Full Idea
It is the nature of the mind of man (to the extreme prejudice of knowledge) to delight in the spacious liberty of generalities, as in a champaign region, and not in the inclosures of particularity.
Clarification
'Champaign regions' are open fields, and 'inclosures' are fenced in
Gist of Idea
People love (unfortunately) extreme generality, rather than particular knowledge
Source
Francis Bacon (The Advancement of Learning [1605], II.VIII.1)
Book Reference
Bacon,Francis: 'Advancement of Learning/New Atlantis' [OUP 1966], p.115
A Reaction
I have to plead guilty to this myself. He may have pinpointed the key motivation behind philosophy. We all want to know things, as Aristotle said, but some of us want the broad brush, and others want the fine detail.
Related Idea
Idea 15970 People generalise because it is easier to understand, and that is mistaken for deep philosophy [Feynman]