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The Mystery
of
Francis Bacon
_WILLIAM T. SMEDLEY_
[Illustration: FRANCIS BACON AT 9 YEARS OF AGE.
_From the bust at Gorhambury._]
THE MYSTERY
OF
FRANCIS BACON
BY
WILLIAM T. SMEDLEY.
Ad D.B.
"Si bene qui latuit, bene vixit, tu bene vivis:
Ingeniumque tuum grande latendo patet."
--_John Owen's Epigrammatum_, 1612.
LONDON:
ROBERT BANKS & SON,
RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET E.C.
1912.
"_But such is the infelicity and unhappy disposition
of the human mind in the course of invention that it
first distrusts and then despises itself: first will
not believe that any such thing can be found out; and
when it is found out, cannot understand how the world
should have missed it so long._"
--"NOVUM ORGANUM," Chap. CX.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preface 5
CHAPTER
I.--Sources of Information 9
II.--The Stock from which Bacon Came 14
III.--Francis Bacon, 1560 to 1572 19
IV.--At Cambridge 25
V.--Early Compositions 29
VI.--Bacon's "Temporis Partus Maximus" 36
VII.--Bacon's First Allegorical Romance 47
VIII.--Bacon in France, 1576-1579 52
IX.--Bacon's Suit on His Return to England, 1580 62
X.--The "Rare and Unaccustomed Suit" 76
XI.--Bacon's Second Visit to the Continent and After 82
XII.--Is it Probable that Bacon left Manuscripts Hidden Away? 94
XIII.--How the Elizabethan Literature was Produced 98
XIV.--The Clue to the Mystery of Bacon's Life 103
XV.--Burghley and Bacon 114
XVI.--The 1623 Folio Edition of Shakespeare's Plays 123
XVII.--The Authorised Version of the Bible, 1611 126
XVIII.--How Bacon Marked Books with the Publication of
Which He Was Connected 132
XIX.--Bacon and Emblemata 140
XX.--Shakespeare's Sonnets 148
XXI.--Bacon's Library 156
XXII.--Two German Opinions on Shakespeare and Bacon 161
XXIII.--The Testimony of Bacon's Contemporaries 170
XXIV.--The Missing Fourth Part of "The Great Instauration" 177
XXV.--The Philosophy of Bacon 187
Appendix 193
PREFACE.
Is there a mystery connected with the life of Francis Bacon? The average
student of history or literature will unhesitatingly reply in the
negative, perhaps qualifying his answer by adding:--Unless it be a
mystery that a man with such magnificent intellectual attainments could
have fallen so low as to prove a faithless friend to a generous
benefactor in the hour of his trial, and, upon being raised to one of
the highest positions of honour and influence in the State, to become a
corrupt public servant and a receiver of bribes to pervert justice.--It
is one of the most remarkable circumstances to be found in the history
of any country that a man admittedly pre-eminent in his intellectual
powers, spoken of by his contemporaries in the highest terms for his
virtues and his goodness, should, in subsequent ages, be held up to
obloquy and scorn and seldom be referred to except as an example of a
corrupt judge, a standing warning to those who must take heed how they
stand lest they fall. Truly the treatment which Francis Bacon has
received confirms the truth of the aphorism, "The evil that men do lives
after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
It is not the intention in the following brief survey of Bacon's life to
enter upon any attempt to vindicate his character. Since his works and
life have come prominently before the reading public, he has never been
without a defender. Montagu, Hepworth Dixon, and Spedding have, one
after the other, raised their voices against the injustice which has
been done to the memory of this great Englishman; and although
Macaulay, in his misleading and inaccurate essay,[1] abounding in
paradoxes and inconsistencies, produced the most powerful, though
prejudiced, attack which has been made on Bacon's fame, he may almost be
forgiven, because it provided the occasion for James Spedding in
"Evenings with a Reviewer," to respond with a thorough and complete
vindication of the man to whose memory he devoted his life. There rests
on every member of the Anglo-Saxon race an obligation--imposed upon him
by the benefits which he enjoys as the result of Francis Bacon's
life-work--to read this vindication of his character. Nor should mention
be omitted of the essay by Mr. J. M. Robertson on "Francis Bacon" in his
excellent work "Pioneer Humanists." All these defenders of Bacon treat
their subject from what may be termed the orthodox point of view. They
follow in the beaten track. They do not look for Bacon outside his
acknowledged works and letters. Since 1857, however, there has been
steadily growing a belief that Bacon was associated with the literature
of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods, and that he deliberately
concealed his connection with it. That this view is scouted by what are
termed the men of letters is well-known. They will have none of it. They
refuse its claim to a rational hearing. But, in spite of this, as years
go on, the number of adherents to the new theory steadily increases. The
scornful epithets that are hurled at them only appear to whet their
appetite, and increase their determination. Men and women devote their
lives with enthusiasm to the quest for further knowledge. They dig and
delve in the records of the period, and in the byeways of literature.
