Essays: definition
An essay is not just a bunch of words, or even a bunch of paragraphs. An essay all fits together;
it all points in one direction. An essay leads to one conclusion. The Modes of Discourse—
Exposition, Description, Narration, Argumentation (EDNA) are also known as types of essays.
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 through his publication of his two works
in 1580. Bacon borrowed the form from him, but suited it to his own purpose.
Essays are brief, non-fiction compositions that describe, clarify, argue, or analyze a subject.
Frederick Crews, professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, defines an essay
as "a fairly brief piece of nonfiction that tries to make a point in an interesting way."
Bacon’s essays group themselves round three great principles:
(a) Man in relation to the world and society
(b) Man in relation to himself and
(c) Man in relation to his Maker/supreme Being.
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Expository essays: Expository essays investigate ideas, evaluate evidence, expound
on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise
manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition,
example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.
Descriptive essays: Descriptive essays are a genre of essay that describes
something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. This genre
encourages written accounts of a particular experience and allows for a great deal of
artistic freedom (the goal of which is to paint an image that is vivid and moving in the
mind of the reader).
Narrative essays: Narrative essays tell a story and are often anecdotal, experiential,
and personal—allowing the writer to express in a creative and, quite often, moving
way.
Argumentative essays: Argumentative essays are a genre of writing that requires
investigating a topic; collecting, generating, and evaluating evidence; and establishing
a position on the topic in a concise manner.
Bacon’s Biography
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1561
1573
1584
1601
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1604
1618
1621
1626
Sir Francis Bacon was born in London
entered Trinity College in Cambridge
elected to Parliament
plot to kidnap Queen Elizabeth I
James I became king
Appointed King’s Counsel
Made Lord Chancellor
charged with bribery and prohibited from sitting in parliament
Francis Bacon died
Bacons Oeuvre
His literary and philosophic works were the occupation of his leisure, voluntary and enforced.
The first edition of his Essays, numbering ten only, appeared in 1597; these were enlarged, and
the number increased in successive editions (Thirty eight essays in1612, Fifty eight essays in
1625) to fifty-eight. His essays are a collection of twenty eight years meditations.
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The Advancement of Learning
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1625 Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral
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New Atlantis
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An Advertisement Touching the Controversies of the Church of England
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Letter to Lord Burghley
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Of Tribute; or, Giving That Which is Due
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A Device For the Gray's Inn Revels
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Of Love and Self-love
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Advice to the Earl of Rutland on his Travels
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Essays (1597)
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Religious Meditations [Selections]
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Of the Colours of Good and Evil [Selections]
The History of Henry VII. was his first work after his fall; the New Atlantis was written about the
same time;
The Sylva Sylvarum was his last occupation.
Francis Bacon died in 1626 but his followers published and promoted his writings. It was
recognized that for the advancement of learning a body of learned men was required and that
happened to be precisely the principle set out for rulership of the ideal state in Plato's Republic.
King Charles II was open to these ideas and the Royal Society received its charter in 1662.
Bacon's last book, New Atlantis, was unfinished but his friends published it posthumously in
1627 and it is clear that its Utopian theme is not only the charter for the Royal Society but also
for Freemasonry.
The frontispiece to every edition of Advancement of Learning published after Bacon's death is
filled with masonic symbolism. Writing in 1665 Joseph Glanville ties the New Atlantis to the
aims of the Royal Society. In his History of the Royal Society, then president Thomas Spratt
writing in 1667 acknowledges its aims are those of Francis Bacon while the frontispiece to his
History' shows King Charles II, Lord Viscount Brouncker first president of the Royal Society
and Francis Bacon.
Baconian Cipher
Bacon's cipher or the Baconian cipher is a method of steganography (a method of hiding a secret
message as opposed to a true cipher) devised by Francis Bacon in 1605. A message is concealed
in the presentation of text, rather than its content.
Baconian Philosophy
Background
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The Christian scholars of the Middle Ages understood that since man had continued to
fall from a noble beginning, wisdom was to be found by looking back to the writings of
the "ancients," notably Scripture and the early Church Fathers.
When the works of Aristotle, Galen, Plato and other Greek writers became available in
Latin, it was realized that these authors were at least three centuries earlier than the
Church Fathers thus these Greek works were greatly revered.
