Francis Bacon's Essays

“The virtue of prosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude”

a man might think what the pain is, if he have but his finger’s end pressed or tortured; and thereby imagine what the pains of death are, when the whole body is corrupted and dissolved; when many times death passeth with less pain than the torture of a limb, for the most vital parts are not the quickest of sense.

Death is not as bad as imagined

in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a prince’s part to pardon -

> There is no man doth a wrong for the wrong’s sake, but thereby to purchase himself profit, or pleasure, or honor, or the like; therefore, why should I be angry with a man for loving himself better than me? And if any man should do wrong merely out of ill-nature, why, yet it is but like the thorn or briar, which prick and scratch, because they can do no other.

The illiberality of parents, in allowance towards their children, is a harmful error, makes them base, acquaints them with shifts, makes them sort with mean company, and makes them surfeit more when they come to plenty; and, therefore, the proof is best when men keep their authority towards their children, but not their purse.

Children sweeten labors, but they make misfortunes more bitter; they increase the cares of life, but they mitigate the remembrance of death.

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men, which, both in affection and means, have married and endowed the public.

It is often seen that bad husbands have very good wives; whether it be that it raiseth the price of their husbands’ kindness when it comes, or that the wives take a pride in their patience; but this never fails, if the bad husbands were of their own choosing, against their friends’ consent, for then they will be sure to make good their own folly.

A man that is busy and inquisitive, is commonly envious; for to know much of other men’s matters cannot be, because all that ado may concern his own estate; therefore, it must needs be that he taketh a kind of play-pleasure in looking upon the fortunes of others; neither can he that mindeth but his own business find much matter for envy

the Scripture calleth envy an evil eye. Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they rise, for the distance is altered; and it is like a deceit of the eye, that when others come on they think themselves go back.

Deformed persons and eunuchs, and old men and bastards, are envious; for he that cannot possibly mend his own case, will do what he can to impair another’s

persons of eminent virtue are less envied, for their fortune seemeth but due unto them; and no man envieth the payment of a debt, but rewards and liberality rather. Again, envy is ever joined with the comparing of a man’s self; and where there is no comparison, no envy; and therefore kings are not envied but by kings

Persons of noble blood are less envied in their rising; for it seemeth but right done to their birth: besides, there seemeth not so much added to their fortune

Envy is as the sunbeams, that beat hotter upon a bank or steep rising ground, than upon a flat - those that are advanced suddenly are envied more

pity ever healeth envy - especially in those who earned their honor alongside travails. Political persons are ever bemoaning the life they lead not because they feel it, but to abate the edge of envy

the act of envy had somewhat in it of witchcraft, so there is no other cure of envy but the cure of witchcraft; and that is, to remove the lot and to lay it upon another -> the wiser sort of great persons bring in ever upon the stage somebody upon whom to derive the envy that would come upon themselves; sometimes upon ministers and servants, sometimes upon colleagues and associates, and the like; and, for that turn, there are never wanting some persons of violent and undertaking natures, who, so they may have power and business, will take it at any cost.

there was never a proud man that thought so absurdly well of himself as the lover doth of the person loved; “it is impossible to love and to be wise.” This weakness appears to the loved most of all

it is a true rule, that love is ever rewarded, either with the reciprocal, or with an inward and secret contempt

martial men are given to love as they are given to wine, for perils commonly ask to be paid in pleasures.

There is in man’s nature a secret inclination and motion towards love of others, which, if it be not spent upon some one or a few, doth naturally spread itself towards many, and maketh men become humane and charitable, as it is seen sometimes in friars.

The vices of authority are chiefly four: delays, corruption, roughness, and facility.

For delays, give easy access, keep times appointed, go through with that which is in hand, and interlace not business but of necessity.

For corruption, do not only bind thine own hands or thy servant’s hands from taking, but bind the hands of suitors also from offering; for integrity used doth the one, but integrity professed, and with a manifest detestation of bribery, doth the other; and avoid not only the fault, but the suspicion. Whosoever is found variable, and changeth manifestly without manifest cause, giveth suspicion of corruption; therefore, always when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, and declare it, together with the reasons that move thee to change, and do not think to steal it. A servant or a favorite, if he be inward, and no other apparent cause of esteem, is commonly thought but a by-way to close corruption.

