Editing Francis Bacon (section)

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
{{see also|Anne Bacon|Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper)}}
[[File:18-year old Francis Bacon.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A young Francis Bacon depicted in a [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] painting; the inscription around Bacon's head reads: ''Si tabula daretur digna animum mallem'', [[Latin language|Latin]] for "If one could but paint his mind".]]
[[File:york Water Gate.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] entry to [[York House, Strand|York House]], built around 1626 in [[Strand, London|Strand]], the year of Bacon's death]]
Francis Bacon was born on 22 January 1561<ref>{{Cite ODNB |last=Peltonen |first=Markku |date=23 September 2004 |title=Bacon, Francis, Viscount St Alban (1561–1626) |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/990 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/990 }}</ref> at [[York House, Strand|York House]] near [[Strand, London|Strand]] in [[London]], the son of [[Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper)|Sir Nicholas Bacon]] ([[Lord Keeper of the Great Seal]]) by his second wife, [[Anne Bacon|Anne (Cooke) Bacon]], the daughter of the noted [[Renaissance humanism|Renaissance humanist]] [[Anthony Cooke]]. His mother's sister was married to [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley]], making Burghley Bacon's uncle.{{sfn|Pollard|1911|p=816}}

Biographers believe that Bacon was educated at home in his early years owing to poor health, which would plague him throughout his life. He received tuition from John Walsall, a graduate of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] with a strong leaning toward [[Puritans|Puritanism]]. He attended [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] at the [[University of Cambridge]] on 5 April 1573 at the age of 12,<ref>{{acad|id=BCN573F|name=Bacon, Francis }}</ref> living there for three years along with his older brother [[Anthony Bacon (1558–1601)]] under the personal tutelage of [[John Whitgift]], future [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. Bacon's education was conducted largely in Latin and followed the medieval curriculum. It was at [[Cambridge]] that Bacon first met [[Queen Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth]], who was impressed by his precocious intellect, and was accustomed to calling him "The young lord keeper".<ref>{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Arthur |title=The English Baronetage: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets, Now Existing: Their Descents, Marriages, and Issues; Memorable Actions, Both in War, and Peace; Religious and Charitable Donations; Deaths, Places of Burial and Monumental Inscriptions |publisher=Printed for Tho. Wotton at the Three Daggers and Queen's Head |year=1741 |page=5 }}</ref>

His studies brought him to the belief that the methods and results of science as then practised were erroneous. His reverence for [[Aristotle]] conflicted with his rejection of [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian philosophy]], which seemed to him barren, argumentative and wrong in its objectives.<ref>Crosbie, Christopher. “Francis Bacon and Aristotelian Afterlives,” in A Companion to British Literature, ed. Robert DeMaria Jr., Heesok Chang, and Samantha Zacher, vol. 2. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014), 231–248.  https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:58062/datastreams/CONTENT/content {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114163930/https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:58062/datastreams/CONTENT/content |date=14 November 2023 }}</ref>

On 27 June 1576, he and Anthony entered ''de societate magistrorum'' at [[Gray's Inn]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Montmorency |first=J.E.G |date=1905 |title=Francis Bacon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/752041 |journal=Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=264 |jstor=752041 }}</ref> A few months later, Francis went abroad with Sir [[Amias Paulet]], the English ambassador at Paris, while Anthony continued his studies at home. The state of government and society in France under [[Henry III of France|Henry III]] afforded him valuable political instruction.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}} For the next three years he visited [[Blois]], [[Poitiers]], [[Tours]], Italy, and Spain.<ref name="travels">[[Stephen Gaukroger]] (2001). ''Francis Bacon and the Transformation of Early-Modern Philosophy''. Cambridge University Press, p. 46.</ref> There is no evidence that he studied at the [[University of Poitiers]].<ref>Francis Bacon, ''The Advancement of Learning'', Clarendon Press, 1876, p. ix.</ref> During his travels, Bacon studied language, statecraft, and civil law while performing routine diplomatic tasks. On at least one occasion he delivered diplomatic letters to England for [[Francis Walsingham|Walsingham]], Burghley, [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Leicester]], and for the queen.<ref name="travels" />

The sudden death of his father in February 1579 prompted Bacon to return to England. Sir Nicholas had laid up a considerable sum of money to purchase an estate for his youngest son, but he died before doing so, and Francis was left with only a fifth of that money.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}} Having borrowed money, Bacon got into debt. To support himself, he took up his residence in law at Gray's Inn in 1579,{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}} his income being supplemented by a grant from his mother Lady Anne of the manor of [[Marks (manor house)|Marks]] near [[Romford]] in Essex, which generated a rent of £46.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Spall |first = JEH |title = Francis Bacon's connections with Marks Manor House |journal = Romford Record |volume = 4 |pages = 32–37 |publisher = Romford and District Historical Society |location = Romford |date = 1971}}</ref>

