LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON (PART ONE)

 

                   LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON

                                      (PART ONE)             

            Francis Bacon was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James. He laid emphasis on the importance of natural philosophy, guided by the scientific method.

            He was born in London on 22 January 1561 and died on 9 April 1626.

For his education he joined Trinity College, Cambridge.  

            Among his writings are two famous books New Atlantis which describes an imaginary island in the pacific inhabited by scholars and scientists, and a book of  Essays first published with 10 essays in 1597. In the sub-title  of this book he called them ‘Counsels, civil and moral’. In all, there were three volumes with 59 essays.

            All the essays written by him are short , packed with practical wisdom in the form of pithy sayings or maxims sounding like proverbs.  

 

            Given below is their first instalment.                        

 

1.     Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond  or carbuncle that showeth best in varied lights.

2.     There is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious; and therefore Montaigne  saith prettily : If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much to say that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards man; for a lie faces God, and shrinks from man.

Note: Montaigne (1533-1592) was a French Renaissance philosopher. He is also best known for his book of Essays.

 

3.     Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark: and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.

4.     Certainly , the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin and passage to another world , is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature is weak.

5.     Death openth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy.

6.     The quarrels and divisions about religion were evils unknown to the heathen.

Note: The word  heathen is used to denote  an uncivilized, non-religious, or irreligious person.

                                    ********

G.R.Kanwal

15^th March 2026     

 

 

 

SOME INTERESTING QUOTES

 

                                                SOME INTERESTING QUOTES

            Quotes are extracts from some body’s text or speech. They are full of wisdom. One who reads them and also remembers them becomes not only enlightened but also wiser. It is advisable to note the thoughts contained in the quotes read by you and act on them whenever and wherever relevant. .

            Here are some precious quotes from the speeches or writings of great writers or orators.

1.To rule one’s anger is well; to prevent it is still better.—Tyron Edwards (1809-940, American theologian.

2. A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.---Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810-89) , English poet.

3. The world is a scene of changes; to be constant in nature were inconstancy. ---Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), English poet.                        

4. There is not a moment without some duty.—Roman Orator Cicero(106-43 B.C.).

5. We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. ---John Dryden (1631-1700), English poet.

6. Take care of your health; you have no right to neglect it, and thus become a burden to yourself, and perhaps to others. Let your food be simple; never eat too much; take exercise enough; be systematic in all things; if unwell, starve yourself till you are well again, and you may throw care to the winds, and physic to the dogs.---William Hall (1748-1825), English poet.

7. The most essential element in any home is God.---Dr. Frank Crane, American clergy (1861-1928)

8. An honest man is the noblest work of God.----English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744).

9. In all things it is better to hope than to despair.--- German poet and dramatist Johnn Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832).

10. Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.----Oliver Goldsmith, English poet and writer (1723-1774)

11.  Human life is a constant want, and ought to be a constant prayer.---Horace Bushnell, American clergy (1802-1876).  

12.Ready money is Aladin’s lamp.----George Gordon Noel Byron (1788—1824), English poet.

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

14 March 2026

 

 

POPE AND SHAKESPEARE ON MAN

 

          POPE AND SHAKESPEARE ON MAN

            Both Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare were English poets. Pope was born in London n 21 May 1688 and passed away at his home in Twickenham, United Kingdom, om 30 May 1744. An Essay on Man is one of his long  poems. The extract which is given below is titled:

                        The Riddle Of The World

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan

The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Placed on this Isthmus of a middle state,

A Being darkly wise, and rudely great:

With too much knowledge  for the Sceptic side,

With too much weakness for the Stoic’s pride.

He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;

In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast;

In doubt his mind and body to prefer;

Born but to die, and reas’ning but to err;

Whether he thinks too little, or too much;

Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus’d;

Still by himself, abus’d or disabus’d;

Created half to rise and half to fall;

Great Lord of things, yet a prey to all,

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled;

The glory, jest and riddle of the world.

            This poem is an excerpt from Pope’s philosophical poem An Essay on Man.    

            William Shakespeare was both a poet and playwright. He was born on 23 April 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon  and died on the same date in  1616 at Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom.   

            The two  extracts on man which follow are  taken from his  tragic play Hamlet.

 

                                    FIRST EXTRACT

            What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!------Act 2, Sc 2.                    

                                                            SECOND  EXTRACT

What is a man,

If his chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.

Sure he hath made us with such large discourse,

Looking before and after, gave us not

That capability and god-like reason

To fust in us unus’d.------Act 4, Sc.4.

                                    *******

G.R.Kanwal

13 March 2026

 

 

LURE FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES

                 LURE FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES   

            To begin with here is a most relevant quote on the subject:”Leaving a home country and parents to settle abroad is a major life decision often driven by the pursuit of better career prospects, higher quality of life, and personal growth. “

            The same quote adds: While the prospect of independence and global exposure is attractive, it is frequently accompanied by guilt and the emotional challenge of leaving aging parents behind.

            Life in a foreign country is not comfortable for everybody who goes there. Accommodation is a major problem. The same room for which handsome rent has to be paid is shared by a number of users. All those who live together are not intimate. They are isolated. Their mother tongues are different. Their life styles do not match. Quite a few of them are drug addicts. Religiously also they are at logger heads.

            As for lonely parents, life is sad. Their contact with their detached children is only through mobiles and that also once in a while.

            I know of a retired Indian university professor who went to see his son abroad but was not able to live with him. He stayed in a hotel and ultimately  feeling homesick and lonely died there.

            In an interesting story, the writer quoted a mother sparrow with these words. “I am sad because when my children became able to use their wings, they flew away  leaving me alone forever .”

            I find so many parents in my city where they have been  subjected to painful loneliness because their children have settled abroad.  A large number of them are old, sick and poor. As William Shakespeare said in his poem THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN –

                                    Last scene of all,

                                    That ends this strange eventful history.

