* falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these winding and crooked courses are the goings of the serpent, which goeth basely upon the belly, and not upon the feet. There is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious: and therefore Montaigne saith prettily, when he inquired the reason why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace, and such an odious charge, "If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much as to say that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards men: for a lie faces God, and shrinks from man." Surely the wickedness of falsehood and breach of faith cannot possibly be so highly expressed as in that it shall be the last peal to call the judgments of God upon the generations of men, it being foretold that when "Christ cometh" he shall not "find faith upon earth." OF DEATH (1612; enlarged 1625). Men fear death as children fear to go into the dark; and as that natural fear of children is increased with tales, so is the other. Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin and passage to another world, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations there is sometimes mixture of vanity and of superstition. You shall read in some of the friars' books of mortification, that a man should think with himself what the pain is, if he have but his finger's end pressed, or tortured, and thereby imagine what the pains of death are when the whole body is corrupted and dissolved. When, many times, death passeth with less pain than the torture of a limb; for the most vital parts are not the quickest of sense: and by him that spake only as a philosopher and natural man, it was well said, "Pompa mortis magis terret quam mors ipsa." Groans, and convulsions, and a discolored face, and friends weeping, and blacks and obsequies, and the like, show death terrible. It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in the mind of man so weak, but it mates and masters the fear of death; and, therefore, death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many attendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over death; love *Work. In what sense?-Embaseth (Fr. em, or en; Lat. in; Gr. Báois, base; W. bas, shallow; Gr. Báoσwv, deeper), debaseth, lowers its value.-These. This word is superfluous.Montaigne (1533-1589), the earliest French essayist, distinguished for wit, subtlety, nice observation, and common sense. Montaigne quotes the saying in the text from Plutarch's Life of Lysander. As in that._ Supply the omitted words.-Divide this essay into paragraphs. Point out the best sentences. Rewrite the whole in your own language, amplifying if necessary. Of death. This essay is partly taken from Seneca's Letters. Who was he? See p. 91. -Fear to go, etc. Would fear darkness be better? Why?-Wages. "The wages of sin is death."-Friars' books. What books? See Index. When many times, yet often.Quickest of sense. Meaning?-Pompa, etc. The parade (paraphernalia or array) of death terrifies more than death itself.-Blacks, black dresses, mourning drapery, etc. Obsequies (Lat. obsequia), funeral rites.-Worthy the observing. What form would be better?-But it mates, but it matches, sets itself against as equal, vies with.-Win the combat of him. Of whom? What defect in the English language in the matter of pronouns of the third person? Embaseth it vitiates it. Other equivalents? Cannot be so highly expressed. Grammatical equivalents? slights it; honor aspireth to it; grief flieth to it; fear pre-occupateth it.* Nay, we read, after Otho the emperor had slain himself, pity, which is the ten derest of affections, provoked many to die out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest sort of followers. Nay, Seneca adds, niceness and satiety: "Cogita quamdiu eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantum fortis, aut miser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest." "A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over." It is no less worthy to observe, how little alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men till the last instant. Augustus Cæsar died in a compliment: "Livia, conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale:" Tiberius, in dissimulation, as Tacitus saith of him, "Jam Tiberium vires et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant:" Vespasian, in a jest, . . . . . "Ut puto Deus fio:" Galba with a sentence, "Feri, si ex re sit populi Romani," holding forth his neck: Septimus Severus in despatch, "Adeste, si quid mihi restat agendum;" and the like. Certainly the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by their great preparations made it appear more fearful. Better, saith he, "qui finem vitæ extre Fear pre-occupateth, the fear of some greater evil lays hold of death as a refuge; i. e., fear impels to suicide. We read [that].-Otho, eighth Roman emperor, born A. D. 31 or 32; committed suicide, A. D. 68, after a reign of ninety-five days. Vitellius had revolted against him and been proclaimed emperor by the legions in Germany. After three victories, Otho was defeated. In his last moments he expressed an affectionate concern for his faithful followers, some of whom chose to die with him rather than live without him.-Provoked (Lat. pro, forth; voco, I call), incited, induced. This word is repeatedly used in the Bible in this sense.-Niceness, fastidiousness.-Satiety, fulness beyond desire, ennui, disgust arising from the appetite being cloyed.--Cogita, etc. Think well how often you have done the same things over and over. One might wish to die, not only from bravery or misery, but even from ennui.--Worthy to, worth while to.--Good spirits. By spirits does he mean souls, persons, men? Or does good spirits mean life, ardor, animation, courage, cheerfulness ? If the latter, what is the antecedent of they, in they appear to be the same men?--Augustus died, A. D. 14, having reigned fortyfour years. What can you say of him and his times? See Class. Dict.-Livia, etc. Livia, remembering our wedlock, live and farewell.