SECTION IV.

THE THEOLOGICAL WORKS.

Or what are called Bacon's Theological writings the first published, as far as is known, are his Meditationes Sacra, or Religious Meditations, which we have both in Latin and in English; the Latin copy having appeared, as already mentioned, along with the Essays as first published in 1597; the English, with the second edition of the Essays, dated 1598. They were probably originally written in Latin; but the English version may also be Bacon's own. The Latin title is preserved in both the original editions.

The Meditationes Sacræ are twelve short compositions of the same kind with the other Essays, except that they are on religious subjects. When the Essays were extended in the later editions, many things that were added were taken from the Meditationes Sacræ, which were withdrawn from all the editions after that of 1606. One or two of the new Essays are indeed almost the same with what had previously appeared as Meditations. Other thoughts originally published under that title were afterwards transferred to the Advancement of Learning.

The titles of the Meditations are, 1. Of the Works of God and Man; 2. Of the Miracles of our Saviour; 3. Of the Innocency of the Dove, and the Wisdom of the Serpent; 4. Of the Exaltation of Charity; 5. Of the Moderation of Cares; 6. Of Earthly Hope; 7. Of Hypocrites; 8. Of Impostors; 9. Of the several kinds of Imposture; 10. Of Atheism; 11. Of Heresies; 12. Of the Church and the Scripture. Each begins with or is headed by a text of Scripture, on which it is in fact a brief comment, generally very inge nious, and either propounding a new interpretation of the words, or setting the subject in a peculiar and striking

light. Here is the Fourth, "Of the Exaltation of Charity:"

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If I have rejoiced at the overthrow of him that hated me, or took pleasure when adversity did befall him.”—The detestation or renouncing of Job. For a man to love again where he is loved, it is the charity of publicans contracted by mutual profit and good offices; but to love a man's enemies is one of the cunningest points of the law of Christ, and an imitation of the divine nature. But yet again, of this charity there be divers degrees, whereof the first is to pardon our enemies when they repent, of which charity there is a shadow and image even in noble beasts; for of lions it is a received opinion that their fury and fierceness ceaseth towards anything that yieldeth and prostrateth itself. The second degree is to pardon our enemies though they persist, and without satisfactions and submissions. The third degree is not only to pardon and forgive, and forbear our enemies, but to deserve well of them and to do them good. But all these three degrees either have or may have in them a certain bravery and greatness of the mind rather than pure charity; for when a man perceiveth virtue to proceed and flow from himself, it is possible that he is puffed up, and takes contentment rather in the fruit of his own virtue than in the good of his neighbours; but if any evil overtake the enemy from any other coast than from thyself, and thou in the inwardest motives of thy heart be grieved and compassionate, and dost no ways insult as if thy days of right and revenge were at last come; this I interpret to be the height and exaltation of Charity.

The Fifth, "Of the Moderation (the moderating or restraining) of Cares," is as follows:

"Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”—There ought to be a measure in worldly cares, otherwise they are both unprofitable, as those which oppress the mind and astonish the judgment, and prophane, as those which savour of a mind which promiseth to itself a certain perpetuity in the things of this world; for we ought to be day's men, and not to-morrow's men, considering the shortness of our time; and as he saith, "Laying hold on the present day;" for future things shall in their turns become presents, therefore the care of the present sufficeth. And yet moderate cares (whether they concern our particular or common wealth, or our friends) are not blamed.

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But herein is a twofold excess; the one when the chain or thread of our cares is extended and spun out to an over great length, and unto times too far off, as if we could bind the divine Providence by our provisions, which, even with the heathen, was always found to be a thing insolent and unlucky; for those which did attribute much to fortune, and were ready at hand to apprehend with alacrity the present occasions, have for the most part in their actions been happy; but they who in a compass wisdom have entered into a confidence that they had belayed all events, have for the most part encountered misfortune. The second excess is when we dwell longer in our cares than is requisite for due deliberating or firm resolving; for who is there amongst us that careth no more than sufficeth either to resolve of a course or to conclude upon an impossibility, and doth not still chew over the same things, and tread a maze in the same thoughts, and vanisheth in them without issue or conclusion. Which kind of cares are most contrary to all divine and human respects.

And here is the Sixth, "Of Earthly Hope:"—

Better is the sight of the eye, than the apprehension of the mind."-Pure sense, receiving everything according to the natural impression, makes a better state and government of the mind, than these same imaginations and apprehensions of the mind; for the mind of man hath this nature and property even in the gravest and most settled wits, that from the sense of every particular, it doth as it were bound and spring forward, and take hold of other matters, foretelling unto itself that all shall prove like unto that which beateth upon the present sense; if the sense be of good, it easily runs into an unlimited hope, and into a like fear when the sense is of evil, according as is said

"The oracle of hopes doth oft abuse."