                                    Is second childishness and mere oblivion

                                    Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

                                                            

DON’T BE IN A HURRY

 

                DON’T BE IN A HURRY               

            Don’t be in a hurry; nature does not allow it. Moreover, there is no reason to act at an abnormal speed. A heart with faster beats puts life at risk. Speediness for development is not a valid excuse. Development is part of evolution which will never end. It will continue for billions of years to come  but at its own natural speed.

            There is no justification for working restlessly, sacrificing relaxation, spending sleepless nights, inviting stress, visiting doctors for anti-anxiety medicines.

            The Indian writer, political thinker and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) prayed for a free India from the British rule where the mind could be fearless and the head could be held high. A hasty life lacks these qualities.

            Toda’s restless humanity is suffering from insomnia. Sleep-inducing medicines are much in demand everywhere.

            The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) said: The end of labour is to gain leisure.

            According to the English divine Robert South (1634-1716) : Days of respite are golden days.

            The English novelist and poet  George Eliot (1819-1880) wrote somewhere: Leisure is gone; gone where the spinning-wheels are gone, and the pack-horses, and the slow wagons, and the peddlers who brought bargains to the door on sunny afternoons.

            Today there is a demand for fastest means of travel. People want instant coffee and quickest means of communication.

            Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath Pythagoras (born around 570 BC) regretfully said :  In this theater of man’s life, it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers-on).

            The English poet William Henry Davies (1871-1940) said that “ one of  the most disastrous effects of industrial  civilization has been the sense of hurry it has given to modern man.: In his poem titled “LEISURE” he asks:

            What is this life if, full of care,

            We have no time to stand  and stare?

            No time to stand beneath the boughs

            And stare as long as sheep or cows:

            No time to see, when woods we pass,

            Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

            No time to see, in broad daylight,

            Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

            No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

            And watch her feet, how they can dance:

            No time to wait till her mouth can

            Enrich that smile her eyes began?    

 

Davies closes this poem with the following two lines:

 

            A poor life this if, full of care,

            We have no time to stand and stare.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

11 March 2026

IT IS A DIVIDED WORLD

 

                IT IS A DIVIDED WORLD           

            God created the whole world as one entity. There was no division into countries.  He did not make religions, faiths, castes, beliefs, isms, philosophies. He gave to humans and other beings one sun and one moon. His laws about days and nights have not changed since they were made.

            Whatever is there in this world is ultimately God’s property. No man, no   bird, no beast, can carry anything  from here to the place where death takes him.

             Today the world is divided into 195 countries. Vatican City has the minimum population of 500 to 800 residents. The most populated country is India with more than 1.46 billion people. Most of the countries are poor. Only a handful of them including United States, China, Germany, Japan, and India belong to the top economies. In military strength also the topmost countries are very few. They include United States, China and Russia. The number of nuclear power countries is nine: Russia, United States, China, France, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. All the countries off and on afraid that they may be attacked by some enemy, so there is lot of  manufacturing and buying of arms and weapons. Currently, the maximum demand is for deadliest weapons.

            Unfortunately, all the countries are more or less selfish. There is very little caring and sharing attitude. In a war, a single country has to face a group of temporarily united countries.  However, the ill effects of war anywhere affect a number of countries.

            Goodness, beauty and truth are the summum bonum of life. They are supposed to be everybody’s goal but are not. Evil, ugliness and falsehood are dominant today.

            Nearly all the countries of the world are now following the policy of competition, not of co-operation. Even in the same country there is constant factionalism. Lust for personal power is the general vogue, not an exception. In many corners of the world, fair is foul, foul is fair.

            To conclude, here is one of the most poignant quotes on the division of the world:

            “Our world is not divided by race, colour, gender or religion. Our world is divided into wise people and fools. And fools divide themselves by race, colour, gender, or religion. ----Mohamad Safa, internationally recognized diplomatic figure.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

10 March 2026

 

 

 

MURDER

 

                MURDER

            “Murder” is defined as the crime of killing somebody deliberately. To commit murder is to be guilty of slaying, assassinating, butchering, slaughtering, massacring, putting to death, etc.  

            Some synonyms of murder are: assassination, slaughter, and homicide. Its antonyms are: salvation, liberation, saving, rescuing, freeing, releasing, and sparing.

            The act of murdering is illegal all over the world . It is heavily punishable. Life imprisonment or death is the maximum punishment.

            Religiously, murder is a sin. In the Ten Commandments given in the Bible, the fifth one says: Thou shall not kill.

            In Hinduism, murder is considered a serious sin with grave consequences leading to the murderer’s confinement in hellish realms after death.

            Jainism and Buddhism are non-violent religions and do not permit the killing of any creature. Jainism teaches absolute non-violence toward all living beings. In Buddhism, killing is deeply sinful. It is a negative function. Lord Buddha said: “the rightness or wrongness of an action centers around whether the action itself would bring about harm to self and/or others.”

            Murderous persons are : cruel, ruthless,  savage, barbarous or blood-thirsty. They lack the qualities of forgiveness, kindness, tolerance, and mercifulness.

            Here are some everlasting  quotes:

1.     One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero; numbers sanctify the crime. English Prelate  Bellby Porteus  (1731-1808).

2.     One to destroy, is murder by the law; to murder thousands takes a specious name ---war’s glorious art, and gives immortal fame. –English poet Edward Young (1683-1765)

3.     Murder itself is past all explanation the greatest crime, which nature doth abhor.---English Puritan leader William Goffe (1605-790.      

            Finally, murder in war emphasizes its brutality, often stripping away the illusion of glory to reveal it as an act of massive state-sanctioned violence.

                                                            ****

G.R.Kanwal

9^th March 2026