THE TEXT
Of
Friendship
IT HAD been hard for him that spake it to have put
more truth and untruth together in few words, than in that speech, Whatsoever
is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god. For it is most true,
that a natural and secret hatred, and aversation towards society, in any man,
hath somewhat of the savage beast; but it is most untrue, that it should have
any character at all, of the divine nature; except it proceed, not out of a
pleasure in solitude, but out of a love and desire to sequester a man’s self,
for a higher conversation: such as is found to have been falsely and feignedly
in some of the heathen; as Epimenides the Candian, Numa the Roman, Empedocles
the Sicilian, and Apollonius of Tyana; and truly and really, in divers of the
ancient hermits and holy fathers of the church. But little do men perceive what
solitude is, and how far it extendeth. For a crowd is not company; and faces
are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is
no love. The Latin adage meeteth with it a little: Magna civitas, magna
solitudo; because in a great town friends are scattered; so that there is not
that fellowship, for the most part, which is in less neighborhoods. But we may
go further, and affirm most truly, that it is a mere and miserable solitude to
want true friends; without which the world is but a wilderness; and even in
this sense also of solitude, whosoever in the frame of his nature and
affections, is unfit for friendship, he taketh it of the beast, and not from
humanity.
A principal fruit of friendship, is the ease and
discharge of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all
kinds do cause and induce. We know diseases of stoppings, and suffocations, are
the most dangerous in the body; and it is not much otherwise in the mind; you
may take sarza to open the liver, steel to open the spleen, flowers of sulphur
for the lungs, castoreum for the brain; but no receipt openeth the heart, but a
true friend; to whom you may impart griefs, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions,
counsels, and whatsoever lieth upon the heart to oppress it, in a kind of civil
shrift or confession.
It is a strange thing to observe, how high a rate
great kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship, whereof we
speak: so great, as they purchase it, many times, at the hazard of their own
safety and greatness. For princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune
from that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit, except (to
make themselves capable thereof) they raise some persons to be, as it were,
companions and almost equals to themselves, which many times sorteth to
inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such persons the name of
favorites, or privadoes; as if it were matter of grace, or conversation. But
the Roman name attaineth the true use and cause thereof, naming them participes
curarum; for it is that which tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath
been done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most
politic that ever reigned; who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of
their servants; whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed other
likewise to call them in the same manner; using the word which is received
between private men.
L. Sylla, when he commanded Rome, raised Pompey
(after surnamed the Great) to that height, that Pompey vaunted himself for
Sylla’s overmatch. For when he had carried the consulship for a friend of his,
against the pursuit of Sylla, and that Sylla did a little resent thereat, and
began to speak great, Pompey turned upon him again, and in effect bade him be
quiet; for that more men adored the sun rising, than the sun setting. With
Julius Caesar, Decimus Brutus had obtained that interest as he set him down in
his testament, for heir in remainder, after his nephew. And this was the man
that had power with him, to draw him forth to his death. For when Caesar would
have discharged the senate, in regard of some ill presages, and specially a
dream of Calpurnia; this man lifted him gently by the arm out of his chair,
telling him he hoped he would not dismiss the senate, till his wife had dreamt
a better dream. And it seemeth his favor was so great, as Antonius, in a letter
which is recited verbatim in one of Cicero’s Philippics, calleth him venefica,
witch; as if he had enchanted Caesar. Augustus raised Agrippa (though of mean
birth) to that height, as when he consulted with Maecenas, about the marriage
of his daughter Julia, Maecenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must
either marry his daughter to Agrippa, or take away his life; there was no third
way, he had made him so great. With Tiberius Caesar, Sejanus had ascended to
that height, as they two were termed, and reckoned, as a pair of friends.