For roughness, it is a needless cause of discontent: severity breedeth fear, but roughness breedeth hate. Even reproofs from authority ought to be grave, and not taunting.

As for facility,it is worse than bribery, for bribes come but now and then; but if importunity or idle respectslead a man, he shall never be without; as Solomon saith, “To respect persons is not good; for such a man will transgress for a piece of bread.”

Authority brings our your true nature

Boldness is ill in counsel, good in execution; so that the right use of bold persons is, that they never command in chief, but be seconds and under the direction of others; for in counsel it is good to see dangers; and in execution not to see them except they be very great.

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall;the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall; but in charity there is no excess, neither can angel or man come in danger by it.

If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them; if he be compassionate towards the afflictions of others, it shows that his heart is like the noble tree that is wounded itself when it gives the balm; if he easily pardons and remits offenses, it shows that his mind is planted above injuries, so that he cannot be shot; if he be thankful for small benefits, it shows that he weighs men’s minds, and not their trash

money is like muck [= manure], not good unless it is spread.

There are in every state two portions of subjects, the nobles and the commonalty. When one of these is discontented, the danger is not great; because common people are slow to move if they are not stirred up by the greater sort; and the greater sort have little strength unless the multitude are apt and ready to move of themselves

Let his travel appear rather in his discourse than in his apparel or gesture; and in his discourse let him be advised in his answers rather than forward to tell stories; and let it appear that he does not change his own country’s manners for those of foreign parts, but only plants some flowers of what he has learned abroad into the customs of his own country

It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire, and many things to fear

Yet that commonly is the case of kings, who—being at the highest—have nothing to desire, which makes their minds more languishing; and •have many representations of perils and shadows, which makes their minds less clear

he who is accustomed to going forward, and finds a stop, falls out of his own favour and is not the thing he was.

Taxes and duties upon them seldom do good to the king’s revenue, for what he wins by increasing the particular rates he loses by the decrease in the total bulk of trading

training men and arming them •in several places, •under several commanders, and •without donatives are things of defence and no danger

Counsel

Solomon has pronounced that ‘in counsel is stability.’ If things are not tossed on the arguments of counsel, they will be tossed on the waves of fortune, and be full of inconstancy, doing and undoing, like the reeling of a drunken man.
Plenus rimarum sum [‘I am full of outlets’, Terence, Eunuchus.] One futile person who makes it his glory to tell will do more harm than many who know it is their duty to conceal.
certainly non inveniet fidem super terram [‘He shall not find faith upon the earth’, Luke 18:8] is meant of the nature of those times, and not of all particular persons. There are people in nature who are faithful and sincere, plain and direct, not crafty and underhanded; let princes above all draw to themselves such natures
counsellors should not be too curious about their sovereign’s personal affairs. The true composition of a counsellor is to be skillful in their master’s business rather than in his nature; for then he is likely to advise him, and not to cater to his mood.
It is especially useful to princes to take the opinions of their council both separately and together; for private opinion is more free, but opinion given in the presence of others is more reverend
It was truly said, Optimi consiliarii mortui [‘The best counsellors are the dead.’] Books will speak plainly when counsellors are afraid to speak; so it is good to be familiar with them, specially with books by people who have themselves been actors on the ·political· stage.
When a king presides in council, let him beware of revealing too much his own attitude in the issue he presents; if he does, counsellors will simply take the wind of him, and instead of giving free counsel will sing him a song of Placebo [Latin for ‘I will please ·you·].

Indeed, it would be better •to meet some dangers half-way, even if they are nowhere near, than •to keep too long a watch upon their approaches; for if a man watch too long, he will probably fall asleep.

On the other side, •to be deceived by too long shadows (as some have been when the moon was low, and shone on their enemies’ backs), and so to rush off before the time, or •to teach dangers to come on by arming against them too early, is another extreme.

