NB. Mostly longer quotes are included.
Short phrases, with a few exceptions, are omitted. The translations are those
from the Everyman edition, but I have arranged them
by essays. This order seems to me more convenient than the alphabetical. I have
also added the non-Biblical sources courtesy of the edition by the Rev. John
Hunter (Longmans, Green and Co., 1897; first published c. 1873).
An asterisk denotes an author and/or a work explicitly mentioned by Bacon.
1. Of Truth
2. Of Death
Pompa
mortis magis terret quam mors ipsa: It is the trappings of death that terrify, rather than
death itself (attributed to Seneca, but really only very free paraphrase of Epistles, XXIV, section 14 in
particular). See Marjorie Walters, “The
Literary Background of Francis Bacon’s Essay ‘Of Death’”, The Modern Language Review 35, no. 1 (1940), 1–7.
Cogita
quam diu eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantum fortis, aut miser, sed etiam
fastidiosus potest:
Consider how long you have been doing the same things: death may be desired not
only by the valiant or the miserable, but also by the victim of ennui (Seneca, Epistles, LXXVII, misquoted from
“Cogita, quamdiu iam idem facias: cibus, somnus, libido, per hunc circulum
curritur. Mori velle non tantum prudens aut fortis aut miser, etiam fastidiosus
potest.”). Bacon translates this one in
situ in the next sentence.
Livia,
conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale: Farewell, Livia, keep after me the
memory of our marriage (Suetonius, Augustus, 99).
Jam
Tiberium vires et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant: Tiberius was fast losing
his bodily strength, but not his gift of dissimulation (Tacitus*, Annals, VI.50, misquoted).
Ut
puto Deus fio:
Meseems I am becoming a God (Suetonius, Vespasian, 23, misquoted).
Feri,
si ex re sit populi Romani:
Strike, if it be for the good of the Roman people (Tacitus, Histories, I.41, misquoted).
Adeste
si quid mihi restat agendum:
Come now, if anything remains for me to do (Dio Cassius, Roman History, 76?).
Qui
finem vitae extremum inter munera ponat Naturae: [A mind] that reckons the close of
life one of Nature’s boons (Juvenal, Satires,
X.358, misquoted).
Extinctus
amabitur idem:
The same man [an object of ill-will while alive] shall be loved when his light
is out (Horace, Epistles,
II.1.14).
3. Of Unity
in Religion
In
veste varietas sit, scissura non sit: Let there be variety in the garment,
but no rent or cut (origin unknown).
Devita
profanas vocum novitates, et oppositiones falsi nominis scientiae: Avoid profane novelties
of words and opposition of science falsely so called (First Epistle to Timothy, VI.20).
Tantum
religio potuit suadere malorum: So great the evils to which religion could prompt
(Lucretius*, De
Rerum Natura, I.101).
Ira
hominis non implet justitiam Dei: The wrath of man doth not fulfil the justice of God (James. I.20).
4. Of Revenge
5. Of
Adversity
Bona
rerum secundarum optabilia, adversarum mirabilia: (Seneca, Epistles, LXVI). Translated in situ.
Vere
magnum, habere fragilitatem hominis, securitatem Dei: it is true greatness to
have in one the frailty of a man, and the security of a God (Seneca, Epistles, LIII). Translated in situ.
6. Of
Simulation and Dissimulation
7. Of Parents
and Children
Optimum
elige, suave et facile illud faciet consuetudo: Choose the best, and custom will
make it pleasant and easy (Pythagoras).
8. Of
Marriage and Single Life
Vetulam
suam praetulit immortalitati: He preferred his old wife to immortality [i.e. Penelope
to Calypso] (Cicero, De
Oratore,
I.44, paraphrase).
9. Of Envy
Non
est curiosus, quin idem sit malevolus: An inquisitive man is sure to be
malevolent also (Plautus, Stichus).
Invidia
festos dies non agit:
Envy keeps no holiday (proverb?).
