good name for good and fair dealing; but the gains of bargains are of a more doubtful nature, when men shall wait upon others' necessity; broke by servants and instruments to draw them on; put off others cunningly that would be better chapmen, and the like practices, which are crafty and naughty: as for the chopping of bargains, when a man buys not to hold, but to sell over again, that commonly grindeth double, both upon the [13] seller and upon the buyer. Sharings do greatly enrich, if the hands be well chosen that are trusted. [14] Usury is the certainest means of gain, though

[13.] Sharings: Partnerships. [Societates.]

[14.] Usury, &c.: Bacon has written an entire Essay on Usury, the beginning of which may serve as a paraphrase on this sentence. It reads thus :-" Many have made witty invectives against Usury. They say that it is pity [a pity] the devil should have God's part, which is the tithe; that the usurer is the greatest sabbath-breaker, because his plough goeth every Sunday; that the usurer is the drone that Virgil speaketh of:

'Ignavum fucos pecus a præsepibus arcent;'

that the usurer breaketh the first law that was made for mankind after the fall, which was, 'In sudore vultus tui comedes panem tuam' [Gen. 3: 19], 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,' not 'In sudore vultus alieni,' [' In the sweat of another's face;'] that usurers should have orange-tawny bonnets, because they do Judaize; that it is against nature for money to beget money; and the like. I say this only that usury is a 'concessum propter duritiem cordis' [a concession on account of hardness of heart, see Mat. 19: 8]; for, since there must be borrowing and lending, and men are so hard of heart as [that] they will not lend freely, usury must be permitted."

Certainest: Modern form?

phrase.

Doth plough, &c.: ParaScriveners: men who transact the business for Do value, &c.:

others of putting money at interest.

represent as trustworthy or reliable, men of doubtful fortunes

one of the worst, as that whereby a man doth eat his bread, "in sudore vultus alieni ;" and besides, doth plough upon Sundays: but yet certain though it be, it hath flaws; for that the scriveners and brokers do value unsound men to serve their own turn. The for- [15] tune in being the first in an invention, or in a privilege, doth cause sometimes a wonderful overgrowth in riches; as it was with the first sugar-man in the Canaries :

Usury, &c.: In Bacon's day, and long before, many held it absolutely sinful to receive any interest for money, on the ground of the prohibition of it to the Israelites in their dealings with each other; though the Mosaic Law itself proves the contrary, since it allows lending at interest to a stranger; and certainly the Israelites were not permitted to oppress and defraud strangers. It seems strange that a man of Bacon's acuteness should not have perceived that there is no essential difference between the use of any other kind of property, and money, which represents, and is equivalent to, any and all kinds. It never occurred to Bacon, seemingly, that no man is called hard-hearted for not letting his land or his house rent free, or for requiring to be paid for the use of his house, or his ship, or any other kind of property. No doubt, advantage is often taken of a man's extreme necessity to demand a high interest, and exact payment with rigor. But it is equally true that advantage is taken, in some crowded town, of a man's extreme need of a night's lodging. And, it is but too well known, that where there is an excessive competition for land, as almost the sole mode of obtaining a subsistence, it is likely that an exorbitant rent will be asked, and exacted with unbending severity. But who would thereupon propose that the letting of land be prohibited, or that a maximum of rent should be fixed by law? For, legislative interposition in dealings between man and man, except for the prevention of fraud, generally increases the evil it seeks to remedy.-W.

[15.] The fortune, &c.: Paraphrase.

Sugar-man: planter
To guard, &c.:

to fortify uncertain methods of gain with certain, so as to pro

vide for and be able to meet losses.

therefore, if a man can play the true logician, to have as well judgment as invention, he may do great matters, especially if the times be fit; he that resteth upon gains certain, shall hardly grow to great riches; and he that puts all upon adventures, doth oftentimes break and come to poverty: it is good, therefore to guard adventures, with certainties that may uphold losses.

[16] Monopolies, and coemption of wares for resale,

[16.] Monopolies : Queen Elizabeth took it upon herself to grant patents of monopoly by scores. There was scarcely a family in the realm that did not feel itself aggrieved by the oppression and extortion which this abuse naturally caused. Iron, oil, vinegar, coal, saltpetre, lead, starch, yarn, skins, leather, glass, could be bought only at exorbitant prices. The House of Commons met in an angry and determined mood. The court of the chief minister of the crown was surrounded by an indignant populace, who cursed the monopolies, and exclaimed that the prerogative should not be suffered to touch the old liberties of England.-Macauley's England, Vol. I, pp. 47, 48.

