Sir Francis Bacon's Essay On Revenge

“That which is past is gone, and irrevocable; and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come: therefore they do but trifle with themselves, that labour in past matters.” ` This is a quote from Sir Francis Bacon’s essay, “On Revenge” explaining that men should not worry about things in the past, rather focus on the present and future. He is saying that people have too much on their plate to concern themselves with getting revenge. In the essay, it is explained that Bacon thinks that wise men should put past offenses behind them, but men who are selfish will try to get back for the things done to them. Throughout the essay he stressed that people should not seek revenge. He stated that people do wrong for their own good; to get honor, pleasure, or money and that these men were selfish. He also explained how revenge

Sweeney Todd should not have taken revenge. While getting revenge, Sweeney was so focused on it that he missed the chance to start a new life with his daughter and his wife. If Todd followed Sir Francis Bacon’s advice which advised people to be wise men and focus on the future, Sweeney Todd could have been happy. Instead, he was so consumed by revenge that that it destroyed him. He wanted to kill Judge Turpin so much that he could not see what was right in front of him, like his wife. In the play, it was almost as if Sweeney Todd put himself in a cage after deciding to try and get revenge. The cage kept him from reality and like a bird he sang/tried to get revenge. As he was more and more focused on revenge, he was putting himself in smaller and smaller cages, taking him further away from the present and locking himself in the past. Once getting the much desired revenge, he had nothing to live for because he removed himself from the present world. Sweeney Todd was so worried about getting revenge that it took away his chance to make a new life for