--Vive et vale, live and farewell, or Life and health to you! the usual parting salutation among the Romans.-Tiberius, the successor of Augustus. Born B. C. 42; died A. D. 37, after a reign of twenty-three years. This great villain was remarkable for his dissimulation, though that was the least of his rascalities. Read his story in the classical dictionaries.-Jam Tiberium. At length his powers and bodily strength, not dissimulation, were abandoning Tiberius.--Vespasian, emperor of Rome A. D. 70, reigned nine years. It is a little remarkable, being a Roman emperor, that he died a natural death and was succeeded by his son.--Ut puto. “As I suppose, I am turning into a god."-Galba, successor of Nero and predecessor of Otho, became emperor A. D. 68, and was slain at the end of seven months, being seventy-two years of age. To quell the mutiny which Otho had stirred up, Galba caused himself to be carried in a litter into the forum; but on the appearance of a band of Otho's armed adherents, Galba's followers dropped the litter and fled. As the assassins rushed upon him, he presented his neck, coolly addressing them in the words quoted above.--Feri, si, etc. Strike, if it be for the advantage of the Roman people-Septimus Severus. After a reign of nearly eighteen years, this Roman emperor died at York, England, A. D. 211, at the age of sixtyfive. In despatch, in business fashion-Adeste. Attend, if anything remains for me to do.Stoics, so called from Stoa, a painted portico, the most famous in Athens. Here Zeno, who died B. C. 264, at the age of ninety-eight, taught his doctrines, and founded the sect of Stoics. They believed that a man should raise himself above pleasure, pain, fear, and all passion. They taught that virtue is the supreme good, and that death is no evil. On the latter point they laid so much stress, that Bacon affirms their eagerness to have had the contrary effect to what they had designed. See Index.--Better saith he. (He is emphatic) Juvenal, the celebrated Roman satirist, is meant; born A. D. 40, or thereabouts; died when a little over eighty years of age. He is severe against the Stoics. In his Tenth Satire we find the line which Bacon quotes: "Qui spatium [finem] vitæ extremum inter munera ponat," "who would count the last period of life among the boons (of nature). The passage means, then, "Better than the dogmas of the Stoics is the sentiment of Juvenal, who would reckon death a boon." Boyd is mistaken in supposing that Bacon is careless in his style, and that here is an instance of it. Fear pre-occupateth it fear anticipates it. Other equivalents? ber. Other equivalents? tender sympathy induced a large num mum inter munera, ponat naturæ." It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. He that dies in an earnest pursuit is like one that is wounded in hot blood; who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good, doth avert the dolors* of death. But, above all, believe 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 envy: "Extinctus amabitur idem." t OF ADVERSITY (1625). It was a high speech of Seneca after the manner of the Stoics, that the good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished, but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired: "Bona rerum secundarum optabilia, adversarum mirabilia." Certainly, if miracles be the command over nature, they appear most in adversity. It is yet a higher speech of his than the other, much too high for a heathen, "It is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man, and the security of a God: "_" Vere magnum habere fragilitatem hominis, securitatem Dei." This would have done better in poesy, where transcendencies are more allowed; and the poets, indeed, have been busy with it. For it is in effect the thing which is figured in that strange fiction of the ancient poets, which seemeth not to be without mystery; nay, and to have some approach to the state of a Christian; "that Hercules, when he went to unbind Prometheus, by whom human nature is represented, sailed the length of the great ocean in an earthen pot or pitcher, lively describing Christian resolution, that saileth in the frail bark of the flesh through the waves of the world." But, to speak in a mean, the virtue of prosperity is temperance, the virtue of adversity is fortitude, which in morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of *Dolors (Lat. dolor, pain; doleo, to feel pain), pangs. Nunc dimittis. Now lettest thou. This is the beginning of the Latin version of the aged Simeon's exclamation (Luke ii. 29) on beholding the infant Jesus. Here, as in all his quotations from the Scriptures in his essays, Bacon gives the language of the Latin Vulgate, or equivalent words.--Extinctus, etc. When dead, the very one (that had been envied) will be loved. High speech, a lofty, high-toned, remarkable, or excellent saying.-Seneca, a celebrated Roman Stoic philosopher, born in Corduba (Cordova, Spain, whence the word cordwainer comes) about the beginning of the Christian era.-Most in adversity. Most what?Transcendencies (Lat. transcendere, to climb over; from trans, beyond, and scandere, to climb), soarings, hyperboles.-Poets, Stesichorus, Apollodorus, and others.-Nay, and, not only so, but also.-Hercules, the most famous of Grecian herocs. See Class. Dict. for Hercules and Prometheus.-Lively, with liveliness.-Frail bark. So St. Paul, 2 Cor. iv. 7, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels."