ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 41 



These are, in short, the institutions on which princes and 

 other illustrious men have displayed their zeal for letters. To 

 me, dwelling upon each patron of letters, that notion of Cicero 

 occurs, which urged him upon his return not to particularize, 

 but to give general thanks " Difficile non aliquem, in gratum 

 quenquam, praeterire."& Rather should we, conformably to 

 Scripture, look forward to the course we have yet to run, than 

 regard the ground already behind us. 



First, therefore, I express my surprise, that among so many 

 illustrious colleges in Europe, all the foundations are engrossed 

 by the professions, none being left for the free cultivation of the 

 arts and sciences. Though men judge well who assert that 

 learning should be referred to action, yet by reposing too confi- 

 dently in this opinion, they are apt to fall into the error of the 

 ancient fable/ which represented the members of the body at 

 war with the stomach, because it alone, of all the parts of the 

 frame, seemed to rest, and absorb all the nourishment. For if 

 any man esteem philosophy and every study of a general char- 

 acter to be idle, he plainly forgets that on their proficiency the 

 state of every other learning depends, and that they supply 

 strength and force to its various branches. I mainly attribute 

 the lame progress of knowledge hitherto to the neglect or the 

 incidental study of the general sciences. For if you want a tree 

 to produce more than its usual burden of fruit, it is not anything 

 you can do to the branches that will effect this object, but the 

 excitation of the earth about its roots and increasing the fertility 

 of the soil ; nor must it be overlooked that this restriction of 

 foundations and endowments to professional learning has not 

 only dwarfed the growth of the sciences, but been prejudicial to 

 states and governments themselves. For since there is no col- 

 legiate course so free as to allow those who are inclined to 

 devote themselves to history, modern languages, civil policy, 

 and general literature; princes find a dearth of able men to 

 manage their affairs and efficiently conduct the business of the 

 commonwealth. 



Since the founders of colleges plant, and those who endow 

 them water, we are naturally led to speak in this place of the 

 mean salaries apportioned to public lectureships, whether in 

 the sciences or the arts. For such offices being instituted not 

 for an ephemeral purpose, but for the constant transmission and 

 extension of learning, it is of the utmost importance that the 



