Study Edition · Essay 3
Of Boldness
Source: The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral (3rd ed., 1625). Text from Project Gutenberg #575. Archaic verb forms modernized; vocabulary kept and glossed.
Why does sheer nerve so often beat wisdom? Bacon starts from a schoolbook story about the orator Demosthenes, compares bold men to quack doctors, gives us the origin of the proverb about the mountain and Muhammad, and ends with sound advice: bold people make poor planners but excellent doers.
22 sentences: 5 simple, 11 moderate, 6 complex. Hover a number for its paraphrase; click it for the full note.
Key Vocabulary
- trivialcommonplace; known to every schoolboy
- oratora skilled public speaker
- superficialon the surface only; shallow
- elocutionstyle and choice of words in speech
- facultiespowers or abilities of the mind
- potentpowerful
- basenesslowness; lack of nobility
- fascinateto bewitch; hold spellbound (its original sense)
- prevailto win; to succeed in persuading
- mountebanka quack doctor; a showy fraud
- politic bodythe state, imagined as a living body
- abashedembarrassed; ashamed
- adofuss; trouble
- vulgarthe common people (no sense of rudeness)
- absurditysomething ridiculous or illogical
- countenanceface; composure
- stalestalemate (in chess)
- satirewriting that mocks folly
- counselplanning, advice, deliberation
The Essay
It is a trivial grammar-school text, but yet worthy a wise man's consideration.1 Question was asked of Demosthenes, what was the chief part of an orator? he answered, action; what next? action; what next again? action.2 He said it, that knew it best, and had, by nature, himself no advantage in that he commended.3 A strange thing, that that part of an orator, which is but superficial, and rather the virtue of a player, should be placed so high, above those other noble parts, of invention, elocution, and the rest; nay, almost alone, as if it were all in all.4 But the reason is plain.5 There is in human nature generally, more of the fool than of the wise; and therefore those faculties, by which the foolish part of men's minds is taken, are most potent.6 Wonderful like is the case of boldness in civil business: what first? boldness; what second and third? boldness.7 And yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness, far inferior to other parts.8 But nevertheless it fascinates, and bind hand and foot, those that are either shallow in judgment, or weak in courage, which are the greatest part; yea, and prevails with wise men at weak times.9 Therefore we see it has done wonders, in popular states; but with senates, and princes less; and more ever upon the first entrance of bold persons into action, than soon after; for boldness is an ill keeper of promise.10 Surely, as there are mountebanks for the natural body, so are there mountebanks for the politic body; men that undertake great cures, and perhaps have been lucky, in two or three experiments, but want the grounds of science, and therefore cannot hold out.11 Nay, you shall see a bold fellow many times do Mahomet's miracle.12 Mahomet made the people believe that he would call an hill to him, and from the top of it offer up his prayers, for the observers of his law.13 The people assembled; Mahomet called the hill to come to him, again and again; and when the hill stood still, he was never a whit abashed, but said, If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill.14 So these men, when they have promised great matters, and failed most shamefully, yet (if they have the perfection of boldness) they will but slight it over, and make a turn, and no more ado.15 Certainly to men of great judgment, bold persons are a sport to behold; nay, and to the vulgar also, boldness has somewhat of the ridiculous.16 For if absurdity is the subject of laughter, do not doubt but great boldness is seldom without some absurdity.17 Especially it is a sport to see, when a bold fellow is out of countenance; for that puts his face into a most shrunken, and wooden posture; as needs it must; for in bashfulness, the spirits do a little go and come; but with bold men, upon like occasion, they stand at a stay; like a stale at chess, where it is no mate, but yet the game cannot stir.18 But this last would be fitter for a satire than for a serious observation.19 This is well to be weighed; that boldness is ever blind; for it does not see danger, and inconveniences.20 Therefore it is ill in counsel, good in execution; so that the right use of bold persons is, that they never command in chief, but are seconds, and under the direction of others.21 For in counsel, it is good to see dangers; and in execution, not to see them, unless they are very great.22
Sentence Notes
In plain English: It's a saying every schoolboy knows, but it still deserves a wise person's attention.
In plain English: Demosthenes was asked what matters most in public speaking. He answered: delivery. What comes second? Delivery. And third? Delivery.
Reference & context: Historical: Demosthenes (384–322 BC), the greatest orator of ancient Athens. The anecdote is told by Cicero and Plutarch. “Action” means delivery: voice, gesture, and stage presence.
In plain English: He was the right person to say it, since he knew it best, and he had no natural gift for the very thing he praised.
Reference & context: Demosthenes reportedly had a weak voice and a stammer, and trained by speaking with pebbles in his mouth and shouting over the sound of the sea.
