Bacon is not a true moralist. His morality is a saleable morality.

He is a
moralist-cum-worldly wise man. Bacon appears as a moralist in his essays,
for he preaches high moral principles and lays down valuable guidelines for
human conduct. Some of his essays show him as a true lover and preacher of
high ethical codes and conducts. For instance, in Of Envy, he puts:
A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others.
Then, in his essay Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature he says:

But in charity there is no excess; neither can angel or man come in

danger by it.
Again, he appears to be a lover of justice in his essay Of Judicature:
The principal duty of a judge is to suppress force and fraud.
In spite of all given examples, one cannot deny the fact that Bacon was a
Man of Renaissance. He had a deep insight in human nature. He knew that
man is naturally more prone to evil than good. He was a clear-eyed realist
who saw the weakness in human nature and drawbacks of human conduct
and also knew that man is not capable of acting according to noble set of
ideals. Though Bacons morality was greater than that of average mans, yet
it was not of the highest order. The matter of good and right was important
for him but not if it proved too costly in worldly terms. On one hand, he
preached high moral principles and on the other hand, he also expressed a
mean capacity by compromising upon those morals for the sake of worldly
success. For this reason, William Blake, a spiritual poet says about his
essays:
Good advice for Satans Kingdom.
Blake considers any utilitarian advice contrary to Gods ways, but Bacon does
not bother for that. He considers this world more important and striving after
the success in this world is equally important. Bacon discusses man as he
appears and not as he ought to appear.
In his essay Of Great Places Bacon certainly shows a high morality when he
condemns or at least dislikes the practice of wrongs on part of high officials.
[CENTER]In place there is license to do good and evil; where of the
latter is a curse.[/CENTER]
Afterwards he appreciates the power of doing good.

But power to do good, is true and lawful end of aspiring.

But besides these moral approaches, he also supports the idea of adopting
certain disloyal means to reach a high position.
It is good to side a mans self whilst he is in the rising and to
balance himself when he is placed.
Thus, like a moralist, Bacon preaches the noble dimensions of great place,
but with this statement his purely utilitarian approach also comes forth with
all its power.
In the essay Of Truth he appears to be a genuine admirer of truth and
seems to install the love of truth in his readers.
It is heaven upon earth, to have mans mind move in charity, rest in
providence and turn upon the poles of truth.
But he also points out that

Falsehood is like an alloy in gold and silver, which makes the metal
work better even though it reduces, the value of the metal.
He says:
A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
By putting this he has diluted all the effect of his own words said in the
praise of the truth.
One can find the same strange mixture of high ethics and utilitarianism in the
essay Of Revenge. In this essay Bacon condemns revenge by saying:

Revenge is a kind of wild justice.

And
One who studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green.
He expressed that there is no place of revenge in high society and it is a high
quality to forgive an enemy. Hereafter, Bacon spoils the effects by putting
that in some cases man is justified in taking revenge, if the avenger can save
his skin from the eyes of the law. He says:

But then let a man take heed the revenge be such as there is now
law to punish; else a mans enemy is still forehand.

In his essay Of Suitors Bacon says that a man should refuse to undertake a
suit if it is by giving a false hope to the petitioner and that one should not
demand undue reward for his services. Those who employ crooked methods
to win suits are the worst offenders of society. But he also says that if a
patron wants to favour the undeserving party, he should bring both the
parties to a compromise for this would be less dangerous for him. So, to
Bacon, morality and ethical codes seem inferior to worldly considerations.
Of Simulation and Dissimilation is another example of the strange mixture
of morality and prudence.

The best position and temperature is; to have openness in fame and
opinion; secrecy in habits; dissimulation in seasonal use; and power
to feign, if there be no remedy.

Bacons morality has also been described as a cynical kind of wisdom. This
impression is confirmed by even those essays which deal with strong private
relations between men. Of Friendship, Of Parents and Children, Of
Marriage and Single life and Of Love, all depict a certain kind of
utilitarianism and worldly benefit. Here Bacon expresses a definite failure of
emotions, for he takes the pure matters of heart in terms of their uses and
abuses.
In short, though Bacons essays portray morality and high ethical standards,

yet he does not appear as an ideal moralist and these are but the flashes of
morality. He is not a true moralist.