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2.1Cultural Background

Francis Bacon was born on January 22nd, 1561 in London, England the son of the Keeper of the Great Seal for Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Nicholas Bacon, and his second wife. When he was twelve years old, Francis began Trinity College, Cambridge. He stayed from 1573 until 1575, leaving without a degree. After his father's death, Bacon studied law at Gray's Inn until 1582, when he became a barrister. Two years later, at the age of twenty-three, he was elected to Parliament.

In 1597, Bacon published Essays, Colours of Good and Evil, and Meditationes Sacrae. After Queen Elizabeth I's death and the ascension of James I in 1603, Bacon began his political career in earnest. He was knighted in 1603 and several honors followed: Solicitor General in 1604, Attorney General in 1613, Lord Chancellor in 1618, Baron Verulam in 1618, and Viscount St. Albans in 1621. Appointed to a succession of posts, Bacon was finally given the title of Keeper of the Great Seal, like his father before him.

In 1620, Bacon published Novum Organum (Or True Directions Concerning the Interpretation of Nature) which asked its readers to let go of Aristotelian ideas and set the foundations for modern science and philosophy. In 1621, five days after the Viscount St. Alban's title was created for him, accusations of bribery were made. Bacon admitted to them, was fined, and then banished from court. However, the sentence was later reduced, and the fine was never paid. Bacon spent only four days in the Tower, but he was not allowed to hold office for the rest of his life. He then moved to Gorhambury to write.

Four books followed his banishment from court: Historia Ventorum, Historia Vitae et Mortis (both 1622), Augmentis Scientiarum (1623), and Apothegms (1624). Reports that Bacon helped edit the King James Bible (published in 1611) are still considered lacking a definitive answer, with equal numbers on either side of the debate.

In1626, Bacon decided to experiment with the effect of cold on the decay of meat. He purchased a chicken and stuffed it with snow. He caught cold, developed bronchitis, then pneumonia, and died on April 9th, 1626.

Bacon's work, Promus of Formularies and Elegancies, a collection of his private notes circa 1594, was first published posthumously in 1883. It included some 2,000 words, similes, phrases, and proverbs (written in English, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish and French) that Bacon thought he might want to use in his later literary works. The book is thought by some to provide evidence that Bacon, himself, was the author of the Shakespearean plays ("The Baconian Controversy").

Famous quotations by Francis Bacon:

• A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
  
• By far the best proof is experience.
  
• Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable.
  
• Death is a friend of ours; and he that is not ready to entertain him is not at home.
  
• He of whom many are afraid ought to fear many.
  
• If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.
  
• Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study.
  
• If we do not maintain Justice, Justice will not maintain us.
  
• Knowledge is power.
  
• Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.

Francis Bacon：培根(1561—1626)，英国哲学家、政治家。生于伦敦，其著名哲学著作有《学术的进展》和《新工具论》。他强调归纳法，对后来的科学研究工作有重大影响。

Ralph Waldo Emerson: 爱 默生（1803-1882），美国诗人和散文作家。毕业于哈佛学院，当过教师。1829年任波士顿一位论派教堂牧师，但因不赞成这一教派的某些教义而辞职。1833年去欧洲，拜访卡莱尔（T. Carlyle ), 从此二人保持长达38年的通信关系。他的作品有散文论著《自然》及许多诗篇和随笔，特别是《生命的行为》。他在哲学上是超验主义者，在宗教上是理想主义者，而在精神上则是个人主义的勇敢鼓吹者。卒于康科德。

Transcendentalism  (Encyclopædia Britannica)

(I)

Of Negotiating

Francis Bacon

　　It is generally better to deal by speech than by letter, and by the mediation of a third than by a man’s self Letters are good when a man would draw an answer by letter back again, or when it may serve for a man’s justification afterwards to produce his own letter, or where it may be danger to be interrupted or heard by pieces To deal in person is good when a man's face breedeth regard, as commonly with inferiors, or in tender cases, where a men's eye upon the countenance of him with whom he speaketh may give him a direction how far to go; and generally, where a man will reserve to himself liberty either to disavow or to expound. In choice of instruments, it is better to choose men of a plainer sort, that are like to do that that is committed to them, and to report back again faithfully the success, than those that are cunning to contrive out of other men’s business somewhat to grace themselves, and will help the matter in report for satisfaction sake. Use also such persons as affect the business wherein they are employed, for that quickeneth much; and such as are fit for the matter, as bold men for expostulation, fair-spoken men for persuasion, crafty men for inquiry and observation, froward and absurd men for business that doth not well bear out itself. Use also such as have been lucky, and prevailed before in things wherein you have employed them; for that breeds confidence, and they will strive to maintain their prescription: It is better to sound a person with whom one deals afar off, than to fall upon the point at first, except you mean to surprise him by some short question. It is better dealing with men in appetite, than with those that are where they would be. If a man deal with another upon conditions, the start or first performance is all, which a man cannot reasonably demand, except either the nature of the thing be such which must go before, or else a man can persuade the other party that he be counted the honester man. All practice is to discover or to work. Men discover themselves in trust, in passion, at unawares, and of necessity, when they would have somewhat done and cannot find an apt pretext. If you would work any man, you must either know his nature and fashions, and so lead him; or his ends, and so persuade him; or his weakness and disadvantages, and so awe him; or those that have interest in him, and so govern him. In dealing with cunning persons, we must ever consider their ends, to interpret their speeches; and it is good to say little to them, and that which they least look for. In all negotiations of difficulty man may not look to sow and reap at once; but must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees.

