Reflection on Francis Bacon's Of Studies

BE 09 3 连亭亭 Recently, I reread the classical essay Of Studies written by Francis Bacon who is the father of experimental philosophy and a statesman as well as a man of letters---a renaissance man of his time. Reading this essay benefits me a lot. Today I want to say something about “How should a college student read”.

To many of us, we think whether reading or not is a personal affair. What kind of books we like to read has nothing to do with others. But as college students, especially the normal students, it is obvious wrong. Once we choose a university to continue our study, then we should be clear that our main duty is to learn. It’s a necessary process and step for us to be a comprehensive developed man.

Reading is an endless job. But what read is for? In the essay, Bacon said, “Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.” But with a pity, the reading ethos nowadays is very blundering. Many students read articles with a utilitarian attitude. They only select the books which are useful for their specific vocation or something else to read. They ignore the books which can really cultivate their morality and broaden their horizons and think they are irrelevant to them so as to be set aside just for ornament. In my opinion, we should read a book just for the book itself, without purpose, without utility. We shouldn’t judge whether a book is good or bad just by how much it can benefits us. The attitude a reader

holds determines the altitude he could achieve. Study has an incomparable influence on a person’s thinking way and living style in unspectacular ways. Classic books have their rich historic precipitation and popular ones have all-embracing era full of flavor. No matter what type of books, they must have something valuable for us to read, of course, excluding the books which are decayed or have no connotation.

Books benefit us much. But how can we select a book? For an initial learner, you can choose a book based on your interest. Then, after reading, what you should do is to think more and note down some ideas you think about the book. Gradually, your reading taste will become better and better. You can study in different professions more deeply. At last, you will form your own thoughts and taste. When you are reading a book, you feel as if communicating with the writer and experiencing a new life you have never experienced before. As Bacon said, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”. For the books which can’t serve for delight, for ornament and for ability, we just read them roughly. For the classic works which can serve, we have to read them carefully, chew and digest them. While reading, we should concentrate, consider and deliberate. It’s a long hard process.

“Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” Books can improve one’s cultural literacy, enlarge one’s ideological level and develop

one’s wisdom potential. “Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.”

Books make us all-rounder.

Let’s enjoy reading and read for pleasure. Thus, we can own the happiness and satisfaction the book brings to us. Thus, we can be a cultivated man.

As we know, study can make a full man, can cultivate a man, and can make a man move forward. In my opinion, a full man should have a positive world view and adopt an active philosophy of life, which are usually based on a balanced knowledge structure. And how can we obtain those? Studies are the answer to that question. After I read Francis Bacon’s Of Studies, I know that the essay introduces some methods of reading books and discusses the purposes and functions of reading. This essay also analyzes the different attitudes of the people who are reading books.

Francis Bacon’s Of Studies says “Histories make men wise, poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.” That is to say, we read all kinds of books that contribute to perfect our knowledge structure and form critical thinking. So we should read books of various fields to make us be a full man. That also can learn more about our world in all aspects.

Reading can make a full man. That is to say, we should read more books

which are useful for us. Reading can enlarge our knowledge in different fields. From Of Studies, studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. It means that studies can make people happy, wise, increasing knowledge. If we read all kinds of books, in that way, we are able to taste what might not happen to us in real life, and then ask ourselves what we would do in that situation.

We read more books and fewer mistakes would be made by us. For that, we can learn more mistake examples from books so that we will make few mistakes in the future.

Of Studies also teach us that we should choose some book to read, but not read all the books. Some useful books should be read carefully and taken notes. Different books have different functions, the essay is told us read different books can bring different knowledge which we lack. The essay says that different books have different methods to read.

All in all, reading books of certain field brings certain knowledge and ability we lack. Of Studies gives us the method of reading books and getting knowledge. It is also telling us different books have different functions for us.

第二篇：Of Studies 学习

Firstly, the essay tells us the attitude towards study. Francis Bacon’ Of Studies says “For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment only by their rules, is the humor of a scholar.” That is to say, when we study, we should think more and we cannot study just for getting some knowledge, instead we should enjoy the process of study. Besides regarding the study as a task is not wise, we should love studying and have our own methods to study. In other words, we should be careful and designedly when studying. If we have a good attitude towards study, it is possible for us to learn more than we can achieve.

“Histories make men wise, poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.” So we should read books of various fields to make us be a full man. That also can learn more about our world in all aspects.

Reading can make a full man. That is to say, we should read more books which are useful for us.

Secondly, there are some good methods of studying in Francis Bacon’ Of Studies. For example, The essay says “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things.” The sentence means that the way to read plays an important role in reading. In this sentence, the author gives us three ways---taste, swallow, chew and digest. They are symbols for three levels. For the “Taste”, we just have a look at the book and there is no need to pay much attention to the certain sentence. Perhaps it is a good way to kill time. This is the lowest level of reading. Next is to “Swallow”, we just roughly read through the book and have a general idea of the theme or viewpoint. At this level, we can learn more than the previous. The most important one is the “Chew and Digest”. It means that we read between the lines rather than only focus on the literal meanings. Not only do we pay attention to the theme but also to the use of language and the well-organized structure. By this means we can make use of the book to the full extent. This kind of reading can make a great effect on our thoughts and writing skills.（Of Studies also teach us that we should choose some book to read, but not read all the books.）+combine with experience

? 读书足以怡情，足以博彩，足以长才。其怡情也，最见于独处幽居之时；其傅彩也，最见于高谈阔论之中；其长才也，最见于处世判事之际。练达之士虽能分别处理细事或一一判别枝节，然纵观统筹、全局策划，则舍好学深思者莫属。读书费时过多易惰，文采藻饰太盛则矫，全凭条文断事乃学究故态。读书补天然之不足，经验又补读书之不足，盖天生才干犹如自然花草，读书然后知如何修剪移接；而书中所示，如不以经验范之，则又大而无当。有一技之长者鄙读书，无知者羡读书，唯明智之士用读书，然书并不以用处告人，用书之智不在书中，而在书外，全凭观察得之。读书时不可存心诘难作者，不可尽信书上所言，亦不可只为寻章摘句，而应推敲细思。书有可浅尝者，有可吞食者，少数则须咀嚼消化。换言之，有只须读其部分者，有只须大体涉猎者，少数则须全读，读时须全神贯注，孜孜不倦。书亦可请人代读，取其所作摘要，但只限题材较次或价值不高者，否则书经提炼犹如水经蒸馏、淡而无味矣。读书使人充实，讨论使人机智，笔记使人准确。因此不常作笔记者须记忆特强，不常讨论者须天生聪颖，不常读书者须欺世有术，始能无知而显有知。读史使人明智，读诗使人灵秀，数学使人周密，科学使人深刻，伦理学使人庄重，逻辑修辞之学使人善辩：凡有所学，皆成性格。人之才智但有滞碍，无不可读适当之书使之顺畅，一如身体百病，皆可借相宜之运动除之。滚球利睾肾，射箭利胸肺，慢步利肠胃，骑术利头脑，诸如此类。如智力不集中，可令读数学，盖演题须全神贯注，稍有分散即须重演；如不能辨异，可令读经院哲学，盖是辈皆吹毛求疵之人；如不善求同，不善以一物阐证另一物，可令读律师之案卷。如此头脑中凡有缺陷，皆有特药可医。（王佐良先生译）

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