Much of the Greek wisdom was based upon deductive reasoning where they began with a
statement, that usually turned out to be a tradition or a folk-tale, then they looked for
evidences to support it.
A similar and popular form of reasoning was the syllogism where they began with two
statements, each containing a common term, then drew from this a conclusion in which
the common term was absent. An example used by the Christians was Paul's statement in
Romans 10:18 that the gospel had been preached "to the ends of the world" then a second
statement that the apostles never went to the ends of the world i.e. the antipodes or
Australia, therefore it was concluded that there were no people living "at the ends of the
world" for them to preach to. This was disproven by Magellan in 1519.
Empiricism
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Empiricists: Francis Bacon, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley
Philosophical movement in the 18th century.
All knowledge comes from experience
As opposed to Rationalism (17th century): knowledge comes from concepts known
instinctively through reason; concepts = innate ideas (Descartes)
 We should start with observations and build our theories upon them
 build knowledge on experience
 knowledge shouldn't be built on little or unsystematic experience
The New Organon
 “Novum Organum” or “True Directions for the Interpretation of Nature“
 the Greek word organon means “instrument” or “tool”
 new instrument for guiding and correcting the mind in its search for a true understanding of
nature.
 The source of Bacon's inspiration the following is a quote from Book 1, Aphorism 68 of
his Novum Organum and is insightful: "The understanding must be completely freed and
cleared of them [the idols of the mind] so that access to the kingdom of man which is
founded on the sciences, may resemble that to the Kingdom of Heaven, where no
admission is conceded except to children." Here Bacon is referring to Matthew 18:3:
Jesus:"Assuredly, I say unto you, unless you are converted and become as little children,
you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Bacon erroneously equates clearing
the mind with conversion and claims no admission to heaven except by children. This
sounds pious, is incorrect and likely comes from Bacon's goddess, Athena. (This can be
seen in parallel to the notion of Tabula Rasa)
 Bacon's Method is as follows:
A. Clear the mind of all preconceptions or "idols of the mind."
B. Observe as many facts as possible.
C. Tabulate the data according to those things that affect the property, those that do not and
those that only partially affect. This process completes the "first vintage."
D. The next step is the "indulgence of understanding" or hypothesis.
E. Experiments are then set up to try to disprove the hypothesis; this is called falsification or
refutation, more will be said of this later. If the hypothesis does not fail it becomes a theory
and when still not disproven, it becomes a Law. Very few theories survive to become Laws.
F. The establishment of a Law means that specific instances have now become a general
statement. In contrast to this, the method of deduction begins with the general statement then
the facts are worked through to explain the specific case.
G. Virtually all scientific investigation today is what science philosopher Sir Karl Popper
(1902-1994) calls the logico-deductive method. In the case of biological and geological
investigations, evolution is the unquestioned starting point for the investigation.
The Idols
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“idols” are characteristic errors, natural tendencies or defects of the mind
prevent the mind from achieving a full and accurate understanding of nature
“idol” derives from the Greek word eidolon (which means “image” or “phantom”)
According to Bacon: Idols = prejudices of the mind
they prevent a successful study of natural phenomena
There are four Idols:
Idols of Tribe (Idola tribus)
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prejudices arising from human nature (preconceived, apprehensive)
natural weaknesses like the senses (which are inherently dull and easily deceivable)
Bacon: we tend to find regularity where there is actually randomness, etc.
tendency towards “wishful thinking.”
natural preference to accept, believe, and even prove what we would prefer to be true
tendency to rush into conclusions, instead of collecting evidence
Idols of Cave (Idola specus)
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prejudices coming from psychic condition of the human soul (likes or dislikes)
vary from individual to individual (unlike idols of tribe)
referring to our culture
reflect prejudices and beliefs that we have because of our cultural background (different
family backgrounds, childhood experiences, education, training, gender, religion, social
class, etc.)
Idols of Marketplace (Idola fori)
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prejudices resulting from social relationships
hindrances to clear thinking
main culprit = language (not only common speech, but also special discourses,
vocabularies)
two types:
o names of things that do not exist
o faulty, vague or misleading names for things that do exist (abstract qualities and
value terms such as “moist” or “useful,”)
o can be a source of confusion
Idols of the Theatre (Idola theatri)
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prejudices deriving from false philosophical systems
rather culturally acquired than inborn (like idols of cave)
metaphor of a theatre suggests artificial imitation of truth
Bacon: idols derive mainly from schemes or systems of philosophy (Sophistical,
Empirical, Superstitious P.)
