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

Lochithea 391delinquents’ hands were loose and yours bound; in that work you seemed another Fabius,but them the humour of Marcellus would have done better: what need you have soughtmore evidence than enough? Whilst you pretended the fi nding out of more, missing youraim you discredited what you had found. The best judgments think, though you neverused such speeches as are fathered upon you, yet you might well have done it and done butright. For this crime was second to none but the powder-plot. That would have blown upall at a blow, a merciful cruelty. This would have done the same by degrees, a lingering butas sure a way: one by one might have been culled out till all opposers had been removed.Besides, that other plot was scandalous to Rome, making Popery odious in the sight of allthe world: this hath been scandalous to the truth of the gospel, ever since the fi rst nullity 79to this instant, when justice hath her hands bound. The devil could not have invented amore mischievous practice to our State and church than this is, hath been, and is like tobe. God avert the evil. But herein you committed another fault, that as you were too openin the proceedings and so taught them where to defend themselves, so you gave them timeto undermine justice, and to work upon all advantage both of affections and humoursand opportunities and breaches of friendship; which they have so well followed (sparingneither pains nor cost) that it almost seems an offence in you to have done so much seeingthat you did no more: you stopped the confessions and accusations of some, who perhaps, ifthey had been suffered, would have spoken enough to have removed some stumbling blockout of your way; and yet you did not this in true favour to anyone, but out of I know notwhat present unadvised humour, supposing enough behind to discover all: which fell notout so: for there is sigillum confessionis non confi teri. However, (as the Apostle says in anothercase) you went not right to the truth: and therefore, though you were to be commended forwhat you did, yet you were to be reprehended for many circumstances in the doing, whichoccasioned that there was no more done. And doubtless God hath in this cross an eye tothe negligence, and these briars are left to be pricks in your side and thorns in your eyes. 80But now since the case so stands, we desire you to give way to power, and so to fi ght thatyou be not utterly broken, but reserved entire to service the Commonwealth again, and to7980“That is, the divorce of Lady Essex from her husband, preparatory to her marriage withRochester. We do not know what Bacon thought about that proceeding: he never spoke of it sofar as I am aware: but we do know that he could not possibly have spoken of it publicly in thisway, whatever he thought.”—James Spedding“The writer of the letter therefore was one who believed that this great Popish poison-plot wasa fact, that Coke had in his possession evidence of it enough to proceed upon, and that whilehe was searching for more the parties implicated had succeeded in suppressing the enquiry andbinding the hands of justice. Who can suppose that Bacon believed anything of the kind, orthat if he did he would have given utterance to his belief in such a letter as this? A man whohad heard Coke’s public declaration, who got his information in St. Paul’s walk, and his opinionfrom “the best judgments,”—that is, from the leaders and clergy of the Puritan party—mighthave believed that some great Popish crime had been discovered, and had been hushed upbecause it concerned great persons; but in Bacon’s position it is diffi cult to see how there couldhave been any hushing up without his being a party to it: and that he could have allowed thehint of such a scandal against the government to escape him in a letter which was certainlynot meant to be confi dential, may be set down among the things that are absolutely incredible.”—JamesSpedding