Comprehending Bacon

As reading Francis Bacon’s essay, “Of Studies”, one realizes of its enduring quality. Bacon’s precise ideas were as valid in his days, as they are in the present times. His assertions have that universal quality that not only makes them cross physical frontiers, but also temporal ones. Throughout the essay there are many points in which I agree; but one of my favorite statements is the one that follows: “To spend to much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment only by their rules, is the humor of the scholar.” This phrase by itself contains much of the issues that people use to deal with when it comes to using their knowledge.

“To spend to much time in studies is sloth…” I could not agree more with this statement. Some people hide their aversion to work behind their compliance to studies; either consciously or unconsciously, they develop an attraction to any kind of knowledge-gaining means. They spend their whole...