Roger Bacon's Letter Concerning the Marvelous Power of Art and of Nature and Concerning the Nullity of Magic

«Even if Nature is powerful and marvelous, yet Art using Nature for an instrument is more powerful by virtue of Nature, as we see in many instances. Indeed whatever is beyond the operation of Nature or of Art is not human or is a fiction and the doing of fraudulent persons.» — La carta abre con la tesis que la ordena entera: el arte que se sirve de la naturaleza es más poderoso que la naturaleza sola, y lo que quede fuera de la operación de una o de otro no es humano, es ficción y obra de gente fraudulenta.

«This world is full of such people as is manifest—for jugglers deceive many by quickness of hand, and ventriloquists, by a variety of sounds in the belly and throat, and by mouth, produce human voices, at a distance or nearby as they wish, as if a spirit were talking in the manner of a human being. They also imitate the sounds of animals.» — Bajo el epígrafe Fictitious Appearances, la carta explica por sus medios los prodigios de feria: la prestidigitación por rapidez de mano y la voz de espíritu por ventriloquia desde el vientre y la garganta.

«Verily, popular opinion does anything that men wish it to do so long as men are agreed about it.» — El tratado cierra el apartado de los engaños atribuyendo a la opinión común, y no al fraude, la capacidad de sostener cualquier cosa mientras haya acuerdo. Es una de las frases que Davis anota, y su latín va en la nota 2.

«Invocation of Spirits—In such cases as these physical Reason does-not consider, and Art and the power of Nature are not taken into account. Beyond these there is a more wicked practice still, when men hold the laws of Philosophy in contempt and, contrary to all reason, invoke nefarious spirits in order that through them they may accomplish their desire.» — El epígrafe Invocation of Spirits separa el engaño de lo que la carta llama práctica peor: despreciar las leyes de la filosofía e invocar espíritus nefandos para conseguir lo que se desea.

«But there is error in this because men believe the spirits subject to them and believe that they are driven by the force of human will—which is impossible, because human forces are far inferior to spirit forces.» — El error que la carta le imputa a esa práctica no es de piedad sino de física: creer que el espíritu queda sujeto a una voluntad humana muy inferior a la suya.

«They also err greatly when they believe themselves able, through such natural means as they use, to call forth or to drive away malign spirits; and they err also when they try to please them with invocations, prayers, and sacrifices and so to make them propitious to their design.» — La carta extiende el error a los dos extremos del trato: creer que se llama o se expulsa a un espíritu maligno con medios naturales, y creer que se lo aplaca con invocaciones, oraciones y sacrificios.

«Certainly it would be easier without comparison through the agency of God or of good spirits to.accomplish anything that man ought to consider useful.» — El argumento de reemplazo que ofrece la carta es de economía: cuanto un hombre deba tener por útil se consigue sin comparación más fácilmente por Dios o por los espíritus buenos.

«Symbols, Characters, and Magic Practices.— What beliefs ought to be held about magic symbols and characters and about similar things is the next matter for my consideration.» — El tratado anuncia su segundo asunto por el epígrafe Symbols, Characters, and Magic Practices: qué debe creerse de los símbolos y caracteres mágicos.

«For I doubt very much whether all things of this complexion are now false and dubious, for certain of these irrational inscriptions have been written by philosophers in their works about Nature and about Art for the purpose of hiding a secret from the unworthy, so that it should be as if it were wholly unknown—as that lodestone attracts iron, for instance— and someone wishing to achieve his work under the eyes of the multitude might make magic symbols and proffer characters with the intention of representing the force of attraction.» — La carta no da esas inscripciones por falsas sin más: duda, y propone que algunas las escribieron filósofos para esconder un secreto de los indignos, como la atracción del hierro por la piedra imán, poniendo un carácter donde iba una fuerza natural.

«Therefore, while many things are hidden by many means in the books of the Philosophers, the wise man ought to be prudent in dealing with them, to the end that he may reject the magic symbols and characters and study the work of Nature and of Art.» — El consejo que se sigue es de cautela doble: el sabio ha de rechazar el símbolo y el carácter y quedarse con la obra de la naturaleza y del arte.

