The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

A TRUE REPORT
OF
THE DETESTABLE TREASON,
INTENDED BY
DOCTOR RODERIGO LOPEZ,
A PHYSICIAN ATTENDING UPON THE PERSON OF THE QUEEN'S MAJESTY,
WHOM I E, FOR A SUMI OF MONEY, PROMISED TO BE PAID HIMI BY THE KING OF SPAIN, DID UNDERTAKE TO HAVE DESTROYED
BY POISON; WITH CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, BOTH OF THE PLOTTING AND DETECTING OF TIIE SAID TREASON.
[PENNED DURING THE QUEEN'S LIFE.]
THE King of Spain having found, by the violence or poison. A matter which might be
enterprise of 88, the difficulty of an invasion proved to be not only against all Christianity and
of England, and having also since that time religion, but against nature, the law of nations,
embraced the matters of France, being a design the honour of arms, the civil law, the rules
of a more easy nature, and better prepared to his of morality and policy; finally, to be the most
hand, hath of necessity for a time laid aside the condemned, barbarous, and ferine act that can be
prosecution of his attempts against this realm, by imagined; yea, supposing the quarrels and hostiopen forces, as knowing his means unable to lity between the, princes to be never so declared
wield both actions at once, as well that of England and so mortal, yet, were it not that it would be a
as that of France; and, therefore, casting at the very reproach unto the age, that the matter should
fairest, hath, in a manner, bent his whole strength be once disputed or called in question, it could
upon France, making, in the mean time, only a never be defended. And, therefore, I leave it to
defensive war upon the Low Countries. But the censure which Titus Livius giveth in the like
finding again,-that the supports and aids which case upon Perseus, the last King of the Macedons,
her majesty hath continued to the French king, afterwards overthrown, taken with his children,
are a principal impediment and retardation to his and led in triumph by the Romans; "Quem non
prevailing there according to his ends, he hath, justum bellum gerere regio animo, sed per omnia
now of late, by all means, projected to trouble the clandestina grassari scelera, latrociniorum ac vewaters here, and to cut us out some work at home, neficiorum, cernebant."
that by practice, without diverting and employing But to proceed: certain it is, that even about
any great forces, he might, nevertheless, divert this present time there have been suborned and
our succours from France. sent into this realm divers persons, some English,
According to which purpose, he first proved to some Irish, corrupted by money and promises, and
move some innovation in Scotland, not so much in resolved and conjured by priests in confession, to
hope to alienate the king from the amity of her have executed that most wretched and horrible
majesty, as practising to make a party there fact; of which number certain have been taken,
against the king himself, whereby he should be and some have suffered, and some are spared
compelled to use her majesty's forces for his because they have with great sorrow confessed
assistance. Then he solicited a subject within these attempts, and detested their suborners.
this realm, being a person of great nobility, to And if I should conjecture what the reason is, why
rise in arms and levy war against her majesty; this cursed enterprise was at this time so hotly,
which practice was by the same nobleman loyally and with such diligence pursued, I take it to be
and prudently revealed. And, lastly, rather, as it chiefly because the matters of France were ripe,
is to be thought, by the instigation of our traitor- and the King of Spain made himself ready to
ous fugitives in foreign parts, and the corrupter unmask himself, and to reap that in France, which
sort of his counsellors and ministers, than of his he had been long in sowing, in regard that, there
own nature and inclination, either of himself, or being like to be a divulsion in the league by the
his said counsellors and ministers using his reconciliation of some of the heads to the king, the
name, have descended to a course against all more passionate sort, being destituted by their
honour9 all society and humanity, odious to God associates, were like to cast themselves wholly
and man, detested by the heathens themselves, into the IKing of Spain's arms, and to dismember
which is, to take away the life of her majesty, some important piece of that crown; though now
(which God have in his precious custody!) by upon this fresh accident of receiving the king into
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