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Cover of Essays by Francis Bacon

Essays

  • 282 pages · about 5 hours
  • First published 1597
  • 188 editions
  • Free to read

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1 About this book

"Bacon's Essays have attracted an eager readership since their publication in 1625. They sum up a lifetime's observations on the whole range of human activity, by one of the keenest minds of the Renaissance. In their third and final revision Bacon designed the Essays to fill some of the gaps he had diagnosed in the study of mankind, such as the formative influences on individual behaviour of birth and temperament, of environment, social exchange, leisure, business, and politics.

Bacon's approach varies greatly from essay to essay, juxtaposing systematic analysis with brilliant apercus, in styles ranging from the detached and laconic to the passionately engaged, especially when expressing his moral beliefs."--BOOK JACKET. "This closely annotated edition is based on Brian Vickers's Oxford Authors text and includes appendices containing extracts from the Essays (1597), the Essays (1612) and 'Antitheses of Things' (1623)."

Good for readers who want: mythology, science, philosophy, and a book they can read free online.

  • Classical Mythology
  • Modern Philosophy
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Essays
  • Good and evil
  • Logic
  • Utopias

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3 About Francis Bacon

1561–1626

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of natural philosophy, guided by the scientific method, and his works remained influential throughout the Scientific Revolution. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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