84 BACON'S ESSAYS 



shallowness and weakness. As we see in beasts, that those 

 that are weakest in the course, are yet nimblest in the 

 turn ; as it is betwixt the greyhound and the hare. To 

 use too many circumstances ere one come to the matter, 

 is wearisome ; to use none at all, is blunt. 



XXXIII 

 OF PLANTATIONS 



PLANTATIONS are amongst ancient, primitive, and heroical 

 works. When the world was young it begat more chil- 

 dren ; but now it is old it begets fewer; for I may justly 

 account new plantations to be the children of former king- 

 doms. I like a plantation in a pure soil; that is, where 

 people are not displanted to the end to plant in others. 

 For else it is rather an extirpation than a plantation. 

 Planting of countries is like planting of woods ; for you 

 must make account to leese almost twenty years profit, 

 and expect your recompense in the end. For the principal 

 thing that hath been the destruction of most plantations, 

 hath been the base and hasty drawing of profit in the first 

 years. It is true, speedy profit is not to be neglected, as 

 far as may stand with the good of the plantation, but no 

 further. 



It is a shameful and unblessed thing to take the scum of 

 people, and wicked condemned men, to be the people with 

 whom you plant ; and not only so, but it spoileth the 

 plantation ; for they will ever live like rogues, and not fall 

 to work, but be lazy, and do mischief, and spend victuals, 

 and be quickly weary, and then certify over to their 

 country to the discredit of the plantation. The people 

 wherewith you plant ought to be gardeners, ploughmen, 

 labourers, smiths, carpenters, joiners, fishermen, fowlers, 

 with some few apothecaries, surgeons, cooks, and bakers. 

 In a country of plantation, first look about what kind of 

 victual the country yields of itself to hand ; as chestnuts, 

 wall nuts, pine-apples, olives, dates, plums, cherries, wild 



