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Home
Authors
Francis Bacon
English
Philosopher
About the author
Friendship increases in visiting friends, but in visiting them seldom.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Friendship
Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Infinite
#Beauty
Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Virtue
By indignities men come to dignities.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
Fortitude is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Reason
#Thought
Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nature
Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences, for there is no worse torture than that of laws.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Judges
#Laws
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted... but to weigh and consider.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Old
#Prosperity
#Adversity
Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; adversity not without many comforts and hopes.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Prosperity
#Adversity
Pictures and shapes are but secondary objects and please or displease only in the memory.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Memory
People usually think according to their inclinations, speak according to their learning and ingrained opinions, but generally act according to custom.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#People
#Act
#Opinions
#Learning
#Custom
People have discovered that they can fool the devil; but they can't fool the neighbors.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#People
#Fool
#Devil
#Neighbors
Opportunity makes a thief.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Opportunity
Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest, being the character of the Deity; and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Character
#Being
#Man
#Mind
#Goodness
Nothing is pleasant that is not spiced with variety.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nothing
#Variety
Rebellions of the belly are the worst.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
Next to religion, let your care be to promote justice.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Religion
#Justice
#Care
Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more a man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Law
#Man
#Justice
#Nature
#Revenge
Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nature
Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Study
#Experience
#Plants
Money is like manure, of very little use except it be spread.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Money
Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Death
#Children
#Fear
#Men
Many a man's strength is in opposition, and when he faileth, he grows out of use.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Strength
#Man
#Opposition
Life, an age to the miserable, and a moment to the happy.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
#Age
Lies are sufficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings on substance.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Opinion
#Lies
Knowledge is power.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Power
#Knowledge
Knowledge and human power are synonymous.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Power
#Knowledge
Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Art
#Living
#Fashion
Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nothing
#Hurt
#State
#Men
#Cunning
The correlative to loving our neighbors as ourselves is hating ourselves as we hate our neighbors.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Hate
#Neighbors
Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#People
#Execution
#Business
#Projects
Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Thoughts
Wives are young men's mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men's nurses.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Old
#Men
#Age
#Middle age
#Wives
#Nurses
Wise men make more opportunities than they find.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Questions
Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Patience
#Soul
#Possession
When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Friends
#Loss
What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Truth
#Jesting
We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nature
Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Writing
#Reading
The desire of excessive power caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge caused men to fall.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Power
#Men
#Knowledge
#Desire
#Angels
It is natural to die as to be born.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Beauty
Studies serve for delight, for ornaments, and for ability.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Ability
#Delight
Studies perfect nature and are perfected still by experience.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Experience
#Nature
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Books
Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#God
#Philosophy
#Atheism
Silence is the virtue of fools.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Virtue
#Silence
#Fools
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Wisdom
#Silence
#Sleep
Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#First
#Mind
#Rest
#Loss
Science is but an image of the truth.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Science
#Truth
Riches are a good hand maiden, but a poor mistress.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Poor
The fortune which nobody sees makes a person happy and unenvied.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Fortune
As the births of living creatures are at first ill-shapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Time
#First
#Living
Judges ought to be more leaned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Virtue
#Judges
#Integrity
#Witty
Fortune is like the market, where, many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Fortune
I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Death
#Man
For my name and memory I leave to men's charitable speeches, and to foreign nations and the next ages.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
#Nations
#Name
#Memory
Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Light
#Fame
Discretion of speech is more than eloquence, and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words, or in good order.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Words
#Speech
#Order
#Eloquence
#Discretion
Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
#Will
#Habit
Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more bitter.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Children
Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried, or childless men.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Public
#Men
#Merit
God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#God
#First
#Garden
Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Time
#History
#Shipwreck
Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Poor
#Men
#Anger
#Witty
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Friends
#Old
#Age
#Trust
#Wine
#Wood
Acorns were good until bread was found.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Man
A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Open
#Question
A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Question
#Wisdom
A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Wounds
#Revenge
A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Opportunity
A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Men
#Mind
#Religion
#Philosophy
#Atheism
But men must know, that in this theatre of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers on.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
#God
#Man
#Men
#Angels
#Theatre
I had rather believe all the Fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a Mind.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Mind
It is in life as it is in ways, the shortest way is commonly the foulest, and surely the fairer way is not much about.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
It is impossible to love and to be wise.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Love
It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
It is a strange desire, to seek power, and to lose liberty; or to seek power over others, and to lose power over a man's self.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Liberty
#Man
#Power
#Self
#Desire
In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Enemy
#Man
#Revenge
In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Darkness
#Light
#Present
#Order
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Imagination
#Sense
#Humor
If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Justice
If a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Study
#Man
#Wit
#Mathematics
Friends are thieves of time.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Time
#Friends
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#World
#Man
#Strangers
A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
Houses are built to live in, and not to look on: therefore let use be preferred before uniformity.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Houses
Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Hope
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Time
#Will
#Remedies
He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Wife
#Children
#Virtue
#Fortune
He that hath knowledge spareth his words.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Words
#Knowledge
He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Example
#Advice
Good fame is like fire; when you have kindled you may easily preserve it; but if you extinguish it, you will not easily kindle it again.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#May
#Fame
#Fire
God's first creature, which was light.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#God
#First
#Light
God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#God
#Exercise
#Intellect
#Grave
#Limits
God hangs the greatest weights upon the smallest wires.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#God
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#End
#Man
#Content
I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Years
#Man
#Old
#Age
The remedy is worse than the disease.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Disease
There is a difference between happiness and wisdom: he that thinks himself the happiest man is really so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Difference
#Fool
#Happiness
The worst solitude is to have no real friendships.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Solitude
The worst men often give the best advice.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
#Advice
The way of fortune is like the milkyway in the sky; which is a number of small stars, not seen asunder, but giving light together: so it is a number of little and scarce discerned virtues, or rather faculties and customs, that make men fortunate.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
#Light
#Stars
#Fortune
#Giving
#Sky
The subtlety of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of the senses and understanding.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Understanding
#Nature
#Senses
The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
#Superstition
There is a wisdom in this beyond the rules of physic: a man's own observation what he finds good of and what he finds hurt of is the best physic to preserve health.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Hurt
#Man
#Observation
#Wisdom
#Rules
#Health
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Beauty
There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Trying
Therefore if a man look sharply and attentively, he shall see Fortune; for though she be blind, yet she is not invisible.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Blind
#Fortune
They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nothing
#Land
#Sea
They that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Will
#Remedies
Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Wounds
#Revenge
Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Experience
#Education
#Travel
Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Truth
#Error
#Confusion
Truth is a good dog; but always beware of barking too close to the heels of an error, lest you get your brains kicked out.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Truth
#Error
Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Needs
#Truth
#Fiction
Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Time
#Daughter
#Authority
#Truth
We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Men
There is as much difference between the counsel that a friend giveth, and that a man giveth himself, as there is between the counsel of a friend and of a flatterer. For there is no such flatterer as is a man's self.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Man
#Friend
#Self
#Difference
The pencil of the Holy Ghost hath labored more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Job
The momentous thing in human life is the art of winning the soul to good or evil.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Life
#Art
#Evil
#Winning
#Soul
The joys of parents are secret, and so are their grieves and fears.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Parents
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Job
#Mystery
#Artist
The great end of life is not knowledge but action.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Action
#Life
#End
#Knowledge
The genius, wit, and the spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Spirit
#Nation
#Wit
#Genius
There is nothing makes a man suspect much, more than to know little.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Nothing
#Man
The place of justice is a hallowed place.
Francis Bacon,
English
Philosopher
#Justice