It is good to commit the beginnings of all great actions to Argus with his hundred eyes, and the ends to Briareus with his hundred hands, first to watch and then to speed

when execution is begun, there is no secrecy comparable to speed, like the motion of a bullet in the air, which flies so quickly that it outruns the eye.

Cunning (Bacon says not to do

In things that are unpleasing and need delicate handling, it is good to have the ice broken by someone whose words are of less weight, and to reserve •the more weighty voice to come in as if by chance, so that •he may be asked the question on [i.e. as something arising from] the other’s speech; as Narcissus did in relating to ·the emperor· Claudius the marriage of Messalina and Silius.
In things that a man would not ·want to· be seen in himself, it is a point of cunning to borrow the name of the world, e.g. saying ‘The world says’ or ‘There is a speech abroad’.

One of the most dangerous things to business that there can be is affected dispatch [i.e. pretending that one is briskly getting on with things, when really one isn’t. Therefore, do not measure dispatch by the time of sitting, but by the advancement of the business.

Business so handled at several sittings, or meetings, commonly goes backward and forward in an unsteady manner. I knew a wise man who had it for a byword, when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, to say ‘Slow down, so that we may make an end the sooner.’

On the other side, true dispatch is a rich thing; for time is the measure of business

There are three parts of business: the preparation, the debate or examination, and the perfection [‘the finishing off’]. If you are looking for dispatch, let only the middle ·one of these· be the work of many, and the first and third ·of them· the work of few. Proceeding upon something conceived in writing does for the most part facilitate dispatch; for even if it is wholly rejected, that negative is more pregnant with direction than an indefinite ·positive· conclusion is

magno conatu nugas [‘Trifles with great effort.’]

Little do men perceive what solitude is, and how far it extends; for where there is no love a crowd is not company, and faces are only a gallery of pictures, and talk is merely a tinkling cymbal

Friendship

A principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which are caused and induced by passions of all kinds. We know that diseases of stoppings and suffocations are the most dangerous in the body, and it is not much otherwise in the mind. You may take sarsaparilla to open the liver, steel to open the spleen, flower of sulphur for the lungs, castoreum for the brain; but the only recipe that opens the heart is a true friend, to whom you may impart griefs, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, counsels This communicating of a man’s self to his friend has two contrary effects, for it redoubles joys, and cuts griefs in half; for anyone who imparts his joys to his friend joys the more; and anyone who imparts his griefs to his friend grieves the less
Friendship makes indeed a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests, but it makes daylight in the understanding, out of darkness and confusion of thoughts. Eventually he grows wiser than himself, achieving more of this by an hour’s discourse than by a day’s meditation. Neither is this second fruit of friendship in opening the understanding confined only to such friends as are able to give a man counsel (they indeed are best), but even without that a man learns of himself, and brings his own thoughts to light, and sharpens his wits as against a stone that does not itself cut. In a word, it would be better for a man to relate himself to a statue or picture than to allow his thoughts to pass in smother. Certain it is that the light that a man receives by counsel from another is drier and purer than what comes from his own understanding and judgment, which is always infused and drenched in his affections and customs There is no such remedy against a man’s self-flattery as the liberty of a friend.
A friend can act in your self-interest as if you had a deputy second body

Choose well those whom he employs to manage his money, and •to change them often. New ·servants· are more timorous and less tricky