-In a mean, in a moderate tone, with moderation. -Virtue of prosperity. Meaning? Note the happy antitheses. Avert the dolors of death avert the pains of death = render unfelt the agonies of the last hour. Other equivalent expressions? + Divide this essay into suitable paragraphs. Explain why Bacon quotes Latin so profusely. Turn the essay into your own language, being careful to express every thought fully and exactly. A high speech =sublime declaration = a remark of great dignity and elevation. Give síx other equivalent grammatical expressions. Transcendencies are more allowed lofty flights are more permissible = hyperbeles are more allowable. Other equivalent expressions? To speak in a mean to speak in a medium tone to speak with moderation = to use unadorned language, avoiding flights of fancy and exaggerations. Other grammatical equivalents? the Old Testament,* adversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God's favor. Yet even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearselike airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath labored more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. We see in needleworks and embroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground: judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the heart by the pleasure of the eye. Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant where they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. OF STUDIES (1597). Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business; for expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars one by one: but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar: they perfect nature, and are perfected by experience. For natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for *The Old Testament laid more stress on temporal rewards; the New, on spiritual. To lose all earthly blessing for Christ's sake, to be in adversity tor him, was eventually the source of the highest blessing. See Rev. vii.-Comforts and hopes. So Paul "We glory in tribulations also." Rom. v.-Lively, bright, in gay colors,-Lightsome, of light or joyous aspect.-Discover (Fr. découvrir, to disclose; from Lat. dis-, denoting privation or nega tion; co- or con-, together, completely; and operire, to cover), uncover, reveal, make manifest. Divide this essay into paragraphs. See what improvement you can make in any sentences. Cull out the thoughts, and rewrite the essay in your own language, to see if you can improve upon the original. Specify in writing the twelve labors of Hercules. Write out the legend of Prome theus. Privateness, seclusion. See privy, Index.-Retiring (Lat re, back, Fr. tirer, to draw), freedom from business cares; withdrawal from society; modest leisure; unobtrusiveness.General counsels, comprehensive counsels, plans embracing great and varied interests.-Judgments, plans, opinions.-Natural plants, plants that grow wild.-Crafty (A. S. cräft, strength, art; Ger., Sw., and Dan, kraft, power; W. cref, strong) may here mean men of some craft, or skilled in some mechanical work; or it may be used in the sense of cunning. Which is preferable?-Simple, unsophisticated. Lively work upon a sad and solemn ground = animated scenes and figures upon a dark and sober-looking ground. Other equivalents? = Most fragrant when they are incensed most grateful to the sense of smell when they are burning. Other equivalents? Their chief use for delight is in privateness = their principal use in giving pleasure is in privacy. Other equivalents? To make judgment = to give judgment to make decisions. Other equivalents? The humor of a scholar the predominant inclination of a learned man = the unreasoning fanciful inclination of a man of books. Other equivalents? granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; * and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man; conference, a 'ready man; and writing, an exact man: and, therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory: if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtile; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. "Abeunt studia in mores: nay, there is no stand or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies; like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting, for the lungs and breast; gentle walking, for the stomach; riding, for the head, and the like. So, if a man's wits be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the schoolmen; for they are "Cymini sectores." If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call upon one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers' cases. So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.† OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE (1612; slightly enlarged 1625). He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men; which, both in affection and means, * Curiously (Lat. cura, care), carefully, with eager attention.-Arguments, subjects, courses of thought.-Else (genitive case of the root of Gr. ados: Lat. alius, other; A. S. elles. See p. 20), in other cases in other circumstances.-Conference (Lat. con, together; fero, Gr. dép, to bring; Lat. conferentia, a bringing together for comparison; Fr. conference), conversation.-Abeunt, etc., studies pass into habits, or manners.-Stand (or stond in some editions), disinclination to proceed.-Wit, intellect.-Wrought out, worked off, removed.— Schoolmen (Gr. σxoλý, leisure; Lat. schola, a school; Fr. école; Ger, schule). The schoolmen were philosophers and divines of the Middle Ages who adopted the principles of Aristotle, and spent much time on points of nice and abstract speculation. They were so called because they taught in the schools of divinity established by Charlemagne."-Cymini, etc., cumin-splitters,hair-splitters." Cumin is a plant, also the seed of the plant, like anise and caraway. Apt (Lat. aptus, fit), skillful, capable, able.-Beat over, scour, range over, drive over, go over with force and skill.-Receipt. recipe, formula prescribed for preparing medicine, etc.-Impediments (Lat. impedimentum, hindrance; perhaps from in, against, and pes, pedis, the foot). But not curiously = but not with eager attention. Other equivalents? Reading maketh a full man = what? A ready man = what? An exact man = what? Seem to know that he doth not = seem to know that which he does not really know. Other equivalents? This admirable essay on studies has rarely or never been surpassed in concentration of thought. The student may profitably write out illustrations and expansions of the points made. Rewrite the thoughts in your own words, and then compare your work with Bacon's. |