932f i f r UC-NRLF B 3 SbM flS7 LVGD. Batavorvm Apud Francilcum Aloiardum, £t Adrianum Wijngaerde. ^««^ /<%5- The Verulam Society, PIERCE BUILDING, BOSTON. ^. -ffj ^ f ^ ICs^^ry^f y^U^ fuTu^ liLoA /Ux^^ ^ iL/l ^"^ ^^ U<^^tL/!!k>- //ixAu^6z^ H ^ UxU^VTy vJ-^Ula/o. ^^<^^H/i^ K 1 ^4^ f ^>c I' c FRANCIS BACON AND THE MUSE OF TRAGEDY EDWIN RKKD FOK I'RIVATE CIRCULATION BOSTON (iro. H. Ei.i.is, Printer, 141 Franklin Sireet 1898 FRANCIS BACON AND THE MUSE OF TRAGEDY. Francis Bacon died April 9, 1626. In his last will he made disposition of his unpublished writings as follows : — I desire my executors, especially my brother Constable and also Mr. Bosvile, presently after my decease, to take into their hands all my papers whatsoever, which are either in cabinets, boxes, or presses, and them to seal up till they may at their leisure peruse them. Some time after Bacon's death (probably in 1627), in ac- cordance with this provision of the will, Mr. Bosvile, or (as he is better known) Sir William Boswell, British Minister to Holland, havin^j^ossession of the manuscripts, carried them with him to theHague, and there committed them to his learned friend, Isaac Gruter, for publication. Gruter took the matter in hand, but determined first of all to reissue for Continental readers the works of Ijacon which had previously been prmted in England. Accordingly, in anticipation of his work on the manuscripts, he edited and published the following: : — Sapientia Veterum, Leyden, 1633 Historia Ventorum, " 1638 Essays, " 1641 1644 Novum Organum " 1645 De Augmentis " 1645 History of Henry VII. " 1647 Sylva Sylvarum ■' 1648 New Atlantis 164S Novum Organum 1650 De Augmentis " 1652 M'^S7^6H In 1653 Gruter finally gave to the world, in a book printed at Amsterdam and entitled Fnincisci Bacoui dc Venilauiio Scripta in Naturali ct Univcrsali PJiilosophia, nineteen of the manuscripts with which he had been intrusted by Boswell. In an "Address to the Reader," prefixed to the volume, he tells us that he and B oswell had had many long, confidential interviews on the subject, in consequence of which, as it appears, som e of the papers in the collection were, for reasons not given, withheld from the public. The exact statement is as follows : — "~ . All these hitherto unpublished writings you owe, dear reader, to the most noble William Boswell, to whom they were devised by Bacon him- self, together with others of a political and moral nature, which are now, by gift of the deceased, in my private keeping, and which are not to be printed for a long time to come.* That Gruter regarded these reserved papers, whatever they were, as important, and that he was compelled against his will to keep them back in the dark, we know beyond a doubt; for on March 20, 1655, he wrote to Sir William Rawley, Bacon's old chaplain and amanuensis in London, a letter in which he expressed great impatience because he was not permitted to publish them. He said : — At present I will restrain my impatient desires, in the hope of seeing some day t hose things which, now committed to faithful privacy, await the time wlien they may safely see the light and not be stilled in their birth.f What Was the nature of that secret ? What was discov- ered among Bacon's private papers after his death, which his executors were unwilling, but which Isaac Gruter, the last- known custodian of the papers, was impatient to make public ? * For a copy of Gruter's "Address to the Reader," in tlie uriginal Latin, with tlie sentence translated above, in italics, see Appendix A. t We give this sentence in l.atin, alsu, as (jruter wrote it ; Nhhc vota impatientis dcsiilerii sKsteniabo sfie iililco ; freely published to the world, and the eso teric, or acroa- matic, which they did not publish at all, but which they reserved in private for their disciples. Bacon, having no disciples, says in effect : — I intend to preserve the same distinction as the ancients did, but I shall apply it differently. I shall publish my philosophy by two differ- ent methods simultaneously.— one in a book or set of books openly for all, and another in a book or set of books _enigmaticallj_fprj_£gw, or (to use his own words) for those only who have or may have i ^n the fut ure "sufficient sharpness or discernment to pierce the veil." In corroboration of this view, we quote, in the first place, a passage from Bacon's Temporis Partus Masculus, in which this very mode of delivering knowledge enigmatically is treated thus : — By this mode, the most legitimate of all, my son, I may perhaps ex- tend the now deplorably narrow limits of man's dominion over nature to the utmost bounds. " But what," you will ask, " is this legitimate mode ? " I hear you say to me, " Lay aside artifice and circumlocution, and explain your design just as it is, that I may be able to form a judg- ment on it for myself." I would, my dearest son, that matters were in such a state with you as to render this possible. Do you suppose that when the entrances to the minds of all men are obstructed with the darkest errors — and those deep-seated and, as it were, burnt-in — smooth, even spaces can be found in those minds, so that the light of truth can b^ accurately reflected from them .