Book Description
This is a major new student edition of the text described as "the first modern classic of English history." Francis Bacon's insight into human motives, his life-long experience of politics and government, and his remarkable literary skills, render this History of the Reign of King Henry VII a major work of English literature and an important document in the history of political thought. The edition also includes other relevant writings by Bacon, generous editorial footnotes explaining the historical and political issues of the period, and a substantial glossary. ... Read more

Book Description
Bacon, founder of modern inductivism and prophet of theindustrial revolution, reveals a debt to antiquity in these polishedEssays. The text of this volume is that of Bacon's second revised andenlarged edition of 1625. On subjects ranging among state policy,personal conduct and the appreciation of nature, Bacon transcends thebrute force of scholastic logic and the abstractions of modernphilosophy.Download Description
Francis Bacon offers his opinion on many different topics in these essays, ranging from life and death to love and anger.Full of wit and wisdom, the essays are the perfect example of common sense.Though short pieces, they are thought provoking and a great pleasure to read. Please Note:This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.This eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Civil and Moral Essays
Francis Bacon is one of the authors whose ideas pervade society, but whose work very few of us have read.For example, many of us know of Bacon's saying that "Knowledge is Power" only through Economist Alfred Marshall. However, Bacon's analysis of how human science progresses is an essential classic. The modern scientific method owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Bacon's induction method. Bacon bases his induction method on observation and experiment.His Essays - this book - makes observations about life in all its varied dimensions. As an economist my reading focused on essays with a material content such as the essays "Of Innovations", "Of Riches", "Of Customs and Education", and so on. However, I have browsed or will soon browse other essays of the book.

Overall, it is impressive that one person did so much that has remained so insightfully informative for so long!Although the reading is slowed by the archaic and old style of the language of the book, I strongly recommend this book to all readers including young readers seeking to build their character.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

Get more bacon
Why get just the essays from Penguin Classics when you can get Bacon's 800 page major works from Oxford World's Classics (which includes the essays) for pretty much the same money?The difference is in cents - and you get five hundred pages more with Oxford, in an equally sturdy, attractive, and well-edited edition.

Some books are to be chewed and digested
When I was a very young person and a very great reader I thought that every book must be read cover to cover, and that to miss a page was a kind of sin. Coming across Bacon on reading I came to understand that not every book had to be chewed and digested, but that there were some to be dipped in and tasted. Bacon's epigramatic wisdom has a power , a poetic condensation. I do not know the essays as a whole , but I do have the sense of Bacon as a powerful intellect capable of providing insight into diverse areas of life. I do not however have the sense of a self , and one with humor irony charm of a kind one has with Montaigne who is a far more appealing figure.
I also believe the sometimes contradictory, and often ' broken' character of the essays do make them at times feel as if they are collections of individual apercus rather than whole constructions.
On the whole though this is a classic work one which I intend to look in and reread again.

The Renaissance Socrates
It's useless to dig for just one or two epigrams to stand in for the totality of Bacon's penetrating genius in the "Essays."Though it is perhaps fashionable today to detract from him in order to praise Montaigne, it should be clear that Bacon is at least as indispensable.As terse as Emerson is expansive, Bacon's "Essays" are perhaps the most truly Classical (in spirit) prose in the English language. Fans of the Leo Strauss school should have a fieldday reading between the lines of the essays "On Atheism" and "On Superstition"; for the rest of us, nobody can come away from even one of these essays without gaining invaluable insights.Though Bacon is rightly heralded for the radical newness of his pragmatic methods, he is ensteeped in history-- those mindful of Napoleon's dictum that history is the only true philosophy will certainly respond enthusiastically to Bacon's approach.From the post-Machiavellian insights of "Of Empire" to the pre-Enlightenment ethics of "Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature", one will find in reading Bacon's prose what the youth of Athens must have found in following Socrates:the presence of a benevolent, worldly-wise, supremely rational mind determined to show you the order of the world.