===Parliamentarian===
[[File:Statue of Francis Bacon (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Bacon's statue at [[Gray's Inn]] in London's South Square]]
Bacon stated that he had three goals: to uncover truth, to serve his country, and to serve his church. He sought to achieve these goals by seeking a prestigious post. In 1580, through his uncle, [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|Lord Burghley]], he applied for a post at court that might enable him to pursue a life of learning, but his application failed. For two years he worked quietly at [[Gray's Inn]], until he was admitted as an [[outer barrister]] in 1582.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=Robert. P.|title=Francis Bacon: The Double-Edged Life of the Philosopher and Statesman|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|page=28}}</ref>

His parliamentary career began when he was elected [[Member of Parliament (UK)|MP]] for [[Bossiney (UK Parliament constituency)|Bossiney, Cornwall]], in a [[by-election]] in 1581. In 1584 he took his seat in [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] for [[Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Melcombe]] in Dorset, and in 1586 for [[Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)|Taunton]]. At this time, he began to write on the condition of parties in the church, as well as on the topic of philosophical reform in the lost tract ''Temporis Partus Maximus''. Yet he failed to gain a position that he thought would lead him to success.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}} He showed signs of sympathy to Puritanism, attending the sermons of the Puritan chaplain of Gray's Inn and accompanying his mother to the [[Temple Church]] to hear [[Walter Travers]]. This led to the publication of his earliest surviving tract, which criticized the English church's suppression of the Puritan clergy. In the Parliament of 1586, he openly urged execution for the Catholic [[Mary, Queen of Scots]].<ref>Jardine, L. (1986), ''Francis Bacon: Discovery and the Art of Discourse'', Cambridge University Press.{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=December 2024}}</ref>

About this time, he again approached his powerful uncle for help; this move was followed by his rapid progress at the bar. He became a [[bencher]] in 1586 and was elected a [[Reader (Inns of Court)|Reader]] in 1587, delivering his first set of lectures in Lent the following year. In 1589, he received the valuable appointment of [[Reversion (law)|reversion]] to the Clerkship of the [[Star Chamber]], although he did not formally take office until 1608; the post was worth £1,600 a year.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}}{{sfn|Peltonen|2007}}

In 1588 he became MP for [[Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool]] and then for [[Middlesex (UK Parliament constituency)|Middlesex]] in 1593. He later sat three times for [[Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)|Ipswich]] (1597, 1601, 1604) and once for [[Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)|Cambridge University]] (1614).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/bacon-francis-1561-1626 |title=History of Parliament |access-date=2 October 2011}}
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He became known as a liberal-minded reformer, eager to amend and simplify the law. Though a friend of the crown, he opposed feudal privileges and dictatorial powers. He spoke against religious persecution. He struck at the House of Lords in its usurpation of the Money Bills. He advocated for the union of England and Scotland, which made him a significant influence toward the consolidation of the United Kingdom; and he later would advocate for the integration of Ireland into the Union. Closer constitutional ties, he believed, would bring greater peace and strength to these countries.<ref name="letters">{{cite journal |last=Spedding |first=James |title=The letters and life of Francis Bacon |year=1861 }}</ref><ref name="ecc.015">{{cite web |url=http://publish.ucc.ie/celt/docs/E600001-015 |title=Sir Francis Bacon's Letters, Tracts and Speech relating to Ireland |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807142316/http://publish.ucc.ie/celt/docs/E600001-015 |access-date=24 January 2013 }}</ref>

===Final years of Elizabeth's reign===
[[File:StatueOfFrancisBacon.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Memorial to Bacon in the chapel of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]]]
Bacon soon became acquainted with [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex|Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex]], Queen Elizabeth's favourite.<ref name="Hammer" /> By 1591 he acted as the earl's confidential adviser.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=136}}<ref name="Hammer">Paul E. J. Hammer (1999). "The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1585–1597". p. 141. Cambridge University Press</ref> In 1592, he was commissioned to write a tract in response to the [[Jesuit]] [[Robert Parsons (Jesuit)|Robert Parson]]'s anti-government polemic, which he titled ''Certain Observations Made upon a Libel'', identifying England with the ideals of democratic [[History of Athens|Athens]] against the belligerence of Spain.<ref>Gustav Ungerer (1974). "A Spaniard in Elizabethan England: The Correspondence of Antonio Pérez's Exile, Volume 1". p. 207. Tamesis Books</ref> Bacon took his third parliamentary seat for [[Middlesex]] when in February 1593 Elizabeth summoned Parliament to investigate a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] plot against her. Bacon's opposition to a bill that would levy triple subsidies in half the usual time offended the Queen: opponents accused him of seeking popularity, and for a time the Court excluded him from favour.<ref>Weir, Alison ''Elizabeth the Queen'' Pimlico 1999 p. 414</ref>

