LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS WORKS. PART III. ADVERTISEMENT TOUCHING A HOLY WAR; OF THE TRUE GREATNESS OF BRITAIN; COLOURS OF GOOD AND EVIL; LETTER AND DISCOURSE TO SIR HENRY SAVILL, TOUCHING HELPS FOR THE INTELLECTUAL POWERS. CONFESSION OF FAITH; MEDITATIONES SACRÆ; PRAYERS, AND TRANSLATION OF CERTAIN PSALMS INTO ENGLISH VERSE. PREFACE. A FEW days before Bacon was made Lord Keeper, the state of the negotiation then pending with Spain for the marriage of Prince Charles with the Infanta had been laid before the Council board, and they had "by consent agreed that his Majesty might with honour enter into a treaty of marriage" &c. It was not a project from which Bacon expected any good; and if the King had taken his advice he would have gone no further in it than to let it be talked of as a possible resource by which the Crown might free itself from debt. Neither did the Council, I think, (judging from the terms of the resolution,) expect it to succeed; but they thought that, if it were fairly proceeded with on the King's part, some occasion would probably turn up for breaking it off with honour and advantage.2 That it should be proceeded with for the present was however settled; and Sir John Digby was appointed to go as ambassador to Spain, partly to conduct the negotia 1 See "the sum of his M. speech to some of his Council on the 2 of March" [1616-7]. Harl. MSS. 1323. fo. 263. 2" It were very likely that the breach, if any were, could not be but upon some material point of religion; which if it fell out could not be any dishonour to his Majesty, but on the contrary a great reputation, both with his subjects here at home, and with his friends of the reformed religion in foreign parts." |