THE CLUE TO THE MYSTERY OF BACON'S LIFE.
The theory now put forward is based upon the assumption that Francis
Bacon at a very early age adopted the conception that he would devote
his life to the construction of an adequate language and literature for
his country and that he would do this remaining invisible. If he was the
author of "The Anatomie of the Mind," 1576, and of "Beautiful Blossoms,"
1577, he must have adopted this plan of obscurity as early as his
sixteenth year. It is possible, however, that it may be shown that at a
date still earlier he had decided upon this course. This, however, is
beyond doubt--that if Francis Bacon was associated in any way with the
literature of England from 1570 to 1605, with the exception of the small
volume of essays published in 1597, he most carefully concealed his
connection with it.
"Therefore, set it down," he says in the essay Of Simulation and
Dissimulation, "that a habit of secrecy is both politic and moral," and
in _Examples of the Antitheta_,[33] "Dissimulation is a compendious
wisdome." Here again is the same idea: "Beside in all wise humane
Government, they that sit at the helme, doe more happily bring their
purposes about, and insinuate more easily things fit for the people by
pretexts, and oblique courses; than by ... downright dealing. Nay (which
perchance may seem very strange) in things meerely naturall, you may
sooner deceive nature than force her; so improper and selfeimpeaching
are open direct proceedings; whereas on the other side, an oblique and
an insinuating way, gently glides along, and compasseth the intended
effect."[34]
It is noteworthy that Bacon had a quaint conceit of the Divine Being
which he was never tired of repeating. In the preface to the
"Advancement of Learning" (1640), the following passage occurs:--
"_For of the knowledges which contemplate the works of Nature, the
holy Philosopher hath said expressly_; that the glory of God is to
conceal a thing, but the glory of the King is to find it out: _as
if the Divine Nature, according to the innocent and sweet play of
children, which hide themselves to the end they may be found; took
delight to hide his works, to the end they might be found out; and
of his indulgence and goodness to mankind, had chosen the Soule of
man to be his Play-fellow in this game_."
Again on page 45 of the work itself he says:--
"For so he (King Solomon) saith expressly, _The Glory of God is to
conceale a thing, but the Glory of a King is to find it out_. As if
according to that innocent and affectionate play of children, the
Divine Majesty took delight to hide his works, to the end to have
them found out, and as if _Kings_ could not obtain a greater
Honour, then to be God's play-fellowes in that game, especially
considering the great command they have of wits and means, whereby
the investigation of all things may be perfected."
Another phase of the same idea is to be found on page 136.
In the author's preface to the "Novum Organum" the following passage
occurs:--
"Whereas of the sciences which regard nature the Holy Philosopher
declares that 'it is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it is
the glory of the King to find it out.' Even as though the Divine
Nature took pleasure in the innocent and kindly sport of children
playing at hide and seek, and vouched-safe of his kindness and
goodness to admit the human spirit for his play fellow in that
game."
In almost identical words Bacon suggests the same conception in "In
Valerius Terminus" and in "Filum Labyrinthi."
In the Epistle Dedicatorie of "The French Academie" and elsewhere the
author is insisting on the same idea that "He (God) cannot be seene of
any mortal creature but is notwithstanding known by his works."
The close connection of Francis Bacon with the works (now seldom
studied) of the Emblem writers is vouched for by J. Baudoin.
Oliver Lector in "Letters from the Dead to the Dead" has given examples
of his association with the Dutch and French emblem writers. Three
Englishmen appear to have indulged in this fascinating pursuit--George
Whitney (1589), Henry Peacham (1612), and George Withers (1634). From
the Baconian point of view Peacham's "Minerva Britannia" is by far the
most interesting. The Emblem on page 34 is addressed "To the most
judicious and learned, SIR FRANCIS BACON Knight." On the opposite leaf,
paged thus, .33,[35] the design represents a hand holding a spear as in
the act of shaking it. But it is the frontispiece which bears specially
on the present contention. The design is now reproduced (Fig. IV). A
curtain is drawn to hide a figure, the hand only of which is protruding.
It has just written the words "MENTE VIDEBOR"--"By the mind I shall be
seen." Around the scroll are the words "Vivitur ingenio cetera mortis
erunt"--one lives in one's genius, other things shall be (or pass away)
in death.
