As chorus to their tragic scene. Threnos. Beauty, truth, and rarity, Grace in all simplicity, Here enclosed in cinders lie. Death is now the phoenix' nest And the turtle's loyal breast To eternity doth rest, Leaving no posterity: 'Twas not their infirmity, It was married chastity. Truth may seem, but cannot be: Beauty brag, but 'tis not she; Truth and beauty buried be. To this urn let those repair That are either true or fair For these dead birds sigh a prayer. by Shakespeare
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bacon was a very influential figure in England in his time, he achieved a lot and contributed a lot, he has even been considered the father of modern science. But this part of his history is well enough documented that I need not cover it. Bacon was involved in all kinds of influential business, including the first English translation of the Bible (the King James Version), and the colonization of America. Bacon also wrote The New Atlantis, which I quoted from in the previous chapter. This was considered by most to be a work of fiction, however, considering that we know Bacon was a Rosicrucian himself, and it is clear he was writing about the Rosicrucians, we can take his description of Salomon's House (the Rosicrucians) literally. I'm certain that this was the intention as the whole story only builds up to a long description of what is clearly the Rosicrucians, and then the story ends. The New Atlantis was also appended with Magnalia Naturae, Praecipue Quoad Usus Humanos, which is a list of uses of the Stone, as quoted in chapter 5. Bacon faked his own death, and somewhat amusingly. One report, although unconfirmed, claims that Bacon attended his own funeral. Note particularly the references to the "conservation and induration of bodies" and a direct mention of the "Stone", in his last letter: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 9 April 1626 Bacon died while at Arundel mansion at Highgate outside London of pneumonia. An influential account of the circumstances of his death was given by John Aubrey. Aubrey has been criticized for his evident credulousness in this and other works; on the other hand, he knew Thomas Hobbes, the fellow-philosopher and friend of Bacon. Aubrey's vivid account, which portrays Bacon as a martyr to experimental scientific method, had him