THE

CHARGE

OF

SIR FRANCIS BACON, KNIGHT,

THE KING'S ATTORNEY-GENERAL,

AGAINST

MR. LUMSDEN, SIR JOHN WENTWORTH, AND SIR JOHN HOLLES,

For Scandal and traducing of the king's justice in the proceedings against WESTON in the Star-Chamber, 10 November, 1615.

THE offence wherewith I shall charge the three offenders at the bar, is a misdemeanor of a high nature, tending to the defacing and scandal of justice in a great cause capital. The particular charge is this:

The king amongst many his princely virtues is known to excel in that proper virtue of the imperial throne, which is justice. It is a royal virtue, which doth employ the other three cardinal virtues in her service: wisdom to discover, and discern nocent or innocent; fortitude to prosecute and execute; temperance, so to carry justice as it be not passionate in the pursuit, nor confused in involving persons upon light suspicion, nor precipitate in time. For this his Majesty's virtue of justice God hath of late raised an occasion, and erected as it were a stage or theatre, much to his honour, for him to shew it, and act it in the pursuit of the untimely death of Sir Thomas Overbury, and therein cleansing the land from blood. For, my lords, if blood spilt pure doth cry to heaven in God's ears, much more blood defiled with poison.

This great work of his Majesty's justice, the more excellent it is, your lordships will soon conclude the greater is the offence of any that have sought to affront it or traduce it. And therefore, before I descend unto the charge of these offenders, I will set before your

lordships the weight of that which they have sought to impeach; speaking somewhat of the general crime of impoisonment, and then of the particular circumstances of this fact upon Overbury; and thirdly and chiefly, of the king's great and worthy care and carriage in this business.

The offence of impoisonment is most truly figured in that device or description, which was made of the nature of one of the Roman tyrants, that he was lutum sanguine maceratum, mire mingled or cemented with blood: for as it is one of the highest offences in guiltiness, so it is the basest of all others in the mind of the offenders. Treasons magnum aliquid spectant: they aim at great things; but this is vile and base. I tell your lordships what I have noted, that in all God's book, both of the Old and New Testament, I find examples of all other offences and offenders in the world, but not any one of an impoisonment or an impoisoner. I find mention of fear of casual impoisonment: when the wild vine was shred into the pot, they came complaining in a fearful manner; Master, mors in olla. And I find mention of poisons of beasts and serpents; the poison of asps is under their lips. But I find no example in the book of God of impoisonment. I have sometime thought of the words in the psalm, let their table be made a snare. Which certainly is most true of impoisonment; for the table, the daily bread, for which we pray, is turned to a deadly snare but I think rather that that was meant of the treachery of friends that were participant of the same table.

But let us go on. It is an offence, my lords, that hath the two spurs of offending; spes perficiendi, and spes celandi: it is easily committed, and easily

concealed.

It is an offence that is tanquam sagitta nocte volans; it is the arrow that flies by night. It discerns not whom it hits: for many times the poison is laid for one, and the other takes it; as in Sanders's case, where the poisoned apple was laid for the mother, and was taken up by the child, and killed the child:

and so in that notorious case, whereupon the statute of 22 Hen. VIII. cap. 9. was made, where the intent being to poison but one or two, poison was put into a little vessel of barm that stood in the kitchen of the bishop of Rochester's house; of which barm pottage or gruel was made, wherewith seventeen of the bishop's family were poisoned: nay, divers of the poor that came to the bishop's gate, and had the broken pottage in alms, were likewise poisoned. And therefore if any man will comfort himself, or think with himself, Here is great talk of impoisonment, I hope I am safe; for I have no enemies; nor I have nothing that any body should long for: Why, that is all one; for he may sit at table by one for whom poison is prepared, and have a drench of his cup, or of his pottage.

And so, as the poet saith, concidit infelix alieno vulnere; he may die another man's death. And therefore it was most gravely, and judiciously, and properly provided by that statute, that impoisonment should be high treason; because whatsoever offence tendeth to the utter subversion and dissolution of human society, is in the nature of high treason.

