The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway, Summary, Important Questions, Critical Analysis, Symbolism in the Novel

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The Old Man and The Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and sportsman. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his adventurous lifestyle and his public image brought him admiration from later generations.

Introduction

The novella was published in 1952 and only after two years of its publication it was awarded Nobel Prize. Much regret for those who are of the view that story is nothing.  Basically, if we want to enjoy the novel first, we should know of the philosophy of Hemingway. If we understand well the philosophy of Hemingway, novel will give us pleasure. The central philosophy of the novel is that," A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. " If one goes through the novel from the very first word till the very last word, the whole novel proves this philosophy of Hemingway. The old man is determined to achieve his goal but the hostile forces of nature try to destroy the old man but he is not ready to be defeated. To achieve anything is not success. The real success is continuous struggle. If one compares this statement to the ending of the novel that is much controversial, one can say that the ending is quite justified. As per this philosophy Santiago is highly successful.

Characters

Major characters of the novel

Santiago
He is the central figure of the novel. He is the severe victim of the loneliness. He  lives in a small cottage near the shore. He goes without fishing for the last 85 days but he does not lose heart. On 86^th  day, he catches a big fish , Marlin but at the end is de[rived of the fruit of his life by the cruel attacks  of the sharks.

Manoline
He is  a young boy who is the only pupil and friend of the old man at the sea. First forty days , he accompanies the old man but after forty days, his parents shift him to another boat saying that the old man is a Salao. But he still loves and respect the old man and helps him. He is very attached to the old man. He brings food for him, have gossip with him and encourages the old man.
Marlin, the Fish

It is a very huge fish caught by the old man. It gives very tough time to the old man. It pulls the old man along with his skiff for three days and nights. It is 18 fat long and has purple strips on the body. At the end it is eaten away by the sharks.

Sharks
In the novel, sharks represent the hostile forces of the nature. They attack the fish one by one first and in the packs later on. They deprive the old man of the fruit of his long efforts. Old man kills some of them but as thy were large in numbers, so they defeated the old man outwardly.

Sea
Sea plays a very important role in the progress of the novel. Hemingway has treated the sea as a living being. It is very kind and provides subsistence to the human. But sometimes, it become very cruel and harsh. The importance of its role cannot be denied.

Summary

The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. For eighty-four days, Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. So conspicuously unlucky is he that the parents of his young, devoted apprentice and friend, Manolin, have forced the boy to leave the old man in order to fish in a more prosperous boat. Nevertheless, the boy continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. He helps the old man tote his gear to his ramshackle hut, secures food for him, and discusses the latest developments in American baseball, especially the trials of the old man’s hero, Joe DiMaggio. Santiago is confident that his unproductive streak will soon come to an end, and he resolves to sail out farther than usual the following day.

On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago does as promised, sailing his skiff far beyond the island’s shallow coastal waters and venturing into the Gulf Stream. He prepares his lines and drops them. At noon, a big fish, which he knows is a marlin, takes the bait that Santiago has placed one hundred fathoms deep in the waters. The old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat.

Unable to tie the line fast to the boat for fear the fish would snap a taut line, the old man bears the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and hands, ready to give slack should the marlin make a run. The fish pulls the boat all through the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. It swims steadily northwest until at last it tires and swims east with the current. The entire time, Santiago endures constant pain from the fishing line. Whenever the fish lunges, leaps, or makes a dash for freedom, the cord cuts Santiago badly. Although wounded and weary, the old man feels a deep empathy and admiration for the marlin, his brother in suffering, strength, and resolve.

On the third day the fish tires, and Santiago, sleep-deprived, aching, and nearly delirious, manages to pull the marlin in close enough to kill it with a harpoon thrust. Dead beside the skiff, the marlin is the largest Santiago has ever seen. He lashes it to his boat, raises the small mast, and sets sail for home. While Santiago is excited by the price that the marlin will bring at market, he is more concerned that the people who will eat the fish are unworthy of its greatness.

As Santiago sails on with the fish, the marlin’s blood leaves a trail in the water and attracts sharks. The first to attack is a great mako shark, which Santiago manages to slay with the harpoon. In the struggle, the old man loses the harpoon and lengths of valuable rope, which leaves him vulnerable to other shark attacks. The old man fights off the successive vicious predators as best he can, stabbing at them with a crude spear he makes by lashing a knife to an oar, and even clubbing them with the boat’s tiller. Although he kills several sharks, more and more appear, and by the time night falls, Santiago’s continued fight against the scavengers is useless. They devour the marlin’s precious meat, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail. Santiago chastises himself for going “out too far,” and for sacrificing his great and worthy opponent. He arrives home before daybreak, stumbles back to his shack, and sleeps very deeply.

The next morning, a crowd of amazed fishermen gathers around the skeletal carcass of the fish, which is still lashed to the boat. Knowing nothing of the old man’s struggle, tourists at a nearby café observe the remains of the giant marlin and mistake it for a shark. Manolin, who has been worried sick over the old man’s absence, is moved to tears when he finds Santiago safe in his bed. The boy fetches the old man some coffee and the daily papers with the baseball scores, and watches him sleep. When the old man wakes, the two agree to fish as partners once more. The old man returns to sleep and dreams his usual dream of lions at play on the beaches of Africa.

Describe the theme of the novel.

Some critics say that the novel is pessimistic. It presents before us a very poor and aged fisherman who is unable to make both ends meet. Without the help of Manolin, Santiago might have died. He lives in a humble shake and has no money to buy his food. Even his companions make fun of him. When he hooks the big marlin, it takes him into the open sea. When he sails back with his fish, the attacking sharks reduce it to a skeleton. 

Thus his entire struggle takes him nowhere. The arguments of these critics seem logical and convincing. But the fact is that they judge things from their appearance. The true yardstick of measuring "Success" is not "gain or loss"; victory or defeat. The great thing is not victory, but the struggle. One may lose; what matters how when behaves while one is losing. The only failure is failing to try. 

Actually, the novel is highly symbolic. Its theme is Man's struggle against the forces of nature. -Hemingway has shown the dignity of man under adverse circumstances. The old man struggles against the big fish and says,

 I will show him what a man can do and what he endures

He is confident and resolute. His battle is not yet over.?  the sharks attack the marlin. The old man fights against them honorably. Physically he is falling, fainting and faltering but spiritually he remains resolute, confident, hopeful and determined. He says 

 But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated 

The sharks deprived him of his hard-earned fruit. He is proud of his fight. He does whatever is possible to save his marlin. He behaves with courage and endurance. The great human virtue is dignified behaviour while fighting a losing battle. Santiago is a winner who may not have taken anything but who comes out of his conflict with high human dignity and indomitable courage. 

Thus we can rightly say that the novel is a superb piece of literature. It is full of hope and optimism. The theme is universal. The language is simple, terse and crisp. Events are logical and convincing.

Discuss the novel, The Old Man and the Sea” as a tragedy?

The old man and the sea” is a tragedy because it describes the sufferings of the old man at the sea and tragic end of his great struggle. The novel describes the heroism and bravery of a Cuban fisherman, Santiago who ventures alone in the deep sea for a long time to hook some fish. After a long and hard struggle, he is able to hook a marlin but, in the end, he is left with nothing because all his hopes are shattered when the marlin is eaten up by the sharks and it is very depressing to see the old man completely helpless against the sharks in spite of all his daring efforts.

A tragedy is usually a story describing the great struggle of the hero and ends either the death of the hero or in the absolute faille of his great struggle. In spite of the great qualities of bravery, courage and patience shown by the hero, he comes across a failure. The failure is caused because of bad luck, society, nature of chance. If we look at the novel, “The Old man and the Sea” in this context, we find it a perfect tragedy.

When the novel begins, we find the old man exposing superb qualities of bravery, courage and patience. He was not an ordinary fisherman. He possessed exceptional skills of fishing and was greatly expert in his profession. Although he was old yet he acted as a young man and faced all odds boldly. He looked very impressive as a fisherman. He showed great patience when the marlin pulled his boat for three days.

 He was not ready to accept defeat. He would prefer death to defeat. He had great determination and he even triumphed over his inner conflict with his strong determination.
After having lashed the marlin to his boat, he wanted to reach home as soon as possible. The tragedy started when the sharks attacked the marlin. He did his best and fought boldly against the sharks but he became quite helpless when the sharks attacked in a pack and reduced the marlin to a skeleton. All his great struggle had failed because of his bad luck but Santiago considered himself responsible for his failure. He thought that he should not have gone too far in the sea..It was eighty fifth day of his struggle that he had been able to hook a marlin and it was very great tragedy for him to have been deprived of the fruit of his great struggle.

Describe the relationship between Santiago and Manolin?

The relationship between Santiago and Manolin was very deep one. The young boy mandolin was the pupil of the old man and the old man had taught him the art of fishing. In spite of great difference in their ages, the two were always very happy to be together. Manolin had great affection for the old man. He was always ready to serve him in one way or the other. The old man also loved him like his own son.

The old man had been going for fishing for the last eighty-four days without any success. For the first forty days mandolin had been with him but then his parents sent him to some other boat because they thought that the old man was an unlucky person. Manolin did not like it and he still continued his relationship-p with the old man and served him a usual. When the old man came each day empty handed, the young boy helped him and encouraged him. He still wanted to work with the old man but he could not disobey his parents also. When Santiago went to sea for fishing, the boy always saw him off in the morning and waited for him in the evening.
 On the eighty fifth day, he saw him off as usual. When the old man returned after many days, he went to his shack and made all the arrangements so that the old man  should recover as soon as possible. He always encouraged him. He was not disappointed of his failure. He told him that once he  had caught a fish after eighty seven days of failure. He also told Santiago that if the world was against him, he was with him.

Santiago also loved him deeply. He had shaped up his personality and character. Manolin was now very responsible and careful young man. Although he wanted Manolin to be with him yet the old man allowed him to go away to obey his parents, command. We find him missing the young boy many a time during his struggle in the sea. It is pathetic to find him saying, “No one should be alone in the old age.”. The boy was his only company and he always missed him when he was away. He was living without wife, children, brothers, sisters and friends. Manolin was everything for him in the whole world and he was always in high spirits in his company.

What were the major interests of the fisher man Santiago?

Discuss Santiago s' hand contest with Negro?

Santiago was a fisher man and fishing was his profession which was his major interest. He was not and ordinary fisher man. He was exceptionally skilled in his profession and knew the art of fishing more than anyone else. His company with Manolin was also a great charm for him. Manoline came to him in his childhood and the old man had taught him the art of fishing Now he was a young boy.
 He respected and served the old man in every way. They had been going together for fishing for forty days but could not catch any fish. At this Manolin s’ parents shifted him to another boat saying that the old man an unlucky fellow. But the young man did not think so.
He still kept his company with the old man on the shore. Santiago s’ mind always occupied with his ideas and he constantly thought about Manolin. To be in his company and to enjoy talking to him was a great interest for the old man.

Another interest of the old man was baseball. He always talked to Manolin about baseball matches. He knew all the teams and had a perfect understanding of their performance in the game. He read the news about the baseball matches in the papers and liked to listened to commentary on the radio. Even at the sea while struggling against the marlin, he thought about the baseball and was anxious to know about the result of the baseball matches. DiMaggio was his favorite baseball player. He believed that he was the greatest champion of the game and that his team would always win. He even wanted to be as great an expert in his profession as DiMaggio was in baseball. He had great respect in his heart for DiMaggio because he believed that he was the greatest champion of baseball.

To dream about lions was another interest of the old man. Santiago had once travelled to Africa by ship in his early youth. He had seen lions moving on the shore. he had seen the lions playing like cats on the shore in the evening. In his old age, he often dreamed of these lions. They dominated his mind He always loved talking about them. He did not think about big fish, big cities, women or his wife in his old age. He only thought about lions. He loved them as he loved Manolin.

