Francis Bacon

Pre-reading

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, orator, essayist and author. He served both as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England and was knighted in 1603. He died of pneumonia, which he supposedly contracted while studying the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism and the founder of English materialist philosophy and modern science. His works established and popularized inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry. Francis Bacon’s philosophy is displayed in the vast and varied writings he left. His major works are collected in Works by Francis Bacon, which includes articles dealing with scientific methodology, religion, literature and juridical affairs.

Prompts for Your Reading

1.Decide what kind of love Bacon focuses on in this passage. Does Bacon mean love in its broad sense, as in “love of man and nature”, or does he mean love in its narrow sense, as in “falling in love with someone”?

2.Make a list of the ideas expressed in this passage. Which one do you think is the dominant point of this passage?

3.How are the ideas connected with each other, in time order, in parallel, in causal relations, or in categories?

4.Do the proper nouns, including names like Marcus Antonius, Appius Claudius Juno and Pallas, have special implications in this passage? Find out the stories behind these names.

5.In what way do you find Bacon’s English different from modern English?

6.How would you describe the general tone of this passage?

[1] The stage is more beholding to love, than the life of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of tragedies, but in life, it doth much mischief: sometimes like a siren; sometimes like a fury. You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or recent) there is not one, that hath been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows, that great spirits, and great business, do keep out this weak passion.

[2] You must except, nevertheless, Marcus Antonius1 the half partner of the empire of Rome; and Appius Claudius the decemvir2, and lawgiver: whereof the former was indeed a voluptuous man, and inordinate; but the latter was an austere and wise man: and therefore it seems (though rarely) that love can find entrance, not only into an open heart, but also into a heart well fortified, if watch be not well kept. It is a poor saying of Epicurus3,satis magnum alter alteritheatrum sumus4: as if man, made for the contemplation of heaven and all noble objects, should do nothing, but kneel before a little idol, and make himself subject, though not of the mouth (as beasts are) yet of the eye, which was given him for higher purposes. It is a strange thing, to note the excess of this passion, and how it braves5 the nature and value of things; by this, that the speaking in a perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but in love. Neither is it merely in the phrase; for whereas it hath been well said, that the arch-flatterer, with whom all the petty flatterers have intelligence6, is a man’s self; certainly, the lover is more. For there was never proud man thought so absurdly well of himself, as the lover doth of the person loved: and therefore, it was well said, that it is impossible to love, and to be wise. Neither doth his weakness appear to others only, and not to the party loved; but to the loved, most of all: except the love be reciproque7.

[3] For it is a true rule, that love is ever rewarded, either with the reciproque, or with an inward and secret contempt. By how much the more, men ought to beware of this passion, which loseth not only other things, but itself. As for the other losses, the poet’s relation doth well figure them; that he that preferred Helena, quitted the gifts of Juno8 and Pallas9. For whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection, quitteth both riches and wisdom. This passion hath his floods in the very times of weakness; which are great prosperity and great adversity; though this latter hath been less observed. Both which times kindle love, and make it more fervent, and therefore show it to be the child of folly. They do best, who, if they cannot but admit love, yet make it keep quarter, and sever it wholly from their serious affairs, and actions of life: for if it check once with business, it troubleth men’s fortunes, and maketh men, that they can no ways be true to their own ends.

[4] I know not how, but martial men are given to love: I think it is, but as they are given to wine; for perils commonly ask to be paid in pleasures. There is in man’s nature, a secret inclination, and motion, towards love of others, which, if it be not spent upon someone, or a few, doth naturally spread itself towards many, and maketh men become humane, and charitable; as it is seen sometime in friars.

[5] Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth and embaseth it.

Notes

1.Marcus Antonius: (83 B.C.-30 B.C.) Roman politician and general. Despite his marriage, Antony had a continued love affair with Queen Cleopatra, who was ruler of Egypt.

2.decemvir: 1) (in ancient Rome) a member of a board of ten magistrates, especially either of the two commissions established in 451 and 450 B.C. to revise the laws古罗马的十大行政官之一2) a member of any governing body composed of ten men由十人组成的领导者之一

3.Epicurus: (341 B.C.-270 B.C.) He was an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia—peace and freedom from fear, aponia—the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.