«And so, many secrets of Nature and of Art are esteemed magic by the untaught, and Mages stupidly seize upon symbols and characters because they ascribe a virtue to them, and, in the pursuit of them, relinquish the work of Nature and of Art because of the error of magic» — La carta reparte la culpa entre dos ignorancias simétricas: el no enseñado toma por magia el secreto natural, y el mago abandona la obra de la naturaleza por el símbolo al que atribuye virtud.

«Certain Cases Authorized by the Church— There are however certain prayers instituted of old by men of truth, especially those ordained to God and to the angels, and others of that sort, which are able to retain their original virtue.» — Bajo el epígrafe Certain Cases Authorized by the Church, el tratado exceptúa las oraciones instituidas antiguamente por hombres de verdad, sobre todo las ordenadas a Dios y a los ángeles, a las que concede virtud conservada.

«For the priests themselves make exorcisms, as in the case of the Blessed Water with which adulteries are tested or the fidelity of a woman to her husband, as is prescribed in the ancient law de Aqua purgatoru..» — El ejemplo que da la carta de esa excepción es el exorcismo sacerdotal del Agua Bendita con que se prueba el adulterio, remitido a la ley antigua *de Aqua purgationis*, que el impreso corta en *de Aqua purgatoru*.

«Books of the Magi.—But whatever is contained in the books of the Mages ought to be prohibited, for these books, though they may contain something of the truth, have so much falsity in them that it is impossible to distinguish between the true and the false.» — El epígrafe Books of the Magi prohíbe los libros de los magos, y el motivo que da no es que sean falsos enteros sino que mezclan tanta falsedad con algo de verdad que las dos ya no se separan.

«For this reason it ought to be denied, which is claimed by some, that Solomon and other wise men composed these books» — De ahí la carta niega la atribución de esos libros a Salomón y a otros sabios, que algunos sostienen. La atribución se consigna como reclamada por otros y negada por el tratado.

«who accept the naked letter and themselves compose new books and multiply inventions—as we know by experience—and inscribe renowned titles on their works and imprudently ascribe them to famous authors, so that men may be allured more powerfully by that means.» — El tratado describe la mecánica del pseudoepígrafe: seductores que multiplican invenciones, ponen títulos renombrados en sus obras y las adscriben a autores famosos para atraer con más fuerza.

«And in order that no one shall suspect them, with allusions they build up a high-sounding style and construct their mendacity under the form of a text.» — Y añade el recurso de estilo con que esos libros se blindan: un tono altisonante hecho de alusiones, con la mentira construida en forma de texto.

«Magic Figures.—Magic figures are words the position of whose letters has been altered in such manner that they contain an adventitious meaning, or they are the figures formed by the position of the stars at certain chosen seasons.» — Bajo Magic Figures la carta define dos clases de figura mágica: la palabra con las letras trastocadas para que signifique otra cosa, y la figura que arman los astros en un momento elegido.

«and, as for signs and characters of the second sort, unless they are made at the proper time, they are recognized as having no inward efficacy.» — A la segunda clase le concede eficacia solo condicionada al momento de hechura; fuera de él, la carta la declara sin virtud interior.

«Disposition of the Stars.—Moreover, men who carry out their affairs according to the face of the heavens and the disposition of the constellations are at liberty to ascribe not only these figures themselves but all of their works as well, directly, to the virtue of Art and of Nature as, less directly, to the virtue of the heavens.» — El epígrafe Disposition of the Stars ordena las causas en dos grados: quien obra según el cielo puede adjudicar sus obras directamente a la virtud del arte y de la naturaleza, y solo indirectamente a la del cielo.

«Because of this the crowd of Mathematicians who judge and act according to magic stars accomplish but little, while chose who are well-skilled and understand the art sufficiently may be able, at chosen times, to do many useful things both in act and in judgment.» — El límite lo pone la dificultad de certificar el cielo: la carta separa a la multitud de matemáticos, a la que adjudica poco fruto, de los muy diestros, que en momentos elegidos pueden hacer cosas útiles. El *those* del impreso sale *chose*.

