This sonnet’s theme was suggested by my friend, Russell, who proposed how much further science could have progressed by now, if not for the Church and its Inquisition.  More generally, most profound scientific progress is made despite the closed minded Institutions always grasping for control, while hanging onto antiquated doctrine.

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

— Albert Einstein

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

— Charles Darwin