OF FRIENDSHIP

Introduction
Of Friendship is the masterpiece essay nicely written by Francis Bacon who is popularly known as
an eminent essayist, thinker, scholar, and philosopher in English literature. He belongs to the Elizabethan
age. This essay was first published in 1612 was very brief. The present version published in 1625, is
practically a new composition much longer than the original version. The essay was actually written at the
request of Bacon’s intimate friend “Toby Matthew”.

About Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was one of the most remarkable men of Literature and is popularly known as the
Father of English Literature Essays. Being an essayist, he wrote a galaxy of essays on different issues. His
some world famous essays are – Of Studies, Of Love, Of Hatred, of Death, Of Truth, Of Philosophy, Of
Ambition, Of Beauty, and Of Custom and Education.

Analysis Of “Of Friendship”

Francis Bacon begins Of Friendship with an anthropological statement from Aristotle,
“Whatsoever is delighted in Solitude,
is either a wild beast or a god.”
Bacon posits that human nature demands company and social contact. Human beings and anyone
who avoids such interactions is not doing justice to his natural state. Bacon does not criticize people who
feel shy in a crowd and head for therefore seek isolation in the wild. Such people find great value in peace
and it aids their mental processes to contemplate profound issues. Bacon points to philosophers like
Epimenides the Canadian, Numa the Roman, Empedocles the Sicilian, and Apollonius of Tyana, who
postulated theories unique to their age and contemporaries.
Bacon attempts to differentiate between kinship and the general crowd. For him, there is a big
difference between strangers of society and known friends.
“A Person can feel lonely in a crowd too.”
Bacon uses a Latin adage which means that a big city is filled with great solitude. In a large city,
people are separated and encamped in distinct areas that are difficult to bring closer together.
These long distances cause separation between friends and relatives. Therefore, for cultivating
friendship a small city or town is more conducive. In smaller towns, people live closer by and mingle a lot
more regularly. Thus, these small cities have strong and united communities.
According to Bacon, friendship demands the involvement of passions and feelings. They
form the foundation of any friendship. Emotions are the threads that bind the hearts together.

A Cure For Ailing Heats

Bacon points to the ailments of the heart that it suffers if it stops or in suffocate. A healthy heart
required vigor and the same is provided by an intimate and friendly conversation with one’s pals. Patients
take medicines for the liver spleen, lungs, brain, etc, but for the issues of hearts, the love and affection of a
friend is the best cure.

Friendship Can be Bought

The elite of society like kings and leaders are really adept at making friends. They understand the
value of friendly ties with worthy people. The rich and the powerful often try to buy friendships with noble and
influential people through gifts, badges of reverence, and their wealth, but such friends lack emotional
attachment with their patron or benefactors.

History Teaches the Toughest

 Now Bacon comments on some of his theoretical examples. He says the Roman ruler Sylla gave
Pompey the moniker of Great. However, Pompey divided Sylla as the setting sun while calling himself the
rising sun of Roman Power. Similarly, Decimus Brutus gained Julius Ceasar’s friendship and became his
most trusted advisor. His blind trust in Brutus caused Caesar’s final downfall.
Bacon also gives the example of Agrippa and Augustus, Tiberius and Sejanus, Septimus
Servers, and Plautianus.
In this essay, Bacon addresses

Three fruits of Friendship

 The First Fruits of Friendship
The Communication of a man’s self to his friend works two contrary effects, first, it redoubles his
joy and second, it cuts his grief in halves. Because there is no doubt when a person imparts his joy to his
friends, he joys more than others. However, when he imparts his grief, they become less. It is a fact that
bodies become healthier upon natural actions such as joy and happiness.

 The Second Fruit of Friendship

As the first fruit is for affection, the second fruit is for the understanding of things from
different perspectives. Moreover, a friend is undoubtedly, a witty counselor. Sharing one’s problems with a
friend is far more fruitful than a day’s meditation. A friend’s counsel always works when a person himself is
not clear with his thoughts.

 The Last And Third Fruit Of Friendship

The first two fruits help for peace in the affections and support of the judgment. The last fruit is like a
pomegranate, full of many kernels. It helps in several ways and has manifold fruits in itself. There are many
things that a man cannot do himself, and then a friend is an appropriate alternative.

Conclusion
Thus, Of Friends bring a lot of ease in such difficult situations and helps break barriers of
communication. Francis Bacon ends the essay by condemning an unsociable man without friends as an
aloof being not fit to belong to society.

Of Friendship Summary
Francis Bacon’s “Of Friendship” discusses the three fruits of friendship. Bacon argues that humans inherently need
companionship. Those who avoid it are more like beasts than like humans. Kings and monarchs highly value friendship. They
often elevate a subordinate nearly to their status to form a bond, sometimes at the cost of their power. The first fruit of friendship
is the emotional support friendship provides. Friendship is fruitful because it offers companionship for the ailing heart. It can
relieve the emotional burdens of a troubled mind, similar to how a remedy can treat a physical disease. The next advantage is that
friendship plays a critical role in problem-solving. A conversation with a true friend can remove confusion and bring clarity of
thought. A friend guides on both moral and business-related matters. However, everyone is not trustworthy. Bacon indirectly
cautions readers to choose their companion carefully. The last benefit is the holistic support a friend can offer. A friend can
complete tasks that another leaves unfinished. He can also aid in accomplishing tasks that to tackle alone.

