Of Great Place

by Francis Bacon
1. What is 'Great Place'?
Ans: “Great Place” refers to higher post in any office.
2. How many times a man in great place is a servant?
Ans: A man in great place is a servant for three times: servant of the sovereign or state; servant of
fame; and servant of business.
3. Who is the man in great place servant of?
Ans: The man in great place is servant of the sovereign or state, servant of fame and servant of
business.
4. What is a strange desire?
Ans: “To seek power over others and to lose power over a man’s self” is a strange desire.
5. How do men come to dignities?
Ans: Men come to dignities by going through indignities.
6. How does death come to men in high position?/How does a man in high position die?
Ans: A man in high position dies too well known to everybody else but unknown to himself.
7. What is performed on God's theatre?
Ans: Only good and benevolent act is performed on God's theatre.
8. What are the vices of authority, according to Bacon?
Ans: According to Bacon, the vices of authority are delays, corruption, roughness and facility.
9. What is the consequence of downfall from high place?
Ans: According to Bacon, the consequence of downfall from high place is a melancholy thing.
10. Who is Tacitus? [NU 2017]
Ans: Tacitus was a senator and an historian of the Roman Empire.
11. Who was Vespasian?
Ans: Vespasian was the last of the four emperors who governed the Roman Empire in the year 69
CE.
12. How should a man in high place treat colleagues?
Ans: A man in high place should treat his colleagues with respect and let them express their
opinion.
 of Truth
by Francis Bacon
1. Who was Pilate? [NU 2016]
Ans: Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36, serving under Emperor
Tiberius. He is most known for his involvement in condemning Jesus to death on a cross.

2. Why do people avoid truth in general?

Ans: People avoid truth in general because they have a natural but corrupt love for falsehood.

3. Why do people tell lies?

Ans: People tell lies for the lie's sake.

4. How does the author compare truth?

Ans: The author compares truth with “naked and open day-light”.

5. Why does the author compare truth to a pearl? [NU 2013]

Ans: The author compares truth to a pearl because it is best shown in broad day light.

6. Why do people like the mixture of a lie with the truth?

Ans: People like the mixture of a lie with the truth because it adds pleasure.

7. What can be resulted from a mixture of a lie?

Ans: A mixture of a lie may result in adding pleasure.

8. How does a poet adopt the shadow of a lie?

Ans: A poet adopts the shadow of a lie through his creativity or imagination.

9. What is the "sovereign good" of human nature?

Ans: The inquiry, knowledge and belief of truth is the “sovereign good" of human nature.

10. What is the effect of a lie?

Ans: The lie that passes through a man’s mind has no negative effect but the lie that sinks and
settles in human mind is very harmful for human beings.

11. How does a lie affect humanity?

Ans: A lie debases humanity by making man brave towards God and coward towards other human
beings.

12. How does Bacon evaluate poetry?

Ans: Bacon evaluates poetry as the shadow of a lie. He says that it does not cause any harm to
human mind because it does not sink in and settle in the mind, rather it passes through the mind.
 Of Marriage and Single Life
by Francis Bacon

1. Who are hostages to fortune?

Ans: According to Bacon, “he that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.”

2. Why is married man hostage to the fortune? [NU 2014]

Ans: A married man is hostage to the fortune because his wife and children "are impediments to
great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief".

3. What is the fate of a married person according to Bacon?

Ans: A married person is controlled by Fate. He has, as if, given hostages to fortune.

4. What is 'Single Life'?

Ans: ‘Single life” means unmarried or bachelor life.

5. What happens to the single persons?

Ans: A single person thinks the future to be irrelevant and all his thinking centers round himself.

6. How do people leading a single life consider family life?

Ans: People leading a single life consider family life nothing but bill of charges.

7. How are the chaste women?

Ans: The chaste women are proud of their chastity and are headstrong in nature.

8. Who should get marry?

Ans: According to Bacon, “A young man not yet, an elder man not at all”.

9. When, according to Bacon, should a man marry? [NU 2012]

Ans: According to Bacon, a young man should not marry now and an elder man should not marry
at all.

10. What does Bacon say about wife?

Ans: Bacon says about wife that she plays the role of a mistress to a young husband, a companion
for a middle aged husband and a nurse to an old man.

