3 ideas
The Sibyl offered King Tarquin nine books at a price. When he refused, she burned three and asked the same price for the remaining six, then burned three more and got the full original price for the last three. Bacon uses this as the counter-case to the idea that waiting lowers the price: when the thing on offer disappears over time, delay makes you pay the same for less.
Assign the beginning of any great action to Argus, the hundred-eyed watcher, and its end to Briareus, the hundred-handed doer: long vigilant observation, then sudden overwhelming speed. Occasion has hair in front and is bald behind, so once the right moment is seen it must be seized at once, not deliberated further. Secrecy in counsel and speed in execution work together, like the helmet of Pluto that made its wearer invisible.
It is often better to go out and confront a danger before it comes near than to watch its approach for too long, because a long vigil lets the watcher's attention slacken. Dangers also look largest when seen at a distance and in bad light, as enemies look bigger when the moon is low behind them.