Bacon recognizes revenge is a dangerous and primal instinct man is instilled with at birth and the equality man feels in seeking it. This is evident in the opening statement of his essay in which he states “Revenge is a sort of wild justice, which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out” (Bacon 597). Francis Bacon goes on to say that public revenges are fortunate and private revenges are not so. Events, such as the assassination of Caesar, are tolerable because they are not personal affairs of one individual but rather necessary for the betterment of the general public. According to Bacon, the only time revenge is tolerable is “for those wrongs which there is no law to remedy”. For example, in a relationship, if a woman is caught cheating on her boyfriend, he would be justified in seeking revenge. If, however, a man’s house is broken into, then the judicial system should be responsible for making things right and not the individual. This view is further supported by Bacon when he says “Certainly by taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior, for it is a prince’s part to pardon”. This parallels the fervor of someone whose beliefs involve karma to be true.
The quote “vindictive persons live the life of witches, who, as they are mischievous, so end they unfortunate” (Bacon 597) means if you dwell on revenge it will ruin your life. If you do not act on your plans of revenge you will obsess over it and will push friends and family out of your life. It will turn you into an ugly person on the inside and out essentially making you a witch. The character of Harvey Dent, in the Batman series, is a perfect example of how a personal vendetta can tear apart one life and influence those around him. At the introduction of Harvey Dent, he is an upstanding citizen who believes in the judicial system and the principle of right and wrong. When someone close to him dies, he loses all perspective of the morally good person he formerly was and becomes the villain determined on taking justice into his own hands, known as “Two Face”.
Man is able to justify any action to himself which is another reason public is fortunate. -Scotty Williams