considered the petition as it was recommended from us to the upper house, his Lordship delivered thus much from their Lordships; that they would make a good construction of our desires, as those which they conceived did rather spring out of a feeling of the King's strength and out of a feeling of the subjects' wrongs, nay more out of a wisdom and depth to declare our forwardness, if need were, to assist his Majesty's future resolutions (which declaration might be of good use for his Majesty's service, when it should be blown abroad); rather, I say, than that we did in any sort determine by this our overture, to do that wrong to his highness' supreme power, which haply might be inferred by those that were rather apt to make evil than good illations of our proceedings. And yet that their Lordships, for the reasons before made, must plainly tell us, that they neither could nor would concur with us, nor approve the course; and therefore concluded that it would not be amiss for us, for our better contentment, to behold the conditions of the last peace with Spain, which were of a strange nature to him that duly observes them; no forces recalled out of the Low Countries; no new forces (as to voluntaries) restrained to go thither: so as the King may be in peace, and never a subject in England but may be in war: and then to think thus with ourselves, that that King, which would give no ground in making his peace, will not lose any ground upon just provocation to enter into an honourable war. And that in the mean time we should know thus much, that there could not be more forcible negociation on the King's part, but blows, to procure remedy of these wrongs; nor more fair promises of the King of Spain's part, to give contentment concerning the same; and therefore that the event must be expected.

And thus (Mr. Speaker) have I passed over the speech of this worthy Lord, whose speeches, as I have often said, in regard of his place and judgment, are extraordinary lights to this house; and have both the properties of light, that is, conducting and comforting. And although (Mr. Speaker) a man would have thought nothing had been left to be said, yet I shall now give you account of another speech, full of excellent matter and ornaments, and without iteration. Which nevertheless I shall report more compendiously, because I will not offer the speech

'The MS. has their. But they has been corrected into we in the line before, and their into our, three lines further on.

that wrong as to report it at large, when your minds percase and attentions are already wearied.

The other Earl, who usually doth bear a principal part upon all important occasions, used a speech, first of preface, then of argument. In his preface he did deliver, that he was persuaded that both houses did differ rather in credulity and belief, than in intention and desire for it mought be their Lordships did not believe the information so far, but yet desired the reformation as much.

His Lordship said further, that the merchant was a state and degree of persons, not only to be respected, but to be prayed for, and graced them with these additions; that they were the convoys of our supplies, the vents of our abundance, Neptune's almsmen, and fortune's adventurers. His Lordship proceeded and said, this question was new to us, but ancient to them; assuring us that the King did not bear in vain the device of the Thistle, with the word, Nemo me lacessit impune; and that as the multiplying of his kingdoms maketh him feel his own power, so the multiplying of our loves and affections made him to feel our griefs.

For the arguments or reasons, they were five in number, which his Lordship used for satisfying us why their Lordships mought not concur with us in this petition. The first was the composition of our house, which he took in the first foundation thereof to be merely democratical, consisting of knights of shires and burgesses of towns, and intended to be of those that have their residence, vocation, and employment in the places for which they serve and therefore to have a private and local wisdom according to that compass, and so not fit to examine or determine secrets of estate, which depend upon such variety of circumstances; and therefore added to the precedent formerly vouched, of the seventeenth of King Richard 2d when the Commons disclaimed to intermeddle in matter of war and peace, that their answer was that they would not presume to treat of so high and variable a matter. And although his Lordship acknowledged that there be divers gentlemen in the mixture of our house, that are of good capacity and insight in matters of estate, yet that was the accident of the person, and not the intention of the place; and things were to be taken in the institution, not in the practice.

His Lordship's second reason was, that both by philosophy and civil law, ordinatio belli et pacis est absoluti imperii, a prin

cipal flower of the crown. Which flowers ought to be so dear unto us, as we ought if need were to water them with our blood. For if those flowers should by neglect, or upon facility and good affection, wither and fall, the garland would not be worth the wearing.

His Lordship's third reason was, that kings did so love to imitate primum mobile, as that they do not like to move in borrowed motions: so that in those things that they do most willingly intend, yet they endure not to be prevented by request. Whereof he did allege a notable example in King Edward 3d, who would not hearken to the petition of his Commons, that besought him to make the black prince prince of Wales: but yet after that repulse of their petition, out of his own mere motion he created him.

His Lordship's fourth reason was, that it mought be some scandal to step between the King and his own virtue; and that it was the duty of subjects rather to take honours from kings' servants and give them to kings, than to take honours from kings and give them to their servants: which he did very elegantly set forth in the example of Joab, who, lying at the siege of Rabbah, and finding it could not hold out, writ to David to come and take the honour of taking the town.

His Lordship's last reason was, that it may cast some aspersion upon his Majesty, implying as if the King slept out the the sobs of his subjects, until he was awaked with the thunderbolt of a parliament.

But his Lordship's conclusion was very noble, which was with a protestation, that what civil threats, contestation, art, and argument can do, hath been used already to procure remedy in this cause, and a promise that if reason of state did permit, as their Lordships were ready to spend their breath in the persuading of that we desire, so they would be ready to spend their bloods in the execution thereof.

This is the substance of that which passed.

This report appears to have been received without any remark, nor was anything more heard of the matter during the remainder of the session which closed on the 4th of July, and in which little else passed that retains any interest for us;-nothing in which Bacon was a conspicuous actor.

For his own personal fortunes, the most important event of the session was his promotion at last to the Solicitorship; which took place silently on the 25th of June. Croke, who was King's serjeant, was made a Puisne Judge of the King's Bench. Doderidge became King's Serjeant in his place; and Bacon succeeded as Solicitor, an office which he reckoned to be worth £1000 a year.1

1 Commentarius Solutus, vol. iv. p. 86.

IT was probably about this time that Bacon finally settled the plan of his “Great Instauration," and began to call it by that name. In 1605, he had (as I have already mentioned) digested the subject in his head into two parts: 1st, the art of experimenting, that is of following an investigation with intelligence from one experiment to another-which is in fact the art that Science has been practising ever since, and by means of which she has achieved all her successes; and 2dly, the art of what he called "Interpretation of Nature," which was to furnish the key of the cipher, and in revealing the secret of all natural operations to give command of all natural forces.

This last, as he came to look into it more closely, he proposed to distribute into three books: the first to prepare the way for the reception of the new method by removing the impediments which he anticipated in the state of opinion and the errors of the mind; the second, to expound the method itself; the third, to exhibit the results of the method applied.1

Further consideration (with reference however not merely to the exposition of the argument, but also to the better preservation of his own various philosophical writings) led him to enlarge the plan still further. A review of the existing stock of human knowledge,— of which the Advancement of Learning was a sketch, and the Descriptio Globi Intellectualis was meant, I think, for the beginning,was to form the first part. The second was to include a complete exposition of the new method or organum; together with all the preliminary matter designed to prepare the way for it. The third

1 Temporis Partus Masculus: sive de Interpretatione Naturæ, libri 3.

1. Perpolitio et applicatio mentis.

2. Lumen Naturæ, seu formula Interpretationis.

3. Natura illuminata, sive Veritas Rerum.

2 See Philosoph. Works, Vol. III. p. 713.