xii PREFACE. 



quently has this been the case in this instance that the 

 fallacy has taken deep root. To eradicate, then, the old- 

 standing fiction thus propagated, it was necessary to thrash 

 the question out, to face it from several points of view, and 

 bring forward a variety of proofs which facts furnish against 

 the error. 



If, however, the great name of Francis Bacon is stripped 

 of its scientific glamour, the name of Roger Bacon, to 

 whom adequate justice has never been done, will, by com- 

 pensation, be inscribed in a very high place in the sanctuary 

 of science ; and England's scientific repute will gain by 

 the act of fairness performed by the Author a circumstance 

 at which all Englishmen, fond of truth as they are, will be 

 sure to rejoice with conscious pride, as they will recognise in 

 him the precursor of the men who have made their country 

 the greatest representative nation of science. With Francis 

 Bacon, as a jurist, a moralist, a statesman, an historian, or 

 a dramatist, whatever claim he may have to these titles, we 

 have nothing to do ; we have dealt with him in his scientific 

 capacity only i.e. as a natural philosopher. 



The value of this book lies in the amount of information 

 it conveys the work of some four hundred men of science 

 being considered. Its value is slightly increased by an 

 Appendix^ which, for the purpose of substantiating some of 

 the statements made in the work, contains quotations which 

 would have overweighted the historical account if inserted in 

 the main text. Definitions which may be unfamiliar to some 

 readers will also be found there. 



The arrangement of the work, it may be added, has been 

 devised in such a manner as to present every series of facts 



