The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

244 OBSERVATIONS ON A LIBEL.
not in form of a just answer, lest I should fall low cared not to be counted a liar by all English,
into the error whereof Solomon speaketh thus, upon price of deceiving of Spain and Italy; for
"s Answer not a fool in his own kind, lest thou also it must be understood, that it hath been the genebe like him;" but only to discover the malice, ral practice of this kind of men many years, of
and to reprove and convict the untruths thereof. the one side, to abuse the foreign estates, by
The points, that I have observed upon the making them believe that all is out of joint and
reading of this libel, are these following: ruinous here in England, and that there is great
I. Of the scope or drift of the libeller, part ready to join with the invader; and on the.II. Of the present estate of this realm of Eng- other side, to make the evil subjects of England
land, whether it may be truly vouched to be believe of great preparations abroad, and in great
prosperous or afflicted. readiness to be put in act, and so to deceive on
III. Of the proceedings against the pretended both sides: and this I take to be his principal
Catholics, whether they have been violent, or drift. So, again, it is an extravagant and incredimoderate, and necessary. ble conceit, to imagine that all the conclusions
IV. Of the disturbance of the quiet of Chris- and actions of estate which have passed during
tendom, and to what causes it may be justly her majesty's reign, should be ascribed to one
imputed. counsellor alone; and to such a one as was
V. Of the cunning of the libeller, in palliation never noted for an imperious or overruling man;
of his malicious invective against her majesty and to say, that though he carried them not by
and the state, with pretence of taxing only the violence, yet he compassed them by device, there
actions of the Lord Burleigh. is no man of judgment that looketh into the naVI. Certain true general notes upon the actions ture of these tiimes, but will easily descry that
of the Lord Burleigh. the wits of these days are too much refined for
VII. Of divers particular untruths and abuses any man to walk invisible, or to make all the
dispersed through the libel. world his instruments; and, therefore, no, not in
VII1. Of the height of impudency that these this point assuredly, the libeller spake as he
men are grown into, in publishing and avouching thought; but this he foresaw, that the imputauntruths; with a particular recital of some of tion of cunning doth breed suspicion, and the
them for an essay. imputation of greatness and sway doth breed
envy; and therefore finding where he was most
1. Of the scope or drift of the libeller. wrong, and by whose policy and experience their
It is good advice, in dealing with cautelous and plots were most crossed, the mark he shot at was
malicious persons, whose speech is ever at dis- to see whether he could heave at his lordship's
tance with their meanings,,, non quid dixerint, authority, by making him suspected to the queen,
sed quo spectarint, videndum:" a man is not to or generally odious to the realm; knowing well
regard what they affirm, or what they hold; but enough for the one point, that there are not only
what they would convey under their pretended jealousies, but certain revolutions in princes'
discovery, and what turn they would serve. It minds: so that it is a rare virtue in the rarest
soundeth strangely in the ears of an Englishman, princes to continue constant to the end in their
that the miseries of the present state of England favours and employments. And knowing for the
exceed them of former times whatsoever. One other point, that envy ever accompanieth greatwould straightway think with himself, doth this ness, though never so well deserved: and that his
man believe what he saith t Or, not believing it, lordship hath always marched a round and a real
doth he think it possible to make us believe it' course in service; and as he hath not moved envy
Surely, in my conceit, neither of both; but his by pomp and ostentation, so hath he never exend, no doubt, was to round the pope and the tinguished it by any popular or insinuative carKing of Spain in the ear, by seeming to tell a riage of himself; and this no doubt was his
tale to the people of England. For such books second drift.
are ever wont to be translated into divers lan- A third drift was, to assay if he could supplant
guages; and, no doubt, the man was not so simple and weaken, by this violent kind of libelling, and
as to think he could persuade the people of Eng- turning the whole imputation upon his lordship,
land the contrary of what they taste and feel. his resolution and courage; and to make him proBut he thought he might better abuse the states ceed more cautelously, and not so thoroughly and
abroad, if he directed his speech to them who strongly against them, knowing his lordship to
could best convict him, and disprove him if he be a politic man, and one that hath a great stake
said untrue; so that, as Livy saith in the like to lose.
case, "4 lEtolos magis, coram quibus verha fa- Lastly, lest, while I discover the cunning and
cerent, quam ad quos, pensi habere;" That the art of this fellow, I should make him wiser than
A/tolians, in their tale, did more respect those he was, I think a great part of this book was
who did overhear them, than those to whom they passion; "6 difficile est tacere, cum doleas." The
directed their speech: so in this manner this fel- humours of these men being of themselves eage.