Scientia potentia est Scientia potentia est The phrase "scientia potentia est"" (or "scientia est potentia" or also "scientia potestas est")" is a Latin aphorism meaning "knowledge is power". It is commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, although there is no known occurrence of this precise phrase in Bacon's English or Latin writings. However, the expression ""ipsa scientia potestas est"" ('knowledge itself is power') occurs in Bacon's "Meditationes Sacrae" (1597). The exact phrase ""scientia potentia est"" was written for the first time in the 1668 version of the work "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes, who was secretary to Bacon as a young man. The related
Non est factum Non est factum Non est factum (Latin for "it is not [my] deed") is a defence in contract law that allows a signing party to escape performance of an agreement "which is fundamentally different from what he or she intended to execute or sign." A claim of "non est factum" means that the signature on the contract was signed by mistake, without knowledge of its meaning. A successful plea would make the contract void "ab initio". According to "Saunders v Anglia Building Society" [1971], applied in "Petelin v Cullen" [1975], the strict requirements necessary for a successful plea can are