«Charms in Medical Practice—These matters, however, are worthy of consideration to this extent, that a skilled doctor, or any other who has some art to practice, is able to apply symbols and characters (by which is understood fictions) usefully (according to the manner of Constantine, the Physician), not because these characters and symbols are really efficacious in themselves but in order that the medicine may be taken more faithfully and with greater avidity» — Bajo Charms in Medical Practice el tratado admite el uso médico del símbolo con una definición desarmante entre paréntesis —se entiende que son ficciones— y con la causa puesta en la disposición del enfermo, no en el signo.

«If therefore a doctor, for the improvement of his work, in order to excite the patient to the hope and confidence of health, does anything of this sort, it is not to be regarded as something which is done because it is efficacious in itself (if we believe Constantine, the Physician) nor to be despised as a fraud.» — El veredicto que la carta da a esa práctica es doble y expreso: ni se tiene por eficaz en sí ni se desprecia como fraude. La autoridad invocada es Constantino el Médico.

«For Constantine himself in his letter Concerning Charms which are Hung about the Neck concedes symbols and characters to the neck, and defends them for this use.» — La carta remite a la carta de Constantino sobre los ensalmos que se cuelgan del cuello, que concede y defiende ese uso.

«The spirit is powerful mightily over its body through its strong effections, as Avicenna teaches in his book de Anima and in that de Animalibus, and as all wise men agree.» — El fundamento que la carta da a la eficacia por sugestión es la potencia del espíritu sobre su cuerpo por sus afecciones fuertes, con Avicena por autoridad. El impreso trae *effections*.

«Species or Idea, or the Extrinsic Quality of Things.— Since truth must not be damaged in any respect, it is necessary diligently to consider how all agents act in their own virtue—not only in their substantial virtue, but through their accidents of the third kind of quality even—and bring their extrinsic idea? to bear on Nature; they impart certain sensible properties to things.» — Bajo Species or Idea la carta expone su física de la acción a distancia: todo agente obra por su virtud propia y proyecta fuera de sí una idea extrínseca que imprime propiedades sensibles. El signo tras *idea* es el llamado de la nota 3 de Davis, que declara traducir *species* por *idea*.

«that the Basilisk‘ kills by sight alone, that the wolf makes a man hoarse if he sees him first» — Los ejemplos con que la carta prueba esa emisión son los del bestiario: el basilisco que mata con la vista y el lobo que enronquece al hombre si lo ve primero.

«he comes within his shadow, according to Solinus in the book de Mirabilibus mundi, and according to other authors.» — El tercer ejemplo, la hiena que impide ladrar al perro que entra en su sombra, va remitido a Solino y a otros autores. El impreso llama a la obra *de Mirabilibus mundi*.

«Aristotle tells in the book de Vegetabilibus that female palm trees mature ripe fruit through the odor of the males; and mares in certain countries are fertilized by the smell of horses, as Solinus narrates.» — La carta apila los casos de fecundación por olor —palmas hembra por el olor de los machos, yeguas por el de los caballos— con Aristóteles y Solino de garantes.

«In this connection Aristotle tells in his book de Somno et Vigilia that a menstrous woman looking in a mirror infects it and causes a cloud of blood to appear in it.» — El caso del espejo infectado por la mirada de la mujer menstruante va atribuido al *de Somno et Vigilia* de Aristóteles.

«Solinus further recounts that there are women in Scythia who have twin pupils in the eye (whence Ovid: Nos quoque pupilla duplex) and who when they are angry kill men by a glance.» — Y el de las mujeres de Escitia de doble pupila que matan de una mirada, a Solino, con un verso de Ovidio de por medio.

«Since plants and animals, which cannot attain to the dignity of human nature, are able to do these things, surely therefore man ought to be able all the more to emit his idea, his vir- . tues, and his colors for the alteration of bodies outside of himself.» — El argumento a fortiori con que la carta cierra la serie: si la planta y el animal pueden esto sin alcanzar la dignidad de la naturaleza humana, el hombre ha de poder más para alterar cuerpos fuera de sí.

