The works of Francis Bacon
Book Description
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: APOPHTHEGMS PUBLISHED BY DR. TENISON IN THE BACONIANA.1 1. Plutarch said well, It is otherwise in a commonwealth of men than of bees. The hive of a city or kingdom is in best condition when there is least of ...
MorePurchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: APOPHTHEGMS PUBLISHED BY DR. TENISON IN THE BACONIANA.1 1. Plutarch said well, It is otherwise in a commonwealth of men than of bees. The hive of a city or kingdom is in best condition when there is least of noise or buz in it. 2. The same Plutarch said of men of weak abilities set in great place, That they were like little statues set on great bases, made to appear the less by their advancement. 3. He said again, Good fame is like fire. When you have kindled it, you may easily preserve it; but if once you extinguish it, you will not easily kindle it again ; at least, not make it burn as bright as it did. 4. The answer of Apollonius to Vespasian is full of excellent instruction : Vespasian asked him, What was Nero's overthrow ? He answered, Nero could touch and tune the harp well; but in government sometimes he used to wind the pins too high, sometimes to let them down too low. And certain it is, that nothing destroy- eth authority so much as the unequal and untimely interchange of power pressed too far, and relaxed too much. i See Preface, pp. 317. 321. 5. Queen Elizabeth seeing Sir Edward in her garden, looked out at her window, and asked him in Italian, What does a man think of when he thinks of nothing ? Sir Edward (who had not had the effect of some of the Queen's grants so soon as he had hoped and desired) paused a little, and then made answer, Miidam, he thinks of a woman's promise. The Queen shrunk in her head; but was heard to say, Well, Sir Edward, I must not confide you. Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor.1 6. When any great officer, ecclesiastical or civil, was to be made, the Queen would inquire after the piety, integrity, learning of the man. And when she was satisfied in these qualifications, she would consider of his perso...
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