Page:The Works of Francis Bacon (1884) Volume 1.djvu/424

 296 THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS. discipline. whence follows the building of houses, erecting 1 of towns, planting of fields and orchards with trees, and the like; insomuch, that it would not he amiss to say, that even thereby stones and woods were called together and settled in order. And after serious trial made and frustrated about the restoring of a body mortal, this care of civil affairs follows in his due place ; because, by a plain demonstration of the inevitable necessity of death, men s minds are moved to seek eternity by the fame and glory of their merits. It is also wisely said in the fable, that Orpheus was averse from the love of women and marriage, because he delights of wedlock and the love of children do for the most part hinder men from enterprising great and noble designs for the public good, hold ing posterity a sufficient step to immortality, with out actions. Besides, even the very works of wisdom, al though amongst all human things they do most excel, do nevertheless meet with their periods. For it happens that after kingdoms dnd common wealths have flourished for a time, even tumults, and seditions, and wars arise; in the midst of which hurly-burlies first laws are silent; men re turn to the pravity of their natures; fields and towns are wasted and depopulated ; and then, if the* fury continue, learning and philosophy must needs be dismembered, so that a few fragments only in some places will be found, like the scatter ed boards of shipwreck, so as a barbarous age must follow ; and the streams of Helicon being hid under the earth, until the vicissitude of things passing, they break out again and appear in some other remote nation, though not perhaps in the same climate. CGELUM, OR BEGINNINGS. WE have it from the poets by tradition, that Coelum was the ancientest of the gods, and that his members of generation were cut off by his son Saturn. Saturn had many children, but devoured them as soon as they were born ; Jupiter only escaped, who being come to man s estate, thrust Saturn his father into hell, and so usurped the kingdom. Moreover, he pared off his father s genitals with the same falchion that Saturn dis membered Ccelum, and cast them into the sea, whence came Venus. Not long after this, Jupiter, being scarce settled and confirmed in this kingdom, was invaded by two memorable wars ; the first of the Titans, in the suppressing of which Sol, who alone of all the Titans favouring Jupiter s side, took exceeding great pains. The second was of the giants, whom Jupiter himself destroyed with thunderbolts; and so all wars being ended, 1-e reigned secure. This fable seems enigmatically to show from whence all things took their beginning, not much differing from that opinion of philosophers, which Democritus afterwards lanoured to main tain, attributing eternity to the first matter and j not to the world : in which he comes somewhat near the truth of divine writ, telling us of a huge deformed mass, before the beginning of the six days work. The meaning of the fable is this : by Ccelum may be understood that vast concavity or vaulted com pass that comprehends all matter; and by Saturn may be meant the matter itself, which takes from his parent all power of generating; for the uni versality or whole bulk of matter always remains the same, neither increasing or diminishing in re spect of the quality of its nature ; but by the divers agitations and motions of it were first produced imperfect, and ill agreeing compositions of things, making, as it were, certain worlds for proofs or essays, and so in process of time a perfect fabric or structure was framed, which would still retain and keep his form : and therefore the government of the first age was shadowed by the kingdom of Saturn, who for the frequent dissolutions and short continuances of things was aptly, feigned to devour his children. The succeding government was deciphered by the reign of Jupiter, who con fined those continual mutations unto Tartarus, a place signifying perturbation. This place seems to be all that middle place between the lower su perficies of heaven and the centre of the earth, in which all perturbations, and fragility, and mortal ity or corruption are frequent. During the former generation of things in the time of Saturn s reign Venus was not born : for so long as in the uni versality of matter, discord was better and more prevalent than concord, it was necessary that there should be a total dissolution or mutation, and that in the whole fabric ; and by this kind of genera tion were creatures produced before Saturn was deprived of his genitals. When this ceased, that other which was wrought by Venus immediately came in, consisting in settled and prevalent con cord of things, so that mutation should be only in respect of the parts, the universal fabric, remaining whole and inviolate. Saturn, they say, was deposed and cast down nto hell, but not destroyed and utterly extin guished ; because there was an opinion that the world should relapse into the old chaos and in terregnum again, which Lucretius prayed might not happen in his time : &quot; Quod procul & nobis flectat fortuna gubernans ; Et ratio potius quam res persuadeat ipsa.&quot; O, guiding providence be gracious That this dooms-day be far removed from us; And grant that by us it may be expected, Rather than on us. in our times effected. For afterwards the world should subsist by its own quantity and power: yet from the beginning irst followed notable mutations, which by the power of the sun, predominating over superior
 * here was no rest ; for in the celestial regions there