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Wisdom of the Ancients

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Wisdom of the Ancients is a book written by the renowned philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. It is a collection of ancient myths and fables from various cultures, including Greek, Roman, and Egyptian. Bacon uses these stories to illustrate his philosophical ideas and teachings, drawing parallels between the ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge. The book covers a wide range of topics, including the nature of human existence, morality, politics, religion, and science. Through his interpretations of these ancient tales, Bacon offers insights into the human condition and the challenges of living a virtuous life. Wisdom of the Ancients is a thought-provoking and insightful work that continues to inspire readers today.Cassandra, or Divination; Typhon, or a Rebel; The Cyclops, or the Ministers of Terror, Narcissus, or Self-love; Styx, or Leagues; Pan, or Nature; Perseus, or War; Endymion, or a Favorite; The Sister of the Giants, or Fame; Actaeon and Pentheus, or a Curious Man; Orpheus, or Philosophy; Coelum, or Beginnings; Proteus, or Matter; Memnon, or a Youth too Forward; Tithonus, or Satiety; Juno's Suitor, or Baseness; Cupid, or an Atom; Diomedes, or Zeal; D�����dalus, or Mechanic; Ericthonius, or Imposture; Deucalion, or Restitution; Nemesis, or the Vicissitude of Things; Achelous, or Battle; Dionysus, or Passions; Atalanta, or Gain; Prometheus, or the State of Man; Scylia and Icarus, or the Middle Way; Sphynx, or Science; Proserpina, or Spirit; Metis, or Counsel; The Sirens, or Pleasures.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1609

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About the author

Francis Bacon

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Not to confuse with collateral descendant and artist Francis Bacon

English philosopher, essayist, courtier, jurist, and statesman Francis Bacon, first viscount Saint Albans, in writings, which include The Advancement of Learning (1605) and the Novum Organum (1620), proposed a theory of scientific knowledge, based on observation and experiment, which people came as the inductive method.

A Baconian follows the doctrines of the philosopher Francis Bacon or believes in the theory of, relating to, or characteristic of his works or thought that he authored the plays, attributed to William Shakespeare.

This Queen's Counsel, an orator, authored. He served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, his works extremely influenced especially as advocate and practitioner during the revolution.

People called Bacon the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularized simple Baconian inquiry, often called. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all natural things marked a new turn in much of the rhetorical framework, which still surrounds proper conceptions today.

Bacon received a knighthood in 1603, and people created him baron Verulam in 1618 and promoted him in 1621.

Ideas of Bacon in the 1630s and 1650s influenced scholars; Sir Thomas Browne in his Encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646–72) frequently adheres to an approach to his inquiries. During the Restoration, the royal society founded under Charles II in 1660, commonly invoked Bacon as a guiding spirit.

During the 18th-century Enlightenment of France, criticism of the ancien regime associated more influential non-metaphysical approach of Bacon than the dualism of his French contemporary René Descartes. In 1733, Voltaire "introduced him as the ''father," a widespread understanding before 1750, to a French audience.

In the 19th century, William Whewell revived and developed his emphasis. People reputed him as the "father."

Because Bacon introduced the influence behind the dawning of the Industrial age in England, people also consider him. In works, Bacon,

"the explanation of which things, and of the true relation between the nature of things and the nature of the mind, is as the strewing and decoration of the bridal chamber of the mind and the universe, out of which marriage let us hope there may spring helps to man, and a line and race of inventions that may in some degree subdue and overcome the necessities and miseries of humanity,"


meaning he expected that through the understanding of use of mechanics, society creates more inventions that to an extent solves the problems. This idea, found in medieval ages, changed the course in history to inventive that eventually led to the mechanical inventions that made possible the Industrial Revolutions of the following centuries.

He also a long treatise on Medicine, History of Life and Death , with the natural prolongation.

For the historian William Hepworth Dixon of biographers, so great influence of Bacon in modern world proceeds to owe to who rides in a train, sends a telegram, follows a steam plough, sits in an easy chair, crosses the channel or the Atlantic, eats a good dinner, enjoys a beautiful garden, or undergoes a painless surgical operation

Francis Bacon's left the vast and varied that dispaly and that divided in three great branches:

Works present his ideas for an universal reform into the use of the improvement.

In literary works, he presents his morals.

