Wordly Wisdom
FRANCIS BACON
WISEST (WORDLY WISDOM) /BRIGHTEST/ MEANEST
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. 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. He teaches them, how to exercise one’s authority and much more. The wisdom in his essay is considered a ‘cynical’ kind of wisdom. He describes his essays as ‘Counsels – civil and moral’.
In his essay “Of Truth”, Bacon appreciates truth and wishes people to speak the truth. He says:
“A lie faces God and shrinks from man.”
He warns human beings against the punishment for the liar on the doomsday. But at the same time, he considers a lie as an ‘alloy’ which increases the strength of gold and feels it necessary for the survival on earth. He says:
“A lie doth ever add pleasure.”
---this is purely a statement of a “worldly wise man”.
The essay “Of Great Places” though contains a large number of moral precepts yet in this very same essay he also preaches worldly
WISEST (WORDLY WISDOM) /BRIGHTEST/ MEANEST
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. 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. He teaches them, how to exercise one’s authority and much more. The wisdom in his essay is considered a ‘cynical’ kind of wisdom. He describes his essays as ‘Counsels – civil and moral’.
In his essay “Of Truth”, Bacon appreciates truth and wishes people to speak the truth. He says:
“A lie faces God and shrinks from man.”
He warns human beings against the punishment for the liar on the doomsday. But at the same time, he considers a lie as an ‘alloy’ which increases the strength of gold and feels it necessary for the survival on earth. He says:
“A lie doth ever add pleasure.”
---this is purely a statement of a “worldly wise man”.
The essay “Of Great Places” though contains a large number of moral precepts yet in this very same essay he also preaches worldly