where it existed for a time, and at length was reproduced from the dead, and united to some other body. Bacon here seems to refer to the Phado, a dialogue of Plato on the immortality of the soul, which gives an account of the manner in which Socrates spent the last day of his life, and how he met his death. One of the persons introduced to take part in the dialogue is an Athenian named Cebes, who is represented in reply to a remark made by Socrates that 'it is in reality true that there is a reviving again, and that the living are produced from the dead, and that the souls of the dead exist,' as saying, 'Indeed, O Socrates, according to this doctrine which you are frequently putting forward, if it is true that our learning is nothing else than remembering, then it is surely necessary that we must at some former time have learned what we now remember'-Phado, 42. The same doctrine is referred to in a well-known passage in Virgil's Æneid, where, in the lower world, Anchises is showing to Æneas the souls that are waiting their time for being sent back to inhabit other bodies: 'Causasque requirit Inscias Æneas; quæ sint ea flumina porro, Tum pater Anchises: Animæ quibus altera fato Securos latices, et longa oblivia potant '-Eneid, vi, 710-715. The English reader will doubtless call to mind a few lines on the same subject in Wordsworth's beautiful Ode, Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood: 'Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: And cometh from afar; Not in entire forgetfulness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come 3. Eccles. i, 2: 'There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come hereafter.' 4. 'Lethe'-a fabulous river in the lower world, from which departed spirits drank, and obtained entire forgetfulness of the past. Bacon means that there is forgetfulness of the past not only in the lower world but also in human history. 5. The Matter'-i.e. the universal matter, as opposed to mind or spirit: that which occupies space, and with which we become acquainted by means of our bodily senses or organs. 6. merely'utterly, absolutely. See note 16, Essay II. 7. 'Phaeton's car.' Phaeton (i.e. the shining one) was the son of Helios (the Sun). According to the ancient myth, he presumed to ask his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the Sun across the heavens for one day, but he was unable to control the horses, and Zeus, in anger, killed him with a flash of lightning. Bacon seems to quote this myth as an instance corresponding to 'conflagration,' and resulting not in general ruin, but only in the destruction of the one who was involved in it. 8. 'Elias.' 1 Kings xvii, 1: 'And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.' 9. particular-partial; confined to one locality. 10. 'West Indies—America; the whole western world so far as then known. II. 'narrow'-partial, limited. See note 9 above. 12. 'Atlantis'a fabulous island of wonderful beauty and fertility, supposed by ancient tradition to exist somewhere in the Western Ocean, the inhabitants of which, after many and prolonged successes, became impious and depraved, and were punished by the island being swallowed up by the Ocean in the course of one day and night. The legend is given by Plato in his dialogue Timæus, where it is said to have been first related to Solon by an Egyptian priest. It is evident that Bacon desires to identify the fabulous Atlantis with the continent of America. 13. 'particular'-partial. See note 14. above. 'on the other side'—on the contrary; on the other hand. 15. Gregory the Great." (A. D. 544 to 604.) He was elected to the papacy in 590, and became a zealous reformer of clerical discipline. On slight and doubtful evidence, as this assertion of Machiavelli, he is charged with having burned a multitude of the works of ancient heathen writers, in the hope of thereby abolishing pagan superstition. 16. Sabinian.' He was elected to the papacy on the death of Gregory the Great. 17. 'Superior Globe'-the heavens. 