■* A new pr oc ess must b e instituted, by which we may insinuate ourselves into natures so disor- dered and closed up. For, as the delusions of the insane are removed by art and ingenuity, but aggravated by opposition and violence, so jTiust we choose methods here that are adapted to the general insanity. Indeed, it is sufficient if my method of deliverv in question be ingenu- ous, if it afford no occasion for error, if it conciliate belief, if it repel the injuries of time, and if it be suited to proper and reasonable readers. Whether it have these qualities or not, I appeal to the future to show.* Here, then, is Bacon's own description in general terms of one of the two methods, the secret one, adopted by him for communicating his philosophy to the public. He ex- * For the original Latin, see Appendix C. pressly declines to go into particulars in regard to it, to tell exactly what it is, to what kind of writing it will be applied, or whether or not he will put his name to it. We know that by means of it he expected his ideas to steal into men's minds almost imperceptibly, certainly without opposition, and that the full effect of the literature, so produced, would be felt, not at the time in which he wrote, but in after ages.* This repugnance to anything like contention in the work of reform was perhaps the leading trait in Bacon's personal character. He often referred, with great enthusiasm, to the witty saying of Pope Alexander about Charles VIII. 's unre- sisted invasion of Italy, — that the "conqueror came with chalk in his hands to mark up lodging-places for his soldiers, rather than arms to force his way in." If we would under- stand Bacon, we must constantly bear in mind that this was the method by which he sought to conquer the intellectual world. t We now come to what has been for us, and we think it will also be for our readers, a startling revelation. Among Bacon's manuscript papers published for the first time by Gruter in 1653, twenty-seven years after Bacon's death, was one entitled Cogitata et Visa. It contains a rapid sketch of the author's philosophical system, as then in process of development, and part icularly (in the last paragraph) of the secret or enigmatical kind of writing in which an important part of that system was to be embodied.' 'If appears, how- ever, that in this latter and most interesting section Gruter omitted two very significant passages. No notice of the * "The fruits which he anticipated from his philosophy were not only intended for the benefit of all mankind, but were to be gathered in another generation." — Speddiitg, Ellis, and Heath' s edition of Bacon's Works, i. i88. On this point Bacon himself says, " It may truly be objected to me that my philosopliv will require an age, a whole age, to commend it, and very many ages thoroiiglily to establish it." — /V A ugtnentis. t " As Alexander liorgia was wont to say of the expedition of the French to Xaples, ' that they came with chalk in their hands to mark up their lodgings, but not with weapons to break in,' so I like better that entry of truth which comes peaceably, as with chalk to mark up these minds which are capable of lodging and harboring such a guest, than that which forces its way with pugnacity and contention." — /V A tismentis. omissions is given in his book. Indeed, so cleverly was the "work of mutilation performed that for a period of two hun- dred and four years succeeding no suspicion of it was excited in any quarter, though in the interval the paper was trans- lated several times from the original Latin into English and French, precisely as Gruter had printed it. Some time before 1857, however, Mr. Spedding found another manu- script___copy ofthe Cogitata in the library of the Queen's College at Oxford ; and, as this was also undoubtedly gen- uine, having been corrected here and there by Bacon him- self^ he wisely concluded to follow this copy, instead of Gruter's printed form, in the edition he was then preparing for the press. It was when these two publications were compared that the said discrepancies, now for the first time critically examined, became known. Evidently, Mr. Ellis had no knowledge whatever of them, and Mr. Spedding no practical appreciation of their importance, the former quot- ing freely from the immediate context (undoubtedly from Gruter's copy, before the Oxford manuscript was discov- ered), and the latter declaring (apparently on the most cur- sory examination) that the "differences are immaterial." It is hard to understand, except on the suppositions which we have ventured to suggest in parentheses, why these editors did not Jind herein an additional significance in Bacon's "secret," which, even in their blindness, they yet describe as a " new sun before which the * borrowed beams of moon and stars ' were to fade away and disappear." We now offer a translation of the entire paragraph as printed by Messrs. Ellis, Spedding, and Heath, with the omitted passages (never before translated into English) in italics : — He [Bacon] thought, also, that what he has in hand is not mere theory, but a practical undertaking. It lays the foundations, not of any sect or dogma, but of a great and far-reaching benefit to mankind. Therefore, attention must be given, not only to the perfection of the matter, but also (and this is of equal importance) to the communication of it to lO others. But he has observed that men minister to their love of fame and pomp sometimes by publishing and sometimes by concealing the knowl- edge of things which they think they have acquired, particularly those who offer unsound doctrines, which they do in a scanty light, that they may more easily satisfy their vanity. He thought, however, that, while his subject is one that ought not to be tainted with personal