"The old rule, to know a fool from a wise man: 'Mitte ambos nudos ad
ignotos, et videbis.'"] Attributed to "one of the philosophers" in
_Apophthegms_, No. 255. p. 404.
"I knew a counsellor and secretary that never came to Queen Elizabeth of
England with bills to sign, but he would always first put her into some
discourse of estate, that she might the less mind the bills."] King's
or queen's bills is a technical expression for a class of documents
requiring the royal signature, which is still, or was recently, in use.
See Murray's _Official Handbook_, by Mr. Redgrave, p. 257. Query, To
which of Queen Elizabeth's Secretaries of State does Bacon allude? And
again, who are meant by the "two who were competitors for the Secretary's
place in Queen Elizabeth's time," mentioned lower down?