Francis Bacon Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Francis Bacon quotes, Francis Bacon sayings, and Francis Bacon proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Knowledge hath in it somewhat of the serpent, and therefore where it entereth into a man it makes him swell. Francis Bacon
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. Francis Bacon
In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. Francis Bacon
Be true to thyself, as thou be not false to others. Francis Bacon
New nobility is but the act of power, but ancient nobility is the act of time. Francis Bacon
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. Francis Bacon
Nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as body, and it addeth no small reverence to men's manners and actions if they be not altogether open. Therefore set it down: That a habit of secrecy is both politic and moral. Francis Bacon
Truth is a naked and open daylight, that doth not shew the masks and mummeries and triumphs of the world, half so stately and daintily as candlelights. Francis Bacon
Suspicions amongst Thoughts, are like Bats amongst Birds; they never fly but by Twilight." Francis Bacon
We rise to great heights by a winding staircase of small steps. Francis Bacon
Observation and experiment for gathering material, induction and deduction for elaborating it: these are are only good intellectual tools. Francis Bacon
It is the wisdom of the crocodiles, that shed tears when they would devour. Francis Bacon
A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner. Francis Bacon
Nothing is terrible except fear itself. Francis Bacon
Nothing is more pleasant to the eye than green grass kept finely shorn. Francis Bacon
The general root of superstition is that men observe when things hit, and not when they miss, and commit to memory the one, and pass over the other. Francis Bacon
The master of superstition is the people, and in all superstition wise men follow fools, and arguments are fitted to practice in a reversed order. Francis Bacon
There is superstition in avoiding superstition. Francis Bacon
An ant is a wise creature for itself, but it is a shrewd thing, in an orchard or garden. Francis Bacon
The men of experiment are like the ant, they only collect and use; the reasoners resemble spiders, who make cobwebs out of their own substance. But the bee takes the middle course: it gathers its material from the flowers of the garden and field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. Francis Bacon
A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. Francis Bacon
Rebellions of the belly are the worst. Francis Bacon
Be not penny-wise. Riches have wings. Sometimes they fly away of themselves, and sometimes they must be set flying to bring in more. Francis Bacon
The lame man who keeps the right road outstrips the runner who takes the wrong one. Francis Bacon
The cord breaketh at last by the weakest pull. Francis Bacon
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. Francis Bacon
But by far the greatest hindrance and aberration of the human understanding proceeds from the dullness, incompetency, and deceptions of the senses; in that things which strike the sense outweigh things which do not immediately strike it, though they be more important. Hence it is that speculation commonly ceases where sight ceases; insomuch that of things invisible there is little or no observation. Francis Bacon
A principal fruit of friendship, is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause and induce. Francis Bacon
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. Francis Bacon
The worst solitude is to have no real friendships. Francis Bacon