t appeareth in nothing more, that Atheism is rather in the lip than
in the heart of man, than by this, that Atheists will ever be talking
of that their opinion, as if they fainted in it within themselves, and
would be glad to be strengthened by the opinion of others: nay more,
you shall have Atheists strive to get disciples, as it fareth with
other sects; and, which is most of all, you shall have of them that will
suffer for Atheism, and not recant; whereas, if they truly think that
there is no such thing as God, Why should they trouble themselves?"

Although Lord Bacon was not the "meanest of mankind," there was
certainly a lack of the heroic in his disposition; and this passage
emanated from the most prosaic part of his mind and character. "Great
thoughts," said Vauvenargues, "spring from the heart." Now the heart of
Lord Bacon was not as high as his intellect; no one could for a moment
imagine his facing martyrdom. He had none of the splendid audacity,
the undaunted courage, the unshakable fortitude, of his loftier
contemporary, Giordano Bruno. So much truth is there in Pope's epigram,
that his lordship was capable at times of grovelling; witness his
fulsome, though magnificent, dedication of the _Advancement of Learning_
to King James--the British Solomon, as his flatterers called him, to the
amusement of the great Henry of France, who sneered, "Yes, Solomon
the son of David," in allusion to his mother's familiarity with David
Rizzio. And in this very passage of the essay on Atheism we also see
the grovelling side of Lord Bacon, with a corresponding perversion of
intelligence. Being incapable of understanding martyrdom, except under
the expectation of a reward in heaven, his lordship cannot appreciate
the act of an Atheist in suffering for his convictions. His concluding
words are positively _mean_. Surely the Atheist might trouble himself
about truth, justice, and dignity; all of which are involved in the
maintenance and propagation of his principles. But, if the closing
observation is mean, the opening observation is fatuous. This is a
strong word to use of any sentence of Lord Bacon's, but in this instance
it is justifiable. If an Atheist mistrusts his own opinion, because he
talks about it, what is to be said of the Christians, who pay thousands
of ministers to talk about their opinions, and even subscribe for
Missionary Societies to talk about them to the "heathen"? Are we to
conclude that an Atheist's talking s