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Francis Bacon（1561-1626）was a lawyer，statesman，historian，philosopher，essayist and champion of modern science．He was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon，Keeper of the Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth．He went to Trinity College，Cambridge University at just twelve，and took up law after graduation．He became a member of the House of Commons at the age of twenty⁃three．He won the favour of James I and was knighted in 1603．He rose to his highest political office as the Lord Chancellor in 1618．
However，he was accused of taking bribes，convicted and sentenced．Although he was remitted by the King，he was forced to leave public office，never to sit in Parliament or hold any political office again．He died in 1626．
Bacon was usually considered as the founder of English materialist philosophy and a leading figure in scientific methodology． The Advancement of Learning （1605）and Novum Organum （ New Instrument 1620）are his masterpieces．He insisted that knowledge should be acquired through inductive reasoning；and he proposed a scientific way of gaining knowledge—learning through practice．
To most readers，Bacon was best known for his essays．He published a collection of ten essays in 1597 and expanded it to fifty⁃eight in 1625．These essays are usually short in length but profound in thought，covering such subjects as love，truth，friendship，parents and children，beauty，conversation，studies，healthy living，travel，youth and age．“Of Studies”，“Of Truth”，“Of Friendship”，“On Reading”and many essays in this collection are often listed in students’bibliography．“Knowledge is power”，“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds ”，“Histories make men wise”，“Boldness is a child of ignorance”，“Reading maketh a full man；conference a ready man；and writing an exact man．”and so many other epigrams have become our daily quotes．
Studies serve for delight，for ornament，and for ability．Their chief use for delight，is in privateness 1 and retiring 2 ；for ornament，is in discourse 3 ；and for ability，is in the judgment，and disposition 4 of business．For 5 expert men 6 can execute 7 ，and perhaps judge of particulars，one by one；but the general counsels 8 ，and the plots 9 and marshalling 10 of affairs come best from those that are learned．To spend too much time in studies is sloth 11 ；to use them too much for ornament is affectation 12 ；to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humour 13 of a scholar．They perfect nature，and are perfected by experience，for natural abilities are like natural plants that need proyning 14 by study；and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large 15 ，except they be 16 bounded in by experience 17 ．Crafty men 18 contemn studies，simple men admire 19 them，and wise men use them；for they teach not their own use；but that 20 is a wisdom without 21 them，and above them won by observation．Read not to contradict and confute；nor to believe and take for granted；nor to find talk and discourse；but to weigh and consider．Some books are to be tasted 22 ，others to be swallowed 23 ，and some few to be chewed and digested：that is，some books are to be read only in parts；others to be read，but not curiously 24 ；and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention．Some books also may be read by deputy 25 ，and extracts made of them by others，but that would be only in the less important arguments，and the meaner sort of books；else distilled books are like common distilled waters，flashy things 26 ．Reading maketh a full man；conference 27 a ready man；and writing 28 an exact man．And therefore，if a man write little 29 ，he had need have 30 a great memory；if he confer little 31 ，he had need have a present wit 32 ；and if he read little 33 ，he had need have much cunning，to seem to know that 34 he doth not．Histories make men wise，poets witty 35 ，the mathematics subtile 36 ，natural philosophy deep，moral 37 grave 38 ，logic and rhetoric able to contend． Abeunt studia in mores 39 ．Nay 40 ，there is no stond 41 or impediment in the wit 42 but 43 may be wrought 44 out by fit 45 studies，like as 46 diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises．Bowling is good for the stone 47 and reins 48 ；shooting for the lungs and breast；gentle walking for the stomach；riding for the head；and the like．So if a man’s wit be wandering 49 ，let him study the mathematics；for in demonstrations 50 ，if his wit be called away 51 never 52 so little，he must begin again．If his wit be not apt 53 to distinguish or find differences，let him study the Schoolmen 54 ；for they are cymini sectores 55 ．If he be not apt to beat over 56 matters，and to call up 57 one thing to prove and illustrate another，let him study the lawyers’cases．So every defect 58 of the mind may have a special receipt 59 ．
1．privateness：private life
2．retiring：retirement
3．discourse：conversation，talk
4．disposition：management
5．for：although，despite
6．expert men：men of experience
7．execute：carry out，accomplish
8．counsels：direction
9．plot：plan
10．marshal：arrange in logical order
11．sloth：laziness，inactivity
12．affectation：behaviour or an action that is not natural or sincere and that is often intended to impress other people
13．humour：mannerism，implying absurd error
