Whether turning a phrase or observing the politics of the day the father of the scientific method, Francic Bacon, also took his place with Essays as the master of English prose. Incomplete and posthumously issued, his account of an ideal state in The New Atlantis reveals both practical methods and unique fantasy.

John Milton's written oration, Areopagitica, responds to attempts of the day to “license,” or ban, religious and political writings; however, it remains the starting point for freedom of the press debate. In the vein of Plato’s Republic before it and Rousseau’s Emile after, Milton's On Education is a personal epistle aimed at the training of youth in the classic and poetic traditions as well as the future of scientific studies.

A personal essay reconciling the religious and scientific life first published without the author’s knowledge, Sir Thomas Browne's Religio stands as the touchstone for all English prose that follows.