Priceless gems
A collection of 59 essays by one of the shrewdest bipeds (some would say abrilliant rogue!) that ever walked this stale promontory of ours . SirFrancis Bacon offers his views on a whole smorgasbord of topics rangingfrom Truth,Death,'Adversitie',Marriage & the singlelife,Love,Boldness,Superstition,Friendship ,Health,Ambition,Youth,Beauty toAnger & Fame.These are short pieces (usually a couple of pages) butpacked full of wit & timeless wisdom ____you can dip into them one at atime & chew them at your leisure .These essays are the quintessence ofwholesome English common sense .Read them leisurely over a cup of tea(orcoffee) on a crisp autumn afternoon (as the trees turn color) to savortheir distinctly English flavor. I happen to have a Morroco-bound,gilt-edged collection of these essays which was an added treat! ... Read more

Book Description
BOOK DESCRIPTION

* Who was Francis Bacon, a genius of modern times?

* Why did he often use cyptic or 'secret' ways of communicating in his writings?

*Was he also a Master of Hermetic Wisdom?If so, how do we know this?

*Are we currently living in the beginning of Bacon's long-awaited 'New Age'?

Francis Bacon, the acclaimed but hidden 'chief' who led the wits and poets in Elizabethan and Jacobean England during the period that saw some of the greatest masterpieces of English literature created, is now revealed.For the first time, readers will see his many dimensions, how Bacon deliberately followed the path of the ancients, using drama, certain codes and ciphers, to lead people to self-knowledge and enlightenment --a New Age.Through special techniques, cryptic codes and ciphers, we learn more about the ancient wisdom embedded in his works and how we -- today -- may well be living on the cusp of the 'New Age' of enlightenment that Bacon envisioned long ago.

Bacon and the Pursuit of truth:

Bacon's work is founded on the perennial wisdom underlying the Bible.His work is known as THE SIX DAY'S WORK (of creation) guiding the seeker towards peace, prosperity and illumination based on love, understanding and service.

Bacon and Enlightenment:

This illumination or light is the wisdom of ages, synthesised from many sources into books, music, drama nad art by a group led by Sir Francis Bacon.

Baconand the Shakespeare plays

These were written as working examples forming part of Bacon's method for the discovery of truth.

Bacon and Discovery:

In this book, author and readers work together to explore the 'treasure trail' of clues that Bacon and his Rosicrucian group left in order that we, too, may learn, practice and develop the work even further, in the early 21st century. ... Read more

Book Description
Series Editors: Kinley E. Roby, Northeastern University; Herbert Sussman, Northeastern University; Joseph Bartolomeo, University of Massachusetts; George Economou, University of Oklahoma; Arthur F. Kinney, University of Massachusetts

Twayne's United States Authors, English Authors, and World Authors Series present concise critical introductions to great writers and their works.

Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an author's work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volume addresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writer's work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading the Authors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features:

• A critical, interpretive study and explication of the author's works
• A brief biography of the author
• An accessible chronology outlining the life, work, and relevant historical background of the author
• Aids for further study -- complete notes and references, a selected annotated bibliography, and an index
• A readable style presented in a manageable length

Customer Reviews (1)

Terrific
Alfred Dodd has written perhaps thefinest bookon Francis Bacon while solvingthemystery of Shakespeare's identity with rare combination of historical truth and placing it inside the narrative of a story. Dodd'spenetrating insights and research leave most other Bacon biographers way behind. Partly dueto the fact thatDoddhimself wasaMaster Free- Mason the general public will have a unique glimpseand understanding of the ways of Freemasonry and it's influence throughout Bacon's life and how itsaturates the Shakespeare Sonnets and Plays. The novice studentto the more advanced researcher will profit greatly in absorbing the facts surroundingBacon's mysterious birth , his relation to Queen Elizabeth, hispassion and guidance to advance England thru education, sparking the English Renaissance and formulating a greater vocabulary for the English language,encouragingthe New World settlements, overcoming numerous enemies likehis cousin Cecil, and Coke the crooked lawyer, it's all revealed in this wonderful book.By the time one finishes reading it you will have not only a greater awareness of one ofthe world's greatest genuises and his selfless service to humanity and it's future but a deeper wisdom into the Shakespeare authorship issue. . Alfred Dodd has left us agreat treasure chest for all to partake in. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A biographical portrait of Bacon
Francis Bacon was a man filled with contradiction. He was consumed by two ambitions: 1) an insatiable thirst for knowledge and, 2) an endless "striving for political favor and position." The latter ambition finally did him in, bringing about his impeachment from Parliament for taking bribes, losing the high position (Lord Chancellor) he had spent his whole life striving for. Five years of life were left to Bacon after his disgrace, time spent in scientific and writing pursuits, but the damage was done.