Theories which appear extravagant and untenable are propounded. Whether
any of these theories will come to be accepted and established beyond
cavil, time alone can prove. But, at any rate, it is certain that in
this quest many forgotten facts are brought to light, and the general
stock of information as to the literature of the period is augmented.
In the following pages it is sought to establish what may be termed one
of these extravagant theories. How far this attempt is successful, it is
for the reader to judge. Notwithstanding all that may be said to the
contrary, by far the greater part of Francis Bacon's life is unknown. An
attempt will be made by the aid of accredited documents and books to
represent in a new light his youth and early manhood. It is contended
that he deliberately sought to conceal his movements and work, although,
at the same time, he left the landmarks by which a diligent student
might follow them. In his youth he conceived the idea that the man
Francis Bacon should be concealed, and be revealed only by his works.
The motto, "_Mente videbor_"--by the mind I shall be seen--became the
guiding principle of his life.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Attention is drawn to one of the inaccuracies in "An Introduction to
Mathematics," by A. W. Whithead, Sc.D., F.R.S., published in the Home
University Library of Modern Knowledge. The author says: "Macaulay in
his essay on Bacon contrasts the certainty of mathematics with the
uncertainty of philosophy, and by way of a rhetorical example he says,
'There has been no re-action against Taylor's theorem.' He could not
have chosen a worse example. For, without having made an examination of
English text-books on mathematics contemporary with the publication of
this essay, the assumption is a fairly safe one that Taylor's theorem
was enunciated and proved wrongly in every one of them."
THE MYSTERY
OF
FRANCIS BACON.
CHAPTER I.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
The standard work is "The Life and Letters of Francis Bacon," by James
Spedding, which was published from 1858-1869. It comprises seven
volumes, with 3,033 pages. The first twenty years of Bacon's life are
disposed of in 8 pages, and the next ten years in 95 pages, of which 43
pages are taken up with three tracts attributed to him. There is
practically no information given as to what should be the most important
years of his life. The two first volumes carry the narrative to the end
of Elizabeth's reign, when Bacon had passed his fortieth year. There is
in them a considerable contribution to the history of the times, but a
critical perusal will establish the fact that they add very little to
our knowledge of the man, and they fail to give any adequate idea of how
he was occupied during those years. In the seven volumes 513 letters of
Bacon's are printed, and of these no less than 238 are addressed to
James I. and the Duke of Buckingham, and were written during the last
years of his life. The biographies by Montagu and Hepworth Dixon are
less pretentious, but contain little more information.
The first published Life of Bacon appears to have been unknown to all
these writers. In 1631 was published in Paris a translation of the
"Sylva Sylvarum," as the "Histoire Naturelle de Mre. Francois Bacon."
Prefixed to it is a chapter entitled "Discours sur la vie de Mre.
Francois Bacon, Chancelier D'Angleterre." Reference will be made to this
important discourse hereafter. It is sufficient for the present to say
that it definitely states that during his youth Bacon travelled in Italy
and Spain, which fact is to-day unrecognised by those who are accepted
as authorities on his life. In 1647 there was published at Leyden a
Dutch translation of forty-six of Bacon's Essays--the "Wisdom of the
Ancients" and the "Religious Meditations." The translation is by Peter
Boener, an apothecary of Nymegen, Holland, who was in Bacon's service
for some years as domestic apothecary, and occasional amanuensis, and
quitted his employment in 1623. Boener added a Life of Bacon which is a
mere fragment, but contains testimony by a personal attendant which is
of value. In 1657 William Rawley issued a volume of unpublished
manuscripts under the title of "Resuscitatio," and to these he added a
Life of the great Philosopher. Rawley is only once mentioned by Bacon.
