弗兰西斯•培根（Francis Bacon ，1561—1626）是英国著名的哲学家和科学家。他推崇科学，极力倡导科学的进步思想。他是一生追求真理的思想家，被马克思称为“英国唯物主义和整个现代实验科学的真正始祖”。同时他在逻辑学、美学、教育学方面也颇有建树。

1. The momentous¹ thing in human life is the art of winning the soul to good or evil.人生中最重要的事情是经营好你的灵魂是去从善还是作恶这一门艺术。
Momentous: 重要的
 
2. Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.读书使人渊博，交谈使人机敏，写作使人严谨。
Conference: 会议；交流
Exact:准确

3. Fortitude² is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason. 坚韧的品质是思想的统帅，意志的盔甲，理智的堡垒。
Fortitude: 坚韧
Marshal: 元帅
Armor: 装甲；盔甲

4. If a man be gracious and courteous³ to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. 礼待陌生人者乃世界之公民。
Gracious: 优雅的
Courteous: 文明的；有礼貌的

5. Crafty⁴ men contemn⁵ studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them. 狡黠者鄙读书，无知者羡读书，唯明智之士用读书。
Crafty: 狡猾的
Contemn: 鄙视

6. Knowledge and human power are synonymous. 知识就是力量。
Synonymous: 同义的

7. Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning⁶ by study.天赋需靠后天的学习来完善,犹如植物需要修剪。
Prune⁷: 修剪

8. People usually think according to their inclinations⁹, speak according to their learning and ingrained opinions, but generally act according to custom. 一般人都是依据爱好去想，依据学识及固有的见解去说，但通常都依据习俗去做。
Inclination⁸: 爱好
Ingrained: 根深蒂固的

9. Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse¹⁰, but to weigh and consider.读书时不可存心诘难作者，不可尽信书上所言，亦不可只为寻章摘句，而应推敲细思。
Contradict: 反驳
Confute: 驳斥
Discoure: 谈话； 论述
Weigh: 推敲

10. Studies serve for delight, for ornaments¹², and for ability. 读书足以怡情，足以博彩，足以长才。
Delight: 快乐
Ornament¹¹: 装饰

11. Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion. 真理易于在错误中显现，而非混乱。
Emerge: 出现
Error: 错误
Confusion: 混乱

12. Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible¹³. 真理太难说清的时候就需要幻想来帮忙了。
Fiction: 虚幻；小说
Plausible: 似乎可信的

13. Wise men make more opportunities than they find. 聪明的人创造机会多于碰机会。

14. Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business. 青年人比较适合发明，而不适合判断；适合执行，而不适合磋商；适合新的计划，而不适合固定的职业。
Execution: 执行
Counsel: 劝告； 建议
Settled: 稳定的

15. A prudent¹⁴ question is one-half of wisdom. 一个审慎的问题就已经得到一半智慧了。
Prudent: 慎重的；明智的

16. Acorns¹⁶ were good until bread was found. 在没有找到面包之前，橡实还是好东西。
Acorn¹⁵: 橡实

17. Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable.选择有价值的生活，习惯将使其最惬意。
Agreeable: 和蔼可亲的；使人愉快的

18. Good fame is like fire; when you have kindled¹⁸ you may easily preserve it; but if you extinguish it, you will not easily kindle¹⁷ it again. 好名声如火，燃着的时候易保持，一旦熄灭就再难点燃。
Kindle: 点燃
Preserve: 保持；保留
Extinguish: 熄灭

19. The place of justice is a hallowed place.司法之地是神圣和崇高之地。
Hallowed: 神圣的

20. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.有些书只需品尝，有些需要吞咽，还有少数的应该细嚼。
Swallow: 吞咽
Chew: 咀嚼
Digest: 消化