It was a vast loss to the earth; and certainly, of all
organizations that have reason to lament the pressure of
ecclesiasticism which turned Albert the Great from natural
philosophy to theology, foremost of all in regret should be the
Christian Church, and especially the Roman branch of it. Had
there been evolved in the Church during the thirteenth century
a faith strong enough to accept the truths in natural science
which Albert and his compeers could have given, and to have
encouraged their growth, this faith and this encouragement would
to this day have formed the greatest argument for proving the
Church directly under Divine guidance; they would have been
among the brightest jewels in her crown. The loss to the Church
by this want of faith and courage has proved in the long run
even greater than the loss to science.[378]
The next great man of that age whom the theological and
ecclesiastical forces of the time turned from the right path was
Vincent of Beauvais. During the first half of the twelfth
century he devoted himself to the study of Nature in several of
her most interesting fields.
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