VI. as Tradition or Elocution. It is our conviction all this is only

2)er gradus ad Theatrum. In the " Platform of the Design " of the
Sixth Book we find (" Advancement of Learning," 1640) : —

/Of the dictates of Reason to
/ The use. Imagination.

office, and Of Speech respectively to particu-

Illustration

OF Speech
oil Rhetoric.

appliaition. lars, or the Wisdom of Private

Speech.
Colours of Good and Evil.
^ Appendices. -I Antitheta Rerum.

I Lesser styles and forms of Speech.

BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MINDr 123

It may be seen how the last three are bracketed together as
illustrations of Rhetoric, un(loul)tc(lly pointing to the Essays.
Nobody can question that, inasmuch as the two first, viz.,
" Colours of Good and Evil," were published with the Essays,
and are only ways of showing us how the same thing may be
said many ways, with the sophisms of rhetoric, so to speak,
argued, and their fallacies exposed. We say Bacon wrote this
expressly to caution us against literal interpretation of the letter*
of the Essays, and to give lis a hint as to the Theatre also
through the Essays applied in the spirit. The " Antitheta " are
the kernels of the Essays, or affections and passions of the char-
acters, of which the plays are composed. Archbishop Whately
declares the " Antitheta " are identical with the Essays — at least
many of them, and Doctor Abbott has followed in the same
footsteps, attaching many of the " Antitheta " (if not all) to their
respective subjects in the Essays. Therefore this being acknow-
ledged, it behoves the critic to explain why these kernels, or
cues of the Essays, are to be found under the all-embracing title
of the Sixth Book (where they are introduced) of " Tradition or
Elocution." Because "Tradition" is explained by Bacon in these
words : " N(m Id us come unto the Art of Delivery, or of expressing
and transferring those things which are invented, judged, and laid up
in the Memory, which by a general name we will call Tradition "
(Book VI., "De Augmentis," p. 258, 1640). Reference to the
Platform or Design of this Book will show this title embraces
the entire Sixth Book. Besides, these " Colours of Good and Evil,"
" Antitheta," and " Minor Formulaj " come under " The Wisdom
of Private Speech," and I defy anyone to explain this except as an
esoteric doctrine for those Avho can pierce the veil, and see what

* This is attached to the opening of the "Antitheta " —

Fro verbis lerjis.
Non est interpretatio, sed divinatio, quffi recedit a litera :
Cum receditur a litera, judex transit in legislatorem.

Pro scntentia legis.
Ex omnibus verbis est eliciendus sensus qui interpretatur singula.

124 BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MIND:'

Bacon really implies l)y it. Why should the simple pros and
cons of Rhetoric be thus attributed to a secret or reserved method ?
Directly we study their titles, our suspicions are doubly aroused,
for Pride, Revenge, Envy, Love, Ingratitude, Vain-Glory, Dis-
simulation, Boldness, Flattery, Friendship, Suspicion, are not
only to l)e refound as Essays, liut common-sense tells us are
the Colours, Passions, or Affections at the hutUnii of Comedij and
Tragedy. They are the paints in which the Dramatic Artist dips his
brush or pen. And if Bacon wanted to point at the Theatre,
either indirectly through the Essays, or directly Avithout them,
what indeed could be a deeper hint for the plays called Shake-
speare's? It is suspicious enough Bacon selects just these subjects
for examples. And it is far more suspicious he calls them "seeds"
or " skeins," to be unravelled as Promptiuiry Places of Suggestion.
(Book VI., p. 300, "Advancement of Learning," 1640.)

We have elsewhere, in a brief manner, drawn attention to a
few of the prominent texts of the Essays, to be refound in the
sermons of the plays. No doubt with patience and industry the
entire Essays and their cues, the " Antitheta," are to be thus
vnira veiled and applied to characters of the Folio Plays, 1623,

Lamartine A\Tites : " It is as a moralist that Shakespeare
excels. . . . His works cannot fail to elevate the mind by the
purity of the morals they inculcate. They breathe so strong a
belief in virtue, so steady an adherence to good principles, united
to such a vigorous tone of honour, as testifies to the author's
excellence as a moralist ; nay, as a Christian." (Quoted in
Donnelly's " Great Cryptogram.")

