appeared his _History of Henry VII._, and the 3rd part of the _Instauratio_; in 1623, _History of Life and Death_, the _De Augmentis Scientarum_, a Latin translation of the _Advancement_, and in 1625 the 3rd edition of the _Essays_, now 58 in number. He also _pub._ _Apophthegms_, and a translation of some of the _Psalms_. His life was now approaching its close. In March, 1626, he came to London, and shortly after, when driving on a snowy day, the idea struck him of making an experiment as to the antiseptic properties of snow, in consequence of which he caught a chill, which ended in his death on 9th April 1626. He left debts to the amount of £22,000. At the time of his death he was engaged upon _Sylva Sylvarum_. The intellect of B. was one of the most powerful and searching ever possessed by man, and his developments of the inductive philosophy revolutionised the future thought of the human race. The most popular of his works is the _Essays_, which convey profound and condensed thought in a style that is at once clear and rich. His moral character was singularly mixed and complex, and bears no comparison with his intellect. It exhibits a singular coldness and lack of enthusiasm, and indeed a bluntness of moral perception and an absence of attractiveness rarely combined with such extraordinary mental endowments. All that was possible to be done in defence of his character and public conduct has been done by his accomplished biographer and editor, Mr. Spedding (_q.v._). Singular, though of course futile, attempts, supported sometimes with much ingenuity, have been made to claim for B. the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, and have indeed been extended so as to include those of Marlowe, and even the _Essays_ of Montaigne. SUMMARY.--_B._ London 1561, _ed._ Trinity Coll., Cambridge, dissatisfied with Aristotelean philosophy, entered Gray's Inn 1576, in France 1576-79, called to Bar 1582, enters Parliament 1584, became friend of Essex 1591, who presents him with estate 1593, _pub._ 1st ed. of _Essays_ 1597, prosecutes Essex 1601, _pub._ _Advancement of Learning_ 1605, Solicitor-Gen. 1607, _pub._ _Wisdom of the Ancients_ 1609, Attorney-Gen. 1613, prosecuted Somerset 1616, Lord Keeper 1618, Lord Chancellor with title of Verulam 1619, Visc. St. Albans 1621, _pub._ _Novum Organum_ 1620, charged with corruption, and retires from public life 1621, _pub._ _Henry VII._ and 3rd part of _Instauratio_ 1622, _d._ 1626. The standard edition of B.'s works is that of Spedding, Ellis, and Heath (14 vols. 1857-74), including _Life and Letters_ by Spedding. See also Macaulay's _Essays_; Dean Church in _Men of Letters Series_; Dr. Abbott's _Life_ (1885), etc. For philosophy Fowler's _Novum Organum_ (1878).