His will contains the sentence: "I give to my chaplain, Dr. Rawleigh,
one hundred pounds." Rawley was born in 1590. When he became associated
with his master is not known, but it could only have been towards the
close of his life. Bacon appears to have reposed great confidence in
him. In 1627,[2] the year following Bacon's death, he published the
"Sylva Sylvarum." This must have been in the press before Bacon's death.
Rawley subsequently published other works, and was associated with Isaac
Gruter during the seventeenth century in producing on the continent
various editions of Bacon's works.
Rawley's account of Bacon's life is meagre, and, having regard to the
wealth of information which must have been at his disposal, it is a very
disappointing production. Still, it contains information which is not to
be found elsewhere. How incomplete it is may be gathered from the fact
that there is no reference in it to Bacon's fall.
In 1665 was published a volume, "The Statesmen and Favourites of England
since the Reformation." It was compiled by David Lloyd. The biographies
of the Elizabethan statesmen were written by someone who was closely
associated with them, and who appears to have had exceptional
opportunities of obtaining information as to their opinions and
characters.[3] As to how these lives came into Lloyd's possession
nothing is known. Prefixed to the biographies are two pages containing
"The Lord Bacon's judgment in a work of this nature." The chapter on
Bacon is a most important contribution to the subject, but it also
appears to have escaped the notice of Spedding, Hepworth Dixon, and
Montagu. In 1658 Francis Osborn, in Letters to his son, gives a graphic
description of the Lord Chancellor. Perhaps one can better picture Bacon
as he was in the strength of his manhood from Osborne's account of him
than from any other source. Thomas Bushell, another of Bacon's household
dependents, published in 1628 "The First Part of Youth's Errors." In a
letter therein addressed to Mr. John Eliot, he has left contributions to
our stock of knowledge. There are also some miscellaneous tracts written
by him, and published about the year 1660, which contain references to
Bacon.
Fuller's Worthies (1660) gives a short account of his life and
character, eulogistic but sparse. In 1679 was published "Baconiana," or
Certain Genuine Remains of Sir Francis Bacon, &c., by Bishop Tennison,
but it contains no better account of his life. Winstanley's Worthies
(1684) relies entirely on Rawley's Life, which is reproduced in it.
Aubrey's brief Lives were written about 1680. There are references to
Bacon in Arthur Wilson's "History of the Reign of James I."; in "The
Court of James I.," by Sir W. A.; in "Simeon D'Ewes' Diary"; and,
lastly, in his "Discoveries," Ben Jonson contributes a high eulogy on
Bacon's character and attainments.
In 1702 Robert Stephens, the Court historiographer, published a volume
of Bacon's letters, with an introduction giving some account of his
life; and there was a second edition in 1736. In 1740 David Mallet
published an edition of Bacon's works, and wrote a Life to accompany it.
This was subsequently printed as a separate volume. As a biography it is
without interest, as it contains no new facts as to his life.
In 1754 memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth from the year 1581 to
her death appeared, edited by Dr. Thomas Birch. These memoirs are
founded upon the letters of the various members of the Bacon family. In
1763 a volume of letters of Francis Bacon was issued under the same
editor.
Such are the sources of information which have come down to us in
biographical notices.
In the British Museum, the Record Office, and elsewhere are the
originals of the letters and the manuscripts of some of the tracts which
Spedding has printed.
The British Museum also possesses two books of Memoranda used by Bacon.
The Transportat is entirely, and the Promus is partly, in his
handwriting. Beyond his published works, that is all that so far has
been available.
Spedding remarks[4]: "What became of his books which were left to Sir
John Constable and must have contained traces of his reading, we do not
know, but very few appear to have survived."
Happily, Spedding was wrong. During the past ten years nearly 2,000
books which have passed through Bacon's hands have been gathered
together. These are copiously annotated by him, and from these
annotations the wide range and the methodical character of his reading
may be gathered. Manuscripts which were in his library, and at least
four common-place books in his handwriting, have also been recovered.
Particulars of these have not yet been made public, but the advantage of
access to them has been available in the preparation this volume.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] There are copies of this work bearing date 1626, the year in which
Bacon died.
[3] The concluding paragraph of the Epistle to the Reader is as follows:
"It's easily imaginable how unconcerned I am as to the fate of this Book
either in the History, or the Observations, since I have been so
faithful in the first, that it is not my own, but the Historians; and so
careful in the second that they are not mine, but the Histories."
[4] "Life and Letters," Vol. VII., page 552.