increased with tales, so is the other.

Here the phrase “men fear death” immediately catches our attention. “Men” is balanced later by “children,” and the phrasing that follows the semicolon is as balanced as the phrasing that precedes it. Meanwhile, the phrases on either side of the semicolon are themselves balanced, and this frequent use of balance in Bacon’s essays suggests the mental balance and sensible reasoning of the author. The fact that Bacon is dealing with such a universally interesting topic as death is also typical of his essays, which very often deal with precisely such topics. Rather than writing about his personal experiences or perceptions, Bacon writes about topics likely to interest most readers, and he does so in a fairly impersonal style.

Bacon is often said to write in a crisp, terse, clipped manner, in a style influenced by Tacitus and Seneca rather than by the long, elaborately developed sentences of Seneca, and this tendency to terseness can be seen in the following sentence:

Revenge triumphs over death; love slights it; honor aspireth to it; grief flieth to it; fear preoccupateth it . . . .

In his essays, especially the later or revised ones, Bacon tends to cite classical examples to make his points and even to quote from classical sources.  In the essay “Of Death,” for instance, he writes as follows:

Augustus Caesar died in a compliment; Livia,conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale. Tiberius in dissimulation; as Tacitus saith of him, Jam Tiberium vires et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant. Vespasian in a jest, sitting upon the stool; Ut puto deus fio. Galba with a sentence; Feri, si ex re sit populi Romani; holding forth his neck. Septimius Severus in despatch; Adeste si quid mihi restat agendum. And the like.

Today, many of Bacon’s sentences, as in the passage just quoted, would be considered fragments, but they are typical of the often lightning speed of his style and of his emphasis on matter over manner, substance over conventionally “correct” grammar. Bacon rarely develops the full implications of many of his ideas. Instead, he often mentions an idea quickly and then swiftly moves on to the next, thereby encouraging readers to make connections and to think for themselves. Certainly that is one of the effects of the essay “Of Death.”

The style of Sir Francis Bacon’s Essays is indebted to a number of sources, both literary and otherwise. Like most Renaissance Christians, especially the well-educated, Bacon was very familiar with the Bible and took its teachings quite seriously. He was also familiar with many of the Greek and Latin classics, and his style was especially influenced by such writers as Seneca and Tacitus (rather than Cicero). Seneca and Tacitus favored a kind of writing often called “curt.” Cicero's writing, by contrast, was often long, complicated, and highly patterned. Phrases in the "curt" style were short; grammar was unconventional; and ideas often whizzed by quickly. Bacon liked lists, antitheses, and phrases involving three elements. Yet writers such as Tacitus and Seneca were only two significant influences on his style. He was familiar, for instance, with the essays of Montaigne and sometimes alluded to them, but his own essays were less personal, more abrupt, and less informal.

The brief essay “Of Revenge,” chosen more or less at random, illustrates many of the traits and influences just discussed, as well as some others. Consider its opening sentence:

Revenge is a kind of wild justice; which the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.

Here, in the first phrase, we see Bacon’s frequent brevity, as well as his tendency to use aphorisms and his sometimes vivid language. In the phrasing that follows the semicolon, we see his love of balance. Meanwhile, Bacon’s tendency to think in terms of threes is evident in the following sentence:

Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a prince's part to pardon.

In the immediately following sentence, we see Bacon’s familiarity with scripture, as well as his tendency to use what we would term “sentence fragments”:

And Solomon, I am sure, saith, It is the glory of a man, to pass by an offence.

Bacon’s wide reading in history (another important influence) allowed him to cite more recent examples to support his arguments, as when he says,

Cosmus, duke of Florence, had a desperate saying against perfidious or neglecting friends . . . .

Such reading is also apparent in his later reference to "the death of Henry the Third of France."

Yet Bacon could also easily cite examples from his reading of the classics, as he does here:

Public revenges are for the most part fortunate; as that for the death of Caesar; for the death of Pertinax . . . .

Scripture, however, was always the most persuasive source to quote in Bacon’s culture, as he proves again when he writes,

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?

As these quotations suggest, Bacon’s style was compounded of a wide variety of influences, but perhaps the writers who had the most important impact on his phrasing per se were Seneca, Tacitus, and other Roman writers who favored the “curt” style.

To help you with this task, let's take a look at some of the major themes that Bacon explores in his collection of essays.

Overall, these essays explore what it means to be alive as a human. As such, lifeitself is a major theme. Each of his essays examine how someone can live a better life and find purpose in living. Bacon's views on life are shaped by his belief in the importance of knowledge, truth, and morality. He suggests that individuals should strive to live a virtuous life.

Related to this is the theme of the pursuit of truth. In the essays, Bacon acknowledges that people often ignore empirical truths in favor of subjective ones. Yet, when we fail to accept empirical evidence, we deny ourselves the chance to progress and grow. In "Of Truth," Bacon argues that truth is the foundation of all knowledge. He writes that it is essential for individuals to seek the truth, even if it is uncomfortable. In "Of Studies," Bacon emphasizes the importance of education and lifelong learning, suggesting that reading is an essential way to gain knowledge. In "Of Atheism," Bacon challenges the traditional views of religion, arguing that individuals should not blindly accept religious beliefs but should question them to arrive at the truth.

Bacon also explores the nature of human relationships. This includes the relationships between friends, family, lovers, and even enemies. For example, in "Of Marriage and Single Life," Bacon discusses the pros and cons of marriage and their different virtues. In "Of Friendship," Bacon describes the nature of true friendship and the qualities that make a good friend. In "Of Revenge," Bacon explores the morality of revenge and suggests that it is often better to forgive.