On Being a Secretary For five years he [Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)] served as personal secretary to, yes, Francis Bacon. In fact, I’ve noted over a course of years that the job of a secretary can be utterly fulfilling just in case one’s boss happens to be Francis Bacon.Daniel N. Robinson, (March 9, 1937- ), philosopher in Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition, Lecture 28 “Hobbes and the Social Machine”