of great things, and is worthy; it is a great self-esteem, based upon a consciousness of great powers. This grand and comprehensive aim, the production of good to the human race through the discovery of truth, was combined in him with the more practical desire to be of service to his country, service for which he felt himself by birth and education eminently fitted. He purposed, therefore, to obtain, if possible, some honourable post in the state which would give him the means of realising, so far as in him lay, these two great projects, and would at the same time enable him. to do somewhat for the church, the third of the objects whose good he had at heart. The constant striving after these three ends is the key to Bacon's life. His qualifications for accomplishing the task he thus set before him were not small. His intellect was far-seeing and acute, quick and yet cautious, meditative, methodical, and free from prejudice. If we add to this account what Bacon himself does not tell us—that he seems to have been of an unusually sweet temper and amiable disposition—we shall have a fairly complete picture of his mental character at the critical period of his entry into the world.
In 1580 he appears to have taken the first step in his projected career by applying, through his uncle, Burghley, for some post at court. His suit, though well received by the queen and the lord treasurer, was unsuccessful; the particulars of it are totally unknown. For two years after this disappointment he worked quietly at Gray's Inn, and in 1582 was admitted an outer barrister. In 1584 he took his seat in Parliament for Melcombe in Dorsetshire, but the notes for the session do not disclose what part he took or what reputation he gained. About the same time he made another application to Burghley, apparently with a view to expediting his progress at the bar. His uncle, who appears to have "taken his zeal for ambition," wrote him a severe letter, taking him to task for arrogance and pride, qualities which Bacon vehemently disclaimed. It is uncertain what success attended this suit; but as his advancement at the bar was unusually rapid, his uncle's influence may not improbably have been exerted in his behalf. Some years later, in 1589, he received the first substantial piece of patronage from his powerful kinsman, the reversion of the clerkship of the Star Chamber being granted to him. The office was valuable, worth about 1600 a year; but it did not become vacant for nearly twenty years, and was thus, as Bacon used to say, "like another man's ground buttailing upon his house, which might mend his prospect, but did not fill his barn." A considerable period of his life had thus slipped away, and his affairs had not prospered. He had written on the condition of parties in the church; he had set down his thoughts on philosophical reform in the lost tract, Temporis Partus Maximus; but he had failed in obtaining the position which he looked upon as an indispensable condition of success. A long and eloquent letter to Burghley,[1] written under these circumstances, gives a vivid picture of his mental state, throws additional light upon his character and aims, and at the same time gives a slight hint as to the cause of his uncle's slackness in promoting him.
Some time before this, perhaps as early as 1588, Bacon appears to have become acquainted with Essex, the impetuous and headstrong favourite of Elizabeth's later years. At the close of 1591 he was acting as the earl's confidential adviser, and in the following year Anthony Bacon, returning from the Continent, was also introduced to the young noble man, and the two brothers exerted themselves diligently in his service. In Feb. 1593 Parliament was called, and Bacon took his seat as member for Middlesex. The special occasion for which the House had been summoned was the discovery of one of the numerous Popish plots that distracted Elizabeth's reign. The conspiracy seemed to be formidable, and Government felt the necessity for increased supplies. As Bacon's conduct in this emergency seriously affected his fortunes, and has been much misunderstood, it is necessary to state, as briefly as possible, the whole facts of the case. The House having been duly informed of the state necessities, assented to a double subsidy, and appointed a committee to draw up the requisite articles. Before this was completed, a message arrived from the House of Lords requesting a conference, which was granted. The committee of the Commons were then informed that the crisis demanded a triple subsidy to be collected in a shorter time than usual, that the Lords could not assent to less than this, and that they desired to confer on the matter. This proposal of the Lords to discuss supply infringed upon the privileges of the Commons; accordingly, when the report of committee was read to the lower House, Bacon stood up and spoke against the proposed conference, pointing out at the same time that a communication from the Lords might be received, but that the actual deliberation on it must be taken by themselves alone. His motion, after some delay, was carried, and the conference was rejected. The Lords upon this lowered their demands, and desired merely to make a communication, which, being legitimate, was at once assented to. The House had then before them the proposal for a triple subsidy, to be collected in three, or, as the motion ultimately was shaped, in four years, instead of in six, as the ordinary custom would have been. Bacon, who approved of the increased subsidy, was opposed to the short period in which it was proposed to be raised. He suggested that it would be difficult or impossible for the people to meet such heavy demands, that discontent and trouble would arise, and that the better method of procedure was to raise money by levy or imposition. His motion appears to have received no support, and the four years subsidy was passed unanimously. Bacon, as it turned out, had been mistaken in thinking that the country would be unable to meet the increased taxation, and his conduct, though prompted by a pure desire to be of service to the queen, gave deep and well-nigh ineradicable offence. He was accused of seeking popularity, and was for a time excluded from the court. His letter to Burghley,[2] who had told him of the queen's displeasure with his speech, offers no apology for what he had
- ↑ "I wax now somewhat ancient; one-and-thirty years is a great deal of sand in the hour-glass. . . . I ever bare a mind (in some middle place that I could discharge) to serve her majesty; not as a man born under Sol, that loveth honour; nor under Jupiter, that loveth business (for the contemplative planet carrieth me away wholly); but as a man born under an excellent sovereign, that deserveth the dedication of all men's abilities. . . . Again, the meanness of my estate doth somewhat move me; for though I cannot accuse myself that I am either prodigal or slothful, yet my health is not to spend, nor my course to get. Lastly, I confess that I have as vast contemplative ends as I have moderate civil ends: for I have taken all knowledge to be my province; and if I could purge it of two sorts of rovers, whereof the one with frivolous disputations, confutations, and verbosities, the other with blind experiments and auricular traditions and impostures, hath committed so many spoils, I hope I should bring in industrious observations, grounded conclusions, and profitable inventions and discoveries—the best state of that province. This, whether it be curiosity, or vain-glory, or nature, or (if one take it favourably) philanthropia, is so fixed in my mind as it cannot be removed. And I do easily see, that place of any reasonable commandment doth bring commandment of more wits than of a man's own. . . . And if your lordship shall find now, or at any time, that I do seek or affect any place whereunto any that is nearer to your lordship shall be convenient, say then that I am a most dishonest man. And if your lordship will not carry me on, . . . this I will do, I will sell the inheritance that I have, and purchase some lease of quick revenue, or some office of gain that shall be executed by deputy, and so give over all care of service, and become some sorry bookmaker, or a true pioneer in that mine of truth."—(Spedding, Letters and Life, i. 108-9.)
- ↑ Spedding, Letters and Life, i. 234-35, cf. i. 362. This letter, with those to Puckering or Essex and the queen, i. 240-41, should be compared with what is said of them by Macaulay in his Essay on Bacon, and by Campbell, Lives, ii. 287.