4.satis magnum alter alteritheatrum sumus: Certainly we are a great enough audience for each other.原意为：我们互相看起来，就是一座够大的舞台了。意指情人之间儿女情长，两相看而不厌，或指人沉迷于色相，在情爱之中逢场作戏。

5.brave: to make showy or splendid

6.have intelligence with: communicate information with, get news or information from

7.reciproque: reciprocal

8.Juno: 罗马神话中的朱诺（Juno）是宙斯的姐姐与妻子，掌管婚姻和生育，是妇女的保护神，也是权力的象征。

9.Pallas: 希腊神话中的智慧女神帕拉斯

Questions for Further Thinking

1.Bacon says, “The stage is more beholding to love than the life of man.” Love seems to fit in with any genre of plays and motion pictures. In what ways do you think the theater and the movie industry benefit from love?

2.Bacon believes that man is made for the contemplation of heaven and all noble objects rather than kneel before a little idol. Should “man” here mean human beings in general, or should there be a distinction between man and woman? Or, is it more acceptable for women to “kneel before a little idol” than it is for men?

3.According to Bacon, love is rewarded either with the reciproque or with an inward and secret contempt. Do you agree? Is there any elegant way of declining love without hard feelings such as contempt or hostility?

4.Do you truly believe love and wisdom are incompatible with each other? Or is it true that men in love are stupid, but women in love are smartened up?

5.Love is an indispensible part of youth. Love is going to play a significant part in many future life choices concerning studies, work, family, career, friendship, entertainment, etc. How can a person make sure that love does not cut across other issues in life and maximize the positive effect of love in these issues?

6.Allusion（典故）is a figure of speech in which the author refers covertly or indirectly to a usually more familiar object or circumstance from an external context, leaving it to the reader to make the connection based on the resemblance between the two. Allusion can be used to explain or clarify a complex concept or issue. Allusions may be historical, mythological, literary, or even personal. Are there any allusions in Of Love? What are the sources of the allusions?

After-reading Assignment

Oral Work

1.Apart from nuptial love, friendly love and wanton love as specified by Bacon, are there other types of love? Discuss with your classmates and write short parallel sentences following Bacon by specifying the type of love and its implication or its function to mankind, as in “______ love ______ mankind”. Report your results to your class.

2.What do Marcus Antonius and Appius Claudius represent in this passage? Find more familiar figures in Chinese history or in your local folklore that can replace Marcus Antonius and Appius Claudius. Share your findings with your classmates and decide on the best two figures that can be the equivalent of Marcus Antonius and Appius Claudius.

3.Among Chinese philosophers and thinkers, can you name one who has discussed the topic of love openly and intelligently as Bacon does in this passage? What does he/she say about love? Summarize his/her points and present them to your class.

4.Work with your classmates to devise and deliver a 5-minute mini-lecture on allusion as a figure of speech. Your lecture should include definition, examples and sources (both in Chinese and in English).

5.Find at least two versions of the Chinese translation of Of Love and compare their style, use of words and conveyance of meaning. Study the translations and decide which version you prefer. Then state your results and reasons with textual supports from the original text and the translations with the help of a PowerPoint presentation.

Written Work

1.Bacon believes that great spirits and great business keep out the weak passion of love. Whether you agree to it or not, do research work and find evidence to exemplify and support your point. Your evidence could include historical events, verifiable personal stories, research reports, quotes, etc. You may use evidence either from your native culture or foreign cultures. Make a written outline of your evidence.

2.Counter the point that the great spirits and great business keep out the weak passion of love. Compose one statement clarifying your point and then back it up with various forms of evidence as you do in the previous task.

3.Work with your classmates and sort out at least 10 claims about love made by Bacon in this passage. Make a questionnaire using these 10 claims and find out to what degree people of the 21st century — students, teachers, farmers, business people, government employees, office ladies, international friends, etc. — agree or disagree with them. Sort out your findings and write a report based on what you have found out. Try to explain why or why not Bacon’s claims are accepted as true by the people of our time.

4.Are any Chinese sayings, essays or poems that echo or counter Bacon’s claims about love? Give some examples of Chinese claims about love and explore the similarities and differences between them and Bacon’s claims. What factors may account for the universal understanding of love, and what factors may account for the different interpretation of it? Write a 500-word essay to summarize your findings.