00248--OF STUDIES/ESSAY/FRANCIS BACON [English literature free notes]







                      OF STUDIES

The word ‘essay’ was first used by the French writer Montaigne from whom Bacon adopted it. Bacons essays are in a class apart from those of the other essayists like Lamb, Macaulay and Addison.  He himself called them “pithy jottings, rather apt than curious’.  The description exactly fits his writings, especially earlier essays like “Of Studies”.


In “Of Studies”, the sentences are nearly all short; crisp and sententious.  There are few connectives.  Each sentence stands by itself, expressing briefly and precisely his weighty thought.  The epigrammatic terseness and the sharp antithesis and balance are seen as found in all his writings.  But in, “Of Truth”, Bacon imparts warmth and colour to his style.  Illustrations abound, metaphors and similies crop up.  In “Of Studies” each sentence is a concentrated expression of his idea, and most of them have acquired the universal currency of proverbs.


Bacon speaks at length of the value of study.  According to him, three purposes are served by studies. 

1.  They give delight.
2.  They are an ornament to man.
3.  They add to the ability of man.

In retirement and in aloofness reading gives pleasure.  As an ornament, one’s study adorns one’s conversation.  The ability of a learned man is seen in his judgment and in the way he carries out his business.  Even experienced men turn to learned people for advice and guidance.  Yet to spend too much time in studies is a sort of idleness, and to use one’s knowledge too much in conversation is nothing short of affectedness. To judge wholly by the rules one has studied is the tendency of a scholar.  Studies perfect the inborn talent of man, which is further completed by experience.  In this respect studies are like natural plants which require pruning.  Reading should not tempt one to contradict others.  Neither should one believe all that is stated in books.  What is absorbed from books should be weighed well before introducing them in one’s talk.


Bacon speaks of different types of books in his essay entitled “Of Studies”.

1.     Some books are to be tasted  [just enough to go through the book]
2.     Others to be swallowed  [read with great attention]
3.     Few to be chewed and digested  [each word must be meditated upon]


Condensed or abridged books are like distilled water, bright but tasteless.  Books on history add to the wisdom of man, for they are authentic account of the plots and plans made by the leaders of men who have gained tremendous success in life or failed miserably.  Reading of poetry makes man intelligent and imaginative, for poets present an imaginary world in their works.  The study of mathematics makes men clever and quick in grasping.  The study of natural science increases the depth of mind.  Morality makes men grave and the study of logic enables men to argue well. 


Reading, according to Bacon, makes a man well-informed while conversation makes him quick-witted, and writing makes him impeccable.  To write well he needs a good memory, for a writer should be careful not to repeat his ideas. 


Bacon concludes his essay “Of Studies” by suggesting remedies for deficiencies in some of the mental faculties.  He believes that there is scarcely any frailty in human mind which cannot be dispelled by the study of a subject fit for such a mind.  Just as physical exercises can cure the diseases of the body, the imperfections of the mind can be expelled by study. 


Bowling is considered good for curing the stones in the kidney; shooting is good exercise for lungs and breast; gentle walking is good for the stomach and riding is prescribed for any illness associated with the head.  Similarly, if a man’s mind lacks concentration he should study mathematics in which if his mind wanders from the subject, he will have to start again from the beginning.  If one is unable to discover the fine distinctions, he should study the works of the medieval philosophers who were skilled in subtle debates, and in the case of men who cannot argue well, Bacon recommend the study of the lawyer’s cases.  Thus every defect of the mind can be cured by the study of the proper subject.

                                                         END



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