Bacon

Church, R. W. (Richard William), 1815-1890Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 402K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Bacon by R. W. ChurchAuthor: Church, R. W. (Richard William), 1815-1890,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 29, 2004

Editor's review

This is a biography of Francis Bacon by R. W. Church, belonging to English literature and intellectual history, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Church was a nineteenth-century English churchman and biographer whose approach bears the traits of Victorian critical biography: he traces Bacon's life and career, discusses his philosophical views and literary achievements, and makes moral judgments on his character and merits. The book's strength lies in its clear narrative and complete structure, placing Bacon in the political and intellectual context of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. It suits readers who want to know Bacon through a moderately lengthy critical biography. Note that the author has a clear period standpoint, and his evaluation of Bacon may not match contemporary scholarship; readers should treat it as a classic critical biography representing one view, not a neutral compilation of sources. It suits slow reading by those interested in English intellectual history, essay literature and biographical writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Introductory readers who want to know Francis Bacon's life and thought
General readers interested in English intellectual history and essay literature
Readers who enjoy classic critical biography and are willing to examine the author's stance
Readers with good English proficiency able to read nineteenth-century prose

Not a good fit for

Professional readers seeking contemporary academic views and the latest Bacon research overviews
Philosophy researchers who want Bacon's own works rather than a biography
Readers impatient with old-style moral judgments and long sentences

Reading tips

Read the life section first, then return to the author's discussion of Bacon's philosophy and literature.
Note the author's evaluative statements and distinguish factual narrative from moral judgment.
Read one or two essays from Bacon's Essays alongside for a sense of the man and his writing.
After finishing, consult an introduction to contemporary Bacon research to understand the book's period limitations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book Bacon's original work or a biography by someone else?

This is a biography of Bacon written by R. W. Church, not Bacon's own work. It recounts Bacon's life, career and thought with the author's evaluations. To read Bacon's own writing, look for the Essays or Novum Organum; this book serves as background reading on Bacon the man.

Is the author's evaluation of Bacon objective?

Church is a nineteenth-century author whose writing carries clear period standpoint and moral judgment, with strong tendencies regarding Bacon's merits and faults. It offers a valuable narrative framework but cannot be treated as a neutral conclusion. Readers should separate the author's judgments from facts and consult contemporary research to form their own view.

Can I understand this book without a philosophy background?

Yes. The book is mainly biographical, and the philosophical discussion is not abstruse; general readers can follow the main line. If concepts such as induction or the classification of knowledge arise, skip the details and grasp Bacon's core claim that "knowledge is power." If interested afterward, consult an introduction to philosophy.

Why recommend this old biography rather than a new one?

The old biography's value lies in style and perspective: it shows how a nineteenth-century person understood Bacon, with compact narrative, sharp evaluations and moderate length. New biographies usually have fuller sources and more complex positions. Reading the old biography as an introduction and contrast, then new research, makes it easier to see how Bacon's image changed across eras.

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About the author

Church, R. W. (Richard William), 1815-1890 Author

Richard William Church (1815–1890) was an English Anglican clergyman and church historian. Four of his works are held in this collection: The Oxford Movement Twelve Years, 1833-1845, Bacon, Spenser, and Occasional Papers. The book on the Oxford Movement draws on his own experience to trace that revival within the Church of England in the nineteenth century; its careful narrative and graceful prose have kept it among the standard firsthand accounts of the subject. The two short biographies deal with the philosopher Bacon and the poet Spenser, concise in form and focused on character and historical setting. Occasional Papers gathers his essays and reviews. Public information is limited and biographical details are hard to establish, but his writing clearly spans church history and English literature, in a plain, restrained style that excels at narrative and character assessment.