The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

OF GENERAL NATURALLIZATION. 155
from opinion, that it should be a thing superfluous associates; which was the ruin of their state,
to have it done by parliament; chiefly in respect never afterwards to be recovered.
of that true principle of state,," Principum ac- Of later times let me lead your consideration to
tiones praecipue ad famam sunt componende'." behold the like events in the kingdom of Arragon;
It will lift up a sign to all the world of our love which kingdom was united with Castile and the
towards them, and good agreement with them. rest of Spain in the persons of Ferdinando and
And these are, Mr. Speaker, the material objec- Isabella, and so continued many years; but yet
tions which have been made on the other side, so as it stood a kingdom severed and divided from
whereunto you have heard my answers; weigh the rest of the body of Spain in privileges, and
them in your wisdoms, and so I conclude that directly in this point of naturalization, or capacity
general part. of inheritance. What came of this 3 Thus much,
Now, Mr. Speaker, according as I promised, I that now of fresh memory, not past twelve years
must fill the other balance in expressing unto you since, only upon the voice of a condemned man
the inconveniences which we shall incur, if we out of the grate of a prison towards the street, that
shall not proceed to this naturalization: wherein cried ", Fueros, Libertad, Libertad," which is as
that inconvenience, which above all others, and much as liberties or privileges, there was raised a
alone by itself, if there were none other, doth dangerous rebellion, which was suppressed with
exceedingly move me, and may move you, is a great difficulty with an army royal. After which
position of estate, collected out of the records of victory nevertheless, to shun farther inconvetime, which is this: that wheresoever several nience, their privileges were disannulled, and they
kingdoms or estates have been united in sove- were incorporated with Castile and the rest of
reignty, if that union hath not been fortified and Spain. Upon so small a spark, notwithstanding
bound in with a farther union, and, namely, that so long continuance, were they ready to break and
which is now in question, of naturalization, this sever again.
hath followed, that at one time or other they have The like may be said of the states of Florence
broken again, being upon all occasions apt to and Pisa, which city of Pisa being united unto
revolt and relapse to the former separation. Florence, but not endowed with the benefit of
Of this assertion the first example which I will naturalization, upon the first light of foreign
set before you, is of that memorable union which assistance, by the expedition of Charles VIII. of
was between the Romans and the Latins, which France into Italy, did revolt, though it be since
continued from the battle at the lake of Regilla, again re-united and incorporated.
for many years, unto the consulships of C. Plau- The same effect we see in the most barbarous
tius and L. Ernmilius Mamercus.* At what time government, which shows it the rather to be an
tiere began, about this very point of naturaliza- effect of nature; for it was thought a fit policy by
tion, that war which was called, Bellum sociale," the council of Constantinople, to retain the three
being the most bloody and pernicious war that provinces of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldaever the Roman state endured: wherein, after via, which were as the very nurses of Constantinumbers of battles and infinite sieges and surprises nople, in respect of their provisions, to the end
of towns, the Romans in the end prevailed and they might be the less wasted, only under waymastered the Latins; but, as soon as ever they had woods as vassals and homagers, and not under
the honour of the war, looking back into what bashaws, as provinces of the Turkish empire:
perdition and confusion they were near to have which policy we see by late experience proved
been brought, they presently naturalized them all. unfortunate, as appeared by the revolt of the same
You speak of a naturalization in blood; there was three provinces, under the arms and conduct of
a naturalization indeed in blood. Sigismond, Prince of Transylvania; a leader very
Let me set before you again the example of famous for a time; which revolt is not yet fully
Sparta, and the rest of Peloponnesus, their associ- recovered. Whereas we seldom or never hear of
ates. The state of Sparta was a nice and jealous revolts of provinces incorporated to the Turkish
state in this point of imparting naturalization to empire.
their confederates. But what was the issue of it? On the other part,.Mr. Speaker, because it is
After they had held them in a kind of society and true what the logicians say,'" Opposita juxta se
amity for divers years, upon the first occasion posita magis elucescunt:" let us take a view, and
given, which was no more than the surprisal of we shall find thatwheresoever kingdoms and states
the castle of Thebes, by certain desperate conspi- have been united, and that union corroborate, by
raters in the habit of maskers, there ensued imme- the bond of mutual naturalization, you shall never
diately a general revolt and defection of their observe them afterwards, upon any occasion of
trouble or otherwise, to break and sever again: as
* 169 years after that battle. There are extant at this day we see most evidently before out eyes, in divers
coins or medals, in memory of a battle fought by this C.
Plautius at Priverrnum Another copy bath of T. Jlius provinces of France, that is to say, Guienne, Prolautus at Privernumence, NormAnother copy hath of T.BritManlius
and P. De&is. vence, Normandy, Britainy, which, notwithstand.