Plautianus in doing affronts to his son; and did write also in a letter to the senate by these words-I love the man so well, as I wish he may over-live me.' Now if these princes had been as a Trajan or a Marcus Aurelius, a man might have thought that this had proceeded of an abundant goodness of nature; but being men so wise, of such strength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of themselves, as all these were, it proveth most plainly that they found their own felicity (though as great as ever happened to mortal men) but as a half-piece, except they might have a friend to make it entire; and yet, which is more, they were princes that had wives, sons, nephews; and yet all these could not supply the comfort of friendship. The parable of Pythagoras is dark, but true- Cor ne edito' (Eat not the heart). Certainly if a man would give it a hard phrase, those that want friends to open themselves unto, are cannibals of their own hearts. But one thing is most admirable (wherewith I will conclude this first-fruit of friendship), which is, that this communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects, for it redoubleth joys and cutteth griefs in halvest for there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth the less. So that it is in truth of operation upon a man's mind of like virtue as the alchymists use to attribute to their stone for man's body, that it worketh all contrary effects, but still to the good and benefit of na ture....... The second-fruit of friendship is healthful and sovereign for the understanding, as the first is for the affections; for friendship maketh indeed a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests, but it maketh daylight in the understanding out of darkness and confusion of thoughts. Neither is this to be understood only of faithful counsel which a man receiveth from his friend; but before you come to that, certain it is that whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits and understanding do clarify and break up in the communicating and discoursing with another: he tosseth his thoughts more easily, he marshaleth them more orderly, he seeth how they look when they are turned into words: finally, he waxeth wiser than himself, and that more by an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation. It was well said by Themistocles to the King of Persia, That speech was like cloth of Arras opened and put abroad, whereby the imagery doth appear in figure, whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs. Neither is this secondfruit of friendship, in opening the understanding, restrained only to such friends as are able to give a man counsel (they indeed are best); but even without that a man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light, and whetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In a word, a man were better relate himself to a statue or picture than to suffer his thoughts to pass in smother. Heraclitus saith well in one of his Ænigmas, 'Dry light is ever the best:' and certain it is, that the light that a man receiveth by counsel from another is drier and purer than thatwhich cometh from his own understanding and judgment, which is ever infused and drenched in his affections and customs. So as there is as much difference between the counsel that a friend giveth and that a man giveth himself, as there is be-tween the counsel of a friend and of a flatterer; for there is no such flatterer as in a man's self, and there is no such remedy against flattery of a man's self as the liberty of a friend. . . . The Twenty-eighth Essay, entitled "Of Expense,” which is very short, is the first we have come to of the Ten original Essays published in 1597. It contains, among others, these two practical directions: Certainly, if a 'man will keep but of even-hand, his ordinary expenses ought to be but to the half of his receipts; and if he think to wax rich, but to the third part. A man ought warily to begin charges, which, once begun, will continue; but in matters that return not, he may be more magnificent. The Twenty-ninth Essay is entitled "Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates,” and appeared in part in the edition of 1612. It is long, and very masterly and characteristic. We will transcribe the most remarkable passages: Walled towns, stored arsenals and armories, goodly races of horse, chariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like-all this is but a sheep in a lion's skin, except the breed and disposition of the people be stout and warlike. Nay, number itself in armies importeth not much, where the people is of weak courage; for, as Virgil saith, It never troubles a wolf how many the sheep be.' The army of the Persians, in the plains of Arbela, was such a vast sea of people, as it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alexander's army; who came to him, therefore, and wished him to set upon them by night; but he answered, 'He would not pilfer the victory;' and the defeat was easy. When Tigranes, the Armenian, being encamped upon a hill with four hundred thousand men, discovered the army of the Romans, being not above fourteen thousand, marching towards him, he made himself merry with it, and said, 'Yonder men are too many for an ambassage, and too few for a fight;' but before the sun set he found them enough to give him the chase with infinite slaughter. Many are the examples of the great odds between number and courage, so that a man may truly make a judgment, that the principal point of greatness in any state is to have a race of military men. Neither is money the sinews of war, as it is trivially said, where the sinews of men's arms in base and effeminate people are failing. For Solon said well to Croesus (when in ostentation he showed him his gold), 'Sir, if any other come that hath better iron than you, he will be master of all this gold.' Therefore let any prince or state think soberly of his forces, except his militia of natives be of good and valiant soldiers; and let princes on the other side, that have subjects of martial disposition, know their own strength, unless they be otherwise wanting unto