Works reform in law.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with thi

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Profile Image for Köksal KÖK .
662 reviews74 followers
November 7, 2023
Antik Bilgelik - Bir Dizi Mitolojik Masal
Wisdom of the Ancients, 1609
Çevirmen: Murat Can Mutlu
1984 yayınevi, 2020

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
İngiliz başyargıç, filozof,

önce, içindekiler:
1, kassandra ya da kehanet,
teklifsiz ve zamansız tavsiyenin açıklanması,

2, TYPHON ya da asi,
isyanın açıklanması,

3, kykloplar ya da korku vekilleri,
alt mahkeme memurlarının açıklanması,

4, narkissos ya da kendini beğenme,

5, styks nehri ya da ittifaklar,
hükümdarların ettikleri yeminler ya da yaptıklardaki kutsal ittifaklardaki mecburiyetin açıklanması,

6, DOĞA ya da PAN,
Doğa felsefesinin açıklanması,

7, perseus ya da savaş,
savaş için gerekli olan ahazırlık ve davranışların açıklanması,

8, endymion ya da gözde,
gözdelerin açıklanması,

9, devlerin kızkardeşi ya da fama,
herkesin duyabileceği şekilde kötülemenin açıklanması,

10, aktaion ve pentheus ya da meraklı bir adam,
meraklı olmanın ya da kutsal gizemlerin ve hükümdarların sırlarına burun sokmanın açıklanması,

11, orpheus ya da felsefe,
doğa ve ahlak felsefesinin açıklanması,
[ÖLÜLER DİYARINDAN ÇIKARKEN, ASLA ARKANA BAKMA(YACAKSIN)].

12, Uranüs ya da başlangıç,
yaradılışın ya da her şeyin kökeninin açıklanması,

13, proteus ya da madde,
maddenin ve maddede gerçekleşen değişimlerin açıklanması,

14, memnon,
ya da fazla cüretli olan gençliğin ölümcül aceleciliğinin açıklanması,

15, tithonos ya da doygunluk,
baskın tutlkuların açıklanması,

16, iono'nun talibi ya da adilik,
itaat ve sefilliğin açıklanması,

17, cupid ya da atom,
parçacıklara ilişkin felsefenin açıklanması,

18, diomedes ya da coşkunluk,
din için eziyet etmenin ya da din için duyulan coşkunluğun açıklanması,

19, daidalos ya da mekanik becerisi,
kralllıklarda ve devletlerde sanatların ve sanatçıların açıklanması,

20, erikthonios ya da sahtekârlık
gücün, doğa felsefesinde uygunsuz kullanımının açıklanması,

21, deukalion ya da eski haline getirme,
doğa felsefesinde faydalı olan bir ipucunun açıklanması,

22, nemesis ya da şeylerin değişmesi
talihin, terse dönmesinin açıklanması,

23, akhilleus ya da savaş,
saldırı savaşının açıklanması,

24, diyonysos ya da bacchus,
tutkuların açıklanması,

25, atalente ve hippomenes ya da kazanmak,
sanat ve doğa arasındaki mücadelenin açıklanması,

26, prometheus ya da insanoğlunun durumu,
insan doğasının ve gücü elinden alınan bir tanrının açıklanması,

27, ikaros ve skylla ile kharybdis ya da orta yol,
doğa ve ahlak felsefesinin aleladeliğinin açıklanması,

28, sphinks ya da bilim,
bilimlerin açıklanması,

29, proserpina ya da ruh,
doğa cisimlerinin içindeki ruhun açıklanması,

30, metis ya da nasihat,
hükümdarların ve konseylerin açıklanması,

31, sirenler ya da hazlar,
insanoğlunun hazlar için duyduğu tutkunun açıklanması.

------------------
Ovidius, Metamorphoses/Dönüşümler adlı kitabında (M.S. 8), Yunan ve Roma mitolojisindeki 15 efsanevi hikayeyi anlatır. Zeus, herkül, troya, persepone, aeneas, romulus, pisagor gibi efsanevi kişi ve olayları anlatır.

yazarımız Bacon ise, bu olay ve kahramanların, sembolik tarafını felsefi anlamını, bu masal gerçekte ne diyor, bize ne gibi bir ders vermeye çalışıyor, anlatmaya çalışmış. tabii, buradaki "olağanüstülüğü" gözardı ederek.

mesela, ilk hikaye;

"kassandra ya da kehanet" başlığı ve,
"teklifsiz ve zamansız tavsiye'nin açıklanması" altbaşlığına sahip.

mitolojik olay şu:

Tanrı Apollon, kassandra'ya aşık olmuş. kadın, evlilik isteğini oyalamış, amacına ulaştıktan-kehanet yeteneğini aldıktan sonra da O'nu reddetmiş. buna kızan Apollon "söylediğine inanılmama" lanetiyle birlikte "gelecekten haber verme yeteneği"ni de kassandra'ya bahşetmiş.

yazarımız bu hikayeyi;

"Açıklama: bu masal, zamansız tavsiyenin önemsizliğini anlatmak için uydurulmuş gibi görünüyor."

diye yoruyor. ki, kassandra, troy atı konusunda çevresindekileri uyarmış; dinletememişti.

yine romalı devlet adamı Utica'lı Genç Cato da, Sezar ile Pompeus arasındsaki mücadelenin devleti zayıflattığını görür; ancak kendisi de eylemleri ile de bu yıkımı hızlandırır.

