The Essays of Francis Bacon/LV Of Honour and Reputation

by Francis Bacon

LV. Of Honour and Reputation.

The winning of Honour is but the revealing of a man's virtue and worth without disadvantage. For some in their actions do woo and affect honour and reputation; which sort of men are commonly much talked of, but inwardly little admired. And some, contrariwise, darken their virtue in the shew of it; so as they be undervalued in opinion. If a man perform that^[1] which hath not been attempted before; or attempted and given over; or hath been achieved, but not with so good circumstance;^[2] he shall purchase more honour, than by effecting a matter of greater difficulty or virtue, wherein he is but a follower. If a man so temper his actions, as^[3] in some one of them he doth content every faction or combination of people, the music will be the fuller. A man is an ill husband^[4] of his honour, that entereth into any action, the failing wherein may disgrace him more than the carrying of it through can honour him. Honour that is gained and broken upon another^[5] hath the quickest reflexion, like diamonds cut with fascets. And therefore let a man contend to excel any competitors of his in honour, in out-shooting them, if he can, in their own bow. Discreet followers and servants help much to reputation. Omnis fama a domesticis emanat.^[6] Envy, which is the canker of honour, is best extinguished by declaring a man's self in his ends rather to seek merit than fame; and by attributing a man's successes rather to divine Providence and felicity, than to his own virtue or policy. The true marshalling of the degrees of sovereign honour are these. In the first place are conditores imperiorum, founders of states and commonwealths; such as were Romulus, Cyrus,^[7] Cæsar, Ottoman,^[8] Ismael. In the second place are legislatores, lawgivers; which are also called second founders, or perpetui principes,^[9] because they govern by their ordinances after they are gone; such were Lycurgus,^[10] Solon, Justinian,^[11] Eadgar,^[12] Alphonsus of Castile,^[13] the wise, that made the Siete partidas. In the third place are liberatores, or salvatores,^[14] such as compound^[15] the long miseries of civil wars, or deliver their countries from servitude of strangers or tyrants; as Augustus Cæsar, Vespasianus, Aurelianus,^[16] Theodoricus,^[17] King Henry the Seventh of England, King Henry the Fourth of France.^[18] In the fourth place are propagatores or propugnatores imperii;^[19] such as in honourable wars enlarge their territories, or make noble defence against invaders. And in the last place are patres patriæ,^[20] which reign justly, and make the times good wherein they live. Both which last kinds need no examples, they are in such number. Degrees of honour in subjects are, first participes curarum,^[21] those upon whom princes do discharge the greatest weight of their affairs; their right hands, as we call them. The next are duces belli,^[22] great leaders; such as are princes' lieutenants, and do them notable^[23] services in the wars. The third are gratiosi, favourites; such as exceed not this scantling,^[24] to be solace to the sovereign, and harmless to the people. And the fourth, negotiis pares;^[25] such as have great places under princes, and execute their places with sufficiency. There is an honour, likewise, which may be ranked amongst the greatest, which happeneth rarely; that is, of such as sacrifice^[26] themselves to death or danger for the good of their country; as was M. Regulus,^[27] and the two Decii.^[28]

