he, "where did your great grandfather, and grandfather and father die?" He answered, "Where but in their beds?" Saith the other, "And I were as you, I would never come in bed.' 91. There was a dispute, whether great heads or little heads had the better wit? And one said, "It must needs be the little; for that it is a maxim, omne majus continet in se minus.” 92. Solon, when he wept for his son's death, and one said to him, "Weeping will not help," answered, "Alas, therefore I weep, because weeping will not help." 100 Trajan would say of the vain jealousy of princes, that seek to make away those that aspire to their succession; “ that there was never king that did put to death his successor.' 113. There was a marriage made between a widow of great wealth and a gentleman of a great name, that had no estate or means. Jack Roberts said, "That marriage was like a black pudding; the one brought blood, and the other brought suet and oatmeal."* 125. Augustus Caesar would say; "That he wondered that Alexander feared he should want work, having no more to conquer; as if it were not as hard a matter to keep as to conquer." 134. The Romans, when they spake to the people, were wont to stile them ye Romans; when commanders in war spake to their army, they stiled them, my soldiers. There was a mutiny in Caesar's army, and somewhat the soldiers would have had, yet they would not declare themselves in it, but only demanded a mission, or discharge, though with no intention it should be granted but knowing that Caesar had at that time great need of their services, thought by that means to wrench him to their other desires: whereupon with one cry they asked mission. Caesar, after silence made, said; "I for my part, ye Romans." This title did actually speak them to be dismissed: which voice they had no sooner heard, but they mutinied again; and would not suffer him to go on with his speech, until he had called them by the name of his soldiers: and so with that one word he appeased the sedition. 137. Diogenes begging, as divers philosophers then used, did beg more of a prodigal man than of the rest which were present. Whereupon one said to him; "See your baseness, that when you find a liberal mind, you will take most of him." "No," said Diogenes, "but I mean to beg of the rest again." 138, Jason the Thessalian was wont to say, *This is omitted in the Resuscitatio. 66 "that some things must be done unjustly, that many things may be done justly.' 139. Sir Nicholas Bacon being keeper of the seal, when Queen Elizabeth, in progress, came to his house at Redgrave, and said to him, "My lo', what a little house you have gotten?" said, "Madam, my house is well, but it is you that have made me too great for my house." 149. Croesus said to Cambyses, "That peace was better than war; because in peace the sons did bury their fathers, but in the wars the fathers did bury their sons."* 158. Philip, Alexander's father, gave sentence against a prisoner what time he was drowsy, and seemed to give, small attention. The prisoner, after sentence was pronounced, said, "I appeal." The king, somewhat stirred, said, "To whom do you appeal?" The prisoner answered, " From Philip when he gave no ear, to Philip when he shall give ear." 159. The same Philip maintained arguments with a musician in points of his art, somewhat peremptorily, but the musician said to him, "God forbid, sir, your fortune were so hard that you should know these things better than myself." 167. Cato Major would say, "That wise men learnt more by fools, than fools by wise men." 168. When it was said to Anaxagoras, "The Athenians have condemned you to die" he said again, "And Nature them." 181. One of the seven was wont to say, "That laws were like cobwebs; where the small flies were caught, and the great broke through." 191. There was a law made by the Romans against the bribery and extortion of the governors of provinces. Cicero saith in a speech of his to the people, "That he thought the provinces would petition to the state of Rome to have that law repealed. For," saith he, "before the governors did bribe and extort as much as was sufficient for themselves; but now they bribe and extort as much as may be enough not only for themselves, but for the judges, and jurors, and magistrates." 193. Pyrrhus, when his friends congratulated to him his victory over the Romans, under the conduct of Fabricius, but with great slaughter of his own side, said to them again, "Yes, but if we have such another victory, we are undone." 194. Cineas was an excellent orator and statesman, and principal friend and counsellor to Pyrrhus; and falling in in*This was omitted in the Resuscitatio. VOL. 1. G ward talk with him, and discerning the king's endless ambition, Pyrrhus opened himself unto him, that he intended first a war upon Italy, and hoped to achieve it; Cineas asked him, "Sir, what will you do then?" "Then," said he, "we will attempt Sicily." Cineas said, "Well, sir, what then?" Said Pyrrhus, "If the gods favour us, we may conquer Africa and Carthage." "What then, Sir," saith Cineas. "Nay, then," saith Pyrrhus, we may take our rest, and sacrifice and feast every day, and make merry with our friends." "Alas, sir," said Cineas," may we not do so now, without all this ado?" 66 199. Themistocles said of speech," That it was like arras, that spread abroad shews fair images, but contracted is but like packs."