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all his powers of eloquence to induce the peers to content 

 thcmfelvcs with difmifTing him from the high office which he 

 had difgraccd. They ialiiled, however, on a particular con- 

 feflionj^rcfpeiting each article of bribery and corruption of 

 which he was accufcd; and the chancellor confeffed his guilt 

 with regard to moil of the twenty-three articles of corrup- 

 tion which were exhibited againll him, whilll he extenuated 

 fome of them, and again threw himfelf on the mercy of the 

 Loufe. Upon being alked whether the confeffion which had 

 been read was written by his own hand, he replied, " It is 

 my aft, my hand, my heart ; I befeech your lordfhips to be 

 merciful to a broken reed." The houfe moved his majefty 

 to fequeller the feals, which was accordingly done; and then 

 proceeded to pafs fentence; which was, " That the lord vif- 

 _count St. Albans, lord chancellor of England, Ihall undergo 

 'fine and ranfom of 40,000!. ; that he fhall be imprifoned in 

 the Tower during the king's plcafure; that he (liall for ever 

 be incapable of any office or employment in the ftate or com- 

 monwealth; and that he ffiall never fit in parliament, or come 

 within the verge of the court." This fentence, fevere as it 

 may feem, and for which collateral caufes have been alleged, 

 was the refult of the ttrift exercifc of juftice. Thus de- 

 graded under a julV fentence, we cannot forbear pitying a 

 man, who, among other crimes, fuffercd his fervants to be- 

 come the inftruments of his ruin; and who in paffing by 

 feveral of h's retinue, that fi:ood up to falute him, farcalHc- 

 ally faid to them; " Sit down, my mailers; your rife has 

 been my fall." 



Thus degraded and baniflied into folitude, reproached by 

 'his own mind as well as by the public cenfure, and depreffed 

 by a load of debt, he retained the vigour of his faculties to 

 fuch a degree, that he returned with ardour to his favourite 

 purfuits, and produced various writings of fmgular merit in 

 hiftory, morals, and philofophy. Through all the viciffitudes 

 of his life, he kept in view the great objeft of the improve- 

 ment of fcience, to which his attention was direftcd in the 

 early period of his youth. From contemplating the exam- 

 ples of Demollhenes, Cicero, and Seneca, who, like himlelf, 

 had occupied high ftations, had fallen into delinquency, and 

 had been banifhed into retirement, he derived conlolation; 

 and in imitation of them, he determined to devote the remain- 

 der of his time to philofophy, and writing. He might, indeed, 

 have adopted the language in which Cicero addreffes philo- 

 phy: "Ad te confugimus; a te opem pctimus; tibi nos, 

 \it antea magna ex parte, fic nunc penitus totofque tradimus." 

 " To thee I (ly; from thee I feek fupport; to thee I devote 

 mvfclf, as formerly in part, fo now entirciv and altogether." 

 It Is obferved, however, that neither philofophy nor expe- 

 rience had taught Bacon a leflcni of moderation. After his re- 

 leafe from confinement in the Tower, which was foon granted 

 him, and the entire remiffion of his fentence gradually ob- 

 tained, he pofTciled a royal peniion of izoo\. a year, in addi- 

 tion to 600 1. a year, accruing to him from the alienation 

 office, and 700!. a year derived from his own eftate; but he 

 lived with a ni.igniticencc and fplendor which had no bounds. 

 In his way to London, his coach was attended by a number 

 of attendants on horfeback ; he was met by the prince of 

 Wales, who aiked whofc equipage it was, and being told 

 that it wa3 lord St. Albans, attended by his friends, his 

 highnefs remarked ; " Well, do v, hat we can, this man fcorns 

 to go out like a fnuff." With fuch prodigahty, it is no 

 wonder that at his death his debts fhould have amounted to 

 22, cool. As an inltance of his humility, we may cite his 

 reply to the French ambaflTador, who upon reading a French 

 tranllation of his Efiays, paid him the fulfome compliment 

 of comparing him to angels; " If the politeuefs of others 

 compare me to an angel, m/ own infirmities remind me that 



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I am a man:" and of felf-command we have a fingular dif- 

 play in his behaviour, when he received information by a 

 friend that his appUcation for an important favour at court 

 had proved unfucccfsful ; at this time he was diclating to his 

 chaplain an account of fome experiments in philofophy, and 

 he calmly faid, " Be it fo;" and difmiffing his friend with 

 thanks for his fervice, he turned to his chaplain, faying; 

