365 Day Project: Day 67

Bacon Warns Judges

Francis Bacon. (1561–1626).?Essays, Civil and Moral.

[Vol. 3, pp. 130-134 of The Harvard Classics]

Today’s reading is one essay from a famous series written and published by Francis Bacon in 1625.?Of Judicature is an essay about the role of judges in society. Bacon argues judges should be impartial/objective in their decisions, and that they should be free from influence by either the government or private individuals.

The following are several passages from the essay I highlighted while reading.

“Judges ought to be more learned than witty, more reverend than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.”

“Patience and gravity of hearing is an essential part of justice; and an overspeaking judge is no well-tuned cymbal.”

“Nos scimus quia lex bona est, modo quis ea utatur legitime

[We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully].”

It was very interesting to read Bacon’s thoughts on this topic and how these same points are still being reasserted 400 years later.

Best,

Matt

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Resources

Kindle version of The Harvard Classics ($1.99):?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K4RP1F/