Of Friendship

Francis Bacon, the father of English prose and a great Renaissance

child, who was highly influenced by Machiavellian thoughts, wrote his essay Of
Friendship at a special request of his friend Toby Matthew. to commemorate an
intimacy. This essay is one if the remarkable essays of 1612 edition, in which Bacon
shows great regard for friendship. He deals with the subject of conduct in human society
and human passion in striking way. All the views and thoughts of Bacon regarding
'friendship' and 'solitude' in life are highlighted with his stylistic qualities of aphorism,
allusiveness, utilitarian approach, rationality and figurative language.

In this essay, Bacon recommends the pretention of friendship. Friendship

is an important institution of man's social life. In the words of Aristotle, "A person who
finds pleasure in solitude is either a wild beast or a God". this shows his aversion or
hatred towards human society or he wants to be superior of other persons of his society
just to show his divine character, which in the views of Bacon is untrue.

Bacon says that a man's desire of solitude life is an irrational attitude just like those of
some ancient non-christian. Epimenides of Candia, Numa of Rome and Apollonius of
Tyana who were under the false impression that "solitude would iprove their mind".
Epigrammatically Bacon says that man may be secluded even in crowd where he finds
the faces of people like pictures. Bacon's observation about the human nature is very
thorogh, accurate and persuasive. He says that talks of an alone persons are utterly dry
and arid because these are not animated by the emotions of love and friendship. Bacon
says that true friendship can be found only at countrysides rather than in cities wher the
people are more materialistic and remain indulged in worldly affaris. Without wellwishers
and true friends this world is but a wilderness which leads to a miserable solitude
showing unnatural attitude of man towards life and society.

Bacon says that as all physical diseases have cures and remedies, similarly human
heart needs a true and sincere friend to confide his emotions and feelings, there by
easing the load of the heart. It is a natural desire of man to impart his griefs, joys, fears,
suspicions and counsels to his friend so as to be revealed of an oppressive load on his
mind. On the other hand he will remain depressed and sick. Kings and great men need
the companionship of friends the most. They have often sought friends from the
numerous walks of life open to their disadvantage and injury. Bacon gives the examples
of Sulla and Pompey, Caesar and Brutus,Augustin and Agripa, Tiberus and Sejanus,
Severes and Plautinus.

Bacon mentions the profits and benefits that can be made by friendship. It works like a
medicine for man's mind. It doubles the joys and lessens the griefs. Union of two hearts
increases the plesures and calm thus violent impressions calm down. So in Bacon's
view first principle of friendship is to make a fair day in the affections after the storms
and tempests and a sincere advise of a friend can be useful in business. Secondly
friendship lears the understanding by three ways; by giving shape and form to vague
thoughts, by giving advice against follies and vices, and by giving a means to continue
one's own even after death. Bacon says that third and last principle of friendship is that
it is an arid in all actions and occasions. There are many things which a man cannot do
himself and in this a true friend is quite helpful. A true friend is another self of a person.
He has the priviledge and freedom of speech beyond ordinary civility. A true friend has a
special prerogative of pointing out our defects and shortcommings which we are likely to
ignore or fail to see ourselves. He can complete and perfect the actions of is friend.
Infact there is no end of advantages accuring out of frienship.

Theme of the essay revolves around social and domestic attitude of man
towards his society. Bacon tries to discover
the fundamental principles of conduct , the influence and action of man in life. Of
friendship in Bacon own words does come
home to mens business and bossoms. Bacon value the friendship but mainly for the
fruits to be gathered from it .i.e comfort
to emotion, light to the understanding and aid in the affairs of life.
Referring to the syle of Bacon Bush observe in the early seventeenth century:-

To the general recognition of tentative character of the essay , Bacon added his
special belief in the suggestive virtue of the aphoristic syle.

Aphorism mean a compact , condensed and epigrammatic syle of writing in which a

sentence express a truth in a fewst
possible words.

For a crowd is not company and faces are but a gallery of picture and talk but a
tinkling cymbal where there is no love.

These aphoristic lines mean a person without friend and love remain alone ever in a
crowd where faces of people look
like a picture and his thought and talks are utterlly dry and arid because they are not
animated by the emotion of love
and friendship. At another place Bacon shows this aphorism by saying :-
Those that want friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own
hearts.

Bacon means to say that people who have no friends to communicate the secret of
their heart they remain depressed
and painful because they have no body to impart their secrets.

Of friendship is a best example of Bacon's allusiveness as critics say:-

Bacon's style becomes a mosaic of quotation and alllusions.

Allusinveness is a technique in which writer uses references and quotation from other
writer or from Bible or other books.
As Bacon takes a Latin proverb:-

A great city is a great solitude.

Because in a great city friends are scattered and mostly remain indulged in their jobs so
good companionship is
possible only in the country side.Bacon starts his essay by quoting Aristotles saying:-

Who so ever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a God.

He means to say that a man who is a so self sufficient or egoistic that he may not
need society at all and finds
pleasure being alone , acually matches a beast in behaviour.His attitiude towards life is
irrrational.Or he thinks himself
superior to the other person by showing his divine nature which in Bacon's view is
totally untrue.

Of friendship proves Bacon's utilitarian approach towards the important

issue of man's life.He consider the
practical advantages of friendship. As Scion and Gibson say :-

Utilitarianism itself is the stand point and allows that without conception of the
end man as a responsible moral agant , morality is impossible. Bacon's main
approach is his utility.

In the essay of friendship he tells us that,

A friend is a another himself.

