Elizabethan Astrology

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               TOWER OF LONDON

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Bacon's public career ended in disgrace in 1621. After having fallen into debt, a Parliamentary Committee on the administration of the law charged him with twenty-three separate counts of corruption. To the lords, who sent a committee to inquire whether a confession was really his, he replied, "My lords, it is my act, my hand, and my heart; I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." He was sentenced to a fine of £40,000, remitted by King James, to be committed to the Tower of London during the king's pleasure (his imprisonment lasted only a few days). More seriously, parliament declared Bacon incapable of holding future office or sitting in parliament. Narrowly, he escaped being deprived of his titles. Thenceforth the disgraced viscount devoted himself to study
and writing.

Historians such as Nieves Mathews believe Bacon may have been innocent of the bribery charges; Bacon himself said that he pleaded guilty by force deliberately[citation needed] so to save the king from a worse political scandal, stating:

"I was the justest judge that was in England these last fifty years. When the book of all hearts is opened, I trust I shall not be found to have the troubled fountain of a corrupt heart. I know I have clean hands and a clean heart. I am as innocent of bribes as any born on St Innocents Day."

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Biographers continue to debate about Bacon's sexual inclinations and the precise nature of his personal relationships. When he was 36, Francis engaged in the courtship of Elizabeth Hatton, a young widow of 20. Reportedly, she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage to a wealthier man. Years later, Bacon still wrote of his regret that the marriage to Elizabeth had never taken place.

At the age of forty five, Bacon married Alice Barnham (1592–1650), the fourteen year old daughter of
a well-connected London alderman and M.P. Bacon wrote three sonnets proclaiming his love for Alice. The first sonnet was written during his courtship and the second sonnet on his wedding day, 10 May 1606. The third sonnet was written years later "when by special Warrant of the King, Lady Bacon was given precedence over all other Court ladies" when Bacon was appointed "Regent of the Kingdom":

"Let not my Love be call'd Idolatry."

Reports of increasing friction in his marriage to Alice appeared, with speculation that some of this may have been due to financial resources not being as readily available to her as she was accustomed to having in the past. Alice was reportedly interested in fame and fortune, and when reserves of money were no longer available, there were complaints about where all the money was going. Alice Chambers Bunten wrote in her Life of Alice Barnham that, upon their descent into debt, she actually went on trips to ask for financial favours and assistance from their circle of friends. Bacon disinherited her upon discovering her secret romantic relationship with John Underhill. He rewrote his will, which had previously been very generous to her (leaving her lands, goods, and income), revoking it all.

Several authors, such as A .L. Rowse, author of 'Homosexuals in History', believe that Bacon was either bisexual or homosexual. This has been disputed by other authors, such as Nieves Mathews, author of Francis Bacon: 'The History of a Character Assassination', who consider the sources to be questionable and the conclusions open to interpretation.

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                        FRANCIS BACON'S TOMB

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In April 1626, Sir Francis Bacon came to Highgate near London, and died at the empty (except for the caretaker) Arundel mansion.

A famous and influential account of the circumstances of his death was given by John Aubrey in his Brief Lives. Aubrey has been criticized for his evident credulousness in this and other works; on the other hand, he knew Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher and friend of Bacon.

Aubrey's vivid account, which portrays Bacon as a martyr to experimental scientific method, has him journeying to Highgate through the snow with the King's physician when he is suddenly inspired by the possibility of using the snow to preserve meat. "They were resolved they would try the experiment presently. They alighted out of the coach and went into a poor woman's house at the bottom of Highgate hill, and bought a fowl, and made the woman exenterate it".

After stuffing the fowl with snow, he happened to contract a fatal case of pneumonia. He then attempted to extend his fading lifespan by consuming the fowl that had caused his illness. Some people, including Aubrey, consider these two contiguous, possibly coincidental events as related
and causative of his death:



"The Snow so chilled him that he immediately fell so extremely ill, that he could not return to

his Lodging ... but went to the Earle of Arundel's house at Highgate, where they put him into ...

a damp bed that had not been layn-in ... which gave him such a cold that in 2 or 3 days as I

remember Mr Hobbes told me, he died of Suffocation."