It is as a moralist that Bacon is pre-eminent in the "De Aug-
mentis," the seventh book treating of morality, the eighth l)Ook
containing no less than Thirty-Four Parables from the Proverbs
of Solomon, with their explications, and the ninth book dealing
with Inspired Divinity. The work opens with the idea of sacri-
fice, springing out of " devout checi'fulness," the work ends with
the' same spirit of sacrifice and a prayer to God. The " Two
Books of the Advancement of Learning " conclude with Divine

BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MINDr 125

Learning — " The matter revealed" " The nature of the revelation"
And in both these works the Theological element is most evi-
dent, and predominates over the profane matter treated therein.
Solomon is Bacon's inspired prototype, and we are not at all cer-
tain he did not identify himself to some degree with him. For
in certain philosophical tracts he repeatedly introduces the ex-,
pression " my son," which, as he had no sons of his own, must be
understood philosophically, or from the standpoint of a brother-
hood or craft. He calls his Thirty-seventh Deficient, " The
method bequeathed to the sons of Sapience." This at once recalls
the Proverbs and language of Solomon : —

1. My son, if thou wilt receive my words ; and hide my com-
mandments Avith thee,

2. So that thou incline thine ear unto tvisdom, and apply thine
heart to understanding (Proverbs ii. 1, 2).

The resemblance of some of the plays in plot and incidents to
parables of Scripture must have struck every thoughtful reader.
The introduction of the three caskets in the " Merchant of
Venice " closely resembles the parable of " The Pearl of Great
Price " (Matthew xiii. 45, 46). " Measure for Measure " holds
some parallel to the Parable of " The Talents." " For the king-
dom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far comitry, who called
his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one
he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to every
man according to his several ability ; and straightway took his jour-
ney." We find the Duke in the play doing exactly this with re-
gard to Angelo — delivering unto him his goods or government —
and straightway pretending to take his journey into a far country .
And this idea is borne out by the interpretation of the parable,
which of course is that we must turn our talents and gifts to
account. See how this key-note is struck by the Duke in almost
the first lines of the play : —

Thyself and thy belongings
Are not thine own so proper, as to waste
Thyself upon thy virtues ; they on thee :
Heaven doth with us, as we with torches do,

126 BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MINDr

Not light thcnifor themselves : fm- if our virtues

Did not go f 07-th of ics, 'twere all alike

As if we had them not: Spirits are not finely touch'd

But to fine issues : nor nature never lends

The smallest scruple of her excellence,

But like a thrifty goddess she determinee

Herself the glory of a creditor

Both thanks and use.

(" Measure for Measure," act i. so. 1.)

Is not the parable further hinted at in Angelo's reply — we
mean the talent as a piece of money or a coin ?

Angela. 'Now good my Lord,
Let there be some more test made of my mettle,
Before so noble and so great a figure
Be stam2j't ^cpon it.

(Act i. sc. 1.)

The author seems to have had a piece of money in his mind —
perhaps an angel ! But there is the parable both in the text and
in the main idea of the plot construction, with the alteration that
the Duke, instead of actually going on his journey, plays the part
of an invisible, ubiquitous, and all-seeing Providence, who searches
out the thoughts and wicked acts of his servants, whilst they
imagine him absent ; the end being to punish the wicked
servant who has misused the trust committed to him, and to
reward the good. There can be little doubt the ethical motive
of this play, is to teach, that to the all-seeing eye of Providence
nothing can be hid. And see how Bacon repeats all this in
other forms in his Essays, particularly condemning Selfishness
or "Wisdom for a man's self." In this Essay he writes: —
" An ant is a wise creature for itself ; but it is a shrewd thing
in an orchard or garden. And certainly men that are great
lovers of themselves waste the finbUc. It is a poor centre of a
man's actions Himself. It is right earth. For that only stands
fast upon his own centre ; Avhereas all things that have affinity
with the heavens move itpon the centre of another, wJdch they benefit."
Bacon's irony with regard to the ant is pretty severe. The
nut makes sad havoc iu the garden, Avhilst seeking only its own

BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MIND." 127

ends. And we may guess what Bacon infers Avith regard to
himself, when he says, " It is a blessed thing to have a mind
concentric Avith the orb of the universe." Again, " But the
corrupter sort of politics, that have not their minds instituted
and established in the true apprehension of duties, and the con-
templation of good in the universality, refer all things to them-
selves as if they were the world's centre, and that the concurrence of
all lines should touch in them and their fortunes; never caring
in all tempest what becomes of the ship, so they may retire
and save themselves in the cockboat of their own fortune "
(" De Augmentis," p. 23, 1640).

