OF STUDIES Francis Bacon

Title:     Of Studies
Author: Francis Bacon [More Titles by Bacon]

STUDIES serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment, and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best, from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need proyning, by study; and studies themselves, do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books, else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit: and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know, that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay, there is no stond or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies; like as diseases of the body, may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen; for they are cymini sectores. If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study 197 the lawyers' cases. So every defect of the mind, may have a special receipt.

A Glossary
OF ARCHAIC WORDS AND PHRASES

Abridgment: miniature
Absurd: stupid, unpolished
Abuse: cheat, deceive
Aculeate: stinging
Adamant: loadstone
Adust: scorched
Advoutress: adulteress
Affect: like, desire
Antic: clown
Appose: question
Arietation: battering-ram
Audit: revenue
Avoidance: secret outlet
Battle: battalion
Bestow: settle in life
Blanch: flatter, evade
Brave: boastful
Bravery: boast, ostentation
Broke: deal in brokerage
Broken: shine by comparison
Broken music: part music
Cabinet: secret
Calendar: weather forecast
Card: chart, map
Care not to: are reckless
Cast: plan
Cat: cate, cake
Charge and adventure: cost and
risk
Check with: interfere
Chop: bandy words
Civil: peaceful
Close: secret, secretive
Collect: infer
Compound: compromise
Consent: agreement
Curious: elaborate
Custom: import duties
Deceive: rob
Derive: divert
Difficileness: moroseness
Discover: reveal
Donative: money gift
Doubt: fear
Equipollent: equally powerful
Espial: spy
Estate: state
Facility: of easy persuasion
Fair: rather
Fame: rumor
Favor: feature
Flashy: insipid
Foot-pace: lobby
Foreseen: guarded against
Froward: stubborn
Futile: babbling
Globe: complete body
Glorious: showy, boastful
Humorous: capricious
Hundred poll: hundredth head
Impertinent: irrelevant
Implicit: entangled

In a mean: in moderation
In smother: suppressed
Indifferent: impartial
Intend: attend to
Knap:knoll
Leese: lose
Let: hinder
Loose: shot
Lot: spell
Lurch: intercept
Make: profit, get
Manage: train
Mate: conquer
Material: business-like
Mere-stone: boundary stone
Muniting: fortifying
Nerve: sinew
Obnoxious: subservient, liable
Oes: round spangles
Pair: impair
Pardon: allowance
Passable: mediocre
Pine-apple-tree: pine
Plantation: colony
Platform: plan
Plausible: praiseworthy
Point device: excessively precise
Politic: politician
Poll: extort
Poser: examiner
Practice: plotting
Preoccupate: anticipate
Prest: prepared
Prick: plant
Proper: personal
Prospective: stereoscope
Proyne: prune
Purprise: enclosure
Push: pimple
Quarrel: pretext
Quech: flinch
Reason: principle
Recamera: retiring-room
Return: reaction
Return: wing running back
Rise: dignity
Round: straight
Save: account for
Scantling: measure
Seel: blind
Shrewd: mischievous
Sort: associate
Spial: spy
Staddle: sapling
Steal: do secretly
Stirp: family
Stond: stop, stand
Stoved: hot-housed
Style: title
Success: outcome
Sumptuary law: law against
extravagance
Superior globe: the heavens
Temper: proportion
Tendering: nursing
Tract: line, trait
Travel: travail, labor
Treaties: treatises
Trench to: touch
Trivial: common
Turquet: Turkish dwarf
Under foot: below value
Unready: untrained
Usury: interest
Value: certify
Virtuous: able
Votary: vowed
Wanton: spoiled
Wood: maze
Work: manage, utilize
[The end]
Francis Bacon's essay: Of Studies

SOURCE: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/15400/

ESSAY ACTIVITIES

A Personal Accomplishment: Write about something that you worked hard to accomplish. How did you go about succeeding? Why did you want to accomplish this particular thing? How do you feel about your accomplishment? What other things do you want to accomplish?

An Act of Kindness: Write a page on something nice that you did for someone, or on something nice that someone did for you for no reason.

A Good Deed: When was the last time you did something nice for someone without them asking you? Write about what it was that you did and why you did it. How did the other person react, and how did you feel about your good deed? What about next time?

An Adventure I'd like to have: If you could have any type of adventure at all, what would it be? Write a page on an adventure that you'd like to experience. Think of the wildest adventure you can imagine.

Autobiography: Write the story of your life. Start with your birth and continue the adventure up to the present.

My Best Birthday Ever: Write a page on the best birthday you ever had. Describe what made it so special.

The Best Gift You Gave: Write about the best gift you ever gave. Who did you give it to and why did you give it to them? What made it a great gift?

