Worldly wisdom and pragmatism/realism in Bacon's essays
A Dictionary of the English language might be compiled from Bacon's works alone.- -- Samuel Jonson
“I have taken all knowledge for my province” says Bacon and
According to Hudson “Beyond any other book of the same size in any literature they are loaded with ripest wisdom of experience.”
There is nothing to dispute that the essays of Bacon are full of worldly wisdom, practical thinking and pragmatic/practical values and therefore they constitute a handbook of practical wisdom.
He shows an extraordinary insight regarding the problems that men face in life. But his wisdom is only practical and not moral.
Worldly wisdom refers to the kind of wisdom that is required for achieving worldly success. Bacon is clearly seen in his essays both as a philosopher and a moralist. A philosopher is deeply interested in the pursuit of truth and a moralist is a person who teaches human beings differentiate between the right and the wrong and urges them to undergo the right path only. Bacon is found in this dual role in many of his essays.
He was a product of the Renaissance with composite qualities such as wisdom, meanness and brightness. Bacon was a man of the Renaissance and that was an age which tried to explore to the full, the opportunities of mind and body afforded to man. The term, Renaissance means Re-birth or more generally the Revival of Learning.
Man was the subject of most literature and man is the subject of Bacon’s essays too. Thus the wisdom that Bacon shows in his essays is regulated by the practical consideration. It is frankly utilitarian.
Blake on reading the essays of Bacon is supposed to have remarked that they were good advice for Satan’s Kingdom.
But in fact His advice is neither for Satan’s Kingdom nor for God’s, but for the Kingdom of man.
Compton- Rickett says, “He had a great brain, not a great soul.”
This does not mean that the essays don’t contain ethical or philosophical values, they do, but the overall hallmark of his essays is practical use.
Wisdom in Bacon’s Essay,
Social and Domestic Life:
When we come to Bacon’s essays dealing with subjects such as love, friendship, parents and children or marriage and single life
In the philosophy of getting-on in the world, wife and children are handicaps, love is a hindrance and friendship is to be measured in terms of the advantages arising from it.
In the essay “Of Love”, Bacon offers a practical analysis of love. He says that a man should stay away from passion of love. Love is an emotion not fit for life according to Bacon. A passionate lover is likely to lose not only other things but also love. A man should restrain himself from excessive love and keep it within limits. He should not let his love interfere with his life. Dissolute or immoral love has corrupting and deserting effects upon human beings, though love is essential for the welfare of human.
. Similarly, friendship is not spoken of in terms of an emotional bond between two persons, but always in the terms of its utility.
In the essay “Of Friendship”, Bacon makes a pure worldly approach to friendship. He analyzes the uses of friendship. A friend can give reliable advice and alternative suggestions. It is better to consult the same man in all matters but he should be a wise and sincere friend. A friend can speak or act on our behalf where we ourselves cannot speak or act.
“Of Marriage and Single Life Bacon expresses the view that a married man with children can not undertake great efforts: “He that hath wife and children hath given hostage to fortune (something that u have or have promised to do that could cause troubles in the future)
.” He continues opining that “The best works and / of greatest merit for the public have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men.”
Similarly marriage can be useful to man in certain professions. A wife is useful to man in certain professions. A wife is useful at all stages of a man’s life -a mistress in youth, a companion in middle age, a nurse for old age.
In the essay “Of Parents and Children”, Bacon observes that parents must not have discrimination among their several children. Parents should not be miser in fixing the pocket allowance for their children. If the children receive too shall a pocket allowance, they will associate with mean companions and will learn all kinds of tricks and dishonest practices.
The essay ‘Of Great Place’ contains a large number of moral precepts but these moral precepts, it is noted, are synonymous with worldly wisdom. Bacon says that a man attaining a high position loses his freedom. Men in high positions, he observes rightly, are happy only when they hear that other men think well of that and that other men envy them for the offices they hold. Bacon says
“In place there is license to do good and evil; whereof the latter is a curse: for in evil the best condition is not to will; the second, not to can.”
The purpose of a man’s efforts should be to perform noble and meritorious tasks.
Bacon observes that there are four vices of authority that should be avoided – delays, corruption, roughness and facility. A servant or a favorite should not be allowed to get too intimate because others may suspect him an agent through whom one receives bribes. A man in high position should think a number of times before making promises. If he cannot keep the promise he has made, his reputation will go down, and his enemies will get chance to talk against him.
In the essay “Of Studies”, Bacon offers some practical wisdom regarding studies. Studies develop and perfect a man’s natural ability and they are in turn enriched by practical experience. Only bookish knowledge or only practical knowledge cannot help one. One should have both. Studies might give one guideline. But experience and practical knowledge are something that one should apply in one’s life. There are some books which are to be read only few parts. There are some books that should be read quickly. There are only a small number of books that deserve to be read thoroughly and closely. Thus only a small number of books provide the knowledge and wisdom that are to be imbibed and made a permanent part of oneself. Bacon says, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”
A wise man, according to Bacon, is one who applies his book-knowledge to practical life.
It is true that Bacon is a philosopher and a moralist, but the kind of morality he teaches is tinged with what is called worldliness. It has rightly been pointed out by critics that, in his essays as in his own career, he treated philosophy and morality as being subordinate to worldly success. It is for this reason that the wisdom of his essays is of a somewhat cynical kind.
In every issue, he balances the advantage and disadvantage. So His advice is neither for Satan’s Kingdom nor for God’s, but for the Kingdom of man which are useful in the life of human beings.
This note is written by Md. Intisher Chowdhury Sherbin
Conclusion: But it has to be pointed out that Bacon is not a moral idealist. He does not preach morality, but not ideal morality. We might even say that the guiding principle is expediency. Yet one cannot say that Bacon is amoral or immoral in his advice. . Even within the utilitarian code, there is a code of conduct – a morality that is perhaps as high as is easily practicable in the world as we know it. His essays embody the wisdom and philosophy and morality of a clear-eyed realist who knows quite well that men should be and but also knew what they actually were. Bacon is undoubtedly a man whose morality is greater than the average man’s, but it is not of the highest order. The pursuit of good and right are important but not if it proves too costly in worldly terms.
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