Sir Francis Bacon was an English statesman and philosopher who believed in the power of knowledge. Bacon wrote a series of essays in the late 1500s to the early 1600s. One of those essays was called "Of Studies." In this essay Bacon states his depiction of education and learning. He articulated that, "studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability." Bacon felt that some people gain knowledge for pure delight. People, who acquire knowledge for delight, do so because they enjoy it. For instance, those who play sports practice and learn about their sport because they want to, not because they have to. There are, however, some people who gain knowledge for mere ornament. These people only want to improve themselves in the eyes of others. These are the people who try to better themselves by bragging about their acheivements and accomplishments in conversation with others. Then there are those who gain knowledge for ability. They want to show that they are able to do something. They learn for themselves in their free time. Ability is widely used in the area of business, those who are well educated rather than those who are not better run a company.
             Bacon also stated that "to spend too much time in studies is sloth; to
             use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgement wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar." Education can be taken to extreme by spending excessive time studying. Bacon feels that those who only study and never actually use their knowledge are being lazy. Education is meant to be preparation for the real world. People should not use education to show off and make themselves appear superior to others. Some people make judgments solely on information acquired from books. However, a true scholar would filter that information acquired from books and apply it to their own life experience where it will be useful. For instance, it is more impor...