10. Of Love
Satis
magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus: We are, one to another, a theatre (or spectacle) ample
enough (Seneca, Epistles, VII, misquoted, original
by Epicurus*).
11. Of Great
Place
Cum
non sis qui fueris, non esse cur velis vivere: When you are no longer the man you
have been, there is no reason why you should wish to live (Cicero, Epistulae
ad Familiares,
183 [VII.3], to Marius from Rome, 46 BC).
Illi
mors gravis incubat, / Qui notus nimis omnibus, / Ignotus moritur: Death falls heavy on him,
/ Who, too well known to all others, / Dies to himself unknown. (Seneca, Thyestes, II.401–3, misquoted).
Et
conversus Deus, ut aspiceret opera quae fecerunt manus suae, vidit quod omnia
essent bona nimis:
And God turned to behold the works which his hands had made, and saw that all
were very good (Genesis, I.31).
Omnium
consensu capax imperii, nisi imperasset: All men deemed him fit for the
empire – had he never become an emperor (Tacitus*, Histories, I.49).
Solus
imperantium Vespasianus mutatus in melius: Vespasian, alone among emperors, was
changed for the better [by empire] (Tacitus*, Histories, I.50, misquoted).
12. Of
Boldness
13. Of
Goodness and Goodness of Nature
14. Of
Nobility
15. Of
Seditions and Troubles
Ille
etiam caecos instare tumultus / Saepe monet, fraudesque et operta tumescere
bella. / He
also [the sun] often gives warning of dark rebellions imminent: Of treachery
and hidden warfare brewing. (Virgil, Georgics, I.464-5.)
Illam
Terra parens, ira iritata Deorum, / Extremam (ut perhibent) Coeo Enceladoque
sororem / Progenuit.:
Her did mother Earth, inflamed with wrath against the Gods, Bring forth (so
runs the story), youngest sister to Coeus and Enceladus.(Virgil, Aeneid, IV.178)
Conflata
magna invidia, seu bene seu male gesta premunt: When great ill-will has been
conceived [toward a ruler], all his acts, good or bad, alike condemn hims
(Tacitus*, Histories, I.7).
Errant
in officio, sed tamen qui mallent imperantium mandata interpretari, quam exequi: They were full of zeal,
and yet rather inclined to discuss than to execute the orders of their officers
(Tacitus*, Histories, II.39, paraphrased).
liberius
quam ut imperantum meminissent: more freely than was compatible with respect to their
rulers (Tacitus*, Annals, III.4, paraphrased).
Solvam
cingula regum:
I will loose the girdles of kings (Isaiah,
XLV.1; cf. Job, XII.18).
Hinc
usura vorax, rapidumque in tempore foenus / Hinc concussa fides, et multis
utile bellum.:
Hence usury rapacious, and interest greedily advancing to the reckoning day, / Hence
credit shaken, and war that was a gain to many. (Lucan, Pharsalia, I.181-2, misquoted)
Dolendi
modus, timendi non item:
There is a limit to grieving, but none to fearing (Pliny the Younger, Epistles, VIII.17, misquoted).
Materiam
superabit opus:
the workmanship will excel the material (Ovid, Metamorphoses, II.5, misquoted,
translated in situ).
Sylla
nescivit litteras, non potuit dictare: Sylla was ignorant of letters, he
could not ‘dictate’ (Suetonius, Julius
Caesar,
77, misquoted).
Legi
a se militem, non emi:
That his soldiers were levied, not bought (Tacitus, Histories, I.5; Plutarch, Life of Galba).
Si
vixero, non opus erit amplius Romano imperio militidus: If I live, the Roman
Empire will have no further need of soldiers (Flavius Vopiscus, Probus).
Atque
is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum facinus auderent pauci, plures vellent,
omnes paterentur:
The temper of men’s minds was such, that while only a few dared to do so vile a
deed, many desired it and all acquiesced in it (Tacitus*, Histories, I.28).
16. Of
Atheism
Non
deos vulgi negare profanum, sed vulgi opiniones diis applicare profanum: It is not profane to deny
the gods of the vulgar; but it is profane to apply to the gods the beliefs of
the vulgar (Diogenes Laertius, X.123).