14．proyning ＝ pruning：cultivation
15．too much at large：in general
16．they be：they should be
17．except they be bounded in by experience：unless they are checked by experience
18．crafty man：craftsman；men of craft
19．admire：（ archaic ）marvel at
20．that：their own use
21．without：outside
22．taste：to read in the way that you taste food；to read bits here and there
23．swallow：to read the whole book，but with little attention or without thorough understanding
24．curiously：carefully
25．read by deputy：read by someone else
26．flashy things：brilliant but empty things
27．conference：conversation，talk
28．writing：taking notes
29．if a man write little：（subjunctive）if a man should write little
30．had need have：ought to have
31．if he confer little：（subjunctive）if he should confer little
32．present wit：living intelligence；quick wit
33．if he read little：（subjunctive）if he should read little
34．that：what
35．witty：imaginative
36．subtile：（subtle），able to make fine distinctions
37．moral：moral philosophy
38．grave：serious
39． Abeunt studia in mores ：Latin．Studies pass into the character；Reading may cultivate one’s temperament．It is from Heroides by the Roman poet Ovid（43 BC 18 AD）．
40．Nay：not this merely but also，not only so but
41．stond：difficulty，hindrance
42．in the wit：in the mind
43．but：but what
44．wrought：past tense of work
45．fit：proper，appropriate
46．like as：as
47．stone：usu．pl．testicle；bladder stone
48．reins：kidneys
49．if a man’s wit be wandering：if a man cannot focus his mind on sth．
50．demonstrations：an exhibition and description of objects for the purpose of teaching or showing how something works；an act of giving proof or evidence for sth．
51．be called away：be diverted，digressed
52．never：ever
53．apt：proper
54．Schoolmen：medieval theologians；philosophers and divines of the Middle Ages，who spent much time on points of nice and abstract speculation
55． cymini sectores ：Lat．hair⁃splitters
56．beat over：investigate；discuss a subject thoroughly
57．call up：to cause to remember；to bring sth．back to your mind
58．defect：deficiency
59．receipt：recipe，prescription
Bacon was one of the greatest and most popular essayists in British literature and world literature as a whole．His essays are compact in style，wise in ideas，and powerful in expression．Percy Bysshe Shelley said，“His［Bacon’s］language has a sweet and majestic rhythm，which satisfies the sense，no less than the almost superhuman wisdom of his philosophy satisfies the intellect；it is a strain which distends，and then bursts the circumference of the reader’s mind，and pours itself forth together with it into the universal element with which it has perpetual sympathy．”（Shelley 26）
“Of Studies”in our selected readings is a good example in point．It is among Bacon’s most frequently quoted essays．Some sentences in this essay are so famous that they have become catchy quotations．Readers never forget such witty epigrams as“distilled books are like common distilled waters ”，“Reading maketh a full man；conference a ready man；and writing an exact man．”
“Of Studies ”discusses the functions and methods of reading．It is well⁃arranged and organized with the argument clearly presented．The first sentence puts forward the three functions of studies．Then the essay elaborates on the three functions，and goes on to discuss some wrong opinions on studies，the importance of experiment，the various methods to read，and the role of discussion and note⁃taking．It also argues that studies in different fields can bring about different benefits．
Bacon employs various rhetorical devices in this essay．Metaphor，parallelism and ellipsis permeate the essay．“Distilled books are like common distilled waters”is a typical metaphor，which compares a “distilled book”to “distilled water”，making the comparison vivid．
The best examples of parallelism in the essay can be found in “if a man write little，he had need have a great memory；if he confer little，he had need have a present wit；and if he read little，he had need have much cunning，…”
Bacon also uses a lot of ellipsis in the essay．For example，“Their chief use for delight，is in privateness and retiring；for ornament，is in discourse；and for ability，is in the judgment，and disposition of business．”“Reading maketh a full man；conference a ready man；and writing an exact man．”“Histories make men wise，poets witty，the mathematics subtile，natural philosophy deep，moral grave，logic and rhetoric able to contend．”
“Of Studies”is short，but sinewy and persuasive．It is in line with Bacon’s proposition in “Of Dispatch”when he says that“Long and curious speeches are as fit for dispatch as a robe or mantle with a long train is for race．”
1．Why did Bacon emphasize the importance of experience and observation？Do you agree with him？
2．Please analyse the organization of the essay．
3．What are some of the rhetorical devices Bacon used in the essay？Could you find more examples other than the ones in Appreciation Remarks？
4．There are a few Chinese versions of “Of Studies”．Could you compare these versions and make some comments on their strengths and weaknesses？
5．What other Bacon’s essays have you read？How could you persuade your classmates to read the essay（s）？
1．Lin Yutang，“The Art of Reading”．
2．Charles Lamb，“Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading”．