Francis Bacon (1561-1626)(弗朗西斯 培根 )Birth: January 22,1561 (York House, London)Death: April 9,1626 ( High gate )Francis Bacon1 . The wisest, brightest, and meanest of mankind.3. The guiding spirit in Colonization Schemes(开拓殖民地策划) in 1610.2. The most powerful mind of modern times.ComplimentNameFRANCIS BACON(BaronVerulam, Viscount St.Albans)Birth Date and Death22 January 15619 April 1626BirthplaceLondon, Elizabethan EnglandFamily BackgroundsHighly political family FatherSir Nicholas Bacon MotherAnne WifeAlice Barnham, the fourteen-year -old daughter of a well-connected London alderman EducationAt the age of 12Trininty College, CambridgeCambridge trinity college(1573)introductionFrancis Bacon（15611626） was the founder of English materialist philosophy（唯物主义哲学）。 He was born into the family of Sir Nicholas Bacon， keeper of the Privy Seal（御玺） to Queen Elizabeth. The boy early won the favor of the Queen. He went to Cambridge at twelve and after graduating at sixteen， took up law. He soon became one of the most successful lawyers of the time. At twenty-three he became a member of the House of Commons（下 议院） and his judgment and eloquence（口才） made him famous. When James I came to England， Bacon obtained one important office after another until he became lord Chancellor（大法官） and was made a peer （nobleman） in 1618. He was an admirable judge， but in the course of rising he had made enemies who charged him with bribery （受 贿）。 He was convicted （判罪） deprived （免去） of his office， fined and banished （流放） from London in 1621. Five years later， he died in disgrace （耻辱）。Career1587: Be elected to Parliament1618：Became lord High Chancellor1620： Won the titles of Baron Verulam and Viscount St Albans1621：Be charged with bribery and betrayal(出卖) of justiceThe list of worksLiterary works: Essays 论说文集(1597-1625) - Includes “Adversity“, “Anger“, “Athiesm“, “Boldness“, “Cunning“, “Death“, “Discourse“, “Dissimulation and Simulation“, “Empire“, “Envy“, “Goodness“, “Great Place“, “Honor and Reputation“, “Love“, “Nobility“, “Revenge“, “Seeming Wise“, “Superstition“, “Truth“, “Unity in Religion“, “Vicissitude of Things“, and “Wisdom for a Mans Self“.The philosophical works:Advancement of Learning学术的推进(1605)Novum Organum 新工具论（1620）New Atlantis 新大西岛(1624-1626)Maxims of the Law and Reading on the Statute of UsesMajor WorksThe History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh(亨利七世本 纪) and The History of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth( 亨利八世本纪) . De Augmentis Scientiarum（论 学术的进展） The New Atlantis（新西特兰提 斯岛） The final 1625 edition of his Essayes（论说随笔文集）.Essay: A Definition It is a relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. the term essay was first applied to the form in 1580 by Montaigne, one of the greatest essayists of all time, to his pieces on friendship, love, death, and morality. In England the term was inaugurated（开始） in 1597 by Francis Bacon, who wrote shrewd（机灵的） meditations（沉思录） on civil and moral wisdom. Bacons Essays His Essays is the first example of that genre in English literature, which has been recognized as an important landmark in the development of English prose. Bacons essays are famous for their brevity, compactness and powerfulness. And the neatness, the preciseness, the gravity, and the weightiness are the essential qualities of his writings. Balance and opposition are the most common strategies he uses to achieve both the appearance of balance and the concealment（隐藏） of his own opinions under the cloak （掩饰）of the opposing alternatives. Features of Bacons essays1. The language is very neat, pretty and weighty. 2. The sentences are very short. Bacon also likes to use more co-ordinate conjunctions than the subordinated ones, such as “as, since, because”. 3. Parallelism（并行论）, epigrams(警句), metaphor（隐喻） and simile 4. Bacons essays are famous for their brevity（简洁）, compactness（紧密） and powerfulness.Mottos by Bacon 1. Beauty is as summer fruits, which are easy to corrupt, and cannot last; and for the most part it makes a dissolute youth, and an age a little out of countenance. 美犹如盛夏的水果，是容易腐烂而难保持 的，世上有许多美人，她们有过放荡的青 春，却迎受着愧悔的晚年。 2. It is impossible to love and be wise. 要恋爱而又要理智是不可能的。Mottos by Bacon 3. There is no man that impart his joys to his friends, but that he joys the more; and no man that impart his griefs to his friends, but he griefs the less. 与友分享欢乐者,无不欢乐倍增;与友分担哀伤者, 无不哀伤减半 4. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtitle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend . 读史使人明智，读诗使人灵秀，数学使人周密， 科学使人深刻，伦理学使人庄重，逻辑修 辞之学使人善辩：凡有所学，皆成性格Mottos by Bacon 5. Wives are young mens mistresses, companions for middle age, and old mens nurses. 妻子是年轻时的情人，中年时的伴侣，老 年时的陪护。 6. Live to learn, not learn