11. What are the three roles played by a wife in different stages of life? [NU 2015]
Ans: The three roles played by a wife in different stages of life are:

i. a mistress to a young husband,

ii. a companion for a middle aged husband and

iii. a nurse to an old man

12. What is the most ordinary cause of a single life? [NU 2013, 2015]
Ans: The most ordinary cause of a single life is personal liberty.

13. Why the single men are cruel and hard hearted?
Ans: The single men are cruel and hard hearted because their tenderness is not so often called
upon.

14. Why is not an unmarried man a good citizen? [NU 2015]

Ans: According to Bacon, an unmarried man is not a good citizen because he is “light to run away’
and turn into a fugitive.

15. Why are married persons more reliable than single ones?
Ans: Married persons are more reliable than single ones because the single ones are “light to run
away”.

16. Write the advantages of an unmarried person as shown by Bacon.

Ans: The advantages of an unmarried person as shown by Bacon include his liberty, his capability
to do good for the people, his capability to be a good master or a good friend etc.

17. What should a young man do before his marriage?

Ans: A young man should think seriously before his marriage.

Of Studies
1. Who is the first English essayist?
Ans: Francis Bacon is the first English essayist.

2. To which age does Bacon belong to?

Ans: Bacon belongs to the Renaissance Age.

3. What was the title given to Bacon?

Ans: The title given to Bacon was ‘Viscount St. Albans’.

4. What are the advantages of studying books?

Ans: By studying books the reader can get delight, use his/her study as an ornament, and increase
his/her ability.

5. How are studies perfected?

Ans: Studies are perfected through practical experience.

6. In how many classes is man divided in "Of Studies"

Ans: In "Of Studies" man is divided into three classes: crafty men, simple men and wise men.

7. Why should a man read books?

Ans: According to Bacon, a man should read books to “weigh and consider” i.e., to think about the
contents and judge them.
8. Who is the wise man according to Bacon?
Ans: According to Bacon, the man who uses studies properly is a wise man.

9. Whom does Bacon think lazy?

Ans: Bacon thinks the person lazy who spends too much time in studies.

10. What kind of style did Bacon introduce to English prose?

Ans: Bacon introduced aphoristic style to English prose.

11. What does Bacon suggest for a man whose mind wanders? [NU 2015]
Ans: Bacon suggests that the man whose mind wanders should study Mathematics.

12. How many ways does study serve a man?

Ans: Study serves a man in three ways: by giving delight, by acting as an ornament and by
increasing his ability.

13. What do books serve for? [NU 2016]

Ans: Books serve for delight, for ornament, and for abilities.

14. What do you mean by "Renaissance"?

Ans: Renaissance means the re-birth or revival of classical art, culture and literature.

15. What does the phrase 'natural abilities' mean?

Ans: The phrase ‘natural abilities’ means in born qualities.

16. What is an antithesis?

Ans: Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to
achieve a contrasting effect.

17. What is aphorism? [NU 2017]

Ans: Aphorism is a short and wise saying which bears a truth.

18. Who are 'cymini sectores'?

Ans: 'Cymini sectores' literaly mean ‘hair-splitters’ or those who are capable of making distinctions
which are normally unnoticeable to an ordinary man.

19. What is the meaning of "Abeunt studia in mores"?

Ans: The meaning of the Latin phrase ‘Abeunt studia in mores’ is that ‘studies pass into the
character’.

20. What is pragmatism?

Ans: Pragmatism is an approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their
practical application.

21. What are the uses of shooting?

Ans: According to Bacon, shooting is good for the lungs and breast.
 Of Revenge
by Francis Bacon
1. What type of Justice is revenge and why?
Ans: According to Bacon, revenge is a kind of wild justice because ‘it is a prince’s part to pardon’.

2. What is the most tolerable sort of revenge? / When is revenge tolerable?

Ans: The most tolerable sort of revenge is the revenge for those wrongs for which there is no law to
remedy.

3. What is superior to taking revenge? [NU 2016]

Ans: The act of ignoring a wrong without taking revenge is superior to the act of taking revenge.

4. Who is the Supreme Being?

Ans: The Supreme Being refers to God.

5. What is Cosmus?
Ans: Cosmus was the Duke of Florence in 16th century.

6. Who is Pertinax?
Ans: Pertinax was a Roman military leader and Roman Emperor for the first three months of 193,