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...scientiam ipsa se abscondit; sed studioso fit
obviam. But the managing of this argument with integrity and truth,
which I note as deficient, seemeth to me to be one of the best
fortifications for honesty and virtue that can be planted. For, as
the fable goeth of the basilisk--that if he see you first, you die
for it; but if you see him first, he dieth--so is it with deceits
and evil arts, which, if they be first espied they leese their life;
but if they prevent, they endanger. So that
We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do. 
For it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with
the columbine innocency, except men know exactly all the conditions
of the serpent; his baseness and going upon his belly, his
volubility and lubricity, his envy and sting, and the rest--that is,
all forms and natures of evil. For without this, virtue lieth open
and unfenced. Nay, an honest man can do no good upon those that are
wicked, to reclaim them, without the help of the knowledge of evil.
For men of corrupted minds...
Bacon, Francis
Excerpt from The Advancement of Learning ·
This quote is tagged Philosophers and Philosophy ·
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A little bit about Bacon, Francis
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban, KC (22 January 1561 - 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman and essayist but is best known for leading the scientific revolution with his new 'observation and experimentation' theory which is the way science has been conducted ever since. He was knighted in 1603, created Baron Verulam in 1618, and created Viscount St Alban in 1621; both peerage titles became extinct upon his death. · Can we improve this biography? Post your version
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