Apophthegms attributed to Bacon. In the second edition of the Resuscitatio, published by Rawley in 1661, 249 Apophthegms are inserted, a few being new, but a good many of those published by Bacon himself being omitted; and in the third edition of the same work, published in 1671, four years after Rawley's death, the number of the Apophthegms is increased to 307 (of which, however, twelve are repetitions). But Tenison expressly notes that this latter is one of the editions in which Bacon has been unfairly dealt with, and he declares that the additions were not made by Rawley. It is curious, by the by, that the publisher of the third edition of the Resuscitatio should affirm in an address to the reader that that edition in the First Part (in which the Apophthegms are included) is an exact reprint of the preceding edition; as he also affirms, in another address, that all the pieces in the Second Part were collected and left ready for the press by Rawley. Twenty-seven additional Apophthegms, which may be received as genuine, are in the Baconiana published in 1679; and Mr. Montagu observes that there are "a few in Aubrey," by which we suppose is meant Aubrey's 'Lives,' published along with Letters written by eminent persons in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,' 8vo. 1813. We do not perceive, however, that he has given any of these last in his edition of Bacon's Works. He has only reprinted in his first volume the 280 Apophthegms originally published by Bacon, together with the twenty-seven in the Baconiana, and in an appendix, twenty-eight more under the title of Spurious Apophthegms, making altogether 335. The common editions, copying that of Blackburn (4 vols. fol. 1730), give 362 in all; namely, the 296 (after omitting the repetitions) published in the third edition of the Resuscitatio; thirty-nine described as contained in the original edition in octavo, but omitted in later copies;" and the twenty-seven published in the Baconiana (of which last, however, three are sometimes omitted, as occurring in the same or nearly the same words in the Essays).

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The apophthegms are introduced in the original edition by the following short preface:

"Julius Cæsar did write a collection of apophthegms, as appears in an epistle of Cicero: I need say no more for the worth of a writing of that nature. It is pity his work is lost, for I imagine they were collected with judgment and choice; whereas that of Plutarch and Stobæus, and much more the modern ones, draw much of the dregs. Certainly they are of excellent use. They are mucrones verborum, pointed speeches. Cicero prettily calls them salinas, salt pits, that you may extract salt out of and sprinkle it where you will. They serve to be interlaced in continued speech. They serve to be recited, upon occasions, of themselves. They serve, if you take out the kernel of them and make them your own. I have, for my recreation in my sickness, fanned the old, not omitting any because they are vulgar,* for many vulgar ones are excellent good; nor for the meanness of the person, but because they are dull and flat, and adding many new, that otherwise would have died."

The Apophthegms, or pointed sayings, thus collected by Bacon, are almost all good; very few at least of those published by himself can be pronounced unworthy of preservation. Many of them had been previously made use of by him in his Essays and other writings, and are repeated here for the most part nearly in the same words. Even with the aid he would thus have, however, we may take the liberty of doubting Tenison's assertion that the 280 short stories, filling above 300 printed pages in the original small volume, and above 60 in one of Mr. Montagu's octavos, were all dictated by him in one morning out of his memory. It is true that there are historical mistakes in some of them; but Bacon, as we have seen, does not himself plead the apology of haste, or talk of having written without resorting to books. Many of them, it is evident, he had merely transcribed from his own previous writings.

The following are selected from the original 280:

* Generally current.

4. Queen Elizabeth, the morrow of her coronation, went to the chapel; and in the great chamber, Sir John Rainsforth, set on by wiser men (a knight that had the liberty of a buffoon), besought the queen aloud—“That now this good time, when prisoners were delivered, four prisoners, amongst the rest, monght likewise have their liberty who were like enough to be kept still in hold." The queen asked, "Who they were?" and he said, “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who had long been imprisoned in the Latin tongue, and now he desired they mought go abroad among the people in English." The queen answered, with a grave countenance, "It were good, Rainsforth, they were spoken with themselves, to know of them whether they would be set at liberty?"

6. Pace, the bitter fool, was not suffered to come at the queen, because of his bitter humour. Yet at one time, some persuaded the queen that he should come to her, undertaking for him that he should keep compass: so he was brought to her, and the queen said: "Come on, Pace; now we shall hear of our faults." Saith Pace; "I do not use to talk of that that all the town talks on."

9. Queen Ann Bullen, at the time when she was led to be beheaded in the Tower, called one of the king's privy chamber to her, and said to him, "Commend me to the king, and tell him, he is constant in his course of advancing me; from a private gentlewoman he made me a marquisse, and from a marquisse a queen; and now, he had left no higher degree of earthly honour, he hath made me a martyr."