Tiberius in a letter to him saith, Haec pro amicitia nostra non occultavi; and
the whole senate dedicated an altar to Friendship, as to a goddess, in respect
of the great dearness of friendship, between them two. The like, or more, was
between Septimius Severus and Plautianus. For he forced his eldest son to marry
the daughter of Plautianus; and would often maintain Plautianus, in doing
affronts to his son; and did write also in a letter to the senate, by these
words: I love the man so well, as I wish he may over-live me. Now if these
princes had been as a Trajan, or a Marcus Aurelius, a man might have thought
that this had proceeded of an abundant goodness of nature; but being men so
wise, of such strength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of
themselves, as all these were, it proveth most plainly that they found their
own felicity (though as great as ever happened to mortal men) but as an half
piece, except they mought have a friend, to make it entire; and yet, which is
more, they were princes that had wives, sons, nephews; and yet all these could
not supply the comfort of friendship.
It is not to be forgotten, what Comineus observeth
of his first master, Duke Charles the Hardy, namely, that he would communicate
his secrets with none; and least of all, those secrets which troubled him most.
Whereupon he goeth on, and saith that towards his latter time, that closeness
did impair, and a little perish his understanding. Surely Comineus mought have
made the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second master, Lewis
the Eleventh, whose closeness was indeed his tormentor. The parable of
Pythagoras is dark, but true; Cor ne edito; Eat not the heart. Certainly, if a
man would give it a hard phrase, those that want friends, to open themselves
unto, are carnnibals of their own hearts. But one thing is most admirable
(wherewith I will conclude this first fruit of friendship), which is, that this
communicating of a man’s self to his friend, works two contrary effects; for it
redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halves. For there is no man, that
imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more; and no man that
imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth the less. So that it is in
truth, of operation upon a man’s mind, of like virtue as the alchemists use to
attribute to their stone, for man’s body; that it worketh all contrary effects,
but still to the good and benefit of nature. But yet without praying in aid of
alchemists, there is a manifest image of this, in the ordinary course of
nature. For in bodies, union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural action;
and on the other side, weakeneth and dulleth any violent impression: and even
so it is of minds.
The second fruit of friendship, is healthful and
sovereign for the understanding, as the first is for the affections. For
friendship maketh indeed a fair day in the affections, from storm and tempests;
but it maketh daylight in the understanding, out of darkness, and confusion of
thoughts. Neither is this to be understood only of faithful counsel, which a
man receiveth from his friend; but before you come to that, certain it is, that
whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits and understanding
do clarify and break up, in the communicating and discoursing with another; he
tosseth his thoughts more easily; he marshalleth them more orderly, he seeth
how they look when they are turned into words: finally, he waxeth wiser than
himself; and that more by an hour’s discourse, than by a day’s meditation. It
was well said by Themistocles, to the king of Persia, That speech was like
cloth of Arras, opened and put abroad; whereby the imagery doth appear in
figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs. Neither is this second
fruit of friendship, in opening the understanding, restrained only to such
friends as are able to give a man counsel; (they indeed are best;) but even
without that, a man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to
light, and whetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In a
word, a man were better relate himself to a statua, or picture, than to suffer
his thoughts to pass in smother.
Add now, to make this second fruit of friendship
complete, that other point, which lieth more open, and falleth within vulgar
observation; which is faithful counsel from a friend. Heraclitus saith well in
one of his enigmas, Dry light is ever the best. And certain it is, that the
light that a man receiveth by counsel from another, is drier and purer, than
that which cometh from his own understanding and judgment; which is ever
infused, and drenched, in his affections and customs. So as there is as much
difference between the counsel, that a friend giveth, and that a man giveth
himself, as there is between the counsel of a friend, and of a flatterer. For
there is no such flatterer as is a man’s self; and there is no such remedy
against flattery of a man’s self, as the liberty of a friend. Counsel is of two
sorts: the one concerning manners, the other concerning business. For the
first, the best preservative to keep the mind in health, is the faithful
admonition of a friend. The calling of a man’s self to a strict account, is a
medicine, sometime too piercing and corrosive. Reading good books of morality,
is a little flat and dead. Observing our faults in others, is sometimes
improper for our case. But the best receipt (best, I say, to work, and best to
take) is the admonition of a friend. It is a strange thing to behold, what
gross errors and extreme absurdities many (especially of the greater sort) do
