1|Page

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

The final draft for the fulfilment of project of Legal English

On

“ESSAYS OF FRANCIS BAECON”

Submitted to:-Mr Pratyushkaushik

Faculty of Legal English

Submitted by:-Pawas

Roll no.1544

1st year B.A.L.L.B. (Hons.)

2|Page

Table of Contents

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2. DECLARATION

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
I. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE
II. HYPOTHESIS
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4. INTRODUCTION
I. FRANCIS BACON
II. THE ESSAYS

5. UTILITARIAN PHILOSOPHY OF FRANCIS BACON

6. STYLE

7. ANALYSIS OF GREAT ESSAYS

8. CONCLUSION

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3|Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Writing a project is one of the most difficult academic challenges I have ever faced. Though
this project has been presented by me but there are many people who remained in veil, who
gave their support and helped me to complete this project.

First of all I am very grateful to my subject teacher Mr Pratyush kaushik without the kind
support of whom and help the completion of the project would have been a herculean task for
me. He took out time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project and
suggested me from where and how to collect data.
4|Page

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work reported in the BA LL.B (Hons.) Project Report entitled
“ESSAYS OF FRANCIS BACON” submitted at Chanakya National Law University,
Patnais an authentic record of my work carried out under the supervision of Mr Pratyush
Kaushik. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am
fully responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

PAWAS

ROLL NO. 1544

5|Page

Aims & Objectives

The researcher will do this research to know about the uniqueness in Francis Bacon’s writing
and how he set up a model of use of prose in essays.

Hypothesis

1. Francis Bacon wrote some or even all of the plays conventionally attributed to William
Shakespeare
2. Bacon's essays are a treasure house of worldly wisdom
3. His essays are rich with the art which a man should employ for achieving success in his
life.
4. Baconsets up a model of writing prose particularly in essays and his prose style was
suitable for all kinds of subjects ranging from heavento earth.
5. Bacon’s style was completely different from the prolix method that was used by his
contemporaries

Research Methodology

The researcher will emphasize and use the doctrinal method for this project topic.
6|Page

INTRODUCTION

1.FRANCIS BACON

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was one of the leading figures in natural philosophy and in the
field of scientific methodology in the period of transition from the Renaissance to the early
modern era. As a lawyer, member of Parliament, and Queen's Counsel, Bacon wrote on
questions of law, state and religion, as well as on contemporary politics; but he also published
texts in which he speculated on possible conceptions of society, and he pondered questions of
ethics (Essays) even in his works on natural philosophy (The Advancement of Learning).1

after his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge and Gray's Inn, London, Bacon did not take up
a post at a university, but instead tried to start a political career. Although his efforts were not
crowned with success during the era of Queen Elizabeth, under James I he rose to the highest
political office, Lord Chancellor. Bacon's international fame and influence spread during his
last years, when he was able to focus his energies exclusively on his philosophical work, and
even more so after his death, when English scientists of the Boyle circle (Invisible College)
took up his idea of a cooperative research institution in their plans and preparations for
establishing the Royal Society.2

To the present day Bacon is well known for his treatises on empiricist natural philosophy
(The Advancement of Learning, Novum Organum Scientiarum) and for his doctrine of the
idols, which he put forward in his early writings, as well as for the idea of a modern research
institute, which he described in Nova Atlantis.

1
Burch, Dinah (ed). "The Essays". The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford Reference Online
(Subscription service). Retrieved 12 May 2012.
2
"Catalogue entry". Copac. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
7|Page

Sir Francis Bacon

2.THE ESSAYS

He is considered the father of the English essay. Bacon’s main purpose of this essay is to
examine the benefits and effects of studies.

Bacon expresses that studies “serve for Delight, for Ornament, and for Ability.” For delight,
Bacon means one’s personal, private education; for “Ornament,” he means in conversation
between and among others, which Bacon labels as “Discourse”. Studies for “Ability” lead
one to judgment in business and related pursuits. From Bacon’s perspective, men with
skilled experience can carry out plans and understand particular circumstances, but men who
study are better able to understand important political matters and know how to deal
with problem according to their severity like “Marshalling of Affairs”.3
Bacon encourages studies but at the same time, he warns that 1) too much studying leads to
laziness; 2) if one uses one’s knowledge too often in conversation with others, then one is
showing off; and 3) to be guided solely by one’s studies one becomes a scholar rather than a
practical man. Bacon’s argument about the value of studies is that studies are wonderful only
if influenced by experience because a person’s natural abilities are enhanced by studies, but
studies without experience, lead to confusion.

