i 5 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



learned world knew him as the " seraphic Doctor " ; Dante gave 

 him an honored place in the great poem of the middle ages ; the 

 Church finally enrolled him among the saints. By force of great 

 ability in theology he had become in the middle of the thirteenth 

 century general of the Franciscan order ; thus, as Bacon's master, 

 his hands were laid heavily on the new teaching, so that in 1257 

 the troublesome monk was forbidden to lecture; all men were 

 solemnly warned not to listen to his teaching, and he was ordered 

 to Paris, to be kept under surveillance by the monastic authori- 

 ties. Herein was exhibited another of the myriad examples 

 showing the care exercised over scientific teaching by the 

 Church. The reasons for thus dealing with Bacon were evident : 

 First, he had dared attempt scientific explanations of natural 

 phenomena, which, under the mystic theology of the middle 

 ages, had been referred simply to supernatural causes. Typical 

 was his explanation of the causes and character of the rainbow. 

 It was clear, cogent, a great step in the right direction as regards 

 physical science : but there, in the book of Genesis, stood the 

 time-honored legend regarding the origin of the rainbow, sup- 

 posed to have been dictated immediately by the Holy Spirit ; and, 

 according to that, the " bow in the cloud " was not the result of 

 natural laws, but a " sign " arbitrarily placed in the heavens for 

 the simple purpose of assuring mankind that there should not be 

 another universal deluge. 



But this was not the worst : another theological idea was ar- 

 rayed against him, — the idea of satanic intervention in science ; 

 hence he was attacked with that goodly missile which with the 

 epithets " infidel " and " atheist " has decided the fate of so many 

 battles — the charge of magic and compact with Satan. 



He defended himself with a most unfortunate weapon — a 

 weapon which exploded in his hands and injured him more than 

 the enemy. For he argued against the idea of compacts with 

 Satan, and showed that much which is ascribed to demons results 

 from natural means. This added fuel to the flame ; to limit the 

 power of Satan was deemed hardly less impious than to limit the 

 power of God. 



The most powerful protectors availed him little. His friend 

 Guy Foulkes, having in 1265 been made pope under the name of 

 Clement IV, shielded Bacon for a time; but the fury of the 

 enemy was too strong, and when he made ready to perform a few 

 experiments before a small audience, we are told that all Oxford 

 was in an uproar. It was believed that Satan was about to be let 

 loose. Everywhere priests, monks, fellows, and students rushed 

 about, their garments streaming in the wind, and everywhere rose 

 the cry, " Down with the magician ! " and this cry, " Down with 

 the magician ! " resounded from cell to cell, and from hall to hall. 