Riches

Riches are for spending, and spending is for honor and good actions; so that extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the occasion.
Estate expenses must be ordered in a way that bills are less than they may seem to outsiders
If a man wants to keep even, his ordinary expenses ought to be only half of his receipts, and only one-third if he wants to grow rich.
If a man is plentiful in some kind of expense, he needs to be equally saving in some other: if plentiful in diet, saving in apparel; if plentiful in the hall, saving in the stable; and the like. For he who is plentiful in expenses of all kinds will hardly be preserved from decay
A man ought warily to begin charges that will continue, once they are begun; but in matters that do not return, he may be more magnificent.
I cannot call riches better than the baggage of virtue; the Roman word is better, impedimenta; for as the baggage is to an army, so is riches to virtue; it cannot be spared nor left behind, but it hinders the march; and indeed the care of it sometimes loses or disturbs the victory. Of great riches there is no real use, except it be in the distribution; the rest is mere conceit.
No man’s capacity for personal enjoyment stretches far enough to take in great riches: there is a custody of them, or a power of dole and donative of them, or a fame of them, but no solid use to the owner.
Use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly
When Plutus (which is riches) is sent from Jupiter, he limps and goes slowly; but when he is sent from Pluto, he runs and is swift of foot; meaning that riches acquired by good means and just labour grow slowly; but when they come by the death of others·—Pluto being the king of the realm of the dead—·(as by the course of inheritance, testaments, and the like), they come tumbling upon a man. But it might be applied likewise to Pluto, taking him for the devil; for when riches come from the devil (as by fraud and oppression, and unjust means), they come at speed.
Riches have wings, and sometimes they fly away of themselves, sometimes they must be set flying to bring in more.

Great Kingdoms and Estates

Of the Athenian Themistocles: ‘He could not fiddle, but yet he could make a small town a great city.’ These words express two different abilities. There will be found a great many who can fiddle very cleverly but yet are far from being able to make a small state great—so far that their gift lies the other way, to bring a great and flourishing estate to ruin and decay. And certainly those degenerate arts and tricks whereby many counsellors and governors gain •favour with their masters and •admiration from the vulgar deserve no better name than fiddling; being things that are •pleasing for the time, and graceful to themselves only, rather than •tending to the welfare and advancement of the state they serve.
Mighty princes must neither •by overmeasuring their forces, lose themselves in vain enterprises, nor (on the other side) •by undervaluing them, descend to cowardly and feebly timid counsels.
The greatness of an estate does fall under measure of bulk and territory; and the greatness of finances and revenue does fall under computation. The population may appear by musters, and the number and greatness of cities and towns by cards and maps; but yet nothing among civil affairs is more subject to error than the right valuation and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate. The kingdom of heaven is compared not to any great kernel or nut, but to a grain of mustard-seed, which is one of the least grains, but has in it a property and spirit hastily to get up and spread. So there are •some states that are great in territory yet not apt to become larger or take command of more territory, and •some that have only a small dimension of stem and yet apt to be the foundations of great monarchies. (“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”’)
As Virgil says, ‘It never troubles a wolf how many sheep there are.’
The army of the Persians in the plains of Arbela was such a vast sea of people that it somewhat astonished the commanders in Alexander’s army, who came to him therefore and wished him to set upon them by night; but he answered that he ‘would not pilfer the victory’; and the defeat was easy. When the Armenian Tigranes, being encamped upon a hill with four hundred thousand men, discovered the army of the Romans, being not above fourteen thousand, marching towards him, he made himself merry with it, and said ‘Yonder men are too many for an embassy and too few for a fight’; but before the sun set he found them sufficient to give him the chase with infinite slaughter. Many are the examples of the great odds between number and courage. The very number of an army doesn’t mean much if the populace is of weak courage;
And so there will be great population and little strength. This which I speak of has been nowhere better seen than by comparing England with France; England, though far less in territory and population, has been an overmatch, because the middle people of England make good soldiers, which the peasants of France do not. Thus indeed you will attain to the character which Virgil gives to ancient Italy: Terra potens armis atque ubere glebe [‘A land powerful in arms and in productiveness of soil’]
It was not the Romans that spread upon the world, but it was the world that spread upon the Romans; and that •this was the sure way of greatness. (Of promoting and naturalizing non Roman citizens so you can have more power than your base)

A man’s own observation—what he finds good and what he finds hurtful—is the best medicine to preserve health; but this inference: ‘This does not agree well with me, therefore I will not continue it’ is safer than this: ‘I find no offense in this, therefore I may use it; for strength of nature in youth passes over many excesses the effects of which must be felt in old age.

It is a secret both in nature and state that it is safer to change many things than to change one.

To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed at hours of meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best prescriptions for a long life. As for the passions and studies of the mind, avoid

•envy,

•anxious fears,

•anger fretting inwards,

•subtle and knotty inquisitions,

•joys and exhilarations in excess,

•sadness not communicated.