When the office of [[Attorney-General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] fell vacant in 1594, Lord Essex's influence was not enough to secure the position for Bacon and it was given to Sir [[Edward Coke]]. Likewise, Bacon failed to secure the lesser office of [[Solicitor-General for England and Wales|Solicitor General]] in 1595, the Queen pointedly snubbing him by appointing Sir [[Thomas Fleming (judge)|Thomas Fleming]] instead.{{sfn|Peltonen|2007}} To console him for these disappointments, Essex presented him with a property at [[Twickenham]], which Bacon subsequently sold for £1,800.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bunten|first1=Alice Chambers|title=Twickenham Park and Old Richmond Palace and Francis Bacon: Lord Verulam's Connection with The, 1580–1608|publisher=R. Banks|page=19}}</ref>

In 1597 Bacon became the first [[Queen's Counsel]] designate, when Queen Elizabeth reserved him as her legal counsel.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of English Law|last=Holdsworth|first=W. S.|year=1938|pages=vi 473–474}}</ref> In 1597, he was also given a patent, giving him precedence at the Bar.<ref>''[[Patent Rolls]]'', 2 Jac I p. 12 m 10.</ref> Despite his designations, he was unable to gain the status and notoriety of others. In a plan to revive his position he unsuccessfully courted the wealthy young widow Lady [[Elizabeth Hatton]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Curious Case of Lady Purbeck; A Scandal of the XVIIth Century|last=Longueville|first=Thomas|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co|year=1909|location=London|page=4}}</ref> His courtship failed after she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage to Sir Edward Coke, a further spark of enmity between the men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aughterson|first=Kate|title=Hatton, Elizabeth, Lady Hatton [nee Lady Elizabeth Cecil] (1578–1646)|journal=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|via=Oxford University Press}}</ref> In 1598 Bacon was arrested for debt. Afterward, however, his standing in the Queen's eyes improved. Gradually, Bacon earned the standing of one of the learned counsels.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=137}} His relationship with the Queen further improved when he severed ties with Essex{{snd}}a shrewd move, as Essex would be executed for treason in 1601.<ref>{{cite book|title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia|date= 2008|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|page=636}}</ref>

With others, Bacon was appointed to investigate the charges against Essex. A number of Essex's followers confessed that Essex had planned a rebellion against the Queen.<ref name="Character Assassination">Nieves Matthews, ''Francis Bacon: The History of a Character Assassination'' (Yale University Press, 1996)</ref> Bacon was subsequently a part of the legal team headed by the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] Sir Edward Coke at Essex's treason trial.<ref name="Character Assassination" /> After the execution, the Queen ordered Bacon to write the official government account of the trial, which was later published as ''A DECLARATION of the Practices and Treasons attempted and committed by Robert late Earle of Essex and his Complices, against her Majestie and her Kingdoms ...'' after Bacon's first draft was heavily edited by the Queen and her ministers.{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=138}}<ref>Matthews (1996: 56–57)</ref>

According to his personal secretary and chaplain, [[William Rawley]], as a judge Bacon was always tender-hearted, "looking upon the examples with the eye of severity, but upon the person with the eye of pity and compassion". And also that "he was free from malice", "no revenger of injuries", and "no defamer of any man".<ref name="Rawley">{{cite book |last=Rawley |first=William |title=The Life of the Right Honorable Francis Bacon Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Alban |year=1670 |publisher=Thomas Johns |location=London |url=http://hiwaay.net/~paul/bacon/biographies/rawley.html |access-date=4 February 2012 |archive-date=5 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805052919/http://hiwaay.net/~paul/bacon/biographies/rawley.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===James I comes to the throne===
[[File:Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban from NPG (2).jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=Portrait of Sir Francis Bacon|Bacon, {{circa}} 1618]]
The succession of [[James I of England|James I]] brought Bacon into greater favour. He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1603. In another shrewd move, Bacon wrote his ''Apologies'' in defence of his proceedings in the case of Essex, as Essex had favoured James to succeed to the throne. The following year, during the course of the uneventful first parliamentary session, Bacon married [[Alice Barnham]].{{sfn|Adamson|Mitchell|1911|p=139}} In June 1607, he was at last rewarded with the office of Solicitor General{{sfn|Peltonen|2007}} and in 1608 he began working as the Clerk of the [[Star Chamber]]. Despite a generous income, old debts still could not be paid. He sought further promotion and wealth by supporting King James and his arbitrary policies. In 1610 the fourth session of James's first [[James I of England and the English Parliament|Parliament]] met. Despite Bacon's advice to him, James and the Commons found themselves at odds over royal prerogatives and the King's embarrassing extravagance. The House was finally dissolved in February 1611. Throughout this period Bacon managed to stay in favour with the King while retaining the confidence of the Commons.

