Philosophy According to Tacitus: Francis Bacon and the Inquiry into the Limits of Human Self-Delusion

Abstract

Bacon belonged to a cultural milieu that, between the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, proved to be especially receptive to inºuences coming from such continental authors as Machiavelli, Bodin, Duplessis-Mornay, Hotman, and, through Lipsius, a Tacitean Stoicism and Stoic TacitismDuring the Renaissance, Tacitus' works were interpreted and applied in a wide variety of ways. Tacitus became a source of inspiration for thinking about revolutions, wars, conspiracies, subtle transitions from freedom to despotism (and vice versa), prudent action in the administration of the State, cautious behavior at court, the exercise of political wisdom, and legal expertise in Roman law. The model of Tacitean history could be used to foster republican liberty (Niccolò Machiavelli), to promote political realism (Giovanni Botero), to preserve a sphere of intellectual freedom in situations dominated by tyrannical rule (Justus Lipsius), and to claim a divine origin for monarchical regimes (King James I). He could show people how to live safely under tyranny and tyrants and how to secure their power in situations of political instability (Francesco Guicciardini). Huguenot political thinkers developed theories about the right to resist monarchical power by relying on interpretations of Tacitus which were in-I would like to thank Jill Kraye and James A. T. Lancaster for their comments on an earlier version of this article and for improving its English.

Spinoza: A Baconian in the TTP, but Not in the Ethics?

“…Both principles are presented as theological fabrications falsely introduced throughout the ages; the product of "negligence not to say wickedness of those men who were indifferent to the History of Scripture" [6] (p. 186). We argue that Spinoza, by doing so, reformulates a worry already advanced by Bacon in De Augmentis-namely, that our reading and understanding of historical documents is often biased as a consequence of the operation of historical forces on their preservation and diffusion 19 [30].…”

“…As Edwin Curley notes [38] (p. 12), the similarities between Spinoza with Bacon here is discussed by Joachim [39] (pp. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. It should be noted that the construction of a historiol mentis hinges upon introspective obvservtions.…”

“…147-148) With all this in mind, it is not too difficult to see why Spinoza employs the geometric method in the Ethics. There, Spinoza is involved in a discussion of spiritual matters which lie beyond the scope of the senses, and whose ultimate basis is a set of self-evident intellectual ideas and axioms 30 . It is also no longer too difficult to see why Spinoza does not employ the geometric method in the TTP as he investigates Scripture.…”

Arthur Annesley, Margaret Cavendish, and Neo-Latin History

“…31 Virgil of course wrote in an era of political upheaval-as the Roman Empire displaced the Republic-and he associated these occurrences and the monumental feats of Caesar with the bravery of the 34 The reformation of the passions has typically been regarded as an ethical imperative in late Stoic writing, but here Annesley interestingly summons Seneca to applaud William not so much for reforming as concealing his passions. 35 It is in many ways unsurprising that Annesley continually paired the Aeneid with De vita, since both represent the deeds of an individual at a moment of historical crisis, in marked contrast to an epic such as Homer's Iliad that broadly treats state affairs. But even the timeless characteristics that Annesley found in William were, in the end, less tokens of military might or tactical acumen than finely honed abilities such as dissimulation that were equally applicable in more sociable contexts.…”

Bacon’s Apples: A Case Study in Baconian Experimentation

“…See also Rees 1981. On Bacon's handling of classical sources, more generally, see Giglioni 2012, Jalobeanu 2008 with apples. Other ancient and modern sources found their way into Bacon's notebooks, 'calendars of problems', and eventually into his published writings.…”