ambition or desire of glory, still (unless he were a mere tyro, not knowing the ways of the world and without foresight) he must remember that inveterate errors, like the ravings of lunatics, are overcome by ingenuity and tact, but aggravated by violence and opposition. We must there- fore use prudence, and humor people (as far as we can with simplicity and candor), in order that contradictions may be extinguished before they become inflamed. To this end he is preparing a work on Nature and on the Interpretation of Nature, to abolish errors with the least asperity, and to affect the minds of men without disturbing them. And this he can do the more easily because he will not offer himself as a leader, but will so spread abroad the light of nature that no leader will be needed. But, as time meanwhile glides away, and he has been en- gaged in civil affairs more than he wished, it seemed to be a long work, — especially, considering the uncertainty of life and his o wn impatient desire to make something secure. Therefore, it has appeared to him that a simpler method might be adopted, which, th ough not set forth to the multitude, might yet j)revent so important a matter from being pre- maturely lost. So he thought best, after long considering the subject aiid weighing it carefully, first of all to prepare Tabulae Invenieiidi, or regular forms of inquiry ; in other words, a mass of particulars arranged for the understanding, and to serve, as it were, for an e.xample and almost visible representation of the matter. For nothing else can be devised that would place in a clearer light what is true and what is false, or show more plainly that what is presented is more than words, and must be avoided by any one who either has no confidence in his own scheme or may wish to have bis scheme taken for more than it is worth. Bui when tJtese Tabtilae iHvetiiendi have been put fortli and seen, he does not doubt that the more timid wits will shrink almost itt despair fro?n imitating them with similar productions with other materials or on other subjects ; and they will take so much delight in the specimen gii'en that they will miss the precepts in it. Still, many persons will be led .1 to inyuire into the real meanittg and highest use of these writings, and iji to find the key to their interpretation, and thus more ardently desire, in some degree at least, to acquire the new aspect of nature 7uhich such a key will reveal. But he intends, yielding neither to his own personal aspirations nor to the wishes of others, but keeping steadily in view the success of his undertaking, having shared these writings with some, to 1 1 withhold the rest, until the treatise intended for the people shall be "^published. Nevertheless, he anticipates that some persons of higher and more exalted genius, taking a hint f roni_wlia^ they'observe, will without more aTd^apprehend and master the others of themselves. Foi he is almost of the opinion (as some one has said) that this will be enough for the wise, while more will not be enough for the dull. He will therefore in- termit no part of his undertaking. At the same time he saw that, so far as these writings are concerned, to begin his teaching directly with them would be too abrupt. Something suitable ought to be said by way of preface, and this in the foregoing he thinks he has now done. Besides, he does not wish to conceal this or to impose any rigid fonns of inquiry upon men {after the manner now in I'ogue in the arts) ; but he is assured that, when these productions have all been tested after long use and (as he thinks) with sonie jjidgment, this form of iivvestiga- Jjon, thu s pr oved and e.vhibited by him, will be found the truest cind most .jisefiil. Still, he would not hinder those who liave more leisure than he has or who are free from tjie special difficulties which ahuays beset the %■ piojieer or who are of a more powerful a}id sublime genius from improv- ing on it; for he finds in his own experience that the art of inventing grows by invention itself. Finally, it has seemed to him that, if any good be found in what has been or shall be set forth, it should be dedicated as the fat of the sacri- fice to God, and to men in God's likeness who procure the welfare of mankind by benevolence and true affection.* In this description, written by Bacon (evidently under some kind of restraint) in or about 1608, of his acroamatic or enig- matical writings, we note the following salient points: — 1. They are styled Tabulae Invenicndi. 2. They are said to constitute an "almost v^isible " repre- sentation of that part of the philosophical system to which they pertain. 3. They are designed to show in some subjects the clearest possible distinctions between what is true and what is false. 4. They cannot be imitated by the timorous, especially for the reason that such persons will take so great delight in each specimen given that they will miss the precepts in it. 5. But readers of a more alert genius, or [if we rightly un- * For the original Latin, see Appendix D. 12 derstand the phrase "visible" used in this connection] spec- tators, will suspect the existence of some hidden meanings in these writings, and thus be led to inquire what those mean- ings are and for what high and noble purpose designed. This is called the Key to their Interpretation. 6. The author will be under some kind of temptation to se- cure immediate personal fame or glory in connection with them, and subject also to importunities of friends for the same purpose. 