I would observe that the doctrine of Good being derived
out of Evil, and that man's ends are invisibly directed by supreme
Providence, seems prefigured in the substitution of Mariana
for Isabella, by which the purposed sin of Angelo becomes an
instrument of restitution and right. In " All's Well that Ends
Well" we find a parallel — Helena (like Mariana) exchanging
role with Diana in order to regain her husband. There can
be little doubt in the character of Diana (and in her name),
the author intended to picture Chastity and Virtue, just as
we refind it in the character of Isabella. Virtue and Vice are
made, in short, to change parts in both these cases. Sin or the
intention to sin, bringing good out of evil, man's individual selfish
ends being changed to serve the supreme imrposes of the Al-
mighty, as we perceive in the secret agency of the Duke in " Mea-
sure for Measure." Bacon gives us a hint when he AVTites : —
" Also the question controverted with such heat between the
schools of Zeno and Socrates, on the one side, who placed
Felicity in Virtue simple or attended, which hath a great share
in the Duties of Life: and on the other side, other sects and
professions, as the schools of the Cirenaics and Epicureans, who
placed it in pleasure, and made Virtue — as it is used in some
Comedies where the mistress and the maid change habits — to be but
as a handmaid, without which pleasure cannot be well waited
and attended upon" (Lib. VII. " De Augmentis," p. 339, 1640).

128 BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MJND."

In the "Two Books of the Advancement" (1605) we read —
" Some Comedies of Errors." This simile we refind in Cicei'o's
"De Finibus" ("Concerning the Ends of Things Good and Evil").
" In the next place, by the concurrence of the Virtues which
reason terms the Mistress of all (though you contend they are
l)ut the pages and handmaids of pleasxire") ("De Finibus," Book II.
ch. v.). Bacon writes : " Vice itself assumes the shape and
shadow of virtue."

Sfepe latet vitiuin proximitate boiii. .
(" Colours of Good and Evil," 4.)

In " Much Ado about Nothing " we have the handmaid (Mar-
garet) of Hero changing places with her — that is, acting her
mistress. The residt is that Hero appears in the eyes of her
father, Claudio, as tainted. Virtue has changed places with vice.
This play may rightly be entitled a " Comedy of Errors." I
venture to think there is something in this idea, which might be
further worked out. For by this simple and clever artifice
we discover the full workings and effects of aj^pearance, or of
acting, and the disastrous consequences of \\ce when it takes the
place of virtue. Bacon has reversed the process he quotes.
Instead of virtue being the handmaid of vice, he has in this
Comedy, made vice the handmaid of virtue, to show how supreme
and beautiful virtue is if imattended. There is another moral
seemingly embraced in this change of characters. In this woi'ld
it is very easy for not only vice to appear virtuous, Imt easier
for virtue to appear vicious. For appearances go often further
than realities, seeing people have neither time, leisure, nor
sufficient penetration to always rightly gauge character or motive.
An honest character is far more likely to lay itself open to
censure and its enemies, than a crafty man of the world who
plays his cards well. * King Lear is entirely deceived by the
acting of Regan and Goneril, and the silence of Cordelia is con-

* Poor honest Lord, brought low by his own heart,
Undone by goodness.

(" Timon of Athens, " act iv. sc. 2.)

BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MIND." 129

strued the opposite way. Othello and Desdemona are the
victims of lago's acting in the same way. Timon of Athens
is the victim of the flattery of his friends, imagining they possess
as generous a nature as his own. The whole of Ethic turns upon
the correspondence of the internal to the external — leing and
appearance. Dowden describes the art of the plays thus : — " An
indifl'erence to externals in comparison with that which is of the
invisible life " (" Shakespeare's Mind," p. 34).