These four fallacies are sometimes compared to a similar list in the first part of Roger Bacon's
Opus Majus which, although it was much older, had not been printed in Francis Bacon's time.
Inductive Method
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opposite: Deduction  Drawing a particular conclusion from a general premises
Induction: Drawing a conclusion based on your own experience
propositions: axiom: maxim
problem: general axioms prove false, all the intermediate axioms may be false as well
Bacon: step by step from one axiom to another, so that the most general is not
reached till the last  each axiom = step up on “the ladder of intellect”
Bacon: Induction is a lot more secure and scientific than deduction
necessary tool for the proper interpretation of nature
differs from the classic induction of Aristotle and other logicians:
1) they always wanted to draw general conclusions as soon as possible
2) general conclusion = basis for further work
Lord Macaulay, a very insightful Christian, raised the question in 1873, how did one know when
there is sufficient data? The mathematician Augusta De Morgan pointed out in 1872 that a
thousand sets of data may all indicate one conclusion but the thousand and first may contradict
the entire set so that there could never be sure demonstration. The Encyclopedia Britannica for
1898 was more forthright and said that the method of induction is one which no science has ever
followed and that while the deductive method is the most powerful.
The Idea of Progress
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1605 “The Advancement of Learning” – first important philosophical work
3 Distempers of Learning:
 fantastical learning
 contentious learning
 delicate learning
Fantastical learning:
 Could be called “pseudo-science”
 Lack of real and substantial foundation
 Professed by occultists and charlatans
Contentious Learning:
 Criticized Aristotelian philosophy
 Aim: not new knowledge or deeper understanding, but endless debates
Delicate Learning:
 according to the revival of Ciceronian rhetorical embellishment
 criticized preoccupation with words and style
Expanded version of the Advancement
3 categories for a new division of human knowledge:
 History
 Poesy
 Philosophy
Prestige of Philosophy had to be elevated,
while that of history and literature (humanism) needed to be reduced.
Philosopher of science, Sir Karl Popper said in 1963 that "a theory which is not refutable by any
conceivable event is non-scientific." He was referring to the theory of evolution and evidently
received some rebuke by his colleagues for this slip of the pen. After his retirement he enlarged
upon this statement and in 1974 stated: "Darwinism is not a testable theory but a metaphysical
research programme." (Bacon’s Scientific Method)
Influences
René Descartes working in Holland was also inspired in 1619 and proposed a very similar
system of systematic analysis known as the Cartesian Method.
Baconian Style
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Considered as father of modern English prose.
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He put an end to prolixity and diffuseness.
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Bacon’s gift as enumerated by himself are desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to
meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to reconsider and carefulness to dispose.
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Poetry is Bacon’s ‘wing of devils’
 Essays were published in three editions in Bacon’s lifetime. Each new edition added
more themes to the list of topics treated, and each of the later editions presented essays
that tended to be longer, and more elaborate in style, than the editions that preceded
them.
 The of Bacon remains for the main part aphoristic. These are a terseness of expression
and epigrammatic brevity in the essays of Bacon. His epigrammatic style is based on the
style of Tacitus, the first century Roman Historian. Aphorism = short saying, referred just
to the way he wrote
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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. “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”
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First he gives the idea in condensed form or the first line is usually the thesis statement
of his essays, “Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability” (Of Studies).Then
he expands, “Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornaments is in
discourse; and for ability, is in the judgement and disposition of business…”.
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Condensation and brevity. His essays is pregnant with meaning and is capable of being
expanded into several sentences. Eg: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be
swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” (Of Studies). Therefore he is
described as the English Seneca.
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The charm of Bacon’s writings lies in his “wit,” in the broad old sense of the word, in
which it means intellect as well as expression.
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In Bacon’s style there is an over luxuriance of figures of speech. But its wealth of
metaphor is characteristically Elizabethan and reflects the exuberance of the Renaissance.
Bacon is a past master of simile and metaphor. The following two similes from “Of
Studies” are apt, vivid and suggestive : “… natural abilities are like natural plants, that
need pruning by study.” “… distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy
things.”
