Francis Bacon. The Essays. 1625. Peter Pauper P, [1970].
———. Bacon’s Essays and Wisdom of the Ages. Edited by A. Spiers et al, Little Brown, 1884. Project Gutenberg, 29 Jan. 2018.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) has the reputation of being one of the great geniuses of his day, flourishing during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. While I have read some of his essays from time to time in different collections, I never read them through. It was well worth it.
Bacon’s collected essays, about sixty in all, cover an eclectic range of topics. Some essays resemble the Bible’s Book of Proverbs, like a collection of pithy epigrams on a specific theme. Other are more like what we think of when think of essays today. All are short, averaging about three pages.
Bacon was a true Renaissance man. Yes, he actually lived during the time period we call the Renaissance, but he was well-read and knowledgeable. There are many quotations from and allusions to the Bible, Greek and Roman classics, and history. I noted numerous examples from the reign of Henry VII, but then I learned that Bacon wrote a book on that monarch’s life.
The term essay comes from the French and literally means “an attempt” or “a try.” I am not sure that any reader today would agree with everything Bacon wrote, but he gives us all plenty of things to think about. They are worthy attempts.
Many of his observations are about human nature. Why do people behave the way they do? Why are some people bold? What are the advantages of being single? Being married?
As an American, I found his essay “Of Plantations” interesting. He outlines how he believes a colonial power should colonize territories and treat its subjects. (He uses the word plantation to mean “colony” or “settlement,” the same way his contemporary William Bradford wrote of Plymouth Plantation.) One can read that now and see that the British government pretty much operated according to Bacon’s ideas with is North American colonies. When it began doing things Bacon warned against, thirteen of Britain’s American colonies revolted. The rest is history, as they say.
His essay “Of Seditions and Troubles” is a notable political tract for today’s reader. By sedition, he means an overthrow or attempt to overthrow those in power. He says that as long as either the nobility or the common people are satisfied, there will be no change, even if one or the other dislikes the government or its leaders. However, when both the “noblesse” and the “commonality” are “discontent,” that scene is ripe for sedition.
I see this in the three attempts to remove American presidents from office in my lifetime. Currently, there is an attempt by the elites—the wealthy, academia, the media—to remove President Trump. So far, though, the “commonality,” what Senator Clinton called a “basket of deplorables,” seem to be relatively content.
The situation was reversed when Senator Clinton’s husband was impeached. The common people understood why people from Arkansas called President Clinton Slick Willie, and they were disgusted or embarrassed by his personal behavior. The elites, on the other hand, mostly stood up for him and even made a case that a politician’s personal behavior is irrelevant if he can handle his government position well. President Clinton prevailed.
The elites really hated Nixon. The press and academia never forgave him for his work in exposing Communists in the American government. (This was a few years before Senator McCarthy turned his investigation into something else.) Nixon was elected in 1968 over a divided Democrat Party and was re-elected in a landslide in 1972. However, when it became clear that he had authorized at least one actual burglary and then tried to cover it up, the “commonality” began echoing the elite about Tricky Dick. Soon after, he would resign. It took both groups to become “discontent” with the president before the position would change hands.
His essay “On Judicature” should be required reading in all law schools and courts. (Bacon was a lawyer by trade.) It begins with two Latin expressions—he then translates them for us—which suggest that even in Ancient Rome there were judges who tried to create law rather than merely rule on existing law:
Judges ought to remember that their office is jus dicere and not jus dare; to interpret the law and not to make law, or give law.
Plus ça change…
Many times Bacon is looking for balance, the happy medium. He acknowledges in his essay “On Usury” that in a perfect place nobody would lend money at interest. But he see this as a necessary evil, or great enterprises would never have had a chance to start.
I would suggest that those who do not know Latin get an edition, such as the one linked above to Project Gutenberg that has translations for the reader. My father took two years of Latin in high school. He told me that he remembered little of if but it helped him immensely with his English vocabulary and spelling.
My experience is almost the same except that I took my two years in college and had some exposure to Roman literature as well. Like my father, that has helped me with English spelling, vocabulary, and literature, but I really muddle about when reading Latin. I never kept up with it the way I kept up with the French.
There are many more lively observations and, yes, proverbs and epigrams in Bacon’s Essays. Here are some of his thoughts from his essay “Of Atheism”:
God never wrought miracle to convince atheism because his ordinary works convince it. It is true that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them and go no farther; but when it beholdeth the chain of those confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity.
And a little bit farther along:
The Scripture saith, The fool hath said in his heart there is no God; it is not said, The fool hath thought in his heart; so as he rather saith it by rote to himself as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it or be persuaded of it. [See Psalm 14:1 and 53:1]
Very interesting. There is much more. The Essays are well worth anyone’s time.