The Best Gift You Received: Write about the best gift you ever received. What was it and why did you like it so much? What made it so special?

The Best Food You've Ever Eaten: Write about the best food you ever had. What was it and why did you like it so much? Have you had it again?

The Worst Food You've Ever Eaten: Write about the most horrible food you ever had. What was it and why did you dislike it so much? Have you had it again?

The Best Thing I've Learned in School: Write about the most valuable thing you ever learned in school. What made it so useful for you?

My Best Vacation Ever: Write a page on the best vacation or trip that you ever had. Describe where you went, who you went with, what you did, and why you enjoyed it.

Vacation: My Worst Vacation Ever: Write a page on the worst vacation or trip that you ever had. Describe where you went, who you went with, what you did, and why you enjoyed it.

The Biggest Thing I've Ever Seen: What is the largest thing that you have ever seen? Describe this huge object and write about when you saw it, where it was, and how you felt when you saw it.

A Dream I've Had: Describe a dream that you've had. How did the dream make you feel?

My Favorite Game: What is your favorite game? Describe the game and how it is played. Explain the rules so that someone could learn how to play the game.

My Favorite Holiday: What is your favorite holiday? Describe what you like to do on this holiday, who you like to be with at that time, and why you enjoy it so much.

My Favorite Sport: What is your favorite sport? Why do you like it, and what do you like best about it?

My Favorite Movie: What is your favorite movie? Describe the characters, the story, and what you like best about the movie.

The Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen or Heard: What is the funniest thing that you've ever seen or heard? Maybe it was a joke that a friend told you, a comedy routine, or a scene in a movie. Describe this amusing event and tell why you thought it was funny.

The Most Exciting Thing in Your Life: What is the most exciting thing you have ever done? Write about what it was, when it occurred, and where. Has it changed your life

Go Back in Time: If you could go back in time and re-experience an event in your life, what would it be. Would you go back to change an event that happened or to re-experience a happy time? Or something else?

Giving Thanks: Write a page on what are you most thankful for in life.

The Hardest Part of Being a Kid: What do you think is the hardest part of being a kid? How could you make this difficult part of your life easier?

How Are You Different?: Write about what makes you different from other people you know. How do you think this will affect your life?

If I Could Be a Different Age...: If you could be any age at all, how old would you be (older or younger)? Write about why you would like to be this age and what you would do.

If I Had a Hundred Dollars: Write a page on what you'd do if you had one hundred dollars.

The Story of Your Name: Why did your parents give you your name -- what is the story of your name? Are you named after someone or some place? If you don't know why you have your name, make up a story.

If I Had a New Name: If you could give yourself a new name, what would it be? Write about why you chose this new name and how it might change your life.

If I Turned into an Animal: If you had to turn into a different animal for a single day, what animal would you choose to become? Why did you choose that animal? What would do when you became that animal, and where would you go? How do you think you would feel when you were that animal? How would people treat you? How would other animals treat you?

If I Were a Teacher: Write a page on what you would do if you were a teacher for a day. What subjects would you teach and how would you teach them?

If I Were the President: Write a page on what you'd do if you were the President. How would you change the world?

An Imaginary Pet: Draw and describe an imaginary pet that you would like (or not like) to have.

I'm an Expert: Everyone is great at something - write about what you do best. It could be a hobby, a sport, reading, playing chess, or anything else you excel at.

Improve the World: What you would do to improve the world? Think of actions you could take to help make the world a better place. June 23 is United Nations Public Service Day.

An Invention I'd Like: Think about an invention that you'd like to have or make. Write about what this new device would do and why you'd like to use it.

Invent an Animal: Invent a new animal -- describe what it looks like, what it sounds like, how it moves, and what it eats. Is it scary or cuddly or something else altogether? Would it be a pet or live in the wild (or in a zoo)?

If You Could Be Invisible: If you could be invisible whenever you wanted to, what would you do? Why would you want to do this particular thing?

If You Could Fly: If you could fly whenever you wanted to, what would you do? Why would you want to do this particular thing?

I Wonder Why: Think of something you have wondered about and write about it.

A Magical Spell: A Magic Spell. If you could devise a magical spell, what would it be and what would it do? Write about why you chose this new spell and how you would use it.

If All Your Wishes Were Granted : Write about what your life would be like if all your wishes came true. How would it change your life? What you would do?

Message in a Bottle: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could send out one message in a bottle, what would you write in that message, and why would you write those particular things?

The Most Annoying Things: Write about the most irritating, bothersome things in your life.

My Earliest Memory: What is the first memory you have of your life? Write about what you remember, how old you were at the time, and why you think you remember this event in particular. What do you think of this event now?

