Roger Bacon High School - Troubadour Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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ciscan, Friar Petrus Perigrinus de Mari- court, who exerted such an inHuence upon Bacon, that he entered the rapidly growing brotherhood of Francis of Assisi about the year 1250. Shortly afterward, Bacon was sent to Oxford, where with increasing renown, he continued his strenuous teaching and ex- perimenting. However, his criticisms be- came so sharp and merciless that no dis- senter, whether cleric 0r layman, escaped his denunciation. As a result, his religious superiors, becoming alarmed at his boldness, requested him to restrain himself. Com- that he, de Foulques. might be able to help Bacon, but ecclesiastical censorship pre- vented the latter from doing so. However, in 1266, the Cardinal, who later had become Pope Clement IV, com- manded Bacon to send him secretly a written outline of his plan. Bacon worked feverishly for eighteen months to compile a veritable encyclopedia of general knowl- edge, called iiOpus Majus. Hardly had this work been sent on its way, When Bacon composed the iiOpus Minusn and subse- quently a third work, iiOpus Tertium. Eton College Oxford University plying with their wishes, he went to Paris. where he made an extensive study of the works of the Arabian writers, and, as the result of his study, he discovered the form- ula for making gunpowder which later rev- olutionized warfare. A few years later, the Papal Legate in England, Cardinal Guy de Foulques, hear- ing of Bacmfs renown and becoming inter- ested in his educational theories, asked Friar Bacon to commit them to writing, so But unfortunately, Clement IV died be- fore he could judge the merits of these memorable treatises. Not crushed by this hard blow, the valiant Franciscan once more took up his gigantic plan in a work called the KCommunia Naturaliumfi He also compiled the NCompendium Studii Philos- ophiaefi a bitter criticism of the state of learning and condition of the Church at that time. This Final attack caused Bacon's condemnation, for in 1277, the Dominicans and Franciscans decided to end the inces- Page Nine

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LIFE OF ROGER BACON Roger Bacon was born in llchester, Somersetshire, England in the year 1214. At the early age of thirteen, Roger enrolled in Oxford University, where he studied under the famous English teachers of his time until he received his Master of Arts degree. The famous University of Paris lured him on to further learning, but he was disappointed with the result. His teachers adhered too strictly to previously established factsV possessing no independ- ence or initiative, while Bacon himself be- lieved in proving teachings and his own theories by actual experiment. Bacon was so dissatisfied with this ubelieve everything that is told youl' method of teaching, that he was tired with a great ambition to begin a worldwide reformation in the method of education and in its proper classification. However, he remained at Paris until he had received his degree which empowered him to lecture. and then he set about de- Page Eight monstrating to the university faculty just how a teacher should instructeand he did so in no timid manner, sparing no one from his scorn and attacking his erroneous contem- poraries in no uncertain terms. His inex- haustible energy, his gifted pen, and his liberal progressive spirit overcame all his adversaries. In his zeal for learning, he worked from sixteen to eighteen hours a day, experimenting, calculating, and noting down his conclusions. During this time, he produced his First works, which described his findings concerning the physical sciences. F ervent and religious in all these works, Bacon endeavored to apply all knowledge toward the advancement of the Church, toward the salvation of men, and toward the greater glorihcation of God. In Paris, there lived only one man who thoroughly agreed with Baconis method of teaching. The man was the eminent Fran-

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sant quarreling between the two Orders. The Minister-General 0f the Franciscans, Jerome de Ascoli, condemned Baconls works and suppressed his doctrines. It was not necessary to look far for an excuse for Baconls condemnation, for his name had been darkened by rumors of heresy and sorcery caused by his mysterious experi- ments in alchemy and other sciences. Also, Bacon had incurred the ill will of his fellow brethren because he had attacked many notable ecclesiastics mercilessly in his works. Therefore. the Minister-General of the Friars Minor imposed upon him as a pen- alty, a ten year suspension from the office of teaching. Finally released from this pen- alty by the death of Friar Jerome in 1292, Bacon unclaunteclly began his iCompendium Studii Theologiaef but owing to his death on July 11, in the same year, that work was never completed. Today, Roger Bacon stands out as a most brilliant and remarkable genius, known to modern times as uDoctor Mirabilis. He was a master of all the better known studies, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, philosophy, many languages, astronomy and theology. He had the abilitytto think clearly and logically, and also the power to teach what he knew. These qualities combined with a gifted pen and a fiery strength of purpose. caused Bacon to stand out from the crowd as sensationalea born leader, capable of praise where it was merited and crushing in his opposition. when he consid- ered it justihable. His many important dis- coveries, his correction of the errors of the calendar, and particularly, his method of experimentation to verify his theories, illus- trate the towering genius of Roger Bacon. There is no part of the world that has not been affected by the results of one or more of Bacon's discoveries. Because of his wide influence upon science and educa- tion. the whole world today is familiar with the illustrious name of Roger Bacon, and marvels at the man who sacrificed a lifetime in an attempt to dispel human ignorance and to End out the truth about science. He was a truly great man, an intellectual giant far ahead of his time, and yet he was a humble, believing and devoted Franciscan friar, faithful to the Church and the Order of the Friars Minor in spite of general mis- understanding and his natural tendency to extreme impatience with those who, at times aclvisedly and at times inadvisedly, attempted either to restrain him in his purposes or to moderate his excessive zeal in their accom- plishment. Page Ten