Francis Bacon Philosopher

If a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics. science

The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express. beauty & best

Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse. art

A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green. anger

When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative. great

Knowledge is power. knowledge & power

Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished. nature

A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion. men & religion

Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God. God

Age appears to be best in four things old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. age, best & trust

Next to religion, let your care be to promote justice. religion

Acorns were good until bread was found. good

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

Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor. anger & men

Truth is a good dog but always beware of barking too close to the heels of an error, lest you get your brains kicked out. truth

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. wisdom

Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. men

I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death. death

Wise men make more opportunities than they find. men & wisdom

There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. beauty

He that hath knowledge spareth his words. knowledge

It is a strange desire, to seek power, and to lose liberty or to seek power over others, and to lose power over a man's self. power

Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul. patience

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. great

The worst men often give the best advice. best & men

They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea. imagination

Science is but an image of the truth. science & truth

Wives are young men's mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men's nurses. age, men & women

Money is like manure, of very little use except it be spread. money

The great end of life is not knowledge but action. great & knowledge

Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried, or childless men. best & men

The momentous thing in human life is the art of winning the soul to good or evil. art

Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more a man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. nature

Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper. hope

Friends are thieves of time. time

But men must know, that in this theatre of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers on. God & men

Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time. history

Many a man's strength is in opposition, and when he faileth, he grows out of use. strength

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. nature

The desire of excessive power caused the angels to fall the desire of knowledge caused men to fall. knowledge & power

God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave. God & intelligence

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes adversity not without many comforts and hopes. fear

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her. nature

He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils for time is the greatest innovator. change & time

God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. gardening & God

Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible. truth

Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set. best

Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion. truth

The subtlety of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of the senses and understanding. nature

Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly. change

I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. age

Life, an age to the miserable, and a moment to the happy. age

It is impossible to love and to be wise. love & wisdom

Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite. beauty

The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses. men

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education in the elder, a part of experience. education, experience & travel

A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner. life

Friendship increases in visiting friends, but in visiting them seldom. friendship

A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. wisdom

Knowledge and human power are synonymous. knowledge & power

Studies perfect nature and are perfected still by experience. experience & nature

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not a sense of humor to console him for what he is. humor & imagination

God hangs the greatest weights upon the smallest wires. God

By indignities men come to dignities. men

Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority. time & truth

God's first creature, which was light. God

What is truth? said jesting Pilate and would not stay for an answer. truth