7. These temptations and importunities, however, will be resisted, and the secret, whatever it may be, preserved for future times. 8. Some of these writings were to be withheld from the public until the corresponding treatise, intended to a certain extent to be open and explicit, should be published. 9. They are the most useful forms of inquiry that can be i employed in the ascertainment of truth. 10. Isaac Gruter, the last-known custodian of Bacon's post- humous papers, and the possessor of some important secret which they had revealed to him, and which he had been for- bidden to communicate to the public, carefully excluded from his printed copy of the Cogitata et Visa the passages contain- ing the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth state- ments herein summarized. The omissions were not supplied until 1857, and then only in Latin. Let us review these several points in order : — I. The writings are styled Tabtilae Inveniendi. Bacon divided his great work on Philosophy, the Instauratio Magna, into six parts, the first four of which may be de- scribed as follows : — Part first gives a survey or inventory of the stock of knowl- edge then existing in the world, with a statement of the de- ficiencies found in it. To this part belongs the "Advancement of Learning," particularly the second edition under the title of De Aiiznientis Scientiaruni. Part second treats of the human understanding, and the 13 rules and principles by which it ought to be guided in its researches after truth. Under this head is placed the Xovuin Organmn. Part third brings together, or seeks to bring together, out of every department of nature but one, the widest possible collection of facts, "arranged for the work of the understand- ing," and so classified as to yield to mankind, in Bacon's ex- pectation, not only a better knowledge of the laws of the universe, but also a larger practical control over them. The writings in this division are the Sylva Sylrantin, " History of the Winds," " History of Dense and Rare," " History of Life and Death," and some others. The author's investigations into the nature of heat and motion, though produced also by way of examples in the Novum Organnni, come properly into the system here. These compositions are called Tabulae Invcnicndi, or "Tables of Discovery," be- cause they are inquisitions into facts and because they have a certain regularity of form. The Syha Sylvaruni, for instance, is separated into ten centuries (chapters), so called because each century is itself separated into one hundred distinct paragraphs. The author's investigations into the nature of heat, sound, and motion, are treated in a similar manner. The books of the Bible, being in chapter and verse numerically arranged, are tabulae, and so are dramas Tn acts and scenes. Part fourth was also designed, like the third, for an in- quisition into facts, but, as we shall show, into facts of a mental and moral nature exclusively. Strange as it may seem, however, not a single line, except a brief preface en- titled Scala Intellectus, can be found in Bacon's acknowl- edged works that belongs under this head.* And yet we know, from several references to it made by Bacon else- where, that he considered it a necessary and integral part of his philosophical system. For instance, he says in the Novum Orgauum : — * " Of the fourth part not a fragment has come down to us." — Spedding^, v. 174. 14 It may also be asked whether I speak of natural philosophy only, or whether I mean that the other sciences, logic, ethics, and politics, should be carried on by this method. Now I certainly mean what I have said to be understood of them all. . . . For I form a history and ' f Tabulae Invenieiidi for anger, fear, shame, and the like, for matters political, and again for the" operation of memory and judgment, not less than for heat or cold or light or vegetation. \ In the Fihtin Labyrinthi he is even more specific in his description of these moral and political Talnilae Inveniciidi ; for he there gives a list of thirteen classes of them, four of which are entitled as follows : " tabulae concerning animal passions ; tabulae concerning sense and the objects of sense ; tabulae concerning the affections of the mind ; and tabulae concerning the mind itself and its faculties." Where, now, are these writings that deal with the passions and affections of the human heart, " with anger, fear, shame, and the like," arranged in divisions, more or less regular in form, and numbered } They are missing ; but that they were actually composed, and that they formed, or were designed to form, the fourth part of the fusiauratio Magua, itself also missing, we have every reason to believe from what Bacon himself says of the fourth part : — Of these the tirst is to set forth examples of inquiry and invention \_tabulae inveniendi'\ according to my method, exhibited by anticipation in some particular subjects ; choosing such subjects as are at once the most noble in themselves among those under inquiry, and most different one from another, that there may be an example of every kind. I do not speak of those examples which are joined to the several precepts and rules by way of illustration (for of these I have given plenty in the second part of the work); but I mean actual types and models, by which the entire process of the mind and the whole fabric and order of inven- tion from beginning to end, in certain subjects, and those various a7id remarkable, should be set, as it were, before the eyes. For I remem- ber that in mathematics it is easy to follow the demonstration when yo2t have a diagram before you : whereas, without that help, all appears involved and more subtle than it really is. To devices of this kind — being, in fact, nothing more than an application of the second part in detail and at large — the fourth part of the work is davoted.