Entertain hopes of

•mirth rather than joy, (amusement)

•variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them (excess of a single one)

•wonder and admiration, and therefore novelties;

•studies that fill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects, such as histories, fables, and contemplations of nature.

Nothing makes a man suspicious more than to know little; and, therefore, men should remedy suspicion by coming to know more and not keeping their suspicions in smother.

Do they regard those they employ and deal with as saints? Do they not think they will have their own ends, and be truer to themselves than to them? So there is no better way to moderate suspicions than to count on such suspicions as true, and yet to bridle them as false; to hope for the best, but be fully prepared for the worst.

Certainly, the best means to clear the way in this same wood of suspicions is frankly to communicate them to the party whom he suspects; for that will surely let him know more of the truth of them than he did before; and will make that party more cautious about giving further cause of suspicion

Judgment is discerning what is true

Planting of colonies in countries is like planting of woods; for you must reckon on losing almost twenty years’ profit, and expect your recompense ·only· at the end; for the destruction of most colonies has been principally due to the base and hasty drawing of profit in the first years. It is true that speedy profit is not to be neglected, as long as it goes with the good of the colony, but no further.

Interesting to think of modern nobles as second generation or more. - Let not the government of the colony depend upon too many counsellors and managers in the colonizing country, but upon a moderate number; and let those be noblemen and gentlemen rather than •merchants, for •they always look for the present gain

At first let him practice with helps, as swimmers do with inflated bladders; but, after a time, let him practice with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes; for it breeds great perfection if the practice is harder than the use.

1- Where nature is mighty, and therefore the victory hard, the degrees need be (1) first, to stay and arrest nature in time, like someone who would say over the four and twenty letters ·to calm himself· when he was angry; then (2) less in quantity, like someone who wants to give up wine and does this by going from drinking ·many· healths to a ·single· draught at a meal; and (3) to discontinue altogether.

2- But if a man has the fortitude and resolution to free himself at once, this is the best: Optimus ille animi vindex lædentia pectus Vincula qui rupit, dedoluitque semel. [‘He is the best asserter of the liberty of his mind, who bursts the chains that gall his breast, and at the same moment ceases to grieve.’ (From Ovid, Remedy of Love].

3- Nor is there anything wrong with the ancient rule to bend nature—like a wand—to a contrary extreme, thereby setting it right; assuming that the contrary extreme is no vice.

let not a man trust his victory over his nature too far; for nature will lie buried a great time, and yet revive upon the occasion or temptation, as it was with Æsop’s damsel who turned from a cat to a woman and sat very demurely at the end of the table till a mouse ran before her. Therefore, let a man either •avoid the ·tempting· occasion altogether or •put himself into it often, so that he will not be much tempted by it.

Those are happy men whose natures agree with their vocations. Others say Multum incola fuit anima mea [‘My soul has been resting for a long time’] when they have to do with things that they have no feelings about. For anything that is agreeable to his nature—as distinct from what he must command himself to do—let him not take care for any set times; for his thoughts will fly to it of themselves, so that the spaces of other business or studies will suffice.

A man’s nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore, let him seasonably water the one and destroy the other. -> "Herbs" represent positive qualities or habits—those that are beneficial and should be cultivated—while "weeds" signify negative tendencies or vices that should be rooted out. Bacon suggests that every person has a nature that can incline toward either virtuous habits ("herbs") or harmful ones ("weeds"). It's the individual's responsibility to nurture and "water" the good parts of their nature while eliminating or "destroying" the bad ones. The message encourages self-awareness and discipline in developing one's character.

Custom

Men’s thoughts are much according to their inclination

Their discourse and speeches according to their learning and acquired opinions

Their deeds follow what they are accustomed to

There is no trusting of words unless corroborated by custom (habits)-> Machiavelli said for executing a conspiracy, a man should not rely on the fierceness of any man’s nature, or his resolute undertakings, but should take one who has had his hands formerly in blood. Cases of votary resolution (a resolution formally backed by devotion to some principle) are made equivalent in power to custom, even in matters of blood.

