How does Francis Bacon present his scientific approach towards traveling in his essay “Of Travel”?
How does Francis Bacon present his scientific approach towards traveling in his essay “Of Travel”?
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In the essay Of Travel, Francis Bacon discusses how travel can enhance the mind and the body. In the beginning of the essay, Bacon presents his stance on traveling as a whole. Bacon begins his essay by writing, Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.
Furthermore, Bacon says that travel makes one sharp and cunning, and gives wings to the wit. After that, Bacon continues to say that travel is like an enormous school where we are constantly forced to get an education in ourselves. At the end of the first paragraph, Bacon states that traveling helps us understand our own nature, and he concludes this section by writing; And it is in traveling, too, that we find out what kind of traveler we are.
The next part of the essay is where Bacon talks about specific ways in which traveling can enhance your life. In this section, Bacon talks about how a wise man will use his money to further his travels, not to buy a new car or take a vacation. Bacon goes on to say that a wise man will choose where he will live according to the location of good libraries, and will travel whenever and wherever opportunity arises. Finally, Bacon says that a wise man will be interested in everything, and will try new things.
In the first two paragraphs of the section titled “How Travel Can Enhance Your Mind And Body”, Bacon presents an enormous amount of information in a very concise manner. In the first sentence of the second paragraph, he tells us that traveling sharpens the mind. In the second sentence of the second paragraph, he tells us that it gives wings to the wit. In the third sentence of the second paragraph, he tells us that traveling is like an “enormous school”.
All of these statements by Bacon are true, and all of them are important. However, I believe that the most important statement by Bacon in this section is the one which begins with the words; “And it is in traveling, too, that we find out what kind of traveler we are”.
What Bacon is trying to tell us here is that if you are going to travel, you should not do it merely for the sake of adventure or excitement. No, if you really want to enhance your life, then one of the best ways to do it is to travel for the educational experience of it.