In plain English: It's strange that delivery, the most superficial part of speaking and really an actor's skill, should be ranked so far above the nobler parts, like inventing arguments and choosing words; indeed, ranked almost as if it were the only thing that counts.
Reference & context: Rhetoric: classical teachers divided oratory into five parts: invention, arrangement, style (elocution), memory and delivery.
In plain English: But the reason is obvious.
In plain English: Human nature generally contains more foolishness than wisdom, so whatever appeals to the foolish part of our minds has the most power over us.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: A bleak but useful principle that explains the power of advertising, charisma and political showmanship.
In plain English: It's remarkably similar with boldness in public affairs. What matters first? Boldness. Second and third? Boldness again.
Reference & context: Bacon mirrors the Demosthenes story exactly, swapping “boldness” for “action.”
In plain English: And yet boldness is born of ignorance and low character, and is far inferior to other qualities.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: Bacon's diagnosis: bold people are often bold because they don't know enough to be afraid.
In plain English: Nevertheless it bewitches and completely controls people of shallow judgement or weak courage, who are the majority; and it even wins over wise people in their weaker moments.
Reference & context: “Fascinate” originally meant to cast a spell with the eyes (Latin fascinare, to bewitch).
Modernized: doth fascinate → fascinates; prevaileth → prevails
In plain English: So boldness has done wonders in democracies, but less in front of senates and kings; and it always works better when bold people first arrive on the scene than later on, because boldness rarely delivers what it promises.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: Boldness wins the first impression but can't keep its promises. It is a warning about every confident newcomer.
Modernized: hath → has
In plain English: Just as there are quack doctors for the human body, there are quacks for the body politic: men who promise to cure the nation's ills, maybe get lucky a couple of times, but lack real knowledge and so can't keep it up.
Reference & context: Mountebanks (Italian monta in banco, “climb on the bench”) sold fake cures from a platform at fairs.
In plain English: Indeed, you'll often see a bold fellow perform “Muhammad's miracle.”
Reference & context: “Mahomet” is an old English spelling of the Prophet Muhammad's name.
In plain English: Muhammad made the people believe he would summon a hill to come to him, and pray from its top for his followers.
In plain English: The people gathered; he called the hill again and again; and when it didn't move, he wasn't embarrassed in the slightest, but said: “If the hill won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad will go to the hill.”
Why this phrase is worth keeping: The origin of a famous proverb. Bacon meant it as mockery of the bold man who saves face, but today it is usually used to praise adapting to circumstances.
Reference & context: This tale is not found in Islamic sources. This essay is the earliest known source of the proverb, now usually quoted as “If the mountain won't come to Muhammad…”
In plain English: Likewise these men, after promising great things and failing shamefully, will (if they are perfectly bold) simply brush it off, change direction, and carry on without any fuss.
In plain English: To people of good judgement, bold people are entertaining to watch; and even to ordinary folk there is something ridiculous about boldness.
In plain English: Since absurdity is what makes us laugh, you can be sure that great boldness is rarely without something absurd about it.
Modernized: be → is; doubt you not → do not doubt
In plain English: It's especially funny when a bold man is embarrassed: his face shrinks and stiffens, as it must. A shy person blushes and goes pale by turns, but in a bold man, in the same situation, everything freezes, like a stalemate in chess: not lost, but unable to move.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: A comic picture of the frozen, wooden face of a confident person caught out, made precise by the chess comparison.
Reference & context: Old medicine: the body's “spirits” were fine fluids that rushed to and from the face, causing blushing and paling. Chess: “stale” is the old word for stalemate.
In plain English: But that last point belongs in a satire rather than a serious essay.
Modernized: were → would be
In plain English: This should be carefully considered: boldness is always blind, because it does not see dangers and problems.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: Boldness's strength and weakness are the same thing: not seeing the danger.
Modernized: seeth not → does not see
In plain English: So boldness is bad for planning but good for carrying plans out. The right way to use bold people is never to put them in overall command, but to make them second-in-command, under someone else's direction.
Why this phrase is worth keeping: A management principle that still holds: put cautious minds on strategy and bold ones on delivery.
Modernized: be → are
In plain English: Because when planning, you need to see the dangers; but when acting, it's better not to see them, unless they are very serious.
Modernized: except they be → unless they are
Fun Fact
The saying “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain” is usually traced to this essay, where Bacon told it to mock bold men who cover up their failures. There is no such story about the Prophet in Islamic tradition. Bacon seems to have picked it up from European folklore. So one of the best-known proverbs in English began as a joke about overconfident people and has ended up as advice in favour of practical flexibility.