“ So in most things men are ready to abuse themselves in thinking the greatest means to be best, when it should be the fittest. ”
Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning (1605). copy citation
| Author | Francis Bacon |
|---|---|
| Source | The Advancement of Learning |
| Topic | meaning abuse |
| Date | 1605 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5500/5500-h/5500-h.htm |
Context
“and think, if they be ever moving, that they must needs advance and proceed; as Cæsar saith in a despising manner of Cato the second, when he describeth how laborious and indefatigable he was to no great purpose, Hæc omnia magno studio agebat. So in most things men are ready to abuse themselves in thinking the greatest means to be best, when it should be the fittest.
(38) As for the true marshalling of men’s pursuits towards their fortune, as they are more or less material, I hold them to stand thus. First the amendment of their own minds. For the removal of the impediments of the mind will sooner clear the passages of fortune than the obtaining fortune will remove the impediments of the mind.”
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