# Uprooting Nebuchadnezzar’s Tree: Francis Bacon’s Criticism of Machiavellian Imperialism

Michelle T. Clarke. Journal article, 2008.
Political Research Quarterly 61, no. 3 (2008): 367–378.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908318845
Author's site: https://michelletclarke.com/

## Summary

Shows that Francis Bacon, for all his open admiration of Machiavelli, rejects Machiavelli’s model of empire. Guided by philanthropia, the relief of man’s estate, Bacon reverses three Machiavellian images (Solomon for David, the mustard seed for Nebuchadnezzar’s tree, Themistocles for Fabius Maximus) to reject violent conquest, rigid hierarchy, and conservative values in favor of an empire of humanity, prosperity, and cosmopolitanism. Philanthropia, the article argues, is what unifies Bacon’s politics and science, and it anticipates later commercial and liberal justifications of empire.

## Topics

- Francis Bacon
- Machiavelli
- Empire
- Philanthropia
- Glory

## How to cite

Clarke, Michelle T. “Uprooting Nebuchadnezzar’s Tree: Francis Bacon’s Criticism of Machiavellian Imperialism.” *Political Research Quarterly* 61, no. 3 (2008): 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908318845.

```bibtex
@article{clarke2008bacon,
  author    = {Clarke, Michelle T.},
  title     = {{Uprooting Nebuchadnezzar's Tree: Francis Bacon's Criticism of Machiavellian Imperialism}},
  year      = {2008},
  journal   = {Political Research Quarterly},
  volume    = {61},
  number    = {3},
  pages     = {367--378},
  doi       = {10.1177/1065912908318845},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908318845}
}
```

## Related work by the author

- Curing Virtue: Epicureanism and Erotic Fantasy in Machiavelli’s Mandragola (Political Theory, 2022): https://michelletclarke.com/articles/machiavelli-mandragola-curing-virtue.md
- Machiavelli’s Virtuous Princes: Rhetoric, Power, and the Politics of Ironic Historiography (Journal of Politics, 2022): https://michelletclarke.com/articles/machiavelli-virtuous-princes.md
- Style Is the Man Himself: Eloquence and the Revival of Roman Virtue in Renaissance Humanism (The Good Society, 2022): https://michelletclarke.com/articles/style-is-the-man-himself-humanism.md