Refer now to the Sketch of Bacon's Life in the beginning of this volume, and read how Buckingham and Bacon thus enriched themselves. About the same time, the amusements of the court of James were masques and emblematic pageants, often got up at great expense, and in great variety. A few years after the death of James (in 1633), an improved and gorgeous exhibition of this kind was presented before the king, queen, and court at Whitehall, by the members of the Inns of Court. "It consisted of a masque and an anti-masque. The first was arrayed and marshalled after the fashion of a Roman triumph, the figures composing which consisted of the comeliest men in England, dressed in the most splendid and becoming costume; the dresses and chariots, and studs were covered with ornaments of gold and silver, and blazed in the light of countless torches, while the whole procession moved with measured steps to accompanying bands of music. No puppet or impersonation (as in the reign of James), whether of the classical, allegorical, or romantic world, intended to mar the chasteness

where they are not restrained, are great means to enrich; especially if the party have intelligence what things are like to come into request, and so store himself beforehand. Riches gotten by service, though [17] it be of the best rise, yet when they are gotten by flat

of the exhibition-all was real, modern, and of the choicest and happiest selection. Something more, however, was still necessary for the gratification of the popular taste, and the antimasque, which followed, was an avowed but good-humored parody upon the first part of the procession. It was formed of cripples, beggars, and other squalid figures, mounted upon miserable jades, and moving along to the music of keys, toys, and bones. The whole exhibition was designed originally to express the devotedness of the inns of Court to Charles I. and his measures, and their abhorrence of Puritanism; but in the anti-masque, a sly opportunity was also taken of ridiculing the subject of patents, one of the chief political abuses of the day. Thus one man appeared mounted upon a little horse, with a great bit in his mouth, and a head-stall and reins about his ears; this was a projector wanting a patent that none should be allowed to ride their horses except with such bits as they should buy of him. Other projectors were ridiculed in a similar manner; and this part of the pageant pleased the spectators the more, because by it an information was covertly given to the king of the unfitness and ridiculousness of those projects against the law. At the close, the whole party repaired to the Banqueting House at Whitehall, where dancing continued till morning, when a sumptuous banquet closed the entertainment. The expense of this rich pageant amounted to £21,000."

Coemption: from con and emere, to buy together :-the buying up of the whole quantity of any commodity.

Restrained prohibited by law.

[17.] Best rise: best rank. [Opum acquisitio per servitium regum aut magnetum dignitatem quandam habet: tamen si assentationibus et servilibus artificiis, sese ad omnes nutus flectendo, parentur, inter vias vilissimas poterit numerari.]

Feeding humours: Paraphrase. Should not the preposition be repeated here, as also before others?

tery, feeding humours, and other servile conditions, [18] they may be placed amongst the worst. As for fishing for testaments and executorships (as Tacitus saith of Seneca, "testamenta et orbos tanquam indagine capi,") it is yet worse, by how much men submit them[19] selves to meaner persons than in service. Believe not much of them that seem to despise riches, for they despise them that despair of them; and none worse

Testamenta: 'Wills and

[18.] Testaments: Synonyme ? childless persons were caught [by him] as though with a hunting-net.'-Tacit. Ann. 13: 43. This sentence is found in a scathing speech of a talented but (in the judgment of Tacitus) a venal and unprincipled orator, of the name of Suillius, who had been arraigned before the Roman Senate on some criminal charge:-" By what rules of philosophy" (said he) "has this professor (referring to Seneca) warped into the favor of the Emperor, and, in less than four years, amassed three hundred million of sesterces? Through the city of Rome his snares are spread; last wills and testimonies are his quarry, and the rich who have no children are his prey. By exorbitant usury he has overwhelmed all Italy; the provinces are exhausted, and he is still insatiate. The wealth of Suillius cannot be counted great; but it is the fruit of honest industry."-Murphy's Tac. In service: To what kind of service, or to whom, does the author refer?

[19.] Believe, &c.: Paraphrase the sentence. Improve its perspicuity by substituting the noun for the pronoun.

Worse: seems to be used in the now unusual sense of less. As in the sentence, 'Think not the worse of him for his enterprise.' Believe not much, &c.: The declaimers on the incompatibility of wealth and virtue are mere declaimers. For you will often find them, in the next breath, applauding or condemning every measure or institution, according to its supposed tendency to increase or diminish wealth. You will find them not only readily accepting wealth themselves from any honorable source, and anxious to secure from poverty their children and all most dear to them (for this might be referred