«Force of Personality.—We ourselves know that a person of bad complexion who has a contagious infirmity like leprosy, or the falling sickness, or acute fever, or diseased eyes, or some ailment of that sort, infects others who are present and contaminates them; while, on the contrary, healthy persons of good complexion, especially young men, comfort others and delight them by their mere presence.» — Bajo Force of Personality el tratado traslada la doctrina al trato entre personas y la apoya en experiencia propia: el enfermo de mala complexión contagia con su presencia, y el sano de buena complexión conforta con la suya.

«And those men of infirm body and bad complexions whose souls are corrupted by many and heinous sins can, I strongly believe, accomplish much evil if they have a vehement desire to injure and harm.» — La carta pasa del contagio involuntario al daño querido, y lo marca con una fórmula de creencia y no de certeza: cree firmemente que quien tiene cuerpo enfermo y alma corrompida puede hacer mucho mal si desea con vehemencia dañar.

«Hence a leprous person who by strong desire and by thought and by vehement solicitude intends to infect some other person who is present may infect him more easily and more strongly than if he had not thought about it nor desired it nor intended it.» — El ejemplo que fija la doctrina: el leproso que se propone infectar a otro lo infecta con más facilidad que si no lo hubiera pensado ni querido. La intención se cuenta como causa física.

«Truly nature obeys the thoughts and vehement desires of the soul, as Avicenna teaches in the place above cited» — El principio general de esa física, con Avicena por autoridad: la naturaleza obedece a los pensamientos y a los deseos vehementes del alma.

«As Avicenna teaches in the third book de Metaphysica, thought 1s the first mover, thence a desire in conformity to the thought, and later the force of the mind in the members which are obedient to desire and to thought, and this for evil ends, as has been said, and similarly for good purposes.» — La carta ordena la cadena causal en tres pasos —pensamiento, deseo conforme al pensamiento y fuerza del ánimo en los miembros— y la declara igual de válida para el mal que para el bien. El impreso trae *1s* por *is*.

«And so, man may bring about great things by word and by deed—provided all the causes which have been described are concurrent.» — La conclusión del apartado va con su condición dentro: el hombre puede grandes cosas por palabra y por obra siempre que concurran todas las causas descritas.

«Efficacy of Words to Help or Harm.—Words arise from the interior of the person by reason of the cogitations and desire of the soul and by reason of the urge . and heat of the spirit, and they issue from the vocal organs.» — Bajo Efficacy of Words to Help or Harm la carta deriva la palabra de las cogitaciones y del deseo del alma y del calor del espíritu, y la hace salir por los órganos vocales. El punto suelto antes de *and heat* es del escaneo.

«So, spiritual effects are produced by words, in so far as, and to the extent that the words are indebted to the power of Nature.» — El límite que la carta pone a esa eficacia es de proporción: hay efecto espiritual por las palabras en la medida en que estas deben algo al poder de la naturaleza, no más.

«The present volume makes accessible to English readers an important classic in the history of science, the work of one of the greatest Englishmen who .ever lived. Perhaps no further apology is needed for its presentation» — Davis abre su prefacio situando el tratado como clásico de la historia de la ciencia y a su autor entre los mayores ingleses; con eso da por justificada la publicación, sin argumentar más.

«The present translation was undertaken without knowledge of the existence of the English translation of 1659; the finding of the earlier translation deprived the undertaking of much of its original interest, but it has been completed in the hope that other students of the history of thinking may be glad to have the work in an accessible form.» — Davis declara que emprendió la traducción sin saber que existía la inglesa de 1659, y que el hallazgo de la anterior le quitó buena parte del interés original; la terminó, dice, para que otros dispongan del texto.

«It is believed that the discursive notes perhaps centribute something to the value of the present translation.» — Davis pone el valor de su edición en las notas discursivas más que en la traducción misma, y lo dice en pasiva y con reserva. El impreso trae *centribute* por *contribute*.

