133 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
Francis Bacon noticed that people can come to love a lie for its own sake, even when the truth would serve them better.
Francis Bacon held that knowing the truth, and believing it, is the highest good of human nature, a kind of standing on high ground above the mists below.
Francis Bacon held that clear and straight dealing is the honour of human nature, and that mixing in falsehood debases a person as alloy debases gold.
Francis Bacon observed that the fear of death is often fed by the show around it, the groans, the black clothes and the mourning, more than by death itself.
Francis Bacon noted that a mind fixed on something worthwhile scarcely feels the hurt of death, much as a man wounded in the heat of a good pursuit barely feels the blow.
Francis Bacon argued that open division among people who share a cause does more harm than bad habits, because a wound is worse than a corrupt humour.
Francis Bacon warned against two extremes: those who scorn all talk of peace, and those who settle every dispute with a lukewarm middle way. The real line runs between fundamentals and mere opinion.
Francis Bacon separated unity from uniformity: a varied garment is fine, a torn one is not. He warned against quarrels over trifles, and over matters so subtle that the words hide the agreement.
Francis Bacon held that people should not force belief by the sword, since that forgets they are men before they are members of a faith.
Francis Bacon called revenge a wild justice that law should weed out. He held that a man who broods on a wrong keeps his own wounds green, while passing over an offence shows true superiority.
Francis Bacon held that prosperity shows up vice while adversity shows up virtue, much as precious oils are most fragrant when crushed.
Francis Bacon judged that dissimulation is a weak kind of wisdom, since it takes a strong wit and a strong heart to know when to tell the truth and to do it.
Francis Bacon noticed that the ablest people usually earn a name for openness, and that this good name lets their occasional discretion pass almost unseen.
Francis Bacon held that secrecy is a virtue, because people confide in a discreet listener, and that a face should not give away what the tongue keeps to itself.
Francis Bacon thought that keeping a secret often forces a little pretence, but that deliberately feigning to be what one is not is a vice, except in great and rare matters.
Francis Bacon weighed concealment honestly: it can catch opponents off guard and keep a way out open, but it costs trust, which he called a key instrument for action.
Francis Bacon observed that people who build a family's name often care most for their children, seeing them as the continuance of their work as well as their kind.
Francis Bacon warned that parents who favour one child, or stir up rivalry between brothers in childhood, plant a discord that can split a family later in life.
Francis Bacon noticed that a person with no virtue of their own tends to envy virtue in others, since anyone who has no hope of reaching another's worth will try to pull that person down.
Francis Bacon observed that people who rise by degrees are envied less than those raised suddenly, and that people of merit are envied most when their good fortune lasts a long time.
Francis Bacon advised that honour won through real labour and risk draws less envy, since people pity a hard-earned position, while showing off greatness draws the most.
Francis Bacon saw public envy as a bridle that keeps the great within bounds, and warned that showy gestures to prove one is not afraid of envy only invite more of it.
Francis Bacon noted that when envy falls on every minister of a state at once, the true target is often the state itself, even if it is hidden.
Francis Bacon held that great and busy minds are rarely undone by love, but that love slips in when the watch is not kept, so a wise person guards the heart as well as the gate.
Francis Bacon warned that whoever prizes passion too highly gives up both riches and wisdom, and that love is best kept apart from serious affairs, lest it spoil a person's own ends.
Francis Bacon observed that people in high office are servants three times over, to the state, to fame and to business, so they lose much of their freedom along with their power.
Francis Bacon said that good examples are a globe of precepts, and that a leader should examine their own conduct strictly, asking whether they did best at the start.
Francis Bacon named four vices of authority: delay, corruption, roughness and facility. He advised leaders to explain plainly when they change course, since unexplained changes breed suspicion.
Francis Bacon advised leaders to treat their predecessors and colleagues fairly, and to call colleagues in before they expect it, since a debt of that kind is always paid in the end.
Francis Bacon observed that boldness is blind to danger, so it does well in carrying out a plan but poorly in giving counsel, and bold people are best as seconds rather than leaders.
Francis Bacon noticed that boldness impresses shallow judges and timid hearts far more than real skill does, and that the bold often shrug off broken promises as if they never mattered.