In 1613 Bacon was finally appointed [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]], after advising the King to shuffle judicial appointments. As Attorney General, Bacon, by his zealous efforts{{snd}}which included torture{{snd}}to obtain the conviction of [[Edmund Peacham]] for treason, raised legal controversies of high constitutional importance.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Peacham, Edmond |volume= 44 |last= Lee |first= Sidney |author-link= Sidney Lee |pages= 131–133 |short= 1}}</ref> Bacon and [[Gray's Inn]] produced ''[[The Masque of Flowers]]'' to celebrate the wedding of [[Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset]] and his wife, [[Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset]],<ref>Christine Adams, 'Francis Bacon's Wedding Gift of A Garden of a Glorious and Strange Beauty for the Earl and Countess of Somerset', ''Garden History'', 36:1 (Spring 2008), p. 45.</ref> and he successfully prosecuted them for murder in 1616.

The so-called Prince's Parliament of April 1614 objected to Bacon's presence in the seat for [[University of Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Cambridge]] and to the various royal plans that Bacon had supported. Although he was allowed to stay, Parliament passed a law that forbade the Attorney General to sit in Parliament. His influence over the King had evidently inspired resentment or apprehension in many of his peers. Bacon, however, continued to receive the King's favour, which led to his appointment in March 1617 as temporary Regent of England (for a period of a month), and in 1618 as [[Lord Chancellor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Principe |first=Lawrence M. |title=The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0199567416 |edition=1st |page=128}}</ref> On 12 July 1618 the King created Bacon [[Baron Verulam]] of [[Verulamium|Verulam]] in the [[Peerage of England]]; he then became known as Francis, Lord Verulam.{{sfn|Peltonen|2007}}

Bacon continued to use his influence with the King to mediate between the throne and Parliament, and in this capacity he was further elevated in the same peerage as [[Viscount St Alban]] on 27 January 1621.<ref>{{cite book|title=CSPD James I, 1619–1623|page=116}}</ref>

===Lord Chancellor and public disgrace===
[[File:Bacon vs Parliament.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Bacon and members of [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Parliament]] on the day of his 1621 political fall]]
Bacon's public career ended in disgrace in 1621. After he fell into debt, a parliamentary committee on the administration of the law charged him with 23 separate counts of corruption. His lifelong enemy, Sir [[Edward Coke]], who had instigated these accusations,<ref>{{citation |first=Ian |last=Ousby |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43oBE1nJXaMC |title=The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=22 |postscript=. |isbn=978-0-521-43627-4 }}</ref> was one of those appointed to prepare the charges against the chancellor.<ref>{{citation |first=Perez |last=Zagorin |year=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IoKwR_8FBYcC |title=Francis Bacon |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=22 |postscript=. |isbn=978-0-691-00966-7 }}</ref> To the lords, who sent a committee to enquire 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 and committed to the [[Tower of London]] at the king's pleasure; the imprisonment lasted only a few days and the fine was remitted by the king.<ref name="mpkm">{{cite book |last1=Parris |first1=Matthew |author1-link=Matthew Parris |author2-link=Kevin Maguire (journalist) |last2=Maguire |first2=Kevin |title=Great Parliamentary Scandals |publisher=Chrysalis |location=London |year=2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatparliamenta0000parr/page/8 8–9] |chapter=Francis Bacon – 1621 |isbn=978-1-86105-736-5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/greatparliamenta0000parr/page/8 }}</ref> More seriously, parliament declared Bacon incapable of holding future office or sitting in parliament. He narrowly escaped undergoing [[Cashiering|degradation]], which would have stripped him of his titles of nobility. Subsequently, the disgraced viscount devoted himself to study and writing.

