Francis Bacon’s Essays MCQs
Of Truth
1. What question did “jesting Pilate” ask, for which he would not wait for an answer?
A. What is fame?
B. What is happiness?
C. What is truth?
D. How does belief fix bondage?
2. What is the main reason men are drawn to lies, even when they get no profit or pleasure from them?
A. They enjoy confusion.
B. They love novelty.
C. A corrupt love for the lie itself.
D. They dislike reality.
3. Truth is compared to “naked, and open daylight.” How does this light show the world’s things compared to soft candlelight?
A. More brightly.
B. It doesn’t show them as beautifully as candlelight.
C. More darkly.
D. It makes them disappear.
4. If men’s minds were emptied of all false hopes and vain opinions, how would most of them feel?
A. Free and inspired.
B. Sad, unhappy, and shrunken things.
C. Confident and strong.
D. Ready for action.
5. What is declared to be the “sovereign good of human nature”?
A. Wealth and fame.
B. Peace and solitude.
C. Seeking, knowing, and believing truth.
D. The light of reason.
6. Following truth is compared to standing on what type of vantage ground?
A. A fortified tower.
B. A large ship.
C. A clear, calm hill.
D. A calm valley.
7. In civil business, what is considered the “honor of man’s nature”?
A. Being secretive.
B. Clear and honest dealings.
C. Speaking only when necessary.
D. Gaining profit quickly.
8. Mixing falsehoods in business is likened to adding what to gold and silver coin?
A. Water that spoils it.
B. Alloy that lowers the coin’s value.
C. Sand that makes it heavy.
D. Paint that hides its flaws.
9. What vice is said to cover a man with the most shame?
A. Cruelty.
B. Greed.
C. Being found false and faithless.
D. Anger.
10. Montaigne suggests that saying a man “lieth” means he is brave towards God and a coward towards whom?
A. His servants.
B. His family.
C. The law.
D. Men.
Of Revenge
11. Revenge is described as a kind of what?
A. Natural balance.
B. Private justice.
C. Wild justice.
D. Necessary evil.
12. In taking revenge, what does a man achieve in relation to his enemy?
A. Ultimate satisfaction.
B. Becoming equal to his enemy.
C. Victory over the law.
D. Honor and respect.
13. Why is passing over an offence considered superior to taking revenge?
A. Because it shows great wealth.
B. Because pardoning is a prince’s action.
C. Because it is faster.
D. Because the injury is quickly forgotten.
14. What happens to a man’s own emotional injuries when he “studieth revenge”?
A. They heal quickly.
B. They are forgotten.
C. He keeps his own wounds fresh.
D. They become stronger than the enemy.
15. Vindicative persons (those who seek revenge) live a life of what, ending up unfortunate?
A. Soldiers.
B. Witches.
C. Serpents.
D. Cowards.
Of Marriage and Single Life
16. He that has a wife and children has given what to fortune?
A. Money.
B. Hostages.
C. Promises.
D. Wealth.
17. Which group of people produced “the best works, and of greatest merit for the public”?
A. Married men with small families.
B. Men who are single or childless.
C. Soldiers and generals.
D. Wise old men.
18. What is the most ordinary cause of a single life, especially for self-pleasing minds?
A. Riches.
B. Charity.
C. Liberty.
D. Ambition.
19. Unmarried men are not always the best subjects because they are light to do what?
A. Fight battles.
B. Running away.
C. Rule the state.
D. Give charity.
20. Wives are old men’s what?
A. Mistresses.
B. Companions.
C. Nurses.
D. Guides.
Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self
21. The act of referring all actions to a man’s self is called a “poor centre” and is likened to what element?
A. Water.
B. Air.
C. Right earth.
D. Fire.
22. What happens to the public when men are “great lovers of themselves”?
A. They improve it.
B. They damage the public good.
C. They govern it wisely.
D. They understand it.
23. Extreme self-lovers have a nature that would cause them to set a house on fire just to do what?
A. Hide a crime.
B. Roast their eggs.
C. Defeat an enemy.
D. Warm themselves.
24. Those who are extreme lovers of themselves often become sacrifices to what in the end?
A. The anger of their king.
B. The law.
C. The changing luck (inconstancy) of fortune.
D. The public good.
Of Friendship
25. What is described as a “mere and miserable solitude”?
A. Living in a great town.
B. Lacking true friends.
C. Retiring to a castle.
D. Being among strangers.
