christian roots

On pages 104/105 Grant quotes St. Basil who states, "The wise men of the Greeks wrote many works about nature, but not one account among them remained unaltered and firmly established, for the latter account always overthrew the preceding one."  The passage was quoted in Grants analysis of the attitude of early day Christians towards pagan beliefs and research into the natural sciences.  While St. Basil was correct in assuming that many Greek passages have encountered contradiction from both preceding and following theories, he has assumedly failed to recognize each theory's place as a stepping stone towards a "greater truth."  From our standpoint today, it is possible for us to look upon the progress of other scientists and philosophers throughout history at the click of a mouse.  If we, like St. Basil had a much more limited view of progress made and the importance of trial and error, would we follow his mindset and ignore the importance of prior mistakes in science?