Francis Bacon's essay "On Studies," perhaps his most famous, lays out the reasons that Bacon thinks that studies are an essential part of daily life and describes the kinds of studies that he thinks are advantageous. While many people might consider that the primary goal of studying is to improve one's abilities, Bacon considers this to be just one of three important reasons to study. The other two reasons are for personal enjoyment and in order to become a more interesting and witty person.

Notably, Bacon doesn't think that studying just pertains to books. He emphasizes the importance of learning from the natural world and testing knowledge against experience. He also doesn't encourage that people study every book and encourages that people ought to be careful about what they select for reading cover-to-cover.