There seems little doubt that Bacon had accepted gifts from litigants, but this was an accepted custom of the time and not necessarily evidence of deeply corrupt behaviour.<ref name="pz">{{cite book |last=Zagorin |first=Perez |author-link=Perez Zagorin |title=Francis Bacon |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |year=1999 |pages=22–23 |isbn=978-0-691-00966-7 }}</ref> While acknowledging that his conduct had been lax, he countered that he had never [[bribery|allowed gifts to influence his judgement]] and, indeed, he had on occasion given a verdict against those who had paid him. He even had an interview with King James in which he assured:
{{Blockquote |The law of nature teaches me to speak in my own defence: With respect to this charge of bribery I am as innocent as any man born on St. Innocents Day. I never had a bribe or reward in my eye or thought when pronouncing judgment or order... I am ready to make an oblation of myself to the King|17 April 1621<ref>Campbell, John; Baron Campbell (1818), J. Murray. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=8GMoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA404 The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England]"</ref>}}

He also wrote the following to [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham]]:
{{Blockquote |My mind is calm, for my fortune is not my felicity. I know I have clean hands and a clean heart, and I hope a clean house for friends or servants; but Job himself, or whoever was the justest judge, by such hunting for matters against him as hath been used against me, may for a time seem foul, especially in a time when greatness is the mark and accusation is the game.{{sfn|Fowler|1885|p=347}} }}

As the conduct of accepting gifts was ubiquitous and common practice, and the Commons was zealously inquiring into judicial corruption and malfeasance, it has been suggested that Bacon served as a scapegoat to divert attention from Buckingham's own ill practice and alleged corruption.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Express |first=Britain |title=The Duke of Buckingham and Sir Francis Bacon |url=https://www.britainexpress.com/History/Buckingham-Bacon.htm |access-date=31 October 2022 |website=Britain Express |language=en}}</ref>

The true reason for his acknowledgement of guilt is the subject of debate, but some authors speculate that it may have been prompted by his sickness, or by a view that through his fame and the greatness of his office he would be spared harsh punishment. He may even have been blackmailed, with a threat to charge him with [[sodomy]], into confession.<ref name="pz" /><ref>[[A. L. Rowse]], quoted in Parris; Maguire (2004: 8): "a charge of sodomy was... to be brought against the sixty-year-old Lord Chancellor".</ref>

The British jurist [[Basil Montagu]] wrote in Bacon's defense, concerning the episode of his public disgrace:
{{Blockquote |Bacon has been accused of servility, of dissimulation, of various base motives, and their filthy brood of base actions, all unworthy of his high birth, and incompatible with his great wisdom, and the estimation in which he was held by the noblest spirits of the age. It is true that there were men in his own time, and will be men in all times, who are better pleased to count spots in the sun than to rejoice in its glorious brightness. Such men have openly libelled him, like Dewes and Weldon, whose falsehoods were detected as soon as uttered, or have fastened upon certain ceremonious compliments and dedications, the fashion of his day, as a sample of his servility, passing over his noble letters to the Queen, his lofty contempt for the Lord Keeper Puckering, his open dealing with Sir Robert Cecil, and with others, who, powerful when he was nothing, might have blighted his opening fortunes for ever, forgetting his advocacy of the rights of the people in the face of the court, and the true and honest counsels, always given by him, in times of great difficulty, both to Elizabeth and her successor. When was a "base sycophant" loved and honoured by piety such as that of Herbert, Tennison, and Rawley, by noble spirits like Hobbes, Ben Jonson, and Selden, or followed to the grave, and beyond it, with devoted affection such as that of Sir Thomas Meautys.<ref>{{cite book |last=Montagu |first=Basil |title=Essays and Selections |year=1837 |isbn=978-1-4368-3777-4 |pages=325–326 |publisher=Kessinger }}</ref>}}

===Personal life===
====Religious beliefs====
Bacon was a devout [[Anglican]]. He believed that philosophy and the natural world must be studied inductively, but argued that we can only study arguments for the existence of God. Information about God's attributes (such as nature, action, and purposes) can only come from [[special revelation]]. Bacon also held that knowledge was cumulative, that study encompassed more than a simple preservation of the past. "Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate," he wrote. In his Essays, he affirms that "a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."<ref name="EssayesOrCovnsels">{{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=Francis |title=The Essayes Or Covnsels, Civill and Morall, of Francis Lo. Vervlam, Viscovnt St. Alban |date=1625 |location=London |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdsAYAAACAAJ |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

Bacon's idea of [[Novum Organum#The Idols (Idola)|idols of the mind]] may have self-consciously represented an attempt to Christianize science at the same time as developing a new, reliable scientific method; Bacon gave worship of [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] as an example of the [[idola tribus]] fallacy, hinting at the religious dimensions of his critique of the idols.{{sfn|Josephson-Storm|2017|pp=48–49}}

