Critical Analysis - Of Great Place - An Essay by Francis Bacon

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Introduction 

Bacon's essays are renowned for their excessive taste of worldly success by following either positive or negative means. "Of Great Place", an essay on the attainment and retainment of power, is recalled for its 'cynical' as well as Machiavellianistic teachings. Bacon discusses the influence of an authoritative personality and how does its life adversely get affected by a gigantic number of responsibilities.  

 

Disadvantages of High Positions 

Mr. Bacon asserts these disadvantages of a high office which are listed below: 

A) A man of a high office has no freedom of relaxation at all. He may have power over others but he cannot control himself.  

B) It is not easy to rise onto a high place. One has to bear numerous insults as well as psychological injuries to pursue a great place.  

C) Rising to a higher position is time-consuming but its fall is sudden and often disgraceful.  

D) The lust for power grows so blinding that a person in his last years cannot desire to give up [his] high office.  

E) Men in high posts always stay anxious and worried. They enjoy no times of leisure. Their life leads in fulfilling a high demand of their responsibilities.  

 

Bacon's Advice to the People of High Office 

This is where Mr. Bacon shows his philosophic as well as a moralistic face. He advises a high man that he should study and learn from the examples of his predecessors. He should also get some light from his previous conduct and if he notices some shortcomings in his behaviour and actions. If he spots a weakness in his fellow, he should not reform the other person bluntly, but with the best modest way possible. He should be regular and constant while performing his duties. If he shows his disagreement to a custom, he should present concrete reasons behind his disagreement. He must respect the rights and privileges of others. Whenever necessary, he should seek help from other members of his office in his official work. He should patronize his spies.  

 

Don'ts in a High Place 

A person in a high place should avoid these four vices: 

A) Delays: An officer must discharge his duties in the required deadline. He and his services should be accessible in time.  

B) Corruption: He and his servants should not take bribes. He should also make sure that bribes are neither offered to him nor to his servants. To achieve this, he must acquire a reputation of honesty. [Well, this is a piece of utopian advice as Bacon was himself a corrupt person. ] 

C) Roughness: While meeting with the general public or his fellow officers, he should behave politely and courteously. When rebuking his servants, his conduct should not be taunting as roughness nurtures hatred among the masses.  

D) Facility: He should not comply to others' wishes as facilitating someone is worse than bribery.  

 

Some Other Suggestions 

An office is a laboratory where manly character is tested. It makes honest worthy and wicked depraved. So, a person in the high office should remain virtuous and honest to claim a better name in his society and in the history books.  

 

Rising to a great place is a tedious as well as a laborious task. He should side with one's party when rising. When he successfully attains his cherished seat, he should remain neutral.  

 

He should not defame but praise his ancestors, not because of their good morality, but to secure himself. He should consider the importance of his family and when away from his office, he should behave like a common person.  

 

Conclusion 

Manifestly, 'Of Great Place' is a beautifully and aphoristically crafted piece of prose which serves as a consultant and advisor for the people of high authority. But Bacon hints him to "compromise between morality and worldly success" as Archer has rightly expressed.  

 

References, Sources and Suggested Readings 

1. https://goodstudy.org/of-great-place-by-francis-bacon-summary-critical-analysis/ 
2. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/critical-analysis-of-francis-bacon-philosophy-essay.php 
3. https://www.essaywriting.expert/critical-analysis-of-great-place-by-francis-bacon-essay/ 
4. Bacon's Essays – A Critical Study by New Kitab Mahal – Page 110