Francis Bacon called goodness, the wish for the good of others, the greatest of the mind's virtues, though he warned that it needs judgment, or it can leave a good person open to being used.
Francis Bacon advised seeking the good of others without becoming a prisoner of their moods, since mere softness takes an honest mind captive. Common benefits suit everyone, but special ones should be chosen with care.
Francis Bacon judged goodness by its signs: courtesy to strangers, compassion for others' troubles, a readiness to pardon, and gratitude for small kindnesses.
Francis Bacon noted that rumours and false news running against an authority are early signs of trouble, and that despising them often checks them better than heavy-handed suppression.
Francis Bacon warned that a leader who acts as one party among many loses the trust a common parent of the people needs, and that authority is weakened when it becomes a side in a quarrel.
Francis Bacon held that the most dangerous discontent is where the fear is greater than the actual feeling, so worries should be taken seriously before they grow into real trouble.
Francis Bacon held that the surest cure for unrest is to remove its causes, such as want and poverty, rather than only to manage its symptoms.
Francis Bacon said money is like muck, not good unless it is spread about, and that a community can hold great stock and still starve if wealth gathers in too few hands.
Francis Bacon held that letting grievances be voiced in moderation lets them evaporate safely, while turning them back inward only makes the wound fester.
Francis Bacon praised the keeping of hope alive. A wise leader holds people's hearts by hope when satisfaction is not possible, and leaves some outlet of hope in every hard matter.
Francis Bacon noted that a sharp remark can do lasting harm, since short sayings fly abroad like darts and are taken to reveal a person's real intent, so words should be weighed in tense times.
Francis Bacon held that a little learning can turn the mind away from the whole, while deeper study, seeing how the parts link together, carries it back toward the whole.
Francis Bacon warned that good forms and orders corrupt into a swarm of petty observances, and that a reform driven by the crowd often throws out the good along with the bad.
Francis Bacon thought travel is education for the young and experience for the elder, and that a traveller who has not yet got some of the language is at school rather than travelling.
Francis Bacon advised travellers to keep a diary, change lodgings within a town, and seek out people of standing, so that a short trip gathers much.
Francis Bacon advised a returning traveller to keep up letters with the best acquaintances, and to show what was learned in conversation rather than in dress, speaking less of stories and more of wisdom.
Francis Bacon observed that people with few things to desire and many things to fear grow languid and unclear in mind, and that one clear, predominant aim is what puts all the rest in order.
Francis Bacon noted that authority is ruined by power swung too far one way and then too far the other, and that a wise leader prevents the spark rather than relying on putting out fires.
Francis Bacon warned that a leader who depresses the great may become more absolute but less safe, since nobles who are crushed stop working alongside him, and he is left to do everything himself.
Francis Bacon held that the greatest trust between people is the trust of giving counsel, because a counsellor is entrusted with the whole of a matter, so the duty of faithfulness is greatest.
Francis Bacon read the old fable of Jupiter and Metis as a lesson: take matters to your advisers to be shaped, then bring the final decision forth as your own.
Francis Bacon warned that one idle person who loves to tell secrets does more harm than many who know how to keep quiet, so a leader should share matters carefully with advisers.
Francis Bacon held that the best safeguard against biased advice is for a leader to know their advisers as well as the advisers know them.
Francis Bacon advised that good counsel depends on choosing the right people, since the greatest errors are made in choosing individuals, and that advisers should be heard both privately and together.
Francis Bacon thought weighty matters should be raised one day and debated the next, since a night's sleep ripens a decision, and that a leader who reveals their own inclination too early gets only flattery.
Francis Bacon held that there is no greater wisdom than timing the beginnings of things well. Watch the start closely, then act swiftly, since secrecy in planning and speed in execution are what keep a plan out of sight.
Francis Bacon separated cunning from wisdom: a person can read other people well and still lack understanding of the matter itself, and such people are good only within their own familiar ground.
Francis Bacon warned that nothing does more harm in a community than cunning people passing for wise, and that tricks built on using others are no substitute for soundness in one's own dealings.
Francis Bacon warned that a servant who bends every matter to their own ends can do great harm, even to a master who trusts them, and advised balancing self-love with real care for others.