themselves. As for mercenary forces, which is the help in this case, all examples show that whatsoever estate or prince doth rest upon them, 'He may spread his feathers for a time, but he will mew them soon after." By all means it is to be procured, that the trunk of Nebuchadnezzar's tree of monarchy be great enough to bear the branches and the boughs-that is, that the natural subjects of the crown or state bear a sufficient proportion to the strangersubjects that they govern. Therefore all states that are liberal of naturalization towards strangers are fit for empire; for to think that an handful of people can, with the greatest courage and policy in the world, embrace too large extent of dominion, it may hold for a time, but it will fail suddenly. The Spartans were a nice people in point of naturalization, whereby, while they kept their compass, they stood firm; but when they did spread, and their boughs were become too great for their stem, they became a windfall upon the sudden. Never any state was in this point so open to receive strangers into their body as were the Romans, therefore it sorted with them accordingly, for they grew to the greatest monarchy. Their manner was to grant naturalization (which they called jus civitatis) and to grant it in the highest degree, that is, not only jus commercii,* *Right of trade. jus connubii,* jus hæreditatis,† but also jus suffragiit and jus honorum ;§ and this, not to singular persons alone, but likewise to whole families, yea, to cities and sometimes to nations. Add to this their custom of plantation of colonies, whereby the Roman plant was removed into the soil of other nations; and, putting both constitutions together, you will say, that it was not the Romans that spread upon the world, but it was the world that spread upon the Romans; and that was the sure way of greatness. I have marvelled sometimes at Spain, how they clasp and contain so large dominions with so few natural Spaniards; but sure the whole compass of Spain is a very great body of a tree, far above Rome and Sparta at the first; and besides, though they have not had that usage to naturalize liberally, yet they have that which is next to it; that is to employ, almost indifferently, all nations in their militia of ordinary soldiers, yea, and sometimes in their highest commands. Nay, it seemeth at this instant, they are sensible of this want of natives, as by the 'Pragmatical Sanction,' now published, appeareth. No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor politic; and certainly to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise. A civil war, indeed, is like the heat of a fever; but a foreign war is like the heat of exercise, and serveth to keep the body in health: for in a slothful peace both courages will effeminate and manners corrupt. But, howsoever it be for happiness, without all question for greatness it maketh to be still, for the most part, in arms; and the strength of a veteran army (though it be a chargeable business), always on foot, is that which commonly giveth the law, or at least the reputation, amongst all neighbour-states; as may well be seen in Spain, which hath had, in one part or other, a veteran army almost continually now by the space of six-score years. To be master of the sea is an abridgment of a monarchy. Cicero, writing to Atticus of Pompey's preparation against Casar, saith-Consilium Pompeii planè Themistocleum est, putat enim qui mari potitur eum rerum potiri.'! And without * Right of marriage. † Right of inheritance. Right of suffrage. § Right of honours. Pompey's plan is clearly that of Themistocles, for he believes that whoever is master of the sea will possess the empire. doubt Pompey had tired out Cæsar if upon vain confidence he had not left that way. We see the great effects of battles by sea. The battle of Actium decided the empire of the world: the battle of Lepanto arrested the greatness of the Turk. There be many examples where sea-fights have been final to the war, but this is when princes or states have set up their rest upon the battles. But thus much is certain, that he that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will; whereas those that be strongest by land, are many times nevertheless in great straits. Surely at this day, with us of Europe, the 'vantage of strength at sea (which is one of the principal dowries of this kingdom of Great Britain) is great; both because most of the kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt by the sea, most part of their compass, and because the wealth of both Indies seems in great part but an accessory to the command of the seas. The wars of latter ages seem to be made in the dark, in respect of the glory and honour which reflected upon men from the wars in ancient time. There be now for martial encouragement some degrees and orders of chivalry, which nevertheless are conferred promiscuously upon soldiers and no soldiers; and some remembrance, perhaps, upon the scutcheon; and some hospitals for maimed soldiers, and such like things. But in ancient times, the trophies erected upon the place of the victory; the funeral laudatives and monuments for those that died in the wars; the crowns and garlands personal; the style of emperor, which the great king of the world after borrowed; the triumphs of the generals upon their return; the great donatives and largesses upon the disbanding of the armies were things able to inflame all men's courages. But above all, that of the triumph amongst the Romans was not pageants or gaudery, but one of the wisest and noblest institutions that ever was; for it contained three things-honour to the general, riches to the treasury out of the spoils, and donatives to the army. But that honour perhaps were not fit for monarchies, except it be in the person of the monarch himself, or his sons; as it came to pass in the times of the Roman emperors, who did impropriate the actual triumphs to themselves and their sons for such wars as they did achieve in person, and left only for wars achieved by subjects some triumphal garments and ensigns to the general. The Thirtieth Essay, "Of Regiment (that is, govern |