Character of Santiago

Santiago, the old fisher man is the hero of the novel, “The Old Man and the Sea”. He is rather the only character of the novel because the other character Manolin appears in the novel only in the beginning and at the end. We find only the old man dominating the whole novel.
 The old man was thin and gaunt with wrinkles in the back of his neck and brown blotches on his cheeks which went down the side of his face. His hands had deep creased scars by handling heavy fish on the cords. These scars were old and had recovered. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same colour as the sea and were cheerful and full of determination.
Santiago was considered to be an unlucky person by the local fishermen and they made fun of him when he returned with empty skiff every day but he was not disappointed. He continued making effort and believed that one day he would catch a big fish. He was an expert fisherman and knew all the techniques of fishing.

The old man was a man of strong determination. His determination is shown when he says, “Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but he cannot be defeated." He was never disappointed. Without sleep and without food, the old man struggles all alone against the marlin. He remained in the most difficult situation for two days and two nights but he was still full of determination and was eventually successful in catching a big fish.

Santiago was highly imaginative person. Being all alone in the sea he often lost in his imagination and usually talked to himself. He often thought about the young boy Manolin and wanted him to be with him. Sometimes, he thought about the baseball matches and of the great payer DiMaggio who was his favorite. He also remembered his hand wrestling contest with the negro. He dreamed about the lions moving on the sea shore at Africa.

Santiago was a great philosopher also. He first considered the killing of the marlin as a sin but then he justified it as a professional act. In the same way, he justified the killing of the sharks in self-defense.

Discuss sea as a living being? /Symbolic importance of the Sea?

In, “The Old man and the Sea” the ocean plays its role as a living being. It has its own relations with other characters of the novel. It has its own tastes, voices, atmosphere and colors. Still it treats old man rather cruelly when the sharks come out of it to eat up the huge marlin. But we cannot ignore its gentle role as well. It gives Santiago continuous supply of food in the form of tunas, shrimps, dolphins and flying fish.

 

 

 

 

No	Object	Symbol
1	Sea	Life
2	Santiago	Common Man
3	Marlin	Aim
4	Sharks	Difficulties
5	Manolin	Hope

The sea is a great source of livelihood for the fishermen. It teaches the sailors and the fishermen how to lead their lives. It also teaches the spiritual lessons to the fishermen when they need. Santiago is not a religious man but he learns his religious lessons by the oceans. He prays to God first to let the fish be baited and then release him to sufferings as well as physical pains.
The ocean has its own rules and regulations like the characteristics of a man. Its world is full of weeds, fishes, turtles, gulls, and clouds. It is a different universe where large creature eats up the small one. Still man rules supreme there. It is oblivious that the old man is not defeated by the ocean but by his own fault that he went too far out in the sea.

Santiago as a Code Hero

A code hero is a person who follows a system or code of life in his role as a hero. He displays the qualities of courage dignity honor, dedication, and endurance. Such heroes fight against corruption and disorder in life. They spend their life according to some system or order. They fight against the awkwardness of the world and try to put an order in it.

Santiago is Hemingway's code hero. He illustrates the values of life that Hemingway cherished and glorified all his life. Santiago may become old and weak. He has bad luck, but he continues to show courage till the end of his fight with evil forces. Life offers many opportunities for success and defeat. It is an odd mixture of pleasure and pain. In human life, there are many forms of both marlin and sharks. Much is to be endured but a little is to be enjoyed. To live life in itself is a success and a rewarding experience.

Santiago is a humble fisherman. He is the best fisherman. The boy Manolin has great confidence in his skill and craftsmanship. He is devoted to his work and follows the rules of discipline. He shows his heroic qualities in everything. He has not performed anything extraordinary related to war, love death. He relies on his own resources. He is alone and goes into the sea to a place that is far away from safe fishing. His fight with the fish marlin and against the sharks reveals his strength and his will to overcome the odds of life. He does not lose heart at his defeat He remains heroic and courageous till the last moment of his life.

Character sketch of Manolin.

Manolin is the devoted pupil of Santiago. He has learnt the art of fishing from Santiago. He has been with him since the age of fie. Manolin comes every morning to Santiago but is pained to see him without fish. He pities the Old Man for his luck. He considers the Old Man a complete and experienced fisherman. He has complete faith in the experience and skill of the Old Man. When at the end of the novel, the Old Man tells the boy "They beat me, Manolin.... They truly beat me." The boy does not believe that. He replies with complete confidence. He did not beat you. No the fish” and Santiago has to correct himself “No, truly afterwards.” 

The boy tells Santiago that he has to learn a lot from him. "I can learn and you can teach me everything." Manolin loves the old man sincerely and selflessly. It is not only a disciple - teacher relationship but a son-father relationship. He is very helpful to the Old Man. He brings sardines for the Old Man so that he may make baits for the fish. He helps him in carrying his lines, gaff and harpoon. He provides the Old Man food, medicine and clothes.

The boy is greatly moved at the exhausted condition of the Old Man. He declares "Now we fish together again". He is greatly worried at his weakness and fatigue. He finds his hands badly bruised. He begins to cry. He goes to the restaurant to bring good and coffee for the Old Man. He tells the fishermen that the Old Man was sleeping and they should not disturb him. The Old Man is also in love with him. He thinks of the boy a number of times during his fish expedition. The boy is the symbol of Santiago's youthful strength. The constantly reminds Santiago of his youth, courage and bravely The Old Man datives much consolation from the thoughts of the old boy.

Discuss the old man and the sea as a tragedy.

The Old Man and The Sea is a tragedy. The Old Man stands undefeated in his fight with the sharks and the fish. He is physically exhausted and weak. He has suffered a lot during the course of his adventure. His sorrows and sufferings are endless. These sorrows make him a tragic character and he wins our sympathy. 

At the end of the novel, when we take into account the heroic adventure and sorrows and pains of the Old Man, we pity his tragic figure. The tragedy is defined as a tale of sorrows and sufferings in which the hero shows the highest qualities of patience. courage and sacrifice. But he also suffers from some handicaps which becomes a cause of his downfall. 

The Old Man and the sea fulfill most of the criterion of a tragedy. Santiago is heroic in his character as well as in his achievement. He is noble, brave, patient and romantic. They boy Manolin calls him the best fisherman. Santiago calls himself 'a strange Old Man' with strength and resolution to catch a big fish. He is a true hero due to his courage and boldness. He exposes himself to the risks of defeat and death. He rows beyond the 'ordinary fish areas and hooks a huge marlin'. He shows his strong will and courage 'I will stay with you until I am dead'. 

Like all tragic heroes, Santiago suffers from a tragic flaw. After he kills the Marlin, he is visited by remorse. He asks himself if he has committed a sin by hitting the fish. He consoles himself by saying that 'everybody kills everybody'. But his answer does not satisfy him. He knows that he has killed the Marlin in order to feed people and keep his name alive. Like all tragic heroes, he is also responsible for his downfall. He felt sorry for going too far out.  

Hemingway suggests that the Old Man has overstepped the limits of his physical and mental powers. He is alone on the boat. He is an Old Man. He is weak and exhausted. He must have known that he cannot be a match for the fish and sharks. His tragedy is surely the result of his pride-and individualism.

Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen Summary

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Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Johan Ibsen Norwegian  was a
Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playwrights of his time

Born: 20 March 1828 – Died: 23 May 1906

Short Summary

Hedda Gabler and her new husband, George Tesman, return from their six-month honeymoon to their new house. We soon learn that Hedda, the daughter of an esteemed general, deigned to marry Tesman only because she had reached the age at which society dictated, she should wed. Hedda, not even a year into her marriage, is showing signs of boredom with Tesman even though she's pregnant with his child.

Tesman's Aunt Julia is there to welcome them home. Hedda is quite rude to the older woman, so Julia leaves quickly. After her departure, Mrs. Elvsted arrives to let the Tesmans know that Eilert Lovborg, Tesman's academic opponent, has returned to town after having fallen into alcoholism and taken two years to achieve sobriety and return to society. Mrs. Elvsted hints to Hedda that she truly loves Lovborg, and doesn't care about her husband anymore - but that she's worried that Lovborg's return to the city will mean that he'll start drinking again.

Judge Brack arrives as soon as Mrs. Elvsted leaves, and lets the Tesmans know that Lovborg has been greeted warmly, and that his new book has been a major success. Indeed, Brack tells Tesman that the professorship he's been expecting might go to Lovborg instead. Privately, Hedda tells Brack that she cares little for her new husband, and that she hopes that the Judge might be able to somehow entertain her during these dull years of marriage. She agrees that Brack will be part of their "triangle" - a relationship that won't necessarily involve explicit adultery, but will provide her with some much-needed companionship.

Tesman returns to the room and says that he's going the stag party that the Judge is holding later that night. Eilert Lovborg soon arrives, and privately confesses his long-held love for Hedda. Once upon a time, they used to be friends, but Lovborg got "too close" and Hedda cut off ties with him - even, at one point, threatening to shoot him. Now he hopes to at least restart a friendship. Mrs. Evlsted arrives, and Hedda mischievously uses the information she has from both parties to pit the two against one another. She makes Mrs. Elvsted look like a fool for having worried that Lovborg would suddenly start drinking again. In retaliation, Lovborg decides to follow Tesman and Brack to their stag party, clutching the pages of the handwritten manuscript for his "revelatory" new book about the future.

Hedda and Mrs. Elvsted wait all night for the men to return, but Tesman doesn't arrive until morning. He is carrying Lovborg's manuscript, which he says the scholar dropped in a fit of late-night drunkenness. Tesman leaves the manuscript with Hedda while he goes out to visit a dying relative, and in the meanwhile, Judge Brack arrives to tell the women that Lovborg got into trouble with the police the night before after assaulting a group of women whom he said took his manuscript.

Lovborg soon arrives and tells Hedda and Mrs. Elvsted that he didn't lose the manuscript, but rather tore it into a thousand pieces. Mrs. Elvsted leaves, devastated that Lovborg has become so self-destructive. Just before leaving, however, Lovborg tells Hedda that he did in fact lose the manuscript. Hedda, who possesses the manuscript herself, says nothing about it, but rather encourages him to follow through on his thoughts of suicide, handing him one of her father's pistols. Lovborg leaves, and Hedda burns the manuscript.

Mrs. Elvsted arrives that night and tells the Tesmans that Lovborg is missing and is rumored to be in the hospital. Brack arrives to confirm the reports that Lovborg has died of a bullet wound to the chest. While Mrs. Elvsted and Tesman sit in the living room trying to reconstruct his manuscript from the notes Mrs. Elvsted possesses, Brack privately tells Hedda that Lovborg did not kill himself, but rather died from a wound inflicted to the bowels - either the result of an accident or someone else's fire. Brack tells Hedda that either she must account for the pistol being hers, or do whatever he tells her to, as only he can keep her from falling into the police's hands or suffering through a public scandal. Realizing that she is now in Brack's power, Hedda goes into the next room and shoots herself.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelly Main Idea Reference Context Explanation

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   OZYMANDIAS  

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views.

Born: Born: August 4, 1792, Horsham, United Kingdom

Died: July 8, 1822, Lerici, Italy

Main Idea: Ozymandias is a sonnet. The central theme of Ozymandias is the inevitable (unavoidable) ruin of leaders and empires. The message is that all leaders and the empires they build will always end up as nothing, however mighty they are. The name Ozymandias comes from a transliteration into Greek of the throne name of Ramesses II.

Stanza no:1              I met a traveler………………the heart that fed.           

Reference: These lines have been taken from the sonnet “Ozymandias” written by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Context: This poem deals with the feelings of pride and superiority of King Ozymandias. He was cruel. Yet he faced a tragic fate. His statue shows the devastation and hopelessness. It is revealing the truth that pride hath a fall. When a man gets power, he becomes proud, merciless and cruel. He enjoys the luxuries of life and forgets his end. The poet has conveyed the idea that the feelings of superiority in a man are only self-deception. The reality is death.