Lastly, it is an offence that I may truly say of it, non est nostri generis, nec sanguinis. It is, thanks be to God, rare in the isle of Britain: it is neither of our country, nor of our Church; you may find it in Rome or Italy. There is a region, or perhaps a religion for it: and if it should come amongst us, certainly it were better living in a wilderness than in a

court.

For the particular fact upon Overbury. First, for the person of Sir Thomas Overbury: I knew the gentleman. It is true, his mind was great, but it moved not in any good order, yet certainly it did commonly fly at good things, and the greatest fault that I ever heard of him was, that he made his friend his idol. But I leave him as Sir Thomas Overbury.

But take him as he was the king's prisoner in the Tower; and then see how the case stands. In that place the state is as it were respondent to make good the body of a prisoner. And if any thing happen to

him there, it may, though not in this case, yet in some others, make an aspersion and reflection upon the state itself. For the person is utterly out of his own defence; his own care and providence can serve him nothing. He is in custody and preservation of law; and we have a maxim in our law, as my lords the judges know, that when a state is in preservation of law, nothing can destroy it, or hurt it. And God forbid but the like should be for the persons of those that are in custody of law; and therefore this was a circumstance of great aggravation.

Lastly, To have a man chased to death in such manner, as it appears now by matter of record; for other privacy of the cause I know nót, by poison after poison, first roseaker, then arsenic, then mercury sublimate, then sublimate again; it is a thing would astonish man's nature to hear it... The poets feign, that the Furies had whips, that they were corded with poisonous snakes; and a man would think that this were the very case, to have a man tied to a post, and to scourge him to death with snakes: for so may truly be termed diversity of poisons.

Now I will come to that which is the principal; that is, his majesty's princely, yea, and as I may truly term it, sacred proceeding in this cause. Wherein I will first speak of the temper of his justice, and then of the strength thereof.

First, it pleased my lord chief justice to let me know, that which I heard with great comfort, which was the charge that his majesty gave to himself first, and afterwards to the commissioners in this case, worthy certainly to be written in letters of gold, wherein his majesty did forerank and make it his prime direction, that it should be carried, without touch to any that was innocent; nay more, not only without impeachment, but without aspersion: which was a most noble and princely caution from his majesty; for men's reputations are tender things, and ought to be, like Christ's coat, without seam. And it was the more to be respected in this case, because it met with two great persons; a nobleman that his

majesty had favoured and advanced, and his lady, being of a great and honourable house: though I think it be true that the writers say, That there is no pomegranate so fair or so sound, but may have a perished kernel. Nay, I see plainly, that in those excellent papers of his majesty's own hand-writing, being as so many beams of justice issuing from that virtue which doth shine in him; I say, I see it was so evenly carried without prejudice, whether it were a true accusation of the one part, or a practice of a false accusation on the other, as shewed plainly that his majesty's judgment was tanquam tabula rasa, as a clean pair of tables, and his ear tanquam janua aperta, as a gate not side open, but wide open to truth, as it should be by little and little discovered. Nay, I see plainly, that at the first, till farther light did break forth, his majesty was little moved with the first tale, which he vouchsafeth not so much as the name of a tale; but calleth it a rumour, which is an heedless tale.

As for the strength or resolution of his majesty's justice, I must tell your lordships plainly; I do not marvel to see kings thunder out justice in cases of treason, when they are touched themselves; and that they are vindices doloris proprii: but that a king should, pro amore justitiæ only, contrary to the tide of his own affection, for the preservation of his people, take such care of a cause of justice, that is rare and worthy to be celebrated far and near. For, I think, I may truly affirm, that there was never in this kingdom, nor in any other kingdom, the blood of a private gentleman vindicated cum tanto motu regni, or to say better, cum tanto plausu regni. If it had concerned the king or prince, there could not have been greater nor better commissioners to examine it. The term hath been almost turned into a justitium, or vacancy; the people themselves being more willing to be lookers on in this business, than to follow their own. There hath been no care of discovery omitted, no moment of time lost. And therefore I will conclude this part with the saying of Solomon, Gloria Dei celare rem, et gloria Regis scrutari rem.