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Being unwittingly on his deathbed, the philosopher wrote his last letter to his absent host and friend Lord Arundel:



"My very good Lord,—I was likely to have had the fortune of Caius Plinius the elder, who lost his life by trying an experiment about the burning of Mount Vesuvius; for I was also desirous to try an experiment or two touching the conservation and induration of bodies. As for the experiment itself, it succeeded excellently well; but in the journey between London and Highgate, I was taken with such a fit of casting as I know not whether it were the Stone, or some surfeit or cold, or indeed a touch of them all three. But when I came to your Lordship's House, I was not able to go back, and therefore was forced to take up my lodging here, where your housekeeper is very careful and diligent about me, which I assure myself your Lordship will not only pardon towards him, but think the better of him for it. For indeed your Lordship's House was happy to me, and I kiss your noble hands for the welcome which I
am sure you give me to it. I know how unfit it is for me to write with any other hand than mine own, but by my troth my fingers are so disjointed with sickness that I cannot steadily hold a pen."



He died at Lord Arundel's home on 9 April 1626, leaving assets of about £7,000 and debts to the amount of £22,000.

This account appears in a biography by William Rawley, Bacon's personal secretary and chaplain:

"He died on the ninth day of April in the year 1626, in the early morning of the day then celebrated
for our Saviour's resurrection, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, at the Earl of Arundel's house in Highgate, near London, to which place he casually repaired about a week before; God so ordaining
that he should die there of a gentle fever, accidentally accompanied with a great cold, whereby the defluxion of rheum fell so plentifully upon his breast, that he died by suffocation."

At his April 1626 funeral, over thirty great minds collected together their eulogies of him. It is clear
from all these eulogies that he was not only loved deeply, but that there was something about his character which led men even of the stature of Ben Jonson to hold him in reverence and awe.

A volume of the 32 eulogies was published in Latin in 1730.

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                                   SIR FRANCIS BACON

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Philosophy and works



Bacon did not propose an actual philosophy, but rather a method of developing philosophy. He wrote that, although philosophy at the time used the deductive syllogism to interpret nature, the philosopher should instead proceed through inductive reasoning from fact to axiom to law. Before beginning this induction, the inquirer is to free his or her mind from certain false notions or tendencies which distort the truth. These are called "Idols"[14] (idola), and are of four kinds: "Idols of the Tribe" (idola tribus), which are common to the race; "Idols of the Den" (idola specus), which are peculiar to the individual; "Idols of the Marketplace" (idola fori), coming from the misuse of language; and "Idols of the Theatre" (idola theatri), which result from an abuse of authority. The end of induction is the discovery of forms, the ways in which natural phenomena occur, the causes from which they proceed.

 
Sir Francis BaconDerived through use of his methods, Bacon explicates his somewhat fragmentary ethical system in the seventh and eighth books of his De augmentis scientiarum (1623).

He distinguishes between duty to the community, an ethical matter, and duty to God, a religious matter. Bacon claimed that  any moral action is the action of the human will, which is governed
by belief and spurred on by the passions;  good habit is what aids men in directing their will
toward the good;  no universal rules can be made, as both situations and men's characters differ.

Regarding faith, in De augmentis, he writes that "the more discordant, therefore, and incredible, the divine mystery is, the more honour is shown to God in believing it, and the nobler is the victory of faith."

He writes in "The Essays: Of Atheism" that



                                   "a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism;

                            but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion."

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Bacon contrasted the new approach of the development of science with that of the Middle Ages.
He said:



"Men have sought to make a world from their own conception and to draw from their own minds all
the material which they employed, but if, instead of doing so, they had consulted experience and observation, they would have the facts and not opinions to reason about, and might have ultimately arrived at the knowledge of the laws which govern the material world."



Bacon's works include his Essays, as well as the Colours of Good and Evil and the Meditationes Sacrae, all published in 1597. His famous aphorism,


                                                        "knowledge is power",


is found in the Meditations.

He published The Proficience and Advancement of Learning in 1605.