But it is alwlays a man receive from his friend , never for a moment what he gives
that is insisted on.Apparently
the blessedness of giving had no place among Bacon's philosphy showing his
passionless and cold nature.
Bacon is silent about the enobling affects of friendship on mind by disinterested efforts
out of pure selfishness.

We find use of metaphors and similes in this essay, showing his poetical
quality,

Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.

In which he compares a man of solitude with a bea

and faces are but a gallery of pictures.

He means to say that the person who finds pleasure being alone finds the people's
faces like pictures even in a crowd.

and talk but a tinkling cymbal.

The implication Bacon wants to give is that, unles our talks are not animated by the
emotions of love and friendship it is utterly dry and arid. Here he compares the talks of
alone man with a musical instrument called cymbal.

Bacon's approach to the social and practical aspects of life is

rational and realistic. The essay shows his command on knowledge, his reasoning and
sensible attitude towards the matter of friendship. He points out all the benefits of
friendship , on contrary he talks about solitude as an act of beast and considers it
unnatural and irrational. Hugh Walker comments on his rationality by saying that,

He appears to be looking down with dispassionateness from a height and

determining what course of conduct pays best.

Being rational Bacon says about friendship,

A principle fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and
swellings of the heart.
He means a man's heart finds the cures and remedies for its problems in a true and
sincere friend. Again he shows his rationality ,

Communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; for it
redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in half.

A true and sincere friend shows double blessings. It increases of joys and lesses our
griefs.

Dry light is ever the best.

The light of understanding that a man receives by useful counsel from his friends , is
best and purer than that which comes from his own understanding and judgement.

This essay is a well structured essay of Bacon. as Prof. Minto remarks on his writings,

The essays are of peculiar structure.

It shows well-defined arrangement of thoughts having balanced beginning, middle and

conclusive end. There is no sense of obscruty or ambiguity in this essay. He starts his
essay with allusive line said by Aristotle, then describes the nature of solitude life and its
drawbacks, in the mean time he goes on by giving some historical references and
examples to make the reader convince of his views about friend. By giving the principles
of friendship , he give the message to be practical , rational, mterialistic and moralistic in
the ways of life. This essay shows his massive intellectual powers full of wordly wisdom
and practicality building the spirit of hope and action in man.

It can be concluded finally that the essay reflects immense and

keen observation of Bacon. It shows his great experience about human life and deep
insight into the social behaviour and attitudes of man towards life. He analyzes the
problem and finds its solution by arguments and make conviction to it. By showing the
merits and demerits of friendship, by highlighting the drawbacks of solitude and
beneficial aspects of friendship, he proves himself the best prose writer and philosopher
of his era. Raynold says,

Such expressions are the works of a graet writer at his best, the highest efforts
of an art that defines analysis , simple uneffected and sublime.

So he has greater gift of looking into the heart of man than into the heart of things. He is
observant, reflective, ingenious, fanciful, eloquent and wise. What a spirit of life is there
in every sentence , how admirably is the philosophy evertwhere animated and irridiated
by wit.

Literary devices

Francis Bacon's essay "Of Friendship" is rich with literary devices that enhance his expl
oration of the theme:
 Metaphors: Bacon compares friendship to the medicinal benefits of a plant, illust
rating its importance and restorative power. Example: "For friendship maketh ind
eed a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests."
 Parallelism: He uses parallel structures to emphasize his points. Example: "A pri
ncipal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of
the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause and induce."
 Allusion: Bacon references historical figures and classical works to support his a
rguments. Example: "It was well said by Themistocles to the King of Persia, that
speech was like cloth of Arras, opened and put abroad; whereby the imagery dot
h appear in figure, whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs."
 Aphorisms: Bacon’s concise and memorable statements capture universal truth
s. Example: "A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others."
 Personification: He gives human qualities to abstract concepts, making them rel
atable. Example: "But we may go farther, and affirm most truly that it is a mere an
d solitary weakness."

Critical analysis

Francis Bacon's essay "Of Friendship" is a deep dive into the importance and benefits o
f friendship. Here's a critical analysis with references from the text:

1. Therapeutic Benefits: Bacon begins by highlighting the emotional and psycholo

gical relief that friendship provides. He compares friendship to medicine, suggesti
ng that friends help alleviate the "fullness and swellings of the heart":
 "A principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullne
ss and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause
and induce."

2. Counsel and Advice: Bacon argues that friends serve as valuable sources of ad
vice and wisdom. He likens good counsel to a mirror that reflects one's faults and
virtues:
 "For there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyet
h the more; and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he
grieveth the less."
 3. Shared Joys and Sorrows: The mutual sharing of experiences, both happy and
sad, strengthens bonds and provides emotional support:
 "It is a certain compound of sadness and sorrow, and they that cann
ot entertain the sight of their friends' sufferings, are of a weak and co
wardly nature."
4. Conflict Resolution: He explains how friendships can help mitigate conflicts and
misunderstandings:
 "It was well said by Themistocles to the King of Persia, that speech
was like cloth of Arras, opened and put abroad; whereby the imagery
doth appear in figure, whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs."
5. Personal Growth: Bacon suggests that friendships can promote personal growth
by providing constructive feedback and encouragement:
 "But we may go farther, and affirm most truly that it is a mere and sol
itary weakness."
Bacon's essay is not just a reflection on friendship but also a guide to understanding its
multifaceted benefits. His use of metaphors, aphorisms, and allusions enriches the text,
making it both insightful and engaging.