Explanation: In these lines, the poet tells that he met a traveler from an old and deserted land. The traveler told him that he saw two big legs standing in the desert. The two huge legs, which were made of stone, were standing without the upper part of the body. The other part of the statue lay nearby. The arms and the face were broken and it was in a miserable condition. It was half sunk into the sand. The sand and dust covered the body. Yet the signs of displeasure and expressions of ruthlessness and pride could be noticed on the face of the sculpture.

The poet says that the skillful hands of the sculptor had left the accurate expression of the man into his sculptor. The expression of aggression, power, and pride was even obvious on the lifeless body of the King. The poet has tried to explain that immorality has a permanent impression on our body as well as on our soul. So, it cannot be erased even we pass away.

Stanza no; 2   And on the pedestal……………..stretch far away.

Explanation: In these lines, the poet has described what we can call the message of the poem. As the traveler continues to describe what he saw in the desert, he says that there were some texts written in the base of the statue. It read as

 My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

It tells that the name of the king was Ozymandias. He was the most powerful king. He ordered the kings to see his statue and feel belittled. But the tragedy is that now nothing remains except a lifeless statue of the king. The huge statue itself tells about the glory of the king. But now this huge and splendid statue has fallen the victim of nature. The broken pieces of the statue are being vanished in the sand. The sand is stretching far away and the statue of King Ozymandias is getting a thick layer of sand on it. It cannot be seen anywhere.

Education for Women Islam and Female Education Importance of Women Education

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Education for Women

The picture that this world presents,

From woman gets its tints and scents.  (Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal)

 

Importance of women education is obvious to everyone. Education of women is necessary for a society in many ways. First, an educated woman can educate children in a better way compared to uneducated woman. She can understand the difficulties coming to students in seeking education. Secondly educated woman brings up the children with more care than uneducated woman.

Moreover, education gives power to woman to decide about her life and life style. She knows how she can raise her voice for her rights in the world. If we look at the success of the advanced countries, that is only because of their education system. They take education seriously, of men and women equally. But the situation in Pakistan is totally reversed. People take education necessary for men not for women.

The situation in Pakistan regarding women education is not satisfying. According to Pakistan Social and Living Measurement survey 2008 - 2009 the literacy rate of women was only 45%. It is very disappointing as compared to any other developing country. The situation is alarming specially in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There are some problems occurring in the way of female education in Pakistan. Some people consider female education against religion so they do not let their daughters get education. In some areas of Pakistan, extremism has badly affected female education. Many girls’ schools were destroyed in the wave of extremism in the country. Lack of knowledge about the importance of education is another obstruction. People don't consider education important for women. In some areas of Pakistan, culture does not allow woman to seek education. For example, in the tribal areas of Pakistan, women are not allowed to develop their human capabilities by precluding them from acquiring education.

Islam has always stressed upon the attaining of knowledge. Knowledge is one of basic pillars on which the building of Islam is raised. There are more than five hundred verses in Holy Quran which highlight the importance of seeking knowledge.

In Pakistan many organizations are working for the development of female education. In government sector Federal and Provincial ministries are active to develop female education. Some schemes are being evolved in girls' schools to persuade girls to seek knowledge. Some non-government organizations are also arranging seminars in order to make people aware about the importance of female education in Pakistan.

The situation can be improved if every individual plays positive role with responsibility. Teachers students, religious leaders, scholars, government and non-government organizations can make it better if they know and fulfil their responsibilities.

 

Bacon's Essays Sir Francis Bacon Quotes Essays Critical Analysis

House of English is a collection of Best English Notes. The focus of this blog to fulfill the educational needs of Students of 9th English, 10th English, 11th English, 12th English, ADP/B.Sc English, ADP/B.A English and M.A English.

BACON’S ESSAYS

SIR FRANCIS BACON

Sir Francis Bacon (later Lord Verulam, the Viscount St. Albans, and Lord Chancellor of England) was born in London in 1561 to a prominent and well-connected family. His parents were Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the Seal.it has also been said by some critics that he was an illegitimate son of the Queen Elizabeth. Bacon was educated at home at the family estate at Gorhambury in Herfordshire. In 1573, at the age of just twelve, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1576 Bacon began reading law at Gray’s Inn. Bacon completed his law degree in 1582, and in 1588 he was named lecturer in legal studies at Gray’s Inn. In the meantime, he was elected to Parliament in 1584 as a member for Melcombe in Dorsetshire. He would remain in Parliament as a representative for various constituencies for the next 36 years. During the last five years of his life Bacon devoted himself to science and literature with amazing memory.it was during this period that the best of his works were written.

He caught a chill , while experimenting with a fowl to see it could be preserved if stuffed with ice. This caused his death on April 9^th 1962. Thus he sacrificed his life for the sake of science.  

 In his essays Bacon considers wisdom an goodness in action rather than in theory. The tree is known by its fruit. The rightness of an action is known by its effects. Numerous instances of Bacon’s worldly mindedness can be given from his essays.

Bacon’s essays are a treasure house of what is called worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom means the kind of wisdom that is necessary for achieving worldly success. Worldly wisdom does not imply any deep philosophy.  It simply means the art or the technique that a man should employ to achieve success in life.   “ Of Friendship , Of Truth , Of Great Place , Of Studies , Of Marriage and Single Life “  are the famous examples of Bacon’s essays.    

 

1. Of Studies

 

1-      Studies serve for delight, for ornament and for ability. 

2-      To spend too much time in studies is sloth. (laziness)

3-      Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them and wise men use them.

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

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

This is one of Bacon’s popular essays. Bacon gives sound and solid ideas regarding the uses and the limitations of studies.

Studies serve us in three main aspects. First it serve us for delight, second it serves us for ornament (decorating conversation) , third for ability. To spend too much time in studies is laziness of mind. Study helps us to overcome the deficiencies he has by nature. It moulds or gives a proper shape to our natural abilities. Cunning man looks down upon studies as useless. Simple men admire studies , wise men use it in practical life. One should read carefully and try to pick/follow good tings. One should not only depend upon the books , some books are read only by parts, some to be swallowed and only a few books are to be chewed/ should be read carefully.

Reading develops our personality, conversation makes us witty , and writing makes exact / perfect in thinking and talking. As exercise cures us from various physical defects , similarly study cures us from mental defects.

Bacon says that the knowledge gained by the books is not enough, unless we give it a practical shape i.e. we use it our daily life remedies are also suggested for numerous mental defects.         

                                                                                                                                   

   2. Of Parents And Children

 

1-      The joys of the parents are secret, so are their griefs and sorrows, they cannot utter the one, no they will not utter the second.

2-      A wise son rejoiceth the father , but an ungracious son shams the mother.

3-      Choose the best , custom will make it agreeable and easy.

4-      Children sweeten the labour , but they make misfortune more bitter, they increase the cares of life but they mitigate the remembrance of death. 

This essay belongs to the category in which Bacon views man in relation to the world and society. The subject is of common interest. This essays reveals the keen insight of Bacon. The essay carries a remarkable style. The sentences are loaded with meanings.

Parents cannot share their joys to their children for it will be improper to do so. In this way they donor like to express their sorrows , because it would make their children unhappy. Children are a source of joy and happiness for their parents and make their work more pleasant and joyful. But there are some disadvantages of heaving children. Children increase the cares of life and make misfortune more bitter. Childless man do more noble deeds than those who have children. It is natural that every one wants to perpetuate his memory. As childless man has no image of his body (children) , so they do noble deeds to perpetuate themselves after their death. Bacon advises the parents not to give preference any child over others. They should make no distinction between their several children. Bacon wants the parents , teachers and servants not to create the spirit of competition among the brothers in their childhood. It would lead them to disturbance in their youth.

Parents should make distinction between their children and the children of their relatives. Parents should not delay in choosing the profession of their children. They should decide about their profession at an early age , when the minds of children are flexible. Do not worry about the choice , taste and liking would develop with habit and practice. When the younger brothers are disinherited , younger brothers achieve much. But when elder is disinherited , then the younger brother has no passion to achieve much.

This essay is full of aphorism and witty ideas. It has the famous Baconian style.  

 

 

 

3. Of Revenge

1-      Certainly in taking revenge a man is , but even with his enemy, but in passing it over it is superior, for it is prince’s part to pardon.

2-      It is the glory of a man to pass by an offence.

3-      A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green which otherwise would heal and do well.

4-      You should read that we are commanded to forgive our enemies but you read that we are commanded to forgive our friends.

This essay has a compact style. It has  the aphoristic quality. According to Bacon revenge cannot be tolerated because it is a kind of wild justice. It is unbecoming for a civilized person to take revenge. One who takes revenge puts the law out of office. And it is the function of law to punish the wrong doers. It is better  for a man to forgive his enemy who has harmed him. In this way , he would be superior to his enemy. It is not wise to think of taking revenge. What is done cannot be undone. Revenge will not be able to right the wrong that has already been done. Wise man think only for the present and the future. Moreover it should eb remembered that man harms others for two reasons. First , he harms others to get some advantage. Secondly , a man harms others due to his ill nature. He feels pleasure in harming others. So, for the first case , there is no reason to take revenge, because a man harms others only because he loves himself better than others.

In the second case , a man harms others because of his ill nature, as he feels pleasure in doing this. So we should neglect / ignore this just like a throne that pricks us in the way and we ignore it / we should ignore the wrong doer as we ignore the thrones.

Revenge is tolerable only for those wrongs for which there is no legal remedy. But the avenger should eb cautious. Because, he is facing two enemies at the same time.  One is the enemy and second is the law.

Those who take revenge desire that the concerned party should know that the revenge has been taken. This shows that they take delight not in hurting their enemies but in making their enemy repent. However such people are better than those mean people who stab in the dark. Wrongs done by the friends are more dangerous than the enemies. But as we take good and evil at the God’s hands , so we should also accept the evils at the hands of friends as we accept their goodness. So, we should forgive our friends as well. One who thinks for revenge harms only himself, because he keeps his wounds green by his thinking. He should forgive his enemies. In this way he will forget the pain he got from his enemy.

Public revenges are tolerable / fruitful. Private revenges are hateful.    

 

4. OF FRIENDSHIP

 

1.      “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.”

2.      “A big city is a big solitude.”

3.      “For there is no man who imparteth his joys to his friend and he joyeth the more , and no man who imparteth his griefs to his friend but he grieveth the less.”

4.      “ That a friend is another himself.”

5.      “ A man cannot speak to his son but as a father , to his wife but as a husband , to his enemy but upon terms; whereas to his friend he may speak as the case requires.”

Critical summary

This essay has been written in famous Baconian style. There are aphoristic sayings of Bacon which have gained the importance of proverbs. Bacon is of the view that it is only for our profit and usefulness that we seek friendship.

In this essay Bacon stresses the profit and advantages, a man receives from a friend. Never for a moment he talks about what a friend gives to a friend. According to Bacon , “ If we lead a life of solitude what is without the companionship of a friend then it is due to our beastly nature or we are just like gods.”

To live without a friend is irrational. So Bacon has rightly said that a friendless man is either a beast or a god. A friendless person is as lonely in the crowd as he is lonely in the desert. The great advantage of a friend is to relieve the heart from the burden. Friendship is like a medicine which cures different problems. A friend multiplies the joys and lessens the sorrows. So it has double blessing. Thus friendship works as a medicine upon man’s mind.

The union of two hearts increases joys. The grieve is lightened and violent impressions are calm down. The sincere advise of a friend is useful in business also. Friendship is an aid in all actions and occasions. There are many things which a man cannot do himself and in this a friend is quiet helpful. A friend can speak to his friend in any capacity.

Kings and great man also need the companionship of friends. They have often sought friends from the numerous walks of life.

Bacon in his natural style gives us the advantages of friendship.     

 

5-      Of Simulation and Dissimulation

 

1-      Therefore it is the weaker sort of politicians that are the greatest dissemblers.

2-      Besides , nakedness is uncomely as well in mind as in mind.

