The Essays (Classics)
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One of the major political figures of his time, Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) served in the court of Elizabeth I and ultimately became Lord Chancellor under James I in 1617. A scholar, wit, lawyer and statesman, he wrote widely on politics, philosophy and science - declaring early in his career that 'I have taken all knowledge as my province'. In this, his most famous work, he considers a diverse range of subjects, such as death and marriage, ambition and atheism, in prose that is vibrant and rich in Renaissance learning. Bacon believed that rhetoric - the force of eloquence and persuasion - could lead the mind to the pure light of reason, and his own rhetorical genius is nowhere better expressed than in these vivid essays.
About the Author
Francis Bacon, philosopher, essayist, lawyer and statesman, was born in London in 1561. He studied at Cambridge and was enrolled at Gray's Inn in 1576. In 1584 he entered Parliament, and made the acquaintance of the Earl of Essex, who endeavoured to advance him in his career. Nevertheless, having been appointed to investigate the causes of Essex's revolt in 1601, Bacon was largely responsible for the earl's conviction. Bacon was appointed Solicitor-General in 1607 and eventually became Lord Chancellor in 1618. In 1621 he was charged with bribery, fined and imprisoned in the Tower. Following his release, he retired to his family home and spent his remaining years in philosophical and literary work. His ambition was to create a new system of philosophy to relace that of Aristotle, and he has been justly acclaimed as an inspiration to later scientists, rationalits and materialists. He died in 1626.
John Pitcher is a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He has edited Cymbeline for the Penguin Shakespeare and The Winter's Tale for the third series of the Arden Shakespeare.
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1579 February. His father dies, and (in June) he returns to England. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
1579 February. His father dies, and (in June) he returns to England. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of this book. Francis Bacon, the son of one of Elizabeth Is advisors is a wise fellow, who's sole aim is to improve humanity. Through a series of succinct and highly readable essays he propounds upon what's important in life (love, death,learning) with a clarity unparalleled in other essayists (I exclude Montaigne).
Apart from a generous number of essays, the Oxford version also includes the Advancment of Learning, a remarkable and historicaly important polemic on the vices and virtues of learning. A work that is still as relevant today as it was in the seventeenth century.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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11 reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
a timeless classic
20 Jun 2000
Format:Paperback
Along with Shakespeare's works, Bacon's "Essays" is the supreme achievement of the English Renaissance. Philosopher, statesman, author, Bacon made all knowledge his province, and in the "Essays" is to be found more worldly wisdom than in any other book. "My essays come home, to men's business and bosoms." And Pope penned the epitaph, "If parts allure thee think how Bacon shined, The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind." These essays, though, need a gloss for the modern reader to understand Bacon's cramped yet erudite prose and Latin quotations, as is provided in Pitcher's edition.
19 of 24 people found the following review helpful
The Renaissance Socrates
29 July 2002
Format:Paperback
It's useless to dig for just one or two epigrams to stand in for the totality of Bacon's penetrating genius in the "Essays." Though it is perhaps fashionable today to detract from him in order to praise Montaigne, it should be clear that Bacon is at least as indispensable. As terse as Emerson is expansive, Bacon's "Essays" are perhaps the most truly Classical (in spirit) prose in the English language. Fans of the Leo Strauss school should have a fieldday reading between the lines of the essays "On Atheism" and "On Superstition"; for the rest of us, nobody can come away from even one of these essays without gaining invaluable insights. Though Bacon is rightly heralded for the radical newness of his pragmatic methods, he is ensteeped in history-- those mindful of Napoleon's dictum that history is the only true philosophy will certainly respond enthusiastically to Bacon's approach. From the post-Machiavellian insights of "Of Empire" to the pre-Enlightenment ethics of "Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature", one will find in reading Bacon's prose what the youth of Athens must have found in following Socrates: the presence of a benevolent, worldly-wise, supremely rational mind determined to show you the order of the world.
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Priceless gems
21 Aug 2000
Format:Paperback
A collection of 59 essays by one of the shrewdest bipeds (some would say a brilliant rogue!) that ever walked this stale promontory of ours . Sir Francis Bacon offers his views on a whole smorgasbord of topics ranging from Truth,Death,'Adversitie',Marriage & the single life,Love,Boldness,Superstition,Friendship ,Health,Ambition,Youth,Beauty to Anger & Fame.These are short pieces (usually a couple of pages) but packed full of wit & timeless wisdom ____you can dip into them one at a time & chew them at your leisure .These essays are the quintessence of wholesome English common sense .Read them leisurely over a cup of tea(or coffee) on a crisp autumn afternoon (as the trees turn color) to savor their distinctly English flavor. I happen to have a Morroco-bound ,gilt-edged collection of these essays which was an added treat!
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