Non
est jam dicere, ut populus, sic sacerdos; quia nec sic populus, ut sacerdos.: We cannot now say: As the
people, so is the priest. For in fact the people are not so [bad] as the priest
(St Bernard*, Sermo ad Pastores).
Quam
volumus licet, patres conscripti, nos amemus, tamen nec numero Hispanos, nec
robore Gallos, nec calliditate Poenos, nec artibus Graecos, nec denique hoc
ipso hujus gentis et terrae domestico nativoque sensu Italos ipsos et Latinos;
sed pietate, ac religion, atque hac una sapientia, quod Deorum immortalium
numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes nationesque superavimus.: Esteem ourselves as we
may, Senators, yet we are not superior to the Spaniards in numbers, nor to the
Gauls in bodily force, nor to the Carthaginians in cunning, nor to the Greeks
in arts, nor, indeed, to the Italians and Latins themselves in the inborn
domestic sentiment which belong to this land and nation; but in piety, and
religion, and the one great wisdom – the recognition that all is ruled and
ordered by the will of the immortal gods – it is here that we have surpassed
all tribes and peoples (Cicero*, De
Haruspicum Responsis, IX).
17. Of
Superstition
18. Of Travel
19. Of Empire
Sunt
plerumque regum voluntates vehementes, et inter se contrariae: The desires of princes
are commonly vehement and contradictory one to another (Sallust, Bellum Jugurthinum, 113, misquoted and wrongly
attributed to Tacitus* by Bacon).
Memento
quod es homo/Deus:
Remember that thou art a man/god (origin unknown).
20. Of
Counsel
Plenus
rimarum sum:
I am full of chinks (Terence, Eunuchus,
I.2.25).
non
inveniet fidem super terram:
He shall not find faith on the earth (allusion to Luke, XVIII.8).
Principis
est virtus maxima nosse suos: A prince’s greatest virtue is to know his men (Martial,
Epigrams, VIII.15).
Optimi
consiliarii mortui:
The best counsellors are the dead (proverb?).
In
nocte consilium:
Night brings counsel (proverb?).
21. Of Delay
22. Of
Cunning
Mitte ambos nudos ad
ignotos et videbis:
Send them both naked before strangers and you shall see (Diogenes Laertius,
II.73).
Se non diversas spes, sed
incolumitatem imperatoris simpliciter spectare: He said he did not [like Burrus]
cherish hopes from opposite quarters, but looked simply to the Emperor’s safety
(Tacitus, Annals, XIV.57).
Prudens advertit ad gressus suos:
stultus divertit ad dolos:
The wise man takes heed to his own steps; the fool turns aside to deceits (Cf. Proverbs, XIV.8).
23. Of Wisdom
for a Man’s Self
sui
amantes sine rivali:
Lovers of themselves without a rival (Cicero*, Epistulae ad
Quintum fratrem,
26 (III.6), November 54 BC, misquoted).
24. Of
Innovations
25. Of
Despatch
26. Of
Seeming Wise
magno
conatu nugas:
[produce] trifles with great effort (Terence, Heauton Timorumenos, III.5.8).
Respondes,
altero ad frontem sublato, altero ad mentum depresso supercilio, crudelitatem
tibi non placere:
You reply – with one eyebrow lifted to your forehead and the other drawn to
your chin – that you are no lover of cruelty (Cicero*, In
Pisonem,
6).
Hominem
delirum, qui verborum minutiis rerum frangit pondera: A madman, who wrecks
weighty realities on mere verbal subtleties (Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, X.1, paraphrased and wrongly
attributed to Aulus Gellius by Bacon).
27. Of
Friendship
Magna
civitas, magna solitudo:
A great city is a great solitude (Strabo quoting a Greek comic poet).
Haec
pro amicitia nostra non occultavi: These things, out of regard for our friendship, I have
not concealed (Tacitus, Annals, IV.40).