26. What is the only “receipt” (remedy) that opens the heart to relieve the pressure of passions?
A. Meditation.
B. A true friend.
C. Good counsel.
D. Prayer.
27. Men who lack friends to open themselves to are called what?
A. Hermits of the mind.
B. Cannibals of their own hearts.
C. Fools of fortune.
D. Solitary sages.
28. When a man shares his feelings with a friend, it doubles his joys, and what does it do to his griefs?
A. Triples them.
B. Makes them disappear.
C. Cuts grief in half.
D. Makes them feel fresh.
29. The second fruit of friendship is healthful and sovereign for what?
A. The emotions.
B. The body.
C. The understanding (mind).
D. His fortune.
30. By talking things over with a friend, a man clarifies his thoughts and becomes what?
A. Richer than he was.
B. Stronger than his enemy.
C. Wiser than he was before.
D. Braver than his king.
31. A friend’s counsel is described as “drier and purer” light because a man’s own judgment is often drenched in what?
A. Ambition and jealousy.
B. His feelings (affections) and habits.
C. Wealth and folly.
D. Solitude and silence.
32. The best remedy against a man’s own self-flattery is what quality found in a friend?
A. Silence.
B. Patience.
C. The freedom of a friend to warn him.
D. Wealth.
33. What danger do men run if they take scattered counsel from different men for different parts of a business?
A. The advice will be too simple.
B. The advice might be unsafe and harmful.
C. The advisers will quickly become enemies.
D. It will take too long.
34. A friend is “far more than himself” because friendship allows a man to have two lives in what?
A. His wealth.
B. His desires.
C. His memory.
D. His old age.
Of Riches
35. The Roman word impedimenta (baggage) refers to riches in relation to what?
A. A ship.
B. A journey.
C. An army (baggage).
D. A king.
36. What is the only “real use” of great riches?
A. To buy luxuries.
B. To purchase safety.
C. In giving them away (distribution).
D. In showing them off.
37. Solomon says that riches are like a strong hold in what faculty of the rich man?
A. His heart.
B. His hand.
C. His imagination.
D. His memory.
38. The poets feign that when Plutus (Riches) is sent from Jupiter (by good means), he moves how?
A. Swiftly and flying.
B. Limping and slowly.
C. Happily and strongly.
D. Secretly and darkly.
39. What is the most natural way of obtaining riches, even though it is slow?
A. Usury.
B. Service to a prince.
C. Improving the ground (husbandry).
D. Bargaining.
40. Which means of gain is the most certain, but also “one of the worst”?
A. Inheritance.
B. Gambling.
C. Usury (charging interest).
D. Selling land.
41. If a man defers his charity until death, whose money is he considered to be liberal with?
A. The king’s money.
B. Another man’s money.
C. His own life savings.
D. God’s treasury.
Of Ambition
42. Ambition is compared to what humor, which makes men active and stirring if not stopped?
A. Phlegm.
B. Melancholy.
C. Choler (a fiery humor).
D. Blood.
43. If ambitious men are checked in their desires, they become secretly discontent and are best pleased when what happens?
A. They receive a pardon.
B. They find a new master.
C. When things go backward (the state declines).
D. They are offered a compromise.
44. To take a soldier without ambition is compared to doing what?
A. Sending him to an easy battle.
B. Pulling off his spurs.
C. Giving him a poor weapon.
D. Forgetting his rank.
Of Studies and Gardens
45. Studies serve for which three main purposes?
A. Learning, writing, debating.
B. Delight, decoration, and ability.
C. Health, wealth, wisdom.
D. Virtue, fortune, honor.
46. How do crafty men, simple men, and wise men view studies, respectively?
A. Admire them, use them, scorn them.
B. Scorn them, admire them, use them.
C. Use them, scorn them, admire them.
D. Admire them, scorn them, use them.
47. Reading makes a full man, writing an exact man, and what activity makes a ready man?
A. Meditation.
B. Conference (talking).
C. Travelling.
D. Observing nature.
48. What flower yields the sweetest smell in the air “above all others”?
A. The musk-rose.
B. The lime-tree flower.
C. The violet.
D. The red rose.
Of Anger, Adversity, and Love
49. Seneca likens anger to what, because it breaks itself upon that which it falls?
A. A broken sword.
B. A fire.
C. Ruin.
D. A storm.
50. The virtue of prosperity is temperance. What is the virtue of adversity?
A. Patience.
B. Charity.
C. Fortitude (courage).
D. Wisdom.
