4. Queen Elizabeth, the morrow of her coronation, went to the chapel; and in the great chamber, Sir John Rainsforth, set on by wiser men (a knight that had the liberty of a buffoon), besought the queen aloud-"That now this good time, when prisoners were delivered, four prisoners, amongst the rest, mought likewise have their liberty who were like enough to be kept still in hold." The queen asked, "Who they were?" and he said, “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who had long been imprisoned in the Latin tongue, and now he desired they mought go abroad among the people in English." The queen answered, with a grave countenance, "It were good, Rainsforth, they were spoken with themselves, to know of them whether they would be set at liberty?"

6. Pace, the bitter fool, was not suffered to come at the queen, because of his bitter humour. Yet at one time, some persuaded the queen that he should come to her, undertaking for him that he should keep compass: so he was brought to her, and the queen said: "Come on, Pace; now we shall hear of our faults.' Saith Pace; "I do not use to talk of that that all the town talks on."

9. Queen Ann Bullen, at the time when she was led to be beheaded in the Tower, called one of the king's privy chamber to her, and said to him, "Commend me to the king, and tell him, he is constant in his course of advancing me; from a private gentlewoman he made me a marquisse, and from a marquisse a queen; and now, he had left no higher degree of earthly honour, he hath made me a martyr."

11. Caesar Borgia, after long division between him and the lords of Romagna, fell to accord with them. In this accord there was an article, that he should not call them at any time altogether in person. The meaning was, that knowing his dangerous nature, if he meant them treason; some one mought be free to revenge the rest. Nevertheless, he did with such fine art and fair carriage win their confidence, that he brought them altogether to council at Cinigagli, where he murdered them all. This act, which was related unto Pope Alexander, his father, by a cardinal, as a thing happy, but very perfidious; the pope said, "It was they that had broke their covenant first, in coming all together."

14. Sir Thomas More had only daughters at the first, and his wife did ever pray for a boy. At last he had a boy, which after, at man's years, proved simple. Sir Thomas said to his wife, "Thou prayedst so long for a boy, that he will be a boy as long as he lives."

33. Bias was sailing, and there fell out a great tempest;

and the mariners, that were wicked and dissolute fellows, called upon the gods; but Bias said to them, "Peace, let their not know you are here.” *

38. Alcibiades came to Pericles, and stayed a while ere he was admitted. When he came in, Pericles civilly excused it, and said, "I was studying how to give my account." But Alcibiades said to him, "If you will be ruled by me, study rather how to give no account."

42. There was a bishop that was somewhat a delicate person, and bathed twice a day. A friend of his said to him, My lord, why do you bathe twice a day?" The bishop answered; "because I cannot conveniently bathe thrice."+

49. When Vespasian passed from Jewry to take upon him the empire, he went by Alexandria, where remained two famous philosophers, Apollonius and Euphrates. The emperor heard the discourse, touching the matter of state, in the presence of many. And when he was weary of them, he broke off, and in a secret derision, finding their discourses but speculative, and not put in practice, said, "O that I might govern wise men, and wise men govern me."

58. The book of deposing King Richard the Second, and the coming in of Henry the Fourth, supposed to be written by Doctor Hayward, who was committed to the Tower for it, had much incensed Queen Elizabeth; and she asked Mr. Bacon, being then of her learned council, "Whether there were any treason contained in it?" Mr. Bacon intending to do him a pleasure, and to take off the queen's bitterness with a merry conceit, answered, "No, madam, for treason I cannot deliver opinion that there is any, but very much felony." The queen apprehending it gladly, asked, "How, and wherein ?" Mr. Bacon answered, "Because he had stolen many of his sentences and conceits out of Cornelius Tacitus."

59. Mr. Popham, when he was speaker, and the lower house had sat long, and done in effect nothing; coming one day to Queen Elizabeth, she said to him, "Now, Mr. Speaker, what has passed in the lower house?" He answered, "If it please your majesty, seven weeks."

63. Nero was wont to say of his master Seneca, "That his style was like morter of sand, without lime."

65. Queen Elizabeth being to resolve upon a great officer, and being by some, that canvassed for others, put of some doubt

*This is omitted in the Resuscitatio.

This is another of those omitted in the Resuscitatio.

of that person whom she meant to advance, called for Mr. Bacon, and told him, "She was like one with a lanthorn seeking a man," and seemed unsatisfied in the choice she had of men for that place. Mr. Bacon answered her, "That he had heard that in old time there was usually painted on the church walls the day of doom, and God sitting in judgment, and St. Michael by him with a pair of balances; and the soul and the good deeds in the one balance, and the faults and the evil deeds in the other; and the soul's balance went up far too light. Then was our lady painted with a great pair of beads, who cast them into the light balance, and brought down the scale: so he said, place and authority, which were in her hands to give, were like our lady's beads, which though men, through divers imperfections, were too light before, yet when they were cast in made weight competent."

71. Queen Elizabeth was dilatory enough in suits, of her own nature; and the lord treasurer Burleigh, to feed her humour, would say to her, "Madam, you do well to let suitors stay; for I shall tell you, bis dat, qui cito dat:* if you grant them speedily, they will come again the sooner."

