Famous Quotes | A more equal, if threadbare...

A more equal, if threadbare illustration of the antithesis between humanism and the gospel of scientific progress is found, of course, in Montaigne and Bacon.... The sovereignty of man, says Bacon in one of his massive phrases, lieth hid in knowledge. Montaigne would agree, but his terms would have an entirely different meaning. Bacon means that through scientific knowledge man can conquer external nature for his own use and benefit. Montaigne would mean that through study of his own inner strength and weakness man can learn to conquer himself. - Douglas Bush
Attribution: Douglas Bush (b. 1896), Canadian–born U.S. educator, critic. “English Humanism,” The Renaissance and English Humanism, University of Toronto Press (1939).

Categories: Bacon, Francis, Critic, Educator, Montaigne, Michel De

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