Bacon was against the splintering within Christianity, believing that it would ultimately lead to the creation of atheism as a dominant worldview, as indicated with his quote that "The causes of atheism are: divisions in religion, if they be many; for any one main division, addeth zeal to both sides; but many divisions introduce atheism. Another is, scandal of priests; when it is come to that which St. Bernard saith "One cannot now say the priest is as the people, for the truth is that the people are not so bad as the priest". A third is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters; which doth by little and little deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned times, specially with peace and prosperity; for troubles and adversities do more bow men's minds to religion."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=Francis |title=Essays, Civil and Moral. The Harvard Classics |date=1909–1914 |publisher=PF Collier and Son |location=New York |edition=Vol III. Part 1 |url= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/reference/of-atheism/ |title=XVI Of Atheism |work=Francis Bacon. (1561–1626). Essays, Civil and Moral. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |date= 2022 |access-date=2023-04-08}}</ref>

====Architectural projects====
Bacon built [[Verulam House, St Alban's (17th century)|Verulam House]] in St Albans to his own designs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Gorhambury Water Gardens |url=https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/old_gorhambury_water_gardens |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=www.gardenvisit.com}}</ref> It has been suggested that this building was derivative of [[Rowland Hill (MP)|Sir Rowland Hill]]'s building at [[Soulton Hall]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Garnet as Emblem of Goodness {{!}} Philosophical architecture from Henry III to George III | date=19 August 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhV4z4eRklw |access-date=2023-08-20 |language=en}}</ref>

====Marriage to Alice Barnham====
{{see also|Alice Barnham}}
[[File:Alice Barnham.gif|thumb|upright=1|Engraving of [[Alice Barnham]]]]
When he was 36, Bacon courted [[Elizabeth Hatton]], a young widow of 20. Reportedly, she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage to a wealthier man, Bacon's rival, Sir [[Edward Coke]]. Years later, Bacon still wrote of his regret that the marriage to Hatton had not taken place.<ref name="Dodd-Life-Story">Alfred Dodd, ''Francis Bacon's Personal Life Story', Volume 2 – The Age of James'', England: Rider & Co., 1949, 1986. pp. 157–158, 425, 502–503, 518–532</ref>

At the age of 45, Bacon married [[Alice Barnham]], the 13-year-old daughter of a well-connected London [[alderman]] and MP. Bacon wrote two sonnets proclaiming his love for Alice. The first was written during his courtship and the second on his wedding day, 10 May 1606. When Bacon was appointed lord chancellor, "by special Warrant of the King", Lady Bacon was given precedence over all other Court ladies. Bacon's personal secretary and chaplain, William Rawley, wrote in his biography of Bacon that his marriage was one of "much conjugal love and respect", mentioning a robe of honour that he gave to Alice and which "she wore unto her dying day, being twenty years and more after his death".<ref name="Rawley" />

However, an increasing number of reports circulated about friction in the marriage, with speculation that this may have been due to Alice's making do with less money than she had once been accustomed to. It was said that she was strongly interested in fame and fortune, and when household finances dwindled, she complained bitterly. Bunten wrote in her ''Life of Alice Barnham''&nbsp;<ref>Alice Chambers Bunten, ''Life of Alice Barnham, Wife of Sir Francis Bacon'', London: Oliphants Ltd. 1928.</ref> that, upon their descent into debt, she 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 (courtier)|Sir John Underhill]], rewriting his will (which had generously planned to leave her lands, goods, and income) and revoking her entirely as a beneficiary.

====Sexuality====
Several authors believe that, despite his marriage,{{efn|In ''[[New Atlantis]]'', Bacon's Joabin writes of men who "marry late, when the prime of strength and their years is past". "[W]hat is marriage to them but a very bargain; wherein is sought alliance, or portion, or reputation", he argues, since they continue to visit "dissolute places" for "meretricious embracements (where sin is turned into art)", a custom "no more punished ... than in bachelors".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=17–18, quoting ''New Atlantis'' 281–283}} Literature and sexuality scholar Joseph Cady noted that Bacon may have written this from a personal perspective, as his own marriage was "'late', childless, and {{lang|lt|pro forma}}".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=18}}}} Bacon was primarily attracted to men.<ref>A. L. Rowse, ''Homosexuals in History'', New York: Carroll & Garf, 1977. p. 44</ref><ref>Jardine, Lisa; Stewart, Alan. ''Hostage To Fortune: The Troubled Life of Francis Bacon'' Hill & Wang, 1999. p. 148</ref> Forker,<ref>Charles R. Forker, "'Masculine Love', Renaissance Writing, and the 'New Invention' of Homosexuality: An Addendum" in the ''Journal of Homosexuality'' (1996), Indiana University</ref> for example, has explored the "historically documentable sexual preferences" of both Francis Bacon and [[James VI and I|King James I]] and concluded they were both oriented to "masculine love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender."<ref>''Journal of Homosexuality'', Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 1996, pp. 85–93, {{ISSN|0091-8369}}</ref> Bacon's sexuality has been disputed by others, who point to lack of consistent evidence and consider the sources to be more open to interpretation.<ref name="Character Assassination" /><ref>Ross Jackson, ''The Companion to Shaker of the Speare: The Francis Bacon Story'', England: Book Guild Publishing, 2005. pp. 45–46</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Bryan Bevan, ''The Real Francis Bacon'', England: Centaur Press, 1960</ref><ref>Helen Veale, ''Son of England'', India: Indo Polish Library, 1950</ref><ref>Peter Dawkins, ''Dedication to the Light'', England: Francis Bacon Research Trust, 1984</ref>