commit, for want of a friend to tell them of them; to the great damage both of
their fame and fortune: for, as St. James saith, they are as men that look
sometimes into a glass, and presently forget their own shape and favor. As for
business, a man may think, if he win, that two eyes see no more than one; or
that a gamester seeth always more than a looker-on; or that a man in anger, is
as wise as he that hath said over the four and twenty letters; or that a musket
may be shot off as well upon the arm, as upon a rest; and such other fond and
high imaginations, to think himself all in all. But when all is done, the help
of good counsel, is that which setteth business straight. And if any man think
that he will take counsel, but it shall be by pieces; asking counsel in one
business, of one man, and in another business, of another man; it is well (that
is to say, better, perhaps, than if he asked none at all); but he runneth two
dangers: one, that he shall not be faithfully counselled; for it is a rare
thing, except it be from a perfect and entire friend, to have counsel given,
but such as shall be bowed and crooked to some ends, which he hath, that giveth
it. The other, that he shall have counsel given, hurtful and unsafe (though
with good meaning), and mixed partly of mischief and partly of remedy; even as
if you would call a physician, that is thought good for the cure of the disease
you complain of, but is unacquainted with your body; and therefore may put you
in way for a present cure, but overthroweth your health in some other kind; and
so cure the disease, and kill the patient. But a friend that is wholly
acquainted with a man’s estate, will beware, by furthering any present
business, how he dasheth upon other inconvenience. And therefore rest not upon
scattered counsels; they will rather distract and mislead, than settle and
direct.
After these two noble fruits of friendship (peace
in the affections, and support of the judgment), followeth the last fruit;
which is like the pomegranate, full of many kernels; I mean aid, and bearing a
part, in all actions and occasions. Here the best way to represent to life the
manifold use of friendship, is to cast and see how many things there are, which
a man cannot do himself; and then it will appear, that it was a sparing speech
of the ancients, to say, that a friend is another himself; for that a friend is
far more than himself. Men have their time, and die many times, in desire of
some things which they principally take to heart; the bestowing of a child, the
finishing of a work, or the like. If a man have a true friend, he may rest
almost secure that the care of those things will continue after him. So that a
man hath, as it were, two lives in his desires. A man hath a body, and that
body is confined to a place; but where friendship is, all offices of life are
as it were granted to him, and his deputy. For he may exercise them by his
friend. How many things are there which a man cannot, with any face or
comeliness, say or do himself? A man can scarce allege his own merits with
modesty, much less extol them; a man cannot sometimes brook to supplicate or
beg; and a number of the like. But all these things are graceful, in a friend’s
mouth, which are blushing in a man’s own. So again, a man’s person hath many
proper relations, which he cannot put off. A man cannot speak to his son but as
a father; to his wife but as a husband; to his enemy but upon terms: whereas a
friend may speak as the case requires, and not as it sorteth with the person.
But to enumerate these things were endless; I have given the rule, where a man
cannot fitly play his own part; if he have not a friend, he may quit the stage.
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Critical Appreciation
Bacon’s Of Friendship
As
a pragmatic and as an empirical thinker Bacon followed two fundamental
Renaissance principles—Sepantia or search for knowledge and Eloquentia, the art
of rhetoric. This explains, to some extent, the impassioned presentation of his
ideas and views and the aphoristic style of his writing. But the essay Of
Friendship is stylistically somewhat different in that it contains passionate
and flattering statements along with profuse analogies and examples in support
of his arguments perhaps because this essay was occasioned by the request of
his friend Toby Matthew.
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic human
nature. First, he refers to Aristotle’s view in Politics: Whosoever is
delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. According to Aristotle, a man by nature and
behaviour may be degraded to such an extent that he may be called unfit for
society. Again, he may be so self-sufficient that he may not need society. In the first case, he resembles a wild beast
and in the second, he resembles gods. Here it should be pointed out that Bacon
is not ruling out the value of solitude; in fact, he is reserving solitude for
higher kind of life, which is possible for a few great men like Epimenides,
Numa, Empedocles, Apollonius and some Christian saints. Here too Bacon is
following Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics, where Aristotle
prefers a contemplative life to an active life:
“It
is the highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest
length of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason. First of all, friendship is necessary for maintaining
good mental health by controlling and regulating the passions of the mind. In
other words, Bacon here speaks of the therapeutic use of friendship though
which one can lighten the heart by revealing the pent-up feelings and emotions:
sorrows, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, advice and the like.
