194 



BACON 



Cruelty proceeding from re- 

 venge is justice; if from danger, 

 prudence. 



He who shows mercy to his 

 enemy denies it to himself. 



Phlebotomy is as necessary in 

 the body politic as in the body 

 natural. 



For DELAY 



To a good man, cruelty seems a 

 mere tragical fiction. 



Against 



Fortune sells many things to 

 the hasty which she gives to the 

 slow. 



Hurrying to catch the begin- 

 nings of things is grasping at 

 shadows. 



When things hang wavering, 

 mark them, and work when they 

 incline. 



Commit the beginning of ac- 

 tions to Argus, with his hundred 

 eyes, the end to Briareus, with his 

 hundred hands. 



For DISSIMULATION 



Dissimulation is a short wis- 

 dom. 



We are not all to say, though 

 we all intend, the same thing. 



Nakedness, even in the mind, is 

 uncomely. 



Dissimulation is both a grace 

 and a guard. 



Dissimulation is the bulwark of 

 counsels. 



Some fall a prey to fair dealing. 



The open dealer deceives as 

 well as the dissembler; for many 

 either do not understand him or 

 not believe him. 



Open dealing is a weakness of 

 mind. 



For EMPIRE 



Opportunity offers the handle 

 of the bottle first, then the belly. 



Opportunity, like the Sibyl, di- 

 minishes the commodity but en- 

 hances the price. 



Despatch is Pluto's helmet. 



Things undertaken speedily are 

 easily performed. 



Against 



If we cannot think justly, at 

 least let us speak as we think. 



In shallow politicians, dissimu- 

 lation goes for wisdom. 



The dissembler loses a principal 

 instrument of action, belief. 



Dissimulation invites dissimula- 

 tion. 



The dissembler is a slave. 



Against 



To enjoy happiness is a great 

 blessing, but to confer it a greater. 



Kings are more like stars than 

 men, for they have a powerful in- 

 fluence. 



To resist God's vicegerents is to 

 war against heaven. 



It is a miserable state to have 

 few things to desire and many to 

 fear. 



Princes, like the celestial bodies, 

 have much veneration but no 

 rest. 



Mortals are admitted to Jupi- 

 ter's table only for sport. 