«For the material in the introductory essay on the life and works of Roger Bacon, I am indebted in large part to the “Roger Bacon Commemoration Essays," edited by Little (Oxford, 1914)—and to that work the reader is referred for many details which could not properly be discussed in that short essay.» — Davis declara de dónde sale su ensayo biográfico: de los Roger Bacon Commemoration Essays que editó Little en Oxford, 1914, y remite allá a quien quiera detalle. Little es la autoridad de la que cuelga casi todo lo biográfico y lo textual de este volumen.

«Roger Bacon lived in a period of intellectual darkness. Yet the tremendous breadth of his knowledge would make us suspect him of being a syndicate if we lacked the actual material of his biography.» — Davis encuadra a Bacon en una época de oscuridad intelectual y bromea con que la amplitud de su saber lo haría sospechoso de ser un colectivo si no hubiera biografía documentada. Viene de la anécdota inmediatamente anterior sobre Aristóteles.

«Accused of magic and suspected of dealings with the devil, he wrote a tract on the nullity of magic in which he pointed out that many things reputed to be magic are really due to the natural operations of Nature.» — Davis resume así lo que hace el tratado que traduce: acusado de magia, Bacon escribió sobre la nulidad de la magia señalando que mucho de lo reputado mágico es operación natural.

«In crediting Nature, he discredited the devil and narrowly escaped the fate of those who discredited God.» — Davis formula la operación con una paradoja: al dar el crédito a la naturaleza, Bacon se lo quitaba al diablo, y por poco corre la suerte de quienes se lo quitaban a Dios.

«Seven hundred years ago the best educated people were superstitious and believed in spirits, charms, magic, and incantations.» — Davis sitúa la creencia en espíritus, ensalmos, magia y encantamientos entre la gente más educada de la época, no entre la ignorante.

«He knew that charms in medical practice have a psycho-therapeutic efficacy, and his remarks on the subject are not surpassed in scientific accuracy by modern writings on auto-suggestion.» — Davis lee la doctrina de Bacon sobre los ensalmos médicos como eficacia psicoterapéutica y la equipara en exactitud a la literatura moderna sobre autosugestión.

«Seven hundred years ago the Earth was supposed to be flat, and the Church insisted that it was the center of the Universe. Long before that, the Alexandrians had had a better understanding of the order of things. Bacon knew their evidence and agreed with their opinion that the Earth is round.» — Davis opone la Tierra plana y central de la Iglesia al saber alejandrino anterior, y adjudica a Bacon el haber conocido esa evidencia y coincidido con ella.

«In his Opus Majus he asserted the possibility of voyaging westward from Spain to India in a passage which was inserted, without acknowledgment of source, by Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly (died 1425) in his Imago Mundi, first printed at Louvain in 1480.» — Davis traza la ruta del pasaje del Opus Majus sobre navegar al oeste: lo insertó sin dar la fuente el cardenal Pierre d'Ailly en su Imago Mundi.

«The passage so impressed Columbus that he annotated it fully and quoted it in a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella— and Bacon at second hand became one of the causes which led to the discovery of America.» — Davis cierra la cadena: Colón anotó el pasaje y lo citó en carta a los Reyes, de modo que, según Davis, Bacon queda de segunda mano entre las causas que llevaron al viaje de Colón.

«In the tract which is translated in the present volume he speaks of the pulley and of lenses, two centuries before they are generally supposed to have been invented by the investigators of the Renaissance.» — Davis adelanta lo que su lector va a encontrar: la polea y las lentes nombradas dos siglos antes de la fecha en que suelen darse por inventadas.

«Gunpowder he describes, probably having learned of it from the Arabians. And to him at any rate belongs the credit for bringing it to the attention of Europe and of the later inventors who applied it to firearms for war and to mining for the purposes of . peace.» — Davis atribuye a Bacon la descripción de la pólvora, probablemente aprendida de los árabes, y le reserva el crédito de haberla puesto ante los ojos de Europa; el punto suelto antes de *peace* es del escaneo.

