(1214?–1294?). The English friar Roger Bacon was one of the earliest and most farseeing of scientists. He stressed the need for observation and experiment as the true basis of science.
After studying at the universities of Oxford and Paris, Bacon became a Franciscan friar and taught at Oxford. He believed that knowledge could be more certainly advanced by experimenting with real things than by poring over the books of Aristotle. He knew something of gunpowder and the magnetic needle and gave directions for constructing a telescope. He believed that the Earth was round and that it was possible to reach Asia by sailing westward. He suggested the possibility of these modern inventions:
“Ships will go without rowers and with only a single man to guide them. Carriages without horses will travel with incredible speed. Machines for flying can be made in which a man sits, and skillfully devised wings strike the air in the manner of a bird. Machines will raise infinitely great weights, and ingenious bridges will span rivers without supports.”
To the Middle Ages Bacon’s knowledge seemed the result of magic. Again and again his superiors ordered him to cease writing and teaching. But in Pope Clement IV he found a friend who commanded him to set forth his views in a book. Despite the jealousy of his brother friars and superiors and the lack of funds, instruments, writing materials, and copyists, Bacon in 18 months produced three great books (Opus Majus, Opus Minus, and Opus Tertium).
After Clement’s death Bacon again fell into difficulties as a result of his attacks on the scholars and learning of his day. By order of the head of the Franciscans he was sent to Paris and confined in a monastery for several years. While there he wrote his Compendium of Theology (1292). It is only in this century that his greatness as one of the world’s most original thinkers has been recognized.