Of Death, Francis Bacon: Line by Line Explanation

1. "Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children, is increased with tales, so is the other. 2. Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin, and passage to another world, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. 3. Yet in religious meditations, there is sometimes mixture of vanity, and of superstition." In this essay titled "Of Death," Sir Francis Bacon examines the fear of death and its various aspects, including religious contemplation and potential superstitions. Summary & Analysis Here Explanation: 1. Drawing an analogy, Bacon likens the fear of death to the fear that children have of darkness. He suggests that just as children's fear of the dark is heightened by stories, the fear of death is also magnified through various influences and sources, contributing to its intensity. 2. Bacon acknowledges that reflecting on death in the context of its role as a c…