My Family: Write about the members of your family. Describe each person and what they mean to you.

My Town: If an out-of-town visitor was coming to visit, where would you take your visitor? Describe the best places around your town and why they are so interesting. Write about parks, museums, lakes, stores, restaurants, and other places you enjoy.

My Personal Hero: Who is your personal hero? Write a page on your hero's accomplishments and what makes that person a hero. If you don't have a personal hero, describe the characteristics that someone would have to possess to be your personal hero.

New Nickname: Write About a Number: If you could choose a nickname for yourself, what would it be. Why did you pick this nickname? How do you think your classmates would react to this nickname?

How to Learn From Others : How can you learn from other people? Give an example of something you learned from someone else and explain why and how you learned it.

Something I Learned from a Bad Experience: Think about something bad that happened to you, but taught you something. Write about this experience and what you learned from it. Do you think that this knowledge will help you later in life?

My Special Day: If you had a day all for yourself and could do whatever you wanted to, what would you do? Start with waking up and describe the entire day. Include things like what you'd eat, who you'd see, where you'd go, and what you'd do.

My Strangest Relative: Most people have at least one strange relative. If you do, write about that person. Describe what is unusual about that person. What is their relationship to you? Do you like that person?

A New Website: If you could put up a new website on any topic at all, what would it be? Write about why you chose this topic, what the website would contain, and who else you think might be interested in going to your site.

The Scariest Thing That Ever Happened To Me: What is the scariest thing that ever happened to you? Describe this event and write about why it scared you.

Self-Portrait: Draw a self-portrait, and describe yourself in writing.

A Space Adventure: If you could travel anywhere in space, where would you go and why? What do you think it would be like there?

Stranded on an Island: If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island and could take three items with you, what three items would you take and why? The three items have to fit in an ordinary backpack. Describe each item fully and tell why you want each one.

My Superpower: If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Write a page explaining what the superpower is, why you would like to have it, and what you would do with this new power. How would your life change if you had this superpower?

Three Words Describing Yourself: If you had to describe yourself using only three words, what would words would you use and why?

What I Like Best in School: What is your favorite part of the school day? Write a page on what you like the best in school.

What I Want To Do When I Grow Up: Write a page on what you want to do when you grow up. What career do you want and what do you want to accomplish?

When I'm Eighty: Write an essay as though you were 80 years old, looking back at your life. What have you accomplished, what are you proudest of, what is the world like, and do you have any regrets?

How Are You Like Your Mother?: Write about how you are like your mother. Do you look at all like her? Do you have any traits in common? What parts of your personality are like hers?

How Are You Like Your Father?: Write about how you are like your father. Do you look at all like him? Do you have any traits in common? What parts of your personality are like his?

When I Look in the Mirror I ...: What do you see when you look in the mirror? Describe what you see, how you feel about your own reflection, and what it prompts you to do.

What I Worry About: What do you worry about? Describe something that worries you. Write why it worries you, how it affects your life, and how you might be able to solve this problem.

What's Bugging You?: Think about something that annoys or bothers you. Write about what it is and why it bothers you. What can you do to make it less irritating?

World Record: If you could hold a world record in something, what would it be? How would you go about attaining this world record? How would it feel being a world record holder?

Bad Day Solutions : When you are having a bad day, what do you do to make yourself feel better? Does it always work?

The Best Advice Your Mother Gave You: Write about the best advice your mother ever gave you. What was it and why was it important to you? How has it affected your life?

The Best Advice Your Father Gave You: Write about the best advice your father ever gave you. What was it and why was it important to you? How has it affected your life?

My Favorite Time of Year: What is your favorite time of year? Why do you like it so much? Describe what you like to do during this time, and why do you enjoy it so much?

Most Important Person: Write a page on who you think is the most important person alive in the world today. Describe this person and write about why they are so important. How could you be more like this person?

The Best Thing That Happened This Year: What is the best thing that happened to you this year? What was it and what effect did it have on your life? How did it make you feel and how did it change you?

THIRD YEAR POETRY

THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE
Christopher Marlowe

OME live with me, and be my love;                And we will all the pleasures prove    That hills and valleys, dales and fields,    Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies; A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair-lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and ivy-buds, With coral clasps and amber-studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love. The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May-morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.

THE NYMPH'S REPLY TO THE SHEPHERD
Sir Walter Raleigh

IF all the world and love were young,            
And truth in every shepherd's tongue, 
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love. 

Time drives the flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;
And Philomel becometh dumb; 
The rest complains of cares to come. 

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields 
To wayward winter reckoning yields: 
A honey tongue, a heart of gall, 
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. 

