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
adversity best discover doth prosperity
Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue.
desires doth mind raise
Poesy was ever thought to have some participation of divineness, because it doth raise and erect the mind by submitting the shews of things to the desires of the mind.
doth lay man open question surprise unexpected
A sudden, bold, and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open
delivered delivering disjointed distinct doth free knowledge leave man several turn wit
This delivering of knowledge in distinct and disjointed aphorisms doth leave the wit of man more free to turn and toss, and to make use of that which is so delivered to more several purposes and applications
doth higher shows
He doth like the ape, that the higher he clymbes the more he shows his ars
add doth lie mixture pleasure
A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
friends-or-friendship sincere solitude worst
The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship.
faculties fortunate fortune giving light men number rather scarce seen smaller
The way of fortune is like the milky way in the sky; which is a number of smaller stars, not seen asunder, but giving light together; so it is a number of little and scarce discerned virtues, or rather faculties and customs, that make men fortunate
man wise
The wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
cannot discovery greater nature since subtlety suffice
Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument.
adversity comforts fears prosperity
Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.
adversity comforts fears prosperity
Prosperity is not without many fears and distaste; adversity not without many comforts and hopes.
believe consider contradict histories men nor weigh
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, but to weigh and consider . . . Histories make men wise.
conference exact full reading ready
Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.