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.
This essay is online
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 “Of Masques.” It’s 2 pages long. For me, the key take-aways were Bacon is giving advice on Masques (not of Red Death)
Best line(s)
“But all is nothing except the room be kept clear and neat.”
“But enough of these toys.”
Stuff I had to look up
| Oes | Not sure what Bacon means! but the word is scrabble – a smooth Hawaiian lava flow or a whirlwind from the Faroe Islands, |
| Spangs | 1: to a complete degree2 : in an exact or direct manner 3. A surname |
| Turquets | Turk – The only known use of the noun turquet is in the early 1600s.OED’s only evidence for turquet is from 1625, in the writing of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor, politician, and philosopher. |
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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