Skip to content

Antiquities, or remnants of history, are, as was said…

“Antiquities, or remnants of history, are, as was said, tanquam tabula naufragii: when industrious persons, by an exact and scrupulous diligence and observation, out of monuments, names, words, proverbs, traditions, private records and evidences, fragments of stories, passages of books that concern…” quote by Francis Bacon
Download Open image
“Antiquities, or remnants of history, are, as was said, tanquam tabula naufragii: when industrious persons, by an exact and scrupulous diligence and observation, out of monuments, names, words, proverbs, traditions, private records and evidences, fragments of stories, passages of books that concern not story, and the like, do save and recover somewhat from the deluge of time.”

Francis Bacon

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Through diligent study of fragments, we can rescue parts of history from being lost.

In simple terms: Studying fragments preserves history.

Key Takeaway

Preserve and piece together historical remnants.

Themes

history preservation scholarship

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

  • museum curation
  • academic research
  • genealogy

Key Concepts

archaeology philology memory studies

Questions to Reflect On

  • What fragments are most valuable today?
  • How can we verify the authenticity of recovered pieces?
A Different Perspective

Fragmentary evidence may be incomplete or misleading.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Francis Bacon

Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes

More Antiquity quotes

Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes