Francis Bacon, through his uncle William Cecil, Lord Burghley, had in 1580 applied for a post at court, which might enable him to pursue a life of learning.

His application had failed.

He had worked quietly for two years at Gray's Inn, until admitted in 1582 as an outer barrister.

He had taken his seat in parliament for Melcombe in Dorset in 1584, and subsequently (1586) for Taunton.

He began at this time to write on the condition of parties in the church, as well as philosophical reform in the lost tract, Temporis Partus Maximus, yet he failed to gain a position he thought would lead him to success.

He showed signs of sympathy to Puritanism, attending the sermons of the Puritan chaplain of Gray's Inn and accompanying his mother to the Temple chapel to hear Walter Travers.

This had led to the publication of his earliest surviving tract, which criticized the English church's suppression of the Puritan clergy.

He had in the Parliament of 1586 urged execution , openly, for Mary, Queen of Scots.

About this time, he had again approached his powerful uncle for help, the result of which may be traced in his rapid progress at the bar.

He became Bencher in 1586, and he was elected a reader in 1587, delivering his first set of lectures in Lent the following year.

He had in 1589 received the valuable appointment of reversion to the Clerkship of the Star Chamber—a post worth sixteen thousand pounds per annum—although he will not formally take office until 1608.

Bacon soon became acquainted with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth's favorite, and by 1591 acts as the earl's confidential adviser.

Cecil, who has begun performing the duties of secretary of state, is knighted in the same year.

Bacon’s vocal opposition to royal tax measures would probably have halted his political advancement were it not for the support of his friend Essex.