Bacon, ROGER

Bacon, ROGER, a monkish philosopher of the 13th century, who, through the force of his intellect, raised himself far above his age, made wonderful discoveries in several sciences, and contributed much to extend the then scanty knowledge of nature. Belonging to a well-to-do family, he was born at Ilchester, Somersetshire, about the year 1214. He studied at Oxford, where he seems to have been in orders in 1233, and then proceeded to Paris. About 1250 he returned to Oxford, and may then have entered the order of the Franciscans. Physics seems to have been at that time the chief object of his labours; and liberal friends of science supplied him with the means of pursuing his researches. In exploring the secrets of nature, he made discoveries and invented applications which were looked upon by the ignorant as the work of magic. This prejudice was encouraged by the jealousy and hate with which his brother monks regarded his superiority. About 1257 he was imprisoned at Paris, forbidden all human intercourse, and even all opportunity of writing. Among the few clear-sighted men who admired Bacon's genius and pitied his misfortunes, was Guy de Foulques, sometime papal legate in England. He desired to see Bacon's writings, but the interdiction of the Franciscans prevented a compliance with his wish. On Guy's ascent, however, of the papal throne as Clement IV. in 1265, Bacon wrote to him expressing his readiness to furnish him with whatever he desired, and Clement in reply repeated the request to see his works. Bacon accordingly drew up his Opus Majus, which he sent, along with two other works, it is said, to the pope, by his favourite pupil, John of London, and in which he represented the necessity of a reformation in the sciences through a diligent study of the languages and of nature. How Clement received them is not very well known; but they could only have reached him about the time he was seized with his last illness in 1268. The year before, Bacon had regained at least comparative freedom; but in 1278 the general of the Franciscan order, Jerome of Ascoli, declared himself against Bacon, forbade the reading of his books, and issued an order for his imprisonment, which was sanctioned by Pope Nicholas III. This new imprisonment lasted ten years. When in 1288 Jerome himself became pope, under the name of Nicholas IV., Bacon sent him a treatise on the means of warding off the infirmities of old age, with a view to convince him of the harmlessness and utility of his labours, but in vain. He seems to have at last recovered his freedom about 1292, and two years later to have died at Oxford. A true forerunner of his greater namesake, Bacon in spite of his extraordinary genius could not rid himself of all the prejudices of his time. He believed in the philosopher's stone and in astrology. His chief invention is the magnifying-glass. There are also in his writings other new and ingenious views on optics; for example, on refraction, on the apparent magnitude of objects, on the great increase in the size of the sun and moon in the horizon. On other subjects, again, he fell into the greatest errors. He made several chemical discoveries which were wonders at that time. He knew, for instance, that with sulphur, saltpetre, and charcoal, we may produce explosions. Mathematics applied to observation he considered to be the only means of arriving at a knowledge of nature. He studied several languages, and wrote Latin with great elegance and clearness. Deserving of honourable mention are his discoveries of the errors that prevailed in the calendar, and his proposals and data for remedying them, in which he came very near the truth. He prepared a rectified calendar, of which a copy is preserved in the Oxford library. On account of his extensive knowledge, he received the name of 'Doctor admirabilis.' Six of his works had been printed between 1485 and 1614, when, in 1733, S. Jebb edited the Opus Majus. Professor Brewer edited the Opus Tertium, Opus Minus, and Compendium Philosophiæ in 1859, under the title of Opera Inedita, with a valuable preface. See also E. Charles, Bacon, sa Vie, ses Œuvres, ses Doctrines (1861); the German works of Siebert (1861), Schneider (1873), Werner (1879), and Held (1881); and, for the popular conception of Bacon as 'Friar Bungay,' Ward's Old English Drama (1878).