BACON, FRANCIS, English philoso pher and statesman, born Jan. 22, 1561; youngest of eight children of Sir Nich olas Bacon, Lord Keeper. His mother, whom he resembled, was the sister of Lady Burghley and a woman of fine edu cation and strong character. In his twelfth year Francis entered Trinity College, Cambridge, but left in June, 1576, to begin the study of law at Gray's Inn. Three months later he went to France in the entourage of Sir Amyas Paulet, the representative of the English Government. Here he laid the founda tion of his interest in matters of state. The death of his father left him in pov erty, with his own way to make. In 1582 he was again at Gray's Inn. He entered Parliament in 1584, and wrote a letter to the Queen in which he urged strong repression of the Catholic party and foresaw the conflict with Spain. His chief interest, however, was in the field of learning. He had previously ex pressed dislike for the university course, dominated by scholastic methods that prevented either additions to knowledge or fit training for the service of the state. In 1592 he wrote the famous letter to Burghley in which he said that he had taken all learning to be his prov ince and laid down the foundations on which all his later work was to be based: "industrious observation, grounded con clusions, and profitable inventions and discoveries," that is, a method of re search capable of immediate application to life in the place of repetition of theo ries traditional for centuries.
In 1597 he issued a slender volume of "Essays," which he described as "certain brief notes set down rather significantly than curiously." Later editions, each time with considerable additions, ap peared in 1612 and in 1625. The ten essays of the first edition are written in simple and concise style, and are ap plications of common sense to everyday problems. The volume of 1612, with twenty-nine additions, is on loftier sub jects, such as Goodness, Beauty, Empire, Death, the Greatness of Kingdoms.
These essays abound in evidences of his study of "the architecture of fortune," a philosophy of success. The essays of the third edition, written after his fall, are more philosophical and contain his ripest wisdom. The shrewdness, the concrete dealing with human nature, the concise and aphoristic style, the concentrated wisdom of one of the keenest observers, have combined to make these fifty-eight essays one of the great achievements of English literature.
Bacon's rise to power was very slow. Essex had been long interested in him, but was unable to get his protkge any high position. As a member of the coun sel for the Queen he was a participant in the trial of Essex in 1601, a fact for which he has been much criticized. In 1605 his "Advancement of Learning" ap peared. In this he carried out in detail some of the youthful ambitions expressed in his letter to Burghley and anticipated most of the philosophy afterward de veloped in many writings. The book is
a survey of learning in his time, filled with acute criticisms of the university course, estimating the accomplishment in all fields of learning, pointing out what needed to be done and the method to be used, and treating the philosophy of suc cess as well as traditional matters. It shows great learning, tremendous vital ity, and contains many ideas on the method of research and the function of the college course that are of value to day. His praise of learning, found in many passages, is eloquent, marked by lofty imagination and by the passion of a lover. His object was not merely to reach the attention of professional stu dents, but to touch the imagination of men of all sorts and conditions, so that they might look upon research as one of the loftiest of human interests.
Not until his forty-sixth year did for tune smile on him. In 1607 he became Solicitor-General. Ten years later he was Lord Keeper; in 1618 Lord Chancel lor; in 1621 Viscount St. Albans. He worked with enormous energy. His worldly success and the tremendous of ficial burdens that accompanied it did not put an end to his activities in behalf of learning. In 1620 his "Novum Or ganum," or new method, appeared, hav ing been prepared for by numerous writ ings carried on through busy years. His desire was to lead men to use an induc tive method in research. He pointed out the way through which modern science has won its triumphs.
At the very pinnacle of his fame, he became the victim of the rising moral sense of the time and of the popular dislike of the corruption of the court. He was accused of accepting bribes, was tried and convicted, and Parliament im posed on him a sentence of imprison ment, a fine of £40,000, and expulsion from all public office. There is no evi dence that his judgments had been in fluenced by the gifts that were a conven tion of the time. He recognized the jus tice of his sentence, but maintained that he had been uncorrupted. He was fond of extravagance and display, and these qualities together with his long study of the art of rising seem to have blunted his moral sense. They also inspired envy, and it should be added that the increasing unpopularity of the King and of his favorite, Buckingham, hastened the crisis.
After his fall, Bacon turned once more to his studies. His "History of Henry VII." (1622) was a pioneer in modern philosophical history. Several scientific works were completed; he revised and expanded his "Essays"; and carried on a series of scientific researches. He died April 9, 1626. The enigma of his char acter; the tragedy of his fall, almost in a day, from the highest worldly fame to disgrace; the enormous energy of his mind and will; his mastery of English prose; the immense stimulus he gave to learning, and is still capable of giving— all these indicate the extraordinary achievement of one of the greatest men of a great period in human history.