Just a little background information to tell you about Sir Francis Bacon. He was an active thinker who lived during the period of the Scientific Revolution. By saying "read not to contradict nor to believe, but to weigh and consider", he means reading is not about comparing or contrasting information and try to believe it is true or not, but to form your own opinion on this topic. In other words, you should not trust anything you read unless you can really understand what it is about. Good luck! Axlent Tutor on Italki