Why Does Man Need Company?

The inherent feeling of loneliness and the need for companionship drive individuals to seek friendship. From an evolutionary
perspective, staying close to others served as a defense mechanism against external threats. Thus, we have inherited this desire
genetically. Life can be unbearable, and the world may seem empty like a desert without friends. Nevertheless, if someone stays
alone, they are more like a beast than a human.

The First Fruit of Friendship

Friendship offers some benefits. Bacon discusses three of them in his essay.

First, friendship is “the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart” (139). It implies that a friend can offer relief
for emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety. Bacon refers to a surgeon to differentiate between physical and mental health. A
surgeon uses various substances for medical conditions like liver surgery.
For example, he uses sarsaparilla (Pitcher 139n12) to open the liver, steel or iron (Pitcher 139n13) to open the spleen, purified
sulfur (Pitcher 139n14) for the lungs, and castoreum (Pitcher 139n15) for the brain. Contradictorily, medicine or doctor is of no
use for an ailing heart. Only a true friend can relieve one’s emotional burdens. One needs a trustworthy friend with whom one
can share grief, joys, fears, hopes, and everything that lies in the heart. Unlike a surgeon who restores the body, a friend heals the
heart with emotional empathy and understanding.

Addison also shares a similar view in his essay “Friendship”. He comments that a person freely shares all his feelings and
thoughts about people and things and “exposes his whole soul” to his friend in a conversation between two close friends
(Addison).

Friendships of Notable Figures

Kings and monarchs recognized the importance of friendship. So, they valued friendship. Forming friendships with an ordinary
man was challenging because of their status. Therefore, they raised a subordinate to their level who was almost an equal to them.
Sometimes, they shared their heart with their company at the risk of their safety and power. In Roman, these people were called
“participes curarum” (139) or partners in their care. The favorites cared for and counseled the royal subjects in their time of need.
As a result, their relationship intensified. It is notable that not only did the weak and emotional princes, but the wise and
headstrong rulers also sought companionship. They called their subordinates friend and allowed others to address them in the
same way. Their relationship was similar to that between two men in private relationship. It demonstrates that they valued
personal connections just like anyone else.

However, such friendships often turned out unfruitful to them. Unlike other essays, “Of Love”, “Of Truth”, “Of Marriage and
Single Life” and “Of Studies”, this essay does not follow brevity. Bacon gives sufficient examples to elaborate the consequence of
choosing a wrong friend. For instance, Sulla honored General Pompey by entitling him “the Great” (139). Pompey claimed to be
stronger than Sulla, which enraged Sulla. Pompey insulted the Roman dictator by saying that men adored the sun rising more
than the sun setting.

The second example is about Julius Caesar and Decimus Brutus. Caesar loved Decimus Brutus so much that he had willed to
make Brutus his heir after his nephew. However, Brutus betrayed Caesarand killed him. Caesar ignored warnings from his wife,
Calpurnia, about his impending death. Instead, he listened to Brutus when he advised Caesar not to dismiss the senate till she
saw another dream. Brutus’s influence over Caesar was so strong that Antonius labeled him a “venefica,” or witch in a letter
(140). Similarly, Augustus placed poor Agrippa on a pedestal. He made Agrippa so powerful that it was impossible to take his
power back.

When considering his daughter Julia’s marriage, Maecenas advised Augustus to either make Agrippa his son-in-law or kill him. It
exemplifies the irreversible nature of such close bonds. Tiberius expressed his trust in Sejanus in a letter, “Haec pro amicitia
nostra non occultavi” (140). It means, “Out of regard for our friendship, I have not concealed these things” (Pitcher 140n25).
Septimus Severus forced his eldest son to marry the daughter of Plautianus to strengthen their bond. Septimus often supported
Plautianus, even when Plautianus mistreated Septimus’s son.

Enhancement of Happiness and Mitigation of Grief

Sharing increases joy during happiness and reduces sorrow in grief. When one shares his joys with his friend, he feels happier
than his friend. During distress, one feels less burdened.

Joseph Addison echoes the same view in his essay “Friendship”: “Tully was the first who observed, that friendship improves
happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and dividing of our grief” (Addison) Addison notes Marcus Tullius Cicero
first observed that friendship enhances happiness and lessens suffering. Sharing with a friend positively affects the mind, doing
opposite functions, but always works. It is similar to how alchemists believed their stone could have different effects, but always
help the body. Being together strengthens and nourishes natural actions while it also softens harsh impacts. We can also notice
another example in nature.