3
Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian, eds. (2004). The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 3.
Oxford University Press. p. 142.
8|Page

According to Bacon, tricky men condemn education; stupid men admire education; but wise
men use education as their real world experience dictates. He warns the educated man not to
use his education to argumentunnecessarily with others; not to assume that education always
leads to the correct behavior or understanding; not to use education merely to focus
on conversation with others. Rather, Bacon argues, education “some books are to be tasted”
should be read but their advice ignored; other books should be swallowed meaning ignored
completely; and a few books are to be “Chewed and Digested,” that is, understood perfectly
and used to guide behavior. In addition, Bacon advises that some books can be read by
others, who take notes, and the notes can substitute for reading an entire book–but these
books should be those that cover less important subjects.4
Bacon comes back to addressing the effects of reading, conversation and writing. He also
says that if a man writes very little then he must have a huge memory to compensate for what
he is not writing. If a man cannot converse properly then he must be very quick witted. And if
he doesn’t read much he needs to be able to ‘fake it’ to pretend that he knows more than the
others.History, Bacon argues, makes men wise; poetry, clever; mathematics, intellectually
sharp; logic and rhetoric, skilled in argument. Further, Bacon believes that there is no
problem that cannot be fixed by the appropriate study–just as the right physical exercise cures
physical illnesses. Every disorder of the mind has a cure–for example, if a man cannot use
one set of facts to prove or illustrate the truth of an unrelated set of facts, Bacon advises the
study of law.5
Every defect in thinking can be cured by a form of study. Overall it was an excellent piece of
writing, I think the most interesting part is the way itsconstructed with a rhythm. I
think its important to follow the patterns and sometimes do a little deviation from it to bring
the curiosity into the reader’s mind. Even though it is a little too elaborative about the various
exercises to prevent diseases was not actually effective.

4
Huxley, Aldous (1930). Jesting Pilate. London: Chatto and Windus.
5
Markby, Thomas (1853). The Essays, or, Counsels, Civil and Moral; With a Table of the Colours of Good
and Evil. London: Parker. pp. xi–xii. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
9|Page

2. UTILITARIAN PHILOSOPHY OF FRANCIS BACON

Francis Bacon, is an elizabethan essayist, moralist and thinker whose essays are loaded with
ripest wisdom of experience. Nobody can deny the wisdom of his understanding of the affairs
of the world. He shows an extraordinary insight regarding the problems that men face in life.
Even within the utilitarian code that Bacon puts forward, there is a certain code of conduct- a
morality that is perhaps as high as is easily practicable in the world as we know it. In addition
to that, his essays teach us morality with the practical use of it.

The subject of Bacon in his essays is the man who needs prosperity in worldly terms. Bacon's
essays bring men to 'come home to men's business and bosoms'. He teaches them, how to
exercise one's authority and much more. When he condemns cunning, it is not because of a
hateful and vile thing, but because it is unwise. That is why the wisdom in his essay is
considered a 'cynical' kind of wisdom. He describes his essays as 'Counsels - civil and
moral'.6

He warns human beings against the punishment for the liar on the doomsday. But at the same
time, he considers a lie as an 'alloy' which increases the strength of gold and feels it necessary
for the survival on earth. He says:

"A lie doth ever add pleasure."

---this is purely a statement of a "worldly wise man"7

Bacon starts the essay titled ‘’ OF GREAT PLACE ’’ with the idea that men in great place
are three times servants. They are the servants of sovereign or states, fame and business. He
called it a strange desire to seek power ad to lose liberty. Then he shows us that in a great
place there is freedom to do good and evil but he suggestes us not to follow evil one.

6
Heard, Franklin Fiske. "Bacon's Essays, with annotations by Richard Whately and notes and a glossarial
index". Making of America Books. Retrieved 13 May 2012
7
Bacon, Francis (2000) [1985]. Kiernan, Michael, ed. The Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall. New
York: Oxford University Press. p. xlix. ISBN 0198186738. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
10 | P a g e

And

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

Then Bacon suggests that men in authority should work not only for the betterment of public
but also for their own status:

"All rising to great place is by a winding stair; and if there be factions, it is good to side
a man's self whilst he is rising and to behave himself when he is placed."

It is purely a utilitarian advice and it surely holds a compromise between morality and
worldly success. Even when Bacon urges a man not to speak ill of his predecessor, it is not
because of high morality but because of the fact that the man who does not follow advice
would suffer with unpleasant consequences.

Bacon's approach towards studies is also purely utilitarian. In his essay "Of Studies", he does
not emphasize on study for its own sake, but for the benefit which it can provide to man to be
supplemented by practical experience.8

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man."