28. Of
Expense
29. Of the
true Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates
negotiis
pares:
(men who are) equal to conducting affairs (Tacitus, Annals, III.30).
Terra
potens armis atque ubere glebae: A land mighty in arms and fertility of soil (Virgil, Aeneid, I.531, misquoted).
jus
civitatis... jus commercii, jus connubii, jus haereditatis... jus suffragii...
jus honorum:
the right of citizenship... the right of trading, of marriage, of
inheritance... of voting... of holding public office (origin unknown).
Consilium
Pompeii plane Themistocleum est; putat enim, qui mari potipur, eum rerum potiri: Pompey follows a truly
Themistoclean policy: he thinks that he who commands the sea, commands all (Cicero*,
Epistulae
ad Atticum,
199 (X.8), 2 May 49 from Cumae, paraphrased).
30. Of
Regimen of Health
31. Of
Suspicion
32. Of
Discourse
Parce,
puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris: Boy, spare the goad, and pull harder
at the reins (Ovid, Metamorphoses, II.127).
33. Of
Plantations
34. Of Riches
In
studio rei amplificandae apparebat non avaritiae praedam sed instrumentum
bonitati quaeri:
In his pursuit of wealth it was plain that he sought, not food for avarice, but
an instrument of doing good (Cicero*, Pro Rabirio
Postumo,
2).
Qui
festinat ad divitias non erit insons: He that maketh haste to be rich
shall not be innocent (Proverbs,
XXVIII.20).
in
sudore vultus
alieni: in the sweat of another’s
face (Genesis, III.19).
testamenta
er orbos tanquam indagine capi: Childless men and their bequests were caught by him as
in a net (Tacitus*, Annals, XIII.42).
35. Of
Prophesies
At
domus Aeneae cunctis dominabitur oris, / Et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab
illis: But
the house of Aeneas shall rule over all the coasts / – his children’s children,
and those that shall be born of them. (Virgil, Aeneid, III.97, wrongly
attributed to Homer by Bacon).
Venient
annis / Saecula seris, quibus Oceanus / Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens / Pateat
tellus, Tiphysque novos / Detegat orbes, nec sit terris / Ulthima Thule: In later ages there shall
come a time, / When Ocean shall loose the bands of nature, / And a vast
continent shall lie open, / And Tiphys shall disclose new worlds, / And Thule
shall no longer be the end of the world. (Seneca*, Medea, II.375–9).
Philippis
iterum me videbis:
Thou shalt see me again at Philippi (Plutarch, Life of Brutus).
Tu
quoque, Galba, degustabis imperium: Thou also, Galba, shalt taste of empire (Tacitus, Annals, VI.26).
Octogesimus
octavus mirabilis annus:
Eighty-eight, a year of wonders (Regiomontanus*).
36. Of
Ambition
37. Of
Masques and Triumphs
38. Of Nature
in Men
Optimus
ille animi vindex laedentia pectus / Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel.: He best asserts the
soul’s freedom, who snaps the fetters / That gall his breast, and cease once
for all to suffer. (Ovid, Remedia
Amoris,
293-4).
Multum
incola fuit anima mea:
My soul hath been a long sojourner (Psalms,
CXX.6).
39. Of Custom
and Education
40. Of
Fortune
Faber
quisque fortunae suae:
Every man is the architect of his fortune (proverb, reportedly by Appius
Claudian).
Serpens
nisi serpentem comederit not fit draco: A serpent unless it has eaten a
serpent does not become a dragon (proverb).
In
illo viro tantum robur corporis et animi fuit, ut quocunque loco natus esset,
fortunam sibi facturus videretur: There was in him such strength of body and mind, that
in whatever rank he had been born, he would have been likely to win fortune for
himself (Livy, XXXIX.40).
Caesarem
portas, et fortunam ejus:
You carry Caesar and his fortune (Plutarch, Life
of Caesar).
