Reading, Roger Bacon, and Understanding

I am now reading an undergraduate text on linear algebra by Serge Lange ( one of the best teachers I had at Columbia), a book by Mark Twain, and a novel, The Black Rose by Thomas Costain. This last is an historical novel, presenting what I believe is a fairly accurate picture of life in 13th century England and elsewhere, although the main characters are fictional. The reason I mention this book is that one of the background characters is Roger Bacon, the famous monk/scientist. In the early part of the book he tells his students:

"...I must begin with the Latin phrase you have often heard. They say to you Credo ut intelligum - believe so you may understand. It is said as though... it must....be accepted without question.  I question it my young friends.  Nay I cast it out as being utterly false. I say to you instead, Intelligo ut credam - understand so ye may believe."

I hope those of you who were in my classes recognize this idea as one you have heard before. If Roger Bacon indeed said this, then the message I tried to convey ( neither so eloquently nor elegantly as Bacon via Costain) precedes my teaching career by about 750 years. If Costain made it up then I was only about 60 years behind him. In either case, I really did know I was merely paraphrasing the wisdom from many much earlier teachers. I just hope I have had some role in convincing some of you of its truth.