Note 2276 — II. His Criticism of and Part in Medieval Learning (continued 2)

Taylor’s discussion of Bacon occurs in Vol. II, 483-508 of the 1911 edition (2nd edition revised and enlarged, 1914). He goes farther than the sources justify in some of his assertions concerning Bacon’s life, though he is caution itself compared to some writers. For instance, it cannot be shown that before 1266 Roger’s pursuit of learning “had been obstructed by the Order of which he was an unhappy and rebellious member”; nor that “he had evidently been forbidden to write or spread his ideas; he had been disciplined at times with a diet of bread and water.”