I was visiting England last week, going through Trinity College at Cambridge. The last thing I expected was a Solzhenitsyn link, but there it was. Francis Bacon's memorial statue.
Solzhenitsyn devotes much of a chapter (Idols of the Market Place) in Cancer Ward to talking about Francis Bacon's analysis of mistaken ideas coming in four types: idols of the tribe, cave, theater and market place. This is a major part of the discussion between Shulubin and Kostoglotov. And if it hadn't been for this chapter, I probably would have never read anything by Bacon.
Another thing this reminds me of. Some people call Solzhenitsyn a narrow-minded Slavophile who rejects European culture. But Solzhenitsyn's treatment of Bacon shows he was aware of broader culture outside of Russia. What English or American novelist has devoted a chapter to the thought of Francis Bacon?
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