And then he says:

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and
digested."

Bacon also points out the effects of different branches of studies on a man's mind and thinks
it helpful in the cure of different mental ailments and follies.
His essay "Of Suitors" totally reveals Bacon's shrewd insight. Although he suggests that a
suitor should not be disloyal towards his petition and should tell him the truth about the

8
Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian, eds. (2004). The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 3.
Oxford University Press.
11 | P a g e

chances of winning the suit without leaving him wandering in false hopes. Bacon suggests
that a patron should not charge extensive amounts for a small case. But then he dilutes all this
by saying if the patron wants to support the non-deserving party, he should make a
compromise between both of them, so that the deserving party would bear not great loss. This
is a purely utilitarian approach and it shows what Bacon himself had been in his career, for it
was his own profession.9

In the essay "Of Revenge" Bacon shows a certain high morality by saying that:

"Revenge is a kind of wild justice; One who studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds
green."10

He feels dignity in forgiving ones enemy. But then he says that even revenge is just in the
cases when one can save one's skin from the hands of law.
Bacon showed a certain incapacity for emotions. He took the relation of friendship for its
benefit and made a purely worldly approach to the subject which intimately deals between
two persons. He gave us the uses and abused of friendship. He says:

"Those that want friends to open themselves unto, are cannibals of their own hearts."

This essay clearly shows Bacon's cynical wisdom and that his morality is stuffed with purely
utilitarian considerations.

Bacon considers love as a 'child of folly'. In his essay "Of Love" he says:

"It is impossible to love and to be wise."

He considers wife and children as hindrance in the way of success and progress. He says:

"He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune."

9
Ward, A. W.; Waller, A. R., eds. (1907–27). The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.
Cambridge University Press. pp. 395–98
10
Hallam, Henry (1854). Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and
Seventeenth Centuries, Vol 2. Boston: Little, Brown.
12 | P a g e

Afterwards in his essay "Of Marriage and Single Life" he tells the 'benefits' of a wife.

"Wives are young men's mistresses, companion to middle age and old man's nurse."

In his essay "Of Parents and Children" Bacon puts:

"Children sweeten labour, but they make misfortune more bitter."11

All these statements show his essentially mean and benefit seeking attitude, even in the
matters of heart. His great awareness of value that ennoble human life. His essays suggest us
not to seek morality only by leaving practical idea. There is nothing wrong with the mixture
of morality and the practical idea together. Just as no ornament is possible with pure gold,
some crude metal should be added with it so only morality without practical concept cannot
do. So as renaissance man to the core, he advocates a compromise between absolute morality
and opportunism. In short, Bacon's essays are a "hand book" of practical wisdom enriched
with maxims which are very helpful for worldly wisdom and success.

3. STYLE OF WRITING

Sir Francis Bacon’s fame in England and even abroad rests very largely on his essays.
According to W.J. Long, Bacon’s famous essays are the one work, which interests all
students of english literature. In these essays, bacon’s presents himself as a novelist, a
statement and a man of the word. They are specimens of that wisdom which arise our of a
universal insight into the affairs of the world. They are the fruits of the observation of life. In
fact, the essays are the fullest andd inest expression of the practical wisdom e had acquired
from study ecperience and meditation.

11
Markby, Thomas (1853). The Essays, or, Counsels, Civil and Moral; With a Table of the Colours of Good
and Evil. London: Parker. pp. xi–xii. Retrieved 13 May 2012
13 | P a g e

It was the greatness of Bacon as a stylist that he sets up a model of writing prose particularly
in essays, which avoided the prevailing detects of the English prose.12 His prose style was
suitable for all kinds of subjects ranging from heavento earth.Bacon’s style was completely
different from the prolix method that was used by his contemporaries like hookers, ascham,
lily and ralgh. Till the closing years of the sixteenth century, except in translation, no one had
shown a mastery of the principles of prose.

Bacon’s prose style includes a number of features common to the Elizabethans and the
Jacobeans:

1) The of Bacon remains for the main part aphoristic. These are a terseness of expression and
epigrammatic brevity in the essays of Bacon. In fact, the essays of Bacon have to be read
slowly because of the compact and condensed thought. There are a number of lines, which
are read like proverbs. As for example we can quote the essay Of Truth. In this essay Bacon
says“ A lie faces God and shrinks pleasure. These sentences show that Bacon is a man of
practical.