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His Essays have always been, as he himself says they were in his own time, the “most
current” of his works. In substance the very quintessence of the worldly wisdom of his
age, they have been most influential in the history of English prose
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The Essays are, as he said himself, “dispersed meditations,” detached thoughts on such
topics as Studies, Friendship, Ambition, Cunning, Praise, written down as they occurred,
without any other connection than their general relevance to the topic.
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Bacon's prose was permeated with practical wisdom. In a passage which we quote
from the Advancement of Learning, he deprecates “hunting more after words than
matter,” and after “the choiceness of the phrase” and “the illustration of the work with
tropes and figures,” rather than “weight of matter, width of subject, and depth of
judgment.”
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Though Bacon’s style is heavy with learning, yet it is more flexible than any of his
predecessors and contemporaries. The sentences are short and with this shortness came
lucidity. The grammatical structure is sometimes loose, but it is rarely ambiguous.
With shortness came also flexibility.
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A prose well-structured and prescriptive, logical and illustrative.
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Variety of Topics. 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.
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Illustrations, allusions, and quotations, some of these quotations being from Latin
sources. Bacon’s learned mind has the extensive use of quotations and allusions drawn
from various sources, classical fables, the Bible, History, the ancient Greek and the
Roman writers. His scholarship is seen in his use of Latin quotations. In “Of Studies” he
uses two Latin quotations. One is taken from Ovid, “Abeunt Studia in mores” (Practices
zealously pursued pass into habits) "Education becomes the manners, or virtues of life"
(Ovid’s Heroids15.83)
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The Heroides (The Heroines),[1] or Epistulae Heroidum (Letters of Heroines), is a
collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and
presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroines of Greek and Roman
mythology in address to their heroic lovers who have in some way mistreated, neglected,
or abandoned them. (a Roman poet, living during the reign of Augustus, and a
contemporary of Virgil and Horace. He is best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book
continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for collections of love
poetry in elegiac couplets, especially the Amores ("Love Affairs") and Ars Amatoria
("The Art of Love").)
and the other is “cymini sectores” referring to the scholars of Middle Age. They are the
hairsplitters or the splitters of cumin seed. Phrase from Dio Cassius’s Epitome Dionis
(1592)
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Bacon’s prose style is not personal and subjective rather objective and didactic. He
addressed his readers in an oracular voice. His style cannot be compared with that of the
chatty style of Montaigne or Lamb. All his sentences express astute wisdom in the
minimum possible words. In a statement like: “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.”
Bacon’s essays start with the preposition Of.
Sometimes, however, this extreme condensation of meaning leads of obscurity, though
this is not very frequent. But in the essay, Of Suitors, we find sentences which do not
reveal their meaning easily because of great condensation of thought. One such sentence
is: “Secrecy in suits is a great mean of obtaining.”
Bacon was also a stylist; he understood the significance of word values and sentence
rhythms.
Bacon can also be seen as a moralist as he appears in Of envy, Of Goodness, Of
Judicatures etc…
Syntactical structure, often maxim-like, or apothegm, his sentences are woven into the
strong and sound fabric of his prose. Many of his observations have become proverbial
expressions in the English language. Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man
and writing an exact man. Therefore they become proverbs.
Edmund Burke has praised him for the balance of matter and expression.
Bacon is known also for the wide variety of vocabulary used in his essays. Owing to this
he is often quoted as “Bacon wrote Shakespeare.”
Climactic nature of his prose is another feature.
As opposed to the Shakespearean style of staccato, Robertson calls it as the
“enchainment of clauses.”
He also rejected the elaborate euphuistic style overcrowded with imagery and conceits.
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Machiavellian spirit of self advancement, a love for classical learning, advocacy of
empire building and of war.
Bacon's view of induction
Bacon's method is an example of the application of inductive reasoning. By reasoning
using "induction", Bacon meant the ability to generalize a finding stepwise, based on
accumulating data. He advised proceeding by this method, or in other words, by building
a case from the ground up.
Criticism
Critics point out that there are two phases in his writing namely: early and late. Macaulay, by
contrasting extracts from Of Studies (1597) and Of Adversity (1625) illustrates what he calls the
two styles of Bacon.