The predominancy of custom is everywhere visible, so that it is wonderful to hear men profess, protest, engage, give great words, and then do just as they have done before, as if they were dead. . . . engines moved only by the wheels of custom. See the reign or tyranny of custom for what it is.

There are monks in Russia who will sit a whole night in a vessel of water, till they are encased in hard ice. Many examples can be given of the force of custom upon both mind and body. Custom is the principal magistrate of man’s life - let men try by all means to acquire good customs

Custom is most perfect when it begins in young years: we call this ‘education’, which is in effect just an early custom

If the force of simple and separate custom is great, the force of custom that is copulate and conjoined and collegiate (social) is far greater. Certainly the great multiplication of virtues in human nature rests upon societies well ordained and disciplined

Fortune

It cannot be denied that outward accidents conduce much to fortune. The shape of a man’s fortune is in his own hands: The most frequent of external causes is that the folly of one man is the fortune of another; for no man prospers so suddenly as by others’ errors.

Overt and apparent virtues bring forth praise: but there are secret and hidden virtues that bring forth fortune:

The Spanish disemboltura partly expresses this where there are no blockages or restiveness in a man’s nature, and the wheels of his mind keep way with the wheels of his fortune;
If a man looks sharply and attentively he will see Fortune; for though she is blind, she is not invisible
The Italians say there are not two more fortunate properties to have than •a little of the fool and •not too much of the honest. When a man places his thoughts outside himself he does not go his own way.
Fortune’s two daughters, Confidence and Reputation are bred by Felicity—the first within a man’s self, the latter in others towards him
Ascribe good things to Providence and Fortune because 1) you may more easily step into them, and 2) it is greatness in a man to be associated with the highest powers
Act no matter what. It is loss, also, in business, to be too curious in observing times and opportunities. Solomon says ‘He who considers the wind shall not sow, and he who looks to the clouds shall not reap.’ [Ecclesiastes 11.1].
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Vainglory - the fly sat upon the axle-tree of the chariot-wheel, and said ‘What a dust I am raising!’ Like the fly, there are some vain persons who, whatever goes alone or moves upon greater means, think it is they that carry it, however small their actual part in it

Youth

A man that is young in years may be old in hours, if he has lost no time; though that happens rarely.

Natures that have much heat, and great and violent desires and perturbations, are not ripe for action till they have passed the middle point of their years: as it was with Julius Cæsar and Septimius Severus; of the latter of whom it is said Juventutem egit erroribus, imo furoribus plenam [‘He passed his youth full of errors, of madness even.’]; and yet he was nearly the ablest emperor of all the list.

Heat and vivacity in age is an excellent composition for business.

Young men are fitter to invent than to judge, fitter for execution than for counsel, and fitter for new projects than for settled business. The errors of young men are the ruin of business; but the errors of aged men amount only to this, that more might have been done, or done sooner. Youth may double all their errors by refusing to acknowledge or retract them. Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success. The virtues of either age may correct the defects of both; and good for succession, that young men may be learners, while men in age are actors; and, lastly, good for events caused from outside the community, because authority follows old men, and favor and popularity follow youth;

Beauty

extreme beauty can sometimes correlate with a lack of moral depth, as nature focuses on physical appearance rather than fostering inner greatness in such individuals. Virtue, like a precious stone, is most impressive when displayed simply and without relying on external beauty for its value.

In beauty, that of features is more than beauty of color; and that of decent and gracious motion is more than that of features. That is the best part of beauty, which a picture cannot express; no, nor the first sight of the life. There is no excellent beauty that has not some strangeness in the proportion.