41. Of Usury
Ignavum
fucos pecus a praesepibus arcent: The drones, an idle swarm, they banish from their hives
(Virgil*, Georgics, IV.168).
in
sudore vultus tui comedes panem tuum: In thy sweat of thy face, shalt thou
eat thy bread (Genesis, III.19).
concessum
propter duritiem cordis:
a thing allowed on account of the hardness of men’s hearts (Cf. Matthew, XIX.8).
42. Of Youth
and Age
Juventutem
egit erroribus, imo furoribus, plenam: He spent a youth full of errors, nay
of madnesses (Spartian, Vit. Sev.).
Idem
manebat, neque idem docebat:
He remained the same, when it was no longer becoming to him (Cicero, Brutus, XCV).
Ultima
primis cedebant:
The last of him was not equal to the first (Livy*, XXXVIII, 53, paraphrased).
43. Of Beauty
pulchrorum
autumnus pulcher:
the autumn of the beautiful is beautiful (Bacon’s own phrase, apparently).
44. Of
Deformity
Ubi
peccat in uno, periclitatur in altero: Where she errs in the one, she runs
a risk in the other (origin unknown, translated in situ).
45. Of
Building
46. Of
Gardens
47. Of
Negotiating
48. Of
Followers and Friends
49. Of
Suitors
Iniquum petas, ut aequum feras: Ask for more than is
just, in order to get what is just (Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, IV.5).
50. Of
Studies
Abeunt studia in mores: Studies pass into [i.e.
go to form] character (Ovid, Heroides, XV.83).
51. Of
Faction
tanquam unus ex nobis: as one of us (Genesis, III.22).
52. Of
Ceremonies and Respects
53. Of Praise
species virtutibus similes: appearances resembling
virtues (origin unknown).
Nomen bonum instar unguenti
fragrantis:
A good name is like a fragrant ointment (Ecclesiastes,
VII.1, paraphrase).
spreta conscientia: in disdain of other’s
consciousness [of imperfection] (origin unknown).
laudando praecipere: to instruct by praising (origin
unknown).
pessimum genus inimicorum
laudantium:
the worst of sort of enemies, those that praise you (Tacitus, Agricola, 41).
Magnificabo apostolatum meum: I will magnify mine
office (St Paul*, Romans, XI.13).
54. Of Vain
Glory
Qui
de contemnenda gloria libros scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt: Men who write books ‘On
the duty of despising Glory’ allow their name to appear on the title-page (Cicero,
Tusculanae
Disputationes,
I.15).
Omnium, quae dixerat feceratque, arte
quadam ostentator:
He had an art of displaying to advantage all that he said and did (Tacitus*, Histories, II.80).
55. Of Honour
and Reputation
Omnis fama a domesticis
emanat:
All reputation comes from those who are of a man’s household (Quintus Tullius Cicero
(presumably), De petitione consulatus,
V.17).
negotiis pares: equal to conducting
affairs (Tacitus, Annals, III.30, see No. 29 above).
56. Of
Judicature
Fons turbatus, et vena
corrupta, est justus cadens in causa sua coram adversario: A righteous man being
cast in his suit in presence of his adversary, is as a troubled fountain and a
corrupt spring (Proverbs, XXV.26).
Qui fortiter emungit,
elicit sanguinem:
‘The wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood’ (Proverbs, XXX.33).
Pluet super eos laqueos: He shall rain snare upon
them (Psalms, XI.6).
Judicis officium est, ut
res, ita tempora rerum, &c.: It’s a judge’s office to inquire not only into the
facts of a case, but into the times and occasions thereof (Ovid, Tristia, I.1.37).
Salus populi suprema lex: The people’s welfare is
the supreme law (Cicero, De
Legibus,
III.3, wrongly attributed to the Twelve Tables by Bacon).
Nos scimus quia lex bona est, modo
quis ea utatur legitime:
We know that the law is good, provided that a man use it lawfully (First Epistle to Timothy, I.8).
57. Of Anger
animasque in vulnere ponunt: And leave their lives
[‘souls’] in the wound (Virgil, Georgics, IV.238).
58. Of
Vicissitudes of Things
