Francis Bacon, The Essays, or Counsels, Civill and Moral

Alexander Lash (Columbia University)

Ed. by J A Roe, University of York
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Domains

Moral Philosophy and Ethics

Dates

First circulation or publication 1597 - 1625

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Essay Collection

Resources

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Recommended Reading

With the publication of his

Essays

in 1597, Bacon introduced this title, first used by Montaigne for his

Essais

in 1580, into English. The slender volume included ten brief essays on general topics such as “Discourse”, “Followers and Friends”, “Expense”, and “Negotiating”, as well as a set of Latin religious meditations and a rhetorical aid,

The Colours of Good and Evil

. Bacon went on to expand the collection twice, with the 1612 edition (which also survives in a slightly different manuscript version intended for Henry, Prince of Wales, who died unexpectedly while the volume was in preparation) comprising 38 essays, and the 1625 version growing to 58. The

Essays

proved popular, being translated into Italian, French, and (with direct involvement from Bacon) Latin, and going…

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2094 words

Citation: Lash, Alexander. "The Essays, or Counsels, Civill and Moral". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 August 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5295, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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