Beauty is as summer fruits, which are easy to corrupt, and cannot last

Housing

Houses are built to live in, and not to look on; therefore, let use be preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had

He who builds a fair house in a bad location commits himself to prison

A site is bad only if its air is unwholesome, but also if its air is unequal. You will often see a fine site set upon a knoll of ground with higher hills all around it, whereby the heat of the sun is trapped, and the wind gathers as in troughs; so that you will have, suddenly, as much diversity of heat and cold as if you lived in several places.
Bad roads, bad markets, and bad neighbours.
I could go on about many more: lack of water, lack of wood, shade, and shelter, lack of fruitfulness, and a mixture of bad-making features of different natures: lack of views, lack of level grounds, lack of places not too far away for sports of hunting, hawking, and races; too near the sea, too far from it, having the convenience of navigable rivers, or the inconvenience of their overflowing; too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; or too near them, which eats up all provisions and makes every thing dear

if he has several dwellings, he can sort them out so that what he lacks in one he may find in another.

God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures

I do hold that in the royal ordering of gardens there ought to be gardens for all the months in the year. (Good description of green by winter months then bloom by each month - you may have such a ver perpetuum [‘perpetual spring’] as the place allows). Nothing is more fit for delight than to know which flowers and plants best perfume the air (white double violet and others). Fountains are a great beauty and refreshment; but pools mar everything and make the garden unwholesome, and full of flies and frogs.

When negotiating it is generally better to deal by speech than by letter; and by the mediation of a third party than by a man’s self.

If you would work any man, you must know either

His nature and fashions, and so lead him; or
His ends, and so persuade him; or
His weakness and disadvantages, and so awe him (or those who have interest in him) and so govern him.

Many a man’s strength is in opposition; and when that fails he grows out of use. (When there is nothing to oppose)

Some men’s behavior is like a verse, wherein every syllable is measured; how can a man comprehend great matters if he breaks his mind too much to small observations?

Praise is the reflection of virtue. But it is a mirror which creates the reflection - if it is from the common people, it is commonly false and naught, and follows vain persons rather than virtuous ones, for the common people do not understand many excellent virtues

If he is a cunning flatterer he will follow the arch-flatterer, which is a man’s self, and wherein a man thinks best of himself, therein the flatterer will uphold him most

For a man to praise himself is indecent, but a man can praise his own office/profession/calling with good grace and with a kind of magnanimity

There are sometimes great effects of lies; as if a man who negotiates between two princes, wanting to draw them to join in a war against a third, extols the forces of either of them above measure, the one to the other; and sometimes he who deals between man and man raises his own credit with both by pretending greater interest than he has in either; and in these and similar ways it often falls out that something is produced out of nothing. ∫·—although they are naught (nothing)—·are sufficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings on substance.

Qui de contemnenda gloria libros scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt. [‘Those who write books on despising glory, set their names in the title-page’] (Cicero).

Reputation

In commending another, you do yourself right. If you are below him, you must commend him or suffer. If you are above him, by commending him you must be much more.

If a man performs something that has not been attempted before, or has been attempted and given up, or has been achieved but in difficult circumstances, this will bring him more honor than he can get by affecting to have done something with greater difficulty or more value in which he is merely a follower.

Followers and servants help much to reputation: Omnis fama a domesticis emanat [‘All fame comes from servants’ (Cicero)]

Anger

The causes and motives of anger are chiefly three.

(a) First, to be too sensible of hurt, for no man is angry that does not feel himself hurt; and therefore tender and delicate persons must often be angry, because they have so many things to trouble them which more robust natures have little sense of.

(b) The next is thinking about and analyzing the injury offered, which in the circumstances generates contempt; for contempt is what puts an edge upon anger, as much as (or more than) the hurt itself; so that when men are ingenious in picking out circumstances of contempt, they kindle their anger much.

(c) A man’s opinion of the harm that has been done to his reputation multiplies and sharpens anger; the remedy for which is that a man should have, as Gonsalvo was wont to say, Telam honouris crassiorem [‘A thicker covering for his honour’]. Sever as much as possible the construction of the injury from the point of contempt, imputing it to misunderstanding, fear, passion, or what you will.

If a new sect does not have these two properties:

•supplanting or opposing established authority.

•giving license to pleasures and a voluptuous life, fear it not, for it will not spread, for nothing is more popular than those

North always beats south because the cold of the northern parts makes the bodies hardest and the courage warmest without aid of discipline.