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The original idea was to make the essays into a sort of diary in which significant
observations on various topics of practical importance, domestic, political, intellectual,
moral, religious and social, were to be jotted down in a terse and pithy and concise
language.
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These first essays were mere skeletons of thought, grouped around central themes with
suitable titles. There was no attempt at polishing the style, or clothing the statements with
literary beauty or imaginative grace.
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Bacon saw that his essays had gained an unexpected popularity, he thought it was
worthwhile to spend some more time on them and make (item more polished and riches.
Thus, the later essays acquired flesh and blood; the argument was amplified with the help
of illustrations and analogies, the phrasing became more rounded and the style more
supple and eloquent than before.
Spirit of the Age
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Renaissance means the revival of learning and an absolute change in every occupation. In its
broadest sense, it denotes the gradual enlightenment of human mind after darkness of Middle
Ages.
It also marked a radical shift from the Judeo-Christian Tradition and the dogmas that governed
the time.
In Bacon's essays, we find the Machiavellian approach to life, to achieve success in life by using
fair and foul means.
The revival of classical learning and the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature and history
are obvious in Bacon's essays. There are numerous quotations from ancient writers and through
them he supported his arguments.
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Bacon's love of learning is portrayed in his essays. This love of learning is an important quality of
Renaissance age.
Another important characteristic of the Renaissance is the striking use of the figure of speech that
is clear in Bacon's essays. The metaphors and similes taken from different spheres of knowledge
and experience reflect the popular taste of the age.
As a Renaissance man, Bacon has the sense of curiosity and love for travel. The lists of things
that are worth seeing are typical spirit of the Renaissance. It exhibits the tendency to know more
and more about everything and every place. It is said that Bacon has Faustian (like Dr. Faustus)
urge of curiosity and love for travel.
Renaissance age was accompanied with the great spirit of humanism. Bacon's essays are proper
study of humanism. He directed his gaze inward and became deeply interested in the problems of
human personality. All of his essays have "man" as their subject matter.
Bacon's morality governed by the knowledge that man is not perfect and that he can be expected
to adhere to ethical standards only to a certain extent.
Bacon's essays bear the pragmatic spirit. He deals with the practical advantages of the things in
the new intellectual atmosphere created by the Renaissance.
Conclusion
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He is classified as “The wisest, brightest and meanest of mankind” by Alexander
Pope owing to his scholarship in the various areas he dealt with. (Meanest because he
cheated his friends and was harshly criticized by Macaulay for his incredulous
behaviour)
Compton-Rickett says, “He had a great brain, not a great soul.” He wanted to serve
humanity with through the expansion of usable knowledge.
Blake on reading the essays of Bacon is supposed to have remarked that they were
good advice for Satan’s Kingdom. Now, a Satan’s Kingdom naturally implies a
state of affairs in which morality has no place or in which actions are governed by a
complete lack of principles.
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.
Key Ideas of Of Studies
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Classified under “Essays on Thought, Art and Leisure”
He envisioned essay as an opportunity to advice.
He indicates the principle usage of studies and tells us why and how we should read.
Bacon also affirms the importance of both nature and nurture where, along with studies
one also need practical experience of life.
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Bacon is interested in the practical utility of knowledge than theoretical background.
Illustrates how studies are useful. (three ways).
In private & retired life studies give us delight.
Studies enhance charm of one’s conversation.
Gives wisdom related to matters of life
Too much devotion to book is a waste of time.
Bookish knowledge must be perfected by practical experience.
Distilled water refers to the synopsis or summary of a book.
Studies prune natural powers of man to perfection.
Books should be wisely selected.
History adds to man’s wisdom.
Poetry develops imagination.
Mathematics refines intellect.
Scientific studies lend depth to his mind.
Study of ethics make him serious minded.
Logic and rhetoric improvises reasoning ability.
A full man – equipped man, Conference a ready man – quick and alert one, Writing
makes an exact man (cunning and skilled one).
Image of lawyer – in order to make illustrations he reads the precedents.
Every defect has its special remedy.
Studies of different subjects carry different advantages
Further Reading
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Concept of Tabula Rasa
The old Greek idea of the scala natura, that is, that life on earth had progressed from very
simple sea creatures to man. This provided the long ages and became the foundation for
Darwin's theory.