OF DELAY SUMMARY • Bacon opens the essay with a term “fortune” and associates it with a market, where the prizes might fall if you wait. It is just like nowadays “sale” in a market. But this is not the case every time. Good luck or fortune not always come with delaying. Delaying, sometimes, may also cause a serious loss. To explain the outburst of delaying, he refers to the Sibyl of Cumae, the wisest woman in Italy and her offer to Tarquin the proud. Sibyl offered Tarquin her nine books for sale that he refused. She, then, removed three books and again offered him the remaining six books with the same price that was for the nine books. He again refused to buy them. She, then, remove three more books and offered Tarquin the remaining three books with the original price. Now, without understanding Sibyl’s demand and haggling, Tarquin bought the three books. These three books were worth reading and were kept with a great care in Rome. These books were accessed time and again in the course of Senate. • Bacon, moreover, refers to Spenser’s description of “occasion” to explain that opportunity once missed cannot get back. Spenser, in his common verse, relates occasion (opportunity) to an old woman, who has one leg. Her hair falls down on her face so that no one can recognize her until she is dead (just like we don’t recognize the opportunity before it is gone); while at the back, she has no hair, so that once she is passed no one can grab her from behind (i.e. we cannot grab the opportunity once it is gone). Bacon argues that opportunity is just like a bottle, better to receive it from handle (to avail the opportunity at the start), the belly come after which is difficult to clasp (delaying an opportunity would make difficulties for us to avail it afterward). He says that the wisdom is only if you avail the opportunities on time. • Furthermore, Bacon argues that nothing in the life is easy coming. One has to face the challenges of life. In order to avail opportunities or desired goals, it is better to face the dangers in the path, rather than watching it from a long distance. Watching challenges from the distance will make you coward, consequently, you will fall asleep. However, it doesn’t mean that one should deceive themselves with the shadows of enemies and shoot them before time (meaning not to act before time or make difficulties for yourself). It is something like early buckling. Both of the situations are the two extreme conditions. One should adopt the mediocre mode, i.e. not delaying thing for a long time and not acting before the time. • The fruitfulness and unfruitfulness of an opportunity (occasion) should be weight before availing it. Before the start, plan well but once you started, get stunning. Bacon relates this phenomenon to Argos, a hundred-eyed monster. Some of his eyes were always awake. Hera appointed him to protect lo. However, he was killed by Hermes. After his death, his eyes were transferred to the tail of peacock that resulted in fifty head Baiareus, with hundred hands. • Bacon ends the essay by advising that once you have made up your mind to do something, do it faster than a bullet before anyone bumps into you and hinders your work. He gives the example of the Pluto’s helmet that makes the wearer invisible. By alluding to this, Bacon argues that one should work as if he is invisible without making anyone aware of it and faster than the bullet before anyone encounters him. Complete explanation of the essay alongside the original text • Original • Fortune is like the market; where many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall. And again, it is sometimes like Sibylla’s offer; which at first offereth the commodity at full, then consumeth part and part, and still holdeth up the price. For occasion (as it is in the common verse) turneth a bald noddle, after she hath presented her locks in front, and no hold taken; or at least turneth the handle of the bottle first to be received, and after the belly, which is hard to clasp. Explanation • Francis Bacon was a very practical man. He understood that there is very few absolute black or white situations in the world. Mostly, we see different shades of grey. • We all know how prices fall when there is excess supply, and prices rise when demand exceeds supply. This is the age-old economic truth. When a buyer enters a just-opened market to buy a commodity, he shouldn’t rush to make the purchase. Showing haste and eagerness makes the seller to quote a higher price. as the day progresses, the vendors become relaxed, and the prices dip. If it a village hat, or an exhibition where traders come from far and wide to sell their wares, a certain degree of nervousness grips the sellers. They become anxious to sell off their merchandize, so that they don’t have to ferry back the unsold stuff. Because of these factors, prices generally fall with time in a market. This is the reason why Francis Bacon advises us not to rush with our purchases. • It is also true that sellers sometimes destroy their merchandize to create a degree of scarcity in the market. This helps to curb the fall of prices due to excess supply. We all know, in the 60’s and earlier, the United States used to dump shiploads of wheat in the sea to arrest the fall of international wheat prices. The tactics appears quite irksome/annoying, but this is the hard truth. A stable price