1. That. What.
2. Circumstance. The logical surroundings or adjuncts of an action, such as its time, place, manner, or cause; in the singular, any one of these conditioning adjuncts. "My lord hath sent you this note; and by me this further charge,—that you swerve not from the smallest article of it, neither in time, matter, or other circumstance." Shakspere. Measure for Measure. iv. 2.
3. As. That.
4. Husband. One who manages his affairs with skill and thrift; a saving, frugal, or provident man; an economist. "I gave each of them a Musket with a Firelock on it, and about eight Charges of Powder and Ball, charging them to be very good Husbands of both, and not to use either of them but upon urgent Occasion." Defoe. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, p. 253 (Globe edition).
5. The Latin essay reads, "Honor qui comparativus est et alium praegravat," Honor which is gained and weighs down or depresses another, that is, 'honor which is gained by overcoming a competitor.'
6. All fame emanates from domestics. Bacon is quoting from a letter of Quintus Cicero to his brother Marcus Tullius, "Nam fere omnis sermo ad forensem famam a domesticis emanat auctoribus." Epistola Q. Ciceronis De Petitione Consulatus ad M. Fratrem. V. 17. M. Tullii Ciceronis Scripta Quae Manserunt Omnia. III. 649. R. Klotz. Leipzig. 1885.
7. Cyrus the Great, 559–529 B.C., founder of the Persian empire.
8. Osman I. (Othman, or Ottoman), died 1326, founder of the Ottoman empire. He became chief of his tribe in 1288, and assumed the title of emir (not of sultan) in 1299.
9. Perpetual princes.
10. Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, lived probably in the 9th century B.C. He is the traditional author of the laws and institutions of Sparta.
11. Flavius Anicius Justinianus, 'the Great,' 483–565 A.D., Byzantine emperor, 527–565.
12. Eadgar, or Edgar, 944–975, called 'the Peaceful,' great-grandson of Alfred, King of England, 959–975.
13. Alfonso X., 1221–1284, King of Leon and Castile, 1252–1282, surnamed 'the Wise' and 'the Astronomer.' He was the author of the Spanish code of laws, which is called Las Siete Partidas, from 'the seven parts' into which it is divided. Alfonso X. made Castilian the national language of Spain by causing the Bible to be translated into it, and by requiring all legal proceedings to be conducted in Castilian.
14. Liberators or saviours.
15. Compound. To settle or compose (disturbance, strife, difference, litigation).

    "Rise, Grumio, rise: we will compound this quarrel."
    

    Shakspere. The Taming of the Shrew. i. 2.

16. Claudius Lucius Valerius Domitius Aurelianus, 212(?)–275 A.D., Emperor of Rome 270–275 A.D. Aurelian was the conqueror of Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in 272 and 273. He was called by the Roman senate, the 'Restorer of the Roman Empire.'
17. Theodoric the Great, 454(?)–526, King of the East Goths. In mediaeval German romance Theodoric is celebrated as Dietrich von Bern (that is, Theodoric of Verona).
18. Henry IV., of France, 1553–1610, King of France, 1589–1610. He was the son of Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre, and Jeanne d'Albret, and is the Henry of Navarre of song and story.
19. Propagators or defenders of empire.
20. Fathers of their country.
21. Sharers of cares.
22. Leaders of war.
23. Notable. Worthy of notice; noteworthy; remarkable. "And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes." Daniel viii. 5.
24. Scantling. A small quantity, number, or amount. "The muleteer, as I told you, was a little, joyous, chirping fellow, who thought not of to-morrow, nor of what had gone before, or what was to follow, provided he got but his scantling of Burgundy, and a little chit-chat along with it." Sterne. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent. VII. 21.
25. Equal to negotiations. For Bacon's own translation, "able to manage affairs," see Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates.
26. Sacrifice, To make an offering or sacrifice of one's self; to devote one's self as an expression of thanksgiving, reconciliation, consecration, or penitence.
27. Marcus Atilius Regulus, a celebrated Roman general and consul, who died about 250 B.C. According to Roman tradition, Regulus in the first Punic War, after conquering and devastating the country of the Carthaginians up to the gates of Carthage, was finally defeated and taken prisoner. Some time afterwards, the Carthaginians sent Regulus to Rome to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, first exacting from him a promise, on oath, that, if he were unsuccessful, he would return to captivity. Regulus advised the Roman senate not to consent to the exchange, on the ground that it would be disadvantageous to Rome. Then, true to his oath, he returned to Carthage, where the enraged Carthaginians put him to death in the most barbarous manner.
28. The two Decii were father and son of the same name, Publius Decius Mus, of the plebeian gens of the Decii. The father was consul in 340 B.C. In the battle of Mt. Vesuvius in that year, Decius, repeating after the chief pontiff a solemn formula by which he devoted "the legions and auxiliaries of the enemy along with himself to the Dii Manes and the earth-goddess," then dashed into the ranks of the Latins, and met a death which was followed by a crushing defeat of the enemy. (Livy. VIII. 9.) The son, Publius Decius Mus, was consul for the fourth time in 295 B.C., and sacrificed himself after the manner of his father in the battle of Sentinum, when the left wing which he commanded was shaken by the Gauls. (Livy. X. 28. )