A Finding List: Part I.

Bacon’s Words and Phrases of the English then of the Latin

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W-X-Y-Z

E (English)

Early praise He who rises early, praising his friend, shall be counted a curse to him. (Bacon, De Aug., 1622).

Echoes Sounds do disturb and alter the one the other; sometimes the one drowning the other and making it not heard; sometimes the one jarring with the other and making a confusion; sometimes the one mingling with the other and making a harmony. Natural echoes are made upon walls, woods, rocks, hills and banks. There be many places where you shall hear a number of echoes, one after another, where there is variety of hills or woods. Where echoes come from several parts at the same distance, they must needs make, as it were, a quire of echoes. (Bacon, Natural History, 1622–25).
Bacon made a painstaking study of echoes, beginning it, when he was a lad, at a conduit in the garden of St. James Square in London, and continuing it during his sojourn in France, in 1576–79. He describes two or three places in the neighbourhood of Paris that were quite famous in this respect, one of them curiously as follows: “There are certain letters that an echo will hardly express: as S for one, especially being principal in a word. I remember well that when I went to the echo at Pont-Charenton, there was an old Parisian who took it to be the work of spirits, and of good spirits. ‘For,’ said he, ‘call Satan and the echo will not deliver back the devil’s name, but will say, va t’en; which is as much in French as apage, or avoid him.’”

Education Custom is most perfect when it is begun in young years: this we call education, which is, in fact, but an early custom. So we see in languages the tongue is more pliant to all expressions and sounds, the joints are more supple to all parts of activity and motions in youth, than afterwards; for it is true that late learners cannot so well take the ply, except it be in some minds that have not suffered themselves to fix, but have kept themselves open, and prepared to receive continual amendment; which is exceeding rare. (Bacon, Essay: Of Custom and Education).

Effluvia Cures a bad fever. In the Annals of Philosophy a case is mentioned in which the effluvia arising on the opening of a large bark-store at Guayra were sufficiently powerful to cure a bad fever. (Bacon, Nov. Org., Aphorismorum XII).

Emblem Though the Emblem has some affinity with the enigma it differs notwithstanding in this, that drawing (as it were) the curtain from before the enigma, it declares the matter more plainly: for the emblem is properly a sweet and moral symbol, which consists of picture and words, by which some weighty sentence is declared. Emblems are reduced to three principal kinds: of manners, of nature, of history or fable. The chief aim of the emblem is to instruct us, by subjecting the figure to our view and the sense to our understanding: therefore they must be something covert, subtle, pleasant and significative. So that, if the pictures of it be too common, it ought to have a mystical sense; if they be something obscure, they must more clearly inform us by the words, provided they be analogical and correspondent. 1

Elementary qualities Four in number; hot, cold, dry, moist; and it is by combining them two and two that the Peripatetic conception of the nature of each element is formed. Thus fire is hot and dry, water cold and moist. [Also see Secondary qualities.]

End Of two means, that is the better which is nearer the end. (Bacon, Promus 1266 of Latin).
I address one general admonition to all; that they consider what are the true ends of knowledge. (Bacon, In. Mag. Pref).
The end rules the method. (Bacon, Parasceve II).

Englishmen Like ships at sea, and when at home like ships in a creek. (King James I).

Entelecheia [εντελέχεια]; the genus to which the soul is referred. (Bacon).

Entrapelus For a certain pleasant quality of the mind, a certain restrained levity and humour a term well known to scholars then. Gabriel Harvey called young Francis Bacon Entrapelus, and said that whatever chance of earthly fortune befell him in the future, he would always be a megalander, which was Harvey’s pet name for true literary greatness. This is not printed, but in a manuscript note in Harvey’s writing in one of his books Mr. Quintilian. He also mentions this Entrapelus again in connection with poetry and oratory, and praises him for the latter very highly. Possibly Harvey took it from the facetious Contes d’Entrapel, full of Gallic humour. 2 Entrapelus was the pseudonym of Noel du Faille, who wrote Baliverneries i.e., jest-books with facetious anecdotes intermingled and as Bacon, even in serious and mature age, could never pass a jest, and was always ready with an anecdote, and could unload a budget full faster than his scribes could write them down. Harvey recognised young Bacon as a true megalander whatever should befall him. 3

Envy Is the vilest affection, and the most depraved; for which cause it is the proper attribute of the devil, who is called “The envious man, that soweth tares amongst the wheat by night;” as it always cometh to pass that envy worketh subtilely, and in the dark, and to the prejudice of good things, such as is the wheat. (Bacon, Essay: Of Envy).
Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they rise; for the distance is altered; and it is like a deceit of the eye, that when others come on, they think themselves go back. (Ibid).
They that desire to excel in too many matters, out of levity and vain-glory, are ever envious it being impossible but many, in some one of these things, should surpass them; Adrian, the Emperor, mortally envied poets and painters, and artificers in works wherein he had a vein to excel. (Ibid).

