Francis Bacon studied law at Cambridge and became Lord Chancellor in 1618. In the fullness of his power and reputation as Lord Chancellor of England, Bacon was impeached by Parliament for taking bribes in office, convicted, and banished from London and the law courts.

Up to Bacon's time there existed philosophies rooted not so much in reason but in pure faith. Bacon was violently opposed to speculative philosophies and argued that the only knowledge of importance to man was empirically rooted in the natural world.

Bacon insisted on collecting facts first, and then drawing theories from them - a method which is today called 'inductive', and which constituted a breakthrough in the approach to science.

His 'Essays' have remained the most popular writing, his two greatest scientific works being 'Novum Organum' and 'The Advancement of Learning' in which he pleaded for the recognition of science.

Quotations by F. Bacon