Page:Essays of Francis Bacon 1908 Scott.djvu/214

104 There is a cunning, which we in England call The turning of the cat in the pan; which is, when that which a man says to another, he lays it as if another had said it to him. And to say truth, it is not easy, when such a matter passed between two, to make it appear from which of them it first moved and began.

It is away that some men have, to glance and dart at others by justifying themselves by negatives; as to say, This I do not: as Tigellinus did toward Burrhus, Se non diversas spes, sed incolumitatem imperatoris simplidter spectare. Some have in readiness so many tales and stories, as there is nothing they would insinuate, but they can wrap it into a tale; which serveth both to keep themselves more in guard, and to make others carry it with more pleasure.

It is a good point of cunning, for a man to shape the answer he would have in his own words and propositions; for it makes the other party stick the less.

It is strange how long some men will lie in wait to speak somewhat they desire to say; and how far about they will fetch; and how many other matters