58 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. 



is well witnessed by that work of his, intitled, De A nalogia, 

 [On Analogy,] being a grammatical philosophy, wherein he 

 did labour to make this same vox ad placitum [conventional 

 speech] to become vox ad licitum, [correct speech,] and to 

 reduce custom of speech to congruity of speech ; and took, as 

 it were, the pictures of words from the life of reason. 



So we receive from him, as a monument both of his 



power and learning, the then reformed computation of the 



year ; well expressing that he took it to be as great a glory 



10 to himself to observe and know the law of the heavens, as 



to give law to men upon the earth. 



So likewise in that book of his, Anti-Cato, it may easily 

 appear that he did aspire as well to victory of wit as 

 victory of war : undertaking therein a conflict against the 

 greatest champion with the pen that then lived, Cicero the 

 orator. 



So again in this book of Apophthegms, which he collected, 

 we see that he esteemed it more honour to make 

 himself but a pair of tables, to take the wise and pithy 

 20 words of others, than to have every word of his own to be 

 made an apophthegm or an oracle : as vain princes, by 

 custom of flattery, pretend to do. And yet if I should 

 enumerate divers of his speeches, as I did those of Alex 

 ander, they are truly such as Solomon noteth, when he 

 saith, Verba sapientum tanquam aculei, et tanquam clam in 

 altum defixi: [The words of the wise are as goads and as 

 nails driven deep in :] whereof I will only recite three, not 

 so delectable for elegancy, but admirable for vigour and 

 efficacy. 



30 As, first, it is reason he be thought a master of words, 

 that could with one word appease a mutiny in his 

 army, which was thus : The Eomans, when their generals 

 did speak to their army, did use the word Milites, [Soldiers,"] 

 but when the magistrates spake to the people, they did use 

 the word, Quirites, [Citizens.] The soldiers were in tumult, 

 and seditiously prayed to be cashiered; not that they so 