That emblem represents the secret of Francis Bacon's life. At a very
early age, probably before he was twelve, he had conceived the idea that
he would imitate God, that he would hide his works in order that they
might be found out--that he would be seen only by his mind and that his
image should be concealed. There was no haphazard work about it. It was
not simply that having written poems or plays, and desiring not to be
known as the author on publishing them, he put someone else's name on
the title-page. There was first the conception of the idea, and then the
carefully-elaborated scheme for carrying it out.
There are numerous allusions in Elizabethan and early Jacobean
literature to someone who was active in literary matters but preferred
to remain unrecognised. Amongst these there are some which directly
refer to Francis Bacon, others which occur in books or under
circumstances which suggest association with him. It is not contended
that they amount to direct testimony, but the cumulative force of this
evidence must not be ignored. In some of the emblem books of the period
these allusions are frequent.
Then there is John Owen's epigram appearing in his "Epigrammatum,"
published in 1612.
AD. D.B.
"Si bene qui latuit, bene vixit, tu bene vivis:
Ingeniumque tuum grande latendo patet."
"Thou livest well if one well hid well lives,
And thy great genius in being concealed is revealed."
D. is elsewhere used by Owen as the initial of Dominus. The suggestion
that Ad. D.B. represents Ad Dominum Baconum is therefore reasonable.
Thomas Powell published in 1630 the "Attourney's Academy." The book is
dedicated "To True Nobility and Tryde learning beholden To no Mountaine
for Eminence, nor supportment for Height, Francis, Lord Verulam and
Viscount St. Albanes." Then follow these lines:--
"O Give me leave to pull the Curtaine by
That clouds thy Worth in such obscurity.
Good Seneca, stay but a while thy bleeding,
T' accept what I received at thy Reading:
Here I present it in a solemne strayne,
And thus I pluckt the Curtayne backe again."
In the "Mirrour of State and Eloquence," published in 1656, the
frontispiece is a very bad copy of Marshall's portrait of Bacon prefixed
to the 1640 Gilbert Wat's "Advancement of Learning." Under it are these
lines:--
"Grace, Honour, virtue, Learning, witt,
Are all within this Porture knitt
And left to time that it may tell,
What worth within this Peere did dwell."
The frontispiece previously referred to of "Truth brought to Light and
discovered by Time, or a discourse and Historicall narration of the
first XIIII. yeares of King James Reign," published in 1651, is full of
cryptic meaning and in one section of it there is a representation of a
coffin out of which is growing
"A spreading Tree
Full fraught with various Fruits most fresh and fair
To make succeeding Times most rich and rare."
The fruits are books and manuscripts. The volume contains speeches of
Bacon and copies of official documents signed by him.
The books of the emblem writers are still more remarkable. "Jacobi
Bornitii Emblemata Ethico Politica," 1659, contains at least a dozen
plates in which Bacon is represented. A suggestive emblem is No. 1 of
Cornelii Giselberti Plempii Amsterodarnum Monogrammon, bearing date
1616, the year of Shakespeare's death. It is now reproduced (Fig. V.).
It will be observed that the initial letters of each word in the
sentence--_Obscaenumque nimis crepuit Fortuna Batavis appellanda_--yield
F. Bacon. There are in other designs figures which are evidently
intended to represent Bacon. Emblem XXXVI. shows the inside of a
printer's shop and two men at work in the foreground blacking and fixing
the type. Behind is a workman setting type, and standing beside him,
apparently directing, or at any rate observing him, is a man with the
well-known Bacon hat on.
The contention may be stated thus:--Francis Bacon possessed, to quote
Macaulay, "the most exquisitely constructed intellect that has ever been
bestowed on any of the children of men." Hallam described him as "the
wisest, greatest of mankind," and affirmed that he might be compared to
Aristotle, Thucydides, Tacitus, Philippe de Comines, Machiavelli,
Davila, Hume, "all of these together," and confirming this view Addison
said that "he possessed at once all those extraordinary talents which
were divided amongst the greatest authors of antiquity." At twelve years
of age in industry he surpassed the capacity, and, in his mind, the
range of his contemporaries, and had acquired a thorough command of the
classical and modern languages. "He, after he had survaied all the
Records of Antiquity, after the volumes of men, betook himself to the
volume of the world and conquered whatever books possest." Having,
whilst still a youth, taken all knowledge to be his province, he had
read, marked, and absorbed the contents of nearly every book that had
been printed. How that boy read! Points of importance he underlined and
noted in the margin. Every subject he mastered--mathematics, geometry,
music, poetry, painting, astronomy, astrology, classical drama and
poetry, philosophy, history, theology, architecture.
