“ This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal, and do well. ”
Francis Bacon, The Essays of Francis Bacon (1597). copy citation
| Author | Francis Bacon |
|---|---|
| Source | The Essays of Francis Bacon |
| Topic | revenge healing |
| Date | 1597 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/575/575-h/575-h.htm |
Context
“Cosmus, duke of Florence, had a desperate saying against perfidious or neglecting friends, as if those wrongs were unpardonable; You shall read (saith he) that we are commanded to forgive our enemies; but you never read, that we are commanded to forgive our friends. But yet the spirit of Job was in a better tune: Shall we (saith he) take good at God's hands, and not be content to take evil also? And so of friends in a proportion. This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal, and do well. Public revenges are for the most part fortunate; as that for the death of Caesar; for the death of Pertinax; for the death of Henry the Third of France; and many more. But in private revenges, it is not so.”
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Meaning and analysis