Then
in order to justify the value of friendship, Bacon points out the practice of
friendship on the highest social level. He informs us that the kings and
princes, in order to make friends, would raise some persons who would be fit
for friendship. Then Bacon tries to glorify friendship by translating the Roman
term for friendship, Participes curarum, which means ‘sharers of their cares’. He
gives instances of raising of men as friends from the Roman history: Sylla and
Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar and Antonius, Augustus and Agrippa, Tiberius
Caesar and Sejanus, Septimius Severus and Plautianus. Bacon also refers to what
Comineus wrote of Duke Charles the Hardy’s deterioration of his mental faculty
just because of his reserve and loneliness and extends his judgement to the
case of Comineus’ second master, Louis XI. The point which Bacon strongly wants
to assert is that friendship functions for a man in a double yet paradoxically
contrary manner: “...it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halfs”.
The
second fruit of friendship, according to Bacon, is beneficial for the clarity
of understanding. If a man has got a faithful friend, he can be consulted to
clarify the confusions of the mind. He calls the counsel of a friend, citing
Heraclitus, “drier and purer” than that a man gives himself out of self love,
which clouds his judgement. Bacon then counsel of this sort into two kinds:
“the one concerning manners and the other concerning business.” A friend’s
constructive criticism of the other friend’s behaviour helps him more than a
book of morality. In the matter of conducting practical business, Bacon thinks,
a true friend’s advice can also be helpful in undertaking a venture or averting
a danger.
Finally,
Bacon speaks of the last fruit of friendship, which is manifold in the sense
that there are so many things in life, which can be fulfilled only with the
help of a friend. In fact, at a rare moment Bacon gets emotional and quotes
classical maxim that “a friend is another self”. His point is that a man may
have many a desire, which may not be realised in his life-time, but if he has
got a true friend, his unfulfilled desire will be taken care of by his friend. Not
only this, a friend, unlike the near and dear ones and enemies, can talk to him
on equal terms whenever situation demands. Keeping all these things, Bacon
concludes that if a man does not have a friend, he may well leave this world.
That is to say, he is not fit for the human society to live in.
Bacon: Questions & Answers
1. Discuss Aristotle’s Views on solitude/man as a social animal as
quoted by Bacon.
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature. First, he refers to Aristotle’s view in Politics: Whosoever is
delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. According to Aristotle, a man by nature and
behaviour may be degraded to such an extent that he may be called unfit for
society. Again, he may be so self-sufficient that he may not need society. In the first case, he resembles a wild beast
and in the second, he resembles gods. Here it should be pointed out that Bacon
is not ruling out the value of solitude; in fact, he is reserving solitude for
higher kind of life, which is possible for a few great men like Epimenides,
Numa, Empedocles, Apollonius and some Christian saints. Here too Bacon is
following Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics, where Aristotle
prefers a contemplative life to an active life:
“It
is the highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest
length of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason.
2.
What, according to
Bacon, are the fruits of friendship?
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature as expressed by him in Politics: Whosoever is delighted in
solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Here Bacon also follows Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics,
where Aristotle prefers a contemplative life to an active life: “It is the
highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest length
of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason. First of all, friendship is necessary for maintaining
good mental health by controlling and regulating the passions of the mind. In
other words, Bacon here speaks of the therapeutic use of friendship through which
one can lighten the heart by revealing the pent-up feelings and emotions:
sorrows, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, advice and the like.
Then
in order to justify the value of friendship, Bacon points out the practice of
friendship on the highest social level among the kings and princes. He informs
us that they, in order to make friends, would raise some persons who would be
fit for friendship. Then Bacon tries to glorify friendship by translating the
Roman term for friendship, Participes curarum, which means ‘sharers of their
cares’. The point which Bacon strongly wants to assert is that friendship
functions for a man in a double yet paradoxically contrary manner: “...it
redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halfs”.