Then--or perhaps before--came this marvellous conception, "Like God I
will be seen by my works, although my image shall never be
visible--_Mente videbor_. By the mind I shall be seen." So equipped, and
with such a scheme, he commenced and successfully carried through that
colossal enterprise in which he sought the good of all men, though in a
despised weed. "This," he said, "whether it be curiosity or vainglory,
or (if one takes it favourably) philanthropia, is so fixed in my mind as
it cannot be removed."
Translations of the classics, of histories, and other works were made.
In those he no doubt had assistance by the commandment of more wits than
his own, which is a thing he greatly affected. Books came from his
pen--poetry and prose--at a rate which, when the truth is revealed, will
literally "stagger humanity." Books were written by others under his
direction. He saw them through the press, and he did more. He had his
own wood blocks of devices, some, at any rate, of which were his own
design, and every book produced under his direction, whether written by
him or not, was marked by the use of one or more of these wood blocks.
The favourite device was the light A and the dark A. Probably the first
book published in England which was marked with this device was _De Rep.
Anglorum Instauranda libri decem, Authore Thoma Chalonero Equite,
Anglo_. This was printed by Thomas Vautrollerius,[36] and bears date
1579.
Vautrollier, and afterwards Richard Field, printed many of the books in
the issue of which Bacon was concerned from 1579 onwards. Henry
Bynneman, and afterwards his assignees Ralph Newbery and Henry Denham
and George Bishop, who was associated with Denham, were also printing
books issued under his auspices, and later Adam Islip, George Eld and
James Haviland came in for a liberal share of his patronage.
The cost of printing and publishing must have been very great. If the
facts ever come to light it will probably be found that Burghley was
Bacon's mainstay for financial support. It will also be found that Lady
Anne Bacon and Anthony Bacon were liberal contributors to the funds, and
that the cause of Francis Bacon's monetary difficulties and consequent
debts was the heavy obligation which he personally undertook in
connection with the production of the Elizabethan literature.
In the Dedications, Prefaces, and Epistles "To the Reader" also Francis
Bacon's mind may be recognised. When Addison wrote of Bacon, "One does
not know which to admire most in his writings, the strength of reason,
force of style, or brightness of imagination," his words might have been
inspired by these prefixes to the literature of this period. When once
the student has made himself thoroughly acquainted with Bacon's style of
writing prefaces he can never fail to recognise it, especially if he
reads the passages aloud. The Epistle Dedicatorie to the 1625 edition of
Barclay's "Argenis," signed Kingesmill Long, is one of the finest
examples of Baconian English extant. Who but the writer of the
Shakespeare plays could have written that specimen of musical language?
To hear it read aloud gives all the enjoyment of listening to a fine
composition of music. It is the same with the Shakespeare plays; only
when they are read aloud can the richness and charm of the language they
contain be appreciated.
Bacon's work can never be understood by anyone who has not realised the
marvellous character of the mind of the boy, his phenomenal industry,
and the fact that "he could imagine like a poet and execute like a clerk
of the works." It has been suggested that he had a secret Society, by
the agency of which he carried through his works, but it is difficult
to find any evidence that such a Society existed. It may be that he had
helpers without there having been anything of the nature of a Society.
From 1575 to 1605 (thirty years) with the exception of the trifles
published as Essays in 1597, there are no acknowledged fruits of his
work to which his name is attached. Even the two books of the
"Advancement of Learning," published in 1605, would have made little
demands on his time. Edmund Burke said: "Who is there that hearing the
name of Bacon does not instantly recognise everything of genius the most
profound, of literature the most extensive, of discovery the most
penetrating, of observation of human life the most distinguished and
refined." For such a man to write "The two books" would be no hard or
lengthy task.