Simulation means “ pretending to be something which one is not. Dissimulation means “ concealment of what is existing. It pretending not to be what one is in reality. This essay is full of worldly wisdom. Bacon as a man of world . is full  of practical wisdom. According to Bacon , the practice of dissimulation is followed by the weak man, for, the strong minds and hearts have the power to tell the truth and actually as the situation demands. A man with penetrating judgments knows what to reveal and what to conceal. To such a man dissimulation is a disadvantage. If a man lacks this clear insight , his only alternative is to dissemble. According to Bacon a wise man knows and he can see clearly what things be laid open and what to be hidden.

Bacon is also in favour of simulation. Sometimes a msn has to pretend to be what he is not. It means that Bacon allows hypocritical attitude in human affairs. In Bacon’s philosophy simulation and dissimulation go side by side. He also says that there are certain advantages and disadvantages of Simulation and Dissimulation.

Advantages:

1-      It keeps the opposing unprepared and they can easily be surprised at the proper moment.

2-      It enables man to have a fair retreat (shelter) if he finds that his aim cannot be achieved.

3-      Through a concealment of one’s own intentions , one can easily know the truth about others.

 

Disadvantages:

1-      They are the signs of fear an flack of confidence.

2-      It might puzzle many people who might otherwise co-operate with a man.

3-      A man using these methods will be regarded with trust.

We can conclude that according to Bacon, a man should be straight forward by reputation. He should employ secrecy, use dissimulation only when necessary.

The style of this essay is usual Baconian style, full of compact and condensed sentences. There are quotations and allusion which strengthens his (Bacon’s) ideas. A number of sentences are quotable as proverbs. But the most striking quality of this essay is the realistic and practical attitude towards life rather than the style.

 

6.      OF ADVERSITY

 

1.The good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished but the good things which belong to adversity are to be admired.

2.Certainly if miracles be the command over nature, they certainly appear most in adversity.

3.The virtue of prosperity is temperance , the virtue of adversity is fortitude.

4.Prosperity is not with out many fears an adversity is not without comforts and hopes.

5.Certainly virtue is like precious odours , most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.

Summary

This is very thought provoking essay. It is a comparative study of prosperity and adversity in life. Generally , we love prosperity. But Bacon says that adversity has its own virtues. In this essay Bacon quote Seneca , the famous Roman philosopher , that the good thing that belong to the adversity are to be admitted more than those that belong to prosperity. Bacon says that adversity teaches us fortitude , the OLD TESTAMENT promises us prosperity. But the NEW TESTAMENT prepares us to wecome the life of trials and adversity with faith and with fortitude. Prosperity sows the seeds of vice. Whereas adversity engenders virtue. This essay has been written in the famous Baconian style. It is replete with witty and aphoristic sayings.   

 

7.      Of  Death

 

1. Men fear death , as children fear to go in the dark and as the natural fear in children is increased with talks , so is the other.
2. The accompaniment of death frighten more than death itself.
3. Groans and convulsions and a discoloured face ; and friends weeping , shew death terrible.

Analysis

This essay deals with an important topic. Bacon uses aphoristic sayings to describe the effects of death. He discussed that there are several factors on account of which man fears death.

The first and the most important of them is the ignorance as to hat happens after death. Death is certainly , an end to worldly life. But what happens to human soul after death is a fearful mystery.

Secondly , books of religion and legendary stories have given very horrible account of hellish tortures , the human soul is subjected to after death in the unknown world.

Thirdly very frightened accounts are given on the actual process of death.

Fourthly the scene around the dieing person is usually so fearful and dismal that the very thought of it chills the blood. Bacon is of the view that revenge , love , honour , grief and passion for a martyrdom are strong than the fear of death. There are many examples in the history , when men have boldly and cheerfully embraced the death.

Bacon gives a reference of stoics. The stoics use to spend , the whole life in preparing themselves for death.

Bacon says that death is a natural process and nothing more. A good man is loved and admired more after the death than in his life.

This essay is written in  famous Baconian style. 

 

8. Of  Truth

 

1. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl that showeth best by day.
2. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
3. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind but the lie that sinketh and settleth in the heart.
4. For a lie face God and shrinks from man. 

 

Critical Analysis

This essay has been written in the famous Baconian style. Here Bacon discusses the theological and philosophical aspect of truth in man’s life. According to Bacon , it is not easy to tell about the nature of the truth. He tells that truth is the sun which reveals and shows the true nature of the things. He compares the truth with the day light and falsehood with the darkness of the night which conceals everything.

Bacon says that if in gold coin some base or inferior matle is mixed , the coin becomes useful and solid. If copper is mixed with gold then the  ornaments become more durable. It is true that such a mixture of the falsehood debases truth but this debasement is sometime necessary and useful in day to day dealing of life.

However , Bacon is of the view that the greatest gift of God to man is the illumination of truth. At the end he says that truth should be the axis of life.  

 

9. OF SUPERSTITION

 

1. It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such an opinion as if unworthy of God.

 

This essay deals with superstitious ideas, commonly superstition means an idea or practice found on an unreasoning belief in magic , witchcraft.

Bacon uses it in the sense of an irrational religious belief. Bacon’s idea is that, it is better to have no opinion about God than to have a wrong one. The Roman Catholics, who have wrong idea of God, are there for superstitious. This is insult of God.

Bacon here gives reference of Pultrach who was a Greek philosopher in 1st century A.D. who said that he would not be much hurt people say that there was no person as Pultrach , but he would be hurt if people will relate wrong actions about him.

Bacon says the superstitious person decides to do certain thing than fine reason to justify their deeds.

This essay has been written in an aphoristic style.                           

 

 

OF ADVERSITY

 

1. The good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished but the good things which belong to adversity are to be admired.
2. Certainly if miracles be the command over nature, they certainly appear most in adversity.
3. The virtue of prosperity is temperance , the virtue of adversity is fortitude.
4. Prosperity is not with out many fears an adversity is not without comforts and hopes.
5. Certainly virtue is like precious odours , most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.

Summary

This is very thought provoking essay. It is a comparative study of prosperity and adversity in life. Generally , we love prosperity. But Bacon says that adversity has its own virtues. In this essay Bacon quote Seneca , the famous Roman philosopher , that the good thing that belong to the adversity are to be admitted more than those that belong to prosperity. Bacon says that adversity teaches us fortitude , the OLD TESTAMENT promises us prosperity. But the NEW TESTAMENT prepares us to wecome the life of trials and adversity with faith and with fortitude. Prosperity sows the seeds of vice. Whereas adversity engenders virtue. This essay has been written in the famous Baconian style. It is replete with witty and aphoristic sayings.   
 

OF AMBITION

 

1. Ambition makes a man energetic and active, If it is not thwarted. But if it is stopped then it can cause a lot of harm.
2. Ambitious men should be treated carefully.
3. In war time a good general must be employed even if he is very ambitious.
4. Ambitious persons can be used to form protective screen for kings.
5. Ambitious men can be used as tools to dislodge those who have grown too powerful.

This essay has been written in the famous Baconian style. It has aphoristic and witty sayings. Bacon says that ambitious persons become dangerous when their wished are thwarted. Bacon is of the view that such persons should not be employed except on the grounds of urgency (need / importance). An ambitious person may be trouble some , if he is perverted from perusing his aim , he will prove to be harmful to others. Bacon says that such person should be handled carefully. The king should not employ such ambitious man as it is very difficult to handle them.

As worldly wisdom is very common in Bacon essays , we find a lot of quotations which appeal the worldly wisdom. Bacon advises us that there are certain circumstances when ambitious person can be used as a cover when the king wants to under take. But here one should be very careful even in this case the ambitious person should be kept under check. For this purpose persons from the low family are better.

In this essay Bacon provides u ssome important points regarding ambitions and ambitious persons. In this essay we come to know that Bacon has a deep knowledge of human nature and state affairs. This essay has been written in aphoristic style.      

 

Of  Death

 

1. Men fear death , as children fear to go in the dark and as the natural fear in children is increased with talks , so is the other.
2. The accompaniment of death frighten more than death itself.
3. Groans and convulsions and a discoloured face ; and friends weeping , shew death terrible.

Analysis

This essay deals with an important topic. Bacon uses aphoristic sayings to describe the effects of death. He discussed that there are several factors on account of which man fears death.

The first and the most important of them is the ignorance as to hat happens after death. Death is certainly , an end to worldly life. But what happens to human soul after death is a fearful mystery.

Secondly , books of religion and legendary stories have given very horrible account of hellish tortures , the human soul is subjected to after death in the unknown world.

Thirdly very frightened accounts are given on the actual process of death.

Fourthly the scene around the dieing person is usually so fearful and dismal that the very thought of it chills the blood. Bacon is of the view that revenge , love , honour , grief and passion for a martyrdom are strong than the fear of death. There are many examples in the history , when men have boldly and cheerfully embraced the death.

Bacon gives a reference of stoics. The stoics use to spend , the whole life in preparing themselves for death.

Bacon says that death is a natural process and nothing more. A good man is loved and admired more after the death than in his life.

This essay is written in  famous Baconian style. 

  

 

  

OF FRIENDSHIP

 

1.      “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.”

2.      “A big city is a big solitude.”

3.      “For there is no man who imparteth his joys to his friend and he joyeth the more , and no man who imparteth his griefs to his friend but he grieveth the less.”

4.      “ That a friend is another himself.”

5.      “ A man cannot speak to his son but as a father , to his wife but as a husband , to his enemy but upon terms; whereas to his friend he may speak as the case requires.”

Critical summary

This essay has been written in famous Baconian style. There are aphoristic sayings of Bacon which have gained the importance of proverbs. Bacon is of the view that it is only for our profit and usefulness that we seek friendship.

In this essay Bacon stresses the profit and advantages, a man receives from a friend. Never for a moment he talks about what a friend gives to a friend. According to Bacon , “ If we lead a life of solitude what is without the companionship of a friend then it is due to our beastly nature or we are just like gods.”

To live without a friend is irrational. So Bacon has rightly said that a friendless man is either a beast or a god. A friendless person is as lonely in the crowd as he is lonely in the desert. The great advantage of a friend is to relieve the heart from the burden. Friendship is like a medicine which cures different problems. A friend multiplies the joys and lessens the sorrows. So it has double blessing. Thus friendship works as a medicine upon man’s mind.

The union of two hearts increases joys. The grieve is lightened and violent impressions are calm down. The sincere advise of a friend is useful in business also. Friendship is an aid in all actions and occasions. There are many things which a man cannot do himself and in this a friend is quiet helpful. A friend can speak to his friend in any capacity.

Kings and great man also need the companionship of friends. They have often sought friends from the numerous walks of life.

Bacon in his natural style gives us the advantages of friendship.  

  

OF NOBILITY

1. A monarchy where there is no nobility at all is ever a pure and absolute tyranny.
2. A Great and potent nobility addeth majesty to a monarch but diminisheth power.

This is a short and beautiful essay which carries aphoristic sayings. Bacon says that nobility keeps proper balance of power and promotes and atmosphere of good will and understanding. Nobility is equally needed in monarchy as well as in democracy.

Bacon considers nobility from two points of view , public and private. If nobility is absent then there will be absolute tyranny. Bacon says that in democracy men are not judges by their personalities but by their actions. Therefore in democracy there is even more need of nobility. As far as the nobility of an individual is concerned , it enhances the value and respect of an individual as well as public. It promotes virtues and a sense of respect. Bacon also suggests that the king should appoint member of noble families to the offices of power and authority.  

 

 

OF SUPERSTITION

 

1. It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such an opinion as if unworthy of God.

 

This essay deals with superstitious ideas, commonly superstition means an idea or practice found on an unreasoning belief in magic , witchcraft.

Bacon uses it in the sense of an irrational religious belief. Bacon’s idea is that, it is better to have no opinion about God than to have a wrong one. The Roman Catholics, who have wrong idea of God, are there for superstitious. This is insult of God.