The Jacobean antiquary and Bacon's fellow parliament member Sir [[Simonds D'Ewes]] implied there had been a question of bringing Bacon to trial for buggery,<ref>Fulton Anderson, ''Francis Bacon: His career and his thought'', Los Angeles, 1962</ref> with which his brother Anthony Bacon had also been charged.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Golden Lads: A Study of Anthony Bacon, Francis and Their Friends|last = du Maurier|first = Daphne|publisher = Gollancz|year = 1975|isbn = 978-1-84408-073-1|location = London}}</ref> (Bacon's brother "apparently also was homosexual", according to literature and sexuality scholar Joseph Cady.){{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=14}} In his ''Autobiography and Correspondence'' diary entry for 3 May 1621, the date of Bacon's censure by Parliament, D'Ewes describes Bacon's love for his Welsh serving-men, in particular his servant Mr. Henry Godrick or Goodrick,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=Robert. P.|title=Francis Bacon: The Double-Edged Life of the Philosopher and Statesman|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|page=33}}</ref> a "very effeminate-faced youth" whom he calls "his [[catamite]] and bedfellow".<ref>{{cite book|title = Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History Vol.1: From Antiquity to the Mid-Twentieth Century|first1 = Robert|last1 = Aldrich|first2 = Gary|last2 = Wotherspoon|page = 33|publisher = Routledge|location = London and New York|isbn = 978-0-415-15982-1|year = 2005}}</ref> Bacon's own mother complained to Anthony on Bacon's affection for another servant of his, named Percy, whom she wrote Bacon kept as "a coach companion and bed companion."<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Sasso |first=Beatrice |date=2022 |title=Queer Elements in Renaissance English Poetry |url=https://thesis.unipd.it/handle/20.500.12608/44186?mode=simple |degree=Lauree triennali |chapter=Homosexuality in the English Renaissance: Religion, History, Society, and Science |publisher=[[University of Padua]] |access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>

In his ''[[Brief Lives]]'' sketches (likely composed during 1665–1690 and published as a book in 1813), the antiquary [[John Aubrey]] wrote that Bacon was a [[pederast]]{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=14, 35n9}} "whose Ganimeds and Favourites tooke Bribes".<ref>Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. ''Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts'', 1949, ''s.v.'' "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.</ref> While pederast strictly denoted "boy-lover" in earlier times, Cady wrote that Aubrey deployed the term discreetly in the original Greek to signify "male homosexual".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=14, 35n9}} The figure of [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], he continued, was another of many common ways of referring obliquely to homosexuality.{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=35n13}}

In ''[[New Atlantis]]'', Bacon described his [[utopian]] island as being "the chastest nation under heaven", with "no touch" of "masculine love".<ref name="Atlantis1627">Bacon, Francis. ''The New Atlantis''. 1627</ref> Cady argued that Bacon's reference to male homosexuality in the ''New Atlantis'' deliberately gave the appearance of coming from "outside the phenomenon" due to prevalent opposition.{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=15}} It contrasted deliberately with "veiled" praise of the topic elsewhere in Bacon's work, he asserted.{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=15}} Cady offered several examples, including that Bacon discussed only male beauty in his short essay "Of Beauty".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=15}} He also noted that Bacon ended his monologue ''The Masculine Birth of Time'' with an older man asking a younger one (from his "inmost heart") to "give yourself to me so that I may restore you to yourself" and "secure [you] an increase beyond all hopes and prayers of ordinary marriages".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=15}}

