"Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom."
"There are in fact four very significant stumbling blocks in the way of grasping the truth, which hinder every man however learned, and scarcely allow anyone to win a clear title to wisdom, namely, the example of weak and unworthy authority, longstanding custom, the feeling of the ignorant crowd, and the hiding of our own ignorance while making a display of our apparent knowledge."
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Source: Teaching the pursuit of science. Book by John H. Woodburn and Ellsworth Scott Obourn, p. 70, 1965.
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More quotes by Roger Bacon
"Reasoning draws a conclusion, but does not make the conclusion certain, unless the mind discovers it by the path of experience."
"There are four chief obstacles in grasping truth ... namely, submission to faulty and unworthy authority, influence of custom, popular prejudice, and the concealment of our own ignorance accompanied by an ostentatious display of our knowledge."
"Cease to be ruled by dogmas and authorities; look at the world!"
"It is easier for a man to burn down his own house than to get rid of his prejudices."
"The strongest arguments prove nothing so long as the conclusions are not verified by experience. Experimental science is the queen of sciences and the goal of all speculation."