The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

200)C A SPEECH CONCERNING WAR WITH SPAIN.
the realm be grown too strong, England, Scotland, of the gentleness of Spain, which suffered us to
and Ireland are at the stake. go and come without any dispute. And for the
Neither doth it concern the state only, but our latter, of Cales, it ended in victory; we ravished
church: other kings, Papists, content themselves a principal city of wealth and strength in the high
to maintain their religion, in their own dominions; countries, sacked it, fired the Indian fleet that was
but the kings of Spain run a course to make them- in the port, and came home in triumph; and yet
selves protectors of the Popish religion, even to this day were never put in suit for it, nor deamongst the subjects of other kings: almost like manded reasons for our doings. You ought not
the Ottomans, that profess to plant the law of to forgot the battle of Kinsale in Ireland, what
Mahomet by the sword; and so the Spaniards do time the Spanish forces were joined with the
of the pope's law. And, therefore, if either the Irish, good soldiers as themselves, or better, and
king's blood, or our blood, or Christ's blood be exceeded us far in number, and yet they were soon
dear unto us, the quarrel is just, and to be em- defeated, and their general D'Avila taken pri-:
braced. soner, and that war by that battle quenched and
For the point of sufficient forces, the balancing ended.
of the forces of these kingdoms and their allies, And it is worthy to be noted how much our
with Spain and their allies, you know to be a power in those days was inferior to our present
Inatter of great and weighty consideration; but state. Then, a lady old, and owner only of Engyet to weigh them in a common understanding, land, entangled with the revolt of Ireland, and her
for your part, you are of opinion that Spain is no confederates of Holland much weaker, and in no
such giant; or if he be a giant, it will be but like conjuncture. Now, a famous king, and strengthGoliath and David, for God will be on our side. ened with a prince of singular expectation, and in
But to leave these spiritual considerations: you the prime of his years, owner of the entire isle of
do not see in true discourse of peace and war, Britain, enjoying Ireland populate and quiet, and
that we ought to doubt to be overmatched. To infinitely more supported by confederates of the
this opinion you are led by two things which lead Low Countries, Denmark, divers of the princes
all men; by experience, and by reason. of Germany, and others. As for the comparison
For experience; you do not find that for this of Spain as it was then, and as it is now, you
age, take it for 100 years, there was ever any en- will for good respects forbear to speak; only you
counter between Spanish and English of import- will say this, that Spain was then reputed to have
ance, either by sea or land, but the English came the wisest council of Europe, and not a council
off with the honour; witness the Laminas day, that will coinme at the whistle of a favourite.
the retreat of Gaunt, the battle of Newport, and Another point of experience you would not
some others: but there have been some actions, speak of, if it were not that there is a wonderful
both by sea and land, so memorable as scarce erroneous observation, which walketh about, consuffer the less to be spoken of. By sea, that of trary to all the true account of time; and it is, that
eighty-eight, when the Spaniards, putting them- the Spaniard, where he once gets in, will seldom
selves most upon their stirrups, sent forth that or never be got out again; and they give it an illinvincible armada which should have swallowed favoured simile, which you will not name, but
up England quick; the success whereof was, that nothing is less true: they got footing at Brest,
although that fleet swam like mountains upon our and some other parts in Britain, and quitted it:
seas, yet they did not so much as take a cock-boat they had Calais, Ardes, Amiens, and were part
of ours at sea, nor fire a cottage at land, but came beaten out, and part they rendered: they had
through our channel, and were driven, as SirWalter Vercelles in Savoy, and fairly left it: they had
Raleigh says, by squibs, fire-boats he means, from the other day the Valtoline, and now have put it
Calais, and were soundly beaten by our ships in in deposit. What they will do at Ormus we
fight, and many of them sunk, and finally durst shall see. So that, to speak truly of latter times,
not return the way they came, but made a scat- they have rather poached and offered at a number
tered perambulation, full of shipwrecks, by the of enterprises, than maintained any constantly.
Irish and Scottish seas to get home again; just And for Germany, in more ancient time, their
according to the curse of the Scriptures, ", that great Emperor Charles, afterhe had Germany althey came out against us one way, and fled before most in his fist, was forced in the end to go from
us seven ways." By land, who can forget the Isburgh, as it were in a mask by torch-light, and
two voyages made upon the continent itself of to quit every foot of his new acquests in GerSpain, that of Lisbon, and that of Cales, when in many, which you hope likewise will be the herethe former we knocked at the gates of tile greatest ditary issue of this late purchase of the Palaticity either of Spain or Portugal, and came off nate. And thus much for experience.
without seeing an enemy to look us in the face. For reason: it hath many branches; you will
And though we failed in our foundation, for that but extract a few first. It is a nation thin sown
Antonio, whom we thought to replace in his king- of men, partly by reason of the sterility of their
dom. found no party at all, yet it was a true trial soil, and partly because their natives are exhaust