The year is 1575. The place is Trinity College, Cambridge, England Young student Francis Bacon is poised to announce the love of his life: the denouncement of the " Aristotelian Way ". The ancient philosophers, Bacon believed, were mere impostors, trading in drama as a means to explain all the unknowable things of the world. Their ways always led to a Divine end point yet, he somehow knew in his heart that there was so much more to know. His world tantalized his mind, and offered a multitude of things to ponder over. He envisioned light, and truth, realization beyond the earth, stretching outward to space and the stars above, This he did with a facility never seen in his native England. As a thirteen year old boy, his startling intellect was noticed by Queen Elizabeth, and she promptly anointed him as, " the young Lord Keeper ".

One year later, Francis traveled to France. Here he would remain for three years, participating in discussions with Etienne Jodelle, and Joachim du Bellay, both, poets extraordinaire.. From a group of essentially seven very young men, thoughts were exchanged regarding the importance of language in allowing the arts to become useful currency in the trading of ideas. This was Francis Bacon's epiphany in the making. He returned to England, determined to improve a language devoid of the mechanics of best expression. Through his later essays , and especially, his " Temporis Partus Maximus " ( the Greatest Birth of Time, his own system), he imprinted unmistakably, his mark upon the chronicles of human development. Inductive psychology grew from his work, and years later, men give pause in honor of his contributions.

Bacon's father advised him that, 'if you want to make everything subject to you, then subject yourself to reason ". Obviously, Francis did this with the passion of a thousand men. From his mother, it is said he received the fundamental basis for his education. Lady Anne, and her husband, Sir Nicholas Bacon, both combined to produce one of the most profound intellects this world has ever seen. Such a story should end here, but it does not. Francis, now a man, possessed sufficient human frailties to allow himself ordinary failures in his life. He, too, was corruptible, and paid a heavy price in the end days of his life. However, Francis bacon had carved a pathway out of the darkness, and into the light of a new day. That is how he shall be remembered.

Spanning the Centuries

Less than two centuries later, men with the names of Jefferson, and Adams, among others, are themselves giving birth to new ideas, and to man's governance of himself. Jefferson, in particular, said that there were three men whose ideas had had pronounced effect upon his thoughts. These men were, Sir Issac Newton, John Locke, and Francis Bacon.

Of the three, Newton, and Locke offered finite rules, laws, and reasoning. Jefferson, surely, felt the impact of the thinking, and the strategies, upon his own thought. But, just as surely, it was Sir Francis Bacon who offered the promise of vision to see beyond all that was apparent, all that was possible. These later men, their way lit by a million candles from the past, went on to write a remarkable Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America. Inherently, the knowledge gained, was promise redeemed..

Of Smaller Note

A diamond cutter studies the unpolished stone in his hands. He searches meticulously, quietly. Answers elude him, and he sets back to work, searching anew. Are there flaws? Which axis is best to cut ? A decision is made, and work progresses. Eventually, a gem of star like beauty emerges, and is displayed in the finest of museums for all to see, and to appreciate. The gem stands in muted testimony to the artisan's knowledge of doing such things in an exact manner.

A young child is taught by an able teacher, and in time, reasons for himself. He delights in the acquisition of new knowledge which leads him in a direction not sought by himself. He arrives at a place of better understanding, builds things, or solves stressing problems. The world is better for it all, and the sheer , dramatic enlightenment, overcomes everything in it's way.

Conclusion

Sir Francis Bacon would understand, as would John Locke, Issac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, and john Adams. Life has always been reflective of those who show us the way with their greater knowledge. We, of the imperfect knowledge, strive to the end of our capabilities, and are rewarded for honest effort no less so. There is the greatest of power in the greatest of knowledge. Call it a constant of nature. Call it what you will, it is irrefutable.