«given us, as Bacon promised, the “key which opens and no man shuts; and when he will shut, no man opens.» — Davis remata el elogio de la pólvora con la fórmula bíblica con que Bacon cierra su carta, la llave que abre sin que nadie cierre. La frase reaparece al final del tratado.

«Saint Augustine had written, "Nothing is to be accepted save on the authority of Scripture, since greater is that authority than all powers of the human mind.» — Davis cita a san Agustín para fijar el clima de autoridad contra el que escribe Bacon: nada se acepta salvo por autoridad de la Escritura.

«Bacon did not invent the inductive method. He insisted on basis of experience and on verification by experiment, at'a time when official access to knowledge was solely by argument.» — Davis acota el elogio en la misma frase en que lo hace: no le adjudica a Bacon la invención del método inductivo, sino la insistencia en la experiencia y en contrastar por experimento cuando el acceso oficial al saber era solo por argumento.

«In the Opus Majus he writes, “There are two methods by which we acquire knowledge, by argument and by experiment. Argument shuts up the question, and makes us shut it up too; but it gives no proof, nor does it remove doubt and cause the mind to rest in the conscious possession of truth, unless the truth is discovered by way of experience.» — Davis cita el Opus Majus: dos vías de conocer, argumento y experimento; el argumento cierra la cuestión pero no da prueba ni quita la duda si la verdad no se descubre por experiencia.

«But after the experiment has been made, his mind receives certainty and rests in the possession of truth, which could not be given by argument but only by experience.» — Sigue la cita del Opus Majus que trae Davis: hecho el experimento, la mente recibe certeza, cosa que el argumento no podía darle.

«“This Science (of experiment) has three great prerogatives in respect to all the other sciences.» — Davis cita la enumeración de las tres prerrogativas de la ciencia experimental respecto de todas las demás. El paréntesis aclaratorio es de la traducción.

«The other two prerogatives of experimental science, according to Bacon, are these, that it gives access to a knowledge of truth which cannot be reached by the special sciences» — Davis resume de su parte, ya no citando, las otras dos prerrogativas que Bacon adjudica a la ciencia experimental.

«The practice which Bacon urged seven centuries ago, the practice of investigating conclusions by experience, has been exalted in recent philosophical discussion under the new name of “Pragmatism.”» — Davis empareja la práctica de investigar las conclusiones por experiencia con el pragmatismo de la discusión filosófica de su propio tiempo.

«Roger Bacon was born about 1214 near llchester in the county of Somerset, England.» — Davis data el nacimiento hacia 1214 cerca de Ilchester, en Somerset. El impreso trae *llchester* con ele doble por el OCR de la mayúscula.

«The title of doctor mirabilis, applied to him during the centuries which have intervened, seems to have meant that he was a marvelous teacher.» — Davis lee el título de *doctor mirabilis* como reconocimiento de maestro admirable, y no como grado académico: en la misma plana niega que conste que Bacon fuera doctor en teología o medicina.

«“Men used to wonder," he writes, "before I became a friar (im alio statu) that I lived owing to my excessive labors."» — Davis cita a Bacon sobre el asombro que causaba su trabajo antes de hacerse fraile; el paréntesis latino *im alio statu* es errata del impreso por *in alio statu*, en otro estado.

«In 1267 he tells, "During the twenty years in which I have labored specially in the study of wisdom, after abandoning the usual methods, I have spent more than 2,000 /. on secret books and various experiments, and languages, and instruments, and mathematical tables, etc."» — Davis cita el balance que Bacon hace en 1267 de veinte años de gasto en libros secretos, experimentos, lenguas, instrumentos y tablas. La abreviatura de libras sale del escaneo como una barra suelta.

«Although the Parisian pound was equal only to a third of a pound sterling, the sum 1s considerably larger than a mendicant friar could have gathered together, and we may infer that Bacon had funds of his own before he joined the order.» — Davis convierte la suma y de ahí infiere que Bacon tenía dinero propio antes de entrar en la orden: es más de lo que un fraile mendicante podría haber juntado. El *is* del impreso sale *1s*.

