THE PRAISE OF HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, BY FRANCIS BACON. , fMnce of Wales, eldest son of the King of Great Uritain, happy in the hopes conceived of him, and now happy in his memory, died on the 6th of Nov. 1(512, to the extreme concern and re gret of the whole kingdom, being a youth who had neither offended nor satiated the minds of men. He had by the excellence of his disposition excited high expectations among great numbers of all ranks ; nor had through the shortness of his life disappointed them. One capital circumstance added to these was, the esteem in which he was commonly held, of being firm to the cause of re ligion: and men of the best judgment were fully persuaded, that his life was a great support and security to his father from the danger of conspira cies; an evil, against which our age has scarce found a remedy ; so that the people s love of re ligion and the king overflowed to the prince : and this consideration deservedly heightened the sense of the loss of him. His person was strong and erect; his stature of a middle size; his limbs well made; his gait and deportment majestic; his face long and inclining to leanness : his habit of body full ; his look grave, and the motion of his eyes rather composed than spirited. In his counte nance were some marks of severity, and in his air some appearance of haughtiness. But whoever looked beyond these outward circumstances, and addressed and softened him with a due respect and seasonable discourse, found the prince to be gra cious and easy ; so that he seemed wholly differ ent in conversation from what he was in appear ance, and in fact raised in others an opinion of him self very unlike what his manner would at first have suggested. He was unquestionably ambi tious of commendation and glory, and was strong ly affected by every appearance of what is good and honourable ; which in a young man is to be con sidered as virtue. Arms and military men were
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a*e of the English reader, to give the sense of the original, without pretending to reach the force and conciseness of ex- C.
highly valued by him; and he breathed himself something warlike. He was much devoted to the magnificence of buildings and works of all kinds, though in other respects rather frugal ; and was a lover both of antiquity and arts. He show ed his esteem of learning in general more by the countenance which he gave to it, than by the time which he spent in it. His conduct in respect of morals did him the utmost honour; for he was thought exact in the knowledge and practice of every duty. His obedience to the king his father was wonderfully strict and exemplary : towards the queen he behaved with the highest reverence : to his brother he was indulgent; and had an en tire affection for his sister, whom he resembled in person as much as that of a young man could the beauty of a virgin. The instructors of his younger years (which rarely happens) continued high in his favour. In conversation he both expected a proper decorum, and practised it. In the daily business of life and the allotment of hours for the several offices of it, he was more constant and re gular than is usual at his age. His affections and passions were not strong, but rather equal than warm. With regard to that of love, there was a wonderful silence, considering his age, so that ne passed that dangerous time of his youth, in the highest fortune, and in a vigorous state of health, without any remarkable imputation of gallantry. In his court no person was observed to have any ascendant over him, or strong interest with him : and even the studies, with which he was most de lighted, had rather proper times assigned them, than were indulged to excess, and were rather re peated in their turns, than that any one kind of them had the preference of and controlled the rest : whether this arose from the moderation of his temper, and that in a genius not very forward, hut ripening by slow degrees, it did not yet appeal what would be the prevailing object of his incli nation. He had certainly strong parts, and was endued both with curiosity and capacity; but in speech he was slow, and in some measure hnsi-
