Bacon and Naude

While Bacon’s approach was more in tune with a humanistic approach, Naude –using bacon’s ideas as his baseline- proposed an expansive approach towards the idea of the modern library. In Bacon’s mind, books should create “growth and change” (Johnson, 11) However, his view of the transmission of knowledge, and consequently his understanding on how a library should be constructed, is defined by scholarly activities ranging from edition of authors, annotations and commentaries, interpretations, judgement of authors –as of what books to read- and analysis of the studies to determine in what order reading should be made. Bacon’s had, in my understanding, a scholastic approach of the libraries. It coincides with his vision of an encyclopedic view of nature by which the library will expand as knowledge expands.

Gabriel Naude took Bacon’s ideas a step further. First of all, he pushes for the public use. Under his vision, instead of expending on decorations or costly bindings, resources should be devoted to provide spaces for study. He agrees with the fact that the number of books are increasing to “almost infinite” (Johnson 13) levels, which makes the process of selection a necessity. However, his selection is based not in Bacon empiricism but in a more open one. Naude advocates for the inclusion of books on themes that are less known or that brings new ground for research. “Naude trusts that some readers […] are capable of destroying their own idols –if given the proper tools” (Johnson 13) This extraordinary openness and comprehension of what reading, thinking, and learning are, is the basis of humanity intellectual growth. In my opinion, it is one of the fundamental pillars for the libraries to exist. Contradictory opinions in Naude’s vision, should be exposed. It is the readers responsibility to navigate through a dialectic research and draw their own conclusions. Naude’s library suggests also the presence of dictionaries, compendiums, and miscellaneous to enrich and facilitate the experience – kind of a modern reference desk-  to help readers in their own quest for knowledge. 

Christopher D. JOHNSON. (2011). Making the “Round of Knowledge” in Bacon’s Wake: Naudé, Comenius, and Browne. Societate Şi Politică , Vol 5, Iss 10, Pp 9-31 (2011), (10), 9. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.3675923a01824987a17c8e6e09e199ea&site=eds-live