===Death===
[[File:20040912-001-francis-bacon.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Monument to Bacon at his burial place in [[St Michael's Church, St Albans|St Michael's Church]] in [[St Albans]]]]
On 9 April 1626, Bacon died of [[pneumonia]] at [[Highgate]] outside London, specifically at Arundel House, a country residence of his friend the [[Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel|Earl of Arundel]],{{efn|Not to be confused with [[Arundel House|his central London residence of the same name]].}} though Arundel was then imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]].<ref name="death">{{cite book|title=The Broadview Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Prose|year=2001|publisher=Broadview Press|page=18}}</ref> An influential account of the circumstances of his death was given by John Aubrey's ''Brief Lives''.<ref name="death" /> Aubrey's vivid account, which he says was told to him by "Mr Hobbs" ([[Thomas Hobbes]]), portrays Bacon as a martyr to experimental scientific method. It has him journeying to High-gate through the snow with the King's physician when he is suddenly inspired by the possibility that "flesh [meat] might not be preserved in snow, as in Salt":{{blockquote|They were resolved, they would try the Experiment presently. They alighted out of the Coach and went into a poore woman's howse at the bottome of Highgate-hill, and bought a Hen, and made the woman [[wikt:exenterate|exenterate]] it.}}

After stuffing the hen with snow, Bacon contracted a fatal case of pneumonia. Some people, including Aubrey, consider these two possibly coincidental events as related and causing his death:{{blockquote|The Snow so chilled him, that he immediately fell so extremely ill, that he could not returne to his lodging ... but went to the Earle of Arundell's house at High-gate, where they putt him into ... a damp bed that had not been layn-in about a yeare before... which gave him such a cold that in two or three dayes, as I remember he [Hobbes] told me, he dyed of Suffocation.<ref>Aubrey, John. ''Brief Lives'', Penguin Books, 2000, p. 30.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowen|first1=Catherine|title=Francis Bacon: The Temper of a Man|url=https://archive.org/details/francisbacontem000bowe|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=Fordham University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/francisbacontem000bowe/page/225 225]}}</ref><ref>[[Lucy Hughes-Hallett|Hughes-Hallett, Lucy]] (2024). ''The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham'', London: 4th Estate; New York: HarperCollins Publishers, pp. 482-483.</ref>}}

Aubrey has been criticized for his evident credulousness in this and other works; on the other hand, he knew Thomas Hobbes, Bacon's fellow-philosopher and friend. Being unwittingly on his deathbed, the philosopher dictated his last letter to the Earl:{{blockquote|My very good Lord,{{snd}}I was likely to have had the fortune of [[Pliny the Elder|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 in-duration of bodies. As for the experiment itself, it succeeded excellently well; but in the journey between London and High-gate, I was taken with such a fit of [[Cough|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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bacon|first=Francis|title=The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England|publisher=W. Pickering|year=1825–1834|editor-last=Montagu|editor-first=Basil|volume=12|location=London|pages=274}}</ref>}}

{{anchor|William Rawley}}Another account appears in a biography by William Rawley, Bacon's personal secretary and chaplain:{{blockquote|He died on the ninth day of April in the year 1626, in the early morning of the day then celebrated for our Savior'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.<ref name="Rawley-bio">{{citation |last=Rawley |first=William (Bacon's personal secretary and chaplain) |title=Resuscitatio, or, Bringing into Publick Light Severall Pieces of the Works, Civil, Historical, Philosophical, & Theological, Hitherto Sleeping; of the Right Honourable Francis Bacon ... Together with his Lordships Life |year=1657 |quote=Francis Bacon, the glory of his age and nation, the adorner and ornament of learning, was born in York House, or York Place, in the Strand, on the two and twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord 1560. }}</ref>}}

He was buried in [[St Michael's Church, St Albans|St Michael's Church]] in St Albans. At the news of his death, over 30 great minds collected together their eulogies of him, which were then later published in Latin.<ref>{{citation |editor-first=W.G.C. |editor-last=Gundry |title=Manes Verulamani}} This important volume consists of 32 eulogies originally published in Latin shortly after Bacon's funeral in 1626. Bacon's peers refer to him as "a supreme poet" and "a concealed poet", and also link him with the theatre.</ref> He left personal assets of about £7,000 and lands that realised £6,000 when sold.<ref name="BGL">{{cite book |last=Lovejoy |first=Benjamin |title=Francis Bacon: A Critical Review |publisher=[[T. Fisher Unwin|Unwin]] |location=London |year=1888 |page=171 |oclc=79886184 }}</ref> His debts amounted to more than £23,000, equivalent to more than £4m at current value.<ref name="BGL" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/ |title=Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present |last1=Officer |first1=Lawrence |last2=Williamson |first2=Samuel |publisher=Measuring Worth |access-date=1 December 2021 }}</ref>