Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Of Youth and Age is an interesting essay by Francis Bacon which was published in the second edition of his book Essays in 1612. The first edition of "Essayes: Religious Meditations. Places of Perswasion and Disswasion. Seene and Allowed" was published in 1597 and it had 10 essays. The second edition contained 38 essays and the third edition was published in 1625 with the title “Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall” which contained 58 essays in total.
In this essay, Bacon offers a comparative study of the nature of youth and old age and how to apply them for the greater benefits of the business. He begins with exploring the demerits of youth and then explains the strong points and advantages of youth over old age. Again, he explains the drawbacks of old age and offers the merits of old age. After this extensive comparison, Bacon proposes a wise course of golden mean and suggests that the merits of both youth and old age should be employed in the business. In the end, he mentions some historical figures to assert his explanations.
Summary:
Bacon begins with the description of the drawbacks or flaws of youth. He says that while a young man may attain more experience than many old men, it is rare. He then mentions some important shortcomings of youth. He says that youth is liable to foolish thoughts. The errors of youth often prove fatal. It is because of certain characteristic weaknesses of youth such as attempting too much thinking only about the end, ignoring the means, holding on to imperfect principles, reckless innovations, extreme remedies, and reluctance to acknowledge errors.
Then Bacon describes the merits of youth. He says that youth has lively invention and imagination. Though youth is not so well fitted to judge or deliberate, it is fitter to invent and execute.
A man that is young in years may be old in hours if he has lost no time. Young men have a moral freshness, which the old lack. They are full of adventures and would not tolerate partial success. They are better capable of taking immediate decisions. Thus young people have many advantages over old people.
Bacon then begins discussing the shortcomings of old age. He says that “Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.” While describing the merits of old age he says that old men are more experienced than young men and they are guided in their actions by their experience. But they are less imaginative, they argue too much, consult too long, are less adventurous, repent too soon and seldom push an affair right through the end. Even a little success satisfies them.
Bacon then offers his view over how to employ a combination of youth and old age for the betterment of the business. He advises that the merits of both young and old men should be employed in business which requires immediate efficiency, efficiency in the future, external success. This requires a combination of the moral freshness of youth and the political sagacity of old age. When both old men and young men are employed, young men will learn from their elders and will themselves grow older and thus have the advantages of old age also.
Then Bacon goes back to his initial point, that there can be some young men with more experience than many old men. He says that while some persons gain maturity before reaching their mature age, they soon decline to be dull-headed, just like the metal of good edge that becomes soon blunt.
To strengthen his views, Bacon offers examples from history to bring to light brings to light an important fact about young people. He points out that youth sometimes fails to fulfill its early promise. There are some, who have an early maturity, but their powers also fail early, and then they do not justify their promise. This happened with Hermogenes, the rhetorician, who lost all his mental powers by the time he was twenty-five years old. Secondly, some persons have some natural qualities, which are more becoming in youth than in age like Hortensius. He had a florid, passionate style. In oratory, this style suited him better as a young man than when he was old. He remained the same even in his old age. Then some begin with very high standards but are unable through a long period of years to maintain themselves at the height of greatness, which they have reached. This was the case with Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Hanibal at Zama in 201 B.C. Scipio’s early career in Spain and Africa was very brilliant. At the time of his great victory in Zama, he was only thirty-five years of age. His later career in Asia Minor was not so brilliant.
Important Quotations
1) A man that is young in years may be old in hours, if he has lost no time. But that happenth rarely.
In these lines, Bacon says that a man who does not waste time may gain a lot of experience even at a young age. A man who utilizes all his time becomes more experienced than his age. But such men are found rarely.
2) Generally youth is like the first cogitations, not so wise as the second. For there is a youth in thoughts as well as in ages. And yet the invention of young man is more lively than that of the old, and imaginations stream into their minds better, and as it were more divinely.
Bacon compares age with thoughts and finds that young age is like the first preliminary thoughts which cannot be so wise as the second thoughts i.e. the matured thoughts which we find in old age. Meditation improves our ideas. The reason behind it is that young age is as much mental as physical. Young men are not able to think wisely. And yet, the new thoughts and views of young men are more lifelike than those of old people. The imaginative ideas flow in the minds of the young men and they are driven by divine inspiration. They flow fast and young people act fast.
3) Young men are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel and fitter for new projects than for settled business. For the experience of age, in things that fall within the compass of it directeth them; but in new things, abuseth them.
In these lines, Bacon says that certain things are not within the range of young men. They are only apt to invent because they are less experienced. They are capable of executing a thing because they have more vigor and vitality. But they are unable to give advice because their thoughts are not always so mature. They are fit for new projects because they have the enthusiasm and a craze for new things. But they are not meant for settled business because there is no use of their imaginative power and craze for action. The experience of age guides young people properly. Young men are more imaginative and active but they lack ripeness. They may commit blunders in executing a work, which may ruin the whole thing.
3) A certain Rabin, upon the text, your men shall see visions, and your old men shall see dreams inferreth that young men are admitted nearer to God than old because vision is a clearer revelation than a dream. And certainly, the more a man drinketh of the world, the more it intoxicateth; and age both profit rather in the powers of understanding, than in the virtues of the will and affections.
Bacon says that a certain Rabin (an expert on Jewish Laws) said that young men see visions while old men only dream. That is to say that young men are nearer to God than the old. A vision is a clearer expression than a dream. A dream is a sleeping imagination while a vision is an awaking description. A man who lives more in the world knows more secrets of the world. Old age profits a man in the power of understanding. An old man is experienced rather than passionate. Bacon says that the effect of age and experience on a man is that it increases his power of understanding. A young man has greater power of will, which enables him to execute a job better. Their thoughts and feelings are purer. They have a moral freshness, which the older people lack in. This is youth’s advantage over age which benefits their ability to act.
4) Young men, in the conduct and manage of actions, embrace more than they can hold; stir more than they can quiet; fly to the end, without consideration of the means and degrees; pursue some few principles which they have chanced upon absurdly; care not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences; use extreme remedies at first; and that, which doubleth all errors, will not acknowledge or retract them, like an unruly horse, that will neither stop nor turn.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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