Q. 1. What does Bacon say about the kings at the beginning of his essay?

Ans Bacon comments that Kings generally have few objects of desire, but they have many things to be afraid
of. Not having many objects of desire, they feel melancholy. Having many things to be afraid of, threir minds
are often not very clear.

Q. 2. What does Bacon say about the wishes of a King?

Ans. As a king occupies the supreme position in his country, there are very few things that he can wish for. He
therefore tries to think of something on which he can set his heart, even though this something may be trivial.

Q. 3. What does Bacon say about the difficulty for a King to attain the state of mind in which he can govern his
kingdom successfully?

Ans. It is very difficult for a king to attain the state of mind in which he can govern his kingdom successfully. A
king must learn skilfully to blend the qualities and methods necessary for ruling successfully. A king must
combine harshness with mildness. He will do a lot of damage to his authority if there are abrupt changes in his
mood from harshness to mildness and vice versa. Nero was an emperor who met his downfall because of this
fault.

Q. 4. What does Bacon say about a King's dealing with neighbouring countries?

Ans. Kings have to deal with neighbouring countries. They also have to deal with their wives, their children,
their priests, their nobles, their second nobles (or gentlemen), their merchants, their common people, annd
their soldiers. Kings have to be careful in dealing with all these categories of persons. So far as neighbouring
countries concerned, a king should be alert and watchful. A king should not allow any neighbouring country to
become more powerful than before through territorial expansion of through the expansion of its trade.

Q. 5. What does Bacon say about a King's dealing with his wife?

Ans. Bacon says that Kings have to beware of their wives if their wives have an inclination for intrigue. Livia
poisoned her husband, emperor Augustus, to promote he ambition of her lover, Sejanus. Roxolana brought
about the destruction of the household of her husband, Solyman the Magnificent. Edward II of England was
murdered as a result of an intrigue in which his queen played a major role. Such wives betray their husbands
either because they fall in love with other men or because they wish to make sure that their own children will
succeed to the thrones (in case there are rival claimants to the throne).

Q. 6. What does Bacon say about a King's danger from his son?

Ans. Sometimes a king suspects his son of diloyalty. Such a suspicion often leads to disastrous consequences.
Contantinus the Great destroyed his son. Crispus, with the result that his other sons also met violent deaths.
King Philip of Macedonia destroyed his son Demetrius, but he himself subsequently died of repentance.

Q. 7. What does Bacon say about a King's dealing with his priests?

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Ans. Bacon says, So far as priests are concerned, kings should be on their guard against them if they are proud
or powerful. Anselmus and Thomas Beckett, Archbishops of Canterbury, came into open conflicts with their
kings. This danger to kings becomes greater when the priests get the support of some foreign power.

Q. 8. What does Bacon say about a King's dealing with his nobles?

Ans. Bacon says that a king should keep the nobles at a distance though he should not try to take away all
their power. So far as the second nobles are concerned, they may sometimes talk big but they are not very
dangerous. Besides, they are helpful so far as they do not allow the high nobles to become too powerful.

Q. 9. What does Bacon say about a King's dealing with the merchants?

Ans. Bacon says that a king will lose the goodwill of the merchants if he imposes many taxes on them.
Excessive taxation leads to the stagnation of trade, and a consequent loss of the public revenue.

Q.10. What does Bacon say about a King's threat from his common men?

Ans. Bacon says that the common people are generally not dangerous unless powerful leaders emerge to lead
them or unless a king interferes with their religion or their customs.

Q.11. What does Bacon say about an King's threat from his soldiers? What does he suggest about the dealing
with the soldiers?

Ans. Bacons says that soldiers pose a danger to a king if they are united and if they are used to receiving
manetary gifts like those received by the bodyguard of the Roman emperors. Soldiers should be placed under
the command of several generals and they should not be spoilt by being given monetary rewards.

Q.12. Why does Bacon compare a King to a planet?

Ans. Bacon comments that a king may be compared to a planet which gets no rest because it keeps moving all
the time but which influences human affairs for good or for evil. A king's power will remain in check if he
remembers that he is a human being, and his will or desire will remain in check if he remembers that he is God
or in place of God.

Q.13. Memento quod ses, etc-Explan.

Ans. "Remember that you are a man", and "Remember that you are God or in place of God."

Q.14. It is a miserable state of mind... the less clear (lines-1-7)-Explan. Ans. A man would be miserable if he has
nothing to wish for and if he is afraid of many things. Having little to desire and mmany things to be afraid of
will make a man most unnhappy. That is generally the case with kings. Kings occupy the highest position in
their respective kingdoms. They therefore have hardly any desires. Having everything, there is nothing that
they can wish for. As a result, they feel melancholy or sad. At the same time, their heads are full of dangers
and apprehensions. As a result of this their minds remain clouded and they are unable to think clearly.

