The Essays Or Counsels, Civil and Moral'their excellence and their value consisted in being the observations of a strong mind operating upon life; and in consequence you find what you seldom find in other books.' Samuel Johnson Celebrated today as a writer and scientist, Francis Bacon was for the most part of his life occupied with the law and public affairs at a high level. Although personally devastating, his fall from public office in 1621 nonetheless served to liberate him for his own work and the last five years ofhis life saw an enormous output in the most varied fields. It is to this period that we owe the last and most popular work published in his lifetime, the Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral (1625) Focusing on the ethical, political and historical constraints and influences on human behaviour andfollowing principles laid down by rhetorical theory, Bacon sought to systematize his observations on such diverse topics as beauty, deformity, fortune, adversity, ambition, friendship, truth, marriage, atheism and superstition. Persuasive and diagnostic, his Essays are valued for many reasons, notleast their combination of a dispassionate observation of human life with powerfully expressed moral judgements. This edition is based on the Oxford Authors series complete with notes on Bacon's rich vocabulary and substantial annotation. |
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Contents
THE ESSAYS OR COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL 1625 | 3 |
Of Death | 5 |
Of Unity in Religion | 9 |
Of Revenge | 10 |
Of Adversity II | 11 |
Of Simulation and Dissimulation | 12 |
Of Parents and Children | 15 |
Of Marriage and Single Life | 16 |
Of Plantations | 78 |
Of Riches | 80 |
Of Prophecies | 83 |
Of Ambition | 86 |
Of Masques and Triumphs | 88 |
Of Nature in Men | 89 |
Of Custom and Education | 90 |
Of Fortune | 92 |
Of Envy | 18 |
Of Love | 22 |
Of Great Place | 23 |
Of Boldness | 26 |
Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature | 28 |
Of Nobility | 30 |
Of Seditions and Troubles | 31 |
Of Atheism | 37 |
Of Superstition | 39 |
Of Travel | 41 |
Of Empire | 42 |
Of Counsel | 46 |
Of Delays | 50 |
Of Cunning | 51 |
Of Wisdom for a Mans Self | 54 |
Of Innovations | 55 |
Of Dispatch | 56 |
Of Seeming Wise | 58 |
Of Friendship | 59 |
Of Expense | 65 |
Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates | 66 |
Of Regiment of Health | 74 |
Of Suspicion | 75 |
Of Discourse | 76 |
Of Usury | 93 |
Of Youth and Age | 96 |
Of Beauty | 98 |
Of Deformity | 99 |
Of Building | 100 |
Of Gardens | 104 |
Of Negotiating | 109 |
Of Followers and Friends | 110 |
Of Suitors | 112 |
Of Studies | 114 |
Of Faction | 115 |
Of Ceremonies and Respects | 116 |
Of Praise | 118 |
Of VainGlory | 119 |
Of Honour and Reputation | 121 |
Of Judicature | 122 |
Of Anger | 126 |
Of Vicissitude of Things | 127 |
A Fragment of an Essay on Fame | 132 |
Essays 1597 | 134 |
From the Essays 1612 | 142 |
Explanatory Notes | 156 |
Common terms and phrases
according actions affection appear authority better body bring Caesar cause Certainly civil common commonly concerning continually counsel court custom danger deal death desire doth England Essays fame favour fear follow fortune Francis Bacon garden give greatest ground hand hath Henry History honour human Italy judge judgment keep kind King less light likewise live London look maketh man's matter means men's mind moral motion nature never noted observation opinion Oxford persons Plutarch political princes reason religion Renaissance respect rest Rhetoric riches Roman rule saith side sometimes sort speak speech studies suits sure things thought tion true truth turn virtue wise
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Essays Or Counsels, Civil and Moral Oxford world's classics |
| Author | Francis Bacon |
| Editor | Brian Vickers |
| Contributor | Brian Vickers |
| Edition | annotated |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, 1999 |
| ISBN | 0192838024, 9780192838025 |
| Length | 216 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |