Can someone write me a speech on Bacon's "Off Studies"?
Answers
Central to any humanities education is knowing how and when to apply what one has learned. Justification of the humanities would be necessary even if we lived in an age in which the value of a true liberal arts education was widely known. I say this because much of what passes for liberal arts today is deeply ideological and based in pseudo-disciplines. A true liberal arts education, based in the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and emphasizing an understanding of and appreciation for the great classics, aims at the excellence of the individual. Francis Bacon (1561–1626), being one of the most important writers for any student of the humanities to study, should be part of the basic curriculum. Among his writings, his Essays offer an immensely practical understanding of the humanities. Among his essays, Of Studies is perhaps the greatest. What is the value of studying in the liberal arts? Francis Bacon offers an utterly compelling answer. This article will be an analysis of what I would argue is one of the most important essays ever written.
“Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment, and disposition of business.”
Beginning with a tripartite explanation of why studies are useful, Bacon opens by addressing the various reasons one may avail himself to lessons. Bacon uses the term ‘studies’ to refer to wisdom and authority conferred through books to the reader. A close reading of the first line reveals, not just a trinity, but the verb ‘serve.’