Aug. 13. 1853.] 



NOTES AISTD QUERIES. 



143 



"Neither give tliou iEsop's cock a gem," &c.] 

 Compare Apophthegms, No. 203. p. 393. 



" Such men in other men's calamities are, as it 

 were, in season, and are eve?- on the loading part"'] 

 By " the loading part," seems to be meant the part 

 •which is most heavily laden ; the part which sup- 

 ports the chief burthen. 



" Misanthropi, that make it their practice to 

 bring men to the bough, and yet have never a tree 

 for the purpose in their gardens as Timon had."] 

 Query, What is the allusion in this passage ? 

 Nothing of the sort occurs in Lucian's dialogue of 

 Timon. 



Essay XIV. Of Nobility.— See Antilheta, No. 1. 

 vol. viii. p. 354. 



Essay XV. Of Seditions and Troubles. — 



"As Machiavel noteth well, when princes, that 

 ought to be common parents, make themselves as 

 a party," &c.] Perhaps Lord Bacon alludes to 

 Bixc. iii. 27. 



" As Tacitus expresseth it well, ' Liberius quam 

 ut imperantium meminissent.' "] Mr. Markby is 

 at a loss to trace this quotation. I am unable to 

 assist him. 



The verses of Lucan are quoted from memory. 

 The original has, " Avidumque in tempora," and 

 *' Et concussa fides." 



" Dolendi modus, timendi non item."] Query, 

 Whence are these words taken ? 



" Solvani cingula regum."] Mr. Markby refers 

 to Job xii. 18. ; but the passage alluded to seems 

 to be Isaiah xlv. 1. 



The story of Epimetheus is differently applied 

 in Sap. Vet., vol. x. p. 342. 



The saying of Cassar on Sylla is inserted in the 

 Apophthegms, No. 135. p. 379. That of Galba is 

 likewise to be found in Suet. Galb. 16. 



Essay XVI. Of Atheism.— See Antitheta, No. 13. 

 vol. viii. p. 360. 



" Who to him is instead of a god, or melior 

 natura."] From Ovid, Met. 1. 21. : " Hanc deus 

 et melior litem natura diremit." 



Essay XVII. Of Superstition. — See Antitheta, 

 No. 13. vol. viii. p. 360. 



Essay XIX. Of Empire.— See Antitheta, No. 8. 

 vol. viii. p. 358. 



" And the like was done by that league, which 

 Guicciardini saith was the security of Italy," &c.] 

 The league alluded to, is that of 1485. See Guic- 

 ciardini, lib. i. c. 1. 



" Neither is the opinion of some of the school- 

 men to be received, that a war cannot justly be 

 made but upon a precedent inj ury or provocation."] 

 Grotius lays down the same doctrine as Bacon, 

 Be J. B. et P., ii. 1. §§ 2, 3. Query, What school- 

 men are here referred to ? 



Essay XX. Of Counsel.— See Antitheta, No. 44. 

 vol. viii. p. 377. 



Jupiter and Metis.] See Sap. Vet, vol. xi. 

 p. 354. 



"For which inconveniences, the doctrine of 

 Italy, and practice of France, in some kings' times, 

 hath introduced cabinet councils : a remedy worse 

 than the disease."] By " cabinet councils " are here 

 meant private meetings of selected advisers in the 

 king's own apartment. 



"Principis est virtus maxima nosse suos."] 

 From Martial, viii. 15. 



" It was truly said, '■Optimi consiliarii viortui^ "] 

 Compare Apophthegms, No. 105.: "Alonzo of 

 Arragon was wont to say of himself, that he was a 

 great necromancer ; for that he used to ask counsel 

 of the dead, meaning books." 



Essay XXI. Of Delays.— See Antitheta, No. 41. 

 vol. viii. p. 376. 



" Occasion (as it is in the common verse) turneth 

 a bald noddle," &c.] See ';N. & Q.," Vol. iii., 

 pp. 8. 43., where this saying is illustrated. 



Essay XXII. Of Cunning. — 



" The old rule, to know a fool from a wise man : 

 ' Mitte ambos nudos ad ignotos, et videbis.' "] 

 Attributed to " one of the philosophers " in Apo- 

 phthegms, No. 255. p. 404. 



" 1 knew a counsellor and secretary that never 

 came to Queen Elizabeth of England with bills to 

 sign, but he would always first put her into some 

 discourse of estate, that she might the less mind 

 the bills."] King's or queen's bills is a technical 

 expression for a class of documents requiring the 

 royal signature, which is still, or was recently, in 

 use. See Murray's Official Handbook, by Mr. 

 Redgrave, p. 257. Query, To which of Queen 

 Elizabeth's Secretaries of State does Bacon allude ? 

 And again, who are meant by the " two who were 

 competitors for the Secretary's place in Queen 

 Elizabeth's time," mentioned lower down ? 



Essay XXIII. Of Wisdom for a Man's Self.— 



" It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to 

 leave a house somewhat before it fall."] Query, 

 IIow and when did this popular notion (now en- 

 grafted upon our political language) originate ? 



" It is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears 

 when they would devour."] This saying seems to 

 be derived from the belief, that the crocodile 

 imitates the cry of children in order to attract 

 their mothers, and then to devour them. See 

 Salgues, Bes Erreurs et des Prejuges, torn. ii. 

 p. 406. 



Essay XXIV. Of Innovations. — See Antitheta, 

 No. 40. vol. viii. p. 375. 



Essay XXV. Of Despatch. — See Antitheta, 

 No. 27. vol. viii. p. 368. 



" I knew a wise man, that had it for a by-word, 

 when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, 'Stay a 

 little, that we may make an end the sooner.' "] 

 Mr. Markby says that Sir Amias Paulet is the 



