Adelard of Bath Quotes
Adelard of Bath was an English natural philosopher, mathematician, and translator and one of the principal channels by which Greek and Arabic scientific learning reached the Latin West. After studies at Tours and Laon he traveled for years in Sicily, Spain, and the Crusader Levant, learning Arabic and gathering manuscripts. The quotes below are attributed to Adelard of Bath, organized by topic.
Adelard of Bath on Knowledge
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Attributed to Adelard of Bath:
“I have learned from my Arabic masters to put reason first; from my Latin teachers, authority.”
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Attributed to Adelard of Bath:
“If reason cannot teach the cause, the appeal to authority is vain.”
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Attributed to Adelard of Bath:
“Travel makes the mind a citizen of the world.”
Adelard of Bath on Nature
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Attributed to Adelard of Bath:
“Nature is to be questioned, not merely accepted.”
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Attributed to Adelard of Bath:
“The world is a single causal order open to honest inquiry.”