2) This aphoristic style always depends on the device of balance and antithesis. In the essay
Of Studies. Bacon says, Studies serve for ornament and for ability In the essay Of Studies he
says “ Read not to contradict, nor to believe, but to weigh and consider. He scrupulously
presents the advantages and the disadvantages of a particular issue. In the essay Of Mavriage
and Single life. Bacon says that an unmarried man is a good friend, good master and good
servant, but he is unreliable as a good citizen. In Of Parents and Children Bacon says that
children sweeten labour lent they make misfortune bitterer; they increase the care of life but
they mitigate the remembrance of death. This sort of weighing and balancing makes his style
antithetical.13

3) In Bacon’s style there is an over luxuriance of figures of speech. Bacon is a past master of
simile and metaphor. The fact is that Bacon’s mind was wonderfully quick in perceiving
analogies of ass types. His similes and metaphors are telling. They strike, they charm and
sometimes they thrill. As for example in the essay Of Truth Bacon writes: A mixture of
falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver which may make the metal work better, but it

12
The Oxford English Dictionary Vol 7. Oxford. 1989.
13
Simpson, John (1993). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Oxford University Press
14 | P a g e

debaseth it. In Of Study he says: Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and
some few to be chewed and digested.

4) Bacon is a master of rhetoric and pithy sentences in his essays. Indeed, the secu of Bacon’s
strength lies in his conciseness.14 We ignored the unnecessary conceits and over crowded
imagery of the Enthusiast; but he knew, how to high up his thought with well-placed figures
and give to it an imaginative glow and charm when required.

Bacon’s style was suited for all occasions. His prose style was eminently fitted for such
dignified subjects as Truth, Atheism and Love and also such ordinary subjects as ‘Marriage
and single life’ and gardening.’The adaptability to the subject matter was a characteristic
quality of his writings.

To conclude we may say that Bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its
conciseness is due to the skillful adaptation of Latin idiom and phrase. But its wealth of
metaphor is characteristically Elizabethan and reflects the exuberance of the Renaissance. No
man in English literature is so fertile in pregnant and pithy comparisons. Bacon set up a new
method of prose writing, which was at once easy, simple, graceful, rhetorical, musical and
condensed.

4.ANALYSIS OF GREAT ESSAYS

The essay form is rare in the modern age, although there are some faint signs of its revival.
As Bacon used it, the essay is a carefully fashioned statement, both informative and
expressive, by which a person comments on life and manners, on nature and its puzzles.
The Essays first appeared, ten in number, in 1597. They were immediately popular because
they were brief, lively, humane, and well-written. Perhaps they were effective in contrast to
the rambling, florid prose written by most writers of the time. A considerable part of their
charm lay in their civilized tone. In these essays, Bacon reveals himself as an inquisitive but

14
The Oxford English Dictionary Vol 7. Oxford. 1989.
15 | P a g e

also an appreciative man with wit enough to interest others. The first edition contained the
following essays: “Of Studies,” “Of Discourse,” “Of Ceremonies and Respects,” “Of
Followers and Friends,” “Of Suitors,” “Of Expense,” “Of Regiment of Health,” “Of Honour
and Reputation,” “Of Faction,” and “Of Negociating.”15

By 1612, the number of essays had been increased to thirty-eight, the earlier ones having
been revised or rewritten. By the last edition, in 1625, the number was fifty-eight.
Comparison of the earlier essays with those written later shows not only a critical mind at
work but also a man made sadder and wiser, or at least different, by changes in fortune. The
essays concern themselves with such universal concepts as truth, death, love, goodness,
friendship, fortune, and praise. They cover such controversial matters as religion, atheism,
“the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates,” custom and education, and usury, and they
consider such intriguing matters as envy, cunning, innovations, suspicion, ambition, praise,
vainglory, and the vicissitudes of things.

The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, as they are called in the heading of the first essay,
begins with an essay on truth entitled “Of Truth.” The title formula is always the same,
simply a naming of the matter to be discussed, as, for example, “Of Death,” “Of Unity in
Religion,” “Of Adversity,” When it comes to death, Bacon begins by admitting that tales of
death increase humanity’s natural fear of it, but he reminds the reader that death is not always
painful. By references to Augustus Caesar, Tiberius, Vespasian, and others, Bacon shows
that, even.16

Analysis of some of his essays:

15
"Catalogue entry". Copac. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
16
Markby, Thomas (1853). The Essays, or, Counsels, Civil and Moral; With a Table of the Colours of Good
and Evil. London: Parker. pp. xi–xii. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
16 | P a g e

OF TRUTH

Francis Bacon’s essay “Of Truth” is one of the more famous of his works of prose. The essay
begins by mocking those who refuse to admit that there is any certain, objective truth.

