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
Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest, being the character of the Deity; and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Goodness is the highest virtue, and without it, humanity is lost.
In this quote, Francis Bacon emphasizes the paramount importance of goodness as a virtue of the mind. He suggests that goodness is not only a defining characteristic of the divine but also essential for human dignity and fulfillment; without it, individuals become restless and unhappy, indicating that moral virtue is fundamental to a meaningful life.
Themes
GoodnessVirtueMindHumanityCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about ethics, one might say, 'Remember, as Francis Bacon observed, goodness is the greatest virtue we can aspire to.'
More from Francis Bacon
All quotes →Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
Francis BaconRead
Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.
Francis BaconRead
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
Francis BaconRead
Wise men make more opportunities than they find.
Francis BaconRead
Knowledge and human power are synonymous.
Francis BaconRead
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