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The king's heart is inscrutable-As a king's mind is clouded by dangers and apprehensions, he cannotthink
vlearly, and therefore his mind is difficult to understand.

Q.15. for multitude of jealousies...to find or sound (Lines-9-12)-Explan.

Ans. A king's mind id full of jealousies and fears. And there is no dominant desire in his heart. The result is that
the mind of a king becomes unstable and uncertain, and it becomes difficult for us to know the king's
preferences annd prejudices, or his likes and dislikes. If there were one dominant desire in thhe king's heart,
all other desires would be subordinated to it and would be pushed into their proper places.

Q.16. the mind of man is more cheered...at the stay in great-Explan.

Ans. A man's mind needs some kind of activity, even if it be an activity in the pursuit of some trivial purpose. A
man may have attained excellence in some great object, but if, having achieved that excellence, he has no
further aim to pursue, he will feel unhappy. A state of mental stagnation makes a man miserable, even if that
stagnation comes after the attainment od a high objective.

Q.17. This is true...to be prepared (Lines 45-51)-Explan.

Ans. Kings of modern times believe that wisdom lies in trying to escape from dangers when dangers have
come too close. They ignore the danger when the danger is yet far away. Instead of adopting definite and
reasonable methods to keep danger away, they wait till danger has come near and then they try to avert the
danger. This policy is wrong because it merely means throwing a challenge at fate or inviting a conflict with
fate. Let kings take a warning that the neglect of danger in the initial stages can lead to serious consequences.

Q.18. which is, that princes...than they were (Lines 66-70)-Explan.

Ans. Kings should keep due watch that none of the neighbouring countries becomes more powerful than it
was before. A king should become alert as soon as he finds that a neighbouring country is trying to become
more powerful either through territorial expansion or through the expansion of trade. On becoming more
powerful a beighbouring country will become a greater threat than before.

Q.19. For their wives; there are cruel examples of them...or else that they he advoutresses (Lines 88-97)-
Explan.

Ans. There were wives who did great cruelties to husbands. In other words, certain kings have suffered greatly
on account of the hostility of their wives. Bacon gives us three such cases:

(1) Livia was responsible for the murder of her husband, emperor Augustus. She committed this in the interest
of her son, Tierus. (2) Roxolana, the wife of Solyman, the Magnificent, caused the murder of Sultan Mustapha
and brought great trouble to the royal family. (3) Isabella played a major part in the dethronement and
murder of her husband, Edward II of England, There are generally two reasons why wives of kings intrigue
against their husbands. Either they want to promote the chances of their own children to ascend the throne;
they development illicit love-ahhairs with other men under whose influence they turn hostile to their
husbands.

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Q.20. And many like examples there are...King of England (Lines 114-118)-Explan.

Ans. There are many more examples of kings who caused murder of their sons because of their suspicion that
those sons were traitors. But in no such case did a father gain anything by his suspicion and by his murder of
the son. However, there have also been cases of sons openly revoltingagainst their father. In such cases the
fathers were justified in taking suitable action against their sons. Selymus I openly revolted against his father,
the Sultan Bajazet II, and dethroned him in 1512. Similarly, the three sons of Henry II, King of England, openly
revolted against him. These were Richard, Geoffrey and John.

Q.21. For their prelates....but by the people (Lines 119-129)-Explan.

Ans. A king also faces danger from clergymen if they become proud and powerul. Anselmus, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, from 1093 to 1097, came into conflict with the King, William Rufus. Thomas Beckett, Achbishop of
Canterbury, from 1162 to 1170, came into conflict with henry II. These two priests almost came to blows with
their kings. Both of them were so daring and so proud that they openly defied the kings in spite of the fact
that these kings were themselves very strong and very haughty by nature. However, clergymen are dangerous
to a king only whhen they are supported by the Pope or by some foreign government. They are also dangerous
to a king if they have been elected by the people and not been appointed by the king himself.

Q.22. taxes and imposts.....rather decreased (Lines 149-153)-Explan.

Ans. Taxes and levies imposed on the merchants will not bring much finacial gain to the king. What the king
may gain in parts, he loses in the whole, the total amount of the trade being diminished. Taxes diminish
people's power of purchasing. Excessive taxation therefore leads to stagnation in trade, and a consequent loss
of public revenue. A hundred was a sub-division of the shrine perhaps because it consisted of a hundred
settlements.

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