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B11307
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The essayes or counsels, ciuill and morall, of Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount St. Alban; Essays
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Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626.
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1625
(1625)
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STC 1148; ESTC S100362
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104,580
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356
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doth so couer a Man with Shame as to be found false and perfidious And therefore Mountaigny saith prettily when he enquired the reason why the word of the Lie should be such a Disgrace and such an Odious Charge Saith he If it be well weighed To say that a man lieth is as much to say as that he is braue towards God and a Coward towards men For a Lie faces God and shrinkes from Man Surely the Wickednesse of Falshood and Breach of Faith cannot possibly be so highly expressed as in that it shall be the last Peale to call the Iudgements of God vpon the Generations of Men It being foretold that when Christ commeth He shall not finde Faith vpon the Earth Of Death II. MEn feare Death as Children feare to goe in the darke And as that Natural Feare in Children is increased with Tales so is the other Certainly the Contemplation of Death as the wages of sinne and Passage to another world is Holy and Religious But the Feare of it as a Tribute due vnto Nature is weake Yet in Religious Meditations there is sometimes Mixture of Vanitie and of Superstition You shal reade in some of the Friars Books of Mortification that a man should thinke with himselfe what the Paine is if he haue but his Fingers end Pressed or Tortured And thereby imagine what the Paines of Death are when the whole Body is corrupted and dissolued when many times Death passeth with lesse paine then the Torture of a Limme For the most vitall parts are not the quickest of Sense And by him that spake onely as a Philosopher and Naturall Man it was well said Pompa Mortis magis terret quà m Mors ipsa Groanes and Conuulsions and a discoloured Face and Friends weeping and Blackes and Obsequies and the like shew Death Terrible It is worthy the obseruing that there is no passion in the minde of man so weake but it Mates and Masters the Feare of Death And therefore Death is no such terrible Enemie when a man hath so many Attendants about him that can winne the combat of him Reuenge triumphs ouer Death Loue slights it Honour aspireth to it Griefe flieth to it Feare pre-occupateth it Nay we reade after Otho the Emperour had slaine himselfe Pitty which is the tenderest of Affections prouoked many to die out of meere compassion to their Soueraigne and as the truest sort of Followers Nay Seneca addes Nicenesse Saciety Cogita quam diù eadem feceris Mori velle non tantùm Fortis aut Miser sed etià m Fastidiosus potest A man would die though he were neither valiant nor miserable onely vpon a wearinesse to doe the same thing so oft ouer and ouer It is no lesse worthy to obserue how little Alteration in good Spirits the Approaches of Death make For they appeare to be the same Men till the last Instant Augustus Caesar died in a Complement Liuia Coniugij nostri memor viue vale Tiberius in dissimulation As Tacitus saith of him Iam Tiberium Vires Corpus non Dissimulatio deserebant Vespasian in a lest Sitting vpon the Stoole Vt puto Deus fio Galba with a Sentence Feri si ex re sit populi Romani Holding forth his Necke Septimius Seuerus in dispatch Adeste si quid mihi restat agendum And the like Certainly the Stoikes bestowed too much cost vpon Death and by their great preparations made it appeare more fearefull Better saith he Qui Finem Vitae extremum inter Munera ponat Naturae It is as Naturall to die as to be borne And to a little Infant perhaps the one is as painfull as the other He that dies in an earnest Pursuit is like one that is wounded in hot Bloud who for the time scarce feeles the Hurt And therefore a Minde fixt and bent vpon somewhat that is good doth auert the Dolors of Death But aboue all beleeue it the sweetest Canticle is Nunc dimittis when a Man hath obtained worthy Ends and Expectations Death hath this also That it openeth the Gate to good Fame and extinguisheth Enuie Extinctus amabitur idem Of Vnity in Religion III. REligion being the chiefe Band of humane Society it is a happy thing when it selfe is well contained within the true Band of Vnity The Quarrels and Diuisions about Religion were Euils vnknowne