* 200. Bresquet, jester to Francis I. of France, did keep a calendar of fools, wherewith he did use to make the king sport, telling him ever the reason why he put any one into his calendar. When Charles V., emperor, upon confidence of the noble nature of Francis, passed through France, for the appeasing of the rebellion of Gaunt, Bresquet put him into his calendar. The king asked him the cause. He answered, "Because you have suffered at the hands of Charles the greatest bitterness that ever prince did from another, nevertheless he would trust his person into your hands." "Why, Bresquet," said the king, "what wilt thou say, if thou seest him pass back in as great safety, as if he marched through the midst of Spain?" Saith Bresquet, "Why, then, I will put him out, and put you in." 203. When peace was renewed with the French, in England, divers of the great councillors were presented from the French with jewels: the Lord Henry Howard, being then earl of Northampton, and a councillor, was omitted. Whereupon the king said to him, "My lord, how happens it that you have not a jewel as well as the rest?" My lord answered accord. ing to the fable in Æsop; " Non sum Gallus, itaque non reperi gemmam."+ 206. Cosmos duke of Florence was wont to say of perfidious friends, "that we read, that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends." 240. There was a politic sermon that had no divinity in *This was omitted in the Resuscitatio. I am not a cock [the word signifies also a Gaul or Frenchman], therefore I have found no precious stone. it, was preached before the king. The king, as he came forth, said to Bishop Andrews, "Call you this a sermon ?" The bishop answered, "And it please your majesty, by a charitable construction, it may be a sermon."* 261. The Lady Paget, that was very private with Queen Elizabeth, declared herself much against her match with Monsieur. After Monsieur's death, the queen took extreme grief, at least as she made show, and kept within her bed-chamber and one ante-chamber for three weeks' space, in token of mourning; at last she came forth into her privy-chamber, and admitted her ladies to have access to her, and amongst the rest my Lady Paget presented herself with a smiling countenance. The queen bent her brows, and seemed to be highly displeased, and said to her, " Madam, you are not ignorant of my extreme grief, and do you come to me with a countenance of joy?" My Lady Paget answered, "Alas! and may it please your majesty, it is impossible for me to be absent from you for three weeks, but that when I see you, I must look cheerfully." "No, no," said the queen, not forgetting her former averseness to the match, you have some other conceit in it, tell me plainly." My lady answered, "I must obey you: it is this. I was thinking how happy your majesty was, in that you married not Monsieur; for seeing you take such thought for his death, being but your friend; if he had been your husband, sure it would have cost you your life." 66 262. Sir Edward Dyer, a grave and wise gentleman, did much believe in Kelly the alchemist, that he did indeed the work, and made gold; insomuch that he went into Germany, where Kelly then was, to inform himself more fully thereof. After his return, he dined with my Lord of Canterbury, where at that time was at the table Dr. Brown the physician. They fell in talk of Kelly. Sir Edward Dyer turning to the archbishop said, "I do assure your grace, that that I shall tell you is truth, I am an eye-witness thereof; and if I had not seen it, I should not have believed it. I saw Master Kelly put of the base metal into the crucible; and after it set a little upon the fire, and a very small quantity of the medicine put in, and stirred with a stick of wood, it came forth in great proportion, perfect gold; to the touch, to the hammer, to the test." Mylord archbishop said, "You had need take heed of what you say, Sir Edward Dyer, for here is an infidel at the board." Sir Edward Dyer said again pleasantly, “I *This was omitted in the Resuscitatio. would have looked for an infidel sooner in any place than at your grace's table." "What say you, Dr. Brown?" saith the bishop. Dr. Brown answered, after his blunt and huddling manner. "The gentleman hath spoken enough for me." "Why," saith the bishop, "what hath he said?" "Marry," saith Dr. Brown," he said, he would not have believed it, except he had seen it, and no more will I." 273. Dr. Laud said, "That some hypocrites and seeming mortified men, that held down their heads like bulrushes, were like the little images that they place in the very bowing of the vaults of churches, that look as if they held up the church, but are but puppets." The following are from the small additional number published by Tenison in the Baconiana, which may also be confidently received as genuine : 5. Queen Elizabeth seeing Sir Edward in her garden, looked out at her window, and asked him in Italian, "What does a man think of when he thinks of nothing?" Sir Edward, who had not had the effect of some of the queen's grants so soon as he had hoped and desired, paused a little; and then made answer, Madam, he thinks of a woman's promise." The queen shrunk in her head; but was heard to say, "Well, Sir Edward, I must not confute you." Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor. 66 25. The Lord Bacon was wont to commend the advice of the plain old man at Buxton, that sold besoms; a proud lazy young fellow came to him for a besom upon trust; to whom the old man said, "Friend, hast thou no money? borrow of thy back, and borrow of thy belly, they 'll ne'er ask thee again, I shall be dunning thee every day." 27. Jack Weeks said of a great man, just then dead, who pretended to some religion, but was none of the best livers, "Well, I hope he is in heaven. Every man thinks as he wishes; but if he be in heaven, 't were pity it were known.” Bacon's own arrangement of the Apophthegms being quite changed in the Resuscitatio, it is not very easy to ascertain all the omissions and additions; but as 39 of the original 280 are stated to have been left out, and the entire number (without counting repetitions) in the third edition of the Resuscitatio is 295, it follows that there must be 54 in that which are not in Bacon's own collec |