Of Marriage and Single Life
by Francis Bacon
1. Who are hostages to fortune?
Ans: According to Bacon, “he that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.”
2. Why is married man hostage to the fortune? [NU 2014]
Ans: A married man is hostage to the fortune because his wife and children "are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief".
3. What is the fate of a married person according to Bacon?
Ans: A married person is controlled by Fate. He has, as if, given hostages to fortune.
4. What is 'Single Life'?
Ans: ‘Single life” means unmarried or bachelor life.
5. What happens to the single persons?
Ans: A single person thinks the future to be irrelevant and all his thinking centers round himself.
6. How do people leading a single life consider family life?
Ans: People leading a single life consider family life nothing but bill of charges.
7. How are the chaste women?
Ans: The chaste women are proud of their chastity and are headstrong in nature.
8. Who should get marry?
Ans: According to Bacon, “A young man not yet, an elder man not at all”.
9. When, according to Bacon, should a man marry? [NU 2012]
Ans: According to Bacon, a young man should not marry now and an elder man should not marry at all.
10. What does Bacon say about wife?
Ans: Bacon says about wife that she plays the role of a mistress to a young husband, a companion for a middle aged husband and a nurse to an old man.
11. What are the three roles played by a wife in different stages of life? [NU 2015]
Ans: The three roles played by a wife in different stages of life are:
i. a mistress to a young husband,
ii. a companion for a middle aged husband and
iii. a nurse to an old man
12. What is the most ordinary cause of a single life? [NU 2013, 2015]
Ans: The most ordinary cause of a single life is personal liberty.
13. Why the single men are cruel and hard hearted?
Ans: The single men are cruel and hard hearted because their tenderness is not so often called upon.
14. Why is not an unmarried man a good citizen? [NU 2015]
Ans: According to Bacon, an unmarried man is not a good citizen because he is “light to run away’ and turn into a fugitive.
15. Why are married persons more reliable than single ones?
Ans: Married persons are more reliable than single ones because the single ones are “light to run away”.
16. Write the advantages of an unmarried person as shown by Bacon.
Ans: The advantages of an unmarried person as shown by Bacon include his liberty, his capability to do good for the people, his capability to be a good master or a good friend etc.
17. What should a young man do before his marriage?
Ans: A young man should think seriously before his marriage.
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