Trees grow closely together in a forest. Their intertwined roots help younger or weaker trees grow by giving them protection and
nutrients. They also make themselves resilient against adverse weather. Their collective strength makes the impact of harsh
weather less severe on any single tree. Similarly, in friendships, people help each other deal with life’s challenges. During hard
times, the support one receives from the other reduces the stress and makes it manageable.

Second Fruit of Friendship

The second benefit is a friend calms emotions and clarifies thoughts of the other during difficult times. Articulating thoughts
before a friend makes it easy to understand. A Friend removes all the confusion like the sun removes darkness. Therefore, an
hour of discussion with a friend makes one wiser than contemplating by oneself the whole day. Themistocles told the king of
Persia that speaking unfolds thoughts like a tapestry. It reveals the detailed images inside, whereas keeping thoughts inside is like
leaving the tapestry folded up with its designs hidden.

Even without taking advice from a friend, one can understand oneself by expressing thoughts. It also sharpens thinking, similar
to how a stone sharpens a blade without cutting itself. Therefore, it is better to convey one’s thoughts with even an inanimate
object like a statue or painting than to keep them all to oneself. Bacon stresses the importance of receiving good advice. He cites a
statement of Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “Dry light is ever the best” (142). Heraclitus compares advice from a friend with the
dry light of the sun.

Guidance from a friend is more suitable and unbiased than decisions made by personal judgment. Advice of a friend is far better
than self-suggestion. Self-flattering image and habitual thinking patterns rarely allow one to think of oneself critically. They
influence one’s decisions. Therefore, the best way to counteract self-flattery is honest advice of a friend. A genuine friend
critically judges and points out the flaws of the other, similar to what Krishna did to Arjuna.

Personal and Professional Advice

A friend can offer counsel in two aspects: manner and business. The former is personal and the latter is professional. ‘Manner’
refers to personal behavior, the moral and ethical aspects of one’s character. While assessing one’s manners, the counsel of a
friend is the best approach.

Criticizing oneself can sometimes be harsh. Reading moral books can also be ineffective as they may be irrelevant. One’s
problems do not always fit another’s different experience. So, the best way to keep one’s character intact is to listen to a friend’s
honest warnings. People of high positions often make big mistakes for the lack of good guidance. Their actions can cause harm to
both their reputation and wealth. St. James says they resemble people who look in a mirror and forget what they look like. In
such a situation, a friend’s crucial advice can point out their mistake which they might ignore.

Professional Support
Some people have a misconception that they can handle challenges alone. For instance, one thinks one can see as much as two
can. A gamester can see more than an observer.An angry man believes he is as wise as he has said over the twenty-four letters. On
Bacon’s day, people regarded the alphabet “‘i’ and ‘j’ like ‘u’ and ‘v’ as the same letter.” (Pitcher 143n52). One might also think one
can shoot with a musket from the arm as accurately as from a rest. Such beliefs of being self-sufficient often lead to the downfall
of a business. So, getting good advice is what solves professional problems.

Be Cautious When Seeking Help

One must choose the right person for guidance cautiously. There are mainly two risks involved. First, one might not get honest
guidance unless the counselor is one’s close friend. The pieces of advice are mostly bent to serve the adviser’s goals.

Second, a mentor might share advice with a good intention but turn out to be harmful. It is similar to that of a physician who
knows the cure for the disease but does not understand the patient’s overall body. Though the physician might fix one problem, it
leads to another issue. Without the proper diagnosis of the body, he may harm the patient more than doing good, or in the worst-
case scenario, he might kill the patient. Therefore, a friend who is familiar with one’s situation and knows one’s strengths and
weaknesses is the ideal counselor for both personal and professional issues. Others are not worthy because of their selfish
interests. Therefore, sometimes asking none for help is better than getting advice from different people about different
professional problems.

Third Fruit of Friendship

The third benefit of friendship is that it is like a pomegranate. One can not possibly finish all tasks on their own in a lifetime. Like
a pomegranate that has various kernels, a friend offers diverse roles in a person’s life. Sometimes, people have wishes to fulfill
before passing away, such as witnessing their child’s success or completing a project. Unfortunately, many leave this world with
many unfulfilled dreams behind. In such instances, a friend can take on such responsibility and ensure the fulfillment of wishes.
It is akin to granting a second chance at life. Moreover, one can manage work only to a certain extent because of the confinement
to one location. However, one can work simultaneously on multiple works with a friend’s assistance. Thus, the saying “a friend is
another himself” may not fully encapsulate the value of friendship. There are instances where one might not comfortably express
thoughts or do specific actions by oneself, but a friend can do these things on behalf of the other.

Discussing one’s achievements can sound boastful, and seeking help may be difficult for some. Yet, when a friend praises
another’s accomplishments or requests help on another’s behalf, it sounds sincere. Each of these roles demands a distinct
approach to communication. A man has various roles, such as being a parent, a spouse, or a rival. He must talk to each of them in
specific ways. In friendship, both individuals can talk to suit any situation without concerning for particular role. Thus,
friendship indeed offers a multitude of benefits in life.