"For men believe that their reason govern words"

I love the full sentence where this common place is found. In our BA on page 47, Francis Bacon says, "For men believe that their reason governs words; but it is also true that words react on the understanding; and this it is that has rendered philosophy and the sciences sophistical and inactive."

Another way to phrase this--words can have different meanings. I can tell someone I love them, but do they understand which type of love (eros, philos, and agape) I mean? Another is the way we use words (or names) for things that don't exist. Other than intangible things that don't physically exist (abstract ideas like freedom, love, courage, etc.), the words we use words for things that don't exist at all--Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, leprechauns, Unicorns, Tooth Fairy, etc. We even have words to describe nonexistence (nothing, absence, etc.).

According to Bacon, words can be very misleading.