The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, 
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies 
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,— 
In folly ripe, in reason rotten. 

Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, 
Thy coral clasps and amber studs, 
All these in me no means can move 
To come to thee and be thy love. 

But could youth last and love still breed, 
Had joys no date nor age no need, 
Then these delights my mind might move 
To live with thee and be thy love. 
 


RICHARD CORY
Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, 
We people on the pavement looked at him: 
He was a gentleman from sole to crown, 
Clean-favoured and imperially slim. 

And he was always quietly arrayed, 
And he was always human when he talked; 
But still he fluttered pulses when he said, 
"Good Morning!" and he glittered when he walked. 

And he was rich, yes, richer than a king, 
And admirably schooled in every grace: 
In fine -- we thought that he was everything 
To make us wish that we were in his place. 

So on we worked and waited for the light, 
And went without the meat and cursed the bread, 
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, 
Went home and put a bullet in his head. 




THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE - Father of Essay

French courtier and author of ESSAIS (1572-80, 1588), which established a new literary form. Montaigne has remained the greatest exponent of the essay, a short piece that discusses the author's personal thoughts about a particular subject. His successors have followed him in the use of the self as subject, the replacement of logical thought by free association, and the use of essay as "a literary device for saying almost everything about anything" (Aldous Huxley). It has been said, that Montaigne was the first blogger.

"And though nobody should read me, have I wasted time in entertaining myself so many idle hours in so pleasing and useful thoughts? In moulding this figure upon myself, I have been so often constrained to temper and compose myself in a right posture, that the copy is truly taken, and has in some sort formed itself; painting myself for others, I represent myself in a better colouring than my own natural complexion. I have no more made my book than my book has made me: 'tis a book consubstantial with the author, of a peculiar design, a parcel of my life, and whose business is not designed for others, as that of all other books is." (in The Essays of Montaigne, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. William Carew Hazlitt, 1877)

Montaigne was born at his family estate in Chãteau de Montaigne, near Bordeaux, in southwest France. His grandfather, Ramon Eyquem, had bought the estate of Montaigne in 1477, and thus gained the right to its name. Montaigne's father, a lawyer, had served as a soldier in Italy and adopted advanced views about education, which benefited his son. He had married Antoniette de Lopez, who came from a Spanish Jewish family converted to Protestantism. As a baby Montaigne was sent to live with a peasant family so that his earliest memories would be of humble surroundings. He was brought up to speak Latin before French.

After receiving his early education at the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux, he then studied law at Bordeaux and Toulouse. He was a counselor of the Court des Aides of Périgueaux, in 1557 he was appointed councilor of the Bordeaux Parliament, and from 1561 to 1563 he was at the court of Charles IX. When his friend Etienne de la Boëtie died in 1563 at thirty-two, Montaigne suffered the most severe emotional experience of his life. Thereafter he never had a close relationship.

In 1565 Montaigne married Françoise de la Chassaigne, with whom he had one daughter; four other children died in infancy. After his father's death in 1568, he retired to the family Chãteau in 1570. He lived there the life of a country gentleman, and completed in the following years the first books of his Essais, which reflected his wide interests and learning. Montaigne's first book of collected essays was published when he was 47. He argued that the beliefs of different cultures should be respected, and covered in his texts a huge range of subjects, including how to converse properly, how to endure pain, how to prepare for death, how to read well, how to bring up children, and how to deal with the sexual urge.

Even his cat did not escape his watchful attention: "When I play with my cat, who knows whether she isn't amusing herself with me more than I am with her?" Montaignes's voice is skeptical and sincere; "I am myself the subject of my book; it is not reasonable to expect you to waste your leisure on a matter so frivolous and empty". Occasionally he made incursions into the world of affairs. As a moderate Roman Catholic and advocacy of toleration, he acted as one of the intermediaries between Henry of Navarre (1589 – assassinated 1610) and the court party. However, in 1588 he was arrested by the members of the Protestant League, but released after a few hours in the Bastille. During this journey he met Marie Le Jars de Goyrnay, a young woman. Montaigne was flattered by her admiration of his work, and called her, perhaps somewhat ironically, his fille d'alliance. "She is the only person I still think about in the world," Montaigne said in the 1595 edition.