— Distributio Operis {Spedding, Ellis, and Heath, viii. 51). (Italics our own.) 15 It is practically certain, therefore, that Bacon left behind him writings on moral a nd political subjects which for some reason were not openly acknowledged, which were arranged in regular or numbered divisions, which were devoted to the interpretation of human nature, and which, under the title of Tabulae Invenicndi, belonged to the fourth part (now generally considered either unwritten or lost) of his great philosophical work. That these were not the tabulae on heat and motion he expressly states in the passage we have quoted from the Distribiitio Opcris. These latter belonged to the third part, that is, to the interpretation of physical nature. 2. They are said to constitute an " almost visible " repre- soitation of that part of the philosophical system to ivhicJi they pertain. This is in exact accordance with Bacon's description of the drama as " visible history," — " Draniatica est vclnti his- toria spectabilis'' {De Augnientis) In another tract Bacon describes these writings as tanqnam vivas, a phrase which Mr. Spedding translates, "as it were, animate," and Mr. Montagu, by the word "living." 3. They are designed to shoxv in some stibjects the clearest possible distinctions betzvcen what is true and zvJiat is false. In the last analysis, experience is our sole guide in the conduct of life. Whatever in the long-run makes for happi- ness is right. Whatever in the long-run makes for misery is wrong. In most affairs, however, we can judge results only after several generations of men, one after another, have worked them out. Hence, for our criterion in many given cases we must go to history. But history can be abridged and made to teach in a few hours artificially, on the mimic stage, what in actual life may require, in the language of Bacon, "ambages of time." It is perhaps this special test of truth to which the writings of Bacon, now under consider- ation, must be referred. Bacon himself (as above) compares this mode of investi- //^-^i^-fh^h-Tt^ i6 gating truth with the use of diagrams in mathematics. What better illustration could there be of the certainty with which the course of envy, for example, is traced out, " before our eyes" and "from beginning to end," in "Julius Caesar," * or that of jealousy in " Othello" ? 4. r/ity CiViHot bt- imitated by the timorous, especially for the reason that such persons will take so i^reat delight in each specimen given that they zvill miss the precepts in it. This remarkable prognostication, so exactly fulfilled, of the fate of the philosophy in the writings referred to, was made by Bacon in 1608, but not printed in any form (as before shown) until 1857. And yet Miss Delia Bacon, demanding to know in 1856 what had become of these same writings, and having no access, it is believed, to the manuscript of the Cogitata ct Visa, inquired, "Did he [Bacon] make so deep a summer in his verse that the track of the precept was lost in it ? " t 5. />/// readers, or spectators, of a more alert genius will snspect the existence of some_ hidden meanings in these torit- ings, and thns be led to inqnire what those meanings are and for what high and noble purpose designed. This is called the Key to their Interpretation. Notwithstanding Bacon's own confession that a part of his philosophical system was enigmatic, no one has yet discov- ered in his acknowledged works any hidden meanings what- ever. :^'~— 6. The author zvill be under some hind of temptation to se- cure immediate personal fame or glory in connection loith them, and subject also to importunities of friends for the same purpose. This cannot apply to any of Bacon's known works ; tor *Oii this subject see T. S. K. Dixon's aitiiiirable work. eiUitleil " Kr.iin.is li.Koii and his Shakespeare," pp. 155-303, Chicago, Sargent Publishing Company, iS*)5. For a very able and scholarly exposition of the theory underlying this treatise, see also Henry J. Kuggles's " The I'lays of Shakespeare, Founded on Literary Forms," Boston, Hough- ton, Mirtlin ^ Co , iSi)5. Mr. Kuggles is a retired lawyer of New Vork, of .ndv.\nccd age, and a profound student of the philosophy in .Shakespeare. t This remarkable case of divination was pointed out to us by Augustus Hcuienway, Fsc|. 17 Bacon took great i^ains to secure for them the widest pub- licity in his own time, dedicating them successively to mem- bers of the royal family, presenting them to influential friends, and depositing copies, as soon as printed, in public libraries. 