| journey. THE PILLARS where seen by the | ancients to be the supports of the | western boundary of the world. | | Bacon uses the myth of Hercules and | Harmodius in a methaphorical way, to | elucidate the real contents of | knowledge by comparing the two | "heroes". Hercules impersonates | strength and justice, throughout his | life he tried to free people from | tyranny, fought against giants and | monsters without thinking of his own | benefit. Harmodius in comparison tried | to kill the tyrants Hippias and | Hipparchus in consequence of a private | quarrel and not primarily to free | people. | | This shows, that for Bacon knowledge | must be of general existence and not | only refer to some particular point. | | Nevertheless, in one of his later | works, DE SAPIENTIA VETERUM (1609), | Hercules is not the Baconian hero | anymore. The real hero is Orpheus, the | philosopher. His works are superior to | the works of Hercules as the "works of | wisdom" (opera sapientiae) are | superior to the "works of strength" | (opera fortitudinis) (VI, 729). | | Orpheus was a legendary poet, a famous | musician and singer of ancient Greece, | who had the power of charming all | animate and inanimate objects (he | could move rocks and trees) by the | sweet strains of his lyre. He