"What is truth?" said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be that
delight in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief, affecting free-will in thinking as
well as in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain
certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in
them as was in those of the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labour which men
take in finding out of truth, nor again that when it is found it imposeth upon men's thoughts,
that doth bring lies in favour, but a natural though corrupt love of the lie itself.17

One of the later school of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand to think what
should be in it, that men should love lies where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets,
nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie's sake. But I cannot tell: this same
truth is a naked and open daylight that doth not show the masques and mummeries and
triumphs of the world half so stately and daintily as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to
the price of a pearl that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond or
carbuncle, that showeth best in varied lights.18 A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
Doth any man doubt that if there were taken out of men's minds vain opinions, flattering
hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds
of a number of men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and
unpleasing to themselves? One of the fathers, in great severity, called poesy vinum
daemonum [the wine of devils] because it filleth the imagination, and yet it is but with the
shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in
and settleth in it that doth the hurt, such as we spake of before. But howsoever these things
are thus in men's depraved judgments and affections, yet truth, which only doth judge itself,
teacheth that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making or wooing of it; the knowledge of
truth, which is the presence of it; and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the
sovereign good of human nature. The first creature of God in the works of the days was the
light of the sense; the last was the light of reason; and his Sabbath work ever since is the
illumination of his spirit. First he breathed light upon the face of the matter, or chaos; then he

17
http://www.authorama.com/essays-of-francis-bacon
18
http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/studiesessay.htm
17 | P a g e

breathed light into the face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light into the face of
his chosen. The poet that beautified the sect that was otherwise inferior to the rest, saith yet
excellently well, "It is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the
sea; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle and the adventures
thereof below; but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth
(a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), and to see the
errors and wanderings and mists and tempests in the vale below"*; so always that this
prospect be with pity, and not with swelling or pride. Certainly it is heaven upon earth to
have a man's mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.
To pass from theological and philosophical truth to the truth of civil business: it will be
acknowledged, even by those that practice it not, that clear and round dealing is the honor of
man's nature, and that mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may
make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these winding and crooked courses are
the goings of the serpent, which goeth basely upon the belly and not upon the feet. There is
no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious; and
therefore Montaigne saith prettily, when he inquired the reason why the word of the lie
should be such a disgrace and such an odious charge. Saith he, "If it be well weighed, to say
that a man lieth, is as much as to say that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards
man." For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of falsehood and
breach of faith cannot possibly be so highly expressed as in that it shall be the last peal to call
the judgments of God upon the generations of men: it being foretold that when Christ cometh,
"He shall not find faith upon the earth."

OF STUDIES

Bacon's essay "Of Studies" is part of The Essayes or Counsels, Civil and Moral, of Francis
Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban (London, 1625)

Bacon argues that studies "serve for Delight, for Ornament, and for Ability." For delight,
Bacon means one's personal, private education; for "Ornament," he means in conversation
between and among others, which Bacon labels as "Discourse." Studies for "Ability" lead
18 | P a g e

one to judgment in business and related pursuits.19 From Bacon's perspective, men with
worldly experience can carry out plans and understand particular circumstances, but men who
study are better able to understand important political matters and know how to deal with
problem according to their severity ("Marshalling of Affairs").

At the same time Bacon encourages studies, he warns that 1) too much studying leads to
laziness; 2) if one uses one's knowledge too often in conversation with others, then one is
showing off; and 3) to be guided solely by one's studies one becomes a scholar rather than a
practical man.20 Bacon's argument about the value of studies is that moderation is the key to
using studies appropriately: studies are wonderful only if influenced by experience because a
person's natural abilities are enhanced by studies, but studies without experience, lead to
confusion in dealing with the outside world.

According to Bacon, dishonest men condemn education; stupid men admire education; but
wise men use education as their real world experience dictates. He warns the educated man
not to use his education to argument unnecessarily with people; not to assume that education
always leads to the correct behaviour or understanding; not to use education merely to focus
on conversation with others. Rather, Bacon argues, education ("some Books") should be read
but their advice ignored; other books, ignored completely; and a few books are to be
"Chewed and Digested," that is, understood perfectly and used to guide behaviour.21 In
addition, Bacon advises that some books can be read by others, who take notes, and the notes

can substitute for reading an entire book--but these books should not be those that cover
important subjects.