The
second fruit of friendship, according to Bacon, is beneficial for the clarity
of understanding. If a man has got a faithful friend, he can be consulted to
clarify the confusions of the mind. He calls the counsel of a friend, citing
Heraclitus, “drier and purer” than that a man gives himself out of self love,
which clouds his judgement. Bacon then divides counsel of this sort into two
kinds: “the one concerning manners and the other concerning business.” A
friend’s constructive criticism of the other friend’s behaviour helps him more
than a book of morality. In the matter of conducting practical business, Bacon
thinks, a true friend’s advice can also be helpful in undertaking a venture or
averting a danger.
Finally,
Bacon speaks of the last fruit of friendship, which is manifold in the sense
that there are so many things in life, which can be fulfilled only with the
help of a friend. In fact, at a rare moment Bacon gets emotional and quotes
classical maxim that “a friend is another self”. Not only this, a friend,
unlike the near and dear ones and enemies, can talk to him on equal terms
whenever situation demands. Keeping all these things, Bacon concludes that if a
man does not have a friend, he may well leave this world. That is to say, he is
not fit for the human society to live in.
3. How does Bacon explain the first fruit of friendship?
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature as expressed by him in Politics: Whosoever is delighted in
solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Here Bacon also follows Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics,
where Aristotle prefers a contemplative life to an active life: “It is the
highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest length
of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason. First of all, friendship is necessary for maintaining
good mental health by controlling and regulating the passions of the mind. In
other words, Bacon here speaks of the therapeutic use of friendship through
which one can lighten the heart by revealing the pent-up feelings and emotions:
sorrows, joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, advice and the like.
Then
in order to justify the value of friendship, Bacon points out the practice of
friendship on the highest social level. He informs us that the kings and
princes, in order to make friends, would raise some persons who would be fit
for friendship. Then Bacon tries to glorify friendship by translating the Roman
term for friendship, Participes curarum, which means ‘sharers of their cares’.
He gives instances of raising of men as friends from the Roman history: Sylla
and Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar and Antonius, Augustus and Agrippa,
Tiberius Caesar and Sejanus, Septimius Severus and Plautianus. Bacon also
refers to what Comineus wrote of Duke Charles the Hardy’s deterioration of his
mental faculty just because of his reserve and loneliness and extends his
judgement to the case of Comineus’ second master, Louis XI. The point which
Bacon strongly wants to assert is that friendship functions for a man in a
double yet paradoxically contrary manner: “...it redoubleth joys, and cutteth
griefs in halfs”.
4.
What does Bacon say
about the second fruit of friendship?
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature as expressed by him in Politics: Whosoever is delighted in
solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Here Bacon also follows Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics,
where Aristotle prefers a contemplative life to an active life: “It is the
highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest length
of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason.
The
second fruit of friendship, according to Bacon, is beneficial for the clarity
of understanding. If a man has got a faithful friend, he can be consulted to
clarify the confusions of the mind. He calls the counsel of a friend, citing
Heraclitus, “drier and purer” than that a man gives himself out of self love,
which clouds his judgement. Bacon then counsel of this sort into two kinds:
“the one concerning manners and the other concerning business.” A friend’s
constructive criticism of the other friend’s behaviour helps him more than a
book of morality. In the matter of conducting practical business, Bacon thinks,
a true friend’s advice can also be helpful in undertaking a venture or averting
a danger.
5.
What does Bacon say
about the third/last fruit of friendship?
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature as expressed by him in Politics: Whosoever is delighted in
solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Here Bacon also follows Aristotelian view on solitude as expressed in Ethics,
where Aristotle prefers a contemplative life to an active life: “It is the
highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest length
of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason.
Bacon
concludes the essay commenting on the last fruit of friendship, which is
manifold in the sense that there are so many things in life, which can be
fulfilled only with the help of a friend. In fact, at a rare moment Bacon gets
emotional and quotes classical maxim that “a friend is another self”. His point
is that a man may have many a desire, which may not be realised in his
life-time, but if he has got a true friend, his unfulfilled desire will be
taken care of by his friend. Not only this, a friend, unlike the near and dear
ones and enemies, can talk to him on equal terms whenever situation demands.
Keeping all these things, Bacon concludes that if a man does not have a friend,
he may well leave this world. That is to say, he is not fit for the human
society to live in.
