

OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [ll. 2. 



ro s rival in eloquence : or if any man had rather call 

 for scholars that were great generals, than generals that 

 were great scholars, let him take Epaminondas the 

 Theban, or Xenophon the Athenian; whereof the one 

 was the first that abated the power of Sparta, and the 

 othef was the first that made way to the overthrow of the 

 monarchy of Persia. And this concurrence is yet more 

 visible in times than in persons, by how much an age 

 is [a] greater object than a man. For both in Egypt, 

 Assyria, Persia, Grecia, and Rome, the same times that 

 are most renowned for arms, are likewise most admired 

 for learning; so that the greatest authors and philosophers 

 and the greatest captains and governors have lived in- the 

 same ages. Neither can it otherwise be : for as in man 

 the ripeness^oi^ strength of the body and mind cometh 

 much about an age, save that the strength of the body 

 cometh somewhat the more early, so in states, arms and 

 learning, whereof the one correspondeth to the body, the 

 other to the soul of man, have a concurrence or near 

 sequence in times. 



3. And for matter of policy and government, that 

 learning should rather hurt, than enable thereunto, is a 

 thing very improbable : we see it is accounted an error 

 to commit a natural body to empiric physicians, which 

 commonly have a few pleasing receipts whereupon they 

 are confident and adventurous, but know neither the 

 causes of diseases, nor the complexions of patients, nor 

 peril of accidents, nor the true method of cures : we see 

 it is a like error to rely upon advocates or lawyers, which 

 are only men of practice and not grounded in their books, 

 who are many times easily surprised when matter falleth 

 out besides their experience, to the prejudice of the 

 causes they handle: so by like reason it cannot be but a 