Epidemic disease The word epidemic is mentioned by Sir Thomas Meautys as one of the verbal corrections made by the King in the original manuscript of Bacon’s History of King Henry VII.

Epitaph The earliest epitaphs in English churches are usually a simple statement of name and rank, with the phrase hic jacet [here lies]. The earliest surviving epitaphs are those of the ancient Egyptians written on the sarcophagi and coffins, usually in elegiac verse, though many of the later epitaphs are in prose.

Epitomes Bacon often condemns the use of them. The development of a liking for abridgments is certainly a remarkable feature in the decline of Roman literature. (Bacon, De Aug., Bk. II).

Equality By the law of Nature, all men in the world are naturalised one towards another; they were all made of one lump of earth, of one breath of God, they all had the same common parents. (Bacon, Case of Post nati).

Ether Precise directions for making ether were given by Valerius Cordus in 1544, yet it is said to have remained unnoticed until it was rediscovered in the eighteenth century. (Bacon, Nov. Org., Aphorismorum XXXV).

Euthanasia [ευθανασία]; And so when life’s sweet fable ends his soul and body part like friends; no quarrels, murmurs, no delay. A kiss, a sigh, and then away. (Bacon, De Aug., Bk. IV; Crashaw’s Cornaro).

Evil We see in needle-works and embroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work on a lightsome ground: judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the heart by the pleasure of the eye. (Bacon, Essay: Of Adversity).
Evil approacheth to good sometimes for concealment, sometimes for protection, and good to evil for conversion and reformation. So hypocrisy draweth near to religion for covert, and, hiding itself, vice lurks in the neighbourhood of virtue. (Bacon, Col. Good & Evil, VII).

Evitate From evitare, to avoid. Used previously by Parke in 1588. Bacon seems to have been the first to use the substantive, evitation.

Example In the discharge of thy place (or office) set before thee the best examples, for imitation is a globe of precepts; and after a time set before thee thine own example; and examine thyself strictly whether thou didst best at first. Neglect not also the examples of those that have carried themselves ill to direct thyself what to avoid. (Bacon, Essay: Of Great Place).

Excellent liquor of knowledge. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Excess Too much, too little is an evil. (Bacon, Promus 1279 of the Latin).
Too much of one thing is good for nothing. (Bacon, Promus 487).
So good that he is good for nothing. (Bacon, Promus 1147 of the Italian).

Exhibition From exhibitio, sustenance, as in the Latin phrase exhibitio et tegumentum [food and raiment]. She received only a pension or exhibition out of his coppers. (Bacon, History of Henry VII.).

Expense Riches are for spending, and spending for honour and good actions; therefore extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the occasion, for ordinary undoing may be as well for a man’s country as for the kingdom of heaven; but ordinary expense ought to be limited by a man’s estate, and governed with such regard as it be within his compass. (Bacon, Essay: Of Expense).

Experiment solitary touching the nature of gold Gold hath these nature; greatness of weight, closeness of parts, fixation, plaintness or softness, immunity from rust, colour or tincture of yellow. Therefore the sure way (though most about) to make gold, is to know the causes of the several natures before rehearsed, and the axioms concerning the same. For if a man can make a metal that hath all these properties, let men dispute whether it be gold or no. (Bacon, Syl. Sylv).

Experiments The rejection which I continually use of experiments (though it appeareth not) is infinite; but yet if an experiment be probably in the work, and of great use, I receive it, but deliver it as doubtful. (Bacon, Syl. Sylv).

Experiments in Consort touching separations of bodies by weight taken from Porta. 4 (Bacon, Syl. Sylv).

Expression of sorrow No receipt openeth the heart but a true friend, to whom you may impart griefs; No man, that imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth the less; Those that want friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts. (Bacon, Essay: Of Friendship).

