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
Latin influence in English became wholly English. By the time Middle English arose as the dominant language in the late 14th century, the Normans (French people) had contributed roughly 10,000 words to English of which 75% remain in use today. Continued use of Latin by the Church and centres of learning brought a steady, though dramatically reduced, influx of new Latin lexical borrowings. During the English Renaissance, from around 1500–1650, some 10,000 to 12,000 words entered the English lexicon, including "lexicon". Some examples include: aberration, allusion, anachronism, democratic, dexterity, enthusiasm, imaginary, juvenile, pernicious, sophisticated. Many of these words were borrowed directly from Latin, both