For if any man who never saw fire proved by satisfactory arguments that fire burns. His hearer's mind would never be satisfied, nor would he avoid the fire until he put his hand in it that he might learn by experiment what argument taught.

About this work John Maxson Stillman wrote that "there is nothing in it that is characteristic of Roger Bacon's style or ideas nor that distinguiRoger Bacons it from many unimportant alchemical lucubrations of anonymous writers of the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries". Bacon's personality has also been mentioned as a factor. He rejected the blind following of prior authorities both in theological and scientific study which was the accepted method of undertaking study in his day.

(c. 1214–1294) (scholastic accolade Doctor Mirabilis meaning "wonderful teacher") was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods. F.