Of Great Place
by
Francis Bacon
(Summary)
The essay, ‘Of Great Place’ is a masterpiece
of Francis Bacon. It deals with some contents which are full of information and
expression focusing on the meaning and nature of life. It represents a lot of
interesting philosophical ideas which can be easily related to the present-day
principles and concepts. The essay appeals chiefly to men in high places. The
main idea of the essay is to show the position of men in great places. Bacon
discusses the life, duties and behaviour of those people who occupy high
position in the society.
He
says that all the people who live in great places are 'thrice servants'. They
are servants of the sovereign or state, fame and business. Moreover, they have
no freedom although they enjoy power. It is very interesting idea that powerful
people have no liberty, but is true. They have power over other people who
occupy a lower position in the society but they 'lose power' over themselves.
The
essay contains many moral principles to guide men in high positions. Through
this essay, Bacon is seen as a great moralist and philosopher. As a great philosopher,
Bacon not only knows a lot about human nature but also tries to teach others to
share his knowledge with people around him. In this essay, he explains the problem
of other people's opinion concerning 'great men'. He says that the great persons
should 'borrow other men's opinion' because they can get a lot of interesting and
important things for them. The great men cannot judge themselves. They should learn
what other people think of them in order to remain on the top of the ladder.
In this
essay, Bacon has given some guidelines to human being in high authority. He says
that a man should work hard to attain a high position; he should work still harder
because every high position involves a heavy responsibility and demands continuous
labours. Sometimes, a man has to suffer humiliation in order to raise a high
position. He has to pocket insult to raise a position of high dignity. He also asserts
that if a man has good thoughts, God will appreciate him; but man's good thoughts
have no meaning for other men if they are not translated into good actions.
Bacon
says that a man should follow the best examples. For him, the position of
authority offers scope for doing good and evil. He says that a man holding a
high position finds much scope for doing good and for doing evil. The power to
do evil is surely a curse. It would be better for a man not to have any power
at all than to have power which permits him to do evil. However, the power to
do well is the true and proper aim of all endeavors. The purpose of a man's efforts
should be to perform noble and meritorious tasks. In the performance of the official
duties, a man should place before himself the best examples of the past.
Bacon
warns a man of authority against the vices which are likely to beset him. He
mentions the four chief vices of authority which must be avoided: delays, corruption,
roughness and facility. A man should avoid the errors of his predecessors. He
should keep scrutinizing his own performances from time to time to make sure that
he is not deteriorating. He should be consistent in his policies and
procedures. He should exercise his authority silently rather than a noise about
it. He should not feel too self-important in private conversation and should
not remind others too often of the position he is holding.
Through
this essay, Bacon not only shows the strengths and the weakness of the great
men of the society but also gives them some recommendations concerning their
way of life, their behaviour and their principles. He is interested in investigation
of the human nature. His natural philosophy is greatly appreciated because he
represented absolutely new philosophical ideas concerning the essence of life.
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