BACON (Roexa), in biography, an English monk of the Franciscan order, celebrated for his genius and learning, was born near tIchester in Somersetshire, in the year 1214. He commenced his studies at Oxford ; from whence he re moved to the university of Paris, which at that time was esteemed the centre of literature : here he made such progress in the sciences, that he was esteemed the glory of the university, and was in high estimation with several of his country men, particularly with Robert Groothead, or Grouthead, afterwards Bishop of Lin coln, his great friend and patron. Having taken the degree of doctor, he took the habit of the Franciscan order, either while he was in France or soon after his return to England, about the year 1240. He now pursued his favourite study of ex perimental philosophy with unremitting ardour and assiduity. In this pursuit, in experiments, instruments, and in scarce books, he informs us, he spent, in the course of 20 years, no less than 20001. which sum was generously furnished to him by some of the heads of the university, to enable him the better to pursue his no ble researches. But such extraordinary talents, and progress in the sciences, which in that ignorant age were so little known to the rest of mankind, while they raised the admiration of the more intelli gent, could not fail to excite the envy of his illiterate fraternity, whose malice he further drew upon him, by the freedom with which he treated the clergy in his writings, in which he spared neither their ignorance nor their want of morals : these therefore found no difficulty in possessing the vulgar with the notion of Bacon's dealing with the devil. Under this pre tence he was restrained from reading lec tures; his writings were confined to his convent ; and at length, in 1278. he him self was imprisoned in his cell, at 64 years of age. Being allowed, however, the use of his books, he still proceeded in the rational pursuit of knowledge, correcting his fbrmer labours, and writing several curious pieces.
When Bacon had been ten years in confinement, Jerom de Ascoli, general of his order, who had condemned his doc trine, was chosen pope, by the name of Nicholas TV. ; and being reputed a per son of great abilities, and one who had turned his thoughts to philosophical stu dies, Bacon resolved to apply to him for his discharge ; and to shew both the in nocence and the usefulness of his studies, addressed to him a treatise, " On the Means of avoiding the infirmities of Old Age." What effect this had on the pope does not appear ; it did not at least pro duce an immediate discharge : however, towards the latter end of his reign, by the interposition of some noblemen, Ba con obtained his liberty ; after which he spent the remainder of his life in the col lege of his order, where he died in the year 1294, at 80 years of age, and was buried in the Franciscan church. Such are the few particulars which the most diligent researches have been able to dis cover concerning the life of this very ex traordinary man.
Bacon's printed works are : 1. " Epis tola Fratris Rogeri Baconis de Secretis Operibus Artis et Nature, et de Nullitate Magic:" Paris. 1542, in 4to. Basil 1593, in 8vo. 2. " Opus Mains:" London, 1733, in folio, publishediby Dr. Jebb. 3. " The saurus Chemicus :" Francf. 1603 and 1620. These printed works of Bacon contain a considerable number of essays ; but there remain also in different libra ries several manuscripts not yet pub lished.
His other physical writings shew no less genius and force of mind. In his treatise " Of the Secret works of Art and Nature," he shews that a person, perfect ly acquainted with the manner observed by nature in her operations, would be able to rival her. In another piece, " Of the Nullity of Magic," he points out, with great sagacity and penetration, whence the notion of it sprung, and how weak all pretences to it are. From a perusal of his works, it is evident that Bacon waa no stranger to many of the capital disco veries of the pr€sent and past ages. Gunpowder he certainly knew : thunder and lightning, he tells us, may be pro duced by art : for that sulphur, nitre, and charcoal, which, when separate, have no sensible effect, when mixed together in due proportion, and closely confined and fired, yield a loud report. A more pre cise description of gunpowder cannot be given in words. He also mentions a sort of unextinguish able fire, prepared by art; which proves that he was not unacquaint ed with phosphorus; and that he had a notion of the rarefaction of the air, and the structure of an air-pump, is past con tradiction. He was the miracle, says Dr. Freind, of the age in which he lived, and the greatest genius, perhaps, for mechani cal knowledge, that ever appeared in the world since Archimedes. He appears likewise to have been a master in the sci ence of optics : he has accurately de scribed the uses of reading-glasses, and shewn the way of making them. Dr. Freind adds, that he also describes the camera obscura, and all sorts of glasses which magnify or diminish any object, or bring it nearer to the eye, or remove it farther off. Bacon says himself, that he had great numbers of burning-glasses : that there were none ever in use among the Latins, till his friend Peter de Mahara Curia applied himself to the mak ing of them. That the telescope was not unknown to him, appears from a passage where he says, that lie was able to form glasses in such a manner, with respect to our sight and the objects, that the rays shall be refracted and reflected wherever we please, so that we may see athing un der what angle we think proper, either near or at a distance, and be able to read the smallest letters at an incredible dis tance, and to count the (lust and sand, on account of the greatness of the angle under which we see the objects : and al so, that we shall scarce see the greatest bodies near us, on account of the small ness of the angle under which we view them. His skill in astronomy was amaz ing: he discovered that error which oc easioned the reformation of the calendar; one of the greatest efforts, according to Dr. Jebb, of human industry : and his plan for correcting it was followed by Pope Gregory the Thirteenth, with this variation, that Bacon would have had the correction to begin from the birth of our Saviour, whereas Gregory's amendment reaches no higher than the Nicene coun cil.
On the whole, it cannot be doubted that Friar Bacon is justly entitled to everlast ing remembrance, as a philosopher and truly great man. If knowledge, says Dr. Enfield, is now too far advanced for the world to derive much information from his writings, respect must nevertheless be paid to the memory of the man, who knew more than his contemporaries, and who, in a dark age, added new lights to the lamp of science.