Bacon also wrote 'In felicem memoriam Elizabethae', a eulogy for the queen written in 1609; and
various philosophical works which constitute the fragmentary and incomplete 'Instauratio magna'
(Great Renewal), the most important part of which is the 'Novum Organum' (New Instrument,
published 1620); in this work he cites three world-changing inventions:



"Printing, gunpowder and the compass:

These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world;
the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; whence have
followed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to
have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical
discoveries."

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Bacon's Utopia



In 1623 Bacon expressed his aspirations and ideals in 'The New Atlantis'.

Released in 1627, this was his creation of an ideal land where



                 "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendor, piety and public spirit"



were the commonly held qualities of the inhabitants of Bensalem.

In this work, he portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge.

The plan and organization of his ideal college, "Solomon's House", envisioned the modern research university in both applied and pure science.

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                                                       'The New Atlantis'






In 1623 Sir Francis Bacon expressed his aspirations and ideals in 'The New Atlantis'.

Released in 1627, this utopian novel was his creation of an ideal land where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendor, piety and public spirit" were the commonly held qualities
of the inhabitants of Bensalem.

In this work, he portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge.

The plan and organization of his ideal college, "Solomon's House", envisioned the modern research university in both applied and pure science.


 


Synopsis


The novel depicts a mythical land, Bensalem, which is discovered by the crew of an European ship
after they are lost in the Pacific Ocean somewhere west of Peru.

The European narrator recounts some of the island's customs and, most importantly, its state-sponsored scientific institution, Solomon's House.

The best and brightest of Bensalem's citizens attend a college called Solomon's House, in which scientific experiments are conducted in Baconian method in order to understand and conquer
nature, and to apply the collected knowledge to the betterment of society.





Critical analysis


Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker have argued that Bacon was not as idealistic as 'Atlantis' might suggest.

A year prior to the release of 'New Atlantis', Bacon published an essay that reveals a version of
himself not often seen in history.

This essay, a lesser-known work entitled, "An Advertisement Touching an Holy War," advocated the elimination of detrimental societal elements by the English and compared this to the endeavors of Hercules while establishing civilized society in ancient Greece.

He saw the "extirpation and debellating of giants, monsters, and foreign tyrants, not only as lawful,
but as meritorious, even divine honour..."

Laurence Lampert has interpreted Bacon's treatise An Advertisement Touching a Holy War as advocating "spiritual warfare against the spiritual rulers of European civilization."





Influences


The New Atlantis is widely thought to have influenced B.F. Skinner's 1948 Walden Two.

Skinner was a great admirer of the scientific methodology to which Bacon adhered.





See also:


"The City of the Sun"

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                                                       The New Instrument






Baconian method



'The Novum Organum' is a philosophical work by Francis Bacon published in 1620.

This is a reference to Aristotle's work Organon, which was his treatise on logic and syllogism.

In 'Novum Organum', Bacon details a new system of logic he believes to be superior to the old
ways of syllogism.

In this work, we see the development of the Baconian method consists of procedures for isolating
the form nature, or cause, of a phenomenon, including the method of agreement, method of
difference, and method of concomitant variation.

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                                                         Baconian method






The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Francis Bacon.

It is an early forerunner of the scientific method.

The method was put forward in Bacon's book 'Novum Organum', or 'New Instrument', and was
supposed to replace the methods put forward in Aristotle's 'Organon'.




 
Baconian Method


The Baconian method consists of procedures for isolating the form nature, or cause, of a pheno-
menon, including the method of agreement, method of difference, and method of concomitant
variation.

Bacon suggests that you draw up a list of all things in which the phenomenon you are trying to
explain occurs, as well as a list of things in which it does not occur.

Then you rank your lists according to the degree in which the phenomenon occurs in each one.

Then you should be able to deduce what factors match the occurrence of the phenomenon in one
list and don't occur in the other list, and also what factors change in accordance with the way the data had been ranked.

From this Bacon concludes you should be able to deduce by elimination and inductive reasoning what
is the cause underlying the phenomenon.