to the Heathen The Reason was because the Religion of the Heathen consisted rather in Rites and Ceremonies then in any constant Beleefe For you may imagine what kinde of Faith theirs was when the chiefe Doctors and Fathers of their Church were the Poets But the true God hath this Attribute That he is a Iealous God And therefore his worship and Religion will endure no Mixture nor Partner We shall therefore speake a few words concerning the Vnity of the Church What are the Fruits thereof what the Bounds And what the Meanes The Fruits of Vnity next vnto the well Pleasing of God which is All in All are two The One towards those that are without the Church The Other towards those that are within For the Former It is certaine that Heresies and Schismes are of all others the greatest Scandals yea more then Corruption of Manners For as in the Naturall Body a Wound or Solution of Continuity is worse then a Corrupt Humor So in the Spirituall So that nothing doth so much keepe Men out of the Church and driue Men out of the Church as Breach of Vnity And therefore whensoeuer it commeth to that passe that one saith Ecce in Deserto Another saith Ecce in penetralibus That is when some Men seeke Christ in the Conuenticles of Heretikes and others in an Outward Face of a Church that voice had need continually to sound in Mens Eares Nolite exire Goe not out The Doctor of the Gentiles the Propriety of whose Vocation drew him to haue a speciall care of those without saith If an Heathen come in and heare you speake with seuerall Tongues Will he not say that you are mad And certainly it is little better when Atheists and prophane Persons do heare of so many Discordant and Contrary Opinions in Religion It doth auert them from the Church and maketh them To sit downe in the chaire of the Scorners It is but a light Thing to be Vouched in so Serious a Matter but yet it expresseth well the Deformity There is a Master of Scoffing that in his Catalogue of Books of a faigned Library sets Downe this Title of a Booke The morris daunce of Heretikes For indeed euery Sect of them hath a Diuers Posture or Cringe by themselues which cannot but Moue Derision in Worldlings and Depraued Politickes who are apt to contemne Holy Things As for the Fruit towards those that are within It is Peace which containeth infinite Blessings It establisheth Faith It kindleth Charity The outward Peace of the Church Distilleth into Peace of Conscience And it turneth the Labours of Writing and Reading of Controuersies into Treaties of Mortification and Deuotion Concerning the
and Valiant Soldiers And let Princes on the other side that haue Subiects of Martiall disposition know their owne Strength vnlesse they be otherwise wanting vnto Themselues As for Mercenary Forces which is the Helpe in this Case all Examples shew That whatsoeuer Estate or Prince doth rest vpon them Hee may spread his Feathers for a time but he will â—eâ— them soone after The Blessing of Iudah and Issachar will neuer meet That the same People or Nation should be both The Lions whelpe and the Asse betweene Burthens Neither will it be that a People ouer-laid with Taxes should euer become Valiant and Martiall It is true that Taxes leuied by Consent of the Estate doe abate Mens Courage lesse As it hath beene seene notably in the Excises of the Low Countries And in some degree in the Subsidies of England For you must note that we speake now of the Heart and not of the Purse So that although the same Tribute and Tax laid by Consent or by Imposing be all one to the Purse yet it workes diuersly vpon the Courage So that you may conclude That no People ouer charged with Tribute is fit for Empire Let States that aime at Greatnesse take heed how their Nobility and Gentlemen doe multiply too fast For that maketh the Common Subiect grow to be a Peasant and Base Swaine driuen out of Heart and in effect but the Gentlemans Labourer Euen as you may see in Coppice Woods If you leaue your staddles too thick you shall neuer haue cleane Vnderwood but Shrubs and Busbes So in Countries if the Gentlemen be too many the Commons will be base And you will bring it to that that not the hundred poll will be fit for an Helmet Especially as to the Infantery which is the Nerue of an Army And so there will be Great Population and Little Strength This which I speake of hath been no where better seen then by comparing of England and France whereof England though farre lesse in Territory and Population hath been neuerthelesse an Ouermatch In regard the Middle People of England make good Souldiers which the Peasants of France doe not And herein the deuice of King Henry the Seuenth whereof I haue spoken largely in