From: Valence (valence10@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Jun 26 2003 - 16:39:10 BST
Hi Johnny and all,
> "We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others, that write what men do,
and
> not what they ought to do. - Francis Bacon"
JOHNNY
> ...so, how do you write what men do? There's a lot of men, it would take
a
> pretty big book, especially if you put in the contexts in which men do
their
> stuff. You'd have to stick to generalities, right? You'd have to write
> what "most men" do. You'd have to write what the mores and morals of the
> culture was. Otherwise you'de be writing what men don't do more than what
> they do do, but the effect would be for people reading it, to think "oh,
so
> this is what men do."
RICK
I believe that Bacon is simply praising writers who describe what they see
instead of what they'd prefer to see. I agree with him. We need such
people.
JOHNNY
> Rick do you or does anyone know more of the context around that quote? Is
> that Bacon the sciencist, or was that a parent of this one?
RICK
1561-1626, British Philosopher, Essayist, Statesman. As for the context, no
idea, I just pulled it off the internet.
JOHNNY
> We do have a great interest in knowing what men do, but that is why men
have
> a great interest in appearing moral as well as being moral. Embarrassing
or
> shameful things we keep to ourselves, we don't need Machiavelli telling
> everyone about how we were rude and thoughtless to someone yesterday, if
for
> some regrettable reason that's what we were.
RICK
If men sometimes behave rude then that is something that men do and as you
say, we have a great interest in knowing about it.
take care
rick
What luck for the rulers that men do not think. - Adolf Hitler
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