18. Plato's Great Year'-the year which it was supposed will occur 12,954 years (or, by some calculators, 25,920 years) after the beginning of the world, when all the planets and stars will be in exactly the same positions in which they were at the commencement of time; and a new era will then う commence. This belief is referred to in Plato's Timaus; and in the line of Virgil: 'Magnus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo'-Eclogues, iv, 5. Cicero refers to it in the following passage: Quarum ex disparibus motionibus Magnum Annum mathematici nominaverunt, qui tum efficitur, cum solis et lunæ et quinque errantium ad eandem inter se comparationem confectis omnium spatiis est facta conversis, quæ quam longa sit, magna quæstis est, esse vero certam et definitam necesse est'-De Deorum Natura, ii, 20. 19. 'fume'-fancy, idle opinion, mere smoke. 20. 21. ' in gross'-altogether, completely. The same expression occurs again a few lines below in the essay. 22. 'toy'-trifling remark. 23. 'suit'-sequence. 24. 'doubt'-suspect; look out for. So in Shakespeare, when Hamlet begins to suspect that his father has been murdered, he says, 'I doubt some foul play' (I, ii). 25. 'speculative heresies '-mere doctrinal speculations having no practical bearing on human conduct. 'Arians'-a body of heretics who flourished in the fourth century, and denied the Divinity of our Lord. They were so called from their founder, Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria. 'Arminians'- -a sect so called from its founder, Jacob Harmensen (the surname being Latinised into Arminius), who was born in Holland A.D. 1560, and became Professor of Theology at Leyden. He died A.D. 1609. His system of theology was rigidly opposed to the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination. 26. 'cívil occasions '-political events. 27. 'Signs and Miracles.' Miracles (Greek Tépara) are simply occurrences that excite wonder; these occurrences become Signs (Greek onuêca), when those who behold them recognise their Divine significance. 28. 'Gallo-Græcia '-the province in Asia Minor which in the New Testament is called Galatia. It was inhabited by a Keltic race (Γάλαται is the same word as Κέλται), who first passed from the East into Greece, in the third century before the Christian era; and some of them subsequently crossed the Bosphorus, and settled in Asia Minor. Another swarm of Gauls having crossed the Alps, occupied Northern Italy, and invaded Rome under Brennus, their king, B. C. 390. 29. This was well exemplified in the case of the ancient Britons, who, after the withdrawal of the Roman forces, were utterly unable to protect themselves from the tribes of the north that began to make incursions upon them. 30. 'Almaigne'-Germany; so called from the Alemanni. 31. Charles the Great'-the Emperor Charlemagne. 32. 'were not unlike.' The construction is subjunctive: it would not be unlikely. 33. He refers to the conquests of Alexander the Great in the East. 34. 'fetching'-striking; knocking down, or (as we sometimes say) fetching down. 'He fetches his blow quick and sure'-SOUTH. 35. 'arietations'—battering-rams. 36. 'pointing'-appointing. 37. Philology'—history. ANALYSIS OF ESSAY LVIII. 1. All knowledge is only remembering; and, conversely, all apparent destruction is only change and oblivion. II. Oblivion is wrought a. More by (1.) Deluges (America). (2.) Earthquakes. b. Than by (3.) Conflagrations. c. And rarely by (5.) Contentions of sects (Gregory the Great and Sabi nian). III. Vicissitude in the heavens : 1. A complete revolution of all the heavenly bodies may 2. The effect of comets should be carefully observed. IV. Vicissitude amongst men: A. In religion I. Sects are originated by- (b.) Unholiness of professors. (c.) Stupid, ignorant, and barbarous times. 2. Sects are strengthened by (a.) Their desire to supplant or oppose existing authority. (b.) Licence given to pleasure and voluptuousness. 3. Sects are planted by— (a.) Signs and miracles (including martyrdom and superlative holiness). (b.) Eloquence and wisdom. 4. Sects are checked by (a.) Reforming abuses. (b.) Compounding smaller differences. (d.) Conciliating principal leaders. B. In wars: I. The seats of war. (a.) They generally move from east to west (exceptions-the invasion of Gallo-Græcia and Rome by the Gauls). (b.) And seldom from south to north. (c.) They follow (1.) The breaking up of states. 2. The weapons: (a.) Ordnance far surpasses arietation. (2.) Strength of percussion. 3. The conduct of wars : (a.) Formerly men rested on great numbers. (b.) But now upon selected numbers and strategy. |