Uprooting Nebuchadnezzar's Tree

Abstract

However boldly Francis Bacon might praise Machiavelli, he nevertheless formulates a powerful critique of his mentor's views regarding the means and aims of empire. Oriented by a prudential and normative commitment to philanthropia, Bacon reassesses the role of glory in political affairs and rejects key elements of Machiavelli's imperial vision. By deploying inversions of three Machiavellian images associated with empire—King Solomon rather than King David, the lowly mustard seed rather than Nebuchadnezzar's tree, and Themistocles rather than Fabius Maximus—Bacon signals his rejection of an imperial model based on violent conquest, a centralized and hierarchical structure, and conservative social and political values. In its place, he erects a new imperial model dedicated in principle to humanity, prosperity, and cosmopolitanism.