The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral

"The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral" by Francis Bacon is a set of philosophical writings from the 1600s that ponders big ideas relating to people's lives, right and wrong, and how to run a society—at the start, the writer thinks hard about what is real, what happens when people die, and how people get along. Early on there are arguments about it being easier to lie to yourself than face facts of life. There is thinking about being scared of death versus understanding it. Discussion about everyone being the same religion. The beginning of the book gives context to what the author thinks about people and governments.