Questions on “Of Negotiating”:
1. According to Bacon, it is generally better to deal __.
　A. by speech and by the mediation of a third person
　B .by letter and by yourself
　C. by speech and by yourself
2. Letters are good in the following situations except when____.
　A. you want to have a reply
　B. you want to produce your own letter afterwards
　C. you want to be heard by pieces
3. In the sentence “or in tender cases,...”the underlined word means __.
　A. complex
　B. unimportant
　C. soft
4. Of the following, which is not mentioned by Bacon as an advantage of dealing in person?
　A. You are free either to disavow or to expound.
　B. Inferiors may command respect
　C. You may give a direction as to how far to go.
5. In regard to choice of instrument, Bacon suggests that______.
　A .you choose men who are cunning for business
　B. you choose men who are committed to the task
　C. you use men who would glorify themselves with the success
6. In the sentence “Use also such persons as affect the business wherein they are employed”, the underlined word means______.
　A. influence
　B. like
　C. hinder
7. Bacon suggests that when you have an unjust demand to make, you select _____to make it.
　A. a brave man
　B. a fool
　C. an expert
8 .In the sentence “…for that breeds confidence, and they will strive to maintain their prescription”, the underlined part means __.
　A. hold their instruction
　B. defend their rules
　C. keep up their reputation
9. The statement that “All practice is to discover or to work” means____.
　A .The practice of men aims to discover or to function
　B. All sharp bargaining aims to find out what has happened or to work hard
　C. All sharp bargaining aims to find out what men are up to or to make use of them.
10 .In dealing with cunning persons, we'd better say __.
　A. a lot to them
　B. little to them
　C. what they expect most

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(II)
Nature

      To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me, But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars The rays that come from those heavenly worlds will separate between him and what he touches One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.
　　The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected all the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they bad delighted the simplicity of his childhood.
　　When we speak of nature in this rammer, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind. We mean the integrity of impression made by manifold natural objects. It is this which distinguished the stick of timber of the wood-cutter, from the tree of the poet. The charming landscape which I saw this morning is indubitably made up of some twenty or thirty farms. Miller owns this field, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them owns the landscape. There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet. This is the best part of these men’s farms, yet to this their warranty-deeds give no title.
　　To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, -he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods, too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; 1 am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental; to be brothers, to be acquaintances, master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.
　　The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister is the suggesting of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed 1 was thinking justly or doing right.
　　Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both. It is necessary to use these pleasures with great temperance. For nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. To a man laboring under calamity, the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it. Then there is a kind of contempt of the landscape felt by him who has just lost by death a dear friend. The sky is less grand as it shuts down over less worth in the population.

Questions on “Nature”:
l. What does Emerson mean when he says “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society”?
2. According to Emerson, why do people fail to appreciate the beauty of nature?
3. What is meant by “Miller owns this field, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them owns the landscape”?
4. In what way are adult persons different from children in seeing nature?
5. Describe the writer’s feelings in the presence of nature.
6. What is the “Universal Being” mentioned by Emerson in the essay?
7. According to Emerson, does nature remain the same?
8. What is Emerson’s view regarding the relation between man and nature?

◆ Vocabulary Building
ŒIdiom
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiomatic expressions which are related to the idea of LIMITATIONS. Make sure it fits the blanks.
　　　　bite off more than one can chew       　burn oneself out
　　　　spread oneself too thin               　　　eat like a horse
　　　　eyes are bigger than one’s stomach     take it easy
　　　　lose one’s head
1. Steve asked for more than he could eat. His _____.
2. Eric became so upset that he lost control of himself. He _____.
3. Jan tried to do more than she had time for. She _____.
4. Daniel eats more than anybody else I know. He __.
5. Polly did too many things and got over-tired. She ____.
6. Franny got involved in too many activities at once. She ___.
7. Brian is reading a newspaper under a tree in the park. Brian is _____.

