What is the underlying meaning of 'of studies'?

Answer 1

Francis Bacon's famous essay is replete with opinions and advice such as, "Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider." In that instance, and in other opinions throughout the essay, his meaning is not so much underlying as it is explicit. It is always possible, and sometimes useful, to extend meanings to situations not evident in an essay. But when Bacon writes, "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit: and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not," he is not hiding the meaning under any cloak that needs to be lifted. What you may be seeking, when you ask for "underlying meaning," is a precis: a brief, concise summary of Bacon's message. That, I think, you can and ought to develop for yourself.