«He reports that he saw at Paris with his own eyes Alexander of Hales (died 1245), twice heard William of Auvergne dispute on the Intellectus Agens before the whole university, and heard Master John de Garlandia denounce ignorant etymologists.» — Davis lista lo que Bacon dice haber presenciado en París y lo usa para datar su estancia: Alejandro de Hales, Guillermo de Auvernia disputando sobre el intelecto agente, y Juan de Garlandia contra los etimologistas ignorantes.

«By his bitter tongue he made enemies, chief among whom perhaps was Albert the Great.» — Davis adjudica a la lengua mordaz de Bacon su enemistad principal, la de Alberto Magno.

«This man perhaps thought of Bacon when he denounced those critics who were too idle to publish works of their own and who read the works of others only to find fault with them» — Davis propone, con reserva expresa, que la denuncia de Alberto Magno contra los críticos que no publican nada propio iba dirigida a Bacon.

«He confined his writing largely to letters to friends who had asked his opinion on various matters, among these letters the one which is translated in the present volume.» — Davis sitúa el género del texto que traduce: una carta de respuesta a un amigo que le pidió opinión, como casi todo lo que Bacon escribió en esos años.

«Bacon's most important works were written because of the stimulus of a request by the Pope. Guy de Foulques, Archbishop of Narbonne (1259) and Cardinal-Bishop of St. Sabina (1261) had heard of the writings of Bacon and had commissioned one of his servants to obtain them.» — Davis hace depender de un encargo papal la obra mayor de Bacon: Guy de Foulques, luego Clemente IV, mandó a un criado a conseguir sus escritos.

«Bacon replied to him by letter in March, 1266, and his remarks so pleased the Pope that the Pope wrote to him the following June asking him to send copies of his works secretly and without delay notwithstanding any constitution of the Franciscan Order to the contrary.» — Davis consigna que el papa le pidió las copias en secreto y sin demora, por encima de cualquier constitución franciscana en contra.

«But, unfortunately for Bacon, Clement IV died in November, 1268, and his successors had less sympathy for Bacon's kind of intellectual activity.» — Davis fecha en noviembre de 1268 la muerte de Clemente IV y con ella el fin de la protección: sus sucesores tuvieron menos simpatía por ese trabajo.

«The first part deals with the causes which hindered the progress of true philosophy among the Latins, namely, dependence on authority, consent to established custom, allowing weight to popular opinion, and concealment of real ignorance with pretense of knowledge.» — Davis enumera las cuatro causas que, según la primera parte del Opus Majus, estorban la filosofía verdadera entre los latinos: autoridad, costumbre, opinión popular y disimulo de la propia ignorancia.

«It constituted a complete break with the spirit and method of scholasticism.» — Davis califica esa primera parte de ruptura entera con el espíritu y el método escolásticos.

«It contains the much-quoted sentence, “The end of all true philosophy is to arrive at a knowledge of the Creator through knowledge of the created world."» — Davis cita de la segunda parte del Opus Majus el fin que Bacon asigna a toda filosofía verdadera: llegar al conocimiento del Creador por el del mundo creado.

«in particular the Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic languages ought to be mastered, for the Scriptures and best philosophical works are written in these tongues and are frequently misinterpreted in existing translations.» — Davis resume la tercera parte: hay que dominar griego, hebreo, caldeo y árabe porque las traducciones existentes malinterpretan a menudo lo escrito en esas lenguas.

«Bacon wrote “in mathematics alone is certainty beyond all question,” and thought so highly of the subject that he made logic entirely subordinate to it.» — Davis cita a Bacon sobre la certeza exclusiva de la matemática y añade que por eso subordinó la lógica a ella; en la misma plana anota que Bertrand Russell y otros lógicos van en ese sentido.

«“Physicists,” he says, “ought to know that their science is powerless unless they call in the aid of mathematics,”» — Davis cita la advertencia de Bacon a los físicos: su ciencia queda sin fuerza si no llaman en su auxilio a la matemática.