Response to Francis Bacon's "Of Studies"

Too Much Study is Not Always a Bad Thing 

By: Natalina (Sogang University)

One of Francis Beacon’s essays called Of Studies contains many aphorisms. Among his aphorisms on Of Studies he said “To spend too much time in studies is sloth, to use them too much for ornament is affectation, to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar”. Why did Bacon say this? And what did he really want to explain through this? Everybody might have different responses to and opinions of Bacon’s aphorisms.

Firstly, Bacon said that if people spend too much time in studying, it makes people sloth, and this can be interpreted that when people spend too much time for studying only, they can be lazy to do other things. For example, a bookworm prefers to read the book for the whole day rather than do the other important things in his life. Bacon didn't mean that study is bad thing, but he tried to say that it can be bad if we only do it too much. However, I don’t agree with Bacon’s statement. The reason is that in today’s world people are very competitive both in social and school life including university’s life. If one is thinking that study more is making them lazy then there will be no more creativity, no more innovation, etc in this new world. 

Secondly, Bacon said that if people use studies too much for ornament is affectation. It can be interpreted to those people who study in order to be praised by others. These people are those who try to at least perfect themselves by boasting their accomplishments in conversation with others. However, in reality lots of people who have this sort of character received bad comments. Of course people can share their knowledge, but the important thing is share in humble way and don’t need to be proud of what they know.

Thirdly, Bacon said that when people make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar. It can be interpreted that sometimes people judge things according to what they have read. They judge life according to what it should be. Originally, life doesn't always depend on laws, theories, and rules. We can consider these things, but life also depends on our own experiences. We should do what we love and live our life happy. However, we need to remember that to follow rules that we know can help our life happier.

In conclusion, spending too much time in studies is not a bad thing if we really focus on our studies and take advantage of it, and then put them into action. Because a complete education is one that is supported by real life experiences and by practice. However, if we study just to get recognition is worst because we just waste our time for getting something that only help us to get bad comment from others.