Wise, witty, and immensely readable, these short but thought-provoking discourses examine life, death, and everything in between: truth, adversity, love, superstition, health, ambition, fame, and many other timeless topics. Francis Bacon -- renowned as a scientist, scholar, and statesman -- regarded the world as a puzzle to be solved. During the transition between the Renaissance and the early modern era, his methods of inductive reasoning exercised an enormous influence on seventeenth-century Europe. In these essays, Bacon effectively applied his scientific approach of observation and interpretation to human behavior.
Bacon originally intended the essays as personal notes, to be shared only with a few friends. He was persuaded to publish an initial installment in 1597, and the volume's continuing popularity led to his revised and enlarged version of 1625. This edition features all 58 essays of the later version, offering a splendid combination of style and substance.
Introduction
Of Truth
Of Death
Of Unity in Religion
Of Revenge
Of Adversity
Of Simulation and Dissimulation
Of Parents and Children
Of Marriage and Single Life
Of Envy
Of Love
Of Great Place
Of Boldness
Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature
Of Nobility
Of Seditions and Troubles
Of Atheism
Of Superstition
Of Travel
Of Empire
Of Counsel
Of Delay
Of Cunning
Of Wisdom for a Man's Self
Of Innovations
Of Dispatch
Of Seeming Wise
Of Friendship
Of Expense
Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates
Of Regiment of Health
Of Suspicion
Of Discourse
Of Plantation
Of Riches
Of Prophecies
Of Ambition
Of Masques and Triumphs
Of Nature in Men
Of Custom and Education
Of FortuneOf Usury
Of Youth and Age
Of Beauty
Of Deformity
Of Building
Of Gardens
Of Negociating
Of Followers and Friends
Of Suitors
Of Studies
Of Faction
Of Ceremonies
Of Praise
Of Vain-Glory
Of Honour and Reputation
Of Judicature
Of Anger
Of Vicissitude of Things
Of Fame, a Fragment
Index of Quotations and Foreign Phrases
Glossary
Dover Publications
Pub Date: April 21, 2008
ISBN: 9780486454436
0.56" H x 8.56" L x 5.5" W
224 pages
Paperback