Primary sourceBook
The Wisdom of the Ancients
Francis Bacon
An audio reading of Francis Bacon's book of mythological fables, in which he explains old myths in his own way. The voice is a LibriVox volunteer's, not Bacon's.
Shows Bacon's own method of explaining mythological fables, the work of the figure himself, though heard here in a modern volunteer reading.
About this source
What it is
This is an audio recording of The Wisdom of the Ancients, a book of mythological fables by Francis Bacon. The recording is a LibriVox volunteer reading, not the voice of Bacon, and it is dedicated to the public domain. The reading begins with the preface, in which Bacon says he treats the poets' fables partly as entertainment, using the same kind of freedom the poets used when they invented them.
Why it matters
The book shows Bacon's own method of interpreting old myths. Students can follow his argument through the text, though the speaker is a modern volunteer. The copy used for the text was printed in Boston in 1884 as part of a volume that also contains Bacon's Essays.
Look closer
- Why does Bacon suggest that some readers will think he is only playing with a toy?
- How might a volunteer reader change the way the words sound compared with a printed page?
- What might Bacon leave out when he explains old stories in his own terms?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Francis Bacon on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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