name is probably corrupted from Morisco, or Moorish, the dance having been brought into England from Spain. 8:10. politics. 8:21. zelants. Politicians. 8:23. "turn thee behind me." See 2 Kings ix. 17-19. 8:25. Laodiceans. Lukewarm persons. See Rev. iii. 14-16. 9:20. "In veste," etc. sion, in the garment.' 'Let there be variety, but no divi 10:7. "Devita," etc. 'Avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so termed.' 1 Tim. vi. 20. 10:18. Nebuchadnezzar's image. See Dan. ii. 31-33. 10:21. muniting. Strengthening, fortifying. See 10:27. Mahomet's. Mahomet, spelled also Mohammed, was born at Mecca, Arabia, A.D. 571. He founded the Mohammedan religion. 11:9. Agamemnon. King of Mycena and Argos. Upon Helen's elopement with Paris, Agamemnon led the Greeks against Troy. At this time he killed a stag sacred to Diana, and pacified the goddess only by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia. 11:11. Tantum," etc. 'To such dreadful evils could religion constrain !' 11:13. massacre. Slaughter of the Protestants in France, on St. Bartholomew's Day, 1572. powder treason. The Gunpowder Plot, November 5, 1605, devised by Robert Catesby, Guy Fawkes, and others, to blow up the House of Parliament in London, as a Roman Catholic protest against the extortions of James I. 11:19. Anabaptists. A religious sect that became very active after the opening of the Reformation. Their fanatical career provoked severe persecution, until, after defeats in Saxony and Franconia, they seized Münster and held it for a time, being eventually driven thence with heavy losses. Their general principles were purer than their conduct. 12:6. facts. Deeds. Compare Latin facta. 12:9. would. 66 Should. 12:10. 'Ira," etc. 'The wrath of man worketh not the justice of God.' See Jas. i. 20. 12:11. a wise father. One of the priests of the early Church. 12:14. interessed. Interested. IV. OF REVENGE (1625) 12:15. wild. Natural; uncultivated. 12:23. "It is the glory," etc. See Prov. xix. 11. 13:10. no law. A reference to occasions for duelling, a practice prevalent in Bacon's day, and to which he was strongly opposed. 13: 13. it is two for one. That is, the law's punishment is added to the original wrong suffered, and one's enemy is "still beforehand," or, as the phrase now runs, - ahead. 13:20. Cosmus. A descendant of the lesser branch of the great Medici family, who became Duke of Florence in 1537. 13:25. Job. See Job ii. 10. 14:3. Pertinax. Roman emperor, murdered by soldiers, A.D. 193. Bacon means that Augustus Cæsar, Septimius Severus, and Henry IV., of France, who avenged the deaths of the persons mentioned, were prosperous. V. OF ADVERSITY (1625) This essay was written after Bacon's fall. 14:9. Stoics. See note on page 6, line 4. 14:11. adversity. Compare Shakespeare's As You Like It, "Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." "Bona," etc. See context. 66 14:18. Vere," etc. See context. 14:25. Hercules. A famed hero of mythology, who achieved the "Twelve Labours of Hercules," and, after his death, became a god. 14:26. Prometheus. Another hero, son of Iapetus and Clymene, who scaled the heavens and brought back the fire withdrawn from earth by Zeus (Jupiter). For this he was condemned to be chained to a rock, with his liver eternally exposed to a vulture's hunger. He was released by Hercules. The myth has often been celebrated in poetry. 15:4. a mean. A more moderate fashion. 15:11. David's harp. The Psalms. 15:23. discover. Uncover; reveal. VI. OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION (1625) This essay appeared at the close of Bacon's life. It indicates at once his worldly-sometimes Machiavellian-wisdom, and his recognition of character as, after all, the thing of most worth. 16: 1. politics. See note on page 8, line 10. 16:3. Tacitus. See note on page 5, line 27. sorted. Har monized with. 16:5. Augustus. See note on page 5, line 24. 16:6. Tiberius. See note on page 5, line 26. 16:7. Vespasian. See note on page 5, line 28. Vitellius. See note on page 5, line 12. 16:15. half-lights. Compare the Latin translation: 'As it were, in twilight.' 16:27. managed. Trained. 17:11. industriously. Purposely. 17:21. in that kind. Thus; in that way. 17:26. open. Bacon speaks from experience. 17:27. futile. Loquacious; literally, leaky. 18:2. leave to speak. That is, that his countenance and his words agree. Compare Emerson: "What you are speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say." 18:3. tracts. Traits. 18:15. absurd. Unreasonable. Applied, as Mr. Aldis Wright tells us, to the answer given by a deaf man (surdus), which does not touch the question; hence absurdus, deaf to reason. 18:18. oraculous. Oracular; having a double meaning. 18:24. except it be. Note the influence of Machiavelli's views. He was a great writer of the Italian Renaissance, a notable student of politics and statecraft. 18:30. ure. Use. Derived from the French heur (Latin, augurium), destiny, experience, fortune. 19:10. fair. Just,' simply. 19:16. set it even. Bacon's balancing habit constantly asserts itself, a habit temperamental with him, but confirmed by his long experience as lawyer and statesman. Compare the Antitheta in the De Augmentis. 19:19. round. Direct; thorough. A reference to archery. See note on page 3, line 20. 19:25. trust and belief. The man in Bacon will out. 19:26. composition and temperature. Temperament. Literally, combination and blending. P VII. OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN (1612. Enlarged, 1625) 20:2. nor. The double negative is common in Elizabethan English. Compare Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, Sc. 2: "It is not, nor it cannot come to good." 20:13. posterity. So that the childless are most concerned for the welfare and opinion of posterity. 20:20. Solomon. 20:25. wantons. 21:2. shifts. Consort. See Prov. x. 1. 'Pets'; spoiled favourites. Makeshifts; disingenuous schemes. sort. 21:26. 66 Optimum," etc. 'Choose the best, custom will make it agreeable and easy.' 21:28. fortunate. In that they must depend on their own efforts for advancement and recognition. Bacon himself is a case in point. VIII. OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE (1612. Enlarged, 1625) Bacon's view of matrimony is not romantic. He examines dispassionately its advantages and disadvantages. The student will remember that he failed in his own suit for the hand of Lady Hatton, and married Alice Barnham some ten years later. See the Introduction, pages xv and xxvii. 22:2. hostages to fortune. Pledges that he will run as few risks as possible. |