O secretum secretorum na edição de Rogério Bacon: significação dos segredos e enigmas do conhecimento

The goal of this paper is to present, however briefly, the criticisms wielded by Roger Bacon to the practice of natural science of his time. Taking as starting point the edition made by Roger Bacon of the pseudo-aristotelian text Secretum secretorum, we develop two fundamental lines of analysis. On the one hand, we provide an outline of the genealogy and reception of the Secretum secretorum, which was largely disseminated in the Medieval Latin tradition, namely in the Iberian Peninsula. The interest taken by the doctor mirabilis in the edition, the history and reconstitution of the text, shows the forcible reasons Bacon had to foresee textual criticism. On the other hand, we stress the importance of the Secretum secretorum, especially his medical section, as a major source for Bacon’s criticism of scientific and experimental practice in his time.