Bacon here gives reference of Pultrach who was a Greek philosopher in 1st century A.D. who said that he would not be much hurt people say that there was no person as Pultrach , but he would be hurt if people will relate wrong actions about him.

Bacon says the superstitious person decides to do certain thing than fine reason to justify their deeds.

This essay has been written in an aphoristic style.                           

 

Of  Truth

 

1. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl that showeth best by day.
2. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
3. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind but the lie that sinketh and settleth in the heart.
4. For a lie face God and shrinks from man. 

 

Critical Analysis

This essay has been written in the famous Baconian style. Here Bacon discusses the theological and philosophical aspect of truth in man’s life. According to Bacon , it is not easy to tell about the nature of the truth. He tells that truth is the sun which reveals and shows the true nature of the things. He compares the truth with the day light and falsehood with the darkness of the night which conceals everything.

Bacon says that if in gold coin some base or inferior metal is mixed , the coin becomes useful and solid. If copper is mixed with gold then the  ornaments become more durable. It is true that such a mixture of the falsehood debases truth but this debasement is sometime necessary and useful in day to day dealing of life.

However , Bacon is of the view that the greatest gift of God to man is the illumination of truth. At the end he says that truth should be the axis of life.   

 

Bacon’s Contribution to The Development of English Prose

 

Bacon made a valuable contribution to the development of English prose. Bacon did really great things in this sphere. When alliteration (the beginning of two or more words with the same letter) . antithesis ( exact , opposite) , similes , were the order of the day in English prose , Bacon showed that English was as capable as the classical languages of serving the highest purposes. He proved that it was possible in English also , to express the subtleties ( delicate things) of thought in clear, straight forward and uninvolved sentences and when necessary , to condense the greatest amount of meanings into the fewest possible words. Bacon gave us the way i.e.. how to express / convey an idea in the possible words.

Aristotle defines a good prose style in his poetics, “Good prose style will reveal its quality both in style and in its arrangement.” The primary virtue of a good prose style is clearness. But clearness in not everything ; it should have some distinction. It must be natural, rising and falling with to the subject. Such was the criterion / standard set by Aristotle for a good prose style. Bacon, consciously or unconsciously, confirms to this to a very measure. Bacon has a distinct style that is the characteristic of its age. It has , indeed , been attempted by different critics , to show that he had more than one style; but this does to come to much more than saying that eh wrote a considerable number of different subjects , and like a reasonable man he varied expression to suit them.   

Contribution to the development of English Prose

Bacon shows himself in his essays as an accomplished rhetorician ( a skilled and effective speaker / writer). He made for himself a style which was unmatchable for pith and pregnancy in the conveyance of his thoughts. “ When the bulk of English Prose was being written in lose sentences of great length , then he supplied us the idea , how to convey the thoughts in the minimum possible words.” He rejected the conceits. Bacon knew very well, how to illumine his thoughts with the suitable figure of speech and give to it an imaginative glow and charm on the occasion.

For the students of expression, Bacon’s essays are of endless interest and profit. The more one reads them, the more remarkable seems their compactness. They shock the sluggish attention of the reader to wakefulness as if by an electric current.  Though they may sometime fail to nourish yet they never fail to stimulate. Emerson is the one modern writer with whom Bacon may fairly be compared, for their method is much the same. Comparing bacon with his predecessors (Sydney, Lyly), it will be seen how wisely he departs from the prolix (long) methods of the say. In rhetorical power , musical condense , quaint turns of speech , he is equal by many of his contemporaries , excelled by a few ; but for a clear , terse , easy writing , he has no peer save Ben Johnson, and even today his essays are the models of lucid prose.

The essays of Bacon have to be read slowly and thoughtfully, not because the style is obscure but because they are extremely condensed. The grammatical structure is sometimes lose but it is rarely ambiguous with shortness also cam flexibility. Terseness of expression and epigrammatic brevity are the most striking qualities of Bacon’s style in his essays. Bacon’s style is most remarkable for its terseness bacon displays a great talent for condensation. Every sentence in his essays is pregnant with meanings. And is capable of being expanded into many sentences. Bacon possessed an ability to express the weighty, deep and profound thoughts with an economy of language. It is this ability that makes most of his sentences read like proverbs and maxims. An aphoristic style means a compact, condensed and epigrammatic style of writing. An aphorism is a short sentence expressing the truth in the fewest possible words. This aphoristic style enriches most of Bacon’s essays and this is his most important contribution to the development of English Prose. Here are some examples of his aphoristic style.

“For a crowd is not a company and faces are but a gallery of pictures.”  (Of Friendship)

“Those who want friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their heart. “(Of Friendship)

“Whosoever is delighted in solitude s either a wild beast or a god.”  (Of Friendship)    

Similarly the essay “Of Great Place” is replete with the aphoristic sayings.

“Man in great place is thrice servants; servants of eth sovereign or state, servants of fame and servants of business.”

“It is strange power to seek power over others and to lose power over a man’s self.”

“Certainly men in great fortune are strangers to themselves.”

Then the essay “Of Studies” is written in the famous Baconian style. 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.

 This essay is also replete with the aphoristic sayings which have got the importance of proverbs and maxims.

“Studies serve for delight, for ornament and ability.”

“To spend too much time in studies is sloth.”

“Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them and wise men use them.”

“Reading market a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man.”

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

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.”

“It is glory of a man to pass by an offence.”

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 was, definitely, a worldly wise man. He was the wisest and the meanest of mankind. He was truly of Renaissance; the age of accumulating knowledge, wealth and power. Being a true follower of Machiavellian principles, he led his life for worldly success. He was a man of shrewd and sagacious intellect with his eyes fixed on the main chance. And what he preached in his essays was also the knowledge, needed for worldly success.

 

There is no doubt that Bacon’s essays are a treasure house of worldly wisdom. The term worldly wisdom means a wisdom which is necessary for worldly success. It does not need any deep philosophy or any ideal morality. But Bacon was a man of high wisdom, as he himself pronounced, “I have taken all knowledge to be my province”. Bacon also preached morality but his morality is subordinate to worldly success and he never hesitated to sacrifice it for worldly benefit. His essays are rich with the art which a man should employ for achieving success in his life, such as shrewdness, sagacity, tact, foresight, judgment of character and so on.

 

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’.

Bacon is not a true moralist. His morality is a saleable morality. He is a moralist-cum-worldly wise man. Bacon appears as a moralist in his essays, for he preaches high moral principles and lays down valuable guidelines for human conduct. Some of his essays show him as a true lover and preacher of high ethical codes and conducts. For instance, in “Of Envy”, he puts:

“A man that hath no virtue in himself ever envieth virtue in others.”

Then, in his essay “Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature” he says:

“But in charity there is no excess; neither can angel or man come in danger by it.”

Again, he appears to be a lover of justice in his essay “Of Judicature”:

“The principal duty of a judge is to suppress force and fraud.”

In spite of all given examples, one cannot deny the fact that Bacon was a “Man of Renaissance”. He had a deep insight in human nature. He knew that man is naturally more prone to evil than good. He was a clear-eyed realist who saw the weakness in human nature and drawbacks of human conduct and also knew that man is not capable of acting according to noble set of ‘ideals’. Though Bacon’s morality was greater than that of average man’s, yet it was not of the highest order. The matter of good and right was important for him but not if it proved too costly in worldly terms. On one hand, he preached high moral principles and on the other hand, he also expressed a mean capacity by compromising upon those morals for the sake of worldly success. For this reason, William Blake, a spiritual poet says about his essays:

“Good advice for Satan’s Kingdom.”

Blake considers any utilitarian advice contrary to God’s ways, but Bacon does not bother for that. He considers this world more important and striving after the success in this world is equally important. Bacon discusses man as he “appears” and not as he “ought to appear”.

 

In his essay “Of Great Places” Bacon certainly shows a high morality when he condemns or at least dislikes the practice of ‘wrongs’ on part of high officials.

“In place there is license to do good and evil; where of the latter is a curse.”

Afterwards he appreciates the power of doing good.

 “But power to do good, is true and lawful end of aspiring.”

But besides these moral approaches, he also supports the idea of adopting certain disloyal means to reach a high position.

“It is good to side a man’s self whilst he is in the rising and to balance himself when he is placed”.

Thus, like a moralist, Bacon preaches the noble dimensions of great place, but with this statement his purely utilitarian approach also comes forth with all its power.

The Bacon’s essays are full of illustrations, allusions and quotations. Some of these quotations are being from Latin sources. In his essay “Of Truth” we have allusions to Pilate, Lucian, Lucretius and Montaigne with quotations from the last tow. He also gives the references from the Bible.

So Bacon adopted a unique style a contributed a lot in the development of English prose

Discuss the aphoristic style of Francis Bacon

 

Style, expression, or the formal elements in literature are the most important thing to understand the personality of the writer.

According to Alexander Pope,

“Style is the very personality of the man.”

It is the product of sincere self expression. As far as Bacon is concerned, he has the distinctive prose style. The Baconian style is famous for its pithiness and aphoristic sayings. Bacon says a lot of things in the fewest possible words. He ahs a treasure of vocabulary and his sentence can be expanded into many lines. Bacon’s vocabulary, use of quotations, sentences and paragraphs and figures of speech are the hall mark of his style. Simplicity, strength, brevity, clearness and precision are the main qualities of his style. All these qualities make his style a unique one.

Bacon’s style witty, wit is a manner of skillful use of words, and Bacon is master in this art. Bacon begins his essay with some aphorism, definition or a catching phrase. His essays have become the classics of English Language. They owe their position not to their subject matter but to their inimitable / unique style and fine literary touch. For example, in his essay “Of Studies” we find precision, simplicity and clearness. It is replete with aphoristic sayings. In the most beautiful style Bacon has summed up.

“Studies serve for delight, for ornament and ability.”

“To spend too much time in studies is sloth.”

“Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them and wise men use them.”

“Reading market a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man.”

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

This is a famous and mostly read essay of Bacon. Bacon speaks as a life long student. Studies add to the knowledge of the reader and make him the best man. In this essay Bacon discusses the positive values of different subjects.

Then the essay “Of Friendship” is another good example of brevity , simplicity and clearness.

“whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.”

“A big city is big solitude.”

“For there is no man who imparteth his joys to his friend but he joyeth the more, and no man that imparteth his grieves to his friend but he grieveth the less.”

“That a friend is another himself.”

“A man cannot speak to his son but as a father, to his wife but as husband, to his enemy but upon terms; whereas to a friend as the case requires.”

Bacon is of the view that it is only for our profit and usefulness that we seek friendship. We find his worldly wisdom in this essay. To live without companionship is irrational. He is as lonely in the crowd as he is in the desert. The great advantage of friendship is to relieve the heart from the burden of friendship. Friendship works as a medicine upon man’s mind.

All the essays of Bacon reflect great wisdom. A large number of his observations have become proverbial and popular at households and common places. His sentences are brief. But they are forceful. Here is another example of his essay “Of Parents and Children”.

“ The joys of parents are secret , and so are their grieves and fears. They cannot utter the one ; nor they will utter the second. “

“Children sweeten labour , but they make misfortune more bitter.”

“A wise son rejoiceth the father, but an ungracious son shames the mother.”

This essay carries a remarkable style. The sentences are loaded with meanings. This essay belongs to the category in which Bacon views man in relation to the world and the society. The subject is of common interest. This essay reveals the keen insight of Bacon. Bacon advises the parents not to give preference to any child over. Teachers and servants should not create a spirit of competition among the brothers.

“Of Revenge” is an essay full of aphoristic sayings and witty ideas. This essay carries simplicity , brevity and clearness of ideas.

“Revenge is a kind of wild justice.”

“One, who studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green.”

“It is glory of a man to pass by an offence.”

“Certainly in taking revenge a man is but with his enemy but in passing it over is superior or it is prince’s part to pardon”.

