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
We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the difference between human behavior and moral ideals.
Francis Bacon reflects on the works of Machiavelli and others, who focus on describing human actions as they are, rather than prescribing how people should behave according to moral or ethical standards. This distinction highlights the complexity of human nature and the challenges in aligning actions with ideals.
Themes
MoralBehaviorHumanityActionEthics
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy class discussing human nature.
More from Francis Bacon
All quotes →Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
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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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