 General Vocabulary Exercise
I. Use the appropriate form of the word given in the brackets to fill in the corresponding blank.
1 .An _____ of thirteen colonies formed the original United States. (associate)
2. Lisa questioned the _______ of her road map; it was five years old. (rely)
3. Most power companies, however, hold an ___ view. (oppose)
4 There is a great deal of _______surrounding the use of solar power. (controversial)
5. The ____ of hot water is a problem for nuclear plants (dispose)
6.____air is particularly bad for people with respiratory problems. (pollution)
7. The ____decorated restaurant near the city's historical area specialized in serving a delicious Sunday brunch. (attract)
8. __ to laws of the church was required in many colonial villages. (conform)
9. Nevertheless, I don't look forward to __. (retired)
10. Tell me exactly what happened. Don't be 　　　　　(evasion)

ŽAnalogies
Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.
1. ANGLE: DEGREE:
A. letter: alphabet                  B. milk: quart
C .area: square inch                 D. time: minutes
2. MANSION: HOUSE:
A. shock: palace                    B. pygmy: giant
C. basement: porch                  D. limousine: car
3. ASHES: FIRE:
A. disgust: expectation               B. clam: battle
C .moon: sun                       D. flower: bud
4. PEACEFUL: RESISTANCE
A. warlike: combat                  B. diligent: reliability
C. coherent: inconsistency            D. lawless: civilization
5. WHALE: MAMMAL:
A. bird: reptile                      B. fish: sea
C. frog: amphibian                   D. mollusk: clam
6. GOBBLE: EAT:
A. nibble: chomp                    B. quaff: swallow
C. bite: chew                       D. guzzle: drink
7. PLAIN: AUSTERE:
A. neutral: indifferent                B. clean: sterile
C. alone: gloomy                    D. arid: barren
8. COHERENCE: DISINTEGRATE:
A. loyalty: betray                    B. unity: harmony
C. brotherhood: fraternity              D. similarity: differ

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◆Cloze
Read through the following passage and then decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks.
As one of the world’s epoch-making books Bacon’s Essays has done much to mold and direct the   1   of many individuals. It almost inevitably challenges 2 with Montaigne’s Essays, inasmuch as only some seventeen years separated the publication of the first editions. Bacon    3    Montaigne’s lightness of touch and piquant picturesqueness in stating obvious truths so as to make them look like new, 4  Montaigne, in turn, Was entirely destitute of the great English essayist's marvelous penetration 5    the very soul of things, and of his superb reasoning faculty. If Montaigne was the greater literary artist, Bacon was the profounder moral and intellectual force.
Bacon’s Essays are the work of a man who, in precept at least, had a 6 reverence for moral principle None other than one entertaining such sentiments could have said as he has done: “A man that hath no virtue in himself ever envieth   7   in others;” “Power to do good is the true and lawful end of aspiring for good thoughts (though God accept them) yet towards men are little better than good dreams, except they be put in act”, and “The desire of power in excess   8   the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall; but in charity (goodness) there is no  9  , neither angel or man come in danger by it”.
The writer of these’ Essays was    10    a man who theoretically cherished a profound love and respect for justice: “The principal duty of a judge    11    to suppress force and fraud”, “Let no man weakly conceive that just laws and true policy have any antipathy, for they are   12 the spirits and sinews that one moves with the other”, and “Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds; they never fly by twilight. They dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, wise men to irresolution and melancholy”.
Bacon, moreover, always maintains the sanctity of truth alike in  13  investigation and the intercourse of life: “Truth which only doth judge itself teacheth that the enquiry of truth which is the lovemaking or wooing of it, the knowledge of truth   14  is the presence of it, and the belief of truth which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature”, or in moral conduct, “It is heaven upon earth 15  have a man’s mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth”.

1. A. character          B. brain       C. thought        D .imagination
2. A. competition        B. quality     C. standard        D. comparison
3. A had               B. lacked      C. copied         D. admired
4. A. while             B. because     C. as            D. since
5 A upon              B. with        C. into           D. at
6 A. little              B. more       C .some          D .deep
7. A. himself           B. virtue       C .man          D .good
8 A. decided           B. made        C. caused        D. directed
9. A. excess            B. number      C. size          D .much
10. A. not              B. also         C. but           D. both
11. A .are              B. will          C. seems        D .is
12. A. after             B. like          C. not          D. without
13. A. superficial        B. difficult       C .scientific     D. official
14. A. which           B. what          C. whether      D. why
15. A .that             B. but           C. to           D. who

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