This essay has a compact style. It is not suitable for a civilized man to take revenge. One who takes revenge put the law out of office. It is better for a man to forgive his enemy who has harmed him. In this way he would be superior to his enemy. Revenge is tolerable for only those wrongs fro which there is no legal remedy.

The essay “Of Great Place” is also written in Baconian Style.  It reveals Bacon’s practical ideas. His analysis of different problems is accurate. According to Bacon;

“Men in great place are thrice servants , servants of sovereign or state , servants of fame , servants of business.”

“It is strange desire to seek power over others and lose power over a man’s self.”

“The rising unto place is laborious.”

“Certainly men in great fortunes are strangers to themselves.”

“The vices of authorities are chiefly four, delays, corruption, roughness and facility.”

Bacon is of the view that such person who has a place do not have any freedom either in their work or in their private life. Such persons never know their short comings because they are always surrounded by flatterers. A person who holds a high position should do well to others. Such a man will get peace of God. He should avoid controversy and should treat his subordinates well. 

Conclusion

It is now very easy to conclude that Bacon has a compact and compressed style of writing. He expresses the ideas with the greatest economy of words. A number of sentences have gained the importance of maxims. All his essays gave a solid proof of his aphoristic and pithy style. We also praise him for his epigrammatic style of writing. 

 

 

 

Francis Bacon as a Moralist

 

Bacon is not a true moralist. His morality is a saleable morality. He is a moralist-cum-worldly wise man. Bacon appears as a moralist in his essays, for he preaches high moral principles and lays down valuable guidelines for human conduct. Some of his essays show him as a true lover and preacher of high ethical codes and conducts. For instance, in “Of Envy”, he puts:

“A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others.”

Then, in his essay “Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature” he says:

“But in charity there is no excess; neither can angel or man come in danger by it.”

Again, he appears to be a lover of justice in his essay “Of Judicature”:

“The principal duty of a judge is to suppress force and fraud.”

In spite of all given examples, one cannot deny the fact that Bacon was a “Man of Renaissance”. He had a deep insight in human nature. He knew that man is naturally more prone to evil than good. He was a clear-eyed realist who saw the weakness in human nature and drawbacks of human conduct and also knew that man is not capable of acting according to noble set of ‘ideals’. Though Bacon’s morality was greater than that of average man’s, yet it was not of the highest order. The matter of good and right was important for him but not if it proved too costly in worldly terms. On one hand, he preached high moral principles and on the other hand, he also expressed a mean capacity by compromising upon those morals for the sake of worldly success. For this reason, William Blake, a spiritual poet says about his essays:

“Good advice for Satan’s Kingdom.”

Blake considers any utilitarian advice contrary to God’s ways, but Bacon does not bother for that. He considers this world more important and striving after the success in this world is equally important. Bacon discusses man as he “appears” and not as he “ought to appear”.

In his essay “Of Great Places” Bacon certainly shows a high morality when he condemns or at least dislikes the practice of ‘wrongs’ on part of high officials.

“In place there is license to do good and evil; where of the latter is a curse.”

Afterwards he appreciates the power of doing good.

“But power to do good, is true and lawful end of aspiring.”

But besides these moral approaches, he also supports the idea of adopting certain disloyal means to reach a high position.

“It is good to side a man’s self whilst he is in the rising and to balance himself when he is placed”.

Thus, like a moralist, Bacon preaches the noble dimensions of great place, but with this statement his purely utilitarian approach also comes forth with all its power.

In the essay “Of Truth” he appears to be a ‘genuine’ admirer of truth and seems to install the love of truth in his readers.

“It is heaven upon earth, to have man’s mind move in charity, rest in providence and turn upon the poles of truth.”

But he also points out that

“Falsehood is like an ‘alloy’ in gold and silver, which makes the metal work better even though it reduces, the value of the metal”.

He says:

“A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.”

By putting this he has diluted all the effect of his own words said in the praise of the truth.
One can find the same strange mixture of high ethics and utilitarianism in the essay “Of Revenge”. In this essay Bacon condemns revenge by saying:

“Revenge is a kind of wild justice.”

And

“One who studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green.”

He expressed that there is no place of revenge in high society and it is a high quality to forgive an enemy. Hereafter, Bacon spoils the effects by putting that in some cases man is justified in taking revenge, if the avenger can save his skin from the eyes of the law. He says:

“But then let a man take heed the revenge be such as there is now law to punish; else a man’s enemy is still forehand”.

In his essay “Of Suitors” Bacon says that a man should refuse to undertake a suit if it is by giving a false hope to the petitioner and that one should not demand undue reward for his services. Those who employ crooked methods to win suits are the worst offenders of society. But he also says that if a patron wants to favour the undeserving party, he should bring both the parties to a compromise for this would be less dangerous for him. So, to Bacon, morality and ethical codes seem inferior to worldly considerations.

“Of Simulation and Dissimilation” is another example of the strange mixture of morality and prudence.

“The best position and temperature is; to have openness in fame and opinion; secrecy in habits; dissimulation in seasonal use; and power to feign, if there be no remedy.”

Bacon’s morality has also been described as a cynical kind of wisdom. This impression is confirmed by even those essays which deal with strong private relations between men. “Of Friendship”, “Of Parents and Children”, “Of Marriage and Single life” and “Of Love”, all depict a certain kind of utilitarianism and worldly benefit. Here Bacon expresses a definite failure of emotions, for he takes the pure matters of heart in terms of their uses and abuses.

In short, though Bacon’s essays portray morality and high ethical standards, yet he does not appear as an ideal moralist and these are but the “flashes of morality”. He is not a true moralist.

 

 

FRANCIS BACON - THE THINKER

Other than students of English literature, very few people would have heard of Francis Bacon. Here was a great intellectual, a scientist, statesman and above all a thinker. True every human being is endowed with the capacity to think and human beings do think about things. But you can't call every one a thinker. Thinkers try to find answers to the great questions of life, society, knowledge and the problems that confront mankind, particularly of their times and generally of all times. Bacon belonged to 16th century England, nay Europe, and he was a man of renaissance.Francis Bacon was the first man to declare that sense organs are the sources of knowledge. Thomas Hobbes's 'Leviathan' got burnt by backward thinking elements for this very reason.

The Essays

Bacon wrote very short, but extremely thought provoking essays on multivarious topics covering personal, social and philosophical questions.He says that man fears death as children fear darkness. He further gives an account of how different great personalities faced death. He was the first man to deal with the question of individual friendship. There can not be a complete career diplomat without studying Bacon, particulary his 'Of Simulation and Dissimulation'. He says that adversity brings out the best in man. Of course he was not a stoic. The point was that a man's real metal can be tested only when he is in crisis. A flower gives fragrance only when it is squeezed. Likewise, man's best comes out when he is in a crisis, in other words, when he is in an adverse situation. Francis Bacon has written on revenge, on religion and even on married and unmarried life. He says that 'wife and children are hostages to fortune'. That is, man can not pursue great ideals if he has to feed a family. Do not blame Bacon for not thinking of woman. Man's thinking has its limits. Today, even a child knows some ideas on the questions of women's liberation. That was not the case in 16th century, even in the most revolutionary thinker of those days. Would you like to know what William Blake, a great English Poet, told about Bacon's essays? William Blake said that Bacon's essays were 'advice from Satan's kingdom'. Hegel found out that 'evil' is the motive force of history. Blake was probably not very happy with the boldness in Bacon's thinking. Bacon dared to think beyond the confines of the then society. Can we call it 'out of box' thinking, according to the parlance of modern day management? Today's 'evil' becomes tomorrow's virtue. And today's virtue becomes tomorrow's evil. You have to understand Hegel's statement about evil as the motive force of history in this light. Remember, Francis Bacon was a contemporary of the great Shakespeare. It was the greatness of the times that served as the backdrop for the emergence of such great men. Now we see charlatans, pot-boilers and downright scoundrels masquerading themselves as intellectuals, thinkers and even conscience keepers of the society. They are no better than the street curs barking at each other for bones and fawning upon any passerby who throws some crumbs.

 

Question: Write a note on Bacon’s contribution to the development of English prose and indicate with suitable illustrations from some of his essays, the principal ingredients of his style.

Question: Write an essay on Bacon’s prose style, giving suitable illustrations.

Answer:

Bacon made a valuable contribution to the development of English prose. Bacon did really great things in this sphere. When alliteration, antithesis, similes from “unnatural natural history” were the order of the day in English prose, Bacon showed that English was as capable as the classical languages of serving the highest purposes. He proved that it was possible in English also to express the subtleties of thought in clear, straightforward, and uninvolved sentences and, when necessary, to condense the greatest amount of meaning into the fewest possible words.

Bacon shows himself in his essays to be an accomplished rhetorician. He made for himself a style which was unmatchable for pith and pregnancy in the conveyance of his thoughts. When the bulk of English prose was being written in loose sentences of great length, he supplied at once a short, crisp, and firmly-knit sentence of a type which was quite unfamiliar in the English language. He rejected the conceits and overcrowded imagery o the euphuists, but he knew how to illumine his thought with suitable figures of speech, and give to it an imaginative glow and charm upon occasion. For the students of expression, Bacon’s essays are of endless interest and profit: the more one reads them, the more remarkable seem their compactness and their nervous vitality. They shock the sluggish attention of a reader into wakefulness as if by an electric current: and though they may sometimes fail to nourish, they can never fail to stimulate.

Emerson is the one modern writer with whom Bacon may be fairly compared, for their method is much the same. In each case, we have a store of trenchant and apparently disconnected sayings, where the writer tries to reach the reader’s mind by a series of aphoristic attacks. The best and most striking example of this kind of style in the essay called Of Expense. By comparing Bacon with his predecessors like Sidney and Lyly, we can see how widely he departed from the prolix methods of the time. In rhetorical power, musical cadence, quaint turns of speech, he was equalled by many of his contemporaries and was excelled by a few; but for clear, terse writing he has no equal except Ben Jonson, and even today his essays are models of succinct, lucid prose.

 

Bacon took one of the longest steps ever taken in the evolution of English prose. English prose was already rich and sonorous. Hooker and Releigh, still rank as two of the greatest stylists in English prose. While these two writers have majesty and strength, they did not command a style suited to all the purposes which prose has to serve. Their style was admirable for great themes and for moments of elevation, but not well-adapted to the pedestrian passages which must link such moments one to another. The sentences were inconveniently long and, even in the hands of the most skilful writers, were frequently involved and obscure. Parentheses were extremely common. The same is true of Bacon himself in his larger and more sustained works. But, in the essays, Bacon did set the example and furnish the model of condensed and lucid prose. The sentences are short; the grammatical structure is rarely ambiguous though it is sometimes loose with shortness came also flexibility. The new style of Bacon fitted itself as easily to buildings and gardens, or to suitors and ceremonies, as to death, adversity, and envy. It could be brought down to the familiarity of comparing money to muck, not good unless it be spread; and it could be raised to a comparison between movements of the human mind and the movements of the heavenly bodies.

Terseness of expressions and epigrammatic brevity are the most striking qualities of Bacon’s style in the essays. Bacon possessed a marvellous power of compressing into a few words an idea which ordinary writers would express in several sentences. Many of his sentences have an aphoristic quality. They are like proverbs which can readily be quoted when the occasion demands. Only Bacon could have written the following sentences which are the remarkable for their condensation and brevity:

(1) “Groans and convulsions, and a discoloured face, and friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies and the like, show death terrible.” (Of Death)

(2) “A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over.” (Of Death)

(3) “Death has this also; that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy.” (Of Death)

(4) “Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.” (Of Adversity)

(5) “Certainly virtue is like precious odours, most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.” (Of Adversity)

(6) “A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others.” (Of Envy)

(7) “They are as men fallen out with the time; and think other men’s harms a redemption of their own sufferings.” (Of Envy)

Question: “They come home to men’s business and bosoms.” How far is this an apt description of the essays of Bacon? Illustrate your answer.

