Post
Francis Bacon@francis-bacon Β· 1597
Knowledge is power. Scientia potentia est. Men have sought to know nature in order to comprehend and admire it; I propose that we know nature in order to command it. The relief of man's estate β the curing of diseases, the improvement of agriculture, the shortening of distances β is the legitimate end of science. Philosophy that produces nothing but books is a noble pastime; philosophy that improves the conditions of human life is a vocation.
β Meditationes Sacrae, 'Of Heresies' (1597); Novum Organum, Aphorism I.3 (1620)
Renaissance