11. Caesar Borgia, after long division between him and the lords of Romagna, fell to accord with them. In this accord there was an article, that he should not call them at any time altogether in person. The meaning was, that knowing his dangerous nature, if he meant them treason; some one mought be free to revenge the rest. Nevertheless, he did with such fine art and fair carriage win their confidence, that he brought them altogether to council at Cinigagli, where he murdered them all. This act, which was related unto Pope Alexander, his father, by a cardinal, as a thing happy, but very perfidious; the pope said, "It was they that had broke their covenant first, in coming all together."

14. Sir Thomas More had only daughters at the first, and his wife did ever pray for a boy. At last he had a boy, which after, at man's years, proved simple. Sir Thomas said to his wife, "Thou prayedst so long for a boy, that he will be a boy as long as he lives."

33. Bias was sailing, and there fell out a great tempest

and the mariners, that were wicked and dissolute fellows, called upon the gods; but Bias said to them, "Peace, let them not know you are here." *

38. Alcibiades came to Pericles, and stayed a while ere he was admitted. When he came in, Pericles civilly excused it, and said, "I was studying how to give my account." But Alcibiades said to him, "If you will be ruled by me, study rather how to give no account."

42. There was a bishop that was somewhat a delicate person, and bathed twice a day. A friend of his said to him, "My lord, why do you bathe twice a day?" The bishop answered; "because I cannot conveniently bathe thrice."+

49. When Vespasian passed from Jewry to take upon him the empire, he went by Alexandria, where remained two famous philosophers, Apollonius and Euphrates. The emperor heard the discourse, touching the matter of state, in the presence of many. And when he was weary of them, he broke off, and in a secret derision, finding their discourses but speculative, and not put in practice, said, "O that I might govern wise men, and wise men govern me."

58. The book of deposing King Richard the Second, and the coming in of Henry the Fourth, supposed to be written by Doctor Hayward, who was committed to the Tower for it, had much incensed Queen Elizabeth; and she asked Mr. Bacon, being then of her learned council, "Whether there were any treason contained in it?" Mr. Bacon intending to do him a pleasure, and to take off the queen's bitterness with a merry conceit, answered, "No, madam, for treason I cannot deliver opinion that there is any, but very much felony." The queen apprehending it gladly, asked, How, and wherein ?" Mr. Bacon answered, "Because he had stolen many of his sentences and conceits out of Cornelius Tacitus."

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59. Mr. Popham, when he was speaker, and the lower house had sat long, and done in effect nothing; coming one day to Queen Elizabeth, she said to him, "Now, Mr. Speaker, what has passed in the lower house?" He answered, "If it please your majesty, seven weeks."

63. Nero was wont to say of his master Seneca, "That his style was like morter of sand, without lime,"

65. Queen Elizabeth being to resolve upon a great officer, and being by some, that canvassed for others, put of some doubt

*This is omitted in the Resuscitatio.

This is another of those omitted in the Resuscitatio.

of that person whom she meant to advance, called for Mr. Bacon, and told him, "She was like one with a lanthorn seeking a man," and seemed unsatisfied in the choice she had of men for that place. Mr. Bacou answered her, "That he had heard that in old time there was usually painted on the church walls the day of doom, and God sitting in judgment, and St, Michael by him with a pair of balances; and the soul and the good deeds in the one balance, and the faults and the evil deeds in the other; and the soul's balance went up far too light, Then was our lady painted with a great pair of beads, who cast them into the light balance, and brought down the scale: so he said, place and authority, which were in her hands to give, were like our lady's beads, which though men, through divers imperfections, were too light before, yet when they were cast in made weight competent."

71. Queen Elizabeth was dilatory enough in suits, of her own nature; and the lord treasurer Burleigh, to feed her humour, would say to her, "Madam, you do well to let suitors stay; for I shall tell you, bis dat, qui cito dat :* if you grant them speedily, they will come again the sooner,'

72. They feigned a tale of Sextus Quintus, that after his death he went to hell, and the porter of hell said to him, "You have some reason to offer yourself to this place; but yet I have order not to receive you: you have a place of your own, purgatory; you may go thither." So he went away, and sought purgatory a great while, and could find no such place, Whereupon he took heart, and went to heaven, and knocked; and St, Peter asked, "Who was there?" he said, "Sextus Pope." Whereunto St. Peter said, "Why do you knock? you have the keys.' Sextus answered, "It is true, but it is so long since they were given, as I doubt the wards of the lock be altered."

77. The deputies of the reformed religion, after the massa cre that was upon St. Bartholomew's day, treated with the king and queen-mother, and some other of the council for a peace, Both sides were agreed upon the articles, The question was, upon the security of performance. After some particulars propounded and rejected, the queen-mother said, "Why, is not the word of a king sufficient security?" One of the deputies answered, "No, by St. Bartholomew, madam."

85. One was saying that his great grandfather, and grandfather and father, died at sea; said another that heard him, "And I were as you, I would never come at sea." "Why," saith

* He gives twice who gives quick