“OfStudies”, an aphoristic essay of the famous essayist Francis Bacon, was first published in 1597. The grave subject matter , unique style and universal values of this essay has given him a high place in the world literature.
Study fills the reader with a sort of aesthetic ‘delight’, endless pleasure. It gives us ‘ornament’ that means an elegant mode of speaking. It also helps us to acquire experience and wisdom with the help of which we can combat the crisis and adversity of life. This quality is called ‘ability’. So, study serves three purposes : pleasing the readers (delight), enabling the readers to have command over language (ornament) and endowing the readers with practical wisdom (ability). When a man is alone (privateness) and in a state of leisure (retiring), he needs the company of books that makes his forlornness enjoyable. A well studied person is able to speak fluently, logically and in attractive manner and by dint of which he can easily impress others.
One who reads copiously can develop the power of judgement, can understand what is right and what is wrong and with this quality he can discharge his duties properly. An expert man can only execute . He only follows the blue-prints and gives it a material shape. But a learned man or well-studied person is full of resourcefulness, he has the power of invention , he gives direction, makes planning and says the proper sequence of work. For example, the mason may be an expert man and the engineer will be learned one whose plans and directions are executed by the mason.
Over reading is not encouraged because it creates a sort of idleness and prevents the reader's mind from thinking independently. Be a book lover, not a book-worm. When one uses rhetoric much, the matter of deception comes. Some persons makes their judgement strictly according to the rules laid down in books. They are a sort of slaves to a 'set of rules'. In the case of scholar it is humour.
Man has some natural abilities like thinking, feeling, imagination etc. which can be polished, modified, enhanced and improved only by studies, added with experience. If a plant it is not trimmed by the gardener, it grows without any pattern and looks inattractive. Similarly study gives order to our natural knowledge and makes it more relevant as well as useful. Only study is not sufficient. Experience is necessary as it guides our knowledge and it helps us to be practical and to make the study useful.
Bacon refers to three categories of people: crafty man, simple man and wise man. Crafty man, being full of cunningness, shows no respect to study. They are gifted with much common sense by exploiting of which they easily achieve the material success in life. So, study is mere waste of time to them. Simple men, who have practically no access to academic exercises are charmed and interested to studies and they admire it. Only wise men know how to utilize study and enrich their minds. Study gives knowledge but can not teach the reader how to utilize that knowledge in the practical field of life. Here Bacon lays stress on observation. A true reader should be a keen observer of the matters of life. Observation adds to his experience which helps him to make use the book-based knowledge. So, reading alone is not sufficient, it should be augmented by observations.
Many persons have the idea that reading book is for contradicting and that is a credit to them. Bacon condemns it much. Some persons read and believe everything what is written in book without weighing the validity of the ideas expressed by the author. They should develop some faculty of scanning and the illogical portions written in study materials should he rejected by them. The true objective of study is to weigh and consider.
Bacon says that all books are not identical or of same quality. Some books are of little substance and some are of great value. For this various standard, various method of reading are established. Some books are to be read in parts, some without curiosity and some, very few in number, with diligence and attention. For example, a magazine is read lightly, only tasted; a railway time table is read in parts, the notes for the examination are swallowed and topics like Freedom, Paradise Lost etc. are duly chewed and digested, that is, they are read with rapt attention. Some books are read with the help of deputy and assistants who make the summary of the books. This summarized version of the original text is said the distilled book by Bacon and such book is insipid or tasteless like distilled water. This is not healthy for mind also.
Reading makes a full man that does not mean a complete man or total man. Full man means a man full of book based knowledge. Conference contributes to readiness and presence of mind. Exactness can be achieved by continuous writing. So, the three things - deep knowledge, ready wit and exactness jointly result in the perfection of one's mind and personality. Then a complete man is born. Some relaxations are given by Bacon. One may do well without 'conference' if one is innately endowed with extra-ordinary presence of mind. Writing very little, one may do well if one is with exceptionally great memory. Cunningness is essential for a man who reads little and this enables a man to manage the situations like a learned one, though the former conceals his less-studies and little-learning.
Towards the end of the essay Bacon deals with the utility of the study of different subjects. History enriches our mind with knowledge of past. Poetry, making us imaginative, makes us witty. Mathematics adds to our subtlety and exactness. Natural philosophy like physics, chemistry, metaphysics etc. provides us with depth. Moral science makes us grave, serious minded and sober. Logic and rhetoric makes us expert and impressive speaker.
To make the utility of study clear Bacon has given a Latin proverb : "abeunt studia in mores". When translated into English it means ‘studies pass into character’. In other words, studies mould a character or the character of a man is determined by what he reads. Studies generally give a man solidity, power of endurance and courage to confront. So, obstacles are no more obstacles to a well-studied or learned man.
Studies have some healing properties and it can serve as remedies to some defects of mind. For example, a wandering mind can be made calm with the help of mathematics. Study of ‘Schoolmen’, the hair-splitter philosopher of middle- age, can cure the mind which lacks distinguishing power. The demonstration of anything makes one attentive step by step. When the memory does not operate well, we must study law books which teach us to call up the old cases and establish the desired conclusion. So, for every defect of mind there must have a proper remedy or recipe and that comes from profound and profuse study.