Thus, if an army is successful when commanded by Essex, and not successful when not commanded
by Essex: and when it is more or less successful according to the degree of involvement of Essex as
its commander, then it is scientifically reasonable to say that being commanded by Essex is causally related to the army's success.





Idols of The Mind


Bacon also listed what he called the Idols of The Mind. He described these as things which
obstructed the path of correct scientific reasoning.



Idols of the Tribe:

This is humans' tendency to perceive more order and regularity in systems
than truly exists, and is due to people following their preconceived ideas about things.



Idols of the Cave:

This is due to individuals' personal weaknesses in reasoning due to particular personalities,
likes and dislikes.



Idols of the Marketplace:

This is due to confusions in the use of language and taking some words in science to have a
different meaning than their common usage.



Idols of the Theatre:

This is due to using philosophical systems which have incorporated mistaken methods.
Here Bacon is referring to the influence of major philosophers (Aristotle) and major
religions on science.



Followers

The English physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) was one of the earliest scientists to adhere
to the scientific empiricism of the Baconian method. His encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica
(1646-76) includes numerous examples of Baconian investigative methodology; its preface even paraphrases lines from Bacon's essay On Truth from his 1605 work The Advancement of Learning.



The Baconian method was further developed and promoted by English philosopher John Stuart Mill.

His 1843 book, A System of Logic, was an effort to shed further light on issues of causation.

In this work, he formulated the five principles of inductive reasoning now known as Mill's methods.

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                                                     List of published works





Essays (1597)



The Elements of the Common Law of England (1597)

A Declaration of the Practises & Treasons Attempted and Committed by Robert, late Earl of Essex and his Complices (1601)

Francis Bacon His Apology, in Certain Imputations Concerning the late Earl of Essex (1604)

Certain Considerations Touching the Better Pacification and Edification of the Chrch of England (1604)

Valerius Terminus of the Interpretation of Nature (1604)

The Proficience and Advancement of Learning (1605)
 
De sapientia veterum liber (1609)

The Charge of Sir Francs Bacon, Knight, the King's Attorney-General, Touching Duels (1614)
 
The Wisdom of the Ancients (1619)

Novum Organum (1620)

The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh (1622)
 
Apophthegms, New and Old (1625)
 
The Translation of Certain Psalms (1625)

The New Atlantis (1626)

Sylva Sylvarum (1627)

Scripta in naturali et universli philisophia (pub. 1653)

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                                                           Influence





Bacon's ideas about the improvement of the human lot were influential in the 1630s and 1650s
among a number of Parliamentarian scholars. During the Restoration, Bacon was commonly in-
voked as a guiding spirit of the Royal Society founded under Charles II in 1660.

In the nineteenth century his emphasis on induction was revived and developed by William Whewell, among others.



North America

There are some scholars who believe that Bacon's vision for a Utopian New World in North America
was laid out in his novel The New Atlantis. He envisioned a land where there would be greater rights
for women, the abolishing of slavery, elimination of debtors' prisons, separation of church and state, and freedom of religious and political expression.

Francis Bacon played a leading role in creating the British colonies, especially in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Newfoundland. His government report on “The Virginia Colony” was made in 1609. Francis Bacon and his associates formed the Newfoundland Colonization Company and in 1610 sent John Guy to found a colony in Newfoundland. In 1910 Newfoundland issued a postage stamp to commemorate Francis Bacon's role in establishing Newfoundland. The stamp states about Bacon, "the guiding spirit in Colonization Schemes in 1610."



Religious influence

Occult theories about Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon's influence can also be seen on a variety of religious and spiritual authors, and on
groups that have utilized his writings in their own belief systems.



Modern portrayals

In cinema, Bacon has been most memorably portrayed by Donald Crisp in 'The Private Lives of
Elizabeth and Essex- (1939) starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn.

He was also played in the 2005 Golden Globe winning mini-series 'Elizabeth I' by Will Keen
(with Helen Mirren in the title role).

On television, John Nettleton played Bacon in the 1970s BBC production of 'Elizabeth R' starring
Glenda Jackson.