Short Questions
1.
Explain the
expression “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god”.
Bacon
begins the essay by invoking the classical authority of Aristotle on basic
human nature. First, he refers to Aristotle’s view in Politics: Whosoever is
delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. According to Aristotle, a man by nature and
behaviour may be degraded to such an extent that he may be called unfit for
society. Again, he may be so self-sufficient that he may not need society. In the first case, he resembles a wild beast
and in the second, he resembles gods. Here too Bacon is following Aristotelian
view on solitude as expressed in Ethics, where Aristotle prefers a
contemplative life to an active life:
“It
is the highest kind of life, it can be enjoyed uninterruptedly for the greatest
length of time...”
Bacon’s
logic is that those who live in society should enjoy the bliss of friendship
for more than one reason.
2.
Explain the
expression, “Magna civitas, magna solitude”.
In
order to justify the value of friendship Bacon brings in the Latin proverb “Magna civitas, magna solitude”, which means
“A great city is a great solitude”. This proverb was coined by a comic poet,
who punned upon the name of Megalopolis (a great city) and applied to the city
of Babylon as a great city of great desert. Bacon’s point is that in a great
city friends are scattered and therefore city life is not favourable for
friendship.
- What
is the meaning of the phrase “participles curarum”? Why does Bacon refer
to this?
In
order to justify the value of friendship, Bacon points out the practice of
friendship on the highest social level. He informs us that the kings and
princes, in order to make friends, would raise some persons who would be fit
for friendship. Then Bacon tries to glorify friendship by translating the Roman
term for friendship, Participes curarum, which means ‘sharers of their cares’.
The title was given by the Roman Emperor Tiberius to his minister Sejanus.
4.
“...it redoubleth
joys, and cutteth griefs in halfs”. How does Bacon prove this?
In
order to justify the value of friendship, Bacon points out the practice of
friendship on the highest social level. He informs us that the kings and
princes, in order to make friends, would raise some persons who would be fit
for friendship. Then Bacon tries to glorify friendship by translating the Roman
term for friendship, Participes curarum, which means ‘sharers of their cares’.
He gives instances of raising of men as friends from the Roman history: Sylla
and Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar and Antonius, Augustus and Agrippa,
Tiberius Caesar and Sejanus, Septimius Severus and Plautianus. Bacon also
refers to what Comineus wrote of Duke Charles the Hardy’s deterioration of his
mental faculty just because of his reserve and loneliness and extends his
judgement to the case of Comineus’ second master, Louis XI. The point which
Bacon strongly wants to assert is that friendship functions for a man in a
double yet paradoxically contrary manner: “...it redoubleth joys, and cutteth
griefs in halfs”.
- Who
was Heraclitus? Why does Bacon quote his saying: “Dry light is ever the
best”?
Heraclitus
was a Greek philosopher, famous for brief enigmatic sayings. One of his sayings
is: “Dry light is ever the best”. Here Bacon calls the counsel of a friend,
citing Heraclitus, “drier and purer” than that a man gives himself out of self
love, which clouds his judgement. Bacon then counsel of this sort into two
kinds: “the one concerning manners and the other concerning business.” A
friend’s constructive criticism of the other friend’s behaviour helps him more
than a book of morality. In the matter of conducting practical business, Bacon
thinks, a true friend’s advice can also be helpful in undertaking a venture or
averting a danger.
- “...if
have not a friend, he may quit the stage”. Why does Bacon say this?
Finally,
Bacon speaks of the last fruit of friendship, which is manifold in the sense that
there are so many things in life, which can be fulfilled only with the help of
a friend. In fact, at a rare moment Bacon gets emotional and quotes classical
maxim that “a friend is another self”. His point is that a man may have many a
desire, which may not be realised in his life-time, but if he has got a true
friend, his unfulfilled desire will be taken care of by his friend. Not only
this, a friend, unlike the near and dear ones and enemies, can talk to him on
equal terms whenever situation demands. Keeping all these things, Bacon
concludes that if a man does not have a friend, he may well leave this world.
That is to say, he is not fit for the human society to live in.
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