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Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Francis Bacon, Of Studies, 1625

PhilosophyLiterature

The story behind the card

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was an English statesman who rose to Lord Chancellor, and a philosopher who argued that knowledge should be built on observation and experiment. His Essays, first published in 1597, brought to English the short essay form that Montaigne had pioneered in France. 'Of Studies' appeared in that first edition and was enlarged in 1625, the version quoted here. 'Conference' meant conversation and debate. Bacon then explains the three parts: someone who writes little needs a great memory, someone who talks little needs a quick wit, and someone who reads little needs cunning to seem to know what they do not. The same essay gives his advice that some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few chewed and digested.

Türkçe oku
Okumak insanı donanımlı, konuşup tartışmak hazırcevap, yazmak ise titiz kılar.
Francis Bacon, Denemeler, “Öğrenim Üzerine”, 1625

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) hem devlet adamı hem filozoftu. Siyasette Lord Chancellor'lığa, yani İngiltere'nin en yüksek hukuk makamına kadar yükseldi; felsefede bilginin gözleme ve deneye dayanması gerektiğini savundu. İlk kez 1597'de yayımlanan Denemeler'i, Montaigne'in Fransa'da başlattığı kısa deneme türünü İngilizceye taşıdı. “Öğrenim Üzerine” bu ilk baskıda yer aldı, 1625'te genişletildi; buradaki söz 1625 metnindendir. Bacon'ın kullandığı “conference” sözcüğü o dönemde sohbet ve tartışma anlamına geliyordu. Bacon sözün üç parçasını hemen ardından açıklar: Az yazanın güçlü bir belleğe, az konuşup tartışanın çabuk kavrayışa, az okuyanın ise bilmediğini biliyormuş gibi gösterecek kurnazlığa ihtiyacı vardır. Aynı denemede, bazı kitapların yalnızca tadına bakılması, bazılarının yutulması, pek azının da çiğnenip sindirilmesi gerektiğini söyler.

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Background reading: Francis Bacon
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