from a place where it has been extensively manufactured, Arras, the capital of Artois in the Netherlands. The Greeks, Egyptians and Hebrews made and used the article for covering walls, and also for covering couches and tables. In the reign of Henry VIII, the art of weaving tapestry was introduced into England. Cloth of Arras: This phrase could not have been used by Themistocles, who lived and died long before the town of Arras was built. By the unwarranted use of this phrase, instead of the word tapestry, Bacon subjects himself to the charge of committing a gross anachronism. The whole transaction, as related by Rollin (III, 81, 82), is so interesting as to deserve to be copied here:-Themistocles (for whose apprehension a reward of two hundred talents having been offered by Artaxerxes) gave himself up, and being called into the presence of the king, and expecting nothing but death, he was favorably disappointed, for the king began the interview by making Themistocles a present of two hundred talents, which he said was due to him, as Themistocles had brought him his head, by surrendering himself to him. The king then desired him to give an account of the affairs of Greece. But as Themistocles could not express his thoughts to the king without the assistance of an interpreter, he desired that time might be allowed him to learn the Persian tongue; hoping he then should be able to explain those things which he was desirous of communicating to him, better than he could by the aid of a third person. It is the same, says he, with the speech of a |