Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban PC KCwas an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author. He served both as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method during the scientific revolution...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth21 January 1561
arises error readily truth
Truth arises more readily from error than from confusion.
frail mortality shall writes
Who then to frail mortality shall trust,/ But limns the water, or but writes in dust.
dust frail mortality shall trust writes
Who then to frail mortality shall trust but limns on water, or but writes in dust
body curious harp medicine music office poets reduce tune
The poets did well to conjoin Music And Medicine in Apollo: because the office of medicine is but to tune this curious harp of man's body and to reduce it to harmony.
curious harp medicine music office poet poets tune
The poets did well to conjoin music and medicine, because the office of medicine is but to tune the curious harp of man's body.
delight far knowledge nature pleasure
The pleasure and delight of knowledge and learning, it far surpasseth all other in nature
caused curious delight fruitful labour large leave natural rich speak time wander
When you wander, as you often delight to do, you wander indeed, and give never such satisfaction as the curious time requires. This is not caused by any natural defect, but first for want of election, when you, having a large and fruitful mind, should not so much labour what to speak as to find what to leave unspoken. Rich soils are often to be weeded.
gives past structure
Words, when written, crystallize history; their very structure gives permanence to the unchangeable past
What then remains, but that we still should cry,/ Not to be born, or being born, to die?
cry remains
What then remains but that we still should cry for being born, and, being born, to die?
clear critics desires earnestly hostile human instead nature push rather retaining using victories win worker
If any human being earnestly desires to push on to new discoveries instead of just retaining and using the old; to win victories over Nature as a worker rather than over hostile critics as a disputant; to attain, in fact, clear and demonstrative know
man shall though
If a man look sharply and attentively, he shall see Fortune; for though she is blind, she is not invisible.
begin certainty content man shall
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts: but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
fall fortune price stay
Fortune his like the market, where many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall