Describe how Francis Bacon supports adversity?Do you agree with Bacon’s point of view?
Describe how Francis Bacon supports adversity?Do you agree with Bacon’s point of view?
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Francis Bacon had a unique writing style which was quite different from the contemporary writers. It was not his style to present the case to the readers as it stands. Whenever he wrote an essay he always made the readers see both the sides of the picture. He talked about the advantages and disadvantages. He argued as well as gave justifications so that the readers can make up their mind by using their intellect and due to this his readers never lost their interest while reading his essays.
Although the topic says it all but contrary to that the essay itself contains the pros and cons of adversity as well as prosperity. Through the technique of references and quotations he draws the attention of his readers and keeps their interest alive.
Bacon gives reference of a Roman philosopher named Seneca:
“The good things that belong to prosperity are to be
wished; but the good things that belong to adversity
are to be admired”
Although the topic says it all but contrary to that the essay itself contains the pros and cons of adversity as well as prosperity. Through the technique of references and quotations he draws the attention of his readers and keeps their interest alive.
Bacon gives reference of a Roman philosopher named Seneca:
“The good things that belong to prosperity are to be
wished; but the good things that belong to adversity
are to be admired”
Prosperity is something that is directly related to happiness and relief so apparently it will have all the positive things, but adversity being the opposite of prosperity, if it affects our personality in a positive way then it must be appreciated. Hence this point gives us a glimpse into a writer's mind that he wants the readers to think about adversity in a positive way.
Now Bacon clarifies his point through “faith”. Everyone knows that miracles happen but the people who have firm faith in God do not question it, while the non believers question it because they don’t believe that miracles have a command over nature but it is Adversity that makes miracles happen i.e. when something wrong is happening God sets is right though a miracle. Hence Adversity is somewhat positive because it leads to miracles. A miracle makes us think that there is someone who controls us as well as the world around, we thank Him for everything that we have and submit before him.
Calamities are a part of our life and life does not allow escape from them but imagination is something that takes us away from the hard realities of life and thus we develop the quality of endurance through imagination. Adversity makes one's imagination strong and active as they use the medium of poetry to express their imagination.
Bacon refers to Hercules and Prometheus and uses the metaphor of “sea” to clarify that how adversity teacher us the skill to sail and endure the hardships of life.
Temperance means moderation and prosperity teaches us temperance. When a person is blessed with prosperity he will spend his resources mindfully because he knows that he is going through a good time. On other hand fortitude means patience and adversity teaches us fortitude. It gives us strength to bear the hardships of life. Both are good but adversity is more of a heroic virtue because it helps us to lead life smoothly.
Bacon uses the reference of religion:
“And the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath labored
more in describing the afflictions of Job than
the felicities of Solomon.”
He tells us that even Bible describes the hardships of Job and not much of the felicities of Solomon. It clearly shows that if a Holy person like Job faced adversity then who are we to cry and grief on difficulties that we face in our lives. We should be thankful to God that he has given us these tough times so that we can get our reward at the time hereafter.
In the end Bacon gives two examples to support adversity, one of a tapestry and the other of a flower. The tapestry has lighter colors in background and darker colors in foreground; it symbolizes our life where the major part of our life consists of hardships. On the other hand the dark colors in the foreground symbolize the happiness in our life because they are lesser in quantity. The example of flower tells us that if we really want to make our life worthy then we have to face hardships because a flower’s fragrance can be felt only if it is crushed.
Hence Bacon takes the side of adversity and proves it to be a positive virtue.
Now Bacon clarifies his point through “faith”. Everyone knows that miracles happen but the people who have firm faith in God do not question it, while the non believers question it because they don’t believe that miracles have a command over nature but it is Adversity that makes miracles happen i.e. when something wrong is happening God sets is right though a miracle. Hence Adversity is somewhat positive because it leads to miracles. A miracle makes us think that there is someone who controls us as well as the world around, we thank Him for everything that we have and submit before him.
Calamities are a part of our life and life does not allow escape from them but imagination is something that takes us away from the hard realities of life and thus we develop the quality of endurance through imagination. Adversity makes one's imagination strong and active as they use the medium of poetry to express their imagination.
Bacon refers to Hercules and Prometheus and uses the metaphor of “sea” to clarify that how adversity teacher us the skill to sail and endure the hardships of life.
Temperance means moderation and prosperity teaches us temperance. When a person is blessed with prosperity he will spend his resources mindfully because he knows that he is going through a good time. On other hand fortitude means patience and adversity teaches us fortitude. It gives us strength to bear the hardships of life. Both are good but adversity is more of a heroic virtue because it helps us to lead life smoothly.
Bacon uses the reference of religion:
“And the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath labored
more in describing the afflictions of Job than
the felicities of Solomon.”
He tells us that even Bible describes the hardships of Job and not much of the felicities of Solomon. It clearly shows that if a Holy person like Job faced adversity then who are we to cry and grief on difficulties that we face in our lives. We should be thankful to God that he has given us these tough times so that we can get our reward at the time hereafter.
In the end Bacon gives two examples to support adversity, one of a tapestry and the other of a flower. The tapestry has lighter colors in background and darker colors in foreground; it symbolizes our life where the major part of our life consists of hardships. On the other hand the dark colors in the foreground symbolize the happiness in our life because they are lesser in quantity. The example of flower tells us that if we really want to make our life worthy then we have to face hardships because a flower’s fragrance can be felt only if it is crushed.
Hence Bacon takes the side of adversity and proves it to be a positive virtue.
Talking about adversity, negative things used to come to my mind but after having read Bacon’s essay “Of Adversity”, my opinion has totally changed. Now I have come to a conclusion that even bad things can be looked and perceived as positive ones. I agree with Bacon’s point of view that even adversity affects our life in a positive way.
Bacon gave examples and references from various fields so that if the reader does not agree with one example he may agree with the other one.
Adversity describes a state of hardship and misfortune but it has a positive impact on our personalities. If a person has experienced prosperity, only through his life then he would never consider the non availability of resources in his life. One may not admire a person who remains happy during his prosperous days, but a person who remains happy during adversity is the one who should be admired. Thus adversity teaches us to thank God in every condition.
The example of tapestry and flower inspired me the most. I was really impressed that Bacon clarified his point so easily by using such simple things. Tapestry is a common piece of art but we never look at it in the way Bacon has expressed. The ratio of dark and light colors depicts the percentage of adversity and prosperity in our life. The example of flower, when crushed emits fragrance, motivates us to bear depression and hardships of life because they make us a worthy person.
I totally agree with Bacon’s point that adversity has advantages.
Bacon gave examples and references from various fields so that if the reader does not agree with one example he may agree with the other one.
Adversity describes a state of hardship and misfortune but it has a positive impact on our personalities. If a person has experienced prosperity, only through his life then he would never consider the non availability of resources in his life. One may not admire a person who remains happy during his prosperous days, but a person who remains happy during adversity is the one who should be admired. Thus adversity teaches us to thank God in every condition.
The example of tapestry and flower inspired me the most. I was really impressed that Bacon clarified his point so easily by using such simple things. Tapestry is a common piece of art but we never look at it in the way Bacon has expressed. The ratio of dark and light colors depicts the percentage of adversity and prosperity in our life. The example of flower, when crushed emits fragrance, motivates us to bear depression and hardships of life because they make us a worthy person.
I totally agree with Bacon’s point that adversity has advantages.
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