n originally possessed must be restored to them.

In these speculations the philosopher became aware that there was a
risk lest men should imagine that by this means they could also
discover the nature of God. Bacon lays down a complete separation of
these two provinces; for he thinks that men can only attain to second
causes, not to the first cause, which is God; and that the human mind
can only cope with natural things; that divine things on the contrary
confuse it. He will not even investigate the nature of the human soul,
for it does not owe its origin to the productive powers of nature, but
to the breath of God.

It had been from the beginning the tendency of those schools of
philosophy erected on the basis of ancient systems, in which Latin and
Teutonic elements were blended, to transfuse faith with scientific
knowledge; but Bacon renounces this attempt from the beginning. He
puts forward with almost repulsive abruptness the paradoxes which the
Christian must believe: he declares it an Icarian flight to wish to
penetrate these secrets: but so much stronger is the impulse he seeks
to give the human mind in the direction of enquiry into natural
objects.[379]

Among these he ranks the state of human society, to which all his life
long he devoted a careful and searching observation. His Essays are
not at all sceptical, like the French essays, from which he may have
borrowed this appellation: they are thoroughly dogmatic. They consist
of remarks on the relations of life as they then presented themselves,
especially upon the points of contact between private and public life,
and of counsels drawn from the perception of the conflicting qualities
of things. They are extremely instructive for the internal relations
of English society. They show wide observation and calm wisdom, and,
like his philosophical works, are a treasure for the English nation,
whose views of life have been built upon them.

What better legacy can one generation leave to another than the sum of
its experiences which have an importance extending beyond the fleeting
moment, when they are couched in a form which makes them useful for
all time? Herein consists the earthly immortality of the soul.

But another possession of still richer contents and of incomparable
value was secured to the English nation by the development of the
drama, which falls just within this epoch.

In former times there had been theatrical representations in the
palaces of