7. These temptations and importunities , however, will he resisted; and the secret, whatever it may he, preserved for future times. The reason for this secrecy is stated in the plainest pos- sible manner. It was because Bacon sought entrance into men's minds, as Charles VIII. did into Italy, ^vithout oppo- sition, and therefore, it may be inferred, wished to avoid any unnecessary prejudice that might have arisen from the form of the writings best adapted for his purpose. " I shall adhere," he says in substance, "to my preconceived plan, whatever its effect on my personal fortunes may be." Of course, if the form of the writings were in any manner deemed objectionable at that time, this fact would naturally have strengthened the motives, if it did not indeed originate them, operating against premature disclosure. It should furthermore be noted that Bacon admonishes every one doing this work to do it as he did, " not only with- out hope of private emolument," * but also " under a mask." t We have his repeated assurances that he expected others to carry it~bn, perhaps even to greater perfection, in due time after his death. " My own experience teaches me," he said, " that the art of inventing grows by invention itself." * " I am not hunting for fame nor establishing a sect. Indeed, to receive any private emolu- ment from so great an undertaking I hold to be both ridiculous and base." — Spedding, Edit, and Heath, vi. 450. t " Privata negotia personatus administret." — De Morilms Interpretu, Ibid., \\\. 367, We are not surprised to nnd Mr. Spedding commenting on the above (in a foot-note; as fol- lows : " I cannot say that I clearly understand the sentence." Mr. Spedding did not see fit, how- ever, in the fourteen large volumes of his edition of Bacon's Life, Letters, and Works, to trans- late the above passage into English. The plain meaning is that the personal identity of the interpreter should be concealed, or (more literally; the int^ifpreter should not be known as such in his daily life. He should bear an assumed name. This may remind our readers of Sir Toby Mattliew's famous postscript, ap- pended to a lener written to Bacon at or about the time the first .Shakespeare folio was in press; namely, that his lordship was the most prodigious wit in all the world, th ough know n by th« name of another. i8 8. Some of these zvritings were to be withheld from the public until the corresponding treatise, intended to a certain extent to be open and explicit, should be brought out. The Novum Orgajtum was published in 1620. It was be- gun, Dr. Rawley says, at least twelve years before that date ; that is, on or before 1608, at which time, also, the Cogitata et Visa was written. It appears, then, that in 1608 some of the enigmatical writings belonging to the fourth part of Bacon's philosophical system had already been published, but that the remainder were to be withheld until some work of a different kind, but connected with them, had also first been published. This work must have been the Novum Orga)ium, for Bacon himself says (in a paragraph above quoted) that the writings of' the fourth part of his philosoph- ical system are "nothing more than an application of the second part [that is, of the Novum Orqan?iui\ in detail and at large." The publication of the reserved writings was to be made, therefore, after 1620. The plays included in the first Shakespeare folio number thirty-six, of v/hich twenty- five were in existence previously to 1608. Of these latter, however, sixteen only had been printed on or before that date : the others were " withheld," for reasons hitherto absolutely unknown and not even conjectured, u ntil 162 ;^, when they appeared for the first time in print.* Moreover, Bacon distinctly asserts, in the paragraph al- ready quoted from the Distributio Operis, that he should set forth his method by some examples " in anticipation " (that is, in advance of the publication of the Novum Or- ganum) ; that for these examples he should " choose such subjects as are at once the most noble in themselves" and such, also, as would enable him to produce "actual types and models " of human life. He further asserts that he *" Troihis and Cressida" appears at first sight to be an exreption to this statement, for it was printed in i6og. On the contrary, it is a confirmation, the pubHslier stating in the preface that it had " escaped from grand possessors." It was printed against the author's will. Mr. Charles Knight says that this same restraining influence of some person or persons of high rank succeeded in keeping every other new Shakespearean i>la^ oiij^of type. between ii[)o S and j 620y but he does not attempt to account for it. " Othello'' appeared in quarto in 1622. 19 should by no means fail to produce these "types and models," * and that, when produced, they would belong to the fourth part of his philosophical system. Where are they ? When were they published ? Is a line of them, in prose, known to exist ? 9. TJiey are the most useful forms of inquiry that can be employed in the ascertainment of truth. The most potent source of influence in the world, either for good or ill, is example. This comes to us generally, of course, in actual life, but oftentimes with far more force and impressiveness on the stage of a theatre. Bacon especially commends play-acting as a "means of educating men to virtue," and notices the fact that " minds are more open to impressions when people are gathered together than when they are alone." This he pronounces "one of the great se- crets of nature." 