Francis Bacon: The Temper of a Man

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Fordham Univ Press, 1993 - 245 pages
The portrait Bowen paints of this controversial man, Francis Bacon (1561-1626), balances the outward life and actions of Bacon with the seemingly contradictory aspects of his refined philosophical reflections. As Lord Chancellor of England, Bacon was impeached by Parliament for taking bribes in office, convicted, and banished from London and the law courts. In a prayer Bacon composed during the interval following his punishment, he reveals that the dichotomy of his existence was no more deeply felt than by himself, and he readily admits that his obligations to society were not as suited to his nature as the study of philosophy, science, and law.
 

Contents

I
xi
II
21
III
43
IV
118
V
131
VI
175
VII
205
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Page xii - I have taken all knowledge to be my province; and if I could purge it of two sorts of rovers, whereof the one with frivolous disputations, confutations, and verbosities; the other with blind experiments and auricular traditions and impostures, hath committed so many spoils; I hope I should bring in industrious observations, grounded conclusions, and profitable inventions and discoveries ; the best state of that province. This, whether it be curiosity, or vain glory, or nature, or, if one take it...

About the author (1993)

Catherine Drinker Bowen's biographies include a work on Tchaikovsky, titled Beloved Friend, Yankee from Olympus, dealing with the live of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke, and John Adams and the American Revolution. She died in 1973.Dominic Balestra is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University.

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