Bacon returns to addressing the effects of reading, conversation, and writing: reading creates
a well-rounded man; conversation makes a man think quickly; and writing, by which Bacon
usually means argument essay writing, makes a man capable of thinking with logic and
reason. Further, Bacon argues, if a man doesn't write very much, he has to have a good
memory to compensate for what he doesn't write; if he doesn't exercise the art of
conversation, he needs to have a quick wit; and if he doesn't read very much, he has to be
able "to fake it," to pretend that he knows more than he does.

19
www.encyclopedia.com
20
www.enotes.com/homework-help/by-francic-beacon
21
http://www.studymode.com/subjects/summary-of-study-by-francis-bacon-page3.html
19 | P a g e

History, Bacon argues, makes men wise; poetry, clever; mathematics, intellectually sharp;
logic and rhetoric, skilled in argument. Further, Bacon believes that there is no problem in
thinking that cannot be fixed by the appropriate study--just as the right physical exercise
cures physical illnesses. Every disorder of the mind has a cure--for example, if a man cannot
use one set of facts to prove the truth of an un-related set of facts, Bacon advises the study of
law.

Every defect in thinking can be cured by another form of study.

ON REVENGE

"On Revenge" (1625) is a typical, highly logical Bacon argument against private revenge and
acknowledges that "public revenges are for the most part fortunate."22 The language is direct
and free of convoluted syntax.

Bacon's chief argument is that revenge is a perversion of the law--the first wrong is governed
by the law (but it's offensive), but the act of revenge is outside the law. Immediately
appealing to a sense of moral superiority, Bacon points out that ignoring a wrong makes a
man superior to the person who committed the first wrong.23 And, in an attempt to add
common sense to the mix of reasons, Bacon points out that wise men have enough to do with
the present and the future. Since a wrong in the past cannot be made right, it's best to
concentrate on trying to influence the present and future.

Bacon continues to appeal to common sense in his argument that no man seeks to do harm for
its own sake (we can argue that one) and that getting mad at someone for trying to better
himself is not a worthwhile exercise. And if a man does harm because he's just bad, well,
that's his nature, and his ill nature dictates his actions.

If, Bacon argues, one engages in revenge that has no lawful remedy, then that revenge might
be tolerable, but he warns that the person seeking revenge should make sure there is no law
that will punish him. And it's only right that the person one is seeking revenge upon

22
http://www.studymode.com/subjects/summary-of-revenge-by-francis-bacon-page6.html
23
http://www.studymode.com/subjects/summary-of-revenge-by-francis-bacon-page7.html
20 | P a g e

understands that he's the target because that knowledge may make him sorry for his original
action.

Bacon ends the essay pointing out that public revenge on bad leaders is "for the most part
fortunate" but reminds his reader that private revenge is "unfortunate."

OF ADVERSITY

Francis Bacon wrote just over a hundred essays between 1597 and 1625), many of which
discuss how man should handle himself in difficult situations--in this case, how one should
view adversity and how one should act in the face of adversity.

According to Bacon, who quotes the Roman philosopher Seneca:

The good things, that belong to prosperity, are to be wished; but the good things, that belong
to adversity, are to be admired.24

By this Bacon means that prosperity is easy to handle, but because adversity is so hard,
anyone who can manage to live through adversity is to be admired. Bacon refers to another
statement of Seneca's: true greatness in a human being is to have all the weaknesses of the
human, but the fortitude (strength, sureness) of God.

Essentially, throughout the essay, Bacon contrasts prosperity, which leads to easy decisions
about how to live one's life, and adversity, which requires a strength of moral character that
prosperity does not. For example, he compares Hercules, who sailed in a strong vessel to free
Prometheus from his chains, to the Christian "that sailed in the frail bark of the flesh, through
the waves of the world." In other words, Hercules was sailing in relative prosperity, which
made his voyage easy; the Christian, on the other hand, faces the world in a frail body--in
Bacon's view, the Christian has more fortitude--strength and bravery--because he must take
on the world with the adversity created by his frail body.25

24
http://www.studymode.com/subjects/summary-of-adversity-by-francis-bacon-page13.html
25
www.enotes.com/homework-help/summay-analysis-theme-structure-essay-adversity-by-293045
21 | P a g e

In a Christian context, according to Bacon, prosperity leads to comfort and therefore to vices,
but adversity, because it requires moral strength, leads to the creation of virtue. In fact,
Bacon says that "virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are . . . crushed," by
which he means that virtues become stronger when they are "crushed" by adversity.

OF DEATH

When completing a literary analysis, a reader must examine the purpose behind how and why
a text was written. Authors make very specific literary and stylistic choices for very specific
reasons. A reader completing an analysis must pay attention to these things.

