Ad F. Bacon, Cancell.gratiae de fluuio [June 14, 1620] / To Francis Bacon, Chancellor Thanks Concerning the River [June 14, 1620]

Ad F. Bacon, Cancell.gratiae de fluuio [June 14, 1620]

Illustrissime Domine

Siccam animam sapientissimam esse dixit obscurus ille philosophus; sane exorti sunt nuperi quidam homines, qui libenter sapientiores nos redderent: sed si ablatus fuisset Fluuius noster, per quem vicini agri opulentiâ fruimur, veremur, ne non tam sapientes nos, quam obscuros philosophos reddidissent. Quis enim tunc inviseret Almam Matrem destitutam¹ omni commeatu? opportunè his tenebris Fauor Tuus occurrit, illustrans nos-omnes, lumenque accendens de suo lumine.

Vt nihilo-minus Tibi luceat, cum nob[is] accenderit.

Neque enim passus es² illum Fluuium, qui tantae poeticae, t[an]tae eruditionis nobis conscius est, palustri opere & vliginoso intercipi: cum non [est] tanti totus ille maritimus tractus (Oceani praeda et deliciae) vt irrigui Musarum horti, floribus suis sternentes Rempublicam, prae ariditate flaccescerent. Sed siccitas anni huius derisit incoeptum et plus effecit quam mille Redemptores exequi possent. Quanquam non mirari non possumus, vndè fit vt nullus ferè elabatur dies, qui non hostes aliquos nobis aperiat: quidam stomachantur praedia, alij immunitates carpunt, nonnulli Fluuium invident, Multi Academias integras subuersas volunt, neque illi e faece vulgi tantum qui eruditionem simplicitati Christianae putant aduersam, sed homines nobilioris ignorantiae, qui literas imminuere spiritus, generososque animos frangere et retundere clamitant. Tu verò Patrone noster, qui elegantias doctrinae³ nitoremque spirans purpuram et eruditionem miscuisti;

To Francis Bacon, Chancellor Thanks Concerning the River [June 14, 1620]

Most Noble Lord

A dry soul is wisest, said that obscure philosopher.¹ Well, a company of men who would gladly leave us wiser just cropped up. But if our River, which allows us to delight in the riches from nearby farms, were taken away, we fear that we would be rendered not so much wise as out-of-theway philosophers. Who would really visit our Nurturing Mother then, if robbed of all traffic? Your Support faces this darkness at the right moment, illuminating us all, and lighting a fire with its own light.²

May it shine on You no less, once it has given us light.

Nor in fact have you allowed that River – which, with us, is privy to so much poetry, so much learning – to be drained off illegally by works on the marshes and bogs. Because not even the whole sea’s tract (the Ocean’s haul and splendors) is so valuable that the Muses’ watered gardens, which strew the Commonwealth with their flowers, should be left to dry and wither.³ But this year’s drought has scoffed at their undertaking and has accomplished more than a thousand Contractors could, though we can only wonder why it is that scarcely a day ends that does not reveal to us a number of enemies. Some grow irritable at our estates, others carp at our privileges, not a few envy us the River. Many would like whole Universities destroyed. And it’s not just the dregs of the common sort who think that learning is contrary to Christian simplicity. Men of higher-born ignorance also proclaim that literature weakens a man’s mettle and breaks and blunts noble souls. But you, our Defender – who, by breathing life into the charms and splendors of learning, have united your crimson robes⁴ and erudition –dilue, fuga hos omnes, praesertim sericatam hanc stultitiam contere, Academiaeque iura, dignitatem, Fluuium placidissimo fauorum tuorum afflatu nobis tuere. quod quidem non minus expectamus a Te, quem singularis doctrina exemit a populo, & quasi mixtam personam reddidit quam si Episcopi more pristino Cancellis praeficerentur. dissolve, disperse all these enemies, above all grind into powder this dolt in silks, and by the most gratifying inspiration of your support preserve for us our University’s rights, dignity, and River. This we expect from You, and no less, since singular learning sets you apart from the common people, and has produced in you a kind of mixed role, as when Bishops, in accordance with former customs, were set above the Chancery Courts.⁵