A collection of political and religious essays and court cases by Francis Bacon (Hardwick...

This manuscript contains a collection of twelve copied Bacon essays mostly dedicated to the King. It is largely in a single professional hand and includes:

fols. 1-4: "A confession of the faith",

fols. 5-16: "An advertisement touching the controversies of the Church of England",

fols. 17-30: "Certaine considerations touching the better pacification of the Church of England dedicated to his most excellent Majesty", with some pencil underlining,

fols. 33-37: "Meditations sacrae de operibus Dei & hominis",

fols. 39-43: "A Briefe Discours touching the happy union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, dedicated in private to his Majesty",

fols. 45-47: "The history of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary, and part of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth",

fols. 49-81: "Certain observations upon a libel published this present year 1592. Entitled a declaration of the true causes of the great troubles presupposed to be intended against the Realm of England", with topics of the text summarised in the margins,

fols. 83-94: "Certain articles or considerations touching the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland collected and digested for his Majesty's better service", with topics of the text summarised in the margins,

fols. 95-98: "A draft of a proclamation touching his majesty's style",

fols. 99-103: "The history of Great Britain",

fols. 104-113: "Aphorismi de juce gentium maiore suie de fontibus justicia & juris",

fols. 115-116: "Of sedition and troubles".

After this point, the texts are accounts of legal cases related to Francis Bacon as attorney general and solicitor to the King, these include:

fols. 119-123: "The charge of Sir Francis Bacon Knight his majesty's attorney general against William Talbot, a councellor at law of Ireland in an information in the star chamber, overtenus, for a writing under his hand, whereby the said William Talbot being demanded whether the doctrine of Suaces touching deposing and killing of kings excommunicated were true or not , he answered that he inferred himself unto that which the Catholic Roman Church should there of judge...."

fols. 124-125: "My Lady Shrewsbury's cause touching the flight of the Lady Arbella",

fols. 128-131: text concerning contempts committed by Sir Robert Mansell Knight and James Whitlock formerly councellors at law, appearing before the Privy Court,

fols. 132-135: "The charge of Mr Whitlock by Sir Francis Bacon his majesty's solicitor in the same cause".

The publications in the Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts included in this volume are: BcF 160, BcF69, BcF 130, BcF 304, BcF 109, BcF217, BcF143, BcF 118, BcF105, BcF 288, BcF 211.

The volume is mentioned in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Third Report (1872) p.43.

Many of the essays in this volume are published in: Rivington, C. and J.,The Works of Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Alban and Lord High Chancellor of England: Sylva sylvarum (century IX-X), London, 1826.

Discussion of this item can be found in Bunce, Robin, 'Thomas Hobbes' relationship with Fracis Bacon - an introduction, Hobbes Studies, vol. XVI, 2003: pp. 64-67, Neustadt, Mark, 'The making of an insturation: science, politics, and law in the career of Francis Bacon', PhD dissertation, John Hopkins University, 1987, pp.247-71 and Huxley, Andrew, ?The Aphorismi and a Discourse of Laws: Bacon, Cavendish, and Hobbes 1615-1620?, The Historical Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Jun., 2004), pp. 399-412.

Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans, (born Jan. 22, 1561, London, Eng. died April 9, 1626, London), British statesman and philosopher, father of modern scientific method. He studied at Cambridge and at Gray s Inn. A supporter of the Earl of Essex, Bacon turned against him when Essex was tried for treason. Under James I he rose steadily, becoming successively solicitor general (1607), attorney general (1613), and lord chancellor (1618). Convicted of accepting bribes from those being tried in his court, he was briefly imprisoned and permanently lost his public offices; he died deeply in debt. He attempted to put natural science on a firm empirical foundation in the Novum Organum (1620), which sets forth his scientific method. His elaborate classification of the sciences inspired the 18th-century French Encyclopedists (see Encyclopédie), and his empiricism inspired 19th-century British philosophers of science. His other works include The Advancement of Learning (1605), History of Henry VII (1622), and several important legal and constitutional works.

Francis Bacon, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Francis-Bacon-Viscount-Saint-Alban [Accessed 2 June 2021]