10. Isaac Gruter, the last-knoivn custodian of Bacon's post- \ humous papers, and the possessor of some important secret which they had revealed to him, and i^'hich he had been for- bidden to communicate to the public, carefully excluded from his printed copy of the Cogitata et l^isa the passages containing the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth statements herein summarised. The omissions were not supplied till 1857, and then only in Latin. Whatpnow, was the nature of these writings .' Mr. Sped- ding says that at one period " Bacon thoughtof _throwing the exposition of his argument into a djgi natic form ." f Can " there be any doubt that he actualFy did this .' If so, one additional circumstance, now for the first time adverted to, in Gruter's mysterious work, will, we are confident, set it definitely and forever at rest. In 1645 Gruter published at Leyden an edition of Bacon's De Augmentis, and inserted in it, in accordance with a cus- * " He will therefore intermit no part of his undertaking," — one of the passages omitted by Gruter in his printed copy of the Cogitata et Visa. t Works of Bacon, \\\.. 363. 20 torn of the time, a pictoria lallegory as a fr ontispiece. We reproduce this picture as our own frontispiece, also. In it Bacon appears seated at a table with a large open volume before him. He is pointing to this volume with the index finger of his right hand. With his left arm extended he is restraining a female figure intent upon carrying a clasped book to a temple, evidently the Temple of Fame, on a dis- tant height. This figure is clad in a beast's skin, and is therefore, we think, the Muse of Tragedy, the word tragedy being derived from the two Greek words rpayos and ^h-q, meaning goat and song (literally, goat-song). In ancient Greece the goat was sacred to the drama. At every per- formance in the theatre, actors and even members of the chorus wore goat-skins. May we not interpret this allegory as follows .' Bacon is here represented as the author of two works : one, open and acknowledged ; the other, enigmatical, dramatic, and unac- knowledged. The restraint exercised upon Gruter in his desire to publish some literary secret about Bacon is sug- gested by the struggling figure we see with a book, and the nature of the secret itself, not only by the identity of Bacon's companion in the picture, dressed in a goat's skin, but also by the evident relationship existing between the two books, — respectively body and soul of the Baconian philosophy. APPENDIX A. LECTORI S. ISAACUS CKUTERUS. Quae tibi damns Amice Lector, ad Universalem et Naturalem Philoso- phiam spectantia, ex Mauuscriptis Codicibus, quos accurate recensuerat et varie emendarat author, me amanuense apographa sunt. Sola Bodlei epistola, quae ad examen vocat ' Cogitata et Visa,' per me ex Anglico facta Latina est, atque ex opere epistolarum Baconi, qus tali idiomate circumferuntur, hue translata ob materia^ cognationem. Titulus quern frons libri pnvtert et totum complectitur opusculi in varias dissertationes secti argumentum, ab ipso Verulamio est; quem singula? exhibent paging ex rerum tractatarum serie distinctum, a me, ut minus confund- eret quasrentem Lectorem indiculi defectus. Quicquid sequitur, ab eo loco cujus inscriptio est in ipso contextu ' Indicia vera de interpretatione naturae' usque ad tinem, donavi eo nomine ' Impetus Philosophici,' quod ex familiaribus Viri magni colloquiis notassem, cum de istis chartis mecum ageret. Non aliter enim appellare solebat quicquid prioribus per titulos suos separatis connecteretur ; ne quis imperfectum statim suspicetur quod defervescente Impetu non videt trahere syrma prolix* tractationis. Omnia autem Ikbc inedita {nisi quod in editis paucissimis vara exstoit q uarundain ex his mcditationwn vestigia) debes. Amice Lector, Nobilissimo Guil. Boswello, aa qjiem ex ipsiiis Baconi legato pervenerant, cum aliis in politico et morali genere elaboratis, qiicc nunc ex dono ror imKdpiTnv penes me servantur non diu prcinenda. Boswello inquam, viro nobilitate, prudentia insigni, varia eruditione, humanitate summa, et-€)ratori olim apud Batavos Anglo; cujus sancta mihi memoria est. Vale et conatibus nostris fave, qui mox plura daturi sumus Baconi- ana latine versa, maximam partem inedita; et av'k'ku^ijv adornamus episto- larum quas vir eminentissimus Hugo Grotius scripsit ad Belgas, Germanos, Italos, Suecos, Danos, Gallis exjeptis, quas Clarissimus Sarravius Senator Parisiensis edidit. Rogantur itaque in quorum manus hajc inciderint, ut, si quid ejus notae habent, aut sciunt unde haberi queat, ad typographum transmittant, et significent, caeteris jam coUectis aggregandum. APPENDIX B. Sequitur aliud Methodi discrinien, priori intentione affine, re ipsa fere contrarium. Hoc enim habet utraque Methodus commune, ut vulgus auditorum a selectis separet; illud oppositum, quod prior introducit 22 moduni tradendi solito apertiorem ; altera, de qua jam dicemus, occulti- orem. Sit igitur discrimen tale, ut altera Methodus sit Exoterica altera Acroamatica. Etenim quam antiqui adhibuerunt prascipue in edendis libris differentiam, earn nos transferemus ad ipsum modum tra- dendi. Ouinetiam Acroamatica ipsa apud veteres in usu fuit, atque prudenter et cum judicio adhibita. At Acroamaticum sive ^nigmati- cum istud dicendi genus posterioribus temporibus dehonestatum est a plurimis, qui eo tanquam lumine ambiguo et fallaci abusi sunt ad merces suas adulterinas extrudendas. Intentio autem ejus ea esse videtur, ut traditionis involucris vulgus (profanum scilicet) a secretis scientiarum summoveatur ; atque illi tantum admittaiitur, qui aut per manus magis- trorum parabolarum interpretationem nacti sunt, aut proprio ingenii acumine et subtilitate intra velum penetrare possint. — De Augmentis Scieniiarum, Liber VI. APPENDIX C. Ita sim (fili) itaque humani in universum imperii angustias nunquam satis deploratas ad datos tines proferam (quod niihi ex humanis solum in votis est), ut tibi optima tide, atque ex