Bacons Essays a blend of philosophizing,

moralizing and worldly wisdom

I have taken all knowledge for my province says Bacon and Beyond any other book of the
same size in any literature they are loaded with ripest wisdom of experience. Says Hudson
regarding Bacons essays. No body can deny the wisdom of Bacon of his understanding of the
affairs of the world.
He shows an extraordinary insight regarding the problems that men face in life. But his wisdom is
only practical and not moral. Alexander Pope has given the following remarks about Bacon in his
epic:
If parts allure these think how Bacon shind
The wisest, brightest and meanest of mankind

There is some basic truth in this contention. One cannot deny his wisdom, his observation,
intellect and genius. Bacon was a very complex and enigmatic character. The dichotomy of
moral values what one finds in his essays was to be found in his character, too. ComptonRickett says, He had a great brain, not a great soul. He wanted to serve humanity with
through the expansion of usable knowledge. He was aware that no headway could be made in
this world without adopting certain mean ways. He was a product of the Renaissance with
composite qualities such as wisdom, meanness and
brightness. Bacon was a man of the
Renaissance
and that was an age which tried to explore to the
full, the opportunities of
mind and body afforded
to man. The term, Renaissance means Re-birth or
more
generally the Revival of Learning. It was a
series of events by which Europe passed from
Medieval to a Modern Civilization. In this age, there was a new spirit of inquiry, of criticism
and
of passionate scientific inventions. Literature of that age was chiefly marked by this
spirit and Bacons essays have several features that show
the spirit of Renaissance. A
very important writer
of the Italian Renaissance was Machiavelli whose opportunistic
philosophy sacrificed high ethical ideals in the interest of achieving material
progress.
Man is an individual and an end in
himself and this sense of individualism gave rise to the
feeling that he must know how to get on in this world. The revival of classical learning and the
study of ancient Greek and Roman Literature
and history was a hallmark of the
Renaissance.
The spirit of learning is very much in the essays of Bacon. There are many
allusions to ancient
history and the references to classical mythology
are all evidence
of the typical Renaissance culture. Latin writers such as Seneca and Virgil
and Lucian
have frequently been drawn. His love
of learning is portrayed in his essay Of Studies
and he substantiates his arguments in his essay, Of Friendship with instances from history. Blake
on reading the essays of Bacon is supposed to have remarked that they were good advice for
Satans Kingdom. Now, a Satans Kingdom naturally implies a state of affairs in which
morality has no place or in which actions are
governed by a complete lack of principles. To
some extent, it is indeed undeniable that Bacons advice incorporates a certain cool disregard
for
high moral ideals. The actual fact is that in
Bacons essays, one find dichotomy of
values, the essays present a strange complexity and
contradiction of wisdom and
values. In order to
understand the real meaning of his essays, it is imperative to
understand the underlying purpose
of his writing. Man
was the subject of most
literature and man is the
subject of Bacons
essays too. Thus the wisdom
that
Bacon
shows in his essays is regulated by the practical consideration. It is frankly
utilitarian.
This does not mean that the essays dont contain
ethical or philosophical

values, they do, but the

overall hallmark of his essays is practical use.

Wisdom, Meanness and Brightness: To a religious-minded man like Blake, advice such as
what Bacon offers in his essays must indeed have been shocking. Blake would regard any
utilitarian advice as opposite to Gods ways, but Bacon was not so particular, for he a man of the
Renaissance. It is easy to assume that Bacons wisdom was cynical because many of his advice
calmly ignores ethical standards and seems to imply that nothing succeeds like success. Bacon
is utilitarian, but he is so because he realized that the vast majority of the people in the world are
guided by this attitude and success for them has only one meaning the material success. His
essays reflect the profound wisdom of his mind, his brightness is ascertained by his vast
knowledge and literary and classical allusions made in his works, his meanness does not deal
with his money. He was reputed to be a very generous man. He was mean because he showed a
surprising lack of principle in promoting his selfish interests.
Philosopher cum moralist: At least two of his essays present him as entertaining deep
regard for high sentiments and the sanctity of truth. Of Truth speaks of truth, love and fair dealings
in high terms. Here he is a philosopher who advocates the pursuit of truth. He is also a moralist
when he says that mans mind should turn upon the poles of truth. Falsehood debases man
despite his material gains and success. Bacon advocates man to follow a path of truth and
truthfulness. Similarly, his essay Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature is on a purely moral
plane. He counsels goodness, charity and benevolence and there is a clear condemnation of
evil. There are some essays in which he puts a number of moral precepts, not ignoring prudential
aspects. When we come to Bacons essays dealing with subjects such as love, marriage, family
life and parents and children, we are struck by the cold and unemotional treatment of topics what
could easily admit an emotional approach. Prudence governs marriage, love and friendship.
Love is an emotion, not fit for life according to Bacon. As a philosopher, he takes a balanced view
of every thing, weighs the pros and cons of every issue, presents different aspects of the picture
and counsels moderation. This is a rationalists approach and it preludes emotion and feeling.
The essays are a handbook of practical wisdom. Each essay is a collection of suggestion and
guideline for a man of action. His essays lack coherence and logical sequence, otherwise a
quality in a standard essay. But his essays are unity of ideas.
Conclusion: But it has to be pointed out that Bacon is not a moral idealist. He does not preach
morality, but not ideal morality. The kind of morality he teaches is tinged with what is called
worldliness. We might even say that the guiding principle is expediency. Yet one cannot say that
Bacon is amoral or immoral in his advice. In every issue, he balances the advantage and
disadvantage. Even within the utilitarian code, there is a code of conduct a morality that is
perhaps as high as is easily practicable in the world as we know it. His essays embody the
wisdom and philosophy and morality of a clear-eyed realist who knows quite well that men
should be and but also knew what they actually were. Bacon is undoubtedly a man whose
morality is greater than the average mans, but it is not of the highest order. The pursuit of good
and right are important but not if it proves too costly in worldly terms. His advice is neither for
Satans Kingdom nor for Gods, but for the Kingdom of man.www.allonlinefree.com.......