It is just this preference or predominance of the invisible,
interior life and reality, which constitutes the splendour and glory
of these plays. It is this Avhich establishes these works in our
hearts as household words — a second Bible, where those who are
in sorrow or distress may find themselves. The acting is the
world, but the reality is anatomized, and we may be sure Bacon
has carried this print of truth and goodness (for he says, " they
are one ") very much fiu^ther than we as yet can have the faintest
idea. The rationalism of these plays, which is only a question
of time, and of the application of the Baconian philosophy to
them, will reveal the voice of the Dead, speaking to us in no
uncertain tones. How fatal the deceitfulness of externals, pro-
testations, and acting are in life, is summed up in the play of
" King Lear," who is not the only fool in the world who believes
all he hears or what he sees alone.

Cord, ^yhat shall Cordelia do ? Love and be silent.

Lear. Let it be so ; thy truth then be thy doiver.

(" King Lear," act i. sc. 1.)

Bacon, under the heading " Loquacity," * argues the pro and
contra of Silence. The play of " King Lear " may almost be
called a tragic sermon on this text. For nothing is more in
contrast than the loquacity and protestations of love (towards
their father) of Began and Goneril, with the silence of Cordelia.
See what Bacon writes of " Ingratitude " (and it may be recalled
Goneril poisons her sister and commits suicide). " The crime of
* ^'Silence is a candidate for Truth " (xxxi. ).
I

I30 BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MIND."

ingi'atitude is not to be repressed by punishments, hut to he referred
over to the Furies " (Ingi-atitude, " Antitheta," XV.).

From an early age Bacon seems to have been imbued with
these ethical ideas joointing to the common welfare of men. For
in one of his earliest compositions we find " Phikmtia" or Selfish-
ness, introduced in a by no means favourable aspect. Bacon's
own life "svith regard to all this has yet to be Avritten — hy him-
self. We are convinced he sought power in order to command
Avdts and means * for his literary and philosophical ends rather
than for itself or himself. He says in the " Advancement," that
the society self or external self is apart and another thing altogether
from the interior (or true) man. And in this remark we can see he re-
garded the World of Action as a Stage where every man must play
a part. And is this not true 1 If we refuse to play a jDart in life
{or suppress say a part), we very soon find ourselves only lookers-
on. For as long as men are men, and life is what it is, to meet
those on equal terms who are not better, and perhaps even worse
than om^selves, we must carry a mask of reserve, and conform to
the Avorld's ways. Bacon, we venture to suggest, conformed to
the universal insanity of his age. He tried plain-speaking and
honest speech, and found no road to preferment that way. He
saw flattery and servility and intrigue were the only paths to
honour. He saw a great good might come of a little wrong,
and he chose this Avay. In reflecting upon Bacon's political
life and character, critics have written as if he lived in a Palace
of Truth. They forget Elizabeth's Court and her successors
was full of intrigue, crooked ways, and honesty carried on the
sleeve a disqualifier for advancement. Bacon who writes is
quite another man from the Bacon who acts. In the former we
have the real man, in the latter the man of the world playing his
part, where all is acting. He probably saw no more immo-

* " For good thoughts (tliough God accept them), yet towards men are
little better than good dreams, except tliey be put in act, and that cannot he
without jMwcr and 2^1^06, as the vantage and commanding ground" ("Of
Great Place ").

BACON'S " GEORGICS OF THE MIND." 131

rality in this double life than most men do who do not carry
windows in their breasts, the question of morality being often
more matter of degree than principle. The man of honest heart
who finds himself fallen amongst dishonest people or thieves,
may be well pardoned playing a role to be on fair terms with
them.

It seems to us in " Measure for Measm^e " we have reflected
in the person of Angelo, and in the incident of the sub-
stitution of Mariana for Isabella, a lesson of extraordinary
suggestion and ethical instruction. For it is in the power of
Providence to shape " our ends, rough hew them how we will."
Evil often is followed by good, even as day follows night, and
spring winter.

The supreme good is undoubtedly extracted out of things evil,
the evil of the present moment being the progenitor of good
future.

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied ;
And vice sometimes by action dignified.

(" Romeo and Juliet," act ii. sc. 3.)

There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mask of virtue on liis outward part.

(" Merchant of Venice," act iii. sc. 2.)