All science requires mathematics. The knowledge of mathematical things is almost innate in us. This is the easiest of sciences, a fact which is obvious in that no one's brain rejects it; for laymen and people who are utterly illiterate know how to count and reckon.

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.