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Bacon (FRANCIS English philosopher)
FRANCIS, English philosopher and statesman, born Jan. 22, 1561; youngest of eight children of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper. His mother, whom he resembled, was the sister of Lady Burghley and a woman of fine education and strong character. In his twelfth year Francis entered Trinity College, Cambridge, but left in June, 1576, to begin the study of law at Gray's BACON Inn. Three months later he went to France in the entourage of Sir Amyas Paulet, the representative of the English Government. Here he laid the founda- FRANCIS BACON tion of his interest in matters of state.
The death of his father left him in pov- 1582 he was again at Gray's Inn. He erty, with his own way to make. In entered Parliament in 1584, and wrote a letter to the Queen in which he urged strong repression of the Catholic party and foresaw the conflict with Spain. field of learning. He had previously ex- His chief interest, however, was in the pressed dislike for the university course, dominated by scholastic methods that dominated by scholastic prevented either additions to knowledge state. In 1592 he wrote the famous or fit training for the service of the letter to Burghley in which he said that he had taken all learning to be his province and laid down the foundations on which all his later work was to be based: "industrious observation, grounded conclusions, and profitable inventions and discoveries ," that is, a method of research capable of immediate application to life in the place of repetition of theories traditional for centuries. In 1597 he issued a slender volume of "Essays," which he described as "certain than curiously." Later editions, each brief notes set down rather significantly time with considerable additions, appeared in 1612 and in 1625. The ten essays of the first edition are written in simple and concise style, and are applications of common sense to everyday problems. twenty-nine additions, is on loftier sub- The volume of 1612, with jects, such as Goodness, Beauty, Empire, Death, the Greatness of Kingdoms.
BACON These essays abound in evidences of his study of "the architecture of fortune," a philosophy of success. The essays of the third edition, written after his fall, are more philosophical and contain his ripest wisdom. The shrewdness, the concrete dealing with human nature, the concise and aphoristic style, the concentrated wisdom of one of the keenest observers, have combined to make these fifty-eight essays one of the great achievements of English literature.
Bacon's rise to power was very slow.
Essex had been long interested in him, but was unable to get his protégé any high position. As a member of the counsel for the Queen he was a participant in the trial of Essex in 1601, a fact for which he has been much criticized. In 1605 his "Advancement of Learning" appeared. In this he carried out in detail some of the youthful ambitions expressed in his letter to Burghley and anticipated most of the philosophy afterward developed in many writings. The book is a survey of learning in his time, filled with acute criticisms of the university course, estimating the accomplishment in all fields of learning, pointing out what needed to be done and the method to be used, and treating the philosophy of success as well as traditional matters. It shows great learning, tremendous vitality, and contains many ideas on the method of research and the function of the college course that are of value today. His praise of learning, found in many passages, is eloquent, marked by lofty imagination and by the passion of a lover. His object was not merely to reach the attention of professional students, but to touch the imagination of men of all sorts and conditions, so that they might look upon research as one of the loftiest of human interests.
Not until his forty-sixth year did fortune smile on him. In 1607 he became Solicitor-General. Ten years later he was Lord Keeper; in 1618 Lord Chancellor; in 1621 Viscount St. Albans. He worked with enormous energy. His worldly success and the tremendous official burdens that accompanied it did not put an end to his activities in behalf of learning. In 1620 his "Novum Organum," or new method, appeared, having been prepared for by numerous writings carried on through busy years. His desire was to lead men to use an inductive method in research. He pointed out the way through which modern science has won its triumphs.
At the very pinnacle of his fame, he became the victim of the rising moral sense of the time and of the popular dislike of the corruption of the court.
He was accused of accepting bribes, was BACON tried and convicted, and Parliament imposed on him a sentence of imprisonment, a fine of £40,000, and expulsion from all public office. There is no evidence that his judgments had been influenced by the gifts that were a convention of the time. He recognized the justice of his sentence, but maintained that he had been uncorrupted. He was fond of extravagance and display, and these qualities together with his long study of the art of rising seem to have blunted his moral sense. They also inspired envy, and it should be added that the increasing unpopularity of the King and of his favorite, Buckingham, hastened the crisis.
After his fall, Bacon turned once more to his studies. ies. His "History of Henry VII." (1622) was a pioneer in modern philosophical history. Several scientific works were completed; he revised and expanded his "Essays"; and carried on a series of scientific researches. He died April 9, 1626. The enigma of his character; the tragedy of his fall, almost in a day, from the highest worldly fame to disgrace; the enormous energy of his mind and will; his mastery of English prose; the immense stimulus he gave to learning, and is still capable of givingall these indicate the extraordinary achievement of one of the greatest men of a great period in human history.