138 BACON'S ESSAYS 



the hurt itself. And therefore when men are ingenious in 

 picking out circumstances of contempt, they do kindle 

 their anger much. Lastly, opinion of the touch of a man's 

 reputation doth multiply and sharpen anger. Wherein 

 the remedy is, that a man should have, as Consalvo was 

 wont to say, telam honoris crassiorem. But in all refrain- 

 ings of anger, it is the best remedy to win time ; and to 

 make a man's self believe, that the opportunity of his 

 revenge is not yet come, but that he foresees a time for it ; 

 and so to still himself in the mean time, and reserve it. 



To contain anger from mischief, though it take hold of 

 a man, there be two things whereof you must have special 

 caution. The one, of extreme bitterness of words, especially 

 if they be aculeate and proper ; for communia maledicta are 

 nothing so much ; and again, that in anger a man reveal 

 no secrets ; for that makes him not fit for society. The 

 other, that you do not peremptorily break off, in any 

 business, in a fit of anger ; but howsoever you shew bitter- 

 ness, do not act anything that is not revocable. 



For raising and appeasing anger in another ; it is done 

 chiefly by choosing of times, when men are frowardest 

 and worst disposed, to incense them. Again, by gathering 

 (as was touched before) all that you can find out to 

 aggravate the contempt. And the two remedies are by 

 the contraries. The former to take good times, when 

 first to relate to a man an angry business ; for the first 

 impression is much ; and the other is, to sever, as much as 

 may be, the construction of the injury from the point 

 of contempt ; imputing it to misunderstanding, fear, 

 passion, or what you will. 



LVIII 

 OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 



SOLOMON saith, ' There is no new thing upon the earth/ 

 So that as Plato had an imagination, ' That all knowledge 

 was but remembrance ' ; so Solomon giveth his sentence, 