 " Well, Sir, if that bufinefs will not lucceed, let us go on 

 with this, which is in our power;" and he continued to dic- 

 tate to him for fome time, without hefitation of ipeech, or 

 interruption of thought. 



Lord Bacon purfued his philofophical refearchcs to the 

 laft, in the midil ot bodily infirmities, occafioned by intenfe 

 lludy, multiplicity of bufinefs, and, above all, by anxiety 

 and anguifh of mind. In the winter of 1625, his health and 

 fpirils were much impaired; but in the following fpring he 

 made an excurfion into the country, for the purpofe of mak- 

 ing experiments on the prefervation of bodies. Having ex- 

 pofed himfelf imprudently to noxious effluvia, he was fud- 

 denly feized with pains in liis head and ftomach, which made 

 it necefiary for him to Hop at the earl of Arundel's houfe at 

 Highgate. Here he fell fick of a fever, and, after a week's 

 illnefs, expired on the ninth of April 1626, in the fixty-fixth 

 year of his age. In a letter addrefled to the nobleman in 

 whofe houfe he expired, he compares himfelf to the elder 

 Pliny, who loil his life by approaching too near to mount 

 V'efuvius during an irruption. He was buried in the 

 chapel of St. Michael's church, within the precinfts of Old 

 Verulam. Verfes to his memory were written in various 

 languages by the moll eminent fcholars of the univerfity of 

 Cambridge; but the moll honourable memorial of this 

 great man is found in his immortal writings. 



Before we can duly appretiate the value of lord Bacon's 

 philofophical works, we fliould duly confider the ftate of 

 philoiophy, and the method of purfuing fcience which pre- 

 vailed, at the period in which he lived. The authority of 

 Arillotle was abfolute ; his logic, phyfics, and metaphyfics, 

 were the principal guides in all feholailic dilquifitions ; and 

 the fcience that was principally cultivated was fuch as con- 

 filled of words and notions, and feemed to exclude the ftudy 

 of nature. Inllead of invetligati:ig the properties ot bodies 

 and the laws of motion by which all cffefts arc produced, 

 this fcience, or philofophy, if it may be fo called, was con- 

 verfant about logical deluiitions and diftinftions, and about 

 fpeculatiuns that were altogether barren and unprofitable. 

 This kind of captious philulophy was not only uieltis, but 

 a real obilacle to all advances in found learning, human and 

 divine. Some few perfou:;, indeed, had before the time of 

 lord Bacon ventured to difTcnt from Ariftotle ; and the fields 

 of natural knowledge had been cultivated and improved by 

 friar Bacon, Galileo, Copernicus, and others. But there 

 was ftiil wanting one great and comprehcnfive plan that 

 might embrace the almcll infinite varieties of fcience, and 

 guide our inquiries aright in all. This, lord Bacon firft 

 conceived in its utmoft extent, to his own lading honour, and 

 to the general advantage of mankind. To him belongs the 

 praife of having invented, methodifcd, and in a confiderable 

 degree perfeiled, this general plan for the improvement of 

 natural Icience by the only fure method of experiment. 

 With a mind commanding and comprehcnfive, prompt in in- 

 vention, patient in inquiry, and fubtle in difcrimmation, nei- 

 ther afTrfting novelty nor idolifing antiquity, he formed and 

 in a great meafure executed his grand plan, "The Inftaura- 

 tion of the Sciences." This plan comprehended fix capital 

 parts. Of thefe, the _/?'_y? part propofes a general furvey of 

 human knowledge, and is executed in the admirable treatife, 

 intitled, " The Advancement of Learning." He begins 



with 