regime necessitates a balance between demand and supply. • Sibyl of Cumae in Italy was a lady of profound scholarship and sagacity. She had in her possession, nine priceless books that contained rare knowledge of great value. She came to Tarquin, the Proud to offer the nine books on sale. Tarquin’s interest was lukewarm, and no books were sold. Sibyl didn’t give up. She burnt three of the nine books, and renewed her offer to sell them to Tarquin, keeping the price same as that quoted for the nine books. To the dismay of Sibyl, Tarquin evinced no interest in any of the rest six books. Sibyl, in her wisdom, decided to restrain the availability of her books. She burnt another three of the books, and went to Tarquin to sell the last three books. The clever Sibyl, however, quoted the same price that she had asked for the nine books initially. Tarquin couldn’t quite realize why the invaluable books were so destroyed. Somewhat puzzled, he bought the last remaining three books virtually paying three times higher price. • To the great amazement of Tarquin, the books he bought had detailed instructions about the way god was to be worshipped, and the policy of the Romans. The books were preserved with great reverence. They became the reference books for guiding the Senate during times of confusion. Decades later, in 8 BC, a deadly fire consumed the library that had the books. • Bacon has illustrated the relation of price with supply position of any item. This is why he advises a buyer to hold back a little till the market reaches a point where there are more goods available than the buyers. • In his characteristic style, he also cautions that the delay must not be overdone, lest the opportunity slip away. He gives this example. • A woman had a head with a large bald patch in the back. The woman had long hairs in the front. To avoid lecherous attention, she hung the hair in the front so as to conceal her face. The onlookers were fooled by this. They waited till they had a good glimpse of her. But, after a while, the woman had stepped well forward. The bystanders couldn’t see her face. They saw the bald patch only. • Through this symbolic example, Francis Bacon demonstrates that too long a wait might lead to an opportunity slipping away. So, one must be judicious enough to wait just enough to strike a deal, make a purchase, or grab an opportunity. Delay is desirable, only when its duration is optimally decided. • Original • There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things. Dangers are no more light, if they once seem light; and more dangers have deceived men than forced them. Nay, it were better to meet some dangers half way, though they come nothing near, than to keep too long a watch upon their approaches; for if a man watch too long, it is odds he will fall asleep. On the other side, to be deceived with too long shadows (as some have been when the moon was low and shone on their enemies’ back), and so to shoot off before the time; or to teach dangers to come on, by over early buckling towards them; is another extreme. • Explanation • Arriving at the most opportunity for starting a venture, or setting out to do something calls for discerning judgment. Those who have this ability are gifted indeed. A risk in any new effort or action may appear less, but, in fact, it could be quite grave. Risks and dangers lurk everywhere. Unless spotted and avoided effectively, they can mar a person’s wellbeing or fortune quite grievously. One must be able to foresee a danger or risk when it is just rearing its head. One must move swiftly to nip the danger in the bud. Some move to preempt such dangers is called for. • If one waits too long for the danger to appear real and worrisome, it might be too late. The delay in taking remedial action to counter the risk might lead to the risk spiraling out of control and harming the person seriously. • Bacon proceeds to give a counterview here to add balance to his advice. He says that a person should not be on the edge and begin to panic at the first sight of a risk or a danger. Over reaction might lead to waste of effort and a poor attempt to neutralize the danger. As the Sun begins to set, the shadow of a tree lengthens. The shadow might appear frighteningly long, where as the tree generating it might be considerably shorter. Bacon mentions this example to drive home his argument against needless anxiety at the first sighting of danger. Another example Bacon cites is that of the enemy forces standing with their back towards the moon. In such an instance, the enemy garrison looks far more ominous than it actually is. Before swinging in to action to take offensive action, one must factor this possibility of misreading a situation. • However, discretion is the key here. If a person waits too long waiting for the danger to become a full-blown crisis, he would be erring to his great detriment. The situation could be too worse for him to face. • Original • The ripeness or unripeness of the occasion (as we said) must ever be well weighed; and generally it is good to commit the beginnings of all great actions to Argos with his hundred eyes, and the ends to Briareus with his hundred hands; first to watch, and then to speed. For the helmet of Pluto, which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in the counsel and celerity in the execution. For when things are once come to the