王守仁《英国文学选读》笔记和课后习题详解-弗朗西斯

第3单元弗朗西斯•培根

3.1复习笔记

Francis Bacon(1561-1626)(弗朗西斯·培根)

1.Life(生平)

Bacon was an English philosopher,statesman,scientist,lawyer,jurist,author and the father of empiricism and modern science.Bacon was born in a noble family, son of Sir Nicholas Bacon.In1573,he entered Trinity College,Cambridge.After graduating at16he took up law.He completed his legal education and was called to the bar.At23,he became a member of the House of Commons.During the reign of James I,Bacon was appointed Lord High Chancellor,the head of the legal system of England and made a peer with the titles of Baron Verulam and Viscount St Alban. But three years later,he was accused of bribery and was deprived of his office and banished from London.In his after years,he focused on philosophy and science.

培根是英国著名的哲学家、政治家、科学家、律师、法官、作家，被称为“经验主义和现代科学之父”。培根出生于一个贵族家庭,其父为尼古拉斯培根爵士。1573年，他进入剑桥大学三一学院读书。16岁毕业，然后从事法律事务。完成法律学习后，取得律师资格，23岁时成为众议院议员。詹姆士一世当政时，他当上了大法官（英格兰法律体系的头领），同时还被授予维勒拉姆男爵、圣·阿本斯子爵称号。但三年后他因受贿丢了职务，被赶出伦敦。培根晚年致力于哲学著述和科学研究。

2.Major Works(主要作品)

Bacon’s works may be divided into three categories:

①The Philosophical works:Advancement of Learning(1605),Novum Organum (1620),and the De Augmentis Scientiarum(1623).

②Literary works:Eessays.

③Professional works:Maxims of the Law and Reading on the Status of Uses.

培根的作品可分为三类：

①哲学类——《学术的进展》(1605)、《新工具》(1620)、《论诸科学之价值及其发展》(1623)。

②文学类——《随笔》。

③专业类——《法律箴言》和《谈使用法则》。

3.Selected Works(作品选读)

“Of Marriage and Single Life”《论婚姻和单身》

This essay argues that men and women should get married.Marriage is good for both individuals and society because family and children make people more responsible and charitable.Bacon’s argument is very insightful,for instance:“Wives are young men’s mistresses;companions for middle age;and old men’s nurses.”

本文强调人们应当结婚，并且论证了婚姻无论是对个人还是社会都不是坏事，因为家庭和孩子能使人具有责任感，充满爱心。培根的见解极具洞察力，例如：妻子就丈夫而言，是“年轻人的主人，中年人的伴侣，老年人的保姆”。

“Of Studies”《论读书》

“Of Studies”discussed the purposes and functions of study,people’s different views towards study and various study methods.The essay is characterized by the use of parallelism,concision and full of wisdom.

《论读书》详细讨论了读书的目的和功能，世人对读书的不同态度，并介绍了读书的各种方法。文章的特点在于使用了排比的修辞手法，简练的语言，充满了智慧。

3.2课后习题详解

“Of Marriage and Single Life”

1.Is marriage an impediment or help to one’s career development?

Key:Sometimes,marriage can be an impediment,and sometimes,it can help one develop his or her career as well,because it depends on the quality of the marriage.As the saying goes“A peaceful family will prosper”,so we can say that husbands and wives can benefit a lot from good marriages,while a terrible marriage will ruin both sides.In a good marriage,husband and wife will be happier,and they will help and encourage each other,which will be good for their careers.On the contrary,in an unhappy marriage,husband and wife usually quarrel a lot and things tend to be worse.

2.In what sense are wife and children“a kind of discipline of humanity”?