Ms. Bowen does not write a full and detailed biography here, but rather more a profile or "evocation." She sacrifices the impartial and detached position of the historian clearly in her prologue by declaring her great admiration for Bacon. And although she doesn't hide or ignore his faults, it's difficult to read any page and not feel Bowen's awe and respect for her subject. There is much to admire about Bacon: his broad and deep learning (he seemed to be an "expert" on every subject, from law to botany); his wit (this a verbal exchange between Bacon and his arch-enemy Edward Coke: "Mr. Bacon!" says Coke. "If you have any tooth against me, pluck it out, for it will do you more hurt than all the teeth in your head will do you good." "Mr. Attorney!" (Coke was the Attorney General), retorts Bacon. "I respect you, I fear you not, and the less you speak of your greatness, the more I will think of it." (Ouch!); his books such as NOVUM ORGANUM and THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING, still regarded highly today; his life-long wish to found a university in England that would employ the scientific method in its pursuit of knowledge and not the old schoolman methods.

But there is also much to disdain: his bluntness; his naivete with regard to his enemies; his inability to control his spending impulses; his almost outrageous ostentation with his scores of servants, men in waiting, etc. He also had what came to become a most unpopular belief, that the king was above the law.

What makes Bowen's portrait of Bacon worth reading is her marvelous writing style. She is a descendant of the old-school of historical writing (Parkman and Prescott come to mind) that was as much of a literary bent as an historical one. She writes beautiful prose, worthy of her subject and the age in which he lived. Reading her book is a most enjoyable experience.
... Read more

Book Description
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is one of the most important figures of the early modern era.His plan for scientific reform played a central role in the birth of the new science.The essays in this volume offer a comprehensive survey of his writings on science, including his classifications of sciences, his theory of knowledge and of forms, his speculative philosophy, his idea of cooperative scientific research, and the providential aspects of Baconian science.There are also essays on Bacon's theory of rhetoric and history as well as on his moral and political philosophy and on his legacy. ... Read more

Book Description
The book is clearly written and makes available a wide range of issues concerning the style of Bacon's writings and his politics. Highly recommended to both general and academic libraries at all levels.-CHOICE ... Read more

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A definitive study of the great "philosopher of industrial science". Dr. Farrington pinpoints Bacon as the first man to grasp the revolutionary possibilities of man's increasing control over natural forces. The author sees Bacon's plan for the total reform of society by the application of science to production as the central theme of his life.

THIS TITLE IS CITED AND RECOMMENDED BY:Catalogue of the Lamont Library Harvard College; Books for College Libraries. ... Read more

Book Description
Was Francis Bacon a great man, a just judge, a teacher of kings, and founder of modern science and philosophy? Or was he a cruel, corrupt, and power-hungry politician who deserved imprisonment and disgrace? In this penetrating reevaluation of one of Britain`s most significant figures, Nieves Mathews rescues Bacon from a long tradition of abuse and misrepresentation and reveals how distorted facts can be recast as historical truths. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

MORE INTERESTING THAN ITS SUBJECT IS ITS WRITER
Nieves Hayat de Madariaga Mathews told us in her 1996 book about her subject, Sir Francis Bacon.Of much more interest is what she, the biological mother of Luis and Javier Solana, told us about herself in that very book:

1.Her spiritual teacher was Osho.This is a name better known to American audiences, particularly Antelope, Oregon ones as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

2.Her own fascination with the 'invisible college.'

As Javier Solana now holds extraordinary powers over Europe and is about to receive more, his antecedents deserve a more careful review.Nieves Mathews work is perhaps a good launching place.