72. They feigned a tale of Sextus Quintus, that after his death he went to hell, aud the porter of hell said to him, "You have some reason to offer yourself to this place; but yet I have order not to receive you: you have a place of your own, purgatory; you may go thither." So he went away, and sought purgatory a great while, and could find no such place. Whereupon he took heart, and went to heaven, and knocked; and St. Peter asked, "Who was there?" he said, "Sextus Pope." Whereunto St. Peter said, "Why do you knock? you have the keys." Sextus answered, "It is true, but it is so long since they were given, as I doubt the wards of the lock be altered."

77. The deputies of the reformed religion, after the massacre that was upon St. Bartholomew's day, treated with the king and queen-mother, and some other of the council for a peace. Both sides were agreed upon the articles. The question was, upon the security of performance. After some particulars propounded and rejected, the queen-mother said, "Why, is not the word of a king sufficient security?" One of the deputies answered, "No, by St. Bartholomew, madam."

85. One was saying that his great grandfather, and grandfather and father, died at sea; said another that heard him, "And I were as you, I would never come at sea." "Why," saith

*He gives twice who gives quick.

he, "where did your great grandfather, and grandfather and father die?" He answered, "Where but in their beds?" Saith the other, "And I were as you, I would never come in bed." 91. There was a dispute, whether great heads or little heads had the better wit? And one said, "It must needs be the

little; for that it is a maxim, omne majus continet in se minus." 92. Solon, when he wept for his son's death, and one said to him, "Weeping will not help," answered, "Alas, therefore I weep, because weeping will not help."

100. Trajan would say of the vain jealousy of princes, that seek to make away those that aspire to their succession; "that there was never king that did put to death his successor."

113. There was a marriage made between a widow of great wealth and a gentleman of a great name, that had no estate or means. Jack Roberts said, "That marriage was like a black pudding; the one brought blood, and the other brought suet and oatmeal."*

125. Augustus Caesar would say; "That he wondered that Alexander feared he should want work, having no more to conquer; as if it were not as hard a matter to keep as to conquer."

134. The Romans, when they spake to the people, were wont to stile them ye Romans; when commanders in war spake to their army, they stiled them, my soldiers. There was a mutiny in Caesar's army, and somewhat the soldiers would have bad, yet they would not declare themselves in it, but only demanded a mission, or discharge, though with no intention it should be granted but knowing that Caesar had at that time great need of their services, thought by that means to wrench him to their other desires: whereupon with one cry they asked mission. Caesar, after silence made, said; "I for my part, ye Romans." This title did actually speak them to be dismissed: which voice they had no sooner heard, but they mutinied again; and would not suffer him to go on with his speech, until he had called them by the name of his soldiers: and so with that one word he appeased the sedition.

137. Diogenes begging, as divers philosophers then used, did beg more of a prodigal man than of the rest which were present. Whereupon one said to him; "See your baseness, that when you find a liberal mind, you will take most of him." "No," said Diogenes, "but I mean to beg of the rest again." 138, Jason the Thessalian was wont to say, "that some

*This is omitted in the Resuscitatio.

things must be done unjustly, that many things may be done justly."

139. Sir Nicholas Bacon being keeper of the seal, when Queen Elizabeth, in progress, came to his house at Redgrave, and said to him, "My lo', what a little house you have gotten?" said, "Madam, my house is well, but it is you that have made me too great for my house."

149. Croesus said to Cambyses, "That peace was better than war; because in peace the sons did bury their fathers, but in the wars the fathers did bury their sons."*

158. Philip, Alexander's father, gave sentence against a prisoner what time he was drowsy, and seemed to give small attention. The prisoner, after sentence was pronounced, said, "I appeal." The king, somewhat stirred, said, “To whom do you appeal?" The prisoner answered, " From Philip when he gave no ear, to Philip when he shall give ear.”

159. The same Philip maintained arguments with a musician in points of his art, somewhat peremptorily, but the musician said to him, " God forbid, sir, your fortune were so hard that you should know these things better than myself." 167. Cato Major would say, "That wise men learnt more

by fools, than fools by wise men."

168. When it was said to Anaxagoras, "The Athenians have condemned you to die:" he said again, "And Nature them."

181. One of the seven was wont to say, "That laws were like cobwebs; where the small flies were caught, and the great broke through."

191. There was a law made by the Romans against the bribery and extortion of the governors of provinces. Cicero saith in a speech of his to the people, "That he thought the provinces would petition to the state of Rome to have that law repealed. For," saith he, "before the governors did bribe and extort as much as was sufficient for themselves; but now they bribe and extort as much as may be enough not only for themselves, but for the judges, and jurors, and magistrates."

193. Pyrrhus, when his friends congratulated to him his victory over the Romans, under the conduct of Fabricius, but with great slaughter of his own side, said to them again, “Yes, but if we have such another victory, we are undone."

194. Cineas was an excellent orator and statesman, and principal friend and counsellor to Pyrrhus; and falling in in*This was omitted in the Resuscitatio.

VOL. I.

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