8/10/2019 Bacon as Wisest n Meanest Man
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If parts allure these think how Bacon shind
The wisest, brightest and meanest of mankind.
Bacon was the wisest because of his worldly wisdom, he was
brightest owing to hispowerful intellect and the art of writing
terse essays, and he was meanest due to his
treacherous character.
The above mentioned remark on Bacon was made by a renowned and
marvelous poet,Alexander Pope. !f we observe critically, this
statement holds its validity. "or Bacon
appeared to be a true child of #enaissance. $ndoubtedly he was a
man of wisdom and
powerful intellect. But all at once he was a calculating
character, keeping an eye on themain chance. %e was a true follower
of &achiavelli. %e failed to harmoni'e his mixed
motives, complex principles and high aims together. %e wanted to
strive after the selfless
scientific truth but he was conscious that nothing could be done
without money and
power. (o, he strived after material success. Bacon belonged to
the age of glory andgreatness, surprising meanness and dishonest
conduct and he could not avoid these evils.
Bacon was a man of multi)talents. %is wisdom was undeniable. The
thirst for infinite
knowledge and his versatility was truly astonishing. %e
possessed an intellect of the
highest order. %e was learned in *reek, "rench, +atin, nglish,
(cience, Philosophy,-lassics and many other fields of knowledge. %e
is regarded as the creator of the modern
school of experimental research. %e held that man is the servant
and interpreter of nature.
%e supplied the impulse which broke with the medieval
preconceptions and set scientific
in/uiry on modern lines. %e emphasi'ed on experimentation and
not to accept things forgranted. Bacon was indeed an elo/uent
prophet of new era and the pioneer of modern
sciences.
The essays of Bacon also portray his intellect and practical
wisdom. The varied range of
sub0ects too expresses that 1he had taken all knowledge to be
his province2. Bacon couldutter weighty and pregnant remarks on
almost any sub0ect, from *reatness of
3ingdoms to *ardens. The essays are loaded with the ripest
wisdom of experienceand observation conveyed through short, compact
and terse sentences. 4ne cannot denythe sagacity and shrewdness of
his counsels. Bacon2s essays deal with man. %e is an able
analyst of human nature, and his conduct in public and private
affairs. %is comments
regarding man2s behaviour may at times sound cynical but they
are undeniable truths. %esays
A miture of a lie doth even add pleasure.
Bacon is true here for most of the people would find life
terrible without false hopes and
false impressions. %is views about friendship, though lacks in
feelings and emotions, yetthese are undeniably true to human
nature.
"ollowing are a few examples of his wisdom.
!ne who studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green.
And
"en in great places are thrice servants.
(o, like a very wise man he coin ideas and teaches them to make
people wise in worldlyterms.
Bacons brightness is best illustrated in the way in which he
clothes his wisdom into
brevity and lends the readers a great pleasure. The compactness
of thought and
conciseness of expression was a virtue in an age when looseness
in thought and language
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was the rule. The essays are enriched with maxims and proverbs.
%e supports his ideas
and arguments with innumerable /uotations, allusions and
analogies which prove his
wide knowledge and learning. The aptness of the similes, the
witty turn of phrases andthe compact expression of weighty thoughts
are evidence enough of the brightness of his
intellect.
#uspicions among thoughts are like bats among birds."one$ is
like much, ecept it be spread.%irtue is like precious adours
&&& most fragrant, when the$ are incensed or
crushed.&oreover, the precise and authentic turn of sentences
and the condensation of thoughtsin them have been enhanced by the
antithetical presentation. (uch as
A lie faces 'od and shrinks from man.
The wa$s to enrich are man$ and most of them are foul.
It is a strange desire to seek power and to lose libert$.
Through indignation, men rise to dignit$.
Thus with the tool of antithesis, Bacon made his argument many
times stronger and
influential than a simple sentence. %e created so much wit and
strength in such precise
writings that they are still valid and famous. 5o man
individually did provide suchstrength and simplicity to the nglish
language than Bacon. Bacon tried to reach the
reader2s mind by a series of aphoristic attacks. Therefore he is
considered as the pioneerof modern prose. There is hardly any e/ual
of him for clear, terse and compact writing.
5ow, it appears to be an irony of nature that a man with such a
tremendous intellect and
wisdom had such a mean character. Bacon was not mean in the
sense of being a miser. %ewas indeed reputed to be a very generous.
The manner in which Bacon betrayed his
friends, especially ssex, proved him most ungrateful and ignoble
man. %e made
friendship and uprightness subordinate to his success. %e always
kept his eye on the main
chance, worshipping the rising sun and avoiding of the setting
one.%is marriage was also a marriage of convenience. %e did not
hesitate to take part in
political intrigues in order to promote his ambition. %is letter
to the king and /ueen were
also full of flattery that it was hard to believe that they came
from the pen of such anintellectual man.
Though he was wise yet he showed certain incapacity of emotions
and this trait can also
be witnessed in his essays. %e took the purely personal and
domestic matters of a man 6like marriage, friendship, love etc in
terms of pure utility. (uch as
(e that hath wife and children hath given hostages to
fortune.
And
Those that want friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of
their own heart.
!n short, Bacon was a man of the world 6 worldly wisdom and
worldly convenience. %e
had a great brain but not a great soul. %is complex and
contradictory characters will
continue to be a psychological enigma for the readers to
understand. (o, he was definitelythe wisest, brightest and meanest
of mankind.