the History of his Life was Profound and Admirable In making Farmes and houses of Husbandry of a Standard That is maintained with such a Proportion of Land vnto them as may breed a Subiect to liue in Conuenient Plenty and no Seruile Condition And to keepe the Plough in the Hands of the Owners and not meere Hirelings And thus indeed you shall attaine to Virgils Character which he giues to Ancient Italy Terra potens Armis atque vbere Glebae Neither is that State which for any thing I know is almost peculiar to England and bardly to be found any where else except it be perhaps in Poland to be passed ouer I meane the State of Free Seruants and Attendants vpon Noblemen and Gentlemen which are no waies inferiour vnto the Yeomanry for Armes And therefore out of all Question the Splendour and Magnificence and great Retinues and Hospitality of Noblemen and Gentlemen receiued into Custome doth much conduce vnto Martiall Greatnesse Whereas contrariwise the Close and Reserued liuing of Noblemen and Gentlemen causeth a Penury of Military Forces By all meanes it is to be procured that the Trunck of Nebuchadnezzars Tree of Monarchy be great enough to beare the Branches and the Boughes That is That the Naturall Subiects of the Crowne or State beare a sufficient Proportion to the Stranger Subiects that they gouerne Therfore all States that are liberall of Naturalization towards Strangers are fit for Empire For to thinke that an Handfull of People can with the greatest Courage and Policy in the World embrace too large Extent of Dominion it may hold for a time but it will faile suddainly The Spartans were a nice People in Point of Naturalization whereby while they kept their Compasse they stood firme But when they did spread and their Boughs were becommen too great for their Stem they became a Windfall vpon the suddaine Neuer any State was in this Point so open to receiue Strangers into their Body as were the Romans Therefore it sorted with them accordingly For they grew to the greatest Monarchy Their manner was to grant Naturalization which they called Ius Ciuitatis and to grant it in the highest Degree That is Not onely Ius Commercij Ius Connubij Ius Haereditatis But also Ius Suffragij and Ius Honorum And this not to Singular Persons alone but likewise to whole Families yea to Cities and sometimes to Nations Adde to this their Custome of Plantation of Colonies whereby the Roman Plant was remoued into the Soile of other Nations And putting both Constitutions together you will say that it was not the Romans that spred vpon the World But it was the World that spred vpon the Romans And that was the sure Way of Greatnesse I haue marueiled sometimes at Spaine how they claspe and containe so large Dominions with so few Naturall Spaniards But sure the whole Compasse of Spaine is a very Great Body of a Tree Farre aboue Rome and Sparta at the first And besides though they haue not had that vsage to Naturalize liberally yet they haue that which is next to it That is To employ almost indifferently all Nations in their Militia of ordinary Soldiers yea and sometimes in their Highest Commands Nay it seemeth at this instant they are sensible of this want of Natiues as by the Pragmaticall Sanction now published appeareth It is certaine that Sedentary and Within-doore Arts and delicate Manufactures that require rather the Finger then the Arme haue in their Nature a Contrariety to a Military disposition And generally all Warlike People are a little idle And loue Danger better then Trauaile Neither must they be too much broken of it if they shall be preserued in vigour Therefore it was great Aduantage in the Ancient States of Sparta Athens Rome and others that they had the vse of Slaues which commonly did rid those Manufactures But that is abolished in greatest part by the Christian Law That which commeth nearest to it is to leaue those Arts chiefly to Strangers which for that purpose are the more easily to be receiued and to containe the principall Bulke of the vulgar Natiues within those three kinds Tillers of the Ground Free Seruants Handy-Crafts-Men of Strong Manly Arts as Smiths Masons Carpenters Not reckoning Professed Souldiers But aboue all for Empire and Greatnesse it importeth most That a Nation doe professe Armes as their principall Honour Study and Occupation For the Things which we formerly haue spoken of are but Habilitations towards Armes And what is Habilitation without Intention and Act Romulus after his death as they report or faigne sent a Present to the Romans That aboue all they should intend Armes And then they should proue the greatest Empire of the World The Fabrick of the State of Sparta was wholly though