Extent of knowledge Shakespeare so devoted himself to the study of every trade, profession, pursuit and accomplishment that he became master of them all, which his plays clearly show him to have been. (Furness).
I have taken all knowledge to be my province. (Bacon).

Extern An abbreviation of external, outward. It was exemplified in the new edition of Johnson, from Bacon, Bishop Taylor, and Howell.

Extraordinary winds and sudden gusts Some writers give opinions and reasons touching extraordinary winds, as hurricanes or storms, whirlwinds, typhoons, and siroccos; but they give no description of the thing itself, which certainly is to be sought from journals and scattered history. (Bacon, History of Winds). [Also see Names of Winds.]

Extremes That thing of which the contrary is bad, is good; that of which the contrary is good, is bad. This does not hold of those things whose excellence or force consists in degree and measure (e.g., the contrary of rashness is cowardice a bad thing; yet cowardice is not good). (Bacon, Promus 1441, 1442).

E (Latin)

E telâ crassiore Of a stouter web. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Eadem magistratuum vocabula The name of the magistracies are not changed. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Ecce tibi lucrefeci and not ecce mihi lucrefeci I have profited for you, not for me; I have gained for thee, not I have gained for myself. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. I).

Edicant Bacon gives no means of the word being understood in its technical signification of a dictator, but to the privilege of consuls, prætors, ædiles, and other magistrates. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. I).

Ego si quid In fortunes meis excitatum sit incendium, id non aqua sed ruina restinguam: If my fortunes be set on fire I will put it out not with water but with demolition. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Ego sum flos campi et lilium convallium I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley. (Bacon).

Ego sum flos horti, et lilium montium I am the flower of the garden and the lily of the mountains. (Bacon).

Elenchus Answer. (Bacon, De Aug).

Embolum [έμβολο]; piston, ram. (Bacon, Nov. Org., Aphorismorum XLVIII).

Eo ipso præfulgebant quod non visebantur They had the pre-eminence over all in being left out. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Eritis sicut dii scientes bonumet malum Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Eruditus luxus Educated luxury. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Est aliquid luce patente minus It matters less, being less publicly suffered. (Bacon, Apologie, 1603).

Est ex analogia [αναλογία]; Analogy, depending, the phrase is to be rendered giving to analogia wider signification than that which it ordinarily has, except to reference to form. The word analogy was misconceived by S. Thomas, by Duns Scotus, and by the schoolmen in general. (Zabarella). 5 [Also see Part II: Scotus Duns.]

Et hoc volo, ac etiam aliquid addiscere I would do it and also learn something from it; something which may be of use hereafter. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Et oratione fida In truthful speech. (Bacon).

Et patrum invalidi referent jejunia nati The poor keeping of the parents will appear in the poor constitution of the offspring. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Et quoniam variant morbid, variabimus artes; mille mali species, mille salutis erunt: Varying their arts according to the variety of diseases; for a thousand forms of sickness a thousand methods of cure. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. II).

Excises The excise, or accise from acciisse was originally in the Low Countries a municipal tax; it seems to have arisen from the privilege granted by Charles V., in 1536 to certain towns, or imposing duties on wine, beer, and woollen and silken stuffs. (Bacon, De Aug., Bk. VIII).

Ex minimo vestigio artifex agnoscit artificem An artist recognizes an artist by the slightest trace. (Bacon).

Ex vacuo bis millies Two thousand times as much of vacuity. (Bacon, Nov. Org., Aphorismorum XLVIII).
Bacon thought spirit of wine a hundred times dense than its own vapour and gold twenty-one times denser than spirit of wine. (Bacon, Nov. Org., Aphorismorum II).
Bacon believed that the air is at least a hundred-fold rare than water; and from a table of equivalents made by him; it appears that the specific density of gold is to that of water as 1000 to 56. He estimated the density of gold at 1900 fold that of air. (Bacon, Historia Densi et Rari).

Execrabilis ista turba, quæ non novit legem The wretched crowd that has not known the law. (Bacon, Adv., Bk. I).

Experientiâ edoctus More judicious by experience and observation. (Bacon).

Experimenta fructifera Experiments of use. (Bacon, Syl. Sylv).

Experimenta lucifera Experiments of light, or of discovery. (Bacon, Syl. Sylv).