Of Truth by Francis Bacon Summary
People Who Do Not Care for Truth
Pilate, the Roman emperor, was very casual about the truth at Christ’s trial, and did not bother to find it out. Certain people find great pleasure in changing their opinions frequently because they desire unlimited freedom to act and think, which would not be possible if they had to believe in a fixed principle. The sceptics, an ancient sect of philosophers, doubted the validity and truth of every belief. Though they were now dead, there were some people who followed their school of thought, but these followers lacked the ancients’ vigour of thought and strong arguments to support their ideas, even while having their attitude.
Reasons Why Truth is Disliked
It is not only because the search for truth involves hard work and because once found, it curtails the freedom of the mind, that people are averse to truth. But also, because here is a deeper cause: the human being is basically attracted to lies; Lucian is puzzled about this attraction of a lie for man. A poet’s lies are conducive to the delight of the reader; a merchant’s lies are for personal gain, but why should a man love a lie for its own sake?
Man loves falsehood because truth is like the bright light of the day; and would show up the pomp and splendour of man’s life for what they are. They, however, look attractive and colourful in the dim light of lies. Man prefers to cherish illusions which make life more interesting. If deprived of false pride and vanities, the human mind would contract like a deflated balloon, and these human beings would become poor, sad and ill.
Poetic Untruth
Church priests have condemned poetry for being the work of imagination which fills the reader’s mind with illusions. Poetry is, thus, the wine of the Devil, for the Devil is the father of lies and poetry is also ‘feigning’. But poetic untruth is not so harmful as it does not leave any lasting impression. It is the lie that is imbedded in the mind of a man and dictates his every thought and action that is harmful.
Truth: The Highest Good of Human Nature
The value of truth is realized only by those who have experienced and understood it. The inquiry, knowledge, and belief of truth is the highest quality that a man’s nature can have.
God created the light of the senses first, i.e., the light that can be seen by the eyes. The last thing he created was the light of reason, the rational faculty. Since he finished the work of Creation God has been diffusing the light of His spirit in mankind.
Lucretius, the famous poet of the Epicurean school of philosophy, rightly said that there is no greater pleasure than that given by the realization of truth. The summit of Truth cannot be conquered; there is a tranquility on this peak from which one can survey the errors and follies of men as they went through their trials. However, this survey should fill the watcher with pity and not with pride. The essence of heavenly life on this earth lies in the constant love of charity, an unshakable trust in God, and steady allegiance to truth.
Truth in Civil Business
Truth is important not only in theological and philosophical fields, but also in day-to-day life. Those who do not practice truthfulness themselves, admit that honest and straightforward dealing denotes nobility. A mixture of truth and falsehood helps in succeeding materially, but such a mixture is like an alloy; it debases while it strengthens. The ways of a crooked and crafty man are like the winding movement of the snake which is a low animal crawling on its belly.
Montaigne rightly says that a man who tells lies is afraid of his fellow men but is unafraid of defying God who is all perceiving. Falsehood is the height of wickedness and, as such, will invite the Judgement of God upon all human beings on Doomsday.
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