In regards to his essay "Of Death," Bacon hides makes no restraints. The essay opens stating
"Men fear death." Immediately after, he compares this fear to the fear felt by children when
afraid of the dark. Although nothing really exists within the dark to support the fear, it is the
fear of what could be there which increases and enforces the fear. Bacon's essay, then, is
meant to enlighten the reader in regards to why one should not fear death. Essentially,
Bacon's argument lies in the fact that death is natural, and, for that reason, it should not be
feared. Therefore, Bacon's purpose lies in comforting his reader about the concepts
surrounding and existing within death.26

The repetition of the "s," "m, and "f" " sounds illustrates Bacon's purpose. "S's" (should,
sometimes, superstition) are sibilants. These sounds tends to be soft and comforting (when
used correctly). "M's" (meditations, mixtures), on the other hand, are nasals. These sounds
soften and calm. "F" (fingers, friar, fear) sounds are fricatives and can be hard or voiceless.
In Bacon's essay, many of the "f" sounds are voiceless (which, again, add to the calming
nature of the essay).

Overall, Bacon's language choices and stylistic choices insure the message of his essay (that
death should be accepted and not feared) is heard.27 The essay's movement allows for the
reader to become comfortable with death since the fear is compared to a child's fear of the
dark (which, as an adult, the reader may have already overcome). By bringing forward a prior

26
http://www.studymode.com/subjects/summary-of-death-by-francis-bacon-page18.html
27
Markby, Thomas (1853). The Essays, or, Counsels, Civil and Moral; With a Table of the Colours of Good
and Evil. London: Parker. pp. xi–xii. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
22 | P a g e

emotion and victory over a previous fear, Bacon illustrates the reasoning behind one not
possessing a fear of death.

OF GREAT PLACES

The main idea of the essay is to show the readers the position of men in great places. Francis
Bacon discusses the life, duties and behavior of those people who occupy high position in the
society. He writes that all the people who live in great places are “thrice servants”. They are
servants of the sovereign or state, fame and business. Moreover, they have no freedom
although they enjoy power. It is a very interesting idea that powerful people have no liberty.
But its true. They have power over other people who occupy a lower position in the society
but they “lose power” over themselves.

Francis Bacon argues that it is very difficult “to raise into place”. People should be strong and
self-confident to take a high position in the society. He writes that “by indignities men come
to dignities”. Moreover, they can easily lose their position that is why they should be
uncompromising in their goals and desires. Even in the old age great men should not change
their manners.
As Francis Bacon is a great philosopher who not only knows a lot about human nature but
also tries to teach others, to share his knowledge with people around him. In his essay Of the
Great Place, Bacon touches upon the problem of other people’s opinion concerning “great
men”. He writes that great persons should “borrow other men’s opinion” because they can get
a lot of interesting and important things for them. The great men cannot judge themselves.
They should learn what other people think of them in order to remain on the top of the ladder.
(Bacon.2006)28
Bacon expresses a very interesting thought when he writes that the great men are “the first to
find their own griefs, though they be the last to find their own faults”. He is sure that it is very
difficult for those people who have money and power to find their own faults. They do not
see their faults. It seems to them that they have no faults while they have a lot of them. Only
other people can show them their faults. That is why the great men are interested in learning
other people’s opinion. When Bacon says that the great people are the first to find their griefs,
28
Heard, Franklin Fiske. "Bacon's Essays, with annotations by Richard Whately and notes and a glossarial
index". Making of America Books. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
23 | P a g e

he means that they love themselves so much that cannot stand any trouble or misfortune.
They have power and money and they do not want to have any griefs in their life. (Gaukroger
2001)
Francis Bacon calls these people “strangers to themselves”. The great men are fully involved
in their business that they “have no time to tend their health”, their body and their mind. The
only things they are thinking about are power and money. Sometimes they simply forget
about their health. And only when they get problems with health they come down to earth
and realize that they are merely human beings.
The great philosopher also touches upon the theme of good and evil in his essay. He argues
that “in place, there is a license to do good and evil”. Evil is curse. Only those people who do

good will be able to have rest. Good thoughts are better than good dreams because the men
have an opportunity to bring their good thought to life. Bacon writes that “merit and good
works is the end of man’s motion”. Any men should learn to do good in his life in order to
get award from God at the end of “the motion”. Any man can be “a partaker of God’s
theater” but he should deserve it. (Bacon, 2006, p.5)

The author of the essay tries to explain the readers that any man has an opportunity to analyze
not only his own actions but also the actions of other people in order to understand what is
good and what is bad. They should “neglect the examples of those that have carried
themselves ill”. They should follow only good examples. Moreover, the great people should
be role models to other people. They should learn good lessons from their past life and take
care of their future. Bacon writes: “Seek to make thy course regular, that men may know
beforehand what to expect”. (Bacon, 2006, p.6)

The great philosopher also touches upon the theme of law. It is a very important question for
him because the law in the society is a vital thing. He teaches “to preserve the right of thy
place, but stir no questions of jurisdiction”.He also wants everyone to preserve the rights of
other places.
Bacon argues that there are four major vices of authority. They are corruption, delays,
roughness and facility. In order to overcome delay, the great people should be punctual.
24 | P a g e

Bacon writes: “give easy access, keep time appointed”.29 (Bacon, 2006)
Special attention is paid to corruption. Bacon writes that the great people should be sincere to
avoid corruption. In order to avoid roughness, it is necessary to be kinder. The facility is
worse than bribery.30 It is necessary to be more careful.
Francis Bacon argues that the great men should respect other people even if they are no so
powerful as they are. He writes: “If you have colleagues, respect them”. (Bacon, 2006, p.8)
The author of the essay wants those people who became great to have a change in their
nature. He wants them to become another men. (Gaukroger, 2001, p.201)
Conclusion

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that such a wise man as Francis Bacon could not only
show the strengths and the weaknesses of the great men of the society but also he could give
them some recommendations concerning their way of life, their behavior and their principles.
He was interested in investigation of the human nature. His natural philosophy was greatly
appreciated because he represented absolutely new philosophical ideas concerning the
essence of life.31 Francis Bacon’s essay Of Great Place is one of his bold philosophical
works.

29
Knowles, Elizabeth M., ed. (1999). The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Oxford University Press. pp. 42
30
Simpson, John (1993). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Oxford University Press.
31
Bacon, Francis (2000) [1985]. Kiernan, Michael, ed. The Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall. New
York: Oxford University Press. p. xlix. ISBN 0198186738. Retrieved 13 May 2012
25 | P a g e

CONCLUSION

The project ‘‘essays of Francis Bacon’’ after studying this topic in detail we analyse:

Bacon wrote no systematic discussion of rhetoric or essay writing himself, but scattered
throughout his own essays are comments on his own approach, which differed significantly
from what is known as the Ciceronian style that emphasized style (the arrangement of words)
to subject matter.

In his essay The Advancement of Learning (1605), Bacon said that essays should primarily
"apply Reason to Imagination for the better moving of the Will," and in a later essay, Bacon
noted that "Rhetoric is subservient to the imagination, as Logic is to the Understanding." In
essence, Bacon argued that essays should be based on logic and reason, which should take
precedence over style or rhetorical techniques.

Bacon wrote almost a hundred essays on such subjects as "Divisions of Learning," "The
Great Renewing" (in which he advocated a plan for organizing all knowledge), and the
"Interpretation of Nature" (a full discussion of his philosophical views). Most of his essays
are characterized by three stylistic features, consistent his view of the importance of subject
over style: 1) the subject matter conforms to the style; 2) the use of relatively simple, direct
vocabulary; and 3) a tone of reasonableness rather than attack.

Bacon's essays, because they are direct and succinct, are often compared to the writings of
Tacitus. For example, one of Bacon's typical statements in an essay is "He who hath wives
and children hath given hostages to Fortune," easily the subject of an entire essay by itself.

Francis Bacon was one of the early masters of English prose. He used to write a terse,
epigrammatic, utilitarian prose, a prose well-structured and prescriptive, logical and
illustrative. Climactic, often maxim-like, sentences woven into the strong and sound fabric of
his prose. Bacon's prose was permeated with practical wisdom, and he addressed his readers
in an oracular voice. Many of his observations have become proverbial expressions in the
English language.

Bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its conciseness is due to the
skillful adaptation of Latin idiom and phrase.
26 | P a g e

No man in English literature is so fertile in pregnant and pithy comparisons. Bacon set up a
new method of writing, which was at once easy, simple, graceful, rhetorical, musical and
condensed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites

 Www.wikipedia.com

 www.plato.stanford.edu

 www.enotes.com

 www.writetoscore.com

 www.tes.com
27 | P a g e

jourals

 "Francis Bacon", Encyclopedia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. III, New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1878, pp. 200–218.

 "Francis Bacon", Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. III, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1911, pp. 135–152.

 1958, Essays, intr. by O. Smeaton. London and New York

 2000, A Critical Edition of the Major Works, edited by Brian Vickers. Oxford and
New York: Oxford University Press.