Francis BACON
Francis Bacon: Essays, J.M. Dent and Sons, London, 1972 (Introduction by
Michael Hawkins)
In Francis Bacon, we see great brilliance of intellect wedded with the dual taints of misanthropy and misogyny. Even before the proclamations of Descartes, Bacon viewed others and the world as mere objects, and his own being as sovereign. He viewed love as both burden and liability to those real men of history who flexed muscle.
Bacon was a man most knowledgeable in the arts of human power. He consorted with kings and queens and saw all of life as falling within his field of endeavor. At the age of 46, he was granted the mantle of Solicitor-General by King James I. Ten years later, he had become AttorneyGeneral.
As an active member of Parliament he was fully immersed in the power politics of his day. He was among those who urged the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1586.
Francis Bacon was one of the first political strategists to clearly articulate the principles of
Balance of Power politics. He was a strong proponent of pre-emptive war and viewed the exercise of military might through warfare as a means of maintaining the supremacy of powerful states. And all this long before the rise of the American Imperium.
Bacon was the ultimate pragmatist and opportunist. Like Macchiavelli, whom he greatly admired,
Bacon was a master of knowing how best to manage a state and to preserve the power of its rulers, but remained cynically dismissive of the stirrings of the human heart. He placed a high value on cunning, and viewed love as a form of human weakness. He unquestionably had a rare knowledge regarding ways of exercising power in the world.
He also possessed an astute knowledge of human nature, and understood how best to employ both the nobler and the baser instincts in others to achieve his purposes.
Bacon attained his insights through both intimate familiarity with political process and intrigue, and through an early and careful study of historical precedents. He had a deep
Michael Hawkins)
In Francis Bacon, we see great brilliance of intellect wedded with the dual taints of misanthropy and misogyny. Even before the proclamations of Descartes, Bacon viewed others and the world as mere objects, and his own being as sovereign. He viewed love as both burden and liability to those real men of history who flexed muscle.
Bacon was a man most knowledgeable in the arts of human power. He consorted with kings and queens and saw all of life as falling within his field of endeavor. At the age of 46, he was granted the mantle of Solicitor-General by King James I. Ten years later, he had become AttorneyGeneral.
As an active member of Parliament he was fully immersed in the power politics of his day. He was among those who urged the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1586.
Francis Bacon was one of the first political strategists to clearly articulate the principles of
Balance of Power politics. He was a strong proponent of pre-emptive war and viewed the exercise of military might through warfare as a means of maintaining the supremacy of powerful states. And all this long before the rise of the American Imperium.
Bacon was the ultimate pragmatist and opportunist. Like Macchiavelli, whom he greatly admired,
Bacon was a master of knowing how best to manage a state and to preserve the power of its rulers, but remained cynically dismissive of the stirrings of the human heart. He placed a high value on cunning, and viewed love as a form of human weakness. He unquestionably had a rare knowledge regarding ways of exercising power in the world.
He also possessed an astute knowledge of human nature, and understood how best to employ both the nobler and the baser instincts in others to achieve his purposes.
Bacon attained his insights through both intimate familiarity with political process and intrigue, and through an early and careful study of historical precedents. He had a deep