Salomon saith, There is no new thing upon the earth. So that as Plato had an imagination, that all knowledge was but remembrance; so Salomon giveth his sentence, that all novelty is but oblivion.
Francis BaconRead
Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cunning individuals may be mistaken for wise leaders, which can harm society.
In this quote, Francis Bacon emphasizes the danger of equating cunning with wisdom. He suggests that those who are clever in deceitful ways can rise to positions of influence and authority, misleading others and potentially causing harm to the state or community. True wisdom involves integrity and sound judgment, unlike the superficial cleverness of cunning individuals, whose motives may not align with the greater good.
Themes
CunningWisdomDeceitLeadershipSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about political leadership, one might quote Bacon to emphasize the importance of genuine wisdom over cunning tactics.
More from Francis Bacon
All quotes →Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.
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Great art is always a way of concentrating, reinventing what is called fact, what we know of our existence- a reconcentration… tearing away the veils, the attitudes people acquire of their time and earlier time. Really good artists tear down those veils
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Wise men make more opportunities than they find.
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Knowledge and human power are synonymous.
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Philosophy when superficially studied, excites doubt, when thoroughly explored, it dispels it.
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