In an effort to educate myself, I am reading The Oxford Book of Essays, chosen and edited by John Gross. [copies for sale here] There’s 142 of the blighters, so it will take me all year. To make this “stick” I am going to blog each essay.
Who was the author: Francis Bacon 1561–1626
What happened the year they were born (and the C02 ppm): UFOs over Nuremberg. 270ppmish
The Big Events they were alive for: The Armada. Shakespeare. The death of Elizabeth, the rumblings towards the English Civil War. Galileo. Early colonies
What happened in the year they died (and the C02 ppm): The purchase of Manhattan etc. 270ish
My awareness of/appreciation of this author (if any): Mostly unfamiliar with him. Should probably read the Wikipedia entry closely?!
What’s the essay?
The essay is called “On Truth.” It’s 3 pages long. For me, the key take-aways were that Bacon could write and was smart. I could believe the Shakespeare thing
Best line(s)
“But it is not only the difficulty and labour which men take in finding out the truth; nor again that when it is found it imposeth upon men’s thought; that doth bring lies in favour; but a natural though corrupt love of the lie itself”
“but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of Truth, (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale below.”
Stuff I had to look up
None
Stuff worth thinking about.
Our comfort for/attraction to lies (getting one over on others). Our pleasure in lying to ourselves? Blah blah death instinct
Stuff to look up
Nowt .
Connects to (watch this space – if there are later essays that resonate with this one, I’ll come back and add a link to the post for that essay).
marchudson.net 
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