1. Bacon (afterwards Viscount St. Albans), the son of Nicholas
Bacon was born in 1561 and died in 1626.
2. The first edition of the Essays (ten included); the second
edition (forty included) appeared in 1625. Tennyson said, “ There is more wisdom compressed into small volume than into any other book of the same size that I know” Many of the essays are made up of extracts, complied from commonplace books and his other published works, and woven together into a new whole. 3. There are three divisions of Bacon’s works: Philosophical as The Advancement of Learning, Literary as The Essays and Professionals as Maxims of Law. 4. Bacon made no scientific discovery as Newton and Harvey made, but he laid the solid foundation of Science because he was the first man to point out the importance of experiment in the study of knowledge. 5. The great influence on Bacon is Bacon himself, his own keen observation of life and manners. He set forth to propound a doctrine of human conduct – a theoretical scheme in which the man of active virtue should not be baffled by the vices of others, but use their vices for his own advantage and the advantage of the state. In opposition of Aristotle who proffered the life of contemplation, Bacon cries up the life of action. Dr. Johnson defined an Essay as “a loose sally of the mind, an irregular undigested piece, not a regular and orderly composition.” The essay as a distinct literary form was born in 16th century with the publication of Frenchman, Montaigne’s Essays. Bacon borrowed the form from him, but suited it to his own purpose. A brief introduction to Bacon’s Essays 2. Of Friendship: — Whoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. — For a crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures. — A great city is a great solitude. Summary: Aristotle’s remarks that who so likes solitude is either is a best or an angle is according to Bacon half true. Friendship helps disburden heart. If frustration is kept in heart, it causes depression and tension for man. Friendship brings better understanding. A man with a friend has two lives. He can do many things for him and when he dies, he can fulfill his desires etc. A friend can advise and even praise and flatter us. Friendship increases joys and lessens the intensity of grief. Man may feel lonely in a crowd in the absence of love. 3. Of Studies: — Studies serve delight, for ornament and for ability. — To spend too much time in studies is sloth, to use it too much for ornament is affectation. — Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them and wise men use them. — Read not to contradict and confute, nor to — believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested. — Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. — Distilled books are like common distilled water flashy things. Summary: Studies are a source of delight in one’s leisure and solitude. Studies help people develop abilities. It is a sign of laziness to spend too much time on studies. We should study important books and find mere summary of unimportant ones. Books are good companions. Deferent genres and subjects enlighten our mind differently. 8. Of Simulation and Dissimulation: — Tell a lie and find a troth.
Summary: The practice of dissimulation is followed by the weak
man, for the strong minds and hearts have the power to tell the truth. The man of secret nature never gives a hint of what is in his heart. The advantage of simulation and dissimulation is that they keep the opposition guessing and unprepared and so to be easily surprised at the proper moment. They also help us discover the intentions of the other. The disadvantage is that they indicate a weakness of the disposition and one who uses these methods is considered unreliable.