Nieves Mathews Brings Home The Bacon & Restores a Reputation
The corrupt period during the reign of King James in 17th century England saw many villainous characters get into power or plot to get into power. Sir Francis Bacon, visionary philosopher, philanthropist, statesman,scientist, poet, politician and judge had to contend with many of themduring his lifetime. Perhaps this is why he intuited at the end, "Formy name and memory I leave it to men's charitable speech's in foreignnations and the next ages; and to my own countrymen after some time bepast." He seemed to realize that his reputation would grow like thatof many other visionaries who were best appreciated well after their death.Sadly, to this day Bacon's rich legacy contends with villains in the formof unjust literary critics, commentators and biographers who have left adeeper stain on his name than any of his contemporaries.

Nevertheless,Bacon's star appears to be rising with the publication in 1996 by YaleUniversity Press of Nieves Mathews' book Francis Bacon: The History of aCharacter Assassination. In one long fell swoop she offers the interestedreader a reevaluation of the poignant politically-charged events duringBacon's life by allowing all of the prejudiced detractors and spitefulcritics that ever had an ax to grind on Bacon to air their views again andthen dismissing them one by one for their lack of objectivity and personalanimosity.

Ten years in the making this tremendous labour of loveprovides more than adequate scope for the interested reader with over onehundred pages just in annotated notes alone, rounded out with an extensivetwenty-page bibliography. Mathews starts out with an epigram quoted fromone of Bacon's chief antagonists, Edward Coke, "The slander of a deadman is a living fault." The humorous irony here is that theinsensitive Coke was a menace to anyone living who stood in the way of hispolitical aspirations and Francis Bacon experienced this first hand. Cokehad orchestrated Bacon's downfall from the Chancellorship from behind thescenes and he also slandered Bacon with false bribery charges. AfterBacon's death, many uninformed commentators on Bacon's life failed to seethat he was actually an honest man who was unfairly framed by Coke'sinfluence and so the charges stuck through succeeding generations. Theabove quote from Coke now serves sentence on all those misguided by Cokewho refuse to recognize historical truth from fiction.

Much of the laterwidespread misrepresentation of Bacon as a dishonest, self-serving personoriginated in 1837 with Thomas Macauley's, "Essay on Bacon." Inher book, Mathews points out that Macauley admitted to being motivated byhis overzealous need to become famous at the expense of his subject. Thebook also goes into detail over the agonizing position that Bacon foundhimself in during the Essex insurrection period. Bacon was forced toprosecute his friend Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex or face chargeshimself. The Earl was the victim of his own hot temperament and alsosuffered from the shrewd traps hatched by Robert Cecil. Essex waseventually found guilty of treason, and was executed. Mathew illustrateshow the unfortunate outcome of the trial for Bacon was being unfairlytagged with being opportunistic and disloyal to his friend by later daycritics who were ignorant of the facts in the case while dismissing Bacon'sown summary report of the trial. Supporters of Bacon who recognize thatboth he and Essex shared a common bloodline as children of Elizabeth I,will be disappointed that Mathews' book does not go in that direction. Sheoverlooks such clues as the signature carved by Essex over the entrance tohis cell at the Tower of London where he used the Welsh spelling RobartTidir (Robert Tudor) as a message to posterity that he was Elizabeth's son.This bit of history can still be seen in the Beaumont section of the Towerin London and its implications are still deliberately kept secret by theTower guards since it contradicts the " official" story ofElizabeth's reputation as the Virgin Queen.

However, this new book istruly a great contribution toward reestablishing Francis Bacon as both anhonest man and an amazingly versatile genius whose prose and styleinfluenced later poets such as Byron and Shelley and writers such asColeridge and Emerson, in addition to making his mark on literarycontemporaries like Ben Jonson. Mathews has also done her research on theManes Verulamiani, the book of eulogies that was written and published byBacon's own peers at the time of his death and contains pages of lavishpraise which salute him as a highly-esteemed poet and dramatist. Thisoften-overlooked book of eulogies is an important testimony to the factthat Bacon was a great poet and dramatist. It also acknowledges him asbeing associated with Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom who shakes herspear at ignorance. It is her nickname: "The Spearshaker" that isthe origin for the word Shakespeare that currently adorns Francis Bacon'smost famous literary achievement. Unfortunately, Mathews tiptoes over theShakespeare Authorship question, perhaps because it is not part of thedomain and purpose of her book. However, one cannot help but wonder whatshe secretly thinks on the matter of Authorship after having spent so manyyears closely examining Bacon's life. ... Read more