142 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 198. 



" It is noted by one of the Fathers, Christ's coat 

 indeed had no seam, but the Church's vesture was 

 of divers colours ; whereupon lie saith, ' in veste 

 varietas sit, scissura non sit.' "] Query, Who is 

 the Father alluded to ? 



" The massacre in France."] I. e. the massacre of 

 St. Bartholomew. 



Essay IV. Of Revenge. — See Antitheta, No. 39. 

 vol. viii. p. 374. 



The saying of Cosmo, Duke of Florence, as to 

 not forgiving friemls, recurs in the Apophthegms, 

 vol. i p. 394. ed. jVIontagu. 



Essay V. Of Adversity. — 



On the fable of Hercules sailing over the ocean 

 in an earthen pot, see Sap. Vet., vol. x. p. 335. 

 And concerning the Greek fable, see Schneidewin, 

 Del Foes, Gr., p. 329. 



Essay VI. Of Simulation and Dissimulation. — 

 See Antitheta, No. 32. vol. viii. p. 370. 



" Arts of state and arts of life, as Tacitus well 

 calleth them."] Mr. Markby does not trace this 

 allusion, which is not obvious. 



Essny VII. Of Parents and Children. — See An- 

 titheta, No. 5. vol. viii. p. 356. 



" The Italians make little difference between 

 children and nephews, or near kinsfolk."] Query, 

 What ground is there for this assertion ? 



"Generally the precept is good: ' Optimum ellge, 

 suave et facile illud faciet consuetudo.' "] Query, 

 Who is the author of this precept ? 



Essay VIII. Of Marriage and Single Life. — See 

 Antitheta, No. 5. vol. viii. p. 356. 



The answer of Thales concerning marriage is 

 also given in Plut. Symp. iii. 3. 



Essay IX. Of Envy. — See Antitheta, No. 16. 

 vol. viii. p. 362. 



"The Scripture calleth envy an evil eye."] Lord 

 Bacon appears to allude to James iv. 5. : " Do ye 

 think that the Scripture saith in vain, the Spirit 

 that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy ?" 



" Non est curiosus, quin idem sit malevolus."] 

 From Plautus, Stick. 1 . 3. v. 55. : " Nam curiosus 

 nemo est, quin sit malevolus." 



" Therefore it was well said, ' Invidia festos dies 

 non agit.' "] Whence is this saying taken ? It 

 occurs likewise in the Antitheta. 



Essay X. Of Love. — Sec Antitheta, No. 36. 

 vol. viii. p. 373. 



" It hath been v/ell said, that the arch-flatterer, 

 ■with whom all the petty flatterers have intel- 

 ligence, is a man's self."] Query, From whom is 

 this saying quoted ? 



" It was well said, that it is impossible to love 

 and to be wise."] Mr. Markby cites a verse of 

 Publius Syrus, " Amare et sapere vix Deo conce- 

 ditur." Compare Menander, Andria, Fragm. 1., 

 and Ovid, Met. ii. 846. : " JS'on bene conveniunt, 

 nee in una sedc morantur, Majestas et amor." 



" I know not how, but martial men are given to 

 love."] Aristotle {Pol. ii. 9.) has the same remark, 

 adding that there was good reason for the fable 

 which made Venus the spouse of Mars. 



Essay XL Of Great Place. — See Antitheta, 

 No. 7. vol. viii. p. 357. 



" Cum non sis qui fuerls, non esse cur velis 

 vivere."] Whatever may be the source of this 

 quotation, the sense seems to require est for esse. 



" It is most true that was anciently spoken : ' A 

 place showeth the man.' "] The allusion is to the 

 celebrated Greek proverb " apxh &vtpa. Se'iKwat," at- 

 tributed to Bias, Solon, Pittacus, and others. See 

 Diogenianus, Prov. ii. 94., with the note of Leutsch 

 and Schneidewin. 



Essay XIL Of Boldness.— See Antitheta, No. 33. 

 vol. viii. p. 371. 



" Question was asked of Demosthenes," &c.] 

 See Cic. de Orat. iii. 56. ; B7^ut. 38. ; Plut. Vit. 

 X. Orat. c. 8. By the Greek word tmSKpicTiS, and 

 the Latin word actio, in this anecdote, is meant all 

 that belongs to the acting or delivery of a speech. 

 Bacon appears, by his following remarks, not to 

 include elocution in actio; which was certainly not 

 Cicero's understanding of the word. 



" If the hill will not come to Mahomet, M.ahomet 

 will go to the hill."] Query, AVhat is the au- 

 thority for this well-known story ? 



Essay XIIL Of Goodness.— 



" The Turks, a cruel people, nevertheless are 

 kind to beasts, and give alms to dogs and birds ; 

 insomuch, as Busbechius reporteth, a Christian 

 boy in Constantinople had like to have been stoned 

 for gagging in a waggishness a long-billed fowl."] 

 A. G. Busbequius, Legalionis Turcica Epistolce 

 quattuor, in Epist. iii. p. 107. of his works, Lond. 

 1660, tells a story of a Venetian goldsmith at 

 Constantinople, who was fond of fowling, and had 

 caught a bird of the size of the cuckoo, and of the 

 same colour ; with a beak not very large, but with 

 jaws so wide that, when opened, they would admit 

 a man's fist. This bird he fastened over his door, 

 with extended wings, and a stick in his beak, so 

 as to extend the jaws to a great width, as a joke. 

 The Turks, who were passing by, took compassion 

 on the bird ; seized the goldsmith by the neck, and 

 led him before the criminal judge. He was with 

 difiiculty saved from an infliction of the bastinado 

 by the interference of the Venetian Bailo. The 

 man told the story to Busbequius, and showed 

 him the bird ; who supposed it to be the Capri- 

 mulgim, or goat-sucker. A full account of the 

 Caprimulgus Europceus (the bird here alluded to) 

 may be seen in the Penny Cyclopadia, art. Night- 

 jars. It will be observed that Bacon quotes the 

 story from memory, and does not represent the 

 particulars of it with accuracy. It is not a Chris- 

 tian boy, nor is he threatened with stoning, nor is 

 the bird a long-hilled fowl. 



