¶ Meane men must adheare, but great men that haue strength in themselues were better to maintaine themselues indifferent and neutrall; yet euen in beginners to adheare so moderatly, as he be a man of the one Faction, which is passablest with the other, commonly giveth best way. The lower and weaker Faction is the firmer in conjunction. When one of the Fac tions is extinguished, the remaining subdiuideth which is good for a second Faction. It is commonly seene that men once placed, take in with the contrarie faction to that by which they enter. ¶ The traitor in Factions lightly goeth away with it, for when matters have stucke long in ballancing, the winning of some one man casteth them, and hee getteth al the thankes. OF NEGOCIATING. It is generally better to deale by speech then by letter, and by the mediation of a thirde then by a mans selfe. Letters are good when a man woulde drawe an answere by letter backe againe, or when it may serue for a mans iustification afterwards to produce his owne letter. To deale in person is good when a mans face breedes regard, as commonly with inferiours. ¶ In choyce of instruments it is better to choose men of a plainer sorte that are like to doe that that is committed to them; and to reporte backe againe faithfully the successe, then those that are cunning to contriue out of other mens businesse somewhat to grace themselues, and will helpe the matter in reporte for satisfactions sake. ¶ It is better to sound a person with whome one deales a farre off, then to fal vppon the pointe at first, except you meane to surprise him by some shorte question. It is better dealing with men in appetite then those which are where they would be. ¶ If a man deale with another vppon conditions, the starte or first performance is all, which a man can not reasonably demaunde, except either the nature of the thing be such which must goe before, or else a man can perswade the other partie that he shall still neede him in some other thing, or else that he bee counted the honester man. All practise is to discouer or to worke: men discouer themselues in trust, in passion, at vnwares and of necessitie, when they would haue somewhat donne, and cannot finde an apt precept.' If you would worke any man, you must either know his nature and fashions and so leade him, or his ends, and so winne him, or his weaknesses or disaduantages, and so awe him, or those that haue interest in him and so gouerne him. ¶ In dealing with cunning persons we must euer consider their endes to interpret their speeches, and it is good to say little to them, and that which they least looke for. FINIS. So in the original: the second time the same mistake occurs. It should, of course, be pretext. EDITION OF 1612. It is a fact very creditable to the reading public of those days, that a volume which offers no entertainment except solid observation, packed as close as possible and stripped of all ornament, was thrice reprinted within nine years after its first appearance, viz. in 1598, in 1604, and in 1606. It is doubtful however whether Bacon himself had anything to do with any of these editions; which are said to have been merely reprints, without addition or alteration, except some changes in the spelling, and the substitution of an English translation of the Meditationes sacræ for the original Latin. The earliest evidence of additions and alterations which I have met with, is contained in a volume preserved among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, No. 5106.; a volume undoubtedly authentic; for it contains interlineations in Bacon's own hand; and transcribed some time between 1607, when Bacon became Solicitor-general, and 1612, when he brought out a new edition of the Essays with further additions and alterations. It is unluckily not quite perfect; one leaf at least, if not more, having been lost at the beginning; though otherwise in excellent preservation. The titlepage, which remains, bears the following inscription, very handsomely written in the old English character, with flourished capitals: The writings of Sr Francis Bacon Knt. the Kinge's Sollicitor Generall: in Moralitie, Policie, and Historie. It contains nothing but Essays; which stand in the following order: 1. Of Friendship (the begin ning wanting). 2. Of Wisdom for a Man's Self. 3. Of Nobility. 4. Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature. 5. Of Beauty. 6. Of Seeming Wise. 7. Of Regiment of Health. 8. Of Expences. 9. Of Ambition. 10. Of Ceremonies and Respects. 11. Of Studies. 12. Of Discourse. 13. Of Riches. 14. Of Followers and Friends. 15. Of Suitors. 16. Of Negociating. 17. Of Despatch. 18. Of Deformity. 19. Of Young Men and Age. 20. Of Faction. 21. Of Honour and Reputation. 22. Of Marriage and Single Life. 23. Of Parents and Children. 24. Of Great Place. 26. Of Counsel. 30. Of Nature in Men. 31. Of Custom and Education. 32. Of Fortune. 33. Of Death. 34. Of Seditions and Troubles. Of these, two only are not to be found in the edition of 1612; viz. the twenty-first (which is included in the edition both of 1597 and 1625) and the thirty-fourth, which was not published till 1625, though an Italian translation of it had been given in Sir Tobie Matthew's Saggi Morali, in 1618. As this stands last in the volume, and the rest of the leaves are left blank, it is impossible to say whether it was transcribed at the same time with the rest, or added at a later period. But I cannot detect any difference in the handwriting, the colour of the ink, or the general appearance of it. This last I have added at the end. The others I have compared with the copies in the edition of 1612; and although I have not thought it worth while to make an exact and perfect collation, I have marked all the more considerable variations between the two; so that by means of the table of contents which I have just given, and the foot-notes which follow, a full and particular account of the contents of the manuscript volume may be obtained. The reprint of the edition of 1612, which I now subjoin, preserving (except in the case of mere misprints) the original orthography and punctuation, has been compared with two copies in my own possession, both of which have been corrected here and there with a pen, apparently by the same hand. The corrections being the same in both and made in the same way, I presume that they were inserted by Bacon's own direction: see note p. 574. |