The wonder is that Francis Bacon should have attached his name to the
1597 edition of the essays. He had written and published under other
names tomes of essays of at least equal merit. In Aphorism 128 of the
"Novum Organum" Bacon says, "But how sincere I am in my profession of
affection and goodwill towards the received sciences my published
writings, especially the books on the Advancement of Learning,
sufficiently shew." What are the published writings referred to? The
only works which bore his name were the incomplete volume of the Essays
and the "Wisdom of the Ancients," to neither of which the words quoted
are applicable.
Anthony Bacon, writing to Lady Anne in April, 1593, referring to her
"motherly offer" to help Francis out of debt by being content to bestow
the whole interest in an estate in Essex, called Markes, said
"beseeching you to believe that being so near and dear unto me as he is,
it cannot but be a grief unto me to see a mind that hath given so
sufficient proof of itself in having brought forth many good thoughts
for the general to be overburdened and cumbered with a care of clearing
his particular estate."
In 1593 nothing had been published under Bacon's name, and there is not
any production of his known which would justify Anthony's remark. What
was his motive in selecting this insignificant little volume of essays
whereby to proclaim himself a writer? One can understand his object in
addressing James in _The Two Books of the Advancement of Learning_. He
obtained in 1606, as Peacham has it, "preferment by his Patrone's
letter" by being appointed Solicitor-General.
During all this period--1575 to 1605--"the most exquisitely constructed
mind that has ever been bestowed on any of the children of men" appears
to have been dormant. Take the first three volumes of Spedding's "Life
and Letters," and carefully note all that is recorded as the product of
that mind during the years when it must have been at the zenith of its
power and activity. All the letters and tracts accredited to Bacon in
them which have come down to us would not account for six months--not
for three months--of its occupation.
The explanation that he was building up his great system of inductive
philosophy is quite inadequate. Rawley speaks of the "Novum Organum" as
having been in hand for twelve years. This would give 1608 as the year
when it was commenced. The "Cogitata et Visa," of which it was an
amplification, was probably written in 1606 or 1607, for on the 17th
February, 1607-8, Bodley writes acknowledging the receipt of it and
commenting on it.
Rawley says that it was during the last five years of Bacon's life that
he composed the greatest part of his books and writings both in English
and Latin, and supplies a list which comprises all his acknowledged
published works except the "Novum Organum" and the Essays.
In "The Statesmen and Favourites of England since the Reformation," it
is stated that the universal knowledge and comprehension of things
rendered Francis Bacon the observation of great and wise men, and
afterward the wonder of all. Yet it is remarkable how few are the
references to him amongst his contemporaries. Practically the only one
that would enable a reader to gain any knowledge of his personality is
Francis Osborn, who, in letters to his son, published in 1658, describes
him as he was in the last few years of his life. No one has left data
which enables a clear impression to be formed of Francis Bacon as he was
up to his fortieth year. The omission may be described as a conspiracy
of silence. How exactly the circumstances appear to fit in with the
first line of John Owen's epigram to Dominus B., published in
1612!--"Thou livest well if one well hid well lives"; and if the
suggestion now put forward be correct that Bacon deliberately resolved
that his image and personality should never be seen, but only the fruits
of his mind--the issues of his brain, to use Rawley's expression--how
apt is the second line of the epigram: "And thy great genius in being
concealed, is revealed."
FOOTNOTES:
[33] "Of the Advancement of Learning," 1640, page 312.
[34] "Of the Advancement of Learning," 1640, pages 115, 116.
[35] 33 is the numerical value of the name "Bacon." The stop preceding
it denotes cypher.
[36] Vautrollier was a scholar and printer who came to England from
Paris or Roan about the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, and first
commenced business in Blackfriars. In 1584 he printed _Jordanus Brunus_,
for which he was compelled to fly. In the next year he was in Edinburgh,
where, by his help, Scottish printing was greatly improved. Eventually
his pardon was procured by powerful friends, amongst whom was Thomas
Randolph. In 1588 Richard Field, who was apprenticed to Vautrollier,
married Jakin, his daughter, and on his death in 1589 succeeded to the
business.