Francis Bacon: Difference between revisions

Several authors believe that, despite his marriage,{{efn|In ''[[New Atlantis]]'', Bacon's Joabin writes of manymen who "marry late, when the prime of strength and their years is past". "[W]hat is marriage to them but a very bargain; wherein is sought alliance, or portion, or reputation", he continuesargues, assince suchthey mencontinue to visit "dissolute places" for "meretricious embracements (where sin is turned into art)", a custom "no more punished ... than in bachelors".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=17–18, quoting ''New Atlantis'' 281–283}} Literature and sexuality scholar Joseph Cady noted that Bacon may have written this from a personal perspective, as his own marriage was "'late', childless, and {{lang|lt|pro forma}}".{{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=18}}}} Bacon was primarily attracted to men.<ref>A. L. Rowse, ''Homosexuals in History'', New York: Carroll & Garf, 1977. p. 44</ref><ref>Jardine, Lisa; Stewart, Alan ''Hostage To Fortune: The Troubled Life of Francis Bacon'' Hill & Wang, 1999. p. 148</ref> Forker,<ref>Charles R. Forker, "'Masculine Love', Renaissance Writing, and the 'New Invention' of Homosexuality: An Addendum" in the ''Journal of Homosexuality'' (1996), Indiana University</ref> for example, has explored the "historically documentable sexual preferences" of both Francis Bacon and [[James VI and I|King James I]] and concluded they were both oriented to "masculine love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender."<ref>''Journal of Homosexuality'', Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 1996, pp. 85–93, {{ISSN|0091-8369}}</ref> Bacon's sexuality has been disputed by others, who point to lack of consistent evidence and consider the sources to be more open to interpretation.<ref name="Character Assassination" /><ref>Ross Jackson, ''The Companion to Shaker of the Speare: The Francis Bacon Story'', England: Book Guild Publishing, 2005. pp. 45–46</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Bryan Bevan, ''The Real Francis Bacon'', England: Centaur Press, 1960</ref><ref>Helen Veale, ''Son of England'', India: Indo Polish Library, 1950</ref><ref>Peter Dawkins, ''Dedication to the Light'', England: Francis Bacon Research Trust, 1984</ref>

The Jacobean antiquary and Bacon's fellow parliament member Sir [[Simonds D'Ewes]] implied there had been a question of bringing Bacon to trial for buggery,<ref>Fulton Anderson, ''Francis Bacon: His career and his thought'', Los Angeles, 1962</ref> with which his brother Anthony Bacon had also been charged.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Golden Lads: A Study of Anthony Bacon, Francis and Their Friends|last = du Maurier|first = Daphne|publisher = Gollancz|year = 1975|isbn = 978-1-84408-073-1|location = London}}</ref> (Bacon's brother "apparently also was homosexual", according to literature and sexuality scholar Joseph Cady.){{sfn|Cady|1992|loc=14}} In his ''Autobiography and Correspondence'' diary entry for 3 May 1621, the date of Bacon's censure by Parliament, D'Ewes describes Bacon's love for his Welsh serving-men, in particular his servant Mr. Henry Godrick or Goodrick,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=Robert. P.|title=Francis Bacon: The Double-Edged Life of the Philosopher and Statesman|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|page=33}}</ref> a "very effeminate-faced youth" whom he calls "his [[catamite]] and bedfellow".<ref>{{cite book|title = Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History Vol.1: From Antiquity to the Mid-Twentieth Century|first1 = Robert|last1 = Aldrich|first2 = Gary|last2 = Wotherspoon|page = 33|publisher = Routledge|location = London and New York|isbn = 978-0-415-15982-1|year = 2005}}</ref>