Question

What do these lines mean: "but for the moral part, perhaps youth will have the preeminence, as age hath for the politic. A certain rabbin, upon the text, Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, inferreth that young men are admitted nearer to God than old, because vision is a clearer revelation than a dream." (Of Youth and Age by Francis Bacon)
AHHH!! Please help! D:

Does it mean, God loves young minds better because they are more open to changes? heelp!

Answer 1

My interpretation would be something similar to what you're thinking which is:

Pre-eminence is defined as "Greatness being a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person, object or place." Although the youth can be exposed to this superiority complex, they also have the ability to become open minded whereas adults already have a "structured view" just like how politics has a certain governing system to it. Unlike a rabbin (rabbi), a person that is trained in Jewish law, ritual, and tradition and ordained for leadership of congregation, the younger generation will have the initiative to work towards a goal in the future for moral purposes whereas the old will always dream of accomplishing something but won't be able to do it because they "follow" society and its structure fearing that if they act, others would view them in a negative spectrum of light. Instead of "dreaming dreams", the youth are those who will act and make a difference.

But then again this is just what I'm thinking xD So I could be completely off..