210 ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [Book 



for it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with the columbine 

 jnnocency, except men know exactly all the conditions of the serpent; 

 his baseness and going upon his belly, his volubility and lubricity, his 

 envy and sting, and the rest; that is, all forms and natures of evil: 

 for without this, virtue lieth open and unfcnced. Nay, an honest 

 man can do no good upon those that are wicked, to reclaim them, 

 without the help of the knowledge of evil : for men of corrupted minds 

 presuppose that honesty groweth out of simplicity of manners, and 

 believing of preachers, schoolmasters, and men s exterior language. 

 So as, except you can make them perceive that you know the utmost 

 reaches of their own corrupt opinions, they despise all morality ; 

 &quot;Non recipit stultus verba prudentia, nisi ea dixeris, qua? versantur 

 in corde ejus.&quot; 



Unto this part touching respective duty doth also appertain the 

 duties between husband and wife, parent and, child, master and 

 servant : so likewise the laws of friendship and gratitude, the civil 

 bond of companies, colleges, and politic bodies of neighbourhood, 

 and all other proportionate duties ; not as they are parts of govern 

 ment and society, but as to the framing of the mind of particular 

 persons. 



The knowledge concerning good respecting society doth handle it 

 also not simply alone, but comparatively, whereunto bclongeth the 

 weighing of duties between person and person, case and case, parti 

 cular and public : as we see in the proceeding of Lucius and Brutus 

 against his own sons, which was so much extolled ; yet what was said ? 



Infelix, utcunque fercnt ea fata minorcs. 



So the case was doubtful, and had opinion on both sides. Again, we 

 see when M. Brutus and Cassius invited to a supper certain whose 

 opinions they meant to feel, whether they were fit to be made their 

 associates, and cast forth the question touching the killing of a tyrant 

 being an ursurper, they were divided in opinion, some holding that 

 servitude was the extreme of evils, and others that tyranny was better 

 than a civil war ; and a number of the like cases there are of compa 

 rative duty : amongst which that of all others is the most frequent, 

 where the question is of a. great deal of good to ensue of a small in 

 justice, which Jason of Thessalia determined against the truth : 

 &quot; Aliqua sunt injuste facienda, ut multa juste fieri possint.&quot; But the 

 reply is good, &quot; Auctorem prxsentis justitiaj habes, sponsorem futura? 

 nonhabes;&quot; men must pursue things which are just in present, and 

 leave the future to the divine providence. So then we pass on from 

 this general part touching the exemplar and description of good. 



Now therefore that we have spoken of this fruit of life, it remaineth 

 to speak of the husbandry that belongeth thereunto, without which 

 part the former seemeth to be no better than a fair image, or 

 stcitna, which is beautiful to contemplate, but is without life and 

 motion : whereunto Aristotle himself subscribeth in these words, 

 Nccesse est scilicet de virtute dicere, et quid sit, et ex quibus 

 gignatur. Inutile enim fere fuerit, virtutem quidem nosse, acquirenda& 



