--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the mathematics I can report no…" description: "\"In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that it be that men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the pure mathematics, in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg" --- # In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that… ![“In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that it be that men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it; if too wandering…” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg) > “In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that it be that men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it; if too wandering, they fix it; if too inherent in the sense, they abstract it.” [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pure mathematics is undervalued, yet it sharpens intellect, corrects wandering thoughts, and abstracts complex ideas. **In simple terms:** Math sharpens mind. Key Takeaway Value pure math. Themes education intellect mathematics Mood inquisitive optimistic Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - research - problem solving - critical thinking Key Concepts philosophy of science cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - How can math be better integrated? - What limits does pure math have? A Different Perspective Mathematics alone cannot solve all societal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Defects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defects/) [Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) [Excellent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellent/) [Faculties Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculties-intellectual-4868370/) [Faculty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculty/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inherent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherent/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-wit-4868368/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Mathematics Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics-remedy-4868369/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Pure Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure-mathematics-236228/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Wit Faculties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit-faculties-4868367/) ## Related quotes > [Applied mathematics will always need pure mathematics just as anteaters will always need ants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-halmos/applied-mathematics-will-always-need-pure-mathematics-just-as/) [Paul Halmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-halmos/) > [“The mathematician does not study pure mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it and he delights in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematician-does-not-study-pure-mathematics-because-it-is/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [...nature seems very conversant with the rules of pure mathematics, as our own mathematicians have formulated them in their studies, out of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/nature-seems-very-conversant-with-the-rules-of-pure-mathematics-as/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [ Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. ... \[By seeking\] logical beauty spiritual formulas are discovered necessary for the deeper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/pure-mathematics-is-in-its-way-the-poetry-of-logical-ideas-by-seeking/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“One rather curious conclusion emerges, that pure mathematics is on the whole distinctly more useful than applied. ... For what is useful above all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy-2/one-rather-curious-conclusion-emerges-that-pure-mathematics-is-on-the/) [G.H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy-2/) > [In the pure mathematics we contemplate absolute truths which existed in the divine mind before the morning stars sang together, and which will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett-hale/in-the-pure-mathematics-we-contemplate-absolute-truths-which-existed/) [Edward Everett Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett-hale/) > [The mathematics is the odd one, odd because I'm not sure how to measure its effect. It is so fundamental to my outlook on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zia-haider-rahman/the-mathematics-is-the-odd-one-odd-because-i-m-not-sure-how-to/) [Zia Haider Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zia-haider-rahman/) > [Even in pure mathematics they can't remove all paradox, and the rest of us should also recognize we are going to have to endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/even-in-pure-mathematics-they-can-t-remove-all-paradox-and-the-rest/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [...mathematics is distinguished from all other sciences except only ethics, in standing in no need of ethics. Every other science, even logic, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/mathematics-is-distinguished-from-all-other-sciences-except-only-2/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“Even in the realm of pure mathematics, the mathematician may use any set of symbols he desires within any given region of space-time; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/even-in-the-realm-of-pure-mathematics-the-mathematician-may-use-any/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The point of mathematics is that in it we have always got rid of the particular instance, and even of any particular sorts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-we-have-always-got-rid-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It was as though applied mathematics was my spouse, and pure mathematics was my secret lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-frenkel/it-was-as-though-applied-mathematics-was-my-spouse-and-pure/) [Edward Frenkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-frenkel/) > [Pure mathematics offers no mercenary inducements to its followers, who is attracted to it by the importance and beauty of the truths in contains;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/pure-mathematics-offers-no-mercenary-inducements-to-its-followers-who/) [James Whitbread Lee Glaisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/) > [The object of pure physics is the unfolding of the laws of the intelligible world; the object of pure mathematics that of unfolding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joseph-sylvester/the-object-of-pure-physics-is-the-unfolding-of-the-laws-of-the/) [James Joseph Sylvester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joseph-sylvester/) > [A chess problem is an exercise in pure mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy/a-chess-problem-is-an-exercise-in-pure-mathematics/) [G. H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) ## More by Roger Bacon > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/knowledge-of-languages-is-the-doorway-to-wisdom/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [It is not necessarily impossible for human beings to fly, but it so happens that God did not give them the knowledge of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/it-is-not-necessarily-impossible-for-human-beings-to-fly-but-it-so/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [“Now there are four chief obstacles in grasping truth, which hinder every man, however learned, and scarcely allow anyone to win a clear title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/now-there-are-four-chief-obstacles-in-grasping-truth-which-hinder/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [There are four great sciences, without which the other sciences cannot be known nor a knowledge of things secured ... Of these sciences the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/there-are-four-great-sciences-without-which-the-other-sciences-cannot/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [There are in fact four very significant stumbling blocks in the way of grasping the truth, which hinder every man however learned, and scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/there-are-in-fact-four-very-significant-stumbling-blocks-in-the-way/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [ All science requires mathematics. \[Editors' summary of Bacon's idea, not Bacon's wording.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/all-science-requires-mathematics-editors-summary-of-bacon-s-idea-not/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [If in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundation of knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/if-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [There are in fact four very significant stumblingblocks in the way of grasping the truth, which hinder every man however learned, and scarcely allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/there-are-in-fact-four-very-significant-stumblingblocks-in-the-way-of/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [To ask the proper question is half of knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/to-ask-the-proper-question-is-half-of-knowing/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [It is easier for a man to burn down his own house than to get rid of his prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/it-is-easier-for-a-man-to-burn-down-his-own-house-than-to-get-rid-of/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [“Wissenschaft ist Macht.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/wissenschaft-ist-macht/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [All sciences are connected; they lend each other material aid as parts of one great whole, each doing its own work, not for itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/all-sciences-are-connected-they-lend-each-other-material-aid-as-parts/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [All science requires mathematics. The knowledge of mathematical things is almost innate in us. This is the easiest of sciences, a fact which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/all-science-requires-mathematics-the-knowledge-of-mathematical-things/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Half of science is asking the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/half-of-science-is-asking-the-right-questions/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) [Explore all 44 Roger Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that it be that men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it; if too wandering, they fix it; if too inherent in the sense, they abstract it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Bacon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-deficience-except-that-it-be-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-deficience-except-that-it-be-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/roger-bacon-15067_abstract_in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-defic_2206419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except that it be that men do not sufficiently understand the…” — Roger Bacon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roger Bacon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the mathematics I can report...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-deficience-except-that-it-be-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/in-the-mathematics-i-can-report-no-deficience-except-that-it-be-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```