Page:The Works of Francis Bacon (1884) Volume 1.djvu/285

 ANALYSIS OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. . Honour should be sought. . He must not embrace mailers which oc cupy too much time. Sed fugit interea : fugit irreparibile temput. . He should imitate nature, which does no thing in vain 236 If he cannot make any thing of it fur the present, i/et to make it us a seed (if somewhat in time lit come. . He should reserve a power to retreat. 237 Following the wisdom in the ancient fable of the two frogs, w i ch consulted ruhen their plish wus dry whi/her they should go, and the one moved to go down into a pit, because it was not. likely the water would dry there ; but the other answered, &quot;True,- but if it do, how shall we get out again ?&quot; . He should be cautious in his friendships and enmities. &quot; Et ama tanquum inimicus futurus, et odi tanquam amu/urus.&quot; . Fortunes may be obtained without precept. They come tumbling into nome men s laps; and a number obtain good fortunes liy dili gence in a plain way, little intermeddling, and keeping themselves from grafts errors. . Of vicious precepts for self-advancement. . . . 237 . The number of bad precepts for advancement life is greater than good 237 // is in life as it is in ways, the shortest way is commonly the foulest, and surely the fairer way is not much about. . In the pursuit of fortune, man ought to set before his eyes the general map of the world. . . 237 All things are vanity and vexation of spirit Being without well-being is a curse,- and the greater the being, the greater the curse . The incessant and Sabbathless pursuit of fortune leaveth not the tribute which we owe to Got of our time. // it to small purpose to have an erected fac towards heaven, and a perpetual grovelling spirit upon earth, eating dust, as duth the ser pent. . The adopting vicious precepts cannot be toleratei by the intended good ends. . Fortune, like a woman, if too much wooed, is th further off 23i . Divinity points upwards to the kingdom of God philosophy inwards to the goods of the mind. The human foundation huth somewhat ment of Learning in existence, with Shakspeare s autograp in it. The same sentiment is expressed by Uryden. Heaven has to all allotted soon or late, Some lucky revolution of their fate; Whose motions if we watch and guiile with skill, For human good depends on human will. Our fortune rolls as from a smooth descent, And from the first impression takes the bent; But if unseized! she glides away like wind, And leaves repenting folly far behind! The same sentiment is contained in the Essays. &quot;It is us&amp;gt; ally said of Fortune that she has locks before, but none behind &quot;Fortune is like Time, if you do not take him by the for lock ; he turns his bald noddle to you ;&quot; or at least, turne the handle of the bottle first to be received; and after th belly, which is hard to clasp. &amp;gt; Events are not in our power; but it always is to make good use of the very worst. Minute Philosopher. the sand*, as we see in M. Brutus, when he brake forth into that speech, &quot; Te colui, virtus, ut rem ; at tu nomen inane et ;&quot; yet the divine foundation is upon the rock. WISDOM OF GOVERNMENT ........ 238 . Government is a part of knowledge, secret and re tired. . In the governors towards the government all things ought to be manifest. . Statesmen are the proper persons to write on uni versal justice ......................... 238 . Of universal justice. There are in nature certain fountains of justice, whence all dvil laws are derived but an streams ; and. ike as waters do take tinc tures and tastes from the soils through which they run, so do civil laws vary according to the regions and governments where they are planted, though they proceed from the same fountains. &amp;gt;. Of the wisdom of a law maker ............. 238 . Bacon intends a work in aphorisms upon universal justice. 2 . Of the laws of England ................... 239 The whole book is not much better than that noise or sound which musicians make while they are tuning their instruments, which is nothing pleasant to hear, but yft is a cause why the music is sweeter afterwards : so have J been content to tune the instruments of the muses, that they may play that have better hands. . Observations upon the prospects of the progress of knowledge. REVEALED RELIGTOX .......... 233 . It is the sabbath of all men s labours. . The prerogative of God extends to man s reason, and to his will. . Sacred theology is grounded upon the oracle of God . The use of reason in matters spiritual is exten sive. The Christain Faith, as in all things so in this, deserceth to be highly magnified; hold ing and preserving the golden mediocrity in this point between the law of the heathen and the law of Mahomet, which have embraced the two extremes. For the religion of the heathen had no constant belief or confession, but left all to the liberty of argument, and the reli ion of Mahomet, on the other side, inter- ctelh argument altogether. the one having the very face of error, and the other of im posture. . Uses of reason in spiritual matters .......... 24(J . In the conception of revealed mysteries. . In inferences from revelation . A treatise on the limits of reason in spiritual mat ters is wanting. This would be an opiate to stay and bridle not only the vanity of curious sppculations, wherewith the schools labour, but /he fury of controversies, wherewith the church laboureth. . Parts of divinity. . The matter revealed. . The nature of the revelation.. 241 See the Treatise &quot;De Auementis,&quot; where some progreet is made in this science, now nobly advanced, and advancing by the labours of Bentham. (See note V.) o gi dic