execution, there is no secrecy comparable to celerity; like the motion of a bullet in the air, which flieth so swift as it outruns the eye. • Explanation • The propitiousness of any action has to be carefully assessed weighing all factors that have a bearing on it. Argos was a Greek mythological giant with one hundred eyes. He never allowed all his eyes to close, because he wanted to be alert all the time against possible dangers. Since some eyes were open at any given moment, he could see what danger was coming, and he could move quickly to counter it. So, Bacon argues, one should always be vigilant against rising dangers. Briareus, of Homer’s Illiad, was like Ravana of the Ramayana. He had fifty heads and hundred hands making him a very formidable person. He, using his humongous physical prowess, could stave off any inimical element. • Bacon wants his readers to have the brawn and brain of Briareus. He could sense a danger quite early, and then move to fight it off with his awesome might. The helmet of Pluto is an imaginary device that many characters in Greek mythology wore to make themselves invisible to their foes. This enabled the wearer to turn on his enemy surreptitiously. The helmet provided the element of surprise to the attacker and enabled to vanquish his enemy. Therefore, Bacon argues, stealth is a weapon that one must use to attack the adversary. Like a bullet flies at lightening speed leaving no chance for interception, one should learn to attack the enemy without giving him any sort of forewarning. Such a tactics greatly enhances one’s offensive capacity. OF DELAY ANALYSIS • GENRE: • “Of Delay” is an argumentative essay by Francis Bacon in which he argues about delaying in availing opportunities. He argues that it could be one’s good fortune that by delaying offers he might get the better one at the end but that’s not the case every time. Most of the time, delaying may cause you serious loss. • OF DELAY CRITICAL APPRECIATION: • Bacon wrote this essay with the interest to considerate the reasoning of deliberate delay. Though he alludes to delay with danger, however, he admits the point that some circumstances or states of affairs can be observed with changed significance and priority and evaluate the strength of the delay. • The main resolution of this composition is to consider the expected reactions and outcomes of delays to instruct the readers. Bacon tries to outline the standard for the effects of delay and its consequences, by decoding the man’s mind. • The readers of this essay of bacon would most likely be those who are interested in the attitude of delays. Bacon’s references, in the essays, to mythical personalities, when interpreted by the common community point out this essay is in particular form educated and possibly religious. He, by the use of metaphors that are understandable to an average man, directs the thoughts of ordinary people towards the social status • The positive and negative aspects of delay are best described by the indecisive writing that pre-dominates the style of writing. Through the use of parallel structures in the essay, Bacon builds a balance between his arguments regarding the delay, which indicates that he is neither praising it not condemning it. • Throughout the essay, Bacon’s writing contains a philosophical tone. He, time and again, employs metaphors to fund his wisdom and make his supposition seem precise. Moreover, bacon also personifies the danger to troupe man in contradiction of a figure with delay as the ambition of their assembly. • Bacon divides the essay into four parts, each part refers to some methodical figure. These are as follows 1.Wait and things will get worse: • In this part, Bacon refers to the story of Sibyl of Cumae in Italy and her offers to Tarquin. It implies that the offer that offers full commodity at the start, reduced to 2/3 by delay, while it further reduced to 1/3 with the price remained unchanged. Bacon argues that “fortune” is just like waiting in a market, where the prizes might fall if you wait. It is just like nowadays “sale” in the market. But this is not the case every time. Good luck or fortune not always come with delaying. Delaying, sometimes, may also cause a serious loss. 2.Time’s bald head: • In this part, Bacon refers to Spencer’s common verse in which he associates occasion (opportunity) to an old woman with one leg. She hangs down her hair on the face so that no one can recognize her until she is dead. Moreover, she is bald from the back that no wan can grab her from the back when she dies. This is a beautiful illustration to explain that no one recognizes the opportunity in the start until it is gone. And the opportunity is bald from the back that after it is gone, no one can grab it from the back. 3.Eyes forward: • In this part, Bacon refers to the Argos, a hundred-eyed monster, who was appointed as a guard for Lo. When Hermes shot him, his eyes were transferred to peacock’s tail and it turned to a fifty head Biareus. This symbolizes that before availing opportunity, weigh it. Once you started it, get rocking, 4.Work faster than a speeding bullet: • In this part, Bacon gives an example of the Pluto’s helmet that makes the wearer invisible. By alluding to this, Bacon argues that one should work as if he is invisible without making anyone aware of it and faster than the bullet before anyone encounters him.
