I o The Advancement of Learning 



currence 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, Grsecia, and Rome, the same times 

 that are most renowned for arms, are Hkewise most ad- 

 mired for learning, so that the greatest authors and philo- 

 sophers, and the greatest captains and governors have lived 

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

 man the ripeness of strength of the body and mind cometh 

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

 cometh 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 PoUcy and Government, that learning 

 should rather hurt, than enable thereunto, is a thing 

 very improbable: we see it is accounted an error to com- 

 mit a natural body to empiric physicians, which commonly 

 have a few pleasing receipts whereupon they are con- 

 fident 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 matter of doubtful 

 consequence if states be managed by empiric Statesmen, 

 not well mingled with men grounded in learning. But 

 contrariwise, it is almost without instance contradictory 

 that ever any government was disastrous thai was in the 

 hands of learned governors.^ For howsoever it hath been 

 ordinary with politic men to extenuate and disable learned 

 men by the names of Pedantes ; yet in the records of time it 

 appeareth, in many particulars, that the governments of 

 princes in minority (notwithstanding the infinite disadvan- 

 tage of that kind of state) have nevertheless excelled the 

 government of princes of mature age, even for that reason 

 which they seek to traduce, which is, that by that occasion 

 the state hath been in the hands of Pedantes ; for so was the 

 state of Rome for the first five years, which are so much 



* Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. ii. 14, 4. where he says that the body reaches 

 perfection at the age of 35 (7 X 5), and the mind at 49 (7 X7). 



• See Plato, Rep. v, 473. 