And that contrary,

"A froward soothsayer is fear in doubts."

But yet of fear there may be made some use, for it prepareth patience and awaketh industry:

"No shape of ill comes new or strange to me,

All sorts set down, yea, and prepared be."

But hope seemeth a thing altogether unprofitable; for to what end serveth this conceit of good? Consider and note a

little: if the good fall out less than thou hopest; good though it be, yet less because it is, it seemeth rather loss than benefit through thy excess of hope. If the good prove equal and proportionable in event to thy hope, yet the flower thereof by thy hope is gathered, so as when it comes the grace of it is gone, and it seems used, and therefore sooner draweth on satiety. Admit thy success prove better than thy hope, it is true a gain seems to be made: but had it not been better to have gained the principal by hoping for nothing, than the increase by hoping for less; and this is the operation of hope in good fortunes; but in misfortunes it weakeneth all force and vigour of the mind; for neither is there always matter of hope, and if there be, yet if it fail but in part, it doth wholly overthrow the constancy and resolution of the mind; and besides, though it doth carry us through, yet it is a greater dignity of mind to bear evils by fortitude and judgment, than by a kind of absenting and alienation of the mind from things present to things future, for that it is to hope. And therefore it was much lightness in the poets to fain hope to be as a counter-poison of human diseases, as to mitigate and assuage the fury and anger of them, whereas indeed it doth kindle and enrage them, and causeth both doubling of them and relapses. Notwithstanding we see that the greatest number of men give themselves over to their imaginations of hope and apprehensions of the mind in such sort, that ungrateful towards things past, and in a manner unmindful of things present, as if they were ever children and beginners, they are still in longing for things to come. "I saw all men walking under the sun, resort and gather to the second person, which was afterwards to succeed: this is an evil disease, and a great idleness of the mind."

But perhaps you will ask the question, whether it be not better, when things stand in doubtful terms, to preserve the best, and rather hope well than distrust; specially seeing that hope doth cause a greater tranquillity of mind?

Surely I do judge a state of mind which in all doubtful expectations is settled and floateth not, and doth this out of a good government and composition of the affections, to be one of the principal supporters of man's life: but that assurance and repose of the mind, which only rides at anchor upon hope, I do reject as wavering and weak. Not that it is not convenient to foresee and pre-suppose out of a sound and sober conjecture, as well the good as the evil, that thereby we may fit our actions to the probabilities and likelihoods of their event, so that this be a work of the understanding and judg

ment, with a due bent and inclination of the affection. But which of you hath so kept his hopes within limits, as when it is so that you have out of a watchful and strong discourse of the mind set down the better success to be in apparency the more likely; you have not dwelt upon the very muse and forethought of the good to come, and giving scope and favour unto your mind to fall into such cogitations as into a pleasant dream? And this it is which makes the mind light, frothy, unequal, and wandering. Wherefore all our hope is to be bestowed upon the heavenly life to come: but here on earth the purer our sense is from the infection and tincture of imagination, the better and wiser soul.

"The sum of life to little doth amount,

And therefore doth forbid a longer count."

The Eighth, "Of Impostors," is very short:

"Whether we be transported in mind, it is to Godward, or whether we be sober, it is to youward."-This is the true image and true temper of a man, and of him that is God's faithful workman; his carriage and conversation towards God is full of passion, of zeal, and of tramisses; thence proceed groans unspeakable, and exultings likewise in comfort, ravishment of spirit, and agonies; but contrariwise, his carriage and conversation towards men is full of mildness, sobriety, and appliable demeanour. Hence is that saying, "I am become all things to all men," and such like. Contrary it is with hypocrites and impostors, for they in the church and before the people set themselves on fire, and are carried as it were out of themselves, and becoming as men inspired with holy furies, they set heaven and earth together; but if a man did see their solitary and separate meditations and conversation, whereunto God is only privy, he might, towards God, find them not only cold and without virtue, but also full of ill-nature and leaven; "Sober enough to God, and transported only towards men."

We add the Tenth, "Of Atheism," as an example of the manner in which parts of these Meditations were afterwards worked up into Essays. The reader may compare the following with the Sixteenth Essay, which has the same title:

"The fool hath said in his heart there is no God."-First, it is to be noted, the Scripture saith, "The fool hath said in