Question: Account for the great appeal of Bacon’s essays.

Question: Write a general note on Bacon as a writer of essays.

Answer: A glance at the titles of Bacon’s essays shows that, although quite a number of these essays were written for the benefit of kings, rulers courtiers, and statesmen, a fairly large number of them were written on subjects of popular interest. Essays Of Seditions and Troubles, Of Empire, Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estatus, Of Suitors and Of Judicature belong to the former variety. But essays like Of Truth, Of Death, Of Revenge, Of Adversity, Of Parents and Children, Of Marriage and Single Life, Of Travel, and Of Friendship, deal with familiar subjects which make an immediate appeal to the average reader. Essays of this category certainly come home to men’s business and bosoms.

One important reason for the popular appeal of Bacon’s essays is that the ideas which he expresses are by no means deeply philosophical or abstruse. If the ideas were of an abstract or metaphysical nature, the average reader would not respond to them. But these are ideas which might be expressed by any man of ripe wisdom and vast experience of the world.

Secondly, Bacon illustrates and reinforces his ideas and arguments with appropriate similes, metaphors and quotations. These similes, metaphors and quotations naturally add to the popular appeal of the essays. Thirdly, Bacon frequently speaks in his essays as a moralist. Although people do not generally like too much of sermonising and preaching, yet judicious doses of morality are not only willingly accepted by readers but are positively welcome to them. Moral precepts and maxims embodying wisdom give the readers a feeling that they are becoming wise and morally nobler. They may not act upon the ethical principles which Bacon enunciates in his essays, but they derive a certain moral satisfaction by reading them and by appreciating their soundness.

Lastly, Bacon’s essays come home to men’s business and bosoms because of the condensed and pithy state in which he mostly writes. Again and again, the reader comes upon an aphoristic or epigrammatic sentence which startles and arrests him by its neatness and pregnancy. These are many gems of thought clothed in language that is effective because of its compactness and terseness.

Take the essay, Of Truth. It contains several ideas which immediately appeal to the reader because of their obvious truth to human nature. The reader quickly responds to such ideas because he at once recognises their validity. For instance, Bacon here tells us that human beings are generally attracted by lies. Lies told by poets in their poetry please the imagination; lies told by traders bring them financial gain; but why people should tell lies for the sake of lies is not clear. Bacon then goes on to say that truth gives greater pleasure when a lie has been added to it. If a man were to be deprived of his false opinions, false hopes, and false judgments, he would feel miserable.

Having expressed these views, Bacon speaks like a moralist and says that much harm is done by lies which sink into the mind and settle down there. Truth is the supreme good for human beings, he says. He quotes Lucretius who said that the greatest pleasure for a man was the realisation of truth. Continuing this moralising tone, Bacon says that truth is important not only in theological and philosophical fields, but also in the sphere of ordinary daily life. Falsehood, he says, brings nothing but disgrace. Now such ideas are bound to appeal even to a reader who, in his actual dealings, does not give a high place to truth.

Then there is the essay, Of Friendship. Who would not be interested in this subject? Bacon tells us some of the uses of friendship, illustrating his ideas with historical references to Sulla, Julius Caesar; Augustus Caesar, Tiberius Caesar, and Septimius Severus. He utters a psychological truth when he says that a man’s joy is greatly increased when he speaks about it to a friend and that his grief is greatly diminished when he imparts it to a friend. This essay also contains useful advice. For instance, Bacon asks us not to take counsel “by pieces” from all and sundry but to take it only from a friend who has been found to be sincere. An essay on the subject of friendship is bound to come home to men’s bosoms especially because the ideas expressed by Bacon confirm the reader’s own ideas on this subject.

The essay, Of Great Place, does not have the same popular appeal as the two essays mentioned above, Of Great Place appeals chiefly to men in high places. It is very useful for persons of this category. Bacon offers very sound advice to those occupying high positions, and warms them against the chief vices of authority. Here, too, Bacon lends weight to his argument with reference to two Roman emperors—Galba and Vespasian. Bacon gives advice that is practical when he says that a man may take side when he is still struggling to rise but that, having risen to a high position, he should become neutral. This essay, too, throws much light on human nature whereby it greatly adds to our knowledge. Here, again, Bacon appears as a moralist.

The essay, Of Studies, is extremely interesting. Here, again Bacon deals with a subject of popular interest. Bacon not only indicates the principal uses of studies but also tells us why and how we should read. Who can fail to appreciate Bacon’s remark that the wisdom gained from books is not enough but that it should be supplemented with practical experience of life?

Of Marriage and Single Life deals with the advantages and disadvantages of both the married and the single life. Here is an essay which cannot fail to interest either the married man or the single man. Bacon makes some interesting observations about the nature and behaviour of women in this essay. A chaste woman, he rightly says, feels proud of her chastity. A wife is faithful and obedient to her husband if she is impressed with his wisdom. No jealous husband can command his wife’s respect. It would be difficult for any reader to find fault with such observations. Indeed, the ideas expressed in this essay can be understood and appreciated even by the most ordinary reader. Bacon’s analysis of human nature here, as in his other essays, corresponds to well-known facts.

The essay, Of Suitors, pertains chiefly to conditions which prevailed in Bacon’s day. In spite of that, this essay has its value in our time also. It is full of worldly wisdom. It contains useful advice for those who undertake suits, for suitors, and for patrons. Bacon does not preach any ideal morality here. He is concerned only with how to achieve success in the undertaking of suits or in the promoting of suits. However, he does not show a complete disregard of morality. That is the kind of thing most readers want.

Much of the popularity of Bacon’s essays, as has already been indicated above, is due to his compact style. Many are the sentences in his essays that have the character of proverbs because such sentences express wisdom neatly in a pithy manner. A few examples of Bacon’s epigrammatic style will illustrate the great charm which his essays possess because of this particular quality of style.

1. “Certainly it is heaven upon earth to have a man’s mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the roles of truth.” (Of Truth)

 

Question: “They come home to men’s business and bosoms.” How far is this an apt description of the essays of Bacon? Illustrate your answer.

Question: Account for the great appeal of Bacon’s essays.

Question: Write a general note on Bacon as a writer of essays.

Answer: A glance at the titles of Bacon’s essays shows that, although quite a number of these essays were written for the benefit of kings, rulers courtiers, and statesmen, a fairly large number of them were written on subjects of popular interest. Essays Of Seditions and Troubles, Of Empire, Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estatus, Of Suitors and Of Judicature belong to the former variety. But essays like Of Truth, Of Death, Of Revenge, Of Adversity, Of Parents and Children, Of Marriage and Single Life, Of Travel, and Of Friendship, deal with familiar subjects which make an immediate appeal to the average reader. Essays of this category certainly come home to men’s business and bosoms.

One important reason for the popular appeal of Bacon’s essays is that the ideas which he expresses are by no means deeply philosophical or abstruse. If the ideas were of an abstract or metaphysical nature, the average reader would not respond to them. But these are ideas which might be expressed by any man of ripe wisdom and vast experience of the world.

Secondly, Bacon illustrates and reinforces his ideas and arguments with appropriate similes, metaphors and quotations. These similes, metaphors and quotations naturally add to the popular appeal of the essays. Thirdly, Bacon frequently speaks in his essays as a moralist. Although people do not generally like too much of sermonising and preaching, yet judicious doses of morality are not only willingly accepted by readers but are positively welcome to them. Moral precepts and maxims embodying wisdom give the readers a feeling that they are becoming wise and morally nobler. They may not act upon the ethical principles which Bacon enunciates in his essays, but they derive a certain moral satisfaction by reading them and by appreciating their soundness.

Lastly, Bacon’s essays come home to men’s business and bosoms because of the condensed and pithy state in which he mostly writes. Again and again, the reader comes upon an aphoristic or epigrammatic sentence which startles and arrests him by its neatness and pregnancy. These are many gems of thought clothed in language that is effective because of its compactness and terseness.

Take the essay, Of Truth. It contains several ideas which immediately appeal to the reader because of their obvious truth to human nature. The reader quickly responds to such ideas because he at once recognises their validity. For instance, Bacon here tells us that human beings are generally attracted by lies. Lies told by poets in their poetry please the imagination; lies told by traders bring them financial gain; but why people should tell lies for the sake of lies is not clear. Bacon then goes on to say that truth gives greater pleasure when a lie has been added to it. If a man were to be deprived of his false opinions, false hopes, and false judgments, he would feel miserable.

Having expressed these views, Bacon speaks like a moralist and says that much harm is done by lies which sink into the mind and settle down there. Truth is the supreme good for human beings, he says. He quotes Lucretius who said that the greatest pleasure for a man was the realisation of truth. Continuing this moralising tone, Bacon says that truth is important not only in theological and philosophical fields, but also in the sphere of ordinary daily life. Falsehood, he says, brings nothing but disgrace. Now such ideas are bound to appeal even to a reader who, in his actual dealings, does not give a high place to truth.

Then there is the essay, Of Friendship. Who would not be interested in this subject? Bacon tells us some of the uses of friendship, illustrating his ideas with historical references to Sulla, Julius Caesar; Augustus Caesar, Tiberius Caesar, and Septimius Severus. He utters a psychological truth when he says that a man’s joy is greatly increased when he speaks about it to a friend and that his grief is greatly diminished when he imparts it to a friend. This essay also contains useful advice. For instance, Bacon asks us not to take counsel “by pieces” from all and sundry but to take it only from a friend who has been found to be sincere. An essay on the subject of friendship is bound to come home to men’s bosoms especially because the ideas expressed by Bacon confirm the reader’s own ideas on this subject.

The essay, Of Great Place, does not have the same popular appeal as the two essays mentioned above, Of Great Place appeals chiefly to men in high places. It is very useful for persons of this category. Bacon offers very sound advice to those occupying high positions, and warms them against the chief vices of authority. Here, too, Bacon lends weight to his argument with reference to two Roman emperors—Galba and Vespasian. Bacon gives advice that is practical when he says that a man may take side when he is still struggling to rise but that, having risen to a high position, he should become neutral. This essay, too, throws much light on human nature whereby it greatly adds to our knowledge. Here, again, Bacon appears as a moralist.

The essay, Of Studies, is extremely interesting. Here, again Bacon deals with a subject of popular interest. Bacon not only indicates the principal uses of studies but also tells us why and how we should read. Who can fail to appreciate Bacon’s remark that the wisdom gained from books is not enough but that it should be supplemented with practical experience of life?

Of Marriage and Single Life deals with the advantages and disadvantages of both the married and the single life. Here is an essay which cannot fail to interest either the married man or the single man. Bacon makes some interesting observations about the nature and behaviour of women in this essay. A chaste woman, he rightly says, feels proud of her chastity. A wife is faithful and obedient to her husband if she is impressed with his wisdom. No jealous husband can command his wife’s respect. It would be difficult for any reader to find fault with such observations. Indeed, the ideas expressed in this essay can be understood and appreciated even by the most ordinary reader. Bacon’s analysis of human nature here, as in his other essays, corresponds to well-known facts.

The essay, Of Suitors, pertains chiefly to conditions which prevailed in Bacon’s day. In spite of that, this essay has its value in our time also. It is full of worldly wisdom. It contains useful advice for those who undertake suits, for suitors, and for patrons. Bacon does not preach any ideal morality here. He is concerned only with how to achieve success in the undertaking of suits or in the promoting of suits. However, he does not show a complete disregard of morality. That is the kind of thing most readers want.

Much of the popularity of Bacon’s essays, as has already been indicated above, is due to his compact style. Many are the sentences in his essays that have the character of proverbs because such sentences express wisdom neatly in a pithy manner. A few examples of Bacon’s epigrammatic style will illustrate the great charm which his essays possess because of this particular quality of style.

1. “Certainly it is heaven upon earth to have a man’s mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the roles of truth.” (Of Truth)

Question: Attempt a critical examination of the ideas in Bacon’s essay, On Unity in Religion, and add a note on its style.

