BACON, ROGER, an English monk, who, through the force of his intellect, raised himself above his age, made wonderful discoveries in several sciences, and contrib uted much to extend the then scanty knowledge of nature. He was descended of a respectable family, and b. at Ilchester, in the co of Somerset, 1214. He studied at Oxford, and then at Paris, where he received the degree of doctor in theology; and soon after his return home, lie entered the order of the Franciscans, and settled at Oxford. Physics seems to have been at that time the chief object of his labors; and liberal friends 4af 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 hellish magic. This prejudice was encouraged by the jealousy and hate with which his brother monks regarded his superiority. Besides, he loudly denounced the ignorance and immorality of the clergy, especially of the monks, and even wrote a letter to the pope, in which he represented to him the necessity of clerical reform. Out of revenge, tin accusation was brought against him at the papal court, and the pope interdicted him from teaching in the university. He was shortly after imprisoned, forbidden all human intercourse, and hardly allowed sufficient food. Among the few clear-sighted men who admired Bacon's genius, and pitied his misfor tunes, was the cardinal-bishop of Sabina, at that time papal legate in England. He .desired to see Bacon's writings, but the interdiction of the Franciscans prevented a compliance with his wish. On his ascent to the papal throne as Clement IV., B. wrote to him, expressing his readiness to fnrnish him with whatever he desired, and Clement in reply repeated his request to BCC B.'s works, in defiance of the Franciscan prohibition. B. accordingly drew up his Opus Mains (edited by Jebb, 1733), which he sent, along with two other works, it is said, to the pope, by his favorite 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'reachecl him about the time he was seized with Ms last illness. For 103-ears after Clement's death, B. was free from open persecution at least.
But in 1278, under Nicolas III., the general of the Franciscan order, Jerome of Espulo, declared himself against B., forbade the reading of his books, and Issued an order for his imprisonment, which was sanctioned by the pope. This new imprisonment lasted 10 years. When Jerome of Esculo became pope, under the name of Nicolas IV., B. sent him a Treatise on the Means of warding off the Infinnitie,s of Old Age (Let. Oxf. 1590; Eng., by Brown, 1683), with a view to convince him of the harmlessness and utility of his labors, but in vain. What the pope refused to the representations of the old philos opher, was yielded to the intercession of several influential English noblemen, and B. at last recovered his freedom. He returned to Oxford, wrote a compendium of theology, and shortly after died—according to some, in 1292, to others, in 1294.
B., although an extraordinary genius, could not lid himself of all the prejudices of his times. 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 imitate lightning, and 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 honorable mention are his discoveries of the errors that prevailed in the calendar, and his proposals and data for remedying them, in which lie came very near the truth. He prepared a rectified calendar, of which a copy is preserved iu the Oxford library. On account of his extensive knowledge, he received the name of " doctor mirabilis." Several of his works have never been printed, and are preserved among the Cottonian manuscripts in the British museum; some are to be found in French libraries.