-narkisos hikayesi, kendini beğenmşlik ve acı sonuçları,
-TYPHON hikayesi, konusu kısaca: başka bir tanrıya tepki olarak yaratılan bu yılan, tanrılara bela olur.

typhon hikayesi, "asi-isyan-yozlaşma-tiran" kavramları altında inceleniyor: kral, hırsına yenilir uzun kalır tiran olursa; halk da isyan eder, diyor. tirana karşı, hoşnutsuz halk, koynunda beselenen tipon olur, ve bu devlete, halka herkese zara verir, yıkım getirir, diyor.

antik yuna ve roma mitolojisinden 31 olağanüstü hikayeyi, ayağı yerebasar şekilde gerçek insan ilişkilerine indirgiyor. özellikle insan/devlet/doğa ilişkilerinin ahlaki kavramlarına dokunuyor. hikayeyi hep bu yönden tercüme ediyor:
12.7.2022 Samsun.
155 reviews2 followers
February 19, 2021
Bacon in this small book seeks to decode ancient myths and parables into what he considers their original intended meanings. Some are quite obvious, others are very unimaginative. It's surprising how many ancient myths convened itself with princes and kings similar to those in 16th century England.
Profile Image for Maan Kawas.
812 reviews101 followers
February 3, 2019
Very interesting book by Sir Francis Bacon, in which he tries to interpret myths, considering myths and fables rich with hidden profound meanings and symbolism, and symbolic language by the ancients to convey wisdom.
Profile Image for Florin Buzdugan.
48 reviews12 followers
Read
May 29, 2015
că ar trebui s-o recitesc, deși acum mulți ani (muuulți ani) fu o lectură interesantă.
Profile Image for Willy Acosta.
22 reviews
June 4, 2024
Although I find the Francis seems to always have an inclination to interpret these stories as relating with science or the definition of some symbolism of the philosophy of science, I do believe he does a great job of clarifying beforehand that the common criteria of interpretation of such stories, depends very much on human desire to see things in their own way, while at the same time showing what contributes to the laziness and waywardness of symbolic interpretation within philosophy. (In other words) States his awareness of neutrality and flexibility in interpretation, which I think is a very good thing - proceeds to interpret much in scientific goggles.
Profile Image for German Diaz.
73 reviews10 followers
January 3, 2020
Muy buen libro

Habla sobre los significados de las leyendas de los antiguos,creo que todos deberíamos de entender que nos dejaron nuestros antepasados
Profile Image for Ci.
960 reviews6 followers
July 30, 2016
This is Bacon's examination of major ancient fables as "ductile matters" into his contemporary world, which is late 16th-early 17th century England. Being the hyper-achieved man as he was, he brought his own experience and thoughts into the interpretation. However he did acclaim only to attempt "evident similitude, relation, and connection with the things they signify" instead of carrying off like others by their "witty talent or an inventive genius". Bacon protests too much, methinks.

Bacon's connecting of some fables with more modern concepts are somewhat startling to this reader. One can see the varied lengths he devoted to different fables. Here are the ones with the longest segments (1) Pan, with Nature; (2) Orpheus, with Philosophy. Given Orpheus's eventful life from tripping to the Underworld, and his shocking death in the hands of crazed Thracian women instigated by Bacchus, Bacon gave an original and startling connection of the power and limitation of philosophy in human life (3) Proteus, with Matter. This is a somewhat far-fetched but dimly plausible one. How is that changeling of a sea monster linking to the Matter in universe? I don't know enough of that period's cosmology (4) Cupid with An Atom, because the beginning of all creation is Love, or An Atom. Not very convincing. (5) Prometheus, The State of Man. Possible the longest segment in sketching out the creation, growth as well as foolishness in Man in relationship with its creator Prometheus.

This essay is elegantly and engagingly written.
Profile Image for Diana Aranda.
212 reviews
April 21, 2020
"La sabiduría de los antiguos" fue la obra de Francis Bacon más leída durante el siglo XVII, pero, sorpredentemente, en la actualidad es muy poco conocida. Publicada originalmente en latín en 1609, en ella Bacon sintetizó a través de exégesis alegóricas originales de treinta y un mitos clásicos greco-romanos, buena parte de las ideas directrices de su filosofía natural, su filosofía moral, su filosofía política y su proyecto de reforma del saber. Este volumen ofrece la primera traducción española de la obra directamente del original latino de 1609, junto con una detallada bibliografía complementaria y un extenso estudio preliminar, además de notas a la traducción.
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