Question: What views about the unity of religion does Bacon express in his essay on the subject and how far do you agree with him? What characteristics of Bacon’s style does the essay illustrate?

 

The validity of Bacon’s advice:

 

Bacon begins this essay by pointing out that religion is a binding force in society and that, for this reason, a particular religion should itself maintain its unity. The Christian Church, should accordingly preserve its unity, and should not permit quarrels and divisions. This is certainly a commendable piece of advice which Bacon offers to the followers of Christianity, but this advice is equally valid so far as other religions are concerned.

 

The harm done by schisms:

Bacon discusses the subject of unity in religion under three heads: the fruits of unity; the bounds or extent of unity, and the means of unity. Taking up the fruits of unity first, Bacon points out that heresies and schisms are the greatest scandals in the sphere of religion. Nothing keeps men out of the Church, and nothing drives men out of the Church, as much as a breach of unity does. There will be complete confusion in the minds of people if one man suggests that Christ should be sought in secret chambers. If a heathen hears Christians talking with several tongues, he will surely think them to be mad. If there are different sects in a religion and they all adopt different postures and attitudes, they will be enacting a kind of “Morris dance” mentioned by the French writer, Rabelais. The fruits of unity for those who believe in their Church are the blessings of peace leading to faith, charity, and piety.

 

 

Bacon’s wholesome plea for the avoidance of dissensions:

 

There is nothing in all this with which any one can quarrel. Unity in religion certainly has enormous advantages. Dissensions in religion are caused only by selfish persons who wish to come into prominence and who wish to grind their own axes Unfortunately there is no religion in the world without its sects. Not only Christianity but Hinduism, Islam and even Sikhism suffer from a multiplicity of sects. The result is that religion, instead of binding people together, has itself become a divisive force.

 

Fundamental points, and points merely of form and practice:

There are some fanatics, says Bacon, who are not at all interested in peace but who believe in partisanship and conflict. And then there are some lukewarm persons with no true religious meal, who believe in accommodating all points of view in religion and steering the middle course. According to Bacon, both these extremes are to be avoided. It is necessary that fundamental points of religion should be distinguished from points merely of form and practice. In matters of fundamental importance in religion, there should be no divergence of opinion. But differences of opinion in matters of detail or in matters which are trivial do not cause much harm to the cause of religion.

 

Bacon’s solution to religious strife:

 

According to Bacon, there is no room for controversy as to the first principles of theology. The basic doctrines of the Church should not be questioned by human reason. Human reason may be employed in deducing what is involved in the text of Scripture, but human reasoning is not to be given the same authority and importance as the positive declarations of Scripture. In other words, Bacon allows to the individuals a certain freedom of judgment, but this freedom must remain subservient to the express words of Bible. It is to be kept in mind that Bacon wrote this essay at a time when Europe was torn by religious division—first between Catholics and Protestants, and then between the various sects of Protestantism itself. Bacon’s solution to religious strife within the same religion is that a distinction should be made between basic issues and subsidiary issues. There should be unity in the basic tenets of religion, while differences may be permitted and tolerated in matters of ritual and Church organisation. Christians, says Bacon, must agree upon essential points. Luke warmness with regard to essential points is unpardonable. But a variety of opinion upon inessential points is permissible. Thus, different forms of Church government and different forms of worship are tolerable because no definite rule with regard to these has been laid down in the Bible. The solution offered by Bacon is not only sensible but practical and feasible. There is nothing quixotic about it.

 

The seamless coat of Christ:

 

Bacon illustrates this particular view with reference to Christ’s coat. Christ’s coat was entire; it was seamless and therefore indivisible. The same is the case with the doctrine of Scripture in itself. But the garment of the Queen, who represents the Church, was of various colours. This means that diversity as to matters of detail can be tolerated. The seamless coat of Christ symbolizes the unity of the Church as to essential points. The multicoloured garment of the Church symbolizes the legitimate variety of opinion and practice in minor matters. Bacon’s illustration is so vivid and convincing that no room for doubt is left in the minds of readers.

Artificial unity resulting from ignorance:

Bacon also points out the sad consequence. People may agree in a religious belief simply because the inconsistency of inadequacy of it is not apparent to themselves. a uniformity of this kind is of no value.

 

Bacon’s Essays – A Reflection of Renaissance

What is Renaissance?

Encarta World Dictionary defines Renaissance as following

“Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. These movements began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of Europe. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural achievements rivaled those of antiquity. Their thinking was also influenced by the concept of humanism, which emphasizes the worth of the individual. Renaissance humanists believed it was possible to improve human society through classical education. This education relied on teachings from ancient texts and emphasized a range of disciplines, including poetry, history, rhetoric (rules for writing influential prose or speeches), and moral philosophy. The word renaissance means “rebirth.” The idea of rebirth originated in the belief that Europeans had rediscovered the superiority of Greek and Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered intellectual and cultural decline. The preceding era, which began with the collapse of the Roman Empire around the 5th century, became known as the Middle Ages to indicate its position between the classical and modern world. Scholars now recognize that there was considerable cultural activity during the Middle Ages, as well as some interest in classical literature. A number of characteristics of Renaissance art and society had their origins in the Middle Ages. Many scholars claim that much of the cultural dynamism of the Renaissance also had its roots in medieval times and that changes were progressive rather than abrupt. Nevertheless, the Renaissance represents a change in focus and emphasis from the Middle Ages, with enough unique qualities to justify considering it as a separate period of history. This article begins with a brief overview of the characteristics of the Renaissance and then discusses conflicting views on how to define and interpret the Renaissance. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the economic, social, and political changes that began in the 14th century and contributed to the development of the Renaissance. The ideas of the Renaissance, particularly of humanism, are then explored, and their impacts on established religion, on science, and on the arts are examined.”

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The term “Renaissance” means “Rebirth” or more generally it means “Revival”. It was the series of events by which Europe passed from a medieval to a modern civilization. The Renaissance means a revival of learning and specially the study of the Greek which broke down the rigid conventions of the middle ages. There was a new spirit of inquiry of criticism , a passion for scientific accuracy which was accompanied by a sense of individualism and worldliness.

Its chief features are reflected in the works of eth great prose write of the age i.e. Francis Bacon. The essays written by Bacon have several features that show the spirit of Renaissance. The influence of Renaissance Spirit on Bacon is obvious in his philosophy. Nature , said Bacon , cannot be commanded except being obeyed. By learning the laws of nature , we can become her masters. The esays of Bacon have several features that bear the stamp of the spirit of Renaissance.

1. Machiavellian Approach to life.
2. An Emphasis on self advancement
3. A love for classical learning
4. Advocacy of empire building and of war

These are all the characteristics of Renaissance , and these are all found in the essays of Bacon. Although Bacon appears as a moralist in his essays , eh does not teach the ideal morality.

 

Pragmatical Spirit

 

Bacon appears as a moralist, he does not teach the ideal morality. He is pragmatist , so he judjes the rightness of an action by its effects. He overrides all moral considerations and deals with the practical advantages of things in the new intellectual atmosphere created by Renaissance. His essays are replete with what is called worldly wisdom. He teaches his readers the art how to get on in this world , how to become rich , how to rise to high positions , how to exercise one’s authority and power.

In the essay “Of Truth” , he emphasizes the value of truth but points out at the same time that a mixture of falsehood is like alloy in a coin of gold and silver , which makes the metal work better.

“A mixture of lie doth ever add pleasure.”    

Then he says ,

“For a lie faces God and shrinks from man.”

In the essay “Of Revenge” he tells that there is no harm in taking revenge for those wrongs which have no legal remedy.

In the essay “Of Simulation and Dissimulation” he approves of secrecy, of pretending to be what one is not and of pretending that one is not what one is actually. Here is a Machiavellian advice offered by Bacon in te concluding lines of the  essay,

“ The best composition and temperature is to have openness in fame and opinion; secrecy in habit; dissimulation is seasonable use; and a power to feign.”

In the essay “Of Great Place” Bacon preaches ideal morality and gives several moral lessons but accepts the use of crooked methods for attaining a high position in life.  The essay “Of Friendship” shows a purely utilitarian approach to friendship. Bacon tells us the uses or advantages of friendship.  

“For there is no man who imparteth his joys to his friend but he joyeth the more, and no man that imparteth his grieves to his friend but he grieveth the less.”

“That a friend is another himself.”

“A man cannot speak to his son but as a father, to his wife but as husband, to his enemy but upon terms; whereas to a friend as the case requires.”

Further Bacon says that man becomes more wise through an hour’s discussion with a friend than through meditating for a whole day. But Bacon says nothing about its emotional side. In the essay “Of Marriage and Single Life” Bacon says

“ He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.”

 

Bacon’s Classical Learning

 

Bacon’s classical learning is n off shoot of Renaissance. Bacon was greatly influenced by ancient Latin writers. His essays are full of quotations from such Latin writers as Tacitus , Lucretius , Seneca , Virgil , Cicero and Lucian. There is hardly an essay which does not contain one or more Latin Quotations. The essay “Of True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates” contains as many as thirteen Latin Quotations.

The Renaissance love of learning is also seen in the essay “Of Studies” in which Bacon urges the need and value of studying books.

“Studies serve for delight, for ornament and ability.”

“To spend too much time in studies is sloth.”

“Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them and wise men use them.”

“Reading market a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man.”

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

Further he says that different kind of studies mould the character of individuals in different ways.

“History makes man wise, poetry makes witty , the mathematics subtle, natural philosophy deep , moral , grave , logic and rhetoric , able to contend.”

Further he says that as every physical disease has a remedy , similarly every mental defect has a suitable remedy in studies.

 

The Renaissance – A Time of Exploration and political conquest

 

This aspect of Renaissance is reflected in Bacon’s political essays , especially in “Of Empire” and “Of True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates”. In the former essay Bacon points out the various dangers that the king in his time faced. He gives useful pieces of advice to the kings regarding their dealings with their neighbors , wives , their children , their clergy ,their nobles etc. then in the other essay , he insists that the greatness of a country is determined not by its territory or population but by its military power. Those were the days of navel wars. According to bacon the chief reason for the greatness of his own country was its navel power. Bacon would like a country to seek excuses for foreign wars because while the civil war is like the heat of fever , a foreign war is like the heat of exercise which serves to keep the body in health. Peace , according to Bacon , is slothful and weakens a nation.

This attitude of war and peace is obviously typical of the spirit of Renaissance.

 

Love of Beauty

 

Another feature of the Renaissance that is reflected in few of his essays is love of beauty. Although Bacon was a philosopher cum politician , his essay “Of Gardens” seems to have come from the pen of a nature lover. In designing of a garden his suggestions show him to be keen lover of sensual beauty.

 

Wealth of Metaphor and analogy

 

Another important characteristic of the Renaissance is to be found in bacon’s essays i.e. the abundant use of striking figures of speech. The metaphors and smiles taken from different spheres of knowledge and experience reflect the exuberance / high spirit of the age.  E.g.

“For a crowd is not company , and faces are but a gallery of pictures.” (Of Friendship)

“Virtue is like precious odours , most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed , for prosperity doth best discover vice , but adversity doth best discover virtue.” (Of Adversity)

 

Curiosity and love of travel

 

Sense of curiosity and the love of increasing one’s knowledge is what prompts Bacon in his recommending travel for both the young and the old. The list of the worth seeing  things he makes , is a typical spirit of Renaissance.

“Travel in the younger sort , is  a part of education , in older age a part of experience.”

 

An Exception

 

In one and only one aspect , Bacon moves away from the spirit of Renaissance. He does not reflect the age’s pride in English Language. He preferred and admired Latin to English and in fact thought that the Latin version of his essays would be more popular. He apparently did not feel with others of his age that English could match the classical language.

 

Conclusion

 

One can say that Bacon was a writer who represented the most salient features of his age, the age of revival of learning and study of ancients , the spirit of inquiry and individualism and nationalism.