6 Francis BaconFrancis Bacon's words "knowledge is power" are well-known to us.This talented boy is so clever that he entered the Trinity College, Cambridge, at the age of twelve and lived for three years there with his older brother.At Cambridge he met the Queen for the first time.The Queen was impressed by his precocious intellect, and was accustomed to call him "the young Lord Keeper".He began to study law at Gray's Inn, but his studies were interrupted for two and a half years while he served with the English ambassador to France.The sudden death of his father in February 1579 prompted Bacon to return to England.Sir Nicholas had laid up a considerable sum of money to purchase an estate for his youngest son,but he died before doing so, and Francis was left with only a fifth of that money.Having borrowed money, Bacon got into debt.To support himself, he reentered Gray's Inn.He made rapid progress. He was admitted to the bar in 1582.Bacon's goals were threefold: discovery of truth, service to his country, and service to the church.Knowing that a prestigious post would aid him toward these ends, in 1580 he applied, through his uncle, for a post at court.It's a pity that his application failed.However, Bacon's fortune soared in the next dozen years.
