Sir Francis Bacon (January 22, 1561-April 9, 1626) the Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, was an English philosopher, essayist, courtier, jurist and statesman. He was Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under King James I. As Lord Chancellor of England (1618-21), he was significantly responsible for the formulation and acceptance of the scientific method, which stressed gathering data from experimentation and induction rather than through the practice of philosophical deduction promulgated by Aristotle.
Sir Francis Bacon was responsible for helping to found the Royal Society of London. He wrote:
<There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error; first, the volume of Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the Creatures, which express His power.> 1561FB001
In his work, Essays: Of Goodness, Sir Francis Bacon wrote:
<There never was found, in any age of the world, either philosophy, or sect, or religion, or law, or discipline, which did so highly exalt the good of the community, and increase private and particular good as the holy Christian faith. Hence, it clearly appears that it was one and the same God that gave the Christian law to men, who gave the laws of nature to the creatures.> 1561FB002
Regarding science, Sir Francis Bacon described it as:
<A rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate.> 1561FB003
In his work, The Advancement of Learning, book II, Sir Francis Bacon expressed:
<But men must know that in this theater of man's life it is reserved only for God and the angels to be lookers on.> 1561FB004
In The Advancement of Learning, book II, Sir Francis Bacon wrote:
<All good moral philosophy is but the handmaid to religion.> 1561FB005
In his treatise titled, Of Atheism, Sir Francis Bacon declared:
<A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.> 1561FB006
Another rendition of Francis Bacon's quote is:
<A little science estranges a man from God; a lot of science brings him back.> 1561FB007
Sir Francis Bacon, as recorded in the Literary and Religious Works of Francis Bacon, Volume II, stated:
<I believe that the Word of God, whereby His will is revealed, continued in revelation and tradition with Moses; and that the Scriptures were from Moses' time to the time of the Apostles and Evangelists; in whose ages, after the coming of the Holy Ghost, the teacher of all truth, the book of Scripture was shut and closed, so as to receive no new addition, and the Church hath no power after the Scriptures to teach or command anything contrary to the written word.
I believe that Jesus, the Lord, became in the flesh a sacrificer and a sacrifice for sin; a satisfaction and price paid to the justice of God; a meriter of Glory and the Kingdom; a pattern of all righteousness; a preacher of the Word, which Himself was; a finisher of the ceremonies; a cornerstone to remove the separation between Jew and Gentile; an intercessor for the Church; a Lord of nature in his miracles; a conqueror of death and the power of darkness in His resurrection;
and that He fulfilled the whole counsel of God; performing all His sacred offices, and anointing on earth, accomplishing the whole work of the redemption and restitution of man to a state superior to the angels, whereas the state of man by creation was inferior; and reconciled and established all things according to the eternal will of the Father.> 1561FB008
Lord Bacon stated:
<The reason why religion is universally and justly represented as essential to the prosperity of states, is not less obvious than the act. The object of government is to enforce among individuals the observance of the moral law, and states are prosperous in proportion as this object is attained.
But the only effectual sanction to this law is the Christian religion.
Hence a government which neglects the care of religion is guilty of the folly of promulgating laws unaccompanied with any adequate sanction of requiring the community to obey without presenting to their minds the motives that generally induce to a prompt and cheerful obedience.
Under these circumstances, the only resource left to the public authorities is mere physical force; and experience has abundantly shown that this is wholly ineffectual, excepting as an aid and supplement, in particular cases, to the moral influences, which alone can be depended on for the preservation of the tranquility and good order of society.
There are persons, and even parties, who, at the very moment when the use of physical force as an engine of government is discredited and abandoned, seem to be laboring with a sort of frantic energy to destroy the influence of all the moral motives that can be substituted for it,-more especially religion.
I have said, and I repeat, that if while we abandon the use of physical force as an engine of maintaining order we should also discard the only valuable and effectual moral influence, and leave the individual to the undirected guidance of his own selfish passions, our institutions will be found to be impracticable, and society will fall into a state of dissolution.> 1561FB009
In 1626, Sir Francis Bacon wrote in his Last Will and Testament:
<I bequeath my soul to God....My body to be buried obscurely. For my name and memory, I leave it to men's charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and the next age.> 1561FB010
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1561FB001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, Statement. Henry M. Morris, Men of Science-Men of God (El Cajon, CA: Masters Books, A Division of Creation Life Publishers, Inc., 1990), pp. 13- 15.
1561FB002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, in his work titled, Essays: Of Goodness. Tryon Edwards, D.D., The New Dictionary of Thoughts-A Cyclopedia of Quotations (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1852; revised and enlarged by C.H. Catrevas, Ralph Emerson Browns and Jonathan Edwards [descendent, along with Tryon, of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), president of Princeton], 1891; The Standard Book Company, 1955,
1963), p. 91. Burton Stevenson, The Home Book of Quotations-Classical & Modern (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1967), p. 265 1561FB003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, Statement regarding science. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, s.v. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 48.
1561FB004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, 1605, in his work titled, The Advancement of Learning, book II, chapter xx, p. 8. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 179.
1561FB005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, 1605, in his work titled, The Advancement of Learning, book II, chapter. xxii, p. 14. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 179.
1561FB006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, in his work titled, Of Atheism. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 180.
1561FB007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon. http://www.errantskeptics.org/Quotes-Evolution.htm.
1561FB008. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon. Literary and Religious Works of Francis Bacon, Vol. II, pp. 152-154. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 22.
1561FB009. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon. Benjamin Franklin Morris The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia, PA: L. Johnson & Co., 1863; George W. Childs, 1864), p. 228.
1561FB010. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Sir Francis Bacon, 1626, statement in his Last Will and Testament. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 181.