What's Inside
This volume gathers the pragmatic observations and symbolic decodings of a man who viewed writing as a recreation from his heavier legal studies. It opens with a biographical notice by A. Spiers and a preface by Basil Montagu, situating the author between the royal munificence of the Earl of Essex and the intellectual shade of his private library. The core consists of the Essays, which provide clinical advice on civil business and personal conduct, followed by the Wisdom of the Ancients. In the latter, the author argues that classical fables are not mere stories but sophisticated physical and political allegories, turning the race of Atalanta into a lesson on the friction between art and nature.
Works & figures
- Francis Bacon
Author and statesman who views his essays as recreations from serious study. (in “Introductory Notice of the Life and Writings of Bacon”)
- Earl of Essex
Nobleman who presented the author with an estate worth two thousand pounds. (in “Introductory Notice of the Life and Writings of Bacon”)
- Cyclops
Monstrous blacksmiths released from Tartarus to serve as tools of divine terror. (in “THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS”)
- Atalanta
Fleet-footed runner representing the speed of art in its contest with nature. (in “THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS”)
- Jupiter
King of gods who devours his pregnant wife to preserve authority. (in “THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS”)
- Boldness
A child of ignorance that fascinates those with shallow judgment. (in “ESSAYS; OR, COUNSELS CIVIL AND MORAL”)
What it's really about
- Allegory
- Decoding ancient myths as hidden physical and political instructions.
- Pragmatism
- Evaluating human virtues like boldness by their utility in statecraft.
Why it's memorable
- The image of Jupiter devouring Metis to later birth Pallas from his own head.
- Golden apples thrown across a racetrack to distract a swifter runner.
Where to start
Start with the Essays; or, Counsels Civil and Moral to see the author's sharpest observations on how human nature operates in the workplace of the Royal Court.
For your book club
- Is the author's interpretation of ancient myths a discovery or a creative imposition?
- Does the clinical analysis of anger diminish its power or merely manage its damage?