Of Travel - Summary

                                                                     Of Travel – Francis Bacon

Summary

When a young child travels around in alien places, he learns a lot from the sight and sound around him. In the process, his awareness grows and his learning process is accelerated. So, travel for a young child has good educational value. So, the countryside becomes a school for him, although in an informal way. A youngster travelling to an unknown place under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable chaperon is always desirable. By virtue of the knowledge and experience, the chaperon can guide the young traveler where to go, what to see, and the type of people to befriend. The able guide can also tell the youngster about the pastime, hobbies, and crafts the places are famous for. Without the company of a guide, he will fail to observe the important and interesting things in the new places. While on a voyage in the sea, the seafarer gets to see nothing other than the vast expanse of blue water and the un-ending sky above. In such a case, the voyager should maintain a travel diary. When travelling overland, there is an overwhelming abundance of new sights and sounds and myriad things to observe. People generally fail to keep note of every detail of what they come across. So, maintain a diary is always a good idea. In the diary, one can record his observations about the following.

a. The royal courts of princes, kings, and sovereigns. He can observe the opulence, splendor, courtiers, and the practices followed in the courts. The elaborate protocol followed while formally accepting the ambassadors from other countries is worth observing and noting.

b. The royal courts that hear pleas, and dispense justice also offer interesting sights. The practices followed in the Roman courts and those in the English clergy are also interesting.

c. The churches, monasteries, their architectural styles offer much visual delight. It is advisable to observe and record these in the diary.

d. The city walls, the fortresses, and the watchtowers that ring a city to ward off invaders are also very interesting to watch.

e. The beautiful towns and harbours also deserve to be seen with observant eyes.

f. The antiquities, the ruins standing as witness to past attacks of marauding invaders are worth seeing minutely.

g. Colleges, universities, centers of learning, town halls where debates are held, stadia etc. bear testimony to the intellectual vigour of any society. So, they should be visited too.

h. Shipping facilities and naval yards are the yardsticks of a nation’s maritime prowess. So, they deserve to be keenly looked at.

i. Public office buildings are the citadels of power and authority. They are deliberately built majestically to tower over other private buildings nearby. They project the state’s power. Similarly, parks and recreational open spaces speak about the taste and habits of the way people spend their leisure time. Their architecture reflects the aesthetic sense of the character of a race. So, these public places are to be visited and keenly observed.

j. Visit the country’s armoury and ammunition storage facilities is quite enlightening too.

k. Visits to warehouses, stock exchanges and wholesale markets are also of good educational value.

l. Seeing equestrian sports and horse rearing centers indicate the ability of the country to use the horse for military and recreational purposes.

m. Visit opera houses show how cultured the upper sections of the society are.

n. Exhibition of fine jewelry, fine clothing, antiques etc. throws light on the wealth and taste of the people.

o. In this way, one needs to visit all places of interest to bring back a treasure trove of highly rewarding information and knowledge.

Social occasions like marriages, funerals, feasts, public executions, victory celebrations etc. are, no doubt, important, but they need not be documented or observed so keenly. Bacon proceeds to give some ‘do’s and ‘don’ts for a travel expedition to yield maximum value. These are as follows ……

1. The youngster has to have some basic learning before he sets out on his journey.
2. He must have a dedicated and knowledgeable guide. This man must be well-conversant with the country he is visiting.
3. The guide should carry with him some books, catalogues, or brochures about the places he has in his travel. These will prove to be handy in course of the travel.
4. The learner must have a diary where he can jot down whatever he sees as he moves from place to place.
5. He should not stay more than it is necessary to stay in one place.
6. In case he stays in a city or a town for a longer duration, he must change his lodging, and move to another in the other end of the town to get the maximum exposure.
7. While staying in a place, he must not choose to stay among people from his own place. Instead, he must choose to live among people of the host country, so that he gets to observe their habits.
8. He must procure and carry with him letters of introduction from eminent people from his own locality to those in the places he is going to visit. This will ease travel, stay and availability of other conveniences.

In the places where he goes, he must seek out people of eminence like ambassadors, senior bureaucrats, and other eminent people who can offer practical help in sight-seeing, gathering information, and in availing other comforts needed during travel in a new place. He should avoid getting into arguments, quarrels and fights with locals. He should avoid the company of mistresses and quarrelsome people, because these are the persons who drag him to unnecessary fights and unpleasant situations. On returning to his native home, he must not completely forget the people and places he has visited. He must maintain the link through correspondence with those eminent men who had extended courtesy and help him during his sojourn. His heightened knowledge and awareness acquired during the journey are not to be shown off through elaborate attire or mannerisms of the foreign lands. This might invite ridicule and derision. On the contrary, his new wisdom must reflect in his talking and lectures to his fellowmen. He should be concise and factual in his accounts, and not weave stories. He must not give an impression that he has forsaken his country manners and dress to adopt those of the lands he has visited. He should selectively describe all the good things he has learnt abroad.

Reference: englishcharity.com