From 1578 Montaigne had suffered from kidney stones. This led him in search of curative waters. In 1580 he set out on travels through Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, meeting Torquato Tasso at Ferrara. At the beginning of May 1581, he spent some time at Bagno della Villa, recording in his journal his daily routines, baths and medicines he took, and what he had for dinner. In 1581 Montaigne was elected mayor of Bordeaux. He was still in Italy and on the occasion Henry III (1551 – assassinated 1589) wrote to him: "Inasmuch as I hold in great esteem your fidelity and zealous devotion to my service, it has been a pleasure to me to learn that you have been chosen mayor of my town of Bordeaux. I have had the agreeable duty of confirming the selection, and I did so the more willingly, seeing that it was made during your distant absence; wherefore it is my desire, and I require and command you expressly that you proceed without delay to enter on the duties to which you have received so legitimate a call. And so you will act in a manner very agreeable to me, while the contrary will displease me greatly." Montaigne served for four years, he absented himself from his duties only at a time of plague. In 1588 he accompanied Henry III to Rouen and spent the last years in revising his writings. Montaigne died on September 13, 1592, at Château Montaigne. He was buried near his own house. A few years his remains were removed to the church of a Commandery of St. Antoine at Bordeaux.

The practical and self-centered world-view of the Renaissance was manifested in the autobiographical writings of Cellini and Montaigne, the historical analyses of Machiavelli, and Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian man. Montaigne was the first to use the term 'essay' to describe the literary form to which he had devoted himself – "the dialogue of the mind with itself" as the poet and critic Matthew Arnold said. Montaigne's Essais had great influence not only in France, but also in England, where his works were quoted by William Shakespeare and imitated by Francis Bacon, who used the new term in his Essays and Counsels, Civil and Moral (1596). Basically Montaigne's self-centerness was the cause why his work was placed in 1676 on the Vatican’s index of prohibited books; the ban was lifted in 1854. When he playfully argued that penis has its own rebellious nature, stronger than human will, he stepped on the toes of the church: "We are right to note the licence and disobedience of this member which thrusts itself forward so inopportunely when we do not want it to, and which so inopportunely lets us down when we most need it; it imperiously contests for authority with our will: it stubbornly and proudly refuses all out incitements, both mental and manual." In 'Sur des vers de Virgile' (On Some Verses of Virgil) Montaigne complains of the scripteur's small penis.

No real models existed for Montaigne's essays. His literary apprenticeship had been slight: his only early noteworthy publication had been a work of translation. Montaigne's purpose in his essays was self-knowledge: "The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself." But the self one finds in his writings is not narcissistic, although he admitted: "Painting myself for others, I represent myself in a better colouring than my own natural complexion." Montaigne gives room for dialogue, addressing his thoughts to the potential reader, and combining the form of a letter with the form of a dialogue with an ideal friend. Later the French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) developed Montaigne's unsystematic thoughts into their logical conclusion in his famous "Cogito; ergo sum" (Je pense, donc je suis; I think, therefore I am).

SOURCE: http://kirjasto.sci.fi/michelde.htm

ESSAY

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g.Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples.

In some countries (e.g., in the United States), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants and, in the humanities and social sciences, as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay is an attempt to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs; it may or may not have an accompanying text or captions.

An essay has been defined in a variety of ways. One definition is a "prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse".^[1] It is difficult to define the genre into which essays fall. Aldous Huxley, a leading essayist, gives guidance on the subject.^[2] He notes that "[l]ike the novel, the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything, usually on a certain topic. By tradition, almost by definition, the essay is a short piece, and it is therefore impossible to give all things full play within the limits of a single essay". He points out that "a collection of essays can cover almost as much ground, and cover it almost as thoroughly, as can a long novel"--he gives Montaigne's Third Book as an example. Huxley argues on several occasions that "essays belong to a literary species whose extreme variability can be studied most effectively within a three-poled frame of reference". Huxley's three poles are:

• Personal and the autobiographical essays: these use "fragments of reflective autobiography" to "look at the world through the keyhole of anecdote and description".
• Objective and factual: in these essays, the authors "do not speak directly of themselves, but turn their attention outward to some literary or scientific or political theme".
• Abstract-universal: these essays "make the best ... of all the three worlds in which it is possible for the essay to exist". This type is also known as Giraffe Style Writing.

The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt". In English essay first meant "a trial" or "an attempt", and this is still an alternative meaning. The Frenchman Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was the first author to describe his work as essays; he used the term to characterize these as "attempts" to put his thoughts into writing, and his essays grew out of his commonplacing.^[3] Inspired in particular by the works of Plutarch, a translation of whoseOeuvres Morales (Moral works) into French had just been published by Jacques Amyot, Montaigne began to compose his essays in 1572; the first edition, entitled Essais, was published in two volumes in 1580. For the rest of his life he continued revising previously published essays and composing new ones. Francis Bacon's essays, published in book form in 1597, 1612, and 1625, were the first works in English that described themselves as essays. Ben Jonson first used the word essayist in English in 1609, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay