Sir Francis Bacon's Journals - Sir Francis Bacon's New ...

Lochithea 155in England, and that there is a great part ready to join with the invader; and on the otherside, to make evil subjects of England believe of great preparations abroad and in greatreadiness to be put in act; and so to deceive on both sides.And this, I take to be, his principal drift. So again it is an extravagant and incredible conceitto imagine that all the conclusions and actions of Estate which have passed during herMajesty’s reign should be ascribed to one counsellor alone, and to such an one as was nevernoted for an imperious or overruling man. And to say that though he carried them not byviolence, yet he compassed them by device,—there is no man of judgment that lookethinto the nature of these times, but will easily descry that the wits of these days are toomuch refi ned, and practice too much in use, for any man to walk invisible, or to make allthe world his instruments.And therefore, no not in this point assuredly, the libeller spake as he thought. But thishe foresaw, that the imputation of cunning doth breed suspicion, and the imputation ofgreatness and sway doth breed envy.And therefore fi nding where he was most wrung and by whose policy and experience theirplots were most crossed, the mark he shot at was to see whether he could heave at isLordship’s authority by making him suspected to the Queen or generally odious to theRealm; knowing well enough for the one point, that there are not only jealousies, butcertain revolutions in Princes’ minds, so that it is a rare virtue in the rarest Princes tocontinue constant to the end in their favours and employments; and knowing for the otherpoint, that envy ever accompanieth greatness though never so well deserved, and that hisLordship hath always marched a round and real course in service, and as he hath not movedenvy by pomp and ostentation, so hath he never extinguished it by any popular or insinuativecarriage of himself.And this no doubt as his second drift.A third drift was, to assay if he could supplant and weaken (by this violent kind of libelling,and turning the whole imputation upon his Lordship) his resolution and courage,and to make him proceed more cautely and not so thoroughly and strongly against them;knowing his Lordship to be a politic man, and one that hath a great stake to lose.Lastly, lest while I discover the cunning and art of this fellow, I should make him wiserthan he was, I think a great part of the cause of this book was passion.Diffi cile est tacere cum doleas. The humours of these men being of themselves eager and fi erce,have by the abort and blasting of their hopes been kindled and enraged.And surely this book is of all that sort that have been written of the meanest workmanship;being fraughted with sundry base scoffs and cold amplifi cations and other characters ofdespite, but void of all judgment or ornament.