altissima mentis me^t providen- tia, et exploratissimo rerum et animorum statu, liiec traditurus sim [sum] mode omnium maxime legitimo. " (2uis tandem (inquies) est modus ille legitimus.' Quin tu mitte artes et ambages, rem exhibe nudam nobis, ut judicio nostro uti possimus." Atque utinam (fili suavissime) eo loco sint res vestra?, ut hoc fieri posset. An tu censes, cum omnes omnium mentium aditus ac meatus obscurissimis idolis, iisque alte ha;rentibus et inustis, obscessi et obstructi sint, veris rerum el nativis radiis sinceras et politas areas adesse ? Nova est ineunda ratio, qua mentibus obductissimis illabi possimus. Ut enim phreneti- corum deliramenta arte et ingenio subvertuntur, vi et contentione effe- rantur, omnino ita in hac universali insania mos gerendus est. ... Ut modus innoccns sit, di gst, nulli prorsus errori ansam et occasionem pra;beat? iit vim quandam insitam et innatam habeat tum ad fidem con- ciliandam, tum ad pellendas injurias temporis, adeo ut scientia ita tra- dita veluti planta vivax et vegeta quotidie serpat et adolescat? ut ido- neum et legitimum sibi lectorem seponat, ct (|uasi adoptet .^ Atque Invc omnia pntstitcrim necne, ad tcmpus futurum provoco. — Temporis Par- tus .Mascu/us, 1 1 . 23 APPENDIX D. Cogitavit et illud ; rem quam agit, non npinionem, scd opus esse; eamque non secta? alicujus aut placiti, sed utilitatis et amplitudinis im- mensae fundamenta jacere. Itaque de re non modo perficienda, sed et communicanda et tradenda (qua par est cura) cogitationem suspicien- dam esse. Reperit autem homines in rerum scientia quam sibi viden- tur adepti, interdum proferenda, interdum occultanda, famae et ostenta- tioni servire : quin et eos potissimum qui minus solida proponunt, solere ea qune afferunt obscura et ambigua luce venditare, ut facilius vanitati suae velificare possint. Putare autem, se id tractare quod ambitione aliqua aut affectatione polluere minime dignum sit : sed tamen neces- sario eo decurrendum esse (nisi forte rerum et animorum valde imperi- tus esset, et non explorato viam inire vellet) ut satis meminerit, invete- ratos semper errores, tanquam phreneticorum deliramenta, arte et in- genio subverti, vi et contentione efferari. Itaque prudentia ac morige- ratione quadam utendum (quanta cum simplicitate et candore conjungi potest), ut contradictiones ante extinguantur quam excitentur. Ad hunc finem parare se de naturae interpretatione atque de natura ipsa opus, quod errores minima asperitate destruere, et ad hominum sensus non turbide accedere possit ; quod et facilius fore, quod se non pro duce gesturus, sed ex natura ipsa lucem praebiturus et sparsurus sit, ut duce postea non sit opus. Sed cum tempus interea fugiat, et ipse rebus civilibus plus quam vellet immistus esset, id longum videri : praccertim cum incerta vita? cogitaret, et aliquid in tuto collocare festinaret. Venit ei itaque in mentem, posse aliquid simplicius proponi, quod in vulgus non editum, saltern tamen ad rei tarn salutaris abortum arcendum satis esse possit.-^ Atque diu et acriter rem cogitanti et perpendenti, ante omnia visum est ei, Tabulas Inveniendi, sive legitimae Inquisitionis formulas in aliquibus subjectis, proponi tanquam ad exemplum, et op- eris descriptionem fere visibilem. Neque enim aliud quicquam reperiri, quod aut vera viae aut errorum devia in clariore luce ponere, aut ea quae afferuntur nihil minus quam verba esse evidentius demonstrare possit : neque etiam quod magis fugiendum esset ab homine qui aut rei dififideret aut eam in magis accipi aut celebrari cuperet. Tabulis autem propositis et 7'isis, iion a?/ibi\;erc quiii timidiora iiigenia subitiira sit (jiicrdaiii hcesi- tatio et fere despcratio de similihtis Talnilis in aliis inateriis sive sub- jectis conjiciendis ; atque ita sibi in exenip/o g?atuiaturos ut etiam prcE- cepta desiderent.* Plurimoruni autem studia ad usum Tabtilarutn supremufn et ultimum, et clavetn ipsam interpretationis poscendam * Cicero and Cxsar botli use tlie verb desidere to express simple loss. The strong adversa- tive with which the following sentence begins plainly shows that such is its meaning here. 24 arrecta fore : ac fmtlto nj-deJitins ad no-i'a^i fade??: iiatnrcr saltcni aliqua ex parte insendatn^ quce per hujusuiodi clavciJi resignata sit et in conspcctuDi data. I'^criuii sibi in animo esse, iiec propria 7iec alionan desiderio servienti, sed rei cojiceptet cofisnlenti, Tahulis cum aliqtiibus co?fi7)77inicatis, reliqua cohibere, do7iec tractatus qui ad popuhi7)i pcrti- 7iet edatur. Et tamen animo providere, ingenia firmiora et sublimiora. etiam absc|ue majoribus auxiliis, ab oblatis monitos, reliqua ex se et spera- turos et potituros esse. Fere enim se in ea esse opinione, nempe (quod quispiam dixit) prudentibus ha?c satis fore, imprudentibus autem ne plura quidem. Se nihiIo7/n7ms de cogitatis tiil i7itcr7>iiss7iru7/i. Q7tod autem ad tabulas ipsas attifiet, visum est nimis abruptum esse ut ab ipsis docendi initium sumatur. Itaque idonea qua;dam prrefari opor- tuisse ; quod et jam se fecisse arbitratur, nee universa qua^ hucusque dicta sunt alio tendere. Hoc i7is7/per velle ho7ni7ies 7t07i latere, 7i2tUis inve7iie7tdi for7}7uUs {77707 ett7i77C ap7id ho7ni7ies et artcs recepto) 7teccssita- te7n i777ponere ; sed certe 077inibus perte7itatis, ex 777ulto usu et 7ion77ulio ut putat J7(dicio, ea777 q7ia777 proba^int et exhib7iit i77q7iirei7di forfH7ila77t verissiina7n atque 7itilissi77iatn esse. iVec tamen se officere q7iomi7ius ii qui otio 777agis ab7mda7it, a7