Customer Reviews

The Advancement of Learning

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I have been working my way through many of the classics and taking advantage of the Kindle Freebies. Some editions have been very useful, this was not. My main complaint is that this book has neither footnotes nor a glossary. Normally that is not a serious problem, but in this case it is critical since Bacon quotes almost everything in Latin and they are the main points of his thoughts. I scanned google books for other editions and found that it was fairly common to include a section with translations of the Latin and a glossary of the uncommon English words or phrases used by Bacon. I do not know if any of these editions are on the Kindle, but if they are, it would be worth paying some money for these features, especially if they were hyperlinked.

Otherwise, this is supposed to be a groundbreaking book on the subject of learning. At the time Bacon wrote this, they had very different ideas about education and this book got things rolling in the direction that we are at today. Bacon starts out talking about all of the reasons that were commonly used to justify not educating the masses and gives reasons why they may or may not be true. He then goes on to propose things that should and should not be taught.

The book is addressed to the king, and I had forgotten how obsequious that people used to be towards royalty. Out modern tastes make it seem like serious brown-nosing. Much of what he talks about seems very foreign to us, since those types of ideas are long-gone from society. It really made me appreciate not living during those times. They style was also somewhat difficult for me to follow and is one of the more difficult reads I have had in recent years. Not understanding Latin did not help.

I cannot recommend this edition to anyone other than those fluent in Latin. I would search for an edition with hyperlinked translations to the Latin and a glossary of unusual terms and pay the small amount of money required.