Of Youth and Age by Francis Bacon | Summary, Analysis, and Important Quotations

Of Youth and Age is an interesting essay by Francis Bacon which was published in the second edition of his book Essays in 1612. The first edition of "Essayes: Religious Meditations. Places of Perswasion and Disswasion. Seene and Allowed" was published in 1597 and it had 10 essays. The second edition contained 38 essays and the third edition was published in 1625 with the title “Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall” which contained 58 essays in total. In this essay, Bacon offers a comparative study of the nature of youth and old age and how to apply them for the greater benefits of the business. He begins with exploring the demerits of youth and then explains the strong points and advantages of youth over old age. Again, he explains the drawbacks of old age and offers the merits of old age. After this extensive comparison, Bacon proposes a wise course of golden mean and suggests that the merits of both youth and old age should be employed in the business. In the end, he mentions some historical figures to assert his explanations. So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the History of English Literature and in the next video, we will discuss John Bunyan’s magnum opus The Pilgrim’s Progress in detail as we strive to offer a complete course for the preparation of UGC NET English literature, NTA NET English literature, PGTRB English,, SET English literature, TGT PGT English, GATE English Literature, and other exams, please stay connected with the Discourse, Thanks, and Regards!