Bacon’s Essays – a blend of
philosophizing, moralizing and worldly wisdom
Introduction: “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
Bacon’s 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:
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 shin’d
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. Compton-Rickett 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 thisspirit and Bacon’s 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 Satan’s
Kingdom. Now, a Satan’s 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 Bacon’s advice incorporates a certain cool disregard for
high moral ideals. The actual
fact is that in Bacon’s 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
Bacon’s 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 don’t 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 God’s ways, but Bacon was not so particular, for he a man
of the Renaissance. It is easy to assume that Bacon’s 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 “man’s 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 condemnationof
evil. There are some essays in which he puts a number of moral precepts, not
ignoring prudential aspects. When we come to Bacon’s 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 governsmarriage, 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
rationalist’s 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 man’s,
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
Satan’s Kingdom nor for God’s, but for the Kingdom of man.
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